The next room was all but empty. The upper prospect floors from the old room had vanished from sight, replaced by a surface emulating a clear blue sky. The room's interior was lush with purple vegetation, and long, tangling plant limbs stretched across the horizon, partially blocking my view of the roof. On the ground, animals scurried about, the kind that don't exist anywhere else, typical of the prospects. Though dense, the forest was not tropical in nature, more akin to a Taiga biome. A thin, lengthy river ran down the center of the room, reflecting a bright artificial light meant to behave like the sun. Despite the room's beauty, we couldn't dwell, since time was an aspect we had to take into consideration. Each room in the prospects has properties linked to them. Some have a timer, various environmental changes, natural disasters, randomized creature generation, and many more, though those are the most common ones. The prospects themselves have been around significantly longer than we have, yet their ancient walls harbor no blemishes. The large, intertwining labyrinths were all uniquely pristine and perfectly preserved. Their reason for existence is unknown, but if you go deep enough, you're sure to come back with something. Riches, power, the ability to shoot legs from your arms, essentially, anything that is possible within the realm of possibility, and even that statement may not be true. There have been stories of an all-powerful rune at the bottom of the prospects, 'The Almanac', an ancient source of power, talked about only in legends. Nobody knows what it does, since all of the "religious" texts surrounding the prospects are very vague in the object's actual identity. Our goal, though, is to find out what it does, and not only that, but also to get back up to the surface to report on it. Alyssa and I had been delving together for years now, ever since the age of 16 when the average person got their permit. At least, that's when I got my permit, since Alyssa shirked her delving duties and "fled the continent" for 6 months. There was no other continent, though, just islands, so she escaped to some deserted archipelago with no backup plan. She ended up getting flown home by an official, and since she had "potential", she got bailed out of jail for a reduced fee, paid by her parents, of course. She got out just in time for exams, which she passed effortlessly, as she constantly reminds me, and then she joined up with me.
I jerked back to attention, realizing I had been thinking about the Almanac too much again. The all-rune, as it is more commonly referred to, was just so interesting to me, to us. Currently, the world depends on us succeeding in the capture of the rune, and the pressure was certainly on. Seemingly, though, only for me, as Alyssa never seemed bothered by it. I shook away all of these needless thoughts and followed after her, she was already down to the first fork in the river, roughly a mile.
"Spacing out again?" Alyssa questioned.
"Yeah, all-rune," I responded.
"Are you still worried? "Alyssa scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Listen, any normal person would be nervous about this, you're just abnormally brave," I retorted.
"Uhhhh, Thanks, I think?"
I nudged past her as I gazed out into the opening expanse. The tangled limbs slowly moved back to reveal a massive purple tree radiant with light. Atop it grew a single, bright fruit, but the tree was well over 2000 feet tall. I let out a long sigh,
"I guess that tree's our way out then,"
Alyssa stared at me, confused, "Tree? What tree?"
I eyed the tree again, blinking rapidly to confirm. This didn't look like an illusion. I gave her a humorous look and scoffed, I assumed she was joking.
"Dem, there isn't anything there,".
I took a slow step forward, and then another, always consciously checking for any signs of illusion, but I found none, this was, this had to be one hundred percent real. I walked up to the side of the tree, running my hand on its rough bark, real. I put one foot on a slightly protruding part of the branch, real. I began to climb, real. Alyssa gasped,
"Hey… hey? Dem! Where are you?!" She called out.
She's feeling the illusion, not me, not that difficult a problem… probably.
"Well, let's just hope this isn't a co-op trial then," I thought to myself, though that isn't the most likely scenario, since, typically, entering with a group means that the prospect's challenges will be geared toward the number of people you entered with.
I scaled the tree with minimal effort, its rigid surface and many large limbs were almost perfect for climbing, and after only around 25 minutes, I reached the top. There the fruit sat, but my mind began to wander. Traps in the prospects were rare since the rooms themselves didn't generate anything. "Humans will still be humans, though," I thought to myself. We were at such a low level that traps weren't at all a worry, but something else gnawed at the back of mind. I decided to ignore the feeling, and I plucked the fruit. My immediate instinct was to take out a knife and cut down the middle, but the slimy flesh weaved itself back together. I tried lodging a loose stick from the tree into it, but the stick was instantly crushed to dust. I was tempted to put my hand in there too, but I knew better than anyone else that that was a stupid idea.
I knew, we knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but the tinge of hope is still always there.
