The Summer I Met The Goblin King (ONC 2023)

Chapter Three: The Power of Smol

Meme guided them through a swamp that stank of dead things. Casey held her nose and gagged but kept following after the small dragon. "How much further do we have to go?"

The dragon nodded forward. "It's just past this groove of man eating plants. Don't let them touch you or—"

Jack screamed as a plant munched his arm.

"Are you bleeping kidding me? We need to run, now," Meme said, taking off into a sprint as the tree's around them warped into what resembled a large mouth.

Sir Godly swung his sword at the branches as they reached out toward Jack. "If you were more manly you would not have caused this issue!"

"If I was a jock I still would've gotten bit, stop mocking me for being a nerd! Jerk!" Jack cried running ahead of everyone else as the tree's chased after him.

Sir Godly scoffed. "I have no idea what a jock is but I for one wouldn't take you on as a squire. You are too much of a lady."

"Hey, rude," Casey grumbled. "Don't put me in the same category as Jack."

"You're right, you both belong in a different category, your weakness would insult even the weakest princess of this land," Sir Godly declared, taking out the last tree by cutting its roots.

"Quiet down or you'll wake my ex. We don't want to see what happens when she's up," Meme stated as he pointed to a little cave up ahead. It looked about the size of a crawl space that you gamble with getting stuck inside.

"I'm not going to fit in there with my armor. You're going to need to go it alone, Casey, you're the smallest out of everyone," Sir Godly said, taking a step back. "You also seem to be liked more by dragons. I'll stand guard out here."

"What? No! Meme likes me, but that doesn't mean his ex will, what if she tries to eat me?" Casey protested, throwing her arms up. "Can I at least have something to defend myself?"

Sir Godly tossed a knife at her feet that resembled a letter opener. "This is all I'd trust you with. Don't need you hurting yourself by improperly handling a blade."

"Gee thanks, I'll fend off a dragon with paper cuts."

Meme grabbed at Casey's pants leg with his claws. "Let's stop wasting time. If she wakes up before we grab a map we are dead. JJ is part of the group of dragons that gives us a dangerous name."

Letting out a long breath, Casey got down on her hands and knees and crawled into the muddy cave. It was surprisingly well lit with little rocks that gave off a gentle glow in the walls. After a few minutes of being surrounded by nothing but mud and stone, the cave opened up into a little cavern with a dragon in the middle that was sleeping on top of a mountain of coins. Next to them, a few feet away, was a stack of maps.

JJ looked almost exactly like Meme, save for their scales being black and red instead of green and purple. Casey wanted to pick them up and squeeze them, they were so freakin cute.

Map. Right. Focus!

Casey walked the quietest she could across the cavern. Until she tripped over a rock and fell face first into the pile of coins that JJ was sleeping on top of. She froze and Meme held his breath.

JJ stirred. "Fish aren't a good breakfast, they should be a lunch or a dinner. Get it right, mom." They flipped over on their side, their face pointed in the direction of the maps.

Slowly pushing herself up, Casey distanced herself from the thankfully still sleeping dragon. She reached out and grabbed a map. It was stuck to two other maps, making a loud, crinkling sound.