"What do we have here?" Near the back of the passenger cabin in the transport, which Weiss had learned was called an LAD, which was short for Land Arctic Division, the division that these vehicles belonged to, she found a door that opened up to a closet of some sort. I was empty at the moment, but was eight feet tall and four feet across in each direction. It was recessed into the floor two feet, and when she looked at the bottom of the closet she found a drain. "Hey, is this supposed to be a shower?"

Ironwood called back to her. "We've been in here for five minutes. None of us need to use that yet."

"But how am I supposed to use this? There's nowhere to put dirty clothes or clean clothes."

Sighing, Ruby got up and went over to inspect this insufficient shower. She reached in past Weiss, putting her hand on the wall and patting it down. Hooking her finger into a handle, she pulled open a sliding door that led to a washer/dryer. "There you go. Everything you need is right here."

"What?" Weiss looked just a little startled. "Well... well, where's the shampoo?"

"Unbelievable. Use the water, Weiss." Ruby rolled her eyes and went back to her seat.

Weiss followed her, closing the shower door on her way back. "What's so unbelievable about it? You have short hair, but I don't. Have you ever seen what happens to long hair that isn't properly washed?"

"Give me a knife and you won't have to worry about long hair anymore."

"What, because you'll stab me?"

"No, I- Why would I stab you? I meant I'll cut your hair!"

"That's even worse!"

The soldier sitting across from Weiss had had enough. "You two are worse than my wife's sisters. Are you always like this?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Ruby."

"Weiss."

"I'm just saying it wouldn't take too much effort to make sure there's a shampoo dispenser in there." Weiss crossed her arms. "Anyway. Do we have places we'll be able to sleep? In case we're in here longer than a day."

The soldier held up his hand. "Hey, yeah, actually there are beds. There's also two changes of spare clothes for everyone."

"Clothes, huh?"

"Don't get too excited. They're one-size-fits-all expedition uniforms and cold weather clothes. But trust me, you're going to want to make use of the cold weather clothes." He paused, then looked toward the front of the transport. "Which reminds me. How far north are we actually going?"

Jinn turned back to them, addressing his question. "If we keep up this speed, we should arrive there tomorrow in the early evening. I believe we'll have to hike a few kilometers, so the day after tomorrow is when we'll be at our destination."

"Well, I'm staying with the LAD." He shrugged, leaning back up against the seat. "You guys get to take a hike."

Ironwood spoke from his seat. "Jinn, is our current bearing correct?"

Jinn took a moment to peer out the front windows, then nodded. "Yes, sir. If we don't deviate, we're on a straight line to the canyon."

"Okay, good." With that, Ironwood looked over his shoulder to the soldier in the back, and then over to the soldier who was driving the LAD. "Alright. So let me be succinct in this. The Grimm have a master, named Salem. We have ancient Relics, which are powerful items we can use to prevent Salem from overtaking and destroying humanity. Until recently, we thought there were only four of these Relics, but now we have learned that there are in fact a much larger number. Jinn knows the locations of these Relics, and will be leading us to them. Right now, she is leading us to the Relic of Deliverance."

Next to him, the driver took a moment to respond to that information. He tightened and loosened his grip on the steering wheel, but seemed to be digesting the information well enough. Eventually, he commented. "I always wondered about where the Grimm came from."

"Well, Salem didn't create them."

Ironwood cut Ruby off before she could say anymore. "While that's true, their origin has little bearing on our mission. She can control them, and use them to build new ones." He pointed over his shoulder at Jinn. "We have in our possession the Relic of Knowledge, which gives Jinn information that will lead us directly to other Relics. The one we are going to retrieve now, Jinn tells me has the power to seal Salem away."

The soldier in the back, sitting next to Ruby, finally spoke. "I'm going to assume that, since we're going to all this trouble for 'sealing her away', simply killing this Salem person isn't really an option."

"No. It isn't. If it were, her powers would most likely make that impossible regardless." Ironwood had to look again, to gauge how they were handling this information. "The others are probably thinking many of the same things you are right now. I assure you, combatting her directly is not going to be a concern of yours."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Go ahead." It was important to Ironwood to make sure none of these soldiers were at risk or would respond adversely. "Whatever is on your mind."

