I ate breakfast with Mason, as I did on any regular day.

Classes were set to end in just a week, and I was looking forward to a well-deserved break. In a way, it was my first real break since school had started. I was looking forward to spending time with Arnav and Chris, since the prospect of not having any work at all provided a host of new opportunities.

Speaking of Arnav and Chris, they ran into the dining hall around 5 minutes in- later than they usually arrived.

“Alric, Mason! Guess what came in today?” Arnav called out to us excitedly.

“What?” I asked, humoring him

In response, Arnav handed me an open envelope.

“Arnav’s father said you two can come with us back to Trotter for the break if you want. He said he’ll arrange everything.” Chris explained.

“Oh. That’s nice of him, but how can he afford all that? I thought that Arnav’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy.” I responded.

Arnav’s family could afford him to go back home during break, and maybe even bring Chris too. Still, I didn’t see how they could afford to pay for 2 kids to do that.

“That’s the other thing- Father says that they discovered a dungeon in our lands!” Arnav said.

If that were true, it’d be an amazing stroke of luck for his family. Having a dungeon appear always increases activity in the area, allowing the nearby towns to enjoy a temporary economic boom. On top of that, the ruling family was entitled to a portion of the dungeon core, once it was excavated.

I looked over the letter Arnav had given me, which confirmed what he had said.

“Well, you sure did get lucky, didn’t you?” I remarked.

“Yep! Anyways, about coming with us during break…” Arnav trailed off.

“Yeah, I’ll go. Mason?”

Mason didn’t immediately confirm, instead holding out his hand for the letter. I gave it to him, and he quickly skimmed over its contents.

“Do you think your family would let us go do some exploring inside the dungeon?” He asked Arnav.

“Definitely. My oldest brother’s an adventurer, so we’ll probably just tag along with him.” Arnav replied.

“Alright, then I’ll come too. Thanks.”

The journey from Argenkeep to Trotter was much more fun than the journey from Windale to Argenkeep had been.

For one, it was much quicker. Not only was the distance traveled less, but our budget was also larger. We arrived in Trotter just one week after leaving Argenkeep.

But the best part of the journey was that my friends were with me. My prior trip had been alone, but traveling with others made me realize how much better it was to not be alone.

More than anything, my experience traveling alone had been boring. But with friends, boredom was never an issue.

Chris knew a surprising amount of stories that he was happy to share, though I took some of the more dramatic ones with a grain of salt. Even if they weren’t necessarily true, his tales about armies of elves, dragons that were miles long, and others of the sort never failed to amuse.

Arnav knew a lot about the kingdom and its politics, and I learned a lot about the current state of the kingdom through his lectures. There was a large schism in the court, with a faction of nobles led by the Notins who claimed that the king’s sister was the legitimate heir to the throne. I wondered if Victor missing out on inheriting the throne had something to do with his ill-natured personality.

And even if both Chris and Arnav had run out of things to say, Mason could always be relied on to share some magical knowledge or advice.

I felt guilty for not contributing much to the conversation, but at least the trip was entertaining.

We pulled into Trotter in the afternoon, not long before dinnertime.

It wasn’t a large town, but the streets were bustling with activity. Adventurers were everywhere, as were the merchants that followed wherever they went.

But even with all of the activity, it was still evident that Trotter wasn’t a naturally prosperous town. The buildings all had a run-down look to them, and the road was cracked in many places.

The lord’s residence reflected the state of the town. It was large but didn’t emit an aura of grandness that so many buildings in Argenkeep did.

Entering Arnav’s residence was very different from what we had done at the Notin place. The door opened immediately as we approached, revealing a young woman who immediately rushed to hug Arnav.

Arnav gave a little “oompf” as he was buried in her arms.

“Everyone! Arnav’s back!” The woman shouted back into the house.

Turning back to us, she introduced herself. “I’m Marci, Arnav’s sister.” She still had Arnav trapped in her hug.

That made sense. She looked too young to be Arnav’s mother, but they were very familiar with each other.

Eventually, Marci let Arnav go and led us all into the house. The inside was nowhere near as fancy as the Notin mansion had been, but I preferred Arnav’s place. It just felt more like a home, and not like some sort of exhibit.

