Lunch went rather uneventfully for Aiken, Jack, and Midge. There was much salad, nuts, and pastries. For the otters there was even fish cake, but thankfully it wasn't anything with an overly strong scent. While above ground Jack made a few strategies for exploring the ruins; many of which involved using string and chalk to mark directions they go along the walls so that they can find their way back out should it prove to be a maze.

So, back down into the odd circular room the pair went. Midge volunteered to stay behind and manage the camp while the two journeyed into darkness, despair, and possible death. Never let it be said Jack wasn't overly dramatic.

"So, you want to go down the passage where part of it fell on yer noggin, eh?" Jack asks as he secures a few items on his belt. Looks like the otter has come prepared with a dagger, a coil of rope, several pouches, and a miner's shuttered lantern. And … of course his hat sits tilted atop his head. He never goes adventuring without his lucky hat.

Aiken stands at the entrance to said passage, holding his own lantern up high as he peers down the corridor intently – almost… violently? "Yes," the rodent replies, tail twitching angrily, "I have to see somethin'… It's just – somethin' ain't right down there."

The Kadie's sides still itch too, but on the good side, he doesn't have any extra appendages growing at least!

Jack starts down the passageway, sidestepping the rubble laying on its floor. "This is the decaying fortress of a legendary monster. Of course something isn't right down here. It's good to see you've got a spine, though. Lots of people would be too afraid to go in here," he calls back.

The squirrel quickly heads in after Jack, staying close to the otter as he peers nervously this way and that. "I already been in here anyway, remember?" He scratches idly at his sides, trying to keep his mind off of the sensation.

Thankfully, it seems Jack has left the box up in camp. The passage heads fairly straight, just like Aiken remembers dreaming about. It also slopes downward. "Well, you were just inside the door, knocked right silly," Jack quips and glances back. He grins. "Thinkin' we might find an amazing treasure down here? I mean, given the power this guy was supposed to have, surely he plundered a few towns."

"Yeah… treasure… sure. Could you quicken the pace up just a tad?" Aiken looks past Jack's shoulder anxiously, down into the deep. "What kind of powers did this guy have? Bringin' dead people back or something?"

"You're in a bit of a hurry. The fun part of exploring is, well, exploring," Jack points out, though he does walk a bit faster. "All necromancers raise the dead, hence the title. So, yeah, he did that. He also supposedly could command vast armies of vermites, talk through them, and even infect other people with various things."

After a few more steps, Jack pauses and makes a mark on the wall. Even though they haven't actually made any turns, the otter is still marking the walls now and then.

Aiken stops dead in his tracks, staring at the back of Jack's head. "Hordes of… vermites?" The Kadie swallows, then starts his walk again. "How could he… infect people?"

"With some sort of parasitic spirits, I think," Jack answers, "The stories aren't too detailed given those infected were killed or died after being consumed." When the otter doesn't hear any footsteps behind him he stops and looks back. "And yes, hordes of vermites. He was called the Vermite King after all."

"He couldn't… couldn't turn someone into a vermite, could he?" The Kadie scratches at his side once more. "I mean, that's asinine… right?"

"Not into a small one, no. I hear mass change is very difficult. A vermite hybrid he could do, I think," Jack says after a minute. He rubs his chin thoughtfully, then adds, "That would make buying clothes rather difficult."

Aiken's face turns into a deep frown, and his tail sags. Shaking his head, the squirrel takes a deep breath, then doubles his pace down the corridor. "Feh, just a bunch of rubbish. Let's keep going."

It's another ten minutes of walking and a room right out of of Aiken's nightmare is soon upon them. The hall of the Vermite King.

Hall of the Vermite King
The vast hall of the Vermite King is shrouded in darkness. Only the small glow of thousands of beady vermite eyes offer any illumination of this place. The ceiling is far above and masked in darkness. The only evidence of a ceiling at all are the huge pillars that rise up into that darkness to support it. At the far end of this chamber sits a throne. Upon that throne sits someone draped in decaying rags.

"Hey, there are still vermites down here," Jack notes as he steps out into the chamber. "I guess they couldn't stand to leave their master. Heh. Yeah, squeak squeak to you too!" He waggles his lantern at the eyes.

At the sight of the chamber, Aiken stops cold. Even through his brown fur, it's apparent that he's gone pale, his mouth agape and eyes wide. "No… no this can't be right! I must still be dreaming!" He brings his tail to the front like a shield. "M-Mister Jack, we need to get out of here… "

"Oh feh. It's just a bunch of vermites; harmless. C'mon, we're here, let's look around a bit," Jack says as he marches further in, standing tall and fearless. He suddenly turns left and heads to one of the pillars, commenting, "Hey, writing!"

