A Light In The Darkness

The marketplace was full of people, all milling about the stands, bartering and making quite a commotion, it hurt my ears. I didn’t need much, the only things I really wanted was a good cloak, since it got chilly at night, a new belt, since mine was almost falling apart, and some food. I stopped by a weaver’s stand, her hands working needles back and forth quickly. She glanced up at me and nodded, then continued her needlework. There was a wide array of cloth gloves and other things folk would consider finery, but a cloak at the back of the stall caught my eye. She looked up at me, “A traveler?” She set her needlework to the side and brought out the cloak. It was very well made; its colors were dark brown with hints of green and gray. She handed it to me and nodded, “Should fit you nicely. If you don’t like the color I have others as well.” I shook my head, “No, this will work fine. What do I owe you for it?” She thought for a moment, “Three silver.” When I was a younger, Ian had bought a cloak similar to this one. He had bought it for half that price. She must have thought I was inexperienced. “One silver, thirty copper.” She raised an eyebrow and then grinned. “Two silver and that’s my final offer.” I nodded and handed her the gold piece. Her eyes widened in surprise, “Good golly, never thought I’d see one of these.” She rummaged around and pulled out a small handful of silver coins, placing them in my hand. She sat back down at her stool and continued her needlework in silence. I counted the coins quickly and placed most of them in my pouch, I placed four of them back on her counter, “You miscounted.” I walked away with the cloak in silence and I heard the slight clinking of money from behind me, “Honest lad… He’ll be going places.” I was grateful for the smaller change; it made paying for the food and the belt much easier than it had been for the cloak. I walked quickly back to the stable, my cloak on my back, food in my pouch, and a new belt to hold the still warped dagger. I carefully moved the sealed letter to a safer compartment of the pack. I stepped into the stable to find Matthew brushing Mr. Barley’s horse. He gave me a slight smile, “A good horse this one is. He’s already sayin’ he wants to run again! I’ve fed him and brushed him down.” He ran his hand down the horse’s back affectionately, “I hate to see him go already. Got a whiff that you’d be leaving soon so I saddled him up and he’s ready to go.” I smiled slightly, “You have big ears for a man who lives with his horses.” He burst out laughing, slightly startling the horse, “Sorry big fella’, didn’t mean to startle you.” He grinned at me, “Word gets around here fast. Also lad, a word of advice, you may want to tame that quick tongue of yours around certain people, some would take offense to that.” He held up his hand quickly, “I didn’t, but I’m just saying.” I nodded. I mounted and he nodded toward me, “Safe trip to you my friend.” I pressed two silver into his hand, “And a pleasant life to you. Until next we meet.” He nodded and walked to another horse’s stall as I urged the horse out of the stable. We walked out of the gate, with a friendly wave from the tailor lady, and approached the signs that marked the road. I groaned. The lord had never given me the name of the neighboring castle! I glanced down at the sign, ‘Kendron, two miles.’ Beneath that was slight scratch marks naming insults. I think that may be it, although they may want to change the sign after this is all over. I urged the horse onward, and he complied without question. William wasn’t kidding when he said the horse wanted to run. “I wish Mr. Barley would have told me your name.” I rubbed the horse’s neck and he shook his head slightly before continuing to run down the path. “I guess I could always name you, at least until I get you back to Mr. Barley.” I grinned slightly, remembering the strange creatures I had met, “How does Windrunner sound.” He bobbed his head slightly and continued running. The trip was relatively short, it was no wonder they were having land disputes, they were so close together! As we approached the city, it was obvious why lord Thoric was worried. This castle dwarfed its neighbor ten to one. It was heavily fortified with looming towers and a large moat surrounding. Guards patrolled the upper walls and watched me as I approached. There was some commotion and the drawbridge was lowered across the moat, giving me access. I slowed our pace down to a walk and entered. A guard stood in my path, “Welcome stranger, what brings you here.” Windrunner slowed to a stop, “I bring a message from lord Thoric to lord… er… the lord of this castle. He neglected to give me a name.” The guards smile vanished and his face took on a serious look, “I see… If you would dismount and follow me.” I slid off of Windrunner’s back and he was led off in a different direction. The guard led me to the all too familiar meeting halls, “Lord Aaron has been very impatient of late because of the recent squabbles. He is having a meeting with his war generals now, but this message takes precedence. Unless he says otherwise, simply state your purpose and give him the message. You do have the message, correct?” I pulled it out of my pouch and he nodded, “Good.” The doors swung open and he led me down a short hallway. The layout of this hall was very much like that of his neighboring castle. He opened a second door that showed lord Aaron and three generals crowding around a map moving small figures all over. The doors closed behind me, making a loud boom. Lord Aaron looked up in aggravation, “What is it, can’t you see I’m busy?” I gulped slightly, he was a very intimidating man, “I bring a message from lord Thoric. He says he has a compromise.” I walked up quickly and placed the letter in his outstretched hand. He muttered under his breath and opened the message hastily. His face went from simple aggravation to rage, “What kind of a fool does he take me for?! He is only giving me –half- of what I own already?!” He crumpled the paper in his hands and threw it into the fire, “I am a patient man… I have given him plenty of reasonable suggestions and time, and he returns with the bare minimum? That stubborn fool has kept my land from me long enough. If he refuses to give back the land he owes me in full, he will no longer be on the face of this planet.” His utter rage caused me to step back a few feet. He turned to me and his face softened slightly, “You are obviously new to this, because most of his messengers defend their lord. He has made a claim on –my- land. We had established boundaries long before he ever became lord of his ‘refuge.’ Out of greed he has killed people on that land, innocent blood, and took it for his own. At first it was minor, because it was a small piece of land, but when word reached me of the killings, he had gone too far. He has stolen much of my land, but now his greed will be the end of him… Go now, and pray when you give him my message he doesn’t take your head with it.” I nodded slightly and worked my way to the door. Aaron’s eyes seemed to pierce through my mind, seeming to invade my every thought. I quickly exited and pulled the cloak tight around me. The guard from before met me outside of the hall, “Well?” His face saddened when I looked at him, “Oh… It is no surprise his message was ill news. Tell me, what did lord Aaron say?” “He said that lord Thoric’s days were ending.” The guard frowned and nodded, “A pity is has to come to this, but we must do what we must do. Are you going back tonight?” I shook my head, “No, I am far too tired. Many things have happened today.” He glanced at my belt, “Did you travel weaponless this entire time?” I nodded slightly and his eyes narrowed, “It would figure he wouldn’t tell you about the bandits! A little dagger like that won’t do too much. Come, I’ll take you to the nearest inn and find you something suitable to defend yourself with.” He led me down the winding streets and to a very busy sounding inn. The minute he opened the door, the chatter from people filled my ears. The guard leaned close, “This inn doubles as a tavern. Gets kind of rowdy at times but you should get a good night’s rest none the less.” An averaged sized man with a balding head walked up to the guard and nodded. He handed him a key and the guard gave him a few pieces of silver. He led me down the hall and opened one of the doors. We walked inside and he threw me the key, “Take care not to lose it! It takes forever to get a new one made.” “You didn’t have to pay, let me at least pay for most of it.” I reached in my pouch and handed him half of what he had paid earlier. He nodded and pocketed the money, “You are nothing like Thoric’s people. They try to take every last piece out of your pocket.” I nodded slightly, “So I noticed… a woman tried to make me pay 3 silver for this cloak. Where I came from it was half that much.” He raised his eyebrows, “Actually that was a reasonable price to begin with! Whoever sold that to you must have been feeling generous.” I looked at him in surprise and looked at the cloak, “I would have never guessed… When I go back I will have to pay her what it’s worth.” The guard shook his head, “No, don’t do that! All offers are final and can’t be given back, or you may have her looked down upon. It’s a strange cycle but giving her the extra money would make her look like a bad merchant. In others’ eyes, it may make her look dishonest, which is very bad for business.” I frowned slightly, “Very well…” He looked me over quickly, “I’ll be back. I have to get some weapons for you to defend yourself.” He walked swiftly out of the door and closed it behind him. I lie on the mattress and almost immediately fell asleep.

The door opened abruptly and the guard walked back in, carrying a small bundle. “Sorry, did I wake you? No matter, I have everything here. And don’t worry about payment; I got permission from lord Aaron to get these from the spare supplies.” He opened the bundle beside me on the bed and out fell a long sword, a longbow, and a small quiver. He looked at me and grinned, “It looked as if you had the eyes of an archer, so I figured you’d enjoy a bow.” He picked up the long sword and twirled it in his hands, “Made by our best blacksmiths, as are all of our weapons. It should suit you well.” He handed it to me and I took it, attaching it to my belt. He nodded, “I will leave you to get your much needed rest. And your horse has been taken to the stables on the other side of town, if you have trouble finding them just ask one of the guards. Farewell to you.” He walked out of the room without saying another word. I put the equipment on to the floor and lay back on the mattress, falling asleep once more.

