Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.

Jack ran through the streets, darting around people and making a beeline to the large stone building he'd seen from his window. Only when he was almost there did he slow down, for people had begun to fill the cobblestone streets in earnest and he was receiving odd looks. Spying a food stand off to the side, Jack bought a lemon poppy seed muffin to eat (and though he hadn't known poppy seeds were sometimes edible, the seeds were very delicious when they were).

He held up his fingers again in front of the building with pillars, and, figuring out which way had been left from his window, he turned that way. Sometimes he would duck into small side streets just in case he was being pursued.

He made it to the wooden building he'd seen the night before (though not without glancing over his shoulder an unhealthily often), and realised it was styled oddly, with a curved sort of roof and a solid stone door (and wasn't that a bit backwards? Wooden building, stone door. Strange.) that, instead of having a handle to the side, had a knob directly in the middle. Jack tugged on the knob, and the door opened.

The inside was dark, with only a few oil lamps burning. There were shelves crowded with dusty bottles of several shapes and sizes, a number large cauldrons and pots in one corner, along with a counter that probably hadn't been dusted in years. The room felt small and cluttered, and there was a tangy scent that permeated the air. Jack hesitantly took a few steps into the stuffy air, a sharp contrast to the city's cold winter air, and the door swung shut as if of its own accord. Eyes wide, he called out a "Hello?" which echoed throughout the room. A hollow clunking sound came from a previously unnoticed and dark doorway, and he automatically backed away from it.

Thump, thump, thump… thump… thump…

Jack was ready to make a run for it, when an older woman waddled out from the doorway, her gnarled cane producing the thumping sounds. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Who's there?" she snapped, her voice high and waspish. Jack supposed she might have been pretty when she was younger, hints of blonde in her faded gray hair, which was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a faded crimson dress that looked dull brown in the dim lighting and was buckled at the waist. She was hunched over, and he suspected the only thing that kept her from falling over was the walking stick, twisted with designs to imitate a tree branch, though it was made of a dull gray metal.

"Hello ma'am," Jack said, opting to be polite. "My name is Jack; I was wondering if you could refill a bottle that once contained a concoction? I was told most-"

"I can make anytheeng." The woman said, pushing past him and nearly slamming her cane on his foot. He noticed she pronounced her short i's as long e's. "Geeve me the bottle," she held out her wrinkled hand, and Jack swiftly pulled the carved wooden bottle from his bag and placed it in her wrinkled hands.

She ran her hands over it, brought it close to her face, uncorked the bottle and sniffed the contents, recorked the bottle, then nodded in a satisfied way and looked at him. "I have no idea what thees ees."

"Oh, um, I have the name written down; I can give it to you." As he fumbled for the paper Mrs. Overland had given him he said, "So, what's your name?"

"Eenconnu, paper, now."

"Sorry Inconnu, here it is." He apologised and hastily gave her the paper. He wanted to ask where she was from, neither her accent nor her name sounded like it was from anywhere in Amadkio, but this old lady was actually sort of frightening and Jack did not want her angry with him, especially as he felt he'd already pushed her a bit by asking her name.

She held the paper close to her face, and Jack wondered why she didn't turn on more lights if she was having that much trouble seeing things.

"Hmmm." She hummed, as though the paper was intriguing, though Jack knew there was only a single word on it. She handed the paper back to him, and said, "You weell have to read eet to me."

"Oh, sure. I need a refill of…" He squinted. "Praesidium?" It came out sounding like a question, and Jack had no idea if he was pronouncing it right.

"A-ha!" Inconnu turned and ran a hand over the shelves that lined the walls. "That does not even require me to meex anytheeng new." Her hand stopped at a bulbous glass bottle. She tapped it slowly and wiped her thumb over its dusty surface, revealing the muddy colored substance Jack was used to seeing. She pulled it from the shelf and uncapped it, then slowly poured it into the wooden bottle Jack had brought. She tilted her ear to the mouth of the bottle to hear when it was full rather than attempt to see it in the faint light. When she had recapped both bottles she turned and thumped her way back to him. She might have run into him, but he held out a hand and stopped her.

"The bottle ees refilled. The best payment ees another potion or a small charm." Her milky eyes blinked at him. "But, seence I deed not have to do anything, I weell accept coins as well."

