Chapter Text
Funneh is relieved when they finally come upon the gates to the neighbouring town that housed the potion master. Much more run down than their central town entrance, but it was quaint in size and much farther from the castle itself, so Funneh understood the dip in quality as well. A large wooden arch that vines crawled on, twisting and offering pink and orange flowers to anyone daring enough to get close to the thorns that lay in wait behind the beauty. The sign itself was chipped and rusted, letters missing and a much cleaner imprint left behind; she could only make out the town name, Dunwich, because she had known it previously to replace the missing letters.
Pinned with a nail to the arch, is a poster of Valerie and Kai’s faces, a hefty reward sum under their names, and a small, handwritten blurb done in messy ink lay beneath entailing their disappearances. Speculations galore, but one prominent point being made by the castle; Sir Kai stole Princess Valerie in the night and needed to be found.
“Word travels fast.” Kai mused as he fiddled with the parchment, purposely standing behind a building and out of sight just inside the entrance. Funneh bit her lip, poking her head out to see the town. It was the hours of the early morning, the sun readying itself to fully rise, but there was still a handful of people milling about. Thankfully, none of them glance their way, simply going about their business.
“Faster than us,” Gold inputs, crossing her arms as she stands next to Valerie, who herself is gazing at the flowery archway.
Said princess sighed, but not burdened, “it is expected, Meghan can only distract my mother for so long, and we have already been gone long past when I would usually be woken.”
Kai steps up next to her, setting a hand on her shoulder. Funneh thinks the action is meant to reassure the princess, but from looking at her, Valerie seems remarkably calm for being pronounced kidnapped by the very man standing next to you.
“Now,” Valerie paused, picking a flower from the arch they’d just passed. She turned back to them and set her attention on Kai. “Where do we go about finding the potions master?”
“That, I am unsure of,” Kai pulled out the flimsy flier and unfolded it, re-reading the information printed boldly. “It only states the wondrous feats and town name.”
Funneh shrugged, not too bothered by the simple setback. “I suppose we shall just have to ask around. Wait here, ” she glanced around the various storefronts and establishments lining the streets; it was remarkably similar to their own town, and even though she’d never stepped foot in this village before, she did not feel too out of place. Most townsfolk looked busy, but Funneh spotted one woman wiping down a window with a cloth and approached her. The woman's fiery hair was tied up into a tight bun, the sleeves of her dress rolled up so as to not get wet, and a bucket of soapy water lay by her feet. Funneh tapped her shoulder, “excuse me?”
The woman looked over her shoulder, eyeing Funneh up and down with an intense gaze. She did not respond for several moments, long enough for Funneh to entertain the idea she may not speak at all. “Yes?” Her voice was rough and seemed to catch in her throat.
“Well, my friends and I stumbled upon a poster pertaining to someone who resides in this village, I was wondering if you would know where we could find them?”
The woman sighed, seemingly accepting her part in this conversation, no matter how brief. She dropped the rag, and it landed in the bucket with a wet ‘plop!’, some of the dirty water splashed up and soiled Funneh’s skirt. She could not help but wrinkle her nose.
“Who?”
“Um,” Funneh hesitated, the gaze of the woman starting to unnerve her. Maybe it was simply a change in normalcy between villages, or perhaps it was just this one woman. Either way, Funneh resolved to end the interaction as soon as possible. “He promoted himself as a potions master of great-”
“Kyran?” For the first time since the woman had laid eyes on Funneh, she showed emotion by quirking her lips upwards and letting out a raspy chuckle. “That boy ain’t no potions master. Not from what we’ve seen anyway, best you move along and find someone with-” she cut herself off in a series of coughs that racked her frame. Funneh flinched backwards at the sudden ailment, her concerned hand brushed off. The woman reached out a hand to stabilize herself on the glass pane she had been cleaning. Once the coughing subsided enough to shove words out, she finished, “Real magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Eliza!” A man suddenly wrenched open the door to the shop, scaring the wits out of Funneh. He barely passed her a glance as he rushed to the woman's side, keeping her steady as her coughing trailed off into weak sputters. “I have told you not to push your voice!”
Funneh held her hands up to her chest, suddenly feeling at fault for the woman's outburst. “I apologize, sir, I am the one who-”
He cut her off, looking her unfamiliar form up and down from beneath his bushy eyebrows. “Who are ‘ya?”
