On a chilly, damp night in the early spring, a dark figure came to the Lantern Inn on a horse. No one on the lane has any horses, but the inn keeps a small stable behind it — just for such a traveler. In any case, the clop-clop of hooves on the cobblestones was enough to waken at least one young boy, who looked out of his window in curiosity and astonishment.

Through the dim lantern light he saw the shine on the black hair of the majestic creature, the glint of something metal under the rider's cloak, and the person greeting him. But the person greeting him was not Ely the innkeep — it was Aldric.

The next morning the boy told his parents of the scene he had seen, and with some minor scolding for being "long of nose," went about his day as usual, gathering herbs and cleaning up the cream bowls left for the brownies overnight. Though the boy's father did not discount the tale entirely, it concerned him that neither the rider nor Aldric were seen at all that morning. The school bell rang as usual, but it was Roa ringing it, not Aldric. That — was UN-usual.

Around midday a woman walked into the Hearthgold Bakery across the street from the inn, and mentioned to Hester that she had seen two men on a horse cross the bridge over the brook at the end of the lane. One, she swore, was Aldric. They whispered, as old ladies do, and made sure that Tilly was not in earshot of their conversation.

But those whispers began to flow along the lane — some by children at the school, others by the adults — all getting grander and grander in speculation. Someone suggested he was running away from home, another that he was a spy for the king, one that he was kidnapped by a dark, mysterious monster.

Secrets are hard to keep on the lane, and rumors travel faster than sound. So when the sunlight had turned golden over the ridge, and a horse with two people on it galloped up the lane onto the mead, there was an audible fuss and bluster among the folk, and one little boy shouting, "See! I told you!"

Several of the townsmen approached the horse, one of them holding a shovel in both hands as if it were a knight's weapon, and the others holding their shoulders straight and their heads high. Then one man let out an "oh!" and a sigh, and said, "Aldric, it IS you! What is going on?"

Aldric is a man of few words, as they say, so as he spoke, the mead got so silent you could hear a thistledown seed land.

"I would like to introduce you to my friend — Adeyemi Jabari, from the kingdom of Rangi."

Many heads turned back and forth to their neighbors at hearing — for the folk of the lane, such an odd name. Then, as the men got down off the horse, a collective gasp and caught breath, eyes flown open wide, as the stranger tossed back his cloak. His skin was dark as night, but his clothes were as bright as the rainbow! His tunic was covered in colorful patterns and shiny, sparkly beads. On his head was a band of luminous gold and glowing jewels, surrounded by thick, dense hair held back by rainbow ribbons. No one on the lane had ever seen such a man; many of the children clung to their mothers.

"It's alright, I assure you," Aldric spoke softly. Then the stranger spoke words that did not sound like words — some of the children giggled in spite of themselves, and quieted after a silent scolding from their mother. Aldric quickly patted at several of his pockets and pouches. "Drat. I left my Word Wheel at home, since I didn't need it. No matter. Adeyemi says that he understands he may look and sound strange to you, but you have nothing to fear."

The man with the shovel leaned the tool against a table, and spoke almost too loudly — "Welcome to Thistledown Lane, Mister... ja-berry, was it?"

"Ja-bar-ee," the man said with a laugh, and then spoke to Aldric. Aldric nodded, and then added, "Ade — er, Mister Jabari — will be here for a few days, and then I will be leaving with him for a while. Perhaps until the first leaves fall. You see, Rangi is going to crown their new king, and Mister Jabari is the brother to the woman who will become queen. And I am... part of their family."

The stir and commotion among the folk of the lane was instant chaos — whether at meeting such a stranger, at the news they had just been told, or at the fact that Aldric spoke more than he had in the last ten years. But one thing remained constant over the next three days: the folk welcomed the stranger and treated him as if he had lived on the lane his entire life. He taught the children several words of his language at school the next day, and with the help of Aldric's magic word wheel, told stories about the history of Rangi to everyone at the mead feast.

On the day that the two men were ready to leave, the lane gathered for an early midday mead-feast instead of one at dusk, so they could leave and reach the Outer Road before dark. The Outer Road is far from the lane, and leads to places "long and away." When Aldric told the children that he needed to get on a boat to travel across the sea, they were speechless — it was an entire new world they barely knew existed, except from Roa's maps that she taught them from.

As the horse was steadied for the men to mount, suddenly a small girl named Rana rushed up to Jabari and hugged his legs tightly. "I love you, jay-berry, please don't go!"

Jabari smiled and laughed, and picked up the young girl and hugged her, then sat her on the nearest table. Raina her mother, and Gaston her father, came rushing over, apologetically. Jabari spoke in a happy, playful voice — even though the words were not understood, the meaning was. Then he held up a hand briefly, as if to say, "wait one moment" — and reached into his horse's pack, and pulled out a beautiful, multicolored bag adorned with shiny beads. He handed the bag to Rana, and spoke again. Aldric stepped up and pointed to the bag. "Ade says there's magic in that bag. Magic only YOU can bring forth. Go ahead, open it."

Rana's little fingers pulled at the strings, and as it opened, her face lit up like sunshine. She carefully pulled out brightly colored strips of cloth and ribbon, and shiny, bright-colored beads. Then a small metal case. Inside it were sewing needles and strange hooks and tools with handles of pale, shimmering swirls of color.

Jabari spoke again, and Aldric translated, "He says, those came from creatures that live in the ocean."

"The ocean!" Rana gasped. "Oh, mama, do you think I can go to the ocean with jay-berry one day?"

"I have no doubt that one day you may," Raina smiled.

Jabari looked out over the crowd and spoke, with Aldric next to him. "He says, thank you all for your kindness. It is something I do not get everywhere I go. Perhaps even more than he gets at home." A gentle laughter spread across the mead.

Aldric and Jabari left that day, after many hugs and gifts and satchels of food were given to them, and Aldric quietly promised Roa that he would definitely be back in time for harvest. Jabari spoke "Good-bye," and, surprising everyone, the children all shouted "Good-bye" in his own tongue.

Aldric did indeed return before the harvest festival — with many gifts and trinkets, and a bolt of cloth more vibrant than the rainbow, and a royal title from the Rangi king: Ambassador of Kindness.