Load Custom Character

by Tyler R Lee

  "What's what?" Ariel asked.

  Tony showed her the pattern, and called all the rest over to look at it. It was indiscernible at first glance. Like a broken picture that had its pieces rearranged.

  "One of the pieces is missing," Gunner pointed out, placing his finger on a space at the bottom of the pattern. Indeed, there was a space where a piece of the pattern should be, but was missing.

  "It's a puzzle!" Streak cried out as he shoved people out of the way.

  "A puzzle?" a few voices echoed.

  "Of course it is," Ariel smiled.

  "It's a sliding puzzle," Streak continued as he slid one of the pieces to the side, where they had believed one was missing just a moment earlier. "We have to rearrange the pieces and complete the picture. Surely that will open the door."

  "Are you sure?" Gunner asked, his voice full of doubt and panic.

  "Not in the least," Streak shot back. "You got a better idea?"

  "Nope," Gunner said as he motioned for Streak to continue.

  "Can you solve it?" Ariel asked the speedster.

  "It may not seem like it just from talking to me," Streak had a bit of a smile on his face now, "but I'm pretty good with puzzles." Without waiting for a reply, he started shifting pieces left and right, up and down, attempting to bring clarity to the pattern on the wall.

  "Hey," Peter called out, ear pressed up against the cold stone as he listened for a response. "Hey, you guys find anything yet?"

  "Are they looking? Did they find anything?" Val asked as she poked at the walls furiously with her twin long swords.

  "I'm asking."

  "Peter," Ariel called out in a muffled tone from the other side of the wall. "Peter, we think we've figured it out."

  "You think?" Peter pulled his head back from the wall and stared at it, a bit apprehensive at Ariel's word choice.

  "Pretty sure," he heard Streak say from the other side of the wall, his tone a bit preoccupied.

  "Pretty sure?" Peter asked again.

  "Can we get a bit more confidence than that?" Val asked as she and a few other players splashed around in now thigh high water as they began to strike at the stone walls.

  "Really pretty sure," Peter heard Ariel call out from the other side of the wall. He sighed, but resigned himself to trusting his friends. "It's a puzzle," Ariel added. "Streak is solving it. This should work. And don't repeat should!" she added as Peter opened his mouth. The boy laughed at how well she had gotten to know him.

  His jovial distraction was short lived as he noticed the water rising even higher, now up to his chest. "I don't want to rush you," he said as he noticed he was starting to float slightly. "But...it's getting really deep in here."

  "Streak, you've got to hurry," Ariel said as she glanced nervously from Streak to the pattern he was working with, watching him sliding tile after tile. She noticed the pattern becoming more and more of a picture.

  "Really?" Streak asked. "Thanks for letting me know. I've been lollygagging this whole time."

  "Sorry."

  "Is it a person?" Gunner asked as he leaned in close to the puzzle to get a better look.

  "Maybe," Streak answered as he placed a hand on Gunner's face and shoved it out of his line of sight. "Looks like a tree, actually."

  "Guys," Tony said, the rising panic clear in his voice. "The splashing is getting...quieter."

  "Maybe it's draining? Maybe they found a switch in there?" Gunner asked, hoping for someone to convince him of such.

  "No," Glitch answered, also panicking. "No, the splashing is...deeper. Like, they can't run around anymore."

  "It's too deep," Ariel gasped.

  "I'm hurrying, god dammit!" Streak yelled as he ground his teeth in frustration at his own inability to solve the puzzle faster.

  Is this really how it ends? Peter, thought as he fought to hold his head above the water. He looked around and saw Val and a couple of other players trying to do the same as him, swimming up the ten or so feet to the ceiling where there was a small pocket of air that hadn't been fully immersed in the water. However, it was Lysander and the rest that worried him. There they floated, beneath the water, not moving.

  Have they already drowned? That thought made Peter’s stomach drop. Are we all going to drown? Did we make it this far just to be beaten by some stupid ass trap?

  Peter noticed Val and several other players slowing down in their persistence to find air as he floated back down into the water. Then he realized why; the water had fully reached the top. There was no air pocket. They were out of time.

  Dammit. Lysander. I failed. Just like I thought I would. Shield. I let you down. Ariel...before he could finish his thought, Peter's vision went dark, and the muffled sound of underwater ceased.

  Chapter 12

  "Peter! Peter, wake up!" The voice was muffled, but urgent. Peter tried to open his eyes, but they were so heavy, he couldn't. He tried to speak, but he couldn't do that either. He was still underwater.

  "Is he waking up? Peter!" This voice was muffled, too. It also sounded familiar. Again, he tried to speak, tried to see, but couldn't.

  "We need a healer! Please!" Such an urgent voice. What was going on?

  "Can you help him?"

  "I think so." Peter had never heard this voice before. It was deeper, less urgent, but still sounded worried. Were they worried about him?

  "All other healers, attend to the rest. Val, you okay? Great! You help, as well."

