Varian wasn't listening, not this time. Quirin turned away to leave and let his obstinate son cool off and then heard a sound that made him lookback. Right behind Varian, whatever he'd spilled on the black rock when Quirin had come into his lab was starting to form menacing, yellow-orange crystals.
It was a split-second choice. He wouldn't move out of the way fast enough if he warned him, so he would have to risk hurting him to save him. He ran forward and grabbed Varian's arm tightly before giving him a yank hard enough that sent them both flying back to the floor a few feet away, Varian wrapped in his father's arms out of reach of the crystal.
"D-Dad, what--?" He looked up at him, then towards the crystals growing from the rock that was encasing a nearby desk and chair. "I...That could've...I could've been..." He looked at Quirin with wide eyes full of relief and love and regret for their argument.
Quirin sighed and slowly got up, helping his son to his feet, before he walked over and knelt to pick up his fallen glove.
"Dad? I-I'm sorry..." Varian said shakily.
He pulled his glove on. "I'm sorry, too." He looked back at him. "You're right. You're fourteen, almost fifteen. And I...I can't keep lying to you. Not when doing so nearly cost you your..." He looked towards the rocks, towards the encased furniture. "I know what is sending the rocks here, and it's not something we can fight."
"What...what is it?" Varian asked, his brow furrowed.
He looked back at him, then sighed and removed his glove, showing him a mark on his hand. "I did not originally come from Corona. I came from another land, one full of darkness. Unlike Corona, who worships the Sun, we worshiped the Moon." He walked over and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "I was one of a few elite people chosen to protect a piece of the moon that the Kingdom housed. The Sundrop Flower's counterpart, the Moonstone Opal." He led him out of the lab and into the house, to his room where he kept the chest hidden from him for years.
He left Varian's side and went to open it, noticing that Varian was looking at the family portrait that he'd moved into the master bedroom when his mother had disappeared. "I thought you put this in the room with mom's stuff." He said softly.
"I couldn't bring myself to lock her away completely." He sighed and opened the chest, pulling out an object and putting in a key to open it, unrolling out a piece of parchment. "The rocks were sent by the Moonstone Opal, in search of the Sundrop Flower. This is one piece of a scroll that could tell us how to defeat the Moonstone and its rocks, but no one has been able to translate it since...since it was written. And I only have the one piece." He offered it to Varian.
Varian took it and looked it over thoughtfully. "Does...does the King know?"
"Yes. I warned him not to take the Sundrop Flower, that the Moonstone would retaliate, but he didn't listen. Ever since, I have been monitoring the rocks at the monument but...the night that it happened, I was at home tending to you, because you were horribly sick. I was unable to stop the Sundrop from touching the rocks and making the Moonstone chase her." Quirin picked up a helmet and showed it to him. "I used to wear this armor, can you believe that?"
Varian looked at it thoughtfully, then looked up at him with a playful grin. "Maybe a few pounds ago."
Quirin rolled his eyes and set the helmet down before he walked over to sit on his bed. "I kept telling you that you weren't ready because...I didn't want that kind of life for you. I'd honestly hoped you'd give up on asking, but I should have known you never would. You're too clever to leave a puzzle unsolved."
"Yeah, speaking of puzzle?" Varian looked back at the scroll piece. "This looks like a cross between Ancient Coronan and a few other things I've seen before. I might be able to decipher it, but it will take some time. Would be easier if I had the whole scroll." He squinted at it.
A heavy wind rattled the window and they looked at it. "Whoa, when did it start snowing?"
"Apparently, while we weren't looking. Let's bundle up warm and make sure everyone's alright." Quirin suggested, leading Varian out of the room. "Go on, get into something warmer."
"Uhm, yeah." Varian nodded. "Do you want the scroll back?"
"Just put it in your room for now." Quirin headed for his own.
After they got changed into warmer clothes and into warm coats and gloves, they set out to check on everyone in their homes.
"Quirin, we're all frightened. We've never seen a storm this big." A woman said anxiously.
"We don't have bunkers like the Capital, what do we do?" Her husband asked.
