Aria was sitting beside by fire, enjoying the warmth at her back. As planned, Alder, Tarek, and Jani had converged on the inn at sunset for their meeting, and dinner. A pile of empty dishes lay in front of her. Around her, everyone else was just finishing their own meals.

Tarek was ripping apart the last of a bread crust, evidently too tough to chew easily. Alder had let his soak in his stew, and was fishing it out with a spoon. Jani was chewing the core of one of those apple-like fruits. Aria wasn't sure if that was normal, as everyone else she had seen had thrown the cores away.

It became apparent why she chewed the cores a moment later. As Tarek finished his food, set down his dishes, and opened his mouth to say something, Jani puckered her lips and blew. Tarek choked as a seed shot straight into his mouth. He coughed profusely and Jani roared with laughter.

Alder turned to give her a stern look, and she quieted to a low chuckle as Tarek continued to cough. Alder continued to stare at her, and she relented and spat the rest of the seeds and core onto her plate.

"Well," Alder said with one last disapproving look at her. "Why don't we all go over what we learned today?"

He nodded at Aria. Tarek spoke, windpipe evidently cleared of the seed. "Yeah! We got up this morning and you were nowhere to be found. What did you have to do that was so important you couldn't even sleep in until dawn?"

He sounded sincerely curious. Aria, having already organized her thoughts earlier when she wrote her journal, summarized everything fairly quickly. She kept her voice low.

She went over Jani's suspicions, their discovery of the lab, Kahlin and her speculation of the Bedoowan council, everything.

When she finished, she said meekly, "But, ah, they asked me not to tell anyone about it. So if you two could not let them know I told you about this stuff, that would be great."

Alder and Tarek were staring at her, openmouthed. Then Alder's face split into a wide grin. "Aria! This is excellent! It is just what we have been looking for."

He looked to Jani, then nodded deeply to her. "Thank you for your assistance, Jani. I must say I underestimated you. I had thought that you would merely be a hindrance to our efforts, but you have proven me wrong."

Jani flushed. Then she said, "Yeah, fine. But if you get my father in any trouble with your…Traveler stuff…I'm gonna punch your teeth down your throat, knight or not."

Though Tarek looked offended, Alder nodded seriously. "We will do everything in our power to keep your father safe. Now," he said, turning back to Aria. "Allow us to tell you what we discovered today."

Aria nodded, interested, though she already knew the answer to the most important question. "I take it you didn't manage to free Press?"

Tarek shook his head sadly. "The council said that he was suspected of subversive behavior, and was to be detained until certain issues were resolved."

"What issues?" Aria asked.

Tarek shrugged. Alder said, "We do not know exactly how much the council knows. However, we were able to gauge their mood and the mood of the Bedoowan village at large. The council is worried about the rising tensions, and are concerned that the Milago will soon resort to violence. They told us to be careful returning to the village, and to try and do everything in our power to calm the Milago. The Bedoowan villagers are simply upset. They do not fully understand why the Milago have driven them out. They are going through the same things that the Milago are – the curfew, the tryptite shortage – but, of course, they do not have Milago guards stationed around their village. The older generation understands the reason for the tension in the Milago village to some degree, but the younger generation is simply baffled."

Aria nodded. Not only would the younger Bedoowan generation, like the Milago generation, not have any firsthand experience with the way things were in the old days; they would not understand what it had to do with their tribe as it existed now, having been unified with the Milago for more than a decade.

Alder continued. "We spent the day there, but frankly were not able to discover much of interest. You, on the other hand, seem to have done very well for yourselves."

His expression was mellow, but Aria sensed a certain amount of satisfaction behind his words. He was evidently quite happy with what she had accomplished.

She didn't acknowledge this. In fact, once their group discussion was over, she intended to talk to Alder about the whole Traveler thing again. Alone.

"So," Tarek said. "What's the plan from here?"

