An Unwelcome Quest (Magic 2.0 Book 3)

by Scott Meyer

  Gary said, “Look, I’ll show you the secret, okay. I saw it on the Discovery Channel.”

  The other three agreed and stood respectfully while Gary explained his ancient stealth technique.

  “Okay,” Gary said. “Here’s how the ninjas did it. They lowered their center of gravity—you don’t quite crouch, but you bend your knees more than you normally would.” He lowered his stance, slightly hunching his shoulders.

  “Then, you extend your elbows and your wrists. This gives you greater balance, and allows you to feel obstacles that you can’t see.” He spread his arms out wide and extended his hands in front of himself.

  Gary said, “You start with your weight distributed evenly across the soles of both your feet. Now slowly shift your weight so that one foot is carrying the load, then slowly extend the other foot forward. As you do, try to keep your pelvis moving in a straight line without raising or dipping. Slowly shift your weight to the forward foot, then repeat the process until you reach your goal. Move silently. Silently. Silently.”

  Gary demonstrated, walking stealthily in a circle several times, muttering, “Silently.”

  Tyler asked, “Do we have to keep repeating ‘silently’ the whole time?”

  “No,” Gary said. “That’s just part of the demonstration.”

  Phillip said, “Now we all know, gentlemen. The stealth secret of the ninjas was that they would sneak.”

  Gary ignored Phillip, focusing on Tyler and Jimmy. “Come on, guys. What do you say?”

  Phillip said, “No, Gary. It’s an interesting idea, but I’m afraid it’s hopeless.”

  “So what, then?” Gary asked. “You’re gonna give up?”

  “No,” Phillip answered. “A few minutes ago I was going to give up. Now I have given up.”

  Gary was aghast. “I can’t believe this! You’re really just going to wait here for Todd to show up and kill you?”

  Phillip pointed to the castle in the distance. “It’s better than going over there and killing myself for him.”

  “Really?! Really?!” Gary whined. “Man, I just don’t get you. You can’t just give up like this! Surely, it’s gotta be better to die trying.”

  “Trying to do what?” Phillip asked. “Something dangerous and pointless for the amusement of someone who wants us to die anyway?”

  “It’s not pointless,” Gary said. “Your way, either the river wolves will get us or Todd will pop up and take us out himself. Either way we die. My way, we will probably be killed, but there’s a small chance that we might live, and I don’t think that’s pointless.”

  Phillip thought about this for a moment, then turned to Tyler and Jimmy and asked, “Do you two think this is a good idea?”

  Tyler said, “No. It’s a terrible idea. But, we’re going to do it.” Jimmy nodded agreement.

  Phillip had expected that answer. For the most part, he even agreed with it. He was now objecting more out of momentum than because of any actual hope of winning the argument.

  “So we go with Gary’s plan, even though we’ll almost certainly be killed?” Phillip asked.

  Jimmy shrugged. “We’ll most likely die either way. At least Gary’s way won’t be boring.”

  10.

  They didn’t have to backtrack far to find a part of the river that was narrow and boulder-strewn enough to work their way across. They spent the remaining time until nightfall eating wolf jerky, making sure anything they had that was reflective was covered, killing the occasional river wolf, and napping in the shade of the canyon walls.

  When it was dark enough to launch their assault, they crossed the river. As they leapt from rock to rock, Phillip and Tyler found themselves on a boulder, surrounded by rapids, with Jimmy and Gary already across. It was the first chance they had to talk even semiprivately since the quest began, and they dawdled there, pretending to take a breather to capitalize on the opportunity.

  Phillip said, “The boulders are just close enough together to make crossing the river possible, but dangerous. There coincidentally happens to be a side route to the castle that’s just well hidden enough to be obvious. Doesn’t this seem a little too easy?”

  “Yeah,” Tyler said. “I’ve been thinking about that. Two things. One: Todd is a game designer. Now, I know you mainly play stuff like GORF and Choplifter, but games get a lot more sophisticated later on. It’s not unheard of for there to be more than one way to complete a mission. Could be that he deliberately made it so we could fight our way through the front door, or sneak around back.”

