Hilda - The Challenge

happened."

  "And what makes you say that, dear witch of mine?"

  "Well, considering the fact that the magician Gurthreyn was such a prankster, if we can believe the scroll you have with you, it would make sense that the quicksand, as you call it, is part of one of his jokes. Magicians are usually honourbound not to kill people, so there would have to be something to release people that get caught." Hilda took a bowl that was floating over the fire and handed it to William. "Here. Eat."

  "Thank you. But wait, didn't you tell me that people who get lost in the labyrinth usually don't get found anymore?"

  Hilda nodded as she was eating from the other bowl she had taken from the fire. "True. But those are the sorry souls that get caught in there during a challenge. During a challenge something is changed here, a handful of magical people know how to do that. So this is... different."

  In silence they finished their food, extinguished the small fire and then they retreated into the tent. Close together they lay, until a restless sleep came over them.

  60. Gurthreyn once more

  "Hilda. You are in my dream."

  "No. You are in mine. And you know I love you, but this is insane. Now go back to your own dream."

  They found themselves standing on a lawn, wearing their best magical outfits. It was a large lawn, and it had walls around it. Grey walls. About twenty yards high. There was light that looked like sunshine, only there was no sun. There was rather a lot of nothing overhead.

  "Such an unexpected pleasure," a voice behind them said.

  The magical couple turned around; the sting of a wasp could not have made them move faster. They saw an old man in black robes. The large silver chain that hung around his neck stood out against the black of his clothes. His head was bald, he had a long light-grey beard that hung down to his belt. His eyes were large and blue. He was almost as tall as Hilda and twice as round. That still did not make him fat.

  "Who are you?", asked Hilda.

  The man folded his hands for a moment and smiled. "I think that should be fairly obvious, don't you agree?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping that they would understand whom they were talking to after this bit of information.

  "No. You can't be. You are not the magician Gurthreyn." Hilda shook her grey mane. "No way."

  "And why can I not be Gurthreyn?" The bald man did not move a muscle to make a large grey wall appear behind him.

  "Because the magician Gurthreyn died centuries before I was born," said Hilda, "and even for magicians there is the rule that dead is dead." She put her hands on her hips and waited for the man's response.

  "Yes, you are very right with that," the man nodded, "there is a rule for that. But..." -another wall appeared, this time behind William and Hilda- "...that does not mean that one has to play by the rules. I, for one, hardly ever did. You can read that in the many things that were written about me. Well, the few true things, I should hasten to add."

  "Hilda, before you go overboard like your good little self, do look at the walls, okay? They are the same as in the labyrinth." William put a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. For him it was not so strange that a dead magician was suddenly appearing. After all, he had seen far too many strange things here already to wonder about something like this.

  She shook William's hand away. "Leave me, William, I did tell you to get out of my dream, didn't I? Now, if you are Gurthreyn, why then don't you show yourself, like anyone?"

  The bald man who claimed to be Gurthreyn laughed shortly. "A witch of the true blood. Does not believe it until the very truth is thrown in her face."

  William grinned.

  "Very well then." The man in the black robes raised a hand shortly.

  Grey walls appeared around Hilda, a moment after William had been moved to a spot away from where the walls emerged.

  "Oh, so this is funny, right?", said Hilda. "And you think that is going to- Oh. Crappedy crap, why won't this go away?"

  "Simply because perhaps I am stronger than you are?" The man seemed very relaxed about the predicament of the wicked witch. Suddenly there were two chairs, one near William and one near the bald man. "You can sit down if you want," he nodded at William. "This might take a while, if she is of the kind that I suspect her to be."

  Strange and worrying sounds came from inside Hilda's walls. "Oh. Fantastic." Fireworks sprayed over the walls. "So that's not going to do it either." A loud bang, followed by smoke and coughing. "What is this crappedy crap? This usually gets me out of everything!"

  William felt very uncomfortable as he heard and felt how Hilda was working herself into a slight frenzy to get out of her prison.

  "Oh, wait, tricky trick of my love..." There was silence for a while. "What is keeping that thing..."

