by R A Oakes
“I still don’t want to wear chains again,” Jaren protested.
“Which is precisely why I want you to wear them,” Balzekior said, smiling once more.
“I’ll die if I remain at Gratuga.”
“I’m going to enjoy watching that,” Balzekior said, and Jaren could tell that the old crone meant it.
Looking down the long road leading back to the troll capital, Jaren’s heart sank, but then he remembered his decision to memorize every nook and cranny of Gratuga’s layout. And once again, the spy began spying.
Chapter 14
At the break of dawn, after having spent the night alone, Raven and Dynarsis rejoined their companions on the rocky knoll and were surprised to learn that Starlight was already hard at work exploring the land around the base of the hill. Hiking down the hillside themselves, they saw their friend sitting on a large rock near a field of huge boulders a few hundred yards to their left in the direction of Hawthorn Village.
“I found it,” Starlight announced after they’d walked over to her.
“Found what?” Raven asked.
“The entrance to a long crevasse, a natural tunnel that will take us to the base of the mountain where my parents live.”
“We’re still about ten miles south of Hawthorn Village. Wasn’t the entrance supposed to be closer to it?” Dynarsis asked.
“That’s what I thought, but it’s been years since I was up this way.”
“It’s better that we’re still this far south. I’ve been concerned about how the villagers might react to seeing a vegetarian troll,” Raven said.
“Not well is my guess. For most humans in this time period, a troll is a troll no matter what. I doubt that anyone even knows about vegetarian trolls,” Starlight said with a shrug.
“But you have golden eyes, golden skin and blond hair. I’d think that people would catch onto the fact that you’re different,” Dynarsis suggested.
“Never underestimate how much ignorance and fear can cloud the judgment of others. I’m not like everyone else, therefore I’m something bad.”
“I’ve had about all I can stand of people fearing anything and anyone who’s different,” Raven sighed.
“Being tired of it doesn’t make the problem go away.”
“You’re right as usual,” Raven replied. “So how did you find the entrance and where is it exactly?”
“Do you see that giant oak tree over there?”
“Yes.”
“And this large boulder I’m sitting on?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if you mentally draw a line from the oak tree to the boulder and continue the line until it hits the hillside, you’ll arrive at the entrance.”
“Maybe that’s easy for you, but the rest of us would have a difficult time negotiating our way through this field of giant boulders. There must be hundreds of them.”
“At least, but it’s not as bad as it looks. The boulders are all within about 200 yards of the base of the hill and extend northward for maybe half a mile,” Starlight said.
“It’s a maze of giant rocks,” Dynarsis observed. “And once we enter the maze, we won’t be able to see over them. In fact, these giant boulders all seem uniform in size, as if someone placed them here on purpose making it difficult to find the tunnel’s entrance.”
“That’s a good guess.”
“But who would have done such a thing?”
“There’s an elderly woman in my village who actually might know the answer to that question.”
“She’s an historian?”
“Yes, but she’s also far more than that. Exactly what, however, is a bit of a mystery.”
“Why?”
“Not many people have seen her.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a bit hard to explain.”
“Excuse me, and that’s all very interesting, but how about explaining whether you can get through this maze and locate the entrance,” Raven said, focusing on the task at hand.
“Yes, I can, but it’s a bit confusing.”
“I’m not surprised,” Raven said, walking over to the giant boulders and looking between two of them, only to see another massive rock blocking the way.
“As a child, I played among these boulders, but I entered them from the tunnel entrance, not from here. I never came out into the field very far, and neither did the adults. No one wanted to be seen by humans.”
“Then why did anyone even come here?” Raven asked.
“Being young, I mostly wandered around through the maze, checking it out. But the adults came to pay their respects, believing it to have been, long ago, a spiritual ceremonial ground. It’s all a matter of ancient lore.”
“And only one old woman knows about it?”
“A very old woman.”
“From your village?” Raven asked.
“Yes, but she’s more of a monk, an ancient monk.”
“A monk living in your village?”
“It’s not exactly a village.”
“What is it?”
“A monastery.”
“A monastery whose monks are all vegetarian trolls?”
“Yes, and they’re warrior monks.”
“Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Dynarsis asked.
“It’s in a remote location high in the mountains, and it’s a very private place.”
“Yet not far from Gratuga.”
“The pathway up the mountain begins at a place that’s only a few miles from there.”
“Is that safe?”
“It’s not easy to get up the path.”
Raven and Dynarsis looked at each other but said nothing.
“It’s difficult to see some of the monks who defend it,” Starlight added, being deliberately vague.
“Okay, woman of mystery, how about if we focus on getting through this maze and getting to the tunnel,” Raven said. “But being my best friend, I’m surprised you never told me about any of this.”
“The more I tell you, the more confusing it will seem. Believe me, it’s better if you wait till we get there. You’ve always trusted me, and I’d suggest you trust me on this as well. The less you know, the better it will be for now.”
