CF still didn't get this, but I'm going to be working ahead to bring normality back soon. I should expect that to be fixed for next week, lol. Anyway, here's the latest chapter, and foreshadowing for the future as well.

Things are about to kick off in this "book" soon, since we're 6 out of a projected 15 chapters into it.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 3: Chapter 6

It was the first time I'd forged something in what felt like weeks.

There was something beautiful about working with metal. Maybe I was biased, but I certainly thought there was. The metal would come out cherry red from the fire, and then spark as I struck it with the hammer. It would slowly yield, forming the shape I wanted.

It would be rough, however. Very rough. I was working on my breastplate, but no one would have recognised it as being that. The silvery metal was now black and marked, with pocks and raised spots all across it, an uneven and puckered surface from a hundred or more strikes. Scale, ash and soot clung to it, too, making it an ugly and dirty thing.

It would remain that way until long after it was heat treated, only revealing the gleaming steel beneath once I took a file to it. Back in Ansel, I could remember people unfamiliar with the craft looking horrified at the bumpy, ugly and rough things my father forged. I also recalled their faces turning to awe when the outside was ground away, revealing smooth and shining tools capable of withstanding incredible wear.

I shook my head at the nostalgia, my hands moving automatically to draw the plate out and check it. Yet again my Passive, more convenience than anything else, allowed me to handle to smouldering metal by hand. I'd eschewed my leather jerkin and cloth underclothes for a nothing. I'd rented a small forge from a Blacksmith for twenty lien plus cost an hour – an absolute pittance. Apparently, he was busy with other things anyway, so my custom at least kept the forge warm. The coal required to keep it burning only added another forty or so. With myself locked away behind a thick, wooden door, I felt comfortable going naked from the waist up, and even removing the medallion.

It would have raised eyebrows for a Knight to rent this anyway, and it wasn't like the sparks that bounced off my skin actually hurt. I didn't need an apron for protection.

"Hmm, you're looking good," I said, talking to the armour like it was an old friend. "How does that feel? You're at least twice as thick now. Twice as heavy, too…"

That might have been a problem for someone else, but my unnaturally high Strength made sure I didn't even feel it. And hey, maybe that could be another weapon. I still struggled to hit people, but I could always fall on them!

I worked in silence for another thirty minutes or so, bringing the armour out over a raising tool and hammering it into its curved shape. It was then another half an hour to planish it flat, rolling the steel between two wheels that pinched it together. I paused after that, holding it before me.

"Runesmithing," I whispered.

Nothing happened.

"I guess that would have been too easy. So, it's not something I can automatically activate when I'm making something." I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Come on, life. Give me a break here."

Life refused to answer.

Well, Runes or not, this would be a lot stronger than it had been before. I put it on some tongs and lowered it back into the coals, waiting until it raised so hot it burned orange. Normally, that would have been the time to set it in a kiln for an hour or more to gather heat, before it would be quenched into water or oil.

Fortunately, I could skip that step. I drew it out instead, gripping the edges and closing my eyes. My hands heated, bringing it up to temperature. That was only the first stage, of course. I then had to focus on one of my first Skills – Heat Treat. It was part of a duo, Heat Treat and Quench. The knowledge behind it was of hardening and softening of parts of the steel, but the basic rundown was that one hardened, and then the other softened.

Once the armour glowed orange, I reversed the flow – using Quench instead. It hissed in my hands, steam billowing off it. Fire licked out too, burning in the air for a moment before it was snuffed out by all the oxygen being stolen away.

I opened my eyes.

I had an armour-shaped hunk of dirty, burned and rough metal. It looked more like it had been carved from granite, with all the surface of the rock still included.

Perfect.

Well, sort of perfect. One Skill I'd not gained was Instant Grinding, which meant that I'd need to file the whole damn thing by hand. That would take an hour or two, and would have exhausted just about anyone else. Luckily, I had Strength and Constitution in large amounts, the two Stats which would help me most, and thus the two Stats Blacksmiths across Remnant had been born specialising in.

