Men and burros mine in a narrow canyon with a large waterfall and rapids, surrounded by wooden structures under a golden sky.

The rushing branch of Tajuro Creek flowed especially fast in this area. The slope was unusually steep on either side of the creek. The entire creek was in a canyon of sorts, but for the whole length they’d been following it had been a fairly broad expanse with gentle slopes leading up to the rock walls high above. There was a wide, flat, forested expanse on either side of the creek before the slope even began. But here, the canyon had narrowed. There were only about a hundred feet between the two rocky canyon walls. The creek cascaded down a series of boulders in a roaring waterfall. White rapids and foamy waves turned the normally clear water murky. And surrounding the creek, the sunset illuminated a flurry of activity. Jagged stumps were all that remained of the forest in a wide radius around a massive structure that was being built in the middle of the creek. There were nearly two dozen men moving with purpose across the valley floor. They were mostly humans, but Vertem noticed a handful telltale shorter forms that could only be Dwayndaen. There were actually more Dwayndaen than he would expect given Madam Bertha’s clientele. Vertem supposed that might be because the humans earned more money to spend at the brothel than their Dwayndaen colleagues. A steady stream of carts pulled by burros, each with a Dwayndaen driver, were bringing mine tailings into the clearing. Humans were moving the mine tailings, shovel by shovel, into the middle of the creek. The water was flowing See more