Erika was in extremely critical condition in an Intensive Care Unit two floors above us. They escorted me to the elevators and I rode up to the Intens...ve Care Unit. Walking down the corridor I came to a room with two armed guards at the door. I was told her mother and father were with her and I would not be permitted inside. Just down the hallway was a small chapel so I went there to wait and pray. I don’t know how long I sat there all alone with my eyes closed in thought and prayer. It seemed. "I do not expect your people to be our slaves but to be our equals," Tani answered. "I will leave now and talk to my people and you do the same. I will meet you at this spot tomorrow and tell you our decision and you will tell me yours. If my people accept and yours do too then we will make plans from there. If for some reason my people are against our joining forces or if you decide not to join us then we will tell each other at our next meeting and part as friends," With that Tani turned her. This one was going to be my first and last.As I observed key grips shifting equipment around, the young director throwing out orders, and what seemed like another fifty people standing and watching, I tuned the disaster out of mind. I had better things to think about, namely Amelia.Her birthday had been a resounding success in more ways than the obvious - the joy expressed by a young girl getting a long dreamed-for present. I’d been gifted, too. In fact, my gifts far outstripped Amelia’s.Waking. Port Balkat sat near the mouth of the river on the south bank and was the main trading center between the north men living in the fjords further up the coast, and the larger cities to the south. South of Port Balkat the coastline was inhospitable for many days sailing because the coastal mountains came right up to the sea.The end of the MacTynnen Valley was on top of an escarpment above a swampy delta where the MacTynnen entered the Balkat. Both the escarpment and the swampy ground were good.