"No, no, no!" said a disappointed voice. "Not again."
Varian hurried over to where he heard the sound was coming from. To his surprise, it revealed a young boy of twelve who still had a bit of baby fat.
"Hi," Varian said. "May I help you?"
The boy instantly grew excited when he saw Varian. "I've heard so much about you! You're Corona's Royal Engineer! That's so cool!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's me," Varian said. "May I ask what you're doing here by yourself?"
"Nothing much," the boy replied. "Just another explosive backfiring."
Varian chuckled. "I know the feeling," he replied. "Let me see if I can help you."
The boy smiled. "It's no biggie," he said. He held out his hand, trying to hold in his fanboy squeals. "My name's Yong, by the way."
"Varian," Varian replied, shaking Yong's hand.
"Oh, I know," Yong said. "So can I join you?"
"I don't see why not," Varian said. He pointed to a stick of explosives. "What's this? Did you make it yourself?"
Yong stood proudly with both hands on his hips. "I sure did! Isn't it awesome?"
Varian smiled. "Quite," he said.
Just at that moment, Varian heard footsteps. Anxiety filled him. He began to frown. "We have to go," Varian said. "Now!"
"What's wrong?" Yong asked.
"Hugo and Donella, that's what," Varian replied. "Come on. We need to find the totems before they do."
"Gotcha," Yong said, strapping some dynamite to his leg. "Onward we go to retrieve the items!"
Varian smiled, but then gulped. Yong was so excited, he'd hate to ruin the excitement with the nervous look on his face.
That is, if they don't beat us to the Enchanted Library, Varian thought.