by Phoenix Grey
Much like the cursed smoke had done, Azure felt something fill his lungs, except this time it was cold air. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. He wanted to cough, but his body was stilted, his eyes wide in panic as his mouth hung open. Within a second, the sensation was gone and oxygen filled his lungs. His body felt lighter, and the cursed icon next to his stats had disappeared. A sigh of relief passed his lips. That was one less thing they all had to worry about.
"There's a Death Eater in this dungeon," Sir Thornton warned as soon as he was able to speak again.
"I am aware," Gaia told him, "but she cannot come in here as long as I exist on this plane."
"What's the third task?" Lonnell asked.
She smiled. “You must defeat me.”
"As in...we must kill you?" Azure questioned. That would most definitely negate Velte not being able to enter the room.
Soft laughter escaped Gaia's throat. “I cannot be killed. I am...eternal. But I can be defeated in battle. Depleted of my Mana, Stamina, and Health.”
Gaia Analyzed as yellow to Azure, which meant she was at least two levels higher than him. She should still be no match for Sir Thornton though.
"Puzzle, life, defeat," The Asshole Knight muttered to himself. Then he looked over at his two companions. "Let's get on with it then." He turned his attention back to Gaia. "What's this puzzle we have to solve?"
"It's the door." She gestured behind her. "That's the only clue I can give. For now, I will leave you to your own devices. Once you have solved the puzzle, I will reappear to hear your decision on who will make the sacrifice." Without giving them a chance to ask any more questions, Gaia disappeared. The way her body sucked into itself reminded Azure of what it looked like to watch Valerio teleport with the Teleportation Prism, except her body didn't swirl and leave a smattering of glittery dust behind, it merely blinked out of existence.
"I wonder if that means Velte can enter now." Lonnell cast a wary glance toward the door at the far end of the room.
"We best be on guard, just in case," Sir Thornton told them as he stepped up to the door.
Before long, they were all standing in front of the door, trying to figure out the puzzle. Upon closer inspection, the stones appeared to be tiles. There were two empty slots at the top indicating that they could be moved and rearranged. The stones were colored brown, white, red, blue, black, and green; the same as the segments of the star on the floor.
"This has to relate to the floor mural," Lonnell made the same assumption that Azure had.
"I'm shit at puzzles," he admitted. "I think I might leave this to you guys."
Sir Thornton cut him with a glare. “If that's the case, then I suppose you won't mind being the one to sacrifice half of your life.”
Azure immediately changed his mind.
"That is something else we need to consider beyond solving this," Lonnell said. "Which one of us is going to do it? I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to die early. I have too much left to live for."
Like farming and popping out babies with Bronna, Azure thought sarcastically, but he dare not say it. In truth, he didn't want his friend to make the sacrifice either. Ideally, Sir Thornton would step up to the plate on this one. It was a quest for his lord anyway.
"We're just underlings, Thornton. Your lord is the one who wanted the staff," he pointed out.
Ignoring him, The Asshole Knight said, “How about this, whoever solves the puzzle doesn't have to make the deal.”
"That sounds fair," Lonnell agreed before Azure had a chance to interject.
That didn't sound fair to him at all, especially since he sucked at puzzles! Already, the odds were stacked against him.
"I'm not really feeling this濫 Azure began, but Sir Thornton quickly cut him off.
"It's already been decided. If you want to live your entire pathetic life, you better get to work trying to figure out this damn puzzle." The Asshole Knight gave the door a final look of distaste before turning his gaze to the rest of the room.
Lonnell reached over to play with the tiles. He was able to slide the top two up and over, which meant that they were, in fact, supposed to be rearranged. Azure held his breath as he watched his friend continue to move the tiles around, fearing that he'd already figured the puzzle out. Honestly, Azure had not a clue how the stones were supposed to be set.
After several minutes of rearranging the tiles into various configurations, Lonnell looked back at Azure and Sir Thornton and shrugged. “We should probably look around the room for clues.”
