My fear slowly subsided, although I was still wary of the large creature next to me. I wondered if this Saursune was from the Apple Orchard town four hours away or if there was another settlement I wasn't aware of. I hoped the hunters hadn't stumbled into it.

I also hoped the Saursunes weren't too upset about the trackers I'd dumped there. Did this fighter know I was the one who left several by that crystal? There wasn't any way to tell, and he seemed calm right now.

It was...strange to sit beside a Saursune and just watch the forest. Birds occasionally flittered overhead and sang. It was almost peaceful, although I couldn't relax with my lingering reservations and fears.

Feeling my energy slowly draining away was bizarre. I tracked it as best I could, trying to figure out how much I had and how much was disappearing. I was getting a slightly better sense of it, but it was like trying to catch fog. I could see it shifting, but I didn't know how much was there or where the edges truly were.

The drain slowed to a trickle, then ceased. The Saursune continued to sit beside me, still humming. To my chagrin, I realized I couldn't gauge how much energy I had left since I was sitting. I'd always judged my stamina by how easy it was to stand or walk. Would my legs give out, be shaky, or just want a break? I didn't feel overly tired, so I was pretty sure they wouldn't give out, which was a bonus.

After several minutes, the Saursune stood up and shook himself. He turned back to me, and his humming turned into a deeper thrumming as he nudged my shoulder. Backing up a step, he looked around, then walked back to where he'd left his armor and weapons.

He stood on his back legs and put on his chest armor and shoulder plates. My heart skipped a beat when he picked up the armored belt, but he just clipped it on without taking any of the devices off. With another shake to settle everything, he glanced at me, dropped to all fours, and disappeared into the undergrowth.

I saw no point in getting up just yet, so I remained where I was. My restless desire to pace had disappeared. In fact, I felt more like sitting than getting up. A few sprigs of chickweed threaded through the long grass by my feet, so I nibbled on the greens.

I was still trying to dig up enough ambition to stand when nearby shrubs rustled, and the Saursune slipped through with his armor and weapon-bedecked belt still present. He remained on all fours and tilted his head as he regarded me.

I watched him somewhat uneasily. I trusted him enough not to kill me, but that was about it. He ambled over and walked behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see what he was doing and froze when I came face-to-face with him.

With a slow blink, his deep hum filled the air again. Stepping closer, he lowered his head to nudge my shoulder, then, shifting his nose under my arm, gave a more insistent push while lifting.

I took the hint and stood up, albeit somewhat awkwardly since I didn't want to bump into him. Now that I was standing, I could tell that even though my legs felt more like sitting, they weren't shaky in the least.

He moved his neck under my hand and walked forward as my fingers trailed along his hide. When my hand reached the armor on his shoulder, he paused and looked back at me expectantly.

Some days I was a bit of a slow learner, but I knew what he wanted. I began walking, letting him guide my steps. He faced ahead, and I carefully kept my hand on his armored shoulder, acutely aware of the belt and weapons around his waist.

Not only could I feel the interlocking pieces of metal shifting under my palm, but the faint clinking sent chills down my spine. The metallic clicks had followed me into many nightmares after running from fighters like this one.

Yet, there was also a certain thrill I didn't understand. Like I was touching a creature that should be super dangerous, but I was somehow immune to the threat.

To my surprise, I realized we were heading to the crystal. When we got closer, I saw a twig-woven basket of oranges in front of a large log that hadn't been there before. The ends of the log were flat with no axe or hatchet gouges.

The Saursune guided me to the log and oranges. He sidestepped away, and I was very careful to ensure my hand didn't go anywhere near his belt.

I bowed my head and quietly said, "Thank you."

His head gave me a small push toward the basket. Another nudge against my side had me turning sideways, adding to my confusion, until I realized he wanted me to sit on the log.

As soon as I sat down, he pushed the basket of oranges against my feet and trotted away, leaving me less than fifteen paces from the crystal. I scratched my head while trying to figure out if the log was just meant to be a bench or if he expected me to take it when I left. It wasn't close enough to the crystal for me to reach the spires and the log, so I left that question for later.

I picked up an orange and marveled at the size of it. All of them were much bigger than what the grove here produced. Once again, I was left wondering where he had gotten the fruit.

