by Pedro Urvi
“Don’t be modest. You are special. You have always been.”
“They are even more so.”
Uragh pointed to Camu. “The creature?”
“Indeed, and the young man who has him as well.”
“I can see that. When I witnessed this creature’s power I thought it could help to destroy Olagar. I’m glad to have been proved right. My people will no longer suffer the scourge of that evil sorcerer.”
“We’re enormously happy for the Turquoise People. It’s been a privilege to be of service. Will your Majesty now permit us to return to Norghana with the Star of Sea and Life?”
Uragh smiled. “Courteous but direct,” she said to the Mage. “You’ve always had a hidden charm. What kind of Queen would I be if I didn’t keep my word?”
Viggo tried to say something, but Ingrid stopped him again.
“So, do we have your Majesty’s permission to go back to our land with the object of power?”
“I always honor my word,” she said, and waved her hands, pronouncing a word of power as she did so. On the right of her watery throne, a circle opened in the floor and a jet of water rose from it. On top of it was the Star of Sea and Life.
“I promised you that if you brought me Olagar’s head you would be able to return to Norghana with the Star of Sea and Life, so that you can destroy the Frozen Specter. I also told you that once this threat of the ice was destroyed, you would return my star. That was the deal, and you accepted it.”
“That was the deal, and we accept it,” Eicewald repeated solemnly.
“I’ll honor my part. You may take the Star.”
Eicewald went over to the object and contemplated it for a moment. Then he picked it up with both hands.
“Take great care of it. With your life.”
“With my life,” Eicewald replied.
“There remains one small detail, to conclude the deal.”
They all tensed. This was something they had not expected. Lasgol and Astrid exchanged a worried glance. Viggo was already protesting under his breath, and Ingrid was looking at the Queen through half closed eyes.
“Your Majesty?” Eicewald enquired.
“How do I know you will keep your promise to return the Star once you have defeated the frozen threat?”
“The Mage waved at the whole group. “You have my word, and that of all of us,” he said.
“I trust you, Ice Mage, but something might happen to you at the hands of either the enemy, or your own King. As for them, I don’t know them well enough to trust them. For that reason, I need further reassurance.”
“What does your Majesty require?” Eicewald asked hesitantly.
“That special young man,” The Queen pointed to Lasgol. “Step forward.”
Lasgol felt his heart skip a beat, but he obeyed. His friends tensed.
“Your Majesty …” he said, unsure exactly what to say or do.
“I am Uragh, the Turquoise Queen, Sorceress of Sea and Life. I have also lived for a long time, and I am a good judge of the human soul. I can read it in their eyes. Yours inspires confidence in me. Will you allow me to examine it?”
Lasgol was frozen to the spot. He glanced at Eicewald out of the corner of his eye, and the Mage nodded. He looked at his friends, and both Astrid and Viggo shook their heads. He sighed, feeling that he had no choice. If they wanted to get out of there, they had to negotiate with the Queen.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“A brave young man,” Uragh said, and smiled. With two fingers she pointed at the water around her throne, and cast a spell. Two turquoise beams, composed of thousands of infinitesimal water droplets, rose to her fingers. She directed them to Lasgol’s irises, while he stood there unflinchingly with his eyes open. For a moment, the process continued, with more turquoise drops entering his body, until at last the Queen pronounced an arcane word. When she did this, all the droplets left Lasgol’s eyes and flew to hers.
There was a tense silence. Lasgol’s friends stared at him uneasily, and he waved his hand to reassure them that he was all right.
Suddenly the Queen opened her eyes.
“I was not wrong. You are a young man with a clean and honest soul. This, the Magic of Water and Life has transmitted to me, and I believe it. For this reason, it will be you who must return my Star to me.”
“Oh … well … of course, your Majesty.”
“But to reassure me that nothing will stop you in your errand, you will have a very significant incentive.”
This did not sound good to Lasgol. “An incentive?”
“What is the thing you love the most?” the Queen asked him seriously. “Answer truthfully.”
“I … wouldn’t know …”
“I have seen your soul, so answer truthfully,” the Queen repeated.
Lasgol could not help but look at his friends. He thought of them: Ingrid, Nilsa, Gerd, Viggo, Egil, Camu, Ona, Astrid … Astrid …”
Viggo stepped forward. “What he most loves is me, ’cause I’m his best friend,” he said. He had suspected what the Queen was planning.
“You are very clever and accomplished,” Uragh said, “but you are not what he most loves. Come, Lasgol. Answer truthfully, or there will be no deal.”
Lasgol saw that Ingrid was shaking her head. Gerd was pale, and his mouth was open. Nilsa was glaring at the Queen. Astrid looked at him in the eye, fixedly, and nodded.
“Astrid …” he replied.
“Good. The deal is that Astrid will stay with me as an incentive for you to return the jewel. Nothing will happen to her, and I will look after her as if she were my daughter until you bring me back the jewel. But if you fail to come back with the Star, your beloved will die here at my hand.”
Lasgol swallowed. He felt as if he had sentenced Astrid to death.
“I’ll bring it back,” he promised the Queen, and even more so Astrid, whom he was looking at with all his love.
