The Dreadful Hunt

by J. E. Thompson

  Vexx stared at Kaylin for a long moment. “You’re really getting into traps, aren’t you?”

  “Not into that one. Look,” she said, pointing at a small tree bending to the side. “There’s a tension spring there. And to its right, the patch of grass? I’ll bet you there’s a cluster of sharpened stakes underneath, likely leavened with goblin feces to leave poison behind.” She sniffed. “At least, that’s what I would do.”

  “Hmm, yes, I would also be more thorough about tying her up,” Shyola mused as she joined them. “Perhaps a—”

  “Quarter-cross Sorrentine Tangle Weave!” Shy and Kaylin finished together.

  The succubus beamed at the elf.

  “Fascinating, perhaps we really do have something in common.”

  “I’ve been wanting to try that, but I’m not sure I have that level of experience,” Kaylin added breathlessly.

  “Oh, I would love to—”

  “Hey, not right now!” Vexx cut in. “We need to rescue the…” he trailed off.

  The rope was hanging loose now, rocking gently back and forth. The woman was nowhere to be seen.

  “Help me, I’ve been abducted by goblins!” her voice called out in the distance. “Hurry!”

  Vexx scratched at his jaw. With the attractive young woman gone and the damp of the forest all around him, he began to think.

  “Something’s off,” he admitted. “Let’s…go back and take a different route to the ruins.”

  “And leave your little lover to be killed by goblins, Master?” Shyola asked with a sly smile. “You’re becoming so jaded for such a young man.”

  “I mean to grow older,” he muttered as they retraced their steps, then they walked westward into the forest. They passed through marshes and skirted around boulders, wary of potential traps or creatures until the woods opened up to reveal a large green hedge in the distance that stretched upward as high as the trees around it. Vexx whistled in astonishment as he looked at one of the long verdant walls.

  “It goes along the other side as well,” Shyola pointed out. “We must be at a corner of the garden those elves mentioned. I hadn’t realized it was so large.” She peered in close, her whip materializing. “Perhaps I can clear a path…”

  She trailed off as the side of the hedge sprouted thick vines with jagged thorns that waved around in the air. The succubus took a step back, her whip disappearing, and the green tendrils settled back down and returned to their positions in the leafy wall.

  “Or perhaps not.”

  “This way, then,” Vexx decided as he began strolling along the perimeter of the living wall. It stretched out into the distance, disappearing in the mists that still shrouded this area. It wasn’t raining, at least, though he wouldn’t be surprised if another torrential downpour came down later in the day. Vexx picked up his pace, deciding to make good time while he still could.

  After a few minutes, the edge of the woods in front of them opened up to reveal a stone platform with ancient steps leading out from the murky depths of the marshes. Choosing their steps carefully, the dungeoneers squelched their way up to the weathered stone. The mossy platform was flanked by four statues of proud dwarves, though the top half of one had cracked and fallen into the marshes, broken down by time. A gate from the stone platform led into what Vexx had originally taken to be a garden.

  But the twisting corridors that were covered in foliage snaked left and right, with no exit to be found

  “It’s a maze,” Shyola observed, glancing over as she tapped at one of the ancient statues. “I hate mazes.”

  “Hmmm…” Vexx pondered this for a long moment. “Kaylin, how much rope do you have? Maybe we can tie a knot to this statue so we don’t lose our way.”

  “Are you kidding?” Kaylin replied. “I don’t have that much left, and most of them are already crafted into my traps. Besides, don’t you see how big that maze is?” she asked, gesturing expansively. The plant walls rustled in the wind, twitching with unnatural movements. Vexx resolved not to get too close to them.

  “You’d think the elves would have mentioned this,” he grumbled. “They just said it was a garden.”

  “Maybe they didn’t want to scare us away,” Shy suggested. “But don’t be so nervous, Master! We might make a few wrong turns, but it’s just going to take us a little bit longer. I don’t see what the big deal is,” she added, stepping purposefully into the maze.

