Gribb Thornwhisker's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

They left the cottage before dawn. Aldric kept his hood up and his sword hidden. "Every road has eyes," he told Gribb. "We need walls no traveler can see through." So they walked into the deep woods, away from paths, looking for a place to train in secret. By midday they heard water. Gribb pushed through wet ferns and stopped. A waterfall poured down layered stone in bright ribbons. Behind the falling water, half hidden, gaped a dark cave mouth. "There," Gribb said. "No one would find us there." Aldric studied the rocks. "Too clean. Someone tends this place." He was right. As they climbed toward the curtain of water, small shapes slid out onto the ledge. Bears the size of house cats blocked the cave. Their fur glowed in pink, blue, and yellow streaks. The largest sat in the center and stared up at Gribb with calm violet eyes. Gribb reached for the cave. The bear lifted a paw. Light bent in the air, and Gribb's hand hit something solid he could not see. "It won't let us in," he said. The glowing bear spoke, small and clear. "The cave opens for the worthy. Prove it. Three tests." Aldric raised a brow. Gribb swallowed. He had come to prove himself worthy of the king. Proving it to a bear seemed a smaller thing. "First," the bear said, "strength." It pointed to a boulder wedged in the stream. Gribb was knee-high, but he set his shoulder to the stone and dug his feet into the mud. Aldric started forward. "No," Gribb said. "Me." He shoved until his arms shook. The boulder rolled free and cleared the water. "Second," the bear said, "steadiness." A narrow log crossed the plunge pool. Spray made it slick. Gribb stepped out, arms wide. Halfway across his foot slipped. He dropped to a knee, clung, and breathed. Then he stood and finished the crossing. The bears chittered. "Third," the bear said, "courage." It walked to the very edge, where the water fell into a deep pool below. "Jump. Trust the pool." Gribb looked down. His stomach turned. Aldric watched, saying nothing. Gribb remembered the weight of real steel in his hands, and how he had not dropped it. He jumped. Cold water swallowed him and spat him back up, gasping and grinning. He climbed back to the ledge, soaked. The glowing bear pressed a paw to his chest. Its warmth spread through him. "Worthy," it said. The unseen wall fell away. The bears filed aside and let them pass behind the water into the cave. Inside, the space opened wide and dry, lit by faint glow from the bears' fur. "A hidden hall," Aldric said. He drew his sword and it caught the light. "No traveler, no knight, will find us here." He tossed Gribb a practice blade. "Now we train for real. And the king's test is in two days."