Okay, new chapter everyone! I'm going to talk about what I think is going to happen in the next volume of RWBY, so there's going to be some spoilers for the prior few volumes. Skip this AN if you don't want anything ruined.

[Spoilers]

Okay, so I think volume 8 has been amazing so far. We've gotten a shit ton of development from the characters. However, I want to postulate what might happen to our favourite knight in the coming volumes. We've seen a bit of his growth here and there for the last three volumes, but nothing huge since Pyrrha's death.

Right now, I think Ironwood's semblance is overclocked, creating the current issues we're seeing with him. He's too focused on fighting Salem that he's basically lost it. He's going to do anything to get Penny back even if it means sacrificing Mantle.

So, after Qrow, Marrow, Winter, and Robyn get done killing the shit out of Ironwood in the next episode (not confirmed, but I think that's going to happen or they'll break his aura and he'll return to normal but devastated,) RWBY and ORNJ +EP are gonna hang out in Atlas to recover and hand things off to Winter and Robyn + whatever's left of Ace-ops. From there, I have several routes laid out for Jaune.

1. He'll stay with the group and continue their fight with Salem as a whole team. This comes with several other alterations that I'll describe below.

2. JNR + O or E will break off and pursue another objective. I'm thinking Vacuo. (I think this is likely, but not so much as the first.)

3. Jaune might abandon the group entirely if Cinder is not killed in this volume and pursue his own objective. (Not hugely likely, but could happen given Jaune's anger towards Cinder.)

Now, with all of these, I think there's the potential for Jaune to begin pursuing another relationship. Jaune doesn't seem completely over Pyrrha, but with how the next volume might turn out, he may grow closer to one of three girls. It largely depends on where Roosterteeth wants to take Jaune's character in how he grows in the next volume. But I have three likely candidates for shipping.

Ruby, Weiss, and Emerald.

I think the first two are the most likely. The last, I'm thinking is nearly impossible, but the chance is there. Nothing solid, I'm not going to do a corkboard style analysis of their relationships.

With Weiss and Ruby, there may be a continuation of their current friendships. We might see some signs of feelings growing between him and one of the girls. Given how Jaune and Ruby are, I think it might be a more natural growth into a romantic relationship. When it comes to Weiss, we've seen her warm up to Jaune quite a bit since volume two. It's possible they might have a conversation that reveals how they feel about each other since Jaune used to like her, and since the dance Weiss may understand that he deeply cares for her. (She did go to the movies with him finally. Oscar is the best wingman.)

This brings us to Emerald. She's joined Ruby's team finally. Now, I would totally understand if Jaune kills the shit out of her since she was partly responsible for Pyrrha's death. (I won't count Penny since she's didn't technically die.) However, if at the beginning of volume 9 or end of volume 8, she tries to prove that she's legitimate about switching teams, Ruby and the others might decide to keep her around. The only way I can see her getting closer than acquaintance level with Jaune is if she comes to him and talks to him. (breaking down and crying about how she's sorry might help Jaune to understand her perspective. If they come to the conclusion that she's also a victim of Cinder, they might find some common ground to develop a friendship.) The only way I can see them actually getting into a romantic relationship is if they break off from the main team and got to Vacuo with Ren and Nora. While Emerald couldn't replace Pyrrha, it's possible with whatever happens in Vacuo she and Jaune might grow closer over that arc.

Everyone had finally woken up, gathering around a stump with a map laid over the top. Sun poured Jaune a cup of coffee before setting the pot to the side. The others grabbed rocks and placed them on the corners of the map to keep it flat. As their planning session came into effect, the party quieted down for Jaune to speak.

"So, this is where we are," Jaune began, placing his finger on a spot a few inches above the swamp.

Their position was still on track for where they needed to go. The party was closer than it should have been. If they followed Blake's path, the group would still be around Poncier by now.

"This is where we need to be," Jaune continued, sliding his finger to a location just inside the swamps, a few miles inside the bog. "Which means we're a half-day ahead. So, I want to take the time to go over the plan when we find the ruin's entrance." He nodded to Blake, signalling her to start.

She withdrew several dozen sheets of paper from her bag, handing some to everyone. The others looked at the paper with raised eyebrows, attempting to figure out the purpose behind them. Each was blank.

"Umm, Blake..." Ruby said hesitantly.

"We're going to map out the different sections of the ruin," Blake dictated, holding a piece of charcoal in her hand. On her map of the ruins she'd explored, the girl marked out several locations of importance. "I only went straight forward, going as far as I could before turning back. There were only a few passages that branched off from the main road that I looked into. Most I left alone since we were coming back later."

