Chapter 9: Gray Rock Spring
The next morning, Violet woke to hoofbeats.
She crawled out of the tent. Darryl was preparing a team to head out. Seraphina sat on a horned horse, hair tied back, skirt tucked into her belt. She saw Violet and smiled. Not the calculated smile from last night. Something clean. Bright.
"Cecilia. We're going to find your second water source."
Violet nodded. "Eastern cave. Near the Silver Spring border. Stalactites on the ceiling. Water drips down into a pool. Not a large flow, but it never runs dry. All year."
Seraphina's eyes lit up. "How do you know it so clearly?"
"It's in the hunting records."
Seraphina's smile didn't change. But she looked at Violet for one second longer.
Darryl reined in his horse. "You're sure that source is safe? Too close to Silver Spring."
"Silver Spring doesn't know about that cave." Violet said. "It's in the records. The entrance is hidden by thorn brush. Can't see it from outside."
Darryl was quiet for a beat. Then he nodded. "Back before dark."
The team moved out. Violet stood at the edge of camp, watching their figures disappear into the gorge.
Leon walked up beside her. "You're not going?"
"My foot's not healed yet. I'd slow them down."
Leon said nothing. He stood beside her, watching where the team had vanished.
"And." Violet paused. "After the second source is verified, I need to draw maps. The third one."
"You only drew the first."
"The first was the route to the first water source." Violet said. "The second will be a detailed layout of the eastern cave. The third—"
She looked at Leon.
"The third will be a full map of Thornveil Gorge. All the water sources. Mineral veins. Hunting grounds. Safe routes. All on one piece of hide."
Leon's slit pupils tightened. "You're drawing a full territory map?"
"Your hunting records have all the information. Water locations. Mineral distribution. Beast migration routes. Seasonal safe paths. Everything. Scattered across twelve hides. No one ever put them together."
She paused.
"I'll put them together. I'll draw it. After that, your hunters won't need to rely on memory to find their way."
Leon stared at her for a long moment. "What do you want in exchange?"
"I already got it. Shelter. Food. Water."
"That's all?"
"That's all." Violet said. "Your maps were drawn three years ago. North Spring is dry. The eastern riverbed shifted. The southern camp is thorn brush now. Three maps from me. That's worth what I'm asking."
Leon was silent.
"And." Violet turned and walked back to the fire. She laid the hide across her knees. "Once you learn to read maps, you'll want more maps. You'll want to know what's east. What's west. What's north. You'll want to know where to hunt more game. Where to gather better herbs. Where to find undiscovered veins."
She picked up the charcoal.
"The more you learn, the more you'll need me."
Leon stood behind her, watching her draw. Lines flowed from her fingertips. Ridges. Riverbeds. Veins. Thorn patches. Her fingers didn't shake.
Gray Bone stepped out of his tent and stood by the fire. He watched Violet draw.
"You're really going to teach us to read maps?" He asked.
"Yes."
"You're not afraid that once we learn, we won't need you anymore?"
Violet didn't look up. "Once you learn to read maps, you'll want more maps."
Gray Bone was quiet for a long time.
"You're like him." He said.
"Who?"
"That recorder." Gray Bone's voice was low. "He drew maps too. He tried to teach us. But he died before he finished."
Violet looked up at Gray Bone.
"Where is his grave?"
"South. The stone pile. One of the seven circles."
"After I finish this map. I'll go find it."
Gray Bone stared at her for a long time. Then he nodded and walked away.
---
Afternoon. The sun began to sink west.
Finn burst out of the gorge. He jumped off his horse and ran to Leon.
"The second water source. Found it. Eastern cave. Stalactites. Pool. Everything exactly right."
More murmurs of wonder from the hunting party.
"The flow?" Leon asked.
"Not large. But steady. Won't run dry all year." Finn was still catching his breath. "Darryl said the cave is well hidden. Silver Spring definitely doesn't know about it."
Leon glanced at Violet. "The third source."
"Tomorrow." Violet said. "Gray Rock Spring. Two miles south of North Spring. Behind the thorn brush. The stones at the bottom are gray. But the water is clean. Five times the flow of North Spring."
Gray Bone's mouth opened and shut. "North Spring has been dry for three years. We searched two miles south. Found no spring."
"When you searched, did you go around the purple thorn patch?"
Gray Bone went still.
"The purple thorn patch is poisonous." Violet said. "Your hunting records say it clearly. 'Do not touch the purple.' So you went around it. But the spring is right underneath."
She looked at Gray Bone.
"Tomorrow. You won't have to go around."
---
Night. The fire burned again.
Darryl's team returned. Seraphina jumped off her horned horse and walked to Leon. Her face was flushed with excitement.
"Leon. That cave is truly something. Water dripping from the stone. Drop by drop. Like rain."
