by Jez Cajiao
I began stopping to clean a window now and then, making sure I’d have some retreats if I needed them. As hours passed, and the thirtieth floor approached, I’d started to wonder if the SporeMother was, in fact, dead, or whether she had left. I’d seen nothing to indicate that she was still around, and if there had been anything else in the tower, where else would it be, if not hunting me? It’d be…yeah… they’d all be waiting for me as a trap. I just knew it.
As I rounded the final spiral of the staircase, it opened out onto a large floor, easily the biggest single floor I’d ever seen. It was bigger than a cathedral hall, and there in the center of the wall opposite was a doorway. It was huge and imposing and filled with the same crystal I’d found in the doorway of the first room that I’d hidden in upon my initial arrival. This had to be the Hall of Memories, the vault that held the spell-books and the skill memories that Sintara had mentioned.
The problem was, the SporeMother must have figured out I’d be heading here as well. There were a good dozen or more skeletons standing around between me and that doorway. Standing hidden in the doorway of the stairwell, I considered my options. I needed to get in that room. I couldn’t just bypass it, and even if I wanted to, the opposite stairwell was clear across the room. I’d never manage to sneak past everything to reach it.
If I had to get into the room, I had to get past the skeletons to do so. That was a given. They’d never let me just run past, and judging by the motley collection of weapons they held, I couldn’t just try to bulldoze my way through. I needed to narrow it down to just one or two at a time. They weren’t that hard to destroy, really. Their main advantage was the instinctive terror caused by facing a walking undead. I’d already fought several and had found that the actual bodies easy to destroy. The real issue was the DarkSpore inside them.
Windows encircled the room, but they all had the same kind of crap covering them. Each would take time to open, and none would be easy, let alone with a dozen undead creatures trying to kill me. Returning to the bottom of the stairs, I readied myself, naginata in my right hand, and my left ready to cast magic. I knew I could cast a total of ten Firebolts before I was out of mana, but I’d regenerate enough for another Firebolt every six minutes.
Looking around the corner at the occupants of the hall, I counted eleven battered and decrepit skeletons in various states of decay. One creature that stood head and shoulders above the rest with better armor and a huge greatsword that it rested on the ground, tip first, with its hands crossed on the pommel of the hilt. Finally, I spotted one last figure hunched over in the far corner, wrapped up in a long black robe with a staff in one hand. It looked like a mage or caster to me, but as it was the first I’d seen, it could just as easily have been a particularly evil looking janitor, with the head snapped off his mop. I’d have to keep my eye on this one.
Taking a deep breath, I reviewed my preparations, then took one last look at the room. The various skeletons were scattered around the space, with the largest one standing directly in front of the doorway to the Hall of Memories. It was in better condition than the others, and obviously not as old. It appeared to be the remnants of a much more recently captured adventurer, with a long red cloak obscuring its body beyond the dark bracers that covered its arms and dirty greaves on its legs. A tight-fitted metal helm with short ornamental wings flaring out behind completed its visible armor. The mage was still hunched over in the far corner, close to the stairs.
I suddenly had a flash of inspiration, recognizing that the mage and the giant adventurer were most likely my most dangerous foes. If I could take one of them out first, I’d have a much better chance of winning this fight. I doubted they’d stand still while I slaughtered their lesser companions, after all.
Sneaking back up the stairs, I climbed until I found one the windows I’d uncovered. I slowly dug away at the frame until I could push an entire panel of glass out and sent it tumbling down into the forest below. I leaned out to examine the side of the tower, especially the level below me.
I could see plenty of handholds, as weathered and damaged as the tower was, and while I couldn’t see the windows that opened onto the Hall of Memories from where I was, I knew roughly where they were. If I could either reach them from the outside and open them, or climb past them to the next level down then sneak up the stairs to take the mage out first, that would greatly increase my chances of success in the upcoming battle.
