"Can we stop for a second?" Emmet asked, resting on his knees, catching his breath.

"Looks like we're stopping no matter what I say," Carmine leaned on the narrow tunnel wall, smirk shaded under a flickering lamp.

"Sorry," Emmet lifted his head. "I'm not used to walking uphill for so long. How deep underground were we?"

"Deep enough," Carmine checked her map of Dwerra's tunnels. "We're going to the surface, of course we'd have to climb a little."

"A lift would have been easier."

"True, but remember: we're helping Grik lead his student on another hike once we reach the surface." Carmine pointed up the tunnel. "Think of this like a… warm-up."

"Crap. I really should have remembered the adventuring part of adventure." Emmet straightened up, a tired smile on his face as they both chuckled. "Dad always tried to tell me to exercise as much as I read, but I didn't listen."

"And now?"

"Now I hear my legs screaming and they're much more persuasive."

Carmine hummed in agreement, nodding along. "Thought so. Come on, we don't want to hold up the class. It wouldn't be a good example if we were late."

"You can really just keep going?" Disbelief flashed in Emmet's eyes. "What are you made of?"

"I'm from the country, Emmet. Before coming to Leval, I lived in a small town without much to do but hike and practice sorcery. Before that I helped my parents on our horse ranch. I've always been used to stuff like this."

"Wow…in that case," Emmet raised his brow, "do you think you could carry me?"

Carmine scoffed, catching herself on her knees before laughter sent her skidding back down the tunnel. "Not a chance, bookworm. You have legs."

"Worth a try." Emmet dragged himself forward, pushing himself to keep pace with Carmine's slowed gait. Luckily they managed to arrive at the gate at the same time as Grik's last pupil, Powell. Not late, technically, but Carmine saw a few smirks from the pupils, silently gloating about their victory.

"There you both are," Grik said, hand on his chest, relieved. "I worried you'd gotten lost." He looked at Emmet and the sweat he wiped from his brow. "Are you alright? You don't have a fever, do you?'

"Nope, just…warming up," Emmet answered, nodding at Carmine.

"Yeah, we took a little more time because he wanted to stretch first," Carmine added with a helpful, unbelievable smile.

"I see." Grik caught on, eyes narrowing. "A good idea…our road isn't what I'd call difficult, but it has its share of hills to climb."

"Damn," Emmet whispered, shooting a widened worried eye to Carmine. "I'll do your share of the dorm's chores for a month if you carry my bag later."

"Done." Carmine shook Emmet's hand. A little more to carry was a small price to pay for freedom.

"Everyone is here-" Grik started

"Wait!" Another voice called from down the tunnel. Carmine recognized Aaron sprinting his way up before he dropped on all fours. He looked in worse shape than Emmet. "Oh good, I made it."

"Young man, can we help you?" Grik asked.

"It's okay, Grik," Carmine explained, "he came with our circle, if you remember. He's our…what are you, Aaron?"

"Supervisor works." Aaron pulled himself to his feet, facing Grik. "I'm sorry, I would have introduced myself earlier, but I only heard about your plans this morning. You see, if any student is going to leave their exchange city, I'm supposed to go with them."

"Ah, I see." Grik nodded. "Apologies for making you run, young man."

"No, I should have checked the student plans earlier." Aaron caught his breath and shook Grik's hand. "I'm sorry to intrude-"

"Not at all, the more the merrier on the road." Grik scanned over all his pupils and assistants. "But if we're all here, and there are no more surprise guests, let's get underway." He moved to the cave wall, grasping a lever in both hands before heaving it down with a mighty clunk.

Stone doors inched apart, sunlight cleaving between them as the gates retracted into the walls. Carmine shielded her eyes against brightness she'd not beheld for days. Even near blinded, she relished the flowing fresh air, and the open gray sky. She and Emmet walked out first, familiar with the surface, and yet they both stopped once they'd left the tunnel's confines. Carmine expected some weirdness; she remembered her text calling the Riven's home 'webbed mountains.' Like most sane people, she thought it referred to their tunnel systems and underground dwellings. Emphasis on under.

