'Not that I haven't enjoyed this absolutely spectacular stroll down memory lane,' Hugo announced into the silence, 'But can we get on with this? Looks like Demanitus is giving us an out but we've still got a whole other section of this trial to get through.'
'How do you know that?' Varian asked, 'For all we know the totem is right on the other side of this door.'
'I know things,' Hugo scoffed, 'You're not the only one who's researched these trials, Hairstripe. Now let's get a move on. I don't wanna be caught out here when the sun sets.'
That was a good point and Varian clambered upwards, hauling Yong to his feet. He approached the door and pulled the fire totem from his bag, wondering if he needed to insert it somewhere like a key. Instead, more blue script appeared on the door reading, "Seven choices thou must face, if thou wishest to leave this place. Only one choice will set thou free, lest one with the glacier thou shalt be."
'Goodie,' Hugo muttered as the door exploded in a puff of snowflakes. 'Love riddles.'
'Not sure that was a riddle, Hugo,' Varian replied, stepping into the room, 'More like... instructions.'
Just like the fire trial, there were seven pedestals lining the edge of the round room beyond with a large table in the centre made entirely of ice. On it was alchemy equipment which made Varian's eyes light up as he approached. Once they were all inside, the door reappeared behind them, sealing them in once again.
'An alchemy test?' Varian asked, looking from the equipment to the pedestals.
'They all look the same,' Yong said, examining one of them. Sure enough, in a conical flask was a clear liquid of some kind, completely transparent. It could be anything from water to the most potent acid.
'Well these are our seven choices then,' Hugo commented, 'So we gotta find the right one to get the totem and get out?'
'Okay we need to test each liquid and find out which it is,' Varian continued, 'But then what do we do with it? Drink it?'
But as he asked that, he looked down at the equipment again where there was something carved just under the surface of the ice, almost like a swirly 'f'.
'Huh,' he muttered.
'What is it?' Yong asked, hurrying over.
'It's another alchemical symbol,' Varian explained, 'It means dissolution. Dissolving something into a solution to create a new substance.'
'So we probably don't drink it,' Hugo commented, 'We probably gotta put that gem thing on the totem into the right one.'
Varian shivered then paused, realising his shaking hadn't stopped. In fact, it had only gotten worse since they'd been in here.
'It's cold,' he stated, glancing back to the door.
Hugo heaved a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as if asking for some kind of divine strength. 'Yes, Goggles. That's because we're in a glacier right now.'
'I mean it's been getting colder since we got in here,' Varian snapped back, 'Demanitus warned us. We have to hurry.'
Now seeming to understand, the others began grabbing flasks off their plinths before Varian snapped, 'One at a time! We need to know where they came from in case there's some other part of this we're missing.'
Muttering his annoyance, Hugo grabbed one of the flasks as Varian began setting up the alchemy equipment the way he liked.
'You put your burner on your right?' Hugo asked.
'Shut up and let me do my thing,' Varian shot back, picking up the flask. With a shaking hand he removed the glass stopper and was immediately hit with the familiar smell of vinegar.
'White vinegar,' he commented, handing it back to Hugo. 'Yong?'
Yong gave him the next one and Varian unstoppered it, also recognising the smell.
'Spirits of salt,' he stated, 'Really strong acid.'
He glanced down at the alchemy equipment, noting a small vial filled with iron flakes, pouring some into the acid. As he expected, they began to sizzle and dissolve, confirming its identity.
The next one had no discernible scent and as Varian poured it into a fresh beaker, there was no sign that this was anything other than water.
'Okay, let's do this,' he muttered, pulling his goggles down. He set the beaker over the burner before turning to Yong's second choice. When he opened this one, a pleasant scent hit him and he lifted the vial and swirled it, he could see the very faint residue it started to leave behind.
'Some kind of oil,' he commented, pulling off one of his gloves and dropping a tiny amount onto his finger.
'Goggles!' Hugo snapped but Varian was running his finger through the liquid which felt silky against his skin.
'I don't know what kind but it's an oil,' he said, giving it back to Yong.
'Do you often test unknown chemicals on yourself?' Hugo asked.
'Not so much these days,' Varian replied, 'But I was at least eighty percent sure it wouldn't hurt me.'
Hugo shook his head as Varian turned back to the burner, crouching low to see tiny silver flecks had started to form at the bottom.
'Silver,' he finally announced, 'Gotta be a silver solution. Probably silver nitrate.'
His breath was definitely fogging in front of his face now and he had to wipe his goggles to clear them. His fingers were starting to go numb and he could see Yong was slowing down, shaking violently. He almost dropped the next vial, Hugo's hand lashing out to catch it before it could slip. This time, when Varian inspected it, there was nothing at all that stood out to him. It was just as clear as the others, with a viscosity that could be water, or any other liquid solution. There was no smell to it at all and as he poured it into a beaker to put on the burner, it began to bubble cheerfully with no other reaction.
