Chapter 19: The Round Tower

Ricky rolled as he hit the ground inside the tower, and then stood up, turning slowly to look around. It was a wide, round area that he now found himself in. It appeared that the entire base of the tower comprised of a single chamber, and besides a set of stone stairs leading up, it was featureless.

*Achievement: Analysis complete! You have found a way to avoid the effects of a trap. +10XP

*Quest 025 complete: Evade all korapta lizards on your way to Wabakantis Tower. +20XP

Ricky then gasped as he saw several very large korapta lizards charging towards the doorway that he had just entered. But as he stood back, pulling out his morning star, each one bounced harmlessly off the strange magical barrier that blocked the doorway, fizzling slightly and then skulking away.

Of course, he thought. The species-specific barrier is still keeping them out. Before long, several were looking at him from a distance, watching, poised; their willingness to fling themselves at the barrier and receive painful shocks appeared to have expired.

They were, however, lying in wait for him. That was going to make it much harder to get safely back to Imperialis.

All the same, he had to do it.

*Quest 026 (level 5): Return to Imperialis.

Stepping backwards, still watching carefully in case the forcefield somehow disappeared, Ricky moved towards the stairs and began to climb.

The first level that he arrived on was unfurnished. The tower as a whole could only be around seven yards in diameter, and this chamber, like the entrance level, comprised of a single room. Ricky took a moment to look around at the surprisingly clean interior – there was no sign of dust, blood, or debris of any kind, and the chamber was windowless, too. There wasn’t much to look at, he realised, yawning, and at that moment he saw a notification:

*Health update: You are fatigued. All of your attributes are reduced by 1 until you rest (minimum 1).

Well, go figure. With no option but to keep climbing, Ricky stepped onto the next flight of steps.

The second level up was different from the ones below. The gleam of the moon could be seen as he topped the stairs and emerged onto another round area, but one that this time featured two large windows, and was scattered with mechanical debris. There were two open wooden chests, too, one under each window, and most of the debris was close to these, as if someone had recently rifled through them while hunting for something. For the orb, perhaps?

Just then, he heard a voice from above.

“Don't come any further, kid.”

Ricky froze, and then – looking up towards the next set of steps – he saw a mysterious small figure with reddish skin and a rat-like face. He recalled his introduction to the Dark Framework, and tried to recall the name of this species; a strugan, that was it.

Avoiding sudden movements, Ricky raised his left hand slowly in greeting... while subtly resting his right on the haft of his morning star.

“Greetings, traveler,” Ricky called out. “I had assumed this city to be abandoned, other than by the lizards.”

“And other than treasure hunters like yourself,” added the strugan figure.

It took another step down, stopping three stairs from the landing. “I guess you are a human, then. And no doubt looking for the same thing that I am. I’m afraid I didn’t find it, by the way – I’ve searched this tower from top to bottom.”

“That’s certainly disappointing,” replied Ricky, “especially as I’ve risked my life more than once getting here. I suppose you have too.”

“Not so much, really,” said the strugan. Now the red-skinned figure took another step forward out of the shadows of the stairway, and Ricky could see that it had a miniature crossbow in each hand, as well as a bandolier of long curved knives sashed across his chest. It appeared to be male – at least if the facial features could be judged by human standards – and stood around four feet high – much like the goblins back in Barrowdale. He was also very muscular looking. He was carrying a canvas backpack, and he also had a tough-looking leather pouch at his hip.

Looking at the array of weapons, it suddenly occurred to Ricky that the little creature in front of him may have been the one responsible for the massacre of lizards that he had witnessed earlier. The trail of destruction, after all, led practically to this very tower.

“I guess you can handle yourself,” said Ricky, nodding in the direction of the crossbow.

“If necessary,” replied the strugan man. “But mostly I just keep under the radar.”

Under the radar... the archaic mechanical phrase reminded Ricky of a conversation from not so long ago...

And then: “Paco?” he said loudly, recalling the bald man who had arrived in the refugee camp in the same day as himself.

The stranger narrowed his eyes. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Not really, but for what it’s worth, my name is Ricky. We took the same transport into the camp a couple of days ago, do you remember? You told me about how you wanted to being your wife and kids into New Baravia.”

“Right. Yes – I do remember you.”

“I go by the name Treecutter here,” said Ricky.

The strugan figure snickered at this. “I call myself Blastor. So, are you looking for an alliance or something?”

