Calvin gripped his spear, electricity crackled along its length as he faced the awakened sphinx. Bastet towered over them, easily three times their height, her lioness body rippled with lean muscle. Ancient hieroglyphs glowed along her flanks and a jeweled collar adorned her neck.

"You have passed the first test, mortals," Bastet rumbled, her voice echoing around the chamber. "But the trials have only begun."

With a roar, Bastet bounded forward, swiping a massive paw at Calvin. He rolled out of the way, the air whistled above his head from her razor-sharp claws. As Bastet landed, the ground shook. Amy took the chance to activate Phased Steel, her daggers becoming incorporeal. She slipped through Bastet's flank, daggers finding purchase. Bastet yowled and backhanded Amy, sending the Blight Stalker flying into a pillar.

"Amy!" Calvin yelled, fear for his friend driving him forward. He leaped onto Bastet's back, driving his crackling spear into her shoulder. The sphinx bucked and spun, trying to dislodge him. Calvin held on with all his strength, electricity arcing wildly.

Freya saw her opening and used Lightning Fang, absorbing some of Bastet's errant energy. The energy infused her jaws with storm essence. She launched herself at Bastet's hind leg, fangs sinking deep.

Bastet roared in fury as the trio attacked from all sides. She reared up on her hind legs in an attempt to dislodge Calvin, who clung desperately to her mane. As she thrashed, Amy withdrew her daggers and leaped backwards out of range of the flailing paws and lashing tail.

Freya hung on stubbornly, growling through the mouthful of fur and flesh gripped in her jaws. With a nasty ripping sound, she tore a chunk of Bastet's leg free, dark blood spilling onto the stone floor. Bastet screamed in rage and swiped Freya away, sending the husky tumbling into the far wall.

Calvin seized the opportunity while Bastet was distracted. Pulling himself up, he drove his crackling spear straight into the base of her skull. Electricity exploded through Bastet's body, every muscle going rigid. She crashed to the ground like a felled tree, Calvin barely leaping free in time. He rolled hard on the ground and came up in a fighting stance, ready to strike again. He'd wounded her for sure, but she was not even close to defeated.

Bastet sank to the ground with a rumbling groan "Enough!" she roared. "Well done."

Calvin, Amy and Freya regrouped, keeping their weapons ready as they watched Bastet warily.

"Only by working together were you able to bring me to heel," Bastet continued. Her intense feline gaze swept over each of them. "But the true test still lies ahead."

Bastet waved a glowing paw and the chamber rumbled. Sections of floor sank down, revealing a maze-like grid of platforms and pits. Glowing orbs materialized at intervals along the maze paths.

"You must retrieve orbs to unlock the exit. But beware - the maze shifts and changes. Find your way through using courage and cunning. The path may not be as straightforward as it seems and only by working together and using your individual talents will you reveal the true way forward. You have one hour before my patience expires."

Bastet vanished in a swirl of sand, leaving them staring at the maze. Calvin frowned, analyzing the setup. There had to be a trick.

"Any ideas?" Amy asked, moving next to him. Freya joined them, the storm essence still crackled around her jaws.

"We'll have to split up to cover more ground," Calvin said. As much as he disliked separating, they had no choice given the time limit. "Freya can jump and climb to places we can't reach."

Freya barked excitedly in agreement.

"I'll head left, Amy take the middle, and Freya can take the right section," Calvin continued. "Grab any orbs you see but be careful. It can't be as simple as it looks."

They split up, Calvin activated Stormwalk and Freya unleashed her Storm Caller howl. This infused the entire space with storm essence, allowing Calvin to get anywhere he needed. He flashed over to two platforms snatching two glowing orbs from pedestals before Stormwalk ended. As he turned back, the platforms shifted with a grinding rumble, the path reforming.

On the opposite side, Freya bounded and scrambled through the maze with ease on all fours. She claimed three orbs in rapid succession. As she landed from leaping a pit, the section of floor became a slope, causing her to slide down into the center path. She collided with Amy who managed to keep hold of her orb.

"Careful there," Amy said, steadying the excited husky. "This place has it out for us."

They regrouped with Calvin who had retrieved three more orbs. Comparing routes and markings along the shifting walls, Calvin tried to logic out a path but came up empty. There seemed to be no discernable pattern or solution.

After several more minutes, they had a dozen glowing orbs between them but were no closer to solving the maze or finding the exit, Calvin examined the maze and noted that as they collected orbs, more would appear. They rejoined in the central section, watching warily as the layout changed around them once more.

"Any ideas?" Amy asked breathlessly. "We're running out of time." She recalled Bastet's jeweled collar, remembering it held the glyphs for the god puzzle earlier. Could it be a clue?

Calvin shook his head. "There's no reasoning with this thing. But we're missing something... the orbs are spawning faster than we collect them."

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He froze as an earlier part of Bastet's words echoed in his mind. The answer clicked into place.

"It's not about the maze or the orbs at all," Calvin said. "Bastet said we had to 'work together' to discover the true path forward."

Calvin examined one of the orbs.

Essence Battery: ???

He continued to examine the central platform they stood on. It was the only piece of the maze that did not transform throughout the process. It was made from tiled stone, but the joining of the tiles seemed inconsistent until Calvin realized they formed pathways to very slight depressions on the outer edge. He placed the orbs onto the slight depressions, filling every possible slot he could find.

"Of course!" Amy said.

At Calvin's direction, they gathered in a triangle formation and channeled their various energies. Arcs of electricity, miasma, and storm essence jumped between them, energies intermingling and reinforcing. The orbs they collected rose into the air, spinning faster and faster around them as the energy built up within them.

