Arc Family Home, Kingdom of Vale, Dawn the next day

Jaune Arc, Labour Class Battleforged Blacksmith

Working in a village that was focused on timber and hunting, and more recently as something of a local trade hub, meant that Jaune and his father were almost always up before the sun was fully risen. Traps and arrow tips, or farming tools and general items required for agricultural work were often tested before the villagers headed out for the day, as a failure in the village was far less trouble than out in the fields or the forest.

That didn't mean he enjoyed such an early wake up call of course, his mind caught in something of a haze as he went through the motions of extricating himself from his bed covers as quietly as he could, in an effort not to wake his sisters. Even with the increased wealth from his new talents, and the general increased prosperity in Ansel with the bounty of the Grimm Incursion aftermath, the Arc house was still a three bedroom house.

While there was talk around the dinner table of Sapphire attracting the attention of several potential matches, each of which Jaune had promised himself would be receiving a personal visit if it did progress beyond long looks and blushing, seven children in two rooms meant Jaune had developed a soft step even at a young age.

Thankfully, today seemed to be a lucky day for him, only Amber shifting sleepily as he finished changing into a gambeson and padded trousers before exiting into the upstairs corridor. The stairs still presented a challenge, but over ten years of experience meant Jaune knew exactly where the creaky parts were, and what he needed to do to avoid anything more than a couple of soft squeaks. In the large open plan space of the ground floor, that served as kitchen, dining room and living area all at the same time, it wasn't hard to notice his mother as she bustled quietly with the clearing out of the fireplace and the basic cleaning tasks that could only take place with the light of day to assist.

While they did have two candles for use in a case of emergency, they were expensive and with nine mouths to feed any expense that could be saved was.

'Morning Mum'. With the risk of seven angry women/girls upstairs if he was too loud, Jaune instead settled on mouthing and gestures, something that was almost a ritual between the two of them over the last few months.

'Morning, Out today?' Handing him a bowl, cold porridge with some berries and a small amount of honey, his mother gave him a quick one armed hug before she moved off again, though she kept him in her eyeline as she resumed cleaning.

'Grimm Hunt. Taking Ruby…' Even as he mouthed it, Jaune regretted mentioning his newest acquaintance/customer as his mother let out a loud giggle without seeming to realise it.

"Mrgghhh!" The strange and definitely unladylike groan that emanated from upstairs showed they were soon to have some rather cranky guests, and Jaune didn't have time this morning to be dragged into 'helping' his sisters wake up hand and foot.

"Go on, your Dad's already in the forge." With the point of being quiet so brutally awakened, Juniper clearly felt there was no need to continue, taking the bowl back after he gobbled down as much as he could stomach.

Jaune made it to the door just in time to hear the top step creak loudly, prompting other groans and cries of annoyance that would no doubt degenerate into a round of sibling squabbling for the next hour or so as the Arc Household came to life.

It was cool outside, and it had clearly rained a little overnight as everything was covered in a sheen of water, but Jaune had never felt the cold in the same way most people did. Whether it was Stoke the Forge having some subconscious effect on his ability to keep warm, or just a genetic quirk Jaune didn't know, but it meant that even as he saw various villagers wrapped up in jackets and furs he merely stretched for a moment before heading to the gate.

The building that housed the Arc forge was across the track that passed through their part of the village, separate from the buildings on either side by a good three metres or so. The squat stone building wasn't likely to catch fire as it's predecessor had, back before his grandfather had moved to the village, but the kind of lesson that costs more than twenty people their lives isn't easily ignored or forgotten.

His gear was already outside, Crocea Mors resting atop the solid steel shield that his sisters could barely lift next to his armour. The rhythmic pounding indicated that his father was already at work and wasn't wanting to be disturbed, so Jaune got to work fitting his armour and gear. It took several minutes, donning armour had never been a quick process even if he wasn't wearing the full chest plate and arm armour that he had seen one or two of the Heroes who passed through the village use.

Such armour probably would require a second person to assist with putting it on, if only to make sure it could be fitted properly and not restricted by one's ability to reach around their limbs.

"Morning Jaune." The greeting from Fiona, who was standing about 30 paces down the road and already fully kitted out, made Jaune jump slightly as he finished fastening his chestplate into place.

