Inside Aggy’s cabin were many wonderful things, such as a beautifully carved cherry armoire that produced basically any clothing one could ever need. This was extremely handy in getting the goblin children dressed especially considering the state of the clothing they’d been wearing. It also helped greatly in getting them packed up for a short adventure, with little raincoats, hats, boots, and other various accessories. they were fit for adventure within minutes of walking up to the armoire. Barkly looked hesitant about the new clothing, but Twiggy and Sap were quick to get changed and start happily checking out their new clothes. After seeing his siblings all dressed up, he couldn’t help himself and also quickly got changed.

Barkly looked almost in awe of what was essentially a better made version of his old outfit, with a small black leather vest over a light grey cotton tunic, cotton pants in the same colour, and some black boots very similar to the ones I was wearing. Twiggy had on a shirt and pants in light browns, with a dark brown cape over top, and what looked like leather hiking boots. He immediately took too crouching and sneaking about like a hunter, acting very much like a kid playing dress up, instead of a kid actually getting dressed up. Sap had put on a cute sky blue dress emblazoned with sunflowers, a large woven sun hat, and light brown hiking shoes. She was twirling about with her eyes sparkling, clearly in love with the little dress.

I handed them each a little pack that had various “bits and bobs” that Aggy had recommended as well as grabbing my own pack which was already packed, and comically large. It was a lot lighter than it looked and didn’t feel nearly as bulky or heavy as I was expecting. I was starting to get the feeling that as long as I was in Aggy’s body, nothing would ever really feel heavy, so it wasn’t an accurate way to judge. The children seemed slightly hesitant about their packs, looking up at me with wide eyes as they examined them. Sap happily put hers on and strolled back to the door to wait for everyone, twiggy following shortly behind.

Barkly looked up at me, the happiness turning to fear for a moment, and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “This isn’t some cruel joke, right?”

I could feel the tears spring up to my eyes and swept the small goblin up in a hug. He stiffened for a moment before leaning into it.

“This isn’t a joke little Barkly,” I whispered into his ear, “I will protect you and your siblings, you’ve been through enough. I’m here for you now.”

The other two looked at us as we shared a teary hug. Barkly pushed away clearing his throat. He turned to the other two with a crooked smile, then put on his pack and walked over to join them. I walked over to a mirror that was near the armoire to examine myself and had a little chuckle at the sight of Aggy in the large backpack, cheering myself up a bit from dark paths my thoughts were going down. A part of me was thankful the kids were seeming to bounce back so quickly but the rest of me was a mix of anger and sadness about their whole situation. it was almost overwhelming, but I could feel Aggy gently soothing the emotions. I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts away. Today was going to be a good day, we were going to go on a little adventure and give the kids a good time.

Do I need to grab anything else or does this comically large pack have us covered? I asked Aggy, unsure as to what exactly was in the large pack other than what I could see sticking off the outside of it like a bedroll and what looked like folding tent poles.

[“You have enough supplies in that pack to essentially build a new house dearie,” Aggy said with absolute sincerity, “it may seem comically large, but you’ll deeply miss it if you ever go on an adventure without it.”]

I nodded to myself and walked to the doorway where the children were happily showing off their new clothes to each other.

“Ready to escort us, Mister Barkly?” I asked the goblin.

He smiled determinedly and nodded, showing none of the fear or doubts he had moments before.

“Then let us be off!” I declared in a merry voice, before marching out the door, mentally asking Aggy where I’m supposed to go.

[“Well first you’re going to go to the forest pathway just over there, then you’re going to go south until you see the big tree with the things, you’ll know the things when you see ‘em, I haven’t seen the things in a while but its fine, they should still be there. Anyways then you’ll make a left and head towards the outer edges of the forest, but don’t leave entirely because you’ll want to follow the treeline southish until you see the rocks, then you’ll head directly toward them. The geography gets a little bit wonky over there, but you’ll see Billy’s tower. You know I always thought those wizards were overcompensating for something with the size of some of those towers if you know what I mean. Now Billy, he’s got a nice respectable tower. Once you see it, you’ll know it then you can just walk on straight to it basically. Easy as pie darling.” Aggy said.]

I know there were pauses, that those were individual sentences, but she said them with such speed that it may as well have been one long run on sentence. My mind tried to parse it as one big sentence, and it took me a moment to filter to the relevant information in that sentence.

So, follow that path there to the left, all the way to the tree with the “things”, then go left again until I’m almost out of the forest, follow the treeline to some rocks, and then beeline the first tower I see, right?

[“Yes dear,” Aggy scoffed, “that’s what I said.”]

I smiled to myself, slightly shaking my head, and led the children to the path where we made a left to head south. it was before midday that we left, the sun yet to reach its peak, the dew on the grass yet to be wicked away by the suns light. Everything in the forest nearby smelled fresh and alive. Bugs were buzzing around happily doing whatever bug tasks they had. Bee-like insects alighted on the flowers that grew where light managed to break through the canopy consistently. The pathway wasn’t too worn down, looking like it hadn’t seen much travel lately, moss and grass fighting to cover the exposed soil. It was scenic, a pleasant landscape to look at while we casually strolled along.

