Karmakas then went up to the main room of the castle and requested that Medusa be brought to him. A few minutes later, the young gorgon came in.
“You called for me, Father?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Karmakas. “Listen to me carefully, ssss. I’ve another mission for you, ssss, of the highest importance. I know that, ssss, an army will arrive here soon, ssss, to take back the city. You’ll go, ssss, to meet and intercept it. Among the soldiers, there’ll be a human, ssss, who has the title of mask wearer. You must, ssss, gain his trust and, ssss, turn him into stone later. Once he’s petrified, ssss, I’ll send hordes of snakes to destroy his army. The gorgons, ssss, will take care of the survivors. Go forth and do not come back, ssss, until your mission is accomplished.”
Medusa could not believe her ears. She had barely heard Amos’s message in the cavern and Karmakas already knew of it! How had he found out so quickly that an army was coming? The sorcerer was powerful; she knew she had better obey him if she wanted to stay alive. The fear that the naga-her father-inspired made her tremble. It took all her self-control to keep her composure.
“I’ll do my best to please you,” she answered.
“Leave now; I’ve, ssss, other things to do,” Karmakas commanded.
Then, lost in thought, the naga added softly to himself, “My basilisk, ssss, is waiting for me.”
16 THE BERRION ARMY
For four days, the Knights of Equilibrium prepared to follow Amos’s recommendations. Shields were polished until they reflected everything in front of them like mirrors. They had to shine at all times. The blacksmiths of Berrion had done their work perfectly. The large shields of the infantry shone in the sun, and so did the round ones used by the archers.
Thanks to a meticulous reading of the book Al-Qatrum, the Territories of Darkness, Amos established a war strategy. He requested that two mongooses be captured for every one of his knights. The animals would protect them against a possible snake attack. The Lady in White had appeared to him, warning him against an eventual downpour of vipers that the enemy could launch with their magic power. Men combed the land of Berrion and that of surrounding kingdoms, and seven hundred and seventy-seven mongooses were caught and distributed among the four hundred knights who formed the Berrion army. The knights were ordered not to feed the animals during their journey to Bratel-la-Grande. It was vital that the snake eaters be famished at the time of their confrontation with the reptiles.
Amos chose a rooster with the most piercing crow among the roosters of Berrion. Because of the mask wearer’s power over birds, the rooster followed him everywhere.
As for Junos, he directed his troops with jubilation. He relied completely on Amos’s intelligence, obeying the boy without question. The king of Berrion even hired a bard, who sang and played many instruments to encourage the brave soldiers.
In this festive mood, Amos and the army left the city of Berrion to liberate Bratel-la-Grande from the dreaded gorgons. When the dwellers in each of the villages they passed saw the flag of the Knights of Equilibrium flapping in the wind, they welcomed them with thunderous applause. All had heard of their mission and wanted to salute these men who had become heroes and seemed indestructible.
Urban and Frilla were not warriors, so their presence on the field would have served no purpose. They stayed in Berrion to await their son’s return. They trusted Amos and left him free to choose his own destiny.
For five long days, the horses galloped from sunrise to sunset. At the end of the fifth day, the soldiers reached the border of the Knights of Light’s realm, and scouts were sent to Bratel-la-Grande. On each side of the road leading to the capital, hundreds of statues were aligned as a macabre guard of honor. It was easy to guess that all the men, women, children, and animals of the city had been turned to stone.
When the scouts returned, trembling and chattering about what they had seen, the rest of the army started to lose its enthusiasm and confidence. The knights were faced with a fierce enemy capable of impressive feats. Amos and Junos conferred and decided that it was too late in the day for the army to go any farther. They set up camp and men were assigned to guard duty.
In vain Junos tried to raise his men’s morale. Most of them had little combat experience and felt powerless in front of such danger. The bard no longer sang, and begged his master to let him go home. As the sun was setting on the horizon, Amos and Junos sat around a bonfire, discussing the best strategy to retake Bratel-la-Grande.
A guard rushed over and interrupted them. “There is a very strange girl who wants to talk to you, Master Daragon,” he said. “Shall I bring her here or send her away?”
Puzzled, Amos wanted to see this unexpected visitor. She was brought to him, escorted by four knights. She wore a cloak with a large hood that covered her eyes. Amos noticed with alarm that small golden snakes were wriggling in the opening of her hood. A few steps away from him, the mongooses began to fidget nervously in their cages. Even before the girl realized who he was, Amos turned abruptly toward Junos and said, “It’s a gorgon!”
Right away the king shouted at the top of his voice, “Guards! Raise the mirror-shields! A gorgon has entered the camp!”
Within seconds, the girl was surrounded by mirrors. She threw herself to the ground, her face cast downward.
“Please,” she implored, shaking from head to toe, “don’t hurt me! My name is Medusa. I come alone and I am here as a friend! Please don’t hurt me! Tell Amos Daragon that I’ve come to help him and that I know his friend Beorf! Please… please… I assure you, I mean no harm.”
The young gorgon seemed sincere, but as a measure of precaution, Amos requested that she be blindfolded and that her hands be bound behind her back. Two of the knights who had escorted the visitor obeyed the order with caution. She was then taken close to the bonfire to be in full light. About twenty soldiers, their shields turned toward her, encircled Medusa. Now the gorgon could not flee without seeing her own reflection.
Surprised to have heard the girl pronounce Beorf’s name, Amos approached her.
“I am Amos Daragon,” he said. “You wanted to speak to me. Well, I’m listening.”
“Yes,” she answered. “I know Beorf. I turned him to stone myself. Don’t judge me now; let me first tell you my story and you’ll understand the circumstances that led to this unfortunate event.”
Confounded by the news, Amos fell speechless. He felt guilty for having gone to the woods of Tarkasis without his friend. It was his fault that Beorf had been petrified. He had let him face a terrible danger alone, and now he was paying dearly for it. For an instant, Amos wanted to order the knights to kill the young gorgon. But he changed his mind.
“Go on,” he told her as he sat on the ground. “I’m listening.”
“The sorcerer you’re about to fight is named Karmakas. He belongs to the race of humanimals, like your friend Beorf. He has the ability to morph into a snake, and thanks to his powerful magic, he can control all creatures related to reptiles. That is why the hairs of gorgons are his slaves. I must tell you that Karmakas sent me here to charm you before changing you into a statue. It’s the same trap that your friend fell into.
“Beorf was captured by Karmakas and refused to tell him where the skull pendant was hidden. So I was told to free him to gain his trust. Afterward Beorf and I took refuge in a cavern that his parents used as a pantry, and we got to know each other. Beorf quickly fell in love with me. I was prudent because I knew that Karmakas was listening to our conversations to discover where the pendant was hidden and that he was waiting for the right moment to strike. When Beorf finally trusted me, he revealed the whereabouts of the pendant. That’s when Karmakas came out of the shadows. He threatened to kill me unless Beorf brought him the pendant. Beorf obeyed, and when he came back, I turned him to stone.