The sun was barely rising as the first people gathered around Grant. Only a few villagers were up this early and even fewer lingered nearby to watch friends or family depart. Thankfully, Barrett and Tieber hadn't made an appearance yet.

Grant covered a yawn. "Same assignments as yesterday, unless someone wants a change?"

People drifted over to the shelves of foraging and hunting supplies, apparently content with that decision.

I wandered over to Grant. "I'm kind of torn. There's nothing to collect at Orange Flower, but I'm guaranteed to bring a lot back. Most of my group can go with Roxanne."

"Do you mind going to Orange Flower again? The patriarchs don't really want you there anymore, but they want you in other spots even less after some villagers pointed out that they knew about the brown Saursune that's always there and that it hasn't harmed anyone yet."

I rolled my eyes. "Why not just leave the assignments to you then?"

He made a face. "Barrett is honestly convinced he's doing a better job at protecting the village than I am. He didn't care if you leave most of your group with another one of our porters. Orson is trying to reason with him, but you can imagine how well that is going."

With a shrug, I said, "It'll be boring, but I can go to Orange Flower and water the seeds or something. I'll take three gatherers with me and leave the rest with Roxanne. The Saursune is bound to show up, so at least I'll bring something back worth my time."

"Thanks. It annoys me to listen to them, but most of the villagers agree with their decisions, and I suspect you'll bring back more than enough to make the trip worthwhile. Before you go, do you mind checking a few fields? Tomorrow is Keywa Village's turn at Orange Flower, and the place Janette was at yesterday was completely harvested. I'd like to give her some options, and it should give you a few ideas for tomorrow."

Letting me bring back ideas? This was far too tempting to pass up. "Sure."

Which spots should I try first... With a grin, I began to think of places with really desirable crops. We usually avoided such places since the Saursunes there were always on the lookout for raiders. Perhaps a few of the good fields were close to harvest.

Or...it didn't need to be a field. It could be an orchard too. Not the one by the town—even I wasn't comfortable porting there—but there were other orchards.

"Mango Orchard," I murmured, hoping the huge trees had a bumper crop.

The air around me hazed over, then cleared. The grass was somewhat trampled, but the mangos were only half grown. I'd have to check back in a month or so. Next, I tried near a tomato field. I craned my neck without moving away from the crystal and was able to see specks of red in the distance. Excellent.

On my next port, I almost scared myself into a bounce when I appeared right beside a group of strangers. After a friendly nod, I quickly left. I limited my ports and picked my destinations carefully so I could trade my remaining energy for food. It took a handful of ports before I found two more fields close to harvest.

The shimmering air cleared as the desert cliffs loomed above me once more.

I wandered over to Grant. "I checked eight places and found three fields close to the harvesting stage. None of the orchards had ripe fruit. I even encountered two rather jumpy groups of strangers who looked ready to bounce at a moment's notice."

He scribbled down the location names as I listed them off. "Hmmm... Others are getting desperate enough to harvest near the ripe fields."

"That's what I was thinking. So, new idea. What we really need are crystals that no one else knows about, and Keywa's days at Orange Flower would be the perfect time for me and some hunters to try finding them."

"That's a thought. I'll look at that map again."

I headed over to my group. "Feel like joining Roxanne? If one of you could pick a handful of greens for me to take to Callie, that'd be great."

Three volunteered at the same time and grinned at each other. Ten followed me to the crystal, and once they were connected to me and each other, I silently ported them to the marsh crystal.

Roxanne and Ariel hadn't arrived yet, but Andre waved a welcome as he said, "Mind swinging by this afternoon to check on us? A Saursune already poked its nose out of the forest, so I'm sure it'll be back. Roxanne avoided it yesterday, but after what the lizards keep bringing you, she might try petting it one of these days."

I nodded. "I can come by a few times. If someone is tired, I'm more than happy to help port people back home."

"Thanks. We might need to take you up on that offer. Ariel was telling us how you pet them when they walk over, so she might try it too, but I can't port three groups back." He paused, then asked, "The number of ports you can do—is that because of the Saursunes taking your energy or due to how much you push yourself?"

His question caught me off guard, and I blinked blankly at him before my mind caught up. "Uh, both kind of do it? Pushing yourself to the limits works if they've caught you at least once in the past. When the Saursunes catch you, you're low on energy, and pushing yourself on those days seems to do a bit more." The effect was more noticeable if we shared energy instead of letting them take it, but this wasn't the time to mention that aspect.

