Jessica kept her guard up from what's going on near them, and she gave a slight look to Reynard that told her and everyone else to stay alert. She gives a subtle nod to Reynard, trying to stay in the defensive guard position to be prepared for whatever is going on. It feels like whatever is going on around them isn't good, but she did see Asher get out an iron bar compared to a notebook. There is a calm before these monsters come out of hiding from the bushes. ' Ugh, I hope it isn't those pink fuzzballs with poke-a-dots. They are painfully annoying.' Jessica thought with a frustrated look on her face. Her mother talked about those monsters much to her, and she had a particular bit of mixed feelings about them.

Tearsy couldn't help but interrupt Jessica's train of thought or, in reality, what she's feeling right at this moment. Jessica's mixed feelings are usually the most delicate to deal with at a certain point. If anything, Tearsy would like Jessica to be more lady-like than she is, but you can't be picky as a sword goes. It's great to be near Jessica as much as she is, nonetheless. " Jessica, you can tell little ole me what's frustrating you so much. I would believe you should believe in yourself and show who you indeed are instead of hiding it behind that demeanor of yours. You should stop having mixed feelings about certain things, dear." Tearsy thought projected into Jessica's head with a bit of a teasing tone too. The sword sheath shifts between dimmer and brighter glowing of its aura.

Jessica hears the thought projection words of Tearsy, and they felt a bit too embarrassing for her to believe. It did make her think about what the sword is trying to do her in her subconscious, but all she does is let out a small sigh after trying to get a proper response to Tearsy. ' Tearsy, what are you trying to do? We are in a middle of an intense situation right now. Can you please stop embarrassing me in the most critical points, but you can't. You can probably guess why I have mixed feelings about those pink fuzzballs with poke-a-dots now.' Jessica thought to answer Tearsy's teasing of her again. She tries to get back on the task at hand by looking at Carver, who talked about it being unnerving and looking around. He took a bit of time and said something about not in any real danger. The near the end of what he said, a rock hit him.

Tearsy couldn't help but be lost for words since she saw the inner thoughts of Jessica specifically about these pink fuzzballs with poke-a-dots. It was a bit cute and all, and there might be hope that Jessica will chill out one of these days and relax for once. The sweet Jessica has her problems, yes, but that's why Tearsy loves her so much. She couldn't help but giggle slightly only to Jessica about what she thinks of these goblins, but she will defend her clients against these creatures when she's on the job. It is part of the job description of being a bodyguard, and all she did was wait to be released by Jessica's need to defend Carver.

Jessica hears Tearsy's giggle but had a look of slight worry about the rock that hit Carver, but the historian only fell flat on his butt as he stares at it. She looks in the direction of the commotion of the bushes. Jessica hears that the squeaks and chirps were much louder, and the bushes were being shaken and rattled. Her eyes narrowed when Jessica noticed the Goblin that came out of the bushes, but they traveled in packs. She watches the Goblin as it was chattering, squeaking, and motioning with its weapon toward Carver's feet. It caused her to sigh a bit annoyingly at sight, but thankfully, the noises around them calmed down. ” Seriously? Goblins, a pack of them, just great.” Jessica said with a tone of disdain in her voice. It had disbelief, feelings of annoyance, and wanting to get rid of these goblins with the tiniest hint that they are cute. She had an enormous amount of mixed feelings about these monsters compared to others in Fiore.

There were many things that Jessica was thinking about, but the one thing that would be primarily on her mind was Carver's health. She was taught the one you are a bodyguard is vital to keep safe no matter what, no matter the monster or other in your way. It makes her put her hand onto Tearsy's handle and get in a slightly more offensive style than her defensive one. She had no idea why the goblins were chittering, squeaking at them since they need to get to the ruin. It doesn't help her know how to communicate with them, but how she deals with a problem is to get rid of it. " What do you guys think? Reynard and Asher." Jessica said to Reynard and Asher. It was primarily because of what she wants to do keeping Carver safe rather than dealing with the demands of these Goblins.

Jessica didn't want to wait for a plan and acceptance of her wishing to defeat these Goblins quickly but under like three seconds of waiting for a response from those two. She starts to pull out the Sky Tears Sword of its sheath, and when Jessica pulled it out entirely. The sword's light greenish glow starts to spread from Jessica's left hand to her whole body in a beautiful glow surrounding her. ' I enjoy this part of Tearsy. One of the reasons why I like showing off with her!' Jessica thought with herself. She had a smile on her face while having a similar disdain look on her face as what she said previously.

The sudden tension in the air when the door opened didn't distract her. It was a musician's job to keep playing. But the 'friendly' attack did interrupt her, her fingers stopped dancing and she clutched her instrument reflexively. She knew these two faces to be guildmates. That one would attack the other, here, of all places. If it hadn't been a cheap shot, maybe it would have been different, but the apparent viciousness behind this particular vector... It made her incredibly uneasy.

Ronan was there to save the day, however. The man proved nimble, incredibly so. Got Tone in some kind of hold and the fight was over. He must have noticed the tension, like she had, and gotten up from the bar to do something about it. The fight was over before it began, however, and Trinity shook herself from her nerves. It was fortunate that Ronan was here.

