The Turquoise Queen

by Pedro Urvi

  Uragh stood up within her throne of water and raised her arms. At once the water under her feet began to rise to the ceiling in the form of thousands and thousands of tiny blue droplets, as if they were lighter than air and were able to float to the roof of the cavern.

  “My power is the Magic of Life and Water, and by the grace of the Sea Goddess, I have great power which I use to help and protect my people. Unfortunately, my magic of death is not yet as powerful. It will be someday, because I am still working on my power to strengthen it.” She made a circular movement with her hand, and the droplets began to move around the hall in circles. The spectacle was charming.

  “The Turquoise Queen’s power is amazing,” Eicewald said. He too was watching the spectacle with eyes captivated by both its beauty and that of the Queen. Lasgol realized that not only Eicewald but all the others were staring at the droplets and the Queen, who shone with an enchanting turquoise blue radiance when she was using her magic.

  “Powerful though it is, it is fed by this place, by these islands.” She indicated the sea-bed beneath her throne. “That is why I do not wish, and have never wished, to leave my home. An enemy is threatening my realm, and in order to destroy him I must leave my land, which I am unwilling to do.” With a movement of her hand, she caused all the droplets to fall and turn back into water as they touched the ground.

  “What enemy is this who is threatening the Turquoise Queen?” Eicewald asked.

  Lasgol and Astrid exchanged a worried glance. Who could possibly confront Uragh and come out victorious? It had to be someone as powerful as she was herself. An enemy with frightening power – or perhaps one far enough away for the Queen to be reluctant to go and destroy him.

  “His name is Olagar. He uses Magic of Death and Transformation. He cares nothing about life, only about power and death. He uses his magic of Transformation in an abominable way, and is creating an army to attack my realm and destroy me.”

  “What does my Queen want from us?” the Mage asked.

  “It’s simple. A simple exchange. Olagar’s head for the Star of Sea and Life.” She waved her hands. On the right of her throne of water, a circle in the ground opened and a jet of blue water rose half-way up. Above the jet, which resembled a small geyser, the precious object appeared: the Star of Sea and Life. Uragh turned her left wrist, and the star lit up with an intense luminescence of sea-blue, with flashes of turquoise and white.

  They all stared at the Object of Power. They had come here to find it, and now here it was in front of them, so close, almost within the reach of their hands. The problem was that the powerful Queen, and her shamans and guards, were watching them intently. Lasgol saw Viggo beginning to lean forward, as if to reach for it. Ingrid seized him unobtrusively from behind to make sure he would not even think of trying.

  Astrid was staring at Lasgol, and in her eyes he saw what he himself was thinking: they were so close, and at the same time so far from being able to complete their mission.

  Star much power, Camu transmitted.

  That’s what Eicewald told me. We need that power of Life and Water to defeat the Frozen Specter.

  Take?

  No! Don’t you dare take it! The Queen won’t let us.

  If you say, I take.

  Not for the moment. Stay still.

  I stay.

  Lasgol muffled a gasp of relief.

  “Where can we find this Olagar?” Eicewald asked.

  “In the Ferocious Islands, to the west of my realm: five days’ journey. There are three islands that form a triangle. That is Olagar’s realm, and from there he sends ships against my people. Go there, and bring me proof of his death. If you do so, you will be able to return to Norghana with the Star of Sea and Life, to end the frozen threat. Once that threat is destroyed, you will return my Star. I think that is a fair exchange. One favor for another.”

  Eicewald turned to the team and looked at them enquiringly. Lasgol knew that they had no choice. Either they accepted what the Queen asked of them, or else they would never get out of there alive, still less with the Star. He nodded at the Mage in agreement, as did Ingrid, and the others did the same a moment later. They all knew it was the only way out of their predicament.

  Eicewald made a reverent gesture. “We accept, your Majesty.”

  “Good.” She indicated Camu. “Take the creature. He can help you against the power of Olagar.” She turned to her Shaman. “Arrain, you take them to my enemy.”

