Chapter Text
Tommy groaned little as he stretched out his limbs. He had fallen asleep during the night and let Appendix pull the wagon on their own while he rested. It seemed the hoofed animal seemed to have stopped moving as Tommy wasn’t awakened by the vibrations of the wagon. He slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. He had moved to the makeshift bed in the storage part of the wagon where Shroud and Clementine were. The buggy children were curled into the fluffy wool of Friend, who was still sleeping. He decided to leave them be for now since he was going to see what was up with Appendix. Pulling his boots back on and tying his hair back, Tommy climbed off the wagon to check up on his larger hoofed companion. He traced the side of their gray & black coat until he reached his snout.
“Good Morning, Appendix” yawned Tommy, as he patted the horse.
Appendix whinnied a reply as they leaned into the blonde’s hand. As he greeted the horse, Tommy took in their surroundings. They were standing just beside a riverbed at the edge of a dark oak forest. Small fish could be seen swimming up the shallow water, a frog could be seen sitting on a rock just a few feet away, few twigs had collected on the opposite side of the water, and what looked like an old plank bridge was just a few yards away. Tommy squinted at it before walking towards it. He tugged on Appendix's reins to follow behind him. As they made their way over the plank bridge, another ambience began to fill the air. It sounded like people talking to each other. More than two but a large crowd. It was very faint but close as they approached the bridge. Once they reached it, they found the source. Just on the other side of the riverbed was a village. It wasn't noticeable at first glance since it blended well with the forest. The blonde shared a look with his horse and shrugged before walking over the bridge. They made their way towards and into the village. There didn't seem to be much security besides the walls around the place but the gates were wide open. A golem could be seen wandering but its focus was on a small flower patch. The villagers seemed to be just simple workers of the land such as farmers and fishermen. Yet they didn't pay any attention to Tommy as he walked around the village. It was odd at first since he was literally pulling a giant wagon through a quiet town. That was until he saw what looked like a small inn with a decent parking stable in the middle of town. Just outside of it was a sign that said "Welcome to Creak Point''. Curiously, Tommy parked Appendix outside of the inn and headed inside. A small bell rang as he entered the inn. Sitting at the counter was an old woman reading a book. She looked up from it as Tommy approached the desk.
"Hello, young man! How are you doing?" greeted the woman, as she placed her book down.
"I'm doing alright, just passing through" replied Tommy, stretching his arms out.
Ah, so you are a traveler" remarked the woman. "Stopping to rest your horse I assume?".
Tommy nodded.
"Yeah, but to also ask for some direction" he added.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Nowhere in particular, just somewhere to settle, like near a village" claimed Tommy, "Do you know of a place like that?".
The woman hummed to herself before looking under her desk. She reached under it and grabbed a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it revealed a map of what Tommy could only assume to be the surrounding areas. She placed it atop of the desk so that he could view it clearly.
“Well there is a bustling town in the south and it’s pretty big but more of a city than anything” claimed the woman, gesturing to a party on the map where it seemed to lead out to the corner of an ocean.
“Not really, I was thinking more of a quiet and forestry” stated Tommy.
“Quiet and forestry?” parroted the woman, as she pushed her glasses up.
“Ah, there should be an abandoned woodland mansion further east that has an active but quiet village around it” she recommended.
“I’m not sure since mansions mean pillagers and pillagers mean dangerous raids, which obviously isn’t safe for the kids” uttered the young blonde.
“You have children with you?” remarked the woman.
“Yeah, they are sleeping in my wagon right now” nodded Tommy.
“So a quiet place in a forest that is safe for children” summarized the woman.
“Pretty much” shrugged Tommy.
“Well I don’t know if I can be that much help but I know someone who can be” proclaimed the woman, as she rolled her map up.
Tommy gave her a confused look as he watched her tuck the map away.
“There is a cartographer here at the Creek Point named Steve, who’s a former adventurer. As far as everyone in the point knows, he has been everywhere just beyond the opposite entrance. If you are planning to head that way, he’ll be able to help” she explained.
