Oh fuck…
"The hell is all the yelling for??" One of the adventures say. A man in black armor with a large halbert on his back was glaring at me half confused half aggravated. "Oi. Goblin."
"Geh! Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to raise my voice so much!" I bow to him nervously as I apologize. Internally scorning Xyle for pissing me off.
"Wow. To think such a thing can throw a tantrum like that. That's new."
"And at the hero no less. Just disgusting." I recognize that voice from the party that left him. I got you next lady.
"What's everyone sitting here for?" Xyle asks as I stand straight again.
"We can't get through, sir." The man in black says to him. "Seems like this rooms a dead end."
"Our maps tell us this is supposed to be where we're supposed to leave but there's no door."
Uh oh.
"Why don't you figure out what's going on, Tess?" Ah fuck.
"What? The goblin? What can he do?"
"I'm a girl, sir."
"Huh? Seriously?? That's even more strange." How?!
"C'mon, Tess. See what you can find out here."
"If this is the exit then this is the last place I need to be." I say. I take a look around the room and see a few obvious places that require locks. The front one was the biggest piece missing.
"What do you need then?" Xyle is insistent on me doing something here. "We can't really get out of here without you." What!?
"Huh!? As if! That goblin is more useless than these maps!"
"It's just a scavenger, isn't it?"
"That I am and my job is to find something here and go back the way I came. If you'll excuse me."
"Hey! Wait a minute! What!? You're not helping!?"
"They don't want my help, hero. I'm not necessarily interested in doing something for anyone that doesn't want me around." I turned to walk out of the room until a question stops me from leaving.
"What, so can you help?" The man in black asks. "What can you do, exactly?"
"... I can tell you this entire dungeon isn't as straightforward as it looks on the map."
"What are you looking for?" He stands and walks to me until Xyle was directly between us.
"... I don't think I'm obligated to tell."
"You are if you know what's good for you, weakling." A new voice says. A man in red light armor stood between the girls that left Xyle. I take it this is the guy they ran to earlier.
"I doubt that." I tell him. I am so not in the mood for this. I walk out of the room and go back through the hall to were the creatures fly around. The guy in black armor steps in front of me and draws his sword ready to fight. One of them dives for him and I step from behind him.
It lands in front of me wings open as I glare at it for a long while until it jumps off the side and flies away. "Your aid isn't necessary." I say as I look to the man. "I'm heading down to where you were, hero. Take me to where you found that scroll."
"On it!" Xyle rushes out in front of me to the step leading down to the maze. I roll my eyes and jump off the side and run across the maze following him. "Wha!? Hey!! That's Cheating!"
"Quit your griping." I say. I stop in the middle of the maze when I noticed one of the creatures fly into a dark area in another direction. It was another room that was directly under the place I came from. The guy in black drops down next to me on the wall and startle me. I try to ignore him and go back to where Xyle was on the other side of the maze.
"What? You're following us now?" Xyle says.
"Your goblin seems to know what he's doing."
"She." He corrects.
"Uh… Right. My bad."
"And of course she knows what she's doing. She's the smartest person I know. Which is why I made her join me."
Oh, so you admit to forceful invitation?
"Grrr…." I openly growl at him and walk on past them. The regrets are building.
"... It doesn't sound like she liked the idea of doing this."
"Ah she'll get over it."
"Oh yes. I will get over it in time once I get compensation for being put through this torment by you."
"Uh… eheheh…"
"Just take me to that damn place already."
We walk through the tunnel xyle and the other came from for a long while, fighting off other small creatures, like raid rats and slimes. It was odd seeing these things in here and fighting them with these two. Sometimes, the big guy gets stuck in a wall because of his massive sword and I had to help him get it out while Xyle fended off most of the creatures. Seriously, who said it was a good idea to bring that thing in a narrow space like this? You should know better.
We make it to where Xyle said he found the scroll and crystal. It was a carved hollow in the side of the wall made to look like a side room. It had a few shelves with almost nothing on them.
"The room was like this when I noticed it. I'm not sure how everyone else missed it though. This room is so spacious." Xyle says as if he did something cool.