Jack was ready for this, and already had the rainbow bottle in his hand. He placed it in Inconnu's hand and waited until her bony fingers wrapped around it before he spoke. "If you uncap the bottle it produces rainbows…" He trailed off when he saw her expression. Thin eyebrows were furrowed, and she pursed her lips.

"I'm blind, you eembecile! What use have I for rainbows?" Amidst Jack's apologies, Inconnu took the lid off the bottle. She took no notice of the faintly colored glow (and Jack supposed the weak light made sense now, she probably couldn't tell how bright it was) and instead used her hands to waft the scent of the bottles contents to her.

"Tais toi!" she snapped at Jack, who was still stuttering out an apology. He paused, uncertain of what she said, but he did know that she was less angry. "This weell do. I have not had anytheeng leprechaun made een years. Good-bye." She pushed the refilled bottle of Praesidium at him and used her cane to open the door. When she did not hear him leave, she shoved him outside with the butt of her walking stick. Jack nearly screamed, the cane had burned, but the door had slammed shut and there were lots of people on the streets by now, so he managed to clamp his mouth shut.

As he walked back to The Rest, ready to gather his things and leave this city, he put the full bottle in his bag and muttered "Leprechaun made?"

"We had 'im right here!" Bunny barely remembered to keep his voice down so as not to make the other patrons of the inn suspicious.

"Calm down, Bunny. We'll find him again." Tooth soothed, although it was clear Bunny was anything but.

North nodded empathetically. "If we leave quickly we may even catch him before he leaves the city!" He stood up from the table where the four of them had been eating a small meal, but Sandy stopped him. North looked at him in confusion. "You think we shouldn't leave?"

Sandy nodded, and smoothly signed 'He did not take all of his belongings with him. All we have to do is wait.'

"Sandy, you think he'll come back here before leaving city?"

Tooth gasped. "So all we have to do is sit here and keep and an eye on the door!" When Sandy smiled at her and nodded, she beamed and immediately turned to the door.

"Wait, what's the plan for when 'e does come back? If 'e sees us he won't come in, in fact 'e might just leave the city without taking anything 'e left behind!"

North laughed at Bunny. "Is simple! One of us waits inside Inn, one of us watches from outside, and the other two stay inside the room. People inside room have all of our belongings and are ready to go. Person inside Inn goes to get them when Jack comes back and person outside follows him out of city! Other three catch up to them and we confront Jack!"

"That's…" Bunny's eyebrows rose in surprise at North's statement. "…actually a good idea." His scowl returned to his face, though, as a thought occurred to him. He crossed his tanned arms as he said, "Alright, then how d'ya plan to confront the kid without 'im runnin' off again?"

North shrugged as though the answer was obvious. "Put boy in sack, go home, talk to him there."

A smirk crept across Bunny's face, but Tooth shrieked and covered her mouth at the stares of the lodge's other guests. "You can't do that!" she whispered furiously once she had gotten herself under control.

North looked vaguely puzzled. "Why not? Santoff Claussen is very secure, no chance of him running off before we talk to him."

Sandy steepled his hand in front of his face and blew a steady stream of air out of his mouth in exasperation.

"Because that's wrong! Taking him back to Santoff Claussen is fine, but we aren't going to put him in a sack!" Tooth fidgeted with one of her gold bangles anxiously. "Promise me you won't kidnap him, we can come up with another plan."

North sighed. "Fine, I will not put Jack in sack."

The only female of the group nodded briskly. "Good," she said, not noticing that North was the only one who promised not to try and kidnap Jack in a bag. "Who wants to watch the outside of the inn?"

Sandy raised his hand and shook it like an over-eager student. The golden haired man gestured to Bunny and North, then pointed to the hallway that led to the rooms they had stayed in.

Bunny looked vexed. "Hang on mate, ya want me 'n 'im to wait upstairs?!"

"Well, both of you stick out in a crowd, so…"

"We all stick out anywhere!"

"Sandy and I stick out less!"

"Not here, too colorful. You and Bunny wait upstairs, I keep watch."

"I can get both of you faster! Even if he notices me-"

"Which 'e will."

"-I can tell you to leave the quickest!"

"If it's speed that's important then I should stay! I'm faster 'n all of ya!"

As North, Tooth, and Bunny continued to argue over who should stay inside and watch for Jack, Sandy sighed. His features clearly conveyed his irritation at always having to break up arguments over this and that. He inhaled, and then slammed his hands down on the table, creating a surprisingly loud sound for someone of such small stature.