The children acted like they didn’t experience tragedy the day before, frolicking with abandon. Barkly took his position with seriousness for all of five minutes, until Twiggy found an interesting bug near the side of the path. Then both boys were off running back and forth along the sides of the path looking for more interesting things to find. They stayed relatively close, which was all Aggy told me I needed to be worried about around here. Anything dangerous is farther into the forest and not anywhere near the path, so I only had to worry about them wandering off or getting lost. They’re safe as long as they’re close.

Sap was only a little less energetic than the two boys as we walked along the path. Instead of hunting bugs, she was finding flowers and other plants she must’ve considered pretty or regal and weaving them into a delicate little crown. It almost seemed magical the way she wove the plants together, seeming to join the stems together almost seamlessly, with the flowers perfectly arranged around the outside.

[“It is magical,” Aggy said with a little awe in her voice, “the girl is using mana mixed with elemental energy in trace amounts to weave. That takes prodigious talent to do especially at her young age.”]

Sap noticed me watching as we walked and smiled brightly then skipped beside me and shyly handed me the crown. I could feel my smile stretching to my eyes.

“Thank you, this is beautiful,” I said with awe in my voice, “where’d you learn how to do that?”

Her face started to flush a deep purple in her cheeks as she blushed, “I taught m’self.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I could feel Aggy going through shock so strong, that it stunned me where I stood.

[“this girl is going to change the world,” she said with conviction, “she needs to meet Billy more than we do, get trained properly. Never hurts to have a backup plan.”]

What do you mean back up plan? I asked, like, for the lich?

[“Yes, in a decade, maybe less, this girl could be a power to eclipse Billy and myself,” I could feel the reverence in her voice, “it never hurts to prepare for the future, especially not when she is the future. Mages like that only come around once every thousand years. Not literally of course, but there hasn’t been a mage this talented since Bob or Billy.”]

There was a heavy pause between us at the thought and its implications. It probably was a good idea to get her a teacher that could mentor her in using her power wisely and responsibly. It was probably also a good idea to continue treating her like a kid and not a potential future super weapon. Especially not when that weapon could end up pointed at the world as a whole. Better to keep the lid on that jar for now, considering the reason for this adventure in the first place. Gotta go see Billy to give Aggy her body back so she can go save the world from the lich before he gets too powerful. Sap looked at me curiously, where I’d suddenly stopped.

“That’s absolutely amazing Sap!” I exclaimed happily to her, as I started to walk again, “You keep on practicing like that, and you’ll have kings and queens looking to buy your flower crowns.”

Sap looked up at me with glittering wide eyes, “y’really think so?”

“Oh, I know so!” I nodded to her, “that’s a true work of art right there!”

I placed the flower crown on my head, and it even felt good to wear. Almost invigorating, and the pleasant floral scent seemed to waft around me. it felt as magical as it looked and made my wide smile even wider. Sap did a couple little hops of happiness and made a cute squeaking noise before running off to collect more flowers and bits from the side of the pathway. Before long, her brothers had little flower crowns on as well, and she was wearing a full flower set, with a necklace and bracelets to match the crown.

Aggy was still stunned, lost in her own thoughts. I could almost feel what she was thinking, but not quite. It was a little bit disconcerting considering how unflappable she’d seemed over the past day. I didn’t know enough about magic to be as awed as Aggy but considering she seemed to think Sap would be stronger than herself and her wizard friend within ten years, I’d say that it wasn’t an uncalled for reaction.

[“Boy, if you knew what you just witnessed…” her voice trailed off for a moment before picking back up, “we need to make sure she gets to Billy safely, and we need to make sure no one else sees her using magic. A goblin child with the ability to use magic is sure to be a target, and one a lot of people would consider an easy target.”]

I’ll protect her with everything you’ve got, I assured Aggy.

[“protect her with everything I’ve got and then some,” Aggy demanded with hardness in her voice. It was the voice of an empress or a goddess, not something one denies. “I’ve seen your memories and know enough about the atrocities of your world to tell you that it won’t compare to what will happen to this child if the wrong person gets their hands on her.”]

Now that was a scary thought. A lot of children had it rough in my world, but I believed Aggy entirely when she said it would be worse here. My world doesn’t have magic. This one does.

[You have no idea,” she told me with the same hardness, “you haven’t even seen a taste of what magic can do. Everything you’re imagining, every single thought that has passed through your head about what horrors that child could face, aren’t even close to the reality. Its far worse.”]

That stunned me for a moment, I had a pretty good imagination and already imagined some very dark things, and Aggy was telling me that it would be worse? I started to try to imagine something worse and shook myself out of it. That’s not something I’d have to worry about for as long as I can keep Sap safe, and I planned to keep all three children safe.

