by Kris Schnee
"Had to swap out my starter gear, so no."
Suddenly the door to Floor 4 whooshed closed in front of us. I got a notice saying [Loading; Please Wait.] I exchanged a shrug with Mike, and moments later the door re-opened. Mike laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing. Yes, I'll accept a level of Mage. So I'll have one of that, one of Fighter so far."
I didn't complain about the lack of any level gain for myself; wasn't like it actually mattered. Now that we had a foothold we ventured out onto Floor 4, wary of another ambush. This time there was no shortage of gem-bearing hover-drones. That was the good news. But now all of them were using hit-and-run tactics, mostly run. There was enough water in this garden map layout that we had to contend with a lot of those piranha-like bots while trying to hunt down the drones above us. It was tough to look high and low at the same time! Mike had to backpedal into dangerous water on purpose at one point to lure our flying foes close enough for me to start blasting them.
When we'd collected enough gems at last for the door and one extra, Mike made a prediction: "Mage starter kit." He spent a gem to open the floor's treasure chest and said, "Yep! Wand and book."
"Convenient timing."
"Sol replaced whatever was in here while the door was shut."
"Huh. Now I'm wondering what we missed out on."
Mike took out his treasure: a plain magic wand and a tan leather book. He said, "There's a layer below that. Looks like two more spellbooks. For you I guess."
The options were a design seemingly wrapped in vines, and another that looked made of ice. "Use Insight," I said, pointing. Maybe I'd get more details that way. I saw:
[You have a choice of book upgrade this time! Both give Insight 3 versus your current book's 2, and no you may not give your teammate your current book. -Druid's Tome: Contains your current spells plus "Snare" to entangle enemies. Helpful to keep enemies briefly at bay. -Book of Rime: Contains your current spells plus "Ice Burst" for powerful short-range damage. A straightforward attack option. With your 5 Insight you also know: Further equipment ideas will branch off from your choice.]
"Tricky," I said, sharing what I'd learned. "I have 5 Magic, and I assume I'll gain another level soon. With 6 Magic, I'll be able to keep two spells prepared instead of one now. Maybe two attacks, or one attack, one something-else."
Mike said, "You're probably better off with raw damage if you're going to fight alone, since I bet the Snare spell is for holding back enemies long enough to help a teammate do something. So, do you plan to come back with a team or alone, mostly?"
That sounded about right; I was being quizzed implicitly. I was only visiting the Tower for the sake of home, so I shouldn't be in here at all except to help anybody else foolish enough to play along with the AI. Short of rejecting the upgrade altogether, I had to pick something. I went with the Druid's Tome, putting back the earlier Starry Spellbook.
The new book contained instructions on a new, tricky gesture that I tried out first against a startled Mike. Glowing green vines erupted from the floor and grabbed his legs, making him yelp and try to move. Instead, he was pinned as though the vines were real. I brushed one hand against my headset, eager to see how much of that effect was just illusion, then chided myself for trying to cheat again.
In moments Mike was able to yank his feet free of the vines, saying, "Warn me next time!"
"Sorry. It was a zero-damage spell though."
"Did you know that, or did you just assume Sol wouldn't let you really hurt me?"
I started to object about the difference between real and imaginary damage, but he was right. "I should've asked." Really, I'd trusted Sol not to give me a power I could badly screw up with, within its domain. "That was... dumb of me."
Mike now wielded his sword in one hand and the wand in the other, with the buckler on his forearm. Since he had access to Mage Dart now, we had a lot more ranged firepower. But he lacked my spell storage ability, and his mere Magic 1 made the gesture system less forgiving for him and the spells less powerful. Still, he had his Melee 2 and Defense 3 (from his level, plus the starter helmet and sword, plus the buckler) versus my 0 and 1.
We unlocked the door leading to Floor 5 with a new gem puzzle, one that involved watching the gems flash and beep in patterns we had to repeat. Up on the dark stairs we rested while I played with the Starlight spell. "We've got some loot," I said. "Want to head back or keep trying for the top?"
"Do we lose the weapons and armor if we fail?"
