Chapter 1: Dombard
Signette sat next to the corpse of Ildwine, he was a really handsome brunette with blue eyes... Suddenly the prison door opened. There were several prisons in the dungeon, and in each Nulara put two or three snunorfs. But at night Dombard killed six of them out of boredom. When Dombard left the vessel, the vessel did not try to warn anyone. And in the dungeon of the prison stayed alive only five northerners: his vessel, Zwerkard, a blond with green eyes, Rigfrit, the brunette whose wounded arm was beginning to heal even though the others thought it should have festered, Forkjorn, an elderly snunorf, who helped Nulara get Valdiramir’s body out, and there are two women, Wendlafa, a brown-haired snunorf, and Signette, a redhead with freckles. In the cell next to Forkjorn lay the corpse of a soldier with an eye patch.
Next to Nulara stood Carlfrig, Ishkmet, Jamashar, Ingerbert and Arngalda, and three other snunorf soldiers.
“Some of the soldiers asked me to keep you here for a few more days,” Nulara turned to the prisoners, “so that the ghost would finally go mad and kill almost everyone except the last one, but it’s not going to happen, because I promised you that I would release you in five days. My soldiers do not realize that the ghost can easily escape if he wants to,” she looked at the poorly lit faces of the prisoners. “I know you are here, ghost! And I know that you did not leave the dungeon because I ordered to surround the castle and every soldier to watch each other even during sleep! Now we will all leave the dungeon together,” and she defiantly stepped away from the prison bars, and the prisoners began to go out. And they went to the exit from the dungeon.
When they got out of the dungeon, they saw hundreds of snunorfs standing with swords at the ready at a distance from each other, filling all visible space.
“Are we going to be executed?” Rigfrit asked suddenly.
“No, soldier,” Nulara replied. “Today we’re going on a journey.”
“Your Majesty, are we going somewhere separate from the army after all?” The elderly snunorf asked.
“Yes, Forkjorn, we are.”
They came to a table, specially brought out into the open space near the castle, on the table were scones, fried meat and jars of water. It was a relatively warm day for late autumn, and Silenta slightly warmed the faces of the northerners with her rays. Nulara gestured to the prisoners to sit down and eat.
“It looks like we’re going to be executed,” red-haired Signette said as she sat down at the table. She took a piece of meat and bit into it greedily with her teeth. The other prisoners followed her example and began to eat.
“If we’re to be executed,” Dombard said suddenly, “may I at least play the aldoltar one last time, Your Majesty?”
An aldoltar was a musical eight-stringed instrument that resembles a guitar and a mandolin at the same time.
“You will not be executed!” Nulara said loudly.
“Your Majesty, since we’re going on a journey,” Wendlafa said, “now, while we are eating and gaining strength, we can listen to Zwerkard, he has an amazing voice–”
“No, not again, I can’t stand one more song!” Signette interrupted her.
Nulara stared at them.
“Very well. Zwerkard, right?” she turned to Dombard, “You can sing one song. But just one.” Nulara turned to one soldier, ordering him to bring the aldoltar.
The soldier ran off and soon returned with the instrument. Dombard tuned it for a while, and then began to sing,
“Silenta and Iglara spreading autumn morning rays,
And love becomes a mother of deep pain with sorrow grace.
A dwarf and elf together tying up with wedding oaths,
But they wouldn’t be forever, cause their death is coming close.
A dwarf was loved another, she was sparkling snow from North,
But he was stuck with elven wife as a servant and he serves,
One day a wife was caught a dwarf with a northerner. He knows
That he should keep his axe close by, cause death is coming close.
Another day has come to a village, the elven king arrived.
A king decided to find himself a pretty dwarven bride.
But once he stopped and suddenly he dropped his fancy gloves.
A northern maid came up and picked up... Death is coming close.
The king came for a dwarven bride, but they were short and low,
And northern maid has deep blue eyes, her hair was like soft snow.
The king was so obsessed with her, one day he came across
The dwarf who’s talking with his love... The death is coming close.
