The Curse of Geraptiku Tombs

     “It’s not too late to go back.” Aizii stated hopefully.

     “It is Aizii,” I replied. “If we turn around and go back now, what happens? We walk straight out into Mr Smith’s gang of merry men and I’m not sure I want to see what they’d do. I think our best bet is to try and beat this challenge and go from there. We might be lucky, maybe it’s only a two-part challenge.”

     Aizii sighed. “If we can survive the first challenge, we can do anything.”

     “Asnu and Aizii, together forever!” I said cheerfully.

     “We can do it Asnu!” Aizii exclaimed.

     I held out my hand and Aizii took it with her paw. Together, as a team, we entered the second cave. The cave was completely empty – in fact, it felt identical to the one we had previously left. The only difference was on the other side of the tunnel were two doorways. There was no sign of what was to come, no indication of what would happen next. Aizii and I stared at each other.

     “Er… hello?” Aizii asked to the empty room.

     There was a flash of light and the Faerie Uni appeared once again in front of us.

     “Your next test is one of logic.” They said. Aizii groaned next to me. This would not be good.

     Another flash of light and two Shoyrus appeared in front of us. Both were painted split, one side a deep violet and the other a bright orange. They appeared the mirror of each other – easy to tell apart but oddly alike. They both hovered in the empty cave, wings flapping gently as they bobbed up and down. Both surveyed us as though we were a vaguely interesting hobby.

     “Is the test spot the difference?” Aizii joked hopefully.

     “These two Shoyrus are brothers.” The Faerie Uni told us. “There are two doorways ahead. One doorway will take you forward to the final test, the other will take you back out of the tomb. The Shoyrus know which door will bring you closer to the treasure.”

     “Great, so they can just tell us.” Aizii shrugged at me.

     “I get the feeling it’s not quite that easy…” I said sceptically, looking at the Uni.

     “One brother will always tell the truth.” The Uni continued. “The other will always lie. You may ask them each one question and one question only. Then you must choose the door you wish to walk through. Both must go through the same door.” They added and once again, I felt as though they knew what I was thinking.

     My immediate thought had been Aizii and I simply split up – it was certain one of us would get the correct door. But if both of us had to go together, our odds dropped to 50% and that felt too risky; both for the one who had to go onto the final challenge and the one who would leave empty handed.

     “Good luck!” The Uni said and disappeared, leaving us with the two Shoyrus and a very awkward silence. I sighed and stared at Aizii.

     “Any ideas?” I asked her mournfully.

     “I mean, can we just ask which one of them lies?” Aizii shrugged.

     “No…” I replied thoughtfully. “Because both will say the other brother. The honest one will tell the truth and tell us his brother lies, the dishonest one will lie and say his brother lies too. What we need is to ask them a question where both will back each other up…”

     I fell silent, looking at the brothers.

     “Why don’t we just ask them which door to go through.” Aizii asked sarcastically.

     “No… that won’t work either… They’ll both say the opposite door…” I mumbled, feeling slightly desperate. I ran my fingers through my hair in desperation and stared at the Shoyrus once again. The answer was there, I could sense it. There would be a question that both would answer, that the honest brother would back up his dishonest brother…

     “I’ve got it!” I shouted triumphantly.

     “Hope it’s not infectious.” Aizii joked.

     “We ask them what their brother would say is the right door.” I grinned at Aizii. “The lying brother will tell us the wrong door, knowing his brother would tell us the right one. The honest brother will also tell us the wrong door, knowing his brother would lie. Therefore, the correct door is the one neither of them say.”

     “Asnu, I don’t know where you get these flashes of genius from but keep them coming!” Aizii laughed. “Go on then, ask them!”

     I turned to the left-hand side Shoyru first.

     “What door would your brother say is the correct door?” I asked him.

     “My brother would say the right-hand door.” The Shoyru replied.

     I turned to the right-hand side Shoyru. “And you? What door would your brother say is the correct door?” I asked him.

     “My brother would say the right-hand door.” He replied.

     “So, we think the correct door is the left-hand door then?” Aizii asked me.

     “Yes, it’s got to be.” I replied. “The honest brother will tell us the wrong door, knowing his lying brother will lie. The lying brother will tell us the wrong door, knowing his honest brother would tell us the correct door – but because he can’t tell us the truth, he would lie and tell us the incorrect door.”

     “Sure?” She asked.

     “Certain of it.” I replied confidently. “Thank you for your help.” I said to both Shoyrus and they bowed to me. “C’mon Aizii.” I gestured to her and held out my hand. Smiling, Aizii took it in her paw and together we walked towards the two doors. I took a deep breath and hoped I was right, then walked through the archway of the left-hand door.

     The door led us into a tunnel that sloped downwards. I felt confident we had picked the correct tunnel, but the lack of any acknowledgement made me feel edgy. Finally, the tunnel opened out into a small cave, far smaller than either of the two we had been in before. A familiar flash of light and the Uni reappeared in front of us. I held my breath, waiting to hear if we had chosen the right path.

     “Logic is something that cannot be taught.” The Uni intoned. “Logic is a magic that our minds create on their own. Asnu, Aizii, you have shown a magic that neither of you realised you possessed. You have passed the second test.”

     Aizii visibly sagged in relief as I shakily let out my breath.

     “You may continue. Your final challenge is ahead.” The Uni said and disappeared.

     “One last challenge.” Aizii whispered. “Then we get the treasure?”

     My stomach flipped. I had been so focused on beating the tasks that I hadn’t thought about what was waiting for us outside. Mr Smith and his henchmen would be expecting a treasure. Did I even want to give them the treasure? The further into this twisting labyrinth we travelled, the more I felt the treasure was something that needed to be earned, not demanded. How many people had Mr Smith sent in before us? Were we the first? Had anyone else gotten this far? Or maybe Mr Smith himself had tried to beat the Faerie Uni and failed. I felt uneasy thinking about it all. In my heart, I knew I didn’t want to give him the treasure but I couldn’t see a way out of it. Swallowing the sick feeling in my stomach, I turned to Aizii.

     “We haven’t won yet.” I told her. “C’mon, one last challenge.”

     “We can do it.” Aizii replied and I wondered who she was trying to convince.

     “We can do it.” I echoed.

     Once again, I held out my hand for Aizii. She looked at me for a moment before silently holding out her paw in return. I gave her paw a reassuring squeeze before gripping it tightly. Together we started the familiar walk down the dark tunnels. I had no idea what task would greet us next – the sheer drop of the first cave had been terrifying, no doubt about that. I had never been so scared before in my life. The second task was taxing in a different way though – I had never thought of myself as being particularly logical or clever; I was always known for a quick reply and a flashy magic trick. The tomb was teaching me things about myself that I didn’t realise. I pondered briefly what the third task could be but quickly stopped. Worrying would solve nothing – but with Aizii by my side, I felt confident we could tackle it together.

     We could worry about Mr Smith later.

     To be continued…