The desert wind in Ramada howled aross the parched landscape with and unearthly ,"whoooooooooooooooo"' sound that made the two travellers shout to each other to be heard. The Measure fired her pulse carbine again, and another raptor fell by the road-side. Mali looked back at her guard, and shouted over the desert wind, "You didn't have to accompany me to the marriage ceremony! I'm a big girl, now!" The Measure looked down at her adopted daughter, and smiled. "I am your guardian, and it is my duty! Besides, Ruudor is three-hundred miles closer to Taru City than Klash! I might be able to get an air-trader to give me passage from Taru City to Shalmiraine!" Mali sighed. When the Measure's mind was set on a goal, everything else fell by the side. As they crossed a road, barely visible because of more than sixty years of neglect, and the Measure laughed. Mali looked back from the stinging dust and asked, "What's so funny Mother?" The Measure indicated the heavy fiber-optic cable on the wooden poles. Mali shrugged, "It's the land-line between Klash and Ruudor! The digging machine broke down just after the plague hit! Before even your time!" The Measure looked amused and shouted back over the rising wind, "I'm only thirty-five! I might live forever! I laughed because it looked like an illustration of telegraphy poles from thousands of years ago! Some things never change! Sand-storm is blowing up. We can take refuge in that abandoned building building up ahead!" Mali called back to her, while staggering in the harsh wind, "Do you really think taht Kruag's Scav's will even let you poke around your Mother's craft? They probably took it apart!" The Measure didn't answer. She kept ahold of the tashik with her tail and regarded the weather. The wind was cold and damp, blowing from the west. The monsoons were coming and it was going to be wet in Ruudor. That was just the beginning of her travel, not the end. They headed for shelter. Media is Vue 4 and Poser 6