Archive of Our Own

“But, Castien, I don’t know how to use this spell,” Janni says, passing the Wand of Whispers back and forth in his large hands. He settles back in his seat on the train, considering the request laid out before him.

He isn’t really sure he should be in charge of something so important when his memory is so unreliable. Sure, he’s always ready to help and flex, but when it comes to matters of the brain, Janni isn’t so confident.

“I do think my team is really good at using... what is it that Patty said...” Janni takes a moment to think and misses the wince flashing across Castien’s face at the mention of the ratfolk. “She said we should use all of our available resources. So I think that Patty might know how to help me use this, so I’m gonna ask her to teach me.”

Janni looks up to meet Castien’s eyes and is confused by the horror he finds in them. He’s just talking about his bro, Patty, and how helpful she is.

“Don’t worry. Thank you so much, though. I really appreciate this. I will do my best because, yeah, this is a serious competition. Totally.” Janni pats Castien’s arm reassuringly, his golden armour cool against his hot skin.

“Janni, I know how much you... adore... your team, but this is important and isn’t to be trusted with just anyone,” Castien urges, resting his hand atop of Janni’s.

“But you trust me?”

“Of course, Janni! If I can’t trust a fellow paladin of Gavelyne, then who can I trust?”

“Bro.” Janni places his hand on his chest. Castien is such a great dude.

“How about I show you exactly how to use it? That way, you don’t have to bother your team with it. How’s that sound?”

“Yeah, man! Yeah! But promise me you’ll go slow. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but like I can be a bit of a slow learner sometimes.” Janni isn’t proud to admit his mental faults, but ignoring his weakness simply wouldn’t benefit him.

“Of course, Janni.” This time it’s Castien’s turn to flash a warm smile.

He takes the seat across from Janni, his image reflecting in the window as various landscapes whisk by. He is curious as to where the rest of Janni’s squad mates are, only able to hope that they’re not causing trouble wherever they are. The two men put their heads together as Castien takes hold of the wand and shares it between them.

“It has seven charges, and you spend three charges every time you use the sending function, which is what you’ll use to contact me,” Castien begins as Janni studies the wand.

With its waxed body and iron details, it resembles a candlestick more than a wand. As Castien rolls it around, a tiny, harmless flame erupts at the tip, dancing with the gentle movement. Janni notices no heat radiating from it.

“So I can message you…”

“Twice, Janni. You can message me twice,” Castien finishes for him. “Now, hopefully you won’t need it, but remember, I’ll be depending on you to report to me if you see anything suspicious. Even within your own squad.”

Janni scoffs brightly at that, smacking Castien’s knee with enough force to hit his other leg. There’s a harsh clang as his armour strikes itself. The two jump slightly at the noise, looking around to apologize to the other patrons.

“You don’t gotta worry about my squad mates, Castien,” Janni says in a low tone, now overly cautious of disturbing the peace in the train car. “They’re solid dudes. Totally. They’re not the kind of people we’re gonna be on the lookout for,” Janni reassures with a beaming grin, eyes crinkling. Janni sees no reason for Castien to doubt their intentions, he trusts his squad.

Castien takes a moment to stare incredulously at him. “Doesn’t your team consist of Patty Hurts and Astra Blep?”

“And Zelf. The Elf,” Janni says before pausing thoughtfully. “That’s not his last name, though... is it?” he mumbles to himself. Now that he thinks about it, Janni isn’t quite sure he knows Zelf’s last name. Or Manny’s for that matter. Huh, were all elves this mysterious?

“Yes, and Zelf. Just promise me you’ll keep an eye on your squad as well, Janni.” Castien holds Janni’s stare firmly.

Janni nods earnestly, maintaining steady eye contact. “I promise to let you know if I see anything off, Castien. You can count on me.”

Castien sighs in relief.

“Now, back to the wand,” he continues. “It simply takes holding it firmly and flicking your wrist with intention to activate it.” He demonstrates the action in front of Janni, who follows the motion with utmost concentration.

“Intention...” Janni repeats thoughtfully.

“Speak your message clearly and with purpose, and it will be carried away by the wind. It’s really quite simple. I’m sure you’ll have no problem with it.” Castien returns the wand to Janni, helping him wrap his fingers in a proper grip around the iron handle.

“I don’t know, dude,” Janni begins hesitantly before perking up, letting Castien manipulate his fingers whichever way he wanted. “But if you’ve got confidence in me, then I’m sure I can do it!”

“That’s the spirit, Janni. I knew I could trust you with this.” Castien shakes Janni’s free hand with a firm grip, taps a fist bump, and as they separate, they splay their fingers like rays of the sun. “Thank you.”

“Oh, Castien! One more thing I gotta ask before you go,” Janni says as Castien stands, tilting his head to keep him in view.

“Yes? What is it?”

Janni flashes him an innocent grin. “I’m not a magic user... like, at all. That won’t stop me from using the wand, right?”

“Oh, Janni...” Castien sits back down.

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(Alternate scene that takes place after Episode 4 Cartoon Ankle Noose – 33:33)

Zelf swings his arms as he paces back and forth in the Arrowpeak Dungeon. Patty has made her way back up to their level after her tumble, and the squad finally has a moment to recover from combat with the gremlins.

“Alright... gremlins aren’t always, but they can be delicious. But they’re also quite intelligent. But they also have no representation in the elven courts. They’re also inherently evil, which is a count against them,” Zelf presents to the group as he weighs his options in his hands.

