118 Odd II

"Change of subject, then. Do you happen to have a book on the locale?" Noah asked. "Or at least some information on the monsters here?"

"I didn't bring one with me, but I did scan through one some time ago. I've taken this path before," Moxie replied. "There are a few monsters in the area. Snufflers, Darkwings, and Root Fiends. I suppose there are also the plants, but I don't know if you can classify those as monsters."

Snufflers are the moles, Darkwings are the birds. Didn't run into any of the last ones, though.

"What about Great Monsters?" Noah asked.

Moxie shrugged. "It's possible. A lot of Great Monsters are pretty good at hiding. They're often intelligent enough to understand that others want their rune – both human and monster. Only the most powerful wander around without any concern."

"What about–"

"The Hellreaver was put there by the Linwicks on purpose. It was basically bred to use the Master Rune," Moxie said with a chuckle. "It was basically a spoiled brat with a Master Rune, just there to provide a good exam location for Arbitage."

It was also a sadistic bastard. No, I'm not biased.

"Ah," Noah said. He sat down near the fire, stretching according to some of Lee's lesson plans. He hadn't been the absolute best at keeping up with things over the past few weeks, but he was getting better – and he could feel his body getting slightly more limber as well. "How long do you think it'll be before Allen or Edward blows a gasket?"

"A gasket?" Moxie frowned.

"Whoops, ignore that. Nonsense words because I'm tired." Noah arched his back and something popped. He let out a content sigh. "Until they get mad is what I meant."

Moxie shrugged. "Who knows. Allen hates your guts, but he's pretty well known for being a measured individual. I doubt he'll actually attack you directly. Edward is a different concern. You do realize they're almost certain to leave a complaint when you get to the Linwick estate, right?"

"I figured. Nothing I can do about that. I wasn't going to let either of them push my students around. I'll stand by everything I did."

Moxie glanced to the side. "At least you actually do what you say."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind," Moxie said, shaking her head. "I'm going to go for a run around the camp to get warmed up. Are you planning to teach that lesson you promised today?"

"Yeah. In a few minutes I'll go around and get the students."

"Good. I'll be done by the time they're awake, then."

Moxie jogged off. Noah watched her leave, then turned to get Isabel and Todd – nearly walking straight into Lee as she materialized beside him. Noah bit back a curse.

"God, Lee. Can't you make a little noise?"

"No. It's more fun this way," Lee replied. She glanced over Noah's shoulder at Moxie. "Did she seem to be acting a little odd to you?"

"A bit," Noah said with a slight nod. "Is she still uncomfortable about… you know?"

Lee shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I've been trying to give her a little room to think. That's what you're supposed to do when you make someone mad, right?"

"I am not the person to ask for relationship advice," Noah said. "Life is too short to worry about it. Just do what makes you happy and doesn't screw over too many people. Now, I'm going to go get Todd and Isabel. Do you want to wake Emily up?"

"Sure," Lee replied.

They split off, heading to the appropriate stone tents. Before Noah could even reach his, Todd stepped out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, then rolled his neck.

"Sup, Teacherman."

Noah rolled his eyes. "You look very relaxed. Sleep well?"

"Like a baby. I can't say dirt is my favorite mattress, but I've slept on worse. I saw you talking with Lee. Does that mean we have a class?"

"Indeed we do. And, speaking of Lee – she's taught you Imbuement, right?"

"Yeah. Apparently, I've been doing some Body Imbuement without even realizing it. Makes sense in a roundabout sort of way." Todd chuckled.

"Really? Why?"

Todd's smile faded. "Maybe later, prof. It doesn't really matter anyway. Just some stuff from the past."

"Sure. I've got something for the present anyway." Noah pulled his grimoire out and flipped to the back, where there were still a few open pages. He tapped the it with one finger. "Think you can Imbue this?"

Todd blinked, then grinned. "Ah. Yeah, I can do that. Give me a moment."

He took the book from Noah and headed into his tent. At the same time, Isabel walked out of it. Her eyes flicked down to the book, then over to Noah.

"Good morning, Professor. Are we going to get to hunt again today?"

"Yeah, we are," Noah said. "Eager?"

"It's been a bit since I got to put more energy into my Runes, so yes. I'd also like to get some materials from them. I've heard the Linwick estate is pretty big, so there's probably a nice market there. Some spending money would be useful." The tone in Isabel's voice and the way her gaze had followed Todd when he'd walked into the tent with Noah's grimoire made it very clear that she didn't mean she wanted money to spend on trinkets.

Already looking to get your hands on some new Runes, eh? Good. Keep that drive up, Isabel.

"Then we'll make sure you can get some good practice in this morning. I'll save the proper explanation for when everyone is back," Noah said, rubbing his hands together. "We just have to wait for–"

Todd strode out of the tent, a smug grin on his face, and held the grimoire out to Noah. He took it, flipping to the rune in surprise. Todd couldn't have taken more than ten or twenty seconds to get it Imbued.

"That was fast," Noah said.

"He's a natural at it," Isabel said, rolling her eyes. "Don't give him too many compliments or his head will inflate."

"You're just mad that I'm better than you at something for once." Todd snickered.

Isabel glared at him. "I am not."

"Sure sounds like you are."

Isabel let out a huff. "Professor, when can we get to the training? I want to wipe that smirk off Todd's face."

"Once Emily and Moxie get back," Noah replied. "Maybe start with some stretching. I'm still doing that myself."

None of them were about to argue with that, so they all walked over to an open space in the grass and continued stretching while they waited for Moxie and Lee to show up with Emily.