...Disclaimer: You've heard it, so I won't bother.
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Fairly early the next morning, Peter and his roommate met the rest of the group in the center of the town. They counted heads to be sure they had everyone, and then struck out to the north again. The weather started out bright and a little windy, but had clouded over by early afternoon.
"It looks like it's going to rain," said Peter.
"I hope it doesn't," said Xerxes, "We're not equipped for it."
They kept walking. The clouds glowered over their heads, but did not carry out the threat of rain.
They reached another small town just before dark, and were surprised to find the road blocked. Several men were guarding it, holding some sort of tool Peter had never seen before, but did not want to see any closer. They were something like a sword with two blades, or a giant pair of scissors.
"You can not enter this town," said one man. "We have heard all about your expedition, and want nothing to do with it. Go stay somewhere else." The man brandished his weapon threateningly and stepped towards them.
The most prudent thing to do was retreat. They walked back down the road a short distance, and then sat down to discuss what they ought to do.
"Can we go somewhere else?" asked Peter.
"There is nowhere else nearby," said Xerxes. "The towns in this area are required to be no farther than one day's journey apart, but there are none much closer, either."
"We'll have to either camp out here or keep going," said one of the boys.
"Is anyone tired yet?" asked Xerxes.
They decided to walk a little farther before trying to camp. Xerxes led them in a wide circle around the unfriendly town, and then back to the road.
It began to rain.
"Well, we can't camp now," said Xerxes.
By early morning, Peter was very tired, very wet, and very cranky, and it was still raining sporadically. He recalled all the stories he had read where the hero was caught in a rain storm. There was usually a convenient empty shed or abandoned mansion to step into, where either something happened to help solve a mystery, or he found some old, magical object that started him on an adventure. Well, Peter was already on an adventure, and there was no sign of any building at all. And, of course, the hero in a story book never had to deal with a soaking wet, sleep-deprived seven-year-old.
Martha had never stayed awake all night before, and was acting unnaturally hyperactive. She was alternating skipping ahead and splashing in puddles with coming back and literally running circles around Peter, asking him how much farther it was to Mount Niol and shaking more water on him whenever the rain stopped for a while. Finally Peter lost his patience.
"Go bother Xerxes for a change," he said irritably. Unfortunately, she did.
Martha skipped up to Xerxes and demanded the password. Then she started to ask him where they were, when they would get there, if they were going to stop and have breakfast soon, and other questions of the type young children always ask on road trips.
Peter suddenly realized that Martha was giving Xerxes a detailed account of the time, a few years ago, that they had both taken ballet lessons. Peter would never have set foot inside the dance studio if his mother had not made him. Martha had refused to go alone, so he had been forced to join the beginning class with her. It was none of Xerxes' business, but Martha didn't seem to know that. She began to give an example of their first recital, dancing in a circle and waving her arms in a ridiculous bird impression. Peter saw that it was about time to interfere.
He hurried to grab Martha's hand, apologizing to Xerxes and explaining that he had quit ballet lessons as soon as possible, and preferred that it not be mentioned.
"Why?" asked Xerxes, "It seems interesting."
Xerxes had clearly never heard of ballet, and Peter decided that it was not worth being embarrassed about after all.
They trudged along for a while longer, and the sun began to grow brighter. The rain stopped, the clouds cleared away, and they could see another town ahead of them.
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...Note: This is already longer than "Loose Ends!" I just felt like announcing that.