The four of them ventured out into the desert a few hours later, headed for Panner's Canyon. The afternoon heat was almost unbearable, but they had the Everlasting Chalice, at least, which kept them hydrated -- even the horses. The spell was only triggered when humans (or elves) drank from the chalice, but they were able to fill the cup by touching their lips to it and then pouring the water that appeared into a separate bowl for the horses. It was a time-consuming process, but at least they were able to give the poor beasts something to drink.

Sir Estil was familiar with the area and knew how to find Panner's Canyon, but it would have been impossible to miss in any case -- the canyon, which ran north to south, was at least a hundred miles long. Arai, who had never seen a formation of this size before, was impressed: the canyon was a huge red gouge in the otherwise flat, featureless desert; it looked as though it had been created by a giant, dragging his finger across the landscape. The scenery was actually quite lovely -- the whole area was full of picturesque bluffs and cliffs, and the walls of the canyon were striated with bright, vivid colors: reds, yellows, and oranges.

There was a rough sort of road leading down into the canyon, and according to Sir Estil there was another road leading up and out of it, on the western side, but the terrain was difficult. "It'll take several days for Lady Melei's wagons to make their way through here," Sir Estil said. "That's why they can't afford to run into any monsters."

"Couldn't they go around?"

"They could, but it would add at least two weeks to the journey, and the lands north and south of the canyon are treacherous. It's nothing but sand dunes to the south, with no water or vegetation at all, and addlebugs swarm in the salt marshes to the north."

"Addlebugs?" Shell asked.

"Little stinging insects," the knight explained. "Very dangerous. If you're stung by one, you'll begin to hallucinate, but if you're stung by two or three, you'll die." His expression was grave. "I had a friend who was killed by addlebugs. They're not to be taken lightly."

Shell shuddered. "I hate bugs," she said.

They saw no sign of the Engulfer in the canyon; however, they did encounter many smaller monsters -- hopping snakeheads, which tried to bite the horses' legs; a handful of small rock-men, which were humanoid-things made up of rocks and pebbles; and even a lurker, a shadowy creature which had hidden itself within a water mirage. Arai was able to dispatch all of the monsters fairly easily, with Silus, but there were so many of them that it became wearying, and having to remain alert all the time, in case one of them jumped out and attacked, was stressful.

And they were only on the outer edge of the Scarred Lands; they were sure to encounter even more monsters, and even more dangerous ones, as they progressed further into the desert. If the alchemist's radiator invention could repel even half the monsters they might otherwise run into, it would help them tremendously.

They made sure to collect the maginite shards from the monsters they killed, but they really were just scraps and shards. The maginite left behind by the lurker -- a monster the size of a large dog -- was only about as big as Arai's index finger.

"It's going to take them forever to fill up a whole wagon with this stuff," Shell said doubtfully, turning a piece of maginite over in her hands. "How long are we going to be stuck..." She trailed off there, because the earth had begun to shake once again. The tremor was not an especially strong one, but they had arrived at the bottom of the canyon now, and Arai was afraid of getting caught in a rockfall or avalanche. "Let's turn back," he said. "It doesn't look like this monster's going to show itself anyway."

And so they climbed back out of the canyon and returned to Lady Melei's camp. They made it back just after sunset.

"I was getting worried," Lady Melei said, coming out to greet them. "Did you find the Engulfer? Did you see it?"

"I'm afraid not," Sir Estil said.

"We killed a bunch of monsters, though," Shell said, showing off the maginite they had collected.

"I suppose that's better than nothing," she sighed. "You must be hungry. Phile! Fetch something for them to eat."

And a few minutes later they were sitting around a campfire, eating a meal with Lady Melei, her servant Phile, the alchemist Hieronomous Gil, and her sorcerer Damon, all of whom were good company...well, except for Hiero, who was preoccupied with his drawings and didn't have much to say.

After dinner, and after the conversation had died away, Hiero retired to his wagon, while Phile ran off to perform some errand for Lady Melei. Damon invited Lillandra and Shell to see his collection of zemi, while Sir Estil put his arms behind his head and simply went to sleep, right there on the ground, using a big rock for a pillow.

That left Arai with Lady Melei. She had been inching closer to him all night, and now she was sitting right next to him. "I'd like to hear more about Velon," she said.

"Lillandra's from Velon, too, you know. You could try asking her."

"Lillandra," she intoned thoughtfully. "Are the two of you...together?"

"Not exactly."

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She brightened a little. "I see." But then, just as quickly, her smile faded, and she turned her gaze to the dark horizon. "Do you think I'm a fool?"

"A fool?"

"For organizing this expedition. Everyone told me I was a fool, back in Tax Trium. The desert is impassable, they said. You'll never make it through the mountains, they said. You'll die like all the rest of them." She sighed. "It took years to gather together enough investors to make this journey possible, but it all depends on Hiero and his radiator. If we can't find enough maginite..."

"Maybe we could help with that," Arai said. "We've gotten pretty good at killing monsters, and we did kill quite a few of them today. A few more excursions into the desert..." He shrugged. "And we might run into some larger specimens eventually."

"I'll take whatever help I can get," she said. "But I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's go to my wagon. We can stay up late and drink."

He frowned. "I don't drink."

"Come to my wagon anyway."

"I...think I'll pass."

She gave him a sort of contemptuous snort. "Suit yourself. Don't think I'm done with you yet, though, Arai." And she smiled, and walked off into the dark.

