Leaving the merfolk and the weretigers on the beach with the centauress sentry named Epona, Themis and Stephen lead you and Rachel back inside the communal hall, where Ixion is resting on thick blankets, a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his head. One of his legs is similarly padded, and he bares a back wound. Lara - who is nursing him - gets the elder to drink from a flask, and dabs him with a wet flannel.
Ixion manages a rueful smile as you approach.
"You are looking better, my brother!" Themis sighs with relief, kissing him on the cheek. Then she addresses you and Rachel. "Stephen and I will provide food for our guests on the beach. Please tell Ixion what you have learned this morning!" She and her husband then leave.
Rachel and you take in turns to inform your elder of what has happened. He grimaces at the news, and relates what he and his companions experienced last night.
"Our party were ambushed by the rogue satyrs, as we passed through a wood. Marina was caught in a net. I saw Cedius himself hypnotise her. I tried to intervene, only to have that albino satyr, Glaucus, jump from a tree and land on my back - then stab me from behind. Theo, Nessus, and I managed to break free. Sadly, we had to abandon Marina.
"Nessus and Theo were able to help me across to the camp of Kaymarl's flock, and we informed him of the actions of the rogue satyrs. He set up sentries whilst we rested overnight - but a scout party he sent out came back before dawn and started attacking us. They acted like automatons. Fortunately, Kaymarl's people forced them into retreat. They are now on constant alert."
"Cedius' hypnotic powers," you mutter darkly.
"Yes - thanks to Bellona, the witch that is the growing power behind his throne - Cedius is becoming more ambitious, and dangerous!" Ixion rumbles angrily. "We, Kaymarl's band of civilised satyrs, the merfolk, and the weretigers, have all suffered now. Cedius had ordered the kidnapping of your friends, because each will act as a key to get pass the doors that seal off the heart of the Labyrinth. To stop him, you'll have to seize the Eye of Hecate, and the Eye of Zeus - at the Labyrinth's centre - before he does. Also, the Management of the Island are said to have hidden a magical artifact in the underground maze. That may help, if you can locate it!"
"What are these...Eyes...for?" asks Rachel, as she swishes her tail in confusion.
"Ah! They are magical gems, which were left by the Management as an emergency source of power, if the creatures of this isle ever came to be under threat by the military powers of the human world. The design of the Labyrinth was that the non-human races had to unite to save themselves. For example, there are two entrance doors to the maze, in separate locations - both under the hill known as Stargazer's Mound. One door can only be opened by a werebear - hence the kidnap of Sigmund's cousin! Only Cedius' loons killed him, and cut off his paw - thinking that was enough to unlock the first door. It was not - the 'key' has to be a living soul, of the correct species! Now the rogues satyrs have caused the extinction of the werebears on the island!" Ixion spits in fury.
You nod. "We understand. Now no one can access that outer door! What about the other?"
"Is accessible via a half-flooded cave along the east coast of the isle. It is the Merfolk door."
"So only a merperson can unlock it," Rachel announces brightly.
"Exactly! The designs of the door panels will guide you at each stage as to which species is the correct 'keyholder'." Ixion smiles.
"I presume there will be a 'satyr door'...," you ponder.
Your elder nods. "For this reason, you should take these people with you. They have come to help us." He gestures, and you and Rachel turn, to see the figures now approaching.
You are surprised to see a trio of satyrs in the hall. The first two figures are Dick and Anarosa, who smile and greet you warmly. They hold out their hands. Both of the formerly-corrupted satyrs seem perfectly civilised now. After a pause, you shake hands with them. Rachel follows your example.
"Hiya Ben, Rachel! Glad to see you're here to stay - like us!" Dick pats your equine flank, to demonstrate his point.
"It's okay, Ben, Rachel. We both now denounce Cedius," Anarosa declares, sensing your joint wariness. She points to the polka-dot bikini she is now wearing. "No true Bacchae of Cedius would ever cover themselves up!"
"That goes for me, too," says a familiar voice.
The third figure steps out from behind Dick and Anarosa. You are taken aback to see the blonde-haired satyress. She, too, is now a bikini-wearer. Hers is coloured blue.
"Minerva!" you shout. "You were captured by the Management's troopers."
"Correct." She smiles. "And yesterday evening, Master Kaymarl freed me from Cedius' enchantment - as he did with your friends here. I now renounce Cedius! I want to help you in your quest. Cedius and Bellona will destroy what they can't control - should they find the Eyes of Power!"
The centauress Lara looks up from her nursing of Ixion. "The future of us all rests on your success!" she whispers morbidly to your newly-formed army.