“We have a half hour. Maybe more for the goblin and the elf, as they’re smaller. Come.” Ryslind rose and strode back toward the lake. Darnak hurriedly finished drawing a small lizard-fish on the map, marked it DANGEROUS, then rolled the whole thing up and tucked it into a hard leather tube. As they walked, he used a block of sealing wax to waterproof the seams. By the time they reached the shore, Darnak’s precious map was safely tucked into his pack.

“Follow,” Ryslind commanded. He walked straight toward the water, ignoring the lizard-fish that scurried up the beach. Darnak and Barius killed them as they approached, but Ryslind appeared oblivious.

What was he planning to do, just swim out to the whirlpool? The wizard’s hands began to move in small circles, fingers pointed toward the surface of the lake. Jig waited for a flash of lightning to kill the lizard-fish, or a magical bridge to suddenly appear over the water. As he stared, a lizard-fish ran up and jabbed Jig with the spines of its tail.

Cursing, Jig grabbed his knife and stabbed at the lizard-fish, which dodged to the side and ran off. Lizard-fish weren’t terribly bright, however, and it ran straight into the path of Darnak’s club. I guess I’ll find out whether or not this potion works.

He looked back toward Ryslind, and his eyes widened. Ryslind had begun to walk across the surface of the lake. As Jig stared, Barius followed his brother. Jig hurried after them, not wanting to be the last target for swarms of angry lizard-fish.

He and Riana reached the edge together, and only then did he see what Ryslind had done. “It’s frozen,” he whispered. A path of ice several yards wide led straight toward the center of the lake. “Incredible.”

“But at what cost?” Riana asked. At Jig’s confused look, she said, “Where does he get all that power?”

Jig shrugged. Magic was beyond him. All he knew about wizards was that you were smart to get out of their way, and lucky to do so with your skin intact. He was more interested in knowing how he was supposed to walk along the ice path without slipping.

Several of the lizard-fish started to follow, but Ryslind’s spell had an added bonus: lizard-fish didn’t like ice. Some of them took a step, then backed onto the shore shaking their claws. Others, apparently more stubborn than the rest, tried to run after the party. Their legs danced like marionettes as they tried to minimize contact with the ice, and eventually they slipped out of control and splashed back into the water.

Halfway to the whirlpool, something cold touched the back of Jig’s neck. He turned to protect himself, but saw only Riana. He stared, suspicious, until it happened again. This time the water dripped onto the top of his head and rolled down the side of his face.