Hilda - The Challenge

by Paul Kater

  The elves did not charge at William immediately. The larger ones, who would be up first, waited to make the man uncertain, nervous. Nobody knew what was going on under the grubby cloth on William's face. Even William wondered about that. There were images of things flashing before his eyes, things he hoped he'd never meet for real.

  Then there was something coming at him. He pulled at the energy, to bring up his protection, but he was too slow: the grey elf whacked him in the butt and flew off again, laughing loudly. William cursed under the cloth. He had felt it coming and his response had been curiosity, not safety.

  "No cheating, William. Drop the cover." Baba Yaga really kept a magical close eye on him.

  With a sigh he dropped his protection, still wrapped in darkness, his hands slightly extended in front of him.

  Another elf hit him, and a third. And each time he was just a fraction of a second too late. Each time he missed the blink of the eye, the moment that his consciousness kicked in and wanted to play along. That was, he understood, his Achilles heel. He should switch off his thinking, like on the broom. Just do it. As he wanted to sigh, the cloaking of magical energy flew over him and he heard a soft but distinct "urgh". Then the sound of clapping hands, and Hilda's voice announcing that he got one. Well, that made one out of four.

  The elves intensified their charges, and the smaller ones, less painful but a lot faster, also started to add to the entertainment.

  William managed to ward off most of the larger elves, but the small ones were just too fast for him, and he was getting tired also, so in the end it was a mere bombardment of elves on him until he brought up the protection and just did not drop it anymore. He felt as if he was black and blue all over.

  Baba Yaga called off the elves and thanked them for their support. They stated that they'd had a blast of a time and buzzed off into the black danger they called home.

  William took the rag from his face. Even that was punched by many an elf and showed red spots.

  Hilda was already walking towards him and hugged him. "You did great, William. Well, sometimes."

  "Ouch. Thank you," he replied. "If ever I get my hands on them again..."

  "You'll have to learn to be faster then," Babs cackled.

  They went inside again, had more tea, and Hilda magicked William's spots away. He was feeling much better after that.

  "So, what are you kids doing? Want to spend the night here, or do you want to pop back home?", the ugly witch asked.

  "Well, with William tired as he is, I think staying over would be the best bet. It's late already, and I am not sure if I can keep two people in the air on a long fast flight like this," Hilda confessed.

  "I understand, Hilly. Okay then, I'll make the guestroom up for you. Consider yourself guests of Baba Yaga!" Babs got up and shuffled through the room, disappearing behind a tiny door.

  "Don't make such a face, William. She's nice and you know that. And she loved the company." Hilda, who sat next to the wizard-to-be, rested her head against his shoulder. "And it is nice to be out here with you."

  William agreed.

  Babs returned in record time. Magic did speed up preparing rooms.

  36. Protect thyself (2)

  The next morning they all were up bright and early again, after a refreshing night of sleep.

  Babs had told Hilda and William they could fool around what they wanted as the room was soundproof, but neither of them really believed the ugly witch, no matter how nice she was.

  The attacks this time did not come from elves, but from Babs herself. She made pebbles fly to William, and twigs, and other small stuff. After the third hour William was sweating all over, but he was making large steps in developing his protective abilities. All the small stuff they threw at him, because Hilda was now in league with her bestest girlfriend, was warded off by William. The man, his eyes covered again, stood waiting, now fullly attuned to the magic that lived inside him.

  Baba Yaga held up a hand, to make Hilda stop throwing stuff at William. She had a test in mind, if William now passed that, he was doing well. The Russian witch used her wand...

  A rather large chunk of a branch from one of the black trees rose up from the ground. It was covered in twigs with sharp leaves. The block of wood did not fly towards the waiting blindfolded man as fast as the pebbles, but it had still a considerable speed. If it were to hit William, he would certainly suffer the consequences. Faster and faster the branch flew.

  William sensed and reacted. His protective cover did not appear: it just was there. The branch, coming from his left side, crashed into the layer of magic, hesitated for a moment and then dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

  "Holy Bejeebus," he muttered, ripping off the blindfold. He stared at the chunk of wood. "You witch! You could have killed me!"

  Baba Yaga got up. "Yes, but I didn't. And you had an active part in that. You caught it and you stopped it. You did well, Willy. Time for tea and a bath for you. And fresh clothes."

  William saw Hilda's shining face, and the blue sparkling in her eyes, and that made everything worth the while.

  Over tea and a serious amount of undoubtedly unhealthy cookies, they talked about William's progress.

  "I am sure that you'll become a fine wizard, William," Babs said, "just keep up the practice until it is part of you. And you, Hilly baby, keep testing him. Never let him drop his guard. Well, almost never." She laughed a shrieking laugh that made the walls shudder.

  Hilda grinned and winked at William. He grinned back at her, as suddenly something deep inside him took over and his shield was there. The wizard looked shocked, the wicked witch surprised, and the ugly witch looked satisfied.

  "Good boy."

  In the most unexpected moment, Baba Yaga had cast a bolt of energy to William. It would not have damaged him, but a nice little trip to the floor would have been the least promise that the energy held.

