by Pedro Urvi
The team began to release against them, but the boards protected them. As they reached the spot where the fallen trunks were lying, they picked them up and went on to the gate.
“Kill them!” Sven shouted. But the Wild Ones reached the gate and began to pound it with their rams, trying to bring it down.
“Rangers, release!” Gatik ordered.
Lasgol, Ona and Camu (who was in his invisible state) wanted to go and help them, but Eicewald shook his head. “We need you for the great spell. We can’t risk you. You’re too valuable.”
Gatik ordered the use of elemental arrows to stop the attacks of the Wild Ones on the gate, and finally they managed to slow them down.
During this whole day, Lasgol waited in vain for the Frozen Specter to appear. Using his Hawk’s Eye skill, his augmented sight was able to make out the enormous totem the Wild Ones had erected seven hundred paces away. It was very like those he had seen in the Frozen Territories, and he knew perfectly well what it was for. He watched it closely and saw that every now and then three chiefs – a Semi-Giant who acted as chief among the Wild Ones of the Ice, a chief of the Tundra Dwellers, and one of the Arcanes of the Glaciers – would gather together and begin the ominous ritual by summoning the Frozen Specter with their chanting. Luckily they had not yet succeeded. It must have been close, or else they would not have been calling it with that gloomy ceremony.
And the Frozen Specter appeared.
That bloodcurdling face, frozen for all eternity in an expression of horror, stirred terror in the defenders. Its body, half translucent and half frost and ice, hinted that it would not be possible to kill it like a human. It looked even bigger than the last time Lasgol had seen it: a cross between a Semi-Giant and an Arcane of the Glaciers which was now over twenty-four feet tall. Its power also seemed to have increased, because as it walked it now gave out more mist from its body, which froze everything around it far and wide.
The chiefs, who were now assembled in front of the great totem, were in the middle of their ritual by now. All the assembled forces joined in the chanting when they saw the Specter appear, and the effect of thousands of voices chanting the funereal summons had a demoralizing and disheartening effect on the defenders.
At an order from the chiefs, the Specter made its way toward the northern gate.
“The specter!” cried Sven.
“Call Eicewald!” Gatik ordered.
The King’s Mage, together with the other Ice Magi and Lasgol, came to the battlements above the northern gate. The Specter walked on, unconcerned. It was coming to feed, and the food it sought was souls. Because it was larger now, it was more powerful and more dangerous.
“How many paces away does the Specter have to be for the spell to work?” Sven asked Eicewald.
“Two hundred at the most, but the closer the better.”
“Then you’ll have to do it when it attacks the northern gate.”
Eicewald turned to his group. “It’s time to get ready. Put these on,” he added to Lasgol, and handed him the strange golden protective gloves.
“Will I freeze this time too?” Lasgol asked in puzzlement as he put them on.
“No, but all Objects of Power have noxious effects when used directly. With the Star of Sea and Life you’ll feel you’re drowning, because it’s magic of Water and Life.”
“Will I drown?” he asked uneasily.
“We’ve charmed the gloves so that they’ll protect you. But yes, that’ll be what you feel.”
“Could I die?”
“Yes … If you don’t want to do it … well, that’s understandable.”
“Is there no other way?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Lasgol thought about it. He looked at his friends on the battlements, who were watching him with great interest, then at the enemy hosts, and lastly at the Specter, which was approaching with great strides. He thought about Astrid.
“I’ll do it,” he said at last.
“Thank you. It does you credit.”
Eicewald took out the Star of Sea and Life. Lasgol felt it was so beautiful that he found it hard to imagine it could produce any adverse effects in him. When he grasped it with the gloves, he felt nothing.
“You know what to do. Above your head – and no matter what happens, don’t drop it.”
Lasgol nodded. “You can rely on me. I won’t fail.”
“You’re a brave young man.”
Eicewald now formed a circle with the other Magi, and Lasgol took his place in the center. He knew the gate was beneath his feet, and that it was where the Specter was heading for. If they failed, they would be the first to die.
