Chapter Text
"Wait, y'all didn't even get signed off yet?" Jax scoffed, dragging his feet as the party marched toward the guild hall. Which was just great. Exactly where he didn't want to be right now.
Ragatha twisted to look at him, still leading the pack like some kind of den mother even while walking backwards. "We can't just start the quest, Jax. You know the drill- everyone has to sign off. Everyone. "
The way she stressed the word made his fur bristle. She knew, oh, she definitely knew about his … problem. Probably had a good laugh about it too.
Just perfect.
Though Ragatha had turned forward again, Jax still buried daggers in her back with his glare.
But no matter how much he seethed, the problem wasn't going anywhere. How was he supposed to sign off for the damn quest without Bubble spotting him? Mid-day meant the guild was packed with adventurers, not like the crowd would help. Bubble's clones were everywhere, floating in every corner like some kind of one-man (?) surveillance team.
Jax's brain started to spiral. What do to do? What do to-
"Hey… You think Caine will let me on this quest?"
The bard- Pomni- had appeared in his peripheral vision, yanking him out of his panic.
Jax blinked.
Though Pomni had asked the question to the entire group, Jax couldn't help the curiosity brewing deep down about this new member of the party.
"Why wouldn't he?" he found himself asking, drawing her attention to him. Her pinwheel eyes hit him like a bullseye, but he didn't let it shake him. "Oh, don't tell me this is your first quest?"
"No-no, that's not-" She cut herself off with a sharp breath, steadying herself. When she spoke again, her voice was calm, her eyes fixed somewhere ahead. "This quest is high level. Don't we need to be, like, master level to even qualify?"
Before Jax could conjure up an answer, Ragatha jumped at the chance.
"Don't worry, Pomni!" Ragatha spun on her heel, her yarn hair whipping from the sudden movement. She kept walking but backwards, because apparently she had a death wish; grinning like she hadn't a care in the world. "We already checked in with Caine this morning! He said this type of quest only needs two master-class adventurers, and we've already got that covered!"
Jax's ears perked up at her statement. That was new cause last time he heard -
"Wait-I thought Kinger was the only master?" The question tumbled out before he could swallow it, because apparently his mouth had decided to stop consulting his brain. A common theme lately, one that showed no signs of ending soon.
His question triggered something within the party. It hung in the air for way longer than it should have.
Ragatha's smile faltered, twitching at the edges, but of course, she maintained her cheerful persona. Zooble threw him a glance from the corner of their eye, but this time, Jax didn't feel that stare as smug. It was more like… pride?
That was when Jax noticed Gangle fidgeting with her oversized brush-staff, twisting it in her hands like she wished it would swallow her whole.
Pomni looked between them all, brow furrowed, clearly trying to solve a puzzle she didn't have the pieces for. She gave up after a few seconds and turned to Jax.
"Well," she said, slowing to match his stride and craning her neck to look up at him. "Gangle just reached master class from our last quest."
Jax kept his face neutral; he really did, but his ear (that stupid, traitorous ear) twitched.
Gangle? GANGLE?!
The one who crumbles if you look at her the wrong way? The one who can't finish a sentence without stumbling over her words? That Gangle?
Jax's sense of the world seem to be waning away every second.
Pomni's confirmation seemed to spark something in Gangle. Her grip on her staff tightened, her posture straightening with newfound confidence. It wasn't just her stance that changed, but she found her voice as well.
"Just on the cusp, actually…" Gangle's words started as a mumble, but they gained strength as she continued. "Caine approved the class specification yesterday."
"And we celebrated till the break of dawn!" Zooble exclaimed, their metal arm wrapping around Gangle's shoulders. They gave her a little shake, making Gangle wobble but giggle at their action.
Jax's ear twitched and then twitched again.
"Wait." He held up a hand. "Back up, Gangle is a master now?"
He looked at her- like really looked at her. She was still Gangle: still soft, still breakable, but there was something different in the way she held herself. It almost made him believe it. Almost.
