The Gauntlet ( A Fantasy Novella) (2 page)

Ash had been so distracted by the horror in front of him that he had failed to notice Cassandra had changed as well. She was no longer a beautiful woman but an old, wart-covered witch with black eyes and no hair at all. Ash let out a battle cry and charged at the witch, but then stopped abruptly a few metres out from the entrance of the cave, letting his rage calm and his brain think.

“You cannot leave that cave, can you?” asked Ash, his grip still firm upon the hilt of his sword.

“You may well be the first knight to step into this valley to actually have some brains.”

The witch’s voice was croaky and evil-sounding.

“How are the men still alive?”

“Why don’t you step in and I’ll show you?”

“I want to kill you and slice whatever that thing is on the roof into small pieces. But I have a feeling once I step into that cave I’ll be powerless, just like the others.”

The witch stayed silent, the beast on the roof snarled and sucked up lots of blood from the captured men, who let out screams of agony at the pain.

“You’re upsetting my baby. She needs the blood of men and she likes the smell of yours.”

“Stop it!” shouted Ash, who then threw his knife as hard as he could straight at the witch’s forehead.

The knife thudded against an invisible force-field at the cave’s entrance and dropped to the floor. The witch laughed.

“If you want me dead, you’ll have to do it with those big hands of yours.”

Ash sheathed his sword and clenched his fists in anger. He wanted to rip her head from her spine but he stood still. It was dangerous to get any closer and he decided to leave his knife where it lay on the ground: it was too risky to retrieve it.

“I’ll come back for you. And I will kill you. It was lucky for me that the woman you transformed into was a blonde, I prefer brunettes.”

“I hope you do come back, you have such lovely eyes. I always eat them first, they’re so juicy. And then my baby shall feed on your blood for eternity, just like the rest of your kin.”

The lights inside the cave extinguished and the witch faded into the darkness. Ash thought back to the knight crushed by the rock: perhaps it wasn’t such a stupid death after all. It was certainly better than being tortured for the rest of time.

Chapter Two – The Traps

Rage was consuming Ash as he walked away from the witch’s cave and towards the lush, flower-filled valley. He had passed the first test The Gauntlet had thrown at him, although the danger of the witch and her beast remained. Ash knew his mission was to completely cleanse the valley, surviving inside it wouldn’t suffice. The knight was on full alert to everything around him and there was an abundance of caves on either side of the valley; he was aware that any one of them could contain his doom.

The vegetation was now up to Ash’s knees, a mixture of green grass shoots and fluorescent flowers. In the trees sat small birds who curiously eyed the wandering man dressed in silver, yet they remained motionless and silent. Long, brown snakes slithered through the grass but did not approach the knight and they skirted round the heavy vibrations emanating from his footsteps. Everything was very serene and apparently benign, yet Ash had his sword out ready to swing it. In fact he was looking forward to using it: the blade was thirsty for action and the knight thirstier. He would not, however, mindlessly spill blood unless attacked first.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the valley, picking up thousands of spores from the flowers and hurtling them towards Ash. The knight closed his eyes but couldn’t avoid breathing in some of the tiny spores. Their effect hit him immediately, inducing a state of psychosis in Ash and sending his head spinning in every direction. The fluorescent colours of the flowers were now bedazzling and blindingly vivid; while the snakes seemingly became hundreds of metres long. The pristine valley had transformed into a nightmare.

Ash stood still and attempted to regain his composure. He looked up at one of the caves above to settle on a focus point but the dizziness overwhelmed him and he collapsed to his knees. Then he heard it: a deep grunting noise behind him. Ash turned around to see a wild boar with two white tusks charging at him and, with no time to react, the boar struck him firmly in his chest plate. The tusks didn’t penetrate the armour but the force knocked the wind out of Ash’s lungs and expelled him backwards onto a cluster of giant white mushrooms. The mushrooms exploded, releasing more spores in every direction and further intoxicating the knight. Ash sneezed multiple times before the boar charged again. Ash resorted to basic defensive manoeuvres: pointing his sword out in front of him and hoping for the best. It worked. The boar impaled itself and died instantly. The sword had at last drawn blood.

“Enough of this! Get a grip!” shouted an angry Ash, before pulling out his water flask and splashing his face with it.

The cool water helped Ash to regain some of his senses. He looked at the boar, it was big but nothing too fierce and hardly worth killing. After a short rest, the knight set off but not before tearing a piece of his clothing off and tying it over his mouth and nose to act as a mask. It would help to block out the toxic air. However, it wasn’t long until Ash came across another gruesome scene. In front of him was a small, deep pit and inside lay the skeleton of a knight. Slithering through the skeleton were countless snakes, hissing and spitting at one another and exposing their sharp fangs.

