Shade still had not figured out whether the appearance of that note meant the maid Clara's elder sister had truly left behind a clue, or whether a god had deliberately provided a clue that should not have appeared just to make the journey more interesting.
But as the god had said last time, they were merely travelers, not detectives. Shade understood that he did not need to figure everything out.
"Unexpected ice crystals have brought the travelers a brand-new challenge. The Angel offered guidance, the Witches left behind a key, and the key opened a new map. The Loyal Dog was secretly saddened by that map, while the Unicorn was filled with hope. The travelers set up camp to rest at noon, so what will you do this afternoon? Continue onward to face new and unknown challenges, or follow the map's guidance to climb the Snow Mountain and seek that faint hope?"
The god asked the group. As usual, the Bard had no right to speak, so he waited for the others to decide. Both the Witch and the maid naturally wanted to find their missing relatives, so the beautiful brown-haired lady looked at Shade:
"Let's continue according to the map. Once we leave here, no matter what you want, I can give it to you."
"The way you put that makes me sound like some kind of bad guy."
Shade stroked the well-behaved cat and asked the god again:
"Can the travelers use that map to determine the approximate location of the destination, and thereby estimate how long it will take to get there?"
He had not forgotten that the seventh night's arrival marked the end of the journey.
"Yes. Whether it is the Parrot, the Unicorn, the Loyal Dog, or the Traveler under the Moon, each of them