“You are wise beyond your years, Josh. But what to do?”
“Could we have one more council? Perhaps Goél will come, or perhaps he will give us wisdom in the strange way that he has.”
Denhelm followed Josh’s suggestion, and that evening the Long House was filled. Even Volka, who never said a single word during a council meeting, was sitting with his back against the wall, taking it all in. Beside him sat Mat and Tam, and the Sleepers were arranged alongside them.
The chief called the meeting to order. “We are grateful for our daughter’s return, but we must not forget that we are in grave danger here.”
Fairmina spoke up. “You are right, Father. While I was a captive, I heard much talk of their using the ice wraiths again.”
“That is true, Chief Denhelm.” The speaker was Beorn. To his apparent shock and amazement, he had been asked to attend the council. “My father,” he said, “has made a foolish commitment to the pale wizard, and you know that Zarkof is in the service of the Dark Lord. I heard that, as soon as new riders are trained to control the ice wraiths, a raid will come that could destroy all of the Lowami. That could come at any time.”
There was much talk, but no one knew exactly what to do.
Beorn said no more. Perhaps he thought speaking would be out of place, but finally Fairmina, who had been studying him, said, “There is something on your heart, is there not, Beorn?”
“Yes. There is something, but I hesitate to speak it.”
“Speak freely,” Denhelm said. “What is it?”
“I once made a visit to the White Palace—the fortress of the pale wizard.” He described his visit there with his father. He told of the monster Shivea, and a shudder seemed to go over everyone present. “I’ve never seen anything like her, and she guards the pale wizard’s great secret.”
“Secret? What is his secret?” Denhelm asked in a puzzled tone.
“There is a crystal chair that sits underneath his palace. It is in a large cavern—the only thing there—and it is through the chair that the Dark Lord gives his commands and his power to Zarkof.”
“What is it like?”
“It looks like glass, but it glows with an evil glow. And when Zarkof sits in it, he hears the Dark Lord’s voice and his whole body is filled with the same ominous glow. It is frightening to see.”
“This chair. You think somehow it is the key to the power of the wizard?”
Slowly Beorn nodded. “I have thought of it ever since I was there. He guards it so well that it must be the secret to his power.”
“Then if the chair were destroyed,” Fairmina said, “the wizard would be destroyed as far as having any power is concerned.”
“I think that is true, but it is better guarded than you can imagine.” Beorn went on to describe the palace. “There is only one entrance, and it is guarded day and night. There are many twisting corridors. If one did not know the way, he could wander for days.”
“But you have been there. You could find your way, could you not?” Fairmina asked.
“Well, I’ve tried to keep it in my memory. I think I could find my way to the room where the chair is. But you are forgetting Shivea, the monster spider.”
Silence fell over the group, and at last Denhelm said, “We must think much of this.”
“I wish,” Beorn said quietly, “that Goél would come.”
“We all wish that,” Denhelm said. “But until he does, we must act as men.” He looked at his daughter and smiled. “And as women. We will speak no more just now, but we must make a decision promptly. I will call another meeting when I have made up my mind as to what to do.”
14
The Gifts of Goél
It seems pretty plain to me,” Jake said. He was standing in the midst of the other Sleepers, who were slumped around listening. The most outspoken of the Seven Sleepers, he had just concluded a long fiery speech on what had to be done.
“We’ve got to destroy that chair.”
“Oh, brilliant, Jake! Brilliant!” Dave said. “Why couldn’t I understand that?” He groaned and rolled over on his mattress of furs. “How did we ever get along without you?”
“What’s wrong?” Jake demanded. “It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? We get rid of the chair, we get rid of the wizard.”
“Maybe,” Josh said. “We don’t even know that for sure.”
Jake nodded his head firmly. “Beorn says so.”
“But even if that’s true,” Sarah spoke up, “how in the world would anyone ever get to that chair?”
“We’ve had to do things as hard as this before,” Jake argued.
“I’m not even sure about that,” Josh said. “It sounds like one of the worst jobs that anybody could take on.”
“Don’t you remember when we had to get through to the tower of the Dark Lord on our first quest?” Jake said. “We got that done, didn’t we?”
“But we had the advice of Goél that time,” Josh said wearily. After the council meeting, they had argued half the night about what to do. He was tired of the whole thing. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“And do I find you again wondering what to do?” a voice suddenly said.
And there stood Goél!
The Sleepers all jumped up and surrounded him. “Goél!” Josh cried happily. “You’re here!”
“Yes, I’m here and glad to see you again, my young friends.”
“Can we give you something to eat?” Sarah asked.
“No, my Sarah.” He smiled. “You’re always serving others. Why don’t you all sit down, and you can tell me of your problems.” His smile widened. “You always have problems.”
They sat here and there on the furs, and Josh started in. “I expect you already know about our main problem. Beorn told us how you met him in the storm and saved his life.”
“He told us about the chair too,” Jake said. “I’ve been trying to get everyone to see all we have to do is get to that chair.”
Goél listened as Jake made an eloquent plea for destroying the chair. He listened while the others argued how difficult or even impossible that would be. Finally the Sleepers fell silent and just sat looking at him.
