I Hate Dungeon School

"It's going to be dangerous, you know. And not for all the obvious reasons." I stated, my voice trying to keep as even as possible. I wanted her to be with me more than anything, but I wouldn't be able to keep her safe.

"Oh, I know. But Burgotovan nobility is a viper nest at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times." She looked her directly in the eyes, her expression serious.

I realized she wasn't asking. She was telling me. She was going to be with me. My brain ran down a long list of every reason this was a terrible idea. As it did so, I realized that a lot of those were good reasons.

All I had to do was get information, but the possibility of a scandal and embarrassment to my stupid sister was too much to pass up.

There was the dress, which was designed in just such a way to annoy her. Then there was bringing a date. A date who was the same gender as me, a half-elf, and a Spellsong on top of all that. Half elves were considered lesser than most Burgotovan nobility, Spellsongs had all of their superstitions, and being the same gender would specifically irritate my parents.

Same gender couplings weren't rare or forbidden or anything in Burgotova. Nobles saw fault in it as those who did so were unlikely to have heirs without involving adoption, which was a whole strange mix of rules in noble circles that I didn't even remotely understand. By coming to an official function with a partner of the same gender as myself, I was publicly declaring myself out of the running for continuing the bloodline, which was seen as scandalous.

I wasn't going to marry anyway, and this was just a little extra salt to rub into the wound. They would be furious, and the mental image of their seething rage, contained only for the purpose of maintaining dignity, was delicious. I couldn't help but smile an evil smile at it.

"I'm going to take that as a yes to being on board with the idea?" Eira asked, placing her hand on mine, the warmth of the touch shaking me from my mental cackling.

"Oh, very much so. Do you need anything first? Dress or something? I feel bad being so fancily dressed if you don't." I said, suddenly worried. The whole effect might be put off if she didn't have something commensurate with my dress.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I have some hidden away. I can give you a little show, just like last night." She said low, in a breathy voice that made me immediately blush. All of a sudden, this lovely bunny-hug felt too hot. I wish I had worn something other than my underclothes beneath it so I could undress a bit.

She smiled at my flustered expression and leaned back. I pouted as her touch left my hand, but I realized it was because Karwin had called her name. Eira stood and walked away to grab it. I fanned myself quickly to try to get my temperature under control.

She quickly returned, placing a tray on the table between us. My nose was given a delightful parade of scents that made me start to drool. I was suddenly painfully aware of how hungry I was, and I could barely wait to dig into the food.

"Slow down! You'll choke!" Eira laughed as I growled in response. This food was so good, I didn't give a damn about decorum!

-

A full belly later, we returned to the dorms. We kissed as we sadly had to separate to complete the tasks set before us. We had less than a day to get ready for our journey. We planned to set out in the early hours of the morning on whatever transportation Andritch was rounding up.

I didn't have as much time riding as I would have liked. I had, of course, some experience with the riding birds of my homeland, but I wasn't proficient by any stretch.

I ran down my mental checklist of what I needed to bring. Winter gear, food, camping supplies, water crystals to help purify any water source we used to drink from, and fire crystals to help with campfires. I had my usual equipment, with some extra padding to keep the cold of the metal from my body. I wondered if I should get a different sword to bring with me.

As much as I loved Ice Moon, I wondered at the effectiveness of an ice element weapon in the cold mountain reaches. That said, it wasn't like I could draw on the power anyway, and it was a perfectly fine sword even without the magic.

It took some work to choose a pack frame. I wasn't fond of hiking overly much, and knew that the trick between a good hike into the mountains and a backbreaking trek depended on weight distribution, something I was sadly lacking in knowledge of.

I was thankful I didn't have to buy one. Dungeon School had a large amount to choose from for student use, given how much of our profession involved trekking. Especially second years. From what Eira had told me, they spent almost as much time out in the wilds as they did in the dorms. That was a big reason she had gone into Extraction Services. Less camping, more doing stuff.

As much as I complained about hiking, I didn't mind the traveling all that much. I had spent so much time shut away living in my family's manor that I was woefully underprepared for the wider world. Thankfully, the caravan I found myself part of on my path to Revenstahd had gracious teachers. They couldn't teach me everything, but they did their best. I would have to try to track them down someday and thank them properly.

It took a few tries to find the pack that fit the best, but eventually I found one that sat comfortably. Nothing worse than getting shoulder blisters from the straps rubbing the wrong way. Now came my least favorite part of packing for a journey.

Actually packing.