“He doesn’t talk much but if you describe what you need, then he’ll be able to help you. His studio is just next to the cafe at the end of the path on the right” she included.
“Oh, well thank you” replied Tommy, as he stepped away from the desk.
“No problem,” smiled the woman.
Tommy bid the woman farwell as he exited the inn. He sigh escaped him as he took in his surroundings. He moved over to where he parked his wagon to peek inside. Just the right moment since it seemed like Shroud and Clementine were slowly waking up. The arachnid boy seemed to be more awake than the moth girl and was the first to reach out for him.
“Mimi” muttered Shroud, sleepily.
“Good morning, big man” cooed Tommy, as he picked up his son.
The black haired boy let out a soft hiss and rested his head on the blonde teen’s shoulder. Tommy rubbed small circles into his back before reaching into the wagon to lift up Clementine. She let a few squeaks as she just rested her head against his hand. He just shook his own head as he carefully picked the small girl up. Carefully balancing both of the buggy children in his arms, he began heading down the path the inn woman told him to. Just as it was stated before, the population was very small and mostly made of farmers minding their business. They didn’t give a single head turn towards the obviously odd mixed dynamic of the family. Though it was quite a relief since he didn’t have to worry about explaining much to anyone. As he made his way down the path, he saw a hanging sign with a steaming cup logo. That was definitely the cafe that the old woman mentioned. Walking past it, he noticed another hanging sign but it was on the door of the building next door. It read "Steve's Cartography". Tommy took a breath before he made his way up to push open the door. A small bell rang as he entered. The fragrance of ink, paint, and wax hit his face. The shop’s walls were lined with various sketches of maps and shelved books. A few hanging lanterns dangled from the ceiling alongside some folded paper animals. Near the opposite end of the shop was a desk. It was a tall and muscular looking man writing a journal. A cat was sitting on the bookshelf behind him and a dog curled up under the desk. Tommy made his way over to them and coughed awkwardly to get the man's attention. The man who he assumed was Steve slowly looked up with an emotionless expression.
"Uh, hello!!" waved Tommy, trying to give his signature loud greeting.
The gruff man waved back in return.
"The lady at the inn told me to come by to ask you for directions since you're a cartographer," stated Tommy.
Steve lifted a brow with what the blonde assumed to be a confused expression.
"I need to find a place that is isolated, quiet and in a forest that isn't too far from a village" explained Tommy, fixing his hold on his kids.
"Do you know of a place like that?" He asked.
Steve shrugged before placing his journal down. He stood up from his chair, revealing him to be much taller than Tommy anticipated, and walked past him towards a shelf of books. The blonde watched him from afar since he didn’t want to disturb the older man. Instead he turned his focus on Shroud and Clementine, who seemed fully awake now.
“Who’s that?” asked Clementine, in a whisper tone.
“That's a guy named Steve, he’s gonna help us find a place to set up our home” replied Tommy, as fixed his hold on the white haired girl.
“Lots of books” awed Shroud, as his eyes scanned around the room.
“Yup, though it doesn’t compare to the library that Karl used to have” nodded Tommy.
“Why so many?” questioned Shroud, tilting his head to the side.
“It’s his job, big man, he’s a cartographer” proclaimed Tommy.
“Cart of graph?” uttered Clementine, confused.
“A guy who makes and sells maps” corrected Tommy, “He’s helping us find a new place to call home”
“Home!” exclaimed Shroud.
“Yup, but that means more traveling til we find it” nodded Tommy.
“Awe” pouted Shroud.
“Hungry” stated Clementine.
“We are going to get food but we got the map first” assured Tommy.
The two children whined a bit before the sound of footsteps caught the small trio’s attention. Steve was returning with two large scroll-like pieces of papers with a book under it. He placed them on his desk and unrolled the paper across it. Tommy peeked around the man’s arm to look over it. The two scrolls lined up to create a bigger map that seemed to start where they currently were. Just as the inn woman had mentioned, there was a small sketch of a mansion & village further east and an oceanside city in the south. Besides that though, most of the land seemed to be made up of plains and seemingly scattered forest. Tommy furrowed his brows until Steve reached over for the quill on his desk. He dipped it into the ink before scanning over the map. He reached over to a place north onto the map until he pressed what looked like a field with the quill tip.
