by Phoenix Grey
"Another puzzle," Azure agreed with distaste.
"Maybe it's the stones on the walls in here this time." Lonnell's eyes danced over the walls.
"Maybe we can only step on the white ones because those are her color," he guessed.
"Again, there's only one way to find out." Lonnell seemed hopeful but also uncertain. "Should I go again?" The next white tile was directly to his left, which took him a step further from the statue.
"You're in a better position to try than we are," Azure urged him on.
Taking a deep breath, Lonnell stepped to the left this time. A bolt of light shot down from the ceiling, blinding them. The deafening crack was almost as bad. Lonnell's Health dipped, and when they were finally able to blink away the white light stuck in their vision, they saw that he was frozen in place.
"Well, that didn't work." Azure turned his attention to the walls again. Thankfully, the tiles seemed to only affect whoever stepped on them. They also transformed back into stone after they had been activated, rendering them unable to hurt the heroes a second time.
"Gods, damn it!" Lonnell cursed when he was able to move again. "That hurt!"
"The fire wasn't particularly pleasant either," Sir Thornton grumbled.
"You're up next." Lonnell gestured to Azure. "I know we said I should do it because I have more healing potions, but I'll give you one to avoid that pain again." He shook out his limbs.
"Hm. Where to step next." Azure focused on the three tiles directly in front of him. Even at the risk of injury, moving closer to the statue seemed like a smarter move. There were twenty tiles between him and the statue if he just went in a straight line. Twenty chances of injury. How many Potions of Minor Healing would that cost him?
No. He pushed the thought away. Acting carelessly wasn't a smart idea. They really needed to figure out this puzzle.
He was definitely going to choose one of the colors on the wall. From where they had entered the chamber, the colors were in the following order: white, black, green, red, and blue. Yet the brown lights were missing. There were, however, brown tiles on the floor, which made Azure doubt his assumption. Still, Lonnell had first stepped on a white tile, and nothing had happened to him. That meant there was a pretty good chance that stepping on a black tile next would yield the same result. They all now knew that stepping on another white tile wasn't the answer. Unfortunately, the black tile that he wanted to step on was behind, not in front of him.
"I think the next tile is a black tile," he told his comrades, looking at the placement of the tiles around them.
The black tile closest to Lonnell also took him further away from the statue, but the next tile directly in front of Sir Thornton was black. Having all observed this, Sir Thornton did not appear pleased.
"How sure are you?" he asked, his voice all seriousness.
"About fifty percent," Azure confessed. Since they were all working on the puzzle together, it didn't hurt to disclose his thoughts. "I believe the tiles follow the pattern on the walls in here. Lonnell stepped on a white tile first and nothing happened, which lends credit to my theory. Following that logic, the next tile would be black."
"But there are brown tiles on the floor and none on the walls. Where do those come in?" Lonnell gave voice to what both he and Sir Thornton were thinking.
"I haven't figured that out yet. Whatever the case, Sir Thornton is the only one with a black tile in front of him, so he's the only one who can test my theory while also getting closer to the statue. I think the best thing we can do is move forward and not back."
"That's easy for you to say," The Asshole Knight mumbled. "You haven't been blasted yet."
"Well, we're not going to get anywhere just standing here," Lonnell said in frustration, trying to spur him on.
Sir Thornton sighed, closed his eyes, and stepped forward. The black tile beneath his feet faded into stone. A relieved chuckle passed his lips. "It looks like there might be something to your idea after all."
"That means the next tile would be green," Azure said, and they all looked down to see who had a green tile in front of them. Lonnell had a green tile in the upper righthand corner, which would bring him back closer to the statue. The green tile nearest to Azure was behind him.
"Looks like I'm up," Lonnell said before stepping up and to the right.
There was a sound of angels singing in the distance. All three men looked up to see a yellow halo forming around the Statue of Dyasitet's head. Light shot forth from it at the Adventurers. Azure's stomach clenched, but he felt only the slightest sting of pain, an ache in his core much like a muscle spasm.
