Chapter 13 Thirteen, defense skills

Lyra's first reaction was to turn and run, or to feel sick.Men without elves are like men without long faces, and as if their ribs were gaping and their hearts torn out: such things are unnatural and grotesque, belonging to the world of horrors in the night, and not to sane reason world. Lyra clings to Pantalaimon, her head dizzy and the contents of her stomach welling up.On such a cold night, she was sweating uncomfortably, making her feel even colder. "Rat," said the boy, "is my latt with you?" Lyra knew exactly what he was talking about. "Not here," she said, feeling her voice weak and full of fear.Then she asked, "What's your name?"

"Tony Macorios," said the boy, "where's Rat?" "I don't know..." Lyra said, swallowing hard to keep herself from spitting out, "Glutton..." But she couldn't go on.She had to come out of the shed and sit alone in the snow—not alone, of course, and she never was, for Pantalaimon was always with her.God!To be cut off from him, like this kid is from his lat... that would be the worst thing in the world!She found herself crying, and Pantalaimon whimpering too, and they both felt sorry for the half-boy deeply. Lyra stood up again. "Come on," she called in a trembling voice, "Tony, come out. We'll take you to safety."

There was a noise in the fish tank, and then the little boy appeared at the door, still clutching the dried fish tightly.He was reasonably warm in a padded quilted coal wool hooded overcoat and a pair of leather boots, but they appeared to have been worn by someone else and were not the right size for him.The light outside was better, under the dim aurora and on the snow-covered ground, squatting in the light next to the fish grill, he looked even more distraught and pitiful than before. The villager who had brought them the lantern had stepped back a few yards and said something loudly to them.

"He said you had to pay for that fish," translated Iorek Bernison. Lyra wanted the bear to kill him, but finally said, "We'll take the kid for them, and they'll have to pay a fish for that too." Xiong translated it, and the man muttered, but did not insist.Lyra put the lantern on the snow, took the half-boy by the hand, and led him to the bear.The boy came over feebly, although he was so close to this giant white beast, he was neither surprised nor frightened.When Lyra helped him mount Iorek's back, all he said was: "I don't know where my lat is."

"Yeah, we don't know either, Tony," Lyra said, "but we'll...we'll punish those gluttons. I promise, we will. Iorek, can I ride too?" "My armor is much heavier than a child's," he said. So Lyra climbed on his back and sat behind Tony, letting him cling to the bear's long, bristly fur, Pantalaimon in her hat, warm and close to Lyla, full of heart. mercy.Lyra knew that Pantalaimon wanted to reach out impulsively, like his own elf, to hug the tiny half-boy, to lick him, to comfort him, to keep him warm; He is not allowed to do that. They walked up the hillside, through the village, and up the ridge.Seeing that terrible, mutilated life taken away by a little girl and a big pyrene bear, the faces of the villagers showed fear, but also a kind of relief.

In Lyra's mind loathing and sympathy battled fiercely, and in the end sympathy won.She put her arms around the scrawny little man to keep him safe.It was colder, more difficult, and darker on the return journey to join the mass, though the time seemed to pass more quickly nonetheless.Iorek Bernison's strength knew no bounds, and Lyra was used to riding on his back, so she was in no danger of falling.The cold body in her arms was light and unconscious, so he was easy to control; on the other hand, although the bear was moving, he sat rigidly still, so it was difficult to take care of him.

Now and then the half-boy opened his mouth to say something. "What did you just say?" Lyra asked. "I said she would know where I was?" "Yes, she'll know, she'll find you, and we'll find her. Hurry up, Tony, it's almost here..." The bear continued to stride forward.Laila didn't realize how tired she was until she caught up with the gypsies.They stopped the sled to give the dogs a rest.Suddenly, it seemed, they all showed up: Fader Colum, King Faa, Lee Scoresby, they all rushed to help.But as soon as they saw the other person with Lyra, they all drew back and said nothing in silence.Lyra was so stiff that she couldn't even let go of Tony's arms, so John Faah had to do it himself, gently separating her arms and lifting her off the bear's back.