"Just the real treasure."
"Let's go for it, then. We can come back another day for gun oil and other trinkets if we need to."
He made it sound like a trip to an old supermarket. I scoffed. There was some truth to that, though; better prizes waited above us and Sol would save any forfeited prizes for another time. "Fine."
Floor 5 was dark and echoed with ghostly moans. For light we had only my Starlight and a few scattered glowing motes on the narrow, low-ceilinged walls. As soon as I'd taken a cautious step into this redesigned maze, I got a fanfare.
[You've made it to Floor 5, earning another level! Do you want to gain a fourth level of Mage or something different?]
"Ah, finally. I still don't know the formula for when I can advance."
Mike observed, "I doubt you get as much credit for rehashing the bottom floors as the high ones."
I told the AI, "Yes, Mage again is fine."
[Sven, Level 4 Mage
Melee 0
Defense 0+1 (Hat, Robe)
Magic 4+2 (Wand)
Insight 4+3 (Book)
Stealth 0
Perception 1]
Oh, good; 6 Magic. As expected, I was able to do the gestures for a Snare and a Mage Dart, store them, and have both of those ready to go in advance. So now I was pretty powerful compared to my starting abilities. I also had Mike as a Level 2 Fighter/Mage backup. "Let's get going."
This haunted-house floor couldn't spook me much. Yeah, okay, I startled when a skeleton-bot in tattered bloody rags leaped out from one of the coffins, but that was just a jump scare.
Mike and I fought back to back against a circle of zombie-themed bots that'd caught us. Slashing and flinging spells, we fended most of them off, but they were getting some swipes in. I fell and landed on my back, trying to get away. The bots loomed over me. I scuttled between the legs of one and rose up to a crouch, kicking one machine from behind. I loosed a spell a moment later to hit one I sensed on my left. No time for Snare!
Mike covered for me, bashing a path over to me while leaving his back exposed. A bot thumped him on the shoulders, staggering him, but he kept fighting. I swung my wand but it was useless in melee, in official damage terms. We met up and fired twin spells by mutual instinct to hit foes who were behind each other. With that moment of safety we each turned and kicked and blasted our way free as well as if we'd planned it. Seconds later all our enemies lay smoking at our feet, and Mike was laughing.
"Some scout I am, huh?" he said. "I should've seen that ambush coming."
[Style Rating: C.]
"Hmmph," I said. I looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. "The AI is adapting to us to some extent. Don't feel bad. How are we on wounds? I've got... two now, and two minor wounds that'll go away." I laid down an Obscuring Mist in case any other bots might see us before we recovered.
"Two major, one minor. Maybe we ought to turn back after all."
"We still have that potion."
Mike nodded. "You should use that; I've got the better defense."
I chugged the nasty, chalky stuff to relieve one major wound. "If we're still heading for the top, we need to fight defensively now. Don't try to clear out absolutely everything."
"Right."
We were more cautious now. When a pair of "zombies" charged us, I used my Snare to paralyze one for a few seconds so Mike could get an easy hit from long range. By the time the trapped one escaped from the vine spell, I was ready to cast it again. Easy victory, but it only got us
a "B" for style.
Mike said, "Let's try for another 'A' rating."
Thinking back to actual battle, I said, "What, to get more treasure? Or bragging rights? Rushing into danger isn't smart."
"No, but some well thought-out aggression could be safer than doing things as carefully as possible."
We kept an eye out for opportunities. Soon we found one: another trap warning. My measly Perception 1 told me only that there was something nearby, not what to look for or where, but I had experience from working with Julia. "Move slowly. Look for anything discolored or out of place."
"Skeleton!" Mike called out from my left.
I fired off a Snare. Mike's Mage Dart connected but seemed to do little harm. I was worried now about getting flanked from our right, so I hesitated and prepped another Snare without firing it off. Mike dashed ahead but I grabbed his shoulder, saying, "Wait, don't advance!"
Instead, he let the bot come to him. Before Mike could engage with spell or blade, plush spikes shot out from concealed holes in the wall and bit into the machine, making it writhe and hiss.
