by Pedro Urvi
“Manage that panther well, or else we’ll have trouble,” Ivana warned him.
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any accidents.”
“I’m not so confident,” Haakon said. “I’m surprised you managed to graduate as a Specialist, so it doesn’t seem very likely to me that you’re going to be able to control your familiar, seeing it’s a snow panther.”
“The lad is good,” Esben assured them, “and the panther’s obedient. There isn’t going to be any trouble.”
“Considering his background… permit me to be none too sure about that.”
Eyra smiled at Lasgol. “Let bygones be bygones. We ought to always look to the future with optimism and hope.”
“The future is looking uncertain and complicated for all of us,” Ivana said. There was a note of warning in her voice.
“Very uncertain, as well as dangerous,” Haakon added. “Something tells me that these two will be involved in it.” His tone was something less than friendly.
“They’ll both do their duty, as the Rangers they are,” Eyra said. She looked fixedly at the two friends, as if trying to guess their future intentions.
“Of course,” Lasgol assured her.
“We’ll do our duty honorably,” Egil added.
“Of course they will,” Esben said.
Haakon arched an eyebrow. “We’ll see. I have the feeling that their actions are going to drag us into a situation we’d rather avoid, and I don’t like being dragged into any situation unless I was the one creating it, for my own advantage.”
“Anyone who betrays the King will have death as his reward,” Ivana said icily. “I’ll pierce the traitor’s heart with a true shot myself, all the more so if he should be one of our own people.”
Lasgol swallowed. This was a direct threat, and it was addressed to both of them.
“Well said,” Haakon said, and turned his sinister gaze on Lasgol.
“I’m sure you’ll perform your duties honorably,” Ivana went on. “Family and past are left behind when someone becomes a Ranger. They fade into oblivion and must never return to our way. Crimes are forgiven, the past buried, under the requirement to serve the king and protect the kingdom from all enemies. This is our duty, and this we will always do.” She said this with icy assurance, pointing her finger at them as she spoke.
“Of course,” Egil said, looking back at her very seriously. “We know that, and we understand it.”
“Let’s change the subject,” said Eyra. “This one makes me shiver, and I’m sure both Egil and Lasgol know their place and what they need to do perfectly well. They’re honorable young men. Now tell us about Sugesen and Gonars. Did they make it? We still haven’t received the final results, and I’m dying to know.”
“Gonars graduated as Forest Trapper and Sugesen as Forest Survivor,” Lasgol told them.
“That’s fantastic! Annika must be thrilled.”
“Luca?” asked Esben.
“Man Hunter.”
Esben nodded. “He’ll do it really well.”
“I’m sure Ingrid and Molak made it,” Ivana said confidently. “Which Elite Specializations?”
“Archer of the Wind and Sniper.”
“I knew it. Two of the most difficult and sought-after ones. Ivar won’t be able to complain that I don’t send him Archers who are good and perfectly trained.”
Haakon bent his head. “I’m sure Astrid made it, but Viggo? He had all the potential in the world, something innate, but also a self-destructive personality.”
“Astrid graduated as Assassin of Nature.”
Haakon smiled in satisfaction. “An exceptional young woman.”
“And Viggo graduated as Natural Assassin.”
Haakon’s eyes widened in surprise. Nor was he the only one. All four of them were looking amazed.
“An impressive achievement,” Haakon said, sounding genuinely surprised. “The most difficult of all the elite specializations, and one not many achieve. I can’t remember the last time someone managed it. I saw his potential… but Natural Assassin… now that really is an achievement…”
Lasgol had never seen Haakon so surprised or taken aback.
“That isn’t the only major achievement,” Egil put in.
The comment caught the attention of the Master Rangers. “Really?” Eyra asked.
“Lasgol didn’t graduate in just one specialization, but in two.”
The four Master Rangers were left staring at Egil, then at Lasgol, with eyes like saucers. Egil smiled. This was something they had not been expecting, and they were utterly taken aback.
