That tree was exactly the same as the one where Torpineas had once united romantically with Apheni years ago. Then Torpineas told them that for the time being they could relax for a while, and after thanking the young mage who had freed them, they asked him to reveal his name and exactly how he had managed to rescue them from Echepyros.
The two green-clad men bombarded the boy with many questions, such as how he found them and whether he had help from others, with the result that he could not keep up with answering them. Eventually the two mages stopped and allowed the young mage to explain. Astonished and at the same time happy that they had been freed, they sat down so that their savior could tell them the events.
The young mage finally said to them,"I am Etydameus, father—your son!"
Torpineas, who was already quite astonished when he heard this news, was left stunned and began to realize why the face of the boy had seemed familiar to him. Nearly four years had passed since the last time he had said farewell to his son, who had been only three years old then.
Torpineas recovered himself, and now even more questions arose within him. He asked him, "But how did you enter here into Akbazan, and how did you manage it all alone? Did you have help from no one?"
Etydameus explained the entire situation to his father, embraced him full of joy that they had reunited after so many years, and gave him the magical dragon pendant, which he explained showed the way out of that dreadful prison.
Torpineas, following the indication of the dragon pendant with successive teleportations, transported them together with him toward the gate that led to the second sector of the labyrinth. They arrived near the gate and saw that guards and agents were already there, guarding the exit from Ephilia.
Torpineas suggested to Eumaios and his son that they remain hidden there in the grove, and told them that he would go to confront the guards alone. Since they had no additional wands, they realized that this was the only solution, and so they agreed with him. They wished him good luck, and Torpineas instantly teleported exactly behind the main guard of the gate and unleashed a series of magical spells with which he neutralized most of the mages.
A little farther away were more guards, who ran toward him to stop him. Torpineas, without fear, first defended himself with the spell Protelika, which created a defensive magical circle around him, with which he could also attack his enemies with flames. Thus, he defeated the last of his opponents, while several fled and did not even attempt to resist the powerful magic of Torpineas.
Torpineas now called Eumaios and Etydamon, and they followed him, impressed by his magical abilities. Eumaios took two wands from the defeated guards and gave one to Etydamon. Then they looked at the pendant, which indicated that they should go toward a rock.
Torpineas spoke the spell Roverio, and the secret gate appeared so that they could enter the labyrinth of the Minotaur. Torpineas touched it with his wand and it opened magically, and then they all entered inside slowly.
Torpineas thought that he did not have the passwords to safely pass through the terrible labyrinth, but fortunately they had the enchanted dragon pendant, and thus at least it would show them the correct direction. Therefore, they left behind the bronze double axe and proceeded toward the entrance of the labyrinth, where dreadful demons and traps lurked.
Torpineas walked ahead of them, since he was the most capable and also had the magical pendant to show him the correct path. Torpineas told them to remain battle-ready and not to relax now that they too had wands, and so they continued.
Meanwhile, Etydamon explained to Eumaios and his father all the events that had happened throughout the years they had lived apart. Additionally, he described how he had ended up in Akbazan, as well as the way in which he managed to find and free them, in every detail.
Thus Torpineas learned about the remarkable powers of his son and, of course, about the problem he was now facing because of the mark that had been placed on his left shoulder, which restricted his magic.
Torpineas knew this kind of magical binding and how to remove the mark, however he did not have the ingredients for the potion needed to reverse the enchantment, and they were not easy to find, especially if one did not know where to search.
Nevertheless, Torpineas reassured his son and assured him that once they left Akbazan, together with Apheni they would restore his magic again from the curse of the mark.
At the same time, Eumaios and Torpineas congratulated the young mage for his remarkable powers, and thus they understood the reason why the council of the Odyvians had imprisoned such a young child in the reformatory of Kezan. It was obvious that the black-clad ones had feared the terrible powers of the seven-year-old mage, and for that reason they had confined him in Akbazan so that they could keep him under control.
