Rapunzel entered the empty manor with Cassandra and Eugene at her side, looking around in disbelief. Just as a guard had reported, the village had been completely emptied out. And, judging by the fact that the guards reported seeing something in the darkness just before being hit with a green dust, they must've left the Kingdom entirely.
She numbly walked through the manor, realizing with a start that she'd never been in it before. Every room looked as empty as an inn, with only the basic furniture left behind. She clutched at her hair in a self-soothing way, then turned to go, pausing when she saw something on an empty bed. She went over and picked it up, gasping as she saw her name on a tag around a scroll. "What?" She took off the cord keeping it shut and opened it.
[Rapunzel,
I understand that you have probably been very busy,
and in this case that worked out in my favor.
I wish you'd taken the time to visit before, though,
but we can't dwell on wishes and what-ifs.
Between the rocks and the snowstorm,
our village has been destroyed.
All we have left is the people and what
few belongings we could hold onto.
We're done with waiting for the King to stop ignoring us.
We're done with waiting for a miracle that won't come.
And I'm done with waiting on a promise that clearly
isn't going to be fulfilled.
So, this is goodbye.
I hope you are well, and perhaps we will meet again someday.
My father has a piece of a scroll that holds the secret to
fighting the rocks, which were sent by something called the
"Moonstone Opal"- your counterpart, Sundrop.
I told you they had a connection to you.
I'm going to collect the rest of the scroll and translate it
and stop the rocks.
Because someone has to.
All my best,
Varian]
"Sunshine, here you—what's wrong?" Eugene walked up to her and she wiped at her eyes, tears still slipping from her eyes as she passed the letter to him.
"...Oh, man." Eugene sighed. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"Catch up to them." She cleared her throat. "The rocks came looking for me, they found me, and now they've smashed a wall open to encourage me to follow them. So, I'm going to follow them. I'm sure we'll find the citizens of Old Corona out there on the way."
"Yeah, well, we have to convince your dad." Eugene glanced at the letter. "Maybe...don't tell him about this letter. It's chock-full of 'disrespect'."
"Don't worry, Eugene. I'll make him listen to me." Rapunzel said firmly. "Destiny is calling and I'm finally going to answer it." She walked out of the room and Eugene followed.
"His lab is completely cleaned out." Cassandra walked over to them. "No sign of--oof!" She glared at Eugene when he shoved the letter into her chest, then took it, reading it over. "...Oh. So, they really left. All of them."
"I never thought to check on him after the storm." Rapunzel breathed. "I-I was so focused on the ones I could see, I didn't even think about the farming village on the other side of the woods. I never thought about Varian, after he told me that things had gotten..." She looked at a rock stabbing through the wall. "...Bad."
–
Considering what had happened with the rocks, her father finally gave in and let her leave. She kept the letter to herself, though, and let him wonder what had happened to the people of Old Corona. She focused on getting a caravan ready and stocked full of food and lodging and decided on who to bring.
Her father insisted on her bringing a guard. She found a loophole and said she was bringing Cassandra, who was technically part of the Royal Guard. So was Eugene, actually, though he was a teacher, not a guard.
She brought Eugene, of course, and Lance offered to tag along, which she was excited about despite Cassandra voicing her concerns on the selection.
Hookfoot was a whim, she had been wanting to get closer to him and hadn't been able to do that much so she thought this would be a good chance.
Her group was chosen, her caravan was packed, and Varian had been gone a week now and she had to hurry if she wanted to catch up. She had so much to say to him, but she wasn't sure where to start. She supposed she'd figure that out by the time they caught up.
With a tearful goodbye, she hugged her parents for the last time in who knew how long and set off through the large hole in the wall, casting a glance towards Varian's empty home as she passed it.
She hoped he was okay. They were probably all riding carts and huddling together for warmth.
–
Quirin held the reins as his caravan led the others', smiling a bit as he listened to Varian entertaining the younger kids by playing his guitar and singing with them. Ever since he'd used his knowledge of the town's inner workings and told them of what he'd observed when people weren't looking, they'd grown to respect and trust him a little more. While he wasn't sure how he felt about him speaking up like that, he was glad he did. He honestly had been compelled to just leave months ago, but didn't want to leave the people of Old Corona. They'd all chosen to leave together, and that made things easier.
