Labyrinth Junction

by Hayley Davenport-Smith

  Down in the glen

  Dwells the wise old man.

  How can he hear you?

  LISTEN to his wisdom if you can.

  Deep in the sea

  Rest the Ancient Scrolls.

  Be sure to read them carefully;

  Beware the deadly souls.

  “Neither of these verses mentions a number. I’m sure we must have missed something here!” said Hal as he looked at the others for suggestions.

  “No, wait!” Ben exclaimed. “Amy asked the lady in the book what she knew about the number code, and she told us that one of the numbers was right before our eyes!”

  “The only number which was right before our eyes was the page number,” Owen said. “From what I can remember she was on page fifty-three of the book!”

  “Brilliant, Owen, I never thought of that!” Ben answered in delight.

  Hal looked pleased as he wrote down the number and then continued with the riddle.

  The riddle reveals the spell,

  But the numbers are all mixed up high.

  Only one chance to get them right;

  They are all ‘pie in the sky’.

  “So we need to work out how to rearrange the numbers to make a code!” suggested Ballin.

  With puzzled expressions, they looked at the numbers which Hal had written down:

  “The verse must be a clue to deciphering the code,” added Hal, “but I just cannot work out how!”

  “The riddle says the numbers are all ‘pie in the sky’,” said Tia. “Is this some kind of clue?”

  “As Ben said when we first looked at the riddle in detail, ‘pie in the sky’ could have several meanings.”

  Ben jumped up from his seat. “I think I’ve got it!” he declared. “Pass me the pen, quickly!” Hal handed him the pen and he began frantically scribbling numbers on the paper.

  “What is it?” Tia asked. “What do these numbers mean?”

  “I think the line ‘pie in the sky’ might be a trick,” Ben answered excitedly. “When I entered this land through Labyrinth Junction, I noticed mathematical formulae written on the wall in the cavern. One of the numbers was pi! Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter! My older brother learnt it for his homework, so I tried memorising the numbers myself as a challenge!” He looked at the numbers he had scribbled down.

  “Pi is 3.1415926. The old witch at the Junction told me that mathematics solves lots of the world’s problems, but many people are just too ignorant to see it. She said that I would learn that one day. Perhaps this is what she meant!”

  “Oh, I do hope you’re right!” Amy added excitedly. “Remember what the lady in the book said to you, too! She said, ‘…this one small task will solve many of the world’s problems!’ Perhaps she was referring to what the witch had already hinted at.”

  Ben looked at the numbers that he had jotted down. He started crossing off those which Hal had already written, to see if they matched his own. His face fell.

  “I have the number four missing! It doesn’t make sense!” he cried in despair.

  “Let’s look back at the verse with no number,” suggested Ballin. “It has to be in there somewhere as we have solved all the other verses.”

  Down in the glen

  Dwells the wise old man.

  How can he hear you?

  LISTEN to his wisdom if you can.

  Everyone studied the riddle in silence with confused looks on their faces, when suddenly Amy stood up in excitement.

  “Wait, I think I know why!” she exclaimed. “It says, LISTEN to his wisdom. ‘LISTEN’ is in capital letters; surely this is the clue! You listen with your ears, and Wimble had four ears. This must be the number four we are looking for?”

  A wide grin appeared across Hal’s face. “By golly, you two… I think you have just solved the riddle!” he laughed, as he fondly patted them both on the back.

  “So, now we have the code and we also have the magic spell!” exclaimed Ballin enthusiastically. “Now all that’s left is to go in search of the Enchanter’s Orb!”

  Happiness flowed through the room as the group realised their adventures were nearer to being fulfilled.

  Chapter 14

  The Enchanter’s Orb

  After two days of preparations the group set off on their journey to the old church in the woods. They travelled by horseback and tried to ride via covered routes so that they would not be seen. Sometimes they rode under the cover of darkness. In daylight they travelled through thick forest, or rested in villages where they knew residents that could be trusted.

  On the fourth day, they arrived at the cottage of Nalark, the priest who had once presided over the church. The community of Moonbeamers were regular churchgoers until they had been banished to the Citadel by King Ados. Nalark was now an old man and the church had had its doors locked to the public for many years, but he still held the keys to the building and checked on it from time to time. He was an old friend of the Moonbeamers and had known about the passage for decades, keeping it secret from all he knew.

  Hal knocked at the cottage door. It was answered by a small, chubby man with white hair and a beard.

  “Hal! Good gracious! I haven’t seen you in these parts for a long time!” Nalark chirped, as he gave Hal a friendly hug. “And Tia… oh, this is a lovely surprise… come in, come in.”

  They entered the cottage and were led to a lovely sitting room with large, comfy sofas, and a blazing fire burning in the hearth. Ben immediately felt at ease and welcome here, and was glad for the rest. Nalark brought hot drinks and biscuits and the children took them gratefully.

  “So what brings you here?” Nalark asked, after everyone had been introduced.

