by Maidie Reeve
“No thanks to you, I’m alright, but I could’ve been hurt,” Basil grumbled at Sophie. “What are we meant to do now?”
“Basil, don’t be such a pain. You heard what Aisha said,” Sophie retorted. “We have to stay on the red brick path or risk being captured and lose the game. It’s important that we stick together.”
“I can’t see any path,” Basil twisted his neck to look around.
“He’s right, where is it?” Jun looked concerned. “The hole’s disappeared, and we’re surrounded by a rock wall.”
“I can see a narrow gap in the rocks. It looks big enough for us to squeeze through. But stay here while I have a look and see if it’s the way out. I’ll use my power of invisibility to check if it’s safe.” Twig said.
He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
“Wow! That’s impressive.” Basil looked astounded.
“Last time, the world of gateway two was a make-believe village, and Slithe and Weezle tried to trap us. I wonder if it’s still there, and if there are any more goblins lying in wait?” Aisha said.
“Who are Slithe and Weezle?” Basil asked.
“Two of Malefic’s evil goblin servants,” Aisha replied.
Before the others could add any further information, Twig reappeared.
“It is not looking good,” he said. “The path starts up again on the other side of this wall, but it is quite overgrown and damaged, and runs through a swamp. I could see a puff of smoke in the distance, but that’s all. If there are any goblins about, they are well hidden, and I couldn’t see any gateway from where I stood. I only hope that it is not Serpent Swamp. I’ve heard that it’s been in other games, and that the serpents come out to feed at sunset.”
“Just in case it is this Serpent Swamp, it’s nearly sunset, so we better hurry up and get across it. I don’t feel like being sucked into a swamp and eaten by a serpent.” Basil pulled a face.
“It sounds much worse than the make-believe village. I hope The Book knows how to help us get through the game, just like before,” Aisha said.
“Yeah. Last time the world of gateway two looked okay, but it was evil. This world looks bad right from the start, and Malefic’s not even trying to hide his control of it,” Jun agreed. “At least Eda’s placed a much stronger seal over the entry portal, and Malefic wasn’t waiting to ambush us when we arrived. I hate to admit it, but Basil’s right, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. Let’s have a look at the clues so that we can get going.”
Everyone looked at Sophie who had already taken The Book out of the satchel, and had turned to the page for the world of gateway two.
The page was blank. No illustrations, no words, nothing!
Jun, Aisha, and Twig crowded around Sophie and they all stared at the empty page. Basil peered over their shoulders curious to see what was happening.
“Why are you all looking at a blank page?”
As Basil spoke, words in the familiar gothic script gradually appeared, but they were very faint.
You have entered a world that is strange to me
Evil’s at work, and the way ahead I cannot see
Gates have opened and many have gone through
But it will take a while to say what is true
You must continue the game, and all must play
And soon I will help to find the best way.
“The Book can’t help! Something’s gone wrong, and it can’t tell us what we need to do.” Sophie was shocked by what she had read.
“Oh dear! Malefic must have gained much more power that we thought.” Twig was also horrified. “There really is no more time to lose. Eda will be in grave danger if Malefic strengthens his enchantment over The Game World even more. And if he brings his army of evil creatures together, I’m not sure that Eda and the good folk will be able to protect The Tenth Gateway.”
“This game’s getting weirder every minute,” Basil butted in. “First, we landed nowhere. Then we had to go on some sort of crazy ride. Now the famous book that was going to help us is broken. What next I wonder?”
“Basil, I think it’s time you stopped being so difficult,” Jun replied. “We all need to cooperate. We have to make Malefic reveal himself so Eda can defeat him, and we also have to get ourselves through the game safely and back home. I’m sure The Book will help us again soon. It probably just needs to scan the game to check out how it’s been changed, and then re-programme itself.”
“Yeah! Whatever,” Basil shrugged and looked sullen, but he didn’t say anything else.
“Let’s get through this world, and then I’ll check it again,” Sophie said. “Remember that it was Eda who created The Book to activate the magic game. She knows more of its secret magic than Malefic does, so I’m sure she’ll be able to trick him again and make sure he stays imprisoned,” Sophie said, sounding much more confident than she felt.
Sophie returned The Book to the satchel, which she again slung over her shoulder.
“Come on everyone. The path looks pretty uneven, so be careful. The gate can’t be too far. Basil, you stick close to me and Aisha, and try not to fall into the swamp.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Basil gave Jun a mock salute. However he seemed to have calmed down.
They all squeezed through the narrow opening in the rock, and set off along the mossy and overgrown path. Jun led the way, followed closely by Basil. Aisha went next, then Sophie, and finally Twig.
Whilst it wasn’t raining the air felt cool and damp, and the daylight was rapidly fading.
Half way across the swamp the ground beneath the path moved, and the swamp on either side of it began to froth and bubble.
“Quick, hurry up. I think the serpents are coming!” Twig yelled in fright.
“Stay on the path, and run!” Jun yelled back.
“Oh no! This is awful!” Basil squeaked twisting his head to take a look. “They’re coming!”
