They spent the night in Morie Caro, and left the following afternoon after sleeping away the morning. The trip back towards Till went smoothly enough. The weather held, and the biggest problem they dealt with was Tanden's inability to use his left arm. Jale, who had been giving strict instructions by the healer in Rald Caro, was equally strict with Tanden. Sometimes during the day she would let him do careful exercises with it, but mostly his arm remained strapped to his chest underneath his thick jacket. In the evenings, when Jale and Soren drank nutritious traveller's tea, Tanden was given the healer's tea that dulled his pain and sent him straight to sleep. He found himself looking forward to the drink and the relief it provided, although he hated that it made him so tired.

Krier Till was a welcome sight. Their first glimpse of the city was from quite a distance, as their road veered close to the edge of a cliff. There was still about a day's worth of forest between them and the endless ocean. The city was sitting right on the edge, just a dark clump of buildings. They lost sight of it as the road dipped into a valley, and that was where they made camp for the last time.

It somehow didn't seem possible. There was a celebratory air to the camp as they settled into their routine of caring for the kyloe, making a fire, and cooking dinner. But there was an underlying feeling of disappointment. As Tanden carefully stretched his elbow, he found himself really thinking about the end of their adventure. If the Wanderlust was in Till when they arrived the next day, that would be it. No more bantering with Jale, no more flirting with Soren in front of another person so openly. He was going to miss the dynamic between the three of them. Jale felt like the closest thing to a sister Tanden had ever had.

She broke into his thoughts by sitting on the log beside him. "I'm going to try something new for your arm. Here..." Instead of the usual sling, she held a long strip of clean cotton. She rolled up his sleeve, then got to work gently wrapping the cloth around his arm, starting about halfway down his forearm, and continuing to about halfway on his upper arm. She spoke as she worked. "I think this will still support your elbow enough, but you'll be able to move it around more. Soren, how's the stew?"

"Almost ready," Soren replied from his post by the fire.

"You'll still have to be careful," Jale said. "No climbing up those ropes on your ship, or lifting heavy things."

"Yes, ma'am," Tanden said, smiling when she shot him a look. "Jale, if the Wanderlust isn't here, I was thinking. Could we stay with you? You have a house, right?"

"I have a very small house," Jale agreed. "I guess you could stay. For how long?"

"I don't know. Hopefully Ivern sent letters ahead so we'll have some idea of where they are, if they aren't back. I'll pay you rent, of course. I'll just add it to the fortune I owe you."

She smiled. "You do owe me a fortune. Well..." She gave his shoulder a firm pat. "We'll give this a try for tonight. And maybe you can have traveller's tea."

Tanden held up his arm to inspect her work. "Maybe we should still put it in the sling overnight, to make sure I don't move it too much."

"All right," she agreed after a pause.

"It's ready," Soren interrupted.

Jale and Tanden moved closer to the fire as Soren ladled the stew into three bowls and passed them around. Jale plucked her kettle out of the fire and started brewing the tea. Soon, they were comfortably sitting around, eating and drinking. They talked about plans for the next day, and joked about things that had happened on the trip.

When it was time to settle down, Tanden was annoyed that he hadn't drank the healer's tea. His arm ached, and it was hard to fall asleep. For a long time he lay on his back next to Soren, just thinking about the next day. Maybe there would be time to explore Krier Till. Certainly they would have to pay Ara a visit. Hopefully there was room in Jale's house to store their personal belongings, as well as their crates of syrup and irdka.

And as Tanden lay there and made plans, he realized that he almost hoped the Wanderlust wouldn't be back. He missed her, but he wasn't quite ready for their adventure to end.

Soren and Jale agreed to let Tanden sleep in while they packed up camp the next morning. They didn't wake him until breakfast was cooked and the kyloe were harnessed. He ate as they travelled, and Soren sat up front with Jale.

They started to pass little houses and farm fields by midmorning. Just after noon, they reached the edge of the city. The older buildings changed the closer they got to the port. Soren saw the typical rounded Tallenese style of buildings give way to corners and straight walls. He didn't have the eye for architectural styles that Tanden had, but the difference was stark enough that even he noticed.

