17

When we get off the plane and enter ATH I realize something important when an employee welcomes us to Greece. To my knowledge, none of us speak Greek. I address the problem to my team immediately.

 "Which of us speaks even the smallest bit of Greek?" I ask sarcastically

 "I do." Kara raises her hand, "it's not very good, but It will manage."

 "Okay, one problem done. What about money? We have American dollars, not euros." I state

 "Fun fact, the euro is the equivalent to one point two eight dollars." Taylor blurts, "You pick these things up in the field. American money will work here just fine, however we can go to the embassy to get euros if that'll be better."

 Saundra begins to ask when we could go shopping, but Daimian cuts her off before she can finish her sentence. "Let's find a hotel first, then you can steal Ivan away into the night."

 "How'd you know we resolved our spat?" I ask

 "You did? Wonderful, that will make things easier for both of you." Daimian responds, "I told you, the woman always gets her way. I just tagged along with whom I knew would win."

 "Thanks for the support." I mark humorlessly, "Now lets go find that hotel so I can get this over with."

 We managed to find a decent hotel and get a couple of rooms connected by a door, thanks to Kara. Once our bags hit the floor Saundra grabs her purse and then my hand and pulls me out the door. We were followed by Kara who said she'll act as our translator. As promised the first thing done is my hair. It gets washed, bleached, straightened, and dyed. The end result is the same black and green coloring, just straighter and down to my eyes. The first store we come to has skateboards lining the walls and rap music playing, I pull Saundra away from it before she could even enter. The next is a normal retail store. There we get a half dozen striped button up shirts and an equal number of jeans; 4 black and 2 blue. I wear a pair of black jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt with tiny white vertical lines out of the store once we pay. At a shoe store we find a pair of boots that appeal to my comfort needs and Saundra's mature, professional look. On the way back to the hotel I catch sight of a Hot Topic. I drag an unwilling Saundra into the store.  My tension melts away when I hear the music blasting from the speakers, very loud and absolutely aggressive and not a single distinguishable word through the yelling. It was most definitely prime mosh pit music, though I didn't know who was playing. I wonder around the store, not looking for anything specific, and come across the CD rack. Wonder ignites within me and I very carefully examine the A's until I spot what I'm looking for, the new Avenged Sevenfold album. I lovingly pick up a copy and approach the check-out when I'm suddenly blinded by something dropped on my head.

 "Nope, too big Kara, try to find a smaller one." Saundra calls back, pulling the thing off my head and returning to the shelf where Kara was

 I walk over to where the girls are and get handed a black hat by Saundra. The top of it was indented with two more indentations in the front, one on either side. In the front the bill was straight but curved upward as it came around to the back of the hat. Around the base of it a red ribbon wraps around it.

 "What's this?" I ask holding up the hat

 "It's a fedora. Put it on." Saundra commands

 I put the hat on my head and listen to the girls talk about how good it looks on me. I walk over to a full body mirror in a dressing room and look at myself over. The girls were right, I do look pretty good, but the hat is missing something. I snap my fingers when I realize the fedora is missing my own person decoration, it's too plain. I go to a display with piercings and a random assortment of spikes and studs. I rummage through the various medal pieces and pick out a skull and crossbones badge and five plain earrings. I pay for the items (and CD) and begin constructing my new hat. I pin the skull under the right sides indent and the earrings along the edge of the brim on the same side, where is begins to curl upwards.

 "Vwala!" I say and present my fedora to Saundra and Kara

 "Very nice." Kara smiles and nods

 "So you did learn something from me on fashion." Saundra smiles approvingly

 "Not really. I just got lucky this time." I laugh

 We get back into the rental car from the airport and I insert my new CD and hit play. The music blares from the speakers as we make our way back to the hotel.

 

Saundra and Kara tell me to wait in the hall for a second then walk into the room.

