Written by

Andrew Roberts

These stories are based on

characters and settings by

Pinnacle Entertainment and

Great White Games.

London, 1932

“I’m afraid the damage is too extensive, Savage.” Doc Gold informed solemnly. He had

been spending much of the day trying to work on a unique diving suit. His client was Buck

Savage, a renowned treasure hunter.

“Well, I’m sure that Atlantis can wait.” Buck replied, “I’ve got time to kill, and I kinda like it

here in England. There’s no prohibition.”

As they talked, there was a knock on the door of the workshop. Doc Gold went to answer

it, to be greeted by a blond-haired woman in a fur coat.

“Good afternoon, Dr Goldsmith.” She said with a pronounced accent, “I was told that there

was an American here who could help me.”

“Of course, My Lady.” Doc acknowledged, “He’s inside. Come on in.”

He beckoned her in.

Buck was gingerly examining the diving suit. He didn’t want to touch it in case he broke it

again. He looked up to see Doc Gold enter the room with the aristocratic woman.

“I am Lady Amelia Valentine.” The woman introduced, “You must be the famous Buck

Savage.”

“That’s right, Duchess.” Buck responded, “What do you need my help for?”

Lady Valentine chuckled at Buck’s term of address. She joined the others in the front

room, pulling a cigarette holder from her handbag.

“Care for a light?” Buck offered. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit her cigarette. At

the same time, Doc Gold was filling his pipe.

“Allow me to explain, Mr Savage.” Lady Valentine addressed, “I am one of Dr Goldsmith’s

primary financial supporters. I also help fund projects by the British Museum, the newest of

which is taking place in Crete.”

“Crete?” Buck queried, “You’re looking for the Labyrinth of King Minos?”

“Poppycock!” Doc Gold remarked, “Are you suggesting the Minotaur is real?”

“Please, let me finish. The project is being overseen by Professor Harrison Munroe from

the History Department at King’s College. His team has discovered the remains of the

Palace of Knossos, but he does not believe that the Labyrinth is there.”

“So, where do we come into this?” Buck asked.

“Munroe hasn’t reported in for several weeks.” Lady Valentine explained, “He’s normally

very prompt. This was his last message.”

She handed Buck a telegram. “Believe Site Discovered Stop Investigating In Morning Stop

Munroe.” He read aloud. “How many people were on the project?”

“It was just Munroe himself and two others: his niece Emily and a photographer named

George Pearson. All the diggers were hired locally.”

“Did the professor have any local contacts?” Doc Gold asked.

“Yes. He was acquainted with an antique dealer named Andreas Spiros. I will offer you a

reward for any information, plus arrange to get you a share of the finds.”

An hour later, Buck was preparing his gear for the journey. Doc Gold was watching him

pack.

“What do you think happened to the Professor?” he asked.

“If he disappeared, he may have found some competition.” Buck replied.

“Do you normally get competition?”

“Yeah, they can be tough. Usually they’re treasure hunters who serve private collectors. It

always surprised me how cut-throat they often are. Are you sure you want to tag along?

You should best come prepared.”

As Buck gave his warning, he showed Doc Gold his revolver.

“You should use a Webley.” The inventor commented, “Don’t worry about me. I was in the

Royal Engineers.”

He moved over to a wardrobe and pulled out a dust-covered pith helmet.

The outward journey was uneventful. Buck and Doc Gold stepped of the ferry at Heraklion

and made their way to the address supplied by Lady Valentine. It was an antiques store

further inland, located in one of the rural areas of the island. As they approached, they

heard the sounds of raised voices.

“Where is it, old man? We know Munroe gave it to you!”

“He gave me nothing! I swear!”

There was another sound, as if someone was being struck.

“Remember what I said about competition?” Buck commented, drawing his revolver.

Doc Gold walked through the door without a second thought. Three tough-looking men

were standing over an older man. They span around to face the inventor, training pistols

on him from within their jackets.

“What business do you three have there?” He asked them indignantly, “Who harasses a

gentleman like that?”

The thugs hesitated and glanced at each other. One of them raised his pistol. In a split

second, Buck leapt through the doorway and hit the thug with a well-placed shot from his

revolver, diving for cover as the other two returned fire. While they kept Buck and Doc

Gold pinned, another thug emerged from the back room, armed with a Tommy gun. Buck

and Doc Gold both crouched to avoid a burst, before Buck returned fire and hit the tough,

sending him falling backwards. The thug’s wild firing hit one of the lighting fixtures, which

fell from the ceiling onto another thug. The final thug quickly fled.

