by Brandon Mull
Kendra pulled the coin from her pocket and placed it in the skeleton’s hand. The fingers closed and the figure stepped back, allowing Kendra access to the raft. Though wooden like the quay, the raft looked much sturdier. Kendra stepped aboard.
The robed skeleton gripped a pole leaning against the quay and pushed off. Slowly rotating, the raft drifted out onto the mysterious water. A jumbled mixture of faint whispers and sighs arose from the dark liquid, prompting Kendra to move to the center of the raft.
Though the skeleton dipped his pole into the water, Kendra did not think it looked like the pole was reaching the ground and pushing off, and the skeleton did not appear to put much real effort into the motion. Nevertheless, the raft traveled against the current at a slow, steady rate. The sound of the water splashing down the stairs to join the river gradually faded, leaving Kendra alone with the tangled susurrations of the black river.
As the darkness increased to impenetrable perfection, Kendra desperately missed her ability to see without light. What if the skeleton had set down the pole and was coming toward her, fleshless hands reaching? She would have no warning before those bony fingers closed around her neck.
Kendra tried not to fixate on the whispering water, but it was the only sound besides the gentle sloshing of the pole. She was glad that she could not make out individual words. The collective feel was unsavory.
A spectral light became visible up ahead, on the opposite side of the river from where she had embarked. They were still traveling upstream. In the ghostly light, Kendra saw two other rafts drawn up against a stone jetty. A skeletal boatman stood on each. She assumed this meant the dragons in human form had come this way ahead of her, but they were not within view.
The raft glided to a stop against the jetty. Kendra stepped off the raft and glanced back at the skeleton, who seemed indifferent to her. She walked across the jetty to the shore before looking back at the three rafts, wondering if the coin provided a round-trip journey or if she might have to find another way to pay in order to return.
A path led from the jetty to an archway. Kendra could not discern where the light was originating—it seemed to somehow distill out of the air without a source, which perhaps was what made it feel ghostly.
The shore beside the dark river extended only a short distance in either direction. To follow the river would force her either to swim or to climb rock walls. The archway seemed the obvious destination.
She left the path and approached the archway from the side, hoping to take Celebrant and Obregon by surprise. Treading carefully, she peeked around the corner and saw a large, rectangular room. If the room was twenty yards wide, it must have been sixty yards long. Similar to outside by the river, the light in the room had no observable source. At the far end of the chamber, a smooth wooden rod stood vertically atop a tall pedestal. A rectangular reflecting pool filled most of the room, with aisles down the sides granting access to the far end. On the left side of the pool, Celebrant strode purposefully toward the pedestal across the room. On the right side, Obregon hurried toward the same destination. Mysteriously, no matter how many steps they took, neither man seemed to make any progress.
Kendra crept into the room. If Celebrant or Obregon looked back, they would easily see her. The room was not very large, and both of them were only a third of the way toward the far end. Kendra crossed to the center of the base of the reflecting pool, directly opposite the rod, which was mirrored clearly in the still water. She heard forlorn whispers and sighs emanating from the dark pool, just like in the river. It was impossible to guess how deep the water might be.
Moving carefully, Kendra snuck over to the side of the pool behind Obregon. He was only about fifteen paces down the aisle from her, still walking briskly without advancing. If she could creep up behind him and turn him to platinum, that might even the odds quite a bit!
Her first step toward Obregon caused her to pause. With that step, the entire room seemed to elongate. The far end of the reflecting pool looked almost twice as far away, and it would now take more than twenty paces to reach Obregon.
Kendra took a couple more steps and watched the room telescope even more. Obregon had to be thirty or maybe even forty paces away now. And the far end of the room was getting truly distant. Kendra walked forward more, watching as the room continued to elongate until Obregon was barely in view and the rod was out of sight. The reflecting pool seemed to stretch ahead forever.
Looking back, Kendra found that the start of the reflecting pool looked much more distant than the number of steps she had taken. Walking back in the direction she had come, Kendra found that her progress was as slow as it looked like it should be. Evidently, her return steps neither stretched nor shrank the room, but steps toward the far side quickly increased the journey.
Kendra paused, considering her predicament. Celebrant and Obregon had a huge head start. No wonder they didn’t see her—they had probably gone so far that the near end of the room was long out of view from their present perspective. They had also gone so far that they probably had an impossible lead.
Curious, Kendra jogged back to the front of the room. The ground she had covered in about twenty paces now required a five-minute jog. When Kendra got back to the near end of the pool, she found the room had returned to its original shape—Obregon once again looked perhaps fifteen paces away and was still only a third of the way to the far end.
The farther Celebrant and Obregon went, the longer the room became for them. When Kendra followed, the room stretched for her as well. Was there a better way? Or was the dwarf requiring an epic journey that appeared short at the outset?
Kendra wondered whether Celebrant and Obregon understood how slowly they were progressing. Once both ends of the pool were beyond sight, it was probably difficult to perceive how much ground they had covered and how much remained. If her current vantage of their infinitesimal progress was accurate, it looked like Celebrant and Obregon would be traveling for a very long time.
