The first colony was small.
A handful of buildings clustered around a dry well. An old woman sat in the shade of a torn awning, her hands still in her lap. She watched them approach but didn't speak.
Arin stopped in front of her. "We're looking for someone. A woman who lives alone. Studies things. Fractures, maybe. People say she sees things others don't."
The woman's eyes moved over them slowly. Then she pointed east. "Try the next settlement. She doesn't live here."
They walked on.
---
The second colony was larger.
A market lined the main street, stalls selling dried meat, woven cloth, small crystals that caught the light. People moved between them, bargaining, laughing, living. For a moment, Arin forgot why they were here. Then he touched the crystal at his neck and remembered.
Maya approached a vendor selling fruit. "We're looking for a woman. A healer, maybe. Or a researcher. She studies something called fractures."
The vendor shook her head. "Not here. Try the old quarter, near the temple ruins."
They walked again.
---
The sun climbed higher. The dust thickened.
Hana wiped her face. "How many of these places are there?"
Ren studied the map. "Dozens. The region is scattered. She could be anywhere."
Arin didn't answer. He kept walking.
---
The old quarter was different.
The buildings here were older, their walls cracked, their roofs collapsed in places. No market. No people. Just stone and dust and silence.
Maya stopped. "Maybe we should ask someone—"
"She's here." Hana's voice was quiet. "I can feel something. Faint. Like an echo."
They moved deeper.
---
A woman appeared at the end of the street.
She was old, her skin dark, her hair grey. She wore loose fabric that dragged in the dust. Her eyes were pale. Not grey. Not white. Something between.
She looked at them. "You're looking for the seer."
Arin stepped forward. "Yes."
The woman studied him. Her gaze moved to his chest, to the place where the hum lived.
"She's not here," she said. "Left two days ago."
Maya's voice was tight. "Where did she go?"
The woman's eyes didn't move from Arin. "South. She has debts. Gambling. Been borrowing for years." She paused. "This time, she borrowed from the wrong people."
Hana stepped forward. "What people?"
"A gang. They operate out of an old warehouse district. They took her. Said she'd work off what she owes." Her voice dropped. "They don't let people go."
Arin's hands were fists at his sides. "Where is the warehouse?"
The woman pointed south. "Two hours. Follow the old road. You'll know it when you see it."
Arin turned to leave.
The woman's voice stopped him. "She's not worth it."
He looked back.
"She's a gambler. A liar. She'll take what you give her and ask for more." The woman's eyes were hard. "Why do you need her?"
Arin was quiet for a moment. Then: "Because she's the only one who can help my sister."
The woman said nothing.
They left.
---
The road south was cracked, overgrown. Dust rose with every step. The sun was high now, the heat pressing down.
Maya moved beside Arin. "She said the woman wasn't worth it."
"She doesn't know my sister."
Hana spoke from behind. "The warehouse—it's not just a hideout. I can feel something there. People. A lot of them. And something else. Something heavy."
Ren's hand rested on his katana. "Then we're walking into something."
Arin didn't slow. "I know."
---
They saw the warehouse from the ridge.
A long building, its roof sagging, its walls patched with scrap metal. Vehicles parked outside. Men moving between them, their voices carrying in the dry air.
Hana stopped. "That's it."
Arin looked down at the building. At the men. At the dust rising from the road that led to its doors.
"She's in there."
Ren stepped beside him. "How do you want to do this?"
Arin was quiet for a moment. Then: "I ask first. If they say no—" He looked at the warehouse. "Then we take her."
No one argued.