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The Guardian of the Labyrinths : Adventurers and Labyrinths
Chapter 13 - Deeper into the Doll Labyrinth

Chapter 13 - Deeper into the Doll Labyrinth

When the red Maserati pulled up with a biker dude escort, Frank and Holly stared in awe and confusion. Arthur opened the door to their further surprise and moved the seat up, "Don't just stand there. Get in."

Holly was the first to react and hopped in. She had never been in a sports car before and squealed when she saw who the driver was. "It's true, it's true. It's Valkyrie!"

Frank bent down enough to see the driver and then looked at Arthur, "Lady Luck didn't just smile at you. She dropped an ocean on you." He slid into his seat and marveled at the luxury.

Arthur sat back and clicked his seatbelt on, "You two might want to put your seatbelt on."

They look at their friend questioningly. Valkyrie's lips curled into a mischievous grin and pressed the button to lower the roof of the convertible.

"Where are we goooooooooooooooing..." Holly barely got out the sentence when the car zoomed onto the road, the wind slamming into their hair like unruly children playing roughly with dolls.

It took them a few minutes before they started laughing like there wasn't a care in the world. It also didn't escape the two friends in the back that Arthur's hand was resting on Valkyrie's leg.

The sports car and bike slowed down when there were construction vehicles on the road. Arthur looked with concern, "This is way too close to the entrance of the labyrinth."

Valkyrie honked and a construction worker came over. He saw who it was and politely asked, "Ms. Vanderbilt. We have cordoned off the private areas. The crew is starting to set up for the construction of the outer walls for the main gate."

"Ok, let us pass. No one is to go into the area marked Sanctuary 1 on the property map. Anyone that trespasses or points cameras or takes video will be subject to the penalty outlined in the job contract clause under corporate espionage," replied Valkyrie in a very important business tone.

She left a cloud of dust when the path was open to her. Bjorn followed on his black Harley Davidson CVO street glide.

Valkyrie parked close to the labyrinth entrance and got out of the car. "Let's get the stuff out of the trunk."

Arthur got out and met her at the back of the car, "What did you do?"

"Oh, I had Dad buy a good-sized land so that we can designate this as private property. Surprise!" smiled his girlfriend.

Frank shook his head, "So this is happening. Camelot."

"Yeah, we are just working on getting more people to add to our group. Speaking of the pudgy clerk at the GM rental office, his name is Jethro. I offered him a job to start next week. He will give you a call to find out where to go for next week."

"You poached a GM employee?"

"Not exactly, I gave him an offer that will use his administration skills in addition to his classified skills."

"What is he?" asked Holly.

"He's an appraiser and identifier with a touch of precog I suspect."

"Wait, with skills like that. Why is he not on active adventurer duty?" asked Frank as he pulled out one of the large sacks and made an effort to not look like it was heavy in front of Valkyrie.

"He's a rank D. And after spending time with us and working with us, I think we could help him grow."

Bjorn walked up and reached into the trunk grabbing the majority of the bags and deposited them on the floor. He grabbed the last sack that had the shaft of a large weapon and sat nearby as he unceremoniously dumped the contents on the ground.

The redheaded leader looked into one of the bags and plopped it in front of Frank, "Argent needs an upgrade. Have you been practicing the fighting style?"

Frank looked at his feet, "Yeah I've been practicing but with my gear. It feels off."

"Try the Silver Rampart set. Put it on and go through the paces," advised Arthur who was already looking into the bags to find another one.

He walked over to Holly and placed it at her feet. The staff sticking out of the bag. "Moonglow needs an upgrade too. It's the Persevering Light."

Holly sat down on the floor with tears in her eyes, "I've been looking at that set but I never thought I'd ever get my hands on it. I don't even have more than a thousand credits to my name."

Frank laughed, "I'm in the negatives."

Arthur smirked, "You two haven't checked your accounts in the last hour have you?"

They both pulled out their phones to look and yelled in excitement. "We're not broke anymore!"

"Just how many credits do you have Arthur? And did you choose an adventurer name yet?" asked Argent.

"I have enough but we are going to be raiding a lot too. We need to build up the funds if we are going to keep Camelot growing. Oh, and I chose to keep my name," grinned the group leader.

Valkyrie's phone rang. She picked it up and listened to the person on the other end, "Tell her to wait, someone will go bring her to me." She turned to Bjorn, "Can you go pick up our trap finder? She's at the entrance but she Ubered here and the construction people won't just let her in without permission or an escort."

