"So let me get this straight. Arthur, our Arthur, the leader of our party Arthur, told you that he loved you while you two were alone in the dungeon?" Claire asked.

"That's right," Tess replied happily as she looked at quest posters to pass the time while Arthur and Curtis restocked the party's food supplies.

It has been three days since they left the dungeon "Frozen Hell", and were now at an Adventurers Guild outpost to take a brief break and restock their supplies. Since exiting the dungeon Arthur and Tess were noticeably closer, and the rest of the party had taken notice. They had always been very close, so no one really wanted to ask what was going on between them. However today they were seen sharing a kiss before splitting up at the outpost, so Claire had decided to get to the bottom of this.

"I can't believe he said it first," Claire commented, sounding a little surprised. "He always seemed like the kind of guy that would be very careful throwing that word around."

"Well, technically I said it first," Tess admitted. "But that was at the beginning of the school year, after he recovered from saving me."

"Wait, you said it first almost a year ago and he just said it back now?" Claire questioned sounding a bit annoyed.

"He told me he wasn't sure how he felt, and he wasn't ready to be in a relationship. He asked me to wait for him to be ready, so I waited," Tess replied casually while looking over another quest poster.

"If it was any other guy that told you that, no even Arthur. If I had known I would have told you not to wait, or I would have tried to beat some sense into him," Claire replied, sounding more aggressive than usual.

"Hahaha," Tess laughed. "Do you really think you could have beat any sense into him?"

"Pffft," Claire tried to contain her laugh at the thought of how that probably would have gone. "Probably not. He's lucky you did wait, or that some other guy didn't swoop you off your feet."

"I've loved Arthur for so long, no one could ever take me from him," Tess replied with a blissful smile.

"You make it sound like you two have known each other for years," Claire commented.

"They have," Feyrith added as he walked over. "Arthur became Elder Virion's disciple about seven or eight years ago."

"What?! That doesn't make sense, Arthur would have been about five," Claire questioned.

Tess sighed. She hated that Arthur's secrets were being revealed, but it didn't look like there was any stopping this one.

"Arthur awoke as a mage at age three, we met when he was five and rescued me from slave traders, then escorted me back home. My grandfather was impressed with his skills at such a young age, as well as sensed his beast will, and decided to make him his disciple," Tess explained.

"So no wonder he's such a monster. To be trained at such a young age, how could you not be a monster by now," Claire said as everything started to make sense with Arthur.

"Oh no, he was a monster even before Elder Virion trained him," Fayrith commented.

"So you knew him back then too. So since you've known him for so long, I take it you would support it if he and Tess were to start dating?" Claire asked.

Tess blushed a little and looked to Fayrith. Ultimately his opinion didn't matter to her, but she was curious considering a lot of elves might have a problem with their former princess being in love with a human.

"I'm fine with it because Arthur is being respectful to our ways," Fayrith replied.

"What do you mean by that? Did Arthur tell you he and I are dating now?" Tess asked.

"After we exited the dungeon he told Curtis and I that you two were together now, and asked us for help," Feyrith replied.

"What kind of help?" Tess asked.

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"Wow, I can't believe you just told her you loved her," Curtis replied to Arthur telling him and Feyrith about him telling Tess he loved her. "Personally I wouldn't tell a girl that for a while, even if I did love her. Girls tend to get a bit crazy when they hear that."

"Well if it's truly how you feel, then it's good that you told her. My people put a high value on openness and honesty in relationships," Feyrith replied.

"And this is why I'm asking you both for help. Curtis, I've heard you've dated your fair share of girls, and Feyrith, you clearly know the elven culture better than I do in this subject. I don't want to screw this up, or do anything that could send mixed messages, or insult Tess or her family," Arthur replied.

"Don't worry Arthur, you've come to the right place," Curtis announced as he put his arm around Arthur's neck and pulled him in. "Now for the basics, first date. A good tried and true first date is taking her out to dinner, and be sure to bring flowers."

"No," Feyrith replied sternly. "I've seen how humans do flowers, and that would be disrespectful. We put a high valve in the preservation of nature, and a bouquet of flowers would be the complete opposite of that."

"But I remember seeing lots of plants inside the palace while I lived there," Arthur questioned.

"Those are potted, so that's fine," Feyrith explained.

"So get her some nice potted flowers," Curtis quickly chimed in.

"No, it's far too soon for that. Giving potted flowers to someone you love essentially says you want to marry them," Fayrith explained.

"Ok, I'm not ready for that," Arthur replied.

"Fine no flowers. Jewelry then, just don't set the bar too high with the first thing you get her. It's hard to give something less valuable than the first piece of jewelry later on," Curtis said, starting to get annoyed.

Feyrith cleared his throat.

"You've got to be kidding. What's wrong with jewelry?" Curtis asked, sounding frustrated.

"You need to put a lot of thought into any jewelry you give, otherwise you might as well be giving her a rock you picked up off the ground, or a sign of engagement, and no bracelets. Instead of wedding rings married couples wear matching bracelets with their family crests," Feyrith stated.