They spent the next few hours wandering around the room playing detective. When one thought they'd figured the puzzle out, they'd head back to the door to move the tiles. Each time someone stepped up to the door, the other two held their breath. This was a game of intelligence, but more than that, a game of life and death.
Azure started by examining the star on the floor. Clearly, the door had to have something to do with it. It was the biggest focal point in the room. But there were only six points, and there were twenty stones. The numbers didn't add up. Next, Azure studied the flower in the center of the mural to see if he could find any clues there. Maybe the number of petals? His frustration mounted as he continued to come up empty-handed.
Perhaps the puzzle didn't have anything to do with what was in the mural, but what was outside of it. He followed where the colored sections of the star pointed, but there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. A statue here. A blank patch of wall there. One of the lights. It just didn't make sense.
The three men toiled in the room for the rest of the day. Night fell, and they still hadn't figured out the door puzzle despite multiple attempts on each of their parts.
"We've got to be missing something," Lonnell said as they bedded down for the night.
"Maybe the two types of materials have something to do with it," Azure suggested. "One side of the door is wood. One side is steel."
"I've factored that in already, but I don't see how it would make a difference." Lonnell shook his head.
"The stones clearly resemble the colors of the Gods," Sir Thornton said, seemingly unafraid to offer them a hint. Or perhaps he thought they had already figured that out. Azure hadn't, not that it would help him much since he still wasn't very familiar with the lore of The Realm.
"Well, I've got nothing." Azure threw his hands up in exasperation. "Fuck this door."
Lonnell chuckled at his friend's frustration. “I mirror your sentiment.”
"I think we all do." Sir Thornton glared at the door.
"I didn't think puzzles in dungeons would be this hard." Lonnell followed Sir Thornton's gaze. "I feel like we're making this far more difficult than it actually is."
"I think she made it far more difficult than it needs to be." The Asshole Knight's eyes widened for effect.
"Maybe something will come to us while we sleep." Azure rested his head on the floor, using his arms as a makeshift pillow.
"Oh no you don't," Sir Thornton growled at him. "You got to sleep first last night."
"Because you knocked me the fuck out," Azure countered, shooting back up into a sitting position.
"Whose fault was that?" The Asshole Knight eyed him.
"Guys, stop it," Lonnell sighed. "I'll take the first watch. You can both get some sleep."
"No," Sir Thornton said firmly. "This little prick isn't getting off that easy."
"Fine!" Azure relented. "I don't really care which one of us takes the first shift. I wasn't that tired anyway." He stood, just wanting to put some space between him and Sir Thornton. "But don't be surprised if I slit your throat in your sleep," he mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" The Asshole Knight called to him, more than likely already knowing.
"Nothing," Azure said, turning his back to Sir Thornton to pretend he didn't exist.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE REALM – Day 56
Azure toiled over the puzzle until it was his time to sleep, then he dreamed about i
t. Tiles and colors flashed through his mind. The stones were the same color as the star, were the same color as the lights on the walls. He had tried to find some combination with the lights already, though. There were ten in the room, one on each side of the statues, mirrored against the color on the opposite wall. Only five of the six colors were present on the door, missing the brown one. But there had also been lights in the hall when they had first entered the dungeon. Those lights hadn't mirrored each other, nor had they been perfectly aligned but oddly staggered. How many had there been?
"Twenty!" Azure said in a rush, his body rising like a vampire from a coffin. The sleep hadn't even cleared from his eyes.
Lonnell chuckled at him. “Were you dreaming about the puzzle?” he asked.
"I think I may have figured it out," he announced quietly enough so that he didn't wake Sir Thornton. Unfortunately, he didn't remember the order that the lights had been in. His recollection wasn't that good.
"Oh?" Lonnell didn't sound very convinced.
"I need to go back to the beginning of the dungeon," Azure told him with dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. Velte was still out there, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to face her alone.
