The Mask Wearer Read online

  “Free Beorf first,” Amos demanded. “Then I’ll answer your questions.”

  The druid smiled. His teeth were yellow, rotten, and wobbly. With a twitch of his nose, the old man called off the curse in order to gain Amos’s trust. The roots that had ensnared the humanimal fell softly to the ground and dried up instantly.

  “Think fast, young friend,” said the old man. “What goes over a house once and not twice?”

  “Simple! An egg,” Amos answered without hesitating. “Thrown by someone, it could easily fly over a house, but I doubt that it could jump anywhere but in a frying pan after landing.”

  The old man seemed surprised by Amos’s confident answer.

  “I always start with an easy one to warm up a bit,” he went on. “The next one is more difficult. What animal can go over a house but cannot cross a puddle of water?”

  “You think that’s more difficult?” Amos burst out laughing. “It’s much easier than the other. An ant, of course.”

  The druid was becoming agitated. He had never met someone endowed with such a quick mind.

  “Good luck with this one!” he said. “What goes around wood without ever entering it?”

  “The bark,” Amos answered, sighing with exasperation. “Too easy, much too easy!”

  “The next is my best one! Listen carefully!” the druid went on, sure of the difficulty of his next riddle. “What gives shade in the forest without ever being there?”

  Amos laughed. “The sun gives shade in the forest without ever being there! Since you think that you’re so clever, answer this: The more of them there are, the less it weighs: what is it?”

  The druid thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “What is it?”

  “I’ll tell you after you explain to me what you’re doing here.”

  “You swear you’ll tell me, Mr. Daragon?” inquired the old man anxiously.

  “You have my word!” Amos answered.

  “Very well, then, very well. To make a complicated story simple, I came here to look into the events of the past few weeks, specifically related to Yaune the Purifier and the pendant. I was much helped by what you read yesterday. I was reading the same lines as you were through the eyes of my cat. My druid order is of the opinion that the pendant is dangerous and that it ought not to fall into the wrong hands. This is why, when Yaune and his army were turned to stone during the night, I stole his pendant—so the gorgons could not hand it over to their master. As you can see, Mr. Daragon, I’m a powerful druid, but I must not in any way be implicated directly in this affair. I’m a magician of the realm of nature and not a mask wearer. My role is to protect animals and plants, not humans. In this world, two powers are constantly clashing: good and evil, what we call the powers of light and the powers of darkness. From the beginning of time, since the sun and the moon shared the earth, these two powers have been in endless conflict. The mask wearers are humans chosen for their spiritual and intellectual qualities. Their mission is to restore a balance between day and night, between good and evil. Since it’s impossible to get rid of the sun or the moon, balance has to triumph. Mask wearers disappeared from this world hundreds of years ago. If Crivannia chose you, it’s because she wanted to make you the first of a new generation of warrior men. Your task is to reestablish a fair balance in the world. A huge conflict is brewing. Already the merriens have attacked the mermaids, and soon they’ll seize the oceans. Go as fast as you can to the woods of Tarkasis. Here is your stone back. I entrust you with Yaune’s pendant as well. It is for you to decide whether to return it to its owner or not. It’s your task, not mine. We will surely meet again. Now, may I have the answer to your riddle?”

  “I’ll tell you, but before I do, explain to me what a mask wearer is,” Amos asked.

  “I can’t answer you, Mr. Daragon,” the druid said sadly. “The more of them there are, the less it weighs: what is it?”

  “Holes in a wooden plank,” Amos answered.

  The old man laughed heartily and beat on his tummy.

  “That’s a good one! Better than any of mine! I’d never have thought of it! Holes in a wooden plank! It’s obvious, the more holes there are, the less it weighs! Take the pendant and the stone. My cat will keep an eye on you. Good-bye and good luck!”

  Still laughing, the druid headed toward one of the big trees and vanished through the trunk. Beorf, who had regained his human form, came near his friend and put his arm across Amos’s shoulders.

