“It could be from the swamps, but it doesn’t look anything like a leaf boat.” Aura’s expression showed she knew that that was not a good sign. “I don’t think it’s from the Reaches at all.”
Jade hissed through her fangs. “Balm, you and Chime, and Vine, Aura, and Serene come with me and Moon. The rest of you get back to the colony.”
“You don’t think—” Chime began, and then settled his spines. “No, of course not,” he answered his own question.
Moon was certain he had been about to say, You don’t think this has anything to do with the Fell. This was the first unusual thing to happen since the night of the shared dream and it was hard not to wonder. Though it was also hard to imagine what a strange groundling boat would have to do with the Fell. It couldn’t be a request for help; strange groundlings usually thought Raksura were Fell.
Stone said, “I think I’ll come along too.”
Jade flicked her spines at him. “I was counting on you.”
They flew through the green caverns of the suspended forest, following as Aura and Serene led them toward the flying boat.
A queen wouldn’t have expected an ordinary consort to come with her to investigate a possible incursion by strange groundlings. But if Moon had been an ordinary consort, he would never have been out here in the first place. In the past couple of turns he hadn’t really gotten the court away from the idea of “young consorts don’t risk themselves, don’t do anything except sit around the colony and look pretty” but had got most of them to come around to “but Moon is not a normal young consort, and never will be.”
Since Pearl had taken Ember, and Moon and Jade had had their first clutch, the court’s future was far more secure. There was less pressure on Moon to be well-behaved, and less on Jade to make him act the way other courts thought he ought to. Though for most of the past turn, there hadn’t been much for Moon to do except take care of fledglings.
The flying boat wasn’t far away; if they hadn’t been so focused on the hunt, they might have sensed its presence sooner. But then that was why Jade had sent Aura and the others to scout the area, to make sure nothing else dangerous had been attracted by the presence of the warriors.
As they drew closer Moon saw the boat had stopped in a sun shaft. These were places where a mountain-tree had collapsed from old age and had left a large open spot in the canopy, where the sun had penetrated all the way to the ground, burning away the mist layers. They weren’t common and could harbor unknown and therefore even more dangerous fauna than usual; they also caused a whole host of different sun-loving flora to flourish, including plants and small trees that rarely grew in the Reaches at all. Moon had never had a chance to explore one, and didn’t expect to have the opportunity now. The strange flying boat was excitement enough for the moment.
They landed and took cover on an upper branch of one of the mountain-trees surrounding the sun shaft. From this vantage point they could look down on the flying boat, but were screened from view by the hanging curtains of leaves. Moon crouched between Jade and Chime, with Balm on Jade’s other side. Vine, Aura, and Serene hung back a little, and Stone landed on the branch above them, settling down into a crouch. His tail hung down behind Moon and the others, moving in slow thoughtful circles.
Low-voiced, Chime said, “Aura is right, that’s nothing like a Golden Islander boat.”
The craft was big, and not made out of wood or plant fiber like the other groundling trading and exploring boats they had encountered. It looked like it was made of moss, or some sort of dense wiry plant material very like it. It had a pointed bow with a triangular spine sweeping up to form the main hull and the square stern. It had multiple decks on either side of the spine, balconies in the lower hull, and clear coverings for the window openings like an Aventeran flying boat, but the shapes and angles and materials were completely different. And Aventeran boats always had air bladders, and this one clearly didn’t.
There was no one out on the deck, but there was no scent of death in the air, either.
Vine said, “At least it’s not Fell.” Aura and Serene murmured agreement.
Chime said to Jade, “It could just be lost.”
“It could be, but it wouldn’t have come into the Reaches accidentally.” Jade twitched her spines uneasily. “If they wanted to trade with one of the amphibian races, it’s in completely the wrong place.”
“Maybe it’s completely lost.” Moon edged along the branch, trying to get a better view through the screen of leaves. It was a possibility, but he didn’t think any species capable of building—or growing—and piloting a craft like this would be inept enough to lose their way this drastically. Whoever this was, they were probably looking for a Raksuran court. “We need to get a better look.”
Jade hesitated, but Moon could tell how much she wanted to figure this out before they had to return to the colony. He said, “It looks pretty stable. They wouldn’t notice if we landed on the side.”
Jade glanced at him, brows lifted ironically. “And you’re sure of this?”
Moon snorted. “No.”
She smiled, and unfurled her wings. “It’s worth a try.”
Above them, Stone stirred but didn’t shift to argue with their decision. There was no way he could land on the boat without the groundling crew being aware of it.
Jade said, “Moon, you take that lower set of windows and I’ll take the upper. I’ll go first. The rest of you stay here,” she added, as Balm, who probably wanted to go too, drew breath to protest.
Jade crouched and leapt, and landed on the side of the flying boat. She clung to the hull and Moon let out a hiss of relief; the boat hadn’t moved, as far as he could tell. Whatever was keeping it in the air held it remarkably still. It might be held aloft by a tiny fragment of flying island, like a Golden Isles wind-ship. Jade waited a few moments, her head held to the hull to listen for anyone calling the alarm. Then she signaled to Moon.
Chime whispered, “Careful.”
Moon crouched and made his own leap. His claws caught on the rough hull. It was like moss to the touch, but it wasn’t damp and felt too dense for vibrations to travel through.
Above him, Jade climbed toward the nearest window. The clear crystal insets were probably another reason why the inhabitants hadn’t heard anything. Moon swung down to the one below him and peered through.
The crystal distorted the view a little but he could see it was an empty room. There were shelves built into the far wall with cushions for padding and blankets, and a few odd belongings strewn around, including a colorful wrap or shawl, and a stacked collection of crockery. This was someone’s, or multiple someone’s, living quarters. He climbed along to another set of windows and found another empty sleeping room, and then the next few rooms stacked with bundles and casks. But then the next held something more interesting.
Moon gripped the edge of the window with one hand and leaned back, waved until Jade glanced down and started toward him.
Moon pulled himself back to the window. Inside, a groundling sat on the floor, half turned away from the window, hunched over and writing in a book. There was something familiar about his shape. He was small, with long white hair tied back, gold skin, a beard long enough that he had flung the end back over his shoulder to get it out of his way. He turned a little so his profile was visible and Moon felt his spines twitch in startled reaction. It was Delin-Evran-lindel.
Moon leaned back from the window. Jade crouched on the hull just above him, holding on with all her claws. He whispered, “It’s Delin.”
She frowned. “What is he doing in this thing?” Delin was a Golden Islander, and they had never seen him use a flying boat like this.