"It's going to be for the best if split up into groups to cover more ground," Jaune took over, standing upright. "How many of you know how to pick locks?"

Ren, Blake, and Sun raised their hands. The other members of the party didn't budge.

"That's convenient," Jaune exclaimed, peering over their shoulders to Yang and Nora. The two girls were wrestling with the giant lizard to get the harness fitted. "What about them?"

"No."

"I don't think Yang knows..."

"Eh, it doesn't matter," Jaune replied, waving his hand to the side. "We can keep it simple with three groups of three."

"I agree," Pyrrha expressed, crouching down to look at the map of the ruins. "It should be one thief, one fighter, and one wildcard. That rounds out most of our skills since we don't have three mages." She took a sip from her coffee. "We explore as far as we can on the first day, using the chalk to mark where we've gone. With the maps, Blake and Jaune can put together a complete picture of the ruins for Dr Oobleck."

"Then if anybody runs into wards or some form of magical barrier, I can go with them to disable it," Weiss added on as Pyrrha finished. "I would prefer Jaune go with me since I can show him how to take the wards down."

"Helps us cover ground," Sun agreed, dropping a piece of chocolate into his coffee.

"We should also scout for camping spots along the main tunnel," Ren suggested, taking a bite out of some fried beef. "Places we can barricade at night would be the best. Those ruins are not secured, so we should expect monsters to roam freely."

That would be bad if a pack of draugr or giant spiders decided to creep up in the middle of the night. Luckily, the ruins Jaune and Weiss checked out had plenty of furniture to block doors. Most rooms had bars to secure them as well. The Old Valeans had thought their security through.

"Yeah, we might have to go back and clear out those chambers again," Jaune expressed, cupping his chin. "Lock whatever doors you can. It will help funnel the draugr out into the open since they don't have anywhere to hide."

Nobody had anything else to say, so they began putting away all of the maps. The group's attention was grabbed when Yang shouted at the riding lizard. The much larger beast was squirming as Nora threw on the harness from behind, preparing him to pull the wagon. Actually, from Jaune's perspective, it appeared the lizard was raring like it was ready to go.

"Why does he look so excited," Weiss asked as they continued watching.

"They're raised for this kind of thing," Sun explained, taking another sip of his mochaccino. "Not as smart as horses, but he sees the tack and knows what's going on. Those slavers probably stole him from a trader who used him to pull wagons."

He was going back to his roots. Maybe the lizard didn't get any pleasure out of it, but he knew treats were on the way after the job was done. A form of conditioning the reptile followed.

Finally, Nora and Yang got the lizard all harnessed up. The blonde led him to the carriage, and he backed in between the shafts. Nora tied him in, and everything was now set. The lizard waited patiently for someone to urge him on.

That was the group's cue to grab the last pieces of gear they needed. Most of it was already loaded into the wagon or the bag of holding, which made a quicker cleanup. The only things in the cargo hold were some sacks of grain and the dragon head. It added up to maybe two hundred pounds in total. This didn't include the rider.

Given the size of the lizard, he could easily pull the wagon when it was fully loaded.

"Weiss-Ruby," Jaune spoke up, garnering their attention. "You two get on the wagon. The rest of us will walk."

Gives Weiss a chance to sleep. She needs it, and we can't have our mage tired in the middle of a fight.

Weiss came out to help him last night, so the least he could do was repay her like this. Already, she was curled up in the back with a blanket thrown over her. Unfortunately, her comfort did not last long.

Ruby snapped the reins, and the lizard began moving along. His pace was a little too eager, causing Weiss to cry out as she was rocked by the sudden change. Ruby nearly fell off the wagon, saving herself by grabbing onto the handles next to her seat. When she got back in control, she slowed the carriage down to slightly faster than walking speed.

[One Day Later: The Edge of the Pantan Swamps]

Finally getting some progress, Jaune knew they were close to the swamps. The map said so, given the noticeable landmarks and the other specific details of the area. Using Sun's aptitude for climbing, he scaled a tree and spotted a section of land with some dense cypress and maple trees. That was going to be their first destination, and they would go from there.

While he and Weiss walked side by side, mapping out their path, the others were conversing in the middle of the train. Occasionally, one of them would crack a joke causing the others to laugh out loud.

Jaune enjoyed seeing them back in spirits now. Moving as far away from the goblin cave as possible was precisely what they needed. Though, from time to time, the thought crept upon a group member at night, causing them to withdraw for a short while. Jaune didn't think anybody would get over the goblins until after they got back to Beacon.