"Morning Fiona, just a minute please?" He must have been pretty out of it still if he hadn't noticed her approach, the Arc Smithy was built pretty much at the 'back' wall of the village near the chasm the river Styax ran through, so it wasn't a common thoroughfare especially at this time in the morning.

"No rush, passed The Forder's Rest on the way here and from what Ol' Bertram be telling me, those two Heroes were drinking him out of business. I assumed you wanted to take one of them with us today?" Jaune nodded a little sheepishly, having only just remembered that he had been made two sets of plans without informing one of those involved.

"Them and Ruby, I had a few ideas for the weapon she wanted to make, so I've got some prototypes for her to try…" It was what he'd spent the evening before doing given there weren't any urgent orders that were required.

Most of the 'waiting' orders were primarily from the neighbouring villages for equipping their Soldier Class members with better equipment, despite having their own blacksmiths who were no doubt furious at the loss of business, which appeared after a couple of the shared patrols the different villages hosted to both boost camaraderie and ensure the different soldiers knew each other by name, class and face.

"First name terms and moving her to the front of the list? Probably best her father is here then, though some of the village girls will be disappointed." Jaune wasn't an idiot, the implication was so clear it was all he could do to give the same unimpressed look he had already thrown at his sisters for the similar jokes that had been bandied around at dinner the previous night.

The other girls part was new, but Jaune had noticed some of the girls in the village treating him differently over the last few months, how much due to personal choice and how much due to the insistence from their family to 'get a good match' was debatable.

"Given your Dad's reaction when he walked in on me taking your measurements, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to get us together yet. Quite possibly at spear point…" That had been more than a little embarrassing, even if both of them had been fully clothed and Jaune had clearly been using a tape measure, but given Kurt's recent health problems it wasn't something even the most irritable drunks would think of uttering in his presence.

"Don't." Clearly it was a sore point for Fiona as well, as she looked over her shoulder as if suddenly panicking that her Dad would appear from behind her.

"It's bad enough the arguments we have about me going to Beacon, if I want to apply next year there needs to be an official submission from him to Beacon by March. I didn't even mention your plans…" Attaching the long leather strap to his shield, which he used to mount it on his back to free up a hand, Jaune grabbed the three scythes and hefted them to his shoulder.

They weren't his best work, which was hardly a surprise given he'd had less than 24 hours, but compared to the normal tools he knew the farmers used they were definitely a step up. Solid iron shafts lead up to the bladed sections on each scythe, with the Garnet Steel and Ferric Copper Alloy creating the crimson coloured blade edges that Ruby had requested in what he was rapidly coming to understand was her usual excited and enthusiastic manner.

"Probably for the best, while Dad was all for it, Mum wasn't exactly keen. And let's not even talk about how Amber took it." The youngest of his sisters still wasn't talking to him, two weeks after he had finally decided to tell them his plan, or at least the part about him going to Vale.

The idea of applying to Beacon had pretty much evaporated, even with the strange amulet he had found a few months ago that disguised his class, it wasn't like he could try and sneak in with Fiona applying as well. He'd still kept the amulet, better to have such a magical item even if he wasn't planning on using it, but the plan had instead evolved into him accompanying Fiona and working for the Heroes of Beacon.

It wasn't as glamorous as his original dream had been, but having fought Grimm in the incursion followed by several months of hunting the weaker ones that spawned around the village, Jaune now knew that the reality was far darker and grittier.

"She'll get over it, especially when she realises you will want to take one of them along with us. I want someone competent along to sell all of the glorious loot that I get!"

"Well, you get to have that conversation with Mum, though I imagine Sapphire will be quite keen to spread her wings and get a chance to escape Mum's shadow." The fact that Saph was also a Trader like Juniper meant that she would have to start working somewhere else sooner or later anyway, at least Hazel and Jade had awoken into Merchant and Salvager classes so had their own unique skills that they could use as part of the household.

And while Ansel had grown in the last few months, it was still a relatively small village. Having four Trader class members all coming from the same family would mean that even if they did spread out from the Arc Smithy business, they would either end up in direct competition with each other or in control of a good portion of the village economy.

Jaune wasn't sure which idea worried him more, and that was ignoring the fact that Lavender was a shoe-in for a similar class, the younger Arc able to charm and cajole as well as any of her siblings with the advantage of being underestimated for her age and unawakened class. Before he could continue the conversation, primarily in an attempt to drag the discussion back to their plan for the day, they reached one of the main squares that contained the farmers and traders setting up their stalls for the day.

