kicks in and we have to start walking. That is unless you already know the answer to that, Crumble?’
‘I wouldn’t know anything about Keeper stuff or how Bane manages to block Portals.’ Crumble shrugged. ‘I can’t help you with that I’m afraid.’
‘No problem. Nibbler and I will find that out. Can you suggest or take us to a town? It needs to be big enough to have shops or a market, but not so big that we need to worry about stumbling across a garrison of soldiers or any more angry Stonesingers.’
‘Hmmm … there’s Opal Hold. It’s more of a big village than a town, but we can get supplies there.’
‘How far away is it?’
Crumble pointed to the top of the canyon wall. ‘With all the canyons to cross it would take us most of the day to reach, but if we were to stand there we would be able to see it in the distance.’
‘OK, let’s do that.’
‘What, climb the canyon? Why would you want to do that?’
‘Well, if I can see it it’ll make it easier to open a Portal.’
‘I thought you said you couldn’t open one near the Western Mountains.’
‘Well, yeah, that’s true, but I opened a Portal with Darkmount right next to the Stubborn Citadel and according to what you said last night that’s closer to the Western Mountains than where we are right now. If I could open one there it’s not going to be difficult opening one here, so let’s save the walking until we really have to. But we’ll have to climb up there – I don’t want to waste any of my Will.’
Charlie and Crumble scaled the side of the canyon while Nibbler flapped to the top with several lazy beats of his wings. Following Crumble’s outstretched arm to where the crags and gullies began to blur together into a dark line Charlie could just discern a group of buildings, but distance blurred any detail.
‘That’s it,’ acknowledged Crumble.
‘Can you describe it to me?’ asked Charlie. ‘It’s not easy to make out from here.’
‘There are two roads that run from north to south and east to west and where they meet is a small square that they use for festivals and market days.’
Charlie had shut her eyes. ‘Can you describe any buildings on the outskirts? It might be best if we don’t open the Portal in front of everyone.’
Crumble scrunched his eyes shut so he could better recall his last journey to Opal Hold. ‘If memory serves me true there’s an old statue of Hook the Thunderer in a sheltered rock garden on the far side of town from us.’
‘Got it,’ said Charlie and tore the air open.
Crumble eyed the Portal with slight misgivings. Through it they could make out a small garden.
‘I’ve never been through one of these. Does it … hurt?’
‘To step through? No. Let’s go.’
Pushing through the Portal they found themselves next to a looming statue of a Stoman bishop poised in mid leap, his cloak flung out behind him. Around him was the rock garden itself. Charlie gaped in wonder as she took in the sight.
‘How?’ she began. ‘How can this be?’
The flowers and bushes were all crystalline, with petals and leaves that glittered and glistened in the early morning sunshine. Reaching over Charlie touched a petal – it was hard and cold to the touch.
‘You’ve never seen a rock garden before?’ enquired Crumble.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this before. How can you have plants like this?’
‘Ah, they’re not plants, well not in the Treman sense, which I think is what you’re used to. These are rock flowers and can only be teased from a stone or rock by stonesinging.’
‘So they’re real, though? I mean they’ll reproduce and seed like normal plants, right?’
‘No. Well, technically yes, but it would take more time than you and I ever have to see a rock flower produce seeds.’
‘How much time?’ asked Charlie, her curiosity unfulfilled.
‘The village elders say it would take eleven lifetimes to see a rock flower reproduce.’
Charlie gazed at the small garden with a smile of delight. ‘Amazing,’ she whispered.
‘The village is this way,’ said Crumble, leading Charlie and Nibbler from the small hollow that held the rock garden.
Rounding a bend, Opal Hold was revealed. It had a quiet country village feel to it, one that Charlie, as a city girl, was not familiar with but could instantly recognize. What was unfamiliar was the type of house. Like the Treman city of Sylvaris, everything looked organic, but here the buildings