Vera did not spend her entire time simply talking to the entire class. It wasn't long before she had briefed them all enough to get stuck into practising what was taught. On command from Vera, the younger children stood up and quickly retrieved a lump of chalk and a stone tablet from the shelves on the side of the room. Vera had given them a few letters to practice on and they were all soon sitting with their heads down, occasionally looking to one side to talk with their friends. Although it wasn't obvious at first, Vera had noticed how rapt Kaleeth was with the lesson that she retrieved a tablet and chalk for her to try as well. Kaleeth probably had a more coordinated hand than the children, but it was probably better than sitting and doing nothing.

A couple of hours later, Vera spoke up and the volume of the children faded. "Okay class, it's time for a break. Everyone is to be back in fifteen minutes," Vera had to speak up over all of the children suddenly rushing to stand up and get to the door, "Do not stray far! I will call you back in as always!"

Once the children had put away their tablets and left, giggling and talking amongst themselves, they could be heard playing in various rooms surrounding the classroom. Vera smiled at the door and approached Kaleeth. "They have a lot of energy. It's good for them to expend it a little, else they never pay attention." Vera peered down at Kaleeth's tablet, "What do you think of Cyrodilic writing? I probably should have asked if you had learned it before."

As time progressed in the alchemist's loft, so increased the frequency of disappointed sighs. It seemed that the tests that Safina, Carana, and Sabine had devised were all still yielding the strange black substance that Sabine's tests were producing. Carana scratched her head and turned to Sabine and Meesei. "This poison must have been made by otherworldly means. I have never encountered something so...so..."

"Stubborn?" Safina suggested.

"No, more like...hmm,"

"Elusive?"

"Sensitive," Sabine said plainly, speaking her mind.

"Sensitive, yes," Carana waved her finger in agreement, "Every test we try makes it almost trip up some kind of trap and denature into this putrid ichor. The only thing I can think to do is what Sabine suggested at one point; make a potion to act as a fake human body and fool the poison into working naturally. Observing how it works will give us much better hints as to its properties." Carana paced with her hands on her hips, "It might take all day, though. Would that suit you, champion? Also, might I ask where you found such a poison?"

To any green fighter, Lorag's words might have been blunt and impactful, however, Harriet grinned and chuckled instead. "Am I teachin' Gerald or are you tryin' to teach me?" She slowly shook her head and stepped to face Gerald again, "If I was tryin' to kill him before he killed me, I wouldn't take on a handicap. This's more fun. Now, put up your weapon kid, lesson's far from over."

Bout after bout went on between Gerald and Harriet. Each time, Harriet would give advice and encourage Lorag to do the same. Harriet started off winning each bout, but some hits to the hand and the arm developed into a couple of well placed moves on Gerald's part. Gerald had improved noticably in just a few hours.

Eventually, Harriet put her wooden swords away took a seat on the floor to catch her breath. She sat with her forearms on her raised knees and her head rolling side to side. "Alright Gerald, find another partner and keep practising for the rest of the morning. Bring over Benilada, I'll work with her next."

Gerald gave a quick thanks and walked off, nursing the many bruises he had inflicted.

"So...you seem a bit more uptight when it comes to training," Harriet looked up at Lorag and uncorked her waterskin, "D'you learn everything you know about fighting from the legion?" Harriet took a swig of water while she listened.