The Saursune's back-and-forth pacing had dwindled to him simply walking in front of us with frequent glances back to make sure we were following. Cruz now carried two rabbits that had made the mistake of crossing the trail in front of us during the last two hours.

With an excited hum, the Saursune bounded forward and used his body to shove a tall shrub to the side.

"It's a crystal," I murmured in shock.

"This must be the one we couldn't find," Cruz said, checking his map as we followed the Saursune over to the fully grown crystal.

The Saursune pranced around the crystal with his mouth agape in what I could only call a pleased grin. A very toothy grin. With fangs. On a creature that weighed more than all four of us.

It was a daunting sight and had me approaching rather cautiously. Immediately noticing my hesitation, the Saursune trotted over and nudged me toward the crystal. With permission very clearly granted, I familiarized myself with the crystal and used another twig to write in the dirt. Lost Crystal. Very uninventive, as per my lousy naming skills, but at least it wasn't "Hidden Behind Shrubs" or "Guided By A Saursune".

I stood up and bowed my head. "Thank you."

Our new guide probably didn't realize what a gift he had given us. Or maybe he did. The Saursunes had likely noticed how far the hunters were traveling to collect food.

He hummed deeply as he trotted around us, then deftly stole Cruz's map from his hands. Dropping it on the grass, he tilted his head as he examined it. He tapped a claw on the sketch of the Blackbird Marsh crystal, then on the crystal Cruz had found, and then on an open spot that would be roughly where we were now.

He looked at us, and with a soft keen, he tapped his claw on two other spots. Picking up the map, he handed it back to Cruz, who gingerly took it. With another keen, he trotted toward a different animal trail and paused, looking back at us.

"Well, we came this far, do we keep going?" I asked the hunters.

Cruz examined the map and the faint marks left by the Saursune's claw taps. "If he understands maps and distances, each one is only an additional two or three hours."

"Two more crystals would be invaluable," Brielle murmured.

Without any further discussion, we followed our guide.

~

"Grant is probably having a panic attack by now," I commented as we continued to follow the blue Saursune.

The sound of my voice, or possibly my huffing and puffing, had the Saursune slowing down and glancing back at us yet again. The hunters were easily keeping up, but I wasn't used to tramping through a forest from sun up to sun down, and it was already past the time we usually ported home. We had taken a few breaks, moreso for me, but the restlessness was getting strong enough that I couldn't sit for long.

Tib inspected the ground. "It can't be far. Look at all these footprints."

"I don't recognize this area," Cruz said. "Of course, all these tracks mean another village knows about this crystal. The others were untouched."

We rounded a bend and saw a half-grown crystal ahead. No one was here, so they must have already headed home. The Saursune bounded forward and trotted around the crystal several times before sitting beside it, looking between it and us.

I bowed my head. "Thank you."

The hunters hung back as I ran my hands along the crystal and committed its "feel" to memory. I tried to scribble a location phrase in the thick grass without success. The Saursune's hands suddenly appeared by my feet, and he clawed the grass back, leaving rutted dirt for me to write.

A bit taken aback, I stammered, "Er... Thank you."

My attempt to write the location phrase was successful this time. Dropping the stick on the ground, I held out my hand to the guide who had led us to the last three crystals.

This time, he pushed his head against my hand and circled around me as my fingers trailed down his neck and back. His scales grew warm under my skin as my energy shifted. While keeping my audience in mind, I carefully pushed a tendril of energy through my hands and struggled to hold the flow.

The Saursune didn't stop his slow circling, but his head came up as he looked at me through one eye that suddenly seemed very bright, as if lit from within. After an entire day without porting and just a few ports this morning, I was sure I had plenty of energy to spare.

My usual trick of judging how tired my legs were wasn't going to work after a long day of hiking. They were already tired and wanted to sit. Still, it was the best method I had, and I stopped sharing when I felt my legs becoming more tired. As I had hoped, the slower sharing prevented the energy shimmer across his hide.