"It has an incantation seal on the front of it." I tell him as I look around the opening. "It's a miracle you even found it. These kinds of rooms are nearly impossible to spot even in broad daylight. Usually they come in clusters too. The only way to open them is if you know exactly where their hidden or if the spread around the room is disturbed." I look to the ground and see the seal that made the illusion smudged in a large place. "I take it you tripped and disrupted the incantation."
"Eheheh… Maybe." He answers nervously.
"Of course you did." I snark unimpressed and look around the cave walls to find more of them in a line from the one Xyle found. I was on the money when I said these were usually in clusters.
"Grab what you can find for me." I say to Xyle.
"On it." God, he's way too eager to obey. Was he always like this??
I just realized the guy in black was helping too and I couldn't help but stare at him in worry. "... What is your name, by the way?" I ask him.
"Mason Taosou. What was yours?" He says back.
"Tessa Halliway." I answer.
"Ah. You're that noble. No wonder your way of speaking was strange." Sorry??
"Is there a reason you're here with us?"
"Because the hero seems to have high regards for you. I honestly couldn't care less about what you do."
"Then what are you helping us for?"
"Curiosity."
"Of?"
"... Tell me why you're so special and I'll answer."
"Ask him that. I haven't the slightest idea."
"Huh?"
"I haven't met the guy outside of the guild that much. Whenever I did see him, I make a habit of avoidance for obvious reasons. I haven't interacted with him up until a few moments before entering this dungeon."
"Yet he talks about you like you've been childhood friends."
"Again, talk to him." What the ever loving… Urgh. I suddenly felt something click under my hand as I search the shelves and the wall opens up and takes me for a spin. "Wha!!?"
"Oi!!" I hear Mason shout from the other side. "Goblin! Are you alright!"
"What happened!? Where's Tess!?" Xyle panics
"I'm fine! Just went for a ride out of nowhere." I reply.
"Tess!! What happened??"
"I hit a trigger that opened a door. Hang on." I look around the tiny space and see the 'eye' in front of me on the wall this time with more around it. A drawing of a person… Cyclops. The image was looking down at a podium in front of me with a body decor set. Shoulder braces, couplings, rings, a necklace, some earrings… it was all the size of an average size man. A bit bigger than Xyle but smaller than Mason. Wow this is cool. And it's all placed neatly on a large yellow cloth. I feel like I might get cursed if I touch this.
Take it with you.
Are you nuts!!?
Take it.
urgh fine. I grab the cloth at either end and wrap it carefully, then place it in my bag. I look to the carving again and now it feels like it's staring at me. Urgh~ I don't like it. I quickly open the hatch again and this time it opens at my pace. The boys stood confused and concerned on the other side as I walk out.
"... What?" I ask. Their stares are unnerving.
"What did you find?"
"A lot of things I think I need to give to someone that's here."
"Huh?"
"You mean you found something for me right?"
"No. Not for you, hero."
"Awe, come on!"
"Do you want to get cursed?"
"Geh!!?"
"Thought so. Did you guys find anything else?"
"Another book for you."
"A lot of broken chips and stones. Sir Xyle said to give these to you, but I find them to be useless."
"Let me see."
He hands me the pieces he had and they were what we needed to open the door. "Oh good! you found the key to the first door!"
"Huh??"
I put the pieces together and they merge once I'm done to make the eye again. The 'pupil' was all that was missing now. Hmm… I hand the piece back to Mason and he looks to me in shock.
"Here. This goes to the exit you were at earlier. Set it in the center of that wall in the back where you were before."
"... Right." He looked super confused but I could tell he understood. "... We have so many thieves and archers in the group. Why haven't any of them picked up on these things!??"
"Good question. You should ask them that when you get back."
"I will. And I think I'll hone my skills in puzzling and maze work too so I don't end up in this same predicament again." Wow. He does not sound happy.
"Alright you got what you wanted right?"
"Ah! I have one more thing for you to look at."
Hm? Mason handed me a small bag of chips and I open it to see a small yellow stones in it. I take it out and see that its gold. As I examine it, Xyle snatches it from me snickering and I take it back and smack him in the head.
"Aah!! Why!?"
"Not for you." I say as I hand it to Mason and place it in the eye of the stone. "Don't ever remove that that's the lock and key." I tell him.
