A Strange Adventure | TADC | Jax x Ragatha

The Hive

Ragatha hops off of the escalator, stumbling on the rocky terrain of the Gloink cave. She yelps, and it echoes through the cave. It's colder than up on the surface level, and a lot darker.

Ragatha shivers. "Oh, I should have brought a sweatshirt or something.."

Jax is unaffected. "What do you think the chances are that the Gloinks hid all the items here?"

Ragatha shrugs. "Maybe. The Gloinks aren't that smart, right?"

Jax walks up to a Gloink sitting around and kicks it. He then moves on.

The mounds of random blocks and shapes are too difficult to see anything in, and nothing appears to be on the surfaces.

Ragatha starts pulling one pile apart, digging deeper and deeper into it as she goes.

Jax leans on the pile. "Let me know if you need help getting out."

Ragatha sticks her hand out, giving a thumbs up. "I'm good!"

A minute or so of digging, and Ragatha returns empty handed.

Ragatha tries to put her hair behind her ear, it falling back out immediately. "Do we have to search every single pile?"

Jax walks to another pile. "Unless you wanna lose." He dives into the pile.

They search each pile, growing more frustrated every failed attempt.

Ragatha digs through the last pile, hitting her hand on something firm. She grabs it, exiting the pile to see what it is.

She looks at the object, and gasps. "It's my book! This must be my item!"

Jax sticks his head out of another. "Oh, really? Lemme see."

He snatches the book out of Ragatha's hands, looking at it for a couple of seconds before handing it back. "Cool."

Jax looked up, groaning. "Still nothing."

Ragatha smiles, clearly happier than Jax is. "Hey, keep your head up! We found my book! That has to be some progress right?"

Jax put on a cheesy smile. "Yay."

Ragatha walks past him, towards the exit. A Gloink hops in front of her. She steps back, a bit startled.

The Gloink jumps forward, crashing into Ragatha. She falls backwards. "Ow!"

The Gloink steals the book from Ragatha's hands, running away with it.

Ragatha stands up, chasing after it. Jax laughs in the background.

The Gloink ducks through crevices and rocks, but after a bit of running, Ragatha corners the thing.

Ragatha breathes heavily, exhausted. "Alright little guy, hand it over."

She slowly walks closer, treating it like a feral animal.

Ragatha is just about to grab the book, and then it dashes underneath her, escaping again.

She turns around, and begins running, expecting another wild goose chase. Instead, she almost runs into Jax, struggling to hold onto the Gloink.

Ragatha digs her heels, coming very close to running into Jax. "Oh! You got it."

Jax strains, tightening his grip. "Now take the thing so I can let go."

Ragatha takes the book gently, and Jax throws the Gloink to the side.

Jax grabs his arm, grimacing. "I think the stupid thing bit me!"

Ragatha holds the book close to her chest. "Sorry."

Jax pats Ragatha on the head, smiling. "Don't worry. Not your fault. The Gloinks are just rabid."

Ragatha starts walking back to the escalator. "Now, hopefully, we can actually leave."

Jax runs to the escalator, and Ragatha jogs. By the time they reach their destination, they're both tired. The Gloink cave is a lot larger than it seems.

Jax strikes up conversation. "What is that book anyway?"

Ragatha shows him the cover, fidgeting with the pages. "It's really nothing much, just a book I like. Not sure how this got chosen for my important item, it's really just a book."

The cover doesn't reveal much, just the name. From what's understandable, it's a murder mystery.

Jax seems surprised. "Huh. Doesn't seem like the type of book you would read."

Ragatha pulls the book back to herself. "Oh, really? Well, Zooble recommended it to me."

Jax looks off into the distance. "Maybe that's why it was chosen? It has something to do with.. someone you care about."

Ragatha shrugs. "I care about everyone here! They'd end up bringing everything in my room!"

Ragatha looks over at Jax. "But, in your case, you don't seem to care about anybody. What do you think they took?"

Jax sighs, glancing at Ragatha. "I have an idea. But anyway, are you okay? You fell earlier."

Ragatha brushes it off quickly. "I'm fine."

Jax looks worried. "If you say so. Should we go to Caine to tell him that we've found your book?"

Ragatha nods. "Yeah. Besides, it'll be a good chance for us to maybe get a hint on where to look."

Ragatha steps off the escalator, but Jax isn't so lucky. He catches his foot on the ledge, and tries to catch himself by grabbing onto something.

He fails, and falls to the ground.

Ragatha reaches her hand out to help him up, and he takes it.

Jax dusts off his pants, squinting. "You didn't see that, okay?"

Ragatha giggles. "Alright. Let's go tell Caine."

They wander for a bit, yelling out Caine's name before he randomly appears in front of them.

Caine raises his (eyebrow? tooth??) in question. "What do you need, Team Ragatha?"

Jax points his thumb to Ragatha. "We found her book. Can you give us a hint to find mine?"

Caine puts his hand on his chin. "Hmmmm.. sure! Your item is... somewhere dangerous.. I wish you luck."

Jax and Ragatha both look at each other, a little shocked. Before any of them can speak, Caine is gone.

There's a moment of silence, then Jax speaks. "...That's not good."

Ragatha holds her book tighter. "How did the Gloinks put it somewhere dangerous? Isn't that against whatever rules this universe has?"

Jax puts his hand on his head, thinking. "It's never been stated that the Gloinks aren't super powerful. The problem is, where is this dangerous area?"

Ragatha puts the book on a nearby table. "Pomni's been exploring, maybe we can ask her? Or Kinger, he's definitely scarred from something."

Jax stops, looking off at the wall. "What if it's the cellar?"

Ragatha turns, putting a finger to his mouth. "Don't say that. It.. can't be. It's impossible."

Jax blinks, breaking out of his thoughts. "Okay. Let's find Pomni."

Ragatha starts walking, and Jax seems nervous. Ragatha puts a hand on his shoulder.