NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31 - Larissa: Ticket Trial
Beyond the threshold, a marble room awaits. Brightly lit, though it is unclear how, the artful carvings decorating the walls and ceiling are plainly visible. The most immediately obvious thing we witness however is the enormous crowd of people inside… though upon closer inspection, most of these beings seem to be wooden approximations of the humanoid form. There are so many of them, the entire space beyond a small entranceway is taken up by groups of them, leaving barely any room to move. Which does not stop them from wearing a diverse array of clothing and animatedly chattering and laughing with each other. It truly resembles a reception of a noble's party quite closely, if one were to close one's eyes to the fact that none of the guests are of flesh and blood.
We brandish our weaponry but our entrance has gone entirely unnoticed by the group at large. No, I amend my thoughts, that is not quite right, off to the side another of the wooden beings is seated behind a small window opening up in the wall, that has clearly seen us as its head swiveled our way. Above the window a Sign spells out “Tickets” in common. Behind the servant, a cloth curtain obscures the rest of the side room that seems to be accessible via a door near the window. Perhaps sensing our hesitation, the creature raises a wooden hand and gestures at us, beckoning us closer.
I look at my party members with a shrug, and Marcus speaks up.
“Well, it does not look like violence is a viable first resort, even at tier two that sheer mass of mannequins might well overwhelm our small party. Let’s just humor the dungeon? Be ready for trickery, of course.”
We all nod and relax our stances as we approach the ticket booth. The concept is not foreign, there are several theater buildings and some arenas throughout the Kingdom that operate similarly, but seeing it in a dungeon is quite the surreal feeling.
The wooden servant turns away from the window as we approach and rummages for something off to the side, before returning its attention to us just as we arrive. It holds out its hand, revealing three round stone tokens that have a smiling mask on one side, and a crying mask on the other. It picks up one of the tokens and extends it to me. Gingerly, I take it into my hand. I expected something to happen, but other than feeling the cold stone upon my skin, nothing did. The monster turns to my companions next and hands each one a token. Then, it indicates a large set of double doors on the other side of the hall. A stone sign hangs from the ceiling, labeling the hallway “Stage Hall”. It then points to the tokens, and indicates handing them to someone or something?
Nonverbal communication presents a significant challenge in the delving of this dungeon, it would seem, but clearly, the tokens we were handed are to be used at the stage hall somehow? Considering we received them from a ticket booth, it doesn’t take a genius to assume that these tokens will gain us entry into the next room. Considering dungeons naturally strive to challenge adventurers, the challenge here likely is to not lose the tokens or have them stolen?
I voice these thoughts out to my companions and they both agree, though Marcus adds his own piece of sage advice:
“If that is the case, it would probably be best to physically keep them on your person. The dungeon might consider storage spaces cheating.”
I furrow my brows, but he is right, such a possibility exists. I will refrain from placing the ticket into my [Hoard].
“Should we make our way through the crowd then? Try and stick together as much as possible, and keep a good hold on the token, worst case we will try and force our way into the next room.” I propose.
“Sounds reasonable. There does seem to be another way off to the side as well, though I couldn’t read the sign from here, maybe that is also an alternative short of armed conflict?” the Dwarf suggests.
“Let’s try to get this done, firstly.”
Eagerly, we plunge into the crowd, and immediately the pressure mounts. There is a press of bodies on all sides, and the sounds of inane chatter all around are growing in volume. Several times I bump into a figure or another, paying close attention to the clenched fist holding my token, but we make good progress without any major disruptions until we reach around the halfway mark.
It is at that point of time that a larger than average monster stumbles into my side, knocking me off balance. I manage to keep a hold on the token, at least I think so, until I hear a tink and see a round object bounce around on the floor, rolling under a group of monsters in long flowing dresses that seem to be gossiping amongst each other.
I immediately dive after the errant object, utilizing [Tumbling Dash] to its fullest. Rolling between some of the monster’s legs, I stretch out my arm and grab the flying object… only for it to fly right through my palm before dissolving into mist.
Surprised and incredulous, I unclench my other fist to stare at my palm, upon which a round stone coin rests… until something whizzes by and the ticket is gone for good, accompanied by a tinkling laughter that resounds throughout the hall over the general noise of the crowd.
Shooting up, I spot three translucent figures and hear the sounds of flapping wings and laughter moving down the other hallway off to the side of the room. The one labeled “Performers only. Volunteers are welcome!”