  “I think we’re in trouble,” he said as he stroked the pendant with the tip of his forefinger.

  Amos didn’t know what to do. The situation was beyond him.

  “I’m out of tricks, Beorf. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this white stone. And I don’t know what to do with this horrible pendant. My parents have disappeared and I have no idea where they could be. I’ve been chosen as a mask wearer, a job I don’t understand.” He sighed. “According to the druid, my ivory trident is a powerful weapon that I don’t know how to use efficiently. And soon an army of gorgons led by an evil sorcerer will be chasing us. We’re in the middle of a capital populated by statues, and I feel sure that the gorgons will come back tonight to search the place. What is to be done to bring balance between good and evil? Is there a way to reverse the curse and bring the people of the realm back to life? They’re paying dearly for the theft of this pendant, and they don’t deserve to remain statues for eternity. I don’t know where to begin or what is the best way to get out of this mess.”

  Beorf nodded. “Let’s try to analyze the situation calmly,” he said. “Your mission is, first, to go to the woods of Tarkasis. That’s what you have to do before anything else. If you leave with the pendant, the gorgons will follow you, and curse each of the villages you pass through. I believe that they can feel the pendant’s presence and power. We could try to destroy the pendant, but it may hold some power that we might need. In fact, the magician of darkness came here to retrieve his pendant, and we can’t allow him to leave this territory. I’ll leave signs of my presence and of his piece of jewelry. This will force the sorcerer to remain within the borders of the realm. We have to find out who he is, where he’s hiding, and how to get rid of him.”

  Amos didn’t respond. He was thinking.

  “We’ll go our separate ways,” Beorf continued. “I’ll stay here with the pendant. I’m familiar with the fields and the forest. I can hide so that the gorgons won’t find me. And I’ll protect the pendant while you go seek more information about the white stone, about your trident, and about your mission. If you leave now, you’ll have time to get out of the realm before nightfall. Trust me, this is the best plan.”

  Amos did not want to leave his friend to face danger alone, and he tried to find another solution, but Beorf’s arguments were solid. Splitting up was the most logical thing to do. So he entrusted the pendant to Beorf and went to the Shield and the Sword to pick up his belongings. Since all the horses had been turned to stone, Amos set out on his journey on foot.

  “Well, I’d best be on my way, Beorf,” he said as he took leave of his friend. “Be very careful.”

  Beorf smiled. He transformed his right hand into a bear’s paw and displayed his impressive claws.

  “Leave the gorgons to me!” he said.

  —8—

  THE OLD WOMAN’S EGG

  Nearly two weeks had gone by since Amos had left Bratel-la-Grande. The journey had been long and exhausting. Not knowing where the woods of Tarkasis were to be found, Amos had to stop and ask many people. Most had never heard the name, or, when they knew something about the woods, it was because of a tale or legend. So Amos went from village to village, sometimes traveling with merchants on their wagons, sometimes with troubadours who were too busy singing and didn’t pay much attention to his questions.

  More often alone than with company, Amos had to fend for himself to find things to eat, either in the forest or at peasants’ homes, where he was given food and lodging in exchange f
or a day’s work in the fields. Mostly he slept by himself in the forest or on the side of seldom-traveled paths. Each day, Amos felt increasingly helpless and regretted that his friend Beorf was not with him. He often thought that leaving Bratel-la-Grande on his own had been the wrong decision.

  Disturbing rumors were spreading everywhere. Among them, it was said that the Knights of Light were under a terrible curse and that their realm was to be avoided at all costs. Villagers were suspicious of strangers and not very welcoming. Amos recognized himself in one of the rumors that warned of a boy who was traveling without his parents. As a result, a lot of people were suspicious of him and plied him with questions.

  Amos’s only distraction during his long trip to the woods of Tarkasis was the time he spent reading Al-Qatrum, the Territories of Darkness. The book was actually an encyclopedia of the harmful creatures of darkness. There were maps, drawings, and a lot of information about unimaginable monsters. Amos was glad that he had brought the book with him.

