Chapter 12 12. The missing boy

They marched for hours, then stopped to eat.A fire was built and some slush was melted, and Iorek Bernison huddled next to Lee Scoresby, watching him roast seal meat.At this moment, John Faa and Laila began to chat. "Laila, can you read the symbols on the alethiometer now?" he asked. The moon had already set, and the light from the aurora was brighter than moonlight, but it was unstable, but Lyra's eyes were sharp.She fumbled under her leather jacket for a while, and pulled out the black velvet bag. "Yes, I can see clearly," she said, "but I can tell where most of the symbols are without looking now. King Fa'a, what do I ask of it?"

"I wanted to know a little more about how they defended the place of Birvangar," he said. Lyra didn't even think about it, her fingers could not help moving the pointer to the helmet, the vulture, and the cauldron, focusing on their correct meaning, like a complex three-dimensional diagram.Immediately the pointer starts to circle, then returns, circles again, and then moves forward again, like a bee sending a message to the hive through a dancing gesture.She watched it quietly, calmly coping with her initial ignorance, but knew that she would figure it out soon.That's when the meaning started to become clear, but she stayed put until it was certain.

"King Fa'a, exactly as the witch's genie said. There was a company of Tatars looking at the experimental station, surrounded by barbed wire. They really didn't expect an attack on them, that's what the alethiometer said. But, King Faa..." "What is it, child?" "And the alethiometer told me another thing. There is a village by the lake in the valley ahead, and there is a ghost who always troubles the people there." John Faa shook his head impatiently, and said, "It's no big deal at a time like this. There must be all kinds of ghosts and goblins in these forests. Tell me about the Tartars again, for example, How many are there? What weapons do they have?"

So, Leila asked the alethiometer obediently, and reported the result to him: "There were sixty of them, and they all had rifles, and several bigger weapons, like cannons. And they had fireball launchers. And... all their elves are wolves, that's what the alethiometer says." The news caused a commotion among the older gypsies, with whom they had fought before. "The elves of the people of the Sibirsk regiment are wolves," someone said. John Faa said, "I never saw a stronger foe than them. We've got a bad fight. Ask the Bear, he's smart and he can fight, ask him."

Lyra said eagerly, "But King Fa'a, this ghost—I think it's one of those kids!" "Oh, Lyra, even if it was, I don't know anyone who can do anything with it. Sixty men with rifles, and fireball launchers... Come here, Mr. Scoresby, please, Just a moment." While the balloonist was on his way to the sled, Lyra slipped aside to talk to the armored bear. "Iorek, have you walked this road before?" "Walk once," replied the bear's low, monotonous voice. "There's a village nearby, isn't there?" "Over the ridge," he said, looking up through the sparse woods.

"Is it far?" "To you or to me?" "To me," Lyra said. "Too far. Not far to me." "Then how long will it take you to get there?" "I can walk three rounds before the moon rises." "Listen, Iorek, I have this symbol reader, which gives me prophecies. You see, it tells me that there is something important for me to do in that village, but King Fa'a won't let me go. .He just wants to keep going, and I know that's important too. But if I don't go there and see what's going on, we might not know what Taotie is doing."

The armored bear didn't say anything, just sat upright like a man, with his big bear paws crossed on his lap, and his dark eyes looked over his long nose and looked straight into Lyra's eyes.He knew Lyra wanted something from him. Pantalaimon said, "Would you not take us there, and then catch the sledge?" "Yes, but I have already promised King Fa'a that I will only obey his orders, and no one else will do." "And if he allows it?" Lyra asked. "That's fine." Lyra turned and ran back across the snow. "King Faa, if Iorek Bernison takes me over the ridge, and goes to the village, we'll find out what it is, and then we'll go after the sled. He knows the way," she said. pleaded, "I will ask no questions except as I did to that chameleon. Farder Colum, do you remember that? I didn't know what it meant then, but the alethiometer was right, We figured it out shortly afterwards. I have the same feeling now, I don't know what the hell the alethiometer means, but it's important to know. Iorek Bernison knows the way, and he says he can Three rounds before the moon rises again, and I'm safest with him, right? But if King Fa'a won't let him, he won't go."

None of them spoke.Fader Colum sighed, John Faa frowned, and his mouth, hidden in his fur hat, became stern. But before he could speak, the balloonist interrupted: "King Fa'a, if Iorek Bernison takes care of this little girl, she will be as safe as she is with us. Armored bears are all loyal and reliable, and I've known Iorek for many years, no matter what happens Everything, he will not break his promise. Let him take care of Laila, and he will take care of her, absolutely right. As for the speed, he can run for hours without getting tired." "But why not send a man?" said John Faa.

