Chapter 4: Growlz Leads the Way

Chapter 3

Within the hour we were packed and ready to go. I loaded some extra materials into my pockets - ambrosia squares, nectar, rope, throwing knives and axes, climbing equipment, and snacks for Growlz. Sean was wearing what appeared to be a bulletproof vest - actually it was imperial gold chain mail specially forged to not look like imperial gold chain mail - with his purple camp shirt underneath. Whiplink, his primary weapon, was hanging in its chain form on the right side of his pants, a basic gladius hung off his left, and on his back was a curved shield to defend his backside. He enjoyed a fighting style that left his hands open and let him spin around a lot without leaving his back exposed.

Anna followed him. She wore another set of imperial gold chain mail, and her magical medical bag. The bag was given to her by her father, it has three pockets in it. The first gives basic medical items you would see in any hospital, gauze and the like; the second is empty, for her to load up to six times of whatever she wants; the last pocket is for ambrosia squares and vials of nectar, the more of those she removes, the longer it takes for the other parts of the bag to work. On her left wrist was her bow, in bracelet form, and on her right wrist was the flashlight bracelet (at least that's what I called it when she wasn't around) and middle finger had the arrow ring. All gifts from her father. To finish off her ensemble, she had a gladius at her hip, strangly matching her designer jeans, and sunburst earrings in her ears.

I was wearing my trusty bracers, Ignus and Glacius, as well as my trusty jacket. I also had imperial gold chainmail over my camp shirt. My black jeans were loose, and my left pocket had a hole in it, allowing me access to a hidden knife if I ever needed it. We nodded to each other and turned towards the front gate of the fort ready to leave. Growlz chose this opportunity to climb out of my jacket pocket and scramble onto my shoulder.

As we left the fort, I had a bad feeling I would never see it again.

As we headed down the hill, I began to notice something odd. Littered on the ground were what appeared to be little fires. As we closed in on them, they were fires in the shape of feathers. Anna, who was in front, started to slow down and cover her face.

“Those things are hot, almost like a bonfire. What are they?” She asked, stopping alltogether.

“They look like feathers.” Sean observed. “Mark, take a closer look.”

“Are you mad Sean, it would burn him to a crisp!” Anna cried as I continued to move towards the strange feather. Sean explained how yesterday I had been hit by the breath of the Pheonix that made the line of glass back at the fort and came out unscathed while I approached the feather. As I touched it, my fingers felt warm, but after a few moments the fires died down and it felt like a normal feather in my finger. I turned back towards my friends, who were still discussing my fire immunity - even to the point where Anna summoned an arrow of fire from her arrow ring and was poking me with it to confirm.

“Stop that please,” I said while still studying the feather. No matter how I turned it, it always seemed to be pointing in the same direction, which was directly behind me. I turned around and studied the wall when Growlz did something I am pretty sure I did not program him to do. His eyes became beams of light, and they focused on a depression in the rock. The depression looked to have a particular shape. A greek delta.

I stepped up to the delta while Sean and Anna started arguing about what it meant. I traced it with my finger and it started to glow. Blue first, then parts of it went to red, then fully blue again. After a moment of glowing, and silence from my companions, the rock the delta decorated moved aside to reveal steps leading down into the ground.

“What is it?” We all asked at once. The Labyrinth. Growlz replied, and his headlight eyes, which I was becoming even more sure I had not installed, led the way deeper inside. The tunnel looked damaged in places, etherial in others, almost like it was a dying monster.

“So where are we going?” Anna asked her bow with a fire arrow pointed over my shoulder in case we were attacked. Sean had taken up the rear, Whiplink and his other gladius in each hand, keeping an eye over his shoulder as we walked along. I decided being prepared was a good idea, and activated Glacius’s shield and Ignus’s blade while we were walking.

“According to Growlz this is The Labyrinth, although how it still exists, or why in such bad shape, I don’t know.” I responded as we entered what looked to be an intersection of tunnels. The there we were in a round room that had Roman artwork decorating the walls, and three paths leading away. The leftmost path was covered in dust, as if nobody had gone that way for a long time, the middle appeared to be the most used, and the leftmost was lit with torches.

“Left.” Sean said. “Right.” Anna said. “Forward.” I said. Then we looked at each other. Growlz turned his yes to the leftmost path. As his the beams from his eyes passed over the other exits we could see traps down the paths as well as collapsed tunnels further in. When his eyes settled on the leftmost path Anna and I agreed “Left,” and we continued forward.

That’s when the trouble began.

Chapter 5.