She noticed she'd been holding her breath. "Carmilla," Trinity cooed, nervous, reaching down to pet the wolf for the soothing of an animal's fur under her fingers. She watched as Tone and Ronan separated, Tone seeming... Somewhat calmer. But the sanctity of the peaceful air had been threatened. She knew this feeling... but she wouldn't go anywhere this time. She'd been establishing a successful business for herself, largely independently. Ria had helped her establish herself, and she would feel terrible to throw that away. No, she would not be dissuaded so easily this time.

Keep playing.

She took a breath and a swig of her drink and set her fingers to the strings again. The place should be peaceful...

Damian smiled and nodded to Ria as she walked away. "Aye, I can handle things back here for a bit. Not like the place is gonna spontaneously combust on us." Well, OK, that wasn't true. The former soldier still wasn't ENTIRELY sure what kind of magic the person who'd burnt the dishes and scorched the kitchen area so badly before used, but he was fairly confident it wasn't something that was going to cause spontaneous combustion since nothing had caught fire while he was in there. After that, the he couldn't hear much aside from the occasional laughter from the main hall and Trinity's music, which Jaëger was still listening to. He even started humming a sea shanty he'd heard once on a visit to Fiore's coast a few years back to himself when he instantly felt the atmosphere in the main hall change. Spinning around, his Ares Blade forming out of instinct more than conscious thought.

Jaëger was already out the kitchen door and next to Carmilla, his hackles raised and his fangs bared as the two let loose snarls in the direction of the intercepted Tone and the one who'd intercepted his cheap shot. Damian walked out behind the pair, slightly slower than his wolven companion due to dismissing his weapon and taking a moment to gauge the atmosphere. However, as he approached, it was clear that his guild mate, whoever it was, was irked. "Hey, now, come on." Fortunately, he'd arrived in time for the introductions.

"Take it down a notch, Tone. Ronan's right, we don-fuck." It was already too late, as the other mage, Tone, tried to land several blows on the man who'd blocked his apparent sneak attack on Kaden. Both Dire Wolves moved around the fight cautiously, hackles still raised, but the snarls had been replaced with low growls instead. Damian continued trying to calm the situation as both Carmilla and Jaëger resumed standing where they'd begun, Carmilla catching that Trinity was growing uncomfortable and Jaëger not willing to risk Damian's or his guildmate's safety. "Come on, Tone, this is ridiculous. Just take a moment to calm down and think this through and Torys won't e-and he's down. Huh." Ronan had managed to both dodge and counter the magically sped up punch and put the unreasonable young mage in an arm bar. Seeing as that looked to be the end of things, Damian kneeled down and slowly rested a hand on both of his Dire Wolves.

"Ruhe. It's done." Carmilla laid back down and Jaëger tucked himself in closer to the Swordsman, but neither really relaxed, aside from no longer growling. However, even as Tone and Ronan went to their own business. Damian watched the younger man, a Dragon Slayer by his own admission and could do little more than shake his head as Trinity reached down to stroke Carmilla. Hot headed kid. Could have gotten both seriously hurt and in serious trouble if Ronan hadn't been nearby. Bloody hell... Turning to the musician, Damian rested a hand on her shoulder as he walked by. "While that was a moment of intense energy, it isn't uncommon in any setting. Just breathe, sister. Breathe."

Having said his piece, the former soldier moved back to the kitchen and resumed cooking, prepping things for dinner later that evening while also looking over some of the orders for food and starting those. If Ria should happen to come back into the kitchen, Damian would pause in his work and look at her. "So what's the Dragon Slayer's problem?"

Given how timid Jasper was when he first showed up - hell, even now - Kaden hadn't entirely thought it would be easy to connect with the kid. Yeah, he was young. It wasn't entirely a deal breaker though. He was capable enough. Poor kid just needed to get out of his shell. That had been the tricky part; not so much in convincing the kid to chat, but in doing so in ways that didn't always appear like he was actually nice, even to Jasper. Next someone might get the notion he cared about what happened to those in the guild. That would ruin his entire game plan. But with the crowd the way it was currently, it was easier to just hide amongst the patrons and chat with the kid.

A floorboard creaked behind him. Kaden's gaze shifted to a glass on the table to catch the reflection of Tone winding up to kick him - if he judged it right. But before he even had the chance to react to stop the dragon slayer's foot from connecting with him, some other guy had appeared and caught his foot. This was certainly a turn of events. The S-class turned slightly in his chair, adjusting to watch the exchange with a soft smirk.

Ria was cleaning up a table when she heard a commotion on the other side of the guildhall. She wasn't surprised Kaden or Tone were there. Tone probably wanted a fight and Kaden was Kaden. Even though he'd been in a fight once already, there was no doubt he was still ready to go another round and that was probably what Tone was looking for. The fact that the new face around the guild was in the mix added another element to it all together. She sighed and set to finishing up clearing the table and setting it up for the next possible customer.

"Don't go dragging me into this, kid," he laughed as he held his hands up in non-engagement. He was quite content to see what went down. This Ronan guy was new, and he couldn't get a read on him at all. There was something off about that. Usually he could get a read on other mages without an issue, but this guy. There was something more off than just maybe not being a mage. When he'd walked in earlier, the guy had been at the bar and he hadn't seen the guy move - just over near the bar, then right near him in a flash. Even Torys didn't surprise him like that.