While there are eyes down here, much like in his dream … they're remaining in the darkness. For now, at least.

Aiken eyes the vermites, rodent to semi-rodent, and takes a few tentative steps inside the room. "I-It's probably just graffiti… young punks or somethin'… " The squirrel slowly takes a few paces towards the throne, keeping an eye on the vermites in his peripheral vision.

As Aiken grows closer, he can readily tell the figure is dead. Little remains beneath that cloth other than bones. The disturbing part about the figure, though, is that it has four spider-like legs jutting from its side. The exoskeleton is all that remains of them, but that is enough to keep the body propped upright.

"Can't read it. It's more of that Dagh-cursed spot cat language. Not the Savanites, the other ones," Jack calls out. He digs in a pouch and pulls out a piece of parchment and some coal. The otter then makes a rubbing of the writing.

The Kadie's fur bristles out like a bottle brush. "You mean… you mean like this fellah here?" Aiken reaches out to touch one of the vermite legs – cautiously.

The skeleton is indeed feline … well, except for the vermite legs. The exoskeleton is smooth under Aiken's fingers. And when the Kadie touches it, his own sides have another surge of itching. The leg shifts a bit … and all around him the vermites chitter louder in the darkness.

"Like what, the dead guy? Hey, it really is the Vermite King," Jack comments as he walks up beside Aiken and peers at the figure. He too pokes at one of the legs.

Jack turns around and peers oddly at Aiken. "Calm down," he says as he raises his hands, palms out in a placating move. "Everything is dead down here outside of some pests. There should be more books, scrolls, or carvings to copy that might illuminate some of the legend."

Now that he's a bit back from the corpse, Aiken's itching subsides again.

"I don't see any Dagh-blasted books or scrolls in here, do you?" The Kadie lessens his scratching, keeping his jittery gaze on the skeleton. "Let's go look in some other rooms. Or go get Midge. Or go home."

At first it looks like a trick of the low light, but the crackling Aiken hears next is not a trick of the room's acoustics. And then he sees it, the head of the corpse raises up … a flicker of dim red in those empty eye-sockets.

Jack is oblivious to the movement behind him. "Come on, you're having fun, aren't you? Sure it's a little spooky down here but it's not like there are any real monsters," he says.

Once again, Aiken seems to turn into a block of ice, frozen to the spot. "M-m-m-m-mis-mister J-j-j-j-j… " For a block of ice, the squirrel must not be very used to the cold, because now he starts to shiver violently. "Bahi- loo- the-" Unable to spit the words out, he lifts his arm up, and point behind the otter.

Jack rolls his eyes. He slowly turns his head to look behind himself.

And that's when the skeleton on the throne starts moving. Old joints that have not moved for years crack and pop as the fingers stretch and pull away from the arm rests. "It has been such a long time since I felt the flesh of the living," it somehow rasps through its rotted teeth. "Servants … to me."

"You now … it's not good when that sort of thing happens," Jack forces out as he starts backpedaling on those short legs. "I think you're right, time to go!"

Like a streak of reddish-brown lightning, Aiken leaps to Jack and grabs his tail – then starts to bolt off in the other direction. "MISTERJACKCOMEONLETSGETOUTOFHEREIDON'TWANTTOBEMADEINTOAZOMBIEORSOMETHINGWORSE, OHDAGHOHDAGHOHDAGH," the rodent chitters, tugging hard on the otter.

Both of the diminutive mammals bolt for the door they came in through. Behind them they can hear the chattering growing louder and closer. And soon they'll be safe in the passageway out…

Except … there's a grinding of stone and two doors slide from the wall. The come together with a thunderous boom, sealing the two in the chamber.

Seeing that he's convinced Jack to see things his way, Aiken begins to sprint from the room – holding his lantern by the ring with his mouth, he drops on to all fours to quicken the pace. Unfortunately, the newly closed doors thwart his attempts at escape, and he skids to a halt, claws loudly scraping against stone. "Nonononononononononononononononononononononono!"

CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH! echos behind the pair, back near the moving corpse. It's now standing and wading through a pool of vermites. It seems to be intentionally crushing some as it marches forward.

