The bad parts of life are there to show you how grateful you should be for the good times.

Cassandra Meadows - Mother

Welcome to the Eternal Tower Floor 8 Hard!

Goal:

1) Undergo the Klawm Aerd - incomplete

2) Climb Mt. Nasijuf - incomplete

Time limit: 30 days

Note: time dilation in effect.

What the hell is a Klawm Aerd?

I arrived in a small port. And I do mean small, there was a single dock with a large ship unloading cargo. Looking around I could only see the shore and a mountain with gently sloping sides inland. For some reason there was no village or city in sight. I was by myself on the dock but as I looked around an older man walked down the gangplank of the ship toward me.

“Sir Gregor?” I couldn’t help myself from asking.

The man looked like a far older version of the unlucky knight. While this man carried a sword on his side, he was not dressed in armor but fine traveling clothes.

“Now that is not a title I have been called by in a long time,” said the man who turned and walked up to me. “Do I know you?”

“Are you Sir Gregor?” I asked. Damn Tower time shenanigans. He had to be at least 70 years old.

“I was at one point,” he answered with a smile. “But as I said that was a long time ago. I was a knight before the kingdom of Marcosia fell 70 years ago. I haven’t even been to that section of the world in half a century.”

“Has it been that long?” I guess in this version of events the assissination was successful. Looking back I may have given the prince a false sense of security surrounding his family. If the whole kingdom fell, the prince was likely not the only one targeted.

“I apologize young master, I did not realize you are a cultivator.” To my surprise Gregor clasped his hands and bowed slightly to me. “If I may ask, what sect are you from?”

“How did you know I was a cultivator?” I asked. “And there is no need to call me anything but my name, Miki.”

“Well Miki, it was fairly obvious. I can tell you are more powerful than me. I was also taught some cultivation basics from a wandering cultivator. The few breakthroughs I have made enabled me to extend my life to this point. And if you knew me as ‘Sir Gregor’ you are obviously long lived. Given your youthful appearance clearly you are a cultivator. Are you here for the Klawn Aerd as well?”

“I am. Although I'm not really sure what it is?”

“So you're seeking new experiences. Or is it that some master ordered you to undergo the challenge?”

“I guess you could say that.” If I did have a ‘master’ it was clearly the Tower.

“You cultivators and your secrets. I guess it does not matter why you are here. The Klawm Aerd is technically the first part of the challenge. The locals here brew a concoction that causes you to enter a waking dream where you experience hallucinations to learn more about yourself. While you are under the effect of the Klawm Aerd, you complete the second part of the challenge by climbing Mount Nasijuf.”

“And how long does it normally take a person to climb the mountain?” It was bigger than any hill I had back home. I had read about mountains but this was the first time I had ever seen one. It was different from what I had expected. There were no jagged peaks, only a slow gentle slope to the top.

“That depends if you take the long or short way. With the short way there is a direct path up to the summit which should take about a day and a half of constant walking. Since the mountain is not too steep, the challenge is not too difficult. Most walk without stopping while under the effects of the Klawm Aerd. With the long way you circle the mountain and visit the many small towns scattered across the mountainside as you slowly circle up to the summit.”

The mountain looked so large, I couldn’t imagine many people would normally take the long way. Even if the mountain looked smooth, it would just be a long way of walking.

“I'm guessing the Klawm Aerd won't last the amount of time it takes to circle the mountain.”

“From what I have heard, the locals can make the visions last up to a month which is the normal amount of time it takes to go the long way. That is my plan. I've lived a long life and not all of it pleasant. The Klawm Aeard and climb will give me a good chance to examine my life and experiences. Perhaps after, I will know what I should do with my remaining time.”

We started following the locals who were carrying goods from the ship to a small village I could see down the shore. As we moved, I thought on his explanation and the nature of this floor.

Once more there seemed to be little physical difficulty in the Tower. The challenge was straightforward; drink some funky potion and climb up a mountain. Since this floor was not difficult in terms of physical or combat strength, it would likely be focused on me reflecting on who I am. If there was no time limit I would probably enjoy taking the long way around. Perhaps with my speed I could take the long way and just hurry if I was running low on time, but why would I take the risk?

Besides what could this Klawm Aerd show me about myself that I didn’t already know? Perhaps it would be more a reflection on my life. I definitely had good and bad parts of my life but I had always chosen to let go of the bad experiences and embrace the good. Surely there is nothing the Klawm Aerd could show me that would cause me trouble. How bad could it be?

As we walked, I could hear those around us speaking in an unknown language. Since they looked like locals it was likely a local language that I didn’t know.

“Gregor, what language are the villagers speaking?”

“They are speaking Galactic Standard,” said Gregor with a confused expression. “Is their dialect that hard to make out?”

“What is Galactic Standard?”

“I thought all cultivators knew Galactic Standard. You are the ones who spread its use. You must be from a very isolated sect if it is not taught to you. Fear not, when I was a knight in Marcosia, I was fairly isolated as well and did not hear of it until after the fall of the county. If the other cultivators are to be believed it is the most common language in the universe. The cultivator I met swore it is spoken on a billion worlds in a million galaxies by a countless number of people. It has been slowly spreading around the world over the past few centuries and is now the most common language. If you want I can give you a couple lessons. It is the most intuitive language I have ever learned.”