 "I'm pleased to introduce the new and improved Ivan." Saundra opens the door and I walk in

 "So what do you think?" I ask spinning the hat in the air, catch it and return it to my head

 "Not bad, but I’ve got one question." Taylor nods with a sly smile

 I narrow my eyes in suspicion, "What?"

 "Can you take me to the godfather?" Taylor says in a raspy voice and begins to laugh

 "You're losing your touch." I note

 Taylor blinks confused. I gesture to the other people in the room who had not emitted so much as a smirk. Taylor, defeated, hangs his head and pretends to cry.

 "I think you all broke your funny bones. Come on, that was gold!" Taylor waves his arms about to try and emphasize his point

 "It sure was Taylor, fool's gold." I chuckle to myself

 Saundra lets a small smile appear on her lips.

 Daimian gets up off the bed, "Are you done?" Daimian asks, tired of our lame bickering, "Lets go do some searching before the sun rises."

 "Daimian is right, Underground activity usually happens at night. If we're lucky we might bump into something." Kara agrees

 Since we don't know the area, we split into two groups. Daimian, Patrick, and Kara in group one. Taylor, Saundra, and myself in group two. We decide to stay near the hotel for tonight, not straying more than a mile away. Our first night's search is uneventful and we come we come back empty handed. It's six-thirty in the morning when we trudge back into the hotel room. I hang my fedora on the bathroom door handle then flop face first onto a bed, shortly joined by Saundra.

 "How many more nights do we have to do that?" I mumble into the pillow my face was buried in

 "Until we can find something that can tell us where the Underground entrance is." Kara answers from a chair across the room

 "Oh my god, I'm dog tired." Taylor moans from his bed next to us

 "Clever Taylor. I'd laugh but I'm too tired." I reply and wait for a response. "Taylor, you hear me?" I wait again and hear soft snoring.

 Taylor had fallen asleep, not that I blame him. Soon after, I fall into a dreamless sleep.

 I awake to the sultry smell of fresh, crisp bacon. I snap my eyes open and lurch my way to the mouthwatering smell. I end up in the lobby where a continental breakfast is set up. I grab a plate and pile it high with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and more bacon. As I'm looking for a place to eat, my plate feels a thousand pounds heavier. I remember last night and it dawns on me how tired I still am. I look at a clock which reads eight fourty-five.

 I stumble back to my room and munch on a breakfast sandwich that I throw together. The plate still has plenty left on it, but I really want to sleep. "First come, first serve." I tell myself then push the plate away from me and rest my head on the table. I'm back asleep in seconds.

  When I wake again, this time on my own, I find that my plate has been picked clean of everything but a piece of toast, some egg remnants, and a lone strip of bacon. I reach for the bacon when it is swiped away from me by a blur of a hand. Taylor stands next to me happily munching on my breakfast.

 "Bacon thief!" I accuse

 "Not my fault, you left it undefended. It was free game." Taylor chews

 I mumble to myself as I pile the remainder of the plate onto my last piece of toast and fold it in half. It disappears in two large bites. I'm forcing the last of the food down my gallate when Daim, Kara, Patrick, and Saundra walk into the room.

 "Oh look, they're not dead." Daimian says warmly, "I was getting worried since you fell asleep that close to food."

 "Yea, then the vulture moved in and took my bacon!" I eye Taylor menacingly, "I'm guessing he's responsible for the disappearance of the rest of my breakfast as well."

 Taylor shrugs, "You snooze, you lose." Taylor cackles st his pun.

 "You do not steal a man's bacon. That's an unspoken rule." I pout

 "Among whom?" Taylor asks

 "Among me and my bacon damn it." I huff

 "Baby. Anyways, what do we have planned for today other than arguing breakfast semantics?" Taylor asks Daimian

 "I figure since we're clueless as to the whereabouts of the Underground, we can play tourist until nightfall."

 "Sounds fun. Where were you all anyways?" I wonder

"Getting a map," Daimian holds up a folded piece of paper, "and looking for a place to eat lunch."