"You'll be strong after this," I chuckled, ringing a knuckle against the metal. The tone it made was sharp, but not brittle. Good. That meant the metal had softened enough to absorb blows, rather than rejecting them. It wouldn't splinter and fracture.

I put it down by the side, my eyes falling on the other thing leaning against the anvil. Crocea Mors looks out of place, too clean and too pretty for such a dirty place. I could have forged it too, I suppose, but it wouldn't have had too much effect.

Steel was steel, and I'd made it the right way. I could add more to armour and it would be heavier, but more effective. It wasn't like I could make my sword sharper, not increase its cutting power by adding more metal.

I'd need new material for that. I'd need new, rarer metals.

That, or a sword I could smelt down into a new one… but by that point the question was why not use that sword in the first place? It wasn't like I could turn a short sword into a long sword. I couldn't create material. There might have been enough on an axe, mace or another piece of armour, but we hadn't found any of those.

Hell, the most valuable and powerful weapon we had was Kaedin's staff… and there wasn't a single person in the Guild who made use of wood in their weapons, not even for a hilt.

Just my luck, really. "I'll have to keep an eye open," I said, sighing and sheathing the sword. "If something drops that we can't use, I can always tell the others I have someone willing to trade it for a long sword of equal value."

They probably wouldn't be against it. Better gear would make us stronger, which meant less risk on Quests and potentially more reward. It was win-win. I just needed a good drop I could use. Something that was made of rare material…

Something like the sword I'd made Crescent Rose from. I sighed, allowing my hands to file while my attention wandered. That had been a miracle find, and a rare occasion. There hadn't been enough in the sword for the whole thing, of course. I'd taken the metal that literally clad the walls of the Dungeon for the haft, and used the rare sword for the blade.

Part of me wished I'd taken more of the steel off the walls. At the time, it felt like normal steel, but with how well Ruby's weapon held up? It looked to be more. "The clue was in the source, idiot," I sighed. "I can't believe I didn't think steel found in a magical Dungeon wouldn't be special. Argh…"

If we found another one, I was totally ransacking the place.

The file I was working with paused. Yet again, I felt a small nugget of hope and dared to try it. "Runesmithing."

Nothing.

"Ugh… back to filing I go."

/-/

It was an hour or so later than I finished the filing, and then excused myself from the forge. The Blacksmith there rolled his eyes at my cloak and hood. He probably thought I was being an idiot since my name and class floated above my head, but there was a good reason for it. If he saw me in my Knight Class, there was a chance he'd write it off as two people having the same name. If I had the same name and the exact same face, on the other hand… well… suspension of disbelief could only go so far.

Either way, he took the lien without complaint, and I was able to slip back out into the crowds. It only took me another minute or two to find an abandoned alleyway and shift my amulet back on, then bundle the cloak into my backpack. I was Jaune the Knight once more, and with none the wiser.

So, the instinctual Runesmith idea didn't work. I suppose I should have known, since if it did then Dad would have told me all about it. I couldn't contact my father to ask more, since that would raise the question of just how on Remnant I'd reached his Level in less than a decade or two. I'm on my own here. My best bet would be to experiment, but if I can't just `will` Runes onto my gear, then I'll need to inscribe them myself.

They were just words in ancient languages, right? How hard could that be? Once I found them, I could mess around and see what came up. Surely, so long as I didn't try to inscribe `explosion` or `genocide` onto a sword, the effects would be safe? Well, it looked like more trips to the library would be in order. That or Oobleck. The Alchemist seemed to love history, and might know something.

"Yo, Jaune!"

The familiar voice made me pause and turn. It took a second to spot her, but Yang waved over from the other side of the path and motioned me over. A few horses and carriages pulled by, but I was able to slip across and nod to the smiling girl. "Hey Yang. I didn't realise you were coming out into Vale."

"I could say the same, champ." Her eyes drifted down my body, and even though I knew it wasn't in that way, I still squirmed. "You got your armour fixed. Is it just me or does it look a little different?"

"I had someone add more material to it." I banged my hand against it. "Hopefully, it'll hold up a little better."

"Getting expensive to keep fixing it?"

