The train pulled to a stop in the middle of nowhere, and the students rose to their feet.
"Good luck, young Elites. Just flag down any train you see passing by in the other direction, and it will take you back to the Academy, or close enough for you to walk in." The conductor explained.
"Got it. We will see you soon." Karl agreed, and led the others out the door.
Dana brought up the rear of the group, making sure they were all off the train, and when Karl called out Hawk to scout for them, she called her pair of Golems to guard the back of the pack.
It was quiet out here, other than the sound of the train beginning to move again, but that didn't necessarily mean safe, just that they hadn't noticed any threats yet.
The students were all incredibly nervous, flinching at every sound of their teammates moving in the long grass, but as Karl led them into the trees toward where they should find the magical plants they needed, they became almost petrified with fear.
That couldn't be natural, they had been so excited a moment ago, but when Karl searched the area, he couldn't find a reason for it. The feeling seemed to fade quickly as they walked, until finally, one of them pointed out a small weed growing near the tree trunks.
"Terror weed. The pollen causes a mild reaction that causes a fear response. It's the plant's natural defence mechanism, someone must have stepped on one in the grass." He explained.
The students all felt a little foolish when that was mentioned. The first thing that the warriors learned was to watch where they put their feet. They needed a solid footing for their sword skills, so the ground under them was as important as the enemy.
But someone had still stepped on a common toxic plant.
"Everyone, put your masks on. Who knows if there are other dangers like that in the area, and we don't need anyone poisoned on the first day of the trip. Do we have a healing class with us?" He asked, while mentally going through the students' descriptions he was given.
"I can do a minor heal and a poison cleanse." The lone Druid in the group mentioned.
"And I have healing potions, but we're here to get materials for more." One of the two witches added.
"Perfect. We will save the potions for as long as possible, as the warriors will mostly heal pretty quickly. As I discussed on the train, if we are attacked, fall back to form a ring, with the casters in the middle.
No, that's not because they're weaker, but because they're squishy. The warriors are the shield, while the casters are the primary damage. The Golems will back you up, and my beasts and I will range outside the defensive circle." Karl reminded them.
He would have liked to actually practice the manoeuvre, but according to Hawk, the first plants that they were searching for should be only a few hundred metres away. There was another spot marked on the map, many kilometres away, but Hawk was certain that he had found them just up ahead.
Once they got the first target, the mission could be considered a partial success, and everything that came afterwards would just bring them closer to completion.
[Definitely found it. Bright blue flowers shaped like shoes.] Hawk informed Karl, with a mental impression of where they were.
[Keep an eye out for threats. I don't want you getting ambushed as you fly over.]
Hawk laughed a little at Karl's concern, as he was hundreds of metres above the trees, but he appreciated that his human cared enough to make sure he was safe.
Karl adjusted their course, pretending to follow the map, and within minutes they were standing next to a field full of beautiful blue flowers.
"These are the ones, right?" He asked.
"Yes, but everyone, please stay out of the clearing. Only one in ten blossoms has the magical properties of the plant, the rest are all decoys. If someone breaks the wrong one, we will have come here for nothing." The witch pleaded.
"You heard her, stay here while the witches gather their ingredients. Hawk will be watching from above, and I will be right here at the edge of the clearing in case something is hiding in the flowers."
The two witches moved delicately through the field, avoiding stepping on any of the flowers as they picked the ones they wanted. The plants weren't going without a fight, though. Multiple times, the witches stopped right as they were about to pluck and grabbed a different one, then continued on their way.
Once they had a few dozen in total, they returned to the others with careful steps.
"That's enough. You can't pick too many, or you will kill the patch, and we hope to come back here again soon. The plants are smart, and when they sense that they're going to be damaged, they will pull their essence back to their roots, which renders the flowers worthless for potions. That's why we had to be so careful." The more outgoing of the two witches explained.
"Alright, on to the next one." Karl agreed.
[It's not far, one hundred metres south.] Hawk informed him.
The next should also have been much further, but if Hawk had found some that weren't on the map, that was even better, as their collection wouldn't remove a listed herb from the directory for the other students who wanted to do a mission near here.
"Hawk thinks that he has found another of our goals already. Move as silently as possible so that we don't disturb the wildlife." Karl reminded the others in a stage whisper.
The students began to move, but a whistle from Hawk drew Karl's attention. He had seen something dangerous, and it was close.
"Everyone hold position, Hawk sees something." Karl whispered as he raised his hand in a gesture to stop.
[White cloth, two figures, running your direction. Possibly human, but maybe not.] Hawk warned him.
Humanoid monsters were rare, but poachers, aggressive hill folk, and foreign soldiers might not be. They didn't have enough information about the area's human population in the data to be certain.