Original subtitles

Oh. Oh. Oh, duh.

Don't stare at the guards, Pit.

Just get your water and come home.

How much longer are we supposed to just stand in line while he drinks it all?

Oh, my sweet boy.

Longer than it takes for them to notice us.

Hush now.

Your father studied maps, too.

Before he left for those mountains and never came back.

Maybe he found it, Mama.

Maybe he just couldn't get back to tell us.

Eat your broth, Pit.

The mines open at dawn.

What is this place?

We must be careful here. They haven't come yet. Just wait.

Citizens of Dryland, your governor speaks.

I have sustained you. I have rationed fairly.

Effective immediately, water distribution to the outer districts will

suspended. All remaining reserves must be re - No!

No!

No! Wait!

Please! My orchards!

What have they done?

No more! We demand justice!

Give us our fruit, you tyrant!

Fight back! Seize what is ours!

He's gonna let us die of thirst, Mama! Oh, no!

The Outer Districts, that's us! That's everyone we know!

I know, baby, I know. But running into the desert won't fix it. Your father

thought the same thing. The desert doesn't give anything back.

Put a bug so I keep the new one.

Keep still.

What was that?

Look, a lizard.

Hey, where did it go? Over there, near the fence. Stop them.

Quick, they're getting away.

Don't let them escape.

Well.

Well. Either you're running from something, or running towards something

stupid.

Is that a map?

Out here?

You really are out of your mind. I respect that.

Who are you? Why are you out here alone?

Zest. Expelled.

Turns out limes who ask too many questions aren't welcome anywhere.

Your turn. Pit. From Dryland. I'm heading for the Humid Valley. The Humid

Valley. The place nobody comes back from. You're either incredibly brave or

incredibly dumb. I'm coming with you.

I beat that a beer, bravary.

What is that thing?

That's Dusty. He's coming too.

The governor cut water to the outer district. My whole neighborhood.

my mother everyone typical the ones at the top drink while the rest dry up so

your plan is walk into a desert nobody survives cross mountains made of salt

find a valley that might not exist and bring water when you put it

like that it sounds almost reasonable

I told my whole community that the elders were hoarding water for

They said I was lying.

They threw me out with nothing.

My father left for the valley years ago. Never came back.

Everyone said he was a fool.

Maybe he was.

But somebody has to try.

miserable. Mountains made of salt. Because regular mountains weren't

enough. Your map better be right about this path, Pit.

Is he alive?

Oh, finally.

I was beginning to think I'd have to walk myself.

Two young fruits heading through the salt mountains with a map and a gecko.

You're either going to the humid valley or you're terribly lost.

Either way, I can help.

And you are?

Figgy! Just Figgy! I came this way 40 years ago. I know the route. Every

You tried to reach the valley 40 years ago?

What happened?

I made it. I saw it. But I couldn't bring anything back.

Your father went this way.

Forty years ago, this old fig saw it.

The valley is real.

Stay exactly in my steps.

Some of this salt is hollow underneath. One wrong step and you fall into a

crystal cave with no way out.

So, figgy, forty years you've been sitting in a salt cave waiting for

That's either patience or insanity.

The flats.

Farther than it looked on the map.

We must press on.

The dead flats.

No shade, no features, no mercy.

The mirages are the worst part.

Delightful.

The flats are vast.

Very vast.

We must reach the valley.

Biggie, how much longer across this flat nightmare?

Where? Perhaps.

Halfway. Perhaps.

No, it's not real. We must not.

That's how they die.

They see water that isn't there and they run for it. Look at me.

Walk where I walk.

This place.

I know this place.

What is it, Old Fig? Do you recognize this bone orchard?

This was ours.

My expedition.

Forty years ago.

We were six when we set out.

Bramble. Seed. Little Pip. They didn't make it past the fly. I was the only one

who reached the valley. And I couldn't save any of them.

We're gonna make it this time, Figgy. All of us.