“My name is Funneh, I am looking for the potions master-”
“Kyran, she is looking for Kyran.” The woman cut in, looking worn. The man sighed at who Funneh assumed to be his wife. He looked at Funneh and raised a finger, Funneh nodded in understanding as the man led Eliza into the shop. She glanced back to see Gold peeking from around the corner, looking perplexed, but Funneh waved her away, hopeful she could still manage the whereabouts of the potions master that sounded less and less like a potions master the more she heard.
Finally, the man stepped back outside. “So, you are looking for Kyran?”
“If Kyran is the name of the potions master, then yes, sir.”
He sighed again, plucking his hat off his head with one hand and brushing his greasy hair back with the other. “That kid sure is something, and I don't know why he insists on prancing around like some prophet of potions, but he ain't.”
Funneh’s heart dropped, and it apparently showed on her face enough for the man to pity her.
“Well, it is not as if he has no prowess in the field, otherwise he would not still be in business; but nowhere near what he boasts on his little posters. I'm not even sure how one made it out of here, you don't seem like you are from around here, are ‘ya?”
“No, sir.”
“Thought so,” he clapped a rough hand on Funneh’s shoulder, but it was surprisingly gentle. “Now don't get me wrong, lass, Kyran is great, he helps out a lot of people around here, but he ain't what you’re thinkin’.”
Funneh nodded, and bowed her head in thanks, but smirked as she looked the man in the eye, “thank you, but I think we shall take our chances. Now, could you point me in his direction?”
The man smiled and shook his head. “Now that I think on it, you two would get along swell.” Despite his seemingly good-natured mild warnings, he gave her directions to a run-down potions shop almost on the outskirts of town; far enough for it to be a pain to walk, but close enough to be reasonable.
Funneh thanked her lucky stars as well as the man before she turned to walk back to her companions. While the warnings put a slight damper on the enthusiasm of having a skilled magic user on their side again The Witch of Many Terrors, Funneh was not all too concerned. It sounded to her like this Kyran had skill in potions and was confident in himself enough to call himself a ‘potions master’, it also raised the chances of him agreeing to join them if he was not in high demand.
Before she was too out of range, the man called out to her again. “And make sure to mention you found him through his flier! He’ll get a real kick out of it!”
Funneh debriefed the rest of them on the way as she led them to the shop. Gold seemed rather disappointed they would not be accompanied by a potions master, Valerie simply shrugged and expressed her desire to invite him along regardless of his skill, and Kai was flustered at the thought of leading them to a dead end with information he had gathered.
They eventually made it to the front doors of a run-down, but well-cared-for shop. With two floors of dark wood and fragile windows with shutters about to fall off, Funneh thought it quite nice. She made her way to the front two windows and peeked inside. She could see shelves upon shelves of colourful potions and serums and books, quills and parchment with scribbles scattered about and items wrapped delicately in cloth resting securely on empty shelves.
“We should stay out here until Funneh and Gold explain our situation,” Kai proposed, cutting through the quiet of the morning. His arms were crossed over his chest plate, metal clinking and squeaking as the pieces rubbed together.
Valerie whined, “awh, why?”
“If the townsfolk are already aware of our status, Valerie, he could as well. It would be better to get within his good graces before showing ourselves in case he thought it a better plan to turn us all in.”
“Good idea,” Gold nodded. She intertwined her arm with Funneh’s and dragged her away from the window and to the door. She glanced back at the two castle dwellers. “We will be back in a moment!” with that, she swung the front door open and called into the peaceful stillness. “Hello? We, uh,” she trailed off, glancing Funneh’s way.
“We’re looking for the potions master from the fliers! Kyran, the potions master?” Funneh called, trying to peek around the counter and down the short hallway. It appeared to trail off into another room before the back door, but Funneh couldn't make out what was residing within.
They suddenly heard a thud from above their heads, footsteps trailing the wooden ceiling before what sounded like descending stairs. “One moment!”
Emerging from the dark stairway that Funneh hadn't noticed before, a boy about their age with rather dull gray eyes turned their way. He paused at the sight of them, most likely confused at the sight of strangers so early in the morning. He tilted his head, hair the same colour but darker than hers fell into his eyes from where it was tied back messily, not all of it long enough to be held up by the tie and instead falling over his neck. He brushed them away, redoing the tie as he spoke to them, walking up closer to the counter, “hello, how can I help you?”
His garments were not shabby, yet they were not extravagant either; a deep blue overcoat with gold accents of pockets and lining and what looked to be a hood draped over his shoulders, a black undershirt peeking out from under the outerwear. He also adorned dark brown leather gloves.