  Phillip said, “Yeah, that would explain it.”

  Tyler said, “Mm hmm. The other thing is that Todd went to a lot of trouble to make this quest. He wants to get maximum entertainment out of it. That means he wants us to survive, at least some of us, to the end. Also, he probably gave us the choice because he wants us to argue. He wants us at each other’s throats.”

  Phillip laughed. “I wondered why you were being so nice to Jimmy.”

  “Yeah,” Tyler said. “Until we get out of this, or he gets killed, I’m going out of my way to be civil, but make no mistake, I can’t stand the sight of him. I certainly don’t trust him. You?”

  “You know I’ve disliked the bastard longer than anyone. But, in a weird way, I do trust him. I trust him to do what he thinks is best for him. Right now, he stands a better chance of surviving if we all stay alive to help him, so yeah, I trust him to help the group, for now. If, at the end of this, he’s given a chance to sell us all out to save his own neck, I trust him to do that too.”

  Phillip and Tyler finally joined Jimmy and Gary on the far side of the river, and they were on their way. As predicted, there was a stratum of rock that extended from the one above it just far enough to make a path that was wide and flat enough to walk on, yet narrow and uneven enough to cause constant fear of falling into the river. As they progressed, the canyon got deeper and the river farther below them. By the time they reached the sweeping blind corner that marked the beginning of the natural bowl that protected Castle Cragganmore, the narrow path was easily fifty feet above the river’s surface, and the steep rocky slope below left no doubt in the wizards’ minds that if they did fall, they’d be far too injured to swim properly by the time they made it to the water. The rapids did not look swimmable anyway, so it didn’t matter. Falling from the path meant death; whether you died from the fall or from drowning was an unimportant detail.

  Luckily, the soldiers all held torches, and they all had been lit at dusk. From a distance the small army guarding the castle resembled the candles on an octogenarian’s birthday cake. Clearly they would not be able to see the wizards, as their night vision would be ruined by the torches. Nor would they even be looking for invaders halfway up the cliff wall. Even if they did, they would not fear four men foolish enough to get themselves into such a predicament in the first place.

  I gotta hand it to Gary, Phillip thought. This plan is so idiotic, it kinda goes all the way around the horn to being smart.

  Slowly, they inched their way along the canyon wall. The path was still the same width, but the increased height and the darkness made it more precarious. The knowledge that falling would lead to death, either by being dashed on the rocks, drowning, or most likely, being dashed on the rocks and drowning, did not make the path feel wider.

  After what seemed like an eternity, they were behind the castle. The physical structure of the castle was noticeable for its invisibility. The dull black stone swallowed the moonlight and starlight, reflecting almost nothing back. The light shed by the soldiers’ torches was visible around and through the innumerable arches, buttresses, and complications of the castle’s lower structure.

  Higher up, light poured out from the castle’s stained-glass windows. Phillip had never seen glass that better deserved to be referred to as “stained.” The color palette ranged from dark red to light brown, with the occasiona
l spot of sickly yellow as an accent.

  When the wizards reached the very back of the castle, the cliff face roughened, creating a rock formation down to the riverbank that fell somewhere between being stairs and a ladder. The river itself was strewn with boulders spaced just far enough apart that it looked as if a person could just about kill himself trying to jump across.

  Gary said, “Wow! What luck!”

  Jimmy looked back at Phillip and Tyler and gave a brief smile, a smile that said, “I know it isn’t luck, and I know you both know it too.”

  They carefully picked their way down the cliff. The river was a raging torrent of white water and deafening noise. Crossing the maelstrom was made all the more nerve-racking by the fact that every single boulder they touched on their way was slick with moisture and wobbled sickeningly, as if it could let go of the riverbed and be swept away at any moment.

