Flames Over Frosthelm

by Dave Dobson

  The augur’s pool was a mystery, its origins buried in a time long before Frosthelm rose around it, though some researchers had struggled mightily to track it back at least eight hundred years. Many attempts had demonstrated that the pool’s design and use weren’t reproducible elsewhere, though scholars had tried to construct duplicate pools to exacting measurements. But even with the same ingredients, dimensions, and runes, the copied pools never provided more than random colors and fuzzy shapes. There must have been something special about this location to have prompted the original augurs to build the pool here, or maybe we did not understand some key part of its design.

  By contrast, the use of the pool was quite well understood. The objects selected determined the scope and subject of the augury, but it was the augur who steered it. It is hard to describe. Through force of thought and will, one can guide and select the images in the pool, focusing on one part or one aspect, or changing the perspective. The few times I had tried had left me dazed and exhausted, and even so my control of the pool had been limited.

  Though many visions were of the present time, it was frequently possible to shift the pool into the past, especially if the strongest connections between the items were from previous times. Very, very rarely would the pool show images of the future. There was a great deal of scholarship on this in the library. Most thought the pool’s glimpses of the future were absolute destiny, immutable. Others thought that they were merely likely and could be changed or avoided. It didn’t happen often enough to say definitively, and the future images were usually vague, flighty, and hard to control.

  The Inquisitor’s Guild was very lucky to have such a tool, not only for our own investigations, but also for paying our bills. Many traveled to Frosthelm to seek answers from the pool, and for a respectable fee, we usually obliged them. Merchants, nobles, explorers, leaders, scholars, jealous lovers – all would pay for the information the pool provided. This income probably constituted half our budget.

  The Augur ceased her chanting. Boog and I gathered at the edge of the water to see what might appear. The water roiled, shimmering blue and white and silver, and then an image started to coalesce as the water calmed. It was Novara! I recognized the scar on her chin and neck immediately. She was seated at a table in a chamber. The Augur skillfully willed our viewpoint around the room with small gestures. The image was by necessity always centered on Novara, but around her we saw a bed with embroidered pillows, a bright green tapestry showing three goats and a bear, and a chest-of-drawers with a water ewer and basin on top. There was a window, bright with sunlight glowing through its diamond-shaped panes, but the glass was clouded, and we could not see outside.

  Boog looked up at the open window above us, studying the shadows. “That must be a southern exposure, with the light coming through. Is it an inn? I’m trying to place the windows.”

  I thought hard, too. There were over fifty inns in the city, plus numerous smaller guest houses, and Novara might be in a private residence. This was a nice place, though – definitely upper crust. That might help narrow it down, if she was even still in Frosthelm.

  Boog grabbed a charcoal stick and a sheet of parchment. He sketched the window’s metal framework and then started on the tapestry while the Augur held the image steady. As Novara shifted in her seat, I caught a gleam at her neck, and I motioned to the Augur to get us a closer look.

  It was a pendant! Smaller than the one resting on the rune before us, but with the same moon and sun, so similar that I thought it must have been made by the same hand. As we watched, it began to glow faintly with a green light. The augur backed away, and we saw that Novara had picked up a large gemstone, a sphere, as big as a walnut. It was an odd stone – most of it was pearly white, but the central area of one side was a dark green, translucent circle. There was a sharp contact between the two colors, and the stone had been polished carefully such that both colors were smooth and bright. I’d need to check my notes, but I was pretty sure this matched the countess’ description of one of her stolen gems.

  Novara closed her eyes, seeming lost in thought, or meditating. I murmured, “Can we go back? To see how she arrived here?”

  The Augur gritted her teeth and nodded. This required more effort and control. She raised her arms and spoke a few ancient words. We saw a series of images, called up by the web of connections between the objects. As was common, some had no apparent relevance – a stairway, a sword, a field of flowers. We saw Stennis and Novara together briefly, studying the gems, and then we saw Stennis crouching at the strongbox, forcing its lid. He had been the thief – proof, though it mattered little now.

