Chapter 24

We set out that evening, and I didn’t have time to visit Nolar again before we left. “You don’t build a fence if you don’t fear what may come from the jungle." I shivered, remembering her words. Had the Ancients known about the Spectres and tried to protect us? Or had they built the protection against something else?

“Silje…”

Kine walked over to me by the railing, interrupting my thoughts.

“You’ll see Naria again soon.”

I frowned.

“We’ll pass it tomorrow,” he explained. “Maybe we’ll even need to stay the day by it.”

“Does anyone live there?”

He shook his head.

“No, it was a long time since anyone called Naria their home. The jungle has been infested by the Monsters.”

He patted my shoulder and went to talk to Mitrandes. Naria… It felt like such a long time since I’d left. The refugees, the rumours about the Worms, and then the Council coming to take the Crystal. I remembered Auntie telling me that the Ancients had built the city and others like it when they made the Crystals for the Guardians to dwell in, keeping the world in balance.

“Every protection is based on fear, and the Worms are masters of it." Was that why the Ancients had built it, as an extension of the protection for fear of what might come? The first time I met Nolar, she had told me the Worms are powerless against those who do not fear them. Did that mean we had been doomed ever since the Ancients built the protection?

We landed on the Great River of Naria the next morning, and I ran over to the railing, squinting through the rain to see the walls of the city. It looked almost like I remembered it but… I frowned. It wasn’t empty… There was someone standing on the wall.

I gestured for Aase.

“Someone’s there…” I pointed.

She peered at the city, frowning.

“What do you see?” Mitrandes asked as he walked over to us.

By now, the people on the wall had noticed us too, and a couple of them gathered, pointing in our direction.

“Someone’s there?” Kine asked as he came to stand by the railing.

Aase nodded.

“Who?” Tore asked.

“I don’t know…”

Another figure stepped up on the wall, and I could see the feather in their helmet. Hunters…?

“It’s… It’s the Council.”

One of them raised a pole in the air. It had the winged mouth I recognised from the Council’s caravans. I shivered.

“What are they doing here?”

“I don’t know.”

“What shall we do?” Fain asked.

“Let’s wait," Mitrandes said. “We are beyond their reach.”

“But what if they attack?” Tore objected.

“We can fight them,” Ifrim said, but Mitrandes shook his head.

“The harbour is empty, they don’t have enough boats. It would be foolish to attack us.”

He walked back over the deck, and I cast one last glance at the figures before hurrying after him.

“What are they doing here?” I asked.

“Who knows… They have records of the old times. Maybe they are searching for something in Naria they’ve found in them.”

He gestured for us to keep watch, and I hurried over to my place and sat down. The Hunter had left, and soon, a few of the Guards left as well until there was only a lonely figure still watching us. I shivered. They seemed as surprised to see us as we were seeing them. For a moment, I had wondered if it was Lucius who’d managed to send them a message about our arrival, but if he had, they didn’t seem prepared for it.

“They’re coming!” Ifrim suddenly called.

I clambered up, peering in the direction he was pointing. A small boat rowed by young Tritons had left the shore, coming towards us. Tore scrambled from her position to load the cannon, and I climbed up on the roof and loaded the bow, while Ifrim took his place at the railing. He raised his rifle, but an older Tanuki tottered to his feet and raised the pole with the winged mouth in the air.

“I come in peace, carrying the blessings of Council.”

It was the greeting used in the old times when the Council arrived to mediate a conflict or to offer their help. I glanced at the others.

“He’s unarmed,” Fain said.

“Mitrandes,” the Tanuki called. “I’m Companion Orun, the Mouth of the Council.”

“Do you know him?” Kine asked.

Mitrandes shook his head.

“I don’t, but many in Akkadia knew of me and Aegon.”

“I’ve come to trade with you in goodwill,” the Tanuki called.

“Trade what? Your boat is empty,” Tore called to him.

“Trade in knowledge."

I glanced at the others.

“Let’s hear what he has to say,” Mitrandes said.

He gestured for Ifrim to lower his rifle as the boat halted next to Aegon, and after a moment’s hesitation, Kine threw down the rope ladder to him. I heard Orun make his way up, and as he climbed over the railing, he dropped a basket on the deck.

“I’m too old for this,” he sighed before turning to Mitrandes. “But I’d never thought I would see this ship again.”

He peered around with what could only be described as admiration.

“Such a shame we cannot undo what has been done. I don’t believe you would ever return to Akkadia, Mitrandes?”

Mitrandes didn’t answer and only gestured for him to follow him out of the rain. Orun took the basket and hobbled after him, and I glanced down at the boat bobbing in the water below. The Tritons didn’t pay us any attention, leisurely watching the river.

“Let’s trade,” I heard Orun say, and I took my gaze from the boat and followed them to the awning.

He reached into his basket and pulled out a set of strange devices, each with a talking stone cast in brass and wrapped in copper wires. I frowned. Kine used to deliver talking stones when he worked as a courier, but this didn’t look anything like what I remembered them to be.

Mitrandes peered at them.

“Have you…?”

Orun grinned.

“Not all scholars left Akkadia.”

He held out a pair.

“They let you communicate instantly. No need to deliver them to the receiver first.”

“How do they work?” Aase asked.

“They are connected through the Flow. You tap them.”

He took what looked like a scroll from the basket.

“Using the cyphers from this. The message will come through directly.”

I stared at him. We could use it to stay in touch with the villages and each other when we travelled. If we gave them to Dalor, he could understand how they worked, and we could build more of them.

“And this,” Orun said as he took out a single talking stone from the basket. “This is our gift of goodwill. It lets you talk to the Master in Akkadia."

