When Dawn and I discovered the Linqs encampment in the very beginning and for as long as we've been with them, there was always a sort of tense silence. I can understand the position they were in: ostracized, shunned, disrespected, and finally evicted and expelled.

I barely saw any of them as they eeked out their ground level existence in hidden, huddled masses inside or behind their covered wagons. Even the soldiers, the ones who just now left in full gear and high spirits, simply waited for the ground to open up and swallow them whole.

Yesterday was the first time I noticed the change. It was just a few people. Still, a few people is more than zero. Even Lavina, the little bunny Faunus, was out and about testing her new hands.

Smiling! Giggling! Playing!

She attracted the attention of a few more children who were here with their family and that by itself must have started the domino effect. Rachel and Dawn's act of ingenuity and mercy created a stir within the community.

That being said, Victoria and I are standing near the entrance of the Mess Hall and it is a cacaphony of conversation and raucus laughter. "I… I have never seen the people like this…" she whispers mainly to herself as she squeezes my hand almost as if she's afraid of the scene.

One by one, they notice us and their conversation morphs into a cheer. Some of them are applauding us, some are chanting our names.

I catch movement in the corner of my eye and grab the tunic of an escaping Dawn, "No way. This is your fault too!"

I raise her hand in triumph and the crowd whips into a frenzy.

Through a forced smile Dawn growls at me, "This is like the time I had a wardobe malfunction…"

I whisper back, "I still have a picture of that." Her hammer fists deal ones and twos in damage as the crowd laughs, truly laughs, tears streaming down the faces of some. They needed this so badly, I'd gladly respawn for them.

They all returned to their breakfast and we take our places near the kitchen. Gorm is there, waiting for us with plates of food.

"Carneus, Gorm, are those fried potatoes? And bacon!" Victoria practically pushes my face away from the platter so she can get a better look.

His laughter can be heard through all of the noise, "Indeed! With the Deluxe Spice Rack that Ardacen gave us we have several new recipes and even some people willing to help and learn how to cook as well!"

"Hey now!" I scold the big man, "I recall a certain half-orc spearing a traveller right in the chest with a big fang-filled smile standing right behind me during the quest that got us that Spice Rack."

He gives me a warm smile and puts a hand on my and Dawn's shoulders, "I knew you two would be the ones to uplift the people of Linqs from the moment I saw you."

Dawn cocks her head, "I've always wondered, why are you guys called Linqs?"

Gorm is a little embarrassed, but it doesn't hamper his mood in the slightest, "Lord Bertrand called us the Weak Links of Kes Rentas. Someone painted that on one of the wagons, but misspelled links. We've kept it as a symbol of their ignorance."

It's beautifully appropriate. I notice that Gorm is holding my shoulder a little tight and I look around.

Victoria is eating all the bacon.

"Hey!" Dawn and I try to move, but Gorm is holding us down and laughing.

"Hord dem Gowm!" Victoria is trying to say as she eats and laughs and talks at the same time.

*****

Dawn forms a party with Kona, and Ramona. Originally, Serenity was going to stay behind to do some Alchemy research, but the others insisted she join them for more field experience.

"Your first battle was rubbish," Dawn says, helping her pick out some gear, "The travellers were less of a threat than we thought."

That leaves Elsbeth, Victoria, and me to do some crafting. I think we all forget that the crafting aspect of Minor Survival Skill is available to Victoria too, so I asked her if she would be interested.

But first I ask, "Wait. Not to be rude, but do you have any Artisan Classes?"

She sighs as we approach the General Workshop, "As a child I was forced to acquire Tailor, Dancer, and Musician classes. It was thought that they would help me become more lady-like."

"Well, I know that none of us have anything like your Artisan Classes. They're probably reserved for higher class people, which means if we can teach the people of Linqs…"

The smile on her face is broad and full of vengence, "That is a great idea!"

Elsbeth takes a work table and fills it with the Harpy feathers and some preshaped cobra fangs she commisioned from me.

"By the way, what level are your Classes?"

Her smile is toothy and forced, "Fourteen?"

I scoop my jaw from off the floor and clear my throat, "We'll circle back around to that, okay?"

I use my claws to give some daggers a sharper edge and hand them to Victoria. She uses them to cut strips out of the leather, her skill guiding her hands. I'm altering a pair of the leather gloves using some of the leftover wolf fangs.

