Chapter 11: The Trials Begin
Braeburn lead the others down the hallway, Growling under his breath. Why did there have to be a challenge? Why couldn't that blue buffoon just give them the blessing? There were too many measures to go through to get these. They had better be worth it. If not, there would be hell to pay.
"So what do you think we'll have to face this time? asked Nick,to no one in particular, but instead to the general audience.
"Probably something to do with magic, trying to test our knowledge of it or something like that," Reasoned Twilight. "Based on what we've seen so far, I think that'd be the safest bet."
"And you are absolutely right!" said a voice as they turned a final corner, leading into a large room. "Greetings to you all, I am Gim-Palarcanus, master of all Thauma. What can I do for you today?"
The five stared at the figure. It was humanoid in structure, but no part of it was visible beneath its cloak. A long beard drifted from the hood down to the floor, becoming a tangled mess as it spread beneath its owner. When it moved, an energy, like that of an aura followed it, distorting the world around it.
"You can give us the bands!" shouted Braeburn forcefully.
"That is... if it's okay with you.." added Fluttershy, not wanting the creature in front of them to think they were all rude and belligerent.
"Certainly," said Gim-Palarcanus. "When you exit this room, they will be out in the hallway. A shame, though."
"Let's go get them, then!" shouted Braeburn to the others, turning and waking back down the hallway.
"What's a shame?" asked Fluttershy.
Gim-Palarcanus waited until Braeburn was out of earshot, then leaned in, and whispered, "They're cursed right now."
Instantly, horror flashed across the faces of all those present, sve for Gim-Palarcanus, whose beard contracted, as if he had just told an offensive joke. Fluttershy tried to run out of the room, to catch up to Braeburn and warn him, but before she could reach the hallway, a magical barrier shot up across the door, blocking her exit.
"There's no possible way to best me in magic. I am, after all, the ruler of it."
"We can use magic, too!" shouted Twilight, her horn glowing as a bright light engulfed her. The light dispersed, and still she stood there, but now with no horn, panting as if she had just run two miles at full speed, without conserving any energy.
"Thanks for reminding me," chuckled Gim-Palarcanus, hovering above a gloved hand, a horn and the two pendants. "Your first task is this! Find a way out of this room. You will have these back at the end of the third challenge." And without another word, he faded, leaving only his cloak behind.
"Great," commented Nick. "Now we have an omniscient bearded loon running around nude. Can this day get any better?"
"Alright, let's just calm down and think this through," said Twilight, walking over to examine the barrier. She pressed both forehooves against it, gradually increasing the pressure she was pushing with. She made sure not to strain herself, though,only examining how strong it was. Eventually, she stopped pushing, and let her forelegs rest on the floor. "Nick, could you go check his cloak? There may be something in it that we could use."
"The cloth itself could be enchanted. Check whether or not it has a gemstone woven into it," suggested Fluttershy, following Nick to where the robe lay, collapsed on the floor. She began rifling through the pockets along with him, stopping when she found a small emerald, though it wasn't enchanted. She could tell, because it didn't glow.
"But you have to remember, he's the ruler of all thauma. He could probably change the rules if he wanted," reasoned Nick. "It wouldn't surprise me if he actually put an encha-- ACH!" Nick pulled his hand out of the pocket, revealing a cut on his left palm. Blood dripped from it onto the cloak, staining it.
Without a second thought, Fluttershy ripped off a long strip of cloth from the cloak, wrapping it around Nick's hand, tying it in a tight knot.
"Thanks, Shy," said Nick, reaching back into the pocket, slowly and carefully this time. He pulled out a small dagger, a small drop of blood running from the bronze tip, down to the copper hilt, staining the ivory handle. "Why would the master of Thauma need any sort of weapon?" he asked, again to the general audience.
Twilight's eyes lit up, but the rest of her face remained twisted in thought. Might I see that knife?" she asked, Walking over to where Nick stood, now holding the blade at arms length. She examined it, trying to pick it up with magic, but since she had no horn, she could do nothing. After a minute and a half of trying, she realized that it wouldn't work. So she turned her attention to Nick, and calmly asked, "Would you mind stabbing the barrier blocking the door?"
The request was very strange as it reached Nick's ears. "Did you say... Stab the barrier? What good would that do?"
"Just... Bear with me on this, Nick. If it doesn't do anything, you can completely disregard it, and think what you will of me. But for now, I just need you to trust me." She then turned around, and walked back over to the exit. "Besides, we don't have any other leads, we might as well give it a shot and see what comes out of it. Unless you have a better idea?"
"I can't argue with your logic. However, I'm inclined to ask what you think will happen, and why you think that stabbing it would do any good," asked Nick, wondering where she was going with this.
