Adrian felt himself being shaken. "Wake up!" Zhovian was holding him.

As he opened his eyes he saw they were in the courtyard of the Summer Place, he recognised the place. But now it was not empty like before, when they first arrived. The clashing of metal against metal, cries, shouts and screams sounded all about. An army of barbarians had burst through the gates, pushing back the guards who were in retreat. Any moment now and they would be upon them.

Zhovian drew his sword moving backwards, gripping Adrian's arm and pulling him with him. They looked at each other as the first of the hoard leapt towards Zhovian. A huge barbarian dressed in goat skins, exactly like the one who had kidnapped the prince, lunged at them swinging his weapon. Zhovian raised his sword as Adrian cowered, his arm raised in useless protection. From the corner of his eye, Adrian glimpsed a figure, a person alone who stood looking down from the ramparts.

In an instant the army of barbarians were frozen in time, the guards were retreating statues, everyone around them in the courtyard were as if turned to stone. The only people who could move were the two of them. There was an eerie silence, the clash of battle had vanished. Adrian turned and looked for the figure on the ramparts, but he was gone.

Zhovian turned to Adrian. "What are you looking at?"

"There was someone up there," he pointed.

"It's the mage," Zhovian grinned. "Only he could freeze time."

"Indeed," a voice confirmed.

A man dressed in blue with a close beard and sparkling eyes appeared beside them. Adrian looked at him. This person was not at all how he imagined a wise man or magician. In all the books he had ever read, in the fairy tales his mother had told, the wizard was always an old man, often with a long beard.

The Mage noticed Adrian staring at him and laughed. "Yes, yes," he said. "I am the son of my father and his powers are mine. Yes, yes, I am young like you, but don't underestimate my strength. Look around you."

There was no doubting his power. If he hadn't already proved that with his potion. This magician could control time.

"Listen to me, Yuxia. I summoned you here for a purpose. I searched long and hard using the seeing stone to discover the greatest warrior who might rescue the Prince and Princess. The one person whom Zhovian needs to defeat the Prince's uncle."

Zhovian looked unconvinced, so did Adrian, but there was no denying his prowess as Yuxia.

"There is a third who will aid you, because three is the number."

At that moment Joel appeared, he had been hiding beneath the stone steps. Adrian couldn't help smiling.

"The barbarians have the palace and hold the Princess, although her uncle believes he holds the Prince."

"The Prince should be here with me, but they came and destroyed my home and captured him." Adrian frowned, upset at the loss of the Prince.

"You need to leave here now," the young mage told them. "You must gain the forest and cross the river of Perpetual Darkness. You," he turned to Adrian, "know it. You have already passed that way with the aid of the boat man. You must stop the barbarians who stole the Prince from your world, before they reach the palace. You must find the amulet and raise an army to storm the palace and rescue the Princess."

Zhovian said nothing, but his expression was one of disbelief. What was the mage asking? That he and these other two would do all this? How would they raise an army? Indeed, how would they find the Prince.

"Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking, but you will have help. Now go. The barbarians are crossing the northern plains. But be quick, because this hoard of infidels here will be behind you as soon as they realise you have gone."

The horses were fetched from the stables, this time they each had their own mount. Joel laughed at Adrian as he pulled himself up on his horse.

"Another sore arse I expect."

"Nah, I'm getting used to it."

"Let's go!" Zhovian galloped off ahead of them, through the gates, turning North to find the Prince.

For one day and one night they rode North, only stopping to rest the horses and nap, but never long enough to sleep properly. Both Adrian and Joel were exhausted when they reached the entrance to a long winding canyon. It was the route from the plains, across the river and back towards the palace.

As sunlight touched the far wall of the cliffs their attention was drawn to the sparkling reflections caught by the sun's rays. Zhovian and Adrian both strained to see what was ahead.

"It must be them," Adrain told him.

"We must get ahead of them and make a trap," Zhovian mounted his jet black steed.

"I know what he's planning," Adrian suddenly announced.

The other two turned to look at him. Zhovian appeared a little impatient.

"They plan to kill the Prince."

"What?" Joel was astonished.

"They never planned to originally. I mean his uncle. But now it's obvious. He has the Princess and if he knows he has her, then if he kills the Prince and marries the Princess, he has the throne."

