“It’s fine,” I said. “It makes sense that the map would be disabled in a maze.”

“Wasn’t Byron supposed to be the one who was going to handle the labyrinth?” Sigrid said.

“It’s fine,” I said again, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. “We’ll just have to explore our way out.”

“At least we’ll have a chance to get that Minotaur horn,” Morgan said.

“Right on, let’s go. Which opening should we take?” Lancelot said.

“I don’t think it matters,” Sigrid said.

Kenji seemed to appear out of nowhere. “This one,” he said, pointing down the corridor that ended in a left turn.

“Why that one?” Sigrid said.

“I can hear something down this way,” he said.

Kenji Hachiman

Team Maple Leaf

Gifts:

Trust Your Senses - Competent: Enhanced senses

Sigrid shrugged. “As good a reason as any. I don’t feel danger from anywhere right now.”

The corridor was big enough that we could’ve driven a car down it, albeit a very small car. The entire space seemed to be made out of large marble blocks, mostly white shot with veins of grey, smooth enough to be almost slippery, with a vaulted ceiling. Running along both sides where the vertical walls transitioned into the vault’s curve, a repeating Greek key pattern had been inlaid in black stone. We went with Kenji in the lead, Sigrid and Lancelot following him, and Morgan and I bringing up the rear. We trusted Kenji’s sharp senses to pick the way.

It was most definitely a labyrinth, and a big one too. We continued along through innumerable turns and intersections, always following Kenji. Wherever there was a choice to make he’d pause, listen, then choose a path with confidence. Just before we were about to turn another corner, he stopped abruptly. At the same moment, Sigrid grabbed the back of Kenji’s black jacket. He turned toward her, and held his finger to his lips.

Sigrid whispered barely loud enough for all of us to hear. “Danger."

Kenji nodded, then cupped his hand to his ear. He'd heard something too. I tried to listen, but all I could hear was my own breathing and my heart pounding away.

This was so much fun I thought I might burst.

“Kenji,” I whispered. “Could you scout up ahead? If there is something there, I’d like to know what it is before we come stomping along.”

Lancelot looked sheepish. “Sorry. It’s hard to move quietly in this plate armor.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s not like the rest of us are ninjas.” We all looked at Kenji, who actually was a ninja, complete with the all-black outfit, tabi shoes, and cowl, along with a ninjato — the Champion’s Blade from his sister — slung sideways across his back.

He grinned at us and pulled the cowl up to cover everything but his eyes, then scampered ahead without a word. It was strange to be able to see him leave, I was so used to him vanishing into the shadows, but of course there weren’t any shadows here.

Barely a moment after he turned the corner, there was a loud, bestial squeal.

We glanced at each other, then at the same time Lancelot, Morgan, Sigrid, and I all drew our weapons and raced around the corner. Kenji was there, ninjato in hand, battling against a horde of rats bigger than rottweilers, and twice as fierce. They had him surrounded, their front legs scrabbling at him with sharp claws, their sharp teeth snapping, and he was already covered in small wounds.

Giant Rat Nasty and not-so-little, these ubiquitous vermin will eat anything. Even you. Especially you. Powers:

Ferocious Nibbles - Competent: Nasty bites

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Scurrilous Claws - Competent: Nasty claws

So Sick - Competent: Wounds inflicted cause disease

Skills:

Bite - Competent

Claw - Competent

Sigrid and Lancelot were the first to enter the fray, sweeping in on either side of Kenji, forcing the rats away with their shields. Morgan and I stayed back. She had her crossbow out, and while her rate of fire was slow, each bolt she shot hit a rat between its beady little eyes, killing it instantly. I was less discriminate, hosing the rats on the outer fringes of the swarm with a fan of flames from my outstretched hand. I had to change tactics quickly, because a large number of the rats started coming for me. Just me. Even though we were side by side they ignored Morgan and charged at me. I switched from Fire to Light, and began shooting lasers from my pointed fingers.

I wanted to make pew pew noises, but resisted. Maybe if I was with Achmed and his crew, but I felt too self-conscious with Morgan beside me.

“Why are they going for you?” Morgan said, slotting a fresh bolt into her crossbow.

“No idea,” I said.

“Was it something you ate?”

I thought about my recent excursion into the forest, and the vague memories of a bunch of animals attacking me. That had been strange. The other times I was in the forest I’d barely encountered anything, but after the Jackalope had bitten me now I seemed like monster bait. Maybe it wasn’t something I’d eaten, but rather something that had eaten me.

We fought like this for a while, then suddenly the rats all stopped at once, turned, and scrambled away before escaping through an open door on the side of the corridor. It was like something had called them all back. Lancelot began to chase after them, but Morgan hollered at him to stop.

“What?” Lancelot said, his face flushed with the thrill of combat and anxious to resume the fight.

“Let’s look after Kenji first, huh?” Morgan said. Kenji was on his knees on the floor, clearly hurt.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Lancelot said sheepishly.

I knelt beside Kenji and tried Laying On Hands, but it didn’t work. “The rats have a power that causes disease when they hurt you, I think it’s blocking my healing skill.”

Morgan came over and pulled a potion out of her inventory. “Here, try this.”

I popped the cork and poured it into the boy’s mouth. His wounds immediately began to close.

“I thought there weren’t any more healing potions available,” Sigrid said.

“None that you can buy,” Morgan said, “but I’m an alchemist. I made my own.”

“So you’re not just a pretty face after all,” Sigrid said with a wink.

I helped Kenji to his feet. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“What’s the plan, then?” Lancelot said.

Everyone turned to look at me.

“Uh, I wouldn’t mind clearing out the rats’ nest,” I said.

“Sounds good to me,” Sigrid said.

“Hell yeah,” Lancelot said.

“I’m a bit worried about healing if we get hurt, though,” I said. “Morgan, how many of those potions do you have?”

“We should be okay. I’ve been busy.”

Sigrid nodded her approval. “How we gonna do this?”

“We can use the door as a funnel,” I said. “As long as they can’t surround us and use their numbers, they’re not that hard to handle.”

“We just take em out one at a time as they come through the door,” Sigrid said. “I like it.”

“Right then,” I said. “Sigrid, you and Lance get on either side of the door. I’ll go aggro across the hall in front of it, and—”

“You’ll go what?” Sigrid said.

We all turned to look at her.

“Aggro?” I said.

“He means he’ll draw their aggression so they come out targeting him and ignoring us,” Morgan said.

“Ah, it’s another gaming thing,” Sigrid said. “So in other words, we just stand there and stab anything that comes through, hopefully before it chows down on him.”

“Exactly,” Morgan said. “Seems you’re not just a pretty face either.”

“What if we miss one?” Sigrid said.

“That’s why Morgan and Kenji will wait behind you guys to take care of any stragglers that manage to get through," I said. "Sound good, Kenji?”

Kenji nodded, hefting his sword with a determined scowl.

We stalked toward the door, weapons ready, then Lancelot took his position outside the door with Morgan behind him while Sigrid and Kenji dashed across the opening and mirrored them on the other side. When everyone was ready, I went directly in front of the open doorway on the opposite side of the corridor, ready to cause a ruckus and draw the rats out. From my vantage I could see clearly into the room inside.

It was a huge square room, about sixty feet along each side, with two rows of tall cylindrical columns running down its length, equidistant from each other and the walls, supporting the ceiling which loomed at least thirty feet overhead. There was a semi-circular raised section on the far end of the room, rising in tiered steps up to a stone throne.

“Houston,” I said, “we have a problem.”