‘When you plant a crop, you must first prepare the ground,’ Intrepid said. ‘That was Foeless’s role. He has persuaded his followers that the visitors are real, and spread the idea far beyond this gathering, but now he has outlived his usefulness. The rituals he devised to demonstrate his powers have become a trap, and lately the little lights he claims to be messengers from the visitors have failed to appear. He blames it on everything and everyone but himself, and grows ever more desperate and capricious. I’m afraid that it will end badly, and soon. And then it will be time to move on to the next stage.’

‘Further revelations.’

‘If you like.’

‘But you aren’t going to tell me what they are.’

‘You’ll see, soon enough. As will everyone else.’

‘It sounds as if you know more about the visitors than Foeless does. Or that you think you do.’

‘If you had come with me when I asked, you could have helped to prepare the ground too, by telling the scholarly community the truth about this gathering. But you were too proud, too stubborn, and now you are too late. Master Mindwell will do that work instead – his assistant is already on his way back to Highwater Reach.’

‘I heard that he defected.’

‘Let’s say that he has received a kind of revelation. As will you, if you bring that map to me, and if it is genuine.’

‘Who are you?’

‘I’m in the information business. Like you. So: the map. What will you need to get it back?’

Pilgrim decided that he had nothing to lose by taking the question seriously. ‘Money, mostly. Train fares, passage on the ship that links Stonehaven with civilisation, miscellaneous expenses.’

‘Including, I suppose, a bribe for this rural constable who outsmarted you.’

‘Or whatever it costs to buy back the map from whoever he sold it to.’

‘Why not? I’ll even provide you with an escort. Someone who can persuade the constable to give up what is rightfully yours, if he refuses to be reasonable.’

‘And you’ll let my friends go, too?’

‘I already have. But they won’t leave without you and insist on watching tonight’s sermon.’

‘I’d like to watch it too. It’s partly why we came here, after all.’

‘You’re as stubborn as the women,’ Intrepid said, and fetched an orange padded jacket from a rack and tossed it to Pilgrim and told him to put it on. ‘If anyone asks, you’re a visitor from Concord, come to study the gathering.’

‘Which is more or less what I am,’ Pilgrim said.

‘The truth’s easier to tell than a lie,’ Intrepid said. ‘You should be safe as long as you stick close to me – I’ve been tasked with looking after visitors and special guests. And when the night’s entertainment is done, we’ll discuss how to get you on the road to Stonehaven.’

30.