The first rays of morning light lit up the uppermost edges of the cliffs as Grant worked his way through the crowd and eventually reached my group.

"Orange Tree Valley?" he asked as he came over.

I nodded, recognizing the location. Then memory caught up to me. "But that spot is a four-hour hike from the crystal by the apple orchard."

It was one thing to forage near a field, but near a town? That was too much risk even for me, and I was the idiot who had willingly shared her energy with an overgrown alien lizard in an attempt to keep my hunters safe.

"If that Saursune hadn't shown up at Three Stone Forest yesterday, I'd send you back there, but it's undoubtedly still in the area. The groups who went to Orange Tree Valley haven't seen a Saursune the last three days. I advise the hunters to avoid going north though."

"Three days?" one of my hunters quietly asked. "As in, they've been seen there recently?"

Grant flipped through his notes. "One was seen four days ago, and there was another sighting three days before that, which is less than most locations." He gestured to the notebook, which was plastered with orange bookmarks. "I only have four places with no sightings this week, and Mesquite Plains is one of them. Every other remote location has been picked clean. Unless you want a crystal right on the border of a field or near a farm, I don't have anything else to offer."

The hunter blinked slowly at the bookmarks, possibly not realizing until now just how detailed Grant's records were. "We can try Orange Tree Valley."

I was still dubious. I stood half a chance of escaping via the crystals, but the hunters didn't have that option. Still, this place was four hours away from the settlement, and that was better than being a mere stone's throw away from a field.

It was tempting to suggest going back to where we were yesterday, but I knew Grant wasn't the only one who'd protest against that idea. The Saursune might have proven himself helpful, but old habits of avoidance were persistent, and I knew the two hunters who got lost didn't want to revisit those memories just yet.

Half of my group followed me to the crystal; the other half remained where they were, out of the way.

"Orange Tree Valley."

Light danced through my veins as the air around us hazed over. When it cleared, I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that no other groups had beat us here. We scanned the area; the forest here wasn't dense, but there was a decent amount of underbrush.

I could see at least two mulberry bushes and a date palm, but most of the plants weren't types that had fruit. There were a dozen orange trees farther down the valley, although they weren't visible from here.

"Remember, don't go north," I reminded the nine hunters.

They nodded and slowly dispersed. One remained nearby, claiming the crystal in my absence while waiting for me to bring his traveling partner.

I returned to the village, and after resting for a bit, I brought the second bunch over. Interestingly enough, I could feel my porting energy drain away during the jump—something I couldn't really detect before—but there was no strain and no noticeable tiredness.

"There isn't much here," said the hunter who had waited. "I saw some clumps of thyme and sweet myrtle that would be a nice addition to the mattresses."

If a hunter said there wasn't much around, I wasn't about to doubt them. "Thanks. Some of the beds probably need more herbs, and thyme can always be added to the salads."

I left a few empty carry nets by the crystal before investigating the area. Like most porters, my knowledge of plants was decent, but every location had different flora, and lookalikes abounded, so I only picked what I knew was safe.

Gatherers spent at least an hour every day studying dried leaf samples and detailed notes. Even if the plants didn't go into piles of stuff to be eaten, there was still a risk. Some plants caused hives, itching, and blisters, and even the pretty red seeds of the rosary pea were too dangerous to use as necklace beads in case a young child chewed on them.

Thankfully, thyme was easy to identify by its leaves and fragrant smell. The first plant I found had been pruned recently, so I only took a few stems and went looking for the other patches, which were in similar shape.

It was frustrating to be surrounded by so many plants and yet not be able to find much. I located some short palm trees with big leaves and white berries. White wasn't a color you trusted in palms, and considering these were untouched by past groups, I wasn't about to pick them. But the leaves were fair game and would make lovely baskets, presuming the weaver had more skill than I did.

I used my small knife to trim off a few leaves and went looking for more plants. The morning passed slowly, although I was accumulating a decent pile of useful things like branches and textile leaves.

By midafternoon, I was definitely feeling restless despite not taking a break. Apparently physical work didn't affect our porting energy even though porting took a toll on our physical stamina. I was tempted to port to a few abandoned villages to check for shards, but I'd visited them all recently, and it would probably be weeks before the cracked one dropped a shard.

Shaking my head, I wandered down the path to the orange trees. A couple of flowers were present, although most of the petals had dropped to the ground. Not a single orange remained even though these trees usually carried their fruit during the next flowering season. Anything even halfway ripe had undoubtedly been picked by earlier groups.