Krier Till almost seemed like two cities stuck together. An old Tallenese city overlapped by an almost Morcean port. When he leaned back to point out a particularly interesting building to Tanden, he realized that Tanden was lying on the bench, fast asleep.

"He's asleep."

They had been driving in silence, and Jale gave him a surprised sideways glance. "Of course he is. He hasn't said a word since we entered the city."

Soren chuckled, surprised he hadn't noticed that himself. "Good point."

"He didn't sleep well last night," Jale said. She turned her attention back to the road, and turned the kyloe onto another street. "I know I should have just given him the healer's tea, but it isn't good to have too much. People can get..." she paused.

Tanden would have jumped in with a suggestion, Soren just waited patiently for her to either translate the word she was thinking of or pick a new one.

"Attached," she said finally. "They want to drink it all the time, even when they aren't in pain. If he can put up with the pain, it's probably better if he does."

"Addicted," Soren said. "That's the Teltish word. It happens with drinks, too."

Jale nodded. "Exactly. Addicted," she repeated. "So we..."

Soren stopped listening, because there was a gap in the buildings ahead of them and he could see the port. He stood to get a better look. He raked his eyes across the forest of masts, looking for the familiar blue sails or the West Draulin flag fluttering in the wind. Even at their distance, he was sure he would recognize the Wanderlust if she was there.

"Do you see it?" Jale asked.

"Her," Soren corrected. "No, I don't think so. She's distinct, I'd recognize her."

"Well... maybe you're moving into my house, then," Jale said. "Sit down. We'll get a better look soon."

Jale had to stick to wider roads with the caravan, which made it hard to head directly for the port. Instead, Jale drove to the courtyard where they had first seen the Wayfarer. After a quick conversation inside, Jale had secured a place for the Wayfarer to safely stay with their trade goods, food for the kyloe, and a small pony and cart. They woke Tanden up, transferred some of the crates to the cart, and continued on their journey to the port.

The Wanderlust wasn't there. So they backtracked to Jale's little house. Soren had never seen the house before, and even though he knew she had one, it was still hard to imagine. Like Tanden, Jale seemed like someone who preferred to constantly be on the move.

Tanden was alert enough to head back to the port and visit the harbourmaster, hoping for some mail. While he was gone, Soren moved the few crates they had brought along into Jale's front room. It didn't take long to see the whole house. The biggest room had a nice fireplace, a table and basin for preparing food, and a few old couches. The smallest room was simply a cupboard packed with boxes of dried goods. The third room was a small bedroom. A door in the bedroom led to a tiny backyard and privy.

Soren stacked their crates as neatly as possible, then inspected the room. "If we shift this couch aside, there's plenty of room for me and Tanden to spread out some blankets."

Jale was poking through her cupboard. "He'll be happy sleeping on the floor?"

"He'll be fine. We're not taking your bed," Soren said. "So, how can I help? Where's the firewood?"

Jale smiled. "There should be some in the yard."

Tanden was pleased to find that being in the port felt right. Their trip inland had been the longest period of time he had ever been away from the ocean, and some small part of him had been worried that being back would be odd. But no, the salty wind smelled right. The ships creaking and knocking together in the waves sounded right. The crying seagulls were right. The crowds, even as afternoon turned to evening. The languages—Tanden heard Tallenese, Morcean, even some Deoran. He belonged in the port.

He found the harbourmaster and waited behind a handful of irate sailors before it was his turn to step forward. The harbourmaster had been speaking Morcean, so that was the language Tanden chose. He was a little out of practice, but it came back to him easily enough. "Good evening. I'm hoping for any news on a Teltish ship, the WDN Wanderlust. If she's been back, or—"

The harbourmaster ducked behind his counter and reappeared with a small stack of letters. "These are addressed in Teltish. You're the only Teltan I've ever seen."

"Ah." Tanden flipped through the letters quickly. Every one of them said, in what he assumed was Ivern's neatest handwriting, 'Lord Tanden of West Draulin, Captain of the WDN Wanderlust. Hold in Till'. "Yes, these are for me." He reached into his pocket and dropped a handful of weis on the counter. "So, she hasn't been seen?"