This continued for several more minutes, with Curtis giving an idea that was acceptable for humans, followed by Feyrith explaining why he couldn't do that, or how he could. This lasted until the wagons were ready, leaving Arthur with his head spinning at all the cultural differences between the two races. By the end of the brief discussion they only completely agreed on one thing, going out for dinner was an acceptable date.

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"I swear, I can't understand how humans and elves could ever have romantic relationships with all these differences," Feyrith commented as he shook his head after giving a brief explanation.

"Love conquers all things," Tess said with a happy smile upon learning the effort Arthur was already putting into their relationship. To Tess, Arthur didn't need to go as far as learning about the dating parts of elf culture, she would have been patient and educated him on anything she felt he needed to know.

"Tess," Feyrith said in a dark tone, breaking her from her current thoughts about Arthur.

Tess looked and saw he was looking at one of the quest posters. She pulled it from the board and began reading it.

"I know we never talked about completing any quests when we were planning this expedition, but do you think we could get Arthur on board?" Fayrith asked.

Tess' expression was now as dark as Fayrith's upon reading the poster. "I don't know, but if he doesn't, I'll do it myself if I have to."

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"Alright, we've got enough supplies to last us another week," Arthur announced to the party.

He and Curtis both put a crate down by a table most of them were sitting at. Lilia was sitting at the end of the table scratching Grawders head with one hand while writing a letter to her parents with the other. This resulted in something that surprised everyone, Grawder purring. Across from her was Kathyln, who was casting an ice spell on her mana beast egg to keep it cold. Elijah was sitting there reading a book, as Sylvie slept on the table, her tail moving side to side on his book, making it hard to read.

"Where's everyone else?" Arthur asked as he noticed a few missing faces.

"Right here," Tess replied as she rejoined the group with Claire and Feyrith.

Arthur turned around with a smile to greet her, but it quickly faded as he saw the dark expression on their faces.

"Is everything ok?" Arthur asked.

"I know we never talked about taking quests, but we'd like to do this one," Tess replied as she held out the quest post.

"Yeah because quests are a lot harder to control how long they take. We might not be able to do all the planned dungeons," Arthur replied as he took the paper.

"I know, but this one is more important than clearing dungeons," Tess replied as Arthur lifted the paper to read.

Within seconds of Arthur starting to read the paper the air felt cold and heavy. Arthur's blood lust was leaking out, and everyone at the table could feel it. Very few things could truly effect Arthur like this, most of which involved his loved ones, but this was one of the few that truly enraged him.

"Sorry everyone," Arthur said as he realized what was happening and regained his control. Everyone could suddenly breath much easier and had their eyes locked on him, in hopes of learning what triggered him so badly. Arthur put the paper on the table and took a deep breath.

"I'll give you the abbreviated version. Adventurer party's and supply convoys in this area have been getting attacked by bandits over the last few months. The one thing they all had in common, they all had elves or dwarfs with them. Several party's escaped, as well as convoys have fought them off, but the bandits only ever gave up after the elves and or dwarfs were captured, which has lead authorities to believe they were the targets." Arthur explained with a dark tone.

"But elf and dwarf slave trading has become outlawed," Lilia stated.

"That doesn't mean the slave traders stopped. They just became more secretive about it," Feyrith replied as he clenched his fists tight at the thought of his people being sold as property.

"I remember my parents talking over spring break. Apparently the soldiers stormed a cave near the beast glades that was being used to hold and sell elf and dwarf slaves," Curtis added.

"Ok everyone pay attention, time to make a decision. Either way I'm going with them on this quest. If anyone doesn't want to go that's fine, no one will force you," Arthur announced as he was already formulating a plan.

Everyone looked to one another, then back to Arthur.

"I think we're all going," Elijah stated proudly.

Tess and Feyrith were relieved that their friends were so supportive and willing to help them stop the monsters that were kidnapping their people. Although to all of them it was no surprise that Arthur agreed to this, to those who didn't already know, as due to his current behavior if he and Tess weren't dating they probably would be soon. Tess however knew different, it didn't matter if she brought this to him or not, she knew of his hatred of the whole practice of slavery, and wouldn't hesitate to bring anyone turning people into slaves to justice, even if the justice came from his sword.

"Alright then," Arthur replied with a confidant smile. "I think I have a plan."

Arthur leaned in and was about to speak when his eyes caught sight of a rough looking man with a mohawk looking right at them from a few tables down. He then looked out of the corner of his left eye to see a fairly muscular man wearing a leather hooded vest. Due to his hood Arthur couldn't see his face, but he appeared to also be looking at them.

"Tess, please cast a wind spell for some sound proofing. I have a feeling there are some unwanted ears trying to listen in," Arthur said quietly.

Tess nodded and cast her spell, encompassing everyone at the table.

"Ok everyone, here's the plan."

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"Ok so keep heading to the dungeon, we'll catch up with you in a few days," Arthur told Elijah, Curtis, Lilia, and Kathyln.

"Are you sure about this? I really don't like this plan. What if something goes wrong?" Elijah replied with concern.

"Don't worry. The four of us can easily handle a bunch of slave traders," Arthur replied dismissively, then turned around and headed to the wagon his group was taking.

