Nathanael wasn’t sure how he was going to find that city. He didn’t know the route. Seth moved through the snow with no mistakes or misdirection. He knew fully well of everything that was around. The old man couldn’t know everything just by memory, could he? There must be something he has. A map? Has he mapped out the place, looked it over thousands of times, and kept it somewhere hidden? Perhaps he used the mountains for directions and counted the steps he has taken to his desired destination.

He needed to know how the old man does it. Without a compass, he was sure to be lost in the plains of snow, and would most likely die with Etta.

Preparations were needed. A map, supplies. Maybe take a sled? Or just a backpack? Should he check on the vehicle in the workshop? It should be in great condition, it only needed fuel. If Nathanael would want to take the risk of stealing it, he needed to be sure that he could actually drive the thing.

Using the vehicle was only a backup plan, or should it be the main plan? If he wanted to journey on foot, he needed to practice traversing the snow alone with Etta. Seth has always taken the lead for obvious reasons. Nathanael needed to figure out his way around the plains of snow, to be certain he can actually do it by himself.

“A map, he must have something of the sort,” Nathanael told himself as he thought. “There is nothing hanging on the walls, I haven’t seen him carry one around. Maybe it’s in his room? He must have something in there.”

But it was locked. And Seth held the key. If he was found out he was intruding, what would happen? Would Seth let him be? Or would he finally throw him out? Whatever the old man did, it couldn’t be the end right there. But what if Nathanael found something important that Seth didn’t want to share? The door was locked, of course, there was something he wanted to hide.

I can’t just go up to him asking for a key. And stealing it from his pockets would likely be impossible. I don’t even know which pocket he puts it in… Or does he put it somewhere else? No, that can’t be, he must have it on himself.

Nathanael put on his warm clothing and went outside. The front door of the house was never locked, it was always open for anyone. Apparently, Seth had no fears for the house itself, but he wanted to keep his room locked.

He walked around the house, he spotted the two windows of the old man’s room; the room was likely slightly larger than the other rooms. They could be open, but only from the inside. Nathanael was unsure if Seth ever opens it.

And then there were two other problems if he wanted to go on this route. One was which the window would most definitely be too small for him, he was unsure for Etta though. And the other problem was that this was on the second floor, and was much higher than going inside the attic. Stacking chairs wasn’t a good idea, perhaps a ladder would do the trick? Of course, it would, but where to find one?

The workshop. Tools, equipment, everything was inside there. It was only a one-floor structure. It wasn’t big but large enough to hold one or two more snowmobiles. No windows, only a large door at the front, with a smaller one at the side of the building. No locks on this one either.

Nathanael carefully opened the side door. At first, he didn’t notice anyone inside, but as he went further in, he noticed Seth looking at his equipment.

“What are you doing in the workshop? Looking to talk?” Seth asked.

It felt too awkward to speak to the old man after Nathanael clearly said he didn’t trust him on this same day. He thought the old man was still in his studio, but here he was.

“It’s nothing. I forgot what I was going to say.”

Thankfully, he didn’t make a mistake in checking out this building. There was indeed a ladder here. And it looked to be able to extend enough to reach the window. Nathanael was certain of it.

Nathanael left the workshop and headed back to the house.

Seth didn’t leave the house for a supply hunt this day, so Nathanael needed to wait for the next. But luck wasn’t on his side, Lydia was around for most of the day while Seth was off somewhere. He thought of ignoring her and grabbing the ladder but still didn’t want to be seen.

“Lydia.”

“What is it?”

She was by the kitchen, cleaning whatever grime was on the dishes. She sounded to have no interest in talking, but Nathanael asked nonetheless.

“Why are you here?”

“Whatever do you mean by that?” she wondered.

Who are you? What are you to him? Why do you help him around?

As already known, Lydia isn’t often seen around the house. She goes off somewhere for days, only returning and staying for a day or two. Nathanael has heard she goes towards a city, the palace he himself wants to go and explore. But is there somewhere else she travels towards? He wouldn’t know, not here in the plains of snow.

“What I want to ask is your story. How did you meet Seth, why do you come by to help around? I haven’t heard you two talk as much. You don’t even sound like you care about him.”

“Seth needs me. That is all there is. There are things need doing he couldn’t do.”

“Really? I feel like Seth likes to be alone. To work on his house on his own. What could he possibly not do?”

“Nathanael, could you do everything by yourself? What if you suddenly become injured, become ill, then miss days of going out for supplies. What if repairs are needed somewhere in the house and you can not fix it with just two hands? What if your age becomes a hindrance in the coming years? You can not do everything alone.”

“Well… you aren’t wrong… But why did you specifically want to help him around? How do you know him?”

She sighed. Her expressions were still absent, never showing any feelings at all. But there was a slight glint of something else.

“Seth saved my life. Then I have saved his. He helped me. I helped him. We’re just partners. Helping each other go about our days when there were no others. Well… lately it has just been me giving instead of receiving. He has changed more and more in the last year.” She began to speak more freely, uncharacteristically for her.

“He changed?”

“Yes, not that you would know. Seth…” Lydia wanted to say more, but her words didn’t appear to come out. She stood idle, unsure what to do. Nathanael already knew what she was going to say next, but it wasn’t exactly as he thought it. “Let’s talk when I can. When the time is right.”

She walked off with nothing more to say.

You really are strange. ‘When the time is right’? What kind of cryptic message is that? And will there really be a time you would truly speak your mind?

