by Pedro Urvi
“I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting it, my lord. I know it’s magnificent.”
“It certainly is a magnificent fortress, and what’s more, it’s impregnable. It keeps watch over the plains in the south and west of our kingdom. Behind the redoubt there rises an imposing mountain range, and at its feet lies the blue water of the great river Utla. You’ll hand it to my personal chamberlain, who’ll keep it safe. Is this as clear as the water of our mountains?”
“Yes, my lord. I won’t fail you. I’ll deliver the Star.”
Orten gestured toward his men. “These guards will be going with you to protect what you’re carrying.”
“That’s not necessary, my lord. I can manage by myself.”
“I have no doubt that you can – you’re a powerful Mage – but I’m not the trusting sort. They’ll go with you to make sure the Star arrives safely. They’re men who’ve been chosen by me personally. If it should occur to you to stray … they’ll complete the mission without you.”
“My lord … I’d never …”
“Hah,” Orten said disdainfully. “You’d be the first to rob a thief.”
“I’ll never betray my lord’s trust.”
“And you’d be well advised not to, if you want to go on breathing.”
“I won’t fail you,” the Mage assured him. His expression betrayed the delicate situation he was in.
“Good. Now be on your way. I’m getting tired of the smell of manure in here.”
Lasgol could not believe this. Eicewald had promised the Star to him for the return voyage to the Turquoise Realm. Without it, the Turquoise Queen would never hand over his beloved! Panic began to overcome him.
Steal Star? Camu asked in surprise, not knowing whether he had understood properly.
Yes, Camu! That’s exactly what’s happening!
Orten went out of the stable and strode determinedly toward the largest building of the castle, and Maldreck mounted a white horse. When the officer in command gave the order, the group set off toward the castle gate. Lasgol wriggled quickly round on the roof and began to crawl toward the other side. A hand seized his ankle.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Viggo whispered.
“To stop them!”
Viggo shook his head. “No, you’re not.”
“Let me go! Don’t you see, they’re leaving with the Star! I’ll lose Astrid!”
Viggo’s other hand seized Lasgol’s other ankle. “I’m afraid that’s a very bad idea.”
Lasgol saw that the portcullis was being raised. “Let me go! I’ve got to stop them!” He tried to free himself by kicking Viggo, who bore the punishment resignedly.
“Sorry, old friend. I’m not going to let you do anything stupid and end up hanging from a tree.”
With a terrible anguish, Lasgol saw the riders reaching the gate.
“I’ve got to stop them!”
“No,” Viggo said. His gaze did not waver. “If you try that, you’ll get killed. And if it’s not them who do it, it’ll be Orten. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Lasgol saw the portcullis rising, then the group making its way out of the castle.
He stretched out his hand toward the riders. “Astrid!” he cried desperately. But they had already gone.
Chapter 2
“Why on earth have you woken us up in the middle of the night?” Ingrid complained as she followed Lasgol reluctantly into the room. After her came Nilsa, who was yawning openly. Gerd, who was last, was rubbing sleep out of his eyes with his massive hands.
Nilsa was trying to keep her eyes open. “Couldn’t it wait till dawn?”
“And why wouldn’t you tell us anything?” Ingrid added.
Gerd shut the door behind him. “Is something wrong?” he asked with a slight tremor in his voice.
“I’m afraid so,” said Lasgol.
“I can see that from the look on your face,” Ingrid said. Her anger had vanished, to be replaced by concern. “What’s up? Tell us.”
“I will in just a moment. We’re waiting for Viggo.”
“That smartass? If he’s involved, then it’s sure to be a pretty big mess.”
Lasgol heaved a deep sigh. “Yes, he’s involved, and thank goodness for that.”
“Thank goodness?” Ingrid tilted her head to one side in surprise. “Since when do that hothead and ‘thank goodness’ go together in the same sentence?”
“This time we owe him one. A big one.”
“Well, well, well. I’m starting to be intrigued,” Ingrid said. She went to make a fuss of Ona and Camu, who were resting on the grey bearskin rug. They were both happy to accept the blonde Ranger’s energetic caresses.