I secured my naginata to my back, then looped my belt over my shoulder to make sure it was doubly safe. Clambering out onto the window ledge, I looked up at the clouds that were slowly covering the sky to the east and knew I didn’t not have long. I decided to distract myself on my climb, so I put my earbuds in and put my music on for the first time in what seemed like ages. I turned it down low, so I’d still be able to hear anything around me but made sure it was loud enough to relax me as I climbed. I just knew I was going to end up with a fear of heights from this, and probably by association, a fear of bloody music. I flicked on an 80’s playlist, letting the Final Countdown by Europe count me down to what was probably going to be a messy death.
I lowered myself gently until I found another handhold, then began to scale my way down the side of the tower, counting my breaths and moving my hands alternately with each breath. I didn’t allow myself to stop or to rest. If I paused, I knew it’d be harder by the second to continue, and I could feel the fear fluttering around the edges of my mind.
After a few minutes of scaling down the wall, I saw a window off to my left and veered toward it. Finding the window sealed tight, I paused for a few minutes, considering. I could force the window, I didn’t doubt that, but if I did, the creatures inside would know where I was. All it would take was one spell or blow from a weapon to knock me from the tower.
I decided to take the second option, and quickly clambered down further to the next floor, not letting myself second guess. I desperately wanted to smash the window and climb inside as fast as possible, no matter what was waiting for me. As I circled the tower again, I found I was in luck. there was a small private balcony that extended out a few feet into the open air. I made it across the tower and dropped down onto it, collapsing against the wall and ignoring the closed door for a long moment as I got my hammering heart under control. Eventually, I managed to force open the door without too much noise. Putting my earbuds away, I quickly slipped inside, standing for a long moment as my eyes acclimated to the darkness. When I could see again, I blinked in surprise at finding myself inside a small, well-appointed room, which showed the signs of age, thick dust and all, but from the bed to the rugs and wall hangings, it spoke of privacy as well. The bed was placed against one wall, its covers piled up. On one table were desiccated pots of what seemed to be paint, and a small wooden soldier stood half-painted beside them. This had been someone’s home, I realized, and I had no idea what had happened to them. I slowly flicked the latch as silently as possible and cracked the door.
A skeleton was patrolling the floor outside with its back to me. It moved slowly, one hesitant step after another, then a pause and a look around, then a few more steps. It was easily the most damaged creature I’d seen yet. One foot was missing, and each step looked unstable enough that it might topple over, never to rise again. Between me and the undead guard were dozens of small planters and seats. Doors filled the outer edge of the floor, probably leading to more rooms like this one.
I quickly slipped out and hid near the largest planter, unslinging my naginata as I watched the skeleton walking its rounds. After half an hour, it meandered close enough for me to get a good look at it.
It really was much more decrepit than the others, dragging the base of its spear along the floor as it plodded along its circular route. I waited for the right opportunity as it came closer, knowing I couldn’t afford any noise.
It finally drew level with me. Before it could spot me, I struck one fast hard blow to the back of its skull, sending it staggering. I darted past it and pulled
open the door to the room I’d recently exited, causing it to shield its face from the faint sunlight. I grabbed it and yanked it forward, dropping onto my back and bunching my legs as it fell on top of me. I straightened my legs out and pushed with all my might, causing it to hurtle over my prone body and out onto the open balcony. It barely had time to begin to scream before it exploded into flames from the sunlight, and tumbled away towards the forest far below.
Sweeping my naginata back up, I quickly covered the distance to the opposite stairwell that lead to the floor above and crouched, listening. I couldn’t hear any movement as I waited cautiously. After a further five minutes to make sure, I began slowly creeping up the stairs. It took a lot longer to climb up, knowing that I needed to be as silent as possible. At first, I seemed to make more noise than walking normally, or at least I felt I did.
As the minutes passed, I started to get the hang of it and finally began to move with a noticeably quieter gait. I didn’t open the windows, as I needed to be as stealthy as possible, but I took note of how far apart they were spaced, in case I needed to smash them open in a hurry.
