With darkness falling, there was not much Gap Teeth could do but find a way to climb down. Rakki had lost consciousness, but there was little doubt that Gap Teeth’s attentions in tending and binding his wounds, covering him with skins that he carried, and lending his own body warmth through a long night had saved Rakki’s life. Morning found them covered in snow. Rakki was delirious by then, and although he took some sips of water and a few berries, he hadn’t known who Gap Teeth was. Trying to maneuver an injured and inert body back up to the trail single-handedly would have been impossible. So, after making Rakki as comfortable as he could and tying a line looped around a flake of rock to his belt to prevent Rakki from rolling off the ledge, Gap Teeth climbed back up on his own and set off back for the caves.
When Gap Teeth returned, Alin and Dorik were spreading the story that Rakki, Shingral, and Zomu had been caught in a rock fall and swept over a precipice. As of then, Jemmo had made no move to claim Shell Eyes—probably to avoid being too obvious and provoking a reaction from Rakki’s supporters. But Rakki couldn’t be left out there another day. In any case, White Head thought that Jemmo would consolidate his position soon, which meant Gap Teeth would be in danger—and probably White Head too, since Jemmo had never trusted Oldworlders, and White Head’s association with Rakki would count against him. They decided it was time for them to leave the caves.
White Head talked to Sims, and afterward told the others that Sims would be joining them. Gap Teeth approached Uban, a former warrior from the swamps, who had always been loyal to Rakki, and told him the story, intimating that Uban could also be in danger if he stayed. Uban agreed to go with them and in turn recruited another, Neotto, who also felt threatened. Finally, Shell Eyes sensed that something unusual was being planned and accosted White Head, who was frank with her. She had discerned Jemmo’s intentions toward her and said she wanted to be taken along also.
To avoid drawing attention, they left individually at different times through the day, taking various loads with them, including several stripped branches and some lengths of vine for lashing together a litter that Rakki could be carried on. They met some distance from the caves and commenced their journey, traveling almost to the end of the day once again before they reached the place where Rakki had fallen. Gap Teeth went down with Uban and Neotto to bring him back up, after which there was little more they could do than find space beneath a boulder to shelter for the night as best they could.
The next morning, White Head, who had some knowledge of treating injuries, was reluctant to let Rakki be moved; but fear of pursuit and Jemmo’s vengeance left them no choice but to press onward, taking turns to carry the litter with Rakki lashed to it. They trekked for many days through the Broken Lands, changing direction frequently, erasing their tracks, and living off roots, berries, mosses, and occasional birds or sand rats found among the rocks. Rakki’s recollections began again as the party was emerging into a lower region of hills and dunes west of the Broken Lands that none of them had seen before, carved by floods into a maze of canyons and water channels. Scrub and grass began appearing on the landscape, along with the tracks and droppings of larger animals. Soon they began glimpsing ones and twos, sometimes larger groups of them, in the distance. They found scraps of strangely fashioned Oldworld artifacts that not even White Head nor Sims were able to identify, and the bones of huge creatures that the Oldworlders said had lived in areas of water vast enough to submerge all the known land. As Rakki’s leg and side healed, he was able to walk for distances that gradually grew larger as the days went by, though always at a pace that forced the others to slow down. It became apparent that the crookedness in his leg was permanent, and he would never run or move with his previous agility again.