The trip to the Vibrant Woods only took four days. Noah could have made it far faster if he used his flying sword – which hadn’t gotten a ton of usage as of recent weeks, but that would have required everyone else to get one as well, but that would have required both buying them and learning how to use them, not to mention Isabel and Todd didn’t have any Wind Runes.

He could have asked Moxie to fund things, but in the end they all decided a normal trip would be fastest. It went without trouble and after a fairly quiet yet fast paced trip, the group found themselves at their destination.

The Vibrant Woods lived up to their name. Trees in every shade of the rainbow rose up before them. Many of them didn’t even resemble trees in shape, their trunks twisting and winding around each other like some strange painting. With Moxie at the lead, they all headed in and just walked, simply absorbing the environment.

No two trees looked the same, and finding similar ones wasn’t easy either. If anything, it felt like Noah had stepped into a particularly creative child’s painting. The forest smelled like earth and maple syrup with just a dash of fresh grass tossed in.

Despite the strange shape of the woods, they weren’t nearly as densely packed as Noah had been expecting. There was more than enough room to see through the trees and a good amount of sunlight came through the branches above, illuminating the area well. Although there were several tight clusters of trees around them, nothing was so dense that it would impede movement.

“Wow,” Todd breathed, turning in a slow circle as he took the forest in. “This place is beautiful.”

“It’s just a forest,” Emily muttered. “I’ve seen better.”

Noah was on Todd’s side. A small bunch of blue mushrooms caught his eye beneath a pile of colorful leaves. They glowed with a gentle green hue, and he resisted the urge to poke them. If there was ever anything poisonous, then it was definitely the mushrooms.

“What kind of monsters should we expect here?” Isabel asked, keeping her stance light.

“That’s something you’ll be determining yourself,” Moxie replied. “It’s part of the survival training.”

“Don’t worry, though,” Noah added. “We’re going to be here to make sure nothing goes poorly. We aren’t dropping you off the deep end.”

“You aren’t supposed to tell them that,” Moxie said, leaning in to whisper into Noah’s ear with an irritated frown. “It’ll make them try less.”

“Bah. Give them some credit. They aren’t lazy,” Noah said. Then he noted the relieved expression on Emily’s face and cleared his throat. “They probably aren’t lazy.”

Moxie rolled her eyes. Noah spotted Lee inching toward the colorful mushrooms and grabbed her by the back of her shirt a moment before she pounced, pulling her back over to their side.

“Don’t eat the colorful mushrooms.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re probably poisonous.”

“Not to me.”

“You’re supposed to be setting an example,” Noah said. “You’re a professor, Lee. What are the kids going to think if you go around eating random colorful things that are clearly unsafe to eat?”

“For all the things I think I’d listen to Lee about, I don’t think food is one of them.” Todd said as he took a careful step away from the mushrooms. “She’s got other talents.”

Isabel laughed. Emily looked from her to Todd, and a quick frown passed over her face. It was gone before Noah could even properly register it, but a glance at Moxie showed that she’d noticed it as well.

 “There’s no reason to waste time standing around, so we should set off and find a place to start,” Moxie said, choosing a direction and starting into the forest. The rest of them followed after her.

While they walked, Noah and Lee both kept their heads on a swivel, searching for any signs of monsters. Noah suspected Moxie was doing the same thing, but she was a lot better at multitasking.

“What’s the first thing we should be doing, assuming we’re going to be staying in the area for two weeks?” Moxie asked.

“Food?” Lee offered.

“No comments from the other teachers.”

“Food?” Todd repeated.

“Wrong,” Moxie said. “Kill monsters for sustenance if you need it. Food is important, but it isn’t vital. Next guess?”

“Somewhere safe and defensible,” Emily said.

Moxie looked over her shoulder and gave Emily a nod. “Correct. Good job, Emily. So, we need somewhere safe. But how do we find something like that?”

“Top of the trees, maybe?” Isabel suggested. Noah started to nod in agreement, but stopped when Moxie shook her head.

“That might work against really stupid monsters that are land based, but you don’t know what you’re up against here,” Moxie said, stepping around a large bunch of twisting trees that resembled a colorful bonfire rising up from the dirt. “What if there are flying monsters? Or if there’s something that can climb a tree? You could get surrounded.”

“It’s a trick question,” Emily said. “There isn’t any sort of completely safe area when we don’t know what we’re up against. The best strategy is to find an open area with more than one route of escape and then erect some form of defense around it.”

Moxie nodded again. “Exactly. You’ve got a few options, depending on exactly what angle you’re going for. If you have the energy, figuring out what kind of enemies you’re surrounded by is the best strategy. But, if you’re rushed, then find an open area and leave yourselves a way out of it.”

“So maybe a big forest clearing?” Isabel suggested. “But wouldn’t it be more likely for a big monster to be in an area like that?”

“It could be,” Moxie allowed. She stopped, spotting something in the road, and pointed to it. “That’s why you need to use your head. One thing to remember is that large monsters are often territorial. Most monsters are, really. But bigger ones usually control more territory. So…”

“If you take out the big one, then you’re probably going to be pretty safe from the others, at least for the time being,” Todd finished with a grin. Isabel nodded in agreement. Emily, who was about to speak, closed her mouth and sent him a glare.

“Exactly,” Moxie said. “Take a look at this.”