"My God, what's this, Laila?" he asked. "What's this you're looking for, boy?" "His name is Tony," Lyra murmured, her lips frozen. "They cut off his daemon. That's what the gluttons do." People startled and backed away.But then the bear spoke, berating them loudly, which surprised Lyra, who was exhausted. "What a disgrace to you! Think of what this child has done! You may not have the same courage as her, but you have performed worse, and you should be ashamed." "You're right, Iorek Bernison," said John Fahr, turning and ordering, "build that fire and warm this boy's soup--both of them. Fadell ? Colum, is your tent ready?"

"Okay, John. Bring Lyra here and we'll keep her warm..." "And this little boy," someone said, "he can eat, keep him warm, even though he..." Lyra was going to tell John Faah about the witch, but they were too busy and she was exhausted.The lanterns were shining brightly, green smoke was rising from the wood, and figures were hurrying back and forth. After a few minutes of this daze, Laila felt her ears bitten by Pantalaimon's ermine teeth, and woke up. Came to find the bear's face inches away from hers. "It is the Witch's business," whispered Pantalaimon, "I have called Iorek."

"Oh, yes," Lyra grumbled, "Iorek, thank you for taking me there and back. I probably won't remember telling King Faa about the witch, so you'd better do it for me." I'll tell him." She heard the bear agree, and fell asleep. When she woke up, the sky was at its brightest, the southeastern sky was pale white, and the air was filled with gray mist.Through the mist the gypsies loaded the sledges and harnessed the dogs like gigantic ghosts. Lyra lay on a pile of furs under the shed on Farder Colum's sled, watching.Pantalaimon was fully awake before her, trying first to be an arctic fox and then back to his favorite marten.

