Step by Step

Chapter Ten

[Had to put this one up before I left to go home for two straight weeks. I will be working on the epilogue to this story while on extended break; I should have it up as soon as I'm back to school or... Whatever happens.]

i. A Vote of Confidence

'Varian's in charge from here on out.'

Cassandra's words reverberated throughout Varian's mind. Why would she put him in charge, even temporarily? He knew that she would only leave this to people that she trusted, what with just how important finding Trystan was to her. So as honored as her decision made him feel, he couldn't help but wonder why.

"So... What are your orders?" Craig asked him almost immediately after Cass disappeared from their line of sight.

"... Orders?"

Craig nodded. "Every captain gives orders to their men, unless I'm mistaken."

Varian frowned, thinking. He was unused to having to give orders, leading searches, having to find missing persons... He was unused to all of it.

"We split up," he said finally, "of all the territories that Cass marked off, we have the largest one. We'd be better off splitting up, each of us taking a smaller sector of land."

Craig and Jonah both frowned a little. Split up? Really?!

"I know it sounds crazy, guys, but if we separately scour these areas, and we're all really thorough about it... If she's anywhere around here"-- he gestured at their marked section of the map-- "well, we're going to find her."

"Say one of us does find her," Jonah said, crossing his arms over his chest, "how do we let everyone else who's searching know to stop?"

"That... That's a very good question, actually," Varian admitted, "she never said anything about that..."

"Maybe... We've got flares," Craig said, "each group has multiple flares. So, we can take our own and, y'know, set it off if we happen to find her..."

"Craig, you are a genius!" Varian exclaimed with a somewhat manic grin, "how did I not think of that before?!"

"Because you were too busy focusing on the orders that your girlfriend gave."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Could've fooled me."

Varian opened his mouth to retort before shaking his head. "Look, as much as I'd love to debate this... Trystan's still out there. We have to find her, for Cassandra. Hand me the map, please."

Craig handed the map over, and Varian studied it closely. He could easily tell where the boundary lines went to mark the section into almost-equal thirds, but... How was he supposed to show that to the others?

"We have a few extra maps," Jonah offered, "in case you were wondering."

"How about a writing utensil?" he asked.

Craig had already pulled out two extra maps and a quill, offering them to Varian. The young alchemist took them, took a brief second to blow the bangs out of his face, and then quickly set to work.

Less than an hour after that, the three men had separated.

I won't bore you with any of their journeys, seeing as they encountered miles upon miles of nothingness while being completely alone. But I will tell you, as I probably should, that by the end of the day, Varian had reached a definite location, somewhere to at least stay, if not search for Trystan.