The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed revealing his concern. Professor Zhao wouldn’t be easy to fool.
‘I need a better story,’ he thought while storing the last specimens. ‘Something that explains all this without revealing I ventured beyond the limits.’
In the distance, the Shadow Stalker males’ roars began to diminish, their battle reaching its inevitable conclusion.
Soon, one would establish dominance and claim the territory.
Ren had no more tricks ready to escape the losing male if it found him, his earlier gambit had used up all his prepared contingencies.
It was time to return.
But as he headed toward the camp, Ren couldn’t suppress a smile.
Explaining his bounty would be complicated, but the value of what he carried in his bag would make any interrogation worthwhile.
‘After all,’ he thought while the mushrooms pulsed softly, ‘the best stories are always the hardest to believe.’
♢♢♢♢
Ren approached the marked territory cautiously.
The battle between the Shadow Stalker males had ended, leaving a heavy silence in the air that spoke of recent violence.
‘First I need something more believable,’ he thought while organizing his story. ‘Something that explains not just the skins, but also the core and the herbs.’
The knowledge flowed while he evaluated his options. The black skins were the biggest problem, too perfect, too well preserved.
Even if he had found a Weavers’ tree, discarded skins would normally show signs of deterioration… Not to mention that finding 100 was like winning the lottery.
‘And then there’s the core,’ the mushrooms pulsed while Ren touched the crystal in his bag. An almost mature Bark Stalker, conveniently found along with everything else…
A sound made him freeze mid-step.
Voices in the distance, other students gathering.
He recognized the arrogant tone that had caused him so much dumb trouble.
“It’s your fault!” Jin’s voice resonated with frustration, carrying clearly through the trees. “If you hadn’t lost the flare so quickly…!”
“My fault?” Kai sounded equally annoyed, his scales visible even from a distance. “You were the one who provoked the Weavers!”
Ren slipped silently between the trees, avoiding detection as he made his way back to his camouflage blanket.
Jin’s group appeared to have had a difficult morning after their encounter with the enraged colony.
‘At least that distraction worked perfectly,’ he thought while circling their position with practiced stealth.
Another group appeared ahead, Luna and her reluctant followers. Her shadow wolf manifested briefly while she studied something on the ground, its ethereal form making the shadows dance.
Their eyes met for a moment.
Luna’s expression was unreadable, but Ren could swear he saw a flash of curiosity in her gaze before she returned to her task.
‘She knows something doesn’t add up,’ the knowledge warned him that Luna was more perceptive than the rest. Her shadow wolf could probably detect traces of the residual energy from the Shadow Stalkers.
Finally, he spotted Taro and Min working in the same silk-rich area where he’d left them. His friends looked up when he approached, their expressions showing relief and concern.
“Where were you?” Min whispered urgently. “The professor has been making rounds…”
“And all the guards are talking about a beast fight beyond the perimeter, so everyone’s been warned not to be reckless,” Taro added, his beetle’s markings shifting nervously.
The mushrooms pulsed while Ren considered his response carefully.
‘Partial truth,’ he decided while preparing to share his edited version of events. ‘Mixed with enough believable details to make it digestible.’
“And then I found this hollow tree where the Weavers had…” Ren stopped mid-sentence. The mushrooms in his hair ceased pulsing abruptly.
“A fascinating story, no doubt,” Professor Zhao’s voice resonated behind him, laden with authority. “Perhaps you could share it in my office.”
Ren felt his throat constrict as he swallowed hard. Min and Taro exchanged worried looks, but there was nothing they could do to help their friend now.
♢♢♢♢
Night had fallen over the camp.
An enormous insulating tent protected the students from Shadow Stalkers, while professors and assistants mounted guard at the entrances.
Inside, the murmur of conversations and occasional flash of manifested beasts created an almost homely atmosphere.
But Ren wasn’t with his companions.
Instead, he found himself seated in Professor Zhao’s improvised office, feeling increasingly small under the penetrating gaze of the half manifested owl.
“Do you really expect me to believe that story, Mr. Patinder?” Zhao leaned over his portable desk. There was no anger in his voice, but something worse, disappointment.
“A tree where you conveniently found all of this?”
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed weakly while the professor spread his bounty across the table: the perfectly preserved skins, the Bark Stalker core, the exceptional quality herbs, and even a freshly molted Shadow Stalker.
“It was clever using the incident with Jin’s group to escape my monitoring,” Zhao continued, his tone carrying a bit of irritation. “A perfect execution, I must admit. But…”
He stood up, his owl manifesting completely.
The wings spread while his eyes, sharpened by decades of experience, fixed on Ren with unerring focus.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice your motionless camouflage blanket for hours? That my eyes wouldn’t detect the complete absence of movement in that spot?”
Ren sank deeper into his seat, shame and worry warring for dominance in his expression.
“I don’t like being underestimated, Mr. Patinder,” Zhao crossed his arms. “I am the exterior gathering professor for a reason. These eyes have seen more tricks than you can imagine.”
“I’m sorry, professor,” Ren mumbled, his voice barely audible in the tense atmosphere.
“The real question is,” Zhao sat back down, his expression unreadable, “what am I going to do with you?”
The mushrooms pulsed with renewed concern. Had all the planning, all the risks… been for nothing?
The professor extracted something from his desk, a small flask containing clear greenish liquid.
“You know, I prepared this before departing,” Zhao continued, turning the flask between his fingers thoughtfully. “When the other students complained about the two and a half days, I thought it would be interesting to see their reactions if they ‘discovered’ you lasted the full three days.”
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed with surprise while he processed this unexpected information.
“The mana poisoning medicine,” Zhao smiled slightly, his severity beginning to crack, “was going to be our little secret. A lesson about prejudice for your classmates… and my help for the unfortunate student.”
He reclined in his chair, his owl manifesting more relaxed now. “But it seems I underestimated your… initiative. Instead of needing help to last three days, you decided to venture alone into dangerous territory.”