 I raise hopeful eyebrows.

 "No such luck. We can't understand half the signs, so it's kind of difficult. We first walked into a woman's' clothing store the first try."

 I can't help but to laugh at their misfortune. "If you're talking Greek food, we've got to go to a place that sells gyros."

 "A what?" Patrick asks alarmed, "I know ye be carnivorous, but I ain't eatin a guy."

 "Gyro, it's a Greek sandwich." I explain, "They're actually really good."

 "Ivan, is there ever a time when you don't like a food?" Daimian quips

 "Eggplant, liver, and anything like those. And that includes haggis, Patrick."

 "Haggis be a Scottish food lad. But I be agreein' with ya there, I've never been much for haggis. I've seen what goes into it and it ain't pretty." Patrick sticks his tongue out in dislike

 "What goes into it?" Saundra asks

 "Trust me lass, ye don't wanna know."

 "Come on, lets stop yappin' and get to snackin'." I say stepping out of the door

 "Do you know where a place is?" Kara calls after me

 "Nah. I don't need to know because the nose always knows." I laugh and jab the down button on the elevator. I hold the doors open for my group as well as an older couple in their sixties

 "Why thank you young man, how very kind of you." The woman says with a smile

 "Not a problem ma'am. Which floor are you looking to go to?" I ask

 "Lobby please. You all here on vacation?" The gentleman asks sincerely

 "No sir. We're actually here on a business trip." I say, not totally lying

 "Really? What business are you in? Look kinda young." The man asks

 For a split second I have no clue. I should've seen this one coming a mile away. A memory forces it's way into my thoughts. It's of Taylor and I, we are sitting in desks. We're in school. This is a memory from when I was human! We're in science...no, we're in world history. The teacher, though I can't recall his name, is teaching about Ancient Greek culture. I come to my senses and quickly make up for my delay, "We're part of an archeological group looking at the ancient structures around here. I'm actually just an intern."

 "That sounds interesting. How do you all like Greece so far?" The woman asks

 "It's beautiful." Saundra beems, "How long have you been here?"

 "Almost two weeks, it's for our thirty-fifth anniversary." The older woman says happily

 "We'll congratulations." Daimian says as the elevator doors slide open

 We wander around around the city for about an hour before we finally find a place to eat that I deem worthy. They were bound to serve the Greek sandwich I was after since the name of the establishment was Gyro's. We all get a booth as well as a phone book for a rather embarrassed Patrick to sit on so he can see over the table comfortably.

 "Well ain't this an interestin' place." Patrick observes

 The floors are tiled with white and a light blue in a checkerboard pattern. The seats all have the same light blue color with a shiny metal lining. The tables and counter matched.

 The waitress comes to our table with a notepad in hand, and menus in the crook of the other arm. She says something in Greek.

Kara quickly apologizes, "Whoops, my bad." She says something to the waitress in Greek and her eyes fly open.

 "So you all are from America? Please allow me to welcome you to Greece. Forgive me, my English is not the best. Umm, oh right! What can I get you to drink? We have Pepsi products, coffee, and tea."

 "I think I will have a Mountain Dew, please." I order first

 "Same for me." Taylor follows

 "Tea for us please." Daimian gestures to Kara across the table

 "I be takin' tea as well lass." Patrick says from atop the phone book

 "Very well, I will give you a few minutes to look over the menus." The waitress walks behind the counter and vanishes through a door

 "So, Patrick, I've been wondering for awhile now; what is it that you were in debt to Silvermain for?" I ask the leprechaun

 "To me honest lad, me life. It be a long story." Patrick sights

 "There's a good eight hours until nightfall, would you mind telling that story?" I ask

 "I suppose so. Long before he gained his rank, Silvermain's name be Eric. Eric and I were tha best of friends, though I was just a deadbeat leprechaun and he be part of the Night Force." Patrick explains