"Something like that." Not overly much, but the ore still cost me. I could have purchased straight steel, but that would have been a loss in the long run. I could smelt it all myself. "Anyway, I figured if we're all going on a Quest together, then I'd best be in better shape than the last one."

"Cute." Yang flicked a finger against it and grinned. "You've not exchanged your sword for something better? Don't you think it's a bad idea not to upgrade?" She held one hand out, showing that although not too obvious, her dusters were a little shinier. "It'll help you earn more in the long run. You can't skimp when it comes to your life."

My hand fell to Crocea Mors almost protectively. There was something about it that made me not want to give it away. It wasn't anything special as a sword, but it was the one I'd slaved over when this all started. It wouldn't have felt right to throw her away when she'd done so much for me. "I… I think I'd rather sort this Guild thing out first." I fibbed. "Besides, I'd rather jump up a few tiers and get something great. I'll save my money for that."

"Eh, that's fair."

"Why are you out here anyway?" I asked. "Are you still arguing with Ruby?"

Yang sighed, and I instantly wished I could take that question back. She looked left and right, maybe for the girl in question, but sighed again when she didn't see her. "Not exactly," she said. "We… made up, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Ruby said sorry but I know she won't change. It was a `sorry for upsetting you, but not sorry for doing it` kind of thing." Yang crossed her arms and growled under her breath. "She's such an idiot sometimes, but it doesn't serve any purpose to be angry with her. It's not like she'll do anything different."

"And you came out here to unwind and get away from it all for a bit," I guessed.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Yang looked at me and cocked her head to the side. A little smile slowly began to appear. "So… you're not doing anything, right? Fancy keeping a pretty girl company?"

I had a feeling I'd regret agreeing to that.

Ten minutes and two pints of ale later, I realised why that was. Yang took us to a busy tavern off the main street, where most of the people didn't even bat an eye towards us. It might have been because it was clearly a Hero's tavern and not one for the Labour Caste. There was no hard-set rule, but places like this tended to attract one or the other. The Classes didn't often mingle.

Yang laughed and clanked her clay flagon against mine, and we took another swig together. I'd drunk ale back home in Ansel, of course. In the villages and fortifications outside the major cities, life was hard and rough, and age didn't matter all that much. Kids as young as twelve could drink, but innkeepers would cut them off earlier than most. Since you often worked in the fields or your craft around that age, it felt weird to not let you do other things. Old enough to work until you had blisters on your hands, old enough to wash a hard day's work down.

"Ahhh—that hit the spot." Yang slammed it down and belched. I couldn't even find it in myself to be surprised. "Sometimes, you just got to unwind, you know? There's so much crap going on."

"Yeah, I get you. Schoolwork, Quests, Torchwick…"

"Ruby," Yang finished, waving a hand. "I guess I made a fool of myself earlier, eh? Shouting like that in the middle of the Guild. Sheesh."

"It was a little unexpected," I admitted. "I guess you had your reasons, though."

"A bit out of place for me to say I just like shouting, I guess?" Yang sniggered and had another drink, leaning one elbow on the small wooden table between us. The whole room stank of booze and smoke. "I was just worried about her. She keeps running into things without thinking them through."

"Don't you do the same?"

"It's different." Yang shrugged. "I'm not saying it's fair, but life isn't. I can afford to take risks. She can't."

I raised an eyebrow. "I take it there's a story there."

"I guess there is." Yang sighed and slouched over the table. She still managed to make that look attractive, as several older Heroes who looked our way could attest. Her lilac eyes were focused on me, however. "Want to hear it?"

I did, I'll admit. My curiosity had always been a problem. Yang was a friend though, and I didn't want to take advantage. "Only if you want to tell it, Yang. I won't push if it's private."

"It's not that special," she said. "Not that exciting, either. Sod it, if you'll listen, I wouldn't mind venting. At least someone will understand why I started shouting like a madwoman." She paused to take a long drink and put the flagon down. She had a faraway look in her eyes. "It all started back when we were kids… I was born from my Dad and another woman, but she ran away and abandoned us when I was a baby. Dad re-married a Warrior named Summer."

"Ruby's mother?"