"There are tunnels under the city, you'll be safe and warm there. Grab whatever you need and head down below. I'll show you the way!" Varian said, and Quirin smiled at him proudly.
They went around to every house like that, and soon they had a parade of people following Varian underground to safety.
"Oh, I can't even hear the wind down here." One of the women said with relief after the exit was secured.
"If we need anything, warm food, drinks, blankets, I can go up to through the entrance to my lab. The manor will probably hold up better than anywhere else here." Varian said as his father helped the elderly to where they would be safe to sit.
"This place looks a little damaged." Someone commented.
Varian chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah. But, it's safe. There's nothing in here that will hurt anyone." He glanced away. "Anymore."
"Quirin, what will we do? The rocks were bad enough, but this storm came before we could harvest, and we'll have lost everything!" One of the farmers said, turning to him.
"Let's just worry about getting through this storm." Quirin told them. "If we can survive, we can rebuild. The Capital will just have to be patient with us. I'm sure they're being hit just as badly as we are."
--
Varian headed up to his lab and got blankets from his home, which he set up for people to lie down on, especially children. Ruddiger scampered over and nuzzled Varian and he picked him up, stroking his fur to try and soothe himself.
"Is the storm still going?" Quirin asked him.
"Yeah." Varian nodded. "Manor's still intact, though, as I thought. But, the less stable of houses..." He sighed.
"It's alright." Quirin assured them. "We'll salvage what we can in the morning and then rebuild. We were planning to move, anyway, what with the rocks." He reminded them, and they all nodded grimly.
Varian pursed his lips, thinking of that scroll. It might not be a good idea to try translating it now, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to concentrate enough right now, anyway.
"What if they follow us?" A child asked.
Varian had been wondering that, too, but he doubted they would. "I've been studying these rocks," he told them, "following their movements. They're not going to follow us. They're heading for the Capital."
"But why?" Another child asked.
Varian sighed. "I don't know. But, as far as I have observed, they're going on a straight path there. More or less. I don't know where they came from, only where they seem to be going. As long as we don't put our new homes near the Capital, we should be safe. Assuming it doesn't become unpredictable."
There were solemn nods. "What did the King say about your findings?" Aman asked.
Varian looked up, surprised. No adult, besides Rapunzel, had ever asked him about his research before. It seemed taking them into the tunnels had earned him a bit of...respect? "I...didn't get a chance to tell him." He admitted. "The guards wouldn't let me past the door, said children had no place in court."
"Well, the Capital should be warned! They should be evacuating!" A woman cried. "Those rocks will destroy everything!"
"I know." Varian sat down next to his father with a glum expression. "But, they won't listen to me."
"Maybe not you but, what if we sent some other people, some adults?" A man suggested.
Varian pursed his lips, looking thoughtful, then looked up at them all. "Princess Rapunzel knows about the rocks, but she is forbidden by her father to talk about them." He revealed.
"Son--" Quirin looked at him, his eyes wide.
"The King knows about what we're facing, what's coming for them, but he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist and thinks if people shut up, then it'll just stop. I was studying the rocks in secret under Princess Rapunzel's request and my research almost got me killed earlier. The King knows what will stop them and he's not doing anything. My father had to lie to him about us having such bountiful crops that we needed more land so that we'd be allowed to have somewhere to evacuate to." He stood up, facing everyone. "They won't listen to us. We can send warnings, we can map it out, but they are too distracted by pointless festivals and their obliviousness that they don't even notice what's coming for them in a matter of months. And if we try to help them, then the King will silence us!"
"He can't silence all of us!" A farmer declared.
"He's the king, of course he can!" Varian cried with exasperation. "With one word, he can have the Royal Guard come down on us and silence us on threat of death! I grew up seeing people being arrested and then disappearing forever. The Princess' coronation was attacked by Lady Caine, who had lost her father unjustly to the Royal Guard. And now she's rotting in prison because she tried to get justice! If we go to the Capital to warn them about the rocks, or to get justice for our lost village, we'll all end up her neighbors."
He paused, looking around at them all. Had he said too much?
