by Shawn Kass
Remembering having played few games like that before, Sam could picture what the place looked like as she described it. Generally those areas had extra healing potions and the like lying around and a save point nearby, set up as a warning that something big was coming. Unfortunately, he had yet to see anything that looked like a save point in this world, and he doubted that the Tower would be so kind as to just leave a bunch of healing items lying around for them.
“So how do you want to handle this?” asked one of the mages.
Nocking an arrow in her bow, Kat answered, “Just like we have all the other rooms. We go in there ready to fight,” and then without waiting, she stepped through the door.
Chapter 19
Entering the door in a rush behind several others, Sam found that Kat had advanced over a dozen paces into a small hallway before she stopped and released the tension on her bow. On the ground in the far corner of the hallway sat a strange glowing stone and next to it was a giant monolithic set of doors with ornate carvings.
Calling back to the rest of the group, Kat said, “Looks like we finally made it.”
“This is it? This is the boss room?” asked the one of the knights.
“Yes,” answered Kat. “This was the last place we saw Raven.”
“How much time does Raven have left?” asked Anna.
“Not long, but we have some time. Why?”
“I just thought we might want to take another rest before we charge in there.”
“Good idea,” agreed Kat, and then to the rest of the group, she said, “Let’s take a short break, people.”
Stepping up to Kat, Sherri asked, “Uh, Kat can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure,” she answered, and then catching the look in her clan member’s eye, Kat guided her further down the hall towards the doors at the end.
Sure that something was up, Sam pretended to be studying the walls for a minute until Anna walked up to say something. Stopping her with a finger to his lips, he took her by the arm and guided her a bit further along and then knelt down with her and pretended to be looking for something in his sack to give her while they listened.
“Look, I don’t think I’m going to be able to go on much further with you guys,” said Sherri.
“What do you mean?” asked Kat. “You know we need you in there if we’re going to save Raven and take this boss out.”
Casting her eyes down towards the floor, Sherri admitted, “I don’t think you noticed during the last fight, but none of my attack spells have any range. They just sort of fizzle out a few feet away, and my healing spells are ridiculously slow. I think it’s because my staff got broken in that door.” Looking down, she ended with, “It doesn’t feel like the magic is working for me.”
“So what do you want to do?” asked Kat with more than a little concern in her voice.
“I don’t know. I mean, I know we have to save Raven. That’s not in question, but beating the boss? That’s not a need. We could head back to town, get some new gear, and then come back for this guy.”
Shaking her head, Kat said, “I don’t think so. You saw what the blacksmith had in his shop. We already bought the best stuff he had. Whatever staff you buy won’t be as good as the one you had.”
“True, but at least it would be working,” countered Sherri.
“Next, if we save Raven and go back to town, you know as well as I do that every other clan is going to be in here with us. The Tower is going to be impossible to get through with that much activity, not to mention the clans like the Tower Kings who will purposely come in here just to incapacitate clans and steal their gear.”
“You know, I think sometimes you just want to be the first to conquer this place.”
Taking a deep breath to give herself a moment before replying, Kat said, “You have a point. I do want to be first. I want the Reckoners to be number one, but I know in order to do that, we need to work together.”
“Exactly, but I’m telling you I won’t be able to help while we are in there.”
“So, you think we should just sneak in, grab Raven, and run?” asked Kat. “What if the Tower won’t let us? What if the moment we step in there the doors shut like they did before, and we’re trapped in there with the boss? Then what?”
“I don’t know,” began Sherri. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t even go in there.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” responded Kat.
“No, I know you’re not, but let’s face it. I’m going to be a liability in there without my magic.”
“I can cover you,” offered Kat weakly.
Putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder, Sherri said, “No, you can’t. You need to be the general in there. You can’t use your bow and look out for me.”
Dropping her eyes to the ground in resignation, Kat asked, “So are you’re planning to use the warp stone and head back to town now?”
“Yeah,” began Sherri, and then after a brief hesitation, she said, “Well, before you go in at least. The warp stone should drop me back off at the entrance like the last time.”
When Kat looked back towards the rest of the group, Sam quickly averted his eyes back to Anna and asked the first question which came to mind. “Do you have any more of those dinners from before?”
Answering him, Anna said, “Sure,” before she began searching through her own sack, giving Sam time to continue to eavesdrop.
“What do you think of the rest of them?” asked Kat.
“Mace is a tank. All you have to do is point him in the direction you want to go, and he’ll clear a path for you. As for Hugo, I think he’s actually been holding back so far and letting some of the other less experienced clan members get some practice to build up their confidence. My bet is that he is more than ready to get in there with you.”
Nodding her agreement, Kat asked, “And what about the other clans’ members?”
Shrugging, Sherri said, “I don’t know. Some of them have been giving it their all already, and I don’t think they will be able to take much more. That one knight for instance, I think his name is Justin or something. I think he was ready to return to town after the first squab attack.”