  Vexx opened his mouth to reply but clamped it back shut after a moment. He and Kaylin hurried after Shyola, and the succubus glanced back at them.

  “We’ll just start with making right turns,” she said. “By process of elimination, we’ll clarify which route leads us to the exit. Don’t worry, Master,” she said, suddenly summoning her whip and snapping it in front of her with a sly grin. “This isn’t my first labyrinth.”

  “Really? Anything we should be worried about?”

  Shy’s whip slashed forward, slicing through a small tree that struggled to grow between the cracks of the maze floor. “As you can see, this has been abandoned for ages. We won’t need to worry about a guardian.”

  They took the first right, though Vexx checked to his left warily. The weathered stone floor was dotted with shallow pools of rainwater, and certain spots on the dull stone were stained green. Small collections of bones and rotted leather littered the sides of the path.

  “A guardian?” Kaylin asked as they trotted along. They passed another open corridor to their right, which led to a quick turn. The green wall seemed to bristle at Vexx’s glance.

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that.”

  The corridor they’d been following abruptly ended in a green wall, though there was a direct turn to the right. Shyola took it without comment. This passage went on for some time, the ground uneven and spotted with bushes that grew around the original stones. Vexx wondered just how long ago it had been when the Dwarven architects had first set them down. A few indentations were formed on the ancient flagstones, remnants of thousands of footsteps.

  Kaylin’s ears twitched as she scanned mechanically from left to right. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.

  Before Vexx could reply, he heard a low snuffling sound, then a distant rumble. But as soon as the dungeoneers stopped to listen, they were only met with silence.

  “Sounds like a wild boar to me,” Shyola said, strolling along in the lead. “Nasty critters, but their souls are sustaining enough in a pinch. Another right over here,” she added, turning once again. The rumbling and snuffling seemed closer this time. Vexx glanced over toward a hedge wall and had the sense that something was lurking on the other side. At least the wall seemed impervious to any attack…though the longer they spent in this maze, the more Vexx considered simply setting the foliage on fire.

  “Just this way,” Shyola announced, ducking to go under a low entrance. “That’s interesting, over here, we have—”

  Vexx heard it before he saw it, a groaning clank and then a blur of dark gray descending and slashing through the air. Shyola flattened herself on the ground as something sped by just over her, embedding itself in a block of ancient wood on the right side of the passageway.

  He let out a breath and stared at the massive glaive that had lodged into the old wood. The thick metal blade was spotted with rust, and it even had dark brown stains all along its massive side. Shyola remained crouched below, slowly swiveling her head to see where the blade had hit.

  “It seems…this maze isn’t entirely abandoned,” Shyola said as she got to her feet, dusting herself off. She studied the hole where the glaive had emerged from.

  “A fascinating trap,” Kaylin said, examining it more closely. At the same time, they heard a deafening rumble from on the other side of the green wall. The entire wall shook as it was rocked from a sudden impact, and the barbed heads of the vines that encircled the wall appeared to come alive and slithered around as if they were hunting for prey.

  “Perhaps this labyrinth does have a guardian,” Shyola sa
id, crouching low and making her way through the narrow entrance. “No traps on the far side, at least.”

  “I could go first,” Kaylin suggested as she made her way through. Vexx spared a final glance at the wall, which had already calmed. Based on the rumbling, it sounded like whatever it was had decided to head in a different direction. But knowing the maze, perhaps it was pursuing them, instead.

  “Your eyes are so much older than mine, after all,” Kaylin added, and she giggled as Shy grimaced.

  “Go ahead,” Vexx cut in, waving the others forward with his staff. He clambered through the narrow entrance to another corridor that resembled the others, with flagstones that were still wet from the rains. Vexx gripped his staff with both hands, ready to engage in combat should an enemy appear. “We should hurry, though,” he added.

  The dungeoneers proceeded at a steady pace, though from time to time, Kaylin would pause. The next right turn brought them to a dead end, and they were forced to retrace their steps.

