After their camping trip, the group resumed on their way, the journey remaining mostly peaceful, with Hop Pop at the reins of the Plantar wagon with Cody sitting beside him, while Ina sat on the mushroom of the wagon, playing a peaceful melody with her flute. On the garrison wagon, Shadow was at the reins with Anne sitting beside him and Kaemon sitting on the side, while Valor laid on top of the wagon, his hands folded behind his head and staring up at the sky.
The two wagons road through the mountains with gray skies overhead.
"Hey, looks like we're almost halfway to Newtopia, guys." Anne declared, holding up the map.
"Yep, we're making good time." Hop Pop agreed.
"We'll have so much work to return to, no doubt." Cody sighed. "Still, it will be nice to be home."
"Finally! Feels like we've been on the road forever!" Valor said loudly, stretching his arms out.
"Yeah, and don't get me started on the side trips." Ina said in agreement. "Like that earlier event when Polly snuck off and we got stuck with a roc."
"Or when we ran into a theatre caravan, which turned out to be a band of thieves." Valor added.
"Despite that, we are making good time." Shadow said.
"I gotta say, this trip has been a lot smoother than I thought it'd be, since those events." Anne said.
"Yep!" Hop Pop nodded.
After a moment of silence, Valor sat up. "Anne, quick question, who's the babe in the middle?" Anne looked over and saw him with her photo.
"Oh, that's Sasha, she's one of my friends wh-HEY! Give me that!" She said, swiping the photo back from the redheaded boy. "How did you even?"
"Apparently, it's pretty easy to take stuff from your bag." Valor shrugged before sitting cross-legged, looking at Anne with a smile. "But, please, tell me more about this Sasha."
Before Anne can say anything…
"Stop pushing me!" Sprig yelled from inside the Plantar wagon.
"NO! You stop pushing ME!" Polly shouted back.
"Aaaand they're at it again." Kaemon sighed.
"Give me back my book!" Maddie suddenly yelled from inside the garrison.
"No way! You spend way too much time reading!" Ivy shouted back.
"Not them too." Shadow groaned, rubbing his forehead.
"Get that stupid stuff out of my face!" Polly yelled.
"Well, sorry for showing you all this cool moss I found!" Sprig yelled back before Polly punched him. "Ow! What was that for?"
"I saw a punch bug! Punch bug!" Polly exclaimed before hitting Sprig again.
"For the last time, I'm not playing punch bu-Ow!" Sprig said before Polly hit him again.
"Seriously, give it back!" Maddie demanded.
"No way! Learn to live a little!" Ivy retorted, keeping the book away.
"Two weeks of nonstop arguing is really starting to wear on me." Anne groaned, her hands on her face.
"I admit, this is starting to get on my nerves too." Shadow nodded, trying to keep his composure.
"At least they're keeping it in the wagons this time, eh?" Cody called.
He was proven wrong, however, when Polly jumped out through the hatch, wearing Sprig's hat, jumping on Hop Pop's arm and taking a deep breath. "Look everyone, I'm Sprig." She said in Sprig's voice before pulling out a hand full of moss. "Look at all this dumb moss I found." She then threw the moss in Hop Pop's face. "Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!" She then leaned into his ear and yelled, "Woooooooow!"
Sprig then popped out, "Oh, yeah?" He said before inhaling, giving a perfect impression of Polly. "Well, I'm Polly," He clung to Cody. "And I decided we're all playing punch bug." He then proceeded to punch the older man in the shoulder. "Punch bug!"
"Wow! Wow!" Polly kept saying in Sprig's voice.
"Punch bug! Punch bug!" Sprig shouted in Polly's voice, still punching Cody in the shoulder.
"This is incredibly annoying, but I have to say, their impressions of each other are spot on." Valor said.
"Yep, always had a knack for that." Hop Pop replied.
"You gotta live a little, girl!" Ivy declared, jumping out through the hatch of the garrison.