Alder thought about it, then said, "I think the best thing to do would be to try and convince the councils that the rising tensions are the result of a misunderstanding. If we present them with a sample of the tak-light and describe its uses, we should be able to bring them to the table. The tensions are a result of the Tryptite shortage. If we can show them an alternative that could deescalate the situation, I'm sure they will at least try it."

Jani snorted. "Kahlin didn't seem all that keen on sharing when we talked to her earlier. She thinks the best thing to do right now would be to keep hiding and wait for things to calm down."

Alder frowned thoughtfully at this. "Hmm. Yes, I can see why they are concerned with approaching the councils. If the situation is not handled delicately, it is very possible that the mines will be seized the moment the councils learn of the tak. And if that happens you can be certain that Saint Dane will be waiting in the wings to drive them to war. However, I do not believe there is much of a choice at this point but for them to come forward. They are waiting for an opportune moment, but with Saint Dane manipulating the tribes, such a moment will be unlikely to ever arrive."

Aria thought he was probably right. She said, "Yeah. And things can really only get worse the longer they wait. The Tryptite shortage will get worse, more fights will break out, and the tribes will just keep getting more alienated from each other; and if the Milago and Bedoowan go to war without the tak, it will make peaceful compromise in the future almost impossible." She paused to consider, then concluded, "The best bet is to bring both tribes to the table right away. If we can just get them talking before they start fighting, the tak-light should solve all their problems."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Very well," Alder said. "Then here is what I propose. You, Jani, and Tarek go to the mines tomorrow. I have things that I must do, so I will meet up with you at the mine entrance mid-morning. Convince them of your reasoning, and request that they give you a few samples of the tak-light. Tarek and I will take a sample to the Bedoowan councilors. Aria and Jani, you can take a sample to the Milago councilors."

Suddenly, Jani frowned. "Uhhh…about that…"

Tarek looked at her, annoyed, but Aria felt a twinge of worry at her tone. "Yeah, Jani? What's up?"

She looked a bit hesitant, but said, "One of the councilors – Grail, the one who went into the forest with that Saint Dane guy yesterday? He's gone."

They all looked at her. "Gone?" Alder asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. He's been missing since yesterday. Kore sent out search parties to find him."

Alder frowned gravely. "That…is not good. Aria, do you know what might have happened?"

She shook her head, but was feeling queasy. "No. Like I said, he went off with Saint Dane, but he was gone by the time I caught up. Do you think something happened to him?" She didn't want to voice the possibility that was surely floating around everyone's mind.

Tarek, however, had no qualms about it. "Saint Dane must have killed him! He's the only one who has been constantly vying for peace. With him out of the way, Saint Dane will have total control over when the Milago go to war!"

Jani scowled at him and crossed her arms, as though she wanted to dispute his statement but couldn't. Aria was dismayed.

It was Alder who responded. "Let us not jump to conclusions. Grail may simply have gone off by himself, or have been sequestered somewhere. However, if Tarek is correct, things may become more difficult."

Jani snorted. "It doesn't change anything. If Grail is dead, then we need to get peace talks going right now, before things break down and people get angry."

Aria's mind was buzzing with the implications of a murdered councilor. Grail was the mouthpiece of the peaceful Milago. Without him to speak for them…

Alder stood up. "Agreed. The plan will proceed. In the meantime, I will go and search for councilor Grail. Aria, you said they went north from the monument, up to a grassy clearing?"

Aria nodded.

He continued. "Very well, then. That is where I will look. If Saint Dane killed him, he won't want the body found until the right time to make the Milago retaliate. I assume he won't want to do that until he has found the tak mine. If I find a body, we will at least have a better idea of how things might proceed."

"What makes you think he hasn't found the tak mine yet?" Tarek asked.

Jani snorted derisively. "Really? You think if that psycho knew about the mine, he would have hesitated to lead the Bedoowan to it?"

Aria interjected. "Or the Milago," she said. "I don't think Saint Dane cares who gets the tak, so long as they use it to start a huge war."

Jani's nostrils flared, but she didn't respond. Maybe she didn't like the idea of her own people being the bad guys in the situation.