When the dust settled, the store proprietor got to his feet.

“Thanks.” He said, “I’m Andreas Spiros. Who are you?”

“My name is Buck Savage.” Buck replied, “I’m here regarding Professor Munroe.”

Andreas felt mildly unsettled upon hearing Buck dropping Munroe’s name.

“Sir, we are here on instructions from Lady Valentine.” Doc Gold interrupted.

“Lady Valentine?” Andreas queried. “Ah, now I remember. Munroe had mentioned her

before. I’ve not seen Munroe for weeks, although I’ve recently been on a business trip in

the mainland. Several weeks ago, he came to my shop late one night. He was very excited

about a new discovery.”

He handed Buck an envelope. “He handed me this and told me to keep it in case anything

happened.” He explained.

Buck opened the envelope. Inside was a scrap of paper. He read them out loud.

“Choose to start thoughtfully.”

“We should check their site.” Doc Gold suggested.

“Professor Munroe was excavating a few miles east of Knossos.” Andreas told the pair,

“We don’t have many cars here as the land is very rugged. I’ll arrange for my cousin to

lend you some horses. Meet me back here tomorrow morning.”

As morning rose, Buck and Doc Gold returned to the antique store. Andreas was waiting

for them with the horses. He also had provisions for several days, along with torches and

blankets. Buck was prepared for a ride, having changed from his casual suit to his other

attire, including his leather jacket and fedora hat.

“Happy hunting.” Andreas said, “I’m afraid I have to remain at the shop, otherwise I’d go

with you.”

The hot sun bore down on the pair as they rode along. Doc Gold was pondering Buck’s

warnings about competition.

“You said something about competitors.” He reminded Buck, “What do you mean by that?”

“You get folks working for private collectors looking for the same treasures I find.” Buck

explained, “They usually let others do the dirty work and then swoop in and take it.”

“Aren’t you the same?”

“As mercenary as I am, I’m satisfied with finding treasures rather than taking them. Then

again, the museums of the world still pay handsome finder’s fees for the artefacts.”

As they rode, they noticed a truck parked by the road. The hood was open and a man was

leaning over the engine, trying to fix it.

“We should help him out.” Buck mentioned.

“I don’t think so.” Doc Gold replied, “If they broke down, surely the engine would be

smoking. I’d steer clear.”

Not long afterwards, they arrived at Munroe’s camp, nothing more than several small tents

and a larger one. Doc Gold entered one of the smaller tents. Nobody was inside, and

nothing of value could be found. All that remained was a cot, a small travel trunk, a fold up

chair, and various personal belongings. There were signs that the tent had been

ransacked.

At the same time, Buck entered the larger tent. Inside was a workshop for cleaning and

conserving antiques. Other than a few pieces of pottery, there was nothing inside. As Buck

examined the pottery, he heard a clicking sound, as if someone was pointing a gun at his

head.

“Hello Buck.” A voice spoke. Buck recognised it immediately.

“Danny.” He said bluntly without turning around, “I thought I’d have competition.”

He got up and was led outside by Danny, the brother of his long-time rival, Virginia Dare.

Virginia was waiting outside herself, holding Doc Gold at gunpoint.

“What are you doing here, Buck?” she asked.

“I’d ask the same about you, doll.” Buck replied, “I’m guessing it’s something to do with

Knossos. Are you with Monroe?”

Virginia shook her head. “We just stumbled across this site and found your friend snooping

around.”

“Are these the competitors you talked about?” Doc asked.

“No.” Buck replied, “They just arrived now.”

He indicated to the large group approaching the camp. At least twenty rough-and-tumble

figures were riding towards them. All were carrying guns and had them pointed in the

general direction of the four. Behind them, the truck they had seen earlier was rolling in.

Behind the wheel was a sharply dressed man, scars criss-crossing his face. He stepped

out and approached them.

“Buck Savage?” He asked, speaking with an indeterminate European accent.

Buck nodded. He felt his hands inching towards his revolver. The heavily-scarred man

raised a Colt automatic.

“Save yourself the trouble. You’re outnumbered.” He said. There was no doubt about that.

Buck dropped his gun and kicked it towards him. Virginia and Danny followed suit. The

thugs patted the four down before binding their hands and loading them into the truck.

After a short drive, the group was led to the ruins of a small shrine. Waiting for them was a

sharply dressed man with an attractive young woman.

“Good day, my friends.” The man said as the four were offloaded. “My name is Aristotle

Colombo. I believe that you are all friends of Professor Munroe.”