Behind them, the serpents’ heads began to appear, followed by their long sinuous bodies. They were covered in brown scales. Their heads were large and round, with enormous bulging yellow eyes with black pupils. Their mouths were wide open showing vicious sharp teeth, and long forked tongues. They hissed loudly and moved rapidly towards the path, their mouths snapping as they tried to catch their prey.
Everyone began to run as fast as they could. Luckily the swamp wasn’t as big as they had first thought, but the serpents were almost upon them.
Jun was the first to reach the edge of the swamp. A few seconds later, Basil pushed past him panting heavily, and Aisha quickly followed. Jun looked behind to check what was happening. The swamp was alive with dozens of serpents. He was horrified to see the serpents’ snapping jaws were just a few meters away from Twig and Sophie’s legs as they reached the edge of the boggy ground. Jun grabbed Sophie’s arm and hauled her to safety, and Twig leapt after her. The serpents were hissing and waving their heads. Their jaws were wide open, but they didn’t leave the swamp.
The five travellers, all a little breathless, hastily moved away from swamp, well out of reach of the snapping jaws. Looking back, they saw the serpents disappearing into the bubbling swamp.
“Whew, that was a close call.” Basil puffed out his cheeks in relief.
“I think we’d better keep moving. It’s almost dark, and we don’t know if the serpents leave the swamp at night in search of food. Best not to be anywhere close,” Sophie said.
After a short distance, the swampy area gave way to solid ground densely covered in low scrubby trees and short patchy grass. The path twisted and turned amongst the trees making it difficult to see what lay up ahead. It was still broken in places, but it was now dry, and much easier to walk on than before.
The early shadows of the night had crept throughout the woodland, and the temperature had dropped. Everyone was glad that they were wearing warm jackets.
“Did you see that?” Basil had stopped abruptly, and was pointing into the trees.
“I can’t see anything.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Me neither,” Aisha said.
“What was it?” Jun asked
“I don’t know, it was a dark shape moving behind the trees,” Basil replied. “Do you think it’s some sort of horrible night creature?”
“I can see it!” Twig called out, and pointed at the woodland up ahead.
Everyone looked again, and in the dim light they could just make out a small cloaked figure darting from tree to tree.
“It could be one of Malefic’s goblins,” Sophie said to the others.
“I can’t see it anymore,” Jun said. “Whoever, or whatever it was, has now gone. Let’s just tread carefully, and hope we can find somewhere safe to stop for the night.”
The trail of smoke that they had seen in the distance from the swamp had disappeared behind the trees. However, the smell of burning branches and leaves had become quite strong, indicating that a fire was quite close by.
“That’s odd, I can hear music,” Aisha said. “That’s very strange, isn’t it, in a place like this?”
“It could be fairy folk. They like music, just like us brownies,” Twig replied.
The small group turned a corner, and the path now entered a clearing. They were surprised to see a man sitting on a log around a camp-fire in front of a rough single-room hut. He was playing a small lute. The path continued close by the fire, and disappeared into the wood on the other side of the clearing.
The man stopped playing and looked up. He wore a long blue tunic over a white linen shirt, long brown woollen trousers and ankle length leather boots. A dark blue hood hung down his back and around his shoulders, and a red cloak lay on the ground near the fire.
“Welcome all. I have drawn a circle around the camp, and it will protect any who stay within it. Come closer, and warm yourselves by the fire. You have come through Serpent Swamp, and I would like to know your story.”
The man’s voice was quite soft, and he beckoned the children with the wave of his hand.
As they approached they could see his face was tanned, with heavy lines around his mouth and brown eyes. His black hair, streaked with grey hung to his shoulders. His face was clean-shaven with a largish nose and, as he raised his hand, they saw that fingers were long and thin with well-kept nails.
“Good evening,” Jun spoke on behalf of the others. “We’d be happy to tell you our story, but first, if you don’t mind, we’d like to know who you are, and how you happen to be here.”
“Ah, I can see you are a clever boy, and wise to be careful of strangers,” the man replied.
“My name is Morgan, and I am a wandering minstrel. I travel across the worlds, playing my music, telling my stories, and sometimes, if the omens are with me, glimpsing the future.”
“But why are you here? There’s no one to hear your music, or your stories,” Sophie asked, sounding very suspicious.
“I did not know that when I passed through the gateway into this world. I felt the close presence of life, but when I saw the swamp I knew I had to turn back. So I decided to camp here for the night before returning along the way of all travellers. Now you are here, so I was right to come,” Morgan murmured.
“All we can tell you is that we’re playing a game that takes us along a path through nine worlds and ten gates. We have to solve any challenges or problems we may meet along the way, so that we can reach The Tenth Gateway and finish the game.”
Sophie did not want to reveal too much about who they were, and what Eda had asked them to do.
“But if you can see into the future, you’d know all that, wouldn’t you?” Jun said to the minstrel.
“I have heard of The Tenth Gateway, but I have not yet been there. My travels have taken me through worlds which are open to wandering musicians and jongleurs. But I have not gone to any worlds whose gates are closed to folk like me. And you are right. As I told you, I sensed your presence. I also sense that you are troubled, and are seeking answers. Perhaps I can help you.”