 "What's that?" Taylor interrupts

 "The Night Force is tha Underground equal to human Police, but most have no values and can be bought out. One day as I be beggin', a thief came by and swiped me loot. I chased tha weasel but started to fall behind. Blasted stubby legs of mine! Anyways I started cuttin' through alleyways and caught up with the bugger. I think he thought he had lost me cuz I was able to jump onto him. I jumped onto his back an' pulled meself up to his neck then squeezed, all of this in a few seconds. We fought and cursed at one another for a good five minutes before I really lost it an' bit him. To answer any questions, a bite from a leprechaun is bad because we pack a nasty neurotoxin in our canines. Look here..." Patrick opens his mouth and points to a tooth, "ight ere es air a oxin omes ow." Patrick pushes on the roof of his mouth with his finger and a clearish-yellow liquid started to drip from his top canine teeth. Patrick pulls his finger out of his mouth, "All leprechauns have a natural immunity to the poison, but most others don't stand much of a chance. Usually it just knocks ye out and makes ye sick to yer stomach, an' with others it can cause an unpleasant death. Unfortunately for me he died, but tha best part is that he had been the head of tha Night Force. The new chief ordered them to hunt me down and have me publicly executed. Eric found me first, hidin' in that cave I brought ye in through. Instead of batterin' me on tha spot like all tha others woulda done, he talked to me and learned me side of tha story. Afterwards he brought me to tha new chief under his protection an' vouched fer me. After several trials, I was set free as an innocent being and Eric got a promotion. Several years later he retired from the Night Force and moved back to America. We fell out of contact after he left."

 "It's strange that my father never mentioned you before since you were such good friends." Daimian says thoughtfully

 The waitress returns to our table with our drinks. "Do you all know what you would like to eat?"

 Before anyone can speak I say, "Gyros all around!"

 "What kind would you like?" The waitress asks, nervous from my sudden outburst

 "Ummm. Lets just do the basic Gyro please." I gleem

 "Very well. I will tell the chefs and they will get started right away." The waitress smiles

 "So where are we going to look tonight?" Kara asks in general

 "Probably take out the rest of the city; move into the rural areas." Daimian begins, "Be sure to check everywhere. Look in burrows, under bridges, even ask around. We need any trace of it, even the smallest footprint could be useful."

  "I just hope we find it soon. I can't take these all night expeditions." I complain

  The waitress comes back from behind the counter shyly. "I am sorry, but I listened in on your discussion. You are looking for someone, no? I know this area very good, maybe I can help."

 "You know, that's a very rude thing to do where we come from." I eye her suspiciously

 "I am sorry. We do not get many Americans in here and I like to learn about their...uh, your culture. Are you all detectives?"

 "Not quite. We're cryptozoologists." Damian lies

 "Ahhh, I see. What is a cryptozoologist?" I waitress asks puzzled

 "It's a profession that studies animals that are thought to be myths or have gone extinct. We occasionally go after humanoids as well. Our small friend over there is, in fact, a leprechaun."

 Patrick waves nervously to the waitress, "I hope ye know what yer doin Daimian."

 "No kidding? He does not seem like a leprechaun to me."

 Patrick's face flushes a bit and he stands up on his phone book. "Lass, what do ye think a leprechaun be lookin' like?"

 "I don't know. Little men in Ireland that wear green and hide their gold at the end of rainbows?" The waitress answers innocently

  "Rainbows? Lass, that is tha kinda thing we be hatin' the most. Most of all tha stereotypes ye hear 'bout Leprechauns be false. Do we wear green? Yes, and white, browns, and blacks. It helps us blend in an' stay hidden. The rainbow thing is what be most annoyin' though. Why on earth would we hide our precious gold at the end of refractin' light? The safes and vaults in the King's fortress are far more secure." Patrick fumes

  "I had no idea you were so advanced. You usually think of Leprechauns as ferries from storybooks and bedtime stories." The waitress blushes embarrassed

  "Well now ye know better than to go believin' everythin' ye hear."