As I came around the final revolution of the tower and the edge of the stairwell doorway appeared, I stopped. I could hear occasional sounds from the room beyond as the undead shuffled and patrolled, seemingly independent of each other.
I lowered myself to be as unnoticeable as possible and crept forward. Another skeleton stood guard in front of the doorway, a spear in one hand and a buckler in the other. It faced the stairs but luckily hadn’t seen me yet. I could see the mage behind it. It facing the room beyond with its staff held upright. A gently glowing crystal topping the staff pulsed with an eerie light, clear to see now that I was so much closer.
“Soooo…yeah, that fucker’s a mage, alright,” I whispered to myself. “Couldn’t be the janitor, could you? Oh no, had to have a fancy boomstick and all. Motherfucker!”
I decided that, out of all the options available, the best was to go all out. No guts, no glory, and all that. I knew there was a good chance of dying if I got bogged down by them all. I needed to take the mage out, and hopefully a couple of others, before retreating to either the little bedroom I’d entered or higher up the tower, depending on how the fight went. I crouched there, trying to work up the courage to get started or hoping a better plan would come to me, when my phone went off.
I’d set it months ago to remind me to leave in time to get to Dave’s surprise birthday party. The alarm was going off because I hadn’t bothered to turn the phone off after listening to the music. Glancing down at it in shock and then back up at the room before me, I knew the damage had been done, I could run, and be chased, or...
I started running up the stairs as fast as I could, the phone playing the song ‘Walk on Water’ by Thirty Seconds to Mars as a clarion call to battle. If I’d planned this, I’d have at least had a properly rousing 80’s theme going, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or something. A small voice in my mind muttered in terror, criticizing my memory and music tastes equally.
As I cleared the stairwell and erupted into the room, the decrepit skeleton in front of the doorway braced itself, only to be smashed aside by my charging shoulder. Its lightweight body did little to slow my mad rush as I deliberately impacted its shield full on, barely managing to avoid its spear.
I barreled into the room. The mage had moved a few meters further in, and as it twisted around to face me, I saw it lift its right hand. A cold blue glow began to form as it croaked out something at me.
Groaning internally at my luck as I closed the last few feet, I saw its spell bloom into a swiftly growing ice spray that billowed out from the outstretched hand. My body begin to shiver, and my health bar started to drop steadily as I finally reached close enough range and lashed out. Bringing my naginata down on its outstretched forearm, I felt the bones break as the arm was knocked aside. The spell suddenly ripped out to the side, giving me a second of respite as the arm guiding it pointed into its allies instead of me. Before it could direct the spell back at me, I bellowed out my own.
“Ignis Lacta Scopum!” I yelled, releasing the haft of my weapon with one hand to fire a Firebolt, blasting the rotten face glaring out at me from the depths of its black cowl before grabbing onto my weapon again. As it staggered back, I hit it with the naginata on the backswing, driving the metal-clad base into its stomach. Glass shattered somewhere beneath its robes.
I was about to hit it with another spell when I was body checked from the left, a decrepit skeleton piling into me and causing me to stagger a few feet before its teeth sank into my shoulder. Lashing up and across my chest with a gauntleted fist, I heard a satisfying crunch as the blow connected. The pain worsened as it ripped its teeth free and fell back, then died down to a more manageable level as I hissed at it through gritted teeth. How the hell it had managed to find enough flesh around my armor to bite was beyond me, but I’d soon pay it back.
Spinning back around, I found the mage beginning to retreat, trying to get the room it needed to cast its spells while the rest of the room was in motion, closing on me from all directions. Most of them were between me and the opposite stairwell now, and a noise from behind suggested that the first skeleton was back on its feet. My options were rapidly disappearing as they flanked me.
Grinning at the mage, I put on a burst of speed and closed the distance between us. It finished its spell casting just as I hit it with another Firebolt, striking it in the right shoulder in the hope the blast would throw its aim off. As the spell lashed out and filled the entire room in a howling blizzard of ice shrapnel, I knew I was still in trouble. The undead were slowed by the ice and damaged by the shrapnel, but not to the level I was going to be. I had literally seconds left to escape this fight if I didn’t want to die.
