We followed the sound and found nothing.
Or— not nothing. We found people. Dozens of them, the whole village seemingly having migrated to the same edge of the vine island, standing in a loose crowd at the outer platform with their backs to us and their faces toward the water.
We worked our way through to where the Chief stood at the front of it all, and he glanced back when he heard us coming and nodded once like we were arriving at something scheduled.
Beyond the platform edge: rain. Grey water. Fog pressing in from every direction, swallowing the horizon, turning the far distance into a soft wall of nothing. Whatever everyone was staring at was not visible. I looked at the water, then at the people, then back at the water.
"Don't be surprised, kid," the Chief said.
"I'm already surprised," I said.
He looked at the water. "Give it time."
I gave it time.
