by Pedro Urvi
“I’m not sure whether he’d like the idea of you studying him. You know what he’s like.”
“True,” Egil smiled. He was thinking about Viggo. “I think there are still more things hidden within our friend which have yet to come to light.”
“Let’s hope they’re good things.”
“For that we’ll have to wait and see. He’s a complete mystery, our friend Viggo. A mystery I’d like to delve deeper into. It would be very interesting and worthy of study. I’m sure we’d unearth some very exceptional characteristics…”
“Sure to…” His friend’s comments left Lasgol feeling uneasy. Viggo was a box of surprises and secrets. Probably nothing good would come out of the many nooks and crannies of his soul, even if Egil was reluctant to say it out loud.
His friend smiled mischievously. “And what about Astrid? How’re things between you two?”
Lasgol went red. “Everything… is very well… between us… in fact, wonderfully well… I’m very happy. And I think she’s happy too…”
“It gladdens my heart to hear that. You make a lovely couple. She’s a great girl. I always liked her. She’s got character and intelligence.”
Lasgol smiled. “Oh, she certainly has character.”
“And I’ll say it again, she’s intelligent too. She’s smart. That’s a quality I value a lot.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Besides, she’s crazy about you.”
“Well that’s good luck, considering I’m crazy about her.”
Egil laughed out loud. “You’re a pair of lovebirds.”
“We are,” Lasgol had to admit. He blushed even redder.
“Did she get her specialty?”
“Yes, Assassin of Nature.”
“Good specialization. I think it suits her mind and her skills.”
“I’m worried about it.”
“Because of the danger, I would imagine.”
“Yeah…”
“She’s very well prepared. She’s intelligent, daring and fierce. Don’t worry. She knows how to handle herself, particularly now that she’s a Specialist.”
“Even so…”
“Worrying about those we love is natural. Don’t let that be a burden. She has to go her own way and you have to go yours. Each of you needs to confront your own destiny. I have no doubt that you’ll end up together and be very happy.”
Lasgol smiled. “Thanks, my friend.”
“You’re welcome. You’ve made me unexpectedly happy with your arrival and all the good news about our friends.”
“I’m glad I could bring you some pleasure,” Lasgol said happily.
“Great pleasure. I’m thrilled to see you back!”
“Same here, old friend. Although I wasn’t expecting you to bring me down here.” Lasgol looked around at the strange, forbidden chamber. Treasures of arcane knowledge were stored here, and he remembered their adventures in this chamber. He smiled. “Remember when we snuck in here with Viggo and Camu?”
“Of course, I remember. It was an unforgettable experience!”
Lasgol indicated the fireplace. “That fire was where I found the strange prism that allowed us to read the enchanted books.”
“A fantastic object.”
“Is it still here?”
“You put it back so that nobody would suspect we’d borrowed it, or that we knew of its existence. It should be still there.”
“Nobody missed it during the time we had it, did they? Dolbarar? The Master Rangers? Edwina the Healer?”
“Not that I know of. But they don’t trust me with their secrets…What I can assure you, though, is that they all make a habit of coming to this chamber and studying the tomes. I’ve found them all here on different occasions when I’ve come on errands for Dolbarar.”
“They must know of its existence.”
“Yeah, I think so too. They must use it for arcane books.”
“How things change…” Lasgol said, passing his hand over a couple of ancient-looking tomes which lay on the table.
Egil went up to the fireplace. “Certain events force decisions, and some of them benefit us.”
“Dolbarar?”
Egil nodded heavily. “Something’s up with him. I suspect he’s ill. He doesn’t admit it openly. I’ve tried to make him tell me, but I haven’t succeeded. All the same, in spite of his insistence that he’s perfectly all right and it’s just the burden of the years, I think something worrisome is happening to him.”
“Do you think he’s very sick?” Lasgol asked uneasily.
“I don’t know. He says there’s nothing wrong with him, which I can assure you isn’t true. I notice that he’s weak, tired, and lacking in energy. He can barely read, and there’s a strange-looking dark brown spot on the lower part of his neck, which I think might continue down his torso. At first, I thought it was just a spot, or else a nasty bruise from some chance blow, but when I tried to check it, he hid it. Now he always wears his Ranger scarf around his neck, so nobody sees it.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t just dirt, or a bruise?”
“At first I wasn’t sure. But now I am. I have a good eye for these things. And besides, his behavior when I asked him about it gave him away. If he’d made light of it, I wouldn’t have attached any importance to it, but he got nervous and hid it so that I couldn’t look at it properly. That made me suspicious.”
“Yeah, that sounds suspicious…”
“He’s trying to keep the other Rangers, including the four Master Rangers, from noticing.”
“And has he?”
“For the moment I think he has. I don’t think they suspect anything. At least, they haven’t said anything to me, although obviously I wouldn’t be the person they’d go to with their fears.”
“So that’s why you have more work and more responsibilities, because Dolbarar can’t cope with things.”
“That’s right. Little by little he’s been giving me more responsibility. I offered my help and he told me his eyes were getting very bad – which is true, but not to that extreme – and started to give me things to do… more and more of them… that he used to do himself. Now he barely leaves his study in the House of Command.”