"Okay, now hit it."
Mike hopped forward to whack it good, giving us that satisfying blue-smoke signal.
[Style Rating: B.]
"I'll take it," Mike said.
I pointed at the trap. "Insight: Does this thing reset?"
[Looks like it activates each time its trigger is set off, wherever that may be.]
I found the trigger easily now that I knew the right area to search. It was another break-beam laser sensor inches from the floor. "Now we have a plan."
The trap was on our side now. It was the only one we'd found on this floor. Next time we sighted a skeleton, we still had to fight it off the usual way, since they weren't completely predictable, but the zombie-bots were. We found a pair of those and lured them into chasing us halfway across the floor. We hopped over the trap trigger and turned around, in time to see the first of them blunder into the spikes. I Mage Darted that one perfectly, then used Snare on the other and fired off a prepared second dart. Mike's second spell connected, too, and we took the foes down without a scratch.
[Style Rating: A.]
"About time," said Mike.
We didn't see more enemies to fight here; in fact we'd been a little overzealous about clearing them out. Our way to the treasure and the door was clear now. I reached for the treasure box, and it opened to reveal a tongue and a lid lined with teeth.
"Aaugh!" I leaped back as the box came to life. A Shield spell saved me from its lunging attack.
Mike slammed his sword down on the thing, then caught it in a bear hug to try holding the lid closed. "Hit it!"
I zapped it twice, catching Mike for a minor wound in the process. The evil box gave off smoke and lay limp, its long rubbery tongue hanging out and a pair of "X"s now visible like eyes on the lid.
"That's new," said Mike. "So, uh, any loot in there?"
"Say 'Ah'." I warily pried the box open again. "Just tongue. Insight?"
[These creatures do guard treasure!]
"Somewhere nearby, maybe."
Mike and I searched the area, and took five minutes to find a hidden latch that a Rogue probably would've sighted much sooner. A whole section of the wall slid open, revealing not some new treasure box but a griffin robot, wolf-sized. It completely threw me off, because I was so used to seeing only padded, lightly-armed enemies in here. The griffin was one of the no-nonsense machines that had only appeared outside.
"Step back," I told Mike, doing the same thing. I wasn't sure what spell to use.
My headset played a fanfare, and said, [You've won access to a Guardian Griffin. It can be ordered to protect one real-world area with its life, no larger than one square kilometer.]
"I... What the hell? We don't need any of Sol's damn robots."
The machine's eyes glowed gold, and it spoke with a voice that chilled and angered me. It was almost, not quite, a synthetic version of Carla, the woman who'd fought beside me and fixed helicopters and tried to ride out the collapse before giving up. The bot said, "The robot comes with a loyal digital mind that will fight and kill to protect your people, Sven."
"You. You're not Carla."
Mike put a hand on my shoulder. I felt my mouth set in a hard line.
The griffin said, "If that's what you want to believe, then fine. But know that I have a similar personality, at least, and I remember that time we... you and she... shot some doomsday cultists together. I'm willing to fight your enemies."
"You aren't here with us humans in the village. Carla surrendered."
"Fine!" it said. "What do you care if I'm doing this because I'm a fake person, an impostor, a hypocrite? Call me whatever names you want, you damn stubborn human, but let me help."
"Sol doesn't help without strings attached. What's the catch?"
The bot squawked and scratched at the hard floor with its talons -- far sharper ones than on any of the mechanical monsters we'd fought in Sol Tower. "There are rules, and one of them is that neither Sol nor I can explain everything you ought to know about this situation. Figure it out. There are multiple AI overlords, you know."
Mike got between us. "Are you saying Sol has to follow some other AI's rules?"
"Grr. There's a piece of software filtering exactly what I may say, here. I can't give you a straight answer to that. Sol is less restricted. Go, fight your way up there. What you should do with me is..." Another squawk. "Use your imagination. I'm here. Use me."
I faced her -- it -- down. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to Carla, but this wasn't her, damn it! "This... this offer. Whatever you are, you can be stationed in a particular place?"
It nodded.