“Well, in truth, we come with a special request,” Funneh said, about to begin explaining but was interrupted by Kyran.
“Um, my range in special request potions are limited,” he meekly pointed out, not wanting to push away potential customers. “But I’ll do my best!”
Funneh coughed into her hand awkwardly, stepping in front of Gold. He seemed excited to receive more customers wanting his potions and she felt bad immediately dashing those hopes. “Actually, we are instead here interested in your help.” At his confused stare, she continued, floundering at the, admittedly, absurd explanation. “You see, my friend Gold here and I are on a kind of quest, and we require your.. Help..?”
“My help? I-” Kyran sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the two girls. “I am sorry, but the best I can offer are potions.”
“It is a very important journey, though!” Funneh pleaded. Perhaps her hopeful thoughts had been wrong, and he would flat-out deny their request. “Do you know of Princess Valerie and Sir Kai’s disappearance?” She asked.
Kyran perked up at the change of subject. “Oh, yes, the news broke here not too long ago.” He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, “is that your ‘quest’? Trying to find the princess?”
“Um, no,” Gold piped up, twiddling her thumbs unaware of the starstruck gaze that had landed on her. “In fact, we are.. With… the princess..?”
He seemed to snap out of whatever daze he had been in, looking between the two confused. He backed up slightly behind the counter. “Whatever do you mean?”
The door behind Funneh burst open and the only warning she got was Kai’s frantic calling to Valerie to wait. Valerie stepped up and Kyran’s eyes widened when he saw her, her rosey hair made her unmistakable up close, even when wearing the unfamiliar attire. “In fact, I was the one who implored them on a quest with me. Kyran, we humbly request your help in getting me to The Witch of Many Terrors to be able to speak with her. Surely, you have heard of her threat against me?”
Kyran nodded dumbly, jaw dropped as he continuously looked between the princess and her knight,
“Well,” Valerie smiled brightly, self-assured in her explanation and plan. “I require to speak with and resolve this matter with her myself. We all believe your skill set with aid us tremendously. It should not be more than a week's journey!”
The shop was quiet after her tiny speech, and while she seemed confident, Funneh could not help but recoil throughout it. She was sweet and charming, yes, but something about the way she boasted her plans gave Funneh, and surely Kyran, a sense of entitlement. The boy behind the counter glanced between them all, looking at their group as if this was actually some strange dream he had forgotten to wake up from that morning.
“What?” Kyran finally questioned. He looked at them like they were absurd for merely considering the possibility he would accept. “I do not even know you! What drives you to consider I’d help you, leave my life behind, and risk it? Why should I not turn you in right now?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, the blue fabric of his coat pinching and folding with the movement. Funneh could admit he raised fair points; it was foolish of them to believe everyone they sought aid would grant it without question. He was correct, they were inviting him to potentially risk his life; it seemed the rest of them were realizing it too. Valerie bit her lip worriedly and fiddled with the neat hem of her shirt, her bravado seemingly dissipating with every second, Kai’s brows were drawn tightly, most likely raised guard from the mention of turning them in and the reminder of their wanted status. Funneh could not see Gold, hidden behind the three of them by the front door, but she assumed she wore a similar expression.
But, despite this, Funneh was not all too worried about Kyran declining.
She’d always been good at reading people and noticed the slight twitch of his clenched fingers as if itching to reach out for something within reach, and how his eyes dotted over Kai’s armour and Valerie’s face. Funneh also spotted a bookshelf behind him, the majority being taken up by herbology books and potions and common magics studies, but a few scattered about held much more fictitious titles. Kyran wanted to say no, knew he should, but Funneh could tell he only needed a push.
And that push came in the form of a shove, courtesy of the brunette girl behind, now in front of, her. Gold pushed her way to the front of the small crowd they’d formed to the wooden countertop, tearing Kyran’s gaze away from the princess and knight and demanding his attention with only a look. She clasped her hands together in a plea, bowed her head slightly, and looked up at Kyran from beneath her fluttering lashes.
“Please?” She practically whispered into the still air of the run-down potion shop. Funneh, Valerie, and Kai all held their breath, hopeful. “We heard tell tale of your fantastical feats and extraordinary potions, you must help us! We need expertise like yours.” She tacked on for extra measure, but Funneh was doubtful he had even heard what she’d spoken. He was staring at her as if she’d personally hung the stars with the same hands she was using to request his help, red crept up on his cheeks.
“ Please? ”
What a push indeed.
