by Billy Miner
It was pointless.
Useless.
Hopeless.
It was long after midnight, and Sander still hadn’t caught any fish. It’s like they were laughing at him, taunting him from their safe watery home, refusing to give him a sparkle of hope. He was getting tired and hungry. There was no food, no dinner, nothing. His stomach made starving noises and the energy slowly drained from his body.
“I must not go to sleep,” he said. “I have to do this before tomorrow.”
For a couple more hours he tried the fishing rod, the net, and even a spear to stick to kill the fish. Nothing worked.
A big wave splashed the water in his face. Coughing up water and almost choking a little, he watched where the wave came from.
Then it was quiet.
It remained quiet for a twenty seconds.
Perhaps it was nothing.
Suddenly a monstrous fish twice the size of Sander jumped out of the water. The fish had evil looking eyes and small pupils with yellow around them. Its fins were sharp, and so were his teeth, reflecting the pale moonlight in a creepy way, giving the predator a life-threatening appearance.
“Whoah!” Sander yelled as he stepped back and fell over in the shallow part of the river.
At least the fish missed. This thing was humongous! And dangerous! But if he could catch this creature, he would have enough fish for everybody. The commander never mentioned how many fish he had to catch, just how many people he had to feed.
“Come here, you mongrel,” he said as he picked up the net.
SNAP!
With another attack, the gigantic fish broke the net.
“Time for extreme measures,” Sander thought.
He reached for his sword and stood ready to face the huge specimen. One last time the fish attacked and Sander held up his sword. Immediately the fish landed on Sander’s sword. But that was not the end of it. Although it was bleeding, it was still alive and was writhing energetically until it swam back into the deeper part in the middle of the river. Sander held on for life as he was dragged to the depths. As parts of the water turned red, the fish turned left and right, trying to loosen the sword from his mouth and remove its enemy.
The struggle went on for two more minutes until it gave up and died. Sander pulled with all his strength to get the humongous fish to the riverbed. As he set foot on the sand, he coughed and panted, trying to catch his breath, spitting out water and dragging the fish behind him.
He prevailed! He came off conqueror!
Sander sat proudly next to the fish and rested until sunrise. On the horizon he spotted a man crossing the bridge. It was Lucius.
“Well done, Sander,” Lucius said, unsurprised when he saw the fish, as if he knew all along what kind of monster lurked beneath the river surface.
“You have passed the first test. I will grant you your sleep for now. Tomorrow you will face the second test.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Sander said.
Test 2: Endurance
His reward was to sleep in. Sander was so tired that his pillow felt softer that night and his dreams were near paradisiacal, despite the scary fish he caught the day before.
He couldn’t imagine anything more difficult that the first test, but the second test would “push you to your limits,” Lucius told him the next day.
“What is it, if I may ask?”
“The route will test your endurance and determination,” he said. “You are about to cover a significant distance to an important place. Have you ever heard of the White Plains of the Miners Desert?”
“No, never,” Sander answered.
“The plains are spacious and lonely, but the hardest part about travelling through those plains, is that you cannot take a horse or wagon there,” Lucius explained
“Why not?”
“Because they get stuck in the sand. Many have attempted to pass through there by any other means than on foot, but it’s simply impossible.”
“And… I am assuming you want me to go through there on foot, right?”
“Right, but here’s the thing… “
Lucius pauses for a second.
“During the day it’s hot but it is also safe. If you stay until the sun goes down, your life could be in danger. You will need to get the barrel of oil one of our workers has left there on accident. It is of the utmost importance that we get it back. The city is running out of oil, and this kind of oil can help us all. Your mission is to run over there before the sky turns dark, hide in the shed with the barrel, and take it back the next day. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Sir. I will!”
They approached the border and watch over the plains. “Unbelievable,” Sander thinks. “So empty and so dead.”
“This compass will point the way,” Lucius said. “And this bag is filled with rations. You can put this in your pocket and have enough to eat. Oh, and do you know what the most important thing is when you’re jogging and hot?”
“Water?” Sander asked.
“I don’t think I have to tell you more, Sander. Now go, take these two flasks and this compass. Just head south and I am sure you will make it out alive. Good luck.”
Sander looked at the compass and began to run. He knew not to start too fast, as it would drain all his energy and exhaust him too quickly, so instead, he began slowly.
The heat was killing him, as if the sun was scorching his skin through his clothes. Every few miles, Sander stopped to drink some water. He wiped the dripping sweat off his forehead and looked at his compass again.
Pinpointing the correct direction, he headed on and made it to the shed.
“Piece of cake,” he thought to himself. But he knew the real trial would be the next day, when he had to carry that heavy barrel back. He found a comfortable enough bed and put the barrel in front of the door after checking whether it was full of oil or not. He shoved the bed to the corner near the window, so that the light would wake him up and he would be able to leave at sunrise. After that, he kicked off his sweaty boots and fell sound asleep on his back.