  “We have come to ask for your help,” replied Hal. “We know where the Enchanter’s Orb is located, and we are going to try and take back what is rightfully ours. King Ados has ruled this land unfairly for far too long and we want to restore peace and happiness to Numblebrook. We intend to enter the castle via the secret tunnel, and this is where we need your help.”

  “If it means overthrowing King Ados, I will gladly give you all the help I can. I am getting very old now and I would like to see peace restored to these lands before my time is up. It would mean the world to me to see people coming through the doors of my church again.”

  “We need you to unlock the church and help us open up the entrance to the tunnel. Shadrack will take the horses to a nearby village. Once we have entered the passage, we need you to keep watch over the church. Act as though nothing is out of the ordinary. Hopefully, when we return, the realm will once again belong to the Moonbeamers and King Ados will reign no more!”

  Nalark smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

  A few hours later they assembled in a small, circular room at the back of the church. The room was empty except for a large wooden bookcase and table.

  “The entrance to the tunnel has not been opened up for many years,” said Nalark. “I wish you luck, my friends, and hope that when I see you again, the crown will be yours.”

  He walked over to the bookcase, removed a book and pressed something in the gap where the book had been. Ben and Amy stared in amazement as the bookcase swung outwards to reveal a dark underground tunnel.

  “These should light the way,” said Hal, as he handed lanterns to each one of the group. They slowly entered the tunnel and squinted as their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

  After bidding them farewell, Nalark pushed the bookcase back into its original position. It made a grating sound and the light in the tunnel quickly dimmed. Ben turned to look behind him, realising that the opening and the bookcase could no longer be seen.

  “Come on,” said Hal. “Let’s get going.”

  Steep steps wound downwards in front of them. The tunnel was quite rocky underfoot and occasionall
y Ben almost lost his footing. Water dripped in places and the passage was cold, damp and dark. Sometimes the tunnel would open up into small dome-shaped spaces, where there were ledges which could be used as seating. Ben was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic and couldn’t wait to see daylight again. Occasionally, a bat would fly along the passageway and startle him, and he wondered how these creatures could find their way to such a place.

  After walking for several hours, they eventually came to a dead end and Ben wondered whether this could be the furthermost point of the tunnel.

  “This is where the passage ends,” Hal announced. “It is the early hours of the morning, so hopefully most people in the castle will be sleeping. When I press this button, the wall will open up and we will find ourselves in the castle library. Like in the church, the tunnel is hidden behind a bookcase. Hopefully, nobody will be in the library at this hour and we can enter the castle unseen, but we still need to be extremely careful. From there we need to make our way to the throne room and find the trapdoor. Ben, Owen and Jacob, it is probably wise for you to eat the three remaining sweets before we enter. If anyone should see us, at least you will be invisible. Is everyone ready?”

  They all nodded, so Ben handed Owen and Jacob a red sweet each. They took them gratefully, happy to know that they would not be seen by any prying eyes. Once they were invisible, Hal asked them to stand well back and then proceeded to feel the crevices in the wall. Eventually, after what seemed like several minutes, he found what he had been searching for. With a little pull, the wall swung outwards and the tunnel opened up to reveal a huge circular library. They waited for a few seconds and listened for voices. Nothing could be heard, so they crept out into the castle.

  They sneaked out of the library and along a hallway which led towards the throne room. As Ben was invisible, he went ahead and checked open doorways and corners for any guards who might be on duty. A couple of times they heard voices coming towards them and hid in dark rooms until the guards had passed.

  Eventually, they came to a huge hall with two grand thrones at one end. Owen kept a lookout in the hallway whilst the others searched for the trapdoor. Ballin moved a large rug which was on the floor and the trapdoor was found. They quickly opened it and found a long flight of steps going down. Hal whispered for Owen to join them and they all climbed through the trapdoor and crept down the steps. Ballin and Josiah tried to pull the rug as far back over the trapdoor as they could, before closing it and joining the others.

  “We need to reach the Orb quickly, before someone notices that the rug has been moved,” Ballin advised.

  They hurried along the passage in silence and came to some hefty wooden doors at the far end.

  “The lady in the book said that these doors lead directly down into the keep!” whispered Amy.

  “She also said that dangerous things await us there!” Jacob shuddered.

  “We have come this far; we need to complete our task!” replied Hal. “There are eight of us here and three of you are invisible. We have weapons and we know the number code and the magic spell. If we tackle this together I’m convinced we can do this. Now let’s go and retrieve what rightfully belongs to the Moonbeamers!”

  They opened the double wooden doors and a wide flight of steps descended in front of them. At the bottom was an enormous room. It was brightly lit by blazing fires, each burning in the saucer-shaped top of a tall pillar. As they climbed down the steps the heat from the flames was so intense that the Giddles began to feel their bodies tingle.

  “The heat… it’s making me visible again!” yelled Jacob.

  “And me!” Owen shrieked.

  “Do not worry yourselves, boys,” said Hal. “We are all here to help protect each other.”

  They reached the bottom of the steps and started to make their way through the shimmering heat across the large stone room. Suddenly they heard a strange hissing sound and stopped to listen.

  “What is that?” Jacob trembled.