“Good. We will have your ship repaired very soon, and you will be able to return to Norghana. I wish you luck.”
Chapter 33
Two weeks later, the ship was ready to leave, completely repaired now, as the Queen had promised. The savages were loading supplies for the return trip under the attentive gaze of Captain Olsen, who was checking the state of the latest repairs so that he could give the thumbs up.
Nilsa and Gerd were enjoying the warm water and beautiful beaches, swimming, diving and sunbathing. Even Ingrid had relaxed a little and was spending time with the natives, learning to dive and gather pearls. She said that she found swimming underwater and seeing the beautiful corals and tropical fish deeply relaxing. Viggo, for his part, went on trying to woo all the young women he met. There were so many that at times he did not know whether he was coming or going and could not concentrate on any one of them, since they all seemed exotically inebriating.
Astrid and Lasgol spent that last day walking hand in hand along the paradisiacal beach, enjoying their last moments together. They had spent days of rest and happiness since their return from the Ferocious Islands, and although that imminent separation was always there in their minds, the days had been very happy for both of them. And for Ona and Camu too, who followed them at a certain distance, playing near the water like a pair of cubs, curious about every crustacean or mollusk they came across. Luckily they had stopped trying to catch the fish that came close to the shore, since there were so many of them and they were never going to catch them, especially Camu, no matter how much he insisted that he could.
“Egil would love this place,” Astrid said. “He’d be fascinated by the Turquoise People. I’m sure if he had the chance he’d stay here to live with them so he could study their customs and their way of life.”
“Yeah, I can imagine him writing down everything they do in his notebook. It’s a pity he couldn’t come with us, because the Turquoise Queen and her magic and the Shamans of the Sea, all that would’ve fascinated him.”
Astrid smiled. “It certainly would, w
ith his love of magic! I hope he’s all right,” she added, with her gaze lost in the immensity of the sea.
“He’s sure to be, don’t worry. At the Camp he’s safe from those Zangrian assassins who were hired to kill him. They won’t be able to get to him as long as he doesn’t leave it.”
“That’s true. The Camp’s probably the safest place for him in all Tremia.”
Lasgol nodded. “The only thing that makes up for the fact that he isn’t here with us is that he’s looking after Dolbarar. I’m sure he’s trying to save his life, using all his strength and his cleverness.”
“And he’ll also be trying to find out who’s behind the Dark Rangers who’re after you,” Astrid said. She stroked his cheek lovingly, with worry in her eyes.
Lasgol smiled. “You know him well.”
“He won’t stop trying. If there’s anybody who’s devoted, who never gives up, it’s Egil. And with his intelligence and his knowledge, it won’t be long before he finds out what’s behind the dangers hanging over us in Norghana.”
“I’d like to be with him, so that I could help.”
“You soon will be. Now it’s your turn to save the realm from the Frozen Specter. There’ll be time to sort out those other problems as soon as the threat from the Frozen Continent is eliminated.”
Lasgol smiled at her words. “Yeah, better to tackle problems one by one.”
“Particularly those on that scale,” she said, and winked at him mischievously.
The day was beautiful and sunny, and the beach marvelous. They went on walking barefoot, with their pants rolled up and their feet ankle-deep in the water.
“It doesn’t feel right to leave you here –” Lasgol began.
Astrid put her finger on his lips to stop him. “We’ve talked about it. It’s our only choice. Uragh has left us with no alternative. It’s not your fault that I have to stay. It’s the price we have to pay to save our realm from the Frozen Specter. And I’ll pay it with pleasure, because I know my beloved will come back for me when he’s defeated the frozen threat.”
“And suppose I don’t come back? Suppose something happens to me?”
“You will come back,” she said with complete confidence.
“Things might go wrong … particularly with me at the middle of the tangle … you know that …”
“Because you’re special. I’ve always told you so, that’s why all those things happen to you. But it doesn’t alter the fact that you’ll come back for me. That I know for sure. I have no doubts about it, and I’m not worried about staying. Not in the least.”
“I wish I were as sure as you are.”
“Trust.”
“So many things can happen … that might go so wrong …”
“You’ll overcome them all, and you’ll come back for me. Trust me.”
Lasgol sighed. “I’ll come for you, I promise you that. Whatever happens.” He took her in his arms and gazed into her eyes,
“I know,” she replied, and she too lost herself in his own.
“Now and forever.”
She nodded, full of love, and smiled. “I love you.”
“And I love you too.”
“How much do you love me?”
“To the stars and back,” he said.
She beamed at him. “That’s right.”
They kissed with all the pure, overflowing love in their young hearts.
The following day they left at dawn, leaving behind the Turquoise Queen, her people, and Astrid.
The return journey to Norghana was a slow one, or at least it seemed to all of them that it was taking twice as long as the outward journey. Captain Olsen assured them that they were making good speed because they had benefited from several days of favorable winds. On top of that, although he now had fewer oarsmen, the team had offered to help with the rowing and they were making very good speed. According to Eicewald, their sense that they were going slower was because they had already got hold of the Star of Sea and Life. Hence, they were now anxious to get back to Norghana, and bring to an end the threat of the Frozen Specter, and in so doing, finish this whole adventure.
