“Maybe Lady Cadence would let us borrow hers,” Fitz said.
Sophie made a note of the suggestion, even if she couldn’t imagine Lady Cadence agreeing. “We’re going to need disguises, too. In case we’re spotted. I still have the Neverseen robe I used when we went to visit Gethen.”
“I have mine, too,” Keefe said. His voice hid a slight quiver.
“Okay, so that’s two. We’ll have to find a way to make three more. And he had the Neverseen symbol on his arm, too—maybe we should add that. In fact, maybe we should try to re-create his whole outfit. He had this fitted vest that looked almost military style. The ogres probably don’t know all the members of the Neverseen, so the harder we work to get the details right, the better chance we have of them letting us go if we get stopped.” Sophie made another note, and drew a quick sketch of Gethen’s vest, wishing she had Keefe’s artistic skills.
“So, just to recap,” Dex said, setting down the gadget he’d been tweaking. “We might have a guide. And we might have one Markchain. And we might have a way to make disguises. And I might be able to make enough weapons in the next, like, five hours. Anyone else see the problem?”
“Yeah, this is why I should go by myself,” Keefe said.
The suggestion was met with a resounding, “No!” But Sophie knew Keefe wasn’t going to listen. If she didn’t figure something out, he would go alone.
“No, the problem,” Dex said, “is that we still haven’t figured how we’re getting into the city. I’m guessing teleporting is out?”
“I remember Alvar saying the city is surrounded by force fields,” Fitz said. “Who knows what they’d do to us as we tried to pass through.”
“Maybe Alvar knows a secret entrance,” Biana suggested.
“Maybe,” Sophie agreed. But she doubted it.
“I know the way,” Calla said from the staircase, making Sophie drop her pen midnote. She hadn’t seen Calla since Calla had left to tell the other gnomes the truth about the drakostomes.
Calla gave her a reassuring smile as she moved to Sophie’s side. Her gray eyes were rimmed with red, and Sophie couldn’t tell if that was from exhaustion or crying. But Calla’s voice was confident when she told them, “I know how to get into the city.”
“How?” Sophie asked.
Calla was about to answer, when she noticed the pathetic pile of fruit they’d gathered. She picked up one of the pieces, tracing her fingers sadly over the peel before setting it down and shaking her head. “One problem at a time,” she whispered.
“What do you mean, you know the way?” Dex asked, getting back to the subject.
“I mean there’s a secret path into Ravagog,” Calla said. “I finally solved the riddle. All the songs said to ‘embrace the heartache,’ and now that I know the truth about our past, I know what the words mean. Our leaders would’ve known we’d never give up on our homeland, and made the way back for us to return. If I sing the song of the Four Season’s Tree and embrace their heartache, their roots will open a tunnel to the ogre city.”
“Does that mean you have to come with us?” Biana asked.
“I don’t have to. I want to.”
“But it’s dangerous—especially for you,” Sophie warned.
“I know the risks. But I will see my homeland, however lost it is. And I will take back freedom for my people.”
Sophie could tell there would be no arguing the point, and made a note that they’d need to make another Neverseen robe for Calla.
“Okay, so that’s progress,” she said. “But I feel like we still need a better plan for how to stay hidden.”
“I might be able to help with that,” Mr. Forkle said. “No need to hide that paper, Miss Foster,” he added as he made his way to the table to join them. “I know what you’re planning.”
“You’re not going to try to stop us?” Fitz asked.
“I doubt I could even if I tried. Plus, I learned from the mistakes in Exile”—his eyes strayed to Fitz—“that it’s far better if we coordinate our efforts.” He took her list and scanned it. “I assume your mother is working on reaching out to Mr. Vacker?”
Fitz nodded.
“Good. I’ll have Granite talk to Lady Cadence about the Markchain. Perhaps she knows how to amp up its aroma to better cover a group of nine.”
“Nine?” Sophie asked, doing a quick mental head count. With Alvar and Calla she only had them at seven. “Who are the other two?”
“Two elves with incredibly powerful abilities, who should solve many of these problems you’re tackling. The trick will be convincing them to help.”
“Who?” Fitz asked, but Sophie had already guessed.
It looked like she’d be dragging Tam and Linh into danger after all.
SIXTY-FIVE