While he had walked towards the place where the first challenge would be , Mason had felt surprisingly nervous. He had practiced a lot and had consulted his textbooks whenever he could so he had thought that he would be mentally ready. Yet , that was with the IMPS was about , wasn’t it? He had signed up knowing fully well he would be thrown in the deep, dark waters. So with this not so assuring thought, he stepped towards the forest ahead of him.

With his Alder Wood already in his hand, Mason tapped it against the side of his leg as he stared at the thick and tall trees towering overhead. He had to crane his neck to see the treetops. He took a deep breath in , held it for a couple of seconds and breathed back out. His first goal was to make it at least through the first round, he could worry about the other challenges later. Baby steps.

Nodding, and telling himself that he was going to be fine as long as he stayed sharp, Mason entered the forest. The moment he had left the safety at the edge of the forest, the feeling was immediately different. He was alone now and it made him even more nervous. Though not as nervous that he started to fidget. While he walked further, the Ravenclaw started to wonder if the fog he was in right now was all natural and part of the forest or if they had used a smokescreen spell on the location to give it a more creepy vibe. Natural or not, it was doing very well in keeping him alert.

His steps were careful, almost calculated as he held his wand up , ready to use it right away when needed. His dark brown eyes observed as much as he could. Not only did he look forward but also to his left, right and above and over his shoulder in case something was sneaking up on him.

The farther he ventured inside of the forest, the darker and colder it became. He was okay with the cold so far. As someone who had went to Durmstrang for four years, he was more used to the cold than most of the Hogwarts students. But he did not like that his sight was getting more and more limited so the Ravenclaw flicked his wand, making a small loop as he thought ‘Lumos’ and the tip of the wand illuminated. By doing this, he was sure he would attract attention but he felt better knowing he would be attacked soon and he could see it coming than knowing he would be attacked soon and he could not see it coming. The difference was big if he had to say so himself.