I wandered over to Grant as three porters took some hunters to claim our new marsh forest crystals. Grant hadn't spoken with Irwin Village about their crystal—no porters had enough ports left to take him to the Oasis last night—so he deemed it polite not to go there this morning.

"Need me to check for other spots?"

He shook his head, suddenly looking disgruntled. "Janette can go back to where she was yesterday, and the patriarchs have specifically requested that you and Merryl stay safe at Orange Flower."

My jaw dropped as a dozen thoughts spun around my mind. "Specifically? Don't they realize that a Saursune visits us there every day? There's almost nothing left to pick either."

Grant's frown deepened as he looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. "They seem to be under the impression that porters don't stray away from the crystal"—he ignored my snort—"and assume everyone bounces if they see one. When I told them it was mostly picked clean, they suggested the far-ranging hunters pick a different direction. They also had the audacity to remind me that other remote locations were even emptier."

I blinked slowly several times and finally said, "I don't recall the patriarchs trying to tell us where to go in the past."

"They haven't until the last couple of days," he said, confirming yesterday's theory. "Some like Orson just ask me to be cautious, but Barrett and Tieber are trying to tell me exactly where to send each group—and they don't even remember the names of half of the locations."

That would annoy Grant more than a horse fly buzzing around his head.

I furrowed my eyebrows and decided to test the waters. "So...why now?"

"Because some porters aren't running away, which they believe jeopardizes the entire village. And the villagers are just as worried."

"I think children starving to death is a bigger issue, but perhaps that's just me," I grumbled.

Grant grunted in agreement and glanced at something behind me. "If you're bored, you can take the big water cart to Orange Flower. No one had the energy to take it last night, so we're short on water."

"Sure," I agreed easily, wondering who was behind me.

When I turned around to go search for volunteers, Barrett was walking closer. He nodded at me as he waited to speak with Grant. I returned the polite nod just to keep him from getting suspicious.

Once I was past him, I caught the eyes of a few hunters and jerked my chin toward Grant. They ambled in that direction as if waiting for their morning assignments. If the patriarch was going to try pressuring Grant, perhaps he'd think twice with witnesses.

It didn't take me long to find five people to act as water carriers and sentries. We pushed the big cart over to the crystal.

Once they were all hanging on, I said, "Orange Flower."

Three jogged for the creek with their buckets while the other two scanned the area alertly. The areas under the trees had deep shadows since the sun was only starting to peek over the horizon.

If the Saursune was around, it was too dark for me to see her. By the time we filled the cart, the sky had lightened considerably, although there was still no hint of movement.

"Home."

After so many days of porting a dozen times to locate an empty crystal, a round trip with the water cart seemed insufficient. But if I was going to be stuck at Orange Flower all day, I could trade the surplus energy for food. It might be a nice change to start the day without porting until I was close to my limits.

With that backup plan in mind, I waited patiently on the resting hides as the sun rose higher and more people gathered. I kept tabs on where Grant sent people and was relieved to discover we were going to the same places we had gone yesterday. Nothing was stopping me from leaving most of my group with Roxanne.

"Mind if I borrow five of your group again?" Roxanne asked me.

"Go for it," I told her.

"I'll see you later," she said, smirking slightly.

When Grant asked Ariel to go to Orange Flower, she frowned slightly. "Can I join Roxanne instead? My group found almost nothing yesterday." Her words were polite and loud enough for the lingering patriarch to hear.

Grant flipped through a few pages that I knew he'd memorized last night. "I don't see why not. Feel free to go to the Beyond The Marsh crystal. It should be safe enough with Roxanne and Andre."

"Thanks!" She skipped over to the crystal as her group followed her with amused expressions. One gatherer matched Ariel's skipping, causing both of them to break out in peals of laughter; a very peculiar sound when past trips had always been somber journeys that all might not return from.

I wandered over to Grant and played along. "Where do you need me?"

"Orange Flower again? Some of your group can help finish the gardens while others go foraging. They can also join other groups if you prefer. The ones you left with Roxanne brought back a decent amount yesterday, so if you don't mind leaving a bunch of them with her, that would be great."

