1-Up

by Dean Smith

  ‘Thanks, but that’s rich coming from you, Valiant.’ She said with a grin. It was true, unlike everyone else, Valiant had kept hold of his identity from before. He still wanted to be the hero, to live up to who he was before. Maybe he wanted the glory, perhaps he wanted to be in control after feeling like all control had been stripped away or maybe he had truly altruistic intent. It was difficult for Valiant to say. He just knew he had to do everything he could to save the day.

  ‘Maybe I should be a treasure hunter.’ Nina interrupted his thoughts, and he was glad of the distraction. ‘I can make use of the skills I have without, you know, robbing people and I can make a pretty penny from it too.’ She stroked her chin as she talked herself into the idea.

  ‘Not everything is about money though, make sure, whatever you do, you’re happy first and foremost.’ Advised Mordoom, Valiant could agree with that.

  ‘That’s easy to say for both of you. Valiant is a hero engaged to royalty who everyone loves and you, Mordoom, owned your domain, you had your own castle and riches and never had to worry about anything but I do.’ Valiant and Mordoom shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

  ‘When I get my castle back, you can take whatever treasure you want to help you get started, I only need enough to start a life in Valetide. Hell, you can have Vilemire.’ This took aback both Valiant and Nina but Nina was the one who found her words first.

  ‘Thank you, it means a lot although you can keep the castle, not to sound ungrateful, mind.’

  Mordoom chuckled.

  ‘I understand, Volcanoes and sulphur clouds aren’t everyone’s aesthetic. Well then, shall we go? The sooner we reach the top, the sooner we get to Vilemire.’

  ‘Aye, I reckon the next puzzle will be the last. Ever notice how almost everything in this world happens in threes? Three stops on the way to Vilemire, three battles in the Obsidian Stronghold and three puzzles in this tower. It makes sense.’ Nina spoke as she once again took the lead.

  ‘Three of us.’ Said Valiant quietly which caused a moment of existential crisis, what if all this was still part of the narrative of the game? What if they were still beholden to its command? He shook his head, he didn’t know the answer and dwelling on such things wouldn’t cause one to appear either.

  ‘I’d say that last one was just a coincidence.’ Suggested Mordoom and Valiant hoped he was right.

  The third and hopefully final puzzle lay before them. Painted pictures surrounded them, each with a lever below each portrait. The pictures seemed to tell a story of sorts, beginning with a picture of a baby and detailing her adventures as she grew older to the point of her death. The pictures seemed a little out of order and Valiant figured out what they had to do, he believed that they would have to pull the levers in order of the events that happened in this woman’s life but when he voiced such a theory to Nina, she seemed dubious of it.

  ‘I think you’re on the right track but you’ve got it the wrong way.’

  She strode over to the last painting of the woman on her deathbed and pulled the lever, the painting lit up with a purple glow. Next, Nina walked over to a picture of the woman fighting a demon in a fiery environment and pulled its lever. Like with the first picture it lit up and stayed that way which caused Nina to smile.

  ‘Ah, this confirms it.’ She didn’t go into detail with her thoughts but she sped up with pulling levers. The following levers she pulled told a story of the woman’s battles in that hellish landscape and what happened when she won, how she seemed to ascend to a new place of light and attain inner peace, judging from the content expression on her face. The last picture Nina lit up was the picture of the baby and upon doing so, a set of stairs appeared.

  ‘I don’t get it.’ Mordoom said as he looked at the finished puzzle.

  ‘This place is called the Spirit Tower, right? That’s the clue. It’s easy to look at those pictures and think they depict a story of life but it’s the opposite. It’s the story of this woman’s death and eventual reincarnation after earning the right to live again by fighting her battles in the afterlife. That’s my interpretation, anyway.’ She shrugged. ‘Before we go up, trust me to do the right thing if we end up back at the portal. I think I’ve earned that, do you agree?’

  Valiant and Mordoom nodded, Nina had overcome puzzles with an ease that would have kept them stuck for hours or even days if she wasn’t here. If she thought that the switch on the altar was a trap, they trusted that she was right.