"Right, well, I've been in worse scrapes!" Jack says a bit unconvincingly as he skids to a halt in front of the door. So … the otter whirls about and draws out his dagger, brandishing it at the skeletal monster. After a moment, he peers at the dagger, then frowns. "Right, well, this is useless. You still got a lantern on ya?" he asks Aiken.

Aiken stands with his back pressed against the doors – the lantern still hanging from the rodent's jaws quickly answers Jack's query. "Yeawff!"

The crunching was disturbing enough … but what follows is worse. The slimy entrails from the crushed vermites begin to vibrate, twist, then flow up along its bones. Right before the pair's eyes the body of the Vermite King begins to fill out, forming anew from the bubbling flesh of its dead servants. "This is my domain and it is impolite to leave without swearing fealty to me," it rasps, it's bubbling, festering, face pulling back into a mockery of a grin.

Jack reaches over and takes the lantern from Aiken's mouth, though his eyes never leave the monstrosity slowly moving towards them. "Don't worry, we'll make it out. Just got to think creatively," he tries to assure the Kadie. It probably doesn't help that from each side now vermites are starting to scurry towards them.

The lantern now free from his mouth, the Kadie yells back at the creature. "I can't do that – I'm married!" Barely holding in his lunch from the sight before him, the Kadie's eyes dart around the room, desperately looking for any avenue of escape.

Nothing is readily obvious, except for the vermites heading towards them. Jack wrenches the flask of oil from the lantern and hands it to Aiken. "Here, pour this around us. A little fire might keep them away long enough to figure out how to open this door," the otter instructs.

"Married, is it? I will devour her too, perhaps. Surely she will come look for you. And do tell me … do you have any children? I do so love dining on the young," the creature cackles as it draws closer. It's not even walking with its feline legs; it moves with the vermite ones. The feline body sort of rocks and sways like a pulsating bag of flesh.

Shaking, the squirrel takes the flask from Jack, and swings it about wildly to create a ring of fluid around them. At the taunts, his tail bristles out angrily. "Y-you touch them, and I'll… I'll devour you!" He lobs the mostly empty flask at the cat-beast, now nearly chittering in rage.

Jack kneels down and strikes madly at some flint. Sparks fly and dance. After a few tries, the ring of oil flares to life, creating a foot tall wall of flame around them. This does seem to stop the advancing vermites at least for the moment. They sit just outside the ring and chatter angrily at the Kadie.

The flask strikes the side of the vermite king and shatters, spraying the remaining oil over its head. It shakes its head, then levels its gaze on Aiken. "How dare you strike me, you worthless, powerless, bag of flesh. Who are you to deny me my rights and pleasures?" it rasps angrily now, that grin long gone.

Aiken chitters angrily right back at the little beasts, leaping up on Jack's back and using it as a perch to yell at the Vermite King. "How dare you threaten my girls, you bony pile of gristle! You ain't got any power – you been sittin' down here for Dagh knows how long, stinkin' up the place and bein' ugly! You ain't got no rights 'cept the right to rot!" He glares down at the vermites. "I thought you all were makin' ME your king, you little backstabbers!"

Jack stumbles forward under the weight of the Kadie on his back. At Aiken's outburst, his head cranes upward. "What the heck are you talking about?" the otter asks.

"No power? Really? Well, well, my little pets. Shall I show him my power?" the Vermite King asks of the vermites that surround the flaming circle. Bubbling lips of black ichor draw back into a smile as he raises his hand, then closes it tightly into a fist.

Aiken looks down at Jack – upside down, from the otter's point of view. "You keep outta this! It's all your fault anyroad!" Looking back up, the Kadie shakes his fist at the lich. "No power 'cept the power to stink!" His tail trashes violently, smacking Jack on the back several times like some fluffy whip.

The vermites around them surge forward through the wall of flame. They ignite into little raging fireballs as they charge and start jumping on Jack and Aiken.

"Waurgh!" goes Jack as he flails around, flinging flaming vermites in every direction!

Aiken's chitters turn to squeaks as he falls to the floor, scrabbling against the stone and flailing at the vermites. "Aauuugh! Gettemoffgettemoffgettemoffgettemoff!" Like little hot potatoes, he flings them as soon as they arrive, back into the sea of their brethren.

And all chaos breaks loose. Flaming vermites are flying everywhere. The Vermite King is cackling, "This is beautiful! Dance for me, playthings!" And to make matters worse … Aiken feels at least to very distinctive pains. One on his arm, one on his leg. He's just been bitten … twice.