I hopped down much quicker than I had scaled, and I promptly headed out for Alyssa. As long as I have known her, she has never once stayed put, she wasn't the type to stand idly and wait, which was why it was extremely odd to see her exactly where she had been at the fork of the river, not moved an inch. I approached cautiously, though the prospects never generated customary traps, like pitfalls or landmines, illusions were common. The illusions were almost always the result of the weather or an animal, the latter being the most dangerous. I tapped her on the shoulder, no response. I shoved her, but she simply rocked back and forth, and still no response. I did the one thing I knew would determine if she was playing tricks on me or not, I punched her arm, no response. It felt all too real to be an illusion, so was I experiencing a hallucination? The illusory forest was a common room, but only on the upper floors, had we been transported to an early room as a consequence of something? I cursed under my breath, if that was true, all we'd have done would have been for nothing. I couldn't accept that. The room is purple, I reminded myself. Plus, the illusions I'm experiencing are far too advanced for a starter level, even the prospects aren't that punishing. I took out a small razor, and I moved towards Alyssa's back. If she didn't wake up from a wound, then I was without a doubt the one in the illusion, not her. I sucked in a breath as I made a careful incision, small enough to draw blood.
My life flashed before my eyes as a balled fist came whirling around. I pivoted back just inches away from the punch, and Alyssa spun on her heel to face me. Her burdened face softened to a relieved acceptance after seeing me, my hands flew up in a battle stance. I let go of the stance, dropping my arms to my side.
"What happened?" I said, concern laced in my voice.
"I-I don't know, I was just walking through the forest, and when I felt the blood, my view flew back to here." Alyssa sighed,
"I was near a fruit too, it looked important."
She shot me a pensive glare,
"If you hadn't cut me, maybe I could've gotten it," Alyssa spat, annoyance evident in her venomous tone.
"Alyssa, you don't understand, you haven't moved at all, not an inch"
"That's- that's impossible, I can prove it, I took a dagger I found on the ground near a cave entrance, it's right here,".
Alyssa took out a long, jagged dagger from her coat pocket. A long red gash with a gentle glow ran across the zigzag edges of the weapon, and though it looked weathered, it could unquestionably still cut.
"But that's impossible, you haven't moved, I'm sure of it, I could see everything from the top of the tree,"
Alyssa sighed and glanced up at the fruitless tree,
"So you got it then?" She queried, attempting to change the subject.
"Yup,"
I took out the fruit and tossed it to her, and she cradled it carefully.
"Don't worry about damaging it, it's pretty much invincible, can't even be cut,". Alyssa let out a hmph of affirmation and rolled the fruit in her hand haphazardly, feeling the crevices.
"Well, whatever happened, I don't care enough, let's go, I think I remember where the other is," Her eyes began to defocus as the fruit dropped from her hand. I sighed. I suppose it didn't matter since she could bring things back from the illusion, but this is clearly a co-op trial, and I had yet to see the cooperative portion. Resigned, I ventured deeper into the forest, past the tree. it doesn't matter whose in whose illusion, we just needed to leave. Despite feeling what I thought was acceptance, a sense of unease was still instilled within me. Where was the actual puzzle? The last was a combat test, and nobody ever gets the same type of test in a row. This had to be a puzzle room, it only made sense, but where was the objective? The fruit didn't seem to do anything. I tossed the fruit in my hand and examined it carefully. It was pear-shaped with a small green stem at the top. The fruit's skin was beautiful, its many dips and facets caught the artificial sun in a way that reflected a galaxy. I found myself mesmerized, turning it in my hand, I didn't even notice that I had already reached the forest wall. Huh, weird. The end looked way further, and there was no way I walked that much, was it an illusion? Masking illusions were commonplace and extremely easy to cast. I ran my hand across the forest wall until I felt a small protruding lump. My face lit up with the find, and I quickly threw my bag on the ground. I ravaged the pack until I found what I was looking for. A warm smile spread across my face as I dragged a long, brownish paper from my bag. Painted upon its surface were numerous calligraphic scriptures, and at the bottom, a small hole. I dug a square note out of the bag, just the size of the hole, and slipped it through the scripture. The writing lit up bright blue, and my smile grew even wider. I pasted the scroll on the protrusion, and the illusory wall came tumbling down. The fake wood and stones shattered like glass to the ground, disintegrating as they touched. What remained was a large white door, similar to the one we had exited from in the last room. Had I already found the exit? My hand was still on the protrusion, now turned to the door knob. I looked down and my smile dropped instantly, giving way to a disappointed frown. The knob had a keyhole. Why did whoever made these prospects make them so convoluted? The keyhole glowed with a purple interior, and I peered into it to take a closer look. Nothing that particularly stood out, except for a small glint at the back of the hole. The sight mesmerized me, just as the fruit did. My expression contorted into one of pure unadulterated annoyance.
"Shit," I cursed.
The fruit had to be merged into a key. I couldn't even cut or break it. How in the world was I supposed to shape it into something as precise as a key when blemishes in it immediately reform? I took a step back, I needed to look at the positives, I'd just uncovered a possible exit, figuring it out would come later, when Alyssa could move again, I thought. I made the journey back, which looked and felt much shorter within the illusion lifted in that area. My script had been strong enough to affect the whole northern forest, even the river's right division had begun to fade out of existence, a good way to discern where the script ended. Alyssa was still in the same spot, though sitting, tossing a fruit almost identical to mine in her hand.