“Poor bugger.”

Ash checked carefully for more pits as he continued through the meadow. There was no doubt in his mind that the knights before him had also been intoxicated and, in their unfit states, had succumbed to the dangers of the valley. It wasn’t long before he saw another pit, with another dead knight inside it; this time filled with scorpions. The whole area was studded with deep potholes, but the thick vegetation had grown over it leaving a minefield of deadly traps.

Ash proceeded and used his sword to test if it was solid ground before him, or overgrown vegetation that hid a death pit beneath it.
The others must surely have tried this too
, he thought.
I need to do something different
.

Ash assessed the sides of the valley, but they were too steep and dotted with caves that contained any number of mysteries inside. He decided against that route. Instead Ash made for the nearest tree and climbed it, hacking in half the many snakes coiled around it. With the advantage of height, it was easier to see the safest path ahead: obvious changes in colour suggested where the countless holes were located. Ash wondered how many of them contained a dead knight. Ash surveyed the ground ahead and picked his route, even marking out a distant tree from which he would plan the next leg. Each step would be slow, cautious and, he hoped, safe. It appeared that there would, eventually, be some respite as the valley’s pits didn’t continue forever. Ash could see that it instead narrowed and seemed to form its previous ‘V’ shape again. There was an end. There was hope.

Ash climbed down and began carefully navigating his way through the minefield. He peered into the first five potholes and saw a body in each. Not all of them were full of venomous creatures, yet in all cases, Ash could clearly see the broken legs of the skeleton caused by the fall. Ash shook his head in pity at the dead knights. Already it was obvious that there would be too many bones for him to bring back to Harwell. So much suffering. So much death.

“A slow death alone in a deep, dark pit…” Ash contemplated which terrible fate might befell him. It was then Ash noticed the dead knight’s sword impaled through its own ribcage. Ash nodded: “I’d have done the same, buddy. This is a cruel place and yours was a lonely, terrible way to die.”

Ash continued his cautious journey and he could finally see the finishing line not far away – the valley did indeed narrow once again into a jagged, tight chasm between the two mountain sides. Ash stepped forward but the treacherous ground suddenly collapsed, feeding into a deep sinkhole. Ash’s legs gave way but, with an outstretched arm, he clutched onto the vegetation and was left dangling precariously at the edge of the hole. The thorny stems bit deep into the exposed skin between his hand guards but Ash tolerated the pain. He had to: it was either that or death. Mustering all of his strength Ash pulled his body up and onto solid ground, but as he did a snake suddenly lunged at his right arm. Shocked, the knight was almost startled backwards and into the hole but his silver armour resisted the fangs. Ash quickly stood up and kicked the snake away.

“Geez,” he muttered. “Too close.”

Ash peered over the edge of the sinkhole and into the darkness, unable to tell how deep it was. Beads of sweat dripped down off his forehead and into the hole. Ash walked away from the hole and, as his adrenaline levels reduced, he noticed how bloody and raw his hands were. They were throbbing from the injuries sustained from the thorns.

“What a mess,” he said.

Suddenly there was a loud screech. A giant bird of prey was swooping down from the air towards Ash. The bird had curved golden talons nearly a foot long and a wingspan reaching five metres. Its feathers were a shimmering array of silver, gold, blue and green. It was a wondrous yet dangerous monster and it hurtled into Ash before the knight had time to defend himself. The armour protected Ash well but the bird’s claws still lacerated part of his exposed neckline. Ash was knocked over narrowly avoiding a lethal pit and, as he quickly stood up, he could feel his warm blood trickling down his body. For a moment Ash thought his time was finally up. The bird swooped down for another attack but Ash was strong and delivered a lethal blow with his sword, slicing the beast in half with a decisive upstroke. Blood splattered everywhere and feathers filled the air. Part of the carcass fell into a pit, which was promptly followed by the chilling sound of dozens of snakes hissing.

“Where did that come from?” wondered Ash, getting his breath back. The knight didn’t have to wonder for long, out of the caves high up on either side of the valley poured dozens more of the giant birds.

Ash had to make a quick decision: fight or flight? He immediately chose flight, the birds would quickly overwhelm him even if he managed to take a few of them down.

“Where do I go?” he panicked.

