Omega sat on the rumbling deck and stared at the white horizon through wooden goggles. Nom crafted them the first hour they got underway, carved from scraps they found belowdecks of the salvaged windship, ground smooth, oiled and waxed. She was both relieved at replacing the scarf around her eyes, and emotionally touched. They were reminiscent of her original pair, a family heirloom of traditional snow goggles. Even the smell reminded her of home.

He had been grateful to her for removing his manacle, and she had another surprise for him, too. She had salvaged his spear tip, along with the other weapons, and also Omuti's knitting needles, or whatever they were. He held his old blade for a long while, turning it over in his hands, then gave it back to her.

"You hold on to it. Use it as a dagger, or I'll teach you how to use a spear. I've done too much with it, and I think this old man will stick with the Mule." She shrugged and agreed. He cringed inwardly at his foolish self-importance. She could use the combat training, but any sentiment attached to the item was his own.

The windship had been fully operational when they investigated, but it took days to dig out of the sand and clean. That was ample time to recover supplies from the remains of the farm to outfit their voyage. They could have fit other passengers on the ship, and even benefitted from the crew, but did not find a single other survivor in Zulm.

"How long, do you think, to get there?" she asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," Nom admitted. "I walked to the mines once while serving in the legions, and it took well over a fortnight. So probably less than that," he said, waggling his hand at the sails, "but as I've said, paths are different in the Hollow."

In a few days they reached the savannah, then kept the sparse tree line on their left for the same number of days before turning south. Nom didn't bother coming up with a rhyme for his directions, but was sure Solus would be proud of the vagueness. When the trees became more dense and lush, he knew they were getting close. On the eighth day, Rabidi appeared on the horizon.

"It's blue!" Dev exclaimed.

"Aye, parts of it," Nom said, "especially the newer parts."

"Never mind blue," said Ahden, "it actually exists! Rabidi is nearly a myth in the north." Nom felt his own existence provided some proof, but he knew the city had its own majesty. He had never seen anything else like it in the world. Even Endo in its heyday was different. Whereas Endo sprawled and tapered into the surrounding riverland, Rabidi defined the terrain, clawing its claim over the land, pumping residency into every square mile. There was nothing outside of it but the nearby forest, then endless windswept steppe.

It had no city wall, other than ancient vestiges in the oldest quarters by the cliffs. It had no need of one, protected by its legions, geography, wealth, regional importance, and sheer size. Even in Nom's lifetime it had expanded too rapidly for any wall to be practical. Instead, it had a series of ceremonial gates, arches really, expanding from the city center, the outermost and largest of which grew to monumental scale as they approached.

By now they clearly sailed on a road, but rather than following the obvious larger path to a docking point, Nom directed them to the ceremonial entrance to the city. He knew the shipyard was gone. When they were close, Ahden commanded "Avast," and Dev helped him pull the ship to a stop. They all hesitated to climb out.

The arch was the outermost structure of the city, dozens of feet high, covered with a veneer of blue-glazed bricks and half-crumbled portions of colorful reliefs featuring horses, ships, mythical beasts, and very large portrayals of the emperor. Much of the outer layer had fallen off, covering the foundations in a mound of debris from which sprang overgrown vines and trees. Elaborately inlaid paving stones encircled the arch, marking the start of Rabidi's paved streets.

"Rabidi is no myth, neither its demise nor dangers," Nom warned. "Be ready." He climbed off the ship and drew his sword. The others joined him, and they walked to the arch. The winds from the steppe blew, and their footsteps rang out on the paved encirclement. A brick fell off the facade in the archway and a clunk echoed loudly, halting them. Another brick fell onto the first, then another, lining up perfectly together. A cascade of bricks came down, sending up a plume of dust as they joined together in the form of a man.

"Maybe we should go around," said Ahden. They all concurred, and stepped to the side. The man strode forward, matching each of their steps, pausing when they paused, getting closer with each step they took aside. When he was a dozen feet away, they stared at one another for a time, wondering what to do. The man was emotionless, but his face spoke of disdainful cruelty. Lines of masonry criss-crossed his skin, a patchwork of blue glazed tiles and raw bricks. But beyond that, he looked—familiar. Nom took a step forward, and the man did too. Ahden grabbed Nom's shoulder and barred his motion with the hilt of the greatsword. Nom softly pushed it aside and took another step forward, mirrored by the brick man. They gazed at one another for a few more seconds.

