Varian's Tangled Trials

Trust

"So what's going on?" asked Hugo as he stepped off the gondola after Varian and Nuru. The palace loomed behind them as they made their way towards the treeline where Yong was waiting.

"Yong has something to show us," said Nuru. "He's been working on it on the side while we've been helping King Edmund out."

"Almost done..." said Yong, as he was tightening a bolt on a large blocky machine set on four wheels and with a funnel sticking out the side. He looked up with a smile as they came near. He jumped up and splayed out his arms in excitement. "Ta-da!"

The three others humored Yong with smiles even though they were confused about what they were smiling at. Ruddiger crept forward and sniffed the machine curiously.

"What do you think?" prompted Yong.

"Want to tell us what we're looking at first?" Hugo teasingly asked.

"Oh yeah," said Yong. He reached for a burlap sack next to him. "So I was thinking... We've been helping rebuild the kingdom but that's not gonna do much if people can't get here right? They need more roads!"

The other three nodded in agreement as Yong started pouring something from the bag into the funnel.

"So that's what I made!" continued Yong. "With just a little combustion, this blast furnace will melt the gravel down to make a path that'll last way longer!"

"Combustion?" asked Varian nervously. "Like... continual explosions? With black powder?"

"Yup!" said Yong excitedly. Varian looked a bit panicked at this. His eyes started to dart around the machine like he was looking for a weakness. Yong finished pouring in the gravel and tossed the bag away. "Let me show you!"

Nuru was watching Yong but Hugo was watching Varian- who looked like he was in the middle of an internal crisis. As Yong reached for the lever on the machine Varian's hand reached towards the younger boy and he seemed to be dying to say something to stop the proceedings. But before Yong pulled the lever down he smiled at Varian and paused. Hugo watched as Varian took a steadying breath and then put his hand down. He smiled back at Yong and nodded supportively.

With that Yong yanked down the lever and the machine jolted to life, chugging and vibrating before starting to roll forward. After a few feet they heard the telltale signs of explosions going off inside the metal plating and a moment later a chute opened up at the bottom. As the machine moved forward a substance started to pour out leaving a dark trail on the ground, but then the machine stopped, the chugging and popping increasing until the whole thing started to shake violently. Pieces started rattling apart and falling to the ground.

Yong rushed forward and slammed the lever back up, turning the machine back off. He turned back to the group sheepishly.

"Guess it needs a bit more work," he said. "But, that's the idea... so... what do you-?"

Varian had already rushed forward and pulled Yong into a hug. Yong laughed and happily hugged before Varian let go to look at the machine. "It's amazing," said Varian. "You came up with this yourself?"

"Well," said Yong, his cheeks red from the praise. "I've been watching you so I borrowed some of your methods but kind of just added my own spin."

Varian wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. "It's beautiful. And it almost didn't start falling apart."

"Yeah," said Yong. "I know there's no more time to work on it now. But maybe after we find the Library... Can you help me finish it?"

Varian seemed surprised by this request but then smiled. "Yes, I don't see why not, I mean after the Library we'll have lots of time."

As they started making their way back to the castle Hugo touched Varian's shoulder. Varian stopped and looked back at him curiously.