With Dirt Flaxen's situation handled for now, your party bids him farewell, then takes flight toward the nearest road. You follow the path from above, headed north, your shadows gliding some distance ahead of you.

The light drizzle and freshened breeze make the trip back to the portal that much more tolerable, but with the humidity hanging in the air, you feel that it is only a matter of time before the heat returns.

Fortunately, you land by the gate soon enough. As you cross into Shui-Ti, the grey overcast cuts into sunlit white clouds in fair blue skies. Your eyes take a moment to adjust to the sudden contrast.

Honourshine: "Well, that was easier than expected."

Moonflower: "Yuh uh! I think Tsu-Ko's helpin' a lot. That means we got more time to do the other stuff, right?"

You look around to check the time, but the sun and moons are hidden behind the giant portal in whose skylit shadow you stand. Somehow, you feel as though your grasp on time has slipped away ever so slightly.

Tsu-Ko: "Long day? It's a quarter past twelve; should be nightfall here by the end of the hour."

You thank Tsu-Ko for keeping track, and while you and your friends put away your bamboo hats, you decide to ask your sprite companion how the ponies here live with all the different time zones.

You unequip Bamboo Hat.

Tsu-Ko: "Eh, it's not that complicated: it's always the same time in Shui-Ti and Yinshin-Pintai, while Taihon-Nonchan is six hours behind. If you live here long enough, you can remember that much."

You admit that it sounds simple when she spells it out for you. With that in mind, you ask your friends how they are holding up.

Moonflower: "I'm doin' okay! I kinda wanna keep lookin' around at stuff."

Honourshine: "It's not that late, is it? If it's around twelve now, then we must have arrived at dawn. I suppose we still have a few hours left before bedtime."

You nod, and begin to consider how to spend those few hours. You haven't explored much of this town yet, so only a few locations come to mind:

• The road north leads to the inn.
• To the east is the portal to Taihon-Nonchan and Yinshin-Pintai.
• The road south leads to the temple, the shops, the beach, and the docks.