Varian joined Yong in front of the huge doorway.
"Wow...How do we get it open?" Yong asked, pacing along the side of the doors.
"I'm not sure..." Varian held his staff close to the surface of one of the doors and looked for any clue upon it.
"It's kinda cold up here, huh?" Yong shivered, walking back to Varian.
"Can I trust you to start a fire? We might be here a while...I need to translate this text."
"Sure. Starting fires is my specialty."
"A small, controlled fire." Varian added and Yong responded with a determined nod.
"You got it!" He smiled before running off, Ruddiger following.
Varian took his bag off, shook his staff so it glowed then sat down, propping it against the door. From his bag, he pulled a linguistics book filled with his own notes. He flicked through the pages, comparing the symbols on the door to the book.
Yong started a fire and Ruddiger sat by it.
After searching for a time, Varian identified the symbols and was able to translate a section of the text. Varian moved across the wall until he found a small hole the size around the size of a pea. He furrowed his eyebrows and read his translation.
"Present the purple star to reveal your path." Varian checked his translation again, "Star? Maybe some sort of crystal..." He reached into his bag and pulled out his mother's journal. He searched the pages for some sort of clue but she appeared to have completely skipped over her entrance to the trial. Varian felt his heart sink slightly.
"Have you figured it out?" Yong asked.
"No. I don't understand what it means..."
"I'm sure you'll work it out." Yong took an encouraging tone.
"How? I can't even get to the trial, how am I gonna complete it? I thought I'd find answers in this journal....but she was so much better than I am." Varian admitted to himself and sunk to the floor, leaning against the door.
"Who was?"
"My mother." Varian sighed, "This is my mother's journal. She couldn't complete her research so I'm finishing it for her...or, at least, I'm trying to."
"Hm...Did you translate the text?"
"Yeah, but it's some sort of riddle- it doesn't make any sense."
"What did it say?"
"Something about a star; 'Present the purple star to reveal your path'. There are no purple stars!"
Yong listened to Varian's words then reached into his pockets and took out two bags. He took a small pellet looking object from each of the two bags, and walked up to the doors. Varian was desperately searching his mother's journal while Yong placed one pellet into the hole and it sparked blue and disappeared. He put the next pellet in and it sparked red. After a few seconds the hole brightly sparked purple. The light travelled up and down from the hole, outlining the two doors. Varian jumped up and looked at the glowing cracks of the doors which then opened slowly.
"W-What happened? What did you do?" Varian asked Yong quickly. The young boy gestured to the pouches then shoved them back into his pockets,
"They're pyrotechnic stars- or 'stars'. They're made from metal salts. Strontium for red, and blue is made from copper. That makes purple."
Varian stared at the boy then looked at the opened doors.
"That's...really smart. Good job." Varian smiled and Yong beamed with joy.
They entered the mountain and progressed to the trial. It was dark inside but Varian led the way with his staff.
"It's kinda spooky in here." Yong commented.
"Yeah...feels like we're being watched." Varian muttered. They continued further until a ring of red torches lit up around them. They were standing in the centre of a dimly lit chamber.
"Woah..." Yong looked around and Varian walked up to the pedestal ahead of them. It had intricate carvings on it. The carvings created flame-like shapes and there was a triangle in the middle with a dip in each corner. Below the triangle read;
"Where there's smoke, there's fire." Varian looked at their surroundings.
Yong took a step and the stone under his foot sunk into the ground.
"Uhh...Varian." Yong stepped back and Varian looked to the boy.
"What-" Varian started and the floor began to rumble.
"Yong, what did you do?" Varian asked quickly and the pedestal sunk into the ground, "No!" He reached for it but, in its place, a large stone golem with glowing red eyes, rose from the ground. There was also a glowing red stone in its chest. The boy backed away from the creature and put an arm out to protect Yong.
"What do we do?" Yong asked.
"Hide somewhere and I'll take this thing down."
"But I wanna help!" Yong resisted and Varian looked at him harshly. The young boy reluctantly ran off into the shadows, outside of the circle of torches.
"Let's see how well you fare against this one!" Varian threw a pink orb at the creature and it coated it's arm in pink goo. Varian laughed in momentary relief before the golem chucked it's arm at the boy. Varian dodged it by inches, "Ok- you took it pretty well...But now I have an advantage." Varian smirked but the golem made a low humming sound and another large rock rolled from the shadows and attached to the creature where it's arm had been.
"...I really need to stop saying stuff like that out loud. Alright...how about some Flynnolium?" Varian asked, taking a pink orb and a greenish-yellow one, throwing the pink, then the yellow at the golem. The chemicals reacted, exploding and causing the golem to grunt. It, however, appeared unscratched and started to stomp towards Varian.
