"—don't think conversation is enough. What else?"

"I've seen him throw a spear. You already know where he got his."

"Already have a harpoonist. And he sleeps late. 'Where he's been' is all he has going for him?"

Nom's eyelids felt cemented shut, and hurt almost as badly as the rest of his body, until he got one open. Then he decided they hurt worse than his body, being part of his head. "Grrngh," he managed to say.

"Not much of a conversationalist, at that. No, my decision is final."

Nom focussed his working eye on the blue blur that spoke, and an old man came into focus, older than himself by decades. His wrinkled skin was blackened by sun and tattoos. Intricate white patterns covered his satiny dark blue shirt, folded over and tucked into loose white pants. Straps were tied around his sleeves at the wrists, and Nom assumed his pants accommodated the same style. It was a local maritime outfit, but his white hair was cropped short, rather than long and braided as was the custom in Endo. Something about the tattoos was familiar, but Nom's headache wouldn't let him focus enough to recall. The man stood up.

A woman's voice spoke for the first time, hastily adding, "Fine, I'll do it. I'll be—her." She took a quick deep breath and let it out. "But only near the end, when we're farthest in." Omega? Yes. Nom pushed himself to a sitting position. The old man regarded him critically, shifting his sharp eyes between Omega and Nom. Ahden sat nearby. His must have been the other voice. Dev also stood in the room, looking on with apprehension.

"Oa, don't," Ahden said.

Omega parted her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She sighed and stared up at the old man, maintaining her offer. Nom had questions, but felt this was not a good time to speak up.

"Agreed," the old man said. He looked seriously at Nom and said, "Adi daruni," then walked out the door.

Nom was shocked awake by that. "What did he—? What did you just agree to girl?" he asked, but she did not answer, only looked down and away from the rest of them.

Ahden said "You don't have to, we'll find another way."

"There is no other way, and there is no other price," Omega blurted. She suddenly stood, and wiped her eyes under her goggles as she left the room.

"She's right, you know," said Dev.

"Then we'll stop, live with it, leave the Hollow, leave this to someone else. He won't even tell us who we're looking for!" Ahden pointed at Nom. "And the first thing he did tell us was to abandon this whole thing."

"Hold up," Nom said defensively, "I didn't even want to leave my home before you showed up. I was doing just fine there. But what's going on? Who is that old guy?"

Ahden quickly responded, "C'mon, is Elocant really your home? You were quick to leave. What are we getting into, who is this darkseer, and why won't you talk about him?"

Nom winced, and sat mute.

"Nōm, that was Qayid," said Dev. "He's the captain of the Pelican who agreed to sail us around the mountains. The only one who would. Now I think Ahden's right, you owe us an explanation about—"

"You lads can think all you want," Nom cut him off with a chop of his hand, "but I know where we're headed. And it's best not to speak of it, just trust me."

Ahden stood and said flatly, "I'll go see how she's doing," then left to find her.

Nom let out his breath, held his aching head and slumped down. "Nice to see you Dev, it really is," he said, "but what was that about?"

"You too," said Dev, squeezed Nom's shoulder and handed him some water. "You've been asleep for most of a day, and we had to negotiate with Qayid for your additional passage. We booked our passage almost a week ago, and his original price involved distasteful seer services from Oa: mimicking someone, his daughter I think."

"I see," Nom said softly. "That's—"

"Not a good idea."

"No. She could get lost."

"Has gotten lost," corrected Dev. "That's why we negotiated more traditional things—weather prediction, darklight protection, and such—plus everything Ahden and I could do on a ship, which is plenty, it turns out. I've been busy all week preparing the ships for sail."

"Poor girl. Seems there are sequestered chapters in all our personal stories." After a pause he said, "Now, Qayid—" and trailed off in thought.

Dev asked, "What did it mean, what he said to you?"