"Why do you need to do that?" Lonnell furrowed his brow.
Should I tell him? This shouldn't feel like a competition, but it did. If they both returned to the beginning of the dungeon and he ended up being right, but Lonnell was the one to physically solve the puzzle because he could retain the order of the stones better, who would the win go to? Azure needed it to be him.
"You said the puzzle should be simple, right? That we were probably overlooking something small."
Lonnell hesitated, “Yeah.”
He decided to trust his friend, praying that he wouldn't regret disclosing his theory. “There were twenty lights in the first hall. They were the same colors as the stones on the door.”
Lonnell's face lit up, and his gaze immediately shifted to the door. “You may be right.”
"The only problem is, I don't remember what order they were in."
"I think I might."
To Azure's alarm, Lonnell began walking toward the door. Azure practically stumbled trying to pull himself to his feet and jog toward the door to reach it before Lonnell. When he rounded his friend and thrust his back against the door, Lonnell gave him a queer look.
"I figured it out first; I should be the one to solve it," he said firmly.
Lonnell held his hands up, palms out. “Okay. But...you just said you don't remember how the tiles go.”
"I will fight for you to not be the one to make the sacrifice, but you have to trust me on this." Completing the puzzle himself was the only way to secure his safety.
"I trust you, Azure. I'm pretty sure we're both on the same page with wanting Sir Thornton to be the one to lose half of his life."
Azure wished he felt the same on the trust front―had thought he felt the same until he had seen Lonnell head for the door. Now he wasn't so sure.
"Tell me where they go, and I'll move them." He turned back around, ready to solve the puzzle.
They went through the tiles one at a time with Lonnell searching his memory and Azure doing the rearranging. When they finished the puzzle, they waited for something to happen. Nothing did. Staring at the door in confusion and frustration, something clicked with Azure. “I think these two are wrong.”
A bit more rearranging and they were rewarded with the loud sound of gears turning inside of the door. They had done it! The puzzle had finally been solved.
"Well done," a deep feminine voice came from behind them, practically scaring them to death.
They pivoted to face Gaia, who was shining brightly enough to illuminate the entire room. The light of her presence was even enough to wake Sir Thornton where he lay several yards away.
"What?" he groaned as he came to.
"Now you must make the choice. Which of you will lose to gain going forward?" She didn't miss a beat, not even bothering to wait for Sir Thornton to join the party.
Azure wasn't going to wait for him either. “The two of us solved the puzzle together.” He cast a glance at Lonnell with a soft smile before turning a less kind gaze toward Sir Thornton where he was pulling himself up from the floor. “He should be the one to lose.”
"You make this choice without his consent," Gaia chastised him. "This is a decision that must be agreed upon by all."
Azure groaned internally. There was no way that The Asshole Knight was going to agree to be the one to sacrifice.
They waited as patiently as they could for him to join the conversation. Azure felt on edge over the argument they were about to have. Things had been so much better when Sir Thornton was asleep. Just being in his conscious presence made Azure's blood pressure rise.
"You got the door open," he grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"We solved the puzzle together," Azure reiterated.
"How did you figure it out?"
"It was the lights from the hall on the first floor of the dungeon. Azure figured that much out, and I remembered their placement," Lonnell told him.
"But who actually put the puzzle together?" He eyed them, seeking the only answer that would satisfy him.
Azure looked to Lonnell. “We both moved the tiles around,” he lied. “We worked on it together. As a team.”
"Are they lying?" Sir Thornton thought past their trickery to ask Gaia.
She blinked a few times, hesitating. “I was not here to watch.”
Azure bit back a smirk. While he wasn't entirely sure, he couldn't help but think that the entity was mendacious for them.
"But considering that they were the only ones awake when I arrived," Gaia continued, "I can only surmise that they had more weight in solving the puzzle than you. Now make your decision."
Both Azure and Lonnell looked at Sir Thornton expectantly.
