by Pedro Urvi
“I mean it seriously. Their hair is black and messy and their beards are tangled. It looks as if they never comb their hair, and I don’t think they wash very often. Their faces are round and fierce-looking, with wide flat noses and large dark eyes. They’re broad-shouldered, and their torsos and legs are strong but short.” He put his hand to the level of his navel. “They only come up to my stomach.”
“So as we’re a tall race, they’d come up to our mouths or our noses,” said Valeria.
“That’s right. They’re short and stumpy. I can tell them by how ugly and hairy they are. The only thing we have in common is the color of our skin.”
“But we’ve seen them fight, and they’re good warriors,” Nilsa pointed out.
Gerd nodded. “Yeah, we mustn’t underestimate them because they’re dumpy. They’re hard as rocks.”
“Never underestimate an adversary because of their appearance or their size,” Egil said.
Valeria nodded. “That’s true. I’m getting a pretty good idea of what they’re like.”
“And there’s another characteristic that defines them,” Egil went on.
“Let me guess, it’s not a good one,” Valeria said.
Egil smiled at her. “You’re very sharp. The Zangrians are known in all Tremia as a surly race with a short temper. They’re warlike, and among them honor and achievements in the battlefield are highly valued.”
“Well, we’re a surly race with a short temper too,” Nilsa said ironically. “Quite apart from liking battles.”
“Very true,” said Egil. “I was just pointing out that they are too, and even more so.”
“Wonderful,” Valeria said. “We’re going to make a whole lot of new friends on this trip.”
Gerd laughed. “I doubt it. Anyway, don’t worry, we’ll soon bump into them and you’ll be able to enjoy them yourself. We won’t be able to avoid them the whole way.” He shrugged. “We’re crossing their kingdom.”
“Then we’d better cross it fast before that bad-tempered lot finds us,” Nilsa said uneasily.
“Right. On we go!” Gerd said, and the group moved on toward the south.
They were now going into more heavily-populated Zangrian territory. They needed to be careful, not only of the soldiers, but of the general population. If the intruders were found to be Norghanian they would be unwelcome, to say the least. The rivalry between the two kingdoms was deeply rooted, and had been so for hundreds of years.
For three days they met with no incidents, apart from Valeria seeing several Zangrians from close at hand and agreeing with Gerd that they were definitely short, ugly and very hairy. In addition, to judge by the sour looks they had given her, they were not in the least friendly.
Then suddenly, on the fourth day, they saw a group of riders approaching from the opposite direction. There were six of them, riding at a gallop. Gerd spotted them and gestured to his friends to be alert. The riders passed the group without stopping or paying any more attention to them than the odd fleeting glance.
Nilsa followed them with her gaze until they had disappeared down the road. “Who were they?”
Gerd, who was also watching them, shook his head.
“Judging by their dirty clothes and their weapons,” Egil said, “I’d say they were mercenaries or outlaws.”
“They went by so fast, I never had time to see whether they were armed or not,” said Nilsa.
“They were,” Egil and Valeria assured her.
“They were certainly in a hurry.”
“They weren’t Zangrian soldiers,” Gerd explained. “They’re easily recognizable. They wear yellow and black, with silver armor and helmets, and they carry steel spears and square shields striped in yellow and black.”
“Well, they certainly must stand out from a distance,” Valeria commented.
“Yeah, they look like a swarm of really ugly wasps,” said Gerd.
Nilsa pointed ahead. “Well, it looks to me as though that’s what they were fleeing from.”
Riding in their direction was a large group of riders. They could make out yellow and black and glints of silver. They certainly looked like a huge swarm of wasps, coming toward them at great speed.
Gerd indicated a group of trees on one side of the road. “We’d better get out of their way!”
Without appearing to move too hurriedly, so as not to arouse suspicions, they left the road and slowly led their horses toward the trees as if they were on their way to set up camp. Down the road came the swarm of wasps at a gallop, with the horses’ hooves pummeling the earth and raising clouds of dust. They did not stop, or even glance in their direction. They were pursuing the half-dozen men who had just ridden by.
The four of them waited until the soldiers disappeared into the distance before they gave the all-clear.
“Wow, they flew past us,” said Nilsa.
“We’d better get going in case they decide to come back,” said Gerd.
They continued their journey south. Since it was not a good idea to go near settlements, they rested by streams in the forests nearby, always careful not to be seen, at least from close at hand.
On the seventh day they came to a crossroads with three possible directions. They stopped to check the signs.
Nilsa read aloud: “Plofdif, to the south. Asofi to the east, and Varnerser to the north. Egil, which do we make for?”
“According to my map,” said Valeria, who like Egil carried one with her, “we need to go to Plofdif, to the south. Isn’t that right, Egil?”
“We should, yes,” Egil replied, sounding thoughtful.
“So do we?” Nilsa asked.
“No … the route to choose is the one to Asofi, to the east.”
Valeria looked puzzled. “But … Asofi is to the east, toward the heart of Zangria …”
“Are you sure you’re not misreading the map?” Nilsa asked.
“I don’t think so. I’m not the best in Norghana at reading maps, but neither am I blind … Asofi is to the east and Erenal to the south. If we go to Asofi, we’ll be going out of our way. Or am I missing something?”