“That’s what I thought as well,” commented Kat. Then with a nod towards Sam and Anna, she asked, “And them?”
“He’s a fighter all right, and so is she, despite how much as she claims not to want to be in here. The difference is they’re not doing it for the glory like we are. They need a cause to drive them. As long as they have that, they’ll keep going.”
Agreeing with her assessment, Kat nodded and asked, “What do you say to taking a few back with you then? I mean, it would be great to have everyone in there, but I don’t want any more deaths if we can help it. This was supposed to be a rescue mission after all.”
Nodding, Sherri said, “Yeah, I can do that. Are you thinking that Rue should return with me to ensure the loot and all makes it back safely?”
With a sigh, Kat said, “Yeah, but maybe a few others as well. I’ll make an announcement, and those that want to leave can go with you.”
Knowing that this might be the last time the two friends saw each other, Sherri said, “You be careful in there.”
“Of course,” responded Kat. “We still need to finish the rest of this place and get to the top of the Tower.”
Smiling, Sherri gave Kat a quick hug and then walked over to the space near the door where the glowing stone sat.
As she did so, Kat turned to the rest of the group who were busy eating and talking and said, “Folks, listen up. I would like to make an announcement.” When everyone stopped, she said, “As you know, Sherri’s staff broke a while back and without it, she is not going to be able to join us in the boss fight. Instead, she is going to use the warp stone to head back to town, and she has offered to take anyone who wants to go with her. Now, obviously, I would like you all to stay and help us with the boss monster, but I also recognize some of you may be feeling like you have reached
your limit. The choice, therefore, is up to you. If you would like to return to town, then please meet up with Sherri. If you are staying, finish up your preparations.”
Sheepishly, the knight who had been so panicky before approached Kat and asked, “I know you said you needed our help, but my job was just to accompany you as far as the door and confirm your story. I need to get this information back to my clan.”
Pursing her lips for a second, Kat finally said, “I understand, and you are free to return if you need to, but it would help us all if you could stay on for this next fight. At least then you would be able to tell your clan about what’s behind these doors.”
Shaking his head, the knight said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I have my orders. Besides, I’ve been barely able to keep up so far.”
Nodding reluctantly, Kat said, “Okay. We have Rue returning as well, and she will drop off your share of the loot at the pub.”
Bowing slightly, the knight said, “Thank you,” before he walked over to the glowing stone to take a place near Sherri.
Upon seeing this, several others picked up their gear and walked over to join them until the group that wanted to return was roughly equal to the number who wished to stay. By the time they were prepared to leave, Sam realized that there would only be seven people and one lizard remaining in the group. Amongst them were Anna and himself, Mace, Kat, and Hugo, from the Reckoners, and two other fighters, one a barbarian named Torix, and the other being the shield-carrying paladin named Casavir. Sam hadn’t had time to get to know either of them, but he had seen some of their fighting and knew that they were pretty good. Still though, with as small a group as they had left, Sam felt weary about what was yet to come.
Speaking low, Sam looked at Anna and said, “We need to make this next fight quick.”
Whispering back, Anna asked, “What do you mean?”
“I have a bad feeling about some of the ones who are leaving us,” replied Sam. “If you consider where we are, one might conclude that they only came with us this far so that they could get as much information as they could about the Tower and each of us, and now they are running back to their clans at the first available exit.”
“So what? I mean, it’s not fair to the rest of us, but Kat said in that meeting they didn’t have to go all the way through the boss room with her.”
Lowering his voice even more, Sam drew on his knowledge of other video games and said, “From what I’ve heard, many people expect a boss like this to drop ultra-rare items and huge piles of gold. If that’s the case, then why wouldn’t they stay on and fight with the rest of us in hopes of claiming the prize?”
“You heard the one guy, he was under orders, and some of the others just aren’t strong enough.”
Nodding, Sam said, “That might be it, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of them.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kat.
“With the amount of loot that I’m expecting to be in here, I wouldn’t put it past a couple of the more unsavory clans to attempt an ambush here within the Tower. I mean, if you think about it, they could catch us off guard just as we are in the middle of fighting this thing and easily take us out.”
“No one would do that,” said Anna.
“I’ve known some people who were just the type. Think about it. I already had to deal with that PJ and Ricardo from the Tower Kings out on the street trying to take my stuff. Heck, Kat even mentioned having to deal with them, too. What if they simply waited outside the boss room until we exited, exhausted from the fight, and then came at us? Chances are we wouldn’t be able to defend ourselves against a large clan.”
Staring into Sam’s eyes, Anna whispered, “So this is why you came? You aren’t just here to save Raven, are you? You think you’ll have to save the whole clan, too.”
Shrugging, Sam said, “I don’t know. I hope not, but I’ve seen that sort of thing before, and some of the people I’ve met in the last few hours seem the type.”
