by Pedro Urvi
Egil nodded. “Yes, he’s a great man.” He was looking at Dolbarar with a sense of oppression in his heart because there was nothing he could do to help him at that moment.
Eyra smiled. “And as for how it ended, you can guess that by now.”
“Dolbarar became Leader of the Camp, and the Master Ranger of Nature became his faithful friend,” Nilsa said, beaming.
“Exactly. We spent such a lot of time here, competing and helping one another, that we ended up as fast friends. I miss him so much … our endless conversations about all kinds of subjects, from the most trivial to the most fundamental … The Camp misses him a lot, too. Angus is a good manager, though too controlling, far too much so. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t do his job badly, but he has neither Dolbarar’s charisma nor his vision.”
They all nodded.
“And now let’s leave the patient to rest. I’m sure all this chatter will have brought him back a lot of good memories.” She was looking at Dolbarar, who did not appear to be aware of anything around him and was sunk in a profound sleep.
“Of course, Master Ranger,” Egil said respectfully.
“Thank you for the memories,” Nilsa added.
Eyra smiled. “Sometimes it helps to remember good things about the past. It cheers the soul.”
The three said their goodbyes and went out in silence, leaving Eyra to minister to Dolbarar.
Nilsa and Gerd made no delay about getting everything ready for their journey. It took Egil a little longer, because he had lost the habit of leaving the Camp. He had been living there for so long without going anywhere that he found gathering together the basics for the journey hard. In the end the three friends met at the stables. Four magnificent Norghanian horses – not too fast, but very strong – were waiting for them, saddled and ready.
“You found it a hard job getting ready, eh?” Nilsa said with a mischievous smile.
“I’m not as adventurous as you are,” Egil replied. He sounded a little embarrassed. “Those of us of a scholarly nature have less trouble choosing books than choosing what to put in a travel bag.”
“You’ll soon get used to it,” Gerd assured him, and slapped him on the back. Egil made an effort not to stagger. The giant’s friendly slaps were massive, and this time was no different. Egil stumbled forward as if he had been hit with a tree-trunk.
“I’m sure of that …” he gasped.
“I wonder who’s coming with us,” said Nilsa.
Gerd looked disapproving. “As long as it’s not Vincent Uliskson or Musker Isterton, the ones who’re spying on you.”
“I don’t think it’ll be them,” Egil reasoned. “It’d be too obvious. We’d suspect Angus was deliberately sending them to spy on us. Although seeing how complicated this whole business is turning, I can’t rule out anything. We’ll have to wait and see, then assess the situation and act accordingly.”
“So who’s it going to be?” Nilsa wondered.
“Perhaps his interest in us is genuine, and he’s really sending someone to help with the bow. It’s a known fact that I’m not much of a fighter.”
“You stand up for yourself perfectly well,” Nilsa objected.
“Maybe at a pinch, but I don’t know if I’d survive,” he said with a modest smile. “My skills shine more in the intellectual aspect of things. I’m afraid the physical aspect has always been my weakness. Still, I prefer it this way.”
Nilsa nodded firmly. “Well, I’m sure you’d survive. And I can assure you, we’re all grateful that you’re so good at thinking.”
“That’s right,” Gerd said enviously. “I was born with this huge body, but I’d love to have your brains.”
Egil smiled at his friends. He knew they were trying to make him feel comfortable and give him encouragement for the journey they were about to embark on.
“Anybody need a Ranger Specialist?” called a feminine voice, full of confidence. “An Elemental Archer, by any chance?”
The three friends spun round and saw Valeria on her way with her travel gear.
“Val! Are you the one who’s coming with us?” Nilsa asked in delight.
“Angus said you needed an Archer and sent me at a run. He didn’t explain anything.” She was not looking very pleased. “What’s going on? Where are we going? What have you done this time?”
Gerd laughed out loud. “We haven’t done anything.”
“Oh, really?” she protested. “And that’s why they’ve packed me off to travel with you without a word of explanation?”
“It’s a rather complicated business,” Egil said with a smile. “We’ll tell you everything on the way.”
“Well, I’m delighted you’re coming with us,” Nilsa said. She was clapping her hands excitedly.
“So am I,” said Gerd. “I thought they were going to send one of those grumpy veteran Rangers who’d make this journey a torture.”
She smiled. “Well, I’ve no idea what this is about, but I’m glad to be going with you. I was getting bored with doing nothing here.”
“Well then, mystery solved,” Egil said. “We have our fourth Ranger now.” He loaded his things on one of the horses, stroked its muzzle, said a couple of affectionate words to it and mounted.
Nilsa mounted in her turn. “Are we off, then?”
Gerd and Valeria mounted in their turn. “I have a question, and I’d like you to give me an answer,” Valeria said.
“Fire away,” Egil said.
“Are we going to meet Lasgol in this mission, by any chance?”
Nilsa and Gerd looked at each other and laughed. Egil smiled.
“I’m afraid not. Lasgol is on another mission, a very long way from here.”
“It was too much to ask for,” Valeria grumbled, quite openly. “I knew it couldn’t all be as good as that.” She smiled. “Well, even so, I’m still glad to be going with you.”