"Oh, they'll have to walk," Lyra pointed out, "because you can't run a sled over that ridge. Iorek Bernison can run faster than anyone else on that ridge, and I'm light too, He will not slow down either. I promise, King Faa, I promise not to stay long, promise not to leak our situation, promise that there will be no danger." "Surely you have to? Isn't the symbol reader teasing you?" "It never did, King Fa'a, I don't think it would deceive me." John Faa rubbed his chin. "Well... if there are no problems, we will know more about the situation than we do now. Iorek Bernison," he greeted, "are you willing to do what this child asks?"

"I will do as you ask, King Fa'a. If you tell me to take this boy there, I will." "Very well. Then take this child wherever she wants to go, and do as she tells you. I'm giving you orders now, Lyra, do you understand?" "Understood, King Fa'a." "Go and see what's going on, and come back immediately after you figure it out. Iorek Bernison, by then we will already be on our way, so you have to catch up with us." The armored bear nodded his huge head. "Are there any soldiers in that village?" the armored bear asked Lila. "Will you take my armor? We'll go faster without it."

"No," Lyra said, "certainly not, Iorek. Thank you, King Fa'a, and I promise to do exactly what you say." Tony Costa gave her a piece of dried seal meat to chew.Pantalaimon turned into a mouse and hid in her hat.Lyra climbed onto the big bear's back, gripping his fur with both hands through the gloves, and her legs clamped around his narrow, muscular back.His fur was extraordinarily thick, and Lyra thought he was so powerful, almost unmatched.As if Lyra didn't have any weight, he turned around, took a long stride, and rushed into the low woods, heading straight for the distant ridge. It was some time before Lyra got used to the running, and felt a wild rush of joy.She's riding a bear!The golden arcs and circles of the aurora danced above them, amidst the bitter cold of the arctic and the silence of the north. Iorek Bernison's feet slapped the snow forward, making almost no sound.The trees are very thin and slow to grow because they are on the edge of the tundra.However, there are still thorns and bushes growing on the path, stumbling.Armored bears went straight through them as if they were spider webs. They climbed a low ridge surrounded by outcrops of black rock; soon they were out of sight of those behind them.Lyra would love to talk to the armored bear, with whom she would have known if he had been a human being; yet he was so strange, wild, and cold that Lyla cringed—almost never before for her. thing.So while the bear strode forward, his thick legs flailing tirelessly, Lyra just sat on his back and dangled after him without saying a word.Maybe he likes it better, she thought; in the eyes of the armored bear, she must be just a child who just passed infancy with a childish mouth. She had rarely looked at herself before, and now she found the experience interesting, but also uncomfortable—a lot like riding a bear, in fact.Iorek Bernisson's footsteps were fast, the two legs on the same side flew up at the same time, and her body swayed rhythmically from side to side. She found that she couldn't just sit, she had to actively control him. They had been running for about an hour, and Lyra was stiff and aching, but very happy.At this moment, Iorek Bernison slowed down and stopped. "Look up," he said. Lyra lifted her eyes—she had to wipe them with the inside of her wrist because she was so cold and blurred with tears.When she saw clearly, the scene in the sky really surprised her.The aurora had dimmed and flickered pale, but the stars were as bright as diamonds.In the great diamond-scattered sky, many small black things were flying from the east and south to the north. "Is it a bird?" she asked. "It's a witch," replied the armored bear. "Witches! What are they doing?" "Probably to go to war. I've never seen so many witches together." "Do you know a witch, Iorek?" "I've worked for some witches, and I've fought a few wars. This look would have terrified King Faaa. You'd all be terrified if they flew to help your enemies." "King Fa'a is not intimidated, and neither are you, are you?" "Not yet. I will conquer fear when I am afraid. But we'd better report these witches to King Fa'a, because they may not have discovered it yet." He walked on, but at a slower pace.Lyra kept staring at the sky until her eyes were clouded again by a layer of damp cold air.There are so many witches flying north that Laila can't see the end at a glance. Finally, Iorek Bernison stopped and said, "The village is there." They looked down and saw a craggy hillside leading to a group of wooden houses, and beside it was a large flat expanse of snow—almost flat, and Lyra thought it was a frozen lake.A wooden pier showed that she was right.It takes no more than five minutes to get there from them. "What do you want to do?" asked the armored bear. Lyra slipped off his back and found it hard to get up.Her face was frozen and her legs were shaking.She gripped his fur tightly and stomped until she felt some strength. "There's a kid down there in the village, maybe it's a ghost, maybe it's something," Lyra said. "Maybe it's near the village, I don't know. Take it back to King Fa'a and others. I thought it was a ghost, but the alethiometer may have other meanings, but I can't figure it out." "If he's out there," said the Bear, "he'd better get somewhere out of the cold." "I don't think he's dead," Lyra said, not at all sure.The alethiometer showed that there was something mysterious and unearthly here, which was a warning to her.But who is she?She is Lord Asriel's daughter.Who is under her command now?It is an armored bear with boundless power.How could she show the slightest fear? "Let's go and see," she said. She climbed onto