  “Of course, your majesty.”

  “Leave without delay. May the Mother Sea protect you all. I hope you can succeed, and that you come back alive.” Her eyes turned to Eicewald as though she really hoped, or cared, that the Mage would come back alive from this mission.

  “Thank you, your Majesty. We’ll leave at once.”

  Arrain beckoned them to follow him outside. As they were leaving the throne-hall Lasgol looked back and saw the Queen causing the Star of Sea and Life to vanish, the same way she had made it appear.

  The group followed the Mage to the shore of the great salt lake. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll get everything ready. I won’t be long.”

  Twenty guards and four Shamans had been left with them, so that they had no chance to try anything.

  “What did you all think about the proposal?” Nilsa asked. She was so nervous she could not keep still.

  Gerd shook his head. “I don’t like it at all.”

  “You’re saying that because this Olagar character must be a shaman with great power, surrounded by an army,” Viggo said with heavy irony, “and all we have to do is kill him? It’ll be the easiest thing in the world. You wait and see.”

  “Yeah,” Ingrid said, “the Turquoise Queen sends us to deal with her problem, and it looks as though it’s a pretty unpleasant one.”

  “It’s not as if we had any other viable option,” Astrid pointed out.

  “Eicewald?” Lasgol said. He wanted to know what the Mage thought.

  “I fear he's going to be a dangerous and powerful enemy. I’d like to think that Uragh is sending us more because of the distance involved than because this man is a terrible adversary. I think she could destroy him with her power, if she didn’t have to leave her own land.”

  “Let’s hope that’s it,” said Viggo. “Otherwise, this mess we’re in is going to get worse by the moment.”

  Arrain came back with weapons, equipment and supplies for the journey. “The canoes will be here shortly,” he told Eicewald.

  “Do we have a chance, old friend, or is it an impossible mission?” Eicewald asked him directly.

  “Yes, you do,” the Shaman assured him. “Otherwise, the Queen wouldn’t have sent you. Her Majesty is severe but fair. She wouldn’t send you to certain death.”

  “Thank you, my friend. If that’s so, then we’ll make it.”

  Arrain nodded. “I hope you do.”

  His answer reassured the team to some extent. They had a chance, and they would take it, as they always did. Astrid winked encouragingly at Lasgol, and he squeezed her hand unobtrusively.

  It was not long before the canoes that would take them to the Ferocious Islands appeared. They were larger than the ones they had used on their arrival, more than twice as wide, and could carry fifteen. The team took up their places to row in the first. Three savages in front and three behind completed the crew. Arrain, Eicewald and fifteen warriors went in the second one, and they left without delay, as the Queen had ordered.

  Lasgol was surprised that there were so few of them. The Queen was not sending her army to accompany them, not even a war party: no more than an escort which would help them to reach the islands. They would have to deal with the problem themselves. Trying to relax, he petted Ona and Camu, who were between him and Astrid, and felt better. His two faithful companions were happy to be on a new adventure, unaware of the risks they were about to run. They never were, particularly Camu, for whom any adventure was a source of enjoyment, even if it meant heading straight into the wolf�
�s mouth.

  The first day of their journey was quiet, since they were still within the turquoise realm. When they reached the great ring of mist which surrounded the archipelago, Arrain seemed to know where they had to make their way in. As had happened the first time, they found themselves unable to see beyond their noses. Both canoes stayed close together, but were unable to see one another, so that they risked bumping into one another – or worse, drifting apart and never finding one another again.

  From Arrain’s canoe, the crew began to call with a conch. The second canoe, their own, followed the sound, and for another whole day they went on like this.

  “How do you think Arrain’s navigating in this unspeakable fog?” Viggo asked. “I can’t even see my feet.”

  “Not a clue,” Nilsa said. “I feel as if I were blind.”

  “He’s probably got a pearl like Eicewald’s,” Lasgol suggested. “He’s a Shaman and he has power. He’d be able to use it to navigate through the fog.”