A cool breeze flowed through the open window. I groaned slightly and closed it, it was still dark outside. Grabbing a quick bite to eat, I left the inn and stepped outside in the darkness, breathing in the cool air. There was still a slight commotion in the tavern, showing some late night travelers. I could barely see the light of the sun peeking over the hills in the distance. Make that some really early morning travelers. I went back inside and grabbed my equipment, then, making my way across town, worked toward the stables, or where I thought they were. After wandering for a good thirty minutes, I finally asked a guard. He pointed to the building down the street. Brilliant, a few more seconds and I would have found it myself. I walked into the stables to find a young man sitting on the stool, fast asleep. I walked past him in silence and quickly found Windrunner. He stamped his feet and pushed against the door. I opened it for him and he walked out quickly. As I put the saddle on him, the young man stirred and looked at me. His eyes widened and he stood quickly, grabbing a large stick. I held up my hands quickly in reassurance, “I was just coming for my horse, no need to go swinging that thing at me.” He relaxed slightly and nodded, “How do I know it’s yours?” “He was brought here yesterday by a guard because a messenger came. That messenger was me, and I have come to take my horse back. And besides, no other horse would act this friendly around a stranger.” The man nodded and set the ‘club’ back down, “Very well. Seeing you have already found and saddled him, I will accept you story.” He sat back down on the stool and promptly fell back asleep. I shook my head and got on Windrunner. He walked out of the stables and made his way back to the gated drawbridge. The two soldiers there nodded at me and began to open the gates, “Be careful out there. Early morning is when evil is desperate for some fun.” I nodded and began my swift journey to Thoric’s Refuge.

I took one last look at the large castle as we traveled into the grasping shadows of the forest. Lord Aaron picked a very good position for his castle. That was obvious. All around was fertile soil, and nearby a forest for wood, and a stream relatively close by. All around were well traveled roads, making it an optimal trade route rest stop. Despite my wandering thoughts, the darkness of the forest unnerved me. The morning light was hidden by trees, making it a very dark place, with many leaves on the trees, all beginning to change color because of the cooler weather. I became uneasy, and it was obvious Windrunner was the same. I silently put my hand on the hilt of my sword. Windrunner went from a trot to an outright gallop, nearly throwing me off the saddle. I could hear quick feet keeping pace beside and somehow, above us. I made the fatal mistake of looking up, only to feel myself smacked off of the saddle. I fell with a thud and darkness covered my eyes.

I don't know if it's because it's not in the regular paragraph form, or if its just me, but it seems to me that you go from one "topic" to another too quickly; maybe have more sensory details in order to flow from one part to another? Other than that, it's pretty good.

I know it jumps from topic to topic quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, but the speed of events becomes a crucial role in the main characters life. I will admit it goes too quickly for my taste, but I am horrible with fillers, lol. Besides, this is a veryrough draft, it was mainly to get ideas down =)

I woke to the sound of guttural mutterings and loud crunching and smacking sounds. My eyes focused slowly and I looked around me. Both of my hands were tied, as so were my feet, at least to an extent. I looked at a short, ugly creature staring off into the distance, muttering to himself and rubbing his stomach, “Want meat… Horse meat! No, watch filthy human.” He smacked his lips together, “Me get first bite. Other goblin don’t touch until I do. Grr, so hungry. Want meat now!” He twisted his head at me and I closed my eyes hastily, acting unconscious. He muttered, “Need to wait… must wait… horse meat tough. Fleshling much tastier. Yesss… but hungry…” His stomach audibly growled. I disguised my voice and kept it down to a whisper, making it sound much like his mutterings, “Eat. Human asleep. He won’t wake. Must eat.” The goblin looked around in surprise and nodded slowly, a devious grin creeping onto his face, “I eat, human not wake! Too weak to wake. Haha! Eat!” He ran away quickly. I sat up quickly and felt a slight wave of nausea when I realized what ‘horse’ they were talking about. I quickly kicked off the sloppily tied ropes around my feet. My weapons and food were strewn about. Considering my hands were tied, literally, I simply began to walk away quickly. There was no way I’d be able to get something to defend myself without making a commotion. Who knows how many goblins there may be! There was high pitched yelping and cries of surprise and anger. I began to run as fast as I could, nearly tripping over a root in my hurry. I looked around for a moment and realized I was running into a large ditch. It was too late to turn back now. I looked forward again stopped quickly as I nearly ran right into a stone boulder. I looked around quickly and realized I was in the entrance to a cave, but it was blocked off by this boulder. I looked at the boulder quickly and saw two small, round disks with symbols on them and writing beside it. ‘Entrance to a great treasure inside. Figure out my riddle, and begin this wild ride!’ Not giving it another thought, I looked quickly at the two disks. They have 6 symbols on each of them. Beneath them were two levers. I quickly pulled one and the disks both rotated, the left clockwise three clicks, the right counterclockwise two clicks. When they turned, some symbols on the walls showed, matching those on the wheels. Only five of them were showing though, a small v was the only symbol missing. I continued to pull the levers, when some of the symbols matched, they shone. With one more pull of the lever, the symbols matched, as well as the two v’s pointing toward one another. The boulder rumbled suddenly and it split down the middle, opening wide. I heard crashing behind me and I ran through the door, which closed promptly behind me. I could hear cries of pain and anger as there were loud smacking noises against the door. I didn’t wait to see if goblins were smart enough to figure out the puzzle. I quickly ran down the dark halls, smacking into bumps in the floor and ceiling. Small lights shone in the distance. I quickly ran toward the light and slashed my ropes binding my hands using a sharp piece of rock. I saw water running down the side of the cave. Suddenly, I could feel my mouth was very dry. I quickly drank some water, it was very refreshing. I whacked my head off of the ledge above me when a loud echoing voice boomed through the cavern. It was slightly crazed in sound, “Ha ha ha! Well looky here. Someone daring enough to try my tests. What brings you here? Lust for money? Glory? Or- there’s goblins outside my door! Goblins! HA! You were running?! HAHAHA! Well it’s a little late now. You need to continue through. Hopefully you live longer than the poor saps that tried before.” There was a clicking noise and the voice stopped. I looked around and found more writing, ‘A well deserved drink, a pity it may very well be your last. Good luck, you will need it!’ Luck? We’ll see about that.