The minstrel leaned forward and poked the fire. Flames shot up, and the children and Twig jumped back.
Night had fallen, and Morgan’s face was now in shadow. He watched the newcomers, and waited for their answer.
The children and Twig huddled together, and whispered amongst themselves. Even Basil joined in.
“I can just see the circle. The path is cutting across it.”
“Circles are meant to protect you from evil forces.”
“Can we trust him?”
“He didn’t mention Malefic.”
“He’s not a goblin.”
“We need to stay somewhere tonight.”
“Perhaps he can tell us what’s up ahead.”
“Let’s trust him for now, but we’ll have to watch him at all times.”
“Well Morgan, we thank you for your offer of help,” Jun addressed the strange man. “We’d like to sleep here tonight, and we’d also like you to tell us about The Third Gateway, and what lies beyond this world. You said you passed through the gate to get here.”
“First of all, you are within a circle of protection, so don’t worry, you are safe for the moment. You are most welcome to share my bread, and to stay with me this night. What lies ahead, who truly knows? But come, come as close as you can, and I will look into the fire and see what it foretells.”
Chapter Four
The Goblin Settlement
Morgan stared into the flames.
The friends came and sat as close as they could to the campfire, ready to flee if need be. They weren’t sure yet if Morgan was good and under Eda’s protection, or bad, and ready to do Malefic’s mischief.
Morgan took some red powder out the small leather pouch that he had tied at his waist and threw it into the fire. The fire sizzled, and once again flames leapt into the air. Morgan stared at the dancing flames. His eyes closed, and he looked to be in a trance. He then began to chant in a low voice.
I see a world ahead that you have seen
A place where you have already been
But changed it is and safe no more
You cannot rest there like before
All is danger, it is at every gate
Take extra care, as you are the bait
Evil surrounds, its face unknown
Mistrust all that befalls, as the menace has grown
Morgan paused. The fire-light gave his face an eerie glow. His eye-lids fluttered and his voice deepened.
Betrayal and capture do await
Be very careful at every gate
“What’s he talking about? It sounds like a lot of gobbledegook to me,” Basil muttered.
“He’s telling us what’s going to happen to us, and it doesn’t sound very good,” Jun replied.
Morgan opened his eyes. He stared at the small group.
“Well?”
“You told us that there’s a lot of danger up ahead, but we knew that already,” Sophie replied. She didn’t want to mention Malefic just in case she gave away Eda’s plan.
“Some bad things are going to happen, but you didn’t say what,” Twig said.
“We saw something behaving strangely in the woods on our way here. You didn’t tell us anything about that,” Aisha joined in.
“You didn’t tell us how we can get through any of the gateways,” Jun added.
“And you didn’t say anything about gateway three,” Basil piped up. He was beginning to understand how the game was played.
“I didn’t need to go into a trance to tell you about that,” Morgan said. “The gate is open to all who can pass.”
“What do you mean?” Jun asked.
“This is a game involving challenges, so I cannot tell you more than that. Although I will help you. You will see how in the morning. Now I am tired, and it is time to rest.”
With these words, Morgan lay down next to the fire, covered himself with his cloak, and immediately fell asleep.
“How frustrating. He was almost useless. At least The Book gives us clues that we can
work out.” Sophie was annoyed.
“I’m glad that we’re safe though. We can stay here and find out what he meant in the morning,” Aisha said. “I don’t know about all of you, but I don’t want to go any further in the dark. We don’t know what’s out there.”
“Yeah, we don’t know what that thing was in the wood. It could be waiting for us to go the wrong way, and then pounce! Grrr!” Basil raised his arms and growled like bear, trying to frighten Aisha.
“Stop it Basil. We need to look out for each other, not play silly games,” Sophie said to her cousin.
Whilst the others were talking, Jun left the fireside to check out the hut. There was no door, only a narrow opening. The light from the fire helped, but it was very difficult to see what was inside.
“It’s seems alright,” Jun told the others as he knelt down and touched the floor. “It’s dry, and it’s got clean straw on the floor. It’ll have to do.”
He lifted a leather flask hanging from a wooden peg near the doorway. He took out the stopper and sniffed. He then took a small sip to check the contents.
“It looks like Morgan’s left us a flask of fresh water to drink. There’s enough here for all of us.”
The others joined him inside the hut, and they shared the water around, grateful to have something to drink. They then lay down and prepared themselves for a very uncomfortable night. Sophie put her arms around the satchel and hugged it tightly to make sure The Book was safe.
What they didn’t know was that Morgan had put a sleeping potion in the water, and within minutes they all fell into a deep sleep.
They woke at sunrise, but Morgan had already gone, and the fire was cold.
“He tricked us!” Basil squeaked. “Now we won’t know anything that can help us.”
“At least he’s left us something to eat and drink,” Aisha said, pointing at some flat bread and hard cheese, and another flask, lying on a stone near the cold fire.
“There’s also something underneath the stone,” Sophie said.
She walked across to the stone, bent over, and pulled out a ragged piece of parchment about ten centimetres square. On it was a rough drawing of a black feather.
“What do you think it means?” she asked the others.