Heart of the Void: Sosaku Online - Book 2

by J. Arthur Klein

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It looks just like the one you solved when disarming the trap earlier, without any nails or cords or the rest.”

  Mika smiled nervously. “Well, you see… my Disarm Traps skill is a bit of a cheat code for those things. It leads me through the process and gives me hints when I get stuck, depending on the trap difficulty.”

  “What’s the problem then?” Kjara asked.

  “It’s not a trap. If it were a trap, sure, we’d be set, but when I tried to activate the skill on this thing I got nothing. Looks like we gotta use our brains.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, Let’s see if I remember how to do these things,” I said as we moved closer to the puzzle and began to brainstorm.

  The puzzle was a four-by-four grid and had fifteen of the sixteen spots filled with tiles mounted on a track that let them move horizontally or vertically.

  Growing up I was always surprised when my younger sister was able to solve the toy versions of these puzzles much faster than me. I was convinced for years she was a puzzle master until one day I caught her popping the tiles out with a screwdriver and putting them back into the right places.

  Eventually we both learned there was a pattern to moving the tiles to get them where you wanted them, but I’d be damned if I could remember what it was.

  The first thing I did was slide the tiles so the golden liquid could start flowing. As soon as a viable channel was available, the pathway on that tile was instantly filled with golden light.

  Moving the tile even slightly out of alignment with the light’s source made it drain away almost instantly.

  Kjara, Mika and I took turns fiddling with the puzzle, shifting pieces around in an attempt to form a continuous pathway and deliver the golden energy to the other side.

  It took a few tries, and more than one frustrated shout, but eventually we figured out the trick of it. After that it was just a matter of following the pattern and lining everything up where it needed to go.

  When the last piece slid into place, the light filled the channel and then slowly flowed out of the puzzle and into the floor. The tiles went dark, and the floor began to shake, knocking me off of my feet and causing both Mika and Kjara to stumble.

  Amenhotep stood completely still, rooted to the stone and unphased by the moving ground.

  The walls and floor of the tunnel crumbled away leaving us standing on a platform in the middle of a giant, gaping nothingness.

  I crawled away from the edge of the platform and found my companions all gathered at the exact center of the ten foot by ten foot island that was left.

  A deep thrumming came from below and bricks and mortar began to fly up out of the darkness. The stones arranged themselves into a series of narrow walkways, arches, and stone supports that vanished into the darkness below.

  It was a surreal sight, almost like someone had filmed the collapse of the entire structure and then played it in reverse.

  When the construction finished, there was a sharp crack at our feet and a section of the island split in two. From the gap rose a small pedestal on which rested a golden shepherd’s crook, perfectly sized to fit the statue of Aset back in the altar room.

  The crook was intricately carved with glyphs and symbols that I was sure were magical, but well beyond my ability to decipher.

  I looked up from my examination of the object to find everyone staring at me. “What?” I said.

  Mika gestured towards the crook, “It’s obviously a priest thing, so take the hakhakmalak thing.”

  Kjara nodded in agreement. “Plus, we all need two hands to fight. You don’t.”

  I sighed and grumbled a bit as I reached out and took hold of the object.

  As soon as I lifted it from the pedestal, there was a flash of light and a handful of spectral Saa figures appeared scattered along the network of walkways.

  *** Quest Received: Trial of the Heka ***

  *** A ruler must guide their followers as a shepherd cares for their flock. Use the Heka of Aset to guide the spirits of her followers from this place to her altar. The touch of the Heka will allow you to guide the spirit to safety, but first you must reach them. ***

  *** Success Criteria: Guide spirits to Aset’s altar. [0/5]

  *** Rewards: xp, unknown. ***

  *** NOTE: Each party member must guide at least one spirit. ***

  “Did you guys get that?” I asked, and they nodded. “Looks like you all might have a bit more to do with this thing than me.”

  Mika looked up. “Why do you say that?”

  I gestured towards the giant network of very narrow walkways spanning the darkness on the way back towards the altar room. “Do you really think that I am going to be able to navigate all of those balance beams out there to reach the spirits?”

  Kjara laughed. “Well, I won’t say it wouldn’t be amusing to watch you try, but unless you want an express trip back up to the surface, I’ll have to agree with you. But the quest says you have to rescue at least one of them.”

  “Oh yeah, but let’s make sure mine is one that doesn’t require Olympic level training to get to, okay?”

  I looked down at the crook in my hands and used Analyze on it.

  Heka of Aset—this artifact holds the ability to direct the spirits of Aset’s flock. Touch the crook to the target spirit’s form to direct the spirit to journey towards the altar of Aset. The holder of the crook gains a strong bonus to healing magics and control magics. Tomb Key [1/2]

  My companions listened intently as I described the effects of the heka, and I hoped the healing spell boost wasn’t a hint of things to come.

  “Let’s see what kind of fun we have in store for us now,” I said, as I moved to the edge of the platform.

  From my current position I could see the five spirits spread throughout the room. Most were on the outer edge of the web of horrible falling death, but there were a few that looked like we could probably reach them without too much trouble. That was, of course, until someone stepped onto the pathway.