  “I don’t hear whatever that thing was,” she said in a soft voice as she took the next right turn and continued through the maze. “But…” Kaylin trailed off, coming to a halt. She pointed down to where a single gossamer thread stretched from left to right at roughly ankle height. “That’s a trap.”

  “Could be a spider,” Shyola suggested, furrowing her brow. “Or…” she sighed. “Yes, I suppose it is a trap. Whatever lurks here must have set it up after the storm.”

  Vexx thought back to the strange woman who had mysteriously disappeared. He was beginning to have a strong suspicion about these traps.

  “The original booby traps must have been Dwarven-made,” he pointed out, “but even with their quality craftsmanship, there must have been someone maintaining them through the years. Besides, Theo and Prandor did speak of a witch desecrating the land…though they did say she was a hag. Perhaps they just don’t recognize a fine-looking woman when they see one.” He gritted his teeth. “And perhaps they weren’t quite as clear about the dangers as we might have hoped.”

  Kaylin carefully stepped across and whipped her head back, blonde hair cascading down her shoulders as her eyes widened in surprise.

  “No, they wouldn’t do that!”

  “Wouldn’t they?”

  Shyola stepped across, followed closely by Vexx, who kept a close watch for any more translucent threads.

  “You know Theo. Did he ever play any pranks on you when you were growing up?”

  “Everyone did,” Kaylin pointed out.

  “Hmm.”

  “But if they could see me now, spotting traps and not falling even once since we got here,” Kaylin said, hopping forward, “they would just die of jealousy!”

  “Sure, they would,” Vexx added encouragingly, walking forward and setting his staff on the ground with every stride. “Just keep focused, alright?”

  “I’ll show you focused. Look over there,” Kaylin said, gesturing with her bow at a flagstone that was sticking up at an odd angle. “Let’s see…” she reached over for a chunk of broken masonry, then she tossed it toward the flagstone.

  The flagstone collapsed downward and the dungeoneers heard a ragged click. A section of ground six feet wide and six feet long abruptly vanished with the barest shimmer, shattering the illusion. Vexx stepped closer, his eyebrows rising higher and higher as he took in the steep descent. At the bottom, he could make out several long stakes that pointed upward. Several slumped forms of partially shattered skeletons could be seen among the rubble, their bones yellow and brown from age. With a faint skittering sound, three nesting bats took flight, soaring through the magical illusion and out of the maze.

  “Nice job noticing that,” Vexx managed after a moment. “But that gives us a bit of a problem. Should we turn around?”

  “Yep!” Kaylin said, clapping her hands together. “We’ll just call this a dead end and…” she trailed off.

  “I think we could make our way across,” Shyola mused, and they all fell silent as they heard the rumbling sound behind them. The twisting vines shifted as the entire foundation of the maze shook with the force of the creature that was pursuing them.

  “It’s behind us,” Kaylin stated, gripping her bow tightly. “Um, Vexx…what do we do?”

  “That will keep him at bay if we can make our way across,” he said, sidling over to the very edge of the hole in front of them. He peered over, wondering if he could resurrect the skeletons below to somehow help them. The rumbling got louder, and he backed away for a moment, gritting his teeth.

  “I’m not sure how to manage it,” Shyola admitted, walking along the edge of the trap. “My whip just cuts, it can’t be used as a rope.”

  “Rope…that’s it, rope!” Vexx stammered. “Kaylin, can we use your traps?”

  “I would have to disassemble some tree snares, and by the time—”

  “There he is!” Shyola called out, easing into a defensive stance.

  In the distance, the guardian finally appeared.

  The Minotaur

  The great beast stood there, breathing in and out, its massive torso thick with corded muscle. Between two powerful humanoid arms, he bore a massive double-headed axe, but his resemblance with humans ended there. Its face was the enlarged head of a bull, with a golden ring between its nostrils, and two long, curving horns jutting proudly from its head. The beast strode forward, a steady gait on sturdy brown legs that ended with large black hooves. Its head nearly reached over the tall hedges that hemmed them into this labyrinth.

