Hiro looked back to the old wizard again. “What happens to the castle if I accept?”
“It will be permitted to continue on its course.”
“Meaning it will bring down the barrier.”
“Yes.”
Hiro shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“Think carefully, my young friend,” said the old wizard. “If you refuse, there will be… consequences.”
“I decline your offer,” he said.
The old wizard’s eyes darkened. “As you wish,” he said, and he disappeared with a flourish of his robe.
Almost immediately, the ramp to the lower level sealed itself off and the ring of fire began to expand. Anne, Penelope, and Marri were forced back against the wall. Even worse, a second ring of fire appeared around the terminal, forcing Hiro back. Apparently he wasn’t immune to this one.
“See?” said Penelope. “I told you. Every time it’s like this.”
The flames intensified, and Anne shielded her face from the heat.
“How do we stop it?” asked Penelope.
“I have something!” shouted Hiro. He flipped through his spell catalog. “I thought I saw a spell—here it is!” He held up the page. “Blob of Water!”
“Does it involve poultry of any kind?” asked Penelope.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Anne. “Cast it before we’re all burned to a crisp!”
The two rings of fire continued to expand, filling the space. Hiro knelt in the center circle of stones between the rings and placed the spell catalog in front of him. He studied the text, and then he closed his eyes and began chanting. A small sphere of water appeared in the air above the catalog.
“Impressive,” said Penelope. “We are surely saved.”
The sphere began to grow. Soon it was the size of a fist. Then the size of a person. Then the size of an iron knight. Hiro kept chanting, and the sphere continued to grow until it reached the outer ring of fire. With a great hiss of steam, it overtook the flames and extinguished them.
The blob of water continued expanding.
“That’s enough!” yelled Anne. “Shut it off! Shut it off!”
The blob expanded once again and soon completely filled the room. Anne was tossed upside down as the wall of water struck her. Hiro was trying to reach the floor. He had dropped the medallion.
Anne swam to help him, but the current held her back. Just when she thought her lungs would burst, Hiro grabbed the medallion, swam over to the terminal, and pushed it into the slot. The terminal released a shockwave in all directions, flipping Anne upside down again. When the shockwave reached the outer walls, every window in the tower exploded outward. The water rushed out, and Anne and the others flopped to the floor with a thud. The terminal turned white and sank into the floor.
Anne groaned and rolled over. She counted three figures on the tiles next to her. Everyone seemed to be still alive, if only barely.
“How did you know inserting the medallion would do that?” she asked Hiro.
“I didn’t. I just didn’t want Penelope to be able to say I didn’t finish my part.”
Penelope lay sputtering on her back and raised her arm weakly. “Three cheers for the blob of water.”
After taking a few minutes to catch their breath, the group rode the elevator back down. They rejoined the members of Marri’s crew waiting for them outside the entrance to the tower. The crew shouted at the sight of them. Apparently, the waterfall down all sides of the tower had caused them great concern. Marri assured her crew everything was okay, and they made their way across the courtyard to the second tower. The wind had picked up, and Anne held her cloak tight around her. The rift was closer, as were the storm clouds.
As with the first, when Anne touched the outer wall of the second tower a blue grid appeared, containing the words INSERT KEY.
Anne held up her gauntlet-hand yet again. “Activate the Key You Cannot Hold.”
A small golden key appeared in the air above the gauntlet, the key from their first quest and the one activated by the silver medallion. She took it swiftly and inserted it into the keyhole, and a section of wall changed into an arched doorway.
The interior of the second was identical to the first except it was twice as tall and the interior staircase wound counterclockwise instead of clockwise. They rode the elevator without a problem, and quickly up another ramp they soon found themselves at the top. The layout was the same, with three rings of stone tiles and a computer terminal in the center. This time, however, someone was waiting for them. A knight in shining armor stood next to the terminal. Not an iron knight, but a human one. A sword was sheathed at her side, and a shield hung from her back. Her helmet rested atop the computer terminal.
