The maestro gritted his teeth as he split his attention between the incoming stampede and the titanic sized bug.

Maestro "dammit we need to buy time"

He then swiveled around with his arms outstretched and the earth around them split into a massive trench, some parts of the trench were so deep you could see soft orange light coming from below. Dozens of the monsters spilled into the opening and a couple fell to the labyrinth below.

…

The chitterlings scratched their heads as they poked around at the fissure in the ground. One of the chitterlings pulled on another's shoulder and shook its head. It then pointed up. The other chitterlings nodded and then looked up themselves. One chitterling held a horn and blew it. The sound echoed through the labyrinth and chitterlings everywhere heard it, and by the tone knew it meant to gather at the ravine.

Jon was awake and aware as his body slid down into the fissure, he felt every bump, cut, and thud as he tumbled down. He fell for what seemed like a few minutes, until finally he was face down on cool dark stones. The area around him was not lit up by gnarlshroom and rawtfungi instead its light came from small bioluminecent bugs crawling on the ceiling and occasionally flying through the air. Far in the distance he could see an orange glow but he could see the cause.

"well I am alive I guess" he thought as he laid there unable to move.

He zoned out for a while waiting for the paralysis to wear off. Until he heard grunting sounds and snorts from a snouted creature. It hadn't seen him but it had caught his scent and was getting closer. Jon started trying to move, but his body was unresponsive.

Jon tried harder, but it was like he had woken too quickly from a deep sleep, his body just couldn't hear his struggle to move.

"oh God, stupid snorting creature, why can't you just leave it be, leave me alone dammit"

He pulled and struggled at his body but again, nothing. He was panicked now and searched his mind for options. But all he could think of was how nice it would be if he had the eye of power again.

"stop thinking you can kill it, you can only trip it of give it a poke"

Jon then struggled in thought before he came up with an idea. He summoned up his magic using what he had learned from Rem in augmentation class, he channel led the magic into a controlled state in his body. And then used the magic to create a focus for his spell and did his best to cast it.

POINK.

A tiny spiked shoot shot up out of the ground and poked him in the leg "oww, mother… fudge"

His whole body instinctively recoiled from the pain.

The snorting creature was getting closer. Jon tried to curl his fingers.

Poink.

It worked!

The snorting grew louder and louder until it was dangerously close. Jon wiggled his toes, drew up his knees and then drunkenly pushed himself up onto all fours and began crawling away backwards.

The snorting suddenly stopped, Jon also stopped "fudge, it's listening for me now too"

When it began to snort again Jon carefully crawled back.

"Ah fuck we are going to have to go in circles like this aren't we. Dammit why am I so weak the others could just kill this thing, but all I can do is crawl away"

The creature stopped snorting for a moment in order to listen. But something was different the breathing of the creature seemed alarmed.

Shriek!

Jon could hear the creature cry out before suddenly being silenced. The silence was then followed by a crunching sound of it being eaten. He was terrified and struggled his way to his feet. He wondered in a panic just what the heck was down here in the depths with him.

…

The giant beast drew back it's scythes ready to attack. The maestro swiftly cast up a barrier and threw it forth against the monster knocking it backwards before it could attack. It staggered backwards and shook its head. It let out a loud shriek. Soldiers clattered in battle behind him busily fighting off the monsters that climbed out of the trenches.

Cassandra turned and quickly surveyed the soldiers battling against the monster swarms.

“Inferno!” she whispered into her hands, her eyes flashed red, and flames ignited within the trenches. The monsters stuck in the trenches screeched as they burned alive. Yet driven mad by the shrieks of the colossal A class monster, more monsters climbed into the trenches and began to climb over the burning corpses of the dead.

“They are breaking through!” one of the soldiers cried out. The captain of the guard grit his teeth and growled “Fight together!”. The soldiers looked at each other and drew into a tighter formation, shoulder to shoulder.

“ROAR!!!” a grave bear erupted from the flames and smashed its giant paw against a wall of soldiers. Five men were thrown to their backs, and another five men jumped forwards to plug the gap it had created and thrust swords at the creature. The captain spun a javelin from his shield and threw it into the creature’s neck. As it reacted to the pain of the blow, two men on each flank pounced from the formation and hacked at the back of the creature’s legs severing the ligaments that kept it upright. It stumbled down in front of the front line and three men in front of the creature dived in and drove their swords into the creature’s throat. It let out a gasp as it bled out.

“The left flank! Two more!” the captain shouted, “and another to the right!”.

The men hurried back to their formations and tried their best to repeat the same tactics that were drilled into them at the training academy. The captain drew the spear from the downed grave bear’s neck and pursued one of the bears on the left flank.

Cassandra “Baz, the soldiers need your help the monsters are starting to break through”, Baz nodded firmly and leapt into action, a mighty blow sent the grave bear on the left flank flying back into the trench, he then dived over the top of the soldier’s defensive line and landed in front of a grave bear on the right flank. He ducked and dodged its powerful swipes, and then drove forwards and gripped its throat in his hand.

“Rrrgh!” he growled as he threw it backwards back into the flames.

The Maestro grimaced as the colossal beast slashed at his barrier with its scythes, “I’m not sure how much longer I can hold this” he whispered back to Cassandra. She nodded and searched for the area where the monsters surrounding them were thinnest.

“4 o’clock, and then towards those cliffs, it is our best chance for cover!”

The maestro smirked, “thanks”. He held up the barrier with his left hand and drew his right hand out to where Cassandra had indicated. A giant ball of light built up in front of his hand.

“Everybody, get ready to run, I shall hold them off”

Baz turned to the captain of the guard “break formation, make for the caves in the cliffs, I’ll hold off the monsters coming over the trenches, ready yourselves!”.

The captain nodded and then signalled to the men. Cassandra created a bridge from the earth over the trench as the Maestro unleashed a powerful laser blast that ripped through swathes of the monsters blocking the route to the cliffs.

