Contents
Book Four: The Trap — 11.
Overview
Arthur, Colin, and Stuart Finger descend into a quartz cavern and confront a lethal chasm. A supernatural calypso compulsion forces Arthur and Colin to dance and nearly fling themselves to their deaths. By turning the dance into teamwork and threatening Svangur with the hi-thrower’s daylight setting, they survive and make it across.
Summary
Arthur, Colin, and Stuart Finger descend a natural staircase into a glittering cavern of rose quartz said to be stained by Mordred’s blood. Finger mocks the legend and human frailty, prompting Arthur to argue that suffering proves the value of love and sacrifice, not nihilism. Despite injuries, they press on to a yawning chasm bridged only by slick, narrow ledges.
As they edge along opposite sides, music wells from the depths: a jaunty calypso that echoes into a compulsion. Arthur and Colin’s bodies begin to sway and sing against their will—St. Vitus’s dance—turning the ledges into a death trap. Arthur lurches toward the void; Colin decides the only way to stop the solo is to make it a partnered dance, leaping to meet Arthur’s hands midair so they can rebound upright.
The compulsion intensifies. Arthur slips and dives again; Colin repeatedly counters by meeting him over the gap. Near the far side, Arthur skids; Colin hauls him forward, yanking Arthur’s pants down as Colin himself dangles over the abyss, the music cutting off as they leave the cursed zone.
With Colin hanging on and Finger looming, Arthur threatens to use the hi-thrower’s daylight setting to turn Svangur into stone for ages. The bluff works: Svangur hauls them both to safety. Breathless, bruised, and rattled, Arthur and Colin share relieved banter, alive through quick thinking, trust, and a timely threat.
Who Appears
- ColinInjured but decisive; converts the deadly compulsion into a partnered “dance,” saves Arthur repeatedly, and dangles over the chasm.
- ArthurRattled by heights and the music-curse; argues for love’s value; uses the hi-thrower threat to force Svangur to pull them up.
- Stuart Finger / SvangurGuide revealed in full troll aspect; mocks them, claps to the tune; finally hauls them up when threatened with the hi-thrower.