"Of course." It was all I could do to keep from laughing as Barrett blinked blankly in surprise.

Grant knew I had left extra hunters with Roxanne yesterday, but apparently this was news to the patriarchs. Then again, they were only paying attention to where the porters went. Not our companions. And now I had open permission to take the hunters wherever they wanted as long as I left them with another porter and came back for them later.

Ten hunters grabbed digging picks, shovels, and other garden tools while the others picked out bows, knives, and more than a few carry nets.

As the ten gardeners gathered around me, I said, "Orange Flower."

Barrett still looked dumbfounded as our view hazed over. Why hadn't he believed Grant? Or had he even taken the time to ask instead of trying to tell him where to send me?

My goal was to bring back more than my fair share of food. If he wanted to decide where I went during the day, I was willing to humor him. I had faith in the Saursunes' ability to find me, and I'd be delighted to secretly trade my energy for food while the old men thought they sent me to a "safe" location.

The tan cliffs turned to dark green, then cleared to reveal the familiar forest. Merryl was already here and spreading out her leather blanket.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I asked my passengers, "Do five of you feel like going over to where Roxanne is and building more gardens there?"

After a quick discussion, five hands returned to my shoulders. "Beyond The Marsh."

As my sight cleared, Roxanne grinned at me. "Long time, no see."

I returned the grin. "I figured you needed a garden to tend, and if you start now, you'll have things to nibble on about the time you collect all the easy stuff around the crystal. I'll bring those still at home over here."

"I'm happy to keep an eye on them and help dig," Roxanne said.

I returned home and was relieved to see that Barrett had left. Orson had appeared during my absence and leaned against the cliffs. I grinned at the friendly patriarch.

"Hey, Orson," I greeted him as I sat on a resting bench near the crystal.

The silver-haired man ambled over at the invitation and sat beside me. "How are things going with you, Natalie?"

I shrugged. "Just the usual. Porting around until my head spins or Grant threatens to tie me up."

He chuckled. "You keep him on his toes."

"Someone has to," I replied with a smirk.

A voice echoed out of the nearby cave. "No, you don't."

Orson and I both laughed at Grant's reply as my adoptive father emerged from his office cave.

"Come sit," Orson told him, patting the empty part of the bench beside him.

"Where'd Barrett go?" Grant asked, looking around as he sat down.

Orson shrugged. "Probably off with Tieber. I honestly have no idea why he didn't realize Natalie had left a bunch of hunters with Roxanne yesterday. They didn't exactly keep it a secret."

"Some days he's so impatient to have his turn to talk that he doesn't listen to those who are speaking," Grant muttered.

"Barrett will be Barrett," Orson replied with a light shrug. Glancing at me, he said, "Please tell me that you're being careful out there. The Saursunes have been acting strange, and that's rarely a good thing."

I nodded somberly as I told the likable patriarch, "Leaving the village is always a risk, but I'm being careful. I don't feel like dying, and it would be a tragedy if I wasn't around to torment Grant."

Orson chuckled as Grant rolled his eyes, and the patriarch said, "Indeed. Don't lose your caution, for I fear no one else is able to torment Grant like you do. What's it like at Orange Flower?"

"Nothing worth collecting near the crystal," I told him honestly. "There's a lot more at Beyond The Marsh, so I'm glad so many hunters are willing to go there without me."

"I presume Roxanne would fetch you if trouble showed up?" When I nodded, he said, "It's a good backup plan, although they'll be so far away from the crystal that the chances of them escaping danger is slim." He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Does a Saursune really show up there every day?"

"I'm not sure which location you're asking about, but the truth is that they're showing up at pretty much every crystal every single day. The brown one by Orange Flower never has weapons or armor. She's never acted aggressive when she's gotten between the hunters and the crystal, and she's never knocked them down."

"That is probably more than anyone could ask. Escape is never guaranteed..." he trailed off as his eyes went distant. He shook his head and got to his feet. "Please continue to be careful and bounce if you believe things are getting dangerous."

