“It was well that you did. It opened my eyes to many things,” Reyn replied easily. To his mother, he suggested, “We should have Grag Tenira over to dinner. With the Groves, of course.”

“I think that would be a wise course.” She watched her older son, and when he nodded approval, she breathed a secret sigh of relief. She would not live forever. The sooner her sons learned to work together, the better. She ventured to divert the topic. “So, Reyn. Have you made any sense of those old papers?” She nodded to the ancient parchments he had abandoned on the table.

“Some.” He frowned as he drew them toward him. “There are a lot of unfamiliar words in them. What I have deciphered is both exciting and frustrating. There seems to be references to another city, substantially upriver of us.” He scratched at a scaly patch on his cheek. “If I am interpreting it correctly, it would be way to the back of beyond. Almost to what some call the Mountain Kingdom. If such a city existed and we could locate it ... well. It might represent the greatest find since Trehaug was founded here.”

“A smoke dream,” Bendir said dismissively. “There have been explorations up the river before. Nothing was found. If there is another city, it is likely buried deeper than Trehaug was.”

“Who knows?” Reyn challenged him. “I tell you, from what I can translate, it is quite a ways upriver from us. It might have escaped destruction altogether.” He looked speculative. “For all we know, the Elder race could have survived there. Imagine what they could teach us. . . .” He let his voice trail off, unaware of the worried glance that passed between his mother and brother. “I think it is worth more study. And I think I will take my questions to the dragon and see what she says.”

“No.” Bendir forbade it bluntly. “Reyn, I thought we were clear on that. You are to stay out of the Crowned Rooster Chamber. That log has entirely too much power over you.”

“It's not a log. She's a dragon. She should be freed.”

Jani and Bendir did not try to hide the look they exchanged. Bendir spoke almost angrily. “I should have cut up that damn thing a long time ago, when I first suspected you were susceptible to it. But the time wasn't right. It's the last log of wizardwood, and the biggest. The ship we build from it will be the last liveship . . . unless you are right about this other city of yours. Perhaps we might find more wizardwood there.”

“You won't find it without me,” Reyn pointed out quietly. “And I won't help you if you kill the dragon.”

Bendir crossed his arms on his chest. Jani knew the gesture well. He was trying to contain his anger with his youngest brother. Reyn the dreamer, Reyn the scholar, so often frustrated pragmatic Bendir. She had always hoped that with time her boys would learn to complement one another. Now she feared they would always be at odds.

“There is no dragon,” Bendir spoke slowly, with great finality. “Whatever was in there died long ago. It was probably mad before it died. All that is left of it is its memories. It is no more alive than liveships are truly alive. The planks absorb memories, and retain them. That is all. If it weren't true, we wouldn't be able to cut up a log and allow Bingtowners to store fresh memories in them. Anyone who talks to a liveship is really talking to himself, mingled with the family memories stored in the wood. That is all. When you talk to that log, you hear your own thoughts, as interpreted by the mad memories of some poor creature that died long before we even discovered this city.” He was almost pleading as he added, “Reyn. Don't let stillborn madness speak with your voice. Put it away from you.”

Uncertainty wavered across Reyn's face. Then it hardened into stubbornness. “It's easy enough to prove to me. Help me bring the log out into light and air. If nothing happens, I'll acknowledge how foolish I was.”

“That would truly be a madman's bargain!” Bendir exclaimed in disgust. “That log is immense. We'd have to take the whole top of the hill off. Or excavate the slide area over the original entrance, and risk collapsing the chamber in the process. The wall above the door is cracked. Even if we knew how to open it, we risk compromising the whole wall. Reyn, you can't be serious.”

“She's alive.” Defiantly he added, “And she says she would be willing to aid Malta and her family. Think on that. Think of the potential of such an ally.”

“Think of the potential of such an enemy!” Jani retorted angrily. “Reyn, we have been through this and through this. Even if there is some creature alive inside that log, we can't get it out, and we'd be stupid to release it if we could. Now that is over. It's finished. Do you understand me? We will not speak of this again. I forbid it.”