Bjorn nodded and went on his bike, leaving the gear on the ground.

When he returned, a woman with a beanie was riding behind him with two backpacks.

She got off the bike and looked at the assembled group. She fidgeted on the spot, uncomfortable in the situation.

Arthur walked over, "I saw you fight at the arena. Good moves. Your reaction time was great. No wonder you ended up in Trap Finder."

She nodded and managed a small smile, "I saw your fight too. I bet on you and got some nice change out of it."

"You should know Valkyrie formerly from Valhalla. Bjorn came from the same group. They are part of my group now. The remaining are Argent and Moonglow," introduced Arthur. "And Danistrae can lose the beanie. We don't have issues with any of the races unless you try to attack one of us."

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The elf sighed in relief and removed the beanie, "I hate wearing this among the unveiled. It makes my ears itch."

Valkyrie placed a bag at the newcomer's feet. "We weren't sure what gear you had so we got some possible upgrades."

"Are we planning to raid somewhere with just the five of us?" asked the elf as she opened the bag to look at the goodies inside.

"You aren't officially a member of Camelot yet, so think of this as your interview. In the meantime, please read over the consulting contract I am sending you and sign it. It includes an NDA with a hefty penalty that is legal in both Veiled and unveiled," said the braided woman as she clicked on her phone to send the information.

The Trap Finder read through and signed the contract, "So is Camelot going to be an inclusive group? There are very few of those out there. Makes it harder for the Veiled to get on any raids."

"Yes, I intend for Camelot to be inclusive. If someone has the skills we need, then it only comes down to whether or not the person fits with the current group. I wouldn't invite a known bully or asshole because that would cause problems."

Danistrae pulled out a pair of black gloves from the bag and scrutinized it, "That's good to know. If my interview goes well, I might be able to suggest a few names. Which gloves are these? I can sense the magic but I can't identify them."

Valkyrie patted the elf's shoulder, "That would be the Second Skin gloves. It's hard to tell what they do because they aren't giving off much. It will protect your hands from getting hurt when you deal with traps. It should provide some protection even against slashing or piercing weapons. And they self-repair as long as they aren't damaged too much."

"Wow, I didn't think you could get your hands on these. I've only heard that they existed a couple of decades ago," said the elf as she pulled out other things which she sorted and compared to the gear in her backpacks.

"It was the only one they had at the GM shop," replied the woman as she headed towards Arthur.

"Your turn darling," she said causing the group leader to blush, still unused to the terms of endearment.

Argent chuckled and Moonglow smiled as they watched their friend. They turned their attention back to their new gear so Arthur wouldn't get too embarrassed.

Arthur remained standing and Valkyrie didn't give him a choice as she blindfolded him. He could feel that something like a poncho was put over his head and it hung in front of him and on his back. He felt something placed around his head that fit snugly around his forehead which he assumed was a circlet. He felt his belt removed and replaced with something slightly heavier. She even took off his sneakers and replaced them with boots.

Argent was the first to whistle, "That looks pretty nice."

Moonglow's voice giggled, "I need to take a picture of this." A cell phone camera clicked a few times.

"I know Valkyrie is a known adventurer so I expected quality gear for her. I didn't expect all of you to have this caliber of gear. It's worth millions," Danistrae spoke which Arthur assumed somewhere to his right.

"You can all thank Arthur, he paid for everything that was in the bags," came Bjorn's deep voice.

"Can I remove the blindfold now?" asked Arthur when he didn't feel anything else from Valkyrie.

"Not yet, I'm getting ready."

A few more pictures were taken before the blindfold was taken off. The first thing Arthur saw was Valkyrie who was dressed in her new custom golden armor which embodied her namesake when it came to the form-fitting protection. The shield was no longer wooden and reflected the same metal as her armor. A small axe was strapped to her waist and a larger axe was on her back. A golden coronet adorned her forehead with a winged design fitting for her namesake. "Wow, you... look gorgeous."

Valkyrie made a model-like twirl while she giggled and blushed.

The redhead looked down to notice a well-designed white and silverish tabard with an ouroboros printed or embroidered on the front. The dragon was in an infinity symbol biting its tail, and Arthur felt like the eyes were alive. It didn't feel as heavy as leather but seemed to be a layered cloth of maybe silk and something. The boots were black leather and Arthur could tell they had some sort of magic on them. The belt appeared to be some sort of reptilian skin and had some sort of enchantment on it. The only thing he can't see happened to be on his head. He reached up and Valkyrie stopped him. "Not yet, Moonglow please take a pic of the two of us together."

