Kruach Aum stood beside her, bowing, his old eyes taking in the crowd.

"I know that many of you have been bemused by this trip," the Lover said. "We’ve told you that there was something on this island that we need, that’s vital to the raising of the avanc. Well, this-" She indicated Aum. "-is what we need. Kruach Aum knows how to raise an avanc." She waited for that to sink in.

"We’ve come here to learn from him. There are many processes involved. The problems of containment and control demand that we use engineering as sophisticated as our thaumaturgy and oceanology. Miss Coldwine will be translating for us. It’s a time-consuming process, so patience will be required.

"We’re hoping to be off this rock within a week or two. But that means working hard, and quickly." She was silent for a moment. Her stern voice broke, and she gave an unexpected grin. "Congratulations to all of you. To all of us. This is a great, great day for Armada."

And though most of those gathered had no real idea what was going on, her words had the intended effect, and Tanner joined in with the cheer.

The cactacae crew set up camp around the township. They found empty rooms safe from the she-anophelii, to house the Armadans in smaller groups and greater comfort.

The anophelii were as passionlessly curious as ever, keen to talk, keen to be involved. It was quickly clear that Aum had a dubious reputation: he lived and worked alone. But with the newcomers on the island, all the township’s best thinkers wanted to help. The weapons hidden on the Trident could not have been less needed. And out of politeness, the Lover allowed them all to join the consultations, though it was only Aum she listened to, and she told Bellis to precis all other contributions.

For the first five hours of the day, Aum sat in discussion with the Armadan scientists. They pored over his book and showed him the damaged appendix, and although, to their astonishment, he had no copies of the work himself, he was able to remember. With the help of an abacus and some of the cryptic engines scattered around, he began to fill in the missing information.

After eating-the cactacae had gathered for their crewmates enough edible plants and fish to supplement the dried rations-the engineers and builders studied with Kruach Aum. In the morning Tanner and his colleagues argued about strain thresholds and engine capacities, drew up rough blueprints, and came up with lists of questions that they put to Aum, shyly, in the afternoon.