Iorek Bernison was sleeping on the snow nearby, his head resting on his huge palm.But Farder Colum was up and busy.As soon as he saw Pantalaimon appear, he limped over to wake Lyra well. Seeing him approaching, Lyra sat up and said: "Fadr Colum, I know what it was I couldn't figure out then! The alethiometer keeps saying 'bird' and 'no', confusing people, because it means 'no elves', I never thought of... what happened?" "I hate to tell you, Laila, because you've put in so much effort. But, an hour ago, the little boy died. He couldn't stay still or stay in one place; he kept asking about his Elf, asked where she was, was she coming soon, and so on; he'd been holding on to the bare, dried fish like... well, boy, I can't tell; but he finally He closed his eyes and became quiet. For the first time, he seemed calm and serene, because at this time, he was the same as other dead people, and their spirits disappeared naturally. They wanted to dig a grave for him, but here The ground was as hard as iron. So John Faa ordered them to build a fire and prepare him for cremation, so that he would not be snatched away by meat-eating animals. "Son, you did a brave deed, a good deed, and I'm so proud of you. Now that we know what evil those men can do, we understand our mission better than ever. You Now you must rest and eat something, because you fell asleep before recovering your strength last night. In this weather, you must eat something so that you don't collapse..." He was busy stuffing the fur, tightening the pulling rope across the sled, and pulling the rein with his hands to untie it. "Fadr Colum, where is the boy now? Have they cremated him?" "Not yet, Laila, he's being put in the back now." "I'm going to see him." Farder Colum couldn't refuse, because Laila had seen worse things than dead bodies, and just looking at him might calm her down.So Lyra trudged along the line of sledges to the few people behind, and Pantalaimon, transformed into a white rabbit, hopped softly beside her.The men were stacking some bushes together. The boy's body lay beside the road, covered with a checkered blanket.Lyra knelt down and lifted the blanket back with gloved hands.Someone was trying to stop it, but others shook their heads. Pantalaimon crept closer, and Lyra looked down at the poor thin face.She took her hand out of the glove and touched his eyes, which were as cold as marble.Farder Colum was right, poor little Tony Macorios was no different than other people who died without elves.Oh, if they took Pantalaimon from her!She dusted him off and hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to press him straight into her heart.Little Tony is all but a poor fish... where did it go She pulled the blanket off.The fish is gone. She immediately stood up, staring at the few people nearby with anger in her eyes. "Where's his fish?" They all froze, confused, not sure what she was talking about—but a few of the elves knew what Lyra meant and looked at each other.One of them hesitated, then grinned. "You still dare to laugh! If you laugh at him, I'll cut out your lungs! This is the only thing he can catch. Although it's just a dried fish that has been placed for a long time, he just treats it as an elf To love, to care! Who took it from him? Where is it now?" Pantalaimon turned into a leopard, exactly like Lord Asriel's elf, growling ferociously, but Lyra didn't see it, she saw right and wrong now. "Take it easy, Laila," said one, "Take it easy, boy." "Who took it?" Lyra was angry again.Facing her fury, the gypsy took a step back. "I didn't know," said another apologetically, "I thought he was just eating the fish. I took it away from him because I thought it was more of a respect for him." .That's it, Laila." "Then where is it now?" The man said anxiously, "I don't think he needs it anymore, so I gave it to my dog. I really beg your pardon." "It's not my forgiveness you need, it's his," Lyra said, dropping to her knees again and laying her hand on the dead child's cold cheek. At this time, she suddenly came up with an idea, and reached out to fumble in her leather jacket.As soon as he unbuttoned his coat, the cold air suddenly came in.After a few seconds, she found what she was looking for.She took out a gold coin from her purse, and wrapped herself tightly again. "Let me borrow your knife," she said to the man who had taken the fish.The man handed her the knife, and Lyra asked Pantalaimon, "What's her name?" Of course he understood what Lyla meant, and replied, "Rat." She gripped the coin tightly in her gloved left hand, gripped the knife like a pencil, and carved the name of the missing elf deep into the coin. "I treat you like a fellow of Jordan, and I hope it works," she whispered to the dead boy, and broke open his teeth to force the coin into his mouth.It was hard to do, but she managed it, and closed his mouth with difficulty. She returned the knife to the man, turned, and returned to Farder Colum in the twilight. He took a cup of soup straight from the fire and handed it to Lyra.Lyra sipped greedily. "Fadr Colum, how should we deal with those witches?" she asked, "I don't know if the witches you know are with them." "Witches I know? I don't want to think that far, Laila. They could go anywhere, and witches' lives are affected by all sorts of things we can't see: mysterious diseases, for example. Let