  "Patrick, quiet down. You're drawing too much attention." I turn to the waitress, "Would you know of anywhere in this area where we might find any Minotaur? They are the reason we are here."

  "I'm questioning my knowledge of them now, but I think that if there are any here they it would only make sense that they would be on Crete." The waitress risks a guess

  "Why would they be on Crete?" Daimian asks without any thought

 "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Around 1065 B.C. King Minos built a labyrinth to hide a half man-half bull monstrosity caused by the union of his wife and a bull after he refused to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon. Either every year, or every nine years seven young men and seven unwed women would be sent into the labyrinth in hopes of appeasing the beast's hunger. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus with the aid of Princess Ariade." I spout.  My history lesson is met by weird looks from everybody but Taylor and the Waitress.

 "When we hu..." Taylor catches himself," huge high school students, Ivan and I were big into the Mythologies. The maze came across my mind before, but I thought it would be too obvious for that to be where it is."

 "Yay, we're going to Crete! Ivan, do we have to leave this country? This place is so beautiful and warm." Saundra hugs my arm

 A bell rings from behind the counter that signaled that our food was ready. The waitress retrieves our food for us, then attends to the needs of a few other customers in the area. When she's finished she returns to us.

 "How are your gyros?" She asks

 "Very good. Our compliments to the chef." Kara replies

 I grunt in agreement, too busy eating to speak.

 "Can I get any of you a refill?" The waitress offers

 "Me please I manage to say between bites

 Taylor raises his hand to signal he would like a refill as well.

 "Bring the check as well please." Daimian requests

 The waitress nods and sets off to do her given tasks.

 Once we pay the bill, we head back to the hotel to look for a way to get to the island, Crete. Boat, plane, dolphin, whatever was fastest. I don't know why but I feel rather urgent about getting to Crete and exploring that labyrinth. We find a flyer for a tour boat headed to Crete from a local rt at three. We've got plenty of time to get there, get our tickets, and arrive at the island to sneak away and scour every inch of the maze to find an entrance to the Underground.

 

 "We're lost Daimian, admit it." Kara nags from the passenger's seat of the car

 "What makes you say that?" Daimian challenges

 "We've been driving for half an hour; we should've seen the docks by now. Pull into this gas station so I can ask directions."

 Daimian sighs, "Fine."

 Daimian turns and parks at a gas station where Kara gets out and goes inside.  We're left in awkward silence for a few minutes until she returns with smirk.

 "You've been going the wrong way the entire time. We've got to back where we came from and take another road for half an hour or so."

 Once we get going in the right direction we find the docks no problem. Daimian, Kara, and Patrick stay there while the rest of us are sent to the nearest store a block away. There is another one a few miles away that'd probably be better, but I really don't want to drive here. I get confused just by sitting passenger, no way am I driving here on these backwards roads. We've got to get the basics: food, water, paper plates, and something to carry it all in.

 Walking into the store through automatic sliding doors, the three of us are hit my a wall of cool air. We walk up and down the aisles until we find our objective items. Gradually we find the items that we're here for. Water, check. Travel friendly food, check. Paper plates, check. I've got an old messenger bag to carry it all in. Now one more item to find, soda. I learned the last time we were in an Underground that the only thing I dare drink down there is blood. I've convinced myself that it's all human, though I'm not positive. I walk down the soda aisle and have to guess what flavors are which based on the label design since all the wording is in Greek. I pass a few red and white cans with wording underlined in white. Next I find some blue cans with a circle, inside the circle are three curved stripes. The top is red, the middle white, and the bottom is blue. I look over to my friends.

 "Well at least the looks are still the same here." I say reaching for a couple for 2 liters with the Mountain Dew logo on it

 "Hold up Ivan. Lets try something new, further down the aisle." Taylor gestures then walks

 We wonder a little further down the aisle where all the generic drinks are, and all the designs are totally foreign to me. The colors and symbols on the bottles hint at the flavors they contain.

