Broken Lands

A smile tilted the corners of Lillah’s mouth up. It wasn’t obvious but it was definitely there. “Well then, you will need me to lead you to where the corpsevines are.”

Sophia glanced around the room in the hope that there would be something that would help. She saw plants and the supplies to tend them; beyond that, there was only the minimum necessary for a marginally comfortable life. Sophia was fairly confident she was more comfortable in her tent with the supplies she kept in her backpack.

The ghost who guided them was still there. He seemed to be ignoring Moti, who was obviously trying to talk to him. A glance at Rae showed Sophia that her concentration was also on the ghost instead of the gardener. The Quinns weren’t going to be able to help deal with Lillah. If they were lucky, maybe they’d learn something useful from the ghost. Sophia didn’t expect too much, but she knew better than to underestimate ghosts. Some of her father’s stories were memorable.

“Are you willing to lead us there?” Dav sounded surprised. “Is it safe for you to come with us? We’ve never fought corpsevines.”

That was Dav, blunt and honest when he bothered to say anything at all. Sophia found herself smiling fondly despite the situation.

“Maybe,” Lillah said. Her smile widened into a sharklike grin. “What do I get out of it? Why should I tell you where they’re hiding?”

“They threaten everyone outside Casterville,” Amy answered bluntly. “Including you. We’ll bring in people to kill them.”

“Almost everyone,” Lillah answered. Her smile was, if anything, even wider. “I’m a Gardener. I may not be able to kill corpsevines, but they’re still plants. They’re not going to hurt me as long as I’m careful. They keep everyone away and give me space where plants grow easily. Why would I want them gone?”

Sophia was fairly certain that was a bargaining position rather than a hard stance on the matter. Lillah opened with an offer to do something they wanted, then asked for pay. She clearly wanted the most she could get. Sophia couldn’t tell if she was actually willing to mislead them if she didn’t get what she wanted, but it was obvious that she wouldn’t actually lead them to what they needed without getting something for it.

Amy’s fist clenched. Sophia recognized that motion; she might not know Amy, but that only meant that she didn’t know how far Amy would go if Lillah kept pushing. They could probably do without Lillah’s directions, but a guide who knew the area would be helpful.

“You do want them gone,” Sophia asserted. She wasn’t entirely confident that was true, but she thought it was likely; having to be careful all the time was not fun, even if it was possible. That was a good starting point, since it put them all on the same side. They all wanted the corpsevines gone. “But you want something for it. You have something in mind. What?”

Lillah had to be pushing for a reason, but Sophia didn’t care what it was. Sophia didn’t feel like taking the time to figure out the details; it wasn’t like she had much she could actually offer. Sophia was pretty close to broke until they were paid for the mission. She doubted that was what Lillah was after in any case. The easiest way to find out was to ask.

Lillah seemed to relax a little as her attention moved from Amy to Sophia. Good; that meant Sophia had asked a question that was close enough to the right question.

Lillah cocked her head to the side, then moved her right hand in a circling motion that seemed to include everything around her. “What do you think I want? This is where I live and work. It’s safe but small and not the best for plants. I want the West Conservatory. That’s where I’d be if the corpsevines never appeared.”

“What do you mean, you want the West Conservatory?” Amy sounded disbelieving. “What do you want about it?”

“I want to own it,” Lillah clarified. That was what Sophia thought she’d meant to begin with, but it was clear that Amy either didn’t understand or didn’t believe it. “It’s damaged, but it’s a great place to grow plants, even as damaged as it is. I find-” Lillah stopped short, as if she’d said more than she meant to.

Sophia glanced around the room again. The only thing that had changed was that both of the Quinn twins were talking to the ghost. The size of the room was unchanged, as was the relative lack of light. She could see why Lillah might want a better place to garden. At the same time, she suspected that Lillah had no idea what she was asking for in terms of work.

Not that Sophia cared if Lillah knew how hard what she was asking for would be. It didn’t change Sophia’s answer. It was best to establish a hard line to start the negotiation from, especially since it was something she literally couldn’t do. She had an idea of what she could offer, but if she started there it was all too likely Lillah would want more. “We can’t give it to you. It’s not that we don’t want to; we can’t.”

“No one but me has used it for years.” Lillah stated loudly, almost but not quite shouting. “It should be mine!”

“It’s not ours to give,” Sophia said firmly. She carefully didn’t raise her voice; she didn’t need this to become a shouting match. At the same time, she thought it was time to offer something.

She’d originally intended to drag it out a bit more and make Lillah tell her who the last owner was, but it didn’t seem like she really needed to do that. It might even be counterproductive; Lillah didn’t seem to be used to bargaining. “I’ll tell you what we can do, though. If you lead us to what we need - proof of the corpsevines’ existence - we’ll bring you to someone who can make a better deal with you.”