Ria walked over and stood near the others. "Tone, you were warned the last time -" Of course she could finish reminding him, he'd already launched a hit at the new guy. Only for Ronan to dodge it. Hit after hit, dodged faster than Ria could believe. Tone was fast even without amplifying it with magic. She had no desire to fight him, and knew if she did she needed to keep her distance least she get seriously hurt. But the way Ronan dodged...Gwen didn't move that fast. She'd seen Holly and Gras fight, and she was fairly certain those two couldn't keep up with Ronan. "Stop before -"

Kaden shifted ever so slightly to fully put himself between the scuffle and Jasper. Tone could get carried away, and he wasn't going to be taking the blame for if the dolt hurt the kid. That was what he would certainly tell them if anyone noticed him move. He could handle a hit from Tone - even likely handle stopping a hit if Tone managed to use this Ronan guy to hit him. He doubted Jasper would fair near as well. But swing after swing was dodged by this guy and Kaden was starting to grow more suspicious of the one eyed man's ability to dodge the strikes. But even with a strike fast enough that Kaden - though he'd never admit it aloud - barely could follow, Ronan not only dodged, but reversed it into an arm bar that could have seriously messed up Tone's ability to fight for even a little while. It was clear that wasn't the new guy's intention.

A smirk slid onto the S-class's face while the water mage frowned and crossed her arms. Kaden found the whole thing entertaining - Tone was always a fair deal more entertaining than the brat whenever he went to instigate a fight - while Ria was debating on giving them both a scolding for their antics (but largely ready to ensure nothing was broken and nothing came close to injuring the others in the room should it get too wild). Luckily the patrons that were around had moved back to keep from getting involved, and it seemed most were entertained too. If it wasn't clear this all wasn't just in gest, then perhaps there may not have been so much ogling and perhaps a bit more excitement from them.

"Help make it more of a scene? Great job. Really saved me the trouble of actually having to acknowledge the hothead before he landed a blow." The smirk on his face only grew as he lounged against the back of his chair. "Maybe next time you try to not make much of a scene, you just don't bother getting involved, yeah?" He may have been smiling, but there was a clear threat behind it. Kaden looked at Tone. "But so that was what you were coming to ask earlier. Well, I guess since Akemi is out with the wash-up, I've got time for a match now." He stood, shooting a look over his shoulder at Jasper. Might do the kid some good to get out of the crowded guildhall. "Wanna tag along? You could stand to learn a few things about fighting - if this chump doesn't lose too fast." He shoulder checked Tone as he started past toward the door.

"If you all are quite done..." Ria's tone was far tamer than what she felt inside. She looked around and a soft smile slid onto her face as she focused in on Ronan and Tone. "Tone, why don't you just ask Kaden next time instead of attacking? You know Torys doesn't like you doing that while we have customers at the tables. Ronan, thank you for trying to assist. Why don't you head back over to the bar to wait for Torys? I'm sure it won't be long now." She turned with a larger, more apologetic smile to the table closest to the rabble. "Terribly sorry about all that. Everything alright for you?" With everything settling and the patrons all fine and resuming whatever they'd been doing before, Ria finished setting the tables before heading back into the kitchen.

She finally headed into the kitchen to put stuff away she didn't need to finish setting tables. "Tone? Oh he was just looking to fight with Kaden. Apparently he figured he'd just get the drop on him and challenge him after. He has some issues sitting around idle - he's either out training or doing jobs - so I'm not terribly surprised. He misses some nuances of, you know, actually just asking people to train. Though I think that's because his initial attempt to ask Kaden for a match was foiled by whatever Akemi was drinking today."

And here I had hoped it would have been a simple night of rest… Asher thought to himself, as Carver was clunked by a small rock to his forehead, sending the bespectacled young man falling back. The sound wasn’t loud, like one would suspect. A warning shot, perhaps?

In any case, their group's mission was to be guards to him while on job. Carefully getting up from where he was sitting, Asher walked till he put himself between what he could assume was the lead goblin of this group and Carver. Asher, while beginning to get in a position,, was yet to fall into a full combat stance just yet. The bar of metal, while still in his hand, was hanging low in an attempt to not show full hostility. He watched as the large goblin seemed to try and convey some sort of demand at them with its spear.

“While I cannot understand what is being said,'' Asher turns to Jessica when she asks her question to the group, “if I had to make a guess, we must have come to a rest in their territory and they aren’t keen on that. Well, that or they are perhaps wanting food,” his eyes glance to Carver’s fallen food bar on the ground.

Gaze shifting from the food back up to Carver’s face, Asher raises a brow at him. “Unless you by chance know how to speak goblin Carver, the situation here may become more dangerous if they continue to increase hostilities. Be sure to stay behind us in any event, for your protection.”

---

"Defeating them would not be a tall order, but such a result would not be pretty. Maybe scaring them is on the table", he surmised. Demands, as Asher assumes, is to begone from this location. But that was only his assumption, they could be after something else as well, yet their ability to communicate was limited and so finding a solution may not be easy. Reynard kept his hands relaxed, yet ready, his breathing slowed. At a moment's notice he could slice apart their primitive weapons if they needed.