Gerd meanwhile was glancing around the table. “D’you have anything to eat while we’re waiting?” he asked.
“How can you think of eating at this time of night and at a moment like this?” Nilsa asked in surprise. “I’m a nervous wreck by now. My stomach has shrunk to the size of an olive.
Gerd shrugged and went red. “It’s just that … when I wake up I usually eat something … I’m getting hungry.”
“We’re in a tight fit,” Nilsa pointed out. “Didn’t you hear what Lasgol said? This isn’t the right moment for eating.”
The expression on Gerd’s face, on the other hand, said: it’s always the right moment for eating. “My body’s twice the size of yours,” he pointed out. “It needs twice as much food.”
Nilsa laughed. “What you are is twice as greedy, which is not the same thing.”
“Maybe that too,” Gerd agreed. He had found a piece of bread and was already raising it to his mouth.
The casual conversation between the two of them helped to relax the atmosphere a little. Lasgol was silent, his gaze distant, looking troubled.
It was not long before the door opened. Through it came Viggo, together with a figure wrapped in a hooded grey cloak.
“Who on earth are you bringing here in the middle of the night?” Ingrid asked in surprise.
The figure shook off the hooded cloak, revealing a snow-white robe. It was that of an Ice Mage.
Ingrid recognized him immediately. “Eicewald!”
“Hello, everyone,” the Mage said. His eyes were half-closed. “Viggo has told me you needed to see me, that it’s a matter of life or death, so I came with him at once. What’s going on? I suspect that something’s wrong, and it’s got something to do with me.”
Ingrid folded her arms. “Yeah, exactly. So what’s the trouble?”
Viggo said nothing and gestured at Lasgol, who sighed again. They were all staring at him, deeply intrigued.
“Something very serious has happened tonight which affects us all,” he began. Then, as calmly as he could, he told them what he and Viggo had watched happening at the stables.
Ingrid was torn between disbelief and fury. “Duke Orten’s stolen the Star of Sea and Life? What a dishonor!”
“Or rather, he’s borrowed it to keep it safe in his fortress,” Viggo said dryly.
“That’s stealing!” Nilsa cried.
“He can’t do that,” Gerd said, looking furious. “It doesn’t belong to him!”
Eicewald said nothing. He was looking thoughtful.
Ingrid arched one eyebrow. “Why does Orten want the Star of Sea and Life? He can’t use it.”
“No, not him,” Eicewald said thoughtfully.
“But his brother Thoran can’t either” Ingrid said.
“No, but they have allies who can,” Eicewald said, sounding very disheartened. “They’ve looked among the Magi for someone for whom power is more important than either knowledge or good.”
Ingrid realized at once. “Maldreck …”
“Exactly. Thoran and Orten, however powerful they may be, can’t use an Object of Power, since that’s something only those blessed with the Gift can do. To use this precious object, because it’s an Object of Greater Power, you need to have studied the Arcane Arts and have magical wisdom. And apart from that, you
need to be a Mage with a moderate to great level of power. That’s not within everybody’s reach.”
“Is Maldreck a powerful scholar?” Ingrid asked.
“I’m afraid so. He’s well versed in magical knowledge. He won’t be able to use the Star to its full potential, but he will be able to use part of it, which will make him very dangerous.”
“And along with him, that delightful pair Thoran and Orten,” Viggo added.
“That’s right. They’ve sought out an ally who’ll be more biddable than a servant.”
“I don’t understand,” Lasgol asked him. “Why have they spurned you? Haven’t you always carried out their orders? Didn’t you manage to defeat the Frozen Specter?”
“Quite right.”
“So why are you out of their favor? You’re the most powerful of all the Ice Magi in Norghana, and the one with the greatest magical knowledge.”
Eicewald smiled. “Thank you for the compliment,” he said. There was a certain sadness in his somber gaze. “The point is that I haven’t served them as they wished to be served.”
“With absolute servility and devotion?” Viggo asked with a wry smile.
