You think more about The Poet's request and the watch The Enchanted Snowman desires. You ponder this land, the winter, the icy cold air, and the despair in people's voices and eyes. You recall where you last encountered The Soldier's Brother—in a house in a port town filled with zombified people, frozen souls whose eyes still move, whose minds still think as you pass by. You can't shake the feeling that there is something deeper to this world.

You arrive at a road—broken, shattered, covered in snow. It leads nowhere but once led somewhere. You look around as the wind picks up in the mid-afternoon. The sky is gray, lifeless, almost dark. The sun has been hidden all day, and the chill in the air is sharp and bold against your face as you stand in the middle of this broken road.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here."

You turn and see The Soldier's Brother standing beside a familiar face: Trix.

You ask how they are and if you can all get out of the cold. Trix indicates he can lead you to the abandoned gas station just down the road. The place feels familiar to you.

As Trix guides you both, The Soldier's Brother asks what brings you out here in the middle of nowhere. You tell him about The Poet's request, leaving out The Enchanted Snowman and the leather watch—not because you have something to hide, but because it doesn’t seem relevant.

"I know the journal you seek, but you'll need a key to get it."

A key? Why do you need a key? You ask him about it, but he shakes his head.

"My brother never told me about the key. He only said, when we found it, that it was for 'his' house."

His house? You wonder who "he" is.

As you arrive at the old, abandoned gas station further down the snow-covered road, The Soldier's Brother turns to you, as if remembering something. "I do know how you can get the key from him, though," he says, starting to smile.

"If you find me a Christmas tree ornament for the little tree Trix and I are setting up inside, I can give you the one thing my brother always treasured—our father's sword."

It sounds like a fair trade. You agree and tell him you’ll be back. Trix steps out of the gas station and asks where you are going. You tell him you'll return with something special for him, and he smiles.