I climbed the low bluff above the shingle of the beach. A rocky meadow of tufty grasses greeted me, shadows creeping up from the roots as the colour left the day. There were no trees, only tough and twisted bushes scattered through it. It might be summer, but the glacier crouching above us breathed winter year round. I waded through the ungrazed grasses, the seed heads whispering against my leggings. Then, without warning, I came to the edge of a quarry. Had it been any darker, I would probably have tumbled right into it and taken a bad fall. I stood on the edge and looked down. A few feet down, the sod sides gave way to black stone walls, thinly veined with silver. A shiver ran over me. Memory stone had been mined here, just as it had in the immense quarry in the Mountains where Verity’s dragon had been carved from the stuff. The water that had collected in the bottom of the quarry was a second, starless night sky below me. Two large stones, the clean angles of their lines proclaiming the handiwork of men, were bare islands jutting from the water.
I backed slowly away from the edge and walked back to the camp. I wanted to speak to Chade and the Prince, but felt a greater urge to discuss this with the Fool. Standing at the edge of the bluff, I looked out over the bay at the Tusker rocking gently at anchor, the landing boats clustered around her. Tomorrow, she would depart, taking Arkon Bloodblade back to Zylig. The rest of us would remain here and begin our search for the dragon frozen beneath the glacier. The waves lapping methodically at the beach should have been soothing. Instead, the sea seemed relentless, intent on slowly devouring the land. I had never felt that way about it before.
A large animal breached briefly near the shore. I froze, trying to make out what it was. It vanished beneath the next wave, and was again bared as the wave retreated. In the moments it was exposed, it was perfectly motionless. I squinted at it, but it was a black shape against black water, and I could make out nothing save that it was as large as a small whale. I scowled at the idea of a creature that large in shallow water. It should not be this close to shore, unless it was dead and washed up by the tide. My Wit-sense told me that a low level of life still lurked in it, in a fuzzy, unfocused way. Yet I did not sense the defeat or resignation of a dying creature.
I stood on the beach, and watched as the falling waves gradually revealed not only the amorphous shape of a large animal, but several large black blocks of stone gleaming wet in the moonlight. I forgot all else as the waves slowly lost their grasp on the shore and fell back. The creature that was gradually exposed was familiar in an eerie way. Once one has seen a supine dragon, one never forgets it. My heart began to beat faster. Could this be the answer to our riddle?
I think I’ve found your dragon, Dutiful. Make an excuse to come on deck and look toward the shore. It’s being exposed as the tide retreats. There’s a stone dragon here, in the tide zone.
My Skilling had not been confined to Dutiful. It reached Chade as well. In a short time, Dutiful and the rest of the dinner gathering came out onto the deck. They stared toward shore, but I doubted they could see the creature as clearly as I did, for the lantern light on the ship now silhouetted it for me. And in that extra light, and with the retreat of the waves, I saw my error. What had appeared to be a dragon were actually several huge blocks of stone, set close together but not quite touching one another. I saw his head on his front paws, his neck and shoulders, three segments of back and hind legs and then a number of dwindling sections of tail. Fused together, they would have formed a dragon. Exposed on the wet sand, they reminded me of a child’s puzzle blocks.
Is this our dragon? Did she want the stone head taken back to her home hearth? I asked.
Linked to Dutiful, I saw him point and ask a similar question of Peottre. But it was Arkon Bloodblade who laughed and shook his head. My link with Dutiful conveyed Bloodblade’s answer as clearly as if I stood on the deck beside them. ‘No, no, what you see there was one of the Pale Woman’s follies. She had her slaves quarrying stone here. She insisted that only the black stone from this island could be ballast for her white ships. It looks as if some slaves were put to carving it, too. For what, we’ll probably never –’
‘It’s late.’ Peottre’s voice cut in abruptly. ‘And you sail with the morning tide, brother. Let us have one more good night of sleep on board, in beds, before we face the hardship of the island tomorrow. I recommend an early bed for you, too, Prince Dutiful. Tomorrow we must start early on the trail to where the true dragon is said to await us. It will be an arduous trip. Rest is wisest for all of us.’
‘A wise suggestion from a wise head. I’ll wish you good luck and good night then.’ Arkon acceded quickly to Peottre’s suggestion.
Well. That was neatly turned, Chade observed as the men dispersed from the deck. Arkon must have realized he was telling tales that Peottre didn’t wish shared. See what else you can discover there, Fitz.
How did the Fool react to that tale? I demanded of him.
I really didn’t notice. Chade’s reply was brusque.
How did the Fool get here? Why is he here? Why are you keeping him where I can’t talk to him? I could no longer suppress the questions, nor completely conceal my annoyance that they had not yet shared the answers with me.
Oh, don’t sulk. Chade dismissed my irritation. He’s told us little enough. You know how he is. Let it ride until tomorrow, Fitz, when we’re all on shore together and you can quiz him as much as you wish. Doubtless he’ll be more open with you than he is with us. As to why I’ve kept him close to us, it’s more to keep him away from the Hetgurd warriors than from you. He’s already revealed that he will do all he can to persuade us not to slay the dragon. And he’s been sufficiently puzzling, charming and mysterious to intrigue Peottre and Bloodblade, but I think the Narcheska still fears him. She does not meet his eyes.
The Prince broke in on Chade’s thoughts. Initially the Hetgurd men thought he was some kind of a cheat on our part, a secret ally we’d smuggled in. When we pointed out that we had no way of knowing the terms that the Hetgurd would set for us, they admitted that didn’t seem likely.
How did the Narcheska and Peottre react to his claim that he would help the dragon? I demanded of them both.
Chade’s thoughts seemed well considered. They reacted strangely. I expected that Peottre and the Narcheska would resent him, but Peottre seems relieved, almost glad to see him here. As for me, I am grateful he said no more than he did. And I’m asking you to keep any discussions you have with him out of earshot of Peottre or the Narcheska. If they discover how long you have been friends, they may well think that you are opposed to our quest as well.
There was a warning for me in Chade’s thought, a slight testing of my loyalty. I ignored it. I’ll wait and talk to him privately, I told Chade.