Overview

At dawn, Six’s fellow Diviners return from illicit trysts, venting about unfaithful knights. The abbess assigns duties and dismisses concerns about the new king and external politics. Determined to sample life beyond Aisling before their service ends, Six seeks an escort and confronts Rodrick "Rory" Myndacious, blackmailing him over stolen spring water to take the Diviners off the tor; he initially refuses. After a grueling day of Divinations, Six returns to find idleweed and a note from Rory: he will escort them by nightfall.

Full Summary

At dawn, Diviners One, Three, and Four return to the cottage after a night away, trading complaints about knights’ conduct, particularly Four’s discovery that the knight Wentworth is married. Their banter highlights the Diviners’ forbidden but ongoing clandestine liaisons and the need to preserve mystique by hiding their identities and vulnerabilities.

The abbess arrives with two gargoyles (falcon and wolf), reminds them that Benedict Castor’s poor Omens are irrelevant to Aisling’s concerns, and assigns One, Two, and Three to immediate Divination while Four, Five, and Six take on other tasks until the twelfth bell. After she leaves, Six, unusually, proposes that all six Diviners sneak off the tor after dark before their service ends in about two months. The group debates risks and escorts; Five fears danger, Four is eager, and Two is pragmatic. Six decides to seek an escort among the visiting knights.

Armed with a hammer and chisel for her wall-mending task, Six goes to the dining commons and confronts Rodrick "Rory" Myndacious, seated with Maude and King Benedict Castor. She asks Rory to escort the Diviners off the tor that evening. Rory refuses, citing their departure for Coulson Faire and a visit to Castle Luricht. Six counters that the distance is short and then accuses the trio of having taken forbidden Aisling spring water the previous night.

Six leverages the theft as blackmail, threatening to inform the gargoyles unless Rory escorts them. Tension spikes as Rory taunts Six’s devotion to Aisling and she retorts, slapping his spoon away and pressing her chisel to his nose. A feline gargoyle intervenes, and Six makes a final plea. Rory shows a fleeting softening but offers no commitment as Six is led out, humiliated.

Six spends the morning breaking stone to mend the east wall, venting about Rory to the batlike gargoyle. By noon the knights have departed, and the grounds fill with petitioners. Six resumes Divination duty: she drowns, dreams sequences (coin, inkwell, oar, chime, loom stone), and repeats the rite for another supplicant, growing increasingly ill.

Nauseated and exhausted, Six returns toward supper and confides in One that she longs to be free of the spring. When One asks about their plan to sneak out, Six, discouraged, calls it foolish. One asks for a story, and Six imagines the Diviners freely visiting the Cliffs of Bellidine and sleeping under stars without dreams.

One notices an object near the gate: a neatly bound bundle of six idleweed sticks with a note from Rory. The note instructs them to be ready by nightfall and jokes that the idleweed is to spare his boots, confirming he will escort them that evening.

Who Appears

• Six (Sybil Delling) — Diviner protagonist; proposes sneaking off the tor, confronts and blackmails Rory, performs multiple Divinations, receives Rory’s note.
• One — fellow Diviner; returns from a night out, supports Six, listens to her story, spots Rory’s bundle and note.
• Two — fellow Diviner; practical in planning the potential excursion.
• Three — fellow Diviner; tired from the night out, jokes about swapping Divination duties.
• Four — fellow Diviner; furious at knight Wentworth’s deceit, eager to leave the tor.
• Five — fellow Diviner; anxious about safety, snores, later dreams during Divination session.
• The abbess — leader of Aisling; minimizes external politics, assigns Divination duties, oversees rites.
• Rodrick "Rory" Myndacious — knight; initially refuses to escort, spars verbally and physically (briefly) with Six, ultimately leaves idleweed and a note agreeing to escort by nightfall.
• Maude — knight; mediates during breakfast confrontation, explains obligations to visit Coulson Faire.
• King Benedict Castor — new boy-king; present at breakfast, reacts to Six’s requests and accusations about the spring water.
• Feline gargoyle — Aisling guardian; intervenes during Six and Rory’s confrontation.
• Batlike gargoyle — Aisling helper; assigns Six wall-mending, later chats while she works.
• Falcon and wolf gargoyles — accompany the abbess to the Diviners’ cottage.
• Wentworth — knight (mentioned); deceived Four about being unmarried.
• Unnamed aged merchant and woman — supplicants; give blood for Divination.