  Nina was also correct in her theory of threes as the staircase returned them to the portal room, this time they followed Nina to the treasure chest. The chest was empty apart from a small switch on the bottom. Nina laughed, the switch vindicated her previous actions and she pushed it victoriously. The tower itself groaned but remained otherwise still and the portal roared into life. Valiant leaned over to Nina and whispered.

  ‘You should definitely be a treasure hunter.’ She smiled as they looked at the portal before them, They couldn’t see their destination in the swirling purple magic but they knew where it led to, who it lead to. This was it, their final destination and soon they would come face to face with Rita once more.

  Level 8

  Valiant didn’t know what to expect when the magic cleared, he had been to Vilemire many times through different routes and paths and he could recall having to fight and face trials of varying kinds all the way to Mordoom’s castle and then up to his throne room to boot. Would they have to fight through that gauntlet again or would the mix of Rita’s rule and the world awakening create challenges of a different kind?

  The portal had dropped them right outside of Mordoom’s castle. A sprawling chaotic structure with endless spires and towers built on a floating island that hung in the air above a partially collapsed active volcano from which lava flowed endlessly like a river.

  ‘Home sweet home.’ Mordoom spoke wearily.

  ‘I love the scenery. Very picturesque.’ Nina said dryly as she surveyed the fiery river below. Mordoom looked as though he wanted to fire back with a quip of his own but his eyes betrayed his fear at being here again and Valiant understood why. Rita’s power was absolute, and they had encountered nothing like it before and the last time Mordoom came into contact with Rita, she had taken everything from him but his life and even that was likely a mistake on her part judging by where Mordoom ended up. As he looked to the sprawling castle in front of him, Valiant thought of the things she had done. Rita had removed a princess from existence just for crying too loudly, she had put a plot in motion in Goldharbour to imprison NPCs and she had almost manipulated the two villages in the Undying Forest into massacring each other and those were only the things Valiant knew about.

  Rita was convinced that she was a villain, that the power she possessed was not meant to be used for the side of good but to give the heroes something to fight against. Who knew what else she had done to walk down that path while Valiant and co were making their way here? He could feel his faith in reasoning with her fading, perhaps she was too far gone.

  No, Valiant couldn’t allow himself to believe that. He had gone back and forth on the issue since Rita left him to take Vilemire as her own, but just like all the other times he doubted her and even his own path, he couldn’t let those doubts tear him away from doing what was right. He had to try reasoning with her, to help her understand that this world was more than the game it used to be. There was no more need for villains but there was for heroes and Valiant was determined to be that hero. He would save Rita from herself, figure out what to do about her powers and help her understand that they were no longer prisoners to the whims of the game.

  As he was thinking about how to go about doing any of that, a blast of static erupted in front of the castle’s front door and from it emerged Rita.

  ‘Well done on making it so far, hero.’ She sneered at him but it felt hollow. She was saying the lines but her eyes lacked intent.

  ‘Rita, we need to talk. I want to help you!’ Valiant took a step forward but Ri
ta held out her hand as her strange magic flowed around it in a threatening manner.

  ‘That’s not how this game works, hero. There won’t be any talking, there never is. There will be a battle and then, either way, this game will end. I have no interest in talking, nothing can change what’s been written for us. We don’t have free will, we never have. Even now you’re just following the script and I’m just filling in a role that was recently vacated. This story needs a hero and a villain and for it to end; one of us has to triumph. There is no other way.’

  Valiant didn’t believe that, he couldn’t. He had seen too much to believe what she was saying to be true. He had seen so many people along the way defy what the game had in store for them. Erica and Jessie were destined to be a sidequest and nothing more but they had forged their own path and made a new life for themselves and the town of Valetide itself had purged itself of any ties it had left to the game. Monsters weren’t just monsters and people were more than the roles that the game had given them, the Undying Forest had proved the former and Nina and Mordoom was proof of the latter.