This man was obviously a mechanical genius. I had encountered at least five other puzzles, all relatively easy, that resulted in a dramatic moving of stone. I was pleased with myself. I was safe from the goblins, and I was mastering these puzzles like they were nothing. I was walking swiftly down the path when the crazed voice echoed through the cave once more, “So you think you’re so smart. Bah. You’ve only scratched the surface! Oh, and a little warning, I’ve had a slight bug problem lately, you may want to watch your step!” He laughed maniacally and that all too familiar click sounded. I was wondering what he meant when I heard a skittering noise. In the dim light I could see a large bulge forming in the distance. I quickly pressed myself hard against the side when a beetle the size of the tunnel came barreling down the passage. It passed, barely touching me and the voice cackled, “I warned you!” I ran down the hallway quickly and pressed against the wall again when I heard that skittering noise coming from behind me once more. The beetle was rolled into a ball now and was acting very much like a large boulder, smashing down the slanted cave floor. It actually seemed to be having fun. I ran quickly behind it, barely managing to keep up. It slid to a stop suddenly in front of a crack in the wall, and then turned around. It clicked its large mandibles together and began to climb its way back up the slope, nearly running me over. I ran quickly to the crack in the wall and tried to squeeze myself through. The voice cackled again, “Such a tiny little crack in the wall, can the tiny little person fit? He may want to move quickly, for the roly poly comes back soon!” I could already hear the rumbling as the beetle began its quick descent. I frantically tried to push my way through, and then saw a small tunnel to the side, hidden. I quickly pulled out of the crack and dived through the tunnel as the beetle crashed into the crack in the wall. I waited for my heart to stop pounding and continued through the tunnel. It was cramped, but larger than the crack in the wall. I finally emerged on the other side and saw bones littered on the floor. I quickly made my way to the shadows and hid there. After a minute I began to creep forward, hoping I wouldn’t wake whatever creature was here. I was caught by surprise when a large stone ‘log’ swung from the ceiling at me. I rolled to the side and lay flat on my stomach. It passed by me with a great whooshing noise. I stood up and ran quickly, then dived to the side again when I heard the stone coming back for a second round. It passed by me and suddenly I saw numerous arrows fly out of nearly unnoticeable holes in the wall. Luckily I was low enough on the ground to avoid getting poked full of holes. Adrenaline coursed through me and I stood to run again. I could see the arrows begin their flight out of the holes once again, but they seemed to be moving in slow motion. I jumped quickly and avoided most of them, batting aside those that would have hit me. Another stone log came swinging behind me. Using this new advantage, I ran quickly from it, and then jumped. I planted my feet firmly on the front of the log and used its momentum to propel me forward. I jumped off and was sent flying. I had over jumped and nearly ran head first into a wall. It was slanted enough I simply ran along it until my feet finally touched the ground. The adrenaline rush wore off and I suddenly felt very weary. It was hard to breathe and my hard was pounding in my head. I continued on in exhaustion, using the wall as support. The voice came booming down the cavern, in mock pity, “Oh so the great runner is all tired? Too bad so sad. Look on the bright side, you aren’t full of holes or smashed against a wall! Ha!” Whoever he was, he was getting –very- annoying. He has taunted me over and over. I sighed and continued down the passage, regaining my strength. If he wanted to play rough, I’ll simply play harder. I continued on in silence, grateful for the lack of traps. I could hear the sounds of people and walking in the distance. Strange. I picked up speed and rounded a corner, only to find about ten makeshift huts with some people milling about, collecting moss and mushrooms and talking quietly to one another. They stopped suddenly and looked at me and began talking in hushed tones. A man walked up to me, talking quietly to a woman beside him, “I know he’s not injured… Yes, I can see- Yes- Will you- …” The woman fell silent and looked at me, then walked silently back to the circle of huts. The man shook his head and gave me a slight bow, “It’s not very often a new one comes, let alone survives the traps. Where do you come from? And why don’t you have anything to defend yourself with?” “I guess you could say I’ve come from many places. My weapons were taken from me by goblins… they were finishing what was left of my horse when I began to run, and worked my way to this cave. I didn’t give second thought to the writing and simply solved the puzzle and ran inside, since the goblins were on my tail.” The man nodded slowly and had a slight look of surprise, “You should hear some of the stories of the others. Most of them have fairly dull stories but there are a few interesting ones. I was told the legend of this cave and the great treasures it and, like many others, was foolishly lured into his trap.” He motioned for me to follow and he led me to the huts, “Come, we’ve collected food and water over the years. We’ve learned to survive in this death trap.” “Why are you here in the first place?” “Oh yes… well… this town was here for many years, it was first started by three adventurers who were stumped by the puzzle ahead, and anyone who could not figure it out, came back to here to stay. No one has ever come back to tell us the answer to the puzzle, we can only assume they were either killed or forced to continue. But that is beside the point for now; you’re tired and probably hungry. Come, join us, we finished collecting for now, it’s time to eat.” He led me to a large hut. Inside about twelve people were crowded around a large makeshift table. The people there ranged anywhere from professional looking soldiers to farmers, how they managed to get past the arrows I’ll never know. Around the tables were dwarves, elves, and humans alike, most of them male, although there were about three women there. The women were mostly silent during the meal, but it was obvious they ranked the same as the men, because they treated one another as equals. They must have high respect for those who pass the last test. Despite the fact we were eating moss and mushrooms, it actually tasted fairly good. A man beside me spoke between mouthfuls, “Took months of trial and error to get these right, I pity the ones who ate the poison mushrooms. Good thing that won’t happen again.” The moss and mushrooms suddenly looked much less appetizing than they did before. The woman beside him nudged him hard and he coughed slightly as he nearly choked on a mushroom, “Keep up those stories Ryan and you won’t need a mushroom to kill you. Don’t listen to a word he says, he never seems to learn to keep his mouth shut.” Ryan chuckled slightly and continued eating his small meal. A man at the head of the table stood and clapped his hands together twice, the room fell silent, “If you haven’t already noticed, somebody new has entered this insane labyrinth. As you can tell by his being alive, there is more to him than meets the eyes. The best of luck to you my friend in learning the next puzzle, and if you fail like we have, you are always welcome here.” The others muttered their agreement. I nodded and managed a quiet thanks, I hated being the center of attention… I finished my meal quickly and left the building. The man that had announced my arrival walked up behind me, “I had no intention of embarrassing you, know that, but if you plan on leaving so soon, take this with you.” He handed me a sword by his side, “It hasn’t failed me yet, and I hope you may be able to put it to good use. Just don’t try using it on any beetles, it does not work.” He pointed at a slightly dull spot on the blade and he grinned slightly, “I haven’t had anything to hone it with, maybe you’ll get lucky.” I nodded my head, “Thank you sir. If all goes well I may never see you again. If I somehow find a way back here or manage to write the answer on the walls, I will try my best.” He nodded, “Good luck to you. Although I doubt you will get through, I only know of four that made it.” I thanked him and walked off in silence.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever; I was beginning to wonder what the man was talking about. There was no puzzle here, at least none that I could see. I heard frustrated yelling in the distance, “Oh come on! Wait, don’t reset- Hey!” I rounded the corner and saw a relatively short woman walking around, looking at the floor and at some strange pillars that were consumed in light. That voice cackled, “Spin the floor, and spin the tile. Make the lights match, and finish my trial! Spin them too slowly, and as you well know, they reset themselves, so go go go!” The woman yelled at the ceiling, “Be quiet you crazy old man! I’ll figure out this puzzle if it kills me!” The voice cackled, “Oh, we got a spunky one! Hehe, keep it up, you may finally figure it out after another five hours!” She stomped in frustration and began laboriously turning tiles on the floor. She turned a tile near one of the four pillars in the room, each one reaching a corner. It was a fairly large room we were in; an arrow shot’s length if you shot it straight ahead. She continued to move the tiles, which I found was partially easy, all she had to do was stomp on them, which explained why she did it so often. As she continued to turn the tiles, I could see they had little ‘pipes’ drawn on them, and when they matched up with the light, it would appear to travel through them. She had nearly finished one pillar when they suddenly spun around and reset. She yelled in frustration, “Come on!” She looked up and saw me standing there. She fell silent and continued to turn the tiles, finishing two pillars until they reset themselves. She sighed and walked over to a wall. She turned around and leaned on it, waving her hand in exasperation for me to try. I walked to the center pillar, which was unlit. All around it were four openings, that was where all the light from the other pillars were supposed to go. I stepped on the four corner pieces so that they matched up with the center pillar and waited a little while. Surprisingly they didn’t move. I continued to work my way out in the same fashion. I was about halfway when they reset themselves again. The woman pushed herself off of the wall and watched me with interest as I tried once again, getting that same distance. It seemed that as long as I worked my way in a circular pattern, they didn’t reset, until I reached halfway. She snapped her fingers and ran to the outer pillars, “I’ll go the opposite way you are, maybe that will work.” At the halfway point I stopped and watched her continue to move the tiles, one at a time, until we were almost next to each other. She had an excited glint in her eyes. I finally got a good look at her; she had slightly curly brown hair and light brown eyes to match. She also had small points of her ears sticking out of here hair. Something I haven’t seen yet, an excited elf, usually they’re all quiet. We both looked at the last tile that needed to turn. She was trembling in excitement and looked at me, nodding. We both stomped on the tile and the light flooded into the center pillar, shining bright on to the ceiling. The whole room was illuminated, making it hard to see. Suddenly the floor begins to shake and it falls out from under us. We landed –hard- on a stone floor below. The tiles seemed to shatter all around us. There was a muttering echo and that all too familiar voice sounded once more, “Well well… so you are smarter than you look. Congratulations… I suggest you keep moving if you ever want to get out though. These walls have the notorious habit of crushing those between them.” He laughed maniacally and the shattered tiles flew back up the hole in the ceiling, obviously to reset themselves for the puzzle. I helped the woman to her feet and we began to run down the hallway. Just as we started running, the walls began to close in around us. The woman looked around quickly and helped me run faster, using her elven speed to her advantage. I looked up, “Jump up above! There’s a ledge above the walls!” She glanced up and nodded. She jumped up quickly and I followed. We squeezed ourselves between the ceiling and the top of the wall, managing to make the curved ceiling like a small tunnel. The walls smashed together with a resounding boom and we continued to crawl along the makeshift tunnel. We finally reached the end of the crushing walls and crawled into a normal sized tunnel. The woman looked at me and nodded, “Thank you, for everything.” She extended her hand in a friendly gesture, “I’m Inwë.” We quickly shook hands, “I’m Brendan.” We continued on in silence, watching the walls and ceilings for any hidden traps. The silence was awkward but the company was very much appreciated. “So what made you decide to try this… puzzle?” She looked slightly surprised at the sound of my voice, but regained her composure quickly, “I’d rather not say. How about you, what brings you here?” “Being chased by goblins who want to eat me alive.” She grinned, “You sound so casual about that.” I shrugged and continued on