"Ok, I-I guess you're pretty strong, hey, big guy?" Varian backed up.
That's when Yong threw a firecracker at the monster and Varian took the chance to move away. The firecracker burst into flames and swirled into a red and gold dragon. The dragon wrapped around the golem, causing the rocks it was made of to crack.
"I'm not the only one who sees a dragon, right?"
"That's so cool! How did it happen? Was it magic?"
"It must've been..." Varian muttered before the golem threw a stone fist at Yong.
"Yong, watch out!" Varian yelled but the boy was thrown back by the blow.
"I'm fine..." The resilient boy stood slowly.
"Stay hidden! I'll handle this." Varian said quickly and Yong frowned,
"Please trust me to do this!" His eyes were desperate. Varian couldn't look into them for long.
"People...don't always have faith in me...but I wanna prove them wrong! I wanna show people that I can do good things...Please, give me a chance."
Varian listened intently to Yong's words, and they reminded him of something he may have said a few years back. He looked at the boy again then gave a reassuring smile,
"Ok. You've got this."
Yong smiled and pulled another firecracker out. He seemed to really focus on this one. He lit it and threw it at the golem. Both boys watched the firecracker burst into red and green
flames, and form a dragon.
Yong's eyes beamed with excitement and the two boys watched the dragon swirl around then join the other. Rocks started to fall from the golem and smash once they hit the ground. Varian and Yong watched in amazement as the golem's head fell and the eyes stopped glowing. The creature crumbled into a pile of rocks, some rocks rolling away into the shadows. Varian gave a shaky breath then looked to Yong.
"I done it!" Yong yelled.
"Yeah, you did...sorry- that I doubted you could." Varian smiled and so did Yong.
"It's ok..." Yong laughed slightly, "Let's complete this trial!" He yelled again, in excitement.
The young boy walked over to the remains of the golem and knelt by the head. Varian joined him.
"It's eyes! They look like they'll fit the pedestal. T-There was a glowing stone in its chest too." Varian looked around,
"It must be around here somewhere."
The two boys searched the pile of rocks for the remaining red stone.
"Maybe this trial is broken." Yong suggested when they couldn't find a third stone.
Suddenly, there was a clatter nearby. Varian and Yong searched for the source of the sound and discovered a third stone lying just in the light of a torch. Varian stared into the shadows then grabbed the stone which felt hot, even through his gloves. He grabbed the other stones and carried them all to the pedestal, placing them in the
divots.
"Nothing happened. There must be more to it." Varian sighed heavily after a moment's silence. He thought for a second then looked to Yong with a smile, "What do you think we should do?"
"Maybe we need to set them on fire."
"That...doesn't make sense." Varian replied and Yong looked at his feet, seemingly embarrassed that he'd even suggested it. Varian watched the boy then looked to the pedestal again.
"But what've we got to lose?" Varian smiled kindly and stepped aside so Yong could step up to the pedestal. The boy took a deep breath then pulled out a match. He struck it on the pedestal and it set alight. Yong held the match to one of the stones and a red flame formed and spread through the grooves to form a flaming triangle. Yong stepped back and Varian watched him, impressed.
"Is it working?" Yong asked and Varian looked over the pedestal.
Eventually the stones burned away to leave shining gemstones in each divot.
"Yeah...we had to burn away the stones...to reveal the gems inside!" Varian looked very impressed, "Yong- you're a genius." He smiled at the boy who smiled back.
The fire that was burning on the pedestal died, leaving smoke rising from the ridges around the gems. "Where there's smoke..." Yong started,
"There's fire." Varian finished and the pedestal burst into flames. Varian grabbed Yong and pulled him away. The pedestal burned away completely and revealed a staircase which seemed to be glowing red. Varian felt Yong hold onto him as they walked down the steps. There was a torch on the wall which Varian grabbed then handed to Yong. They moved further into the mountain, following the long path that seemingly kept going down.
"It's kinda hot down here..." Varian huffed.
"Well, yeah- this is a dormant volcano."
"It- right...nothing to worry about; we've got this." Varian scanned the pages of his mother's journal and felt his heart jump as his foot slipped and Yong pulled him back. Varian had almost walked straight off of a ledge. Rocks crumbled from the edge where Varian had stood and he stared with wide eyes.
"T-Thanks, Yong. I owe you one..." Varian looked at the book again.
"Guess we'd better bridge this gap."
At that moment the mountain seemed to tremble.