That's why you waited, isn't it? So the next group wouldn't go alone.

Thank

you,

child. Don't read into it. I just hate dried figs. No offense.

None taken. I hate dried figs, too. That's the tragedy of being one.

Something's coming. From behind us. We need to move. Now. We need to get out of

here. Quick.

The Cedars. He sent them after us.

Three

sets

of tracks.

One old and slow.

They won't get far.

Spread out.

Blush them.

Not safe yet.

Run.

Run.

Figgy, are you okay? Can you breathe? I've been breathing for 80 years. I

I remember how it works. Save the comedy.

We need to move before they figure out they chased a lizard.

This riverbed.

It flowed strong once.

The water that carved these banks came from somewhere going.

The valley feeds rivers that used to run all the way to what's now dry land.

The governor's people damned them. Wait, the drought is artificial?

Cactus CA used the drought?

Not alone.

His predecessor started it.

Generations of control away.

Dam the water, control the people.

Trail

markers.

My expedition left these.

We're on the right path.

Bramble carved that one. She always believed.

We need to find water soon.

Between the three of us and the canyon ahead, we should move quickly. The map

shows something called the Underground River beyond this basin.

If it still has any water at all... The Underground Cavern.

It's damp.

The wall is wet. There's moisture here.

He's right. It's actually wet.

The water retreated underground.

It's still here.

Do you hear that? Tell me I'm not imagining that. You're not imagining it.

heart of the underground river.

It still beats.

Okay.

I take back 40 things I said about this trip.

Bramble and I drank from the yule.

This cavern system connects to the surface on the other side of the canyon

region. But the deep passage... There are things down here.

Keep going, Charlie! Don't stop!

A giant rock centipede! A prize on rock centipede! Unwell -manned, of course.

Because crossing a salt and rain... It's alive!

Figgy Nuzz!

This bush is A -L -I -E.

There's water here.

Somewhere close enough for roots.

Yes, that's what the journal says.

This area is safe for tonight.

When they threw me out, my own mother stood in the crowd and didn't say a

Not one word.

I keep thinking she must have wanted to.

The people who love us don't always show it the way we need.

Your mother and yours were both drowning in their own fear.

I remember this mist.

It means we are within a day's walk.

The valley's breath reaches this

I came back.

Bramble, Seed, Little Pip, I came back.

You did it, old man. You actually did it.

I can't do it. A cedar who says he's not a cedar anymore.

How convenient.

Right when we find the one thing Cactus wants.

I was a spy, yes.

He promised my - Did you tell them where we are?

Does Cactus know about the valley?

No. I stopped sending messages after the dead flap.

He thinks you're dead.

You were a child doing what frightened people do, Gordy. Obey.

That's not a crime. That's survival. I say we let him - If he's lying, I'm -

I've never seen a peach tree before.

Only pictures in old book.

There. They're beautiful.

My mother told me stories about orchards like this.

Before the drought.

Before cactus.

She said the whole world used to smell like this.

The heart tree.

The source.

Every river that used to feed the plains started here. Every drop of water on

my... Then we opened the channels again.

We let the water flow back to dry land.

Every river, every stream... The structure is here.

We must pass through it carefully.

Yes, but the route is not clear.

The main dam is here, Haro, at the canyon narrows. Cactus' grandfather

It's massive. Can it be broken?

Not by three fruit... You said the foundation stones are cracked.

What if we don't break the dam? What if we redirect the water around it?

So, Drip, when exactly did you start following us? Before or after the Salt

Mountains? Before. Way before. I was at...

My

spectacles! I can't! Everything is shaped! I can't see the path!

I see them, Figgy. They landed on a ledge. I'm gonna get them.

Got you, Wanda.

There you are.

All of you. All of you. A little crack, but clear enough.

This is it. This is what killed Dryland.

This wall.

There. The foundation.

Keep working, tiny one.

Just a little further.

To the left. Push it to the left.

Everyone back.