in that awkward silence. I guess it was awkward because I was so used to traveling alone, now someone is here and they barely even talk. The voice sounded out of nowhere, making dramatic noises, “Dun dun, dun dun, dun dun dun dun. Watch all around! The creatures be coming for ye!” His fake pirate voice was incredibly annoying, but we had barely any time to think about it when everything around us began to move. Blades suddenly jutted out of the ground and walls and started spinning around. Some blades followed the circular design of the tunnel, while others ran the length of the tunnel. Inwë jumped back as one of the blades flew at her, stopping just short of her. I looked down at the floor and saw grooves in the floor. That must be where the blades follow. Inwë glanced at me, “That man truly is mad!” I nodded, “Let’s wait here a moment, maybe we can find a pattern that will be the easiest way though.” The blades moved about very quickly, making it hard to see them, but slow enough it wasn’t unreasonable to get by. There were three blades that ran across the floor of the tunnel, but they each came at a different time. By the time one blade reached us, the second was halfway down the track it was on, and the third at the other end. That pattern was fairly easy to dodge; the hard part would be avoiding the ones running along the ceiling as well as the floor. There were three, just as the blades running across the floor, but they were spread out along the length of the passage. Inwë nodded and motioned for me to stay, “Do what I do, I think I got it.” I was about to say something but she had already bolted off. Soon as one blade touched the edge of its track, she began running behind it, managing to stay right with it. When she reached the first circular running blade, she simply dived through the opening in the middle, which proved to work very well. When the blade to her right passed her, she switched tracks and began running along that one. She repeated this pattern until she was across to the other side. I could already feel butterflies in my stomach. She had made it look easy but I knew better. I breathed deeply to calm my nerves. Inwë motioned for me to come, “It’s not that hard. Just do what I did!” I nodded and waited for the first blade to reach me. It touched the edge and I began to run, surprising myself with the speed I was running, I could have nearly caught the blade. I quickly jumped over the circular running blade and switched to the second track. I had nearly got caught by the blade, my mind was wandering. I concentrated hard on the timing of the next jump. I quickly jumped and cleared the second circular blade and switched tracks, I could hear the third blade just touch the edge at the other end. I switched tracks quickly and jumped over the last circular running blade and nearly plowed into Inwë, who caught my hand and kept me from flying into the wall, “I told you it wasn’t that hard.” She grinned slightly and I nodded, feeling slightly sick to the stomach and breathing hard, “That man… really likes big and deadly.” Her face grew solemn and she nodded, “Rest for a minute, you don’t look too well. I’ll search ahead real quick.” She ran ahead. She had been gone no more than ten second when she was back, “If you’re up to it, there’s a small trickle of water ahead. I don’t know about you but I could use a drink.” I nodded and stood and we walked quickly to the water. It was very refreshing. Inwë drank some directly from the stream, but then pulled out a small water skin, filling it full, “Who knows when we’ll find some next.” I nodded and stood from my drink. Inwë looked at me oddly, “Aren’t you going to fill yours?” I shook my head, “Goblins took everything. I can’t exactly pull a water skin from thin air. The only reason I have a sword is because a man from that town lent it to me.” She nodded slowly and threw me hers, “I can last longer without than you can, I’ll see if I can find another from the ‘deceased.’” I shivered slightly, I had only seen scattered shadows out of the corner of my eyes, but I never actually went to explore them. We continued on in silence, completing the few puzzles in our way. Luckily they were easy. That man may be crazy, but we were grateful all of his puzzles weren’t death traps. Inwë had found another small water skin from a pile of armor in the corner; we split the water between the two sacks. We hadn’t even given the thought that there was armor in the corner until a hammer nearly smashed us into the floor, “Well, I think he’s back to his tricks again.” Inwë nodded and rolled past before the hammer could come down again. I followed quickly behind. I could feel the wind of the hammer smashing down again, nearly crushing me. Inwë frowned, “Got to be quicker than that.” “Well I wasn’t exactly moving slow.” She shrugged and continued. We entered a large room, seemingly empty. Inwë looked around cautiously, “I’m not liking this.” “Agreed.” We walked quietly to the center of the room, every footstep echoing. There was that cackling laugh again, “Echo, echo, everything echo. Don’t you just love big rooms? They seem so empty! Let’s fill them with something, shall we? Maybe some friends to come out and play?” The entire room began to rumble and each of the four corners began to crumble to dust. Out of the dust came four very large, human looking statues, each wielding a giant two handed sword. “Statues? What does he expect to do with-“ The rumbling intensified and there was a glow in the eyes of the statues. They began to move in very lifelike motions, no jerky movements as you would expect from something so large. They moved with a grace that was terrifying. Each of them turned toward us, reminding me very much of the giant from before, only they moved a bit faster. “Spread apart! There’s no way we’re going to do damage against stone!” She nodded quickly and ran between the legs of one. It swung its sword quickly and nearly took out its own legs. “That’s it! Just like before! Make them hit one another!” I quickly ran between two of the statues. They both swung their swords, dealing a large amount of damage to one another’s legs. Inwë began to jump up to the torso of one of the statues. The statue nearest her began to bring down its arm. “Jump!” She quickly jumped to the side, just in time to avoid a devastating blow from the statue beside her. The first of four statues tumbled to the ground and shattered. I jumped to the side quickly as one of the statues brought their sword down on top of me. It smashed into the ground and I began to run up it. It brought its fist down on top of me, or at least it tried to. I jumped off but the force of the fist hitting the arm of the statue threw me off balance and sent me sprawling. I rolled onto my back and drew my relatively small long sword as the giant stone sword came down on me. I planted both feet against the flat of the bladed and braced myself. The sword came down with tremendous force; putting a large dent in the blade and making my legs feel numb. The giant brought up its sword for another swing, but was smashed by the blade of another giant, thanks to Inwë jumping from statue to statue. Two statues down, two to go. I quickly stood and Inwë and I looked at one another. She nodded and began to climb the third statue, and I grabbed the attention of the fourth. It came running toward me quickly. I then pointed at the third statue, indicating Inwë. I saw the third statue getting ready to swing at me as the fourth wound up to do the same. I jumped onto the torso of the fourth statue and jumped off again when the third statue swung. Inwë jumped off the head of the third statue as the fourth did the same. We both landed and watched as the now half cut and headless statues fell to the ground. Inwë grinned, “And that, is how you destroy a statue. Not that I ever expected to, but hey.” I nodded, “I think the fact they were moving might have hinted to that-“ The stone pieces began to rumble and swirl around the room, blinding us. The dust finally settled to show all four statues compiled together into one giant statue. It had one head, human like it had before, but instead of two arms, it had eight, each one at a different point on its torso. Each of the hands held the swords they had before, only they seemed to be much larger. It just stood there, each of the blades at an angle that looked very much like wings. It looked at us and began to shift and move. We both rolled out of the way but it made no hostile movements. Its first sword touched the ground, the second on its arm, the third on that arm, and so on, making a large ramp up to its head. Above its head formed a large hole with the grinding of stone and down came what looked like a ladder. I walked up to the first sword and looked up at the head of the giant. Both of its eyes were closed, though I could still see the faint glow behind them. I began cautiously working my way up the bladed ramp. Luckily the flats of the blade were down, but the angle was steep, making it a difficult climb. By the time we had reached the top, we were out of breath, had slid down the blades almost falling off twice, and tripped at least four times. I helped Inwë climb up the head and we looked at the ladder. It was too high to jump up, but not so high it was impossible. There was nothing we could use to go higher, we were so close yet so far. “Do you think you could get me up there? As soon as I grab it, you can use me as an extension and pull yourself up.” Inwë nodded slightly, “I could, but we’d only have one shot. If we miss you might fall.” She was right, if I slipped, my fall would make me slide off of the giant’s head. I looked back up at the ladder, “We don’t have much of a choice. I don’t see any other way to get up there unless the statue itself looks up, but I don’t think that is happening any time soon.” She nodded slightly, “Alright… Just be careful.” She cupped her hands together and I put a foot in them. She struggled slightly at first but was surprisingly strong and continued to lift, “Ready? I need you to jump when I do. That should get you high enough.” I nodded and she ducked down a little, as did I. “One, two, three!” She pushed up and I did the same. The momentum of the push made me feel like I was flying, it had much more power behind it than I had expected. I wormed my way to the side to prevent getting hit my head on the ceiling and slipped through the hole, grabbing the ladder. I climbed down to the bottom rung and let my feet hang, “Well, it’s strong enough to hold the both of us. Come on up.” I could feel a slight pull as she grabbed my feet for support, but it was a mere few seconds before she was already above me. “You move fast enough.” She grinned, “I’ve had practice.” She climbed on in silence, reached the top well before I did. I finally emerged at the top and was met by a surprising amount of light. Everywhere it was shimmering and shining, multiple colors of light shining on the walls. Beams of light came from the ceiling, scattering in all directions and landing on the crystals on the walls and ceilings, making the colorful light show. There was a small trickle of water running around the crystals and fading into the distance, it shimmered in the bright light. It had a nearly mesmerizing effect. Inwë seemed nearly stunned by the light; she looked around following the constantly shifting colors, “They’re beautiful.” I nodded, “Hidden beauty for dark times.” She glanced at me, “Well said…” I frowned, “If only there were some way to keep this beauty.” She nodded slowly, “We may not be able to bring it with us, but it will be in our memories.” I nodded and forced my legs to move away from the hypnotizing sight. Inwë followed behind, it was obvious she was also reluctant to leave the sight. We walked on in silence, Inwë looking very much like she was deep in thought. I heard a clicking noise and I quick pulled Inwë back as a blade nearly cut the two of us in half. Inwë looked surprised for a moment and then looked at me and nodded, “We need to remember where we are, this is no child’s game.” I nodded and rolled past the blade, Inwë close behind. Inwë motioned toward the sword, “What do you plan on doing with that, it’s practically useless.” I looked down at it, “As long as it is in one piece, it’s still useful.” We continued in silence, “Thank you.” She raised her eyebrow, “For what?” “For saving my hide back there, I was very nearly crushed by the statue’s blade.” She nodded slightly, “What are friends for? You saved my life, twice.” She considered me a friend? That was an honor considering the situation, but slightly odd. She stopped for a moment, “It’s late, I can feel it. It’s time we rested.” The minute she said that, I could already feel by body aching for rest and my mind became slightly hazed. It must have been late. We moved to the wall and sunk down wearily. Inwë threw me a piece of bread and took a bite out of hers, “It’s not much but it’s all we have.” I nodded and thanked her and quickly ate some. I saved the rest for later and leaned back against the wall, “It amazes me we did in one day what the others couldn’t in four years…” She nodded, “They were overconfident in themselves. They became discouraged and simply gave up. I don’t think they even tried to move on after that first attempt. I wonder if the other four made it out…” I nodded and leaned my head against the wall, “I don’t know, but I hope they did.” She nodded slightly and fell silent. The constant dripping of nearby water drummed in my head as I slowly faded into an exhausted sleep.

