Bolvangar is in chaos when Lyra is finally brought there. A child just disappeared. It doesn't take her long to find out that his name was Roger. And she knows that she has just missed Roger Parslow. Not by long, but he is already gone. But that's alright. If he ran, she holds a hope that he will be safe, although it would be great to see him again. But he is surely safe and somewhere along the way it became about more than just Roger. There are kids here who will have to live through unimaginable if she doesn't get them all out of here. For Roger, she thinks, who was brave enough to escape. The only thing that complicates the situation is fear freezing her veins as she sees her mother again.
Ruta Skadi knows exactly where Roger Parslow is and that he is not safe. She was the one who personally got him out of Bolvangar and it was not an act of kindness. She picked the kid because he was bland and she thought it would take them longer to find out he was missing. She doubted anybody would care if he died for the greater good. Surely everyone has already forgotten about this boy. There was nothing special about him. She was wrong.
Iofur Raknison is infuriated when Lyra finally gets to talk to him. There was apparently some problem with Lord Asriel. She just hopes he wouldn't be gone too by the time she gets to him, just like Roger. She is still calm though. Gyptians promised that they will look for Roger. He couldn't go that far. And her father was more than capable enough to take care of himself. Her current problem is this sorry excuse of a panserbjørn king. She already thought about a way to save Iorek, who was blindly rushing here and helped him take his throne back at the same time. He is much more deserving. She doesn't have time to think about other things now. It requires a great deal of effort and focus to lie to panserbjørn after all. Even one as disillusioned as this one.
Lord Asriel is impatient. It is finally time. Bears seem to be aware that something is happening. But they are hesitant to approach him directly. He thinks that maybe they would call Magisterium or Coulter but it doesn't matter now. Soon he would have a kid. All the preparations are complete. Nobody can stop him now. They have become insignificant. He is going to make any barrier they will try to put up meaningless. Their reign is over. He doesn't even have to bother about crushing them now.
Lyra isn't even surprised this time. Of course she would find only a distressed Thorold. Of course her father has already gone. She feels like she is one step behind the whole time. She nearly cries out of frustration, but then she remembers who she is. Lyra Silvertongue, daughter of Lord Asriel and she is not going to cry. So she just wipes the wetness from the corner of her eyes and calls Iorek. They follow fresh tracks of the sledge up the mountain. She thinks that this time, maybe she could arrive on time. Although somehow she knows that it is just wishful thinking.
The boy keeps babbling about Lyra. What an irony. Of all the kids in the world, Ruta brings this little boy, apparently Lyra's good friend. It's annoying, really. Now it's not the time to think about his daughter and get sentimental. In the end, he can't help himself and takes out the picture of Lyra Master gave him the last time he was in Jordan, only hours after he tried to poison him. He looks at it as the boy's body lays unmoving on snow and sky is torn apart, wind of another world on his skin. He wishes he could see her just one last time before he leaves. If she only was older and less childish maybe he could take her with him, show her the world as he sees it. He is sure she would understand. Whatever gaps in her education Jordan college left her with, it gave her way to look at the world and instilled the value of freedom. But she is just a child right now and he doesn't have enough time. He contemplates throwing the picture away, not wanting distractions in the new world, but in the end he returns it to his breast pocket. He doesn't bother to look back at the world he left behind as he walks straight to the new one. Everything that matters lays in front of him, not behind. At least that's what he tells himself.
She catches a glimpse of him and then he is gone again. But she is close. She will catch up to him if she moves quickly enough. It's not a second later she stops dead in her tracks. There he is. Her smile is gentle, her eyes filled with hope. She found him. Finally found Roger. She starts to question what she sees only a heartbeat later, though. There is something wrong with him. She can't quite pinpoint what it is though.
"Salcilia," Pan whispers.
And then they know. What they are looking at is a dead body. Roger and Salcilia they knew are already gone. She was late once again. And she swears it will be the last time. She thinks about all the possibilities. She tries to persuade herself that whatever happened to Roger was just an accident and that it has nothing to do with Lord Asriel. But she knows that that's just a blatant lie. She still comforts herself that if he knew Roger was her friend, if she only arrived on time, he wouldn't kill her. But she knows him and subconsciously she knows that that's a lie too.
"What are we going to do now, Pan? We are lost."
"I don't know Lyra. But it seems that we failed in this world. Maybe we can find hope in another."
"I'm surprised you are the one who brought it up, Pan. You know, it seems like something changed. Like our destiny has shifted and nothing will ever be the same."
"Since when do you talk about destiny?"
"I don't know. You're probably right. We are not safe here. She will not stop until she gets me if I stay here and we can't endanger even more people."
They looked at Roger one last time, walking away, into the new world.
The mountain is quiet. Tracks in the snow start slowly disappearing under the fresh snow. The boy, the girl and the man were gone. All in slightly different ways, leaving nothing but quiet. But the silence ias not meant to last long. There are people slowly gathering. Some out of curiosity, some out of hatred, some out of pure joy. They felt the change. And they all hold just a little hint of fear. Because with all that happend, it seems that a world itself as they knew it, is gone.