It was a start, though.

"So, what's Mistral like," Yang threw out a question.

"What about it exactly," Pyrrha asked explicitly. "That's a very broad question..."

"There are two main cultures," Ren explained, hoping that was what Yang was asking about. "There's the Imperial and Oriental tribes who make up most of the Mistrali Empire. Then there are the Nordlings who live in the north, but that's not really a part of the empire."

"No-No-No," Yang interjected, stopping each of them. "What are the people like?! Are they conservative like Vale and Atlas or progressive like Vacuo?"

Is Vale really that conservative?

From Jaune's perspective, Vale wasn't too rigid in their social beliefs. Maybe forty years ago, women weren't exactly able to do much outside child-rearing and managing the home. It was the same with cross-species couples and same-sex couples as well. Before the war, those were not as permitted, but societal collapse really spurred things on.

The old guard who survived the entire war tried to keep things as they were, but the Warrior King put in a new regime. There were some traditions, like marriage and other little things. Compared to Vacuo, the culture was not as expressive and more orderly.

"Hehehe," Pyrrha laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It depends on where you live, but I think we're quite progressive. We have certain traditions everyone follows, but it's nothing strict. And except for the upper nobility, we try not to look down on anything unless it harms someone else."

I can see the appeal...

Mistral had thousands of years to stamp out most of their cultural issues. Vale didn't have such luxuries, so specific problems kept coming back, given it was more city-oriented and didn't have quite a national identity. Maybe it was the mixture of the two prominent tribes that helped Mistral get through it.

"So, we talking drug-fueled orgies or multiple partners?"

With that, most of the kids' faces turned bright red. Jaune was able to choke his distress down; however, the others didn't have the fortitude. Such a straightforward question caught them off guard.

"Yang," Ruby cried out, attempting to shield her face from view.

"Come on, Rubes, I need to know what we're getting into if we go to Anima," Yang shot back with a Chesire grin. "I've only heard things! Time to go to the source!"

"I-It's okay, Ruby," Pyrrha spoke up with a blush that put her hair to shame. "Y-Yes, those do happen... We're not very prudish about intimacy. It's also not uncommon for someone to take multiple partners unless they're a noble. The Emperor allowed it so we could rebuild the population after the war."

Jaune agreed with the strategy. Vale simply didn't have enough bodies for most projects or to even harvest fields come fall. The South made up for it with slaves, but the kingdom had to rely on well-paid migrant workers. Most of the time, they weren't available since they were hired by cities to do their work.

That must be why Mistral's so good on its own... Money might not be as good, but the work gets done with more hands.

"Sounds like fun," Yang sarcastically chirped.

Jaune tuned out their conversation for a moment. As he did, the boy caught Weiss in his peripheral vision. Her cheeks were blood red, and she didn't want to look anywhere but the road. The Paladin knew precisely what had crossed her mind.

The idea of dozens of people having sex at once may have been in the realm of fantasy for her. To actually hear it confirmed was a shock to Weiss' world. No doubt Sun and many other boys would have jumped on a ship the first chance they got. Weiss, however, seemed to take the idea in a different direction.

Shouldn't ask her about it... Weiss would probably be too embarrassed. Makes sense with her reaction to the brothel, though.

After their talk, Jaune didn't really care about it as much as he did then. The goblins really made that issue into something trivial.

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of hooves striking the ground. It caused Jaune to stop, as did everyone else in the train. The party scrambled to grab their weapons and run for cover as the horse grew closer.

Shit! Is it bandits! Blake said she hunted bandits the last time she was down here!

Charging out from around a bend in the road, the group caught sight of the beast. It was a pricey warhorse covered in both mail and plate barding. Various banners hung off the mount, signifying loyalty to both the Kingdom of Vale and another house.

The man riding the horse was none other than Professor Port.

The Chevalier donned a full set of plate armour painted in maroon red with golden highlights. Beneath the plates were ordinary chainmail wrapped securely around his body. The armour's entire makeup was similar to Jaune's but shaped more like traditional knight's armour.

"Nobody tell him what we've found yet," Blake ordered in a whisper. "We don't know why he's here..."

His mount came to a slow twenty feet from the party. Port took off his helmet and sauntered the last few metres in their direction. The rest of Jaune's group gathered around the boy as the Chevalier came to address them.

"Ah, children, I'm glad I finally caught up to you," Port began in his usual tone. "I hoped to run into you there, but this has turned in our favour!"

