Chapter 13 second quarter

Alder resigned himself to hearing the news of his return to Roke. His waking life had become so strange, more dreamlike than a dream, that he had no will to question or resist.If his fate was to sail among the Isles all his life, then he had to be, for he knew he could not go home now, but at least he could go with Tenar and Tehanu, who gave him peace of mind, and the Obsidian was kind. Alder is shy by nature, Hei Yao is restrained, and their academic status is even more different, but Hei Yao has visited Alder several times to discuss martial arts; understand, but can't help but trust Obsidian.As the departure was imminent, he asked Hei Yao a very distressing question.

"It's related to the kitten," Chi Yang said awkwardly, "I don't think it's appropriate to take a kitten with you. It's not good for such a young animal to be bored on the boat for so long, and I think, in the future..." Black Yao didn't ask why, but only asked: "The kitten can still keep you away from the stone wall?" "Well, often." Obsidian mused. "You need protection before you get to Roke, I think . . . have you spoken to the wizard Sebor?" "The one from Parn?" Alder said with a hint of anxiety. Parn, the largest island west of Havnor, has long had a reputation for weirdness.The Hitt language of the Parn people has a peculiar accent and uses many unique words. In ancient times, the lords refused to serve the kings of Yinglad and Havnor.Parn wizards do not go to Roke for training, and Parn Wisdom can summon the ancient power of the earth, which is often regarded as a dangerous, even weird force.Long ago, when the Gray Mage of Parn brought disaster upon the island by calling upon the undead to advise him and his lord, sorcerers have remembered this lesson ever since: the living should not heed the counsel of the dead.There have been many witchcraft duels between Master Roke and Master Pa'en. Two hundred years ago, a duel infected the people of Pa'n and Kaimei Island with plague, and half of the farms and towns were deserted. Fifteen years ago, the wizard Kabu used Pa En Zhizhi crossed the boundary between life and death, and the Sparrowhawk Archmage exhausted his mana to destroy Kabu and heal the damage.

Alder, like members of the palace and court councilors, has politely avoided contact with the wizard Sebo. "I ask the king to take him to Roke," Obsidian said. Alder blinked in surprise. "The people of Parn know more about such things than we do," Obsidian explained. "Our summoning skills come mainly from the knowledge of Parn, which Thorion knows well... The current summoner of Roke, Rod, is from the Isle of Fenwai. , unwilling to practice any art that invokes Pahn's knowledge. Misuse only brings bad results, but perhaps it is ignorance that leads to inappropriate use. Paan's knowledge has a long history, and it may contain knowledge that we have lost. Sepo is a wise man, I think He should go. He should be able to help you, too, if you trust him."

"If he has earned your trust," Alder said, "so have I." Whenever Alder showed Dawn's clever tongue, Obsidian would smile slightly self-deprecatingly. "Alder, in such matters, your judgment is as valuable as mine, or even better. I hope you can use your judgment well, and I will take you to see Sebo." The two entered the city together.Saibo’s residence is located in the old town near the shipyard, just beside the Shipbuilding Street. The Pan people have superb shipbuilding skills and they applied to build ships for the king. As a result, a Pan community was formed there. The houses are old and dense, and the roofs are indirectly connected by bridges. , so that in addition to the cobblestone roads, Havnor Grand Harbor has a second layer of street network that leaps in the air.

Sepo's room was on the second floor, dark and airless in the late summer heat.He took the two of them to a higher level and came to the roof.There is a bridge on each side of the roof to connect other roofs. Pedestrians go to and from the crossing. Shelves are set up on the low railings, and the sea breeze from the port brings coolness.The corner of the roof belonging to Sepo was covered with striped canvas cushions, and the three of them sat down on the cushions, and Sepo brought cool, slightly bitter tea. He is short and fat, about fifty years old, with a round figure, petite hands and feet, slightly curly hair, dark cheeks and chin with a short beard that is rarely seen on the faces of archipelago men.The attitude is kind, the voice is concise, with a melodious and soft accent.

