Chapter 15 - Lost In The Woods

"Professor, what dangers are in the forest?" A student, a young boy, asked.

"Well, there's always the chance a wayward monster is walking by, or bandits, or a dragon, or if you fall and break your legs, the possibilities are just endless." Professor Kal said in an all too chipper tone, causing many of the students to grimace.

"But don't worry, nothing will befall you, as long as you stick together." Professor Kal tried to sound reassuring, but failed to assuage the student's sudden fears.

"Now hurry up, time waits for no man." He shooed the students aways, flapping his arms like a deranged bird.

The students went their separate ways, tromping into the forest. Professor Treffle stayed next to Professor Kal, waiting for him to tell her what he wanted her to do. Professor Kal didn't say anything, just looked off into the distance, looking like he was deep in thought. She was about to say something when some movement caught her eye. A hawk had swooped down from the tree tops, landing on Professor Kal's outstretched arm.

Sarah was startled slightly, seeing the large bird swoop towards them, even more so when she looked at it closer once it landed. The hawk was transparent, she was able to make out the trees on the other side of the predatory bird. It moved just like a living bird, jerking its head as it looked around.

"Professor Kal, what is that creature?" Sarah asked, never seeing anything like it.

Stroking the hawk's head, Professor Kal answered. "This? This is a Phantom Familiar, I summoned him to help keep an eye out."

"A summons? Are you very proficient in that branch of magic?" Sarah asked, finding this rude man more and more interesting.

"I suppose you could say that I am." He said, launching the Phantom Familiar up into the air.

…..

Laura was leading the way, leaving no stone unturned as she and her group searched for herbs. She was motivated now more than ever, she'd been that way ever since she discovered her element. Ever since that day, her family had prioritized her education, seeing how rare her affinity was. She was even getting several marriage proposals a day, once word of it spread. She was still a little too young for that, but the mere fact that she was desired by so many boosted her ego greatly.

"There." Richard quietly said, pointing to a spot under a tree not too far away.

He'd been pointing out herbs since they started combing the forest. He seemed to have a knack for finding them, almost like a sixth sense. He was able to spot them from far away, even when they were covered up by other weeds or hidden in the shadows of trees.

Ryan made his way over to the area Richard had highlighted, amazed, once again, to find an herb there, waiting to be plucked. He bent down, and with a small knife, cut the stem at an angle. Cutting it so, would allow the herb to more easily regrow so they could come back later and reharvest it. He gently placed the herb into his pack, paying mind in order not to bruise the broad leaves of the plant. With another one successfully gathered, the small group moved on, deeper into the forest.

After another hour of walking, they all agreed that they should turn back. They were only exploring the forest for the first four hours of the day, so they wanted to leave plenty of time in case they ran into any unforeseen situations. Laura took lead again, just like she had the entire day, but soon slowly came to a stop.

"Uh, which way do we take?" She asked, her voice going up in pitch towards the end.

"What do you mean? We were following you!" Ben exclaimed, already knowing what she was getting at.

"I was just walking, I thought you guys were keeping track of the way back!" She shouted out, trying to defend herself.

"You mean we're lost?!" Ryan added his two cents.

"AAARRRGGH!" Laura screamed, nearly pulling her hair out, startling the three boys behind her.

"What are we gonna do?" Ryan asked, a worried look on his face.

He looked over at Richard, hoping that his sixth sense with locating herbs would translate over into directions. Richard just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, opting not to say anything, like usual. Ryan let out a sigh, finding a fallen tree, and sitting on the trunk.

"Let's break a marble, I'm sure Professor Kal will come and get us." Ben suggested to the group.

"No way! We're not in danger, and I don't want him to think we can't handle being left alone." Laura squashed Ben's suggestion right out of the gate.

"Then what do we do, oh great leader?" Ben spat out sarcastically.

"Just follow me. We walked in a straight line getting here right? We'll just do the same on the way back." Laura confidently said, but hesitated when picking a direction.

"C'mon, let's go." Ben said to the other two, succumbing to Laura's strong will.