“NOW!!!”, Cassandra yelled.

The soldiers fled as fast as they could across the bridge and through the opening in the monster swarm. Cassandra raised both arms up along the path they would run and erected blazing walls of flame “It won’t hold them long, hurry captain”.

“Wait what about you three!”

“We will follow you, GO!”

The captain grabbed onto Rem’s arm and she grabbed onto Subi. Cassius smacked Clive’s back and nodded “Let’s go”. Clive nodded back and fled for the caves along with everyone else.

The gigantic insect screeched and struggled against the Maestro’s powerful barriers. It turned its head and opened its mandibles. The maestro’s eyes widened “It’s about to spit acid!”, Baz reacted instantly and leapt through the air fist coiled and ready.

THWACK!!!

The jaw of the creature was thrown to the side and acid shot off to the side of the routing troops, melting hundreds of creatures attempting to chase them down.

Baz landed to the ground with a heavy thud, “damn it”, he grit his teeth “I’m out of mana”.

“Latimer! I’m out!”

Maestro “Don’t stand there talking you idiot! Run!!”

Baz hesitated for a moment, worried about his friend but made the smart choice and ran for it. Cassandra used what little mana she had left to shoot clusters of magic missiles at the beasts in the way of Baz’s escape. They met up for a moment before reaching the cliffside caves, and paused for a moment to look back at the Maestro standing alone amidst a sea of monsters.

“What is he doing! Get out of there already!”

To the maestro everything was happening in slow motion. Each move he made was calculated with a precision that no other magister before him had ever mastered. Just one slip up and he knew it meant the end of his life. The great beast pounded with all its might at his barrier and it began to crack and tear apart. Monsters made their way up the trenches and rushed towards him like a tidal wave.

“Come on already! Finish me off!” the maestro screamed at the giant insect.

The giant beast reared back on its hind legs, drawing up all its scythes at once, knowing it could get through the barrier with one more decisive blow. It put everything it had into the strike. It moved so fast and so powerfully that it formed a sonic boom.

“Yes!” the Maestro grinned. He quickly shut down his barrier, and shot wind magic to his left, shooting him quickly out to the right. The massive impact of the creature’s blow created a shockwave that eviscerated hundreds of monsters that had rushed to where the Maestro had been standing.

The maestro then ran as swift as the wind down the collapsing channel created by Cassandra for the routing troops. Its flames were weak and monsters were stepping into his path but he spun and dodged around them with supernatural grace.

Everyone ran into the cave, and with Cassandra’s last drop of strength she barricaded the entrance to the cave with stone.

Everyone exhausted from their escape gasped for breath in the dark. The captain of the guard lit a torch, the maestro then stepped forwards and swatted it down, “no, it will consume oxygen, for now the darkness is our ally”.

“Yes sir”

Cassandra “just give us a moment to rest and we will cast some mage light and make preparations for some fresh air”.

Subi, whispered into Rem’s ear “you okay?”.

“Yeah, are you?”

“I am fine, I can smell Dandelion’s just a few steps over, and Cassius is beside him”

“Oh, good, I am glad”

Clive “what do we do now Cassius?”

“We wait for the magisters to recover and then regroup to form a plan”

“Do you think we can really make it out, or is it unlikely we get out of this”

“Don’t know”

…

Jon heard a large explosion in the distance. He fell off his feet and smacked his arm against a rock.

CRACK!

“Arrgh!” he rolled over onto his back in pain, “My arm, it’s broken”.

The monsters in the cave began hollering and shrieking in panic. Jon froze in panic and then quickly scrambled to his feet, he had no time to nurse the pain in his arm, creatures were stampeding his way!

“Flare!” he called out.

The bright light flew ahead of him and away from the sound of the stampede and lit up the cavern. Jon could make out a small crook that he could hide in and made a run for it. The ground trembled as the monsters rushed closer and closer with each second. Jon ran as fast as he could, his arm burning with pain as he did. He grit his teeth and pushed with all the will power he had and rushed to fit himself into the crook.

The creatures streamed past like an avalanche of teeth and claws. Jon held his breath and hoped that in the panic none of the creatures would notice him. A gentle breeze blew at his back. Jon sniffed and noticed that the breeze carried the smell of water “maybe that is my way out!”. Jon followed the scent through the narrow cracks and squeezed through to the other side. He couldn’t see much, but he could hear water in the distance, as if a vast ocean was lapping against the cavern walls ahead.

He plunged ever deeper until he came to the edge of the massive underground sea and then cast a flare over the waters. Its light was bright enough that it exposed dark shadows moving in the water.

“Bad idea”

Jon jumped back away from the water’s edge and walked back up towards where the crack had been, but to his surprise it had been sealed by the shifting nature of the labyrinth.

“I wonder if the labyrinth can move the water too, or is it just the rocks?”

“Damn if only I could see…” He paused in thought for a moment and wondered if he could alter the flare spell somehow. He had never been taught such things and didn’t know if it was possible, but it was worth a try. He sat down by a small stream that was flowing down hill towards the sea beyond and began to concentrate. He imagined that reducing a spells size and removing one of its properties should be possible, but in order to do so the spell would need to be very stable and be cast with less mana. He thought about how the flare was the simplest spell for him to learn because it only required him to push magical energies into a point and then direct the resulting explosion, if he cast the spell with both hands in opposite directions maybe he could hold the flare where it was.

Jon reduced the amount of mana he was using to form the core of the flare spell to a quarter, and the fact that he was using both hands meant that the spell was at half power. To his surprise a dull glowing orb formed between his hands for a moment before it fizzled out.

“Aha! It works”

Jon repeated the process until he could hold the orb in one hand between his thumb and index finger and then used it like the flame of a candle to start following the path of the stream up hill.

