He was trekking along the stone walls illuminated by the light of his magical companions, the constellations viewing his path, his life and the choices he'll make in this maze of endless change. One turn, two? It didn't matter, all that mattered is that he needed to find his way to the temple. There was no way in hell we was going to find the entrance to the labyrinth at this point in time. His best bet was to continue onwards seeking a way out.
Each turn has the possibility of changing into a new scene he has yet to see, however one thing Dall has realized is that there is a 'right' and 'wrong' turn in this labyrinth. If he turned down the right path, then the labyrinth wouldn't change, however a wrong turn would mean completely different surroundings. Did his position change? No, or at least that's what he wants to believe, though he couldn't be completely sure. He theorized that he wasn't changing locations, but the labyrinth was changing around him. The worst part is there was no way to find the way in or out. Maybe that's what led Martin's team to go insane, they didn't find any way out of this endless maze. That can't be the curse though, or else Martin would have mentioned it, wouldn't he...
The constellations served no help, however they helped him not go insane. They would occasionally interact with him, dancing around his hand like a dog wanting to play. Dall would laugh and feed into their playfulness. It was like they hadn't seen people in ages, Dall related to that. Wait? Was he really sympathizing with magic beings right now.. Maybe he had gone mad.
The only one who didn't dance around and play was the aquamarine rose perched upon the top of Dall's head. It sat motionless, but stern. It was still living, and the other constellations clearly respected it. "You're like a CEO" Dall joked with it, knowing fully it couldn't understand him.
There wasn't much new in the maze, it continued endlessly turning. However Dall felt like it was changing less and less. It had to have some pattern, unless it was truly based on luck. Though most things in life were sequential, they had a start, and end, and a pattern to their function. Like humans, we have a start, and we have habits that pull us through life, and finally we meet our end after years of repetitive, bland stories that shape our lives. Luck wasn't much of a factor in his life, or else he wouldn't have been thrown in the middle of one of the most populous cities to survive at 16 by his 'parents'. If anything, Dall suffered from "unluck" if that were a thing.
He had noticed that among these changing walls, there were sometimes massive runes carved into them. The constellations often danced around them. Dall thought they may be markers of some sorts, or maybe the whole central system to the shifting of the unending maze. Whatever they were he wasn't going to mess with them. Too much 'unluck'.
At one point during his travels, the constellations stopped on some weird rune that looked like a dog. The constellation of the wolf was the only one dancing around it. This made Dall theorize that each of the runes represented on of the dancing constellations around him. I wonder where the flowers is, maybe the end. He seems like the big boss of this all.
...
About an hour of wandering the shifting halls had gone by, when Dall finally stumbled upon some form of change. It wasn't a grand finale or any shelter. However, it was good enough to be the central point of rest for Dall that day. After he took a left turn on one of the straights, he came to this open room. The roof was closed off here, and on the corner of all four walls there rested one constellation, equating to eight carved runes of constellations in total. In the center of the stone room was a large fountain. It was made of white stone and flowed with a pure clean looking water. Where it flowed from was a mystery, however it was endless.
The covered roof made it so no snow could pass through, and for the first time since he had arrived, Dall saw greenery. Seemingly powered by some lifeforce, maybe the magic in the labyrinth, was grass, and flower, and shrubs surrounding this room. From the roof, a chandelier burning with blue flames lit up the room. For the first time, the constellations spread out and began dancing around the room, the only one who stayed put was the flower, but even he began to float around Dall now.
It seemed that this indoor garden in the middle of the labyrinth was a sort of safe spot. There was only one exit, as the one that Dall came in from closed the moment he stepped through. However this other exit was blocked by a wooden gate made of the wood that was from the white forest trees.
Dall relaxed. A checkpoint. He'd finally reached a safe spot where he'd be able to rest. With no perception of time, it seemed as though he had been walking for hours. If anything, it had to be night now; and his legs were screaming for the hours of walking.
He walked over to the fountain and sat on its ledge. Taking off the blades from his back and the thick cloak. Despite it being a stone labyrinth, it was relatively warm in this room. The heat was probably emanating from the chandelier hanging above the fountain. He relaxed and leaned back. Looking at the flower in this same motion, it seems more relaxed.
"We're finally safe huh?" Dall said. The flower constellation began to dance through the air in front of him, it was a calm and relaxed dance. Without much urgency. He laughed, "I guess even the boss can relax sometimes."
The first thing he needed to attend to was his bodily needs. He had been starving ever since he entered the maze. Studying the area, he found some berries on a bush near the wolf constellation, the wolf was dancing around them fashionably. As if he was boasting in his own gourmet creation. Wolfberries Dall jested. He grabbed one, they were small and blue. Normally he wouldn't eat anything he wasn't sure of, but the wolf seemed too proud of these, and flower wasn't dancing threateningly, so they must've been safe.
He grabbed a handful of them and shoved them in his mouth. They were sweet, a flavor like blueberries and dragonfruit. They released a refreshing juice that would have made for a perfect smoothie. If only he had a blender. One thing he noticed however, was that these berries sent the wave-like feeling he got from the constellations surging all over his body. It wasn't unpleasant, just strange.
"Magic Berries?" he asked the Wolf. It tilted a bit as though it was confused, right, they might not call it magic here "Uh.. you made these?" he said. The wolf began to excitedly jumped up and down. Dall laughed. "They're good"
The wolf danced, as Dall walked back to the fountain and took a sip from the water. It was refreshing, he sat and began thinking about what he'd do next. There was plenty of time to think this out, it didn't seem the checkpoint had a time limit. It was truly serene.
Well what's for sure, is that he must continue. However, there's no saying how long it would be until he found another saferoom like this. He should prepare, packing food off the fruit in here and.. water.
He looked to the flower, "You don't think you could uh, create a canteen?" the flower tilted in confusion. "A container to hold water?" he sighed. The flower danced up and spun, as though to tell Dall to follow him. Dall did. He led him to the corner near a tiny tree that was growing, it was where the fish had been circulating. The flower went up to the fish and seemed to command him to do something, the fish jumped with joy and flew to the tree. In a moments notice, the bark began to float off the tree and form into a shape that connected together as the strands of wood twisted in unison.
In the end of this process, a cup was formed, with a lid that strangely stayed sealed unless detached. Like suction, but with magic. Dall thanked the fish who danced with glee, and went over to the water filling up the cup and sealing it off. He also went and picked a few berries from the wolf and put them in his rucksack carefully, making sure Martin's journal wouldn't crush them.
He sighed. Well, there wasn't much left to do. He sat his stuff on the fountain and waltzed over to the flowerbed near the Rabbit. He laid down making sure not to destroy the blue snowdrops, and tucked his hands behind his head. The grass made for a semi-comfortable surface to rest on, and he was utterly grateful for this safe space.
"Goodnight" he joked to the constellations. Till tomorrow warrants. He dozed off.