As the two parties made their way to exit the first level where they were just attacked by the snow foxes, the snow that covered the ground was light, fluffy, and deep, reaching the taller members' knees. Arthur and Claire ignited their bodies with fire mana to help melt some of the snow as they walked. This resulted in everyone's boots getting soaked from the excess water, but in the back the snow walls that formed were caving in as the water froze to ice. Grawder was the only one who wasn't affected by this since he was so large that the snow didn't even slow him and the ice cracked under his weight. On Grawders back rode Curtis, as he glared downwards to Lunaris who was chatting happily with Kathyln, even earning a few small smiles from her as she carried a black cat that belonged to Lunaris that no one saw before during the fight.

As they exited the chamber the ground quickly transitioned to cold stone as they entered the tunnel. They quickly learned to watch their steps as large patches of ice were spread out along the ground, as most of them started slipping shortly after exiting the snow. Most recovered quickly and were able to avoid actually falling, with only the newcomer elf Karen actually falling. Arthur, Kathyln, and Orson were the only ones who didn't even slip. Lilia slipped, but was caught by Curtis, who gave her a dreamy prince-like smile that caused her to blush before quickly getting back to her feet and doing her best not to face anyone as she tried to regain her composure.

"Ok, this is good enough," Arthur said as they entered an area far enough away from the first floor.

Without a word Elijah created a wall in the direction of the first floor, with a small opening in the top, too small for any dangerous mana beasts to come through. At the same time, Curtis and Claire pulled some wood out of there dimensional rings and started a fire to warm everyone up.

"We'll rest and warm back up here. In the meantime, I believe some introductions are in order," Arthur said as he looked to Lunaris.

"Of course," Lunaris replied with a respectful bow of his head while his cat jumped from Kathyln's arms to his shoulder, as he and his two companions walked to the front of the group. "My name is Lunaris Aldwynn, light orange core augmenter with dual affinities in fire and wind." Lunaris's cat then made a meow as it poked his cheek with its paw. "And this is my shadow cat bond, Ailuros," Lunaris added with a chuckle as his bond bowed its head slightly.

"Hmm, your bond doesn't look very strong. I guess it's useless in a fight then," Curtis commented as he patted Grawder.

"While you are correct that he isn't very helpful in a fight..." in a wisp of black smoke Ailuros disappeared from Lunaris's shoulder. "He does have a rather useful ability." Ailuros then, without anyone realizing he was there, hit Curtis on the forehead with both front paws in rapid succession. Curtis quickly reached up to catch the cat, but his hands just passed through another wisp of smoke. "You see," Lunaris started as his bond reappeared back on his shoulder from another wisp of smoke, "he has this great defense measure."

"Teleportation," Arthur said in shock.

"That's right. Even though Ailuros isn't very strong, he is capable of sending himself anywhere he can see or has ever been before," Lunaris replied as he scratched the back of Ailuros's neck.

"Can he carry a person?" Claire asked.

"No, but he can carry small things. I've had him carry letters back home for me, and sometimes bring one back. It's a lot less expensive and wasteful than communication scrolls," Lunaris replied. "But enough about me, let's continue with the rest of my party."

"Hello everyone, I am Karen Rivers," the young elf girl said as she stepped forward. "Solid orange core, augmenter, with a single affinity to water, and as you may have seen, my weapon of choice is a dual bladed staff that can separate in the middle to make it into two weapons if needed. It's a fighting style passed down through my family."

"Rivers? Is Commander Rivers your mother?" Tess asked.

"Yes she is. I'm honored that you know of my family princess," Karen replied happily as she bowed to Tess.

"Please, I'm not a princess anymore, you don't need to do that," Tess replied sounding embarrassed.

"You will always be a princess in the eyes of the elfin people," Karen replied with a smile.

"Is her family a big deal?" Elijah asked.

"The River house has a long tradition of military service, usually as high ranking members, with her mother being the current shining star of the family," Tess explained.

