Chapter 14

Maximus looked around the cave and saw that the old man was sitting in a corner mumbling to himself again. "What happened?" Maximus asked.

"Yeah, he sort of went back to his factory settings after we got separated," Hedger said, "but he did say that he would speak sensibly again in another eleven hours and forty five minutes or something, right before he went coo-coo and started talking about tea cultivation methods."

Achilles walked up to the old man; after seeing for himself what had happened he turned to the other three for explanation. Maximus and Hedger explained the best they could about how they had found the old man, and how he had turned normal for some time. At the end of their story Achilles said ,"You sprite, he said he would be normal again in eleven hours?"

Hedger nodded and said, "And forty five minutes. But that's all we know Mr. Achilles, honest. We have no idea what's wrong with your grandpa."

"My grandfather?" Achilles said, clearly not understanding that he meant it as a joke. Maximus was kind of glad he didn't, Hedger had an annoying habit of making jokes when he got nervous. And Maximus really didn't think this was the time. "I assure you that we are not related by blood. But I do owe a great deal to this man," Achilles said. "You might have heard of him – his name is Daedalus."

All three of them had definitely heard the name before. Daedalus was considered to be one of the greatest inventors alive, and was known for having nearly a thousand patents in his name. They said that his wisdom ranged into every topic imaginable, from physical mechanics to cellular biology to sports statistics. It was said that if you had used a piece of technology in your life it probably had something Daedalus invented in it.

"So that old man is Daedalus, the great inventor," Rex said, and Achilles nodded. "Great, and I called him professor crazy pants," Hedger muttered. Achilles then sat on a rock and said, "It seems I will have to wait a few hours for some answers then, and I must thank you three for your help, even if at times it was unintentional."

He was right about that. They had gone back to find him in order to stop him from attacking the convoy, and somewhere along the way they had all ended up in the same team. But now Maximus and the others were faced with a big question, what to do next?

Maximus knew that their troubles weren't over just yet. They had attacked and helped rob a military convoy. One that had been carrying a high level prisoner such as Daedalus just made it worse. It wasn't hard to figure out why Daedalus was taken prisoner. Mars has been at war with the country of Minerva for over five years now. Both Maximus and Rex had even fought against their soldiers and Rex had even been on the front line. The land of Minerva was ruled by Empress Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Their capital city of Athens was also named after her. Even though her official title said goddess of wisdom, her strategic brilliance and powerful army had earned her another name as well, the goddess of war. This name greatly annoyed Lord Ares. But the war between the two countries was contained at the frontlines for now so the trenches were not really affected. Also the trenches were not exactly a place brimming with patriotism as most of the people were outcasts there. Anyway, Daedalus was a resident of Athens, fitting as it was considered as the innovative capital of the world. He was also a known advisor to the Empress there. It didn't take a genius to figure out the amount of Intel he could provide. But all this meant that the three of them were wanted fugitives by now.

"So what's the plan?" Hedger finally asked. Rex thought about this for a while then he said, "I think we should spend the night in the caves. For one thing I'm in no shape to start crawling through the tunnels again. For another, by tomorrow we can be sure if the soldiers are searching for us." Maximus agreed. He knew that by now the soldiers who escaped would have reported back and that the army would start searching for whoever attacked them. And, as always, the search would start at the trenches. A soldier, a Minotaur without an arm and a green sprite was not exactly a very common team up and they would be identified instantly. They had to be real careful while entering the city tomorrow.

"So it's agreed then we'll spend the night here," Rex said.

Hedger began flying around trying to find a good place to hang his tail.

"If you want us to leave I would understand," Achilles said.

"Not at all sir, there are enough rocks here for all of us," Hedger said and Maximus and Rex nodded in agreement.

"There's no need to call me sir, Achilles is fine," he said, and there was even a very slight smile on his face.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm starving," Hedger said.

"We still got the apricots from the morning, most got real squashed in the fight but they are still edible" Rex said. And so they all enjoyed a dinner of squashed apricots and water from a nearby stream. Even Daedalus ate some between his mumbling.

With this it was time to turn in for the night. Achilles decided to take the first watch, which everyone was fine with. If he had wanted to kill them he had plenty of other ways than in their sleep. And after the way he had saved them multiple times today even after they tried to stop him it was hard not to trust the guy. Maximus finally lay down on the most comfortable rock he could find and in a few seconds he was sound asleep.