At first, it looks like there’s quite a reward in the chest, a small mound of sparkling and glittering silver and gold, but then it moves.
I startle back, watching in a mix of horror and amazement as the thing in the bottom of the chest turns to look up at me. It’s not very big, about the size of a small dog, humanoid-ish shape, with two arms and two legs. Its skin is a patchwork of shiny metals and two mismatched gemstones that sit in the place of its eyes stare up at me. A gilded fork sticks out of its left brow like a horn and a long tail-like appendage made of floating linked together jewels sways at its back.
“Damn it! It’s a monster!” I curse, quickly reaching up to slam the chest shut once again.
“Not a monster!” the tiny metal creature yells, voice squeaky and jiggling around the edges, “rude player!”
“Oh,” I say, brain going blank, as I stare down at the strange thing, “you- uh, talk.”
“Of course, I talk!” the little creature huffs, rounded hands pressed to its hips, “I am far above the mindless creatures you call monsters, I am a very proud ******!” and the not-monster makes some sort of weird sound, that more resembles an exploding engine or a malfunctioning clock then words. “It is an insult to compare the two.”
For a moment I ponder trying to repeat whatever ‘word’ it just said, but then I decide that would probably be offensive, “a what?” I ask instead.
“I shouldn’t be surprised you can pronounce it, our language is too advanced for you,” he states, little sliver button nose stuck up into the air, “your kind tends to call us treasure bears.”
I tilt my head evaluating the proud little creature, I guess you could say it’s somewhat bear shaped…. Its proportions are unusually round, with rounded hands containing no fingers, and somewhat rounded ear-looking brooches sticking out the top of its head. I guess if you pretend it’s made out of fabric it does kind of look like a teddy bear? Though that’s a bit of a stretch, I would liken the creature more to a monkey than a bear.
“And what’s a treasure bear?”
It brightens up immediately, face breaking into a smile, “an ancient and magical species born from the riches of the world!” It gestures towards itself and all the bits and baubles that make it up, “and providers of the finest gems, gold, and other fineries. Would you like to browse my wares!?”
“Oh, so you’re a vendor.” Honestly, I never expected to encounter a random shop NPC, too bad I had absolutely no money on me, or whatever fantasy equivalent of currency worked around here. “I don’t have any money on me sadly, but if you want, I’ll look?”
“Ah,” it glances away, weird floating jewel tail swishing nervously with the soft sound of clattering glass, “n-no that’s fine, you wouldn’t be able to appreciate the grandeur of my items anyway.”
“Of course,” I reply dryly.
An awkward silence descends as I glance around the small room, nothing particularly noteworthy minus the chest the treasure bear is sitting in, “So what are you doing here in this maze then?” I ask trying not to be too obvious in my fishing for information, this weird little creature is the first ‘intelligent life’ I’ve met since the starting zone. It’s a golden opportunity to learn not only more about the tutorial but this world as well. “I don’t imagine many starting players have currency on them?”
“Uh, you see-,” it says, moving its gaze towards the walls of the chest, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, “personal business.”
Well, that’s great. Of all the mildly helpful NPCs I could have run into, I find the one that’s useless, “So you are lost,” I say.
“I’m not lost!” it protests, stomping its little foot hard against the wooden chest, “Just a little… turned around. That’s all.”
I raise my eyebrow, but it holds strong, chest puffed, and arms crossed, “Don’t insult me, you meanie player.”
“It’s good to be honest with yourself, teddy.”
It sucks in a sharp breath like I just insulted his mother, “How dare you-you-you pink funny-looking player!” it insults, looking way prouder of himself than he should for that diss. “I am the great Chalice! The mightiest and most proud of our people! You should be thanking the gods for this lucky encounter with me!”
Wow, this little bear has quite a complex. “Of course,” I pacify, trying to keep the smile off my face. I know it’s trying to be intimidating and proud, but he’s so cute it’s not working at all. Distantly I’m aware of the tension easing out of my frame and the simmering pain starting to worm to the front of my mind.
“Well, hello, Chalice” I greet, leaning down to peer better into the chest, trying not to wince as I bend my knee, “I’m Nova.”
It huffs, looking up at me with its mismatched eyes squinted into a glare, “What are you doing here then, Nova?” and he pulls my name out in a mocking lit.
I smile despite myself, it’s nice to be talking to another… person, after everything, let's me pretend everything is a bit more normal. The panic that I had been forcing down starts to quiet in my chest. Maybe meeting this little guy was a blessing after all.
“Same as you,” I explain, “trying to find the exit.”
“Oh,” it mutters sadly, ear brooches dropping like a kicked puppy. “So, you don’t know either then…” it whines, crystal eyes glittering with something that’s easily read as sadness.
I feel my heart twinge a little at the scene, sure it’s a weird foreign little creature that’s probably not useful at all, but it is cute, and that’s got to be worth something right? I ponder how to proceed as the little guy sits back down in it’s chest, mopping around and rolling a coin across the floor. Well, I guess there’s only one real choice isn’t there?
“I’m going to regret this later,” I think to myself before I lean back into the chest, “Hey, little dragon monkey,” the treasure bear looks up with an offended pout. I smile down at it, amusement probably radiating off me at the display, “do you want to come with me?”
It crosses its arms and turns away, “I would never travel around with a silly player with zero manners.”
Well, there was my good deed for the day, “Then I’ll just close this chest for you and be on my-,”
“Wait!” he protests, glancing around behind me nervously, “Do you... want to browse my shop...?”
