“That’s a shame, although I might have guessed based on the general misbalance of power, justice and wealth I saw within Harwell. Nonetheless you have to respect the craftsmanship of our people to build such a thing. I really like the citadel, I just dislike its contents.”
“Harwell could be so much better if those in charge actually cared for the people, but I guess that’s just the way things work. The poor stay poor and the rich get richer.”
Janna was disinterested in the conversation and was busy focusing on the surroundings, every sense on alert.
“Quiet, gentlemen, I heard something,” said Janna.
In the distance there was a faint noise, which seemed to reverberate all the way up the valley.
“It sounds metallic, similar to the noise I made when I was walking in my full suit of armour,” said Ash.
“It keeps increasing and decreasing, like it’s moving away from us and then towards us,” said Janna.
“I’m not sure about that, but there is definitely a noise.”
“You two are imagining it, I can’t hear anything over the noise of the river and the crackling of the fire,” said Ugg.
There was a loud scream which thundered up the valley and this time Ugg heard it. All three knights stood up.
“A battle?” asked Ash.
There was silence again, following by the gradual fading of the metallic noise once again.
“If it was a battle I suspect it was a swift one. Someone has not survived the night. I fear something very dangerous is ahead of us,” said Janna.
“Something very dangerous was behind us too but we survived. Let us make sure that we are at least refreshed and awake for whatever battles lie ahead. I’ll take the first watch, you two sleep,” said Ugg.
The hours of darkness passed without further incident and Ash was on watch just as dawn broke and the sky above became its usual shade of grey. Ash cursed at the cloud cover and the valley, he missed seeing the sun rise up over the horizon across the wild seas. Ash watched Janna, there were small beads of sweat on her forehead and her head was shaking slightly in her sleep. Ash moved closer to her.
“Don’t wake her. I tried that once when I saw her like this, thinking I was helping,” whispered Ugg.
Ash nodded at Ugg. Janna suddenly bolted upright with her knife held out in front of her, she was panting heavily.
“See, that would have been you dead,” said Ugg.
“Are you alright?” asked Ash.
Janna remembered where she was and quickly came back to reality, fixing her knife to her belt.
“I’m fine. It was just a dream, a bad one. Did I wake you, Ugg?”
“Always so selfless, that’s what I like about her. I was awake just before you. Should we treat ourselves to a little extra breakfast this morning? We can’t creep up on monsters with our stomachs rumbling,” commented Ugg.
“I still think it’s too soon, we shouldn’t eat more than the ration until we come across more food. But if you want to eat extra from yours go ahead, I’m not the boss here,” said Janna.
“Well, you say that but for me at least, you are the leader. Age doesn’t matter here, I judge rank of seniority according to who entered The Gauntlet first - and that was you. I’ll follow your guidance and leadership.”
“You have my respect also, Janna, and I trust you. I will follow your lead,” said Ash.
Janna smiled, the words of Ugg and Ash filled her with hope and encouragement. There was nothing more important in Janna’s life than conquering The Gauntlet.
“My thanks, you are good men. Let’s keep following the river and find the source of the noise we heard last night. There will be food but that is not our chief worry at the moment. I will make decisions that I judge to be in our best interests. Though you are still free to disagree, in fact, I would welcome it.”
After an hour walking alongside the river the valley began to gradually flatten. The air became fresher and the cloud cover became thinner, gradually revealing streaks of blue sky. The knights couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sight of the clear blue sky and the rays of sunlight piercing through the clouds. There had been no repeat of the metallic noises they had heard the night before yet the source of the noise was in the backs of all their minds.
“It is wonderful to see the blue of the sky again and feel the warmth of the sun, the mountains are surely ending. Is this it? Have we escaped The Gauntlet?” wondered Ash.
“We have escaped the mountains, nothing more. The Gauntlet is just a name we gave to the chasm but it doesn’t mean the danger only lies within a valley,” said Janna.
“Forever the optimist, aren’t you? The river flows around a bend up ahead, we will know soon enough what the next leg of our journey entails. Personally, I’m hoping for a cold beer and a sign that says ‘well done’!”
As they navigated around the bend everything changed. The river disappeared, flowing into a gaping hole seemingly carved out of the flat land now in front of them, while the landscape ahead was dominated by a huge expanse of green hedgerows dozens of metres high and an apparent, limitless width.
The knights stood aghast. This was not what they were expecting. The natural valley had morphed into an unnatural landscape.
“Nope, no beer for us,” said Ugg. “Where does the river disappear to? An underground lake perhaps?”
The three knights tentatively peered over the edge of the hole, where the water flowed into darkness until it was out of sight.
“At least we don’t have to jump this one. I don’t think it is survivable,” said Ash. “Is it a forest up ahead I wonder? It’s surely too straight to be one… and trees don’t grow in uniform like they are here.”
“There is an entrance ahead carved out of the trees, almost like a door, it seems the way ahead is chosen for us,” said Janna. “The noise we heard last night had to have come from in there.”
Ash raised his sword and smiled at Janna. “Aren’t you glad I brought this now?”