them suffer, but we don't take it seriously; they will fight for reasons we find inconceivable; Wish I could see them when they fly, I wish I could see what that looks like too. Well, drink up the soup, would you like some more? They're still baking bread in the pot. Eat it all, boy , we will be on our way soon.” The food revived Laila, and soon the chill in her heart began to fade.Together with others, she went to see the half child lying on the pyre.She bowed her head, closed her eyes, and listened to John Faa's prayer.Then they sprinkled kerosene on it, lit it with a match, and in an instant the pyre was in flames. After making sure that the little boy was completely cremated, they set off on the road again.It's been a scary ride.The snow began to fall early, and soon the whole world shrunk to what seemed to be only the gray shadows of dogs running ahead, the rattling and creaking sledges, the biting chill, and the great flakes that flew, The flakes were only darker than the sky, only softer than the ground. All the dogs ran on through the world with their tails up and puffing steam.Pale noon came and went, and the twilight of dawn enveloped the world.They went north, and north again.They stopped in a row of hills to eat and drink, to rest and to get their bearings.John Faa and Lee Scoresby were debating how best to use the balloon when Lyra remembered the little flying thing that had served as a spy and asked Fader Colum what he used What happened to the tobacco tin cup that came to hold that little thing. "I hid it safe," said he, "at the bottom of that tool-bag, but nothing could be seen in it; I welded it shut when I was on board, when I said I would Did that. To tell you the truth, I don't know what we're going to do with it; maybe we can throw it in the fire mine and that might fix the problem. But Lyra, you don't have to worry. As long as it's in my hands Here, you'll be fine." Lyra reached into the stiff, frost-stained canvas tool pouch as soon as she got a chance, and pulled out the small tin cup.Before her hand touched it, she had already felt the buzzing sound of that thing. While Fader Colum was talking to the other leaders, Lyra took the tin cup to Iorek Bernison and told him what she thought.She had the idea when she remembered how easily he had cut the metal casing off the engine. After listening to her thoughts, he took out the lid of a tin biscuit box and folded it deftly into a smooth little cylinder.Lyra was amazed at how dexterous his hands were; unlike most bears, he and his kind had their thumbs positioned opposite the rest of the fingers so they could grip objects and manipulate them He has a certain natural judgment on the strength and elasticity of metal, that is to say, he only needs to flip the metal once or twice, bend it to the left and right a few times, draw a circle on it with his paw, and make a mark. Can be scrolled.That's what he's doing now, rolling up the sides of the metal so they end up standing up to form a rim, and then making a proper cover for it.At Laila's request, he made two: one the size of the original tin cup, and the other just enough to hold the tin cup, with hair, moss, and lichen stuffed tightly between the two to keep the The noise that something makes.After closing the lid, the cup is as big as the alethiometer. When this was done, Lyra sat down next to Iorek Bernison.He was gnawing on a hard-frozen haunch of reindeer. "Iorek," she asked, "is it difficult without elves? Don't you feel lonely?" "Lonely?" he said. "I don't know. They tell me this weather is called cold, but I don't understand what cold is, because I can't feel it. So, I don't know what loneliness is. We Bears are born without companions." "And the bears on Svalbard?" Lyra said. "Thousands, isn't it? I heard so." He said nothing, but tore the piece of venison in two at the knuckle with a sound like chopping wood. "Sorry, Iorek," she said, "I hope I didn't offend you, I was just curious. You see, I'm particularly interested in bears in Svalbard because of my father." "Who is your father?" "Lord Asriel. You know, they kept him on Svalbard. I think the gluttons betrayed him and paid the bears to keep him." "I don't know, I'm not a Svalbard bear." "I thought you were..." "No, I was a bear from Svalbard before, but I am no longer. As punishment for killing another bear, I was expelled; On the fringes, to live there; if I could, I'd be hired by men to fight wars, or do menial jobs, and drown my memory in old wine." "Why did you kill that bear?" "Because of anger. Bears have a way of avoiding getting angry with each other, but I lost control at the time, so I killed him and I got my due punishment." "So you're rich and powerful," Lyra said in amazement. "Just like my father, Iorek! You've had the same story as my father. He killed a man too, and they took his The whole property. But it was long before he was held in Svalbard. I don't know anything about Svalbard, only that it is in the far north... Is it all covered in ice? Can it be through freezing Where does the sea reach?" "You can't get there from this coast. Sometimes the water on the south side of the island freezes, sometimes it doesn't. You need a boat." "And maybe balloons." "Yes, or a balloon, but in that case there must be a fair wind." He gnawed at the reindeer haunch.At this time, Lila thought of the witches flying