Bone

A refugee camp has developed at the gates of Atheia, populated by a diverse range of creatures. Thorn and Grandma have decided to keep their identities secret until they can see what the situation in the city is, so they and the Bones are all wearing disguises.

Thorn meets a young girl selling prayer stones and carvings of Mim. Her name is Taneal, and she gives a prayer stone to Thorn for free.

Smiley and Phoney have mysteriously acquired a hay wagon, which they are using to smuggle Bartleby past the gates. Grandma and Smiley argue about this, but Smiley refuses to “get rid” of Bartleby.

Taneal’s brother helps sneak the entire party—including the hay cart—past the gates. Bartleby is left in a stable while everyone else visits a friend of Grandma’s who runs a rooftop kitchen. He is an eccentric bearded man wearing a hood, and he serves overpoweringly pungent Pawan food. He is also Grandma’s former teacher and a dreaming master.

The Old Teacher says the city’s inner council is dissolved; it’s been replaced by a corrupt collective of Ven-Yan warriors called the Vedu. The Vedu have outlawed dragon lore in Atheia.

Fone walks through an inexplicable cold spot. A vision of Briar appears in the spot and places Thorn in a trance and beckons her. Even with all their combined strength, the group isn’t able to hold Thorn back. While in the trance, Thorn tells Briar that she must find the Crown of Horns. Briar disappears, and the trance breaks. Grandma tells her teacher to call a meeting of loyal council members.

Briar meets with the Locust. Soon, he will be able to free himself without a host. However, if Thorn finds out what the Crown of Horns is, then the plan is for naught. The crown is “the object [the Locust] fear[s] the most” (1023). Briar plans to have her armies raze Atheia and kill Thorn.

Briar meets with the Pawan generals in the foothills of Tanen Gard. The Pawans have isolated Atheia via control of trade routes. They learn that Briar sacrificed an army of Pawans at Old Man’s Cave. The generals move to attack, but she overpowers them with her magic. She slays the general who raises concerns and begins conferencing with the next in line, who is more amenable to her authority.

Smiley brings Bartleby food, and they have breakfast together. Outside of the gate, a farmer tells a Vedu guard that his hay cart was stolen by “two little fellows with huge noses” (1040). The guard dismiss him; they saw a cart enter the day before, but it was being driven by two women. A few minutes later, the guard sees Phoney and Fone at the marketplace and grows suspicious.

At the marketplace, Fone is attacked by a giant bee. Phoney chases the bee away and is rewarded by some marketplace vendors with a bag of gold. Because of a recent water shortage, Atheian soldiers have been rationing water. The market vendors have been selling small portions to the bees at a premium because they cause trouble. The vendors ask Phoney to come back tomorrow to chase the bees away in exchange for more gold. Fone doesn’t want Phoney to do this, but Phoney says his scalp is tingling: “That only happens when I’m about to score big!” (1050). Fone and Phoney get lost in the city and climb up a staircase overlooking the gates. They find the ruins of the royal Palace.

The Old Teacher brings an old woman named Mermie to see Thorn and Grandma. She is an herbal tea expert and will later be revealed as a powerful dream master. She and the Old Teacher explain that the Captain of the Queen’s Guard is behind the ban on dragon lore. He is known as Lord Tarsil the Usurper. He challenged the dragon’s authority and was “crippled for his impudence” (1055). He blames the dragons for the recent rash of ghost circles. According to Grandma, Tarsil is aware of their presence.

Ted visits Thorn and Grandma; he reports that the Hooded One’s armies will arrive a day before Lucius’s. Grandma tells Ted to give Lucius a message: “Tell him we’ll hold off Briar’s army as long as we can—on the second night from tonight, have Lucius position his men behind the rat creatures—opposite the west gate... When he’s ready, have him light a torch up on Sinner’s Rock. When we see that signal, we’ll charge out the gate—trapping the enemy between us!” (1067).

Phoney tells Smiley about his plans to become King of Atheia “for a couple of days” (1072), long enough to get all the treasure and then return to Boneville. Smiley is excited to return home but deflates when he realizes he might have to leave Bartleby behind.

Lord Tarsil meets with the city’s Guild Master. The Guild Master asks Tarsil to relax his ban on dragon lore. Tarsil calls this heresy; he’s missing an arm because of the dragons. He wants Thorn captured and burned at the stake for dragon worship. He orders more and more soldiers into the streets.

The secret meeting of Harvestar loyalists starts at sundown, but Fone isn’t present. Grandma’s old headmaster is in attendance. He is a man whom she respects greatly. The meeting revolves around preparing for the siege: Tarsil is a smart leader who is prepared for battle, but his soldiers are poorly trained and undisciplined. Grandma’s former headmaster believes the Vedu are disloyal to Tarsil. We also learn that Tarsil has hidden a treasure somewhere in the city, news that catches Phoney’s attention.

Fone arrives at the meeting, pursued by guards. He announces that Tarsil knows about them, and they scatter.

Thorn, Grandma, Fone, and Grandma’s headmaster escape the guards by ducking into an empty cellar. The headmaster appraises Fone: “It remains to be seen, Mr. Bone from Boneville… …whether you have saved us… …or destroyed us” (1089). He says that all Ven-Yan-Cari are “tested,” and if Thorn fails, the results would be apocalyptic. Thorn asks him about the Crown of Horns. The headmaster explains that “the Crown of Horns sits directly upon the veil, half in our world, and half in the dreaming world […] some say it is the very heart of our world” (1099). Its existence is the dragons’ most guarded secret; almost nothing is known about it. If Thorn touches it, existence might flicker out altogether.

Phoney forces Smiley to help him recover Atheia’s treasure, which he believes is in a locked well in the marketplace. The streets are deserted. The cousins are arrested by a troupe of Vedu guards.

Thorn, Grandma, and Fone leave to watch the gates of Atheia from atop the walls. Grandma leaves to fetch Phoney and Smiley. A guard steps outside to attack Taneal for erecting dragon shrines. Thorn and Fone leap down to protect Taneal, and the guard recognizes them. Tarsil appears with reinforcements; they beat Thorn and Fone into submission and arrest them. While the gate is open, the haycart’s owner sneaks into the city. Briar’s armies arrive.