After daringly sneaking out of the castle unnoticed August had felt quite confident in his adventuring skills, but traveling across Mellion had proved more difficult than August had predicted it would be. The map he had borrowed from his classroom was unreadable in his eyes. He didn't understand the scale of the map, the symbols meant nothing to him, and he had little to no sense of direction. For the past week, he was more or less just wandering into town after town and redirecting after asking the locals for help.

After a full week of travelling the things he brought along with just seemed to weigh him down. He spent a lot of time thinking about what he should bring along with him. Food and water were an obvious necessity. And a few changes of clothes weren't going to hurt him either. If it got unexpectedly cold, he'd need a blanket. He didn't know if he'd ever use it, but adventurers always seemed to have daggers on them so he brought one as well. He'd need his sword to slay the foes he would face in the dark dimension. And just in case he brought about five full sacks of gold.

In the countless adventure books he had read, the heroes always knew where to go and how to get there too. Sure they encountered hardships, but they encountered deadly traps and evil foes who tried to eliminate them. Every second of their adventures were filled with excitement, danger, and exciting places. August, however, sat on the ground alone in front of a tavern trying to figure out where he was now.

The subjects of Mellion walked past August without a second glance. They were all busy with their own errands, not concerned with August's life-altering quest. They didn't know of the urgent predicament he was in. If they did, they would surely stop to help him. He would let them pass though, his fate was his own and he couldn't rope his innocent subjects into it.

The tavern door swung open and a disgruntled man with a large moustache hovered over August.

"Young man, you cannot sit outside of my tavern like this. It's loitering!"

"Sorry sir," August said while quickly standing up.

"And what's with that grim expression on your face? You're scaring my customers away!"

"I'm just trying to find out how to get to Cloudacre and this map isn't very helpful..."

"Cloudacre?" The man said. "That's a long way from here."

"Is that so?" August laughed waveringly. "Do you mind pointing me in the right direction? I have been traveling for ages and I cannot seem to put myself on the right track."

The man sighed and looked August up and down. "It will take you at least an entire month to reach there by foot."

August's heart plunged into a lake of despair. An entire month? His entire eighteen years of waiting seemed minuscule in comparison.

"You could ask if you can hitch a ride with someone. There are some people transporting goods around the kingdom. There's no guarantee anyone will be going to Cloudacre, but you can ask around."

August grabbed the big moustached man's hands enthusiastically. "Thank you! Your good deed will not go unnoticed!"

The man coughed loudly and snatched his hands back. "I did this so you'd go away."

"Where can I find these generous ride-givers?" August asked.

"Look around for anyone that has a wagon. They usually are around these shops to deliver goods to other towns."

August shook the man's hand vigorously again and dashed off to find these delivery drivers. With his goal now in mind his dreary energy from a few minutes ago disappeared, and now matched the bustling energy of the people on the main street of the town. He stood on his tiptoes and scanned over their heads looking for anyone who was standing next to a cart, wagon, or any other sort of transportation. August squinted his eyes and focused on a large item that the crowd moved around. He couldn't exactly see what it was, but the chances of it being his ticket to Cloudacre were high! He quickly slipped through the cracks of people trying his best not to push or shove them. As he moved closer he could see two horses. And wheels! A wagon at last! Lounging in the front seat was a man with simple clothing. His hat was covering his face shielding him from the bright rays of sunlight.

"Excuse me, sir!" He called out to him.

The man didn't budge. Of course, this man was sleeping.

August moved a little closer and nervously poked the man in the leg. "Excuse me, sir... I have a question to ask."

The man jolted awake and his hat slipped off his face. The man looked around with a lost look on his face. His eyes finally fell on August and his expression soured.

"Hey, don't you see me sleeping here? Who raised you?"

If his sleep was so important why was he sleeping in the middle of the road in the middle of the day?

 "I'm sorry for the rude awakening," August said brushing off the comment about his upbringing. "But I need to get to Cloudacre urgently. Do you happen to be going there?"

The man sighed. "I am," August perked up at those words. His luck was finally turning around. "But I don't have space for a rude brat like you. I already have my boys riding along with me."

"I can pay you, sir!"

"No amount of mon-"

August pulled out a small sack about the size of his palm and presented it to the man. It wasn't much, but surely this small amount could convince him. "Will this be enough?"

The man's face looked bewildered. "We leave in an hour, you can just sit in the back of the wagon and wait until the others get here." He said while snatching the sack out of August's hand.