Kyran coughed, raising a fist to cover his mouth. Gold’s hands fell as he turned around, peeking at them from over his shaking shoulder. “I suppose I will accompany you and lend my abilities.”
“Yay!” Valeries cheered, throwing her arms up in a decidedly unladylike celebration.
Funneh smiled in relief as Kai stepped up, settling a gentle hand on Valerie’s shoulder, holding up a finger to his lips as he gestured to the glass window. Valerie let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with a soft hand. Kai then turned to Kyran who was now in front of the bookshelf that Funneh had noticed earlier. “Kyran, thank you. Your contribution will not go unrewarded.” He bowed his head in respectful thanks.
Kyran shook his head, loose strands falling from their tied position low enough to obscure his eyesight; he swept a hand through them, tucking dark blue behind his ear for the time being. “Oh, no bother, I am not worried about that now.” He suddenly broke out into a large smile, slapping a hand flat on the rows of books. “This is going to be just like my stories! A real prince,” he glanced at Kai and his shining armour, “well, knight, saving a real princess from a real witch! And I get to come along!”
Funneh quickly realized that Kyran was much less concerned by the witch and more so with the experience and the pretty girl he got to travel with. Cute, a little pathetic, but that ultimately didn’t matter as long as he aided them.
“Wonderful!” Valerie clapped, effortlessly bringing all attention to her. “How swiftly will you be ready to leave?”
“Hm, rather quick, I believe; I have something I must do beforehand, however. And,” he eyed Kai up and down whom shifted uneasily. “You should probably gather a change of garments. People may not recognize Princess Valerie in normal apparel, but they will without a doubt recognize a knight in a knightless village.”
Kai looked down at himself with a quiet ‘hm’, the shining pristine, undamaged armour twinkled back at him in the low light. “I hate to get rid of it, but I suppose it is a necessary evil.”
“I have something to deliver at my home, there will be something for you to wear, I’m sure.” he started to rummage around in the shelves in the back room that was hidden from customer view. He came back with a small bottle of liquid tainted purple and wrapped it gently with stray burlap under the counter, tying it off and stowing it away in a bag he then shouldered.
“Your home?” Funneh questioned, unsure. If he lived alone it would be no problem, but it was more probable that Kyran lived with his family, which meant more people seeing them in the town.
Kyran locked the front door and led them through the back room, rows of empty and full bottles of both potion liquid, finished and uncompleted, and jars of ingredients ranging from plants and weeds to animal skin and blood. The back wooden door creaked open as he stepped into the evening air. Being the last one to step out onto the glistening grass the door swung shut behind Funneh and she took a deep breath. The sun was starting to set, disappearing behind the line of trees, and a chilled breeze swept through the trees, ruffling the pine and making a select few flutter to the grass below. A nice, sweet smell hit her nose and she glanced down to her feet; sizable but still small and manageable flower boxes held delicate purple, green, and orange flowers. Funneh gasped as Kyran knelt to gently collect the petals.
“Is that a Lactuflorus?!” Funneh dropped to her knees beside him, mud seeping into her skirt. She’d only ever seen one, purple, and it had sold for a hefty sum. Rare plants said to aid in countless ventures, Funneh almost hadn’t believed her eyes when she’d stumbled upon the wilting flower. It had been too late to save or plant anymore from the shimmering weeds so she’d sold it to the highest bidder. It had bought food for four weeks and funded renovations. She wanted to reach out and feel the soft petals, feel the magic on her fingertips; but she held back as Kyran carefully plucked the colourful petals from the stems.
The other three had stopped to watch their exchange, in awe once they saw the surely prized possession laid out in the open.
“Yes,” Kyran confirmed, standing once again and putting the gathered petals in his bag. “I found a small patch a few months back and salvaged just enough to grow more. They help a great deal in my potions, I’m hoping they are what I am missing.”
Gold quirked a brow, “missing?”
“Never mind that,” Kyran shook his head and extended a hand down to help Funneh off the dirt. “We should head out now if we want to get there by nightfall; my home is about an hour out from here and away from town, so we shouldn’t be seen.”
Kai held out a hand, gesturing in front of them. “Lead the way.” He walked after Kyran, making sure to keep a close distance to Valerie as they walked on the border of the fastly darkening tree line.
Gold went to follow, but Funneh reached out a hand and grabbed her cotton sleeve, slowing down to whisper unheard. Gold looked confused, but Funneh kept her gaze up ahead at the potion master and his bag of valuables. Gold seemingly caught on, lowering her voice so as to not be overheard. “What was that flower?”