Alder grabbed his things and stood. The rest of them stood up too. "You three get some rest. You will need it for the day ahead. Aria, perhaps you would like to go with Tarek to the barracks?"

She shrugged. "I already paid for a room here. I can stay or go, doesn't matter to me."

"Stay," Jani said. "I'm going home, and I don't want to have to walk all the way to the barracks to meet up with you tomorrow morning. We can all just meet here."

Tarek looked like he might protest, but Alder jumped in to agree with Jani. "That sounds like a good idea. Tarek, you return to the barracks. Aria, stay here. Jani, you do as you will. We can all meet back here at dawn. And don't forget your journals, you two."

He sounded like a parent reminding his kids to floss before bed. Aria pulled the pages out of her pack. "Way ahead of you."

Tarek just groaned. Looked like he'd be a while getting to bed.

They made their way to the exit. Tarek turned to her and said, "Well, goodnight. Oh, how is your injury? Is it bothering you?"

She shrugged. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment. "It's fine. Goodnight, Tarek."

She nodded to Jani, who grunted a goodbye and turned to leave. Tarek, likewise, took off down the road.

Alder paused, seemingly to adjust his strap. Once the other two were out of earshot, Aria said to him, "I need to talk to you."

He sighed. "Yes, I assumed you would."

Judging by the resignation in his voice, Aria thought she might finally be about to get some answers. Thus far she'd been off balance and on her feet almost constantly, and hadn't had the opportunity to ask any educated questions about what was going on. Now she was caught up. She knew the basics, had done far more than they'd had any right to expect of her, and if he tried shrugging off her questions at this point…

Well, she wasn't sure what she would do, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

So, first things first. She handed him her latest journal and asked, "How do you deliver these?"

He walked back into the inn. "Which one is your room?"

She led him to it. They stepped inside, then he held out his hand. On it was a ring – a simple silver band with a plain grey stone. He removed it and showed it to her briefly.

"Watch," he said.

He put the ring on the ground, stepped back, and said, "First Earth."

Aria jumped back. The stone on the ring turned crystal clear. It began to shoot out pinpoints of light, and the chiming of musical notes pervaded the air. It was a lot like…

"The flume," she said, peering closely at the ring.

Alder nodded. "Yes, the processes are similar. Now…"

The ring grew and a hole formed. It was black and empty, large enough for the journals to go through fairly easily, and he dropped the bound pages into the hole.

Immediately the ring snapped back, the music cut off abruptly. He bent down and picked it up. It was just a ring again.

Aria realized that her mouth was open. She closed it and said, "Uh…where did it go?"

Alder replied, "It went to your world, to whoever is in charge of holding on to your journals. I assume Press asked you who you trusted to look after them?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah, my friend Kar. But how does she get them? Does it just pop into her mailbox? Into her room? Do they appear wherever she is?"

Alder shook his head. "Press likely delivered another ring like this to her." He held it out again.
"It activates in much the same way as mine does, only something comes out rather than going in."

She gaped at this information. Kar had a magical ring of journal teleportation? Oh, man. She was going to be thrilled.

Wait.

Aria bristled. "Wait a minute. Press went back home? To deliver a ring? He went home, and didn't tell me?"

Alder winced, just slightly. "Yes, I would assume so. But," he continued as she opened her mouth to complain, "Please believe me when I tell you that he has good reason for acting so secretively. There is much at stake here. To tell you everything right away…" He trailed off, hoping that she would understand.

She didn't understand. "It would, what? Give me a choice in the matter? Give me the option to go home after the third time I was nearly killed?"

Alder took a deep breath. "You needed to understand the truth of this mission. Not merely the facts. To do that, it was imperative that you spent time here."

She scowled. "Fine, I've spent time here. I know what's going on, I know what's at stake. I've done what I can to help, and I'll keep helping as long as I can, but I need to know that going home is an option! So, how do I do it? How can I get home?"

Alder turned and looked out the window. Outside, a chill wind had picked up and some of it was drifting through the room.