  William felt slightly shattered. Not because his protection 'mechanism' had worked, but that Baba Yaga had been able to blast him with such power while she was laughing and her mind was seemingly somewhere completely else. His amazement was written out on his face, because both witches grinned.

  "Remember, William, this was just in jest. This can and will happen in a serious fight, and then it might be raining attacks, without delay. Remember. And remember well."

  William was shaking from the sudden happening and needed both hands to hold his teacup. "Yes. I'll remember. I'll probably have nightmares over it too."

  Babs chuckled. "Never hurt someone."

  The rest of the morning, they talked about different types of magic one could use for protection, and after a good lunch Hilda and William left for home again. They thanked the ugly friendly witch.

  William had gotten over his fear of hugging the woman. "Thank you for the time and the lessons, Babs," he said, and he meant it. He had found all kinds of hidden powers and treasures of knowledge in these days, his confidence had grown.

  Baba Yaga patted him on the arm, as she could not reach his shoulder. "Take care. Of yourself, and the pretty one. I'll drop by again and come see how you are holding yourself. Remember, I gave her instructions on how to make your life miserable, and she's going to keep to that."

  William grinned. "I'll never forgive you."

  "Good. Now go and fly off. And mind the triangular leaves, they're not only sharp but also poisonous."

  "And now she tells me," William grinned.

  "Guess how you can protect yourself against them." Baba Yaga chuckled, then she waved at Hilda who was already waiting on her broom. William mounted his broom also, they waved back at the dear ugly witch and then William followed Hilda through the maze of branches, on the safest way out of the forest. He had his protection around him, to be safe, and just because he could.

  "She is an interesting person," William said as they were flying well over the trees.

  "She is, yes, and maybe she will become your best girlfriend also," Hilda said with a big
smile.

  "Oh, no. There is already someone on that position, and she is going to stay there."

  "Oh? Who is- Oh!" Hilda smiled even bigger.

  Chatting about the happenings of the past day, the trip home went rather quickly. So quickly even that they decided to swing by Walt's castle. Because, William now knew, it was all about being not predictable.

  Their house was silent and waiting for them. Several arrows stuck in the purple board, and William picked them off it as they went inside.

  Dividing responsibilities as they should, William went to make dinner, as they had gotten in quite late, and Hilda checked the messages.

  "Nothing exciting on the arrows," she said as she trotted into the kitchen where William was making an improvisation on lasagna, lacking the proper ingredients. Whatever he did, magic only went along a certain stretch, so the lasagna turned out acceptable but still a far cry from the real thing.

  For Hilda the taste was quite a surprise and she liked it. William refused to make it 'every day', as she requested, which earnt him a pout but also some understanding and a lot of bargaining. They settled on twice a week.

  "If the magic business doesn't work out after all, you can start a restaurant," Hilda had a bright idea. "I'd come and eat there every day!"

  "And I would be doing that next to making and selling sunchairs," William grinned.

  "Of course! People can lay in the sun after eating at your place." Hilda had a solution for everything.

  Time progressed... and suddenly there was the new moon. Hilda had been restless all day long, scared of the event. She had told William how she was feeling. He had taken her in his arms many times that day, trying to ward of the uneasy feeling of the witch, but instead of that, her feeling had rubbed off on him and at midnight they both sat outside the house, on the sunchairs, their wands in hand to supply some light.

  There were a few candles burning in the house, but those were barely bright enough to show the outline of the windows. Crickets were making a terribly loud noise in the former silent area where the house was. The night air was nice on their skin, still carrying some of the warmth that the sun had left behind.

  Overhead, the sky was without clouds. The Milky Way, even if it looked a bit odd to William, had all its stars on display. They seemed so large, so closeby, in this world that was so clean and fresh and - dangerous in mysterious and magical ways.

  "It's eerie," she said. "Usually I like this time of the moon. But now it is..."

  William nodded and reached out, touching her hand. "The first of three, I know." The short conversation they'd had that afternoon was still replaying in his head.

  As if she picked it up, Hilda said: "You were serious, weren't you, to go to the labyrinth and have a look around?"

  "Yes. And I still am. I am convinced Lamador will do so as well. Wouldn't even surprise me if he has done it before, and keeps coming back. Knowing the territory always gives you an advantage."

  "Yes, it must." Her mind flew back to the last challenge. That had been fought in another labyrinth. "Lamador decided where the previous challenge was done also. And he did not play according to the rules then." She told him about the secret passage the sorcerer had illegally created and how sheer luck in the form of a dumb, bouncing black dragon had saved her and made the challenge end in a draw.

  "A dragon..." William looked at Hilda, holding up his wand to see her face in somewhat better light.

  "Yes. What's so special about a dragon?"

  "Uhm, well, for me the fact that I have never seen one before, for instance. They don't exist in my previous life, as far as I have found."

  She shrugged. "They're heavily overrated. They're big, clumsy most of them, and don't give a damn if they squash you by accident. Or intentionally."

  "Right. Another thing where protection comes in then." William made a mental note to self about dragons and other unknown creatures. He did not want to know yet in what range of sizes he'd have to expect these beasts.