"That's right. My mother is second in command of the Dicathen army southern forces. That's actually how I ended up becoming friends with and teaming up with Lunaris. My mother serves as second in command to his father the general of the southern forces," Karen added.

Everyone then looked to the final member of the group who remained silent the entire time, with his sapphire blue eyes locked on Arthur.

"Orson? Are you going to introduce yourself?" Lunaris asked, but the silver haired half elf didn't reply or move. One would think that he died standing up if not for the movement of his body with every breath. "Fine, I'll introduce you," Lunaris stated after conceding to his teammates' silence. "Everyone this is Orson W...," Lunaris started before Orson lunged forward towards Arthur as he drew his sword and dagger.

During the introductions Arthur noticed Orson's eyes practically burning a hole in him, so he made sure to keep fully aware of whatever Orson was doing as he kept his guard up. So as soon as Orson made his move, Arthur drew his sword from his hip without unsheathing it. As Orson's sword came down Arthur blocked it with his sheathed blade, with one hand gripped on the scabbard and the other on his sword. Orson kept moving forward as he thrust his dagger forward, but Arthur drew his translucent blue sword and parried the attack, creating an opening and kicked at Orson's stomach. Orson quickly jumped back to avoid the kick, disengaging from his attack. Arthur charged forward to follow up with his own attacks.

"ORSON WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP THIS NOW!" Lunaris demanded, but Orson didn't even acknowledge the order.

The rest of Arthur's party drew their weapons to come to his aid, and prepare for if Lunaris or Karen joined in the attack against Arthur.

"So you call yourselves our ally?" Curtis scoffed at Lunaris as he started to move towards Arthur to help.

"Everyone stay back! I can handle this!" Arthur commanded.

Hesitantly Arthur's party followed his order, but kept their weapons drawn and spells ready if he were to need them, as they also kept an eye on Lunaris and Karen.

Arthur knew Orson was very different from his friends, in the fact that Orson was more than ready to take a persons life if he needed, or wanted. Back during his time as Note, Lunaris explained to him Orson's deadly and cold demeanor.

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Orson's parents had abandoned him at the home of a human couple when he was a baby. Being half elf, the couple treated him more like a slave than a child, to the point of beating him when they would get drunk, leading Orson to become cold to everyone. Luckily for Orson he had awoken as a mage early in life, at the young age of seven. When he was ten he had managed to refine his core far enough, and self taught himself swordsmanship to a point that when his adopted parents tried to beat him yet again, he was able to defend himself, steal his adopted fathers sword, and run away from them.

Some time later, whether good or bad, while fighting against a predatory mana beast to survive, he was seen by a group of bandits. Their leader was impressed by how such a young boy was able to defeat the beast, and took him in as a member of their group. For a year Orson fought and killed alongside the bandits, raiding caravans of goods along a major trade route in southern Sapin.

To ensure the stability of the region, Lunaris's father, General Markus Aldwynn, personally led a company of mages and regular soldiers to bring the bandits to justice. They were able to ambush the bandits, killing nearly all of them, leaving only Orson alive. Upon realizing Orson was in fact only a child, General Aldwynn halted the attack. Despite this Orson still stood, bloody and holding a broken sword, ready to fight to the death.

General Aldwynn approached Orson, dropping his sword and leaving himself open to an attack as he walked closer. He tried to speak to Orson, to learn why he was doing such bloody work, even offering him a chance for a better life, but Orson didn't reply. Not until he offered to give him a home did Orson finally respond, moving his hair to reveal his elf lineage. Even though he didn't know the details, knowing the public's view and treatment of elves, General Aldwynn had a fairly good idea why Orson joined the bandits. Much to Orson's surprise, General Aldwynn told him that his offer of a better life still stood. Orson could see the General was unwavering, but as he internally debated his decision, the blood loss became too much for him. Orson dropped his broken sword and collapsed to the ground, his last memory before passing out was of the General yelling for an emitter.

