Chapter 7: The Puzzle Beneath the Tower
Gerard sits on top of the carriage, crossbow in hand, carefully watching in every direction. When he notices I have stopped my climb and am looking back at him, I get a nod.
‘Is Gerard safe alone there?’ wonders Belle, catching up with me as the four of us walk up a dry and stoney hill.
‘Fairly.’ Lisandra is curt because of the effort she must make to place one heavy foot after the other. Already, her face is red and there is sweat on her forehead. And we are but a quarter of the way to the tower at the top.
‘My own bag is light; I’ll take yours if you like?’ I hold out my hand to the sorceress.
‘All right. Thank you kindly Crow.’
Her satchel is heavy and awkward; my gear is held a modest backpack. So I find myself holding Lisandra’s bag against my chest with both arms wrapped around it, and, because it obstructs my view of my feet, I must look ahead to carefully pick a path past the larger stones. Though I am slow,
snailslow, I am also consistent and after some thirty minutes reach the foot of the tower. There, I turn back to see that Belle is not far off; Aarax is a dozen metres behind her; and then, only half way up the hill, Lisandra is leaning on a large rock, looking exhausted. I give her a wave; and with a minimal hand gesture of acknowledgement, she sets off again.
There is an arch containing a dusty, wooden door at the foot of the tower and as I look at the dark iron bindings around it, I feel a jolt of concern. Perhaps I should have continued to improve my Pick Locks skill. If it is locked, opening such a well-protected door will be challenging.
‘Quite the view.’ Belle has joined me and looks cheerful. Her rose cheeks are those of youth, exertion and fresh air. With her hands on her hips, her black curls swing as she shifts them from her view with a swift movement of her head, I am in awe of how vibrant and beautiful she is. I cannot speak. ‘It’s good to be out of the city. And look. That must be Biddlecove.’
From this hill I can see more of the sea than I had ever managed from the temple roof in Nekis. The ocean is a wide plain of dark blue with occasional and short-lived moments of white. A place for seagulls, not crows. For there is nothing to alight on and out there a bird must be able to glide on the wind or rest in the water. Most of the horizon is a straight line where the sky meets the sea, perhaps the edge of the world, although that is supposed to be a place
a place of mist and rainbows. Also, far out to sea to my left, a hazy blue island with a single mountain blocks the horizon, and it seems to me that there must be more of the sea beyond the mysterious isle, out of view.
The village that Belle is studying from under a raised hand is a cluster of thatched buildings. There is smoke above some of their chimneys. In the sea near the settlement are two small boats, each with a single mast. They are moving slowly, westwards, parallel to the shore
shoreclose and fishing, probably. I like grilled fish, though it was rare enough that I got to eat that white, savoury meat. Since no one knew my real birthday, Mistress Withen and Cathaldus would celebrate the day I was left at the temple, the third of Yehlios, and the last time I had eaten fish had been the previous summer, on my seventeenth ‘birthday’.
Eventually, out of breath, Lisandra reaches us. ‘So. Sorry. I’m not as fit as I should be.’
‘Oh, don’t worry. There’s no hurry. I’ve been enjoying the views.’ Belle is kind and helps Lisandra lower herself to a suitable rock for a seat. I hand over my water flask and it is eagerly received.
When she is recovered from her uphill walk, Lisandra asks, ‘well rogue. Is it locked? Is it trapped?’
‘I thought it best to wait for you; that you would know what to do.’
‘Fair enough. But now I’m here you can earn your pay.’
‘Pay?’ asks Belle. ‘Are we being paid?’
‘No. We are volunteers. That was a manner of speech. We’ve been given silver enough for stables, our food, and lodgings though. Off you go Crow. Find the traps or get yourself blown up.’ She laughs.
A crunch of gravel from behind tells me that Belle is following me to the door. ‘Please return to the sorceress; if there is an explosion that would be best.’
‘Oh, do you really think there might be?’
‘In truth, I think the door is safe, but Lisandra’s joke has tempted fate.’
‘Be careful Crow,’ Belle reaches over to touch me on the arm.
In her eyes, the concern Belle has for me is twinned with affection and I watch her move away feeling as though happiness has been poured onto me by a goddess of love.
