37. Trip to Gurthreyn

Two figures dressed in black stepped out of the house. It was still early in the morning, sunlight had not really spread out its rays. The crickets had left the premises a while ago, the brightest stars were the last in packing their bags. A peculiar mist hung over the field that separated the house from the forest. The trees were a black shape, looming, almost menacing in the strange morning light.

"Are you ready?", asked the smaller of the figures.

"Yes. Ready as I can be," William replied. He eyeballed the strange packs that were tied to their brooms, holding all kinds of stuff including the food and water they might need during the tip. Hilda had assured that the load would not make any difference for flying.

"Good. Then we go."

They mounted their brooms and took off, setting course to the east where the labyrinth of Gurthreyn was located. They were in for a long flight. They passed over the queendom of Raghuna, a very mild queen who had remained neutral as long as Hilda could remember.

At first the landscape reminded them of the area where Hilda lived. There were forests and flowing hilltops with grass, and several lakes, although none of those were as special as Mirror Lake. The further they came, however, the surface beneath them changed. Slowly it all became more brown and yellow, looking like tundra or desert-like grounds. Also something of a chill became apparent in the air.

Hilda pointed out a long line of watchtowers along the border of the queendom. "That is a very stable line of warning and defense. Raghuna has like an army of soldier-mages that guard the boundaries of her land."

Soon they had left the queendom behind them and they were flying over literally a no man's land. There were no roads, no towns or villages or people. Just the odd herd of wild animals roaming the area.

"This land connects to the land where the labyrinth is," said Hilda. "The influence of the next land is so severe that no one wants to live in the adjacent lands."

"So there is an enormous ring of unused land around the labyrinth, if I understand you?", asked William.

"Most of it is land, yes. On one side there is a sea. But we are not going there, it is too far for one trip and there is hardly any food there either, so I've heard."

William nodded. "I understand."

After another long stretch over the uninhabited country that became more and more barren and desolate, Hilda announced that they were approaching the vicinity of the labyrinth. "Can you feel it?"

"Yes. I now understand what you meant earlier." Even while there was nothing they saw of their destination yet, all the hair on his arms and in his neck seemed to stand up.

Hilda looked at him. "Yes, I feel that you do." The link that flowed from him to her had already betrayed his unease before she asked him. "We are getting closer. Just so you know. The place is heavily guarded with magic, so ordinaries don't go near it. They wouldn't stand a chance of getting out of it alive. When we enter its inner circle, you will feel it. I hope it doesn't make you want to throw up."

William looked at Hilda. Her face was serious and looked like stone. He feared that she was prone to the throwing up bit, since she mentioned it so explicitly. Moving his broom a bit closer to hers, he put a hand on her arm for a few moment. "We're here together. We'll be fine, okay?"

"Yes. We will." She smiled, but William missed even the slightest of blue sparkles in her eyes.

The look of the land beneath them became more and more dismal, grey, repelling and cold. Hilda felt a shiver run down her spine as they progressed. William understood more and more that the reputation of this place was founded on fact. The uninviting views, the total absence of green and flowers and animals was blatant.

"Here it comes," Hilda said.

It was clear to William that she was referring to 'the feeling'. The moment they would enter the inner circle of the labyrinth. The feeling came like a thunderstrike. It did not build up, it was acute and strong, making him feel as if his gut was ripped out of him, leaving him with a hole inside him and a nauseating feeling. Yes, the feeling of wanting to throw up, he thought, was the only way to describe this.

Hilda's face, not the most tanned already, turned even paler as they hit the strong magical wards of the labyrinth. She had held a magical protection around herself for this moment, otherwise she was afraid she'd pass out. It had almost happened once, and she was not certain if William was able to hold both of them in the air as he was also going through this.

As suddenly as the feeling had jumped them, it left again. The effect of the entry into the circle had perhaps only lasted mere seconds, but they both felt as if they had been through a wringer for quite a while.

"Okay, that was no fun," said William. His stomach was more or less back where he expected it.

"There is more coming," Hilda said, her face expressionless.

In front of them lay the labyrinth of Gurthreyn.

The ground ahead was grey. William would not have deemed it possible, but there was soil, and it was grey. It lay in what looked like layers, lighter shades of grey on top, darker shades of grey further down. It had to be a trick of the light, or an illusion, because despite the impression of layers, the surface was flat, dull and uninviting.

Only a few hundred yards further, there were walls. High walls, like they had already seen in the mirror. Now however, that they were approaching the actual place, it became evident how high and thick the walls were. Several yards thick, at least twenty yards high and in places even higher.

The two people on broomstick came to a halt to observe the immense area that made up the labyrinth of Gurthreyn. The grey rough walls seemed to go on forever, in each direction.

"Holy Bejeebus... how big is that thing?"

"No one knows. They tried to measure it, but it defies measurement. It changes itself, modifies itself." Hilda stared at the colossus. "Last time I was here, this wall was wider, and the left part was higher."

"Can we get closer?", William asked.

"Yes. We can go in there also. It is not charged for a challenge, so it is relatively safe."

"Uhm, 'relatively' safe?" William did not like the background sound in that one word.

"Yes. The labyrinth is considered a living entity and sometimes it has a temper. It doesn't happen often that someone dies in there, or gets wounded though. Not when it is at peace like this." Hilda, for some strange reason, felt less worried and scared as she was explaining this to William. It diverted her mind from her emotions and that helped in making the place less eerie.

Taking on the role of tour-guide, Hilda started moving forward.

William was right there with her. He remembered how she had tried to drink herself into a stupor when they had first discussed this place, so his admiration for her grew in leaps, seeing how she was doing now.

