The ship docked soon after that. The foreigners disembarked first, followed by Eluvie and Mirab, and finally the rest of the company.

  "Be careful of the water," Mirab said.

  Eluvie couldn't do otherwise if she wished. Mirab had a vice-like grip on her arm, and the gangway was almost as wide as a street.

  She watched her feet anyway and let her mind wander back to the voice. It had never responded to her again, no matter how she tried to contact it.

  Once they were past the beach, the town began abruptly. The first building they passed was eighty feet tall, and they only grew taller from there. The individual buildings stood so close together that the only 'streets' available were actually corridors formed by the meeting of higher floors. Guards cleared the path of any residents long before Eluvie could meet them, but she saw several eyes peeking from between curtains.

  The path wound as they made their way through the maze of buildings. With each street looking so similar and no knowledge of where they were headed, she had no choice but to accept her confusion. When they finally reached their destination, it came so suddenly that she did not initially believe that they had arrived. They simply walked from one corridor into another, passed an archway, and found themselves in a mansion.

  It had clean stone floors, cavernous ceilings, expensive-looking sculptures, and well-groomed guards. Yet, it appeared to be merely a foyer.

  The procession continued through a set of double doors and down impeccably kept corridors. They walked for an unreasonably long time. Eluvie could hardly believe that such a large place was hidden among all those buildings.

  This walk, at least, was less disorienting. The corridors still looked similar, but the further they progressed, the more guards appeared. Until, at last, they reached a door protected by three lines of guards.

  Eluvie felt some apprehension at the scene, but the guards parted easily and allowed their company through the door.

  The guards spread out as they entered the room. Some stood against the door, while the others lined the walls. All wore severe expressions.

  Eluvie turned away from them and inspected the room's only contents: a large glass box.

  There seemed to be nothing remarkable about it. It was large enough to hold two dozen people, had a glass door, and was a perfect cube. Its interior, clearly visible through the spotless glass, was completely empty.

  Eluvie looked at the others for an explanation, but no one spoke. In fact, they seemed to be expecting something from her.

  "It's your turn," Mirab said, gesturing at the box. "Try to make it work."

  Eluvie gaped at her. "Work how? It's a box."

  There were some irritated hisses from the crowd. That infuriated Eluvie. They kept her ignorant and then grew annoyed by her ignorance.

  Before she could lose her composure and snap at them, however, Mirab remedied the situation.

  "This is the transport that will take us to the Illrum fortress. It will float up through that opening," she indicated an enormous hole in the room's ceiling. "It only works for Illrum, however, so I cannot tell you how to operate it. Hopefully, it is instinctive. It never seemed to trouble any of the past Illrum."

  She sounded hopeful and a little strained. For the umpteenth time, Eluvie wondered if she should be making more effort to escape. Was it safe to help them achieve their goals? What did they plan for her after they were satisfied?

  The crowd was still watching, so she decided to do something.

  First, she walked up to the box and touched one of its walls. It felt cool and smooth, like glass always does. After a few seconds, when nothing changed, she decided that its functionality was not touch-activated.

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  Next, she attempted to mentally influence it. It felt silly to do that to a box, but all sorts of silly things constantly happened around her.

  She spent about ten seconds doing that before a voice spoke.

  "I don't understand," it said. "What do you want?"

  A jolt of shock went through Eluvie, but she composed herself quickly.

  Who are you? she thought at it.

  Who am I? The voice sounded annoyed. I'm right in front of you. How can you miss me? I am the only thing in this cursed room.

  Eluvie frowned. "Are you the box?"

  It made a huffing sound. That's a crude way of putting it, but technically correct, I suppose. Who are- Oh! Oh! It's you! Oh, how can I serve - I mean - help?

  Eluvie stood perfectly still for several seconds because she could not decide what to respond to first: the fact that a box could speak, the fact that it recognized her, or the fact that it would speak to her in a non-surreptitious manner.

  Recalling that the others were still watching her, she opted for directness.

  Can you take us to the Illrum home? she asked.

  That is my purpose. It sounded both excited and terrified. Jump in!

  Eluvie turned to the others and smiled. "I think I can make it work," she said.

  Mirab responded with an odd smile, as if she were trying to look pleased but failing. Then, she beckoned the rest of the group forward.

  They did not all fit into the box, but only because the rulers would not consent to being packed like peasants in a rowboat. Eluvie was allowed in, naturally, along with the four rulers, two people from the foreign delegation, Amu, and eight guards. For a quarter of an hour, they argued about what proportion of the guards would belong to the rulers and what proportion would belong to the Radens. Eventually, Mirab grew tired of the conversation and argued, truthfully, that they were in Raden territory and surrounded by Radens anyway. The final split was 6 - 2 in favor of the Radens.

  Finally, they all entered the box, positioned themselves as comfortably as they could, and shut the door. As soon as the door was closed, the box began to move upward at a terrifying speed.

  How long will this take? Eluvie asked, addressing the box.

  Eh, it said. I apologize, but I've been told that I have a terrible sense of time. I know that it must not be very long because the humans don't get too irritated.

  That told Eluvie nothing. She repeated the question to Mirab, who assured her that it would be less than fifteen minutes.

  There was a noticeable sense of excitement among the company. Considering the fact that she was the last living Illrum - to their knowledge - it stood to reason that they had not visited the fortress for a significant amount of time. Whatever they hoped to find there, they must have been waiting for it for some time.

  She had a spot in the back, and that allowed her some privacy. She sat down with her legs tucked beneath her, leaned against the wall, and shut her eyes. Hopefully, she thought, that would preempt any suspicion.