Trees lined the pathway between Uhra and the Sea of Baus, and, more specifically, Grand Staff. Magic-Energy had caused animals to grow and become violent. Rock slides in the mountains near the Sea of Baus made trekking through the range dangerous. The mountain was steep, the forest dense. There was nothing about the Ipsylon Range that sounded anywhere near inviting. It didn't seem like the kind of place a group of three unlikely and contrasting members would go vacation in. Then again, it didn't seem like the kind of place anyone would go to. Especially not Jansen Friedh. Jansen preferred more beaches and taverns. But, unless they came across an especially curious beast, there was no alcohol in the forest. Furthermore, Jansen doubted that there would be any attractive women, other than his group mate, Seth. Although she hardly counts as attractive in Jansen's opinion. Although she may not have had a good first impression of him, and he understands that, he still didn't like her and couldn't understand why she didn't like him. Then, there was Kaim. Kaim seemed like the kind of person who would sit in a broken down apartment, staring at the paint on the walls until it chipped off piece by piece. In fact, he did space out for a few minutes, seem depressed for a moment, and then go back to being himself. Which is, well, not exactly fun to be around.

All you have to do is accompany Kaim and Seth. Keep an eye on them. Gongora's words flashed through his mind.

Sure, just keep an eye on them, walk a couple roads, and fly back to Gongora as soon as they did something shifty. Gongora failed to mention where they would be going, or more specifically, what they would be fighting.

"This is ridiculous!" Jansen called. "No one ever told me we'd be walking through a stupid forest!" Seth sighed, putting her hand on her forehead.

"Do you ever close that mouth of yours? We'll be out of the forest soon. And shut it, you already had a rest at that cabin down there." Seth said.

"Yeah, a couple hours ago! And anyway, won't we end up going through the mountain soon?" Jansen asked.

"We're already on the mountain," Kaim said. Jansen rolled his eyes.

"I meant out of this forest, onto a visible mountain where you can see things!" He yelled.

"Stop raising your voice! You're going to attract something!" Seth whispered madly. A brown blur shot out from behind a tree. Seth whipped around and jumped in the air, pulling out her sword and slashing the monster as she landed. "Something like that!" Kaim sped past her and slashed something that had dropped down from the same tree.

"Let's go. We're attracting too much attention," Kaim said. The group began to run, much to Jansen's dismay. He let out a grunt in defeat.

***

Jansen watched the eagle as its head slammed onto the ground. It had flown in so quickly and so randomly, he was sure it would get back up. He couldn't tell if it were breathing or not, but after that treatment, he doubted it would. He thought he did an okay job helping to kill that thing, even helping Seth after she lost consciousness.

"W-We did it," He said. "What the heck was that?" He muttered.

"Not we," Seth said. "Us," She said, motioning her and Kaim. "All you did was sit there from a safe distance, pointing your little toothpick at it," She said. Jansen eyed his staff. It was made from cheap material, but it was a pretty special staff. It worked, so it was special to Jansen. He didn't think he'd ever use it again, anyway.

"Hey, I helped you after you flopped on your little exposed back!" Jansen exclaimed. The two began to argue while Kaim quietly spaced out, looking off the cliff.

"I am going to kick you and your little stick off of this cliff if you don't shut your mouth," Seth muttered to herself.

"Oh, yeah. That's a fair fight. An immortal pirate against a mage. Very nice indeed!" Jansen said, waving his arms sarcastically. None of the group noticed the griffin as its eye opened. It quietly pulled itself up. Jansen, who was closest to the cliff, saw past Seth's shoulder to the rising beast. "Hey! Watch it!" He yelled, pointing past her.

"That's right. All the cowardly mage can do is draw attention away from real life situations! How do you survive in the real-" She was cut off as the beast roared and began flying towards the two. Seth, knowing she wouldn't be able to hit it at that speed, brought out her sword to try and defend herself. Suddenly, the beast burst into flames and flew off the cliff's edge. Seth whipped around and watched the beast as it flew down the cliff, and falling through fog, probably landing in the forest. She looked up to see a smirking Jansen with his hand out, a hint of red disappearing from it.

"Oh, really? I'm the cowardly one?" He asked. He inhaled deeply in quiet relief. He brushed a hand through his hair, and then realized it was loose. "Oh, crap." He muttered. He brushed another hand through his hair and then pulled out a piece of green metal- the only thing keeping his hair up. He winced as it fell around him. "Stupid monster's claws," He muttered. Seth burst out laughing. His hair was sticking up in different directions, looking as through he had taken a ride through a tornado. Seth was on her back, tears forming in her eyes. She turned onto her stomach and pounded the ground.

"That's the best thing I've ever seen!" She said before laughing herself to tears. Kaim, who had come back to reality, caught sight of Seth rolling on the ground, and a furious looking Jansen. Something was different about him, but Kaim couldn't spot it. Kaim sat on a nearby rock and looked off the cliff again.

"Shut up, you stupid pirate!" He yelled. He thrust his hand forward and a blast of water soaked hit Seth like a wall. Her wavy hair fell in knots around her, falling a little past her shoulders. Jansen smirked, and then couldn't hold in laughter. "You look like a wet dog!" He exclaimed, trying to cover his amusement. Seth looked furious.

"Oh no you didn't, you bumbling amateur!" She exclaimed, jumping on his back.

"You psychotic woman! You're going to send us both off the cliff!" He yelled. Kaim sighed at the two. He walked past them and looked past the cliff, seeing a black structure in the distance.

"That must be Grand Staff," He said to himself. "Seth. Jansen. Let's go," He said. The mage pushed the woman off of his back. She wringed out her hair, and then her dress. Jansen began combing through his hair. The two glared at each other, but followed the mercenary nonetheless.

The three made an odd set, two powerful sword wielders and one not-as-powerful staff-swinger. Although Jansen didn't like the personalities too much, he was glad he was told to accompany them. Although he greatly hated traveling and fighting, and doing any form of work at all, he was getting paid for it, so in the long run, it was worth it. Jansen abandoned his messy hair and put his hands behind his head. Jansen sighed, keeping an eye on the pirate next to him.

"So, where to next?"

--**--

A short one-shot, mostly from Jansen's perspective. It was just a little thing I made since I was bored, and I got the idea from a little rp a few other people and I were doing. It was short, and there wasn't much point to it, but I thought it was okay ^^ Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!