T Lain: Plague of Ice

The man who had just been saved by the woman wrapped his arms around her. “You’ve saved me too many times now,” he said. “I’ll have to return the favor one of these days.”

She spoke, and the sound was like the ringing of crystal. “If only we could have saved him.” She looked down on the dead man, who Regdar and Lidda could see was little more than a boy in armor.

“What was his name?” asked Lidda.

“Teron. Teron of Atupal,” this unearthly woman said. “He was one of the town guard. I suspect he lied to us when he claimed to be an experienced warrior.”

“There aren’t too many like him in Atupal,” the man said. He turned to Lidda and Regdar. “We should introduce ourselves. My name’s Hennet Dragonborn.” He gave a courtly smile to Lidda, striking an exaggerated pose as he did, with his shoulders back, head high, and one leg far ahead of the other. Lidda was charmed instantly, and Regdar was wary.

“It’ll be nice to work with a wizard again,” Lidda told him. “We haven’t since…”

“Not a wizard, little miss,” Hennet corrected, “but close. I’m a sorcerer. And if you like spellcasters, here’s another for you. Let me present Sonja of the North.”

“Another spellcaster?” asked Regdar, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you a priestess, milady?”

“No, not a priestess,” she said with a slight laugh. “I’m a druid, but I can heal that gash in your leg, if you wish.”

“A druid?” asked Lidda. “You don’t look like any druid I’ve met.” Most of them wore only green or brown, Lidda reflected, while Sonja looked as if she had been born in the snow.

“And you’ll never find another like Sonja,” Hennet said, running a hand over her back. “Her home is the northern tundra. Nightfall’s coming. Let’s make camp. We can explain more once we have some shelter.”

“I trust you’re the party from Atupal,” said Regdar.

“Hired and dispatched by Atupal, yes,” Hennet explained, “but not from Atupal. We were just there when this strange affair started. If that’s what you’re worried about, we have no particular stake in Atupal’s relations with Klionne.”

“Nor do we,” said Lidda. “Klionne hired us to investigate this phenomenon, too. Don’t get me wrong, we care about the people of Klionne. Just not…”

“Just not its petty squabbles with its neighbor,” finished Hennet. He looked down at Teron’s corpse. “He didn’t care about those things, either. He begged us to let him come along. I think he hoped we’d adopt him or some such thing and invite him to go adventuring with us after this. So much for adventures.” He turned to Sonja. “I suppose we’ll have to pick up his body on the way back. The cold should keep it preserved well enough, if the wolves don’t find it.”

“I’m Regdar,” the fighter interrupted, “and this is Lidda. This bridge was unstable before, and it’s only gotten worse because of the fight. If we’re careful, it may hold together.”

They crossed the bridge one at a time. Hennet went first, poking each orc body with his spear to be sure it was dead before pushing it off the bridge with his foot. Reassembled on the far side, they finished their introductions.

“I hope we can trust your dedication to this mission,” Sonja declared to Regdar and Lidda.

Lidda instantly gritted her teeth, bracing for Regdar’s heated comeback. Instead, she was shocked to hear him say, “Of course.” Instead of being insulted, Regdar smiled at the woman and looked every inch the fool.

“We’re here to safeguard the lives of the people of Klionne and Atupal and all those beyond this region who may be affected by this phenomenon.”

“The people should be protected, yes,” the druid said, “but the damage is done already.” She spread her arm to indicate the vast expanse of white surrounding them. “Human lives may be protected from the cold, but what of this? Animals, plants, the land itself, all these natural cycles have been hideously disrupted. This is not supposed to be. Some magic has made it this way, and it is my duty to undo it, or at least to minimize the damage. The cycle of nature is broken here, and it must be restored.”

Regdar frowned slightly, but Lidda shook her head. If this Sonja was like most of the druids she’d met, Lidda suspected that humanity was a distant second concern for her. Druids worried about nature first. But, Lidda supposed, the woman’s motivation didn’t really matter if she was willing to help them.

“I had to persuade the mayor of Atupal to let Sonja come on this mission,” Hennet said. “The people there aren’t all as friendly as Teron was. Half of them wanted to lock her up out of suspicion that she was responsible for this.”

“I don’t suppose you can control the weather?” Lidda asked this new companion.

“I’m afraid not,” Sonja replied, “but I do know some spells that might make the cold a little easier to endure for you and the others.”

Regdar smiled at her like a puppy.

“Uh, Regdar,” said Hennet uncertainly, “why don’t we compare maps and see what we can figure out about this region.” He unfolded a parchment from his pocket. “The one they gave me in Atupal is pretty bare, and I feel lucky to have it. They weren’t especially gracious or generous, considering we’re going out to their rescue. Aside from some trinkets and the vague promise of riches on our return, all they gave us was this map, an old wand, and a magic ring for Sonja.”

Hennet slid a wooden wand from his furs. It was about the length of a short sword—too long to carry in a pocket but easily thrust through a belt without being much of a hindrance. At first glance it looked like an ordinary piece of wood, but its gnarled tip resembled a flicker of flame that was so startlingly realistic it couldn’t be a simple carving. It identified this device as a wand of fire or fireballs. Such a weapon could be very deadly, if used with care. From the way Hennet handled it, Lidda could see that he regarded the wand with a mix of awe and casual confidence.

“I doubt my map is much better than yours,” Regdar said. When he unfolded it next to Hennet’s, everyone could see that both were equally barren of detail. Hennet wondered aloud, “How can these people live so close to this place but never visit it long enough even to make a map?”

“They fear it,” answered Regdar, “probably with good reason. Tomorrow, we’ll start toward this Fell Forest. The people in Klionne think the forest is the origin of this cold. That could be nothing more than local prejudice and superstition, but who knows? Maybe they’re right.”

Hennet nodded. “Sonja tried to dispel the wave when it passed over us. That ring the mayor gave her was supposed to do the trick, but it didn’t even to slow the…whatever this is down.”

“I had little hope it would succeed,” Sonja said. “The magic affects a huge area of land, so its power must be far greater than anything in this ring. I had hoped, however, that I might slow it down, but there was no noticeable effect at all. The ring worked. I could feel it, and its magic was not insubstantial. But it was as if the power of this ring was inconsequential against the advancing wave of cold. Whatever drives this is operating with an entirely different magnitude of force.”

“I don’t follow you,” Lidda injected. “You mean, it was like this cold just ignored your spell, as if it didn’t exist?”

Sonja shook her head. “Many variables come into play when trying to cancel one magical effect with another, too many for me to say with certainty what really happened. It was…unusual, but I’m not sure why. In all likelihood, an effect this large was created by magic that’s too advanced for this ring to dispel. That’s not uncommon. Perhaps I’ll have better luck at its source.”