'Not sure about this one,' Varian admitted, taking it off the heat, 'I'll come back to it.'
The next one was a potent alcohol of some kind, the smell of it making him cough and his head spin. 'Oh, that's bad.'
Hugo sniffed at it curiously and cocked his head. 'Don't know what you mean, Goggles. Smells great.'
Varian rolled his eyes, taking the vial and flicking a drop of it towards the burner. It immediately flared up a vibrant blue and Varian handed the vial back to Hugo.
'Don't drink it!' he snapped as Hugo laughed.
Varian turned back to Yong for the last vial, but he had halted in place and had fallen into a crouch, shivering violently.
'Yong? Yong!'
He abandoned the alchemy table to race to his side, noting the dangerous blue tint on his nose and lips.
'C-c-cold,' Yong chattered.
'Hugo, keep him warm,' Varian ordered.
'Why do I gotta-?'
'Hugo!'
He rolled his eyes before moving to Yong's other side, rubbing his back even while he began shivering violently. Varian grabbed the last untested vial and returned to the table.
This one had a definite scent that almost made it difficult to breathe, but Varian had never encountered it before. It moved like water and left no residue behind, but it wasn't clear what it was. It smelled like death or a mortuary office at least.
'Oh, wait,' he muttered, trying to ignore his chattering teeth.
There amongst the assembled chemicals on the table was a bright orange solution with a faded label that read, "Chromic Acid". He lunged for it, struggling to remove the stopper and poured it and some of the vial into a beaker, watching as the orange colour quickly turned a deep green.
'F-formaldehyde,' Varian stammered, 'Used f-for emb-balming.'
He glanced at the others but they had both gone worryingly still. He raced over to see that Yong's eyes were closed and Hugo didn't look too far behind.
'Guys!' he snapped, shaking them, but he could barely muster his own strength at that point. How long had they been in here? Hugo glanced up, clutching his lantern to his chest and taking a deep breath.
'Still alive,' he muttered. Varian rose and looked towards all the pedestals, struggling to replace the last two vials.
'We need t-to f-find the right vial,' he muttered, 'But what one though? It could be the s-strongest acid, it could be a c-completely neutral liquid, it could be s-something that is only a base element.'
'You m-might be overth-thinking this, G-Goggles,' Hugo replied, his voice worryingly quiet.
'Or m-maybe you're underthinking it,' Varian shot back, knowing he'd only have one shot at getting this right. He looked around the chamber, searching for any kind of clue Demanitus might have left them.
'We're in a g-glacier,' he stammered, 'In the k-kingdom of G-Galcrest. Also known as...'
'The water kingdom,' Hugo whispered
Varian turned to the vial of water, fumbling in his satchel for the fire totem and struggled to remove the orange gem with his unresponsive fingers. He dropped it straight into the vial, watching as it dissolved and the orange began to spread all through the water. It swirled into a whirlpool as if some invisible hand was stirring it, before slowly changing into an icy blue liquid. In his hand, the totem began to shake in a way that had nothing to do with his own shivering. He slowly raised it up to sit on the pedestal next to the vial. And without warning, it melted into a puddle.
'What?' Varian demanded, wondering for a terrifying moment that he'd made the wrong choice. Until there was a flash of light and the totem began to reconstruct itself, its once charred brown surface now completely clear, faceted like a diamond. It was still the same shape as before, only now it had two flat extensions from the flat top of the pyramid almost like horns of some kind. Varian still had no idea what it was supposed to be, and he tentatively claimed it and the vial from the pedestal. And just like that, the temperature began to rise again, though it took a while for him to stop shaking. Against one of the walls, a door slid open to reveal an empty ice tunnel. He shoved both totem and vial into his satchel and turned back to the others who were starting to stir.
'Are you guys okay?' Varian asked, moving to wrap his arms around the both of them in an attempt to bring their temperatures back up.
'I h-hate this kingdom,' Hugo muttered as he glanced up. It took a moment for him to realise that Varian was so close and he quickly jumped to his feet and out of his grasp as if he couldn't stand being that close.
'What was it?' he continued, avoiding Varian's gaze.
'Water.'
'Right. Water kingdom. Duh.'
Varian was more focused on Yong who was slowly coming back to life, the colour returning to his cheeks as the temperature rose.
'I don't think I like Galcrest that much,' he muttered and Varian grinned, hugging him tightly in both relief and to help get his temperature back up.
When the three of them could stand again without feeling like they were about to shatter, they stumbled towards the exit tunnel which was thankfully free of any of that fog, coming back out right at the start of the Trail of Change. They turned away, climbing back up through the tunnel until they were out above the glacier once again, the mid-afternoon sun shining down on them and giving them some much needed warmth.