Meditating on the door while searching for traps, I am fairly confident there are none. Scratches over the stone floor show that the door has been opened before, several times. No trace of exploding magic can I see. Nor anything untoward in the archway.
‘I don’t believe the entrance is trapped,’ I call over to the others, who are crouched behind one of the many large rocks nearby. ‘I’m going to try to open it.’
Were I being exceptionally cautious, I might ask Lisandra to use her Detect Magic spell, so as to discover magical defences that I find much harder to detect than mechanical ones. Yet we might need that spell later. And I have a feeling of normality about this entrance. The black, iron handle of the door turns easily and I’m able to push it inwards. Ahead of me, large flagstones have been laid in a corridor that connects the entrance to a stone stairwell in the middle of the tower. It is dark there, except that there is some natural light allowing me to see the ascending stairs
stairscending up and down, and a blue tinge to the stone that descends. I do not need a spell to tell me that this is magic.
‘Come on up to the door; then I will advance some more.’
When the other three are at my back – blocking the rectangle of sunlight, but enhancing the glow of blue – I walk quietly, concentrating on Stealth to the top of the stairwell.
‘Crow?’ Lisandra sounds anxious.
‘Hush,’ whispers Belle. ‘He is there. Just merged with the shadows.’
Testing for traps, touching each step lightly at first, I descend to a surprisingly large chamber where there is, indeed, a game.
A board has been formed out of pale and dark marble slabs. The central slab is dark, has a plinth about a metre high and floating above it, the source of the magical light, is a curved horn. Horn? No, tooth. This is our prize, a dragon’s tooth. Around this central slab are eight other slabs and around them, another eighteen. On five of the inner eight slabs are statues of warriors, taller than myself, wearing iron helms and armour, holding swords and shields. They feel alert
guardalert. They are watching me from inside those dark eye slots.
I hurry back and explain what I have seen, drawing in the dirt with a stick.
‘Is it safe for us to go in?’ Lisandra asks.
‘The soldiers seemed to be looking at me, but they remained in a state of passivity.’
‘This is exciting,’ says Belle. ‘I love a challenge.’
I lead them all down to the hall and try not to complain about the noise. To my ears, in this confined underground vault, we sound like a circus, complete with stamping elephants. Still, nothing has changed. The metal-clad statues have not moved.
While my three companions tentatively move closer to the board, I walk all the way around it and back to them, looking for traps or hidden doors. Nothing.
‘What do you think will happen if I step onto an empty square?’ asked the young coachman.
‘They might attack?’ offered Belle.
‘I think it would be best if I did the test.’ And pre-empting any discussion stand in line with the pedestal, just two empty squares between me and the dragon’s tooth. But of course I will not be allowed to simply advance and take the prize. Ready to spring away, I step forward. Immediately, four of the huge warriors all rush at me, a fearsome
feargrinding sound of stone on stone as they move, and I am going to flee, except that they stop with their swords raised. I feel that if I move to the next square they will slash me into pieces.
‘I dare not move my feet, other than to retreat.’
‘Let me try a far corner,’ says Aarax. ‘That looks safe for one step at least.’
I agree, although I am anxious as the young man walks around the board and then steps on it. Not just for his sake. I have no idea what the rules are here and Aarax moving on the board might give every piece a move
a deathmove in response, in which case I will be attacked by four mighty blows. Crouching, I plan to jump away should the nearest ones to me even twitch. They do not. The huge, metal warriors near Aarax do move aggressively in his direction but only one square closer.
‘Well, that leaves just one safe square. I’ll take it and see what happens.’ Belle walks briskly to the corner across from Aarax and without hesitation, steps onto it. Two of the statues near me swing around to move a square towards her.
‘Now what?’ Lisandra is walking around the chamber and might have even been talking to herself, her voice is so contemplative. In this chamber, though, her words sound close.
‘Do you think they strike across diagonals?’ asks Aarax.
‘Your two moved across a corner to close on you, so we should assume so,’ Belle responds before I can find the words to make the same point.
