The Ruby Magician

The spear whiffed beside Wyn, only hitting air instead of his basic armor. He was able to move his torso awkwardly at the last second, forfeiting the possibility of a counter attack in order to not be stabbed. The Lacert attacking him was slightly taller, stronger, faster, and more durable than the ones he’d faced before.

Of course the enemies were more difficult. He was a fool to think they were on the same level as the first two floors, and it nearly cost him.

His current task was to deal with this one Lacert while the others handled the more advanced fire puzzle. Thankfully there was only one monster attacking at a time, but this was the third Lacert Wyn fought, and he was afraid a Lamiert would be showing up soon. He didn’t want to face that particular monster alone at the moment.

“Are you almost done?” Wyn yelled. The others weren’t far away, but he didn’t have the focus to temper the volume of his voice given the context.

“We’ve had to make a few adjustments,” John said, straining his voice as he turned the wheeled dial.

The stream of fire stopped from the snake statue on the left side of the chamber when the dial John turned clicked in place. He jogged to the identical dial ten feet away and started turning it. Now, the statue began swiveling on its stone base, the sound of stone grinding echoing in the room. It stopped in front of an empty space and John cursed. He turned it yet again, and the statue stopped in front of another empty statue, mouth open.

John trudged back to the first dial. It was a laborious process he was managing alone.

On the other side of the room, Marcy, Tasha, and Cedric were working together to move their own two dials. There was an identical setup on their side of the chamber - a singular snake statue able to spit fire while three statues able to receive the fire were set into the side wall.

Two separate areas to work made it more challenging, and they decided to split up to move quicker. When the first enemy came into the room, Wyn split off to fight it. When he killed one, another spawned immediately.

He was employing a new strategy on this third monster. Evade and distract rather than kill right away.

Four torches had been lit, though two remained dark. Both groups had their final statue still, and Wyn was trying to buy them time.

The Lacert circled around Wyn and shifted its attention to Cedric and Tasha, who were both pulling on a wheeled dial to turn their stone statue. Wyn rushed forward and swiped it across the back with his spear before it reached Tasha.

The monster roared in pain and fell to a knee. Wyn kicked it in the back, sending it sprawling to the ground. He locked eyes with Cedric who stopped turning the dial in order to watch the fight.

Wyn threw a hand up in the air. “Don’t stop - keep going! We’re almost there!”

Cedric shook his head and snapped back to helping Tasha turn the heavy wheel.

The monster staggered to its feet, groaning in anger and frustration. It was too close to the others for Wyn to try and lure it away. He knew he had to kill it, but also knew another monster would show up directly after, and the mystery of what it could be frightened him more than the monster itself.

Wyn lurched forward with his spear and stabbed it straight through it’s chest, well past the curved blade. The Lacert snapped its jaws several times before slumping to the ground.

The fifth torch lit. Sighs of relief and cries of joy rang out through the chamber.

“We finished our side!” Tasha yelled.

“Good!” John groaned. “Then come help me!”

The Climbers shifted their position and ran to the Fighter, aiding him with the last dial and statue. Cedric took to being on the lookout for another enemy while Wyn jumped in to help. In seconds the statue was in place, and they turned the second dial to start the spewing fire to light the torch. It was far easier and quicker to solve with five of them working together rather than split.

The sixth and final torch lit, opening all the bars into the next room. From a similarly unseen space, however, two Lamierts emerged, one with a wickedly jagged sword, and the other holding a staff.

Wyn dashed away from the dial. “John, focus on the mage like last time! I’ll take -”

He was cutoff by a loud popping sound in the air. Cedric had his scepter pointed at the monsters, and a sharp, visible gust of wind flew out of his weapon faster than an arrow. It zipped across the room straight towards the Lamierts. The sword-wielding enemy slithered in its approach but was still unable to avoid the attack - the wind blast struck it across its body, slicing it with dozens of small gashes before pushing through it with an overwhelming force towards the mage monster. It was as though the creature’s body acted as a catalyst for a new gale of wind, and a similar attack hit the mage less than a second later.