Janna didn’t reply, but secretly she was. The knights walked towards the forest. The ground was completely flat. Pebbly gravel and fine yellow sand dominated the floor. Gusts of wind rolling down off the mountain slopes picked up the sand grains and created small whirlwinds that danced with each other across the plains. It was a dry and desiccate landscape away from the mountains.
“There is no life here. We will die if we go around the forest but judging from the noises we heard, there is life inside it. Though perhaps not that friendly,” said Ash.
“There is most likely death inside the forest, but hopefully some food as well. Could we not stay here for a bit, soak up the sun’s warmth before we step into the shadows once again? I feel stronger just being in this sun,” said Ugg.
“We need to make the most of the day, however, you’re right that this sun is good for morale and for our health. So I think it’s wise to stay here for a while,” said Janna.
The knights were resting on the ground absorbing the welcome sunlight and making sense of the new environment they found themselves in. The heat radiated off the ground in the distance generating a mirage of shimmering lakes, but Ugg had seen the same on the borderlands and discredited the images as nothing more than an effect. Ash and Janna trusted their companion’s advice.
“The forest is not natural, we can be sure of that much, trees do not grow in perfectly straight lines nor maintain uniform height,” said Ash. “But who made it? And for what purpose?”
“We can’t delve too deeply into the why or who, there are clearly powers in this world operating well beyond our knowledge and capabilities. We just need to conquer the challenges and stay alive, nothing else matters,” said Janna.
“Maybe the priests are right and there really are gods after all?” said Ugg. “I always thought religion was all theatre, money-making and scaremongering. Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe I should have gone to service more.”
“Do you think a priest could have simply walked through The
Gauntlet unharmed and made it as far as us? No, I don’t think so. The traps, for example, they did not distinguish between holy and unholy people. You got here because you are strong and logical and you fought when you had to – no other reason,” responded Ash.
“I know, it’s just I can’t help feeling that after the death and torture we have seen here as well as the injustices back home in Harwell, perhaps God is cruel and evil,” pondered Ugg.
Janna stood up, frustrated by the conversation. “See, this is exactly what I didn’t want. Our minds spinning with theories when we should be focused on one thing: surviving. We’ve lingered long enough and we’re distracting ourselves with fantasy stories. I’m going in, are you two coming?”
Ugg and Ash stood up.
“Of course we are coming, I’m too hot anyway now. I thought it was an interesting conversation though and I agree with your views, Ugg,” said Ash. “I think it’s smart to discuss what we are seeing and to try make some sense of it. We should not keep our thoughts suppressed. It’s healthy to share.”
“Fine, if that’s what you two need to do, then do it – but away from me,” snapped Janna.
The three of them walked towards the dark, mysterious entrance of the hedgerows. All of them felt like their journey was only just beginning.
Chapter 6: The Maze
The entrance was a perfect rectangular frame and around three metres tall. They entered in single file, Janna leading and Ash last. Once inside it was immediately cooler and straight away they were faced with their first challenge: the path split in direction.
“Great, which way do we go? Left or right?” asked Ugg.
“Should we split up? We can cover more ground that way,” said Ash.
“No. Let’s not divide, if this is some kind of maze then there will be a right way through. It is better we stick together and if we get to a dead end we turn back and go the other way,” said Janna. “Let’s use our swords to mark the ground to remind us which direction we’ve already been. That will reduce our confusion and stop us going round in circles.”
“Smart idea,” replied Ash.
“It was a trick I did back in Harwell’s narrow and tight back-alleys when I was a child, except I’d scratch the wall with stones from the floor. It worked well for me until I learned them off by heart.”
The three of them decided to venture right and marked an arrow into the ground pointing in the direction they took. The sandy gravel path continued, splitting continuously into a dizzying array of lefts and rights and, at each turn, one of the knights scored the ground. The green hedgerows were very densely packed and it was impossible to see through them. Every leaf was uniform in size and always the same dark shade of green.
“I feel like a rat in a sewer pipe. Why don’t we just hack our way through these trees or whatever they are?” said an angry Ugg.
“We could hack and hack but in the end, we’d be so exhausted we’d die of thirst and hunger. And I’d prefer my sword sharp enough to cut through whatever beasts may greet us at the end,” said Ash.
“Let’s burn the buggers then.”
“I hope that was a joke, Ugg. We’d be dead from the smoke encompassing us or the flames burning us,” said Janna. “Patience is all that is required and that is a quality we all possess. I quite like this challenge, it beats falling over a great waterfall or being chased by birds over deadly potholes.”
They continued. Sometimes they came to a dead end and were forced to turn around, which frustrated each knight to varying degrees. Yet they had encountered nothing threatening or dangerous so far. As time went on Ash and Ugg began to get even more irritated.
“I know you’re against it Janna but we would cover a lot more ground if we split up. We could keep within shouting distance,” claimed Ugg.
Janna secretly had to admit the frustrations of the maze were beginning to irk her as well, and replied: “If we are still in here after a few days and are truly desperate, then we can split up to cover more ground. It will be a mistake to part ways now, even within talking distance. It wants us to split up. That is the test. But we won’t.”
“Quiet, I heard something,” said Ash.