…

Subi clutched at his satchel, and looked over at the maestro as he rested by where the entrance of the cave had been. Finally, there was a moment of quiet, and perhaps he could talk to the magister about Clive’s condition and reveal that he possessed an Abolath crystal and that they possessed some form of consciousness and intelligence. Unlike everyone else in the cave who couldn’t see a thing to him everything was perfectly visible, but just in shades of grey. Subi motioned to Rem and Clive and grabbed them by the sleeve.

“Guys, follow me, let’s go to the Maestro I need to ask him about Clive”

Cassandra sighed out in relief as she found Baz and then collapsed into his arms and rested her head on his chest.

Subi steered the duo around different soldiers and boulders and made led them to the maestro.

“Sir Magister” Subi said respectfully.

“Ah yes, hello there, are you one of the soldiers? Don’t be concerned, contrary to appearances, I have been in worse scrapes before”

“I am a friend of Rem and Clive, your students from class A, they are with me”

“Uh, hi sir” Rem said shyly.

“Hey, teach. What you did back there was pretty incredible” Clive said casually.

“Necessity I’m afraid. How are you both holding up? And who is your friend?”

Rem “We are okay for now I guess, this is Subi, he is more like family than a friend”

“I see, well nice to meet you Subi, even though we can’t see each other at the moment”

Subi “Nice to meet you too. I wanted to talk to you about Clive’s situation. You know, with the gem in his hand. When it happened, Rem let me know of it and I went on a search to discover more about it. And on my journey I found this”

Subi took the crystal and placed it in the Maestro’s hand.

“Ah, an Abolath crystal, how did you come across it”

“I retrieved it from a dungeon”

“You? Unlikely unless you are a magister yourself. A special ritual is required to extract them. They possess dangerous energy that needs to be neutralised before they allow any kind of extraction. There are many accounts of these crystals driving opportunistic miners into madness. So there is no way you could have found and extracted it yourself”

“I have a certain kind of magic I guess, but that isn’t important”

“Wait! No! Impossible… It’s magic is still active! That can’t be!”

The magister stared at the crystal intensely “It is connected to you Subi, using your mana to stay active”

“My hope was that you might be able to study it, that their might be a connection between this crystal and what has happened to Clive”

The maestro shook his head, “I am afraid the two matters are unrelated. The gem in Clive’s hand is a result of a mirror in the magical plane. While Abolath crystals are just a natural accumulation of magical energy over time”

Subi considered for a moment that all he had done for Clive’s sake might have been for nothing. Was it true that running from dungeon to dungeon and almost being captured by Chitterlings was just a waste of time? Was he just chasing after phantoms?

“No, I don’t think so”, he said as though a fact, “the mirrors seem to have a similar property to the intelligence within the crystal, and if magic creates intelligence in an Abolath crystal, it might serve to explain some part of why Clive’s gem acts like a parasyte”

“What intelligence? It is just an accumulation of magic, you are talking nonsense”

Clive and Rem both gasped but were uncertain of how to respond so said nothing. Subi was irritated that the magister was so ready to gaslight him. Subi sighed and rubbed his temple, “look, I am not asking you to believe it on faith, that is why I brought you a crystal that is still active”. He knew from the start the Maestro was a curmudgeon for the science.

“So we need to do a series of tests then, and pursue an investigation into the connection it forms, and if there really is an intelligence within it like you say”

“Yes! And if we do that will it help in understanding Clive’s situation?”

“The investigation might take a long time, perhaps too long to help Clive, and honestly it might just turn out to be a waste of time. It would be a gamble with a low chance of success, I wouldn’t recommend it. You are better off selling it to some magister in the capital who has the time to study it”

“Come on, it is a clue to what is happening to Clive, and you will just cast it aside?”

“It isn’t a clue to anything, not currently at least, look I am sorry but even if I did have the time, I don’t think it would work. Magic isn’t a simple thing, it isn’t intuitive and it certainly isn’t warm and fuzzy. It is highly unlikely this is anything but a waste of time, fascinating as it might be”

Subi frowned, and then took back the crystal, and cursed under his breath.

Clive “it is okay subi, I know you did your best, and honestly it just means a lot that you tried”

Subi held his tongue and decided to leave everything as it was for now.

Rem spoke up “Maybe Clive should hold the crystal, maybe there will be a response, you know like the light when you dived into the water to save me?”

Rem motioned to Subi to hand it to Clive.

Blinding light flashed through the cave as soon as the crystal made contact with Clive’s hand.

All men who were facing its direction yelled out in shock and pain, “Ahh my eyes”, “Oh god”, “Too much!”.

Clive quickly pulled his hand back, and the light dimmed back down.

The Maestro peered at the blinding white light, and then became quiet in thought, “Perhaps, I spoke too soon”

Baz “Dammit Latimer! You blinded me, give me some warning next time”

Cassandra lifted her head out of Baz’s lap and lit a small mage light, “Patience is a virtue you know, but I suppose I can keep this light up”.

Maestro “No, save your strength and get some rest, we will need all of your power in the coming hours”.

Mutters and complaining could be heard throughout the cave.

Clive shrugged his shoulders “sorry everyone, it was me”.

A bunch of grizzled guards let out, “sit down rookie”, “yeah give it a rest will ya”, “you’ve done enough”.

CHAPTER BREAK

Cat awoke startled and naked. She quickly stood up and tried to gain her bearings. She wondered about where they were and why they were virtually naked. Were they still in the Labyrinth or were they top side now? She didn’t have any way of being able to tell except that the forest looked normal to her and birds chirped in the trees.

“Oh, what a relief, we are out of that stupid labyrinth”

She looked at Dan’s naked body and morbidly wondered if he was dead. She mused that it would have its uses; for example he wouldn’t wake up and see her naked. She leaned over and searched for the eye of power and found it next to Dan’s limp hand.

“Poor guy…”

Dan’s chest moved up and down as he breathed in and out and began to moan.

“Oh damn, my head!”

He slowly got up on all fours.

