On the way to Nala's clearing she allowed the others to gather a few things—some TwilightMushrooms for Tzugakk ("Useful for my crafting"), half a dozen DarkLeafs for Praetorian ("I recall their mention in a recipe or two"), a RedFlower for Mist ("I just like red flowers")—but mostly she kept them moving.

"There is a time limit," she said. "If we do not return before thirty minutes pass then it is the same as being 'defeated'. We would lose all gathered items."

"You get to keep merits for monster kills, though," Sly said. "Maybe I should take out a land lizard or something—"

"No."

"I mean, if there's one alone or something—"

"No."

"I don't see the harm," Praetorian said, as Sly gritted his teeth and gripped his bow tight and generally did a very good impression of an annoyed person. "Our elven comrade was undoubtedly thinking that if opportunity presents itself—"

"Hush."

"Well there's no need—"

Praetorian stopped. There was an odd noise coming from the forest, deep and rhythmic.

"What is that?" Mist whispered. She looked around at the others. "Is that a monster?"

"I can't tell which direction the noise is coming from," Praetorian murmured. "Slythaneile, what do your elf-ears hear?"

"Dude, these are just for show."

"We will be safe," Nala said, and she walked on. Tzugakk was the first to follow, hurrying to catch up to her, Mist and Amanda next, with Praetorian and Sly taking up the rear.

"I don't suppose the noise is familiar to you?" Praetorian asked.

"Nope," Sly said. "Doesn't sound good, though."

"Mm. Agreed."

As they made their way further along the path the noise grew louder still, new subtleties becoming apparent with the increase in volume—the suggestion of breathing, the cracking of wood, the impact of something heavy against bare earth, and again, and again.

"Perhaps we should go back," Praetorian suggested, as they approached an intersection of paths. "Gather more TwilightMushrooms and the like—Nala, you said we should play this safe, it seems the commonest of sense to move away from a potentially deadly foe."

"Yes. Go back." Nala turned. "Now. Quickly."

There was no urgency in her voice, her tone was as flat as ever, but her words caused a flurry of activity—Mist and Praetorian helping Amanda along, Tzugakk's big feet flapping against the ground, Sly nearly tripping over his bow as he turned to retreat.

"Enough. Stop."

The others slowed, but didn't stop entirely.

"Stop," Nala repeated. "Wait for it to pass."

Mist looked back and nearly screamed as she caught sight of the source of the noise, huge and hulking and shadow purple in colour, just a glimpse through the trees but that was enough to see both its size and its direction—

"It's coming towards us!" she gasped. "We—"

"It will pass."

"Is, is that a behemoth? I've only seen paintings, but..."

Praetorian trailed off as the great beast continued its advance, fiery red mane visible through the foliage—

"No," Nala said, as Praetorian and the others began backing away. "Wait here."

"Perhaps we should move back just a little further—"

"There are scale dragons on the path."

"And you know this how?"

Nala said nothing. Behind her the behemoth continued its slow advance, its terrifying majesty fully revealed as it came free of the trees and walked through the intersection—then stopped. It raised its massive head, sniffing the air.

Mist had her gauntleted hands clasped over her mouth; Tzugakk was hiding behind a tree; Amanda stood stock-still, one wide dull eye visible through her hair; Praetorian's forehead was beaded with sweat; Sly held his bow in both hands, knuckles white with tension.

Nala stood before them all, her back to the behemoth, arms crossed, head bowed.

"Wait," she murmured, "and it will pass."

The behemoth snorted and tossed its head, red mane catching in the dappled sunlight, then it let out a low growl and continued on, away from Nala and the others.

The party let out a collective sigh of relief.

After that everything seemed relaxed and simple—there were a few easily-avoided land lizards and the shadow of something big passed over the forest at one point, but they reached Nala's clearing without trouble.

"Focus on SparkleFlowers," Nala instructed, as the others spread out around the waterfall pool. "There are more in the field beyond. If you find anything else you can collect it, but gather at least a dozen SparkleFlowers each."

"They're so pretty," Mist cooed, crouching down to examine one—the flowers grew alone, the tough stem supporting a wide bloom. By first appearance they were white in colour, but this shifted and changed in subtle ways, a hint of blue gleaming at the edges to be replaced by purple a moment later before shimmering back to white once more.

"We have less than ten minutes left," Nala said. "Gather first, then spend your time as you like. If anything approaches this clearing, use Amanda as a distraction and run."

"What?"

"And where might you be going?" Praetorian asked, as Nala turned to leave, both ignoring Amanda entirely.

"I will take Tzugakk to gather StickySap."

