Riddle of Daedalus

“I would gladly trade all of my scholarly titles and awards for greater knowledge and discovery,” said Dr. Howard Fine.

The professor currently hunched over his ancient map held four Ph. Ds: Mythology, History, Anthropology, and Archeology.

“Of course you would,” said Brandon. “But you really ought to find satisfaction in what you have accomplished from time-to-time. You’re going to burn out your assistants. You could probably be the most famed archeologist in the world by now if you wanted to. Back me up on this, Alyssa.”

“It’s true that you work too hard, Doc,” said Alyssa. “You might find that you’re able to spot something new with a fresh set of eyes on occasion.”

“You two are the fresh sets of eyes,” said Fine. “I wouldn’t have selected either of you otherwise.”

“Yeah, well it’s difficult for us to make a name for ourselves and pursue our own careers if you won’t take credit for anything,” said Brandon. “We agreed to help you because you’re the most brilliant mind in your field, not because you lived the most modestly.”

“You’re in the wrong field if your primary objectives are fame and fortune,” said Fine.

The conversation carried on without Dr. Fine’s eyes or body moving from the table holding the map, centrally located in the renowned professor’s university office. Despite carrying on this dialogue, his focus was singular.

Alyssa popped a peanut M&M in her mouth.

“I have a friend in this field that went solo a year ago,” Brandon continued. “And he trained under an idiot!”

“I don’t believe it,” said Fine.

“It’s true! He’s one of those quacks that appears in those conspiracy theory documen—”

“Not that, you fool! I’ve done it! I’ve found King Minos’ castle in Crete.”

“Knossos?” asked Brandon.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about Knossos,” started Fine. “You’re not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree are ya, Brandon? Did you really think I just happened to overlook Knossos?”

Alyssa grinned as she consumed another piece of candy.

The professor cleared his throat. 

“No, I’m not referring to the palace in Knossos. I’m talking about the fabled castle guarded by the labyrinth that was built by Daedalus, the famous artificer.”

“It’s a myth,” said Brandon. “And even if it weren’t, that myth comes from Knossos.”

“The next time you correct me, Brandon, you had better be right,” said Fine. “So help me, God, I will figure out a way to complete my work with a single assistant. I’m sure Alyssa would be put on a fast track to leading her own expedition if she were my only assistant.”

“I’ve got to say, I’m skeptical about this as well, Doc,” said Alyssa. “That story contained a minotaur. Are you thinking there’s a minotaur there too?”

Alyssa snickered at her minotaur remark.

“Are you two gonna shut the hell up and let me explain, or do you want to continue randomly speculating and denying my evidence without even seeing it?”

The room became a graveyard; the undertaker continued once his point had been made.

“Come, have a look at this,” he said, beckoning them toward the map.

Alyssa and Brandon peered over the professor’s shoulder to see what he was talking about. All they found were confused looks, spotted only after they glanced at each other.

“According to my research, this map contains the last known location of the labyrinth,” Fine said. “As you can see, there are no clear markings indicating its location here. Brandon, you were partially correct when you brought up Knossos. The labyrinth is near Knossos, as is the castle it protects, but neither is actually Knossos. Look at this river that runs along the side of Heraklion and makes its way inward. It runs toward Knossos, but look at this portion of the map as it nears the city—”

“There’s a flake of ink missing! A piece chipped off from this map!” Alyssa said.

“Correct,” said Fine. “You can just barely make out some of the ink on the edges of where the flake fell off.”

He held a magnifying glass up to the portion of the map he was referring to; both Alyssa and Brandon gasped as they came to the same realization their mentor had.

“Now, if my assumption is correct, we should find the labyrinth within a hidden cove or small cave along the river bank,” said Fine. “We fly to Greece in the morning.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Where the hell is it?” Brandon asked. “We’ve been sailing all day and haven’t found jack.”

“Shut up and turn toward the port side,” said Fine.

“Peanut M&M, anyone?” asked Alyssa.

“Sure, I’ll take one,” said Brandon.

“How do you not know I have a nut allergy by now, Alyssa?” asked Fine. “I seriously don’t know why I chose either of you, I swear you’re both useless. Worry less about the candy and more about the direction of the sails, please.”

Alyssa shrugged as she doled out a piece to Brandon before tossing a few in her mouth. What started as a morning of exciting anticipation had turned into a tedious exertion.

“Hey, what’s that?” asked Brandon.

He was pointing along the rock-faced banks near a small cove, partially obstructed from view by a handful of large, jagged rocks jutting out of the water.

“Bring us in,” said Fine.

Brandon and Alyssa made  the necessary adjustments to steer the boat closer to the edge of the river. It would take a level of expertise above what the group currently held to make a perfect landing.

The boat glanced against a rock on their approach, violently rocking the boat.

“Careful, you idiots!” said Fine.

“Pay for a professional sailor next time, you cheapskate!” said Alyssa.