[Success! You crafted an advanced item!

[Great Bite, advanced apprentice

[Dura: 110/110

[Str,Dex/Melee/0

[Base: 5

[This armor is considered a bludgeoning weapon. Grants the Bleed1 Debuff. With each successful strike, the target will lose 1HP every 2 seconds. Stacks up to wearer's level. Stops HP Regen. Debuff ends if target heals for at least 1HP. Target must be able to bleed in order for the debuff to activate.]

That is a very funny, but interesting stipulation. "Vic? What kind of monsters don't bleed?"

She's working on making her own weapon, "Besides me?" We chuckle and even Elsbeth smiles. "Undead? Slimes? Hey El, do slimes bleed?"

She stops in her tracks, ponders the question, and signs back, (Maybe not. Slime isn't blood, right?)

Victoria is using one of the extra handles I made and attaching a modified Forest Stalker Scythe, "Wait, is it? Sonny?"

[Slimes do not bleed. Besides, you don't want to be that close to a slime.]

Victoria points into the air, "That is very true. You have to go ranged spells otherwise clean up is… Done!" Elsbeth and I take a break from our projects to appraise Victoria's work.

>Scan[Dura: 110/110

[Str/Melee/0

[Base: 14]

"Amazing! Look at the base damage!" I praise while I wield the weapon.

A basic description of it would be a spear with a single edged blade at the end, instead of something like an arrowhead. The scythe used by the idiot in the bandit battle was actually a farming tool. Sure, you COULD use it. Hell, you could use a rolled up newspaper to kill people but that doesn't make it the best option to have in battle.

I pass it over to Elsbeth who practically strains to heft it, placing it butt down and leaning on it instead.

"Not bad for my first creation, right? It has a higher damage base, but no ability. I'm not sure which would be better to use," she muses.

"Why not both?" I suggest, getting a confused look as a reply from both of them, "No, not at the same time. I mean, with the storage bracelets and amulets we have we can use any number of weapons! What's stopping us? Look, Elsbeth uses hers as a near limitless quiver, as does Rachel with her daggers and darts. The only condition, is it has to fit in the storage."

Victoria's eyes light up and she hurridly brings up the shared inventory list.

[Message From: Richter Pryce

[Good news and bad news, dude! Good news is we got a whole bunch of dirt on Lord Bertrand and he's gonna be in a mess of trouble. Rachel and I are totally safe thanks to your rings! Dude! They're so freakin awesome! Anyway, we got everything on your grocery list and Mika said she'll be joining our group tomorrow as long as the sale of her Item Shop goes through.

[Bad news time. We literally found out a minute ago that a mercenary was dispatched this morning to find you and the others. Turns out the brother of the knight you killed is a higher up in the Mercenary Guild here. They're not like the others, cuz they often work with all three major groups. We're heading out now, but they should be near the dungeon soon. I'm so sorry I couldn't message you sooner, bro!]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[How many of them are coming?]

[Message From: Richter Pryce

[Dude! It sounded like 4 or 5 big guns, like lvl 13 or something and a whole bunch of lowbies. We just left and we're gonna try to get there as soon as we can!]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Thanks, bro. We'll save some for you]

I brush the ear cuff and say Dawn's name out loud, "Dawn. We need you to come back ASAP. We are going to be under attack shortly by another massive force. Rachel and Richter are also on their way."

Victoria and Elsbeth stiffen in alert. Vic asks, "What? What happened?"

Dawn's voice comes in clear and discrete in my ear, "On our way. Maybe twenty minutes?"

"Okay. Meet us at the mouth of the cave. Sonny, as soon as Dawn and the others catch up with us, please set up as many of your strongest traps as you can." I motion the others to follow me as Victoria rushes stuffing her bracelet.

[Of course, Ardy. The Mana Flame Panels and Poison Darts should do nicely.]

I think to myself that maybe I should look more into what this dungeon has to offer and it takes me back to the Inter-Dungeon Trade Panel. As soon as this finishes we'll be doing some online shopping. I tell Gorm to stay here and do his best to keep everyone calm and protect them if he is able.

[I will alert him if anyone is successful in crossing the caverns, though with the amount of traps I'll be able to produce they should be dead or severely weakened.]

He has the look of someone who is going to argue, but after searching Victoria's and my faces he knows better. "I will protect them with my life."