"Hm." She nodded. "Summer was awesome. She loved me as much as she did Ruby, and was a really strong Hero. She was well-known, brave, dedicated…" Yang sighed and took a drink. "Too dedicated. You know what they say about when people have kids, about how it changes you? How much time did your parents spend with you?"

"Me?" I blinked. "Well, I guess Mom and Dad just did whenever. My sisters helped in the shop with her, and Dad always had time for me. We'd go to the lake every week as well…"

"Sounds nice. Dad was like that, too." Yang smiled, eyes on the table. "I can't remember being young, but my Uncle would always tell me how much Dad changed when he had me. He went from being a Hero to being a Dad who was also a Hero. Suddenly, things were about the family for him and keeping us safe. It was the same with Ruby, too. He was so thrilled when she was born. Mom… Summer, that is. Well… she was different."

"How so?"

"Summer loved us both, and adored Ruby. Don't think otherwise. She was still a Hero, though. Where Dad decided that being a father was more important than being a Hero, Summer put it the other way around, although I don't think she ever realised that. She was always Summer the Hero first. She was a Hero who just so happened to be a mom." Yang raised her flagon to find it empty.

I handed her mine and waved another down.

"Hm, indirect kiss?" she teased, making sure to place her lips exactly where mine had been. "I hope this isn't making you a little hot under all that armour~"

"Cute, Yang." I accepted the new drink and paid the waitress. I refused to admit how red my cheeks were, or how much she'd gotten to me there. "What happened with Summer after that? You're saying she put her job first?"

"In a way. To Summer, being a Hero wasn't a job – it was an ambition, a passion. It was everything." Yang shrugged. "She used to tell me and Ruby we were her everything as well, but I could tell we weren't. You can only have her miss so many birthdays before you realise what's going on. She'd always come back bloodied and dirty but with a huge smile on her face because she'd saved someone somewhere. She'd done her duty." Yang chuckled. "Dad would be furious. I remember they argued once or twice about how Summer wasn't slowing down and wasn't putting us first. Summer would say how people needed her help and she couldn't abandon them."

Yang scowled, eyes misted with some unknown emotion. "Always them," she whispered. "Never us. Even as a child, I knew the way this would go. A part of me just knew it. It didn't matter what state she was in. Injured or sick, she would go out to save people. Whether it was my birthday or Ruby's, anniversary or big event… there was always someone who needed her more than we did." Yang's fist slammed down on the table. "And damn it, I know she was right! I know there were people who needed her, but there would always be. That's life! If you go looking for those who need help, you'll always find them. What about us? Were we not important enough? Every night Dad would tuck me and Ruby in, and every night Ruby would ask if Mom was back." She scowled. "I'd stopped asking months, maybe years before. Of course she wasn't back. Someone needed her. Ruby never realised. Ruby was too young to understand."

I swallowed, already knowing where the tale would go. "And then she didn't come back."

And then she didn't come back," Yang agreed, solemn. "I wasn't even surprised when it happened. Before the grief and the pain could hit, there was this moment of clarity. This brief instance of absolute realisation. Do you know what I thought in that moment, Jaune?" Yang looked at me, eyes red. "I thought about how I wasn't surprised at all. I thought about how I'd known this would happen at some point. I was ten years old, Jaune. What ten-year-old is supposed to think like that?"

"Yang, I-"

"It wasn't like we didn't need her," the Brawler went on, ignoring me. "She always told us how we weren't the only ones who needed her, but Ruby did. I was so angry. How could she have done this? How could she have just abandoned Ruby like that? I always wondered… did she love her duty more than she did us? Did she love being a Hero more than she did being a mother?"

"I'm sorry…"

Yang sighed explosively, coming back out of her memories with a huff. She took her drink and downed it, waving a hand for another. "Hardly your fault," she muttered. "I'm just venting. Sorry if it's making things awkward."

"It's fine. I offered to do this." I took the drink and paid for it, earning a small smile from the waitress. "I take it that's why you're so protective of Ruby?" I asked, handing it over to her.

