Chapter 13

Din rides through Sapirdad’s flat bean fields to locate the Orbiis survey, stumbling on a ritual-like procession: officers in crimson-purple gear sampling leaves and soils, many breathing through algaeoil-mask percolators. A throne-cart bears a languid, masked leader who identifies Din as Iudex only after dreamy deduction.

Commander Raudoti Tauri leads Din aside, explaining Orbiis spatiasts “become” the landscape by inhaling trace organics, their augmentations translating pollens and molds into environmental insight. When Din asks about the guiding web, Tauri’s levity drops; he presses for why Iudex cares about livestock fungus.

Din admits the Burav girl’s corpse responded to specific notes, indicating guiding web conditioning, and suspects the boy and others may be infected. Tauri, both sorrowful and incisive, infers possible gentry involvement and asks if Burilis Burav demanded the body back. He warns the corpse may soon “fruit,” sprouting spore-tendrils behind the ear.

Tauri agrees to perform an autopsy, instructing Din to move the body to the Orbiis office’s secure area, noting the risk and his hope the infection is present so the remains can be safely burned. He promises to follow quickly, emphasizing secrecy and urgency.

Riding back at dusk on his exhausted nag, Din halts upon seeing a distant forest tree flashing with spectral yellow-green light in rhythmic pulses before going dark. The eerie, silent phenomenon unsettles him as he continues toward Lacanthim to secure the body.