Tanden was ready to thank every god and goddess he had ever learned about when the storm abated, and they were still afloat. But even though the wind and rain had passed, the sky was still terribly dark and cloudy. With no stars to guide him, Tanden was completely lost.

It didn't matter, anyway, as he wasn't the one steering the long rowboat. Very early on in their escape, an argument with Kuiavadox that neither of them could understand had led to the younger man taking over the steering. And Tanden, simply because he was stronger than Jale, had climbed up the length of the boat to take her place.

His arms and shoulders ached, but Tanden kept paddling. Kuiavadox could have been taking them back to his city, but Tanden doubted it. As far as he could tell, they were in the middle of the lake with nothing but the dark surrounding them. There were no landmarks. The only thing they could try to do was find land.

Jale was curled up in the boat behind him. Once in a while, when he thought to, Tanden glanced over his shoulder and tried to make out her shape in the darkness. He suspected the drugged smoke was still affecting her. It was certainly still affecting him. He had lost count of how many times he had seen things moving in the dark, or heard noises. After the fourth or fifth time, he realized they weren't pursuers and just his imagination. Knowing that didn't make it any easier to ignore them.

When he felt the front of the boat bump into something, he almost thought he had imagined it, too. But then he realized that his paddle was scraping something under the surface of the water. Cautiously, Tanden leaned forward and dropped his hand over the side of the boat.

"Sand," he said. He couldn't be imagining that.

Kuiavadox spoke, but Tanden ignored him when Jale groaned and muttered, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tanden felt another handful of the damp sand, squeezing it between his fingers. It was definitely real. Still moving carefully, he hooked one leg over the edge. To keep his weight evenly balanced in the boat, he rested a hand on either side and leaned onto them as he stood.

The water was barely ankle deep. Tanden stepped fully out of the boat. He took a step forward, felt the sand shift behind his bare feet.

"Are you going to let them float away?"

Tanden flinched. The voice had come from in front of him, and it was Teltish. He almost stammered out a reply when he realized it was Soren's voice.

"Fucking smoke," he growled.

"What?" Jale again, behind him.

Tanden shook his head. "Nothing, sorry." He hadn't moved very far, and backed up to find the boat again. He nearly stumbled over it, but quickly righted himself and tugged the boat higher on the beach. "We can rest here." He reached out towards her shape and found her hand, then helped her step from the boat.

Jale stepped onto the sand then tensed, her hand tightening in his. "What was that?"

"The smoke. The..." They hadn't spoken a word while paddling, and he was having trouble remembering. "Taos root."

"Taos?" Kuiavadox echoed.

Jale's fingers relaxed. "Right... right. We'll rest and then feel better. What about him?"

What about him? Tanden wasn't sure where the sword or knife were. Without a risk of drowning, could they really trust Kuiavadox? No. With a sigh, Tanden felt for the rope near the front of the boat and untied it. "Kuiavadox?" He waded into the water, following the length of the boat.

Just in front of him there was a fumbling splash. Tanden lunged forward, grabbing Kuiavadox as he tried to get away. It wasn't easy in the dark. The young man landed a few blows and almost slipped away before Tanden managed to yank his arms behind his back. Tanden forced him to his knees in the shallow water and deftly tied his hands together, then pulled him up and walked him back to the beach.

"Let's get some rest," Tanden sighed.

***

He woke up to sunlight shining through the leaves above them. Tanden groaned and gingerly sat up. His shoulder and arms were sore, but not with the same exhausted ache as before. He stretched and rolled his shoulders while surveying the situation.

The long rowboat was still there, half-pulled onto the sand. It was filled with rainwater, which would need to be bailed out. Jale was curled up on her side nearby, still asleep. She could have a bit more time before being woken up. More time for the taos smoke to leave her.

Tanden turned to check on the third member of their party. Kuiavadox was where Tanden had left him, lying on his side with his hands tied behind his back. The rope had rubbed his skin red overnight. A twinge of guilt urged Tanden to stand up. His battered feet hurt as he walked across the hot sand. He dropped to a crouch beside the young man and started to untie his hands.

"Kuiavadox," he whispered, not wanting to wake Jale up just yet. "Time to—"

Kuiavadox burst into action. Suddenly there was a knife in his hand, and Tanden only just scrambled backwards in time to avoid a slash across his cheek. Tanden hadn't fought against a knife since his training days at the Order, but instinct took over. He caught Kuiavadox's right wrist during his next attack, and pressed forward, keeping the knife safely out of reach.

All while maintaining control over Kuiavadox's right wrist, Tanden hooked a foot around the young man's right leg and pulled him off balance. They fell onto the sand together, Tanden on top. He pinned Kuiavadox's right wrist to the sand, but wasn't fast enough to grab his left hand. Kuiavadox got in a single punch, which glanced off Tanden's cheek, before Tanden managed to grab his left wrist.

"Stop," Tanden growled, as he pressed Kuiavadox's left wrist into the sand. The young man struggled a moment longer before going still aside for heavy breathing.

Caught up in the scuffle, Tanden hadn't noticed Jale waking up. She crouched beside him now to tug the knife from Kuiavadox's hand. "Now what?"

"We'll have to tie him up again," Tanden said.

Jale retrieved the rope, half-buried in the sand after their struggle. Kuiavadox muttered what Tanden assumed were threats, but didn't put up much of a struggle as Tanden held his wrists together so Jale could tie them. Once he was secure, Tanden let him go and stood up.