"Almost, but not quite." Yang took it with a nod. "Thanks. Anyway, Ruby was too young to remember much about Summer. Like any kid, she remembered the good and conveniently forgot the bad. She doesn't remember a woman who was never there to tuck her in. Instead, she only remembers those rare occasions where Dad lost his temper and forced Summer to do it. That, or when she was too injured to do another Quest." Yang sighed. "She'd sit at our bedside and read stories to us. Those were treasured memories for both of us, but now, I look back and hate them. Do you know what she'd read to us, Jaune?"

"Stories about Heroes," I said.

"Yep. Exactly. She'd read legends of brave Heroes and people who were willing to sacrifice everything to save the lives of the innocent. She'd get so worked up over them, as excited as me and Ruby ourselves. Summer loved that kind of thing."

"And Ruby picked up on it."

"In a big way. I'm not sure if she fell for it the same way Mom did, or if it was some subconscious effort to please her, but Ruby began to eat it all up. When Mom died, she didn't see the fact that it was her stupid determination to save everyone that caused it." A hand came up to cover her face, and she groaned into it. "Every time I look at Ruby, I keep seeing the same thing. I keep seeing Summer's face. She's going the same way. It's going to end the same way."

Great. What a great thing to learn. I sighed and slumped opposite her, suddenly feeling more exhausted than I had an hour ago. Yang's anger towards Ruby made a lot more sense, as did Ruby's almost desperate need to help the villagers on our Quest. I'd thought it odd at the time, but nothing like this. "I'm sorry for not putting my foot down on the Quest," I said. "I should have stopped her."

"Don't sweat it. She's alive, so there's no problem. Honestly… I'm kinda pleased you're her friend."

"Huh?"

"When I first saw you, I was worried." Yang grinned to show she didn't mean any offence. "You were a Knight, possibly the last kind of person I wanted around Ruby. Out of everyone in those tales, Knights were the most common. They'd always rush into danger to save the day, and screw the odds against them."

Ah yeah… maybe a real Knight would.

"You're not like that, though," she said. "That's why I was so relieved. You're more reasonable. You don't like to take risks. Some people might call it cowardice, but you actually think things through and find other ways around them." She smiled at me. "Atlas was a good example. You drew all that firewood down onto Merlot because you knew you couldn't fight him. The Knights in Ruby's stories would have just kept fighting head on."

"They'd have died," I said.

"Like Viktor did. He was what Ruby would have considered a real Knight. He gave his life to save someone else. Call me selfish, but I don't want Ruby to be so willing to make that trade." Yang sighed and took a drink. "I think you're a good influence on her."

"Thanks?"

"I also think she's a bad influence on you."

"Okay, to be fair, we thought we were going against simple villagers," I said. "If I'd known there was a Hero there, I would definitely have stopped her."

"Doesn't make much of a difference from Ruby's point of view. You remember what I said about the same rules not applying to her?"

I nodded.

"Basically, Ruby can't do the same things I can do, in the same way that I can't do what you can. It's… not my place to go into detail, but you once said she must have low Constitution."

"I'm guessing I wasn't wrong?"

Yang sighed. "Let's just say it wouldn't matter if those guys were Labour Caste or not."

Wait, what? Was Yang suggesting that they could have killed Ruby even though she was a Hero and a much higher Level? Those idiots from Eldon couldn't have been more than Level fifteen at best, and were probably much lower. Even if Ruby's Con was a D stat, it should have been higher than theirs simply by virtue of her being higher levelled. "How much-?"

"Not my story." Yang's eyes were serious. "Leave it at that. Point is, Ruby isn't Summer. She's not a Warrior, so she doesn't have the stamina to keep fighting no matter what. It didn't help Mom in the long run, and it won't help Ruby now. She needs to slow down… to realise that you can't live just to be a Hero."

"That she can't rush into danger…"

"Yeah." Yang downed her drink. "Even if she sees me doing the same. It's not fair. It's hypocritical. That's life, though. It can suck, but we can't change it. I won't ever be as fast as Ruby, but she won't ever be as tough as me – nor as Mom."

"Exactly how bad are we talking here?"