Studying the room, Kendra wondered if there might be a shortcut. The rod looked tantalizingly close! Besides walking alongside the reflecting pool, the only other obvious option was attempting to swim. If the room didn’t stretch when she was in the water, it would be a relatively short distance to cover. If it did elongate, she might, without going very far, get stranded and drown. Or maybe she could always swim sideways and get out? Perhaps only the length of the room could increase, not the width?
Kendra crouched at the edge of the water. The faint, overlapping whispers made the liquid seem sinister. She had a bad feeling about getting in. Was it just cowardice?
She was no longer trying to find Risenmay. Her instincts were probably there for a reason. Jumping into that water might be the end of her.
It was frustrating. It looked like she could walk to the rod in less than a minute! But as soon as she started to approach, she knew it would stretch out of reach again. How could it be so near and so far? Squatting low like this, at the edge of the water, it almost looked like she could reach out and touch the reflection of the rod. As she considered the reflection, something about the perspective seemed off. Shouldn’t the reflected rod be a little farther away? After she dropped her head even lower, the reflection appeared reachable.
Part of the poem came back to her:
In the end if you reflect
The rod you will detect
That wasn’t exactly right. But it was close. Could it be so simple? There was no way. Her idea was absurd. Kendra did not want to touch the whispery water to test her theory. What if it gave cooties to her soul?
But the reflection seemed nearer than it should be. And the way to the rod was so far and difficult. And the dwarf seemed to like tricks.
Keeping her head low, Kendra reached out into the pool and grabbed the reflection of the rod. Feeling tangible wood in her grasp, she removed it from the pool. And the rod at the far end of the pool was no longer there.
Forgotten
“You made that one look easy,�
� Humbuggle said from off to one side.
Kendra jumped, nearly dropping the staff, and turned to face the dwarf. “Where did you come from?”
“I’m never far,” Humbuggle said. “What’s the fun of a contest unless you watch the competition?”
“You made this contest?” Kendra asked.
He gave a little bow. “Guilty as charged.”
“Why?” Kendra asked.
He looked at her as if puzzled. “My dear girl, everything in this life is a contest. Finding food, shelter, the basic necessities. Endeavoring to thrive. Winning the positions and prestige you desire. Acquiring your needs and wants. Pleasing friends and besting enemies. At least my contest is fair.”
“What’s fair about everyone getting turned to gold or silver?” Kendra asked.
“Most contests get won by the strongest or the fastest or the wisest,” Humbuggle said. “I get tired of the biggest sword or the sharpest fangs prevailing in every fight! Who wants the most powerful wizard to always take the spoils? I created a space without magic, a competition where the best fighter won’t necessarily win. Other virtues are just as important here, like cooperation, and cleverness, and courage, and sacrifice. The biggest prize I know of is on the line, and anyone has a chance to win.”
“Not everyone had the same advantage,” Kendra said. “Seems like the no-magic condition doesn’t apply to you. And the three brothers had the gloves and got to hear the rules.”
“The contest was originally designed for them,” Humbuggle said. “The gloves were indeed an advantage. And yet those three remained stuck on the first phase of the trial for centuries. I’m flattered when my challenges are difficult, but even I was getting a touch impatient. As for the rules, everyone gets to hear them.”
“We didn’t get to hear,” Kendra said. “We had to talk to, um . . .” She didn’t want to tell him about Augie.
Humbuggle jumped and spun. When he landed, he looked exactly like Augie. “I gave you the first poem, didn’t I?” He sounded just like Augie too.
“That was you?” Kendra exclaimed.
Augie leaped and spun. When he landed again, he was a thin old woman. “The dragons met me. I went by the name of Elouise and told them the basics and the poem.” The old woman jumped and twirled, becoming Humbuggle again. “Everyone got a fair chance.”
“You’re sneaky,” Kendra said.
“Young one, you have no idea,” Humbuggle replied.
Kendra looked to Celebrant and Obregon. They were still moving away from her, still about a third of the way to the far end of the pool. “They may not be able to see that the rod is missing for a long time.”
“It would already be a long way back for them indeed,” Humbuggle said. “However, the Banishment Rod is what powers this room. Once the rod leaves the room, this chamber will begin to collapse to its actual dimensions for everyone still inside.”
“How long would it have taken them to make it to the rod the way they are going?” Kendra asked.
“At their present speed?” Humbuggle asked. “More than eight thousand years. And there is nothing to eat on the way.”
“How long would it take them to get back if I were to leave the rod here?” Kendra asked, wondering if she could buy time to solve the next challenge, then return for the rod later.
Humbuggle gave her a sly grin. “That I cannot reveal, as it could give you an advantage. I will share that you cannot move to the next phase of the contest unless you take the rod with you.”
“What does the rod do?” Kendra asked.
“I’m willing to explain,” Humbuggle said. “The Banishment Rod can send a single target extremely far away. It is rigged to do so only once. Take care how you use it—
I do not believe the contest can be won without it. To keep the game fair, I will confess that the Wizenstone is jealously guarded by a powerful demon. Any who seek to claim the stone would have to ward off the demon before long.”
“How do I use the rod?” Kendra asked.
