Chapter 309: The Quiet Table
Yuelan stopped where the path opened onto the northern shore.
Below, the finished landing ran pale against the darker rock. Two haulers carried a cut block toward the water while the craftsperson watched from beside a joint in the stone. Farther along, families had settled above the waterline, their Lawfires sheltered in the shallows.
"Is all that going out?"
"That load is for the Nightfire’s Hearth," Ren said. "Some of the next will go past the second headland. Orun found warmer water for the families staying here, but they need level footing where they unload."
One hauler stopped near the edge. The craftsperson pointed to a place beside it, and the pair lowered their block before changing their grip.
Yuelan moved to the side of the path as the next pair approached. From there she could see the space left between the waiting blocks and the families’ belongings, enough for someone carrying a bundle to pass without crossing the loading point.
"Who do they go to when you’re away?" Yuelan asked.
"For the stone, the craftsperson. Orun and Sethe are helping with the loads. Tarin knows the routes and works with the guides."
"And everything else?"
"The Hearth keepers still tend their own fires. Eira handles injuries. Vesper coordinates the work I’ve put in her charge." He watched the haulers lift again. "If something needs my decision, they send for me."
Yuelan stayed until the block was loaded, then followed him back up the path toward the Terrace.
— • —
Ren left her at the house before going out to meet Riven Kest. The upper-year had stopped him near the rankings earlier and asked to see the shore. Ren had agreed to a short visit to the cove, with himself accompanying him.
Vesper was putting away the transport gear when they arrived. The cradle stood on the rock shelf beside the pack and the container that had ridden above it. Kest stopped close enough to examine the fastenings, keeping his hands at his sides.
"That strap sits under the container," he said. "How do you reach it when the load is secured?"
"The container comes off first," Vesper said. "Then I can release the pack."
She moved the empty container aside and lifted the fastening into view. Kest bent to follow the strap beneath it. With the container in place, the loose end would have been covered; clear of it, Vesper could take hold without shifting the pack.
"You tested the order before the round?"
"At practice. Tarin takes the container while I get ready at the fastening."
Kest looked along the shelf toward the water, then asked her, "Do you unload it the same way here?"
"Yes. Ward waits beside the shelf. We clear the loads before taking off the cradle."
"More room to stand here, at least."
"There is. At the pad, we had to keep the receiving space clear too."
He nodded, still looking at her, then stepped away so she could put the container down. Ren walked him back and accompanied him out before returning to the Terrace.
— • —
Eira was setting down the last dishes when Ren reached the table. Selene sat at the end, with Yueying beside her. Cassian’s slate leaned against the water jug, angled so he could see across the plates. Between Yuelan and Lyra, Kaelen’s chair remained empty.
"You let Kest into your world?" Yuelan asked as Ren sat down.
"To the cove. I stayed with him."
"After what he called us?"
"I haven’t forgotten."
Vesper passed the bread toward Iris. "He asked how we get the pack off Ward. Then he asked whether we unload it the same way at home."
"He asked you?"
"Both questions."
Yuelan took a piece of bread. "I’m still not talking to him."
"You don’t have to," Iris said, passing the plate on.
Lyra leaned forward. "How was the shore?"
"Busy. They’ve got the landing in use already." Yuelan glanced at Ren. "I thought he’d spend the whole visit being asked for things. Nobody stopped working."
"They were moving stone," Ren said. "I kept out of the way."
Cassian waited until Selene set down her cup before speaking from the slate.
"You’ve been looking at the jug as though it owes you something."
"I’ve been thinking about an inlet."
"Close enough. What’s it doing?"
"Washing the soil out from under a bank I planted." Selene moved her cup aside and traced the bend on the table with a fingertip. "Here, on the east side. I’ve reduced the flow into it, but the edge is still coming away."
Eira looked at the shape she had drawn. "Under the roots?"
"Yes. I can see them now."
"I’d want to brace that bare section before planting more. Anything deeper-rooted will still need time to take."
"I was thinking of facing it with stone."
"Could the water get behind the ends?"
Selene traced the curve again, more slowly. "At this end, perhaps. I’ll check that before I set anything."
"Is it the whole planted bank?" Yueying asked.
