Dear Risa,

  Back on the road again! We got all our papers and permissions, Cali proved that the liondrakes weren't going to eat anyone, and now we have been set loose in Bestest.

  I got a map, and spent most of this morning figuring out our route to Winner. The cities we will pass through are named, in order, Cuff, Riverriverriverriver, Fancy, Gilgamesh, City, Fi, Mistletoe, Hammertoe, Tube, 13.47, Nicecloud, Kltpzyxm, Toyota, Bamboo, Olderyork, Samsung, 9.38, and lastly, Winner.

  So yep, names here make as little sense as they do in Owonyan. That makes me feel… not better about our great country’s city names, but more like it’s normal. I don't have to be ashamed of them.

  Although, I know what the numbers are. They’re map locations. That makes sense, it’s nice and logical. However, I recognize that having every city just be named with a number would cause lots of memory-related problems. Like if you wanted to send something to 13.46 but accidentally wrote 13.47. I bet that would happen a lot.

  I think, out of all the names, I’m most wondering how the local inhabitants pronounce Kltpzyxm. I just… I got nothing for that one.

  Iiin other news, we’re heading into a desert after Cuff. Right now the terrain is mostly flat with big fields of wheat and corn and other things. Sure, I’ve seen fields and farms before, but these things take like forty minutes to get through. I don't know how the farmers tend to it all. The next time you eat a slice of toast with wheat from Bestest, spare a thought for the farmers who grow all that wheat.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Cali says there’s lots of rodents in the fields, and they keep distracting the liondrakes. When we stop for the night, she wants to let them hunt. Maki said that would be impolite without the field owner’s permission, so Luke suggested we stop for the night at a farm. We were aiming for a town, but it’s not like a whole town will be more comfortable than just stopping on the side of the road. We have our beds and food to cook. The only thing we really need for full comfort is a bathroom.

  Sooo as soon as it starts to get dark, we’ll turn off at the next driveway and see if the owners of the nearest house are nice or not.

  I’m excited about this plan. I didn't really get the chance to talk to any locals in Pishposh, so this will be my opportunity to ask what the earthquakes were like on this side of the fault. If they’re changelings, I might ask a few questions about that. Sure, we traveled with Echo, but she was a guest in our home. Now we’re the guests. I have lots of different questions.

  What would you ask?

  Oh! Money! We had our currency exchanged in Pishposh. I now have a comfortable amount of doubloons in my inventory. Instead of having a three-part coin system like we use, here it’s just two: full doubloons, and “pieces”, of which the max is eight. So while the most expensive cake at your favorite bakery is one gold, two silver, and five copper, here it would be fifteen doubloons and six pieces.

  If your father’s bank ever turns international, you’ll thank me for this information.

  There is a bee in the wagon.

  I will now calmly finish this letter and not panic about it.

  Regards,

  Maeve Zee