He closed her window, turned back to her, and dipped his head in agreement. "Yes, I suppose you need to know. You remember where the flume is?"

She nodded. "Yeah, on the mountain. Is that the only way home?"

"To our knowledge, yes," he replied. "Sometimes there is more than one flume on a territory. That is the only one we know about here on Denduron, however. To get home, you must stand at the entrance and shout the name of your territory: First Earth."

"That's it?" she asked.

"That is it."

She thought about this, then said, "Okay, thank you. What about the quigs?"

Alder said calmly, "You will need to get around them. There should be a whistle with the equipment at the base of the mountain."

Alright, those were her major concerns. Now, however, her eyebrows creased in confusion. "Wait. First Earth…that's right. Uncle Press said there was more than one. How many are there?"

Alder, who had already turned to leave, said, "There are three. You do not need to worry about them yet, however."

Aria followed him out the door, curiosity piqued. "What are they like? Are there other Travelers on those Earths? Are they the same as my Earth? Are they, like, different times, or parallel versions, or–"

Alder held up a finger as they passed Kren, who was dozing at his desk. Once they got out the door again he said, "You will learn these things in time. Though, for the record, they are the future of your territory. Do not ask me how far into the future. I am not as familiar with Earth's ages as I am with my own territory's."

That made sense. She looked at him and said, "Alright. Thank you for telling me this stuff."

She was satisfied to learn what she wanted to know, but as she stood outside and looked around, she shivered. It was cold out here, much colder than the previous night. The moon, which had been only a sliver, was well and truly gone now.

Alder wanted to go out and look for a corpse on a night like this?

Clearly he did. He nodded to her, then turned to go.

"Wait," she said. He paused, looking back questioningly. "It's cold out tonight, and it's pitch black out there. And aren't there animals? Can't your search wait until morning?"

He looked surprised, then laughed. "Do not worry about me. I will be fine. What was it Pendragon always said? Ah, yes. I know this place like the back of my hand."

Aria thought the name sounded vaguely familiar. "Who's Pendragon?"

Alder smiled. "He is a Traveler from Second Earth, and a personal friend of mine. You two will meet in time, I think. Now, I must be off. Goodnight, and stay safe. I will see you tomorrow."

She frowned, still worried about him. "Okay. Goodnight. Come back if there's any trouble, though, okay?"

"Of course," he said, and turned to leave.

She watched him for a long moment, and felt a shiver run up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Shaking her head, she turned and went back inside.

Kren was asleep at his desk when she passed him, drooling again. She went straight to her room without bothering him.

She got inside, set her pack down, and kicked off her shoes. Dousing her lamp and tucking herself into bed, she found for the first time in days that she had enough energy to think things over before falling asleep.

She was a bit hurt by the idea that her uncle had lied to her. By omission, of course. That he had gone home and not said anything to her. He knew she wanted to go home.

…Which was, of course, why he hadn't said anything. He needed her here. She still resented him for that, but for the time being she would just have to grin and bear it. She was forced to admit that she had managed to help them out a lot more than she'd expected. But that had nothing to do with her. That was just a matter of luck. I mean, what were the odds that she would happen to befriend someone who could lead her to someone who worked in the laboratory? That was really the only important thing she'd done. Everything else Uncle Press could have accomplished by himself.

She was worried about her uncle. He'd been in jail for days now, and there was no definite end in sight. She wondered if it was possible for her to just go to the Bedoowan council and ask them to let her uncle go if they would leave. It was possible, she thought, but she again had to concede that Uncle Press just wouldn't go for it. For whatever reason, he was completely invested in Denduron's fate.

She was afraid of Saint Dane. He was, she was forced to admit, the most dangerous man she'd ever encountered, and that was saying something. She had night terrors for a reason, and had ever since she was a child. She feared that if she kept running into him, they wouldn't be going away any time soon. He was cold. Violence didn't bother him in the slightest, the way it did her. Fear didn't move him. She got the feeling he could kill her, or the people she cared about, without feeling anything like remorse.