Sebo talked with Hei Yao, and Alder listened for a long time. When the two began to talk about people and things he knew nothing about, their thoughts wandered immediately, and they looked out at the roof and tents.There is also a finely carved arch bridge in the roof garden.To the north was Mount Erne, a great gray dome rising above the misty summer hills.He finally came back to his senses, and heard Wizard Parn say: "Perhaps even the Archmage can't fully heal the world's wounds." The wound of the world, Alder thought, exactly.He stared at Sepo more intently, and Sepo glanced at him.Although Seba's whole body gives a gentle impression, his eyes are very sharp.

"Maybe it's not just our desire for immortality that keeps wounds from healing," Sepo said, "but the dead's desire to die." Chi Yang heard the strange speech again, although he couldn't understand it, he felt familiar.Sepo glanced at him again, as if seeking a response. Chi Yang didn't answer, and Hei Yao didn't speak either.Sepo finally asked: "Uncle Chiyang, what does the dead ask of you when you stand at the boundary?" "Let them go free." Alder replied, his voice was like a whisper. "Freedom." Hei Yao murmured. Again there was silence.Two little girls and a little boy run across the rooftops, laughing and shouting, "Go down!" in an endless game of chase through the city's streets, canals, steps and bridges.

"Maybe I miscalculated in the first place," Sepo said.Obsidian cast a questioning look, and he replied, "Fernaden." Chi Yang knew that this was an ancient language, but he didn't understand the meaning. Chi Yang looked at Hei Yao with a serious expression, and he only said: "Well, I hope the truth will finally come to light, and as soon as possible." "On the hill where there is truth," Sepo said. "Glad you'll be there too. By the way, Alder is being called to the border every night and looking for relief, I told Alder that you might know how to help."

"Are you willing to accept the touch of Parn's sorcery?" Sepo asked Alder with a slight sarcasm, his eyes bright and sharp as black jade. Chi Yang said dryly: "Master, there is a saying in my hometown that a drowning person does not ask the price of the rope. If you can let me stay away from there, even if it is only for one night, I will be grateful, although this is insignificant compared to such a gift." .” Obsidian looked at Alder with a shallow, amusing, non-blaming smile. Sepo didn't smile: "In my line of work, I rarely get thanked, and I will do my best for it. Lord Alder, I think I can help you, but I must say, the rope is expensive."

Alder bowed his head. "You went to the border in a dream, not of your own volition, did you?" "I believe so." "Well said." Sebo praised Chi Yang with his sharp eyes, "Who can understand his own mind? If you go there in a dream, I can keep you away from the dream... temporarily. But as I said just now, you A price has to be paid.” Alder cast a questioning look. "Your strength." Chi Yang didn't understand at first, and then asked: "You mean my talent? My skill?" Sepo nodded. "I'm just a tinkerer." After a while, Chi Yang said, "This is not giving up great power."