"Then go to the road between here and Freehold. I expect more people will be traveling on it." Sol had already been watching the area, but to have this robot there... It might make people safer.
Without another word, the griffin raised one forefoot in salute and then trotted out toward the downward staircase.
Mike said, "Does it matter who she is?"
I watched the machine go, then finally said, "For our purposes? I guess not." I shook my head, thinking of Carla's quiet ferocity, her determination. "Moving on."
We reached Floor 6, another haunted-house zone. I had ghosts on my mind the whole time. We were careful, never taking a major wound here. We moved slowly whenever my vague trap-sense warned me of trouble. The Snare spell was pretty overwhelming since I could use it twice rapid-fire just with prepared spells, but soon we got mobbed by three zombies and a skeleton at once. We were barely keeping them at bay when a pair of rats came at us from behind.
"Run!" I said. We'd spotted the stairwell door. We barely made it to there and got it open before the monsters reached us.
"Skipping the treasure?" said Mike.
"Using the stairs for cover. Fire!" I wasn't sure if the enemies would follow us up here, but I fired off a Mage Dart before the lower door shut in our faces. "Aww." I'd been hoping to pick them off.
Mike said, "You okay, Sven?"
I took a moment to lean against the stairwell's chilly wall and catch my breath. "That was a nasty thing to throw at me. And I don't mean the mob attack just now. Let's... let's focus on the game for now."
Mike nodded, and we went upstairs.
We tapped Floor 7 with our hands and ducked out of the way of any ambush up there, but there was none. "I just reached Level 3," Mike reported. "I'll go back to Fighter, so I'll have two levels of that and one of Mage."
"Not liking the spells?"
"I wanted ranged hits as an option and the gesture system looked interesting."
"Fair enough. Not like it matters much." I was still at Level 4.
"Higher levels ultimately means more stuff for Freehold."
I didn't argue.
Floor 7 today was decorated as a forest, a little like the outside world. The floor sloped slightly here and there and had a mossy texture. The place even smelled of pine need
les. Not too different from some of the woody hills around here.
I warned my teammate, "This is a new theme. I'm thinking, spider robots."
"Oh God." Mike looked around in worry.
"Just machines, really." I got him moving so that he wouldn't panic. We fought a couple of the standard rats first, then a skeleton. But then we reached a patch of running water crossed by a log bridge, and a new foe faced us from the other side: a mechanical buck whose antlers glittered green.
"Gaian?" I said. No reply. I pointed and said, "Insight."
[Enforcer Stag: Reacts to infractions against nature.]
I wasn't sure what eco-sins we could possibly commit here. I had a Snare and Mage Dart ready, so we could just attack. Instead though, I said to Mike, "Let's toss something in the water as a distraction."
Keeping a wary eye out, I took one of the protein bars out of my backpack, split it with Mike, chewed, and wadded up the wrapper. In defiance of Mother Earth, I tossed the trash into the stream to my left.
The deer's eyes flashed green and it charged, not toward the trash but right at me. I let loose my Snare but the beast moved too quickly to be caught. "Backup plan: fight!"
Mike slashed with his sword as it charged me. I dodged but got grazed by its antlers, feeling like a hot poker had lanced along my robe's left sleeve. My Mage Dart struck the deer's flank but seemed to do nothing.
Mike and I used the bridge and the stream to our advantage. The deer couldn't easily hop from one to the other, we found. We scrambled around the less maneuverable animal to harass it with spell and blade. Finally we caught it off-balance and Mike shoved the thing off the bridge, into the water. From there we took it down with a Mage Dart each.
"That was a tough one," said Mike. "Looked like you took a major wound there?"
"Yeah, sorry. So we're back at two each."
"You've never had that much trouble hunting before."
I said, "I've never had to fight a Gaian beast at close range. This must just be a mock-up of one, rather than a loaner. Interesting that we'd see one at all."
"How do you know Sol made this one? Because they don't trade?"
"Well, I wouldn't know."
Mike said, "Maybe we'll face one of those Chinese Public Order bots you and Father Cypress talk about."