  Once they were on solid ground again, the men lay there, trying to catch their breaths and slow their heart rates. They were badly winded and soaked to the bone, both from the spray of the river and their own sweat.

  When they were ready, the wizards set about finding a way into the castle. The only visible windows were the large, stained-glass monstrosities toward the top of the castle, but they found the castle’s exterior surprisingly easy to scale. They climbed the smallest buttresses with little difficulty, and they were able to scale the larger buttress with ease. The final buttress was a piece of cake, and then it was a short trip over the back of a gargoyle, and they were standing on a ledge outside a stained-glass window.

  They had discussed the possibility of having to break the window to enter, but they found that toward the bottom of the window there was a hinged panel that allowed them to crawl into the castle.

  Once inside, they found themselves on a ledge approximately ten feet above an onyx-floored terrace that overlooked the interior of the castle. They dropped to the floor as quietly as they could. From where they crouched, they could see the floor in front of them, a curved railing, and a wall in the distance. From the way the railing sloped downward and the floor stopped, they could tell there were staircases leading downward to the right and the left.

  Gary said, “I’ll go take a look around.” He started to rise but Phillip stopped him, grabbing his arm.

  “Remember,” Phillip said, “you don’t have to whisper ‘silently’ while you’re sneaking.”

  Gary said, “I know that. Jeez.” He turned his back to the others, bit his lip, and skulked to the railing. He cautiously peeked through the balusters. He rose a bit to look over the top of the rail. He extended his head well out over the handrail and craned his neck one way, then the other. He stood up straight, turned to face the others, and shrugged.

  After a moment’s thought, he held up one finger as a suggestion that they wait; then he snuck to the staircase. He looked around, clearly saw nobody, and crept down the stairs.

  Phillip followed, just far enough to watch Gary make his way down the stairs. Tyler and Jimmy both went to the handrail, and like Gary before them, they saw nobody. The hall was large, ornate, and empty. The room was a large circle. The wall opposite them was taken up mostly by the immense arched doorway that was being guarded on the other side by the torchbearing soldiers. Luckily, the door was closed. The wizards saw no reason to change that. The floor was mostly onyx, with soapstone and black granite. The lack of clear color contrast made it difficult to tell, but the floor was inlaid with the same pattern as the six stained-glass windows that circled the upper half of the chamber, except where the door was in the way.

  Big decorative torches blazed away on every wall. There was no furniture. The inlaid pattern on the floor was marred only by two slightly raised platforms set a bit over halfway between the front and back walls. They were equidistant from each other and the sides of the circular room, like the eyes on a smiley face. On each platform there was a large lever.

  Gary reached the bottom of the stairs. He held on to the banister with both hands and looked in every conceivable direction. He looked again. Then looked up to Phillip at the top of the stairs and to Tyler and Jimmy peering over the railing and raised his eyebrows, as if to say “What the heck?”

  Gary tiptoed around the end of the banister, into the area immediately in front of the terrace. He took three steps, then glanced into the area beneath the terrace, jumped straight up in the air, and said, “NGAAAAH!”

  Phillip, Tyler, and Jimmy all yelped, cringed, and withdrew several feet into the shadows. Gary leapt back and grasped the banister with both hands as if he were playing tag and the railing was “base.”

  For a moment, they all silently exchanged panicked eye contact, but nothing happened. Finally, Gary ventured to retrace his steps, more slowly this time, and to peek back into the area beneath the terrace.

  Gary leaned to the side and peered with one eye into the place where he’d seen whatever had startled him.

  The others remained silent, ready to defend themselves if possible, or more likely, flee.

  Gary peered into the area they could not see.

  The others held their breath.

  Gary continued to look at whatever it was; then he waved.

  Tyler and Jimmy glanced at each other quizzically.

  Gary gritted his teeth, stood up, and in a loud voice said, “It’s a mirror. Come on down, guys.”