Lasgol nudged his friend to stop him saying anything else. It was an uncomfortable situation for him, and he did not want to say anything about his achievements openly. Least of all in front of the four Master Rangers, whom he respected greatly.
“Two?” Esben exclaimed, obviously keen to know more.
Egil nodded. “Beast Whisperer and Tireless Tracker.”
“That’s amazing!” Esben said admiringly.
“Two specializations… That’s an anomaly you don’t see very often,” Eyra commented. She looked worried.
“It only happens with very special people,” Ivana said, with her icy eyes fixed on Lasgol.
“Certainly surprising,” Haakon said. “And seeing that he was already attracting trouble from all directions, this will only amplify that effect.”
“Nonsense,” Esben said, “it’s an amazing achievement.” He went over to Lasgol and gave him a bear-hug in the purest style of his friend Gerd.
Lasgol blushed. His Master Ranger was giving him a bear-hug, which was unheard-of. They never showed their feelings that way, but always kept a distance both physically and emotionally. But Esben was so amazed and happy that for a long moment he kept Lasgol raised a hand-span off the floor.
Eyra chuckled. “You’d better let him go. I think he’s stopped breathing.”
Esben let go of Lasgol and gave him a slap on the back. “I always knew you were special. Congratulations.”
“Thank you…” Lasgol managed to mutter brokenly as he searched for air to fill his lungs.
“We all know he’s special,” said Eyra. “He proved it in the Schools Test. His potential is enormous.”
“We must keep working on him,” Esben said eagerly. “There’s a lot in him still to be discovered. He could reach very high goals. If he achieved two specialties, surely he could achieve even more.”
Lasgol did not very much like the sound of this. It sounded too much like Sigrid’s message, which had led to the experiments.
“It’s also a dangerous path,” Eyra put in. “Reaching one’s potential is fine as long as Mother Nature’s rules are respected. Going beyond that is neither prudent nor advisable, at least in my humble opinion.”
“Thank you. I’m very happy and grateful to have achieved two specialties. But before I think about any more, I need to master these two. I still have a lot to learn and improve, in both of them.”
“That’ll come with experience,” Esben assured him.
“Well then, experience is what I’ll look for.”
“Well said,” Eyra murmured.
“Try not to look for trouble,” Haakon said in a sinister voice.
“And what brings you here so early?” Eyra asked them both.
“Dolbarar’s called for us,” Egil explained.
“Then you’d better go and see him. Our curiosity can wait.”
The two friends took their leave with a brief nod and went upstairs to Dolbarar’s private study on the second floor.
Lasgol felt uneasy. Why had the leader of the Camp called them? Was it to greet him out of courtesy? Or would there be something else? Most likely the latter.
They would soon find out.
They knocked on the door.
Chapter 6
“Come in,” the leader of the Camp called from inside.
Lasgol recognized the voice at once, firm but kind, and was subconsciously put at
ease. It was a voice that brought good memories and feelings with it.
When they went in, they found Dolbarar sitting behind his great carved oak desk. He was reading a scroll, which he now left on the table with others he had piled there which were apparently awaiting their turn. Two huge tomes lay open to one side. From the amount of reading material on his desk, he must be incredibly busy.
“Egil! Lasgol! Welcome!” he greeted them good-humoredly.
When Dolbarar stood up to greet them, he was just as Lasgol remembered him. By his appearance he was a man in his early seventies, with completely white hair, long and straight, which reached to his shoulders. His kind face was framed by a well-tended white beard no more than a finger’s-breadth thick. When he stared at the two of them with his intense emerald eyes, Lasgol noticed something in his appearance that surprised him: he did not give the same air of agility and power as before. He looked tired. More than that, he looked exhausted. Lasgol was uneasy about this, and began to understand Egil’s fears.
“Thank you, sir,” he replied with a grateful smile, and bowed his head respectfully.
