Uten returned with Isbibarra at the cusp of dawn. With the screamers gone, the two leisurely strolled through the Thornestone Wood atop their camel. Judging by their bored complexions, the two had an uneventful journey.

Appo couldn't hide his excitement. Confirmation that Isbibarra survived was a weight off his shoulders. He only hoped that Uten explained enough of the situation on their journey back, and that Appo hadn't left him there deliberately.

“Isbibarra!” Appo called as he watched the lepers hoist up their camel. “How are you, friend?” Isbibarra tilted his head in Appo’s direction, but his face remained stoic.

“Must be bitter,” Appo thought. “I’ll have to explain myself.”

Uten slid off the camel and ran to the other side to help Isbibarra down. Isbibarra reached out slowly as Uten and another two lepers lowered him to the tree branches. Isbibarra gingerly tapped his toes against the tree. It was more than wide enough to stand, but he seemed uncertain this high off the ground.

Appo approached. “Hey! It’s Appo.”

“I heard you on my way up,” Isbibarra said, speaking with some hesitation. “Forgive me if I am aloof. The last few nights have been a blur. I barely knew my name until last night.”

Uten stepped forward. “I found him sleeping next to the firepit. I think someone drugged him.”

Appo shook his head, trying not to accuse Gizzal with a judgemental glare. “No need to overthink it. That’s what happened.”

“Ah! You must be the notorious Isbibarra,” announced Garabi, stepping past his flock of lepers to clasp Isbibarra’s hand. “Appo has told me much about you. Stay as long as you like. A friend of Appo’s is a friend of ours!”

Isbibarra bowed politely, albeit slightly off-angle. His blindness was doing him no favors on the tree. “I am surprised, Appo. Few would be so open with a leper colony. Healers are a truly remarkable profession.”

Appo nodded, ignoring how hesitant he had been to even approach them when he first arrived. “Mister Yald and his family have been very kind to us.”

“Excuse me!” It was Tomi, breaking away from the pack with her loud voice. “If you’re blind, how did you know that we’re lepers?”

Isbibarra smiled, pointing to his nose. “We all have peculiar smells.” Despite the warning, Tomi grimaced in slight insult.

Isbibarra then turned to Appo, almost whispering. “I hate to ask, but I must inquire about our third.”

“Wounded. But alive.”

Isbibarra frowned, looking elsewhere. “I can hear him. The one with the shallow breathing. He knows I am here. I can feel it.” Appo turned, finding Gizzal. He remained at the bottom of the tree branch, lying beneath a thin camelskin blanket. He appeared asleep, though judging by Isbibarra’s reaction, he was only pretending.

“The necklace,” Isbibarra continued, “does he still have it?”

Appo patted his chest. “No longer.”

Isbibarra sighed in relief. “That is good. Very good.”

“We should take the night and relax. Me and you can continue tomorrow.”

Isbibarra shook his head. “I have rested long enough. We pack our supplies and continue tonight. I must have misjudged our time, Appo. If we are already in Thornestone Wood, we have made great time. We could reach Zabukama before nightfall.”

Appo was hesitant, especially after he had only just gotten used to the lepers. “I don’t know. You’ve already ridden so far. If we are to pass the Krazeek, we should plan our next move.”

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“Who told you about the Krazeek?” asked Isbibarra. He had a sternness to his tone, as if it surprised him to hear them mentioned at all. “What have they said?”

“That this is a fool’s errand,” spoke Erish, taking her space between Garabi and Tomi. “That going to Zabukama will be the end of you. But supposedly you have passed the Krazeek before.”

Isbibarra nodded. “I know a way.”

“And that is?”

“There is a gap. A space in the wall the Krazeek avoid. We can sneak through with ease. I only need eyes to pass through.”

Erish shook her head. “So you say… But if this plague is to be stopped, you must do what you have to.” She then walked over to Gizzal, pointing her finger at him. “I only ask you to take him as well. He is not welcome.”

Isbibarra quickly nodded. “Agreed.”

“Wait a moment,” said Appo, confused. “I’m not sure we can. What makes you sure he won’t blow our cover?”

