The Sleeper Must Awaken

by Kip Terrington

  “This dungeon has already taken your life once. It's tasted your memories, it knows what you truly want. But don't forget, her purpose is not to fulfill your fantasy. Her purpose is to feed herself and you are a tiny tasty hors d'oeuvre,” Zoya explained.

  “But I could be her equal. I could look her in the eye without having to stand on her shoulder!” Moes said with the broken weakness evident in his voice.

  “You can be her equal without being physically large. You don't need this potion,” Joe said, knowing it was the wrong thing to say the moment the words escaped his lips.

  “Don't talk to me about size! You couldn't possibly understand, you half-yeti monstrosity,” Moes spit out.

  “It doesn't matter if you need it, you can't have it. Face reality. You and I have to find ways to meet this huge world the way we are. And I can say that. You know Joe is right. Size has nothing to do with being equal to anyone else,” Zoya consoled.

  Moes’ head and shoulders slumped in failure.

  “But, we could have children. It would change everything... I don't really care about being equal. There's so much more to it than just the size disparity. What if…” Moes started as he once again began to hope.

  “Joe, I'm sorry I called you a yeti monstrosity and an ignoramus, but I have an idea. Will you hear me out?” Moes asked with excitement in his eyes.

  “You didn't call me an ignoramus,” Joe pointed out.

  “Oh, I guess I just thought that part. Anyway, will you hear me out?” Moes asked once more. Joe frowned at the put down and did little to hide the grin he was suppressing.

  “Sure, what's your idea?” Joe prompted.

  “First, you open your bag really wide. Second, I grab the potion. Third, I jump in your bag and you close it tight. It might not work, but there is a chance that it will. Will you all risk it for me?” Moes fell to his knees and begged.

  Bork immediately began nodding his head in the affirmative and Grork, as always, followed his lead.

  “Okay, let’s try,” Joe said with obvious apprehension in his voice. Moes’ eyes lit up with triumph.

  “Don't do it, Joe. It will mean the final death for Moes,” Zoya warned.

  “What?” Joe asked.

  “Stay out of this, Zoya! You might be a queen, but it's his bag, he can do with it what he pleases. Open your bag, Joe, and get ready,” Moes ranted, preparing to reach for the potion and click yes.

  “Stop! I need to know what she means,” Joe insisted, stepping away from Moes and tightly closing his Holdall.

  “Joe, Moes is a person and we don't know what would happen if a person went into your bag. But one thing we do know is that there is a time dilation effect in that little pocket dimension you carry around with you. The bunny plague is not something that could have happened in a short time. In your bag, it's likely that Moes would age past that of the life expectancy for a halfling,” Zoya explained.

  “Who cares? I'm a player. As long as I keep my level high enough, I'm virtually immortal. I can deal with a hundred years of boredom, or even a thousand years, if it means Gretchen and I could make a family together,” Moes countered. Joe’s grip began to loosen on his bag.

  “Unfortunately, you're incorrect. You're not a Champion, you're a player, and players age. Because of my avatar’s sensor capabilities and the high processing power of my core, there are many hidden things in this world that are no longer secrets to me,” Zoya said without an ounce of pride in her tone.

  “Don't listen to her, she just doesn't want me to have something she can't,” Moes argued.

  “How have you confirmed this?” Joe asked, ignoring the halfling’s anger.

  “From cell samples taken from each of the players. When a cell divides, the telomere length drops by one unit. As the number of telomeres approaches zero, the cells are less capable of making perfect copies of themselves. This is what causes aging. Unlike you and I, all of the player’s telomeres are dropping at a similar rate comparable to the NPCs of their species. I have already confirmed one of the older players losing a level correlating with the degradations of aging. I wish the data didn't point in that direction, but the data is the data,” Zoya observed.

  “I'm sorry, Moes. This is not going to work,” Joe lamented.

  “Just like that?” Moes said.

  “I’m sorry,” Joe consoled.

