Spell of the Crystal Chair (15 page)

After the celebration meal, Fairmina said, “Would you like to see our village, Beorn?”

“I would like that very much.”

“Come, then. I will show you.”

There was really not much to see in the village, but Beorn spoke glowingly of it and that pleased her. He said, “It’s very much like my own village.”

“Is it? I suppose so.” She walked along slowly for a while. “What will happen with you and your father?”

“I cannot say.”

“I am surprised that you came here. You risked your life, you know.”

“I suppose that is true.” He hesitated, then turned to face her. “But I met someone on my way here.”

“Who was that?”

Beorn related quickly how he’d gotten lost in the snowstorm, and then he said, “I was about to freeze to death, when suddenly a man came out of the night.”

“But who was it?” she asked again.

“I thought it was an enemy at first, but it was Goél.”

“Goél!
He
came to you?”

“Yes.” And Beorn told her of how they had talked long into the night. “He encouraged me to please him—to do what is right.”

Dropping her gaze, Fairmina said, “And what does your heart tell you is right, Beorn?”

He said quietly, “My heart tells me that I have never seen one as fair as the Princess Fairmina. And that I will love her all the days of my life.”

Fairmina felt her face flush.

“I wanted you to know how I felt. You may never feel anything for me—”

“But I do, Beorn! How could I fail to admire you when you risked everything to save me?”

“That is enough for now,” he said. “Show me the rest of your village.”

“What would you say, Husband, if Beorn asked to marry Fairmina?” Rimah asked one afternoon.

“What would
you
say?”

“I would say that I see honor and love in him.”

“But he is a Yanti.”

“That matters not to me as long as he has honor.”

Denhelm thought of this much, but he also kept thinking of the danger that lay over his people.

“My wife seems to have forgotten that we are living on the edge of death here,” he said to Josh one day. The two were standing on the bank, fishing through a hole in the ice.

“I think we must do something, sire. You are right. It is just a matter of time before the ice wraiths come again. The pale wizard is a servant of the Dark Lord. And I can tell you from experience,” he said grimly, “the Dark Lord never gives up. He will have us all as slaves, or he will have our death.”

“You are wise beyond your years, Josh. But what to do?”

“Could we have one more council? Perhaps Goél will come, or perhaps he will give us wisdom in the strange way that he has.”

Denhelm followed Josh’s suggestion, and that evening the Long House was filled. Even Volka, who never said a single word during a council meeting, was sitting with his back against the wall, taking it all in. Beside him sat Mat and Tam, and the Sleepers were arranged alongside them.

The chief called the meeting to order. “We are grateful for our daughter’s return, but we must not forget that we are in grave danger here.”

Fairmina spoke up. “You are right, Father. While I was a captive, I heard much talk of their using the ice wraiths again.”

“That is true, Chief Denhelm.” The speaker was Beorn. To his apparent shock and amazement, he had been asked to attend the council. “My father,” he said, “has made a foolish commitment to the pale wizard, and you know that Zarkof is in the service of the Dark Lord. I heard that, as soon as new riders are trained to control the ice wraiths, a raid will come that could
destroy all of the Lowami. That could come at any time.”

There was much talk, but no one knew exactly what to do.

Beorn said no more. Perhaps he thought speaking would be out of place, but finally Fairmina, who had been studying him, said, “There is something on your heart, is there not, Beorn?”

“Yes. There is something, but I hesitate to speak it.”

“Speak freely,” Denhelm said. “What is it?”

“I once made a visit to the White Palace—the fortress of the pale wizard.” He described his visit there with his father. He told of the monster Shivea, and a shudder seemed to go over everyone present. “I’ve never seen anything like her, and she guards the pale wizard’s great secret.”

“Secret? What is his secret?” Denhelm asked in a puzzled tone.

“There is a crystal chair that sits underneath his palace. It is in a large cavern—the only thing there—and it is through the chair that the Dark Lord gives his commands and his power to Zarkof.”

“What is it like?”

“It looks like glass, but it glows with an evil glow. And when Zarkof sits in it, he hears the Dark Lord’s voice and his whole body is filled with the same ominous glow. It is frightening to see.”

“This chair. You think somehow it is the key to the power of the wizard?”

Slowly Beorn nodded. “I have thought of it ever since I was there. He guards it so well that it must be the secret to his power.”

“Then if the chair were destroyed,” Fairmina said,
“the wizard would be destroyed as far as having any power is concerned.”

“I think that is true, but it is better guarded than you can imagine.” Beorn went on to describe the palace. “There is only one entrance, and it is guarded day and night. There are many twisting corridors. If one did not know the way, he could wander for days.”

“But you have been there. You could find your way, could you not?” Fairmina asked.

“Well, I’ve tried to keep it in my memory. I
think
I could find my way to the room where the chair is. But you are forgetting Shivea, the monster spider.”

Silence fell over the group, and at last Denhelm said, “We must think much of this.”

“I wish,” Beorn said quietly, “that Goél would come.”

“We all wish that,” Denhelm said. “But until he does, we must act as men.” He looked at his daughter and smiled. “And as women. We will speak no more just now, but we must make a decision promptly. I will call another meeting when I have made up my mind as to what to do.”

I
t seems pretty plain to me,” Jake said. He was standing in the midst of the other Sleepers, who were slumped around listening. The most outspoken of the Seven Sleepers, he had just concluded a long fiery speech on what had to be done.

“We’ve got to destroy that chair.”

“Oh, brilliant, Jake! Brilliant!” Dave said. “Why couldn’t I understand that?” He groaned and rolled over on his mattress of furs. “How did we ever get along without you?”

