The sun rose sluggishly over the Third Stratum, casting long shadows across a group that looked like the survivors of a very weird mud-wrestling tournament that had gone extremely wrong.
They walked painfully slowly; if a snail had been traveling in the same direction, it probably would have passed them with a polite nod.
"Pick up the pace!"
Felix wheezed; though he was currently leaning on a walking stick he'd fashioned from a crab leg.
"We need to... we need to..."
"We need to relax, Spoon."
Ignotus interrupted while walking at the front with his hands behind his back.
"The Academy isn't going anywhere."
He kicked a pebble, watching it skid through the dirt.
"Unless it has legs, which, knowing this realm, is a non-zero possibility. But assuming it's a normal building, it'll wait."
Ignotus checked his internal map.
