by Pedro Urvi
They set off eastwards to try to escape from the storm, going as fast as they could. In the north you needed to fear storms, particularly winter ones. This one looked like the kind they called a killer. Many good men had perished, caught by surprise by one of these. If it came upon you, the cold and the lashing wind finished you off before you could do anything. The humans could not resist the freezing temperatures that came in the wake of the storm, which froze everything in its way.
“On we go, quick!” he urged his two companions. They climbed up through a steep fir forest. Lasgol realized that both Camu and Ona could probably cope with the storm – Camu for sure, since he was practically immune to the cold, and Ona, being a snow panther, could bear the cold much better than a human. He himself was the one who was running the greatest danger. He found it strange: he wanted to protect his two friends, and yet he really needed to be thinking about himself, since if anyone were to die in that storm, he would be the first. A gust of icy wind caught him in the back, and he nearly fell forward. He clung to a tree.
Careful, Camu transmitted.
Don’t worry.
Storm very cold. Wind bad.
Yes, I know. Thank you.
Lasgol looked back. The storm was moving very fast, faster than he was capable of going on in the snow. They would not be able to avoid it, and it was huge. The black clouds now covered the sky completely, as far as he could see. The storm was faster than he was, but not faster than Ona. He crouched down beside the panther.
“Ona. Shelter,” he said, and pointed to the northeast with his five fingers held up straight.
Ona knew the command. He had taught it to her at the Shelter, with Elder Gisli. The panther flew off in the direction he had indicated.
I stay with you.
Thanks, Camu. Run!
He set off uphill amid the frozen wind which was lashing him from west and south with tremendous blows. Several times he nearly fell, but managed to keep his balance. He kept going as best he could, feeling a terrible coldness. If he lagged and the thick of the storm caught him, it would mean the end of him. Camu ran beside him in great leaps. The creature had impressive stamina and did not seem to be tiring, which was not something Lasgol could say about himself. What with the difficulty of the steep ascent through the darkened forest and the buffeting of the freezing wind, he was having a hard time of it. However, if there was one thing he had learnt at the Camp and at the Shelter it was to bear physical pain, and suffer he would.
Tremendous flashes of lightning burst from the clouds, and deafening thunder seemed to tear the black sky. He shook his head, clenched his jaw and went on running uphill through snow, trees and deadly cold. His legs had begun to hurt, and his lungs were burning from the effort and the cold. He was able to breathe under his scarf, which gave him some protection. He gave thanks to the Ice Gods for the Specialist’s gear which granted him certain benefits which in these circumstances he really needed. He wondered how many lives Enduald’s enchantments might have saved: certainly many. Today perhaps they would save another: his own.
As he feared, the storm caught up with him and he began to fear seriously for his life. The cold and the lashing of the wind were unbearable. He closed his eyes, sought his Gift and called upon Improved Agility and Cat-Like Reflexes, which enabled him to face the steepest stretch and the final rocky obstacles more easily. With a last effort, he came out of the forest. He looked right and left, but all he could make out were two new bare snow-covered hills. There was no protection, so that the wind was going to tear him to shreds. He could not stop to think, he was freezing where he stood. The sky thundered and seemed to break in two. Several bolts of lightning fell on the forest behind him.
Come on, then, Camu. To the right.
No. Left.
Why? Lasgol asked blankly.
Ona coming.
He squinted and saw Ona in the snow, coming from the left.
All right then. Let’s go.
They reached the panther, who turned back and led them uphill.
Lasgol could see nothing in the storm. Frozen water was falling and the icy wind hurt his eyes. His eyelashes and eyebrows were freezing; by now they were completely white, like icicles. His legs were in agony and air was barely able to enter his lungs, it was so freezing. But he kept going. If he stopped, he was dead. He knew it, he could feel it. Another blast of deafening thunder exploded over his head and lightning blazed to his right.
