Purple light shone down on the lake. Though the waters were still, the heavens above raged in a viscous storm. Strange clouds ebbed and flowed through the starry night sky. Theseus glanced at his reflection, speculatively. It was a cold night but the temperature didn't phase him much. This would normally be the time he warmed up his sword-arm, but the mission was so trivial that it didn't particularly warrant the routine.

He pulled his sword out nonetheless and swung a few rough arcs through the air. As it soared along the sky, it appeared to cleave the darkness in two. Theseus quickly tired of this and put his sword away. He slumped down to the floor miserably. He was bored. This was barely a quest at all, yet Minos insisted that they take it together. Why should he have to wait for the other fools? He was more than capable on his own. Who even cared if the fabled Dusk Vanguard faltered against this wizard? He was better than every last one of them.

He approached a nearby tree slowly and swung his sword hard and fast, taking a nick out of the bark in the process. He'd go in through the entrance right now if it wasn't for those infernal instructions. The fat king had spies everywhere, and there was no way Theseus would miss out on the reward. He looked over at the towering stone walls with a thoughtful glance.

How long had it been since he last set foot in the dreaded Labyrinth? At the time he had been terrified, but that was a younger, more idiotic stage of his life. He was better now. He was unstoppable. Turning back to face the tree he lined up his sword carefully. Overhead a strange purple beam ascended into the maelstrom above. He had dealt with magic before. This was nothing...

You can take it all back

Theseus stumbled. Where had that voice come from? He turned around with a sharp glare. Nobody there. Blasted wizard and his cheap illusions. Theseus snarled. He didn't like the images that had just been conjured up along with that trick. He stepped back and charged with a roar. Leaping into the air, he brought his sword down hard and fast, slicing the bark of the tree in two.

He panted as the trunk crashed to the ground with an almighty thud. It almost obscured the sound of footsteps in the night. Spinning his head around and raising his sword menacingly, Theseus turned to see.

Theseus paused as the figure emerged from the shadows by the wall of the Labyrinth. He was a well dressed man who carried a sword in a sheath and a scowl on his face. He glanced over at the fallen tree.

"Did it put up much of a fight? I'm glad to see you can handle yourself."

Theseus snarled and marched forth. He raised his sword menacingly as the young man darted backwards.

"I kid. I kid. So you're the great Theseus eh? We never had a chance to get acquainted in the palace with all the king's mindless rambling. The name is Wilt. Wilt Silverstone from the Silverstone family. I presume you've heard of us."

Theseus turned to stare at the lake.

"I don't take interest in the affairs of menial common-folk."

Wilt snarled and marched forward.

"The Silverstone family is a great and powerful-"

Theseus clutched his blade tightly and Wilt backed away, hands raised. He'd seen what that thing could do.

"Well Wilt Silverstock, the rest of them had better move swiftly or I'm charging in without them."

Wilt glanced over at the Labyrinth. Why weren't they just going in already?

As he looked on, another figure approached. Wilt squinted as a young woman walked towards them. She had long black hair that flowed behind her. He smiled.

"Excuse me miss, you must be lost. Allow me to escort you to safety. No payment necessary, a gentleman does his duty."

The woman stopped in her tracks and smiled. She looked over towards the fallen tree with a slightly concerned glance and then over her shoulder at the wall of the Labyrinth.

"I was actually just wondering what that object was over there." She pointed at the wall. Wilt scratched his head. Theseus didn't even look up.

Wilt was puzzled as he turned to the wall.

"There's no-"

An arrow whizzed past his head, almost taking a chunk out of his ear. It was embedded an inch into the wall. He froze and turned on his heel, a look of terror in his eyes. The woman was holding a bow aloft with a glint in her eye.

"I am not lost, and I'd thank you to not bring it up again. Maybe I should escort you somewhere safer. I'm not sure you're cut out for this sort of work."

Wilt mumbled something and took a step back.

"And what cause do you have for wreaking such destruction on the land?" She glared at Theseus.

"Do that again and I won't hesitate to fire."

Theseus spat on the ground. He was getting impatient.

"In any case, it seems we are to travel together. You can call me Airlea. Hopefully we won't have to wait much longer. This mission is rather pressing."

Wilt nodded and rubbed his ear. Whatever she said.

The clouds above rumbled. It was too cold to be standing around in the dark and eerie night. Even heroes were not meant for this. Airlea paused as a noise entered the cusp of her hearing. She raised a finger to her mouth to shush the group. Theseus glanced around curiously. Wilt braced himself.

A blinding flash of light filled the view of everybody present. The group shielded their eyes as a figure stood glowing in the middle of it. It was...a young girl.

But there was something unusual about her. She radiated a peculiar energy. It almost didn't look human at all. It was vibrant and colourful and it distorted perception. The group were speechless as the girl stumbled forth. The glow of light faded. She'd appeared from the centre of it. Stumbling forth, she looked around nervously.