Everywhere was darkness. I could hear that maniacal laughing echoing in my ears. Sudden lights blinded me and I was in a room, an old man standing on a ledge above the floor. He laughed and pulled a lever, opening holes in the walls. Out crawled hungry looking wolves, snapping and growling at me. I could feel someone behind me and saw that Inwë was also there, holding a sword. I was also wielding mine, as dented as it was. One of the wolves jumped and instinct took over. I drove the hilt of my blade up and smacked the wolf in the jaw. The fighting went well at first, but they seemed to grow menacing in size. The man was rolling on the ledge laughing and pointing. I could hear Inwë yell in pain and I turned for a split second only to be met in the face by a wolf’s mouth. Then, darkness.

I woke up with a start. The lights from down the path shimmered dimly, casting weird shadows. I shook my head and stood, almost smacking against the ceiling. I walked in silence around the cavern, getting the stiffness out of my neck and legs. Inwë was still curled up into a ball, sleeping soundly. I sat back down and nibbled on what bread I had left. Why do these nightmares keep haunting me? First, the hooded man, and now, death of a… friend. Images of the first man I saw killed up close flashed into my mind. His eyes of fear, confusion, and pain, the last bit of life fading from him. I shivered slightly and Inwë stirred. She looked up at me and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, “You don’t sleep long. And I thought I woke up early.” She stretched and stood, already wide awake. So that’s how they’re never caught off guard, they sleep lightly and wake up instantly. I stood and put the bread in a pouch. She took a quick drink from her water skin and began to quickly walk down the passage. I followed behind; although slightly less easily since her steps were so quick. She glanced back and slowed down, “I keep forgetting humans walk slower.” We walked on in silence. I was still playing my dream over in my head when we reached a large door. “Well that’s new.” She nodded and pushed against it, but it didn’t budge. We both pushed, and still, nothing. “Look! It’s like the puzzle where we met. There’s light at the four corners.” She nodded, “But there are no pipes for the light to go through.” I experimentally pushed on the door again and saw faint light as I lifted my hand off. The light stayed there for a second then vanished. I quickly drew my finger across the door from the pillar of light to the center of the door. It stayed there for a split second then vanished, sending a shock into me. “Ow!” The voice laughed, “Ha! Shocking, isn’t it?” Inwë muttered something under her breath then looked carefully at the puzzle, “Should we try the same thing we did before?” “No, he wouldn’t be that obvious.” She nodded, “True.” She ran her finger experimentally across the door, getting the same shock I did. She waved her hand around, “How on earth are we figuring this one out?” Inwë tapped the door, causing points of light to burst out. I pushed the center piece of the door and it began to glow. Suddenly, two streaks of light flashed to two of the pillars and then everything was dark again. I ran my fingers along the paths the streaks of light took. The light continued to glow brightly and the center flashed again, shooting out two more streaks of light. Inwë followed these two streaks, causing the center to flash again. This time, one point of light left the center and began to spin around the door frame. It stopped and quickly reversed direction, copying the same pattern we had used to solve the puzzle from before. Inwë smiled slightly and put her finger where she started with the floor version. I put my finger in the center and we both began to circle around, having to take our fingers off occasionally to prevent from running into one another. We met in the center and the door shook violently. It rumbled to the side and opened to another large room, no surprise there. The only thing different, was that instead of being empty, it was full of statues holding mirrors. The voice chuckled slightly, “I figured you had enough of ‘life games.’ Now for something a bit easier. You’ve gotten this far, you can figure it out soon enough.” A beam of light shot from the ceiling and hit the mirror in the center, reflecting it toward one of the walls. Inwë and I looked at each other, “At least there’s nothing to threaten our life this time.” I nodded fervently and we walked to the mirror the beam of light was next to, “It looks like we can’t move them, but the mirror is backwards, maybe we can turn them?” We quickly turned the statue so that the mirror reflected the light beam off too another statue. Inwë and I split up and began turning statues around, catching the beam of light and sending it different directions. Inwë pointed to one of the walls, “Over there! There’s a hole in the wall. Maybe we need to make the light shine in there?” She ran over to the statue perfectly lined up with it and turned it so that when the light shone on it, it would shine into that hole. The only problem was, no matter what statue we turned, the light would not go where we wanted it to go. “Let’s follow the light backwards. Maybe we can see which way we need to turn the statues then.” She nodded and we began to trace the steps from the hold in the wall, to each of the statues. As it turned out, we had one statue turned the wrong way so it was shining onto a different statue than the one we wanted. We quickly turned it and the light bounced off of the mirrors, and into the hole. At first nothing happened, but suddenly the entire room began to shake and the wall itself lifted off the ground, revealing a stairway leading down. Inwë ran ahead and motioned for me to come. I just started to run when the wall began to close. Inwë yelled, “Run for it!” “I’m trying!” I put every last ounce of energy I had into running before the door closed on me. It was already too low to simply run through, so I dove. I could feel Inwë’s hands grabbing mine and pulling me the rest of the way through, just before the door slammed into the ground. I leaned against the wall to catch my breath, “So much for not life threatening.” The voice cackled, “The puzzle wasn’t. I just didn’t expect you to go through the door separately, it’s rigged to close after one person, you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Quite a show though!” Inwë glared in the direction of the voice and continued walking slowly. I followed quietly behind. My thoughts drifted to the goblins, “You never did say how or why you came here.” She looked back and me and nodded slightly, “I will tell you when we get out of here…” I nodded; I guess it is best if we did focus on what was at hand. We continued to walk on in silence, encountering nothing but simple puzzles along the way. The puzzles continued to get more complex, each taking longer and longer to solve. I was beginning to think that if I learn any more combinations for all these puzzles, my brain would explode! And I thought the lessons Ian gave me were difficult. By the time we had reached the thirtieth puzzle, our patience was spent along with every ounce of brain power we had left. The voice laughed, “A bit tired are we? Take a rest. No tricks this time, but behind this door is a physically exhausting test. I would hate to have to kill you simply because you could barely hold your head up straight!” I looked up at where the voice was coming from. Did he actually sound like he had pity for us? Inwë sat on the floor without another word and leaned against the wall, “Whether he said it or not, there is no way I can figure out that puzzle right now.” I nodded and sat on the opposite side of the wall, “We made good progress today. We deserve a rest.” The words were barely out of my mouth when I noticed her head was on her knees and she was breathing softly. I grinned slightly and leaned back against the wall, gratefully accepting the much needed sleep.

