Beginners, Allegedly

Wednesday. I overheard a class at the gate tonight telling the gamesmaster they had never done anything like this before. Never escaped a room. Never broken a spell. Never so much as found a hidden drawer.

I rubbed my hands together. Beginners, I thought. Lovely.

The castle rates the sanctum six out of ten, which is the sort of number a castle uses when it wants beginners to feel welcome and old hands to stay humble. Everything they need is in there somewhere, mostly in plain sight, and the trick is putting it together. When they get stuck, a voice from somewhere sends a hint. Nobody asked me whether hints were fair.

Nor, I must admit, is it a frightening place. Candles, stone, a bubbling shelf and a grim enough tale, but nothing leaps out of a cupboard at anybody. I asked whether I might leap out of a cupboard. The answer was no.

The beginners came out with minutes to spare. Allegedly beginners. I have my doubts.