On the world of Abaddon, Zoltan and Kensington lead a caravan of displaced Himarians to the Crystal Chamber. There, they find a number of soldiers, identified as the "Kampfzengruppe". It turns out that Bosch is very closely related to the language that they speak, and the soldiers are very interested in enlisting the aid of a translator – Kensington, being from Chronotopia, fulfils that role quite nicely, and manages to arrange passage for the caravan through the crystal gateway.

The Kampfzengruppe is trading scrap iron for mere dirt from Sinai, to the frustration of at least one of the merchants, and some Titanians seem to be quite interested in the wonders of Abaddon. After another shipment of iron is sent through the gateway, the Himarian caravan quickly follows, ending up back on Sinai, in the middle of the Forbidden Zone of the Himaat.

Outside the Gateway Tower, Zoltan and Kensington find a camp set up, where the Kampfzengruppe soldiers are trading with Titanians and Khattas. Zoltan tries to negotiate passage with Rajiim the trader, while Kensington works up some Titanians into a "contest" with their sand triremes. The "race" that Kensington brews up looks to be the ticket out of the desert, and our heroes hop aboard … including Wynona the bat mage, Born-of-Shame, and Zoltan's father, Herbir.

Jynx, Brishen and Last-Daughter, who are staying at the camp, hitch a ride as well. The group then rides in style (so to speak) onward to Abu Dhabi.