Tooth, Bunny, and North blinked at him in surprise, ceasing their squabbling. Sandy nodded, satisfied, and pointed to Tooth firmly. She beamed and settled in her chair, fiddling with her clothes to hide as much of the brights colosr she liked to wear as possible.

"Sandy…" North complained, but Sandy firmly gestured to the hallway. With a sigh of defeat, Bunny and North trooped back to their rooms to gather their things together.

"So, you watch from outside, and once I see Jack I go warn the others, then we all go after Jack and bring him back to Santoff Claussen?" Sandy was certain that Tooth knew the plan, she had an excellent memory, but he affirmed her question with a nod anyway.

"Ok," she breathed, and hunched over while fixing her brilliant eyes on the door. "All we have to do is wait."

Sandy patted her hand reassuringly and casually exited. Tooth was positive Jack would be tailed without him knowing it, unlike when they had followed him into the city. Sandy had mastered the art of subtlety.

Jack had circled the street that The Rest was on for roughly an hour before deciding that since he hadn't seen any of the foreigners, they were either never going to leave the lodge or they had already left and he was wasting time.

When he approached the inn, he did so cautiously, scanning the faces of everyone he passed without it seeming as though he were staring. His eyes slipped right past a dwarfish figure wearing yellow shaded robes, which made sense seeing as said figure was concealed behind a large tome in the window of a small bookshop.

He slunk into the inn as quietly as he could; glancing around to be sure he wasn't being watched. Content with the supposed lack of attention being paid to him, Jack darted up the five levels of stairs and shoved the items he had left in the room into his bag (which had only been a set of clothes, his staff, and the strange old book). Snatching up his staff from where it'd been resting in the corner, he forced himself into a walking pace, mindful that he definitely did not want to be noticed.

Strolling back into the harsh winter sunlight, Jack departed Grusiri, but turned into the woods immediately, rather than the well-traveled road that would lead him back to Burgess. This time, he thought, I'll manage to escape them.

A/N: Longer chapter, shorter update time! Fair warning however, the next few chapters are likely to be shorter than this one. Also, a question (for those of you that read this part of the A/N anyways): I'm planning on participating in RotG week (November 14th -21st). Is anyone interested in reading the fics that I manage to write for the week here on ffn? Also, if you haven't seen the prompts and are interested in participating pm me and I'll send you the link to the post with all the prompts.

The purple hippocampus: Thank you! I'm really trying to step it up in terms of imagery. You thought the anticipation was killing you before? You don't know the half of what I've got planned... or maybe you do, I don't know.

One Wing In The Fire: Yes. They're coming for him, right there, right beHIND HIM LOOK OUT.

IReviewThings: Actually, no chasing is happening... yet. And, come on, Jack is always chill, right? Haha get it? Because... I'll stop trying to make jokes now.

Yellowmiki98: Hey, you changed your username! It's nice! I guess it depends on your taste in stories, but some of my favorites are Running for Life (sapphire316), Tales of Yore: Book 1 (iamconstantine, unfinished), Soul Perception (I.F.T.S., unfinished), the Big Four Hogwarts series (Floranagirl, series unfinished, I have no idea what she's calling it as a series), and... well I've got more, but I've already taken up a lot of space so that's it for now.

KorrieChan: Alright, you guessed it! There may or may not be some sack kidnapping happening.

Serami Nefera: Sandy and Jack are probably pranking bros. (Headcannon: Sandy is the sassy gay friend you can't tell me otherwise) And hey yeah, that makes sense!

PerfectionJune: Thank you! And yeah, you got it! Pranks is my representation of April Fools!

mason32: Okay, so I'm not really familiar with Norse mythology, which is where Frost Giants are from, I think? I don't know much about them, and they aren't included in this au. I've kind of used creatures from various mythologies and works of fiction and basically ignored most things canonically stated about them and made up a lot of stuff. I'm using the term 'fey' loosely, to encompass a lot of creature that share some common attributes (in this au anyway). Tooth is a fairy (and if we're being specific, a Sister of Flight), one of the types of fey. Jack is not, so I'm kind of hoping it doesn't take away from her uniqueness. Sorry to disappoint.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited. Hoping to get some input about posting RotG week 2017 stuff, and tell me if you plan to post any! I want to read it!

Until next time!