I glanced at the others. What would we give him in return? I saw Mitrandes reach for his wind rifle, and Ifrim put up his hands.

“No. Not that.”

He scowled at Orun.

“I don’t trust them. They will use it to build more of them.”

“You are not our enemy, Dragon. The Spectres are..." Orun said calmly.

Ifrim scoffed, but Orun continued,

“We have had our chance to attack you, and yet here we are, trading with you. It isn’t you who are our enemy. This will only allow us to protect our people.”

Ifrim frowned, but Mitrandes said,

“He’s right, and the rifles will save lives.”

Ifrim scowled but stayed quiet as Mitrandes unfastened the wind rifle and handed it to Orun and received two heavy wooden boxes in exchange.

“The Worms are our real enemy, just like Lucius also said,” Mitrandes concluded.

“Lucius?”

Orun turned to him.

“Master Lucius? Is he alive?”

Mitrandes nodded.

“Will you tell me what happened to the Council in Tovira?”

“Will you tell us what you do in Naria?” Aase asked before Mitrandes could say anything.

Orun fell silent, gazing out over the river before turning back to us.

“We can make another trade.”

He straightened his cloak.

“We are searching through the city for any clues the Ancients may have left. How they made the Crystals, and why those failed after they had protected us for such a long time.”

I shivered, hearing him mention the Ancients. So Mitrandes had been right…

“Have you found anything?” Tore asked.

“I don’t know. Only the Master examines our findings.”

He turned to Aase.

“Your turn. What happened in Tovira?”

Kine began to tell him about the Monsters and the fate of the Companions who had dared to touch the Flow. Orun fidgeted nervously with the heavy bronze pendant hanging from his neck as he spoke, and when Kine was done, he picked up his basket.

“I need to carry the news to my Master. Thank you for the trade.”

He walked back to the ladder and halted.

“Please remember that we are not enemies.”

He took hold of the rope ladder and climbed down, and we watched the boat disappear back over the river. Ifrim frowned, but Mitrandes put a hand on his shoulder.

“I know you don’t trust them. It would be easier if we could hate them like we hate the Worms. But they are not that different from us as we would like to believe…"

“They are evil. Don’t get fooled.”

“Are they?”

Mithandes sighed, gazing out over the now empty river.

“They’ve done evil things, but are they really evil in their hearts?”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?

“Would they change if they realised their way was wrong? Could we work together...?”

He sighed, but Ifrim scowled.

“They are wrong!”

“They were my friends…”

He put his hand on Ifrim's shoulder.

“But they don’t know they are wrong…”

“You… You don’t think the Council is working with the Worms?” I asked hesitantly.

He sighed.

“No… They’ve done evil things, but they truly believe they are doing it for the greater good. I saw it in Akkadia. They want to get rid of the Worms just as much as we do.”

“At least we have the talking stone,” I said.

“That’s true, Silje… But they gave us the stone so they could convince us we are wrong, not to listen to us…”

He patted my shoulder.

“But as they will try to convince us, they will need to listen to what we have to say, so not all the hope is lost.”

I glanced back at the wall. There were still a few Guards, but none of them seemed to pay us any attention. Mitrandes gestured for us, and the others went to stand watch, and I sat down under the awning. So they really were looking for clues from the Ancients... Had they found out the same thing about the Protection that Nolar had spoken about? Or was it the Worms who wanted something from Naria? I glanced at Mitrandes. Was it true what he said, and the Council had done what they thought was best?

I heard a noise and turned to see Fain practising with the harness. I frowned. But if they really were, why had Lucius agreed to give us the harness? And… If the Council really was working with the Worms, then why would they need the harness in the first place? They could have touched the Flow without it. But Lucius had used it in Tovira, and the Companions had been infected by the Worms when they touched the Flow. Was Mitrandes right, and they really did want to defeat them?

We set out again as evening fell, and I watched Naria disappear in the distance. Once the ship was flying steadily, Mitrandes gathered us below deck.

“We need to decide our plan.”

“Tanur will take any chance he can to refuse the Challenge, even if it comes from another Sanoor,” Fain said. “The people need to know we’re coming so he can’t back out.”

“So we’ll stay in Tovira for a while,” Kine said. “The traders will bring the news back to Zarin.”

Mitrandes nodded.

“Do you plan to take the Crystal?” Fain asked.

I frowned.

“We have not,” Tore conceded.

“You should. If I fail, you’ll still have a chance to defeat him.”

“But… We can’t just take it,” I said.

“Would you rather risk being defeated?” Fain asked.

“He’s right,” Mitrandes said. “I don’t like the idea, but it will be our best chance.”

“Knowing Tanur, he will want everyone to witness his victory,” Fain continued. “Most will come to watch the duel, and Crystal will not be guarded well.”

Kine glanced at me.

“If it’s needed, can you touch the Flow without listening to the Worms?”

I shivered. I hadn’t done it since I realised what they had done.

“I’ll come with you,” Ifrim said.

“You should take the new Guardian with you too,” Fain said.

Tore frowned.

“She might be the only one who can touch the Crystal,” he explained.

“And if Luna doesn’t want to become a Guardian?” Aase asked hesitantly.

I glanced at the others, and Mitrandes sighed.

“We will stay in Tovira for a while. We need to hope for the best, but if not, there might be others that would agree.”

“So then we’ll only need to wait to see if Gard has any news once we arrive in Ulin?” Kine said.

Mitrandes nodded. Touch the Flow… We only had one harness, and Fain needed it more than us. Ifrim must have noticed my apprehension, because he said,

“I’ll be there with you. We can do it together.”

I hesitantly nodded.