The Third Trial

When I returned to the Dwarf King’s hall, I found Luna chatting with a dwarf at a table. Marisa hadn't yet returned. I hoped she was doing well with her task. It was hard to imagine her as a gravedigger. A devilish smile crept across my face as I thought about how miserable she must be. Call it petty or childish, but it was satisfying to know this.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Huh? Nothing in particular. How did your task go, Luna? I wish I could have seen your fight.”

Her silence told me everything I needed to know.

“I see. Don’t worry, I’m sure Marisa and I will be allowed to enter the trial. Let’s wait until she gets back.”

The dwarf that had overseen my task was conversing with Laurin. They looked my way when a few words had been exchanged. Their assessment may be positive, but I've always been uncomfortable being the centre of attention without knowing what's being said about me. It’s the kind of feeling you get when a bull is loose and it’s charging at you.

“Aye, you’re Ferdinand?” asked an unfamiliar voice.

I looked down and the dwarf that sat across from Luna was addressing me.

“The one and only.”

“Ha! I’m Walberan, cousin of Laurin. You’re cat’s a good fighter. Gave me a good whipping in our sword fight.”

I sat down next to them and Walberan slid over a mug of ale for me. It was strong stuff but not too bitter and had an earthy aftertaste.

“Tell me what happened in your tourney. You had a sword fight and what else?”

“We started with an archery competition and then moved on to jousting on deerback. Walberan won the archery event and I the joust.”

“Aye, that she did. Gave me a good bruise on my shoulder when she sent me flying off my deer.” He then showed off his shoulder to prove it.

“And what happened in the sword fight?”

“We headed into the final with the score tied. We wore full suits of armours and battled with dulled blades. In the end, Walberan was the better fighter. I still have a lot to learn it seems. It was a humbling experience.”

“Aye, don’t be like that. You’re a good fighter if I’ve ever seen one. It’s that armour that threw you off—you ain’t used to it.”

The ale had some dwarven magic infused in it because I soon lost track of time. The world was spinning around me while I sat at the table. I held my head in my hands and closed my eyes. 'When I open them, the world be normal again,’ I told myself. Someone shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes and it was Luna, pointing to our returned High Priestess. I took a desperate swig of water and stood up.

Laurin addressed us and the other dwarves in the banquet hall. “You each have fulfilled your ends of the bargain. High Priestess, your task is complete and the fossor spoke highly of you: you pass. Ferdinand, your possessions have been distributed to the poorest of dwarves and you helped a great many others with your selfless acts: you pass. Luna, your martial prowess is second-to-none, however, you did not win the tourney.”

“Luna, you lost!?”

“My sincerest apologies, my Lady. I have no excuse for my failure.”

“High Priestess and Ferdinand, follow me.”

We accompanied the dwarf king through a door he kept locked in the back of his banquet hall. We then walked through a passageway which brought us outside. A tower was embedded into the side of the mountain with stone-carved steps leading up to it. It loomed above us as it reached past the clouds and into the heavens. It cast a long shadow of silence over the world.

“Your trial is locked away in this tower. What goes on up there, I have not the faintest idea. A dwarf wouldn’t concern himself with anything more than five feet in the air.”

“Pray, Dwarf King Laurin, will you care for the lodging of Luna until our return?”

“Aye, trouble yourself not. She’ll be well taken care of in your absence. Best of luck, O heroes.”

We thanked him and he left us to our trial. The third trial. What divine object had been left here?

“Well—”

“I was—”

“Sorry, you wished to say what was on your mind, Ferdinand?”

“Yeah, but you can go first. Age before beauty as the saying goes.”

“I beg your pardon?” she said.

“I just mean you can say whatever you were going to say first.”

“No, answer me: how old am I? Guess.”

“Uh, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No? But you said it, so now you must answer.”

Tsk “Fine, if I have to guess, I’d say... five hundred. How’s that?”

“Five hundred!?”

“Too young?”

She didn’t respond, and instead starting walking up the steps to the tower. I followed her. The door of the tower didn’t open for her, but that didn’t stop her from trying repeatedly.

“Seems like it’s closed,” I said which rewarded me with a nasty look. “So how old are you?”

“Spirits help me! I am three hundred and twenty eight if you are keen on knowing.”

“Oh wow! I thought you were maybe twenty four.”

“Your words do not match the sentiment behind them,” she said dryly.

A strong gust of air, trapped for thousands of years, rushed out of the tower when I pulled the door open. The ground floor had a few pieces of furniture covered with sheets, a staircase to the right, and nothing else. A barren floor. I looked under the covers and saw mirrors. With a dramatic air, I pulled the sheets off to reveal the them to my audience of one. Unfortunately, my presentation did not get a standing ovation—or an applause at all.

I looked at the reflection of the person I saw in the mirror. He was a dirty, unshaven looking man who had been travelling for weeks. Yup, it was me. I had a look at myself in another mirror and my haggard appearance didn’t look as harsh. The clothes I wore seemed filled out more than when I had first started wearing them; perhaps thanks to Luna’s training. Marisa’s reflection was less kind. She was dishevelled with wild hair and unwashed clothes. She had just returned from digging graves so it was understandable. The real Marisa was busy adjusting her clothes and her hair. She was unbothered by the mirror’s reflection.

An awkward mood set in when our eyes met on the surface of the mirror. Marisa swung her head to look at me, the real me, before turning it back to the me in the mirror. I got a once over from her in the mirror and then again with the real deal. I cocked an eyebrow at her but she didn’t say anything.

We had our fun so I walked up the stairs to the next floor. Marisa lagged behind. The second floor was a mirror of the first. The same sheets covering some mirrors. I pulled the sheets off and stood back as I looked over the mirrors. There was a prickling feeling in the back of my mind, reminding me of the first trial.