Over evergreen forests and snow capped mountains, entire networks of stone tunnels and chambers hung in the sky, held aloft by rocky tendrils piercing into the mountains beneath. Scaffolding supported cracked segments of the hanging network, so treacherous no sane person would ever traverse it. As far as Carmine looked she realized it was no local phenomenon. More stone pillars supported the sprawled network, clawing into valleys, rivers and lakes. More tunnels veined their way between mountains in a system far too complex to be natural, yet too impractical, too impossible to be made.

"It's alright Hern, you can step outside," Grik's coaxing reminded Carmine she hadn't come to just gawk; she had responsibilities. As she stepped next to Grik, she saw Hern hovering on the tunnels threshold, staring at the sky with terror in his beady eyes. "You won't float away as you can see." Grik nodded to all the other students outside.

"Everything's so…open," Hern looked at the mountains and trees, grasping his coat with trembling hands. "Th-there could be monsters, or I'll get lost."

"Is this your first time coming to the surface, Hern?" Carmine asked, expecting the fearful nod she received. She smirked, knowing she must have looked the exact same way when Nico and Vale tried to get her on an airship for the first time. She doubted the promise of trail mix and berry picking would have the same effect as gourmet food. "Is it the big spaces?" She guessed. Hern nodded again. Given where Riven usually dwell, his fear made sense. "Think of it like this; yeah, the surface is very open, but the paths we need to follow are pretty small and narrow, just like your tunnels."

"I guess," Hern answered, looking at Carmine instead of the sky, but he still doubted everything around him.

"Just keep your eyes on the ground in front of us. You can tell anyone if they're going to trip."

"Maybe…" He started to come around. "But what if a monster comes out of the forest? It'll get me!"

"Not with all of us around. I have really good ears, remember? You can't whisper in class with me around." A faint guilty smirk broke Hern's worry. "Walk with me and nothing will sneak up on us, okay?" Carmine offered her hand to the trembling Riven.

He reached out, braving his hesitation as Carmine took his hand he stepped onto the surface. He kept his eyes on the floor, as she advised. Not the best travel advice, Carmine knew, but Hern just needed time to adjust. She understood that. Grik gave her an approving nod as he walked to the head of the line.

"Alright everyone, let's set out," Grik announced, steps giddy over the gravel. "Everyone stay with a partner at all times. Always be in sight of either myself or one of our studious assistants." Grik motioned to Carmine, Emmet and now Aaron. "Leval folks, if you could help form a circle, Emmet on the left, you young man, Aaron, please be on the right, and Carmine in the rear. Excellent!" Grik turned forward as he started with a brisk march. Carmine laughed to herself. She never expected him to be more confident above ground than below.

Their walk carried on for a few hours, stopping regularly for the young pupils to rest and rehydrate. During the march, a few pupils asked questions about the surface, and Grik was all too happy to let Carmine and Emmet handle them. Between Carmine explaining how trees grow and Emmet insisting against eating yellow snow, the pair had their hands full with questions. Aaron kept quiet, observing with a lax grin. He tried to say he was 'watching the watchers' in an attempt to be either mysterious or interesting to a group of eight-year-olds and failed at both. Since there was nothing else to do during the walk but ask questions, Carmine had no better moment to ask about the strange tunnels.

"Grik," she called to the front. "What happened to the mountains around here? Did the Riven build all this?" She pointed over their heads.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," He answered, looking above. "No, we're not so skilled to be able to raise stone from the ground like that. Can you imagine the amount of energy and power it would need?"

"So it's somehow natural?" Carmine furrowed her brow, staring at the impossible network. "That seems…"

"Unlikely? I'd agree, but many people in Vembris thought a moving forest was impossible before they had to push one from Raelis back across the border. But, there is one thought nugget for you to chew on."

"What's that?" Emmet asked, thrilled too by the mystery.

"While we've mostly moved under grounded mountains for stability, some of our oldest known settlements were up there." Grik pointed above. "Still are too. Some Riven make their homes in the over-tunnels, but most moved down. It's easier to make more room when you're not digging into sky."

Grik looked between the stone tendrils to the sun, cresting towards the horizon. "This is far enough for today," He announced. "We'll make a camp here, have a good supper, and rest up for the early morning march."

"You sure?" Aaron asked, peering through his hands at the sun. "Seems like there's a few hours of daylight left."