"Sorry," Amanda said, "maybe I should repeat myself, WHAT?"

"Just the two of you?" Praetorian asked Nala.

"Yes. Only he can do it, no one else has the right class skill."

"Ah. I see."

"Why do I have to be the distraction?"

"High hit points, good defence and the inability to run, one would presume," Praetorian said, not so much as glancing at Amanda. "Will we rendezvous again, before the expiry?"

"Yes," Nala said. "We'll return soon. Start gathering."

"Hey! I'm still not—hey!"

"Hush now, do as our leader says—honestly, if you think about the situation objectively it's perfectly reasonable, you ARE a glumgirl, the entire purpose of your class is to serve as a damage-soaking meat shield—"

"Do NOT call me a meat ANYTHING—"

Praetorian and Amanda's arguing faded as Nala led Tzugakk away from the clearing, along a narrow path that branched and branched again to end at an ancient tree, its leafless branches thick and twisting, its base covered over by vines and moss.

"Here," Nala said, indicating a point from which glistening sap oozed.

"I am a little surprised," Tzugakk said, as he began coaxing the sap into a small clay pot. "I wondered if something else lay down this path."

"Oh?" Nala's voice was as flat as ever. "Such as?"

Tzugakk shrugged one shoulder. "Escape."

"I have told you this, Tzugakk. If I escape that academy, it will be with you. If I have a plan—"

"—then I will know about it, yes yes. Where do you go at night?"

Nala was silent, her eyes upon the sap Tzugakk was gathering.

"You are away every night," the goblin said. "What for?"

"If you needed to know, I would already have told you."

"Would it hurt, for me to know?"

Nala remained silent. Tzugakk let out a soft sigh.

"Something else, then," he said. "Your next plan. To enter the Bright Battle Tournament. You still think it will work?"

"Yes."

Tzugakk capped the full pot and handed it to Nala, who handed back an empty one.

"We have the components," he said, as he resumed gathering, "we can create what we need to give ourselves a small chance ... but to enter the tournament, to fight with those who live to fight, elves, vampires, fighters, they are truly strong and what we have are just tricks, so much can go wrong—"

"Tzugakk. We have searched, together. There is no other path."

Tzugakk sighed. "I know this but I do not want to know this. The others, Mist and Praetorian and Amanda and Sly, have you told them?"

"They're not ready. They need the merits we will earn from this, the equipment we will buy. They need to feel strong."

"What about me?"

"You're strong enough already."

Tzugakk looked at Nala.

She looked back, her face impassive.

Tzugakk sighed and returned to gathering. After he'd filled this second pot, Nala nodded.

"Enough. We should return. There's still time to gather SparkleFlowers."

Tzugakk led the way this time, Nala behind.

"StickySap and WideLeafs," he said, as they neared the clearing. "TwilightMushrooms and NightBerries, maybe Praetorian would say that this is like fate, to have the same tools we used to defeat that ogre—"

Nala said nothing, gave no audible signal, but Tzugakk sensed her tension and stopped talking. Both remained silent as they crept closer to the clearing, Nala slipping in front of Tzugakk, stopping behind a tree, staring at nothing as she listened intently.

"—don't, PLEASE don't, we already gave you everything, you don't have to do this! PLEASE!"

"Keep begging, valkyrie, I like the way you squeak."

Nala moved slowly to look around the tree—her view of the clearing was obscured by hanging vines and bushes, but she could see Praetorian, holding something in his arms, and Mist on her knees, sobbing as she continued to plead with a figure both familiar and unwelcome; Raid Fearson, the bandit bully responsible for many of the demerits Nala's party had suffered. He was hacking at a downed Amanda with his dark-auraed axes, the zombie girl trying futilely to push herself up with just one arm. Of Sly there was no sign.

Nala reached out, gripping Tzugakk's wrist hard, stopping him from walking forward—

"We can help!" he said. "I can use—"

"No."

"Nala, they need—"

"No."

A long, rattling moan sounded through the trees, and both Nala and Tzugakk saw the glow of teleportation, saw Amanda's body disappear—

"Nala—"

Nala said nothing, just tugged harder at Tzugakk's wrist—but he tugged back.

"No," he said. "I will help them, I MUST help them—"

"Not now."

Tzugakk's defiant expression wavered.

"We cannot afford healing," Nala said. "I do not know the rule in this situation. Defeat by a student during a monster hunt may earn a demerit. Tzugakk. Not now."

Tzugakk pulled against Nala's grip one last time, then sagged and allowed her to guide him away, Mist's sobbing and Praetorian's desperate attempts at negotiation fading as they fled.