-Pointing the way-

It was early morning, so early that the sun had only just begun to rise over the valley that Fairfax called home.

Nestled above it all on a gentle plateau was the Fairfax lodge, the structure home to the Parks Department and Fairfax's finest hotel.

In order to achieve its 5-star status the lodge of course had to offer an array of amenities. Some naturally occurring hot springs sat in a wooded area just off the lodge, making for an excellent sauna and outdoor bath. The many trails led to beautiful views of the various vistas around the lodge. There were also two restaurants, 2 bars, a club that hosted singers and comedians, and then there was the lobby which a mammal could sit in for an hour and never actually find every hidden art piece that had been meticulously built into the structure.

Just inside the lobby on one of the far walls sat one of the lodge's oldest establishments, a bakery, and coffee shop. Several large glass display cases showed off the brightly decorated sweets that were baked daily back in Fairfax.

When one walked by the cozy coffee shop they would be treated to the bold aromas of coffees one did not think they could find way out in the wilderness.

A silver fox behind the counter busied himself as the first coffee batches of the day bubbled and brewed in several brass coffee makers behind him. While there were probably more efficient ways to make the coffee he secretly enjoyed having mastered the old ways and would make a show of it when asked for a hot cup of delicious caffeinated perfection.

As the sun began to creep into the lobby from the many large windows spread around the enormous room the vulpine hurried with his morning routine. Making sure all the pastries behind the glass were straight, the different additions for the coffee were ready, and that he had plenty of whip cream.

The fox took a moment to check as the first batch of coffee finished and poured into a special warming pot but froze as his ears went up, detecting movement somewhere nearby.

The fox blinked before turning around to see if he had a customer waiting for him, only to let out an annoyed groan when he realized who was staring at him.

Roughly 20ft from the coffee stand was a painted dog sporting a puffy orange vest over her green flannel shirt. A jean skirt stopped just before her knees and had several patches in the shape of puzzle pieces sewn in at various points. The painted canine stared at the fox through a pair of thick glasses as her tail began to wag.

"No! Not again!" The fox behind the counter barked as he waved his paws about.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, only to open them again and realize the painted dog was now just 15 ft away.

"I have other customers who need it and you are going to get cavities if I make you another," The fox groaned, looking away from the painted dog again only to look back and see she was just 10ft away and now holding up a piece of paper.

"I am going to call management and have you permanently banned from the lodge," The fox threatened, looking at the painted female with a goofy expression on her face as she stared at the fox.

He blinked and just like that the larger canine was now leaning against the coffee shop counter, slowly placing a bit of paper down and beaming.

"I have the boss's order," Puzzle said gleefully as the fox looked down in defeat. "And she says extra whip cream on the last one."

"That's all that's in the last one… it's just a large cup of whip cream!"

A few minutes later Puzzle was strolling from the coffee shop in the lobby holding a tray of drinks in her paws, one of which was just a giant tower of whip cream that had cost the coffee shop half a can of creme.

"Thanks, Frederick!" Puzzle said over her shoulder as she sauntered away.

The defeated fox let out a sigh but his gaze went to the tip jar which had a generous tip placed inside.

"Thanks, Puzzle," The fox mumbled, while annoyed at the canine he had to admit she was somewhat sweet and one of his best tippers.


It had been four days since Trisha had been found in the woods, covered in debris and rabid.

Four days and there was still no change in her vitals or behavior. Occasionally Dr. Salt would try and bring the bunny back to consciousness only to have her growl loudly and swipe at whoever was in the room. The only good news they got from this is the ranger somehow recognized her family. Choosing only to growl at them but claw at anyone else.

Finding where the doe had been was vital and while samples had been taken from Trisha in regards to the debris on her fur the Park's department was coming up empty. It was almost like she had just fallen off the map only to plummet back to earth to attack Nick.

So far the best and the only clue they had to go on was the strange uniform that Trisha had been found in. This was not something that would simply be found on the ground somewhere.

Nick had suggested it might have come from a fallen ranger, maybe one that had gone missing.

Puzzle however had managed to track down what files she could and found that the first ranger to go missing wasn't until 30 years later, at which point all the eagle rangers had already retired and gone on with their lives elsewhere.

The current working theory was one that was so extraordinary to Nick that he still had trouble wrapping his head around it.

For the longest time, there had been stories about the founder of the national park. He had always been a bit of an adventurer and it was rumored that he had constructed a secret cabin or hideaway all to himself whenever he needed some time alone to reflect. When he had finally left this world though the secret of this hidden refuge went with him.

