The pot was followed by a collection of assorted cutlery, a candlestick and candles, a ball of string, a hammer, two pairs of boots, spare chain mail, and all sorts of other miscellaneous nonsense. When I was through, the sack was a lot lighter. Now I could take it on a journey with an easy mind, without being afraid that I might suddenly break down at the wrong moment.
“All that hard work for nothing,” Kli-Kli sighed mournfully.
“You don’t have to carry it, so don’t whine,” I said, packing the blanket.
“Let’s get a move on,” said Hallas, glancing into the room. “It’s time.”
“Let’s go and say good-bye to Honeycomb,” said Kli-Kli, and skipped out through the door.
On the way we ran into Lamplighter. The Wild Heart was pale and the welt on his forehead looked terrible, but he was perfectly steady on his feet.
“So you’re still alive, then?” Kli-Kli asked the warrior sympathetically.
“You can’t bury me yet, fool,” Lamplighter said with a crooked grin, and then frowned at the pain. “I still intend to get back to the Lonely Giant. Are you on your way to Honeycomb?”
“Yes, do you know where he is?”
“Yes, I’ve just come from there. Go out of the tower, across the courtyard, in at the door on the left, up the stairs to the second floor, and it’s the third door on the right.”
“Thanks. If Alistan comes looking for us, tell him you haven’t seen us. Come on, pick up those feet, Harold, time’s passing!”
Mumr gave me a pitying look—when Kli-Kli gets his hooks into someone, no power on earth can shake him off.
We found Honeycomb’s room without any trouble. In one night the warrior had lost as much weight as if he hadn’t eaten anything for a month, and he had changed from the husky giant of a man we all remembered to a skeleton. A bundle of bones wrapped in parchment skin that looked ready to split apart, eyes with a feverish glow, yellow hair that looked as if it had been bleached by the sun. If I didn’t know it was Honeycomb on the bed, I’d have thought I was looking at an old, old man. The orcs’ shaman had done a really good job, and if Miralissa and the Border Kingdom magician hadn’t been there to help him, our comrade would have been lying in his grave alongside Marmot.
When he saw us, he gave a weak smile.
“How are you feeling?” squeaked Kli-Kli.
“Rotten,” Honeycomb chuckled. “I managed to get in the way of that shaman’s free handout.”
“Don’t worry about that. The main thing is that you’re still alive.”
“Thank you, Harold, that’s a great comfort,” he snorted in reply. “Deler let slip that Marmot and Ell … Is it true?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Well then, in that case, I really did get off lightly. You’re leaving, I see.”
“Yes,” Kli-Kli said with a quick nod.
“It’s a pity I won’t be able to go with you,” Honeycomb sighed.
“Don’t worry about that, you just get well,” Kli-Kli said fussily. “Look, I brought you this, so anyway, recover.”
Kli-Kli took a large ripe apple out from under his cloak and put it on the table beside Honeycomb’s bed. Then he thought for a moment and added a carrot to it.
“From the heart.”
“I know, Kli-Kli,” Honeycomb said with a serious nod. “You’re a good lad.”
“Of course I am,” the goblin said with a grin. Then he gave me a mischievous glance, leaned right down to the warrior’s ear, and whispered something to him.
Honeycomb’s eyes opened wide and gaped at the goblin in surprise.
“I’m not lying,” Kli-Kli said, perfectly serious. There were demons of mischief dancing in the jester’s eyes.
I don’t know where Honeycomb got the strength, but he suddenly burst into raucous laughter:
“What a hoot! Well … and no one knows?”
“Na-ah.” The goblin grinned.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, bemused.
“Oh, nothing. We’re just, you know…,” said the goblin, baring his teeth in an idiotic leer.
Honeycomb started laughing even louder. Mmm, the goblin’s really in top form today.
“Will you look after him?” I asked, taking Invincible off my shoulder and putting him on the table beside the carrot, which immediately attracted the ling’s interest. “He’ll be a lot better off here than in the forest with us.”
“Of course, let him stay.”
“Well, time for us to go, be seeing you.”
“Get well.”
“Hey,” he called as we were walking out. “Come back with flags flying.”
“Definitely. We’ll definitely be back!”
I don’t know why, but I felt strangely confident that despite all our enemies I was going to defy fate and get that cursed Horn for the Order.
We were escorted to the border by Fer and ten of the soldiers who had traveled with us from Mole Castle. Zagraba greeted us with the silence of a slumbering forest in which morning is still several hours away.
“You’ll have to walk on from here alone,” said Fer. “I don’t know what it is you’re looking for in this forest, but in any case I wish you luck.”
“Make sure that Marmot is given a fitting funeral,” said Lamplighter, shouldering his bidenhander.
“I shall see to it personally,” the knight replied with a solemn nod.
“Expect us at the end of September,” said Miralissa.
“Very well, Tresh Miralissa,” replied Algert Dalli’s illegitimate son, then he swung his horse round and set off back toward the castle.
I felt as if I’d left behind an entire familiar world that I loved passionately. And waiting ahead for me was Zagraba. Dark, unwelcoming, and alien.
When I turned back from watching the men riding away, almost all our group had disappeared into the forest.
“Harold, have you decided to stay behind?” asked Kli-Kli, hopping impatiently from one foot to another. The goblin had a small sack hanging behind his shoulders.
“All right, Kli-Kli, you show the way, I’ll follow you.”
The goblin grinned and disappeared into the trees. I took a deep breath and stepped forward into a place where I thought I would never go for love or money. I stepped into Zagraba.
Glossary
Avendoom — the capital of the northern kingdom of Valiostr. The largest and richest city of the Northern Lands.
battery sword — a variety of sword with a midsized blade that can be wielded either with one hand or both.
Beaver Caps, or beavers — soldiers of Valiostr, armed with heavy two-handed swords. Each soldier bears the title of “Master of the Long Sword” and wears a beaver-fur cap as an emblem to distinguish him from the soldiers of other units. These forces are used as a reserve striking force, to recover all kinds of difficult situations in battle. During military action the beavers are also accorded the honor of guarding the banner and the king, taking the place of the royal guard.
