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2024-10-29 19:42:56Chapter 11
The Panthers were talking to a Specialist in front of the Tower of the Rangers. They had stepped aside so no one could hear what they were saying. They were in a small, enclosed circle with their backs to the surrounding world.“I don’t agree with this at all,” Viggo was shaking his head and folding his arms over his chest.“Yes, you do. It’s what’s best for the Royal Eagles,” Ingrid replied.“Don’t be silly. We have to report before the Queen at once. We don’t have time for your jealousy,” Nilsa snapped at Viggo.“I’m not jealous of Captain Fantastic. The thing is, we don’t need him at all. I don’t understand why you’re asking him to join us again.”“If there’s no consensus in the group, I’d rather not join you. I don’t want to be a nuisance. I’m sure you’ll find another Specialist who’ll be pleased to help you,” Molak protested with a wave of his hand.
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Chapter 12 Lasgol sat with his face to the morning breeze and started working on repairing his inner bridge, as he did every morning he could. He always felt better when he was able to follow an evening of magical training with a morning of bridge repair. It gave him a feeling of well-being, of doing what he should, and that with work he would earn the reward someday. When because of external reasons he could not do one or even both practices, he felt bad. He knew it was the law of life, the life of the Path of the Ranger, but even so, he felt he was not doing what he should.Camu and Ona were watching the surroundings of the hollow. They were both aware of what Lasgol was doing, and they let him be so he could concentrate and work in peace. Since Lasgol had to concentrate hard, with his eyes shut, he was very vulnerable to possible attacks, so the two of them looked after him. There was nothing wors
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Chapter 13 Lasgol started panting. Rowing in these conditions was turning out to be quite difficult. No matter how hard he tried to maintain his course and a steady rhythm, he was not managing very well. He tried harder and used more strength, but the results did not improve much. They were going forward, yes, but the barge was zigzagging as if it were captained by a drunken sailor.River big, Camu messaged.Yeah, I’m also impressed by how strong the Utla’s currents are.Ona growled twice. She was not at all happy to be there.The barge gave a sudden lurch and Lasgol almost lost an oar. He was able to keep a hold on it, but he had been close to losing it. If he lost an oar, things would get really complicated.Don’t move. I’m having trouble rowing in the direction we need to go.Not move, Camu messaged.Ona, stiff and with her tail puffed up, was
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Chapter 14 Raner was waiting for the Panthers in front of the Tower of the Rangers. Four Royal Rangers were with him. One of them was Kol, whom Nilsa recognized at once and nodded at unobtrusively, smiling, while the Panthers formed a line before the First Ranger. Kol returned the nod, also unobtrusively, and smiled at her, which made Nilsa blush. Kol was the handsome Mage Hunter who tried to court her every time he had a chance. All of a sudden the training did not seem so bad— perhaps it was even becoming interesting. She bowed her head slightly and eyed Kol, who caught her glance and returned it with a playful smile.Most of the Royal Castle’s inhabitants were sleeping, with the exception of the soldiers on duty at the towers, battlements, corridors, and doors. Those on night watch had not been relieved yet. The rest of the soldiers, servants, nobles, and the Royal Family had not opened their eyes
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Chapter 15 Camu and Ona also turned to look at the Mage. Lasgol realized his friends were not camouflaged and that the Ice Magi had seen them.“Surprised to see me? You and your creatures?” Maldreck said.“Yes, surprised,” Lasgol replied, trying to remain calm while he wondered how the Ice Mage could be there and the possible reason. The fact that Maldreck had discovered Camu worried him so much that he lost the thread of his own thoughts and restlessness settled in his stomach.“I had guessed as much,” Maldreck smiled triumphantly. “It never ceases to amaze me how stupid you are.”“Compared to?”“Me, of course,” the leader of the Ice Magi took a small, vain bow.“What’s the leader of the Ice Magi doing here?” Lasgol was trying to gain time to see how he could get out of this situation. He already guessed what Maldreck was doing there and what he wanted.
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Chapter 16 Lasgol was sitting at the bow of the Norghanian assault vessel. They were heading north. Lasgol heard Captain Jakobson scolding some of his sailors. The mariner was at the helm in the stern and shouted orders to his soldiers every time he saw something he did not like. Lasgol realized those soldiers were sailors used to sailing on that ship. He guessed it was one of the war ships that regularly patrolled the Utla.He had no idea how Maldreck had secured the services of Captain Jakobson and his ship, but he guessed that being the leader of the Ice Magi, he could request war ships if he needed them. A Ranger could not do it by himself, he needed authorization from Gondabar or the King. He remembered the painful fate of the leader of the Rangers at the hands of the King and felt a deep sorrow. He wished Gondabar could return to his Tower soon, although nothing would erase from his heart the p
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Chapter 17 Nilsa, Egil, Gerd, and Viggo were practicing with Raner and half a dozen Royal Rangers behind the Tower. It was a quiet place where no one would bother them. They were practicing basic positioning, which they had to learn first of all. Raner was explaining to them how they had to position themselves around the person they were supposed to protect. He insisted they had to be well positioned at all times and how important this was to be able to protect someone efficiently from an attack or ambush.“Gerd, you’re too far away, and you, Egil, are too close,” he told them.“Yes, sir,” they said and corrected their positions.“To make things easier we’ll call the person you’re supposed to protect ‘the protectee’,” Raner told them. “In most of the exercises I’ll take on that role, but not always. Understood?”“Yes, sir,” Nilsa replied for the group.“Very well.
