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  The next morning, three parties, mine included, set out for the Dwarven Village hidden in the caves.

  The procession had carts full of supplies as well as empty ones. No doubt, the dwarves would need some help moving some of their things. That wasn’t the only thing we were bringing. Carts and food aside, we had adventurers apart from the three main parties –some members of the auxiliary forces. They’d serve as emergency messengers in case we encountered an emergency situation and needed help from the main force.

  My party consisted of the usual. Skaris, the lizard beastman lumbered to my right, his seven-foot-tall physique standing a head above even Arione, who had to be well over six feet. On my left, Aurora took her spot. Whereas Skaris was all about heat and fire, her armored figure gave off a pristine cool metal feeling. Of course, Kyrian and Stole wasn’t too far behind us.

  The other two parties were those that I named during my talk with Zenom: Borealis’ and Arione’s.

  I already knew all the members of Arione’s party by name. Arione Popwindale, Maria Biva Akka Xalud, Clover Weinport, L’teya fourth Daughter of Agda and of course, my mentor (unbeknownst to anyone except Arione’s party and mine) Arrosh Bloodedge plus the young mage, Scarlet. A strange assortment, made of a Wayfinder, Priestess, Tank bruiser, DPS and two Mages. Completely focused on Offense, relying on Clover’s OP healing powers for sustain.

  A favored party composition by Gamers… typical of Arione. Kill the enemy before they could kill you.

  Rather, it was Borealis’ party that I was interested in. The Scion’s party had people from all three of the Great Houses of Turina, bastard or not. There was Borealis himself and another Vetilius, by the name of Dawn.

  Dawn Clois Vetilius, a proper looking young woman with gray hair –a signature of the Vetilius Household– which stopped just short of her shoulders. Just like Borealis and Aurora, she had very sharp features, all prim and proper like a highborn. Just from looking at her equipment, I could tell that she wasn’t a Shielder but someone more akin to me; a Blader, the MSS equivalent of a DPS.

  Then there was Huin, a large hulking shielder who was a bastard of the Vetilius Household. Unlike his estranged cousins, Huin had this huge nose and scars all over his face. He wore heavy armor which only accentuated the thickness of his body; in fact the neck was so thick that he almost looked deformed. His nose was slightly crooked, telling me that he broke it more than once and probably never bothered to get it set right.

  Gurran and Dorocian walked side by side, the golden haired Shielder and blue-haired Wayfinder talking quietly amongst themselves. Seeing me staring, Dorocian gave me a smirk and waved.

  The last member of Borealis’ party was an Akka Xalud, a quiet mage by the name of Natic. She had orange pigtails and large round glasses. You know, that typical nerdy looking Mage with freckles wearing the pointed witch’s hat that folds just at the right angle, almost too big for her head.

  I think I actually saw her glance at Maria and then give a small ‘eep!’ when the older Akka Xalud woman glared back.

  Borealis’ party had three shielders. Borealis, Gurran and Huin. Which meant that they had a lot of confidence in one of three things: Dawn, their blader or Natic, their mage or both. A team made of three tanks would mean they’re losing out on that much damage.

  It kind of reminded me of the weird builds I used to try out. Like my 6 Dwarf Shielder party comp.

  What? It wasn’t bad. I even got to killing Grade 2 Monsters.

  But in a game like MSS where match-ups are so key, it’s not good to pigeonhole yourself into being good at only one thing. Although your characters should be specialists, your party itself should be versatile and ready to react to any situation.

  So I was curious to see Borealis’ party in action.

  The other adventurers were all curious about me too.

  By now, the word that we were heading to a secret Dwarven city deep underground had spread throughout the camp like wildfire. No doubt, some of the adventurers who got wind of it immediately went and spread the news. Of course, equipment made by dwarves was covered by everyone, even Dwarves themselves. Not only did dwarven equipment rival the effectiveness of Monster drops, you didn’t have to risk your life for it. It was the best money could buy.

  And adventurers, by nature, all want the shiniest sword and newest armor.

  As a gamer myself, I understood.

  The air was filled with anticipation and longing, of adventurers wanting to talk to my party.