Nathanael found no opportunity to go to the workshop. Night fell, and the next day began anew.

Seth was out on this day as well. Lydia was nowhere to be found. He finally had a chance.

It wasn’t hard, everything was too easy. Getting the ladder and moving it towards the house was quickly done. He then extended it and placed it below Seth’s left window. He made sure the ladder wouldn’t slide and fall. Once that was done, he climbed and reached the window.

As half-expected, there wasn’t that much to see on this side. His bed was visible, it was cleanly made, with nothing exciting on it. Beside it was a nightstand. A candle sat on top of it. It had closed drawers, he couldn’t know what was inside from here. A closet was at the back, most likely for his clothes. A circular table in the center, a cozy-looking rocking chair sat beside it. On the table were several books stacked on each other, unsure what their titles were from where he was.

There wasn’t that much else to note in his mind, other than those things was also the door of the room he saw at the back.

He went down the ladder and moved it to the next window. It was starting to get chilly while being high from the ground.

This side of Seth’s room looked far more important than the other. The first thing that caught his eye was the wall. It wasn’t hard to figure out that it was a map. But it had ripped marks all around it, it wasn’t full as it likely once was.

It looked hand-drawn, with paths leading to different places from the center. He couldn’t be sure where these paths led to, he was too far away to know any small detail. But what he could discern were the mountains at the top left, and the forest directly left from the center. The center was likely the house itself. It was most likely these were routes to bunkers and villages. Maybe a path to the crystal cavern and other secret places. Some of these paths lead to the end of the paper itself, which most likely more of the paper was supposed to be. He couldn’t know if the paths lead to a city or not.

“You really did have a map after all.”

Below the map was a desk. Pencils and pens filled two sets of glass jars, a closed book filled the space in the middle, at the back were shelves with folders. Documents, logs, he wanted to know why Seth needed so many mounds of paper.

Why do I want to know every little thing… This is likely not that important for me, maybe it’s just his notes of the wild. Logs of what he has seen when he went on a journey with his friends?

He noticed something silver, a round object on the desk. If memories served him right, that was a compass. It would be valuable with the map in hand. There were also drawers attached to the desk, they were obviously closed. Then there was a trash bin, it was filled to create a mountain of crumpled papers. Paper also was littered below it.

Could he have… thrown the piece of paper Etta found… into the trash?

If he began searching for it, he wouldn’t even know what he was looking for. He couldn’t see the content of what he held before Seth took it off him. Did it have writing? Was it a picture? Or a map? There was only one way to find out. But he couldn’t open up this window, the latch on the other side made sure of that.

Breaking the glass was out of the question. Waiting for a day when Seth leaves it open when he isn’t home was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

For now, he couldn’t get inside. But he wouldn’t be able to proceed without that map and compass. Except if he found another way around the snow, which he couldn’t see himself finding.

He put back the ladder and headed to the house. He needed to think what he should do next.

Etta huddled by the fireplace, staring intently at it. The heat was comforting.

“Don’t look too hard, you might accidentally jump in,” Nathanael said once he came back inside.

“…Mm.”

He put away his warm clothing and sat on the couch. He rubbed his head in thought.

“This is too hard.”

“…Mm?”

“Think you have a plan?”

“…For what?”

“You wouldn’t think you have an idea on how to get into Seth’s room, do you?”

She shook her head. Thinking was too much work.

“If we can’t get the key, then we wouldn’t be able to go out ourselves. Talking to the man is not going to happen. Fighting him is also not going to happen. Going through his windows is a rather rare chance to get, he likely wouldn’t have them open whilst he is out. I’ve checked the room through those windows, and there are no other entryways other than the door itself and the glass. I can’t go breaking stuff, that would only lead to a bad outcome. Too risky. I likely can’t make you talk to him either, he most certainly believes you are on my side. There is nothing we can do.”

A block in the road already. There was no way around it. He needed to think. But the damn images were beginning to appear once more. Those gruesome scenes distracted him, he couldn’t think straight. Etta appeared to have noticed, and abandoned her other flame to seek out the one which was dying out. She sat besides him and began to draw something on a piece of paper. Just so she could keep company.

Thank you, Etta. You truly keep my sanity in check.

He thought back to the attic situation. That has been the only time he saw Seth’s door open. He caused noise in the night, and Seth came out to check it out. Perhaps a distraction? But what would keep him from having the door open in the night as he goes to find this distraction? There is no reason to have it open. This plan would be an obvious failure, and would only make him an irritating pest. Nathanael can’t make things worse, soon Seth would finally decide to throw him out in the wasteland completely naked with no supplies, with no possible way of finding a shelter.

“Another dead end.”

There are supplies in bunkers and villages. But tools and equipment are rare. Little to no chance of finding a map or a compass, he hasn’t even heard from Seth if you could find those there. But he knows there are more supplies other than food. But he could only go to any of those with Seth, going alone was a clear no.

He could see Seth’s map through the window, so he could possibly draw it in his notebook, but wouldn’t be precise as he would be drawing it from an angle. And, of course, he couldn’t exactly know how to traverse around with a map in hand. The mountains were on the drawings, but he could still get easily confused.

“Maybe there really is only one option now. To wait it out, hope to be able to go out with Seth. Find that miracle to appear.”

Or just stay here. Until he believes I’m of no use anymore. Not as if I’m doing anything useful from the start…