Level 10 Statue of Dyasitet delivers 4 damage.
Only 4 damage? That was an odd number, and not so bad.
"Hey. I just healed a little," Sir Thornton said. "Thanks for whatever that was."
"I took damage, but not much," Azure informed them.
"It looks like I healed for a point, too," Lonnell added. "Look at our Health bars. They're all equal. I think she took our remaining Health and redistributed it evenly."
"Nice observation," Azure complimented him. That was, in fact, how it seemed. "Whatever the case, if you were supposed to have stepped on that tile, I doubt anything would have happened."
"No, but if that is the case, I see an easy workaround to this puzzle." Lonnell smiled. "If she redistributes our Health every time we step on a green tile, then all we need to do is step on the green tiles to get to her."
"I doubt that's how this puzzle is supposed to work," Sir Thornton muttered.
"It's worth trying."
"But not all of us have a green tile in front of us," he pointed out.
"No. But I don't think we all need to make it to the statue. You and I are closest." Lonnell looked at Sir Thornton. "I don't mind trying to jump from green tile to green tile until we get to her. There's a green tile right in front of her anyway." He nodded toward the Statue of Dyasitet.
"I'm fine with this plan." As long as I don't have to risk taking any damage, Azure thought.
Sir Thornton grunted in agreement, though he seemed less sure that the plan would work.
The next green tile was a section away from Lonnell. He jumped for it, landing with ease. Song filled the chamber. The halo formed. Light shot forth, and Azure felt the familiar clenching in his stomach, but he lost no Health. Lonnell had been right.
Sir Thornton and Azure waited patiently for Lonnell to complete/cheat the puzzle, hoping that no harm would befall him when he actually reached the statue. There was a good distance between him and the other Adventurers, so if he was wrong, it could have dire consequences.
"One more," he said as he eyed the last green tile in front of the Statue of Dyasitet.
"Keep your guard up," Sir Thornton told him, as if the warning was needed.
I hope we can get to him if something goes wrong. The thought was there, but Azure didn't want to give voice to it and make Lonnell hesitate. Sweat dotted Lonnell's brow, and Azure doubted it was from the heat.
"Well, here it goes," he said before taking a final leap of faith, landing right in front of the statue.
It dwarfed him, standing regal and tall. Just as it had done before, the choir sang their one long note and the golden halo began to form. This time, light shot out at all sides, filling the room with a blinding radiance. Against his better judgment, Azure shielded his eyes. This could be a moment of life or death for Lonnell, but the statue was too bright to bear.
The light faded almost as quickly as it had come. When Azure turned back toward the statue, he noticed that none of the colored tiles remained"that the floor had returned to normal. All of the statues they had defeated before were repaired and back in place. Lonnell was standing with his palm pressed against the Statue of Dyasitet's stomach. At what point he had placed it there, Azure didn't know.
"Did we beat it?" Sir Thornton asked only moments before they were all cast to the ground by an unexpected blow from behind. How they had forgotten about Gaia was
a mystery at this point.
Level 10 Gaia delivers 10 damage. You have been knocked down.
"This better be it," Sir Thornton growled, forgetting their previous victory.
Azure couldn't blame him. Enough was enough.
Desperate to defeat the entity that had been nothing but a pain in the ass since its first attack, none of the Adventurers avoided her hand spell.
Level 10 Gaia delivers 20 damage. You have been knocked down.
As soon as they were back on their feet though, they were surrounding her again, working their formation to finally vanquish Gaia.
Azure aimed for her chest but ended up hitting her in the breast when she moved to dodge a swing from Sir Thornton's sword. Embarrassment flushed through him. He muttered an apology as Gaia crumpled to the ground. This time, no protective barrier went up. Ruthlessly, Sir Thornton took advantage of the situation, swinging his sword downward for a dismembering blow. The second his blade struck Gaia's neck, she disappeared in an explosion of white light.