"Give me my book back, seriously!" Maddie protested, chasing after her.
Shadow had increased respect for the older men, especially Cody. No matter how much his students would argue or throw tantrums, the older man would always remain calm and let them vent. That patience rubbed off on the boy, and his time training Anne really showed.
But all this arguing over every little thing, from accidentally bumping into each other to how the other breathed? It was starting to take its toll.
"ENOUGH!" He finally shouted, making everyone stop. "Your constant fighting is driving everyone crazy!"
"He/She started it!" The four kids yelled, pointing at each other accusingly. Then they were shocked by the accusation by one another. "Me?!" They then glared at each other. "Why you…"
"I don't care who started it!" Shadow snapped before the arguing could continue. "I want you to put an end to it!"
"Yeah, I agree." Anne said. "And quite frankly, I don't think I can take two more weeks of this. If only there were some way to get you to stop fighting."
"Ya!" Hop Pop suddenly yelled, pulled the reins of Bessie to stop, the sudden stop throwing Sprig and Polly to the seat floor and Ina jerking forward, while Cody held on. Seeing this, Anne and Kaemon hanging on, but Valor rolled over.
"What the heck, dude? I almost bit my tongue." Valor said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Shh!" Cody said, pointing at the sign. "Look!"
At an unusual fork in the road, they looked up at the sign pointing at the stranger looking road.
"'Quarreler's Pass. A road to reconciliation for weary travel-mates'." Polly read the sign aloud. "Okay, so what?"
On the other hand, Sprig's eyes widened. "Wait, Polly, you don't think they're gonna..."
Before they knew it, Polly, Sprig, Maddie, and Ivy were thrown off the wagons and towards the Quarreler's Pass.
"You're seriously leaving us here?" Polly exclaimed.
"Aw, quit your bellyaching." Hop Pop said, putting on his reading glasses and flipping the sign to show the backside, showing a map with the two paths meeting. "It says right here that the paths meet up eventually."
"Your fighting is driving us nuts!" Anne said while pulling her hair. "You brought this upon yourselves!"
"This is all Sprig's fault for being so zippy and obnoxious all the time!" Polly yelled, hitting her brother.
"Me? You're the one who's punching everyone!" Sprig yelled back before returning the hit.
"No, you are!"
"No, you are!"
"How about this?!" Ivy yelled, punching both siblings on the head, faceplanting them into the dirt.
"Don't think you and Maddie are in the clear, Ivy." Shadow said, giving the two frogs a stern stare. "I expected you two to be old enough to be more mature."
"It's not my fault Maddie spends too much time reading!" Ivy protested.
"You had no business swiping my book!" Maddie snapped back.
"Mm-hmm. You see, you four need to learn to value each other and get along." Hop Pop said, pointing at them.
"By ourselves?" Sprig questioned.
"Without supervision?" Ivy added.
Seeing that they had a fair point, Shadow laid the reins to the side. "Actually, I'll keep them company. Make sure they make it to the other side."
"I'll go too." Kaemon said, hopping off the wagon with the boy. "Nothing wrong with having extra backup."
"Shadow, if you get in trouble, just call me." Anne said, holding her phone up.
Shadow looked up at his girlfriend with a raised brow. "Uh, Anne…"
"There, all good." Hop Pop said, not giving Shadow a chance to voice his concerns. "See you kids on the other side and good luck. Heeyah!"
And with a flick of the reins, the two wagons darted off on the safe path, leaving the six youths behind, Shadow looking on with a deadpanned stare.
"How long before Anne realizes her dumb mistake?" Kaemon asked.
"In less than three seconds, I'm sure." Shadow said.
Not long after, the teens and older adults were laughing before Anne realized her mistake.
"Call me?!" She said, hitting her forehead. "Argh! Shadow doesn't have his own phone! And there's no cell reception!"
"I don't get it." Hop Pop said.