  We caught a glimpse of Novara in the Sotted Swan, with me wincing behind my warding rod. Then a flash of green, and the expensively decorated chamber again, where Novara staggered onto the bed. As she lay there, panting, she fumbled with a pouch at her belt and pulled something out, then waved her other hand over it, her mouth silently forming words. She shouted and opened her palm, and I saw the smaller moon pendant that she now wore, glowing a brilliant orange. She cast it on the table, still glowing, and fell back onto the bed. The pool went dark, the water still.

  “Is that all?” asked Boog, lowering his parchment.

  I turned to the Augur, then ran over to her. Her eyes were closed, and she was shaking, beads of sweat glistening all over her thin face. This was definitely not normal. “Augur? What is it?”

  Suddenly, she grasped the back of my neck with her cold, bony hand. It felt as if all the heat in my body was flowing out through this point of contact. I gurgled, and my knees buckled. Boog lunged over to support me before I toppled into the pool.

  Around the basin, the objects trembled on their runes. The amulet resting on the first rune flashed, coming ablaze with green light. The water boiled and seethed, then settled once again into a picture of Novara. This time, though, she seemed to peer out of the pool. She was angry, shouting, almost as if she could see us. The pendant at her neck crawled with green sparks.

  The amulet on the top rune turned of its own accord, and a beam of green light shot out toward the book on the second rune. Sir Neggin’s book rose off the basin’s edge, floating in the air, its pages turning. As they turned, the illustrations rose as glowing specters from the pages, dancing over the pool as if alive before plunging into the water below, sending ripples over Novara’s face. There was a flash and a crack, as of thunder, and the book tore into two halves. From one half emerged a small flaming sun, and from the other, a shimmering full moon – I remembered those illustrations from my studies. The two met above the pool, duplicating the amulet’s pattern, and began spinning madly, faster and faster, tumbling over each other, until they reached blinding speed, and sun became indistinguishable from moon. At last, they shot down into the center of the pool, and I could see a terrible fear stream across Novara's face as the water broke into seething chaos.

  That image burst as the pool erupted, spraying us all with mystical fluids. The Augur collapsed to the floor, and I would have too, had Boog not held me up. There were pages fluttering in the air, everywhere, like autumn leaves. I could feel my consciousness slipping away, but as it did, I saw another fragment of an image in the roiling puddle that still remained in the basin.

  Fiery balls descending from the sky, splashing and erupting against the roofs of buildings. I saw the clock tower, the one that stood above Fountain Square, bathed in glowing fire. This was Frosthelm. Frosthelm in flames.

  5

  Complications

  I awoke in my bed in my small room in the inspectors’ dormitory. I stretched, languid, blinking sleepily in the stream of warm sunlight coming through my window. The dust motes danced in the golden light. Outside, a squirrel chattered happily while chewing on an acorn. One of the clouds looked like a dragon, I thought. Or maybe a butterfly. I wondered briefly why I felt somewhat damp.

  Holy Bloodmother and Her Three Ugly Daughters! I sat straight up as awareness returned. I quickly hopped out of bed and
ran for the door. I paused only when I realized I was a bit chilly. I looked down and saw that, while I still had my shirt, someone had taken my trousers, and I was quite indecent. The shirt I wore was moist and stained with something that I suspected derived originally from Stennis, although I tried hard not to think about that.

  I stripped naked and found alternate attire, hopping around foolishly in my haste to get dressed. I burst out of my room and ran down the hall, still fastening my buttons as I ran. As I ducked through the door of our small kitchen, I saw Boog. He was hunched morosely at the table, absently chewing on some bread.

  I planted both hands on the table before him, struggling to speak as I panted. “What…?” I coughed.

  Boog motioned for me to sit. “We’ve been ordered not to go to the pool for a while.” He grimaced.

  “The Augur…”

  “She’s still breathing, although I don’t think she’s woken up yet. The healer says there’s nothing wrong. She should recover, unless there are magical forces at work.”

