It was another few weeks before Jale decided that the weather was going to be reliably mild enough for them to start their trip back to Till. She spent the week leading up to their departure preparing the Wayfarer for the trip—buying new supplies as well as finding a few crates of irdka and maple syrup for them to take for trading.

The evening before they were set to leave, Reng Runolorinn invited them to dinner. It wasn't an unusual invitation, they ate most of their meals with the governor, Orearaley, and any number of other family members or advisors. The surprise came when servants escorted them to a smaller, private dining room instead of the large one they were used to. Aside for servants and a single guard, the only people in the room were the governor and Orearaley.

Tanden and Soren took the seats directly across the table. Despite Tanden's insistence, Jale hadn't been invited to the dinner. Although Tanden was pretty sure she didn't mind.

The servants immediately started to work their way around the table. The main dish was roasted meat that came from a large type of deer Tanden couldn't remember the name of. On the side, they had a variety of boiled root vegetables. It was a simple meal, considering what they usually ate at the big banquets.

"Are you ready for your departure?" Reng Runolorinn asked, once the food was served and the servants had moved out of the way.

Tanden nodded. "Everything's prepared. We'll be leaving fairly early in the morning. Lirajaleanor would like us to get as far as possible before nightfall."

"You're going back to Till?" Orearaley asked. "You are welcome to stay longer, if you would like to travel into the rest of the country?"

"I would love to," Tanden said. "But we..." he paused to glance at Soren, who was eating. He'd long ago stopped pretending he could understand dinner conversations. "We need to get back to our ship. I trust our men to handle it, but it was only supposed to be temporary. We've already been gone longer than I planned."

"Maybe one day you can visit again," Reng Runolorinn said. "We would be happy to host you. But perhaps you should start your travel in spring."

Tanden laughed. "Yes, I'll definitely keep that in mind. We've never seen winter before, we had no idea what to expect. That said, I am glad we got to experience winter. It's been incredible—our whole stay has been incredible. We've learned so much about Tallen Tiya. My people know absolutely nothing about this country. I didn't even know what it was called until we started this trip."

"Hopefully your return to your ship will lead to better communication between our countries," Reng Runolorinn said.

"Would you mind telling us about your other trips?" Orearaley asked. "You must have been to some very fascinating places."

Tanden loved being asked to talk about his trips. He loved talking about his trips, but at least when he was asked he knew his audience was interested in hearing about it. He told them about Zianna first, then Crele, and then Deorun. Morcea they were more familiar with, but neither had ever travelled there. Tanden also told them about other places they planned to visit. Valdon and Faldon, Navire and the Southern countries. Tanden talked throughout the main course, answering occasional questions and a few times turning to Soren to double check a detail.

He could have easily talked through dessert, as well, but he instead decided to enjoy his iced cream. "I wish there was a way I could take this with me," he said, as he scooped up the last mouthful in his bowl.

Reng Runolorinn gestured, and to Tanden's delight, a servant brought over a second bowl for him.

"It is very delicious," Reng Runolorinn agreed. "I believe you are taking some irdka and syrup to trade?"

"Well, we'll see how much of it I actually decide to trade," Tanden said. "I might just keep all of it for myself. If only there was a way to get delicious food from every country, no matter where I was."

The governor exchanged a smile with Orearaley. "That would be an amazing thing. Luckily, Orearaley and I have decided to give you a gift that will remind you of your time in Esler Tigo long after your irdka and syrup are gone. Bring out the gift," he called to one of the servants.

"Oh," Tanden paused. "You don't need to give me a gift. You've already been incredibly generous. Hosting us free of charge, providing new clothing and food, and all of the banquets."

"You are a visiting noble. This is how visiting nobles are treated," Reng Runolorinn said.

"Had I been expecting your hospitality, I would have brought you a gift," Tanden said. He didn't know what, exactly, but he would have brought something.

The servant reappeared with something bundled in dark cloth. He brought it over to the table, and carefully put it down beside Tanden's bowl. Tanden finished the last of his iced cream and handed the bowl to the servant.

"Thank you," he said. The servant smiled a little shyly as he backed up. Tanden carefully unwrapped the cloth to reveal a thin slice of wood, about the size of a dinner platter. It was clearly a slice from a felled tree trunk, because it was still bordered by thick bark. The whole thing had been sanded smooth. It was interesting, but Tanden wasn't sure what to say. "I—"

"It's upside down," Orearaley said with a light laugh.

"Oh." Tanden flashed her a grin, then carefully flipped the wooden disk over. It was painted dark blue, with streaks and swirls of green, purple and red. White paint had been splattered across it, to look like stars. Along the bottom edge, little tree silhouettes had been burned into the wood. The effect was like looking at Tier's Lantern lighting up the sky over a horizon of dark trees.

Soren leaned over to get a better look. "It's beautiful. We can hang it in the captain's quarters, beside those Morcean masks."

