The Achievement Junkie

"For now, the kid and I will have to clear our names before the king," said Rydel.

"Oh yeah, I heard all about that," chuckled Jard. "Don't worry, here in Baltwood you're fine. I've already had all the wanted posters silently removed."

"Thank you, but we don't have enough time to stay here. With the kid in his condition, we need to hurry back and let the kid rest."

"Oh yeah," Jard remembered Jack's unconsciousness after being too distracted by the news presented to him. "Did he really fight a lv. 36? And he' still alive?"

"Sort of." It was Byron who answered, drawing in his father's attention. "I'll tell you the exact details later, but you should know that he's the reason I was freed instead of killed. Also, he's the reason I recovered this."

Byron retrieved his green saber, which appeared to glisten in the dimly lit room.

When Jard saw it, he smiled wide, "I'm glad you still have it. Losing such an heirloom and asset of the guild would have made things difficult for the council."

The father and son duo drifted into tangent conversations, losing focus of the meeting they were a part of.

Rydel coughed loudly and continued, "There are still a couple of things I need to clarify."

Everyone refocused and paid attention as Rydel spoke, "We're indeed planning for the worst, in case the Royal Court is truly seeking injustice for its people. However, there are a few things that the association needs to confirm before we act, so don't expect any immediate action on our part. It'll take time."

"And in the meantime?" Brunar was the one who spoke, curious about everything and wanting to be a part of this and not just a viewer on the sidelines.

"The queen would like to stay the night, discussing how to handle the remaining prisoners with Jard and the guild. As for us, we need to verify how much the Royal Court knows about our invasion of the goblin city," answered Rydel.

"Why's that?"

"Don't ya remember what Jack let loose?" Maynard chimed in, trying to get his disciple to think about the situation more thoroughly.

"Oh yeah." Brunar was shocked that he could forget about a rampaging Hell-flame Fox. "Wait, what happened to that little guy? Don't tell me we forgot about him?"

"No, we haven't forgotten him," sighed Rydel.

"He's here with us," replied the queen. A decorative ring with a ruby red gemstone glowed around her finger as a figure appeared in her cupped hands.

As the figure materialized and solidified, it shook itself free and jumped onto the table, looking in every which way. The fox appeared desperate to like it was missing its other half.

"Bowser, relax," called out Rydel, who was the most familiar with Bowser after Jack. "Everything is okay, and Jack is fine."

Bowser blinked but didn't fully calm down. No one else could tell, but Bowser was attempting to call Jack with no avail. Without hearing Jack's reply, it would be hard to calm him.

"Calm down, boy. Jack is with a doctor right now, if you wait then we'll take you to him."

Rydel's words seemed to do the trick as Bowser's movements slowed. He continued to try and call Jack, but he was feeling a bit better, albeit confused as to where he was ad how he got here.

"You're with us back in Baltwood, I'm sure you remember Baltwood." Bowser walked across the table as Rydel explained the situation, "After the battle, both you and Jack were left unconscious. Jack still hasn't woken up but is fine, we checked with magic."

Still wary of the sudden change of scenery, Bowser stared at who assumed was the goblin queen.

"Don't be mad at her for containing you temporarily," continued Rydel. "She only did it to keep you from acting out in rage in case you were mad about Jack being unconscious."

He didn't add any mention of the internal injuries because that might trigger the young fox. This was discussed by him and the queen as the best option to keep the goblin city from having to face another round of hell's flames.

Bowser narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between Rydel and the queen, trying his best to determine the truth.

"We all know that you're still young Bowser, so how could we guarantee that you wouldn't just wreak havoc the moment you were mad about what happened to Jack?" reasoned Rydel.

The silent fox stopped examining the room and remained still in the center of the table. It waited there as if it were agreeing with Rydel, so long as he could be taken to Jack immediately.

"Bowser and this should be known for everyone in this room, we need to do everything we can to keep you a secret," said the slightly nervous hunter. The last thing he wanted to do was try to contain an angered Hell-flame Fox that he wasn't allowed to hurt.

"Your breed is known by others as a sign of destruction. So, if anyone found out you were with Jack, a lot of people would begin threatening Jack. You wouldn't want that, right?"

Slowly shaking his head, the fox showed his understanding.

"Then please, no matter what happens, don't use your powers until we publicly announce it, okay?" persuaded Rydel. "Till then, just stay with Jack and don't do anything. You attacking the goblin city might already force us to hurry the announcement and prepare protection for you and Jack until you're strong enough yourselves."

Bowser frowned, not liking the thought of concealing his bloodline. He understood Common well enough to understand most of Rydel's words thanks to his chats with Jack, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't dislike the idea Rydel presented.

"Please Bowser," suddenly a female voice called out.

Bowser and everyone looked to the side of the table to see Slivia staring intently at Bowser. "Please do as he says. That way Jack will be okay; that's what you want right?"

The fox's alert expression lightened and became more docile after hearing Slivia's plea.

Everyone let loose a quiet sigh of relief. If Bowser wouldn't agree to that or exploded in youthful anger, things would've been a whole lot worse for them. Not to mention how hard it would be to keep a rampaging Bowser from the eyes of anyone else.

"Good," Rydel retrieved a few large portions of dry rations and threw them to the center of the table.

Accepting the offering, Bowser moved in a flash and began to devour the meat before everyone's eyes. Those who had never seen him eat before were startled by his speed and appetite, quickly chomping through the rations like they were toddler swallowing small candies whole.

"Is there anything else?" asked Rydel, looking around the room. When no one replied, Rydel took out his contact crystal. "Then I'll contact the branch chief while our host prepares the feast. I'll contact you each individually if there's anything else."

Everyone present either stood up or leaned further back into their chairs, clearly done speaking about such weighted topics.

Before Rydel exited to call Zariff, he linked his contact crystal to Jard's and bowed his head respectfully to the queen. He quickly left the room behind Jard.

The atmosphere lightened up as conversations sprung up. Brunar chatted with Maynard about their stand against the goblins, looking for advice. Shlad talked with the queen and Byron, trying to establish a positive relationship between the two powers.

Troni attempted to converse with Slivia, going on about how he was glad she was okay after everything. He was genuinely grateful that she was okay, but he had slight jealousy towards Jack, who got to see her more fully during the mission.

She nodded and said a few things, but she was too distracted by the lonely fox who laid on the table.

Mid-conversation, she said, "Excuse me," and walked away.

Troni attempted to follow but as Slivia neared Bowser, the fox stared at him with a mysterious gaze. Not fond of how the fox glared at him and still hesitant to accept a Hell-flame Fox into the party, Troni walked towards his master to hear the insights Maynard shared with Brunar.

Slivia noticed the worry and distrust in Bowser's eyes. As friendly as she could muster, Slivia said, "It's going to be okay. Want to sit on my lap?"

Bowser was momentarily stunned by Slivia's offer, at a fork between his current emotions. He enjoyed playing with Slivia, but he didn't feel it was appropriate with Jack not there.

"I'll pet and rub behind your ears," offered Slivia, using her trump card.

Unable to resist such an offer, Bowser reluctantly trotted to the table's edge.

As Slivia sat down, Bowser hopped gently into her lap and walked in two complete circles before laying across her thighs.

She eagerly petted his fur, relaxing and she did so. This was beneficial to both her and Bowser, letting them better relax while Jack remained with the doctor.