Virginia and Danny both nodded, to Buck’s confusion.

“Just go with it.” She whispered.

“Where is the professor now?” Buck asked.

“Unfortunately, the professor is not available at the moment.” Colombo said softly.

“However, his niece Emily here has been my guest for the past few weeks.”

He indicated the woman with him.

“What exactly is your interest with the professor?” Doc Gold asked.

“Well, Munroe had discovered the Labyrinth of Crete.” Colombo explained, “However, he

also discovered the Codices of Daedalus, which the good professor is translating for me.

But that is not your concern. Your part is in the Labyrinth.”

As Colombo spoke, six of his men were lifting a heavy flagstone to reveal a small flight of

steps leading into darkness. “I don’t think Mr Scar has to show you the way.” He said as he

left. Buck and his companions were untied and forced down into the stairway along with

Emily. Mr Scar threw a pair of torches in after them. Immediately afterwards, the group felt

their hearts pounding as they heard a resounding thud that brought on pitch darkness as

the stone slab was moved back into place.

Buck pulled a lighter from his pocket. The light of the two burning torches illuminated the

pitch black tunnels for at least twelve yards ahead. He moved over and examined the slab.

It was too heavy to lift, and the narrow stairway prevented more than one person from

attempting.

“Don’t try it, Savage.” Doc Gold lamented, “We’ll have to go forward.”

“Right.” Buck replied. At the same time, Danny was questioning Emily.

“Several weeks ago, my uncle found a scroll that may have belonged to the Greek inventor

Daedalus.” She explained.

“The Codices of Daedalus are believed to contain a variety of inventions that would have

put Da Vinci to shame.” Buck added as he returned to them, “They could be worth a

fortune to the right people. There have been tales that contains blueprints for mechanical

men, flying machines, and possibly ray guns. The good doctor here would love it.”

Doc Gold said nothing.

“What exactly happened after you found this scroll?” Danny asked.

“Mr Colombo visited our camp and offered to buy it.” Emily told them, “When Harrison

refused, Colombo’s men kidnapped us. They took us to his yacht, the Icarus. As far as I

know, my uncle and his photographer are still there.”

“I reckon your uncle is being forced to translate the Codices.” Doc Gold theorised.

“If this all happened, then Daedalus would have been forced to build this maze.” Buck

added. “If that’s the case, then he would have made a secret exit in the event he was

imprisoned here.”

“We should try and cover more ground.” Virginia suggested, “Danny and I will take one of

the other tunnels.”

She picked up the second torch and walked off with Danny.

“Are you sure they’ll be okay?” Emily queried.

“Virginia can take care of herself.” Buck replied, “Even if we’re rivals, we still help each

other out when we’re in trouble. I guess she has feelings for me.”

They prepared to head off when Buck stopped.

“I almost forgot!” he exclaimed. “Your uncle left his friend Andreas with a note. Do you

know what it could mean?”

He handed the note to Emily. “No. I’ve not come across it.” She said solemnly

Meanwhile, Virginia and Danny had made very little progress. The only discoveries they

had made were of numerous decapitated skeletons dressed in hoplite armour. However,

the siblings had managed to arm themselves with bronze short swords procured from

these unfortunate men. As they continued, Danny paused to catch a breath. Leaning

against a loose brick in the wall, he serendipitously opened a secret door. Virginia grinned

as they went through it.

“Daedalus must have fitted these to give him a shortcut in case Minos threw him in.”

“I’m not sure.” Virginia replied. “I have the feeling we’ve been here before.”

At the same time, Buck seemed to be gaining more ground as his group made their way

through the dark passageways. They had also stumbled across a secret door, only to be

led the wrong way. After twenty minutes of wandering around in circles, Buck caught a

glimpse of something glistening in his torchlight.

“It looks like someone left a trail of coins here.” He informed Emily and Doc Gold, “Maybe

they’ll lead to the way out.”

Another ten minutes passed. As they continued, Emily misplaced her footing and trod on a

hidden pressure pad. As she did, Buck peered upwards to see a hatch on the ceiling.

“Look out!” he cried. Emily and Doc Gold stepped away just in time as a pile of stones

dropped down from the hatch.

“Well, now we know that Daedalus fitted his project with traps.” Buck commented.

“Do you think the famous Minotaur is here too?” Emily asked.

Buck turned to observe Doc Gold, bracing himself for a lecture on supernatural creatures.

“You know, I may be convinced that the Minotaur is real.” Doc pondered.

“What?” Buck exclaimed in shock.