While they traveled, four men guarded the sides, watching for danger. He'd made sure to teach them all how to fight while they were preparing to leave and was confident that they could hold their own, at least long enough for him to come in and take down the attackers with his advanced training.
He still hadn't gotten a chance to tell Varian everything, but he seemed content with what he'd been told. He'd tell him another time. Perhaps tell everyone, once they were safe. For now, Varian seemed happy enough with his translating the scroll piece and entertaining the younger kids with alchemy or his other, less destructive, skills.
Well, he had been told that he can't be waving around any swords or sticks or anything that's supposed to be a sword while telling a Flynn Rider story, or at least not indoors. He saved those theatrics for when they stopped for a break, and boy, was he theatrical! Since he usually kept to himself, even Quirin was surprised by just how animated he could be when telling a story, doing different voices, swift motions, putting on a one-person play complete with props he must've made himself. Then he gave a bow when he finished and everyone clapped and cheered as he grinned at them in the firelight.
It was a nice distraction from what they had left, why they had left. But, inevitably, they would encounter a black rock and have to carefully steer around it.
"You know," Varian had said over breakfast the next day, "if we could somehow give the caravans a way to propel them, or give them legs we could control, we wouldn't need to use the horses, and we might even be able to tower over the rocks!"
"Haha, I don't think that would be a good idea. If we trip, everything falls." Quirin reminded him while the other adults chuckled at the image.
"Hm...it does require some fine-tuning." Varian mused.
"Mmhm." Quirin nodded.
One thing about this move, it had helped them grow closer. The fact he was no longer keeping secrets from him or hiding Varian's mother's things was also a big factor, he'd put the chests of her belongings in the caravan with their own and, while they were locked, it was still more than Varian had ever had in years and he caught him lying on top of a couple of them once.
Today, though, it was a pleasant morning and Varian had started on a folksong with the kids all joining in. It was a good sound and, with Varian babysitting the younger kids, it gave the adults some time to themselves and their older children.
He noticed they were passing a lake and reached over to ring a bell to signal to everyone that he was stopping. The caravan behind him rang theirs and so on and so forth until they all pulled off to the side and got out to enjoy the sunshine and do some fishing while the kids played in the grass.
"This might be a good place to stop for the night." One of the other drivers said, walking over to him. "There's a good supply of food, and I saw some game in the woods. And there's plenty of room here to park our caravans in the grass."
"Yes, let's do that." Quirin nodded. "As before, we will take shifts to make sure none of the little ones wander out and get hurt, and also to protect the colony. I'll take first shift."
"Come on, Varian!" A little girl said, pulling him out of the caravan. "Let's go swimming!"
"Uh, I—you know I can't swim!" Varian protested.
"Well, it's a good time to learn!" One of the older kids said, grabbing him around the waist. Varian thrashed and squirmed as he got ganged up on by other older boys to get everything but his pants off and then he was tossed into the water. Quirin watched with concern, but it really looked like they were just trying to help him learn how to swim, in their...bullying way. Some of them still fell back on old habits when dealing with Varian.
Varian resurfaced and spit out water into the boy's face when he knelt down to check on him. "Clyde, I swear to the SUN, I will lock you in a haunted house if you do that to me again!"
"Man, you do hold grudges!" Clyde laughed. "That was years ago! And it wasn't haunted, was it?"
"Well, no, but it was still creepy! Anyways," he splashed him in the face, "don't throw me in the water again!"
Clyde laughed and got in with him, Varian quickly moving back before he started to flounder. Then, to Quirin's relief, the other boys actually started to try to teach him to swim.
He turned his attention to getting the caravans off the road and onto the grass, and then they lit a large campfire and started to prepare food while the children played around them.
"So, do we have a set destination?" One of the men asked.
Quirin sighed. "My son and I want to search for the pieces of something called the Demanitus Scroll. It will tell us the secret of how to stop the rocks, supposedly. I have one piece, which Varian has been working on translating."
"He really is brilliant." The man said as he watched Varian shove Clyde underwater and hold him there for a few seconds before he got pushed back and fell back on his butt in the shallows. "He's just a bit...chaotic."
"Mm. Do you remember his mother?" Quirin chuckled softly. "She was very much the same."