Defeated Level 10 Gaia. 100XP rewarded.
"Well done," a disembodied voice said. "You have earned the right to my staff. Use it wisely, for it can only be used once."
With that, there was a faint sound of metal creaking as the puzzle door began to open ever so slowly to reveal the treasure inside.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE REALM – Day 56
The three Adventurers stood in awe. Azure would have waited for the door to finish opening, but Sir Thornton didn't have such patience. Like a man who had seen this dozens or even hundreds of times before, he came forward, entering the room and leaving Lonnell and Azure no choice but to trail behind him.
For the rare gift that it held, the chamber beyond the puzzle door was nothing spectacular besides its massive size. The floors were made of stone. Adorning the walls were sconces with torches. Atop a stone pedestal in the middle of the room was its highlight, a long, intricately carved white wooden box.
"Let's get this done and get out of here," Sir Thornton muttered, clearly sick of the dungeon.
Azure was admittedly looking forward to seeing blue skies again as well. It seemed like every time he stepped into a dungeon, it felt like a lifetime before he reemerged to the surface. There was something draining about it on a psychological level―something that went beyond what a spell could to do to him.
They were mere feet away from the box when a puff of black smoke behind the pedestal brought with it a new threat. At least, Azure thought it was a new threat until he recognized the creature's face. It was Velte, and she looked nothing like before.
The Death Eater's simple white dress had been replaced with a black garment that crawled across her body like vines, barely covering her most intimate parts. It was so tight that it looked almost fused to her skin, which had taken on a deep blue hue. Boots of black leather went all the way up to her knees, the only spec of human clothing that she adorned. Black ram's horns curled out from her disheveled hair. The entirety of her eyes matched the color of her horns, making her seem demonic. Large hairless wings sprung from her back, the undersides a soft shade of pink with thick veins running through them. As they curved in toward her body, Azure could see that the backs were black.
This is not going to be good, he thought as he quickly popped open a healing potion and drank its contents.
"Begone, harpy!" Sir Thornton shouted as he pulled his sword from its scabbard.
Azure gave him a queer look. Did he really think that was going to work?
"Did you miss me, boys?" She blew them a kiss. "Thanks for getting the staff for me."
When she reached for the box, Sir Thornton began to charge. Lonnell ran for her as well, and Azure unshouldered his bow.
Velte pouted but didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the incoming heroes. And why should she be? When Azure Analyzed her, she now showed as orange―hard to kill.
With a wicked smirk, she threw her arms out in front of her, making her hands into claws as she raised them toward the ceiling. When she did, three skeletal warriors, all armed with a short sword and buckler, popped up from the ground, effectively blocking Sir Thornton and Lonnell's path.
Immediately, the two of them engaged in a melee with the skeletons. All three warriors Analyzed as purple―an even match―which was some relief. Azure nocked an arrow and prepared to draw. Velte immediately refocused her attention.
"Don't worry. I didn't forget about you, hero." She winked at him as she pulled her hands in close to her chest. A ball of dark energy formed between them in a matter of seconds. As soon as it was about the size of a softball, she hurled it at Azure.
He turned to the side to dodge, the ball of magic barely missing. When he pivoted back around, he drew and loosed. Velte's wings made her hard to miss. She jumped to the side, but Azure's arrow sliced through one of her wings. A shrill whimper escaped her lips, and she scowled at him.
"You're not being nice at all. What happened to that sweet boy from earlier?"
"You're kind of trying to fuck him over right now," Azure told her as he pulled another arrow from his quiver.
She attacked again. This time he wasn't quick enough and ended up taking a hit to his left shoulder.
Level 12 Death Eater delivers 40 damage.
It felt like a thousand tiny bubbles were dissolving his flesh. What was worse was the large drop in his Health and the feeling of weakness that came with it. Whatever the spell was, it did a lot of damage. Avoiding it was best since he only had four healing potions left.
