by Deck Davis
Rolley was next, followed by Etta.
“I’ll check for tra-” began Rolley, but then stopped.
This wasn’t a puzzle room. Instead, it was a plain of sweeping grass, except the grass was colored oil black.
Ahead was a village. Tripp recognized the reed houses, and he knew that they belonged to elder Odell and his people. This was completely unlike the tranquil valley they’d last called home.
The sky was dark and covered by clouds that threatened a horrendous storm at any moment, like the ones that usually gathered above Windborne. The air smelled of mud and spoiled food. There was no lake in the center of the village, but there was a muddy swamp nearby. There were no ducks to be seen.
Tripp felt guilty. It was their fault the villagers had to move, and it looked like this was the only place they’d found.
“We did this, didn’t we?” said Etta. “I know we didn’t mean to, but still.”
“We better go and say hello.”
When they reached the grouping of houses, they found a crowd awaiting them. Just like before, Elder Odell stood at the head. He smiled, but the expression seemed a little more pained than before, and his mouth seemed less full of light.
“Hello again, friends,” he said, the words appearing beside his head.
Tripp couldn’t believe the elder still had nice words for them.
“I’m sorry,” was all he could say.
“Sorry? You did not create the tower, young orc, nor did you bind us to it. Did I not tell you that the fallen ones would find us eventually? That we would need to move? That is the life of the Tower Born, and you should not try to bear the weight of it yourself.”
“We want to help you,” said Tripp. He knew he hadn’t asked for the groups’ consensus before he said this, but he felt that they would agree with him.
“We do,” said Etta, and Tripp was pleased to get her consent.
Rolley nodded.
The elder smiled, and it was a little warmer this time. “You are more experienced than the last time we met. It feels so long ago, but it cannot be. Yet, the tower has made its mark on your faces. You know this place better now, do you not?”
“We’ve been through a lot,” said Etta.
Images flashed through Tripp’s mind. Memories of all the rooms they’d conquered. Sometimes easily, other times barely making it through. And all this time they’d seen no other players, earned only minor loot, received no letters for the tower purpose.
“Do you truly want to help us?” asked Odell.
Tripp nodded. “We do.”
“You were not ready the last time we spoke. But these are darker times, even though barely any seems to have passed. See the sky? Do you see my people? Each new settlement will be darker than the last as the fallen one pursue us into the foulest recesses of this place.”
“What can we do?” asked Tripp.
“I can feel the effect that the tower has had on you, young orc. Though it might not seem like it, the effect is a good one. You have experience, now. You understand the cruel ways of this place. You might be ready for the final room.”
“The final room actually exists?” said Etta. “Thank god.”
“There are no gods to thank here, lovely minotaur. Only the tower. Only King Bo, and his fallen ones. If you are ready, I will lead you to the end path.”
Tripp and the others followed elder Odell away from the village now, and across the plains of obsidian grass. They walked for an hour before a shape loomed in sight.
Up close, they saw that it was a monument. It towered twenty feet above them, and was made of blackened bone.
It sure didn’t give off an air of warmth.
In the center of it was a set of oval doors, similar to the ones at the tower entrance. It seemed like so long ago that Tripp had first stepped through them.
“What’s in there?” asked Rolley.
“Your final path,” answered Odell.
“I mean specifically. Mimics? Scourges?”
“I am oathed. I cannot say.”
“Figures. Is there anything you can tell us?”
“I am afraid not. Even if I could, the tower would only change itself, rendering my advice useless. If you are truly ready, my friends, the only thing you can do is step beyond these doors.”
Tripp turned to his friends. Even though their tempers had frayed at times, he felt like they had grown closer over the last few days. “Are we going to do this?”
“I just want to reach the end, Tripp,” said Etta. “I want to go back to Soulboxe main, find a tavern, and eat pies and drink wine.”
“I want my arms back,” said Rolley. “I want to see Barny. I thought about what he did, and I understand it now. He was scared. He didn’t mean to cause us trouble.”
“Then let’s not waste time,” said Tripp.
He opened the doors and stepped into the room.
CHAPTER 32
The room was a giant atrium, bigger than a concert arena. There was so much going on that Tripp could hardly focus on anything. It seemed like, for this final room, the tower had thrown everything at them.
The floor was covered in a mosaic of square tiles, each with different icons painted on them.
Nearby were three golden chests just begging to be opened.
On the far side of the room were fifteen zombies in an advanced stage of decomposition. They had a thick coil of rope wrapped around their waists, and the rope fed into the wall behind them.
Way over on the right were a bunch of levers set into the wall, each with different markings underneath.
Finally, a rumble came from above them. Tripp looked up to see yet another boulder, this one big enough to crush a house.
Etta spoke with a bored air. “Sight trap ahead. I’ll set up the mirror.”
In their fruitless travails through the tower, they’d encountered a few more boulder rooms. Luckily, they’d also taken a piece of a mirror from a different puzzle room, and Etta worked out that they could set the mirror on the ground while they dealt with a boulder, glancing into it every so often to make sure the rock couldn’t move.
