Carefully I pocket the crystal in my backpack, settling it around an extra pair of socks from the starting zone. I glance around at the rest of the room, maybe there was something else here that would be useful?
I check the desk first, pulling out drawers and flipping through a book that’s most likely a dairy, shame I can’t read any of it, who knows what sort of secrets it holds, probably nothing at all related to the game, but it would be nice to have something for entertainment. I do find a few quills that seem to be in somewhat workable condition, so I pocket those as a “thank-you” to Chalice. Who knows if it would accept them, but it’s not a good idea to owe favors to any shopkeepers.
The vanity is pretty, made of the same dark wood as everything else in the Castle of the Lizard. Unlabeled bottles and powders cover the top, along with a few hairbrush-like instruments. I glance up into the mirror and pause. It’s the first time I’ve really seen my new face, everything is as I remember it from before the game, brown eyes and slightly crooked nose from a wayward punch in a recess fistfight when I was 10. Same familiar tan brown skin, dotted with moles and barely able to see freckles.
If I focus I can almost picture a familiar similar face, and for a split second I’m looking at my brother in the mirror before I catch sight of my pink hair and the illusion shatters. Honestly, I should be thankful that my form isn’t that different. Yes, there’s a certain angle to my jaw that was absent before, sharper, older; my ears have pointed into small points, noticeable even with my fluffy hair.
I know I should be more bothered by the changes, by the easy acceptance my brain makes of something so personal as my own form, but despite even having that thought, this body doesn’t feel that weird, a little ill-fitting in places, but normal. Maybe it’s an effect of the game itself? I was rather lucky in that my new form looked so much like my old one, I can’t imagine how G with the increased height and tusks would feel-.
“I need to stop doing that,” I scold myself turning away sharply from the mirror, all thoughts of poking around gone. This might be a game, but the stakes were real. I can’t play around when other people are dying.
Giving one last quick glance to the room I make sure I got everything I could need and I’m back out into the hallway.
I needed to remember what I was doing this for. There was a family waiting for me back on Earth. A dad who was trying his best to do right by the kids he had abandoned in his youth, younger half-siblings who were blind to the hurts of the outside world, innocent and kind and in love with life itself. A stepmother who made my father a better man and who tried her best to let us know we are loved, even if we weren’t hers. And most of all Zeke, my brother, my twin, the one person who always had my back. They were waiting for me; I couldn’t let them worry.
I head in the opposite direction of Chalice’s room, if I want to get home as fast as possible, I need to keep exploring the labyrinth. I hadn’t even found my way back to the starting point yet. So, I harden my resolve, keep my spear in my hands in case I run into any monsters, and set off down the tunnel.
Keeping to my plans, I mark every turn with a sun symbol pointed back the way I came. I find a few more doors in my exploring, checking each one to test if they are locked. Most of them are, and I decide loot isn’t a good enough risk for attracting unwanted attention from the lizard creatures stalking the halls. But I do find a few rooms that are unlocked. Most of them are bedrooms, maybe meant to be rest zones for weary players, a few of the rooms are obviously picked over, with beds and tables over-turned and broken bottles and ripped paper covering the floor, anything mildly useful long gone. I do find a scarf in one of the wardrobes, that I pocket for later along with a frilly, beaded coat that’s in surprisingly good condition. The Castle of the Lizard isn’t cold per se, but it does linger at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with the temperature dipping into the 50’s at times. With my sweater and pants roughed up from a few fights, it seems like a good idea to have an extra layer. So, I take the coat as well, stuffing it on top of the giant ruby in my bag, even as I question the choices that went into making it.
I walk around for another three hours before something truly noteworthy happens.
Rounding a corner I come to a sudden stop, this hallway is different in its design, the portraits and dead flowers are gone, replaced with suits of armor and framed sketches of weapons. At the far end of the hall is a large door, made entirely out of metal.
Despite my elation at finally having found something different, I hold my ground, tilting my head to listen better, and there faintly towards where the door is I hear a weird clicking sound. I back up into the previous tunnel just as a lizard-porcupine walks into view, licking its sharp needle-point teeth with its long slimy tongue.
I tighten my grip on the spear. Of course, the first time I find something that’s obviously a clue there’s a monster loitering around outside. I could go back, retrace my steps back to Chalice’s room and try again tomorrow, but I’m already here. I’ve already killed one of them before, while unsettling and vaguely traumatic, I can do it again.
I wait till the creature turns back around to prowl further down the tunnel, away from the door. I take a few steps out, slowly slinking my way down the tunnel before I freeze statute still. Coming from the left of the door, is another lizard monster, teeth gnashing as it points its nose to the ground, sniffing along the tiles.
There are two of them guarding the door. In retrospect, I’m confused why I ever thought this would be easy, this door is a dead giveaway that something important is behind it, of course, it would be more heavily guarded.
