The Inverted Weave: A Litany of Silt and Spore Act I: The Sulphurous Breath Chapter 1: The Effluvium of Envy The inlet lay like a half-forgotten sigh at dusk, its silted waters lapping sluggishly against the rusted hulls of beached boats, their barnacle-crusted flanks tilting into the mud as if exhausted by the endless pull of the tides. Geothermal vents dotted the shoreline, hissing sporadically like old men muttering grievances, expelling curls of steam that hung in the humid air, thick with the tang of sulfur and salt. Roimata moved through the misty underbrush, her boots sinking into the unnaturally soft ground that yielded with a clammy reluctance, as though the earth itself resented her passage. The flax bushes. Harakeke, their blades sharp and resilient. Clustered in defiant patches amid the sundews, those carnivorous jewels that glittered deceptively in the fading light. ...