She was afraid of what would happen if she was still in the village and war broke out. What would happen to her? To Press? To Alder and Tarek? To Jani and her friends? To Chariti and Tal and all the others?

If she was being honest, she was more concerned about herself and Press than anyone else.

She tugged the blankets more tightly around her, feeling chilly and very alone. She had friends, but they all seemed to be far more invested in this than she was. They were all completely focused on the task at hand, on fixing relations between the Milago and the Bedoowan and thwarting the diabolical wiles of an evil, shapeshifting, time-traveling demon.

She just wanted to go home.

She wanted to help, she wanted her new friends to be safe, but she wanted to be safe, too. She wanted not to have to run for her life every day, she wanted not to be shot at, stabbed at, chased, threatened. She wanted to be safe. Was she selfish for that?

She groaned out loud, wishing this could all be over. She didn't care if she never saw another territory. The only one she cared about was hers. First Earth.

The last thing she pondered as she began to drift off was why Jani had hated her on sight. She would have to ask her if she got the chance, tomorrow…

…When she went back to the tunnels…

…The tunnels…the tunnels were twisting and turning. Left, right, left again, straight, right…how was she to remember? How was she to know? It seemed like she was going somewhere, but she wasn't sure where. At last she reached her destination, and she froze.

Saint Dane stood before her. He spoke to her, though she wasn't quite sure what he was saying. He was offering her something? A deal? A partnership?

Suddenly his expression morphed into shock. She was holding something in her hand, and as she threw it to the ground the demon Traveler screamed with rage.

Fire. There was fire, everywhere, and Saint Dane was fleeing. Who was this person running beside her? Tall, dark, strong – a friend?

Never mind. They had to get to the flume. But how? The flume was on the mountain, and they were in the mines!

The room before them was abruptly filled with a giant, thrashing creature, all teeth and yellow eyes. She ran. There was a flume there, somewhere. There was a flume…is it still there now?

"No," said a voice.

Whose voice was that? Why was it so familiar?

"Never mind. Keep going, the other way."

She turned. The fire was gone, the dark-skinned girl was gone, the giant, thrashing thing was gone. The mine was still there, though.

"It's around here. Where?"

What was?

"The flume."

Where?

"I don't know!"

She looked around. She had reached the central mineshaft. There was a flume near here? But down which tunnel?

She picked one and ran on. Twists, turns, a sense of helplessness. She was lost.

"Back to the start, then."

She turned the corner, and was back at the mineshaft. Which way? She took another tunnel. She ran on and on and on, but found nothing.

"Again! Keep looking!"

The voice sounded desperate, and she stopped running. Who was that? Who was talking to her? Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

"I'm trying to help!"

Go away. I don't need it.

"Oh, yes you do! Keep looking!"

She stood at the mineshaft and looked down it, not moving. She felt a crawling sensation all along her spine. Suddenly she looked up, and a body plummeted silently down from above. The figure did not scream. He seemed to be at peace.

She felt an urge to jump after him, to follow. Would she find peace there, too?

"No. What are you doing? Keep looking."

She wanted to find the exit. She wanted out. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to be playing this game anymore. Something was compelling her to run down a new tunnel, to keep looking, but she wrenched herself free of the suggestion and fled down the familiar route. Towards the exit.

She turned towards the tunnel that she knew would take her home, and a pair of blue eyes stared coldly at her from out of the darkness.

She stopped in her tracks, but didn't retreat. Saint Dane came closer, and his anger was gone. He began to circle her, to examine her. She didn't move.

"Hmmm," he said. "Something familiar, made strange. Who are you, little Traveler? Who were you?"

She shivered in the dark.

He leaned closer.

"Who…are…you…?"

She closed her eyes. For a moment, she thought he was gone.

Silly her.

His hand shot up out of the darkness and his fingers wrapped around her face. He thrust her backwards, but there was no wall behind her this time. She flew backwards and was falling…

By the time she woke up the next morning her side was aching and though she had been running all night. She felt as though she had scarcely gotten any sleep at all.