They all crowded around her. A large, clawed footprint had been pressed into the ground. It was roughly the size of Noah’s forearm, and had four deep puncture marks in the ground at the end. It was part of a trail that ran across the ground perpendicularly before them.

“Footprint,” Lee said helpfully. “Probably lots of meat on whatever left it.”

“What can you tell me about this?” Moxie asked. Emily opened her mouth and Moxie held a finger up. “Not you, Emily. Let the others answer a bit more, since it looks like you remember a lot of this lesson.”

Emily nodded and looked away.

“It’s probably pretty big,” Isabel said, chewing her lower lip. “The footsteps are spaced far apart as well, so I guess it’s bipedal?”

“With big claws, judging by the punctures in the ground,” Todd added. “Maybe some form of monkey like the Slashers?”

From what I recall in the dossier, there’s only one monkey-ish monster in the area, but that one didn’t have claws. This is probably left by one of the monsters under the control of the Starhawk. Those claws are probably talons. There was a big ass flightless bird called a Beakfoot – I’d bet this is what that was. But what kind of bird is this heavy? I guess I know why the thing can’t fly.

“Could be,” Moxie allowed, not letting any information slip out from her reaction. “Any other ideas?”

“Some form of bear walking around on its hind legs?” Todd offered. “I’d feel like the footprints would be heavier if that was the case, though.”

“Another possibility,” Moxie said with a nod. “Keep thinking on it. But, at this point, I’m going to let the three of you choose our next direction. Where do we want to go?”

Todd and Isabel had what looked like an entire conversation in the span of a single glance. It was the sort of thing that only came through years of familiarity with each other. As one, they both pointed in the direction that the monster had gone.

“Let’s follow it,” Isabel said. “Like you said, if we’re in an area that a stronger creature has control over and we defeat the creature, then we’ll probably be relatively safe.”

Emily, who had been about to say something, let her mouth close and pressed her lips together. When Moxie looked to Emily to get her thoughts, Emily just shrugged. Noah’s brow furrowed.

Is she feeling left out because of how close Todd and Isabel are? Or maybe she was hoping to show off a little more, but isn’t getting the chance. It feels like she’s not part of the group, even though I’m sure they’re not doing it intentionally. If I mention anything now, it’ll just make things worse. I should keep an eye on it and step in if nothing changes, though.

“Then it looks like we’ve found our course of action.” Moxie gestured for them to move. “Take over. Let’s see how you do.”

They set off, following the trail of footprints. Even though the students were at the lead, Noah and Moxie both had their Runes close at hand in case something dove to ambush them. Lee was equally as prepared if not more – Noah was pretty sure nothing was going to sneak up on Lee with her nose.

Minutes stretched on. The group didn’t have too much difficulty tailing the footprints because of how deep they were, but they remained as quiet as possible to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves.

Luckily, the environment in the Vibrant Woods was comfortable. The worst of the sun’s heat was absorbed by the shade of the trees, and a faint breeze running through them was more than enough to keep them cool during the hike.

As they passed by a tree whose branches arced overhead like a pathway, a green blur snapped down from above them. The only sound it made was a faint rustling hiss. Isabel and Todd reacted instantly, spinning toward the source of the noise. A churning blade of wind shot from Noah’s fingertips and vines whipped out from around Moxie’s feet, but Lee was faster.

She shot forward, slamming into the blur and ripping it in half with her bare hands before Noah’s spell could even finish leaving his fingertips. The blade of wind arced past her, carving into the trunk of the tree and ripping a deep gouge through it.

Lee dropped to the ground, holding two halves of a snake with bark-like skin. Gray blood dripped from its inside to the forest floor.

“Got it,” Lee said with a grin. “Can I eat this?”

Noah lowered his hands and chuckled. “Good job.”

Isabel and Todd both lowered their hands. Emily’s frown deepened and she turned away from them, her hand running over the Shield bracelet on her wrist. She’d been the only one that hadn’t responded in time.

“Keep moving,” Moxie said, not leaving them time to stand around. “We’ve got a monster to track, don’t we?”

The students all nodded and turned back to the trail, setting off once more. They continued through the forest, this time keeping a closer eye on the branches above them.

A little less than half an hour passed when they all came to a stop at the edge of a large clearing, taking cover behind a bundle of interlocked trees. A big nest of tree limbs had been arranged in the center of the clearing like a spiky barricade.

Sitting in the center of the nest was a large brown and blue monster. It roughly resembled a penguin that had gotten stuck in a blender, with thick, jagged feathers jutting out in every direction.

It was facing away from them, but Noah could still see its long, curved beak. The monster stood a little taller than two times his height, and it looked focused on something inside the nest.

“That’s a big ass bird,” Todd whispered. “Can we handle it?”

“That’s for you to figure out,” Moxie said in a hushed whisper. “Just remember that talking or sitting around too long could result in getting spotted. Learn to make quick but informed decisions.”

“We should–” Emily started.

“We can handle it,” Isabel said firmly, her fingers twitching at her side. “Let’s go, Todd.”

Emily closed her mouth, irritation passing over her features, and shook her head. “Fine. Whatever.”

The three of them stepped out into the clearing. The monster’s head instantly jerked up and it spun toward them, its beak opening to reveal rows upon rows of jagged teeth as it let out a screech of challenge.

Here we go. Let’s see how they handle this ugly bastard.