by Rick Scott
Val Helena: Hey, I see that you’re back. How’d the date go?
Me: Excellent! I’m still on it. ^_^
Val Helena: Oh . . . so I see.
I guess she must have done a search for me and saw us in-party or something.
Val Helena: Where are you two headed?
Me: To do a jumping quest thing.
Val Helena: A jumping quest? LOL! Have fun! TTYL.
I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this quest. Gilly said it’s Level 1, though, so what could be so hard about it? We find a hole in the rock face at the top of the steps, and by the time we reach it, I’m dying to enter. Once inside, we travel down a tight passageway, and I feel the ground tremble beneath my feet. I fear it might be a monster heading toward us, so I pull Gilly back. “Hold up. I think something’s coming.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you feel that?” I say. “The ground is shaking.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s the quest. Come on.”
Golden-colored light begins to fill the passageway from an unknown source as we continue on. The trembling beneath my feet gets stronger, but also more distinct and rhythmical. It’s definitely not a monster. It feels more like big pieces of equipment slamming together.
The tunnel ends, opening up into an enormous cavern that’s as big as the one Gruzug was in. But where that one was empty, this one is filled with something that resembles the insides of a giant clock. Two sets of massive cog wheels rotate slowly in the center of the cavern, elevated by a combination of rocky spires and steel girders. The vibration I felt is from a series of massive hammers that slam down on top of an iron bridge. The bridge leads to a maze of gears and other moving parts. It looks and sounds like some kind of 18th century factory, with its rhythmic banging and the constant squeal and squeak of turning gears. At the very center of the massive contraption is the source of the golden light. It radiates from a single point a few stories above us and fills the entire cavern with an eerie yellow glow.
“So, this is it,” Gilly says, and points to the light source. “The objective is to touch that thing up there.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, but you have to do it by sticking to the pathway.”
I shudder as I watch the spinning, slamming appendages. “So, this is the thing that no one wants to do, huh?”
“Yup. And that’s why you’ll make a million credits if you can do it.”
“This quest gives 1 million credits?”
“No, the quest itself only gives around 100k, I think, but you get a gem at the end that’s a prime ingredient in Level 85 prestige gear.”
“What’s that?”
“Really cool-looking stuff, like what Aiko was wearing. Anyway, high-level players will pay upwards of a million for the gem.”
“Wow.”
“There are only a few players who can even do this quest, and the quest resets every six months with a new pattern.”
“Sounds tough.”
“It’ll be a breeze for you, though! And I’ll be here to cheer you on. There’s an observation path I can take.”
I look again at the massive machinery slamming and banging before us. “Where do I even start?”
“Over here. Come on!”
Gilly leads me further toward the rusted iron bridge that has hammers on a rotating spindle falling on top of it. They slam rhythmically, but it’s an odd, offbeat pattern that scrambles my mind when I try to make it out. I take a step further and receive a quest prompt.
You have been offered a new Quest: Gauntlet of Gears (Recommended Level N/A)
Make your way through the obstacles without getting hit or falling.
[All abilities will be disabled]
Do you wish to accept and set your home point to this location? (Y/N)
Darn! No abilities? Now I see why this quest is so hard. I confirm yes, and my home point resets. Gilly clambers up a narrow access ramp adjacent to the bridge that stretches over the top of the hammers. She waves to me and blows me a kiss. “Good luck, babe! You can do it!”
Easy for her to say!
Abilities or not, I still have 70 Agility, right? How hard can this be for me? The ground shakes as I approach the huge hammers as big as tree trunks. I focus on the first one and run under it as it rises just after a hit. Easy! I jump through two more, and then wait while the next hammer falls, timing it to run underneath when it goes back up. I’m just about to dash under it when something slams me from above.
You take 100,000 damage!
You are defeated!
I respawn to Gilly laughing at me. “You waited way too long!”
“What? I wasn’t even under it!”
“Yes, you were, just a little bit.”
“Well, thanks for telling me.” I stick my tongue out at her.
“Oh, wait!” Gilly says. “Didn’t you have Shadow Copy on?”
“No. It said all abilities would be disabled.”
“Shadow Copy is a spell, not an ability, dummy.”
Say what?
I cast Shadow Copy and she’s right. It actually works!
“See! That’s why I said this would be easy for you. Now, come on. Try again.”
Heck yeah! I practically run into the hammers this time, feeling invincible. I duck and dodge through them. I even get about halfway through before I see:
Your shadow absorbs the attack.
What the—? I was way past that stupid hamm—
Blam!
I respawn.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Gilly shouts to me. “It’s just one free hit, not immunity. Use it to figure your way through.”
I sigh. “I can already see why no one does these stupid things.”
I try again, but this time, I really try to follow the pattern. I manage to snake through all ten hammers, only getting hit once. “Woohoo!”
Gilly jumps and claps for me. “Okay, on to the next one!”
Great . . .
The next obstacle is a set of five huge rings set one after another. They rotate slowly, and inside each ring is a bit of platform you can stand on. I look below the rings and see a pit full of spikes. I groan. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“You have to kind of run through this one, Reece!”
