“And after that?” Ehomba asked quietly.
“After thet? After thet!” Calming himself with an effort, the senior pathfinder took a deep breath. “Why, after thet is Ehl-Larimar its very self, and beyond there, the Ocean Aurreal.”
“Another ocean?” Raising himself up, Simna had his hirsute nurse place him on the ground. On shaky legs, he confronted his lanky friend. “By Guisel’s gearing, Etjole, no more long sea voyages! I beg you!”
Ehomba’s brows rose slightly. “I thought you enjoyed our sojourn on the sea.”
Anxious eyes gazed up at him. “Hoy, long bruther, it wasn’t the voyage that leaves me looking like this. It were the arrival.”
The herdsman nodded noncommittally. “Somehow I do not think we would face a similar situation on another ocean entirely, but I will certainly keep your concerns in mind. I do not see why it would be necessary for us to take passage on this western ocean anyway, since if it lies to the west of Ehl-Larimar, we should reach our destination before we encounter it.” Turning back to the guide, who was by now feeling sorely left out of the verbal byplay, he offered his thanks for the information.
While not one of the available pathfinders could be induced to travel with them, the master of the dispatch center was persuaded to sell them a windwagon and supplies. Ehomba was once more astonished to see in what exalted regard other peoples held the humble colored beach pebbles he had brought with him from the shore just north of the village. While the supply in the little cotton sack was diminished, it was by no means exhausted, suggesting that if the same responses were to be encountered elsewhere, they might be able to pay for their needs the rest of the way to distant Ehl-Larimar without misgiving.