After the lush Bird Spring country, the mountains seemed forbidding. Here, even as birds sang and flowers opened on the forested slopes, winter was ever present, brooding and biding its time in its eternal fortresses upon the jagged peaks. The still-turbulent brooks ran down the deep ravines that had been gouged in the mountain’s flanks by the violent streams of early spring.
The people in the alpine towns and hamlets were taciturn and not overly friendly towards strangers. The food and the books were generally blander and plainer than in the South, at least to Magda and Bookworm's tastes. The local language was quite different from any that Magda knew, so she had a lot of difficulties communicating. However, there was no "end of the world" panic here. Sure, some rumors of the bizarre dragon incident filtered up from the foothills. But the levelheaded folk here took a skeptical view of these sensational stories. They considered their Southern neighbors a childish lot spoiled by soft living. "These ninnies probably had one or two dragon raids and completely lost their heads. No ability to deal with difficulties. If they spent more time praying and working, and less time braying love ballads under balconies, they would not be imagining such nonsense as singing dragons," was the general opinion.
Magda and Bookworm did not come to the mountains merely to escape the "end of the world" hysteria. Bookworm believed that this was the region where they should look for the Ice Spring. Magda began to make cautious inquires. But she found the locals closed-mouthed and unwilling to discuss the old lore of their mountains with some nosy foreign girl. For a while she got nowhere. But she persisted. As she picked up some knowledge of the local language and customs, she started to make some progress. Magda discovered that the people, for all their gruffness, had great respect for serious craftsmanship. While they would not answer what they considered to be idle questions, they were much more talkative when she was showing to them one of her meticulously precise maps and asking for the names of the rivers and mountain ranges. They also were more trusting if Magda talked to them in their own language, however incorrectly and haltingly. Also, a few tankards of good ale helped to loosen their tongues.
By summer solstice, Magda and Bookworm were sure that they were no more than thirty miles from the right spot, and they had a clear idea of what they needed to do. The general location of Ice Spring was known in this region. In fact, the town closest to the spring was called "Ice Spring Gate" in the local language. The spring drifted from spot to spot as the years went by, but its migration was slow. However, getting to it was extremely difficult and dangerous, and few people attempted it. It was located high up on a glacier. To have any chance of reaching it and coming back alive one had to hire an experienced mountain guide.
Magda and Bookworm set up their camp and map-making workshop in a cave in a thick spruce forest a few miles away from Ice Spring Gate. They were in a beautiful spot by a small blue lake. White mountain peaks surrounded them on all sides. It was a good thing that the landscape was so lovely, because Magda realized that she had to keep her impatience in check and proceed cautiously. She visited Ice Spring Gate many times, sold some maps, bought the goat cheeses and the embroidered woolens that the town considered to be its specialties, drank and praised the ale in the local taverns, attended service in the town's church, and went dancing with the locals at the solstice festival. In the process, she learned more about reaching Ice Spring. There were four or five men in town known to be reliable mountaineers who had been to Ice Spring. Among them, Ludwig the Archer was considered to be the best. He had been to Ice Spring a half dozen times and was known to have successfully taken clients there on several occasions. Magda also learned that there was only a narrow window of time each year, around summer solstice, when it was possible to make an attempt to reach the spring. In fact, there were only two or three weeks left before the end of the season that year. The two travelers decided that the time had come to make their move.
Magda rang the bell of a prosperous house adorned with ornately carved beams and brightly painted shutters. The servant girl who opened the door looked surprised when Magda told her that she was there “to see Herr Ludwig the Archer on mountain climbing business.” The servant led Magda into a room that smelled of resin and leather. While Magda waited, she looked around at the stuffed animal heads, bows and quivers, pick axes, and snow shoes hung on the walls. A few minutes later, Ludwig the Archer walked into the room. He was a powerfully built man in his fifties, with a craggy face and short, graying hair.
"Fraulein Mapmaker!" he exclaimed heartily. "I have heard of you. Sit down, sit down. What can I do for you?"
"I know you best mountain guide, Herr Ludwig," Magda began diplomatically, stringing together the foreign words with some difficulty. The man nodded with quiet dignity. "You guide people to Ice Spring," she continued.
