Summer weather had been warm and sunny for weeks. The water at their beach was so warm that even Emil enjoyed swimming with the kids. Rakel had been worried about safety, but between the lakewall and Inka’s regular sweeps, there was no way any lake grosslings could get to the warm shallows where the children were splashing around and screaming in delight. Of course, Emil still had his blade with him, but really it was as safe as summertime in Finland ever gets. Rakel also disagreed with the notion of calling Finnish lake water warm, but they had the sauna and the kids kept popping in to warm up, and everything was nice and snuggly.
Lalli was doing their rota guarding the Sheep And Farming Island, but Emil was sleeping soundly. Spending the days in the sun and water, building and gardening, not to mention playing with the kids (how can they possibly be so fast and silent?) guaranteed that sleep came quickly at night. Of course, he missed Lalli, they all did, but there was no need to worry. He was only at the Sheep And Farming Island, and the signal fires kept everyone assured that things were well on both islands.
But after about two weeks of sweet summer days, Emil was suddenly feeling restless. He felt… he wasn’t sure what he felt. An unfathomable restlessness in the background of his mind. In the daytime it only shadowed his mood occasionally, but the night was different. His good sleep was gone, and Emil kept startling awake, not remembering what he dreamed about but feeling equal parts terrified and exhilarated. In the morning he spoke with Inka.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like something is about happen. I don’t like it.”
Inka felt his forehead, neck and chest near his heart. “I don’t feel anything wrong with you. Maybe your skin is a bit hot and reddish, perhaps you should try to stay away from the sun for a couple of days. And don’t forget to drink a lot! You need more water when you are constantly in the sun.”
They spoke about various possibilities and decided to give a heads up to both the guards and the noitas of Toivosaari, but nobody else detected anything. Maybe it really was just too much sun.
***
After a couple of nights, Emil was finally falling soundly asleep. He soon found himself in large hall. There was a table laden with food here, but it wasn’t his childhood home. Hmm, I haven’t had that dream for years! The walls were dark, as was the ceiling. And the floor. There was a great fireplace in the room, flames roaring. There was also a window, showing a nondescript forest landscape, bathing in the sun. I wonder why there is a large fire on, it seems so warm outside! Coming to think of it, the room was actually too warm, even bordering on uncomfortable.
Turning his attention back to the table, Emil noticed two things. Firstly, there was someone sitting at the table, faced away from him and eating. Secondly, all of the food was set on the end of the table where this person was sitting. In the other end, a plate was set for another diner, but there was no food there.
The eater seemed familiar. He had blazing red hair, and for a moment Emil thought it may be Reynir, but this person wasn’t quite as thin and … nervous? as Reynir. As the person seemed so concentrated on the eating that they failed to notice Emil, he spoke up. “Greetings, friend! Could you perhaps tell me, what is this place?”
The eater turned towards him. A sudden recognition surprised Emil. The other one was smiling broadly. It was his childhood friend Loge! “Oh my! If it’s not my dear friend Emil! It’s been a long time!” He looked happy to see Emil, but resumed eating immediately.
“Loge! It really has been… very many years! I haven’t seen you since the big fire!” Maybe he should have worried about his friend going missing at the same time as the big fire happened… but somehow it had never occurred to Emil that Loge could have been hurt in it. And surely, he looked healthy and in good spirits now.
“Oh, I have seen you every now and then.” Loge was talking between bites. “Less often, recently, but it’s been a delight to follow your career as a cleanser and adventurer! But do take a seat! There’s a plate set just for you!” Loge was pointing at the other end of the table.
Emil sat down. There was a veritable feast laid out in front of Loge. Roast mutton, baked potatoes, stew of root vegetables, bread, mutton pie, soup… Emil was starting to feel hungry, just looking at it. He reached for the roast, but as all of the food was set around Loge, he couldn’t reach any.
“Oh dear, I’m a bad host! Sorry about that! Please come sit closer!” Emil grabbed his plate and took a new seat next to Loge. But when he reached for the food again, Loge was sitting at the other end of the table, all food around him again. And out of Emil’s grasp. Loge was finishing a plate of mutton and potatoes, using two forks to eat. It should have looked revolting, but somehow Loge wasn’t messy at all.
“Oops, well, sorry again. That happens sometimes. Do come sit with me!” Emil moved again. And again, all of the food moved out of his reach. He was now feeling really hungry, and Loge was eating even more ravenously (he was holding a leg of mutton in his hands, chomping it down). This was starting to get irritating.
“Ok, Loge, cut it out. Point taken. I was a brat back then, but I have mended my ways. I should have invited you over to the house and shared my dinners with you. There was always too much food anyways.”
