Jax had been around Misty more than the others by a long shot.
Even he was surprised by the change that had occurred.
She had once been a genderless blob of water with a head, a smaller shape for a body, and little nubs for hands.
Now she stood a good four inches taller with a more humanoid figure. A crown of small flowers rested around her forehead like a wreath, and a small bag made of leaves hung at her side.
Better than that, though, was the fact that she had been doing meticulous upkeep of Aiden's house.
While it was significantly smaller than the duke's estate, and only slightly larger than the vehicle itself, it felt like home in a strange way.
"NOW!"
Thalia, Liora, and Selene yelled in unison as they rushed forward.
They had insisted on bringing some things from their bags for the way down, and like the fool Jax was, he had not disputed it.
Though he may have been a fool, he was not so much of a fool that he failed to see what they were planning.
Jax rushed forward, hoping to get there before they could.
Unfortunately, he was racing a Wind Mage.
Worse, she already had several lengths on him.
So he strained his body to its limits and ran as fast as he could.
He found defeat as Selene drew the curtain around the copper bathtub.
"Oh, come on!" Jax whined, pacing outside the curtain. "Aiden has been driving this entire time, and it's his house. He should get first dibs!"
"Jax," Liora called from behind the curtain, "if you are asking four ladies who have not had a chance to properly wash themselves in almost two weeks, including after getting covered in crab blood, you are making a grave mistake."
Jax could hear the water beginning to heat.
Steam started to rise into the air from behind the covering.
"THIS IS SUCH BULLSH—"
He cut himself off as Aiden and Little Fox made their way over.
Aiden would have been fine.
Little Fox, however, was another matter.
Jax had been trying to avoid teaching her swear words before she called someone something that got them in trouble.
Just because she could speak and knew what words meant did not mean she understood social cues.
Or consequences.
Or why calling a noble a powdered donkey goblin was technically funny but legally hazardous.
"Dude," Aiden said, crossing his arms while Misty floated near his shoulder, giving Jax an inquisitive look. "I'm not sure what you were expecting here, especially now that it's two guys and four girls."
"B-B-But my bath," Jax said as tears ran down his face. "I waited so long."
Aiden grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and began dragging him away.
Jax stared longingly at the sweet bath and the cleanliness it promised.
"Come on, dramadog," Aiden said. "While they're doing that, we get to go on the cart ride you loved so much last time."
Aiden stopped and looked at Little Fox for a moment.
"Head on past the curtain," he said. "The others are in there, and they'll help you with the knobs."
Little Fox nodded.
"Also," Aiden added, "let them know they're in charge of setting up places for everyone to sleep tonight and cooking dinner."
Little Fox nodded again and walked past the curtain.
Aiden and Jax looked at each other.
Then they took off down the hill.
The others were very keen on taking a bath first, but the threat of having to cook would probably cause Liora to come after them.
Selene's cooking was edible, but looked horrifying.
Thalia could not cook very well.
And Liora simply did not like to.
So they picked up the pace.
Jax would rather start down the mountain intact.
They ran to the cart, both jumped in, and began the descent.
Misty seemed to have worked on the cart as well. The normal squeal at the start was gone, replaced by an oiled silence as they began down the track.
Jax waited until they were past the first bend before turning back to Aiden.
"Okay," Jax said, "so why are we heading down right now? And why right after ensuring Liora will be ready to throw us down the other side of the mountain when we get back up?"
Aiden looked down at him and grinned.
"We have everyone but Little Fox at level fifteen," Aiden said. "So we're here to grab a specific quest. Plus, I want to check on Hopestone."
Jax took a moment to think.
Then he realized what Aiden meant and looked at him in surprise.
"I mean, I knew we'd need to take one at some point," Jax said, "but this feels fast."
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"A month to complete the first one," Aiden said, "and two months after that of almost every other day questing, and you're surprised it took three months to get to this point?"
Hearing that, Jax thought back on everything it had taken to get here.
Kaelen.
Meeting Thalia.
Ymer.
The quests they had done.
Meeting Red.
His vows.
And more.
If anything, the fact they had not gotten here faster was the surprising part.
As they finished riding down the rails and stepped out of the cart, Aiden looked at him.
"Okay," Aiden said, "so let's walk down next time because I think the right track is loose and we almost slammed into a tree."
Jax chuckled.
"Dude, you and I have both cut down trees with an attack before. You think slamming into one will do much?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow as they walked down the familiar path toward the gate of Hopestone.
