by Pedro Urvi
“What did you give them?” Lasgol asked uneasily. “How indisposed did you make them?”
“A special mixture Astrid taught me. It’ll be a week before they can eat anything. Well, they can eat, but it goes straight out … I don’t know whether you get me …” He indicated his own rear end with a laugh.
“You’re an insensitive nincompoop! They’re our comrades!”
Viggo shrugged. “We needed some privacy,” he said, dismissing this as irrelevant.
“You used one of Astrid’s poisons?” Lasgol asked him, sounding worried.
“Just a little. I mixed it with a laxative for Norghanian ponies. It’s really effective.” He gave a malicious giggle. “It makes you sick and you can’t stop going.”
“Well, let me remind you you’re a Ranger too,” Ingrid pointed out, “just in case you’d forgotten!”
His chest swelled and his jaw jutted out. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. I’m the best Natural Assassin in the Rangers. It’s a real honor.”
“You can’t go round poisoning your fellow-Rangers!” Ingrid reproached him in frustration.
“Poisoning – I mean what you’d call poisoning – it wasn’t that either. It was more a question of making sure they had a powerful digestive upset.” He laughed.
“Lasgol, you say something to him! He’s hopeless!”
Lasgol nodded at her very seriously, but when she was not looking any longer he smiled at Viggo. He had found it amusing, even if he felt bad for the two poor guards. He decided it was better to drop the subject and leave it as a minor, necessary, accident.
A little later, while their horses rested among the trees, the three of them sat down around a small but cozy fire and ate from their provisions in silence.
“D’you think it’s safe to light a fire?” Lasgol asked Ingrid.
“You mean because of Maldreck and his escort? I don’t think they’ll be able to see it. They’re half a day ahead of us.”
“In any case, even if they did see it, they’ve got no reason to suspect anything,” Viggo said as he bit into an apple with gusto. He threw another at Camu, who was lying beside him, and the creature caught it and began to eat it.
“That’s right,” Ingrid said. “We could be quiet traders, hunters, or any other group spending the night by the roadside.”
“Don’t worry,” Viggo said. “They don’t suspect we’re at their heels.”
“How can you be so sure of that?”
“Because they’re an Ice Mage and a dozen Royal Guards. They might be very good fighters, and I’m sure they could finish off thirty bandits or anyone like that in the blink of an eye, but they haven’t the slightest idea about tracking or pursuing. We’d have to bump into them before they realized we were following them.”
“Still, don’t exaggerate,” Ingrid said.
“Well, if you started yelling ‘I’m coming! I’m coming!’ they might notice.”
Suddenly Camu gave a strange little shriek. To Lasgol it sounded like a chuckle.
“Did you just laugh, Camu?”
The creature looked at him and nodded. Viggo funny.
“Every day this beast understands more and more and behaves more like one of us,” Viggo protested.
“His mind’s growing.”
Viggo smiled broadly. “Well, let’s see whether his head explodes.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ingrid snapped.
Ingrid good, Camu transmitted to Lasgol.
“Camu says thank you,” he relayed to Ingrid.
“You’re welcome. This smartass says something stupid every time he opens his mouth.”
Viggo winked. “So to sum up, they won’t realize we’re after them unless we stand out like a sore thumb.”
“We’re Rangers,” Ingrid said. “We’re in our own territory, we’ll surprise them. We have the advantage.”
“Well, there are more of them, and they’re better with weapons than we are.”
“They’re not any better than I am,” she replied, offended.
“They’re from the Royal Guard. Huge, strong and very good with the axe. Not to mention that they have a powerful ice mage with them.”
“All the same, I’ll deal with them.”
“Blondie, you’ll deal with one or two of them, but not with several at the same time. And as for the Mage, absolutely not.”
“Don’t call me Blondie, or I’ll give you a black eye. And yes, I will be able to deal with them.”
Viggo arched an eyebrow. “I see you’re more irritated than usual by my comments, Why’s that?”
“Maybe because your comments show you have the intelligence of a worm?”
“Have you quarreled with Captain Fantastic again?”
“I haven’t quarreled with Molak, and in any case, that’s none of your business.”
Viggo indicated himself, then Lasgol. “If we have to put up with your bad moods, then yes, it is our business.”
Lasgol, who did not want to get involved in the argument, began: “I don’t –”
“Molak and I have broken up,” she said curtly.
Lasgol’s jaw dropped. “I … I’m sorry …” he stammered.
“I’m not,” Viggo hastened to say, without any remorse.
“Well, that’s that, now you know.”
“You needn’t …” Lasgol began, a little ashamed.
Viggo was staring at her curiously. “What happened?” he asked.
“None of your business.”
“Viggo … don’t ask personal questions …” Lasgol said. He knew the subject was a delicate and painful one for her.
“It’s not a personal question. I only want to know what happened. After all, they’re our friends.” He shrugged.
Ingrid looked daggers at him. “You were never a friend of Molak’s.”
Viggo half-smiled. “Well … friends, I mean what you’d call soul mates, no … but acquaintances, yes, I think we were that.”
“No way. I don’t even think you’re really my friend.”
