"They'd better not. The robot factory and the wind farm are between us and Tenpenny Tower," Ellen says. "If anyone in the tower tries to attack us I'm telling you now, I'm going off course to let Paladin Rama know."

Then she straightens up and dusts off her hands.

"Let's get moving. We've been here long enough that I'm a little surprised we haven't had a visit from one of the giant scorpions."