Hi, sorry for the long wait for chapter thirteen. I was just a bit busy and had a lot of work to catch up on. Anyway, I'm moving to a different country on December 15th so I might be able to post a couple more chapters before I leave. Internet will be really hard to get for a bit so I won't be able to update for a while. I will, however get on as quick as possible and update. Right, let's just get on with the fic.

Cowlquape

I woke to the sound of Twig shouting something excitedly in my face and shaking me roughly. I yawned and stared at him with bleary eyes and I allowed my ears to comprehend what he was trying to say. "I've done it! I solved the map!" I suddenly became very much awake and sat up, staring at Twig incredulously. I looked past him and saw Ernest behind him and I smiled at him briefly before turning back to Twig.

"You did what?" I asked, still failing to believe that the map that had befuddled us for so long had suddenly been solved. Twig only grinned and walked over to the table, spreading the map out, holding each corner in place with a barkscroll. Ernest and I hurried towards the map and looked down upon it and I frowned it confusion. The map was completely as it had been when Ernest had first shown it to us; the drawing of the Edge, each section drawn in minute detail, and not a single trace of a faint number.

"Twig…" I began, two very different thoughts flashing in my mind. Either Twig had solved it or he lacked so much sleep he was hallucinating. "Here" Twig pointed, cutting me off and pointing to a small spot on the map that was slightly damper than the rest. I frowned once more but before I could say anything, Twig had reached for the water jug on the table and poured half of its contents onto the map. "Twig!" Ernest and I shouted and I stared at him shocked, still not believing what he had just done and I grabbed his arm, stopping from pouring the rest of the water onto the already sodden map.

"Look!" he said excitedly, shaking my hand off of his arm and then pouring the rest of the water onto the map. He put the jug down onto the table and grabbing a scrap of cloth from his pocket, he wiped the map. Ernest and I stared back at him too stunned to say a word, my mind jumping back to the fact that Twig might not have had any sleep the whole night but the thought left my mind after, to my amazement, I saw numbers starting to appear on the damp parchment.

Ernest and I exchanged incredulous looks before turning back and moving closer to the map to inspect it further. The two rows of numbers on the sides of the map was not the only thing that had changed however and we could now see that the small red cross that had supposedly marked the location of the scholars had disappeared and had reappeared on another spot entirely in the Deepwoods.

"I told you I would figure out the map eventually!" Twig was saying, the excitement evident in his voice. "From here, locating the scholars will be simple. All there is to do is follow the coordinates on the map.

"How in the world were the coordinates hidden like that? That's what I'd like to know" Ernest said, looking at the map with new found curiosity. I frowned; mentally searching through everything I had read about plants, animals and concoctions in the Great Library and found that the answer was on the tip of my tongue. I had read something about cloaking writing in one barkscroll or another but I couldn't quite recall…

"WhistleWeed!" I blurted out loud and both Twig and Ernest looked at me, confused. "WhistleWeed?" Twig asked, raising his eyebrows and Ernest frowned, as if he was trying to remember something as well. "I've read about it in the Great Library before. WhistleWeed grows in rock formations because of the cooling temperatures that the WhistleWeed plants need to survive. They are usually green or black in color, they feed only on the water in the rocks and their average life-span is five to ten years. A lot of them don't survive for very long and so they've become a very rare species. They're known to cure most diseases as well as common colds and they've been harvested and sold at markets for years. They…"

"Cowlquape, please spare us the lecture and tell us what's so important about WhistleWeed" Twig said, smiling as he interrupted me. Ernest seemed a little bit disappointed at the interruption but didn't say anything. I, on the other hand, was embarrassed. I had been rambling, I knew I had been, and although Twig thought nothing of it, I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"Uh… when crushed the juice of the WhistleWeed can cloak most writing and ink. The only way to get rid of WhistleWeed juice is to dowse it in cold water" I said, recovering from my previous embarrassment. "Is that so?" Twig asked thoughtfully, turning around to peer at the map again, "Didn't you say they were very rare?" I nodded and Twig, looked ahead as if deep in thought but then brought himself out of his trance.

"Well, I suppose I should start plotting a course and tell the crew. I'll see you two in the morning" Twig said smiling and after nodding his head in my direction and clapping Ernest softly on the shoulder, he left the cabin, closing the door behind him.

"Well," I said after staring at the closed door for a moment, "we should try to get some sleep. Good night Ernest." Ernest rubbed his eyes and yawned before making his way to the door. I turned my back to him and was just about to slip under the sheets of my bed when I head Ernest say, "It's a shame Twig stopped your explanation of WhistleWeed. It was very fascinating. Could your perhaps tell me all about it?" I smiled to myself and turned around to face him. "I'd be glad to tell you. But I'll tell you in the morning. Right now, we need out rest" I said still smiling and he nodded before walking out of the cabin.

I watched him go and then lay down on my bed, pulled up the covers and fell asleep.

I awoke to the sound of silence. I frowned and turned to my window, pulling back the curtains only to be met with bright light. Judging by the brightness, I guessed it to be around midday. Surely everyone had awoken by now? I sat still for a moment but could hear nothing. Horrible thoughts began to cloud my thoughts. Suppose something had happened? Perhaps my father- No, I shouldn't think about him of all people.

