The Pit of the Horda was in a screened enclosure on the outskirts of the village. It was a sacred place, a place of terror. It was the Place of the Ordeal.
The pit was very large, oblong in shape, covered by two stone shutters. In the centre of the shutters, at right angles to the line where they met, was carved a long shallow trough.
The area around the pit was enclosed with wattle screens. In one of them was a small window-like opening. Through it could be seen an enormous rock, suspended high in the air from a rope, which ran up to a huge wooden derrick. Beside the pit itself was a large lever in a wooden framework. Taut ropes ran from the lever and disappeared behind the screen.
The Doctor stood by the pit, looking keenly around him, trying to work out the meaning of this strange and complicated set-up. Presumably the hanging rock was a counter-balance, to open the shutters... Leela and Tomas were beside him. Their hands were still bound, though the Doctor's had been freed in preparation for the Ordeal.
Calib and Andor were there too, and a small group of Tribal Councillors and guards. Only Neeva was absent. On his defeat by Calib, he had stalked into the Sanctum in a huff, presumably to take counsel with Xoanon.
The Doctor looked around the assembled audience. 'Well, let's get on with it, gentlemen.'
At a nod from Calib, who seemed to be in charge of the proceedings, a guard came forward with a wicker basket. He tipped the contents onto the ground and jumped back hurriedly. The Doctor looked down. There at his feet was a white, snake-like creature, rather like a giant slow-worm. It was wriggling lethargically. 'So that's a Horda. Doesn't look too formidable. What am I supposed to do, fight it or eat it?'
Calib took a spear from a guard and poked at the Horda with the butt. The creature reared up and struck at the spear-haft with incredible speed, locking onto the wood with rows of savage teeth.
Calib held up the spear. The Horda hung for a moment by its teeth, then realising that the wood wasn't good to eat, released its hold and dropped to the ground and lay quiet.
'They'll strike at anything that moves except each other,' said Calib. 'Ten of them can strip the flesh from a man's bones before he can cry out.'
'And I take it there are rather more than ten of them in there?'
'The pit is full of them,' said Calib. He nodded to a guard who came forward with a long narrow plank. He laid it in the trough across the shutters. It fitted exactly.
'You stand on that,' explained Calib.
'And then what?'
Calib pointed to the suspended boulder. 'The stone is lowered, the shutters begin to open, the plank be-comes a bridge.'
'And what do I do?'
'To survive, you must break the rope—with this! ' Calib took a loaded crossbow from the nearest guard and handed it to the Doctor.
The Doctor took the crossbow, and immediately the surrounding guards trained their own weapons upon him. He weighed the crossbow in his hands, looking at the pit, the plank, and the hanging boulder.
'Doctor listen,' said Leela urgently. 'The rope gets thinner the further it goes down, but it moves faster tool'
One of the guards struck her savagely across the face. 'Silence, witch! He does it alone.'
'Who is that man?' asked the Doctor mildly. Calib stared at him. 'Which man?'
'That one,' snapped the Doctor. Snatching the spear from Calib's hand he used it to flick the Horda at the guard. It fastened itself to the man's clothes and he fled screaming through the crowd. 'Whoops, sorry,' said the Doctor apologetically. He strolled to the centre of the plank and stood waiting. 'Well?'
Andor raised his hand. 'Let the Test of the Horda begin.'
A guard pulled a lever and the massive boulder began its slow descent. Soon it disappeared from sight behind the screen.
Slowly the stone shutters began to draw apart. The plank became a bridge—but a bridge over a steadily increasing gap. As the gap widened a whispering, rustling, hissing noise could be heard—the sound of many living creatures in constant motion. The Doctor glanced down. The pit below him was filled with a seething mass of Horda.
As the gap beneath the plank became wider and wider, the plank began to sag and creak. The Doctor realised that if the gap became too wide the plank would snap beneath his weight.
It was an interesting problem, he thought. If he fired too soon, the rope would still be too thick to be broken by the crossbow bolt. If he left it too late, the plank would snap and he would fall into the pit. The Doctor looked through the screen window at the rope. As Leela had warned him, it was getting steadily thinner, but it was moving fast too... just a little longer...