  Mika was elected to go first since he was the nimblest of us, but as soon as his foot touched down on the walkway things changed.

  From the stone arches and platforms, and even from the darkness itself, death appeared. Large swinging axe pendulums; arrows and spears firing from the darkness; spikes rising from the floors; and even some sections of walkway that were mobile, spinning in place or tilting at crazy angles.

  I blinked a few times. “Well, shit.”

  Mika and Kjara just laughed at me as I stared at the new and improved Saa Ninja Warrior course: Certain Death edition.

  …

  20

  Mika took one look at the new layout and turned around and returned to our platform. “We’re gunna need a new plan.”

  Based on what we could see, it was going to be tough. Mika was pretty confident that he could get to all of the spirits, but the quest criteria eliminated that possibility.

  Kjara’s agility and acrobatics skills meant she’d have no issues reaching at least one of the spirits too. But that left me. Clumsy, heavily armored, me.

  There was only one of the spirits that looked even remotely doable for me, and even that one was going to be an interesting adventure past a rotating walkway and a set of swinging axes.

  In the end we decided to have Mika and Kjara get two spirits each, and once they were done, I’d take a shot at the final one. That way I would be around to heal any injuries the others might accrue on their own runs.

  Mika took the crook and tucked it into his belt, making sure it was secure before moving back onto the start of the course.

  He walked along the narrow pathways without a care in the world, easily keeping his balance. At the first intersection he headed towards one of the spirits that, prior to the introduction of the death machines, had seemed like the easiest of the group. Now, that pathway was the home to a brand new family of razor sharp, swinging axes.

  Kjara put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Relax, Mickey’s got this
handled. Agility’s his best stat, and that’s before he goes full on mouseketeer.”

  I took a deep breath and released the tension I hadn’t realized I was holding in, trying to relax. Something she had said tugged at my mind. “Mickey? What?”

  She looked up at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “You didn’t notice? Mika Musa? He transforms into a were-mouse? Mickey Mouse?”

  I dropped my head into my hands and groaned.

  She patted me on the shoulder as the dýrafólk continue forward, walking on the narrow walkways as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  When he reached the axes, he paused for several minutes, just watching the axes swing by.

  “What’s he waiting for?” I asked, looking around to see if there was anything else that could be distracting the rogue from his current mission.

  Kjara rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I think he’s timing the swings. There’s gotta be pattern or something.”

  As if her words were prophecy, Mika darted forward, rushing past the first two axes before freezing in place for exactly two seconds before leaping ahead and rolling past the next. The last axe must have clipped him because his health bar dropped by five percent and he yelped in pain.

  He pressed forwards. A dash, another pause, a leap, and he was through.

  I attempted to throw a Cure Wounds his way, but the spell fizzled halfway between us.

  “Sorry, man!” I called out. “You’re too far away to heal.”

  He waved me off and stood up, walking up to the nearby spirit and tapping it with the golden crook. The crook pulsed with a bright golden light that was absorbed into the spirit, who then bowed and turned towards the far side of the obstacle course and stepped off of the platform into the darkness.

  I cried out, “No!” but sighed in relief as the spirit floated through the air to the mouth of the tunnel leading back to the altar and then stood there, waiting patiently.

  Mika glanced back towards the swinging axes and worked out their timing from that side of the challenge. Another series of acrobatic ducks, dashes, and flips later, he landed safely on the other side and breathed a sigh of relief.

  He scanned the rest of the walkways and headed towards the closest spirit. I couldn’t see the entire pathway leading to it, but from what was visible, I could tell there weren’t any real obstacles. Just a lot of switchbacks and sharp turns. Oh, and the invisible archers who started shooting arrows as soon as Mika was halfway across.

  The first arrow shaved some hairs off of the dýrafólk’s head as it flashed by, causing him to drop flat on the platform. A few seconds later another volley followed, shooting through the exact same space, about chest height on a normal human.

  Mika crawled the rest of the way across, scampering forward in a very mouselike fashion until he reached the target platform and tapped his second spirit with the heka.

  He made his way back to us easily and handed the golden crook to Kjara with a bow. “Tag, you’re it!”

  She grinned, gave my arm a squeeze and then headed out onto the course. I looked down into the darkness and winced, but she didn’t even seem to register it. She just walked along the narrow walkways with just as much concern as the dýrafólk had shown until she reached the part of the course where the pathway transformed into a collection of narrow pillars set up at various distances.

  She didn’t even pause as she approached the end of the walkway, taking two quick steps and then leaping from one pillar to the next with what looked to me like no effort at all.

  She sent the spirit on that platform to join the others and blew me a kiss before hopping back to the walkway with just as little effort.

  Her second target wasn’t as easy. She had to navigate a long section of walkway that was covered in patches of spikes shooting up out of the floor. There were small areas of normal walkway between the spikes, but as she approached those seemingly safe areas, a volley of arrows shot out of the darkness across the pathway.

  That segment of the course wasn’t very long, but the length of the spike fields would make avoiding the arrows when landing difficult.