Rolley, whose trap skill had rushed through the levels until he was now ranked zinc-2, didn’t even have to patrol the room to find traps. Instead, he just stood by the entrance and looked around, concentrating intently.
“We’ve got pressure switches, false floors. A bunch of spike pits. The mosaics are interesting. I can see the mechanism; if we step on the wrong ones, they’ll cut the rope by the wall and let the zombies loose.”
“Good to know. Anything else?”
“Yep, a bunch of stuff. The gold chests are mimics. Surprise surprise. The levers will trigger a secret hatch over there. Probably some kind of monster behind it. Then we’ve got trick scales, a fire switch, a few poison dart hatches...”
Tripp had to smile at how utterly unafraid they all were. When they’d first gotten into the tower, they’d struggled with a few scourges and a simple cyclical room trap. Now, they faced an atrium full of pitfalls and tricks, and it felt like nothing.
Maybe that was the point of the twenty-something rooms they’d had to conquer to get here. The rewards of those rooms weren't loot or purpose letters. Their prize was getting so skilled in puzzles and traps that this place barely looked challenging.
Using Rolley’s trap notes, they formulated a plan to work through the room.
And then they did it.
It took them two hours, but they worked through every puzzle and every single trap until they reached the far end of the room, where the exit door waited.
“I can’t believe how good your trap skill is, Rolley,” said Etta.
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
She eyed the door in front of them. Rather than open it, Etta prodded it a few times with her spear. Nothing happened, no mimics leaped out.
“Then I guess this is it.”
Together, the three of them exited the final room of the tower.
The sound
of a harp playing confirmed that they had indeed beaten the final puzzle. This rest room had the same organic walls as the cavern, except they were wetter and gave off heat, seeming to throb. It wasn’t a nice place to be, except for one thing.
Three gold chests, real ones this time, were waiting for them.
“Etta, could you do the honors, please?” asked Tripp.
Etta stabbed each chest. When no mimics jumped out at them, it was time to see what treasure they had earned.
Tripp approached his with a beating heart and excitement churning in him. He unlatched the clasp, and a shower of golden light burst from inside.
Loot Received!
Armorer’s Hammer of Spearcraft
This armorer hammer will improve an armorer’s quality baseline when working with spears, ensuring that each one created is of [excellent] quality as a minimum. Requirements: Tin Rank
Artificer’s Offense Goggles
An artificer wearing these goggles will gain extra effectiveness when working with offensive artificery, bestowing extra damage and effects to his weapons.
Scythe of the Tower Born *Gem*
A gem necessary for fixing the scythe of the dead god.
Tripp marveled at his new crafting tools. There was no doubt that the gold chest was worth it. His new repair hammer would let him create [excellent] spears at a minimum. If he increased his armorer level, maybe he’d even make ones of a [master] quality.
The goggles would be useful, too. You could only judge an artificer’s work by the effects his items gave. As an iron-ranked artificer, Tripp was a little down the ladder. His goggles would even things a little, letting him add offensive effects beyond his level.
And then there was the gem. This fit snugly into one of the slots on the Scythe of the Tower Born blade. Only one slot remained now. He’d nearly completed the weapon.
“What did you guys get?” he asked them.
“Don’t even think about it,” Etta said. “You’re not taking my loot apart again.”
“Hey, it was worth it, wasn’t it? How many times did the time-spears save our arses?”
“True, but I’d like to keep these things intact. I got a new set of armor. It’s so light. See?”
She held up her chest piece. It was like a silk shirt.
“Doesn’t have the same badass look as leathers,” said Tripp.
“Nope but it’s a hell of a lot lighter. It makes me much more flexible, but it has a higher defense rating than my leathers.”
“Rolley? How about you?”
Unlike when he’d opened his last two chests, Rolley was smiling now. “Another new dagger,” he told them. “The Frontstab Dagger. All the fun critical hit effects of scoring a backstab on someone, except you can do it right in front of their face.”
A loud snapping sound drew their attention. For the first time in days, beams of light spiraled in the air, forming into words.
You have done it, travelers. You have beaten the final puzzle, and you have earned the rewards. You may now learn the true purpose of the tower.
Purpose letters received: D, R, O, A
The true purpose of the Tower of Windborne is to:
DESTROY THE HEART
CHAPTER 33
“Destroy the heart?” said Etta. “What heart? We haven’t seen a heart, have we?”
Rolley scratched his chin with his gauntlet hand. “Maybe it’s something we’re supposed to find. Another secret.”
“Tripp?”
He thought as hard as he could, but he had nothing. “Sorry, guys.”
Footsteps came from the far reaches of the room now. Tripp felt an ominous sensation in his belly.
“Time to leave. We know what to do; time spears ready. If the monks get too close, slow them down.”
A figure emerged from a square alcove on the other side of the room. Tripp had expected a pale-faced monk with blood-red lips. The person who emerged had a pale face, but he was no monk.