"That can't be good." Varian placed his hand on the wall to gain his balance. A large rock collapsed from the ceiling and fell, wedging itself into the gap.
"Well...problem solved." Varian tried to smile and the two continued down the path until they reached a dead end.
"I don't understand...it's a dead end?" Varian turned a page and there was what remained of a ripped one, "It's like someone removed her notes on the trials..."
"What are we gonna do?"
"Well...clearly the mountain- volcano is unstable, but the only solution I can think of, is blowing up the wall to get through..."
"Leave it to me." Yong pulled out several firecrackers. Varian looked unsure but thought about how far they had come due to Yong's ideas. Varian nodded and Yong lit the firecracker with the torch. The fuse blazed red and Yong threw it at the wall ahead. It lit up the whole passage then a red and gold dragon made of fire burst from the firecracker, circled the boys then charged at the wall and cleared their path. Varian stared at where the dragon had been and smiled, looking at Yong, "Good work."
Varian walked through the now cleared passage, and Yong followed. Bright red light was visible at the end of the path.
"We must be close." Varian said to Yong and the mountain around them rumbled again. This made both boys nervous.
"Let's get this done quickly..." Varian frowned and Yong nodded in agreement.
When they reached the end of the passage, it opened into a chamber. A firecracker rolled by Varian's feet and he jumped out of the way as it exploded, "What was that for?" Varian asked and Yong looked confused.
"It wasn't me!" He insisted. Before Varian could say anything else, the mountain rumbled again and Yong pointed above him, "Watch out!"
Varian moved out of the way of a falling rock. More fell around them and they all rolled together to create another golem.
"Not one of these guys again..." Varian sighed but he smiled at Yong, "You've got this, right? I'll follow your lead." Varian smiled and Yong nodded. The young boy lit two firecrackers and threw one to Varian. They both attacked the golem with all that they had. Yong's firecrackers exploding into mighty dragons which destroyed the golem.
Once the golem had been defeated, Varian looked ahead to two pillars decorated with dragons that twisted around them. Between the pillars was a silhouette standing by the totem's podium.
"Hey!" Varian yelled and him and Yong ran towards the figure.
There stood a young man with blonde hair which was tied back, with one shaved side. There was a notable slit in one of his eyebrows and he wore rounded glasses on his freckled, pointed nose. His left ear was pierced with a ring and stud.
The boy wore a green double-breasted jacket, with silver shoulder guards and wrist bracers, and yellow-lensed goggles around his neck. When he angled his head, the glare on his glasses moved to reveal smug green eyes looking down on the boys.
"That totem belongs to us!" Varian glared at the blonde boy, who tossed the totem in his fingerless-gloved hand, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah! We earned it!" Yong added.
The blonde looked very pleased with himself,
"Huh, weird. Cause I'm sort of the one holding it...So I feel like that sort of means it belongs t-" He started.
"No way! We completed the trial- not you- whoever you are. Hand over the totem!" Varian pointed his staff at the boy.
"I like your magic wand. S'pretty!" The boy proceeded to tuck the totem into his bag. Yong pulled out some firecrackers and furrowed his brows.
"Ooh! And some fireworks! How fun..." The boy pulled a light blue, glowing orb from his bag, "Well, you two are adorable, but I'm on a schedule, so..." He threw the orb to the ground and it exploded into blue smoke. Yong threw his firecrackers and he and Varian coughed at the sudden fog.
Before they could react, the boy was gone.
"He got away! Yugh...the sulphur smell is really strong today."
"That's not sulphur. The smoke bomb he used was also a stink bomb." Varian coughed.
"That's kinda genius." Yong complimented the thief.
"...I know..." Varian muttered reluctantly.
"Now what do we do?"
"He couldn't have gone far." Varian ran from the chamber, back through the mountain. He was panting by the time he had reached the entrance, and the boy was nowhere in sight. Varian kicked at stones on the ground in anger. Yong appeared at the entrance to the trial, hands on knees.
"I can't believe I let him take it!" Varian sat on the ground by the dying fire, his arms crossed tightly.
"It's ok- we can get it back!" Yong smiled and joined Varian by the fire. Ruddiger walked over to the boys and brushed against Varian's leg.
"Why would someone do something like that anyway?" Varian asked angrily though didn't really expect an answer, "What a- a..."
"Jerk."
"Exactly!"
"We'll definitely get it back..." Yong looked into the fire, "Hey, Varian."
"Mm..." Varian poked at the embers of the fire with a twig.
"You'll be travelling the seven kingdoms to complete these trials, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can I come with you?" Yong asked, hopefully.