“I’d like to, man, but I am in a guild now, so...”

“It’s all right,” said Blastor. “I get it. But you should know, there are good ones and not so good ones. Guilds, that is.”

Ricky nodded. “I guess yours sent you in here to risk the lizards and find an orb? We newbies are dispensable to the guilds, it seems.”

“Right.” Blastor inclined his head a fraction, his large black eyes scanning Rick carefully, looking at his weapon more than once. “As I said, I didn't manage to find it, though, so, uh...” He sniffed. “I guess they’ll need to send someone else. Feel free to have a look yourself, I guess. Newbies should have each other's backs, right?”

Ricky smiled. “Thanks, man,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

Blastor grinned tensely, and patted his crossbow as he moved towards the opposite set of stairs that led down. “I suggest you try the top level first, as it has the most chests. Two levels up. It’s always possible that I missed something.”

Ricky thought briefly again about the friendly family man that he had met on his arrival. The one who had literally reached out to hold on to him for support. While both of them knew that they wanted to cross the city wall and become citizens of New Baravia, neither of them had any idea, at that point, that they would soon both be vying for the same mystical orb, an object that could help them to achieve that goal.

So the question Ricky had to ask himself, he realised, was this – did he have what it took to take down Paco's character, given that he was 90% sure that the little alien had the orb in his belt pouch, and that sending Ricky up to the top level was surely a ruse to get him out of the way – or worse. He would need to find a way to get it, without arousing suspicion...

*Quest 027 (level 2): Convince Blastor that you are on his side.

*Quest 028 (level 1): Search Blastor to find the orb.

Ricky glanced towards the stairs down. “Wait – can you keep an eye on the entrance for a few minutes while I hunt around?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll keep the korapta lizards at bay, yeah.”

“Well, that would sure be appreciated, my friend,” said Ricky, taking a stride towards the upper stairs as Paco passed him by. “And yeah, I’ll take a look, and do my best to find the damn thing. Anything you need, by the way? Food, perhaps?”

“I’m good."

Narrowing his eyes, Blastor took another stride towards the stairs down.

Ricky glanced towards the stairs down. “Well, I’ll see you downstairs then. With luck, I’ll have good news. And if I do, perhaps we can make a plan together.”

“Cool,” said Blastor – though his eyes said conveyed a different message. One that suggested that he had set Ricky up for a deadly trap, and would be on his way as soon as possible.

Blastor turned and continued to step towards the stairs, moving down onto the first step as Ricky watched on.

And that is when Ricky attacked.

With a leap forward, he pulled the morning star clear from his belt, gripped it with both hands, and swung towards the little man’s back. Blastor saw him move and twisted, firing out a bolt which bounced off Ricky’s hoplon shield. But it was too little, too late – the morning star thumped down on the back of the strugan's neck, and he collapsed on the floor.

*Combat event: You have stunned an opponent with a single blow. +10XP

The little strugan lay perfectly still for a second, and then with a groan he began to move again, gasping and struggling to roll over.

Ricky raised the morning star once more... and hesitated.

On the one hand, he was in the game to win, as were they all. Paco had been ready to screw him over just minutes before. And killing him now wouldn't lead to the man’s permanent death – just a partial reset. On the other hand, Paco had seemed to be a nice guy, who just wanted the best for his family. And if Ricky was to start murdering his fellow refugees in game... where would that lead?

Carefully, he turned the weapon in his hand, and thumped it against the side of Blastor’s head, causing the man to slump down unconscious.

*Combat event: You have knocked a foe unconscious with a carefully-aimed blow to the head. +25XP

Moments later, Ricky had used Blastor’s belt to tie the little warrior’s wrists together firmly.

*Achievement: Knotwork! You have restrained an opponent. +10XP

*Game mechanics alert: your improvised tools skill has been applied.

He then pushed the little strugan up against the wall of the tower, beside one of the chests which had already been rifled through.

Had he been too soft? After all, he could have cut Blastor’s throat by now, and feasted on his corpse...

Ricky took a moment to consider his arrival in the refugee camp. As he had regained consciousness in the queue, he had found a bundle of New Baravian currency on the ground, and had quickly stuck it into his pocket. Before long, he had passed this to the guard at the gateway. He hadn’t intended it as a bribe, but as it turned out, that had made the difference to getting in when he did. Where had the cash come from? Whether he had benefited from the kindness of strangers or their carelessness, he wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps the incident only showed that he shouldn’t be cautious or hesitant when a windfall landed right in front of him.