As planned, the sun woke him up. Sander stretched and put his boots back on. He took a small sip from one of his flasks and shook his head back and forth to “snap out of it.”
“Time to take this thing back to the city,” he said encouraging himself.
He bent his knees and lifted the barrel. Too heavy… WAY too heavy. Now what? There was no way he could carry the barrel all the way across the desert. Then he thought of something. The night before, he had seen a rope in the corner of the shed, hanging on a nail near the ceiling.
Sander tied the rope to the barrel and pulled it. That was a lot better.
“Nice,” he said. “This way, I can drag it behind me and I can save a little of my strength.”
And that is precisely what he did. Hours went by. Whenever Sander needed a rest, he simply sat on the barrel and drank a sip of water. Nonetheless, he got pretty tired and had to save a lot of his water for later. It was hot and he had to exert himself extremely to drag the barrel through the sand. Sometimes the barrel got stuck and he had to walk back and push it out.
The sky turned grey.
“O-oh,” Sander said, looking up.
“I must walk faster or I won’t make it before sunset,” he told himself.
He still had some distance to go, but it was already getting dark. There was nothing he could do about it but carry on.
Eventually, it was too late. The sun had set. Sander became a little nervous, since he didn’t know what was about to happen next.
“MUST…. KEEP… GOING!” he shouted, panting heavily.
Then, before he could say another word, the danger Lucius warned him about appeared from the earth. Snakes, scorpions and tarantulas climbed out of numerous hole in the desert ground. Some of them slithered, crawled speedily to Sander, seeing their next evening dinner in him.
“Oh, I hate those,” Sander said, stomping on a spider with his foot. “Get out of here, filthy critters.�
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He smashed a few, stomped another, and kicked the occasional serpent away, but there were too many of them.
Sander got an idea. He tipped the barrel over and rolled it in front of him. Aha! The barrel smashed every creature in front of it, rolling over them and splattering them to pieces.
“Perfect!” Sander said. Kicking the barrel again with his foot, the wooden item rolled over more snakes, scorpions, and spiders, paving a walkable path for Sander to the border of the desert. After a half hour or splattering insects and reptiles, Sander saw the oasis he started at.
“Finally,” he sighed, hurrying to the bushes.
When he arrived, most of the perilous animals seemed to be gone and he was able to drag the barrel again in the usual way, although rolling it in front of him was even easier, he figured.
There he was: Lucius. He stood at the end of the bridge and welcomed Sander back into the city.
“Great work,” he told him. “Although you could have saved yourself some trouble by coming sooner.” He glanced at the flat spiders and snakes stuck to the sides of the barrel and laughed.
“Bring the barrel to the main hall. I will see you in the courtyard for the next test tomorrow morning,” he said with a smile.
Test 3: Concentration
“Early bird,” Sander thought as he saw Lucius already standing at the designated location.
“Good morning, brave knight,” Lucius said, still complimenting Sander about the previous tests he passed. “Today you will provide another service to the kingdom. There is a light, an illuminating stone in the mountains which can provide the city with endless energy. We need that stone.”
“Okay,” Sander said.
“However,” Lucius continued, “No one can see the stone except for in the dark. Since the stone lights up and is visible at night, that is the time you will have to go get it. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir, but what’s the danger? Is there any challenge to this?”
“There is,” Lucius said. “To get the stone you must go through the Valley of Crows. All the ravens and crows in the area nest there. During the daytime it shouldn’t be any problem, but again, just like the desert creatures, these birds are attracted to the light and will attack you if you go through their territory with that stone. The test is to focus, to concentrate. You should be able to avoid their sky attacks if you focus hard enough on the sounds and gushes of wind around you. You must sharpen your senses. Only then will you be able to survive and get through.”
That didn’t sound easy, but just like with the other tests, Sander insisted on completing it.
“Scouts have spotted the stone in this area,” Lucius said while pointing at a map. “They discovered its whereabouts but didn’t want to take the risk of taking it back through the nesting area. Go now, and wait until the sun sets to find the stone. After that, you’ll have to make it through their habitat to come back alive.”
“Very well, Sir,” Sander said.
Immediately after the commander’s explanation, Sander took off and followed the map to the marked area in the mountains. On the way there, he observed the crows’ nests up on the rocks. They appeared to be harmless, since Sander wasn’t a real threat to them. They sat still and gazed at him as he simply walked by and climbed up higher.
So far so good.
After a while, it was getting dark. The sun disappeared behind the rocky mountains and Sander began his search. After ten minutes or so, he saw a glimmering object in the distance.
“That must be it,” he thought to himself.
He approached the shiny stone and picked it up.
“This is all. Looks simple enough. Now the hard part,” he said.
Descending down the path that lead him there, Sander sneaked by some of the ravens’ nests. Realizing they were aware of his presence, he held the light beneath his outfit, but it didn’t help. The lit up stone was too bright.
“Caw! Caw!” he heard.