"Good Morning Jaune, Fiona!"

"Where are you two off to at this time in the morning?"

"I've got fresh carrots coming in, harvested just last night! Buy a bushel and get a discount!"

"Jaune, got a bad nail on the old wagon, could you fix it up quickly?"

There wasn't a massive number of people in the square, but the familiar greetings and dealing with the small favours he was asked for distracted him for a few minutes, such that by the time he reached The Forder's Rest on the far side of the square, Fiona was already there and talking with a excited Ruby and her rather haggard looking father.

Clearly getting up this early in the morning wasn't something he was used to, though if what Fiona had mentioned was true there probably were other reasons that he looked this bad and her Uncle still hadn't come down.

"Morning Ru…" Even as he raised one of the scythe's he was carrying in greeting, Jaune paused as Ruby seemed to shimmer from where she had been talking to Fiona to grabbing the scythe he had raised, all the force of her momentum nearly spinning him round until he managed to realise he needed to release his grip on the scythe.

"This is incredible, it's just like you told me it would be. It's heavier than I imagined, though I can still use it, Yang's going to be so jealous!" Watching Ruby swing the scythe around several times, so quickly that it appeared little more than a blur, Jaune knew he wasn't the only one caught speechless as the general hubbub of the square diminished considerably.

They'd occasionally seen the odd Hero or two over the years, mostly passing through on the way to quests or back to Vale, but the way that Ruby wielded her scythe was something that was beyond what most people imagined possible. Especially from one so young.

"Glad to see you like it, but that's only a prototype to see which type of blade you might like. We know the location of some Grimm nearby that we wanted to clear as I mentioned yesterday. I assume you still want to come?" The strange combination of a squeal and what Jaune approximated as a yes or something similar made it clear Ruby was only half paying attention to him as she darted over to look at the other scythe's he'd placed against one of the wooden columns that held the canopy over the entrance to the inn.

"Forgive her, her enthusiasm gets the better of her sometimes." Taiyang, if Jaune was remembering his name correctly, stepped into what might have become an awkward moment with the ease that could only have come from repeated practice.

"It's not often I hear villagers talking about going out and hunting Grimm, even if you are taking a Soldier caste along. Why not just request a quest from Vale?" Jaune withheld his initial burst of anger at the implication that Ansel couldn't look after itself, in part because if it hadn't been for his Purge the Impure passive that came with being Battleforged then they probably would have been doing just that.

Only part of the reason though, the other reason being the visit Ansel had received about a month after the Grimm incursion, from a man Jaune had only heard about until that point.

"With the Incursion we had a few months ago, we decided it was better to learn to deal with these problems ourselves if we could, and it's given our Soldier Caste a decent workout as well." Baron Helmut Mordo hadn't exactly earned himself a positive reception in Ansel with his arrival so late after the attack, but the 4,000 lien that he had used to source the materials for repairing and improving the gatehouse had helped mitigate a lot of that animosity.

He'd been absolutely fascinated by Jaune's new ability, especially with the crystals that Jaune was still experimenting with now, and had commissioned him for quite the valuable contract for forging some new swords for the King's Guard. Of course the fact that such crystals allowed Jaune to forge enchanted weapons, something that despite repeated tests with his Dad was unique to him as far as they were aware, was something that Mordo had been very clear needed to remain a secret.

The threat of the other Kingdoms finding out and trying to deal with him before he could create too many powerful weapons for Vale was easy to understand, though Mordo's talk of internal Vale politics and how the other Nobles would be angry at not being able to use his new skills to their advantage for the most part went over his head.

"Fair enough, though if you are taking Ruby with you I'll be tagging along. No offence, but I'd prefer to keep an eye on her and it's not like I can trust Qrow to keep an eye on her in his current state." Obviously the Druid's absence was something of a sore point for the entire family, as Jaune heard Ruby mutter mutinously something about a 'Drunkle' even as she finished looking over the scythes.

"Of course, it would be an honour to be accompanied by a Hero. Can you give me some pointers?" Fiona was clearly starstruck by the mature and handsome Hero, and just as obviously ignoring the fact that he had two children who were roughly her age.

