The air shimmered and cleared as I stood in Briar Village. Like our village, it was a deep, narrow ravine in the desert. We traded a lot with this place, and they knew me on sight.

Mark walked over. "Hey, Natalie. How are you doing?"

"Good. Did you hear about Veredyl Village?"

He winced. "Yeah. We have extra sentries on the upper ridge just in case an airship comes this way. It won't give us much warning but..." He sighed heavily. "If I hadn't been so tired last night, I would have had a hard time sleeping. We can't be in two places at once, and we only have so many ports."

I nodded in understanding. "We fret and worry when we're gone, but we need to leave to gather food. And unless the airships show up in the morning, there's no way we'd get more than a fraction of the villagers out."

"And the Saursunes would wait by the crystal to catch any returning porters," Mark added darkly. He shook his head. "Unfortunately, worrying won't change things in this situation. All we can do is be careful."

"Our village is already taking every possible precaution," I quietly said.

"Ours is too."

Being "careful" wasn't going to help if an airship showed up. But he was right; fretting about the village wasn't going to help. They were as safe as was possible in this world, and far safer than those who had to leave the safety of the desert to gather food. The very people I was worried about were the ones relying on the porters and our groups.

"Are you ready to see the marsh?" Mark asked.

"I'm ready whenever you are."

The porter grinned. "Excellent. Be prepared to be eaten alive by midges, mosquitoes, and every other bug with a taste for human blood."

He grabbed onto a spire, and I held onto his shoulder since I had never been there before. It was so strange to see the world around us haze out of focus without the light shimmering through my veins.

I had envisioned a marsh with sunlit cattails and frogs, but that was not what appeared. I stared at the gloomy swamp. Spindly trees grew out of smelly humps of soil. Their branches hung down like bared claws and every exposed section had stringy moss hanging from it. Green film covered what I assumed was water. The bugs had already discovered us and were buzzing around.

I waved a few insects away. "What do you collect down here besides bug bites?"

"Mostly snakes. Occasionally a caiman. Some of the moss is old man's beard. It's edible, if boiled long enough, and has some medicinal properties your doctor will know about. Once you memorize the location, I'll show you a few other edible plants."

I turned my attention to the crystal. The spires weren't quite full grown, but it still refracted the dappled sunlight onto the plants and ground around. I ran my hands over, committing its feeling to memory so I'd be able to port back here again.

When I stood up and faced Mark, he said, "Grab a stick and use it to check the ground before you put your foot down."

A handful of sturdy branches leaned against a nearby tree. I grabbed one and followed him on a quick tour, taking mental notes of the plants he showed me. We prodded the ground before trusting our weight to the spot. Sometimes my stick practically sunk out of sight. When Mark moved his stick forward, dirt flew up as a snake lunged at it. We both skipped back.

"That's the other reason to use a stick," he muttered, his eyes not leaving the dappled brown snake that was as long as my arm. "The snakes around here like to hide in the water or bury themselves in soft soil, and as far as we can tell, they're all venomous. Good eating if you can kill them without getting bit."

Lifting his walking stick, he turned it into a club. Two whacks later, the snake twitched in its death throes. He pressed the stick against the dead snake's head and kept it pinned as he drew his flint knife and cut the head off.

Mark picked up the body. "Cooks like fish. I've never seen a croc around here, but every once in a while an alligator shows up, so keep an eye out for them. Let's go see this forest of yours."

We made it back to the crystal without any other snakes appearing. I took one last look around to make sure I was sufficiently acquainted with "Snake Swamp". It seemed like a fitting nickname to me. Mosquito Haven would also work.

This time, he held onto my shoulder as I took him to Aspen Ridge. It was, once again, raining. Mark took his time examining the grasses and soil around the crystal as he got acquainted with the location. Like most porters, he memorized the surroundings instead of the crystal itself. I waited patiently as he carved the words "Aspen Forest" into the soil with a stick.

When I tilted my head, he explained, "Seeing the name by the crystal makes it easier for me to port to. So even if I don't remember the area, if I know the proper location words, I can usually port to it."

That seemed like a very useful trick to me. I'd have to mention it to the others tonight. I took him on a quick tour like he'd given me. He seemed familiar with the boreal forest foliage, so we didn't linger.

"Take care," he said as he reached for the crystal. "Briar Village."

"You too," I replied just before he disappeared.

I ported home, and when I arrived, Andre and Calum were waiting for me to take them to the new crystal.

"Wait until you see this place," I told them.

"Is it good?" Andre asked.

"We got about a hundred bug bites and had a venomous snake lunge at us within the first hundred paces."

They winced, not looking forward to this trip now. Their hunter and gatherer companions exchanged glances from where they sat on the rocks to await the porters' return. As my clothes dried off, I told them about the plants, snakes, and crocodiles.

