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“OKAY. I THINK WE’VE got this,” Nev read Sari the list. “Let’s double check.” He turned up the speaker and they listened to the word-stream. As each word whizzed past, Nev shouted “Check!” and made a flourish on the scroll with his stylus.
“FangfeltplantFleabaneSneezepea,” said the vat.
“Check, check and check!” said Nev.
The fans in the room kicked in, carrying warmth and the faint sounds of fighting from below, “Have you turned it off again?” said Sari.
“Nope. It just stopped.”
“You’ve not killed it have you?” said Kaj, coming out of the control cupboard.
“That’s not even a bit funny,” said Nev.
“Suit yourself.”
“Shush, you two, I’m thinking,” said Sari. “Go and get the others in here Kaj and we’ll put our heads together. There’s something we’re not getting here.”
“I’m not sure if Dun and Padg don’t already need reinforcements at the bottom of the stairwell. I’m too scared to pull them out!” Kaj didn’t often sound worried.
“Go and round up who you can. See if you can find Tuf to deputise for them. This is important.”
The rounding up took half a span. The fans had never sounded so loud. Nev scuttled backwards and forwards taking readings.
The first one back to the Sanctuary was Fluppit, “Ooh, she’s gone quiet,” she said.
Sari and Nev were so used to referring to the vat as he or him that came as a shock. Sari put a hand on her shoulder, “Can you feel him—them, child?”
Fluppit pattered over to the vat and placed a hand on the outer skin. “No... but...”
The doors to the Sanctuary crashed open and Dun, Padg and Amber all bundled in, “You called us?” Amber said.
“There is something,” said Fluppit. “Faint.”
“Is there racta?” said Padg.
“Knobweed,” said a quiet voice.
“Was that the speaker?” said Sari.
“Sounded like,” said Nev.
“What the hells?” said Dun.
“Shush, everyone, go get racta!” said Fluppit. “It’s hard enough to concentrate in here.”
“On what?” said Padg.
“I think she’s trying to talk to us?”
“I thought we’d decided the vat was a he?” said Amber, racta in hand.
“I think OneLove is lots of folk, all at the same time. The main voice is...asleep? Resting? This is another voice trying to talk—”
“Forget me not,” said the vat.
“I think it’s talking rubbish,” said Padg.
“Knobweed.”
“You think?” Dun chuckled.
“Can we all concentrate?” said Sari. “I think Fluppit’s right. Let me try. Was what you told us a recipe?”
“Roses.”
“This is hopeless,” said Padg. “You’re all imagining it.”
“Knobweed,” said the vat.
Everybody laughed. Padg huffed off to find racta.
“Does roses mean yes?” said Fluppit.
“Roses.”
“That doesn’t really get us any further,” said Dun.
“Do we have everything we need? In the list?” Nev, rustled the parchment.
“BubblitSilkthornBonewebMothblossom
ShadowkingFishnetDarkstarIresine
StarsistersNicotianaMotherofthyme
FangfeltplantFleabaneSneezepea.”
“Yep, got that,” said Nev.
“Roses.”
“Maybe it does mean yes,” said Dun.
“Roses.”
“So, this works by whatever is talking to us speaking in flowers?” said Amber.
“Roses.”
“I’m sorry, we’re going to go waltzing off to find all this stuff, mix it up, and then pour it in because the vat babbled something that could be a list?” said Padg.
“Roses.”
“Nope I don’t buy it,” said Padg.
“Knobweed.”
That set Dun off again. “I dunno, it sounds pretty smart to me. But how? Why?”
“Just what I was thinking,” said Sari. “How would a part of the vat have such detailed knowledge of plants to even make such a list?”
“Myrch has experienced all kinds of things. He’s been down here eons,” said Dun.
“He’s asleep,” said Fluppit.
“But the recipe if that’s what it is, is so detailed. And original. I’ve never mixed half of those ingredients together before. How could one mind or a part of this mind know that?”
Fluppit said, “If they’d been a healer?”
“Or an alchemist?” said Dun.
“Forget me not,” said the vat.
“No,” said Padg.
“Tali?” said Amber running across to the vat. “Tali!”
“Roses! Roses! Roses!” said the vat.
“Oh my gods,” Amber spoke through tears now and knelt in front of the vat, leaned forward in a vain attempt to try to wrap her arms around it.
“Love Lies Bleeding,” said the vat.
“I know my love, I know, I’m so, so sorry.”
“Am- brosia.”
“Oh, you can’t say— Can you only speak with—?”
“Roses.”
Amber stood suddenly and turned back to the room, “Can the rest of you make a plan to collect the components of this concoction, so I can- so we can—”
“I understand,” said Sari gently. “Let us withdraw and find a room. Fluppit, bring the list. Nev, find us some more parchment. We must split into teams to find these things.”
“Will you need us?” said Dun. “Because, the fighting?”
“Yes, I think we’ll need you and Padg. Some of these things will be... difficult. Let us adjourn,” Sari opened the door, letting the murmur of distant fighting permeate the Sanctuary.
“Speedwell,” said the vat.
