Entering The Forge 3

When the ragtag group of children and adults descended from the carriage in the City of The Forge, the kids and the younger adults were a little bleary eyed from sleepiness. The adults on the other hand were a little stiff and almost hobbled their way through the doors of the inn they had rented rooms in, those so disposed going the the bar and ordering a drink while the rest moved to their rooms. 

For the young ones, the trip had been the longest of their lives, and even with the expanded space of the inside of the carriage those young ones had felt constricted and restrained. But that tension of being pent up also was tiring in its own way, Cassie, Gunnar and his other cousins sluggishly climbed the stairs at their parent's direction and collapsed in a heap fast asleep.

Tomorrow would begin the entrance to The Forge, so this might be their last deep un-watchful sleep for the next few weeks until the survival camp ended and regular classes began in earnest. After the classes started the basic class students wouldn't get unrestricted sleep til they became one of the Refined and gained control of their own schedule. For some that would be a couple of years but for others it might be as soon as they got back from the survival camp, when they first offered placement testing.But that would have to wait for now, at the moment the two children were with their parents, still safe and sound, sleeping deeply.

The next morning the group both young and older began the walk through the town center. From there they would have to walk through the town to its western edge then out through the gate and on through a forest. The forest ran from the edge of the city to the foot of the mountain that housed The Forge over five miles away, with various overgrown paths and a few marked roads to the sides. The returning advanced and basic students, as well as the parents, could ride various animals or hire one the city's coaches to take them to the gates of The Forge.

The incoming orelings however, would have to make their way, alone or in pairs all the way through the forest and through the gates. If they hadn't all filtered in by their assigned days nightfall, someone would be send through the woods to collect them and bring them to the school. Most of the children, at this point, would have some basic survival skills and would find their way through just find but on occasion a student might fall down a den or into one the swampy areas of the forest floor. 

As Gunnar and Cassie stood at the edge of the forest waiting for their turn after Gunnar's cousins set off on their chosen paths, reducing the number of paths available to the pair down to only three. The first of the three was to the far right and followed a creek that flowed out of the forest and then along the walls of the city. The second, Gunnar could see led through a patch of rocky ground where the path looked hard to make out. The last was a darker more overgrown path and looked like they would get caught on limbs and briars.

Gunnar looked at the there paths and then turned to Cassie. "Well dear pathfinder, what path do we take? You have the edge on me here, you've always been better and navigating than me." 

 Cassie rolled her eyes at her friend. "You just want me to take the blame if we actually get lost. mot that we really could between her and the gates. It's only five miles." 

The two laughed and conferred for a moment before taking the path along the creek. The path would diverge from the creek surely, but if the two lost their way in the gloom of the forest they could follow the sound of the creek to reorient themselves. 

 after making their choice the pair set off down the path walking steadily, knowing that if they got in too much a hurry in unknown woods that they would increase their chances of getting lost. After walking up the creek they came to a place where the growth of the forest grew over making the creek almost a tunnel.

"The tunnel might continue for a while or might end just out of sight. Do you think we should split off or try the creek, Gunnar?"

"Let's split off for now. Mark the trail as we go so that we can retrace our steps if we need too." Gunnar spoke as he surveyed the trees before them. "The growth is so thick we can't see the mountain but our sense of direction should be pretty good still so head off in the direction of the gates and we will climb a tree to check that we are headed in the right direction."

After many small choices like this, many ended paths and just as many found paths, the duo broke free of the forest only two and a half hours later. As the two walked toward the gate they saw their respective parents waiting at the registrar's table, seated and not looking worried at all.

Sheila noticed the two before the rest and grinned, poking at Risa and saying "I told you the brats would be okay. This forest is tiny compared to where they've been training up to now."

Risa rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know mother. I taught them how to navigate remember. you've been the one fretting over the time and the thickness of the trees."

Cassie's parents both laughed before her father turned back to the pair just as they came through the gates of The Forge. "You made excellent time, without rushing as well. You both did well, conserving your strength in an unfamiliar places so you would have it to spare if you actually needed it. You listened to the advice we've been giving you."

"Now, both of the you come over here and let me introduce you two one of the training teacher of the basic class." Mrs. Milton spoke as she waved the two over to a slim but powerfully built woman, with brown hair and brown eyes and a mischievous smirk on her face. Gunnar instantly felt he would get along with this woman. "This is Willow Hardstriker. She is one of the teachers selected from the advanced classes to come and observe the survival camp to better plan training this year."

"Hello auntie Hardstriker" Cassie chirped, while Gunnar simply smiled and nodded towards the woman.

"And don't call her auntie, Cassie, she is only 25. She blew through her advanced courses in four years so she's been teaching since she was about 17. So show some respect."

The woman smiled and stepped forward "Call me simply Willow, or if your must, Teacher. It's nice to meet you two and I am looking forward to both of you being my students and seeing how well you will do."

 Willow stepped back to the table and wrote something down. "Alright you two, you are the last two for this morning. So lets got get you settled in and after the rest of the students get here in a couple of days we will head out to the Camp."

The two kids nodded and followed behind the woman along with their parents. Both with wide eyes and curiosity overflowing.