Charon looked at Vardan confused, “What do you mean it took us long enough?”
Pointing an accusatory finger, Finn wasn’t afraid to voice his complaint.
“Old man you went missing last night and we had to run around in circles looking for you and then you act like we were the ones who got lost.”
Athena looked contemplatively at the old adventurer and suddenly asked, “was this on purpose?”
Vardan took a moment to look at the three and sighed. “Sorry kids. I needed some time to get things ready and needed to create an excuse for you three to leave home for a moment. This isn’t a subject to be shared frivolously.”
“What’s going on Vardan?” Charon asked.
Holding up his callused weathered hand Varden gestured at the three to follow.
“Not here. Follow me.”
Walking a short distance away in the nearby tree cover, he gestured at the three to sit down in front of him.
Looking increasingly confused by the situation, Charon, Finn, and Athena obeyed and sat down on the grass. Varden then placed a small relic in the middle and made a motion with his hand.
Suddenly 4 black walls that blended in between the trees rose up to cover them. A black ceiling slid over the top and blocked off the light from the afternoon sun. Vardan then used a light spell to illuminate the interior and looked up to speak.
“Now before I continue I’m sure you three realize at this point that what is talked about here must be kept confidential.”
All three nodded with serious looks. Vardan was normally a relaxed person. It must be extremely serious for him to do something like this.
“First. This is a security block. It's nothing special but this stops people outside from being able to see or listen to anything that happens inside. Second, before we continue. Charon, do you trust these two with your life and important secrets? There is nothing wrong with saying no here. I can ask Athena and Finn to leave temporarily but you have to understand that what I share here cannot be unshared. These two will know something very important about you if you say yes.”
Charon gestured with his hands to get Vardan to stop, “Of course I trust these two with my life but can you at least give me a clue about what in the name of hell is happening right now? You suddenly are going full espionage mode and every single cell in my body is saying something is wrong. But I trust you Vardan. You trained me since we were all kids. I trust Finn and Athena. They are the brother and sister in all but blood. Just clue me in before you tell me something crazy.”
Vardan held his breath and after a long moment sighed. “Boy. It’s about your parents.”
Charon froze. For years he asked Vardan if the old explorer ever adventured with his mother and father or at least have met or seen them. He begged many times for the man to at least pull up pictures for him. To look in the explorer database on his tablet for their names. The man fervently denied ever having met or even having heard of Charon’s parents. He said the same about Finn and Athena’s parents as well. And now, after over a decade of living in the same place, eating on the same table, and training together, NOW the man suddenly talks about his parents with him? What the fuck? Why? Why did he lie?
Charon’s fists were white with shock as they balled up into fists and he stood up in anger, “Vardan you better have one hell of a…”
Athena grabbed Charon’s shoulder, “Charon stop. Look at him.”
Looking up Charon stared at Vardan and his rage slowly dissipated. In front of him was a man who simply looked… desperate and tired. Desperate for understanding and desperate to stop him from lashing out. Charon relaxed his fists and took a deep breath to calm down.
Breathing a small sigh of relief Vardan said “Thank you Athena. Charon please. I understand why you are upset. You have every right to be angry but please. Let me explain. Then feel free to punch me later when you have some levels and can actually make it worth it. But again, are you ok with Finn and Athena hearing this?”
Staring at the grizzled scars that decorated the old man’s face, Charon took in another deep breath.
“Yes. Finn and Athena can stay to listen. But Vardan, I might really take you up on that offer later. If you give me a half assed reason for lying to me my whole life I will definitely punch you as hard as I can later.”
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Closing his eyes Vardan coughed, “Deal. But before I start I think you will need to sit down.”
With a huff Charon sat back down and Finn and Athena both sighed with relief. It was rare to see Charon this worked up. They all turned to look expectantly at the source of his anger.
Vardan took a moment to collect himself.
“Charon. I know your parents. I actually was in the same organization as them and even went on an expedition with them once. I will admit, however, that I am nowhere in the same stratosphere as your two parents. They are… elites. People who dived into rooms unheard of. Found secrets that to this day are only known among the few who could consider them their peers. But with that kind of power comes enemies. Enemies that coveted what they have.”
Charon interrupted him eyes wide with growing surprise. “Vardan. 'Know' ‘Are’? Why are you speaking in the present tense?”
