“We have to do something,” she whispered. “I need to warn them about the rocks under the spores. There has to be a way to talk to them.”
Both of them looked at the Sorceress’s desk—in particular, the magical board that displayed the image from Fort’s similar one. Then, as the Sorceress was waking up her armies, Tress and Charlie grabbed the board and stared at it. Trying to figure out how to operate it.
“Uh,” Charlie said. “Board? Can you please let us talk to the people you’re showing us?”
“Video conferencing engaged!” the board said, happy to be of service.
Fort, who had been holding the board, stood up from his chair. He’d spent the entire night drinking water and feeding it—via the bond—to the three monsters. So he was both tired and feeling a little odd, as he’d been able to drink multiple barrels’ worth but didn’t feel full.
Still, their arrival had made him alert, and he’d sent the midnight monsters—now fully under his control by the strengthening of the bond—swimming away to fight others that had tried to get onto the ship. His always won those fights, of course, having far more water to build new body parts from the spores around them if wounded.
Regardless, he had a moment of peace. And could cock his head, frowning as the back of his board—which used to display words for him—now showed Tress and the rat, huddled up close to the camera on their side.
“Fort?” Tress asked. “Can you see us?”
The words scrolled across the screen, obscuring the view a little.
I can! he typed, the words appearing underneath theirs but from the other side. He waved to the others, and in a moment Ann and Salay had joined him. Even I huddled up with them, curious.
“Captain?” Salay asked. “Captain! Are you well?”
“We’re in the tower,” Tress whispered. “How did you survive the spores? No, never mind that now. Explain later. Salay, you need to watch out. The sea here is full of rocks under the spores. They’re extremely treacherous!”
“I’ll watch for those,” Salay said. “Thank you.”
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Tress said. “If you try to sail through those rocks, you’ll sink.”
The three of them frowned. Then Salay asked simply, “Do you order us to turn around?”
Did she?
Could she?
Dared she?
In that moment, the decision was made. The rock tipped and the avalanche of change that had been building in Tress started tumbling down.
“No,” Tress whispered. “Please help me.”
The three of them grinned. I scratched my head. Because something about the place where Tress was standing, visible behind her, was familiar to me.
“We’ll do it,” Salay said. “We’re coming.”
“Don’t get yourselves hurt!” Tress said.
“Captain,” Ann said, “we’re going to save you. Because you deserve it. You remember, you once told me somethin’ that made me see the world in an entirely new way.”
“And that was?” Tress asked.
“‘Here, try on these spectacles.’”
Ann, Fort wrote, that was almost as bad as one of Hoid’s jokes.
“It isn’t just a joke though,” Ann said, tapping her spectacles. “It’s true. I see a new world. A world where we aren’t condemned people any longer. A world where we’ve got ourselves a future.”
“You know I’m not a King’s Mask,” Tress said. “I can’t get him to pardon us.”
“We’ll find another way,” Ann said, looking to the others, who nodded. “Because once we saunter up to the Sorceress herself and get away…well, I figure after we do that, we’ll be able to do anything.”
The three of them nodded to her, and she felt overwhelmed. By their loyalty, by her own （at long last） willingness to accept help. By…
Wait.
Within Tress’s avalanche of emotions, something stood out. Prompted by how I, standing there with the other three, was trying to use my tongue to pick my nose.
Her thoughts were a curiosity, you might say.
A revelation, I’d say.
“Hoid,” Tress said. “Hoid couldn’t point out the way to the Sorceress. We had to guess the location by pointing to places other than this one. He could talk about all of those…”
And? Fort said.
“And I assumed the reason was because he couldn’t talk about his curse,” Tress said. “But the solution to Charlie’s curse involved him returning to her. If Hoid couldn’t show us the way here, at least not intentionally, then maybe the solution to his curse involves him coming here too.”