The Maze

by Trudie Collins

  “That is enough,” Tor shouted when Patrick and Ria got into a petty argument. “We are all worn out and fed up. I think we should try to make camp and see what we can eat.” Murmurs of approval were heard and Torrick volunteered to run on ahead to see if there was anywhere round the next corner that would give them more room. Although the path they were following was adequate for walking, it would feel very closed in and uncomfortable if they had to sleep there. Unwilling to let him go off alone, Tor asked for a volunteer to go with him. It came as no surprise when Torrick’s wife slipped her hand into his and they walked off together. They soon came back, smiling. Round the corner was a large alcove that would be the perfect size for everyone to bed down comfortably. It was almost as if it had been designed as a resting place.

  There was no fuel for a fire so they had a cold meal of dried meat, bread and cheese, followed by apples, and washed down with the last of the ale. Tor even allowed Dal to have some, deciding the need to preserve the water was more important than worrying about his young cousin consuming alcohol. They still had plenty of oats with them so the horses were fed and watered and unburdened of their heavy packs. Tiredness enveloped them all, so everyone bedded down for the night soon after finishing their meal. As three sides of their makeshift campsite were surrounded by the hedge, only one side needed to be guarded, allowing most of the group to sleep through the uneventful night. In the morning, they ate a cold breakfast before continuing their monotonous trek. Ellen checked their water supply and assured Tor that they would be fine for another couple of days, even with the amount the horses required.

  They all looked and felt a mess. Not only had they been wearing their clothes all the previous day, but they had slept in them as well. There was absolutely no privacy and none of them felt comfortable undressing in public. Seth volunteered to hang some blankets for the women to change behind, but the eager look on his face made them decline the offer, at least until the next evening. If they could not find somewhere more appropriate before then, they agreed to consider the suggestion. Patrick, however, looked as immaculate as usual. When he had managed to completely change his clothes without being missed and where he had gone to do so nobody knew, but none of them were the least bit surprised.

  An argument broke out before they started moving again, with Patrick convinced they needed to turn right next and Ria stating it was left. Ellen shut them up by announcing that she had written down all of the directions they had taken the previous day, just in case they needed to retrace their steps.

  It was towards the end of a very tiring day when they rounded another corner and found the path blocked by a large wooden barrier. Samson was about to run under it when Tor placed a warning hand on his back; he had noticed a plaque by the side. This was written in a language he could understand and he read it through before calling to the rest. “We appear to have found our first challenge. Do we tackle it now or in the morning?”

  Chapter 8

  The decision was made to rest for the night before attempting the first of the challenges. A large part of the evening had been spent debating how many puzzles they would actually have to solve. The wording of the clue was ambiguous; did four and one mean five or forty one? They had immediately ruled out Dal’s suggestion that it could mean fourteen as that would have been worded as one and four not four and one, but the other two numbers both fit the wording. When they turned in for the night, no conclusion had been reached. In the end, it did not matter. Whether it was 41 or just 5, they all would have to be faced and there was nothing any of them could do to change that, though each person secretly prayed that they would be subjected to only five.

  Tor explained the wording on the plaque. Whenever someone requested permission to pass, a puzzle would appear in front of them. If the question was answered correctly, the barrier would open and two people, along with as many animals as they wished, would be permitted to pass through unmolested. If more than two made the attempt, all would die. If they tried to climb under or over the barrier, they would die. If they answered the question incorrectly, the speaker would die. The same question would be displayed until it had been successfully answered, then a new one would be posed to the next pair.

  “So basically, we have to follow all of the rules to the letter, or we die,” Tor summarised.

  Seth grimaced. “Could you please stop saying that word.”

  “I am only repeating what is written down.”

  Predictably, Tor announced that he would go first, but was not very politely told what he could do with his suggestion. Torrick would be the first to receive a question; his wife by his side. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her as they stood in front of the barrier.

  “I vowed ‘for better or worse’,” she replied. “I think this comes under the ‘worse’ category.” She smiled thinly, trying to hide the nervousness that was written clearly across her face. They both instinctively took a deep breath as Torrick requested permission to pass. Words appeared in the air in front of them and they read them out loud.

  If your peacock lays an egg in your neighbour’s garden, to whom does the egg belong?

  “What?” exclaimed Patrick.

  “Not the sort of question I was expecting,” Tor said. Liselle and Torrick rejoined the others, Torrick hugging his wife tightly.

  “Surely that depends on which county or province you are in,” Seth volunteered. “Laws are different depending on where you are.”

  “Does anyone know anything about property laws in Auxland?” Tor asked, looking around him. He saw only blank stares or heads being shaken until his gaze fell on Ellen. She was doing her best not to laugh out loud. “Something amusing you my dear?” he asked gently, keeping his annoyance out of his voice.

  This broke her control and she burst out laughing. “Are you all really that stupid?” she asked. The hurt look that appeared on some of the faces made her regret her outburst. Patrick pulled himself up straight, showing his indignation. He was about to put his feelings into words when Ellen continued. “Peacocks do not lay eggs; peahens do.”

