Room19c
Conrad reaches for the white mirror and the reflective surface races over them. When the transition ends they stand upon the narrow ledge within the room. The door through which they entered is now sealed.
“Are we actually going to trust the wizard?”
The words are barely out of Lamia’s mouth when a rumble shakes the room. The ledge encircling the room crumbles on every side leaving only the narrow portion upon which the group stands and an equal-sized one in front of the opposite door.
“I don’t think we have a choice now,” Safir says.
Conrad kneels and waves his hand in the air below the ledge.
“There’s nothing there, it’s definitely not an illusion.
Jora points to the center of the pit. A long rope descends from the ceiling, extending several feet below the level of the ledge. “The rope is there, the mirror didn’t lie. What other choice do we have now? We can’t just stand here forever.”
“Conrad,” Lamia places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t do this. I’m sorry to sound mean but you’re too fat to make the jump.”
Conrad blushes and looks down at his ample belly. “Maybe I am, but I have to try. Any time we don’t do exactly what the mirror says, things go wrong. I can do this; I have to do this.”
Lamia hugs her friend with crushing force. “You better make it.”
On impulse, she kisses the boy on the cheek. “Make this jump and I’ll give you another one.”
Jora and Safir each hug Conrad, it’s clear to the boy that they think it might be the last time they ever see him. He looks across the vast chasm before him and wonders if they are right. He has to be crazy to try this, he’s not an athlete like Jora. He shakes himself and locks eyes with Lamia.
“I’m going to make you pay up on that kiss.”
He turns on his heel and then springs into the air to the gasps of his friends.
Conrad flies over the pit, hands outstretched. In the back of his mind, he sees himself falling short of the rope and tumbling forever into darkness. His entire life has been a series of failures and he does not believe he is going to earn the promised kiss.
His hands touch the rough rope as he begins to fall. He clutches convulsively at the rope and slides downward. The rope burns the palms of his hands and he screams in pain but does not let go. There is a large knot at the end of the rope and his hands come to rest just above the knot. Conrad hangs from the knot, panting from pain and panic but he holds on; his life depends on it.
A sound reaches him, it sounds like screaming and he cranes his neck to look back. The sounds are not screams, they are the cheers of his three friends who are hugging each other and jumping up and down.
“What do I do now?”
“Kick your feet,” Jora shouts. “It’s like the rope swing at the swimming hole.”
Conrad faces forward again. Part of him wants to look down but he knows that if he does he’ll freeze, or worse, fall. He kicks his feet out and begins to rock on the rope. The pain of the rope burns on his hands is like a hot coal. He grits his teeth and continues kicking. Each kick drives him further until he is swinging back and forth, almost the full width of the pit.
“Keep going,” Jora shouts. “In another swing or two, try to grab the ledge.”
The ledge is so close on each swing. Conrad can see the dirt lying on the surface as he reaches the peak of his swing. The next swing brings his shoulders above the ledge and he reaches out. He claws at the surface as he swings back and his fingers dig into the soft surface. He screams as a nail bends back and rips free of his finger but he holds on. He jerks to a halt, one hand grasping the rope, the other locked on the ledge.
Conrad hangs, panting suspended between the rope and safety. He kicks one leg up and it lands on the ledge. He slips several inches to the screams of his friends but he hangs on. Conrad scrambles against the surface of the ledge pulling himself further up. Inch by inch he moves more of his body onto the safety of the ledge until he is fully prone upon it.
Conrad almost releases the rope in exhausted relief but keeps his grip. He stands and faces his cheering friends.
“I’ll swing it back and then you swing across.”
Conrad tosses the rope across the pit and Jora snags it. One by one the remaining trio swings across the pit. Starting from the ledge allows the others to cross with only one or two swings. In no time all four friends stand safely on the ledge.
Conrad reaches for the door but Lamia stops him.
“I promised you a reward.”
Conrad offers his cheek to be kissed but Lamia grabs him by the cheeks and turns him to face her. She kisses him full on the lips. He’s never had a kiss like this in his entire life and his knees feel weak when Lamia finally ends the kiss.
“That was the most heroic thing I’ve ever seen.”
“So, does…does this mean I have a chance?” Conrad stammers as his brain tries to start working again.
“No way but this should keep you for a while.”
She kisses him once more before turning away toward the door.
Jora steadies his friend who appears so faint that he might fall into the pit.
“That good, huh?”
“Wugga.” Conrad’s mouth and mind refuse to work correctly but his loopy smile tells the story well enough.
What choice should the adventurers make?