Janni rubs the back of his neck, blowing out a breath. He’s trying to see where Zelf is coming from, but it just doesn’t feel right. “Yeah, bro, I don’t know-”

Castien’s voice cuts through his words as a rush of cool air sweeps over the group.

“Wand.”

There’s a moment of silence as the squad processes the interruption before Patty throws her paws into the air.

“What was that, and why did it do that? All I know is I didn’t like it, and I hope it doesn’t happen again,” she says. Her creamy fur is crazed from the swift breeze and she fixes the pieces splaying across her eyes.

“Oh!” Janni exclaims, a bright smile spreading across his sun-kissed face. “That was Castien! Y’know, that paladin of Gavelyne. I don’t know if any of you met him.”

“Yeah,” Astra groans, recalling exactly what an ass he had been.

Janni continues, “He’s a big dude, y’know, this tall, blonde hair, yeah. He showed me his wand.”

Silence falls over the squad once again.

“Janni!” Astra exclaims, grabbing what she can of his massive shoulder and shaking him. His sturdy form doesn’t budge and the only thing she ends up shaking is herself. “We’re your roommates, and you’re looking at other people’s wands? Oh, the betrayal.”

Janni opens his mouth to respond, but Astra groans and throws her arm over her face. “The betrayal!”

Patty pulls out her tankard and takes a swig.

“Castien, of all people, too... oh, Janni, I’m disappointed. I thought you had better taste than that,” Patty mourns. She pats her tiny paw on his thigh and continues drinking.

Zelf shrugs. “I like Castien,” he offers. Astra scoffs and rolls her eyes.

Janni has absolutely no idea what the problem is and is, once again, completely lost. At least his bro Zelf has his back.

“Guys, I’m not really following. Castien showed me his wand-”

Patty pulls out her second tankard and takes a questionably long gulp.

“-and asked me to use it in case I see anyone breaking the rules. See?”

Janni pulls the Wand of Whispers from his armour and shows it to the group. Zelf reaches for it, but Astra slaps his hand away.

“Zelf! Don’t you fucking lick it!” Astra snaps.

Patty lets out a soft “ew,” both at the thought of licking random objects and, more generally, at the thought of Castien.

Zelf sighs longer than a sigh should last. “I wasn’t going to lick it, Astra. I do have a modicum of self-control.”

“Well, I’ve yet to see it,” she says, crossing her arms and glaring at the wand.

Zelf takes it from Janni, who gives it up easily.

“It’s a Wand of Whispers. I’m curious as to why Castien gave this to you, Janni,” Zelf says, inspecting it from every angle. He gives it a playful flourish before offering it to Patty.

“No, no, I’m okay. I don’t really want to touch something that belongs to Castien. Thank you, though,” Patty says, pushing his hand away with the edge of one of her, now empty, tankards.

Zelf considers passing it to Astra, who looks seconds away from snapping it in half, and instead hands it back to Janni.

Janni tucks the wand into his armour.

“So Castien gave you a wand of narc-ing, huh? Fucking narc,” Astra mutters.

“Now that’s not right, Astra. He only wants to keep the competition fair,” Janni replies. “It’s not like we have to worry about it anyway, right, Zelf?”

Zelf looks up from the bento box he’s rearranging and nods solemnly. “Absolutely, Janni. We wouldn’t dare dream of cheating. Couldn’t dream of it.”

“Who do you trust more, Janni? Your roommates or some goody-two-shoes paladin you just met?” Patty asks with an accusatory squeak.

“Well, I only just met you guys too, right? And aren’t I a goody-two-shoes paladin?” Janni is really starting to have trouble following along now.

“Janni, that’s not the point.”

“Oh, sorry. But, Patty! Castien made it sound super important. He said he’d drop everything, even though he was in the middle of the competition to come help out.” Janni really thinks Castien is a cool dude, his friends just need to spend more time with him and they’ll come around. Maybe a picnic someday.

Astra hums in suspicion, listening closely. Now this is worthy of her attention.

“Which is pretty cool-” Janni continues.

“That’s suspicious, actually. That’s weird,” Patty interrupts.

“-but I don’t know how to use the wand,” he finishes.

“Oh, you don’t say?” Astra replies with a sly grin. This conversation just keeps getting more and more
interesting.

Janni nods his head, taking on a serious tone. “But I told him I’d ask you guys, so like, if we see any other teams using maps, we should totally-”

“Call the tip line, yeah... yeah,” Astra murmurs, plans upon plans already forming in her mind.

“Yeah, and Castien can come help us out, right?” Janni agrees.

“Y’know, I can use wands, so...” Astra begins. “Just hand it over. Don’t worry, Janni, it’s in excellent hands.”

She wiggles her fingers towards Janni. He pulls the wand back out and passes it to her, confused by the hum Zelf releases during the action but not giving it too much thought. Astra tosses it lightly between her hands, weighing it in consideration.

“This all seems above board, so I’ll just keep my hand on this. When the time is right, we’ll use it to summon Castien.” If Astra has to be honest, she isn’t exactly sure what she wants to do with the wand, but she knows it’s better in her hands than with Janni.

Plus, she can actually use it to its full potential.

“Thanks, Astra! You’re the best!” Janni is so stoked at Astra is getting on board with their plan. It’s all working out.

“Totally, totally. You’re welcome and ya owe me one!” Astra hides the wand beneath her large coat, layers of beads clacking together as she lifts her arm. She turns to their battle chef. “Zelf did you uh... did you decide what to do with the gremlins?”