The man scanned through the train, observing their general condition like any experienced guide would. However, as his eyes wandered, they caught sight of the giant lizard and the contents of the wagon. The man's jaw fell open, and he immediately dismounted from his steed.

"Is that what I think it is," Port exclaimed as he walked right past the party and towards the lizard. "I can hardly believe it! You found a riding lizard out here?! Is there a wild population of them?! They should never have migrated this far east!"

He held his hand out to the lizard, and the beast allowed him to stroke the top of its head. Port moved in closer and pressed his head against the base of its throat. He stood there for several seconds, listening to both the breathing and heartbeat.

Once satisfied, his attention turned to the wyvern's head in their wagon. Everyone followed him around as he went to inspect it, watching his machinations with a confused expression.

"Given the markings and age, I think this is an ancient wyvern," Port mused as he leaned in to inspect the creature. He then immediately turned back to face the students. "Remarkable! Do you still know the location of the rest of the body? I have some colleagues who would like to perform an autopsy."

"What are you doing here," Blake asked in a confrontational tone. "Professor Ozpn said we were supposed to clear these ruins on our own!"

Jaune agreed with Blake's reaction. Professor Goodwitch went behind their backs and sent someone they didn't expect. If she had come to them after the meeting with Ozpin, the assistance would have been accepted wholeheartedly. Now, they had someone show up out of nowhere without prior arrangements.

As a wary adventurer, Blake would be suspicious at the very least. For a thief, this would set off alarm bells in her head. Especially since nobody in the party knew the Professor well. As far as Blake was concerned, this was essentially a dangerous person randomly walking into camp in the middle of the night.

Understanding Blake's tone, Port backed away from the wagon and took a breath.

"Ms Belladonna," he began in a serious tone, panning his gaze throughout the group. "Professor Goodwitch was concerned for you and this party. She, Dr Oobleck, and I agree these ruins are likely host to many dangerous creatures you would not have seen during your Task. Erring on the side of caution, I was dispatched to act as an advisor given my extensive experience with the Ruins of Old Vale."

As he finished, the man tucked his arms behind his back and awaited a reply. This prompted the entire group to huddle up out of earshot to discuss the plan.

"So, what do we do," Yang posed, looking around at the group. "We could really use the extra body here..."

"Yeah, what if there's a super tough draugr down there," Ruby agreed. "We can use Professor Port as a tank while we attack from all sides."

"I don't know about him," Sun objected, shaking his head. "I think Blake and me agree it's sketchy that we weren't in on this."

"But he said this isn't his first time in Valean ruins," Ren pointed out. "We know he's an experienced warrior. It would be best for us to take advantage of the extra set of hands."

"If he tries anything, he can't stop us all at once," Nora expressed, bearing an ear to ear grin. "We could break his legs and tie him up!"

"I can't believe you guys think a professor's going to betray us like that," Weiss scolded harshly. "Did any of you consider how thoroughly they're vetted? Especially with Professor Ozpin, I doubt he'd let someone he couldn't trust work at his academy."

"Weiss is right," Pyrrha chipped in. "You can't surround yourself with people you don't trust. But we have to assume someone could always betray you."

"Healthy paranoia will save your life," Blake agreed, looking back out towards Professor Port.

"Then we bring him along and watch him," Jaune concluded. "We need to keep track of the magicon as well, so don't let it leave your hands, Sun."

Jaune thought the Professor was sincere. He didn't appear to be the type of guy to turn traitor. Give incredibly boring lectures that put students to sleep, sure, but no turncoat. Port was one of those old-fashioned knights who didn't have aspirations beyond loyal service.

However, caution was always advised. They were far from help, and the people who attack Beacon were not identified at this point.

At once, the huddle broke apart, and everyone turned towards the Professor.

"Professor, we've decided we could use your help," Ren stated for the group. "Would you like to lead the way?"

"Of course, Mr Lie," Port agreed without hesitation. He walked back to his horse and leapt onto the saddle in a single motion. "This has not been the first time I've led such an expedition. It reminds me of my younger days when I accompanied Dr Oobleck during an excursion to the north..."

Not another one of his stories...

...

The group had finally arrived at the swamp. This vibrant ecosystem of narrow waterways and trees was absolutely teeming with life. Jaune wondered how many species existed in this general area. With the amount of tree cover and muddied grounds, creatures could hide anywhere they wished to.

Unfortunately, the party had to dismount from the wagon and carry everything inland. The only thing being left behind was the dragon's head. This also meant having to traverse the near knee-deep waters while backpacking with some of the food sacks. Most of the group wasn't looking forward to this part.