 "Well, Taylor, this was your idea. You pick because I don't dare." I say examining a bottle  with a picture of a Pineapple, Orange, and a fruit I don't recognize

 "You're scared of soda? What's the worst it can do?" Taylor scrutinizes

 "Make me vomit. Remember that discussion back at the Den about your Wasabi flavored drink?" I reply

 "I still want to try it if it exists." He notes

 "I just want to get this over with. I've got a date with a Greek island." Saundra motions for us to hurry up

 "You hear that Ivan? She's cheating on you with a giant rock. Burn."

 I laugh then retort with, "Yea, but I hear those rocky types have commitment issues. She'll be back."

 Saundra sighs and shakes her head as she heads to the checkout counters with the cart. Taylor and I both grab a random soda and rush to catch up with her.

 We get back to the docks just as the tour boat's crew is tying the mooring lines to the wooden out shoot. It's a large plainly colored ship with room for about one hundred fifty people, plus the crew. The boat ride takes an hour to reach the island. I never knew that boats could move so quickly. Once the ship lands at the island we all load up on busses that haul us around for half an hour until we reach the highlight of the tour, a chance to explore the maze on our own, and a moment to eat.

 We exempt ourselves from the body count and hide until everyone is in except for the instructors and a couple security guards at the entrance.

 "So what's the plan for getting by them?" Kara thumbs at the guards

 "We'll need a distraction of some kind. Any ideas?" I ask, hopeful that someone would answer. Out of the corner of my eye I see Patrick against the wall of the maze, closely inspecting it.

 He gets further along the wall before he exclaims, "Ah ha!"  He comes running back to us. " I found us a way in. It be a guide's entrance, follow me." He whispers then trots off

 The rest of us follow the leprechaun's awkward jog.

 Patrick leans over and examines the wall again, using his fingers this time. "I be recognizin' tha letters but not tha words. Kara, ye think ye could decipher it?  

 "Maybe. Read it as it sounds and I'll try to translate." Kara murmurs

 "Merikoí tin apokaloún me éna daímona." Patrick reads aloud

 "It says 'Some call me a demon'. Well, it's relatively new because that current Greek, not ancient. Keep reading." Kara orders Patrick

  "Kai álloi to apokaloún me éna thirío." Patrick reads in Cryptolingual Greek

 "And others call me a beast." Kara translates to English

 "Oi mitéres krývoun ta paidiá tous, tha prépei na érthei mésa stis dynatóti̱tés."

 "Mothers hide their children , should I come within reach."

 "Prosvolés vrochí páno mou,"

 "Insults rain down upon me,"

 "Katára ti méra pou genníthika."

 "Cursing the day I was born."

 "Aplá epeidí to móno pou vlépoun,"

 "Merely because all they see,"

 "Eínai óti eímai oplón kai keráton."

 "Is that I am of hoof and horn."

 "Fovoúntai aftí ti dýnami pou i fýsi échei proikísei."

 "They fear this power that nature has gifted."

 "Misoún ton ágrio kai to ágnosto."

 "They hate the wild and the unknown."

 "Metaxý ton anthrópon poreía mou pérase."

 "Amongst the people my path has crossed."

 "Mónos, o drómos aftós, na káno ta pódia."

 "Alone, this road, I do walk."

 "Prospathó na apalýnei ton fóvo."

 "I try to soothe the fearful."

 "Palévo aftoí pou misoún."

 "I fight the ones who hate."

 "Apó xenitiá taxidévo,"

 "From foreign lands I travel,"

 "Gínomai adýnami me to stélechos."

 "I grow weak with strain."

 "Ypárchoun meínei kanénas na me voithísei na tragoudísei."

 "There are none to help me sing."

 "I foní mou prépei na férei móni tis. To ágono ánemo, prépei na féroun ischyrismó mou."

 "My voice alone must carry. The barren wind must bear my plea."