The four Rangers left the Camp behind in the distance, following the course of the river. Their mission was beginning. Dolbarar’s life depended on it, and perhaps a lot more than that.
Chapter 14
West of the kingdom, before crossing the Utla River, Lasgol and his friends stopped to rest. This was where Norghanian territory ended, and on the other side, the Masig prairies began.
Camu went up to the great river, wagging his long tail.
Camu, be careful. That river is very big and very deep, so no trout-fishing.
I swim well.
Yeah, well, not what I’d call well …
Ona not swim well, I do.
Lasgol snorted. You be careful in the river. We don’t want any accidents.
Viggo filled the water-skins, and Ingrid looked after the horses. Lasgol was thoughtful. How was Astrid? He missed her terribly He longed to hold her in his arms and kiss her. He did not allow bad thoughts to invade him, but instead forced himself to believe that she was well and that they would soon be together. This made him feel better, although deep down he knew that it was only wishful thinking, not reality – which always brought unpleasant surprises with it.
When he went to see what Camu was up to, he found him chasing some small animal by a group of trees. Ona was a little further east in a clearing, sniffing. Her tail was stiff, which caught his attention. But he could not see any danger when he looked around, so he relaxed.
He breathed the cool Norghanian air and looked out at the great river. They would have to cross it, and the fastest way was by boat. In a normal mission, they would have gone to the nearest army fort which had fast assault ships at its disposal. Unfortunately, if they were to do that, the officer in command would demand explanations which they had no desire to give. It was better to go unnoticed, so that nobody knew where they were.
He went back to keep an eye on whatever mischief Camu and Ona were up to. He did so unconsciously, because every time his thoughts strayed, they began to play or got into trouble of some kind. Camu was playing, as usual, but Ona had not moved and to Lasgol’s surprise was still stiff
, sniffing in the clearing. He went over to see what was happening.
What are you doing, Ona?
The panther chirped shrilly.
What have you found?
Flowers, Camu replied, sounding uninterested. The only time flowers interested him was when they were edible.
Let’s see, Ona, what are these flowers you’ve found that are so interesting? The panther, unlike Camu, was interested in flowers. He knelt down beside her.
Plants not fun, Camu transmitted as he climbed up a tree in front of them as though he were a giant reptilian squirrel.
Lasgol looked closely at the plant Ona was pointing at with her muzzle and sniffing with great interest. It was a plant with a yellow-orange flower, a tall stem more than three hand-spans high and a white tip in the form of a bell. He recognized it at once. It was an Undying Bell! Ona had found it!
Ona, good! he transmitted to her, delighted. He stroked her head and she relaxed, chirped and rubbed herself against his leg gratefully.
Eyra will appreciate it if we bring her back this plant. Ona, very well done, he transmitted to her as he scratched her back and tummy. The panther allowed herself to be petted, rolling on the grass like a huge, affectionate kitten.
What luck, to have found another Undying Bell! Unfortunately he would not be able to give it to Eyra until their return. He hoped it would be able to help Dolbarar, although the ones he had brought her before did not appear to have succeeded in stopping the illness. Whichever way, it was good news, because these plants were very hard to find. He put it in his Ranger’s belt along with the other ingredients they all carried to make ointments and potions.
Viggo gave him a malicious smile. “Stop petting those bugs, you’re spoiling them.”
“I’m not spoiling them in the least.”
“So you say …”
“The horses have had a good rest,” Ingrid said. “We’d better keep going.”
“What do we do now?” Viggo asked her. “Following this riverside’s going to take forever. It’s a massive detour. Crossing it would take us straight to the steppes.”
“We’ll just have to find a vessel,” Ingrid said. She put a hand to her eyes and looked up and down the river. The opposite shore was invisible from there, so that it looked like a large ocean.
“When you say ‘find’, d’you mean your type of find or my type of find?”
“Unfortunately I mean yours …”
Viggo smiled. “That’s what I thought.”
“And then? Do we cross it?” Lasgol asked.
Ingrid shook her head. “The fastest way to go on is downriver, by boat. That’s what we have to do. By land it’ll take us much longer.”
The other two thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Right, boat it is,” said Viggo.
Lasgol called Camu and Ona. “Ready to go,” he said.
“Right, we’ll head south,” said Ingrid.
“Toward the fort?” Lasgol said in surprise.
“Not exactly,” Viggo said.
“Then where?”
“To the Ilgersen quay,” said Ingrid.
“Never heard of it,” said Lasgol.
“It’s a small quay,” Ingrid explained, “with half a dozen boats that are used for fishing and transporting cargo, either across the river or down it.”
“Oh … right … but we mustn’t be seen. We don’t want to have to explain ourselves.”
“That’s why I’m going to steal a boat for us,” Viggo said. He smiled nonchalantly and leapt onto his horse.
Lasgol was left feeling puzzled. “Well … so …”
“Off we go,” said Ingrid, giving the thumbs-up to the plan and mounting her own horse.
Lasgol said nothing and followed his friends.
