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introducing himself. "If we could have made it in our own homeland we wouldn't be out here wandering the Galen." He eyed Mina. "There is plenty of work if you don't have passage to Dong Tochi."
    "Passage?" Gumus asked as Mina picked at the crab. They were large here like the ones in Waha.
    "Money to pay for the passage by ship. You are new to this. It's a long trip and there are pirates to pay off." The Aventyrare nodded over his shoulder. "She's right not to trust Asistan Ti, sometimes they'll buy or sell information to their kin and then next thing you know." The bearded Elyun drew his finger across his throat. "The only Asistan Ti you can halfway trust are the Black hats. Good thing they have to announce what kind of magic user they are by color. They're great in a fight. Never trust the Grey and especially the White hats. They are loyalists to the core. That Asistan Ti is a black hat." The Aventyrare pointed his thumb at Mina. "If they're trying to trick you, and they will, you can also tell them by the color of their magic. Purple is used by Black hats, blue and green by White hats. The Grey hats use a little of both magics but weaker colors, including yellow and orange." The Elyun Aventyrare squatted down in front of them. "How did you escape Dohla?"
    Gumus tensed. "Where not from Dohla."
    "Right. I can tell by your dress. I'm Elyun, I know what your kind wear in the mines."
    Gumus ignored him. "The guard to Sanddyner didn't stop us. Why's that?"
    "The only guards you have to worry about are the ones bordering nations. There isn't a large garrison stationed at any of the outposts outside of the nations so they tend to ignore everything that doesn't walk up and slap them." The Elyun Aventyrare stood up. "If you assaulted a guard in Dohla, my advice would be to never find yourself back there."
    "Thank you for the food," Gumus said as the Aventyrare walked off.
    "No money," Mina sighed. Gumus though her face was drawn down in mock sadness. Her eyes twinkled. The Aventyrare had given her an excuse for Gumus to stay on and help her.
    "I know. Let's go to the Free Port and see about work then."
    "Stay with me more?"
    "Only until you have passage." Gumus took a bite of food since his starvation tactic wouldn't work if he needed to perform hard labor. He'd have to find some kind of balance to exist in control until he got Mina on a ship.

Country: Varlid, Nation: The Galen Wilderness Sanddyner, City: Free Port Sanddyner
    T he Free Port of Sanddyner was surrounded by a large rock wall with it's back to the waters of Bred Hav, the great sea. Several miles directly across from the Free Port was the outpost. The brown buildings and water tower looked deserted except for wisps of smoke curling into the air from a chimney on one of the buildings.
    The path to Free Port after the oasis was crowded with more people than Gumus had seen since leaving Rasima. A few more Asistan Ti appeared and several slender figures about Mina's size. If they had not been obscured by cloaks, Gumus could have sworn they were Mikachiari. If they were they didn't react to Mina's presence. There was a complete absence of any of his brothers which at first relieved Gumus then made him melancholy. All those years of working shoulder to shoulder with his brothers, gone.
    Free Port guards stopped random people to check their bags or carts, otherwise they seemed uninterested in the milieu passing back and forth through the gates. Free Port itself was black and white. The sand and surrounding wall shone brilliantly in the sun. The buildings were made of a black porous material and in the background the Bred Hav glittered in varying shades of blue and green. The air reeked of fish. Nets were pulled tight over frames and fish or sea animals in every size and shape hung from wires strung between anything that would support the weight. Occasional drops of water or slimy liquid from half-dry fish fell on Gumus's shoulders and added to the stink of Mina's cloak.
    The