'So what's it look like now?' Yong asked, life now returning to his eyes. Varian pulled the totem and vial out of his satchel, realising with a start that neither of them were glass as he'd initially thought, but were completely made of ice, staying cold even in the growing warmth of his hands.
'Here,' Hugo said, taking the vial and slipping it into a perfectly sized notch in the top of the totem. 'So we've got this mystery liquid and some kind of... container for it?'
'I don't know,' Varian admitted, 'But that's only two trials. We've still got five more to go. Assuming you're still planning on sticking around?'
'Don't think a little hypothermia will stop me from dragging your butts across the Seven Kingdoms,' Hugo replied, 'Someone's gotta keep you guys on track. I was the first one out of that fog after all.'
Varian's eyes darkened at the thought of those tunnels. That was something he never wanted to experience again. But as he looked up at Hugo, he could see his face had shifted to look almost gaunt, like whatever he'd seen was lingering as well.
'Rough day,' Varian muttered and Hugo nodded, for once, not having some kind of sarcastic come back.
'Yeah,' he said instead, 'Let's just get back to the city. I think I'm done with glaciers for the rest of my life.'
So, taking care of any ice or loose rocks, Varian began leading them back the way they'd come, satchel heavy with the new totem, and mind heavier with what he'd gone through to get it.
Hugo was furious, though he kept his anger hidden behind that expertly crafted mask of nonchalance, maintaining a confident smirk as they finally returned to the city. Varian and Yong had promptly returned to the inn but Hugo had claimed he'd needed a walk and had slipped away before they could protest. He knew they wouldn't try to leave without him at this point; Goggles had seemed to imply that they were continuing together through the rest of the trials and he could tell he wasn't the kind of person to go back on his word like that. But the air inside the inn had been stifling, and not because of the warmth. Hugo stormed through town, absolutely seething about the first part of the trial that had forced him to relive his entire life up until today, dragging back memories he had fought so hard to suppress over the years out of fear of the pain they carried. He'd told himself all his life that he didn't care, that the bad things that had happened to him were in the past and there was no need to dwell on them, but it was the biggest lie he'd ever told. Because those memories still hurt, every time he made the mistake of revisiting them. They reminded him of just how vulnerable he'd been for most of his life, how much he was dependent on others, despite feeling like he was entirely alone. They made him feel weak and that was the one thing he was not allowed to be. Donella had exacting standards, and when he didn't meet them, the consequences were severe. She'd left him in that dungeon at the hands of that torturer because Hugo had failed to complete a mission for her. He'd safely stowed the stolen goods somewhere she knew fully well about and how to retrieve them, but she hadn't, waiting for Hugo to get himself free and finish his task without lifting a finger to help. He knew he owed her everything; she had made him into who he was today, but that memory was one of the worst of them all.
Olivia squeaked from his pocket and peered up at him, but even her reassuring presence wasn't enough to stem the anger in him. He was angry at the world for putting him through everything, he was angry at Donella for her brutal treatment of him, even if it had made him stronger, but most of all he was angry at himself for allowing these emotions to mess with him like this. The Galcrestians said that the Trail of Change would help those who went through it to gain a better understanding of himself, but all it had done was let him know all the ways he'd failed to measure up over the course of his life. What lesson did that teach him? That he was worthless? That nothing he did would ever be good enough? That no matter how much he pretended to enjoy his solitude, he could never escape that empty hole of loneliness inside?
He looked around this frozen waste of a city, staring at the people that were practically brimming with happiness, smiling and laughing as they spoke with each other, sharing what they had without any expectation of anything in return. It was infuriating and intoxicating all at once. Hugo so longed to reach out and join them, to even just feel a sliver of the happiness they had, but he couldn't. His life was set on this course by powers far beyond his control, reminding him everyday how helpless he was, how he could never really make any real choices in his life. Donella had ordered him to trail Varian and Yong, so that's what he was doing. And it was likely that at the end of these trials when the way to the Eternal Library was clear, Donella would have Hugo claim it in her name, just another pawn she controlled to turn on these two without a thought. And at the end of it all, he'd get a nice fat bag of gold and he could forget all about it.
He glanced back in the direction of the inn, even more confusing emotions clamouring for his attention. He knew how to keep his distance from people, especially marks, and he could see right through the both of them. He'd never had any issues with betraying anyone too weak to accept the darkness in the world and by all measures, these two were the embodiment of that naivety he so often exploited. So then why was he feeling... guilty? No, that couldn't be right. It was just his lingering reaction to his memories that was weighing him down. He needed a drink or something. No enough to lose his edge, but just enough to force back into that box everything the Trail of Change had dragged to the surface. And he told himself he didn't care. He didn't. Not about Goggles or Shortstack or this whole ridiculous thing with the trials. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that he lived to see another day and soon he'd be out of this icy hellscape and back to much warmer climates. The world wasn't fair so there was no point complaining about it, and definitely no point in feeling anything about it. He didn't care. He didn't.