  As he read, Amos learned about the existence of the basilisk. An illustration showed an impressive beast, with a snakelike body and tail, a cock’s comb on its head, the beak of a vulture, and rooster-like wings and legs. Described as one of the most abominable and frightening of the world’s creatures, this monster was the creation of the magicians of darkness. To create a basilisk, you had to find a rooster’s egg that a toad would brood for at least a day. Once it was born, a basilisk could let out a single piercing whistle that was able to paralyze its victim before it attacked.

  The basilisk always bit on the tender flesh of the neck. Its bite was extremely venomous and deadly. According to the book, the gaze of a basilisk had the power to wilt vegetation or to roast a bird in flight. So far there was no antidote to the basilisk’s bite. No bigger than a chicken at birth, it grew to an imposing size once it took flight. In the air it was as nimble as a snake and as voracious as a vulture. The basilisk killed for the thrill of it. Humans were its prey of choice. The book cited several cities that had been totally decimated by only three or four of these monsters.

  Yet this dangerous creature became very vulnerable under certain circumstances. For example, it died instantly if it heard a rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo. In addition, just like gorgons, the basilisk was unable see its reflection and survive. So it lived in perpetual fear of mirrors and other reflecting objects that could cause its immediate death.

  One by one, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in Amos’s mind, and he was finally able to imagine a way to free Bratel-la-Grande of the snake-haired women. First, it was obvious that the gorgons would not leave the city without getting back the pendant that was now in Beorf’s possession. Second, Yaune the Purifier, who knew of the gorgons’ power and therefore should have been able to protect his knights, had made a grave mistake. Since the knights’ well-polished armor shined as bright as mirrors, the creatures should have died instantly when facing them—well before they could curse the city. But Yaune had neglected an important fact: gorgons always attacked at night, when mirrors don’t reflect anything.

  The only way to eliminate these monsters was to install mirrors everywhere and to light hundreds of simultaneous fires in the city. But how did one go about executing such a plan? Amos wondered. He thought of Beorf’s fireflies, but he would never be able to rally thousands, even millions of them.

  Deep in thought, Amos was still trying to come up with the best way of eliminating the gorgons when he arrived at a village. He stopped to drink at a fountain.

  “Who are you, young man, and what are you doing here?” an old lady asked. She was dressed in white and bent over her cane.

  “I’m on my way to the woods of Tarkasis,” Amos told her. “Can you point me in the right direction?”

  The old lady remained pensive for a moment. “Unfortunately, I can’t help you. In two days, you’re the second person who’s mentioned this forest to me. Isn’t it strange?”

  Amos was surprised. “Who else asked you about the forest?” he wanted to know.

  “A very nice man and his wife. They also inquired if I had seen a boy with long dark hair, wearing leather armor and an earring, and carrying a stick made out of ivory on his back. Yesterday I had not seen him, but today he’s right in front of me!”

  “Those are my parents!” Amos cried out, deliriously happy to hear news of them. “We had to go our separate ways and I absolutely must find them. Please, madam, tell me which way they went.”

  “I believe they went that way,” she said, pointing.

  Amos thanked the old woman, eager to take off. But the woman asked him to stay with her a few more minutes.

  “I’m going to tell you something, my young friend,” she said, inviting him to sit down next to her. “I know that you wish to find your parents as soon as possible, but I had a dream last night and I feel I have to tell you about it. I was baking rolls. Every member of my family was around me, and I was doing my best to please them. My children, my grandchildren, my cousins, my nephews, they had all been turned to stone. Then, suddenly, you appeared in my dream. I did not know you and you asked me for something to eat. I gave you three or four rolls. As you bit into one of them, you found a hard-boiled egg. I told you, ‘One often finds eggs where they are the least expected.’ That’s it. I don’t believe that dreams are meaningless, so I baked rolls this morning and I brought them with me. I also have some eggs. They’re for you and my wish is that you find your parents soon.”

  Amos thanked her, took the food, and went on his way without really understanding the old woman’s dream. When he turned back to wave a last good-bye, the woman had vanished.

