diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 8cb0f01..de461cb 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -42,11 +42,11 @@ class Request {
   }
 
   error (code) {
-    this.dht._reply(this.rpc, this.tid, this.target, code, null, false, this.from)
+    return this.dht._reply(this.rpc, this.tid, this.target, code, null, false, this.from)
   }
 
   reply (value, token = true) {
-    this.dht._reply(this.rpc, this.tid, this.target, 0, value, token, this.from)
+    return this.dht._reply(this.rpc, this.tid, this.target, 0, value, token, this.from)
   }
 }
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     this.table.on('row', (row) => row.on('full', (node) => this._onfullrow(node, row)))
   }
 
-  get id () {
+  get nodeId () {
     return this.table.id
   }
 
@@ -137,6 +137,17 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     return race(p, min, opts.max)
   }
 
+  // TODO: make this more smart - ie don't retry the first one etc etc
+  async requestAny (target, command, value, nodes, opts) {
+    for (const node of nodes) {
+      try {
+        return await this.request(target, command, value, node, opts)
+      } catch {}
+    }
+
+    throw new Error('All requests failed')
+  }
+
   destroy () {
     this.rpc.destroy()
     clearInterval(this._tickInterval)
@@ -173,7 +184,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
 
   refresh () {
     const node = this.table.random()
-    this._backgroundQuery(node ? node.id : this.table.id, 'find_node', null)
+    this._backgroundQuery(node ? node.nodeId : this.table.id, 'find_node', null)
   }
 
   _pingSomeBootstrapNodes () {
@@ -185,7 +196,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     this._pingBootstrapTicks = REFRESH_TICKS
 
     const nodes = this.table.closest(PING_BOOTSTRAP, 1)
-    if (nodes.length === 0 || compare(PING_BOOTSTRAP, this.table.id, nodes[0].id) > 0) {
+    if (nodes.length === 0 || compare(PING_BOOTSTRAP, this.table.id, nodes[0].nodeId) > 0) {
       return
     }
 
@@ -194,7 +205,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     q.on('close', () => {
       if (q.closest.length === 0) return
 
-      if (compare(PING_BOOTSTRAP, this.table.id, q.closest[q.closest.length - 1].id) > 0) {
+      if (compare(PING_BOOTSTRAP, this.table.id, q.closest[q.closest.length - 1].nodeId) > 0) {
         return
       }
 
@@ -309,7 +320,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
   _repingMaybe () {
     while (this._repinging < 3 && this._reping.isEmpty() === false) {
       const { newNode, row } = this._reping.shift()
-      if (this.table.get(newNode.id)) continue
+      if (this.table.get(newNode.nodeId)) continue
 
       let oldest = null
       for (const node of row.nodes) {
@@ -331,7 +342,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     this.ping(oldNode).then(onsuccess, onswap)
 
     function onsuccess (m) {
-      if (m.nodeId === null || !m.nodeId.equals(oldNode.id)) return onswap()
+      if (m.nodeId === null || !m.nodeId.equals(oldNode.nodeId)) return onswap()
       self._repinging--
       self._repingMaybe()
     }
@@ -352,14 +363,14 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
 
     for (const node of this.bootstrapNodes) {
       dns.lookup(node.host, (_, host) => {
-        if (host) nodes.push({ id: node.id || null, host, port: node.port })
+        if (host) nodes.push({ nodeId: node.nodeId || null, host, port: node.port })
         if (--missing === 0) done(nodes)
       })
     }
   }
 
   _addNode (node) {
-    if (this.nodes.has(node) || node.id.equals(this.table.id)) return
+    if (this.nodes.has(node) || node.nodeId.equals(this.table.id)) return
 
     node.added = node.seen = this._tick
 
@@ -369,14 +380,14 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
   }
 
   _maybeRemoveNode (node, expectedId) {
-    if (expectedId !== null && expectedId.equals(node.id)) return
+    if (expectedId !== null && expectedId.equals(node.nodeId)) return
     this._removeNode(node)
   }
 
   _removeNode (node) {
     if (!this.nodes.has(node)) return
 
-    this.table.remove(node.id)
+    this.table.remove(node.nodeId)
     this.nodes.remove(node)
 
     this.emit('remove-node', node)
@@ -398,10 +409,11 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
     this._nat.add(m.to)
 
     this._addNode({
-      id: m.nodeId,
+      nodeId: m.nodeId,
       token: null,
       port: m.from.port,
       host: m.from.host,
+      id: m.nodeId, // alias for nodeId as the routing table expects that
       added: this._tick,
       seen: this._tick,
       prev: null,
@@ -459,8 +471,7 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
   _reply (rpc, tid, target, status, value, token, to) {
     const closerNodes = target ? this.table.closest(target) : null
     const persistent = !this.ephemeral && rpc === this.rpc
-
-    rpc.send({
+    const reply = {
       version: 1,
       tid,
       from: null,
@@ -472,7 +483,10 @@ class DHT extends EventEmitter {
       command: null,
       status,
       value
-    })
+    }
+
+    rpc.send(reply)
+    return reply
   }
 }
 