“Ah! My body! It feels like every one of my muscle fibers is torn to shreds, annnd I’m naked”

Dan quickly spun his head around in a panic. Cat looked on with one arm over her breasts and the other over her crotch. She was calm but looked like she had been in a warzone.

“You aren’t dead” she said.

Dan stood up while covering his junk, “why do I get the feeling you are disappointed?”

Dan “wait! Where is the eye of power?”

Cat “Calm down, I have it”

“Oh good” Dan sighed with relief, but it didn’t take long for him to realise that his best friend had fallen deeper into the labyrinth.

“Oh no… Jon… He fell…”

Cat “I can’t completely remember what was happening at that moment I held the eye, but I am pretty sure I put him down there on purpose”

“What do you mean on purpose? Why would you do that?”

“Remember this ring and how it allows you to predict the future to a degree, when I also had the eye activated I could see many futures and in all of them Jon died to those freaky goblin bastards”

“Oh, right, the chitterlings would have got him, you are right”

“He is better off in that cave, I think”

“But there isn’t anyone to help him, gah, I don’t know what to do about all this… On one hand Jon is stuck down there, on the other, down there is too dangerous and we can’t possibly go back”

Cat “Also we are the only ones on the surface and should let others know what is going on, and that Class A monstrosity is fighting the town guard and the maestro”

Dan “And we have no clothes”

Cat “I am painfully aware of that. I suggest we go back to town and get some clothes, and then tell the rest of the magisters what happened, and perhaps send to the capital for reinforcements of some kind”

Dan “Yeah, they have to have some way to deal with these things, good idea… How about you get the magisters and I will find the capital messenger”

“It is a plan”

Dan limped forwards slowly.

“Argh, I can barely walk”

Cat “Don’t ask me to help you”

“But I literally just saved your life”

Cat “and I had all my clothes torn off my body, so I think both things even out, you are on your own on this one”

Dan “ugh, fine, whatever”

…

Jon had followed the stream upwards for what seemed like hours, yet there hadn’t been any sign of life, just cold rockfaces and streams of water.

“Hey, maybe this is a good thing, maybe I am heading to the surface”

He fought off a feeling of excitement of hope and cautioned himself to remain vigilant.

“I shouldn’t get ahead of myself… But wait, is that… A light?”

Jon turned off his glowing orb and could see shimmers of reflected light up ahead on the water. He continued to stumble forwards until he reached the corner and entered into the light.

…

“Chancellor, we have reports of activity in dungeons all across the nation” the general commander announced.

“Our eyes in the sky from our spybird department also indicates that monsters are appearing from the opening labyrinths. In some cases class B beasts” the archmagister of the capital added.

A noble gasped “Aren’t they capable of overrunning the defenses we have in place? Chancellor surely it is time to pull the armies back from the borders and focus on the security of our own nation”

The chancellor’s gaze was cold and unaffected, he stared out over the balcony that overlooked the city.

“We won’t necessarily be overrun, we can implement nationwide curfews and restrictions, nobody to travel out of the city and town walls, command for fortifications to be reinforced and wait it out. Call for heroes by way of the halls, and have them take on patrols and scouting, and begin chipping away at the enemies numbers over time” the spy master said while eyeing the chancellor’s back. He knew much of the chancellor’s tendencies and understood that withdrawing the forces from the border and delaying his plans to invade Redan was not even a thought in his mind.

The chancellor turned around and paused for a moment before speaking, “We will begin the invasion of Redan immediately. The lockdown of all towns and cities will be ordered as the spymaster mentioned. And the capitals battalion will come with me to the nearest Labyrinth, and we shall see for ourselves what manner of issue we face. The capitals magisters will continue on the assignments I have already given them. Dismissed”

The men turned from the room and exited, all but the nobleman.

“Chancellor, do you really think it is wise to extend ourselves into a war when we are on the brink of our own nation spiralling out of control”

“Duke Caspian, in chess when all forces are in tension, placed in their optimum squares, and suddenly an attack is on the board and it looks to be not in your favor… What do you do?”

“You withdraw your forces and defend”

“No Duke, you attack. If your forces are faster than the opponent, his attack will prove too slow to harm you”

“But chancellor, this is not a game of chess where you can trade off everything and still win, these are people’s lives, and speaking selfishly, my Dukedom is at risk to this strategy. Also what makes you think the labyrinths and the war with Redan are even related? Seems an awfully big gamble”

“Just do your duty Caspian, leave the worrying to me”

“But that is what concerns me, you worry too little”

…

Cassandra lit up a magelight and walked over to the Maestro.

“Can you sense it?”

“Yes, we are running low on air in here”

“Shall we get started?”

The Maestro nodded and then stood to his feet. He looked over at the captain of the guard and nodded.

“Alright men, on your feet, get in formation”

The men clambered to their feet and stood in rows beside each other ready for orders.

Maestro, “we must cut open an airway, but if we do so on the surface we will invite the horde in here. So instead we will cut our way into the system of caves on the other side, and progress from there. Cassandra, Baz, with me, we will carve the way ahead”

All three of the magisters walked to the back of the cave and began spiraling their hands around in unison and began drilling through the rock.

…

Sada stopped at the top of the ridge leading into the Valley. She motioned back to Freddy and Stitch to be quiet. They all looked over the hordes of monsters that now filled the valley, and saw the massive Class A beast off in the distance inspecting a fissure in the ceiling.

Freddy, “am I seeing things or is there a giant Centipede with eight legs on the roof of the labyrinth”

Stitch “where did that fissure come from? Oh no, what if it makes it to the surface?”

Freddy gulped.

Sada “the children’s tracks lead this way, to the point around which those monsters are gathered… This is the Chitterling’s doing”

Stitch “Wait, they’ve done this kind of thing before?”

Sada “Yes, many times”

Freddy “How the heck do they do that?”

Sada pointed at the river in the middle of the valley and the smoke cloud drifting from it.