The sight of the Doctor balanced calmly on the plank, crossbow not even raised to fire, was too much for Leela. Perhaps he was paralysed by fear... For the moment everyone's eyes were fixed on the Doctor. Leela kicked the feet from under the nearest guard and made a determined dash for the control lever, tugging at it with bound hands. An angry guard shoved her away, and she fell headlong. He tried to pin her down but Leela rolled over, shot out her legs and sent him flying. She jumped to her feet—to find herself surrounded by more guards, their crossbows aimed at her heart. Leela lowered her hands and stood very still. Meanwhile the Doctor, apparently undisturbed by all this, was still balancing calmly on the plank, which by now was sagging more than ever..
Just as it seemed about to snap, the Doctor raised his crossbow and fired. The bolt sped through the screen window, severing the rope. The shutters stopped opening, and the Doctor walked carefully along the plank towards the edge of the pit. He had almost reached safety when there came an ominous, splintering sound. As the plank broke in two, the Doctor made a desperate flying leap, just managing to land safely on the edge of the pit.
He tossed the crossbow to a guard and gave a little nod of self-congratulation. 'Very good, Doctor, very good!' He smiled at Leela. 'It was nice of you to try and help me but there was really no need.'
'Where did you learn to shoot like that?'
'Like what?' The Doctor glanced at the screen window, where the severed rope still dangled. 'Oh, like that! I was taught by a rather charming Swiss chap. His name was William Tell! '
The Doctor tapped a guard on the shoulder. 'Would you untie my friends please?'
The guard looked at Calib for confirmation, and Calib snapped, 'Untie them.'
The guard severed Leela's and Tomas's bonds, and the Doctor smiled round at the watching group. Calib and Andor stared silently at him, and the guards were looking at him almost in awe. It was obvious that very few survived the Test of the Horda. The Doctor guessed that his success had given him some kind of status, at least for a time. Better make use of it while it lasted. 'Shall we go?' he suggested cheerfully. Before anyone could stop him, he marched confidently off to the Council hut.
Confused and frightened, Neeva was on his knees before the altar. In his ears rang the angry voice of Xoanon. 'Neeva! Neeva, where is he?'
As the Doctor entered the unseen entity seemed to become aware of him. 'Doctor? Doctor, are you there?' The voice was that of a young man.
'Yes, Xoanon, I'm here.'
At the sound of the Doctor's voice, the voice of Xoanon changed. It became deeper, more mature, and the Doctor realised he was hearing his own voice. 'Doctor, we have decided...' Suddenly the voice changed, became youthful again—'To destroy you!'
8
Beyond the Wall
The Doctor stared thoughtfully at the space-suit, hanging scarecrow-like on its stand. He was dealing with some kind of multiple personality, he decided. Or to put it more simply, his unseen opponent was raving mad.
The Doctor decided to humour him. 'I see. Tell you what, Xoanon, why don't we meet and talk things over?'
His own voice replied. 'We are together. We have said all there is to say, and know all there is to know.'
'Perhaps so. But we don't want to do anything hasty, do we?'
'Hasty?' Then the youthful voice again. 'It's been an eternity! I'm turning off the Boundary, t
o let in my pets from the Beyond. Goodbye, Doctor! '
A click and then silence.
'What does it all mean?' whispered Neeva.
'Trouble,' said the Doctor. 'Large, deadly and invisible.' He lifted the disruptor gun from the altar and studied it thoughtfully.
Deep in the forest, on the Boundary, the light on top of the hidden sonic disruptor the Doctor had discovered began to flash more and more slowly. Fin-ally it stopped altogether. All through the forest the same thing was happening to the other disruptors in their hiding places. The Boundary was no more. The village of the Sevateem lay open to attack by the invisible monsters from Beyond.
In deference to Neeva's feelings, the Doctor had carried a pile of equipment, selected from Neeva's holy relics, out of the Sanctum and into the main Council hut. He had found a set of tools, and was using it to check over the long-disused disruptor gun. Leela crouched beside him, a willing if baffled assistant. 'Screwdriver,' said the Doctor, pointing. Leela took the little tool from the kit and passed it to him.