  Phillip, Tyler, and Jimmy walked down the stairs. They still made an effort to be quiet, but if Gary’s yelp hadn’t drawn any attention, nothing they did would. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they could see that immediately beneath the terrace they’d been standing on, the wall was decorated with a spiral design about twenty feet in diameter. It was made of individual slabs of polished stone and looked like a camera’s aperture. On either side of the aperture were large decorative mirrors.

  They were definitely the only people in the chamber, and looking around, it was clear that the only ways in or out were either the massive doors at the front of the room, the stone aperture at the back, or the stained-glass windows that ringed the upper portion of the wall.

  Jimmy said, “It’s a bit, I dunno, spare, isn’t it?”

  Phillip said, “Well, I’m afraid not everyone has the good taste to coat every available surface in their castle with fourteen-karat gold, like you did.”

  “That’s not fair,” Jimmy said. “It wasn’t every surface. I didn’t have the marble floors covered with gold foil. One must show some restraint. Besides, I notice none of you were offended enough to tear the castle down once I was gone.”

  Phillip said, “After all the work the citizens put into building the place, they’d have killed us if we tried to tear it down. We’d already been chased by one murderous mob that week and didn’t want to do it again.”

  Jimmy chose to let the subject drop, as he was the one who had set the mob on them. He saw no way to win this argument.

  Tyler was standing on one of the raised platforms. He took the lever in both hands and tried to pull it but couldn’t make it budge.

  “Hey, Gary,” he said. “There are two levers. Let’s try pulling both of them at the same time.”

  Gary mounted the other platform and grasped the lever.

  Tyler said, “On three.”

  Gary nodded.

  At the same instant Tyler said, “One,” and Gary said, “Three.” They both stopped.

  Tyler repeated, “I said on three.”

  Gary said, “Sorry. I thought we’d count down.”

  “Well, what sense does that make?” Tyler asked. “If we go on three, then start with three, we’d pull the levers right away, then just count down to zero afterward. We might as well just say ‘now’ and pull the levers.”

  Jimmy said, “Why don’t you do that?”

  Tyler and Gary both looked at Jimmy, making it clear that his input was not required. Jimmy m
uttered an apology and looked to Phillip, who shook his head ruefully.

  Gary said, “Whatever. Let’s just do this.”

  Tyler counted to three; then they both pulled, and with the sound of an enormously heavy lid sliding off the world’s largest toilet tank, the aperture in the wall spiraled open like the iris of an immense eye. Torches set into the walls beyond lit a stairway down into inky blackness. Phillip and Jimmy approached the opening. The air that rose to meet them smelled like centuries of decay. As Phillip and Jimmy started to cross the threshold into the passage below, Tyler and Gary let go of their levers so they could follow. As soon as they released them, the levers whipped back to their original positions like the throwing arms of synchronized catapults. The stone aperture slammed shut and would have taken Phillip’s leg off if Jimmy hadn’t yanked him out of harm’s way.

  Tyler said, “Huh. Sorry about that, Phillip. I guess Gary and I will wait here.”

  “I guess,” Gary agreed.

  Tyler grasped the handle again and said, “Okay, on three?”

  Gary glared at him.

  Tyler counted to three, the levers were pulled, and the aperture spun open again. Phillip and Jimmy approached the opening, keeping an eye on Tyler and Gary as they did.

  Once they were safely beyond the opening, Phillip asked, “Will it be a problem for you two to hold the door open? I don’t know how we’d get a signal to you that we’re ready to come out, and we might be coming back out in a hurry.”

  Tyler said, “Shouldn’t be a problem. What do you think, Gary?”

  Gary said, “Sure, as long as you don’t take too long.”

  Phillip and Jimmy walked down the stairs. The torches, set at regular intervals along both sides of the staircase, seemed to stretch into infinity. Thick cobwebs clung to the walls. A layer of dust so thick you could draw in it coated the steps. The torches cast large shadows that leapt and danced menacingly as the flames flickered.

  Phillip said, “Gotta hand it to Todd. He did a good job of making this place seem ancient. I wonder how much time he spent just getting the cobwebs right.”