"We've been walking for hours now, Lyra. Are you sure we're going the right way?" Huddy inquires, panting heavily as he stops to catch his breath.
After running away from the village, both duo had set out according to Lyra's directions searching for the second piece of the map.
Their journey had led them onto Fugji, the highest and steepest mountain that was and ever will be.
As Huddy stopped to catch his breath, Chuck stops as well to pee in it's spot.
"It's getting dark, Lyra and I don't see anything" Huddy complains. "Are we supposed to see something?" He reaches out for the map. "Let me take a look at the map"
Lyra moves the map out of his reach. "This map says nothing, Huddy"
Huddy furrows his brow, confused. "What do you mean, 'The map says nothing'?"
"Exactly what I said. What do you expect? It's incomplete"
"Then where are we going, Lyra?"
"To find the second piece of the map. According to the tales old Oliver used to tell us-"
"Are you saying you've been leading us based on some hunch all these while?" Huddy inquires, cutting Lyra short.
"Those tales old Oliver used to tell us aren't some mere fiction, Huddy!" Lyra counters.
"Oh yeah? But what if it is?" Huddy challenged. "We've been walking for hours and still haven't come across a single thing or person"
"If you were going to complain so much Huddy then maybe you shouldn't have tagged along with me"
"It's not like you gave me a choice"
Lyra's jaw dropped, clearly taken aback by what she was hearing but Huddy didn't see any wrong in what he'd said. "I thought we both wanted this"
"No, Lyra. YOU wanted this. You didn't even give me a chance to decide before you dragged me out of the village" Huddy pressed his hand against his forehead. "It's still dark outside but if we set our now, we can still reach the village before dawn. Let's go back home, Lyra"
Lyra stared at Huddy in silence for the longest time before responding. "You can head back if you want but I'm not going anywhere until I find the ancient power"
Lyra continues down the slopes mountain as she hears footsteps behind her. "I thought I told you to leave, Huddy"
"I apologize for how insensitive I sounded earlier. I guess I'm just hungry, that's all" Huddy confesses. "If you're not heading back to the village then I won't leave you here all by yourself"
Lyra stops in her steps; turning around to face Huddy. "I'm sorry as well for equally dragging you out here with me to find something that might not even exist. I just-" She exhales."I just want to hold onto the hope that things can be the way they were before"
Lyra raises the pieces of the map in her hand. "And the existence of this map is proof enough that the ancient power does exist"
"You're right. Let's do this, Lyra. For Eldrado"
"For Eldrado"
When both duo had finally reached the bottom of the Fugji mountain, Lyra spots a trail that leads into the wilderness as per old Oliver's tale. "It's this way"
Chuck barks loudly towards Lyra's direction which makes Huddy shiver in his stead. "Chuck senses danger from that direction, Lyra. It's both dark in there and out here. Can't we wait until morning before we head in?"
"The earlier we find the second piece of the map, the earlier we head back home, Huddy. Don't you agree?"
"You're right but-"
Lyra sticks out her hand towards Huddy. "Hold on to me and don't let go"
Huddy nods, taking Lyra's hands as she leads them into the wilderness. Loud eerie sounds begin to echo in the darkness giving Huddy a jump scare.
Lyra tightens her hold against Huddy's. "I'm right here"
"How long further do we have to go until we find the exit, Lyra?"
"Just about-" Lyra's words were cut short as she noticed Chuck was missing. "Where's Chuck?"
"What do you mean? He's right-" Huddy searches around him as he realizes that Chuck wasn't beside him. "Chuck!. Where are you!?" He calls out frantically.
Lyra tries to calm Huddy down. "Don't panic, Huddy. Let's look for him together, okay?"
Huddy nods his head as he and Lyra begin to retrace their steps but it was of no use.
"I don't understand," Lyra says, her eyes fixed on the ground. "Chuck's paw prints aren't even on the ground" She looks up, inquiring. "Don't you find that weird, Huddy?"
But to Lyra's surprise, Huddy was no longer in front of her. "Huddy? Huddy, where are you?!" She calls out but hears nothing except the echo of her own voice.
"Huddy?. Huddy!"
"Silence!" An unknown voice warns, taking Lyra by surprise. The voice seemed to be coming from a distance across from Lyra.
Slowly, she backs away. "Who's there?"
The mysterious figure emerges from the darkness as a man clad in a black cloak; floating mid-air appears before Lyra.
There were markings on the part of his body that were exposed like his forehead, hands, and legs.
Lyra watched as the mysterious man landed to the ground. "Who are you?"
"I'm supposed to be asking you that question. Who do you think you are to come into this place?" The man retorts. "Leave. Now"
Anger coursed through Lyra's veins. She had come this far searching for the ancient power to leave just because someone said so.
Moreover, she couldn't leave now without Huddy and Chuck. "I'm not going anywhere"
"You won't find what you came here for. Leave now before things get much worse"
"What do you mean by that-" The mysterious man had vanished in a flash.
As soon as he was gone, Lyra heard someone call out her name. "Lyra?"
Looking towards the direction of the voice, she sees Huddy approaching her with Chuck in his hands.
Lyra rushes up to him. "Where have you been?"
"I thought I saw Chuck so I followed him" Huddy's face breaks into a smile. "It turns out I was right"
"Couldn't you have informed me before you left?!" Lyra accuse, her tone sounding more harsh than she'd intended. "I'm sorry, I was just worried about you"
"It's alright. Come on, let's move on"
As the duo proceeded deeper into the wilderness, a loud thunder struck high up in the sky followed by a heavy rainfall.
"Rain, suddenly?" Lyra inquires. "Could this day possibly get any worse?"
"Come on, let's get out of the rain"
A loud roar freeze the duo in their step. Just when Lyra was about to conclude that her ears were playing tricks on her, a giant bear appears infront of them; roaring loudly for the second time.
"I think the day just got a whole lot worse" Huddy states.