  “This is not her decision. It's mine and I think the risk is worth it. Open the bag, let's do this,” Moes demanded.

  “No,” Joe reiterated.

  “You're not my king. Don't make decisions for me. Open the bag!” Moes seethed.

  “You're right. I don't make decisions for you, but if you want to kill yourself it is not my responsibility to let you use my gun. This bag is staying closed, even if you decide you want to kill us all by taking that potion. At this point, you know that's what it would be: murder-suicide. I know that you haven't been fasting, so even if you took the potion it wouldn't work. Without the small chance that my bag would give you, I can see no way you would be able to keep that potion. If we weren't all carrying our best gear, I would say maybe we could risk it, but that's not the situation we are in,” Joe explained sympathetically.

  “I need it,” Moes pleaded.

  “Click no on the item. When we're out of this dungeon, we’ll try to figure out another way to get this potion. On this run, however, it's not going to happen. And if you want to have more runs, at least in this particular group, you're going to need to follow my orders. And I'm ordering you not to pick it up. Sorry, Moes, this is the way it has to be,” Joe said.

  Moes turned his head away from the group so they could not see the fury, or the grief. His mind raced as he tried to think of some way, some justification, for taking the potion. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Moes couldn't think of anything. With regret, he clicked no on the item of his dreams. Using the hard-learned discipline of a master in Mind and Spirit Magic, Moes hid the bitterness he felt toward his comrades.

  The Boss Music ended, but the group did not receive any notifications.

  None of them addressed Moes. Instead, they continued their forward progress toward the stairs leading down.

  Directly in front of the stairs heading to the next floor stood five pedestals. On each one sat a mask with similar properties. The only difference between each mask was the species for which they were designed.

  “Mask of underwater breathing? Soulbound on equip and one for each of us. Nobody accept it. We still haven't conquered this floor. Mind you, we would keep this through death because they are soulbound items, but we would still die. At least I think. Most likely, even if we make a break for it and run to the stairs, we’d still die,” Joe said.

  “Pass,” Moes said, as if bored.

  “I concur Moes. Even if the next floor is a water floor, these masks are not worth the loss of our unbound items,” Zoya commented.

  “Okay, everybody click no and walk on by,” Joe directed.

  With almost as much enthusiasm as one conjures up for a funeral march, the group made their way down the stairs.

  Before they could descend more than twelve meters, the stairs opened up into a cube of a room.

  “The dimensions are perfect, as if they were cut by a laser—ten meters by ten meters by ten meters. The glowing ball in the center of the room has a circumference of exactly one meter. Not only that, it is also the same distance from all six sides of this cube. I must admit, there's something really satisfying about seeing such precision,” Zoya confessed, raising her palm to her heart as if to still her excitement.

  At the far end of the cube were two floor-to-ceiling oak doors. Just as before, a glowing script gradually appeared on the doors ahead of them.

  Welcome adventurers!

  The Dungeon of Os hopes you enjoyed your walk through the Floor of Wonders. The highly sensitive security system confirms that no items or resources were removed from the floor. However, the Dungeon of Os recognizes that there is no such thing as per
fect security, especially in a world where master thieves receive glory instead of execution. For this reason, the Dungeon of Os asks that you voluntarily submit yourselves and your items to an intensive scan. Floor 5 will not be complete until this scan is administered. When ready for the scan, simply close the doors behind you, sealing off the stairs.

  “Are you kidding? Not even a, ‘thank you for not robbing me blind’?” Moes muttered.

  “Echoing the late great Chris Rock, you're not supposed to get praise or congratulations for doing what you're supposed to do,” Zoya lightly impersonated.

  “Chris Rock? Was he related to the King of the Hawaiian Islands?” Joe asked, and Zoya immediately looked down and shook her head in amused annoyance.

  “No, King Johnson was not a member of the Rock family, that was just a character that he played. Mind you, he played it well, so it's understandable that people still think of him by that name,” Zoya gently informed.

