Toku did his best to enjoy the rest of the party. Theodora seemed to have no problem mixing with the noble gathering, but Toku still felt uncomfortable and out of place. Some comfort was found when he finally gathered up the nerve to approach the mayor and his wife. As he had guessed from afar, the mayor’s wife was a wonderfully jovial and friendly person, and she enjoyed entertaining as much as being entertained. And so, without too much difficulty, Toku was spared being asked all the difficult questions for which he had no good answers, and rather became a spectator in a growing crowd listening to the first lady tell fascinating stories about the various goings ons and comings and goings of the town of Went. The only thing that pulled Toku away from his comfortable place in the crowd was the sight of Theodora talking once again with their strange nobleman friend, Nathaniel.

As Theodora noticed Toku approaching, she called out to him.

“There you are, Toku! I’ve been looking for you. Nathaniel says that now would be a good time to go with him to prepare a place to sleep for the night.”

“Yes,” Nathaniel chimed in. “The party will be coming to a close within the hour. It will probably be best if we can seek proper lodging for you before the rest of the household returns.”

“Where will we be staying?” Toku asked, as politely as he could muster.

“Ah, I and most of the Royal Entourage are quartered in the Frog and Barrel Inn. The name leaves something to be desired, but I have long been a friend of the owner. A more delightful and helpful man cannot be found in the whole town. He will gladly help us to find a place for you to sleep.”

Toku continued to feel nervous, even after they had arrived at the inn and arranged for two adjacent rooms. Even the idea of a warm, soft bed was not enough to shake the feeling he had of coming danger. Nathaniel seemed nice enough...perhaps a bit too nice, but that could hardly be considered a character flaw. There was no reason at all to be untrusting, except for the strangeness in Nathaniel’s address to them. And what of his unhealthy interest in Theodora? After all, even he had admitted that it had been she who drew his attention.

With such thoughts dancing through his head, Toku slept fitfully through the night, even in a clean bed. And when he did finally settle down into deeper sleep, his dreams were evil and frightening, filled with images of raging water and fiery destruction.

Nathaniel woke them up early the next morning. After a substantial breakfast (which raised even Toku’s spirits), they settled down to chat in the Inn’s common room while the servants backed and prepared for the imminent departure.

“Now then, my friends, perhaps it is time to address some of those questions which seemed to have troubled you last night. First, rules of politesse dictate that I should answer your queries before making any of my own. Please! Ask away!” said Nathaniel, beginning the interview.

Theodora and especially Toku were at a loss for words. As is often the case when offered answers, they could think of nothing to ask. Nathaniel, however, was patient, and waited with a quiet but ready air.

Casting a glance at Theodora, Toku decided that honesty would be best, especially since he knew of nothing he needed to hide. His only concern was whether he should mention the his coming from the Lower Kingdom. There was a war going on, after all. Though, strangely, he had heard no news of it from anyone in the town. But that is surely due to the Mayor’s party, I’ve no doubt, Toku reasoned to himself.

“Eh,” Toku began, “I guess it is difficult to ask you any questions because we don’t know what answers we need to know. Basically, we are both travelers from far away. I am trying to return to my home. I have been told that The Alchemist or the King might know the way.” Was this too much information? Toku worried that mentioning The Alchemist and the King might give too much away. But, they had spoke of The Alchemist last night, anyway. Why do I feel so worried?

“Yes, I understand,” Nathaniel politely answered. “I had gathered you must have traveled from far away. You mention The Alchemist and the King. They are certainly the wisest persons in the kingdom, with the exception of my fiancé, and so they might know from whence you came. But why do you not know the way yourself, brave travelers?”

Fiancé! Nathaniel has a fiancé! Relief seemed to spread through Toku’s body. His spirits rose. Momentarily, the strange sense of foreboding seemed to leave him.

“We did not come here on our own, you see,” Theodora answered. “In fact, Toku is unsure of how he arrived here at all. One moment he was in his own land, and the next he found himself on an open plain not far from this town.”

“Indeed! Most strange! But how came you to our kingdom?”

“Well...I came through a door. Several doors, in fact. The last door led me to the spot where Toku appeared, and that is how we met.”

“This is such a story! And yet, I believe you. For one who has been touched by the light such as you cannot be false.”

“Er...we were wondering,” Toku ventured to ask, “what do you mean by that ‘touched by the light’ stuff?”

“Unfortunately, that is something I cannot explain. Only my fiancé can do that. Otherwise, it must be experienced to be known.”

Toku was not entirely satisfied by this cryptic answer, but he was too elated by the second mention of the handsome nobleman’s fiancé to be too concerned.

“Now, what I do know is this—you are seeking your home, and I can help by bringing you to the King. This is a simple task, and I will gladly offer you this aid. In exchange, I hope you may tell me more of your story, for it sounds to be a fascinating one!”

And with that Toku and Theodora understood the interview to be over. Nathaniel left them to discuss the progress of the packing with his servants, and the two journeyers were glad of the chance to discuss their change of situation. Unnervingly, Toku’s sense of danger returned. In mentioning this to Theodora, she felt assured they could trust Nathaniel, but agreed they should be wary nonetheless.

“But why should anyone wish us harm? We have nothing of value. We are merely strange travelers wandering through a strange place,” Theodora reasoned.

“Remember, my kingdom is at war with this kingdom. For all we know, Nathaniel could suspect where I come from. What if he thinks we are spies? All I’m saying is...I have a bad feeling, and I think we should be careful, especially if Nathaniel starts asking us about our story again.”

Toku need not have worried too greatly about Nathaniel asking too many questions. Nathaniel remained busy during the rest of the morning with the details of packing, and as they finally began their journey, Toku and Theodora were given a place on a cart towards the rear of the caravan. Nathaniel apologized profusely to Theodora that he could find no more suitable place, but as they had no carriages, and Theodora could not ride a horse (nor Toku, for that matter), it seemed the best option. Theodora assured him that they would be quite comfortable.

