Aidan

The Realms

Seventhday, 4th week of the 8th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Late Afternoon

Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

"So," Aidan asked the obvious question, "does anyone have any idea where the entrance to the Labyrinth is?"

"It will be somewhere close to the heart of the Place of Power, but that could place it anywhere within the city," Sarpedon shrugged. "Its most probable location is within this complex under the hill; I would suggest starting any search there."

"Alright." Aidan considered the small group gathered in the altar chamber. "I don't know how much there is to explore, but there are a couple of cross-tunnels branching off the main pathway. I suggest the five of us—"

"Four," Sarpedon interjected. "I am only permitted to assist you in an advisory capacity, Lord Aidan."

Aidan raised an eyebrow at the gargoyle, then shrugged and continued, "Very well; I say the four of us split up and search a side passage each. I'll assign each of us four Passion Elementals as guards, just in case anything nasty is still lurking in the shadows. If you do find anything like that, your first priority is survival. Your second priority is to warn the rest of us. Otherwise, we'll reconvene here in two hours and check out the passages leading from this room. Is that agreeable to everyone?"

Ailis gave him a sour look, but both Brighid and Llwyd chimed in with their acceptance before she had a chance to speak. The silver-haired Druid made a brief moue of distaste, but nodded and said, "That is fine. What will you do with the remaining elementals?"

"They'll be static guards, I think—two at the tunnel entrance and two here for now. Eventually, I'll set up overlapping patrol routes and such with the others, but I don't even know the layout of this place yet. I want to consult Fionn on it anyway; he knows more than I ever will about that sort of thing. Let's see if I can figure out how to command them..."

Several minutes of experimentation followed before Aidan hit on the method. Once he figured out the trick, though, creating the rest of his allotment and giving them orders only took a few moments. He sent two in the shape of centaurs to stand guard at the tunnel entrance, stationed two dragon-shaped elementals at the altar, and assigned four humanoid elementals each to himself and his companions. It took them noticeably longer to change form with the Dream source divided between Inner Defense and Populace but didn't seem to affect them otherwise.

With their guardians in place, the four of them split up to explore. Brighid and Llwyd trotted ahead to the further cross-passage while Aidan and Ailis took a more leisurely pace to the nearer one. Once they arrived, the two shared a look, shrugged, and turned towards the entryway they were closest to. Ailis set off down the northwest-leading passage, while Aidan sent three of his elementals ahead of him down the southeast-leading one. He followed them into the tunnel with the remaining minion acting as a rearguard.

Aidan

Night

Hours later, Aidan looked over the hand-drawn map spread out on the altar.

It turned out that Caer Macht was built to be, if not a fortress, then at least a stronghold. Access to the inner areas was too direct for it to be defensible against a determined attack. That being said, it had almost everything else it needed; barracks for guards, quarters for servants, multiple kitchens, a training hall, even a library. Massive renovations would need to take place before any of it was usable, and the books in the library were long reduced to dust, but everything was still structurally sound.

The treasure vault, at least, contained some valuables collected by the Taig; Aidan was pleased to recover his Chest of Holding, along with the healing potions it had held. The shamburgers, alas, were nowhere to be found—another of the Taig's myriad crimes. There were no usable equipment items in the loot, but Aidan was able to add more crafting materials, gems, non-magical jewelry, and currency to his growing stash. He made a mental note to get with Brighid, Ailis, and the Starchaser crafters to see what could be made from what he had.

What's more, on a lower level, the group found an underground reservoir attached to a series of rooms filled with fertile soil. They were unlit, but Ailis assured Aidan that there were spells that would allow crops to be grown underground. His own Earth Magic spells would let him keep the soil productive over time, and one of the village mages could create sunlight. It was that spell that Ailis had "borrowed" with Cooperative Casting at the Battle of Ceallach Macht to light the battlefield.

The same floor of the stronghold contained a series of rooms seemingly dedicated to a wide variety of crafts. There was a blacksmith's forge, a mason's workshop, and more. There was even a room that Brighid identified as an enchanter's lab. None of the equipment had survived the millennia, but the mere fact that space was allocated for them meant that Caer Macht was intended to be self-sufficient.

It wasn't until they finally took the stairs up from the back of the altar room that they found the Labyrinth, however. The curving staircase rose for a good twenty feet before opening out into a vast, pillared gallery that reminded Aidan of the Mines of Moria. At the far end of the gallery was an ornate archway made of twisting, curling strands of copper, gold, and obsidian. An indistinct, translucently shimmering haze filled the space under the arch, obscuring the wall behind it from sight. When Aidan approached, a notification popped into view.

Welcome, Master of Caer Macht.

This Labyrinth portal has become dormant due to a lack of power. Do you wish to enable it at the cost of 10,000 manna and 10 manna per day?

Aidan frowned at the cost; that was a quarter of Caer Macht's maximum capacity and about a tenth of its daily regeneration. Still, he wasn't about to turn back now. He confirmed the price.

Attempting to reconnect to the Labyrinth Matrix.

ERROR: Previous anchor point is no longer available.

Creating a new anchor point.

Calibrating manna flows.

Refining input.

Designing a stratum template.

Please wait.

The haze began to churn, rippling and swirling. Llwyd took a step back and hefted his weapon.

Please wait.

Colors flickered within the portal, spreading unnatural shadows across the gallery.

Please wait.