"Watashi no kanojo wa bakadesu." Shadow muttered under his breath. Over the past two weeks, Shadow had started to get more used to the Japanese language, even using it to hide his swearing. It made him wonder if he was part Japanese.
"Right, let's get going." Kaemon said, turning to the others. "We're not gonna meet the others standing around."
The older boys walked in front of the two. Sprig was about to follow, when Polly suddenly hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.
"Try to keep up, slowpoke." She exclaimed and tried hopping away.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Sprig shouted, grabbing her and pulling her back.
"Hey, knock it off!" Kaemon snapped, grabbing both siblings by the collar and hoisting them up. "Seriously, this fighting needs to stop."
"He's right. We're looking after you lot until we get back to the wagons." Shadow said. "So, for the sake of our sanity, try harder to get along."
"It's her fault! Polly keeps being a brat!" Sprig complained before Polly punched him. "Ow!"
"You're the brat!" She shouted.
"Shadow and Kaemon are right." Maddie nodded. "If we don't stop this bickering, who knows how our quest will end on this pass."
"Never thought I'd agree with you, yet here we are." Ivy nodded.
The six kids walked until they reached a sign before a gorge with a beam stuck between two cliffs, which seemed more like a log on the edges of said cliffs, with several thousand spikes down below.
Polly hopped up to the sign and read aloud, "'The Beam of Balance'?" She chuckled. "More like the beam of..." She suddenly collided with Sprig while running towards the beam. "Race you across!"
"Polly, don't run across it!" Shadow called.
"Hey! Get back here, you dang cheater!" Sprig yelled as he chased her.
"Guys, wait!" Kaemon called, but the siblings were already on the beam and running across.
"Eat my dust, lame-os!" Polly yelled, but just as she was a quarter across, the log began to roll, causing her to scream as she fell. "Help me, lame-os!"
Shadow jumped off the edge and dove downwards, catching Polly and bringing her back up.
"Thanks." Polly said as Shadow sat her back on the log.
"This test requires balance, obviously." Shadow said before flying to the other side. "Too far to one side or the other and you'll surely fall."
"What? Can't you fly us across?" Sprig asked.
"I'm not always gonna be around to solve everything for you." Shadow shrugged.
"That's okay. Kaemon can help us." Polly said.
However, they saw that Kaemon was already across the beam and next to Shadow, no doubt having already gotten across while they were distracted.
"KAEMON!" The kids shouted angrily.
"Hey, you guys caused this situation. Now you've gotta sort it out yourselves." Kaemon shrugged.
"It's okay, guys. Maybe we're supposed to go across slowly." Sprig said before getting on all fours and started tiptoeing, with the other kids doing the same and following behind.
"Okay. This works. Yeah. Slow and steady." Maddie said, although they weren't even halfway across.
"This is gonna take forever. Let's just jump." Ivy exclaimed.
"Finally, a good suggestion!" Polly said.
"Jump? We can't make that, it's wider than Croaker's Creek." Sprig protested.
Polly laughed. "Remember when you tried to jump over Croaker's Creek?"
"Yeah, don't remind me." Sprig groaned.
"You landed right on a cactus flower!" Polly went on. "All those spikes sticking out of your..." She then gasped. "Wait! Remember Croaker's Creek?"
"Yeah! I don't wanna talk about it!" Sprig said.
"No, no! There was a rickety bridge, remember?" Polly explained. "And the only way we got across was..."
Sprig gasped upon realizing her plan. "The walk-and-roll! Polly, you're a flipping genius!" He then grabbed on the beam when it started moving again. "Forgot where I was."
"I don't know what you guys have planned, but mind letting us in on it?" Ivy asked.
"It's okay, just do what we do." Sprig said before doing a T-pose and placing Polly on his head.
Ivy and Maddie nodded before standing sideways and holding hands.
"Let's roll! And walk." Polly declared.