"Bad enough for me to worry when she does stupid stuff like this." Yang finished her drink and rose, but held a hand out to stop me when I made to do the same. "Thanks for this. I appreciate it. I'm just going to go and cool off on my own, but you've been a real help."

"Anything for a friend," I said, sitting back down.

Yang smiled. "Yeah… you're a good friend. Both to me and to Ruby."

"We'll do Quests together from now on, Yang. If that helps, we won't split ourselves up."

"That's fine." She ran a hand through her hair and looked away. "I'm not trying to tell her how to live her life. I'm not trying to stop her from being a Hero, from being like Mom. I just… I don't want her to become Summer Rose. Not in the same way."

After hearing about her, I couldn't say I did either. A Heroic woman for sure, and one the Labour Caste of the world must have loved for her dedication. Right now, seeing the look on Yang's face, and imagining how upset it must have been when she was a child?

I couldn't say Summer Rose had impressed me.

"Me neither," I said, meeting her eyes. "I don't want that to happen."

Yang smiled. As she walked past, her hand fell onto my shoulder, clasping it tightly. She didn't say anything, but as she moved by, she allowed her fingers to trail across my shoulder, until they too were pulled away. No words. No thanks. But I understood it somehow.

Nothing needed to be said.

In the absence that remained, I leaned back and swirled what little ale was left in the flagon. To be a true Hero, huh? Funny how I'd once read those same tales. I was sure of it, because those had always ended with brave Knights who fought against overwhelming odds and succeeded. Each and every time, they were victorious.

I knew now that real life wasn't so forgiving. Viktor was a true Knight, and he'd died saving the life of someone half his age who had gotten stuck in over his head. That was what happened to real Heroes. They died deaths that defined them as such.

But Heroes were people, too. They had loved ones they would leave behind. Loved ones like Ruby, like Yang – like Kaedin. People who would grieve their passing.

What is it that makes a Hero?

I'd asked that once, back before Beacon began. A part of me thought I'd found that answer, but now…?

I wasn't so sure.

/-/

The Guild was busy, but most of the construction crews had already departed. Left behind were scaffolds and signs of work half done, but well on their way to completion. I nodded to Velvet, who bustled back and forth with a broom. She smiled back.

"Everyone's in the main room. They've been waiting for you to come back."

They had? I made to ask her why, but the Tailor shooed me towards them instead. With a quick nod of thanks, I slung my pack and armour down by the door, stepping inside with my more comfortable clothes on. As Velvet had said, everyone was there.

Weiss looked up the moment I entered. "About time you arrived, Arc."

"Well, I wasn't aware you were all expecting me. Why didn't you call me on the Stone?"

"Because there's no rush," Pyrrha answered, looking at the Mage. "Despite how Weiss makes it sound…"

"Tch." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Take a seat. I've found us our next Quest."

I'd have liked to say I felt a thrill of excitement, but that would have been a lie. I settled down next to Ren, the seven of us in a tight circle around the low desk. True to Yang's words earlier, Ruby didn't seem nearly as upset as she had before, and the tense atmosphere between the two was nowhere to be seen.

That didn't mean it was over, however. Not with what I'd learned.

Weiss looked around to make sure everyone was ready and quiet before she began. She leaned forward, rolling a scroll out across the table. Unlike the others, this one contained a map, and I leaned over to take a look at it. The area was the countryside around Vale, with an X some degree to the west. Well, it was close to Vale, at least. That was a good sign.

"Ren and I spent hours reading over this," Weiss said. "We didn't want to take any chances. Not after the last debacle. The Quest is relatively simple. There is a large Grimm which has created a nest here." Her finger touched the map around the area of a large hill. There looked to be a ruin on the top of it. "The Grimm itself hasn't made any moves towards the nearby towns and villages, but has taken to attacking travellers on an irregular basis. The people are worried the negativity that comes as a result of this might cause more Grimm to spawn."

"It's definitely a Grimm?" I asked.

"I personally checked the news from every town surrounding it," Ren answered. "There have been eye-witnesses, and although the reports are muddied, I feel confident in saying it's an avian Grimm of some kind. No chance of bandits," he added. "I made sure of that."