  It was then Peter felt as if something punched him square in the abdomen. In an instant, all the air was forced out of him, but was preceded by what seemed like an entire pond of water. He coughed aggressively for what felt like several minutes before he managed to open one eye, but quickly closed it due to a coughing fit that caused him to roll over onto his stomach. As he got to his hands and knees, he felt like he was going to cough up every internal organ he had.

  "Thank god," Peter heard the first voice say, now much clearer. It was Ariel, who wrapped him up in a tight embrace from behind, which caused him to go into another coughing fit. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

  "No," he coughed. "No, hugs are welcome." He finished the last statement as he turned over and sat down. Then, he felt Ariel wrap him in a slightly softer hug from the front. He hugged back as much as he could in his delirium.

  "We thought we'd lost you," he heard the second voice say as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was NoScope, who was smiling down at him. "We thought we were too late." She then turned to look around, causing Peter to do the same and take in the rest of the scene.

  Everyone he had been trapped in the flooding room with were in a similar state. Lysander was being helped to his feet by Gunner as Ariel released Peter to run over and hug her wizard friend. Glitch and Tony were helping ValCary to her feet, smiling and embracing her. And all the rest were experiencing the same thing. Players helping others to their feet, embracing, laughing, crying.

  "Did everyone make it?" Peter asked as he slowly stood, still coughing up water.

  "It seems so," NoScope said. "It was too close."

  "Hey, I did my best," Streak shot back in a mock offended tone.

  "That you did," Lysander said as he placed a hand on Streak's shoulder. "You saved us all."

  "I just did what I had to," Streak responded as he turned his gaze to the ground.

  "Bullshit," Peter said as he wrapped Streak in a hug, pinning his arms to his side. "You saved our asses."

  "Alright," the speedster laughed nervously.

  "My hero," Val said in a mocking, yet grateful tone as she stepped up and added to the hug.

  "Okay, okay"

  In a matter of moments, everyone had gathered around to join in the group hug. Partly mocking the moment, but fully grateful for Streak's actions.

  "I hate hugs," Streak laughed, not able to hold it back anymore.

  The camaraderie felt by all was short lived. Soon, the group realized that much more awaited them as they continued their journey. However, having come this far,
not a single one of them was willing to turn back. After those who had lost a significant amount of health were properly healed, the group continued through the maze-like caverns of the Hidden Tomb's ominous structure.

  As they traversed the dungeon, they made sure to keep a sharper eye out for anything that seemed out of place. A repeat of the drowning room puzzle, or something worse, might not end so calmly a second time. That in mind, the group was able to avoid the next few trapped areas. Gunner almost released an arrow trap on the group, but Streak was able to grab him before he stepped on the trigger tile. Streak's smugness was short lived, as Gunner returned the favor an hour later, pulling the speedster out of the way of an oncoming pendulum.

  Their keen watch also avoided a couple of surprise ambushes from denizens of the tomb. Without the element of surprise, the few undead kobalds and skeleton soldiers were no match for the large group of players. Each time, they made quick work of the mob of enemies before pushing forward.

  Finally, after what felt like a full day of exploring the dungeon, the group came upon a large room. However, unlike many of the other chambers within the Hidden Tomb, this one was not simply four walls and a ceiling of cobwebs and dust covered stone. It was large, at least thirty feet high and twice that in diameter. The walls were draped in blood-red tapestries, and matching rugs ran across the floor in four directions, forming a cross shape and converging at the center where sat a large brazier with four slots on top.

  What truly set the room apart, however, were the flames. Around the edges of the room where a dozen or more torches hanging low on the walls, each one with a different colored flame. This display threw all the colors to the walls and the floor, causing a multitude of mixtures to dance upon the stone and illuminate the otherwise darkened room. Upon first entering the chamber, each and every one of the party members stared in awe at the beauty and artistry that the flames created, starkly contrasting the rest of the dark, dank, and ominous dungeon they had explored. It was as if they had stepped from a tomb into a castle.

  NoScope was the first to speak. "It appears to be a dead end." At that, the rest of the group looked around and saw what she meant. Indeed, there were no other ways in or out of the large, ornate room aside from the hallway they had just came from.

  "Is it, though?" Ariel asked as she narrowed her eyes and truly took in the chamber. "It seems too...important to just be a dead end." After a few heartbeats of silence, she added, “It must be some kind of puzzle."

  "And the flames are, somehow, the key," NoScope agreed, motioning to the large brazier in the center.

  Silence followed. The only audible sound was the flickering of the many flames upon the walls. As they danced, the players looked to them, trying to discern what their next move should be. Eventually, Lysander stepped from the group and began walking around the walls, examining the different colored flames. Soon, everyone followed suit, going their own way and seeing if they could find anything in the room that could give some clue as to how to proceed.