“Easy for you to say.”
I jump onto the first platform, but I must have timed it wrong because as it starts to curve upward with the rotation of the ring, and I don’t see another one to leap onto. I cry out as I slip and fall, plunging to the spikes below.
My shadow absorbs the landing, but I die a millisecond later, anyway.
I spawn in front of the hammers again.
What? “I’ve got to go through all that again?”
“Come on, you got through once already. You can do it!”
“Fine.”
I go through the hammers and get hit.
Dead!
Level Down!
“What?”
“You forgot Shadow Copy!”
I grumble as I recast. “How many of these stupid things are there? I can’t lose all my levels on this.”
“Um . . . five!”
“Five?” You’ve got to be kidding me! “No way is this thing worth 1 million. It should be worth ten times that!”
“Stop griping.”
It takes me another death to get through the hammers and back to the rings again. This time, I wait until the platforms all form a kind of line, and then run through. My feet slip and slide on the rotating platforms as I jump from foot to foot. I get through the first, second, third, barely the fourth, and then suddenly, the fifth platform is too far away!
Splat!
I’m back to the hammers again. I was so close! I recast Shadow Copy and make it through the hammers without losing it this time. I wait at the rings, looking for the same pattern I saw earlier, but this time, I start my run much sooner. I jump across the platforms, clearing one with each stride. My heart is pumping with adrenaline when I make the leap to
the fifth ring—and make it! I quickly hop off to reach solid ground on the opposite side.
“Woohoo!” Gilly shouts from the observation deck above me. “You did it!”
I pump both fists in the air and can’t help but feel a massive sense of accomplishment. But also the pressure to not screw up again on the next one. I don’t want to be sent back the beginning.
I round a corner and a flight of steps to get to the next obstacle. It’s a line of stone columns rising from the same spiked pit far below. Between them swings fatal-looking guillotine blades. I recast Shadow Copy and hop easily onto the first column. I time the second jump and get through, but the next jump has two guillotines sweeping back and forth between the gap. I try to time it, but screw up.
Your shadow absorbs the attack!
I land safely on the next column.
“Whew!”
“Yay! Way to go, you hax, you!”
I laugh at Gilly and recast Shadow Copy. “Even with Shadow Copy, this thing is a nightmare. Never ask me to do this again. Ever!”
I time the next jumps successfully and make it to the other side.
Gilly claps for me. “So, what did you think of my parents?”
The question takes me by surprise, but this seems as good a time as any to take a short break. “They were really cool,” I say honestly. “What did they think of me?”
“They said you were pretty weird, but considering that you’re dating me, that was probably an asset.”
I laugh.
“Seriously, though, I think they really liked you. My dad said he’d like to get to know you more.”
After what my mom just revealed to me, I kind of want to get to know him better, as well. But with me still being the “kid” who overheard that meeting, I’m wary of any further contact.
“My mom wants to meet you, as well,” I say, changing the topic.
“Awww. That’d be awesome.”
I nod. It would probably mean a lot more to my mom than Gilly thinks. She knows she’s dying, and knowing that I had found someone I could possibly have a future with would ease her mind. “Hey, Gilly, you ever think about the future?”
She cocks her head to the side. It’s cute. “What do you mean?”
“Like . . . will we still be living down here when we get to our parents’ age?” I remember the statement I overheard, about a Builder that attacked the city 300 years ago. It still doesn’t make sense. If the war happened only 200 years ago, how could that be possible?
“I guess so,” Gilly says. “What choice do we have, right?”
“Yeah . . .”
“Hey,” she says, spreading her arms wide. “At least we have all this! Could you imagine if we didn’t have Crystal Shards? We’d probably kill each other out of sheer boredom!”
I laugh, but I’m also aware of how well Gilly’s words mirror what that guy Dennis said to my brother. Where would we be without Crystal Shards? I almost don’t want to think about the possibility. Being stuck in the habs all day? Stir-crazy wouldn’t even begin to describe it!
“You ready for more?” Gilly says.
As annoying as this jumping quest is, it’s like heaven compared to an existence without the Shards. The thought makes me appreciate it a whole lot more. “Okay, let’s do it!”
Gilly and I chat about other things as I slowly make my way through the jumping quest; in-game stuff mostly, like how she’s going to map out a way for me to maximize high-value drops.
After the guillotines, I come to a narrow corridor. Huge pistons shoot from one wall to slam into the other. The sound is deafening, and I die a bunch of times in there, even with Shadow Copy on. It’s agonizing to start over each time, and after ten deaths in a row, I throw my hands up, ready to quit.
We must have been at this for over two hours by now, but Gilly’s still sticking in there with me, so I dare not quit. On my eleventh try, I slow myself down to analyze what’s going on. Something clicks in my head, and I realize this is really no different than tanking Sheeba. It’s all about predicting the patterns and, in this case, memorizing them. I get through the piston corridor after two more tries and face the final obstacle.