The soldier in the back, Lima, took a moment to find his words, then spoke. "If it were anyone else, I might think you were pulling my leg, but it's you, sir. You wouldn't be telling us this if you didn't believe it, and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that you wouldn't believe something like this unless you knew. So, granting your telling the truth, I think I would be totally freaking out right now if you hadn't told us at the same time that we're on our way at this very moment to find something that will stop Salem."

The other soldier, McCree, piped up. "You said something about her 'powers'. What does that mean?"

That was the other hurdle to get over with them. The existence of magic in the world. "Salem comes from a time in the distant past, same as the Relics, where magic took a more prominent role in the world. Her powers are, for the most part, simply magic. However, she has definitely made use of both Dust and Aura in her endeavors. She does not, to my knowledge, possess an Aura of her own, however."

"Huh..." Lima shuffled nervously, but seemed to be putting a good amount of effort into staying calm. It looked like it was working, too. "Again, I'm glad to know we're meeting that with these Relics."

"You can be sure I am just as relieved about that." Ironwood addressed the driver again. "How about you, McCree?"

He just shrugged. "I guess I feel the same, sir. That said, I'd like to think I'd take some shots at her if I saw her, regardless of how hopeless that would be."

"I think we're all in agreement there." Weiss said. "Without an actual way to combat her, we'd all do whatever we could, even if it was to distract her for a few seconds. That's time helpless innocents can use to escape and live another day. Precious time that's not wasted."

"I'm not like that." It took a moment before Jinn realized her statement had drawn the looks of the others. She looked around, suddenly a little self-conscious. "I mean, I'd like to, but that's not exactly something I can take part in. Every life is important, but I can't fight. And Salem would probably rather try and pry information out of me instead of fight me anyway."

Weiss thought about that for a moment, then offered an alternate take. "You know, that would probably take more of Salem's time than trying to fight her anyway."

"Would it?" Jinn looked confused.

Lima, however, didn't seem to understand. "Why you, though? Is it because of what General Ironwood said about the Relic of Knowledge giving you... knowledge?"

"Pretty much." Ruby, who was sitting beside Lima, took charge of explaining it to him. "Of course, since the Relics are powerful enough to get in her way, Salem would obviously want to get her hands on them. And a Relic that gives her information would be a great help in finding how to get the others."

"I see. And where is this Relic of Knowledge now?" He caught himself. "Uh, that is, if I'm allowed to know."

Jinn answered. "It's in my luggage. I keep it with me."

"Jinn, are we still on course?"

"Yes sir, we're right on-" Jinn stopped, looked out the front window and squinted. "No, we're not. We've drifted off course by half a degree."

McCree stiffened. "I've kept us straight." He adjusted regardless. "Are you sure we drifted?"

Getting up and leaning forward between McCree and Ironwood, Jinn eyed the barren landscape ahead of them. "No, that's not quite... we didn't drift off course, the destination did."

"The Relic is moving?" Weiss asked from behind her.

Jinn glanced back at her. "Not... no, the Relic itself is still in the same place, but the route to it is moving."

Beside her, Ironwood was starting to grow tired with this. "Jinn, you know what the issue is. Tell us what's going on, please."

"I- yes sir." She swallowed her protest, and started to explain. "We're heading to a large plateau near the northern pole. This plateau is at the edge of an ice shelf, on top of a section that has broken off and is floating in the ocean. It's pressed up against the ice shelf, but it still moves around a bit. Usually, it's touching the ice shelf, so we should be able to approach the plateau."

"Okay, that would have been nice to know before we came without anything that could fly." Ruby complained.

"That wouldn't help, actually." Lima responded. "Where we're going, it gets too cold for that. The engines would freeze and our air transports would just fall out of the sky. That's part of why it's so poorly explored up there."

"Oh, right. I knew that."

"No you didn't." Weiss admonished her partner. "Anyway, Jinn, is there anything else we should probably know?"

"Uh, well..."

"Jinn." Ironwood's voice made Jinn tense up, conveying the message that he did not want to have to tell her to answer.