“They use the water to spread a toxic cloud, they are cunning and know of alchemy, they use it to drive the beast mad and its shriek calls the horde”

Stitch “Who did they use it on”

Freddy “Wait don’t tell me!”

Sada “I am afraid so… I am sorry, but the children you came to find are no more”

Stitch “But they were just kids, why would chitterlings need to go that far”

Sada “Perhaps the children had something of theirs, they will stop at nothing to get such things back”

Freddy “So that is it… it is over, and we failed”

Sada “yes”

Freddy collapsed to his knees, and Stitch kneeled and put an arm around him.

“We tried bud, that is what counts, no one will say you weren’t brave as hell man”

Freddy pushed off Stitch’s arm “I’m not worried about what others think, I just hoped we could save the kids you know… They didn’t deserve this fate… This world is messed up”

Stitch “I know man… I know”

Sada “You may grieve for a moment, and then we will head for the surface, by making our way around the horde from the other side of the valley”

…

Dan “over here, some clothes were left on the line”.

He handed a set of coveralls to Cat who grabbed them immediately.

“Turn away and let me put them on”

“Alright, I’ll do the same”

He turned away and slipped each leg into the coveralls and strapped on the shoulder straps that held it on.

Cat “Okay I’m dressed”

Dan “Ha, you look like a farmer who has had a bad day”

Cat “And you look like a no life loser who will die a virgin, shall we go?”

Dan “Hey! Why are you being so cruel all of a sudden, I thought we bonded already”

Cat “I am not obligated to any such bonds with you, we were in a life and death situation that was all, how do you expect me to react?”

Dan “Just… Like a person who doesn’t hate me”

Cat “No such luck my friend, no let us stop wasting time and head to town”

Dan was struck by the way she had said the word “friend”, he didn’t know whether it was a sign that she recognised they had bonded or if she was now putting him in the “friend zone”.

“Yeah, let’s get to town… But man that vine really messed this farm up”

Cat “a labyrinth opened up, what do you expect? I am just hoping monsters haven’t overrun the town already”

Dan “wait, what? You think that could have happened?”

Cat “It would be a small miracle if they haven’t if I am being honest, but nevertheless, lets go”

…

Jon stepped out into the light

“I don’t believe it”

All around him were beautiful flowers and butterflies. In the center of the cavern opening was a fountain that sparkled with magic and above it a gem the size of his fist hovering there.

“What is this place?” he said as he stepped into the field of flowers. He looked around to see if there were any monsters but he couldn’t see any, it was just a fountain, the gem, the flowers and some fruit trees which seemed to drop into the waterway and down into different streams.

At first he was dazzled by the sight, but it quickly dawned on him that it wasn’t a way out and that all the caves streams led downwards from here so couldn’t lead to the surface.

He grabbed a fruit from a hanging vine, took a bite, and then fell onto his back into the flowers.

“Well, I am done for I guess”

A small rabbit appeared beside him and gently poked at him with its nose.

“Huh, what? Who are you? You lost in here like me little buddy?”

The rabbit made a cute little squeak and hopped onto Jon’s chest.

“Friendly aren’t you, I shall call you timberwolf, and you will be my guardian as we fight our way back through the hordes of monsters and back to the surface, what do you say pal?”

The rabbit made a couple of cute squeaks and then curled into a ball and began to sleep on Jon’s warm chest.

“Good idea timberwolf, I am actually feeling a little sleepy myself”

Jon’s eyes drifted closed and as soon as his eyes shut he began to dream immediately. In a strange panic, semi conscious within the dream, he began to wonder what the fruit he had just ate really was. Was it toxic? What it a drug? Was he tripping right now? Or was he dreaming?

He couldn’t say for sure, but it wasn’t like any dream he had experienced before. Everything was morphing and moving in strange ways, and hundreds of thoughts were passing through his mind at once. Colorful lights danced and flashed in complicated patterns, and he could hear voices coming from each of them.

He opened his eyes and woke to find the rabbit was still sleeping on his chest, he gently cupped it into both of his hands and sat up. He looked around with his pupils dilated, and focused on one of the flowers closest to him.

The flower turned towards him and spoke, “hey man, we don’t see your kind down here much, what are you?”

“Huh? My kind, what do you mean? You are just a flower, a silly talking flower… Haha, impossible”

“Ahem, I am not just a flower, and I really can speak, but I am starting to question if you can or if you are too stupid to string together a coherent sentence”

“Wait, you aren’t just a flower?”

“No, and I repeat my question, what kind of creature are you?”

“Oh… I am a human, I come from the world above”

“Oh, sweet, a world above, I didn’t know that existed, I just thought it was here and down below”

Jon crossed his head and waggled his finger “No, there is a lot you don’t know, a lot I can teach you”

The flower paused in thought, “is that so…” it opened its mouth wider and wider, and then suddenly bit onto Jon’s head.

“Hey, what are you doing, why so angry mister flower”

The flower pulled and tugged at his head dragging it back and forth, it extracted human thoughts and filled his own thoughts with things the flowers knew… Memories of creatures that had walked amidst the flowers in the past. Nymphs once tended to the garden, but then a man came who was half wolf, and he strangled them all, except for one who escaped down the stream as a rabbit. The wolfman left after staring into the crystal and the rabbit slowly climbed back towards the fountain and took a drink directly from its waters to heal.

“Oh, mister flower, I see now. Timberwolf is a Nymph, and the fountain has powers of life. But why then does it just turn into a normal sea further down? Did this one fountain do all that”

The flower popped its mouth off Jon’s head, “yes the rabbit you called Timberwolf is actually a nymph called Delilah, but she is trapped in her current form because of her fear, you could help her if you learned the magic to do so. As for your other question about the sea, the fountain loses its power the further away it gets from the crystal”

“Ah, thanks mister flower! Who was that wolf guy who murdered the other nymphs”

“He is a creature called a Feyr, a very powerful creature”

“What a dick… Why did he murder them?”