Raven and Dynarsis looked at each other again and said nothing. Then, they all glanced a few hundred yards south and saw their friends coming down the hill. Zorya, Aldwen, Andylan, Brianuk, Renivy, Dark Shadow, Swift Arrow and six other horses entered the field and made their way over to the large boulder Starlight was still sitting on.
“I’ve never seen so many giant boulders in one place before,” Renivy said.
“I’ve never seen a giant boulder before, ever,” Brianuk said. “How did they all get here?”
“We don’t know,” Starlight said, as she slid down from the boulder. “But you came at a good time because we’re ready to enter this maze and head over to the tunnel entrance.”
“And I’m assuming you know the way?” Aldwen asked.
“Would I allow us to get lost?” Starlight replied, pouting and acting offended.
“No, I suppose not, and I apologize,” Aldwen said, “especially since you’re the only one who has any idea where we’re heading.”
“Well, let’s get going,” Raven suggested. “I want to see what we’re literally getting ourselves into.”
“There are dozens of pathways through the maze, and each leads to a completely different set of crevasses, ones available only via that particular route. So even after following the correct path, a traveler still needs to figure out which of the crevasses in front of him actually goes anywhere.”
“And you know which one it is, and you know the correct path to get us there?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Well, lead the way,” Raven said, stepping aside.
“This maze of boulders might feel different from the megentum-enriched land we were on last night. That’s one indication that they may have been brought here from somewhere else,” Starligh
t mentioned as she walked for several hundred yards along the outside of the maze. The travelers passed a series of openings, each leading to a trail of its own, and all appeared identical, at least at the starting point. However, Starlight eventually stopped at a space between two giant boulders and said, “This is it.”
“That’s great,” Raven said, accepting her friend’s decision without question. Then, shifting back to what Starlight had said a few moments ago, Raven added, “So these boulders aren’t enriched with megentum?”
“No.”
“But that means local meat-eating trolls might be able to roam among them,” Brianuk said, feeling a pang of anxiety. “And there could even be a few meat-eating trolls inside along this path.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Starlight said calmly. “Even though the boulders aren’t from around here, the ground itself does feel like it’s enriched with megentum dust. And that would keep any meat-eating trolls out of the maze.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
“If there’s so much megentum-enriched dirt in this area, why are we going to Gratuga? Couldn’t we just get what we need here?” Renivy asked.
“I wish that were true, but it’s only dust, megentum dust, with particles as tiny as grains of sand,” Starlight replied.
“Yes, the College of Wizards did an energy scan of the entire region looking for megentum,” Aldwen further explained. “And we’ve collected every bit of it we could find, some pieces being no bigger than a thumbnail, and it didn’t amount to very much. The only place left is Gratuga.”
“And we have to rescue my father,” Renivy said with renewed determination.
Heading into the maze, the travelers followed Starlight back and forth through the giant boulders, weaving from side to side at times, and at other times seeming to head out towards the field, only to take a sharp bend back towards the hillside. After wandering around for almost half-an-hour, they finally came out at the base of the hillside which was a vertical slab of solid rock with three openings. One was almost cavern-like, being 30- feet-wide and ten-feet-high. The second was little more than a hole in the ground that would have been difficult to even squeeze through, but it appeared to be a very deep hole and proceeded downward at a manageable slant. The third opening was about five-feet-high and maybe four- feet-wide.
“It’s the large opening, otherwise we would have needed to leave the horses behind,” Raven pointed out.
“True, however, it’s not any of these,” Starlight replied.
“But I thought you knew the way to the correct tunnel,” Renivy said, feeling exasperated.
“I do, and it’s right over there,” Starlight said, pointing to their left in the direction of the largest opening.
“But you already said that’s the wrong opening,” Renivy protested.
“Not the big opening, the one next to it.”
“There isn’t one next to it.”
“Go over and have a closer look.”
Heading over to the cavern-like entrance, she glanced around and said, “I still don’t see anything.”
“Look over to the left of that entrance. What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Walk 20-feet more to the left.”
After doing so, Renivy’s eyes opened wide, and she said, “Wow, this is really neat!”
Then, after the others joined the girl, Starlight said, “The wall curves inward and forms a recessed rectangular area. As you can see, on the right side is the entrance. When we go inside, you’ll see that the tunnel quickly turns to the left and leads to the actual crevasse, the actual tunnel.”
“How large is the crevasse?” Zorya asked.
“About 12-feet-high and 15-feet-wide,” Starlight replied.
“I suppose we should have thought to make torches, but we have the cloth to make some, and we can go back for a few long, thick sticks to wrap the cloth around,” Andylan said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Starlight told her close friend.
“And why not?”
“Because we won’t be able to use torches.”
“The reason for that being?”
“Torches will use up all the breathable air, and we’ll suffocate before we’re even halfway through the tunnel.”
“How will we see where we’re going?” Zorya asked.
“We won’t.”
“We won’t?”
“No.”