Part of Azure was glad that he had Velte's attention, but his friends didn't seem to be faring much better against the skeletons. One was missing its right arm from an attack that Azure hadn't seen. Apparently ambidextrous, it had switched its short sword to its left hand, abandoning its buckler to the floor. The other two skeletons were still fighting strong as well.
Momentarily stunned by the pain in his shoulder, Azure didn't have time to recover before Velte began casting another spell. This one, however, was not directed at him. She wove her hands together in a quick succession of gestures, and three white circles appeared below where Lonnell and Sir Thornton were fighting the skeletons. They pulsated on the ground for several seconds before a purple gas erupted upward from them. Sir Thornton and Lonnell coughed, and Azure watched as their Health bars both dropped by ten percent.
Trying not to panic over their dire situation, Azure took a deep breath while he nocked another arrow. His shoulder screamed in agony. Popping a healing potion while she had been distracted casting that spell probably would have been smart, but it was too late now. Fighting through the pain, he took aim. Velte began to cast again.
Pretending like he was aiming for a headshot, Azure tilted his bow down just a notch before letting the arrow sail. She thrust out at the same time, dodging at the last minute but unable to avoid the incoming projectile as it sliced through her side. Azure crouched and weaved away from the ball of magic, thanking the Gods that it had missed him.
Velte cried out, and he took advantage of her momentary distraction to hurriedly down a healing potion. With only three potions left, the situation was looking desperate. A quick glance to the side showed that Lonnell and Sir Thornton had managed to dispatch of the maimed skeleton. The other two were still wholly intact and fighting strong, though.
We may not survive this, Azure realized, then quickly brushed the thought away. There was no time for being depressed or scared. Velte had already pulled the arrow from her side and was casting her next spell.
I need to get closer. With only five arrows left, it wouldn't be long before he'd have to switch to his Bronze Sword. If Azure waited until the last minute, he'd be at a disadvantage. But getting closer meant it would be more difficult to dodge Velte's ranged attacks.
I have the buckler. I should stop wasting arrows and work on getting closer now. She's a ranged attacker, so I'll more than likely have better luck with my sword.
Concentrate. Don't get distra
cted. Prioritize dodging.
Azure waited for Velte to fire her next attack at him, focusing on avoiding it. He drew an arrow and countered one last time before switching weapons, though he missed when she turned to the side. Velte saw him struggle to rearrange his equipment and took advantage of the situation. By the time Azure had his buckler on one arm and sword in the other hand, a ball of dark energy was airborne in his direction. Luckily, survival instincts kicked in and he was able to raise his buckler just before being hit in the head. The magic seemed to have weight to it, pushing him back. Azure also heard the sound of sizzling where the spell had hit.
Now on the defense, he kept his buckler raised as he came forward, watching for her next attack. Velte smiled at him as if he were an idiot, weaving her fingers into the spell that cast white circles onto the ground. Before Azure could get out of range, purple gas flew up into his face, filling his nostrils. It smelled like corpses and fresh-tilled earth, crawling down his nasal cavity into his mouth. The gas seemed to solidify there, making him feel heavy as if it was trying to pull him into the ground with the dead.
You have succumbed to fog of death. You will lose 10% of your max health over the next 5 seconds.
Azure choked but kept moving forward. Success depended on him reaching her. His comrades were fighting their own battle. He couldn't let anything distract him. As long as he kept Velte occupied, they might still have a chance of winning.
Velte blasted his buckler one more time before Azure was able to reach her. He had been wrong to expect that she'd be completely defenseless once in close range. She pulled a dagger from some magical pocket between her breasts, seeming to will it into existence. True to her words, she knew how to use it, jumping back and blocking when he took his first swing at her.
"I can't keep this up much longer," Azure heard Sir Thornton say from somewhere to his right. The Asshole Knight's Health was dangerously low.