Her voice was soft. Warm. She was sharing something she found beautiful. Violet had seen this move before. In the original book, Seraphina used this exact method. Sharing beauty. Bit by bit, making Leon open up to her.
Leon only nodded. "Go warm up. Your hands are cold."
Seraphina's smile didn't waver. She walked to the fire and sat down, stretching her hands toward the flames.
Her eyes fell on the hide across Violet's knees.
"What are you drawing?"
"The third map."
"May I see?"
Violet handed her the hide.
Seraphina looked down at the lines. Ridges. Riverbeds. Veins. Thorn patches. Something shifted in her eyes.
"You draw so well." She said. "I used to draw maps too."
"Where?"
"In the south. Where I came from."
Her answer came naturally. But Violet caught it. She didn't name a specific place. Because she couldn't. Her system shop had maps. But she herself couldn't draw them.
Violet didn't expose her. "Thank you."
She took the hide back and kept drawing.
Seraphina sat by the fire, watching Violet's fingers move across the hide. Her honey eyes held a glint. Not hostility. Calculation.
She was reassessing. Last night she had lost. Today she had found the second water source. But everyone knew that source was drawn by Violet. She had only followed Darryl there.
She needed a new strategy.
"Cecilia." Her voice was soft. "Are you going to verify the third water source tomorrow?"
"No. My foot isn't healed."
"Then I'll go in your place. I can watch for you. In case there's any error—"
"There won't be any error." Violet didn't look up.
Seraphina's lips pressed together slightly.
Leon's voice came from across the fire. "Gray Bone goes tomorrow."
Seraphina turned to him. "Leon. I'd like to go too—"
"You went yesterday. Rest today."
Seraphina's smile held for less than a second. She lowered her head and stretched her hands toward the flames. "Alright."
Violet didn't look at her. She just kept drawing.
---
Late night. The hunting party had gone to their tents.
Violet sat by the fire, finishing the last riverbed. She set down the charcoal and looked at the hide. The full map of Thornveil Gorge. East side—Silver Spring border. West side—Fang Tribe territory. North—Gray Rock Tribe's settlement. South—
The south was blank. The hunting records had no information on the south. Because Gray Rock didn't go south. Silver Spring was there.
Violet took the charcoal and drew a question mark in the southern blank space.
Leon came out of his tent and sat beside her.
"Finished?"
"First draft. Still needs work."
"What needs work?"
"The south." Violet said. "Your records have nothing on the south. Because you don't go there. Silver Spring is there."
Leon said nothing.
"Three months. The trade market is at Silver Spring." Violet said. "I need information on the south. Terrain. Routes. Guard rotations. Granary locations."
Leon's slit pupils tightened. "What are you planning?"
"I'm going to the market. Astrid challenged me in front of everyone. If I don't go, I've already lost."
"If you go—"
"If I go, I might win. Or I might lose." Violet looked at him. "But if I don't go, I lose for sure."
Leon stared at her. A long time.
"What do you need?" He asked.
"One person. Someone who knows the southern terrain. Someone who's been to Silver Spring. Someone who can draw me everything about Silver Spring territory within three months."
Leon was silent for a long moment.
"Gray Bone." He said. "He's been to Silver Spring before. He knows the way."
Violet's fingers stopped on the hide. "Will he go?"
"You helped him find his brother's grave. He owes you."
Leon stood and walked toward his tent. Two steps in, he stopped.
"Three months. I'll go with you to Silver Spring."
He didn't look back. He stepped into his tent.
Violet sat by the fire, staring into the dark to the south. The wind came through the gorge. Cold night air.
She pulled the coat tighter around herself. Leon's coat.
Three months. She had three months.
In three months, she would finish the full map of Thornveil Gorge. In three months, she would find Gray Bone's brother's grave. In three months, she would teach everyone in Gray Rock Tribe to read maps.
And three months from now, she would walk into Silver Spring. Into Astrid's arena.
Her finger pressed on the question mark at the south of the hide.
Gray Bone. Silver Spring. The trade market. Three months.
She picked up the charcoal and began to draw in the southern blank space. Not a map. A plan.
First line: Gray Bone to Silver Spring. Draw route. Second line: Stockpile grain. Third line:—
She stopped. She didn't know what to write for the third line. Because she didn't know what was waiting for her three months from now.
But her fingers didn't shake.
She set down the charcoal. Rolled up the hide. Held it against her chest.
Far off in the gorge, a Thorn Wolf howled. Distant.
Violet closed her eyes.
Three months. Enough.
---
End of Chapter Nine
The second water source is found. The full territory map is taking shape beneath her hand. Gray Bone owes her a debt. Leon has promised to stand beside her at Silver Spring. The three-month countdown begins. She is no longer running for her life. She is laying the board.