  They all wanted information about the Dwarves. Their likes, dislikes. How we found them, how close we were to the Dwarves; what we traded in order to get their cooperation and most importantly of all, was there anything that they already made for us?

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  Skaris straightened, clearing his throat. “It issss not a bad feeling.” He muttered to me.

  “It’s not you they’re looking at, Skaris,” Kyrian said, “It’s Lock.”

  The Lizard Beastman scoffed. “Temporary. Until they ssssee my new ssspear.”

  Right. Once we got to the settlement, Doror would give Skaris his new [Strange Antler], plus my [Lunar Shield] back.

  Similar to Weapon Mods, Dwarves could alter existing Legendaries. Oftentimes, these newly altered items would have new effects, different elemental properties and even improved stats.

  “Not sure if it’s a good idea to have them hand it to us in the open like that.” Kyrian said, peering at me.

  Kyrian had a point, but I shook my head. “We need the dwarves to be respected. We can’t just have Zenom’s approval, but the other adventurers need to be onboard.” I thought of the adventurers behind us. “It might not be a bad idea to have one of the Dwarves show off their skills, forging or altering something for some of the adventurers.”

  Except Doror of course.

  He was a Master Smith. I wasn’t going to have him lend his services for anyone else but my party. He wouldn’t have the time anyhow. He’d be too busy working on Aurora’s lance and shield as well as Stole’s arbalest.

  Everyone was in the procession, looking to see who would be the first one to talk to me. I’d purposefully put Skaris and Aurora next to me for that reason. They were the more intimidating of the bunch.

  “Slaveborn!” yelled out a voice I recognized. Dorocian, the Kojisan whom I fought in the Colosseum.

  And here was the soul brave enough to talk to me first.

  “Slaveborn!” Yet, another one I recognized –though I should have expected L’teya to be among the first ones.

  Dorocian and L’teya came up from opposite sides, looking at each other. Lety’s natural barbarian instincts won out over Dorocian hesitation born of calculating politics from her Great House days.

  “Ahahaha! Is it true that we’re going to a Dwarf village?” She naturally shoved herself past Skaris who grumbled but let the Elf Barbarian through.

  Dorocian was much too polite to do the same thing. She opted for just keeping pace next to Aurora. Aurora didn’t comment.

  “I was wondering the same thing, Slaveborn.” Dorocian said.

  I gave Skaris and Aurora a look. Skaris cleared his throat, looking away while Aurora just stared straight ahead, stoic as ever.

  I’d placed them there to chase away people precisely because I didn’t want to answer any awkward questions. What point was putting Skaris there if he was going to let Lety through just because we were from the same Slave Camp way back? Or Aurora giving Dorocian a little bit more leeway because they were both Bastards? Well, this was my own conjecture but…

  Maybe Clover and Borealis sent these two for precisely that reason.

  Or L’teya and Dorocian just had similar personalities, which also made sense in a way.

  Maybe a little of both.

  I sighed, wanting to squish my face in my hands. “Yes, we are. Borealis and Arione should have given you guys the Expedition Briefings.”

  “I didn’t pay attention to that. And Clover gives the briefings, Slaveborn.”

  “Borealis is such a fucking bore.” Dorocian answered.

  L’teya and Dorocian looked at each other. The Wild uncivilized Barbarian and the unofficial gangster of the Kojisas finding a kindred soul.

  “Ahaha! I had thought most Scions were all uptight.”

  “Not a Scion, a bastard.” Dorocian said easily, “And I thought most Elf Barbarians were raving mad and frothing at the mouth.”

  L’teya leaned closer to me and I swear if I didn’t know any better, she shoved her bust into my arms on purpose. “Slaveborn, you’ve already been to the village. Were there any Smiths? Weapons? Armor? What kind of thigns were there?”

  “Mmm-hmm!” Someone coughed into their hands.

  I looked back, seeing a small crowd of people behind me. Borealis, Huin and even Gurran. Borealis gave a look to Gurran, the blonde Turinan bastard complying sheepishly, “We were wondering if there were any shields? Being at this island has been rather… taxing on our equipment.”

  Even that icy looking princess, Dawn, was there. Though she easily hid behind the colossus body of the Shielders.

  It wasn’t just them either. Maria Biva Akka Xalud had snuck up sometime.

