The Sphinx still had all of Nikolai's attention. She was stone-faced, and he did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. If he made it out of the maze he'd be sure to take out a book on these creatures. And if he wasn't in his last year of school, he would have made an effort to pay attention in his Creatures class. Tilting his head to the side, he tried to read her from a different angle.

Still nothing, until her head moved with a bow.

Another slight jump, he kept his eyes fixed on her as she took a step back. He contemplated moving his wand back out in front of him, but deciding that would be useless, since he was up against a Sphinx, he kept his hand behind his back. Lucky he did that, because in the next moment, the Sphinx was out of the way, leaving him free to pass. With no hesitation, Nikolai bowed his head in return and slowly made his was past her.

If he tripped over his enlarged foot now, he'd be so doomed.

As you move forward, the door swings open to reveal...yet another path, framed with more high hedges. Tentatively stepping over the threshold, you follow the path ahead slowly. A few minutes and several corners later, there is no doubt about it. The hedges are retreating. Where before you were shut in almost completely, with each branch pawing at you, it's now possible to stride forward without being forced to untangle some part of the cloak or other.

Then your boot bumps against something heavy on the ground. The light of the wand reveals not, luckily, an old coffin or something similarly creepy, but the top part of what appears to be a small treasure chest.

The Sphinx, Nikolai had to admit, was very scary and he was relieved when the door opened for him. He kept his eyes on the creature until she was out of his line of vision; he didn't know if she would change her mind or not.. luckily she did not and he found himself on yet another path. Narrow path, he raised his wand and cast Lumos. Slowly and carefully, he made his way through the narrow path, occasionally getting tangled in a few of the branches. It would have been easier maybe, if his foot was normal size. He would have tried Finite on it, but that would mean there would be no trip to see the hot Healer woman.

Turning a few corners, all trace of time lost, the path became less and less narrow and his journey was much easier. No more getting tangled in branches, and his foot was not taking up half the path anymore. He continued at a slow and steady pace until his foot bumped against something hard. Scoffing at himself for not being careful, he moved his wand downwards to see what it was that he bumped into.

A chest of some sort?

Maybe he should kick it again to try and open it?

As you lean closer you can see the chest is only partially covered with earth.

Erm, kicking the chest might be a bad idea.

He didn't know what was inside of it after all, and kicking it could cause something to happen. He dealt with a lot of potions in this maze, and for all he knew an exploding potion could be inside.

Pointing his wand, he once again leaned in closer to the chest. It was only partially covered and it might be easy to dig out. Refraining from using magic, he slowly dropped to his knees. Wand clenched in between his teeth for the light, he used both hands to start digging at the dirt.

Hands on, Nikolai was.

Once you've unearthed it, you open it carefully. Sudden brightness illuminates the ground around you. True, the light coming from the chest isn't actually all that bright, but after wandering around in the dark for hours, it completely messes up your vision.

The chest is filled with golden runes, glowing faintly. Take them with you; you've earn them. Oh and know this... Decoding their secret message just might prove helpful.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...fs/Runes-2.gif
Just a little further now...

With the chest out of the ground fully, Nikolai carefully brushed the top off for any excess dirt that could fall inside when opened it. Not a lot of dirt, but without knowing what was inside, it was better to be careful.

Slowly and very carefully, he opened the lid of the chest, the sudden brightness causing his eyes to clamp shut. Yes, the light wasn't that bright, but after being in the maze with only the light from his wand, he needed time to adjust. Taking the wand out from in between his teeth, he extinguished the tip of it and opened his eyes.

Eyes now adjusted to the light, he leaned over to see what was inside the chest.

Runes.

Golden runes which made him automatically think of Danika. Why she liked those things, he did not know, but he knew he was going ask her to have a look at them when he was free of the maze. Or maybe he wouldn't. He'd try to read them on his own first, then when he gets frustrated, he would show her.

A smaller sized chest conjured, Nikolai placed all the runes inside before standing up and continuing on his way.

He was surprised there was no riddle in the chest as well as the runes.

With the runes in your hand, the path opens before you. The way out is clear. As you move forward, the cheers from the stands start to cut through the eerie landscape, replacing the silence.

You've made it!

Nikolai barely moved a foot when the path in front of him opened up. Well, he might have moved more than a foot, consider the size of his left. How ever far he went did not matter, though, for as soon as the path opened, he could hear a faint noise. It almost sounded like cheers, and if that was the case, that meant..

He was finished?

He only had to walk a little bit further, and he would be out of the maze? It almost felt too good to be true, like something would show up at the last second and stop him. He took a few cautious steps forward, and that only made the cheers grow louder. Perhaps this wasn't a trick, maybe he really was finished. His pace quickened and a grin grew on his face.

He was out. Out of the maze and he was rather proud; even if his foot was huge.

As you make your way past the last hedge, your field of vision widens. At last you can see the crowd-filled stands.

It was official.

Nikolai was finished the maze.

With every awkward hop he took, the hedges thinned out and the stands full of people became more and more visible. He could almost make out some familiar faces..

Tucking his wand back into it's holster, he shifted the little chest under his other arm, and made himself visible to the people in the stands. There was no way he'd be able to hide the fact that his foot was HUGE, but that was alright. At least this time it was normal in color, painless and it was kind of funny..ish.

Besides, if people said anything, he'd use that HUGE foot of his to his advantage.

*Grin*