CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Much later that day, led by the sole survivor of Hrothgar’s doomed group, the three companions, Ásúlfr and a party of ten warriors rode the last few metres toward the enormous lake east of Olshamarr. They dismounted at the top of a rocky cliff overlooking the water.
Jade followed Phoenix and Marcus toward the edge, away from the war party. Silently, the three stared down. Below was a small, stony cove. A tiny stream trickled down a deep gorge to spill sparkling droplets into the lake’s dark waters. It was late afternoon now, and the surface of the lake rippled under light, cold winds. A million wavelets glittered red in the sunset. The water looked deep and unforgiving; the grey rocks sharp and slippery. It was an ominous place.
Phoenix stepped back, staring out across the vast expanse of water.
“OK, Jade.” He turned to face her, glancing over as though to make sure the Svear warriors were well out of earshot. “You said you know this story. How does it go from here?”
Jade swallowed and glanced down over the edge. She could once more sense the presence of a troll and it played havoc with her thinking. Fear swelled up from her belly, trying to take control of her brain. A sense of impending doom pushed into her mind like a dark fog. Her legs began to shake.
Desperately, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried a small spell on herself. Relax, she willed the Command spell on herself. Amazingly, it seemed to work. A gentle reassurance spread from a warm spot on her chest. It seeped into her limbs and brought clarity back to her mind. The amulet. Touching a fingertip to the gleaming metal, Jade felt a sudden surge of strength and power. She was ok. The fear was still there but she could think through it now.
Delighted, she opened her eyes to find Phoenix and Marcus staring at her in bewilderment.
“What…?” Phoenix began.
Jade waved the question aside. There was no time. The sun sent golden fingers of fire across the lake as it set in spectacular fashion behind them. Grendel’s mother would emerge soon. They had yet to come up with a plan.
“In Beowulf’s story, he’s given a sword, Hrunting, and he dives into the lake. Under a headland,” she indicated one of the rocky points jutting out into the water, “he finds the cave where the troll lives.”
He fingered his new sword. “But this isn’t Hrunting, it’s Blódbál – which is a way cooler name, by the way - and Hrothgar said it didn’t work against trolls.”
“Exactly,” Jade said, ignoring his comment about the name. “Hrunting doesn’t either but Beowulf doesn’t find that out until he actually tries to kill her. Then he has a huge battle of strength that he knows he’s losing. Luckily, he finds another magic sword lying about in the cave and this one can and does kill her. Unfortunately, her blood dissolves the blade and Beowulf comes out with only the hilt.”
“So he does survive then?” Phoenix asked. “You’re sure?”
“As much as I can be.” She bit her lip and laid a hand on his arm. “I’m guessing here, Phoenix. I mean,” she shook her head, irritated, “the programmers have mixed up their dates. I’m pretty annoyed with them, if you must know. The story of Beowulf isn’t supposed to happen for another five hundred years or so – and it’s set in Denmark, not Sweden.”
“Remind me to speak quite firmly to them about historical accuracy when we get home,” he said, raising an ironic brow.
Jade sighed and chose to ignore the sarcasm. “The point is: how can I be sure they’ve stuck to the plot? I mean, Hrothgar gave you the wrong sword, he wasn’t supposed to die, and the way you killed Grendel isn’t part of the original story, either. You were meant to rip off an arm so that he bled to death.”
Phoenix made a face. “Gross - and,” he added, as an afterthought, “impossible, I’d say.” Marcus nodded in wholehearted agreement.
She gave them a worried half-smile. “Beowulf was amazingly strong.”
“I rolled a twenty for strength, if that helps.” Phoenix shrugged.
“Really?” Jade blinked at him.
He nodded and she could see he was pleased he’d surprised her.
“Well,” she said firmly, “I still don’t think you should rush into the cave and just hope there’s a convenient, magical sword lying about – even one with a cool name. We need a plan.”
Phoenix looked at the dark, rippled water below and shuddered. “Sounds good to me. I’m not a very good swimmer anyway. Got one?”
“Ah,” Jade grimaced, “that’s where we have a problem. I was hoping you might.”
“Me? You’re the one with the big ideas all the time.”
“But you’re the one who defeated Grendel, remember?”
“Don’t remind me.” Phoenix rubbed his ribs. “It was sheer luck. I don’t think we could do it again if you paid us.”
Jade gave an exasperated huff, losing patience with his ill-timed humour. “Well you’re the only ones with experience at this. Think of something! The sun’s going down and that troll is going to come out and flatten us as soon as it’s dark.”
He growled. “I do know that. Geez, Jade. You’re not the only one with a brain, you know.”
“Well, sometimes it seems like it,” she snapped. “Think of something.”
“You think of something!” Phoenix shot back at her. “You’re the one who so keen to be important. Come up with another smartass plan to save the day.”
“I am not a smartass.” Her voice broke and she turned her head away, fighting tears.
“Well stop acting like it then.” Phoenix crossed his arms over his chest. “You keep trying to rub our noses in how smart and how special you are. Now’s your chance. Save us all with your brilliance.”
