The call of the ice fiel.., p.38
The Call of the Ice Fields: The 13th Paladin (Volume XII), page 38
‘Once the storm has passed, we should see which of the provisions crates are empty and therefore expendable,’ interjected Uldini. ‘That way, we might be able to make more sleeping room for ourselves.’
‘It is tight, but it’s warm,’ said Jelninolan, placing her hand on one of the iron braces which were set into the walls. ‘The rest of Caldria’s heat is transferred through the metal to down here.’
‘Which is why there are no doors,’ said Trogadon, nodding. ‘So that the heat is distributed as evenly as possible.’
‘Would it not make sense to close the hatch to the deck, then?’ asked Ahren sceptically.
The dwarf shook his head. ‘The trapped heat would cause us to bake in no time at all. The steel plates on the prow are red-hot, don’t forget. A source of heat like that can transform the ship into an oven.’
‘Being roasted in the endless ice certainly doesn’t top my list of things that I would still like to experience,’ said Uldini dryly. ‘Maybe someone should advise Caldria to stop her efforts for the day? The storm will be upon us soon, and the ship is supposed to become ice bound.’
‘I’ll do that,’ said Ahren. ‘Ounlamun already advised me to do so, but the first thing I wanted to do was to discuss guard duty with you all.’
Bergen pointed at Hakanu and himself. ‘We will take on the first watch,’ said the Ice Lander. ‘Since working together in the crow’s nest, we have learned to communicate without words, so during the snowstorm, we will be able to use hand signals.’
Ahren considered for a moment if he himself should stand watch with his apprentice, but then he decided not to push Bergen aside. The more friendships that Hakanu formed, and the more varied these friendships were, the broader would be his view of the world. ‘I will stay awake down below the hatch and keep an ear out for any sounds of alarm,’ he said, silently compromising with himself.
‘Khara and I will take over during the night,’ said the First, the Swordsmistress immediately nodding her approval. The closeness that had developed between the pair during the Hjalgar campaign had manifested itself again on this voyage, and by now Ahren was well capable of being pleased on their behalf, without worrying that his beloved might be monopolised by the First’s nefariousness. Her imprisonment within the Void lay a long time in the past and much water had passed under the bridge since then.
‘Ahren,’ murmured Jelninolan. ‘You were going to visit the flame chamber, remember?’
The Forest Guardian nodded gratefully to her before making his way to the prow of the ship. He had hardly walked five paces when Khara was beside him, laying her arm around his waist.
‘I’m coming too,’ she chuckled. ‘I would like to meet this mysterious woman who is sparing us a long and cold march through the snow.’
Ahren gave the Swordsmistress a quick peck on the cheek, then narrowed his eyes anxiously as they continued to walk. ‘I still can’t sense Culhen,’ he murmured. ‘He can hardly be that full that he is ignoring the weather.’
‘I’m sure he will turn up,’ said Khara in a gentle, reassuring voice. ‘Muai isn’t worried about your wolf, and she is normally the first who would be concerned.’ Khara giggled. ‘That’s another secret I shouldn’t have revealed.’
‘Culhen considers Muai to be an honorary she-wolf,’ countered Ahren with a grin.
Khara burst out laughing. ‘She really didn’t appreciate your remark. Cochan received a most proud cat as her companion animal.’
‘I keep forgetting that she doesn’t solely belong to you,’ murmured Ahren thoughtfully.
Khara simply shrugged her shoulders, much to his surprise. ‘Muai is one of the family,’ she said simply. ‘She is like my big sister, who looked after Cochan for a while and now she is doing the same thing with me.’
Ahren pointed at the heavy round door at the end of the corridor. The charm circle in the wood glimmered in a smouldering light, as though the magic signs were struggling to keep a lid on a blazing inferno within. ‘Here we are,’ he said, then cocking his head. ‘Only having seen this door when it was dormant, I don’t know if I can open it without coming to harm.’ He stepped forward and knocked, taking care not to touch the glowing runes. The wood was uncomfortably hot to the touch.
‘Yes?’ sounded a loud and snorting voice from within.
‘A storm is brewing?’ called Ahren loudly. ‘Ounlamun would like you to stop your work.’
