Chapter 10 :: The Glacier
Lirael woke to morning in the same place she had collapsed, her golden hand still clasping Nehima weakly. The Dead Hand who almost crept up on her was gone, and Nicholas stood over her, trying to smile. "You're awake," he said.
"Yes," she agreed, inwardly groaning as she sat up. The battle the previous night had been more than she'd bargained for; the personal struggle against the Mordicant alone sapped her of almost all her strength. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked of Nick.
He did some quick calculations in his head. "About thirty hours," he replied. "You slept all of yesterday away."
Lirael gaped at him, disbelieving. "Thirty hours?" she repeated. She looked at the sun and realized that it wasn't the morning directly after the battle, but, as Nick had said, the morning after that. She sighed and stood up, wincing as her sore muscles complained. But despite that, she felt very refreshed; apparently sleeping for over a day can certainly rejuvenate someone. "Well, let's go," she said briskly. She glanced around their camp, eyeing the burned grass patch and inquired, "The horses?"
"Bolted," said Nick grimly. "Ran away soon as the diamond broke. We'll have to walk."
"Look on the bright side," drawled a familiar voice. "At least you're better at walking than you are at riding. At least, I hope you are."
Lirael turned to see a small albino dwarf and frowned, puzzled. Nick, however, instantly recognized him.
"Mogget!" he exclaimed.
"Mogget?" Lirael asked, blinking confusedly.
"My other form," muttered the dwarf. "I don't like to use it, but it's necessary. I'd rather walk on my own than hitch a ride on one of you two."
"Thanks for your confidence," said Nick dryly. Then he blinked. "I almost forgot! We need to eat!" He rushed for the saddlebags, which, fortunately, hadn't been attached to the horses when they ran away.
"Got any fish in there?" asked Mogget, following him just as eagerly.
Lirael discovered she had no appetite, despite not having eaten for over a day. She resheathed Nehima, after wiping the dried blood on her surcoat, not caring how her appearance fared. She began to walk towards the tent, intending to pack it up, but found that task had already been done. She sighed, wanting something useful to do, since she had just been snoring away for the past day, while Nick did all the work.
Someone shoved some food in her face, and she recoiled without thinking. It was merely some bread and butter, but Lirael felt her stomach rebel with just the smell.
"Come on, you need to eat something!" Nick said cheerfully. She looked at him, uncomprehending how he could be so happy in such dark circumstances. He had slaughtered countless Dead Hands with his skill with fire, and yet now he was his normal optimistic self. He shrugged in reply to her look, and grinned again.
Sighing resignedly, she took the bread and bit into it. She was surprised at how wonderful even this drab food tasted, and how quickly her appetite responed. She rapidly devoured the scant meal, and looked around for more. Nick, seeing her, smiled and passed her several more slices. She ate those, less hastily, and was finally sated. Plus, the food seemed to do something for her enthusiasm.
"Let's go!" she cried, leaping up. "We've got a whole day to travel, and the Glacier is still a distance away. We'd be able to get there within a couple hours if we had horses, but on foot…" She shrugged. "In any case, we need to get going. We can't lost time."
"We'll be there in no time!" Nick responded brightly. "It can't be that far. Ten or fifteen miles, if I make my guess correctly. We covered a lot of distance with the horses. We start now, we'll be there by nightfall for sure. What are we waiting for?"
"For you to stop talking," Lirael told Nick, smiling wanly. He blushed and instantly went for the saddlebags, which he carelessly slung across his back. Lirael grabbed the remaining pack and they were about to set off.
"Wait!" called Mogget, swallowing whait appeared to be the last of a fishtail. He hurried to catch up, and his little dwarf body moved surprisingly fast.
They traveled for most of the day, with frequent rests and a long lunch break. By the time evening had come, they could see the Glacier from where they stood. Lirael, gazing at it even from this distance, thought she noticed it was a little…smaller. She tried to tell herself that the Glacier melting was nothing but a rumor, and what she thought she saw was a trick of light, but she couldn't convince herself. She sighed despairingly and sat down.
Nick noticed and suggested they have supper. The proposal was well met by the others, and he brought out some food; cold meat on bread. They couldn't risk a fire, he explained, and besides, they didn't have firewood. All around them was open plain.
They ate in silence, with Lirael constantly glancing at the Glacier, as if to see if had shrunk in the few moments she had looked away. Every now and then Nick would try to engage them all in cheerful conversation, but he was always met with some cutting remark of Mogget's, and silence would reign again. Lirael did not feel like speaking at all, lost in her imaginings.
It was still mostly intact, she consoled herself. But she also had a sense of foreboding, that there was something there she would not like at all. What about the Library? She asked herself. Would it still be there? She hoped so. In her days as a Clayr, the Great Library was her favorite place, the closest she had ever felt to home in the Glacier. If it was gone…well, it wouldn't be gone, she assured herself. But she remained uncertain.
Nick then suggested that they make camp here and make the final trek to the Glacier in the morning. Lirael nodded silent agreement, and allowed Nick to sleep while she took the first watch. She knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if she tried.
She sat there, staring at the not-so-distant Glacier, mulling over thoughts and memories. Times in the Library, with the Disreputable Dog. Lirael suddenly realized that the Library would hold open a door to a fresh wave of memories with the Dog. She blinked back tears, and rebuked herself for showing such weakness. She couldn't grieve in the past, not now. She had to move on. She had to save Sabriel and Ellimere and, if she could, the Glacier as well.
She saw nothing out of the ordinary during her watch, for which she was thankful. That last thing she needed at the moment was another attack of the Dead, even if it was just a motley group of Dead Hands. She went to the tent and woke Nick, and he popped up as if he had a full night's rest and was ready to tackle anything. She smiled at his energy, but fell against the sleeping mat in the tent. She was surprised how exhausted she was, and she was asleep in a moment.