"In case you forgot, I have the Alchemist class," Aiden said. "I grew up with a distinct knowledge of my own squishiness and murderability."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Hell, even when we first encountered the ash spirits, one attack from them would have left me unconscious and dying."
Jax bumped Aiden's leg with his side as he jogged ahead.
"You have, like, four times the HP you did back then," Jax said. "I think you should start thinking about that."
Aiden rolled his eyes as they cleared the treeline.
The city wall loomed down the hill, where a small line of people was making their way in for the day.
As they approached, Jax scanned the wall for their favorite polar bear.
Instead, he saw their least favorite dwarf.
"Fuck," Jax and Aiden said in unison. "It's Qos's shift."
The others probably would have been confused by this.
But Jax had been in and out of the city several times with Aiden.
They both knew the annoyance of dealing with Qos.
He was arrogant, nitpicky, and seemed to dislike Aiden for some reason.
Maybe because Aiden had a house on prime forest real estate and Qos did not.
In general, they had never stopped to ask.
They made their way into the line and waited for around twenty minutes before reaching the front.
Qos looked them up and down.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"Well, if it isn't Aiden," Qos said. "Did adventuring not work as well as you hoped?"
"Actually, we're here to check whether my grandfather has a tool we're looking for in his shop," Aiden said with a shrug. "And to say hi to some familiar faces."
That seemed to surprise Qos.
He took a moment before leaning in with a snarl.
"Well, mister hotshot, I'm gonna need to see all your paperwork, or you're not getting into the city."
Jax held back a growl.
This was one of Qos's favorite tricks to pull on Aiden.
If Aiden was missing any obscure piece of paperwork, Qos would not let them in.
If Aiden had everything, they would still sit there for an hour while Qos read through it for ten minutes and probably took a nap for the other fifty.
Jax restrained himself from saying anything.
Qos could kick them out if he deemed them unruly, but he needed cause.
Jax had messed up and given him that cause a few times before.
He turned to Aiden, wondering if it was worth it.
To his surprise, Aiden just let out a deep sigh.
"Holy fuck, you're childish," Aiden said.
Jax's ears shot up.
Qos froze.
"I mean, I know you never had the balls to go more than five hundred feet away from a wall you can cower behind," Aiden continued, "but come on, man."
Qos's mouth slowly opened.
"But hey, I get it," Aiden said. "I can't possibly expect someone with a class like Pirate, known for its offensive power, to be anything but a baby-back bitch."
Jax would have said he never agreed with Qos on things.
Yet both his and Qos's jaws went slack as they stared at Aiden, who simply raised an eyebrow at the dwarf as if challenging him.
Qos clenched his jaw.
The veins on his head bulged.
"You," Qos stammered. "You—"
Jax saw Qos's hand clench around the short sword at his hip.
He turned, ready to help if this became a fight.
Aiden leaned in.
The sound of his Revolution Core hummed with heat and power as it spun to life, causing Aiden's face to glow orange in a way that was surprisingly ominous.
"I, I," Aiden said mockingly. "Either draw your sword, and I get to show you what I learned to take down D-rank monsters…"
His voice dropped.
"Or step… aside… Qos."
Qos stared for a moment, clearly conflicted before he scoffed and took a step back.
Jax could see the conflict on his face.
The part of him that worried Aiden was not bluffing about D-rank monsters.
Versus the part that wanted to attack and put Aiden down like he had before.
Qos did not move.
He remained still as the veins in his head and arms bulged.
Aiden silently walked past him and made his way toward the gate.
Jax followed him inside.
Aiden turned to him and held up two fingers in a peace sign.
"Okay, I know you have questions," he said. "To answer quickly because I have four seconds left, I'm Will. I'm Aiden's skill, and I can take over the body for a brief tiiii—"
Aiden's posture shifted.
His expression snapped from confident and almost arrogant back to his normal, slightly timid but still brave self.
"BY THE GODS, WILL!" Aiden yelled. "YOU ALMOST GOT US SHOT!"
Jax stared at him for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
He rolled on the road, pointing a paw at Aiden as happy tears ran down his snout.
"Dude," Jax gasped, barely able to contain himself, "I thought you went through a whole personality shift to become some big tough badass all of a sudden."
Aiden blushed slightly and lightly kicked Jax's shoulder, sending him spinning on his back.
Jax kept laughing, of course.
Aiden stormed off down the road.
"Well," Aiden called back, "when you stop laughing, come on. We need to see what obsidian-plate quests there are."