“Exactly. Let’s say that I don’t always see things as they do. Which tends to leave me out of sympathy with their plans and their orders.”
“Which is something we already know they don’t like,” said Viggo.
“That seems to be true. Unfortunately my character and my beliefs don’t allow me to obey any order of the monarch or his brother blindly. And that means I try to avoid certain demands I don’t agree with. I don’t always manage to, but I always try. They see this and are aware of it. They’re no fools. I’ve known for a long time that I can’t count on Thoran’s support, and even less that of his brother. It was just a matter of time before they moved against me. I was afraid of this”
“I remember,” Lasgol said. “They both threatened you with death in my presence.”
“Well, they do that to everyone they entrust an important job to. It’s nothing personal. They just believe that with death threats, they’ll get better results.”
Viggo pulled a comic face. “Well, I wouldn’t argue with that, considering what we’ve seen.”
“No,” Eicewald agreed. “It’s not a good idea to go against them.”
“How did Maldreck steal the Star?” Gerd asked. “Wasn’t it being kept safe?”
“It was. I put it in the trophy chamber in the Tower of the Magi, where we keep objects of power and valuable tomes of knowledge. I cast a number of defensive spells on it.”
“And so?” Ingrid asked. “How on earth was he able to get hold of it?”
“I’m afraid I made a mistake. The spells on both the chamber and the Star were to protect them against the hands of strangers. The spells are of Ice Magic …”
Viggo folded his arms. “Which an Ice Mage could find out and disable.”
Eicewald gave a heavy nod. “I should have thought that betrayal might come from my own people and not just from outside.”
“This Maldreck is a bad apple,” Nilsa pointed out. “Had he ever acted suspiciously before? Did he ever do anything that attracted your attention? Act greedily? Or seem to be hiding something?”
The ghost of a smile appeared on Eicewald’s face, and he nodded.
“Unfortunately secrecy and greed are normal qualities among Magi. We all seek power and knowledge, which makes us greedy by nature. We all hide our studies, our experiments and our achievements, and that makes us reserved. Maldreck hasn’t acted any differently from the other Ice Magi, or from myself. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t see it coming …”
“Well, isn’t that just wonderful …” Nilsa murmured. She hated magi already, and these revelations were only serving to confirm her in her opinion.
“It’s the way in which Magi gain knowledge and power. Very few behave openly and transparently. Practically no one openly shares either his knowledge, his achievements or his power.”
“That’s why they have such a bad reputation,” Nilsa challenged him.
“That’s right,” Eicewald admitted, quite openly.
“And that’s why people fear them,” said Gerd.
“Also true.”
“It’s a bad business,” Ingrid said thoughtfully.
“Yes,” Lasgol said dispiritedly. “We need the Star of Sea and Life to go and rescue Astrid, and it’s on its way to Skol, Orten’s fortress.”
“I’m sorry,” Eicewald said apologetically. “I never suspected this could happen. I was expecting to be imprisoned, or banished, even that they might try to murder me. But I never suspected, not even for a moment, that they’d steal the Star.”
“It’s not your fault,” Lasgol told him.
“And what’s more, you’re in danger yourself,” Viggo added.
“You need to make sure you’re safe,” Nilsa said. “Orten has a terrible reputation in the court, and if he said he’s going to deal with you … then I fear the worst.”
Eicewald nodded. “He’s a very dangerous enemy, it’s true. One I’d rather not have. It’s difficult to serve men who are so greedy and dishonorable.”
“Perhaps one day we’ll have a king on the throne who’s just and honorable,” Gerd said hopefully.
“That’ll be a long way in the future,” Viggo said prophetically.
“What’s clear is that we’ve got to act,” said Ingrid. “We’re not going to let them steal the Star from us. Not even if it’s the King’s brother.”
“Not even if it’s the King himself,” said Nilsa. She raised her clenched fist angrily.
Lasgol wrinkled his nose. “We’ve got to act, it’s true, but very carefully. We need to think hard about what to do.”
