Arthur Throws Maine the Heart Piece

Arthur came back toward Maine winded, pursued by the kind of trouble that made every second in the maze feel borrowed. He had been fighting the Castro figure, the dragonborn corridor was collapsing into overlapping threats, and the heart-piece objective still needed one clean line through the chaos. Arthur chose action over explanation. He threw Maine the heart piece he had claimed. Maine did not catch it cleanly. He still recovered it. That mattered more than style. Maine now held two heart pieces. Morgan held one. The party was closer than they had ever been to repairing the portal, but the maze was not done with them. Castro was still active. Timonos Truthstriker was still a threat. Ash was isolated. Vic was still fighting. The party had the pieces of an escape plan and none of the calm required to use it safely. Arthur's throw changed the count. It did not end the crisis. The maze had narrowed the objective to one missing heart piece and then made sure everyone was still split enough to suffer for it.