  “A minotaur,” Shyola grumbled. “I had hoped to never see one on this side of the hells.” She looked over at Vexx, and the panic in her eyes was somehow even more startling than the beast’s appearance. “You can cast wind magic, can’t you, Master?”

  “Well, sort of,” Vexx stammered. “I’m not very good at it.”

  “Give it all you’ve got!” Shyola insisted. “Hit me with a blast of wind magic when I jump across”

  “Uh…” Vexx wrenched his gaze away from the steady tread of the minotaur and looked back at the hole in front of them. “That’s asking a lot. You know that I barely passed those classes, right?”

  “Do it, Vexx!” Kaylin demanded, loosing an arrow at the approaching minotaur. “Blow us across! You know I’d blow you if I could!”

  “Alright,” he said, studiously ignoring Kaylin and turning to face Shyola. “Better get a running start before—”

  She dashed off at once, her left foot landing at the very edge of the hole as she leaped into the air. It wasn’t a bad attempt, but she wouldn’t have made it even halfway on her own. But Vexx gripped his staff tightly, concentrating on his magical energy as he sent a powerful gust of wind forward. The very center was focused on Shyola’s back, and it knocked her clear to the other side, her running legs finding purchase on the far end.

  “Shit, Vexx, he’s close!” Kaylin said, loosing a final arrow and approaching the hole. “That is really spiky…”

  “Take a run at it!”

  She nodded before backing away and charging forward. “I’m too young to d—”

  Vexx fired off a blast of wind magic, taking the elf clear across, though this time, his aim wasn’t as precise, and the blast sent her sprawling across the ancient flagstones. Shyola waved for him to join them, but Vexx felt his energy slackening and the familiar thudding in his skull.

  “Master, you do not want to look back!”

  Taking the succubus’ advice, Vexx sprinted toward the hole in the floor, pointing his staff downward and sending a blast of wind at the ground. He surged upward in the air, feeling the peculiar sensation of flight. Below him, he could make out row after row of jagged spikes, festooned with fetid corpses and shattered bones. Then, he saw the lip at the far end.

  It wasn’t enough.

  Vexx poured the last dregs of his strength into a final burst of wind, and his arm jerked upward, the power of the wind ripping his staff from his grip and sending it over the wall. Vexx’s torso slammed into t
he side of the far end, his limbs heavy and sluggish even as he gripped the edge. Then he felt Kaylin and Shyola grabbing both of his arms, grunting as they hauled him over the side. He collapsed on the ground, rolling over to see the minotaur watching them from the far end.

  Vexx coughed as he rose to his feet. “Potion,” he rasped, patting his pockets until he found an unbroken vial with blue liquid inside. Downing it and shuddering as his stamina returned, he tossed the empty glass vial across the hole at the minotaur, who smashed it to smithereens with a quick slash of its axe. A moment later, one of Kaylin’s arrows slammed into its chest.

  Showing no reaction whatsoever, the minotaur turned and stomped away. Vexx tracked its movements as he felt his headache recede. Then he turned, frowning at the wall his staff flew over.

  “Damn it…we need to find my staff,” he sighed, slapping a tired hand over his forehead.

  Shy shrugged, already walking away. “There’s a left up ahead. That should take us to it.”

  Kaylin and Vexx hurried to join her. He hadn’t had his staff for a very long time, but Vexx found himself missing it already. This next part of the maze was shaded by an ancient Dwarven style cupula, creating the effect of a luxury garden down below. What must have been an ostentatious display now featured a few scraggly weeds and the thick smell of rot. It clearly hadn’t been tended to for some time.

  “Over here!” Shyola called out as she hurried forward. Vexx ran to join her, grinning as he saw his staff resting on the ground. Up ahead, the green wall formed a dead end. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” she said as he snatched his staff up from the ground and dusted it off protectively. “If you’re able to blast me across a hole, then why not push me up there?”