As they doused lanterns and hurried along the darkened hall, Madame Zelinka explained about her troop of Enlightened Ones. A neat two dozen, many of the members were drawn from those who had helped in the delicate work around Baron von Grolman’s factory in Stalsfrieden, but a few had been drawn from Albion and elsewhere after consultation with Commander Craddock – a point that Aubrey found almost unbearably intriguing.
‘Katya is my second in command now,’ Madame Zelinka said. ‘And some Gallians have joined us expressly because we’re helping you.’
‘Gallians?’
‘They said that they are friends of Maurice. Does the name mean anything to you?’
‘A friend,’ Aubrey said, remembering the caretaker of the dilapidated Faculty of Magic at the University of Lutetia – someone else who monitored Aubrey’s progress from afar.
‘Quickly now,’ von Stralick said as he led the way towards the terrace.
George let out an oath. ‘What clod left a rake lying here? I nearly stepped on it.’
‘Never mind,’ Aubrey said. ‘Through these doors.’
They burst onto the terrace to find a shadowy figure loping toward them, her blonde hair partly covered by a knitted cap. She had a rifle slung over her back. ‘Katya!’ called Madame Zelinka. ‘What is it?’
‘Nine lorries, full of troops.’
Katya had been the most helpful of the supposedly neutral Enlightened Ones, most likely due to her unpleasant history with Holmlanders in Veltrania, her state of origin. Aubrey had no doubt that she would have been in favour of a more active role for the ancient order.
‘Where are they coming from?’ Von Stralick already had his pistol in his hand.
‘No idea. We have the four guards who fled this place bound and gagged.’
‘Four guards?’ Aubrey said. ‘Six left here, not four.’
‘Ah! Two must have made their way down to Bardenford and raised the alarm.’
The stuttering sound of small arms fire echoed from the mountains around them. It was answered by the more authoritarian chatter of a light machine gun.
‘We are trying to hold them off,’ Madame Zelinka said after listening intently, ‘but we are not equipped for a full-scale battle. We must help them.’ She took a step toward the gate, then paused and looked back.
Aubrey went to follow, but von Stralick put out his arm to block him. ‘We will take care of this, Fitzwilliam. You and Doyle should go.’
‘Where? I can’t go back to Albion, not yet.’
‘Fisherberg,’ George said. ‘Where else would Dr Tremaine go after abandoning this place?’
‘You’re not thinking of a rendezvous with Caroline and Sophie, are you?’
‘Two birds with one stone, old man. They might be grateful for some help, and we could track down Tremaine while we’re at it.’
It was an attractive suggestion, but Aubrey examined it from all sides just to make sure his personal desires weren’t influencing his decision – and he had an idea.
‘Very well, but I want to make a detour along the way. To Korsur.’
Von Stralick raised an eyebrow. Madame Zelinka looked interested. George was puzzled. ‘Korsur, old man? Because of Madame Z’s report of troop activity?’
‘Hugo and I found a telephone register in the switchboard room. Korsur was the only unimportant place to receive multiple calls.’
‘What if it’s just because someone’s mother lives there?’
‘A single anomaly can be important. If you add Madame Zelinka’s already mentioned Holmland troop build-up in the area it begins to look suspicious.’
‘Two anomalies, then.’
‘But when we have a third, then we move from “interesting” to “likely to be significant”. Hugo?’
‘Wait here,’ von Stralick said.
In a minute, von Stralick was back. He shone his lantern on the lump of stone he held in the crook of one arm. ‘Green Johannes.’
George stared. ‘And Green Johannes to you, von Stralick. Whatever that means.’
‘This is a very expensive piece of Green Johannes stone. It comes from Korsur, and it’s freshly extracted. Someone here has been there recently.’
Aubrey reached out with a finger. The stone was warmer than he would have expected. ‘I tend to believe that, where Dr Tremaine is concerned, coincidences don’t exist. If he has an interest in Korsur, then we should be interested too.’
‘The journey should be easier than the one we had, Fitzwilliam,’ von Stralick said. ‘Make your way to Bardenford and you should be able to catch a train to Hollenbruck. Many miners move about the area from all over Holmland. Many accents, some who only speak Holmlandish as their second language. You shouldn’t stand out.’
‘I’ll leave the talking to you, old man,’ George said to Aubrey.
‘You’ll have to walk from Hollenbruck to Korsur,’ von Stralick said. ‘We shall meet you in Fisherberg.’
‘Sooner or later,’ Madame Zelinka added, and when she glanced at von Stralick Aubrey saw another player in this drama, one with motives all of her own.