Between The Crystals

Ch 49 Secret No Longer

I stretched as I walked down the cliff path in the morning. For the first time in three days, I finally felt normal. No hints of restlessness were present, although it would surely reappear as the day wore on, especially if Grant limited my ports. Although I couldn't really call it "limiting" when I was porting more than three porters combined. Sharing part of my energy with the Saursune had been worth the good night's sleep.

Merryl came out of her room ahead of me, yawning as she ignored the young girl bouncing around her.

"Hey, Callie. Are you going with your dad today?" With how tired Merryl looked, it was a given that Calum would take their daughter today.

"Grant said we could go to Willow Plain!" Callie exclaimed, spinning around and dancing.

"Willow Plain, huh? Remember to stay close to the crystal."

"I will!"

Behind me, Calum said, "We've picked the Alpine Meadows so clean we weren't even getting half a carry net each. There should be more on the plains, and we'll see the Saursunes coming in advance."

I nodded. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best we could do given the present situation. We made our way down to the crystal and joined the waiting group. Grant slowly moved through the crowd, taking longer to reach us than normal.

"Orange Flower, please," he requested. "The plants should have regrown in the two days since Janette's group was there, and most of your group goes farther afield."

"Sure." I went to the crystal as ten gathered around me. "Orange Flower."

The world hazed around us, then cleared. I stiffened at the sight of dozens of people. Was I at the wrong crystal? A quick glance around confirmed I was in the right spot, which made sense since I'd never ported to the wrong place by accident.

"I didn't think anyone else knew about this crystal," I blurted out, staring at the full carry nets already stacked up. They must have been here since the first hint of sunrise.

I recognized three porters from Keywa Village, with twice as many people as they usually transported. As much as I wanted to protest that this was "our" crystal, villages couldn't lay claim to the valuable crystalline structures, especially not when these were one of our closer allies.

Having another group here was a heavy blow; this location had been our food security, and judging by how many people were present, they were desperate for food. Would our village soon face similar conditions? Part of my mind absently noted that this village would at least harvest responsibly and not destroy entire plants.

"We were wondering who planted the shard," one of the porters said, coming over. "One of our hunters found it yesterday while following the river. You can join us if you want."

They must have come from the crystal to the south, the same place I had come from when planting the shard. The offer to join them was unusual. I scratched my head and glanced at the hunters whose hands still rested on my shoulders.

"Do you feel like hanging out here? Or do you want to try a different place?"

They considered it, and Clyde said, "As kind as the invitation is, our entire group would make things rather crowded. If you have the strength, why don't we try another location? Someplace like yesterday? The coniferous forest the other day wasn't too bad."

I recognized the reference to Pine Hills: he wanted a location near a half-grown field since people were avoiding those areas and there was likely more to forage for.

"Thanks for the offer," I told the porter, "but I'm going to bounce and hope I can find an empty crystal. Keep an eye out for Saursunes. One usually lurks around here."