The mystery of this diorama will have to wait, life threatening labyrinth, looking for gear to survive, and all that. Helping Fae back onto my shoulder, I turn and walk away, choosing the tunnel at the other side of the room, this one seeming maybe a tad newer than the rest of the tunnels I've found. It isn't that I think it's likely, but still, it's possible that I've found a way back to the surface, considering the rest of this place has had the feeling of a tomb.

My steps gave a slightly different echo as the floor went from cabbled, to solid stone, same for the walls, smooth like glass. Out of mild curiosity, I checked the floor, wondering of there was a chance of falling on my ass, only to be surprised by the discovery of the claws stabbing little holes into the stone. These weren't tiny little holes... okay, well yeah, they were, but the claws on the sabatons had to be going about a quarter of an inch into the stone with enough ease that I didn't even notice... These things were wicked sharp.

I know arrogance, an aspect of pride, can only lead to issues, but I must admit I really want to fight something that can actually fight back now... if only to get used to using this gear in a fight. Stomping on a hatchlings head dosen't count, as technically anyone with a boot could accomplish that much. Maybe an undead? A skeleton would at least give me an idea, as dead bones are tougher then live ones, if more brittle. Hopefully my damned pinky will shrink back down so I can wear the other gauntlet by that point.

Fae sat, kicking her front legs up into the air, while sitting on her back ones, a bit like a portable chair. Every so often I caught her cleaning the feathery growths from her head,reminding me a bit of those girls that tuck their hair behind their ears. Oddly, Fae had rounded human ears, unlike my own which were about five inches long from the tip of the helix, to the bottom of the lobule, a much more common shape for fae. Thankfully, thanks to my faea ancestry, I have naturally occuring minerals in my ears, which allowed me to always know where north and south were, though not which was which. A full blood faea would have the natural instincts to keep track of that, but I'm not complaining, considering the trade off is being WAY more fireproof.

Peering around a corner, and seeing nothing, just more branching paths, I continue to wonder around, warding off bordom with my thoughts. Mind you, I can't dip my hands into molten metal, but I can still walk straight through a bonfire and maybe get a bit warm. Come to think of it, I have a few advantages over others in several regards, not the least of which being an aspect that was being exceedingly useful right at this moment, my nightvision, which currently has allowed me to see the fucking minotaur walk past the exit of this tunnel. How do I know it's a minotaur? Because the tunnel only came up to this things ribs, and I could see nothing but excessive muscle, and a sudden growth of fur going up in a V split from the belly button, the rest of the lower body being very humanoid, aside from the the very bovine genitals. By the way, given the six inch sack, and the lack of a loincloth, I can tell you this was a male, which means this giant man eating brute also has a pair of three foot horns, which they just loved to use to rip out the guts of their victims just to watch the life fade from their eyes. Mind you, this guy was at least three times my height, and almost garenteed to be six times my weight. But... there was something in that room...

I snuck closer to the entrance to get a better look, finding a breastplate in the center of the room... so tempting... The greaves and gauntlets were great, to be sure, but a breastplate would cover some vitals, which would do wonders for my survivability down here... But why did this have to be right next to a damned minotaur!? It's not as bad as a basilisk, but unlike the tub of muscle and lard an ogre is, a minotaur is fast, agile, AND strong, even if they are just as stupid, I'd prefer the ogre.

While minotaurs were better combatants than ogres, of the two an ogre was way harder to kill, as the skin was thick, and the fat atop it's already massive frame made scoring a vital nearly impossible with anything short of a lance at full gallop, and even then the damned creatures were tough enough to shrug off anything short of a fatal impact. A minotaur however didn't possess the tough hide, as evidenced by the humanoid skin below the shoulders, but that didn't mean it was any easier to kill, seeing as how it could simply dodge.

If this were an ogre, I would chance a sprint to grab the breastplate, but with this thing I may have to kill it first... now... how do I kill this without dieing?

The dark figure in a dragon mask watched as the girl left, approaching the diorama to see the results. Cycles, fate, and death. Regardless of the runes she had chosen, this message would have appeared, as it was based on the users destiny. These runes told of many things, though the exact meaning was a little vague. She may become a very lethal individual in the future, or she may die here in the labyrinth, just as likely she may experience the death of all those she knew and loved. Cycles, repetition or certain, it meant that something was without doubt. Fate, predetermined or unavoidable, it usually meant that something was actively guiding ones path, though what exactly could not be known. Death, this one was self explanatory for the most part, either the individual, or those around them will be met with death.