He contemplated entering the caves at ground level, but what if the witch was in there? He couldn’t take that risk. The V-shaped valley ahead was his only hope, at least there the birds couldn’t swarm and attack him on mass. The birds would be upon him in less than a minute, there was no time for cautious steps and so Ash sprinted over the vegetation, trusting his memory of the route he had scouted from the last tree. Ash could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the fresh rush of adrenaline subdued the pain from his injuries. Fortunately his neck wound wasn’t too deep.

Ash reached the end of the meadow safely and entered the narrow chasm, which immediately twisted left and, to his absolute horror, straight into a dead end.

“No! It cannot be!” he shouted out.

A sheer vertical wall of dark grey rock greeted him and, at its base, was a pool of clear water. However, there was no time to think. The flock of birds were instantly upon Ash and the knight ferociously swung his sword to fend off the creatures. But there were too many and Ash’s sword was knocked from his hand and it disappeared into the deep pool of water. Ash was pinned face down on the ground by the weight of a huge bird landing on his back. He curled up into a ball next to the water, a last desperate act to protect himself from death.

This is it
, he conceded.
The Gauntlet is impossible. I’m sorry, my son. I have failed you
.

At that moment he noticed a light! A faint blue dim emanated from the bottom of the water pool and illuminated his sword which rested at the bottom. Without hesitation and summoning all of his strength and will to live, Ash rolled into the water and under the weight of his armour, quickly sank to the bottom. The birds screeched with frustration but didn’t go into the water. At the bottom of the pool Ash struggled to release his armour, but he finally managed to remove his heavy breastplate. Ash looked up, the birds were still there waiting for him to resurface for air. Ash looked to the left and to his relief there was another route!

Picking up his sword, Ash swam through the narrow underwater tunnel at the bottom of the pool. The tunnel went on for several metres and it was a tight squeeze but Ash made it through. He swam the short distance upwards and emerged to the glorious fresh air on the other side of the rock-face. Ash wearily pulled himself out of the water and rested on his knees, catching his breath and feeling relieved to be alive. But the strenuous effort, plus the loss of blood, had exhausted the knight and he passed out, collapsing forward with a dull thud on the soft, muddy ground.

Chapter Three – The Valley of Peace

Ash regained consciousness to the sound of voices talking around him – human voices!

“His wounds will heal, they are not deep,” said a female voice.

“He’s a big guy, I’m surprised he got through the tunnel,” said a deep, husky voice.

“Well, you made it through!”

“Yeah true, guess I’ve lost weight since then!”

Ash quickly sought to protect himself: first he used his legs to trip up the woman before standing firm and pointing his sword at the man.

“Nice reflexes. Now, take it easy…we’re on your side,” said the man. “I’m Ugg, this is Janna.”

“How can I believe you? Since I entered The Gauntlet everything has wanted to kill me, I need proof,” said Ash.

“Surely you must have a few brain cells to make it this far? If we wanted you dead we would have killed you whilst you slept. Passing out like that is not a smart thing to do in this valley. We’re knights, just like you. We made it this far through The Gauntlet but we can’t go any further. And we sure can’t go back. Not with those birds, traps and other beasts,” said Ugg.

Ash carefully considered Ugg’s words. In truth, he was greatly relieved to have encountered fellow knights, yet he had not forgotten how the shape-shifting witch had nearly fooled him before.

“Wait…yes, I remember your names on The Gauntlet Wall of Honour back in Harwell. But you both entered a long time ago, far too long to still be alive?”

“Do we look dead to you? We have food and water here, what more do we need to survive? I entered The Gauntlet close to six hundred sun cycles ago,” said Janna. “I made it this far and assumed I’d never see another person again, not after the trail of corpses I passed getting here. Then Ugg came up through the water two hundred days later, making the same racket you did when you broke the water gasping for air.”

Ash had heard enough. Unlike his encounter with the witch, there was not a single notch of doubt in the pit of his stomach. Trusting his instincts, he lowered his sword and helped pull Janna up off the ground. Janna was tall and lean, with long brown hair, green eyes and a natural beauty the likes of which Ash had never seen before.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t believe this. It’s incredible. I lost all hope when I saw the witch and all the bodies in the pits. Then the birds came and I thought I was done for.”

“The witch didn’t fool me either,” laughed Ugg. “That temptress made a serious mistake by talking to me first: women have never done that. My looks were never my strong point.”

Ash found it hard to disagree, Ugg was no looker: a flat face dotted with warts and dishevelled, grey hair with a crooked nose and teeth as yellow as the sun in the sky. But Ash liked Ugg immediately, there was an honesty in his voice which Ash had sorely missed amongst the majority of residents back in Harwell.

