I found enough spare time after getting done with my test to bust this chapter out. It's short, but it's going to segway us into the first day of the dungeon run.

Weiss stood close to the fire, watching the treeline for any sign of the group. Her foot tapped anxiously against the soil as the seconds ticked by. The girl would have been pacing back and forth, scoring a trail into the ground had Pyrrha not been there. The Spartan insisted on standing still to better spot movement in the brush.

Her companion sat reclined on a log, staring off into the wilderness with a trained eye. Pyrrha's eyes continuously darted from place to place, seemingly waiting for an ambush at any moment. Clearly, she was much more experienced in this than Weiss was, but the more people looking out for trouble, the better.

"It's been too long," Weiss exclaimed, beginning to fidget anxiously. "What if something happened?!"

Weiss wasn't keeping track of time. It felt like it had been an hour of just waiting. Such became unbearable without more party members to fill the void the others left. A silence had fallen upon the forest with only the birds calling out into the spring air.

"It's only been fifteen minutes," Pyrrha replied, tapping her fingers on her kopis' blade. "You shouldn't worry. With Jaune and the others, they can handle anything. Especially goblins..." She looked to the meat roasting over the fire. "I think those are starting to burn."

Great...

Weiss scrambled to flip the meat over before it became too damaged by the fire. She didn't want to ruin the meal and have to go back to Jaune for his ability. The two weren't exactly on talking terms right now, so avoiding the problem was just better. At least until things calmed down enough for her to apologise.

Turning the roasting sticks over, she was given a beautiful golden crust on one side. With the seasoning and fats rendering, it gave off a delightful aroma. The effect was strong enough to make her stomach growl. Weiss wondered what the others would think after they came out of the cave.

"That smells really good," Pyrrha complimented, staring at one of the wyvern steaks like Dreizehn was. Giving her a tail to wag eagerly would have fit the rest of the picture.

"Thanks," Weiss replied, turning over the last steak. "It's my first time cooking this, so it might not be as good."

"Have you ever had wyvern," Pyrrha asked curiously. "I guessed you might have eaten something like this since you're a-" She cut herself off as Weiss' entire body straightened like a rod of iron.

The Princess felt a chill crawl up her spine at Pyrrha's words. She froze solid, unmoving as if the Spartan would not have seen her. Her entire face became red out of both fear and embarrassment at her identity being known by another.

"Y-You k-know," she sputtered, shakily pointing at the Spartan.

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to panic, going red in the face. She appeared more flustered than Weiss did, but for different reasons.

"I'm so sorry," Pyrrha spat out, panickedly holding her hands up. "I didn't know you were keeping it a secret! I knew you were a Schnee, so I figured you were a princess, but you weren't telling everyone about it!"

There's a reason I wasn't!

People at Beacon would be scrambling to curry favours from her. With the number of nobles and those distantly related to royalty there, it would be an easy way to climb the social ladder if one managed to woo Weiss. Other princesses would not have the same fortitude to beat those scavengers back, falling victim to a marriage of convenience.

Jaune might have been one of the few guys she could have trusted with the information. He was ambitious but in another direction, aiming away from royalty. At least, that's what Weiss could put together. Jaune had never told her his specific aspirations. What made their relationship easy was how little Jaune cared about Weiss' status. Same with Ruby, though she was more enthusiastic.

"Have you told anybody else," Weiss inquired as she crossed her arms under her chest, pondering the level to which her identity was known.

"N-No," Pyrrha replied, shaking her head. "What about you? It's nice to have someone to confide with. I don't have that kind of pressure on me at Beacon, but I'm not a princess."

She's right...

"Jaune and Ruby," Weiss answered with a sigh, sitting next to the fire. She stocked the flames with a stick, bringing the embers back to an appropriate temperature. "They're the only ones I've told so far."

"Ohhh," Pyrrha uttered in understanding. "That makes sense. I-"

She was interrupted by something pushing its way out of the tree line. Driving past a bush, Jaune came marching into camp. His blood-covered body was the second thing noticed by Weiss as she locked eyes with his. The boy's rage-filled expression caused the girl to shy away from his presence.