"Is there anything we need to watch out for," Ruby asked as she squatted next to the water. She poked at the stream with a stick, trying to attract fish to her.

"Swamps are host to many monsters, Ruby," Weiss explained, donning her pack. "What we should watch out for, are Valean constrictors, alligators, and vipers. Most range from twenty to thirty feet in length. They also strike at anything that squats within reach."

Ruby realised the precarious position she sat in and leapt back out of fear. A cry left her throat as she fell on her butt. A harsh glare sent back towards the heiress was met with laughter from the other kids.

"That's not funny," Ruby whined, scrambling to her feet.

"Doesn't make it not true," Weiss retorted, placing a hand on her hip. "They really do grab anything they can reach..."

"All right, guys, let's get moving," Jaune interjected, stuffing the last few items he could in his bag of holding. "Try to stick to land; most of these guys don't move that fast out of water."

Jaune took the first step and began wading through the stream. The others followed along, with Port pulling his horse in the back of the train. Jaune's giant lizard merely swam straight through with ease. Yang carried Dreizehn to keep him from having to swim.

...

Blake slowly guided the group towards the location she remembered. This area was familiar to her from previous hunts, so she followed her steps. It took them to a drier part of the swamp, where they eventually found a cave.

This entrance was tucked inside a small hill that looked as though it was becoming overgrown. What made its origin quite obvious were the remains of carved stone blocks bordering the hole. It had severely decayed over the years but hadn't fully collapsed. Luckily, there was enough room for everyone to squeeze inside.

Blake and Jaune entered first to ensure nothing was waiting to surprise them. They filed down the remnants of a stairway into the city gates. A quick examination of the first chamber didn't reveal any signs of life. Shouting upwards, the others entered one by one into the cavern. The last to come in was the giant lizard who had to practically crawl in sideways.

These look older than the ruins Weiss, and I went to...

Much of the style remained the same. Plenty of ornate carvings throughout the chamber detailed the history of these people or displayed their iconography. The floors were well worn from repeated use by travellers to the point of gouges being left from wagon wheels. This was more of a city than a tomb and temple.

Guards were stationed up here... They controlled the flow of traffic and could close the gates if attacked.

Jaune picked up an old gear that belonged to the gate mechanism. It was not a hugely sophisticated one, but something a younger engineer could come up with. For the time, this was the apex of security. You could bring down the gate and retreat further into the tunnel where more defences could be activated. Your enemies would be stuck in this first chamber or would have to funnel into a narrow tunnel to make it further.

"There's a place we can make camp up ahead," Blake said, stopping everyone from dropping their bags. "I cleared it out, so there shouldn't be any draugr."

Everyone chose to follow along. Blake took out her sword and held it in one hand, waiting for a surprise while she used a torch to light the way. The others did the same, checking the depressions in the walls for draugr. As a unit, they pushed forward with Professor Port making up the rear. Their circle designed to protect Weiss and Ruby from a surprise attack.

A few minutes of walking later, they reached the first cluster of buildings. Most appeared to be old shops or storage where traders would drop off their goods. This was the first place visitors would come for supplies or a night to sleep. There were fewer risks attackers could use these as a fort with them being far enough away from the gates.

"This is it," Blake announced, pushing open an iron door.

The building appeared to be barracks. The number of tables and beds pressed against the walls told them that much. Draugr had once inhabited this room but were dispatched by Blake, leaving their bodies scattered on the floor. Aside from them, it was a nice place to stay until they had to move further down.

It even had a fireplace.

"These beds are made from stone," Pyrrha mused as she removed some of the decayed bedding. "Carved out of the walls..."

"Great, love back pain," Yang complained, dropping her stuff near one of the beds. She swiped her hands across it to clear off the rotted bedding.

"We'll be tired enough after we get done exploring; you won't care," Jaune replied, tossing his stuff onto a table. "But we should get groups together and choose what path we're going to check out." He pointed to Ren and Nora. "I'll take Ren and Nora. Switch things up! Who do you guy's want?"

"Ummm, I'll go with Weiss and Pyrrha," Sun said, hanging his gear on a nearby coat rack.

"That leaves the three of us," Yang chirped, throwing an arm around Blake and Ruby. She squeezed tight, causing the girls to croak as the air was forced out.

"Then I shall secure the homefront," Port declared, arming himself with his axe. "I'll get a fire going in the meantime. If you encounter something too difficult to fight off on your own, retreat here, and we may go deal with it together. If possible, try to return before nightfall." He moved towards the entrance before disappearing from view completely.

"Got it, thanks Professor," Yang spoke up as he left the room.