Of course, the meanings could overlap.

Fae watched me from the wall, where she was hiding incase this didn't go well. I double check what I have on hand, namely debating between the oil and the daggers. The daggers could be thrown at specific points, not that I was a master mind you, while the oil could be used to light this bastard like a hearth.... May as well try them both, not like the oil can't be used with the daggers.

As the mass of muscle went to the other side of the room, I tried my luck, stepping out and throwing the oil flask, shattering it against the curved horns, startling it. As it's brain slowly processed what happened, hand coming up to feel the oil, the length of rope I had shoved into the top ignited it, fire engulfing the minotaurs entire head, only the other horn being spared. It grasped it's head with both hands, a primal sound of rage escaping from it's sharp toothed snout.

"WHOOOOOOOAHHHHH!!!!"

It's deep voice called out like a war horn, echoing down the tunnels and overlapping several times. After taking a second to think, I ran to grab the breastplate as the beast struggled to snuff out the flames. Seeing me with the eye on the opposite side of it's head from where the flask landed, the rage in the eyes, oddly reptilian with the slit completely sideways, causing my blood to almost freeze in my veins. But stopping means death, so I grasp the breastplate, turn, and run like hell.

Steps thundered behind me, closely followed by the sound of rocks splintering, informing me that the minotaur was charging, and had crushed the pedestal underfoot, meaning it was now closing in rapidly on my back. Sure enough, the glow of the flames quickly chased the darkness around me away. I tried to duck left, but found a hand larger than the undead giants, curled into a fist, right before it slammed into my torso with the force of a battering ram, throwing me against the stone wall like a child throwing a doll.

I felt several things crack on impact, and caughed up blood as one lung was stabbed by a rib. I rolled to the side quickly, the minotaur slammed head first into the wall, horns having been lowered to impale me in a way that would have left my face in the flames. The impact shook the room, but the brute didn't seem to have cared that it had just slammed it's head with so much force, standing back up from a stance reminiscent to a gorilla. I threw a dagger at it, but pain lanced through my back, causing the dagger to fly wide, never the less, it hit a horn... earning me a huff of distain when it got deflected. Father help me...

I hadn't rested in three days, my training was supposed to begin yesterday, but Kara has been missing for days by now, both mother and father have issued orders to find her, and I myself have joined no less than nine search parties. In total we must have covered dozens of miles in the area already, but all we found was her new boat docked at a village, apparently they had heard a scream the night she went missing, but it had been suddenly cut off... not a good omen...

I was at my writing desk, looking over a map of the area, both surface, and subterranean charts, but despite my efforts I knew there were charts I didn't have access to yet, being a recruit and all. I tried to triangulate where she should be, even if she fell into one of these shafts, which were being checked by other teams for signs of cave ins, sink holes, or magical interference, but we have yet to find her. For the sack of our mothers heart, I keep my face calm and confident, but in truth I am likely the most frantic member od the search.

I am her brother, I'm suppose to keep my sister safe... despite having the same training as me, she has always been rather petite, and a degree of force has been absent from her blows, and she has always had to wear the lighter feild plate armor. What was I thinking letting her go alone?...

No. There was no way this could have been foreseen, nor should it have happened. Kara knows the forest better then many of the patrols, between our adventures and the maps she is always looking at. Due to our having grown up in the fortress, the center of the military power of our nation, it is a matter of course that she is a better combatant then the vast majority of the populace. But of course the most important factor, is that our nation has been isolated in this lake valley for over a thousand years, and in that time we haven't seen invaders or monsters more then six times. The patrols around are boarders are tighter then a merchants purse, if something like that had arrived, it is extremely unlikely they were not detected...

Unlikely... but not impossible...

Eyes wide, the worst case scenario appears in my mind. Our nation is unique in many ways due to our culture, religon, and isolated location. Only three other nations are known to outlaw slavery, each of them on the other side of the ocean. Of the nations bordering the great forest, the grandest of our walls, two of them have issues with abductions, neighbors, from what I heard from father it is theorized that they are doing this to eachother. That being said, where there is opertunity, there are those who will exploit it...