"It may seem that way," Grik countered, "but night falls quickly in the mountains. I'd prefer to have enough light left to set up our tents and gather necessities." Grik slung his pack to the side as he stepped off the road. He began pulling small collapsed tents from his bag and the moment he placed them on the ground they grew to a large enough size to shelter a few people each.

"Woah, how'd he stuff those in there?" Hern gasped, watching his teacher.

Carmine chuckled. She knew she'd have said the same years ago. "It's an enchantment Hern," she explained. "Grik used sorcery to shrink the object down so he could bring them. He…tricked them into thinking they were smaller than they are, so their forms changed to match." Hern stared up at her in wonder, if not understanding.

"But they became big again," he said. "Now they know the trick."

"Tents aren't that smart, Hern." She rustled his head.

"While I set the tents," Grik said as he stood to face the group. "Why don't we split up and spread the work?"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Is that safe?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, young man," Grik's chin tightened. "As I explained to Carmine and Emmet, this road is often traveled, maintained, and patrolled. None of Dwerra's rangers spotted anything of concern recently, I checked before we set out."

"Oh. Good." Aaron stepped off to the side. Trying to avoid the Riven professor's attention.

"Anyway, Emmet, you take Tak and Taggi to gather up some kindling and firewood. Carmine, have Gwen and Hern go with you to a river close by that way to get some water and…" Grik lifted a few simple rods from his pack. "Fish! We have some travel food, but foraging is a part of the experience."

"Lovely," Carmine grimaced as she took the fishing rods. She examined Grik's jubilant grin and bouncing steps, realizing with horror he was more outdoorsman than sorcerer. Oh well, she'd make it work.

"Powell, Maeve, you can help me set up the tents." Grik continued. "You too, Aaron. Your height will be helpful."

"Oh, uh, sure." Aaron stumbled to assist.

Before Carmine set off with her two charges, she stopped and looked at Emmet. He stood slightly winded, but more so lost.

"Do you need any help?" Carmine offered.

"Yeah, uh…" Emmet stammered, scratching his head. "I've never had to gather kindling before…Do I chop down a tree?"

"No! No, that's dangerous." Carmine shook her head. "Just look for twigs and branches on the ground. The dryer the better. There's a bit of snow too so try using a spell to pull out the moisture…if it makes a good snap when you bend it, then it's good." She added for good measure.

"Okay," Emmet nodded. "I'm glad you know this stuff. You're pretty smart Carmine."

Any further advice she had to give vanished with every other thought in her brain. She turned, hiding an embarrassed grin. "W-well, m-my Dad taught me a few things a long time ago." She tucked the rods under her arm, pulling Hern and Gwen to her side before Emmet could say another word. "Come on you two, let's find this river. It can't be far."

Carmine didn't know why she was rushing, but her flight instinct demanded she leave, so off she rushed.

Trees flanked both sides of the narrow dirt trail, but within minutes Carmine heard running water over her own snow crunching footsteps. At least Grik was right about the river's proximity.

It flowed down the mountain into a distant lake. The trees stopped short about twenty paces from the River's edge, while on the other side, the alpine forest thickened and blocked out the sun.

Carmine moved ahead of her charges, ensuring the river bank posed no risk of collapse while checking the stream's depth. The water looked no deeper than her knees, and the frosted ground held firm against her prodding. Even from the bank, she saw fish crowding the running water, following it down the mountain.

"Seems safe enough," Carmine announced to Hern and Gwen. "So, either of you fish very much?"

"Only once," Hern said, holding up a single finger. "I went to a big under-lake with my mom, but…we didn't catch anything."

"I didn't get to at all," Gwen huffed, crossing her arms. "Papa always said I had to study…but he would buy the fish from the market for supper."

"So we're all about the same experience," Carmine faced the pupil pair. "My home's river flooded too much to be safe. Tried once in a pond, but only my Dad could catch anything."

"We're not going to catch anything, are we?" Gwen looked up, innocent eyes full knowing they were out of their depth.

Carmine looked at the fishing rods, profound lack of bait, and the patches of snow covering frozen grass. Her left side already ached in the cold.

"Nope." Carmine tossed the rods into a pile on the ground. "But we could sit out in the cold for an hour…you know, 'for the experience.'" She mimicked Grik's tone. Gwen and Hern shook their heads with a chuckle.

"Then we can go back?" Hern asked, frowning at their surroundings.

