The walls of the Crandal rise up only yards away and Casnar's group hurtles towards it, fleeing the city for the pha'laksh safety beyond that waits for him. Casnar drives his rooker, Tika, onwards, coaxing her faster with the words his half-brother has given him in Rakhïken tongue, ( "…Fast as your swift legs will carry us, Tika!" ) he cries to the outstretched neck and head cast forward of her rolling shoulders.

The split in the walls is lined by the colors of his larger group of burrells, who stand at ready to depart Nualavera…Hope among numbers, waiting to defend him and take him home. He will have a better chance avoiding the fate that night that Merce'des has sent to him. Relief is held back as he is not there yet, his burrells behind him, following Tika and Casnar on their own beasts…The th'anes do not want them, however, the sight of a th'ane, not one but nine, come to collect their sered to his death pales the darkest of tebrises among them…What will this mean for the Sousan-Soterios house-clan?

( "My guard!" ) Casnar hails the pha'laksh as he advances, ( "…We speed for home!" ) he cries to warn them and the pha'laksh stands ready, ( "…Merce'des th'anes are behind us, seal the ranks when we are through!" ) he orders.

There is hope the th'anes will not pursue, but try again they might if Tetonbaum cannot be brought from Konis's clutches and reason with Merce'des to leave Casnar alone…but Casnar knows who has sent them. A sign of welcome relief now, he sees the dunes through his pha'laksh's lane of bodies and armor, green, white and gold silks opened ahead…Tika leads everyone through the first lines of the burrells. If Thane is successful, he has learned where Tetonbaum and Kasumi are located and if he has managed to rescue them and bring them back to the Souir, they can head straight to Rakka and go for Braith next…He will see to it, Casnar will.

With the adrenaline pumping, his hope indescribably reaching higher with his elation at having bested the high th'ane back in the Crandal, Casnar does not see the ripple in the sand, in the dark ahead of Tika's head…A rope comes taut up from the sands to catch him.

Tika sees it—She swerves slightly and catches the rope with her claws and beak, pulling the burrells that have used it off their boots as she tears and cuts it apart, hindclaws still running in bipedal fashion before, free of the rope in two pieces, her foreclaws find the sand again and pound forward.

Casnar whoops and rejoices in Tetonbaum's well-trained animal, ( "…That's a girl," ) Casnar calls to her, smiling. Looking over his shoulder, his green eyes narrowed with irritation at what he has learned—the burrells of his pha'laksh have been ordered to betray him…By Cartira, no doubt, Casnar seethes…He sees the burrells knocked off their feet now standing and casting away the rope meant to stop him by breaking his neck or knocking him off Tika, perhaps wounding his remaining loyal burrells cursing at those on the ground forming to run after them. Cartira must have known what was to happen, Casnar thinks, …That is why he had no qualms about my going to the Craig without him…The bastards, he rants, …He and Malcham! So easy is it to assume the obvious, but Casnar is convinced now, it is Cartira and Malcham who have been plotting for control over Nualavera…Over the house-clan…Over my dead body.

He bears forward over Tika's withers at the sight of the th'anes on their own beasts cutting through the exit of the Crandal walls and turns his eyes to the di'lean's flattened feathers, ( "…Fly, Tika, fly swiftly now!" )

In the sky, there are clouds reflecting the waning rays of the suns as these set over the water, and Casnar detects a shadow moving through the cloud cover, as if an object through the screen of billowy cover heralding the come of night.

The shadow begins to darken and to Casnar and his devout followers, racing ahead of the turned pha'laksh and the persistent th'anes aware of the miss of the rope by the burrells seconds before, Casnar sees the shape of a ship he has come to know as the Ni S'pri.

Surely those behind him see it as the Ni S'pri breaks low through the clouds and careens towards them in the lead, banking ever so slightly, and Casnar waves as it swoops passed and flies away, only to turn and slow, lowering down its bay door-ramp a few hundred yards ahead of them. Casnar urges his burrells faster, ( "…Go straight into the ship," ) he shouts behind him, realizing not a one of them have been on a ship before that was space-worthy, ( "…Do not hesitate, go straight into it, even with your mounts, and do not attack those you meet inside!" )

Tetonbaum, Miranda and Grunt are already running down the ramp as it is piloted down by Thane to land on the desert flat before the dunes.

"It is Casnar," Tetonbaum says, "…That is him—I knew it was him!" He does not stop at the edge of the ramp but leaps off the end to hit the ground running, charging his biotics to give him a swiftness and speed to reach his fleeing brother sooner…The Ni S'pri only touches down a few seconds after, the final five feet of air to contact with the sand and Miranda and Grunt continue to run forward, but cannot keep up with the th'ane.

Casnar stretches forward, a grin on his patak as he recognizes the figure of his half-brother, thanks Thane deep in his heart that he has recovered the one true blood loyal to him, ( "…Tetonbaum—" )

Casnar does not get out a second word. He feels an intense burning in his back and his body starts to flush numb…His hands fix not on the reins anymore and his hips feel weak and useless, his legs only touching the moving flanks of Tika as she powers on with renewed energy at the sight of her real master running to meet them.

He starts to slide off to the di'lean's right.

Tetonbaum sees the awkwardness in Casnar's position and realizes he has been struck by something in the back by the th'anes that have erupted out of their hiding in the sandbunks as Casnar's head di'lean raced by, ahead of the other burrells riding their beasts after him.

"Casnar," Miranda utters as she sees the one on the first di'lean hit the ground and lay still.

Tika realizes her rider is off and skids trails in the sand as she breaks from her sprint towards Tetonbaum and reels to trot back and stand over Casnar.

Tetonbaum makes it to Tika and Casnar as the burrells riding with the hiriwa stop as they catch up and turn to face the oncoming th'anes and their di'leans ahead of the slower pha'laksh, and the group of five that have dusted the sand of their camouflage suits and move forward to obtain their target.

Tetonbaum rolls Casnar slightly onto his side and checks him for eyes, breathing, consciousness and pulse, ( "…Brother," ) Tetonbaum says urgently to him, ( "…It is a siqya dart, it will have poison, but it is only meant to paralyze, not kill…I will talk to them, breathe easy and you will be brought aboard the Ni S'pri…You will be well," ) he smiles and slaps Casnar on his arm. Tetonbaum did not expect to have to confront Merce'des so soon…He was not prepared but he was nimble of mind and would have to assuage them with something so that they would not take Casnar with them immediately…for whatever their purpose to be. He passes Casnar to two of the burrells, ( "…Take him to the human woman and krogan," ) he instructs them, ( "…They will heal him and I will talk to them," ) he nods to the th'anes waiting steps away from the outer ring of burrells guarding their paralyzed sered and his ban'non half-brother.