Viggo was taken completely aback. “Of course I’m your friend. I always have been and I always will be,” he said very seriously, as though he could not believe she was saying that to him.
“Well, you don’t show it. If you were, you’d leave me in peace.” Her tone of voice left it very clear that she was hurt.
Lasgol saw that her eyes were moist. She lowered her gaze and stared at the fire. He felt bad for her. Breaking up with Molak had really affected her. He had never seen her like this.
“If you really want me to leave you in peace, I will,” Viggo said, and to judge by his expression, he meant it. There was no trace of sarcasm in his voice or his eyes.
“You will?”
“I will,” Viggo said, as seriously as though he were attending a Norghanian funeral.
Ingrid offered him her hand. Viggo took it, and shook it firmly. They stared into each other’s eyes intensely.
“We’re friends, that’s not up for discussion,” Lasgol said, doing his best to pacify them, “but actually a little less fighting and a little more peace and quiet would be welcome.” He did not want the situation to get out of hand.
“There’ll be peace as far as I’m concerned,” Viggo said, and seemed to mean it.
“As far as I’m concerned too,” Ingrid agreed, sounding calmer now.
“Wonderful,” Lasgol said cheerfully. “So let’s have our dinner in peace.” All the same, he did not think those two would keep their truce for longer than that night.
What is break up? came Camu’s question.
Lasgol saw that the creature was waiting for an answer, with his bulging eyes fixed on him. Hmmm … let’s see how I can explain it … breaking up is when two people, a loving couple I mean, aren’t together any more …
Separate? Distance? Like Egil?
Yes … well … but not exactly … they separate … because they don’t want to be together any more …
They’re not friends anymore?
It’s complicated … when you’re in a couple …
Couple?
Ufff … it’s very complicated to explain …
Ona and I couple?
The panther looked up as she heard her name.
Nooooo, Ona and you are siblings, Lasgol said shaking his head clearly to reinforce the message. Astrid and I are a couple. Do you understand now?
Camu looked at him for a moment, tilted his head as if he were thinking, blinked hard, and at last nodded. I understand.
Lasgol gave another snort of frustration. He did not think Camu understood, but to avoid having to explain any further, he let it pass.
I’ll give you a better explanation some other time. Some things are rather complicated.
Complicated like Viggo?
Lasgol smiled from ear to ear. Exactly.
“Distrust and distance were why we broke up,” Ingrid said suddenly. Lasgol and Viggo looked up in surprise. They were not expecting her to talk about what had happened.
“You don’t need to … if you don’t feel like it …” Lasgol stammered.
“I want to make it clear why it happened. I don’t want speculation. There hasn’t been any betrayal or any bad feelings between us. Trust has broken down on both sides, and separation’s pushed us further apart.”
Viggo was about to say something, but with an enormous effort he covered his mouth and kept quiet.
“Distance is a bad friend when it comes to relationships …” was all Lasgol could say. He too had suffered from it with Astrid, and at that moment, even though they were on their way to rescue her, he felt it too.
“It certainly is,” Ingrid said as she stared at the fire, her gaze distant, “although it was distrust that was to blame. On both sides. I never trusted him enough … I never told him our secrets, the secrets of the Snow Panthers … I didn’t think he’d understand … especially the fact that we helped the West, helped Egil …”
“It’s understandable,” Lasgol said, trying to cheer her up. “Molak’s one of the strictest, most honorable people I know. He’d have found it very difficult to understand our involvement in the civil war. He owes his allegiance to the Rangers, to King Thoran. He’d have interpreted it as treason. The same thing happened with Astrid …”
Ingrid sighed. “Yeah, my thoughts exactly. That’s why I never told him. Nor about Camu, or the fact that the Dark Rangers are after us, and other secrets of ours. He sensed that I was keeping things from him, and that gradually spoiled our relationship. He felt like a stranger among us, and when I refused to tell him about certain things he interpreted that as meaning I wasn’t sure about being with him.”
“Molak should have trusted your good judgment and your reasons,” Viggo said suddenly, and fell silent immediately.
Ingrid nodded. “I didn’t trust him, and he didn’t trust me either. I told him there were important reasons and that it was better if he wasn’t involved in our affairs. He didn’t want to trust me. He took it as a sign that I didn’t love him enough … and distance did the rest.”
Lasgol put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Ingrid,” he said. He had never seen her downhearted like this, with her head bowed. He could feel her pain at the breakup. She must have really loved Molak. “It’s a shame it didn’t work out.”
“It certainly is,” she said with a nod. Then she raised her head and looked up at him. “Make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to you. Don’t lose your trust in her, accept things as they are, or you might find yourself in my place someday.”
Lasgol was thoughtful. She was right. He had to trust Astrid, even if she could not always tell him about everything she was involved in. That was something he found hard to accept. Secrets, even if they were for the other person’s good, were secrets, and created trouble. Astrid had them, and so did he. Suddenly Ingrid’s warning seemed very real and close at hand: too close.
Chapter 5
They rested until a little before dawn. Lasgol did not sleep at all well, with nightmares tormenting him all night, in which he argued with Astrid and then lost her. What they had talked about in the evening, and particularly Ingrid’s warning, had affected him. He had tried to get it out of his head and shake off the unpleasant feeling he had woken up with, but was unable to.
