Alice woke up on top of her blanket, but also covered with a second blanket. Only pale moonlight came from the small window. She really needed to stop falling unconscious all the time. With the spirit no longer having that effect on her and her poisoning cured, this should stop happening. A piercing headache filled her and she had to take a moment to recover. Neither Bern nor anyone else were by her side, but thankfully they had put a cup of water in arm's reach which improved her headache a lot. After she put the empty cup back she noticed the talisman now lying beside her. It probably fell off when she reached over for the water. She didn't know if she had to keep it on her belly. Touching it carefully and even placing it back seemed to have no effect, so she put it on the bedside table.

Not being able to go back to sleep, Alice got up and walked into the dark hallway of the infirmary. She wasn't sneaking exactly; technically she was taken in despite the cold welcome, but didn't want to wake anyone up either. The rooms in the infirmary only featured empty beds and various supplies she didn't have a use for. If the doctor caught her snooping around in her things would she get thrown out?

Alice left the infirmary and found herself inside the fort, out of a long one-story building next to another that looked exactly the same. It was dark with no lanterns guiding her way, but the moon was out and without the canopy blocking the way it illuminated the area enough for her to see a figure climbing out of one of the windows of the other building. She snuck closer and watched as an older boy straightened up and walked away from the window. Unfortunately he started to walk in her direction before she could find anywhere to hide, then froze as he must have noticed her. Then he put on a confident smile and came over to her.

"Hello there Milady, I do not believe we have met" he said with a deep bow together with fancy hand signs, the most elaborate bow she had ever seen. He must be from a proper court of at least a count. He did have the aura of a cultivator though and it felt inappropriate. She should be the one bowing. "Uh ... we have not." Alice said stiffly and gave her own bow, much simpler and not even as deep. He didn't seem to notice or care. "Then we have to rectify this injustice!" He got back up and held out his hand and after a moment of hesitation she put hers in it, after which he gave it a long smooch. "Sir! This is ... We just met!"

The smile on the man's face never wavered. "Apologies. May I ask what you're doing here?"

Feeling a little worried, Alice looked around but saw nobody nearby. There should be guards around but she didn't see any. He had similar clothes to hers, white instead of light blue, with a little star where hers had a cross, but of the same make. He must be stationed here and reasonably safe to be around. Or a freshly escaped prisoner, it was difficult to tell. "I just woke up in the infirmary" she said carefully.

"Oh, you're Jungle Girl!" he said with a wide grin. Alice frowned. "My name is Alice Roth, not Jungle Girl."

"Of course, of course, Alice, nice to meet you. You may call me Sanel. That is ... Spirit King Sanel, Lord of Keyholes and Mischief!"

"Ah ... hi?"

"Too much? Fine, just for you, Sanel will suffice. Come, I'll show you around."

Hesitantly following the crazy man they came by more of same-looking buildings in two rows next to each other with a central wide path connecting them all. The walls were forming a square around it with round towers on the corners. Two dorms for men and women, class rooms, staff space, a canteen, the infirmary, the command house and an armory each had their own building. There were small symbols on each of the front doors depicting their purpose. There was also another big empty plaza in the back used for drills and training he told her, but they kept to the central path. It was all very fascinating, but Alice couldn't stop wondering about one thing.

"So ... why did you sneak out of the women's barracks?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"Oh, that. Well, you see. There was an urgent need for redecoration. Yes. Don't worry, I took care of it." The mischievous smile on his face did nothing to reassure Alice, but she was in no position to raise a fuss. Neither was it her business.

Finally they arrived at the commander's building where she was taken when she first arrived.

"And thus concludes the tour of the Iron Academy, at least the surface parts inside the walls, by yours truly, Lord Sanel, King of Keyholes and ... Mischief or Spirits? I forgot."

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Alice shook her head and before she could find a reply she was interrupted by someone stepping out.

"Sanel, what are you doing out here? I thought I gave orders to stay inside."

"My apologies, Commander Aston." Sanel, if that was even his real name, gave a quick bow not nearly as elaborate as before. "I sensed Alice here walking around by herself and just had to escort her here."

The commander squinted at him. "Riiiight." He dragged the word out like he didn't believe him. "Still, off to your quarters now."

"As you wish. Alice? Until we meet again!" He bowed excessively once again and then quickly moved away as the commander made a step in his direction like he was about to backhand the guy.

"That boy is trouble. If you know what's good for you stay away from him."