It was midnight when Viggo vanished among the shadows of the night. Every time Lasgol saw him vanish like that, he had the feeling that his friend had made a pact with some dark god which allowed him to melt into the night. He could not understand how he managed to do it.
“Are you sure this is a good plan?” he asked Ingrid. In the distance they could make out the dock, which was illuminated by a couple of torches. There were two gigantic Norghanian mastiffs guarding the boats.
“Well, not exactly a good one. But it’s better than stealing it from the fort. That would be a bad plan.”
“And those mastiffs?”
“Well, if they bite Viggo, you can bet I’m going to be there to enjoy it.” She gave him a malicious smile.
Lasgol shook his head. “Don’t be like that …”
They watched what was happening in the distance. It looked as though the two mastiffs had spotted Viggo, because they got up and set off toward the furthest of the vessels.
“Uh-oh …” Lasgol said sadly.
“There’s going to be a bite or two,” Ingrid predicted.
On the boat, a shadow was moving, hiding from the light of the torches on the wooden quay. When they reached the boat, the two enormous dogs began to sniff the floorboards. Lasgol feared they had detected their friend’s scent and were going to attack him. But instead of either barking or attacking, they went on sniffing. It looked as though they were beginning to eat something.
“What’s happening?” Ingrid asked as she watched this strange behavior.
“Don’t know. Viggo and his methods are always a mystery to me.”
The mastiffs finished devouring whatever they had found and went on sniffing along the quay. When they reached the eastern end, one of them suddenly lay down and was still. The second mastiff reached his prone comrade, lay down beside him and was also still. A moment later, both dogs appeared to be dead.
A shadow moved out of the boat and passed close to the dogs on its way through the shadows to the house. At last Lasgol managed to make out a figure crouching in front of the door. The windows seemed to be shut from the inside, so that nobody could see the figure, which was undoubtedly that of Viggo. Lasgol looked around in case there was any other danger, and by the time he tried to spot Viggo again, he was not there any longer.
“Where did he go?”
“I think he’s gone to the back of the house,” Ingrid said, “but I’ve lost him.”
“What’s he got in mind?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
A moment later they saw him again, this time undoing the moorings of the boat.
“Come on!” Ingrid fetched her horse and set off down to the quay, and Lasgol followed her.
We’re going to get on board that boat. In silence, he transmitted to his friends.
Boat not fun, Camu protested.
It’s better than swimming,
All right, Camu admitted. Ona, beside him, moaned unhappily. She did not like boats either.
The boat turned out to be a fast assault vessel of the Norghanian army.
“We can’t steal an assault boat!” Ingrid whispered in Viggo’s ear.
“Why not? They’ve left it here for repair.” He pointed to the stern, where some fire damage was visible.
“Because it belongs to the army!”
“Better still, it’s the fastest boat we can find. And don’t raise your voice, ’because there are two soldiers sleeping in that house along with the harbormaster.”
“Ingrid, let’s go for it,” Lasgol said. “We’re in a hurry, and it’s a really good choice.”
“We go from one mess to the next, as usual,” Ingrid grumbled. But she agreed to the plan.
The single-sailed boat was the fastest in the Norghanian army, and the soldiers used it to cover the great Utla River, the Norghanian shore and the Masig territories which adjoined it. There was not much space in it, it could only carry thirty soldiers and a couple of horses. Viggo hastened to get his horse on board up an old wooden plank which served as a loading ramp, and tethered him to the mast. He gestured to them to hurry, and Ingrid and Lasgol went up the ramp leading their horses, which they also tethered to the mast so they would not get nervous.
Lasgol patted Trotter.
Easy, old friend, we’re going for a river trip.
At the stern was a long oar which served as a rudder. As was the custom among the Norghanians, the figurehead was in the form of a dragon or sea serpent – they could not tell which – with the beast’s tail at the stern. The boat was long, narrow and light, with a shallow draught. There were oars along most of the hull, with a low gunwale protected with shields.
Once they were inside, Viggo and Lasgol pushed the vessel off the quay with an oar. Ingrid took the rudder, and Lasgol led Ona and Camu to the prow, where they would be easier.
“Make sure that sail is well fastened down,” Ingrid whispered to Viggo.
“Why do you have to steer and I have to fasten the sail?” Viggo asked rebelliously.
“Because I’m the captain.”
“Not of the boat.”
“Of the Panthers.”
“That doesn’t apply to everything,” Viggo protested. He folded his arms.
“Almost everything,” Ingrid corrected him, looking amused.
Viggo turned to his friend for support. “Lasgol, say something!”
Lasgol smiled. He was on his way back from the bow after checking to see how Camu and Ona were. “Ingrid’s the Captain of the Panthers. That applies to almost everything.”
“Traitor,” Viggo said. He gave him a poisoned glare as he passed him.
Lasgol gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
“The sail!” Ingrid said urgently. “We don’t have all night!”
Viggo glared once again, this time at Ingrid. He went to follow orders, grumbling.
“And when you’ve finished, get rowing with Lasgol.”
Now, it was both who protested but, they did as she ordered. She steered the boat into the current, which made their downriver trip a great deal easier.