And while they were talking and the mischievous little one was narrating with satisfaction the pranks he had devised during the time he attended Pyrosovia, suddenly a terrible demon appeared before them!
Torpineas explained to Eumaios and his son that it was a beast of enormous strength called Ikalom. Thus Torpineas and Eumaios stepped in front of the young mage to protect him and prepared to confront it with great caution.
They worked together as a team, and so Eumaios first placed a defensive wall of water, in order to neutralize the attacks of the fire demon. The defense he placed was a large wall of ice, yet although the element of water is superior to fire, the power of Ikalom was great enough that there was still danger of being struck by the monster's flames.
At the same time, Torpineas undertook the offensive role and attempted to immobilize the beast with the spell Espago, but the only thing he managed was to slow it slightly and enrage it further.
Thus the demon Ikalom prepared to unleash a massive fireball against them from its mouth. And as they were about to receive the dreadful fiery blow from the monster, Etydamon—despite not having a useful spell at the moment or enough mana—thought cleverly and quickly to send the ice wall directly into the monster's mouth with the spell Nefoulso.
Before the beast could launch its attack, and while its mouth was open, the ice wall combined with the extremely high temperature of the monster's flame at the moment of release caused vaporization of the ice defense, resulting in a large explosion that inflicted severe injury upon Ikalom.
It fell to the ground nearly unconscious, and seizing the opportunity, Torpineas and Eumaios finished it with repeated spells before it could recover, thus destroying it.
The two mages had now seen firsthand the talent and sharp-mindedness of young Etydameus. Both praised the boy for his clever move and felt greatly relieved that they had escaped unharmed from that terrifying beast.
The three of them continued slowly and carefully through the intricate labyrinth, always keeping their minds in constant alertness. Now, having defeated the demon Ikalom in battle, they managed to gather a little more mana, so that they were better prepared for possible dangers and able to perform higher-level spells, which are also more powerful.
As they walked through the vast second sector, Torpineas reflected that if they eventually managed to escape, he would need to notify Apheni through the shared symbol they had on their right hand. When one of them touched it with a wand and spoke the proper spell, the other immediately knew the exact location to teleport to, and thus they could meet each other whenever they wished.
Of course, this only worked outside Akbazan, since inside the prison there were many restrictive spells that prevented many kinds of magic. Therefore, they would first need to manage to reach the exit of Akbazan, and then he would call her for help so that they could escape together and live freely far away from everyone.
These were the thoughts of Torpineas, and although they had the useful dragon pendant to show them the exits from the prison, there was still the problem of the mage agents, who would certainly have set an ambush outside Akbazan.
Thinking this, Torpineas was already calculating an alternative plan in case they were captured.
After a while, the magical pendant led them to a cliff, from whose summit a gigantic waterfall was falling. The indication of the necklace pointed exactly toward the direction of the cliff with the waterfall. Therefore, they would somehow have to climb the steep cliff in order to continue along the correct path.
However, Torpineas casts the spell Roverio, and then the waterfall splits into two and a secret passage appears between its waters, inside the cliff. Torpineas, full of joy and relief, says that they will not need to climb that entire mountain after all.
"Follow me!" shouts Torpineas, and they enter the hidden passage of the cave.
The cave is dark, so they light their wands in order to see as they move forward. There is a narrow path, which eventually leads them to the end of the route, in front of a hall illuminated by many torches, and at the center of the hall there is a magical chessboard with pieces the size of humans.
The magical chessboard blocks the passage, and so the only way to pass safely through the cave is if they defeat the trap of the magical chess game. Torpineas explains to Eumaios and to his son that this is a kind of trial.
"If you win the chess match," he tells them, "only then will you be able to pass safely through the hall."
Then he explains that each of them must choose the role of a chess piece during the trial of the magical chess. Torpineas decides to take control of directing the game and makes it clear to them that in reality they are at a disadvantage of three pieces, since it is practically impossible for them to sacrifice themselves during the match, because if they do so, it is most likely that they will be mortally wounded.
