Power Conspiracy

by Pedro Urvi

  He was standing in front of the circular well on the floor, which was full of blue, bubbling seawater, conjuring, waving his staff and reading aloud arcane words from the tome he held. The water in the well was turning a magenta color, while at the same time more bubbles were appearing on the surface, which gave off a smell of sulfur.

  Beside the well were twenty or so cadavers. They appeared to be experiments which had gone very wrong. The bodies were deformed, and the fusion of species did not appear to have been completed successfully. At the same time, all of them were far larger than they must have been originally. There was no doubt that the Sorcerer was trying to create new and more powerful kinds of transformation.

  With him were three enormous monstrosities like himself, a mixture of human beings and different kinds of crustacean. They were obviously not Sorcerers, because they were holding swords and knives. These must be experiments which had come out well, because they were very tall and strong and also had three heads.

  “By all the Frozen Gods!” Ingrid whispered.

  “What on earth is that!” Viggo muttered. “It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

  “That monster must be trying to make more powerful transformations, like himself,” Lasgol said.

  Magic of Death and Transformations, powerful, Camu said in warning.

  Ona too could feel the danger around them. The fur on her tail and back was standing up, and she was displaying her fangs threateningly.

  Lasgol sighed. “I can’t see Astrid. I was hoping she’d be in this chamber.”

  Viggo was peering inside again. All he could see were the Sorcerer and his bodyguards near the well. At the end of the cave the floor vanished and merged with the sea, and there was no trace of anybody else inside.

  “What do we do?” Lasgol asked Ingrid.

  “I’m worried about facing that monstrosity …”

  “You’re not afraid, surely?” Viggo said mockingly.

  “Of course I’m afraid. Anyone who faces danger without feeling any fear is either an idiot or else insane. Which of the two are you?”

  Viggo smiled. “I’ve just started to feel afraid,” he said hastily.

  “I can’t see an obvious way out either,” Lasgol said. “On the other hand, we can’t let that monster experiment on all those poor wretches up there.”

  Ingrid nodded. “True. We can’t leave, now we know about the evil down here. We need to put an end to this three-headed monster and his helpers.”

  One of the Sorcerers’ bodyguards saw them appear, and immediately raised the alarm. His two comrades turned toward the group, and at the same time the three-headed monster conjured two spheres over himself: a grey one for protection from physical attacks, and a second one against magical ones.

  Without wasting a single moment, the three released at the first bodyguard. This one had the head of an octopus in the middle and those of two different crabs on each side. The arrows hit the three heads, but only that of the octopus died. The arrows failed to pierce the crab shell. The bodyguard gave something like a furious scream and hurled himself at them. He was hit by three more arrows, this time in the stomach. The arrows penetrated, but he was so big and strong that he was not deterred.

  “I’ll deal with him!” Viggo said. He let his bow fall and took out his assassin’s knives.

  Camu, Ona, go for the Sorcerer, Lasgol told them.

  I cancel magic.

  That’s right, Lasgol said.

  Camu immediately created a protective bell against magic, including Ona, and they both began to move toward the Sorcerer.

  Ingrid and Lasgol attacked the second bodyguard, who was very close to them now. This one was a mixture of sea-urchin, octopus and crab. His huge body was covered by a shell of urchin and crab.

  “Shoot where you don’t see any shell,” Ingrid said to Lasgol.

  Both arrows caused some damage, but failed to kill the monster. It went for Ingrid, brandishing two swords as it came.

  Lasgol was preparing to attack the third bodyguard when he realized that the Sorcerer was casting a spell on Ingrid. “Ingrid! Beware! Spell!” he shouted, but she was engrossed in the fight and could do nothing.

  The Sorcerer finished his spell, and from his staff there issued a purple beam which struck Ingrid in the chest. Helpless, she stumbled backwards as if she had been hit by an arrow.

  “No!” Lasgol cried in horror.

  Suddenly there came a turquoise flash, and she was enveloped in a whitish sphere.