My stomach growled. I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes slowly. The ceiling looked weird, or was that just my eyes? I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My stomach growled again and Inwë stirred. She looked up at me and grinned slightly, “Well, at least I don’t have to wake you up.” She sat up and pulled out another small loaf from her pack. She split it in half and handed me some, “This is the last I have, hopefully we make it out soon or we’ll have to start experimenting with the moss and mushrooms. Only thing is, I haven’t seen either of them.” I nibbled on the piece of bread and looked at the large puzzle beside us. I quickly shoved the rest of the bread in my mouth and stood, looking at the puzzle, “We must have been tired, this one is obvious. Look, doesn’t it look just like the puzzle for when you first get into the cave?” She stood and nodded, “It does; only there are three wheels now and three levers.” She pulled one of the levers and the wheels shifted, the first one clockwise one click, the second counterclockwise two clicks, and the third three clicks clockwise. There were four symbols, much less than there were before, but the fact we had to get all three of them matched up would be difficult. We continued pulling levers, usually getting one wheel matched while the other two were still out of sync. I pulled the one in the middle and they all shifted right, “As long as we can get the pattern right, we can move them so that they fit with that lever.” She nodded and we quickly matched up the three wheels so that when we pulled the middle lever, they would all match correctly. We both pushed it down and they turned. They clicked into place and began to glow softly. They continued to glow brighter until they nearly blinded us. The glowing stopped abruptly and we were standing in the center of a very large room. It was completely empty; the only strange part was that there was fog on the floor. Everything looked too much like in my dream. That same ledge was on the one wall, and the fog swirled around us. I quickly drew my dented sword and Inwë did the same. We stood back to back, getting ready for anything. Laughter nearly made us jump out of our skin as we looked toward the ledge. A shadow was there, the shadow of a man. Its arms were folded and it was obvious he was grinning, “Well, it’s nice to see you in person! Welcome! It’s about time somebody made it this far. Those other fools had no idea what they were getting in to. Ha, I guess neither did you, but you faired a bit better, didn’t you?” He cackled, “Don’t worry, you’re almost finished. And yes, I know I stopped talking in rhyme, it gets quite boring after a while! Now this, I’m hoping you will give me something entertaining!” He pulled a lever beside him and the walls opened wide, revealing holes and glowing eyes. I whispered to Inwë, “Be careful. They move fast and are hard to hit.” “How do you know that?” “My dream.” “What?” I had no time to finish my explanation, because the first of six creatures rushed out of the door. It was more hideous than my dream. Its fangs were all different sizes and its eyes were slightly off. I had barely gotten a look at it when I was forced to put my blade up in defense. It growled and lunged at me. I twisted and drove my blade upwards, striking the gut of the beast. It howled and stumbled to the side. Bright sparks of light flashed out of its wound. There was an earsplitting grinding sound and the creature simply fell, completely stiff. I could hear growling behind me and I brought my blade up quickly. Unfortunately, I hit it with the dull side of the blade, doing no more than giving the creature a good whack. It continued to fly over me, only to be met by Inwë’s blade. She had a fierce look in her eyes and she nodded at me. The other four creatures all crawled out of their holes, looking much larger than the other two. One of them looked like they were about to lunge. Inwë held out her arm, “Throw me!” I nodded, remembering the tactic Andrew and I had used. I grabbed her arm and swung her at the creature. It started to lunge, but had barely gotten more than a few feet before its head was rolling on the floor. There were strange sparks of light coming from the severed neck, all of them coming from long, thin tubes. I didn’t have any time to look at it more closely when the fourth creature ran at me. I swung my sword straight up, about to cleave its head in two. It turned its head sideways and grabbed the sword in its mouth. There was a sickening sound of metal being crushed as the creature ripped the entire blade in half. I looked at my now very short sword and at the creature. It shook its head violently and spit out the metal then looked at me menacingly. It tried to pounce on me, but I managed to duck beneath it and drive what was left of my sword into it. It howled and crumpled on top of me. It was a –lot- heavier than it looked. It knocked the wind out of me. I quickly pushed up against it and it moved slightly, but not enough. I quickly drew in a breath and pushed with all I had, managing to roll it off of me enough to crawl out. I ripped out the sword and found it covered in a strange black liquid. I wiped it off and turned at the sound of Inwë yelling in pain and anger. She was holding off two of the creatures and the larger of the two had gotten a lucky swipe, sending her sprawling. I quickly ran to her as the creature jumped to crush her. With a yell I threw what was left at the blade at the rising creature. It hit its head with a dull thud. It let out a weak yelp and fell sideways, narrowly missing Inwë. I was still running, but everything seemed slow motion. The last creature was about to drive its teeth into Inwë, who was fumbling for her scattered blade. Even at the sacrifice of myself, she is not going to die in this death trap. Every drop of energy I had poured into running. Its head was on its way down to her, I could see the look of terror as she turned around. I dove at the creature, not having any weapons, I used my fists. We collided and the creature flew into the wall. Not having control over my own body I ran up to it as it was standing. It quickly lunged at me, teeth first. I had no time to react. I put my arms up in defense and close my eyes.

I heard a dull clinking noise and didn’t feel the pain I had expected. I opened my eyes to seem my arms, covered in stone, holding the jaws of the beast open. With strength I never knew I had, I continued to push against the jaws. There was a sickening grinding sound and the jaw completely ripped off of the creature in a flash of sparks. It growled and pounced on me, or tried to. I gripped its claws and began to swing it around. I let go and it landed in a crumpled heap against the wall. The thrill of battle began to wear off and I noticed the stone on my arms begin to fall off, revealing normal skin underneath. I could barely stand by the time the rest of the stone had fallen away. Inwë grabbed me by the arm and set me on the ground as I started to collapse. The man in the shadows jumped down from his ledge, looking at me in amazement. He had a long, gray beard with hair to match. His eyes looked weary and tired, but they shimmered with a young light that was obvious in the way he held himself. He walked like a king, not like an old man. He was wearing a tattered brown robe, underneath showed just as ragged pants and tunic. He was shaking his head in amazement, “I’ve seen some crazy things in my life… but I’ll be a pile of bones by the time I see something that tops that!” Inwë glared at him slightly, “You may end up being a pile of bones now if you try anything stupid.” He held up his hands in mock surrender, “Believe me I won’t. You must be that feisty one.” He chuckled slightly, he sounded much different in person, or was he simply hiding his insanity? I was finally able to sit up without falling over, “Who are you? You don’t sound at all like the man that keeps taunting us.” “Oh really?” He laughed, very much like he did when he was taunting us. His voice changed to that crazed sound, “It gets so boring all alone! You’re the first that made it this far! So close to the end!” He laughed maniacally, having that crazed look in his eyes. He jumped quickly to the ledge with a grace strange for someone looking his age, “One more test, one more try. Catch me if you can, and I may let you go by!” He laughed and vanished through a hole that suddenly appeared through the wall. I stood up quickly, nearly falling over again from weariness. Inwë helped me to my feet and I could feel my energy coming back, “Let’s get him.” She nodded and jumped up to the ledge. I jumped up, not quite high enough, but Inwë grabbed my hand and pulled me quickly to the top. We ran through the hole and could hear the man’s maniacal laughing. We ran swiftly down the passage. It twisted and turned, making it very difficult to gain speed. Suddenly Inwë stopped, and I nearly plowed into her. She grabbed my collar and pulled be back quickly as I looked down over a ledge to a very deep hole. The man was on the other side, waving his hands and laughing. He ran off down the passage. “How on earth…” Inwë looked around at the walls and ceiling, “Well, there’s no way he could have ran along the walls or used the ceiling, they’re too smooth. It’s also too far to jump.” I nodded and looked down at the blackness below. I noticed something strange as I looked down. Most of it looked normal, but there was a thin area where the view was distorted, “Look.” I touched the distortion with my hand. It was solid, “It’s an invisible bridge!” She nodded and quickly began walking across, watching her step very carefully. I followed behind. When she got close enough, she simply jumped across and began to run. I began to run on the bridge, nearly slipping off, but catching my footing enough that I could reach the opening. I followed right behind Inwë. This tunnel was straight, so we could gain a lot of speed. The laughter continued to echo down the tunnel, seeming farther away now. We put on a burst of speed and emerged into a large room. The old man was swinging on a metal pole attached to two of the walls. He grinned at us like a child and began swinging in circles. He let go of the pole mid swing, landing on a large ledge high up on the wall. He waved mockingly and ran off. I looked down and saw that Inwë was already climbing the randomly placed stone ledges to the poles stabbed into the wall. She jumped and grabbed the first pole and began swinging in circles, just as the man had done. She let go and grabbed the next pole, the momentum from her previous swing sending her spinning again. She continued this until she finally reached the top. She turned to look at me when she reached the ledge and motioned for me to hurry. I was already on the second to last pole, so it wasn’t long before we were both running down the tunnel once more. The laughter was very far away now and Inwë was picking up speed fast. I had trouble keeping up with her. The tunnel began climbing upward, making it difficult to keep our footing. By the time we reached the top we were out of breath. We stopped for a moment to catch our breath and continued on. We hadn’t traveled for before we reached a small room with a domed ceiling. The man was sitting there in the center of the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed. Inwë began to walk forward but I held her back, “Wait, we don’t know what he’s going to do.” The man looked up and grinned slightly, “Smart lad. Because of your physical endurance you have managed to get here, it is by your mental agility you will get out.” He closed his eyes again and appeared to be thinking. He looked up again, a wise old grin on his face, “Three riddles you must answer. Figure them out and you can pass. But get one wrong, you end up back at the bottom of the tunnel, only to work your way back to the top to try again.” Inwë and I looked at one another then I turned back to the man, “Alright. We’ll take this challenge.” He chuckled and nodded, “Every answer right, opens the door to the light. Now, we begin!”