Sap continued to weave flowers, little bits of magic flowing through her fingers as the stems joined together, even the flowers seemed more vibrant after her touch. Local bees seemed to notice this as well and started to buzz around her, gently alighting on the flowers of her crown to get a bit of the pollen and nectar before taking off again. a particularly fat bee dropped itself into the flower at the center of the crown then seemed to curl up and go to sleep. A black and yellow gem set in the center of her crown. She looked like a fairy tale princess, all she needed was for birds to land on her while singing and it would be perfect.

The boys had found some beetles and were holding little races with the small blue-shelled bugs. They’d set them down and poke them in the back and the little beetles would nearly stand up straight with how quickly they’d sprint off. Then the boys would chase after them cheering with joy, neither of their crowns falling from their heads as they hopped and cheered when one of the bugs would tumble over. Then, they’d do it all over again, keeping pace with Sap and I in bursts as we walked along the path.

Eventually the boys got bored of chasing around the little beetles and let them wander off instead of poking them to run again. the beetles genuinely didn’t seem to mind the little races as they always seemed to keep going to wherever the boys set the starting line, even after doing a little tumble and roll into the longer grass on the sides of the path. Now that the boys were done with the races the two beetles went their separate ways. It almost looked like one nodded to the other before they did though, as if acknowledging its fellow racer.

The boys were quick to find something else to make the journey more entertaining, electing to have impromptu stick-sword fights, tapping the sticks against each other and shouting with glee as they tried to disarm each other. Barkly had gone with a longer thicker stick and batted at his little brothers two shorter sticks, but Twiggy managed to deflect the stick or catch it with crossed sticks each time. They made it look like a grand heroic struggle, as children do, dashing around with shouts and laughs before clashing again. even Sap was starting to watch the action, her fingers idly twiddling with a flower she had been admiring after finishing another flower necklace. it definitely did make the walk more enjoyable, not that it wasn’t already enjoyable.

The forest was scenic, with a large variety of trees reaching high up into the sky, some of them looked like the giant sequoia, with trunks that one could build a house in, others looked like scraggly pine trees, also reaching up into the sky but with plenty of branches lower down. As we walked, I wondered how long it would be before we got to the ‘tree with the things’, and what the things were. Aggy didn’t offer any information, instead just radiating a slightly amused feeling. It made me roll my eyes but didn’t dampen my mood. that was dampened as Barkly had started acting like a zombie and reminded me of the fact that there was the looming threat of a lich, and we should probably have a sense of urgency, of fear and worry.

[“Or you could just continue to enjoy the walk and not give yourself a crisis every other hour,” Aggy suggested, “Not long until you see the tree with the things, I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.”]

Aggy was right, the tree with the things was an enjoyable view. The “things” were the fruit of the tree, which Aggy explained only ever grew once, and then lived until they were picked, or an external force knocked them off. They looked like teardrop shaped snow globes, except they had a glow to them and instead of snow and little houses they had small flowers or trees growing inside them with specks of light floating about them, sometimes in patterns and sometimes randomly. The ones that floated in patterns tended to spiral and wave, like a visible representation of wind. The ones where the tiny specks floated randomly looked no less beautiful, almost appearing as the stars in the sky around a lone plant.

The tree itself was also a gorgeous specimen. It looked like a peach tree mixed with a cherry tree, but much larger than both, with long vibrantly coloured leaves in shades of red and green, and small pink and white flowers interspersed throughout. The children were also awestruck, staring at it with gaping mouths and wide eyes. They’d completely dropped anything they were doing, holding their arms limply at their sides.

[“Pretty, isn’t it?” Aggy asked with a small chuckle.]

I could only nod in response, barely able to think as I took in all the different tear shaped fruit and the beautiful blooms spread throughout. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen in my life.

[“they used to be plentiful but too many people would rather eat the fruit than grow the seed,” Aggy said sadly before brightening, “but while we’re here we can pick one to take to Billy, I’m sure he’d love to grow one of these.”]

What’s it called? I asked, thinking it must have some majestic name befitting of its beauty.

[“I call him Charlie,” Aggy responded fondly.]

I nearly laughed out loud. What kind of tree is Charlie?

[Aggy sighed, then scowled, “Its an Agatha Tree. Named by the person who discovered it after their unrequited love.”]

Oh? That’s a story- then Aggy cut off the thought with a no so hard I could feel it. I backed off, doing my best to not even think about it, which would usually be difficult, but with Aggy basically privy to my thoughts it was a little bit easier.

The kids were shaken out of their reverie by the thump of my pack being set down. The sun was already high above us, noon creeping up quick while I was watching the children have fun.

“who’s ready for lunch?” I asked pulling out a fully loaded picnic basket and red-and-white checkered sheet. The children nodded eagerly.