Varian was lying awake when he heard Hugo reenter their room in the inn, his footsteps nearly imperceptible on the floor. It was clear to Varian that the trial today had shaken him deeply, and Varian couldn't help but wonder what memories Hugo had been shown for his facade to crack. But he didn't pry; he knew better than anyone what it was like to have memories that constantly tormented him. And he couldn't quite believe it but he felt... bad for Hugo. The way he'd spoken about the world in that cave on the southern pass just reinforced it. He'd been hurt badly by the world and now all he could see was the darkness. He hadn't had anyone like Rapunzel to help him back into the light. Varian could see just how easily it would have been for him to end up just like him if he hadn't gotten that second chance.
Once Hugo had quietened down, Varian slowly rose, picking up his mother's journal and padded from the room, Ruddiger sleepily trailing after him. In the main tavern of the inn, the fire was still roaring, but most of the patrons had left for the night. The bar was closed and the only other person in the room was an older looking man who was reading a thick book quietly in the corner. He barely glanced up as Varian approached and took a seat near the flames, staring deeply into them as if they might hold all the answers to his countless questions. He silently opened the journal to where he'd left off and began to whittle away at the encrypted notes. Their next stop was Koto, but despite being one of the neighbouring kingdoms to Galcrest, he wasn't entirely sure how they were going to reach it. They'd barely reached Galcrest without dying and there was no way he was going to risk the southern pass again. There were roads amongst the mountains, but he'd need a local map if he stood a chance at using them without getting hopelessly lost. His mothers notes didn't seem to hold any clues either as she appeared to have travelled to Galcrest in far more favourable weather, able to enter and exit within a few days.
He sighed and looked down at one of her entries from the days after completing the water trial where she was recounting the beauty of Galcrest. "I don't know what it is about this place that gives me such a strange sense of peace. I know that it's vital that we complete the trials, but everything here just seems to move more slowly than anywhere else in the kingdoms. The people are so friendly and offer anything that we could possibly need. There is such a sense of serenity, as if the troubles of the rest of the world can't reach them here. I know that under the surface there's always going to be negativity, that's just a part of life. But the people here just take it all in stride, always moving and changing, but at the same time, steady and strong. Donella's a little like that, though without the cheerful optimism I suppose. She's had a hard life, I can tell. She the most driven person I've met, but I get the feeling that sometimes she's not running towards the Eternal Library, but is trying to run away from something. She's told me a little about her life in Ingvarr and I can see that it hasn't really been kind to her, but she's more weighed down by it since the trial. I suppose the only thing I can do to help is to be patient and be there for her when she needs me. I just hope she doesn't bite my head off when she does."
He sighed heavily and closed the journal, mulling over her words.
'Don't often hear a sigh so loud from one so young.'
Varian glanced over towards the man who had set his book down and was looking over at him. 'Something's weighing heavily on your shoulders, boy. If you're not careful, that kind of weight can crush you.'
'I know,' he replied, 'I'm trying. It's just... I went through the Trail of Change today. Just brought up a lot of bad memories.'
The man's face changed, becoming far more sympathetic. He rose and limped his way over to sit across from Varian.
'The Trail can be has hard and unforgiving as the glacier it sits under. People your age don't often feel the need to brave its tunnels. It can be a stark reminder of the person you used to be and that is sometimes not a pretty picture.'
'Definitely not,' Varian muttered.
'But take if from someone who's been on this world for a good few decades; life isn't pretty. Most of the time, it's a mess. People are always struggling to get by, to get ahead, to make a name for themselves or just reach tomorrow. The Trail shows you all of the ugly, messy steps that you've taken, reminds you of what you've done to get where you are today. But that's the key to it, you see? You are not that person any more. A year ago, a month ago, even yesterday, you are a completely different person and you will continue to become someone new and greater with every step forward you take. Your past might be a mess, but you survived it all, and have come out with a deeper understanding of yourself. Life is just a series of choices, good and bad and every moment you get the chance to make another. We can't know which choices will be the right ones, we never know. But all anyone can do is try to be better than they were. And if the Trail showed you the worst in yourself, it's really not that hard to turn it all around, is it?'