"The boy's right." An old farmer said grimly.
Varian turned towards him with surprise. "Old Farmer Joe?"
"What do you mean, Joseph?" A woman asked.
"I was there at the time when his father was King and, believe it or not, he was worse than our current one. At least King Frederic had grief making him irrational as an excuse, but what are his reasons now? His daughter is home, so why does he still ignore the plight of his subjects? For years we have meant little to the Capital but a means for food. I have been living in Old Corona for many years, and if I have to leave it because the King won't stop these rocks, then I wash my hands of Corona entirely. I suggest we all leave the Kingdom and start a new village, far away from his madness."
"Yeah, that's right!"
"Let's leave!"
"I'm done with being taken advantage of!"
"No more!"
The voices of assent filled the tunnels, and Varian looked at his father nervously, feeling anxious about what he'd accidentally caused by trying to warn them not to go to the King.
Quirin sighed and stood up. "Alright. When the storm ends, we'll start preparing for a full evacuation."
"If the carts are damaged, I can fix it." Varian offered. "I just need the materials. I can even build more."
"We'll all pitch in. The more carts, the better." A man assured him.
Quirin looked up, wondering if the storm was still going. "For now, though, we should rest. We will have along journey ahead of us once we evacuate, if we want to get far away from Corona before they realize we've gone."
"I'll go out and check on the storm, then be back." Varian headed for the ladder to his lab again.
"Be safe." Quirin said softly.
–
The manor was still standing, of course. He went to the window and looked out at the still ongoing storm. "Geez, this is a long storm." He muttered. "I don't think I've ever seen one so heavy."
He clutched at the windowsill, hoping Princess Rapunzel and the others were okay. He felt tempted to say goodbye, but it was better they just disappeared without a word. Maybe he could send a message by carrier pigeon later.
He walked over and started the fire, then heated up milk, which he put in a bucket. Then he put cups and bowls in a basket and carried both to the ladder.
"Dad? Can you come over here?" He called.
Quirin came over to him. "Yes?"
"I need help getting down this bucket and basket. I heated up some milk. I can get some soup, too?"
Quirin looked relieved. "Alright." He motioned to one of the men and they passed down the bucket and basket of dishes. Then Varian went to make the soup and that was brought down, along with loaves of bread and a knife.
"Let's not go hungry tonight." Quirin smiled as he and the men brought over the food, Varian behind them. Everyone got a piece of bread to go with their soup and though it wasn't much, they managed to feed everyone a serving and they went to sleep with fuller bellies than before, huddled together.
Varian couldn't sleep. He was sketching out something as he sat next to his father, making notes, drawing blueprints. While normally he'd be telling him to go to bed, he supposed he had earned a little bit of him-time. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Varian was drawing caravans, with how much of what materials they'd need.
"Caravans?" He asked quietly.
"In case we can't actually settle down, we need to have somewhere we can sleep. If we become nomads, so be it. We'll farm from planter boxes, we'll go hunting and fishing more often than farming." Varian sighed. "It's just a thought. Just in case I'm wrong and the black rocks are spreading out farther than the Capital."
"Ah, my son. Always thinking faster than the rest of us." Quirin sighed and rubbed his head. "But, you should probably be getting some sleep if you're going to help tomorrow. Look, even your little raccoon is asleep."
Varian looked at Ruddiger in his lap. "Well, that doesn't mean anything. He takes fifteen naps a day."
Quirin chuckled. "Well, you still should sleep. You're the only one awake." He eased the sketchbook out of his grip and put both back in Varian's bag before he pulled him closer and wrapped his arm around him. "Come on, rest."
Varian sighed. "Okay." He closed his eyes. Quirin watched as he let sleep take him away, apparently much more tired than he claimed to be.
–
The next morning, the storm was over. Varian went up into the manor to check and then came down to excitedly tell them it was safe to leave the tunnels again. A few men went up with him to shovel snow out of the way of the tunnel exit and then they all stepped out into crisp, untouched snow to look over the damage.
"Well..." one of the men sighed, "I suppose it could be worse. The barn seems mostly intact, at least."