  “This new adventure looks really interesting,” said Viggo.

  “There aren’t many messes we get into that don’t involve all manner of complications,” Nilsa commented.

  “Every mission has its risks,” Ingrid said in an attempt to keep their spirits up, “and we face them and overcome them like the Rangers we are. This is just one more minor complication, and we’ll sort it out the way we’ve sorted out all the others.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Astrid agreed, sounding fierce.

  The oars sank into the water, but they did not even hear them, nor could they see anything in the funereal quiet of the Eternal Mist. They might have been sailing through the realm of the dead.

  “This thick fog gives me the creeps,” Gerd said fearfully. “I have the horrible feeling that at any moment a giant sea monster’s going to come out of it and gulp us down.”

  “The only sea monster in this fog is Viggo,” Ingrid told him, “and he’s right there in front of you, so take it easy.”

  “I’ll always be your little monster, my Blondie,” Viggo said playfully.

  There came the sound of a firm slap on the head, and for it to have been audible where they were, it must have been one for the record-books. They all laughed. All except Viggo, whose head really hurt and who was complaining bitterly.

  Viggo funny, Camu transmitted to Lasgol.

  He smiled. Very funny.

  Ona gave a moan of agreement.

  The slight easing of tension made the journey through this sinister mist rather more relaxed.

  At last, they came out of the Eternal Mist and steered west, toward the Ferocious Islands. Lasgol could see that Arrain was actually using a pearl like Eicewald’s to orient himself. When he placed it in his hands and cast a spell on it, the pearl rose and rotated, indicating the direction to follow.

  The next two days were passed sailing peacefully under a scorching sun. They tied their scarves on their heads, pirate-style, to protect themselves from it, since it seemed intent on roasting their tender white skins.

  A day later they reached the Ferocious Islands. There were three of them, much larger than the ones which made up the turquoise archipelago. Arrain set course toward the central one, after sailing around it to approach it from the north. Night fell and stopped their progress.

  “We’ll wait till the dead of night to make the final approach,” Arrain said.

  “How many men are there guarding it?” Eicewald asked.

  “More than you can kill. I advise stealth and prudence, or you won’t make it. If you’re spotted and the alarm’s given, you won’t leave the island alive.”

  “Understood. We’ll go stealthily and carefully.”

  “Use the night as an ally.”

  Eicewald nodded.

  They landed on a hidden beach on the north shore. No sooner had they set foot on the sand than the savages left them there and departed quickly. Surprise needed to be a factor in their favor, and they could not afford to waste it by being spotted.

  “Good luck, old friend,” Arrain said to Eicewald. “You’re going to need it.”

  “We’ll see each other again soon,” the mage assured him confidently.

  “I hope so,” said the Shaman by way of farewell. He took his leave and vanished into the dark in the other canoe.

  The beach turned out to be small and surrounded by rocks and cliffs, so that they were well-concealed.

  Camu, are you picking up magic? Lasgol asked his companion. Power?

  No magic, Camu transmitted back.

  Ona, can you see anything strange, or pick up anything?

  Ona moaned, and Lasgol interpreted this as a sign that she had not detected anything suspicious.

  Eicewald showed them a map. “Arrain has given me this. He says we’ll find Olagar’s base of operations here, in this bay on the other side of the island.”

  “They could’ve dropped us off a little closer,” Viggo complained. “We’re going to have to cross the whole island on foot.”

  “This is the safest place. The rest of the island is more closely watched, from what he told me.”

  “The best thing would be to go into the jungle,” said Lasgol. “Here on the beach, we’re too easily spotted. Let’s go up that cliff. It looks easier to climb.”

  “I’m with you,” said Ingrid.

  They set off with great care. The climb was not a very complicated business for them, but it was going to be more difficult for Eicewald. It was no terrain for a Mage who was no spring chicken. Lasgol went ahead of him to help him, and Astrid followed him to make sure he did not miss a step and fall. They managed to get him to the top, albeit with a couple of bad moments and considerable delay. Lasgol knew that they could not afford to lose the Mage. He was almost as important as the Star of Life and Sea, because if he were to die, he doubted whether the other Ice Magi were experienced and powerful enough to work the great spell they needed to destroy the Frozen Specter. He had already mentioned this to Astrid, who agreed with him, so that they would take special care that nothing happened to the Mage.

