Chapter 380: Ready to Begin

Iris read the list while Ren finished his meal.

They had made it on the Terrace steps after reading the Old Ladder’s terms. Who would handle things in Verdance. Who would answer his contact. Dole, the harness, the keeper, Kaelen. Iris scrolled down to the remaining entries.

’The terms fit on one page. Iris was still scrolling.’

"Kaelen," she said.

"Back."

"The keeper."

"I showed it the fixed slowing, then both kinds after the lesson. I’m supposed to practice changing between them." He took another bite. "Done."

Iris crossed it off. Lyra leaned over from the step below to read the rest.

"Your parents. The harness. Telling everyone inside." She looked at him. "And telling us when."

"Still on there."

"It stays until you do," Iris said.

The Guild’s reply to his question about Verdance lay with the admission sheet. During the attempt, nobody could enter or leave his inner world, including Ren. He could not fetch supplies from it or call on its residents for help. Everything inside would have to continue without him.

Boots sounded on the stairs. Eira reached the top with her pack on one shoulder and the folded blanket strapped over it.

"Her family met her at the point," she said. "I watched them walk away together."

Ren moved over to let her sit. She set down her pack and glanced at the slate.

"If that’s a list of jobs, leave me off it. I’ve got my own rounds to catch up on."

— • —

Eira read the clarification before choosing to stay in Verdance. She entered with Ren, then went to her rounds while he took the path to the workshop.

The craftsperson had the forearm guard waiting on its bench. Fresh glass filled the score left at Saltmarch, dressed back to the curve. The backing and fittings were the same.

"Those were sound," it said when he turned the piece over. "The glass needed work. I’ve finished with it. Now watch."

It mounted the guard on a padded block beneath a weighted edge. The first drop struck across the repair. It raised the weight farther for the second, then to a mark on the post for the third. After each blow it checked the glass and fittings before resetting the weight.

The guard stayed seated. The craftsperson took it down and examined the repair in the light. Ren could still find the line of the old score when it turned the piece toward the window. He remembered the force reaching his hand through the glass, his fingers refusing to close properly afterward. They closed now as he reached for the harness.

"You can wear it again. It holds at that load." It passed him the harness. "That doesn’t tell us what another cutting working would do. Anything heavier gets tested here first."

Ren put it on and let the craftsperson check both guards. He turned his wrist and lifted his arm across his chest. Neither piece shifted, and the forearm guard left his elbow free. It adjusted one strap beneath his coat and had him repeat the movement before letting him fasten the coat again.

The spear lay at the far end of the bench with the second head fitted.

"That stays," the craftsperson said. "The joint hasn’t had its load checks with this head."

Ren nodded. Before leaving, he explained the restriction on entering or leaving Verdance and that he could give no date for his return. The craftsperson listened, then cleared a place beside the spear for its tools.

At the cove landing, Tarin heard the same explanation. Vesper had chosen to stay on Dawnspire; the crossings inside would continue under their usual arrangements. Tarin took Ren across on Ward to speak to the Nightfire.

The guide met them beside the shelf, its measuring cord looped over one arm. Ren told it and the tenders what the trial would prevent him from doing.

"How long?" the guide asked.

"They haven’t given me a duration."

It considered that, then returned to the tender waiting beneath the cover. Both bays were in use, with space behind the trays for someone to pass. The strips remained at the openings and the back working position. The guide checked one as it went by; the tender had already looked up from its tray to watch the same strip. Ren left them to it.

Keep’s watch would continue inside Verdance. Ren would have no reports to consult during the attempt. He walked the lower ledge once more, checking the width marks beneath the middle supports, then put his hand against one of them.

"You’ve checked that one already, Ren," Kaia said privately.

He took his hand off the stone. The tender behind him needed to get past.

— • —

Back on Dawnspire, the messages took less time than the list.

Ren told Dole when he would become unavailable and that he could give no date for his return. She acknowledged the notice and said any further questions for him would go to his contact. Her office would continue its work.

Enna’s reply came while he was writing to his parents.

Let the post know when you’re available again. We’ll schedule the eastbound survey when the ground is ready. If you miss it, there will be other work.