What's going on?

He began discarding his armour and gear as he neared, dropping them on the ground without a care. As Jaune closed the distance between him and Weiss, he unbuckled his chest plate, tossing it aside.

"U-Ummm, Jaune," Wess spoke hesitantly, reaching out to touch him.

However, he ignored the Mage entirely, walking right past her and Pyrrha. Jaune continued, breaking through the opposite treeline towards the river. As he disappeared, the others came into view, entering camp a minute later.

They appeared both physically and emotionally exhausted. Ruby and Nora tried their best to tend to the others, but nothing seemed to be working. Yang's eyes were puffy and bloodshot from crying. Sun and Ren were sick and disinterested in anything going on around them. Blake was quiet, choosing to gather her gear next to the fire.

Both Weiss and Pyrrha shared a look of concern. Something had happened down there. Something so terrible and gut-wrenching that it brought a half dozen adventurers to their knees.

"What happened," Pyrrha asked, taking the initiative. "Did you kill the goblins?"

"Yeah," Sun answered coldly, mindlessly clutching his shirt in his hands. The boy's behaviour was entirely different from his usual upbeat tone. "They're dead..."

Sun glanced down at his shirt, now bloodied and ruined permanently. He growled and tossed it into the fire before walking off into the woods. His destination was also the river. Yang followed along, as did Ruby. The younger girl attempted to keep up with her older sister, trying to soothe whatever pains she was having.

"The goblins were keeping girls for breeding," Ren explained as calmly as he could. The boy was having a hard time dealing with what he saw down here. "We found what was left along with the baby goblins... None of the girls survived, but Jaune killed the goblins..." He shook his head and wandered off to the river. Nora shot a concerned look towards Weiss and Pyrrha as she jogged to keep up.

Weiss stood there expressionless as her mind contemplated what she'd been told. Her heart sank, just thinking about those girls. How they spent their last moments alone and in the dark before finally dying. Then she envisioned what it was like for the others to discover it.

It made Weiss sick.

The Mage glanced to Pyrrha, who shared her reaction. She was disgusted by the thought of what those goblins did. However, her current concern over her friends took precedence.

[Later that Night]

Darkness had fallen on their camp. The mood was nothing short of miserable. Morale had taken a mortal blow for almost everyone in their group. Weiss could feel how palpable it had since become. Both she and Pyrrha were forced to sit around with nothing they could do for their fellow teammates.

Dinner had been more than awkward for those around the fire. It was deathly quiet with not a word spoken as everyone took their ration and sat down. Jaune had not joined the group in several hours, content with working on the dragon after taking a few bites of his steak. The last few pieces were given to the dog before he walked away.

Since dinner and washing up, nobody talked. It felt as though the group wanted to be left alone to brood for the time being. As Ruby would have put it, 'the fun was sucked out of their adventure.' This was a fact both Weiss and Ruby could have agreed on.

I doubt anyone's going to want to turn back now, though...

Weiss glanced around the fire, observing her fellow party members with a half-hearted eye. Sun had since decided to retire, laying on his side and facing away from the fire. Ren and Nora were sitting side by side under a blanket. The boy propping his arms on his knees and the Barbarian leaning against him with her legs pulled against her chest. Ruby had passed out some time ago, using Yang's leg as a pillow. The Brawler merely stared off into space with little enthusiasm for anything else. Jaune was still cutting pieces off the dragon. Finally, Pyrrha had fallen asleep with Dreizehn stretched out next to her. The Spartan's warm body became a desirable place to sleep for the dog.

However, her attention soon shifted back to Jaune. Within those last couple of hours, he worked without pause to strip the dragon of its hide. It didn't all come off in one piece, but he cut it down to manageable sections. He also began piling a few dozen bones of varying lengths on the side. Between the claws, teeth, hide, and a third of the skeleton, Jaune maybe had five-six hundred pounds of materials. They might not take all the bones either, choosing to leave some of them to save weight.

That bag of holding is going to come in handy...