  Kjara moved up to the edge of the spikes and paused, her mouth moving as she silently counted to herself. The first set of spikes and the invisible archers seemed to be coordinated to force you to deal with at least some damage, but there had to be some solution.

  A wide grin split her lips as she seemed to think of something, and I almost lost my mind when she sat down on the edge of the platform and just… slid off.

  I caught my breath when I spotted her hanging under the walkway with one hand on either side of the narrow path, making her way forward by swinging and shifting her grip. .

  Once on the other side of the obstacles, she pulled herself back up and turned to grin at us, kissing her finger and then touching it to her hip as she made a sizzling noise.

  I laughed and shook my head as she turned and sent her second spirit onwards. She used the same technique on the way back, and although it seemed pretty harsh on her stamina pool, it was much better than getting spiked or arrowed.

  She made her way back to us with just as much effortless grace as she’d shown before and handed me the heka. “Ready?” she said with a smile.

  I sighed and started stripping off my armor, piling it and the rest of my gear in the center of the platform.

  I secured the heka against my chest with some leather cord I had left over from my armorsmithing efforts, making sure it wouldn’t come loose without serious effort.

  “What are you doing?” Kjara asked. “What if you get hit by an arrow or something?”

  I shook my head. “While I would love the protection against the arrows and axes and the like, I’m pretty sure my worst enemy here is going to be my sense of balance. You’ve seen me try to sneak.”

  She nodded as I continued, “At least in my skivvies I’ll have a little better balance.” I flexed and grinned. “Plus, this way at least you’ll get a show.”

  She laughed as Mika groaned and turned away and said, “Dude. Just go. Please.”

  Kjara gave my arm a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. “Good luck. And if you don’t make it, try and enjoy the water slide this time!”

  I chuckled and made my way out onto the pathway, moving slowly and doing my best to not look down into the endless darkness below. My target wasn’t that far, but for my not-so-nimble self it sure felt like it.

  I almost fell to my certain death, twice, but managed to catch myself and regain my feet after some arm waving that would make the wacky waving inflatable tube man proud.

  After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the point where the true challenge of my hellish adventure began.

  The pathway ahead was rotating around a central pivot, the narrow walkway lining up for maybe two seconds every rotation.

  I’d seen the shows. Countless YouTube videos of people losing their footing, smashing themselves against these simple looking obstacles and tumbling into water or Jell-O or foam, and I for sure didn’t want to be one of them.

  So, I sat on the edge of the platform, all dignity and pride abandoned in the hopes of completing my task. My legs spread wide, balls chilling against the surprisingly cold stone of the dungeon even through my Saa underoos, I waited until the pathways lined up and then dragged my ass onto it like a dog cleaning itself on grandma’s brand new carpet.

  My cheeks made it fully onto the moving path as it continued on its way, and I almost teetered over the side, only saving myself with a quick lunge forward to hug the pathway. Yup, I was one of those people from the internet.

  I inched my way forward as the walkway continued to spin and realized the flaw in my current plan. To get onto the other side of the pathway, I was going to have to turn around.

  I could see Kjara watching as I looked back, her hands held to her mouth, either with worry or trying not to laugh her ass off at my current predicament.

  Mika had no such restraint and was currently curled up on the gro
und, his sides heaving with laughter.

  There was really only one solution. Reach the center.

  I dragged myself forward, scraping my biceps and thighs along the rough stone of the walkway until I reached the small platform in the center of the rotating path.

  I shuffled onto the pivot and turned myself around and then repeated the process, this time facing outwards. I made it to the end of the pathway, lurched myself onto the platform holding the spirit when the pathway aligned, and then collapsed.

  As I sent the final spirit to join with its fellows, I sighed and slid myself back onto the pinwheel of shame and began my slide back towards the party. But the game had other ideas.

  As soon as the spirit reached the other side of the area, a countdown timer appeared in my view.

  *** Reverting course in 30 seconds ***

  “What?” I screamed and pulled myself across the merry-go-round of lame as my companions began to scream for me to hurry.

  I didn’t even make it to the other side of the rotating platform when the timer ran out and the course crumbled underneath me.

  I fell with it into the darkness, my own screams joining those of my party until the blackness of the pit transformed into the blackness of the void between life and death.

  *** You have been killed! ***

  …

  21

  At least it hadn’t hurt, I thought to myself as I materialized under the starlit skies of the Lands of the Dead. Grumbling about stupid timers, I teleported myself to the Temple of the Restless Dead to see if my patron was present and maybe learn some new skills but had no luck.

  With nothing else to do, and some time to kill, I decided to explore the temple.

  Every time I visited, more and more of the dust and detritus seemed to disappear and the features of the temple take on a more… complete look.

  The engraved columns and plaques lining the walls were now mostly covered in gold instead of just the flecks that had been there when I first found the place, and there was no trace of the sand that had once filled its halls.

  A few bubbles of data from the character database helped me realize that the condition of the temple was linked to my own efforts. As I furthered Anpu and the Temple’s goals in the game, the temple would gradually be restored, and with it, more options and functionality.