Asher and Milas were seated in the library at dusk. The two boys were conversing in hushed whispers. Between them was a short list on a piece of paper with most of the items crossed out. The whispers died down as they cancelled another item. The final item remained. Horses.
"You're gonna have to do it Milas."
"No, we'll find another way. We have to find another way."
"We don't have time to find another way. The wolf hunt starts in an hour. We have an assembly in twenty minutes. We only have thirty minutes to acquire horses. You have to do it." Asher insisted, raising his voice slightly even though they were in the library.
"Sigh, I can't believe I'm doing it. Fine, I'll gather the horses. Just make sure to get the extra clothes."
After talking for a few more minutes, the boys left the library and headed for the assembly hall. They sat with Step who had saved their seats. Minutes later, the assembly begun. The principal gave a quick run down of how the hunt would occur and boosted the confidence of his students with a short speech. The assembly was short as the teenagers were told to meet their parents and guardians who had come to see them off.
Milas walked through the crowd of vampires and subclasses. Worried parents hugged their children, tears running down their faces. They prayed for the safe return of their children. Some wanted to take their children away but they were better informed. They knew that the punishment for deserting was execution and not banishment.
Milas himself walked towards a familiar carriage. He remembered the carriage as he had seen it multiple times before at Deogratius' mansion. When he got close, the carriage door opened and inside was Deogratius seated next to a male butler. "Come in. "
Milas stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He looked at Deogratius who gave a slight nod to the butler beside him. The butler reached into a bag he had been holding and pulled out a few things. The first was a leather, vest chest guard and matching bracers. The second was a single edged longsword and a pair of short swords. The last was a ring of shade.
"I've given you those items in preparation for the wolf hunt. If you wish for something different then you can exchange one of the items for it." Deogratius said then he leaned forward his eyes shining red. "So tell me, what do you need for your little escape attempt?"
Milas wanted to resist but the charm skill was too powerful. In the end, he ended up blirting out his needs. "I need two horses."
"Then which two items will you trade?" Deogratius asked, his eyes reverting to their brown color. Milas was released from the charm skill and had to process his thoughts for a moment. "I'll trade the ring and the longsword."
"I'll send someone to deliver the horses. At exactly midnight, the horses will be brought to the top of the bald ridge. Don't worry about finding it, I'll organize for you and that little ghoul friend of yours to be stationed there." Deogratius seemed to be done talking. Milas reached for the door when he heard Deogratius speak. "One more thing, the Lord's son will be at bald ridge too. I order you to punch him twice at the worst possible times."
Milas felt his slave tattoo heat up briefly as the order was received. He could only sigh deeply and leave the carriage. The items he received had been stored in his bracelet. He went back to his dorm room and waited for Asher to show up. "Now that I've received this stupid order, I gotta avoid the Lord's son. I'm not gonna let something like this ruin my perfect chance at freedom."
Asher took a key out of his bracelet's storage and opened the door to his house. The place was empty and reeked of alcohol. Sighing with relief, Asher walked straight to his room and grabbed a few pairs of clothes. He then went to his dad's room and took a few swords and daggers among the ones piled up in one corner of the room. Asher then went to leave the house, hopefully forever.
At the door, he remembered something and rushed back to his room. He rummaged through the drawers but didn't find anything. He left his room and went to his brother's room and did a thorough search. In the end he couldn't find what he was looking for.
"I'm going to kill that bastard when I see him. " Asher growled. He left the house in a rage not even bothering to close the door. Asher rushed back to school and went straight to Milas' room. He walked in without even bothering to knock. Milas was putting on his light armour when he heard Asher walk in. "I got the horses dude. But we have to wait till midnight. They'll also be delivered at Bald ridge. I don't know where that is so we have to find it before midnight. What's going on with your eyes?"
"What are you talking about?" Asher asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Your eyes are pitch black."
"Oh right!" Asher blinked a few times and his eyes went back to their normal color. The two boys talked while sharing the clothes and weapons Asher brought. They left the dorms and joined the crowd of students gathered at the school's gate. Milas noticed that students from other years had also joined. He even caught a glimpse of Claus and Veruca.
The students were lead through the tunnels that served as entrances and exits to the settlement. They crossed a few gates and were soon outside the crater. There was a large open field with vampire soldiers all wearing dark armour moving about. The soldiers themselves looked calm as they efficiently prepared their gear and gathered into teams before disappearing into the thick jungle. The students were gathered outside a large tent and ordered to arrange themselves according to their year.
A grizzled man walked out of the tent in a huff. He had a large scar running down the side of his face. A long halberd was tied to his back, its edge pulsing with a dull red glow. 'This guy must be in charge. But why does he have a scar on his face? I thought vampires could heal from anything as long as they drink enough blood.'
"There are three possible reasons." Van said. Milas was surprised that the grumpy bird was willing to talk. He didn't say anything and let Van continue. "The first is that the wound was caused by something that hinders healing. You're still young so you haven't encountered anything like that yet. The second is that the cause of the wound plagues his mind. Vampire healing is greatly affected by your mental state. If you keep thinking about the wound too much it might stop it from healing or leave a scar. The key is that you have to truly believe that the wound you have can heal naturally. The last and most likely reason is that he thinks it makes him look cool so he stopped the scar from fading away."
"I hate having to deal with you inexperienced brats but I don't have a choice. You will be defending the sleeping ridge that acts as a natural barrier. Now follow your teachers and join the other brats that had the minimum decency to show up early." The scarred man turned and walked back into the tent leaving the students to stare at their teachers. The teachers took turns calling out the names of different students with each one lining up behind the teacher that called them.
Milas looked at the group he had been called into and sighed. 'This has Deogratius written all over it.' He looked at Asher and Step who were standing near him. He then turned his gaze toward Aileen who was frowning deeply. He then looked at Claus and Veruca who were smiling darkly at him. He the looked at the teacher leading them and felt like that was the only good thing happening today. 'Sigh, that old bastard is really making this hard.'
"Follow me, you guys are being stationed at a part of the sleeping ridge called the bald ridge. It's both the safest and most dangerous place to be stationed depending on how lucky you'll get." The teacher leading them was the dorm master for the first years. "So, this is the plan. When we get there, we'll meet those pompous pricks from the Royal Academy. Just ignore them and do your own thing. Also, there'll be no teachers around since we'll be fighting the wolves deeper in the jungle. Most of the wolves you meet will be basic tier with a few intermediate tiers mixed in. Last thing, there are other beasts in the jungle not just wolves so keep an eye out."
The group reached the top of the ridge with a wide clearing. In the middle was a group of teenagers in dark purple uniforms. The dorm master left them standing there and left with a few parting words as he struted into the jungle. "One last thing, I'm not trying to jinx you guys but I really hope you do'nt meet any elemental type wolves. It'll be a real shame to have to bury all of you."