"How?" The words were barely a whisper, but everybody snapped their attention to him. "How did you-" Jax didn't finish his sentence, finally feeling the tension in their gazes.
How did you get master before me?
Of course, he would never utter those words out loud. Not because Zooble is giving him the deadliest glare he has ever received and that's saying something.
Ragatha, the overlooked peacekeeper that she was, sensed the tension coiling throughout the group, knew how close they were to the guild hall. She clasped her hands together, bringing out a sharp clap that broke the tension in an instant, and drowning everyone's attention.
"Well! Now we're good to go on this quest!" Her confidence wavered, however, her pace slowing until she stopped. The rest of the group followed her lead.
She turned to face the group, but her gaze landed on Pomni. Her eyes were filled with… guilt? The look caught Jax off guard, having no clue what brought Ragatha down from her high horse.
"Pomni…" Ragatha began, her voice layered with concern.
Jax looked at Pomni, who was still standing at his side. She jumped at the sound of her name, a full-body flinch, like she'd been caught doing something wrong. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she stared back at Ragatha.
Ah. So she's just as lost as I am.
Ragatha pressed on, hands clasped tight in front of her. "We're-" She glanced among the party, a silent signal that she was speaking for all of them. Minus Jax, obviously, not that he had any idea where this was going. "-sorry we couldn't take this quest sooner. We know that you and-"
"It's okay!" Pomni's voice cut through, high and flustered, like Ragatha's apology had physically burned her. She darted glances around the group before her eyes landed on Jax.
He flinched.
Great, now she was looking at him.
He arched a brow, brain already spinning through different conclusions.
So she's the reason we're doing this, going on a suicide mission The why was still a mystery, though- thanks to Pomni's interruption before Ragatha could spill what Jax assumed would've been pretty juicy details.
Pomni pressed her lips into a thin line as the awkward tension settled over the group once again. She twiddled her thumbs for half a second before realizing she needed to offer Ragatha some comfort for her outburst.
She breathed out a sigh. "I know I was sort of a pain-"
"Oh no, Pomni, you weren't-"
"BUT-" Pomni's voice jumped, just loud enough to cut Ragatha off and it worked as Ragatha's mouth snapped shut. Jax snickered to himself as Ragatha shrunk within herself.
"I'm grateful that you guys are even willing to go on this quest with me." Oh god. Pomni's voice softened, stumbling over itself. "It's not going to be easy, but I thi-I know we can do it."
Jax bit the inside of his cheek to avoid scoffing.
Oh brother.
"E-Even you, Jax."
She looked up at him, and Jax's brain swiftly short-circuited. He was frozen, pinned in place by the sudden attention, his mind racing through possible responses and finding absolutely nothing.
Lucky for him, or unlucky, Pomni kept going.
"Obviously, you have your own reasons for coming. But… thanks anyway." Her voice softened. "I didn't think anyone would be willing to join us on this adventure."
She gave him a small, tentative, genuine smile. While her eyes, those weird pinwheel eyes, were actually earnest as they pin him in place.
Jax felt something in his chest do something he didn't want to investigate whatsoever.
The annoying tic was back: that familiar rumble building behind his ears. He clamped down on it, refusing to let them twitch and expose his flustered antics
He didn't even know this girl and yet she was looking at him like they were old friends. He could shoot her down by reminding her that a bard's gratitude didn't exactly carry much weight. The scary thing was, he couldn't tell if he'd be lying. If any insult would actually be true against her because he didn't know her. Just the bard getup, the short stature, and those weird pinwheel eyes that kept catching him off guard.
"Right. Well-" He cleared his throat, forcing his voice steady. "Someone's gotta make sure you don't all get yourselves killed."
He turned away before she could see whatever expression was trying to crawl onto his face. Without waiting for the rest of the party to catch up, Jax walked on, essentially leading the group.
"Y-yeah!" Pomni's voice was frantic, he didn't expect to actually respond to his retort. He heard her boots scrambling to catch up. "Caine said you were the best for sneaking into the goblin base."