"Sure kid, let me just settle up with the Innkeeper, don't want to leave Qrow with the lien when he's not going to be conscious for another couple of hours." As Taiyang went back inside, Jaune did his best to ignore one of his Battleforged passives, Reclaim the Remnants, which gave him knowledge of rare metals in the nearby area, though not the exact location.

It was more a subtle ringing in his head, that changed location and volume depending on how close he was to each metal source and whether he was looking in their direction. Metal that was on people or part of a larger object consolidated into a single larger signal thankfully, otherwise his biggest enemy would be coinage, but meant that each person had something approaching a unique feeling that he could memorise and effectively filter from his active perception if they were around him regularly.

Approximately a month after Duke Mordo's visit, Jaune had started sensing 8 different signatures on a fairly regimented routine following him around the village in groups of two, and despite his best efforts he had been unable to physically see, hear or otherwise detect them beyond his passive.

He'd thought they were bodyguards sent by Mordo given the mention of the potential dangers Jaune faced, but after Ruby and Co's arrival yesterday something seemed to have changed. All eight of them had arrived nearby as they reached the Inn, and as Taiyang reappeared a couple of minutes later, the three 'shadows' that had followed him towards the Inn hadn't returned with him.

The sinking feeling in his stomach, similar to what he'd had the day of the Grimm Incursion, was leading him to conclusions that he definitely didn't want to reach.

But given they were surrounded by Worker-Caste and he didn't have a way to prove his concerns in a way that wouldn't lead to violence, all Jaune could do was double check his armour and tighten the belt at his waist.

All he could do was hope that his gut was wrong, but somehow he doubted that very much…

!"£$%^&*()_+

The Forder's Rest Upper Floor, Kingdom of Vale, Half an Hour Later

Qrow Branwen, Hero Class Jack of Trades Druid

He felt them long before they opened the door to the large room with four large single beds inside that served as The Forder's Rest's best quarters. They were better than most he had tracked and hunted since becoming a Hero, but compared to the Branwen clan in his youth they definitely didn't stack up.

Given there had been no warning from the crickets he'd emplaced in the rafters above the stairs, these were obviously the reason his sixth sense had been going crazy since yesterday afternoon without any visible foe or other reason why it would be doing so.

Most classes, once they reached a high enough level, picked up a passive skill or similar to be able to detect someone or something trying to hide itself. For warrior classes like Taiyang, this usually was a 6th sense style feeling when invisible creatures were nearby. His was more of an… active skill, Qrow mused to himself as he opened his eyes and his nose transformed into that of a snake, giving him a strange double vision as his brain interpreted the strange new signals it was seeing as best it could.

While his eyes couldn't perceive anything, his new senses gave him the image of three sets of leather boots as they moved into the room, searching for traps or anything obvious before they turned to his 'bed'. Given how much of a show he and Taiyang had put on last night, they obviously thought he was dead to the world, features hidden under the covers and head covered by a pillow to 'hide from the horrible light' that was coming into the room from a couple of cracks in the heavy-set curtains that were plain white and clearly functional over fashionable.

Or at least, that is the illusion Qrow had worked to create for them with skills he had picked up over the decades as a bandit hunter and infiltration specialist, both before and after his time at Beacon. When entering enemy territory, sleeping was the most dangerous part of his day, especially in such an obvious location, so he'd recruited a 'friend' to take his place.

As the nearest set of boots reached the side of his bed, Qrow released the control he'd been exerting, even as the rest of his body transformed to match his nose with practised ease. The Valean Honey Badger, which Yang and Ruby had long nicknamed 'Boris' for some reason, exploded from the sheets with a deep rumbling growl towards the enemy it smelled but couldn't see.

It'd taken a little work once Taiyang and Ruby left to set up the scene properly, but judging by the shout as one of the hidden enemies was tackled to the floor by the 60 kg mass of fur and claw, it had been worth it to achieve complete surprise.

Even as the man who'd been tackled to the ground became visible, along with several sprays of blood from the frenzied mauling he was receiving from Boris, Qrow darted out into his new form and targeted the ankle of the next nearest man. The second man seemed to have recovered from the counter-ambush fairly quickly, stepping forward with weapons clearly ready to attack Boris and therefore missed the Mistralian Yellowed Rock Snake that had shot out from under the bed.

This particular species of snake was one of the most venomous on Remnant, and unlike the others that were more venomous it was relatively small and without particularly bright colours the others used to ward off potential predators. And unlike the snake, who would have gone for the ankle or foot that were covered by the toughened leather of the boots the man was wearing, Qrow targeted the gap between the boot and the leather trousers to strike the flesh directly.

