A couple of days had now passed. Emil’s fingers trembled as he held a letter in his hand. It had just been delivered to him, so he was still standing just inside his doorway. He knew that inside was the official response on if he was approved for the expedition. With a deep breath, he tore off the top and took out the paper inside. Slowly, he then unfolded it and began to read aloud its contents.

“Dearest student of First Light Academy, you have been fully approved for a two-week expedition with the Archaeology Department! Yes! Heck yes, thank the gods!” Emil fist-pumped the air and breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned into the wall. He steadily let himself collapse down and sat on the floor. Days of pent-up stress and tension seemed to melt away as every muscle across his body relaxed.

After that moment of celebration, he continued to read the rest of the letter. The expedition would be leaving the very next day, so it listed the time he needed to be at the front gate by. It also had a list of the personal possessions they recommended he bring, and that he and the other students would be expected to behave appropriately as representatives of First Light Academy.

But Emil would go through all that in detail later that night. Right now, he needed to write up his own letter. One to his family back home, explaining where he would be for the next two weeks. Then at some point today, he needed to meet up again with Markus and let him know the good news. With a smile on his face, he stood back up and placed the paper on his living room table. It felt like his luck finally had finally begun to turn around for the better.

The next morning, with everything he needed in the luggage at his side, Emil took one last look back into his dorm. For the first time that quarter, the fireplace was off. There would be no point in a lit flame while he was away. It would turn itself back a few hours before he came back, to bring warmth back to the area.

When he made it down to the front gate, he found a line of carriages. It wasn’t too surprising, Emil had only arrived about twenty minutes before the deadline. A couple dozen people stood around, talking amongst themselves. Though none of them was anyone Emil personally knew. At the frontmost of the small crowd were a few teachers and members of the academy faculty. Clipboards and quills in hand, he could see them doing a headcount of the students.

With nothing else to really do, he picked a random spot to stand in and reread the rules and directions from the letter. A few minutes later, one of the older teachers began to clap her hands together. The chitchat steadily died down, and everyone looked at her.

“Now, everyone, we will soon begin to leave for the Second South region. Our expected journey time will be approximately four and a half hours. We do not plan to make any stops along the way, so if you need to use the restroom beforehand, now is the time to go. Also, for those of you who are unacquainted, I will now introduce you to Mr. Donable.” She gestured to the man at her side, who then stepped forward.

“Thank you. I am the Assistant Director of Historical Arcane Operations in the Second South region. Some of you are fresh faces, but I also see several new students here today. So to make sure you are aware, while we are at a dig site, please stick next to those who are more experienced.” He cleared his throat before continuing.

“I don’t say this unkindly, but rather, these old dungeons may often contain untriggered traps and roaming monsters. Most are safe after so many years of being left alone, but there are always exceptions, so remain cautious. I just wanted to make that basic idea understood now, we can delve further into safety precautions after we arrive. For those of you who are ready to go now, you may feel free to begin entering your assigned carriage.”

One of the school faculty began to hand out numbered slips of paper to each student. Emil took his. Since he was ready, he went over to it and climbed inside. The inside of the carriage was a set of four, leather seats. They were separated into pairs, with a space in the middle. The carriage door had its own window, but there was another on the wall. The space under the seats was empty, so he sat down at a window seat and slid his belongings under it.

More than likely, there would be three other people that Emil would have to spend the trip with. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he didn’t mind making small talk with new people. Plus if one of them was someone who had gone on an expedition before, it would give him plenty of time to ask any questions that came to mind. Leaning back into the seat, Emil looked out the window. With how long he would be gone, he might as well make the best of it.

Two other students had ended up in the carriage with him, leaving the last seat vacant. And like Emil, both of them were new to this and had never gone before. However, in their case, it was because they were both apparently still only first-years. They were nice enough. But with how little sleep Emil had ended up getting the night before, he ended up napping throughout the majority of the trip.

“Pssst, pssst, we’re here.” Emil heard while he felt himself being nudged. He groggily forced his eyes open and sat up. Brushing his hair out of his face, he looked out the window. The carriage had indeed come to a stop. From his view, he only a stretch of lush forest outside. The door swung open, and one by one, the three of them grabbed their things and stepped out.

For some reason, in his mind, he had expected them to be going to a desert with sandy tombs. Even though, logically, Emil that there was nothing like that in the southern side of the country. There were on a dirt path cutting through the middle of woods. Small rocks lined the road. If the carriages didn’t float with magic, he definitely wouldn’t have needed anyone to wake him up.

Once every person was outside, they all formed into a crowd again around the faculty. They were instructed to leave their belongings on the ground. Their stuff would be transported to their temporary residence while staying here.

But for now, they would all go ahead and be taken over to the dig site. It was off the path and in the forest, so they would need to walk to get to it. Once there, they would go through all the rules and safety precautions before being split into teams. With that established, they all began to make their way down the hill.

They arrived after about twenty minutes of walking. Emil looked around, wide-eyed. Even if was still half-buried, it was his first time visiting a dungeon in person. Cracked, moss-covered stone surrounded them. Some of it had carved glyphs. But they had to be some sort of ancient script, for he didn’t recognize any of them. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. He had spent days thinking about being here, and now he finally was.

Their group came to a stop in the middle of the site, a central clearing. Along with the students of First Light Academy, there were also groups from other schools. And of course, there were also those who either worked for the Historical Arcane Operations or were professionals that had been invited to come as well. In total, there had to be at least a hundred people gathered here.

The Assistant Director gave them all the basic rundown. This would be the largest of the ancient dungeons they had found so far. Several entrances had already been found, but none were opened yet. This was due to the protective charms and layers of magic that had kept them sealed. There was already a separate team that had been working on undoing them for the last few days. By their estimate, it would likely be only another hour until they should be done.

But since nobody had been inside yet, they would approach this dungeon with more caution than some of the others. They would each be split into teams, trying to keep an even portion of students and professionals between each one. A few Combat Mages were there with them. There would be one to go in with each group, but even just one would be more than enough to keep their assigned team safe.

Each person would be expected to remain with their assigned group at all times while inside the dungeon. For each time, the Combat Mage would take the front, the more experienced people would take the middle, while the students would remain in the back.

If any group was to encounter something dangerous, then they are expected to follow whatever decision and orders the Combat Mage gives. There were a few more rules and expected behaviors that he told them that they would need to follow, but that was the gist of it.

They began the process of separating each person and assigning them to their team. Once that was done, they would be given their designated entrance and then standby until it was ready to be opened.