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“So what kind of adventures have you been taking the kid on lately?” Boba asked Din as he piloted the Slave 1 through the galaxy.
“The usual. Just got back from tracking a bounty last night.”
“Not talking about bounty hunting,” Boba said, throwing a look at Din. “I’m talking about real adventures. Discovering the galaxy. Exploring the unexplored!”
“He might be a little young to be exploring the unexplored.”
“Nonsense.”
Truth be told, Din had been doing his best to keep Grogu out of dangerous situations ever since the events with Moff Gideon, even if that meant going after bounties with smaller rewards. The fear was still fresh, and they’d both had enough adventure for a lifetime, as far as he was concerned.
“Young, strapping boy like him needs a bit of adventure. Isn’t that right, son?”
Grogu shoved another cookie into his mouth, then squealed, spraying Din and Boba with crumbs. Din shook his head and wiped the crumbs away, but Boba chuckled indulgently.
“Matter of fact,” Boba added, “I happen to know the perfect place for some adventure.”
Din raised a brow behind his helmet. “Where?”
“The secret temple of Sauheller Wood.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I don’t kid around about adventure.”
“Nobody knows where the temple is, that’s why it’s called the secret temple.”
“Ah, most people don’t know, but I have a map.”
“A map to the secret temple of Sauheller Wood,” Din said, his voice flat.
“Yes.”
“A map to the hidden, secret temple.”
“The very same.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“Can’t reveal my sources.”
“Your sourc - Boba, we can’t take the kid into that forest.”
“Of course, we can. We’re here, actually.”
Din swung his head around to look out the window of the ship. They had, indeed, landed next to a dense forest.
Grogu squealed and hopped up onto the console to look outside, earning another indulgent chuckle from Boba. He stood and scooped up the little one, settling him on his shoulders.
“Come on, kid, time to let you explore a little more of the galaxy.”
Din had no choice but to follow them off the ship.
They stopped at the edge of the forest, and Din motioned toward Boba. “Okay, then, lead the way.”
“Can’t.”
Din tilted his head in confusion. “Why not?”
“Can’t read the map.”
“You can’t read the - what ?”
“It’s in Olys Corellisi.”
“You don’t speak Olys Corellisi?”
“No, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t speak it!” Din huffed an unamused laugh. “Why would you think I speak it?”
Boba’s shrug was almost imperceptible. “Just figured you would.”
“What are you even doing with a map in a language that you don’t understand?”
“Thought the secret temple would be a good place to take the boy.”
Din sighed, hands on hips, and tilted his head back to stare at the sky. “You couldn’t have mentioned the fact that it’s in a language you don’t speak before we landed here?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Boba said, striding into the forest, Grogu swaying on his shoulders. “We’ll figure it out.”
“We can’t just go into Sauheller Wood without knowing where we’re going. People go in there and are never seen again.”
“They’re not Mandalorians, are they?” Boba called over his shoulder. “We’ll be fine. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Somewhere with a map in a language I understand,” Din muttered as he watched Boba carry Grogu deeper into the forest.
He couldn’t just let the two of them go off on their own. What if they got lost without him? He’d never forgive himself if Grogu was trapped in the forest forever. Of course, just because he went with them didn’t guarantee that they’d find their way out again. The Sauheller Wood was notorious for leading unwary travelers to their deaths. Rumor was that the paths would change, that the trees would move, that a landmark that was there a moment before would disappear when you glanced back.
Din realized he’d lost sight of Boba and Grogu. “Grogu!” he called. “Boba!”
When he didn’t get a response, he charged into the trees, continuing to call their names.
“Prefer it if you didn’t go about shouting my name,” Boba said from behind Din.
Din skidded to a stop, heart in his throat as he turned to stare at the man. “How are you behind me ?”
“The mystery of the Sauheller Wood, I guess.”
Grogu squealed with delight, but Din shook his head. “We should go back. I don’t trust this forest.”
“If you insist. Which way?”
Din glanced around, then pointed in the direction from which he’d just come. “That way.”
Din took a step in that direction, then hesitated. The way back looked darker and gloomier than the other directions, and that didn’t seem right to him. They’d only just entered the forest, and the way back should have looked lighter. “I don’t -”
Boba glanced down at the map. “Reckon I can figure this out.”
“How?”
“I know how to read maps.”
Din tried to keep from releasing his sigh. “But you don’t speak the language.”
“A river on a map is a river, a mountain is a mountain, and a path is a path.”
Din jabbed a finger at the map. “But what if some of those markings are warnings?”
“I don’t see any skulls or crossbones.”
