I was the first one by the crystal in the morning and poked my head into Grant's office. "Want me to check any locations?"

He gave me a measuring look. "I was wondering if you got enough porting in last night."

I made a face. "Unfortunately not, and the way Roxanne and Merryl were talking, I probably won't beat them to the water cart for a while. I think five others were rolling dice to see who got to take the small water cart."

Closing his notebook, he stood up. "It was only a matter of time until the thought crossed someone's mind that pushing themselves strengthens their abilities. All they have to do is look at you, and how often you took those heavy loads."

"What if they get to my point, where they're making dozens of ports and can barely sleep?"

As he came over, he quietly said, "I'm hoping that's a long time in coming. In a week or so, once they see it's true, they'll also be more likely to believe you if you warn them about the downsides."

"Hmmm... That might work. And by then, I should know if not pushing myself to my limits slows down whatever this is."

"It won't hurt if they can port one or two extra people. Or make a few more ports. It's when their welfare is jeopardized that I'll start to worry."

"First one to manage seventy ports in a day gets an hour-long lecture?" I asked impishly.

He smirked. "Careful what you volunteer for. You and I both know the odds are against you."

"Drat."

With a chuckle, we exited his office while discussing which spots would be best. He already wanted me to take one of Ariel's hunters to Orange Flower to claim it.

~

As the haze cleared from our sight, one of my hunters scratched their head. "I don't recall this place."

The thin black spruce trees grew out of thick clumps of moss, and their scraggly branches were covered in lichen and moss. The air was damp and cool.

"Welcome to Black Spruce Forest." I shrugged. "Like Grant said, there should be a lost crystal to the north by a creek, and one to the east where the forest turns into meadow. There should be a lot of squirrels and mushrooms around."

A hunter kicked a clump of trampled moss. "I doubt the people staying by the crystal will find much nearby. No wonder Grant wanted us to focus on finding those crystals."

Eight dispersed into the trees as two checked the nearby area. I was pleased to note that the restlessness I'd felt this morning had abated to undetectable levels after the eighteen ports it took to find five empty crystals for the other porters.

After resting long enough to pretend I was being careful, I went back to the village and told Grant how slim the pickings were.

Grant flipped through his notes. "Can you take the ten who usually remain close to the crystal over to Merryl? She's at Fern Hills. That will let her hunters wander a bit farther without worrying about leaving her alone. Your other twenty can try finding those crystals in the Black Spruce Forest."

I blinked. "You don't want anyone to guard the crystal?"

He gave me an ironic look. "What's to guard? Moss? Let other groups go there. The hunters are smart enough to avoid the crystal if another group is present. Otherwise they might realize the hunters were searching for new crystals."

I brightened at his logic. "That works for me." Turning to my older group, I asked, "Feel like surprising Merryl and keeping a tiny tot out of mischief?"

They grinned and gathered around the crystal, not at all daunted by the thought of keeping an eye on a rambunctious five-year-old with endless curiosity.

I gave Grant a salute and ported away. When my vision cleared, Merryl did a doubletake from where she sat on a hide near the crystal.

"Surprise!" I told her. "I brought you some help."

Despite them being here for at least twenty minutes, I could see each individual in her group. They were staying close instead of wandering farther afield. Then again, they'd remember this place as the one where I'd first gotten caught.

My sister smiled, visibly relaxing with the news. Callie ran over to greet the hobbling gatherers and former hunters. My gaze was drawn to a fallen tree about fifty paces away. Broken in half by the wind storm, the lower half was about three handspans wide. It was too heavy for me to drag closer, but the ten I'd just brought—even if they were hindered by old injuries—would be able to move it. It would be a perfect evening porting weight. But I had to be sneaky about this...

Pointing a thumb to it, I asked my group, "What are the odds of you dragging that tree closer for Merryl to sit on? And no, I don't plan on taking it home. The carpenters are still busy with the last log I brought."

"The hide keeps me dry," my sister said, unaware she was only giving my group a reason to get her off the ground.

My group examined the log from where they stood and glanced at each other, taking note of whose old injuries would allow or hinder such a task.

"We'll see what we can do," one of my hunters said. "We have all day to work on it."

"Thanks," I said, then ported away before it occurred to anyone that I might have ulterior motives.

After an appropriate wait, I took my last group to the dreary forest, where two people had stayed behind to "claim" the crystal, unaware of Grant's change of plans. Everyone soon disappeared into the forest in search of the crystals and any critter or edible object they found on their journey. Assuming no other group came here, I'd check back every hour in case they found a crystal and returned to guide me.

I ported to the village and had barely sat down on the hides when a shimmer appeared by the crystal. The woman from Keywa Village called out, "Grant! We need help!"

He immediately closed his book and got to his feet. "What's wrong?"

"Some gatherers found a tracker when planting a bag of corn seeds we got in a village trade over a week ago. We haven't seen any airships, but we need to evacuate just in case."

"A week?" he demanded incredulously. Shaking his head and not waiting for an answer, he spun around. "Natalie, Shelly, give them a hand." Turning back to the porter, he told her, "Take them to your backup spot, and they can ferry some people over. Make sure they don't exhaust themselves in case we need to evacuate too."

