A small sail appeared above the raft several dragonlengths in the distance. They could hear the faint sound of the bell ringing out on the water.

“There,” Disaller said, satisfied by the raft’s position. He jerked his small rope again and the sail disappeared. “Now what?”

“We wait for the dolphins,” Lorana said.

“And when they come?”

Lorana hefted her carisak. “We give them these.”

Kindan rolled closer to Lorana to shelter her from the wind and keep her warm. In the next hour, the others also huddled around her, keeping themselves nearly as warm as she was.

The sun rose higher and the mist cleared. Lorana was dozing, half-awake when a noise startled her.

The bell. It was ringing loudly. Disaller jumped up, peering into the distance.

“I see fins,” he called back. “Dolphins.”

“Pull the raft back,” Lorana said. “We’ll load it up.”

They pulled the raft back and loaded the contents of the carisak on it. Disaller eyed the strange enclosures carefully.

“I’ve never seen the like,” he said. “How do you open them? Are they watertight?”

“Yes,” Kindan said. “We tested them.”

Disaller pulled off a glove and ran his finger over the surface of the matte material. “It feels slick; do you know what it’s made of?”

Kindan shook his head. “There are some Records written on something similar, but we don’t know what it is or how to make it.”

“Pity,” Disaller said, putting his glove back on. He glanced at the handiwork of the others as they placed the enclosures on the raft. “They’ll not stay, you’ll want to tie them on.”

“No,” Lorana told him. “This is the right way.”

“Very well,” Disaller grumbled, shaking his head. He pushed the raft back out past the surf and raised the sail once more, sending the raft skidding out farther before lowering the sail yet again.

The bell rang once more, then started pealing rapidly.

“Something’s jostling the raft!” Disaller said. Before he could react, the raft had overturned. Fins raced around it for a moment and then were gone. Disaller turned to Lorana, worry and surprise on his face. “We could run back to the Hold and maybe launch a ship!”

“Why?”

“To recover your artefacts,” Disaller said, glancing from Lorana, to Kindan, and finally to Fiona in surprise.

“No, they’re fine,” Lorana said, her eyes closed. She had a slightly quizzical look on her face.

Kindan stepped closer to her, his arms held out protectively. “Lorana?”

Lorana shook her head. “I’m fine,” she told him, glancing up and nodding encouragingly. “It’s just that—”

“Look!” Fiona said, pointing off to the distance. The others followed her finger and saw a spout of water burst into the air, followed by another, and another.