Egil bowed his head as Lasgol had done. “You called for us, sir? How can we help the leader of the Camp?
“You’re always a great help to me,” Dolbarar replied with a grateful smile. “You have a mind with extraordinary abilities. I really don’t know how Eyra lets me steal you part of the time to help me with my own business.”
“The Master Ranger of Nature understands perfectly well that the needs of her leader are more urgent and important than her own.”
“Eyra is doing me a great favor, and I appreciate it. I hope the tasks I entrust you with don’t interfere too much with the ones she gives you. I’m aware that this last season I’ve been unloading more work on you… winter’s hard for everyone, but at my age it’s worse…”
Egil brushed this aside. “I can manage both jobs perfectly well. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’re a gift from the Ice Gods. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I don’t like to admit it, but the years are beginning to weigh on me, and weigh on me heavily.”
“I’m not really very useful. Our leader still deals with most of the Camp’s business.”
“That’s a white lie. We both know that you help me a lot. And I thank you with all my heart. I wish I could say I don’t need help, that I’m still what I used to be, but age forgives nobody.”
“It’s an honor to be able to help. Besides I can’t forget that I owe you… that we owe you our lives,” Egil said. He glanced aside at Lasgol. “If it hadn’t been for you intervening with Thoran, Lasgol and I wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. That’s something that can never be forgotten. Ever.”
“That’s very true. Thank you again, sir,” Lasgol hastened to say. He knew as well as Egil that if it had not been for Dolbarar, Thoran and his brother Orten would have made them disappear… they were not the kind of people who left loose ends, and that was exactly what he and Egil were.
Dolbarar made a dismissive gesture. “It was nothing.”
Egil and Lasgol exchanged a glance. They both knew that he had done a lot, that he had taken a risk for them.
“Favors and debts must always be repaid,” said Egil. “Always. It’s a matter of honor. That’s something my late father taught me.”
“Your father Duke Olafstone was a great man. Wrong in his aspirations to the throne, but a man of honor, above all. That’s something which always needs to be respected.”
“So he was,” Egil said, and bowed his head.
“The first of the reasons why I called for you is connected with this. It’s not a pleasant subject for me… but we need to address it. It’s a matter of importance for all three of us. I must remind you that the past needs to be left behind. Especially in your case, Egil. You must leave your family behind. Now we, the Rangers, are your family.”
“I know that very well, sir. That’s how I feel about it, and this past year it’s been inscribed in my soul. The past is the past. Now I’m a Ranger and I owe myself to my duty. My loyalty is to the Crown and the kingdom.”
“I’m glad to hear that. The Rangers forgive the past, but for that it must be renounced in heart and soul.”
“And so, it is renounced,” Egil said.
Dolbarar looked at Lasgol in search of his answer.
“It’s been left behind. Forgotten.”
Dolbarar nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said, coming back to Egil, “but I have to ask. Has your brother Arnold tried to contact you?”
The question was asked casually, but Lasgol knew it carried a deeper meaning.
Egil looked Dolbarar in the eye. “I no longer have a brother. He’s the King of the West now, and I’m a Ranger who serves King Thoran.”
“Your words reassure me. Keep on the right path, young Ranger. If you stray, there’ll be evil consequences. Not only for you, but for those who’ve supported you. These are very complicated and dangerous times in the kingdom. Conspiracies and betrayals are punished with the noose, with neither questions, nor second thoughts. All it needs is the slightest suspicion, the slightest excuse… and certain powerful men will act ruthlessly. They won’t tolerate the slightest trace of doubt. You need to be with them completely, or else you’re against them.”
Lasgol and Egil glanced at each other. Those words carried a clear warning. Dolbarar’s tone of voice was one of worry. This impressed Lasgol, who had not often seen the leader of the Camp so troubled.
“We must all be careful. Winter is coming to an end, and with the spring and the thaw bloodshed too will return, I fear.”