"We'll be ok, Hern. We won't be that long." She looked back the way they came, finding no trace of Grik or anyone else. "Hey…if neither of you tell Grik, I'll show you a better way to fish than rods."

Like that, she had both pupils' attention, eyes shining at the promise of a secret, a hidden technique. Carmine approached the water, students at her sides, watching her every move.

"You might want to stand back a little," she warned as she began casting. Knowing she was being watched, Carmine added a few flourishes to her movements, trying a few poses she'd practiced in secret where nobody could see. Once she finished complex posturing, she casted an extraordinarily simple spell. The first she ever learned. A small, off-violet bead of force flew from her hand to the river. The bead phased under the waters just before the spell erupted. White water exploded up, halting the river's flow for an instant before it all rained back down.

"Oh, crap," Carmine turned to Hern and Gwen, opening her cloak to shield them from the downpour.

Definitely overpowered that, Carmine thought, ice water running down her nape, but both pupils laughed, mostly dry.

"That was awesome!" Hern clapped.

"Can you do it again?" Gwen asked.

"Not if I want some of my clothes to stay dry," Carmine answered with a smirk, tossing her now damp cloak next to the rods. "Besides: won't need too." Carmine pointed near the river bank, where several fish lay scattered. She had to learn this little trick in Rolderston when she and Nico were short on food.

"We got so many!" Hern said, running to collect their dinner. "This was easy."

"What spell was that?" Gwen asked, turning over Carmine's hand where the spell manifested.

"Just a simple force spell…with too much power behind it," Carmine admitted. "It's pretty straight forward. I could teach it to you some time. A few words, a gesture, with the intent to push…or erupt in this case."

"Then why did you move your arms so much?" Gwen asked, her brow furrowed.

Carmine felt her confidence crack. "You're too sharp, kid," she grumbled, slouching her shoulders.

"I got'em," Hern called, running back with an armful of fish. "Do we go back now?"

"Not so fast, Hern." Carmine shook her head. "There's a few things we have to do first."

"Collect water." He nodded. "Sorry, I forgot."

"That's one thing. We also need to gut the fish."

"What!?" Hern winced, dropping every single one.

"Ew!" Gwen stepped back. "Can't professor Grik do it?"

"No, we can't leave fish guts at our camp, the smell will attract animals. I can do it here on a rock. Come on, it's not that disgusting."

"Can I just get the water?" Gwen asked, leaning even further back from their soon-to-be dinner.

"I won't force you to watch, but it's not really that bad, I promise."

"I'll watch," Hern said, though his disgusted, wincing face told a different story.

"Only if you want to, Hern," Carmine said as she knelt next to a mostly flat rock, pulling Father's knife from its sheath. "It's a little gross at first, but it's not a bad thing to learn. You never know when you might need to do this yourself…I didn't even know I'd be doing this today." Carmine placed one of the fish on a stone, bringing her knife to bear. "It's really simple: all you do is cut along the belly." Carmine sliced the fish open, as Hern edged further back. "I know, it's gross when you first see, but all you do is just reach in and pull out the insides, cutting where you have to."

"Are you sure there isn't a spell to just…magic the gross parts away?" Hern asked as he averted his eyes.

"Believe me, if there were, it would probably be so complex for something that's easier to do by yourself. Part of being a sorcerer is knowing when to cast a spell and when to save your energy."

"Mr. Grik says stuff like that."

"Mr. Grik is right." Carmine showed the finished fish to Hern, showing only the meat inside. "And look, it's all clean. Not so gross now, is it?"

"I guess not." Hern tilted his head, his expression relaxing.

"Great." Carmine smiled. "Can you rinse the fish in the river when I'm done with them? It'll be faster that way."

"Oh, sure!" Hern sped to the river. Carmine guessed he was just happy to help.

For a while, Carmine stuck to a pattern; she'd gut the fish, and Hern would rinse it. After she filled all the canteens back up, Gwen joined them too, overcoming her disgust much the same way as her partner. By the end, they took turns running to the river as the other watched Carmine work.

"Did you learn to do this at school?" Gwen asked, after she traded spots with Hern.

"No," Carmine shook her head. She grinned at the thought of her circle in a fishing course. "No, my dad taught me this." Her hands stopped a moment, picturing her Father in her mind clearer than usual. Smiling, she continued, "We lived in the country. went on walks, just the two of us. He showed me things like this, how to climb trees, what animal tracks were which…"

"That sounds fun." Gwen smiled with her.