“A Lactuflorus, do you recall when I found one some years back?”
Gold hummed, nodding after a moment, “I believe so. You seemed awed, is the flower truly that special?”
“ Very,” Funneh stressed. She toyed with her fingers, twisting them as her thoughts ran rampant. “Did you see how many he has? That must have taken years to accumulate!” she glanced back the way they came, Kyran’s magic shop just barely within view. Just the knowledge that within its walls was possibly the most powerful and valuable thing she’d ever laid eyes on shook her to her core. So vulnerable. Did anybody else know of their existence?
“I wonder what he needs them for.”
“Me as well…” Funneh trailed off with her thoughts, realizing that Gold was right; Kyran must be using them for something very important. He could be selling the magic flowers, such a large quantity would fund such a life he would have no need for a run-down, laughed-upon shop. Kyran’s reputation was not highly regarded within the village, it seemed; the townspeople disregarded his mastery, but surely people would look longer if he advertised the rare Lactuflorus as something on his shelves.
So why was he not simply selling them?
What reason could he have to keep them such a secret? Selfishness, perhaps? Brewing the petals in potions purely for self-gain?
Or something bigger, more important, than Funneh could ever think of?
Kyran led them around to the back door of the farmhouse, having explained earlier it would be best just in case any of his younger siblings were still awake. He could trust his family, but six-year-olds tended to be rather loose-lipped. Gold sighed contentedly as the door creaked open, the warmth that could only come from a comfortable home and a freshly used oven washed over them, battling away the night chill.
The inside resembled a log cabin in decor, but it was much larger. Wooden walls and flooring, oil lamps and lavender placed neatly on the dining table, red woollen blankets draped over chairs and foot tables.
“Lucas and Dawn are usually downstairs about this time,” Kyran spoke softly and pointed away from the hallway leading to the rest of the house. “My mother should be with them, we will try to keep this all between those three.”
Valerie’s eyes sparkled as she glanced around the home. As they descended the stairs to the basement, Funneh had to stop and wait for her to catch up. Funneh wandered back up to her when she noticed Valerie was enraptured by one specific thing. “Are you alright?” Funneh asked, stopping two steps below the princess. Valerie nodded, running her fingers along a dark oak picture frame where a photograph of Kyran with multiple others, whom Funneh assumed were his siblings, lay not dirty but loved behind the glass.
“It looks so natural,” Valerie muttered, eyes trailing over every inch. “Almost like time was frozen, as if the photograph was an afterthought.”
Funneh raised a confused brow. That was typically what these kinds of photographs looked like. Capturing what your family was ordinarily like; it made little sense to act differently for a photograph. “Yes..?”
“Mine are so rehearsed.”
“Valerie,” Kai calls from below, not yet having stepped into the light. Both of their attention snaps to him, Valerie’s hand wrenching away from the photograph. “C’mon, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can leave.” Funneh nods, even though she is not completely sure he can see them clearly enough.
They make their way down the stairs, the soft orange glow of a lamp lighting up their vision and revealing three new forms sitting by the light. The three of them make their way over just as Kyran crouches down next to the nameless people, seemingly having already explained the gist of it as they were not all too shocked to see Valerie descend their stairs. Funneh steps up beside Gold.
“This is Gold, Funneh, Princess Valerie, and Kai,” Kyran introduces, who Funneh assumes to be his mother smiles kindly, waving them all closer and to take a seat. “And this is my mother, my younger brother Lucas, and Dawn.” He pointed to each person respectively. His mothered had his hair, flowing long down her back. Lucas’ hair was shaggy and he was much paler than Kyran, but they still held a strong resemblance. Dawn, however, Funneh could not help but raise a brow.
She looked nothing like them, black hair and piercing crimson eyes, freckled cheeks and a tired but firey aura surrounded the young girl. “Hello, it is lovely to meet you all,” Dawn spoke softly to them before turning her attention back to Kyran, “do you have another one?”
Kyran nodded and shifted his pack off his shoulders and began to dig around. Funneh furrowed her brows, glancing around at the others, it seemed only the members of the household seemed to be in the know as her friends seemed equally as confused as her. She tried to catch Kyran’s eye but pouted when it seemed he was purposely ignoring their stares and instead focusing on pulling out the purple potion from before.
Thankfully, Lucas took pity on them, wandering over to them slowly. He spoke in hushed tones so as to not be overheard, but his mother glanced their way anyway. “Kyran seems to trust you, so I will as well.” they all look at him while keeping the scene going on in the corner of their eye. Kyran seemed to be explaining the ingredients of the potion to Dawn.