 "Daneíste mou athánati ypomoní sas, ti sofía sas ploúsia se chróno."

 "Lend me your undying patience, your wisdom steeped in time."

 "Zitó tóra gia kápoia eiríni gia ména kai móno dikó mou."

 "I ask now for peace for me and mine alone."

 "The hell does that mean?" I ask replaying the words in my head

 "Merely because all they see is that I'm of hoof and horn. It sounds like a poem or a prayer of some sort importance to the Minotaur." Taylor says, "We can ask them when we find them."

 "So is there any hint as to where in this mess of walls the Underground entrance is, or is it completely useless?" I ask rhetorically

 "Well one thing's for sure, we're not getting in through here. It's a maze right? So that means there's an entrance and an exit; lets find the exit and work our way backwards." Saundra theorizes

 "I'm not sure that'll work babe. This labyrinth was built to keep the Minotaur trapped, so it may not have a back exit. You'd think the tour company would give the customers maps." I complain

 "What's the harm in checking? Even if it doesn't, we could wait until the rest of the people leave and go in the front way once they're gone." Daimian says

 "Alrighty then, let's go have a look. The longer we wait, the longer it'll be before we get to the Minotaur." I gesture for my group to move to the back of the maze.

 We find another opening in the back with a red lettered sign that reads "EXIT".

 "Say it Ivan. You've got to say it." Saundra beams when she sees the hole in the wall

 I sigh. "I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I?"

 "Probably not lad, no." Patrick chuckles

 I make a face at him at the Leprechaun.

 "Now that be hardly called for. I just be messin' with ya boy'o."

 "Sorry Patrick. I'm tired and cranky. Just ignore me if I bite your head off." I apologize

 "I prefer if ye be keepin' any biting outta this. I be rather fond of me head, almost as much as me gold."

 "We're not moving until you say it Ivan." Saundra plants her feet firmly to the ground

 "Fine. You were right and I was wrong. Happy now?" I sulk

 "Yep, lets go." Saundra chirps cheerfully

 It's not long before we're hopelessly lost in the maze. We have no way of knowing which way we'd gone already and which way path we had yet to venture into. At one point I could've sworn I had heard the sound of hooves clopping against the stone ground. It sounded like it was coming right around the corner.

 I take the lead and rush to the end of the wall, nothing there but I still hear the noise. At the end of the passage there's another turn and I bolt straight for it. It soon becomes apparent to me that I've lost my group. I quickly grow out my claws and dig them into the wall as I continue to run, leaving white scratch marks against the grey rock for them to follow. The sound gets closer by the second. Left, another left, straight, right, right, left, stop. I've done it. "Ah-ha!" I cry triumphantly when I find a hairy figure pulling at a door in the ground, "I finally caught up to you."

 The figure spins quickly to face me. It's a Minotaur, just not a real one. It was a cheap costume that looks like it belongs at a high school sporting event. "Congratulations tourist, you found the Minotaur. Take this to the guides back at the entrance to get your prize." The so called Minotaur holds out an orange ticket with a bull's head on it.

 "What!? You're not the real thing? I was on a freaking goose chase this whole time. Damn it! Not to mention that now I'm separated from my friends and hopelessly lost. So was that poem on the wall one of the company's fakes too?" I rant angrily

 "You could read that?" The "Minotaur" asks eagerly. His voice is very deep and gruff sounding.

 "Not me personally, but my friends could." I explain confused, "What does it matter?"

 "Prove it. What does it say?" He demands

 "I still don't get what this has to do with anything. Umm, it went something like Some call me a demon, and others call me a beast. Mothers hide their children if I should come in reach. Insults rain down upon me, cursing the day I was born, merely because all they see is that I'm of hoof and horn. That sound about right?"

 "About. What are you? Are you with the eclipse?"  He asks pulling on a set of Velcro straps. The fake Minotaur head falls away to reveal the head of...A REAL ONE!