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The dining table at Arnav’s place wasn’t nearly as long as Victor’s, but it was still long enough for all of us to sit comfortably. There was already food on the table, so I assumed that they had been waiting for us before they started.

We talked as we ate. A man at the end of the table spoke first. If I had to guess, I’d say that he was around a decade older than my parents.

“You’re Arnav’s friends, right?” He asked while looking at me and Mason.

“Yes,” I answered, unsure of the best way to make a good impression.

“I’m glad to hear that. Part of me thought that he’d just stick with Chris all day, so it’s good that he’s making friends.”

I didn’t know how to respond to this, so I just didn’t respond.

I think he understood my discomfort since he smiled at me and moved on to introductions instead of waiting for a response.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Arnav’s dad. Most people call me Lord Trym, but I’d be fine if you just called me Mr. Trym.”

Honestly, the homely feel of the table made it easy to forget that I was still in the company of nobility. I made a mental note not to forget again.

Lord Trym introduced the other people at the table as well, starting with the woman who sat next to him. “This is my wife, Lady Trym.”

The woman in question smiled but didn’t speak.

Lord Trym continued; “Next to her is my eldest son, Lyon. He went to the academy too, so you all share that in common. He’s an adventurer now.”

Lyon had a sleek but muscular body, which made sense given his job. He looked friendly enough, even waving at us after being introduced.

Lord Trym then looked as if he was going to introduce Marci, but she butted in before he could.

“You’ve already met me, but I’m Marci. Second daughter.” She said enthusiastically.

The last person at the table who I didn’t know was a girl. She looked younger than Arnav.

Lord Trym introduced her after Marci finished her introduction.

“And that’s my youngest daughter, Emily.”

Emily didn’t make eye contact, instead choosing to focus on looking down at her plate.

“Emily doesn’t like strangers much, but she’ll warm up eventually. She got used to Chris, at least.” Marci explained.

“After four years of him tagging along with Arnav,” Lyon added dryly.

“Shush.”

“Marci!” Her mother reprimanded her.

“Sorry.” She apologized, but the wink she sent us contradicted her apology.

Lady Trym sighed, making me think that this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

“Moving on, how has the academy been?” She asked Arnav.

“We moved onto life magic, but that’s pretty much the only thing that’s changed since my last letter. Mrs. Genia’s still as boring as ever, though Donnel nearly makes up for it.” Arnav replied.

“Wait- you got Donnel in your first year?!” Lyon interjected.

We nodded.

“Lucky! I didn’t get him until my third year, but he’s definitely the coolest teacher there.” He said, sounding envious. “Pity you have to deal with Genia though. Just try to stick it through with her and hope for Faux next year.”

“Is this the first time you’ve heard? I’ve seen Arnav send letters home..” Chris asked.

“And maybe he’d be able to read some of those letters if he came home more often,” Marci answered for him.

“I don’t like her tone, but I agree with Marci. You really should come back more often., Lyon.” Lady Trym added.

“Sorry, mom. It just takes so long to get from the north back here, you know?”

“I guess. But if you already come back, at least stay for as long as Arnav’s here. I want you to take him and his friends into the dungeon- it’ll be good for their education.”

Lyon didn’t look too happy about this. “Do I have to? If they come, we’ll be limited in how deep we can go.”

“It’s the least you can do after setting Arnav down this path.”

“Fine.”

What Lady Trym said intrigued me. “What do you mean by setting Arnav down this path?”

“Lyon knew that Arnav looked up to him, and he still encouraged-”

“Mom!” Arnav exclaimed, looking embarrassed.

“It’s not that bad, Arnav. There’s nothing to hide.”

Arnav’s look didn’t change. Lady Trym sighed.

“Well, never mind.” She said, sending me a smile.

I didn’t talk much for the rest of the conversation, instead choosing to focus on the food. It tasted amazing, especially after a week of eating bland travel food.

Nothing too interesting was said, though Arnav’s family dynamics were very entertaining to watch. Marci was especially funny, especially when teasing her brother.

The room me and Mason would share was slightly smaller than our dorm, but we didn’t complain. It wasn’t like we’d be spending a lot of time in it anyway.

I went to bed content with a full stomach.