by Paul Bellow
“Don’t do this,” she said. “It’s me, Regina. We’re friends.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, stopping in front of her.
The Wizard of Yendro no longer looked so tough.
“I’m telling the truth,” she begged. “Please don’t kill me.”
“This is only a game. Don’t worry about it.”
I pulled my sword out and raised it, but the nymph ran by and stole it.
Regina laughed on the floor and I pointed the staff at her.
A final blast of ice finished her off. She screamed one last time then went silent. I heard the deep clang of a bell. That’s new. Is the game over?
Everything around me faded to black.
()xxxx[:::: Chapter 24 ::::>
Out of the Frying Pan
I focused on a light in the distance. My body floated toward it.
Have I died? Do I have to start all over again on level one?
My heart beat faster as I approached the brightness. When I reached it, I stepped through a portal.
Back in the Tower of Gates? I looked around.
I saw the entrance to the roguelike nearby.
Okay, I’m back in the Tower of Gates.
Where’s Axelrod and Regina?
Did I really kill her?
My heart skipped a beat at the thought. As I struggled to contain my emotions, Regina appeared. I smiled and ran over, hugging her tightly.
“You’re alive,” I said.
She pulled back and smiled.
“Nice to see you too,” she said.
“I thought I might’ve killed you,” I said. “Why were you playing as the Wizard of Yendro?”
“Wait a minute,” she said, letting go as she stepped back. “You were the Wizard of Yendro, and I needed to defeat you.”
“The game must’ve had us battle each other somehow?” I shook my head. “This is all so confusing.”
“Welcome to the Tower of Gates,” she said then smiled.
“It’s so good to see the real you,” I said.
“Did you run into the dwarves?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Should we go back in to try and save them?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “They’re on their own. I don’t want to ever go back in there ever again. Do you know how many times I died and started over?”
My voice trailed off.
“Yeah,” she said, nodding.
I wondered about her experience, but I didn’t ask. We’d both been through a lot.
“Where’s Axelrod?” she asked, looking around.
I shrugged.
“Maybe something happened to him,” I said. “We don’t know how long we were in the roguelike. It could’ve been years since we went in.”
“True,” she said.
“Is that amulet new?” I asked, pointing at her neck.
She glanced down and asked, “What amulet?”
“Maybe it’s our magic item for completing the game?”
“You have one too,” she said. “They look neat.”
“Hold on...let me check…”
I checked my inventory then smiled.
“Amulet of Yendro,” I said. “What does it do?”
I pulled up the stats for the epic magic item.
Amulet of Yendro
You can now access the Warp Zone on level one-four of the game. If the Amulet of Yendro comes into contact with another Amulet of Yendro, both players holding the item can use the following powers at will for up to four hours after the amulets touch.
Minor Suggestion – You can get someone to do something for you. Only works on creatures with intelligence of 10 or below.
Telepathy – Wearers of the Amulet of Yendor can speak telepathically with each other no matter the distance between them.
I heard voices nearby.
“Someone’s coming,” I said as I pulled my sword.
An unknown dwarf scurried up and asked, "Who's there?"
I kept my sword raised.
“Who wants to know?” I asked.
Regina sighed then stepped forward.
“Both of you put your weapons away,” she said. “We’re looking for Axelrod. Is he around? We need to talk with him right away.”
“Yeah,” I added, lowering my sword a few inches.
“I’ll take you to see Ranghorn,” the dwarf said. “He’s been in charge since Axelrod left to help with the undead problem.”
Regina and I looked at each other then back to the dwarf.
“Undead problem?” I asked.
“It’s a long story,” the dwarf said. “Ranghorn will tell you if he sees fit. We should go see him. This is above my pay grade. Follow me.”
The dwarven guard turned and strolled deeper into the Mines of Oriam. Regina and I followed. Everything looked different somehow.
How long had we been inside the roguelike?
A few minutes later, the dwarven guard stopped at a doorway.
“Wait here,” he said. “I’ll announce your presence.”
Regina sighed as he opened a wooden door then went through, closing it behind him. She turned to me and shook her head.
“We don’t have time for this,” she said. “We should go to the Warp Zone right away.”
“I know, but we need to find my brother.”
She nodded, falling silent. After another few minutes, the door opened, and the dwarf popped his head out.
“Come in,” he said. “But be respectful. He’s not in a very good mood.”
Regina opened the door the rest of the way then walked through. I followed. We entered a huge throne room I didn’t recognize from before.
“This is new,” Regina said, glancing around.
“Not shabby,” I said.
“Hurry up,” the dwarven guard grumbled.
Regina and I followed him toward a massive gold throne. A dwarf with dark skin looked up as we approached.
“Who do we have here?” he asked as we stopped.
“I’m Alex,” I said before Regina could shoot off her mouth. “And this is Regina. We’re looking for my brother, Axelrod.”
Ranghorn sat up, brow furrowed.
“I’m in charge until he gets back,” he said.
“That’s all well and fine,” Regina said. “But we need to find him. Do you know where he is right now? We’d appreciate the help.”
“I bet you would,” Ranghorn said. “Axelrod left not long after those new players killed the black dragon and set the dwarves free.”
“Wait,” I said. “New players? Are you telling me people are coming into the game again? Thanks for taking the OOC penalty, by the way.”
“Only three new players have showed up, but Magi Inyontoo seems to think they’re important,” Ranghorn said. “He’s been doing whatever he can to stop them.”
“What about that black dragon?” Regina asked.
“The new players killed it,” Ranghorn said. “Axelrod decided it was time for the dwarves to establish a permanent home here on level one-two. He was doing a great job until the note came.”