He closed his eyes again and appearing deep in thought. His eyes snapped open, “What howls and whistles and moans, all in the very same day, what one moment playfully tugs at you're hair, then the next makes even the mighty trees sway.” I thought for a moment and looked at Inwë. She was grinning slightly, “I remember this one. My people use it often. The answer is wind.” The man nodded and closed his eyes again. I had already been thinking of that. Surely not all the riddles would be this easy, nothing with him is easy. He grinned, “A mighty beast of the air, it's in his lungs. It has no mouth, yet it has tongues. It does not live, yet it breathes. And when its food is gone, it leaves.
It will die if you give it a drink. Yet it cause mighty ships to sink.” Inwë looked slightly confused and looked at me. “Mighty beast of the air has it in his lungs… has no mouth, yet it has tongues… when its food is gone it leaves but dies if you give it a drink…” An image of the dragon flashed through my mind. That must be the mighty creature of the air, at least with a land dragon. “Is it fire?” The man looked slightly surprised and nodded, “Impressive…”His eyes closed again and I noticed Inwë nodding slightly, “That makes sense… The beast of the air must be a dragon. I’ve never seen one, I’ve heard of them though.” The man opened his eyes, looking slightly annoyed. He stood and crossed his arms slowly, “Often talked of, never seen. Ever coming, never been, daily looked for, never here, still approaching, coming near. Thousands for my visit wait, but alas, for their fate, though they expect me to appear, they will never find me here. What am I?” Of course he would save the hardest for last… Inwë looked just about as confused as I did. The man chuckled, “Come come, we don’t have all day.” He grinned tauntingly. Inwë looked deep in thought and I was thinking hard myself. He tapped his foot impatiently, “Time is passing quickly… Answer soon or I may make you climb the hill anyways.” I closed my eyes, forcing myself to ignore his constant taunts. I could hear the man chuckle slightly, “I probably have time for a small nap.” Why must he keep making reference to time? I know that it’s running short- That’s it! He’s been emphasizing time, maybe it’s a hint. “Often talked of never seen, ever coming never been. Daily looked for, but they never find it… Is it tomorrow?” The man’s eyes widened in surprise, “Yes. Yes, that is the answer.” Inwë smiled and looked at me, she was obviously happy. The man grinned slightly, “You’ve done well. May no one underestimate your abilities…” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small dagger and a small pouch, “They all expect great rewards of treasure and power, but sometimes it’s the smallest things that can be most powerful.” I took the dagger and the bag, finding a pile of gold coins inside of it. He nodded and motioned for us to follow. It was obvious he had no more tricks. He led us to a wall and stood there for a second, “Never have I seen such skill in both mind and body until I met you two. It is a pity I can not get to know you more.” He touched some points of the wall and a large door formed, “A short way down this passage will be the way out.” He pointed at me, “Learn to stand your own, not just in a battle, but also in conversation. Many will try to sway you with words and actions of ‘kindness,’ but some do this only for their own gain. Be wary.” He turned his gaze to Inwë, “It’s from the smallest things in life the world’s greatest lessons can be learned. Don’t let anyone look down on you because of size or age; you are who you are for a reason.” He smiled, seeming quite calm and wise, “Never forget what you learned here, teamwork, friendship, trust. Continue to grow as friends and learn what it is like to act as a team, for a strand of many cords is not easily broken. Act alone and you will find yourself cut down at the roots.” He frowned slightly, “Sometimes by those you trust most. But don’t let that thought drive you to insanity, as it does some. That is why it is important to grow as a team, not suspicious of one another. These are dark times. I may have been in a cave half of my life but I know. Remember what I told you.” He stepped to the side and motioned toward the door. We walked into the doorway and I turned to thank him, but he had vanished. “Well that’s strange…” Inwë nodded and walked on in silence. She suddenly laughed slightly, “For a crazy old man, he knows a lot more than you’d think.” I grinned slightly, “That’s for sure.” “What do you think about what he said?” I thought for a moment, “It makes sense. At least most of it does. Ian had always told me friendship was important. Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to town to have many, or see them very often.” Inwë nodded slowly and fell silent. We continued walking, the light at the end of the tunnel growing slowly.