He turned to Carver for a moment, hoping he might be able to communicate, their job was merely to keep him safe afterall. If it came down to it they'd have to fight in order to do so. These creatures were not known to be a huge threat or even actively hostile, so it can be assumed they'd done something they're not happy with.

Visible relief came over the transformed mage as Menzai was quick to agree with her assessment. Though she didn't seem to be, she was putting on a bit of show about her relief for the rest, even Alina was only human. It had been close to 16 hours or even longer since they had set out for the flower delivery, and like most things she was rather particular about various aspects of her schedule. She wasn't a fan of the idea of throwing out her sleep cycle too much just for one little job like this, and her mind was growing weary as well. It would not do to slip up in front of Menzai now just because she was tired.

"I'll gladly take you up on that offer." As they came to a stop in a nearby clearing, Alina took a moment to stretch her arms up above her head. "And it's fine Mr Isanami, if I earnestly needed a rest sooner I would've mentioned it. It had just slipped my mind that it was so late and the store would be closed was the bigger issue at hand, another hour or two of travel would've been fine. This form is reasonably fit." But even so, it was still human. It was surely noted that demi humans seemed to have a higher base stamina than humans though.

Now, while she was capable of sleeping while transformed, it was still a fair bit of a chore to do so. So while Menzai went about erecting his barrier she took the chance to transform back to her normal state, the clothes she was wearing now sagging off her much smaller and lighter frame as she reached back into her pouch to quickly procure a set of new, more suitable clothes. It was just a black skirt and red shirt, as it was more a matter of wanting to change while Menzai was busy so as to not have to ask him to turn around or the such later, but it would serve the purpose of serving as sleepwear at any rate. The matter of being cold was also not an issue.

While there had certainly been a chilly air about before, very easy to notice even before she was basically naked in it, it had seem to disappear as Menzai spoke up. Well, that explained what he had been up to at any rate. The barrier was pretty hard to miss and it didn't take anyone of any remotely respectable level of intelligence to concur that this was a result of what Menzai had been doing. So this was his magic then? Intriguing indeed. Curiously, she just couldn't help herself, she walked up to the edge of the clearing and cautiously tapped on the barrier. She was fascinated by the water-like rippling response it gave off, and it was quite obviously sturdy.

"This is quite a useful magic indeed Mr Isanami." She mused aloud, stepping back as she let out a yawn. "It's quite fine though, if anything I can sleep easier knowing our location is secured like this. It's quite reassuring." Between Menzai keeping watch and a barrier, one might be feeling quite certain of their safety indeed. At least of anything in this area at least. But even so, Alina wasn't one to let down her guard irregardless, even when asleep.

"Don't be afraid to wake me up if you want a few hours of sleep before we get back into Crocus. We can head to the store first thing in the morning after that." Pulling and laying out a sleeping bag from within her pouch, she quickly got settled within before shortly thereafter seemingly nodding off to sleep.

"Interrupted by a drink or not, that was just dumb. Kid wouldn't last a minute in special forces..." Continuing his muttered speaking, he returns to cooking and making meals for patrons. Meanwhile, as Trinity continued playing in the main hall, Carmilla eventually stood and stretched before gently nudging the musician's leg and then lightly tugging her towards where Damian was. She was attempting to communicate that she was sure the young woman would be safer with her pack members, who were in the kitchen rather than in the hall proper. After a few tugs, she would rejoin Jaëger at the kitchen door, laying on the opposite side of the large male and resting her head on her paws once more.

Damian would glance over and smile at his wolfen companion and nodding to Trinity if she followed. After a few more minutes of silence, he would finally speak up. "So, do we actually know how all the guild members would like their steak or should we get a poll going? Otherwise it's gonna be medium rare across the board. Just saves time and effort." Admittedly, cooking for such a group was somewhat intimidating to Damian, but he had been in far more intimidating situations in his life, this was hardly the worst one. Jaëger turned to look at the swordsman and yipped softly, eliciting a sigh from him. "Yes, you'll get yours raw, as will Carmilla. Jeez..."

"Well now, that's an idea." Carver nodded as he looked back at Asher. "I can't speak Goblin, no, and I'm not quite sure what their actually trying to say, but...if your assumption is correct and they are just hungry..." He let his thought trail off and fished around in his pack once more. This time, he came up with a protein bar.

The historian unwrapped the bar and broke a piece off, then looked between his companions. "Um, perhaps it would be safer if someone else were to hand this to one of them, wouldn't you say?" He offered the remaining bar to the others. "But one of you should offer it to the leader. I'll show them it's safe by eating this part, and if they accept the other part and eat it...that may help quell the hostilities if they're here because they're hungry. If not...well a quick departure would be in order, I suspect."

Still, to prove the point, once someone took the bar to offer, Carver would follow on his part to show it was safe by consuming his part.