  As soon as her words reached his ears he deflated. The comment was justified. They were all being stupid.

  “Really?” Dal asked, his voice filled with doubt.

  “Yes, really,” Ellen said gently. “The peacock is male, hence the name. A lot of people think that they are female because they are so beautiful, especially when compared to the peahen, but with animals, it is more commonly the male who has to attract the attention of the female.” She looked towards Patrick before adding, “Unlike humans.”

  “Sprites are the same,” Oak interjected. “There are many more males than females, so the male has to win the affections of his desired mate.”

  “I wish I was a sprite,” Ria sighed wistfully.

  “Back to business,” Tor said sternly. “Are you ready to give it a go?” he asked Torrick. Torrick nodded and together he and Liselle approached the barrier, gripping each other’s hand tightly.

  Before they could speak, however, Ellen rushed up. “We have forgotten about the horses,” she announced. “You will need to take some of them with you.” Three horses were loaded with an equal share of the supplies as well as Torrick and Liselle’s personal belongings. This time there was no need for blindfolds or ropes. Sam spoke quietly to each horse, explaining why they needed to follow the humans once the barrier raised and assuring them that they would come to no harm. They seemed a little unsure, but eventually, with the help of Thresnine, Sam’s horse, they all agreed to follow Sam’s instructions. Torrick once more requested permission to pass.

  When the same words had formed in front of them, Torrick said in a loud clear voice, “Peacocks do not lay eggs.” The words disappeared and new ones replaced them stating that they had provided a correct answer and were free to continue their journey. The barrier raised and, after a quick backwards glance at their friends, they stepped forwards through the entry and into the next stage of the journey. As soon as the
y were past, the barrier lowered once more. Turning round, Liselle and Torrick were stunned to find their exit completely blocked. They could no longer see or hear their friends.

  “One down, seven to go,” Patrick announced. Then he frowned. “What are they doing?” From where he stood, he could easily see Liselle and Torrick, who appeared to be pushing against an invisible wall. He called out to them, but they showed no sign of having heard him. “It looks as though something is preventing them seeing or hearing us,” he announced.

  “That is going to give us a bit of a problem” Seth said with a trace of concern. “As each partnership goes through, the number of people on this side decreases, leaving the last pair having to solve the question on their own.”

  “So the intelligent people have to go last,” Sam suggested. “Does that mean I get to go next?”

  “No,” Tor replied. “Intelligence is not the same as knowledge. Just because you do not have the local knowledge that the rest of us have does not necessarily mean that you are less likely to be able to answer the questions, especially if they are along the same lines as the first one. Sorry.”

  Sam shrugged her shoulders. “It was worth a try. So who’s next?”

  “River and I,” Grimmel said, standing up and taking the water sprite’s hand. As soon as the next question appeared, they called back to the others.

  Which is correct, 6 and 6 is eleven or 6 and 6 are eleven?

  “Tor has had the official training. He must know the answer to this one,” Seth said.

  “There are two numbers so it should be are,” he immediately replied.

  “So where is the catch?” Grimmel asked as he rejoined them. “The first question had a twist so this one probably has as well.”

  “I am not sure. Go and get the question again.”

  Grimmel did as instructed but Tor heard nothing different. “Two numbers, therefore the answer has to be ‘are’,” Tor said once he had reheard the question. “Maybe not all of the questions have a twist.”

  “This one does,” Dal said quietly.

  “Go on,” Tor instructed the young man.

  “You are all concentrating on the words instead of the numbers. Six and six are twelve not eleven.” Everyone groaned. It was so obvious they had all missed it.

  “Looks like you have finally earned your place on the team lad,” Seth said kindly as everyone set to work strapping bundles to the next three horses chosen.

  River and Grimmel walked through, followed by their horses, without any problems. Torrick and Liselle had explored a little and had found another alcove they could spend the next night in, should they need to, so had freed their mounts of their burdens and had begun to set up camp. River and Grimmel told them about the question they faced and the fact that only Dal picked up on the answer, then all four settled down to what could turn out to be a very long wait.

  Brin volunteered to receive the next question.

  I have two coins in my pocket that add up to one and a half crowns. One of the coins is not a half crown. What are the two coins?

  “I presume that a crown is the local currency,” Sam stated.

  “Yes,” Tor affirmed. “Each country has its own currency and the Auxen crown is the one for Auxland. And before you ask, there is no such coin as a three quarter crown. However, the question does not say the coins are from Auxland or that they need to add up to one and a half Auxen crowns. Other countries use crowns. Kinfen and Emvale are two that spring to mind.”

  This posed a bit of a problem. Nobody was up to date with current exchange rates so they had no idea if two crowns from Kinfen, for example, was the equivalent to one and a half Auxen crowns or not. Hours ticked by as they all sat in silence, each thinking about the problem. Ban announced that he could not think clearly on an empty stomach so lunch was prepared, but still nobody had any ideas. They talked while they ate, bouncing ideas off each other, but to no avail.