  Crossing the tropical jungle turned out to be an intense business. The heat was as strong as in the Turquoise Queen’s islands. The dense vegetation was an obstacle which impeded their progress. Ingrid and Viggo led the way, chopping down undergrowth to clear the way for the others. Lasgol was glad to be amid vegetation again, even though it was so dense and colorful and the atmosphere so humid. At least they were not still on the beach, where he had felt defenseless.

  When they came to a clearing with a stream and a small pond, they stopped to rest. The sun was beating down on them. They filled their water-skins, knowing they would need them later on. Suddenly they heard noises coming from the east. Someone was coming, although they could not see who it was amid the vegetation. At Ingrid’s sign, they scattered rapidly to conceal themselves among the trees. Astrid and Lasgol helped Eicewald to hide.

  They waited, bows at the ready. The dense vegetation parted in front of them, and feet wearing the typical shoes which the turquoise savages wore appeared in the clearing. The leg, which was the next thing they saw was also turquoise, as were the arms and hands which held swords and knives. It seemed to be one of Queen Uragh’s people. What was going on here? The first native was followed by a second, then a third, then all three went toward the pond. It was then that the watchers saw something both weird and macabre. The turquoise savages were really nothing of the kind. They had been transformed. Where their heads ought to be, there was something that was not human. Their heads were those of crustaceans!

  “By the heavens!” Gerd cried, unable to restrain his surprise.

  Nilsa covered his mouth with her hand. “It’s wicked magic. Don’t be scared,” she whispered in his ear.

  But it was too late. They had been overheard. The figures turned to where Gerd and Nilsa were hiding.

  Lasgol glanced at Astrid beside him and gave her a nod. He called upon his skills so that he would have an advantage in the fight, an
d as soon as he had finished he stood up with his bow nocked. He counted eight enemies: all half-man, half-crustacean. He aimed at the nearest, whose face and part of his torso were those of a giant crab. The figure even had huge pincers beside the arms that carried a sword and a knife. It took Lasgol’s mind a moment to make sense of what he was seeing, because it looked like something out of some nightmare of the sea. The turquoise crab-man saw him and lunged at him with his arms and pincers, but Lasgol released, and the arrow hit the being in the spot where a man’s heart ought to be. The arrow bounced off. It had hit the shell of the crab. He hurled himself at Lasgol.

  Ona gave a tremendous leap and brought him down. When she bit the arm that was holding the sword, Camu leapt at the arm which wielded the knife and held the creature down on the ground. Lasgol recovered from the shock and launched an arrow at the stomach of that nightmarish creature, and this time he hit flesh. The crab-man uttered a sound of pain and tried to reach Lasgol with his pincers. Lasgol became aware of his eyes, which were almost human, still holding within them the essence of what the creature had once been: a man. He killed it with another arrow.

  In front of him the fighting had broken out in earnest. Gerd was releasing against another crab-man, even bigger and more horrible than the one Lasgol had killed. The arrow struck him on the head, but bounced off when it met a protective shell.

  “Aim at its stomach!” Lasgol yelled.

  “Avoid the armor!” Astrid shouted, as she leapt forward to attack the lobster-man with a pirouette and tried to knife him in several parts of his body. Both the enormous pincers and the two knives in his hands were trying to slash her neck and arms, but she was defending herself with well-coordinated movements. The creature’s entire back and side, including its legs, were covered by a hard orange shell.

  Eicewald conjured quickly, pointing his staff of ice at one of the attackers, who looked like a conch-man, completely covered by a hard shell except for his hands and legs. He was armed with a pair of short swords. The Mage attacked him with an ice bolt which he kept in place above the being until he was frozen.