On one of the many cobblestone paths leading to the Altean capital of Meridian, a lone horse-drawn carriage rattled through the path in the direction of the great city. The driver looked around and enjoyed the scenic view of the quiet outlying villages and the cityscape in the distance as he whipped up the two horses.

Meanwhile inside the passenger compartment, Varkasan Trenact and 3 other Paladins were seated within. they were all wearing their armor, though they had their helmets off and cupped them under their hands or on their laps. Varkasan had his helmet resting on his lap as he massaged his head. It was mildly aching, and the tight carriage and bumpy ride was not doing anything to help. He was trying to keep his mind off of it until they reached their destination. The Paladin seated next to him spoke up with a gruff voice.

"Is your head still hurting Varkasan? Come on it's already been three days! Surely no one is that light of a drinker" He said jokingly. The other paladin had a thick bears and was wearing light armor and had his steel cap in his hands. "Zalfn, you seem to forget that we had decided to mix a Dwarven potion in our celebratory drinks to _'spice them up'_. You also seem to forget that you convinced me to have the first drink." Varkasan replied with a weak smile. "True true... If it makes you feel any better I wasn't expecting the effects to be _'that'_ serious. Why, the rest of the men wouldn't dare touch those drinks after what happened to you and I" Zalfn replied. "Ah yes, you took a glass of it too." Varkasan said. "Of course, it was my idea, so it was only fair. Though if I may say, I seem to have recovered much better than you did." Zalfn replied with a smirk. A Paladin seated opposite of them wearing heavy armor seemed amused at their exchange and merely shook his head.

Varkasan continued massaging his forehead. Despite the head still feeling off, the sensation was much less than it was before, and he was slowly feeling better by the minute. He gave himself maybe an hour tops before he fully recovered from whatever that... concoction... did to him. To continue trying to get his mind off the aches, he thought back to the mission they had received.

It was actually more of a summons than an actual mission. They received it the day after he and several other associates had their graduation celebration. 4 of them were ordered to head to their headquarters there to be assigned underneath a Captain and begin their official duties. The message also said they had a mission already assigned to them, but the details would only be given once they had gathered. Since 4 of them had received the same summons, they all decided to share the expenses to get a ride to Meridian. Varkasan didn't know what they'd be asked to do, but he had hears the rumors, about how Paladin outposts on the frontier started being lost and destroyed with no leads as to the perpetrators. So he had a feeling that their duties might become more serious soon. On the bright side, he knew he'd be seeing more of his fellow recruits once again after the unit is formed, and he was hopeful that they were people he had befriended or was associated with. If not, it did not matter as they would need to learn to trust each other if they wanted to survive out on the field. It was just a question of how long that would take.

The Paladin seated opposite to them glanced outside the carriage window. "We're well into the city now, Headquarters shouldn't be too far" He said. "That's good to know Aradus, I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand being in here." Varkasan replied with a chuckle. A few more minutes passed by in silence until the carriage came to a halt, and the driver outside started talking. "This 'bout s'far as I go, lads. The Paladin building s'not far from here. Juss' follow the road." He shouted from outside. "Understood, thanks for the ride. Aradus said as the Luminous Knights began piling out of the carriage, and beheld the grand building down the road. The sides of the street were filled with people going about their daily business, but none venturing towards the headquarters of the Luminous Knights.

"The place looks just as terrifying as it was on the first day of training!" Zalfn said out loud jokingly. "Don't ask where the bathroom is as soon as you enter, this time." Aradus responded. "Of course not! I've already memorized where they all are." Zalfn answered with a laugh. With that, the group of 4 headed towards their destination, wondering what their superiors had in store for them.