Pyrrha hummed. "That's a relief. I take it our job would be to kill it. What's the reward?"

"Six and a half thousand lien."

I whistled. That was a lot more than we'd individually earned from going out on smaller Quests. My eyes strayed to Yang, but she didn't seem bothered in the slightest. Maybe it was because she'd be here to keep an eye on Ruby. I turned to Weiss. "Why is the reward so high for this?"

"Technically, it isn't," the Mage replied. "The initial Quest was actually only for fifteen-hundred and hadn't really attracted enough interest because of it. Recently, it jumped to six and a half thousand, however. I asked for more detail and apparently, it's because the Grimm has attacked travellers from all the nearby towns now. Each of them have chipped in, driving the reward higher."

"You might think of it as four or five Quests which all happen to be for the same enemy," Ren said. "The Questing House received them and bundled it all together. Realistically, this is a relatively low-risk Quest. The reward is only high because of just how many people have been troubled by this creature."

This sounded too good to be true. Far too good. "Am I the only one suspicious of how great this Quest sounds?" I asked. "It's just that… well, our luck hasn't been all that great on them."

"Your luck, you mean," Nora snorted. "I think it sounds great."

"Jaune does have a point," Yang whispered.

"But those people need our help."

Ruby's words caused a pit to open up in my stomach. Great. Now with what Yang had told me, I could never hear those innocent words and think the same again. Yang met my gaze over the table. She didn't make any overt gesture, but I had the feeling she was agreeing with me.

"We didn't take any changes with this one," Ren said. He pointed to where the Grimm's nest was suspected to be. "So far, the creature has only ever attacked at night. It's drawn to fire and tends to let people by if they travel through the day or in darkness. From this, we can tell it's nocturnal."

Weiss stepped in confidently. "Our proposed plan is to investigate one of the towns during the day to find out more about this and make sure it definitely is a Grimm. From there, we'll set an ambush on the first night with an empty camp. Our goal isn't to fight it… just to make sure it's real." She leaned back and smiled. "Only then… only when we're fully aware of what we're dealing with, will we make a plan to defeat it."

"Huh. That'll be what, two, three days?"

"We could go and fight it on day one," Ren said, "but given our recent experiences, Weiss and I thought it might be best to be overly cautious. This way, we'll know exactly what we're dealing with before we so much as raise a weapon."

Maybe it was the fact it was Ren saying it, or that both he and Weiss had put all this time in, but I found myself relaxing just a little. Out of the whole Guild, I don't think I trusted anyone more than those two when it came to detail. Neither were impetuous like Ruby. Neither would be easily cowed like me. If they said this was safe… it probably was. Or as best as we could make it.

"I guess I'll agree," I said. "But only if we do the plan carefully like you said. I can tell Blake and have her meet us for it."

"I'm in," Ruby chimed. "Yang?"

"Yeah, I'm game."

"I think it's hard to find reason to fault this," Pyrrha said, smiling. "So long as we're careful, the reward is great and the risk is relatively low."

"It's a lucky find for sure," Ren said. "With the reward going up four or more times so suddenly, I doubt the Quest will remain active for long. That's why we think it would be best to leave tomorrow. I've already spoken with Velvet, and she says she will be fine to have the builders continue working on the Lodge." The Monk shrugged. "They might even find it easier with us gone."

"So," Weiss looked around the table. "We're all of us agreed?"

No one countered her, and I held back my own concern. For all intents and purposes, this was our best chance to take a sizable chunk out of our debt. The only other option was to continue as we had done, with small Quests and small rewards. Hadn't we already proven those were no less dangerous?

What other choice did we have?

Another Quest. Wow, it feels like they're doing a few of these, but don't worry, it won't be a continuous thing moving forward. Not much to say here, other than that I hope you enjoyed, and that I definitely did go a different way with Summer Rose here, but I also kind of have this as my head canon anyway.

One person's heroic sacrifice is another's mother, after all.

Also, more lore on the forging process, and an explanation of sorts for him still using Crocea Mors. Again, don't worry. Things will change there. Jaune will find a way.

Next Chapter: 10th July

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