1 Winter, That's When We Depart.

I sat there with some of my old military kit, a gun, and a backpack of clothes and other such things and enough money. After I did my five years of service, my elven best friend Arimia seemed occupied checking her out backpack and equipment before we depart.

We both got signed for military duty at eighteen, both of us lucky to get out alive now we're twenty-three, money in our pockets from the military conscription retirement fund we have and the parents have given us a bit of money to go out and explore the world beyond the clouded lens of conscription and war.

Butterflies were in our stomachs. Question is, is it excitement or is it anxiety that we will be dragged into the war again? It was getting closer to the time of departing; I motioned to Arimia with a smile.

"Let's go, Ari, the airship will depart without us,"

She laughed before sealing her pack back up "The Azreath mainland needs our help with exploration, to this day, many places of our ancestors are unexplored, most of them filled with many traps, the many archaeologists that go to them are amateurs."

I nodded in agreement to her. "Amateurs... yeah, they think they'll be a-ok with a few mages and an archaeology team but they never realize that you need the military to disarm the traps or take out a hoard of the undead."

"Escort 323?"

"Escort 323."

"We do not need the military on this expedition, they will only mess it up like the rest of you military brutes," I did my best to imitate the Expedition Master.

Ari laughed a little. "he and the rest of the stuck team ended up getting carried out in body bags."

"Gods rest their souls."

The horn sounded from the colossal airship for departing. The ship was massive — the propeller blades were the size of small cars, spinning the blue smoke from the Mesidium engines and onboard we went into the elegant gondola that would hold our rooms as we went on our glorious adventure.

Winter is when we depart, meaning that the fjords of Elderen will be great this time of year, albeit, scenery and photography was not our main thing, rather investigate the tombs and barrows of the Desdriden Half Peoples, an ancient race of extremely magical snow elves that were also half human known for their magical warriors and heroes. Fables say that some tombs contain these mythical... almost godly weapons that have not aged or rusted from the many years left there.

We went through the door and, guided by a polite and well-spoken minotaur dressed in a suit, leading us to our cabin, heavily curious of what our reasons were to explore the fjords during winter and I replied, "Winter will be safest since there will be fewer tourists and grave robbers around,"

The minotaur replied, "Ah, fair, very fair, but then again it sounds like you are graverobbing yourself,"

Ari then says with a shake of the head "No, not our plan, that's if we are desperate for money, if we need to travel or get food, which is less than likely. Our priority is to find the heroic weapons of yore, uncover the mysteries of where they went, maybe get them to a local museum."

"Unexpected of soldiers of fortune, all this military equipment is quite strange,"

"We are former soldiers, five years of conscription before we retired and pursued adventure. Being comfortable got boring for us after three months."

"Rare for a retired soldier to not relish their retirement and live a normal life. Your goals, out of many, seem more humbly ambitious than the usual soldier going on a holiday." The Minotaur says with a nod.

"By the way, we never caught your name, butler," I said.

"Roderick Alberion, Butler aboard the Steadfast Dusk, the fastest airship in the world and also the airship with the largest carrying capacity for civilians in history," He mentions

We both nod before he finally showed us to our cabin. It was rather spacious compared to the planes and ships we've been on, elegantly decorated and had a heater as well, a washbasin and a radio. If this was Third Class, First Class must be something else.

The minotaur nods and departs to his quarters, as we then went to storing our items and luggage, preparing for the long and comfortable trip to the snow-covered lands of Elderen maybe to find the heroic weapons and items of long gone.

I then get on my bed and relax a little with a small book on the Elderenian language as Ari turned on the radio and got her boots off with those gaiters and putting them to one side as she then asks

"How come you haven't taken your boots off?"

"Too lazy, Ari, if I'm honest. Tired from all that walking and standing going from tram to tram and them walking a good distance to the airship dock."

"Well, you do, Joe, won't change your mind on how to conduct yourself."

I nodded and went back to my book, relaxing as the butterflies in my stomach settled down.