Weiss didn't want to think about where that bag came from. But, if Jaune was taking these bones and other parts, they might as well put it to good use. Ebony was likely dead by now or wouldn't come back for her gear. Abandoning the bag because of that would be wasteful, especially when they need it.

If they found her in Vale, then the party would consider giving it back. There would be enough gold to purchase several bags of holding by the time they were done.

The sound of Yang shifting drew Weiss' attention across the fire. The Brawler stood and walked over to Sun's bag, pulling out the jar of arak he kept. Popping the cork off, Yang came back over to the fire.

"Okay, who wants a drink," Yang offered, panning around the fire with the jar outstretched. By her tone, the girl was doing her best to play Yang's role from two days ago. "Need something to take the edge off?" She went to bring the jar up to her lips, preparing to take a generous swig.

Yang's machinations were cut off by Jaune. He abruptly entered the circle, seizing the jar from her hands, his expression one of simmering anger. She reacted with genuine surprise at this, not used to Jaune being so forceful or in such a bitter mood.

"Just a sip," Jaune tersely demanded, shoving the jar back into her hands with a glare. "What if there's a goblin hunting party around and you get drunk? We don't know if there are any more in the area, so we can't risk it! I can't let everyone watch your back and Pyrrha's while we fight them off!" Fixing her with another look, Jaune turned and stomped back to the dragon.

Without a word, Yang put the bottle away and sat down. From Weiss' perspective, she thought Yang was going to cry. The girl's downcast gaze only disappeared when she buried her head into her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.

He's right, but...

Weiss couldn't help but feel bad for Yang. Getting drunk was a stupid idea right now, but yelling at her when she was in this state was harsh. Jaune wasn't doing much better; however, he was only looking after the group, so Weiss understood.

I yelled at Jaune over something stupid. Can't fault him for doing the same when he's trying to protect us...

As the thought crossed her mind, Weiss watched Jaune leave the dragon once again and head to the river. For a second, she considered going with to potentially talk to him but snuffed that idea out. She couldn't muster the gumption to follow if he was going for a bath.

I should just get some sleep...

[Several Hours Later]

Weiss lay on her back, staring up at the stars with a neutral expression. Despite how hard she tried, sleep didn't come to her. She didn't know if it was the after-effects from adrenaline during the dragon fight or the fear of goblins. Whatever it was became infuriating after the first hour of tossing and turning.

She rolled onto her side, hoping this position would be the most comfortable. However, it did nothing to alleviate her insomnia. Weiss breathed a sigh, giving up finally and damning herself to staying up all night.

I can sleep in the wagon...

The sound of someone inhaling sharply drew Weiss' attention. She turned back over to see Jaune sitting up from his bedroll. One of his hands went up to knead his face while the other pushed him off the ground. He stood and began walking off into the woods. His direction seemingly random and without a weapon to protect himself.

What? Why isn't he bringing his sword? Idiot!

Weiss sat up slowly, watching Jaune vanish into the trees. She reached for Myrtenaster and followed behind. The sound of her boots against the soil was primarily masked by Jaune's much heavier steps. Weiss doubted he knew if someone was following him. He didn't appear concerned about it.

I should keep an eye on him in case something tries to attack...

The boy walked for around twenty feet past the treeline before falling to his knees. Jaune coughed and hacked several times before throwing up whatever contents remained in his stomach. Weiss watched on from behind a tree with concern for the boy. She didn't quite know what was wrong with him.

Is he getting sick?

As Weiss continued to observe, she noticed Jaune was shaking. Not shivering like he was cold, but like he was startled by something. The wheels turned in Weiss' head, and she realised what was going on. The girl exited her cover and strode over to Jaune, carefully placing a hand on his back while he sucked air down.

"Was it a nightmare," Weiss asked softly, keeping her voice low. She continued circling her hand on Jaune's back, hoping it would help him get whatever he needed out.

"Y-Yeah," Jaune spat out, taking several ragged breaths. He spat on the ground to clean out his mouth before wiping his lips with his arm.

I see...