From beside Aarax, Lisandra calls out, ‘It’s impossible for me to step onto the board without being next to one of them. I could try a Flare spell but I don’t think it will harm these.’
‘It’s clear they are strong and well-armoured too; this is a puzzle we are not meant to fight our way through.’
‘I agree with Crow,’ says Bella. ‘There has to be a clever solution, without fighting or magic.’
After a long silence, Lisandra says, ‘How about you step off the board Crow and let’s see what happens.’
I do as she says and the two constructs adjacent to me both move one square back. Belle steps back and nothing changes. When Aarax steps off, the soldiers move back to the starting position.
Without further words, we gather at the stairwell, lit by the magical blue light, and speak in lowered voices.
‘To reach the middle is quite a riddle. No matter how many or how few, it is not something we can do.’
‘We are missing something,’ says Lisandra.
‘This is just a wild thought,’ Aarax looks over at the statues, ‘but could someone just dash up and grab the fang. Or fly in?’
‘Fly is a good idea,’ says Belle. ‘Can you do that Lisandra?’
For a moment I am hopeful. Perhaps her Alter Self spell can give her wings? But the sorceress shakes her heavy head. ‘I can’t. And even if I could, would Lord Scrithax make the challenge so easy for others attempting the quest? I think the swords of those statues can nearly reach the roof and they will cut down anyone flying or running. They move too fast.’
‘What about a spell that can move the fang to us?’ Belle asks.
‘I’d try it if I had such a spell. But again, I doubt it would work. The solution should be difficult to anyone from another kingdom.’
After a while, I say, ‘I shall try again with my Stealth, though I’m nearly sure it won’t go well.’ My doubt is based on the same consideration as Lisandra’s. ‘Ours is the only realm with necromancy; related to that will the answer be.’
Approaching the board from the shadows and sliding onto the corner square as quietly as I can, meditating on Stealth, I am not the least surprised when three of the statues instantly move a square towards me. I step back again and they reset.
‘What about trying to knock the tooth away from the board by throwing rocks?’ Another suggestion from Belle. I admire how she keeps trying and doesn’t mind voicing ideas that probably won’t work. We are in this challenge together and I like her as a teammate as much as I like her as beautiful neighbour.
‘We can try.’ There is doubt in Lisandra’s voice but we all go up the stairs to a world that seems too bright. Although the others are picking up rocks, I search for and find a tree branch long enough that with it I could reach the dragon tooth from the first square on the board.
Throwing rocks achieves nothing. When at last we have a clear hit (one of my throws) the stone bounces back off the dragon tooth without even causing the ivory to tremor.
‘Mind if I chuck a stone at one of the statues?’ asks Aarax.
‘Be my guest,’ Lisandra chuckles and her change of tone from serious to amused is very welcome.
With a loud clang, Aarax hits the chest armour of the nearest construct with his missile. The rock drops to the ground. The statue does not react and there isn’t even a mark on the metal.
It is time for me to try my branch. A moment’s anxiety as the two guardians advance on me after I step onto the board passes when they abruptly halt. From here I can hit the dragon’s tooth with the leafy end of my branch. I might as well have been brushing at wall. It is solid and unmoveable.
On my return to the others, I find no one has any more suggestions.
‘If you don’t mind me saying so,’ says Aarax, ‘we have been a long time at this now. Shouldn’t we go back to Gerard?’
‘Lord Scrithax save me from having to walk up that hill again, but you are probably right Aarax. We’ve done all we can here until we think of something new.’
I am not too disheartened as I descend to the carriage but there must have been some measure of failure in our faces because when Gerard sees us, his eager expression quickly fades.
I let the others explain the puzzle and our attempts to solve it. Shaking his head, Gerard has no need suggestions to offer.
I, however, have spotted a small white flower in the grassy ground downslope of the carriage. As I hoped, it is wild garlic. And nearby too are chives and onions. Already my mouth is watering.
‘Let us cook and relax and eat our fill; my Cooking might only be at one, but at least I have the skill. With onions and garlic and chive, we can do better than eat rations to survive.’
The sombre mood of the others lifts and smiles and nods are the responses I get. Perhaps inspiration will come after we’ve eaten.