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 20Raner sent one of his Royal Rangers to the Tower to tell Astrid, Ingrid, and Molak to join him in the anteroom of the Throne Hall. Ingrid and Astrid were already ready, and Molak joined them downstairs at the Tower door, since he shared lodgings with other Specialists on the second floor. Nilsa had suggested they let Molak use Lasgol’s bed, but Viggo had flatly refused. He had even insinuated there might be an accident and Molak might end up with his throat cut. As it would have happened with Viggo in a sleep-walking state, they would not be able to blame him. With such threats, they decided not to take any risks. Molak would not share lodgings with them.The three went to meet Raner at once, along with the Royal Ranger who had come to fetch them.When they arrived, they found Raner and three veteran Royal Rangers. They knew one of them; it was Mostassen. They had met him during the war mission against Darthor during their fourth year at the Camp.“Sir, you summoned us?” In
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Chapter 21Ona, Lasgol, and Camu reached the jetty. There was no trace of the boatman, who must still be sleeping it off. They got out of the barge, not without some difficulties, and once they had all landed, Lasgol told them what had happened on the war ship with the sea serpent.Monster, servant dragon, Camu said, certain.Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Much clever throw jewel.Thanks, I didn’t even stop to think, it was pure instinct. Serpent take pearls to dragon, sure.Dergha-Sho-Blaska must have sent the creature to intercept them.Can follow sea serpent?I think so. The locating spell is working. I guess I have to be close enough to feel it.Follow river. That’s my plan too.I have two horses I can switch between. I’ll ride as fast as they can go and follow the serpent south.You better go alone, more fast. And what about you two?We follow, more slow. No can run like horses.Ona moaned twice.I don’t like the idea of leaving you again, now
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Chapter 22Lasgol prepared to release. A sense of danger clutched at his stomach. He did not want to fight the Inon, but if he was forced to, he would.Be us, Camu’s message reached him.Lasgol lowered his bow. He snorted and smiled.Camu and Ona appeared in front of him and he welcomed them with a hug.I’m so glad you caught up with me. We come fast.Yeah, faster than I had expected, Lasgol smiled.Ona moaned and rubbed her head against Lasgol’s forehead to show her love. Lasgol appreciated the panther’s caress with all his heart. She was charming, good, obedient, and lovable, and also deadly when she needed to be.What happen with great sea serpent? Camu wanted to know.I’ll tell you. It’s quite funny. Surprise?Yeah, something like that. I like surprises.We’ll see if you like this one.Lasgol told them what had happened with the serpent and the monster-crocodile and the situation they were in now. And also about the curious fact that it had a camouflage skill similar to Camu’s.Su
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One of the riders remained behind above a small hill. He turned on his mount and looked toward where the great reptile was marching on south. In spite of its camouflage, maybe because it was moving, the rider seemed to see it. He opened his eyes wide and stared in disbelief. He did not seem convinced that what he was seeing was real. He urged his mount forward and approached the reptile from behind. It looked as if the rider had seen the monster’s enormous tail. Frightened, he sounded the alarm, shouting in the Inon’s tribal language.The other riders heard his shouts and looked back. They stopped following the herd of bison and rode to where the rider was signaling. The reptile realized it had been discovered and stopped. It lay down and once again vanished from sight, becoming a grass-covered mound.The rider was pointing toward the monster and shouting in his own language, obviously upset. Some of the other riders dismounted and searched for the trail. They found it, great reptilia
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Chapter 23Raner had gathered the group in the afternoon for training, outside the city, westward and on horseback, which told them that the day’s practice would have to do with protecting while riding. They had stopped in the middle of the Royal Road before it went through a birch wood. It was a sunny day with few clouds, and it did not look like rain. This cheered everyone, since the last few days it had been raining pretty heavily.In the distance above a hill there was an army watch tower, and they could see soldiers, which did not surprise them. The kingdom was preparing for war, and the Royal Army soldiers had been activated and were in constant motion. They were taking over towers, forts, ports, and other fortresses of strategic value throughout the realm. Two of the King’s main armies, the Snow Army and the Thunder Army, had gone south to the border with Zangria. From the news that arrived from the Rangers on watch missions at the border, the Zangrian army was also mobilizing
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Chapter 24Lasgol, Ona, and Camu arrived at a fishing village on the southern coast. They were in the southernmost part between the kingdom of Rogdon and the forests of the Usik. Ahead of them spread the Central Sea. As far as Lasgol knew, it was a warm, quiet sea. The weather was usually mild, so there were no rough seas and sailing was easy as a rule, but of course with them you could never be sure. For starters, a monstrous crocodile had jumped into the sea.The Central Sea separated the upper part of Tremia from the lower. The kingdoms of Central Tremia, like Erenal or Zangria, were located in the upper part, and in the lower, beyond the sea, were the territories under the control of the Nocean Empire, with the deserts and the scorching sun, which made it difficult to live in certain areas because of the scarcity of water.Go village? Camu messaged to Lasgol.Yeah, I’ll go. You follow me camouflaged but at a safe distance. We need a ship.Dangerous?Lasgol checked the fishing vill