The City of Death
- Once they arrive at Goloroth, Meena and everyone notice the intense magic there (10.1-2). Faheel's got to be here—there's nowhere else farther south (10.3). They see the old people approaching the gates of Goloroth; the children get signed papers and leave, while the old people go on in (10.6). No kids go into the city (10.9).
- Alnor doubts Faheel is in Goloroth, and if he isn't, then they must go further south (10.11). If Faheel is in Goloroth though, Alnor recommends the young ones remain outside Goloroth for five days and, if no one comes for them, head north (9.12).
- The kids don't want to leave their grandparents, but they must, and Meena takes Axtrig with her so she can find Faheel (9.23). Meena and Alnor go through the gates into Goloroth, and Tilja can barely stop from weeping (9.24).
- A horse trader approaches Tahl and Tilja about them selling her horse, Calico (9.30). Tahl wants him to take care of Calico for a few days while the kids sneak into Goloroth to ostensibly be with their grandparents until their last moments (9.32). The trader scoffs—you don't go into Goloroth and come out alive (9.34)—but Tahl says that someone has to do work in the city, so there must be living souls there (9.35).
- The trader confesses that if their grandparents had died before reaching Goloroth, the kids would have been sold into slavery; the child slaves are shipped out at night (9.38).
- Tahl and Tilja agree to pay to have the trader care for Calico in their absence, but the horse isn't too happy about being left alone (9.49).
- Tilja and Tahl see a lot of rafts being floated into the city, then out again with old people sailing off into the sunset for their last journey (9.50-51).
- Tahl finds out that their grandparents will be sleeping in a big shed with all the other old people; they get poppy juice so they're drugged up and don't realize what's happening to them (9.59). But what if Meena and Alnor are too drugged up to find Faheel or get away from the rafts (9.60)? Tahl and Tilja know they've got to help.
- At night the kids wait near the rafts and see a bunch of children being herded onto various rafts. They jump on one and head into Goloroth.
- As they enter the city, Tilja and Tahl notice that there's no magic there (9.68-69).
- Technically they're outside the Empire (9.74), and it turns out the magic in the Empire is coming from old people who die and put it back into the atmosphere (9.78)—once it blows out to sea, the Watchers get it (9.80).
- Part of the reason why the Emperor has Goloroth there, says a local man, is so that people mostly die in one part of the Empire, where the Emperor's Watchers can pick up loose magic (9.82). Those that don't die in Goloroth have to have warded bedsides so that any magic they have won't escape. However, some magicians hang out in Goloroth to pick up magic from people that die before getting to the rafts give off (9.84). The Emperor tries to seem like he controls all the magic—and he does try to do so—but he doesn't really succeed. So maybe he's not all-powerful, after all (9.84).
- Tilja and Tahl arrive at the sheds when suddenly a commotion occurs. People fall over, and Tilja knows that "the wards of Goloroth had been broken and magic was flooding into the city" (9.90). She figures Meena tried to use Axtrig (9.93), so she and Tahl go to find her grandmother (9.95).
- They find their grandparents, but a lot of people were knocked out by magic and are waking up again (9.102)—Alnor tries to take them outside, away from those dazed by the magic Meena unleashed with Axtrig (9.114).
- People are scrambling to get out and not succeeding, but suddenly the mass of people falls back.
- Dorn comes in, and everyone is frozen except Tilja and those touching her (9.115). Dorn is looking for Axtrig using his magical whip, and Tilja is trying to remain still… when a giant lion appears and roars (9.118). Dorn and his whip magically fight the lion, and Tilja and the others try to escape while he is distracted (9.119).
- When she passes Dorn, she puts her hands on his shirtless back (9.119) and her body goes numb. She can feel power running through her, but she holds onto the essence of Tilja as "Dorn himself" (9.120) is dissolved. Once that's over, the people in the shed can move again and flee (9.121).
- Tilja realizes Axtrig was pointing south again when Meena used her (9.131). They must go south—into the ocean—and the best way to do so is on a raft (9.134). The group goes out hand-in-hand (to avoid the eddying magic via Tilja's power) (9.137). Alnor thinks one of the people looking for Axtrig is following them (9.141).
- Rafts are lined up to send the old folks into the water (9.145). As the four hop onto a raft, they look back and see a giant lion watching them leave (9.152).