  Hilda looked at William. "You know..." She gave her words some more thought. "Perhaps we should go to have a look at the Labyrinth of Gurthreyn tomorrow."

  "You know, woman, sometimes you have marvelous ideas."

  Hilda looked at William. Her mouth formed the word 'liar' without sound.

  William winked. Equally soundless he said 'I love you'.

  37. Trip to Gurthreyn

  Two figures dressed in black stepped out of the house. It was still early in the morning, sunlight had not really spread out its rays. The crickets had left the premises a while ago, the brightest stars were the last in packing their bags. A peculiar mist hung over the field that separated the house from the forest. The trees were a black shape, looming, almost menacing in the strange morning light.

  "Are you ready?", asked the smaller of the figures.

  "Yes. Ready as I can be," William replied. He eyeballed the strange packs that were tied to their brooms, holding all kinds of stuff including the food and water they might need during the tip. Hilda had assured that the load would not make any difference for flying.

  "Good. Then we go."

  They mounted their brooms and took off, setting course to the east where the labyrinth of Gurthreyn was located. They were in for a long flight. They passed over the queendom of Raghuna, a very mild queen who had remained neutral as long as Hilda could remember.

  At first the landscape reminded them of the area where Hilda lived. There were forests and flowing hilltops with grass, and several lakes, although none of those were as special as Mirror Lake. The further they came, however, the surface beneath them changed. Slowly it all became more brown and yellow, looking like tundra or desert-like grounds. Also something of a chill became apparent in the air.

  Hilda pointed out a long line of watchtowers along the border of the queendom. "That is a very stable line of warning and defense. Raghuna has like an army of soldier-mages that guard the boundaries of her land."

  Soon they had left the queendom behind them and they were flying over literally a no man's land. There were no roads, no towns or villages or people. Just the odd herd of wild animals roaming the area.

  "This land connects to the land where the labyrinth is," said Hilda. "The influence of the next land is so severe that no one wants to live in the adjacent lands."

  "So there is an enormous ring of unused land around the labyrinth, if I understand you?", asked William.

  "Most of it is land, yes. On one side there is a sea. But we are not going there, it is too far for one trip and there is hardly any food there either, so I've heard."

  William nodded. "I understand."

  After another long stretch over the uninhabited country that became more and more barren and desolate, Hilda announced that they were approaching the vicinity of the labyrinth. "Can you feel it?"

  "Yes. I now understand what you meant earlier." Even while there was nothing they saw of their destination yet, all the hair on his arms and in his neck seemed to stand up.

  Hilda looked at him. "Yes, I feel that you do." The link that flowed from him to her had already betrayed his unease before she asked him. "We are getting closer. Just so you know. The place is heavily guarded with magic, so ordinaries don't go near it. They wouldn't stand a chance of getting out of it alive. When we enter its inner circle, you will feel it. I hope it doesn't make you want to throw up."

  William looked at Hilda. Her face was serious and looked like stone. He feared that she was prone to the throwing up bit, since she mentioned it so explicitly. Moving his broom a bit closer to hers, he put a hand on her arm for a few moment. "We're here together. We'll be fine, okay?"

  "Yes. We will." She smiled, but William missed even the slightest of blue sparkles in her eyes.

  The look of the land beneath them became more and more dismal, grey, repelling and cold. Hilda felt a shiver run down her spine as they progressed. William understood more and more that the reputation of this place was founded on fact. The uninviting views, the
total absence of green and flowers and animals was blatant.

  "Here it comes," Hilda said.

  It was clear to William that she was referring to 'the feeling'. The moment they would enter the inner circle of the labyrinth. The feeling came like a thunderstrike. It did not build up, it was acute and strong, making him feel as if his gut was ripped out of him, leaving him with a hole inside him and a nauseating feeling. Yes, the feeling of wanting to throw up, he thought, was the only way to describe this.

  Hilda's face, not the most tanned already, turned even paler as they hit the strong magical wards of the labyrinth. She had held a magical protection around herself for this moment, otherwise she was afraid she'd pass out. It had almost happened once, and she was not certain if William was able to hold both of them in the air as he was also going through this.

  As suddenly as the feeling had jumped them, it left again. The effect of the entry into the circle had perhaps only lasted mere seconds, but they both felt as if they had been through a wringer for quite a while.

  "Okay, that was no fun," said William. His stomach was more or less back where he expected it.

  "There is more coming," Hilda said, her face expressionless.

  In front of them lay the labyrinth of Gurthreyn.

  The ground ahead was grey. William would not have deemed it possible, but there was soil, and it was grey. It lay in what looked like layers, lighter shades of grey on top, darker shades of grey further down. It had to be a trick of the light, or an illusion, because despite the impression of layers, the surface was flat, dull and uninviting.

  Only a few hundred yards further, there were walls. High walls, like they had already seen in the mirror. Now however, that they were approaching the actual place, it became evident how high and thick the walls were. Several yards thick, at least twenty yards high and in places even higher.

  The two people on broomstick came to a halt to observe the immense area that made up the labyrinth of Gurthreyn. The grey rough walls seemed to go on forever, in each direction.