They stood still, listening intently to their surroundings. There was indeed a noise, a metallic noise that seemed to be moving in an equal rhythm yet they couldn’t see what was generating it. They kept walking and at the next intersection they turned right and then left, finally confronting the source of the noise. The pathway ahead of them was filled with swinging axes, swords thrusting up and down from the ground and spikes which pushed into each other from both sides before pulling apart again. The three were stunned by the visual spectacle of metallic interplay in front of them.
“This here is the true gauntlet,” declared Ash. “I don’t mind hacking my way around this.”
“It will be fruitless to even try, this is clearly the only way, even if it is a daunting one. We have to time our way through to perfection: the slightest hesitation or miscalculation will be our death,” said Janna.
“I figured that part out already,” commented Ugg.
“Is this the source of the noise we heard last night? It has to be,” asked Ash.
“If the wind was blowing in the right direction then perhaps it was, but I cannot say for certain. There is nothing here to explain the scream we heard either, I cannot see any bodies ahead and the blades look like they have never cut through anything but air before. They are in perfect condition. First things first, the swinging axe in front of us is moving at a constant rate. We just need to pass it, one by one and repeat for the rest of the devices. Study, time our move and advance,” said Janna.
“It’s probably easiest if we go individually through it all. The three of us will just congest the space and get in each other’s way. What do you think?” asked Ugg.
“I’ll go first again,” Janna volunteered. “The back part looks the trickiest, I think we need to move, jump and then duck in one swift motion.”
“Grace of movement is not my ally,” said Ugg. “I’ve always been more of a brute force kind of man.”
“I disagree, the hares you caught back in the valley were no fools but you got them through fine footwork. Just watch what I do and do not hesitate.”
Ash sighed: “There is no way I can make it through with my sword, it will hinder my passage. It was destined to leave my side since I first entered The Gauntlet. It is a good sword and I shall miss it. What a waste.”
Ash unattached the sword from his belt and lay it on the ground. “The slaying of a few birds does not do this sword justice.”
“Nonetheless it did save your life, so it has fulfilled its purpose. I am ready to go, I will not say farewell as we will be together on the other side in no time at all,” said Janna.
Janna’s confidence and calmness continued to amaze Ash. She was a natural leader: fearless, intelligent and always inspiring to others. If there was to be one of them who could survive this whole ordeal it would be her, he thought. Janna was in the prime condition of her life and this was a place where only the very fittest survived.
Before Ash could reply to Janna she was already gone. She swiftly sidestepped the huge bronze axe swinging on its pendulum and immediately hopped over the bottomless pit that came next. She continued, elegantly navigating her way through the silver swords, which protruded in and out from the ground and the sides of the hedgerows.
Ash and Ugg were mesmerized by her movement, it was like she was dancing her way through it and completely unfazed by the peril. With a jump and a roll, Janna cleared the final hurdle of spinning swords.
“Well done,” shouted Ugg, before speaking to Ash: “I’m done for. I can’t move like her. For a start we’re a lot bigger. Those swords are going to slice the very fat off my belly.”
“It will be tighter for us, yes, but not impossible. Janna just proved that. Even bigger men than us could get through, but if we hesitate at all we will die. You can do it, I have no doubt about that.”
After catching her breath Janna then shouted back to the men, relaying the timing sequence to which she had safely made it through.
“Do you want to go next? I don’t mind waiting, you entered The Gauntlet before me,” said Ash.
“I’ll go. Did you ever think you’d be doing something like this when you were back at the entrance?”
“Absolutely not. I expected to be fighting terrifying, fire-breathing monsters every step of the way. You should leave your sword here too.”
Ugg dropped his sword on the ground and smiled.
“Well, if we survive this and do somehow get back to Harwell the good news is the stories are ours to make up! We can tell them we fought the most horrible creatures and everyone will believe us.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Ugg left Ash and easily sidestepped the first axe and leapt over the hole. Watching on Ash was surprised to see how deftly Ugg dodged and weaved his way through the danger. Ash suddenly began to feel nerves and self-doubt creeping in.
Ugg was nearing the end, dodging the protracting swords when suddenly a loud, blood-curdling scream boomed through the air. This time the scream seemed incredibly close, practically over the next hedgerow. The noise distracted Ugg, he stepped back slightly and a sword impaled his right shoulder and he wailed out in agony.
“Ugg!” shouted Janna.
“No!” shouted Ash.
The nerves Ash was feeling were immediately replaced by overwhelming concern for his friend and he ran forward, eager to help Ugg, assuredly dodging the axe and leaping over the hole.
“I am fine,” shouted Ugg. “The sword did not pierce my shoulder blade, do not rush to me Ash. You take care of yourself, I can finish on my own.”
“You’re almost done, Ugg, just this last part and then we can heal your shoulder,” said Janna.
“What was that scream?” asked Ugg.
“Don’t care about that now, just get through this last obstacle.”
Ugg made it through the spinning swords, but the roll at the end further severed his wound and he grimaced in pain while spread out on the floor. Janna immediately tended to him.
The Gauntlet ( A Fantasy Novella) Page 4