Some believed it was a campfire story while others assumed that it was probably just a cave somewhere that Roosevelt would camp in.

There were a select few however that embraced the legend and fully believed that out there in the sea of trees was a cabin that belonged to one of the greatest presidents of all time, just waiting to be rediscovered.

Puzzle was one of those mammals and from the looks of it so was Judy.

The painted dog had turned into an asset for the search, though young, she was passionate about the park's history, especially the era in which the Park's Department was founded.

Whenever Nick had a question that Judy did not have an answer to they would simply turn to Puzzle who would look up from whatever book she was reading or snack she was munching on and grin as she knew what to say.

Puzzle had turned into such an important tool that Judy had convinced her to join them in an official search, giving the painted dog access to the lodge and its offices which she happily took advantage of, especially when it came to the coffee shop.

The painted dog arrived at her temporary HQ, Judy's office, and knocked on the door.

There was a muffled greeting to enter and Puzzle pushed the heavy wooden door open.

Judy's office was still in a kind of controlled cluttered state. While the search for Ranger Rose had ended there was a new search a foot and the bunny had made her office a kind of HQ when it came to the new search.

Old pictures hung on a dry-erase board pushed to the side of the room, and boxes filled with musky-smelling books lay scattered about.

The couch, which had been acting like a makeshift bed while Judy helped search for Trisha, had been cleaned off and was now occupied by a certain handsome fox who was lazily flipping through an old book Puzzle had brought from the historical society.

"Coffees here," Puzzle announced as she raised the tray up in triumph.

Nick looked up from the book in his lap and stifled a laugh at the painted dog.

"Freddy is going to kick you out at this rate," The vulpine said as Puzzle presented the tray to the ranger.

Nick scooped up his drink but eyed the tower of whip cream, knowing full well who it was for.

Judy turned from the large dry-erase board she had been studying and let out a laugh.

"Puzzle, your mom is going to kill me if you keep this up," The doe groaned as she took a cup of green tea from the tray.

"That's only if ma finds out," Puzzle said as she scooped up the cup with a tower of whip cream and tossed the tray into a bin next to Judy's desk.

Her eyes went wide as she spotted something sitting in the center of the desk.

The painted dog's tail began to sway as Nick and Judy exchanged smug smirks.

While Puzzle had been able to bring a library's worth of books from the historical society she admitted that books from the original founding were limited.

Nick however had managed to pull a surprise from his sleeve.

During Nick's training, Trisha lent him something that even the historical society didn't possess.

A very old and worn book that was simply titled; Ranger Expectations by T. Roosevelt.

Puzzle nearly dropped her tower of whip cream during her mad dash to the desk, her eyes fixed on the worn green tome that until now she had only heard about.

Nick was a little hesitant as he watched the painted dog's eagerness, knowing full well that when Trisha came back around she would expect her book back and in the same condition as it was lent out.

Puzzle stopped at the edge of the desk and plopped her cup of fluffy goodness next to a stack of folders before she placed her paws just above the book, her tail wagging rapidly as she stared down.

The canine let out the softest of whines before glancing over at Judy as if to ask permission.

Judy smirked and just nodded as she returned to the dry-erase board where a map of the national park was taped. The same map had been previously used during the search for Trisha but now that the bunny had been found the large image was filled with notes and several X's.

One represented Wewa while another was the location Trisha had been found including one where the attack on the hikers had occurred.

There had been hopes that this would narrow down the search but as time went on there was little information to go on.

Nick chuckled as he watched Puzzle lift up the green ranger book in her paws, looking at it as if it were some type of rare treasure.

In fairness, it kind of was, Nick could only imagine what a collector would pay for such a unique and original work that had been paw written by a former president.

The book itself was not just a treasure when it came to historical value though, the pages were filled with tips and guidance that were used by the rangers to this day.

Nick had made sure to study the book when it had been lent to him by Trisha which turned out was actually rather rare.

Up until recently, only a few mammals even knew about the book's existence let alone the fact that a certain blue-eyed troublemaker was currently in possession of it.

Sure there had been other books written, some by rangers or park directors, but this book was sadly one of a kind. The rest having been lost to time.

In fairness, the book itself was a long shot when it came to offering clues but seeing as it was one of the few connections to Roosevelt and the parks they had to at least check.

Nick had racked his brain when it came to any clues the book might hold and had even skimmed it a few times, but sadly all that he could find of interest were a few drawings that had been sketched by the author.

Some of them were of local landmarks, including the Firefalls, while others seemed to just be sketches or abstract thoughts.

