The weather remained good and the second day was uneventful. In the evening we used the mist again for bathing. This time, a few other female students joined us. They were unhappy about the cold, like Cassie, but grateful for a chance to get clean.

On the fourth day we crossed the Jinso in the morning and headed west. I hoped that our destination would feature another water source. The river had been really convenient.

We reached our target in the evening. It was a large field of grass next to a massive forest. As the wagons parked, we assembled in front of the teachers.

“We have arrived at our destination!” Peter said. “This means we will build a real camp. You will dig a trench and pile up the dirt to create a small wall with two entrances. You will also construct a simple tower in the middle. The person up there will have a great view of the camp and the other guards. This tower will have an alarm bell.”

We had been marching all day and most students were looking forward to some relaxation. There were multiple groans but nobody dared to object, yet.

Peter ignored our distress and continued: “You can use magic to speed up the construction, assuming that you have learned a useful spell. Earth magic is commonly used to construct defences. Sometimes moats are created with water magic. Depending on the situation, you can even add traps, spikes and many other surprises. But we will just have a simple trench with a small dirt wall. Your commanders will have further instructions.” He smiled. It looked like he was enjoying our misery.

“So much for a relaxing evening.” I grumbled.

“We could use explosions for the trench.” Cassie suggested.

“That would throw the dirt everywhere and we need it for the wall.” Skadi pointed out.

“It would also be rather expensive. How many exploding potions do you even have?” I wondered.

“Well… a few.” She said, “A girl has to be prepared!”

Just how much money did she get from her family? Those ingredients were not cheap. Also, she must have spent a lot of time in the lab brewing things. Alchemy was clearly her passion.

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“Ah, I see the same despair I experienced as a first year.” Torben said as he approached us. “The good news is, I am allowed to help you. And I do have earth magic. But you will still need to do some digging. We will set up the tents first, then grab some shovels.”

Over the last few days Torben had become friendlier and less cold. We had no problem talking normally around him. Which was good, soon we would be hunting together. Tonight though, we dug. He used his earth magic to loosen the soil and make it easier. Then he hardened the wall we built. To everyone's surprise, Nyx helped dig. A little. Each group was responsible for a small section. One group was tasked with building the tower. After an hour the camp was finished. The trench was about one metre wide and half a metre deep. The wall was one metre high. Any attacker would be in the trench and you could use a spear to stab down, while standing behind the wall. Further, it would slow down a charge and give the defenders time to assemble.

“I am exhausted. I wish we had a river to jump in.” I said.

“Is there any water source nearby?” Helena asked.

“There is a lake and a small stream in the forest. We will head there tomorrow to replenish our water supplies.” Torben answered.

“Well, at least we can relax now.” Skadi said.

“Oh, we do have a guard shift again.” Torben added.

We all groaned. “When?” Cassie asked.

“It’s from 01:00 to 02:00. One of you will be in the tower, one at each entrance and the fourth will patrol.”

The camp was a circle. One entrance faced the forest, the other was on the opposite side. The wagons were in the centre, next to the tower. The teachers and second year tents were in the middle and the first year students' tents were a ring around it.

“I think Koyuki should patrol, Cassie takes the tower and Skadi and myself guard the entrances.” Helena suggested.

“Interesting. Your reasoning?” Torben asked.

“Cassie is no close quarters fighter. She would have the hardest time dealing with an ambush. Koyuki and Nyx are a pair and that makes them the strongest. So we have them mobile to react to anything happening. Also, the patrol is the hardest to keep track of from the tower. It’s easy to check if the guards at the entrances are alright. But a patrol disappearing could be missed. That means, having two on patrol adds safety.” Helena explained.

“I like it. Well thought through. It’s nice to see that you are taking this seriously. A lot of students slack off because it’s only training. Also, a lot of them think they are too important to be guards.”

“How was your first field exercise?” I asked.

“Well, I am the son of a minor noble. My team was filled with more important people. They complained a lot and thought it was all beneath them. I… I did a lot of their work for them.” He sighed. “It did teach me a few lessons though. I have picked my teams more carefully since then.”

He sounded rather mature and was very knowledgeable. It was easy to forget that he was a student as well.

We went to bed early, we were all exhausted. Unfortunately, the time of our shift arrived and I had to get up. We carried a sword and wore our uniform during guard duty. Since this was just an exercise, that was considered enough. With the defences we had prepared, not carrying a spear was slightly silly, in my opinion.

My patrol consisted of walking in a circle along the wall of the camp. Nyx walked on the wall, she enjoyed higher places. It also meant that she was the perfect height to get petted. What a coincidence.

While we walked I noticed some movement in the forest. Nyx stopped and stared towards the trees. The closest part of our camp, one of the entrances, was about 150 metres from the forest. It was guarded by Skadi. Maybe I should ask her if she saw something as well?