Treason in the North, page 25
part #4 of Path of the Ranger Series
“Astrid has told us –” Dolbarar began, and they all stood still as statues, with horror in their faces, in anticipation, “– that you were captured. Luckily she managed to escape during the night and warn us. I wonder how you were able to escape...”
“Well, you see, sir,” Mostassen began, “I can’t remember what happened...”
“Blow to the head or spell?” Eyra asked sharply.
“I think it was a spell... cast by the Glaciers Arcanes...”
“Interesting,” Haakon said. “Why wouldn’t they want you to remember?”
“Presumably in case he escaped and passed on the news of what he’d discovered,” Ivana said.
“Why only you, and not them?” Esben asked.
“I don’t know, gentlemen. I imagine that as I was in charge of the group and they were very young Rangers, they assumed it was better to put me out of action so that we wouldn’t raise the alarm.”
While Mostassen tried to reply, without much success, to the questions he was being asked, Lasgol was growing more and more restless. He felt bile rising up his gorge, so that he nearly threw up.
“It would make more sense if they’d put a spell on all of them,” Ivana said. “In fact it would make more sense if they’d all been killed at once, unless they interrogated them to get information out of them.”
“I couldn’t tell, ma’am,” Mostassen said.
The rest of the group said nothing. Nobody moved a muscle. They were all as taut as a branch on the point of snapping.
Haakon was the next to speak. “Perhaps they not only erased his memory but extracted the information they wanted, then covered their tracks by stopping him remembering anything at all.”
“That makes sense,” Dolbarar said.
“If that’s so, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to resist,” Mostassen said apologetically.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” Eyra said. “The Glaciers Arcanes are very good at Illusion Magic, and some even at Domination Magic. No matter how you might have tried to resist, you wouldn’t have succeeded in the face of that kind of magic. If they wanted you to see a sailing-boat, that’s what you’d see and that’s what you would have told us, with absolute conviction. Because of this I don’t think your testimony is the most coherent or appropriate, since we don’t know whether the illusion is still there in you. You’d better go to the Healer so that she can use her healing magic to get rid of any spell there may still have been left in you.”
Ivana raised an eyebrow. “Will she be able to do that?”
“Probably not,” Eyra explained. “Healing magic works on the body and physical wounds rather than on the mind. It’s not a kind of magic that can eliminate spells that have been put on the subject’s mind, but at least Edwina will examine him and see whether she can do anything more for him.”
Dolbarar nodded. “It seems a good idea to me.”
“In that case,” Mostassen said, sounding very relieved, “if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and see her right away.”
“By all means,” Dolbarar said, and waved him to the door.
The six members of the Snow Panthers were left standing there, and the tension was even greater now that they were alone, facing the Camp leaders, and would have to answer for what they had done.
“Going back to the main question: how did you manage to escape?”
Lasgol was about to answer, but Egil got in before him. “It wasn’t so much that we managed to escape as that they’d already struck camp and were getting ready to leave.”
“You mean they left you behind?”
“That’s right,” Egil said, very seriously and without a trace of hesitation. “They left us while the army moved on, with just a skeleton guard to keep an eye on us. We took advantage of a moment’s carelessness to run off and reach our horses, which were hidden in a wood near the cliff. From there we came back as fast as we could to report.”
There was a long, tense silence, as if Dolbarar and the four Master Rangers were considering the reply, seeking some gap or lie in it. But Egil’s reply had been a half-truth rather than an outright lie.
Lasgol was surprised at how easily Egil had given his statement. It had sounded very convincing, and his voice had been utterly firm. He was beginning to see a change in his friend as a result of the war, of who he was and of what was at stake for him. He was turning little by little into a true Olafstone, a son worthy of his father, a noble of the Western league: an heir to the crown after his brothers.
“It’s not very remarkable that you were left behind,” Esben said. “The strange thing is that they didn’t set a better watch.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Haakon agreed. “Why leave them alive when they could pose a risk? It doesn’t make much sense. They ought to have been killed so they couldn’t report.”
Lasgol stared at Haakon’s black eyes. They always had that dark look, always seeking some trap, some trick.
“What you’re suggesting is interesting,” Dolbarar said. “In fact leaving them alive makes no sense at all. The Wild Ones of the Ice aren’t exactly known for the goodness of their hearts. They should have killed them. And yet you were left alive and you’re here now. Perhaps there’s something behind all this that we’re not yet capable of seeing.”
“You mean a possible deception?” Eyra said.
“Yes, I’m thinking of a lie... a well-thought-out plan that I still can’t manage to see. This could certainly be some sort of trick.”
Lasgol could see that Gerd was so pale that it seemed as if the blood was not reaching his head, and his hands were beginning to shake. Nilsa, who was by his side, came even closer and touched him on the arm to calm him. Although knowing Nilsa, a moment later she would be fidgeting herself.
Ingrid had remained silent until now. “We don’t know what our captors’ plans or intentions might have been,” she said. “But it’s not farfetched to think there’s something else behind all this, because as has already rightly been said, we ought to be dead, and we’re not.”
