“Don’t touch the yellow ones,” she said, looking from him to the qurum with worry.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Poisonous,” she said. “If it’s cut, it sprays a liquid. The person cutting it will die within about two seconds.”
Thor turned and looked at the yellow qurum sitting innocently before him, and gulped. Would the dangers in this Empire ever cease?
*
Thor sat with the others around the raging bonfire, the flames moving every which way as the cold gusts ripped through the desert night. Thor was grateful for the warmth. Indra had been right: the desert grew oddly cold at nighttime, and the wind was much stronger. He had thought it was overkill to bring back all those logs—but now he realized it was necessary. The blazing bonfire was the only thing keeping them warm from the icy cold in t