The relief on her face at the prospect of resting was palpable while she did not seem to mind too much that they spent nearly a day traveling to and back. Even when the two had to pull the cart on their return trip and she was still able to keep going as even if the cart wasn't overtly heavy with its content being flowers, but the rocking and uneven pathways aided and wearing down any pulling it. The red haired woman did not seem like she had a body built with such stamina though the human male she had turned into possibly had a hand in her increased stamina; a sign her magic purely looks from what she has shown while in this form and from her explanation. His curiosity was easily piqued; certain to inquire more about Alina and the intricacies of her magic in detail when they were free.

" I am relieved to hear that you are well though I wish to state caution on avoiding the state and health of your body. Exhaustion could be a detriment and risk to both your health and allies. Thankfully, this job carries little danger, but a simple warning for in the future." He advised with a small nod of his head.

With the decision to stop settled, Menzai kept himself busy with setting up his barrier along the small clearing. Seeing no need to use an overtly powerful barrier when they were so close to the city leaving little worry of dangerous individuals appearing, not that they would bother to rob flowers. With only animals as the only possible threat and even then unlikely as few would venture so close to the city save for tiny critters and truly desperate. Putting up this barrier was more to allow Ms. Bloomfield to sleep without worry and to keep bothersome insects from getting into the flowers as something within still gave him some small sense of danger which he simply accrued to nerves.

Before long the barrier encompassed the clearing; semi see through red walls that stood strong and solid yet when Alina touched it, ripples akin to touching water spread out that eventually faded away. Taking a moment to inspect his barrier to make sure there was no holes or weak links in any of the marks he inscribed which had been kept simple before turning attention to Alina having heard her praise, taking notice that she had shifted back to her original form. (assuming this was her original)" Thank you, Ms Bloomfield. Though this barrier is far from my best, but this should be enough as there are little chance of threats but I am of the thought of...better safe than sorry? Is that the expression?" He mused in the hopes he used what he has read correctly here while rubbing at his chin briefly in a pondering manner.

Turning his attention back to her where he would nod his head in understanding." Hm, if I find myself needing sleep then I will be sure to do so. But, for now I will keep watch so be at ease and rest." Giving a half bow of his body before jumping up; forming small platform barriers, the wolfkin jumped his way up to a large branch halfway up the tree where he sat down with his back against the partially rough trunk. There, he sat with his senses letting him keep watch and observing the surrounding.

Trinity focused in on Carmilla, as though from a trance, quickly realizing that the wolf wanted her to follow. "What is it?" She rose, slung the guitar over her shoulder, and grabbed her beer. She stopped at the kitchen door, spying some of the destroyed, discarded cookware. "Uuh."

She set her beer down on a nearby table, just inside the kitchen door, before taking the time to encase her guitar in Energy Make. She slung the case over her shoulder as she entered, plucking her beer up again. "Mmm, I thought I smelled something good. Medium rare is fine. Got a nice rub you're using?"

Her stomach growled, "heey, think I need an appetizer." Garlic bread. Yes. They should have the things necessary for that, even if she had to cut the bread herself. Use Make to brush on the garlic butter and pop it in the oven. Maybe something to eat child help calm tempers, as well?

Jessica looked over to her companions, who were defending Carver on this job. Asher responded reasonably enough, about they walked into their territory, or they could be hungry. Reynard responded to her question with a statement that scaring them would be a better response. "It could be better than dealing with them with extreme prejudice. I wouldn't want to fail a bodyguard job because we failed to protect our client." Jessica said with a sigh leaving her. Still, she held an enormous amount of contempt for the Goblins and disdain. They were a pain in the ass.

Jessica kept herself in a guarded position and kept looking at the goblins, but she could hear Tearsy giggling in her head. She takes a mental note in it because it seems like Tearsy is having a blast with her dealing with Goblins. It is a bit annoying, and then Carver suggests giving the goblin's leader a piece of his bar. She didn't like this one bit, but Carver's suggestion is better than being hostile to them. "Alright, I will try it, Carver. It is better to get this over with now than dealing with problems. If this doesn't work, we should get out of here and continue towards our location." Jessica said. She knew she would have to calm down and enter her happy place before she takes the Bar Carver offering.

Jessica took time to calm down and showed a smile over a grimace at the sight of these goblins. She reaches for the Bar Carver is offering, and she gently reaches out to the Goblin leader in no negative way. Before handing the bar, Jessica opened it up for the Goblin leader and gave it to him with no hostile action towards him. After, that Jessica watched Carver show the goblin leader how to eat the bar, but she sighed. 'Tearsy what you want? Why were you laughing at me?' Jessica thought to herself, trying to get Tearsy to respond to her.

Tearsy did respond with a giggle at Jessica and slightly enjoyed how she handled that situation. Jessica usually snaps and attacks goblins on sight, but she didn't probably because Carver is here too. "I am impressed that you didn't snap at them and calmed down. You are usually so reckless and take on a good amount of monsters you shouldn't take on alone. But you do. It's a bit lady-like of you, hehe." Tearsy thought projected into Jessica's head with a bit of teasing tone too. The sword sheath shifts between dimmer and brighter glowing of its aura.

