A/N, Due to the short nature of this story, we're gonna' need a montage. Maybe someday the story of Kristoff's journeys will be told, we'll see.
And again, thanks for reading!
Kristoff headed down to the stable. It felt like death. They've never been separated, ever. How do I tell him? Will he understand that I have to do this? For Anna? For Arendelle? Not for one second did Kristoff even consider the fact that this is a reindeer, this was his life partner. There was something about that thought that wasn't quite right, and a little outside of nature's laws.
"Hello, Sven." Rarely does Kristoff use his actual name, but Sven gave him that look of; "What ya' got for me?" Kristoff gave him a pat on the head. He petted him a few times for good measure, knowing he wouldn't be doing it for a while.
"Sorry buddy, no carrots, or any food for that matter. The few bites left I gave to the Queen." Sven looked disappointed, but understood. He knew Kristoff cared about her welfare.
"So what brings you here, friend?" Kristoff would pull out his ventriloquist act this one last time before he left.
"We are going to the Valley. You'll be staying there for a while; I must go in search of a cure for Anna."
"OK, how long will that take?"
"Until next spring." Sven's eyes got very wide. Weeks or months were meaningless to him, but seasons he understood, and this was a very long time. He looked down and kicked at the hay with his hoof. Reindeer don't cry, on the outside...
"Take good care of him, Pabbie."
"Kristoff, he's family, expect no less from us." It was goodbye hugs and kisses all around. Kristoff had never been gone such a long time before, even with the ice harvest.
"I packed you some extra food, and clean clothes." Bulda handed the sack to Kristoff, who just about fell over from the weight of it.
"Thanks Mom." Bulda always liked it when Kristoff called her that, and he'd say it without reservation. "Be sure to take some food to the Queen. When I left her yesterday, she looked like a twig."
"She'll be positively fat by the time you get back."
"Goodbye everyone!" His cheery demeanor was strictly for their benefit. He sighed and closed his eyes as he turned and walked away, this may the last time he ever sees his family.
"Goodbye Kristoff!" All in unison, every time.
Kristoff was not aboard a cruise ship. He had to earn his keep. As he was hired on as crew, he would make a lot of money on this trip. Sailing halfway around the world is dangerous work, and these men were paid handsomely for it. Now there's the issue of Kristoff being a total sailing greenhorn. It seems the captain of the Harrad had a soft spot for tales of romance, and Kristoff's story was a dozy. Sometimes determination can overcome a lack of experience, and he was a quick learner. There were some storms, a few times when supplies got low, but they stuck together, and Kristoff made some friends along the way. After months of travel, they arrived at the port of Perth, sixty miles from the village of Northam, were Pangari the Maker lived. Three days of travel thru the incredibly dangerous Darling Scarp, and there it was, Northam.
Very few spoke his language, and the Aborigines had a gazillion dialects themselves, they could barely speak to each other. He finally found a person who could help him, for a few nuggets of gold of course, but he was running out of time. The Harrad sailed in five days, and he didn't even know if Pangari could make an antidote.
"Here we are my friend." The man had taken Kristoff to the skeletal remains of Pangari's home, it was nothing but a burned out husk. When Kristoff suggested to the man that he had been cheated, he replied; "You asked me to take you to her house,... this is her house."
"What happened to Pangari?"
"She was murdered, and all her possessions destroyed."
"When did this happen?"
"About a year ago." Kristoff's heart sank, and he fell to his knees. All this time, the people he left behind, his best friend.
All for nothing.
But he did have five days, and he did some asking around. In a nearby village, it was suggested that there was a monastery in Nepal that could help him, and this would be the beginning of Kristoff's worldwide search for a cure.
Kristoff came back defeated, and weary of travel, basically weary of everything. He needed to recharge, and see some old friends. When Sven first saw Kristoff, he looked like a puppy, letting his tongue hang out panting, while thrusting his hooves in front of him, then springing into the air. Sven tackled Kristoff, and then proceeded in the attempt to lick his face off.
"I'm happy to see you too, buddy. Now if I could just open my eyes…" Sven got the hint, and just stood over him, with one strand of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
Kristoff got up and gave his old friend a hug around the neck, while Sven nuzzled him, to say this was the reunion of the year would be the world's biggest understatement.
"Soooo,… I see you made it back in one piece, boy!"
"Greetings Lun, What brings you here?"
"Sold the shop, to a nice young couple. They said they liked the earthy vibe, or some other such nonsense."
"Where ya been stayin'?"
"Here in your cabin, rather cozy actually."
"Yea, old man; I don't mind. And I'm sure Sven doesn't mind the company." Kristoff had made Sven's stall part of the cabin, not a typical design, by any measure.
"So what did Pangari have to say, and did you get the antidote?" Kristoff sighed with a quick outward breath.
"No, Pangari had been murdered, and her home destroyed." The fire had gone out in Lun's eyes. He knew what this meant to Kristoff.
"Pangari was a powerful witch, whoever did this, had an elaborate plan in place. This mystery is starting to deepen. I'm so sorry Kristoff, I know your journey was perilous, and a great deal of time has been squandered. Did you come away with anything?"
"Well, there's this." Kristoff placed the bag of gold on the table. Most of his shipmates had wasted their allotment on gambling, booze, and ladies of ill repute.
"The sale of the shop didn't do so badly either." Lun went and retrieved his bag of the shiny stuff. "This will go a long way to finding a solution for Anna."
"This isn't your fight, Lun. Anna is my responsibility."
"The fate of the world hangs in the balance boy! I would like to die with a legacy. If I have but one small part in saving the world, it'll be worth a hundred times the weight of this bag of trinkets!"
"I understand now Lun, I wouln't deny you this, I'm gonna' need all the help I can get. While I was in the Scarp, it was suggested that I travel to Nepal, there's supposed to be some monastery on the Annapurna Sanctuary. There may be a solution there." The irony of the sanctuaries name didn't escape him.
"Of course, the Silk Road! It passes thru Nepal. There's no greater concentration of magic anywhere on the planet, surely you could find a solution there!"
"Where would I start?"
"Cairo." Kristoff would need to take a break first, this was a daunting trek. It was four thousand miles of thieves, bandits, disease, and death. He would be traveling alone; this would be far more dangerous than the last trip. He would want to wait several months before heading out. It was time to call on another friend, someone he kinda' missed….