  He opened his mouth to speak of his experiences, to help Rita see but she shushed him before he could speak.

  ‘We will fight, there’s no changing or avoiding that outcome but it won’t be here. We will observe tradition, come to me, Valiant. Find me in the throne room.’

  She disappeared similarly to how she appeared and the castle doors flung open, inviting them inside. They couldn’t see the interior from the outside, only the thick darkness they recognised as a loading screen. Valiant had been to this castle so many times but each time he conquered it, it would change when he was required to come again and so there was no way of knowing what was waiting for them on the other side, the only thing they could do was carry on forward and hope they could finally speak to Rita once they had played her game.

  ***

  They were met with a long corridor lit with torches placed along the way which also had the effect of showing them how far this corridor reached. It seemed to stretch on for miles and when they thought they reached the end, another set of torches would light up and show them they still had a long way to go. With no other pathways or doors aside from the torch-lit path available to them, they carried on down it, hoping to find its end but it remained out of reach to them. After a while, they heard a strange rhythmic sound that seemed oddly familiar. It was like someone was keep time with a drum behind them but the drummer was drawing closer with every passing second. The trio paused in confusion.

  ‘What is that? Why does it sound so familiar?’ Asked Mordoom, Valiant had no answers and Nina said nothing, she stared at the corridor behind them and grew pale as her face dropped in realisation.

  ‘Run....’

  ‘What?’

  ‘RUN!’

  Nina sprinted ahead and both Valiant and Mordoom struggled to keep up. The rhythmic sound was getting louder and Valiant risked a glance backwards as he ran and in doing so he realised why that sound was so familiar. The floor was falling away behind them like it had in the tower but unlike then, Valiant knew they wouldn’t find safety at the bottom of this pit. He grabbed Mordoom’s arm and hurried him along. They caught up to Nina just in time for the floor below them to rock and a few steps in front, the floor fell away.

  ‘Don’t slow down!’ JUMP!’ Valiant called out. Nina leaped first and carried on running while Valiant leapt with Mordoom.

  ‘Oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god!’ Mordoom repeated it like it was a mantra.

  ‘We got to keep going, if we stop we’re dead!’

  Mordoom screamed at Valiant's warning as he often did when faced with danger but he didn’t slow down. Several pitfalls opened before them but they made each jump and the falling floor behind them was kept at a safe distance. Just ahead, Valiant could see Nina who had stopped, and he heard movement and saw an orange glow.

  ‘What are you doing! RUN!’ He called out to her but as he drew close, he understood what gave her pause. The path had ended, and they found themselves in a large chamber with no floor, just a long drop into the volcano below. The only way across was via two platforms swinging in time on a chain, they would swing towards each other to the point of touching in the middle of the chamber and then they would go their separate ways. The nearest platform to them swung right up to where they were standing while the furthest one swung right up to the next corridor.

  ‘We have to jump onto the platform when it gets close and then jump onto the next one as they touch. As that platform reaches the other end, we jump again. Got it?’ Valiant said to Nina and Mordoom. Nina nodded and glanced back at the still falling floor behind them while Mordoom whined in fear.

  ‘I don’t like this, I’m not built for cardio!’

  ‘You can do this, you don’t have a choice.’ Valiant tried to encourage him but his words sounded sharper than intended. The platform drew near, it was now or never. Valiant put his hands on Mordoom’s shoulder.

  ‘Trust me, you can do this.’ Mordoom smiled for a moment before his face was thrown into terror. Without warning, Valiant threw Mordoom onto the platform and jumped with Nina as it swung away. Mordoom didn’t stop screaming as he clung on to a nearby chain.

  ‘I don’t like this Val! I’m afraid of heights!’

  ‘You live in a floating castle,’ chastised Nina. ‘And you climbed the tower just fine!’

  ‘Yeah and then we fell from it! It’s a very recent fear!’ He looked down and howled. ‘Leave me! I’ll just stay here! I can’t make the jump, Val!’

