Power Conspiracy

by Pedro Urvi

  An owl hooted, and he tensed. Where was that spy? If he was a spy – as he seemed to be, because according to Nilsa he had been following them for quite a while – then he must be watching what Egil was doing. If so, that would put him at the edge of the clearing nearest to where Egil was. He began to move toward the spot, taking great care not to make a sound. He recalled Esben telling them that a dangerous quarry might turn suddenly on the hunter, and went on, alert to any movement, sound or smell which might give away the presence of the spy.

  Once at the edge of the clearing in the middle of the forest, he looked to his left and right, but saw no-one. But Egil, whom he could now make out against the flames, was to his left. The spy must be there, even though he still could not see him.

  He was not mistaken.

  Suddenly his quarry turned and with a tremendous leap hurled himself at him. Gerd saw the movement at the last moment as a body appeared in the middle of the darkness from behind a group of bushes. In a defensive movement he crossed his weapons and pushed the attacker roughly to one side as he fell on him. The figure crashed into a tree, and there came a cry of pain.

  “Give in and you won’t die,” Gerd said.

  The figure slowly got to its feet. It wore a hooded cloak and its face was hidden in shadow. At the same time Gerd noticed that his attacker was clutching a knife. It did not look as though he was about to give in.

  “You don’t have to die here tonight,” Gerd threatened him.

  The figure shook his head. He was not going to give in easily. Bad business. Gerd prepared for the attack, but to his surprise this never came. His quarry turned on his heels and ran away along the edge of the forest, in the opposite direction.

  Gerd cursed silently and ran after him. But he did not get far. In front of the fleeing attacker, Nilsa appeared with an arrow nocked in her short bow.

  “Stop, or I’ll put this through you!” she warned him.

  Gerd, who was close behind the spy, knew they had him now.

  But he was mistaken.

  In a surprisingly rapid movement, the spy hurled himself at Nilsa’s feet. Caught by surprise, she released, but instead of hitting the spy, who was rolling away by now, the arrow hit a rock further back. The spy bumped against her legs as he rolled, and she fell on her face with a gasp.

  The spy got to his feet and went on running.

  Gerd reached Nilsa and helped her get up as the spy emerged from the forest and set off across the open land.

  “He’s getting away!” Nilsa cried.

  Gerd was watching him closely. “I don’t think so.”

  “What d’you mean? We won’t catch him now!”

  “You’re forgetting something.”

  Nilsa slapped her forehead. “Val!”

  Valeria appeared from the end of the forest with her bow at the ready and aimed at the spy, who was still running for his life. She took her time, aimed calmly, followed the direction of his flight, anticipated where he would be two paces later, and released.

  There followed a small flash and an explosion of ice and frost which began on one leg and spread to the other. The spy took two more steps, then his legs froze and he collapsed.

  “Water arrow!” Nilsa cried.

  “Stop right there,” Gerd said when they reached the spy, who was trying to crawl away. He put a foot on his back, pressing him against the ground.

  Nilsa nocked another arrow. “Don’t move,” she said, “or I’ll skewer you like a sausage. And this time I won’t miss.”

  A moment later Valeria reached them at a run. “It looks as if the plan worked,” she said with a smile.

  “Great shot,” Gerd said.

  “Thanks. Water Arrows are one of my specialties. I was going to use one of Air, but with the discharges, sometimes you end up killing without meaning to …” She shrugged.

  “And we don’t want him dead,” said Egil who had reached their side. “It’d be a pity if he didn’t talk. Could you turn him over, Gerd?”

  “Of course, but first let me disarm him.”

  Gerd searched him and found two weapons, which he showed to his friends. They stared at them, wide-eyed.

  “They’re a Ranger’s short axe and knife,” Nilsa said. She sounded surprised and disgusted.

  Gerd handed them to Egil, then turned the spy over.

  “That’s because our spy is a Ranger,” Egil said with a triumphant smile. “Aren’t you, Vincent?”

  Chapter 28

  Vincent Uliskson looked at Egil from the ground with his lips clamped tight and his jaw clenched.

  “Well, it’s a Ranger after all!” Valeria said indignantly.

  Nilsa glared at him. “And one that’s spying on us.”

  “What I do is no business of yours,” Vincent snarled.

  Gerd smiled. “Looks as though he didn’t enjoy being hunted.”

  “Of course, I didn’t enjoy it! I’m a Ranger like you, you can’t shoot at me!”

  “We didn’t know you were a Ranger until this moment,” Nilsa explained with a shrug and a look of feigned apology.

  The veteran tried to stand up, but his legs were still frozen.

  “You won’t be able to walk for a while,” Valeria warned him, “so you’d better not even try, you might injure yourself.”

  “What are we going to do with him?” Nilsa asked Egil, who had been silent all this time.

  “What d’you mean, what are you going to do with me?” Vincent protested angrily.

  “I want to have a little chat with him,” Egil said.

  “I’m not going to say a word! Leave me alone!”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to cooperate?” Egil asked him amiably.

  “I don’t have to cooperate at all! You can’t touch me!”

  “It would be best if you cooperated. It’s for your own good.”

