"We don't have time for sightseeing Maddie" said Curtis as he looked at Maddie as she was looking around in awe.
"I know Curtis, but can you blame me, it's would be a crime not to stop and look around" said Maddie as Annie laughed meanwhile Matt was just quiet as he looked like he was in a bad mood.
"We can have time for that when we return" said Curtis.
"But for now, we need to make it to the base of the mountain before the mist settles in" said Curtis as he looked up into the sky, the sun was starting to go down, and with it, the mist would roll in with the darkness.
"Yeah, yeah Curtis, of course" said Maddie as she scoffed, she could not even stop to look at the river.
"You are always so grouchy, grouchy" said Ollie as he laughed and he looked at Maddie.
"What did I say about speaking to me blondie?" asked Maddie as she had a dangerous glint in her eye.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot" said Ollie as he smiled and he ran ahead to walk next to Annie as Matt looked very annoyed now.
"So what's the plan Curtis, once we get to the base of the Mountain, what's next?" asked Ollie as he turned to look at Curtis who was still walking ahead.
Maddie hated to admit it, but that was a very valid question from Ollie, she was sure that they all had the same question on their minds, up till now, they had just been following Curtis, they did not really know where they were going.
"Well if we reach there by nightfall, we will have to set up camp there, and if not, we will still set up camp, it is dangerous to move in the night" replied Curtis.
"Alright then" said Ollie as he smiled and he looked around as he saw that the mist began to roll in.
Curtis stopped walking as he was sure that now was the time to tell them all.
"Why did you stop walking Curtis?" asked Maddie.
"Is something wrong?" asked Annie as she looked at Curtis as she and the rest stopped moving as well.
"Nothing Is wrong, but I need to tell you all something before we go any further" said Curtis.
"Okay…?" asked Maddie as she was very suspicious of this whole thing while Ollie and Matt stayed quiet as they wondered what Curtis wanted to say.
"The mist of Caligo Is not ordinary" said Curtis as he began.
"Tell us something that we don't already know" said Maddie.
"The blondie over here told us that it can kill you instantly" said Maddie.
"Which is why I wonder what your plan is because when the mist rolls in and we breathe it in, we are all goners" said Maddie as Annie had to agree with her on that, she still did not know how exactly Curtis was going to handle this entire situation.
"Not exactly" said Curtis.
"What do you mean?" asked Matt as this time even he was confused.
"The mist won't kill you" said Curtis.
"Or at least not physically" said Curtis.
"Huh??" asked Maddie as she was getting even more confused with what Curtis was saying.
"What do you mean not physically?" asked Annie as Curtis turned to look at her.
"According to the Fabula of Caligo, the mist that emits from the mountain, is deadly, and it is able to kill anyone" said Curtis.
"Yes, we know that Curtis, which is why, when you insisted that we go on, I wondered if you wanted us to all come and die here" said Maddie.
"That is true Maddie, but I insisted that we go for a reason" said Curtis as Annie wondered where this was going.
"The Fabula is right, but only partially" said Curtis.
"What do you mean only partially?" asked Matt.
"The Fabula is correct, but only in one half" said Curtis as he could see that Annie, Maddie and Matt looked more confused, while Ollie just stood there, listening to him.
"The mist truly does kill, but it does not kill the physical body" said Curtis.
"But the spiritual one" said Curtis.
"So what is that supposed to mean?" asked Maddie as she was lost, Curtis was speaking in parables at this point.
"it means that…" said Curtis as he was cut off.
"Once we inhale the mist, we will no longer have our powers" said Ollie out loud as he interrupted Curtis and they all turned to look at him.
"Of course, now it makes sense, all those texts were only speaking half- truths, no wonder the Fabula incorrect" said Ollie as he was babbling out loud to himself, this was a great discovery, for thousands of years, witch folk were scared to even come near Caligo because they thought that they would die once they did, but that was far from the truth.
"Wait, wait, hold up for a second" said Maddie as she was lost.
"Blondie, what are you saying? That sound crazy" said Maddie as Ollie was busy in his own thoughts, he could not wait to tell this to his Mother and Father once he saw them again, this would clear up many misunderstandings about Caligo.
"Curtis, is what this guy saying true?" asked Maddie as she turned to look at Curtis as Ollie seemed to be in another world at the moment.
"Yes it is true" said Curtis as he nodded his head, Ollie had taken the words right out of his mouth, the Prince was much more smarter than he let on.
Annie and Matt looked like they had been told a joke, and one that was not funny at all.
"Wait, so you are telling me that once we reach the base of the mountain, and the mist rolls in, we become powerless once we inhale it?" asked Maddie as she needed to get this straight, once and for all.
"Yes, it is exactly like that" said Curtis as he replied.
"Oh my…" said Maddie as she took a really, deep, long breath, or else, she would end up fighting someone who's name was Curtis.
"Curtis, you did not think that this would have been something better to say before we embarked on this journey at all?" asked Maddie as she looked at Curtis, she was trying to understand all of this calmly.
"Would you have agreed to come along if I told you this before now?" asked Curtis.
"No, of course not" said Maddie.
"And that answers your question Maddie" said Curtis as Maddie sighed.
"Curtis, will our powers be gone for a designated time, or do they return once the mist clears?" asked Ollie as he snapped out of his thoughts and he looked at Curtis, Curtis thought that Ollie was the only one asking valid questions right now.
"Until we return from the mountain, your powers won't return till then" said Curtis.
"Wait, a minute, Curtis this makes no sense, no sense at all, how are we supposed to survive or basically do anything without our powers?" asked Maddie as Annie stayed quiet, Curtis had been hiding things from her… again.
"We will survive, I trust that we will" said Curtis.
"You trust??" asked Maddie as she could not believe this right now.
"Well Maddie, if you really are not happy with the way things are going, then you can go back" said Curtis.
"Of course not, I cannot go back" said Maddie as she scoffed, she hated to admit it, but she could not just get up and leave Annie all alone, it just annoyed her how Curtis always revealed important information at the last minute, it was so infuriating.
"I am going to stay here" said Maddie.
"Curtis, what exactly do you have planned? Isn't the mountain dangerous?" asked Matt as he finally spoke up, it was clear that magic wouldn't be of help at all, after all, they would be without it for as long as they were here.
"I have packed some rations, and as well as ropes and climbing gear, we should be fine" said Curtis.
"Believe me, I would never have come here if I was not sure that we would all be safe" said Curtis.
"Yeah right, I am starting to doubt that" said Maddie as she scoffed.
"Hey, look at the bright side" said Ollie as he smiled.
"And what could that possibly be?" asked Maddie as she looked at Ollie.
"At least now we will all be the same, and we will know how Annie feels without her powers" said Ollie as he smiled and Maddie opened her mouth and she closed it back again, she did not know what to say, she hated that this guy was right, he was annoyingly right.
"Well I guess so" said Matt as he was just tired.
"Oh come on guys, it will be fun, I have never been powerless before" said Ollie as if they were talking about some sort of joke.
"It's not fun at all, trust me" said Annie as she of all people had more experience.
"Oh, there is a first time for everything, besides, we can't turn back now" said Ollie as he smiled.
Maddie sighed, Ollie was right, they could not turn back, not right now, so the only reasonable thing to do was to move forward.
"Fine" said Maddie as she was already regretting this, so much.
"Matt?" asked Curtis as he looked at Matt.
"I wasn't going anywhere any way" said Matt as Annie smiled at him.