Letting out a long and measured sign, Vardan continued, “They… might be alive. Or at least I think your mother might still be alive. I don’t know all the details but Charon you have to understand. Your father got hurt. Hurt real bad by people he thought he could trust. They tried to take out your mother at the same time as well but they failed. Your mother is insanely powerful and did something big to try to save him with her legacy and get away. It’s been 18 years and no one could figure out what she did but she grabbed your father and somehow disappeared. All traces pointed to a certain room on the 10th layer but all efforts to stage a rescue for her and your father failed even when people made it to the room successfully.”
“WHY THE HELL DID YOU NEVER TELL ME!!!” Charon roared.
“BECAUSE YOU WILL ACT LIKE THIS YOU MORON!!!” Vardan roared back.
“What will telling you this earlier accomplish!?! What are you going to do with as a civilian and without a proper class? You aren’t even level 1! A god damn frog can eat you before you can even put up a fight. You won’t make it past the 1st layer to say the least about going nine layers deeper! Do you know the room that blocks the path to where your parents might be? It’s a goddamn death trap that's what it is. Telling you earlier would have been the same as a death sentence. You will definitely try to figure out a way to get into the Maze early. You will completely lose focus and lose your mind waiting till you're eighteen!”
“But I could have trained! I could have started to prepare!” Charon protested.
“What do you mean? BOY! I’ve trained you since you could walk! Did you forget? What would you do? Train more? Learn more? Athena, Finn talk some sense into this idiot. Thank god he let you stay to listen.”
Finn grabbed Charon by the forearm. Charon stopped for a moment, surprised. Finn’s hands were trembling even as he gripped Charon’s arm like a vice. Looking at Vardan directly Finn spoke as his voice trembled with emotion, “Vardan. Give it to us straight. Are you hiding anything about Athena’s parents? MY parents?”
Vardan looked at Finn with a measured stare. “No. I swear on the heroes that I am hiding nothing about Athena’s or your parents. They died fighting in the MAZE. Charon… is a special case. We had to hide things from him not only to protect him from himself but to also hide his identity from others that may be hunting after his parents.”
Finn finally let up his grip, took a long moment to collect himself, and turned to his best friend.
“Ok. Charon. Vardan is right. When it comes to things like this you tend to lose your mind. As shitty as it is, I would have done the same given the circumstances. There is no way you are training more than you already are. You know more about the MAZE than anyone else that isn’t an explorer and you have been training since we were small. You are as prepared as anyone can be when they turn 18.”
Charon shook his head in frustration. “That’s bullshit. I won’t go and get myself killed. I still deserved to know about what happened to my parents way earlier. Keeping me in the dark for my whole life was wrong.”
Vardan waved his hands apologetically.
“I know. I know that Charon and for that I am sorry. But this wasn’t just my decision. There are a bunch of people involved in protecting you. It was a group decision made after careful consideration to keep you in the dark. The risks were too much to inform you early. You could try something foolish. Or the information could leak before you could protect yourself. The less people know the better.”
Athena made a small gesture to capture Vardan’s attention.
“What do you want Charon to do with this knowledge? What do you want us to do with it?”
Vardan shook his head
“It’s not about what I want here, Athena. I know for a fact that Charon is going to dive into the MAZE like a madman. Nothing will stop him now. As for you. What are you going to do about this? Are you going to follow him? Try to keep him alive? You have to live your own life. Charon’s goals are his own. Your goals are yours. I just hope that you and Finn could be there for him when he needs it. Good people you can trust with your back are invaluable. The consequences when you misjudge who to trust, especially in the MAZE, are severe. Charon’s parents learned that lesson in the worst way possible. Given the nature of how his parents got hurt he might struggle to build a team. But to get to where he needs to go in the MAZE he needs MORE friends not less.”
Athena argued back, “But there is no guarantee that any of us are going to get stats good enough to become explorers. If Charon’s stats are terrible at level 1 it would take years for him to earn a level up from the Explorer’s guild and even then there is no guarantee.”
Varden looked at Athena for a while before responding.
“Keep this between us, but it's somewhat common knowledge among explorers that the children of mid to high level female explorers rarely struggle with stats. It might have to do with being born from the bodies of people who are flowing with high concentrations of mana but these children generally tend to be healthier, stronger, faster, smarter, and more mana sensitive than the average human. The reason why it’s not common knowledge here is because most high level explorers don’t take the time to travel all the way back to Earth before giving birth. All three of you have parents who made it to the higher floors of the MAZE. The chance you three will wash out before even making it to the MAZE is miniscule. If anything I think you three will be a lot stronger than your peers at level 1. Such advantages quickly disappear with levels, though, so don’t you dare get complacent.”