Galekin

Chapter 9, Survival Mission

*Lydia's POV*

It has been three months since Theo's birthday. It was now February, and the snow had just left the ground. It hadn't been that cold a winter, but throughout the past two months there had been snow. We spend most our time training indoors, since many people complained it was too cold to train outside.

Weaklings.

Now, our group was seated in a classroom, listening to Roland's explanation. Roland had just told us we were going to be surviving in the wild for a full week for an assignment. He had picked a forest near the Pony Inn as our location.

The Pony Inn was where one of our allies lived. Ivo, the bomber. He had the gift of teleportation. Besides running the Pony Inn, which was a great way to gather information, he also made splendid potion and bombs.

All in all, I was quite glad about the location. The forest surrounding the Pony Inn was in a valley, which meant it wasn't going to be that cold. Not that the cold bothered me much anyway. I build up a cold resistance over the years. The location was also not too far from Silvercliff, so we didn't have to travel far.

After explaining all the rules, for example telling us that we weren't allowed to buy food or drinks and really had to rely on the wild, Roland left us to our own devices.

I sighed and Theo kicked the chair I was sitting in as a result. "If you are going to spend the next week complaining, I'm out."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"So, what's the plan?" Chris asked as he got up from his seat and sat on the empty table next to me. Theodore got up and sat down on the table in front of me. Amber sat on Sereen's table. Sereen was seated next to me.

Amber and Sereen had gotten quite close the past few months. Whether or not it was genuine on Sereen's side I didn't know, but it was great to dodge suspicions. Chris and Theodore had gotten close too, but Theo and I were closer. Chris was still more of a solo player and was more interested in Sereen than anyone else.

Theodore and I had become 'best friends' and he often told me things about the castle, like all the secret entry and exit ways. The idiot was so gullible, he was telling me secret information.

"Looking at the area it will be pretty easy. The valley probably won't be as cold as the forests surrounding Silvercliff." Sereen stated looking at the map of the area.

"The valley isn't a highly traveled area either. If we avoid the main roads, which we have to anyway, hunting for food won't be difficult." I added crossing my arms.

Chris nodded. "We have the perfect weapons for this too. My axe can be used to make shelter, both Lydia and Amber have bows for hunting and Sereen is a knife user, so she can skin animals easily."

Sereen and I nodded in agreement.

"M-maybe..." Amber paused, making sure she was allowed to speak, "we should make camp near this river. We can catch f-fish too."

I nodded again. Amber might be shy but when it comes to hunting she clearly has enough knowledge. "That's a great idea Amber!" Sereen exclaimed as she got up from her seat and hugged her. Amber blushed.

"We're not allowed to take a fishing pole right?" Theo spoke up.

"You can make a fishing pole from materials in the forest." Sereen replied. Theo made an 'O' shape with his mouth.

"Looking at the river and the forest, this would be the best place to set up camp." I pointed to an opening near the riverbank and close to a small hill. "The hill will shield us from cold winds. We should make some sort of tent to keep the wind out as soon as we get there. The cold might be our only real problem."