in the night sky, and a crazy idea flashed into her mind, but she didn't say anything, just asked Iorek Bernison about the Svalbard Islands, Listen eagerly to his tales of slow-moving glaciers, of the hundred-plus shiny piles of walrus tusks on rocks and ice floes, of seas teeming with seals, of narwhals smashing through frozen ice with their long white tusks. The surface of the water, the huge dark and hard coast, the filthy cliff ghosts who perch and swoop on the cliffs, the blacksmiths in the armored bears use coal and fire to forge indestructible iron plates and rive them into armor... "Iorek, if they confiscated your original armor, where did you get your current armor?" "I made it myself out of space metal in Nova Zambra. After the armor was made, I was a complete bear." "That means the bear can create its own soul..." Lyra said.There are so many unknown things in the world. "Who is the king of Svalbard?" she continued. "Do bears have kings?" "His name is Iofur Laknesson." The name immediately reminded Lyra of something.She had heard the name, but where?It wasn't the bear, and it wasn't the gypsy.It was an academician who said the name, and it was that rigorous, scholarly, languid, haughty voice that is characteristic of Jordan College.She recalled the voice again in her mind.Ah, this voice is so familiar to her! At this time, she suddenly remembered: it was in the lounge of Jordan College, the academicians were listening to Lord Asriel's speech, and it was Professor Palmer who mentioned Iofur Laknisson.He had used the word "armored bear," which Lyra did not understand at the time, and she did not know that Iofur Laknizon was an armored bear.But what did he say then?The King of Svalbard was so pompous that he could be carried away with praise; and said something else, if only she could remember--but how much has happened since then... "If your father is held by a bear in Svalbard," said Iorek Bernison, "then he cannot escape. There is no wood to build a boat. On the other hand, of course, if he is Nobles, he will be treated better. They will provide him with a house to live in, a servant to attend to him, and food and fuel for him." "Iorek, will the armored bear never be defeated?" "right." "Maybe... you won't be fooled either?" He stopped, no longer gnawed on the piece of meat, and looked straight at her.After a while, he said, "An armored bear is never defeated. You have seen my armor. Now come and see my weapons." He threw the piece of meat to the ground and held out his paw, palm up, to show her.Each black bear paw was covered with rough calluses, more than an inch thick, each claw was at least as long as Lyra's hand, and as sharp as a knife.He quietly let Laila touch it with his hands curiously. "One blow can break a seal's head," he said, "or break a man's back, or rip off a limb, and I can bite. In Trollsand, if it weren't for you Stop, I've crushed that man's head like an egg. Well, that's enough about strength. Now about tactics. You can't fool a bear. Want to see evidence? Take A stick, make gestures with me." Laila couldn't wait to try it.She snapped a branch from a snow-covered bush, knocking off all the side branches, and swished it left and right like a sword.Iorek Bernison sat on the ground and waited, his front paws resting on his lap.Ready, Laila faced him, but she didn't want to go straight to stab him because he looked so gentle.So, she just swayed the wooden stick, stabbing left and right, not wanting to touch him at all, and he didn't move at all.This false stab several times, each time he did not respond. Finally, Laila decided to thrust straight at him, using no effort, just letting the stick hit his stomach.At this time, his claws stretched forward quickly, and gently flicked the stick aside. Surprised, Lyra tried again, with the same result.His movements were much faster and more precise than hers.She tried to actually stab him, swinging the stick like a fencer's blunt sword, but never once touched his body.As if he knew her intentions in advance, when Laila stabbed him in the head, his big paw swung it aside without hurting him at all, and when Laila swayed , he doesn't move at all. Lyra agitated and attacked violently, thrusting, lashing, pushing, poking, but never breaking through his claws.They cover left and right, dodge timely and precisely, and block her stick precisely at the right place. Finally, Lyra got scared and stopped.She was sweating in the fur, out of breath and exhausted, while the bear sat still and still.Even if she took a real sword and wanted to kill him, it wouldn't hurt him at all. "I bet you can catch a bullet," Lyra said, throwing the stick far away. "How do you do it?" "Because I'm not human," he replied, "and that's why you can never fool a bear. We see tricks as clearly as arms and legs. We can see things in a way that humans have forgotten .But, you know that, you can read that symbol reader." "It's not the same thing, is it?" Lyra said.The bear at this moment made her more nervous than the bear she saw when it was angry. "It's the same thing," he said. "As far as I know, grown-ups can't read. I fight humans like you would go to a symbol reader with grown-ups." "Yeah, I think so," she said, confused and reluctant, "does that mean I'm going to forget that when I grow up?" "Who knows? I've never seen a symbol reader, or anyone