“And what exactly do you mean by that?” I asked this man in a weird petticoat as he looked up at me from that sinister mane of white. “I mean, I understand you want us to reach the center. I get that totally, might be fun for you to see us run around like rats, but I mean what do you mean by that last thing? Is there something else planned?”

“Oh, my goodness yes!” Alabaster, as the man was known, stood up in front of me, snapping his fingers and making a glass of what appeared to be brandy appear. He took a sip of the alcohol and then threw it to the area; the entire thing disappearing before it even had the chance to hit the ground. “You see, I’ve laced the maze with flowers that will spray their pollen at random intervals. This pollen has the ability to not only put you to sleep, but also dream about being trapped here in the maze! Isn’t that wonderful?!” He threw his cane into the air, which then disappeared as he slapped his white gloved hands together as if to pray.

“Big deal,” I replied, crossing my arms and tilting my head to the side, “that’s just a matter of reuniting with my team. They can wake me up when I’m down and I can do the same for them.”

“Ah, but that’s where the truly fun part comes in,” Alabaster waved a finger as a mother would to scold a child, “for you see, every time you’re off and dreaming about the maze, and everything in it, an exact duplicate of the fallen one will appear in the maze with the same goal as you. That way none of you will be able to trust one another. You could meet up with Erissa as we speak, but it will do little good if she leads you away from the center!” He began to giggle like a little schoolgirl, bouncing on the tips of his shoes with excitement. “Oh I can not wait to see hoe you do!”

I raised an eyebrow, “And my team mates are aware of the little rules to your game as well?”

“Of course,” Alabaster spoke as he stopped his happy dance mid-tap, “Even now, I’m simultaneously explaining it to each of them as I am to you. Of course, how could I be doing that if you weren’t dreaming? Or maybe I’m just saying that to throw you off? You never know…” as Alabaster ranted, the sickeningly sweet smell of the flowers entered my nostrils, and I dropped to my knees, my eyes getting rather heavy.

“Sweet dreams, Steppenwolf. Unless of course, you’re already dreaming…” Alabaster shrugged his shoulders and disappeared in a poof as my eyes closed for a nap. This was going to be a long Adventurer’s Crown…