But it also showed that we all need a little help from unexpected quarters.

Anyway, it would be best to avoid making enemies of more people than necessary. It would be all too easy for a fellow refugee or two to push your face down into the mud in the workcamp, and to hold it there for long enough that you didn’t come back up again.

Perhaps that was why there were so few refugees wearing the colored outfits that indicated they had been in the camp for more than a few days...

Pushing these reflections from his mind, Ricky stooped and removed the little strugan’s weapons, putting them to one side – he didn’t want the man escaping and sticking a knife in his back. He then carefully unclipped Blastor’s belt pouch, and saw a large gleaming gem inside.

He smiled.

Lifting it up, he rolled the orb around in his hand. It was a jade-colored gemstone, about two inches wide, and spherical but for several slight dimples in its surface, flat areas that would probably allow the object to be placed down on a table without rolling off.

***

New item

Item: magical orb (green)

Material: special

Resilience: 170

Charge: 1.21GW

Description: a near spherical gemstone-like orb, colored a shimmering green. None know where these came from, but they are believed by some to be a source of unlimited energy.

***

*Quest 019 complete: Locate the orb in the city of Doomstar. +70XP

*Quest 028 complete: Search Blastor to find the orb. +10XP

It was certainly beautiful to look at, and although it was green, it had a slight polychromatic sheen where it caught the moonlight.

Ricky put the orb carefully into his satchel, and as he did so, it occurred to him that the pattern of the stone reminded of something... but what? And then he remembered. The gem in the family ring which he wore in the real world looked very similar. Although was white rather than green, it had the same polychromatic sheen that he had never quite been able to identify or find out about, the ring having been passed down from generation to generation for so long that nobody could quite remember where it had originated.

He instinctively pressed his hand to his chest as he thought of it, and then paused.

That was strange...

He raised up the clothing that was wearing, moving the top of the leather armor... He hadn't even been aware of it, perhaps because he was so used to the way it felt. But the bronze neck chain and ring were here in the Dark Framework, along with the chain that he had been given by Xarok as part of his initiation into the Tooth and Claw Guild.

He gently pulled off the bronze chain with its ring, examining it closely. It looked exactly like the real thing – down to every last detail. It was wide, silver in color, but never seemed to tarnish, its edge decorated with looped patterns, and the white stone set deep into it. His grandmother had told him that she believed it to be an old Scottish heirloom. But Ricky had always found that strange, as they had never had family in Scotland, even before the apocalypse.

He had always kept it close, however. Now, he unclipped the chain and put the ring on his finger, slipping the chain into the pocket of his pants where he still had Heck’s folded map. The map wasn’t really necessary now, but he now decided to use it to wrap around the orb. It was a tough-looking stone, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He folded the map around it as best he could, scrunching it close, and then nestled the stone back into his satchel. He would need to be careful with it, that was for sure, if he was to bring it to the gate...

*Quest 029 (level 10): Carry the orb safely back to the safe house.

Blastor was still out cold; the thump across the temple with the handle of Ricky’s morning star had really done the trick. But now Ricky faced a dilemma. He needed to rest overnight, but couldn’t do so with a potential enemy ready to attack him while he slept. Of course, Paco would be sleeping too. Or would he? Ricky recalled what Julie had said about some players staying in their pods day and night.

He couldn't be sure.

It would be wonderful if he found a way to do what Julie had spoken of, but in the meantime, the fact that some players would still be active while he was sleeping was a threat. Even if Paco wasn’t one of them – and the bald man had only been in the camp for the same length of time as Ricky, so probably hadn’t made any such arrangement – there would be other players.

Other threats.

Guide – what time is it? How long do I have until I wake in the camp?

“Ricky, the time in the Dark Framework is now 05:19. You have just under three hours.”

Okay.

Ricky lifted Blastor’s weapons again, and walked over to put these down on the other side of the chamber, near the foot of the stairs. He then paused to look up. His initial plan had been to sleep overnight here. It would be a risk – even more so now – but he should probably at least have a look around, to see what the options were.

*Quest 030 (Level 1): Investigate the upper levels of Wabakantis Tower.

He began to walk up the steps.

Accumulated XP: 1270 (unspent: 270)