Circle Sea 1: The Pirate Maze

Chapter 19: The Pirate Maze

It was dark in the castle. The moonlight shone in through gaps in the walls and cast deep shadows across the cold stones which were blacker than charcoal.
As the group stepped beneath the huge gatehouse it became difficult to see where they were going and Mike stumbled over a loose flagstone. Jim felt as if he was walking deeper into the night and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The air became colder and Polly wrapped her cloak more tightly around her shoulders.
Darnell reached into his large black bag and pulled out a small oil lamp. Mike found an old lighter in one of his many pockets and helped him to get it going. Its faint glow didn't make a lot of difference but the darkness retreated a little.
'That's better,' Darnell said quietly as he used the lamp to get a better view. 'I never did get round to memorising the map. I really should have done...'
Jim took a few steps towards the opening on the other side of the gatehouse but Darnell pulled him back.
'One thing I do remember,' he whispered. 'Is that the obvious route usually gets you killed. Look...'
He pointed ahead to a patch of darkness on the ground ahead. Jim had mistaken it for a shadow, but he suddenly realised it was a deep hole. He wondered how many people had marched in and fallen to their deaths...
'I think you had better follow me for the moment, yes?' said his former teacher.
Jim nodded.
'Oh, yes...'
Darnell used the lamp to examine the map.
'It looks as if the path will take us down to the... left...'
He shone the light on the wall where they could see a low doorway which seemed to lead down beneath the castle. It wasn't more than four foot in height and they could easily have missed it.
The others watched as Darnell ducked down and disappeared inside, leaving only a faint glimmer of light behind him.
'Okay...' said Polly cautiously. 'Down we go...'
Mike watched her enter the dark opening while he pulled out a tiny lamp from one of his many pockets. He lit it while Jim watched.
'After you,' he said with a smile.
'Right,' said Jim. 'Stick close though. I don't fancy getting lost down there.'
They climbed through the doorway together and slowly made their way down a steep staircase. It turned sharply to the right at one point and then continued further down into the dungeons and storerooms beneath the ancient ruin.
After a while they reached another doorway and found themselves in a small barrel-roofed room with uneven flagstones on the floor. Water had seeped in from somewhere above them and gathered in small green puddles. The air was cold and everything smelled damp. It was dark and rather horrible so Jim was very glad they had a couple of lamps to light their way.
Polly and Darnell had arrived at the bottom first and were already studying the map.
'It looks like we need to go through this room and then turn right...' Darnell was saying.
He turned to welcome the boys as they arrived.
'We'll need to stay together as we go through the maze, but we will also need to work quickly. I don't think we have much time...'
They made their way through the labyrinth of underground tunnels as rapidly as they possibly could. There were a frightening number of different rooms and caverns and they would have been hopelessly lost without the map.
At one point they entered a huge cave which was so tall that they couldn't see the roof. There were barrels stacked in one corner and Jim thought he could see strange paintings on the walls.
'People lived here for a very long time,' said Darnell as he peered into the darkness. 'I think they probably used caves like this long before the first castle was built. I'd love to have a proper look... but that will be for another day I'm afraid... Come on.'
He turned sadly and led them through another door into yet another network of musty cellars and crumbling tunnels.
It probably didn't take a very long time to get through the first section of the pirate maze but they all felt they had spent an age underground. When they eventually emerged back into the open air feelings of relief were visible on their faces.
They were now deep within the castle and everything looked very different. There were strange statues on tall pillars and unfamiliar writing was carved into the stonework. Some of it looked more like patterns or pictures rather than words.
'This next patch will be a bit more dangerous,' Darnell said as he inspected the map. 'There are several traps ahead which we will need to look out for. Follow me very closely, watch where you put your feet, and do exactly what I tell you.'
They took their time as they worked their way through the hallways and corridors of the old castle. Most of the time they were in the open air now since the roofs had collapsed long ago. There was enough moonlight for them to see their way so they put the lamps out to save oil.
Darnell stopped a couple of times to check the route and told them to stand on particular flagstones or to be careful around some of the overhanging beams.
At one point they had to cross a large room which had a chessboard pattern marked out on the floor in red and white stone. Darnell told them to avoid the white squares and to make their way across the room in diagonal steps.
By this point they were beginning to think that it was all one big joke but they did as they were told. Darnell had nearly reached the other side when there was a sudden snapping sound followed by a cry of pain. It didn't sound very far away.
They all froze and Darnell put his finger to his lips.