I was determined to take the mage with me, and I spun the naginata in a great overhead blow, hitting it in the crown of the skull and forcing it to its knees. A metal-plated skullcap came loose as its hood fell back, my arm ringing with the force of the blow.
I cast Firebolt with one hand while slashing out with the blunt end of my weapon, doing a continuous barrage of damage as my mana bar plummeted. Hitting the mage in the head with a firebolt again for good measure, I was finally rewarded by a skull appearing in my Augmented Vision. I quickly twisted around, hammering the nearest window with a pair of blasts. As it blew open, the coating blasting apart and sending bits flying everywhere across the room, I switched my attention to the encroaching skeleton horde. As they flinched from the sunlight, I fired at the giant adventurer, only to have it deflect my Firebolt into one of its brethren with its sword and continue to advance on me.
I spun around again and kicked the skull free of the mage. The cloud of shimmering blackness begin to roil from it, only to be caught by the sunlight. Grabbing the remains of the mage in one hand, I began to tug it toward the crystalline archway. I struggled to drag it with my right hand while still holding my naginata, my left-hand blasting Firebolt after Firebolt to clear the way. I was almost to the doorway when the undead adventurer grabbed a spear from one of its lesser brethren and hurled it into my back.
It burst through my left side, low above my hip, tearing a scream from me as I grabbed at it instinctively. I twisted awkwardly to find the adventurer closing in again. The blizzard spell had continued after the mage’s death for a few seconds as it wound down, but now it was gone, and without it to slow their movements, the undead were closing on me quickly. My right side was partially protected by a beam of sunlight from the damaged window, but the other windows were on the other side of the undead horde, where I couldn’t reach them.
I frantically backpedaled towards the doorway, screaming again as the spear jolted into the wall next to it and ripped my wound wider. Coughing up a mouthful of blood and spitting it out, I heard a whistling, bubbling sound to my breathing. The spear must have nicked the bottom of my lung. Knowing I didn’t have long to escape the oncoming group, and I quickly emptied the last of my mana out
on Firebolts, managing to blow an arm off a skeleton that was getting too close, completely taking another’s head off and gaining a skull icon with a lucky hit, and finally hitting the adventurer square in its chest, staggering it slightly. Its cloak had obscured the fact that it wore armor of a mottled green and brown. The flames from my spell licked across it before dissipating harmlessly.
I felt the mana headache bloom as I used the last of it, and I spun to the doorway, which was filled with another solid piece of crystal like the Pearl chamber. I planted my left hand on it, bloody palm leaving a smear across the surface as I frantically willed it to open. A pulse of light flared out from my hand, and the crystal slowly began to change to mist. It had been much quicker the first time, but I couldn’t waste time wondering what had changed. I grabbed the mage’s robes again and staggered into the room, pushing my way through the crystal as it changed. A strange grittiness covered my skin as it dissipated, the chamber beyond flaring to life in an explosion of torchlight and welcome.
Dragging the skeleton mage in behind me, I was jerked from my feet to tumble to the floor as something pulled me back mid-stride. I twisted from my position on the floor, almost blacking out from the pain as the spear injured me further.
The undead adventurer had grasped the leg of the mage and was pulling me back through the doorway as it swung its massive greatsword back up over its head one-handed. I gasped and tried to roll aside but couldn’t, the spear trapping me in position.
“Close, close, close, close, close, CLOSE!” I wheezed out as I saw the blade begin to descend, willing the door to close as the mage began to disappear back through the crystal. With another flash of light, the doorway began to reform, the mage’s body trapped with a leg half in and half out of the barrier, until it collapsed onto the floor by my side. I could just make out the outline of the adventurer through the misty portal as it staggered back, the lower leg coming free in its grasp.