And, indeed they were. The air was bright and warm, and the countryside was beautiful and lush. Only during the brightest part of the day did Toku feel overwhelmed by the light of the sun and so was compelled to cover himself with a blanket.

At each small village along they way, another traveler or two would attach himself to the caravan. Everyone was heading towards the capitol, and the rule of the land seemed to be “the more, the merrier!” As evening came on, everyone was in high spirits, expecting to arrive at the gate of the King by evening the next day.

Toku and Theodora had just started eating dinner with some of the other travelers around a campfire when Nathaniel joined them. The meal was good—meat, bread, cheese, and fruit. Of course, Toku took as much of the fruit as he could without drawing attention. With full bellies everyone sat back, relaxing after a long day, looking up at the stars and swapping stories.

As Toku looked up into the night sky, he saw the shimmerings and flickerings of the bright stars and thought of home. He was reminded of the deep caverns of the Lower Kingdom whose ceilings would glint in the torchlight. The caverns were beautiful, too...in their own way, Toku thought. And, as easily as his mind slipped to the caverns of his home, his mind continued to wander and finally came to rest on those who made his home worth seeking out—his parents...Master Aleric...Sakura.

What are they doing now? he wondered. Is Master Aleric still in prison? My parents must be worried sick about me...and Sakura...I hope she doesn’t do something to get her into trouble.

As the fire popped and flickered, casting shadows on the travelers, so too did Toku’s thoughts shift and flicker with these thoughts of home. Sitting next to him, Theodora paused from her own thoughts and looked over at Toku.

“Are you okay? Are you crying?” she asked.

“No...no, I’m not,” Toku answered, embarrassed. “Some smoke just got into my eyes. I’m okay now.”

The silence broken, the other travelers began to talk amongst themselves. The chief topic was the coming celebration that would be held soon in the capitol city of Twinin.

“Excuse me,” Theodora ventured into the conversation, “but what is the celebration for?”

“My, you must be from far away!” Nathaniel answered. “This celebration has been planned for many years. It is the one-hundredth anniversary celebration for when a lasting peace was finally struck between our kingdom of Alitum and the kingdom of Fundit.”

“Why were you fighting? And who or where is this kingdom of Fundit?” Toku asked, interested.

“It is a sad story, I am afraid,” Nathaniel replied to Toku. “I don’t know if anyone really knows the reason for the start of the war, but the legend is that two brothers stood to inherit Alitum. A great test was arranged to discover which brother would be the next king. Unfortunately, in spite of this test, the kingdom was divided, and both brothers attacked each other to become sole possessor and ruler of the land. The battle was long and awful, and became even more so when one of the brothers was driven beneath the earth into the mines. Once this occurred, the war reached a stalemate, for the mines were too well protected to be invaded, but neither could those trapped in the mines escape. It has been over a thousand years since that battle, and the kingdom of Fundit was founded beneath the ground. Thankfully, a hundred years ago a truce was struck, and the war was ended. We now trade freely, and the people of Fundit, though they are few, may pass freely through our lands.”

Toku was dumbstruck. This story was so remarkably like that of the history of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms! Could there possibly be two such places in the world?

“The Upper and Lower Kingdoms...” Toku said outloud, unthinkingly.

“Ah! I see you must have heard the story before, my friend!” Nathaniel responded to Toku’s accidental remark. “Some do indeed call the two kingdoms by that name, but I have generally preferred to call them by their proper names, Alitum and Fundit.”

“But...you think the war is over?” Toku asked, more confused than ever.

“Oh yes, of course! As I said before, it has been nearly a hundred years since our armies clashed.”

“But...how do you...” Toku began, but was quickly interrupted by a servant looking for Nathaniel. As the young noble excused himself from the campfire, one of the travelers quickly approached Toku.

“It would be best if you kept quiet about such things for now, young lad,” the smartly-dressed traveler said, taking Nathaniel’s place next the Toku.

“What do you mean?” Toku asked.

“What I mean is, it is clear where you are from. And, while some in the Upper Kingdom may be fooled by the Philosopher King’s ruse, not everyone is so blinded. For, you are from the Lower Kingdom, are you not?”

Both Toku and Theodora stared in shock at the man. He was middle-aged, with jet-black hair and a short beard. His face was hard as stone, and his eyes were large and black, almost as large as Toku’s.

“My name is Diffiden. You said before that you wished to return to your home. I work for one who can help—the Alchemist.”

“The Alchemist!” Toku and Theodora exclaimed together.

“You will come with me tomorrow, when the rest of the caravan sets out. The Alchemist is not far from here, but he dwells slightly to the east of here. But he will surely help you, for he is also from the Lower Kingdom, and fights faithfully in the war to free your people. But speak no more of this to anyone. No one can be trusted.”

And, as quickly as the man came, he left, and vanished into the darkness surrounding their small fire. Toku looked at Theodora in shock and amazement. So much had been revealed to them.

“What do you think?” Toku asked Theodora.

“I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask Nathaniel what he thinks,” she answered.

“But the man told us not to speak to anyone!”

“Yes...”

“We’ve been looking for the Alchemist. This man can take us to him!”

“But Nathaniel can take us to see the King.”

“Who will probably have me locked up or executed from coming from the Lower Kingdom!”

Theodora continued to express her doubts, and thought it best to at least mention the possibility of finding the Alchemist to Nathaniel. She thought, if they had to, they could be cryptic enough so as to not reveal too much information. But Toku did not wait to hear more. His mind was racing with hope. The Alchemist seemed so close, and he had no doubt that this legendary man would know how to bring him home.