Thus, he tells them to be very careful and that if they want to succeed, they must strictly obey his orders during the trial of the game.
Wanting to protect his son, Torpineas gives him the role of the left rook, so that he avoids entering the battle early, and if he eventually needs him, then as a rook he will have the luxury of moving many squares across the chessboard and being safe from enemy attacks.
"You, Eumaios," he says, "will take the role of the right bishop, so that you also have the ability to move freely and additionally be useful to me from the beginning in case I need your help."
"Finally, I will take the role of the queen, so I will have control over the most important piece and will be able at any moment to be wherever necessary on the chessboard thanks to the wide freedom of movement of this piece."
So, they take deep breaths and, after coordinating with one another, they enter the magical chessboard and each assumes his role.
From the very beginning, Torpineas realized that they were in a greatly disadvantageous position. Thus, in his mind he had the plan that instead of winning the chess match—which would be almost impossible without someone being sacrificed—he decided to manage to get all three of them safely out of this dangerous game.
With this thought, Torpineas guided the development of the pieces in such a way as to open space on the left side, and with some clever sacrifices during the game, he arranged the formation of the enemy pieces so that almost all of them had gathered on the right side of the chessboard.
Finally, he directed his son, Eumaios, and himself as far forward and to the left as possible on the chessboard, so that when he called out to them, they would be able to leave the magical chessboard simultaneously before the magical pieces attacked them.
And so it happened. When the match was exactly as he had calculated, only then did he reveal his plan to the others.
Torpineas gives the signal, and together they run quickly out of this dangerous trap.
After they escaped, he turns smiling toward the other two and, winking at his son, says:
"What cannot be solved, is cut!"
Meanwhile, the Council of the Odyvians had been fully informed about the escape of Torpineas and Eumaios with the help of the young Etydameas. They realized that Apheni had likely told Etydameas about the imprisonment of his father, and thus, once he knew, he went and freed him.
Nevertheless, the Black-cloaks were furious with themselves, because once again they had underestimated the abilities and boldness of the seven-year-old mage, and as a result he had caused them enormous problems again.
However, this time they were not as worried about Torpineas, because now he did not possess the passwords, and so they were certain that they would not manage to escape and find the exit from the labyrinthine maze of the Minotaur.
Sazideas had already called a council in his palace, which was built at the peak of Mount Koryvos. At the council they discussed the fate of the three fugitives, especially the young mage, who were about to face dreadful traps and terrible demons within the labyrinth.
Sazideas did not hide his fear for his young grandson, and therefore he proposed to the council to send a group of mage agents to rescue the fugitives and afterwards imprison them again.
The council, however, rejected this mission, because no one wished to risk his life and enter the dangerous labyrinth of the Minotaur—especially because of some fugitives who would deserve their fate if they failed to escape unharmed, since they themselves had ended up inside the second sector.
They all knew well that even if they had a way to navigate inside the labyrinthine complex, the traps and dreadful monsters were enough reason to decide to leave the three fugitives to fend for themselves.
Thus, most of the Black-cloaks concluded that they were worthy of their fate, and the only thing they did was station groups of agents outside the cave of Akbazan, so that if they managed to escape from the prison, they would capture them.
Apheni, of course, knew that they possessed Etydameas's enchanted necklace to guide them through the vast and dangerous labyrinth, yet she pretended to be just as worried as her father and supported his opinion so as not to raise suspicion.
Meanwhile, Eumaios and Torpineas kept young Etydamon between them in order to protect him, and they advanced carefully, disabling whatever traps they encountered, such as the famous dreadful plant called Devil's Snare.
A considerable amount of time passed without encountering any major problem until they came across two demonic guards…
The young mage feels their end approaching, but then he notices that the ground is still flooded from the previous attack of the creature's water wave. And so, fortunately for him, he had knowledge of a powerful spell of ancient magic, which he had studied among many others during his stay at Movinto.
This spell was Telaunor, which causes a lightning strike upon the enemy, and in combination with the wet ground he thought that it would inflict tremendous damage upon the demons.