Zooble hissed at the reveal while his blood rushed to Jax's ears.
Caine and his mouth…head? Did he tell the whole damn guild?
From the sound of it, Caine had just recommended Jax for the job, nothing about his… troubles. No pity in from Pomni's tone not to mention awkward glances towards the rest of the group. If anything she appeared to be actually curious.
For the sake of his sanity, or whatever is left of it, Jax decided to believe Cain had only throw his name out there out of his own pity. And not that he had aired his dirty laundry to the last possible party in the world he would want knowing his business.
Time to salvage this - the opportunity to boast came few and far between, so why the hell not?
If they were going to think he was desperate, he'd at least remind them he was good at his job.
He etched that wide grin upon his face, stepped around Pomni and planted himself directly in her path, stopping her in her tracks. She blinked up at him and before he could feel the pierce of her pinwheel gaze, he bent at the hip into an exaggerated bow. He had underestimated his height, and Pomni had to stagger back to avoid getting whacked by his ears.
As he bowed, he made sure his voice carried that signature provocative tone the rest of the party knew all too well. "Pleasure's all mine." He straightened up, ignoring the look of annoyance from Ragatha and boredom from Zooble, and continued. "You're in good hands. The best, actually."
Yeah, that felt good, like he finally had control of the conversation.
The group was silent as Pomni held his gaze a moment too long. The stunned silence almost made him doubt his own performance. She blinked, seemed to catch herself, straightened up and cleared her throat.
"I'llllll" She drew out, unsure how to answer at first, "take your word for it." She gave a slanted, awkward smile. Not totally shutting him down, even as she stepped around him to continue toward the guild hall.
The rest of the group followed with all but Kinger shot Jax varying degrees of a look. None of them happy, but then again, that was nothing new.
Jax trailed after them, this time making sure to keep a few steps behind them. A brief distraction, but still brief none the less. The dread came back tenfold as they turned the corner and the guild hall's grand entrance came into view at the end of the road.
This whole road was basically built around the guild, serving as the main hub for everyone with a guild membership. Shops catering to adventures lined on either side, from blacksmiths hammering out weapons to wizards crafting potions.
Potions. An idea sprouted in his mind, his ears shot straight up. He knew his way around potions well enough, could even brew basic healing ones if he had the components. But it wasn't healing potions that lit a spark behind his eyes, but invisibility. The answer to his predicament had been so obvious that he almost kicked himself for forgetting a rogues most reliable trick.
Usually he would have used his invisibility cloak, but that got incinerated when- He didn't finish the thought. Didn't allow himself to.
Now, a smart merchant would have their merchandise behind the counter, especially if it was small and easily pocketed, like potions. But this road drew too many customers and too many competitors. One stand selling potions and there is another one just two shops down, so you had to grab attention by putting everything front and center where potential buyers could spot it from across the road. Jax would even say the merchants here were more relaxed than most. Surrounded by members of one guild, it was easier to track regulars and harder for strangers to cause trouble.
Jax had walked down this road plenty of times, and he was pretty hard to miss between his height and the ears. He was not above stealing, though he rarely did it against common folk. But he didn't have the spare gold pieces for even a common scroll of invisibility, let alone the thousands a potion would run him. Yeah, he had really reached a new low.
Thankfully the group was ahead of him so they wouldn't catch what he was about to do, wouldn't sit well with this particular crowd. As they strode down the road with the guild hall drawing closer, Jax spotted a shop with its keeper in a barging match with a customer, potions laid out on full display. He drifted left toward the booth without breaking his pace, the party cutting through the middle of the road to avoid shoppers.
He pinpointed his target, a vial cushioned by dry straw in a tiny wooden box. Potions usually came in their own distinct bottles to better tell them apart, and this one was no different. The vial was teardrop shaped, rounded cork, and the liquid inside so pale it was nearly translucent.
