{Shall we discuss what we are doing from now on?} Sanders pressed, forcefully keeping the conversation away from himself.

“Why don’t we start by figuring out where we are going?” Natalie suggested in a slightly impatient tone, “We can’t go anywhere unless we have a proper destination.”

“Isn’t that going to be a little hard?” Leon asked, “It’s not like we can access a map.”

{It's not a map, but we do have Selina’s scrying ability,} James pointed out, then turned to Azul, {Is there anything, in particular, we should keep in mind when picking a place to settle down?}

{Yes,} Azul said, {You need to be careful not to be close enough you can feel another Colony. The farther the better in case of growth. Our colonies are far apart for a reason.}

{So you aren’t dealing with the telepathic backlash?} Jonathan guessed, joining them outside.

Azul nodded.

{Before I can search, what kind of place are we looking for?} Selina asked.

{Somewhere with a lot of shade and a water source,} Howard proposed.

{We should also look into the nearby plants and animals if we can,} James agreed, {I may be a hunter but I don’t want to pick a fight with bears or anything worse.}

{Is there a way to tell if we are too close to another colony?} Miranda asked.

Selina nodded. {If I try I can see telepathic signals in my scrying. I can easily find a place out of range.}

{Start nearby,} Howard added, {We don’t want to travel farther than we have to.}

Just as they were about to get started another person came out from the trees. {May I also come along?}

It was the doctor that had treated Sanders’ sunburn a while ago. He was the only doctor who had been available during the day, but he didn’t seem to get much business from many of the natives. It wasn’t like he was an outcast or bad at his job. It was probably because no one called for a doctor when the sun was out.

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{Are you certain you want to?} James asked, {This isn’t going to be a field trip and our colony won’t be like the ones you are used to.}

{The Colony reflects the Sage,} the doctor replied, {I know better than to expect the same. Besides, are you not in need of a doctor?}

He was right. The closest thing they had to a doctor was Jonathan and that was not an idea that settled well with Howard.

{I think we should let him join us,} Howard decided.

{Is there anything you think we need for the land we set up our colony?} Selina asked the doctor.

{A cave system and perhaps mountains nearby} he replied, {With your sensitivity to the sun being higher than most it would likely be best if you had some backup shelter.}

Selina nodded thoughtfully. {It is going to take me a while to look so you might as well all try to make a place for yourselves in case we have to stay here come dawn,} she warned, {I am not omniscient.}

Howard grimaced remembering what Jonathan had done to the interior of the shuttle. It was absolutely not suitable for sleeping.

Sanders seemed to have a similar thought. {Some of you can stay at my base but there isn’t much room,} he offered.

“I will take a look inside and see what is workable,” Natalie muttered, “We also need to consider the method of travel. It is not going to be easy to take things with us. We only have the one gondola.”

{I can take care of that,} Sanders offered with a smile, {But Selina would have to show me the destination first.}

“You can take care of it how?” Natalie asked with suspicion.

{The same way I always travel,} Sanders replied.

{Portals?} Dorian asked.

{Yes,} Sanders confirmed.

{Portals? As in one of the famous methods of instant travel?} Selina asked with sudden interest.

{That’s right,} Sanders confirmed again.

{I thought that was how you moved around after you vanished a year ago but I could never confirm,} Selina said, seeming proud of herself.

{So now we just have to make sure we have a place to stay in case this takes too long,} James muttered, {I will help Natalie in there. Someone should stay to guard Selina.}

{Howard can,} Selina volunteered.

Howard sighed. He still couldn’t fathom why she was so attached to him. However, since he didn’t argue he spent hours watching Selina while the others worked to make the shuttle and any other suitable area nearby fit for sleeping and sunproof.

{I found it!} Selina exclaimed suddenly.

Howard looked into the water to see. What she had found was a serene waterfall in a valley between three mountains. The ground was hilly, but there would be a lot of shade and there was a network of caves hidden behind the waterfall.

There was a pool below the waterfall that spilled off into a few stairstep waterfalls before turning into smooth streams. Around the pool grew a jungle of plants, many of which bore fruit of one kind of another. It was the sort of place that could easily be described as a paradise.

{So?} Selina asked eagerly, {What do you think?}

{It’s incredible,} Howard replied, still gazing into the image on the surface of the water.

{Great! I will tell the others! There is still some moonlight left but I will have to see what they think about moving now.}

Howard frowned. {Even if Sanders can use instant travel nothing is set up there yet. We should wait until we have more time. The caves might be safe from the sun but animals have likely settled in there as well.}

{I didn’t see anything when I checked, but animals are good at hiding from unseen gazes,} Selina admitted, {Either way, we should head inside.}