EATING DELICIOUS YARE-NUTS, Render sat at the alien food table. He sucked on the sweetness, then chewed and swallowed.

Toren stood before the windows with his prayer book in his hands. The monk didn’t appear to be reading and instead stared at the ocean. Daris reclined in his usual spot at the foot of the bed, with a glass plate in his lap, feet propped up and crossed at the ankles. The alien stacked his top two tentacles on his head.

Since their trip to the waterfall, ...