Aiken winces at the bites, scooting back against the wall and squeezing his eyes shut. At the sound of the cackling, however, he grits his teeth, and cracks his eyes open. "You shut your bony trap!" Now, as the vermites close in on him, the squirrel keeps flinging them, but aims (as best he can) for the lich.

Aiken's aim lands true. One of the flaming vermites smacks into the Vermite King. Dry robes and splashed oil ignite, flames licking over the blob of flesh. The creature rears back, its arms and legs whipping around wildly. One of its legs actually sweeps over the pair and slams into the stone door behind him. There's a crack, and the door splits, then starts to collapse. An opening to the passage beyond becomes visible. The only problem is … it'll be a really tight fit to get through.

Luckily for Aiken, he's a rodent, and they tend to be masters at tight spots. "Mister Jack, hurry!" Still swatting at the vermites, he makes a bee-line for the hole, trying to squeeze himself through.

Jack is in the middle of drop kicking a vermite. It happens to bounce off the side of the lich's head, too. "See, told you, think creatively. Just got to be positive and a solution always appears!" the otter insists. He follows after Aiken.

Aiken reaches the hole and even manages to get partway though it … then finds himself stuck.

The squirrel's heart sinks, and he tries as hard as he can to pull himself through. "Mister Jack – give me a push!"

Otters are the master of the cannonball dive. They're also apparently masters of the cannonball butt-bomb. Jack slams into Aiken's backside and he pops out the hole. He finds himself sitting on the other side.

Jack's hat comes flying through the hole next. "Can't let my lucky hat fall into the hands of evil!" Jack calls from the other side of the door. The otter then starts squirming his way through the gap.

The squirrel goes crashing onto the floor, holding on to his now aching bottom as he gets to his feet. Swiveling about, he runs to Jack, grabs ahold of his arm, and pulls hard. "C'mon Mister Jack, you c'n do it!"

Jack is almost through then abruptly jerks to a stop. "Dagh, he's grabbed my foot!" the otter curses. It's hard to make out what the creature behind the door is saying, but the tone isn't pleasant.

Aiken panics. He grabs a better hold of Jack's arm, and also grabs his shirt collar. Bracing himself against the door with his feet, the Kadie pulls even harder. "Kick at him! C'mon!"

"How can I kick when he's got my foot?" Jack snaps as he squirms violently in the hole. And then … the otter blinks as he seems to think of something. There's a loud thwack and Jack lurches forward again, tumbling into the hall atop Aiken.

The squirrel gives a loud "OOF" as he crashes to the floor. "Gettoffame!"

Jack rolls off the Kadie and pushes himself to his feet. With a snap of his tail, he catches his hat and flips it up. It lands neatly on his head. "Never underestimate the power of an otter's tail," he says smugly.

Of course, now that the hole in the door is clear of otter, vermites start streaming through.

"And never underestimate the power of a Kadie's feet – RUN!" Jack's comment has barely escaped his lips before Aiken is sprinting down the hall on all fours – the very picture of a squirrel who's had enough.

Jack takes off after Aiken. They hurry up through the long and dark passage … red eyes and snapping jaws not too far behind. And then about fifteen feet before the entrance back into the circular room … the vermites behind them abruptly stop. They hiss and snap, but they go no further.

"Hey, they stopped. I wonder if this is as far as his power goes," Jack comments as he skids to a halt.

Aiken's squirrelly ears swivel backwards at the sound, and he slows his pace, looking over his shoulder. After a bit, he ceases running, then stops. "What in the Star… why did they just stop?"

It's like there's an invisible wall between them and the vermites. They just won't go any further up the passage. They look like they want to … they just seem unable to.

"Well, that was fun. Nothing like getting the blood flowing, eh?" Jack comments and lightly punches Aiken's shoulder. "You did great for a beginner back there. A real hero, standing up to a monster like that."

Aiken looks down the hall in confusion, his peering interrupted by the punch. "Well, he shouldna threatened my girls," the Kadie replies, rubbing his shoulder. Looking down at his arm, he winces at the bite marks. "Speakin' of blood flowin'… "

There's a rather swollen spot on Aiken's arm. He can see two punctures in the flesh beneath the fur. It also tingles and burns.

"Gah, did you get bit? Their bite is mildly toxic," Jack comments as he looks at Aiken's arm too. "Want me to suck the poison out?"

"Toxic?" Aiken looks up at Jack worriedly. "Suck it out? Er… I don't know you that well, Jack… I think I need a doctor… " The squirrel looks woozy.