“What you’re telling me is rather worrying. I’ll try talking to him.”
“If he’ll see you, try to find out what’s going on. You might have more luck than me.”
After a long moment, Egil changed the subject to something more cheerful. “You’ve forgotten to mention one of my favorite subjects for study: you have to tell me about all your progress with your Gift. I’m sure you must have developed new skills. Am I right? Have you named them? Which are they? What else have you been able to develop during the year we’ve been apart? Tell me. Come on, I’m dying to hear all about it.”
Lasgol laughed. “Relax, I’ll tell you all about my new skills.”
“I knew it! You’ve developed new ones! That’s wonderful! I want to know everything!”
“It’s been a very intense year. A lot of things have happened.” He smiled. “I’ll tell you all about them and in detail, just the way you like it.”
“I need to take notes,” Egil said with a smile.
All of a sudden Lasgol realized that he had spent more time chatting with Egil than he had intended. He was so happy to see his old friend that he had lost the notion of time completely.
“We have to get out of here.”
“What is it?”
“I’m expected outside.”
“It’s Camu, isn’t it? Tell me you’ve brought the adorable little fellow with you.”
“Yes, I brought him with me.”
“Fantastic! I’m so looking forward to seeing him!”
“So is he. I told him we were coming to the Camp and that he’d be seeing you. He was very happy. He misses you.”
“How has he developed? In size? In power?”
“Those answers will have to wait a bit longer. We have to leave.”
“All r
ight. Is anything wrong?”
Lasgol nodded. “I haven’t only come with Camu.”
“No? Who else is with you?”
“You’re going to love it…” Lasgol said. He hurried out of the chamber and up the stairs.
Chapter 4
“I can’t believe you have a snow panther!” Egil cried. His mouth was open, his eyes wide as saucers.
“This is Ona,” Lasgol said as he introduced the panther, who protested about his absence with a dissatisfied moan.
Esben smiled. “A magnificent specimen. And she’s very good and obedient.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m trying to teach her as best I can.”
“You’re doing a great job. If you need any help or advice about some technique or other, come see me. I’ll be happy to help.”
“Thank you very much, sir, I will.”
“You’re welcome. It’ll be a pleasure to help you. It’s not at all usual to see a Whisperer and his familiar. There are very few of them. Having you in the Camp is a stroke of luck. When you’ve finished your current mission, I’d like to introduce you to the Wildlife Fourth-Years. It would be very interesting for them.”
“I bet they’ll be flabbergasted,” Egil commented. He could not take his eyes off Ona.
Lasgol did not know how to react. Was Esben telling him that now he was someone the other contenders would be looking up to as an example? He was puzzled. He had always been the one who was hated, first for being the son of the traitor and then for being Darthor’s son. That had not changed, no matter how much of a Specialist he might be now.
“I doubt whether they’ll appreciate my presence…” he said. He was sure that the moment the truth about who he was came out and the rumor took hold, he would suffer the hatred and scorn he knew so well.
“Nonsense. How many times do we have the good fortune to have a specialist from such a complicated discipline on hand?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Well, I’ll tell you: very few. I haven’t seen a Whisperer in years. So that’s enough of that. I’m counting on you for a couple of demonstrations.”
Lasgol could not refuse, since after all Esben was a Master Ranger and outranked him, so that he had no choice but to obey. But he was sure that he would not be as well-received as Esben was expecting, even though he was a Whisperer and had a snow panther with him.
Suddenly Egil gave a start. “Oof…!”
“Are you all right?” Esben asked.
“Oh yes, perfectly all right,” Egil hastened to say. He was putting his hand down his back as if he were trying to get rid of something.
Esben arched one eyebrow as he stared at him.
“I think something’s stung me,” Egil added. He went on rubbing his back and hopping about.
Esben smiled. “You spend too much time in the Library and the House of Command. You ought to go out more and enjoy nature. You wouldn’t even notice stings and that sort of thing.”
Egil was still shifting from side to side. “I wish I could, but I have too much work to do.”
“Well, I’ll leave you now. I need to go and see how my animals are.”
“See you around, Master Ranger,” Egil said.
“A pleasure, sir,” said Lasgol.
Esben waved goodbye and left to get back to his work while Lasgol was left staring at Egil, puzzled by his behavior.
“It’s Camu,” Egil whispered with a smile of delight. “He’s licking my legs and butting my backside with his head,”
Lasgol rolled his eyes. Camu, behave! he transmitted with his Gift.
Egil! I happy! Camu transmitted back, sending a strong feeling of joy with the message.
I know you’re happy to see him, but behave or else you’ll be found out!
Hug Egil!
Yes, but not now, when we’re alone.
When?
Soon, as soon as we can be alone.
Soon.
Yes, soon, Lasgol promised Camu to stop him making any more trouble.
Ona, who was beginning to guess where Camu was moving even when he was invisible, gave a small bounce and fell at Egil’s feet, as if she were hunting.
“We’d better move. These two aren’t going to stop, and I’m worried Camu might be spotted.”