When they reached the end of the snow-covered hill, the wind hit him with tremendous force and sent him flying several paces. He ended up half-buried in snow.
Lasgol! Camu cried in terror.
I’m… fine…
He tried to stand up, but another gust of ice-cold wind hurled him into the air and he ended up stuck in the snow head-down, unable to get back on to his feet. Panic began to take over. He could not breathe.
Then he felt something tugging his back. He managed to get free and breathe. It was Camu, who had pulled him out of the snow.
Follow Ona, he transmitted urgently.
Lasgol managed to stand and saw her a hundred paces or so to his left.
Move.
Making a tremendous effort to endure the wind and the cold, he reached Ona. The panther turned and ran to a wall of rock covered with snow, and Lasgol followed her. And then she vanished. Lasgol thought it was his eyes that would no longer let him see. He hurled himself forward desperately and fell on to a hard surface. It was not snow, but rock. He looked around: everything was rock.
Shelter! Camu transmitted as he passed him.
Ona appeared in front of him and licked his face. Making an effort, he got to his knees, and then understood where he was.
It was a cave!
“Ona. Good! You saved me.” He looked back and saw the storm outside. He dragged himself further in, since he could not get to his feet, he was so exhausted and cold. He was left lying on the floor, feeling grateful.
“Only just made it…”
All of a sudden there came a horrifying roar. He knew it was not Ona, and nor was it Camu.
He looked toward the far end of the cave.
“Oh, no!”
A white bear was coming toward them, roaring.
They had come into its lair.
Chapter 11
Lasgol tried to stand up to defend himself against the bear’s attack, but he was so frozen from the lashing of the storm that he could only manage to get as far as his knees. Half his body would not respond to him. He could not even feel it. An abysmal cold was enveloping him. He was carrying two bows on his back and tried to reach for one, but found it impossible because his arms would not respond either. He saw the bear charging and his heart nearly leapt out of his mouth.
Suddenly Ona leapt in front of him and gave a tremendous hiss at the attacking bear. All the hair on her back and tail rose, making her look far larger and more lethal than she really was. When the bear saw the panther standing up to it and defending Lasgol, it stopped its charge. Ona hissed at it again, showing her fangs bravely and defiantly, as if she were not afraid of it even though it was far bigger and stronger than she was.
The bear roared at her. It was a roar of strength and warning, to let her know that it was more powerful and would destroy her if she faced up to it. But Ona did not cower. Instead of lowering her ears and withdrawing, as the bear expected her to do, she hissed again and her fur stood on end. The bear hesitated, less sure of itself now. A snow panther was standing up to it, and this was not usual. Great cats and bears did not normally attack one another; they had a mutual respect. Very probably this bear was not used to being opposed by any other animal, least of all inside its own lair.
Lasgol looked back, intending to escape from the cave now that they had a chance, before the bear decided to kill them. Outside, the storm was raging brutally, and if they went out they would freeze to death. The bear meanwhile seemed to be assessing the situation and its own options in the face of the courageous panther. Cam
u had camouflaged himself and vanished into the darkness of the cave. Lasgol tried to use his weapons, but was unable to. The situation was desperate. If the bear decided to attack, Ona would not be able to stop it. She was still very young and the bear was fully grown. It would kill her, and then him.
A new roar filled the cave entrance. The bear had stood up on its hind legs and was rearing threateningly, showing them how huge it was. Ona was still in her attacking stance, her back arched, ready to pounce. Lasgol realized that the situation was going to turn dramatic at any moment and decided to try the only weapon he had left: his Gift. He closed his eyes and searched for his inner pool of energy. He found it in his chest and invoked his Animal Communication skill.
He failed.
He cursed under his breath. The cold was affecting his Talent as well. Determinedly, he tried once more.
The skill failed him again.
