“Is that true?” he asked, confused.
“Yes, it was probable easier before, when people were uneducated and the imperial family was seen as godly. But eventually we were transformed into an institution that simply lived on so that the people’s need for symbols was satisfied.”
“I’ve never thought of it that way,” he mumbled.
When they had been sitting for a while, she asked him to do her a favour.
“Of course,” he said, willingly, “what can I help you with?”
“Beat up Bediz”
“Certainly. I’ll deal with that immediately once we’re back.”
“No, I was only joking, Neiger,” she said, laughing, “so that once you’ve heard my real wish, you’ll find it much easier.”
“And what’s that?”
“To kiss me.”
“Now I don’t understand!” he said, astonished and blushing, as he tried to grasp what she meant.
“But I know that you’d never take such an initiative on your own, which is why I take the liberty of doing it for us, instead,” she said, and kissed him on the mouth.
“It’s not right,” he stuttered, once he’d found his voice again.
“Yes, Neiger, it’s right if it’s what one’s heart feels is right. I have been in love with you ever since I first set eyes on you.”
“You have?” he asked, then took her gently in his arms to respond to her increasingly intense kisses.
“Was that all you could manage to find?” asked Fillifaj, when they returned two hours later with a few mushrooms and a handful of blueberries. “Have you really been out in the forest looking?”
“Of course,” answered Zania, rather hastily, with her flaming cheeks and shrill tone leaving no one in doubt about what they’d really been up to.
The others had been more successful in their foraging, but failed to obtain any meat, which they could have dried and had in reserve for when there might be even less food to be found. The sun was setting behind the high mountain massifs and so, as the sky put on a colourful display of alpenglow, they searched for a well-hidden camp spot, settling finally for the side of a ridge sheltered by dense, tall pines. Making a fire, with their enemy so close at hand, was unthinkable, so they sat chatting until the intense blackness of a moonless night enfolded them.
CHAPTER 24
Waking refreshed after a good night’s sleep, they sat munching their dried food for breakfast, the perky sound of a blackbird on a nearby pine welcomed them with its flute-like tones to a new day. As dawn shifted into morning, they departed on a narrow, dew-damp trail that, as far as they could tell, had been worn by animals, rather than people or trolls. A few hours later, they were back in a thick forest where a disturbing silence prevailed, broken only by the whispering of the breeze. The vegetation eventually thinned and, in the distance, they discerned a village nestled in between high mountains.
“This area is giving me bad vibes,” said Enaiga.
“I agree,” said Bediz. “We should take another route.”
“I think what you two are saying is correct,” said Fillifaj, “since my ring is indicating that there may be danger here. But travelling directly across the mountains would be a too long and dangerous detour, so, unfortunately, I don’t think we have any other choice than to travel through the village. But we can have our weapons at the ready and hidden under our clothing, so that the element of surprise is on our side, in the event we are attacked.”
They unwillingly proceeded towards the village, walking the last section into the village on a narrow gravel track almost completely overgrown with weeds and thistles. The wind was gusting from the north, rattling doors and shutters as they slowly walked along a street that seemed deserted. Appearances were deceiving, however, for they were being followed by a pair of eyes peering intensely through a crack in a door. When they’d managed to get through most of the village without being stopped, a group of wild-eyed trolls emerged on the street before them, their swords drawn. They were ready for them, however, so those trolls that they didn’t immediately slay with their arrows were taken quickly care of by the soldiers, who were well-versed in handling swords.
“Do you think they were looking for anything of value?” asked Caver, when they had finished burying the bodies in an overgrown field, and now sat taking a breather.
“No, hardly,” answered Fillifaj. “The village was evacuated many years ago, and they would certainly already have claimed whatever the inhabitants didn’t take with them and that might have had some value. Trolls usually roam around raiding for weeks at a time, so it was pure chance that we bumped into them.”
“Whatever’s the case, this place gives me the shivers,” said Zania. “Shouldn’t we leave?”
“I don’t have anything against it,” said Fillifaj.
They arrived at the northern edge of the village without any further mishap. They crossed over a deep ravine, filled with foaming black water, on an old, dilapidated stone bridge and continued on their way on a narrow, winding road, until nightfall. They found a suitable camp spot in the shelter of a little hollow, and they fell asleep to the musical chirping of crickets and the distant hooting of an owl.
The next day began with sunny weather, which by noon had been overtaken by stormy weather, with dark clouds driven by a cold, gusting wind.
“Look, over there, it’s Lake Orior!” shouted Fillifaj, when they had passed the top of a high mountain pass, and could just make out the narrow blue strip of the lake far off in the distance.
“Fantastic!” exclaimed Anderika. “Now we’re finally approaching our destination, but how will we get to Surukand once we are nearby?”
“Since it’s an island, it’ll have to be with some kind of vessel, replied Kark.
“No, forget it,” said Fillifaj. “Travelling that way, we’d be arrested immediately, since a magic rune means that everything that moves on the lake is registered and reported to the Fairy Council. But, if you look to the east, you might be able to make out a shiny building way off in the distance?”
