The Secret Asgardian (An Avengers Fanfiction)

Chapter 35: Three Tasks

35. Three Tasks

“I thought sphinxes came from Egypt,” Tony remarked casually, masking his shock much better than the rest of us.

The sphinx smiled, revealing white pointed teeth.

“You are wrong. Sphinx’s have always been a part of Greek legends and myths – not Egyptian,” She purred.

“Are you going to let us past or not?” I asked bluntly, fire still crackling in my palms, and the sphinx shook her head.

“There is but one way to reach the next part of your journey, and it is through this door. However, I will only let you pass if you answer my riddle correctly.”

“What if we get your riddle wrong?” Thor asked apprehensively, and the sphinx grinned mischievously.

“I shall devour you.”

“Nice to know there’s no pressure,” Tony said dryly.

“Have you let anyone else pass?” Diana supplied, and the sphinx’s face was impassive as she flicked her long tail from side to side.

“I cannot tell you that. That is for me to know, and you to find out.”

“That means yes,” Tony observed, and I rolled my eyes.

“Would you like to know you’re riddle?” The sphinx asked, now sounding impatient.

We waited.

“What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?” The sphinx recited, and then smiled at our confused expressions.

“You may take as long as you wish,” She informed us, before lying back down on the floor, resting her chin on her large paws.

Thor and I turned expectantly to Tony and Diana. After all, they were the so called ‘geniuses’. I watched Diana mouthing the riddle over and over again silently, trying to work it out in parts. Tony took on a brooding expression, silent but thoughtful.

“Do you have any ideas?” Thor asked after a few minutes, and they shook their heads in unison.

“Some kind of animal?” I supplied doubtfully, but then Stark glanced up sharply at me.

“I think you’re onto something there, firefly.”

Diana frowned slightly, before her face lit up as an idea came to her.

“Baby, adult, elder,” She murmured, and Tony clicked his fingers as he got it.

“Right! Crawl with four legs, walk with two, and walk with a walking stick – that’s three.”

Thor and I looked at them blankly, and Diana grinned.

“Don’t you get it? A baby, at the start of a human’s life crawls using their hands and feet – that’s four legs. In the middle of their life, a human walks with two as an adult. And then at the end of life, a person walks with two legs and a walking stick – three legs!”

I almost expected her and Tony to high five, but the sphinx interrupted.

“Do you have an answer?”

“Yes, the answer is ‘Man’,” Diana said confidently, and the sphinx gave a reluctant smile.

“Perhaps my riddle has become too easy. Shall I give you another one instead?”

“That’s not fair!” I said indignantly, and the sphinx laughed.

“I was not being serious, Asgardian. You may pass.”

I watched her suspiciously as we walked up to the door, but she simply moved to the side to let us pass.

“Good luck on the next task,” She said in a low, amused voice, and Thor looked at her sharply.

“Task?”

“To get to Atlantis, you must first successfully complete three tasks. This was your first,” The sphinx supplied easily.

The wooden door swung open with one touch of my hand, revealing darkness.

We all stepped through simultaneously, and suddenly the floor disappeared. I heard Diana’s shrieks as we free fell through the air.

“Oh, did I forget to mention? This part of the task you will do on your own. Enjoy,” The sphinx called out from above us in a lilting tone, before I blacked out.

***

When I woke up, I had a splitting head ache. Groggily, I sat up, frowning into gloom. I was completely alone, and sat at the start of a long corridor made from thick stone, but had no ceiling. Looking up, I could just make out the pitch-black sky. I wasn’t sure how we’d managed to go from being in a cave at the bottom of the sea, to being on land again, but I tried not to dwell on this. I’d seen weirder things here already, and the journey had hardly begun.

The only light came from a single, old-fashioned torch that was loosely attached to the wall. I assumed that it was there for me to pick up and use, but I dismissed it with a snort and set my hands alight instead. Who needed a torch when you could control fire?

The first thing I tried to do was fly up and out of the corridor, but as soon as I was level with the top of the walls, I hit my head hard on something. Frowning, I put my hand out, and could feel something solid, but invisible, which was keeping me from getting out. Sighing, I dropped to the floor.

“Tony? Diana? Thor?” I called out loudly, but there wasn’t a response.  

I jogged down the corridor until I reached the end. I could go either left or right. I spotted a sign engraved into the stone on the wall in front of me, and I knew it was written in Greek.

 ‘Καλώς ήλθατε στο λαβύρινθο. Προσοχή ο Μινώταυρος που κρύβεται στο σκοτάδι.’

After a few moments, the letters blurred until they became English, and I bit my lip as I read it uneasily.

‘Welcome to the labyrinth. Beware the Minotaur lurking in the dark.’

What in Odin’s name is a Minotaur?

I dismissed it as another odd Greek monster. I could deal with that – I hoped.  

When Diana had told me about Atlantis being a Greek myth, I hadn’t actually thought that we’d see any monsters from Greek Mythology. Diana had told me a few of the creatures that were famous from the Greek stories, but I hadn’t paid much attention. Too be honest, I didn’t think that we would ever get this far, and definitely thought that Loki wouldn’t.  

I guess I was wrong.

I chose to go left, and began to make my way deeper into the dark maze.