As the Doctor made a final adjustment, Tomas came rushing in. 'We've set guards all round the perimeter, Doctor. The village has been warned. Every-one knows what to expect.'
The Doctor went on working. 'You've explained about their attraction to vibration?'
'Of course.'
The Doctor studied the jumble of technological equipment. 'We're lucky the space travellers brought so much equipment with them. Let's hope we can profit from their misfortune.'
'Space travellers?' said Leela, puzzled. 'I don't understand.'
The Doctor pointed to some letters stencilled on the tool box. 'PLANETARY SURVEY TEAM. That's where your tribe got its name. Survey Team—Sevateem.' The Doctor rubbed his chin. 'Question is—were you lot here before they arrived?'
Calib entered in time to hear the Doctor's last re-mark. 'I see what you mean, Doctor. Are we their captors—or their descendants?'
'You catch on quickly, Calib. Whoever they were, the travellers certainly didn't get back to base.' The Doctor paused for a moment, as if haunted by some fugitive memory. Then, shaking his head, he returned to his work.
Calib said impatiently. 'When will the weapon be ready?'
The Doctor looked up, noticing the tone of command. 'Are you taking charge, Calib?'
'Do you object?'
Leela's hand flashed to her knife. 'I object.'
'Leela,' said Calib patiently, 'I don't expect you to like me...'
'Then you won't be disappointed. You tried to kill me—remember?'
'That is a thing to be settled between us. But now is not the time.'
The Doctor straightened up. He handed the disruptor gun, not to Calib but to Tomas. 'Here, you take this.'
Tomas took it reluctantly. It was hard to accept that this holy relic was in reality a deadly weapon. 'How does it work?'
The Doctor indicated the firing button. 'Just point and push! It's destructive up to about ten times bow range. Use it in short bursts, the power-charge will last longer.'
'Thank you, Doctor.' Holding the weapon carefully in front of him, Tomas left the hut.
The Doctor turned his attention to yet another piece of equipment.
'What is it, Doctor?' asked Leela.
'A stasis-beam generator. As soon as I've checked it over, we'll go and set it up.'
'Where?'
'On the Boundary, of course. Every little helps...'
Leela kept a wary eye on the forest, while beside her the Doctor made final adjustments to the generator. All her senses were alert. The forest was silent. Perhaps the invisible monsters hadn't yet realised that the Barrier had been switched off. While she waited, Leela was sharpening her knife on a sliver of stone.
The Doctor stood up. A light was flashing on the top of the stasis-beam generator. 'There! That'll keep Xoanon's little pets away from this part of the perimeter at least. Now, we've got to find a way to get inside that Time Barrier—and soon.'
'It is hopeless, Doctor. The Old Ones tell us that the Tribe has been trying to get through the Barrier for generations.'
'I could build a time bridge of course,' said the Doc-tor musingly. 'But I'd have to dismantle the TARDIS, and even then it might not work...'
'Doctor, didn't you say that nothing could go through the Barrier?'
'That's right.'
'Not even light, or sound?'
'No.'
'But Xoanon is inside the Barrier?'
'Yes.'
'Then how do we hear his voice?'
The Doctor jumped to his feet. 'You're a genius, Leela. A genius!'
'I am? What did I say?'
'Never mind that. Come on.'
The Doctor hurried back towards the village, and Leela followed. They dashed through the forest, through the village, across the Council hut and into Neeva's Sanctum.
Neeva sat on his sleeping platform staring vacantly into space. 'Neeva,' called the Doctor.
There was no reply. The Doctor shook him. 'Come on man, snap out of it.'
Slowly Neeva's head turned and he stared vaguely at the Doctor. 'Yes, Master, what is your will?'
'Neeva, when you hear the voice of Xoanon, is it always when you're at the altar, with the vestment hung on its frame?'
'Yes, Master.'
'Have you heard it anywhere else?'
'Yes, Master.'
'Where?'
'Yes, Master.'
The Doctor realised that Neeva was responding parrot-like, almost without thought. On a sudden inspiration, the Doctor moved away from Neeva, closer to the space-suit. Cupping his hands over his mouth he intoned, 'Neeva, Neeva! This is Xoanon.'