“Yes,” said Kark, after squinting hard. “What is it?”
“It is a holy Ragod, which is so old that not even the Fairy Council has dared to remove it. Using the sceptre, we can try to open up an air tunnel. The Ragod has not been used for a very long time, so I dearly hope it can still be used.”
After a wearying forced march through a forested area, they finally arrived at the Ragod in the late afternoon. The Ragod consisted of a tall, stone tower topped by a gilded dome. While Fillifaj and Bediz reconnoitred the surroundings, checking for any danger, the others waited in the forest, until they returned, not having found anything threatening. They moved closer to the tower. As Fillifaj, after some difficulty, managed to unlock a grey, steel door, they could see a shining glass globe, enclosed within crystal-covered walls, in the middle of the building. It was such an astonishing sight that they simply stood gaping for several minutes, with no idea as to what to do next. Finally, Fillifaj broke the silence and asked Bediz to hand her the pole with the sceptre.
“Ah, Kaminor’s royal stone,” she said, as she opened the case and saw the gem’s shining power. “I never thought I would ever get to experience this day.”
Then, she spoke a complicated verse, which made the room glow with a blue light, followed by the appearance of a dark opening in the wall.
“Fantastic, it seems to work,” she said, pleased, “and now our paths must diverge, unfortunately.”
“But why?” they asked, shocked.
“Because I, and those of us who come from this world, would be unconditionally discovered and arrested, if we were to try to enter the tunnel. Those who laid out the protective rune around the island didn’t know about the existence of people from other worlds, though, which is why you who can – that is, Kark, Caver, Gondar, Zania, Allur, Anderika and Neiger, must now continue, while we others must content ourselves with waiting until your mission has been accomplished.”
“And why all the secrecy?” asked Kark.
“Simply because you would otherwise have probably gone around worrying, which wouldn’t have been good for any of us. And it wasn’t even certain that it would be possible to open the air tunnel, which is why I decided to explain things in the order they occurred.”
“But I don’t want to abandon my friends, after everything we’ve gone through together,” protested Bediz.
“Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable, and now it’s best that you get going, before the power risks being broken.”
After a hasty farewell, which for Kark’s part included a kiss to a surprised Pilgar, the little group entered the tunnel, only to be cast out, a few seconds later, onto a remote strip of sand surrounded by a dense forest of tall conifers.
Another night in the open air, sheltered within a copse of bramble and bushes that offered cover from any passers-by. The effort they’d taken to find a well-hidden camp proved worthwhile, since they were woken by a group of chattering trolls passing nearby in the middle of the night. Holding their breaths, they were ready to fight for their lives; they waited for the trolls to disappear and, thankfully, they did. Once the shock had worn off and silence had returned, they tried to return to sleep, with mixed results.
In the crisp, clear air of morning, they might have enjoyed their predicament more if they hadn’t been so hungry. They had several opportunities to shoot both rabbits and birds, but since they couldn’t stomach the notion of eating raw meat, they contented themselves with the occasional berries. Towards afternoon, they emerged on a hilltop and could see a mountain in the distance, topped by an enormous fortress, which they couldn’t imagine could be anything else but Kaminor. After discussing their situation for a while, they saw the entrance to a troll hole among some stones on a sandy slope; it seemed abandoned.
“Alright, so what do we do now?” asked Zania, once they had crept into the dark hole, after making themselves at home there.
“’No sense, without reconnaissance,’ in any case,” said Kark, “which is why I, with my military training, propose to go out and gather some information.”
“That sounds smart, but you should have someone with you, right?” insisted Anderika.
“No, one person is less visible than two, and keeping in mind how often we’ve been close to meeting trolls, there are probably thousands of them, so we wouldn’t have any chance of escaping them if we met them, anyway.”
“OK, then there’s nothing else to do, then.”
“That’s right, and since we’re running low on food, we have to think of something, no matter what.”
“And what do we do with the sceptre? You can’t have it with you during your reconnaissance?”
“No, I place it under the good care of Allur, who is also welcome to look after it until our mission is over. I feel I’ve been carrying it long enough, now.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Allur. “With the risk you’re taking, it’s reasonable that we share the responsibility.”
“Good! Now, I’ll see if I can’t take a little nap before my little escapade.”
In the evening, as a thick fog settled into the valley, Kark bade an emotional farewell to her friends, then departed. She slid down a steep slope, covered in dense bushes, and landed in a meadow filled with tall grass. At first, she walked upright, but as the distance to the castle shrunk, she adopted an ever more crouching stance. A cracking sound nearby made her throw herself onto the ground, filled with fear, as she thought about what would happen if she was discovered. Eventually, she decided that it had probably only been a mouse or a frog, and took a deep breath to quieten her nerves. Luckily, the ground was pocketed with hollows and pocked by large stones, which made it easier to remain hidden. As she approached the castle, her body tense with nervousness, she saw a dozen or so hairy trolls gathered around a large, brightly burning bonfire. Their language must have been close to Gombi’s, since the converter managed to translate what they were saying immediately. She heard one of them say, in a loud voice:
“Isn’t the meat ready, soon?”