Jax made his approach as clean and unnoticeable as he possibly could, careful not to bump into any unsuspecting shoppers as he slithered through them. The shop crept closer, and he glanced up to find the keeper still haggling with his customer, the interaction getting pretty heated by the looks of it. Perfect.
He didn't look at his prize as he finally reached the booth. A fundamental rule was to never bring attention to your prize. He kept his stride easy and unhurried, just another adventurer with somewhere to be. His hand swept over the wooden box in one fluid motion, fingers closing around the teardrop vial without disturbing the straw underneath. A half step to the right brought him around the haggling customer without a brush of wind as he made his exit, the booth falling behind him. He kept his fist loose around the vial, his long fingers more than enough to swallow it from view.
He gave it a few moments before drifting back toward the party, never once glancing down at the vial in his hand, his ears tuned for any rise of suspicion behind him. But the road carried nothing beyond its usual buzz, which was signal enough for him. The shopkeeper hadn't noticed and more than likely wouldn't until Jax had already used it and disposed of the evidence.
He slipped back into his spot at the tail-end of the group without a word. Though he couldn't help but notice the bard had ended up back there with him, odd since she had been leading the pack just moments ago. The realization nearly made him chuckle, bringing his free hand to his mouth to cover a glimpse of a smile. She was so short that her stride was automatically smaller than everyone else's, leaving her trailing behind whether she meant to or not.
It appeared that his sudden reappearance hadn't gone unnoticed as Pomni peered up at him and blinked in question. Thankfully, she didn't voice her confusion, her attention pulled away as Ragatha held her guild card over the lock on the entrance door of the guild hall.
The double doors let out a chime of confirmation and groaned when they open inward. Jax made sure he was behind the entire party, bard included, using the moment to set his plan in motion. He pressed his thumb against the cork and popped it free from the vial, pinching the nub between his thumb and index finger. He brought the vail up to his lips, tipped his head back, and let gravity do all work, the tasteless liquid sliding down his throat in quick succession.
The potion immediately took effect, crawling up from the the soles of his shoes as the group began filing into the building. By the time he stepped through the threshold his body was completely transparent.
Though a little voice in the back of his mind is screaming at the possibly of having explain why he is doing this to party, especially when he has to physically sign a document. A floating pen would raise some questions.
He shook his head, shaking these thoughts away. One step at a time… First the document.
A glance around the room confirmed his suspicions with Bubble- Bubbles were stationed at nearly every corner of the guild hall, floating up near the high ceiling. He hadn't been stopped at the entrance, which meant they didn't appear to have a see invisibility spell in place. A glaring loophole in his plan, and frankly in basic security common sense, but then again Bubbles couldn't wear magical items.
Thank god.
A burn from a pair of eyes settled in his stomach, panic nearly emerging as he peered down at the culprit. Pomni was gazing in his general direction, confusion painted clearly on her face, but her gaze never wavered.
Shit.
She couldn't see him, but she obviously knew he was here. Most likely because as a magic user she could sense the magic radiating off him with the potion still in effect. Jax silently prayed she kept her mouth shut and not to expose him to the dozens of Bubbles surrounding them.
The world slowed as he watched her lips pucker, the word already forming in her mouth. His eyes went wide and he had no idea what to do.
"W-"
"Hello, my jumbo juicy justices!" Like an angel descended from the heavens, Caine swooped down to the party from wherever he had come from. His voicing booming in the hall, bringing every guild member attention to the main party, most importantly Pomni's as well.
With that announcement, murmurs of praise began to swell around them. Figures. Given the reputation of this party, these people were gawking like they hadn't any shame about being such kiss asses.
The cheers from the crowd didn't deter Ragatha from stepping closer to Caine, a nervous smile on her lips and her hands clasped in front of her.
"Ah yes, Caine!" Her voice twinged with forced positivity as she peered up at him with a crooked smile. "We're here for the rescue quest we talked about yesterday." Silence. "Remember?…"
Caine grotesque tongue rolled out slowly as he mulled over her request. Jax didn't bother to hide his cringe with his invisible image. His body physical convulsing with disgust as he sneered at the guild master. Pomni appeared to share the sentiment, her mouth pinching as she fought to keep her expression neutral.
