Kleris grumbled mentally, but had to agree with the assessment,<em>Yes, inconvenient, like seemingly every adventure seems to become.  Why can’t field trips just be normal…</em><br/><br/>As they walked through the hall, Kleris was glad everything seemed to be private and hidden, though he was on high alert to avoid anything unseemly.  Seeing a cracked door, he made sure to walk on that end, attempting to block anyone else’s line of sight.  Peeking himself, it confirmed his worst anxiety, seeing not only some tryst occurring inside (Did he recognize that boy?  Maybe he’d have to confirm some suspicions during the next class.), but there were even Redhurst calendar shots all around.<br/><br/>“Thank you for your assistance, Rachel,” Kleris spoke up, trying to keep any attention away from the door as they passed, “I’m sorry to interrupt your duties here, we’ll be getting along home as soon as we can.”  The sound of a raucous great hall ahead reminded Kleris of his hostess job in the redlight district bars, and he hoped there wouldn’t be anything scandalous going on there.  Thankfully Rachel seemed to pull through again, hiding not only the students from the patrons, but also the stage from the students, who probably didn’t need to be subjected to whatever was going on up there.<br/><br/>“Yeah, that makes sense, putting on a magic show!  I wouldn’t want to make her late for anything, so it’s good we were able to run through quickly, plus not being seen ourselves.”  When Derrick summoned the skytaxi, he seemed to be making a final farewell to Kleris.  “Yeah, we’re probably due to transfer the school again, and when all of this invariably hits the fan, well, I don’t know if anyone will be making any more field trips any more.  So farewell, Derrick.  Thanks again for everything, tonight, and before.  I’ll send a postcard or something.”  With that, he hopped onto the taxi with the others, not wanting to draw out an awkward interaction in front of the other students.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>“A contingency on our return?  Oh, that doesn’t sound good.  Good luck, Filomena…”  Kleris wasn’t sure if this would be to confirm the students’ safety or to reprimand the prefect, but he hoped she wouldn’t have to be a martyr for their misadventure.  Fortunately, the most troubling parts seemed to be the fault of House Cannith, and not of any blame to the girls’ “extracurricular activities.”<br/><br/>Joining Rensha and Zull, Kleris let himself fall into a chair, tired from the day’s excitement, fear, and now lack of adrenaline.  “Thanks.  It was… eventful.  Yeah, I think talking at the table would be best.”<br/><br/>Retiring to their private meeting table, Kleris was able to relay the mundane, magical, and perilous aspects of the field trip.  At first learning about Cannith’s research into planar essence and its partnership with Redhurst, but then finding Cannith wanting to directly exploit any students with planar connections themselves.  There was some planar attunement device they were forced to activate, and either directly or by mistake, that awakened some berserk dragonforged, forcing them all to flee both Cannith and the rampaging construct.<br/><br/>“I don’t know if it was me, or this ring containing Horishkad, or all of us together, but there was enough planar essence or residue to make<em>something</em>happen, though I’m not sure if they were expecting that result for some reason.  And now I’m wondering if Redhurst is going to have to cut ties with yet another academic partner after my involvement…”