He left her message with the Carrow notes and returned to the letter. Adrian had asked for more than two lines. Ren gave him the lower market, the Nightfire’s new shade and the cart crossing the folded road. He explained that the trial blocked messages and that he could not promise when he would write again.

I’m helping with the bread tonight. Iris has your recipe. Lyra remembers what you said about the dough. I’ll let it cool before I cut it. Tell Dad I haven’t forgotten the left field. I’d like him to see what grew from your seeds here.

He read the letter through before folding it. There were things he wanted to tell them in person, with enough time for the questions afterward. For now, he added that he had been eating well and would write through Halvern as soon as he could.

He folded the letter, addressed it to Halvern and sent it before handing Iris his slate.

"Keep anything that needs an answer from me. You can tell people I’m unavailable."

"Under my name," she said. "I won’t accept anything for you."

"Thanks."

She put it beside her own slate and went to fetch the flour.

— • —

Ren chopped the herbs while Iris checked the amounts Elena had given her. He mixed them into the flour as Lyra set out the bowl and water. Kaelen came up the stairs, looked at the three of them gathered around the table and sat at the far end.

"Water," Iris read. "Add it slowly. It should come away from your hands."

Lyra poured a little while Ren worked the flour into the wet center. She added more at his nod. Soon he had a lump of dough that clung to his fingers whenever he tried to fold it.

"It isn’t coming away," he said.

"You’ve barely started kneading," Lyra said.

Iris glanced over the slate. "It’s on your wrist."

"You can take over."

Lyra dusted his hands and the board with flour. He worked the dough until it stopped sticking, then shaped it while Iris moved the water jug out of reach of his elbow. Kaelen sat back with his tea.

Once the loaf was in the oven, he asked, "Morning?"

Ren looked at Iris and Lyra.

"I’m going in tomorrow morning. Counter, inspection, then the upper landing."

"We’ll leave after breakfast," Lyra said. "Before the public queue."

Iris saved the last change to the list and closed it.

The loaf came out brown, split along the top. Ren set it on the board. When Lyra reached for the knife, he put a hand on the handle.

"Let it cool."

"Your father never waits," she said.

"I’m not my father."

He sat with them while it cooled, though the smell made him get up to check it before it was ready. Later he cut it, wrapped half in a cloth and packed it beside the water and dried food. They ate the rest on the steps.

— • —

The transfer ring brought the three of them to the foot of Dawnspire’s central spire after breakfast.

The attendant checked Ren’s plate and admission reference against her record, then put the plate aside to hold during the attempt.

"The names for return inquiries?"

Iris and Lyra gave their own. She entered them and showed them the reference for the records desk at the counter.

"We record entry and return. Give the desk this reference when you ask. We can’t report progress inside or carry a message through."

"If there’s no return entered?" Iris asked.

"Then we have no return to report. It doesn’t establish a failed attempt."

Lyra kept her hand on the counter while Iris checked the reference. Ren waited until both had finished.

"Go on," Iris said, taking his hand briefly before letting it go.

Lyra stepped close and held him. He put an arm around her, then moved back far enough to settle the pack on his shoulder. They stayed beside the counter as he followed the attendant upstairs.

They passed the public platforms and took the stair across open air to the narrow inspection shelf. Ren stood in the square before the carving and raised his hand without touching it.

The same curve lit. The other grooves and the ring above remained dark.

The attendant recorded the reaction and told him to lower his hand.

"The inspection is complete. Entry is above."

They climbed the remaining stair. On the higher landing, she stopped beside the ring and directed him to stand before the rock face. A mark lit near his feet, then another farther along. Light followed the inscriptions until he could see the whole boundary.

The attendant stayed clear of it.

"Accept the terms here. Crossing begins your attempt."

Ren looked once toward the stair they had climbed. He had left his plate and messages below. The pack sat firmly on his shoulders; when he moved his arm, the guard stayed against it.

"I accept the terms."

A doorway opened in the rock. Beyond it lay a passage with light farther in, too far for him to see its source.

Ren stepped across the ring and looked back. The attendant remained beside the boundary, her slate in hand. The opening narrowed until she and the landing were hidden.

The rock closed without a sound.