Shelly and I ran over to grab onto her shoulders as she said, "Stone Haven Crystal."

The air hazed around us, then cleared to reveal an overhang on a cliff with a tree branch with Keywa Village carved into it. As Shelly studied the carving, I turned to the fully-grown crystal and ran my fingers along the unusually thin spires, feeling it with my mind.

Instead of having to focus and concentrate, it was much easier than normal to pick out what made this crystal unique and how I'd recognize it. I paused as I realized the senses I used to "feel" crystals had also grown stronger.

"Keywa Village," I said, heading there since I knew this location well enough to return without struggling.

My vision cleared to reveal a large and remarkably calm crowd gathered around the crystal, leaving twenty paces of empty space.

Darwin—Keywa's porting coordinator—asked me, "How many can you port without straining yourself?"

Deciding to be conservative since it would let me make more ports, I replied, "Eight, and I'm very good with heavy loads if you can put people in a water cart. No more than a ten-person weight preferably."

"Eight," he told those waiting. "Someone can grab the water cart and load the kids on top for when she returns." Turning back to me, he said, "Rest a few minutes at Stone Haven before returning. It'll give us time to get the cart over."

People trickled forward in an oddly restrained fashion, completely at odds with their anxious glances at the sky. As I reached for the crystal, Shelly appeared beside me, and Darwin asked her the same questions.

"Stone Haven."After porting ten for so long, eight felt light.

I walked to the side and took a breather, not because I needed it, but because I knew Darwin wouldn't let me take the next group right away. He was much like Grant in that regard. Most coordinators were, especially when it wasn't a dire emergency.

The porter who brought me here was still sitting against the wall and recovering from the back-to-back ports. Two groups arrived as I examined the rather good carving. The people quickly cleared the area; partially to make room for others coming, but also because the average villager was a bit reluctant to be ported to a strange place and didn't like lingering near crystals.

I returned to Keywa Village, absently noting that only a couple of people here were in their prime; the hunters and gatherers must have left before the discovery was made.

Darwin gestured to a hide on a bench. "Please rest for a bit. It'll take them a few minutes to bring the cart over."

With another upward check of the empty sky, I obliged. Someone brought me a cup of water, which I took with a thank-you.

"Where are your absent porters?" I asked once I finished the water. "I can go tell them."

Darwin hesitated, the desire to alert his porters warring with his reluctance of wasting a strong porter's port. I had just finished taking my group out and done eighteen ports before that, so I was going to have to watch how much I did or I'd hit my limits rather quickly. The lack of restlessness despite how wound up I'd been this morning was another warning. He knew none of this, so I was going to have to watch how much I did.

"Do you know where Owl Post is?"

"The carving in a tree, near a field?"

He nodded. "There are four groups there, please let them know we're evacuating and while it's important, it's not urgent."

Stretching my arms, I got up. "Owl Carving."

The world around me hazed over, then cleared as I appeared in a small forest clearing. All four porters were close by and waved a friendly hello at my appearance.

"Darwin asked me to let you know that they found a tracker in some seeds they got a week ago. They're evacuating to Stone Haven just in case. It's not urgent, but I think he'd like one or two of you to help port a few over."

My words had them all clustering around and pelting me with questions, most of which I didn't have answers for.

Finally, I said, "If anyone wants a lift to Keywa, I can take you." There was no sense in volunteers wasting a port.

Three came with me, leaving the fourth to guard the groups. I sat on the bench without being asked; this was the most organized and orderly evacuation I'd ever seen, real or drill. Since the three hadn't ported themselves, Darwin let them take a group with a stern admonition to rest before returning.

"How many are watching for airships?" I asked. This village had been built between massive boulders, so it wasn't possible to see much of the sky or surrounding landscape.

"At least two by every entrance, which lets us see all directions," a nearby villager replied.

"And those seeds were here for a week?"

"Unfortunately."

A week... I hadn't heard of anything like that. Airships usually appeared in one or two days, or lately, within hours, but a week? Either the tracker wasn't working, or some Saursunes were far more patient than others. Or, maybe, they'd seen the seeds bounce between several villages and decided to hold off the attack.

Shaking my head, I got to my feet despite only having rested ten minutes. I wasn't feeling any porting strain nor were my legs quivery.

"I can take another group while waiting for the cart," I told Darwin.

With a reluctant nod, he waved more villagers forward. As soon as they had their hands on my shoulders or were holding onto their companions, I ported. We appeared under the overhang, and someone stumbled when they bumped into a porter who was about to leave. After waiting a while, I stretched my legs, which still felt fine, and returned to Keywa Village.

Darwin said, "Rest at least fifteen minutes, and you can take the cart if you want."

I took a seat and wondered how many more trips I should make. I still had to bring my groups back tonight, and I didn't particularly want to push myself. The restlessness was a big enough nuisance as it was. I didn't need my abilities to grow stronger. If I got too tired, I might have to consider taking a nap while Merryl stood guard.

More porters were showing up as word spread and Keywa Village called on their allies. Despite my impatience to help get people to safety, I waited until Darwin asked for the cart to be brought closer and let the children climb in.