Jessica sighs at Tearsy's compliment of showing a bit of restraint for once in her life towards Goblins. 'Why are you teasing me so much?' Jessica thought to herself, blushing a bit. She didn't enjoy being teased so much by Tearsy, but it felt a bit different how she did tease her. She kept her eyes towards the Goblin Leader but tried to keep her mind off what Tearsy had said. Jessica had wondered if there was a way to get her sword to speak like everyone else, but it would probably be even more embarrassing if everyone could hear her.

Tearsy giggled at Jessica's thought since this is the first time Jessica had this thought and never asked if Tearsy could speak normally. "I think this is the first time you ever asked about this specific thing. I can talk like everyone else, but your lineage through the ages never asked that particular question, hehe. Though, I haven't used it in forever. But it would help if you said, I love you, Tearsy." Tearsy thought projected into Jessica's head. She was grateful to finally be able to speak normally, but that will take a while since there is a lock on that ability. It only requires Jessica to say the magic words of the one thing Jessica tries to avoid.

Jessica gasped slightly in shock that Tearsy can speak normally, but it requires saying four words to activate it. She says I like you, Tearsy, but never said I love you, before to the Sky Tears Sword. Her face turned as a tomato because that is a giant leap to say. 'Uhh, can I say that after this... mission?' Jessica thought in response. She was stunned big time, it seems like all she had to do was think the right questions, and suddenly Tearsy would reveal the correct answers. Tearsy gave out a giggle and an uh-huh in her mind telling her yeah, sure.

---

As others had gathered around the scene, Tone couldn't help but feel more and more humiliated. The various chastising was mostly on deaf ears, the embarrassment of being handled so easily already served as punishment. He liked to consider himself one of the strongest around (despite his need to become stronger) and being humbled so suddenly made him wonder just how far he had to go. Or just how strong the others in this guild really were if someone who supposedly couldn't do magic was this capable. I was holding back anyways. If we were outside it would've gone differently, he consoled himself as he gave a dismissive wave to Damien and Ria. Ronan, on the other hand, gave a polite nod to Kaden after his snarky remarks. "My apologies, I didn't realize he had so much energy. Next time I will let things play out," Ronan apologized, his voice remaining too constant to possibly discern if the apology was genuine or sarcastic. "Next time you won't get lucky," Tone couldn't help but mutter under his breath once Ronan's back was turned and he made his way back to the bar.

It'd be difficult for his reputation to come back from this incident but Kaden's willingness to go a round meant that there was a chance to recover. It didn't need to be a fight to the death, simply having a good battle with the S-class wizard would serve as a good reminder to the guild that Tone was a true fighter. "I wouldn't worry about me losing too fast, Mr. Big Shot." Now he crossed his arms and faced Kaden, a cocky grin on his face to mask the anguish of humiliation underneath. "You're lucky that Eyepatch saved you because I might've knocked you out cold with that hit." Was taunting Kaden a good idea? Absolutely not, he always had something witty to say and Tone knew that Kaden had all the material he needed to devastate him should he so choose. Still he couldn't help himself even if he knew better, his pride was too hurt today. "I can show Jasper how a dragonslayer fights, what power looks like." Now he pointed with his thumb to the front door. "Hell, I don't mind if we get other spectators too. Not too often you get to see some of the strongest have a go at it."

While Tone was blustering at Kaden, Ronan took his original seat at the bar and continued watching the scene. He said that he wouldn't interfere anymore but perhaps he was still keeping an eye out just in case. Tone began to lead the way outside, sparing a passing glance at the one-eyed man. While it wasn't the first time Tone had been "defeated" it was still a bit unnerving to him how it happened. Even the Blue Pegasus mage earlier that also demonstrated great speed didn't bother him so much. There would always be someone faster than him but something just wasn't right with this guy. Tone couldn't put his finger on it so he looked away and stopped at the door. "Alright, Kaden. I'll even let you pick the place," he spoke up, this time using his bravado to hide the fact that he had no idea where they could even spar at. He got harassed in the streets, he got harassed in the woods, perhaps it was just a better idea to let someone else pick out where to go. "But if we get in trouble that'll be on you, not me."

Alina was never one for entering deep sleep, least not when she wasn't in a place she was confident in the safety of. Typically that would involve her personally checking over everything, setting up her own little devices and tricks to alert her of any intruders or some unsavoury type ruffling through her stuff or getting into something she would rather they not. Not that she really had anything too discriminating on her person at any time though, and she was confident she had her place back in Crocus locked down pretty well bar someone blasting it open with Dragon Slayer magic or something crazy like that. But still, the paranoia remained wherever she went.

Her mind was always going at a mile a second, break-neck pace at any point. Especially with how guarded and careful she had to be around the perceptive and keen-minded Menzai. So perhaps it was due to the mental fatigue that came with it all, coupled with the drain on her magic and physical toll of travelling so far in a single day, all tasks she hadn't really undertaken in quite some time, had all added up. Despite a bit of tossing and moving around a bit, the uncomfortableness of sleeping on the ground never sitting right with her but it was just a matter of getting settled really. But when she finally felt the drift, she was powerless to stop it despite some light resistance at first. She never liked the thought of how powerless and helpless one truly was when they had their consciousness elsewhere-in fact, she was very well aware of the dangers and possibilities of what could unfold during such a time. And a lot of them weren't anything good.