Besides, he couldn't have found me. I had seen no one but the crew, Twig and Ernest for days. Worried, I dressed quickly and hurried onto the deck to see countless other skyships anchored to a wooden dock. My worry subsided into relief as I looked upon a skyship port in the Deepwoods. It had been exactly a week since Twig had discovered the coordinates on the map and since then the SkyRaider had made its way to the Deepwoods.

The Deepwoods had stretched endlessly and the location of the scholars was further than expected and so we had taken to stopping at various ports in the Deepwoods to rest, recoup and buy supplies. It was a pleasant change from being stuck on the ship with no change of scenery for weeks on end.

But to me, it seemed as if I had been on edge ever since we had entered the Deepwoods. The fact that the last time I had traversed through the Deepwoods I had seen all its perils was just part of my worries. I had felt watched, as if someone was hiding in the trees or in the bushes but whenever I craned my neck upwards or peered into the bushes I was met with only air.

My paranoia was so terrible that it had reached a point where I couldn't bear to explore the ports of the Deepwoods, however much I wanted to for fear of being watched. I had voiced my opinions to Twig already when he asked me if I would come with him one day but he seemed to think that it was only my imagination playing tricks on me.

He had taken to asking me whenever we arrived at a new port and so I had begun to purposely sleep in to avoid his offers. Now, the feeling came once more and I turned quickly around when I heard a rustle to my right. Of course, no one was there and I sighed before making my way to the galley, hoping that the crew had left something for me to eat before leaving for the port.

I pushed open the door to the galley and found Twig sitting in one of the chairs and eating his breakfast. "Cowlquape" Twig called cheerfully when he saw me and although I was surprised at seeing him, I smiled and nodded back to him. "Good morning Twig, aren't you going to spend your day at the port?" I asked as I sat down on one of the chairs, pulling a plate of food towards me.

Twig shook his head before replying, "Actually, I was hoping you would like to come with me. You haven't seen a single port at all since we arrived in the Deepwoods and I refuse to let you get away with it. Don't think I don't know what you're up to by sleeping in so late. Besides, this port is really something. One of the greatest ports so far judging by the crowds."

"Twig, I already told you why I can't go to the ports. Why don't you leave me here and go enjoy yourself. I'll be fine alone, I'll just spend the day reading" I said with a sigh. "Nonsense," Twig said, already dismissing the idea, "I'm taking you with me and that's that" he said with finality.

"But-"

"But nothing," Twig interrupted, "Meet me by the gangplank in a quarter of an hour" he said and putting his plate in the sink, he hurried out the room before I could argue further.

I sighed again and sunk back in my chair. There was no point in arguing with Twig, he would only interrupt me and talk over the top of me. I picked at my food for a moment but suddenly I had no appetite to eat and so I got up and made my way to my cabin.

Once inside, I collected a barkscroll and a pouch of coins before stepping back onto the deck and making my way to the gangplank to meet Twig. Twig was already there, ready to go and he grinned at me as I came closer. "Quick Cowlquape, we've already wasted our whole morning, let's make the most of the rest of the day" Twig said eagerly, grabbing my arm and helping me down the gangplank.

I reddened as Twig's grip tightened on my arm but as we reached the deck, Twig was too excited to notice my bright pink cheeks. "Keep close to me so we won't get lost" he said to me before turning on his heel and pushing into the crowd. Despite my reluctance in coming to the port in the first place, now that I was here among the bustling crowds, I felt my paranoia slipping away from me.

There were gnokgoblins, flat-heads, hammer-heads, oak elves, waifs, gabtrolls, slaughterers, every race imaginable and there was a cheerful atmosphere around the whole place. There was so many in the crowd here that it seemed impossible that someone would pick me out and follow me.

I looked up and saw large gates that had been swung open to allow the crowd to pass. Two hammer-head goblins on either side were checking for identification and two other hammer-heads were standing and watching the crowds jostle past the gates. Twig pushed past some gnokgoblins and two arguing gabtrolls and I hurried so as not to lose him in the crowds. He stopped in front of one of the hammer heads and handed him some papers. The hammer head glanced at the two of us, nodded, stamped the papers and handed them back to Twig, who took them, thanking the hammer head.

We pushed our way through the gates and I gasped at what I saw. Swaying bridges made of wood were tied to the trunks of the trees for as far as the eye could see. The bridges were packed with people rushing to a central platform situated in the middle of the wooden bridges.

On the right and left side of the platform were steps that seemed to be made from tree logs and they wound up to another platform. This platform was larger and stretched endlessly in every possible direction. Occasionally, there were wooden steps that led up to a higher platform and more wooden bridges were there to assist people in climbing up and down the platforms.

The gate entrance was at the very bottom and looking up; I could see a large dome, right up at the very top. Squinting, I could just make out winding paths that seemed to also be cluttered with people. It looked like a larger version of Undertown but designed much more artistically. To someone who had never seen a Deepwoods port before, this was paradise to me. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Twig asked, his head tilted upwards to look at the dome.

"Yes," I whispered, too stunned to say anything more. We stood there for a moment, taking in the beauty of it all until a rather grumpy slaughterer poked us in the back. "See here, you two gonna to stand 'ere all nigh'? He asked in a coarse whisper giving us a glare. Apologizing, Twig and I continued onward and as we walked, I couldn't help laughing at myself for locking myself away on all those visits to ports. They were such magical places, unlike anything I'd ever seen before and I pushed onwards, eager to explore.