I have a quick word with Dawn, and look back at him, "Boulder and the others will join you here. I'm confident that the people will be safe on your watch, as they always have been."

We exchange salutes, a strong right fist over our hearts, and continue on our way. Elsbeth and I have the highest Agility out of everyone, but Victoria doesn't lag too far behind which tells me she also has a high Dexterity. It takes us a moment to pass through the living area, the only sounds are the taps of our feet. By the time we make it halfway through the area where we fought the Tria, I realise something.

"I don't have any body armor!"

My footsteps slow by a few steps when something heavy hits my chest and I cradle it on instinct.

Victoria shouts, "Come on! You can thank me later!"

I catch up with her and throw the leather vest on as we continue running. I smile, thinking how she usually UNdresses me…

Though we originally opened the giant stone door to enter the dungeon, it's panel ran out of juice and we can't close it anymore, although now would be a great time for it to do so. We make it to the opening of the cave and let our SP regen do its thing. We scan the woods up the hill from the opening and detect nothing yet, even with my Wolf Senses.

"Clear so far," I speak into my Cuff but also for the sake of Victoria who doesn't have Zoom. "We'll wait here for the others," I say as we form our party.

Right away I feel energized for battle, "What the hell was that?"

Victoria slaps my butt and Elsbeth playfully taps the other cheek, "My class Feat! It adds ten percent of my armor and agility to the other party members. It meshes quite well with your Pack Tactics, I think!"

Twenty minutes later, the others finally catch up with us. It's kind of funny how the spell casters are out of breath even though I know they hustled as hard as they could with their low stamina. Holding back laughter, I toss Kona the broom. She doesn't manage to catch it and it falls to the ground but it hovers slightly, ready for a rider.

"Seriously? Why didn't you give this to me earlier?"

"Heh, look, you have it now okay? Everyone join the war party and listen to the plan."

They all join and get the same suprised look on their faces when they feel the boost. Elsbeth points a thumb at Victoria and misspells, "Feet." Kona, Ramona, and Serenity all look at Victoria's boots and El slaps her forehead.

"Come on guys, she didn't mean those feet. Vic and El both got their first classes, but we'll talk about that later. Kona, do you know how to use that?"

She picks the broom off the ground and nods her head, "My master used to have one and he taught me how to ride it."

"Great. Can you handle a passenger?" Again she nods her head, "Okay. I want you and Serenity to fly above the cave and focus on the stronger units if you can, any kind of fighter with a shield or heavy armor."

I give Serenity one of the Ear Cuffs and teach her how to use it.

"I need you to let me know if you get targeted by too many ranged attackers, okay? You two go up now and let us know if you see anything." I can see the determination on her face as she silently nods her head.

"Let's go!" Kona squeals while Serenity squeezes her waist tightly and shutting her eyes. The Magic Brooms front tilts up and they zip forward as if they're riding a silent motorcycle that just popped a wheelie.

"Vic, Dawn, Ramona. Please wait here while El and I scout the hill." They all nod, staying out of view as best as they can, Victoria looking through her ring one more time. With our Stealth active, we crest the hill and scan the area as best as we can. Two deep red dots appear in my vision.

Last time they searched for us, their line was too spread out. I have the feeling that this group isn't going to make the same mistake. We move forward, trying to catch a glimpse of our enemy. A quiet voice whispers in my ear, "There are- there are- there are about thirty with light g-gear. Four- four- four of them in back. They look str-strong. Kona says to say, 'Bow. Bow. Greatsword. Staff.'"

"Good job, Serenity. Remember to keep info short and sweet. Are they in lines?"

"T-two."

"How many bows?"

"Just the two- just the two- just the two- I'm sorry…"

"Hey, you're doing great. I know you're nervous. Just the two in the back?"

"Yes."

"And staff?"

"One."

"Excellent." I'm grinning as I get out of Stealth and call the others up through Dawn. They huddle around me, "Okay. Here's what we're going to do…"

I go over my idea as a notification gets pushed to the side for now.

[Major Quest: None shall pass

[It will be difficult, but don't let a single raider into the cave 0/1]

[Reward: 1000XP, 8*Pawn Chest, 4*Bishop Chest, 1*Jester's Box]

[Failure: -20% Total Exp, Chain Punishment Quest]