"Ai!" Ridahne looked at the small device with a newfound appraisal, though she couldn't decide if she was fascinated by it or if she loathed it. "I have seen one of these before...or, not the thing itself, but what it does. A man came to me in the Dust Sea--found me because I decided to set up a fire pit outside, so he got lucky--but he could not hear me and his ears bled. He told me a story of how it happened to him, that the military people had somehow captured and tamed a spirit that wailed in agony when it was released, and the sound of its keening made his inner ear parts go pop! I didn't believe him, but he could find no other way to explain what happened. I know now." She held the thing in her slim hands as if it were as fragile as a robin's egg, staring at it with a curious expression on her inked face. Ridahne replaced the device in its protein bar box.

"I will assume we will not be staying here afterward. Just in case." Ridahne rose gracefully and began to gather what few things she had scattered around the concrete pad and stuffed them into her large hiking pack that had seen much sun and much wear but was still holding strong all the same. She was incredibly efficient with what she did have, though, and packed quickly--a sure sign that she was well accustomed to a nomadic life. When finished, she hefted her pack on her slim shoulders and disappeared into the nearby rubble to go and bury it amongst some broken concrete so it would still be there when she came back, ready for quick retrieval. She had a much smaller pack, one that was slim and with out much in the way of zippers or buckles but instead was leather and canvas and had a hefty drawstring top with a dust flap over it. The pack looped around her chest and sat diagonally across her back, fitting in perfectly with the sword and long knife she wore also. She did also put on shoes, which she seemed to detest but found them altogether necessary for anything beyond normal daily activities. They were light, dusty, and very quiet.

"I am ready. Are  you staying here while I get horses, or do you have the strength to come with?"