With that, Blake unfolded the map and showed it to everyone.

"Ahead, there's an intersection in the road," the Assassin began, sliding her finger across the map towards the location. "Two teams need to clear those out and bring whatever you can back here. I'll take the third ahead to another section of the city."

Everyone took a piece of charcoal with them and left the barracks. With Dreizehn and the giant lizard in tow, they walked until they reached the first intersection. This area was built over an underground river with a bridge diverging into three paths. Light came in through several holes in the ceiling where separate waterfalls cascaded down from above.

From the centre of the intersection, the city really started opening up. There were no massive caverns with individual buildings but separate tunnels diverging from the main road. Lining most of the main tunnel were building fronts carved out of the rock or remnants of stalls in the path's centre. They still needed to push further, so this style could change at any time.

"We'll take left," Nora proclaimed, beginning to skip down the passage.

Jaune and Ren looked at each other with shrugged shoulders before following. The others broke apart and went their separate ways. Already, Jaune could hear Yang and Ruby talking about something. The voice of Sun was drowned out by theirs, but he appeared to be telling Pyrrha about Vacuo.

The trio walked in silence for a short time, attempting to follow this tunnel as far as they could. Most of it was barren with only carvings and the occasional torch sconce. It was surprisingly intact for how old it was. Upon turning a corner, there may have been rubble, but it was almost in pristine condition.

"So, is there anything you guys want down here," Jaune asked, throwing out a question to get a conversation going. "Like armour or some new weapons you want to call dibs on?"

"Mmm," Ren hummed as he thought of an answer. "I'm not one for armour; I can avoid attacks better without the weight. Nora could use an upgrade, however. She's using a set we got her a few years ago. I think Nora might want to stay with Magnhild, though..."

"I could reforge it," Jaune proposed, gesturing towards the hammer Nora carried on her shoulder. "If we find some good metal down here, I can rebuild it. Then we can just switch out the old one for the new."

"Really," Nora asked, swinging around to face them. She cocked her head at the idea, looking over at the intricately carved head. "You can do that?"

"It's gonna take a while, but we just need to forge the head," Jaune explained, gesticulating as he spoke. "I'll pound the shape out, then start working on shaping and carving the original design. If you want to find a new haft, I'll put it together when I'm done."

"Hell yeah," Nora agreed almost immediately. "Arrrgghhh, I already can't wait! Should we start after we get the house, or as soon as we get back?!" She cupped her chin as a thought came up. "What kind of house are we gonna get anyway? There's castles, cottages, chateaus, maybe a cave?"

"I never really thought about a cave," Jaune replied, thinking about how that situation would unfold.

"They're more comfortable than you think," Ren pointed out. "Especially if there's a fire and it stays dry. I don't think the others would like the idea."

Jaune couldn't imagine Weiss trying to live more than two days inside a cave. The rest of the party could deal with it as they made it livable. Weiss, however, had a more refined preference in living conditions.

"There's a door," Nora called out, gripping Magnhild with both hands.

The section of the tunnel they came to had a single door on the wall. Further down, there was a couple buildings they could investigate, but this room took precedence.

"On three," Jaune said, grabbing the handle. "One. Two. Three!"

On the signal, Jaune threw open the door, and the team stormed their way in. This chamber held several draugr shuffling around aimlessly. With the sudden entrance of the intruders, they quickly scrambled to meet them head-on. However, the surprise came too abruptly for it to make any difference.

Of the four draugr, Jaune charged the closest one to him. He dropped his shoulder and slammed his body weight directly into its chest. The momentum behind the blow threw the zombie off its feet and on the ground. Jaune finished him off with a stomp to the neck with his boot, severing the head entirely.

Nora cocked back her hammer and swept the massive head sideways. It clocked one of the draugr in the lower abdomen, where he was thrown to the side by the Barbarian's sheer strength. She didn't stop there, charging directly at another before striking the undead with a downwards swing, crushing both the helmet and its skull.

Ren finished off the final zombie with two daggers. One, he threw at the undead's eye, embedding the knife in its skull. The attack was not enough to bring it down, so he followed up with another, targetting the second eye socket. The trauma caused to the body ensured the walking corpse collapsed immediately.

"That's all," Nora complained, kicking one of the corpses. "These guys are so weak!"

"This is still the upper levels; they're bound to get tougher," Ren countered, wrenching his knives out from the draugr's head. "I think these undead were around level ten."

"Don't know about the levels, but they get harder to fight," Jaune agreed, bending down to search the zombie at his feet. "Oh, some coins..."

