(Adventure Adrian and the Kings) The Herald Quest

Chapter Two

TWO

We weaved through the busy streets of London and out into the countryside. I looked out the window for most of the trip and was deep in thought about Aunt Edna’s behaviour this morning. The things she had said were odd and it made me kind of nervous.

Something else had put me on edge too. I could feel a set of eyes staring at me from the back of the bus and giving me an evil stare. But I didn’t dare turn around and see who it was. It was even weirder that their looks made me feel strange in some way and as if they were pressing on the sides of my head somehow. It turned out that I would discover who was gunning for me soon enough. 

We arrived at the castle about 10.30. Our group stepped off the coach and walked through the car park towards the main entrance. The castle grounds were brilliant. There were miles and miles of old English gardens and fields that stretched away over the skyline. It was safe to say that I felt right at home here. 

The castle itself was amazing too. A massive cream coloured stone building with four towers that rose from each of its four corners.  We crossed the small bridge that bent over the surrounding moat and walked through the archway into the courtyard.

We quickly followed Izanbar through the square and into the castle itself. There were endless hallways and chambers to explore; each one filled with paintings, statues and many grand wall displays. We’d been touring the inside of the castle for about an hour and I was enjoying every moment. But whilst I was taking in every sight and sound it seemed the other students around me were more interested in texting on their mobile phones.

The tour group made their way into a large circular room packed with statues of various monsters and scary looking creatures. Mr Izanbar guided us over towards a particular stone sculpture before clearing his throat and continuing his teaching.

“Now here we see what people in the middle Ages might have called a troll,” Mr Izanbar explained as we gathered around to look at the ghoulish statue even more closely. “Nordic mythology says that these creatures used to dwell underground in hills or caves.”

“Yeah but did they actually exist for real and that Sir?” a rowdy student yelled from the back. The Professor tapped his chin lightly in thought but then seemed happy to answer the question.

“Most medieval monsters were created by rumours and strange beliefs,” Mr Izanbar explained with confidence. “You must remember that people from the Middle Ages had less knowledge of what was real and what wasn’t. With the science around us today then people seem to know exactly what is make believe. ” 

“He looks pretty stupid to me,” the student yelled back with a snigger before blowing out a bubble of chewing gum and wandering off towards the back of the group.

“On the surface these creatures might have seemed pretty thick headed,” Izanbar said with a more serious tone. “But it is said that a troll was almost impossible to kill …the only way was to cut off their heads!”

The group made rumbling noises like they were somehow excited by the idea of actually decapitating a monster!  I made a mental note of the troll-slaughtering tip although it was pretty much a useless thing to know in modern times. I mean…how many cave dwelling flesh munchers might you find running down our local high street?

By mid afternoon the tour had almost come to an end and it had been totally fascinating. Mr Izanbar was rounding everyone up by the exit, which always took ages because some of the naughty students would decide to disappear outside for a sly cigarette. Pretty soon we would be back on the minibus and the last thing I wanted to do was waste time hanging around by the gift shop like everyone else seemed to be doing.