Both monsters shrieked in pain though were stunned in surprise for only a second. That was all the time the spell needed, however, as the magic lingered on each monster and inflicted an increasing number of cuts that became deeper and more pronounced over the seconds they still lived.

The Climbers stood in shock, waiting to see the after effect of the spell. Thuds of flesh hitting the stone floor made them recoil, and the deafening silence that followed made them relax.

“Cedric,” Wyn asked, confusion obvious on his face. “Was that the effect of your scepter?”

Cedric smirked. “It was. I intended to cast Lightning Arc but used the feature to change the element to wind. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but that was incredibly similar to the original spell’s design. Only it had a wind effect instead.”

“You’re telling me,” Marcy said. “That was amazing! Can you control the element the scepter changes?”

“I can, yes. But it takes an additional charge to do that, and I only have so many uses per day. I can let it change into a random element for only one charge, but I can’t afford to not be precise right now. I’ll only be able to do it two more times.”

“Then we need to conserve that for stronger enemies,” Wyn said. “The weaker Lacerts will likely die from the strength of your spells, even if it was lightning. We might need to save it for any champions or the boss.”

“What rarity is that scepter?” John asked. “That seems pretty powerful.”

“Purple,” Cedric answered.

John whistled in response. “I thought the fact that it floated was impressive. Is that why it’s purple? It has to be. The floating bit is just on another level.”

“That’s just a small enchantment,” Cedric said, missing the joke. Or possibly ignoring it.

Wyn waved them on, standing beside the open pathway. “How about we discuss how amazing Cedric is after we finish?”

“I was talking about Cedric’s scepter, not him,” John said. Apparently he was in a joking mood.

Cedric sighed. “A weapon is only as good as the person wielding it. It wouldn’t be all that great in someone else’s hands.”

“It doesn’t have to be in someone else’s hands,” John said. “It can literally float in the air.”

*****

The room they entered was much smaller than the previous one. They could all fit inside, but there wasn’t much room to do anything else. Vines continued to creep in from the ceiling and top of the wall, and they were more dense now than before. Dust and crumbled rocks were scattered throughout the room, but there wasn’t anything else of note except for a small span of hieroglyphs on the right wall, and the continued path straight ahead of them.

“What kind of room is this?” Wyn asked. “Nothing is here. It seems kind of… pointless.”

“Not necessarily,” Marcy said. “If we needed to take a reprieve for some time and heal up or gain some mana back, this would be a good room. It’s not trapped. No enemies or puzzles. Just some space to rest.”

“Exactly,” Tasha said. She leaned against a wall and propped her staff beside her. It was still radiating light for them to see. “Which I will gladly take right now. That dial wore me out.”

“I’ll say,” John said. “I have increased endurance and I still got tired turning that thing.” He sat close to Tasha and splayed his legs out to rest, laying his shield on the ground.

Wyn walked around the room, stopping to look at the hieroglyphs. The same symbols he saw when they started were in the writings, but new ones were mixed in, too. He saw what looked to be like a circle or plate, depictions of people and weapons, and more.

“Is it even worth figuring out what these mean?” Wyn asked. “By the time the month is over all of this will be gone. Is it from this world, just on another country? Is it even from this time period?”

“Questions like that will drive you mad,” Cedric said. He stood beside Wyn and stared at the symbols. “Climbers in the past have had the same thoughts, stressing themselves and going to ridiculous lengths to learn about what we find here in Alistair. But you’re right - in a few weeks this will be behind us. As far as I know, no season has repeated itself, so whatever it is will be lost.”

“There are some people in the world whose life goal is to find the secrets of the four towers,” John said. “My family has some close friends who do that for here in Alistair. It hasn’t been successful, though.”