“No, you’ll have to take it easy, Azik!”
“But, I’m hungry!”
“You’re always hungry. It just needs a little more roasting and then it’ll be done. Sit down and we’ll play another round of zanasta.”
“Can I be the one who shuffles and deals this time?”
“OK, but if I discover that you’re cheating and hiding cards again, it’s going to be too bad for you.”
“I don’t cheat!”
“Oh, yes, you do. You’re worse than Grumpf.”
When the conversation went over to general mumbling and swearing, she decided she’d heard enough and eventually came to an open area. After a moment’s hesitation, she sprinted into the open and had just gotten across it and managed to hide behind a stone wall, when two guards, chatting loudly, passed right in front of her. Once they had disappeared, she stood for a moment, listening intensely, before she started running towards a wing of the castle, which she found unlocked, to her immense satisfaction. She had no other choice than to continue, so that after a few more corridors she opened a heavy outer door and found a large, quiet and empty fortress courtyard. As soon as everything seemed fine, she went through the door, her heart pounding, trying to keep herself to the shadows against the walls as much as possible. Down in the corridor, everything had felt damp and stuffy, so it felt wonderful to be breathing the fresh night air, outdoors. She was just about to cross the stone-paved yard, when she saw a troll walking nearby, so she flung herself behind a low wall without a second’s hesitation.
“Strange, it smells people,” said the troll, as he sniffing and snorting approached. Luckily, he seemed to think that it was unlikely he’d find anything, and proceeded on his way.
When the danger was passed, she stood slowly, with a deep sigh of relief. From her current position, she saw that she had a good overview of the situation, and was suddenly happy to see a round structure built of red, eroded stone, with an iron lily on the roof. This fit exactly with the description of Padogen that Irridi and Oblej had given them, so she drew the conclusion that the altar, which was made of ancient stone from the beginning of time, and therefore impossible to move or destroy, must be inside it.
Since she now felt that her mission had been accomplished, she decided to leave immediately. When she had finally returned to the others, just before dawn, she was completely exhausted, so that all she could think about was lying down and sleeping.
“That seems almost too good to be true,” said Kark when she had finished reporting to them.
“Yes, but that’s how reality is, sometimes,” said Zania.
Because of the risk of being discovered, and since there was almost no food left and there was no other reason to remain and wait, they decided to make their breakthrough the coming night. Worried about someone finding them, it became a long and tiresome wait, while Kark slept, to regain her strength. Finally, the day came to an end and with the waiting. As darkness fell, and armed with their bows and arrows and clubs, they spread out to descend the steep slope, and switched to walking in line once they reached the open meadow. Grey clouds scudded across the sky, flaming fires glowed in the distance, and all around, the high mountains rose threateningly. When they were so close that they could distinguish the silhouettes of trolls, they began to creep along the ground; several times, as danger approached, they were forced to throw themselves flat on the ground. They soon came to the fortress undetected, though, and after crossing the stone-paved yard, they took shelter behind the low, stone wall.
“So, what do we do now?” whispered Zania.
“Well, it seems we’ve come too far to go back, so we just have to grin and bear it and keep going,” said Kark.
“I expected that that’s what you’d say.”
After staying there a few minutes to catch their breath, they made off, soon arriving at the door that Kark had entered the previous night. T
hey were disappointed to see, however, that it was now guarded by two trolls.
“Damn,” muttered Kark, after a half-hour had passed, without any sign of the guard’s leaving their post. “We’ll have to find another way.”
Half-crouching, they moved along the wall until they found an unlocked door, with heavy iron fittings, opening into a tunnel, whose floor and walls were covered with a slime green scum. Several times they fell on the damp stone floor, but luckily no one hurt themselves. Eventually, they emerged into a poorly-lit chamber with high, oval windows.
“Whose there?” they heard someone say in a low voice, suddenly, when Zania had stumbled on one of the slippery stones and involuntarily emitted a soft gasp.
Zania held her breath and tried to stay completely still, in the vain hope of not being discovered, as a troll came sniffing and snorting closer towards her. When the troll was only a few metres from her, he crumbled to the ground with a gurgling sound, after a well-directed blow in the head from Allur’s club.
“Quick, now, we have to hurry before they all come after us!” gasped Allur. “Do you know which way we should go, Kark?”
“No,” she answered. “This wasn’t the way I came, so I’ve totally lost my bearings.”
In the absence of any other option, they decided to continue forward, but had come only fifty metres, when a trapdoor suddenly opened in the floor, and they fell helpless into a huge, wide-meshed net.
CHAPTER 25
An alarm bell sounded immediately, so it wasn’t long before a row of ugly faces, appeared.
“Oh, how ugly they are!” exclaimed a staring troll who had large shiny gold rings in his ears.
“Yes, really,” said another, “but they might taste good, anyway. It could be nice with a little variety, after all the beef and lamb they feed us every day.”
Loria Page 24