Even Ragatha couldn't control the twitch in her eye before she raised a finger.
"Umm, the druid lea-" She attempted to remind Caine.
Caine clapped his hands together, tongue snapping back into his mouth before anyone could blink, cutting her off entirely.
"Right! Dummidoo-"
"Gummigoo-" Pomni muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Jax to catch it, his ears twitched in her direction. He glanced down at her, curiosity brewing, but he ignored her, returning his attention back to Caine.
"The druid leader, taken captive by those disgusting goblins." Caine carried on with his usual theatrics, like a narrator commanding a stage, his sneer deepening as he described the goblins. "Will our heroes save him before he becomes an alligator kebab?" He turned to face the growing crowd surrounding them as he made the announcement. Jax's annoyance continued to climb as Caine made a show of the whole party. Well, not him. He was still invisible, which was at least one thing going his way.
Jax almost missed it, the flinch at the corner of his eye. Pomni hunching inward, fists drawn close to her chest, something that looked a lot like pain crossing her face. Curious. Jax wasn't one for being left in the dark, and it wasn't hard to piece together that this quest was mostly, if not entirely, for her.
He had never heard of this 'Gummigoo' before, this oh so important druid leader. Politics had never been his thing, too redundant and too boring. Though the connection between a seemingly average bard and the leader of a druid clan was strange, to say the least.
Ragatha, not even noticing Pomni, threw her hands up in a panic, her movements frantic as she hurried to cut Caine off.
"YES!" She made sure her voice carried over his. "The druid leader quest! We are here to get signed off on it aaand-" she drew the word out as Caine visibly settled, his feet finally touching the ground.
Ah. So the whole party knew the druid was a touchy subject. Though that should have been obvious to Jax given Ragatha's attempt to apologize for whatever reason on the way here.
Ragatha lowered her arms, matching Caine's energy as she calmed herself down.
"We have our entire party here." She gestured toward the group. "So how about we get those quest papers signed and we can be on our merry way." She finishes with her positive staple, her voice going a higher octave.
Caine followed her gesture, his eyes landing on Jax making the rabbit froze in place.
Could he see him?
Jax doesn't know Caine's specific class, but it was obvious enough that he was a magic user. Caine's unblinking gaze prickled against Jax's fur, and a small sparkle near his eye made Jax realize the monocle he wore wasn't ordinary at all. A Gem of Seeing.
Figures.
"Ah, I see you took my suggestion!" Caine boasted, before snapping his fingers. A force pushed the party forward, nearly tripping them off their feet, and surrounding crowd parting to let them through.
The party found themselves at the end of the hall, the Master Counter looming before them with Caine standing behind it. They stumbled to a halt, Ragatha and Kinger getting the wind knocked out of them as their stomachs collided with the counter's edge.
"Now- Caine clapped his hands together, and when he parted them a massive book appeared between his palms, looking ready to burst from the sheer volume of papers crammed inside it. He let it fall onto the counter with a loud slam, the impact sending it open to land seemingly right on their exact quest. 'DRUID LEADER IN NEED OF RESCUE' displayed across the top of the page.
"This quest needs two master class adventures." With a flick of a wrist, a quill pen already dipped in ink appeared in his hand. Caine tipped the quill toward the party, "Can the master adventures come forward to sign first?"
Again, Jax didn't bother to hide his irritation, even with the knowledge that Caine could see him, as Gangle made her way to the counter, her brush staff clenched tightly in her hands. Embarrassingly, nervously, with a visible shake, she reached out one of her ribbon appendages and grasped the quill from Caine's outstretched hand.
Caine rested his hands on his hips as he watched her put the quill to the page.
"Isn't this your first quest as Master, Gangle?" His tone made it more of an announcement than a genuine question. "Quite a dangerous one too. Can't wait to see what our Master Socerer can do!" Caine pumped a fist across his chest.
