The Ruby Magician

John’s arm shook from another sword blow against his shield. He was thankful for the magical item but knew he couldn’t keep defending against the snake-creature like this for long. The monster was fast, able to strike quicker than he expected, but fortunately it wasn’t too strong. He had trained to defend against stronger attacks before, but he was still wearing down from the day’s climb and heat.

“Defense Up,” John said, activating his skill. A red aura enveloped him and his shield, weighing heavier on his body than his Focus skill. He instantly felt a surge of energy flow into his muscles, strengthening them and his body. The drawback was that his movement slowed, the skill leaning more towards an immobile defense.

The monster attacked again, swinging its sword sideways in a slash. John’s shield was already in position and the attack easily clanged off of it. The creature lurched back in recoil as if it just hit a block of stone.

“Wyn!” John yelled. “Pinch it!”

Wyn struck down the Lacert in front of him, slashing across its body with his spear. The one behind it was already dead with arrows sticking out of its chest. Another was rushing him but an arrow struck its shoulder, throwing it off course and knocking it down.

Wyn turned and moved back, seeing why John asked for help. He was in a defensive stance, his shield close to his body and his sword down. The snake-man hybrid was overwhelming him. Wyn rushed back towards it, leaping into a stab with his spear.

Thankfully the monster was still focused on attacking John and the stab went deep into its back. The creature screamed, the sound shrill and piercing unlike anything Wyn had heard. He pulled his spear out of its flesh, a rush of blue blood flowing away from the now-gaping hole his weapon left inside it. The resistance felt as easy as the Lacerts, and Wyn assumed the monster was also associated with the earth element. It would make sense as it resembled their lizard-like bodies but he hadn’t known for sure.

As the monster turned to strike at Wyn, John used the opening to slash at it, and his sword caused another deep gash, his weapon imbued with the wind element from the amethyst gem at its hilt.

The two warriors quickly cut the creature down, overpowering it with magical and tactical advantages.

One final twang of Marcy’s bowstring followed by a dull thud of an arrow sinking into flesh signaled the end of their current fight. The area was now strangely quiet.

John fell to a knee and dropped his sword to the ground. The aura around him dissipated and he put a hand to his side. There was a large gash where his armor ended, and he pulled his bloodied hand away. The dark red liquid dripped onto the sandstone floor but stopped when he replaced his hand.

Tasha was beside him in an instant and put a hand over the wound. “Cure,” she said, as her staff glowed with magic. The wound quickly healed as the skin stitched itself back together.

John sighed in relief. “Thank you, Tasha. That… feels much better than being cut open.”

“That goes without saying,” Tasha replied. “At least it wasn’t worse.”

“Speaking of,” Wyn started, “Cal - that was beyond incredible. What in the hells is that hammer made of?”

Cal put the hammer on his belt through a small loop. “It’s not that special. Just has a knock back effect. It’s helpful for keeping enemies away.”

“It is special,” Tasha said. “You saved my life with it. Thank you.”

Cal scratched the back of his head. “Do all of you always thank each other all the time?”

Marcy barked a laugh followed by a deep, drawn out laugh causing her to bend over and hold her stomach. The others all had varying looks of embarrassment or annoyance, though Cal was the most embarrassed of all.

“What did I say?” Cal asked.

“Nothing,” Wyn said. “Just finally got Marcy to crack up, is all. Consider that a success no one else has been able to accomplish.”

Marcy wiped her eyes as her laughing slowed down. “Oh man, that was amazing. Even made me cry.”

Wyn let the Ranger recover while he surveyed their small battlefield. The monster’s bodies were dissolving as usual with nothing mundane left behind. But a glint of magical aura caught Wyn’s eye. Something was left behind.

He walked over to the flickering light on the ground. It was from the body of the snake monster that Cal killed, now nowhere to be found. When he looked down, he saw a short sword glowing green in a familiar magical aura. It was like the dagger he had from the last season - plain and simple without any indication it was magic except for the aura it radiated.

"Nice, a short sword," John said. He was looking over Wyn's shoulder while he held the sword. “That’s a good find.”

"It is," Wyn said. "And it belongs to Cal." He turned back to the Mapper and extended it to him. "You killed it, after all. And saved Tasha, too. It's your reward."

Cal hesitated before reaching out and taking it. He held it in both hands gingerly, like he was given a priceless item to keep. "I typically don't keep rewards, though. I'm only here to help you all navigate the floor."

"Not based off that," Wyn said, pointing to the section of broken stone where the body of the monster laid before it dissolved. "You earned it in protecting her and killing that monster."

Cal nodded at Wyn then placed it inside his backpack. It seemed to disappear in a smaller pocket on the side that was the size of a fist, obviously able to hold much more than it appeared. Wyn immediately wondered how much his pack could store with the sheer size of it.

At the same time, Tasha walked up beside Marcy who was studying the forked paths ahead. The Ranger was stroking her chin with a hand while her faced was scrunched up.

"What are you thinking?" Tasha asked.