They glared at each other. Jade felt her throat clamp shut as she struggled not to cry. Why was he being so horrible? It was just like being back at home with her sisters and mother. No matter what she did, it wasn’t good enough. Would she ever be able to make everyone happy?
There was a long, uncomfortable silence until Marcus stepped between his friends. He laid a hand on each and pushed them apart.
“Stop behaving like children,” he ordered. “You are adults, both.”
Jade flushed and exchanged a guilty look with Phoenix. They still hadn’t told Marcus that, although their avatar bodies were in their late teens, their real bodies were just barely into double-digits. Sometimes she just couldn’t help acting like the kid she still was – at least partly.
“Jade,” Marcus turned his dark, solemn gaze on her and she squirmed inside, “you know he deserves better. Phoenix,” he addressed the warrior sternly, “you know Jade has saved us several times already. She does not need to prove anything.”
Annoyance then reluctant agreement flickered across Phoenix’s face. He opened his mouth, probably about to apologise. He never got a chance. Inspiration hit her.
“Oh!” Jade clutched at Marcus’ arm. “That’s it!”
Both boys turned puzzled gazes on her. “What?” they asked in unison.
“The dryads. The magic horn Aurfanon gave me! I keep forgetting we have it.” Jade dropped her pack on the ground and yanked the Hyllion Bagia out of it. Reaching in, she named the item and felt its cool, smooth curves slap into her hand. She pulled it out, balancing it across her palms.
In the rapidly-fading sunlight, the three examined their prize, differences forgotten. It appeared to be some sort of curled sheep or goat horn. Both ends were edged with thin layers of beaten gold, the small one in the shape of a mouthpiece. The cream-coloured horn between was carved with a thousand, intricate drawings that seemed to twist and shift in the greying light.
“How does it work?” Phoenix poked it with a grubby finger.
“I think you just blow into the pointy end and sound comes out the fat end,” Jade said with a touch of scorn, still a little hurt by the things he’d said.
“Thank you for that helpful hint.”
She st
uck out her tongue at him then felt like an idiot when Marcus sent her a mildly astonished look.
“I meant,” Phoenix continued, “didn’t you say something about being in danger?”
“Oh, yes.” Jade thought back. “We have to be in dire peril, we can only use it three times, and the help that comes might not be what we expected.”
“Fabulously vague.” He still sounded like he was mocking her.
“Got any better ideas?”
He sighed and glanced at the sun, slipping rapidly behind hazy, purple mountains. Around them, crickets began to chirrup. The horses whuffled and stamped as the temperature dropped. Nearby, the Svear warriors stared uneasily into the gathering darkness.
“No, but we’re not exactly in dire peril,” he admitted.
Behind them, echoing out across the dark lake, came splashing followed by an awful grinding, crunching sound. It bounced off the cove’s rocky walls, sounding like it came from a dozen directions. Everyone jumped.
Jade whispered a light-making spell from her new spellbook. A feeble, greenish ball of light appeared in the palm of her hand, casting weird shadows on the anxious faces around her.
“Somehow, I don’t think it will be long before we are,” she said shakily.
“You can do magic?” Phoenix stared at the green light in surprise. “Even with a troll this close? Can you do any spells to help the situation?”
Jade shook her head. “It’s taking all my concentration just to keep this going. I can’t help, I’m sorry.” It grated to have to make that confession. She ought to be able to do something.
Phoenix and Marcus exchanged weary, wary glances.
“Here we go again,” Phoenix murmured. “Let’s get some torches happening. At least we can buy some time.”
Marcus nodded. Turning away, the Roman began to instruct the Svear warriors in the ‘light-torches-and-trees’ method of Troll distraction. The groundshaking grinding grew louder and several battle-hardened warriors paled and backed away. Ásúlfr spoke sharply to them, moving forward with a lit torch in his hand. At the sight of the old man stepping up, the younger warriors took heart and followed his lead.
Phoenix peered over the cliff-edge then withdrew quickly, his eyes wide.
“Man, she’s huge!”
Jade peeked over. She could just make out the silhouette of a massive, jagged creature clambering from the water far below. It headed for the gorge, apparently its path to the top.
“You guys outran and outwitted one of those?” Her respect for Phoenix jumped a few notches.
He shrugged. “Ours was a fair bit smaller, though.”
“Still…”
Together, they watched the enormous rock-creature as it moved toward the gorge with surprising speed and agility.
“Can we do anything before she gets up here?” Jade asked hopefully.
“Like what?”
“Maybe roll big rocks down on her?” It was a long shot, she knew but the thought of being chased down by that thing sent shivers up her spine.
Phoenix frowned. “Aren’t we just going to use the horn to blow for help when we get into trouble?”
“So?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the point in delaying it?”
She shivered. “I guess I just want to stay as far away from that thing as I can.”
“Good instincts,” he said, slapping her on the back, “but we can hardly be in dire peril if we’re a dozen miles away. Nope, we may as well get it over with. I’ll just go put myself in danger, shall I?” he finished, annoyingly blasé. With a wave, he jogged over toward the narrow gorge that led to the bay.
Jade stared after him for a moment, worried. She tightened her grip on the horn, ready to blow the minute Phoenix yelled for help.