“If what appears in the Codices of Daedalus is true, then the Minotaur could have been

from it. If it exists, it may not be a creature of flesh and blood.”

Elsewhere, Virginia and Danny were making more progress. As they continued, they heard

an unnerving roar echoing through the labyrinth. They listened again. It was getting closer.

Danny looked around, trying to focus on where the roars were coming from. The light from

the torch reflected off something bronze. It was a large bull-like monstrosity, practically the

Minotaur of classical Greek Mythology. However, true to Doc Gold’s words, it was not a

creature of flesh and blood, but a mechanical construct created by Daedalus. It emitted a

roar and swung its mighty axe in the direction of Virginia and Danny. Virginia tried to slash

it with the bronze sword she was carrying. It failed to cut through the bronze plates which

covered the intricate mechanisms.

“We have to get outta here!” Danny yelled. The pair both turned and fled, the Minotaur

lumbering close behind.

Buck and Doc Gold heard the roars echoing through the labyrinth. Emily looked visibly

shaken as she heard them.

“I hope Virginia’s okay.” Buck muttered.

“I’m surprised about you.” Doc Gold commented, “I can’t imagine you being concerned

about a rival.”

“Rival or not, we have been through the most dire situations.” Buck replied. They were

moving at a slower pace to look out for traps. There were no tripwires, but Daedalus had

fitted pressure plates that were nearly impossible to spot in the dark. Buck had narrowly

managed to pull Doc Gold away as he stepped on one of the plates. Rows of spears

emerged from opposite walls. Further on, Buck himself triggered another plate, narrowly

diving out of the way as a pit opened up beneath his feet.

The trio continued. They felt themselves getting closer to the exit. As they turned a corner,

they were confronted by the Minotaur. Buck grabbed a bronze spear and thrust it at the

terrifying construct. The Minotaur swung its axe, cleaving the spear in half. Buck turned

and fled with the others, heading back to where they encountered the pit trap. Emily

triggered it in an attempt to stop the Minotaur, only for it to jump over the pit.

While Buck was fleeing, Virginia and Danny were catching a breath.

“It must have found Buck.” Danny panted. He tried to sit down when several chests caught

his eye. There were at least a dozen. Virginia opened one of them, to be greeted by the

sight of Ancient Greek coins, brooches made from precious metals, and a variety of other

valuable-looking trinkets.

“It looks like Minos used his pet to guard his treasures as well as provide his morbid

entertainment.” Virginia remarked, “The museum in Philly will like these.”

After an intense chase, Buck’s group had managed to evade the pursuing Minotaur. Now,

they had found what they were looking for: Two Doric pillars were carved out in the wall.

The left pillar had a grid of 24 squares, each bearing a Greek letter. Doc Gold studied the

letters closely. A closer inspection revealed that they could be pressed. Virginia and Danny

had arrived and were watching them examine the buttons.

“Perhaps they could have prayed to Zeus.” Doc Gold suggested.

“What about that note?” Buck asked. They heard the Minotaur approaching fast. Doc Gold

pressed several buttons. Almost immediately, stones collapsed from the ceiling and sand

filled the room. The Minotaur was still approaching.

“We’re finished!” Emily yelled. Barely a minute had passed before the sand had reached

knee height.

“Choose to start thoughtfully!” Buck shouted again. Questions were running through his

mind. Emily was pounding on the walls hysterically, but suddenly stopped.

“I remembered something my uncle said!” She cried out. “Words are the Secret.”

“Choose To Start Thoughtfully.” Buck said again. The sand was reaching chest height

now.

“I’ve got it!” Doc Gold exclaimed, “Choose to start thoughtfully!”

“What?” Virginia asked.

“That’s the code!” Doc Gold explained. He pressed the corresponding symbols. The wall

between the pillars slid across, revealing a flight of steps going upwards. The five

prisoners leapt through just as the Minotaur was bearing down upon them. It swung at

Buck as he tried to keep it at bay with Danny’s sword. He tried not to put up a fighting

retreat, but stood his ground. The Minotaur had been standing in the doorway when the

wall closed again, crushing it. Buck let out a sigh of relief as he followed the others up the

steps.

The group followed the steps to a short passage, which emerged onto a scrubby slope. A

local shepherd was sitting by a battered truck, watching the five emerge. Emily arranged

for them to borrow his truck for a few drachmas.

As Buck drove the group back to the docks, he was contemplating what they had

encountered. If plans for a Minotaur were hidden in the Codices of Daedalus, he was

dreading to think what else there could be. Was Colombo trying to profit from them?

