Jarik finds himself amidst the wreckage of the Lalee-Papu – or, at least, part of it – accompanied only by the yappy poodle Kazhir do Varomanov. After a bit of a run-in with some of the local fauna, Jarik devises a way to get the raft moving, drawn by some sand-dwelling beasties. Along the way, they encounter a sand-boat and a bunch of scavengers on board … and get into a bit of a conflict, as the scavengers start taking apart Jarik's raft, while Zoltan, flying over the desert (back from an adventure in Himar) spots some "shinies" being waved about, and flies down to investigate…