The small craft seemed to be none the worse for wear. As they neared the inlet, an opening in the rock face revealed what looked to be a cave entrance with a sandy shore just in front of it.

“You brilliant, beautiful pupils of mine, I knew you could do it!” said Fine. 

He was already celebrating, a jovial mood that wouldn’t even survive the time it took to pull the boat ashore, a process lengthened by Brandon and Alyssa’s novitiate pace. 

“We’re on the verge of history and you two want to take your sweet time, is that it?” asked Fine as Brandon and Alyssa finally managed to wrestle the small vessel from the water.

“What happened to that ‘brilliant, beautiful’ stuff?” asked Brandon under his breath.

The trio made their way to the cave opening. A brief saunter from the entrance revealed man-made walls constructing a passage deeper into the cavern.

“My God, this is really it,” said Brandon. 

From the threshold between the cave entrance and the precipice of history, the three gazed into the beginning of the stone maze. Untold mystery and legend lay within,  bound only by imagination.

“I don’t suppose either of you knuckleheads thought to pack string, did you?” asked Fine.

“No,” said Brandon.

“No, but I do have these,” Alyssa said, hoisting her bag of brightly colored candies triumphantly above her head.

The Professor’s facial expressions perked up.

“That should work,” he said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Alyssa had researched the known lore, mythology, and history of everything remotely related to this labyrinth using every resource at her disposal before they’d left. According to the legend, Daedalus had built it in such a cunning fashion, that even he could barely escape it after he’d finished constructing it.

After spending six hours traversing it, she was beginning to believe it. She’d been placing M&Ms at the corners of each intersection they came across, placing one in the direction they’d come from and another in the direction they moved toward. Brandon was attempting a rough sketch of how the passages intersected Dr. Fine led the way, choosing direction and passages with unmeasurable intuition, and his trusty lantern. 

Marking the way with the candies had been invaluable, but hadn’t kept out the doubt inspired by the identical walls weaving endlessly between madness and brilliance.

Some dead ends concluded with small chambers containing historical artifacts or priceless treasures. In each instance, Fine would order Brandon and Alyssa to turn around without so much as an inquiry as to what legendary relics might be held within. 

At long last, they discovered a large chamber decidedly unique from anything they’d come across so far. Some type of pedestal with an accompanying lever commanded the center of the room, with the rest of the space seemingly devoid of any significant detail.

“Is this the end?” asked Brandon.

“Don’t be a fool,” replied Fine. “By my estimation, this is the halfway point.”

“What are you basing that on?” asked Alyssa.

“Our total distance traveled thus far.”

Fine walked to the middle of the room and examined the pedestal; his aides closely behind. The plinth featured a bronze plaque adorned with ancient inscriptions.

“Can you read it, Doc?” asked Alyssa.

“It’s not exactly my area of expertise, but I’m pretty sure that bit there refers to a beast — this over here I think mentions this lever,” said Fine. “I’m not certain of any of this.”

“Only one way to find out,” said Brandon as he ripped the lever down.

“No, wait!” said Fine, but it was too late.

A curtain of rock began to rise on the far side of the room, revealing a hidden passage. The room shook as the monolith rose painfully slowly upward. Seconds later, the rumbling became two-fold. The slowly expanding gap at the bottom of the emerging corridor exposed a pair of monstrous hooves, each nearly the size of a basketball. As the rock continued to ascend, it revealed legs as wide as tree trunks, then a loincloth attached to a large muscular torso. By the time the rock had completely lifted, it was only replaced by a wall of biomass.

The minotaur’s devilish horns protruded from its head, displayed in just as threatening a manner as the massive ax it carried limply at its side, a weapon that would have required a human to use two hands in order to even lift, let alone brandish in battle.

The horns gave way to the head of a bull, set majestically upon a bi-pedal, humanoid body with frightening fangs emerging from its mouth. It was humanoid in shape only, its size dwarfing that of the largest human in existence by at least twofold.

“Run,” demanded Fine in hushed tones during his first utterance. Panic turned it into more of a scream in the second. “Run!”

The creature bellowed before it lunged; the party turned and ran — it was on them in a second.

The beast’s first swing of its armament took Brandon’s legs from the mid-thigh down. His screams drew Alyssa’s attention, but Fine pulled her backward. 

“There’s nothing we can do for him now, he’ll die anyway,” said Fine. “All we can do is save ourselves.”

Alyssa glanced back again and became hysterical as she watched the creature devouring the remains of her friend. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fine and Alyssa were making remarkably quick progress, but the rumbling of the beast grew closer with every passing moment.

“It’s gaining on us,” said Fine, now very careful of how loudly he projected his voice. “Which means one of two things. Either it’s following the candy or it knows the route through this labyrinth.”

“Couldn’t it be following us by other means?”

“I suppose it’s possible, bulls have strong senses of smell and hearing, but it shouldn’t be able to navigate this maze so swiftly based on either of those two factors.” 

“So, what do we do?”

“Stay here, I’m going to try to alter the path of M&Ms to trick it into going past.”