Away from the bay! It's going!

It's flowing!

After a hundred years, the river is flowing home!

You lunatic!

You actually did it.

The cedars. When the river reaches the plains, Cactus will know the dam broke.

He'll come here with everything.

I can walk.

I'm not finished yet. Nobody said you were finished.

We're just walking together.

That's what this trip is, remember?

Look, there it is.

The water has reached them. Thank the stars.

We did it.

The ground is drinking.

You can actually feel it pulling the water down. It's like the earth is

starving. It has been for a hundred years.

They're heading for the settlement.

We have to warn them.

They'll reach dry land before us if cactus gets control of the water entry

points He can redirect everything to his compound we don't go to the settlement

We go to the channels hurry the main junction is here gay He draws in the mud

tree where all the old channels meet before splitting to the district.

There's a control Yeah

The patrol at the junction reports three fruit and a seed working the gate

wheel. They opened all six channels before our riders arrived.

The water...

By

order of Governor Cactus, you are under arrest for destruction of state

infrastructure, theft of water resources, and treason. Step away...

Citizens, return to your homes. This is a military operation.

Military? You're twelve boys on animals surrounded by a thousand thirsty people.

This

isn't over.

The governor will come himself, with the compound guard, the inner circle.

You've started something you can't stop, pit boy.

Good.

That's exactly the point.

Not say yabba.

Pit!

Mama! You promised you wouldn't go!

You promised!

Ma. Mama, this is Zest. He's the reason I didn't talk myself into turning back

on day one.

I mostly just insulted everything.

And...

Child, you've given us water.

But Cactus won't accept this. He's already recalled his compound guard D's

armed Cedars. He's going to try to take it back. Everything. We open the gates,

but he'll close them again. Then we don't let him. How many people here are

willing to stand between Cactus and this wheel?

Move quickly. Form the line. Protect the wheel. Forward. Together.

Stand strong.

This is our stand.

Bring the cart here.

Water for everyone.

Stack them tightly.

Pitt, when Cactus comes, he'll try to make this about power here. His against

yours. Don't let it become that. Okay. This isn't about overthrowing a tyrant.

Pitt, I know the compound guard.

I served with them. Captain Thorne will lead them, but most of the soldiers,

they're like the patrol guys.

They joined... Shut

the junction.

Arrest the pit boy. Anyone who resists and any citizen standing in the way woe

is an enemy of dry land. Treat them accordingly.

This

is

your governor speaking.

You have been deceived by criminals who destroyed state property.

The water is being managed.

Captain Thorne!

Clear the barricade, now!

Thorn, I gave you an order.

No. What did you say to me? I said no, Governor. These are my soldiers'

families. Anyone who wants to keep eating tools, stay in line. Anyone who

to drink free water with your families, dismount. No!

Stop! You're betraying everything!

It's over!

Come with us!

We have to do this for our families.

You. All L of you.

I built this. I kept you alive.

Without me, you'd have no thing.

You didn't keep us alive.

You kept us thirsty.

There's a river that flows from a valley so green it hurts to look at place.

The water is flowing.

The channels are open. Every district gets water now. Not because you allow

Because it's theirs.

I will not be lectured by a mining P .I .T.

Dude. Go, Governor.

We won't harm you. But you can't stay here.

I should tell you something.

Back on the Dead Flats, when the Mirage appeared, I almost walked toward it,

too. I didn't stop because I've been expelled, exiled, and called crazy in

different settlements.

You're the first person who didn't eventually agree with them.

The water is here, but it won't stay on its own. We need to maintain the

channels, protect the junction, clear the old riverbeds. The boy is right. We

can't replace one governor with nothing. We need a council.

Representatives from every...

I enforced unjust orders for years.

I won't pretend I didn't. I'm willing to serve whoever this town chooses to

under...

There

are three more smaller dams upstream, Yengri, tributaries that fed other

settlements before they were cut off.

You drew this, didn't you? Now you dallow it.