I can’t use the spearing technique I had used before, that would only work on one monster at a time, by the time the first lizard bleeds out the other would have pounced on my back. I needed a different plan. Inching backward, I glance around the hall, looking at the suits of armor holding their polearms and shields in silent defense. My eyes slowly trail up to the spiderweb of chains holding the lanterns above my head. An idea slowly starts to form.
Reaching out towards one of the suits, I carefully and quietly remove the polearm from it. It’s different from my spear, with an extra two to three feet, a very sharp thin point, and a hook. Carefully I stretch it up towards the ceiling where its easily able to catch on the chain of the mess of lanterns above me. This could work, but I needed the timing to be perfect.
I watch the lizards pace in front of the metal door for a few minutes getting a sense of their timing and movement. Their paths were very similar but a few seconds off from each other, which meant there was a time when neither of them were in front of the door, and also a time when they both were. That’s what I needed, to attract the attention of both at once. So, I wait till they are both loitering around the door before I spring my plan into action, sending a quick prayer to whatever is listening that this works.
“Hey, you ugly, knock-off horror movie extras!” I yell down the tunnel as both the monsters sharply turn to face my way. I have no idea if they understand what I’m saying but I up the theatrics of the show anyway as I wave, “Bet I could take both of you blindfolded and-,”
The monsters almost simultaneously blot down the hallway towards me. I back up a few steps, reaching up to grab the polearm I left hanging from one of the chains on the ceiling.
Slowly I start to count down, “1,” I mutter as they pass the first set of armor. “2,” I count, as they start closing in. I wait an extra second, letting the monsters get within ten feet, “3!” I yell, using all of my weight to tug sharply downwards.
With a creaking snap, the entire mess of chains and lanterns goes crashing into the floor on top of the lizards. Lanterns shatter into thousands of pieces, their light destroyed as the tunnel is engulfed by darkness.
“Status window!” I call rushing forward as the textbox blinks into life, illuminating the tile with a ghostly blue glow.
The lizards bite and claw at the chain net that’s encasing them and keeping them pinned to the ground. Quickly I climb on top, using my spear to dig into the back of one, which howls and thrashes. No longer worried about it escaping I wrench my spear free and stab again, making sure to twist and tear, leaving jagged wounds, that freely ooze green blood all over my boots.
“RAWR!” it yells, bucking to throw me off, but I dig my heels in, hooking my feet around the chains to keep myself locked in place as I stab again.
“Just die!” I order twisting the spear and pushing it deeper, the lizard howls in pain, snapping against the lanterns and chains pinning it to the ground. Its spines bristle and try to fluff, but the weight of the metal keeps them firmly pressed into its back.
“Clink! Snap! Clink!”
I turn to see the other lizard-porcupine tear through the metal, sending broken chain links flying all over as it spins around, quickly advancing.
“Shit!” I curse, trying to wrench my spear free to attack the other one, but in my rush to get away, I forget that I purposefully entangled myself with the net to get a better grip. I go face forward into the mess of glass and broken metal. I feel something misalign in my right ankle, just as my forearms flare with pain from the large pieces of glass embedding themselves into my skin. I flip around, kicking wildly to free myself, knocking the advancing monster back a few feet. My left foot slips through the chains with ease but my right one stays locked in place, pain flaring every time I try to move it. My spear was still stuck in the first monster, I didn’t have-
I reach for my belt as the creature lunges.
“CRACK!”
My mace connects, slamming hard into the side of the creature’s skull. It staggers, shaking its head, bulging green eyes disoriented. My heartbeat thunders in my ears as I push myself up. If fighting boys twice my side taught me anything, it's kick your opponent when they are down.
I raise the mace like a bat, switching to a two-handed grip, and swing.
“CRACK!”
I can feel something break inside of the creature and it stumbles again, whining low in the back of its throat, teeth barred. I don’t give it enough time to figure out what’s happening, I swing again, and again, and again. Till there’s only my labored breathing and the slow drip of green blood from the end of my weapon.
“Damn it,” I curse, taking a deep breath to calm the adrenaline still coursing through my veins, looking away from the mess I created. I did it, I survived.
But I can’t rest here, not now, I’ve made far too much noise.
And sure enough, as I struggle to right myself and detangle my boot from the chain net, there’s a growl behind me. About 50 feet away, rounding the corner I had just come from, another lizard monster is fast approaching. I give my foot a hard tug, and it’s finally free from the net. I don’t look back and just bolt towards the metal door.
It’s large and heavy. Planting myself I give it a good shove, barely managing to move it a few inches. Thankfully the carnage is slowing the approaching monster down, as it has to clamber up over the metal and bodies.
I finally get the door open enough that I can squeeze inside, letting it snap shut behind me. Something slams into the door causing it to rattle, but it doesn’t budge.
“I need to stop getting chased into rooms."
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