The man looked him up and down and smiled. 'You seem like a good lad to me. Keep going and never stop. Even if you end up somewhere you never planned for, you'll always be further along then where you are now.'
He rose and shoved the book into his jacket pocket, giving Varian a friendly wave before limping out into the cold night air. Varian stayed by the fire, feeling strangely at ease. He stayed there for the rest of the night, falling asleep not long after that until he jolted awake to the innkeeper gently shaking his shoulder.
'You'll set your hair on fire if you're not careful,' Panuk warned him and Varian blinked blearily before sitting up. There were a few others in the tavern at this point but no one was paying him much attention. Someone had even pulled a blanket over him at some point.
'Thanks,' he mumbled, 'Um, sorry.'
'Don't worry about it. Just didn't want you falling into the fire. Might spoil people's appetites.'
Varian looked towards the door that led to the second floor where there was no sign of Yong or Hugo having emerged. Panuk followed his gaze and said, 'Your friends are still asleep. It's only early yet.'
Varian nodded, gathering his satchel and checking to make sure the totem and his mother's journal were still secure before rising to his feet.
'Is there a cartographer or someone who sells maps in town?' he asked and Panuk nodded, moving back behind the bar.
'It can be tricky to map Galcrest thanks to the nature of our glaciers but Toklo spends most of is days out in the mountains updating his maps. You might be in luck, I think he's just gotten back from one of his trips. He has a shop in the main square of the city. I'm sure he has a map for wherever you need to go.'
'Thanks. If the others ask, could you let them know where I am?'
'No problem, kid.'
Varian pulled his hood up as he hurried from the inn, turning towards the gleaming tower on the far side of the city where he assumed the centre of town would be. Maybe it was because they'd completed their second trial, or maybe it was thanks to the advice that man had given him the night before, but he was feeling lighter, as if the world was full of possibilities just waiting for him to take them.
Toklo's shop was a small building nestled amongst other far grander ones, overshadowed on all sides by their looming height so that Varian actually walked past it a few times and had to ask one of the locals where it was. When he entered, he was immediately hit with the familiar smell of old parchment and ink, taking him back to the days he'd spent in Corona's libraries and he immediately relaxed. He could hear a quill scratching on paper somewhere nearby, but it was impossible to make out the source when the entire space was filled floor to ceiling with shelves overflowing with rolled maps and books spilling out into the aisles between them.
'Hello?' he called but the scratching never wavered.
'Who is it?' came a cantankerous sounding voice, almost as if its owner was upset that he might have a customer.
'I'm looking for a map,' Varian continued, slowly picking his way into the shop.
'You'll have to be a lot more specific there,' the voice replied sarcastically, 'Or you can take your pick and hope for the best.'
Varian was strongly reminded of Hugo for a moment as he finally emerged from the aisle to the centre of the room where a stone desk rose from the floor, a man bent low over a massive roll of paper, so close that his nose was almost touching it. He didn't even look up, his quill never wavering.
'I need to get to Koto,' Varian explained, 'I came into Galcrest from the southern pass but that was a huge risk I don't really want to repeat.'
'Well there are plenty of ways to get to Koto aside from the southern pass,' the man continued, 'You much for climbing?'
'I have a donkey with me. An old donkey. Don't think he'd be very good at it.'
'So you want a road? A walkway? A goat trail? I need specifics, boy! What kind of timeframe are you looking at? Do you have a wagon? How fast can you travel in a day?'
'Okay, fine. I need the straightest, flattest path out of Galcrest that three people my age and younger can walk with a donkey who can barely handle walking in and out of a stable. Speed isn't really a priority but I'd prefer to be able to get to the border within at least two weeks.'
'Finally!' the man sighed, setting his quill down and straightening, his back popping loudly in the space. He was the most unkempt man Varian had ever seen, with wild grey hair springing in all directions, a face that was well-weathered by years spent outside, and he was missing at least four teeth that he could see. His hands were leathery and scarred, likely from climbing the mountains of the kingdom for most of his life, but his eyes were bright as he looked him over.
'Alright then. I've got a good goat trail that should work for you then. Most goat trails are steep but this one is flat enough that even your invalid donkey could manage it.'