"Which path to take," Marcy replied. "I briefly checked on both paths and they look identical. At least the first part of this floor was straightforward and easier to follow, and if we took a wrong turn the backtrack was easy. I think the next part will be harder."

"Harder with more enemies and traps?"

"More than that," Marcy said. "Harder as in finding the right way and not backtracking too much through wrong ways."

"But that can't be that bad to backtrack if we need to. We take a wrong path, and just come back and try another. It's why Cal is here to help us, too."

Marcy snickered. "Backtracking might not seem like a big deal but it is. It's more enemies we could find. More traps that could hurt us or worst of all - slow us down. And backtracking? That's the biggest time waster of all. We're here to move forward and get to the third floor. That might not happen if we burn hours and hours getting lost."

Tasha swallowed hard. "That... makes more sense."

"New Climbers don’t realize the biggest enemy here is actually time. You have one day to figure out the right path and advance before it resets. Don’t make it? Try again tomorrow, but you face the same problem. It bogs rookies down and frustrates them, which is when they make mistakes. Sucks, right?"

"Definitely."

John threw an arm around Tasha, causing her to flinch. "So which way, ladies? Have you decided for us?"

Tasha looked over at Marcy, who only shrugged her shoulders.

"Take your pick," Marcy said. "I can't figure out which way is right just by looking. They both have sconces on the walls that was the only new environmental factor I noticed. It won't be an obvious way to find the next path, so we just try whichever way."

John groaned. "Great. This is going to be the boring part, isn't it? And hot. And tiresome. And annoying."

"Then we take a break like we agreed to do," Wyn said. "But we need to stay on guard. The enemies and traps here are obviously more dangerous. If we're caught off guard - that could be very bad."

"I know, I know," John said. "Just complaining, is all. I'm allowed to do that."

"Doesn't mean you should," Tasha whispered, while working her shoulders to knock John's arm off.

"Let's go for another hour or so and then take a break," Wyn said. "We'll recheck our progress from Cal's notes and see how we're doing."

The others all agreed before proceeding on. Tasha decided to go right, so right they went.

And, true to his word, Wyn stopped them after an hour to take a break. And, true to his word, John complained most of the way while continuing to be hot, tired, and generally annoyed.

John flopped himself on the ground, sprawling out in the shade. They had found a small area of a cleared path that still had a large section of the wall and some of the roof intact, providing some much desired cover from the raging sun. It oddly hadn't moved in the sky and continued to flood them in heat despite their spent time so far in the floor.

Wyn leaned against the decrepit wall, inspecting it to make sure it wouldn't fall over from his weight. He breathed a sigh of relief at its sturdiness. "Cal, how's it looking? I feel like we've covered some good ground."

Cal pulled out his small booklet and thumbed through a few pages, nodding his head while he scanned them. "We did, actually. We've only had to backtrack twice while advancing past five intersections."

"That's not confusing at all," John said. "How do you know that's still the right way forward?"

"Because the early floors aren't quite that cruel," Cal said. "We would've hit a dead end or two before now if it was the wrong way and had to backtrack to find another path. On the early floors the tower makes it easier to navigate than middle or higher floors, of course. Usually enemies or traps or wrong turns, rather than all three or some combination."

John nodded as though he was following, then squinted his eyes and pursed his lips. "I see. You seem to know a lot about the other floors, too. I take it you've been to them?"

Cal paused, then smiled awkwardly, a small laugh escaping his mouth. "Only a few times. But yes - obviously the middle floors more."

John sat up in a rush, his grin widening into a large smile. "No way! What's the highest you've climbed? How long have you been a Mapper? What -"

"John, ease up," Wyn said. "This isn't an interrogation!"

John's smile faded though quickly returned. He put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. It's just nice to have someone who's climbed a lot. Marcy's already tired of me badgering her with questions."

"Truth," Marcy said.

Cal smiled and scratched the back of his head. "It's alright. I've helped groups map out up to floor 12, though that was only once. I've been a Mapper for three seasons."

John laughed in excitement. "Man, I can't wait until I can climb the upper middle floors. I'll be better than my parents, my sister - all of them." He laid back down on the stone floor and put his hands under his head, closing his eyes to rest.

Then his stomach rumbled.

Tasha laughed. "It sounds like you need some food, first!"

"Didn't you say you had us covered?" Wyn asked, looking at Cal. "I don't know about everyone else, but rations don't exactly sound appetizing right now. I’ve had enough of them for several lifetimes."

Cal immediately began rifling through his pack. “Of course. It won’t take long and it’ll be worth it.” He pulled out a large frying pan from a side pocket, followed by enough wood for tinder and kindling to make a small fire. A few strikes from a metal rod using a small knife ignited the tinder, and he slowly added wood in a way that seemed practiced many times before.

