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The Labyrinth

The journey to the castle ruins was not as hard as they thought. It was only half a day towards the place, and between there and Diamondback's Nest, there were many settlements so they could eat something first and continue their travels. Often, they heard rumors of the beast dwelling within the castle, and no one dared to go there due to it.

However, they became curious when there were no reported casualties of those going to the castle. They only said that they were lost within the castle, but despite of seeing the beast, they did not get killed, possibly because they could only hear its roar and they became scared without even stepping foot (or paw) into the castle, yet not many of them returned, and most who did got out, when they got in, they came out a month later, famished and almost dying due to hunger and dehydration, though the made no mention of a monster or a beast guarding the legend, and made a curious remark about how 'time flies'.

This made a doubt grew between them, as the mystery of the 'Castle by the Sea' became even more intriguing, yet dangerous. What if they survived, but they did not come home? Yet Raine, apparently returning to his old attachments to muns, said, "Buy a lot of supplies for both of us. If we are trapped inside, at least we can survive while trying to find a way out."

"Are you seriously going to believe all that crap?"

"Everything can happen in this world, and a mysterious castle is not a unique phenomenon. Let's get in there, find the treasure, and get the hell out."

"How about the beast?"

"I leave that to you."

After making sure that they had sufficient supplies for five days, they went towards where the people said the castle was. Upon arriving, an hour later, they were surprised by it. No, it's not because of the castle, but because of the size of the castle itself.

While from outside, the castle looked complicated and apparently full of passageways leading to nowhere, the size itself wasn't what the two of them imagined. Most of the walls had crumbled due to age and neglect, and the building itself was almost crumbling. It seemed like the treasure within had been raided long ago. The castle itself was the size of a two-story house, and it didn't look like there was any secret place.

"Are you kidding me? This is a house, not a castle," said the disappointed Raine. "I'm not sure why people said this place is big."

"Appearance can be deceiving. There might be an underground system we don't know about, and this is the entrance," said Karkas.

"Whatever it is, we need to see it for ourselves. I guess there's no other way but to get inside."

Raine went towards the door first, but upon opening it, he looked at the interior and said, "Whoa!"

"What happened?"

"Karkas, you gotta look at this! I never thought this existed!"

Karkas went in through the door and was equally surprised. He then walked outside, making sure that it was the right building, and went inside again. It was so different from what the exterior suggested.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Spatial magic," said Raine. "It made this place dimensionally transcendent. In other words, it's bigger on the inside...than on the outside."

"How do you know that?"

"Because our friend Kazan is one of the last mages I know who can use this magic. But...he only used it for his bottomless pouch. This thing is on another level. I am surprised that it is still sustained, even after all these years. There must be a crystal powering it."

Both walked into a room even bigger than what the exterior suggested. While the outside looked like a two-story house, the inside had a ceiling even higher than the building suggested, along with a grand staircase and a chandelier. But, age had taken its toll on the interior. The wall, the staircase, the chandelier...everything...had fallen into disrepair. The carpet that was once grand in color was now dusty and teared up. The grand staircase lost its luster, and the chandelier was still miraculously hanging, yet it had rusted.

They both knew that walking into an unknown place that was bigger on the inside was dangerous. Like what the rumors said, they could get lost and end up trapped inside. That was the reason why many explorers were lost. They were still inside.

Yet both could not get away from exploring, so they both walked in and hoped that they could find the treasure. Raine had an idea to put 'breadcrumbs' so they could find their way out, but Karkas doubted that it would work.

"Yeah, as if this magical castle will let you trace your way back," said Karkas.

"Relax, Karkas. I've infused the crumbs with magic. I can trace them with it, so it won't be hard."

They walked through the maze for the time, trying to explore through the giant place, yet they seemed to be walking in circles. They found a bathhouse somehow used when the place was still inhabited, and they rested in there. They also found a group of beds, and a giant-sized bed for a beast race as big as Karkas. But that's where the new places ended. After turning corridors and ways, and through doors, they ended up on the same place again. They tried to do the same thing, but they ended up on a different place.

"What the hell?"

"See? I told you it won't work."

"Don't worry, Karkas. Let's see the breadcrumbs."

Raine used a magic to trace his crumbs, but what came out was a surprise for him.

"What the...!"

"Anything?"

"The crumbs are all scattered!" Raine then became alert. "Was there someone moving the crumbs to deliberately confuse us?"

"No, I don't think so. Let's open the door behind us."

Karkas opened the door behind him and it led into a different room from the one they came in before, surprising him.

"So, the spatial rooms were all randomized! Goddamn it! This is not a castle. This is a trap!"

"It's so fucking obvious..."

"Now what?"

"We try finding our way out, until we die."

"Fuck! There's gotta be some way to find a way out! Shit! I should've known! That Fa'ar tricked us!"