  “What the –” she muttered in surprise. But the bodyguard immediately tried to decapitate her with a single blow, and she was forced to concentrate on the fight.

  Lasgol released against the Sorcerer, but his arrow hit the sphere of protection and failed to penetrate. The Sorcerer countered by conjuring against him, and purple and black smoke began to surround him. He knew it was death magic, and that he had no more than an instant of life left. The moment it surrounded him completely, he would die. There came a turquoise flash, and a white sphere appeared to surround him, rejecting the Sorcerer’s spell.

  “It’s Uragh’s pearl of life!” he realized as he looked down at his chest and saw it flash. It was life-protecting magic.

  When the Sorcerer cast another spell against Lasgol, he could feel the sphere rejecting it, but at the same time it weakened. It would not hold back the Sorcerer’s spells for much longer.

  Ingrid and Viggo fought with all their might against the three-headed transformed monsters. Camu and Ona were approaching the Sorcerer, who had already noticed that his spells did not affect the two creatures.

  Lasgol released against the third bodyguard, and his arrow reached its squid-head. It must have injured his brain, because he screamed in pain, but went on advancing, his two short swords at the ready. Suddenly the Sorcerer said something and pointed to Camu. The bodyguard turned and went for him.

  “No!” Lasgol cried out in terror, as he realized the Sorcerer had ordered his creation to kill Camu.

  He released at the starfish-head and hit it, but the monster went on moving toward Camu with swords raised high.

  Look out, Camu, Ona! Lasgol warned them desperately.

  Camu and Ona saw the bodyguard coming at them, and Ona prepared to leap on him. Lasgol released and hit the back of the octopus-head, but the being continued on his way. Ona leapt on him and brought him down. Lasgol ran to him and killed him by releasing at the three heads again, while Ona and Camu clamped their jaws on his arms. The monster died.

  Lasgol saw that Viggo and Ingrid had finished off their own monsters. “Release against him!” he called to them.

  All three of them began to shoot at the Sorcerer. The arrows touched the grey sphere without penetrating it, but it was beginning to weaken. The Sorcerer cast spell after spell at the three, but the spheres created by the pearl withheld.

  Camu, get him!

  Camu crawled toward the Sorcerer, who began to retreat. He knew he had to get away from Camu’s protective sphere, or he would lose his own protection. Ingrid, Lasgol and Viggo went on releasing and his sphere weakened even more, but unfortunately so did theirs. The first to fall would mean the death of the one it had been protecting.

  The Sorcerer retreated to the back of the cave, where the sea water entered. He could go no further. Camu was still moving toward him, but very slowly. He could not run and keep up the bell of anti-magic protection at the same time.

  Suddenly a figure emerged from the water behind the being, took out two dark knives and struck the sphere again and again, rapidly, with all its strength. The Sorcerer turned to cast a spell on his attacker, but the figure was protected by a white sphere.

  “Release! Release!” Lasgol called.

  The three last arrows, together with the attacks the newcomer was making with its knives, completed the destruction of the grey protective sphere.

  The Sorcerer screamed as the figure leapt and buried the knives in his two side-heads, those of the lobster and t
he crab. The blow was so strong and skillful that the knives pierced the shells. The Sorcerer stepped back, screaming in pain and rage. The figure gave an enormous leap and buried the two knives in his squid-head, and the monster collapsed.

  They all froze, and at that moment Lasgol recognized the attacker.

  It was Astrid!

  They ran to embrace one another, then kiss with the strength of the passion which now flooded them.

  “You came!” she said in amazement.

  “I promised I’d come for you, and here I am.”

  “I never doubted your word, not for a single day!”

  “I always knew I’d find you!”

  “I love you!

  “I love you too!”

  They kissed again, filled with immeasurable joy and love.

  Camu and Ona watched them happily. Camu began to perform his happy dance in celebration, and Ona joined in, imitating him as best she could.

  Astrid folded Ingrid and Viggo in her arms. “How wonderful to see you!”

