The Deepcombers

Chapter Twenty Nine

"What did they want?" Lon asked.

"They wanted to check my wagon of course. They'd paw the medicine. Oh could you imagine?" Zed shook his head and frowned as he imagined it.

"What happened?" Lon asked.

"They got confused and wandered away," Zed replaced the candle. Saeya smiled and shared a look with Valari. Melcart also pretended to understand and he laughed aloud, awkwardly.

"You're sure they were Crols?" Lon asked.

"Oh, of course. There are five galleys in the harbour," Zed related the information casually but the news made Lon feel sick. Even though its what he'd expected, it still shocked him to hear it spoken aloud as if his mortal enemies were just another group of tourists.

"Did you see Minister Horne?" Lon asked.

"I saw only those two dog's paws."

"And who is this Minister Horne?" Saeya asked.

"One of nine who runs... He's the worst of them." Lon decided not to relate how he'd survived being sacrificed on a First Age artifact or that Horne had personally selected him for the ordeal. He didn't know how Melcart would react and he wasn't sure he could hold back from striking his rival if he were to mock him for that. "He leads them. He's a Priest of Alocer. He goes to battle with a cloudstone er smilkstone in his hands and he uses mind control to turn enemy troops."

"Smilkstone is worth a fortune," Melcart said.

"Refresh my memory on Alocer again?" Vakie asked.

Lon straightened up at the request. It surprised him that there were still people on the globe who didn't know about the Prophet Alocer, and also that Valari had asked him for something. "He's a... was a, Kluth-sayer. Preached against minuchin. His followers pray and their prayers are collected in the temple." He waited and when nobody interrupted, he continued, "...it's said that by the end of each day, the prayer of so many devouts, gives Alocer's Ghost the strength he, er it needs to battle the..er to stop the mutations."

"What nonsense," Zed declared. Nobody spoke and the group infused more flasks. The little break in the conversation allowed Lon to contemplate the news of the Crolean presence in Ligne and to come to terms with its reality.

"Why were you persecuted?" Valari asked. "You're True Pattern."

Here it was. Lon's first instinct was to say I was not always, but he knew that would beget more awkward questions. Confusion played across his face and he looked down at his hands. All he could do was shrug and let them draw their own conclusions.

"Who is my neighbour?" Zed's eyes twinkled. "Kluth asked us that. And the answer is everyone. He loves us all equally and that's all that matters. You know that True Pattern feigor are mutants too. Up here." The old sage tapped his noggin. "But all of us, we are solidarity, a blessed continuity, a sustained immortality that none, not you nor I or even Hamlin can begin to fathom. Together we are the mind and body of Kluth, and when one is attacked, the whole must rally to its defense."

Lon listened to the sage's words and wrestled with a dozen thoughts. He wanted to ask why they must wait to be attacked? Was there any fear in the port's hierarchy that their island might be the Crol's next conquest?

"What if the Crols have taken over the Port of Ligne?" Lon asked.

This made the others smile and Zed chuckled. Everyone looked amused at Lon's naivete. Nobody took the idea seriously.

"Many have tried," the sage said. "None have ever succeeded. It's a bit like treading water on the edge of a waterfall. How well do you know our history?"