Mibbet was getting her eyes opened greatly by her journey. She had seen places, people, and cultures she couldn’t even have imagined before. In other words so far she had been a frog in a well (or at least in a pond, but the reality and the expression were not the same thing at all.)

Yet there was one bit of travelling she hated above all else, and with a lump in her throat she realised it was just about to happen again. It was time to say goodbye. Over the last few days she had grown almost as close to the girls as she was to Rosalind, and the thought of parting from them made her eyes all watery, and her tummy feel bad. But regardless of her feelings she was starting to understand a little bit about duty now. To frog and human subject alike. So biting her tongue for a moment to prevent herself from saying anything she would really regret later she opted for the alternative.

“Bye for now girls,” she said. "I promise to stay in touch but I’m really going to miss you.” She tried again to turn away but Wormy grabbed her and pressed a basket of sleeping potions into her hand before trying to dash off. Slightly stymied in that plan by Mibbet acting rather contrary to her usual nature by pulling them all into a big hug.

Then that done they were off again, with the addition of Puppy who sat on Mibbet’s lap for a short while, before settling down at a nice peaceful hover near the carriages ceiling. They couldn’t wait for next fly time.

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Back at The Maze meanwhile Labby was staring at her new acquisitions with some consternation, and a little bit of joy. They had no idea where the bloody googly eyes had come from, or that they even made them in her size. But the advantages of eyes were quickly becoming apparent to them. With a few bricks for eyebrows, and some for a mouth they could now run the full gamut of expressions. Such a thoughtful gift, and no doubt one that would confuse the hell out of Enola.

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Sir Leeroy was pondering the route with some concern. The next leg of the journey was not exactly the safest. (Then again walking through town with The Princess these days seemed to be second only in danger to amateur tightrope walking, over an active volcano, while drunk off your face on tequila, and suffering from Vertigo, during heavy storms. Possibly while a banjo player twangs each end of the rope trying to outplay each other, and he wasn’t exactly certain that the tightrope walking option would lose anymore.)

Still the route they had to follow next led through Ecco cave, that really was not ideal. Eccoes had a tendency to hunt by sound, and you didn’t really see them given how dark that damned place was. Of course given that most of this group wouldn’t know quiet if it jumped up and bit them on the jacksie then introduced itself, (quietly of course.) Which was rather a concern, he’d already asked Errol to knit special padded covers for everybodies shoes (yes even the horses, it probably wouldn’t work but anything was worth a try right? It seemed it never entered his head to ask about muffling spells, but honestly that was pretty advanced magic anyway.)

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

For now they only had to get through the woods, which were fairly well known as bandit central. But nowadays a mere bandit gang didn’t seem quite so much of a worry as in the past. (Potential executions, arguing with gods, Protodragons, floods, and undead hordes had a strange way of putting the little concerns in life into perspective, a pretty screwed up one, but a perspective nonetheless.) So they continued on in peace for a ways, thinking back on friends, and trying not to stress overly much about the future.

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Robbin Goods had a plan, and it was a great one. They’d been gaining more and more loot lately, and they were running out of places to stash it. (What did you think he was going to give it away or something?) Then just a couple of miles down the road was a great big cave system. Nobody was using it right? Then nobody would object to him moving his stash in there. HAH he was a genius.

“He’s off again isn’t he?” Bill Mauve sighed (Hey it wasn’t his fault all the good colour related names were taken and he really didn’t want to be “Bill that sort of off cream colour landlords seem obsessed with”)

Tom just gave a grunt, he really wasn’t much of a talker, particularly where the boss was concerned.

“So what is it this time? Another plan for a heist? Hasn’t he realised yet there’s only eleven of us, how are we supposed to pull that off?” He groaned.

Tom just shook his head, then rolled his eyes. Managing somehow to imply without a word that this idea was so bloody bad it made that idea seem like a stroke of pure genius in comparison.

“Come on boys” Robbin said, in that freakishly chipper manner of speaking he had. (The one that you knew would continue to sound chipper right up until the moment when he put an arrow in your back on a whim. Not really a tone you argue with, at least not for very long.) “Bring the loot, and don’t dawdle time is money.”

As they approached the cave Bill put the pieces together, and he did not like the picture that came up. “He’s kidding right?” Bill whispered.

Tom shook his head, and for the fifth time this week poor Bill pondered going straight, digging a field had to be better than this. Oh well too late to grumble now, in for a copper, in for a gold. He carefully headed down with Bill, practically tiptoeing, hoping they weren’t nearby. It was working too, until the bottom fell out of the chest with a clatter and a clash of coins.