A strange sound snapped Sonder out of her quiet drifting in the water.
It wasn't the wind or any animal she knew.
It was a heavy, rhythmic thud that pulsed faintly through the ground.
Sonder froze for a moment, then carefully waded to the edge of the pool, water rolling off her as she reached for a new robe and covered herself.
She crouched low behind a curtain of grass.
At first she thought something was near her belongings, trying to rummage through or steal them, but that wasn't the case.
The sound grew louder and clearer as she strained her ears.
It was a kind of footsteps, a march, maybe.
She eased her head up just enough to see past the tall grass.
Shapes moved along a footpath not far from where Sonder had veered off to bathe.
There were dozens of them, and they walked in tight formation.
Sonder spied that they had tails and long, sharp muzzles angled toward the northwest.
They were some kind of reptilian man-thing, as they stood on their hind legs and wore clothing, armor, rather, covered from head to toe.
Spears were in their hands, long and made of shining metal so that the tips reflected the sunlight like torches.
They carried not just weapons and armor, but sacks and crates on wagons pulled by things that looked like grounded birds with small wings but powerful legs.
And they were headed exactly in the direction the beastfolk had urged her toward:
Northwest.
Toward the scent of another shard.
Sonder's grip tightened on her robe.
She waited, still as stone.
Only when the last tail vanished into the trees did she move.
She slipped back to her things and dressed quickly. She was almost trembling, not from fear, but from the sudden urgency.
She needed the old robe dry, so she held it taut between her hands and summoned heat, not flame, just warmth.
Steam rose in thin spirals as the water evaporated.
The fabric softened and dried, and she folded it neatly before slipping it into her satchel atop the hidden shards.
Then she picked up her staff.
Wherever those reptile-men were going, they were not wandering aimlessly. Their steps were purposeful, and their formation too strict, like they were on a warpath.
Sonder moved after them, keeping low and silent.
Whoever they were, it would be better if she stayed out of their sight for the moment.