"It won't kill you, it'll just make you a bit queasy," Jack tries to explain as he takes a hold of Aiken's arm. As he prods at the bite something a bit abnormal happens. The fur around the bite starts falling out.

"But … that usually doesn't happen," Jack comments.

The color drains from Aiken's ears. "Suck it out! Suckitoutohdagh!!"

Jack's lip twitches. But … he starts doing just that. It feels really strange, too. A weird pulling sensation followed by something oozing out of his arm. It's not painful, but it does tingle at first. But more worrisome, the tingle fades and the spot starts growing numb.

Aiken face plunges into a look of complete dismay. "I can't feel it anymore… Jack, I need a doctor!" The Kadie looks at the otter pleadingly.

The room seems to sway, then spin. The din of angry chattering from the vermites seems to distort in his mind. He could swear they're chanting, "Join us … join us… "

"No!" Ears and tail wilting, Aiken collapses to the floor, and starts to scrabble back towards the entrance. "I'm not one of you! Leave me alone!"

Jack spits again, a look of disgust on his face. "Come on, let's get back to camp and I'll check you for other bites too and do what I can. We'll pack up and head back as fast as we can. I'm sure your town has to have a doctor, right?" he says as he follows Aiken. Gently, the otter lifts Aiken up and starts carrying him up the stairs. "Please, just … try to breathe deep and calm down. You're alive. It'll be fine."

Aiken can't feel that spot on his arm, but he can see it. The flesh has turned dark, almost black, and seems to be throbbing softly. The flesh around the spot also seems to squirm a bit unnaturally.

Aiken shivers as he's carried away, curling his tail around his chest like a security blanket. His heart beats rapidly at the sight of his bites behavior, and he stares blankly down the corridor, back in the direction of the vermites. "Jack, I don't wanna be a vermite… "

"You won't; you'll be fine," Jack says firmly as he carries the Kadie up the stairs. "Midge! Get me some boiling water and find the cleanest cloth you can. I need to make some bandages," he calls out.

From down in the darkness, Aiken can hear the call, "Join us. Take your place at our master's feet… "

"What?" the golden otter calls back, but does go about putting the kettle over the campfire. "What's wrong with Mr. Briar?"

"He's been bitten. I need to get out as much of the poison as I can, then bandage it. While I treat the bites, I'll need you to pack camp. We need to head back," Jack instructs with a level of calmness rarely seen in an otter.

"Jack, I can't stay here," the Kadie says pleadingly. "They'll come and get me! I don't wanna go back!"

"We're not. I just need to treat the bites and we'll leave. It should be an hour or less," Jack says as he carries the Kadie to the wagon and sets him in the back. "I also need you to hold still," he continues as he pulls out his dagger again.

"Oh no!" the otter-girl wails. "Curiel will kill me if something bad happens to Aiken!" she says as she rushes about, first to find the cloth for the bandages and then to start packing things up. "I won't have to hold him down or anything if you need to hack off a limb, will I?"

"I'm not hacking off anything," Jack explains as he takes a firm hold of Aiken's arm. Right now it's a good thing that spot is numb, because Jack cuts a slit in it. Black liquid oozes from the wound. But, on the good side, the throbbing and squirming of the spot lessens. "Were you bit anywhere else?"

If possible, Aiken goes even paler at the sigh of the dagger – Midge's commentary doesn't help much. "In-in an hour they'll be here… we got-gotta go!" The squirrel struggles weakly, but soon relents as what little energy he has gives out. "O-on my leg… I think… "

"You want me to get his pants off?" Midge asks fretfully, as she checks on the water.

"Okay," Jack says as he shifts down to Aiken's leg. "No need," he says as he splits the spot of Aiken's pants when he finds the small punctures in the fabric. "Find me some moss growing on the north side of a tree or boulder. The one we want will be a sickly red in color. It helps stops evil humors from spreading."

Setting down the bundle of stuff she was already carrying, Midge nods and bounds off into the woods in search of red moss.

"Th-there's nothing humorous about this, M-mister Jack," Aiken says, still shivering, and now doubly distraught at the ooze pouring from his body. "Th-they're gonna come f-for me… "

Before doing an incision in Aiken's leg, though, the otter lifts his hat off and drops it on Aiken's head. "That hat has been blessed by many witches, wise men, and shamans. It's been with me my entire life and has always kept me safe. So long as you wear it, nothing will come take you," Jack explains.