* * *

They spent the next two weeks with Lady Melei and her party. Arai, Lillandra, Shell, Sir Estil, and occasionally Lady Melei herself, rode out to Panner's Canyon twice a day to hunt the monsters they found there, while Damon led another party of knights. Arai's party was especially successful: Sir Estil's martial skill, Arai's sword, and Lillandra's awareness of magia were quite potent when put together, and by the end of the first week they had managed to collect three large sacks full of maginite. Damon's group contributed another sack, but it took them longer, and they suffered many more injuries.

They never saw the Engulfer at all. Lady Melei began to suspect that the huge creature might have left the area, having wandered off in the direction of the dunes, but they couldn't find any tracks, either, which puzzled them.

Lady Melei, Arai discovered, was a fearsome fighter herself. Although she wore a brace of knives on her belt, her principal weapon was the bow, and she was a very good shot, capable of shooting a snakehead through the eye at forty paces. "You're very good," Arai told her.

"You're not too bad yourself," she said, giving him a wink. She had been winking at him for the last two weeks, and flirting with him, and whenever she had too much to drink, she latched on to him and tried to drag him back to her wagon. Arai was flattered by the attention -- Melei was a lovely young woman, after all -- but it was a little embarrassing, too, because he didn't really want to get involved with her; his life was complicated enough, and he was still sorting out his feelings for Lillandra besides. Lillandra, for her part, scowled whenever Melei showed any interest in him.

One evening, after dinner, Arai once again found himself alone with Melei. It had been a long, hot day, but the cool of the evening was now beginning to set in, and above, the stars were beginning to twinkle to life in the purple twilight. Lady Melei looked up at them and sighed, as she was wont to do; she always seemed to grow sad and thoughtful in the evenings, and especially after she started sipping her wine.

"We had a pretty good haul today," Arai observed. "How much more maginite do you think we'll need?"

"Another twenty bags, probably," she admitted. "It's progress, but..." She trailed off, sighing again.

Twenty bags was rather more than Arai was expecting. He sighed, too. "Another month, maybe? Two months?"

"Maybe."

He glanced at her. "Are you really out here to get rich? You're the king's cousin; I'm sure you had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

"True enough."

"What are you after, then? Fame?"

She shook her head. "Truthfully, it wasn't money or fame. It was..." She frowned, thinking it over. "My father married me off to Sir Carolus when I was fourteen years old. I was his fourth wife. He was kind to me, but he was an old man, almost as old as Sir Estil is now, and I never saw him all that much -- he spent most of his time working for the Council or fighting the Skirrish at the Long Wall. I was left at home, cooped up in his mansion, and only allowed out for dances and royal dinners. As a child, I was forced to do my father's bidding, and as Sir Carlous' wife, I had almost no freedom at all." She looked up at the stars. "Until he died, that is. Suddenly I was a widow, with a large estate, and I could do anything I wanted with my life. My father wanted me to remarry -- he still wants that; my whole family wants that. But I didn't. I wanted to get out into the world, to see things, to explore -- to make my own way, on my own terms."

"I see."

"When Hiero came to me with his first prototype for the radiator, and proposed using it to cross the Tarnak, I jumped at the opportunity. It's proven more costly than I expected, though, and..." She shook her head and took another sip of her wine. "Well, you know the rest. Anyway, that's why I'm out here, risking my life and fortune on an expedition that may or may not succeed."

"I understand."

"Do you? Have you ever felt as I did? Impressed into a life you never asked for, burdened by the obligations your family had placed on you?"

"No," he confessed. "My only family was my father, and he never forced me or pressured me into anything. I became a mercenary because I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but I think he would've been just as happy to see me become a logger or a fisherman or something else."

"He sounds like an understanding man."

"He was," he said sadly.

They were both quiet for a moment. Finally, she asked, "What's it like? Traveling the world, as free as you please, and with no one to answer to but yourself?"

"I've never really thought about it," he said. "It's how I've always lived, even before I left Velon. But...I don't think it's quite so wonderful as you're making it out to be. I can't tell you how many close calls I've had, how close I've come to dying. Sleeping in ditches, marching through rainstorms, running out of money, fighting monsters...it's not an easy way to live."

"But your life is your own."

"Well...yes."

She smiled. "And you can do anything you want with it."

Perhaps it was the sadness and longing he saw in her face; perhaps it was something else. But when she suddenly leaned in close, and closed her eyes, he allowed her lips to graze his own.

He quickly pulled away, however. "Melei..." And then he stopped, because Melei had opened her eyes, and was looking at something behind him. He turned.

Lillandra was standing there in the firelight, watching them.

Arai immediately pushed Melei away and rose to his feet, but Lillandra had already lowered her eyes and started walking away, rather briskly. "Lill!" Arai called, but she did not stop, and he was so surprised and embarrassed that he was uncertain of whether to go after her.

Melei rose to her feet as well; she looked a little put out at having been pushed away so roughly. "Lillandra," she sighed. "Well, I had a feeling. But you can't say I didn't try."

"Lady Melei..."

"It's all right. I'm going to bed now, I think. I'll see you in the morning." And she left, leaving Arai standing there, feeling like a fool. What was he supposed to do now? He sat back down in front of the fire, watching it crackle and spark, all the while wondering how he had gotten himself into this mess.