The Ruby Magician

The five tablets resting on the table looked harmless and mundane, but Wyn knew the truth. They were mysterious, powerful, and valuable. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to activate his lantern. The anticipation of what he would find was almost too much - but he was ready. He and his team needed to see.

After securing the fifth tablet from his group of friends outside the guild - Devon, William, and Maven - Wyn paid them generously while telling them to continue keeping their head down. They denied anyone or any group asking them about the tablets, but Wyn still told them to be careful. Especially after the Faceless Four had them, too. Knowing that, and hearing about their own unique abilities and dangerous behavior, the three friends said they would be even more careful.

Wyn was grateful to them and happy after his own team found a fourth tablet in a secret room on the eighth floor. It was behind a wall protected by a group of magical champions that were strong, but they were still considered undead and fell easily enough. The rewards from that champion group and the secret room itself helped pay the friends for the fifth tablet.

"What do you think we'll find?" Cal asked, staring at the stone tablets on the table.

Marcy shook her head. "Only one way to find out."

Wyn nodded. It was time.

Shaking his lantern and activating the green light, the five tablets lit up. Two of the ones from before were arranged in the way that made them look like a class mark, while the two new ones were off to the side to see if there was any new pattern with the third tablet that was an outlier.

Wyn immediately saw there was a connection but he wasn't the only one. Tasha reached down and replaced one of the new tablets, which went in the center of what appeared to be the larger image. With that one in place, the third one they already owned fit diagonal to that to the bottom and right, which also helped the fifth and final one they owned to find a place. It was easier to see as the pieces started to form a larger image, even though two of the tablets didn't directly fit side by side.

Tasha gasped looking at it. John swiveled his head between her, the others, and the tablets.

"What is it?" John pleaded. "I can't tell!"

Wyn stared at the tablets and read the runes to himself and then out loud. Most were the same ones as before, repeated in areas and expanded in others, while some new ones followed the same single-word or few-word pattern. It still read like a typical class mark, mentioning words like 'magic' and 'mana'.

Except for one key difference, and he could hardly believe it as he read to himself the inner phrase from the three tablets that fit side by side. It didn't read like a class mark at all. In fact, it was more clear than the other, more basic single word runes or small phrases.

It read like the workings of a spell.

"It looks like a very elaborate class mark," Cedric said, then started pointed to areas of the tablets. "See these lines and circles? What should be a fourth-tier class upgrade looks even more intricate, though I've only seen a few examples in books. Never in person."

"It's not just that," Wyn said. He ran his fingers over the three stone tablets that helped form more of the image. "This reads like a phrase. Like a spell."

"How would you know that?" Cal asked.

Wyn scrunched his face together. "When I can read a class mark, like really sit down and study it, the runes make out the class features. I can get a rudimentary reading of the skills and abilities displayed from the mark. It's worked on mine and all of your marks, so far."

"There's a strong chance it works with all classes, too," Cedric said. "Daniel and I have already tested different classes with the lantern with Wyn's assistance. The theory we're running is that the lantern provides some translation at a weaker level than our parchments, but it's been accurate every time. And if the lantern upgrades further, it might be as easy to read as our parchments."

"Though that's beside the point right now," Tasha said. "What does this say?"

Wyn pointed to the stone tablets again, highlighting some of the runes that connected in the circles and seemed to connect with the two other stone tablets. "It's not just listing out skills or abilities like our classes. This looks like a spell, like how our marks show when we cast spells as Magicians. And this one says something along the lines of 'when the form is', then we're missing a tablet. But these two say 'passage will be' and then 'who is worthy to proceed.'"

The others paused for a few moments. Wyn didn't blame them. He didn't fully understand it either.

Cedric started scribbling something on a blank piece of parchment, furiously writing and pointing to the gaps in the tablets at the same time.

"What are you thinking?" Wyn asked.

Cedric held up a hand while he worked, and Wyn gave him some time. Everyone else did, too, intent on studying the stone pieces while he processed what Wyn said.

It took a few minutes before Cedric stopped and held up his paper. "Based on the location of the words with the phrase, it looks like some kind of teleportation spell. Or gate spell."

Wyn blinked several times. Cedric figured that out so quickly?

