The walk back to the academy was fast and silent for the three young, adventurous students. They were riddled with anxiety and worry about the repercussions they would face for staying outside beyond the frame and error of margin the permission slips allowed.
Rather than waste time and energy on idle chatter, Zach, Dukiel, and Julius reached a tacit and unanimous agreement that they should focus all their attention on walking. The sooner they made it back, the better.
Hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad. After all, they had found a Locale, talked with a Named, and acquired information about an experiment. It was the biggest haul of information of the year. There had to be some leniency, even if they were several weeks late, right?
Sweaty, dirty, ragged, covered in dried blood, and panting, the three students showed up at the Academy. It didn't take long before Jarron got the news and met up with them as they tried to sneak into their dorms.