  Valiant knelt down to him as they swung back and forth, the path behind them was destroyed but there was no immediate danger on the swinging platforms to force them to keep moving.

  ‘Think about everything you’ve achieved so far, you’ve faced way worse than this and came out unharmed. Think of the battles you’ve fought with no powers to rely on! Think of all the challenges you’ve had to overcome, and you did it with aplomb! You can jump these tiny little gaps. I believe in you!’

  ‘But I don’t! I never have!’ Tears fell from Mordoom’s eyes, ‘I’m not a hero, I’m a coward just playing pretend. All I ever was good for was being a punching bag.’

  ‘Now that’s bull and you know it. The people in Valetide believe in you and so do the people of Goldharbour and the Undying Forest and you know why? Because you were there for them in Valetide, you helped them in so many ways I wrote off as trivial at the time and I’m sorry for that. While I was off doing meaningless tasks, you were there interacting with the people and listening to their problems and giving them support. You did more than their laundry, you were there for them in a way I never was and they loved you for it. And in Goldharbour? You threw yourself at a mage with no means of defending yourself at the time and you came out on top. I wouldn’t have survived that battle were it not for you and the people of Goldharbour know what you did and how you saved NPCs who couldn’t save themselves. Finally, you listened to and believed in the monsters when, though my bias, I couldn’t do the same. You were prepared to lay down your life for them to go against us for the sake of the truth and you were right to do so. You might not think you are a hero but you really are. You're an inspiration, Mord.’ The last part slipped out but it was true, the way Mordoom had built bridges not only between himself and others but between sworn enemies as well was something that Valiant admired and envied. He was the hero of this world but he didn’t know whether he could do what Mordoom did, to truly help people and not just by slaying a certain amount of monsters or finding a meaningless trinket but he wanted to try. Mordoom had inspired him to be better, to follow his example. Empathy, the former villain had it in spades and it allowed him to shine.

  ‘You... You really mean that?’ Mordoom wiped his nose on his ragged clothes and looked up at Valiant, he looked more vulnerable than Valiant had ever seen him.

  ‘I do, so.... Will a hero as great as you be undone by a little ol’ jump?’

  Mordoom’s eyes shone br
ight as he smiled. He stood up and stood with Nina and Valiant as the two platforms met in the middle. Mordoom didn’t wait for Valiant’s prompt as he jumped first. He cheered as he made the jump and laughed as Nina and Valiant joined him. He held onto the chain and hollered as it swung to their next destination.

  ‘I think.… I think that was fun?’ He laughed and looked back as though he wanted to swing on the platforms again.

  ‘I’m proud of you, Mord but we need to move on.’ Valiant patted him on the back and Mordoom nodded. They walked a short distance to a large door and within it was a circular room with a big beast in the middle. It had the body of a giant twelve foot man and the head of a bull and its eyes shone a piercing red. A Minotaur and the biggest one Valiant had ever seen.

  ‘Minos?’ Mordoom stepped forward. ‘Hey guys, it’s okay! This is Minos, he’s a friend! Hey Minos!’ Mordoom waved and ran ahead but the Minotaur stood unmoving. ‘Minos?’

  The surrounding area swirled in a way that Valiant didn’t react to anymore and the music changed from the sinister background music of Vilemire castle to that of the now familiar battle theme.

  ***

  'Why?' Mordoom spoke faintly as they were forced into battle with the large Minotaur.

  'FOR THE GLORY OF LORD MORDOOM!' The beast roared before a dialogue box appeared above him, 'Bull's Rush'. Minos the Minotaur charged at Mordoom with his shoulder and Mordoom took the hit cleanly. Such a hit would have normally thrown a person off their feet and across the room but in turn based battles, everyone was routed to the spot until it was their turn to act so Mordoom took the huge hit as though he had been simply punched. his health bar plummeted and was almost completely depleted, he was in a dangerous situation indeed.

  'I'm Mordoom! Why are you attacking me! We're friends!' Mordoom cried out desperately but Minos didn't react to his pleas.