Listening to the King she simply kept her eyes blank of any emotion as that was the only part of her face that was visible.  Hearing his mention of just what it was she raised an eyebrow.  She, like anyone who got to know the lay of the land, had heard about this Rod in whispers or in boring debates among scholars.  If it was truly as powerful as this King thought, then she understood the secrecy and if it had anything to do with that thing he was holding in a death grip, then the power was there.  Far too much for any one human to hold in her opinion as mortals tended to act very quickly on emotions, especially self serving emotions.  When the knowledge of just who may be guarding it was whispered, Jynx's ears twitched as she sighed.  She hated Dwarves.  Stocky little fuckers who were very tough and rather annoying as they liked to fight in numbers.<br/><br/>Their hide was like the mountain stone that they made their homes in and they were almost as bad as dragons when it came to hording treasures.  Turning on a heel she didn't say anything to the King after that, she just snatched up one of the maps that the adviser's were handing out as well as the written grants of travel through the check points toward the destination.  Checking to make sure everything was stamped and signed before heading out of the palace as she had to check on a few things herself.  Since she didn't know a whole lot about this rod, she knew a few scholars who owed her a favor and she'd be cashing in on those favors to find out as much as she could.  She saw no use in teams as the bald male had asked simply because as an assassin, if she wasn't specifically told to, she always worked alone. and she didn't even remotely trust any adventurer just based off of the title because as the King stated, they all fought for money and it wouldn't take much to have them turn on one another.  Especially with the amount of money for this particular job.<br/><br/>Once outside she put the travel scroll in her pouch and opened her hands as a swirl of air flowed around her hands.  Leaning down she whispered into the swirl, conveying a message in the wisp before pushing her hands out and releasing the wisp to find one of her scholar friends and deliver the message, as well as return it with everything he knew on this Rod.  While she waited for the wisp to reach it's mark she heard a few other Platinum members asking if she wanted to team up, a quick glare and a tap of her assassin's emblem made that conversation die away as it was a clear<i>'fuck off'</i>look.  The elf from the room had the look of a pirate and while the smell was incredibly faint, she could still smell ocean water in her hair and on her clothing meaning that the pirate look was probably a legit profession at one time.  Not the most trustworthy bunch.  Then there was the monk who while looking the part, he didn't smell human.  He smelled very off and that just didn't sit well with her either.<br/><br/>Walking to the stable just across the way she smiled as one of the stable boys looked very uneasy around her mount.  No surprise there, her mount was a Fangwood<a class="link link--external" href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/solforge/images/a/a1/Fangwood_Ravager_2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131020163113" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Ravager</a>.  Extremely fierce looking beasts who were usually very aggressive but her clan raised them as mounts and companions.  Layla was her's and she'd had her since Jynx was still a kitten.  Introduced at an early age so that they could grow and create a bond together.  Reaching into her pouch she pulled some meats that she'd swiped from the table in the King's hall and tossed it to Layla who caught it and before chewing it gave Jynx a look which made Jynx giggle.<br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">"Not the best I know.  What do you expect from a barbarian hmm?"</span><br/>Layla and Jynx were both feline so it was very easy for Jynx to tell what Layla was thinking just based off of facial features and body language.  Layla then dropped the meat and stuck her nose into the air as Jynx walked over to the massive feline and stroked her neck.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">"Oh now don't pout.  We'll get some good elk meet on the way out sound fair?"</span><br/>The perking of Layla's ears and the way she was trying to still look pouty was too cute, but she took the reins from the stable boy then began walking toward the city gate with Layla.