“Elder Odell?” said Etta.
“Forgive my intrusion, my friends,” he said. “I was meditating, when a sudden premonition stole my thoughts. I pondered it and realized it was not a premonition, but knowledge. Knowledge of something that had been discovered. You have learned the purpose of the tower, have you not?”
“Destroy the heart,” said Tripp.
“We don’t know where it is, though,” said Etta.
Odell pointed to a diamond-shaped alcove opposite him. “Through this door, and then through a further hundred tower rooms. There, you will find the tower’s heart.”
Tripp felt his energy leave him in one quick gust. He had to lean against the wall. “A hundred? A hundred more rooms? I'm sorry, guys. I can’t do it.”
Etta patted his shoulder. “Tripp, we have to…we can…no, I can’t either.”
“Do not despair, friends,” read the text beside Elder Odell’s head. “For you have discovered the purpose of the tower yourselves. The magic bonds of my oath prevented me from revealing it to you. Now that you know it, my oath will not prevent me from taking a walk through the tower with you.”
“A walk?”
“Perhaps if we walk a little, friends, we may find a faster route to the beating pulse of this prison.”
Tripp, Etta, and Rolley exchanged looks. They had spent so long together now that they could make a decision together with just an expression.
Three nods were all it took. “We’re ready,” said Tripp.
“No, you are not, alas. But you can take just a moment longer to prepare. Do so, and then we will depart. The Tower Born will always be grateful.”
It was hard to even believe that the tower might end for them soon, one way or another. Destroy the heart or…something destroyed them? Knowing how Boxe, and Soulboxe itself, worked, Tripp knew they’d have to get ready for a fight.
“Go through your inventories, try and have a few different weapon handy. Ones artificed for different effects, if possible. We don’t know what we’ll face.”
The first thing Tripp did was to remove the essence from the soul slot on his palm. He needed something with more firepower, but what could he choose?
The only essence he had was a pinch of firebolg essence, but for all he knew they could come up against something fire-based. That’d mean his artificery weakened him.
What could he use? He didn’t have any more offensive essence left. Damn.
But just like he’d once told Etta, sometimes you had to stop thinking about something, and then an idea would come to you.
To busy himself while he waited, he decided to create a new spear for Etta.
First, he created a new crafting card. He already had one for a spear, but artificers were supposed to innovate, so he had to give it a shot.
He imagined a spear. Six feet tall, the wood sturdy enough to go through fights without snapping, but with a tiny bit of bend to it.
He pictured the tip. Not just sharp, like most spears. So sharp that it gleamed. That when a breeze blew across it, the tip cut the wind in half.
Crafting Card created: Elite Spear
Now he was getting somewhere! Using his new armorer tool, the Hammer of Spearcraft, he made the spear. This item, a prize from the gold chest, was specialized for spear making.
When he’d finished combining crafted wood and iron in his inventory, the resulting weapon was beautiful.
Item Created: [Excellent] Elite Spear
Damn. Not [masterful] related, definitely not [perfect], but he was getting there.
He strapped on his artificer goggles. As an [excellent] elite spear, it had four circular slots, four octagonal slots, and two square utility slots. Though he could only artifice one type of slot at once at his current level, it still meant he could add a lot to it.
After thinking on it some, he opted to artifice the Greenwind Fae essence into both utility slots. He blended it, sealed it with manus, and then checked his work.
Item Upgraded: [Excellent] Elite Spear of Healing Touch
&n
bsp; An excellently crafted, elite-level weapon that regenerates the user’s health at a rate of 1 HP per second.
He felt excited when he gave the weapon to Etta. But if he was excited, then she lost her head.
“Holy hell, Tripp! You made this? It’s great! It’s like something you’d get from a high-tier quest or something. You honestly did this yourself?”
Tripp didn’t even bother to hide his pride. He guessed you could allow yourself a tiny bit of pleasure if you’d worked for it. After all, when he’d first started playing Soulboxe he’d dreamed of creating items like this. He just didn’t realize how far you had to advance to get here. Maybe the tower had been worth it, after all.
After Etta began practicing with her spear by stabbing the air in quite graceful moves, Tripp knew he had more to do to feel ready. Before he could craft anything else, a notification appeared.
Armorer skill leveled up!
New Rank: Tin-5
+10% effectiveness in creating weapons
+15% specialism in creating spears
Tin-5! That put him one level away from advancing to the iron rank, which would give him a big boost. He couldn’t wait to find out what, but the only thing he could do to push it along was to craft stuff. To make new weapons, sharpen them, hone their damage…
…wait.
Just like he’d hoped, an idea came to him. Something he could do with the artificery slot he’d got on his palm after becoming an iron-rank artificer.
He checked its description again.
Ability Gained: Artificer’s Soul
As an artificer, you have worked with enough essence that its powers and knowledge become a part of you. You have gained an artificery slot on your person, into which you can place materials, items or essence to gain an effect.
Materials, items, or essence. That was the clue that made a beast of an idea flash in his mind.