“Yeah, we’d better leave, we’re attracting too much attention as it is.” Egil nodded toward another group of Second-Year contenders who were on their way to the dining-hall.
“Where?”
“Let’s go to my quarters. We’ll be in peace there, and no-one’ll disturb us.”
As they walked, Lasgol took in the sights of the Camp. He felt at home here. The scenery was so familiar: the stables, the Library, the dining hall, the House of Command at the far end on the island in the middle of the lake, the clover-shape arrangement of the four Schools a little further on, the contenders’ cabins among the trees, the sacred oak-wood… He sighed. He felt good, and what made him feel even better was his great friend and partner in adventures, Egil. He was walking in front of Lasgol, who could sense Camu jumping on him. He could not see him because he was still invisible, but seeing Egil unexpectedly and abruptly lurching either from one side to another or forward, he could deduce that the mischievous little creature was pouncing on him and lovingly pushing him about.
He caught up with Egil. “He forgets he’s grown and he can’t pounce on us the way he used to.”
“Oh, he can still do that all right,” Egil said. Lasgol noticed that he was holding Camu as if he were a huge mastiff puppy who had leapt on to him. “But he’s a considerable weight. More than my feeble frame allows me to carry.”
“Rather like a large sack of firewood,” Lasgol said. He was looking around to make sure nobody was watching. Egil was walking in a ridiculous way, with his arms extended and holding something invisible.
“You can say that again…” Egil was having trouble keeping his balance, not just because of the weight but because Camu was licking his face and hair, which was making him laugh.
Lasgol watched Camu showing all his love for Egil and Egil returning it amid laughter. The tender scene touched his heart. They were both immensely happy to see each other again and to be able to enjoy their friendship. He was always surprised to see the way Camu could be so affectionate and value the friendship of his partners so highly: not only Egil, whom he adored, but even Viggo, who was always rude to him. The little creature seemed to be able to sense the good in them – even if they feared him, like Gerd or Nilsa. It was very curious. Camu seemed to have a sixth sense for picking up goodness in people, and as he was still very young, it gave Lasgol plenty to think about.
By now they were approaching the Rangers’ barracks.
“Do you share lodgings with the other Rangers?”
“Yes and no,” Egil said. He indicated a group of smaller cabins behind the barracks.
“They’ve given you one of the guest cabins?”
Egil nodded. “I was lucky,” he added sarcastically.
Lasgol glanced at him in surprise. The few guest cabins in the Camp were reserved for important visits by nobles or senior army officers. Rangers and Instructors shared barracks.
He arched an eyebrow. “How so?”
Egil gave a bow. “It’s because of my good name and my stellar reputation in the North.”
“Oh…” Lasgol understood. It was because of who Egil was, because of his family…
“Dolbarar thought that in the present circumstances it would be better if I didn’t share the barracks with the other Rangers.”
“Because of what might happen?”
“Exactly. I may be a Ranger, but I’m also the brother of the King of the West, and therefore an enemy of King Thoran. The Rangers know that, and not all of them are the sort of upright and good people we are ourselves.”
“I see. Dolbarar is afraid something might happen to you.”
Egil nodded. “I’m not exactly the best-regarded person in the Camp. The opposite, if anything. They
all look at me distrustfully, contenders and Rangers alike. They don’t say anything, but the distrust and hatred in their eyes speak for themselves.”
“They’ll look at me in the same way… because I’m Darthor’s son.”
“Very plausibly, given your parentage. As soon as the word spreads of who you are, I’m afraid that’s what will happen. The sides and the families we belong to, and the blood which runs through our veins, ought to be forgotten once we become Rangers, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. You can take my word for it. Many people will neither forget nor forgive the fact that we’re who we are.”
“I was expecting that…”
“But looking on the positive side of the whole business, I’ve gained a delightful guest cabin for my personal enjoyment, which pleases me to no end.” Egil smiled and opened the door.
“Wow, it certainly is nice,” Lasgol said. He went in and admired the interior. “It’s bigger that the ones we used to share, and a lot more elegant.”
“Come in,” Egil said to Ona, who had remained on the threshold, looking inside.
“You have to use commands with her,” Lasgol explained. “Ona. Here,” he ordered, and tapped his thigh with two fingers.
Ona stepped in and went to stand beside him.
“Fascinating!”
Lasgol smiled. “I guessed you’d think that.”
“You must show me all the commands and how you teach them to Ona!” Egil pleaded. He was very excited.
Lasgol shrugged. “I’ll try, but I don’t have much time… and it’s rather complicated.”
“We’ll find time for it.” Egil closed the door to the cabin.
Visible now? Camu asked.
Yes, visible now.
He appeared in front of them, gave an enormous leap and hurled himself on Egil.
“Careful!” Egil said, laughing. He lost his balance, took several steps back and fell on to his bed with Camu on top of him. The little creature was licking his face with his blue tongue.
“Camu, be careful,” Lasgol scolded him. “Now you weigh as much as a wolf.”
Then suddenly something surprising happened. Ona jumped on top of Egil and began to play with him and Camu as if it were the most natural thing in the world.