“What’s up, Egil?” Gerd asked suspiciously. “You’re very quiet and thoughtful. That’s not usually a good sign.”
“Well, you see … Valeria’s right.”
“Thank goodness, I thought I was losing my wits. And call me Val. Valeria makes me sound like an old lady.”
“Very well, Val, you’re right. We should go south, toward Erenal. But we’re going to make a brief stop first.”
“To the east?” asked Nilsa, who was beginning to sound very nervous.
Egil nodded. “Yes, in the city of Asofi.”
Nilsa was still puzzled by the change of plan. “But haven’t we been avoiding cities so that we don’t get into any trouble? And all that time we’ll be wasting? Dolbarar needs us.”
“You’re right in both those concerns. Nevertheless, at this moment I’m being offered a golden opportunity which I can’t let pass.”
“Golden opportunity?” Gerd repeated.
Egil’s eyes were bright. “To solve part of the mystery that’s been haunting us for some time.”
“You haven’t told us everything, have you?” Gerd said.
Egil sighed. “It’s true, I never finished telling you all the reasons why I needed you to come to the Camp and on this mission.”
“Wasn’t it to send us in search of the cure for Dolbarar?” Nilsa asked. She was restless, and her gloved hands were twitching.
“Yes, that was the first reason, and the most important one right now.”
Gerd was looking at him with one eyebrow arched. “But there’s a second reason.”
“Exactly, and the second is the one which is going to make us take a detour now.”
“Well, then, tell us,” Nilsa said.
“I found out something important which could help us find the person who’s behind the attempts on my life.”
Val was taken aback by this. “What attempts on you
r life?”
“It’s long and rather difficult to explain.”
“Snow Panther business?”
Gerd, Nilsa and Egil nodded.
“I see. So it’ll be better if I stay out of this and don’t ask questions.”
“I’d appreciate it,” Egil said, and she nodded.
“Via contacts in the Western League and the payment of a significant sum in gold to a number of intermediaries, I’ve been able to find out the identity of an important person in the guild of Zangrian assassins which was hired to murder me.”
“Aha,” Gerd guessed, “and that person is in Asofi.”
“Exactly.”
“And you think if we pay this person a visit, he’ll give us the information we need?” Nilsa asked.
“No, I don’t think he’ll give it to us, because he’d condemn himself if he did. We’ll have to get the information out of him.”
“And what if he doesn’t have it?” Gerd objected.
“I know he has it.”
“It’s not that I doubt you,” Nilsa said, “I have complete trust in your plans, but he might not know. Unless he’s the chief of the guild. Is he?”
“No, he’s not the chief of the guild.”
“One of the assassins who tried to murder you?” Gerd asked.
“Not that either. They wouldn’t know who’d paid the gold for my head.”
“True,” Nilsa said. “The hand that carries things out is always the one who knows least about the business.”
“You’d already planned this, right?” Gerd said. “Even before we arrived at the Camp?”
“That’s right. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. The moment I had the information, I started on my plan and I called you.”
“Hmm … does this mean that the main reason for this mission isn’t the cure for Dolbarar, but getting the name of whoever made the contract on your head?” Gerd asked.
“Absolutely not. The main mission has always been Dolbarar’s cure. Finding out who’s trying to kill me is an unexpected bonus, because it’s on our way.” Egil smiled, completely without malice. “Both pieces of information reached me within a week. In fact the information about the guild reached me first, then the letter from one of the informants a week later. I already had the plan roughed out, so I added the second part. It was a unique chance to solve two urgent problems in a single mission.”
“Wait,” Nilsa asked. “Suppose Angus hadn’t sent you? Would the plan have worked?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Wouldn’t it? Couldn’t we have handled it?”
Egil shook his head. “My presence is necessary. There’s an important reason.”
“But you couldn’t have known Angus would send you,” Nilsa objected.
Gerd nodded. He was beginning to see what Egil had done. “Yes, he could have known, because he put it in such a way that Angus had no choice but to send him.”
“Exactly, my perceptive friend.”
Nilsa folded her arms. “Well, I don’t understand.”
Val raised her arms in bafflement. “Don’t look at me, I’m completely lost.”
“Remember,” Gerd said, “he told Angus he needed two intelligent people to get the cure and that it would be complicated. Angus took one look at us and knew at once that we weren’t those two intelligent people who were needed for the mission, no matter how much Egil, as the friend he is, might say we were.”
Nilsa nodded. “Oh, I see …but what if Angus wanted Dolbarar to die? In that case he might not have sent you.”
“That’s right, but it was a risk I had to take. On the other hand, if he hadn’t sent me I’d have suspected him at once. I’d have known he wasn’t interested in Dolbarar getting better.”
“It would certainly have left him in a bad place,” said Gerd.
“Apart from making me think,” Egil added, sounding suddenly distrustful.
“Would you have suspected him?” Nilsa asked. “Why?”
“If he didn’t want Dolbarar to get better, then he might also have had something to do with his current state.”
“That’s rather farfetched,” Val objected.