"I don't think he's the tricking type."

"What do you know?!"

"I know someone worse than that. He even gave you the muns, right?"

"How can you be so calm! I know I should, but this is getting nowhere!"

"Just don't get too worked out or you'll tire yourself up."

"I know, but...wait. What was that?"

Raine turned towards a wall that looked clean, yet like many other walls, it was already degraded. He looked towards it with intent, as if reading, which made Karkas curious.

"Found something?"

"There are writings on this wall," said Raine. "It says, 'Follow the Red Carpet'. What does that mean?"

"I think it's the carpet under us," said Karkas. "It's dusty, so we need to clean it first."

Raine swiped his cloth on the carpet. The thick dust was almost gone, but it was enough to see the color of it.

"It's...red? Oh, wait, that's a clue! We need to follow the red carpet to find the exit!"

"Don't draw conclusions too soon, Raine. That might be another trap."

"A trap only seen with tracing magic? I never met someone as tricky as that. Anyway, that's the first thing I know for this place. We need to find a route, so come on!"

Following the writings, they walked through the maze while trying to find red carpet. Somehow, it was easier to find a way, now that they knew what they were doing. The red carpet was somehow the only carpet in that maze, and it led into somewhere, which they hoped to be the exit.

Along the way, however, they became hungry and tired, so they sat on the dusty floor and ate their supplies, which were mostly dried meat and fruits. Karkas, despite of being a croc, was surprisingly omnivorous, as he ate everything given to him by Raine.

"I never saw a crocodile eat dried fruits before," said Raine.

"You gotta eat anything to survive, especially if you travel like me," replied Karkas.

After eating and drinking silently, Raine said, "So, Karkas...how long have you been hunting this Fa'ar?"

"For a while. I forgot how long, but I know I won't get to him soon. That rat is slippery, and quite smart. And besides, I don't think I'll be much of a threat to him as I was back then. He might be a Chaos Race, but muns can drown everything, right?"

"I guess that applies even more in this time of age. That's one reason for me to do this. So, Karkas. How are you drawn to Narati if you hate his race?"

"I don't necessarily hate them. I don't trust them. Asran's not the first Fa'ar who tried to take me on, and he's not the last."

"You were so intent on killing us back then."

Karkas tried to find an answer to that, but he gave up and said, "Yeah, I screwed up. Should've known Asran's not someone who will continue playing games with mercenary groups. Other than that, yeah. Narati looks a lot like Asran."

"Do you think he's..."

"I doubt it. That rat did say that his family was massacred, right? For me, Fa'ars look the same if they don't do anything to their fur. I know that sounds racist, but no one actually cares about them, so I went on for that."

"I guess you have a point there. Many people distrusted these rat people out of their past for being the bringer of plague and chaos, but I have a feeling Nara will change that."

"How?"

"You'll know soon enough, when he becomes an adult. Speaking of adults, don't you think we should continue on?"

"Sure."

They walked towards the path they intended to go, occasionally stopping to check if the red carpet was still there. Due to the place not having natural lights, they wandered on and on without a sense of time, and Raine's pocket watch wasn't helping their plight. However, given how they still had supplies for four more days, they should not have finished a day yet.

Then, after a while exploring, they finally found an exit. Both were not as exhausted as they thought it would be, as they did not walk much. They walked through the archway, but what greeted them was entirely different from what they thought would be an exit.

It was a room with a chest on a pedestal and red decorations. Raine quickly concluded that it was the treasure, but Karkas said, "You might want to step back."

Traps, right? I know, I should..."

"No, there's no traps here. It's just a person."

"Previous traveler?"

Karkas looked around and shouted, "Come out, beast of the labyrinth!"

There was a silence, before a voice echoed at the hall.

"I see. You are perceptive, reptile man," said the voice. "But I am not letting you open that box."

"And if I am?"

"Then I must kill you. It's a fitting fight, isn't it, between predator and prey."

From the shadows then came out a muscular beast race, who was a humanoid bull. He was carrying an axe as high as he was, and he was walking towards the two of them.

"A minotaur? In this labyrinth?" said Raine, surprised. "Are you one of the treasure hunters?"

"I'm a guardian, and I am doing my job."

"Raine, get out of the way!"

The minotaur moved very fast. In a blink, he was in front of Karkas. He swung the axe like it was nothing. Karkas tried to block it with his scales, but even his hard scales could not hold and he was cut, yet mildly.

"Your scales are hard, reptile man. Never thought that swing didn't cut your hands already."

"Thank you, and I'm a crocodile!"

Raine looked the two muscular beast races fought each other, and he felt both overwhelmed and unneeded. It was a fight between beast races, and he was merely a human. He just shook his head and sat by a ruined pillar, waiting for Karkas.

"Ain't my job," he said.