The Orphan and the Thief

Chapter 13: Bloodroot and Toadstools

"There's gotta be a way to get on those towers."

They were heading back to Izzie's, as the clouds were heavy with rain and Melena was in no mood to get caught in a downpour.

"How d'you reckon we do it?" Toad continued.

Melena had seen enough of the towers, surrounded by deep, churning ocean, to know for a fact that they were not going to do it. They looked impossible to climb, their sides smoothed from centuries of rain and wind.

"I think we may need help," Melena sighed.

"Help? Who are we gonna get to help us?"

"I don't know, Toad," said Melena wearily. "First off, we'd have to actually get to those towers, so we'd need a boat."

Toad snapped his fingers. "Izzie! I bet she's got one!"

Melena wasn't so sure; she decided to address the next problem. "Once we made it to one of those rock towers, we'd have to actually climb it. I bet they nest at the very top, where we saw that one land."

"They didn't seem all that tall," said Toad gruffly. "We could do it. What?"

Melena just shook her head and kept walking. "There's no way we're going to be able to climb those towers," she stated, feeling her discouragement like a physical weight.

It could have been the long walk back to Izzie's in the rain, or the fact that Hazel was still in her bed of coals, looking as if she hadn't moved an inch, or the realization of how great a feat attaining a roc talon would truly be, but Melena's urge to continue the hunt for the ingredients had been snuffed out. She refused to join Toad as he brainstormed ways of climbing the unclimbable. Instead, she sat before the fire, her arms wrapped around her knees, her brain a merry-go-round of misery.

The moment they entered Izzie's warm house, Toad asked her if she had a boat they could borrow.

"No, sorry," Izzie replied, handing him a towel to dry off with. "The only boats that come near the Shards are the half-dozen fishermen brave enough, but they never come to shore."

"Then how did you get here?" said Toad. "How do you get supplies?"

"Agatha brought me. Periodically I slip into Ramsey Port to get a few items, but I've learned to be self-sufficient. Why ever do you want a boat?"

"We need to get a roc talon," said Toad.

Izzie blinked, looking as if she thought she hadn't heard him right.

"A ... talon?" she repeated, slowly. "From a roc?"

"Yeah. That's why we need a boat. So we can get to those towers they nest on."

Again, Izzie looked as if she wasn't sure what to say. Finally, she took the towel from Toad, saying, "That is a problem." And moved to hang the towel to dry.

Izzie's lack of confidence did not discourage Toad. Instead it made him even more relentless. He sat next to Melena by the hearth and kept up a constant flow of encouragement. "We've come this far! We can't give up now. Remember that unicorn? We waited for days! Remember the caves, eh? Remember how we almost died?"

"Hazel saved us," said Melena tonelessly, hardly noticing Izzie getting up from her chair and stepping outside.

"And Hazel's gonna get better," said Toad with dark fervor, punching his fist into his hand. "But we've gotta think about those birds! There's gotta be a way of gettin' up to their nests. We just gotta think of it. There's gotta be a ... we just need a ... THAT'S IT!"