At the back of the stage, the Academy supervisors, glued to their seats, exchanged worried glances. They were nervous at the thought of hearing the explanations of two students.
"The night that lasted three days, well then, what about it?" repeated the young President from his balcony.
— "It was a meteorological or climatic phenomenon," replied Allan with full confidence.
— "Yes, and so?"
— "My partner had the brilliant idea of verifying the truth of this record by searching in the Library of Climatic and Meteorological Sciences."
— "Thank you, my dear Allan," continued Lurcard cheerfully. "Indeed, dear Presidents, when we discovered this note from the Espiègle, I felt the urge to check it to know if we were on the right track…"
— "I presume that you are about to claim here, in front of all these people, that this note written by pirates is the truth…?"
— "It is not us who claim it but…" answered Lurcard as he returned to the lectern to take another sheet. "…In the First Collection of Climatic Sciences, dating from 708 to 710, one of its authors, Gamabriel Korben, carried out a study on the origin of the Misty Zones. I read: To this day, the scientific community strives to unravel the mystery surrounding this misty phenomenon. The date of May 707 marks the period when submarine earthquakes were felt from the Port of Forth-Standford to the coastal towns and as far as the Port of Wheelty on the continent of Merry Call. Following these tremors, black clouds appeared and plunged us into a deep night. A dark night that stretched over three full days. This mysterious prolonged night caused much turmoil among our countries…"
Lurcard stopped reading to scrutinize the reaction of his audience. But his attention was more focused on Michel'Angelo Di Fazzerottini, President of the Company of the Polar Seas.
"Gentlemen Presidents," he resumed with enthusiasm. "It is not us who say this, but rather the writings of Professor Gamabriel Korben."
At that very moment, applause rose from one of the rows of parents. Helga, on whom embarrassment seemed to have no hold, led the way. Even from his balcony, Jeffrey Hamilburg allowed himself to appreciate the sharpness of the two students.
"Excellent!" he murmured.
"I have a question," rose a new voice among the Presidents of the P.M.C.A.
Lurcard and Allan discovered their new interlocutor. Near the railing, a middle-aged man wearing a scarlet and gold bandana—the colors of the Company of the Far-Western Roads—stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Yes, Mr. Gultowinch?" inquired Allan.
"What is your purpose? Why are you presenting us with all this information? Above all, why bring up these pirates?"
"Our intention is to shed light on the fact that there have been several intrusions into the Misty Zones," admitted the student.
"OOOHHH!!" echoed through the rows of families.
"…And we believe this is one of the reasons why the Laws of Sea Navigation were established," added Lurcard.
"Any further documents to present in defense of your ideas?" asked Di Fazzerottini in a dull voice.
"We went through the record of the judicial and criminal proceedings of the Navy," explained Lurcard, turning toward the curtain.
"Could you display for us the copy of the minutes as well as the correspondences found in the Annex of Minus-Memontum?" commanded Allan.
At once, the two documents appeared upon the white curtain. Some of the Presidents of the P.M.C.A. wore stricken expressions. Their nervousness only grew worse.
"On the right-hand side, we have the minutes from the Navy's proceedings," explained Lurcard. "If you look closely, we count about ten records, all dated between October and December of the year 708. And when we examine in parallel the Annexes on the left, we find at least four other testimonies from travel journals, dated to nearly the same period."
"We are almost certain these are the adventurers who dared to enter that zone," Allan affirmed.
"And judging by the dates, we can state without the slightest doubt that some of these fortune-seeking explorers managed to cross the Misty Zones. It was only once outside the zones that the Navy laid hands on them," Lurcard revealed.
At that instant, a heavy silence fell over the audience, even the various Presidents shifting restlessly in their seats.
"To be completely honest with you, dear parents, dear Presidents," continued Lurcard, "this series of arrests has led me to ask myself a few questions. One of them concerns the surface area covered by the Misty Zones…"
"Which we all know!" interjected Di Fazzerottini.
"Yes, that's true," conceded Allan. "However, we took the trouble to measure the extent of the zone. And it covers 338,462 square kilometers."
"We could almost say it is the size of an entire country," declared Lurcard without flinching.
In the rows, students and parents—stunned by these revelations—held their breath. Only the Johntoms couple and Helga wore faces beaming with pride.
"Dear parents, dear Presidents, I would like you to pay attention to the line my partner has drawn," warned Lurcard, pointing with his finger. "The line that crosses the Misty Zones to reach the far northwest of the world map follows the same trajectory as the foggy area. And that is what raised further questions in my mind. Why hasn't the fog spread everywhere? Why does it stand like a barrier? Is something hidden behind it? And why do the Misty Zones end right at the threshold of the far northwestern seas?"
Lurcard paused for a moment to give a nod to his partner. Allan moved toward the lectern. Tense in their seats, everyone watched the duo's slightest movements. A deafening silence reigned.
"You've found answers? Is that what you're suggesting!?" burst out Di Fazzerottini's voice.
Allan read a note, then turned away from the audience toward the curtain.
"Please display the minutes dating from the years 809 and 810, and the excerpt from La Boudeuse's logbook dated 780," requested the young man.
The excerpts appeared on the white curtain. The audience was stunned. Lurcard turned to provide commentary.
"You can see, on the left-hand side, the record of the arrest of La Boudeuse's crew in March 809, for violating the L.S.N. under Article 1 of the year 709, and for plundering and possession of property—by default established under the P.M.C.A. I will now read you the excerpt from the logbook:
This pea-soup fog hides strange and precious secrets. From a distance, we thought we saw walls, but once we came closer, nothing was there. Then we went around… and stumbled upon a hoard. Mysterious objects, seemingly magical. The captain paid the price. But he ordered us to head farther north, because the object whispered some information to him. It seemed there were more things of the same kind at the far end of the fog. As soon as we get out of this place, we'll set sail for the far north of Sylphik. That course will lead us to…"
Lurcard was barely about to finish reading the excerpt when the commanding voices of the Dean and the Presidents of the Pelmorth Maritime Companies Alliance erupted in the auditorium like claps of thunder.
"SILENCE!! NOT ANOTHER WORD!!"
Lurcard and Allan froze on the spot.
Parents and students, bewildered, lifted their eyes toward the balconies, trying to grasp what was happening.
In the very same instant, the minutes and the logbook excerpt vanished from the great white curtain.
It was then that Lurcard and Allan realized they had broken a taboo. Allan swallowed hard.
The session came to an end when the Dean gave an order: "Clear the hall!"