The Founders' Troubles

By JDPhoenix

A loud voice echoed, "So you children think yourselves worthy of entering my castle? You will soon find the error of your ways, in the afterlife!" With the dying echoes a red light bathed the room and with it the four saw three very large trolls.

With no time for words Salazar and Rowena ran to attack two of the beasts while the third came for Godric, who had taken a protective stance before Helga. Unfortunetly all any of the three had were daggars which are of little use against a troll's club. Rowena's more athletic abilities and strength from years of manual labor gave her a slight advantage, so she ordered Pest to help Salazar, who was not doing all that badly himself, except for the height part. Once the troll had been blinded by Pest's talons though, Salazar won easily.

Godric on the other hand was still a prince, and that meant that he was great in the courage department, but horrible in strength. When Rowena and Salazar had finished their fights they turned to see how their new companions were doing and saw Helga let loose a scream so loud that it shook the walls and caused Pest and Rowena to fall to the ground with pain. Luckily the troll seemed the most hurt by the sound and when Godric regained his senses he drove his daggar into the back of the thing's neck, causing instant death.

"What were you two thinking?!" he cried as Rowena gathered up the still stunned Pest and rose to her feet.

"We were thinking about saving our lives!" cried Salazar. "Those things would have-"

"Shh!" Rowena snapped. "There's got to be more."

Godric was trying the door they had come in by. "It won't open," he said finally.

"Then we might as well continue," said Helga. She was reading words that had just carved themselves into the door on the otherside of the room:

"One for one,
you've only just begun."

"All right then," said Salazar, offering Rowena his arm. "M'lady?"

"Better than going in alone," said the girl as she shifted Pest to her shoulder.

"What happened to your feather?" The two humans and bird were inside the other room which was draped in orange light now.

"It's fine!" Rowena called back to the others. "There's nothing in here! yet. It must have fallen out during the fight," she added absentmindedly.

When Godric and Helga finally came through the door it slammed shut behind them.

"Now whaaah!" cried Godric as he jumped forward, pulling Helga with him. "Something bit half my cape off!"

"Wonderful," said Salazar as he looked around the circular room. It was boardered by many long, thick vines that weaved together. "It was the plant," he said suddenly, "or something inside it."

"No," said Helga, her eyes half closed, "it was the plant, it eats humans." She opened her eyes and looked at them sheepishly, "I can talk to plants as well."

"And the voice?"

"Mhmm," she nodded.

"Can you stop it from eating us?" asked Godric, taking her hand.

"I can try," she blushed.

"That is all we can ask, fair maiden."

Salazar and Rowena shot eachother knowing looks--they had seen others fall in love before. Helga brought the two back by letting out a long series of sounds that was not as loud as her scream in the other room, but the pitch was higher than it had been. A huge pod, much like that on a venus fly trap but much more menacing, came out of the tangle of vines and began swaying from side to side like an entranced cobra. Soon the "head" began to droop and the plant was fast asleep.

"Let us leave," said Godric.

"With haste," Rowena added.

No one cared to notice the new engraving on the door before they left:

"Two for two,
good for you."

The five found themselves in a circular yellow room filled with locks.

"What is the point of this many locks?" asked Godric.

"I'm not sure," said Rowena.

"Look!" cried Helga. "The doors! There are keys in front of them!" And indeed there were. In front of each door there was a key, both identical in every way and suspended in midair right before where a lock should go.

"Let me guess," said Salazar, "we have to find the lock that goes with these keys, and put it where the lock on the door should be."

"That is the most probable answer," said Rowena, "let's begin looking."

Many hours which were filled with "Is this it?" "No, it's too new." And many "No, I already tried that one!"s later they had found the right lock, all of their hands coming on it at once. Godric was just about to put it on one of the doors when Rowena shouted, "No!"

Everyone turned to her. "Why?" Helga asked in a small voice.

"Don't you see?" she asked. "Looking for locks instead of keys? It's backwards. Which means the room is probably backwards as well."

"You're mad," Godric said.

"No, I'm not. You know it makes sense." Pest voiced his agreement.

"She's right," said Salazar. "It makes perfect sense. If we go that way then we're never going to get out of here, we'll most likely be stuck in with that giant plant for the rest of our lives, which will be very short."

"And what if you're wrong?" Godric demanded.

"I have never been wrong in my life," said Rowena.

"So that's why you're so cocky," mumbled Salazar, who promptly recieved a kick in his lower leg.

"All right," said Godric, "here." He threw the heavy lock over to Rowena who put it on the door. The key immedietly shot into it and turned. On the door words appeared.

"Very good my pets,
you've passed three tests."

"Pets?" complained Godric and Salazar as they entered the next room, Rowena, Pest, and Helga trailing behind.

"And he called you cocky?" asked Helga. The two girls laughed at that.

When the five entered the green room they felt as if they were being smothered. There was string, everywhere. It seemed to reach up to the ceiling and the four began to climb, up and in. Rowena was the slowest because she had to carry Pest with one arm.

"What is this?" demanded an enraged Salazar as he tried to get through the masses of string that were threatening to get into his mouth and cut off his air supply.

"I'm not sure," called Rowena from wherever she was.

"What are we supposed to do?" called Helga.

"I think I know," came Godric's voice, stronger and more confident than the others had ever heard it. There was, for some time, no sound at all other than Godric's heavy breathing as he seemed to be making his way through the tangle. Then, "Found it! Now to just..." Godric's voice faded and for a few minutes the others were afraid that there was something inside the tangle that had eaten him. Then, suddenly the string disappeared and everyone fell to the stones.

"What happened?" asked the confused three. The answer was delayed however by the appearence of words on the door.

"It is such a mystery
that only one of you has studied history."

Everyone turned to Godric who stood at the center of the circular room, daggar in hand. "It was his version of the Gordeon Knot."

"Oh," said the girls.

"Why didn't I think of that?" asked Salazar as he held open the door to the blue room.