Eternium ~ 36!

“Sorry, Dale.” Hans shrugged and scooted a little closer to Rose. “Those are monsters. Monsters that we can’t really hope to defeat in any kind of reasonable way. Did you never wonder why teams were always comprised of a C-rank maximum? Then all Mage rank groups were all Mages or better?”

“I guess I hadn’t really thought of it that way.” Dale sat down carefully, knowing that he was all riled up and liable to break something if he let his power or emotions run through him unchecked right now. “I really liked our team though. I don’t want my advancement to keep us from being together.”

“Well, you are always welcome to guard us in deeper layers of the dungeon while we cultivate as fast as possible.” Rose squeezed Hans’ hand and looked Dale in the eye. “You really should be taking this time to get stronger. We don’t begrudge you that. We would be doing the same thing.”

“‘We’, huh?” Dale sighed and leaned back, using light currents of air to hold himself in place as he thought. “How’s that going? Also. Seriously, that was a really short turnaround from hatred to marriage, Rose. What was up with that?”

“Hey now, no need to delve too deeply into the underpinnings of my relationship, thank you!” Hans glared at Dale, only to back off as Rose poked him in the head.

“Just stop, I’m not about to change my mind!” Rose waited for the expected wink, then responded to Dale. “To be perfectly honest, Dale… we had been in a relationship since the second week of knowing each other. I insisted that we didn’t tell anyone, since I was worried that you would treat us differently if we were a known couple. Hans agreed to keep it from everyone, but told me that the best way to hide it was by him acting like he was into me at all times.”

“And you had no faith that it would work.” Hans laughed at her, getting an elbow to the ribs for his ribbing. 

“Well, it worked on me.” Dale showed his palms and shook his head.

“You are the epitome of relationship awareness.” Rose dryly informed him. “You can’t even tell when people are after you, I can't say I’m surprised that you didn’t see our romance. Anyway, when Adam died… we… decided that it was better to be together as much as possible. Hidden romance is fun and all, but when you are afraid to accept a hug in public because you are worried about what ’they’ will think? We realized it was time to put all that foolishness behind us.”

“She actually almost killed me with an arrow when I was going in to comfort her.” Hans shook his head. “I’m not often one for ultimatums, but I feel like I was justified in demanding ‘stop shooting me’.” 

“Huh.” Dale watched the two of them, then simply sat up and examined them. Now that his senses were so much better, it was obvious that they were together. A slight lip-dye that hadn’t come off of Hans that matched Rose’s lip coloration, a scent from their clothes showing they had been washed together, and a slight spray of blood on Rose’s clothing that only came from close range stabbing - and she was an archer. “Well, I guess it makes sense. It just really seemed to come out of nowhere for me.”

“That was the intent.” Hans shrugged and looked up as the door to the place blasted inward. Tom trotted through the entryway, a look of serious concern on his face.

“Friends, I have two serious issues.” Tom took a deep breath and looked between them. “First, and most concerning, is that it appears my brother, General Aiden, is missing. He was last seen entering the dungeon, and I fear the worst. Second…”

A huge shape loomed behind him, and a pair of arms as wide as his torso reached around the Northman. “It seems that I have attracted the ardor of the Ogre that- *hup*”

Tom stopped speaking as the air was driven from his lungs by a tight squeeze. “T-hom! You cannot hide from Oni! I find you anywhere!”

“Cal? What’s going on here?” Dale directed his attention downward, but this caused a headache for some reason. “Cal? Ow! What the…? Sorry, Tom. looks like you’re on your own for this one.”

“How did you two meet?” Rose drew out the last word, a grin playing across her lips. 

“He killed me with hammer!” Omi proudly declared. “Was most instant and painless death I’ve ever had! I knew it was love, right then!”

“It seems that she really likes my weapon.” Tom bitterly admitted. “As my hammer is bound to me, she seems to like me as well. I really need to find my brother, Dale. We can’t afford a war right now.”

“Do you think it will come to that?” Hans asked as he stood up from the table and walked over to the Ogre. with the flick of a wrist he injected something into her arm. She glanced at him in a fury, then collapsed. “Don’t look at me like that, all of you! It's just a really strong muscle relaxant. She’s fine, and can move in a few hours at the latest. Let’s go find the brother?”

Tom looked at Oni sprawled on the floor and groaned. With Dale’s help, they moved her into a corner and sat her upright, then left the area. They were walking across the courtyard of the Academy when a door was smashed off its hinges and Odin stormed past. Dale watched him walk by warily. Hans had no such compunctions. “What does everyone have against opening doors normally today?”

Dale stepped forward and grounded the lightning that surged toward Hans, dispersing the offhanded assault with minimal effort. Odin grunted and vanished with a flash, taking no care to keep his passing from damaging his surroundings. Hans watched the trail of damage whilst shaking his head. “Some people have no manners.”

“Listen here, you little-” Rose growled at her spouse, only to be cut off as someone shouted in the distance.

“We’re above land again!” the group paused and looked at each other. Were they at the mysterious destination the dungeon had been taking them to? A blast shook the entire mountain, and the scream of tortured stone rang through the area.

“Something's wrong!” A new voice took up the cry, obviously aided by Mana. “We’ve been attacked, and the land below us… it isn’t earth, it’s… ice? And it is positively swarming with creatures! We need anyone who might be able to explain the situation to report to the Guild at once!”

“Listen, Tom.” Dale prodded his friend. “When Cal starts talking again, I’ll ask about your brother, but for now we need to trust that he wouldn't put himself in a bad situation. I think we need to get a handle on whatever is going on around here. The monsters, a new land… I think we are somewhere we really shouldn’t be. Can we handle this, and give your brother privacy for a little longer?”

“I suppose I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Tom growled, looking away. “I should have known better than to ask for help.”

“That’s unfair.” Dale gestured at the panicking crowds. “How would we explore the dungeon faster than just asking it when we can? People might be hurt, and we could be under attack! I was just walking with you to find your brother!”

Tom looked away in shame. “Right, I am sorry. I am a little… stressed.”

“It’s fine, man.” Dale clapped the Barbarian in the side, sending him reeling. “Let’s go take a look.”

The group walked to the edge of the mountain and peered over, something that had been far too common in recent days. Below them stretched a dark land, filled with oddly shaped creatures and obvious beasts. There were no obvious monsters in the air, luckily, but it was so cold outside that any non-mage needed protective gear or to keep an aura of fire on themselves at all times. While the sun was peeking over the horizon, it seemed reluctant to rise any distance above the waterline.

This meant that the land remained in shadow, and the stars, moon, and falling moon were all still visible. Hans scooted closer to rose and wrapped and arm around her. “It would be so beautiful if I wasn’t so sure everything I'm seeing is ready to jump out and kill us. Or fall on us. You know.”

“Isn’t danger part of the beauty?” Rose queried with a half-smile.

“Only on you.” Hans kissed her on the cheek. “Everything else can go ahead and be dangerous at a nice safe distance.”

“If that were anyone else speaking, I would throw them off the edge.” Tom grumbled good-naturedly. “Sickeningly sweet is still sickening.”