How did they cross the labyrinth in the novel again?

We drive through forests, along long, rocky paths, and through a mountainous landscape.

We actually only take breaks for the horse, because the persons not currently driving the carriage can rest. During the long ride, I hardly dare close my eyes. But it's no use. I close my eyes after the next night has fallen and we've set up a small camp so the horse can rest.

In my dream I find myself in the dark forest again. I walk around, but nothing happens. No illusions of people, no dark figure that threatens me, not even a single sound...

Just me alone in the darkness.
Always something new. It's another kind of horror when you wait for something to happen but you don't know if or when...

"You know the loneliness too well. Am I right? But you don't have to be alone," says a dark figure who appears two meters away from me. 

He took his time this time. I almost thought nothing would happen.

"Stop talking nonsense." I shout.

The figure disappears and appears right next to me.

"I always have a place for you! You know?" says the voice.

I grab my dagger and attack the dark figure, but it disappears in smoke and appears again a few meters away from me.

"Remember which side you are on. We'll see each other again soon!" He says and disappears in dark smoke.

Then everything gets silent again. And the darkness seems to overwhelm me.

"Aria!" a voice shouts and echoes through the dark forest.

I open my eyes.

"Good, you are awake. We're moving on now. Come on." Sisli shouts.

"Yes, I am coming."

We pack everything back in the wagon and move on. After a few additional hours, we are nearly there. I feel the pressure of the dark magic from the tower, and goosebumps already cover my skin.

"Do you feel that?" Sisli whispers to me, a little anxious.

"Yes. We are almost there," I whisper to her tensely.

On the other side of the hill in front of us is a beautiful river landscape with shimmering waters stretching across the landscape. It is the reverse river, and like Sisli said, the water flows from the bottom to the top. It could be so idyllic... if it weren't for the magician's tower to the right.

A structure of columns reaching high into the sky. The sun's light seems faint compared to the gloomy purple-blue shimmering tower, which smothers the sun's light with its dark aura.

Anyone in their right mind would turn in the exact opposite direction at such a sight. But apparently we're not in our right mind, because that's exactly where we want to go. Comparing these two places, it is like choosing hell over a wellness paradise...

"There are no enemies in sight!" Caspian says while looking around.

"We should leave the wagon here and sneak up on foot. There's some kind of entrance gate below. That's where we have to go!" says Lionel.

"The gate doesn't look guarded!" says Knox, irritated.

"Doesn't this all seem too simple?" asks Sisli thoughtfully.

"The Mage's Gate is open and unguarded. This, however, stems from the mage's arrogance, who is certain that no one can reach the top of the tower and survive the dangers of the different levels," I say in a serious voice.

"How do you know that?" Caspian asks, surprised.

"Tales from villagers!" I reply. That's not true. But it could be.

"So the problem isn't getting in, but getting to the top and back out alive," Caspian says thoughtfully.

"We should still sneak up cautiously. Arm yourselves and pack what you need. We're going in there now!" Lionel says resolutely.

There's nothing left of the festival's exuberance and joy. The tension is noticeable. But the goal of our journey is now within reach.

Packed with my bag and armed, we approach the tower. The entrance portal stretches before us in all its menacing grandeur. There's no door or anything similar, just a shimmering, moving barrier that we must pass through. We take a deep breath and step through the barrier one by one. Now we find ourselves in a room with a labyrinth of stone in front of us.

Caspian takes a step back to check if we can get back through the barrier. But to no avail. That's the reason the tower doesn't have a door. Because you're supposed to get in. Just not get out alive.

"There is no turning back now!" Caspian says, a little nervous.

"There is no need to! Now we have to find our way to the top." Lionel says.

The tower's size reaches up into the clouds, but we only have to pass through eight levels. The tower's structure isn't linear. It's a single construct of dark magic in which the rooms aren't arranged linearly, and nothing is as it seems. So it isn't quite easy to find the right way. If I remember it correctly, we have to find the entrance to the next level. But the main problem is that the Labyrinth walls move and that traps are everywhere. The labyrinth obeys its master. The boss of this level is kind of a minotaur armed with an axe and trained to eliminate every living thing that enters his labyrinth.

I just don't know exactly how they killed the minotaur and crossed the labyrinth in the novel. Why did I carelessly overlook that part?

"Roar!" it echoes through the corridors.

"We are not alone," says Sisli, a little scared.

"Let us go in there and defeat the beast!" Knox shouts motivated.

"Don't just walk in there! We'll get lost in there and never find our way out. Then we'll either starve to death or be eaten by that monster. If not both." Caspian says, outraged.

"We don't have many options. The walls seem too high to climb on. But crossing the labyrinth also seems risky," Lionel thinks loudly.

"And what if Sisli creates a vine that we can use to climb up the walls? Then we could find the way more safely and maybe even avoid the monster," I say thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid of heights!" Caspian says monotonously.

"But you always climb trees when you hunt!" Knox says, irritated.

"This is completely different from these steep walls!" Caspian says, nervously.

Based on the information in the book, I wouldn't have expected that from him. I thought he was an open book. But there's always something new.

"You have to go through it. It's our best option," says Lionel.

"I'll try to get us up there. I think I already have something suitable in mind," Sisli says.

She touches the ground and lets ivy grow from the ground, which clings to the wall and climbs up to the top.

"Is that safe?" Caspian asks.

"Probably safer than inside the labyrinth with the monster," I say as I start to climb up the ivy.

As it roars again, Caspian also climbs up the ivy, as he doesn't want to be left alone with the monster.

We slowly pull ourselves up along the upper edge. It's a little less than a meter wide, and the sides drop steeply. However, from here, we can already see the exit in the distance. All we have to do is move from wall to wall without falling. I feel like a cheater in a video game. Let's see if it really can be that easy.

Carefully we walk across the walls to take the most direct route possible. But since some of the walls move at different intervals, we have to be quick to avoid getting lost.

"There's a crossing here. We have to jump to the next wall!" says Lionel.

"That's too far! Can't Sisli create another vine?" Shouts Caspian.

"I can't. Getting a plant to stick between two walls might be a bit too tricky. I don't even have contact with the ground at this height."

"We have to jump now. The wall is moving away," shouts Lionel.

Lionel and Knox, with Sisli on his shoulder, jump first. Caspian and I jump behind them. I land on the edge and lose my balance. But Lionel takes my hand and saves me from falling. That was a close call. But not as close as what Caspian did. He jumps too short and seems to fall into the depths.

"Ahh...!" he starts to shout, but Knox grabs his hand.

A moment of relief. But not for long. The Minotaur is just emerging from another corridor below him. A creature half-human, half-bull, armed with an axe. He is made of a dark blue shimmering substance. The magic of the dark magician. He is made entirely of it.

He doesn't seem to have noticed us yet, or has he? After all, Caspian is still hanging off Knox's hand. We hold our breath and don't move. But small stones crumble to the ground beneath Caspian. The Minotaur looks up and sees us.

Oh crap...

The Minotaur roars and runs towards us.

"Pull me up!" Caspian yells in panic.

Knox quickly pulls him up.

Caspian is momentarily relieved. But that doesn't last long, because the Minotaur slams into the wall we're standing on. It shakes and begins to fall.