The meeting of the witches at the Seven Mountains was on since midnight. They were the guardians of the Fountain of Elixir located beyond the Seventh Hill. The meeting was called by Cholena the eldest of them all. That very morning another man had succeeded in gaining access to the Fountain of Elixir. He was the fifth in this decade, too many compared to the twenty who had done so in the past century. The increasing failure to prevent access to the elixir by men by posing riddles was bringing them ill-repute in the magical world. One thing was obvious - over the last few years, men were answering their riddles a lot more easily than before. It was suggested in the meeting that Ara, who had recently graduated from the Warthogs University, be appointed in-charge of the Seventh Hill. Barely sixty years of age she was young and full of enthusiasm. Moreover, she had majored in 'tricks, puzzles and mysteries'. Naturally Pazi, a senior witch currently in-charge of the Seventh was upset and most witches were loath to see a senior witch forced to leave her post.
As the pale moon reached the Western horizon, and bats found their way home to rest for the day, Cholena the eldest among them put her proposal to vote. She proposed a promotion for Pazi, by creating a new post as in-charge for creating hurdles for travelers throughout the Mountain, and appointment of Ara as the Riddle Mistress at the Seventh Hill.
The motion scraped through and the meeting was concluded after an early morning drink of pumpkin juice served by Szat the goblin. Ara took over her responsibility and the year had almost passed peacefully when a traveler desirous of a drink of the elixir arrived at the Seven Hills. He passed all the hurdles raised by Pazi in his path and reached the final stretch leading to the cave from which sprang the Fountain of Elixir.
His progress was arrested as a huge, three-headed black dog appeared in his path from nowhere. He crouched on the ground ready with his dagger drawn, when he heard a sweet voice.
"Congratulations Coron, son of Boron, you have reached the Seventh Hill." Coron was surprised that the witch perched on the lip of the cave knew his name. She was none other than Ara, the newly appointed witch.
"You look so tired Coron, it reminds me of a story which begins with two tired travelers. Why don't you let me tell you the story, while you catch your breath?" Ara said.
Coron knew she was not offering a choice, so he sat down on a boulder besides the path, trying to ignore the dog licking its three tongues.
"Good," Ara said when he sat down, "there will be a small question at the end of the story. If you answer it satisfactorily, the dog will disappear, you can enter the cave and take your fill of the Elixir. But if you fail, you will be transformed into a boulder... not unlike the one you are resting on."
Coron nodded and Ara narrated the tale:
The two riders reached the crest of the hill late in the afternoon. Their robes were damp from sweating and their horses were tired.
"Let's take a break," the elder of the two said looking at the dark, cool shadow underneath a tree.
The younger rider, who was the son of the senior, was relieved. He was not used to the tough life in the wilderness. They got down and set free their horses to graze. They sat on the grass underneath the tree.
They were the King and Prince of Kamuka kingdom and had lost contact with their raiding force the night before. They had set out a day ago from the capital to raid a caravan. All caravans passing through the territory of Kamuka had to pay a tribute to the kingdom. Their outpost had reported that the caravan belonging to the Koreh tribe had circumvented the post and passed through the Monin pass without paying. The King had decided to lead the intercepting force as the scout sent ahead had informed him that he had glimpsed some beautiful women through the curtained windows of the cars. The King decided to take the Prince along to teach him the ways of their warrior heritage.
While they were crossing a stream at night a flash flood caused by sudden showers upstream had surprised them. The two of them were stranded on one side of the stream while their riders had already crossed. They signaled the commander of the warriors that they would meet them a few miles downstream where the bed was shallow. But when they reached the rendezvous in the morning, there was no sign of their cavalry. After waiting for a couple of hours the King decided to cross the stream. They soon discovered that they had wandered away from the Caravan path. Then the King decided to head North East, guided by the Sun, in the hope of meeting their raiders on the way back to the capital.
As they sat quietly in the cool shade they gleaned the landscape below for any signs of their men.
"Look there, father!" Aumad, the Prince, exclaimed.
Far down in a sparsely covered area among the trees they saw some movement. Aumad got up to wave to them, but before he could do so the figures disappeared in the trees. They watched that part of the forest and surrounding area intently, but there was no further movement visible, it was probably shielded by the dense woods.
"Let's get down there before they go further away," King Frukh, the father, was up on his feet.
They quickly put gear back on the horses and rode down the hill. When they reached the trees, they found no one there. The King searched the surrounding area and pointed to some flattened grass.
"They went this way," he said, then looking more closely, "I reckon there are two of them." He had a strange excited look on his face that the Prince had not seen before.
They followed the trail beneath the trees and reached a small brook. The king halted once more. He pointed to two pairs of footprints in the wet sand beyond the stream.
"These are women's footprints," he said, "one heavier and the other lighter, smaller."
"We had no women in our party," the Prince said.
"They couldn't have gone far," the King stood up taking in the surrounding.
"May be they will lead us to human habitat," the Prince said.
His father smiled but without a word mounted his black mare again. They rode upstream and came on top of a ridge.
