A surprise came to them the following day. It came in the form of Oz appearing early into their breakfast time with an announcement:
"We've got our first mission."
The silence that greeted his statement was astounding, the seven teens blinking in confusion. Was that supposed to mean something to them? Sora found out moments later that it did. According to Oz, after being assigned teams each group were eligible for so-called missions. They were less taxing than what fully-trained Dragon Riders got to do, but they were an introduction of sorts—to the Dragon Rider lifestyle, flashy as it might be. They even got paid for them, though it was split between all group members.
"Umm... What're we doing?" Raelynn asked.
"Well, seeing as all the fun ones—like painting fences and litter picking—were gone, I got us a delivery instead," he said. "Go back to your rooms and pack a bag for the night. We're leaving today, and we'll probably get back some time tomorrow."
Raelynn rolled her eyes. "Fun."
Sora didn't even bother to watch her teammate's impending doom, standing up quickly. "Where are we meeting?" she asked, glancing at their terrifying leader.
"By the city gate."
"Which one?"
His eyes narrowed. "The North Gate."
The room seemed to freeze and for a good reason. There was nothing north of the city. Only the Wastelands. A place said to be so desolate nothing green could grow. The trees were withered grey husks that would turn to dust the second something living touched it, or so rumour had it.
The remnants of the Second Dragon War.
"We're delivering a package to a village on the very borders of the wastelands." Oz shrugged. "We'll be going through parts of it, but it's not all that dangerous. The dangerous parts are much further in—closer to the ruins."
"Ruins?"
"I can tell you about them later," he said. "I might as well give you a history about the place—I mean... I am supposed to be teaching you stuff, you know..."
Raelynn sat up. "Supposed."
Sora was gone right after, not bothering to stick around as she trawled back to her room. She yawned, slipping inside her room with a click of her lock. She'd yet to unpack everything, but it was easy enough to find out all the items of clothing she'd need. Not that she'd need much. It was only a two-day adventure.
"You ready, peasant?" Silver peered at her from the door, the twins right behind her. Her dragon, Ivana, curled around her shoulders, silvery eyes blinking sleepily at Sora.
"Yep," she said, stepping out into the corridor and locking her door behind her. "Where're the others?"
"Well, your room was on our way... so we thought we'd stop by and see if you were ready." Silver folded her arms, ignoring the smirks the twins were sending her way. "Come on. Oz is probably already waiting for us."
"Sure." She nodded.
They lapsed into silence, trawling through the long winding corridors with only the sounds of their footsteps for company. Sora walked alongside Silver, a growing sense of dread becoming more prominent the closer they got to their destination. Blue banners hanging from lampposts told her they were in the north quarter, heading down the one road which led directly to their destination—the North Gate. The sheer size of the gigantic gate made her nervous, the wall around the northern front of the city having been made the thickest and the tallest out of the four quadrants the Outer City was divided up into.
Oz was waiting for them at its base, leaning back against one of the gigantic heavy blue doors. Raelynn was there too, surprisingly enough, though Sora suspected it was more to do with the fact she was still unconscious than anything else.
"You're finally here, then?"
"Where are Beatrice and Callum?"
"Outside the gate... they seem to be rather excited..." Oz said. "I mean... It's not like we're going towards one of the scariest places known to man..."
"Why are we even being allowed to go?" Sora asked.
"It's safe. Mostly."
"That doesn't exactly give me confidence."
He sighed. "We're not at war, and hopefully we never will be again—so the Wastelands are creepy, yes, but safe."
Sora bit her lip, watching as one by one her teammates trickled through the gate. "I don't like it."
Oz closed his eyes, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine, Sora. If there's one thing you can count on me for—it's that I'll protect you. All of you... Including this idiot," he said, dragging Raelynn and her sleeping dragon along the ground. "The worst thing we'll encounter are bandits."
"Brilliant."
"You've all passed the level of basic hand-to-hand combat I set. You'll be fine."
"You've said that before."
"Well I'm saying it again because it clearly hasn't sunk into that thick skull of yours."
"If you say so."