Observations and Explanations

Nickel chuckled softly. "Don't look so surprised."

The ladies exchanged glances. 

"Sorry," Noble snapped her mouth shut. "What have you found?"

Clicking his tongue, the cohort's scout smiled. "A few things. Being out in the city has been eye-opening. Have you seen the streets?"

The new queen pursed her lips. "Emira had me under house arrest. I only saw them when I arrived, when I saw the tyrant, and that time I chased you—well Derik. And that last one was at night."

The only other peeks Noble had gotten were from her window, which was partially blocked by the courtyard wall.

His curiosity sated, Nickel shared his thoughts. "The architecture here is strikingly similar to that of Ravenheart's citadel. Obviously, we are not close enough to the mountains for us to be there, but I think we must be close."

"How close?" Sarai was suddenly very interested. Her geography knowledge was more extensive than Noble's.

"I'm not sure. But close enough to have the same stone for some of their structures. I cannot imagine that they would travel too far for a quarry."

"I noticed the glass in the front is similar to a shard I found in Ender's Deep. Perhaps this is between the two? Or I suppose it could be in the other direction." Travel to Ravenheart from Noble's citadel was perilous but could be done. She could not imagine going much farther just to move rocks.

Sarai hummed softly. "There are three known ruined cities close to Ravenheart, and surely others that have been lost to time. If we can get a look at a map, maybe I can narrow it down."

"Counsel mentioned the People of the Mountains, but said they haven't been seen in years. Maybe there is a map from that time period in the library," Noble suggested.

"What I cannot understand is why Clan Song would allow a seed close to them to bloom without conquering it." Nickel tapped his chin.

"They have been a little busy fighting with Clan Valor," Noble said, earning a dry laugh from the man across from her.

"A little busy? They are obsessed. They're not even trying to be that secretive about it anymore. If they aren't careful, the clans will finish each other off in this stupid fight. Not that I mind." Nickel added the last part as he crossed his arms. As long as he wasn't forced to participate, the two houses of power could burn each other to the ground.

"What I was trying to say is that maybe the Clan has been too busy to notice. With all that is going on in Antarctica, perhaps a Category 2 seed was above their notice?" Noble reasoned.

The nature of the clans and their decisions was very deliberate. They held information tightly and usually didn't share it with the government or each other. Yet there was always a method to their madness.

"There is the possibility that they just didn't see it," Sarai pointed out. "We almost didn't find it among the rubble and we were looking for it."

"The call must not have been that strong then?" Noble had never witnessed a Seed in the Dream Realm, but she assumed it would be similar to how it was at the gate.

Sarai looked down. "I mean we came up on it from below, but it seemed muted somehow. Maybe because it already had you as a challenger?"

Kosi finished his meal and plopped on the ground. He yawned, his huge teeth glistening with the blood that he then licked off with his rough tongue.

Nickel shivered. "Are you positive he will listen to you?"

"Kosi is less likely to stab me than you are," Noble arched her brow, silencing her companion.

Between the two of them, the Symncus was the only one who had never tried to kill Noble.

Nickel cleared his throat. "Point taken. I'll get on with the rest of my findings and will be on my way. I did find an in with the rebellion. They were out celebrating last night and my coins helped make them merrier." 

"You mean the treasury's coins." Noble corrected him. 

"Same thing," Nickel shrugged. "From what I gathered, they are anticipating big things with the new leadership. Counsel is considered a man of the people and by extension, Brenna is expected to follow suit. These people were talking about a lot of changes in the law and how they see the future. Some of it was obviously drunken nonsense, but other things they hinted at were...concerning." 

"Counsel has already asked me to look into the issue of slavery. I told him to make a proposal, but I am hesitant to make too many waves. I came to finish a Nighmare, not reform a country." Noble sighed. There was a small part of her that hoped her being crowned would end the conflict, but it seemed her initial gut reaction was correct.

The only way out was by clashing with the Lord of the Mountain and winning.

At least she had people by her side to help her now. That made all the difference.

"I wouldn't go making too many drastic changes. But you already know that. Your husband works in the government, and they HATE any kind of change." Nic dared the woman to deny it.

However, it was true. Fort had once said that that government headquarters could be completely overrun with nightmare creatures and someone would still find a way to complain about the new type of toilet paper in the bathroom.

"I'll tread lightly," Noble assured him. "Though any toilet paper in the privy would be a step up…"

"I am going to pretend that made sense," Nickel gave a thumbs up. "I should be on my way..."

Sarai motioned toward the piles in the room. "Are you sure you don't want to stay? I figured as a librarian that so many unread books would be irresistible!" 

Nickel strolled through the piles and picked up three from the hundreds that were there. "I'll take a look at these in my spare time, thank you." 

"Why those?" Noble wanted to know. 

"They are more worn than the others, which means either the queen or someone else found them worth reading after they were completed." Nickel pointed to the nearly imperceptible marks that set these books apart.

Neither Noble nor Sarai would have given them any attention, but the observant bookkeeper had spied them immediately.

He tucked them into some hidden spot in his cloak and brushed off his hands. "I'll be in touch."

"Before you go. Here." Sarai removed the Other's Voice from her ear and handed it to the man in black. "This way you can contact us when you get close enough to the palace. I figure that Noble and I will be together more often than not, so this is more efficient."

"Thanks, Fire. I've always wanted someone to give me something pretty." Despite Nickel's mocking, his gratitude was sincere. 

He slipped the small piece of jewelry behind his ear. 'You ok with having me in your head?'

'As long as you don't mimic my voice and try to pretend to be my conscience, I can live with that," Noble felt the man's emotions spike. 

'No promises,' he answered with a smirk. 

Nickel pulled up his hood. The motion reminded Noble of the man which her companion had replaced.

"If Counsel somehow finds you, be careful. He thinks that Derik is dead."

"No promises." The potential ghost nodded slowly.

"Be well, Laundry." Sarai touched his arm lightly.

"No promises." Nickel pulled away before sighing. "Both of you stay safe."

Then just as mysteriously as he came, the third cohort member disappeared.

The other two wished him well. They all had a lot of work to do.