"Yes, yes, it can be done, but it is dangerous and costly," he replied, giving her a quick, appraising glance. Magda quietly placed two dozen heavy golden coins on the table. It was a generous offer, even for a dangerous task. Ludwig fingered the gold appreciatively, then put it back on the table. "Very well, that would be a fair price. But before I decide to take on the job, I must learn more about the man you want me to take there. Who is he? How strong is he? And why is he not here himself to talk to me? Mountains are not forgiving towards the weak or the rash. I only take there men I can rely on to keep their heads and do their share."
Magda took a deep breath. Now they were coming to the most delicate point in the negotiations. "Herr Ludwig, it is difficult matter. I afraid speak of person who wishes to go. I need your word. I need you swear by your soul… Not tell anyone what I ask. Not hurt me, not stop me. Not tell! " Ludwig was taken aback by this request.
"I am a man of my word,” he said heavily. “I do not go around gossiping about other people's business. Who are you, with milk still not dry behind your ears, to come into my house and demand that I take an oath upon my soul?"
Magda turned scarlet, and tears sprang to her eyes. "I am sorry, sir," she whispered, "It is just so important. It must be secret. If people hear… they think …bad things, they not understand…” She fumbled with words, unable to find any way of explaining herself. Ludwig looked at the struggling girl sharply from under his bristling eyebrows. Suddenly, he laughed. "Ah, I have forgotten what it is to be young. I think I can guess what this big secret may be. But very well, very well, I will swear to you by the everlasting life of my soul." He then gave the solemn oath to keep Magda's secrets and not to hinder her.
"Well," he said when he was finished, "where is that young man of yours? I want to meet him before we have any further discussion." Magda was perplexed: "Young man?"
"Oh, come, come, Fraulein Mapmaker." Ludwig was smiling indulgently. "I pledged upon my soul not to hinder you. You need not play games with me any further. I understand the situation. You fell in love with a young man, you think he is the moon in the sky. But your parents are proud to have such a daughter as you; they do not think he will be good enough; they think he will not amount to much. So, you will pay Ludwig to take your swain to the mountains. He will drink from the Ice Spring and invent something useful in his trade. He will become important and wealthy. Your parents will say yes. And Fraulein Mapmaker will make a good little wife for the lucky fellow!"
Magda shook her head. "Um, Herr Ludwig, no, not a young man. It is me," she poked herself in the chest, "me together with…”
Ludwig was shocked. "Fraulein Mapmaker!" he said severely, "I know that you make excellent maps and buy lots of books. I can see that in your country and in your family a girl can forget her proper place and take to wearing the britches, so to speak. But here men are men, and girls are girls. I am not taking a girl to the Ice Spring!"
"Why, Herr Ludwig? I traveled far. Besides, I did not yet tell you…"
"I'll tell you why!" He interrupted, flinging open the shutters, so they could look out at the mountains. "Do you see that slanted peak over there? You see that rock spire jutting out of the snow? That's where the Ice Spring is. It would take me, an experienced mountaineer, three days to climb up to the glacier, and then almost a day to get across the snow to the spring. And that is assuming that the weather does not turn foul. It is miles and miles of snow and ice, crevasses, wind, danger of avalanches. Not many men have the legs and the guts for this journey. The glacier does not forgive weakness. It is no place for skirts and aprons!" He shut the window with a snap. "And anyway, what do you need the Ice Spring for? It is not for a pretty little head, such as yours. I promise, I will take good care of your swain. If the mountain is kind to us, I will return him to you safe and sound, and a lot smarter! " He patted her hair.
Magda the Dragon Maiden did not appreciate condescension. It stirred up bitter memories of being treated with patronizing pity by her neighbors when she was a silent child. A swarm of angry retorts filled her head. But she checked herself. "Well, do not take me to Ice Spring.” She took a deep breath. “Can you take," she stumbled, not recalling the word for "dragon" in the local language. "Well, you know, a big, big lizard with wings, and it breathes fire." She waved her arms high up to suggest the great height of the "lizard." Ludwig looked confused. "I don't understand what you mean. You make it sound like a dragon."