“That doesn’t mean the words aren’t warnings. Dank farrik, Boba, this could get us killed.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not that easy to kill. I don’t fear the trees.”
“It’s not the trees I’m worried about," Din replied, glancing around. “You don’t know what’s in here.”
“And we won’t find out just standing here. Come on, Grogu, let’s go.”
He strode off again, Grogu waving his arms. Din shook his head, sighed once more, then followed them deeper into the trees.
They walked for another hour, Boba occasionally checking the map with Grogu sitting happily on his shoulders. Din knew they’d come too far into the forest to turn around, and he was afraid to glance back and find that the path had disappeared behind them. Instead, he followed Boba, hoping the man knew where he was going.
They passed a pond, the still, glassy waters making Din shiver, and he hurried to catch up to Boba and Grogu.
A few minutes later, they passed the pond a second time.
Din stopped, pointing at the still water. “We just passed this pond.”
“It’s not the same one.”
“You think there are two identical ponds in this forest?” asked Din, incredulous.
“Could be.”
“Admit it, we’re lost.”
“I’ll admit nothing of the sort.”
“Fine, I’ll admit it,” Din said. “We’re lost.”
“We’re not lost.” Boba showed the map to Din, pointing to a body of water on the wrinkled parchment. “We’re right next to this pond.”
“Where’s the second pond, Boba? Where on that map is the second, identical pond?”
Boba shrugged, unconcerned. “The mapmaker probably got confused by the second one and didn’t add it to the map.”
“The professional mapmaker got confused? You don’t think it’s more likely that you’re confused?”
“Not a bit.”
They walked a little farther through the dark and gloomy trees, and Din cursed when they saw the pond for the third time. “Not lost, huh?”
Boba stared at the map for a moment, glanced at the pond, then back to the map. “We must be missing something,” he muttered.
“Yeah, the correct path.”
“Maybe if we go back the way we just came…”
“Worth a shot,” grumbled Din, who turned and started walking back down the path from which they’d just walked.
A few minutes later, they reached the pond again.
“Dank farrik, Boba.”
Boba didn’t reply to Din and turned his attention to Grogu, who was pulling on Boba’s ear. “What is it, little one?”
Din watched as Grogu pointed into the trees, then turned his helmet in the direction that Grogu had indicated, trying to figure out what the little one wanted. “What is it, Grogu?”
Grogu babbled a reply, patted the top of Boba’s head, then pointed into the trees again.
“I think he wants us to go that way,” Boba said.
Din shook his head. “That’s not a path, Grogu. We have to stay on the path.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. We’ve stayed on the path so far and haven’t gotten anywhere.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want to wander off the path. Who knows what we’ll find in there?”
Boba glanced back at the map, then rolled it up and shoved it into a pocket. “I think we should give it a chance.”
“No way. We can’t just listen to a child. We’ll never get out of here that way.”
“I don’t think we’re getting out of here any other way, honestly, so we might as well give the kid a chance.”
Din sighed. “Fine, let’s try it.” He pointed a finger at Boba. “But if we see this pond one more time, I’m throwing you in it.”
Boba shrugged. “I could use a little cooling off, anyway.”
Din rolled his eyes behind his helmet, then cautiously made his way into the woods where Grogu had pointed. After walking for a few more minutes, they came to a path, which eventually branched off into three directions.
“At least there’s no pond,” Din muttered. “Which way now, Grogu?” Grogu immediately pointed to the path on their right, and Din shrugged. “As good as any, I guess.”
They came to two more crossroads, each time allowing Grogu to pick their path, until they reached a clearing in the trees. Fog curled along the ground as Din cautiously walked ahead of the other two. He came to a sudden stop when a huge temple seemed to solidify out of the mist in front of him.
“I don’t believe it.”
Boba laughed as he scooped Grogu off his shoulders and tossed him into the air, catching him with a grin. “I knew you’d find it!”
“I can’t believe we let a child lead us through the Sauheller Wood. Let’s just hope he can lead us back to the ship.”
“I have no doubts, but if he can’t, I can.”
Din stared at him. “You couldn’t even get us this far.”
Boba’s grin grew a little wider. “I knew the way the whole time.”
“You what ?”
“Turns out I do speak a little Olys Corellisi. Just wanted to give the kid a chance to experience an adventure, let him get some practice making decisions and leading others.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I don’t kid around abo-”
“About adventure. Yeah, I know.” Din sighed, then looked to Grogu, who was smiling at him from Boba’s arms. “Well, kid, how do you feel about leading us through this temple?”
Grogu babbled a reply, and Din grinned behind his helmet as he followed Boba and Grogu to the entrance.