"Ooo, let me see," Nora requested, holding out one of her hands.

Jaune flicked the coin to her, which she caught above her head. The girl inspected the metal for a moment while the boys searched the other zombies. However, their investigation was cut off by the sound of metal scraping against metal.

"Looks like some gold-plated copper," Nora described, holding up the defaced coin to the others.

"I've seen that before," Jaune replied, inspecting his own coin. "In the first dungeon Weiss, Blake, Sun, and I did, we found a whole bunch of these. I got excited because we thought they were gold. Turns out they're almost worthless..."

"It depends if we want to carry them," Ren pointed out, picking up some coins from another zombie. "If we're trying to save weight, it might be better to only take what's really valuable."

"But someone else is going to take it if we don't," Nora countered, pocketing the one coin. "We need the money..."

"Don't worry about it too much, guys," Jaune intervened. "We're gonna dump it back at base tonight. Hopefully, we have enough bags to carry it all."

"Yeah, that would suck if we had to shovel it through the portal," Nora expressed with a snort. "But come on, I want to see what's up ahead!"

Nora charged out of the room, leaving the guys on their own once more. They jogged to catch up, finding Nora already made it to those shops. She was panning around, looking for anything that might have been interesting. As her sight caught them, she waved for the two to catch up.

"There's a couple stores we can look at," Nora said, pointing to a sign on the wall.

It was the Old Valean word for the smithy. If there was a place to look for weapons, it was going to be here. Certainly, Jaune was interested. Ren seemed excited about it as well.

"Lead the way," Jaune offered with a smile.

Nora took his words to heart. She drew back Magnhild and smashed open the door, sending it flying into the store. The draugr inside was clobbered by the sailing hatch, crushing it against the opposite wall.

"Open says me," Nora proclaimed as she wandered in unimpeded. However, the darkness stopped her from going farther inside. "Torch, please, can't see anything..."

As Jaune and Ren filed inside, they were greeted with a once-prominent smithy turned to ruin. Everything was covered in a layer of cobwebs or decayed beyond recognition. Most of the weapons or armour had rusted or were missing.

It seemed as though whoever left this place tried to take what was valuable. Fitting since the city wasn't abandoned overnight.

Jaune checked behind the counter for anything he could use. There was a single coin trapped under a bowl, but that was everything. The sound of Nora cooing curiously drew his attention to the back room.

Poking his head inside, the pair were rustling through what was left. Nora had actually found a decent breastplate. She held it in the light to examine its condition as Ren continued searching for anything else.

"Oh, cool, you found something," Jaune expressed, walking over to examine the piece.

"Eh, I don't think it's gonna fit me," Nora replied, holding up the armour to compare to her torso. "Someone scrawnier's gonna be able to squeeze inside, but not me." Her torso jutted out around two inches from all sides of the armour.

"Looks like it," Jaune agreed, cocking his head to examine the armour. "Maybe Weiss or Ruby?"

"Don't know about Ruby," Nora expressed, turning the armour sideways. "Whoever's gonna get inside needs to be flat as a board."

Please don't let Weiss be standing behind me...

"We should bring it with us then," Jaune urged immediately, holding open the bag of holding for Nora to toss the plates inside. His demeanour had turned anxious, trying to hurry along the pair. "Let's go check out the other shops! This place seems pretty empty."

Jaune fled the smithy as quickly as he could. The fear that Weiss could have teleported right behind him was suddenly realised when the Mage was outside the shop. She stood there with Sun and the rest of her team, waiting for someone to make themselves known. Seeing them out of the corner of his eye caused the boy to leap back instinctively.

Why do people have to keep sneaking up on me?!

"How's everything going down here," Sun dryly greeted with a wave. "Our route was blocked off, so we came down here to help."

"We found some gold," Ren replied, holding up the one or two coins he'd found. "The tunnel was a straight walkway, so we just got here."

"This area might not be in a structurally sound part of the original caverns," Weiss added on, examining some of the walls and ceiling. "Explains the tunnel... They'd prefer to mine to an area with better support."

"I'm genuinely surprised they were able to construct all of this," Pyrrha said with astonishment in her voice. "Tombs in Mistral hardly go this far underground..."

"Imagine how much food they needed," Nora pointed out.

"That's actually not a bad point," Ren admitted, turning to Nora then back to everyone else. "Given they chose to build underground, there's a reason they didn't settle the surface. Likely, they have some sort of underground farming system or could import food from the surface. You would need it to feed all of the miners."

"Kinda scares me about what chased them down in the first place," Sun expressed with a nervous laugh. "Why live underground when you can build a house up there?"