  “Of course, I knew that, I just wasn't thinking. But I bet Chris Rock always wished he was related to The Rock,” Joe theorized wistfully.

  “Can we close the doors already?” Grork asked, with a failed attempt at hiding his impatience.

  “Yeah, let's go ahead and do that,” Joe said.

  “It doesn't feel voluntary,” Moes complained as Grork closed one door and Joe closed the other.

  As the doors came together, they felt the vibration of a solid click. Without warning, gravity ceased to have any influence inside the cube. As the weightlessness took effect, everyone but Zoya began flailing their arms, attempting to adjust to the lack of normality. The bright glowing orb in the center of the cube began to flicker, building up to a strobe.

  Unfortunately, the lack of gravity and the bright pulsing light was too much for Bork. Joe looked over at his goblin friend and noted that Bork was no longer of brown-green, but instead a bright neon green. Bork gripped his stomach and puckered his lips. Joe’s eyes opened wide as he realized what was about to happen.

  “Keep it together, Bork! Don't let go!” Joe stressed.

  The goblin moved his hands from his goblin-sized gut and covered his mouth, but it was a vain attempt at containment. As Bork heaved, the vomit began leaking through his fingers. The yellow soupy liquid floated around the room in spiracle masses of varying sizes.

  Moes screamed in terror as he noticed a large portion of the vomit slowly head his way. He was a tiny Titanic and the vomit a liquid iceberg, it was destiny.

  “Come on, Moes, you have to pump your arms faster than that if you want to dodge that lunch,” Zoya encouraged, completely at home in the open air.

  Moes stopped flailing his arms and attempted a doggy paddle, but it was no use. The vomit splashed up against the side of his uniform. Only about a quarter of it stuck, while the rest of it bounced off in new directions.

  “Blasted void! That is so disgusting,” Moes screamed, tightly gripping his nose with one hand.

  Feeling the effect of the stink, the strobe, and the weightlessness, the little halfling’s hands went to his own stomach. Even Joe began to gag, and only Zoya remained unaffected. The dark fairy could see how much her comrades were struggling and sympathy almost overwhelmed her processors. Gathering herself, she attempted to rally her group.

  “Everybody, close your eyes and curl yourself in a ball. The scan is just about complete and then, I'm sure we’ll be provided with clean water to splash on our faces and help us feel better again. Joe, go ahead and get your immovable bar out and steady yourself. In a moment, you boys will be right as rain. Just breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose. Let’s try to avoid that smell. No, no, deep breaths and let it out slowly. Yes, just like that, Grork. I can tell you're feeling better already. I think that's enough, Os. There's enough scanning-type magic flowing through this room that it's just about to burst my processors. I hope you're not using the scan for more than its stated purposes,” Zoya said, letting the accusation hang.

  As if in response, the light stopped flickering and the gravity slowly returned.

  As everyone found their feet, Joe shook off the dizziness and held onto his immovable bar to steady himself. Then, they received the UI message they had been waiting for.

  Ding

  Congratulations!

  Your party has successfully traversed the Floor of Wonders. Though most of you considered taking your first step on a road that leads to criminality and thievery, ultimately your party prevailed. (Note: removing an item from the Floor of Wonders and surviving will grant the status of Master Thief. The experience received from traversing the Floor of Wonders is calculated individually, based upon the level of difficulty each player overcame.)

  A treasure chest materialized in front of them. “We'll open the chest in a minute. Let's go through the messages first,” Joe said.

  XP received:

  Base- 500, Voice of Monty Ring bonus- 500

  Total XP- 1,000

  You have moved up a level.

  Current Level- 76

  “Looks like we got just enough XP for another level. Should we take a break and allocate the points we earned from the last two floors?” Joe suggested.

  “I think that's a good idea for you to do, but before you do, take a look at Moes and Bork,” Zoya said and Joe mind-clicked.

  “Excellent! Congratulations, Bork, you just gained four levels and congratulations to you also, Moes, you just got five. That is really something. How do you feel?” Joe asked the both of them.

