Half a day's travel passed by uneventfully and mostly in silence, allowing Tom to steep in his emotional numbness with no relief. They crossed the border between Mintfeld and Alconte minutes after setting off, soon finding themselves in an agricultural region on the eastern side of the republic. Aside from a few farmers and their animals, none crossed their path for several hours. 

Finally, Tom called the procession to a halt beneath a shady tree with low-hanging branches. He explained it was time for the horses to rest and their riders to eat. Opening one of the saddlebags, he set a straw mat on the ground before proceeding to place a few cuts of dried meat and fruit on it. Alice appeared unenthused. 

Tom raised an eyebrow at her reluctance, but still wasted no time in snatching up a piece of the dried beef for himself and gnawing a bite off. The meat barely exuded any flavor onto his palate except for a dull taste accented by salt, but then again, Tom ate purely for sustenance. 

Finally, with a wrinkled brow, Alice reached out for a slice of dried apple. She nibbled a bite off, immediately grimacing when she drew the piece into her mouth. 

"Tart, isn't it?" Tom asked, mustering a wry smirk. 

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and nodded, but opted not to reply with words. 

"Yes, it isn't particularly dainty fare, to be sure, but nourishing and convenient." 

"Convenient for whom? The lazy curer? He could have at least glazed honey over it." Alice protested. 

"I've never thought of that. I suppose that would be an effective palate-saver." 

"Oh, it would be. I would kill for something more appealing than tartness incarnate." 

Tom tossed the rest of his beef strip into his mouth and cast his gaze on the path ahead. It continued straight for a ways before reaching a fork. The two paths birthed there continued parallel to one another for a long while before slowly curving apart, each paving their own path to the horizon. 

"Strange." Tom thought aloud, "I don't recall that fork in the road from our journey over." 

Alice shrugged. "I suppose when we were travelling the other direction, it appeared less like a fork, and more like another road merging into ours." 

"Ah, that makes sense of it. But then the question arises, which one did we come from?" 

"I haven't a clue. I'm afraid I was often engaged in conversation inside the carriage, not peering out at the scenery." 

"I...believe we're traveling westward currently." Tom said, extending his hand to point at the path to the right of their position, "So I believe that path would serve us well in continuing our intended course. The other appears to curve back south." 

Alice narrowed her eyes for a moment and bit her lip. Then she nodded. "I suppose I can lean only on your judgement." 

"Let us pray I fail you not." 

**** 

Tom rubbed his stinging eyes and frowned into the sky, where the sun descended on the distant hills to his right. It's supposed to be ahead of us, is it not? 

All through the day, he had been watching for any signs to verify his hunch that he and Alice had been traveling westward, including the path of the sun. But yet, now the location of its setting didn't add up. Nightfall would soon be upon them, and anxiety seized Tom's heart at the prospect. Had he led them astray all day long? 

"Tom?" Alice's voice called from behind him. 

He craned his neck to eye the senator. "What is it, my lady?" 

"Is that sign legible to you?" 

Tom followed her pointing finger to a weather-beaten sign several paces down the path. He squinted at the letters engraved on the wood's surface but came away with a shrug and a shaking head. 

"I can't read it." he said, "Let's go get a closer look." 

With that, the two trotted down the path to the sign. Once Tom came closer, he placed his hand on his forehead and sighed. 

"We're on the border of Danlash's mainland holdings. I...I'm not sure this is the correct path." 

Alice huffed. "No kidding! You...you ratty madman!" 

"I'm sorry." Tom said with a gulp, "I have erred miserably." 

"Indeed you have, and wasted an entire half of a day! I entrusted you with a safe and timely journey home, and this is what I receive in return? For all I know, our foes have been pursuing us at a distance this whole time, and our doubling back will only lead us right into their outstretched arms!" 

"I have nothing to say to that, other than that I apologize and promise to make haste to correct my error. As soon as the sun crests the horizon on the morrow, we shall be off, and hopefully be back at the fork by midday." 

Alice crossed her arms. "I sense you attempting to brush this aside, as if your folly is only a small matter. What did I tell you last night?" 

"I'm afraid you said many things, my lady. To which do you refer?" 

"You know good and well what I refer to! I urged you to sleep, to rejuvenate yourself while it was safe to do so." 

Tom tightened his lips and exhaled. "Oh, yes." 

"And you refused, like a stubborn fool. Did I not warn you your aptitude would suffer for your unnecessary deprivation?" 

"You did." 

"And look where we are now!" Alice exclaimed, waving passionate hands around at the open meadows around, darkening more every passing minute, "If you had been more rested, perhaps your mind could have retained some function about it. Maybe you could have recalled our previous route." 

Tom hung his head. "Again, my lady, I apologize. Verily, I should have heeded your counsel, and my failure to do so has cost us dearly." 

"Empty words will do us no good, you ratty dolt. And there is no remedy! Surely now you cannot take recourse to slumber, as we find ourselves out in the open, exposed! Again you must keep vigil, only this time, with your past folly adding to the burden." 

"Difficult it may be, but fail you I will not, Miss Delquez." 

She narrowed her eyes. "I sure hope you're right about that."

**** 

A/N: Well, that was quite a setback! Let's hope they can get back on track without any difficulty. 

If you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to vote and comment. Thank you! 

I'll not waste too much time here and instead get to posting the next chapter. See you there, sooner or later!