The bear decided it could beat the young panther facing him and attacked. It seemed to Lasgol that now everything was lost. Suddenly Camu appeared on the bear’s back. He had leapt on to it and was clinging to its body. The bear stopped its attack against Ona and spun around, trying to get rid of its unwanted rider. It clawed repeatedly, roaring furiously, but could not reach him, which enraged it even more. Camu began to give out silver flashes as if he were detecting magic, uttering high-pitched shrieks which echoed against the walls of the cave. Lasgol realized that what Camu intended, was to distract and possibly scare the bear, since his little friend had no defensive magic and his teeth, not being those of a carnivore, could not hurt the beast.
Lasgol knew that Camu was offering him a chance, the only one they would have. He had to take it. He concentrated as hard as he could amid the bear’s roaring, Camu’s shrieks and Ona’s hissing, and searched for his Gift. Once again, he called upon his Animal Communication skill.
A green flash ran through his head. It had worked.
Keep it busy, he told Camu.
Try. Hard. Camu transmitted, and with the message, he also received a feeling of fear.
Ona was clawing the beast’s legs, careful not to allow herself to be caught by one of them. The bear was maddened now, unable to reach Camu and get him off its back. It was roaring furiously and trying to catch Ona, who was leaping to get away from it and a moment later lunging at the bear’s leg again.
Lasgol concentrated on finding the beast’s mind, and invoked his Aura Presence skill. It was one thing to locate mental auras in animals like Camu, whom he had practiced with a lot, but a very different one to do it in such a desperate moment and with a wild beast he had never faced before. But he would have to try. He had no other way out. He concentrated even harder and sent more of his inner energy into the skill. For a long moment he could not manage to perceive anything. Camu was screaming and he himself was getting more and more desperate. He heard another hiss from Ona.
He clenched his jaw and tried by every means possible to catch the bear’s mental aura. Time was running out, and the bear was at the point of reaching Ona. Then, in the midst of the chaos and anguish oppressing his chest, he finally managed to glimpse its aura. It was brown, small, located in the beast’s head.
There it was!
He focused on it and sent a mental message to the beast: Stop!
The bear’s reaction was instantaneous. It stopped and looked around, its eyes staring wide. The message had reached it, and it was completely at a loss.
Don’t attack! Lasgol ordered it. He did not know whether the beast understood him, but he had hopes that it did. Perhaps it did not understand the message as such, but was able to grasp its meaning. Other animals he had practiced on, like dogs, understood, though of course a bear was a very different animal.
The bear gave a roar, half-puzzled, half-enraged. The messages puzzled it because it did not understand who was talking to it or why.
Seeing how confused it was, and that the messages seemed to be having some effect, Lasgol decided to keep sending them to see if he could stop the attack.
Stop!
The bear raised its claws into the air and shook its head. Ona saw her opportunity and attacked. The bear defended itself and hit her with the back of its paw so that she was thrown to one side. Lasgol felt his heart skip a beat. Ona managed to get back up and shook her head. She seemed slightly stunned, but she did not appear to be bleeding. She had been lucky. If it had been the other side of the bear’s paw, the wound might have been deadly. Lasgol muffled a cry. The panther was taking too many risks. A better-aimed blow and she might have been disemboweled.
“Ona. Here!” he commanded.
The panther eyed him doubtfully.
“Ona. Here,” he repeated.
The panther came to his side obediently and took up a defensive stance in case the bear launched itself against them.
Stop! Lasgol transmitted to the bear.
The beast totally befuddled, was no longer trying to reach Camu, who leapt from its back and ran to Lasgol and Ona.
The bear roared furiously. It did not know what was going on, but it did not like it, that at least, was clear. It rose on to its hind legs once again, revealing what an impressive specimen it was, and roared threateningly.
Don’t attack!
The bear shook its head as though a swarm of bees were attacking its ears, and roared again. This time the roar suggested a mixture of puzzlement and desperation.
We’re not a danger.
The bear roared again, but not so aggressively this time.
We’re not going to hurt you.
