Shadow led the way, although he wasn't entirely sure he knew where he was going. Every tunnel looked the same. If he kept walking, he might find a way to break the binding potion. Shadow dared to glance at the sack Hex carried. Inside was the answer to his dilemma. A single wish to make him flesh and bones. All he needed was a distraction. Once he was no longer just a shadow, he would be free from Hex.

*

The earth beneath Hex's feet rumbled. Loose stone tumbled from the damp, mossy walls of the maze. Whatever was heading their way was big, extremely big indeed. If only he had his magic to call upon the shadows trapped within the tunnels. They would obey him, help him. Hex, the most powerful sorcerer in the fairy realm, the greatest alchemist in existence, the one and only...

"Erm... Hex... what's that noise?" Chester asked, backing away from the scraping noise that grew louder by the second.

"I don't know."

"It's a snail," Shadow said. He knew what was headed their way at a speed which defied logic—the result of the same dark magic that created him.

"A snail," Jake said with a giggle. "Don't be silly. Snails are small, slow and slimy."

Shadow frowned at Boy. "Have you forgotten where you are? These are no ordinary molluscs."

The rumbling became a roar; at any moment, a marauding snail the size of an adolescent troll would tear through the tunnel, destroying everything in its path.

"Boy, run!" Shadow grabbed Jake's arm and yanked him along the dark tunnel.

Hex watched in disgust as Chester scrambled to keep up with Shadow. Rotten coward. He wouldn't run. He turned towards the huge, stinky creature lurching from the dark.

"Tiny!" Hex yelled, "Fancy seeing you here."

The troll huffed and stopped dragging his enormous silver bucket. Its slimy contents slopped over the sides and splashed onto the floor. "Tiny, look for Chester."

"He ran in that direction." Hex gestured behind him with his thumb. "He'll be back. What have you got there?"

Tiny grinned and dipped his finger into the bucket. "Tiny, earn his freedom." The troll scooped a handful of slime from the bucket and flicked it, splattering the floor, walls and the sorcerer's shiny black boots.

Hex leant down to inspect the slime. He'd seen nothing like it. Despite the gloom of the maze tunnels it glowed with a silver aura and the occasional spark of magic pinged from the troll's bucket, bouncing off the walls before fizzling out on the damp flagstones. Sliding his finger through the gloop on his boot, Hex raised it to his nose. There was no unpleasant odour, not a whiff of bad magic.

"What is this stuff?" Hex wiped his fingers on his cloak.

Tiny watched the magic seep into the fabric and huffed, "Snail slime."

"How will this buy your freedom?" Hex pointed to the almost full bucket at Tiny's feet.

"Slime... rare magic... precious."

Before Hex could ask what type of rare magic, Chester stepped beside him.

"Tiny!" Chester yelled, "What are you doing here?"

The troll yelped in excitement and barged past Hex, sweeping Chester into a hug that could snap his goblin bones.

"Please... put me down." Chester gasped as his friend squeezed the air from his lungs.

The affectionate troll eased his grip and grinned so wide Hex could smell his rancid breath from where he stood.

Patting Chester on the head, Tiny explained, "Me, look for Chester. Me, save Chester."

"And how will you do that?" Shadow said, silently stepping from the from the dark. Jake followed two steps behind him. "Keep up, Boy. If I lose you in this maze, I'll never find you again."

"Who's that?" Jake froze at the sight of the troll.

"Ah, let me introduce my good friend, Tiny. He's quite safe," Chester said, smoothing his few strands of hair and straightening his tie and jacket.

Tiny turned towards Shadow, and with his large, dirty finger, he pointed to his bucket of slime. "Buy freedom."

Shadow peered into the bucket of glowing slime and hatched a cunning plan. "We should keep moving."