"Yes, Commander Sir" Alice answered while she contemplated telling him about seeing Sanel exit the women's quarters.

Aston gave her a look as if her answer was unexpected. "Follow me" he commanded. After her hesitation it was too late to bring up Sanel's misdeeds and he did seem nice overall. Snitching on people would likely give her a bad reputation and since nobody asked her they couldn't fault her for withholding the truth.

"Sit," he said as they reached what must have been his office. There was a big desk in the center, suitable for maybe 20 people. Its surface was a world map, peeking out from under figures and smaller maps, some of them rolled up, more yet stacked in various cabinets. One would think one or two maps were enough and having 20 wouldn't add value, but then she wasn't a military commander.

He sat down in a big comfortable chair, put his elbows on the desk and his hands in front of his mouth. "Tell me why you are here. Be honest."

Alice was almost insulted that he would nearly accuse her of lying before she even spoke. She took a deep breath, sorting her thoughts. "I want to be trained as an immortal." That was the essence of her world right now. Become powerful. Beat back spirits and anything else ruining her life. Then she could rebuild.

"I see." He seemed to assess her, maybe contemplating if she was worth the effort. "And you said Lady Veis would train you?"

Alice shifted uncomfortably. "She did say she teaches here."

"Right. And Kriston's fall, did you make that up too?"

Alice almost snapped at him. "No! Everything I said was the truth!" Maybe she needed to rethink her half-truths. They weren't working as well as she thought they would.

Aston spoke before she could think of a better approach. "Alright, here is the problem: This is an elite academy for future military officers. You may have it in you to be a decent soldier, but I just cannot see you taking responsibility for a squad."

Alice frowned. She could make something up how she totally could, but honestly she didn't care about leading squads or even joining the military. She just wanted enough power for everyone to leave her alone. Maybe being fully honest would help.

"I don't know, I never tried anything like that nor did I think about it before. I just want to be strong enough to protect myself and others."

Commander Aston nodded, seemingly content with her answer. Then a thought came to her. "Are you saying Sanel is officer material?" Aston winced. "He may not look like it and wastes his energy on stupid games, but yes, he has potential." Alice shrunk into herself. "Don't tell him I said that." She nodded absentmindedly. It wasn't like that guy needed even more of an ego.

"Look," Aston began, "I cannot just accept you as a cadet. You're untrained, your cultivation has barely started and there are legal issues. Payment for training, debt to the Empire, interruption of classes. I cannot just command those away."

Alice sacked down even further. Of course you couldn't just ask to be trained as an immortal, otherwise everyone would do it. She had nothing of her own, she didn't even own the clothes on her body. She didn't remember where the knife went. Technically that was still hers even if it was looted.

"However," Alice perked back up, "as it stands I can't just send you back into the jungle either. That would effectively be murder. But I won't just pay for you out of my own pocket. Instead I'll offer you a job as staff, at least until the next coach leaves for Ariston or some other town if you don't want to go there. Agreed?"

His insistent gaze made it clear that this was not something she could say no to, so she nodded sadly. Given the situation they were in it was about the best she could reasonably expect. Still, she couldn't be happy about this development. Was this just her destiny getting her back on track?

"In the morning you will report to Rose in the staff building. Tell her that you are the new help and she'll assign you some work." Alice bit her lip. This was not going the way she wanted. "Is there any chance you could hire me as a guard? Anything that involves getting training?"

Commander Aston leaned back and considered her for a while and Alice added "I don't want to seem ungrateful. You've been more than fair to me...". Aston waved her off and interjected. "I understand the desire to make more of yourself than a simple servant. Unfortunately you are in no position to reach above your station. You clearly lack financial backing and upbringing. But I'll tell you what. I'll give you a chance to impress me. You did survive in the jungle after all. Maybe there is some hidden talent in you that I'm just not seeing. We just can't do it right now, it's not safe."

He looked outside his single window into the night. Alice followed his gaze but could see nothing but darkness. The place looked abandoned since it had no lights at all, not even a fire as far as she could tell. Though considering she got a warm meal they must have a fire somewhere. Maybe in the staff building. She wondered what had the commander spooked that he wouldn't want to go outside in his own military base.

"First thing in the morning you come to me."

He showed her a place to rest in the command building and left. It was a small dark room with a single bed and a small desk with not even a wardrobe. Alice lay down and closed her eyes thinking of her fate. Soon she dozed off.