Just like last time, my head belatedly spun. When I swayed slightly, I leaned against the Saursune, who promptly stopped moving so I could use him as a leaning post. I blinked rapidly and shook my head to clear it, trying to get my bearings.

Thankfully, the world quickly stopped spinning, and I inclined my head at the Saursune as I removed my hand from his side. He circled around me a few times as if making sure I was truly stable before he trotted out of the clearing and disappeared into the foliage.

"Ready to go home?" I asked the hunters before covering a yawn.

"It might be wise to check on Merryl first," Tib said as they gathered around me.

"Good point. Blackbird Marsh."

The air hazed around us and cleared. Only Merryl and two hunters were here.

My sister clambered to her feet. "There you are! We were beginning to wonder if you had gotten lost! Everyone else is already in the village."

"You aren't going to believe this, but a Saursune guided us to three other crystals, two of which are untouched."

Her jaw dropped, before she suddenly asked, "A blue one?"

I blinked. "How did you know?"

"One showed up with a basket of clams and a rabbit about an hour after you left. As it was leaving, it sniffed the ground and followed the same path you took."

"It was probably the same one then." I shrugged. "But we're here now. Want a lift home?"

Merryl peered at me. "You look like that Saursune took a pretty good chunk of your energy."

"I'll probably sleep like a log tonight," I admitted.

She shook her head. "I think it's my turn to port you back."

With a cheeky grin, I waved my other hand. "See you at home!"

I promptly ported away with the three hunters whose hands were still on my shoulders. The back-to-back ports made my head spin a bit as the village cliffs faded into view. My legs needed a break, although I couldn't tell if it was from the energy drain or my day-long hike.

"Natalie! Where were you? That was not porter pace!" Grant rushed over.

"We found four new crystals!" I told him, putting more excitement into my voice than I could have possibly felt mere minutes after an energy drain. The distraction worked though. "The one Cruz found, and three others!"

"Four?" His footsteps faltered in his shock, clearly not what he had been expecting to hear. The air shimmered beside me as Merryl arrived with the hunters who'd been with her.

Before my sister could say anything, I told Grant, "It's a long story, feel like sitting? Twelve hours of hiking ought to be listed as some type of punishment."

He stared at me, then waved me to the resting hides. Several villagers lingered nearby as others took the rabbits from the hunters and carried them away.

"For the record," Merryl commented idly, "I did offer to port her back."

I grinned at her as I walked over to the hides. "You know you love me."

"Of course. Why else would I have waited so long for you to come back?" Her attempt to glower at me had too much relief to be effective.

"If it happens again, I'll see if I can bounce from one of the new crystals and give you an update," I promised her. "I just didn't want the Saursune to wander off."

"I'll give you a lecture if you worry me like that again," she replied, giving me a quick hug.

The hunters escorted me to the nearby rocks. I took off my shoes and massaged my sore feet as I told Grant about our bizarre journey. Liam came over with a tray holding four bowls of soup and accompanying baskets of greens.

"Thanks," I told him as he gave the hunters and me our delayed dinner. He sat nearby.

Grant thought for a while before saying, "This...is an interesting development. Having three more untouched crystals will solve most of our problems. We can send a porter to those places early every morning so no one else can claim them. The fourth one will help, although if only one village knows about it, we'll have to set up schedules."

That made me ask, "Do you want me to keep checking other locations?"

I had been pushing myself the last couple of days so those morning checks didn't take such a toll on me, and if they were suddenly no longer needed...

"As long as you don't mind porting, I'd still like to check places in other climates, particularly locations with fruit trees," Grant said. "Janette confirmed she wants a spot near a ripe field tomorrow, although those places aren't hard to keep track of since they're always discussed at the Oasis so others can avoid them."

"The Saursunes were excited to see her, I gather?" I asked in amusement before eating a spoonful of soup. It was rather watery soup with only a few leaves in it, and the bowl wasn't as full as usual. I suspected Janette had been the only porter caught by Saursunes today. Well, I had been "caught" too, but my payment hadn't been with food.