Oh no! The crows and ravens noticed him!
Whooooosh!
A crow flew over his head, trying to snatch something away from him. Another crow flew right at him and started biting his clothes.
“Get off, stupid bird!” Sander yelled, hitting the crow in the face.
A huge raven landed on his head, starting to pull his hair with its beak.
“Aaaahh!” Sander screamed and hit the bird. He got the stone from underneath his clothes and held it above his head. Running down as fast as he could, he focused on the air attacks one at a time. Some of them hit him, others missed. Then he stood still and just listened to where the sounds were coming from. The birds were so noisy that Sander could indicate exactly where they were flying. He ducked and evaded an attacking raven, jumped over a flying crow assaulting his legs, and kicked a throw into the other direction while concentrating intently.
Slowly coming near the edge of the rocky hills, he viewed the beginning of the city lights. Finally, he was almost there.
Then he saw it… the shiny stone rubbed off on other surfaces. This could mean his method of escaping. Of course, the stone already rubbed off on him, his clothes, and his hands, which is why the crows and ravens attacked him everywhere in the first place; but this also gave him an idea.
He stopped, listening to the caws of the dark birds gliding through the air.
BANG!
He hit a humongous raven on its head, which landed on the floor. Sander grabbed the black bird, which was struggling for its life, and rubbed the stone on its body, causing the bird to illuminate the environment. After that, he released the bird from his grip and let it fly away. Within minutes the other birds started attacked the raven instead of Sander.
“That solves that,” Sander said with a satisfied look on his face. After distracting the assaulting animals in this way, he easily walked down the path to the city and handed the stone to Lucius.
“You are unbelievable, little knight,” he said. “Truly unbelievable. I will see you tomorrow at the same place, so you can pass the fourth test.”
Test 4: Strength
“This test will be a test of your strength,” Lucius said, leading Sander to the edge of the city. “Do you see those rocks over there? They have to be gone. Behind those boulders, there is a mine with precious stones and jewels. The mineworkers exploded the wrong part of the mine, so now the entrance is blocked. I realize not every boulder will be easy to lift, but as you will haul them away one by one, I know you will train your muscles for bigger challenges.”
“That’s it?” Sander asked.
“That’s all. You will report to me after the entrance has been opened.
Sander said goodbye and headed towards the mine entrance. Lucius was right. Huge boulders were blocking the passageway into the mine, preventing anyone from even crawling through a small opening.
“Well, I better get started,” he said before he spat on his hands and rubbed them together to moisturize them.
One by one, Sander dragged the smaller rocks away first, creating a bit more leverage for the bigger ones to be taken out. The large boulders were a lot harder, and some of them wouldn’t even budge. And although he was extremely fatigued, he kept dragging them out of the way.
Eventually, each boulder was gone, except for one. Sander was able to slip by it and go into the mine, but the big boulder was still somewhat in the way.
First, Sander tried to pull it out.
Second, Sander tried to push it out from the other side.
Third, Sander got frustrated and kicked the stupid boulder, hurting his toe in the process.
That certainly didn’t work. Now what? There was no moving that gigantic thing, unless…
A heavy tree that had fallen over during a storm or for some other reason caught Sander’s eye. “Surely this log would come in handy,” he thought.
He walked to the log and dragged it into the cave. There he dug a hole in the sand, right next to the boulder. He placed one side of the log under the boulder, which made
it diagonal. Then he pressed with all his might on the other side of the log, but to no effect. Sander scratched his head. He was so sure it was going to work. Next idea: He was going to jump on it.
One…
Two…
Three…
Sander jumped with all his weight on the other end of the log as leverage to get the boulder off the ground on the down end. With a big bang, the boulder slightly bounced up and rolled out of the way.
“Yes!” Sander shouted joyfully.
“Done,” he said as he slapped his hands against each other.
Back in the city, he sought out Lucius and reported what happened.
“Excellent,” Lucius said. “Then you are ready for the next test. You can start immediately. It will a test of your intelligence.”
Test 5: Intelligence
“You can be the best fighter in the world, but if you aren’t a little smart, you will never make it anywhere,” Lucius said. “Follow me and I will show you the dilemma the king has been facing for years.”
Sander followed Lucius to an old, ruined church building, similar to the cathedral he went to earlier, but definitely broken on all sides and deserted for years.
“Underneath this debris is a treasure,” Lucius said. “The treasure is locked in a vault. We have tried everything to open it with our strength, but nothing has shown to be effective at all. However, we believe the numbers on the vault mean something, as well as the letters. But nobody has been able to figure out what they refer to. So it’s up to you to unlock the vault. In order to do so, you will have to decipher the codes on it. Do this, and you’ll pass the test of intelligence, which is the last one before the final test.”
“I will get right to it,” Sander said.
He approached the vault door. It was twice as high as himself, so he could imagine that nothing or nobody was able to open it without deciphering the code.
“Let’s see,” he mumbled.