I was looking quietly at the dagger the man had given me. It was very well made and extremely sharp. It reminded me of my daggers, before they were destroyed. I slipped the dagger back into its sheath and continued walking. I noticed Inwë looking at me from the corner of my eye, “Something wrong?” I shook my head, “It just reminds me of the daggers my father had given me.” “Goblins steal them?” I shrugged, “You could say that.” She raised an eyebrow but fell silent. Inwë began to walk faster, seeing the light was closer. We finally emerged, having to shield our eyes from the light. The sun felt wonderful. Everything was so much warmer than it had been in the cave. The leaves were already beginning to fall off of the trees, yet it still felt warm. It must have been very cold in the cave. Inwë was looking up at the sun with her eyes closed, seeming to enjoy every second of freedom. Suddenly, everything came back to me. The Bleeding Flame, the message, the refusal. Who knew what was going on in the days I was gone! “We need to get moving, now.” Inwë looked at me, confused. “I was supposed to bring a message back to lord Thoric, but I was trapped in the cave. If I bring it too late, all out war may start. What’s worse, the Bleeding Flame are coming this way.” “What?” I looked around quickly and realized we were on the path I was on before, near the entrance, “I will explain along the way. We need to get moving.” I began to run down the path, Inwë following close behind. “I don’t know if you heard, depending on how long you were in the cave, but the Bleeding Flame escaped from Ralith’s Basin. I was part of that battle… To make a long story short, they pushed their way much farther than anyone anticipated. There were in a town near here and I managed to-“ Smoke billowed in the distance. Inwë gasped slightly at the sight. Easily four thousand Bleeding Flame soldiers were scrambling about the ruins of Thoric’s Refuge, looting whatever they could find. Buildings were in total ruin, over half of them on fire. Inwë turned around and began walking quickly, “We need to get out of here. If they’re already here, we need to warn the next town. Maybe we can form a reasonable defense.” I torn my eyes away from the horrid sight and walked swiftly down the path, “Too much time was wasted thanks to the cave…” Inwë glanced back at me, “Sometimes things happen that can’t be avoided. There’s a reason for everything, the best we can do is move on and warn anyone else we can.” I nodded slightly and continued on in silence. I could hear the savage war cry of the Bleeding Flame behind us, “We need to run. There’s no telling how much time we need to get them ready.” I sprinted ahead, Inwë right behind me. It didn’t take long before we saw Kendron. It was obvious they had seen the smoke of Thoric’s Refuge, they were all milling about the walls, carrying large supplies of arrows and wood for pots of oil. We ran up to the gate and a guard yelled a warning. “We’re friends, let us in, quickly! They’re coming.” The guard nodded quickly and let us in. The guard yelled to the ones by the gate, “Close it up and pick up the pace. Time is short!” The gate banged shut and we ran to the main meeting hall. The guard nodded in slight surprise and opened the door. I walked hurriedly inside, Inwë following close behind. The guard tried to block her way but she brushed by them, “I’m with him.” We walked quickly into the meeting room. Loard Aaron was sitting there with his generals, revising his original plans, “Good, you’re here… What did he say?” I started to say something but Inwë cut in, “He never got to Thoric because he was held up. Sorry about interrupting, but you need to hurry. They’re already halfway through the forest.” Aaron thought for a moment, “That blasted fool gave his plans away by bringing up smoke of war-“ “It wasn’t Thoric! The Bleeding Flame are coming, and very quickly. There isn’t much time.” Aaron fell silent and leaned back into his chair, “This is bad news indeed.” He turned to his men, “Get everyone ready, now! Archers to the walls, swordsmen outside. Provide covering fire and don’t start attacking with the swords until absolutely necessary.” He looked at me, “You join the swordsmen.” He glanced at Inwë, “Forgive me, but it’s not often I see those of the elven kind. Where will you feel best suited?” Inwë glanced at me, “With Brendan. You will need as many people as possible down below, there’s at least four thousand Bleeding Flame.” Aaron nodded, “Very well.” He looked at his generals, “What are you standing there for, let’s go!” The generals nodded and quickly ran out the hall. Aaron stood slowly, “I am sorry, but I can not give you any new weapons. We are running short.” I nodded and looked at the dagger I was still carrying, “If you don’t mind, I would like a belt to hold my dagger. That should be all that is needed.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at the dagger in my hand, “Consider it done.” He nodded to one of his guards and they walked off swiftly. Aaron made his way around the table, “Come. Time runs short. We need every able bodied person ready when they get here.” He quickly walked out of the doorway. Along the way, quick walking servants helped him put on armor. It was very plain looking, but looked well made. He looked at Inwë when she looked at him questioningly, “If I remember correctly, the elves’ armor was defined by their ornate designs and incredible mobility, making them easily distinguished among the regular ranks. Although that works well for intimidation, I feel the element of surprise is a little more important.” He held out his arms as they attached metal bracers, “By making all of my men look similar with only minor differences they can discern, the enemy has little clue who are the best fighters, and therefore have no main target. My generals have small color differences on the arm of their armor, but that is it. By putting them in with the ranks, someone expecting an easy fight is easily caught off guard.” Inwë nodded, “With my people, we did have decorations on our armor, but they were how we distinguished between the ranks. Slight differences like you use are how we did that, but we most definitely stand out against your armor.” He nodded, “Yes, but you also intimidated them. It worked well, until they figured out how to begin using your rage against you.” Inwë frowned, “That’s why they hid themselves. They separated themselves from war and from the other races in general. You were lucky there were any elves to fight the last wars, but they were in danger themselves.” Aaron nodded, “Every race needed to work together. If the elves would have stayed in seclusion, we surely would have lost.” We were at the front gate now, walking around to a large force of foot soldiers. The guard ran back and handed me a belt, it was simple, but durable. I quickly put it on, attaching the dagger to it. I realized after all that time in the cave, between the battles and traps, my clothes were dirty indeed. So much for the cloak I had bought. But now was not the time for small observances, the shadows of war were coming. The soldiers saluted and said a quick greeting before continuing to organize ranks. “Incoming!” The soldiers looked to the sky and began to scatter as a large boulder came flying toward us. I quickly pushed some of the soldiers out of the way as it came crashing down, narrowly missing most of us, “They have catapults!” There was laughing across the field as the Bleeding Flame emerged from the forest, pulling a crudely made catapult behind them. The all too familiar voice of lord Thoric echoed across the field, “Well neighbor, it is good to see you again! It would seem you have captured my messenger, since he never came back.” I yelled back, “I was held up and had no time to return to you!” He glanced at me, “No matter. I do not need an excuse to attack you now.” He chuckled, “They are excellent negotiators. But it did not take much. How do you think I stayed alive all those years during the wars?” Lord Aaron muttered under his breath, “And he claimed to hold them off himself… Backstabbing traitor.” My hands tightened around the hilt of my dagger. Thoric laughed, “We outnumber you Aaron, give up now and we may spare you.” Aaron grabbed a bow from one of the soldiers and fired a rapid shot. No one had time to move before Thoric found it embedded in one of his shoulders. Thoric growled, “Kill them all.”

The catapult launched, sending another boulder flying at us. It flew right over us and smashed into the wall, sending a few of the archers falling. The rest fired at order of their captain, picking off a few of the Bleeding Flame. They began to charge up the hill, and we ran down to meet them. I drew my dagger, running with those faster down the hill. Most of them slowed down and looked at me strangely. Some of the Bleeding Flame also slowed down to look. I glanced down at the dagger. It was glowing an evil red. Before I knew it, it flew out of my hand and started flying by itself. The Bleeding Flame backed away quickly, moving away from the seemingly possessed dagger. It stopped flying and simply floated there. The light faded and it stuck itself into the ground. The Bleeding Flame let out a war cry and charged. Suddenly the ground began to shake and the Bleeding Flame stopped once more. The ground cracked and shook. Large stone blades suddenly shot out of the ground and began to spin around, trapping soldiers on the inside of the circle, and destroying any others in the way. Out came a large stone head with eerily glowing green eyes. The ground shattered, sending Bleeding Flame everywhere and out of the ground emerged an eight armed statue. The Bleeding Flame fled through the forest, only to be tracked down and crushed by the statue. The catapult launched and demolished one of the arms. Its giant head turned toward it and it brought down one of the swords. The catapult was effectively cleaved in two. When the rest of the Bleeding Flame were chased away, the statue walked back to us and became lifeless. There was a shadow moving on top. It jumped from the head of the statue and began to free fall. It landed on the ground in a cloud of dust. Out from the cloud emerged an old man. Aaron put a hand on his head, “You have got to be kidding me…” The old man walked up to Aaron, “I couldn’t let you have all the fun brother!” Aaron embraced the old man, “Thaddeus! I thought you were dead!” The man laughed, “Far from it! I haven’t had this much fun since I was banished!” Aaron shook his head, “All this time you were underground? Thoric told me- Thoric…” Thaddeus’ eyes flashed angrily, “I figured out his traitorous plans to join the Bleeding Flame. But he found me out and sent assassins after me. I managed to hide in that cave, but they eventually found me and I was forced to kill them. So I build the puzzle.” He glanced at us, “Which these two have competed.” He turned back to Aaron, “I was surprised that Thoric hadn’t turned earlier. With my anger I built everything, including that dagger. I guess my hatred fueled my inventions. When Thoric was finally in the right place, it let me know, and I came to you.” He looked up at his statue, “And I doubt he will be coming back.” He turned back to us, “Our journey isn’t over yet though! Despite my seclusion in my own trap, I managed to hear word of the war. If my guesses are right, they’re after what they were after before. But we must not speak of it here; it is a time to celebrate! My brother, I will tell you everything when we’ve had a good meal. I’m afraid I haven’t had one for the past forty years!” Aaron nodded and smiled, leading Thaddeus inside the castle. The soldiers cheered and followed behind. I grabbed the dagger from the ground and put it back in its sheath. I looked out over the field. Everywhere were the corpses of the Bleeding Flame along with scattered rock and dust. A time to celebrate? We’re in the middle of a war. The only thing people seem to care about is killing one another. Yes, his brother came back; he also killed almost a thousand men in a matter of minutes. If this is what people consider a suitable cause to celebrate, I want nothing of it. Inwë came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder, “You coming?” I shook my head and she frowned. “How can they celebrate when they just slaughtered a thousand men?” Inwë looked slowly around the field, “Sometimes for peace, death must occur. It always seems to be a cycle. One side disagrees with another, but instead of settling differences, they try to eliminate one another.” I shook my head, “No one ever seems to get along…” Inwë frowned, “Why do you think my people left the humans. They were beginning to become corrupt, so we left to make our own life, separate from the humans.” I nodded slightly, “I’m beginning to see why. They have no regret for killing those against them. Neither side does. I keep seeing the people that died, they haunt my every memory.” Inwë nodded, “I know… although it shows you do care for human life, you can not let that crush you. If you let it continue to plague you, you will hesitate to kill, and sometimes that is fatal.” I nodded and frowned. We stood and walked inside the castle, where the sounds of victory resonated off the walls, making it seem much louder than it was.