“What about you? Did she try to lure you into the cave?” asked Ash to Janna.

“Yes, but not with the allure of sex. She shifted into a child, giving me a sob story about how she ran away from an abusive father. I admit I was intrigued at first and did feel sorry for the child, but my gut said otherwise and I walked away. Then she shifted to her true form. All those men that fell for her though, they deserve it for being idiots. This valley is no place for the weak of mind.”

“Come on, they don’t deserve a lifetime of being skewered to feed a monster,” said Ash.

“No, you’re right. But still, only three of us have made it this far out of what, close to a hundred? We’re survivors, the true champions and the strongest of anyone to ever enter this wicked place.”

“Why haven’t I seen your faces before? Where were you assigned?”

“I was a new recruit. If you haven’t noticed I’m slightly younger than you two. The first thing I asked for was to take on The Gauntlet. I was laughed at but they cannot deny my right as a knight to challenge it,” said Janna. “It was my only reason for becoming a knight in the first place. The rest of the knights loved me, by volunteering I delayed the next draw by another thirty sun cycles.”

Ash sensed there was a lot more to Janna’s story but he didn’t press the matter.

“I’m a bit older than you,” said Ugg. “After I enlisted I was deemed too aesthetically unpleasant to be granted duty within the citadel, so I was assigned the task of protecting the food convoy from the borderlands. I made a lot of good money before my name was finally drawn. And you? You must have been granted permission within the citadel, what with that chiselled chin of yours and those baby blue eyes.”

“I was. I guarded the throne, up until a few days ago. And so, here we are. Three excellent knights. Let’s push on and clear the rest of The Gauntlet! We can think about how to get back safely afterwards. With the three of us fighting side by side we’ll be better equipped to defeat the birds.”

Ugg and Janna looked at each other and laughed.

“You have such a steely determination to succeed,” said Ugg. “Let’s just slow everything down, believe me, there is no rush. Tell me, though, what did Harwell ever do for you? You spent your whole life guarding her royal laziness, while she stuffed her mouth with the food I protected from the field. Do you know how many people are starving inside Harwell while the priests and royalty gorge themselves and hoard the wealth?”

“I don’t like the injustice either but that’s beside the point. We’re not here for that. We took an oath and we have a duty to make The Gauntlet safe or to die trying.”

“Is that really what you want? To die here after all the bodies you just walked past? They don’t care about us back in Harwell, they simply put your name on some wall in a room of a temple - which hardly anyone goes in - and that’s it!”

“I have a son,” declared Ash. “I left him behind in the care of my mother. Saying goodbye to my son was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, yet it is the desire to see him again which is keeping me strong, keeping me alive.”

Ugg nodded. “Now I understand. A knight with a family. I don’t have any family but if I did I’d do all I could to get back to them. Say no more. Come, let us show you what we have here.”

“Sounds good.”

Ugg and Janna led Ash away from the water pool and around a bend. They immediately came to the base camp that the two knights had built for themselves. The valley had widened out again but this time it was a safe, flat expanse with trees, no caves or potholes, and fresh water streams coming down the mountain sides.

“As you can see we have fresh water, fruit trees and berry bushes as well as hares living in the burrows. We stay here mostly, one person on watch by the water pool while the other hunts. It’s peaceful, idyllic actually. Almost like a reward for getting through the first part of the valley,” said Janna.

“So you two have decided to stay here until you die of old age? What’s the fun in that? Where’s your honour?” asked Ash.

“I’m happy here, we both are. Our relationship is purely platonic, of course, Janna is like my little sister. I’m proud of her for making it this far and for being here all alone before I came, that took great courage and mental strength. Plus I owe her my life in a way, she could have mistaken me for a monster when she saw me crawling out of the water pool, all bloody and exhausted.”

“I won’t lie, my bow was drawn when I first saw Ugg but then I was relieved. It would have been tough staying here alone.”

Ash looked around the valley. It certainly seemed a pleasant, benevolent environment but he was still bemused by Ugg and Janna’s unwillingness to continue with their mission.

“So that’s it? This is your life now? You might as well have deserted the service to live in the borderlands.”

“Yes, this is our life. Maybe more knights will join us in the future, or perhaps not, but we are free and this is a damn sight better than Harwell. We are liberated from the burden of duty and the repression of class and wealth,” said Ugg.

“You said you couldn’t go any further, why not?”

“We’d die. As you walk down the valley all these streams running down off the mountain eventually converge together and guess what’s at the end?” said Janna.

“A huge river? No problem, I assume we can all swim,” replied Ash.