Neeva seemed to respond. 'Yes, Master, what is your will?'
'In what places have you heard my voice?'
'Only here, Master. Here in your Sanctum.'
The Doctor nodded, satisfied. 'You have been a good and faithful servant, Neeva. Go back to sleep—now!'
Neeva stretched out on his sleeping-platform and fell instantly into deep sleep.
Leela stared wonderingly. 'What's happened to him?'
'Too much, too quickly,' said the Doctor. 'He's in a state of shock.' The Doctor stood for a moment, staring into space. 'It's a tight-beam transmission, Leela. it must be.'
'What does that mean?'
'It means there is a bridge through the Barrier—and I know where it is...'
The guard was very frightened. He had been summoned by Tomas, told that the Boundary had vanished, and ordered to patrol this stretch of the perimeter. He had lived all his life under the shelter of the Boundary, and the thought that it was no more petrified him. Ever since he was a child, he had been told of the horrors of the Beyond.
There was a rustling noise in the trees ahead. Leaves and branches started moving as something huge, invisible pushed them aside. There was deep, hoarse breathing. With a yell of sheer terror, he turned and fled.
When the man on duty at the warning gong saw the guard running towards him from the forest, being smashed and trampled into the ground by some vast, invisible force, he reacted instinctively. Grabbing his metal rod, he hammered frantically on the gong.
The Doctor and Leela were heading away from the village when they heard the clamour of the gong.
'The fools,' said Leela fiercely. 'We warned them.'
'I imagine somebody panicked.'
'They'll just attract the creatures to the village!'
'We can't help them now, Leela. It's up to Tomas and the disruptor gun. Come on, time's running out.' They ran on through the forest.
The guard was still beating frantically on the gong when Andor ran up and wrested the metal rod away from him. 'Stop that, you idiot. You'll attract more of them.'
The guard pointed. 'Something killed one of the guards. I saw it, it's coming towards us from the edge of the forest.'
Andor was growing old, but he was still a chief. 'Come on, Tomas, we must warn the other guards,' he said, and set off towards the forest.
&nbs
p; All was silent as they reached the forest edge and moved past the crushed body of the guard. Andor started to move forward into the trees.
'Andor, be careful,' called Tomas. 'It must be still about.' Suddenly the bushes close to Andor began thrashing furiously and there was a savage roar.
'Look out,' yelled Tomas, but he was too late. Some vast invisible force gripped Andor, sweeping him off his feet as though snatched up by invisible claws.
Tomas ran in as close as he dared, raised the disruptor gun and fired.
There was a crackle of power and a scream of rage and pain from the invisible monster, as it flung Andor to the ground. As it retreated the creature was momentarily visible, outlined in a vivid yellow glare of light.
Tomas caught a glimpse of a giant face. It was hideously distorted—but unmistakably the face of the Doctor.
Tomas ran to Andor, who lay crumpled on the ground, his body shattered by the impact of his fall.
Tomas knelt beside him. 'Andor! Andor!' he called.
For a moment Andor raised his head. 'Xoanon, save me,' he muttered weakly, and fell back, dead.
There came a shattering roar of anger, and the trees began tossing once more. Tomas looked up, realising that the monster must be rushing back towards him.
He raised the disruptor gun, fired a rapid burst, then turned and fled back towards the village.
The Doctor and Leela had crossed the valley by now. They stood at the foot of the mountain, staring up at the great carved head.
'The nose should be a shade more aquiline,' said the Doctor judiciously. 'And the classic proportion of the brow hasn't been perfectly executed. Still we mustn't complain, we live in an imperfect universe.'
Leela said practically. 'Where's the bridge through the Barrier, then? Up the nose?'
'Certainly not. It's over the teeth and down the throat.' They started to climb.
A long, weary time later they stood directly beneath the enormous chin. The Doctor perched on a boulder, leaped and clung, hauling himself over the rampart of the giant teeth. Leela followed him, and he pulled her to safety. They stood up and looked around. They were in a kind of irregular tunnel, leading downwards. It stretched for a considerable distance, with a gleam of light at the end.
DOCTOR WHO AND THE FACE OF EVIL Page 5