After a few more minutes of walking, Laura stopped. Talking to herself, she changed direction, walked a little bit further then stopped again. She turned around, looking at the three boys following her. Her eyes were brimming with tears, tears of frustration, embarrassment, and fear. They were lost, and it was her fault, at least that's how she felt. In reality, she shared the blame with everyone present, but she had taken up the mantle of leader when she led the way, so she took most of the blame.

"I'm sorry, I messed up." Was all she said, her head lowered, looking at the ground.

Ben didn't say anything, just rolled his eyes. He was annoyed at Laura for not admitting it sooner, but couldn't bring himself to rub salt in her wounds. Ryan on the other hand went up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

"It's alright. No one's hurt. We can just crush a marble and…." His speech was interrupted by the rustling of some bushes not too far from where they stood.

Everyone's attention turned towards the bush, the leaves parting, allowing a creature to walk out of them. A large wolf, with shaggy dark grey fur, stepped out from its hiding spot, unafraid of the four humans waiting for it. It stood five feet high at its shoulders, and about eight feet from head to tail, it was a dire wolf. Holding its head high, it stopped to look at the group.

"Crush the marble, quick, do it!" Laura whispered to whoever would listen as she backed up, bumping into ben.

They were all staring at the dire wolf, the wolf staring back at them. Ben crushed his marble in his hand, Ryan stomped on his with his foot. Richard brought his out, but dropped it on the ground because of his trembling fingers. Luckily, it broke easily when it hit the hard soil. Laura actually threw hers at the wolf, missing it completely. The wolf looked back at where the marble broke against a tree trunk, then turned back to the group.

"Now what?" asked Ben, expecting something to happen when they broke all their marbles, but not seeing anything.

"I don't know, maybe it'll leave us alone? It hasn't done anything yet, it's just looking at us." Ryan said, hoping it was just a curious wolf that would get bored soon.

"Yeah, May…" Laura was rudely interrupted by a loud static sound coming from behind them.

They whipped around, seeing a second dire wolf had thrown itself at the four students, being stopped by a golden dome of light that was still flickering from the impact. A third and fourth wolf were flanking the one still recovering from ramming into the barrier, snarling, and hackles raised. The original wolf had now shed its placid demeanor, baring its fangs and joining its pack, circling the four terrorfied students.

The golden shield had now disappeared, the students nor the wolves knew if it was still there or not. This put them into a stalemate, the wolves circling, not daring to jump at their prey, and the children, too scared to move a muscle.

"Spirits of wind, hear my call. Go forth and slash my enemies!" Ben shouted out, being the first to act.

An invisible blade of wind shot out from Ben's hand, going past where the barrier had been, and striking a wolf in the shoulder. The wolf yelped, both in surprise and pain, blood visible in its shaggy coat of fur. Two of its comrades took this chance to lunge forward, thinking that if they could be attacked, they could attack in turn.

Ben, still high on his successful spell, flinched when the wolves lunged towards them. Laura screamed out, expecting, at any second, fangs to come in and rip her throat out. Ryan was scared stiff, eyes wide and face ashen white. Richard was squatted on the ground, head between his knees with his arms covering his head. They all thought they were going to die, all of their dreams left unfulfilled.

The two wolves impacted the barrier at the same time, bouncing off of it like rocks skipping on a pond. Ripples spread out just like a pond as well, soon covering the entire golden dome. As the group let out a sigh of relief, the ripples compounded on each other, until, like shattering glass, the golden dome exploded. The explosion pushed the wolves back a few steps, but didn't deter them in wanting to fill their bellies.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods." Laura couldn't help but say as she watched the bloodied wolf limp towards them, blood and saliva mixed dripping out of his mouth.

Ryan and Ben held each other in their arms, crying as the wolves tested the area the barrier had broken. Richard was finally talking, mumbling something intelligible under his breath, rocking back and forth. They all closed their eyes, giving into their fear, waiting for their deaths.

"What the Hells are you four doing?" A cold, deep voice suddenly came from the forest, overwhelming the sounds of snarling.

Ryan looked up from Ben's embrace, there, standing under the shade of a tall sycamore tree, was Professor Kal.