“Hmm, I’m not holding that against you. It’s better for you that you didn’t. And, I really am sorry. I am not doing this on purpose. I’m just so very very hungry!” Now Loge was just grabbing everything on the table and stuffing his mouth, yet still nothing dripped onto his chin or clothing. Emil got up again, but this time he didn’t even have time to sit down before Loge and the food flickered away. The speed of eating increased still, and the flow of food disappearing and the tidiness of it all was very unsettling.
“Loge, are you all right? That doesn’t look very healthy?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m just hungry. I’m ravenous! I cannot help it. I must eat!” Suddenly Loge’s eyes and mouth filled with flame, and smoke was rising from his hands. The food he reached for disappeared at his touch, not having time to enter his mouth anymore. Terrified, Emil jumped up.
“Loge, please!”
“I’m sorry, my friend. But I’m so very very hungry… I must eat…” Loge looked utterly horrifying and extremely beautiful at the same time. Emil felt heat, like he was standing too close to a burning building. And now Loge was reaching a smoking hand towards Emil, smiling apologetically. “So hungry!”
“Loge! No! I am not food!” Shrieking, Emil ran towards the window.
***
Jumping through the glass, he woke up in his bed. He was sweating and his skin felt hot, but no bad burns anywhere. When he was still gathering his wits (I’m all right, it was just a dream, I was not burned) a small wisp of white hair appeared at the door.
“Pappa, are you all right? I heard you scream!”
“Oh, Lumi, dearest, I am all right now. I just had a nightmare.”
“It doesn’t… feel all right here, pappa. I will go get äiti.” At that, his daughter withdrew, soon to reappear with Inka.
“Emil, your skin is burning up! You are running a high fever! We must cool you down. Can you walk? Rakel! Come help us!” With the help of the two women of his family, Emil staggered to the beach. This time, getting into the lake was a bliss, despite the night being quite cool.
“What is it, pappa! I know there is something… I got a weird feeling about your nightmare!” Lumi was not going to let this one go. So, Emil explained his terrifying dream to his family, and getting it out of himself calmed him down. Sitting in the lake helped too.
“This was no ordinary dream. Have you had similar dreams before?” Inka was pondering the situation.
“Well, strange things happen when I share dreams with Lalli. You know of course, you have been there too. This was a bit like that, but not quite. But I agree, not an ordinary dream. It reminds me of a recurring dream I kept having… I was sitting at home, my childhood home, and eating, and there was fire outside.”
“You often dream of fire?”
“Well, not lately. Or, yes, I do, but just normal dreams, staring into fireplace, lighting lots of candles, drowning cities in cleansing fire, the usual. Not like this. And I haven’t seen my friend Loge for years, awake or in dreams”
“Loge?” Rakel interjected. “Did you see the fire god?”
“What? Fire god? It was just a kid I knew when I was a child!”
“Ok, we need Onni and Reynir for this. Lumi, please run to fetch your uncles right now.” Inka asked their daughter.
After a while of intense discussion (More like interrogation!) Reynir asked “Can you describe again what was on the table?”
“Why? I told you there was loads of food! Why would it matter? I have dreamt of feasts since longer than I can remember!”
“So, it was the same sort of food you had in your childhood dreams?”
“Mmm, no, not really. For one thing, there was no cake at all! And the food looked good, but it was the usual fare, you know, potatoes, mutton, bread…”
“Mutton… and farm produce…”
“Sheep And Farming Island!” Lumi interjected.
Everyone understood at once. There was going to be fire on the Sheep And Farming Island!
“We must warn Lalli! We must warn all of them!”
Reynir immediately lay down to sleep in the hopes that Lalli would be asleep. While he would run over the Dream Sea, Inka and Onni ran for a boat. Emil wanted to go too, but Inka made him go back to bed in no uncertain terms. He was feeling more like himself, but he still had a high fever. Well, his family was on the case now. Maybe he could sleep… just an eyeful…
***
Emil was awakened by the midday sun on the following day. He felt much better! The fever was gone, as was the restlessness. He padded out of the bedroom to find the family in the big room. Onni and Inka were back.
“We didn’t go ashore, so no need to quarantine. Reynir reached Lalli, and he was waiting at the pier when we arrived.”
“He told us he had found the night guard sleeping by the signal fire. There were already small fires in the grass, but they were able to put it out. We warned them just in the nick of time!”
“They will pour water on the ground around the signal fire from now on. It’s really been very dry recently.”
***
That summer, there was a big forest fire on the mainland, and a couple on the islands. But Toivosaari and their Sheep And Farming Island were not affected.
“Do you have other magic you want to tell me about?” Lalli asked his husband, when they were watching the far shore burn.
“Magic? Me? What are you talking about?”
“Stupid Emil!”
