Neidr knocked on the door to Laszlo's room at 6:00 a.m. on the dot, as he did every morning, but that was the last routine thing that happened that day. Laszlo came out of the room and Neidr immediately said,

Tomorrow I'm going on the Palersa Expedition."[Neidr] Laszlo narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh,

"I didn't take you to be a reckless one. Expeditions can take a long time but,"[Laszlo] Laszlo shook his head and said,

"Some real-life training will do you good. I would have liked to teach you swordsmanship today, but that will do you more harm than good. If you have not already, buy these things: Crossbow and bolts, a knife, a waterskin, a box of matches, a couple of changes of durable, dull-colored clothes, a gambeson, and a pair of good shoes."[Laszlo] Neidr didn't bother announcing what he did and didn't have. He wrote down the list and looked back at Laszlo, nodding his head. Laszlo pulled a small book out of his breast pocket and said,

"This is a guide to tracking. Keep it on you and study it well. Mana is the most effective way to find anything, but that requires you to spread your mana over a wide area. Once this is done, people can generally tell where you are through the consistency of your mana. This process is too difficult to teach you yet, so just make sure it doesn't happen to you. "Do not use any magi-tools. Your greatest advantage is the trickle mana method. Magi-tools disrupt mana fields and will give away your position. Be vigilant of the other students, and keep up with your training to the best of your ability." [Laszlo] Neidr nodded and Laszlo dismissed him. As Neidr was walking away, Laszlo called out one last time and said,

"Do not seek great accomplishments at the risk of your life. The greatest accomplishment afterall is a good life."[Laszlo] Neidr was speechless for a moment. What kinda person did Laszlo take him for? Of course, he prized his life the most! Laszlo was preaching to the choir. Neidr, unfortunately, couldn't buy what Laszlo had told him, too. He was a little broke, but he already had most of it anyway. Although, he would certainly buy that light armor when he got the chance. Neidr used the extra time to try and recall everything he could about the Palersa forest. It was a harsh place, renowned among the students for its herbs. This expedition was supposed to allow students to hone their survival skills and gather resources. Neidr opened Lazlo's book and started to study it religiously.

When the time finally came, he meet up with Arrieta in her room. The two of them both looked like they were about to go hiking. Rough brown and green clothes with hefty backpacks on their back. Together, they headed towards the meeting place, a small island with nothing, but grass and a dirt path connecting to a bridge on either side. Crowding this island, they saw about one hundred young initiates. They had already separated themselves among their cliques and were talking excitedly with one another.

Sooner rather than later, Professor Zalar appeared floating in the air. He sported a nasty frown and spoke with venom in his voice.

"The fact that you are all here means you want to go on the Palersa expedition."[Zalar] Zalar waved his hand and a myriad of bracelets with red gems flew out. "These measure your heart rate, nothing specific, just that it is still beating. Once the time for the expedition is over, one week, everyone with a pulse will be teleported back. If you don't have a heart rate at that exact time, your death is on you, you know." [Zalar] Towards the end of his words, Zalar spoke with some chagrin.

Some people in the crowd were whispering and Neidr perked his ears to listen,

"That's new, they usually just have Zalar teleport the people back at the end, he can go back and forth afterall. Is this some sort of measure to make the test harder on us?" [Student] Hearing this, Neidr did his best to hide his grin.

'Do they not trust you anymore old man?' Everyone steadily put the bracelets on and the gems turned blue after detecting a heartbeat.

"Ok, grab onto whomever you wish to accompany, and I will teleport you in three... two..."[Zalar] Neidr threw his arm around Arrieta's neck and noticed a sneer on the old man's face just as he spoke the word,

'One.' Neidr's vision went black, and he appeared together with Arrieta in the vibrant forest of Palersa. Far from the purple bushes and blue grass of Flirord, this land was filled with deep and varying shades of green, a sight Neidr was most nostalgic for. Just seeing it made him want to smile, but he couldn't help, but think of that old bastard's sneer. What did that lunatic plan this time? Neidr shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother further with the thought, it wasn't his problem afterall. He had saved plenty of initiates earlier, whatever the old man plotted couldn't fuck with the strength of Liam's future troops all that much. He laid his back against a tree and took out the book Laszlo gave him, expecting Arrieta to get to gathering, but instead, he heard a voice that was almost a cry.

"Neidr..."[Arrieta] Neidr looked over to Arrieta to see why she would call him and saw her panic-stricken face lined with tears. The rope portion of the bracelet had rotted away as if countless years had passed. The gem turned from blue to red as it fell to the forest floor.

'Shit... Now it's my problem.'