“Simple,” Humbuggle said. “Just extend the rod toward the target and cry, ‘Begone!’”
“And the target will be sent away,” Kendra said.
“Use it carefully,” Humbuggle said. “The rod will work only once for a single contestant. Are you ready to go?”
“Sure,” Kendra said.
Humbuggle clapped his hands, and a secret door opened in the wall. Kendra saw stairs beyond.
“The others will be able to follow me?” she asked.
“In due time,” Humbuggle replied. “As I said, once you leave with the rod, the room will start to return to normal.”
“Can you give me any hints?” Kendra asked.
“Once you reach the top, I can bestow the next poem,” Humbuggle said. “Off you go.”
After a final glance at Celebrant and Obregon still running without progress toward the far side of the room, Kendra went out the doorway and started up the stairs. To her relief, they were well lit and completely dry.
Seth backed away from a trio of silver statues who were getting near. It was easy to see them moving now, but they were still quite slow. Enough statues had converged on the courtyard that he, Lockland, and Lomo needed to stay alert.
“Behind you, Lockland,” Seth said.
The prince glanced over his shoulder and moved a few paces sideways. “I haven’t been vulnerable since this game began. Tregain chose first and got the silver glove. Heath chose next and it turned out to be gold. Platinum fell to me. All the gloves looked the same at the start.”
“It’s getting hard to stay near the fountain,” Lomo said. “They might be slow, but the numbers keep increasing.”
Seth estimated there were sixty gold statues in the courtyard now, and maybe fifty silver ones. More were gradually emerging from the castle.
“Don’t let them form a ring around you,” Lockland said. “And don’t forget that they keep moving faster. Unless of course you want to end the suspense and rest. Getting turned to gold might serve just as well as the Quiet Box.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Seth said. “We have to keep the Wizenstone away from the dragons. It’s going to be tough. We need all the help we can get.”
“Seth is right,” Lomo said. “You could make a big difference.”
“I’ll try,” Lockland said. “At least the challenge is moving forward. I had lost hope that the day would come when the three coins would enter the fountain together.”
“Guys!” Kendra called, emerging from the castle holding a rod slightly taller than her. “I got the Banishment Rod.”
“Where’d you come from?” Seth called, running toward her with Lockland and Lomo, leaving the fountain and the majority of the statues behind.
“I came up a different stairway,” Kendra said. “It led to a secret door in the throne room.”
“What comes next?” Seth wondered.
“So glad you asked,” Humbuggle said, appearing between Kendra and the three males. “I have a poem that might shed some light on the next phase.”
“Let’s hear it,” Kendra said. “The dragons may not be far behind.”
To reach the storied stone of yore
You shortly must unlock a door
Those who dare may seek the key
Without the aid of memory
Plant the staff where five halls join
All can proceed without a coin
Those who advance may soon regret
The many things they will forget
“Happy hunting,” Humbuggle said, jumping with a clap and disappearing before his feet returned to the ground.
“We have to hurry,” Kendra said. “The dragons are coming.”
“Follow me,” Lockland said. “There is only one place in the castle where five halls join.”
Seth raced behind Lockland through a door into the castle. As they ran, Kendra explained about the Banishment Rod and the demon that would try to reclaim the Wizenstone after someone took possession of it. When they fou
nd statues in a hall, they ran by them, but not casually. Seth knew a single touch would turn him to silver or gold, and, though still slow, the statues were gradually picking up their pace.
“How many things do you think we have to collect?” Seth asked.
“What do you mean?” Kendra replied.
“First coins, then the rod, now a key,” Seth said.
“Sounds like the stone is behind a locked door,” Kendra said. “Maybe the key is the last item.”
Lockland stopped when they reached a small atrium on a high level of the castle, the ceiling open to the sky. Five corridors intersected around a curbed area of soil where several shrubs were growing. In the center of the shrubs was a flagpole supporting a blue flag emblazoned with a white lion.
“Here we are,” Lockland said.
Seth checked down the branching hallways but saw no statues yet. “Where do we plant the staff?”
“Maybe in place of the flag,” Lomo suggested. “See if it fits.”
Lockland removed the flagpole, and Kendra plunged the Banishment Rod into the vacant socket. With a gentle rumble, a section of a wall slid aside, revealing a black door.
“Good guess,” Kendra told Lomo.
“What now?” Lockland asked.
“I can go in,” Kendra offered.
Seth looked at the black door. Kendra had already risked her life once. It was time for him to step up. “No. It’s my turn. I’m the youngest. I have the fewest memories to lose.”
“We all want our memories,” Kendra said.
“I’ve got this one,” Seth said. “With or without memories, I have great instincts.”
“We could all try it,” Lomo suggested. “The poem set no limit.”
“But we can’t all lose our memories,” Seth argued. “Somebody has to stay out here in case those who go in forget what is going on.”
“Good point,” Kendra said.
“Let me go,” Seth said. “Once I’m inside, replace the flagpole and take the staff someplace safe. Maybe that will keep the dragons from catching up and following me.”
“Sound plan,” Lomo said. “I’ll go with Seth. Lockland, can you protect Kendra?”
