“Now I’m really hallucinating!” Viggo exclaimed suddenly. He pointed to where Gerd was peacefully asleep. When Nilsa and Lasgol looked, they understood the reason for his surprise. Gerd was not there. They looked around, but could not see him.
“Has he gone?” Nilsa said. “I didn’t even notice.”
“No, me neither,” said Lasgol, who was beginning to suspect that something very odd was going on.
Viggo threw his head back and stared. “I’m losing my mind! I’m going crazy!”
Nilsa and Lasgol followed his gaze and saw Gerd as they had seen him before, napping, oblivious to the world. At last, Lasgol understood.
“No, take it easy, you’re not going crazy.”
“Hey, I think I’m seeing strange things too,” said Nilsa in bewilderment.
“Give me a moment,” Lasgol said. Camu, are you making Gerd disappear?
It works? the creature asked excitedly.
Yes, I think so. Gerd vanished for a moment, and now he’s back again.
I try again.
Suddenly Gerd vanished again before the eyes of the three friends. Viggo muttered an oath, and Nilsa gave a small cry.
It definitely works. I don’t know how you’ve done it, but you made Gerd disappear. Are you beside him?
Yes. Beside.
Congratulations. You did it. It’s wonderful.
I do it. I tell you.
Yeah, yeah, I wasn’t so sure …
I know.
I’m really glad you did it. Particularly when I was thinking you never would. It’s a great achievement. Now make him visible again before Viggo and Nilsa have a fit.
I do.
Gerd appeared again. Nilsa and Viggo started in surprise.
“Don’t worry, there’s an explanation for this. There’s nothing wrong with either of you.”
“It had better be a good one,” Viggo muttered, “because this is the weirdest thing.”
Lasgol told them how Camu had developed a new skill which allowed him not only to camouflage himself, but also someone beside him. Lasgol was thrilled by this, his friends less so. Viggo cursed the little fiend and all the inconveniences he was causing him, and as for Nilsa, the moment she realized that Camu had used magic she left them angrily, muttering curses. They decided to find a name for Camu’s new skill, as Egil had recommended they always should whenever they developed a new ability. After much discussion, they named it Extended Camouflage because Camu-Smart, which was the option Camu wanted, lost with the votes of Lasgol and Ona against his own.
This new event helped to make the following days go by quickly, especially because now Camu could amuse himself getting close to one of the team members when they were away from the others and using Extended Camouflage without the person realizing. According to Camu it was very funny, though not so much for the victim.
Astrid thought it was funny, and Camu adorable. The rest of the group did not share her opinion in the least: Ingrid because it was puzzling, Gerd because it gave him the creeps when someone vanished in front of him, Nilsa because she hated magic, and Viggo because he was Viggo and exaggerated any annoyance Camu caused him.
In the end Lasgol had to forbid Camu to use his new skill, because apart from the displeasure of his friends, he had noticed that a number of sailors had been left puzzled by these games. People disappearing and then reappearing again out of the blue at a moment’s notice was decidedly puzzling. Luckily they attributed it to the area they were journeying through and its bad reputation.
A few days later a new threat appeared suddenly, in the blink of an eye. The sea was calm, with a gentle breeze. They were sailing peacefully westward when suddenly a storm appeared on the port side, closing in at great speed. The sky turned black as if a tornado were about to engulf them. Strong winds and huge, threatening waves appeared out of nowhere. It was as if the sea-god were seeking to throw them out of the area immediately, as if it were refusing to grant them permission to sail there. It all happened in a moment, so that they barely had time to react. Captain Olsen, with great skill and experience, veered to starboard, and by ordering his crew to row faster, managed to outrun the storm. They had to cling fast to avoid the winds carrying them away. The huge waves made Gerd and Viggo throw up all over again.
Two days later they found themselves in a similar situation. Another terrible storm appeared behind them and came very close to sinking them. Once again they were saved by Captain Olsen’s expertise and knowledge. Now they understood why so many ships had vanished in this area so strangely. These violent storms had sunk them: storms which appeared at a moment’s notice, struck, and then vanished again.
Finally, the following dawn, they had good news.
“I think we’re finally getting close to our destination,” Ingrid said as she scanned the horizon.
“Really?” Nilsa said, without much hope. “How do you know?”
Ingrid pointed to the north. “I can see a mist. A lot of mist.”
“That’s right! I can see it too!”
“Maybe it’s just sea-fog,” Gerd commented. He had one eye closed, and the other fixed on the mist.
“Don’t be a wet blanket, big guy,” Viggo said. “It’s got to be the mist that surrounds the islands Eicewald told us about.”
Astrid saw that Captain Olsen was talking eagerly with Eicewald. “Olsen’s changed course. He’s heading towards it.”
“I think that’s the mist that hides the Lost Islands,” Lasgol said.
Nilsa clapped her hands in excitement. “Fantastic!”
“Thank goodness, it was getting so boring I was thinking about courting Blondie, just to make my life more interesting.”
Ingrid narrowed her eyes. “Shorter, you mean.”
Viggo smiled at her. “The one and the other.”
Ingrid was so pleased at the sight