As they moved around the outer wall, they passed by the odd petrified tree they had also seen in the mirror, in the safety of Hilda's living room. It was much larger than William had thought. He directed his broom to fly over the tree, and estimated the top to be about seventy yards high. The grey branches and the immense grey trunk of the tree seemed to depict death if ever he had seen an image for it. It felt depressing, and suddenly he had an enormous desire to leave this place and speed back to the lush and gentle environments in the kingdom of king Walt. He joined Hilda again, instead.

"Spooky, isn't it?" She had picked up his urge to run away.

"Eerie is not even coming close, sweetheart," William said, avoiding to look back to the immense tree.

At a quicker pace they circumvented the gigantic place. Then Hilda led them to a specific place. From a distance they saw what looked like a small gate that would allow entrance to the labyrinth. They touched down close to it, and from that viewpoint the small gate was an impressive double-door gateway, twenty yards high, twenty yards wide. The doors were made of a dark metal. There was large grey symbols on them, William recognised them as magical symbols. He had seen them in some of Hilda's books. Their meaning had escaped him.

"Well... welcome to Gurthreyn, William." Hilda's voice was flat. She too would rather pack up and leave, but they were here to inspect the place. They had not flown for so long, crossing many kingdoms and a queendom, to return home without doing what they had come for.

They put their brooms against the wall. Hilda explained: "We can't take them in here. Won't get through the doors. Which stinks. But that's how it is."

They stared at the huge doors for a while longer. Then Hilda took her wand and touched one of the massive metal contraptions. In utter silence the door swung open. Had it made noise, creaking and screaming, it would not have been so bad. The silence in which it happened made the feeling of ultimate discomfort only larger, more severe.

William and Hilda stepped through the opening. There was a feeling around as if the air had gotten thicker, as if it had taken on the quality of lead in how easy it was to walk through it.

"Use magic to get through it," Hilda warned William. Using magic helped. Once they had entered the main corridor along the outer wall, William faced a tremendous fright. He looked up at the wall and that did not want to acknowledge to his brain that it ended somewhere. The rough grey structure seemed to go on forever, even stab through the grey clouds in the sky.

Then he looked at Hilda. "I am sorry if ever I gave you the idea that this is not so bad, Hilda. This -is- bad. We've been in here just a minute or so and it already scares the jeebus out of me."

"Don't worry about that, William. Just keep yourself together." Hilda had sensed how he was feeling inside, and that worried her more than his doubting her. He had not known, and that was understandable. Nothing than being in this place would prepare someone for the feeling. She took his hand, as much for his peace of mind as her own. Being together and physically feeling that made the labyrinth less threatening.

"Do you want to walk in here for a while?" Hilda squeezed his hand. "Nothing can happen now, please remember that."

He gently squeezed back. "I know. Because you are with me."

"No. Because you are with me," Hilda countered.

William turned to the witch. "No way. You are here, you have been here before, and that makes it better for me."

She stared at him. "Come on, don't make jokes, okay?"

"I am not making jokes, Hilda."

"Hmmf. Don't count on me being the hero, okay? I am just as scared here as you are."

William looked at her again and then pulled her into a hug. "I guess we're both not too thrilled about this place then."

Hilda nodded inside his hug, slipping her arms around him. "I'm glad you can hold me, William."

They just stood there for a while, but somehow it made a world of difference. Once they let go, they locked hands and fingers and walked along the endless wall. For some reason they both knew deep inside, the environment was less frightening.

The couple reached an opening in the wall to their left. The outer wall, on their right side, was as rough and grey as ever. They looked into the corridor that lay on the left side. It seemed to end after a mere thirty yards, but as they were watching, the back of the corridor came towards them. This did not happen in silence. A loud grinding and croaking sound accompanied the huge mass of stone and rock on its journey forward. The wall stopped just three yards from them.

The sound of the wall moving was still ringing in their ears as Hilda and William walked on. William had the feeling that he now understood how an ant would feel in a shoebox. Or perhaps in a box of a more impressive size.

As they walked on again, William noticed that the floor under his shoes was not straight and even, even if it looked like it. It felt as if he was walking on pebbles. When he mentioned that to Hilda, she frowned.

"The floor is flat and stable, William. Is there something wrong with your shoes?"

They checked, but his shoes were in perfect condition. And yet, walking felt to him as if he was moving over something that was next door to a slippery surface. Hilda didn't understand it, and even when she tried to adjust the feeling for him by adding to his magic, it did not make a difference.

"Maybe you are affected in a different way because you are not from here, William. We could go back and fetch the brooms. Perhaps that is easier."

"Uhm, you know, when we go back then it is to go away from here, Hilda. This place is getting under my skin in entirely the wrong way. As long as we're on the move, I'm fine, but...phew..." He let out a sigh that told the rest.

Hilda nodded. "That's okay. I think we're doing well, though. It was a good idea to come here. Maybe...", she swallowed hard and made sure she was willing to say what she was about to say, "maybe we should come back here a few more times before the challenge."

William nodded. "Yes. Perhaps that helps to make the place feel less daunting. That would be a good thing, and really, I am sure that Lamador does that also. If he can go in here and not feel affected just like that, then he is really someone to be extremely scared of."

Hilda wrapped her arm around his and held herself close to William. "He is anyway, William."

"But we have the scrolls about the magician who designed this place," he smiled, showing more confidence than was inside him. Hilda knew that also, but said nothing.

They had been standing still. They did not know if that was the reason, but suddenly they both felt that it was time to leave. Not really in a hurry but definitely motivated to get out of the looming corridor, they made their way back to the giant double doors. Without waiting or stopping they grabbed their brooms, mounted them and lifted off. As they sped up, they did not look back. Without anyone seeing it, the large door slowly and in silence closed itself.