At noon, Marlon rang the bell in the center of the square and everyone approached, curious and apprehensive, as this was almost always a sign of alarm.

"Hail, brothers," he began to say. "Our chief and druid have not returned yet, but we have a serious emergency: in less than two days, a large army of Romans will reach us."

"Can't the foreign druid help, Marlon?" asked one of the villagers. "Where is he?"

"He is a traitor, a damn warlock and his bird is a disguised dragon," accused Marlon, agitator. "He bewitched Ailin, the chief's daughter. We need to hunt him down, capture him and gag him. With him imprisoned, we can bargain with the Romans."

"Where is Ailin?" asked one of the men. "I know Ailin very well, Marlon, and I'm not confident in this talk. We all know that she can't be influenced by witchcraft and that you are dying of jealousy of her."

"Well, I say he did," insisted the sub-chief, remembering the recent past. "Ask Aodh, the blacksmith, who was with him. Ailin didn't want to kill the warlock and turned against us, going after him."

"She didn't seem influenced," said Aodh, convinced, "but the foreigner's bird is a disguised dragon and he admitted it."

― ☼ ―

The three stood still, watching the young man leave with the bird on his shoulder. Inside, Marlon rejoiced. He looked at his compatriot, who had a tear in her eye.

"Didn't I tell you he was a warlock?" he insisted. He took the sword and prepared to follow him. "Let's kill him."

"No," Ailin retorted, sad. "He would kill us before we got to five steps."

"Of course he won't." Marlon insisted again, pointing his finger at the sword. "He is unarmed."

Angry, Ailin looked at the sub-chief and extended the wizard's weapon, saying:

"Take it, if you are so sure you can kill him. Take his weapon and use it, but remember that only he will free you from the curse."

Marlon jumped back, scared, and Ailin smiled.

"You know," she said, worried, "If he were really a warlock and powerful as he is, we would all be dead, but he just gave me his sword and left. He wouldn't need an army to kill us, damn it. He left because we rejected him when all he wanted was to help."

"You are bewitched, woman," he said, sour.

Angry, Ailin acted without thinking. Like lightning, she unsheathed Igor's sword and raised it against the fellow citizen, stopping an inch from his neck. A strange sound emanated from the weapon that began to glow, emitting a slight smell of ozone, something they did not know. Terrified, Marlon fell to his knees.

Ailin stood still for a while, thinking. Then, she put the sword back in the scabbard and stuck it in the ground, in front of the sub-chief.

"If I were you, I wouldn't touch it." She turned her back and left the hut. "Deep down, everything he said is true."

Marlon got up slowly, still very scared. He approached the door and, awkwardly, asked:

"Where are you going?"

"To look for him," she answered with contempt in her voice. "Without him, we will be dead unless my father arrives with reinforcements. Igor is right and you are useless."

She finished speaking and continued walking, resolute.

― ☼ ―

"Nothing that Ailin said sounded like bewitched," continued the blacksmith, thoughtful. "She likes the foreigner, that's all, and I think that, if he were really a warlock, we would already be dead as Ailin also said."

"She left the village half an hour ago, went after him," reaffirmed, the sub-chief. "She is bewitched."

"That proves nothing," shouted another. "This smells like treason, Marlon. Many of us know that she rejected you."

"Then, I want ten men to accompany me to imprison them both," he yelled, inflaming the crowd. "They will be interrogated and we will see who is the traitor."

"All right," agreed Aodh. "But I'll go along to make sure you don't commit a betrayal."

― ☼ ―

Igor left the village going up the river towards the lagoon because he wanted to bathe. On his shoulder, Gwydion said:

"I'm sorry, Igor. I forgot that dragons are not well-liked here."

Before entering the water, he sat down on a rock talking to his friend, very calm.

"Never mind. If they are like that, maybe they don't deserve to be saved. Anyway, it is likely that her father will show up soon with Ezequiel and he will free the dragons."

"I see that it hurts you, especially because of the girl."

"I confess that I don't know how to fit the girl. My wife is Eduarda and I feel that with all the strength of my heart, but she disarms me and I admit that I need a lot of self-control, because sometimes I desire her with great intensity. It seems that is as if she were Eduarda, not to mention that she is too similar, which is beyond strange."

"I know the reason, but you will have to find out for yourself so I don't influence time. Now, a paradox could be the worst thing" said the bird. Changing the subject, he asked. "Did you leave your sword with her?"

"If I need it, I'll make it come to me," he answered, while undressing and entering the calm waters of the lake that, at that hour, were not very cold.

He tried not to think about anything, although he talked to Gwydion by telepathy. The bird placed himself on top of a tree, observing around. They talked a lot about the imprisoned dragons and it didn't take long for him to say:

"We have company!"

"I know," answered the wizard. "But stay there and don't show up that I'll take care of it."

Igor continued in the water, swimming and waiting for the right moment. When the time came, he said to a bush:

"You don't have to hide, Ailin," he smiled sweetly, "or did you come to kill me? If that's your intention, then you better go away because I won't allow it and I would hate to hurt you."

