Welcome back to the fifth day of our book club read-along for OwlCrate's January book, The Ivory Key!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 27-34 of The Ivory Key, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box! Don't forget, you can also post about the readalong on Instagram with the hashtag #OCTheIvoryKey for another chance to win!
The story continues...
Chapter 27:
Riya
At Ronak’s engagement party Riya sees Varun watching from the sidelines and decides she needs to talk to him. She tries to convince him that everything with the quarry is fine, but to her surprise he reveals he’s also been to the quarry and knows that it’s empty. Angry that she lied, Varun questions her priorities and her spot in the Ravens when she won’t tell him what her new plan is.
Chapter 28:
Ronak
Needing some air Ronak leaves Preethi and walks around the party, and unexpectedly runs into Etka. Riya sees the exchange and warns him to stay away from her, but he says he has it under control. Next he finds an inebriated Jay who tells him that he doesn’t actually want to leave Ashoka, and that he’s just been helping Ronak because they’re friends and in fact wants to stay. With Preethi.
Chapter 29:
Vira
Vira stands overlooking the party when she is joined by Amrit. They both apologize for their disagreement a few days prior and Amrit starts to open up to her. He reveals how he grew up.
The next morning Vira is prepared to leave on the hunt for the Ivory Key when Meena arrives at her door, asking her to reconsider leaving. Vira refuses.
Chapter 30:
Kaleb
After a long day of travel the siblings and Amrit arrive at a small village near mercenary territory where they stop to rest before moving on. Kaleb confronts Ronak about why he is on this journey with them, but doesn’t get a satisfying answer.
Chapter 31:
Ronak
After freshening up Ronak joins the others for food as they discuss their next steps. There has been a change of plans because, without Vira’s knowledge, the Council has sent soldiers to the area. They are to go east, which will be safer, but cost them time. Ronak antagonizes his siblings, accusing Vira of not being able to keep them safe. Riya reveals he has ties to a criminal empire, and all the siblings leave him in disgust.
Chapter 32:
Riya
They depart, coming to the border wall. Vira has a coin that used to act as a key through the walls in case of emergencies, but the trick is finding the slot the coin fits into. After a long time searching while also avoiding the patrol guards, they eventually find it, and as everyone else gets through a soldier spots Riya and runs for her. Riya uses a smoke orb similar to that the Ravens use to knock the soldier out and she grabs the coin to sprints through the wall, the way through shutting behind her.
Chapter 33:
Vira
Hiking through the jungle is hard work, and Vira feels like they aren’t making good enough time. On the first night they take shifts keeping watch and continue on in the morning. Not far from their first camp Vira realizes she left her father’s journal behind, and she and Amrit return to get it. On the way back to meet with the others they’re caught up in a hunting trap to be found by a mercenary. Luckily, Riya finds them and after telling them to cover their faces uses another smoke orb to knock the mercenary unconscious.
Chapter 34:
Kaleb
They leave the mercenary tied to a tree and carry on, but progress is slow as they look to evade any more traps. Suddenly Kaleb feels a source of magic and they decide to figure out what it is, even as darkness starts to fall. Bad luck, because the magic leads them to an entire fort of mercenaries. They keep going south, but not long after leaving the fortress behind Kaleb trips and falls through thorns into a pit, bloodying his hands. The other tell him to throw up his rope, but before he can do so he notices blue welts around the cuts on his hands, and he quickly becomes unconscious.
Questions:
- What do you think happened to Kaleb? Do you think it was the doings of the mercenaries or something natural?
- Our heroes clearly aren't making good time. Do you think the group will stick together? Do you think they'll make it before the equinox?
- We've left Varun back at the palace - what do you think his role will be now that Riya is gone? Do you think he has returned to the Ravens?
- The Council clearly isn't pleased that Vira has left, but didn't seem to put up much fight to stop her. What do you think they are doing in Vira's absence?
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