"Do you want to talk about what happened," Weiss followed up, implying both the nightmare and the goblin cave. She stepped away, allowing him room to stand up.

Jaune nodded and pulled himself to his feet. Weiss led him a few feet away and back into the clearing where the camp was. It was just far away enough they could see the fire but not be heard. She didn't need the others to intervene or wake up because of them.

Weiss found a tree with room to sit under. She plopped down on a large root, using it as a bench, while Jaune sat next to her. The boy leaned back and pressed his head against the trunk, breathing deeply to calm himself. Weiss merely fidgeted for a few moments to let him get through it.

The Mage was nervous. She didn't have any rehearsed lines to use and was lost about how she was going to talk to Jaune. How Weiss had treated him the past two days made her task more arduous than it could have been.

Screw it... Just say something!

"So, what happened," Weiss began, using a general opening to allow him to vent. The need to talk didn't require specificity.

"I-I was back inside that cave," Jaune languidly described, running a hand through his hair. He stared off into the night sky as he spoke. "By myself this time. Nobody was with me... I found the chamber where the goblins were keeping the girls. When I opened the door again, I saw my little sisters down there." He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself. "I know it wasn't real, but it felt that way..."

Oh...

Weiss understood his reaction to the nightmare then. Finding one's sister dead inside a goblin den would elicit that reaction from anybody. It didn't matter if it was a nightmare or in our reality.

"Was there anyone you recognised in the cave?"

He shook his head. "No, those girls could have been anyone," he replied, crossing his arms. "One of them might have gotten grabbed out in the fields or playing in the forests. We wouldn't know until it was too late. Goblins wouldn't have cared who's sister, daughter, or mother they found. They could have been my sisters if goblins raided Bar."

They didn't discriminate. Every man, woman, and child was fair game to the goblins. In the end, they would eat you or use your body to breed more goblins—both for some. Nobles and royalty were lucky enough to hide behind castle walls or a legion of guardsmen. Commoners were not fortunate enough, and Jaune recognised the threat to his family.

"That's why you killed those baby goblins," Weiss pointed out, scootching slightly closer to Jaune. "Because those girls could have easily been one of your sisters?"

"Yeah, and it's too dangerous to let them live," Jaune added on, rapping his knuckles on a root. "They're going to kidnap someone else's sister, so I wanted to stop them. It's the same with those slavers. I couldn't get to them, but I set everyone they had free."

Weiss wasn't sure about the comparison, but from Jaune's view, it was correct. Some bandit might have taken his sister as a slave and sold her. Those other slaves were a part of someone else's family. So, Jaune had a moral obligation to do everything he could as he passed through Poncier. The fact the slavers were keeping people as chattel was less significant to him.

Knowing that paired with what Yang told her, Weiss was beginning to feel regretful.

"I-I'm sorry," Weiss stammered as she blurted out. "I didn't understand, and I yelled at you guys about that! I didn't consider how you felt, and then Yang explained it to me! So, I feel really stupid right now..."

"Heh..." Jaune snorted, reclining further against the tree. "It's okay, Weiss... You see things differently being a princess and all that. But we're friends, right?"

"Uh, y-yeah," Weiss stammered once again in agreement.

"Then it's okay to disagree on some things," Jaune continued, speaking earnestly. "Just gotta talk it out..."

With that, an awkward silence fell upon their conversation. Weiss didn't know where to take it further now. She had at least mended some of the rifts between her and Jaune, but more time was needed to fix everything. Unfortunately, Weiss was not the conversationalist as Yang or Ruby was. She didn't have quite the silver tongue they did.

"Are you going back to sleep," Weiss asked, attempting to break the silence.

"No, you," Jaune asked in reply.

Weiss shook her head. "I can't..."

"Just want to hang out here then? We have a couple hours before dawn."

"S-Sure!"

I hope I captured the awkwardness between Weiss and Jaune. They're two people who can talk about anything else perfectly fine except for really important things like this.

Class: Paladin

"Gather 'round, Paladins!"