“Another hologram, do you think?” asked Anne.
“Let the Shatterblade approach,” said the knight.
“This one’s all yours,” Hiro said to Penelope.
Penelope nodded and walked to the center of the circle.
“Penelope Shatterblade,” said the knight. “If you so choose, you may insert the medallion and continue on your way. But consider another option. Within this terminal lies the power to grant you what your heart most desires: to free you from the curse of your family name. You need only accept, and you shall be free to roam the Hierarchy, to study wherever you wish, and to become the greatest sword fighter in all the land.”
Penelope looked stunned. “You can really do that?”
“Yes.”
“You can restore my family name?”
“Yes.”
“And I can study anywhere I wish? Any academy I choose?”
“They will not be able to refuse you.”
As with Hiro, Anne knew how much this offer meant to Penelope. All her life, the curse of her family name had prevented her from following her dreams. If Anne had the power, this is exactly the gift she would give her friend. And she would never ask her to refuse it. She couldn’t imagine how difficult the choice must be.
Penelope turned to Anne. “I did say those things to Hiro. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have been honest.”
Anne swallowed. “I understand.”
Penelope faced the knight once again.
“Your answer?” asked the knight.
A smile spread across Penelope’s face. “It’s a tempting offer, but I pass. I’ll just have to become famous the old-fashioned way.”
“Think carefully. I am known as the Unbeatable Warrior. If you reject my offer, you will not be able to access this terminal unless you first defeat me in single combat.”
“You mean like a duel?” asked Penelope.
“Correct,” said the knight.
“I accept,” said Penelope.
“Pen, are you sure about this?” asked Anne. The knight looked formidable. Anne wanted to stop the barrier from coming down, but maybe there was another way to prevent the corruption from spreading and infecting the entire Hierarchy.
Penelope grinned. “Having my family name back won’t mean anything if I have to abandon my friends to get it. Besides, no one is unbeatable. Captain Copperhelm says it’s all just hype.”
“Do you mean to insult me?” asked the knight.
“No, I just don’t believe anyone is that good.”
The knight picked up her helmet. “Try me.”
“Fine. I choose trial by footrace.”
“I accept—wait, what? What do you mean, footrace?”
“One hundred laps around the inside of this room,” said Penelope. “Blindfolded.”
The knight frowned. “But we’re supposed to fight with swords.”
Penelope shook her head. “Wrong. You said it’s a duel. That means you make the challenge, and I pick the weapons.”
“But—but a footrace isn’t a weapon.”
Penelope crossed her arms. “Are you saying you forfeit?”
“No, but surely you can’t expect—”
“I can expect, and I do expect. Now stop stalling and put your b
lindfold on. Oh, and we have to spin around ten times first.”
“This is highly irregular,” said the knight.
Penelope ripped two lengths of cloth from Hiro’s robe (ignoring his protests) and handed one to the knight. They both moved to a position along the outer wall and tied their blindfolds on. Anne spun Penelope ten times and Hiro spun the knight.
“No cheating now,” said Penelope.
“I am insulted that you would suggest I would even consider such a thing,” said the knight.
“Are you ready?” asked Marri.
Both contestants nodded.
“Go!” Marri shouted.
The knight took off and immediately ran straight into the wall. She fell to the floor unconscious.
Penelope whipped off her blindfold. “Interesting. I had no idea a hologram could knock itself out. Quick, while I’m waiting for the room to stop spinning, someone put the silver medallion in that computer terminal and let’s get out of here.”
“You have to do it, remember?” said Anne, and she folded her arms across her chest. “But I’m not sure that was entirely on the up and up. Technically you didn’t win the race.”
“Who cares? We’re pirates, and you’re the Official Antagonist for the quest. Cheating is practically in the job description.”
