The Ironhand's Daughter

'I know, I was there. Wilful child.' The ghost smiled. 'She can't help it, it is in her blood. I was wilful myself. How is the war progressing?'

'I would have thought you'd know more about that than a mere dwarf,' said Ballistar. 'Can spirits not fly around the world?'

'I don't know any spirits,' said Ironhand. 'But I cannot. I'm trapped here, where I died. Well, until now. Wherever Sigarni goes, I shall go too.'

'That's a comforting thought. I think you'll cause a certain amount of panic back at the encampment.'

Ironhand shook his head. 'No one will see me, boy- not even you. I only showed myself to you since Sigarni was foolish enough to tell you about me. So, what is happening?'

Ballistar told the King of the Pallides' request that Sigarni should find the lost Crown. 'We are waiting for Taliesen,' he concluded. 'He'll show us where it is.'

'Oh, I know where it is,' said Ironhand. 'That won't be the problem. Getting there and out again alive is the issue.'

'Where is it?'

'In a dying world of sorcery, a dark malevolent place. Even the air is poisonous with magic. No true man can live there for more than a few months. He would sicken and die. One of my wizards tracked it down and passed through a Gateway to retrieve it; we never saw him again. A second followed him; he came back broken and diseased, not all our medicines and charms could heal him.

But while he lived he told us of the world, its beasts, and its wars. I decided then to send no more of my people in search of the Crown.'

'But Sigarni must go there,' said Ballistar. 'Without the Crown the Pallides will not accept her leadership. They might believe you, though. You could appear to Fyon Sharp-axe and tell him Sigarni is the chosen one.'

The ghost shook his head. 'It might work, but then Sigarni would rule only through a long-dead king. No Ballistar, she must win the right for herself. When my wizard returned he told me the Crown was in a temple, at the centre of a city at war. He saw it, was even allowed to touch it. I think he believed that to do so would heal him of his afflictions in that world. It didn't.'

'You say allowed to touch it. There are people there?'

'Aye, there are people. They cling to life in a world of death.'

'What is killing them?'

'There is no sun to bring life to the land. The city was built inside a forest of dead trees.

There is no grass, and no crops grow. The land is in perpetual twilight. The mountains there spew fire and ash, and occasionally rip themselves apart with sounds like a thousand thunders. You can see why I forbade any further ventures into that land.'

'But without cattle and crops, how do they survive?' asked Ballistar.

'On war,' the King told him.

'That makes no sense,' said the dwarf.

'It does, lad, if you have a mind dark enough to examine it.'

*

Ballistar awoke with a start and sat up blinking and afraid. He had failed Sigarni and slept.

Swiftly he rushed to her side. She was warm to the touch and sleeping deeply. Relieved, the dwarf knelt by the fire and blew the coals to glowing life, adding shreds of bark to feed the tiny flames. Once it had flared he placed two small logs atop the coals.

From Sigarni's pack he took a flat-bottomed pot and a sack of dried oats. Filling the pot with snow, he stood it upon the fire. Despite being full of snow it melted to only a tiny amount of water and Ballistar spent some time moving back and forth bringing handfuls of snow from outside the cave. When the pot was half full of water he added oats and a pinch of salt.

The sun was up, the cave-mouth lit with golden light. Bird-song could be heard from the trees outside and the air was fresh with the promise of the coming spring.

Sigarni awoke and stretched. The blanket slid from her naked body. 'Ah, breakfast,' she said.

'What a fine companion you are, Ballistar.'

'I live to serve, my queen,' he said, making an elaborate bow.

'No sign of Taliesen?'

'Not yet, but the dawn has only just arrived.' Using two long sticks, Ballistar lifted the pot from the fire and stirred the contents, which had thickened considerably. 'You brought no honey,'

he chided her. 'Porridge is bland and tasteless without it.'

'I had to carry enough food for two. Come to think of it, I had to carry you as well for a while.

There was no room for honey. Have you slept?'

'A little,' he admitted.

She smiled. 'The next time I suggest a swim under the ice, be so kind as to remind me of my previous stupidity.'

'I will. How are you feeling?'

'Rested, and at peace for the first time in weeks. No plans to study, no quarrels to adjudicate, no ruffled feathers to smooth. Just breakfast at dawn in a peaceful cave, enjoying good company.'

'I trust you include me in that description?' said Taliesen, stepping into the cave and brushing snow from his tattered cloak of feathers. Sigarni nodded, but her smile had faded.

'Welcome, Taliesen.'

The old man made his way to the fire and sat. 'You have a beautiful body, Sigarni. Fifty years ago it would have inspired me to carnal thoughts. Now, however, I can appreciate its beauty on an entirely different level. I take it the Pallides asked for the Crown?' Sigarni nodded and rose from bed, dressing swiftly. 'It will not be easy - and yet you must not dally,' continued Taliesen. 'I will send you through the Gateway as soon as you are dressed."

'The world beyond is poisonous,' said Ballistar coldly. 'She could die there.'

Taliesen swung to him. 'It is very rare that I am surprised, dwarf. Yet you have accomplished it.

How is it that you know of Yur-vale?'

'I am a creature of legend,' said Ballistar, with a wide grin. 'I know many things.'

'Then perhaps you would like to continue my story?'

'Gladly,' said Ballistar, who then told Sigarni all that Ironhand had confided to him the night before. The dwarf took great pleasure in the look of amazement that Taliesen sought to disguise.

When he had finished Ballistar moved to Sigarni's pack, pulling out two shallow bowls. Ladling porridge into each, he passed one to Sigarni. 'You are welcome to eat from the pot,' he told Taliesen.

'I am not hungry!' snapped the wizard. 'Is there anything else you wish to add about Yur-vale?'

'No,' said Ballistar happily. 'Do continue.'

The wizard cast him a baleful glance. 'Yur-vale was once a paradise. There was no physical ugliness there, and no natural disease - at least no disease that affects the inhabitants. It was a land of beauty and light. Now it is the opposite. It is an ocean world, with a very small land mass at the equator. The land mass has two great cities, and these are in a perpetual state of war. The war is necessary, for reasons we do not need to trouble ourselves with. The Crown is in a temple at the centre of the city of Zir-vak. It is a city under siege and you will need to enter it by means of a black river which flows through it. Do not drink the water; it has been polluted by volcanic ash. The city's inhabitants have a way of purifying the water, involving filters. Once inside the city, the water you find will be good to drink. Take food with you, and eat nothing offered to you during your stay - no matter how appetizing it looks.'

'How do I get there?' asked Sigarni.

'There is a Gateway close to the Falls. I will send you through and you will arrive at a point some seven miles south of the city. Since you will not see the sun, you must head for a set of twin peaks you will see to the north. When you return to the Gateway you will make a cut upon your arm and allow blood to drop on each of the six standing stones that make up the circle. I will then bring you back.'

'Bring us back,' put in Ballistar.

'I go alone,' said Sigarni. Ballistar was about to argue, when Taliesen cut in.