by Pedro Urvi
“It was an honor and a pleasure to instruct the Turquoise Queen,” Eicewald said, nodding.
“I learnt much with you and from you, Eicewald. Not only how the world of those realms which are called civilized operates” – there was clear disdain in her voice – “but something beloved and valuable as far as I am concerned: magic, power.”
“That is something we both love and study,” Eicewald agreed.
“Very true. My people and my magic are the most important things to me, as you know well, since we spent so much time together once upon a time.”
“Much time, and precious it was,” the Mage added.
“Yes, it was indeed precious. And because of that, I rewarded you with a unique gift, something I have never granted anybody else: the possibility of leaving my realm, of returning to your own and continuing with your arcane studies.”
“And I will always be grateful to your Majesty for that honor.”
“And yet you have come back, when I expressly forbade you to do so. Know further, that I am neither a patient woman nor one who forgives mistakes. To have returned after all these years, it seems to me, has been a very unfortunate mistake on your part, and one, I’m afraid, which will have disastrous consequences for you and your friends.”
Hearing this, Lasgol swallowed. They were in serious trouble. And imprisoned as they were, there was nothing any of them could do about it.
Chapter 27
“Before your Majesty passes judgment,” Eicewald pleaded, “if you would allow me to explain the situation and the reason for my return …”
Uragh stared hard at him, seeming to debate with herself as she did so.
“Very well, then. For the friendship which once united us, I shall let you explain yourself. But be brief, and let there be no half-truths. My patience is short.”
“I will be brief, your Majesty. Thank you.”
Eicewald explained about the Frozen Specter, about the desperate situation the realm of Norghana found itself in and the reason why they were there. When he had finished, he lowered his eyes as though aware that what he had just told the Queen was not worthy of her ears.
Uragh raised her chin, and her eyes flashed blue. “The affairs of foreign realms are no concern of mine, nor am I in the least interested in them. I am not concerned with whether the Peoples of the Frozen Continent conquer Norghana. Have the Norghanians ever helped me? Are they better than the Peoples of the Frozen Continent? I doubt it. Why did you think I was going to help you? Why would I lend you one of my most precious possessions, the Star of Sea and Life?”
“We’d brought gold and weapons with us … but the storm which stranded us took them with it.”
“That is extremely inconvenient. I won’t say that they wouldn’t be welcome, because my people are not rich, nor do they possess weapons, but we do have many enemies.”
“Perhaps your Majesty, with your great power, may be able to locate the gold and weapons. They can’t be too far from where we were wrecked.”
“Perhaps … but the sea is far greater than my power. Even so, I would not help your realm. Not for gold and weapons.” She shook her head determinedly, as if such a thing were beneath her, beneath her honor.
Eicewald fell silent. He had no further case to make.
Uragh stared into his eyes. “Anything else you would like to add, Mage?”
Eicewald, who looked defeated, said nothing for a moment.
“Perhaps for an old friend?” he asked at last.
“To save your life from a Norghanian King?”
Eicewald nodded heavily.
“Do you then value our friendship and the respect I have for you so highly?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I showed you my generosity once already by letting you leave. I owe you nothing.”
“That is correct, your majesty … but my realm and my life are at stake. I had no other way out.”
“You have always been honest. That does you credit. I will give you that. Unfortunately, you put too high a value on your life, or on the love I have for you, or had.”
“I will accept your Majesty’s wishes,” Eicewald said, sounding defeated. He had not managed to persuade the Turquoise Queen, and his fate was now sealed.
Astrid looked intensely at Lasgol. The Queen was going to sentence them to death: all of them. Perhaps she would have pity on them, because there was no real reason for her to kill them. Unfortunately, the Turquoise Queen did not need any reason to put her will into practice.
“You have entered my realm without my permission. A mage and six warriors. You represent a danger to my people. I can’t let you leave this place.”
Lasgol knew that they were finished, and the worst of all was that they were unable to defend themselves, imprisoned as they were within the barrier of water. The Queen could put an end to their existence in a moment.
Suddenly something totally unexpected happened. The barriers of water which surrounded them dissolved, and the water fell back to the ground. Lasgol thought that the Turquoise Queen was setting them free, but that made no sense, not after what she had just said. He saw her eyes widening and her face twisting in surprise and annoyance. This was not something she had done herself. She waved her arms and murmured something once again, repeating the spell which had imprisoned them. There was a blue flash around the six of them, which vanished in a single moment.
The Queen threw her head back in astonishment and stood up in the water beneath her throne. Her eyes glinted.
“Who has stopped my spell?”
Then Lasgol understood what was happening. It was Camu! He had neutralized the Queen’s spells!
He glanced at Astrid to see whether she was all right, and she nodded. Luckily none of the rest of the team had touched the water. Gerd gave a loud snort of relief, letting out all the air of his lungs. Nilsa’s expression was furious, and her fists were clenched. Ingrid and Viggo exchanged a look and a tense gesture.
“Now!” Ingrid ordered, and with a lightning move she nocked Punisher.
Viggo and Astrid reached for their long knives and prepared to attack the guards who were racing toward them. Nilsa and Gerd reached for their own bows with rapid movements and aimed at the Queen and the Shamans behind them.