Once Grant was satisfied that I was rested, he let me take the two porters to the new crystal. The swamp was no more inviting than it had been the last time, even though the bugs were delighted to form a welcoming committee.

I grabbed a few handfuls of the old man's beard moss while the two memorized the location and touched the crystal so they could return to it. After I showed them the sticks and how to use them, I ported us back to the village.

"I don't think I've seen a drearier place," Andre commented to Grant as I passed the shaggy moss to a villager, who carried it to the cooking team. There wasn't much nutritional value in the moss, especially if it needed a lot of boiling time, but it would add a bit more to the soup pots and put something in our stomachs.

"Even a snake is meat," Grant replied. "Just be careful. Don't forget to grab lemongrass or mint to keep some of the bugs at bay."

"Hopefully the hunters can snag a caiman," Calum said wistfully. "I still wish we could catch one of those crocs on the jungle sandbar."

"Those crocs are so big they'll drag you into the water if you use a spear," I reminded him. "And rope doesn't work."

We had tried many times. Regardless of how we braided or spun the rope, the big crocodiles snapped it when they started their deathrolls. None of them had been small enough for us to jump on and manhandle away from the water's edge.

Grant quizzed the two porters and made notes from our descriptions. If any of us forgot, he could use those details to help us recall the location later.

Brielle, one of the hunters, came to stand next to me with her bow, hunting knife, and backpack.

"You get to keep the predators at bay?" I idly asked her, already knowing the only reason she'd still be here was because she'd accompany me on my trip to plant the crystal shard.

"I'm hoping we don't encounter any," she replied.

"You and me both," I said fervently. The worst part about these trips was how risky they were. Without a crystal, I had no easy escape from most situations.

She nodded.

Andre and his group stood a polite distance away, so I asked him, "Are you ready to go?"

"I don't want to rush you. Take your time."

I got to my feet. "Elk Valley?"

Andre grinned. "That's where we're headed. If we're lucky, we might bring back an elk!"

We both laughed at that. Such a thing would take far more luck than existed in this world. No one had even seen an elk in that spot in decades. That much meat would have been a dream come true. Someone might spot a deer occasionally, but none of the villages had caught one in over two years. The flighty herbivores spooked easily, and our hunters had to get close for a shot.

Once everyone gathered around me, I ported them to the mountainside meadow. Andre's group cautiously checked the area and collected plants as Brielle remained nearby.

I nibbled on some clover and examined the map that Grant had drawn onto a scrap of leather. If we were lucky, we'd find a crystal the lost village had planted. If we couldn't locate it, I'd plant a shard in a good spot.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and approached the crystal. Nothing unnerved me more than a long hike into unknown territory with no nearby crystals, but this essential job was best done by a porter. Brielle held onto my shoulder as I ported to the place I'd been to dozens of times in the past.

We appeared in a forest almost identical to the one around Orange Flower. That place was about two half-day hikes north of here, with a crystal at the halfway point.

Brielle carefully examined the area and the position of the sun to gain her bearings. The hardest part of these hikes was finding our way back, but Brielle was skilled at navigating her way through forests.

We began walking east. Brielle matched my pace since there was no way I'd be able to keep up with the hunter. She frequently left charcoal marks on tree trunks to mark our path.

A flash of brown in the distant shrubs made me freeze in my tracks. Brielle spun around to face the direction I was as she put an arrow on her bow. Even as I stepped back, ready to bolt to the crystal, a rabbit scampered out from under the shrubs.

I sighed in relief and mumbled, "I'm already jumping at shadows."

"Caution is always prudent." Brielle's gaze lingered on the distant plants. After almost a solid minute, she finally said, "I don't see anything that might have spooked the rabbit. Let's keep going."

The next three hours did nothing to help my nerves. Every time my jitters started to fade, some sort of small animal or bird bolted across our path and sent my heart racing. Many were close enough that Brielle's fingers tightened on her bow, but carrying a carcass might lure in predators.

We paused to examine the map occasionally, but finding a crystal in a clearing "somewhere east" was a long shot in the dark in a forest like this.

When we found a sunny clearing, we gave up our search. I dug a shallow hole and carefully slipped the shard in, using my porting ability to feel the stone and to memorize it for the distant future. I also used Mark's trick and wrote Sunshine Clearing in the dirt.

With one last look around the area, Brielle began retracing our steps.

She paused. I also stopped, peering around her to try and see why she had stopped. As much as I wanted to ask questions, I remained silent. The gentle breeze played in the branches and leaves, making it harder to spot anything amiss.

"I thought I saw a glimpse of brown near our trail," Brielle murmured. "But it was too high up for a rabbit."