‘And about time,’ came the relieved reply. ‘A little cooling off would do me good.’ Immediately, the charms on the door were extinguished.
‘Princess Khara would like to take a look at the flame chamber!’ added Ahren. ‘Would it be possible for us to open the door?’
The sound of amused laughter ensued. ‘Only if you would like to see me in all my glory – as the gods created me,’ chuckled Caldria. ‘It is far too warm in here to be wearing clothes. Call by later and I will gladly explain everything about this cabin to your spouse.’
‘Of course,’ said Ahren, looking apologetically at Khara.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said the Swordsmistress lightly, adding in a murmur: ‘This Caldria seems to be a most affable person. I like her already. No wonder Falk and Trogadon have played dice with her so often.’
Ahren nodded. ‘Her work is exhausting, forcing her as it does to work in a confined, overheated chamber,’ he whispered as they made their way back. ‘There are very few cut out for the job.’ Then he chuckled. ‘And regarding dice throwing – our two friends are dead set on winning back the money they have lost. Caldria fleeced them like a shepherd does his flock.’
The first snowflakes were falling through the hatch, melting in the warm air of the ship’s interior even before they had reached the bottom steps of the wooden stairs. Ahren felt another pang of concern for Culhen in the pit of his stomach. ‘I will go up and keep an eye out for my careless wolf,’ he said.
Khara gave him a peck on the cheek and nodded towards the rear of the ship’s interior, from where could be heard the sounds of heavy boxes being shifted and muffled curses. ‘I had better help organise things. Storing all our worldly goods and still having enough room to sleep in is going to be a challenge.’
Ahren nodded before silently ascending the steps. The belief that they would in all probability spend the night fighting rather than sleeping he decided to keep to himself.
The wind howled like an unfettered beast through the rigging of Alina’s Rage, and Ahren could see no further than five paces ahead thanks to the driving snow. There was still no sign of Culhen, the storm having now fully arrived. Behind the Paladin, the crew were making final preparations, battening down the hatches, checking the knots of the furled sails, and making sure that the hull was fully surrounded by ice. After all the days when the flame chamber had been active, the vessel seemed to Ahren in her stationary position like a cold, lifeless shell.
‘Chin up, chin up,’ he murmured to himself, pulling the cloak tightly around him. He exchanged worried looks with Hakanu and Bergen, who were already keeping first watch as well as maintaining a safe distance between themselves and the two mercenaries on the other side of the main deck. The heavy blanket of cloud made it well-nigh impossible to tell if the sun was already beginning to rise, but the hurricane lanterns on the masts of Alina’s Rage had been lit in an attempt to defy the darkness that the storm was bringing with it.
‘Still no sign of life?’ bellowed Bergen across at him, Ahren shaking his head in response.
‘He is a wolf the size of a horse!’ shouted Hakanu. ‘Nothing will happen to him!’
Ahren looked gratefully at his apprentice, then frowned when he saw the blue sheen on the boy’s nose. ‘You must wear your scarf properly,’ he said, reaching down for his pouch of healing herbs. ‘Otherwise, the tip of your nose will fall off, and your soul companion will run away from you should she ever meet you.’
The fingers of his apprentice’s gloved hands flew up to his chilly nostrils, Ahren suppressing a chuckle. Bergen, however, had no such inhibitions, laughing uproariously at Hakanu’s vanity. ‘How bad does it look?’ asked the boy fearfully.
‘Bergen would certainly have warned you before it got too cold,’ said Ahren, nonetheless scowling at the Ice Lander, who was still laughing gleefully. ‘Still, better safe than sorry.’ He took a tiny crucible containing a pale paste out of the pouch. ‘Do you recognise this?’ asked Ahren, his tone severe.
The apprentice sniffed at the oily mixture. ‘It’s Rooster Thistle, isn’t it?’ he suggested after a heartbeat.
‘Precisely,’ said Ahren, delighted with the answer. ‘Do you remember when I plucked this plant in Eathinian and said it could prove useful to us sometime in the future in a distant land? Well, the time has come.’ Then he smeared the tip of Hakanu’s nose with the paste before carefully placing the crucible back in his herb pouch. ‘As you can see, it always pays to think ahead…’ he began, while Hakanu pulled his scarf over his nose and nodded respectfully only for Ahren to interrupt himself with a cry of joy, the Forest Guardian’s heart skipping a beat as he sensed the first faint connection with Culhen’s mind.
