An upbeat battle music filled the air. The sound of several violins interrupted by the occasional sounds of battle that bounced off the canyon walls. A see-through trail of red swept through the air, arcing behind a large axe before it collided with its target. The golem stumbled back, inflicted with a stagger status condition from the heavy blow. The Salamander holding the impressive weapon leapt back with a practiced precision as another warrior charged in to take their place.

The Cait Sith thrust out with a short spear tucked under their arm as a second spear came down with a vertical strike as the first pulled back. The Stone Golem fell backwards, crashing to the rough ground in a cloud of dust. An icon indicating the tumble status appeared next to its half-full HP bar and the Cait Sith back-flipped away in what seemed to be slow motion as the Salamander re-joined the battled.

That deadly battle-ax was raised high, holding for a second as the blade began to shine a brilliant green. There was another second of delay before the weapon came down. A loud noise rang out as the critical hit was delivered to the fallen monster, causing fatal damage. As the Salamander pulled their axe free and put the handle against the ground with a thud, the Stone Golem shattered into an array of pixels.

"A beautiful finish my love," Hakuya said, placing a hand on the back of the lightly-armoured Arcadia. The female Salamander looked quite a bit different to her heavily armoured avatar from back in Aincrad.

She wore a pair of hakama coloured deep red with orange-yellow flames coming out from the bottom. Beneath them a pair of black, steel greaves could be glimpsed. Her torso was covered by a black singlet top with a black, steel breastplate over the top. A pair of long, fingerless gauntlets with steel braces matched her other two pieces of armour. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the black steel also held a faint, red tinge. The Salamander also had a black tattoo of a flame going around her upper-left arm. Arcadia's purple hair was cut in a bob with the fringe coloured red.

Her scarlet eyes turned to Hakuya the Cait Sith as she looked over him for a brief moment.

Hakuya, unlike Arcadia looked almost identical to his avatar from Aincrad. He was clad in a full set of sleek, cobalt coloured armour with orange trimmings. A long, red scarf was also wrapped around his neck, hanging down his back. His long, blonde hair was tied in a neat ponytail. The most notable differences were the pale brown cat ears on the sides of his head and the matching tail poking out the back of his armour.

Another significant change was that of Hakuya's weapon. He had forgone his trademark spear and replaced it with two shorter ones that he now placed on his back, one crossing over the other. The spear that he held in his left hand was the slightly longer of the two with a narrower blade intended for thrusting. The other was a few inches shorter but the blade was wider and slightly curved, more ideal for slashing attacks.

"These monsters aren't exactly anything threatening. We handled way stronger things than that back in Aincrad," the purple haired woman said.

"True, but there's much more that we have to master in this game's combat system. The flight and magic mechanics will take some getting used to after all," Hakuya said, his ears twitching slightly as he stretched.

Arcadia nodded and returned her axe to her back as she gazed around the canyon. Multiples of the golem they had just fought could be seen ambling around for quite some distance until the view was blocked by a sharp curve in the cliffs that made up the canyon.

"The information we got said that the NPC giving the quest should be somewhere in this zone. Convenient how they chose not to tell us about the aggro range of these golems and that the canyon is a no-fly-zone…" the axe-wielder grumbled as she began trudging onwards. Hakuya happily wandered after her, an energetic spring in his step as he went.

"Oh come now, it's kind of romantic in a way," he said with a grin. His partner turned her head, raising an eyebrow as she stared at him. "Walking together in an uncharted area, no other people around, just us and nature."

"One, there are also a horde of pissed-off golems to go along with us and nature. Two, this place is hardly uncharted," the redhead said as she pulled up a holographic map from her menu as proof. Hakuya placed his hands on his hips and pouted as he kept walking.

After a long walk and so very many fights, the two finally turned a corner and found the location they were seeking. Atop a small incline was log cabin that looked rather abandoned. All of the visible windows were either cracked or completely shattered and the door hung open, the top hinge broken.

"Well… that looks inviting," Arcadia said as she strode towards it.

Hakuya glanced around, drawing both of his spears as he followed her. The area wasn't marked as a safe zone so he knew there was a possibility enemies could come bursting from the cabin at any moment.

The red-haired Salamander placed her back against the wall, holding her axe out as she peered around the door frame. The single room that made up the interior matched the exterior. A rather solid looking table was broken clean in half and several matching stools were scattered across the floor along with various pieces of furniture and knick-knacks. Finishing the scene was a figure covered completely in a cloak sitting hunched over in the far corner. Floating above the figure's head was a "!" indicating they were connected to a quest.

Arcadia gave a small nod to Hakuya and the two proceeded inside.

There was a growl from the figure as the hooded head snapped upwards. Bright, silver eyes stared right at the newcomers as the figure leapt up. Neither player could discern anything about the NPC with the cloak covering every inch of their body and the shadow from the hood masking their face.

"Fairies…," the figure said in a deep, powerful voice, following up with a low growl. It was clear that the cloaked figure was male by their voice. His eyes seemed to linger on Hakuya more than Arcadia. "You… you are from the clan that tames the beasts are you not?"

Hakuya lowered his spears slightly and nodded. "Yes, I am a Cait Sith, if that's what you mean," the blue-clad man said in response. The figure seemed to relax a little and the two players could have sworn he let out a sigh of relief.

"My name is Volgarn, what are your names Fairies?" the figure said. At that moment, the name Volgarn replaced the exclamation mark above his head.

"My name is Hakuya, it is an honour to meet you Volgarn," the spearman said with a slight bow, his tail swishing back and forth.

