Arthurian Legend III

Parts of the forrest are enchanted by the majic of Morgana Le Fay, the enemy of men everywhere. Her minions spread the reach of her majic. She uses theirs lives and deaths to make the depths of the wild even more dangerous for men to venture. The deep forrest is where Lancelot and Arthur travel to now.

Lancelot and Arthur run side by side. Centaurs have terrible night vision, so they can only gain ground on the boys during the day. The night is the boys' to rest and increase distance from their pursuers.

Lancelot exclaims to Arthur, "If we keep going further into the forrest, we won't be able to get out."

Arthur responds, "I trust Merlin."

"I don't."

"Obviously." Arthur half-laughs through his panting.

"But I trust you with my life."

Arthur smiles through his fatigue, "That is why I would never want to let you down."

Lancelot responds, "I may not trust Merlin, but Morgana doesn't either. Anyone Morgana doesn't like is worth getting to know better."

Arthur said, "It feels good to have you by my side, Lancelot."

Lancelot said, "I can't let my best friend do something stupid without me to be there too."

Lancelot hits Arthur in the chest and bursts ahead of him, ducking branches and catapulting over stones. Arthur holds his chest while watching Lancelot bound away from him. The late evening is turning into early morning. The barest rays of the sun glint off his sword at his back. It sits in a leather holster taken off a dead centaur. Connected with an extended leather shoulder piece that's much too big for him, the holster bounces on Lancelot's back as it disappears in the undergrowth.

The two of them always make a game out of life or death scenarios. Arthur leaps forward. Small creeks seem to spontaneously crop out of the damp earth, but he eventually catches up next to Lancelot. The foliage clears and they are in the morning sun blinking at a red brick-lined pool, the breadth of a small house.

They both look at the pool. Without turning his head Lancelot says, "You go look into it."

"Why me?"

"It's your quest."

"It's our quest."

"Not mine. I'm just here to make sure you don't die by a wizard's hand without me."

"Fine." Arthur smiles before he pulls his short sword at his side. "I'll take the plunge first." Arthur runs a couple steps and jumps into the pool with barely a splash. No water hit the sides of the pool and the water barely rippled.

"I didn't mean to jump into it!" The whinnies of their pursuers reverberate in the air around Lancelot. "I can't stay here."

Lancelot runs and dives in after his friend.

Lancelot immediately finds himself in the air and landing on the side of another pool laid out exactly as the one in the clearing. He had fallen flat on his stomach at the edge of the pool, red bricks in a perfect circle around the water. Arthur is soaked and looks down standing over Lancelot. He smiles and extends a dripping hand down to him, "We've found the passage away from the forrest." Lancelot grimaces and takes the hand, gripping harder because he is equally as soaked as Arthur.

They both stand together and look around. A blue light mixed with white emanates from the pool, illuminating staircases all around them. The staircases are awkward. They go up and down the walls, connected by bridges overhead, leading to wooden doors that are situated any which way. Some doors were upright, while others were upside down, with other staircases and paths leading to doors arrayed horizontal to the ground, impossible to get to without falling to the ground below. The paths seemed to extend upwards forever in a pillar of stone and wood, only seen from the never-ending brilliance of the pool at their feet.

Arthur perks up, "Shall we go?"

Lancelot blanches, "Where to begin? I'm sure you see what I see?"

"I see we'll get nowhere by just standing around." He walks off in the direction of a door that is on their level. He opens and walks through it, only to appear behind Lancelot on another level, upside down and staring at Lancelot from a pathway overhead.

Arthur calls out from over Lancelot's shoulder, "Woohoo!" Lancelot jumps out of his skin. "Are you coming or not?" Arthur's face is all grinning and mirth.

If Lancelot had a hat, he would've lost it, "How does that work!?"

"What matter how it works, if it does? Now are you coming or will you just defend the pool from centaurs?"

"Coming."