He nodded thoughtfully. "It's something to think about. Looking back, I can see the difference with my own abilities, and I have to say that I quite like being able to port my group without ending up utterly exhausted by the time we get home."

That hadn't been the comment I was expecting, so I said, "The extra ports have come in handy, but be careful. Grant has a monumental lecture saved for the next person who passes out on his watch."

He chuckled. "We all know he's saving that one for you."

I made a face, which only made him snicker harder. "Probably, but I won't argue if someone else volunteers first. But I should go get the next group. Home."

The desert cliffs appeared around me. Ten people—the older individuals with injuries—came over next, so I said, "Orange Flower."

Barrett's smile as I left wasn't as smug this morning as yesterday, but the mere fact that it existed annoyed me in a way I couldn't put into words. I waited impatiently as the hazy air cleared.

"Do three of you mind staying and helping me tend these garden plots?" I asked. "I can take everyone else to Roxanne. There's more to collect over there."

"I can stay," Sophia offered.

Arthur nodded. "Me too."

Another gatherer perked up. "I enjoy gardening."

The three disentangled themselves from the crowd.

Arthur paused. "What's in the garden plot over there?"

We all turned and stared at three garden plots that had large leafy plants growing in the newly turned dirt. The three volunteers cautiously went over to investigate.

Sophia called back, "Someone planted strawberry plants between the rows of carrots. I think some are radishes, but I don't recognize most of these."

Arthur leaned over to peer at something. "Lots of Saursune tracks, so it wasn't another group."

"Do you feel safe staying here?" I asked them, looking around without seeing a flash of scales.

They exchanged looks.

"We should be fine," Sophia told me. "Merryl will be here shortly."

I nodded slowly. "I'll be back soon. Beyond The Marsh."

The air hazed around us and cleared. Andre was still where he'd been earlier, and Ariel was sitting near him. Both were warily watching a blue Saursune sitting at the far edge of the clearing. Like last time, he wore no armor or belt, just an armband.

"It looks like the one that guided me to this crystal. Are you two going to be okay with it hanging around?" I quietly asked the porters as my group let go of my shoulders, already so accustomed to the presence of Saursunes that it was no longer a cause for alarm.

"So far," Andre muttered. "It keeps edging closer when it thinks we aren't looking."

I smirked. "Just like a kid, huh?"

"I'll take your word for it," he said without looking away from their guest, who seemed rather intrigued by my presence.

I grinned, and light shimmered through my veins as I ported back home for my last group.

Grant was surrounded by piles of notebooks and looked up from the map I'd made. "Merryl just left. Take a break and give them time to get clear of the crystal."

I stood near him. "I don't want to leave them alone for too long. The Saursunes planted some plants in our plots."

He gave me a sharp look. "They did?"

"Planted them right between our rows. All fruits and vegetables. I didn't stay long, but there weren't any Saursunes around when I left."

He frowned at the notebook in his hands. "Have you ever seen a Saursune plant anything in the forest like that before? Or have any guesses on how touchy they might be around those plants?"

"I don't think I've seen anything intentionally planted outside of a field or farm. And let's be honest, if they didn't want us to touch those plants, that was the absolute worst spot in the entire forest to plant them."

"True..."

I shrugged. "My guess is that they're part of the trade from yesterday, but just in case, I'd like to return before the Saursunes show up." Neither of us mentioned the possibility of it being part of a trade for whatever they wanted today.

The last ten in my group followed me, and I silently ported them to our true destination. I blinked against the fading haze; Andre and Ariel were where I'd left them. Roxanne sat about twenty paces to the side, and the blue Saursune lifted his head from where he was lying in the grass. He looked between me and Roxanne, who he must have been inching toward before I arrived.

Before the Saursune could get any ideas, I told the porters, "I'll leave you to your fun. If you need anything, I'll be at Orange Flower. I'll try to check back here occasionally and see how you're doing."

One of the gatherers jogged over, holding out a carry net with a few handfuls of plants. "Here."

"Thanks!" I took it gratefully. There was no guarantee a Saursune would show up or bring food early on, and I hated to see Callie search so hard for every little morsel. "Orange Flower."

The air hazed over as the mossy greens around me turned to darker leaf greens. The haze cleared as I scanned the area, finally spotting Merryl and Callie to the side as they searched for their breakfast. My three companions were watering the garden plots and new plants with really drippy buckets. Merryl's group was nowhere to be seen, so they must have gone deeper into the forest.

A glimpse of brown in the distance confirmed the Saursune was already here.