“He is not in the position to decide,” said Garabi. “I think it is only right he finish what he started, do you not agree?”

“He goes,” continued Erish. “I will not have a Head stay with us.” Gizzal continued to pretend to sleep, but seemed very aware of the discourse surrounding him.

“Isbibarra, if we take him, he could expose us. We can’t just leave him in the desert. You know that!” Appo then turned to Erish, pleading. “Please, you must understand.”

Erish folded her arms. She had made up her mind long ago.

“Mister Appo?” It was Tomi, again approaching. “That necklace… do you think returning it will fix this plague? Make it all go back to the way it was?”

Appo hesitated to answer, allowing Isbibarra to beat him in response. “Yes young one, returning the necklace will right everything. I truly believe that.”

“And you just need to get past the Krazeek?”

“Yes.”

Tomi pondered for a moment. She then stood straight up, looking resolutely at the group. “Okay. I wish to join you.”

The response led to an immediate reaction from her parents. Garabi and Erish stepped forward, trying to grab Tomi’s wrists. She pulled away as they both clamored over her, calling her a litany of names, emphasizing her youth and her weakness. Before either could grab a hold of her, Tomi screamed. It was booming and loud, unnaturally so. Several of the stone branches fell below them, bouncing off the tree. Even Gizzal opened his eyes.

“Little girl,” said Isbibarra quietly. “It is too dangerous.”

“Bullshit! Everywhere is too dangerous now! You’re telling me we’re leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a band of cripples? No offense, but you want me to believe that a blind guy, a one-armed man and a coward with a stabbed lung is gonna save the world? If you die, we’re all screwed!”

“Isbibarra is right,” said Appo. “This is no place for a kid.”

“I’m almost sixteen!” yelled Tomi. “And I’m stronger than any of you!”

“Tomyris,” whispered Erish, trying to conceal the anger in her voice. “I almost lost one child. I will not risk losing another. You are not going.”

“If it weren’t for the plague, mother, Hulla would be okay. And he’s in no place to travel now. Every second we’re here, we could die. You think these three can fix it if they go to the Black Waste? If that’s true, they need all the help they can get.”

“She’s right.” It was Uten’s turn to step forward, breaking his characteristic silence. “The blind man needs a guide. I can do it.”

“Absolutely not!” said Erish and Tomi in unison.

“I’m not taking your spot, dummy!” Uten replied to Tomi in anger. “You need help. I’ll join you.”

Erish threw her arms in the air, exasperated. “This is unbelievable! Garabi, talk some sense into them!” As she turned, Erish found Garabi looking down at his feet. It was the most vulnerable he had ever appeared. “Garabi?...”

“Look at them,” Garabi whispered. “Look at their eyes. They’re going.”

“I’ll tie them to the fucking tree if I have to keep them from going. Fuck the world! Be a fucking man and talk sense into your children-”

“No!” Garabi shouted, silencing Erish. “No… Uten and Tomi are grown. If they wish to assist the healer on their journey… it is their decision.”

“But…” Erish was out of words. Her influence here only went so far. Garabi stepped forward, approaching Appo and Isbibarra.

“They’re right. You need protection, and they are tough enough to provide it. You must make it to Zabukama.”

“Garabi please-”

“That’s mister Yald, healer. I know my place when it comes to my children.”

“You are very kind,” said Isbibarra. “Your sympathies are in the right place. But I think you all should reconsider.”

“We’re going,” announced Tomi with an air of finality. She was clearly her father’s child.

Isbibarra and Appo stood in silence. Finally, with reluctance, Isbibarra nodded his head. Appo couldn't bring himself to do it. Garabi turned to Erish, whose eyes were welling with tears. Her lower lip attempted to hide her upper, doing the best she could to collapse into sobbing.

“We must not let Hulla grow up in a world with demons if we can help it,” said Garabi, clasping his fingerless hand over his wife’s shoulder. He then turned to Appo. “We will wait here three nights. If you return, we will grant you all safe travels to the river.”

Erish wiped her hand against her nose. “You’re a bastard,” she murmured as she hugged Garabi. Her red eyes then stared directly into Appo’s. “Bring them home. Promise me.”

Appo did so.