Three days passed before Due finally brought up the territory.
He had been mapping the Oasis of Grain's political geography on a rough sheet of paper that was spread across their table, and at the same moment, he used heavy stones to keep the wind from taking it.
Due marked neutral zones and settlements influenced by Therasia, but he spent the most time marking the gaps between all of them. These gaps were what interested him most.
"Registration requires declared territory," said Due as he tapped one of the empty spaces with a dirty finger. "We've been moving since the beginning, and that has to stop."
Alistair looked at the map. His scan ran its usual circuit, correcting for the offset automatically.
The readings across the Oasis returned the same patchwork they had been for weeks, and at the same time, Alistair saw that there were too many people for the amount of space the region offered.
"None of these gaps is empty," said Alistair.