"Half of my life, huh." The Asshole Knight rubbed the back of his neck. "Is there any other trade that you'll take? Could we bring someone else here?"
The thought enraged Azure. If they did that, they'd be no better than the Cultists.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," Gaia replied, not sounding the least bit apologetic.
"Then it has to be one of us." He mulled it over for a while longer, as if Lonnell and Azure would allow him to make any other choice. "I suppose it has to be me then," Sir Thornton finally surrendered, stepping closer. "Fair is fair. This is my quest, after all, and I was none closer to solving the puzzle while I slept. Heh, maybe Lord Blakemore will find some way to resurrect me after I die," he mused. "I've been a good knight. Loyal to his service."
"Is that your final answer?" Gaia asked, giving him ample time to change his mind.
Azure's insides roiled, completely expecting The Asshole Knight to back down. Was obtaining the staff really worth so much to him? Even if Azure were a knight, he didn't think he'd be able to make that kind of sacrifice.
"It is." Sir Thornton nodded.
"Then it shall be done. Everything you were and everything you could have been will be halved." Gaia approached The Asshole Knight and placed the tip of her nubbed hand on his forehead. It seemed as if she was drawing something out of him. As she did, the blue diamond in her forehead grew brighter with Sir Thornton's life force. His body wavered slightly under her touch.
Within seconds, the process was over, leaving The Asshole Knight physically smaller. The bulk of his muscles had shrunk. His armor now looked oversized on his body.
"What in the hell?" He gazed down at his hands, clearly feeling the effects of what had just happened.
Azure Analyzed him and gasped. It seemed that The Asshole Knight had dropped several levels. Just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Azure brought up Sir Thornton's stats.
Name: Nash Thornton
Race: Human
Level: 7
Health: 175
Mana: 145
Stamina: 175
"Oh holy shit,"
he mouthed.
Now Azure was really glad he hadn't had to be the one to sacrifice. At only level eight, losing half of his stats would be devastating. It also probably would have spelled his death before they were able to complete the dungeon. He and Lonnell had really dodged a bullet with this one.
"You didn't say anything about losing my levels," Sir Thornton growled between clenched teeth.
"Though you have lost much, you may still don items with a higher level requirement until you unequip them," Gaia said as if that was supposed to make it all better. "Now, are you ready to move on to the third task? If you are not, I can wait."
The Asshole Knight's face was red, and a vein in his forehead pulsed from stress. For once, Azure could sympathize with his anger. He would be ticked off too if he had been tricked in such a way. It didn't seem fair at all.
Touching Sir Thornton gently on the shoulder to get his attention Azure said, “I'll take point on this one.”
"No, you won't," The Asshole Knight threw back, shrugging Azure's hand off. "She's a magic caster. I'll need you ranged. Get as far away as you can where you can still hit her. The Gods only know what type of spells she can cast."
With the reduction in Sir Thornton's physical size, so was his ability to intimidate Azure. Still, there was no point in arguing. If The Asshole Knight and Lonnell wanted to tank, Azure was perfectly content dealing damage from afar.
"Whatever you say, Chief." He mock saluted Sir Thornton and walked toward the opposite side of the room.
"Are you ready?" The Asshole Knight barked at Lonnell.
Lonnell gripped his staff in both hands, taking an offensive stance. Instead of vocalizing his acknowledgment, he nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. Azure imagined that he was probably thinking the same thing. The time for being lazy and riding on Sir Thornton's coattails was over. They were all in this battle equally now.
"Then let us begin." The ends of Gaia's arms began to elongate. Each side grew thinner, taking on the shape of a double-edged blade, three feet long.
Sir Thornton drew his sword in preparation to attack. Azure turned, pulling an arrow from his quiver and nocking it. Before any of the men had a chance to strike, Gaia held her arms out to her sides as if opening herself up to be attacked. Her cheeks puffed out as she sucked in a breath, then she expelled it, turning her head from one side of the room to the other. Cool air sliced across the open space, bowling all three men over.
