Welcome to Gaia! ::

The children were strangely endearing to him. The boy, Percy (named for the great Percival), and the girl, Morrigan (named for the apparently greater Morgan), were good company in a room full of death, though they had to be shooed out to a corner eventually; Jack didn't want them catching or spreading something as more injured knights came and went through his workspace. They filled his silence with babbled tales, and he didn't mind the noise so much. He could choose to tune them out, or he could choose to listen--it didn't seem to bother them either way.

He fed off their obvious memories, longing to be able to match. Their probing questions grew uncomfortable the more he was unable to tell them anything of himself, other than he was a green knight, servant under Gawain, pledging salvation and rejuvenation. (Words the children didn't quite understand but bobbed their heads at because they sounded nice enough.)

But their time was short. Jack had one more quest to go out on, and then he could prove himself a fully fledged knight rather than a knight-apprentice. Getting several good lucks and a little flower to add to his mantel, he pat their heads, told them to be watchful and to stay out of trouble, and got on his horse.

Time to venture out one last time.

Idle dreams of what shape it would take filled his journey. He barely noticed the rustling around them and cursed himself for his lapse of attention. In the forest they were beset by spiders once more, but Jack wasn't particularly bothered by them; one couldn't find them intimidating after staring a wyvern in the eyes, after all. He fed them some pieces of food and went on his way.

But he made his horse go slow. The trees were still comforting, and he didn't know when he'd get to see them again after this. If only there was a way to capture this image forever...

Finally, the last stretch was hit, the home of the artifact found within a few minutes of searching. There was no old man, no eagles, no sudden avalanche, and no drop of his food as he arrived, and after everything that had happened Jack did the one thing he had been wanting to do since beginning this damn quest--he took a long, deep breath, and exhaled it slowly.

Muscles that he didn't know had been tensed slowly uncoiled. His stress, at least momentarily, softened its edges. The quests would finally be over after this. He could turn in his items, receive quality armor, and become a knight in a very short time. With a sacred weapon, who knew what else he could accomplish?

Maybe he could even get some answers. That's what Jack wanted most of all.