Irulan rested at the crone's home and in the morning she was simply gone.
Outside, a yunche lizard was saddled and waiting for him. Considering this the providence of his Empress and her agents, he began riding west and south towards Almecca.
The Blightlands boiled with parched earth and roiling black clouds, noxious fumes issued from fissures in the ground. Though he'd been well educated, the reality of it was another matter entirely.
Stopping for the night, he boiled brackish water and saw to his mount before settling in.
When morning arrived, he saw a great plume of dust heading east and south, into Dauthon.
Some instinct told him this was worth investigating and he mounted the swift and hardy beast on an intercept trajectory.