August beamed at the man. "Thank you, sir! Your good deed will not go unnoticed."

"Riiight." The driver looked him up and down while tossing the sack of gold in his hand. "Who are you, kid? How come you have all this money on you?"

"I'm not a kid," August said while dodging the question.

He walked to the back of the wagon and climbed inside. The back of the wagon was filled with crates with spices, textiles, and fruits. He could also see crates filled to the brim with cestrium, a highly valuable resource that was primarily found in Mellion. Cestrium was the strongest metal in the world and was used in many weapons and tools.

August placed his things down and sat in the wagon. For the first time in a week, he finally was making some sort of progress. Wandering around wasn't all that bad. It was the mark of a true adventurer, but it wasn't getting him anywhere. While he was traipsing around the kingdom, Evelyn was waiting for him to save her. There would be time for fun daring adventures like finding lost treasure or uncovering a buried kingdom on other days. Right now he needed to focus on his destiny and save Evelyn. 

Two men climbed into the back of the wagon talking rambunctiously. One was a short and muscular, tan-skinned man with stern, grey eyes, and ears that stuck out. The other was a thin man with stringy blonde hair. They paused when they saw August already there.

"Who're you?" The short one said.

"Just someone tagging along on the journey." He replied carefully.

"You must've paid Jake some good money if he allowed you on the wagon. He usually doesn't let non-workers on."

August nodded slowly. 

"I'm Ryan and this guy over here is Tim." He said pointing to the blonde man.

Tim raised his hand and nodded at August.

"I'm uhhh... Walter." August said.

He couldn't give them his real name. They would find him out too quickly, but he silently scolded himself for choosing Walter's name. He couldn't think of anything better than that?

"Is everyone in?" Jake yelled from the front. "We're going now."

The wagon started moving slowly and the two men sat down across from August.

"Mellion is such a mess right now," Ryan said.

Mellion in a mess? His father ran the kingdom very strictly there was no way he was letting the kingdom fall into chaos.

"Everyone's been in a panic since the prince went missing."

August was surprised. It wasn't like he did anything important for the kingdom, but the people must've loved and appreciated him that much. Of course, they'd be distressed if he went missing.

"Magical beings haven't caused problems in the kingdom for years why all of sudden did they kidnap the prince?" Tim said. 

Kidnapped?

"In my opinion, they're getting their revenge for how they're treated in the kingdom. One can only take so much."

"If there's another war, Mellion is going to fall immediately."

"We're already dry on resources, the king surely knows this. We can't afford another war due to his anger."

August leaned back. Another war? Over him being kidnapped? If a war started because he went off adventuring, he would die from the shame of such a dishonorable act. But why was his father telling people he was kidnapped in the first place? He did run off because of what Monica had told him. It made sense that in his father's mind, he was kidnapped. It was quite unprecedented for August, who had listened to his father's every word since birth. His father was probably worried sick. No matter. He'd save Evelyn quickly and then return to stop a potential war. His subjects would understand his choices and the fear would be quelled.

"And the king is asking us to look for his son too!" Tim scoffed. "Some of us have never seen him before. And we're no warriors. We can't fight off a witch."

"Classic King Harry putting his duties on the back of his subjects. How long are we going to suffer for?"

"And we didn't piss off those magic people! Why do we have to suffer the consequences for him."

"What do you think Walter?" Ryan said.

"Me?" August said pointing to himself.

"Who else?" Tim said rolling his eyes.

"Uhh, I think the king has his reasons. He is only one man after all. He can't find his son by himself right?"

Tim scoffed. "I doubt he'll even leave the castle."

"Too many enemies after him." Ryan laughed. "That's why that poor prince has never seen the light of day."

"He's still living much better than us." Tim cackled.

"I'm sure the prince is just fine," August said while forcing out a small laugh.

"In fact, I bet he's having the time of his life," Ryan added. "He's free from his insufferable excuse of a father."

Ryan and Tim erupted in uncontrollable laughter while August looked at them. He didn't think the people would talk so badly about their king. Outsiders wouldn't know that he worked day in and day out to make the kingdom run as smoothly as it did, so he'd forgive them. His father was quite stubborn and strict, but August wouldn't say insufferable. August knew that he did what he had to make the kingdom a better place. 

Maybe this was just the price of being the king. Would people talk about him this way when he inherited the throne? His father was a good king, but he couldn't communicate with others all that well. He'll be a different king than his father. He'd communicate with his subjects and see them more often. That way they could trust him.