A clump of purple coneflowers caught my interest. The flower petals were colorful additions to salads, but the doctor also used the plant for various teas and tisanes for coughs. I made a note to pick some before I left; there was no sense in collecting them now and letting them wilt all day.

Ahead, a dark blue Saursune walked out from behind a tree on his hind legs. Armor adorned his chest, arms, and legs, and he held some sort of device in his hand as he faced me. My breath caught in my throat as I took a step back.

Had he been unarmed and walking on all fours like the last few Saursunes had, I would have been nervous, but not terrified. Seeing an armed fighter with weapons in hand brought back far too many memories. My heart sped up, and I could almost smell the sickly-sweet char of burnt human flesh that their fire weapons caused. Run.

My survival instincts kicked in. I spun on my heels and raced through the forest, desperately hoping I could reach the distant crystal without the Saursune firing the weapon at me. Maybe he'd be satisfied if he just chased me away, like the Saursune at Apple Orchard had.

My heart pounded in my ears, but that didn't prevent me from hearing the rustling of leaves to the left. The Saursune had already caught up. Shrubs swayed as he pulled ahead, suddenly jumping onto the path in front of me. He dug all four sets of claws into the grass as he spun around to face me.

I skidded to a stop, almost falling over. I carefully backed away as the Saursune rose to his hind legs again, watching me intently. His hands were empty this time, but a dozen devices resided on his armored belt.

Unsure if he considered my panicked stare a challenge, I averted my gaze, watching him from the corner of my eye. Shivering, I stopped and didn't try to edge away. He was between me and the crystal—there was nowhere else I could run.

My muscles trembled as I realized I was trapped. Part of me fervently hoped the "no killing porters" trend applied to this area. This was a fighter though; the rules could be completely different.

His tail swished to the side, halfway curling around his feet as he continued to regard me. Then he reached for his armored belt. My breath caught in my throat as his hands neared the devices, and I quickly sidestepped behind a slender tree and crouched down, trying to make myself as small a target as possible.

With a click, his belt came undone and hung from his hand. He slowly set it in the grass, then reached for his chest armor, somehow unhinging it and the shoulder plates. They were set on top of the belt. Even his arm band came off.

All I could do was stare.

The Saursune leaned forward and dropped to all fours. He slowly paced to the side, keeping an eye on me. I remained where I was, uncertain of what was going on. If he was worried about me taking his weapons, he was sorely mistaken. There was no way I was going near them. Not only did I not have the faintest clue how they worked, but he'd surely reach them before I did, and he wouldn't be happy.

Only then did I realize he hadn't growled or bared his teeth at me. Between that and him leaving his weapons behind, a flicker of hope appeared. His path curved toward me. I leaned against the tree uneasily, not daring to stand as the fighter approached.

As he drew closer, he hummed and lowered his head, gently nudging my knee with his nose. I kept one hand on the tree and held the other against my chest, unwilling to risk touching him. If he wanted to steal my energy, he could go for it, but I wasn't about to try the energy sharing trick with a fighter.

Still humming, he nuzzled my shoulder, then nose-bumped my arm. I lost my balance and twisted to the side slightly, landing on my rump. He sat on his haunches and tilted his head as he blinked at me. As his tail curled around him, the tip rested against my knee. My energy shifted and began moving.

Relief crept in. This Saursune was like others I'd encountered lately. He was more interested in taking my energy than killing me. And, apparently, he wanted it badly enough to take off his armor and leave his weapons behind.

But why had he done that? Every evening, I heard other porters telling me about how they'd been tripped and then pinned. Some of those Saursunes had been armed, although most weren't. Several porters had figured out that not running meant we didn't get knocked down, but why had this Saursune just cut me off?

I wasn't sure, but I was more than willing to let him take some energy if it meant I wouldn't be hunted. The earlier run had reminded me of the horror of the "old days", even though that was just a couple of weeks ago, when simply seeing a Saursune meant it was too late to escape. This new situation was preferable, or at least that's what I told myself as I tried to convince my heart to slow its racing.

The Saursune sat beside me almost companionably as he looked around the area. He was still humming—if you could call such a deep sound a hum—and the tone sounded like it was supposed to be comforting or reassuring. His tail was hot against my leg as I felt my strength slowly trickling away.

Tentatively, I rearranged my legs into a more comfortable sitting position. The Saursune shifted his tail so it leaned against the side of my leg, seemingly unbothered as I settled down.