"Just the section below the inlet. The rest is holding."
"Then you can work on that stretch without disturbing the rest," Eira said. "Show me a drawing when you have one. It’s hard to judge from a line on the table."
Selene nodded and reached for her cup again. "I’ll make one before I move the stone."
She traced both ends of the bank once more, checking where the redirected water would go, then turned back to her meal.
Ren waited while Iris passed Eira a dish, then asked, "How is the pocket?"
"Still holding its warmth. The jar is sealed where we left it. I’m keeping the checks with the procedure so everything is ready when we start."
He nodded and served himself. Around him, the conversation moved on while Cassian listened from his propped-up slate, occasionally asking someone to move the jug so he could see who was speaking.
When the plates were half empty, Ren mentioned the requests Halvern had received.
"Two institutions want my public world record. I can give them the contact and the resident arrangements. I haven’t supplied a name."
Yuelan looked up. "You still haven’t picked one?"
"Not yet. I want to hear from the other settlements before I do."
"Do they already have names for it?" Lyra asked.
"For their own places. I haven’t asked what they call the whole world."
"I haven’t needed one," Vesper said.
Eira glanced toward the window. "Neither have I."
"Let us finish eating before you give us paperwork," Cassian said.
Eira laughed, her hand halfway to her mouth.
"Eira’s laughing, Ren."
Kaia’s voice reached him privately beneath the conversation. He smiled without answering aloud as Yuelan asked whether there was any bread left.
Partway through the fruit, Cassian said he needed to rest. They said goodnight, and his screen went dark beside the jug.
Ren started collecting the finished plates. He had three stacked when Lyra asked what Yuelan wanted to see next, and Yuelan began explaining with both hands. He set the plates down and sat back to listen.
— • —
After the meal, Ren brought Iris, Lyra and Yueying aside with the supplier’s record. Yueying opened the extract he had sent her while he laid the full copy where they could all read it.
"The medium will help her develop," he said. "For full maturation, she also needs a living nurturer. A suitable one that will keep tending her willingly."
Iris followed the observations down the sheet. "Which of these have been checked?"
"The supplier’s signed entries have matching collection references. The office checked those, but it hasn’t repeated the visits. This entry comes from an older file, and these two reports are still unverified."
"So even the better entries don’t tell you what’s there now."
"No. They give me somewhere to look."
He showed them the restriction beneath the last checked site entry. Yueying placed the inventory copies beside it on her slate.
"I’ve compared the department name in your extract with this attribution," she said. "They match."
Iris read the older inventory first, then the altered version. "Do we know the item was transferred?"
"Not yet. The later copy credits a different department, but that could be a transfer or a correction. I’ve requested the record that explains the change."
Ren glanced between the slate and the paper. "And the survey restriction?"
"Names the same department as its authority. It doesn’t explain why the survey was restricted."
Iris drew the habitat sheet closer. "That needs its own answer. The inventory request may tell us nothing about the survey."
"I’ll keep the references separate," Yueying said. "And any replies."
Lyra had been reading the site entry while they spoke. She looked up at Ren.
"What do you need to do first?"
"Find out how to apply for access. I can’t check that site while the region is closed to me."
He folded the record after they had finished comparing it. Yueying kept the extract with her copies; there was still no explanation linking the two matters beyond the department’s name.
— • —
Before he went to the access counter, Ren drafted the two fields he could answer. He entered his own correspondence contact, then checked the resident wording against the declaration he had already signed. He copied it without adding to the terms and left the world’s name blank.
At the access counter, the clerk read the destination on his proposed application and turned to the supporting requirements.
"For this region, you’ll need the completed identifying world record with your application."
Ren laid his draft beside it. "The public listing allows the name to be left blank."
"It does. This application requires it." She indicated the line on the form. "I can explain the requirements now, but you’ll need the completed record before you submit."
He read the line himself, then looked through the remaining items while she waited. Nothing on the form required him to answer the institutions that had written to Halvern. This was a separate request for access to the restricted region.
"All right. I’ll bring the record with it."
Ren put the papers together and slipped them into his coat.
Before he filled in the name, he would hear from the other settlements.