The lights flickered faster and faster as the haze compressed, swirling tighter and tighter until only the bright flashes were visible.

New anchor successfully created.

Opening the portal.

All was still for a moment, then a green glow surged forth from the archway, filling the room in an instant. Aidan shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness; when he looked again a few seconds later, the haze was gone. In its place was a pathway into a verdant, sunlit forest full of immense, towering trees. With a start, he realized the portal didn't lead to the forest floor, but instead onto a ten-foot-wide, flat-topped branch. In fact, he couldn't make out the ground, even in the distance.

"Wait," Brighid said, "does this mean that the whole stratum is in the tree branches?"

"What, are you scared of heights?" Aidan teased his girlfriend, earning a glare in return.

"Aidan, love, if you have not noticed, I weigh more than a thousand pounds without my armor. A fall from almost any height has a high risk of broken bones and internal injuries. Yes, I am scared of heights."

Aidan blanched and caught Brighid's trembling hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "Sorry, flame of my heart. I wasn't thinking. I won't make you come if you don't want to."

She shivered for a moment longer, then twisted her hand around to cup his cheek. She bent down and kissed him on the lips, then nuzzled her face into his neck. "As if you would do that anyway," Brighid murmured to him. "No," she continued in a louder voice, "I will not let my perfectly justified fears keep me from your side."

"I doubt you need to worry about falling," came Sarpedon's voice from behind them. "The Labyrinth can be brutal and unforgiving at times, but I doubt that such a severe environmental hazard would be present in the first stratum. Most likely, you will find invisible barriers preventing you from leaving the path except by accepted methods. That may look like a forest, but it is still a dungeon at its most basic and fundamental level, and the Labyrinth always leads downward. It might be possible for you to jump from a higher branch to a lower one, but I doubt it. Whoever made the Labyrinth had an evident distaste for creative shortcuts."

Aidan raised his eyebrow at the gargoyle. "Did you already know this is where the Labyrinth was? You got here fast."

"No," Sarpedon shook his head, "but I could feel the portal forming. This is not so far from the altar room, after all."

Aidan wasn't so sure. The gargoyle had not been in the altar chamber when the party reconvened there, and Aidan hadn't heard the sound of stone footsteps on the stairs. The stairwell wasn't wide enough for him to have flown up it, either. Despite everything, he was wary of the Sapphire Sky in general and Sarpedon in particular; something in him just refused to trust immortal beings who offered help with only a vague hint of future repayment. That didn't stop him from accepting their assistance, but it did make him cautious of them. He was sure that there would be a price to pay for their help somewhere down the line.

That was then, though. Aidan had other, more immediate problems to solve, so he left Sarpedon's probable deception pass. A question did come to mind, however. "Would that also prevent people from flying from branch to branch? I know you won't join us, but maybe we'll have a harpy teammate at some point."

Sarpedon nodded. "Yes, that seems probable. As I said, the Labyrinth is stubbornly resistant to people taking a path that was not intended. You will find shortcuts within, but only those that were designed to be such. Do note, however, that the enemies you find within will not be so restricted."

"Wait, you're saying that monsters will be able to attack us from above or below even though we won't be able to leave the branches?"

Aidan directed the question towards the enigmatic gargoyle, but Ailis was the one who answered. "The price for the Labyrinth's resources is danger. You are never safe within it. It grants unlimited wealth and experience, but only to those who risk everything."

"Indeed," agreed Sarpedon. "The Labyrinth does play by certain rules, but the game is not symmetrical. It will never kill you outright, but it can and will block your path with monsters beyond your ability to fight. There will always be a way forward, but it will never be safe."

"Hmm. Well, if I want to improve Caer Macht, I don't have any choice but to press forward and do the best I can." Aidan rolled his shoulders. "How many can enter along with me?" He asked Sarpedon.

"No party may have more than five sapient beings with Classes. Your familiar will not count against you, nor will any summoned minions or tamed beasts."

"Summoned minions... does that include the Passion Elementals?"

Sarpedon shrugged. "I do not know, although I suspect not. While the Labyrinth's entrance rests within Caer Macht, the Labyrinth itself does not. My guess would be that, as soon as they crossed the threshold, they would vanish."

Aidan nodded. "Yeah, that figures. I'll try tomorrow just in case; the extra firepower would be useful." He paused for a beat, then grinned. "Pun not intended, but I'll keep it anyway." Brighid groaned and smacked his shoulder.

"Anyway, it's too late for us to do anything tonight. We've all been up since dawn, and if we're to explore a sadistic dungeon, we'll need to be sharp and focused. Besides, there's only four of us here; I assume Cai would be willing to be our fifth?"

Llwyd nodded. "You have only to command and we will obey, Lord Aidan, but I do believe she would be upset if you denied her the chance to come. She is not quite as free-spirited as Ysbail, but we have been through more than our share of dungeons. Speaking of Ysbail, I would suggest telling her about the Labyrinth as soon as you can. She will be beyond eager to explore it, perhaps enough to tie herself more closely to your cause. At the least, it would not take much to convince her to join your party—or to start her own, which you could tax."

"Ugh," Aidan groaned. "Taxes. I'm going to have to levy taxes, aren't I? And deal with enforcing them. And spending them. Why did I take this job again?"

"Because you are a good man," said both Ailis and Brighid at the same time. The mother and daughter shared a look and a smile.