Forcing down a smile, I look back with fake surprise, “I thought I couldn’t appreciate the grandeur of your items?”
It flushes, metal cheeks going a bit green with what I assume is embarrassment as it coughs, turning away sharply, “I’ve changed my mind! You should accept my kind and courteous offer silly player.”
“I’ll look,” I agree, lowering myself so I’m fully sitting on the floor. A sigh escapes my lips as I let my protesting knees finally rest, propping my arms up on the lip of the chest, “But I’m reminding you I don’t have money.”
It huffs, a sound rather close to a tea kettle whistle, “Just a peek.”
And with a weird mechanical, almost cogwheel-like sound, something in the air shifts.
“SPRING!” and there’s a holographic menu floating in my face.
“That’s nifty,” I admit, reaching forward to interact with the screen. It is like my own window, which at the thought of it blinks to life again beside me, but I ignore it, focusing on the new screen. Interestingly it’s also a different color, a bright pastel yellow with white letters, thankfully the font is not in cursive. It has all the normal tabs and layouts of a normal shop window, though interestingly there’s no ‘sell’ tab, only buy, with items sorted into three broad categories, ‘equipment, weapons, and items.’
I open the equipment tab. Your average run-of-the-mill fantasy game stuff, with armor of different types and helmets with horns, nothing particularly noteworthy. The weapons tab is much the same, with weapons that look shiny and nice, but don’t seem to actually be better than what I already have. ‘Items’ is just filled with miscellaneous junk; jewels, silverware, and candlesticks, the kind of money-loot items you normally sell to vendors like this.
“Impressive, yes?” it asks with pride, puffing out its chest, hands on its hips, “I know you are marveled by what you see. Maybe if you ask very nicely, I could be convinced to give you something~”
“No, I’m good,” I say, flipping back to the weapons tab, as the treasure bear nearly trips over nothing, “do you not sell magical items?”
It flinches, smile twisting into a pout, “I’ve just started!” it huffs, quickly closing out the shop menu, with another snap, “It's impressive that I’ve managed to gather this large of an inventory already!”
“So, you're new?” I guess, raising an eyebrow at the little guy.
It huffs sticking its little nose into the air, “In a player’s sense of time, I suppose I am fairly new to this trade. But every ****** must make their own way!”
“Sounds like hard work,” I agree, as it nods up at me.
“Players always underestimate how much effort goes into carefully curating a shop. It takes skill, a good eye, and a love of riches stronger than your competition!”
So, I definitely shouldn’t tell it that the starting zone had similar if not better goods, “You have competition in here?”
“Well…,” and it shifts its gaze away, “not in here per say, but as I’ll be the greatest shopkeeper ever! Rivals are abound at every turn!”
“I’m sure you will-,” A slam against the door cuts me off. I turn around sharply, staring intently at the door. There’s a faint mechanical clattering noise as Chalice hosts itself up next to me, peering over the edge of the chest.
“You’ve made them really mad,” it notes in a soft creaking voice.
“I tend to have that effect,” I tease, even as the panic starts rebuilding in my chest, making each breathe a little harder than the rest.
We wait a few minutes but there are no more lunges toward the wood, but snarls and hisses still echo faintly from beyond the door. I shift my attention back to the treasure bear, “You mind if I stay a little bit?”
It looks up at me incredulously for a second before it huffs, dropping the ledge and returning to inside the chest. “Do as you wish, pink player!” and it sits back down starting to mess with something I can’t see, “I couldn’t make you leave even if I wanted to.” It grumbles waving a hand over towards me, “Just shut my chest before you wander off.”
“Thanks, Chalice,” I whisper softly, and I pretend that I can’t see the green blush on its cheeks as I slowly lower the lid of the chest.
It takes more effort than I would like to crawl over to the far wall, resting my head against my arms. Everything aches, and the lingering taste of blood hangs heavy on my tongue. Today will certainly be a day I will never forget. A day filled with so much wonder and pain, regret twists higher in my throat, nearly drowning me with all the grief I had been forcing down. My eyes sting and I let the tears flow, here deep in the maze, trapped with an NPC as my only witness I let myself break a little.
I want to go back home. I don’t want to fight for my life or kill bloodthirsty monsters. “How much longer would I have to live like this until I can go back? Was Zeke, my stupidly kindhearted little brother here somewhere? Was he also suffering, alone and afraid, wondering where I went?”
“Fuck,” I curse softly, pushing my hands against my eyes. My head pounds against my skull so loud my heartbeat echoes in my ears. I can’t let myself think of what-ifs, I will get back to him. I promised him I would be there, promised I would always protect him, and promised that we would always be together.
I push my hands further into my eyes to the point I see spots dance behind my eyelids, trying to force my brain to stop thinking. I don’t want to think about what’s happening to Zeke, while I’m trapped here, wherever in the world “here” is.
“Zeke, please be okay,” I whisper, just hearing my twin's name helps settle the bubbling fear and panic, but it doesn’t erase it. I promised him, I can’t let him down again.
“~~~,” I look up through my watery vision, nothing has changed as far as I can tell, but there’s a faint musical sound to the air, metal and tin-y, like an old music box.
My eyes land on the treasure chest, whose lid has been propped open with a golden fork. Slowly the music continues to play, not loud enough to fully drown out the thoughts circling around my head, but enough to ease them into slightly less concerning directions. I allow the smile to creep onto my face, as I settle myself against the tiles, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
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