'They're only a little in front of us,' he whispered. 'We must have caught up on them in the tunnels.'
He looked at the map again, turning it around in his hand to get a better view. Without thinking he put his large black bag on the ground so he could use the lamp.
It was now sitting on one of the white stones and there was a loud click from somewhere underneath.
'Mr Darnell?...' Polly said urgently as she tugged his sleeve. 'White square?'
He looked down at his bag as a ticking noise began from somewhere below them.
'Oops,' he said to himself. 'Run!'
Fortunately, they had already reached the far side of the room so were able to jump to safety as rows of sharp pointed sticks shot up from the floor. The bag was pierced right through and lifted high into the air, its contents strewn across the floor with an echoing clatter.
After a moment silence returned and the four explorers picked themselves up slowly from the floor.
'I guess they know we're here now,' said Polly sharply.
'Indeed,' muttered Darnell as he brushed himself off and made sure the map was still in one piece.
They listened carefully for any sign that the pirates had heard their accident. There was only silence in the castle however so they set off again.
They were now more aware of the danger and followed Darnell's instructions very carefully. They also kept a lookout for any sign of Captain Mercy and his group. None of them wanted to survive the maze only to feel the sharp end of a cutlass.
As they turned a corner Polly found some fresh blood on the end of a metal spike.
'They must have been here,' she said quietly as she pointed it out.
'Yes,' Darnell agreed. 'We're definitely closing in on them now... but we have one last chance to get ahead.'
They passed through another ruined hallway where a long wooden table lay splintered on the floor. Jim wondered if an ancient banquet had ended with a battle. Since there was no roof he could see that they were now approaching the huge stone tower which stood at the centre of the castle.
Darnell led them through an archway into an open courtyard with a complex pattern of cobbles on the ground. They had arrived at the base of the tower and there were three doors at the bottom, all of which led further into deep darkness.
Darnell stood facing the tower and looked carefully at his map again.
'I guess we have to choose one of the doors...' Mike said as they all waited.
'Yes,' Darnell agreed thoughtfully. 'There are three routes for us to choose. One leads straight to the stronghold, the second will get us there after a long detour, and the third will probably kill us... We just need to work out which one is which...'
Polly took a closer look at the doorways.
'Look,' she said pointing. 'There are symbols carved in the stone over each door. Four letters?...'
The others joined her and tried to work out what the markings might mean.
'It's a code,' Jim said after a while.
'Yes,' Darnell replied with a puzzled tone. 'But I'm not sure how to read it.'
'Doesn't it say on the map?' Mike asked.
'Not that I can see,' said Darnell, lifting it up so he could look at it again. He squinted his eyes in the hope of seeing details that he might have missed. Mike and Jim looked over his shoulder and tried to help.
'Hang on a minute,' said Polly suddenly. 'What's that?'
She was pointing at the other side of the old paper. Darnell turned it over and laughed with surprise and delight. There was a list of symbols and the letters that they might represent.
'Well I never!' he exclaimed. 'Well done Polly! It was there all along!'
Now armed with a key it didn't take long to translate the coded symbols.
The doorway on the left was labelled, 'long' while the symbols on the right hand side said, 'deth'. The middle door however was 'safe'.
'I don't like their spelling,' said Darnell as he shook his head sadly. 'But I think we have our answer.'
The four of them stood before the doorway and prepared to enter.
'Michael?'
Mike lit the two lamps and they all stepped forward together...
It was dark inside the tower but the lamplight was bright enough for them to see every stone. They followed the path which took them up two flights of stairs, along a twisted corridor and then down again around a spiral staircase which seemed to descend deep underground.
They were just beginning to wonder if they had taken the wrong doorway when they reached a tiny opening and Darnell led them into a huge cavern with strange stone structures which looked like dripping wax.
The children had never seen anything like it before but Darnell smiled as he lifted his lamp up high so they could see better.
'Aren't they amazing!' he said with a note of wonder in his voice. 'They're caused by water which drips through the stone. As it dries it leaves behind tiny mineral deposits which build up over thousands of years. Stalactites form from ceilings and stalagmites rise up from the floor, and sometimes they join together. See!'
He waved his arms as if he was a tour guide showing them around. For a moment Jim was back in the school house and Darnell was his teacher again.
'So what next?' Polly demanded.
This brought them all back to reality with a bump.
Darnell looked at them all in turn.
'I'm really sorry, children,' he said apologetically. 'But I think the next thing we will have to do is surrender.'