  Throughout the discussion, Seth remained quiet, only half listening to the conversation. Something Tor had said was bothering him, but he could not work out what. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely heard Sam speaking to him. “What,” he said when he realised he was being spoken to.

  “I said ‘penny for them.’”

  “Penny for what,” Seth asked in confusion.

  “Your thoughts. It’s a saying where I come from.”

  “Oh. What is a penny? The currency in your land?”

  “Kind of. Although a penny is actually from the UK, a number of countries refer to a coin of their own currency as a penny.”

  A light bulb went on inside Seth’s head. “We are going about this all wrong,” he said, grinning. “We do not need to know the currency. I know the answer.”

  All conversation stopped. “Well?” Tor finally asked when Seth was not forthcoming with his idea.

  “The coins are a crown and a half crown.”

  Tor shook his head. “That cannot be the answer. The question said that a half crown was not involved remember.”

  “Actually it said one of the coins is not a half crown. It did not say that neither of them are.” This statement was met with a stunned silence.

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Modo was the first to voice his thoughts. “That cannot be the answer.”

  “I am prepared to give it a try,” Seth replied confidently. “Anyone else brave enough to take the risk with me?”

  “I will,” Dal said immediately. Eventually the two young men persuaded Tor to allow them to try and they prepared the donkey and pony for the journey. Everyone was tense as Seth and Dal walked up to the barrier and received the question once more. This was the first time they had been unsure whether they had the correct answer or not and the knowledge that they may be about to witness the death of one, maybe two, of their companions ran through them all, making them cold inside. Brin hugged Sam close as they listened to Seth speaking. They braced themselves for the worst, then relaxed as Seth announced that they were being allowed to continue.

  The daylight would be fading within a few hours and Tor wanted to have everyone on the other side of the barrier before nightfall so they immediately obtained the next question.

  Which right-angled triangle is bigger, one whose sides measure 300, 400 and 500 or one whose sides measure 300, 400 and 700?

  “At last,” Bellak said. “A simple straightforward one. It is obviously the second one.”

  “That is what has me worried,” Tor countered, stroking his beard. “It is almost too obvious.”

  “Pythagoras’s theorem.” Nine pairs of eyes looked at Sam. “The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square of the other two sides.” The stares remained blank. Sighing dramatically, she asked Brin to lend her an arrow. She then used it to sketch a triangle in the ground. Pointing to the longest side she explained that this was the hypotenuse. She then drew a 3 along one of the other sides and a 4 along the other. “In case you don’t know, square means times the number by itself. Three times three plus four times four gives us nine plus sixteen which makes twenty five. The square root of twenty five is five so the length of the longest side is 5. Understand?”

  The blank stares now contained traces of doubt so she took Brin’s quiver from him and laid three arrows end to end on the ground with four going up at a right angle, forming two sides of the triangle. She then used more arrows to connect the two ends. Five arrows fitted perfectly.

  Brin looked at her seriously. “I see what you are saying sweetheart, but the question is about triangles with sides of three and four hundred not just three and four. We do not have enough space or arrows for that.”

  “You don’t need to,” she continued to explain. “The logic is the same whether you use 3, 30 or 300.”

  Bellak was still confused. “So you have proved that you can make one of the triangles. How does that help us?”

  Sam smiled sweetly and handed him the quiver. “I made the first one, you make the second.” Ten minutes later he g
ave up, declaring it was impossible. The only way to get the longest line to be seven arrows was to change the angle, but that meant it would no longer be a right angled triangle. “So you have your answer,” Sam told him. “The second triangle cannot exist so the first is the bigger.”

  Everyone agreed with this statement so they decided it was about time Tor went through. Taking Ria with him, as well as more horses and supplies, he promised to wait till the morning, but they would continue on at first light, even if not everyone had joined them.

  Question number five was easily solved.

  If a coach crashes on the border between Emvale and Mercia, where will the survivors be buried?

  As they had now realised all of the questions were going to have some sort of hidden catch, they were looking for it the instant it was read out and all of them spotted the word survivors. “Survivors are not buried,” Bellak happily announced and he and Modo were allowed to pass through.

  Number six, however, had them stumped.

  A woman goes into a shop and wishes to purchase a talking parrot. The shopkeeper shows her one and informs her truthfully that it will memorise and repeat back everything it hears. She happily takes the bird away, but returns a week later to complain. The parrot has not uttered a word. The shopkeeper has not lied, so why does the parrot not speak?

  There were only six of them left, seven if you included Samson, and none of them had any idea what the solution was. They ate a cold meal and talk turned from the puzzle to what they would do with their lives if they could not continue on with the quest. There was no possibility of any of them dying while attempting to get through the barrier as having absolutely no ideas meant none of them were prepared to try. Brin talked about taking Sam to his homeland and introducing her to his family. Sam was slightly taken aback. Meeting the family was a big step, but she was touched that he was suggesting it. They were at ease while they talked and ate, secure in the knowledge that the quest would go on successfully without them. In their hearts they knew Tor and the others would be able to solve all of the other puzzles without their help and they would all meet up again someday.