He turned and disappeared amongst the stacks, muttering to himself as he tossed maps and books aside as he searched for the right one. Ruddiger chattered on Varian's shoulder, looking just as confused as he was. But while he was occupied, Varian looked down at the man he'd been working on and gaped in surprise. It was the most beautifully drawn, detailed map he'd ever seen. It looked like it was mapping a glacier and every crevasse and fallen stone had been documented. He'd even gotten patches of hardy mountain plants that Varian was surprised didn't move in some invisible breeze. When Toklo returned with a smaller map, Varian expected there to be less detail, but instead there was even more. Every landmark had been captured in the ink and given a name from Galcrest all the way down to one of the main roads that connected it to Koto.
'This'll take you to one of the main trading routes between here and there,' Toklo explained, 'After that you're on your own. This is as recent as three weeks ago so it's not my most updated work. But it should serve you well enough.'
He actually sounded upset that he didn't have a more recent map, but Varian was ecstatic.
'Thank you! This'll work perfectly. How much do I owe you?'
'For that piece? Just a silver. Not my best work and you seem like you have no idea what you're doing so I'll cut you some slack.'
Ignoring the insult, Varian slipped him two just because one didn't seem nearly enough. Toklo shrugged and accepted the extra before leaning back over his current map, completely ignoring him now.
'Thanks,' he said but Toklo didn't bother responding.
Returning to the inn, he found Hugo and Yong had emerged from their room and were in the middle of breakfast. Hugo didn't look up as he sat down but Yong beamed.
'What's that?' he asked as Varian set the map on the table.
'A map to get us to Koto,' he replied, 'The cartographer said it was the best route for what we needed.'
'And there aren't any avalanches or snowgeists?' Hugo asked with an eyebrow raised.
'He didn't say anything about any of that so we should be alright. But I suppose it's a good thing we've restocked our supplies just in case.'
'If any show up, they won't know what hit them,' Yong stated, whipping out one of his firecrackers.
Hugo just nodded and within the hour, they were leaving Galcrest behind and heading west towards the mouth of the goat track the map showed. At first they were heading the wrong direction, but as they rose higher the track looped back on itself and started towards the east where Koto lay. Yong was far more enthusiastic than usual, chattering about what the next trial might pose for them and asking Varian a million questions about if his mom had written anything about it in her journal.
'Not really,' he admitted, 'It's the same with Bayangor and Galcrest. It's like any mention of what's actually involved in the trial has been erased. I can see she's still trying to write stuff but there's just this big gap.'
'Super helpful,' Hugo muttered.
Varian ignored him and continued, 'She does say that Koto is pretty closed off to outsiders but that when she visited, it looked like there'd been some kind of meteor shower that they were rebuilding from. No one really said anything to her about it though. I don't think it's related to the trial.'
'Then why bring it up?' Hugo asked and this time Varian shot him a glare but still said nothing. But Hugo apparently wasn't done. 'I have a question. If that's your mom's journal we're following, why didn't you just ask her about these trials yourself? Get the full inside scoop rather than these vague hints and clues. I wanna know exactly what we're getting into but no one seems to have a straight answer until we're already right in the middle of it.'
'It's kind of hard to ask advice from someone who's been dead for at least fifteen years,' Varian replied back coldly.
He didn't expect any sympathy from Hugo, but he at least expected him to be a decent human being about it. Instead he rolled his eyes and muttered, 'Of course you've got a dead mom. Tragic sob story requirement, right?'
Varian acted without thinking, dropping the map and turning on Hugo who didn't even have time to react before Varian's fist was slamming into his cheek. Varian wasn't a particularly well-built person, but he'd spent his whole life living and working on a farm. He had a quiet strength about him that he didn't often feel the need to advertise. But right at that moment, he was more than willing to offer a demonstration. Hugo fell back with a strangled gasp, almost falling onto Prometheus who brayed and halted, ears pinned back at the sudden action. Hugo looked up at Varian in shock, clutching his already bruising face.
'Don't talk about my family like that ever again,' Varian hissed venomously, 'I've been trying to at least get along for the sake of these trials, but that's a line you don't cross.'
Hugo surged to his feet, forgoing any of his alchemy or machines and opted simply to swing his own fist straight into Varian's stomach. It was nowhere near as strong a hit as Varian's punch had been, but it was surprising enough to make Varian stagger backwards, gasping for air as Hugo moved in to strike again, merciless just as he'd been taught.
