Darkness pressed in around him. It was difficult to breathe; he was drowning again. Murky shapes drifted through the water before him. He recognised them, but they couldn't be. An old man, his leathery face a burnt umber and so worked with wind and weather you could hardly make out the eyes beneath thick, iron-gray brows. A woman, pale yellow-brown cheeks sunken with illness. Dull, hollow eyes. Norch closed his eyes.

'No,' he thought, 'not like that. I won't remember her that way.'

He opened his eyes. A woman, copper cheeks plump. Brown eyes warm and full of laughter. She smiled and reached for him, but her memory floated away on the current. Now a boy. Two boys with wooden swords in their hands. They mock battled each other until one faded away. The remaining boy rippled, became a man. Hard dark eyes met Norch's, and he turned and drifted away still gripping his sword. He saw the men of his crew. Two-toed Jeral and Fat Fedis. Bobby Bottom carrying a harpoon. Norch shook his head. That wasn't right. Bobby wasn't a harpooner. It was getting harder to hold his breath. Asran the unlucky floated by. Dead 20 years. His father's first mate. Norch's first storm at sea, a mast had fallen on him, but he had been unlucky long before that. Darkness crept along his vision. More people. More memories. Alila. Beautiful Alila. He had nearly married her. His chest hurt. He had to breathe. He struggled to keep his mouth shut. Couldn't--

Norch woke with a start.  The fire had burned low, the glow just illuminating his companions. He sat up and raised one trembling hand to his face and waited for his heart to slow. A dream. Just a dream. Kei Ta woke and came to thrust her nose in his lap. He closed his eyes again and stroked her soft, sandy hair. She licked his thumb and nudged his hand aside to lick his face.

"Stop that," he said, but his heart wasn't in the reprimand.

Norch opened his eyes and sat watching the embers burn lower. Kei Ta whined quietly until he resumed petting her. She settled with a small huff of air, her head resting on his thigh. It was a long while before Norch fell asleep again.

***

The red dirt of the desert stretched on for days. The Scattercolumn had provisioned them well, but their water supply was running low. Benjamin, Norch and gNat held whispered conversations as they lagged behind Nae Xali and the Jemily.

"It's not much further," gNat insisted. "A couple more days."

But a couple more days came and went and the desert kept going. On the seventh day they encountered a problem. A chasm that stretched from horizon to horizon as far as the eye could see and spanned at least 500 feet. Cautiously, Norch approached the rim and looked into the depths . He could just make out the bottom in the shadows below.  

"Long way down," he said.

Benjamin let out a sigh of frustration.

"Can't go back," he said. "Can't go forward. Should try to go around it?"

"Maybe," Norch said, scratching his short dark beard. "No way to know which way is best though."

Nae Xali made to go examine the precipice, but Norch caught her by arm.

"I don't think so," he said.

Looking up, he pointed a stern finger towards the Jemily, halting her in her tracks.

"You either," he admonished.

She skipped ahead, ignoring him.

"Hey," he said. "Come back here."

"It's okay," she called over her shoulder. "We're just going to go down and take a look."

"Are you planning on flying down?" Benjamin demanded, exasperated.

"No silly," she replied, "we'll take the boat."

Norch and Benjamin exchanged looks.

"What boat?" Norch asked.

"The boat that takes you down," she replied.

They continued looking at each other for a moment, then Benjamin shrugged.

"We've seen stranger, right?"

"Suppose so," Norch agreed, and they followed the Jemily.

***

The boat was small, and wooden. It hung off the side of the cliff from an elaborate pulley system.

"Do you think it's safe?" Benjamin whispered.

"Probably not," Norch admitted.

"Definitely not," gNat said.

"Well. Nothing for it," Norch said, and he climbed into the rig.

The Jemily clambered  in beside him, leaning far over the lip of the boat to peer below. Norch hauled her back.

"Just stay put," he growled.

He indicated for the rest of them to get in.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Benjamin said, scrambling into the boat. "At least there's shade at the bottom, I guess."

He reached up to catch Nae Xali and lift her in. It took both Benjamin and Norch to lift Kei Ta in, with plenty of swearing on both their parts. Spitting fur out of his mouth, Norch grabbed  the rope and started them on the way down. Oddly enough, gNat was the most anxious.

"This is a terrible idea," she kept saying. "What if we die? How many deaths do you figure happen this way?"  

"How many people do you figure travel this way?" Benjamin said. "Besides, if we fall, can't you just fly away?"  

"I'm just thinking about you!" she said somewhat huffily.

"Well thanks," Benjamin said dryly, "but if it's all right with you, I'd prefer to enjoy the nice boat ride to the bottom of this dark, creepy canyon without the voice-over of doom. "

He stared over the edge gloomily. From a distance came the sound of rocks scraping over rocks. A large huff of wind gusted below them.

Norch paused, his hand still resting on the rope.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"If I say yes, can we go back up?" Benjamin asked.

Norch ignored him and resumed their downward descent. The boat touched the bottom of the canyon. Awkwardly, Norch climbed out over Kei Ta and tried to get his bearings. It was mostly shadow at the bottom. He heard a deep rumbling rasp from somewhere ahead of him. A clank of metal and the smell of something fetid.

"Might be a good idea to go the other way," Norch whispered , "away from whatever that is."

The Jemily skirted past him and Norch caught her by the sleeve.

"Are you out of your mind?" he hissed. "I don't known what that is, but it sounds huge."

The Jemily tugged her sleeve out of his grip, and he to his surprise there were tears in her eyes.

"No," she said, "we can't go. I forgot, but now I remember. We can't leave him here. Not like this."

She scurried ahead, and the rest of them hurried after.  The noise grew louder as they approached, and as they rounded the last corner, Norch could see its source. A tortoise, so great and monstrous in size, only part of it was visible in the gloom. It turned ponderously toward them, the chains attached at its tremendous feet rattling as it moved. A head the size of a large boulder lowered toward them. It let out a snort of air and pawed at the ground, then froze when it caught sight of the Jemily.

She approached and stood before it. She raised her hand, and gently, the immense creature dropped his head until his snout rested against her hand.

She stroked him tenderly.

"Hello, Wallace," she said.