Good question...

People don't like living underground. Something had to necessitate the effort needed to put all this together. Given how the area aboveground wasn't barren or covered in ruins, they didn't come down here because there were too many people.

"If we go deeper, we might find something to tell us why," Jaune suggested with a dramatic flair to his voice.

"Hell, I'm game," Sun replied with a shoulder shrug. "Want to check out the last couple shops? Then figure out how to get around that..." He pointed to the end of the buildings where a pile of boulders were.

The end of this passage had collapsed, but there was enough space for someone to squeeze through. If the tunnel was open, then half the group could go inside while the others returned to camp.

"Yeah... Ren, me-you, let's go check out the bank," Jaune directed, pointing to all the various shops in this section. "Weiss-Pyrrha, there's a merchant's store. Nora-Sun, figure out what that building is..."

At once, the group broke up and moved to clear the shops. Ren and Jaune approached the bank and looked inside through the steel bars on the window. Seeing nothing, Ren went to open the door but found it was locked to him.

"This shouldn't take me long," Ren said, pulling out a lockpicking kit from his pocket.

"Doesn't look like an expensive lock," Jaune expressed, leaning over to inspect it while providing torchlight for Ren.

Probably didn't cut corners with the safe... Don't really need to lock the bank down.

"There," Ren chirped as he moved the lockpicks into place. He turned the door handle and pushed it open.

Inside was what a typical Valean bank looked like. There was a counter with a bunch of old paper scattered around—some chairs for the tellers. The front office wall had two slots for the employees to slide money or documents through to the vault.

As the boys inspected the room, a draugr charged at them from the back room. However, he got caught in the iron-barred door, stopping him from attacking the pair. It thrashed against the vault's door, slamming the iron against the stone. Then the undead jammed his arm through the bars, attempting to grab at them while hissing.

Jaune cast arclight, killing the undead almost instantly with the scorching light. His arm closest to the boys was nearly burned to a crisp, as was the front half facing them. It left the corpse hanging in the door before his arm broke off, allowing it to fall to the floor.

Ren reached for the iron door's latch, pushing it open to gain access to the vault. The interior was completely empty, aside from another corpse on the opposite wall. While there was a safe, it had been opened, and nothing remained inside.

However, Jaune's attention turned to the corpse. Both he and Ren crouched down in front of him, gawking at the scene. The corpse in question was sat against the wall with a sword in his gut.

"Looks about as old as the draugr," Jaune pointed out, gesturing to the desiccated skin. "But his friend skewered him with his sword. Why didn't he take it back?"

"Hmmm, let's pick him up; that sword looks stuck on something," Ren said, grabbing at one of its arms while Jaune did the same.

With a tug, the sword came loose, as did the corpse. Underneath was a small lockbox with a hole where the blade was stuck inside. The boys threw a nod at one another as Jaune picked it up to inspect the contents.

Tearing open the box was simple enough. There was enough damage from the sword for Jaune to get his knife in there and pry it open. As the lid broke off, they tossed it away and marvelled at loot.

"Gold ingots and gems," Ren mused, picking one up. He held the ounce of gold up to the light, inspecting its quality. "I think there's about a thousand lien?"

"Nice," Jaune complimented as he funnelled it into his bag. "Wonder what happened here, though?"

"He may have tried running from another draugr and hid inside," Ren postulated, grabbing the torch. "Thought he was alone and didn't see this one. He probably took the box from deeper in the city."

"Explains why this area looks picked over," Jaune agreed, turning back to the vault's entrance. "The guys who came here before wanted the easy pickings. Hopefully, everything else is intact..."

They were cut off by Nora abruptly entering the vault. She stepped over the corpse, taking a look around before addressing the boys.

"Hey, Renny-Jaune, the rest of the tunnel is a no-go," she explained, taking a step out of the vault. "Weiss wants us to go back to the barracks to get some food ready."

Why not? Good first day...

Okay, the group has breached the first layer of the dungeon. They are in the area with little security and loot as with most dungeons. There was some stuff left over, but they couldn't get to the rest of the area given how degraded the structure has become. Deeper down, you would likely find a more structurally rigid tomb with more loot and enemies.

However, Professor Port has arrived. I agree with their suspicion of him. Would you trust your college professor if they showed up in the middle of nowhere fully kitted out in armour? The group has only known Professor Port for about a month and a half at this point. If they had known him for a year, their trust might have been greater.

Also, I modelled Mistral after the Roman Empire. Orgies were aplenty back then!

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.