Of course, although he had the spell and enough mana at his disposal, he was not certain whether he would be able to cast it successfully, since it was a spell of higher magic belonging to the element of ether, according to what he had read.
Thus, he hopes to succeed, since it is their last hope if they wish to survive. He wastes no time and immediately shouts the powerful spell Telaunor.
A great flash appears and a loud thunderclap is heard. A lightning bolt strikes the side of the gigantic demons and annihilates both of them at once!
Torpineas takes his son into his arms, embraces him, and tells him that he is full of surprises.
"Who taught you such a powerful and rare spell—Apheni?" he asks him.
"No, father," he replies. "I read it in the library of Movinto while I was there, along with many other spells," he answers him.
"Fortunately," he says, "although it was the first time I attempted it, it worked successfully."
Torpineas congratulated his son for his knowledge and abilities, and then, after casting several spells, he created a grave for the brave Eumaios, who had fallen victim to the monsters.
"Now, my son," Torpineas tells him, "we must be twice as careful, since we have lost the valuable help of our friend Eumaios."
Torpineas continues and explains to his son that the labyrinth is terribly dangerous, and he wishes that they will not encounter the dreadful Minotaur.
Finally, they pay respects at Eumaios's grave, as Torpineas creates a wreath of flowers and pours a little wine upon his tomb with a movement of his wand, and they begin their journey again.
Torpineas consults the dragon pendant, mentally uttering the spell Sontos, so that it may show him the correct direction within the labyrinth.
The labyrinth had many Devil's Snares and chaotic paths that led to dead ends, yet Torpineas, with his experience and the enchanted pendant, continued relentlessly.
Etydameas, watching his father neutralize obstacle after obstacle, admired him for his magical skill and his vast knowledge of spells.
About half an hour passed, and before they had fully recovered from the previous attack of the monsters, suddenly they came face to face with the worst demon of the second sector.
They saw a tall and muscular beast with the body of a human below the waist and that of a bull above.
It was the dreadful demon Minotaur, and it charged furiously toward them to crush them.
Immediately, Torpineas creates a circle of fire around them with the spell Imsenthio.
"As long as we remain inside the circle of fire, the Minotaur will not dare approach, because it is a creature of earth," he tells his son.
Etydameas tries to petrify the Minotaur with the spell Espago, but it is far too strong for such a weak spell to paralyze it. The only thing Etydamon managed was to slow it down temporarily.
Torpineas takes advantage of the creature's slow movement and soon strikes it with two offensive spells before it begins moving swiftly again.
Etydameas places an ice defense with the spell Kavos, in order to block the expected attacks of the beast.
The Minotaur, now enraged, is not deterred either by the ice defense or by the circle of fire surrounding the two mages. It charges straight toward them and shatters the ice defense.
Torpineas attacks it with the spell Konvirgo, inflicting severe burns upon it, and at the same time the beast is pushed backward from the explosion of the spell.
Etydameas does not have a useful fire spell ready to attack the Minotaur, but he has enough mana and can summon a powerful beast with the spell Tlor to protect them.
Thus, he summoned a creature of earth with the spell Tlor, in order to protect them and give them time to regroup.
A tremendous mental and psychic burden was now felt by Etydameas as he tried to control the gigantic creature he had summoned to defend them.
And suddenly all the pressure he felt disappeared from him, and he immediately felt relief.
His father had summoned a stronger beast, which was a fire dragon. However, in order not to exhaust too much mana, he decided to offer some of his own mana and at the same time sacrifice his son's creature so that the summoning of the dragon could become possible.
Now, Torpineas's creature was powerful enough, and with the advantage it possessed as a fire creature, it managed to confront the mighty Minotaur.
They fought for a while, and finally both creatures neutralized one another, having nearly equal strength.
Torpineas looks into Etydameas's eyes and says:
"Well done, little one. I expected nothing less from you, my son."
Etydamon replies that it is the second time he has summoned the giant, but both times, he explains, he felt a great mental pressure weighing upon him.