“If it knows the correct path, you’ll die. You could die even if it is following the M&Ms.”

“We’ll both die if we keep going as we are. It’ll catch us long before we reach the entrance.”

Alyssa nodded and Fine departed; the rumbling of the pursuing monster growing ever closer.

Soon the beast was close enough that Alyssa could hear its individual footsteps, its hooves clicking sharply off of the mostly stone floor. In some areas, the stone had crumbled away, leaving the dirt underneath to serve as the new floor.

The sound of Alyssa’s heartbeat was overshadowed only by the creature’s nasal exhaling, nearly full gusts of wind departing its snout. Terror made her oblivious to the fact that she’d stopped breathing.

The minotaur’s pace slowed as only a single maze wall separated it and Alyssa; it stopped.

Crack.

Alyssa’s heart skipped a beat; an M&M had crashed into stone.

The behemoth roared and charged ahead, moving well past Alyssa’s position.

The sound had come from further down the tunnel. Alyssa let out a sigh of relief, finally able to breathe for the first time in what felt like a century.

Her sudden ease was short-lived, as the implications of this development finally registered with her — the sound must have come from Dr. Fine! As if in response to her realization, the old man cried out in pain.

Alyssa slapped both hands over her mouth to prevent her own screaming, fighting back tears and muffled sobs. Even in her panic, she knew she needed to take action — time was not her ally. She slipped out of the cranny she’d taken refuge in and moved back toward the central chamber they’d just come from.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Having traversed it twice already and having the M&M path to follow, making her way back to the center of the labyrinth hadn’t been especially difficult for Alyssa. It was after she’d passed the checkpoint, moving through the passage the minotaur had originally emerged from, that matters became ever more difficult. Without Fine and his lantern, scarcity of light was becoming a problem. There was enough natural light slipping through cracks to make the journey possible, though excruciating.

To make matters worse, the minotaur was gaining on her once again. At one point, she hadn’t heard it at all anymore. As far as she could tell, it had finished traveling to the entrance after it had finished with the professor — and now it was doubling back in search of her.

Still, she’d only encountered one dead-end thus far; every path she’d chosen seemed to continue on. Through god-like intuition or unmatchable fortune, Alyssa came to what looked similar to the last checkpoint chamber, the one they’d discovered the Minotaur in. 

A centralized pedestal and lever were contained in the room as well, although this one featured what appeared to be a spool of thread. Descending from the ceiling, a small column with an attached device dangled in line with the chamber entrance and the pedestal; the device curiously hosting a seashell at its tip. A similar-looking column descended just behind the first, another device adorning the second, though devoid of a seashell. Directly across the chamber, also in line with the other structures of the room, stood a door. 

Alyssa ran to the door, but the stone exit wouldn’t budge. 

She returned to the pedestal, an undecipherable text marked the platform next to the spool. She then moved to examine the two descending columns. The first column’s seashell featured a spiral design with a remarkably small hole leaking through its center. The device it was attached to looked more mechanically evolved than would’ve been possible during the age it was constructed. The shell also seemed to be specifically incorporated into the piece of ancient technology. The second column didn’t descend as closely to the floor as the first and seemingly featured nothing more than a stone loop at its bottom.

The sound of the beast grew closer — Alyssa’s mind rushed.

She grabbed the end of the thread spool and unwound it until it reached the shell. She attempted to thread the string through the small hole in the middle of the shell, but the spiral layout of the shell became narrower as it moved toward the gap. Her fingers couldn’t fit and simply trying to guide it through by pushing the entirety of the thread wasn’t precise enough to fit it through the hole.

“Oh, what the hell is this?” Alyssa muttered rhetorically under her breath.

 She frantically searched the chamber but found nothing that seemed directly useful. She considered her research and was struck by an absurd idea — she had nothing to lose. She found a location of the floor that had its stone tile partially broken, revealing an area of dirt. She scraped her fingernails against the earth, kicking up a small mound. She found what she’d been looking for — an ant.

She tied the tiny fiber between the ant’s thorax and abdomen as best she could and set it in the seashell. Then she grabbed one of her M&Ms and let it fall to the floor before crushing it under her heel. It shattered into colorful fragments and she scooped up a handful of the rubble and clenched it tightly. After the heat from her hand began to melt the candy, she smeared chocolate across the opposite side of the seashell from the ant.

After a moment, Alyssa was amazed to see the ant pursue the chocolate on the other side of the shell, and once it emerged on the other side, she pulled the string all the way through and tied it to the loop on the next column. She sprinted to the lever next to the pedestal and ripped downward. The second column ascended back toward the ceiling, causing the device of the first column to be put into motion. As it whirred to life, so did the exit door. Alyssa, sensing the minotaur nearly upon her, ran to the door and slid under it as it continued to open. She popped to her feet and found a lever to pull, causing the door to descend behind her. Her eyes sparkled as she turned around to discover the labyrinth’s secret.