Wyn shook his head. “I didn’t even know about that. But I can definitely see how it would drive someone mad, especially if you were the kind of person who needed to know all the answers. Honestly, Cedric, you strike me as that kind of person.”

Cedric laughed. “Well, it’s because I am! Truth be told, my first two seasons climbing drove me crazy. I needed to know the ins and outs of each floor we came across - the location, enemies, weather.”

“I remember you being an absolute pest about the environment, too,” Marcy said. “You were fixated on a particular strain of flower we found in a field. We nearly kicked you from our group.”

“And that’s why I stopped,” Cedric said. “After I realized how little actual progress I was making climbing and straining the few friendships I had, I had to force myself to stop thinking that way. I still have trouble with it.”

“I can understand that,” Wyn said. “And I see your point. It’s here and it’s a part of the tower, but not necessarily important for our actual goal.”

“Yes,” Cedric said. “Granted, in this situation, I think the symbols are actually helpful to us.”

“You just got lucky this time,” Marcy said. “This season happens to be in a place where we are actually forewarned about potential challenges ahead. That’s not always the case.”

“So the symbols above the path we entered really did give us an idea of what we’d find,” John said. “I didn’t think it would be that specific. Didn’t you say that there was a symbol above your archway that showed a person being sacrificed?”

Cedric nodded. “I did. Who in the hells knows what that means here. I don’t quite think I want to find out, though.”

“Absolutely not,” Tasha said. “I think we did just fine. I just hope there aren’t too many more of these fire puzzles. I think it could get complicated fast.”

“I agree,” Wyn said. “We did pretty well last time for coming up with that plan last second. I have a feeling like there'll be three parts to this next puzzle. I say we finish one part then progress to the next until we're done. We'll stay together better and can trade out as needed, but if more enemies show up, maybe Cedric can help me take them down?”

“Marcy and I will keep working on the dials,” Tasha said. “It’ll be slow, but manageable.”

“And I’ll keep doing the heavy lifting,” John said, standing up. Dust flew around him after he clapped his hands together, sending him into a small coughing fit.

Tasha patted him on the back. “There, there, Mr. Strongman. Some water should clear that right up.”

John shot the Mage a look, but wasn’t very intimidating through watery eyes. He searched his pack for his water skin, coughing intermittently.

“Also,” Cedric said, “you never explained that magical jar.” He pointed to the lantern hanging by a chain on Wyn’s belt.

Wyn picked it up and held it, though it wasn’t active. Small mushrooms rolled around the inside carelessly.

“So that witch said it would give me light for a few hours when I shook it,” Wyn said. “And that the jar wouldn’t break. But the description wasn’t too fancy, just that different colors will give dim light and change each time I shake it.”

Wyn looked at the lantern. He hadn’t really had a chance to use it as the environment so far had been bright and easy to see. The mushrooms inside the jar bounced around after he shook it, and a faint orange glow lit up their room, pouring out of the jar. The glow reached past the pathway to the next hall, but it was consistently a low light rather than a brighter one from Tasha’s staff.

The others went wide eyed staring at the wall. Wyn looked at them in confusion, wondering if they were just impressed at the light. He turned around to look at the wall with the hieroglyphs.

Text appeared under the symbols on the wall, an obvious translation in the common language. It glowed under the warm orange light.

“What in the hells,” Cedric said. “This can’t be.”

“What is that lantern?” Tasha asked. “How did the light make that appear?”

Wyn shook his head in disbelief. “I have no idea. I didn’t even know it could do that.”

“Rotate the snake to breathe life into its brethren,” Marcy said, reading the text. “The final challenge awaits in spear and flame. Destroy the heart of the weakest snake to bring new life.”

“That’s not creepy,” John said. “We could’ve used that message earlier.”

“It might still be there,” Cedric said. “If this shows up there could be others! That light must reveal some hidden parts of this temple. Or possibly even the tower itself.”

“Only way to find out,” Wyn said, patting the jar. “We use it again when we see more symbols and see if there’s a reaction.”