While Ozpin had asked for some of the attackers to be kept alive for interrogation, Qrow knew that they really only needed one or two, and given the numbers of the hunting party the higher level and therefore more important attackers would be there rather than here.

The bite was quick, clean and Qrow had already slithered away under the next bed as the man pulled his leg up and away with a cry. It would take a minute or two, but the dose Qrow had injected him with would be fatal for anyone that didn't have impressive levels of poison resistance, and even if he did survive it would definitely incapacitate him.

The third member of the group was clearly panicking as she seemed to realise their ambush had failed horribly, looking around the room and up in the rafters as she clearly expected something to drop on them from the ceiling, even as she backed away towards the open door. While Qrow was tempted to let her run, as it would possibly open up a lead back towards their base of operations if he could track her properly, it would be almost impossible to maintain his snake's nose and transform into a creature that would be able to both keep up and not arouse suspicion.

Shame, he'd have to go for a more, abrupt solution. Transforming back into human form, Qrow maintained the snake's nose as he struck out with the flat of his new blade, battering through the incomplete block as she noticed him and brought up a short blade of some kind, slamming into her face with enough force to knock her from her feet.

"Huh, kid was right about the extra weight…" The sickly Arc child who'd so beautifully outclassed him at haggling the day before hadn't been exaggerating the blade's characteristics, the flat of the blade showing no signs of damage from the contest with the other blade's edge.

With the woman's stealth technique broken due to the attack, and her head no doubt ringing from the smash she'd taken to the side of her forehead, it was simple for Qrow to step forward and disarm her by pressing an armoured boot on her wrist and applying some light pressure. She inhaled sharply as her gaze focused in his direction, but she seemed to realise her situation as she froze in place even before he pointed the tip of the crimson blade towards her face.

"While I don't usually mind a lady sneaking up to my room, I don't particularly like sharing." The cries of the first attacker had cut off by this point, Boris' claws and teeth having done their usual bloody efficient work, so there wasn't anyone around to really appreciate his humour.

Shame really, but he'd tell Tai about it later, for now he was on a time schedule to finish up here and catch up with the others.

"So, I'll start off nicely and see if we can avoid getting any more blood on the floor." It didn't take a verbal command for Qrow to command Boris to come over, the oversized honey badger's steps causing the floor to shake slightly as it rumbled to stand next to him.

"Why don't you tell me all about what you're doing here and following Heroes around? It might almost be seen as you have something nefarious planned…" As Qrow trailed off, Boris chuffed and coughed for a moment, a mauled finger from the dead man flying from Boris' mouth to land in the captured woman's eyesight.

The paling of her face and her increased rapid breathing made the threat Qrow had been about to say unnecessary, he got the feeling that this particular question wasn't going to take very long at all to answer…

A/N: Buenos Dias Senors y Senoritas!

Another Chapter completed in Spain, obviously I need to travel more often, will see if I can persuade work to let me do so again in the near future.

So in this chapter we have an insight into the Arc household, as well as the changed plans of our protagonist and another major change I am planning compared to Coeur's original work. Rather than just groups of Heroes travelling around (as they do in most D&D games), I'm planning to draw inspiration more from the Mediaeval Knights that spent their time on Crusade or travelling to tournaments.

It also opens up another Division that was never really covered in Coeur's universe because most Heroes were lineage classes, which a more aggressive discrimination of Soldier or Labour Class born Heroes compared to the 'Purebloods'. Retinues will be a thing, and it's much easier to get a good 'Herald' to deal with haggling contracts and a 'Stable Hand' to care for your horses than for a Hero to do such themselves.

Of course, as students this won't be quite as prevalent as it will be among established Heroes, but I hope I create a good depiction in the coming Chapters.

I also hope people like my depiction of Qrow, who instead of being a poor man's copy of Raven on a team of close combat specialists (Knight, Warrior, Brawler), has instead utilised the benefits of being a Druid to become something of a generalist with a focus on Scouting and Ambushes/Counter-Ambushes. I also gave him an animal companion, one that would have been great for Ruby and Yang when they were younger, but also serves as a suitable combat companion when he does go on missions.

Let me know what you think Everyone,

Defias Out!