Torpineas explains to his young son that this mental pressure he feels is the telepathic force of influence exerted upon each creature summoned by the mage.
Then he tells him that depending on how powerful the demon is, the greater the mental pressure he will feel, and the more difficult it will be to control it.
In reality, he explains to him, all this mental pressure he feels is the effort of the creatures to free themselves from the domination of the mage.
Thus, he advises him to avoid summoning creatures—especially powerful ones—because the stronger they are, the greater the spiritual strength the mage must possess.
And of course, he tells him, if he feels weakened physically and mentally, he must avoid it entirely unless absolutely necessary, because he may lose control and endanger even himself.
They continued their discussion about summoning creatures, and Etydameas asked his father various questions in order to understand the subject better.
One particularly interesting question he asked was what would happen if he summoned more than one creature.
Torpineas looks at him and smiles, telling him that the answer is obvious. The more creatures you control, the more the mental pressure increases, which equals the sum of the magical levels of the creatures.
"My advice, Etydameas," he tells him, "is to avoid the magic of summoning demonic entities unless it is absolutely necessary as a last resort, because it is quite dangerous and mentally exhausting."
After they talked and rested for a while, they decided to continue their journey.
Finally, after a few minutes, with the help of the enchanted dragon necklace, they arrived at a corridor which Torpineas immediately recognized as the exit of the labyrinth.
They proceed through the corridor, and indeed, Torpineas sees in the distance the image of the silver axe, and now he is certain.
Joyfully, Torpineas shouts:
"That was it, Etydameas—we made it out of the devilish labyrinth!"
They exited the labyrinth and, relieved, smiled and congratulated one another.
"Now, my son," Torpineas tells him, "I must warn you that you must remain close to me and be cautious as we pass into the third sector of Akbazan. Here dwell the most dreadful and dangerous demons that exist—the Alnafropeis."
After explaining the situation, Torpineas touches the gate with his wand, and it opens magically.
They proceed into the dark and cold third sector, and immediately Torpineas casts a powerful protective spell—Onymbator.
As they advance through the realm of the Alnafropeis, Torpineas explains to his son that this spell is magic of the ether element.
Onymbator summons a luminous spirit, powerful enough to confront the dreadful Alnafropeis.
The luminous spirit that Torpineas summoned had the form of a bird and appeared impressively, spreading abundant light everywhere.
Etydameas asks his father what kind of bird the luminous spirit is, and Torpineas replies that the luminous guardian differs depending on the mage and appears in the form of an animal only if the level of the mage's magical aura is sufficiently high—otherwise, only an aura of light appears, functioning as a shield.
"My own guardian," Torpineas says proudly, "is the legendary Phoenix."
Etydameas was impressed by the spell Onymbator, and as they walked, he tried to summon one himself, but the only thing he managed was occasional flashes of light.
Torpineas told his son not to worry that he could not succeed, explaining that it is a very powerful spell.
"Consider this," he tells him, "even many adult mages are unable to summon a full-bodied guardian—some cannot even produce the luminous shield. It is a spell of ancient magic, as I told you, and for the form of a guardian to appear you must possess a great deal of mana, which at your age is naturally impossible."
"Besides," he adds, "you must have used a great deal of mana during our battles inside the labyrinth. I had in mind that we would enter the third sector of the Alnafropeis, so I conserved enough in order to summon my guardian successfully and lead us safely out of here."
Hearing all this about the magic of Onymbator, Etydameas understood that if he wished one day to achieve a magnificent luminous guardian of his own, he would have to practice greatly in order to increase the levels of his magical aura—his mana.
They reach the end of the third level, and just before passing through the gate that leads to the final passage of Cerberus, Torpineas warns his son that it is certain that the Odyvians will have set an ambush outside Akbazan.
Thus, he tells him that if they are captured, he must not utter a single word and must allow him to speak with them.
He then touches the gate with his wand, and they enter the corridor of Cerberus.