Following the creek downstream, Brown eventually found that it dug further downward, until it disappeared from sight. The chasm closed up. The further downstream they went, the easier it became to cross to the other side.

Jumping across it, he took some time to catch his breath. His brother followed right behind him. The grass rustled as Wünder steadied himself. Gripping their torches, the two advanced towards one of the paths leading into the maze anew. The trees were much bigger and crowded, while the grass was tall.

“I wonder how much longer this torch will last,” Brown complained, looking at the makeshift object while it hungrily ate away at the cloth it was lit from. The spade was still in his left hand.

“Probably not for long,” conferred Wünder looking about the maze. Compared to the dusty trees which bordered the path leading to the mines, the ones here looked luxurious and full of life. They had bursting verdant hues, and they smelled of freshness.

Wünder sniffed at the air curiously, taking note of the pungent smell of leafiness and nothing much beyond that. It was like the very air was condensed to reflect the fact that they were walking amidst trees - amidst a place which seemed like it hadn’t even welcomed animals.

As he peered at one of the hedges, trying to find at least an insect of some kind, his brother called out. “By the bosom of Demesne, this is huge!”

“You think so too, brother?” Wünder asked, stunned at the silence which followed his brother’s exclamation. Not a thing stirred - not even the flourish of a breeze - despite the fact that they were surrounded by so many trees. ‘The forest is much noisier than that,’ thought Wünder.

“Of course, I do! In fact, I’m more than eager to meet the person who built this maze. It’s just so stupidly long and tenuous.”

Wünder smiled. “I don’t think the person who built it would love to hear that. Besides, the curse you used is only said when faced to a brutal act. What’s-”

“This very situation is brutal. It’s harsh for you, right? Why should we walk all the way through this annoying labyrinth just to meet someone.”

Wünder felt the grass blades tickling at his calves; his injury was not stinging like it had been before, which would be for the better part of one hour. “I can’t really complain as you do, brother,” Wünder muttered, “This maze was most likely built to protect something.”

“Or to prevent something from escaping. Well, I wouldn’t be one to guess though.”

Wünder looked ahead with speculative eyes. He decided to change the topic. “So, you want to get more prosperous, brother?”

“Are you still worried about what I said back then to Mideia?”

“No. Not really.”

“...”

“...”

“My bad. You are more important than the prospect of being prosperous to me, Wünder.”

The latter looked back at him dubiously. “I’m not a kid anymore, brother.”

“Well, I guess you are not.”

“We’ll find Elysia and save everyone in this cave.”

“Yeah. That’s goes without saying.”

The two brothers stayed quiet, trudging along the grassy path, looking forward with determined eyes. The light of the crystals illuminated their backs, casting a shadow ahead of them. They walked on, and walked on, reaching a grand archway.

Along it, the arches were wrapped tightly in vines, which had pine-shaped leaves. Wünder went to the side, observing the vines from close. In front of his eyes were berries, engorged to a purple shade; they looked unquestionably delicious.

Wünder felt hungry, felt saliva forming in his mouth.

He bent and reached for the berries. “Wait, what are you doing, Wünder?”

Wünder looked at the berry he had plucked on his hand. “Well, I found this berry.”

Brown extended his palm, and ushered for the fruit. After Wünder had handed it to him, he took one look at it, and said. “I can’t identify it. It could be poisonous.”

“It looks edible though,” Wünder commented, “it has the same appearance as raspberries.”

“Just leave it be,” Brown said, throwing the berry away.

“Oh well… Okay, I guess.” Wünder eyed the arch stoically, before moving on.

“You can look forward to one thing though, Wünder,” Brown apprised, “I’ll forage up a basket of berries for you once we get out of here.”

“Okay, brother. I want some real dark and sweet mulberries.”

“Wow, that’s some tall order. I wonder if I can find some at this time of the year,” Brown said, while scratching his chin.

“I’ll help you look for it.”

“Okay, as you wish.”

Wünder smiled. Brown chuckled at that. The cave was their sky. The promenade continued like this until they reached a certain place of habitation. It was something of a cross between a treehouse, and a log house. Brown found that intriguing.

While wondering about what kind of person could live in this kind of place, Wünder followed Brown's footsteps as, without further ado, the latter entered the house. Inside, it was, as to be expected, dimly lit. There was a saw lying by the doorstep, a table in the center of the first room they found themselves in, and the floor was covered with a huge, red piece of tapestry, which had a faded, dotted design; it looked almost brown.

The room had windows on both sides, while it had only one chair. Two wooden mugs stood on the table alongside a jar made of ceramics. To all intent and purpose, the place looked empty.

Brown took the liberty to search the place over: he opened the cupboards which were attached to one wall of the room; he peeked into the other room of the house. The cupboards contained platters made of wood, and lumps of coal and charcoal. The other room had a bed, a mantelpiece, and a stove right under the mantelpiece.

Further inspections unveiled some manuscripts made of wood - ‘pretty rigid to the touch’, Brown observed. Wünder found a jar containing some fruits shaped like apples, but with hard skins. There were practice swords, as well as a wooden buckler.

This place was a real treasure of exploration for Wünder, since it was the first time he had seen these kinds of things from up close. He turned back from the table, about to head towards his brother, when he found a huge dog staring at him from the doorway.