“What’s wrong?” Jake demanded. “It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? We get rid of the chair, we get rid of the wizard.”

“Maybe,” Josh said. “We don’t even know that for sure.”

Jake nodded his head firmly. “Beorn says so.”

“But even if that’s true,” Sarah spoke up, “how in the world would anyone ever get to that chair?”

“We’ve had to do things as hard as this before,” Jake argued.

“I’m not even sure about that,” Josh said. “It sounds like one of the worst jobs that anybody could take on.”

“Don’t you remember when we had to get through to the tower of the Dark Lord on our first quest?” Jake said. “We got that done, didn’t we?”

“But we had the advice of Goél that time,” Josh said wearily. After the council meeting, they had
argued half the night about what to do. He was tired of the whole thing. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“And do I find you again wondering what to do?” a voice suddenly said.

And there stood Goél!

The Sleepers all jumped up and surrounded him. “Goél!” Josh cried happily. “You’re here!”

“Yes, I’m here and glad to see you again, my young friends.”

“Can we give you something to eat?” Sarah asked.

“No, my Sarah.” He smiled. “You’re always serving others. Why don’t you all sit down, and you can tell me of your problems.” His smile widened. “You always have problems.”

They sat here and there on the furs, and Josh started in. “I expect you already know about our main problem. Beorn told us how you met him in the storm and saved his life.”

“He told us about the chair too,” Jake said. “I’ve been trying to get everyone to see all we have to do is get to that chair.”

Goél listened as Jake made an eloquent plea for destroying the chair. He listened while the others argued how difficult or even impossible that would be. Finally the Sleepers fell silent and just sat looking at him.

“In every battle there comes one single moment on which success or failure rests,” he began. “Perhaps it is just one blow of the sword, but if that blow is not made, then the man will be lost, then his part of the army will be lost, then the entire army will be lost, and then the war will be lost.” After Goél let his words sink in, he said, “I think now that one thing is clear. Jake is right. The chair must be destroyed.”

“Couldn’t you destroy it yourself?” Dave asked. “I mean, after all, it would be easy for you.”

“Dave, you are tired, or you would not speak so. Have you learned nothing?” There was sadness in Goél’s eyes. “Have you not yet learned that usually my purposes must be accomplished by others?”

Dave shook his head. “But I don’t understand, sire. You have the power to do it—all by yourself.”

“This world is not made up only of Goél but of many peoples. You Sleepers have been sent from along distance, from another time, to help men and women and young people here control their own destinies. If I were to step in and solve all their problems, what would that do for their growth—or yours? Nothing.”

Josh studied Goél’s face. “You’re telling us that we have to do this ourselves, aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid so, but it is through the hard things that men and women learn. Not the easy things.”

“You’ve said this so often, Goél,” Sarah said, “but this seems like an
impossible
thing.”

“It may be impossible to most people, but you are the Seven Sleepers, and I have chosen you. You will have my help.”

Josh hesitated. “Are you telling us that we must destroy the chair?”

“That is your decision to make, but that is my counsel.”

“But can we do it?” Reb asked. “I mean, that sounds pretty tough.”

“Is this Reb speaking, who has slain dragons? After all you have gone through, Reb, do you still doubt me?”

“No, I really don’t, sire.” Reb’s jaw tightened, and he grinned. “With your help, just let me at that overgrown
spider. I’ll drop a rope over her head and bulldog her just like I would a steer back home.”

“That’s my Reb speaking.” Goél laughed aloud, and a light came to his eyes.

Josh said, “Well, it all seems easy enough with you standing here with us, but we’ll be all alone under that ice castle.”

“I would have you do this for your own sake. You will take with you Princess Fairmina and Beorn, son of Balog. Go get them now, so that they too may hear my instructions.”

Fifteen minutes later, Reb returned with the princess and Beorn.

Beorn at once fell to his knees before Goél. “Sire,” he said, “your servant forever.”

“Rise,” said Goél. “You are a faithful servant of Goél. And you, my daughter. Will you serve me as well?”

“Yes, Goél. I will try to serve you as well as my father and my mother.”

“Then you will serve me well indeed,” he said warmly. “Now, listen carefully. This war will never be won by armies. Both tribes will be destroyed if the Dark Lord has his way. The Yanti will destroy the Lowami. And the Yanti will be enslaved to the Dark Lord himself under the hand of Zarkof. So the chair must be destroyed and the wizard’s power broken. This is the company I have chosen to carry out that mission. The Sleepers will go, and you two will go with them.”

“What about us?” Mat and Tam spoke up at the same time.

Goél said, “You will not go on this adventure. Nor will you, my friend Volka.”

He ignored their protests and turned back to Beorn and the princess. “Now, I have two gifts to give you.” He handed Princess Fairmina a small glass vial. It contained some sort of fluid that changed color constantly. “When your enemy would triumph, hold this high. It will render him unable to see you and your companions.”

“That will be most useful, sire,” Fairmina said.

“And this I give to you, my son.” From under his flowing robe, Goél produced a sword. He drew it out of its sheath, and it glittered as if it had a light of its own. “This sword is like no other. Among other abilities, it is the weapon that can slay the monster Shivea. Take it, and use it well.”

Reverently Beorn took the sword by the hilt. He stared at it for a moment, then his eyes met those of Goél. “I will obey your command, sire.”

Goél looked about the group once more and said, “You must go at once.”

“Must I not tell my father?” Fairmina asked.

“No. This mission is not for him. It is your quest, so go quickly. And remember that—in the darkest hour—I, Goél, will be with you.”