“Yes, what is going on?” Gold asked concerned, “is she sick?”
Lucas sighed and rubbed his eyes, dark bags hung below them and he seemed tired. “Kind of? We uh, we found her about four years back.” He began to explain. Dawn had stumbled out of the woods disoriented and bloody, not remembering what had happened to her, not even her own name. “She was scared, of course, so ‘ma insisted we take her in, and since she did not know her name, ‘ma gave her a new one. ‘Dawn’, means rebirth. She’s been living with us ever since.”
Valerie covered her mouth with a delicate hand, “poor girl…”
“She don't need sympathy,” Lucas explained, a strange proud look in his eye. “It is not as if she is still a scared little girl.”
“And the potion?” Funneh asked, watching as Dawn swirled the liquid before taking a sip.
Lucas ruffled his hair, despite his earlier words a spot of sympathy and pity overtaking his features. “Kyran wants to help, he has been trying to make a potion to help with the memory problems for years now. He has gotten close, but,”
Dawn suddenly coughed, placing the bottle down with a loud ‘thud!’ on the wooden table. Kyran’s eyes lit up in hope, his mother steadying the girl from behind as she hacked; the coughs subsided and Dawn looked up, shaking her head sadly. The hope in Kyran’s eyes dissipated quickly and he slumped backwards, cradling the potion in his hands. The whole scene twisted Funneh’s gut painfully.
“It never works.”
Lucas left them to think, walking back over to his family and taking a seat beside Dawn. their group was quiet, but Valerie was the first to move. She is about to speak to the girl, reassurances hot on her tongue, but Dawn instead smiles at them all.
“It is quite alright, do not worry yourself, Kyran.” At his sad confused look, she continues, tilting her head as he smiles sadly. “Truthfully, I am not sure if I want to remember. If I remembered, it would cause nothing but strife, I am quite content with the way things are now. Besides,” she laughs, “it has been years, surely anyone looking has given up by now.”
Valerie takes her chance, laying a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. Dawn looks up, surprised to see the princess standing so close and with such a happy smile decorating her lips. “You are very brave, Dawn, and no matter what happens, you will be happy either way and forge your own path in life; I am sure of it.” She squeezes one last time before letting go and making her way back to the group.
Funneh, Gold, Valerie, and Kai waited by the door while Kyran ran around collecting food and supplies. Kai, having already been given garments from Kyran to change into, looked rather uncomfortable with their current predicament; the only semblance of his previous attire was the belt that housed his sword and sheath, and the small armour plates on his boots and gloves. Funneh could not blame him, she too felt rather out of place in the homey place. Kyran’s mother was sweet and had offered tea as they spoke briefly about their plan, but had retired to her daily duties soon after along with Dawn. they had expressed concern about their plans to recruit The Red Death, along with the end goal of finding the witch, but had relented once the threat on Valerie's life was brought up.
Despite what Lucas had said, Funneh felt bad for the young girl. Something awful must have happened to her that night, and surely there was someone out there looking for her! It seemed Gold felt the same way if the teary eyes when Funneh had tried to bring it up was anything to go by.
“Alright,” Kyran said as he stepped up to them all, adjusting the freshly packed bag over his shoulder, surely stuffed mostly with empty potion bottles and brewing materials along with food and clothes. “I am all ready to go here, what about you all?” it was midday now, and while Funneh would have much preferred the guise of darkness to venture off into, it was lucky the farmhouse was far enough away from the rest of the town to be noticed.
“More than,” Kai muttered, ushering Valerie towards the back door, eager to leave before the rest of the family were awoken. He opened the door for her, and just as she stepped out onto the plush grass, Lucas called after them.
“Wait!” He caught up quickly and handed a homemade map to Funneh, some of the ink still wet and smudged when she touched it with her thumb. “It is not much, but I thought it would at least be a little bit helpful in the beginning.”
“Thank you,” Funneh said, folding the map gently and tucking it away in her pocket. “We appreciate it.”
Kyran playfully shoved him back toward the living room, “now go! We have to leave. Tell everyone bye for me.” Lucas rolled his eyes but closed the back door after them.
Setting off into the woods once again, Funneh pulled out the map. It was helpful, and more descriptive in the closer areas than there had been, with large rivers and cliffs clearly marked to stay away from. Along with that, the general area where the witch is said to reside, along wth one other town marked.
The town where The Red Death was last seen.