They broke up camp the next morning—not that it looked like dawn. The Fool knowing how to care for his own horse caused a bit of a stir from the surrounding knights—they hadn't noticed during set-up due to far more work going into settling down for the night.

Anselm snorted to himself at the transparent gawking. Just how much of an idiot did they think he was? Eventually Pawel had enough and began ordering the men to do their jobs more proficiently.

Olbrecht was his normal impatient self and had them mounting half an hour early for the light source—estimated to still be two hours away from where they camped.

That came to a halt not even an hour in, with the warrior prince bellowing for the other two to come forward.

Since Anselm had been near the back, he wasn't shocked to see Pawel and Olbrecht bickering by the time he made it to their position. "I'm surprised you haven't already split the party to each go your own way."

"I wanted to, but you skewered and roasted us yesterday, so I'm willing to at least argue about it." Olbrecht grumbled, half-abashed.

Pawel was more direct. "I want a safer route, which the one skirting to the left appears to be, but the one on the right has the beam right there in the distance, with a few beasts running the path."

"Which suits Olbrecht's nature. Look, these tests are not about the fastest route or the safest, but about what is true. Certainly, the light on the beast's path is false, and the safety of the open plains is a lie, leaving the very craggy gorge as the real path. Besides, the story always favors what is left to the youngest, so you don't have to worry so much about what you don't choose, just know that what is left may well be right."

"I can't trust that it's this simple, Anselm," Pawel warned.

"I'd say send scouts, but the time wasted bothers me." Olbrecht groused.

"It wouldn't matter: these are paths of no return. The scouts won't come back and since they aren't a party with the one who is favored, they will likely die." Anselm nudged his horse, taking the lead through the narrow canyon. "There are easier to prove tests further in. Follow me or don't."

The Crowned Prince and grumpy knight looked at each other and shrugged before urging the rest of the riders to follow the fool.

They heard the first bellow of a dragon halfway through the trail as it landed at the top of the ravine. Thankfully, the opening ranged from a foot to a meter wide, while it was closer to 3 meters at its base.

Olbrecht was the first to react, hoarsely shouting, "Skirt the walls!"

The knights ceased centering on the path and brushed up against the edges of the ravine, making their way slowly. As a dragon can breathe fire, they could still die from its breath, but the narrowness of the fire's access would mean that the dragon would melt the soil long before really getting at their party. The best choice was to keep moving forward, hoping for better options other than waiting to be roasted. The dragon could also cut up the cliff and climb into the canyon, but it would be painfully tight for the monster--perhaps too tight for it to breathe.

This didn't stop the dragon from trying. It began aggressively digging above them at each point someone made too much noise, occasionally snorting forth a billow of smoke or flames—making their path miserable and panic-inducing.

One young knight began to swell up in his armor—the stress of claustrophobia causing the growth. He whimpered slightly from how tight everything was until someone near him knocked him out. No one feared him falling off his horse at the pace they had to take, just that if he kept on, he would have caused the horses to bolt, and the dragon would get excited.

The end of the gulch opened up into a vast cavern lit by enormous crystals that shot their light through a crack in the roof, wholly unrelated to valley's slit.

The dragon still huffed closer to the entrance of the cave, but it's attempts to get at the knights slowed the further into the cave the regiment moved.

Towards the back, there was an empty brazier and three locked doors: one of wood, one of iron and stone, and one with no wall attached to it.

"What now?" Olbrecht hated this type of puzzle. Obviously, the door without use was not the answer, but who would choose what?

"This should be fairly safe. Both of you open one and do exactly as you're told by the first creature who speaks to you—honesty, obey all creatures." Anselm replied. "And I mean exactly what they ask for. These two are disconnected from their original story, and I need them to answer questions about my door."

"Why don't you go in with us?" Pawel still needed to figure out how things worked—frustrating in its own way, but not surprising.

"Because there are 3 paths for 3 sons, and we cannot take each other's until completing our own. I cannot go in, and you cannot follow me until these are cleared."

Olbrecht took his pommel and smashed the door knob off the wooden door and kicked it in, due to his mounting frustration. "Fuck!" was the only word he bellowed out as he went into what looked like the inside of a barn.

The door snapped shut on it's own.

Pawel's smirk was a bit grimmer. "You know what waits for us in there, don't you?"

"I suspect." Anselm waved him off. "Yours should suit your more cautious nature."

Pawel took his lockpick set out of a side pouch, just off the saddle, and took a few minutes to unlock his door, then brought his horse in with him.

While waiting, Anselm ordered the knights to set up camp and looked over his door.

It wasn't locked, the door swung freely both in and out with nothing showing on either side the opening. The puzzle would have to wait until his brothers returned.