Yet here she was, her breathing becoming soft and lighter with every passing second as she felt her mind go blank. Soon, for the first time in a while, she was well and truly asleep. Even if Menzai tried to wake her, he would struggle to do so without a real intent to do so, when normally a light step in her vicinity was enough to wake her it was like nothing short of a bomb going off would cause any change in her current state. And so she would remain for the rest of the night unless forcibly awakened.

It was only the next morning when she awoke did she realise just how deeply she had slept, groggily pushing up from the sleeping bag as her entire body ached. Gah, forcing the transformation and then staying in such an unfamiliar form for so long without any prior experience with it had really taken a toll. Normally she wouldn't even feel a hundredth of such a physical strain, but she had miscalculated for which she swore softly under her breath all while pushing some of her long ruby strands out of her face. Ever true to form however, she didn't show any of the discomfort or let the crying out of her body show visibly as she took a few moments to look up at the first few rays of sunlight beginning to pierce the clouded over skies. Even though she currently wasn't aware exactly of where Menzai was, she could still see the rippling barrier around them so that meant he was still somewhere within. She just hadn't sighted him yet.

Oh well, complaining or moping about this wasn't going to get her anywhere. As much as she lamented her recklessness and questioned how or why she had let this happen, the simple matter of the fact was it had. They hadn't far to go but she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to transform today, but she wasn't even sure if it was necessary. It would be difficult to get a chance to transform back once within the city itself after-all.

So with a sigh, she brought both hands to her face and slapped her cheeks, as if to wake herself up. It was time to get to work then!

"Are you awake Mr Isanami? I do believe we should get going as soon as we have breakfast. Uh I didn't bring much more than some trail mix and some fruit though...oh I have some bread as well." Getting out of her sleeping bag and rolling it up, she called out to Menzai as she reached into her bag and pulled out a mix of items. Some bowls and containers filled with a variety of dried nuts and fruit, along with half a baguette. It was a day or two old at this point, but it was something and would do until they finished the job in a few hours at any rate.

"All you got is flame, no heat - no one's getting burned here," Kaden laughed. They could trade shots all day, but when it came down to it, taking verbal jabs at each other wasn't going to get anywhere. Tone could be a hothead but he could turn a quip, and neither of them would ever let on if the other was starting to rake nerves. But why waste time on jabs anyways? They had better things to do, like fight.

Too bad the new girls weren’t around, or - in the case of the new maker-mage - interested, to watch the fight, but he supposed that was for the best. The last fight was a good warmup for this. It sucked he'd used his shield's charge already, but he didn't need it. He just needed to focus on his speed over his strength to keep up with the dragon slayer. That was one of the benefits of branching out into other elements. It would certainly be interesting to see how things would go down. He hadn’t tried converting slayer magic yet, but just how different could Tone’s fire be from his own? Just took a bit of firsthand observation to figure out how to mix it into something else - just like anyone else’s magic he figured. Piece of cake.

“Even the kid knows where to go to train. If you’re busting up shit elsewhere, that’s on you. A proper guild would have made sure even someone as thick headed as you knew where to go to train. Bad form getting in trouble training outside the designated location - gives the guild a bad name and it’s already got a hard enough time as it is.”

At least now the guy would know where to go. Maybe. If he was paying attention. Best way to ensure that was to go directly there. Kaden originally planned to meander there, see if maybe he could find the new girl and Zen and convince her to come watch the fight. Show off a bit. That wasn’t much of an option if his sparring partner didn’t know where the hell the training grounds for the guild was. So, much to the older mage’s dismay, he wasted no time leading the way straight to the fields just outside of town where Fenixtear had claim on a training spot.

---

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Ria smiled softly to herself listening to Damian grumble. It was different worlds, she supposed. Given direction, Tone could do well in a military unit like Damian had been. Then again, he would have likely done well back with the clan too. Even Kaden could likely thrive in the same environments. But it was all about location and timing and so much more. It was easy to make an assumption based on small samples of what they saw of the individuals without having better reads on them. She figured she was likely falling into a similar mindset: making an assumption based on what she saw and knew about them all without any concrete proof. Then, that was what she was taught to do.

She’d realized she’d become lost in her thoughts and had missed some of what was said when she blinked and noticed she’d nearly scoured a hole straight through the bottom of the pot she was scrubbing. The smile vanished with another blink, and returned just as quickly after a quick rinse and rub verified it was still usable.

“Hmm? Oh, steak? Um -” She realized she wasn’t hearing music anymore either. And almost bumped into Trinity when she turned to put the pot on the drying rack. A soft laugh escaped her. “Sorry, didn’t notice you came in here.” She tried her hands and turned back to Damian. “I don’t tend to eat meat very often, so I’m not terribly picky so long as it’s tasty. I believe just going medium rare for everyone will be generally satisfactory.”

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Upon being offered the bar, the lead goblin slowly crept toward Jessica. It clearly eyed her and was ready to attack if it was being tricked. Then reached out and snatched the offered food before scurrying back out of reach. It eyed and sniffed the bar, then watched Carver eat the piece he kept. After another sniff, it took a bite. Its eyes lit up and it let out a delighted squeak before finishing off the rest of it. Once it was gone, though, the lead goblin began squeaking and waving its arms again.