No hunter had found a mango tree in the jungle, and I suspected no one was going to bring back this type of orange. And where had the log come from? It was roughly knee-high and at least twenty paces long! I hadn't seen any trees that big around here during my earlier walk, and even a Saursune fighter couldn't have carried it, so how had it gotten here?

After inspecting the orange to make sure the skin was undamaged, I peeled it and nibbled the fruit, making sure to spit out any seeds. Seeing the seeds sitting on the leaf litter spurred me into collecting them.

I planted them and marked their locations with stick fences. After some hesitation, I braided some grass into a circle on top. The Saursune wasn't in sight, and I hoped he wouldn't get as excited about the circles as the last one had. If he did, well, I'd make him one since the last Saursune had taken it upon himself to help protect my hunters.

After I sat for a while, I returned to the orange grove to check for more medicinal plants. Our doctor might not be the best around, but that was mostly because of a lack of supplies. To make things more difficult, most plants that helped with ailments like diarrhea could also be eaten in moderation, and thus, many ended up in salads and soups since food was considered a top priority.

The rest of the day passed without me seeing any trace of the Saursune. The hunters returned in pairs, none of whom had seen any Saursunes or large predators, apart from some big crocodiles by a slow, muddy river. They had a decent haul; each had at least two medium-sized animals, some small ones, and enough nuts, fruit, or other plants to fill a couple of carry nets. One had even found a small stand of sugar cane.

I ported nine to the Guard Station, leaving the tenth to await the others. As the haze cleared, dozens of people were present, and I tensed, ready to bounce if something was amiss.

"Get comfy," the guard with the scanner said as he came over. "You'll be here a while."

My heart sped up, thinking I was in trouble, before I got a better look at the crowd: porters, hunters, and gatherers with their daily haul. None of the individuals had even a quarter of what each of my hunters had gathered.

"What happened?" my eldest hunter, Clyde, asked.

"The Saursunes are using intermittent trackers with over an hour delay between signals. We haven't seen any here yet, but no one has been here that long."

Another guard added, "Two villages were overrun—not one of ours, thankfully. Telmir Village and Yellow Sand Village, both of which were dedicated raiding villages. Zero warning before airships arrived."

"How many got out?" I asked as my heart dropped. How had I touched a fighter within hours of airships destroying not just one but two villages? It was a solemn reminder of the danger the Saursunes posed. Had he put a tracker in the oranges or in the log? I shuddered at the thought of airships appearing above our village.

"We're not sure. At least several porters got out with whoever they could grab. We found out less than an hour ago and began making groups wait."

The guard with the scanner asked, "Did any of you go near a field or farm, or encounter a Saursune?"

"I got cornered by a Saursune," I admitted. "None of my group would have set foot in a field."

My hunters nodded in confirmation, already spreading the carry nets along an empty section of the cliff in case we had a passenger.

"Did it leave anything by the crystal?"

"A basket of oranges," I said, gesturing to it. I hadn't brought the log with me, although I planned to on the last trip. There were some talented carvers in the village who could turn it into a beautiful bench or two. It had been over a decade since someone had brought them part of a large tree trunk.

"Move it over there." The guard pointed to the edge of the cliff, where six other baskets waited.

I did a headcount as a hunter carried it over. Eight groups, six of which had a Saursune encounter. It was easy to tell which porters had been caught. Four were napping, and two looked less than alert, like they had gone all night without sleep and were struggling to focus. I faked a yawn as I went to an empty section of hide next to where Andre's group sat.

Andre looked bored, but not overly tired as he told me, "Merryl was in a safe spot, so she was able to port to the village. Grant wants us to wait here at least an hour. They're heading to the Oasis for updates."

I glanced toward the ledge, where the sundial was, and made a mental note of the time. Most of us were good at guessing time by the sun's position and how many fingers it moved toward the horizon, but the sundial was more accurate.

Mark from Briar Village waved at us. "Andre, Natalie, come over for a game of dice. Grab ten pebbles on your way. We might as well have some fun while we wait."

"Sure. I have some time before some of my wandering hunters return to the crystal." I joined them for a few games and some gossip. Most groups were mingling while carefully spreading themselves out. Three guards stood in the middle as they watched the scanner intently.