When Orson regained consciousness he found himself in a bed larger and softer than any he had ever seen. Before he could get out of the bed, the General's wife Elisa walked in. She explained everything, how he wasn't a prisoner there, but would hope that he would choose a better life and make their home his home as well. Over the next few days Orson had interacted plenty with Lunaris, and was starting to respect him, almost to the point of calling him a friend.

One day he and Lunaris went into town with Elisa to do some shopping. While separated from Lunaris and his mother, some teens noticed Orson's ears and lured him away and began to bully him. Orson quickly became fed up and was about to beat the boys senseless, when Lunaris arrived and tried to defuse the situation and get Orson away from there, using his position as a noble as leverage. This resulted in Lunaris taking a punch to the stomach, and having not awakened yet, caused him to collapse to the ground gasping for air. Before the first teen could lock eyes on Orson a mana infused fist struck him in the side of the head, knocking the teen out before he hit the ground. Despite all being awakened, the other teens didn't stand a chance against Orson, and were all left on the ground either unconscious or in too much pain to move.

Later that evening Lunaris's father returned and learned of the incident. When he went to speak with his son about the incident he saw him sparing with Orson, who was teaching Lunaris hand to hand combat, something his father had neglected while teaching him swordsmanship. Over he next few days General Aldwynn had seen the bond of friendship form between Orson and his son. Leading him to ask Orson to standby his son as his right hand and shadow to see to his safety when he couldn't. Orson agreed, although he would have done that even if he wasn't asked. In return General Aldwynn treated Orson as family, even enrolling him and paying his tuition to the Lancer academy after Lunaris awoke and enrolled.

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Arthur and Orson's swords clashed in quick strikes that the other would block. This battle was more of a test of skill than one of strength, with neither side appearing to have an advantage. Lunaris watched as his closest friend had completely ignored his pleas to him to stop, which was completely out of character for Orson.

Orson swung his sword horizontally at Arthur as he lunged forward again, to which Arthur blocked with his own sword. No sooner that Arthur blocked Orson's sword, Orson thrust his dagger forward at Arthur's stomach. Wanting to bring this to an end, Arthur dropped his scabbard and grabbed Orson by the wrist. Using Orson's momentum against him, Arthur let himself fall backwards as he lifted his left leg. He then kicked Orson in the stomach while using a wind spell, that sent Orson flying. However Orson used his own wind spell, allowing him to reorient himself and skid to a stop before slamming into the dungeon wall.

"I yield," Orson announced as soon as he stopped and held his arms out to the side.

Arthur and his friends remained on guard incase this was a trick, but Lunaris stomped over to his friend furious.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Lunaris yelled. "We're all supposed to be friends here!"

"He's Note," Orson said calmly as he put his sword and dagger away.

"Wait what?" Lunaris replied, being caught off guard by the statement.

"Arthur is Note," Orson stated calmly.

"What? How can you be sure?" Lunaris asked sounding both confused and frustrated.

"Even if two people had the same body structure and were taught by the same teacher, no two people can battle exactly the same. There are subtle movements that are unique to every person. I saw this against the mana beasts so I tested him, Arthur battles exactly like Note," Orson explained.

Arthur and Elijah both looked concerned as the heard his. By order of the Adventurers Guild, Note was not allowed within Xyrus while Lucas Wykes was there, so if the Wykes family learned that Arthur was Note, that would put him and his family in danger, despite the order of the council for them to stay away.

Lunaris turned to face Arthur. "Is it true? Are you Note?" Arthur looked at him with a serious expression and nodded. "Wow, I would have never guessed that such a monster was actually the same age as me," Lunaris commented.

"Lunaris, no one can know. If this gets out," Arthur started before Lunaris interrupted.

"You don't need to say another word, I heard about the situation with the Wykes family and Note. We won't ever say a word about this," Lunaris said reassuringly, Karen nodded in agreement.

"I have nothing to gain by telling anyone. Besides, you shouldn't have been punished in the first place," Orson added.

"Thank you," Arthur replied.