With a shudder, Anna asked, “Do you think we should say something to Kat?”
“No,” replied Sam. “We don’t have any proof of anything at this point, and she doesn’t need it as a distraction when we walk through those doors.”
In front of them, the returning group linked hands, and then Sherri stepped on the stone and waited a moment, allowing its glow to wash over her and the rest of the group in turn. When it finally reached the last person, there was a bright flash and then they all disappeared, and the stone went back to its previous luminosity before it slowly dimmed and lost all of its light.
Turning to the remaining people, Kat said, “Okay, well I guess it’s just us then. Our primary goal remains the same. We are here to find Raven and get her out safely. If we can pick up some information about the boss on our way through, then great, but considering our reduced party size, let’s not try to aggravate the thing if we can help it.”
“What if we get trapped in there with it like she did?” asked Torix, the barbarian.
“Then we fight our way through it,” answered Kat, which caused Torix to smile.
“Madame, just for clarification, if we are forced to fight the boss, should we wait for your counsel, or are we to act independently?” asked Casavir.
“I’ll be honest, without knowing what exactly is in there, I am reluctant to relinquish control. I think our tactics up to this point have benefited us greatly, and we should continue as we have. If we must fight, then Anna and I will hold back and use our bows to provide cover while Mace, Hugo, and Torix take up positions on the front line. Casavir, I have seen you use your sword, and I think that it will be of great help, but you are our only healer at this point, so be prepared to fill dual roles.” “What about me?” asked Sam.
“Up to this point you have been holding your own, so please keep doing that, and if you figure something out like you did with the kilopede, tell me so we can try it.”
“Okay, will do.”
“All right then, let’s go,” announced Kat, before she turned and headed to the door.
There was a moment of concern about whether or not the massive doors would open, seeing that they had locked the Reckoners out after Raven had gone in, but those fears were put to rest as soon as everyone placed their hands on one and gave it a solid shove. Unfortunately, just like the other doorways they had already come across in the Tower, they found that they couldn’t see anything inside the room while standing out in the hallway.
Without any other options, Kat took a second to stare into the inky blackness before them and swallow her trepidation before she put on her warrior face and led the group inside. To her surprise, the blackness didn’t go away as it had with the other rooms. Instead, the further they walked in, the less light they found until finally the place was completely dark in all directions. Panicking slightly, Kat stopped and prepared to tell everyone to turn around even as Casavir bumped into her backside, but that option was stripped away by the sound of the monolithic door slamming shut behind them.
“What do we do now?” asked Hugo from somewhere in the darkness.
“Find a wall,” answered Kat quickly.
Then, as if in answer to her command, the torches on the four support pillars that were spread out evenly throughout the room suddenly flared up and illuminated their
surroundings, causing them all to halt mid step.
Scanning the area, they looked for an incoming attack or a way out and were surprised to see that nothing around them was approaching their location, and that the room had no other doors but the ones they had come through. What they did find, however, was a large circle measuring nearly fifty feet across inscribed in the center of the floor with a massive muscular creature sitting in the middle of it with its back to them. Studying it from where they stood, they could tell that the monster was at least twice their height even while sitting. Despite it appearing to have a human-like shape with the body of a man covered in a thick brown fur, its head looked deformed and too large even for it
s oversized frame.
Lifting his shield instinctively, Casavir asked, “What is it?”
“A minotaur,” answered Anna.
“What’s that?” asked Kat, desperate for any information which might help them defeat the thing before them.
Speaking up as if she were reading the information from a textbook, Anna said, “I read about them in my mother’s shop. They are creatures from myth and legend. They are said to have the body of a human and the head of a bull, but there have been no confirmed sightings of them ever recorded. Some stories claimed that they were roughly equal in size to people, but most claimed that they were twice as tall.”
“I wish this thing were only twice my size,” said Kat. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”
“Well, the stories contradict each other. Sometimes they were described as mindlessly violent, rampaging after any who wandered into their domain, but in other stories they were depicted as peaceful giants who were in tune with the world around them and only sought to maintain the balance between nature and man.”
“Something tells me this thing isn’t going to be of the peaceful sort,” said Hugo. “What else do you have?”
“One of the books I read described the minotaur’s birth. It claimed that the gods had demanded a king to sacrifice a white bull, but when the king refused, the gods made the king’s wife give birth to the creature. It was a very strange read. In the end, the minotaur was trapped in a labyrinth, and the enemies of the king were sent in as its food.”
“That would explain its presence here in the tower. Getting here has been very similar to going through a maze, and considering how the doors sealed us in here, I’m betting it can’t escape this room.”
“I agree,” said Casavir.
“Sure, but then how are we going to get out of here?” asked Hugo.
“I don’t know, but there has to be a way,” said Kat. Then turning back to Anna, she said, “Go on with the story. What else did it say in the books?”