Even if you couldn't come back yourself.

You know what this reminds me of?

Our first night in the desert.

Fire, stars, and three fools who didn't know what they were getting.

I have something to tell you all.

When the dams are dealt with and the valley route is established, I'm going

stay at the heart tree.

I'm 80. Figgy, you're family.

You know that, right?

That's precisely why I can go. You better not die out there, old man.

You know

what's

different about going this way? What?

We already know the valley is real. We're not walking on hope anymore. We're

walking on proof.

That makes every step lighter.

Weaken the mortar.

I'll aim the water here. I'll get in there. It's breaking!

Get back! Yes!

Three down!

This is where I will be.

Right, right here. Where I can hear the tree breathing and the water singing.

Yeah, you know, your father would have been so proud.

Not because you found the valley. Because you brought everyone with you.

going to say anything sentimental.

I wouldn't dream of it. Good!

Thank you for not letting me walk into the Mirage, Figgy.

I want to run the upstream expedition.

Bring supplies to Figgy. If the council approves, obviously. I think they'll

approve. You're terrifying.

Welcome back!

Water!

We have water!

The three upstream dams are broken. Four rivers now flow from the valley. Three

other settlements will have water within days.

First order of the Council. The Upstream Expedition. Zest has proposed regular

supply runs between Dryland and the Heart Tree.

Word. The route is established.

I've walked it twice. With maintained paths and supply caches, the journey is

five days.

I need...

We spent years pointing these things at our own people. Might as well make them

useful. Swords to plowshares or rifles to rakes. Same idea.

Come in, come in. The tea is almost ready. Tell me everything, Hayden. How

the saplings growing?

Has the council voted on the school?

I left through a hole in a fence. I came back and the fence is gone.

That's what water does.

It dissolves the things that shouldn't have been built.

You're too thin, both of you. A mother's three favorite words, eat, sleep, stay.

A lime's three favorite words, more, please, thanks.

Hey!

Are you okay?

Here, drink.

We heard rumors.

Water flowing.

A town that has water. We didn't believe it. We didn't believe...

Twelve

new families this week. We need to extend the eastern channel to

them. And we need to send a delegation south.

faster than me trees grow fast when they have what they need so do sons your

father would have planted a whole orchard

Figgy told me about clouds.

About what comes after clouds.

Is this really happening?

I was seven years old the last time it rained here. My mother carried me

and held my face up to the sky and told me to remember it.

It rained on dry land.

We need a new name for the town.

Dry land doesn't fit anymore.

Let the children name it. They're the ones who'll live in it longest.

Our Ivortown.

Rivortown. Simple.

Accurate. A child could come up with it. Because one did.

I vote vote yes.

Together now.

He's almost there.

Yes. Rivortown. Everyone cheers.

Indistinct celebratory vocalization.

You hold it firm, like this.

Oh, I see.

Careful, it's heavy.

The clouds feed the rain.

The rain feeds the rivers.

Did the water know where to go, or did it need help?

If you can hear me somewhere, ho, it rained.

Real rain from real clouds.

Oh.

From our tree, Mama.

Your grandmother used to grow these.

Before the drought took the orchards. I said nothing.

Biggie sent gifts.

New journals, fresh valley seeds for the nursery, and this.

He says the old ones were giving him heady.

I've been thinking about what comes next.

The council wants to establish a peacekeeping force. Not cedars.

There you go, little one.

You'll be as fee as tall as me someday.

Which isn't saying much.

And that's when we saw it. A rock centipede the size of a wagon.

Unbelievable.

How's the old man?

Talking to his fig sapling, fig sapling.

Writing 17 journal entries a day.

Indeed. Chey Chen, inside the mountain, there was this enormous rock centipede.

And we had to sneak past it. Why?

The yield is good this season. Yes, the bees brought us much luck.

And the heat too.

We should take this melon.

The river.

The valley. The tree.

Soon. I'll be there soon.