Deacon’s eyes popped open. He jumped up to his feet looking around the underground room. There was the soul hourglass, the whole in the floor that housed the remnants of three past heroes, and shelves filled with whatever Philo was working on. What wasn’t there was a large black portal that claimed the wizard Philo. Once he confirmed he was in no immediate danger, Deacon checked the shelves. There were creatures in jars, half of which were smashed from the fight, tools, instrumentation, but only two things really caught his attention. The soul energy hourglass that looked full to bursting and a little floating cube that looked very similar to a Borg Cube from Star Trek. The ground rumbled and Deacon almost lost his footing before gaining it again. He moved over to the cube to touch it and received the following notification.

New Artifact Discovered- Philo’s Masterwork Dungeon Cube- This cube represents hundreds of years of arcane theory and experimentation. It can take any space and convert the environment to the desires of the owner regardless of initial size. The cube will create a pocket dimension much like his original design the Wandering Maze but with one quarter the power and none of the betrayal. Probably. Current status; Unbound.

“Yea you are coming with me little one.” Deacon said out loud as he pushed it into his bag. The ground rumbled again, and the hourglass now had a large crack in it. Deciding to get while the getting was good, he began to climb the hourglass. Now that he was closer, he could hear the cracks in the glass growing in frequency. He reached the top of the device and realized he couldn’t reach the edges of the hole. His vision began to sway, and he had to steady himself. Something was wrong with him. He called up through the whole for help.

“Hey Maze, can you get a vine or something down here. I can’t get out.” Just then a rope ladder made of branches and vines came rolling down the hole. Deacon jumped for it grabbing the bottom rung with his left hand. Climbing up he looked down to see the edges of ladder were just disintegrating up until the third rung. Something about that area must not agree with the maze. With a sense of urgency he finished his climb up into the wooden out house. When he opened the door and stepped out, he could see several knights, Mr. Clean and his guild mates, Armand, Elle, and Typhus just staring at him. Behind them were at least a dozen rows of people he didn’t recognize. The walls of the maze were rearranging like two trains passing on tracks. Deacon took a few more steps forward before the shack behind him exploded upwards in a column of energy. It tossed Deacon forward but didn’t harm him. He cleared out the cobwebs and got to his feet. Then he turned to everyone and said one thing before falling back unconscious.

“Do not go in there.”

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Cheshire pulled his face from the orb of this world contemplating the next stage of his plan. He then realized Bael was looking at him. The God of Chaos straightened up and turned to face his sister.

“Can I help you?” said Cheshire.

“Do you really think that was fair? The maze is one of your pieces from ages ago.” Replied Bael.

“Means to an end. Besides you finally got to claim Philo, isn’t he like number five on your list to collect?” Cheshire mused.

“Do not speak of my list so flippantly. Philo paid his price for collecting all that soul energy that is, as of now, flowing back into the Nether.” Harrumphed Bael.

“So what do you have to complain about. It’s a win win. My favorite kind of win.” Replied Cheshire grinning ear to ear.

“I’m talking about forcing another halo into Deacon. His body is going to burst.” Amon admonished.

“He’ll be fine, the lizard is working on it.” Cheshire said dismissing her concerns.

“I know you like this one Cheshire, be very careful. Amon may not care now but if he suspects you’ve taken a liking to this piece, he may end up in one of his machinations.” Bael chided.

“I already spoke to Amon. He won’t be focused on this region for another hundred years. By then Deacon should be able to avoid whatever he’s working on. No worries.” Cheshire said. Just then another member of the pantheon raised his head from orb and sat back in his chair. He had wild red hair, mismatched armor all over his body and across his back were several different weapon types.

“Cheshire, that stunt you pulled with sleeping the ogre, genius. Did you see him squish his own troops with his ass? That one is going in the Hall of battle.” Said Mantarok God of the Forge & War.

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Efimeo woke up groggy and in tremendous pain. Two hits knocked him out cold. Two. He would never be able to go home again. Uncle Cullep would disown him for not finishing the job. Efimeo checked his slate to see he was at ten percent health. That must be why he felt sore all over. He sat up noticing it was bright day out and he was surrounded by greenery. He was also barefoot. Looking around he didn’t see his boots anywhere. Then he saw a large green column of energy shooting into the sky about five miles away. Efimeo wondered what the hell was going on. Where was the battlefield? Had they won? Did the empire take over Iron Mountain Plateau? Suddenly the hedge walls started moving all around him and he got a message from his slate.

Kingdom Notice-Defeat- The Vasilly Empire has failed to invade Iron Mountain Plateau. All remaining troops are to retreat if not captured. There will be a morale debuff of minus ten percent for the next twenty-four hours. Return home in shame.

How? Efimeo didn’t understand how this could have happened. The plan was fool proof. With Uncle Cullep’s new powers and knowledge of the mines, there was no way they would be caught never mind killed. How did this happen? Efimeo thought to himself.

“It was Deacon.”, Came the three voices of the fates. Efimeo around wide eyed, “The Champion of Cheshire disrupts all things. His very presence causes the world around him to warp and break.”

“I couldn’t stop him. He was too strong. Even this dagger from that mole woman didn’t help. Now we’ve lost everything.” Said Efimeo curling into the fetal position.

“Don’t be upset Efimeo Cullep. Would you like to change your fate?” Asked the three voices.

“How?” he said.

“Sacrifice the fate we have given you for a new one. If you agree we will make you Fates Chosen, with enough power to stop him once and for all.” They spoke.

“Will it hurt?” he asked.

“Only a little.” Replied the Fates, their voices in unison as the bright sunny skies of the Wandering Maze faded away to early morning light on the horizon. Efimeo was surrounded by the silhouettes of three figures and carried off into the wilderness.

The End