  “I’m not going to tell you anything. My mission’s no business of yours.”

  “So, you are on a mission? A spying one? For whom?”

  “I’m not going to answer any questions! Get out of my sight!”

  “That’s not a very sensible attitude for someone in your position,” Egil pointed out.

  “I’m a Ranger, and I’m not going to tell you anything about my mission!”

  Egil gave a dismissive snort. “Well, I’ve given you the chance to clear this matter up the nice way. So, if it’s not to be the nice way, it’ll be the nasty one.”

  Vincent’s face took on a look of concern. “What are you going to do?”

  Egil gestured at his little campsite. “Tie him up to the tree by the fire.”

  “You can’t tie me to a tree! I’m a Ranger! You’ll hang for this!”

  Egil jabbed his finger at him. “Ranger or not, you’ve been following us. Me in particular, for a long time, and one way or another you’re going to tell me why.”

  The veteran struggled to free himself. “No! Let me go!”

  Gerd tied his hands behind his back, then slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Vincent yelled, cursed and threatened until he found himself pressed hard against the tree. Gerd had sat him down with his back to the tree and tied his upper body to the trunk with ropes. Nilsa and Egil meanwhile stared at him, arms folded.

  “You’ll pay for this!” the veteran threatened them.

  Since neither of them flinched at his threat, he fell silent.

  Egil meanwhile was searching in his saddlebags. Valeria whispered in his ear, sounding uneasy: “Are you sure we can do this? He’s a veteran Ranger … and he says he’s on a mission …”

  “We can,” he assured her.

  “Then what he’s saying isn’t true?”

  “What he’s saying is true.”

  “If it’s true, then we can’t do this,”

  “That’s true, but in this specific case, let’s say that I’m on a mission too, and it turns out that his mission and mine are at odds.”

  Valeria did not look very convinced by this explanation. “I don�
�t know what’s going on here, but I know it’s something very bad, otherwise you wouldn’t lay a finger on a Ranger. I know that because I know you.” She was looking at Vincent. “But I’m worried about whatever’s going to happen. Whatever’s going to happen to him, I mean.”

  “It’s all under control, don’t you worry.”

  “Are you sure? I’m risking my career, and even my life. Gondabar won’t accept that we touched a Ranger. I’m mixed up in all this, even if I don’t know what it’s about.”

  “Sure, and I’m sorry you find yourself involved with it.”

  “Well, I’d already guessed something would happen. You’re always getting into trouble. I thought that as Lasgol wasn’t with us, it wouldn’t be serious trouble. Now I see I was wrong.”

  “Well, you see, sometimes trouble finds us. In fact, it doesn’t only go after Lasgol, it’s after me too.”

  “I don’t know whether what you’re going to do is morally acceptable. He’s a Ranger …”

  “A corrupt one. We’re doing the right thing.”

  “Are you sure he’s a corrupt?”

  Egil shrugged. “Almost sure.”

  “And what if he’s not corrupt? And he’s only following orders?”

  “He’ll be following orders from someone corrupt. That’s what I want to find out.”

  “But he might not know anything. He might be an innocent middleman.”

  “In that case he’d cooperate, don’t you think?”

  Valeria was thoughtful. She looked at Vincent, then back at Egil.

  “Do I have your word that you won’t do anything wrong?”

  Egil nodded. “You have it.”

  Valeria let out her breath out abruptly and stared fixedly at him. “Fine. Don’t drag me into an abyss along with you.”

  “I won’t do that. I swear.”

  “Fine, then. I won’t get in your way. I trust you, Egil.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Valeria sat down by the fire and began to wax her bow, looking worried.

  Egil went to the prisoner’s side with a bag in his hands. He crouched down in front of him so that his eyes would be at the same level.

  “I’ve been wanting to have a chat with you for a long time. And at last, the opportunity presents itself, so I’m very grateful to the Ice Gods. I’m young and patient. There are many things I don’t have, but time is one thing I do. When I was a child I envied my brothers because of their impatience and their ability to launch themselves into action at the slightest opportunity. I wasn’t like that. I never have been. I always thought everything over a thousand times before I came to a decision. In fact in most situations, I didn’t decide to do anything, because by my standards the circumstances weren’t ideal for action. My father called me indecisive, even cowardly. I’m neither the one nor the other. I’ve found that out as I’ve grown up. My poor father, may he rest in peace, called me those things to make me react. He didn’t realize that he was doing me no good. At the same time, I know that his efforts to make me a man, even though they were wrong, were made with the best of intentions. My father loved me. He was well-instructed in everything to do with the military and the nobility, but unfortunately less so when it came to bringing up a son who was rather different.”

  Vincent listened with an expression of surprise, unable to understand why Egil was telling him all this. “I’m not interested in your personal history,” he barked, almost as though it were an insult.

  “Aren’t you? Well, you should be. It explains my past actions and it’ll clarify my future ones, which directly affect you.”

  “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Stop messing around with me and let me go.”