“What note?” I asked, so confused.
“The note read, ‘Bones. Big trouble. Send help.’ After Axelrod read it, he left.”
“Did the new players send the note?” Regina asked. “Is he working with them?”
Ranghorn nodded. “He was helping them before, and now he’s helping again. That’s why I’m in charge until he returns. If he makes it back.”
“Did you send anyone to help my brother?” I asked.
Ranghorn tilted his head back and stroked his long, white beard.
“No,” he said. “I’ve been busy rebuilding our kingdom—by us, for us.”
I turned to look at Regina. She frowned.
“Do you two plan on staying here?” Ranghorn asked. “Because if you’re staying, you need to follow the laws of my land.”
“We’re not staying,” I said, looking back at him on the throne. “We need supplies and
help to go find my brother. Give us that, and we’ll be out of your way.”
“I’m not giving you anything,” Ranghorn said. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you now.”
Regina turned and asked, “Now?”
I nodded and took off the Amulet of Yendro. After she removed hers, we touched them together long enough to cast Minor Suggestion.
“You will give us supplies,” Regina said.
“Get them supplies,” Ranghorn snapped.
The dwarven guard who’d brought us to the throne room scuttled away.
“We’re lucky he has a low intelligence,” Regina said telepathically.
“This is only the beginning of our luck together,” I replied.
“Anything else?” Ranghorn asked.
“We need your best men,” I said.
“Or women,” Regina added.
“A team of your best heroes fast as you can gather them,” I said.
Ranghorn stood, not looking happy.
“I’ll go fetch them,” he said. “Even though I’m not sure why…”
He walked to where the dwarven guard had left the throne room.
I turned to Regina and smiled.
“You ready for this?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Always…”
* * * * *
Several hours later, we made it to the bottom of the Pit of Doom. The portal to the Tower of Gates shimmered at the end of a tunnel. I stopped then turned, checking out our group of adventurers. Merriweather, a dwarven engineer, stood next to two floating platforms. Husky and Lordram, two warriors, stood a few feet away talking and laughing. Gilanna, a priest, stood off by herself, hidden by a cloak.
“You ready?” Regina asked.
I nodded but said, “No.”
She chuckled.
“I want to find my brother, but…”
My voice trailed off.
“I know,” she said. “It’s complicated.”
“Are we going yet?” Husky grumbled.
“Hold on!” I shouted. “We’re planning.”
“Two warriors, an engineer, a priest, a dark knight and a mage,” Regina said. “What could go wrong?”
“I’m the highest-level dark knight,” Regina said.
“We were in the roguelike a while,” I said. “Maybe someone else shot past you.”
“I doubt it,” she said. “But who knows.”
“Can we go yet?” Husky whined.
“Yeah,” Lordram added. “I’m getting hungry.”
I took a deep breath then turned.
“Listen up,” I said. “As leader of this party, you need to follow everything I say. We don’t know what’s happening with the undead on level one-three yet. As we look for Axelrod, our other main objective will be to figure out what’s happening.”
The dwarves mumbled but kept relatively quiet.
“Great,” I said. “Let’s go.”
I turned to face the magical gate.
“We’ve got this,” Regina said at my side.
I wanted to believe her, but the game made everything difficult.
One after another, we went through the portal to continue our adventures inside the Tower of Gates.
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Glossary
1dx - Random number between 1 and x. For example, 1d4 would be one to four damage, and 1d20 would be a number between one and twenty.
* * *
AC (Armor Class) - This is a way to show how well armored a player or creature/monster/mob is in the game. 0 = Naked and 100+ = Very Well Armored.
* * *
Alignment – A character’s alignment score runs from -100 (very evil) to +100 (very good). Some actions in the game may affect alignment negatively or positively.
* * *
Currency - The currency system on this level of the Tower of Gates series is as follows.
* * *
1 Platinum Piece (pp) = 20 Gold Pieces (gp)
1 Gold Piece (gp) = 20 Silver Pieces (sp)
1 Silver Piece (sp) = 20 Bronze Pieces (bp)
1 Bronze Piece (bp) = 50 Copper Pieces (cp)
* * *
DPS - Damage Per Second
* * *
Experience Points - Numerical representation of progression through various levels. Different classes need a variable amount of experience points (xp) in order to level-up and improve their character in the game.
* * *
Health Points – When a character’s health points dip below zero, they die in the game. Resting and magic can restore health.
* * *
Stats / Statistics - Strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, charisma, and constitution are the basic statistics of a character. A score of one in any stat is considered very low while a score of a hundred (or more) is god-like.
* * *
Levels - Numerical representation of progression. For example, a level one character is very new and inexperienced. As they gain xp (experience points), they gain in level and become more powerful.
* * *
Mana / Magic Points – Each spell cast costs a certain number of magic points. A spellcaster regains all their magic points after a full night of sleep. Mana can also be restored via magical means.
* * *
Mindspeak / Mindspeech - Telepathic communication between characters. Signified in this novel with italics in quotes, Example: … “Can you hear me,” I asked. A character’s internal thoughts are signified with italics and no quotes. Example: Wow. That was close!
* * *
MOB / Mobile – A non-intelligent NPC or monster in the game.
* * *
NPC - Non-Player Characters in Tower of Gates might be controlled by the AI or players that were killed in the game.
* * *
PK - Player Killer - A character who kills other players for one reason or another.
* * *
PvP - Player vs Player; a mode of gameplay where players can attack each other.
* * *
XP - (See Experience Points.)