"I didn't come to fight or kill you." She approached, walking calmly and with bare hands, although she carried a sword at her waist. "And don't forget that you left your sword in my hands."

"How did you know I was here?" he asked, curious.

"I don't know how to say. I just knew you were here, I felt it," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well," Igor smiled again. "And what were you doing?"

"Just watching you."

"Just watching?" He laughed. "For my beauty or for my actions? I don't think I'm that beautiful."

"You are the most beautiful man I've ever seen, Igor," said the girl with a sigh, "and you fill me with desires, but I came here to try to understand you and—"

She fell silent, as if it was hard to speak. Igor, curious, asked:

"And?"

"And... ask... for sorry," she said, taking courage. "You are right about one thing: we are poorly advised by the chief, unless my father arrives in time and with help."

"Understand me in what, Ailin?" Igor approached the shore, smiling calmly. "I am a poor wretch who was thrown almost two thousand years in the past and doesn't know how to go back. Just that. In my time, dragons are our friends and everything is very different from today."

She sat down on a large stone by the edge of the lake and the wizard came out of the water. He was already used to their habits, not having problems with nudity. He materialized a towel and dried himself and then put on the clothes of the supreme guardian again.

"And what do you want to do?" she asked, looking at Igor with tenderness.

"I need to go back to my time and defeat the evil creature, but I still don't know how to do that," he explained. After a few seconds of silence, he continued. "Tell me something, is your intention to distract me for them to attack? Do I deserve such treatment?"

"Attack, treatment?" she asked, wrinkling her forehead and leaving him a little disoriented. "What are you talking about?"

"There is a group of eleven men ambushed all around us," he replied. "Now the question is what I will do with them. I don't like to take lives, but, by the way, I will have to do that."

"I came alone—"

Ailin didn't finish the sentence because they were surrounded by Marlon and his men. She was going to draw the sword, but Igor held her wrist firmly. Then he looked at the sub-chief.

"Didn't I leave as ordered, Marlon?" he asked. "I don't understand this obsession, but I'm starting to get annoyed and an angry druid is anything but a pleasant thing."

"Shut up or we'll kill you both."

Igor decided to see how far things would go and let himself be imprisoned. If he had doubts about the girl, they ceased to exist when she was tied up and gagged just like him. They forced both of them to walk to the village, but Igor, on the way, dissolved the gags and smiled.

"I want to see you explain this to my father, Marlon," Ailin said, furious. "He will kill you in front of everyone."

"If you want, Ailin, I can turn him into a worm or a frog, what do you think?" Igor asked, teasing.

"Who took the gag off them?" asked the leader, furious. As everyone denied, he concluded who it was and said. "If you take the gag off again, you will be killed right here."

"By whom, coward?" asked the wizard. "Not even with me tied up and gagged will you be a match for me. I will dissolve any and every gag."

Furious, Marlon raised his sword ready to kill him and Ailin gave a distressed scream, but nothing happened, because Aodh stopped him, saying:

"Don't you dare," he threatened, stepping in front. "You know very well that you will have to prove everything you said or you will be killed by us. Touch a finger on them and I'll take care of you myself."

Sullen, he left the two alone, especially since he was no match for the blacksmith. In the village, they were taken to the central square, where all the villagers were still. They made way and the pair was pushed to the tree. Marlon placed four men of his unrestricted trust behind the couple, with weapons in hand.

"If you try any witchcraft, you will be killed without any warning, did you hear?"

"And you dare to raise against me a sword that I forged myself, coward?" Igor raised his voice. "Do you treat the druid who offered to help the whole village like this?"

"Silence, warlock," he shouted, irritated. "Now tell everyone how many soldiers are coming."

"First you demand silence and now you want me to speak." Igor laughed. "What an incoherent guy!"

"Speak up," he yelled. "How many men are coming?"

"According to Gwydion's observations, there are about ten thousand men," said the young man, shrugging his shoulders. "A damn bad mess. What else do you want to know?"

"Who else is coming, besides the soldiers?"

"Also according to Gwydion, there is a group of about a hundred and sixty dragons and as many warlocks who control them, why?"

"And the bird is a dragon, right?"

"I already said that Gwydion is not under the influence of the warlocks, you fool," Igor said, emphatically. "He is a dragon, but he is also my friend and companion."

"Where is he?"

"Where you can't reach, my son." Igor laughed. "Gwydion patrols the region at my request."

"What will we do?" asked one of them, distressed. "Fighting a dragon is already the end of the world, imagine a bunch of that size!"

"Let's trade the witch's life for ours."

Igor started to laugh out loud, infuriating Marlon, who asked:

"What's so funny?"

"The funny thing, dear coward," he said, taunting, "is that those warlocks don't even know I exist and they will consider me as much an enemy as you, but the funniest thing is that my powers have returned with full force and not even a band ten times bigger than you can dominate me."