“Quiet village outside a pine forest” stated Steve.
“Pine forest? But there isn’t anything there” uttered Tommy, lifting a brow.
“This is an old map, the saplings have grown to trees by now since years have passed” claimed Steve.
“I see,” hummed Tommy.
“Head north from Point, three days, continue to the river, should be across the bridge” explained Steve, using his quill to mark the directions on the map.
Once he finished, he fanned the ink with his hand before rolling the map up. He handed it over to Tommy before walking around his desk to sit back down. Just as he was doing before, the man went back to writing in his journal. Tommy awkwardly stood there for a moment as he looked between the map in his hand and Steve. He was tempted to ask more about the map but he seemed the older man engrossed by his book once more. So he just slowly tiptoed to the front door. Once he was out, he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He set Shroud and Clementine on the ground so he could get a good look at the map again. From how it looked, all he had to do was follow the creek he stopped at early until he reached a bridge. There was no clear looking path to take through the forest but Steve mentioned it was an old map so he wasn’t completely sure. The only thing he was sure of was that he finally had somewhat of an idea of where he was going to travel.
As he began to roll the map back up, he looked over to where Shroud and Clementine were. They weren’t beside him anymore but they had moved over to the cafe window next door. He was relieved from the panic he just felt for a moment as he walked over them. He stood behind them as he also looked into the window. On the display were various sweets and freshly made goods. They looked very warm and just so ready to be eaten that Tommy felt himself salivating. All the small family had been eating was fruits they had gathered on their travels. So seeing properly made food had them hooked. The blonde looked up towards the door of the cafe before moving towards. He pushed the door open, which caused a small tune to play from a music box nearby. It caught Tommy’s attention but it also seemed to catch the attention of the person running the place. A person popped from below the countertop with a surprised look but with a quick smile plastered on their face.
“Oh, good morning, how are you doing sir?” greeted the person, as they brushed off their apron.
“I’m good, thanks” replied Tommy, before waving for his children to come inside.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face around this place, passing through?” asked the owner.
“Yup, giving my horse a rest and the kids a chance to strengthen their legs” nodded Tommy.
Shroud and Clementine peeked from behind his leg nervously.
“Awe, they are adorable!” cooed the owner, fawnly.
“Thank you! Picked them myself” nodded Tommy, before pausing, “well they picked me actually”
“Well they seem pretty sweet, but you aren’t here for idle chit chat” uttered the owner, resting their hand on their hips, “What can I get you three on this nice morning?”
“Um” hummed Tommy..
“What do you guys want?” he asked, looking down at his buggy children.
“Egg on bread, please!” exclaimed Shroud.
“Egg on bread?” parroted Clementine, “With fruit!”
“Okay, two egg sandwiches, a bowl of fruit, and pancakes & eggs with whatever you can throw on it that isn’t pork or beef” stated Tommy.
“Coming right up!” proclaimed the owner, before darting to the back.
Tommy nodded as he moved to a small table nearby. He helped Shroud and Clementine into their seats before settling himself in. The owner returned a short while later with two pitchers, a glass, and two small wooden cups before heading back into the kitchen. One pitcher had juice while the other had water. The blonde poured the juice into both of the children’s glasses and his own. As they enjoyed their drinks, Tommy pulled out the map that the cartographer had given him. It seemed easy enough to follow and so did the instructions. Just another three days on the road before they can finally start settling into a new place to call his home. Not having to worry about getting things stolen, his and his now two children’s safety, and being able to have freedom of whatever he does without the judgment and disturbance of others. It was a fresh start to his life. Though that didn’t mean he was going to completely forget the one he had before. He just needed to be away from what was familiar, a type of familiarity that brought bad memories. Plus he didn’t want Shroud, and Clementine, to be fearing for their lives during their childhood. Just as Tommy had when he was around their age. He wanted the best for them and that’s what he was going to give them.