"Yo!" I called out. "Nice job!"
"Thanks!" Alyssa yelled back as she got up from the river bank.
"When did you finish in there?" I asked.
"Uh… Maybe 30 minutes ago?"
"Thirty minutes?! I was gone for 15, tops," I exclaimed.
"Illusions, dipshit." Alyssa insulted with a sarcastic inflection.
"How do I always forget that" I sighed.
"Because you're a complete fucking idiot?" Alyssa stared at me with a mockingly quizzical expression.
"I swear anytime I'm with you my sighing rates go up by 100%"
Alyssa gave me a bright smile,
"You know you love me,"
I let out an exasperated sigh for what felt like the 1000th time, and rubbed my fingers on my temples.
"Anyways I made an absolutely shocking discovery," Alyssa continued, "First, I can't move at all, any attempts render me in that dimension, Second, I found a big door in there, or at least what I think is one. It looks like a forest wall but there's an obvious protrusion," Alyssa gestured to my bag, "Basically what I'm saying is that I need one of your scrolls,".
I sighed, "I just used it on a door, identical to the one you described, the main problem is that it has a keyhole, and I saw something at the end of that keyhole that looks identical to the skin of the fruit,"
Alyssa groaned, "Are you kidding?! We have to make that" she gestured to my fruit, "into this,"
Alyssa pulled a long, rusted brown key mold from her pocket and started tapping her chin with it.
"Hm what to do what to do"
It looked as ancient as the prospects themselves.
"Why do you just happen to have a key mold on you," I questioned, stifling a laugh.
Alyssa clicked her tongue,
"I don't, I got it from the parallel dimension, it was next to my fruit, was there nothing next to yours?"
My mind groaned at the thought of climbing back up the tree to check, so I just shrugged. "Didn't check, and it doesn't really matter, I'll just use yours," I snatched the key mold from her and began to carefully examine it. I could hear her complaining in the background, but I was laser-focused on my inspection. Judging from its dilapidated state, I could assume that the mold was not generated by the prospects, but rather man-made, since prospect items didn't age. This reality, for some reason, was difficult for me to accept. This one-piece confirms the truth in the stories we were taught as children, of the great delvers who reached the deepest levels of the prospects. In my hand was an object of legend, and yet, I felt nothing. The mold intricacy, though, was certainly nothing to scoff at. It's why I struggled to accept the reality of it being man-made, it looked far too perfect. The outside was crude and looked rushed, but the inside was impeccable. It's surface was incredibly smooth, and, upon closer examination, scriptures could be seen on the inside. Scripted objects were rare, a sign of a master smith, but the scripts were covered in rust, unreadable. Out of curiosity, I placed the fruit on top of the mold, and even tried to fit it in, no response. Of course, if the keyhole looked like the skin, the key itself probably was made of flesh.
"Hey, Alyssa, can you toss me that dagger you found earlier?"
"Uhh, ok, sure"
Alyssa handed me the dagger from the handle, and I found myself awestruck at its design as well. Had the same smith made these two objects? I cut myself off from that train of thought as I got to testing. First a small cut, no reformation. Then a slightly larger gash, still no reformation.
Eventually, I opened a large slit into the fruit, where the flesh was visible, but still no reformation. As a final test, I pierced the fruit and cut down the side until it opened fully. I snapped my hand back as the flesh twisted and weaved back together as if being sewn, the fruit reformed good as new, not a single blemish on its immaculate surface. It takes lacerations, but not a full slice in half. Interesting. My excitement grew, this room finally had an easy-to-see objective, all I had to do was figure out how to open this thing into the key mold.
Alyssa snatched the fruit and mold away from me, tossing aside her own. I scrambled to pick it up from the riverbed, examining its surface, for any signs of wear.
"You said it yourself, it doesn't break" Alyssa raised an eyebrow. She brought the knife up and made a deep laceration in the flesh of the fruit. With the flat of the knife, Alyssa scooped the flesh out of the fruit until it was fully emptied. I watched the event unfolding before me in awe, I was amazed. The scripture lit up a bright blue, and the white flesh began to compact and harden into the mold. By the time the process had concluded, the skin of the fruit had nearly disintegrated.
"Looks like someone already did the hard work for us," Alyssa concluded.
"Huh,"
It made sense, the "facets" of the fruit must have been scriptures binding the skin to the flesh. Both the knife and the mold were also scripted, and so their scripts overwrote the original ones on the skin, binding it to the mold. I marveled at the creativity, and the masterful artistry that the smith must've possessed to create such an intricate object, two of them no less. If such a person did exist, then they would have to be of the highest class delvers, stronger than all the legends we'd heard as kids, so how had he died here? On this floor? The key was fully formed now, and it would undoubtedly fit into the keyhole, had it really been that easy? All I had to do was walk through the exit and-
Oh right, Alyssa.
I grumbled, collapsing to the ground. I forgot about her, I had to find a way to move her. I scooched up to her from my prone position, it was time to discuss a plan.