"I remember something that Akaitora said once, about some sort of metal being a magical insulator. I'm wondering if anything used in that dagger is an insulator. If so, we could cut through the barrier, allowing us access back to the main chamber."
Nick nodded, approaching the barrier quickly, but still not moving very fast. As he reached the barrier, he put his bandaged hand to the barrier, realizing just how solid it was. He could feel it, pulsing, moving, as if it were alive, and had its own will to block them in. He brought the dagger to the edge of the barrier, and as it touched, e could feel a shift run across the surface. instead of a linear, upward movement, the pulses began to radiate away from where the blade neared the surface. touching the blade to the surface granted a stronger, yet similar effect. The barrier itself seemed to cry out in pain, soft and silent, as if it were singing at a very low frequency.
"I'm sorry," whispered Nick, so quietly that only Fluttershy could have heard, had she been next to him. He then pulled away from the barrier, plunging the blade into the very center. The same quiet scream punctured Nick's ears, but this time it was louder, and higher in pitch. But the barrier faded quickly, the bronze absorbing the will of the barrier, held in place by the barrier itself, allowing them access through the portal.
"Let's go!" shouted Pinkie Pie, bolting through the door, followed by Twilight, then Fluttershy, then finally Nick. The barrier disappeared, and the dagger dropped to the floor, resounding a clang after them as they raced down the hall, hoping that Braeburn hadn't yet taken the bands.
Their fears were confirmed, however, as they reached the central room to find Braeburn hovering above the stand in the center, wearing bands around his legs. He was screaming all manner of profanities, wrenching and writhing in pain, as the bands flipped colors, rotating between red, blue, yellow and green.
"I'm afraid he's stuck like that until you finish all four challenges," said Akaitora, approaching Nick. "Which hand?" When he received a confused look back, he elaborated, "Which hand did you cut open when you got the dagger?"
Nick held out his left hand, and let Akaitora undo the bandage. "How did you know I cut my hand open?" he asked.
"Well, most of the time, when someone needs Gim-Palarcanus' blessing, not the artifact, mind you, only the blessing, He sends them through the same four trials you're going through now," he explained. "Most of the time, they cut themselves when reaching for the dagger.I even got cut reaching for it when I went through here. Let me guess: Fluttershy did the wrapping?"
"She does have the most experience. I thought you couldn't talk to us about the challenges?"
"I can after you've completed them. But I can't tell you about any that you've yet to enter." He touched his horn to Nick's hand, healing it, leaving no trace of a scar behind, as if he had suffered no injury.
"Healing magic?" asked Fluttershy. "When did you learn that?"
"Remember the night when I came in with all those cuts?"
"After you saved me the first time?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah. It it me that night that I needed to learn some healing magic. I thought it would come in handy later on. Guess how right I was?"
"Shouldn't you be getting on to the next challenge, and saving your friend, sneaky and condescending ones?" spat Trixie, a cocky grin plastered on her face.
"She's right," admitted Nick. "Come on. The sooner we save Braeburn, the better."
They started down the second hallway, which abruptly ended at a ladder leading up. Nick, being in front, started first. Being a human, he had no trouble climbing to the top. The others were not so quick to the idea, even though Fluttershy could have flown. She wouldn't think of this until later, however, when she would scold herself for not thinking at the time.
When they finally reached the top, They once more met the cloaked figure. "Well done for completing the first task. But that was so easy, I thought you might like a challenge for your second task. A simple mixture will open the way back. But you have to figure out what it is first! Isn't that a wonderful challenge!?"
As if in order to force the second challenge, the exit slammed shut, blockading their way back. "This is unfair!" shouted Twilight. "Your followers may not know much about chemistry."
"True, my little pony, all true. However, this is alchemy. Potion-brewing and the like. And you'll find that the materials are granted to you, as well as the notes from previous failures of this challenge. When you think you have the right mixture, pour it in here," he indicated a glass bowl atop a pedestal. "You may begin." and he disappeared with a flash, taking his robe with him tis time.
"Okay," said Twilight, approaching a table. "We have five reagents here. Does anypony know what they are?"
"I know a few," said Fluttershy, stepping up next to Twilight. "This long, red one is Harrada Root, and the purple flower with the sharp petals is nightshade. Be very careful wen handling it. It's extremely poisonous."
"Where did you learn these?" asked Pinkie, stepping up to the other side of the table.
"Zecora taught me. I asked her if she knew any herbs that could help my animal friends, and she taught me some of the properties of each."
"Uh, Guys?" said Nick, holding two alchemical journals, one in each hand, and looking at a third and fourth on the table. "These journals contradict each other..."