"I'm Arcadia," the Salamander added in, not showing the same manners as her partner. She leant against a wall with her arms folded, seeing that Volgarn was more interested in Hakuya than her. The former cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Hakooya…," he murmured, his deep voice getting the pronunciation slightly wrong. "Tell me, did you see an armoured figure on your way here?"

"Can't say I did."

"That damned coward must have fled… curse him."

"I take it this person is no friend of yours?"

"He is what you people would call… an assassin. I discovered him attempting to kill the leader of my tribe. I pursued him to this place and engaged him in combat. Despite his appearance he was a fast and powerful opponent. He caught me off guard and I was wounded, forcing me to retreat in here to survive."

The two players listened to the NPC's tale. They knew it was simply a predetermined script that would be repeated to every player that began this particular quest. Volgarn moved to one of the shattered windows and gazed out, as if looking for his previous opponent.

"Tell me Hakooya, Arcadia, will the two of you assist me in tracking and slaying my target? I can grant you many rewards for doing so," the cloaked figure said as he turned back to the two fairies once more.

"Of course, I'm happy to be of assistance," Hakuya said with a smile.

"Just lead the way and we'll kick this guy's ass," Arcadia replied as she stretched upwards.

"I thank the both of you," Valgarn said. He undid the neck of his cloak and let it fall to the ground, showing his appearance to the two players for the first time. Both Hakuya and Arcadia went wide-eyed.

Valgarn was a tall man with a muscular build. He was easily over six feet tall and wore a set of brilliant red armour adorned with black trimmings. Upon the breastplate sat the insignia of a fire-breathing dragon in gold. Sitting on his left hip was a long scimitar with a razor-sharp blade. However it wasn't his outfit that surprised the two players.

Valgarn's skin seemed to have a scale-like quality and protruding from the back of his head were two, long, black horns that curved downwards. Accompanying that was a thick, red tail that hung from the rear of his armour and swished along the floor. It, like his skin was covered in scales.

"What the…" Arcadia muttered, looking at the man.

"Hmm? Is this your first time meeting one of my kind?" Valgarn asked, looking between the two clearly startled adventurers before him.

"Y-yeah. May I ask what exactly you are Valgarn?" Hakuya responded as he took on the sight before him. He had never heard of any sort of lizard race being among those playable in ALfheim.

"Of course. I am a proud member of the Dragonkin clan. We are a nomadic people who wander these lands searching for a place to call our own. But if you do not mind, I would be happy to tell you of my people after we have slain that assassin, Hakooya."

Hakuya nodded slightly, regaining his composure as he stood up straight. He glanced over to Arcadia and the two left the cabin with Valgarn in tow. The Dragonkin sucked in deep breaths of fresh air before gazing around, his nose twitching slightly.

"I can smell his blood from the west. It seems the coward has not gone far from here," Valgarn said with a growl of distaste. His scaly tail thumped once on the hard ground as he strode in the direction he had indicated.

"Seems like someone isn't in the best mood," Arcadia said with a little smirk, watching Valgarn walk away. Hakuya smiled a little, taking the Salamander's hand as they followed.

"Well at least this quest seems like it's going to be more interesting than we expected," the Cait Sith said. The two had entered ALfheim a few days ago and had been seeking a way to kill time and improve their skills before the upcoming tournament. A limited time quest they had been told about by another NPC had seemed like just the thing to do so.

The three headed down a narrower section of the canyon being led by Valgarn. The path was still home to golems but these ones were few and far between. The difference was these Canyon Golems were much larger and more powerful than the ones Hakuya and Arcadia had faced earlier.

"Come and face your death beast!" Valgarn roared as he charged one such golem, his large scimitar drawn. A straightforward charge staggered the creature, the Dragonkin's sheer strength amazing the two fairies. "Hakooya, Arcadia, slay the beast now!"

"Don't need to tell me twice," Arcadia said as she charged in eagerly. The woman ran towards Valgarn who crouched down, allowing the Salamander woman to vault over him and deliver a falling strike with her axe.

Hakuya stood back a little, letting the two finish off the Canyon Golem without him. "My sweet Arcadia really does enjoy her battles," the Cait Sith laughed, twirling his shorter spear around in his hand a little. He gave the woman a high-five as she approached him again and the two exchanged a smile.

After a little over half an hour, the group of three reached the entrance to a cave in the canyon wall. Valgarn looked around and sheathed his weapon, the two players following suit. The Dragonkin seemed to sniff the cave entrance briefly before turning to his companions.

"I can smell that coward in here, we have him cornered," the tall NPC said. "I have heard that you fairies are able to separate your spirits from your bodies to rest. This clearing is an area protected by the Great Ones, so you may do so if you wish."

Hakuya glanced at the time on his HUD, it was getting rather late. Arcadia was a little impressed by how Valgarn worded their ability to log out, it was a nice feature.

"Probably a good idea, we can always pick this up tomorrow," Arcadia said quietly as she looked at Hakuya. The Cait Sith nodded in response before turning to Valgarn.

"Thank you, we'll take you up on that offer," he said with his trademark smile. The two players wandered to the canyon wall and sat down against it, looking at the tall Dragonkin that approached them.

"Rest well comrades, this area may be protected but I shall guard your bodies should any dangers arise," Valgarn explained, touching the weapon on his hip. The two players nodded their thanks and brought up their menus, scrolling to log-out button.

"Until next time," Hakuya said.

"Later," Arcadia added in.

Valgarn watched the two press what appeared to be an invisible button and both of their bodies went limp. The Dragonkin turned stood with his arms folded as he stood perfectly still and watched the entire area. He would guard them for as long as it took them to return, just as he had said.