Varian looked to the boy and gave the idea a bit of thought.
"Won't your family miss you?"
"Well, I'm sure they would...but I think they'd want me to explore- especially with someone cool like you."
Varian chuckled then smiled at the boy,
"Yeah, you can come with me- if it's ok with your family...I could use a quick-thinker like you. Two heads are better than one, right?" Varian smiled and Yong hugged him in response. Varian put an arm around the boy and looked to the sky where there was still the occasional firework. He almost forgot in that moment that the totem he had come to retrieve, the totem he had worked for, had been stolen.
Meanwhile, the thief who had taken the totem was back in the city. He parked the motorbike he rode in a back alley and whistled to himself as he wandered further into the shadows. A tall, muscular man with harsh eyes stopped the boy in his tracks.
"Cyrus- you're looking well."
"She's inside." Cyrus responded in a low voice and moved out of the way of a door. The boy opened the door and walked inside.
"Hugo..." A voice spoke from the shadows, "Do you have it?"
"Just like y'asked." The boy reached into his bag and pulled out a totem, turning it in his hands. A tall, slender woman with grey, braided hair, and a scar on her cheek appeared from the shadows. She looked stern and her dark eyes were fixed on the totem.
She tried to grab it from Hugo but he moved his hand from her reach.
"Ah, ah." He grinned and put his empty hand out. The woman's eyes narrowed but she placed a pouch in Hugo's hand. He held it tightly then handed the totem over.
"How was it? The trial?" The woman asked, examining the totem.
"Oh- super challenging. Two kids completed it." Hugo joked.
"Kids?"
"Yeah, there was this small, chubby kid and a short guy with a stripe in his hair. I followed them to the trial."
"So I'm paying you for following two children around?"
"You're paying me for stealing that totem right from under their noses." Hugo smirked and opened the pouch.
"What were two children doing completing the trial?"
"I overheard Hair-stripe mentioning his mother's journal. Guess he wanted to follow in her footsteps." Hugo took a coin from the pouch and smiled.
"What?" The woman's eyes widened, "What did you say?"
Hugo raised an eyebrow and stared at the woman, "One of the kids was using a journal to try and complete the-"
"What was his name?"
"What? I dunno...Variton or something stupid like that." Hugo put the pouch away in his bag.
"You're in luck, Hugo. I have another job for you."
"Oh, yeah?" Hugo put his hands behind his back, "Colour me intrigued."
"That boy you saw, I want you to find him and return this to him." The woman held out the totem and Hugo furrowed his brows.
"You want me to return the totem you just paid me to steal? You feeling ok, Don?"
"I don't just want you to return it- I want you to befriend that boy and help him to collect all of the totems."
Hugo smirked, "The payment better be good for a job like that."
"Oh, trust me. Once you enter the eternal library for me, you won't care about a- pouch of gold coins- no..." Donella walked around Hugo, speaking close to his ear, "You can have anything you want if you complete this mission- all the riches your heart desires."
Hugo's eyes widened slightly and he grinned widely, "You've got my attention."
Varian visited Yong's home with him, still thinking on the stolen totem. Yong's house was fairly sized and when the boys entered, Varian was surprised to see so many kids running around. There was a small woman with black hair, holding a baby who was trying to bring order to the chaos.
"Mama!" Yong yelled over the noise and Varian followed him over to his mother. The boy was stopped by two boys who were duelling across the front room with toy swords.
"Yong! You're home- and you're late!" His mother yelled over the noise.
"I was completing a trial!"
"A what!? Come upstairs where it's quiet!" She shouted and moved around her many children. Yong and his mother headed upstairs, leaving Varian in the thick of the chaos.
At that moment, another woman walked into the room. She was tall with white hair.
"Alright! Food's up soon so take a seat in the dining room!" She yelled and the kids went quiet for a moment before rushing to the other room, knocking Varian to the ground in the process. He sat up and rubbed his head, the woman looking down on him.
"You're not one of ours." She laughed and offered him her hand.
"No- sorry...Yong brought me here."
"Ah...well, I'm his mother, Yan. It's a pleasure to meet you..."
"Varian!" The boy smiled and Yan laughed.
"So you're a new friend of Yong's?"
"Uh, yeah...I arrived in the city today."
"What brings you to Vlamudia, Varian?"
"I came here to complete a trial...and I did. Yong was a big help."
"I'm very glad to hear that. Anything that puts that big brain of his to good use is fine by me."
"Y'know when he said he had a big family I...really underestimated him."