  Bork reached in one of his pockets and pulled out a vial of green liquid. Carefully, he held it up to his eye, examining it closely. For just a second, the green vial glinted and a slow soft smile formed on the still grieving goblin’s face.

  “I found this ichor in the ashes of the first vampire Grork and I killed. No matter what tests I ran, I couldn't identify it or any of its properties. But thanks to the new levels I just received, I can now identify any alchemical substance of master’s level or below. This vial contains Linapot, and it is a substance produced from the drainage of an Incus mushroom when grown on a freshly slaughtered animal. I have already identified this mushroom on the first floor. I didn't know it could be grown on something dead,” Bork said.

  “As always, I love information, Bork, but I can tell by the sparkle in your eye you’re burying the lead. What is Linapot good for?” Zoya asked.

  “Linapot weakens the skin of a vampire. If you can supply me with newly slaughtered animals and assign me a dark floor with humidity controls, I can produce this substance in large quantities. We can then coat our weapons in this precious sticky green goo and their impact will become more effective against our foe,” Bork smiled and simultaneously raised one hand that his comrade, Grork, immediately high-fived.

  The group's attention then turned toward Moes, whose eyes had closed as if in meditation.

  Though Joe wasn't a fan of silence, he waited until the halfling was ready to respond.

  “Not only have I received new spells, but I have discovered a few new concepts for how the mind and spirit can interact with each other. Because of this deep understanding, the UI has revealed to me one of the many hidden prerequisites for becoming an illuminati. What I once believed impossible, may one day come to pass,” Moes remarked.

  “Fantastic. What's the prerequisite?” Joe asked.

  “Maybe one day I'll sell you that information, but for right now, you can't afford it,” Moes said with seriousness.

  “It almost feels like you don't want the Champion of the Way to be powerful, Moes. What you don't understand is that both Zoya and I have accepted our role. We are the people of the Way’s best hope of creating a place of safety. Right now, we don't even know the prerequisites to becoming a master in magic. All you've said is that we need to study, study, study. I won't force you to share the information, but I'm disappointed you don't see us as, at least, a tool to help your people,” Joe said.

  “The kind of trust you're asking for has to be earned,” Moes
responded.

  “I can understand that. Sit tight while I allocate a few points,” Joe stated.

  Power and Stat Allocation

  Note: Not all levels are created equal. Work hard and distinguish yourself to prepare well, and you may receive more stat and power allocation points.

  Joe

  Level 75 through Level 76-

  You’ve received 2 points of power.

  You’ve received 2 points of stat, allocated based on achievement:

  Plus 2 to Muscle/Gears

  Joe looked over his stats and focused on the magic options he had already invested in.

  Normal Magic options

  Magic choices available

  Journeyman Force Magic, ConMod +2 - cost 9 (3/9 credited)

  Journeyman Mind Magic, ConMod +2 - cost 9 (3/9 credited)

  Journeyman Portal Magic, ConMod +2 - cost 9 (3/9 credited)

  Master Fire Magic, WisMod +5 - cost 30 (9/30 credited)

  Note: additional requirements not met.

  Master Life Magic, WisMod +5 - cost 30 (9/30 credited)

  Note: additional requirements not met.

  Master Spirit Magic, WisMod +5 - cost 30 (9/30 credited)

  Note: additional requirements not met.

  2 points of power available. Allocate all points.

  “Okay, I have been throwing all my points toward Fire Magic and I’d love to put more in that category, but I worry that even if I reach the full 30 points, I might not be able to meet the other hidden requirements. It may end up feeling like a waste. I’m actually leaning more toward advancing my Portal Magic, but I’m not quite sure why my gut is leading me in that direction.”

  “Maybe you’re hoping it’ll help us get to the mistress quicker?” Zoya offered.

  “Those caverns are rather treacherous,” Grork interjected.

  “Portal Magic would be a strategic move, but you are not guaranteed the spells you seek. There aren’t always ley lines that lead to where you want either,” Moes instructed.