"Stay there," he said, hoping Kuiavadox could guess at what he had said. "Jale, is there any food in the boat?"

Jale handed him Kuiavadox's knife, then wandered over to the boat to look through the packs. Tanden watched her for a moment, as she picked up their knife from the night before and tucked it into her boot. Tanden turned, keeping Kuiavadox in sight as he looked over the lake.

It was big enough to look like an ocean. Tanden couldn't see the far side, and the coast lines on either side eventually faded into the distance. He could guess, from the position of the sun, that they were somewhere on the Southern edge. But they wanted to go North. Tanden gestured to the beach off to his right.

"Maybe we can follow the shoreline, get around and head North."

"Head North?" Jale asked without looking over at him.

"To go through the mountains." Saying it out loud, Tanden realized the plan might not make much sense. "I had a... it was just an idea. North through the mountains, to Faldon."

"Faldon? Maybe. Ah!" Triumphantly, Jale sliced into a small packet to reveal a stack of something that looked like flat bread. She peeled off the top one, folded it with one hand, and shoved it into her mouth awhile crossing the beach to offer the food to Tanden.

He took two, ate one, then dropped one into Kuiavadox's hands. Hunger overcame the need to make a decision. Jale and Tanden took turns pulling off the pieces and eating them, occasionally remembering to pass one over to Kuiavadox. Tanden almost regretted not saving some when they finished the stack, but he felt so much better with food in his stomach that it seemed worth it.

Back to the task at hand, Tanden drew an oval in the sand. "If this is the lake, and we follow the coast..." From the bottom of the oval, he started to trail his finger counter-clockwise.

He was surprised when Kuiavadox spoke. "Zaxali."

"Zaxali?" Tanden repeated, glancing at him. "What's that?"

Kuiavadox raised his arms and spread his elbows. With his hands tied together, he was making a triangle. Tanden looked at him, puzzled, then realized— "The pyramid?"

"Thramid?" Kuiavadox repeated skeptically, lowering his arms.

"No, the..." Beside the oval, Tanden drew a line of small squares, and above them a triangle. He pointed first at the pyramid. "Zaxali? Or..." He waved his hand to indicate the whole city. "Zaxali?"

Kuiavadox twisted his hand in a lazy imitation of Tanden's wave. "Zaxali."

"Where?" Tanden pointed at the oval again. "Look, we're here." He tapped the bottom. "Where's Zaxali?"

Kuiavadox awkwardly shuffled closer and poked an area along the Eastern side of the oval. "Zaxali." Then, on the Western side, he drew a wavy line leading away from the oval. Speaking slowly, he pointed at Tanden, then at the wavy line.

"Oh, the river?" Tanden guessed. It wasn't North to Faldon, but maybe going back the way they had arrived was the only option. "Yes, that's where we want to go. Back to the ocean. Ocean." He pointed at the lake and spread his hands wide, trying to indicate that the word he was saying described a much bigger body of water.

"Ocean." Kuiavadox repeated, tapping the end of his wavy river.

"Yes," Tanden said. Having a plan wiped away some of his lingering exhaustion, and Tanden got to his feet. "Let's go. If we stay here much longer they might find us."

Jale groaned and held up her hand. Tanden grasped it to tug her to her feet. "What are we doing with him?" she asked.

"He's coming," Tanden said. "We need him."

She looked at him and Tanden readied himself for an argument. But instead of insisting they let him go, she simply shrugged. "Then you're going to have to learn to talk to him."

"We're doing fine."

"Having him repeat words isn't the same as talking to him." She walked away, indicating that she was done with the conversation. "I'll be right back," she said, before slipping into the jungle.

Tanden turned his back to the jungle to give her complete privacy, and dropped to one knee beside the drawings again. "Kuiavadox. You're going to take us here." He pointed first at Kuiavadox, then the boat, then the drawn river.

"Zaxali," Kuiavadox said, tapping his own chest.

"No. Later. You're taking us to the river." Tanden gestured at the boat again while standing up. Grabbing Kuiavadox's bound wrists, Tanden tugged him to his feet. "I really wish I could trust you to paddle."

"Zaxali," Kuiavadox muttered sulkily.

"No. After you get us to the river, you can go back to Zaxali. After. Now, help." He led Kuiavadox over to the boat and began to scoop out the rainwater with his cupped hands. Still muttering, Kuiavadox joined him. Once they had scooped enough, Tanden pushed the boat off of the beach. Kuiavadox helped him push and waded out into the water until the boat was floating about waist high. He held the boat steady while Tanden carefully stepped up into the boat. With the boat so high in the water, it wasn't a very graceful entry, but soon Tanden was settling himself in the stern.

Jale immerged from the trees a moment later. "So I guess I'm paddling in the front, then?"

"At least for now," Tanden agreed. "Maybe we'll let him have a turn later."

As Jale neared the water, Kuiavadox pulled the boat closer to the shore. Jale barely had to dip one foot into the water before climbing into the boat. Tanden glanced down at himself, wet to his waist.

"He did that on purpose."

"Did what?" Jale picked up her paddle. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "Oh, why are you so wet?"

"Exactly. That. Kuiavadox, get in."

He turned the boat around so they were facing away from the shore before expertly climbing in and sitting down in front of Tanden.

Tanden dipped his paddle into the water until it hit the sand and pushed them off. Then he started paddling.