"Like I said, I have no plans on dying, but we do need to bring in food, or no one will survive," I replied evasively. I had no plans on bouncing whenever a Saursune appeared, although his particular choice of words let me use my discretion.

He nodded. "That is all we can ask. I'll leave you in Grant's care. Have a good day."

"You, too."

Once he was out of earshot, Grant opened one of his notebooks. "Orson has a good head on his shoulders. He tries to see things from all angles and then goes off to think. Wish Barrett would take lessons."

I stretched and got up. "We can hope, but I'm not holding my breath."

I headed to the crystal as the hunters waited patiently. It took two round trips to take them to Roxanne. When I went to leave, a hunter from the first group handed me a bundle of greens. "Here, you can share that with Callie and Merryl."

"Thanks!" I told her, taking it gratefully.

We hadn't gotten any breakfast, and yesterday I had given most of what I found to Callie so she didn't go hungry. What the hunter had collected here in fifteen minutes would have taken us a couple of hours at Orange Flower.

With a much lighter heart, I ported to Orange Flower and called, "Callie! I brought you some breakfast!"

The child's pinched expression lit up as she turned my way. With a quiet squeal of excitement, she ran over as I separated the bundle into four portions, with one being bigger than the others.

"One is for you, one is for your mother, and the big one can be split between our companions. Do you want to hand them out?"

"Yes, please!"

Keeping a bundle for myself, I gave her the other three, and she ran over to Merryl. She passed one to her mother, set another on the blanket beside her for herself, and scampered to the nearest gatherer. Callie paused and looked at the five hunters and gatherers, then at the handful of greens, trying to separate them without being old enough to have been taught division.

A gatherer knelt beside her and placed five leaves on the ground, spacing them out. She added a second leaf to each "pile", then a third. Callie caught on and soon had the pile divided equally. She proudly passed one to the gatherer, who inclined her head in thanks. Callie jumped to her feet and quickly gave the other four their portions.

I nibbled on a few crisp stems while gazing at my wrist. Only a few faint brownish splotches were left. Several people had noticed last night, and I told them a Saursune had put some salve on it, much like the salve they had given Janette for the sunburn on her newly healed skin. More had looked at it this morning, although none had commented on it.

Once I finished my breakfast, I helped the others dig up small patches of soil. Our progress was hindered by tree roots, many of which we had to dig around. Slowly but surely, small patches of black dirt adorned the forest floor. Most spots would have sun most of the day, while others had more shade. There hadn't been many seeds in Grant's office, and he hadn't been to the Oasis yet, but he had sent a dozen tiny pouches with us.

Callie stacked pebbles in a corner of each plot to form a V for Vermilion Village. Merryl marked rows and planted seeds, also using pebbles to note what she was planting. A couple of the really tiny plots—barely bigger than my foot due to tree roots—could be used for trailing gourds and squash that would grow over the grasses.

A large moving shadow made us look to the east as an airship flew past, barely visible behind the leaves as it headed south. It had been far enough away that we didn't immediately bolt for the crystal, but it had been close enough that everyone stood up in case it veered this way.

"Should we get ready to bounce?" I asked the others. "The few times I've seen an airship, it was flying much faster than that, so I'm pretty sure they were checking if someone was here."

The five who'd stayed with us had old injuries that hampered their movement, and if there was potential danger, they wouldn't be able to move fast.

"Let's move closer to the crystal, just in case," Merryl said, quickly using a twig to mark where she had left off the planting.

"I wonder if that's how the brown Saursune gets here every day?" I mused as we drifted toward the crystal. "Hunters have wandered for hours in all directions without finding a farm or dwelling, so it makes sense. It would be a rather long trip on foot."

"Maybe," Arthur replied dubiously. "But if she uses an airship, why haven't we seen it before?"

Sophia gestured at the trees around. "If it hadn't been for that shadow, we wouldn't have noticed it. The airships don't make any noise."

Arthur muttered, "I still find it strange. The odds of that shadow passing over us are so low that I can't see it being a coincidence."

I frowned. He was right. It was remarkably similar to when the Saursune let us spot them. But why would an airship let itself be seen?

Our footsteps sped up.