"Okay, ready." Sprig said before he started to walk, while Ivy and Maddie followed, shimmying sideways, before the beam started to roll. "Whoa! Whoa! Okay, left." Polly grunted as she rolled over to his left arm, her weight making him lean, and the log started to roll in the other direction.
The other two girls, on the other hand, leaned forward and backward, while still moving to the side towards the other end of the gorge.
The four continued these methods before finally managing to get to the other side while falling. Then they stood up.
"We did it!" The four declared.
"Good job, you four." Shadow clapped a single time. "You've passed the first challenge."
"Hopefully, you'll keep up the cooperation for the rest of this quest." Kaemon said.
"Right, now, let's breeze through this thing so we can slap Hop Pop." Polly declared, hopping back on her brother's head.
"I support that." Sprig nodded.
The group soon started walking onward, Shadow humming in curiosity.
"Huh. I wonder how those two are doing without us?"
Meanwhile, the adults and teens were enjoying some much-needed peace and quiet, Hop Pop and Cody manning the reins of the wagons while Anne, Valor, and Ina relaxed with their eyes closed and smiling, Anne next to Hop Pop on the Plantar wagon while Ina and Valor sat with Cody, the wind blowing around them.
"Finally. Peace and quiet." Hop Pop said before pausing. "Almost a little too quiet." He then chuckled nervously. "Almost a little awkward, isn't it?"
The teens opened their eyes and looked over at the old frog, Cody averting one eye in his direction as to keep is other eye on the road, the old frog puckering his lips and sweating a bit, the humans waiting for him to speak his mind.
But Valor had beaten him to the punch. "So, is Sasha single?" He asked, before Anne threw her remaining shoe at him, hitting him in the face and knocking him off the wagon. "Ow!"
"You had that comin'!" Ina called as the boy ran to catch up.
"Hey, Hop Pop, I have a question." Anne said, turning to the old frog.
"Oh? What's on your mind?" Hop Pop asked.
Anne took in a breath before letting it out, then asked, "Back at the tower, Shadow mentioned that if it wasn't for you…he would've ended his own life."
"WHAT?!" Both Ina and Valor exclaimed, the red-head having caught up and climbed on the garrison.
"Why would he even consider that?!" Ina demanded, not believing what she heard.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like Azazel at all!" Valor added.
Cody remained silent, wanting to hear more, before Anne turned back to Hop Pop. "HP, please tell me. What happened to Shadow?"
Hop Pop seemed unsure, as he preferred the boy to tell more about his past when he was ready. On the other hand, Anne was already made aware of Shadow living with the king and perhaps, by understanding more of Shadow's mindset, it might soften the blow. Maybe.
"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you more." Hop Pop said. "Remember how I told you, when I found him five years back, close to death?" Anne nodded. "Well, I also said that I took him in and nursed him back to health. Since then, he's lived with us, tending the fields and following us to the markets, he's been a huge help." He then sighed. "Sprig and Polly's parents treated him like he was one of them, despite his appearance. They bathed him, dressed him, taught him many things, like field tending, hunting, and other stuff. Heck, Conrad even gave Shadow that model ship of the Green Lady, and Shelly got him into cooking. He grew to love them so much and it warmed my heart to see him smile."
Anne smiled, at first happy that her boyfriend was in such good hands, but that smile quickly faded when she saw Hop Pop's face drop into a frown.
"But then, something happened." He continued. "Shadow and I were on a journey when the herons attacked Wartwood. Shadow managed to scare the herons away, though. Sprig and Polly survived, but…their parents weren't so lucky." He sighed. "I felt horrible, blaming myself for what happened, but Shadow? He took it the hardest."
"How so?" Cody asked, genuinely curious.
"Anne, remember that beast form he took back at Toad Tower?" The old frog asked, earning a nod from Anne. "Well, that horrible day was the first time he changed. Upon the news of Conrad and Shelly's deaths, he was utterly devastated. He lost control of his emotions and went berserk. Thankfully no one was hurt, but he did cause lots of property damage. I was able to calm him down, but the damage was already done and the whole town treated him like a monster, sending him further into depression."