At Eicewald’s command, the Ice Magi raised their staves in front of them and grasped them firmly. The great spell began. Lasgol raised the Star of Sea and Life above his head. It was not activated yet, so he felt no adverse effects. Eicewald began the spell, intoning words of arcane power, and the Ice Magi joined in. The Specter was moving towards them, while at the same time the enemy hosts intoned their own chant.
Lasgol knew it would take some time to create the spell. He prepared himself by invoking all the skills he thought might be able to help him at that moment. Suddenly Eicewald pointed his staff at the Star of Sea and Life, which seemed to take on a life of its own, glowing with an intense sea-blue, mingled with white flashes. Lasgol began to feel that there was not enough air, as if he could not breathe properly. He tried to get air into his lungs by inhaling with all his might, first through his nose and then through his mouth, until at last he managed to breathe, but with difficulty. A horrifying sense of drowning under the sea overwhelmed him, so that he almost dropped the Star.
Eicewald went on with the spell, trusting that Lasgol would hold up. All the Rangers above the battlements were watching, their expressions full of uncertainty and worry.
“Arrows of fire!” Gatik ordered as the Frozen Specter approached.
The Rangers readied their weapons and released. The arrows hit the Specter, which uttered strange shouts of rage. Fire could not destroy it, but it certainly annoyed it. They launched more arrows, which forced it to stop.
“Stop shooting!” Gatik ordered.
They needed the Specter not to turn round and leave, or else it would move out of range of the spell. At the same time, they wanted to stop it reaching the gate, because if it did so it could stretch out its deadly arms and destroy the Magi.
The Specter seemed to hesitate, but the chanting echoed throughout the area and it set off once again toward the gate. As the Rangers did not have enough arrows, they hauled up cauldrons of fire and tied strips of cloth to the arrows so that they would burn. At Gatik’s order, they repeated the strategy. The Specter stopped again for a moment, but this time it seemed to grow furious and lurched into movement again.
“Release again!” Gatik ordered.
The fire arrows hit the Frozen Specter, which grew more and more furious, but carried on. The strategy was no longer working. Had they gained enough time to allow the Magi to finish the spell? They would soon find out, because the Specter was less than twenty paces from the gate and was heading straight to it as if it knew that this was where the spell was coming from.
Lasgol was having a terrible time as the Ice Magi conjured more and more intensely. The gloves were preventing him from drowning, but the lack of air and the sense of being at the bottom of the ocean was now overwhelming. His lungs and head hurt, and a terrible pain was clutching his chest.
Suddenly there came an arc of blue energy from Eicewald’s staff. When it reached the Star of Sea and Life, it lit up in blue and white.
The final phase of the spell now began.
Lasgol did not know whether he would be able to hold out any longer. What he was feeling was pure torture. When he tried to breathe, he felt like a fish which had been taken out of the water. The other Magi directed the conjured arcs of energy toward the Star, as Eicewald had done. The energy of all five Magi was now reaching the Star, which glowe
d more and more intensely. Lasgol had the impression that it had more energy and power than the Snowflake.
You well? came Camu’s worried message.
Lasgol had to make a tremendous effort to answer, because he felt that he was dying. Holding up the Star was all his mind was able to manage.
I’m … fine …
Not fine, I help, Camu transmitted, deeply worried.
No! If you step in … you’ll destroy the great spell …
I want help.
In that case … don’t do anything …
By now the Specter was only five paces away from the gate. In the midst of the chanting of the hosts of the Ice, it began to extend its arms. Time was running out.
Eicewald stopped conjuring and opened his eyes, followed by the other Magi an instant later. He fixed his eyes on the Specter and pointed at it with his staff. A beam shot out of the staff and hit the creature in its horribly disfigured face. Eicewald uttered a command of power, and the Star of Sea and Life generated an enormous burst of brilliance, followed by an equally tremendous bolt of blue-and-white light which rose to the sky. The monstrosity raised its arms, and a moment later the descending bolt fell full on it.