"Didn't you meet her when she was getting arrested for using alchemy and disturbing the peace?" Joseph chortled. "It wasn't too long after you met that the hunts stopped and alchemy was allowed again."
Quirin sighed wistfully. "Yes, I remember."
Varian got out of the water and wrung out his hair before he walked over and sat down by his things in the grass after making sure they were all there. "Next time, I'm throwing you in the water!"
"In your dreams, pipsqueak!" Clyde and his friends laughed.
"'Pipsqueak'. Who's the one that's always hauling around heavy metal for his inventions?" Varian grumbled.
Quirin got up and walked over to sit next to him. "Varian, what did I say the other day?"
Varian sighed. "'You're going to have to get used to having them around, so be patient and don't let them get to you'. But, they're not exactly making it easy!"
"This isn't easy for them, either. They aren't used to seeing you so much, usually you only come out of your lab because of a village event or to clean up a mess from one of your inventions." Quirin said gently. "You have to be patient with them."
"I'll patiently shove Clyde in the lake." Varian grumbled.
Quirin sighed and rubbed his head. "Do you want to do some training? It will dry you off and blow off that steam building up in your head."
Varian nodded and got up, carrying his clothes to the caravan to put them away then coming back with a staff he'd been using for training. Quirin went without a sword for this time, grabbing a stick on the ground instead, and they started to train together. A few other people followed their example and partnered up while they waited for food to be done, and soon the lake was vacant of anyone but the fishermen as they all trained together. By the end of it, Varian was exhausted, sweaty, and hungry. He took another dip in the lake with the other exhausted kids to wash up and this time they were all too tired to fight each other, peacefully swimming and sitting together until they were ready to get out and dry off.
--
It was while they were sitting together in the grass around the fire that Varian thought of Rapunzel's invention during the science expo. It would've dried them off super-quick. But, thinking of Rapunzel made him feel bitter about how she had never come by during the months they were building the caravans. Maybe, if she had, she wouldn't have had to get a goodbye from him left behind in a letter.
"I think that we'll have you kids train against each other next time." Quirin mused. "You've all moved past the basics and it will be a good way to resolve any differences you may have."
"Or build more." Clyde remarked.
Quirin raised an eyebrow and he grinned sheepishly before looking down. "Sorry, sir."
Varian yawned, leaning against his father. "Sounds great."
"Tomorrow, we'll have someone scout ahead for any obstacles before we move on." Quirin told them as dinner was served. "Don't want to have to stop the colony on the road with nowhere to pull off safely for two hours while we clear a mudslide again, do we?"
"No." Chorused around the camp.
Quirin passed Varian his food and smiled abit as he sleepily ate, Ruddiger chowing down on an apple in his lap. He accepted his own food and shifted slightly so he could eat without Varian having to get up.
"Looks like it's going to be a clear night." Joseph said calmly. "It's warm enough, why don't we sleep out here? Seems half the children are falling asleep while eating."
"Too risky." Quirin shook his head. "We'll just have to carry them in."
--
After their meal was done, Quirin gently eased Varian's bowl out of his limp hands and handed off their dishes to be washed in the lake, then lifted Ruddiger with one hand and Varian with the other and carried back into his caravan. He sighed softly and laid Varian down in his bed with Ruddiger next to his head, then pulled the blanket over him before he looked out at the moon shining through the window.
"Have I not served you enough for you to spare my people?" He murmured, clenching his fists. "Are you angry that I left so long? Or are you even aware that you have affected me in this way?"
It was a series of questions he asked every night, but he was never given an answer. He sighed and gently brushed Varian's long bangs out of his face, then grabbed his sword and went outside to start the first patrol of the night while everyone else went in to sleep.
He sighed and closed the door, then started his patrol, watching the road, woods and even the lake for any potential threat. And so it would go, until it was time for someone else to take his place. That was the plan, at least, but he never actually slept at night, not anymore.
When daybreak came, he washed the tired out of his face while the rooster crowed from the "barn" and the farmers came out to start tending to the animals. Then people came out to start the fire again and breakfast was prepared, during which time the kids all woke up and came out of the caravans to help out.
"You haven't slept, have you?" Varian asked as he walked over to Quirin.
"No, I did." He assured him.
"Liar. No one else has been on shift during the night, I've asked." Varian said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are you staying up all night? And then driving, too?"
