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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Whizbang Dustyboots" data-source="post: 3594085" data-attributes="member: 11760">As the stolen boat begin to bump its way down the rapids, Katadid Leach looks from the astonished guards toward their destination."Oh, dear."He rummages through the saddlebag and grabs his spellbook and after a moment, grabs Renraw's as well. Tossing them into an empty sack, he wraps the burlap around the precious tomes tightly before wrapping the ripped bedsheet around it as well. He tosses the bundled books into the leather saddlebags and seals it as tightly as he can before being almost bounced out of the boat by a sudden drop."KAT!" Tock yells. "Some help rowing would be nice!""Ah," Kat coughs and picks up an oar. "Um ... shore soon?"Before anyone can answer, the entire boat is suddenly dumped under the water as it drops down a steep set of falls before landing in a fast-moving pool. Aside from bloody knuckles, bruised limbs and, of course, being nearly drowned several times, the fugitives are in relatively good shape.The boat spins as it approaches another series of rocks. The trio cling to their possessions, the boat and each other, eyes wild, exhausted yet oddly exhilerated."I can't believe it," Renraw sputters, his hair plastered to his head, "We're going to make it.""Maybe," Kat says ominously. The other two look to see where he's staring. Pointed rocks jab up at them, forming a stony barricade before a foaming spray beyond. Kat says something else, but the roar of water beyond the rocks gets louder and louder as they approach.The boat slams against the rocks, shattering into splinters. The current yanks the fugitives past and over the edge of a tall, tall waterfall dropping hundreds of feet into Goblin Pond below."I HATE YOU, TOCK CHAAAAAAAAAAAANDLER!" Renraw screams as the trio plummet towards the dark water, far below.Katadid find himself counting the seconds as they fall. He's dimly aware of his lungs burning, their ability to breathe hampered even under the best of circumstances. His world is full of bursts of intense sound, rushing air, and pounding water. He wonders if he could even tell when he hits the pond with everything so muddled already. It wouldn't do to die yet: There are too many things to do.Yet, as Kat falls, he realizes that he isn't afraid to die if he has to. It's an interesting revelation. He contemplates it quietly as the pond rushes up to greet him.Beside him, Tock Chandler grips the edge of the boat, staring wide-eyed at the approaching pond.Unnoticed, Renraw has hit his head on something, and falls, unconconscious, along with the boat, his forehead bloody.Renraw Kem is a child of 8 again. He kneels in the corner of his bedroom, rocking himself calm. The small table he kept is overturned; his things are scattered. In the next room, he can hear his mother moaning loudly, in her private place again. She begins to sob, but here and there come intelligible words, something about the books.The books ...Why did he think he could get away with it this time? What made him think now would be any different?He raises a hand to his face and winces. There's blood, but he could hardly be surprised about blood anymore. But there, under his eye, something moves. A piece of bone, loose above his cheek. Floating.He closes his eyes and gently nudges the fragment with a fingertip. The pain he expected doesn't follow; it's buried somewhere deep. His rocking slows, and he thinks about the skull underneath his face for the first time. Is the little shard still a part of it? He wonders if the bone will slide around inside his face if he pulls his finger away. Should he let it? Or should he keep it where it is?He is startled to hear his mother address him, still in the other room. She must imagine me nearby, Renraw thinks. Finger still to cheek, he opens his eyes and looks to the direction of the sound."Don't read the books, Renraw," she pleads, "Don't try. It isn't for us."It wasn't the first time she'd warned him about the library. And it wasn't the first thrashing he'd caught from his father after ignoring those warnings. He understood (almost) all the words in the books now, though he still had a great deal of trouble putting meaning in their order. Roebello only mocked him when he asked what something meant (but even at a young age, Renraw knew that was because his brother didn't know himself). Even Uncle Ronco begged him to stay away from the books in the family library, promising him all the books he could ever want in Middleborough.At the time, Renraw believed the books must have some secret contents, some forbidden knowledge his family wanted to keep from him, but now something his father had shouted has the boy beginning to suspect the truth: The books themselves are worthless. It's just that Rogren wants them to himself."You are to stay here. Stay here. STAY HERE."The memory of it frightens young Renraw and stiffens him. His finger goes white, tightly pinching his eye socket.That day he held his face together in his hands for hours until he decided to (badly) improvise a bandage. But, this time, something is different. This time, he relaxes his finger and pulls it away slowly.What will happen?</blockquote>

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