"Halqu?" Nom said. The brick man leapt forward and flung his fist at Nom.

---

Nom dodged the wild swing, and pushed Halqu across the room, where he crashed into the dining furniture, breaking it.

"Get out," Nom warned. Halqu had started coming by more frequently. At first Nom thought it was a kindness, him checking on Saqu as she became more of a recluse, but Nom hadn't realized the poisonous ideas he'd been filling her with.

Halqu threw a broken chair at the fireplace, then stopped his violence and spoke to the wall with complete sincerity, "It's because of Omnos that she sees her. She was killed by the Hollow Omnos killed, so now, Saqu sees."

"It's true," Saqu said meekly from the other room, "I've seen her again." Nom looked at her in surprise. They both had seen Qarittu again, several times, each time older, always from behind, but with decreasing frequency. It was also true that Omnos had weakened the Hollow around Rabidi, and that only solidified Nom's opinion that they had been seeing a darklight ghost, like the revenants other people had been encountering. Since the weakening, he had not seen her, but apparently Saqu had.

"Halqu showed me how," she said quietly.

Halqu scratched himself uncontrollably. "Omnos did!" he shouted abruptly. Then urgently he said to Nom, "See, he helps her. Join him, join the guard, be with me at the Arch." Nom curled his lip in disgust, tightened and raised a fist in anger. Through his rage he saw his hand, already bloody, scabbed over, fingernails broken and stained blue from all the masonry work he'd done. He watched his friend scratch himself bloody, then felt pity and unclenched his fist.

"Your mind is shattered," Nom said. Then to Saqu, "We need to leave this place, start over."

"No," she said more forcibly. "It's because of Halqu, because of Omnos, that I see her again, and again, have seen her face." Nom looked at her with a confused mixture of betrayal, hope, and sorrow. At that moment, Halqu pounced on him again.

---

Ahden grabbed Halqu in a bear hug and pulled him off Nom, rolling him to the ground. Halqu landed with a huge crunch, denting the pavement. Dev charged forward with his mace and shield, but when the dust cleared, Halqu was gone. The ground rose up under Dev, throwing him toward the city. Halqu was in the archway again, then strode out swiftly, straight toward Dev. Dev backpedaled and raised his shield, then braced as Halqu smashed his arm into it, cracking the wood and denting the steel. Ahden and Nom were on him again, striking ineffectually with their swords, only flaking off chips of glaze. Dev retreated, leaving Omega an opening. She punched forward, and Halqu flew back, bashing into the debris around the arch. A moment later he strode forward through the archway again.

"Get out," Omuti said loudly behind them. They all paused and looked at her, even Halqu. She still stood outside the patterned circle of pavers.

"Your mind is shattered," she yelled to Halqu. Nom looked at her incredulously. Omuti looked at her companions, moved her forefinger to encompass the big circle and said, "We need to leave this place," She spread her hands out, indicating the edge where she stood, and added, "start over."

Halqu charged at them, and they all scrambled toward Omuti, barelling past her. Halqu slowed down, then stopped a pace inside the circle.

Nom panted and said, "You were right, he is beyond shattered, corrupted and chained to one place. But how?"

"How came he to be?" Omuti shrugged, then went on, "My people would say he was made a demon. But you taught me, now. Hollow people are unmade."

Nom shook his head. "No, I mean, what you said."

She explained, "Yes, it is obvious Halqu only likes you when you are in the circle." She grinned and strode around the perimeter of the circle. Halqu slowly followed her, maintaining equal distance from all his targets.

"Huh. Easy enough," said Dev. He followed Omuti, wiggling the loose part of his shield back into place.

Ahden clapped Nom on the shoulder. "Sounds like one you should have picked up on, Senex. You too, must be wary here." Nom shot him a sour look as Ahden walked after Dev.

Omega followed, tugging on Nom's arm as she went. "Come on, old man. I didn't catch it either."