Carver smiled softly and adjusted his glasses. “Very well. You see. Hungry. Now let me just...” He dug around his pack again. “Hmm, I think if - yes, well...okay -”

He pulled out several more bars. “Well, it would seem we shouldn’t make camp here tonight and should just continue on until we find a better spot. Hope these little guys stay here to enjoy their feast while we find safety elsewhere, but...sharing shouldn’t cut too far into the supplies I have stocked up. I did overprepare a bit for food. Never know when you might need to bargain with the local fauna,” he laughed nervously.

He slung his pack on his shoulders and picked up all the bars he’d taken out for the goblins as he stood. “Right...so...I suggest we - ” he threw the food into the bushes in the opposite direction they were headed. The goblins all darted away from them, off to their loot. “- Run!” The historian took off as best he could, holding the straps of his backpack to help keep his balance with it bouncing, along the trail and further up the mountain.

His finger unconsciously twitches as he watches Jessica approach the goblin with the candy bar. While he was the one that had put up the idea of them possibly being hungry, if it wasn’t the case and she or Carver were attacked instead, he would feel guilty about it. His breath held a moment as the goblin swipes the candy bar, before releasing in relief as it indeed devours the offered bar, now seeming wanting more.

Letting his form relax slightly, Asher responds to Carver. “It is indeed good it was hunger after all, and that you had come so prepared as it were.” He gives their client a nod. “You are also correct, that we should make haste to a spot further along while we have the chance.”

Following Carver after slinging his bundle of candy bars into the woods in the opposite direction, Asher hurried alongside Carver, keeping himself at the ready to protect him, should the goblins change their minds or something else comes along due to the commotion. They still had a job to do, after all.

It had seemed the plan to distract and run worked out. The group came across another decent spot to rest for the night, and made camp. Typical forest chattered on, but they remained otherwise unaccosted this time, even able to eat something. Carver certainly was excited at that prospect, even if his rations were homemade jerky. The next morning, at first light, they set out again. It took another day and a half of travel - crossing rivers, trying to keep their footing on crumbling ledges, and making their way through dense underbrush that had overgrown parts of the path - to finally reach their destination.



The forest ruins hide under tall, ancient trees. Pathways once kept up were now crumbled and overgrown, or broken and moved by roots no longer hidden beneath the earth. Crumbled out bridges lead to other collapsed buildings. The main hold, carved into part of the mountain, stood firm, though. A few columns decorating the entrance may have fallen or broken up, but there wasn't much blocking the pathway in.

Carver pulled out his notebook and verified a few things he'd written in it before giggling, "Oh this is absolutely perfect." He made no delays in heading straight in. The first room had grand vaulted ceilings with tile art crumbled in places, columns lined the length, but much of the artwork carved into them was covered by large clusters of vines that crept up their height. Damaged tapestries hung between pillars, and broken tables littered the ground with broken pots and forgotten nondescript rubble of what might be destroyed relics of the culture lost to time.

Further in, the next room opened with a window carved into the ceiling higher up, faded mirrors were set up in various places along the ceiling to cast the light in various angles and help provide a bit of natural lighting so it wasn't all darkness; a few of the sconces fixed to the columns and walls lay amongst rubble where their holding locations had crumbled. Like the previous room, there was rubble scattered around the held what appeared to be destroyed scrolls or pottery and relics, as well as other threadbare tapestries either still managing to cling to the walls or piled on the ground amongst rubble. Nine archways led further into the mountain.

Crouching down, Carver dug through his backpack again to retrieve a different field notebook. He flipped through the pages quickly, finger scrolling down page after page as he searched for just the right information. "Right, yes, so according to this we are in a greeting chamber. So..." He stood while keeping his attention fixed to the page. "If we go, this way- " he pointed - "we should end up finding the great hall, which doubled as the throne room. The treasure room is down that way - " he pointed again - "And the sleeping quarters are that way - " with another point - "[color=darkkahki]which is where we would logically find the royal sleeping chambers. So considering the layout means we will be heading from one side of the ruins to the other, we might as well start in the throne room, where my research indicates is the most logical location for the scepter to be located.[/color]"

He shoved the book into a pocket inside his jacket, and slung his backpack back on his shoulders. He pulled a flashlight out and turned it on, before heading off into the darkened passage he first indicated to the others. Like the previous two rooms they'd walked through, this had huge columns carved out to support the vaulted ceiling. There were more sections that had crumbled with time, and scarce sections of light broke through the cracks in the ceiling to paint the room in a mix of dusty light and sheer darkness. At the far end, caught in a quick flash of light, was the dais on which a set of thrones sat among other crumbled bits. Skeletons scattered around the room in vague piles in remnants of what they had been wearing at the time of their demise, much like that sat on the throne itself. A glint of something caught the beam of the flashlight at the far end of the room and Carver smiled more. "Perfect! This is going much better than I anticipated. That might actually be it," he said as he picked up his pace into the room.

"Hey! This is my stuff. Get out." A bellowing voice came from a dark corner Carver hadn't shown a flashlight on yet. Not long after, a huge boulder came hurdling their way.