Chapter 29 | Part 3 | The Certainty

Szoravel laid a map between the crystals and the diagrams.

“East, through the river valleys.” He traced the route. “Nyxara controls the southern approaches. No stops in her settlements.”

Drusniel studied the map. The landmarks he recognized were sparse. He could place the volcanic region they’d crossed, the dead forest, the approximate location of Szoravel’s tower. East of that, the map showed terrain features he hadn’t seen: a river system branching from highland lakes, a plateau marked with settlement symbols, and a border labeled in Szoravel’s precise hand: Thornfield.

“We’ve met her. What does she control out here?”

“The crossings. The patrols. Assume every message reaches her.” Szoravel kept his finger on the route.

“Does she know about the Chassis?”

“Yes. Prior disclosure. Twenty years ago.”

“And she knows I have the Null.”

“Then assume she tracks it. Use the mountain route as your point of departure.”

Drusniel looked at the map. The route east ran through the river valleys, past the settlements, toward the border marked Thornfield. Beyond that, the map showed less detail: scattered symbols, tentative lines, the visual language of “I haven’t been there recently.”

“The Thornfield border,” he said. “What’s there?”

“Her patrols end at the valley mouth.” Szoravel tapped the border. “Cross Thornfield. Keep moving east.”

He said it without checking his notes.

Srietz studied the border. For once he had no comment about the route.

Drusniel waited, then turned back to Szoravel.

“How much time do we have?”

“Days. Her agents will be watching the valley corridor.”

“What does she want from me specifically?”

“Access to the Null. Expect a summons.”

Drusniel had agreed to supervised passage to the border. Nyxara had no claim on his time beyond that.

“She got the conversation she asked for. I promised no further service.”

“Then decline the summons. Cross Thornfield before she can detain you.”

“She’ll come after us.”

“Not beyond Thornfield. Three days past the border will suffice.”

Srietz looked at Drusniel, then back at the map. His ears hadn’t relaxed.

Szoravel rolled the map shut before Drusniel could study the settlements farther east.

“We leave tomorrow?”

“After the readings agree. Ten days of supplies. Nothing beyond that.”

Drusniel nodded. The advice sounded right. He had no way to verify it. The Thornfield border was a line on a map drawn by a man he’d known for hours. The certainty behind the advice was Szoravel’s, not his.

He accepted it because the alternative was standing still.

End of Chapter 29.3 —> 29.4: The Drow in the Tower: The Measure