  “Who cares about shields,” She growled, flipping her orange hair behind her shoulder. “The dwarves are being integrated into the Expedition. Early dibs should be given to those whose weaponry requires special skills.” She looked pointedly at her greaves which looked more like claws than anything.

  A hand-to-hand type DPS who used Knuckles? Interesting.

  “Shielders are the lifeline of the party.” Her comment earned the ire of Borealis who shot back. “Of course, I wouldn’t expect an Akka Xalud to understand that.”

  Maria tilted her head back and laughed. Her armor was made of this chitin-carapace looking material. The design faintly reminded me of a qi pao. She was beautiful in the way that ice sculptures were. Cold, frigid and utterly statuesque. “Funny. You surely didn’t say that the last time you and my brother spoke.”

  I felt Kyrian freeze behind me.

  “...Jason is a talented adventurer, no doubt.” Borealis said, an easy smile on his face, “Tell me. How is he doing? Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have heard. Since the whole… ordeal and all.”

  There was a light round of laughter from the Scions and Bastards next to Borealis.

  Maria said nothing but the light in her eyes changed. “I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand, Borealis. Always content in staying in the shadow of your betters.” She stretched languidly, showing off her curves and drawing more than one set of eyes. “Greatness requires one to sacrifice certain things. Even if that means sacrificing the support of one’s family.”

  “And that is precisely why you do not understand the concept of honor.” Dawn replied back.

  “Oh, Dawn. Didn’t see you there.” Maria faced Aurora and winked, “Are you old enough to be an adventurer already? I wasn’t aware that babysitting was one of your duties, Borealis.”

  Dawn took a step towards Maria but Borealis stopped her with a hand. “Dawn.” He warned. It wasn’t just Dawn, but Huin –who was almost as tall as Skaris but twice as wide– had moved as well.

  “There’s no point in you antagonizing us,” Borealis said quietly, “We’re all on the same side here. Don’t make enemies of the Great Houses more than you already have, Maria. Your father hasn’t acted yet, but Natic says it is only a matter of time before you are recalled to Turina.”

  Maria shrugged. “Oh, I’m sure that old man will call me back soon enough. But until then, far away from this homeland, we’re just fellow adventurers aren’t we? Which brings me back to the point of why I came here.” Maria addressed me, getting straight to the point “Name your price, Slaveborn.”

  I gave her a quizzical look.

  “Oh, everyone’s here at your beck and call. Waiting for a scrap of information about how to deal with the Dwarves. But we all know what the proper way is,” Maria waved at the Scions, “I have no illusions about how things will go. You’ve been named official liaison to the Dwarves, which is Zenom’s way of pointing all the headache of dealing with the adventurer’s requests for the dwarves to you. And from what I’ve seen, you’re not one to stand by while other adventurers approach your dwarves.”

  “They’re not my dwarves.” I said quietly. “They’re guests.”

  “But still yours.” Maria said, “Name your price for their services.”

  I had to give the woman props. She wasn’t even flinching despite all the Scions glaring at her. Hell, she had guts. She made the mood super awkward, for sure. But she’d come right out and said her piece, getting straight to the facts of the matter, not bothering to beat around the bush. She wanted the services of the Dwarves and clearly asked me what I would require in return.

  My ears told me the whole procession was quiet, waiting to hear my answer. No doubt, some of the messengers and auxiliary forces with us had been paid off my Delas or the Bishop to glean information from this whole ordeal.

  This was just a prelude. We weren’t even at the dwarven city yet, and they hadn’t even been officially integrated yet. Already, there was this much tension.

  “They do not belong to him.” Dawn said “They are resources for the Expedition.”

  “Then why’re you in line? Hmm?” Maria asked.

  “Because I asked her to be here.” Borealis cleared his throat. “I know this is hardly the time, but I wanted you to meet my sister, Slaveborn. This is Dawn Clois Vetilius.”

  Dawn gave me a cool look and then did a little curtsy. “Nice to meet you, Slaveborn. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Uh, hello.”

  Maria gave a hollow little laugh. “Oh really? Betrothals already? Why, Zenom and Borealis must really like you Slaveborn.”

  …Huh?