Some Preparation Required, Part 2

Lieutenant Doyle led our group on a short walk along a vibrant field of grass and straight into a miasma-ridden portion of the area that was like walking out of a sunny family sitcom and into a freaking horror movie. The contrast of the verdant scenery behind us with the dead earth in front of us wasn't lost on me, and the nervous whispers around me were proof enough that I wasn't alone in sensing the strange shift into creepy land.

We walked onward; through dead earth and cracked stones until we arrived at the base camp that LEPRCON had set up in advance.

Inside a hastily constructed iron fence were a group of matching white tents. Banners sporting the colors and symbols of the Academy's three schools—the blue raven, green wolf, and red bear—soared above the tents while a makeshift forge and alchemy station could be found to the right of the camp's entrance. Adult adventurers not affiliated with the Academy and other LEPRCON officers milled about, filling camp with a lively presence that helped to beat back the gloom of the surroundings beyond the camp's fence.

"Vargr! Why are they here?" Lohgan complained.

"To show us up again, naturally," the satyr sighed.

Gathered around a nearby campfire were other novices of the Academy. Among them were people I recognized; Zen, the brothers Grimm, and Liara Lockwood. I had been wondering what Liara was up to today, and it turned out she'd been preparing for the same dungeon excursion we got roped into. What a small world.

"We'll be joined by a journeyman class for this excursion, which should give you an inkling of how important this quest will be for your grades," Mistress Lorelai explained.

"Um, you haven't given us any quest details yet, ma'am," Scaredy Cat piped up.

"You'll receive instructions after you've prepared, Bartholomew Rosé." Mistress Lorelai jerked a thumb at the line of tents. "Go gear up, apprentices. We're burning daylight here."

"Fancy seeing you here," I said as I walked over to Liara and my other tower mates.

What I didn't realize until now was how little the apprentice and journeyman novices interacted, because not only did I get annoyed looks from the group of journeymen around Liara, but even my fellow apprentices who passed me by seemed irked by my overt friendliness with the she-elf.

"Ass kisser," I heard Lohgan whisper as he bumped his shoulder against mine. The satyr had a less confrontational reaction, but his words were no less as harsh. "Veslingr."

I would have growled back at them for calling me names but one of Liara's journeyman classmates, the elf I'd met on my first day on campus—I think his name was Anal—came right up to my face and told me to, "Get lost, human. We don't want your breed polluting our air."

I would have loved to counter this fool with a fact check, but Liara beat me to it. "You're on Earth, Einarr," she pointed out. "They're all humans here."

"So that's why it stinks so badly," Einarr replied derisively, earning chuckles from some of the non-humans in his group, while the few humans among the journeyman novices glared daggers at Einarr's back. Not that he cared. His focus was fixed on Liara now. "This is your mother's home as well, isn't it, half-breed?"

Liara's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

"I can smell her stink on you too, you know." Einarr's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Perhaps you should take another shower. Not that the taint will ever go away no matter how hard you try to scrub it off."

"You pompous vámr!" Liara snapped.

She would have socked the loathsome bright elf on the jaw with her fist if I hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled Liara away right then.

No, I wasn't scared of 'Anal' or those non-humans rising from their seats to back him up. But, from the corner of my eye, I noticed Mistress Lorelai's gaze turned on us, and I had a feeling she would somehow blame me for any fight that broke out before the excursion began. She wouldn't be wrong too. So, to avoid being impaled by that crazy dökkálfar's spear, I chose to extricate myself and Liara away from trouble, which I liked to think meant I was growing as a person.

"Yeah, go run away with your little human friend!" Einarr yelled after us. "Fleeing's all you're good for, half-breed!"

A spear struck the ground mere inches from Einarr's feet, causing him to let out a high-pitched screech that made him the butt of his class's laughter, and it was quite cathartic to watch the arrogant bright elf get knocked down a peg.

"Saw that coming a mile away," I chuckled.

Liara said nothing, but the smirk growing on her lips was enough of a response.

Meanwhile, Zen, who'd been glaring daggers at Einarr during his show of narrow-mindedness, gave me a grateful nod as Liara and I passed him and the others on our way into one of the camp's empty tents.

"Go get dressed. I'll wait out here," she said as we arrived outside a free tent; a weathered-looking one with a single flap opening.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," I reasoned.

Liara blushed. "Get going, idiot."

With a chuckle, I walked into the tent that was about the size of a cubicle. It's where I flipped open my trusty journal and reread the first of Divah's teachings on dungeon exploration.

'Years of experience and study have ingrained a simple truth into my mind; having the right gear will save lives.'

I dropped the heavy satchel and instrument bag I'd brought with me from the tower on the table and began sifting through their contents.

"Wish Divah got me a bag of holding for my send-off. It'd be easier than lugging all this gear around all the time," I sighed.

I was quick to replace my apprentice robes for my 'Under Armory' lightweight scale mail. Its vest may not have been as stretchy as the robes, but it provided better protection, and it was a better fit underneath my blue aviator jacket too. I also put on breathable brown slacks—chaffing resistant and sweat-absorbent—and then traded in the apprentice boots for my white sneaks—style, comfort, and buffs in one sleek package. My leather utility belt came next, and then I put on my blue cloak even though I knew it might not mesh with my fighting style. However, the cloak was an Academy requirement, so I would just have to make due.

"What else do I need?" I asked myself. "Oh, yeah, these should do!"

Mages didn't wear a lot of armor because a variety of leather and metal could adversely affect one's spells, but I wasn't just a mage and I needed my scale mail for those close-up fights. Still, as an added protection, I also put on two bronze wristbands imbued with my preferred combination of protection spells; low-yield arcane shields supplemented by the 'Algiz' rune.

I was making sure my satchel was full of things I might need, like my alchemy kit and spare flashlight, when the flap to the tent opened and Liara walked through it.

She wore the same sleeveless, light brown leather vest and pants I saw when we first met, but her boots were the new brown high-cut 'Nyke Explorers V' I'd seen in recent Amazonian ads. A fanny pack and scroll holster hung from the thick leather belt around her waist but her sword and scabbard were nowhere in sight. I assumed she'd kept them in the instrument bag she had slung over her shoulders with her satchel.

"Those boots look groovy," I whistled.

"Groovy isn't the word I would use to describe these babies," Liara grinned as she clicked her heels together. Then her eyes fell on the two bags on the table. "Aren't you ready yet?"

"Almost." I glanced at the top of her head and noticed that something was missing. "Where's your grimoire?"

Liara tapped at her brow and disrupted the 'chameleon' enchantment she'd placed on her Ice Crown. "I'm not ready to show it off in public yet. You?"

"Same." I patted the collar of my vest before I slung my satchel and instrument bag over my shoulders. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go explore a dungeon."