"Yan! There you are..." The other woman returned with Yong following behind, "The kids have been a nightmare- is dinner prepared?"
"Yes, Yin." She smiled at her partner, "And it would appear we have a guest." Yan smiled at Varian.
"So I've been told." Yin looked to Yong, "Will you be staying for dinner, Varian?"
"Uh, I- I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble- seems like you have your hands full."
"Nonsense. We'd love to hear all about the trial." Yan insisted.
Varian found himself sitting at a table surrounded by Yong's siblings who stared at him in awe.
"So, Yong. What was the trial like?" Yan asked.
"Oh, it was super cool and really difficult, mum! No problemo for Team Radical, though!" He put his hand to the side of his mouth, "That's me and Varian- I used my firecrackers and they formed a dragon which totally saved us from the mountain collapsing on us!"
Yin gasped and Varian laughed nervously, "Of course- we were never in any real danger...We had the situation under control."
"That reminds me- I tested my dragon launcher and the lantern malfunctioned so- so Varian used his chemicals to create a landing pad for us! We were all," he grabbed the salt shaker and imitated the plummeting machine, sprinkling salt across the table in the process, "and then we landed in the goop."
"Sounds like fun." Yan smirked and Yin nudged her.
"What does this do?" A young girl was holding a test tube of yellow substance from Varian's belt.
"T- That is a very important chemical compound that is not for children!" Varian snatched the tube from her with a panicked laugh.
"Can I try on your goggles?" A little boy asked.
"Uh, sure..." Varian smiled, handing his goggles to the boy.
"How'd you get that hair stripe? was it a chemical accident?" A slightly older boy asked from across the table.
"No- No, I was born wi- please don't touch that!" Varian stopped the young girl from pulling an orb from his belt.
"How old are you?" A girl asked from the end of the table.
"Eighteen." Varian responded.
"Got a girlfriend?" She asked and Varian went bright red.
"Shan!" Yin gave the girl a stern look.
"Uh- where's the bathroom?" Varian asked nervously.
After dinner, Yong asked his parents about leaving Vlamudia to travel with Varian.
"I think it sounds fun." Yan smiled and Yin sighed.
"I'm not sure...it could be dangerous."
"I promise to keep Yong out of trouble." Varian smiled kindly and Yin, after a bit of persuading from Yong and Yan, agreed.
Yong got some of his belongings together and him and Varian headed to the caravan.
"Your family is really nice." Varian smiled and Yong nodded.
"They are- but they can be a little much sometimes."
"Yeah...Yeah, I think I have to agree with you there."
When they reached the caravan, Varian saw Ruddiger sleeping on Prometheus' back and smiled.
"Alright, if we just load your stuff inside, we'll be set to go." Varian smiled and opened the caravan door. On the wall at the back, there was a cloth hanging over what seemed to be a frame, which Varian had overlooked when packing. He walked over to the cloth and pulled it from the frame. It revealed a painting of him surrounded by all of his friends and family back in Corona. He smiled widely at the gift then turned to Yong to help him move his things into the caravan.
Varian stepped out to grab one last bag, and his face collided with something. He moved back then looked to see what- or who he had bumped into. To his surprise, Hugo stood in front of him, hands behind his back.
"Y- You're the guy that stole our totem! Yong, hand me my staff!" Varian yelled and Yong did so.
"What're you gonna do? Turn me into a frog?" Hugo smirked, "Look, that won't be necessary because I have the totem right here." He pulled the totem from his bag and held it up in his slender fingers.
Varian narrowed his eyes in suspicion,
"And what do you want in return?"
"Oh, nothing much...I want to complete the trials with you."
"You...what?" Varian lowered his staff.
"You heard me. I'd be doing you a favour, really. You need someone with my...shall we say, skill set?"
"Oh, and what skill-" Varian started and Hugo twiddled a test tube from Varian's belt in his fingers.
"How- when did you?" Varian grabbed the test tube from him.
"Woaahh, you're, like- magic!" Yong clapped.
"Hah. Yeah. You're gonna need someone watching your backs, and pockets. So you gonna lemme come with you or not?" Hugo asked as he threw the totem then caught it in his hand again.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Varian asked.
"I s'pose you don't, but I can pinky promise if that eases your conscience." Hugo joked, throwing the totem to Varian who almost juggled it in an attempt to catch it. He glared at Hugo before looking to Yong, who shrugged. Varian looked back at the boy with the smug smile and sighed.
"Fine. You can come with us..."
"Hugo." The blonde boy put his hand out and Varian shook it.
"I'm Varian, and this is Yong."
"Pleasure to meet you both."