49. The Hidden Colony Part 4

(This is part 4 of a story I've been writing on here very slowly. Part One is Number 23, and the other two parts should probably be in the later 20s or early 30s.)

(I also posted a non-spoilery excerpt from The Murderbot Diaries: Rogue Protocol on my other blog: https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/431637.html )

The mentors had gathered to show off some of their finds from the Hidden Colony on the open platform of the queens hall. When Pearl came out to join them, Malachite was already sitting beside the bowl hearth. This, as usual, was annoying. Pearl acknowledged the greetings of the warriors and Arbora with a flick of her spines and said to Malachite, "Yes, just make yourself at home."

They had decided to share the secret of the hidden colony with the other courts. The benefit was that it meant a lot of help searching the place and interpreting the finds, and guarding the searchers, and allowing the investigation to continue without taking up the time and effort of every Arbora and warrior at Indigo Cloud. It also meant Indigo Cloud suddenly hosting delegations from Sunset Water, Emerald Twilight, and Opal Night. At least Malachite was the only queen with the temerity to show up.

Malachite, as usual, showed her amusement with the faint tilt of one spine. She said, "Should I serve the tea, then?"

Pearl snarled under her breath and flicked her claws at her warriors, hovering like useless fledglings. You would think the idiots would be used to Malachite by now, who had practically moved into the court. Fair stumbled forward and managed to get the water from the kettle into the pot without scalding anyone, though Chime had to catch his elbow to steady him at one point. 

During this performance, Ember, with Shade trailing after him, entered from the consorts' passage.  Pearl caught Ember's scent and felt some of her irritation with the world ease. She said to Floret, "What's the situation at the colony?"

As Ember and Shade got settled, Floret reported, "Jade said to tell you she's staying there at the camp tonight with the warriors and Arbora. Moon is with her."

"Of course he is," Pearl said. Malachite flicked a spine at her, and Pearl told her, "I don't care what you think." She pointed her spines toward Heart. "Well, has all this trouble been worth it?"

"Very much so," Heart said. She nodded to Malachite. "While it doesn't look much like the underwater colony you all described, we're certain it's related to the forerunners."

"We don't actually know the one under the island was a colony," Chime said. "The forerunners may have been using it as a hiding place. We know they were fighting with someone."

Shade leaned forward. "So you think they actually lived in the Reaches, and the place under the island was where they went after the war started?"

"It's a possibility," Chime admitted, "But I'm not sure how much sense it makes.  I think I'm starting to agree with Merit."

Merit threw a look at Malachite and hesitated. Pearl conquered her flare of annoyance and said, "Explain, Merit."

Merit said hastily, "We've been discussing it, and looking at the things we've found, and we think this colony is much later than the underwater place. That maybe a group of forerunners retreated here after a defeat, or just because...there wasn't enough left of them to live in their more elaborate colonies any more."

"Hmm." It was depressing thought. Pearl hadn't seen the underwater colony or the massive structures of the foundation builders, but it seemed too much like the courts leaving the colony-trees of the Reaches to live in other parts of the Three Worlds. It hadn't been until Indigo Cloud had returned here that Pearl had come to fully realize how inadequate their old eastern colony had been. Living like scavenger lizards in a midden, Stone had called it. She would eat her own tail before she would tell him he was right. 

Malachite said, "What caused you to draw this conclusion?"

None of the Arbora or warriors looked startled by the question, which meant Malachite hadn't absently made herself disappear from their consciousness again. It was an annoying habit, mostly because Pearl couldn't figure out how to do it. Merit glanced at Heart and Chime, and said, "It's just a feeling we have, really. We think they're the ones who made that underwater tunnel so the foundation builders could get out of their city without anyone seeing them, but there's nothing like that here. And we're not even sure if the stone buildings of the colony were concealed in a mountain-tree, or if the mountain-tree grew around them after the colony was abandoned." 

Heart took up the explanation. "They may have wanted to hide, but they didn't have the ability anymore. But there's also the possibility that they did build some more elaborate structures, but they've just disintegrated over time."

Ember said hopefully, "Can we see your finds?"

Heart looked at Pearl for permission, and she flicked her claws in assent. "As long as we're sure these 'finds' won't turn into something that will murder us all." Malachite tilted one spine in amusement, and Pearl added, "That wasn't a joke."

Auburn had gotten up to fetch a wooden tray, and brought it over to set down on the fur. It was filled with broken fragments, with elegantly shaped cups or bowls, and one small carved flower. They looked white at first but as the light caught them they reflected different colors. He said, "This material seems to be some kind of stone."

Ember and Shade had edged closer to the tray for a better look. Ember said, "How beautiful. Is there more like this?"

"Is this an ornament?" Shade asked. "It looks a little like the ones on the doorways--" and he touched the flower.

Pearl reacted almost before she registered the movement of the stone petals, but Malachite was faster. Pearl saw Malachite's arm sweep would scoop up both Ember and Shade, so she went the other direction and swept up the closest Arbora, Auburn, Heart, and Merit. She flung herself forward and slammed Chime, Floret, and the nearest warriors away from the object. When she turned to look, everyone had scattered away from the flower object. Malachite was at the far end of the queens' hall beneath the claws of the statue, the two consorts shoved behind her and her wings protectively extended. All the Arbora and Chime huddled behind Pearl, and some of the warriors clung to the walls. Everyone had shifted to their scaled forms. Floret was beside her, crouched and breathing hard. She whispered, "What should we do, queen?"

Pearl had no idea. She tasted the air by habit, but it was unlikely that a mysterious forerunner weapon would release a warning scent.

Behind her, Chime croaked, "I didn't sense anything from it, no magic or... Anything. Maybe we should look at it?"

Pearl found herself meeting Malachite's gaze, which was just a shade ironic. She's right, we can't stay like this forever. Pearl said, "The rest of you, stay where you are." She reached behind her, dragged Chime out of the huddle of Arbora, and paced slowly toward the object.

She eyed it for a moment. The flower petals had folded back flat into an elaborate arrangement, rather like a decorated platter, revealing an interior incised with what looked like... "Hmm," Pearl said, and folded back her wing so Chime could see.

He stared down at it moment. "That's writing," he whispered. "It has to be, it's--" Then his spines did something complicated and he dropped to his knees beside the object. "This is a book."