We watched Victoria hurry away. Torben looked at the red gems in his hand. “She said nothing about those. Do you think they are special as well?”

“Maybe. I guess we will have to ask her again later.” I said. Then I drank the potion Victoria had given me. It did not taste too bad.

“Let’s go back to our tents.” Helena suggested.

As we walked, we heard an announcement. Peter was magically amplifying his voice. “Students, do not go into the forest. An infestation of vampiric nightshades has been discovered.”

“They do take that seriously.” I said.

“Do you think they will cancel the field training?” Cassie wondered.

“Maybe. They could just have us wait a day while they deal with it.” Helena said.

“If more plants have gems to hide them, it would take a while to get rid of them.” Skadi pointed out.

“Hm, you have a point.” Helena admitted. “Hey, maybe we can get more beer if the trip is shorter?”

“I would not say no to a drink.” I said, as I sat down. We were back at our tents. Torben had left and walked towards his own. I stretched and then decided to lie down on the grass. Nyx curled up on my stomach.

“Do you think the spiders and plants are connected?” Helena asked.

“I don’t know. The spiders seemed like a direct attack on us.” I said.

“It could have been someone trying to mess with the academy.” Skadi theorised.

“I think it’s more likely someone wants to mess with Duchess Barkworth. This is her territory and the forest is a major part of her income. If something happened to the students, because her patrols failed…” Cassie suggested.

“Does she have any children currently at the academy?” Helena wondered.

“I don’t think so.” Cassie answered.

“So, our lives were in danger because someone wants the Duchess to look bad?” I asked.

“And that is why nobles suck.” Skadi said.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It’s only a theory.” Cassie pointed out.

“Hey, that could mean nobody tried to kill me specifically on that trip!” I proclaimed.

“Just for saying that an assassin will crawl into your tent tonight.” Skadi said.

I petted Nyx. “I have a fine guardian eating any unwelcome visitors. I even have my goblins!” They were both still around and currently standing in front of my tent. It made me feel like someone important, having my own guards.

“Nyx will probably eat your goblins during the night.” Cassie snickered.

“No, Nyx is a good undead kitty, aren’t you?” I said and kept petting her. She purred. I was always fascinated how soft her bones felt to my touch. Yet they were really hard in combat. Did she change them with magic just to get petted?

We kept relaxing until we heard a commotion near the entrance. I raised my head and upper body to have a better look. “Meow” Nyx complained about the sudden movement.

“Someone is being carried.” Cassie pointed out.

“Hey, isn’t that Archibald’s group?” I asked.

“Maybe he got himself eaten.” Skadi suggested.

“We are not that lucky.” Helena said.

“Should we check it out?” I asked.

“I don’t really feel like moving.” Cassie answered.

Helena looked at me. “You should put on some pants before you move anywhere.”

“But I will just dirty them! The bandages are still bloody.” I protested. Victoria had checked our wounds and had given us a potion. But she did not really heal us, or provide us with fresh bandages. Maybe because the gem distracted her. Or maybe the wounds were meant to be a lesson.

“Maybe we should rebandage you girls.” Helena suggested.

I sighed and nodded. While Skadi took care of Cassie, Helena helped me. Soon I had fresh bandages and was wearing new pants.

Meanwhile, a large cluster formed near Victoria’s tent. A lot of students were curious. Most were in the camp now, only a few teams had not returned from the forest yet. Then the cluster dispersed, likely they were shooed away by the teacher.

“Hey Shin!” Helena called as she saw him. He looked at us and walked closer.

“Hi.” He said.

“Do you know what that commotion is about?” She asked.

“A plant got Archibald, he barely survived. Victoria saved him just now.” He explained.

“Ha! We only had two wounded and they could get back on their own feet!” Helena boasted.

“You fought one of those as well?” He asked.

“Yes, Koyuki killed it.” Helena said with pride.

I blushed. “We all killed it. I just finished it.”

“Nasty thing, refused to burn.” Cassie muttered.

“Wow.” Shin said. “I heard it was really tough. Jack is telling everyone how strong the plant was, Eva is praising Archibald’s courage and Florence is complaining about the academy not doing their job.”

Helena grinned. “Once they are done telling everyone how powerful it was, we have to tell them that Koyuki killed one. I want to see their faces.”

“I would not want to be their group leader. Surely she will get all the blame.” Skadi said.

“Who is their group leader? Do you know her?” I asked.

“No. But I have seen her in camp.” Skadi answered.

“I think her name is Elena.” Shin said. “But I have never talked to her.”

Oh. She could be the same woman who showed me around when I arrived at the academy. I had seen her a few times in the mess hall but never spoke with her again.

“Well, I should return to my team.” Shin said.

We said our goodbyes and he left.

“Maybe that type of plant has some redeeming qualities.” I said.

“I would not go that far…” Cassie was still angry that it refused to burn it seemed.

“That plant might be the only thing that can stomach Archibald.” Helena snickered at her own joke.

“I am sure it would have grown a mouth, just to puke after eating him.” Skadi said.

“Now that would have been funny.” Helena responded.

While we were lounging around, a few more students returned. None of them were visibly injured, which was good. Irene emerged from the forest as well. Maybe everyone was back now. That meant there should be an announcement soon.