"I'm used to it." Quirin brushed it off. "Besides, no one else is strong enough yet to--"
"Quirin!" A man that had been sent to scout ahead came over to them. "Quirin, there's a roadblock! Some guy called The Baron is demanding a toll per caravan to pass though the area of Vardaros!"
Quirin cringed. He'd heard about The Baron, if nothing else from hearing Varian talk about him. His son was unhealthily fascinated by the criminal world, from Flynn Rider to Lady Caine, and The Baron was a vicious crime-lord that Flynn Rider worked for before. If he had the other members of the Brotherhood with him he could take them down, easy, but with a colony of refugees and a son to protect, he couldn't risk walking off alone to take care of the problem. Especially since they no doubt knew about them now.
"What do we do?" Varian asked.
He sighed. "We wait it out. This is a good spot to settle for a little while. If they come after us, we'll deal with it, but I'm not leaving this camp with inexperienced fighters to take down a crime lord."
"Alright." Varian nodded. "We better let the others know, then."
"We're not in any rush to go anywhere." Quirin nodded, watching as Varian walked off to go inform the others of the update.
"Varian!" He called after him, and Varian looked over at him. "I want you to help us set up traps to catch anyone that might attack us. Do you have anything in mind?"
Varian's eyes lit up and he ran into their caravan – literally. He was so excited he forgot to open the door. He giggled sheepishly, opened it, and went inside.
Quirin smiled and shook his head with a soft chuckle before turning back to the scout. "Go on and tell everyone, he's distracted."
The scout nodded and headed off to inform everyone while Quirin walked out to look towards the roadblock. It was manned by at least twenty people, and they were talking to each other. He crept closer and heard them speaking.
"...difficult to turn around here, so they'll have to pay eventually."
"If they decide to just stick around, we'll just have to remind them that The Baron ain't no common highway robber."
Quirin frowned and went back to the camp, where Varian was setting something up in the grass. "Varian?"
"I've been wanting to try something out...thought it'd make it easier on you at night. I'm making goo mines." He explained. "I put the goo bombs in these little capsules here, cover it with grass and dirt, and, when someone steps on it, the pin inside will break open the bomb and they'll be caught in the goo! Pretty brilliant, right?" He beamed up at him.
"Well, how do you know it works?" Quirin asked.
"I was gonna trick Clyde into stepping on it as a test." He shrugged. "Can you call him over here? Tell him I want to talk to him?"
Quirin chuckled a bit. "Well, I suppose so." He walked off to get Clyde.
–
Varian watched him go, then looked towards the roadblock. 'I could probably use alchemy to take them down, but I'd have to be sneaky about it. Might be easier to just lead them to camp, let them be caught and dwindle their numbers that way. But they might send more...Either way, we risk pissing off The Baron.'
"Alright, pipsqueak, what do you want?" Clyde walked over to him.
Varian stood up. "I've been thinking, maybe we shouldn't be fighting." He stepped back a bit, shifting his feet shyly. "I guess it's kind of silly to, you know, hold a grudge for the house-dare prank." He held out a hand with a smile. "Friends?"
"Eh, I dunno about friends, but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones if you are." He stepped forward to take his hand, then gasped as he was suddenly caught in goo.
"Yes! It worked!" Varian cheered. "Oh, uh, I really did mean that I want us to move past that. Consider this payback for throwing me in the lake, and also because I'm testing a security measure." He grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, just get me outta this." Clyde rolled his eyes. "What is this stuff, anyway?"
"Oh, uhm..." Varian glanced away. "I...made it to keep pests out of the farms. But, I never got a chance to show it to everyone, because...I made it at the same time I was working on the hot water boilers and...yeah." He looked a bit sheepish as he pulled out the neutralizer and freed him.
"Yeeeeah, I can see why you wouldn't have mentioned it before now." He shook his legs to make sure they still worked. "We were all pretty pissed about that."
Varian nodded. "But, it really works. It holds a person or animal for up to 13 hours and then dissolves on its own, or I use this neutralizing agent to free them." He held up the vial before putting it back in his apron.
"So, some of your crazy inventions actually work. Between this and the sleeping dust, you could be a real criminal, you know?" Clyde teased.
"Heh, yeah." Varian sighed. "Too bad about that roadblock, though."
