Aaroen pointed a finger of scorn.
'Trial by Stones,' he hurled out the challenge.
'Trial by Stones,' the priests echoed.
They dashed around and cleared a space within the circle of standing stones. Tom watched as the two men were ushered into it. They sank to the ground and wooden boards were placed on their chests. He had a strong sense of déjà vu. It was the trial he had experienced in his dream, back in his former realm, before he and Alison made their fateful journey.
The contestants were told the rules. Each was to ask the other a riddle. A wrong answer would result in a stone being placed on their board. A correct answer would cause a stone to be removed.
The trial started with a riddle from Grimwald. A pot was turned upside down and sand began to trickle from a hole in its lid. The riddle was about rabbits and hares. It didn't make sense to Tom and Aaroen seemed equally baffled.
The sand ran out. Grimwald supplied an answer and a stone was placed on Aaroen's chest. The answer made no more sense than the question. Tom was beginning to wonder if Aaroen had fallen into a trap when the man's deep voice boomed out a question of his own.
This was about ducks and drakes. Grimwald failed to answer and a stone was added to his chest. The little man squirmed uncomfortably and asked his next question, which was about a mouse.
Aaroen failed to answer the mouse riddle and another stone was added to his pile. He countered with one about a hedgehog and a donkey. Grimwald didn't reply and received another stone.
Tom was baffled. Neither man was giving a correct answer. The piles of stones seemed destined to grow until one of them was crushed to death. Then he realised that both men were asking nonsense riddles with nonsense answers.
It wasn't a trial of intellect; it was a trial of strength ... so why was a frail old man like Grimwald taking part in such an unequal contest?
Two more rounds followed. The piles grew higher. It was incredible that flesh and blood could stand such a crushing weight.
Why hadn't Grimwald snuffed it?
There was no logical reason why such a frail frame could support such a towering heap of rocks. Aaroen was close to collapse. The Grand Master either had supernatural powers or some foul play was going on. Tom bent down and squinted beneath his board.
'Hey. Take a look at that.'
He grabbed one of the tribesmen and pointed to the rods sticking out from the base of the board that covered Grimwald's chest.