Gril looked down at the roiling red waves of mud. The rain had finally begun to recede. Unfortunately, he was now stuck. The rocks were too slick to climb and the raging waters below were a certain death trap. He was stranded for the moment.
He reached down and unfastened one of the leg pockets on his trousers. Reaching in, he pulled out one of the small green water nuts and the bundle of food remaining from last night.
Once again, Madas comes to my rescue, he thought with a wry grin.
He would need to catch up with her because this was the last of his food and water. As he opened the top of the nut, he couldn’t help but wonder who had taught her so much about survival. He knew warriors back in the desert—himself included—who would have struggled to make it a day in the forest.
“Who am