"Let's get started on those carts so we can start evacuating." Someone suggested.
"Before that, Varian and I will prepare breakfast for everyone in the manor." Quirin offered. "We don't want to start working on empty stomachs."
"We should also see what we can salvage from the other houses." Varian added. "And, uhm, I had some...ideas." He glanced away shyly.
"Ideas?" Joseph prompted.
Varian sighed, then took a deep breath before speaking. "Okay, we don't know what these rocks are going to do. So, I had the idea that we go from a farming town to...to nomads, make caravans instead of just carts and start hunting and fishing, with some farming done in planters. It'll take a lot of work and a lot of wood, but I think if we all do it together," he pulled out his sketchbook and showed them his sketches and notes, "we can pull it off."
They all gathered around him to look at the notes, taking it from his hands and passing it around to murmur together. Then it was passed back to them and then the old farmer nodded. "Then, that is what we will do."
Varian smiled brightly at them taking his suggestion and he looked up at his father when he felt his arm wrap around his shoulders.
"Why don't we go get these people some food, hm?" He suggested, and they headed inside while the townspeople started to dig around in their homes to salvage what they could. Once inside, he turned to Varian and sighed, pushing his hood off his head and rubbing it. "You've opened their eyes to a truth none of us wanted to admit. I'm proud of you, son."
"I just didn't want anyone to get hurt." Varian said shyly.
"Speaking of 'getting hurt'..." Quirin walked over and started the fireplace, "with our new nomadic lifestyle, I think it's time I take up the sword again and teach everyone how to fight. Because we will encounter many a danger out there."
Varian nodded. "Highway robbers, beasts, maybe even the Royal Guard if they're pissed off about us leaving enough."
"Mm." Quirin nodded. "Well, they only have themselves to blame."
–
After everyone had eaten, they got to work cutting down trees and braiding rope and Varian gathered scrap and banged together the metal frame for the caravans and made the wheels. Seeing as they usually went all the way to Xavier for this, it was nice to have his talents finally put to use. He felt a pang of sadness as he thought about how he'd be leaving his old teacher behind, but knew that he couldn't send a message until they'd already left. They couldn't risk the Royal Guard intercepting it.
While normally they begrudged the fact that the Capital basically forgot they existed until harvest time, this time it worked in their favor. They managed to build a caravan for every household and also one for the livestock that had survived. It didn't matter who owned which one anymore, they were all one colony now.
Varian sighed as he looked towards the Capital. Princess Rapunzel would be preparing to celebrate her 19th birthday, but the black rocks would be paying a visit to the Capital very soon.
"How will we get out past the gate?" Someone asked. "The guards will stop us."
Varian looked over at it off in the distance and then went into his family's caravan to the lab he'd set up. He collected a vial full of a green powder and looked up at the family picture they'd hung up above it. "Wish me luck, mom." He said softly, then adjusted his goggles and grabbed his mask, heading out.
"Varian?" Quirin asked as he headed out of the caravan.
"Time for those guards to take a nap." He tossed the vial up and down in his hand, fumbled it a bit and caught it in time. "Heh. Yeah. I'm...I'll be back." He put his mask on and his dark lab coat and headed for the gate.
The guards were completely unaware of what Old Corona was up to and kept their attention on the comings and goings at the gate. Varian walked over to them in the dark of night and they barely noticed he was there before he was tossing the vial at them. It went off when it hit the ground and they were both hit with a green dust that knocked them out instantly. Then he dragged them off to the side, tied them up together, and motioned for the men that had followed him curiously to open the gate. They nodded and climbed the wall to reach the controls, knocking out the guard there before he could see them.
Once they were all knocked out and tied up, the men opened the gate and Varian went to tell everyone it was safe to leave.
The caravans went through the gate in the dark of night and by the time the guards woke up, they were long gone and it was midday the next day. When someone came to relieve them, they found them bound and untied them, then started a search for whoever could have attacked them.
The report of Old Corona's evacuation reached the castle at the same time the rocks reached Rapunzel, busting a hole through the wall right next to Quirin's abandoned manor.