Crystallized

Chapter 17

Verunt had been in the process of freezing boiling water when Thelia had returned to the greenhouse. She had been ghostly pale and barely standing. Settled around the garden table in the light of the setting sun, they had listened with disbelief and horror to her recap of the meeting. When she came to the part where Egem had burned Maya Blanch alive, Amber had to embrace her for her to be able to go on. She finished with red and tearfilled eyes.

Antheia, do you have any idea what scripts Egem referred to? Amber asked a while after Thelia had gone quiet and her trembles had somewhat eased.

"I've read mentions of scripts in which the creation of the City and the barrier are accounted for. However, I have never seen any of them and most believe them to have perished in the Old Fires." Antheia went silent for a moment, her wrinkled face deep in thought. "If Egem gets hold of them, there's no doubt he'll learn what he desires to. To stop him we must know what he knows, or preferably, more than he does."

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Mitra walked around the dusty aisles as Amber and Virid searched the library for anything that had to do with the City, the Border or the Old Fire. Despite Amber's familiarity with the library and the light she created, it took them hours to find a promising book. The Great Rebuilding had a map of how the City looked 150 years ago, when most of it was built in wood, pages upon pages documenting the destruction caused by the Old Fires and blueprints of important rebuilds. 

Amber found blueprints of the Infirmary, the Institute of Magic, the Council and the Library. Her interest peaked, for it didn't fully match the reality. When she compared it to another map she noticed not only that some of the stairs didn't exist, but also that they led to a basement.

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Verunt wore a long cloak with a hood covering him head to toe to not be recognized. Thanks to the bronze pin Thelia had managed to steal, they were both able to blend in with the Seekers. They were in a similar basement as Thelia had been in before. It was dark and warm with a small wooden scene against one wall. Thelia had a metallic feeling about her when they moved in amongst the crowd. Her lips were tightly pressed together and she stared straight ahead without truly seeing.

Egem walked on to the stage, greeting the Seekers as family before he went straight to business. "Our efforts have finally paid off. The council have agreed to some of my terms. Our earlier failure was believing the barrier to be powered by the stones at its edge. I've discovered that it's actually powered by the big alder tree in the middle of the city. That tree is the lock to the cage we're all in. There's no time to waste." He sat up a big map of the city on the wall. "I encourage you to cause distractions here, here and here as soon as the sun sets," he said while pointing out three locations spread around the city, "to draw away guards from the city gate and the River Park were the tree stands. Once the tree is destroyed we will head for the gate and out of the city! To our freedom!"

"We have to tell the others," Verunt whispered to Thelia. While the crowd cheered, they left.

Shortly after, Verunt was sitting cross-legged on a small cobblestone road with his back against a building. Thelia stood guard next to him, in case anyone would come too close. He scaled away his senses until he was able to reach for Amber through the purple crystal. It took a moment for her to connect as well.

Amber, it's the old tree in the park that powers the border! Verunt's message went through with both excitement and fear.

We know! Amber's excitement echoed through the connection. We found a hidden basement in the library with old scripts. Someone must have used the Rebuilding to hide documents here.

That's great! Verunt replied. Look for anything that can help us protect the tree. And you need to warn your dad that they will cause 'distractions' all over the city by dusk, to lead guards away from the park and the city gates.

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A/N: Just two more chapters to go! Don't forget to leave a vote if you like what you read and remember that feedback is always welcome.