This one has three vertical shafts that spin rather quickly, a small landing platform attached to each one. Swinging in between them are more guillotines. I look at the grisly contraption and feel like quitting already.
“You can do it, Reece,” Gilly says from above me. “You’re almost there!”
The thought of having to start again, of having to go back through everything I just did is totally unacceptable. I study the rotating shafts and puzzle it out in my head. I superimpose myself on each platform and work my way backward. I’m not sure how long I stand there staring at it, but the entire thing starts to almost hypnotize me after a while.
I go to cast Shadow Copy, but stop.
I don’t want that crutch.
Just like with Sheeba, I can’t have an easy way out. It’ll make me too complacent.
I need to go into this with no chance of error. It’s zero-hit time!
I dash forward and land on the first platform, then immediately duck as I’m spun right into the path of a guillotine. I leap again and just barely land on the next. I nearly fall from being spun in the opposite direction. My heart leaps into my throat as I cling for dear life, pressing myself against the shaft. I go a full rotation and know I need to jump again soon, but I’m in a bad position to do so. I didn’t consider the possibility that I’d be facing away from the next platform.
I picture in my mind when I need to jump and leap backward blindly. My stomach goes into freefall for a moment, and then my back slams into the last shaft. My feet find the platform, and I bend my knees just in time to miss another guillotine before I leap again and land safety on the other side of the obstacle.
“Yay!” Gilly cheers with delight. “One million, baby. You did it!”
My heart is still racing, and my head spins when I stand. I look back at the blender-like contraption and wonder how the heck I ever made it through.
I laugh and give her a thumbs-up. “How long was that?”
“Three hours.”
Eesh! “You stayed there watching me for three hours?”
“Yeah, it’s been one heck of a date.”
I approach the small pedestal at the center of the obstacle course and touch the glowing yellow crystal that hovers above it.
Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Gauntlet of Gears.
You have gained 100,000 experience points.
You have gained 100,000 credits.
You receive a Gem of Trials.
Congratulations ! You have gained a Level!
Congratulations ! You have gained a Level!
Congratulations ! You have gained a Level!
You are now Level 50.
You have learned a new ability: Advanced Retreat.
Advanced Retreat
Your retreat now frees you from holds, stuns, and paralyze effects.
Dang. That sounds pretty helpful. And I got the level I lost, plus two more!
I respawn at the starting point. Gilly does as well. She gives me a great big hug and a kiss. “Okay. Hand it over, babe.”
I trade the gem to her, along with the 100k to pay for the auction fees. “Go make us rich!”
She laughs. “All right, I’m headed to bed. I’m exhausted! But this has been the best date ever.”
“You sure you had fun?”
“What? Watching you die all night? It was priceless!”
I laugh.
A message alert from her appears on my HUD.
“That’s a shopping list I made for you to hit up tomorrow,” she says. “I won’t be on till maybe around noon. The install guys are coming with the new nano-processor, and they have to disconnect us from the system to install it.”
“Oh, okay.”
“But don’t you slack off! I’ll be expecting results when I get here.” Gilly gives me a final kiss. “See yo
u tomorrow, babe.”
I wave goodbye to Gilly as she logs out, and then I log out as well. I’m exhausted, but happy as heck. What a great date night! I can’t help but feel like things are finally starting to look up for me. Gilly just netted me one million credits in only three hours. Three painful hours, but three, nonetheless. 3.5 million seems more than possible now. With Gilly’s help, I’m going to be able to save my brother and my mom.
The thought has me so wired I’m tempted to log back in and farm some more.
But I’m dog-tired, and I need my rest.
I’ve got Gilly’s shopping list to work through tomorrow.
Chapter 30: The Burning Sands
The next morning, after getting Mom set up for the day, I log in to see I have over 1000 subscribers to my channel. There are a ton of messages, as well, and I can hardly read through them all. Part of me wishes I had recorded my jump quest last night. I could have edited it and posted it to my page. That would have been bound to get a few more sign-ups. Still, I’m quite happy with the growth of my channel thus far.
I jump into Crystal Shards and start my day with a bit of admin. I fast-travel from the jumping quest where I last logged in and head to Swifttide to hit up the auction boards. I use some of my Sheeba cash to upgrade my weapons and armor to Level 50 gear. The new katanas and full Ninja gi attire set me back some 50k. But with what I made last night, it seems like a modest investment. I could probably spend three times that amount gearing up with +1 and +2 rank items, but I don’t plan on being Level 50 for very long.
I then check to see what Shadow Magic scrolls I’m missing. As I pull up the list, I see that there’s a new spell available every ten levels. There might be a few more in between that aren’t listed on the board for sale, too. Perhaps even more untradeable ones like Shadow Copy.
Level 5Shadow Cloak 5000 Cr
Level 15Decoy Shadow 15000 Cr
Level 25Shadow Mist 30,000 Cr
Level 35Elemental Shadow Wheel 15,000 Cr
Level 45Shadow Bind 5,000 Cr
