Road to the Future

Another night, another nightmare waking him up as always. Noah had to do his best to ignore it and go back to sleep though. It had been a bit over two months since he accepted David's offer to travel to Heaven's Peak to watch David attempt the trial of the Titans of Ice. By this point Noah had been working as hard as he could to be in shape for this trip. Every day he went to David's to train his body to be able to at least keep up with David's pace. Fighting wasn't a concern at this point, so it was mainly conditioning on Noah's part. It was only a couple months, but it was somewhat noticeable that Noah had been working hard as he had a bit of definition in his muscles now. This would likely be enough to be able to travel as far as possible each day, though they had a decent amount of initial stops planned before the longer portions of the trip.

David: "First we'll be stopping by a farm near here, it's about a thirty minute walk or so if we go at a decent pace. Then we'll make a stop at a village about fifteen minutes from that farm."

Noah: "Are the people at the farm the ones you wanted to introduce me to?"

David: "I do want to introduce you, but the ones I really want you to meet are in the village after that."

Noah: "Alright, what's after the village?"

David: "From there we'll head straight to the city. It'll probably be a long path there, so we might have to set up camp along the way. Once we get to the city we'll stay there for the day and head out the next. After that it'll be one more village and a couple weeks of camping and we should be at the Mountain base. If it's too late to climb we'll camp at the base and wait for morning."

Noah: "I guess we'll be taking the same path back?"

David: "We will yeah. There will be people I talk to the trip about, but don't bring it up on your own since you don't know who exactly to trust."

Noah: "Got it."

After their talk, it was just about time to head out.

Edna: "Well, be safe on the trip. David, if anything happens to him I'll have your head."

Everyone laughed off that comment, but the other three had to wonder if she might have been serious.

Lawrence: "I don't know about that, but I want his safety to be before anything else."

David: "Right, I can do this at any time, so he for sure comes first."

Noah: "We'll be back as soon as we can! I don't want to miss Ellie walking!"

Edna: "It'll still be a bit before that, so you should be fine in that regard."

Noah: "Alright then, we're off! See you soon! Bye Ellie!"

And with the goodbyes said, David and Noah started their trip to Heaven's Peak.

David: "While we're on the way, let's go over the ground rules again. First, you need to listen to what I say without question, especially once we reach the city and the mountain. Second, don't mention to purpose of our trip to anyone. If someone asks, we're just sight seeing around the country. And most importantly, just use your common sense. Sound good?"

Noah: "Still good, just like all the other times you said them."

David: "A lot is at stake here, I just want to be careful."

The path was clear of other people entirely, so the pair made it to the farm David had talked about a few minutes before expected.

David: "Well we made it. They should be just inside so I'll go knock."

The farm had a decent amount of land. According to David only two people worked on the farm, so it didn't supply as much as the other ones around. Despite not giving out as much, the quality of the crops was said to be the best out of all of the farms. The two people who lived there were an older couple. The husband was named Lucas, and the wife Sarah. After walking the long path up the the decent sized home, David knocked.

Noah: "So why are we stopping here?"

David: "I'm setting you up for the future for one. Two they're just good friends of mine."

Noah was confused about what he meant about setting him up for the future. Not too long after David knocked, Lucas answered the door.

Lucas: "Ah, was wondering when you'd show up. This the kid you were talking about? Hey there kid, the name's Lucas."

Noah: "Nice to meet you Lucas, my name is Noah."

Lucas: "Likewise. Anyway, let's head inside yeah?"

The three walked inside the house and down the hall to a room with four chairs set up around a table. Already sitting down was Lucas' wife Sarah.

Sarah: "Why hello David. Oh, and hello, Noah, I believe it was? My name is Sarah."

Noah: "Nice to meet you ma'am."

Sarah: "Oh, how well mannered. He definitely didn't learn that from David."

David sighed a little bit at that comment. Afterwards they were all seated at the small table, cups of tea at each seat.

Lucas: "So, what more could you possibly have to ask about this trip?"

David: "Well, do you think I can do it?"

Lucas: "Don't tell me you're only here for a confidence boost. You can do it, I've told you a million times by this point."

David: "Yeah I'm just kidding. I really wanted to set this kid up with some work one day. Think we can agree on something eight years early?"

Sarah: "You could just say you wanted to see us before heading out ya' know."

David: "It's like you can read my mind Sarah. Though I wasn't kidding about setting him up with some work once he's old enough. He's going to end up a strong and reliable kid, he'd be a good edition to your team of two."

Lucas: "Well if you think he'll do good we'll take him when he's fifteen. If he wants it that is."

Noah: "Yeah sure, I'll do it. It'll be just like training with David but I get paid for it."

David: "Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it."

Lucas: "I guess you plan on heading to Clayton's place after this?"

David: "Yeah, I need to pick up a few things I had him make for Noah."

Lucas: "Well, while you're trying to speed this kid's life up, you should get him hitched to Lynn while you're there."

Everyone but Noah laughed at that comment. Noah stared confused for a second at Lucas.

Noah: "Hitched? What does that mean?"

David: "Oh nothing, I'll tease you about it when we get there alright?"

Noah, still confused, just nodded his head. After they were all done talking David and Noah helped clean up the room and started to leave.

David: "Thanks for having us. Can we join you again on the way back?"

Lucas: "Of course, you're always welcome here. Good luck on your trip. I have faith that you can change things for the better."

David: "Even if I can't, I'm confident this kid can get the job done for me."

David put his hand on Noah's head. The group finished up goodbyes and went separate ways. Noah and David were on their way to the next stop, the village where David's friend Clayton would be waiting to supply Noah with gear for the cold Heaven's Peak. It was, as David said, a fifteen minute walk to the village. When they got there they went to the middle of the village to a shop that seemed to be for clothing. When they entered there was a man behind the counter with a young girl Noah's age sitting nearby.

David: "Yo! We're here."

Clayton: "Took you long enough, I've been holding onto this stuff for ages. Hello, Noah. I'm the greatest tailor in the world, Clayton!"