 "I knew it!" I burst out, setting the Minotaur on guard. I recompose myself, "I'm sorry about that, I was just released that me getting hopelessly lost wasn't for nothing. No, I actually lead the opposing force." I stick my hand out in greeting, "I am Ivan Burgman, Lord of the Anti-Eclipsial Army. We're still working on the name. You think I could possibly get a meeting with your leader?"

 The Minotaur was big, like a solid seven and a half foot tall wall of muscle and fur. It had two massive arms ending with a set of three fingered hands. He had two hoofed legs. His head was that of a bull or a bison with a mane of sorts mixing into hair on its head. Two horns stick out from the sides of his head. This one in particular was a mottled black and brown coloration. The Minotaur scratches his neck thoughtfully, "We were starting to wonder if you were real. The Leprechaun king sent word to our Chief weeks ago. The Chaos Eclipse has been a thorn in our side for months. I will take you to Chief Minis immediately."

 "Actually could we find the rest of my party first? There are a few Lycanthropes, a Vampire, and a Leprechaun." I request

 The Minotaur pauses for a moment then nods. "Stay close, it's easy to get lost in here." Then begins to trot back into the twists and turns of the maze.

 I run after him. When I catch up I notice that the claw marks on the walls are gone. "Where'd my marks go? When I was chasing you I scratched lines into the wall and now they're gone."

 "The walls like to move. It's a security measure to keep intruders confused. That prayer you saw wherever, it was written in that area we were just in." The Minotaur says casually

 We turn a corner and see a group of people at the end of the passage.

 "That them?" The Minotaur points

 "Daim! Taylor! That you?" I call out. I see a hand raise and wave so I wave back. "Come on." I say jogging past the Minotaur.

 "Where'd you run off to?" Daimian asks then looks at the Minotaur, "And who's your friend?"

 "I heard hooved and chased the sound. I found him. Score one for my super sensory." I beam, "This is uhh, well I never learned his name."

 "My name is Torcon. I am what you might call a security guard. One of five wandering this maze, though our power is restricted at this moment due to the siege." The Minotaur answers

 "Tha siege? The siege of what me horned friend?" Patrick asks

 "Our Underground. It's been taken over by the eclipse. They came at us full force; outnumber us three to one." Torcon looks away ashamed

 "They never met with Minos?" Patrick says puzzled

 "Never had the chance. The Chief wouldn't allow it. He impaled the last recruiter to make a point." Torcon explains

 "Apparently McMill sent word to them, making them aware of our existence." I clarify

 "Follow me, I'll take you to the Underground; once we're there we'll have to stick to the shadows. You're all wanted by the Eclipse." Torcon informs, "I'll have to depart once we're in, us security guards have to report to Amon the oversized gecko."

 "The embodiment of wrath is here?" Kara asks alarmed

 "Yes, as well as the other six. Showed up about a week ago." Torcon confirms

 "They brought the whole gang? Excellent. How many Minotaur are still battle capable?" I wonder

 "No matter the condition, a Minotaur will fight for its home until death. All living Minotaur will fight. Why?"

 "We could win this war right here. What are the estimated numbers for each side?" I ask

 "Roughly five thousand Minotaur that are fit for battle, and maybe fifteen thousand Chaos Knights and the Sinful Seven." Torcon estimates

 "Sinful Seven, cute. Anyways those are some pretty steep odds. I'd like to talk with the Chief before I do make any plans.

  We go back to the area where I found Torcon. After pulling out the bar-lock he swings the doors open. We're lead down a set of stairs and into a set of tunnels.

 "These tunnels are the real labyrinth. They were built by my ancestors in order to keep the humans away. Any who wandered down here were probably killed for trespassing or fell victim to one of the traps. Of course some of those people escaped and started those ridiculous stories." Torcon points out. He leads the way and we eventually come to a dark path where I can make out the outline of a door with a narrow slit of a peep hole. We now need a plan.

Author's Note

Ignore the greek if it's wrong at all, I used google translate for that.