The group reached the docks just in time to see the Icarus leaving. Emily was running

down the wharf after it.

“My uncle is on that yacht!” She cried, “You have to get him back!”

“Savage, if we could recover the Codices I could build another underwater suit!” Doc Gold

suggested.

“How do we get after them?” Danny asked. Buck pointed to a pair of motorboats moored

on the wharf.

“Let’s see how this pans out.” He said.

In moments, Buck and Doc Gold were giving chase to the Icarus in one of the boats.

Virginia and Danny were following closely in the other boat. On board the motor yacht, two

thugs were setting up a machine gun on the stern.

“They mean business!” Buck shouted over the noise of the engine, “They’ve got a

Browning M1919 .30 Cal. They’ll chew our boats up!”

Doc Gold was frantically searching the boat’s locker for a solution. All he had unearthed

was a flare gun.

The thugs on the boat opened fire with the machine gun. Virginia’s boat was hit hard,

prompting her to pull away. Doc Gold grabbed the flare gun and fired it at the gunners. The

flare struck one of them, causing him to lose his grip of the gun.

Doc manoeuvred the boat to a level position with the Icarus. Buck quickly grabbed onto

the anchor line and began to climb.

“I’m going to help out your friends.” Doc Gold informed him. “I’ll be back soon.”

Buck nodded and vaulted over the railing. A thug noticed him and reached for his Luger,

only for Buck to punch him out and send him over the railing. Taking the Luger, he made

his way into the yacht.

Upon arriving in the lounge, Buck was confronted by Colombo and Mr Scar. Five thugs

were waiting for him, and had their weapons trained. Professor Munroe and his

photographer were tied to chairs in the middle of the room, next to a large bundle of

dynamite. Colombo was holding the Codices in his hand.

“So you escaped the labyrinth?” Colombo remarked, “That doesn’t matter. You can see

that the professor is rigged to blow. I advise you to drop your gun and leave.”

Buck angrily tossed the Luger to the floor. A thug behind him had a Tommy gun jammed

into the back of his neck. He turned to leave, as more shouting was heard from the top

deck.

“We’ve got more company!” the helmsman cried. Colombo turned to see Doc Gold

pursuing again, transporting Virginia and Danny. Seeing his chance, Buck wrestled the

Tommy gun from the thug’s hands, turning to mow down the other four.

Colombo lit the fuse on the dynamite before making his way out with the Codices. Buck

ran to untie the prisoners, only to be tackled by Mr Scar. The assassin pulled a knife on

Buck, attempting to stab downwards. Buck was able to keep him at bay, striking him in the

face and sending the knife towards Professor Munroe. The dynamite’s fuse continued to

burn as Mr Scar was punching Buck repeatedly. At the same time, Virginia and Danny had

made their way onto the boat. They quickly snuffed out the fuse and freed Munroe and

Pearson, getting them off the yacht. Virginia promptly returned and pulled Mr Scar off

Buck.

Colombo also returned to the lounge, the Codices in one hand and a pistol in the other. He

lit the fuse again.

“It’s a shame I’ve lost Munroe, but at least you will no longer interfere!” He shouted.

“Why doesn’t he just shoot us?” Buck muttered.

Virginia quickly pursued him and knocked him down. The pair struggled while Buck was

simultaneously grappling with Mr Scar. The scuffles spilled out of the lounge and onto the

deck. At the same time, the dynamite had exploded, causing the Icarus to start sinking.

Buck threw Mr Scar back into the lounge before going to help Virginia. Colombo turned to

face Buck, only for Virginia to shoot him in the back with a stolen pistol. They grabbed a

life ring and jumped off the Icarus as it sunk, where they were picked up by Doc Gold and

taken to shore.

As they arrived, Virginia and Danny both took their leave. Buck and Doc Gold were

promptly met by Professor Munroe and his two companions.

“I’d like to thank you for helping us out.” He said.

“I think we lost the Codices back when the Icarus sank.” Buck told him.

“That’s probably for the better.” Munroe replied, “Many have died for them, and others

would die if it fell in the wrong hands. If you want a consolation prize, I believe that a few

treasures were kept in the Labyrinth.”

“I think your friend left me this.” Pearson added, handing Buck an envelope.

Buck opened it. Inside were three gold coins and a small note.

Nice try. Better luck next time.

-Virginia

“I’m sure those coins will be worthwhile.” Doc Gold said reassuringly.

Buck nodded. “You can use these to fund your research.” He said. “That’s a classic trick

by Virginia.”

“You have feelings for her, don’t you?”

“Most definitely. Until next time.”