Over the course of the next few days, school went by like normal without incident. Devon and Ella caught Reuben up on the trip to the Crater of the Fall, and the event that occured with James. Reuben was the third successful inheritance holder, with his power being the most common element of fire. His eyes reflected red and yellow shades, and the inheritance had turned his natural dark brown hair into a violet red mix, like the base of a little match. He was taller than both of his friends by almost a head, and his olive skin stuck out amongst his peers.
On Thursday, Mrs. Helen announced the class would leave out early the next day to begin their 200 mile trip to the Crater.
"We have paid for the service of double ability holders with both strength and speed," she announced. "They will arrive here at nine in the morning tomorrow, and we will depart at ten. Please limit how much you bring to one bag. All you will need are a few pairs of clothes, and writing or research materials you plan to use while on the trip. While I understand everyone's excitement over the option to touch a star stone, please remember this visit is first and foremost a research study before your graduation."
"I'm for sure touching that stone," James thought while ignoring the teacher's speech. All he could think of was getting more control over his power and removing the current flaw of his ice still having to connect directly to him to work. If he could get around that, revenge on Ella for shocking him would be easy. "I'll encase all three of them down in the crater. Maybe someone will find them next year." Vivid thoughts of such an encounter raced through his mind.
Mrs. Helen continued the lecture, giving some extra advice about how to spot the death stone and ways in which it was currently being studied. It seemed most studies about it's composition had ended, and researchers were instead focusing on the hum generated from the stones. The exact reason for it remained a mystery, even after 300 years.
After finishing the discussion, Mrs. Helen let the class out early to head home and begin preparations for the weekend. Several students headed for the storage room before heading out, in search of anything that may help them in their studies, while the rest hastily ran home to begin packing.
The three friends all gathered in the storage room. "Anyone have any ideas as to what in here could help us study aspects of the death stone?" Reuben asked.
Looking around the room, the trio spotted a few items that could help. First, Ella found an old microscope, with two of the three zooming lenses still intact. "This will help if we want to study a small piece and it's composition," she said excitedly. Next, Reuben helped himself to a rudimentary sound recorder, made with hand crafted glass disks and a wind up recording dial.
"We could record the hum for future study," he exclaimed.
As they continued searching, Devon struggled to find anything that could aid them. "I suppose I'll be in charge of taking notes," he stated. The other two thought it was an excellent idea, seeing as he had the best hand writing in their class, and was more meticulous than most.
After taking their items from the storage room, the three friends made their way to their respective homes. Devon soon found himself in his room with his goatskin bag out on his bed. It wasn't the most ideal bag for travelling, but it could fit a few sets of clothes, his pen and ink, and one leather bound notebook, which he only had a few of.
After he finished packing, Devon joined his family for a celebratory dinner of steak, potatoes, and fresh boiled veggies. He would be graduating after his return from the Crater of the Fallen, so the family decided to celebrate early.
"Have you finished packing for your trip?" His mother asked while clearing the table. Mia was still anxious about him leaving for the weekend, and though she knew he wasn't planning to test his fortune with the star stone, part of her still worried.
"Yes, I'm all packed and ready. Don't worry about me, mom. It's just a study trip, then I'll be home."
"Alright son. Have you given any thoughts as to what you want to do after graduation?" she asked, changing the subject. After all, worrying wouldn't make his trip any safer .
"I was thinking of becoming a scribe at the library," Devon answered truthfully. "I have really neat hand writing, and one day I hope to have my own typewriter to make the work easier."
"That sounds like a great choice," his mother smiled. "You always did enjoy writing. Will you be ok with only writing other people's books, or will you also write your own?"
"I think I'll just enjoy the creativity and information provided by others for now. I'm going to head to bed now. I want to be well rested for tomorrow." Devon gave his mom a quick peck on the cheek, then hugged his dad and went to his room to lay down.
"I wonder if there is any chance of us discovering anything new about the death rock with such limited tools," he thought as he started to drift off to sleep.
"Maybe there will be something we will find that others might have missed." Devon knodded of to sleep, dreaming about the upcoming adventure. However, at the back of his mind a thought kept playing over and over in his head, "There will be a star stone there. Are you brave enough to try it?"
Sometime during the night, his dreams switched from the upcoming trip to the wonderous possibilities that could await him if he risked it all, even if he didn't have the courage to dream out loud.