  Peter walked slowly around the room, gazing into each flame as if they themselves held the answer. He heard several of the other players discussing their theories, looking along the walls, in the brazier, and even under the rugs and behind the curtains, desperate to find an answer. "It must be something we already know," he whispered to himself.

  "I agree," Ariel said softly, startling Peter. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed her approach. When he looked to her, she too was deep in thought, staring at the flames. "But what is it?"

  They continued to stare for several minutes. The chatter ebbing and rising as people had new ideas about where to look, lost faith in their current plans, and repeated the process. Finally, Peter grinned as an answer popped into his head. "The ghosts!"

  He said the words louder than he had intended, causing Ariel to start and jerk her head his way. "Ghosts?"

  Peter turned his grin on her. "From the forest."

  Ariel now returned the smile. "They each had lanterns."

  "Exactly," Peter said as he ran to one of the flames upon the wall. "Red was one of them." With that, he grabbed the torch with the red flame from the wall and walked to the center of the room.

  At that point, a few of the others had heard him, including Lysander, who was also smiling now. "And Blue, Peter." At that, Lysander grabbed the blue torch from the wall and headed to the brazier in the center with his friend.

  As they met in the middle, they gave each other a victorious smile, then placed their respective flame into one of the four slots. Before they had fully lit the wicks in the slots, NoScope and Ariel approached, holding the torches for a white and green flame, respectively. They placed them in the remaining two slots as the rest of the group gathered around.

  For a few moments, nothing happened, and Peter felt his heart sink just a bit. Then, they all heard what sounded like the grinding of gears from under the brazier. Instinctually, the entire group stepped back from the four flames, then watched as the large brazier shifted down slightly into the floor, then back up. However, it did not stop when it became level with the floor again. Instead, it continued moving up, revealing a large lift underneath. The elevator came to a halt with a loud grinding sound that echoed within the large chamber.

  "I think it worked," Streak dead panned.

  "No, maybe we should try something else," Ariel teased with a grin, which Streak returned.

  "Well," Lysander said as he grasped one of the bars surrounding the lift. "Next stop...whatever is underneath this room, I guess." He then stepped onto the lift and motioned for others to follow.

  It took a total of three rides for the entire party to make it to their destination. What they found was nothing more than an extremely long hallway that led to what seemed to be another dark chamber.

  Cautiously, the party began their trek down the long hallway. Once they had made it halfway, four forms, illuminated by colored flames, dashed past them. Faster than any player could move, these burning figures flew into the upcoming chamber and burned away the darkness with red, blue, green, and white flickering flames.

  "Those flames..." NoScope commented as the room just ahead began to dance with colored light.

  "Seems we may not be done with our ghosty friends," Gunner added as he transformed his right arm into his favored arm cannon.

  The group slowly made their way to the end of the hallway, swords drawn, axes and halberds raised, arrows notched, fists up, and magic at the ready. When they came to the opening, Lysander motioned for everyone to stop. "Alright, let's take this slow. We don't know what happens when we cross the threshold."

  The room itself was circular, much like the room above them. However, this room was somehow more illuminated than the previous one, despite only four flames keeping the darkness at bay. These flames burned much brighter, and gave the walls a lighter, more white appearance than the dusty gray that had been the norm for the Hidden Tomb thus far. The ceiling for the room went up an immeasurable number of feet.

  "Maybe a few of us should enter and scout the room," Fernback offered as he stepped forward. "That way, if there's a trap or ambush, the majority of you are free to swoop in and help without the risk of getting caught in it."

  "Perhaps," Lysander said, though his hesitancy was evident. However, Fernback must have missed the tone, because he immediately motioned to Tucker, Travis, and two others from the group, Marcus008 and HalberdHenry, and made his way into the room. "Wait!" Lysander hissed, but Ferback and his part of the group where already rounding the circular room’s walls.

  They had not gone more than halfway around the wall when the floor opened up. Everyone stopped and stared, not sure what to expect. From the hole rose a familiar foe to Peter, Lysander, Ariel, NoScope, Streak, and Gunner. Kneeling, greatsword sticking into the platform bringing him up, was the Forest Guardian, covered in its signature earth and greenery.

  "It's the Guardian," Peter called out and took a fighting stance.

&nb
sp; "Get ready, everyone," Lysander cried as he raised his staff and straightened his hat.

  What happened next was too fast and unexpected for anyone to possibly counter. Bringing up the rear of Fernback's five player squad as they circled the wall, Travis and Tucker suddenly burst from the group back to the rest of the party and launched two small balls each. Not a single person had time to do more than catch a glimpse of the missiles before they struck. When they did, they exploded in yellow smoke that quickly overtook the larger group. In the next seconds it became clear what tools the twins had used.

  Peter's eyes went wide, matching everyone else caught in the smog. He felt bolts of pain surge through his body. He gritted his teeth and groaned as his knees went out. When he hit the floor, he noticed that he couldn't move as more bolts of pain periodically shot through him.