Moon asked him, “You sure you don’t want to see it? We could send the warriors back and then you could come up.”
Stone shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve seen one before. And somebody has to stay down here and keep an eye on the boat.”
“So you’re just tired?” Moon said.
Stone pushed him off the railing. Moon let himself fall past the boat and then spread his wings, catching the air and testing the wind as he circled. Above him, Jade leapt off the boat and snapped her wings out, the warriors falling into the air after her.
Moon flapped to catch up and they flew toward the sea-mount. Jade led them in a broad circle around it, partly to examine the sides at closer range, partly feeling out the winds.
It helped that the currents weren’t particularly strong today, though Moon wouldn’t have wanted to try to land on the side of the sea-mount. Or he wouldn’t have wanted one of the smaller warriors to try it. He thought he and Jade, and certainly Stone, might be strong enough to ride the current up to the wall of rock and catch hold without losing control. Taking off, however, might be tricky.
The rocky walls were covered with random blue and gray streaks, probably mineral veins uncovered by years of wind and rain. The rock was also riddled with little holes, which might possibly be signs of some form of life, though Moon didn’t see any movement and couldn’t scent anything but the sea wind. The mist had cleared somewhat and he could see the bottom now, or at least the point where the rocky tower plunged into the sea. There were tumbled rocks around it and what looked like the meandering lines of reefs, visible through the clear shallow water. There was nowhere for a water boat to land, and nothing that looked like it had been intentionally constructed.
Jade started to spiral upward toward the top, and he tilted his wings to follow her.
They went up and up, until Moon could glance back and look down at the flying boat, small in the distance. Finally they reached the top and circled above it. The space was flat and a few hundred paces across, with a small jungle of vegetation, mostly ferny plants and grasses, low bushes, and some fruit vines. Moon couldn’t see or scent anything besides plant life. The wind was strong across the top but there was nothing to smash into, so Jade curved around and dropped down to land.
Moon dropped onto the soft grass beside her and folded his wings. A cloud of startled insects with glassy, brightly-colored wings shot out of the bushes and streamed away into the undergrowth. The warriors all landed around them, though Chime stumbled forward in the high wind. He was a much better flier now than when Moon had first met him, but not being born with wings had its disadvantages.
Then River, so distracted he forgot to sound sullen, said, “Oh, look!”
He was staring toward the west. Moon followed his gaze, and saw the ocean.
It was still some distance away, but the line where the crystal blue of the shallow sea suddenly turned deep indigo was clear to see. That dark water stretched forever, until it met the clouds on the horizon.
There was silence while everyone absorbed the sight. Then Root said, “I don’t see any giant sealings.”
Since Stone wasn’t here, Moon gave Root a shove to the head. Root grinned and ducked.
Jade settled her spines, and turned away from the view with some reluctance. “Everyone take a look around the sea-mount now. Be careful.”
“Uh, what are we looking for?” Song asked.
Jade lifted her spines in a shrug. “Forerunners. Foundation builders. Fell. Anything that makes us think this is something other than a strange skinny mountain.”
The others spread out, and Moon started on a circuit around, poking into the undergrowth and brush. After a short time they met back in the middle, and Jade asked, not hopefully, “Anything?”
Everyone moved their spines in a negative. Moon hadn’t raised anything but insects; he felt lucky he wasn’t wearing his groundling skin.
“There’s no sign anyone built it.” Chime sounded disappointed. He kicked absently at a clump of grass. “Or used it for anything.”
“Esankel was right about the islands to the south,” Song put in, “but that’s all there is to see.”
There might be some sign of occupation under the plants but most of them seemed to be growing right out of cracks in the rock. Moon had to agree; if there had been anything here it was long gone, or buried in the stone where they couldn’t find it.
“Why would anyone want to build something like this?” Briar asked, turning to look around again. “What would it be for?”
“Same reasons groundlings build towers on land,” Moon said.
Briar had very little prior experience with groundlings, except for the Kishan on this boat and meeting Delin’s wind-ship crew. “What are those reasons?”
“As a resting spot, for long flights across the sea?” Balm suggested.
“That’s a thought,” Jade agreed.
“Or for signaling, maybe.” Moon was thinking of signal lights for groundling ships, or the flares that the Golden Islanders used. “If there was a light up here, flying boats and water boats could use it to help navigate.”
“Why do they need help navigating?” Briar clearly found the notion baffling.
“Groundlings don’t always know where south is, like we do,” Chime told her. “At least the Golden Islanders don’t.”
Briar took in that information with a startled expression. Balm said to Jade, “Should we get back?”
“Might as well.” Jade hissed out a sigh. “At least it broke up the day.”
Catching the wind from the top was easy, and they managed to get into the air without incident. They cleared the tower and dropped down to land on the deck of the flying boat. A hopeful group of Arbora, Kishan, and one Golden Islander immediately surrounded them. Stone was there too, but he was leaning back against the railing, not looking particularly hopeful. The Kish-Jandera must have been staring into the wind, trying to see the Raksura, because their milky inner eyelids were all half-closed.
“Nothing,” Jade said, before anyone could demand information. “Just plants and bugs.”
“Well,” Callumkal said, trying to conceal disappointment. “It was worth a try. And still, now we know what the top of a sea-mount looks like, or at least this variety of sea-mount. If you would be good enough to give me an exact description—”
“Chime can do that,” Jade told him. “He can write it for you in Altanic, then you can ask us questions.”
Delin took out his drawing book. “I can make a sketch from your descriptions. Here, Balm and Briar, while your memories are fresh . . .”
This seemed to improve Callumkal’s mood a great deal. He said, “That would be excellent. I’ll go and get my writing materials.”
As Callumkal went to the hatchway and the other Kishan dispersed in disappointment, Jade said, “I was really hoping we’d find something.”
Moon wasn’t sure what that something would be, but Chime said, “Something to prove we’re right about the city or wrong about it. So we can stop wondering.”
“It won’t be long now.” Delin shielded his eyes to look into the distance. “Soon I think we will know.”
By late the next day, they had seen six more similar sea-mounts in the distance, and according to the map were nearing another area of sparse islands. Moon was sunning himself on the flat top of the flying boat’s ridge, near the bow. Chime was a little further up the ridge from him, though at some point he had drifted off to sleep.
Moon was aware a few of the warriors were lying on the bow deck below, but he hadn’t paid much attention to them until he heard River say, “Did Jade say if we were going to check out any of the other sea-mounts? These should have even better views of the ocean.”