"Welcome," he said, shaking hands with each of them in turn, and Thomas noticed that he had a ridge of hard callous running along the edge of his palm, confirming his suspicions. Probably Maltano, he thought. A bare handed attack technique. This unarmed man could probably put down an entire regiment of ordinary soldiers without raising a sweat.

     "I am Estinas, caretaker of the shrine of the Sceptre of Samnos. You have had a long, hard journey, and will doubtless want to relax and refresh yourselves before making your bid for the Sceptre. If you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

     "Our rooms?" asked Shaun in confusion as Estinas opened the door in the far side of the room and led them through into a wide, brightly lit corridor.

     "Yes," said the priest. "It is my Lord's wish that all who come here are fully rested and refreshed before attempting the Maze. He is a fair God, and would not want anyone to fail because they were still weary from their journey. Therefore, everyone who comes here is given a day and a night to recover in what is probably the most comfortable and luxurious boarding house in the world. Every comfort is provided for, everything you could possibly want to help you relax and recover. If you have any injuries, I will channel my Lord's power to heal you before you enter, and if any of you should emerge alive from the other end of the Maze, you will be healed again and allowed to spend another day and night here before you leave."

     "Just how difficult is the Maze?" asked Thomas apprehensively.

     "People do occasionally manage to win their way through," said Estinas. "Those who prove worthy. The last to do so were Rellenious the Righteous and his followers, about two hundred years ago."

     "And how many have failed since then?" asked Shaun.

     "There have been twelve attempts to solve the Maze since then."

     "So we're number thirteen," said Jerry. "Lucky us."

     They reached a stretch of corridor that had doors at regular intervals on both sides. "Here we are," said Estinas. "You may have a room each, or you may share a room between two, whichever you prefer. This room here is the common room, where you may sit together until you choose to retire for the night, and further down is a temple where you may pray or meditate if you wish to do so. Each room has its own facilities, and room service is provided by my own good self. All you have to do is pull the bell rope."

     "You live here by yourself?" asked Lirenna, staring at him in astonishment.

     "I have my Lord for companionship. I require no other company." He opened one of the doors and showed them in. "Every room is identical, so I will just show you around this one. All the others are just the same, and you can each pick one for yourselves afterwards."

     Each ‘room' was in fact three rooms. The door in the corridor opened into a large sitting room, luxuriously furnished with beautifully patterned rugs and carpets. One wall was lined with glass cabinets containing books for the betterment of the soul and there were three comfy looking padded armchairs and a long sofa piled high with cushions arranged around a central open space. The other walls were hung with tapestries and paintings depicting religious and battle scenes, and a pair of crossed swords had been hung between a couple of stuffed monster heads above a veined marble fireplace in which a log fire burned. The room was illuminated by a shining globe three inches across that hung from the middle of the ceiling by a delicate silver chain.

     There were two open doorways in opposite walls, leading to the bedroom and the bathroom. The bathroom was huge, outfitted in blue veined white marble and, aside from its essential furniture, sported a huge oval bath large enough for all of them at once. The room was filled with the fragrance of expensive soaps and oils and Lirenna stared around in sheer adoration, as though she could lock herself in here and never emerge. She picked up a carved crystal bottle of bath oil, removed the stopper and sniffed it with an expression of pure bliss. She tried to remember the
last time she'd had a proper bath. Not since leaving Lexandria, unless you counted that awful steel tub in Thomas's house and the primitive facilities offered by the cheap boarding house in Seaton.

     The bedroom was scarcely smaller, with a beautiful white, deep pile carpet and a huge four poster bed hung with drapes and curtains. A scarlet bell rope hung from the ceiling next to it, within easy reach of someone lying on the bed. Opposite was a writing desk and chair, complete with a full range of writing implements, and a wardrobe containing a bathrobe, some posh colourful dayclothes such as might be worn by a city gentleman or lady, and a set of sleeping silks. Lastly, a small table next to the bed had a large copy of the Samnia, the holy book of Samnos, sitting on it, looking magnificent with its decorative gold leaf griffin on the front cover and its silver clasps.

     "Wow!" said Matthew, looking around in wonder. "What happens if we decide to move in permanently?"

     "You may stay for a day and a night," said Estinas. "After that, you must either enter the Maze or leave. Now make yourself comfortable. Dinner is served at seven. If you grow hungry before then, please return to the reception room and help yourselves to the refreshments." So saying he left the room, leaving the travelers gazing around in astonishment.