However, his enthusiasm did more damage than good as Gangle stayed frozen, quill hovering over the page. Jax rolled his eyes, unsurprised by the fear wielding her in place. She had never been known for her bravery, if anything she was known for running at the first chance she got.
If Jax could groan right now, he would, but obviously the sound would only give away his presence.
Zooble stepped forward, their metal hand reaching out to rest on Gangle's shoulder. Gangle flinched at the touch, but quickly relaxed when she glanced over her shoulder to find what Jax assumed was meant to be a smile, despite Zooble having no mouth to speak of.
Gangle straightened, the quill clenched in hand and she looked back down at the ledger. She hurriedly wrote her name and, to Jax's dismay, finished it off with a tiny heart.
She stumbled back, leaving Zooble to steady her. Gangle whispered a thanks before handing the quill off to Kinger and from there the party signed their names one by one, leaving only Pomni and Jax left.
Pomni had to pull the book all the way to the edge of the counter just to reach it, her head barely visible over the top of the counter as she struggled to write her name nearly blind.
While Pomni was signing though, the rest of the party seemed to finally notice their missing rogue. Zooble glanced over their shoulder, only to find seemingly no one there.
Jax straightened at the heightened tension under Zooble's gaze, exposure surely on the horizon.
"Uh J-"
Jax didn't let them finish, making his presence known by physically shouldering them aside to get to the counter, where Pomni had just barely managed to finish her name. Though one might say a child had wrote it with the way the letters were barely legible.
Pomni gasped as Jax snatched the quill straight out of her hand.
"Oh, the quill is floating!" Kinger exclaimed with childlike wonder.
Before Jax could even bask in his success, a tickle against his chest pulled his attention away.
Oh. It was Pomni.
Squeezed between the counter and Jax's body, invisible to the rest of the party, Pomni was struggling with what little space she had left. The feather of her brimmed hat was the culprit, brushing against his bare chest with every small movement she made.
Oh.
Jax quickly took a step back, leaving Pomni to find her balance by gripping the edge of the counter. Glancing around the group, Jax found the party rightfully confused but silent as Caine gathered the book back into his hands. Zooble shot a glare in his direction, finally recognizing the magic in the air, while Gangle simply blinked at him in confusion. Jax wiped his chest like that could make the lingering tickles go away faster, feeling the heat rushing to his cheeks much to his dismay.
Ragatha, however, seemed to be the only one still in the dark, more focused on checking on Pomni as the bard gathered her bearings.
"Perfect! With the entire party signing off, the quest is yours. But first—" He snapped his fingers yet again, and the party found themselves in his office.
Nausea built up in Jax's throat, but he forced it down, his eyes spinning from the abruptness of the teleport. The rest of the group looked to be in similar shape, some worse off than others. Pomni couldn't hold down her bile, throwing up vile black liquid straight onto Caine's desk.
She dropped to her knees once her stomach was empty, Ragatha sinking down beside her to grip her shoulders reassuringly and check on her.
Jax's lips pierced, not from the smell of vomit, but from the overly affectionate display playing out in front of him.
"Are you okay, Pomni?" Ragatha asked, seemingly right into her ear. Pomni flinched at the sound of her voice, mindlessly putting more space between them.
Jax caught the glimmer of sadness in Ragatha's eyes, the rejection clearly stinging.
Pomni got back up, flustered, wiping invisible dirt from her knees. "Yeah, yeah. Just-" She reached her hand out to help Ragatha up, which Ragatha took quickly, the sadness gone as fast as it had appeared. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the whole transportation thing. No matter how many times."
"At least give us a warning before poofing us somewhere." Zooble added, their tone laced with irritation toward Caine.
But Caine was too preoccupied with the mess on his desk, not bothering to hide his disgust before snapping his fingers again. The mess vanished completely, like it had never happened, and in its place sat a map of the land. AURORA was written boldly across one corner, alongside scattered symbols, the tiny names of kingdoms and villages spread throughout.
