Arrieta and Neidr ran as far as their lungs would take them. The duo made a great distance before removing their bracelets and stuffing them in their pockets. Arrieta made another compound that smelled like the life-preserving fruit. They didn't have any specific hope in doing this, just that it might attract people. If those people happened to be a mix of peasants and nobles, then the fighting that ensued would distract any would-be pursuers at least. It was a rather empty hope, but they did it anyway. Afterwards, they cut a 90-degree angle cutting towards the mountains. Neidr knew that this expedition lasted a week.

Therefore, they should still have five days left, If you didn't include today. He didn't know whether they could or would still track the bracelet after it was turned off, but he was betting it was possible. They went towards the mountains in the hopes of finding a more defensible position. Along the way, they placed different bracelets in out-of-the-way positions to drag out time. Neidr kept Susan's and Isaac's bracelets.

Neidr Could almost bet that these bracelets tracked individual owners. If that were the case, they might have some explaining to do when they get back, but while he was here, there was the chance to play dumb and pretend they were Isaac and Susan. This strategy really depended on how the guards approached them. As they climbed, they happened upon a stream. Remembering the book Laszlo gave him, Neidr led Arrieta into the stream. It was much more difficult to track them using conventional methods if they traveled through the water.

Much further up the mountain, they departed the stream. Doing this would be pointless if they could be tracked, but if they couldn't be, then it might save them precious time. The duo came across a sort of clearing. There was a semicircle bit of land open on one side and surrounded on the other by a sheer cliff face two men high. On either side of the cliff face, about twenty-five feet away at each side was a gentle slope leading to the top of the ridge. Neidr buried the two bracelets under the earth of the clearing, and the duo walked up to the cliff-face. On top of the ridge, the mountain maintained its normal slope. The area was filled with trees and shrubbery.

It wasn't a perfect defensive position, but it would have to do. Neidr and Arrieta opened their packs and ate some of the food that she had brought. They sat in silence and kept an eye on the position of the buried bracelets. Neidr taught Arrieta how to hold her mana in while they listened. He didn't want her to immediately use to trickle method, just to be able to cut off all mana when the time came. This wasn't actually difficult for people with small mana reserves to do for a short time. This was the worse part of any fight. The waiting.

The sun was beginning to set when they heard voices in the distance,

"When I get my hands on these damn kids I'm gonna strangle 'em!"[First Guard] An annoyed voice huffed, another calmer one followed,

"We can't, you know the mistress's orders."[Second Guard]

"Who the hell removes those bracelets anyway? If we didn't see them start moving again, we'd have thought they died! Plus, they hid those fuckers in every nook and cranny they could find! It's like they're trying to piss me off!" [First guard]

"I just think the youngsters want to play around while they have the opportunity. Lord knows I tried to run away from being watched every chance I got."[Second guard]

"Shut up the both of you! We're approaching the signal."[Third Guard]

"Yes sir!"[second and first guards]

Based on this conversation, Neidr didn't believe them to be hostile. It seemed as though they skipped going to the cave in favor of following the signals of all the bracelets. Grabbing the lot of them gave him some unexpected benefits. If he walked out amongst them, they might just protect him for the rest of the trip. That is assuming two things,

Firstly, that they didn't know what Isaac and Susan looked like. This was possible. Many students participated in this venture and a good deal of them were from noble heritage. There wasn't a sign-up process for the trip either, Neidr just walked in. There was no way they got the detailed records of who came and memorized all the faces. On the other hand, if Isaac was particularly important to Zalar, they might have spread his face around. Neidr wanted to smack himself in the back of the head, he had thought of playing the duo thinking that Isaac letting anyone else run off with his woman would be suspicious, but that would be pointless if they knew his face.

Secondly, that these guards weren't trying to get Neidr to lower his guard and tricking him into appearing in the open, making their mission easier. Neidr wasn't going to take the chance, he would try and hide until the last moment. He watched as a trio of three men entered the clearing. Each were dressed in freshly stained white uniforms. One man, with fiery red hair, immediately cursed upon seeing the clearing,

"FUCK THEY DID IT AGAIN!"[First guard] Behind him, stood a man with black hair and a soft, nearly pudgy face. He tapped the first guard on his arm and said,

"Calm down, its a good thing that we only found bracelets and not bodies."[second guard]

"We don't know whether they have left or not. Carlton, check the area."[Third guard]

"We check the area every time! They're never there!"[first guard] Neidr and Arrieta cut off their mana irradiation entirely, hearing these words.

"Silence, Roderick, or I'll see you at the training field."[Third guard] Roderick quickly shut his lips but looked begrudged. Carlton shut his eyes and stayed still for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at the third guard and said,

"Nobody here."[Carlton] The third guard sighed and shook his head.

"Sir, should we take the bracelets?"[Roderick] The third guard shook his head and said,

"Do you want to kill them? Leaving them out here, without their bracelets, is a death sentence. How would they even find us?" [Third Guard]

"Sir, should we wait here for them to return?"[Carlton] The third guard looked over at his sensible subordinate in thought. The thought of having to deal with these guards stalking their position bothered Neidr greatly, but he may have some countermeasures.

"Wait here? Why? They wanted to get lost, let 'em get lost! We didn't wait around for any of their stupid buddies, did we?"[Roderick]

"Roderick!"[Third Guard] The third guard rubbed his brow. He really needed to take this kid back to Bootcamp. Some days, he wondered how he even passed to begin with.

"We wait here, these people are VIPs"[Third Guard]