ATN 3: THE JAR IN THE MAZE

DAEDALUS'S WORKSHOP

As soon as we entered the room, I got lost at the sight of the food. There were different sections of food at different corners of the room. The room was very well lit, with blue walls, and marble floors. There were beautiful tables, full of food. There were different tables for different sections. One table contained hamburgers, fried chicken, French fries, etc. Another contained kebabs, biriyani, shawarma, etc. One contained pizza, spaghetti, pasta, lasagna, etc. Another contained noodles, ramen, dumplings, etc. One contained a plethora of Indian dishes, another contained tacos, tortillas, and fajitas. All these food items attracted me more than ever. On top of that, they were hot and fresh. 

My mouth watered, but Tina hit me on the head to stop the infatuation. "Hey," She shouted, "It's not to be eaten, remember? It's poisonous."

Right. Ariadne did tell us that these delicacies were poisonous, and this room was built by King Minos to kill Daedalus if he tried to escape. The food's temptation was messing with my mind. Now that Tina had jogged up my memories, I saw the way out. 

We walked past the Italian corner and pushed the wooden door. We got out, and as said by Ariadne, we took the right turn. As soon as we did, two sword blades came out of the wall and slashed at us by themselves. Tina's instincts helped her duck away, while my instincts made me flick my fingers and bend the blades away. "Daedalus's mechanical traps." Tina said, "I hope we don't have any more on the way."

There were none anymore on our way to the workshop. But there was someone right in front of the workshop's door. It was beast. Good, another monster.

This creature was much more familiar. She had a human woman's face, huge bird wings with blue feathers, and a lion's body. Her face seemed malicious but calm. Calm as if a storm was about to go wild. She had blue eyes and long straight black hair. Her teeth, as often with monsters, were fangs. Yes, you guessed it right. This was a sphinx.

"Hello! Demigods are you?" The sphinx asked.

"Yeah." Tina said.

"Ooh! My favorite type of meat." 

"That does not reassure us."

"What do we need to do to get past that door?" I asked.

"You guys don't know?"

"Riddle?" I asked.

"Smart boy. But riddles." The sphinx smiled and went on, "Nowadays it is two riddles rather than one."

"What are the conditions?"

"Answer my two riddles, you both go through. Answer one, one of you goes through. The other goes inside my belly. Answer none, both of you go inside my belly."

"Do you swear on Styx? How do I know you will not betray us?"

"I swear on Styx, if you answer my riddles, I will not harm any of you, and leave right then."

"Ask, then." I said.

The sphinx sat down on the ground, and asked, "I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am hope to all. What am I?" Before we could figure out the riddle, she launched the other one, "At night they come without being fetched. By day they are lost without being stolen. Who are they?"

Tina noted both of them down on a piece of paper. Surprised, I asked, "Where did you get that?"

"Ever since we heard about the Labyrinth, I expected this moment to come. So, I decided to come prepared."

"Will I get my answers, or my dinner?" The sphinx asked.

I quickly figured out the answer to the first riddle. I scored a 92 in my Problem Solving Assessment in school. I was alright with riddles. "I have an answer to your first riddle. If I answer, o sphinx, allow Tina to go through. I will stay back for the second one."