"Fair point," Zhovian agreed. "But he thinks the Princess is the Prince."

"I don't think that ruse would last this long."

"We need to cross the river and it won't be easy because they will use the only crossing at the far end of the canyon. To get ahead we have to cross here."

"But it's a torrent," Joel stared at the water they were approaching.

"I know. The horses will never make it, but we three could, roped together." Zhovian urged his horse on towards the canyon mouth, not wanting further discussion.

Adrian and Joel followed on behind. The sound of rushing water became ever louder the nearer they got. It's probably madness, but he had no better plan. Perhaps if they were to let themselves be swept down stream with the current and had something to hold onto.

Birds circled overhead, flying high across the deep gorge that the river had cut through the rock thousands of years ago. They screeched and soared, born upwards on the thermals. The water was almost deafening as it crested in turbulent rolling waves of white spray. Foam drifted over the boulders, those seen, and those hidden beneath the surface. There was no way they could ride those rapids and live. It meant certain death, battered against the rocks and drowned. They stopped at the edge of the canyon and dismounted.

"I think I know a way," Adrian announced. "If I am right, we don't need to enter the river. There is an old path that leads up the side of the canyon wall and at its end we should find a bridge."

"A bridge!" Joel looked at him.

"How do you know this?" Zhovian asked.

"When I crossed the river with the boat man, he told me there were only three crossing he knew of. He said I should come with him, or else I would need to travel for days and days to find this canyon and a ford at its end. Then he laughed and added that if I was fool hardy I could take my life in my hands and find the bridge.

"Why can't we find this boat man? That seems a much better idea," Joel said.

"It is too far up river and the barbarians are to the north with the Prince. Besides, I had to pay the boat man."

"How much?" Joel demanded.

"It's not a price in money, but a promise in action. One day I will have to make the payment."

"It's decided," Zhovian interrupted. "Show us the path to the bridge."

It wasn't difficult to find, almost too easy. They left the horses and took only their weapons and some supplies. The path was narrow and dangerous. The ground was sandy when not walking on smooth rock. One false step, a slip, and there would be nothing to save you. In places there was almost no foothold, only a rope through metal loops hammered into the side of the canyon. The worst places were where these metal rings were loose, or missing altogether. Traversing those stretches was extremely difficult and they roped themselves together, with one person firmly fixed at one end. At least if one of them slipped, they had a chance to haul him back from the brink.

It didn't happen. It took hours of sweat and concentration, but finally they reached a tiny platform that was one side of the so called bridge. This bridge was in fact a rope which dipped downwards in the middle and was secured at each end. Whether there had existed more than this one single rope, possibly, but not now. It was all that remained, and it swung gently above the canyon floor with its dark river hundreds of feet below.

The only way to cross would be to hang by your hands and feet from the rope and pull yourself along. A daunting task, and one requiring some strength, both to hang suspended over the abyss and to pull yourself along. They had the rope, but if the first person to go was to fall, they would swing back against the canyon wall and certainly be killed.

"I'll go first," Adrian volunteered. "I'm the lightest."

Joel said nothing, Zhovian smiled.

"You cross last," he told Zhovian, who nodded.

Adrian hoisted himself up onto the rope, crossed his legs, and started pulling himself out across the void. Hand over hand, progress was slow and the rope swayed. It also chafed his legs. He couldn't see how far he had gone, but had the sensation of going downwards.

He realised when he must have reached the mid-point, because he needed all his strength to pull himself upwards. The muscles in his arms ached. He had to stop. Hanging. Suspended over certain death.

Taking a deep breath he summoned every last bit of energy, every ounce of his reserves. He felt his hands touch something different. Craning his neck backwards, looking over his shoulder, he saw the rock of the canyon wall. He had made it to the other side. Still holding onto the rope, he swung his legs off and onto solid ground.

Both he and Zhovian helped Joel across with the rope and finally Zhovian slid down to the middle point with rope looped over the bridge rope. They had the easiest crossing. Adrian thought perhaps he should have used Zhovian's technique, but then wondered how he would have pulled himself up from the middle.

It was almost dark when the three warriors were together on the other side. Here the space was larger, not huge, but sufficient to rest until dawn. There was no point risking a descent along another perilous path in the dark.