December 29th, 1892 — Cape Town, South Africa
J. Alfred Darrow

Portkey travel remained one of Jo's least favorite methods. For while she enjoyed the ease of suddenly being in another location, the illness it caused made her queasy for days afterwards. In fact, the queasiness was her foremost reason for preferring sailing. However, the position of procuring rare and antique texts for Zach's shop required a faster turn around than sailing permitted. Besides, Jo couldn't exactly spend months away from Ilona anyway.

This trip was meant to last three days, with tomorrow being her last morning in this foreign land. It would have been too, had the seller not decided the agreed upon price too low for such a valuable tome. Jo had haggled and argued for what seemed like an eternity before they walked away for the evening. Tomorrow would be the final opportunity, or else she would be returning home a failure for the first time since starting this venture.

Jo walked down towards the docks before choosing a pub for dinner. Cape Town remained entirely unfamiliar to her, its quirks too elaborate for discovery within hours. Perhaps if she had another day to explore she would have ventured further into the city, but, for perhaps one of the first times, she felt a hint of trepidation heading further inside its depths. This was her first visit to an entirely new city following Ilona's birth. There was no telling how difficult it would be to obtain a second portkey should she get lost and miss tomorrow morning's trip home.

Jo navigated the crowded pub with ease, a smile already overcoming the stressed expression from her long day. A beer would help the persistent nausea, she hoped. If not, at least there were bushes alongside the pub. "Sorry, is this one taken?" Jo asked the man who's back was to her as she reached one of the few remaining barstools available.

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