  “Gaaah!” I yelled. “Of course there are magical forces at work.”

  Boog cast a baleful eye in my direction. “I talked with the Augur’s chief assistant before they ushered me out. She says the pool will be out of commission for a month at least until they can enchant enough new water and get it cleaned up and re-sanctified, or whatever they need to do. That’s assuming we didn’t break it.”

  “Did you…” I began. “Did you tell Sophie what we saw?”

  “She’s been a bit busy, what with us destroying her favorite toy and blasting her most esteemed colleague senseless with unholy powers beyond our control. Strangely, I didn’t feel like seeking her out. The clerks took my statement, and I imagine they’ll be along for yours.”

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Five hours, or so. Since this morning.”

  “Is anyone trying to track down Novara?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Well, should we—”

  “We should go to our chambers and try as hard as we can not to cause anything else to explode. I believe those were nearly Sophie’s exact words.”

  I slumped down onto the table, rubbing the back of my neck with both hands.

  “This isn’t good, is it?”

  “I have a strong feeling it’s not. Not just pretty strong. Very strong.” He took another bite of bread and chewed in silence.

  I tried hard to figure out what to do or say, but nothing much came to mind. “I’m sorry, Boog, I…” I trailed off.

  He patted me on the shoulder with his huge right hand. “It’s not really your fault. Using the book was your idea, but nobody knew that would happen, and the Augur approved it, regardless. If she wakes up and isn’t filled with unreasoning rage at us, she can set things right, and we’ll be able to go find Novara.” Boog rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Perhaps she'll resist arrest, and I’ll be able to subdue her.”

  “That would be, uh, nice.” I held out my hand. “Partners?”

  He clasped it firmly with his. It hurt, but in a good way. “Partners.”

  I paused a moment. “So, uh, where are my pants?”

  6

  Anger Management

  We were summoned to Sophie’s office a few hours later, just after supper. The High Inquisitor was very, very angry. Red-cheeked, spittle-spewing, hair-tearing angry. I knew that I was not really guilty of causing the morning’s events. Well, responsible for, but not technically culpable of. But this didn’t seem like the time to split that particular hair.

  “I suppose, Provisional Inspector Mingenstern, that you have some explanation for why the Augur lies in a drooling faint, perhaps never to awaken?” Her face was inches from mine. I could feel the heat of her breath. “And the sacred artifact we’re sworn to protect, that has served Frosthelm for nearly a thousand years? I hear you broke it today, pursuing some crazy scheme involving a long-dead religion. Do you have anything, anything at all to say for yourself?”

  I stammered, “Uh, Inquisitor, we—”

  “That was rhetorical, you idiot. Don’t interrupt me when I’m yelling at you.” She took a deep breath. “We’ve got no pool, maybe for a month, maybe forever. That means no auguries, and the budget’s suddenly a nightmare." She sank into her chair, suddenly deflated. “And the Augur, bless her, is a good friend.”

  Boog cleared his throat. “Inquisitor, we’re very sorry about all this. We had no idea there was any danger.”

  I stepped in. “The pool has never behaved this way – there’s nothing like this in any book in the library.”

  Sophie waved dismissively. “I know that. It doesn’t help me.”

  I stayed quiet for a bit. “Inquisitor, as bad as this is, I think we need to address what we learned.”

  Sophie fixed a baleful glare on me. “And what is that, exactly?”

  I’d been thinking about that since I awoke. “Well, the less important part is that we confirmed that Stennis was the thief, that he did sell the jewels to Novara, and that Novara has them, or had at least one of them, this morning, that is."

  “Splendid. You’ve solved your robbery. How lovely.”

  I swallowed and continued doggedly onward. “A more important part is this. Novara is a powerful sorceress, or at least has access to powerful magic. It appeared that she transported herself out of the tavern to a secure location. That’s no mean feat –– how many wizards in Frosthelm have that kind of power? One? Two? I’m not even sure Bezanne could do it.” Bezanne was the Prelate’s court sorceress, an imposing and pompous woman with an unusually acute passion for tiny, yappy dogs.

