The Ice Mage Incident – Episode 3

I have to admit Trewla’s cautioning words made me uneasy and I cast a worried glance at the smoke staining the sky ahead.

Was it my imagination or had it thinned a little?

I said as much to Trewla.

“I think so too.” She frowned. “It’s not what I’d expect… Have you noticed how much colder it is than when we set out? You’d think people would be building up their fires and making more smoke, not less.”

The sides of the lake were drawing closer, indicating we were nearing its far side. As we spoke, we tipped back our heads to examine the clouds of smoke drifting away in the faint breeze.

“Perhaps they’re hardy folk,” I said. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

There was a headland a few hundred yards ahead, and by my estimation, when we rounded it we’d catch our first glimpse of the town we were heading towards.

I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. Despite what Trewla had said earlier, I was sure I’d be able to persuade her to have lunch with me if I offered to help her with her alchemical purchases afterwards.

Not that I was keen about what Trewla was up to, mark you. But I reckoned it would soften her opinion of me if I appeared to be going along with her plan to mine my brain for Wenzel’s lost spells.

Just like I’d predicted, as we came around the headland we finally saw our destination.

My heart sank and any thoughts of cozy lunches vanished.

It wasn’t a town at all. It would be charitable to call it a village.

Clustered around a small bay were perhaps two dozen log houses, their roofs laden with snow, wisps of smoke curling from their chimneys. On the lakeshore in front of the houses were four snow covered boats wintering upside down. Near them, poking out into the ice-covered lake, was a rickety wooden jetty like a dried caterpillar on stilts.

The only movement in and about the village came from the smoke, most of which was drifting into the sky from the burned out ruins of a smithy by the lakeside. Flames were still flickering here and there amongst the wreckage of blackened wooden beams. All that remained standing was the stone chimney of the blacksmith’s forge.

I cursed under my breath. The plume of smoke we’d seen before we left the castle hadn’t been coming from a sizeable town at all, but from the smithy, which at that time must have been fiercely ablaze.

Trewla sat up straight and peered ahead.

“Cedric,” she called. “Be a dear and slow down, please.”

The troll reduced his pace to a walk.

“I don’t like the look of that,” said Grimmon. “I reckon the village was attacked by bandits. They might still be lurking nearby. We should turn around and go back.”

He’d stood up in the back of the sleigh and was peering over the top of the seat between Trewla and me.

I was about to agree with him, but bit my tongue when Trewla chimed in first with, “We can’t. If there’s been an attack it’s likely we’ll find injured people there desperate for help.”

Taking my cue from her, I said, “It’s our duty to assist those in need, Grimmon. How cold-hearted of you to suggest we turn tail!”

Trewla grunted, then sat bolt upright.

“I can see someone,” she said. “A man, I think.”

Her eyes must be sharper than mine for she had to point him out. He was standing on the jetty, gazing straight at us.

A couple of minutes later, I could see him clearly. I waved my arm and hallooed, but he stayed in exactly the same pose, not even raising a hand or dipping his head in acknowledgment.

“Not very friendly,” I said. “Perhaps the troll’s putting him off.”

Trewla shook her head. “No. If he was worried about Cedric, he’d be running to safety.” She leaned forward. “Something’s not right.”

“Told you so,” muttered Grimmon.

We were close enough by then to see the man in more detail. The ruffling of his thick fur coat in the breeze was the only part of him that had stirred since we’d spotted him.

Under Trewla’s direction, the troll aimed for the jetty, slowing as we neared and coming to a standstill when we were a dozen paces from the man.

He was eerily still, staring out across the frozen lake as though he hadn’t noticed our arrival.

I’ve visited more worlds than I care to remember and I’ve come across some outlandish behaviour in a few, but not once have I encountered somebody who refused to acknowledge what was in front of his eyes. That the man was pretending not to see a goblin, an elf, and a human in a sleigh being drawn by a troll with a face out of a nightmare, was going a little too far in my opinion.

“Hello there my good fellow,” I said as I climbed out onto the ice.

The man didn’t budge, didn’t even glance at me as I trudged over and stepped up onto the jetty next to him.

“Hey! Say hello. Don’t be so rude,” I said in a jocular tone, nudging his shoulder with my hand.

I might have been prodding a statue, so unyielding was his flesh. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted.

Trewla had come closer too and was standing on the ice in front of the man, staring up at his face.

“He’s frozen solid,” I said by way of explanation.

A frown creased her brow. “That’s odd.”

“Not really. It’s damned cold.”

“I mean it’s odd he’s still standing. Nobody stays on their feet if they freeze to death.”

I’d never thought about it but I supposed she was right. Most people would likely lose consciousness and collapse before they froze.

The other peculiarity was there wasn’t a speck of snow or ice on his furs. It was as though he’d walked out onto the jetty only minutes ago. But he must have been there for some time because the snow leading to the jetty from the village was smooth and unmarked.

There had been a snowfall while we were preparing to leave the castle, I recalled.

I looked at the village. The snow blanketing the street and the spaces between the houses was just as smooth as it was down by the jetty. Apart from that, the smouldering smithy, and the lack of people going about their business, nothing seemed amiss.

My gaze wandered over to the smithy. I didn’t think much of Grimmon’s notion the village had been attacked by bandits. In my experience, bandits wouldn’t have stopped after burning down the forge. They would have set fire to all the houses too.

I glanced at the sleigh. Grimmon was still sitting in the back with his arms folded. He gave me a dirty look when he caught my eye on him.

The troll had wandered off. His trail of footsteps led into the village. I spotted him churning up the virgin snow as he trudged up to a house and peered in through the window.

There was a disquieting tension in the air, and I was beginning to regret we hadn’t taken Grimmon’s advice. But I had an uncomfortable feeling Trewla wasn’t of the same mind.

Sure enough she said, “We need to find out what’s going on.”

With that, she walked off alongside the jetty and clambered onto the lakeshore.

Clenching my teeth, cursing myself for a fool, I followed.

“Have you seen anybody, Cedric?” called Trewla as she headed for where the troll was standing.

“Yeth. There are folk inthide thitting at a table,” he called back, pointing at the house next to him. “I tapped on the window but they didn’t look up or anything.”

“Oh?” said Trewla, her gaze wandering around the houses nearby. “I wonder if–”

She gasped as something caught her eye. “Over there.”

I looked where she was pointing. Outside one of the houses, there was another unnaturally still figure dressed in furs.

I traipsed behind her as she changed course and went up to him.

He was frozen in a lifelike pose similar to the man on the jetty.

But unlike him, his eyes were wide with horror and his lips were parted in a hideous rictus. He was leaning forward with one leg raised to the front and the other stretched out to the rear like he’d been suddenly turned to ice while running. He was facing the door of a house, one arm extended reaching for the doorknob.

Leaning forward at an impossible gravity-defying angle, it was a mystery why he wasn’t flat on his face in the snow.

“That isn’t natural.” Trewla stared at him and cocked her head to one side. “It reeks of magic.”

“I think we’re too late to help anyone here,” I said, shifting my feet and looking warily around. “We should leave right now.”

“Hey mith Trewla,” called the troll. “Come thee what I’ve found!”

*** To Be Continued ***

The Ice Mage Incident – Index of Episodes