who can read it. Maybe you're different." He got down on all fours again and continued to chew on the piece of meat.Laila had unbuttoned her fur coat just now, and now that the cold was blowing in again, she had to fasten it again.All in all, the episode left her uneasy.At that time, she really wanted to ask the alethiometer on the spot, but the weather was too cold, and other people were calling her because she had to continue on her way.Lyra picked up the tin cup made by Iorek Bernisson, put the empty cup back in Farder Colum's tool bag, and put the one with the spyfly on her own, along with the alethiometer. in the waist pocket.When they hit the road again, she cheered up again. The chiefs had agreed with Lee Scoresby, and by the time they reached the next stop they were inflating the balloon so he could conduct reconnaissance from the air.Naturally Lyra wanted to fly with him, but of course she wasn't allowed.But before reaching the next stop, she was on his sleigh, pestering him with questions along the way. "Mr. Scoresby, how do you get to Svalbard?" "You'd have to have a steerable balloon with an internal combustion engine on it, sort of like a Zeppelin; or a decent southerly wind. But damn, I wouldn't dare go. Have you ever seen Svalbard? That's The darkest, bleakest, most unfriendly place, the bleakest end of the world." "I was just thinking, if Iorek Bernison wants to go back..." "Then he will be killed. Iorek is a bear in exile now, and as soon as he gets there they will tear him to pieces." "How do you inflate your balloon, Mr. Scoresby?" "Takes two days. I pour sulfuric acid on the iron filings, so I can make hydrogen gas, and you can collect the hydrogen that comes out, and fill the balloon bit by bit, and that's about it. Another kind of The way is to find a surface gas outlet near the fire mine. There is a lot of gas under the ground here, and oil. If necessary, I can make gas from oil, and coal; it is not difficult to make gas. But, The quickest way is to use ground gas, a good outlet will fill the balloon in an hour." "How many people can you take with you?" "Six—if necessary." "Can you move Iorek Bernison in armor?" "I took him. I rescued him once from the Tartars when they cut him off from the other bears and were going to starve him into submission—at Tungusk. I flew in with a balloon and flew away with him. Sounds easy, but, fuck it, I'm going to have to do some guess work on the old guy's weight, and then hope to find ground under the ice fortress he's built Gas. But I can see what kind of ground it is from the sky, and I guess we can dig down to find the gas. You see, in order to land, I have to let the gas out of the balloon, but if I can't get it If I lost gas, I couldn't fly anymore. Later, we finally succeeded, and there was not a single armor left, all of which were taken away." "Mr. Scoresby, do you know that the Tartars goug holes in people's heads?" "Oh, of course. They've been doing it for thousands of years. We captured five Tatars alive at Tungusk. Three had holes in their heads, and one had two." "Are they still digging holes in each other?" "Yes. First they cut around the scalp, to a depth where they can lift the corner of the scalp and expose the bone. Then, they cut a small disc of bone out of the skull. When they cut Very careful not to puncture the brain; then they sew the scalp all the way back." "I thought they did that to the enemy." "Hell no. It's a privilege so the gods can talk to them." "Have you ever heard of an explorer named Stanislaus Grumman?" "Grumman? Of course I've heard of it. I saw one of his expeditions two years ago when I flew over the Yenisei. He was going to go up that road and settle among the Tatar tribes. Actually I think he had that hole in his skull as part of the ritual of joining the Tartars, but the man who told me about it didn't know much about it." "So . . . if he's . . . an honorary Tatar, say, they won't kill him?" "Kill him? Is he dead?" "Yes, I saw his head," said Lyra proudly. "My father found it. I saw it when he showed it to the Fellows at Jordan College, Oxford. They scalped him It's gone, that's all." "Who stripped it?" "Well... Tatars - the Scholars think so... but maybe not." "Maybe it wasn't Grumman's head," said Lee Scoresby. "Maybe your father was lying to the Academicians." "I think it's possible," Lyra said after a moment's thought. "He was asking them for money." "When they saw the head, they gave him the money?" "yes." "This trick is really good. People will be afraid when they see something like that, and they won't look closer." "Especially academicians," Lyra said. "Well... you know better than I do. But if it is indeed Grumman's head, I'm sure it wasn't the Tartars who scalped him, because they only scalp their enemies, never The scalps of one's own people, and Grumman is already a Tartar." Lyra turned the matter over in her head several times as they moved on.Things full of various meanings flowed swiftly around her like a wide river.Gluttony and their cruelty, their fear of dust, the city in the aurora, her father on Svalbard, her mother... Where is she now?And the alethiometer, and those witches flying north; and poor little Tony Macorios; the clockwork spy-fly; and Iorek Bernison's incredible defensive skills... Laila fell asleep.Every moment, they were getting closer and closer to Birvangar.