The beast dropped to all fours and stared at them. Lasgol was still on his knees, unable to move. Ona was on his right, Camu on his left.
We’re friends.
He was not sure whether the bear understood the messages, but something was happening. It was no longer attacking them. Its attitude was not so aggressive, even though it was still puzzled by what was going on.
Easy, boy.
The bear lowered its head and looked at him as if trying to find out whether he was the one talking to it.
I’m Lasgol. He touched his chest.
The beast was staring fixedly at him, intrigued. It gave what sounded more like a moan than a roar and shook its head again as if begging him to get out of there.
We’ll leave as soon as the storm passes, he transmitted, and pointed outside. Then he pretended to shiver and hug himself tightly. He hoped the beast would understand, if not the words, at least the gestures and the final meaning of the mental message.
The bear put its head to one side and then the other and looked out past them, through the entrance of the cave. It growled, but not very loudly.
Let us stay, Lasgol pleaded. He pointed to where they were and shivered again. He wanted the bear to understand that they would not go further into its cave, they would simply stay there sheltering from the storm. He was not too sure it understood, and was afraid it would go back to being aggressive and attack them. But to his great surprise, the bear growled again, then very slowly turned around and went back to the depths of the cave.
Lasgol saw it disappear into the inner darkness of the cave and let out a huge sigh of relief under his breath. He waited a moment longer, motionless, in case the beast decided to come back. When nothing happened, he let himself fall to the floor in utter exhaustion and breathed out in relief as if there were no tomorrow.
Bear leave, Camu transmitted, also with a feeling of great relief.
Lasgol was so exhausted that he could barely manage to reply to his friend. It took him a moment to recover his strength and concentration.
Thank goodness… that was very, very close…
You speak to bear?
Yes, I sent it mental messages.
I try too.
Did you?
But can’t. Don’t know.
Oh… This puzzled Lasgol. He had been able to do it himself, but Camu had not. An idea came into his head: he needed to teach him. In situations like the one they had just been
through, if Camu could do what he had just done himself, it might save their lives. Not all situations were resolved with weapons or harmful magic. Some could be resolved in the way he himself had just shown.
I’ll try to teach you how, he transmitted to Camu.
Yes. I want to learn. Camu began his dance of happiness, flexing his four legs and wagging his long tail.
Ona chirped cheerfully at the sight of her friend dancing. She had lain down beside Lasgol.
“Ona. Good,” he said, and scratched her head.
Ona brave, Camu transmitted as he danced toward her.
“Ona. Brave,” Lasgol said to the panther, although he was not sure she understood the term, probably not yet. He would have to start working with Ona on Animal Communication. That would be very helpful. Yes. After what they had just been through, he felt it was necessary. He would teach her to receive mental messages as he had with Camu. Yes, it was the right moment. Today he had almost lost her, and that could simply not be allowed to happen.
The panther lay on her side and let Lasgol scratch her tummy.
“That was a bad moment, eh?”
She gave a mournful moan.
“Are you hurt?” He examined her. She had a couple of ugly bruises, but she was not bleeding and did not seem to have any broken bones. He would rub an ointment on her from his belt as soon as he could and she would be good as new.
Ona good friend. Camu transmitted happily.
She is. Very good. Loyal and brave. She didn’t hesitate to defend us from a white bear. That’s a real feat.
Bear big. Much danger.
Yes. And you leapt on to him like a true warrior.
I no claws, I no teeth, but fight.
You did very well. And you showed you’re as brave as Ona.
Camu looked at Lasgol, then at Ona. He put his head first to one side, then to the other, and went on dancing in a circle.
I happy. All well.
Yes. Me too. Very, very happy. We almost died. A killer storm and a white bear. Hardly worth mentioning… He shook his head. There were days in the north when it was better not to go out. Camu went on with his happy dance, while Lasgol stroked and comforted Ona until his strength gave up completely and he fell asleep on the spot.