Tanden nodded, and translated, "This is absolutely beautiful. We know exactly where to put it in our ship." Then in Teltish to Soren, "I'm about to say "thank you". Try to repeat the sounds." When Soren nodded, Tanden switched back to Tallenese. "Thank you."

Soren did a fairly good job of repeating it.

Reng Runolorinn and Orearaley both smiled. "We're glad you like it," the governor said. "And we wish you a very good trip back to your ship. One more glass of irdka before we retire for the night?"

Tanden folded the cloth back around the painting. "One more glass would be wonderful," he agreed.

Jale sent a servant to wake them up early the next morning. So early it was still dark outside. By candlelight, Tanden and Soren packed up their last few things. Dressed up in their travel clothes, they met Jale outside. Soren got to work putting away their bags and carefully packing the painting into one of the many crates, while Tanden walked over to see if Jale needed help with the kyloe.

"They're grumpy," she warned, as he went to pet one of their noses.

The animals had spent the winter relaxing on one of the valley's farms. Soren couldn't blame them for being a little grumpy.

Tanden voiced his thoughts. "I would be too, if someone woke me up before the sunrise and tied me to a cart."

Jale finished adjusting one of the straps. "Well, you can go back to sleep, if you're still tired."

"No, he can't," Soren chimed in. He fitted the lid onto the crate he had been packing, and slid the whole thing back under one of the benches. Soren glanced over the rest of the crates. Jale had labelled them in Teltish. Two crates of syrup, two crates of irdka, crates of food, clothing and blankets, tools, a few crates for their personal belongings. Soren was surprised to find that standing in the Wayfarer felt a little like a homecoming.

It wasn't the Wanderlust, but in some ways it was similar. It was a travelling home. It had everything they needed. It was like a little land ship with a crew of three.

"Apparently I can't go back to sleep," Tanden said, shaking his head ruefully. "So, you decided on the wheels?" He watched Jale climb onto the driver's bench, then joined her. "I guess there isn't much snow."

"We might have to switch to the runners in the forest." Jale glanced over her shoulder. "Ready?"

Soren sat down. "Aye, ready."

Jale clicked her tongue and the kyloe started to walk. With a familiar rattling the caravan began to move. They were on their way.

Jale and Tanden talked quietly in the front, while Soren enjoyed the last look around Esler Tigo. Melting snow from the day before had turned into icicles overnight, giving the city a bit of sparkling decoration. It really was a beautiful city. Unless they made another trip into Tallen Tiya, Soren doubted he would ever see anything like it again.

He watched the houses as they made their way down the main street, then down the huge ramp into the valley. As they moved across the valley Soren looked at the farmlands, the quarry, and the hill dotted with young trees. He looked at the river, which was swollen from snowmelt.

The sun rose while they were crossing the valley. It slowly appeared behind the mountains, waking up the valley with a soft golden light.

When the road reached the forest, it very quickly became clear that Jale was right about the runners. The forest cast shadows that had protected the snow from the sun. Even though the road was already marked with sleigh tracks, the snow was too deep for the wheels. They quickly worked together to get the runners in place. As they had the first time, Tanden and Soren lifted one side of the carriage at a time, just high enough for Jale to slide the runners into position. When they were properly secured, she put away her tools and hopped back onto the driver's seat.

Instead of joining her, Tanden settled down next to Soren in the back. He sat close enough to take Soren's hand, but he didn't say anything. They just quietly watched as the valley was slowly hidden by trees.

The air in the forest was colder, and still. Soren had forgotten how the snowy forest had a way of muffling sound and making it feel like they were the only three people in the world. He was just thinking about how much he liked the silence when Tanden broke it.

"Well, that's that." Tanden lifted Soren's hand and kissed his knuckles, despite the glove he was wearing. "We're homeward bound."

They got used to travelling together again very quickly, almost as if they had never stopped. Just the three of them in the woods again. They talked and joked and teased each other just like they had before, without having to worry about making a good impression on anyone.

That night, they all easily fell into familiar roles. Everyone knew what had to be done. Soren started a fire and began to prepare some of the food they had brought with them, while Jale went hunting to supplement their meal with some fresh meat. Tanden settled the kyloe and prepared the kettle to make traveller's tea.

After a delicious onion and rabbit soup, they got ready to sleep. It was cold enough that Jale opted to sleep in the carriage. They had spent most of dinner talking about how nice it was to be travelling again. It wasn't until they were trying to settle down for the night that Tanden thought of something negative about travelling.

"We had a really nice bed in Esler Tigo," he said wistfully.

Jale laughed. "Of course the fancy lord got used to the nice bed."

"He does like being pampered," Soren agreed through a yawn.

"Fancy lord?" Tanden repeated, with fake indignation. "Pampered? Who do you two think you're talking about?"

Soren slid his arm across Tanden's chest, and got comfortable. "Captain, go to sleep."

Tanden laughed, but did as he was told and settled down.