@@ -492,7 +506,7 @@ function parseNode (s) {
   if (!port) throw new Error('Node format is id@?host:port')
 
   return {
-    id: id ? Buffer.from(id.slice(0, -1), 'hex') : null,
+    nodeId: id ? Buffer.from(id.slice(0, -1), 'hex') : null,
     host,
     port: Number(port.slice(1))
   }
diff --git a/lib/messages.js b/lib/messages.js
index dabc407..209bea0 100644
--- a/lib/messages.js
+++ b/lib/messages.js
@@ -38,13 +38,13 @@ const dhtPeerIPv4 = exports.dhtPeerIPv4 = {
     state.end += 6 + 32
   },
   encode (state, peer) {
-    cenc.fixed32.encode(state, peer.id)
+    cenc.fixed32.encode(state, peer.nodeId)
     IPv4.encode(state, peer.host)
     cenc.uint16.encode(state, peer.port)
   },
   decode (state) {
     return {
-      id: cenc.fixed32.decode(state),
+      nodeId: cenc.fixed32.decode(state),
       host: IPv4.decode(state),
       port: cenc.uint16.decode(state)
     }
diff --git a/lib/query.js b/lib/query.js
index 4a51d43..865b72a 100644
--- a/lib/query.js
+++ b/lib/query.js
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
     this.concurrency = opts.concurrency || this.k
     this.inflight = 0
     this.map = opts.map || defaultMap
-    this.closest = []
 
+    this._closestReplies = []
     this._slowdown = false
     this._seen = new Set()
     this._pending = []
@@ -32,11 +32,15 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
       // add them reverse as we pop below
       for (let i = nodes.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
         const node = nodes[i]
-        this._addPending(node.id, node.host, node.port)
+        this._addPending(node.nodeId, node.host, node.port)
       }
     }
   }
 
+  get closest () {
+    return this._closestReplies.map(r => ({ nodeId: r.nodeId, host: r.from.host, port: r.from.port }))
+  }
+
   finished () {
     return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
       const self = this
@@ -61,7 +65,7 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
 
   async commit (command = this.command, value = this.value, opts) {
     if (typeof command === 'object' && command) return this.commit(undefined, undefined, command)
-    return this.dht.requestAll(this.target, command, value, this.closest, opts)
+    return this.dht.requestAll(this.target, command, value, this._closestReplies, opts)
   }
 
   async toArray () {
@@ -78,7 +82,7 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
     const closest = this.dht.table.closest(this.target, this.k - this._pending.length)
 
     for (const node of closest) {
-      this._addPending(node.id, node.host, node.port)
+      this._addPending(node.nodeId, node.host, node.port)
     }
   }
 
@@ -88,22 +92,22 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
 
     this.dht._resolveBootstrapNodes((bootstrapNodes) => {
       for (const node of bootstrapNodes) {
-        this._addPending(node.id, node.host, node.port)
+        this._addPending(node.nodeId, node.host, node.port)
       }
       cb(null)
     })
   }
 
   _isCloser (id) {
-    return this.closest.length < this.k || this._compare(id, this.closest[this.closest.length - 1].id) < 0
+    return this._closestReplies.length < this.k || this._compare(id, this._closestReplies[this._closestReplies.length - 1].nodeId) < 0
   }
 
-  _addPending (id, host, port) {
-    if (id && !this._isCloser(id)) return
+  _addPending (nodeId, host, port) {
+    if (nodeId && !this._isCloser(nodeId)) return
     const addr = host + ':' + port
     if (this._seen.has(addr)) return
     this._seen.add(addr)
-    this._pending.push({ id, host, port })
+    this._pending.push({ nodeId, host, port })
   }
 
   _read (cb) {
@@ -118,7 +122,7 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
 
     while (this.inflight < concurrency && this._pending.length > 0) {
       const next = this._pending.pop()
-      if (next && next.id && !this._isCloser(next.id)) continue
+      if (next && next.nodeId && !this._isCloser(next.nodeId)) continue
       this._visit(next)
     }
 
@@ -145,7 +149,7 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
       return
     }
 
