Soon they came to an end of this tedium. They hit snow, lots of snow. The carts were slowed down by the terrain. Unable to endure any more sitting around or awkward conversations involving Darien sharing memes with the rest of the guys and having fights over which clumsy cat was cuter, Jackie put her foot down and insisted on walking.
It was a long trip and they'd all come close to giving up and going back a few times, but they all knew that quitting royal orders was not really an option even if they wanted to do so. So the group continued on in their journey to follow the Alchemists, who had a small chance of saving the day. Jackie walked in front holding Priscilla's hand. The others behind them were using the same carts Jackie had refused to sit in, still moving more slowly, but in greater comfort. In a blizzard she was just as fast as the carts and had no visibility issues because of her fairly nature-aligned magic, making her immune to the weather's effects so it was not a dangerous decision to make. The snow was still deep and hard to walk through for Priscilla and her much shorter legs. Poor Pris had no say in the matter and dragged her feet through the snow mounds. No one in the conveyance had their health at risk from the cold, of course, but it was still a little uncomfortable and dashedly inconvenient to deal with the stuff. Once again Layel tried to insist on the younger girl being allowed to sit up in a cart bundled up in blankets and feeling nice and cozy, but once again he was rejected.
Jackie looked at all of them in suspicion for even asking it of her.
It seemed that somewhere in her heart the knowledge that her sister had not been missing at all but instead had been in a safe place known of by all the vampires and her boss besides had left her feeling resentful of the lot of them. Her natural inclination of loyalty to her prince despite his imperfect personality seemed to have degraded the appearance of easy friendship she and Darien had once shared as well.
Eventually a faint glow pierced through the endless haze of snow. They saw a town made of tree trunks pierced into the ground and covered in haphazardly-stacked pine branches. As they came closer, they could see a sign thrust into the ground that warned foreigners to stay away from their land. It was an arresting sight, but they knew they had no other options if they were going to track down the wizards, so to follow orders, they had to continue moving forward.
The group stopped to discuss who would venture in. Jackie and Priscilla were part of the group, of course, but with Pris still a child everyone shared her older sister's reluctance to directly involve her as part of a frontline meeting with potentially hostile individuals. Instead, the trained warriors went in front, with Darien behind them, and the nymphs in the back, though Jackie protested she had plenty of battle experience fighting for her family's honor in Nymph Village. Darien confessed to being reluctant over the arrangement as well, but no one paid attention to what he had to say.
The group was suspended in midair, a horde of a thousand trolls standing underneath them and brandishing spears at them. They chanted their war cry at them.
Meat, meat, all the people we meet
Are nothing more than tasty meats
We'll sear along our spears.
Meat, meat, we'll gladly eat
All enemies who dare to enter here.
Darien protested against their wording. He felt he had some affinity with the Alchemists, being a former castout wizard himself, and the others in his group didn't seem to mind his taking advantage of the connection these monsters shared with him to take on the role of speaking for the group. That, or they were distracted by trying to escape their bindings. "I am here to find the Alchemists and any others who are enemies of The Domed City, because we are allies. I am not your enemy!"
There was a rumble from the group under him. "He lies, he lies," some sneered. Spittle flew from brown teeth at their words and would have struck terror in the hearts of many others, or revulsion at how disgusting they looked. But still Darien persisted in trying to persuade them on an emotional level.
Darien stared down at the one closest to him. "I am not lying. I stand against the wizards and Gruzelvelt and all the rest of them because they sought to act cruelly against the Mundanes who are humans just like me, and when I refused to participate in that, they instead tried to blame me for their evil ways and cast me out. I stand against them, which means I stand with you," the young wizard said.
The tallest troll cleared a space around him and addressed the captives. "Your story is good. Why should we believe it though? How can you prove that you are no friend of the City and those who rule it? Even if you do, how can we be certain that you are friends of the Alchemists," he yelled up at them.
The captives looked at each other. It was a good question. How was it possible to prove your feelings? How did a person provide evidence for their thoughts?
"I can prove my innocence," Darien called down, "by telling you secrets of the City and its elders that no loyal member would ever reveal, I could confirm my loyalties. How would that work for you guys?"
The leader shrugged. "That's not the best proof I've ever heard of, but