Come here right now, you fleabag! He scolded. You frightened the living daylights out of me!
The storm took me by surprise, admitted his four-legged friend regretfully. The weather changes here so quickly.
There are no forests, rivers, or mountains to slow down the fronts, said Ahren soothingly, having already given vent to his anger. Only snow and ice.
Culhen had by now reached the ship, and he leaped over a snowdrift directly onto the deck, thereby avoiding having to go up the gangplank of Alina’s Rage. Ahren was preparing to take the wolf in his arms when two shadowy figures rushed from the far side of the deck, both of them screaming, their spears ready to strike.
‘Culhen!’ yelled Hakanu, throwing himself between the two shocked mercenaries and the supposed Dark One. ‘It’s only Culhen!’
‘By the THREE!’ screamed one of the two sentries, beside himself with fury. ‘You could at least warn us beforehand if such a beast is going to jump on board deck like that! Especially as we are expecting an assault!’
‘At least we can pull up the gangplank now that the creature is on board,’ grumbled his associate.
Ahren swallowed his annoyance, nodding curtly. The two sentries resumed their posts, not without exchanging glares with Hakanu.
Assault? asked Culhen, confused. What did I miss?
‘I will resume my sentry duty below!’ the Forest Guardian called out to his friends as he went towards the hatch. A pack of Snow Slashers has been spotted, said Ahren in reply to his wolf’s question. Large, six-legged foxes. If they are hungry enough, or the storm becomes too violent, they may attempt to come on board.
Should I stay out here? asked Culhen, but Ahren shook his head.
You can see how tense everyone is, countered the Forest Guardian. It would be very easy for them to mistake you for a Dark One in this storm.
Still, at least Deklar’s men are useful for something now – apart from causing trouble for everyone, said Culhen, Ahren opening the hatch sufficiently for his friend to slip through.
‘My wolf is coming!’ he shouted down the steps, and judging by the terrified looks on the faces of the mercenaries, he hadn’t spoken a moment too soon.
Ugh! exclaimed Culhen as he disappeared below deck. It’s so warm in here!
It will take a while for the heat of the flame chamber to be cooled by the ice outside, said Ahren, who had pulled back his hood as an experiment on closing the hatch from within. It’s already cooler in the cabins.
Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Ahren saw that the thick layer of ice on Culhen’s armour was already beginning to melt. The air in the belly of the ship was already moist and sticky, the wolf’s wet fur adding now to the already unpleasant aromas. ‘Go to the others,’ he said loudly. ‘I will keep watch here.’
I wouldn’t mind forty winks, said Culhen, the wolf’s exhaustion clearly evident to Ahren. Spending the whole day hunting and only half-filling my stomach – maybe I was too previous with my praise for this barren land.
And that although it is spring here, Ahren reminded him with a grin. In winter you would doubtless have to survive for days without nourishment.
Culhen said nothing, but the Paladin was in no doubt that the wolf’s admiration for the Ice Fields had already lessened considerably.
***
Revenge stretched his senses and recognised that the Snow Slashers were moving past the ship. The primitive brains of the Dark Ones were depressingly non-receptive to his feelings, which the child of the Dark god occasionally used to guide creatures effectively. Still, there were other pleasurable opportunities to influence the course of events as long as this mercenary, driven by scorn and rage, was still at his command.
Revenge plucked at his toy’s memory of the last evening of throwing dice with Skiltous, the fellow that he was now on sentry duty with. It took the merest of impulses to spur on the vengefulness of his marionette sufficiently for the fellow to reach for the dagger on his belt.
Just look at his new shoes, whispered Revenge. Bought with his ill-gotten gains!
The blade slid out of the scabbard, unheard in the raging storm.
Pay him back, he whispered to his toy. No-one will see you. And you will get one over those snotty-nosed Paladins!
The marionette’s hand moved uncertainly as the haunted mercenary silently approached the clueless Skiltous,
Do it for Mauk! snarled Revenge. And then it was over.