Finishing these words, the young man dissolved the ropes and took a step to the side, embracing Ailin and enveloping them both with a green energy barrier. When the four guards and Marlon threw themselves at him and hit him with their swords, they were thrown back with a violent shock, becoming stunned. From the crowd, who watched that, sounds of astonishment were heard.

Igor turned his hand to the guards and they were swept away by a wind so strong that they began to spin while shaking their arms and legs, desperate and trying to stop the spinning movements. The whirlwind persisted until Marlon got up from the ground. At that moment, the wizard made a hand movement, as if he were removing dust from his shoulder, and the guards were thrown to the ground, but a little apart. They tried to get up, but all they could do was vomit and stay on all fours, very dizzy and nauseous.

Marlon grabbed the sword and, without then knowing how, Igor made his own appear at his waist, unsheathing it and pointing it at the antagonist.

"Come on, you coward," he said. "Now it's just us. I challenge you to a fight for power."

Igor raised his voice and said for everyone to hear:

"I, Igor, the druid, challenge Marlon, the coward, to a fight. If he loses, I will be the new leader until the arrival of your chief.

Furious, the sub-chief raised his sword and attacked, but the young man was ready and just blocked the advance with an elegant movement. The golden sword shone and, when the weapons clinked for the second time, the Gaul's blade exploded into pieces while he writhed in intense convulsions. The young man advanced with the sword in his hand, stopping the tip at the opponent's throat, who fell to his knees, defeated.

Amid the murmurs, Igor turned to the villagers and said:

"I defeated your acting chief and I will be the chief until the arrival of Ailin's father. To begin with, I want to announce that my patience has run out and I will kill mercilessly the next one who tries to harm me or Ailin, understood?"

"Yes, Igor, our chief," they all answered.

"Great. Now we need to prepare to face the invaders. How many of you know how to wield a sword?"

Many raised their arms and Igor asked them to go to one side, counting almost three hundred men and some women.

"I will forge a hundred swords for the best of you," continued the wizard. "I won't be able to do more because even my powers have a limit and I will need to rest, after that. The others will have to make do with the weapons we have in the village. The women, old people and children," Igor set up a three-dimensional image of the region and they saw themselves as if they starred in a movie, amazed, "will go into the woods and hide in the trees, but before that they will have to collect a lot of firewood and put it in these houses.

Igor pointed out the places, making the image move. Then, he showed and positioned the warriors in strategic points, half of them hidden, ready to attack the flanks.

"Like this," he continued, "if the Romans manage to enter the village, we set fire to these houses and they will be unable to advance."

"And the warlocks with the dragons?" asked one of the villagers, with a timid voice. Igor was silent for almost a minute, until he said:

"The warlocks, I'm sure I can defeat them all by myself, but more than a hundred dragons, no. To make matters worse, Gwydion will have to stay away so that the warlocks don't dominate him. I think I'll be able to do something, but unless your chief shows up with more druids to help, I don't know how it will be. We need to trust in luck. Let's get to work?"

The men dispersed and began to do the agreed thing because they were very organized. Accompanied by Ailin and Aodh who came to like him very much, Igor began to forge the hundred steel swords that, as they were ready, went immediately to their recipients.

When he finished, Igor gathered the soldiers who had swords and began to teach some rudiments of modern fencing with some success. The men trained exhaustively and learned quickly because the Celts had always been born warriors, so powerful that they were feared by the Romans since ever to the point of being almost extinct. Meanwhile, the women and children emptied the chosen houses of their belongings and prepared them for the sacrifice.

It was already very late, almost dark, when Gwydion landed on the wizard's shoulder and said:

"They should arrive only in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow. I feel that the atmosphere is very good. Everyone is worried, but satisfied with your leadership."

"Then I'll put them to rest," Igor decided, cheerful. He raised his hand and shouted. "Gauls, come closer. The Romans, according to the latest observations, will only arrive tomorrow in the middle of the afternoon. So, I want you to stop everything and rest now. Tomorrow we will train more, because it is no use going to war tired."

"The banquet awaits, Igor, our chief," said a beautiful girl who should not be more than sixteen years old. "Come on."

"Banquet?"

"Yes," explained Ailin, smiling. "Whenever we have a war, we celebrate a banquet the day before because we know that many will not return. Shall we go?"

She smiled again and offered her hand. Igor did not resist and corresponded to the smile, accompanying her to the square. In some ditches with fires and almost like a gaúcho ground fire, several wild boars were roasted and two bards played and sang to cheer up the guests. Igor made a bright light appear in the square.

All the mistrust had ended for good throughout the day and the people looked at him with joy and hope, because they knew for sure that the chances were small; but, without him, they would be nil.

― ☼ ―

Gaúcho it's one form to define people from the south of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul state. There is a traditional barbecue where the meat is roasted in a ditch full of glowing charcoal or firewood. It is called fogo de chão – Ground Fire.