"Where is this?" She spoke.

"Knossos, the Labyrinth."

The girl blinked.

"I went too far..."

She shut her eyes and focused on something but nothing happened. Tumbling forward and panting, she lay on the floor miserably. Airlea and Wilt dashed over to help her up. Theseus smirked. What a might gathering this was turning out to be.

"I can't get back!" The girl shouted. She took stock of her surroundings for a moment then coughed. Dusting herself down she stood upright firmly.

"It doesn't matter. My name is Maria. I suppose I'm going with you all!"

She smiled at the curious group. They had no idea what was going on.

Maria walked over to the wall. As she did there was a noise coming from the distance. A strange man was marching over to the group.

He grunted as he walked over. He was wearing heavy-set dark armour and had an eerie silver mask on.

"URK!" He said to the group, stopping suddenly in his tracks.

Wilt looked around at the faces to gauge a reaction.

"Did you just cough."

The strange man turned. There was no expression there. Just that creepy mask.

"NO. My name, it is URK."

Wilt sighed. A glowing child and a man with a cough for a name. This would be interesting.

A figure marched down from the distance, approaching the growing band. It was clad in heavy armour and wore a large helmet.

"Greetings, fellow heroes. My name is Dern. I'm here to partake in the Labyrinth quest on the orders of King Minos."

Airlea smiled.

"Glad to see the group is growing."

Theseus laughed.

"All of this is unnecessary."

He looked Dern up and down.

"Very proper aren't we? How does your armour fare against a real blade?"

He raised his sword with a grin.

"How does your pocket fare without the reward? I know who you are Theseus and I'm not playing your games. We get it. You're the big bad hero."

Theseus snarled.

"Your armour is interesting. Where does it come from?" Said Airlea curiously.

"From a place far from here." Said Dern. He saluted unnecessarily. This was all a little awkward.

A man walked down to the gathering. He paced himself carefully and smiled at the assembled heroes. He had a wise stare about him. He was wearing a flowing robe.

"Well met, fellow heroes. My name is Andrael. I was present at the gathering Minos held."

"Spare us your life story." Said Theseus abruptly.

Maria looked puzzled.

"What's this gathering?" She asked. Nobody was saying much of anything.

"Well met, Andrael." Said Dern, making a positive step to be courteous.

Andrael smiled. Some were pleasant at least.

"Hi there Andrael." Said Airlea with a smile.

"Well met my lady. I am enjoying this brief exchange but I rather hope to venture into the Labyrinth hastily. Does anybody know how much longer we are going to be waiting?"

Wilt shrugged.

"I say we just go in now."

Andrael sighed.

"We must take the right precautions. Plus the mission belongs to Minos. Waiting seems for the best unfortunately."

The group were getting impatient. Urk just stared blankly up at the sky through his steel mask.

"I agree."

The group turned. A young Asian woman was stood there in the middle of them. When did she arrive? She had a very serious look about her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm just light on my feet is all. In any case I agree. There's something not right about all this. You all feel it too."

The group looked around and mumbled, save for Theseus who was swinging his sword again.

"You all seem eager to rush in. Maybe we should wait a little while. Patience is a virtue that is sometimes necessary."

She sat herself down next to the fallen tree.

"My name is Pai Chan by the way."

Another young looking man strolled into the gathering. He was wearing heavyset armour and a flowing cape. He carried a horde of battle scars. This wasn't a man to be reckoned with.

Theseus snarled. He knew this man. He was the one who challenged him in Minos' throne room the other day. He grinned at the slouching hero.

"The offer's still on, Theseus."

Theseus marched away from the group. He needed a long walk. He was getting very impatient.

"Apologies for that, but he needs to be put in his place. My name is Arimnestos. I'm usually quite peaceful...if you're on the right side of me."

Wilt put his hand out.

"I am Wilt Silverstone, also a famed hero!"

Arimnestos shook his hand awkwardly. He'd never heard of the guy.

A brutish looking man charged into the silently observing group. He wasn't wearing very much of anything. He had an angry look about him.

"This the place?" He said curiously. He looked a tad confused.

Maria walked over and stared at him.

"I'm not really sure where this place is."

The man scratched his head and sighed.

"Neither am I. Oh well. Let's just get it over with."

He stormed over to the lake and began to bathe himself as Wilt looked on. He didn't want to say a word.

"The name's Ajax! Ain't no hero but I do hope to become one. I'll start right here."

The group were becoming impatient. How many more people were set to arrive? Just then the ground started to rumble. Wilt braced himself. Pai prepared a fighting stance. Theseus grabbed his sword and smiled. Finally some action.

The rumbling stopped and the group stood there with their mouths wide open. Ajax dropped his canteen.