  “You see, my father and my brothers are dead. After puzzling for a long time about why this should be, I’ve come to the conclusion that the main cause, or at least the one that played the greatest part in their sad end, was that they were too hasty in their decisions. They didn’t know how to wait for the right moment. And it overwhelmed them, this needs to take action because of what they had lived for.”

  Nilsa and Gerd were looking at each other in astonishment. Egil had never told his friends any of this. Why was he telling the spy? The tone he was using was cold, manipulative, like that of a master-interrogator … Valeria too had become aware of this, and looked at both of them questioningly. Things could turn nasty. Surely Egil would not do anything he would regret later on, carried away by the moment?

  “Let me go!” Vincent yelled.

  “As I was telling you, I don’t suffer from that weakness. I know how to wait. And I do. I found out a long time ago that you were following me in the Camp. And yet I didn’t do anything there, even though I need to know who you serve. I waited for my moment, and now it’s come.”

  “You can’t touch me, either there or here.”

  “Don’t you believe that. I can. I was going to at the Camp, but I assessed the risk and decided it was excessive. Even so, I prepared a couple of strategies just in case. I’m glad I waited. This simplifies things a great deal and reduces the risk considerably.”

  “I don’t care what you say. I’m a Ranger, and you can’t lay a finger on me.”

  Egil gave him a smile. It was cold and deadly.

  “I think you put too much faith in your title of Ranger. Look at where you are.” Egil swept his arm around. “You’re in the Thousand Lakes, a long way from Norghana. In fact, you’re not even in Zangria anymore. Or are you? I don’t know whether we’ve crossed the border with Erenal. I’ll have to check my maps. In any case, you’re a long way from the Camp. Whatever happens to you here will be buried in oblivion. Nobody’ll ever know about it, nobody’ll ever find you. These lakes are quite deep. A couple of rocks tied to your body, and nobody will ever find you. You’ll be food for the fish.”

  Vincent’s face blanched. He had lost all his arrogance and confidence. For the first time he was beginning to consider that Egil might be serious. Nor was he the only one. Nilsa and Egil glanced at Valeria, who was watching with a look of disbelief.

  “You … wouldn’t dare,” Vincent stammered.

  “Do you really believe that? After losing my father and my two brothers, d’you really believe I wouldn’t dare?”

  “I had nothing to do with that!” Vincent gabbled.

  “That’s what I want to find out. If you tell me what I want to know, you’ll live. If you don’t” – he pointed behind him – “the bottom of the lake is there waiting for you.” He said this in such an icy voice that Nilsa gave a little jump.

  “You’re going to kill an innocent Ranger who’s only carrying out his mission?”

  “Well… you’re right, I’d never do that … but in this case, you’re not an innocent Ranger. Which means I can’t find any insurmountable reason why I shouldn’t do it.”

  “I swear to you, I’m innocent!”

  “You’re not, and we both know it.”

  “I’m carrying out a mission, like everybody.”

  “Who entrusted you with the mission?”

  “I don’t need to tell you. You all know, we don’t reveal our missions.” He looked at Nilsa, then Gerd, then Valeria, seeking support.

  “We may reveal them to another Ranger,” Egil corrected him. “Unless you’ve been expressly forbidden to do so. Is that so?”

  Vincent realized that he was cornered. He nodded

  “Fantastic. See how easy that was? We’re making progress. Now we know you’re on a mission you’ve been told not to reveal to anyone, even to other Rangers.”

  “Now I’ve told you, let me go.”

  “Oh, no, certainly not. We still lack the important details. Who gave you the mission?”

  “I can’t tell you! They’ll hang me!”

  “Well, here you’ll die by drowning. If you talk, you’ll be able to get away. Erenal is a beautiful kingdom, and a very advanced one. It’s just over there, to the south. Someone with your training and skills will be able to ma
ke his way on there with no trouble. There are no Rangers in Erenal, and from what I understand, their explorers aren’t very good. With all your experience, you’d be an officer in no time at all.”

  “I don’t want to go to Erenal. I’m a Norghanian!”

  “Was it our leader Gondabar?”

  Vincent stared at him, then at the others. Seeing that nobody was going to help him, he cursed at the top of his voice.

  “You’ll pay for this! I swear it!”

  “Have you finished your pointless tantrum? I’ll repeat the question: was it Gondabar?”

  The veteran struggled against the ropes, but could not loosen them. He was desperate, and rage was eating at him inwardly. He began to curse again.

  Egil waited patiently. It looked as though nothing Vincent was doing had the slightest effect on him. He was acting like an icy, unscrupulous interrogator. His friends stared at him in astonishment, worried about how far he might go.

  “It was Gondabar!” Vincent barked.

  Nilsa, Valeria and Gerd gave a sigh of relief, but Egil shook his head and wagged his finger.

  “That’s a lie. Very bad.”

  “I’m telling the truth!”

  “No, you’re not doing that at all. The odds that from among all the suspects I’d hit on the right one at the first try are absolutely minimal. See how you shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry? If I’d said Duke Orten, you’d have said yes too. Or even King Thoran, or Haakon. Yes, the Rangers can lie. We’re allowed to if circumstances require it. So, as I see you’re going to lie and I need the truth, I’m going to use a rather more aggressive method.”