“In every battle there comes one single moment on which success or failure rests,” he began. “Perhaps it is just one blow of the sword, but if that blow is not made, then the man will be lost, then his part of the army will be lost, then the entire army will be lost, and then the war will be lost.” After Goél let his words sink in, he said, “I think now that one thing is clear. Jake is right. The chair must be destroyed.”
“Couldn’t you destroy it yourself?” Dave asked. “I mean, after all, it would be easy for you.”
“Dave, you are tired, or you would not speak so. Have you learned nothing?” There was sadness in Goél’s eyes. “Have you not yet learned that usually my purposes must be accomplished by others?”
Dave shook his head. “But I don’t understand, sire. You have the power to do it—all by yourself.”
“This world is not made up only of Goél but of many peoples. You Sleepers have been sent from along distance, from another time, to help men and women and young people here control their own destinies. If I were to step in and solve all their problems, what would that do for their growth—or yours? Nothing.”
Josh studied Goél’s face. “You’re telling us that we have to do this ourselves, aren’t you?”
“I’m afraid so, but it is through the hard things that men and women learn. Not the easy things.”
“You’ve said this so often, Goél,” Sarah said, “but this seems like an impossible thing.”
“It may be impossible to most people, but you are the Seven Sleepers, and I have chosen you. You will have my help.”
Josh hesitated. “Are you telling us that we must destroy the chair?”
“That is your decision to make, but that is my counsel.”
“But can we do it?” Reb asked. “I mean, that sounds pretty tough.”
“Is this Reb spe
aking, who has slain dragons? After all you have gone through, Reb, do you still doubt me?”
“No, I really don’t, sire.” Reb’s jaw tightened, and he grinned. “With your help, just let me at that overgrown spider. I’ll drop a rope over her head and bulldog her just like I would a steer back home.”
“That’s my Reb speaking.” Goél laughed aloud, and a light came to his eyes.
Josh said, “Well, it all seems easy enough with you standing here with us, but we’ll be all alone under that ice castle.”
“I would have you do this for your own sake. You will take with you Princess Fairmina and Beorn, son of Balog. Go get them now, so that they too may hear my instructions.”
Fifteen minutes later, Reb returned with the princess and Beorn.
Beorn at once fell to his knees before Goél. “Sire,” he said, “your servant forever.”
“Rise,” said Goél. “You are a faithful servant of Goél. And you, my daughter. Will you serve me as well?”
“Yes, Goél. I will try to serve you as well as my father and my mother.”
“Then you will serve me well indeed,” he said warmly. “Now, listen carefully. This war will never be won by armies. Both tribes will be destroyed if the Dark Lord has his way. The Yanti will destroy the Lowami. And the Yanti will be enslaved to the Dark Lord himself under the hand of Zarkof. So the chair must be destroyed and the wizard’s power broken. This is the company I have chosen to carry out that mission. The Sleepers will go, and you two will go with them.”
“What about us?” Mat and Tam spoke up at the same time.
Goél said, “You will not go on this adventure. Nor will you, my friend Volka.”
He ignored their protests and turned back to Beorn and the princess. “Now, I have two gifts to give you.” He handed Princess Fairmina a small glass vial. It contained some sort of fluid that changed color constantly. “When your enemy would triumph, hold this high. It will render him unable to see you and your companions.”
“That will be most useful, sire,” Fairmina said.
“And this I give to you, my son.” From under his flowing robe, Goél produced a sword. He drew it out of its sheath, and it glittered as if it had a light of its own. “This sword is like no other. Among other abilities, it is the weapon that can slay the monster Shivea. Take it, and use it well.”
Reverently Beorn took the sword by the hilt. He stared at it for a moment, then his eyes met those of Goél. “I will obey your command, sire.”
Goél looked about the group once more and said, “You must go at once.”
“Must I not tell my father?” Fairmina asked.
“No. This mission is not for him. It is your quest, so go quickly. And remember that—in the darkest hour—I, Goél, will be with you.”
15
The White Palace
The snowstorm that had trapped and almost killed Beorn was still sweeping across the land. Beorn led the company of Sleepers through it, for he best knew the countryside. After difficult travel, they neared the border between the Lowami and the Yanti tribes. At that point he called a halt. “We must save our strength,” he said.
“How can we rest in this storm?” Fairmina had to lift her voice to be heard above the screaming wind.
“I know this land well. There is a cave not far from here to give us shelter. Some supplies should be there. Our people use it from time to time when a storm catches them away from the village.”
“Let us find it quickly then,” Fairmina said. “This cold sucks the strength even from my bones, and the Sleepers cannot stand it. They are not bred to it as we are.”
Fairmina had spoken the truth, for the cold had penetrated Josh’s warm furs and insulated underwear. Cold seemed to reach its icy fingers down into his bones too. He noticed that Sarah was pale and her lips were pursed tightly together.
“Are you all right, Sarah?”
“As all right as I can be in this terrible cold.”
Beorn led them toward the sheer face of a cliff. “This way. It’s not far.”
They followed him for perhaps two hundred yards, and then he stopped, saying with relief, “We’re here. Get inside—quickly.”
