The Dragonstone

Arin slowly shook her head and shrugged, and Lysa

"Well then," said Ryelle, "all I can think of concerning one of the lines of the rede is that the High King's cage could be anywhere… though Caer Pendwyr is most likely to be the place, but I do not know if Bleys keeps ferrets. As to the other lines…" She turned up her palms in surrender.

"Ha! If you ask me," said white-haired Halorn, "there are mad monarchs aplenty about the world. Peacocks, too."

"I say," called Perin from his chair against the wall, "ca

"Point the way, so to speak?" added Biren.

A tall, gaunt Mage shook his head. "When it comes to the Dragonstone, we are helpless. It blocks all attempts."

"It did not block Lysa

"No, child," replied the Mage, ignoring the fact that Arin was perhaps many times his elder, "you are mistaken. Your own wild magic had already succeeded in doing what we ca

Arin glanced at Lysa

Arin sighed, then asked, "Do ye think I must find these others-be they peacocks, ferrets, or aught else-in the given order of the rede?" She gestured at Aiko kneeling on the stone floor behind. "First the cat, next the one-eye, then the rutting peacock and so on?"

Mages looked at one another, unable to answer out of knowledge. Then old Halorn said, "I would guess that since you found the cat first, you should go after the one-eye next, and so on down through the slate."

"Then I say," declared Arin, "let us debate as to what each of the phrases of my vision mean, for I would value whatever advice ye can yield."

The debate lasted for tens of candlemarks, and in the end they were no closer to knowing the truth than they were at the begi

It was Vanidar Silverleaf who finally said, "Enough! We are now chasing our own tails."

Arilla agreed, and after minor additional discussion, adjourned the meeting.

As they headed back toward their quarters, Aiko, who had remained silent throughout, said, "Perhaps dark water is a village rather than-"

"Vada!" exclaimed Vanidar, slapping a palm to his forehead. "Aiko could be right! Mayhap it isn't a lake, a pond, a stream, a place in the sea." He turned to Rissa. "Mayhap it is a village."

Rissa frowned in concentration. "Let me think, I seem to recall…" They strode down the hall, Rissa staring at the passing floor and mumbling to herself. At last she looked up and said, "There is a place in Fjordland, a town named Darkwater, only in their tongue they call it Morkfjord."

"But there could be hundreds of towns named Darkwater, Morkfjord, or the like," protested Biren.

"Throughout Mithgar," added Perin.

"Nevertheless," said Silverleaf, gri

"Too," added Ruar, "the towns and villages named after dark water must certainly be fewer than the places throughout the world where water lies dark-every shadow o'er a stream, every dark hole in a pool, every overhanging rock, every deep in the ocean… all have dark water and are, I think, without number. Nay, I deem Lady Aiko has the right of it: the dark water of the rede is most likely to be a town… or other place so named."

"Where dwells a one-eyed person," added Melor, raising a finger, "or so I would believe."

"A person who will aid in this mission," appended Silverleaf, nodding.

Arin looked across at Rissa. "Where lies this Morkfjord?"

"In Fjordland along the Boreal Sea."

"I know neither the sea nor the land nor the town, Rissa, for I have not traveled widely as hast thou."

"I will guide thee there," replied Rissa.

"Nay," said Silverleaf. "Thou ca

"Oh?"

"Recall the words of the vision, chier: Take these with thee, no more, no less, else thou wilt fail to find the Jaded Soul.' Neither thou nor I nor anyone here save Lady Aiko may go with Dara Arin."

"Kha!" gritted Rissa. "The rede."

"Regardless, Aiko and I still need to know the way to this town of Darkwater," said Arin.

Rissa turned to Mage Lysa

Lysa

"There is your map of Mithgar," said Lysa

Aiko, who had never been in this particular chamber in all of the months she had served as a warrior of the Mages, cocked an eyebrow. "That is Mithgar?"

Lysa

"But it is a ball!" protested the Ryodoan.

Again Lysa

Rissa stepped onto the catwalk and to the sphere. She clambered up the framework and across the globe, using the lattice as it was intended. She studied the painted surface and moved about, and finally called to Arin, "Here, Dara, here is the place where Morkfjord lies, and over here are the Grey Mountains and Black Mountain within."

Arin joined her as did the others, and they pondered long on what route Arin would take. Traveling north through the Grey Mountains and then west to Fjordland was the shortest, but nearly all of it would be through the Untended Lands, where few if any lived. Too, for the next month or so the winter on the polar side of the mountains was entirely too brutal to bear. Following an old trade route west along the southern flank of the Grimwall seemed a better choice-at least there were villages along this way-though there were no passes through that grim range until Kaagor north of the Silverwood, leading from Aven in the south to the Steppes of Jord in the north. In the end, this was the way they decided to go and Rissa called for pen and parchment to sketch a map.

As Rissa charted their route, the others clambered about upon the framework, looking at the map of the entire world. It was Aiko who asked, "These glints within-what are they?"

"They mark where Mages dwell," replied Lysa

"And the dark sparkles? -My tiger murmurs of danger."

"Yes," replied Lysa

As they walked back to their quarters, Arin turned to Lysa

"I will tell you what I can, though one trained in that art could tell you more. In fact, rather than muddle the waters, why don't I ask, um, Seer Zelanj to join us for tea? He can certainly answer your questions better than I."

They sat at afternoon tea, eating sweet breads daubed with honey and sipping the dark brew. Zelanj looked to be ancient, supported by his staff as he hobbled into the chamber. White-haired and wrinkled, he was, and his eyes a faded blue, his skin nearly transparent with age where it was not liver spotted. "Heh," he grumbled as he sat down. "It was a long walk and took much from me. I may have to ‹rest› right here in Black Mountain, drat!… at least long enough to gain some strength for the voyage to Rwn."