“Thank you for the information. I will pass on the lessons for now, unless the locals are going to require me to speak it.”

“Do not worry Miki. I can act as your translator for the time being. When we begin the Klawm Aerd tomorrow and you are on your vision quest, you will not need to talk with the locals.”

“Is it not early enough to start today?'' The sun was still fairly high in the sky. I could guess it was early afternoon.

“I apologize, I forgot that you do not know anything about this challenge or the people here. It is customary to spend the night in the first village along the shore and share drinks and stories with the villagers. Since they tend to only receive a ship once a week, they unload the ship then spend the remainder of the day resting and relaxing.”

We quickly arrived at the village and were greeted by a small crowd of people including one person who appeared to be either the village elder or the shaman. The older villager spoke to us although I had no idea what he was saying. Luckily Gregor was there to talk with him.

“Sorry about not translating,” said Gregor. “It looks like they do not encounter many people who don't speak Galactic Standard. The village elder greeted us and welcomed us to the village. The villagers have already started to prepare a celebration for tonight and some are being sent to start preparing the Klawm Aerd for us.”

“Is there anything they need from us?” I did not mind helping out with some chores if they needed some help. If not, I would just spend the time cultivating.

“If you have it, they usually ask for a donation to help support the island. They have nothing to offer in trade except the Klawm Aerd. It is usually only rich old men like me who come to visit for the challenge.” Great, I was in an old person vacation spot.

“What kind of donation are they looking for?”

“A single gold piece would be standard. However I believe it would be more prudent to be generous to the people who are creating a mind altering concoction for you. I'm going to give them five gold.”

I had asked just in time as the village elder said something and went up to Gregor and I could hear the clink of coins as Gregor handed him the gold. I wasn't going to have Gregor make me look stingy. I pulled out 10 gold and handed them to the elder as discreetly as possible. The old man looked at the gold and smiled. He said something cheerful while clapping me on the shoulder.

“He thanks you for your generosity and says that he will have to keep a close eye on the village girls when they hear of your wealth and generosity,” Gregor translated.

I didn’t really know how to respond and instead just followed the elder and Gregor to the center of the village. The path went straight through the village and in the center several people were preparing a large meal while roasting what looked like a wild boar over a spit. In short order Gregor and I were guided to seats and given small cups of some local alcoholic beverage.

Gregor was insistent that it was part of the process to drink any beverage I was handed. While sitting and being treated as an honored guest was not a bad deal, it did stop me from being able to cultivate. As the hours passed, Gregor and I received cup after cup of the beverage. Each time we finished the drink, the small cup was placed in front of us and the stacked cups slowly formed a pyramid shape. Gregor entertained the locals with his stories, but I could not understand the stories as I didn't speak this Galactic Standard language. As evening wore on we were given food and even more drinks.

At one point I tried to decline the drink but found them being very insistent and decided just to give in to the local custom and drink more. As the sun fell behind the horizon I saw Gregory's eyelids heavy from the alcohol. Looking over he had consumed about a dozen cups which might be considered to be a normal amount. Meanwhile my pyramid continued to grow as it seemed either my cultivation and endurance stat allowed me to handle higher amounts of alcohol.

As Gregor started falling asleep where he was, a young beautiful woman walked to me and sat in my lap. Without warning she reached forward and was soon kissing me. After breaking the long kiss she said something that I didn't understand.

“I'm sorry I don't understand you,'' I said, holding up my hands in what I hoped was a placating gesture. I looked around to see if there was anyone who could help translate for me but Gregor had his chin to his chest asleep and the village elder was nowhere to be seen.

The girl looked shocked at my expression. Sliding off my lap, she said something in a harsher tone.

“I don't mean to offend you,'' I said, trying to smile. “Trust me you're plenty beautiful and I would love to spend the evening with you, but I don't want to assume anything."

And I didn't want to assume anything. For all I knew this girl was a local prostitute and was asking me for another 10 gold to spend the night with her. True, it had been a dry spell for the past four months since I was last with Kelly. If this young beauty was just looking for a little fun I was happy to entertain her, but I didn’t want to risk any disease if she was sleeping with dozens of men.

The girl stood abruptly and uttered a couple harsh words that made the locals around us recoil. When I didn’t respond she turned and stormed off.

Well that could have ended better. I was tempted to wake Gregor to see if he could translate for me, but honestly it would be embarrassing to wake him so he could help me with a one night stand.

The village chief finally reappeared and handed me a small bottle while gesturing for me to drink. I had already offended one person, so I decided to just follow his directions and quickly drank the bottle. Where the other drinks had a small amount of alcohol, this felt like drinking pure alcohol and burned as it made its way down my throat. He stared at me intently for several minutes. Since most of the villagers were leaving, I could only assume the party was over. I handed him the empty bottle and began to lay down. It only took me a few minutes to drift off to sleep.