Moonglow happily complied and took a few pictures, one of which showed Arthur in a perplexed and slightly annoyed look. When he saw the picture of the circle, he arched an eyebrow. It looked like a coronet with a golf dragon's head as the centerpiece with wings arching upwards and away from the temples.

Arthur looked at Valkyrie who gazed back with puppy dog eyes. He rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll wear everything but I'm not changing my last name to Pendragon." She clapped happily.

"It does look good on you Arthur," smiled Moonglow.

Danistrae looked at what Arthur was wearing and wondered just how deep are the pockets of the people she was about to work with. Even with the upgrade of her items, that was already over a million credits.

"Ok pack up what you aren't using anymore and put it in the trunk, we are going into our labyrinth," excitedly said the winged circlet-adored warrior woman.

Arthur walked up to the archway and called out for it to open. Danistrae stared dumbstruck at the effect. "I thought only the GM officers could open the labyrinth with a ritual? How did you do it?"

Arthur looked back, "I own it." And walked through before she could ask another question. She hurriedly followed through to see him on the other side.

"What do you mean you own it?"

The man smiled and pulled out his sword, the crackle of electricity raced from one side of the blade to the other as he walked towards the dungeon doors.

The elf followed still full of questions when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hold the questions until we decide to bring you into Camelot, we will answer your questions then," said Valkyrie.

The dungeon doors opened up when Arthur gave it a nudge. Something he wore had bolstered his strength. He glanced back and saw Argent hopping from one foot to another on his way to the door. It looked like he was testing his mobility while wearing the new armor set.

Bjorn towered over the group and looked very much the Viking with his giant axe. Moonglow's new staff had intricate vine designs that seemed to shift as if they were alive and moving. Valkyrie's demeanor changed from an excitable risk-taker to a serious warrior whose focus was now on conquering the dungeon.

"Last time we were here, there was a small hoard of dolls that had small mana crystals in them that powered them. We harvested those crystals. Hopefully, we get farther than the stairs," said Arthur trying to interject some humor when he saw the apprehension on Argent and Moonglow's faces.

Bjorn confidently strode up and Danistrae stood shoulder to shoulder with him. They led the way down. The Trap Finder casts her glance at the wall and floors looking for anything out of the ordinary. Argent went forward with Moonglow beside him. Valkyrie and Arthur took up the rear. The leader switched to his bow since he had the range and couldn't wait to see what his new bow could do. Valkyrie wielded her smaller axe so that she could pair it with her new shield.

It didn't take long for the elf to find a pressure plate that Bjorn almost walked on. She marked it with neon spray paint so that they didn't miss it on the way back. Valkyrie nodded to Arthur at what their new companion did. He nodded back acknowledging that he noticed.

The hallway they were following had the feel of being ancient. The air was stale and the layer of dust on the ground had tiny feet marks. The dolls they had fought should be the ones that left them. The passage forked with a door at each end of the passages.

Arthur looked at Danistrae. She looked at both paths and inched along the left to the door, returned, and did the same to the right. "Both are clear of traps to the door."

"Let's try the left," directed Arthur.

The ensuing exploration of the left began with a fight with a few wooden soldiers who gave them mana crystals. Bjorn had a field day with his great axe, chopping them down like he was Paul Bunyan in the forest. The deeper they went the more animated soldiers and dolls waylaid them.

They got to a chamber that appeared to be some sort of cathedral. The paintings and stone statues depict people who seem to be blind. There were depictions of pottery and sculptures while the people were looking elsewhere. There was a mural of some sort of exodus.

Danistrae whispered, "This was how they looked? They almost look human."

"Who do you mean?" Asked Valkyrie.

"Morlocks. There were stories that they came from a realm but no one knew where. The Morlocks now appear much different. They are more aggressive and look kinda like how Wolverine was drawn as Weapon X. They have bigger eyes even though they are blind," explained Danistrae.

Arthur walked around, looking at the walls until he reached the central area. A large marble table etched with patterns that swirl in a design of asymmetrical elegance. He touched the table just as Danistrae saw his motion, "WAIT!"

It was too late. The table flashed a bright glow and Arthur was not among them.