  "If you are waiting for your broom," the man in black said to the walls, "I suggest you make a chair appear. Your broom might take a while to make it here. It would be good to think in years, actually."

  "Years?" Hilda and William said it at the same time.

  "Yes. When I do a bit of masonry, it should last for a while," the man said. "After all, I am Gurthreyn." After a movement of his hand the walls around the witch vanished, showing Hilda all black and dusty from her attempts to free herself. "You look rather done in."

  "Yeah, and no thanks to you," said Hilda as she cleaned herself with her wand. She walked to where William was sitting.

  "It appears that you still do not believe that I am who I claim to be. Look around you. This is the area of the labyrinth. My labyrinth. Just cleaned up a bit now."

  William had conjured up a chair for Hilda and pulled her down on it. "Sit. And quiet."

  "What?"

  "Sit. And quiet. Three simple words." William looked at Hilda, and something in his eyes made her remain seated and quiet.

  "Thank you," said Gurthreyn the magician, as it was really him.

  William felt suppressed steam through the bond but managed to ignore it.

  Gurthreyn looked at his visitors for a while. "You two are amazing. I have never met people so stubborn as you. Getting stuck up there." Gurthreyn pointed in the general direction of one of the walls, and chuckled. "I have to hand it to you, the way you got your brooms in was very impressive. Nobody ever did that before."

  "You seem to know a lot about this place," said William.

  "Of course. I built it. The scrolls are right about that. Lots of garbage in there of course, but that always happens when they suspect you're dead. And I am not going to stand up and argue with them. But that is not the reason I have brought you here."

  "Now, please, wait a moment." Hilda stood again and was not quiet. "You brought us here?"

  "Of course. You are sleeping, that is the best time to visit me."

  The scenery around them changed and they stood in the small tent where they saw themselves lying, asleep.

  "Uhm... this is creepy." Hilda looked at Gurthreyn. "How do you do this? And why?"

  They were back in the large walled yard that was the labyrinth, only with the labyrinth part missing somehow. There was a table with food, wine, fruit and chilled water.

  "I just wanted you to see that you are really asleep and well. No need to worry, you are taken care off. The magic of the wards extends out to your little tent."

  William sat down. "Yes. Of course. You take us to us to show us that we are sleeping. Something tells me that I should not have wine, but heck, I feel like I need it."

  "Please do have some. It is excellent. I have made it myself, many years of practice." Gurthreyn held a glass in his hand. "And for you, Miss Witch, there is no reason not to try it." He had already noticed Hilda's suspicion against the wine.

  "My name is Grimhilda. And this is William." She surprised William by suddenly opening up so much.

  The bald man got up and bowed. "I am pleased to meet you. I am, as you already know, Gurthreyn."

  William felt he should get up and bow also. Hilda's push through the bond was clear enough about that.

&
nbsp; After those formalities, and the spreading of some liquid joy in glasses for Hilda and William, Gurthreyn sat down again. "Very well. Now let me inform you why I have brought you here while you are enjoying your well-deserved sleeps. I have seen you two here a while ago. When you, William, were definitely not a magical person. You returned though, which is remarkable already, and this time William is definitely magical. And there also is this very special bond between you, on a magnitude that does not happen very often." The magician sipped his wine. "Hence my interest."

  "Just that? Isn't that a bit of a narrow basis to tell us you are alive?", William asked.

  "I am curious why you both came back for a second time. And I am intrigued by the change in you both." Gurthreyn raised his glass to them and sipped another time. "So now you have time to explain all this."

  "Oh, right. That's neat. Well, we're done quickly then, since we don't understand most of it ourselves." Hilda raised her glass to the famous magician and drank it down in one gulp. It refilled itself.

  William caught the idea quite rapidly. He explained as much as they knew about his coming here, and how he somehow was turning into a magical person. He raised his glass and sipped. Done talking.

  Gurthreyn looked at him. "You have a special book? Can you show it to me?"

  William shook his head. "It is not exactly the first thing I pack when I come here."

  Hilda grinned. "He is still in training, Gurthreyn. There is so much to still teach him." Then she turned to her wizard. "William, pay attention to what I am showing you..."

  William looked