They got their horses ready in silence. Ingrid was avoiding Lasgol’s gaze and particularly that of Viggo, as if she felt ashamed of having shared her feelings the night before. She probably felt it had been a sign of weakness on her part, as she was pure steel. But to Lasgol it had seemed very human that she should have opened up to them, even though only for a moment. It reaffirmed what he had always known about her: that under that appearance of an indefatigable warrior and leader there beat a good heart, full of a great humanity.
Viggo said nothing either, which was really strange. Not a single sarcastic comment about what had happened. He was probably thinking the same as Lasgol, and since he had promised not to mess with Ingrid, he was making an effort to keep his promise, which did him credit.
Right then, get ready, Lasgol transmitted to Ona, Camu and Trotter. We’re leaving straight away.
Play in stream? Camu asked.
No, sorry, there’s no time for that today. We’ve got to hurry and get the Star of Sea and Life back.
We get back, Camu transmitted confidently.
Yes, we will. And then we’ll go for Astrid.
Astrid good. I like.
Yes, Camu, I like her too, he smiled, blushing a little.
Couple?
Yes, my friend, couple.
And with this little conversation the doubts vanished from Lasgol’s mind and he felt better again. Everything would be fine between the two of them. He had to take care of his relationship with her, always. He was sure they would do well, in spite of circumstances, secrets and distance.
“Shall we be off?” he asked Ingrid, who was still very quiet.
She nodded. “Let’s go,” she said, and mounted.
“Off we go,” Viggo said as he leapt onto his horse. “A little adventure will do us good. All the good in the world.”
Soon Ingrid was her usual self. She had revealed her vulnerable side for a moment, but that moment had passed and she was once again the tough Norghanian warrior she was. Lasgol was glad he had seen it. Life taught everyone lessons, even the most capable and the toughest. It was what each person did with those lessons, what each one learned, what each one got out of them, that mattered in the end. That was how people grew up and matured.
Halfway through the afternoon they caught a glimpse of the group they were following. They were marching at ease, following the road that led to the city of Kolstad. From there, in one more day of travelling, they would reach Skol, Duke Orten’s fortress. By the way they were riding, unconcerned and at an easy pace, it was obvious that they were not expecting any trouble. The two Royal Guards who were bringing up the rear looked back from time to time to make sure they were not being followed, but that was all the watch they were keeping.
“There they are,” Ingrid said in warning.
Now began the pursuit from close at hand. They hid from the eyes of the group among the trees on both sides of the road, which looked deserted.
“They’re not exactly paying what you’d call attention,” Viggo said as they went through an oak wood.
“They don’t think anybody’ll attack them,” Lasgol pointed out. “Nobody knows where they’re going, or why.”
“And in any case,” Ingrid said, “they’re Royal Guards and an Ice Mage. Anybody who crosses their path is going to move aside pretty quickly.”
Camu and Ona were staying together a little further back, concealing themselves as Lasgol had told them to and taking the opportunity to play unobtrusively.
“We ought to get the ambush ready,” Lasgol said, sounding worried. He had called upon his Hawk’s Eye skill and was closely followin
g what the group ahead were doing.
“We’d better be careful about it,” Ingrid pointed out, “because it’s not going to be easy. They might look confident, but those guys know how to fight and they won’t panic when the moment of truth comes.”
“Bah,” Viggo said dismissively, “that doesn’t mean much. I think the best thing would be to set up the ambush in a hollow. We hide on both sides, then riddle them with arrows as they go into it. Done deal.”
Ingrid’s face was a poem. “That’s something that would only occur to a scatter—" she began.
Vigo raised his finger. “Remember what we agreed,” he said amiably.
“But you don’t think about what you –”
Viggo’s finger wagged from side to side. “No messing with me,” he said. We have a deal was clear on his face.
“It’s just …” Ingrid turned to Lasgol for support, but he only shrugged.
“Viggo’s right.”
“Right?” Ingrid exclaimed, unable to believe her ears.
“About messing with him,” he explained. “About the plan, of course not. It’s a pretty crude one.”
“Crude?” Viggo protested, looking outraged. “What d’you mean, crude?”
“Basic, I meant. I didn’t express myself very clearly,” Lasgol said, unable to hide a smile.
“It might be ‘basic’, but it’s an ambush that works nine times out of ten.”
“More like seven out of ten,” Ingrid said.
“Yeah, and it means a bloodbath we don’t want,” Lasgol added.
“And why not?”
“Viggo, because they’re Norghanian, like us,”
“Well, they might be Norghanian, but they’re not like us. That lot are in the service of Thoran and Orten.”
“And whose service are you in? The Count of the White Mountain?” Ingrid asked.
Viggo thought for a moment. He realized that Ingrid was right, but of course he was not going to admit it.
“That’s messing with me,” he accused her. “And yes, I serve those two bullies we have on the throne too. All I’m saying is that they’re not like us, and if they have an accident and end up riddled with arrows, it’s not much of a loss.”
“We don’t kill innocent Norghanians,” Lasgol reminded him.