“Correct again,” said Echo.
“Both Oversea and Nethersea used to post flagships on either side of the Channel,” said Fahr. “They’d also escort missions of trade or defend against aggressive forays, and so on. On bothsides of the equatorus, they knew where the Cloudgate was at all times.”
“Thanavar said it disappears.”
“Are you telling the story, Blue?” asked Smoke. I scowled at him.
“It became unstable after the Abolition, but since the loss of the RuneTree, it collapses without notice. Ships can be crushed as the Dreadwall sweeps back.”
“Forge,” I said. “So, where does theNil’hellyncome in?”
“Ten years ago, the last Priestlord arrived at my father’s palace in a stolenRhi’Ahrship,” he said. “He had a story and…a proposition.”
Thanavar. He was that bold. Only eighteen at the time.
“He told us of the Cloudgate, how fiveRhi’Ahrships had begun to mine the chimeric for their king but that it ate its way out of all crates and chests. But they noticed that the RuneTree could conduct it with no problem, so, being warriors and not devout, they cut it down.”
He paused, marshalling his thoughts, working for air.
“From those planks, they fashioned chests, trunks, masts, railings, and wheels for their ships, and with that wood, channeling chimeric in its most powerful form, they would be unstoppable.”
I passed the bottle back to Fahr. He drank deeply until it was gone, dropped it in the sand next to the cot.
“And the proposition?” I asked.
“He would sail for Oversea, close the gaps in the Dreadwall, and hunt anyRhi’Ahrship that crossed into our helm.”
“Wait!”
I sat up too quickly, the rum making a rush for my head.
“TheTouchstonewas one of those ships.” It wasn’t a question.
“She was,” said Fahr.
“And theNil’hellyn?”
“Also theMarelethan, theAndomiehr, and…” He glanced at me.
“TheEndorathil,” I breathed.
My heart sank into my boots. One day, I would say her name without horror. One day, I’d watch her sink beneath the waves.
I marshalled my spine.
“So, how did the Stolen Prince of Oversea land on her decks?”
He grinned and laid his head back in the makeshift pillow.
“I wasn’t stolen, remember? I jumped.”
“You fell,” said Smoke. “I saved you.”
I almost choked on the rum.
“You were in the palace with him?”
“Indeed I was,” said Smoke. “He tried to jump but failed miserably. I had to catch him in a flawlessKinestorum…”