"There is a difference between the other classes and us! When those Knights and Chevaliers fled at first sight of monsters! You were the ones to take their place! You walked right up to those monsters and wrapped your hands around those fucker's necks! And you did not stop there! Killing everything in your way until there was nothing left!"

"That is the difference between them and us. Those bastards who were too busy keeping themselves in food and wool can keep all the glory and fame for themselves! Boasting about their deeds as if they sacrificed something!"

"We fight to keep the people safe! To keep the Drowners out of the latrines and Goblins from ploughing our milkmaids! Knowing that no other class has our virtue! Our dedication to our craft!"

Level Twenty Eight

Strength 58 (+15)

Agility 25 (+2)

Defence 34 (+4)

Perception 39 (+4)

Constitution 55 (+13) + 25 = 69

Intelligence 58 (+10)

Charisma 30 (+4)

Willpower 21 (+2)

...

Abilities

Arclight

A high-intensity explosion of light, equivalent to that of the sun. Burns the flesh of undead and magical entities. Momentarily blinds living and non-magical entities. Sudden magical intensity can cause affected to flee regardless of status.

Active Debuff:

Turn and Face The Sun!

Longinuslanze Testament

A most unholy weapon. Forged by our lord to answer to only one master. He who has the will to dominate such a blade.

It shall sunder any armour. It shall never miss its mark. It shall grow with your own strength. Its holy light searing all who stand to oppose it.

In turn, you shall become vulnerable to attacks whilst wielding this unholy relic. It shall challenge your mastery by forcing you to fight at your full strength.

Active Debuff:

Turn and Face The Sun!

White Hawk

This aethereal hawk shall be forever bound to you. As its master, only you may give direction to this bird of prey. Whether it be scouting the path ahead or distracting your enemies.

...

Purify

This ability can remove impurities from any material, whether they be food, drink, or metals. This renders them in a poison-free, diseaseless, and pure quality with the added benefit of destroying curses.

...

Passive: Magister's Lament

Your Passive is a double-edged sword. While you may proficiently cast magic beyond the limits of your Willpower. It is limited in other instances. Not being able to cast harmful offensive magic or any magic on yourself.

...

Miscellaneous Knowledge/Buffs/etc.

Monster Slayer

Spent years studying the various monsters of Remnant. Knows the different species and taxonomy of each known creature. Understands the weaknesses of most known monsters.

Armour and Weapons Smith

Worked a forge for his entire life. Jaune is able to judge the composition of metals, and know the condition of his weapons and armour.

...

Gear:

Jaune's Breastplate

Level Seventeen

Materials: 2% Silicon, 0.60% Carbon, Remainder is Steel and Leather

Minimum Stat Requirements:

Strength: 32

Agility: 16

Defence: 22

Constitution: 30

Eagle's Armour

Level Twenty Eight

Materials: Unknown Alloy Ratio of Enchanted Steel and Corundom, Carbon Steel, and Leather

Minimum Stat Requirements:

Strength: 57

Agility: 25

Defence: 30

Constitution: 39

Bag of holding:

Magical satchel that connects to a pocket dimension. Can store up to seven-hundred pounds while maintaining the bag's original weight. Items must be able to fit through the bag's opening.

Buffs:

This specific alloy of steel and corundom is less dense than normal steel while just as hard. It has a strength to weight ratio similar to menachanite allowing the user to build a thicker armour without sacrificing for weight.

This armour was also specially built for you. The measurements fit your body exactly, allowing it to be worn as a second skin granting a tremendous degree of flexibility.

Necklace of the Bulwark

+25% Bonus to Constitution

Spells:

Infusion:

This spell grants one the ability to infuse the desired object with materials ordinarily unable to be bonded together. The strength of the unaltered item determines how much of an effect can be added to it.

Be warned that stressing the target with too powerful additives can result in the atomisation of the material and, possibly, a sudden explosive decomposition.

Telekinesis:

Casting this spell allows you to move objects with your mind. Within a visible range, anything you can levitate is dependent on your personal strength and willpower. Once, cast upon, the item is subject to your directions and will perform whatever manoeuvre you are capable of imagining.

Be warned that this spell drains magicka rapidly.