The hat nearly engulfs the Kadie's head, seeing as he's considerably smaller than the otter. "I-I'd feel better if it could use its magic to fly me away from here – but it can't do that, c-can it?" He takes a quick glance back at the stairwell entrance.

"No. We'll be gone in an hour. There's no way that thing could get through that door quickly, so trust me, you're safe," Jack repeats. He's now working on Aiken's leg. And though he can't see the wound, the small pool of black ooze that puddles near his leg is indicative enough. "Okay, just rest a moment and I'll make some bandages," the otter says as he starts cutting up some of the cloth that Midge brought over.

Oddly enough, with the hat on, the voices from below are much less. Aiken can only barely hear them chant now.

The blond otter reappears at the edge of the woods, and waves a handful of pinkish-red stuff in the air. "Is this it, Mr. Jack?" she calls out.

Aiken weakly pulls the hat down around his head – almost as if he were trying to fit his whole self inside. "H-he's the Vermite King, he c-can probably get the door open if he wanted t-to… "

Jack pauses in his bandage making and and looks over. "What's it taste like?" he calls out.

The other otter nibbles on the moss, and proclaims, "Kinda like dry moss, Mr. Jack! Could use a little oil and vinegar."

"Bah, listen to me," Jack says to Aiken, "Most of surviving any adventure or danger is simply believing you will make it. Quit thinking on what could happen and think on all the reasons you need to make it."

"Well, it's probably it, then. Put it in the boiling water and let it simmer for a couple minutes, please," Jack calls over to Midge. "When it's done, scoop it out into a bowl and bring it here."

Aiken can think of two very good reasons. "Okay, M-mister Jack. But I'll have a b-better time believing when we've left… "

Midge does as she's told, and then goes back to packing things up while the moss simmers.

"The bites don't look that bad. I've seen worse," Jack says, trying to be reassuring. "There doesn't seem to be too much ooze."

"D-do they usually ooze l-like that, though?" the Kadie asks. "A-and do the vermites usually… talk?"

"Only when I've had a few too many," Jack comments jokingly. "As for oozing, depends on what bit. Sometimes they ooze. Sometimes they swell. be thankful it wasn't a Horrib sting, though. They lay eggs in their victims."

"I'd rather not be s-stung… or b-bit… or anything… I want some tea," the Kadie coughs.

"You do get used to it eventually," Jack comments as he looks over to check the status of the pot and moss. "Is there any tea left from lunch?" he asks.

"Um," Midge says, looking to the kettle full of moss. "Is moss tea okay? I dumped out the stuff from before, so it wouldn't stain the kettle."

"Wouldn't hurt him. Might not taste great, though," Jack admits.

Aiken shakes his head, "I c-can't wait… " Color slowly starts to return to the Kadie's ears, and he peeks out from under the hat. Its very apparent that he's physically worn out, however.

The girl brings over the bowl of boiled moss first, and says, "I could clean out the pot and make fresh tea?"

Jack lifts a bit of the steaming moss and sets it onto a bandage. That he presses down over the wound on Aiken's leg firmly. He takes one of the other bandage strips and wraps that around the first, then ties it off securely. "Up to Aiken," he says absently.

Aiken winces as Jack presses on the bites, but looks to Midge. "Y-yes, fresh tea would be good… but we'll n-need to drink it on the road… " The squirrel still looks rather pensive.

Jack moves on to Aiken's arm next. The procedure is the same; moss on a bandage, bandage to wound, another bandage around both to secure it. "If you want to make the tea, Midge, I'll work on packing," Jack says.

"Alright!" Midge says, and goes to dump out the moss-flavored water and refill the kettle.

Jack pats Aiken's arm. "Just relax, okay? I'll get the camp packed," he says, then goes to do just that.

It's about then that Aiken notices Jack's little ornate box is sitting in the back of the wagon with him. Thankfully, it is neither moving, nor is anything being said from it.

Aiken's heart starts to beat wildly at the sight of the box, and he weakly pushes himself as far from it as he can, keeping a watchful eye on it lest it wake up. As best he can, the squirrel starts to relax – although that's easier said than done.

The box slides away and thankfully stays there.

"Do you want extra honey?" Midge calls to the Kadie. "Because there's not a lot left, so if you want all of the rest… "

"N-No, but thanks, M-Midge," Aiken calls out to the otter girl as best he can. "Just give me th-the same as everyone else." Eyes returning to the box, he pulls his tail over himself like a blanket, and buries his face in the hat. The quickest escape seems to be through sleep.