Main Camp

Fresh snow covered the road as the students set out at dawn. With only seven days to score as many points as they could, they had to arrive at their camping area as fast as possible. The professors sent them off with a map, compass, some horses, an emergency flare and enough supplies for three days.

Students were allowed to bring their own clothes, snow gear and tents. However, they would have to scavenge for the remaining four days' worth of supplies. Except for Aayla. Since she technically wasn't part of the team, Ramona provided everything that she would need plus a bit extra.

The only rule was that Aayla couldn't share with any team, and any team couldn't share with her. The only exception was that Aayla was allowed to set up her own camp near the Nafriton team's campsite.

"Hold! Everyone check your gear. From here on out, there's no civilization. Iva, is this the spot?"

The horses stopped at Aubrey's command. The group quickly double checked all of their packs. A young lady carefully examined the map. Several trails were marked in yellow. The border of the event area was marked in red with the team's main camping area marked in green.

"Yes, Captain. The trail should start around here. We should get to the general camp area by lunch time if we hurry."

"How's the weather looking, Joel?"

"I don't feel any storms brewing nearby, but that row of dark clouds to the north is a bit concerning. We should have at least a few hours if a storm is coming. However, a large storm blew through the area last night. The snow drifts should be larger than predicted."

"Alright. Time to go! We'll need travel slowly. Keep an eye on your horses and watch out for magical beasts. There's no time to engage with them before setting up camp. I want all of our tents and defenses set up before nightfall."

And so, the long trudge through large snow drifts began. The snow in the middle of the group wasn't so bad. Aubrey and the riders in front had already broken up any icy spots on the surface of the snow. Still, the snow reached up to Aayla's knees in the deeper drifts.

While the others sat upright and loosely gripped their reigns, Aayla tightly clung to her horse. In her life, she had only ridden a horse a mere handful of times. Aayla had never ridden in such snowy conditions before. Not even an hour had passed yet Aayla couldn't wait to find the campsite.

Hours later, they finally reached the edge of the camping area. Lunch was merely dried rations that they could eat on horseback. The temperature had warmed up a bit, but was still near freezing. Unlike the rest of them, she couldn't use her mana to warm herself very well. The wind and cold had started to seep into her clothes.

Aayla nearly started crying. She was freeing, and she was pretty sure that her horse was making her ride bumpy on purpose. Excitement filled the air as the team slowly continued into the camping area. The fourth-years were anxious to start collecting points.

Soon after, Aayla got her first look at the Havrevel River. Sheets of solid ice covered the river. A faint salty smell filled the air, much like what the ocean smells like. Parts of the river were filled with rocks and fast flowing water. Other parts were completely covered in ice and snow, and appeared like normal land from a distance.

The group stayed at a healthy distance away from the river. The surface appeared peaceful, but magical beasts could attack at any time. Some would come down to the shore for a drink, only to get dragged under in an instant. Other times, random bursts of water shot out from the surface.

Eventually, they found a large partially cleared area next to some fierce rapids. Unlike most other areas in the forest, it was mostly flat and had fewer trees. The clearing was just large enough to fit all of the students and rested at the bottom of two large hills. The sides of the hills were so steep that little grew on it.

Before they even began setting up their tents, the horses were tied to a tree and the fourth-years began to clear away the snow. A rough earthen wall and large spikes rose up around the intended site. Only two areas were left open to serve as doors.

As the fourth-years started to draw a large circle on the ground, Aayla took a closer look at the campsite. After the snow was cleared, Aayla found streaks of oddly colored mud and small debris. Water probably flowed through this part of the forest off of the hills behind them during storms.

A cold breeze ripped through the campsite unimpeded. When Aayla looked up, angry storm clouds loomed overhead. She was a bit worried with how close it was to the water as well. With how low the campsite was, flooding was a distinct possibility. Not to mention unexpected animal visitors either looking for water or for prey.

On the subject of flooding, Aayla had a hunch to check the trees. Her eyes opened in surprise. Dead branches, small tree trunks and other debris were caught in the canopy around the campsite. There were even a couple of precariously balanced dead trees in their own campground.

Too many hazards were scattered around the campsite. It had no natural windbreaks, dangerously hanging branches and bad positioning near a treacherous water source. Hesitating between safety and being an annoyance, Aayla finally decided to talk with one of the fourth-years.

"Excuse me? Are we sure that this place is fine? What about flooding and the aquatic magical beasts?"

"Don't worry about it. This is one of Nafriton's favorite training areas due to the nearby village. Our seniors have found several strategic places over the years. We're setting up a couple of magic formations to keep out snow and weaker magical beasts."

"What about the stronger ones or serious weather? Or flooding?"

The fourth-year chuckled. "Around here? The snow drifts could get a bit high, but that's all that we'll need to worry about. These waters are too shallow for the more dangerous predators and flooding."

Aayla eyed the storm, the steep hills behind them and the odd streaks on the ground. She did not have a good feeling about this.

"If you say so. I'm going to go set up my camp. I'll come back for dinner."

"Eh? We have enough space down here though?"

"It's fine! I'm not really fond of sleeping this close to the water."

Aayla grabbed a rope and started to climb up one of the steep hills. It had been a while since she free climbed, but all of the rocks jutting out of the ground made for good hand holds. Climbing to the top only took a few minutes.

The top of the hill was rather flat and covered densely with trees. However, large snow drifts still built themselves up in all of the unoccupied space. The snow was only up to Aayla's ankles near the edge, but was over her head further in.

A few hours later, Aayla proudly looked at her completed shelter. Several feet away from the edge was a cluster of tall trees. She just finished tying carved stones on the trees. Ramona called them ward stones, and they were basically magical beast repellant.

Her shelter was in the middle of those trees. She spent an hour carving a path to the tree cluster, then hours more carving out a cave in the snow drift. Next Aayla had to clear out some extra space in front of the snow cave entrance. At the end of it all, Aayla had a lovely snow cave inside the tree cluster.

The snow cave itself simply had a lowered entrance and raised sleeping platform. Aayla partially set up the tent from Ramona in front of the entrance to store dry firewood and to hold a fire pit. The hardest part was finding the dry firewood. In all of her wisdom, Ramona forgot to include an axe or a fire starter.

She finished not a moment too soon. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, and the grey clouds from earlier now angrily hovered above. Tiny drops of rain started to fall from the sky. They froze the instant that they touched the ground.

Aayla checked on the fourth-years. The students merrily ate while surrounding a large bonfire below. A soft glowing bubble surrounded the camp, but the tents inside didn't seem suitable for winter weather. Well, whatever. They should now what they were doing, and Aayla couldn't help them unless some one was going to die.

Before the rain got worse, she grabbed some more dry wood and crawled into her snow cave. Minutes later, the fall of freezing rain broke the silence.