Camu, Ona, alert! Lasgol called as he too nocked his bow.
I protect from Queen magic.
Good. Stay close, so you can keep us within your area of influence.
I with you, Camu transmitted, and Lasgol felt him brush against his leg.
Good! Cover us.
The Shamans of the Sea of the Turquoise Queen now cast a spell, and from the water around the Queen emerged six threatening-looking creatures. They were sea serpents with enormous jaws, formed of turquoise water, the size of two Norghanians, each looking more ferocious than the other. They reared up to protect the Queen and attack the team.
The guards hurled themselves on Viggo, and Astrid rushed to help him with an impressive summersault. Ingrid launched an arrow at the Queen, aiming at her heart. In response Uragh moved her hand, and a bubble of turquoise water surrounded her completely. The arrow disintegrated on contact with it. Gerd and Nilsa launched arrows against the horrifying serpents, but the arrows too disintegrated as they touched their bodies.
“The arrows don’t have any effect on them!” Gerd shouted as he reached for his knife and axe to fight a serpent which was nearly on him.
Lasgol aimed at Arrain, who at that moment was finishing casting a spell. A colossal crab made of turquoise water reared up in front of him. Lasgol’s arrow hit the crab, but like the others it fell to the ground, shattered. The crab opened and closed a pair of huge bloodcurdling pincers and made for Lasgol.
Eicewald sent an icy wave against the guards, who were left with half their bodies frozen, unable to move forward or attack.
“Withdraw!” Lasgol shouted. He took two steps back, with Ona at his side.
Ingrid took her cue. “We move back!” she ordered, and the
six of them quickly went to stand beside Lasgol.
“Eicewald, you too!” Lasgol shouted.
The Mage cast a spell against Arrain, who protected himself from the frozen bolt with a bubble of water. Eicewald then stepped back to join the others.
The sea serpents hurled themselves at them, and though they fought back, it had no effect.
“We’re lost!” Gerd shouted.
One of the serpents tried to bite his head, but there came a blue flash and it disintegrated, leaving Gerd staring in disbelief. The remaining serpents hurled themselves at them, but one after the other, as soon as they reached them, they disintegrated as the first one had done.
“What on earth is happening?” Ingrid yelled.
“It’s Camu,” Lasgol explained. “He’s nullifying the magic and protecting us. All of you, stay close to me, because his area of influence isn’t very wide.”
Arrain and the Shamans began to conjure once again, but Uragh raised her right hand. “Stop, all of you,” she ordered. “Don’t attack them.”
The Shamans stopped their spell, and the guards stepped back. Meanwhile the team watched them alertly, ready for whatever might happen next.
“Who is this who is negating my magic?” Uragh asked, her eyes half-closed. “I know it’s not you, Eicewald, you don’t have that kind of power. Is there another mage among you?”
Nobody said anything.
“You’d better tell me. You might be able to protect yourselves from our magic, but I doubt whether it would be for long. And in any case, I can call another hundred warriors, and then that protection would be no use to you.”
Ingrid looked at Lasgol, and he knew that she was leaving things to him. He thought about it, and knew the Queen was right. Camu would not be able to keep his protection active forever, and if those hundred warriors appeared … there was no way they could fend off so many. The best thing would be to try to negotiate.
“I can explain it,” he said to the Queen.
Uragh was staring fixedly at him. “What is your name?”
“Lasgol.”
“Is it you who is destroying our magic?”
“Before I answer … do I have the Queen’s word that we will not be harmed?”
Uragh was thoughtful for a moment.
“I’m very intrigued by what’s just happened. I’ve never seen anything like it. Everything arcane interests me, this especially.”
“Have we the Queen’s word?” Lasgol insisted.
“You have my word that you’ll come out of this cavern unharmed, and that you’ll live to see another dawn.”
Lasgol knew this was no guarantee that they would leave the islands alive, but, considering the situation they were in, it was something.
Ingrid shook her head, clearly unwilling that he should accept the deal. Astrid made a gesture that Lasgol understood to mean ‘better than nothing’.
“All right,” he agreed. “Camu, show yourself.”
The creature appeared beside him in the middle of the team, and the Queen and the Shamans started in surprise. They stared at him in amazement.
“What is this creature?” Uragh asked at last.
“He’s a Creature with Power from the Frozen Continent,” Lasgol explained. “He can cancel the magic around him.”
Uragh fixed her gaze on Camu and studied him thoroughly. Eicewald, looking utterly taken aback, stared first at Camu and then at Lasgol. He would demand an explanation later, but that did not trouble Lasgol for the moment. The situation was complicated enough already, and the Mage’s annoyance at having had this concealed from him was the least of his worries at the moment.
Camu, seeing that all gazes were fixed on him, stretched out his neck and tail, trying to make himself appear bigger and more dangerous than he really was. In fact, if he had been able to, he would certainly have roared, but he was not very good at roaring, he was more one for shrieking. Since nobody was saying anything and the tension was rising, he decided to show them his skills. He disappeared in front of the Queen, to reappear a moment later on Lasgol’s other side.