The fox took another sip of coffee as he settled in to continue to flip through a book of old postcards that had come from the historical society. Hoping there was a chance that one of them had a picture of the eagle logo that had been embroidered on the uniform Ranger Rose had been found in.

After a moment or two Nick glanced over at Judy, his mind wandering for a moment or two.

The bunny was back to her normal self, well somewhat.

Finding Trisha had been a big weight off Judy's shoulders and the color seemed to be returning to her fur which was amusing because Nick didn't think the doe's gray fur could actually turn dull.

With the return of a certain blue-eyed menace though Judy seemed to get a second wind of energy and was currently using it to focus on solving the mystery of where her best friend had vanished for so long.

Judy was currently chewing at the end of a dry-erase marker, her ears erect as she studied the map before her.

Occasionally she would step forward and check something on the map or read something from a report, her tail wiggling as she grasped at a momentary hope only for it to lead to a dead end.

Nick chanced a glance over at Puzzle and had to stifle a laugh.

The painted canine was holding the book close to her face, her eyes darting rapidly before she would occasionally change the angle of the book, or maybe tilt her own head which caused her circular ears to flop.

"Think bringing in T.R.'s book may have been a waste Carrots, guess we should just bring it back to the cabin," Nick said smugly which earned a snort from Judy.

Puzzle had been begging them to bring it in ever since she learned of its discovery.

Apparently, she did know about the book's existence but just like others in Fairfax, she had been unaware of where the book had been hiding.

Puzzle snorted loudly as she glared daggers at Nick who simply sipped his coffee, not breaking eye contact with the larger canine.

The painted dog rolled her eyes before looking back at the book.

"At least I didn't scribble in it.." The painted dog grumbled.

Nick immediately sat up and tilted his head, "Scribble in it? That's from Roosevelt isn't it?"

Puzzle glanced up from the book before shaking her head and raising a brow.

"No, some of these are after, different paw styling," Puzzle said simply.

Judy glanced over at Puzzle and then at Nick.

"Wait, so…someone else wrote in it?" Judy asked, a silence coming over the room before there was a sudden burst of activity.

Puzzle must have realized what was happening and immediately turned around and placed the book on Judy's desk as the bunny and fox hurried over.

"Show me," Judy said simply.

"Here," Puzzle said simply as she pointed at some notes that had been written on the side of the page.

Nick had simply assumed they belonged to the same mammal that had written the book but soon his painted friend was explaining how that wasn't the case.

"From the documents, we have in the archives Teddy would swoop his G's with more of a defined curve which we saw with lots of military types back then. This one is swooping in a more circular way."

Puzzle explained as she pointed out several notes strewn throughout the pages.

Most of them were unimportant in nature but it wasn't until they had seen a few pages that Nick noticed something.

"Those numbers at the top," Nick reached across the book and pointed at some numbers that had been written where a page number should be. "This isn't the right page number."

Judy and Puzzle stared at the numbers before looking at one another.

Puzzle flipped to the front of the book and began to hurriedly flip through, only to realize that the page numbers seemed to change position on occasion, hopping around the pages and displaying what couldn't actually be the page number but were instead a series of jumbled numbers.

"Not alphabet by number," Puzzle mumbled as she flipped through the pages, her eyes darting back and forth before she absent-mindedly reached for a pen on Judy's desk. "Not an equation."

"Coordinates?" Judy asked as she placed a pad of paper next to the book.

Puzzle's tail began to wag rapidly before stopping.

"No…too segmented unless…"

Nick watched in mild admiration as Puzzle began to flip back through the book once more with one paw while the other began to write out the numbers on the notepad.

When she was done there were dozens of numbers written in an order that didn't make much sense.

Puzzle took the notepad in her paws and raised it up, drawing several lines next to the numbers as she mumbled to herself.

Judy meanwhile stared at the book, flipping through the pages as her bright purple eyes tried to find some kind of clue that could help with the code they had discovered.

"The position," Nick finally said as he snapped his fingers together.

Both Judy and Puzzle glanced over at the fox with quizzical looks before the ranger explained.

"Match the numbers with where we found them on the page. Upper left corner with the other upper lefts, bottom rights with the bottom rights," Nick explained.

Puzzle beamed, "You want to play sudoku later?"

"How do you play sudoku with two mammals?" Judy asked.

"I do the sudoku and he gets snacks," Puzzle said as if this was a common game others played.

The painted puzzle player began to match the numbers together depending on where they were found on the pages in the book but when she finished she let out an annoyed sigh.

She plopped the paper down on Judy's desk before speaking, "Not coordinates…"

Judy's ears drooped and Nick felt his heart sink as he stood up, letting out a sigh as he turned around and looked across the room at the large map on the dry-erase board.

