“I suppose the chief of a village as big as this must have an assistant and someone to clean the house, some boy or other …”
He glowered. “Yes, yes, I have. My assistant has vanished … and I sent the boy to the country. He was more of a hindrance than a help.”
Lasgol considered the untidiness in the large common area. The Chief had installed himself here, and probably did not use the rest of the house because of the wound.
“A bit of cleaning would help,” Lasgol said, trying not to make the comment sound insulting. “It would improve the air in here. It’s a bit stale. Dirtiness could lead to a fever …”
“Yes, I know! I know!” Chief Dolstar barked bad-temperedly. “Tomorrow I’ll call the boy back. I thought I wouldn’t need him and that I could manage on my own, but I haven’t been too good at it. This blasted leg is killing me with pain and I can barely sleep.”
“Is there a healer or a surgeon in the village?”
“Old Ulmitch. He visits me every other day and treats me with herbs that taste disgusting. The Count’s surgeon came by a week ago and won’t be back for two days more. There are a lot of people who need his help. It’s the consequence of the bloody war: cripples, injured, sick and dying all throughout the realm. Hundreds of them.”
Lasgol indicated Dolstar’s amputated limb. “Where did it happen?”
“At the siege of Estocos,” the Chief said angrily. “I was defending the eastern wall. It was Count Volgren. Three of us attacked him with axe and shield and the bastard finished off my two comrades with his sword, then sliced off half of my leg with a clean stroke.”
Lasgol was surprised at the Chief speaking so openly about having fought with the West. After all, he was talking to a Ranger who served Thoran. On the other hand, there was no need for him to hide the fact, since it was obvious that he had fought in the war, and as they were in the West of the realm it was logical that he would have fought for the Western league. Whatever the case, he found it curious.
“A great swordsman, this Eastern count. The three of us knew how to fight – we weren’t just ordinary militia – but even so, he finished us off with lethal strokes and blows. If you have to face one of those nobles one day, be it from the East or the West, be very careful. They know how to fight. They’re raised to rule, and most of them are born with a sword in their hands.”
“I don’t believe anything like that will happen again. Peace reigns in Norghana now. Let’s hope it lasts for a long time.”
“Ha! No way. Sooner or later the West will try to take possession of the throne again! You just wait and see. This time I won’t be able to fight.” He shook his head. “But even so, I’ll put my arm and head in the service of the West, just as I’ve always done.”
Lasgol knew that nothing he said would be able to dissuade the chief. He had lost a leg fighting against the East – at the hands of one of its nobles, no less – and he would always hate the King and the East. Lasgol sighed, taking care not to let it show. Wars brought nothing but pain and hatred, and these refused to fade away.
He decided to re-direct the conversation, which had turned a little awkward. “So why am I needed?” he asked.
Dolstar nodded repeatedly. “Strange things are happening …” he began. Lasgol looked him in the eye. This explanation was not starting well.
“Strange things?”
“Animals have been going missing … and now men too.”
“A large predator?” Lasgol ventured.
“It could be. That would explain the cows and sheep. But men … that’s stranger. My assistant is one of the ones who’re missing.”
“Attacks by panthers, tigers and bears aren’t exactly unfamiliar incidents.”
“I know. When I say strange things are happening, I mean there’s no trace left of the missing, either animals or men. It’s as if they’d been spirited away in the air.”
This certainly surprised Lasgol. For a bear to attack a cow, or even a man, was possible, and it was something they had to live with. For no trace to be left was not normal. Generally large predators either tore their prey up on the spot or else dragged it to a safe place to eat later. In both cases, the tracks were easy to find.
“That’s definitely strange. And didn’t anybody find traces of a large predator? It must have left some.”
The Chief nodded. “There were, but they say they were the prints of a deformed, gigantic foot.” He was shaking his head as if he were unable to believe it.
Lasgol narrowed his eyes. “That’s even stranger.”
“I couldn’t see them myself” – the Chief indicated his bad leg – “but that’s what three shepherds and the village tracker told me.”
“Could I speak to the tracker? It could be very helpful.”
Dolstar shook his head again. “He’s one of the ones who’s missing. He went to follow the trail. I told him to be very careful. He never came back. Which means that this thing, whatever it is, is very dangerous. Milstren was an expert hunter and tracker. On top of that, he was very experienced. He wouldn’t have let a panther or a bear take him by surprise.”
Lasgol scratched his temple thoughtfully. “It’s true, it does sound strange, but I’m sure there must be some logical explanation.”
“I hope so. People are restless. There are all kinds of rumors in the village. People are talking about monsters and sorcery …”
“I don’t believe it’s anything like that. I’m sure it’ll be a