-    if (!this.closest.length) {
+    if (!this._closestReplies.length) {
       this.destroy(new Error('Too few nodes responded'))
       return
     }
@@ -154,7 +158,7 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
     this._commiting = true
 
     const p = []
-    for (const node of this.closest) p.push(this._commit(this.dht, this.target, node))
+    for (const node of this._closestReplies) p.push(this._commit(this.dht, this.target, node))
 
     race(p, 1, p.length)
       .then(() => this.push(null), (err) => this.destroy(err))
@@ -167,20 +171,13 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
     this.inflight--
 
     if (m.nodeId !== null && this._isCloser(m.nodeId)) {
-      const node = {
-        id: m.nodeId,
-        token: m.token,
-        port: m.from.port,
-        host: m.from.host
-      }
-
-      this._pushClosest(node)
+      this._pushClosest(m)
     }
 
     if (m.closerNodes !== null) {
       for (const node of m.closerNodes) {
-        if (node.id.equals(this.dht.table.id)) continue
-        this._addPending(node.id, node.host, node.port)
+        if (node.nodeId.equals(this.dht.table.id)) continue
+        this._addPending(node.nodeId, node.host, node.port)
       }
     }
 
@@ -206,22 +203,22 @@ module.exports = class Query extends Readable {
   }
 
   _pushClosest (node) {
-    this.closest.push(node)
-    for (let i = this.closest.length - 2; i >= 0; i--) {
-      const prev = this.closest[i]
-      const cmp = this._compare(prev.id, node.id)
+    this._closestReplies.push(node)
+    for (let i = this._closestReplies.length - 2; i >= 0; i--) {
+      const prev = this._closestReplies[i]
+      const cmp = this._compare(prev.nodeId, node.nodeId)
       // if sorted, done!
       if (cmp < 0) break
       // if dup, splice it out (rare)
       if (cmp === 0) {
-        this.closest.splice(i + 1, 1)
+        this._closestReplies.splice(i + 1, 1)
         break
       }
       // swap and continue down
-      this.closest[i + 1] = prev
-      this.closest[i] = node
+      this._closestReplies[i + 1] = prev
+      this._closestReplies[i] = node
     }
-    if (this.closest.length > this.k) this.closest.pop()
+    if (this._closestReplies.length > this.k) this._closestReplies.pop()
   }
 
   _compare (a, b) {
diff --git a/lib/rpc.js b/lib/rpc.js
index 5a481a2..95c0fcf 100644
--- a/lib/rpc.js
+++ b/lib/rpc.js
@@ -238,13 +238,13 @@ module.exports = class RPC {
     for (let i = 0; i < this.inflight.length; i++) {
       const req = this.inflight[i]
 
-      if (--req.timeout >= 0) continue
+      if (req.tries > 0 && --req.timeout >= 0) continue
       req.timeout = 2
 
       if (req.tries++ > this.maxRetries) {
         if (i === this.inflight.length - 1) this.inflight.pop()
         else this.inflight[i] = this.inflight.pop()
-        req.reject(new Error('Request timed out'))
+        req.reject(createTimeoutError())
         continue
       }
 
@@ -263,6 +263,12 @@ module.exports = class RPC {
   }
 }
 
+function createTimeoutError () {
+  const err = new Error('Request timed out')
+  err.status = 0
+  return err
+}
+
 function createStatusError (status) {
   const err = new Error('Request failed with status ' + status)
   err.status = status
diff --git a/test.js b/test.js
index d56a37e..2ec5363 100644
--- a/test.js
+++ b/test.js
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@ tape('make bigger swarm', async function (t) {
 
   const targetNode = swarm[25]
 
-  let q = swarm[499].query(targetNode.id, 'find_node', null)
+  let q = swarm[499].query(targetNode.nodeId, 'find_node', null)
   let messages = 0
   let found = false
 
   for await (const data of q) {
     messages++
-    if (data.nodeId.equals(targetNode.id)) {
+    if (data.nodeId.equals(targetNode.nodeId)) {
       found = true
       break
     }
@@ -26,13 +26,13 @@ tape('make bigger swarm', async function (t) {
 
   t.ok(found, 'found target in ' + messages + ' message(s)')
 
-  q = swarm[490].query(targetNode.id, 'find_node', null, { closest: q.closest })
+  q = swarm[490].query(targetNode.nodeId, 'find_node', null, { closest: q.closest })
   messages = 0
   found = false
 
   for await (const data of q) {
     messages++
-    if (data.nodeId.equals(targetNode.id)) {
+    if (data.nodeId.equals(targetNode.nodeId)) {
       found = true
       break
     }
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ tape('commit after query', async function (t) {
   }
 
   const q = swarm[42].query(swarm[0].table.id, 'before', null, {
-    commit (node, target, to) {
-      return node.request(target, 'after', null, to)
+    commit (node, target, m) {
+      return node.request(target, 'after', null, { token: m.token, ...m.from })
     }
   })