“Exactly” Haakon said, “and I wonder why you’re not.”
Ingrid bore the scrutiny as if her blood were ice, her head held high, without any sign of being nervous, which Lasgol knew perfectly well that she was. Even she, harder than a rock, must have been suffering in that situation.
“The important thing is,” Dolbarar said, “you’re alive and you were able to return to the Camp. You’ve done very well. You’ll be rewarded with an Oak Leaf each for a mission well carried out in the Summer Test.”
Lasgol, Egil and Ingrid looked at one another in surprise. Not only had they not been found out, they were being rewarded and had passed the Summer Test. Some color came back to Gerd’s face, and his hands stopped shaking. Nilsa was smiling and bouncing up and down. Viggo was frowning in disbelief.
“Rest tonight,” Dolbarar said to them. “Tomorrow morning you set out.”
“Sir?” Ingrid asked, taken aback.
“The rest of your fellow Contenders have already left. We need to locate the enemy forces and trace the route they’ll take to the capital. That’s what the King has ordered us to do.”
“The King believes the hosts are on their way to besiege the capital?” Ingrid asked.
Dolbarar nodded. “That seems most likely, and that’s where the forces of the Western League will join them. We’ll have the Peoples of the Ice attacking our beloved capital from the East and the Western League from the West. The King has ordered us to find the route Darthor’s hosts are going to take now that we know where they landed, then try to get them into a trap somewhere on the way so that they never get to join the Western League troops. If they were to reach the capital and both forces were to join together... it could be the end.”
“Understood, sir,” Ingrid said.
“Are we the only ones out of all the Fourth Year still left at the Camp?” Lasgol asked.
“That’s right. The others have set off for different points with the order to send word the moment they detect the enemy advance.”
“Our friend Astrid... is she all right?” Lasgol asked. No sooner had he done so that he regretted it.
“Yes, we were going to give her a break, but she insisted on leaving at once to locate the enemy forces. She’s a courageous and honorable Captain.”
Lasgol gave a silent snort of relief. Astrid was fine, and more than that, she was not there, which meant that he would not have to confront her. And what was most important, she had not told Dolbarar about them. He wondered why. In Egil’s eyes he saw the same question: Astrid hasn’t given us away: why? Why should she have pardoned their lives after the clear treason they had committed before her eyes? I don’t know. But we can live another day, and I’m grateful to her from the bottom of my heart. He had been almost certain that she would have told Dolbarar everything.
He was left feeling very confused.
“Go and rest now, and get ready to set off at first light.”
Chapter 32
They left at first light, as Dolbarar had told them to. Royal Ranger Nikessen had been chosen to lead them, along with one of the Instructor Assistants of the Camp: Molak.
When they had appeared in front of the of the Fourth-Year cabins, Ingrid had smiled in surprise. Unlike Viggo, who had cursed under his breath. His usual sarcastic humor had now turned much darker.
“That’s all we needed, getting ‘Captain Marvel’ as our instructor!”
“Apparently there aren’t any more Ranger Instructors available in the whole Camp,” Egil said. “We’re the last ones to leave. The Camp is practically deserted, except for the First- and Second-Years, and they couldn’t involve them in the war.”
“Well, it’s going to be a very entertaining mission,” Viggo grumbled bitterly. “Not only have we got a Royal Ranger with us again, we’ve got ‘Captain Marvel’ too! I feel like stabbing myself and getting all the pain of this mission over with.”
“I don’t know what you’re moaning about,” Nilsa said. “Molak’s a fantastic Instructor Assistant and his help’s going to be worth its weight in gold. And anyway, there aren’t many in the Camp as good as he is with the bow. Not even Ingrid or myself can come anywhere near him.”
“I don’t care how handsome, wonderful, fantastic and good at archery he is, what I don’t get is why he has to come with us.”
“I think he asked for it himself. He stayed to wait for us even though he wasn’t absolutely certain we’d come back, according to what Ingrid told me.”
“Of course!” said Viggo, fuming. “How could it be any other way!”
They started their journey towards the south, following the river, then turned east. As they were the last to leave, all the key positions had been entrusted to other Rangers and teams. Their mission was to survey the advance of the King’s army, which had now left Norghania, and give warning of any danger that might threaten them, such as attacks from the flanks.
It took them ten days to locate the head of Uthar’s army. They contemplated the King’s military power from the distance, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. An enormous snake of red, white and silver scales was moving slowly across the plain toward the Mountains of Oblivion. Thousands of men were on their way to crush the invading enemy.
They would reach the army the following day. They camped on a rocky hill for the night and lit an inconspicuous campfire. Here they settled to get their strength back. Royal Ranger Nikessen turned out to be pleasanter company and more talkative than Mostassen, which was a nice change, even more so in the circumstances.
“We’ll let our horses rest tonight, then tomorrow at dawn I’ll go up to the front line of our troops and report to Gatik.”
“Isn’t it a bit risky for the King to be sending his troops to intercept Darthor’s advance?” Ingrid asked as they ate.
The Royal Ranger drank from his water-skin, then handed it to Molak.