"'Adi daruni.' A salutation, a promise. 'As long as heaven and earth shall last.'" Qayid's appearance, accepting the risk of landing in the south: the phrase snapped them into context. "The windships," he said in astonishment. "He's a windreaper, a land sailor. Or was." The tattoos and hair style were hallmarks of that profession.

"Land sailor? Windships?" Dev said, confused. "Qayid didn't mention any of that, just that he's from Rabidi."

"Yes," Nom said somewhat excitedly. "The ships were vital to the area. The great rolling transports, propelled by heavy winds across the big empty plains and sandy deserts, powered commerce and conquest. But all that," Nom said regretfully, wiping the memory with a hand gesture, "like everything else, was lost to the Hollow. I'm surprised Qayid made it out and adapted to the sea. He's the only Rabidian I've met north of the Rachis."

"It sounds amazing," Dev said in wonder. "From what I've seen of Qayid, he's as tough as they come, and has sailed out of Endo for decades."

"Hm," Nom concluded. His swollen eye was starting to open, and his overall pain was tolerable. "I'd better go patch things up with the others."

Nom and Dev found Ahden and Omega on the street, outside Qayid's apartment near the wharf. They agreed any acrimony had developed from the stress of being split up after their dramatic encounter in Sojourner, and they all were truly relieved to be back together for the journey ahead. A journey which would reconvene at the docks, dawn after next. In the day ahead, Nom wanted to bolster their gear for what he guessed they would encounter in the south, while evading any notice by the Guild of the Sun.

Qayid had allowed them safe harbor in his apartment for only one night. His charity was limited, so they spent the next night at an overpriced inn nearby. Any currency they had earned since arriving would be worthless soon anyway, so the indulgence didn't sting. As Nom took inventory, he realized the young trio had scant idea how to survive in the desert, so he suggested they take him to the marketplace. Dev had obligations on the ships, and headed for the wharfs. In light of the seerhunters in town, and Ahden's conspicuous towering height, Nom insisted that the young man stay behind. The youth was obviously disappointed, growing restless from his convalescence, but Nom wanted to avoid any risk from that Guild commander's cunning.

"Could you maybe, alter our appearance," Nom asked Omega before they left. "Not like what Qayid's asking," he hastily added, "just, tweak things?"

Omega shook her head. "Ahden learned from schmoozing with the Endo militia that they have seers in their ranks, and they frown upon that sort of thing."

Nom instead wrapped himself in an ugly, stained bed linen, and despite Omega's eye-rolls, he made her wear something other than her usual white leathers. They left the wharfs, and the Endo castle loomed high as they headed to the markets, with the mountains in the distance beyond. The morning sun shone brightly from the sea, and Nom felt good in his anonymity amongst the vibrant crowd. He admired everyone's liveliness, even Omega's, and was content that any of his own inadequacies were at least hidden under a dirty blanket.

They browsed fruitlessly until midday when they finally found a shop with at least some novelty desert wear. Much to the chagrin of the merchant, Nom picked through most of the inventory until he found some appropriate fabric and robes that would breathe and keep the sun off. He had a feeling the merchant would view the actually useful fabrics as so much junk, and was able to haggle a decent price. Satisfied, they headed back. Omega stopped to buy Nom a gift, which he demurred until he saw it was just a wristband with a pebble embedded uncomfortably in the middle. "It's a sea-band," she explained to his confused face. "Trust me. You've never been at sea, and you'll appreciate this when you're bobbing about on the water."

In the evening they all met back at the inn and checked over their gear one last time. Nom smiled to think of them not as a trio of questing youths dragging an old man around, but all of them together as four companions. No matter how foolish the endeavor may be, there is comfort in a shared disregard for wisdom. As they worked, they shared a drink and some moments of reverie about their journey from Elocant. While their levity continued, the sound of their laughter dimmed and grew distant in Nom's heart. A smile lingered on his lips, for their sakes, even while it left his eyes. As hard as their journey had been so far, he knew the deepest emptiness of the Hollow lay ahead.