The harbourmaster slid the coins into his waiting hand. "No. Not since late fall."

"All right. Thank you." Tanden left, tucked the stack under his left arm, and carefully opened the oldest letter.

As he walked back towards Jale's house, he read every letter. They were mostly short, Ivern had sent along a brief message from every stop, giving updates about the cargo and the crew. The second letter was the most interesting, and Tanden read it a few times before folding it back up and quickening his pace.

He wasn't surprised to find Jale and Soren preparing dinner. A warm fire crackled in the fireplace. Jale was stirring a pot while Soren stood chopping some kind of large mushrooms at the table.

"Any news?" Soren asked.

"Plenty." Tanden dropped most of the letters on the couch and sat beside them. He opened the interesting letter and cleared his throat dramatically before reading it out loud.

"Captain, I'm writing from Hoask. Some of the crew wanted to visit West Draulin, and I thought if we were careful with the Wanderlust we could do it safely. Jerios helped me find a good price on a small cutter we have named the Waterborne. She is a beautiful little boat, with one mast that can be folded to lie flat along her deck. I am thinking of selling a few of the lifeboats and hoisting her onto the deck to take their place. If you wish to sell her when we meet in Till, I'm sure we can buy new lifeboats.

"I am leaving the Wanderlust in Jerios' care, as I am one of the sailors who would like to visit West Draulin. We will sail the Waterborne to West Draulin, visit for a week, and sail back. Then we will begin our trip North. I know that when you read this, you will be back in Till, so I sincerely hope your trip was as exciting as it sounded. I am enjoying my time as Acting Captain, but I will be very glad to turn the Wanderlust back over to you. May the Goddess watch over you, your faithful sailor, Ivern."

"Who knew Ivern could write so well," Soren said. "So, is that the last update?"

"Oh, no. He sent a letter from Stanin. I imagine they'll be here in a few weeks," Tanden said dismissively "No, did you miss the important part, mate? Ivern bought me a cutter."

Soren scraped the mushrooms into a bowl, which he passed to Jale. "He didn't buy you a cutter."

"What's a cutter?" Jale dumped the mushrooms into her pot.

"A little sailboat," Tanden said. He looked at the letter again. "She sounds beautiful, doesn't she? A folding mast! That's ingenious. Soren, think about the possibilities! We could take her into smaller rivers. Why didn't I ever think of this?"

"Reckon it didn't seem necessary. We've always had the rowboats."

"The rowboats," Tanden scoffed. "What are rowboats compared to a beautiful little sailboat? I doubt Ivern had her properly blessed by Roe, or the Old God of the Sea. Oh, and he certainly didn't bless her to cross the Valmuss and Falmuss border. Although I suppose if she's sitting on the Wanderlust, she would be protected by the Wanderlust's blessings."

"All right, Captain. Cutter aside, what's our plan?" Soren asked. "We're just going to wait here and inconvenience Jale?"

She laughed, but didn't interrupt.

Tanden glanced between them. "Well, I thought we could look around the city. And tomorrow, maybe we could pay Ara a visit."

"Ara? Is that your friend from the Violet House?" Jale asked.

Tanden grinned. "Yes. He adores Soren and we promised we would visit after our trip. Other than that, there really isn't much to do but wait. I suppose you can put us to work if there's anything you'd like done, Jale. Maybe we could help... chop firewood." He shrugged. "I don't know how to maintain a house."

"I'll come up with something to keep you occupied," Jale said. "When you're not with your courtesan. Here." Before either of them could think of anything to say, she served dinner. Tanden gathered the letters and moved them so Soren could sit beside him, and Jale settled on the other couch.

"And don't forget." Jale crossed her legs and balanced her bowl on her knee. "There's that fortune you owe me."

Tanden laughed. "I know, I know. When the Wanderlust gets here, you will be paid." He leaned into Soren's side, carefully held his bowl with his left hand, and started to eat.