  “The weirdo here kept making a fuss,” Viggo said jokingly, “and he insisted we had to come and rescue you.”

  “Ignore him,” Ingrid said. “We’d have come to rescue you, with or without Lasgol.”

  Astrid’s eyes were moist. She put her hand to her heart. “Thanks, Ingrid. That means a lot to me.”

  Lasgol smiled and gave her a kiss,

  Viggo was looking at the corpses with an ironic smile. “That was great, I had the time of my life. We ought to do this more often.”

  “Ufff …you’re one of a kind,” Ingrid said.

  “Of course, I’m special. So what now?”

  “We wait till dawn,” Astrid said.

  “Wouldn’t it be better to get out of here before then?” Lasgol asked.

  “That won’t be necessary. By midmorning, most of the transformed ones will be dead.”

  Lasgol was left speechless, and Ingrid and Viggo looked at one another. They had no idea what she meant.

  “They’ll die?” Lasgol asked her. “How? Why?”

  “That’s right, they’ll die of poisoning. I’ve been poisoning the fort’s water supply for three days. The last barrels were carried out to the ships tonight. We just have to sit down and wait. They’ll drink and start to die, the lot of them.”

  “Now I remember why I like you so much,” said Viggo. He came to Astrid’s side and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Good plan,” Ingrid said. “Will it work?”

  Astrid smiled. “We’ll find out in the morning.”

  Lasgol nodded. He was impressed. “We’ll wait and see.”

  Two days later they left the fort in one of the Rogdonian ships, taking with them all the prisoners of the turquoise people. As soon as they arrived, the Queen summoned them to her throne chamber.

  “You have greatly surprised me,” she said when they were all in front of her throne. “I have to admit that I knew you were very capable, but this goes beyond all my expectations.”

  She nodded several times, looking closely at each of them, including Camu and Ona.

  “I had not expected this. Not only have you ended the threat posed by the Sorcerer, but you have also killed all his transformed men.”

  “Yes, your Majesty. Astrid was responsible for that.”

  “And you have rescued all the prisoners and returned the children of my people in one of the Rogdonian ships. Truly impressive.”

  “Thank you, your Majesty. We had to bring them back, and there wasn’t room for us all in the sailboat, so we took one of the ships.”

  “And the remaining prisoners?”

  “We gave them another ship so that they could go back to Rogdon. We told them to avoid the mist and sail east.”

  “I could not be happier,” she told them. “That was a great accomplishment, and so it will be remembered by my people and her Queen.” She gave them a small bow from her throne.

  Honored, they returned the bow.

  “The pearls of life helped us survive,” Lasgol told her. He handed them to Arrain, who passed them on to his Queen.

  “I’m glad to know. That was what they were for.” She stowed them away under the water.

  “Your Majesty,” Lasgol said, “with your permission, we need to return to Norghana.”

  “Of course. You have my permission.”

  “Thank you, your Majesty,” Viggo said happily. He glanced at his comrades.

  “Before you leave, I have a parting gift for you,” the Turquoise Queen said suddenly.

  “There’s no need, your Majesty,” Lasgol hastened to say.

  “Speak for yourself,” Viggo whispered in Ingrid’s ear. “It might be gold or exotic precious stones.”

  “I doubt it very much. That’s not Uragh’s style.”

  Viggo frowned.

  “Going by what you said, Lasgol, you are in a hurry to be back.”

  “Yes, your Majesty, there’s an urgent matter we have to see to. The life of a dear friend of ours is at stake.”

  “Then my gift will be welcome.” She put her hands on the great pearls and shut her eyes in concentration. There was a flash, and in front of Lasgol there appeared a jet of water which rose as far as to his chest, like a small geyser. On top of the jet of water he saw an object: a very large conch.

  “Think about that, she gives us a conch,” Viggo muttered to Ingrid. “Here they’re like jewels.”

  “Take it, Lasgol,” Uragh said.

  Lasgol took it in his hands and immediately became aware that this was no ordinary conch. It gave out a faint turquoise light.