***

Elysia stared at the golden flames burning some mere meters away from her.

Duff watched her from his prison, looking all dejected. She was on a podium of sorts, all alone. The giant was some four meters away from her, dwarfing all the moving statues which guarded the entrances to this room.

Elysia was facing a wall - a wall of gold which would periodically burst alive with fire. As she watched, the ground before her opened up, revealing smoldering embers below. The heat wave which escaped from the resulting vent on the ground was horrible. Elysia felt her skin grow hot, and her hair singe. It was like she was thrust right on top of a blazing bonfire.

A man with ruddy cheeks and a bony appearance kept her in check with a dagger at her throat.

“Get closer to the furnace! Quickly!” said the man, moving his weapon away from her throat, and pushed her body forward. It was hard for Elysia to breathe.

“Elysia! You don’t need to listen to them! Just try and get away from here!” shouted Duff from behind his stone bars.

“Push her again, Bot. I really hate disobedient girls,” said Oregon, looking perfunctorily at Duff, before turning his attention back to Elysia.

Elysia kept quiet, looking at the flames in terror. Bot made a grim expression, and moved forward to do as Oregon ordered. At that instant, Elysia escaped from his touch, and stepped away from the furnace, looking up at Oregon.

“Mister Giant! Where is my father?”

“Your father?” Oregon iterated, “what father?”

Elysia looked at him in confusion. “You said that you had healed him! You even showed him to me, even though he seemed petrified. Please show him to me again! I’ll work hard and then you can turn him back to normal like you said!”

“But why show him to you?” Oregon asked pensively.

“I just felt doubtful. All these statues here can move. Was the statue you showed me something like that as well? I want to see for sure again!”

“So you are saying I was lying?”

Elysia stared at him mutely. She flexed her fingers but held her eyes steadily on his face.

Oregon scoffed and lifted his hand, pointing it towards the furnace. As Elysia watched, molten gold clung together, and surfaced from the wall. It twisted, stretched, and finally formed the image of Elysia’s beloved father.

It moved away from the furnace by shifting by the side of the wall, and then stepped on firm ground. Elysia watched it move with a sense of awe. And yet, she was all aghast. The thing moved for a few steps, and then stopped, its face morphing to look like it was wailing..

It headed towards Elysia in this manner, molten gold dripping from it, and Oregon watched with amusement, while the statue came closer and closer to Elysia, until it was reduced to her height. And it approached her further, until only its torso and face remained. Elysia looked at it, her sorrowful eyes riveted on the fading figure, before it suddenly grew amorphous, and bubbled up, and then dropped to the ground with a splatter.

Elysia kept staring at the poodle of gold in silence.

“Thank God I remembered his name and his face. I’m impressed with myself, if I may say so,” clamored Oregon, holding his hands to his hips and looking at Elysia with proud, patronizing eyes. “I just so dislike disobedient individuals. Won’t you die for me? You are way too skimpy so I don’t even feel like eating you.”

Elysia’s lips trembled.

“Elysia! Elysia! Listen! Just get away from here!” screamed Duff, “you hear me? Just run away already!”

Elysia could hardly hear him. She looked downward and stared at the gold in a forlorn manner. She felt tears forming and gliding down her cheeks. She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she understood what the giant implied with this demonstration.

Oregon drawled on nonetheless. “The fact that you are even here, my little girl, is because your father is dead. You see, I like my meals to be spiced with a little bit of despair. Your father was killed by the Orgon Seer. And the Orgon Seer always knows the name of the person it killed. All I needed to do after that was coerce information from the miners.” Oregon smiled widely. “You were just lured to this place to become my food!”

This forced a sob out of Elysia. Her eyes became blurry, and she felt all force leave her legs. She slumped to the ground, and quietly wept, feeling her shoulders grow heavy.

“Well now! I remembering telling you that I was famished, Bot! Have you prepared another meal for me?” The man nodded. Oregon laughed pleasantly at that. “I see! Alright then, girl!” he said, peering down at Elysia,” now that you’ve poured away all your feelings, won’t you jump into this little pit of fire over there?”

Elysia’s shoulders shook and she remained on the ground, all abject.

“I see that you are obstinate,” Oregon said gruffly. “Bot, hurry up and push her in!”

“But sir, I’ll burn…”

“Never mind! I’ll just toss her in myself.” The giant trundled towards Elysia, when a statue came rushing into the room from the entrance the giant had come from.

Oregon frowned, looking at the thing with disdain. “What is it?”

The statue knelt to the ground, its appearance more like a golem in essence, rather than a human, and then spoke in a mechanical, monotonous voice. “Master Oregon, we have some intruders.”

“What? So early?” Oregon’s face transformed into a grimace. “Well, it matters not. I dare say that I’m really looking forward to what kind of warriors I’ll have the honor of facing after three long centuries.”

The statue remained on the ground. “We have already apprehended a few of these intruders.”

Oregon clapped his hands. “Excellent! This is boring in its own way, but we are better off minimising the risks until I’m completely ready. Well done!”

While Oregon was congratulating the statue, he started hearing a weird sound in the room. The sound started with a crack, then another crack, before ending with a thud.

Duff had freed himself.