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Chapter 18 A second blow which almost knocked Lasgol down onto the deck made it clear they had hit something. Something big and solid, since the war ship was very stable. He was puzzled. All around there was only water, and it must be considerably deep.“Watch out! We’ve hit something!” Captain Jakobson warned.Hit what?” Maldreck asked while he put away the pearls in Eicewald’s box and then stood up.The sailor-soldiers were looking over port and starboard and were wondering the same thing as Lasgol. What could they have bumped into if they were in the deepest part of the river which was well laden with water?The answer was not long in coming. A shadow, longer than the ship itself, appeared underneath it, moving with it. They all stared at it with fear in their eyes, for its size and what it might mean. They could see it from any point of the ship.Suddenly, besi
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Chapter 19Lasgol left the remains of the war ship and swam toward dry land. He could see the tall grass and some trees in the distance, so he swam hard to get closer. It took him a long swim to reach the shore; it was farther than it looked. Distances in the water were always tricky and hard to calculate. Thank goodness he was a good swimmer and was in god shape. The life of a Ranger prepared one for situations like this.With a nimble push, he stood on a grass-covered mound on the shore and shook the water off his body while he tried to decide where he was. He needed to know approximately where in the river he was in order to go back to the island to fetch Ona and Camu. Now he was glad they had not come with him, they would not have liked the dip at all, and Camu was not a very good swimmer.The problem was that it was now dark and finding out where he was with only the help of the stars and constellations was never easy. He crouched down and called on his Guiding Light skill. A whi
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Chapter 37Lasgol and Camu were staring at the dead dragon on the floor of the patio in front of them, unable to fully believe they had killed it. Camu would never admit he found it hard to believe, since his fighting, stubborn character had made him absolutely sure they could defeat it. Lasgol, on the other hand, thought it was nothing short of miraculous that they had managed to kill it. An unthinkable enterprise, one that had almost cost the three of them their lives.A moan made them both turn around. Ona was coming toward them from inside the building.How are you feeling, Ona? Lasgol transmitted to her, bending down to hug her. As he crouched, he grunted with pain from the two cuts he had in the stomach and thigh. He had already realized they were not simple scratches.The snow panther reached his side, moaned, and licked his face.Ona, we kill dragon, Camu messaged to her, proudly nodding toward it.Ona growled once.And it almost killed us, Lasgol transmitted.We defeat. Much
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Chapter 36The afternoon group was running back from doing their physical exercises around the capital. Viggo was still intent on proving that he was better than the Royal Rangers, so he was flying downhill, five paces ahead of two Royal Rangers, who were trying hard to catch up with him and overtake him.The howling of a wolf from the forest to the east warned Egil, who was running beside Gerd at the rear of the group, that he was wanted. He looked at the giant, who returned a gaze of complicity. He raised his right hand and turned aside.“I have to stop!” Gerd warned his comrades.Nilsa and the Royal Rangers who were running in front stopped to look at him.“Are you all right, Gerd?” Nilsa asked, concerned.“Yeah, it’s my hip, it’s bothering me. Nothing to worry about. It’ll soon pass, go ahead.”“Are you sure it’s nothing?” Nilsa came over, concerned, while the Rangers she was running with remained a little further.“Don’t worry, it’ll pass in a moment,” he said without straighteni
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Chapter 35The minor dragon rose, flapping its wings hard, and prepared to drop once again onto Camu to strike it with all the power and weight of its considerable size. In comparison, the dragon was larger than Camu, who recognized the situation and what it meant. Seeing it was going to lunge down at him and knowing he was not exactly nimble, Camu decided to change tactics to avoid the crash.The dragon lunged at Camu with its four claws outstretched.Camu called on his Drakonian Wings. There was a powerful silver flash along his body and the wings appeared on his back, glowing in all their splendor. He leapt, flapping them vigorously, and rose up off the ground.The dragon hit the ground with its four claws hard, breaking the marble slabs of the patio, which flew in shards all over the place. Camu was already nine feet up. He had escaped the attack by a scale’s breath.The dragon looked up.So, the pup can fly. Then he is not such a pup, it messaged and flapped its wings. It took a
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Chapter 34The Panthers were waiting to be received by Queen Heulyn before her chambers. They were waiting in an antechamber decorated as if they were in Irinel. There were shields and javelins from that realm hanging on the wall. Several Irinel soldiers guarded the entrance and would not let them through. They had told them, kindly but firmly, to wait there. Since the Queen had requested their presence, they could do nothing else.The double doors opened and a familiar face came to greet them.“Good day, Royal Eagles,” Valeria said with a lively spirit and a big smile on her face.“Good day, Valeria,” Nilsa returned the greeting with a light smile.“The Queen has summoned us,” Ingrid said with a hint of interrogation in her tone.“And it’s a little too early for our taste,” Viggo complained, yawning ostentatiously. “You might let the Queen know that these are inappropriate hours for morning meetings. Better to have them after a good breakfast, say mid-morning.”Valeria gave a little