After a few moments, the fox relented and assumed they had just seen something that wasn't there.

"They are coordinates!" Judy exclaimed.

Puzzle and Nick nearly jumped as they looked at the bunny.

"Wh…no they aren't," Puzzle said.

"They are!" Judy cheered excitedly as she held the paper in her paws and turned it to show them. "The Parks department had a different format when it was founded, back when they were first partitioning the areas off depending on landmarks and tree species. This is the old system."

Judy turned to look at the dry-erase board, studying the map and shaking her head before hurrying over to several large boxes filled with cardboard tubes.

The bunny began to rummage through the tubes, tossing some here and there before she found what she had been looking for.

With a little struggle, the bunny managed to grab a tube that was two times her size.

Nick hurried over and helped his bunny who smiled at him eagerly.

The two then made their way to the dry-erase board and opened the tube, Judy pulling a large yellowed piece of paper from the cardboard container.

It took the collective effort from all three of them to get the new map up on the board, Puzzle coughing from the dust while Nick tried his best not to gag from the old smell.

Once the map was up Judy began to get to work, mumbling to herself as she placed little sticky notes on certain parts of the map. The top of the map had a different type of system that Nick didn't recognize but in true Judy fashion, his bunny seemed to take to the old way rather quickly. Occasionally she would write a phrase on the sticky note before placing it.

Some of the notes were simple numbers while others were words some however the bunny left blank.

When she was done Judy took a step back and admired her paw work.

Nick and Puzzle meanwhile stood on either side of the bunny and studied the map.

"The numbers are supply caches I remember off the top of my head, the others are Firewatch towers, some of them were decommissioned, the blanks I am not sure but we can figure out-"

"Carrots…" Nick let out as he placed a paw on the doe's shoulder.

Judy glanced up, her bright eyes meeting Nick's somber gaze.

"Nick?" The bunny asked, a look of concern on her face as she studied her mate.

"This is just a map of the parks department assets…" Puzzle groaned. "The old assets…half of these are probably gone anyways…"

Judy looked back at the map and her heart suddenly sank as she realized what the other two had been getting at.

"Even if it was a clue…where do we even start?" Puzzle grumbled.

Judy however barely heard the question as her ears drooped, the bunny turning away from the map and stifling a sad sigh.

The book as it turned out did have some clues, but just not the clues they had hoped for.

Nick continued to study the map, tossing out suggestions here and there.

"Maybe if we realign them?"

"To what? A smiley face?" Puzzle grumbled as she reached for her cup of whip cream which she licked at sadly. "Can we possibly search each one?"

"That would take months," Nick pointed out. "Unless we bring in more rangers but we already spent so much on the search for Trisha."

Judy made it around her desk and let out a sigh as she put her elbows on the smooth wood, her paws going to her face as she rubbed her temple and tried to think.

As the doe leaned forward she accidentally knocked a pile of papers to the floor, however, the thud from the carpet was too loud just to be papers.

The bunny glanced from her paws, her eyes falling on a small golden object.

Judy leaned over and scooped up the object, realizing it was the compass that Trisha had given her when she had been promoted.

The gray bunny ran a paw over the compass before flipping it open, trying her best not to let out a tear or two when she spotted the picture of the two doe's smiling.

Judy let out another sigh as she rubbed the picture, her digit gently going over Trisha's smile.

That's when it hit her.

The bunny applied some pressure to the picture which caused it to move as it had several days before.

She gently slid the picture away, revealing the odd series of numbers that had been etched inside the compass behind the picture.

Judy's ears shot up as she suddenly stood up from her seat.

Nick and Puzzle glanced over at Judy, having detected her sudden outburst, and watched in curiosity as the bunny hurried around the desk.

Judy stopped in front of the dry-erase board, her bright purple eyes going from the compass and then back to the map.

After a few seconds, she let out the faintest of gasps before stepping forward and pressing a digit against a sticky note she had written on just a few minutes earlier.

A single word was scribbled across the sticky note.

Lamplight


Hey there Firewatchers!

Looks like we are heading to Lamplight! About time too. I have been planning this since the end of the first Firewatch story, took so long to get here, sorry about that xD.

I am doing my best to get content written but school has gotten super hard. 30-page papers are not fun .

In the meantime, I have also started a fun new mini-series o called Trisha+.

For those of you that miss our little blue-eyed menace, you might get a kick out of it.

Will Hopefully have more Fireflies in the not-to-distant future.

Till then.

Pinecone!

-Blue