Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The black void was all-encompassing. That was to say there was nothing fun as far as one's sight could see. In the end, every minute felt longer than it had to be.

Ed yawned inwardly as he waited for the usual 10 minutes to finish up. How that was possible was up to experts in consciousness to figure out, Ed was more preoccupied with his usual speculations about his next destination.

'Let's see… I left the lizardmen fighting the Mensch remnants' They would be fine without him seeing as the remnants were well… remnants but it was a bit worrying. If the dungeon sent him over there he could settle it for good.

That reminded Ed that A should still remain there. How were things working out for him...

***

Back to the time when Ed's consciousness was first whisked away, A was left dumbfounded. The cage A carried still had Ed's main body but without consciousness... it was basically worthless!

'Well, maybe it drops something nice...' A thought while staring intently at the cage. But he soon shook his head. He needed to just take over for Ed.

The real tricky part with taking over however was the fact that he had no way to communicate with any of the lizardmen.

'Damn it!' He could only seethe silently as he watched the lizardmen clear rubble and debris.

It wasn't until the lizardmen were done searching for the 5 minutes Ed commanded previously that A finally let out a sigh and prepared to convey his thoughts to Var Agus. He wasn't up for a game of charades though…

A made the most simple yet understandable motion possible while still carrying his cage. It was a motion for Var Agus to follow him.

"We'll be back" Var Agus said to the ship crew before catching up with the scurrying A. The both of them ended up moving to the other edge of the ruins out of sight of the other lizardmen.

It was now time for A to send his message.

"Aaah! What are you doing!?!" Var Agus exclaimed seeing as the Mushroom God's guardian suddenly tossed the cage with the god onto the ground. Var wanted to instinctively pick it up but A continued to then jump atop the cage.

"Wha…" He then hopped up and down as if he held a grudge against the mushroom god. But how could the guardian be so bad at his job!?!

The sight was so shocking that Var Agus had no idea how he was supposed to react! He simply turned as white as a sheet of paper after thinking about the admonishment that would surely befall him.

Var didn't know if the mushroom god would admonish him or its guardian but Var was not looking forward to it!

…

But there never came any admonishment.

"Huh?" Var was confused.

A had calmly picked up the cage and stood there waiting for a positive response from Var Agus.

"Where is the god?" Var Agus quickly noticed the problem.

"Were you trying to tell me the god left?" Var asked A who stared at him as if he were stupid. At least that was the impression Var Agus got, it was unlikely given that the puppet A inhabited was not able to form expressions.

Either way, it became plain to Var Agus that he and the guardian would not be able to communicate with one another.

After some consideration, Var Agus decided to walk back to the group. He would keep the matter a secret for as long as possible while it was convenient. While Var knew the god simply left with the purpose of bringing them greater gains, sharing this while they were still in pursuit of enemy forces was not very wise.

The mushroom god was much smarter than Var, a fact he hated to admit but... it was true. While it sounded like something Var should be able to come to terms with, the reality was it meant he was useless.

How could he help the mushroom god!?! The god had power! The god had smarts! He couldn't help at all

The mushroom god was reassurance during tumultuous times. The lizardmen knew that as long as he was present they would brave storms but... Var Agus was a disgrace to his own master. Who could trust him?

He was still scarred by the moment the hydra gobbled up his master. Such was the ritual of the tribe but Var Agus never learned to accept it. He tried to put up with it but in the end, the moment the hydra died, he switched sides without remorse.

"I can't stay like this…" Both his intelligence and strength of mind paled in comparison to the mushroom god! That wouldn't do! 

Var didn't know how long it would take for the God to return, but he had to take charge for this period! Be the period short or long, upon the mushroom god's return, he would see Var doing his best to not just keep their ship afloat, but to sail it across the troubled waters ahead.

Upon the return to the group Var ordered their retreat out of the foggy ruins. A obviously wanted to follow them and board the ship but first he made sure to grab some fruits.

'These will be good to plant back at the village' As long as Ed made patches of water shrooms, the water skin fruit might be able to thrive. They might be a good ware for Sanctuary.

The lizardmen saw that A grabbed these fruits and they though confused copied his action.

Later on the ship, they sailed back to the rendezvous point. Chasing after Crini and her crew would be a bit difficult after all.

Before they could completely reach the rendezvous point however, the group was intercepted by 5 ships. They didn't end up on alert, however.

"""Var!""" ""Var Agus!!"" "Leader!" Judging by their shouts, all the ships were friendlies.

The flagship went to greet these 5 ships and soon enough, all the captains were gathered in the flagship. Var Agus was the one in charge of this impromptu meeting of 6 captains.

"We found some remnant forces and as you probably heard, they managed to steal a ship and head in that direction" Var Agus informed and pointed some were far away. The meeting was being held outside on the deck so there was no confusion.

There was disdain though.

"You couldn't even handle that" Rox, the Blood Bat divine warrior, said with obvious hostility. This hostility was targeted towards Var Agus and a wary eye towards Zaoxl, the salmon warrior, who tackled him last time.

Var Agus chose not to comment.

"Crini and Rexl went ahead of us, but we won't know their exact location" Var Agus simply continued to gear the conversation towards the topic at hand.

"I believe we should separate far enough to cover more land but not enough to get lost" Var Agus believed this would allow them to find the two ships with more ease.

"It's not bad but… It might take a while" A lizardman captain said with a thoughtful expression. Huzlot's mind was racing for an answer to this problem. He was the divine blood warrior of human after all, he was always immersed in thought. Though in this case he was stating the obvious.

"I don't think we have a better alternative" Var Agus said.

"Tsk!" Rox said expressing his dissatisfaction. Var Agus was unfortunately right! They'd have to cooperate. Or that had been the case until he noticed A from the corner of his eyes.

"Hey, why don't we ask for God's opinion?" Rox said before flashing a disingenuous smile. A who was suddenly being looked acknowledge the abnormality.

'My great puppet figure is enthralling, but please stop staring!' A wanted to shout. Without being able to understand anything, the stares felt very threatening. But soon the lizardmen's eyes diverted as they all exchanged glances.

The decision they were about to make was nothing major, why should they get the God involved? It just displayed their great incompetence.

"We don't need to do that, let's just depart" Var Agus said as he stood from his seat.

"We haven't come to a consensus" Rox said. The use of we was referring to everyone on the table. That caused some raised eyebrows, did they complain? No!

"Which is exactly why we will do what I want" Var Agus said sternly. Rox was furious!

"This is the second time! Stop trying to make this your tribe you crappy Shaman!" Rox shouted angrily as he launched off his seat. He would kill Var Agus today! No one would stop him!

"Urgh!" Rox was suddenly tackled by Zaoxl causing Rox's eyes to bulge.

"F*ck! Again!?!" This was the second time he was being tackled by the salmon minded f*cker.

With a tackle to end the meeting, the ships all sailed as per Var Agus' plan. They all split up with just enough distance to see their fellows fading into the horizon. Worst case scenario they could go to aid them in a short minute or two.

Overall, Var's plan had its merits.

They sailed the marshlands for a couple of days before at last catching a glimpse of one of their fellowships. For some reason however they were definitely in battle!