Lasgol was the one who was suffering this effect the most. He would have loved to have a giant flying bird to carry him through the clouds to Norghana in a single day. Two at the most. Certainly not weeks. Then he thought better of it, remembering that Egil had once told him of the possible existence of portals, a kind of magic gateway that transported people from one part of Tremia, to another very distant one, in a single moment. He longed with all his heart to have one of those portals to take him to Norghania. Unfortunately, according to Egil, they only existed in theory and in folklore, because nobody had ever found or seen one, and in the tomes there were only vague references to them.
Be that as it may, he wanted to be in Norghania by now to complete the mission, so that he could make the journey back for Astrid. There was also a small problem which nobody had mentioned, which was that they did not know how they would find the realm on their arrival. It might already be in the hands of the hosts of the Frozen Continent, since they had been away on their quest for a long time. Eicewald had told him that he did not believe the frozen hosts had had enough time to cross and descend on Norghania, and he was sure they would get there in time. So was Olsen. Lasgol was less sure about it.
The only thing that cheered him up was watching Camu and Ona trying to help them row. It was both hilarious and endearing. As everyone else was rowing, they too wanted to help. He had explained to them that they could not, but as usual they had their own ideas and took no notice. In addition, Viggo encouraged them, which did not help in the least. He also boasted about the massive muscles he was developing with all that rowing, which (according to him) now rivaled Gerd’s. Ingrid could not stop laughing when she heard him, and even Gerd had to tell him: ‘Keep hoping!’ Nilsa muttered something about ‘not in a million years’. Certainly, their rowing days were never boring.
Lasgol was grateful for one thing, which was that they saw no pirate ship, nor indeed any other kind, so that the journey was uneventful. Eicewald spent the days studying the Star of Sea and Life and making notes on everything he found out about it. He had only previously seen it from a distance, and having it in his hands now was a privilege that would never be repeated, so he wasted no time. Lasgol was grateful that the precious Object of Power had the Mage so much under its spell, because this meant that he had no time to study Camu.
At last, they had their first sight of the coast of Norghana, and the torture of having to endure the endless journey was over. They entered the harbor of the coastal city of Oslenbag in the northwest of the kingdom, their starting-point, and they all cheered enthusiastically.
To their surprise, a cavalry regiment was waiting for them with fresh mounts. Eicewald presented himself to the officer in command, one Captain Enveras.
“King’s Mage,” the Captain said with a respectful nod. “We were waiting for you. Forgive me if I speak directly, but the situation is serious. The King wants you in Norghania.”
“What’s happening?”
“The Hosts of the Frozen Continent, sir. They’ve reached the capital.”
“How many warriors?”
“There are said to be over ten thousand of them.”
“That’s certainly serious.”
“And there’s more …”
“The Frozen Specter? Is it with them?”
“That’s right, sir. Nothing seems capable of killing it. They’ve tried everything, but there’s been no way of doing it. It hasn’t been able to get through the walls yet, but the Wild Ones are trying to find a way of enabling it to. If it manages to …”
“… then Norghania will fall.”
The officer bowed his head.
Lasgol and the team were listening behind the Mage. The news was disastrous.
“Looks as though we’ve arrived just in time to get into another mess,” Gerd said with a snort.
“One with a lot of cursed
magic mixed up with it,” Nilsa complained. She had crossed her arms and was looking very unhappy at the thought of what was waiting for them.
“We’ve arrived just in time to win the battle!” Ingrid said energetically.
“This time I have to agree with Blondie,” Viggo said, looking resigned. “We’ve arrived just in time to save the capital and the realm. And that’s what we’re going to do. Massive messes are our specialty. Aren’t they, weirdo?” He winked at Lasgol.
“Yeah, that’s our specialty,” Lasgol agreed. “We’ll get rid of this Specter and kick the hosts of the Frozen Continent out!”
Without wasting a moment, they picked up their gear and mounted the horses which had been readied for them. Lasgol asked for Trotter, who was being taken care of in the stables, and he was fetched immediately.
Lasgol stroked his mane. Trotter, I‘ve missed you so much, he transmitted to him.
Me too. Ona too. Camu transmitted. He was invisible once again, at Lasgol’s side.
Trotter, who appreciated the petting and kind words, moved his head up and down and snorted.
“On we go to the capital!” Eicewald called.
“March on!” Captain Enveras ordered the column of cavalry,
Chapter 34
Lasgol had not wanted to show his worry in front of his companions, but he was aware of the gravity of the situation and how much was at stake. Besides, no matter how much Eicewald might believe that he could destroy the Specter with the Star of Sea and Life, there was no certainty about it. He might very well be unable to, and then they would have failed. They would lose the realm, and he himself would lose Astrid.
His fears increased when they reached the hill to the south which gave them a view of the capital. The walled city was completely surrounded by thousands of Wild Ones of the Ice and Tundra Dwellers. Among them the Semi-Giants stood out clearly, thanks to their size. A little distance away was a group of Arcanes of the Glaciers.