“Well my puny weakling human friend, I don’t exactly know, he didn’t stop to talk. Perhaps he felt being a force of good in a world that is doomed and already falling apart was a pointless endeavour”

“Wait, is the world really falling apart?”

“By gosh you figured it out chap, well done puny human”

“Wait, why is the world falling apart?”

“The gods abandoned this universe eons ago, leaving its core energy unchecked, and slowly a kind of rot has set in I suppose”

“Are the dungeons the rot?”

“Yup, amongst other things”

“So then what the heck is that fountain?”

“That I don’t know, I only know what it can do”

“And what can it do?”

“You will see”

“Huh? Why do I feel so dizzy…”

Jon slowly fell back down to sleep.

CHAPTER BREAK

Dan and Cat dressed in farmer overalls walked until they were at the town gate. The guard at the gate noticed they must have come from one of the farms that were evacuated and jogged out to meet them.

“Are you guys coming from the farmstead? I am sorry, I thought the magisters escorted all the injured to the infirmary at the church, do you need help?” he asked.

Dan “We aren’t from the farm, we are students of the academy. We are looking to get some help for everyone still in the labyrinth”

Cat “I need to talk to the magisters about it”

Dan “And I need to talk to the capital messenger”

The guard looked at them with a concerned look for a moment and then stepped out of the way “The magisters are in the church and the capital messenger is in the tower just over there”

Dan “uh, okay, can I get your help walking there, my body is kind of in a lot of pain”

The guard looked at his partner at the gate and nodded, “my colleague will help you”.

…

Stitch and Freddy followed close behind Sada and the other guides through the woods to the left of the valley. They snuck behind fallen trees and rocks, and avoided being anywhere open to the valley.

Sada “there is a passageway over here, come, it will lead us through the swamps”

Freddy and Stitch nodded and followed the guides.

The swamp was filled with a foul smell like that of rotting eggs. Gas vented up from cracks in the ground, and water bubbled to the surface and soaked into the dark mud. Their legs sank in the mud up to their knees. Everyone was sweating from the heat, and irritated by the disgusting smell that was so thick it felt like it built up a film on their tongues.

Stitch “I think I’m going to vomit this is worse than that time you passed gas in the carriage after the all you can eat competition”

Freddy was too busy wading through the sloppy mud to notice the comment.

Stitch “Please don’t be like this the whole way”

…

Dan “There are people still trapped down in the labyrinth, we need to do something! Send to the capital for reinforcements!”

Messenger “The capital is already sending a regiment, they already sent a message that they are on their way”

Dan “Phew! I guess everything is already sorted then”

Messenger “Is there anything else, such as important information of what is happening there that I should pass along”

Dan “Yes… There is”

Messenger “Hrmm, very well, tell me the details so I can pen them”

…

Cat “Magisters quickly I need your help”

The Magister closest to the door raised their hand, “you will need to wait your turn like everyone else”

Cat “Not me, there are people trapped in the Labyrinth, they need your help isn’t there anything you can do?”

Magister “Oh that is right the Maestro, Baz, and Cassandra went out there with the guardsmen, we just assumed they were securing the site around the Labyrinth not that they had gone in”

Cat “Also a student is still trapped down there”

Magister “Hrmm, I suppose we can leave the rest of the healing to the assistants for now. Let me round up the others and prepare our equipment”

…

Jon was passed out and drooling flat on his back. His head was turned to the side though and he felt an itch on his nose. He lifted his arm to scratch it but thudded into something warm and fuzzy. His eyes shot open, and he sat the sniffing nose of a rabbit right in front of him.

“Oh it is you timberwolf, you wouldn’t believe the dream I had. I think these fruits are hallucinogenic, so probably can’t stay here long or I’ll starve”

Jon sat up and looked around, “I really wish all of this wasn’t real, I can’t believe I am stuck down here, I don’t know what to do”. Jon shed a tear but didn’t sob, he held his knees and rested his head on them.

“What do you think I should do Timberwolf? Ride outta here on your back?” he smiled, “Ha, if only that was a possibility”

Jon scratched the back of his neck and then stood to his feet. He looked around and then felt drawn to the crystal by the water of the fountain. He approached it and glared into the gem until he could see his own reflection.

“There is nothing there like I thought, it was nothing more than me tripping from that piece of fruit. No way wolf-man creatures exist. All these thoughts about nymphs, magical water, and the world falling apart was just some nonsense my mind brewed up”

He looked at the hovering crystal, “why are you hovering over this fountain though, it is so weird”. He turned and looked at the little bunny hopping around by his feet, “and why is a rabbit down here? Argh none of this makes any sense”.

Jon casually leaned towards the fountain and cupped some of its water and drew it to his mouth to drink, “oh wow! This tastes great!”. He moved his lips to the fountain and took in big gulps of water to soothe his thirst. “It tastes even better from the fountain. Kind of sweet even”.

Jon stepped back from the fountain and noted that his entire body was tingling. He felt strangely powerful in a way he had never felt before. His body yearned to do magic and his mind felt clear and in control. He sat down and petted the bunny before pulling out his small grimoire, “there has to be a spell in here somewhere that will help me out right?”.

He flipped through the pages with a focused look on his face. He carefully analysed and assessed each page in search for something useful.

“Dang it! I don’t have a clue what I’m looking for”

He dropped his arm and let the grimoire rest beside him with its pages open. Little timberwolf hopped over towards it. “Haha, it suits you, just the right size see?”.

The rabbit started pawing at the pages with its little arms and then got its nose under the page to flip it.

“Haha, go nuts Timberwolf, see if you can find something useful”

Jon leaned back on his arms and looked all around, “yup, this sucks. But at least I got you here to keep me company or truth be told I would be freaking out right now”.

The rabbit stopped on a page in the grimoire and no longer moved, “what’s up bud, you get tired of reading? Haha”

Jon tilted his head and looked at the page it had turned to with curiosity. He then turned the book around and picked it up, scrutinizing it with his gaze.