“We’re walking blindly through a large crevasse?”
“Just keep a hand on the right wall. It will take you where we need to go.”
“Walking in pitch darkness for two weeks?”
“Yes, but it beats having to fight trolls the whole way to Gratuga,” Starlight pointed out.
“True, true,” Zorya agreed. “I just wasn’t counting on two weeks of total darkness. Raven, Renivy or I could have provided light by allowing a hand to burst into flames, or even just a finger.”
“Using small torches has been tried before, even very small torches. But no one using even a tiny amount of firelight has made it the whole way through. If you make your way along in the dark, you’ll live to tell the tale. This is one time when going at something blindly is the best alternative.”
“Didn’t you once tell me that vegetarian trolls are trained to function in total darkness?” Raven asked.
“Yes, we learn to deal with darkness from a very young age, and even though meat-eating trolls prefer darkness, they can’t see in the dark any better than any of us here can. However, vegetarian trolls are trained to function in absolute pitch darkness because there are a series of natural tunnels in the mountains around my parents’ monastery. So, darkness doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Well, it’s going to bother me,” Renivy said.
“In a few days, you won’t even notice it.”
“We’ll each need to lead a horse through the crevasse,” Brianuk pointed out.
“How do they feel about all of this?” Renivy asked.
Brianuk looked at Dark Shadow, who spoke to the other horses, and then, in Equestrian, said, “We all agree that walking in darkness is better than fighting trolls.” And so Brianuk nodded at Starlight who turned to her leader and said, “Well, Raven, it looks like we’re ready.”
“Did we bring enough food?” Renivy asked.
“Yes,” Raven replied.
“Enough feed for the horses?”
“We’ll all be losing a few pounds, but yes, we’ll be okay.”
“Water?”
“There are three shallow underground streams, each only ankle deep. When we cross the second one, we’ll be halfway,” Starlight informed her.
“Does anyone else have a question?” Raven asked, looking around.
“If we were allowed to use torches, I could run through this tunnel in two days instead of walking in the dark for two weeks,” Dynarsis declared.
“Not everyone has your endurance,” Renivy cautioned him, wondering if her friend could really run all day long without rest.
After glancing at everyone again, and seeing that there were no more questions, Raven said, “Okay, let’s get moving.”
Starlight entered the tunnel with her horse directly behind her, and the other travelers and their horses followed. After about ten minutes of walking along with one hand on the right wall and the other on his horse’s shoulder, Aldwen asked, “Starlight, since the ground outside was megentum-enriched, what about this crevasse?”
“Being in here, at least for me, feels as good as when we were outside. So, yes, I’d say the crevasse is definitely enriched with particles of megentum.”
“Raven, have you been keeping your hand on the wall?” Aldwen asked.
“No, I’ve just been running my fingertips along it.”
“Slowly, so we don’t bump into each other, I’d like everyone to stop,” Aldwen said. Then, the wizard looked up ahead in Raven’s general direction, even though he couldn’t see her, and said, “The trees on the hill are grown in meg
entum-enriched land, and we all saw what happened when you put one of your hands on them. What do you think would happen if you placed a hand on this wall next to us?”
“Well, let’s find out,” Raven said, putting her right hand flat against the wall, and instantly the area nearest to her began glowing with subdued prism light. And the multi-colored light started spreading up towards the ceiling, though faintly, ever so faintly, and it also began spreading outward from Raven, moving along the length of the wall in both directions. Next, the purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red light started flowing along the floor, gradually painting the entire crevasse from top to bottom as far as anyone could see.
While everyone was marveling at the transformation, tiny multi-colored sparks of light began falling from the ceiling and remained suspended in the air looking like a shower of sparks from a campfire. And they just continued hanging in midair, at least until everyone, including the horses, began breathing in the sparks of prism light, feeling more refreshed and more renewed with each breath.
Inhaling deeply, Raven felt the reinvigorating energy flowing into her chest and moving throughout her body. Leaning back against the wall next to her, Raven said, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before. And as Brianuk said a little while ago, I think I could run through this tunnel in record time.”
“Well, I’m almost ready to race off on my own whether someone’s riding me or not,” Dark Shadow said to Brianuk. “So, if you want to run the whole way on your own, fine, but if you want to ride, then you had better climb on and climb on right now.”
“Dark Shadow, are all the horses getting ready to charge off without us?” Starlight asked, not realizing that she’d understood what the horse had said to Brianuk.
“I’d suggest we all get ready to leave, and I mean now, because I can barely contain my energy as it is,” Dark Shadow replied.
“Renivy, you’d better climb onboard right away as well because when Dark Shadow bolts forward, I’m going with him,” Swift Arrow said. “And if he doesn’t get going soon, then I’ll leave him behind.”
Renivy did as she was told, and Aldwen also took the warning to heart and leapt up onto his horse’s broad back. Glancing around at the other horses, he saw all were now carrying riders, and asked, “How did everyone know what Dark Shadow said?”
