Aimes gave the rope around the massive oak a final tug. "Ya sure ya wanna go first?" He looked towards Alex, who had the other end of the rope tied around his waist.

  Alex nodded as he fiddled with the knot that held the rope tight around him. "Yeah, let's just get this over with. If I slip, you can pull me back up. There's no way I can pull you back up if you slip."

  "I ain't that big, am I?" the large farm boy mocked anger.

  "You are, but it's all muscle. And you'll need all of them when I tumble down this cliff." Alex laughed at his partner's feigned indignation, which relieved some of the stress he had been feeling about going down the cliff.

  He looked down one last time, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath through his nose. There was no way around it. They had to go down to reach the river, and the cliff had gone on as far as he could see. If they searched for a safer way down, they might lose track of the river. He looked at Aimes to make sure his partner was ready before steeling himself and taking the first step down the cliff. A few pebbles scattered down the steep cliff before disappearing into the trees below.

  So far, this had been going better than expected. But of course that couldn't last. He was about halfway down the cliff when Alex felt the first raindrops hit his head. The cliff was dangerous as it was. Adding rain to that would make it even worse.

  "Alex?" Aimes yelled down from on top of the cliff. "Are ya alright? Why did ya stop?"

  "I felt a raindrop. I think it's going to rain soon."

  "So did I. We better hurry."

  Aimes was right. Delaying his journey down would be of no help to either of them. The rain was not too bad yet. If he hurried down, Aimes might at least get a start down the cliff before it got too bad. The first drops were already darkening the few rocks inside the dirt wall. Alex swallowed and continued his descent. The rope tightened around his waist, a harsh reminder that Aimes was the only thing between him and a freefall. Wet dirt clung to his hands as the rainfall increased.

  "Almost there," he whispered to himself.

  More pebbles dislodged from the wall and skittered past his boots. Aimes must have felt him slowing down as he yelled from atop the cliff.

  "Don't look down. Ya're almost there. Don't wanna pressure ya, but this rain is really coming down."

  Alex shook his head and centered himself. Deep breath in. And out again. One step at a time. Aimes occasionally yelled encouragement down as Alex continued his descent. When his foot reached solid ground, Alex almost didn't believe it. He had actually done it. He climbed down the cliff. Like his life depended on it, he untied the rope around his waist.

  "Ya did it," Aimes yelled as he poked his head over the cliff. "My turn."

  Then it dawned on Alex. He wasn't up the cliff to hold on to the rope like Aimes had been for him. "Wait, how are you getting down? There's no one to hold onto the rope."

  "Just hold on tight! Rope's still around the tree, just not tied to it anymore. Ya got this," the muscular farm boy yelled from further away.

  A moment later, a bunch of rope was thrown down the cliff. Alex's eyes went wide as he realized what his partner meant. He was supposed to be the anchor now. It was his job to manage the slack in the rope. Then he saw Aimes taking the first steps down the cliff, his end of the rope now tied around his waist and the rope went tight in Alex's hands. He quickly moved his hands up the rope so there was more of it behind him.

  By the time Aimes was three-quarters down the cliff, rain was pouring out of the sky. Strands of Alex's blonde hair stuck to his face as the water drenched him. During his partner's descent, Alex had been slowly moving his hands back on the rope to give the muscular boy more rope to come down. One misstep and Aimes slipped on the muddy wall.

  The rope snapped tight. Alex's boots skidded forward in the fresh mud. He braced himself against the muddy wall and thanked whoever was out there that he was still so close to it.

  "Ya alright?" Aimes asked as he found his footing on the wet wall again.

  "I am. Are you?" Alex responded.

  "I'm okay. Just trusted a rock I shouldn'a. I'mma get going again, okay?"

  Alex nodded before realizing Aimes couldn't see that. "Yes, go ahead. I got you."

  Both boys held each other in a tight hug once Aimes reached the bottom of the cliff. They had done it. Both of them had made their way down safely.

  "Good job," Zeth's voice startled the boys out of their hug. The assassin had appeared beside them in his signature cloud of black smoke. His clothes were still completely dry signaling he hadn't been stuck in the rain like they had been.

  "Unfortunate timing with the rain, but descending the cliff was the right idea," Zeth continued. "Next time, tie the rope around your thigh as well. Create a crude harness. Just around the waist can be dangerous. Less likely to flip if you slip."

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  Before either of them could ask their teacher any questions, the assassin covered himself in smoke and was gone again. Aimes and Alex both burst into laughter.

  "What was that?" Aimes asked between laughs.

  "I think that may have been praise? Not sure?"

  They continued laughing at the situation as the rain poured down on them.

  "What were you thinking letting me go first?" Alex asked once the laughter calmed down again. "You would have been way better suited to hold me down here than I was for you."

  Aimes shrugged. "Ya seemed nervous. If I told ya the plan, I doubt ya woulda gone for it. So I just let ya do what ya thought was best."

  Alex shook his head. "Thank you, Aimes. You're right. If you had argued about who went first up there, I doubt I would have gone at all." He looked at their drenched clothes. "We should probably find some kind of temporary shelter to sit out this rain. I doubt many other students will be making their way to the classroom during this downpour."