"Got it."
"Aah~... What can I take?"
"Even as a joke that isn't funny." I tell Xyle. He cringes at me and pouts. "Let's hurry back. I got a new room to explore."
"Wait can I join your party?" Mason asks.
"What?" Xyle asks.
"... Meh. Why not."
"Why!?"
"Well the recommended party number is three so…"
"... Oh yeah. Tch."
"Also I am not staying in a party with just you."
"What!? What's wrong with just having me!?"
"You creep me out after what sir Mason told me. I can deduce that you've been stalking me for a long while now since we met."
"Geh!!" At least deny it!!
We make it back to the maze and Mason takes the stone back to the room where everyone was waiting. I could hear him chewing out a lot of people in there. Mason walks back out and takes a breath while cracking his knuckles. Yeah that is not a happy person. We three now head to the maze room and head to that new room at the other end where the creatures flew through. We make it to a door with a hole at the top for the birds to go through. The door looked like it was ready to fall apart any minute. There was no mechanism or anything on it to open it. Not even a handle. It must be meant to look like a decorative wall.
"So what's here?" Xyle asks. Right. These two are strong types.
"Break it open and we'll find out." I tell him.
"What seriously!?"
"I had to break a few things to get in here too, hero. Bust it open."
"Alright!" Without a second thought, he does and the door falls apart from impact. Xyle instantly gets excited and laughs haughtily. "HAHAHA! MAN THAT FEELS GOOD!"
"I feel like you enjoy taking orders more so than giving them, hero." I have to say it.
"Well, it's you." He replies with a smile. "Of course Imma listen to you." … Uh…
"I have no words..." Marcus says.
"Don't make it gross." I retort. "What the hell does that even mean!? You know what, I don't want to know. Let's just keep going."
"Heheh."
"Stop laughing!" I say smacking him.
"Ouch! Why!?"
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Marcus watches them as Tessa storms off in front. He looks to Xyle and notices his smile was like that of a guy watching his crush. Xyle walks on after her and Marcus follows dumbfounded at what he just witnessed. They soon find themselves traveling down a staircase that that grew cooler as the went farther down. They make it to a large open room where the air was cool enough to see their breaths. Xyle and Marcus are captivated by the room and take in the space around them while tessa continues forward to a large throne in the center of the room. She examines it then looks to the back wall. It was designed the same way the last three secret rooms were.
Tessa takes off her bag and places all the collected items on each segment of the throne, following the design on the wall. The crown was placed inside the head of the seat, the cuffs to each arm and leg, and the chest to the body. All the pieces were in place. A click goes off and startles everyone as the throne turns and reveals the back. It was empty like a canvas ready to be carved. Tessa takes the large ring and the glass piece she got from Xyle and places them together on the back of the throne. It fit snugly. The throne turns back around and suddenly a human figure was wearing the garments she placed on the seat. It was like a golden statue. Tessa steps away from the throne back to Xyle and Marcus who were ready to fight.
The statue suddenly leans forward and a hole opens up in the face. Something seemed to be missing.
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Man this is one complicated puzzle. Where the hell do I find his eye?? don't tell me it's back at the entrance. Or worse, back where I started… Urgh… this is gonna be a pain.
"Wh-what the hell?? That's super freaking creepy." Xyle says suddenly.
"... Yeah. I can't argue with that." I tell him. "But this is Palitoh's temple. I get the feeling that this place is missing a lot more than just this guys eye though."
"Like what?"
"..." I think back for a moment to all the places I've been until I realize I forgot to bring the glass I just put together back to the secret room. "Fuck!" I go back to the throne and try to figure out what to do. I know what's missing but where do I find them? GOD DAMMIT!! It was so easy that I forgot about all the crucially minor details! Amateur move, Tess! Come one! "Sir Marcus."
"Hm??"
"Can you go back to the exit you opened up and see if you find a new item there?"
"Like what?? What am I supposed to look for?"
"Something that can either be another mirror that's big enough to fit into a set of large hands or a sphere with an eye on it. Either works."
"... Alright. Got it." Marcus rushes back through the way we came.
"What about me!?" Xyle whines.
"You're coming with me, hero. I may need you to help me get through another area I came through."
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