“Yes,” Kendra said. “We were just borrowing it. We didn’t intend to keep it.”
“And your friends share your intentions?” Madam Ladonna asked.
“I’m sure they do,” Kendra said.
Madam Ladonna smiled. “Well, for now, your good intentions have saved your life.”
Kendra felt relief. “I’m sorry we trespassed.”
“It earned you a cold welcome. As a former caretaker, you should be trustworthy, but I had to be sure. Dangerous items are housed here.”
Kendra glanced at the Quiet Box. “Who is inside?”
“Best not to speak of her,” Madam Ladonna said. “Hope that she stays there.”
“Somebody big?”
“Not necessarily. But yes.”
Kendra shivered, gazing at the towering box. At that size, it could be almost anyone—a giant, or a dragon, or an enormous demon.
“What are you going to do with us?” Kendra asked.
“What would you have me do?”
Kendra attempted her best smile. “Maybe give us the Waystar? So we can protect the sanctuary?”
“I will not let you take the Waystar,” Madam Ladonna said. “But since your intentions are honorable, and because I trust Dectus, under my supervision, I will let you use the Waystar for the purpose I believe he intended.”
“What purpose is that?” Kendra asked.
“He wants you to have the map to the Dragon Temple,” Madam Ladonna said. “I suspect Dectus wants you to recover the Harp of Ages in case it is needed in the dragon war.”
The news astonished Kendra. “That sounds dangerous.”
“You and your friends will almost surely perish,” Madam Ladonna said. “But no giant can undertake the quest because the entrance and passages are far too small. All by design, of course. The dragons were permitted to build their temples by treaty to protect the talismans that helped us overpower them. Should you somehow succeed, Dectus is correct that the Harp of Ages would grant extra protection from the dragons.”
“The Waystar is a map?” Kendra asked.
Madam Ladonna crossed to a shelf and plucked something between her thumb and forefinger. She came to Kendra and set it on the scale with her, a rich blue jewel the dimensions of a normal-sized grapefruit.
“The Waystar is a gemstone that makes a map,” Madam Ladonna explained.
“It’s the perfect color,” Kendra said.
“Always,” Madam Ladonna agreed. “For me, it’s pale green.”
“It makes a map?” Kendra asked.
Madam Ladonna held out her palm. “Bring the Waystar. Come.”
Kendra picked up the jewel and hopped onto Madam Ladonna’s hand. She was carried through the kitchen, out the back door, and into the garden. Kendra had seen the bucket containing her friends but didn’t call out to them.
Madam Ladonna set Kendra down on a sundial that seemed at least three stories tall. The giant produced a parchment that seemed large to Kendra, nearly wider than her armspan.
“You can do this easier than I can,” Madam Ladonna said. “Hold the Waystar so the sunlight passes through it onto the parchment.”
Kendra held out the jewel and noticed bright lines making a web on the parchment. It looked more like spaghetti than a map.
“Move the jewel closer and farther from the parchment until the image resolves,” Madam Ladonna directed.
Kendra raised and lowered the jewel, watching the mess of bright lines writhe until at just the right distance from the page, everything came into sharp focus and she beheld a brilliant map of Titan Valley, labeled in a fairy language that she could read as plainly as English.
“I see the map,” Kendra said.
“Well done. Hold the jewel steady.”
Kendra started trying to read the map until a bright flash made her close her eyes. When she looked again, the bright lines had all been burned into the parchment, rendering the jewel unnecessary.
“That’s amazing,” Kendra said.
“Do you see now why you no longer need to borrow the Waystar?” Madam Ladonna asked.
“It’s a tool to make the map,” Kendra replied. “Like a stamp.”
“Quite so,” Madam Ladonna said, holding out her hand.
Kendra climbed on and was carried back into the house. This time when she saw the overturned bucket she called out, “It’s going to be all right!”
“Are you okay?” Warren responded, his voice muted.
“I’m fine,” Kendra called.
Madam Ladonna returned to her study, set Kendra on the desk, and replaced the Waystar on her shelf. “I suppose you will need me to return you to Terastios,” the giant said.
“If you take us to your front gate, Dectus will return for us,” Kendra said.
“I am tempted to give him a piece of my mind for sending you here unannounced,” Madam Ladonna said. “But I have lost enough time with you already. I will collect your friends and leave you to the connivings of the politicians. Please do not return here uninvited.”
“Thank you for your help,” Kendra said.
Madam Ladonna laughed grandly. “Thank me after you survive.”
Out on the arena floor, a uniformed man and woman were putting on an exhibition of trained bears and jungle cats. Under some circumstances it could have been quite entertaining, but after being saturated with mortal combat, Seth could hardly pay attention.
“When does all of this end?” Seth asked.
“The Games halt about an hour before sunset,” Virgil said. “Every night there are fireworks for those who care to stay. Technically, once admitted to the coliseum, nobody has to leave. If you are willing to sleep on the benches, you can stay inside until the Games start the next day.”
“What about food?”
“Food is for sale in the halls of the coliseum. And some people scrounge.”
“Humbuggle built his own world here,” Seth said.
“The world of the Titan Games inside the world of his town,” Virgil said. “And there is the secret world of the competitors beneath the arena floor.”
“They live underground?” Seth asked.
“Once they enlist in the Games, they live and train here,” Virgil said. “They never emerge. When they watch the combat, it is from their own private section.” Virgil regarded Seth thoughtfully. “Now I’m wondering something.”
“What?” Seth asked.
“You were admitted to the arena as a participant in the Games,” Virgil said. “You were granted access to the reserved seats.