'Guys, stop!' Yong shouted, jumping between them.
'Stay out of this, Yong,' Hugo snapped, 'This is how the real world tastes, alchemist.'
Varian had just straightened, ready to defend himself just as Yong exclaimed, 'The map!'
At once he spun around back to the trail ahead, watching as the map he'd been so thrilled with getting was caught by the wind and drifted towards the edge of the trail. He moved to reach for it, but Hugo's strike was making breathing difficult and Hugo was nowhere near close enough. Yong had the fastest reflexes of them all, jumping past Varian to lunge for it as it floated over the edge of the trail. His hand lashed out and caught the corner of it, but his momentum was carrying him over the loose stones, straight over the edge after it.
'Yong!' Varian shouted, leaping towards him and latching his hand around his wrist. Yong was scrabbling against the side of the mountain, stones falling all about him as his weight began to drag Varian down as well.
'Just hold on,' Varian grunted, 'I'm not gonna let go.'
Ruddiger was tugging on his jacket, trying to keep him from sliding even further, but there was no way the raccoon could hold both his and Yong's weight. When Hugo grabbed Varian's other hand, it was so surprising that Varian almost lost his grip entirely. He looked back to see Hugo's bruised face contorted as he took their weight, heaving them backwards with his entire body. And Varian's inexorable slide towards the edge of the path reversed.
'Prometheus!' Varian grunted and the donkey hurried closer, grabbing the hood of Varian's jacket and heaving backwards. That was enough and both he and Yong were dragged bodily back onto the path.
'Are you okay?' Varian asked, checking Yong over. He was shaking and pale, but he was alive and unhurt which was the most important thing.
He offered the map to Varian silently but at that moment he couldn't care less about it as he hugged him tightly. 'Don't ever do that again, okay? If the map goes over, just let it go. It's not worth your life.'
Yong nodded, burying his face into Varian's shoulder as he tried to calm down. Varian looked back to Hugo who was crouched behind them, the concern evident on his face even after he tried to hide it.
'Didn't think I'd be the only one smart enough to know jumping off a cliff is a bad idea,' he commented drily, and after what had very nearly happened, Varian couldn't help but laugh. Even Hugo managed a smirk, a real one this time. Only to wince as his new bruise smarted.
'Sorry,' Varian sighed as Yong finally pulled away, 'I... guess I lost my cool there for a second.'
'Goggles, you've never been cool,' Hugo replied and again, Varian grinned, unable to help himself. 'But... I suppose... if anyone deserves and apology... it's probably... you. I guess.'
He looked away as he said it, his voice grumbling and clearly resenting his words, but meaning them nevertheless.
'Oh, wow. The high and mighty Hugo is apologising to tragic sob-story me?' Varian replied, 'What an honour. Seriously, I'm touched.'
'And now I regret it. Savour this moment because it won't happen again.'
'It better not,' Yong muttered, 'I don't want to do that again, ever.'
This time both Varian and Hugo laughed, the tension whisking away on the biting cold wind around them.
'Enough of this sappy junk,' Hugo finally muttered, rising, 'We planning on spending the night out here or did we actually want to reach Koto before summer?'
And to Varian's surprise, he offered him his hand to help him up. He took his warily, wondering if he was about to land that second hit he'd attempted earlier. But instead, he just rubbed his cheek and muttered, 'Didn't think a shrimp like you had a hit like that in you.'
'Funny. I was thinking the same thing. But... whatever this thing is that's going on, can we call a truce? We'll never make it through the rest of the trials if we're at each others throats the whole time.'
Hugo seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging. 'Yeah, sure. Whatever. Probably a good thing for you; you'd never stand a chance if I actually wanted to hurt you.'
'Oh, please. If this wind gets any stronger you'll be the one being blown off the cliff.'
'Bold words for someone within range of a stink bomb.'
'That's a stink bomb? I just thought that was your natural odour. You might wanna get that checked.'
Yong looked back at them both, baffled. One minute they were ready to kill each other, now they were bantering back and forth like an old married couple. He shook his head. Grown ups were weird.