Standing before them was a seven foot giant made of pure rock. It was an enormous creature. It stood there eyeing the heroes curiously. Its features were very human. Theseus grabbed his sword and leapt forth.

"I WILL SLAY YOU, BEAST!"

The giant stepped back and braced himself as Airlea pulled out her bow.

"Don't." She said, aiming the arrow at Theseus' neck. He snarled.

"You think this beast is here to assist us? Look at it!"

Airlea put her bow down.

"I think we should at least let him say his piece before we go slicing him up."

Andrael nodded.

"It is true. Maybe he can offer assistance."

Theseus put his sword away and stormed over to the lakeside.

"What is your name? Do you have names?" Said Andrael curiously.

The giant looked down and slumped onto the ground.

"Lee. Of the clan Stonehard."

Stonehard Lee looked up.

"I wasn't expecting humans...here....I came alone..."

Andrael turned to the group and turned back.

"Well none of us are going in there alone. You're welcome to join us. I believe that we must set some ground rules first. You are not to attack us and we will respond the same."

Stonehard Lee looked perplexed.

"I'm not really here to fight...I just wanted to check things out...."

He looked over at Theseus.

"I will defend myself if....it comes to that...but I will go in with you as well. I don't think there's much choice."

A young man walked into the gathering. He was wearing golden armour and smiling a lot.

"Is this the party?" He asked looking around at the anxious and snarling heroes. His smile dropped slightly.

He turned around and looked at the stomach of Stonehard Lee before jumping back a little.

"This is a bit...different." He said nervously.

"Oh good, another capable swordsman. Have at thee!" Said Wilt delightedly waving his sword around.

The man blinked and looked down at his sword hilt. He drew his sword and charged forth, swinging it hard into Wilt's and sending it crashing to the floor. Wilt paused and stared as he raised his hands slowly to forfeit.

"Very good...that was my little test and you passed!" Said Wilt happily. He turned around and grabbed his sword, taking care to back away a little.

"That's a fine sword-arm you have. What's your name?" Said Arimnestos curiously.

"Peter." Said the young man. He slid his sword away and smiled.

"Why do you all look so down?"

A woman approached the group from a distance. She was wearing a long flowing dress and a silver crown on her head. She carried herself with an air of dignity and pride. The group watched carefully as she approached.

"What do we have here?" She asked curiously as she arrived. She took in the group warily. It was a strange bunch.

"You first." Said Urk through his strange steel mask.

The woman shrugged shrugged. As she did she looked up at the glowing energy that was ascending from the roof of the Labyrinth to the skies. Every so often, the silhouette of something would appear in the glow. It was like a tower. It looked very different from the rest of the Labyrinth. It would disappear a moment later but re-appear again faintly.

A purple spark shot down the wall from the beam at the top. Very curious.

"I am Queen Genevieve of Devonshire. I usually don't associate with...your types." Her eyes shot up at Stonehard Lee who was stood towering silently. She turned to look at the others again quickly. "However Minos wanted us to do this together and so...for whatever reason we shall."

She turned to rest at the foot of the lake silently. Surely they wouldn't need to wait much longer. There were enough of them by now.

There was a stomping sound in the distance. A very big man was charging towards the group. He stopped and eyed them up with a scowl. He was naked from the waist up and wore a necklace covered in bones. He had no hair and his face was full of sheer rage. Warpaint or possibly blood stains adorned his torso and he was covered in scars.

"What do we have here?" Asked Andrael curiously. Wilt and Theseus reached for their swords.

The man snarled at the group and then stormed past them. He slumped down by the lakeside. He wasn't prepared to make conversation here.

"Rude." Said Maria with a scowl.

Ajax sauntered up to the half-naked barbarian and tapped him on the shoulder. He jerked his head back and bore his teeth.

"Now look here. You're clearly meant to do this thing with us. You can at least give us a name."

Dern nodded.

"It's looking like a lot of you don't really want to...work together. But all we have to do is go in, come back out and job's done right? Then we can just leave it be. How does that sound."

The big man spat in the water and finally spoke a single word.

"Balagor."

The others nodded. That was something at least.

A strong wind fell over the group. They braced themselves carefully. Maybe it was finally time to leave. Maria paused momentarily. Something was watching.

She turned her head and the rest of the group followed suit. A young looking man was stood there. He was shirtless, dressed only in ragged clothes from the waist down. He had a bandana around his head and wore a bright orange gem around his neck. His flowing and wispy black hair fell down behind him. He was smiling at the group.

"Never drop your guards. The desert storm catches many unsuspecting foes."

He leapt up into the air and landed in the middle of the group. The rest of the heroes didn't look particularly impressed.

"You can call me Talion. I'll be joining you on this adventure."

Ajax scratched his head.

"Glad you could finally join us." He said, a tad sarcastically.

"Perfect. Can we go already?" Said Theseus clutching his blade handle miserably.