"A Saursune?" I whispered, glancing around uneasily.

"I'm not sure, but we're sitting ducks here. Let's go north, then cut back to our trail."

Had I been by myself, I would have never done this, but Brielle was one of the few hunters who often ranged farther than usual when hunting. She could navigate by the sun and stars if her internal sense of direction failed.

She set a quick pace to the side of a clearing, and we followed a winding animal trail for some distance before slowing down.

A prickle between my shoulder blades had me glancing around uneasily. It reminded me of two occasions when packs of coyotes or feral dogs had stalked me. Despite how closely I watched my surroundings, I didn't see anything, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me.

Brielle left another charcoal mark on a tree and looked around. She frowned at the way we had come. "I think something is following us."

"Do we try jogging for a while? Or will that trigger a chase?"

"I don't see anything, but that alone tells me its likely a patient predator or a Saursune. A fast walk is all we can risk." She glanced at me. "If something charges at us, climb the nearest tree."

I nodded, and as we continued walking, I kept track of which trees I could climb.

Once we reached Brielle's previous charcoal markings, she dropped back to walk behind me, still convinced we were being trailed by something, although neither of us saw anything.

Occasionally, we would stoop over to grab a handful of greens to put in a carry net. Regardless of how important this task had been, we needed to bring something back. My contribution might not be much, but it could be the difference between Callie or the other children having just enough soup to sleep through the night or waking with hunger pains.

Every handful mattered.

No animals darted across our path this time, much to our disappointment. A rabbit would have been an excellent catch now that we were on our way back to the crystal.

A two hour fast walk over rough forest terrain left me out of breath by the time we finally reached familiar territory.

Quiet sobbing made my footsteps falter. It sounded like a child, and it was definitely coming from the direction of the crystal. But what would a child possibly be doing out here?

Alarm bells rang in my head as Brielle and I exchanged incredulous glances. She held a finger to her lips for silence before edging forward. I crept silently after her and peered through the shrubs

A boy, maybe three or four years old, was curled up against the crystal, shaking and sobbing. No one else was in sight.

I watched for several minutes in growing perplexity. No parents or guardians emerged from the forest, nor did any porter return for him. The child wasn't one I recognized, although that didn't overly surprise me since I didn't spend much time in other villages.

"What is he doing out here?" I murmured to Brielle. Where were his parents or guardians? And why had they taken a child so young away from the village?

"I don't know," she replied, sounding troubled. "This crystal is only known to a handful of villages, and none of them have been so short on food as to kick out the oldest, nevermind a child."

The child's distress finally lured me out of the forest. Something wasn't right, but he was beside the only crystal in the area. I didn't even have to glance back to know Brielle was right behind me.

"Hello? Where are your parents?" I asked him.

The child gasped and turned to stare at me with wide eyes, scrambling back against the crystal. I stopped where I was, letting him get a good look at me.

"Are you okay?"

The boy continued to stare at me, possibly too stunned by the presence of a stranger to think. I blinked when I noticed three apple cores in the grass near him. Their presence was even more out of place than the child. There were no apple trees around here, and no one would have given a child three entire apples. I tied my half-full carry net of greens around my waist to free up my hands.

"How did you get out here? Where are you from? Do you need help getting home?"

My gentle questions caused an immediate breakdown and waterworks. His cries pulled at my heart, but when I stepped forward, he shuffled back. As hard as it was, all I could do was kneel in the grass to make myself seem less threatening. Brielle stood a few paces behind me, carefully scanning the area in case trouble showed up.

I murmured quietly to him for several minutes before his crying slowed to tired hiccups. Being unable to comfort him dug into my heart like a blade, but since he wouldn't let me near during his hysterics, I remained on my knees.

"How did you get out here?" I asked again, hoping the question wouldn't lead to more crying.

The boy didn't reply. Still on my knees, I edged closer to him, keeping my hands where he could see them. He just stared dully at me, possibly too tired to object anymore.

I sat on the other side of the crystal, relieved to have it within reach. The well-chewed apple core by my foot belonged to what had been a rather large apple. The child's clothing was tattered, but there wasn't any desert dust clinging to it.

Something definitely wasn't right.

The prickle between my shoulder blades returned, and I glanced around uneasily. Brielle moved closer as well, her eyes skimming the undergrowth.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy, still examining the shrubs around me.

"M-Mason."

"Where are you from?"

He hugged his knees close, immediately closing down.

Glancing back at Brielle, I said, "I don't want to take him to the Guard Station in case he has a tracker. Do you think the guards will let me port them here?"

"There's only one way to find out," she replied. "I'll wait here with him, but please don't be long in returning."

I nodded firmly. "I'll be right back."