  The farther Amos walked, the more he thought about what the woman had said: One often finds eggs where they are the least expected. He stopped in his tracks. What if the pendant stolen by Yaune all those years ago contained a rooster’s egg? That had to be the reason why the magician of darkness wanted so badly to get it back! The pendant itself did not possess any magic or evil power. It was simply the wrapping that protected the egg. The first owner of the pendant had wanted to create a basilisk. It made total sense: this magician commanded an army of gorgons, and wanted to add to his ranks a monster capable of destroying an entire regiment in the blink of an eye.

  Amos concluded that the enemy of Bratel-la-Grande exercised power over all living creatures, near or far, who were related to snakes. He had to be malevolent, treacherous, and very dangerous. Beorf was in great danger, and Amos wasn’t sure how to warn him.

  —9—

  BEORF, THE GORGONS, AND THE NAGA

  The gorgons were in hot pursuit of Beorf. He ran into the forest, his head lowered as he tried to avoid the nighttime obstacles.

  The first two days following Amos’s departure had been quiet for the humanimal. The gorgons concentrated their search in the city. In his hiding place in the forest, Beorf slept and rested in anticipation of the difficult nights to come. He also pondered at length the best strategy of defense against the invaders. The main idea, simple and efficient, was to get rid of the gorgons one by one.

  Beorf perfected dozens of traps and set them everywhere in the forest. He guessed that after several nights spent uselessly searching Bratel-la-Grande, the monsters would inevitably begin to comb the surrounding areas. The gorgons would find various trails—all his own—and would follow them to try to corner any fugitives. The humanimal had purposely left footprints in the fields and in the forest that led directly to the traps.

  So as not to be spotted when going from trap to trap, Beorf morphed into a bear. The gorgons were looking for the thief who had stolen the pendant, a human. Not a bear! These creatures would never imagine that the animal and human were one and the same.

  One moonlit night, as the gorgons followed Beorf’s footprints, three of them encountered quicksand. Hidden from sight, the humanimal saw them disappear into the ground.

  “Minus three!” he shouted.

  Meanwhile, another small detachment of g
orgons found itself in the clearing around his old burned-down house where he kept his beehives. Beorf ordered the bees to attack. The insects swarmed together to form a huge cloud above the gorgons and swooped down on them at full speed. Petrified in flight by the gaze of the monsters, the bees fell from the sky like a torrent of stones and pierced the gorgons’ bodies. The insects had sacrificed themselves, allowing Beorf to get rid of five more gorgons.

  Soon Beorf noticed that the gorgons’ wings enabled them to glide for short distances, but that the snake-haired women were unable to truly fly. He imagined another ambush.

  Ditches encircled the tilled fields around the city. These were filled with water through a dike; the water was used to irrigate the farmers’ land. Aware of this, Beorf dug several large holes in the fields and covered them with twigs and hay to hide them from view. The following night, eight gorgons fell into the holes. Beorf opened the dike. The water flooded the ditches and holes. All of the gorgons drowned.

  Tonight Beorf planned a different snare. He had raided the knights’ armory and had planted spears into the ground and hung sabers and swords from tree branches. The only way to avoid these sharp blades was by using a particular path through the branches. Since the gorgons attacked only at night, Beorf had all the time he needed to conceive and set his trap. He trained all afternoon to make sure he knew how to escape the blades. The moment of truth was not far off now.

  Beorf could hear the gorgons approaching. He couldn’t run fast on two legs. At least his snare wasn’t far off. He just had to maintain a good speed to save his life. Out of breath, he took the safe path through the branches. The gorgons, on the other hand, didn’t suspect what awaited them and entered the forest of blades at full speed. It was a success! Not one gorgon survived.

  Pleased with himself, Beorf returned to his father’s library—his main hiding place—to rest for the remainder of the night. He opened the trapdoor, went down the rungs of the ladder, and looked for his lamp of fireflies. Instead, a red light flooded the room.