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Chapter 33Saki-Erki-Luzen, the minor dragon, attacked without any warning other than an intimidating roar. It took a step forward, opened its mouth as if it were going to roar again, and issued forth a gust of fire directed at Lasgol, Camu, and Ona.Lasgol leapt to one side using his reflexes and improved agility. It was an instinctive move at seeing the fire and feeling its scorching heat.Ona moved to the other side with a powerful leap to get out of range of the flames so they would not touch her. Her feline instincts saved her from ending up torched by the dragon’s attack.Camu opted for a different defense. He could not jump with the agility of his two friends. He opened his mouth and used his Icy Breath skill. The jet of freezing breath he sent crashed against the flames heading toward him. Upon contact both attacks, fire and water, canceled each other. Neither of the two managed to reach the rival.The scorpions guarding the door, seeing their lord was attacking, also lunged a
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Chapter 32Nilsa, Viggo, Egil, and Gerd were coming back from doing physical practice with six of the Royal Rangers, among which were Kol and Haines. They were both running at the front with Nilsa and chatting with her. It was painfully obvious that both of them were greatly interested in the friendly redhead. They were not the only ones. Another Royal Ranger joined them on the way down toward the capital, whose lights they could see in the distance. Night was falling and hunger and tiredness were beginning to have their effect, but whoever wants to be in shape must suffer a little. The Royal Rangers knew this better than anyone else. They had to endure whole days on their feet standing by a wall on watch duty. This numbed and softened anyone’s muscles. Therefore, it was important they went out to do physical exercise.Viggo was running in the lead, as fast as lightning. He wanted to arrive as soon as possible and show all the Royal Rangers that he was better than them. Nilsa and Gerd
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Chapter 31Ona, Camu, and Lasgol went through the ghost city, following the enormous scorpions that had taken the Silver Pearls. The trail was quite clear since two sets of eight scorpion legs walking on streets partially covered by desert sand were unmistakable. Lasgol was having no trouble following them. Besides, they had carried away the ice jewel so if he lost the trail he could wait for a pulse that would tell him where they were.Lasgol was thinking how lucky they had been that the crocodile had not joined the fray in the middle of the city, since that would have been an additional problem. On the other hand, the croc would have destroyed half the city if entered it, so to a point it was logical it had not come in. Well, as logical as one giant crocodile at the entrance of a city in the desert with colossal scorpions and cobras as guardians was. When he told the tale in Norghana they were not going to believe him.They turned left and then right. They were not in camouflage s
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Chapter 30Lasgol waited a moment and wondered whether his plan might work or if they would be discovered and end up having to confront those monstrous desert creatures. He was not at all sure it was a good idea to follow the scorpions, least of all through the forbidden city. But when there were no other options, it was best to be determined.Watch out. We’re going to follow the scorpions. I don’t think they can see us under Camu’s camouflage, but we must be very careful.Camouflage good. They no see, Camu messaged confidently.There’s more than one way of seeing. They might detect us by sound or by the trail we leave, for instance.Ona moaned once.Oh I understand. I no can help that.That’s why I’m saying we must take extreme precautions. We always careful.Yeah, always… Lasgol was watching with one eye from the corner of the wall. They’ve entered the city. Following them through the streets will be dangerous.City empty, no dangerous.The entrance was also empty and the scorpions
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Chapter 29Astrid, Ingrid, and Molak were waiting for Raner on their horses east of the capital, according to his orders. They were half a league from the Royal Road and were to wait for the First Ranger to join them. Not very far away they could glimpse Beaver Hill, so called because of a rock at the summit that looked very much like the animal.“What do you think the First Ranger has in store for us today?” Molak asked his comrades.“So far, everything he’s had prepared for us has been enlightening and interesting,” Ingrid said in a satisfied tone. “So I hope that whatever he has for us today will be so too.”Astrid stroked her horse’s neck.“I feel the same way. The truth is that training to become Royal Rangers has pleasantly surprised me.”“You weren’t expecting it to be interesting?” Molak asked, surprised.“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to be useful and so I thought I’d be bored. But it’s turning out to be the opposite. I think that in the Assassin Specialty at the Shelte
