· page 17 ·
The Fern Hollow
The fern hollow is a green tunnel of shade, ferns as tall as doors arching overhead, and you and Sera move through it quick and quiet as a secret.
Too bad the ferns can't keep one.
“Ooh, a girl,” whispers a frond as you brush past. “A girl and the guardian,” gossips another, delighted. “The one who lost the Pearl! Here! In our hollow!” The whisper runs away ahead of you through ten thousand leaves, getting louder, the way a wave gets taller.
“Ferns,” sighs Sera, “are the worst.”
By the time you reach the hollow's end, the sky above is full of three bright horn-notes and the beating of great wings. The patrol didn't even have to search. The countryside itself announced you.