"You know, I bet that if you, me and the guys took some of these goo things and your sleeping dust out there, we could have the roadblock cleared long enough for us all to get through with plenty of time to spare before The Baron knows what's hit 'im." Clyde placed his hand on his shoulder. "What do ya say? Wanna be a hero?"
Varian looked thoughtful, studying him for any sign that this was a prank. He then smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
Clyde nodded. "We'll head out tonight, while everyone's asleep. May as well tell your old man, so he doesn't catch us and send us back to bed. I mean, he told you to set this up, right?"
Varian nodded. "I'll go do that." He looked over at his father, who was sitting by the caravan sharpening his sword. "You'll be there for sure, right? This isn't another prank?"
"We don't wanna be here any more than you do. Besides," he grinned, "we're a colony now. Gotta work together to survive. Time to put old grudges in the past." He patted his shoulder, then walked back to his friends to tell them the plan.
Varian smiled and then picked up the used capsule and took it inside to put a new one in, then prepared more sleeping bombs and goo bombs, the burner roaring and his goggles pulled down over his eyes as he smiled brightly.
–
Quirin wasn't so sure he agreed with their plan, but Varian's plan to get them through the gates had worked, and it was pretty much the same only without the goo. And it wasn't like he was going alone, and it'd be great if he and the boys would get along. Still, he watched them warily as they headed out, Varian carrying the glowing orbs in his bag to keep them from being detected too soon.
Judging by the other anxious parents, he guessed their "secret plan" wasn't so secret, and he crept over to watch them from a distance.
–
Varian tensed as they got closer to the roadblock. The sky had decided to be kind tonight and the clouds blocked out the moonlight, making it hard to see them in the dark in their cloaks and masks. As they got closer, he discreetly passed all of them two of each kind of bomb behind their backs so they wouldn't be detected.
"I have a question, "one of the boys whispered, "why are they pink?"
"Because the mixture of chemicals involved made them that way. I didn't exactly dye them." Varian whispered back.
They stopped just far enough to hear the men talking to each other.
"They're stubborn ,I'll give 'em that. They spent the whole day just sittin' around." One of the men said.
"Yeah, well, The Baron says that if they're there much longer to trash the camp and take whatever valuables we can carry." Another man huffed.
"Ready?" Varian whispered. The other boys nodded.
"Oi, what's that in the darkness?"
They moved as one, rushing forward and throwing their sleeping bombs at the gathered criminals. They all cried out and then collapsed as the sleeping dust took effect. The boys all gave high-fives, checked on them, pulled them to the side, trapped them in goo and then started to clear the roadblock.
To their surprise, a bunch of adults came to help. "That was mighty risky, you kids." One of the men gently scolded. "But, also smart. We'll take it from here, go get some sleep."
"Not until we're past the roadblock." Varian said as they headed back to camp.
They returned to their families and helped them clean up the camp and erase all evidence they'd been there. Once the men returned, they drove the caravans back onto the road and set off in the cover of darkness past the unconscious thugs.
Varian sat up front with his father, his alchemy bag hung over his shoulder, ready to knock out anyone that might come after them. They were able to get past it without any trouble and continued on past Vardaros.
"Alright, we're past the danger. Go on to bed." Quirin told him.
"Not tired." Varian shook his head. "Why don't you sleep, and I'll take the reins?"
"Well, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep, either way." Quirin smirked a bit. "But, I will catch a few winks up here while you drive, alright?" He passed him the reins.
Varian smiled up at him and gripped the reins. "Thank you for trusting me."
Quirin nodded, then crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned his head back against the back of the seat behind him, closing his eyes. "Wake me in an hour."
"Two hours." Varian stressed.
"One and a half." Quirin compromised.
"Deal." Varian nodded, smiling a bit.
He hummed to himself a bit and Quirin smiled as he drifted off, enjoying the sound. Varian sighed softly, then looked forward, the lantern hanging at the front lighting their way through the darkness.
He noticed a black rock jutting out ahead of them and blew a horn to warn the caravans behind them about the rock in the way, then steered the horses around it carefully, the others following suit with their horns.
Quirin stirred, looked around, then noticed the black rock they were passing before he closed his eyes again, content in the fact that Varian handled it just fine on his own.