Once the fire was at an acceptable level, he set the frying pan on it and once again pulled more items from his pack. Everyone watched him with intense curiosity, all temporarily transported to a much safer and comfortable time similar to camping or a picnic. He pulled out a relatively large bundle of cloth, and when he unraveled it multiple scents struck the Climbers at once. A collection of various foods and cooking ingredients were all neatly tucked in the center, and napkins and a small jar of spread were also inside. Butter was the first ingredient used, and Cal dropped that to sizzle in the pan right away. The crackle when it hit the hot pan made everyone’s mouth salivate.

While the butter melted Cal went to work. And he worked fast. He obviously had food already prepared in the bundle because there was thinly sliced meat and hunks of bread, round onion slices, and a hunk of cheese that dominated the smells. No one bothered to ask any questions to let him focus, and whatever happened outside their small circle of warmth and fragrance was ignored in favor of their upcoming meal.

Cal cooked the onion in the pan for a few agonizing minutes while everyone waited impatiently for the final product. Next he added the sliced meat for a much shorter amount of time before toasting one side of each bread slice systematically until he removed the pan from the heat. The Mapper-turned-chef looked around at his patrons, all wide eyed and unable to take their eyes off him. He chuckled.

“Grab a napkin,” Cal said, pointing to the small pile of cloths he laid out. Everyone might as well have been told to grab priceless relics as their hands flew to the neatly folded cloths with newfound purpose. Cal whipped the spread from the jar onto the bread slices before stacking them with the ingredients. He passed the sandwiches out one by one, his mouth stretched ear to ear for the first time since they entered the tower.

Wyn inspected his sandwich for just a second, trying to suppress his hunger that he didn’t realize was even there. The simple but well-made meal looked divine, and he wouldn’t have believed it was made so fast and so well, let alone inside the tower and out of a kitchen if he didn’t watch the chef make it with his own eyes. Deciding to give in to his desires he took a large bite out of the corner.

What hit his tastebuds was far greater than he imagined. In fact, it was one of the most elegant and divine combinations of food he’d ever had. The combination of the meat, onion, and cheese, as well as the sweet spread that covered the bread, took Wyn back to a time where he was only able to watch nobles eat food of this caliber while he was stuck with rations.

No. What he held in his hands was better than the food available to nobles - it was straight from the gods themselves.

John groaned, slapping his knee while chewing his first bite. His eyes were closed and he slowly chewed, savoring every morsel of flavor. He swallowed and looked at Cal seriously. “Cal. What in the many heavens is this blessed food. I just…” John was lost for words for the first time, deciding to take another bite instead.

Cal watched the others eat, taking their bites and enjoying his creation before eating his own. One of the bright spots in the life of working in the tower was watching others appreciate the food he made. He sighed in satisfaction, and after one last smile, continued to eat his sandwich.

The group sat contentedly eating their food, satisfied with savoring the time of peace and complacency. Wyn had a rare moment of feeling incredibly thankful. Despite so much negativity surrounding the tower - the need for money to save his family, the threat of injury or death, the constant need to survive - he was happy to be surrounded by these people.

His thoughts quickly turned sour, though. There was still one missing from their group, one who he desperately wanted here. A certain Wizard who was dearly missed.

“Cal, I truly don’t know what to say,” Marcy said. She wiped her hands off each other and licked a small bit of the spread that dotted her hand. “That was impeccable, even by the high standards that the guild hall pushes.”

Tasha wiped her mouth with the napkin and neatly folded it, returning it to its original shape. “I couldn’t agree more. Why aren’t you cooking for them? Or have your own restaurant? You’d make a fortune if you make food like this!”

Cal’s smile vanished and his cheeks flushed red. “Well… I was a chef, once. But then I came here. I needed a break from the chaos of the kitchen.”

Wyn chuckled. “You left the chaos of cooking in a restaurant to come to the tower? You know that sounds ridiculous, right?“

Cal nodded. “Yea I know. But it’s the truth.” He looked at his supplies scattered across the ground and began to clean up, fumbling with the large cloth before dropping a slice of cheese.

Wyn knew something didn’t feel right about his answer. There was more he wasn’t saying, but he didn’t need to press him, either. If Cal wanted to share, he would - he had no obligation to tell anyone his reasons for being here. If they kept working together then maybe he would feel comfortable enough to share, but Wyn was content with not knowing all the details. Cal was trustworthy and helpful, and he'd keep anyone around like that.

Cal stood up after he repacked his bag and brushed off his pants. "Well, uhh... I guess it's time, then. Should we keep going?"

John sighed, licking his fingers. "After that amazing break and food? Why the rush? Also, you have to tell me what's in that spread. I’d wager a day’s climb that there’s some secret ingredient in there that I’d never expect."

"We just... should be going, is all," Cal said. "And it's a combination of spices and cream from traders in the south. Family secret."

Wyn patted Cal on the shoulder and offered a warm smile. "Thanks for sharing that with us. It was a nice treat to taste your food and hear more about you no matter how much or little."

Cal seemed to have a weight lifted off of his shoulders as Wyn could feel his arms relax. The Mapper nodded his head and readjusted his backpack.

Marcy stood in the middle of the stone path with her arms crossed over her chest and her back to the group. She shook her head and mumbled to herself. "The thanking will never stop."