“I’m going to cast a spell on Lasgol. Stop me,” Uragh said to Camu with the clear intention of establishing that this was not simply by chance.
Camu gave forth a silver flash and created a protective sphere which covered Lasgol and all those with him. Uragh launched a spell against Lasgol in the form of an arrow of turquoise water, which crashed against the sphere and disintegrated. Uragh conjured a second time, this time trying to create a spell inside the sphere. There was a blue flash in her hands, and the spell failed.
“Impressive!” she commented, and now her expression was deeply intrigued. Once again she was silent and thoughtful.
Camu stretched out his head and tail, proud of what he had managed to show. I prevent magic, he transmitted to Lasgol.
Well done. Now don’t do anything till we see what happens.
All right, the creature agreed happily.
The Queen stared with great interest at Camu. When she finally spoke, what she said was not what Lasgol had expected, considering how the audience had been going until then.
“This new discovery changes things. It interests me very much. Go away now and let me think. I’ll let you know what I decide about this case, and about your fate.”
The team exchanged looks of disbelief. They looked from the monarch to Arrain and the Shamans, expecting a ruse of some kind, but there was none.
Eicewald bowed deeply. “Thank you, your majesty,” he said gratefully.
“Arrain, this evening let them enjoy our hospitality.”
The Shaman nodded respectfully. “I’ll make sure of it, your majesty.” He signaled them to leave the chamber.
They had come out of it alive. For the moment. Lasgol breathed out heavily. Would they live to see another dawn?
Chapter 28
Arrain, accompanied by a group of both Shamans of the Sea and Guards, escorted them to a hut. It was set a little apart from the ones the natives used, larger and more solid. Lasgol had the feeling that it had been already used as a place of detention, because the windows were bricked up. The door had been left open, but it revealed a fire with twenty or so guards beside it. Eicewald was taken to another nearby hut and locked in under the watchful eye of Shamans of the Sea, in case he tried to use his magic in any way.
“What on earth has been going on here?” Ingrid asked furiously once they had been left alone in the hut.
“Our charming Ice Mage hasn’t managed to win over our bitchy host?” Viggo replied acidly.
“Yeah, that obviously, but why hasn’t she killed us?”
“That’s a good question,” said Astrid. “That was really weird. I was sure we weren’t going to get out of that cave alive.”
“Me too,” Lasgol had to admit. “Thank goodness Camu stepped in.”
“Did you tell the bug to rescue us?” Viggo asked.
“Well, no. He acted on his own initiative.”
“Nice bit of work!” Gerd said to Camu. “If you hadn’t stepped in, we wouldn’t have gotten out of there.”
I happy to help, Camu transmitted, and became visible. Gerd went over to pet him immediately.
“He says he’s happy he was able to help,” Lasgol explained.
“You were fantastic, Camu!” Astrid said to him. She too made a fuss of him, full of affection for the creature.
Ona too went to him to congratulate him, and he was delighted. Camu good, he transmitted happily.
The panther rubbed against Camu, showing her affection.
All right, Lasgol said, smiling from ear to ear. This time I admit it, you were magnificent. Camu. Good.
“I had no idea he could do things like that,” Ingrid said. She arched an eyebrow, staring at Camu as though she were seeing him for the first time.
Lasgol waved his hands. “He’s been developing various skills, and some of them are really beginning to stand out.”
Ona licked Camu’s head repeatedly, wh
ich delighted him.
Viggo frowned. “There they go, licking each other.”
“That’s how they express their love,” Astrid said as she stroked both of them, smiling.
“For once,” Viggo said gratefully, “I’m even going to let him lick my hand.” He offered it to Camu, who licked it happily. Then, before Viggo could escape, he licked his face.
Viggo leapt to one side. “I said my hand, you fiend!”
Nilsa grimaced. “You know I hate magic with all my heart,” she said, putting her finger on her heart, “but this time I have to admit that Camu’s magic has saved our lives.”
“Perhaps not all magic is bad after all,” Gerd admitted.
“Magic isn’t good or bad,” Lasgol replied. “It’s just that the person who uses it can use it for good or for evil.” He was trying not to sound as if he were lecturing them. He knew perfectly well that Nilsa loathed it and Gerd feared it.
Ingrid nodded. “It’s certainly powerful.”
“And there are plenty of situations where it would be really useful to have it on our side, like just now,” Astrid added.
Nilsa did not protest about magic anymore and was silent, weighing up the hatred she felt for it and what had just happened with Camu. Gerd was nodding silently, and seemed more convinced than his friend, the redhead. Lasgol sensed that they were both a little closer to accepting magic, even though they still had some way to go before they fully accepted it as something positive.
“Let’s focus on the subject at hand,” Ingrid said, imposing order on the conversation. “We’re in a really difficult situation, and we have to find a way out of it.”
“I’d say a deadly situation,” Nilsa added, looking horrified. “That Sorceress Queen of Water doesn’t pussyfoot around.”
“At the moment we’re still alive and safe, so we mustn’t lose hope,” Lasgol said in an attempt to raise the group’s spirits.