Selen must have seen the mark too. "Your whole country is devoted to that same Kobolds-over-all preaching."

"I'm told that there have been terrible abuses in the name of the Fifth Dragon's otherworld faith, as well. Please don't judge us in terms of our worst offenders, as we might judge the meat-grinder officers of Tukka's Hollow or the century of oppression your King's ancestors imposed on mine. We're not barbarians."

Vonn tried to put his anger aside; there was a chance to learn something. "Nobody has wanted to talk about what happened at the end of the Battle of Tukka's Hollow. We were told that the core was spirited away somewhere."

Kizap and Ralator exchanged a look. After a moment the fort commander said, "Some things are best left in the past."

"And should have been destroyed entirely," said Ralator.

"No one here was involved in that decision."

Vonn thought he'd begun to understand. The tainted, dark dungeon core I saw was there because of massive sacrifice, a sort of overloading of the core with death. At the Hollow, there was a horrifying amount of slaughter. Then apparently the core got stolen away, rather than smashed, and nobody is willing to discuss it. Or even say who has it now.

If this commander agreed with Ralator that a black core was something frightening enough to be beyond even the Scaled Nation's morals, maybe he was someone Vonn could deal with.

Kizap said, "I'm intrigued enough by what I've heard that I'd like to make an offer. You say that the culture behind the Fifth Dragon's world is important and that it can't be cleanly separated from the technology. Well, then. Teach us. Accept research funding to build better airships and whatever other wonders you saw. If you dislike certain aspects of the Scaled Nation's culture, now is your chance to persuade us to change."

Selen's beak hung slightly open, and Vonn too was blindsided. "Work for the Scaled Nation?" he said.

"Why not? You personally will be treated well, I'm sure. Your discoveries will enrich the whole world. You've been experimenting with faster transport and some form of picture-painting. Won't those bring people together? Right now you rely on the whim of a noble lord who has, shall we say, few limits to what he's willing to study. Are you confident that you're working for the right masters? Particularly when your visions point you toward the Dragons?"

Ralator started to answer but Kizap held up one claw. "You have a history with the Scaled Nation, sir. Why not let the new generation speak?"

Vonn wanted to confer in English with Selen, but feared that even doing that would give away too much. He hadn't told this foreigner the whole story. Kotta had probably also gone along with the half-truth about "visions of another world".

So Vonn said, "Sir, the same otherworld knowledge tells us that a society is strongest when it doesn't antagonize anyone for racial reasons. We might personally be protected if we worked with you, but our friends and families and neighbors would not. Until that changes, we should stay in the River Kingdom."

Selen added, "If the message I bring means anything, it's not just the religious part. The influence that we have will change more than what theologians argue about, and more than what kind of vehicle we ride in. I'm already involved in a scholars' society, guild politics, and educating peasants. My work is making my ruling Duke uneasy, and that's aside from the religious work."

Kotta protested, "I'm not trying to change the whole structure of either country."

She told him, "But you will, if you're successful. So will Vonn and I. And isn't that the point we all agree on? You, Kizap, want more power for your country, an advantage against my homeland, and I'd wager, personal advancement. But you won't get that just from hearing a different way to pray. You, Kotta, will find that if people really believe what you're teaching, they'll want to act on it. And that's what all of our rulers probably fear."

The commander played with his drink. "If I can't buy your aid, is there some part of it you'd be willing to offer? Tell me from your own beak about the lore of Dragons."

Vonn objected, "We're loyal to our King, sir. We can't turn this into a technology lecture even if it's centered around religion."

"Are you, really?" The yellow Kobold studied him. "Because you have a higher cause driving you, and I can't quite grasp what it is. Will you tell me there is no circumstance that would ever lead you to quit the River Kingdom?"

Vonn looked to Selen. The two of them had seen things and been places that few others even knew existed. The old life they'd shared came with a set of ideals that the River Kingdom was friendly to. But only roughly. If they'd been thrown into some other part of this world like Polestar, they would've tried to make do.

Selen finally answered, "There might be. But it's not money or research equipment. It's the joy of trying to recreate something good and worthwhile, wherever we're allowed to try it. And unfortunately, the Scaled Nation isn't a place where we'd have that freedom right now."

"All this for a vision!" said Kizap. "Even so, will you tell me whatever you're willing to share?"

Selen said, "A little. I don't know if this will make any sense to you."

She launched into a brief sermon. Vonn sat there uncomfortably. This talk wasn't his piece of the puzzle. There was value in it, but he was even more lost in this area than Kotta was.

Kizap looked baffled as Selen wound down. He looked to Vonn and said, "You've been quiet. Is this bizarre human-centric doctrine something your visions showed you, too?"

Vonn answered slowly. "I haven't got her enthusiasm for it, but I'm well aware of the idea and think all our people might gain from at least considering it."

"So this is where Kotta got his version of it, with the Fifth Dragon." Kizap shut his eyes and thought. "What a puzzle. Heresy of course. But heresy that I can report to my superiors as worth noting. Kotta, you should probably leave."