"It really was," Carmine agreed, about to place the next cleaned fish on Gwen's hand when she heard a faint snap. Her eyes shot to Hern by the water's edge. Relief eased her knife grip as she saw him fine, cleaning the last fish by the water. She furrowed her brow as something caught her eye beyond him; a pair of golden rings in the shade across the river. She squinted for a moment before the rings shifted, focusing on her.

Those are eyes, Carmine realized, hands starting to shake. As she focused, Carmine saw those eyes belonged to a large feline face and black-furred body.

Is that's a fucking mountain lion!?

Carmine grit her teeth, feeling sweat in her palms as she fought the urge to yell a warning. If she panicked, Hern and Gwen would panic, and she didn't know what that thing would do if it saw an opportunity.

"Hern, we're leaving," Carmine said as she stood, gripping her knife tighter than ever. "Come here."

"But I'm not done-"

"Just leave it, we have enough." Carmine hoisted the sack of fish on her shoulder. In her peripheral, she saw Hern slink over like he'd lost his one true calling, but she never took her eyes off the beast lurking just a few dozen paces away. "Start walking you two," she told them. "Stay together."

"Okay…" Gwen did as she was asked, but Carmine heard the worry in her voice. Once again, that kid was too sharp.

Carmine followed behind, walking backwards guided by the sounds of their steps. She threw the last fish in her hand on the river bank, hoping the beast would be satisfied with that.

Her heart nearly ripped out of her chest as the black lion leapt across the river with terrifying ease. It stalked over to the pair of fish they'd left behind, gathering both in its mouth. It gave Carmine one last look, eye to eye, before it vanished into the forest back the way it came.

"Oh, thank the ancients" Carmine fell on her behind, legs giving out.

"Miss Carmine, are you okay?" Hern looked at her like she'd gone crazy.

"I'm fine." she caught her breath. "Let's just get back."

At Carmine's urging, they returned quicker than they departed. Even so, Emmet's group had returned first. They started a campfire, courtesy of Emmet's sorcery. Hern and Gwen presented their bounty with cries of victory as they began putting the fish on sticks near the fire.

Carmine fell on her back near one tent, her energy entirely spent through hiking and fading adrenaline.

"You okay down there," Grik asked kneeling next to her. He smiled at the pupils trading stories about their tasks. "You had quite the haul…"

"There's a mountain lion, or something up here," Carmine whispered, and his smile fell in an instant.

"Did- did you see tracks or-"

"No." Carmine sat up. "I saw it. Clear as day. It jumped across the river and took the fish we left for it and bound off again."

"You sure it was a mountain lion? I mean, it could have been anythi-"

"It was a big cat with black fur, massive teeth and huge claws," Carmine hissed. She knew what she saw! "It was big, it was quiet, and it was watching us like we were dinner!"

"Okay…but it left you all alone?"

"Yeah…" Carmine eased herself back down. "Like I said, it took some fish and left. I had the kids walk ahead of me back here, but I kept my eyes out for it all the way back."

"Good thing you did. You handled yourself pretty well. Do Hern and Gwen know?"

"No…I couldn't have them running off. Should I have told them?"

"No, you did the right thing. You kept a cool head, and everyone turned out okay." He patted her shoulder. "Good job. Get some rest, I'll bring you some food when it's ready."

"Should we go back?" Carmine asked as Grik stood up.

"I don't think we'll have to. I'll ward our campsite and we'll do everything as a group from here on, but chances are that thing was just hungry. With food in its belly and us as big a group as we are, it will probably leave us alone."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Grik nodded. "Believe me, I won't let anything bad happen to you or any of my students. You know what that feels like now, don't you?"

Carmine thought back to the moment she saw the lion, and then how she put herself between it and the pupils. Perhaps not the smartest thing she could have done but…it seemed the right thing at the moment. "I do." She answered, staring at the campfire, and those around it. "I get it."

"Good." Grik smiled. "You're already on track to be a teacher. In my eyes, at least."

Warmth spread through Carmine's chest as she turned on her side, trying to hide her grin. Terrifying as the situation was, for the briefest moment, she became someone she was proud to be.

A witch.