“Yes. It’s a risky tactic. The King could wait behind the walls of Norghania, but this opportunity is a difficult one to turn down. If he manages to crush Darthor’s army before he can join the forces of the Western League, victory will be his. That’s why he’s sending most of his men. It’s an unrivalled opportunity.”
Lasgol and Egil exchanged a look of concern.
“What’s strange is that the Peoples of the Ice should have decided to land so far to the east,” Molak said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” said Ingrid.
“They don’t have many other good choices for the landing-site. If they do it further north, they’ll have to come down to Norghania through the northern mountains, and Uthar can seal the passes and stop them. That was the most likely strategy, the least risky. Dolbarar’s sent plenty of Rangers to the north precisely because he feared that’s what Darthor might have opted for.”
“Which he obviously didn’t,” Viggo said.
“Both strategies are risky,” Egil said suddenly. “The hosts of the ice should have crossed further north. It’s the shortest route, and the least dangerous one. But as Royal Ranger Nikessen rightly pointed out, the King could have located them. That’s what he was expecting, and in addition the northern passes are heavily watched by the Rangers. Crossing that way would have been extremely difficult. Darthor has opted for something even riskier, which is to come by sea to the southeast and landing in the east of the kingdom. Which is a maneuver Uthar wasn’t expecting.”
“Luckily you discovered them,” Molak said, “and the King saw his chance to act.”
“I don’t understand much about armies or wars or plans of attack,” said Gerd, “but wouldn’t it had been better if the Peoples of the Ice had landed in the West and joined the troops of the Western League there? Wouldn’t that be the safest option?”
“It is,” said Egil, “and that’s exactly what Uthar was expecting them to do. At the same time it’s also the most conservative option, and the most time-consuming. To transport the whole army through the frozen ice into western Norghana, quite apart from the risk, would take a lot of time, and then they might be caught by autumn, because they haven’t been able to move until now and we’re already at the height of summer. That means the offensive would take place in winter, and what with bad weather and Uthar in the capital, the Western League and the Peoples of the Ice would be likely to lose. Keeping the biggest northern city under siege during the winter would be a very bad idea. The King could withstand the siege comfortably behind those walls with the supplies he already has, while his enemies would have to endure the harsh winter with a shortage of food.”
“It looks as though Darthor’s opted for the most daring strategy,” Molak said.
“Yes,” said Nikessen. “Probably he was trying to surprise the King’s army, but it didn’t work because the Rangers saw him land and informed Uthar. You did very well.”
Ingrid nodded and said nothing. The others followed her example.
“Don’t worry, soon the King’s army will repel this invasion and the war will be over. The Western League won’t dare to go against the King outnumbered and without their allies of the ice. Soon Uthar will reign again over all Norghana, and law and order will rule once again.”
“If that’s so,” Nilsa asked, “what will happen to the leaders of the Western League?”
“I very much fear that the King will have no mercy with them. They’ve committed high treason, and the punishment is beheading.”
Egil swallowed.
Lasgol felt a knot in his stomach and thought of his mother. If the King came out victorious – and it looked as though he would – both Egil’s brothers and his own mother would die. They could not let that happen, but what could they do to stop it? The Eastern army was advancing and would attack as soon as they glimpsed the enemy. He had to clench his fists to avoid shaking with fear and rage.
“Molak, you take the first watch,” Nikessen said. “Ingrid, you go with him. The others watch in pairs. Next, Viggo and Nilsa, then Gerd and Lasgol, then Egil with me for the final one. Understood?”
They all nodded, except Viggo, who was not at all pleased to see Ingrid being paired with Molak.
“Remember that the enemy will probably have advanced scouts too. If you see anything, don’t shoot. Wake me up first before you attack– it might be one of our own people on the trail. Understood? Right, start the first watch. You others, go and rest.”
Ingrid and Molak took their places a hundred paces from each other, one to the east, the other to the west. Every hour they changed over, and when they did so they stopped for a moment and exchanged impressions in whispers.
“Seen anything?” Molak asked at the first exchange.
“Nothing. Everything’s quiet, some wild animal or other, a night bird of prey, but nothing suspicious.”
“Same here. Remember what the Royal Ranger said,” he added with a touch of worry in his voice. “If you see anything, don’t release, withdraw and report back.”
“What’s the matter? Are you afraid for me? I’m quite capable of looking after myself.”
Molak nodded. “I know. I’m sure you’re capable of killing a snow troll all by yourself. But I do worry about you, even so.”
“You worry about me?”
“You know I do. I always worry about you.”
“You worry the same way you would about anybody else on watch duty with you.”
Molak’s eyes glinted. “You know my concern for you goes further than that.”
“Further?” she asked, looking puzzled.
Molak sighed. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
“You can say anything you like.”
“I worry more about you than I do about the others,” he admitted.
“And why’s that?” she asked, still puzzled.
Molak snorted in frustration. “You’re really making this difficult for me.”
“People say I have a difficult temperament, it’s true. Don’t you like it?”
“I like everything about you,” Molak finally admitted.
