Stories of Stardust (pt2)

202. Zenith Online Chapter 48- Leather-bound Books and Rooks (7)

 We made quick work of the rest of the puzzle room, exiting through a doorway a few stories up that led to a brief tunnel that sloped downwards, bringing us back to the second story of the main room. The water had risen another couple of feet, completely covering most of the first story. With a few more rooms, it would be up to the second.

I followed the flow of water from where it gushed into the pool below up to where it dripped in from the ceiling and sighed. There were dozens of more rooms to go. We were making quick work, but completing the dungeon and reaching the rooks was still going to take the rest of the day, and likely deep into the next.

Shortly after the mid-boss–the thought of which caused nausea to curl in my stomach and thickness to gather in my throat–there would be a rest area where we could pitch our tents and relax without worries of getting flooded or attacked while sleeping. Sinbad, Eliza, and some members of the crew had camped there in the novel, resting and recovering before they pressed on through the second half of the dungeon to the boss area.

But even the mid-boss was far away. I shook my head clear of the remaining thoughts, shifting my focus back to where Sinbad, Eliza, and Cove were following along the edge to the next door. Something sparked in my memory, and I paused to inspect the wall, searching for the hidden room I recalled being nearby. In the novel, one of the crew members stumbled into it after tripping on a root. A particularly large one stuck out from the rocky ground ahead, attached to a massive tree with glowing leaves whose branches stretched out over the path, stealing the hazy light from the crystals embedded in the walls from the grass that attempted to grow beneath it. Allowing the others to get further behind, I stepped on top of the root and pressed my palm against the tree as I stepped carefully down, keeping firm pressure against the wall. A few steps later, and my palm was going through the wall.

Found it.

I called out to the others ahead, gathering their attention as I waved my hand inside the wall, showing rather than informing them of my discovery.

Cove's look of confusion faded, and I saw the moment the memory clicked into place. He stopped a few feet away, allowing Eliza and Sinbad to pass before him as I turned away, ducking through the false wall.

The room on the other side was tiny, placed there for the sole purpose of containing a hidden and difficult-to-reach treasure chest that required a more advanced explorer class to obtain.

We had Sinbad, so it wouldn't be a problem.

I stopped beneath the cliff face opposite the doorway, slapping my palm against it. It was too high a level for my climbing skills, but that wouldn't be a problem for Sinbad. "There's a treasure chest here," I said, pointing toward it as I spoke. "You'll have to climb this wall," I patted it again for emphasis, "then follow that path there until you reach that ledge. There, you'll have to solve a puzzle–"

Eliza's mouth opened as she moved to speak.

"--that will open the gate blocking off the chest," I hurriedly continued, finishing what I needed to say.

"What is it?" She asked, slurring her words together.

"A narrow improvement," Cove answered with a sharp grin. Not knowing, neither Eliza nor Sinbad seemed to catch the joke, exchanging a silent conversation that appeared to say do you know what he's talking about and nope.

"The reason everyone wants at least one explorer in a dungeon," I wasn't any more helpful.

Sinbad adjusted the machete, slinging it over his back before rolling his shoulders, his hands and his hips now free for the climb. With a smooth move that made rock climbing seem as easy as walking, he hefted himself off the ground and began to climb, Eliza following on his heels while Cove and I craned our necks, watching them go.

"Not going with them?" Cove asked.

My befuddlement must have shown on my face when I glanced at him, surprised he'd think for a moment that I, the one who'd only recently stopped struggling to jog in basic physical training, would be an advanced enough rock climber to accomplish this task.

His lips twisted into a teasing smile. "I suppose you did need a little work."

If I hadn't been so aware of my physical fitness, or lack thereof, and the problems it had already caused me, I might have been offended. As it was, I flipped the question back at him, "What about you?"

His smile turned self-deprecating. "Apparently, going rock-climbing once or twice a year wasn't enough for the system."

A dark, twisted sense of glee rose unbidden in my chest as his physical flaw was revealed before me, and I had to strangle it before my face revealed more than I wanted it to. It was unfair of me to act this way to someone who'd done everything in his power to help me get closer to where he stood, and I should have been grateful.

And a part of me was grateful when I wasn't bogged down by the pesky and persistent section of my brain that saw everything he could do and wondered how I might have turned out if I'd had the same opportunities. If I'd had the same power.

I realized I'd taken a moment too long to respond, and turned my attention back to watching Sinbad and Eliza scale the cliff, letting the conversation drop entirely. Cove followed my lead, doppign the smile entirely to gaze thoughtfully back at the wall. Whatever he was thinking about, he thought about hard, the skin between his brows wrinkling with the force of his worries.

Eliza's sheath scraped the top of the cliff as her and Sinbad hefted themselves over, vanishing from sight. Their bickering voices carried down to us, the words lost in the air between. Something clicked, and we heard the painful sound of rock scraping against itself as they worked on solving the picture puzzle.

The moment they must have finished, there was another, louder click followed by a clanging sound and a loud thud. Sinbad and Eliza's faces appeared over the edge of the cliff moments later as they peered down at us, holding the bow and the quiver full of arrows they'd collected victoriously. Their descent was much faster than their ascent up the cliff, and they both dropped the last story down, crouchign as they landed.

Sinbad pulled the bow and arrows from his inventory once more, showing us the blackened wood and black-tufted arrows. "Is is extra-effective against the rooks?" he guessed.

Eliza didn't wait for someone to answer, asking "Does anyone actually know how to use this thing?"

Although I wasn't a high-level gunslinger, I did now have the ability to use any ranged weapon available.

"Yup," Cove answered, holding his hand out. Sinbad passed the bow over to him, watching as Cove tested it out, hsi back rippling as his he pulled his shoulders tightly back against eacother as he loosened and pulled the string.

We left it to him, exiting the crowded room as he vanished it into his inventory.