I had brought the pack frame back to my room and found Cori and Myth in the midst of packing themselves. Cori was helping Myth out, as she seemed woefully unsure of what to do. I wondered about her own journey to Dungeon School, given her past. Surely she had been forced to travel much like the rest of us. She had been young, I remembered, so who could say for sure how much knowledge of that time she retained.

They seemed deep in conversation, and with a look and wave of acknowledgement from each of them, they returned to work. Time to get my own stuff together.

It took quite a while to get all the weight distributed, and after a double check, triple check, and a contemplated fourth check, I had everything situated and ready to go. Clothing, check. Camping Equipment, check. Toiletries, check. Fancy dress, check. Armor and weapon repair and maintenance kit, check and check. Everything looked good. And added to all this was going to be all the food and other sundries being gathered by Andritch.

It was then that I noticed Smitty's pack. It was all ready to go, and it was much more spare than I expected. She lived in those mountains, but she had the barest essentials. Maybe less than that. Did she know something we didn't?

I had to stop myself from continuing this line of second-guessing. It would be fine. Smitty was a kobold. Maybe they didn't need as much protection against the elements. Her fur was thick enough after all. Thinking about it, I really didn't know much about Kobolds as a culture.

They were just there. Kobolds seemed ubiquitous to the Mortal Kingdoms. All kinds. There was always a kobold somewhere, no matter where I went. Not just in Revenstahd, but every little town I visited on my trek here.

But I never was really all that curious about them. Maybe this trip would give me and Smitty some time to talk, so I could expand my horizons a bit.

My attention was torn back from my musings by the sound of rising voices. I then realized Myth and Cori were starting an argument.

"No Myth! I don't care how much you think you need it, the herbs stay here!" Cori sighed with exasperation.

"But you know how much I need them to relax! What am I going to do, just not sleep!" Myth retorted.

"I don't know how legal they are in Burgotova, and we don't want the guards at the border finding an excuse to search us! Not to mention, we're going to be in the mountains, you need your lungs to be in as good condition as they can get. Smoking doesn't help that, you herb-addled pointy-eared spellmonger!" Cori's voice got even higher. Myth visibly winced at the raised volume.

"Ok, cool it down, Cori, no need to get loud. It's not that big of a room." I cut in, trying to defuse the situation somewhat.

Cori turned and glared at me before rubbing her temples, closing her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry, Myth. I'm just really worked up right now. Lots of stuff going on besides the trip, and my nerves are just absolutely frayed." She said, flopping onto the closest mattress.

"What's going on?" Myth asked, sitting next to her and placing a hand on Cori's back and rubbing it gently.

Cori sat there quietly for a moment, as if she were putting information together in her head.

"I haven't heard anything from back home. No one else in the Gadgeteer's has either. It isn't unexpected this time of year. The passes are often deep with snow and ice, but we usually get a message bird by solstice time, and nothing. It's likely me being paranoid, but I got a bad feeling." She explained.

With her home dealing with the usual difficulties of being a borderland village, coupled with the problems they've been dealing with from the Knightly Orders and the Mages, I could completely understand. Added to this were the political oddities coming out of Burgotova, plus the expanding train lines in the south; there were so many unknowns that it was likely weighing heavily on her mind.

I was right there with her, but the stakes were, admittedly, not anywhere near as high for me.

It was then that an idea occurred to me.

"How about we head to your village during the spring? We can't do anything right now, but maybe actually getting out to visit might help you put your mind at ease. And perhaps I can think of more ways to help if I can actually see the area." I suggested. I was hitting the edge of what I could teach Cori, but if I had a firmer idea of what exactly she was working with, I could perhaps focus my lessons on her.

It was a long shot, and I admitted it was mostly me reaching for any straws I could to get her out of her pit of worry. I had been there more than I like to admit, and I felt it was my duty as her friend to try to pull her out.

"I'd like that. Let's do it!" Cori replied, her mood greatly improved.

"Yay, another trip." Myth groaned.

"Oh suck it up, Myth. It'll do you some good. Maybe. Probably." I smiled my best smile at her. She rolled her eyes at me in response.

The door opened with a pop, and in the frame was Smitty.

"Not done packing? Bad pups, get packing! Then dinner! Then sleep!" She said sternly. More sternly than I had ever heard. I choked down the rising urge to sass at her and quickly finished my packing before helping Myth and Cori with their own packs.

In a few short hours, we were ready to go.

Smitty then marched us out to the door and towards the cafeteria.

Well, this was a new experience.