  Sophie nodded. I continued, hoping I was making sense, or at least distracting her from putting us on scullery duty. “I haven’t discussed this with Boog— uh, Beauregard –– but I think it looks like Novara caused the death of Stennis. She appeared to cast a spell while at the bar, and she may have finished it, causing the explosion, when she reached her residence.”

  Boog piped up. “That makes sense to me. It would be too much of a coincidence for it not to be Novara’s doing – we know she used magic, so she may have had the ability to kill him this way. We know she had illegal dealings with Stennis, so we know she had a motive, and the blast seemed to come from the amulet, which she knew Stennis had, and which she’d cast the initial spell on.” He paused. “Plus, we know Stennis was annoying.”

  Sophie’s cheeks had dulled to pink. She thought. “So, did Novara plan to kill Stennis, or did your arrival trigger it?”

  I replied, “I think we forced her hand, for a number of reasons. For one, there must be easier and more, uh, subtle ways for a wizard like Novara to kill someone. Two, I don’t think she’d have given Stennis all that money if she planned to kill him. Three, and most telling for me, is that I really don’t think she’d have left behind the amulet unless she had to. She really wanted it. Four would be the coincidence –– our happening to show up and challenge them just seconds before she was going to kill Stennis? That seems improbable.”

  Sophie was nodding. She could seldom resist a puzzle, no matter what the circumstances. We were lucky we had one. “So where does that leave us?”

  “Well, Chief, I have to move into the realm of speculation at this point. I suspect that Novara wasn’t just looking for any set of jewels. She’s powerful and probably rich. She may need these particular stones for a purpose, perhaps a magic ritual.”

  Boog continued, “Also, Chief, the moon and sun symbol. We’ve seen it on two articles Novara was interested in, both items of magical power, particularly the one we have. It must be very important to her in some way. I think Marty's guess that it was related to the cults was borne out by the events of the augury. The symbols floated out of the book, after all.”

  Sophie snorted. “That’s great, yes. Good ol’ Marty’s idea was spot on. Too bad proving it left us crippled and bankrupt.”

  I blushed. “Chief, if I may, I fear the most important finding of this augury
is that there may well be a powerful wizard loose in our town who is very well equipped and is an adherent of a doomsday cult. That may be a stretch, but we have to consider the possibility.”

  Sophie smirked, thinking. “And what do you think she intends to do?”

  I was pretty sure this wouldn’t go over well, but I had to bring it up. “Just before I, uh, lost consciousness in the Augur’s chamber, I saw an image in the remaining liquid in the pool. Giant fiery balls were falling from the sky, and it looked like the whole of Frosthelm was on fire. The marketplace, the clock tower, the keep, every roof, every building… We can’t let that happen.”

  Sophie didn’t just scoff at me, as I had feared. I couldn’t read Boog’s expression. “You’re sure of this?” asked Sophie. “It wasn’t a dream that you had after fainting?”

  “Losing consciousness, Inquisitor.” I had some small amount of dignity left.

  “Whatever. You’re sure of this?” she repeated.

  “I saw it, Inquisitor. I’m sure of it. And it must be related to Novara, because she was the focus of the augury.”

  Sophie sat back in her chair. “Well, isn’t that just wonderful.” She gazed at her desk for a time. “We need the Augur. But we don’t have her. We need all our inspectors. But half of them are scattered about at the border serving in the damned war. We need our pool, but it’s out of commission.” She frowned at me. “And I can’t think that the good criminals of Frosthelm will suddenly cease their felonious acts to help us out. I have much to think about, and much to plan.”

  She paused again, then spoke. “One thing is certain, though. This has grown bigger than what two provisional inspectors can handle. We need to find this Novara.” She studied a list of names on her desk, and then she straightened in her chair. "All right, this is how it is. I’d rather put you two on another case, preferably something out in the countryside, concerning livestock, which even you couldn’t mess up or explode. But you're the only inspectors still conscious who’ve seen Novara and wherever she is staying.”