Lillah frowned at that. It clearly wasn’t the answer she wanted and she didn’t quite seem to know how to respond. She didn’t immediately reject it, which told Sophia she was thinking. That was a good start.

Sophia had no doubt that Rensyn would see the value in a guide who could lead them to corpsevine infestations. In fact, that would be a huge bargaining chip if it worked out, for both Lillah and Rensyn. It might also be the last thing she needed here, something that Lillah could offer that would be obviously useful. “You’re a gardener, can you lead us to other corpsevines? Seeds, maybe, ones that might be missed? I can guarantee that it would be worth a lot if you can help truly eradicate them. I don’t know if it’s worth a Conservatory, but you ought to be able to make a deal…”

“Ah,” Lillah didn’t sound certain. “I can find them once they sprout. I’m not sure if I can find seeds.”

That might actually be even more valuable to Lillah than being able to find the seeds: it would be a reason for people to keep Lillah around after all of the corpsevines that could be found were destroyed. Sophia decided not to say that; there was no reason to make Lillah any more difficult than she already was and it wasn’t like knowing would help. “That should work then; I’m sure that will be valued. How about it: you lead us to what we need and we take you back to the Registry with us so you can make a deal?”

It was honestly a great deal for Sophia. She guessed they’d get credit for bringing Lillah in. At the same time, it was a good deal for Lillah; she might be able to get what she needed even if she couldn’t get everything she wanted. Everyone was going to come out ahead. Sophia liked deals like that.

Lillah glanced around her area, almost like she was saying goodbye. She hadn’t agreed, but she was clearly thinking about it.

Sophia could wait.

“Well?” Amy sounded impatient. “Are you coming, or not?”

Amy, apparently, couldn’t wait. Sophia tried not to sigh too obviously; pushing now could help or it could backfire and Sophia wasn’t sure which would happen.

Lillah glanced at her feet, then up at Amy. Her eyes moved to Sophia and stayed there. In a clear, firm voice, she stated, “Yes. Yes, I can do this. I will lead you to a cutting and you will deal with it, then take me to the Registry and someone who can make a deal about the Conservatory.”

Sophia nodded. She didn’t know if Rensyn could actually sell the West Conservatory. She suspected that he couldn’t. At the same time, he might know who could or be able to come up with something else Lillah would accept. “Let’s go.”

Lillah nodded, then grabbed a coarse bag clearly made of hand-woven plant fibers and started adding leaves from a number of different plants. Sophia watched for just long enough to know that she didn’t know anything about the plants Lilah was taking before she headed over to where the Quinns were talking to the ghost.

At some point while Sophia was talking to Lillah, the ghost seemed to have disappeared. Its image wasn’t there and she couldn’t see anything with her MageSight, either, even though the Quinn twins were still talking to something. She couldn’t hear a word they were saying; she could see Moti’s mouth move, but he didn’t seem to actually be using his voice.

Sophia blinked and inserted herself into the conversation. “Does this happen often?”

Rae turned towards Sophia. “A spirit others can see? It’s very rare, I’ve only seen one other spirit that could use spiritweed that way and it was a very old spirit of a river. We could never understand exactly what it did with the spiritweed, so Moti’s trying to find that out.”

That wasn’t exactly what Sophia meant, but it was close enough. “Spirits can make themselves solid at home, but it’s rare. I don’t think they use spiritweed, I think they use mana. That’s all I know; spirits don’t linger around my family.”

Rae looked puzzled. She turned to the spot where the ghost had been and moved her mouth, but like with Moti, no sound came out. A moment later, she turned back. “He thinks you’re comfortable to be around, almost as comfortable as my brother and I are. He says the uncomfortable ones are Amy and Dav.”

Sophia shrugged. She had no idea what made a ghost comfortable. “Does that mean he’s going to stick around and help?”

Rae shook her head. “He won’t go anywhere near the corpsevines, so I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that as soon as the corpsevines are dead, he’s going to let go and go … wherever spirits go.”

That was probably the same as home, which meant that unless someone or something interfered, he was headed for the River of Souls. Sophia nodded. “Hopefully his next life will be better. It seems like it should be; hanging around here waiting for someone to kill his killer can’t be fun.”

Sophia paused and frowned. “That is what he wants, right?”

“His wife worked in the West Conservatory,” Moti answered for the ghost Sophia could no longer hear. “She never came out one day. He wants to make sure she isn’t still in there somehow and that her body is burned. The corpsevines didn’t kill him; someone who saw him wearing vines to fool the corpsevines did.”

That was a sad story, certainly. Sophia could completely understand how it happened, in the middle of a fight where you didn’t know who your enemies were. Amy had almost shot him earlier; Sophia was glad the ghost didn’t seem to hold that against Amy.

“He’d be a great scout, but he’s still not willing to go near the Conservatory until the corpsevines are dead,” Moti added. “When we get close, we should see if there’s anyone who is willing and able.”