his back again, and the armored bear walked down the rugged hillside, and he walked very steadily without any bumps.The village dogs, perhaps smelling, perhaps hearing, perhaps feeling their approach, began to howl terribly, and the reindeer in the pen were twitching nervously, their antlers bumping against each other like dry sticks.In still air, every movement can be heard in the distance. They came to the first house.Lyra looked left and right, squinting hard at the dim surroundings.The aurora is gradually fading, and the moon will take a long time to rise.Under the roof covered with thick snow, occasionally a little light flickered.Lyra thought she saw pale faces behind some of the glass windows and imagined how surprised they would be to see a small child riding a big bear. In the middle of the village, next to the pier, there is an open space.The boats were dragged ashore and covered with snow, forming hills on the snow.The dogs barked deafeningly, and just when Lyra thought it must have woken everyone up, a door opened and a man stepped out with a rifle in his hand.His wolverine sprite jumped onto the log pile next to the door and swept the snow out. Lyra immediately slid off the bear's back and stood between the man and Iorek Bernison, as she realized she had told the bear that there was no need for his armor. The man spoke, but Laila couldn't understand him.Iorek Bernison answered him in the same language, and the man let out a sigh of horror. "He thought we were devils," Iorek told Lila. "What shall I say?" "Tell him we're not devils, but we have devil friends. We're looking for...just a kid, a weird kid. Just tell him that." As soon as the armored bear finished speaking, the man pointed to the right, indicating that he was in the distance, and then said something quickly. "He asked if we were coming to take the kid. They were afraid of him and tried to drive him away, but he kept coming back," said Iorek Bernison. "Tell him we're taking him, but it's not good for them to treat him that way. Where is he?" The man was defending, looking terrified.Laila was worried that he might accidentally fire the gun, but as soon as the man finished speaking, he hurried back into the house and closed the door.Then Lyra saw people watching them from every window. "Where's the kid?" Lyra asked. "At the fish bank," the armored bear said to her, and turned and slapped toward the pier. Lyra followed.She was very scared and nervous.The armored bear walked towards a narrow wooden shed, with its head held high, sniffing here and there.When he came to the door, he stopped and said, "It's inside." Laila's heart was beating so fast she could hardly breathe.She raised her hand and knocked on the door, but then felt that it was ridiculous, so she took a deep breath and wanted to shout, but found that she didn't know what to say.Oh, it's so dark!Really should have brought a light... But, anyway, there was no choice now, and she didn't want the bear to see her scared.He said to conquer his fear, so what she has to do now is to conquer her fear.She lifted the reindeer leather holster tied to the latch, and pushed hard on the frost-frozen door.The door moved with a "click".Lyra had to kick the snowdrifts under the door aside to get the door open.Pantalaimon couldn't help at all, but turned into a mink, and ran around, leaving a dark shadow on the snow, squawking in terror. "Pam, for God's sake!" she said, "you turned into a mouse, go and see for me..." But he didn't want to go in, and he didn't want to talk.She had never seen him like this, and he was even more frightened than she was, except when she and Roger put the elf token in someone else's skull in the catacombs of Jordan College.Meanwhile, Iorek Bernison was lying on the nearby snow field, watching silently. "Come out," Lyra dared to shout, "come out!" No response.Lyra opened the door a little more, and Pantalaimon jumped into her arms, turned into a cat, and kept pushing her, calling, "Go away! Don't stay here! Oh, Lyra , go now! Go back!" Lyra tried to silence him when she noticed Iorek Bernison standing up.She turned to see a figure hurrying down the road to the village, carrying a lantern.When he was within audible distance, the man held up the lantern and looked at his own face: it was an old man, with a broad, wrinkled face, and his eyes seemed to be covered by thousands of wrinkles.His elf is an arctic fox. First he said something, and then Iorek Bernison said: "He said this wasn't the only child that looked like this, and he'd seen a few in the forest. Sometimes they died quickly, and sometimes they didn't. He thought this one was tenacious, but death might be right." He's better." "Ask him if I can borrow his lantern," Lyra said. The bear said something, and the man immediately handed Lyra the lantern, nodding desperately.Lyra understood that he had come here to give her a lantern.So she thanked him and the man nodded again and stepped back, away from Lyra and the Little House and the bear. Suddenly Lyra thought, what if this kid was Roger?She prayed desperately that he wasn't Roger.At this time, Pantalaimon turned into a mink again, and clung to her tightly, digging deeply into her clothes with his little claws. Holding the lantern aloft, Lyra took a step into the shed.At this time, Laila finally understood what the sacrificial committee was for, and also understood what kind of sacrifice the children had to make. The little boy was huddled against a wooden drying rack over which hung rows of gutted fish, all as hard as planks.He was holding a fish close to his body the same way Lyra had held Pantalaimon in her left hand and held him close to her heart.But all the little boy had was the dried fish, and nothing more, because he had no elves at all—the Taotie cut off his elves.This is "cutting".This is a child with the elf cut off.