The creature of the frozen abysses gave out a deep, agonized scream, as though it had been run through with a great sword of fire. It shook its arms in an attempt to get rid of the pain, and its disfigured face was full of terror.
Lasgol’s jaw was almost dislocated by now. He felt as though he was dying. Once again Eicewald uttered the command of power, and a new burst of blue and white rose from the Star of Sea and Life. Another great bolt of light fell, smiting the Specter like a hammer of magic. The creature gave another scream and doubled up. An enormous pain penetrated its corrupt, empty soul.
The Star’s great spell, which contained the energy of Sea and Life, was working. Lasgol knew this and it gave him strength, even though he could no longer stay on his feet. He was falling. He could not keep the Star aloft, and he knew that if he fell, they would fail.
On the battlements everybody was staring at the magical battle, not knowing what to do. Gatik saw that the Specter was in trouble, and made the decision to attack.
“Fire arrows!” he shouted.
The Rangers released against the Specter, which was still trying to recover. It screamed with rage and pain.
Sven realized that it was now weakening. “Fire arrows, everybody!” he ordered.
Thousands of fire arrows fell on the Specter in its agony. It shook its incorporeal arms, seeking an inrush of souls and energy to enable it to recover.
Lasgol wanted to hold out, but his knees were weakening. Suddenly he felt someone beside him.
“No … magic …”
Is me, Camu said.
No … you’ll destroy the spell …
Not deny magic, only hold you.
Lasgol leaned his elbows on Camu’s body, realizing that the creature seemed to be unaffected by the magic of the Star. He was drowning, his lungs were on the point of bursting and he was in agony, but he was not prepared to give up. He clutched the Star firmly. His lungs, his head and his throat were about to explode.
Eicewald conjured for a third time. There came a new burst of light from the Star, and a new bolt climbed to the heavens. Once again it fell and smote the Frozen Specter. The being screamed, and its face took on an even more horrifying expression, if such a thing were possible. It howled.
Then it fell to the ground and disintegrated into a grey mist.
The wind carried it away.
“It’s … fallen …” Lasgol muttered, on the verge of tears.
Powerful creature dead, Camu confirmed.
“We … destroyed … it …” Unable to say any more, he collapsed. The Star fell with him and was extinguished.
Eicewald bent over to him and put his hand on his chest. “Breathe in slowly. Inhale. It’s been a horrible experience, I know, but it’s over. Breathe in.”
Lasgol felt everything beginning to fade. There was a tremendous pain in his chest.
Breathe deep, Camu transmitted.
Ona came up to him and licked his hair.
“Come on, Lasgol, breathe,” Eicewald said.
Finally, he was able to get air into his lungs. It hurt terribly, as if for some reason they were no longer functioning properly. He went on breathing, but every breath was torture.
“It hurts … to breathe …”
“It’ll be gone in a few days. It’s because of the effort you made.”
A moment later, with the Mage’s help, Lasgol was able to stand up.
“Did we really destroy it?” he asked. He could not believe it.
“Yes,” Eicewald confirmed, “the Specter has been destroyed.”
“The Specter has been destroyed!” Sven cried when he heard it from the mouth of the King’s Mage.
Along the entire wall the Norghanians cheered, still transfixed by what they had witnessed.
The enemy forces stopped their chanting, and there followed a tense, total silence. For a time, which seemed an eternity, neither side made any move. They were watching one another, with doubt in their hearts.
At last, the hosts of the Frozen Continent began to withdraw in an orderly fashion, very slowly.
“They’re … withdrawing?” Lasgol asked Eicewald.
“It looks like it.”
“They could still take the city …”
“True, they could, but the cost would be too high and there’s no guarantee.” He waved around him. “We’ve got Magi and Rangers who could stop them. Their great advantage was the Frozen Specter, and they’ve lost that now. I don’t think they want to go on with the siege and lose a third, or even half, of their forces in the attempt. That’s not their strong point. They fight in open terrain. They don’t know anything about military tactics.”