"Let's hope we don't knock anyone over," I murmured as I grabbed onto the cart.

"The last group warned them to back away," Darwin reassured me.

That was good enough for me. "Stone Haven."

The cart was comparable to the big one back home if it was unloaded. I still didn't feel any ache, but I made sure to take an extra-long break while reminding myself that airships weren't closing in and that I needed to space out my ports.

Over the next two hours, I made six more round trips before only Darwin and two others were left. They were busy leaving notes to inform their groups and any visitors about the evacuation, where they went, and that they could meet up at Oasis Springs later to familiarize themselves with the new crystal.

Most visiting porters had already left, and he turned to me. "Thank you very much, Natalie. Do you want a lift back? Most of the porters knew it was the final trip, but I'm sure one or two will come back to check."

"You're welcome. It was only right." I pretended to consider his question. "I don't think I need help getting back. Once I'm back home, a power nap will do wonders."

A nap was not about to happen, not when I was only at the I'd-rather-sit-down-stage. I clearly remembered what happened the last two times I tried that.

With a parting farewell, I went back home to give Grant an update.

~

I sat up with a sigh. How were the first hints of restlessness starting to reappear after all the ports I'd done this morning? Admittedly, I hadn't done any porting since noon, which was when a group had claimed Black Spruce Forest.

Six hours should not have felt this long...

Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it had been yesterday. I hoped the group I'd left with Merryl had moved that log close enough to the crystal for me to reach it, otherwise it was going to be another night of tossing and turning.

Finally, Grant gave me the go-ahead, which was later than usual, allowing the other group ample time to clear out. Upon arrival, all twenty hunters were present, and the other group was gone. Each pair only had a half-full carry net. Pickings had clearly been slim here.

"We found the crystal to the north," Tib promptly told me. "It's at least a four-hour trip though."

"Great job!" I told him as ten gathered around me. "It'll be a relief to have a new foraging location. Please tell me it has enough plants around it to be worthwhile."

"It does," he confirmed.

"Perfect. Guard Station."

Light shimmered through my veins as the cool forest air was replaced with the dry desert heat. I blinked and stood straighter when I noticed the ten who had been with Merryl were already here.

I looked around until I spotted my sister, who was grinning far too smugly as she informed me, "It took me two trips, but I brought them all back. You'll have to take yours home though." Her hand moved to her stomach.

I sat beside her. "I was coming for them. Don't strain yourself. Did you hear about Keywa Village?"

She nodded. "Still no airships there, although they showed up at Sandstone Village. They managed to evacuate last night, so there were no losses."

"That's a relief." Even if they were raiders, I was glad they'd escaped, especially the children. It wasn't uncommon for adults to move between villages if they didn't agree with a village's practices, but kids didn't have that option.

After visiting a while, I brought the other group to the Guard Station and sat beside my sister. On the other side of Merryl, Ariel flicked a pebble across the hide as she said, "Sure are a lot of Saursunes around today. I think most groups saw them. At least three from our village were caught, but not everyone has shown up yet, so that number might be higher."

After Grant's comments last night, I idly wondered how hard some of them had tried to evade their guest. Judging by the big baskets of potatoes, corn cobs, and a wild pig beside the sleepy-looking porters, if they had let themselves get caught, it had the added benefit of bringing in some much-needed food.

Merryl nodded in agreement. "One was hanging around our location most of the day. Never came close, other than the few times it brought a large bird or rabbit over."

I glanced at the group I'd just brought back, and the closest hunter shrugged. "None of us saw so much as a glimpse of scales."

A crooked-legged hunter I'd left with Merryl commented, "This one was wandering by at least every fifteen minutes, and it spent a fair bit of time laying where we could see it. We're not sure what it was after, but it didn't leave the entire time we were there."

A porter from a different village added, "We had one swinging by occasionally. My group said it seemed to be checking in on us as opposed to looking for an opening to catch me unaware. Not that I went far from the crystal after we spotted it."

More and more porters, hunters, and gatherers chimed in with what they saw. Only three groups hadn't seen a Saursune today.

Mark from Briar Village scratched his head. "That's weird. Are we seeing so much activity because most of us are harvesting close to the fields? Or are the Saursunes up to something new?"

"Only half of our porters saw one three days ago," someone reminded him.

That led to a discussion that had Mark creating a tally that showed a notable surge in sightings yesterday, with even more today. Several more people had been caught today, but not many. Things prior to the last three days had been consistent, with roughly half the groups—notably by fields—spotting the camouflaged aliens. I memorized the timeline scratched in the sand to share with Grant later.

Was it a coincidence that the sightings had increased the day after we left Janette by the town?

As they kept talking, I did a mental tally of all my ports. I recounted a second time, then a third. How badly would Grant flip if he discovered I'd ported fifty-one times so far? The fact that thirty-six of them had been solo ports was a meagre comfort.

Despite my good intentions to not set new porting records, I was failing miserably. In the past, I had cheered with every new accomplishment, but now I felt dread.

I didn't feel any porting strain, but would that be enough to stop my abilities from growing after porting so much?