     The first thing each of them did was have a good wash, to remove several weeks worth of accumulated grime. Then Diana went off to talk further with the priest and the four men went off to the common room to put their feet up and relax. Matthew and Jerry found a beautiful boxed klann set, with a mahogany and teak board and pieces carved from onyx and white marble, and they set it up for a game. Thomas examined the bookcase, found a book he liked and settled down to read it, while Shaun simply settled down in one of the padded leather armchairs and was soon fast asleep.

     About an hour later he was awoken by the fragrant aroma of expensive bath oils and, looking up, he saw that Lirenna had entered, having just emerged from a thorough soaking in the bath. Her skin almost glowed now that the layer of grime covering it had been washed away, and her dark hair, previously gummed down by dust and sweat, was bouncy and lustrous once more. The thin, silky dress she wore was partially transparent, allowing her lacy underdress to show through. She had evidently dressed for comfort, not appearance, and Thomas felt a warm glow of happiness spreading through him at this realisation, since it meant that she felt comfortable and relaxed in their presence. It meant that she trusted them, and trust was something that the shae folk, even demi shaes, rarely gave to those of other races.

     She had a wicked look of mischief in her eyes as she sat down next to Jerry, and Thomas, seeing it, got up and crossed over as well, not wanting to miss out on the fun. Lirenna studied the board for a few moments, while Jerry was pondering his next move. "I see you're using the Tomisson manoeuvre," she said casually, glancing at Thomas and winking. "That means your next move will be to bring up your guardsmen to support your..."

     "Please," said Jerry irritably. "I'd rather you didn't give away my whole strategy. Just watch quietly, will you?"

     "Sorry," said Lirenna. "I was just thinking aloud. Anyway, Matt can see what you're up to as well as I can. It's obvious that you're trying to put pressure on his wizards so that he'll have to divert some of his pieces from guarding his king and..."

     "Lenny," said Jerry, annoyance creeping into his voice. "You'd look funny with my hat stuffed halfway down your throat."

     Lirenna's eyes widened in mock horror. "I'm just trying to make polite conversation," she said in a hurt tone of voice. "Just trying to be sociable, that's all. And anyway, anyone who can't see for themselves that you'll have his priest soon unless they..."

     "Lenny, please," said Matthew. "I want to beat him by myself. I haven't beaten him once since we left Pastora and this is the best position I've had for weeks. Don't spoil it, please."

     "I'm sorry," said Lirenna, hanging her head in shame. "I didn't mean to spoil your game. Carry on, please. I won't interfere any more. Not that it'll go on much longer once he moves his wizard's apprentice to block your priest's acolyte."

     With a cry of rage, Jerry leapt at the demi shae, knocking her to the floor and pretending to throttle her. She gave a squeal of laughter as she rolled on top of the tiny nome, his hands still around her neck, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Thomas and Shaun roared with laughter while Matthew pored over the Klann board, wondering whether he could move one of Jerry's pieces while his attention was diverted.

☆☆☆

     As the questers laughed and played Estinas, watching the horseplay through a scrying mirror in his private quarters, lowered his head with sadness. Many of the people who came here behaved in very much the same way. They were trying to forget the horrors to come, knowing that they would probably die horribly the next day. Others stayed in the temple and prayed for hours on end, as the young cleric of Caroli was doing. Some gorged themselves on wine and food according to the ancient philosophy of eat drink and be merry, etc, while others remained in their rooms with their partners, trying to bury the thought of what was to come with a rampant sex marathon. The shrine's ‘hotel' was equipped to satisfy whatever method of temporary forgetfulness the visitors chose to employ, no matter how exotic or deviant. Samnos judged people only by how they treated others, not by how they treated themselves.

     He shook his head sadly, wishing that these latest entrants weren't quite so young. They'd barely lived yet, and now they were almost certainly going to die in one of the worst ways imaginable. There was nothing he could do, though. He was nothing but a servant of Samnos, and had no choice but to respect the wishes of all who came to try the Maze. It wasn't easy, but then his Lord had never said it would be.

     He sat there a little longer, contemplating choices he had made that had eventually led him to this place. Then he deactivated the scrying mirror and sat in an easy chair to think and pray.