“A river that flows through an archway and falls over the edge of a huge drop. I don’t know how big it is, but The Gauntlet continues in the distance at a much lower elevation, twisting and turning, with no end in sight,” said Ugg. “I had the same reaction as you when Janna first told me, so I checked it out but one glimpse was more than enough to convince me this was the end of the line. I don’t mind fighting monsters and dying with honour, but a suicidal drop at least as high as the valley is long… no way! I’m staying here.”

Ash shook his head, incredulous to what he was hearing.

“It can’t be that damn big, I’m going to have a look myself.”

“We’ll go together. We need to hunt food for tonight, seeing as there are three of us now that need feeding,” said Janna.

The three of them walked down the valley and across the pleasant, grass-covered ground that lay beneath a forest of evergreen trees. Ash remained cautious about where he stepped.

“Are you certain there are no potholes? Have you tested everywhere?” he queried.

“I’m certain. It’s a different bedrock to the last valley and totally safe. The only thing I was unsure of at first was whether or not those birds could fly over the mountains and attacks us. But they haven’t, the peaks must be too high. Trust us, we have encountered no danger since living here,” assured Ugg.

“That’s what bothers me. It can’t be this easy.”

As they got closer to the archway Ash could begin to hear the thundering, intimidating noise of the waterfall. They stood as close as they could to it, right at the convergence of the two rivers flowing either side of them. Ash crouched down to get a view through the archway of the distant landscape that lay beyond. The Gauntlet continued, there was no doubting that, and it definitely appeared to be much lower in elevation. There were no discernible features that Ash could make out. There was no end in sight.

“I’m sorry I doubted you, but this can’t be the end of the journey,” said a desolate Ash. “Do you still have your swords?”

“Yes, we both have, back at base camp. Neither are as big as yours though, clearly guarding the queen had some advantages. We also have plenty of wooden arrows to go with the bow I made from materials found in this valley,” replied Janna.

“So if we went over the fall and survived, we’d be well-armed to take on any dangers that came next?”

“Yes, moderately. If we survive the fall. Look, you’ve got some pretty big scratches and you probably haven’t eaten properly since entering The Gauntlet. Why don’t we go back to base camp and eat, rest and talk?”

At the mention of food Ash’s stomach began to rumble, he couldn’t deny his raging hunger any longer.

“Fair enough, let’s go back. I’m starving.”

As the sun was setting and the valley filled with the pale light of dusk, the three knights sat around a small fire, eating the last of their meat and getting to know one another. There was a definite mutual respect between them for their individual accomplishments in getting so far. Ash had to concede that with a fire, good food and pleasant company he was actually content. In fact, he was happy, given the circumstances.

“The only thing we’re lacking is a decent ale and this might actually be alright,” commented Ash. “Do you miss anything at all about Harwell?”

“Not a damn thing, give me the silence of this valley over the hustle and bustle of the city any day,” said Ugg.

“I miss the sea breeze and a clear blue sky. The air in this valley is so stifling sometimes, like it’s never refreshed and the sun is dulled by the permanent hanging cloud. Apart from that, nothing – I had no family, friends or loved ones. I would never have become a knight if I did. I would never have taken the risk that one day I would have to leave something behind, no matter how small,” said Janna.

Ash nodded. The darkness of the night consumed the valley and Ash closed his eyes. He allowed himself to soak up the feelings of peace and security, becoming drowsier as he did. Finally Ash made up his mind and, before he fell asleep, said: “You are two very worthy companions and I will stay with you tonight, but at dawn tomorrow I shall leave. It is not my fate to stay here. It’s not that I have a death wish, it’s just that I made two promises. The first was that I would return victorious to my family and, the second, that I would kill that witch and free the men of their eternal torture. I do not know what is ahead nor if I will survive the drop, but nothing in The Gauntlet seems natural. I think it may be a test, of mental and physical strength, and I’m sure there is something, or someone, at the end of it. I can feel it in my gut.”

Janna and Ugg looked at each other.

“We believe that also, it is something we discuss together almost every night. But if this is all by design then what sadistic monster must lie at the end? Hundreds of knights have died so far and all for what purpose? In order to prove themselves to some all-powerful being?” questioned Janna.

“I’m leaving tomorrow, with or without you. This perfect valley is a trick, just like the witch. I intend to pass the test – it is a leap of faith. We accepted our fates as soon as we entered. As terrifying as The Gauntlet has been, I have never felt as alive as I have these last few days. If I survive the drop I will try to light a fire to signal to you. I shall give you until dusk to join me.”