Evans sat back on the bench. He let out a deep breath that was just short of being a sigh.
There was too much going on in this town. Strange characters and occurrences were common, but this... He couldn't even begin to think of an explanation.
He knew of this game, parents sometimes arranged it for their children in the city. Rich parents had it arranged in their house. Regardless, this game went wrong about 80% of the time. Treasure hunts were pretty rare, but they existed.
Evans had never really understood the concept.
Why would you give someone a hint to a hint instead of giving them the location of the treasure directly ? Frankly, what kind of hidden treasure would even have hints pointing to it ? Generally, things that were hidden were not meant to be found.
This made no sense. Logically, there was no reason to make anyone do this.
Especially in a situation this serious.
Was it supposed to be a test ? What kind of idiot wouldn't get these ? Even that kind of idiot could easily get help !
'Breathe. It's fine.'
He took a second to calm himself. Honestly, the reason didn't matter. By following all the clues, he would get all the information. Even if the hints lead nowhere, the hints themselves were informative enough. The team could investigate them later.
For now, he would just follow the trail. Seeing how this specific view was only visible at night, and how the next hint relied on stars, it seemed this game was night themed. Evans didn't want to spend too much time thinking and miss out on the night exclusive clues.
With a thought, he activated his body's additional reserves of caffeine and sugar.
'Alright. Let's play, then.'
Getting up, he read the clue again.
'Follow the milky way..'
The milky way, of course, referred to the galaxy they were in. Viewed from the top, a galaxy looked like a disk, but from the inside, it was like a streak, going all the way across the night sky.
A streak that pointed in a specific, unchanging direction.
Evans looked up. Thankfully, the star-heavy streak was not parallel to the shoreline. He didn't have to guess which way to go in, as one of them would lead him into the water.
Occasionally checking his orientation, he left the park while following that direction.
Some time later, he ran into a surprisingly open sandwich shop. Even at this ungodly hour, the restaurant was crowded.
The restaurant itself occupied the building's entire first floor, it looked a bit worn down, and several tables had a wobble to them. Still, the generous fireplace, the enticing smell and cozy ambiance created a feeling of home, anyone who had had a warm childhood couldn't help but recall those times and feel at ease.
Therefore, Evans was immune to the charm. Glancing back at the clue, he checked one last time.
'That's probably it. What do I do now ? The hint put an emphasis on the sandwiches themselves. Should I order one ?'
He was hungry anyway, so that particular hypothesis wouldn't hurt to test.
"Good evening. I'd like a sandwich, please."
The cook was an somewhat old woman, she was wearing a hairnet and a visibly used, stained apron. "Of course ! What do you want in it ?"
Evans could see the ingredients behind the counter. "Just meat and lettuce should be fine."
Without missing a beat, the cook replied, not dropping her smile : "Nope ! That's boring ! Try something else !"
Surprised, he thought about which ingredients he might like... Nothing came to mind.
Not because he didn't know, of course, but because the answer didn't matter. It would even be the same price.
'Hmm.. the hint didn't mention anything about ingredients either, so I'm probably not supposed to order any specific ones...'
"Just pick whatever you feel like. I just want a sandwich."
The chef turned her back and started picking and chopping some onions with disturbingly precise movements. "Well, you're the boss. Oh wait. That's me." She laughed heartily. "I guess leaving it to me is a good idea then ! Sit tight, luv, it'll be ready in a minute."
Evans leaned on a wall and observed carefully. If he was right, the answer would be in the cooking process. If he was wrong, he still could search the restaurant afterwards.
The cook tossed the chopped onions on a steel stovetop and drizzled oil over them. Then, switching instruments in a flash, she cut some meat which looked a bit like beef in record time and threw those pieces in the hot surface as well. After a bit of thinking, she took a handful of shredded cheese and threw that on, too.
The sizzling sound and the smell made Evans realise how hungry he really was.
Forcing his eyes away from the his meal, he thought about the hint some more.
'Apart from getting a sandwich, there were no other instructions.' This fact was informative in itself.
It ruled out things which would have required more info, like the several bowls the ingredients laid inside of, the utensils, the tables, and so on.
'It has to be something I can encounter while ordering any sandwich. However, it can't be too common either.'
If the clue was in a place where people often looked, then there would be a significant risk of someone taking the paper, or moving it, thus ruining the trail. This was how most treasure hunts ended. The one behind this one, however, was most probably smarter than that.
'So I need to look at things that are not often used in this kitchen... There.'
There was a pile of paper napkins in a corner of the counter. Judging by its color, the dust around it and the stains, it did not see much action. The top one was slightly out of sequence, like someone had taken it and put it back.
The tables were supplied with rag cloth for customers to wipe their hands and mouth. So what was that pile for ?
"Could I have that to go ?"
The cook stopped, slightly surprised. "Oh ! Why, of course ! You know, you're only the second person this week to ask me that ! People don't seem to realise it's an option. They see tables and just sit down. Eating a sandwich like that is a little sad, don't you think ?"
She took some slightly roasted bread and filled it with the onion, some lettuce slices, so much juicy meat it almost didn't fit, plus the cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and seasoned it. Then she grabbed the top paper napkin and wrapped the sandwich in it masterfully.
"They're meant to be enjoyed while walking, after all !"
She handed it to Evans.
"That'll be 1 coin and 20 bits, please."
The forest cities did not have a united government or anything of the sort, even trades routes were rare. But that didn't mean communication didn't happen. Even if the coin's value was not entirely constant, one coin was worth one hundred bits in almost every city.
The money, too, was emitted by the church of Helio. It was just another reason for them to be inevitable.
Evans produced one gold plated coin and two smaller copper coins worth ten bits each. Before leaving, he checked his paper napkin and indeed saw some writing in it.
But nutrition was important, too. He could only go so far with only caffeine in his veins.
Walking away while unwrapping his snack, he took a bite.
'Huh. This guy knows what he's talking about.'
***
The treasure hunt continued just like this for a long time.
"The night fair isn't too far from here. My favourite is the archery game."
That pointed the the first prize in the archery stand in a fair close from the restaurant. Evans got it without trouble.
"Did you know there's a pack of dogs in that alley ? I fed them once and now I can't stop or I feel like I'll go to hell."
One of the dogs had the next clue wrapped around its collar. It only let it it go after a lot of feeding and pets.
"Oh no, you stopped !"
That one was tricky. Evans had stopped feeding the dogs to read the clue, so he had to "go to hell" which, in this guy's mind, seemed to indicate the docks, where hard work had to be done day and night, without rest. The clue was at the entrance, probably signifying the mastermind would rather break his own logic than going there.
"Damn, that was close ! I better relax or this might turn into a trauma ! One hour in the sauna should do the trick."
Evans was starting to be impressed at how many businesses were open at this hour. That one was pretty self explanatory, the challenge laid in the act itself. After one hour, a secret policy forced the employees to lead the overheating customer to a small pool. There, Evans found the next hint....
And the next, and the next.
Truly, this amount of dedication to a game which still seemed pointless was deserving of respect.
After basically the whole night, Evans found yet another clue.
"At the end, I always end up at the very top, watching the sunrise, sitting on the sun."
'...This has to be the last.'
It was an easy one. It was the first thing anyone noticed when entering Toulu.
The cathedral.
The "very top" with the mention of "sitting on the sun" seemed to indicate to climb up and watch the sunset next to the sun emblem at the summit of the edifice.
'Scaling the whole 25-meter tall, guarded cathedral...'
The towering edifice was visible from every point of the city. Even from here, Evans could see it very clearly.
He took one moment to look at the view.
'...Seems straightforwad enough.'