"Yes, yes, that's the word — dragon!" Magda nodded vigorously. Seeing the look on Ludwig's face, Magda rushed ahead, tangling in the unfamiliar language. "He not eat people or goats! He good! He wants to taste Ice Spring, then go away." Ludwig was completely appalled. "I do not know what you mean by this. But if someone is really putting you up to arranging for dragons to get to the Ice Spring, you better abandon this wickedness right away! You may think you are very smart, tricking me into swearing the oath not to stop you! But you are nothing but a silly girl who does not know what she is doing! Dragons are dangerous, cunning, greedy and full of evil sorcery! The last thing I would want to do, is give one of them more magic."
Magda was frightened by his anger. She tried to back out of the sticky conversation. "I… I do not know your language. I said wrong word," she offered weakly.
Ludwig sat down and shot her a heavy look from under his gray eyebrows. "Maybe you did, maybe you did not. If I find out that you are nosing around this town, trying to hire another mountain guide, I will find a way around my oath and I will make you sorry. And let me tell you a bit about dragons, so you understand your own foolishness. They eat people. They steal young maidens, such as yourself, and keep them in chains in filthy caves. They are monsters. Go take a look at Bertrand, the cheese-maker over on Cartwright street. He used to be a brave man, a fighting man. Made a good living as a mercenary, had girls hanging all over him. A dozen years ago he went on a campaign with Grimei the Intrepid. They were doing fine until they laid a siege to some fat merchant town. The place was infested by a dragon. The viper used some sorcery to set fire to the sky! Bertrand came back a total wreck and has not touched a lance or a bow since. Cheese-maker! That's all he is now, fussing over his cheese molds, henpecked by his wife,…”
"Serves him right for attacking Seven Hills!" Magda cried indignantly. Luckily, in her excitement she exclaimed in her own language. Herr Ludwig interpreted her outburst as shock at the horrors inflicted by the evil dragon upon poor Bertrand.
"See!" he continued. "Dragons! Just a couple of months ago there was some big trouble down South. A dragon put a spell on a whole town: made them go stark mad. They could not stop singing dirty songs for weeks and weeks. Now they all think the world is coming to an end. These Southerners are sissies, of course, but still a dragon is no joke." Noticing that Magda was flushing a deep crimson, Ludwig felt that he had made the proper impression. He was mollified.
"I see that you are starting to see the light. But you made me give you an oath, and now I want the same from you. You must swear to me on the salvation of your soul that you will not try to help any evil creature find its way to the Ice Spring."
Magda gave the oath. She knew that Bookworm was not evil! Ludwig, satisfied, rose to his feet. "Now take your gold coins and save them for your dowry, girl. Stop messing around with quills and parchment — this is what’s causing you to go looking for trouble. And if you ever hear again from that dragon, don't try to be clever. Come to me, and I will get some stout men together. We will deal with it!"
Magda was seething, but she was a smart person with a lot of self-control. She curtsied prettily to Herr Ludwig, thanked him for his kind advice and left quietly. She was sincerely hoping that Bookworm, who was circling over the road waiting to escort her back, would be extra careful and stay high up! Magda took a circuitous route out of the town and through the forest. She was afraid that Ludwig might decide to track her in order to check whether she really had a dragon stashed somewhere. At last, satisfied that no one was trailing her, she made her way to the cave. She was crestfallen. It was clear that she could not hope to hire a guide to take Bookworm to Ice Spring. She was afraid to show up in town again, in case Ludwig, upon reflection, decided to find a way around his oath after all.
Bookworm was not too upset though. "You did splendidly," he told Magda. "You got old Ludwig to spill the beans about where the spring is; and you stopped up his mouth by making him swear that oath. That was really clever. I think we know all we need now. We are better off without the uppity guide."
After some discussion, Bookworm and Magda decided to lay low for a few weeks and wait until after the time when any of the mountain guides might go out to the Ice Spring. They thought that now that they knew exactly where to look for the spring, they would not have to spend much time on the glacier. They reckoned that they would be able to make the trip safely even when the daylight hours would be shorter.
CONTINUED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER