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‘What’s that?’ Briar asked as Quin stared at the slim book. It was probably old and tattered even before his uncle had been attacked by the maze but now it was also burnt and ripped. Most of the back of it was missing and only a handful of pages looked untouched near the front of the volume.
‘Osrik’s journal from before the maze,’ Quin said quietly as he sat down on the wooden step of the hall. ‘This is why my uncle came into the maze.’
Briar sat down next to him and Mog settled at their feet, blocking most of the path. He put his head on his paws and closed his eyes.
‘So he is real,’ Briar said, leaning a little closer to see the tattered remains of the journal.
‘As real as you or me,’ Quin replied. He held the book for a few more seconds, eager to see what was inside, but also worried that it would be all destroyed.
‘Are you going to open it?’ Briar asked.
Quin gently pulled back the cover and looked at the first page. It was nothing like his uncle’s journal. There was no description of the Bridge to Nowhere... no writing at all. The first page was a map, partly burnt, with detailed markings and notations.
All of it meant nothing to Quin so after a few seconds he turned the page and began to read the first entry. It was dated 85 years ago.
“The High Council is adamant. They have told Hanz and I to find a way that will teach people how to live without magic. The use of magic has become untenable. Those punished for their magic crimes simply use more magic to avoid the punishments. We have no way to maintain a civilised society without order and rules.
We have come up with two different ways to solve it. The guardstone or the maze. The council have chosen the maze and we have until the next full moon to create it. I do so with a heavy heart, but will ensure it is a teaching and rehabilitation place rather than a prison. Once those sent there have shown the ability to live without magic they will be released back into society.”
‘I’d say he failed then,’ Briar said in a sour tone. ‘I don’t know of anybody who has left.’
Quin didn’t need to agree. They both knew Osrik’s original plan had not worked. He turned the page and see more drawings. Several crystals were easy to make out, but the rest of the diagrams made no sense. On the opposite page were very familiar images. Hornets, snakes, creeper vines and at the bottom right – a moondog.
‘Look, Mog. This looks just like you,’ Briar said, pointing to the page. Mog raised his head, sniffed at the book then returned to his slumber.
The rest of the journal was mostly unreadable. Several part-pages had survived, but without any clue to what they meant, the words were of no use. They were still looking at it when Keris came out of the hall and sat next to them. She looked to have been crying but neither mentioned it. Quin handed her the journal and she flicked through it. After she finished she handed it back to Quin.
‘You said your uncle was looking for Osrik.’ Keris sounded confused. Quin nodded. ‘He would over a hundred by now.’
Quin frowned. For some reason he hadn’t made that connection with the dates and how long it had been. Would their quest be in vain?
‘Perhaps his descendants are here. They might be able to help,’ Quin suggested desperate to cling to any thread of hope. ‘I’m still going to look for him.’
‘Me too,’ Keris added quickly.
‘You’re mad, both of you,’ Briar pointed out. ‘You’ll not make it a day out in the maze.’
Before Quin could even consider how they were going to survive the maze a loud scream brought their attention to the square outside the hall. Mog leapt to his feet and bounded over the gate with a howl that sent shivers down Quin’s spine.
‘The maze is attacking,’ Briar said as she stood up, dagger already drawn, and hurried down the path.
Quin and Keris ran after her and as they entered the square everyone was running the opposite direction.
‘Snakes!’ a woman screamed as she pushed past Quin. ‘They’re dropping from the sky!’
Quin instinctively looked up and saw a movement up on the lip of the crater. A snake slithered into the air and fell like a stone.
‘What’s going on?’ Mayor Ranor yelled as he ran into the square. He looked around and soon took in the falling snakes. Mog was leaping in the air to catch them and then leaping around on the ground to kill those already landed. A dozen lay dead but more were falling.
The mayor and several others were throwing what looked like white rocks at the snakes. A direct hit appeared to kill the snakes instantly. Quin dodged out of the way as a snake landed less than two paces from him. Mog pounced on it and killed it with one snap of his huge jaws. Before Quin could even look up again he heard a horrified shout from the Mayor.
‘Briar, watch out!’
Quin turned, just in time to see the mayor push his daughter out of the way of a falling snake. It fell on the mayor instead and immediately wrapped itself around the portly man’s neck. The mayor fell to the ground motionless. Quin didn’t even hesitate as he scooped up one of the fallen white stones. He took aim and threw it at the snake. He may not be able to skip stones magically across a lake but he knew his aim was true.
The stone hit the snake and it released its hold, falling dead across the mayor’s neck. He saw Briar run to her father’s aid and he turned his attention to finding more white stones. For almost an hour the snakes fell and more than a few were struck down by Quin’s deadly aim.
When all fell quiet, and Mog was sniffing around for any remaining live snakes, Quin sank to the ground to survey the square. It was littered with dead snakes and a few people were nursing wounds where the snakes had bitten them. There was no sign of Keris, Briar or the mayor. The healer was rushing around the square checking the injured and she came up to Quin.
‘Are you hurt?’ she asked, quickly checking his arms and neck.
‘No, just tired. Where’s the mayor?’ Quin replied.
‘He’s in the hall. His daughter and your friend are there too,’ the healer told him then moved off to check her next patient.
Quin dragged himself to his feet and made his way to the hall, stepping over snakes and kicking the occasional one to make sure it was dead. More than a few people glared at his green keeper’s cloak and he wished he’d taken it off before they arrived. There was no point now as everyone already knew what he was.
Inside the hall he saw Briar and her father in the room next to his uncle. A quick check showed him that there was no change to Uncle Slade or Veron and he was surprised to see Keris sitting by her father’s bed as if waiting for him to wake up. He left without disturbing her and went in to see how the mayor was.
‘How is he?’ Quin asked as Briar looked up from the book she was reading.
‘According to the healer’s book, the snake bite is bad and can take weeks to recover from, but it nearly choked him as well. Another few seconds and he would have died,’ she replied.
‘I take it this isn’t a normal attack then,’ Quin said, pointing to the book. If she had to read up on it he guessed it hadn’t happened before.
A scuffle of feet behind him made him turn and he saw Elva peering in the door.
‘We haven’t had an attack on Rockhaven in more than twenty years,’ Elva told him and looked apologetic as she added. ‘And they’re blaming you two young uns for it... and Mog of course.’
‘But without Mog there would’ve been far more injuries,’ Briar said in defence of her friend.
Elva shrugged. ‘I can’t help what they’re saying. I think it’s best if you all kept out of sight for a while. Perhaps go down to South Pier? I’ll keep an eye on your father for you.’
‘Keris and I are heading off to find a man who might be able to help us,’ Quin said, wondering if he had brought this attack on Rockhaven and feeling guilty for it. ‘We’ll leave right away.’
‘And I’m heading out too,’ Briar added and looked at Quin with a shake of her head. ‘I’ll take Mog and go with them, or these two won’t live a day out there.’
‘Well, before that you can all come out and bring in the injured for the healer,’ Elva said, ushering them out the hall.
When they had finished helping the patients to the hall and held bandages and pots of herbs they went back to the square to start the clean-up. Most of the snakes had already been loaded into sacks and Quin began to gather up the white stones. He saw that many of them glowed like Mog. Keris picked one up and held one up to Briar.
‘What are these?’ she asked.
‘Moonstones,’ she replied. ‘They absorb magic like Mog does. They are our only defence against the maze.’
Mog sniffed at the pile of white stones in Quin’s hands and they immediately faded to a dull grey-white.
‘Usually it takes a full moon cycle for the magic to fade from them,’ Briar said, pointing to the now very bright moondog.
Quin collected as many as he could find and put them in a small sack. He guessed that they must be like the sweeper’s stones.
‘I think it’s time we left,’ Quin suggested as they saw groups of people venturing out of their homes, talking and pointing towards them.
‘Yes, it’s going to be dark soon, so it’s a good time to travel,’ Briar agreed. ‘We’ll just check in at the hall before we go.’