Another day the wife was yelling at the gloomy dwarf,
And he decides to leave her and to be with a maid from North,
He opened the door and he became surrounded by foes,
The dwarf felt death approaching him, cause death was coming close.
The rain was tangled in the beard, dwarfs head was on a pike,
The northern maid came to his widow in the darkest night,
She took dwarfs axe and cut her face from forehead to her nose.
Death dancing with fresh flowing blood, the king is coming close.
He threw a maid to a messy floor to taste a widow’s blood,
His eyes were burning and he said, “You’re a dwarven slut.”
But maid stood up with courage and she made swift violent blows,
The king slipped on elf blood. The maid of pain is coming close.
The king slipped on elf blood. The maid of North is coming close.
The king slipped on elf blood. The maid of death is coming close.”
When he finished, Nulara turned to him and said, “I hope the ghost is not in you, or it would be a pity to kill such a talent.”
“I hope too, Your Majesty,” Dombard said and smiled.
“The soldiers will give you weapons and change of clothing, including clean armor. We’re moving out,” Nulara said.
“But where to, Your Majesty?” Forkjorn asked.
“We’ll go to the southeast, find out what kind of army of elves and tukhtaashes are there,” Nulara answered honestly.
“I support the queen’s decision,” Dombard said suddenly and was the first to take off his clothes and then put on clean insulated pants, a northern winter shirt and chainmail.
The rest of the soldiers followed his example and changed under the watchful gaze of others.
The day before, Dombard had left the vessel and overheard the soldiers who were outside the castle. He had learned that Nulara was going to send the prisoners to the Greywind Forest, leave part of the army in the capital, and send the main army, led by Carlfrig, towards Hoogmeerfall to talk with the ikhagatbers. Dombard did not want to go north, he tired from the cold of the mountains in the Twilight Belt; he thought it best to head southwest in the late fall. But he wondered why he could not possess the queen’s body? Previously, he could not possess the Edelmer’s body, and Dombard hated it terribly! He wanted Nulara, and he couldn’t stop looking into her grey-blue eyes. Also, eavesdropping on the conversations, the ghost learned that the queen would send a group of five northerners to monitor the movements of the prisoners with the queen, and if the ghost possessed someone and killed the queen, then they would have only one task, to bring this information to Carlfrig.
Dombard stood near the karkhash and adjusted his saddle, he heard the old isters talking with the wallitarf.
“You shouldn’t want to come with us or with them!” Ishkmet said.
It’s sad, my friend, that you leaving the old man on the way to the cold and abandoned Jöhnstromken!
“For the Rumnarash’s sake, why do you need to get into this cursed library?! You heard the story of Ingerbert and Arngalda! What if I, too, was created and should turn into some kind of dragon or bird?! And you want to miss this out?” the wallitarf try to joking, but he was upset.
“I need to translate the book! Algadral Stonets had to describe in detail how you can kill the dragons!”
“Jamashar, did you even listen to the story? The northerners want to unite with the dragons! And your book could have been planted by these First!” Ishkmet suddenly relented. “But I’m glad you’re going with the army, and not with me, otherwise a ghost might have settled in you. And I wouldn’t want to be the one who has to kill you, old man,” he smiled sadly.
Next to them, besides Dombard, the other former imprisoned soldiers saddled their karkhashes, not paying attention to the isters and the wallitarf. Ingerbert, Arngalda and Queen Nulara approached them.
“Are you all ready?” the queen asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Forkjorn replied, and the others either remained silent or nodded.
Ishkmet, climbing on the karkhash, remarked with displeasure:
“After all, they are small animals, if only any of you had a chance to ride combat gatakanati at least once in your life–”
“I’m told that dragons killed many of your gatakanaties at Alaidaksinish,” Wendlafa interrupted him.
“Yes, but I wasn’t there,” said Ishkmet and turned to Jamashar, “’I hope this is not the last time I see you, old man!”
“We’ll meet again, friend. Good luck, Ishkmet,” Isters said.
“And to you,” the wallitarf said.
And nine riders galloped toward the city gates.