What caught Jax's attention, though, was the bright red X in the middle of the dark region of the map.
Caine cleared his throat and held out his hand, a cane sprouting into it before he steadily floating up to hover above his desk. He fixed his tie for whatever reason before pointing the tip of the cane at the red X on the map.
"Now!" He gathered the party's attention. "The druid has been taken here, according to the latest reports from our scouts."
Pomni made her way to the desk, listening intently as Caine continued. The rest of the group, Jax included, gathered around her.
"As you may know, this is the heart of goblin territory. Their 'capital,' if you will, given the goblins have been slowly establishing camps in the west. I doubt any of you have missed the number of quests piling up from refugees."
The group nodded solemnly, except Jax, who pinched his mouth to the side. He wasn't one to take those savior quests, the payout being mostly recognition rather than gold, and recognition wasn't exactly something he cared for.
"Aside from those quests, this one was petitioned directly to our guild from the Gator clan in the Candy Region. It appears the clan has been thrown into chaos since their clan leader, uh-" Caine paused, holding out his hand for a paper to appear before bringing it close to his face.
"Gummigoo, was taken while on a rescue mission for his fellow druid people. His party left only one survivor to tell the tale."
Jax spotted Pomni's fist clench. Another hit close to home, he guessed.
"Now, the reason for the urgency is that the Gator clan is in the middle of a migration due to political clashes with the Candy Queen. The gators are essentially stranded without their leader. They want their clan leader retrieved alive, to continue their clan's legacy."
"I'm guessing the best place to start is the Gator clan, then?" Ragatha asked. "Where are they located?"
Caine hummed, moving his cane to point just outside the walls of the Candy Kingdom.
"With their leader taken, the clan was forced to retreat back toward safety, much to the Queen's dismay. There's mounting pressure on them to clear out."
"Why?" Gangle asked, concern lacing her voice. "I thought they were native to that land."
Before Caine could answer, Jax cut in, his patience wearing thin from all the backstory bull.
"Is there an actual map of the goblin territory, or are we just going in blind?" Jax didn't hide the annoyance on his face, arms crossed as he noted the lack of Bubbles in this room.
And finally, the million dollar question was spoken into the air.
"Jax, why are you invisible?" Ragatha asked, turning to face the middle of the room without quite knowing where his voice was coming from.
"Jax is here?" Kinger threw his question in the air.
Jax didn't bother coming up with an excuse, not with the little time and even less care he had to spare. It wasn't any of their business, and they wouldn't be sticking around long enough for it to matter anyway.
"Doesn't matter." Jax dismissed the question, making Ragatha frown at the answer. He looked up at Caine, the only one in the room who could actually see him. "Well? Do you have one?"
Caine didn't answer right away. Instead he floated back down to his feet and reached for the desk drawer, pulling it open. A scroll drifted out on its own before softly landing on the desk and unfurling to reveal a blown up drawing of the dark region.
It was far less neat than the official map, clearly hand drawn, with notes scribbled along the margins. Sloppy lines and poor excuses for goblin portraits littered the page, and Jax felt himself deflate in disappointment, realizing there was no real map at all.
"This is the latest map scribed by our scouting legion." Caine confirmed Jax's assumptions.
"How old?" Jax asked, dreading the answer.
"A month, give or take."
Jax groaned, pinching the space between his eyes. Great. Just great. Not only was the map a mess, it was basically obsolete at this point. Goblins never stayed in one place for long, let alone a whole month.
"Is there any word from the scouting legion? Maybe we can get the latest map directly from them," Pomni asked, disappointment in her tone as well.
Caine shook his head. "No, I had to pull them right after they confirmed the druid's location. Unfortunately, on their way back, they were compromised and attacked by the goblins."
A gasp escaped Ragatha's lips as Caine continued.
"Luckily, they made it back to the guild alive, but barely. Their gear, along with their findings, was taken. We only have the druid's location from their memory alone."
Unease settled over the group, the missing information making clear just how dangerous this quest truly was.