"How do you figure?" Marcy asked.

Cedric read from his paper. "'When the form is blank, passage will be blank who is worthy to proceed'. Making some educated assumptions, we can guess that the first missing word is complete, or formed, or something along those lines. Like an activation. The second missing word is likely granted, or opened, or even shown, but they all possibly mean some kind of teleportation or gate. The last bit is actually the most mysterious, as it could mean a few different things. There are likely other words but from what we have, we can assume this much, at least."

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Everyone, once again, stared in silent contemplation. Except for John, who spoke after a few seconds.

"How in all of the hells can you say that's an educated assumption? You're pulling that out of thin air!"

Cedric pointed to the tablets again. "From what Wyn said, with these runes being 'portal', 'space', and 'planar'. You find those same words on teleportation spells. Hence the educated assumption part."

John scrunched his face in confusion. Wyn didn't blame him. Cedric was making a bit of a blind leap, but it wasn't necessarily out of place. What he said made sense, and he was right about the runes being found on other spells. John wasn't as privy to understanding the tower's magic, and Wyn felt like he wasn't much better. But over the months he had learned more and more about it, and he was following Cedric easier than he thought.

Looking down at his lantern shining green, he wondered just how powerful it could be if it upgraded again. What more could it reveal? Could it be an item worthy of a god, like the Faceless Four's masks? Should he even continue using it or could he become corrupted like them?

Wyn shook those thoughts from his head. He wasn't like them. He didn't desire power or prestige. Originally he only wanted to save his family, and that was still what he wanted. Now he wanted to set them up to have a secured future.

"If that's what you think it means," Tasha said, pacing around the room, "then it has to be something extravagant. Otherwise, what's the point? A teleportation spell using these tablets would be useless for general teleportation."

"Unless it created a new spell, in which case it would be pretty strong," Marcy said.

"Why be this elaborate for just a new spell?" Tasha countered. "We can find new spells on their own with parchments. Why have it broken up into nine segments like this?"

"Maybe it's some super strong spell," John said. "Oh! Like it could work far away from Alistair? That would be powerful!"

"Or maybe it only works inside Alistair," Marcy said, putting her feet up on the table and reclining. "But it's very potent and strong."

"It would have to very potent to be useful with how hard these have been to collect," Cal said, sitting down and taking a drink from his cup.

Wyn pulled out a portal key from his jacket and set it on the table. Under the lantern's glow, he saw runes all over it like other magical items. The key and the tablets shared some of the same runes as Cedric pointed out.

"Portal," Cedric said, staring at the key. "Why would it say portal? No other spell we've researched with the lantern says that."

"It could open a portal," Wyn said. "Now that would be a powerful effect worthy of combining nine different tablets together."

"A portal to where, though?" John asked. He sat at the table and rested his chin on his hands. "The portal key takes us out of Alistair. Maybe it takes us inside?"

"The portal room already does that," Marcy said. She sighed. "We wouldn't need a bunch of rocks to take us back to the floors we've cleared."

"Unless it takes us to floors we haven't cleared," Tasha said. She stopped pacing and looked at the stone tablets.

John lifted his head with wide eyes. Marcy shot to stand up in an instant. Cedric and Wyn shared a glance, both wide eyed.

"No fucking way," Marcy said. "No fucking way that this would make a portal to higher floors."

"Why not?" Cedric said, his voice soft. He slowly stood over the table, looking between the portal key and the tablets. "It would be an effect worthy of a vast difficulty to assemble! Nine different pieces needed, all nearly impossible to find and piece together. To go to a floor not yet completed."

"A floor like the final one," John whispered. "Holy shit. We could complete the tower if you're right."

The six Climbers stood around the tablet, staring at the stone pieces with a newfound respect. Wyn wondered if they were right. Could it take them to a higher floor? Was that even possible?

But more importantly, was that even something he wanted to do?

He had no intention of aiming to finish the tower. The entire reason he came to Alestead to climb was to clear his father's debt, and once that was accomplished his goal shifted to secure a future for him and his sister. He didn't need to complete all twenty floors to accomplish that. By his estimates, another year of climbing at an average pace and saving money could afford him a comfortable life without the need to even work. With Arabelle climbing on her own and making her own future, that possible future was even easier than before. Leading a guild added responsibility but future security, and setting up business prospects ensured he could transition to something later in the life if he wanted.