"Y-yes, sir. There are passages that lead into the center of the plateau. They're too narrow for the transports, so we'll be walking. In the center, there's a clearing, a sort of box canyon, with the remains of an ancient civilization. There, we'll find a temple, and that's where the Relic has been kept for the past four thousand years." She let out a sigh that made it clear she really didn't want to keep talking.

"We should probably know as much as we can before we get there, so we know what to prepare for." Ruby said, leaning across and putting her hand on Jinn's shoulder. "And you did tell the general you wouldn't keep important secrets from him. You wouldn't want to impugn your integrity as a genie, would you?" Her last sentence was whispered, but Weiss heard it as well, and the smile on Ruby's face frightened her a bit as well as Jinn a lot.

Jinn scowled at Ruby. "You're getting back at me for what I said to you in Argus, aren't you?"

"A little." Ruby smirked. "But only a little. I just think it's funny you goofed and promised something you shouldn't have, and now you have to keep your promise."

Taking a long breath, and fixing a half-effort glare on Ruby, Jinn continued. "I do not know what will be there when we arrive. That is the future, and I can make predictions based on information I have, but I'd rather not speculate on unknowns. However, once we do get there, there will be a test, of sorts, to ensure the Cradle doesn't fall into unworthy hands."

"The Cradle?" Ironwood questioned.

"That would be the Relic. The Cradle of Deliverance." She shook her head. "It was gifted to a great empire that existed millennia ago by the God of Light, who thought that they might be able to defeat Salem after he tired of her destructive ways and regretted leaving her on Remnant. It is one of several attempts he made to be rid of her that never really worked out in the end. The only thing I can be sure we'll encounter, if we do acquire the Relic, is the last person on whose behalf it was used."

"The last... person..." Ruby's mind started working hard, and Weiss could almost see the mathematic equations floating in the air around her head. Finally, Ruby let out a sudden cry of surprise. "Ah! You're saying there's someone there who is four thousand years old?"

"Three thousand... seven hundred and forty-three years, one hundred and twenty-seven days, nine hours, eight minutes, thirty-five seconds." Jinn closed her eyes and shook her head. "I... didn't need to say most of that."

Ruby just looked excited. "That's cool. What's her name?"

"Whose name?"

"The person who's still there, with the Relic."

"What- why would you assume they're a she?"

"Okay, forget that, how does the Relic work? You said it's a Cradle? What does that mean?"

Weiss wished Ruby had a mute button. She would have pressed it right about now. She closed her eyes and reached up, rubbing her temples. "Ruby, it's some kind of bed, or a coffin." She looked over to Jinn. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Uh... yes, I guess?" Jinn shrugged it off. "It was designed so that it could trap Salem inside, but it does have another function. If someone is injured, dying, or even dead, and they are placed inside, it will... deliver them from death. So long as their body is intact. You can't use it one someone who is missing parts." She paused, struggling with the next piece of information. "It's... difficult. Using the Cradle, it has a high demand."

"Demand? What kind of demand?" Ironwood asked, directing her explanation. "What does the Cradle require from its user?"

Jinn relented quickly. "The Cradle can restore life, or seal it away. But you're trading a life for a life. When you place someone inside, it consumes you."

There was silence at that. From her seat, Ruby could see the grim look on Ironwood's face. He was unhappy with this revelation, and the prospect of having to sacrifice a life to possibly seal Salem away, but he also had the look of someone who was considering how to make use of that aspect of the Relic as well. Surely, Ruby thought, it would be too good to be true that the Cradle would consume Salem if she tried to seal someone inside. But that was the least of her worries. She found herself thinking about whether or not she would be alright with it if General Ironwood were to sacrifice himself to end Salem's reign of terror. What if it came down to one of her team? Or Penny? Or Qrow? Could she take that? Would it be unbearable to lose them? Could Ruby do it, if it meant saving everyone else? She shook those thoughts off.

Weiss stood up and walked towards the back of the LAD, reaching down and hooking her finger into a latch on the floor. "Well, if that's all we need to know about this Relic, then I'm going to start preparing breakfast. What are we having this morning?"

Lima laughed. "I hope you like MREs."