Anne felt her heart ache, as Hop Pop got to the darker part. "Then one night, I saw him sneak out. Curious, and worried, I followed him, all the way to the edge of a cliff. He stared off to the distance before looking down…and hovered one foot over the edge…before tilting himself forward."
Ina gasped in shock, Valor's eyes widened with shock, Cody's face was riddled with sympathy, while Anne shared their shock. For the past few months, she had grown to see him as a fearless swordsman that would kill someone for looking at her or the Plantars funny, who would go through Hell and back to ensure the safety of those he valued so much. But this new information painted a very different picture.
"Was he really…" Anne choked out. "Was he really about to…"
"Yes, Anne." The old frog nodded. "Luckily, I managed to stop him, asking, well, demanding what in the world he was thinking. And he just broke down, crying how he didn't want to live anymore, how he was a monster that brought death and misery in his wake." He sighed. "I did the only thing I could think of to comfort him; hug him tight and let him cry into my shoulder. I realized that he had friends before coming to Wartwood, friends that he valued deeply…and lost. To him, Conrad and Shelly were valuable friends, and they were just gone for next to no reason. The boys suffered, and me and the kids did everything we could to ease his pain, help him see the brighter things in life."
The more Anne heard about this, the more she felt sympathizing with the boy. He had gone through so much, lost people he held close to his heart, and yet, despite that, here he was, living the best he could with a smile on his face.
"Actually, that wasn't the first time he changed."
The Thai girl and orange frog looked over at Cody, who had a look of regret on his face.
"It was a year before he left." The older man explained. "He had lost someone he held close more than all the gold in the world. Her name was Karlia."
"She was the brains of the trio, between herself, Apollo, and Azazel." Valor chimed in. "She was like a sister to them, always giving them advice and trying to guide them on the right path."
"But for all her wisdom, she had no shortage of enemies." Ina spoke up. "She always preached about equal living between the three amphibians. Sadly, not everyone was interested in that idea."
"What happened?" Anne asked.
"There was a riot, at one point." Cody said. "Some of the folks were getting violent. Me and the kids tried to put a stop to it, peacefully, but it was no good. Karlia tried to calm them down, but…an arrow flew threw the air and hit her in the chest, causing a massacre."
"Oh my." Anne said, a hand over her mouth.
"The minute Karlia's body hit the floor, Azazel just snapped." Valor said. "A massive bonfire and before we knew it, a wolf the size of a kaiju attacked. It took the king and all of us combined just to calm him down."
Anne almost gasped. If she thought the True Dark form she saw at Toad Tower was bad, she could only imagine what a form of that size could do.
"You see, Anne, Shadow's a complicated person." Hop Pop told her. "The boy's been through so much, and it's nice to see him smile. So, if he does something that you don't like or agree with, just try to understand that he just doesn't want to lose anyone else."
Thinking it over, Anne nodded. "Thanks for telling me this, Hop Pop. You too, guys."
"Just trying to make sure my students are happy, that's all." The older man chuckled.
Looking ahead, Anne thought over what she was told. After hearing the pain and trauma that Shadow had gone through, she felt her determination grow tenfold.
'Shadow, I'll do everything I can to keep you smiling, I swear!'
Back with the young teen and children, the group was easily passing one test after another, be it climbing out of a hole, throwing Polly up to a rope ladder to let it down, or a trust fall, the kids were easily passing these tests, all the while Shadow and Kaemon couldn't be prouder.
As they walked, Ivy was next to Maddie. "Hey, I'm sorry for running off with your book. I just wanted you to get out more, ya know? Join the fun."
"I understand, but I prefer to stick to my books." Maddie told her. "Not everyone likes to be around others, you know."
"Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt to try." Ivy said. "Tell you what, if you make the time to hang out with the rest of us kids, I'll try not to pester you so much."
Maddie smiled at this. "Deal."
"Man, these tests are easy." Sprig said.
"Yeah, this last stretch will be easy." Polly declared.
"Don't jinx it just yet." Shadow warned. "You never know what nonsense life will through at you."
"Like a fake end of the pass?" Kaemon asked, pointing ahead.
Looking ahead, the pass was indeed fake, a set of boards painted on it to look like the exit.
"It's fake." Polly stated.
"What the heck? Someone blocked off the pass and painted it to look like the end?" Sprig said, running a hand over the painted wall. "Weird."
"Must be another test. What if we took that tunnel over there?" Polly suggested, pointing over to a dark, dirty, and dangerous looking tunnel that had a sign that said, 'This weigh also gud'.
Seeing that they had no other option, Shadow sighed. "Alright, not much choice, it seems."
The six entered the tunnel, walking down the tunnel before coming to a fork in the tunnel.
"A fork in the road, so to speak." Kaemon stated. "We should split up. If one of us finds the exit first, the other can call out."
"Sounds fine with us." Sprig said.
With the kids going down the tunnel on the right, Shadow and Kaemon walked down the tunnel on the left, passing several mushrooms and gems embedded in the walls.
"Man, this tunnel seems to go on for days." Kaemon said.
"Still, we should practice caution." Shadow said. "Who knows what we'll find."
Moving onward, the two stopped when they saw a painting of what seemed like a wolf breaking free from its chains.
"Whoa, check it out!" Kaemon said in awe. "Looks like the story of the Wolf!"
"The story?" Shadow said with a raised brow.
"Yeah, look!" Kaemon pointed at the next mural; the Wolf being approached by the Maiden in Blue. And beside that was the Wolf standing guard of the Blue Maiden against a pink Heron. Moving on, they looked at a mural of the Maiden and Wolf meeting a Green Viper, a white Wolf by its side.
"This seems like the journey of the Wolf and the Maiden." Kaemon remarked.
"It's…certainly something." Shadow said, slightly uneasy, feeling their own journey similar to that of the Wolf.
The next mural portrayed the Maiden, the Wolf of Black, along with the White Wolf, the Green Viper, and the Pink Heron, standing in fighting stances against a large black creature with multiple orange eyes and a flame in its hand. The final mural, however, portrayed the Maiden mourning over the Black Wolf, the other characters standing around her, sharing the pain.
Boy and newt stared in silence, staring at the mural with mixed reactions.
"Wow." Kaemon said. "So, the Wolf's story begins in earnest before ending in tragedy. I wonder who drew all this…"
The newt moved on, although the human stood staring, specifically at the Wolf, its head laying in the lap of the Maiden, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"Is this truly the story of the Wolf?" He asked, almost a whisper. "Or is it mine?"
Suddenly, he heard the kids scream, the boy running to Kaemon's side, the two stopping when they approached a ledge overlooking a pit filled with bones, most likely belonging to any unfortunate frog, newt or toad that traveled the pass, and in that pit was what looked like a conjoined olms at the waist, both being large, snake-like beasts with short front legs and lacking back legs; one was light pink while the other was purple. They also seemed blind, having bleached eyes, and had two glowing tufts on their heads. They also both had a large amount of scars along their bodies, no doubt from their fighting.
"Mom always liked me best!" The light pink olm yelled.
"That's because she had terrible taste!" The purple one yelled back.
Both human and newt watched the infighting awkwardly, looking at each other with raised brow.
"What the heck is going on?" Kaemon questioned.
"GUYS!"
The two looked down to see the kids down below. Thankfully, they were still alive, thanks to their quick thinking and working together that got the conjoined olms to fight each other.