“I agree with Val about that. It’s one thing to say that it wouldn’t suit him if Dolbarar got better, because then he’d lose his position as interim leader. It’s a very different thing to suggest that he should have something to do with what Dolbarar’s suffering from.”
“Besides, it’s an illness,” Gerd said. “Angus couldn’t have had anything to do with that.”
“The best thing in these cases is always to be distrustful, my friends. That’s the shortest way to the truth.”
“Egil,” said Gerd cheerfully, “you know we’ll always support your plans and ideas, but doesn’t this seem a bit unlikely?”
“It does,” Egil admitted. “I’ve got to find out the truth and be sure of it. The answer is in Erenal.”
“We’ll follow your plan,” Nilsa said after a moment’s consideration. “We trust you completely.”
“The Panther’s always together,” Gerd said with a warm smile.
“Thank you, my friends. I mean that.”
“Right,” said Nilsa, “so we go to Asofi.”
Val turned to Egil. “One last thing. Is there any other important information we ought to know that you’ve kept to yourself?”
Egil smiled. “Yes. It’s part of the plan.”
Chapter 18
Nilsa turned on her saddle and gave a worried glance back. All that could be seen on the road was a mule-cart led by an old peasant. They had passed him a moment before, and he had not even glanced at them as he was concentrating on getting to his village. Or maybe because it was not a good idea to look at four hooded and cloaked riders when you were travelling alone. Gerd and Val were leading the group with their eyes peeled.
Nilsa muttered something. “Everything all right?” asked Egil, who was riding beside her.
“Yeah …” she replied, but her face said something different. Something was troubling her.
The people working on the farmland, in the form of two large families, stopped their tasks to watch them go by. On one side of the road were six men and three women of different ages, presumably from grandfather to grandchildren. The family on the other side of the road was made up mainly of women – eight or so, of different ages – and only four men. They were all staring curiously at the riders.
“They certainly are ugly and hairy,” Val whispered to Gerd.
The giant chuckled. “I told you so.”
Val looked at the family of mainly women, then turned back to Gerd. “And the worst thing is that the women are too,” she said mischievously.
“Don’t be mean,” Gerd said, laughing.
“It’s the truth,” she shrugged, then she too laughed.
“Don’t say that aloud, or you’ll get us into trouble.”
“That’s the last thing I want. All I need is to get into a spat with those monsters.” She gave him a charming smile.
Gerd shook his head, but the smile stayed on his face.
Nilsa looked back over her shoulder in a very quick movement.
“Trying to see something?” Egil asked.
Nilsa frowned. “Not sure …”
He turned to look at the road behind them. “I don’t see anything odd.”
“Yeah …it’s probably just my mind playing tricks on me. You know I get nervous easily.”
Egil smiled at her. “Take it easy, everything’s all right. We’ll soon reach Asofi. Two more villages, and we’ll be there.”
“I’ll try to relax,” Nilsa said. She was shifting in the saddle, trying to find a comfortable position.
“I see you’ve been given a hot seat,” Egil joked,
“I can’t get comfortable in this saddle. It must be a second-rate one.”
“It could also be – although it’s highly unlikely – that there’s nothing wrong with the saddle and it’s you who can’t keep your bottom st
ill for more than two breaths.”
Nilsa caught the tone, realized that Egil was teasing her and laughed. “Yeah, that’s perfectly possible.”
The horses moved on slowly along the road, which was wide and well-tended. The four friends were aware that the further east they went, the more difficult it would be for them to escape if they were to meet with trouble. Unfortunately meeting trouble was their specialty, and this journey had all the ingredients needed to turn it into a major complication.
They passed the village of Bulgens, but did not go into it, keeping the same pace as they went by to avoid appearing suspicious. On their way they met a trader bringing a cartload of sacks to the village. The Zangrian stared at them closely as they approached, and they looked down to hide their features. But Gerd was so large that he could never pass for a Zangrian, which meant that he attracted attention all the time.
“Good morning!” the trader hailed them forcefully in Zangrian.
Nilsa, Val and Gerd stayed quiet and kept their heads down even more.
“Good morning to you!” Egil replied in perfect Zangrian.
“On your way to Asofi, are you?” asked the trader, who seemed to want to start a conversation. Gerd and Val went on, but Egil reined in his horse, seeing that the trader was doing the same. Nilsa went on, but when she saw Egil stop, she did the same a couple of paces further on.
“That’s right.”
“I’ve just come from there. Very busy, the city.” He smiled. “It’s the thing about cities. Lots of people, lots of bustle. I like it, but it’s not for everybody.”
“Busy about anything in particular?”
“Naaaah.” He gave a dismissive gesture. “The usual. Rumors of war with Norghana and the regular squabbles in the Thousand Lakes with the Erenal soldiers. The day we’re at peace with both realms, we’ll all die of boredom.” He gave a rough laugh.
Egil laughed in turn. The trader was a middle-aged man, and judging by his clothes, which were of quite good quality, it seemed to Egil that his business was going well.
“Business good?” he asked.
“Not as good as I’d have liked, but I can’t complain.” The trader jabbed his finger at the sacks behind him. “Very good quality cereal. I’m off to sell it in the villages round about.”