“It really is,” said Hiro. “Section 3 Subsection F of the Official Antagonist’s Handbook. And the Pirate Handbook dedicates an entire chapter to the subject.”
“See?” said Penelope. “Now give me the medallion and let’s get moving!”
“Fine,” said Anne. “But somebody make sure the knight is okay.”
Hiro removed the knight’s helmet and waved his catalog back and forth over her face like a fan.
Anne handed the silver medallion to Penelope, and she walked over to the terminal and touched the top. When a hatch opened, Penelope slid the silver medallion into place, and as with the other terminal, this one turned white and sank into the floor.
“Two down and one to go,” said Anne.
The knight began to stir. Hiro helped her into a sitting position.
“Did I win?” asked the knight.
“I’m afraid not,” said Hiro. “But it was very close.”
“Pity.”
During the trip down the elevator, something occurred to Anne, and she paused as they exited the second tower.
“We might have a problem,” she said. “The first two towers required a key from one of our previous quests.”
“So?” said Penelope.
“The only medallion left is the gold one. If the third tower requires a key, it will be from the current quest. But we haven’t come across a key yet.”
“Maybe the key is in the gold medallion itself,” suggested Penelope.
Anne held up her gauntlet-hand. “Activate Gold Medallion Key.”
Nothing happened.
“Activate High Castle Key. Activate Third Tower Key. Activate Octo-Horse Pirate Key.”
None of these commands resulted in a key appearing.
“Maybe we need the original medallion,” said Marri. “Maybe the key is the one thing a master medallion can’t duplicate. You know, as an extra security feature. There seem to be plenty of those on this quest.”
“And I’m afraid that’s where you’re going to run into a bit of trouble,” said a voice above them.
Octo-Horse Pirate dropped out of the sky and landed in front of the third tower in a cloud of smoke. As usual, his parrot was perched on his shoulder.
“Polly want a key?” said the parrot.
Anne shook with a mixture of fear and anger. Fear because she knew Octo-Horse Pirate was both willing and able to hurt them. Anger because she was tired of fighting self-serving villains who had no regard for anyone but themselves.
“Let us pass,” she said in what she hoped was a steady voice.
Octo-Horse Pirate placed a hand on the hilt of his rapier. “And if I decide to fight you?”
“Ha!” said Penelope. “You and what army?”
“Why, this one, of course.”
Octo-Horse Pirate gave a whistle. Footsteps echoed from every direction as hundreds of figures stepped out of the shadows on the walls above and filled the perimeter of the courtyard. Several walked forward and stood next to Octo-Horse Pirate. Penelope’s double was there, as were the doubles of the pirate crew. Anne thought she even recognized the faces of people she’d met during her first two quests, such as the villagers in the Black Desert and some of the guards from the Sapphire Palace. Every single one of them wore a dragon stone.
Doppelgangers.
Indeed, an entire army of them.
THE EPIC GUIDE TO EPICALLY EPIC BATTLES OFFERS THE FOLLOWING EPIC WORDS:
When preparing for your epic battle, make sure to strap on your epic sword, secure your epic breastplate, put on your epic helmet of epicness, and march out epically to face your epic foe. Fight epically, with epic strength and epic endurance, for an epic amount of time. And when you finally, epically achieve your epic goal, be sure to cry aloud in epic victory, for there will be only one epic word to describe that epically epic feeling:
Very good.
The Battle of the Five Armies
Anne’s heart sank. The doppelganger army was a hundred soldiers wide and ten ranks deep. They completely blocked any path to the third tower. Anne found it disturbing to be staring at so many faces she recognized, knowing she might have to fight them—and soon, too, for time was running short. They had reached the edge of the storm, which meant the castle must now be close to the rift itself. The temperature had dropped enough that their breath was now visible, and the wind whipped their cloaks back and forth.
“This is bad,” said Hiro. “This is very, very bad.”
“Can you cast another spell?” asked Penelope.
