News from the Confederation

"What's this?"

"A fifteenth-century carving, supposedly left behind by one of the castle's architects at the time." She pointed to the faint lines visible on the relief. "You can make out the shape of a tree here, and that line underneath looks like flowing water. Back then, people would mark their own designs in hidden parts of the castle, where most people wouldn't see them, but anyone who knew what to look for could find them."

Harry crouched down and reached out to touch the surface of the relief.

Moss covered most of the lines, but he could still feel the rises and dips of the carving: the shape of the crown, the branching trunk, and the direction in which the roots extended.

When he drew his hand back, his fingertips were coated with dark green flecks of moss.

"How did you find this?"

"When I was looking for that sealed side door, I walked along the north wall and happened to brush aside some leaves and see it." She pushed the ivy back over the relief. "After that, I looked at it every time I passed by. The moss has grown thicker than before."

They stood before the north wall for a while, then continued forward along its base.

The sunlight had completely driven the mist from the lake, and a shifting golden sheen rippled across the water.

Several water birds swam in the distance, occasionally diving beneath the surface before bobbing back up.

It was not yet ten when they returned to the tower.

Cassandra took off her coat and hung it up, then went to sit by the windowsill and poured herself a glass of water.

Harry sat opposite her. The Silverleaf Chrysanthemum on the windowsill glimmered silver-gray in the late morning sunlight.

"Anything planned for this