“This war isn’t good for either side,” Lasgol said.
“Very true. Wars never are, and internal ones least of all. Let’s leave these melancholy subjects aside for now. The second reason I called you is to be able to speak with you, Lasgol. I’m very pleased to see you safe and sound, and a Specialist now.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”
“And with two Specialties, no less.”
Lasgol looked at him in surprise. He had not been sure Dolbarar would know.
“Yes, it’s been intense… and interesting…”
He indicated a letter on his desk. “Sigrid wrote to me. How is the Mother Specialist? And the Four Elders? We’re united by a long friendship. Very long indeed. We’ve shared a lot over the years.” He gave a melancholy glance out of the window behind him.
“They’re wonderful. Sigrid has iron stamina.”
Dolbarar’s eyes gleamed as he asked his next question: “Is her character still the same?”
“Yes… sometimes she behaves like a mother, and other times…”
“Like a despot?”
Lasgol choked. “Yeah… well, not so much…”
“Relax, I know her perfectly well, we’re very good friends.”
“Actually, she does have a rather peculiar character and ideas…”
“Well expressed,” Dolbarar said with a smile.
“The four Elders are very well, physically and mentally. I’ve spent most of the year with Gisli, and I can certainly say he has incredible stamina and strength.”
“And knowledge of the animal world.”
“His knowledge and experience always left me open-mouthed.”
“I’m not surprised. Is Loke still with them?”
Lasgol nodded. “He comes and goes, but yes, he’s there.”
“A good Ranger, and a better person.”
“We’ve also met Enduald.”
“Oh. Now that really is interesting.”
“Yes, he’s a very unusual man,” Lasgol said, with the emphasis on very.
“A man with Talent.”
“Yes, with a Gift.”
Lasgol and Dolbarar exchanged a glance of understanding. Egil too understood what was being hinted at by the expression on Lasgol’s face.
“I see you’ve discovered new things.”
“Yes, sir. Not all of them positive.”
<
br /> “That’s why I wanted to speak with you. Well, I wanted to welcome you, but also to talk with you about what happened at the Shelter. Sigrid’s letter doesn’t explain it in detail, and I’m rather perplexed by the terrible events that have happened. I need you to give me an account of it and make things clear for me, because I have to confess that I slept very badly last night, thinking about it.”
“I can understand that… it’s hard to make sense of…”
“I haven’t said anything yet to the Four Master Rangers. I wanted to have more information before I did that. I wrote to Sigrid asking for more detail, but when I found out you’d arrived I thought it would be much better to hear it directly from you. Besides, it’ll make more sense in your own words, and help me clear up any doubts.”
“All right, then. It’s hard for me to tell it… but this is what happened…” Lasgol told him everything to do with Isgord and Erika as faithfully as he could, trying to keep his emotions under control. He wanted the story he told Dolbarar to be neutral, just the events and nothing else. When he had finished he sighed deeply and let his feelings flood over him, but he did not show it. He felt rage, guilt, frustration in the pit of his stomach and in his throat, like acid.
“You leave me speechless,” Dolbarar said. He sank into his armchair behind the desk. “It’s truly horrible. A terrible tragedy that besmirches the honor of the Shelter, and that of all the Rangers. I feel responsible. Guilty, even.” He put his hand to his forehead as if he had a fever.
“Guilty, sir?” Egil asked. He did not seem to understand.
“I’m the leader of the Camp. Isgord trained here, under my tutelage and leadership. I authorized sending him to the Shelter. It’s my responsibility to make sure we train honest Rangers, good men. What a disgrace.”
“One rotten apple doesn’t make the whole basket bad,” Egil said.
“Maybe not, but even so, I feel responsible. My most sincere apologies, Lasgol. He almost killed you. That’s a terrible thing.”
“It’s nobody’s fault. Isgord’s heart went on poisoning itself day after day until he reached the unthinkable. He had nobody but himself to blame for letting hatred take him over completely.”