Once Upon a Time in the North

He handed Lee the Winchester, which Lee took with pleasure; he felt as if it had been made for him. He wrapped it in oilcloth before stowing it carefully inside the gondola.

'You ready, Iorek?' he said.

'This is strange to me,' said the bear. 'But I will trust you. You are a man of the Arctic.'

'I am? How's that?'

'Your daemon is an Arctic hare.'

'A what?' said Hester. 'I thought I was a damn jackrabbit!'

'Arctic hare,' said Iorek briefly, and Haugland nodded.

Lee was as amazed as she was, but there wasn't time to stop and discuss the matter. Iorek clambered over the side into the capacious gondola, having tested the strength of it to his own satisfaction, and then Lee joined him.

'Lieutenant Haugland, I'm obliged to you, sir,' he said. 'But I still don't see how you knew who I was, and where I was boarding.'

'You may thank Miss Victoria Lund,' the Lieutenant continued, 'to whom, as of this morning, I have the honor to be engaged. She told me that you had been very courteous towards her.'

Lee tugged off his hat and scratched his head, and then rammed his hat on again and tugged it low, because he was blushing.

'Please—ah—convey my respects to Miss Lund,' he mumbled. 'I congratulate you on your engagement, sir. Miss Lund is a remarkable young lady.'

He dared not look at Hester.

'Hmm,' he went on. 'Well, let's get away. Iorek, if I need two hands, you might have to help me out a little till that bloodmoss kicks in. Stand clear now!'

He released the tether, and the balloon sprang upwards with the swift assurance of a craft that knew where it was going and was eager to get there. It felt like a living thing. Lee loved that first rush of speed, and so did Hester.

He checked all his instruments, and looked around the sky, and then looked down at the rapidly diminishing scene below. With the help of his field glasses Lee made out a little shivering figure wrapped in blankets on the jetty. Along the road from the town a convoy of armored cars was moving towards the depot, and from further down the coast a gunboat was speeding in the same direction with a great deal of flashy spray.

Further away, he could see the schooner just passing the lighthouse. The crew had raised the sails, and the ship was catching the strong east wind that was speeding the balloon on its way.

Iorek was crouching low on the floor of the basket, keeping absolutely still. At first Lee thought he was asleep, but then he realized that the great bear was afraid.

'You reckon young Lieutenant Haugland will deal with those Larsen Manganese bullies?' Lee said, to distract him; he had no doubt himself.

'Yes. I have a high regard for him.'

Lee thought that the bear's high regard would be a thing worth having.

Hester moved along the floor, closer to the bear's head, and settled down to speak to him quietly. Lee left her to it, and checked the barometer, the gas-pressure gauge, and the compass again, not that the compass was much of a help in these latitudes; and then he took out the rifle, looked it over thoroughly, cleaned it, and oiled it with a new can of machine oil, which he found to his surprise in the toolbox. He wrapped it up again carefully before making sure it was safely strapped to a stanchion. He'd learned his lesson; he looked after it well for the rest of his life, and thirty-five years later, the Winchester was in his hands when he died.

Looking around his unnaturally tidy gondola, he discovered some neatly wrapped packets in the starboard locker, and opened one to find some rye crispbread and hard cheese. He also discovered that he was very hungry.

Some time later, when they were high in the blue sky and everything was well, Lee opened his kitbag to take out his warm waistcoat. His clothes were more neatly folded than they had ever been, and there was a sprig of lavender on the top.

'Well, Hester,' he said, 'this has been a surprising day, and no mistake. How's Iorek over there?'

'Asleep,' she said. 'What's surprising? You acting the fool and kissing that lavender ain't surprising.'

'No, I don't reckon that is. I could lose my heart to that girl. Flying with a bear, now—that's surprising.'

'More surprising if you left him there. You wouldn't do that. If we couldn't take him, we'd stand and fight beside him.'

'Well, all right then. Finding out that you're an Arctic hare—that's surprising. Damn, I was surprised.'

'Surprised? Why the hell were you surprised? I ain't surprised,' said Hester. 'Iorek's right. I always knew I had more class than a rabbit.'

THE END

PERIL OF THE POLE

Once every decade the great Rally to the Pole is flown in the far frozen north. Intrepid balloonists and their daemons from across the Arctic, both professional traders and daring amateurs, gather together at the city of Reykjavik in Fireland to contest this perilous competition of amazing skill and death-defying hazard. By tradition the race starts in the perfect ballooning weather conditions of early autumn, when the ocean is still frozen. But this is the calm before the storm, and the first catastrophic tempests of winter can arrive without warning and cause disaster.

So dangerous is the race that there have been repeated calls for it to be banned. For as everyone knows, at the North Pole there is a vast system of caverns leading into the center of the earth, where the Polar Ocean swirls downward in a great vortex of water and ice. It is so horribly dangerous that no one has ever gone there and come back alive.

Now you and your daemon can experience all the thrills of the Rally to the Pole together. Normal game courtesies apply and players may only confer with their daemons. You will need one die and a