  Conch magical, Camu warned him.

  “This object is a Conch. It is imbued with my power. If you blow on it in the direction of the entrance of the cave, you will see its power.”

  Lasgol turned, raised the conch to his mouth, directed it toward the entrance of the cave and gave a sustained blow. Suddenly the conch emitted a turquoise flash. A great gust of wind rushed from it, filling all the rear of the cave with a strong wind which blew out of the entrance.

  “It’s … impressive …” said Lasgol. He was staring at the Object of Power.

  “With the conch, you will not lack wind for the sails of your ship. You will be able to make your return voyage ten times more quickly. Its power is limited. It will allow you to reach Norghana, but little more than that. Keep it as a souvenir. If one day you should return, bring it to me and I will recharge its power.”

  “Oh … it’ll be incredibly useful,” Lasgol said as he understood the purpose of the object. “Thank you, your Majesty. So do we have your permission to return to the Turquoise Realm some day?”

  “You have it. You have helped me and my people, and you will always be welcome. The Turquoise Queen will always open her door for you.”

  “It’s an honor, your Majesty.”

  “Take good care of her,” Uragh said, indicating Astrid. “She is a very special young woman.”

  Lasgol smiled. “Always.”

  “Before you leave, Lasgol, I would like to comment on something about the ingredients you left me to analyze. I have found something interesting which might turn out to be useful to you.”

  “Of course, your Majesty. We can talk whenever you’d like.”

  “Good. We’ll talk this evening. Go now and get ready for your journey. May Mother Sea be with you on your adventures.”

  They all bowed respectfully to the Queen. Even Ona and Camu tried to mimic a bow of some sort.

  They left the following day. Lasgol was deeply grateful for the gift, because he needed to get back to the Camp immediately. He had discovered something profoundly important and urgent connected with Dolbarar, something both terrible and unthinkable.

  And he had to get back in time to save him.

  Chapter 46

  The moment they entered the Camp, they felt much better. The place enveloped them with an aura of belonging, of home, of warmth. Gerd breathed deeply, filling his powerful lungs, enjoying the warm atmos
phere. Nilsa was smiling happily at the sight of so many familiar and well-loved sights. Valeria nodded at a couple of Rangers who were staring at her, spellbound. The only one who did not seem to be enjoying their arrival was Egil, whose face was stern. His mind was already anticipating what he would have to confront, and he was calculating the moves he would have to make in the game he would be obliged to play.

  They left the exhausted horses in the stables, where the poor animals would be able to enjoy a long and well-deserved rest.

  Master Instructor Oden came in search of them while they were in the stables. “Rangers,” he greeted them in his usual abrupt way, looking each of them up and down twice, as though he were inspecting them. “I see you’re back unscathed.”

  “It was a pretty intense mission,” Egil said, “but thanks to the benevolence of the Gods of Ice we’re all well.”

  “All missions are intense, and I’m sure that the fact that you’re well because of your own skill and brains, rather than the Gods of Ice.”

  “Thank you, Master Instructor.”

  “Now come with me. You’re expected.”

  “Now?” asked Gerd, whose stomach was rumbling.

  “Yes. I have instructions to bring you to the Command House.”

  “Couldn’t we clean up first?” Valeria asked.

  “Have something to eat?” added Gerd.

  “No. You’re to come with me at once. You’re clean enough, and a little hunger fortifies the character.”

  He turned and set off toward the center of the Camp, and they followed immediately. Gerd turned to Nilsa.

  “Why does he always say all the bad things fortify the character?”

  “Because it’s true?” she replied with a smile.

  Valeria had overheard him. “And because it’s a standard answer for any difficult situation,” she added.

  Nilsa smiled. “That too.”

  Oden crossed the Camp with military briskness. As they went, the contenders from the different years stopped to watch them the moment they realized who they were, particularly Egil, who always attracted a great deal of expectation wherever he went.

  Egil walked on faster and caught up with the Master Instructor. “How is Dolbarar?” he asked uneasily.