With a crack, the energy discharge sent a visible shockwave across the chamber just as Bastet reappeared. She smiled toothily at the glowing exit that formed behind her.

"Well done. You have proven yourselves worthy," she intoned. "Let the trials continue."

Bastet vanished once more as the trio made their way toward the opening, eager to leave the shifting maze behind.

They stepped through the doorway, leaving the shifting maze behind and found themselves emerging onto a narrow stone path suspended over a vast open cavern, the far walls lost in gloom. The walkway stretched straight ahead into darkness, with only occasional flickering braziers providing dim illumination at wide intervals.

Calvin glanced over the edge, peering down into the shadows hundreds of feet below. He saw no clear bottom, only endless blackness.

"Stay alert," he cautioned. Their footsteps echoed oddly, as if the space was far vaster than it appeared.

They proceeded slowly, senses straining for any sign of attack. Calvin reached out with his link through Freya but felt only still, dead air. After several minutes of uneasy walking, Freya halted abruptly with a low growl, fur bristling along her spine.

"What is it girl?" Amy asked softly, gripping her daggers.

Without warning, thick roiling fog billowed up from below, rapidly engulfing the narrow walkway. In seconds, visibility dropped to only a few feet in front of them, the safe path now completely obscured. Calvin summoned a small electrical charge to provide some extra light, but it did little to penetrate the unnatural mist.

"Stay close," Calvin said. "Watch the edges of the path."

They shuffled forward, Calvin in front holding his spear at the ready with Amy and Freya flanking him. The strange fog muffled their footsteps, lending the environment an eerie feel. Each small sound put them instantly on edge.

A flicker of movement flashed at the edge of the sphere of light. Calvin reacted instantly, hurling a wind blade from his spear. It sliced through empty air.

"Did you see it?" he asked. More unseen movements fluttered just outside their vision. Calvin turned, spear crackling with energy. Each faint scuff or whisper of disturbed air ratcheted up the tension. Something was out there, toying with them.

Without warning, a dark shape hurtled out of the gloom straight at Calvin's face. He barely managed to fling up his spear in time to block, catching a glimpse of hooked limbs and glinting carapace. The creature bounced off his spear and disappeared back into the murk before he could retaliate.

"Watch yourselves!" Calvin barked. Almost instantly, more creatures flung themselves from the darkness, testing their defenses. The team reacted immediately, Freya snapping and snarling into the gloom while Amy slashed at darting shapes with her daggers. Calvin stabbed and flung bolts of lightning at the attackers, driving them back temporarily. But they could hardly see their foes, much less target them effectively.

"We're too exposed out here," Calvin growled in frustration. He risked a quick glance over the ledge, but the fog obscured any view of the cavern floor far below. They pressed forward, moving as quickly as they dared along the narrow walkway suspended in oblivion.

The attacks continued sporadically, making it impossible to drop their guard for even a moment. Calvin channeled power into his spear tip, wreathing it in a corona of white-hot electricity to provide more light. He and Amy took turns fending off strikes from the encroaching creatures while Freya ranged out a few feet ahead. Her sharp senses and reflexes made her their early warning system against surprise attacks.

Calvin probed ahead periodically with lightning and wind blades but hit nothing, the elusive creatures anticipating and dodging aside from every attack. Their claws and fangs managed to land glancing blows here and there through Calvin and Amy's defenses, slowly wearing them down. They had no doubt that just one errant step over the ledge would mean instant death. That step came soon, much to Amy's dismay. A hooked claw reached up over the edge and caught her ankle. She lost her footing and fell sideways, slipping over the edge. Calvin threw down his spear and dove towards her, catching her arm before she slipped over.

The creatures took the opportunity to assault here as Calvin worked to pull her back up to the passage. Claws dug into her legs and feet trying to pull her down into the depths.

"Hang on!" he screamed. His muscles worked to their max and beyond.

Amy activated Miasmic Shroud in last ditch effort to shake the creatures loose. Her invisibility wouldn't matter here, but the cloud of venom did seem to have an effect as the creatures shrieked and disappeared into the gloom. Amy quickly downed a potion.

After several agonizing minutes spent shuffling along step by step, Freya suddenly went rigid, the fur on her back standing straight. She threw back her head, inhaling deeply.

"Get down!" Calvin shouted. He grabbed Amy and dropped flat to the stone surface just as Freya unleashed a deafening, Howling Gale. The tightly focused hurricane force howl blasted the clinging fog into wispy shreds, finally revealing the cavern around them in full.

Calvin risked a glance up and over the ledge. The walls dropped away to unknown depths, but the view was no longer obscured. The tattered remains of the unnatural fog clung to cracks and corners but no longer saturated the air.

A host of dark insectoid shapes ranging from dog to horse-size clung to the cavern walls and ceilings, scattered across every visible surface. They were a nightmarish blend of beetle and spider, with too many barbed limbs and dripping mandibles. As one, the creatures turned their soulless black eyes onto the revealed trio, hunger burning in their alien gazes.

Calvin and Amy found their feet, weapons ready. A tide of creatures detached from their holds, skittering and crawling toward them with deadly purpose.

"Here they come!" Calvin shouted.

Amy kicked things off by activating every toxin at her disposal followed by Stinging Swarm.

They sprinted down the walkway toward the other side. Amy's daggers shredded anything that got too close while her Blight Blooms burst and infected the entire room.

Calvin slung lightning and wind blades in every direction as they drew closer to the other side. Finally, the exit was in view.

"The challengers have shown merit. I will now do you the honor of facing you directly. Come prepared little ones. I will not show any mercy." Bastet's voice called out from nothingness.

Calvin and Amy looked at each other and smiled as they stepped through the doorway. Poor Bastet didn't know who would be needing the mercy.