  Aimes agreed; they collected the rope and headed toward the river. According to the map, there were a few shelters by the river, so it was still their best bet. And if they found shelter, it would fulfill one of the optional objectives of his quest. Though he wasn't sure any of that mattered. The quest log was just his body trying to wrap its head around this new world, so he doubted there were any rewards tied to the quest.

  Luck was on their side. After reaching the river, they immediately saw one of the shelters just past a bend in the river. Which was good, as the rain didn't seem like it was slowing down anytime soon. Without exchanging words, they both ran towards the simple structure. It was a small cabin made of debarked oak logs. The inside couldn't be larger than a single room, and there were two windows at the front of the cabin, one on each side of the simple door. It wasn't anything fancy, but that wasn't necessary right now.

  Alex reached the cabin first. His feet slid in the mud as he came to a halt. He looked back to see Aimes was not too far behind. However, he would rather wait inside the cabin than out in the pouring rain. The door didn't budge. No matter how much force he put on it, it wouldn't open.

  "What's wrong?" Aimes had a worried look on his face as he slowed down.

  "It won't open."

  "Ya tried pulling?" Aimes smirked.

  "Of course I did," Alex's answer was short. He was tired of standing out in the rain and had no time for Aimes' jokes. "Sorry, didn't mean to come off as rude. It's just this rain, you know."

  Aimes nodded, understanding the sentiment. Both of their heads turned to the door as they heard movement inside the cabin.

  "Is someone there?" Alex shouted at the door, hoping to get the attention of whoever or whatever was inside. "Can you let us in? We're drowning out here in this rain."

  "Alex? Is that you?" A familiar voice came from inside.

  "Hyntia? Yes, it's me. Please let us in."

  A soft mechanical click came from the cabin door, followed by the rattling of metal chains. The door slowly opened and Hyntia peeked through the small opening. Once she saw it was indeed Alex, she opened it further and let them in. She immediately hugged him before he could get a good look at the inside of the cabin.

  "Thank Helene, it's you." She slowly let go of Alex.

  Contrary to Alex and Aimes, she was still completely dry. She had likely been inside the cabin since before the rain had started. Her vibrant green hair was wild and filled with dirt, twigs, and leaves. She looked like she had already spent an entire week out in the woods.

  "Are ya alright, miss?" Aimes asked.

  Hyntia stared at the large farm boy as if she only just now realized Alex wasn't alone. "I... I'm fine."

  "Where's Ghel? You two were paired up, right?" Alex placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her out of her trance.

  "Right, he's in the back. You have to help him." She ran towards a bed at the back of the cabin.

  As Alex had thought from the outside, the cabin was really just one room. Aside from the bed Hyntia was running to, a simple stove, and a table with two chairs, there was nothing else inside. The stove was already running, for which Alex was very grateful. It would at least dry his clothes somewhat while they waited for the rain to stop.

  "Help him? What happened?" he followed Hyntia to the bed.

  Ghel was lying on the bed, sweat covering his forehead. Blood drenched a crude bandage wrapped around his upper leg. How had that happened? More importantly, how had Zeth allowed that to happen? Where was he? How could he leave one of his students to just lie there, bleeding?

  "We fell; something pierced his leg. I tried to help, but he's just getting worse."

  Alex looked at Aimes, hoping he had some insights on what to do. Sure, he had seen a few medical dramas back on Earth, but doubted anything he learned from them would be useful, or even true. The farm boy was more likely to have some experience with first aid.

  "What pierced him?" Aimes' accent seemed to diminish further as he got serious.

  "A branch, I pulled it out. I shouldn't have, should I?"

  Even Alex knew the answer to that. If it had hit an artery, leaving it in was the best option until he could get professional help. Pulling it out only risked him bleeding out. Aimes grimaced at the mention of pulling it out. Once again, Alex wondered where the hell Zeth was. What kind of teacher was he?

  Aimes inspected the bandage around Ghel's leg. "You're right, you shouldn't have, but judging by the amount of blood on the bandage, it should still be fine. If it had hit an artery, he would have bled out by now."

  Hyntia's face went white at the thought of what she could have done to her friend. Tears burst from her eyes, and she collapsed to the floor. Alex placed a hand on her shoulder.

  "Did you clean the wound before wrapping the bandage around it?" The muscular started unwrapping the blood-drenched bandage from around Ghel's leg.

  Hyntia shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please help him."

  Aimes placed their backpack on the ground and pulled the waterskin out. He poured the clean water onto the wound, washing away the blood and dirt that covered it. From the look on his face, Alex could see something was wrong.

  Looking over his shoulder, Alex saw some greenish foam forming around the wound. He didn't know what it was, but it didn't look good. Aimes walked away from Ghel and pulled Alex aside.

  "It's bad, isn't it?"

  "It is, though I ain't sure why. I doubt it was a normal branch that pierced him." Aimes whispered.

  "Is there anything we can do?" Alex cursed Zeth and the entire school inside his mind for letting anything like this happen. It was their second day at the academy, and Ghel was already fighting for his life. What kind of school was this?

  "We've got that vial of Helene's Recovery. It's the only thing I can think of." The farm boy pulled the vial filled with red liquid out of his pocket. When had he grabbed it from the backpack? "If we use it now, we won't have any left in case anything happens to either of us."

  Alex looked back at Ghel on the bed and Hyntia crying on the ground. He didn't care about what Elderwind had said about letting people use him. They were his friends, and they needed his help.