Hiro shook his head. “The blob of water soaked my catalog and made all the ink run. It’s ruined.”
Penelope drew her sword. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to do this the hard way, then.”
Anne looked to Marri. The pirate captain had her sword in hand and looked ready for a fight. Anne took a steadying breath and steeled herself for whatever might come. No matter the odds, they had to find a way through.
A rainbow-colored object streaked past them and headed straight for Octo-Horse Pirate.
“Leave my friends alone, you big bully!” Jeffery yelled.
He swooped as though to attack, but just as Octo-Horse Pirate swung, Jeffery performed a roll midair and dropped beneath his grasp. He dove for Octo-Horse Pirate’s torso and snatched the bag hanging from his belt—the bag holding Marri’s magick dice, the dice in which the staff of Saint Lupin’s had been imprisoned. With the bag held firmly in his beak, Jeffery immediately changed direction and tried to climb, but Octo-Horse Pirate snatched him out of the air with his gauntlet-hand and held Jeffery in a tight grip.
“Let him go!” shouted Anne.
“A little fish like this should learn to leave the sharks alone,” said Octo-Horse Pirate, and he squeezed harder, causing Jeffery to let out a squeak.
With only Anne, Penelope, Hiro, and Marri and her crew, the odds weren’t exactly in their favor. Anne was about to summon the Three-Handed Sword when several dozen shadows fell over the courtyard. The sky above the castle filled with hulking airships. All cannon ports were open and ready for action.
“I think reinforcements have arrived,” Hiro said excitedly.
As the airships sailed closer, Anne saw the black seven-pointed star painted on each sail. Wizards’ Council ships.
“Scratch that,” said Hiro. “I think we’re in even more trouble.”
The ships came to a stop over the second tower and threw down ropes. Hundreds of robed figures descended to the ground. They were accompanied by several dozen eight-foot-tall armored knights—iron knights, to be exact. Several wizards held glass control cubes in their hands. The council army landed in front of the second tower and formed ranks, with the iron kni
ghts taking the center. There were fewer wizards and iron knights than there were doppelgangers, but what they lacked in numbers they made up for in magickal abilities and sheer strength.
Lieutenant Formaldehyde from the Wizards’ Council stepped forward and held up a piece of official-looking parchment.
“In my capacity as Acting Minister of Questing, I am hereby declaring this quest illegal,” he said. “All participants are ordered to surrender their weapons and disperse in an orderly fashion. That is, everyone except for that group,” he said, pointing at Anne and the others. “You may consider yourselves under arrest.”
“I think we should get a card stamped every time someone tells us we’re under arrest,” said Penelope. “You know, like for every ten arrests we get one free. Or maybe a bag of candy.”
“I get the impression you’re not taking this seriously,” said the lieutenant.
The courtyard darkened further as new shadows fell upon them. More airships had arrived, but these didn’t belong to the Wizards’ Council. It was an eclectic group of ships of various shapes and sizes. Ropes dropped from these ships as well, and hundreds of pirates rappelled to the ground.
“The pirates from the Haven have come to help us!” exclaimed Penelope.
“Not quite,” said Marri. “Those ships belong to the museum guards.”
Anne looked at her. “The museum guards have their own warships?”
“They’re from one of the displays.”
Once the guards from the Pyrate Museum had arranged themselves in front of the first tower, the chief of the museum guards stepped forward and pointed at Anne and the others.
“We’re here—”
“Yeah, yeah, we know,” shouted Penelope. “You and your guards are here in those ridiculous uniforms to arrest us for stealing your precious gold medallion, blah blah blah.”
“And an avocado!” shouted a random guard in the back.
Penelope threw up her hands in annoyance. “Whatever! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re already facing two other armies here, so if you want a piece of us you’re going to have to get in line!”
“Well, there’s no reason to yell,” said the chief. “Also, I think that crack about uniforms was uncalled for. Words hurt, you know.”
The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It) Page 20