An almost inaudible crunching sound, a groan, and the thud of a heavy body falling – all under the protection of the howling wind and driving snow.
Horror at the deed took hold of the marionette, Revenge delighting at the man’s panic. They always asked themselves afterwards why they had done it and even what they had done. Also – how they would get away with it.
Run to the hatch! urged Revenge, captivated by the blood of the victim, which was slowly spreading, the steam rising from it, only for it to freeze a moment later in the cold. Give them your version of the story first, and all your comrades will believe you!
Terrified of being found out, the mercenary hurried to the closed hatch. So panic-stricken was he that he never noticed the Snow Slashers, tempted by the smell of blood, now springing over the railings on his side and onto the deck. He had only managed to heave open the heavy timber hatch when a pony-sized creature attacked from behind.
‘Skiltous!’ screamed the tortured mercenary down the steps. ‘The upstart Paladin murde—.’ Then the sharp fangs closed around the man’s neck, its claws tearing at his back.
Revenge quickly slipped out of the dying man and through the chink between the planks, down into the belly of the ship. Two mercenaries dead and more would follow this same night.
The child of the Adversary was certain that the Paladins would no longer find any allies among Deklar’s men – assuming, of course, that they survived the chaos that was now unfolding on Alina’s Rage.
***
Ahren stared for a heartbeat up at the figure of the panic-stricken mercenary who had heaved open the hatch and roared his strange message down the passageway, a slim, six-legged Dark One with a narrow nose and glimmering red eyes then leapt on the unfortunate from behind before pulling him out into the darkness and the raging snowstorm.
‘Danger!’ yelled the Forest Guardian, three Snow Slashers immediately leaping down the steps. “Dark Ones below deck!’ Then he threw himself backwards, simultaneously extending Fisiniell, and using the Han’halthin technique to slay two of the ferocious creatures with one arrow. The third threw itself at the screaming spear carrier who was standing guard beside Ahren, but to the delight of the Forest Guardian, the man stretched out his long weapon in front of him, stabilising the bottom end of it on the timbers with his foot, so that the Snow Slasher skewered itself on the weapon.
Hearing the noise of fighting from above, Ahren shouted for Hakanu and Bergen, but already the next dark Ones were thundering down through the hatch, and although Ahren killed another three, both he and the mercenary had to retreat as the following Snow Slashers leaped elegantly over their dead companions, quickly lessening the distance between the monsters and the two defenders. An arrow whizzed over Ahren’s shoulder, killing one of the beasts, a quick glance back revealing to the Forest Guardian that Falk, the First, and Khara were all standing in the corridor, ready to replace him and the mercenary.
Ahren shoved the man beside him into a cabin on the starboard side. ‘In you go!’ he roared, he himself then springing into an over-full cabin to the port side. ‘We have to split them up or they will overrun us!’ he screamed, hoping his friends would hear him.
Then several things happened at once. While Ahren extended Fisiniell so that he could defend himself against a Snow Slasher that had crept towards the doorway, another beast was preparing to attack the mercenary in the cabin across the way. Khara danced forward along the corridor, her blades creating a deadly cocoon around her lithe body, while another of Falk’s arrows flew past her, giving the Swordsmistress additional cover.
‘The flame chamber!’ roared the First. ‘A couple of them are on their way to Caldria. If they break through to her, we will never escape the eternal ice!’
Ahren cursed, letting his arrow fly, the attacking Snow Slasher managing to evade the missile, which flew on, slamming into the head of the Dark One in the opposite cabin. Then he dropped his bow and drew his Wind Blade at the very instant that the beast facing him lunged forward, its murderous jaws opened wide. Time seemed to slow down as the Wind Blade and the maw of the Dark One engaged in a race to see which would reach its target first.
It was the fraction of a heartbeat that made the difference. The fangs of the Snow Slasher were already sinking into Ahren’s cheeks when the side of his blade met the neck of the creature, the young man drawing the steel back and in with all the power he could muster. This was followed by a dreadful sound as the monster was decapitated, its head falling uselessly onto the planks, its biting reflexes extinguished for ever.