"We're on our way!" Shadow called, picking Kaemon up by hooking his hands under the newt's armpits before flying downwards, the kids jumping and grabbing onto the newts limbs before the boy flew upwards, finally getting out of the mountain before stopping at a ledge near the trail.
"We're alive!" Ivy declared, falling on her back.
"Whoo, man. Promise me we never end up like that." Polly said to her brother.
"Us? Are you kidding? We're way too good of a team." Sprig declared with a smile.
"I'm glad that you two aren't arguing anymore." Shadow said, giving his own smile. "Although you will have to tell me about what in the world you lot just ran into."
"Bring it in, buddies." Polly said, she, her brother, Ivy and Maddie group hugging, the human hugging them back, before Kaemon joined in.
Looking up, the human saw the sun setting, as well as seeing that they were back on the main road.
"Hmm, looks like we're back on the road." He remarked. "Where's Anne and Hop Pop?"
"Yeah, they should be here by now." Sprig said.
Ivy perked up when she heard someone mumbling. "Wait, do you hear that?"
They looked and saw the two wagon rounding the corner, Bessie and Ironhide looked like they were about to pass out at any minute, and everyone looked ready to lose their minds from Hop Pop's rambling, although Cody seemed like he didn't care.
"You see, kids, a relationship is like a farm. You plant a seed of trust and it grows into a better relationship." The old frog continued rambling.
Happy to see his beloved, Shadow waved and called for her and the others. "Anne, over here! Anne! Cody, Ina, Valor!"
Anne gasped when she saw her boyfriend before jumping off the wagon, "Shadow, guys! Thank Frog!" She then tackled him to the group, her lips colliding with his and hugging him as tightly as possible.
When their kiss ended, Shadow found himself looking up at her, a blush on his face. "Wow, where's this coming from? Did you miss me that much?"
"I just want you to know that I'll be there for you! Always!" The Thai girl said with determination.
Shadow seemed astonished by this, but smiled warmly. "I appreciate that."
"Now, can you guys please help fill the silence?" Valor whined, hands over his ears.
"Yeah, Hop Pop can't deal with them! He can't deal with them!" Ina added, almost screaming.
"The poor frog just keeps going on and on," Cody said calmly with a frown.
Hearing more than his own voice, Hop Pop turned his head and saw Shadow and the others. "Oh, hey Shadow, kids. Didn't see you there. How'd the trials go?"
"It was fine, except for the bloodthirsty olms." Polly said, as she and everyone got on the wagons.
"And you'll be glad to know we've all decided to stop arguing..." Sprig said, but Hop Pop held up a hand and interrupted him.
"That's great, Sprig. Anyway, we were just getting into the nitty-gritty." Hop Pop said before he and Cody got the wagons moving again. "Now that you guys are back, we can talk about Valor and Ina's relationship—"
Before he could say anything further, both Ina and Valor kicked him off the wagon, sending him screaming over the edge as he fell.
When night fell, the two wagons pulled off to the side of a forest road, Hop Pop sleeping inside in a full body cast, everyone in sleeping bags while Shadow took the first watch, the boy petting the snails before sitting atop the garrison, deep in thought. His mind went back to the murals he and Kaemon found in the caves, the story of the Dark Wolf and the Blue Maiden. From start to finish, the Wolf battling a creature of darkness…and died.
Thinking back, he remembered the story of the Wolf and the Maiden. The story had scary similarities to his own journey alongside Anne. Could this prove his vision had merit? Was there an evil force that he must face?
…And more importantly, was he going to die fighting it?
He looked down at his hands, his vision flashing, and for a moment, his hands were covered in blood. Blood of the guilty as well as innocent. He still remembered the time he spent, sent out to kill anyone that questioned the king's rule, be it enemy or ally, soldier or civilian…
…guilty…or innocent.
He let out a soft sigh, looking up at the stars.
"If death is my fate…if this is the price I must pay for redemption, then so be it." He said, undeterred. "I will give my own life if it means the world will live."