Before anyone could voice their concern, Pomni took the initiative, gathering the hand drawn map into her hands and rolling it up tight against her chest.
She swallowed before speaking. "Is there any other information you can share with us?" she asked Caine.
"Mmm. Nope." His answer was unhelpful at best. A grumble rose from the group, frustration plain on everyone's mind.
Caine fidgeted with his cane, finally noticing their displeasure. Then he jolted, a spark lighting up his eyes as he raised a finger in the air.
"BUT!" he announced, far louder than necessary. "I do have an item I can give you. Just let me-"
Caine, to everyone's dismay, reached into his own mouth and started digging around inside it. Bangs and clangs erupted from somewhere within until he finally hummed in confirmation and pulled out a scroll.
"Thhhhe teleport spell!" he proclaimed excitedly. "This one spell can teleport your entire party back here if things get too hairy out there." He held the scroll out, and only Pomni reached to take it, being the closest. Her face scrunched in disgust at what Jax could only imagine was soiled paper.
Pomni only held it briefly before turning to face Gangle, holding the scroll out to her. "You're the best at spells. Better if you're the one to cast it. I might teleport us into the middle of a lake, haha." She laughed off the notion, the nerves obvious in her voice.
Jax's mouth twitched, taking everything in him not to point out that was a terrible idea, since Gangle would likely turn tail at the first minor inconvenience.
No one argued. Gangle took the scroll from Pomni, flinching at the moisture before shoving the spell into her bag.
"IIIIIII," Caine drawled out, "would use that spell with everybody in radius. Don't want to leave anyone behind. HAHA." He laughed, possibly mimicking Pomni's own nervous chuckle.
The group fell silent.
The awkward silence finally got to Caine, prompting him to scramble for their exit.
"Well, no time to waste! Go save the druid, Gummido!" He snapped his fingers, and before anyone could correct him on the name, the group found themselves right outside the guild hall.
This time they fell over each other in a heap, Caine clearly not caring where exactly he put them down. Jax found himself as the poor fool stuck at the bottom of the pile, his lungs burning under the pressure of being crushed against the dirt ground. He grunted in pain, teeth gritting, until slowly but surely the weight began to ease off him. The spell finally seized from the collision, leaving him exposed to the group.
"You okay?" a voice asked from above as sweet air finally filled his lungs, leaving him huffing embarrassingly as he tried to steady his breathing.
He tilted his head up, the sunlight blinding him for a moment before it settled into a shadow looming over him. Those damn pinwheels pinned him in place, holding him there on the ground.
Pomni blinked down at him, concern growing more pronounced on her face, which finally snapped Jax out of his stupid trance. His gaze dropped to the hand drawn map still clutched in her hand.
Before she could repeat her question, Jax snatched the map right out of her grip and jumped to his feet.
"Huh? Hey!" Pomni protested, standing up and laughably reaching for the map, going up onto her tiptoes.
Jax lifted the scroll well above her head, out of reach, and side stepped around her. He didn't miss the glares from Ragatha and Zooble, not that he cared much. Though he figured he ought to explain himself.
"This map may be utterly useless at this point," he said. "But it's still our best bet to get to the druid. Sooo," he looked down at Pomni, who wasn't so much angry as she was irritated, a pout settling on her face that Jax couldn't quite take seriously.
"Best if I handle the map, work out the safest route, avoid all those nasty goblins and their traps." He took a moment to scan over it, ticking his teeth in thought. "Their territory is bigger than I thought," he murmured, more to himself than the group.
He looked over the party to deliver the good news. "Gather your bedding and rations, because we're definitely setting up camp once or twice out there."
"Okie dokie!" Kinger exclaimed, clearly not grasping the problem.
"You think it'll really take that long?" Zooble asked, crossing their arms.
Jax scoffed like it wasn't obvious. "With a party this large?" He gestured toward the group. "It'd be pretty difficult to sneak straight into the goblin nest."
He held his hands up in false surrender.
"But hey, what do I know?"