The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [90]
“But … that means this Talent the Zebkrahn registers mun be as strong as she …,” Matthew said.
“Perhaps stronger,” Pavo corrected gently.
“Such a Talent would be worth rescuing,” interjected Gevan, guildmaster of the coercers.
“The two—the new Talent and the book storage Pavo told you about—are in the same region, and since it is so far away, we thought of a joint expedition,” I said.
There was a buzz of excited talk, but Rushton ignored it. “ ‘So far away’…” he repeated coldly. “Exactly how far?”
My mouth felt suddenly dry. “Somewhere between Aborium and Murmroth.”
There was silence, then someone sighed heavily. Aborium was on the west coast. The only known way to get there was to travel the main coast road, passing soldierguard camps and all the main towns, not to mention passing through Sutrium to reach the ferry that plied the Lower Suggredoon. And any expedition would be cut off from contact with Obernewtyn, as it would be far beyond the outer limits of even the most powerful farseekers.
Rushton’s face was tight with anger; he must have realized his brief words to me before the guildmerge had prompted me to propose the expedition. He knew that he could not dismiss my proposal when he meant to propose his own equally dangerous expedition.
“That would mean traveling through Sutrium and crossing the river by ferry,” Roland said brusquely. “A crazy, dangerous idea. Our false Certificates would not deceive the soldierguards for a moment.”
Pavo coughed again. “It is not necessary to journey through Sutrium.” He pulled one of the maps on the table toward him and spread it out. “I have a better map, but”—he pointed to the red circle denoting Obernewtyn—“the expedition would travel out of Obernewtyn and down the main road but would turn off to cut directly across the White Valley, then through an Olden pass between Tor and Aran Craggie in the lower mountain ranges and down to the lowlands. From there, it would be an easy trip across the Ford of Rangorn and down to the coast.”
Rushton examined the route. “You are sure this mountain pass exists? I have never heard of it.”
The teknoguilder nodded.
“T’would mean winterin’ outside maybe, unless an expedition were to leave at once,” Matthew said tentatively.
“It would be best to act at once,” Pavo said anxiously. “Think of what we might learn from an untouched collection of Beforetime books. And who knows what ability this Talent will bring to us.”
Rushton nodded for us to resume our seats, his expression inscrutable. His eyes swept the assembled faces. “Well,” he said at last, “I called this guildmerge for a particular reason, but Guildmistress Elspeth has preempted me. I, too, meant to propose an expedition. While in the high country these last few days, I heard rumors of men asking questions about Obernewtyn. Strangers—perhaps Councilmen, perhaps not. They were asking questions about the damage caused by the firestorm, wanting to speak to anyone who had actually seen Obernewtyn. This means the Council may know I lied about the storm. If so, we will be investigated, probably after the next thaw.”
There was a muffled howl of dismay.
“Or,” Rushton went on, “it may mean nothing. The problem is that we have no idea what they know. Up until now, we have striven to avoid any contact with the Council, to hide and grow in strength until we were powerful enough to confront them. We are not yet strong enough for that battle, or any sort of open confrontation, but it is time we moved on to the next stage of our plans.
“I called this meeting to propose an expedition to Sutrium, with the aim of finding out if we are in danger and if the Council has any real knowledge of our existence. We can no longer hide in the dark, shivering. We must look, in the next year, to establishing a safe house in the lowlands, preferably right in Sutrium.”
“What is a safe house?” Miryum asked.
“A refuge that will form the nexus of our inner defense. It means we can move with more confidence among the lowlanders. Most important, it means we will be in a better position to know what the