The Sleepers stumbled into the cave. It was dark, but Beorn struck a light from flint and soon had a small fire going. He kept feeding it from the firewood that had been stacked there.
“We keep several places like this stocked with firewood and food in case someone gets trapped out. We can make some hot broth.”
The Sleepers all gathered around the fire, soaking up the warmth, while Fairmina took care of the cooking. She found a large pot and chunks of frozen meat, and the smell of hot stew soon filled the cavern.
When it was ready, she said, “We’ll have to take turns with the vessels. There aren’t enough to go around.”
Reb said, “I brought me a plate. I wasn’t taking any chances.”
It turned out that the rest of the Sleepers also were carrying their eating ware, and soon all were taking the delicious stew onto their plates.
“Best stew I ever had,” Reb said. “It’s even better than the black bug stew I used to eat back in Arkansas.”
“Black bug stew! You eat the awfulest things, Reb!” Abbey said.
Fairmina smiled. “Black bug stew does sound a little awful. What is it?”
“Well, it’s not really made out of bugs,” Reb said. “But we’d be camping out in the dark beside the river, and I’d be cooking something—and sometimes a big black bug would fly into it. It’d be too dark to see it, so it just kind of got mixed up with the rest of the stew. Maybe gave it a little extra flavor.” He nudged Abbey, who had wrinkled up her nose. “Maybe I could find a bug to put in your stew, Abbey.”
“Don’t you dare!” she warned. “This is good just as it is!”
“It’s a good thing you knew about this cave, Beorn,” Josh said. “I don’t think we could have made it much farther.”
“This is a hard land,” Beorn said. “We have to make provision for trouble. Getting ready for winter is just about like getting ready for war with the enemy. You store up supplies like this for those who get caught out in bad weather. People have to have plenty of food to last when they’re snowed in.”
“It’s a tough land, all right,” Dave said. “I don’t see how you live here all the time.”
“It’s very different from where you came from, I suppose,” Beorn said.
This set the Sleepers to talking about their homes back in Oldworld.
“And I suppose all that’s gone forever,” Fairmina put in.
“It is,” Josh said, “but I’m believing that Goél will make a better world someday. That’s what he says.”
“I too believe he will.” Beorn nodded. Then he must have noticed the weariness on everyone’s face, for he said, “And now let’s all get some rest.”
The Sleepers fell into their furs and instantly were asleep, exhausted by their journey. Only Beorn and Fairmina sat by the fire for a time.
Suddenly he said, “Are you warm enough?” He reached for a fur and put it around her shoulders.
Surprised, she looked up. “People usually don’t take care of me like that. I take care of myself.”
“You’re a strong woman, Fairmina.”
She seemed embarrassed. After a pause she said, “The other girls of our tribe know how to talk to men.”
“It is the same with us. But you never learned, is that it?”
“No,” Fairmina said quietly. “I knew I would have to take my father’s place, and so I had no time for the young men who came.”
“That’s a shame. You were robbing one of them of a great treasure.”
She didn’t answer. Perhaps she was struggling with her thoughts.
“Now, you must rest, also.”
“Do you think we have a chance to succeed in this mission?” she asked, standing and gathering up her furs.
“There is always a chance of success to those who are in the service of Goé
l.”
But for a long time Beorn lay awake, thinking about the future. He alone had seen the fortress that they must penetrate. He alone had seen the awful Shivea and knew how deadly she was. Even the wizard feared her—and he had the medallion that kept her from attacking.
Finally Beorn murmured under his breath, “Goél, this is impossible except with your help. But I’m believing that you will find a way to help us all.”
“There it is,” Beorn said quietly. “The White Palace of the pale wizard.”
The Sleepers stood gaping at the sheer walls that rose in front of them. Josh could see barred windows and wondered what sort of prisoners were kept behind them.
“Is there only the one gate?” Fairmina asked.
“So the wizard said. And it is well guarded.”
Josh was standing beside Beorn, his eyes searching the fortress. “It looks impossible, Beorn.”
“It will be difficult. There may be as many as twenty guards inside the gate. They expect an attack from nowhere else.”
The group fell silent, and Josh shivered.
“Well, the gate must be attempted,” Beorn said. “We will do what warriors can do. If we perish, we perish.”
“No, wait!” Everyone turned to look at Dave, who had an odd look on his face. “I just had a thought.”
“What is it, Dave?” Fairmina said. “Surely there’s no other way except to attack the gate.”
“But that’s exactly what they’re expecting.” He appeared to be thinking hard. “If we can get inside another way …”
“But there is no other way,” Beorn repeated. “This is the only opening.”
“It may be the only opening on this level,” Dave said, “but there are other openings.” He pointed upward. “There are windows all the way up.”
“They’re all barred,” Beorn protested.
“Not at the very top,” Dave said.
“That’s the wizard’s dwelling.”
“It may be, but there are no bars on the windows—that I can see.”
Josh, who had the keenest eyes of any of the Sleepers, tilted his head back. “You’re right, Dave!” he exclaimed. “There are no bars on those upper windows.”
Spell of the Crystal Chair Page 12