“A spell for transferring magical power? If I didn’t know better I would think you wanted me to give you some of my mana”

At the moment Jon said the words the rabbit became frantic and jumped onto his lap jumping up and down.

Jon slapped his face, “I must be losing my mind, I can’t believe I am even considering this”. He looked at the glyphs and recalled some conversations he had with Dan about augmentation and how they worked. Since augmentation consisted of controlling the flow of mana around the body it wasn’t too surprising to him that it used the same glyphs.

“Ok, so thinking back what did Dan say about how to do this kind of thing?”

“Oh that is right he said to lift my thumb up slightly and to pull my fingers back before slowly clenching into a fist, drawing my mana into it”

Jon flexed his fingers and thumb back and then collected mana by clenching his fist.

“Wait, it worked?! But it never worked before!”

He looked over at the fountain, “It is the water!”

He got up and walked to the fountain and drank more of the water and then tried again. This time the mana that flowed into his hand was so strong it began to glow. He drank more water and kept repeating until he finally produced a small spark from his hand.

“Ah like it says here, when the concentration of mana is concentrated enough for transfer it will spark. I am then to focus the energy into the sparking area and imagine the Ula glyph. Okay come here timberwolf”

The rabbit hopped over excitedly and twitched its ears.

“Okay so now I focus… And”

SWOOSH!

A massive burst of light and wind blew off from the little rabbit as soon as it touched the spark. Jon couldn’t see on account of his eyes being temporarily blinded.

“Ah! Timberwolf are you okay?”

A woman gently mumbled, “Yeah I am okay, I think” before yawning.

Jon, sure he was hallucinating again rubbed his eyes. “Wait, whaaaat?!”

The white haired woman sat up naked and smiled at him “Pleased to meet you, my real name is Yuri”

Jon nodded before his face went pale as a ghost and he passed out.

Yuri looked at him and scrunched up her face “You really are a strange one aren’t you”

…

Sada “it is just ahead now, the route to the surface, we just need to climb up through this cave”

Freddy looked up at the passive pillar, “Yeah, piece of cake, haha”

Stitch bumped him on the shoulder “At least we are out of the stench”

Freddy “Are there monsters on the way up?”

Sada “usually there are but it might be that they came down into the valley when the crawler shrieked”

Freddy “Ah so that is what it is called”

Stitch followed the other guides from Sada’s tribe and entered the cave.

Sada “Don’t worry Freddy, you are in good hands, lets go”

Freddy “Yeah sure, of course”

…

Cat “Did you let the capital know?”

Dan “yeah, the messenger said that they were already sending a regiment down”

Cat “I got the other magisters to help too, they are just getting their things ready and they will meet us here at the gate”

Dan “sounds good”

Cat turned and looked to a spot in the woods “wait, what is that sound?”

Dan dived and knocked Cat to the ground.

VSSSH! PEW PEW PEW!

Darts flew quickly by where they were standing.

“Chitterlings, they followed us, we have to find cover” Dan said as he scrambled back to his feet and dragged Cat back out of the line of fire to behind the walls.

Cat quickly peeked out, “the gate guard is on the ground paralysed… Damn it, there are no guards in town”

Dan “wait, if all those things followed us… Well, there were a lot of them!”

Cat “you are right, more than enough of them to overwhelm the town”

Dan ran off towards the gate winch and kicked the release lever to slam it shut.

Dan, “let’s just get the hell out of here”

Cat “wait chitterlings are smart, so what if it is their plan to have us flee and capture us elsewhere?”

TICK TICK TAC

Dan “are those stones? Tied to ropes?”

Cat “primitive grappling hooks, we have to run now!”

…

Freddy rubbed his eyes in disbelief, “I-I can’t believe it. Is this real? Are we back on the surface”

Stitch “Ah, fresh air, nothing beats it”

Sada “Hrmm this is strange”

Stitch “What is it?”

Sada “Chitterling tracks, and by the look of it, hundreds of them… Maybe more”

Freddy “Wait, those things are up here now? Oh no, that isn’t good”

Stitch “And where are they headed?”

Sada pointed in the direction of the tracks.

Freddy “But that is the direction of town”

Stitch “Why would they go there?”

Sada “They are chasing something, or someone. They likely have an artifact. No other explanation would cause them to act this way”

Freddy “W-what do we do?”

Stitch “Do you think it is one of the kids? Maybe they got out somehow, with the help of some artifact? And now they are chasing them”

Sada “That seems likely”

Freddy “Then we should help them”

Sada turned and looked at him, “I don’t think that is a good idea, even a small group of ten or so chitterlings might prove too much for us, and even with my tribe’s artifact firebrand we could only take on another ten or twenty at best. But there are at minimum hundreds of chitterlings”

Stitch “What about the magisters, maybe they could whittle down the numbers”

Sada “Magic is powerful, but when my people tried those kinds of tactics they were always ready for it”

Freddy “Then we find the kid and the artifact before they do, and we flee to the capital, draw them into a battle against massive walls and the capital’s standing army that resides there”

Stitch “Yeah, good idea!”

Sada “Only one problem, how do you aim to find the kid?”

Freddy “Well, they were part of the academy so I imagine they’d visit the magisters in town as soon as they got out of the Labyrinth, my bet is they are with them”

Stitch “Yeah, I agree, that just makes sense. Sada can you lead us around the chitterlings and get us to the back of town, it is directly over there where the chitterlings headed”

Sada looked at the other tribespeople with her and nodded, “Let’s do it, follow us, and stay quiet”

…

Dan “Magisters! Chitterlings are scaling the walls! They won’t be far behind! They followed us up from the Labyrinth”

A magister with short dark hair and a scar on his lip turned towards them sharply, “Chitterlings? How many!?”