“From what it reads, it looks like we’re almost at the end,” Marcy said. “We may not have much of a chance now. But Wyn, that could be incredibly useful on a lot of floors if there is more of this.”

“For now, though, we don’t tell anyone you have it,” Cedric said. “We don’t need people trying to steal it or kill you for it.”

“They’d do that?” Tasha asked.

“Of course,” Cedric said. “Some Climbers would do anything to have an advantage here. The more experienced Climbers are safer due to being stronger, but you're still only a rookie. Let’s not give them an option.”

“Anything to let me keep my head,” Wyn said. “I’ll put it away before we get back, too.”

The group rested for a brief few minutes before moving to continue on to finish the floor. Wyn took one last glance at the wall, wondering how in the hells he wound up in this position. He didn’t ask for any of it, and hoped it wouldn’t be too much of a problem in the future. To say he was wrapped up in something far outside his comfort was an understatement.

The hallway leading to the next chamber was short, not affording the group any additional time to form a strategy. The instant they entered what they assumed to be the last room on this floor, they stayed together but positioned themselves to begin their respective tasks.

Instead of two separate areas of statues, there were now three like Wyn assumed. It was similar to before though there were only two statues per section that needed to be lit, now. Three individual statues of giant snakes were set on pedestals, and on the far right and far left sections the two receiving statues were against the wall. In the middle section, though, a third snake statue was facing them, and it was easily twice as big as the others.

They anticipated a slightly more difficult challenge though weren’t completely sure. Having the new information from the symbols complicated things a bit, as it was a hint but still unclear. Thankfully, six torches still lined the far wall above the barred exit, similar to before. This time, however, a portal rested behind the bars.

"Which one is the weakest snake?" John asked. "There's no way to tell!"

Marcy pointed to a statue on the far right side of the room. It was broken and in pieces, and a small hole in the wall was seen since the bulk of the statue was out of the way. There were still only two smaller snake statues against the wall, and the broken statue was one of the two. "I bet that's what you're looking for."

John deflated seeing the crumbled hunk of stone. "That... makes sense."

"I'll go check it out," Wyn said. "I have a spear, after all."

Wyn crossed the room at a jog, unsure when any enemies would show up. He knew it was only a matter of time and didn’t want to be quite so far away from the others, but it couldn’t be helped.

The stone chunks made it hard to position in order to see inside the wall, but not impossible. His mushroom lantern gave him enough light to see fairly well despite its dim glow. He climbed over the pieces of rock carefully, then looked inside the hole.

Several feet back, Wyn could see what looked to be soft red flesh. A faint glow of magic reverberated around it, like a pulse every few seconds.

“Like a beating heart,” Wyn said out loud. He raised his spear but cursed.

The curved blade made the spear head too thick to fit inside the recess. The butt end wouldn’t work, either, as it wasn’t designed to stab. The claw didn’t function by stabbing.

“Guys,” Wyn said, raising his voice so the others could hear him on the other side of the room. “We have a problem!”

“What is it?” Marcy yelled.

“My spear won’t work! We need something else!”

“The wheels aren’t working either!” John yelled back. “No fire is coming out!”

Wyn looked around the room for anything new, something they might’ve missed. It was the same layout as before, only larger, except for the one statue in the middle that was huge. That didn’t seem to be the answer at the moment, though.

Based on the translation, they needed a spear along with the same flames that solved the previous puzzles. The strange part was bringing new life. What did that mean? The wheel wasn’t making fire, and they needed that to continue.

A black clouded mass formed in the middle of the room. Everyone stopped and stared, knowing what followed. Two large Lacerts emerged, both wielding spears. Directly behind them was an equally larger Lamiert, holding an axe on its shoulders with scaled armor and a scowl. It looked more menacing than the boss version on the previous floor.

Wyn was the closest to them, and they all turned their gaze towards him.

He cursed. It was never as easy as he’d hoped.