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Lirael awoke when the first rays of the new day jabbed golden fingers in her eyes. She moaned sleepily and arose, realizing she had fallen asleep with her surcoat still on. It was getting dirty and beginning to give off a pungent odor. She grimaced and decided to wash it and herself before leaving for the Glacier. Luckily, yesterday they had passed a stream so small it went uncharted on any map, but it would suffice for Lirael's needs. She set off.
When she came back, Nick had some more cold meat sandwiches prepared. He seemed apologetic for the drab food, but Lirael didn't mind. Mogget, of course, helped himself to any fish that remained in the saddlebags, despite whatever condition they were in. Not a word was exchanged during breakfast; there seemed to be an ominous silence in the camp, and the trio respected that. Even Mogget.
They broke camp and headed in the direction of the Glacier. Lirael kept her dark eyes fixed on it, not looking away once. Nick, watching her, realized just how much this Glacier meant to her. He himself had only been there once, and that only for less than day, but he understood that it was her home early on, and so must have some meaning. He let out a little sigh, and continued walking.
They arrived at the mouth of the River Ratterlin, just before the Glacier. Nick gave it a quick glance-over and did some mental math. Judging from what the Glacier looked like when he had visited that one time, it had appeared to have shrunken by approximately ten percent. He shared his estimation with the others.
Lirael looked like she was ready to vomit any moment, and Nick wondered why. She was turning a little green, and could barely nod in acknowledgement of Nick's assessment.
Suddenly Nick felt an overwhelming strength, emanating from the Glacier. He gasped in its energy, and some part in him yearned to be joined with it. But he fought it—and suddenly realized what had happened.
Free Magic. There was a huge source of it here, at the Glacier. It was what had caused the erosion of the Glacier in the past few years—like Mogget had said, one source escaping the Binding of Orannis and coming—here. To the Glacier.
Mogget looked almost smug, and Nick remembered that he was entirely made of Free Magic. "I suppose you're happy about this," Nick remarked to Mogget.
"Not exactly," replied the dwarf. "Let us just say that my suspicions have been confirmed. Now. Are we going to stand here and gawk all day, or are we going to go in?"
"But—Lirael—" Nick gestured helplessly to the sickened Lirael. Unlike Nick, she didn't have the Free Magic in her blood, so was affected much more than he was.
She seemed to understand what was going on and waved a hand, and began to walk. She detested Free Magic, and hated walking right into it, but it was necessary. But the source—there was so much—not nearly as much as even half what Orannis had, but plenty to make her nauseated.
Somehow Lirael was able to get into the Glacier, but the sight that met her eyes was not a pretty one. The main room, where Lirael recalled dimly eating breakfast every morning, was filled with sick Clayr. They had turned the room into something of a hospital, and from what Lirael could see, it meant that the normal Hospital was overloaded. A few Clayr were strong enough, and they were running around, attending to the various vomiting others.
"Lirael! Nick!" someone called.
Lirael turned and saw Sanar, Ryelle not far behind. Though it had been a while since she had seen either of them, she could still (barely) tell them apart. She smiled and waved, but did not trust herself to open her mouth, lest more than words would come spilling out.
"So you have come," said Ryelle grimly when they met. She gestured around them. "As you can see, the entire Glacier has become a sickroom of sorts. We will have to move eventually, but we're not exactly in good condition…"
"We can't even See in the Observatory, there's so much Free Magic," Sanar chimed in.
Lirael grimaced. The situation was worse than she had expected. She spoke in barely above a whisper: "I'll help if I can."
"We expected no less of you," said Ryelle, managing a weak smile.
While they were talking, Nick had wandered away to one of the Clayr. She looked up at him with dimming blue eyes, her face gray with weariness and sickness. He reached into the Charter, and found it surprisingly quickly. Some Free Magic tried to interfere, but he absently shoved it away. Taking the Charter, he spoke the marks of healing, one of his talents which Sam praised him so highly for. It seemed that it would be of use here.
The Clayr he was healing looked surprised, but a little color began to seep into her cheeks. She smiled gratefully at Nick, and fell into a healing sleep.
Ryelle nudged Sanar and indicated Nick's act. Sanar blinked, and smiled, and came over to Nick. He was staring down at the Clayr he had just healed, with something resembling disbelief.
Sanar patted him on the shoulder and told him, "The worst off are in the Hospital, being cared for as best they can. Lirael can show you where it is; I think they'll be delighted to have you there." She smiled at him reassuringly.
Nick nodded, and swallowed, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Healing that one Clayr didn't seem to hinder him at all, and so it was with determination that he followed Lirael to the main hospital. She seemed a little sick, so he spared some energy to help her. She smiled at him in silent thanks, and showed him to the hospital, this time more quickly.
"Where's Mogget?" Nick asked suddenly, looking behind him.
Lirael shrugged, then looked back at the sickroom they had just left. Sanar and Ryelle were talking quietly among themselves, but there was no sign of a dwarf or cat anywhere. In fact, Lirael thought, she hadn't seen Mogget since they had entered the Glacier—and Sanar and Ryelle had called out only the names of her and Nick.
"Curse it all," she whispered. "Mogget's missing."
A/N: Yay for abrupt endings. Sorry for the long update. And also, I'm not so sure about the places in the Glacier; I'm working from memory, since I don't own a copy of Lirael and don't have one here with me now. Sorry for the inaccuracies, and again, I'd be much obliged if you would point them out to me if you see any, to save me some dignity :-) Thanks for reading on. I hope you're finding this story satisfactory.