Solongo, a modest local shaman, returns to her body from the spiritual plane to find herself stolen from her cozy village home and stranded in the desert waste. Suspicious that slavers are responsible for her current dilemma--and concerned for the safety of the villagers she's sworn to protect-- she sets off into the desert with little more than the boots on her feet to find them. Along the way she stumbles across an irascible young man who might be her only chance of saving the stolen villagers. However, bigger things are at play than Solongo's own predicament. Will Solongo be able to convince her new acquaintance that the responsibilities of even the humblest shaman rival those of one carrying out an ancient rite? And will she be able to enlist his help in rescuing her people before it's too late? This is a finished short story that takes place in fantasy Mongolian/Siberian setting--chapter updates twice weekly, aiming for one Wednesday and one Saturday until the entire story is posted!