"Two of them brought a sack of grain and a few other odds and ends. One curled around her and insisted she use it as a backrest almost all afternoon."

I suspected I knew how that had ended. "Did it rest its head in her lap too?"

"Yes," he replied dryly. I suspected he would have said a lot more if dozens of villagers weren't silently listening.

With a shrug, I asked, "Did anything else exciting happen today while I was gone?"

"Not really. Things were quiet at the Oasis. No one tried to raid a farm the last two days, although some have been gathering plants near them." Grant raised an eyebrow. "Those at the Oasis noticed that no one has been knocked down or pinned lately. If the porter lets the Saursunes approach, they'll drain their energy and bring food. If they run, the Saursunes let them leave. They haven't been trying to get between the porters and their companions either."

I sat straighter. "They stopped trying to catch us? Really?"

Liam commented, "From what we've seen the last few days, the Saursunes give the porters an option to run. At least two farmers have set up clear trades that require the porter to walk forward to accept it."

"That's... Wow." The implications were staggering. Not only were we not being hunted like we were mere months ago, but now porters had to be willing to trade their energy, either by letting the Saursunes circle them or by actively approaching them.

Liam nodded. "And the farmers are bringing so much food that some porters are willing to risk it."

That had me blinking. "Really? I thought most porters bounced when the Saursunes appeared, especially near a farm?" I ate a couple of wilted leaves from my basket.

"They're desperate," Grant said bluntly. "Some like Keywa Village are on survival rations."

I furrowed my eyebrows as I chewed the astringent greens. The leaves in my mouth were old and tough, not to mention being from plants we normally ignored if we had other options. My hunters had similar fare. Porters and hunters got more food than most and usually better portions due to the amount of calories we burned in a day. And if this was the best to be had...

"How are we doing?" I asked Grant.

"The rationing isn't as bad as it was a week ago, but it varies day by day, depending on how much we find and how much the Saursunes bring." He frowned at the last part.

It was easy to read between the lines; the only reason we weren't on starvation rations was because the Saursunes were giving us food. A few of our porters—like Janette and myself—were entertaining such trades or letting ourselves "get caught" by the previously deadly aliens.

Most porters would bounce if given the chance. Some had been pretending to be cornered to increase their porting abilities, but now that it was common knowledge that Saursunes would let a porter escape, those individuals might feel like they had to run due to social obligation, family pressure, or pride.

There wasn't much I could do, other than to say, "I'm willing to go near fields ready for harvest as well. Between those new spots and what the Saursunes bring Janette and me, it should help."

He nodded although some of the villagers muttered among themselves. We changed the subject, and after visiting for a while longer, I went to check on Cleo. As always, I was relieved to see her safe and sound. Grant had told those at the Oasis that the cat here was mine and couldn't be taken to our village with our current feline residents, which had undoubtedly helped. Not many wanted to potentially offend a strong porter by killing her pet.

Cleo trotted over with her tail in the air to greet me, carrying a small mouse. I gave her praise and pets as she ate the unwanted scraps in the bucket. When it was time to go, I ported to Sunrise Village.

The log was still where I left it, but I really didn't want it to dry out in the desert heat since it would get lighter. It would also be less conspicuous if I returned it to Fern Hills. Retrieving the rope from its hiding place near the well, I tied it around a branch.

"Fern Hills," I murmured.

Light danced through my veins, although there was less dragging today. The log had already lost a lot of moisture. I appeared in the fern-filled forest. My legs didn't feel any different, nor was there any porting strain. Perhaps I hadn't shared as much with the Saursune as I had thought.

Since I was already out here, I ported the log back to Sunrise Village, then dragged it back to Fern Hills. The three loaded ports didn't seem to do anything, although it was hard to tell since my legs were still sore from my hike. At least I'd be able to sleep tonight, although the energy sharing would have already guaranteed that.

Leaving the log among the ferns, I bounced back to Sunrise Village, hid the rope, and returned home.