Introductions were completed and everyone started to take a seat around the fire. Several pulled out some food to snack on, as others just tried to warm up. Kathyln took a seat as she tried to think of a way to be able to be of more help in battle since her magic wasn't very effective in the dungeon. Lunaris was moving in to sit next to Kathyln, however much to her annoyance, instead of sitting next to Lilia like he had been, Curtis made sure to sit right next to her, with Grawder on the other side, effectively becoming a barrier against Lunaris sitting close to her. In the past Lunaris would never have dared to speak up to Curtis due to him being a prince, however that was no longer the case.

"Lunaris," Arthur called out before he could say a word. Lunaris looked over to Arthur. "Come with me for a minute, I'd like a word."

Reluctantly Lunaris followed Arthur as he walked away from the group, while Curtis gave a triumphant smirk as he thought Arthur was helping him. Arthur stopped just a few feet away from the group, just far enough that they wouldn't be able to hear him and Lunaris speaking.

"So what's this about? If it's about whose leading, I'm perfectly fine with you being in charge," Lunaris asked as he arrived at Arthur.

"Thank you, but no that's not it," Arthur replied, then gave a serious gaze. "I want to know why you're really here."

"What do you mean? We're having a summer as adventurers just like you," Lunaris replied.

"I don't buy that. There are plenty more dungeons closer to Lancer Academy and your home. We're way too far north for this to be just a coincidence," Arthur stated. He knew Lunaris to be an honest person, so if he was lying, applying just a little pressure would get the truth out of him.

"Well this is. I don't know why you don't trust me," Lunaris replied, starting to get nervous.

"Fine. I'll start asking the rest of your party and try and confirm my theory in front of everyone," Arthur replied and started to walk back.

"Wait, what theory?" Lunaris asked.

Arthur stopped, and while facing away from Lunaris and smirked, as Lunaris took the bait. "That you're only here to flirt with Kathyln," Arthur replied and began to walk again. He knew that wasn't true, but he also could tell that the two of them were interested in each other. So saying this would make them both embarrassed and make it so they wouldn't talk much since eyes would be on them.

Lunaris grit his teeth, Arthur was wrong about his reason being there, but being able to spend time with Kathyln was a bonus for him that he didn't want to lose. "Fine," Lunaris replied reluctantly. Arthur turned around and Lunaris motioned for him to come closer. "My mother is friends with Pricilla Glayder, and a couple weeks ago while they were having tea, she asked my mother to pass along a request."

"What kind of request?" Arthur asked.

"The former queen asked that my party and I check in on her children and report back," Lunaris admitted.

"Does she not think they can defend themselves or that I'd put them in excessive danger?" Arthur asked wanting to get to the bottom of this request.

"You don't know Pricilla Glayder. She's very protective of her children, especially Kathyln. Despite how powerful Kathyln is as a mage, in her mother's eyes Kathyln is a delicate flower that shouldn't be out here," Lunaris replied.

"Kathyln is a member of the Xyrus Academy disciplinary committee, and fought during the attack. Kathyln is more than capable of defending herself," Arthur stated.

"Well she never saw any of that, so she has no way of knowing how effective her daughter really is. The attack is part of the reason she was even allowed to come out here, because she understands Kathyln can fight. But she's still worried, she wants to know that not only is Kathyln safe, but ultimately an assessment of how effective she really is," Lunaris explained.

"And if she's not happy about your report? Then what?" Arthur asked.

"To be honest I don't know, but by the time she gets it, we'll have already parted ways. So I don't see how she'll be able to do anything at this point," Lunaris replied.

"Alright thank you. Unfortunately Kathyln's magic isn't very effective in an ice dungeon, so I can't see how your report can accurately resemble how powerful she is," a small smirk formed on Arthur's face. "So I want you to keep in the same position was you were. This way not only can you cover Kathlyn, but also you'll be closer to see her in action," Arthur stated. He didn't want Lunaris to lie on his report, but maybe if he was able to stay close to the former princess he may be inclined to word his report in such a way that things would sound positive, and the former queen wouldn't do anything to affect them this summer, or anything in the future.