“The enemy is retreating!” Sven called. He raised his sword to the sky. “Victory is ours!”
The cries of victory spread all along the wall as far as the Royal Castle, where King Thoran, his brother and his nobles were sheltering.
“Hail the King! Hail Norghana!” Sven shouted.
The shouting went on while the enemy forces left the area and set off northward, on their way back to their own lands.
“Magnificent work! Gatik said to Lasgol and the Magi.
Lasgol, who could not even speak and was still having trouble breathing, said nothing.
“It was what we had to do, and we did it,” Eicewald answered.
“I must admit, I wasn’t too sure what you were going to achieve,” Gatik admitted.
Sven arrived to join him amid the joyful shouts of his soldiers. “Neither was I.”
“It was a complicated situation,” Eicewald said, “but we managed to resolve it after all.”
Gatik indicated Lasgol, who was still doubled up with pain. “Will he recover?”
“He will, but he’ll need rest and care.”
“The King’s surgeons will look after him,” Sven said.
Lasgol did not like the sound of this. He would rather have gone back to the Camp and have Healer Edwina tend to him.
Sven and Gatik went back to their men to give them new orders. At the same time, they sent Rangers to follow the enemy and make sure they crossed the mountains.
“It’s natural enough for them to withdraw,” Viggo commented nonchalantly to his friends. “They know I’m here.”
Nilsa and Gerd burst out laughing.
“Yeah, just because you’re here they’re all running away in terror,” Ingrid said. She sounded utterly incredulous.
Viggo smiled and shrugged. “That’s the effect I have on the enemy.”
Molak and Luca shook their heads, smiling.
Lasgol choked on a chuckle, and for second time that day was on the point of death.
Chapter 36
It took Lasgol several days to recover, just as Eicewald had predicted. With rest, and tonics to strengthen him, and restoratives which the
King’s surgeons prescribed for him at the Royal Castle, it was enough. What he would never manage to cure was the memory of the anguish and terror he had experienced as he felt himself drowning. That was forever marked in his memory, as though with a hot iron on his flesh. These memories, together with his concern for Astrid’s wellbeing, and the lack of sleep because of the dreadful nightmares that woke him continually during the night, left him feeling rather low-spirited.
In the bed beside his own, Camu was resting, stretched out to the same length as his own, sleeping belly-up with his legs in the air. Ona was lying on the floor between the two beds and was also drowsing, opening and shutting her beautiful cat-eyes without moving. Lasgol watched them for a moment and smiled. Having them at his side made him forget all his troubles. He gave thanks to the Ice Gods that he had them.
The door to his room in the Tower of the Rangers opened and Viggo came in determinedly, followed by Nilsa and Gerd.
“Up already, sleepyhead?” Viggo asked.
Lasgol nodded. He was sitting on the bed finishing dressing. “I feel much better, thanks for asking,” he said acidly.
Ona opened her eyes and yawned. She recognized her friends and stayed quiet. Camu went on sleeping, unconcerned.
“I know you’re fine, nothing happened to you... you complain about everything,” Viggo said sarcastically as he sat down beside him on the bed.
“What d’you mean, nothing happened to him?” Nilsa said. “That treacherous magic nearly killed him!” Her hands were on her hips, and she was staring at Viggo with her forehead creased.
“Don’t you start with all that magic is bad, magic kills and all that... my head hurts with hearing you say that over and over.”
“How can I not say anything! Weren’t you there? Didn’t you see what happened?”
“This time I’m with Nilsa,” Gerd said, as he shut the door behind them. “The Frozen Specter was a creature with magic, and to finish it off we needed several Ice Magi and a very powerful magical object. The whole mess was all about magic. It’d be better for us if it had never existed.”
“Whether we like it or not, Magic exists,” Lasgol pointed out, “and we’ve got to learn to deal with it, for good or ill.”