  “I don’t know… let’s keep moving!” Ballin whispered.

  Apprehensively, they slowly crept forward, searching the room with their eyes as they went. The noise started to get louder, and Ben shuddered at the prospect of what they were about to encounter.

  Tia spotted something moving to her right and leapt sideways towards the others. “Over there!” she screeched.

  They looked in horror as a gigantic, green, six-legged creature crept out from behind one of the pillars. It turned its ugly head to look directly at them with its bulging eyes. It had two wings and two large antennae, and its two front legs looked like huge, bent, spiky arms. The hissing sound was coming from the grotesque creature, as it rubbed its wings against its huge abdomen.

  “It’s a giant praying mantis!” screamed Ben.

  The mantis started walking towards them, turning its head with each step, the spikes on its legs twitching as it went. They stood glued to the spot and raised their swords in defence. The creature leapt at them, grabbing Jacob with its two front legs and thrusting him upwards towards its massive jaws. With swords drawn, Hal, Ballin and Josiah quickly returned the attack. With one mighty blow, Hal struck the monster, severing one of its long back legs. The insect screeched in pain as Jacob dropped to the floor. It made a strange hissing sound and instantly started to shake. They looked in horror as the beast’s skin began to peel and fall to the floor.

  “It’s dead… we’ve killed it!” cried Amy shedding joyful tears. But her glee was short-lived as she watched the mantis step outside its skin and hobble towards them.

  “It’s moulting! It’s called its exoskeleton. It’s not dead! Stand back… praying mantises grow when they’ve shed their exoskeleton,” sobbed Tia in despair.

  As the creature moved towards them, it started to grow in size, and soon its head was almost touching the high ceiling. Amy screamed, and Jacob ran back towards the rear of the hall, still shaking with fear from his ordeal. The gigantic insect jumped at its prey and this time caught Josiah with its spiky arms, lifting him into the air and flinging him across the stone room. The others hacked frantically at the mantis, severing more limbs, but still the beast hobbled towards them, flapping its wings and hissing.

  “We can’t kill it!” screamed Amy. “It won’t die!”

  “Use some magic!” yelled Jacob in desperation from the far side of the room.

  “If I use magic now, the King will know we are here before we even make it to the Orb. We have to try and kill it ourselves!” exclaimed Hal frantically.

  The insect leapt at them again, flapping its wings ferociously. It grabbed Tia with its mighty front legs and lifted her high into the air. The others tried to swing their swords towards the mantis’ body, but were flung backwards by the fast flapping of the creature’s huge wings. Hal ran behind it and began to climb one of the burning pillars, finding footholds on the rough stone surface. As he neared the top, he jumped and landed on the creature’s back. The mantis started to leap and screech in anger, attempting to throw Hal from its body. He held on for dear life and slowly tried to pull himself up towards the beast’s neck. The mantis held Tia with its spiky legs, whilst spinning in fury. Its head spun round and its bulging eyes stared angrily at Hal, but as the creature opened its jaws, he lifted his sword and plunged it into the insect’s body. For a second the mantis stood still, staring at Hal in fury as Tia fell to the floor. Then, in an instant, its massive body crashed to the ground.

  “You’ve done it, Hal… you’ve killed it!” yelled Ben.

  Hal was exhausted but smiling. Amy ran to Tia to check that she was not injured, and they hugged each other and wiped away exultant tears.

  “We need to keep moving!” said Hal. “I’m hoping the King has not heard the commotion, but I fear that this may not be the case.”

  Although elated that they had killed the giant praying mantis, they knew that more danger lay ahead and that th
ey needed to move quickly.

  They continued through the chamber, looking frantically for anything that could lead them to the Orb. There was a large, empty alcove at the far end, but at first sight it revealed nothing, and they looked at each other in despair.

  “There must be something here!” said Ben. “The lady in the book would not lie! It has to be somewhere down here.”

  “Keep searching,” said Hal. “Look for anything that could give us a clue.”

  They scanned the room desperately, looking in every corner and crevice.

  Suddenly Tia alerted the others, pointing to what looked like a square piece of stone sticking out of the alcove wall.

  Hal ran over to her and examined it in detail. “It looks like a button,” he said. “Perhaps it will reveal a secret room or somehow lead us to the Orb!”

  The others joined him, while Amy continued to look over at the far side of the room for anything that could give them a clue.

  “Perhaps this back wall in the alcove is false and the button will reveal what is behind it?” suggested Ballin hopefully, tapping on the panel. “It sounds as though it could be hollow. I think we should press the button and see what happens.”

  Hal knocked on the wall. “I think you could be right, Ballin. I don’t think we have any other option but to try. There’s no way out of this room. Let’s press it and see what happens.” He placed his hand on the stone and gently pushed it. They all smiled when they saw it slowly move backwards into the stone.

  “I told you it was a button!” Ballin grinned, feeling extremely pleased with himself.

  They waited for the secret to be uncovered. But to their horror, a panel of metal bars like a cage door slid from the ceiling above them and trapped them in the alcove.