Cat “I couldn’t see, but I think over fifty at least”

The magister stood up straight, “Then we must evacuate, when chitterlings are in numbers above a dozen or so, even to highly trained magisters they are a serious threat. In the best case scenario we might be able to a couple dozen of them, but the remaining chitterlings would scatter and make plans”

A blonde haired magister spoke up “Is there no other choice but to let them ransack the town?”

The magister with the scarred lip turned to her “I wish we had the power to do that, the only way that would work is if we had time to prepare and we had backup, otherwise it is impossible”

Dan “Wait, I just came from the capital messenger and he said that a regiment from the capital is already on its way, maybe we could stick it out until they get here”

The magister thought for a moment before he responded “No, that won’t work. There is no way of knowing when they would arrive, or if their aim would be to help us. The chancellor is not known for his kind heart. If he is sending a regiment he has his own reason for doing so”

Dan “So then what do we do?”

The magister thought a little bit longer and then came to an idea “We would have to escape, locate them, join up with them, and then assist them”

The blonde magister spoke up “but what about the town?”

“We cannot do anything about that right now, all we can do is respond the best we can, and right now that means to regroup with the regiment from the capital and then to assist in an extermination after the fact”

Cat “Then what are we waiting for, let’s go, right?”

A scream could be heard from around the corner, but then it suddenly went silent.

“They are here! Quickly, this way!” the magister shouted. He led them out through the back of the academy and through some back streets to a grate by the side walls.

“This is an old set of tunnels, we can get out to the river from here, quickly, everyone get in”

…

Jon slept comfortably on what felt like a very soft pillow. He smiled and murmured in his sleep, and gently woke up to the gentle lights within the small oasis he had discovered. As he opened his eyes he began to recall what had caused him to pass out, and noticed that what was underneath his head was not a pillow but the legs of a woman who was kneeling and acting as one.

“Y-yuri, was it?”

“You are awake” she smiled down on him lovingly, “Yes it is yuri. You saved me, I thought I was going to be stuck in that form forever”.

“So are you a nymph? Was there really a wolf that came here and murdered the others?”

Yuri paused for a moment to reflect on her grief “Yes, a Feyr came and killed my sisters…”

Jon sat up and looked her in the eyes “I am sorry…”

She blushed and responded gently “it wasn’t anything to do with you, or your fault”

Jon “I know, but that kind of thing, it shouldn’t happen”

Jon’s eyes began to wander away from her eyes “Umm… here take my shirt”

Yuri “does my body displease you?”

Jon “No, not that, it is just the right thing to do. And besides, it will be hard to talk if you don’t, so please put it on”

Yuri smiled and slid on Jon’s shirt, leaving him with just an undershirt.

Jon “Can I ask you a question?”

Yuri “Of course”

Jon “What is this place…”

Yuri “This place is the source of all life in the Labyrinth, from this fountain springs magic. It flows into the water down stream which feeds tiny life forms, those life forms in turn support the ecosystem above, allowing everything to exist”

Jon “I see… And is there a way out of here?”

Yuri “A way to the upper Labyrinth you mean? Well, yes and no… The Labyrinth at this level moves frequently, and there are many monsters in the dark levels that lead to the exit. From the look of you, I do not think you would survive such a trip… But it is possible to exit this layer of the labyrinth by knowing ahead of time which way the walls will change and shift”

Jon “The Feyr, he looked into the crystal, was that what he was doing, judging the next movements?”

Yuri “Yes”

Jon “Is there any way I can survive here or get strong enough to ascend?”

Yuri “The waters of the fountain hold much power, the fruits around you hold much knowledge, and I am a being of patience and nurturing. You can survive and grow strong here, but it is impossible to know how long it might take”

Jon “The fountain will allow me to stay hydrated, but what about food, I don’t think I can eat enough of those fruits without passing out from the high, so I think I might starve”

Yuri “You can drink from my nectar”

Jon “Your what? What does that even mean”

Yuri “From my breasts”

Jon “What!? No no no, I couldn’t do that, and what do you eat, I’ll just eat that”

Yuri “I consume the magic of this place, it is what gives me nourishment. It is my role to care for the injured creatures that find their way here, selected by the Labyrinth to be given it’s support”

Jon “Are you saying I was chosen?”

Yuri “Yes Jon. There is no other reason the Labyrinth would open its way here for you”

Jon “Why would it choose me?”

Yuri “Do not think it chose you like another of your kind might choose you, think of it like it felt comfortable with your presence, unthreatened, and open towards a purpose you might come to serve”

Jon “But what purpose could I ever serve a giant dungeon like this?”

Yuri “This Labyrinth is suffering from a disease. Its magic is weakening over time. And it is breaking apart. Perhaps it sees in you a way to remedy that, or... ”

Jon “Or… If it is breaking apart, maybe it doesn’t feel I have a purpose, but it just couldn’t help but open the way for me...”

Yuri “That is a possibility too, I suppose we can’t know which one it is”

Jon “Uh um, can you help me learn some magic? Enough to get out of here”

Yuri “Of course, I will help in all the ways I can. But I must warn you, your journey to that kind of power will be painful”

Jon “Painful how?”

Yuri “As you continue to drink from the fountain it will give you magical power, but it will also take from you the ability to feel at peace in your identity… Drink enough and surely it will drive you mad”

Jon “Then maybe if I avoid drinking from it and get water from further downstream”

Yuri “That will not work, you must drink from it or you will not gain the power to leave this place”

Jon “But if I drink from it too much I might lose all that makes me who I am...”

Yuri “Yes, that is the risk, and you must undergo pain in order to restore the peace in your heart and retain the person you are by learning to do as we nymphs do”

Jon “And what do you do?”

Yuri “We live in pain, so that we might endure the waters as our truest selves. We use a spell that inflicts grave pain at all times, it is a special mark. And if you can endure it and draw its seal upon yourself, you will have the hope of being able to leave”, she rolled up a sleeve of her shirt and revealed magical markings that ran around her forearms.

Jon furrowed his brow in thought, “I guess I have no choice. Teach me the mark”