Hei Yao seemed to want to protest, but he didn't speak when he saw Alder Yang. "That's your livelihood." Saibo said. "It used to be my life, but it's gone." "Maybe after what must happen, the gift will return to you. I can't promise, but I will try to return what I took from you. Now we walk in the night and enter strange lands. When the day comes, we may Know where you are, or maybe not. Will you thank me if I let you out of the dream at this price?" "I will," said Alder. "What is the small gain of my gift compared to the harm of ignorance? If you can save me from the fear I always feel, the fear that fear creates, I am grateful to you all my life." Sebo took a deep breath: "I've always heard that Dawn's harp is never out of tune." He looked at Hei Yao, and asked, "Is Roke not objecting?" His tone returned to the previous gentle sarcasm. Obsidian shook his head with a very serious expression. "We should go to Oren Cave. Tonight, if you will." "Why there?" Obsidian asked. "Because it is not I who can help Alder, but the earth. Oron is holy and full of power, though the people of Havnor have forgotten that and only know how to defile it." Before following Sebo downstairs, Obsidian finds a chance to speak privately with Alder. "Chiyang, you don't have to do this. I thought I could trust Sepo, but now I'm not sure." "I trust him." Alder said, understanding Obsidian's doubts.He said that he would get rid of the irreparable fear of making a big mistake at any cost, and he said his words seriously.Every time he is sucked into the dream and goes to the stone wall, he feels that something is trying to enter the world through him, as long as he listens to the call of the dead, it will enter, and as he hears the dead every time, he becomes weaker and weaker , the harder it is to resist the call. In the hot afternoon, the three of them passed through the city and walked for a long way to the countryside south of the city. The rough and rugged hills extended towards the port and reached the barren area of ​​the rich island: the ridges were densely covered with swamps, and there were only sporadic cultivated land on the back of the rocky mountains. The city walls here are very old, built with uncut rocks brought from the mountains, and there are no houses outside, only a few farms. The three of them walked along the rugged road, winding up the first ridge, and heading east along the peak to higher mountains.At the top of the mountain, they saw the city in the north, immersed in the golden mist, and the roads on the left scattered into criss-cross trails.Going straight ahead, I suddenly encountered a large gap in the ground, and in the middle of the road, there was a black gap about 20 feet wide. It was as if the spine of the rock had been broken by a twist of the earth and never healed since.The west sun streamed around the hole, illuminating the upright rock face not far away, but it was dark below. In the valley below the ridge, south of the crack, is a tannery.The tanners brought the waste to the mountain and dumped it randomly in the cracks. The half-processed leather fragments were scattered, and the stench of rot and urine filled the air.As we approached the steep edge, another scent rose from the depths of the cave, cold, sharp, and earthy, and the alders were put off. "It hurts me so much! It hurts so much!" Sorcerer Parn sighed, looking around at the rubbish and the roof of the tannery below with a strange expression, and after a while, he said to Alder in his usual soft tone: "The oldest map of Parn shows , and here is the cave, or crevice, called Oren, also called the Lip of Pao on the map. When men first came here from the West, it spoke to the people here, long ago. People have changed, But it's the same as before. You can drop the load here if you want." "What should I do?" Alder asked. Sepo led him to the southern end where the fissures in the ground gradually closed into narrow gaps, and told Alder to lie down, looking directly at the endlessly extending deep darkness below him. "Hold on to the ground," Sepo said, "that's all you have to do. Even if the earth shakes, hold on." Alder sprawled on the ground, looking straight into the cracks in the stone wall.When you lie down, you can feel the rocks poking your chest, waist and hips, hear Sepo begin to chant the words of creation in a high-pitched voice, feel the warmth of the sun on your shoulders, and smell the rotten smell of the tannery.While inhaling and exhaling, the cave spewed out an empty and bright smell that made him unable to breathe and made him dizzy. The earth moved under him, shaking and vibrating.Darkness rose and captured him, and he lost the light. When I came back to my senses, the sun had already set and turned into a misty red ball hanging over the west coast of the bay.He saw Sebo sitting not far away, tired and lonely, with a long black shadow extending between the slender projections of the stone. "You're awake." Obsidian said. Alder found himself lying on his back with his head resting on Obsidian's lap, a stone pressing against his back.He sat up dizzy and apologized. As soon as Alder was able to walk, the two of them set off down the mountain. There were miles to go, but he and Sepo clearly couldn't go any faster.When the three of them returned to Shipbuilding Street, it was already dark, Sepo said goodbye, and explored Alder's expression in the light projected by the tavern next door. "I did as you asked," he said, still unhappy. "I thank you for this." Chi Yang said, extending his right hand according to the custom of Enlad Island.After a while, Sepo reached out to touch each other, and then left. Alder was too tired to move his legs, and the strange smell of cave air still lingered in his throat, making him feel light, dazed, and empty.When he returned to the palace, Obsidian wanted to send him back to his room, but he said it was all right and he just needed to rest. Entering the room, Xiaoshuai came to welcome him with light steps and wagging tail. "Ah, I don't need you now." Alder bent down and stroked the smooth gray fur back, tears welling in his eyes.Just too tired.He was lying on the bed, and the cat jumped on it, curled up on his shoulders, purring. He slept, a black and blank sleep, with no dreams to remember, no voice calling his true name, no grassy hills, no dark stone walls.Nothing at all.