“I agree with Lasgol on this,” Eicewald said. “If Orten and Thoran have stolen the Star they’ll be keeping an eye on us now. Me for sure, and possibly you all as well, just in case we try to get it back.”
“That’s certain,” Viggo assured them.
“We’ll go for the Star,” Ingrid said, with complete conviction. “I’m not going to leave a friend to her fate. Particularly when we’ve been tricked.”
Lasgol was moved by this. “Thank you, Ingrid,” he said.
Nilsa joined in, waving her hands animatedly. “Of course we won’t abandon Astrid.”
“She’s a Panther,” Gerd said. “One of us.”
“Well … not exactly,” Viggo pointed out. “She’s an honorary Panther.”
“She’s a Panther, you knuckle-head, one of us, and that’s that.”
Viggo smiled.
“Don’t know why you need to point that out,” Nilsa said, looking surprised. “You two are pretty good friends.”
“I know. I like her very much, in fact even more than I do you lot. It’s just to wind Blondie up.”
Ingrid let all the air out of her lungs in a snort.
“You don’t like her better than me,” Gerd said. He sounded hurt.
“Of course I do.”
“But I’m your best friend …”
“You wish, big guy.”
“Viggo, this is very serious … please,” Lasgol said. He was getting more and more worried.
“Fine … I’ll shut up. Go on.”
“We need to get the Star back and go to the Turquoise Realm,” Lasgol said.
“And you need to do that without being found out,” Eicewald put in.
“What do you mean, without being found out?” Ingrid asked.
“If Orten or Thoran find out that you’ve stolen the Star, it’ll be your heads that’ll roll. They won’t let anybody rob them. Least of all their own Rangers.”
“That’s not counting how fond Thoran already is of us because of certain facts in the past,” Viggo murmured. “And a certain friendship we have with surnames that have a claim to the crown …”
“Egil,” Nilsa guessed.
“But … Thoran and Orten don’t know we need the Star, right?” Gerd asked.
N
ilsa was surprised by this. “They don’t know we need it to rescue Astrid?”
“They don’t know,” Lasgol said. “We never revealed that part of the story. It didn’t seem relevant in the middle of the battle against the Hosts of the Ice and the Frozen Specter.”
“Then we could get it back, and nobody would suspect us,” Gerd pointed out.
“It’s possible. If we’re not found out, obviously,” Nilsa said. She sounded unconvinced.
“We need a plan,” said Gerd.
“And a really good one,” said Viggo. He winked, went up to Gerd and whispered in his ear: “You really are my best friend.”
Gerd smiled from ear to ear. “I knew it,” he whispered back.
Eicewald had narrowed his eyes as he turned over a possible plan in his head. “Maybe I could distract the attention of the King and his brother …”
“Distract?” Lasgol repeated.
“Let me think for a moment. I might just have an idea that would work …”
They were all silent, waiting for the Mage to formulate his idea.
Lasgol pondered if he truly could trust the mage. His gut feeling told him that he could after what they went through in the last adventure. In any case, he would remain vigilant just in case.
Chapter 3
Eicewald went on thinking in silence, with his eyes closed, formulating a plan to trick Orten and Thoran and get back the Star. Impatience was starting to eat away at Lasgol’s stomach. Nilsa was biting her nails as she paced from one end of the room to the other. Ingrid and Viggo were glaring at each other. Gerd was hunting for something to pacify his rumbling stomach.
At last Eicewald stirred. “I can tell the King I need time to carry out an important arcane study, and leave. I’ve been wanting for some time to go on with one of my studies, but the war got in the way. I’ll set off for the Kingdom of Irinel, far to the east, near the Confederation of Free Cities. Orten will certainly have me followed.”
“That’s not going to do us much good, is it?” Nilsa said in puzzlement.
“On the contrary. While I’m on my way to Irinel, you’ll get the Star back and set off for the Turquoise Realm. Orten won’t be able to blame me for the theft of the Star, because I’ll be out of the country with his spies on my heels. As far as you’re concerned, he’ll have no reason to suspect you.”