The rest of his life had a strong chance of being relaxed and easy if he just stick to the second and third tiers.

So why did a part of him want to see how high he could climb?

"We'd be in the record books," Cal whispered. "One of the few who completed Alistair's challenge."

"I'd show my family how strong I was," John said. "That I didn't need their help and was able to complete the last floor on my own."

"My father would be forced to respect me and my decision to become a Climber," Tasha added.

Wyn understood their sentiments. He would be the first Ruby Magician to clear the tower, and could ensure the class's renown forever.

"Are you all mad?" Marcy said, pulling the others out of their trance. "Who in the hells cares about completing the tower? Cedric, please. Tell them."

Cedric stared at the stone tablets, then raised his left arm. His ethereal arm. It shimmered with a faint grey glow, and he flexed the fingers and wrist almost absentmindedly. "You know the rumor that finishing the tower rewards the Climbers with a wish. That the mighty magic of Alistair can bestow untold magic to those who complete it. I could feel my left arm again. The warmth of touch. Holding an apple or a hand."

Marcy softened and grabbed Cedric's shoulder. "You are more than just a missing arm. Is it worth risking your own life?"

"We risk life and limb every time we step foot into Alistair. If this somehow takes us directly to the final floor, would you be so against it?"

Marcy sighed and slowly shook her head. "I… don't know. We still don't even know that's what it does."

"You're right," Wyn said. "We don't know. And we won't know for certain until we obtain more tablets, possibly all of them. Which brings up a more important discussion about the Faceless Four."

John scoffed. "Gods, what about them, now?"

"They have at least one of the stone tablets. Maybe more. If there is only one set of these items out there, we will somehow have to procure them. Which means convincing them to trade or sell them to us."

"No way they'll do that," Cal said. "They're too bull-headed to give them away. If anything they'll demand ours."

"Either nicely or not," Wyn said. "And I'm afraid they're moving in the direction of not. They're dangerous people."

"But we have an entire guild at our backs," Marcy said. "They're more stupid than you say if they try to take them by force."

Wyn didn't want to resort to violence. After dealing with Lionel and his group and Lucy's handler, he hoped to stop having to fight other people. His time at war was enough for several lifetimes.

Though it also left him with confidence to deal with other people if needed, and it seemed like it was going to be needed against the Faceless Four. They weren't people that were going to roll over and submit. They would fight for what they wanted, and using magic to fight didn't just leave scars.

"It's not that they're stupid," Wyn replied. "It's that they're fiercely determined and drunk with power. That doesn't mean I won't try and stop them, though. Just… be aware of what's likely to come."

Marcy furrowed her eyebrows, pausing to reply. Instead of arguing she gave a single nod in agreement. The others showed similar resolve, too, as they all agreed.

Wyn picked up one of the stone tablets, the hefty weight unbalancing his arm. "Still, let's focus on the positives. These are still incredible items, and we shouldn't slow down just because we have five of them. We have more undead to kill, right?"

John clapped a fist in an open palm. "Hells yes! Are we back at it tomorrow? I've been itching to see what the third tier has in store for us!"

"We just have to get past the ninth floor first," Cedric said. "But I feel confident we can do it despite the increased difficulty."

"We absolutely can," Wyn said, handing the tablet to Cal. The Paladin took the item and held it easily. "Let's aim for a bright and early climb tomorrow. If all goes well, we can relax on the tenth floor in the afternoon and see what awaits on the eleventh floor."

The group left with a more positive attitude, and Wyn was relieved. He didn't want their night to end on a sour note talking about the Faceless Four. He wanted them to look forward to their time climbing, as that needed to be their focus anyway.

Tomorrow was going to be a new day. With the guild running well Wyn could relax some of his focus on the administrative tasks alongside Cedric and Daniel and return to climb. With the guild meeting set for the start of the third week, in just three days, there was more to accomplish before their mandatory meeting with the Faceless Four.

This month looked to be a problematic one, but Wyn wasn't going to be deterred. He had allies, friends, and family beside him. Together, they could weather whatever came their way.