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actual port was sealed off by a series of gates and fences and armed guards. Boats of varying sizes were either moored at the docks or drifted in lazy circles in the bay. They made their way up to the fence and guards immediately closed in and told them to back off. Gumus tried to ask questions but the guards banged sword to shield. "Move off!" one shouted.
    Several people stood in front of the gates calling out deals on tickets to different locations. Gumus stopped and asked one about the price to Dong Tochi. "One thousand moneys," was the curt reply.
    Mina slumped against him at the news. It was a fortune by any standard. Gumus wandered around asking about work. The cooking smells from familiar and foreign dishes made his mouth water so much he was afraid he'd start drooling. Without one money between them and no work in the port, they headed back through the main gate. At night the gates were shut and you were either locked in or locked out.
    The area directly outside of Free Port, the outpost and the closest oasis, glowed with campfires in the growing darkness. Gumus wandered by several to ask about work. The only answer he could find was to hunt and fish and turn in the raw materials to different shops at Free Port. The remittance was small. Gumus did the calculations in his head and it amounted to months of hard labor.
    Mina carried back crab to the small indent in the rock wall that surrounded Free Port. They ate in silence. After they finished, Mina curled up against his chest. He murmured, "We must begin tomorrow."
    "Sorry, Gumus. No idea trip so long."
    "All trips are long."
    ***
    O ver the weeks they became a hunting machine. They found another beach and even a secluded area a little ways up from the shore. It was an abandoned campground once used by others. As they explored the length and breadth of Sanddyner they found more of these abandoned niches that were claimed and then reclaimed by various Vartalf and Aventyrare.
    Gumus was wary of the guards so he avoided any prolonged contact. They made few trips into Free Port and never camped outside the gates. He had no idea if authorities had posted rewards for their capture. This forced him to keep Mina away from others even though the Aventyrare and subsistence hunters like themselves seemed generally helpful.
    Their stock of money, small coins used as currency throughout Varlid, was buried in a spot they'd picked near the secret beach. Time passed with a certain symmetry and order. Gumus Ay's Cinsel Iliski came and went. The color change Mina had noticed earlier in Gumus's eyes grew more pronounced until they were a swirling mix of the colors of the campfire they lit every night. Gumus kept his intake of food at a minimum. Just enough to keep him able to function.
    Things were working, they were making progress, Gumus felt in control, at least since they'd arrived in Sanddyner. Mina had pains every so often. She complained so bitterly at one point Gumus offered to take some of their money and find a healer. She stopped complaining so much after that. Mina talked about her life in Rasima and Kazi, her best friend and she told Mikachiari stories that Gumus only vaguely understood. When she started repeating her stories Gumus knew she was homesick much in the same way he missed his brothers. He was not that surprised when Mina brought someone new to their camp and did not object when Mina asked if she could stay.
    He watched as Mina fussed around the huddled mass wrapped in rags. When she was able to coax the hood off, a disfigured Mikachiari quickly covered her face with her hands. Mina pulled them away so she could begin grooming.
    Gumus watched on, expressionless until the ministrations seemed too intimate for his monastic sensibilities, then he picked up a fishing net and left camp.
    Kertenkele had no equivalent. They were close and had a connection, addressing each other as brother, but not in any demonstrative way. Kertenkele. Gumus rolled the word around in his