At his wagon Claire and Feyrith were pulling the cover off, making it open air. Arthur then climbed into his seat, grabbed the reigns, and got the beast moving.

"So are you two sure you're ok essentially being used as bait?" Arthur asked Tess and Feyrith after the outpost was out of sight.

"If it means we'll be able to stop these monsters from kidnapping our people then it's worth the risk," Feyrith replied.

"Ok, but remember, if something goes wrong and you're captured, be sure to make it known you're elven nobility. You'll be more valve to them if they demand a ransom than selling you. Because if they do sell you, who knows if we'll be able to find either of you," Arthur replied, sounding a bit uneasy with his own plan.

"Don't worry," Tess replied as she took his hand and rested her head on Arthur's shoulder. "I have faith in you and your plan. Even if something does go wrong, we won't get captured."

Upon realizing they were being watched Arthur realized how all those elves and dwarfs were even being found. The outpost they were at was a major one for the area, and everyone passing through would stop there to rest and resupply. Because of this, the slave traders only needed to have someone sitting at the outpost looking out for potential targets.

This resulted in Arthur's plan. They would split up into two groups, with Arthur's being used as bait to draw them out, while the other group went the opposite direction, only to make a B line back towards them to provide support and hopefully catch the traders in an ambush of their own. Arthur had looked at a map of the area, and saw the best place for the traders to launch their ambush was along a section of road that was between a rushing river and rocky area where they could attack from while having the high ground. If the plan worked the way it was intended, Elijah would be able to lead his group to behind the traders, and the two would launch a pinser attack.

"Yes well, for those of use who aren't dating Arthur, we'll just be careful," Claire replied in an almost teasing tone.

"And let's not forget, we have the strongest augmenter and conjuror from the academy here," Feyrith said, making the other three impressed that his growth from the beginning of the school year. That is, until he finished. "So don't worry, with Arthur and I, those slave traders don't stand a chance."

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Elijah was driving the second wagon with Sylvie sitting up beside him, and Curtis riding atop Grawder beside the wagon. Not a single one of them liked this plan, but they had to agree with the logic behind it. The reports about the slave traders stated that there were at least five mages among them, so their party of eight mages might have deterred them from wanting to make an attempt. Sylvie also didn't like the idea of not being with her mama and papa while they could have been in danger. Her only purpose was to work as a point of contact for Arthur, so he could notify them if there was a problem and needed them to hurry.

"Are we coming up on our turn yet?" Curtis asked, sounding anxious.

Elijah pulled out his map and took a look before looking around. "It should be coming up soon. It looks like it's a less used trail and might not be easy to see, so keep your eyes open," Elijah replied.

Lilia was rocking back and forth in her seat as this was all nerve wrecking for her. Kathyln on the opposite end was completely calm, and was creating an ice bed for her egg to remain cold while the upcoming battle happened.

As they entered a turn Grawder started to growl, as Sylvie started to hiss. This worked as a good warning to the others that trouble was near, causing them all to immediately prepare for a battle. Once out of the turn they noticed a rough looking man with a mohawk blocking the road, right before their turn.

"Sorry kids, but this road is closed," the man said.

"That's fine," Elijah replied as he pointed to the other road they needed to turn into. "We're turning right there."

"You don't understand," the man then whistled. "You're not going anywhere."

Suddenly dozens of men with bows and arrow, swords, and spears revealed themselves from behind trees and bushes. Grawder roared loudly, intimidating several of the men, as the conjurers prepared to begin casting spells.

"Listen, you're not our target, we just want the elves. Don't give us any trouble, and we'll leave you alone," the mohawk man stated, with a smile that just screamed he couldn't be trusted.

"So you want us to just abandon our friends?!" Lilia scoffed.

"I say you get out of our way if you don't want any trouble," Curtis replied as he ignited his swords with fire mana.

"Cocky little shits aren't you," the mohawk man scoffed as the other men laughed.

Elijah had been looking over their situation. They were completely surrounded, with nearly half of them being archers, and only the man with the Mohawk was a mage, with a core in the solid orange stage. Under normal circumstances four mages would have had the advantage against this group, but the problem here was that Elijah was the only one with a great deal of real world combat experience. Elijah knew all this, and wondered if they could make it out in time to help the other group without suffering any major injuries.

Suddenly the man with the mohawk pulled two small axes from behind his back and took a battle stance. At the same time Elijah felt the pressure of another mage approaching. He spun around to see the man in the hood from the outpost walking up, with a pair of black steel gauntlets on his arms.

"Shit they were just waiting for another mage. This makes things more difficult. I probably could have handled one mage, but this guy too?! And he's at the light orange stage," Elijah thought to himself.

As he was trying to make his plan of action, the traders between the wagon and the hooded man crashed to the ground, and appeared to be struggling to breath. As the man continued closer more and more of the bandits around them appeared to be crashing down.

"Gravity magic," Elijah breathed out in shock.

The hooded man brought his fists together as he popped his knuckles and he raised his head up high enough to see his mouth curved up into a smirk.