There’s a weird mechanical shifting noise over my shoulder. I turn to find Chalice once more peering over the top of the chest, mismatched jewel eyes narrowed at me. I raise an eyebrow, and he flushes an embarrassed green, ducking back into the chest out of view. I wait for a few more seconds and when nothing happens, I turn back around to leave. I get one foot out of the doorway and-

“Don’t die, meanie player,” Chalice grumbles after me, “you still need to pay for that paper.”

A smile creeps onto my face as I stare at the tile lining the floor in the hallway. I ponder turning around, spending just one more day with the weird little thing and my brother. Making absolutely certain they are both as safe as possible, but it is already hard enough forcing myself back out into this death trap. I know where Zeke is, and I at least have a lead on how to get my brother back. I can’t falter now.

“Don’t worry,” I assure, forcing my voice full of false bravado, “I’ll bring some money next time!” and the door closes behind me.

As soon as I’m fully outside into the hallways there’s a series of dings and about 6 system windows appear in my face.

“Woah back up System, personal space,” but like normal the system doesn’t really respond to me, though it does erase all the pop-ups except one.

[Connection to player temporarily lost. Please stay in areas where system can assist and monitor player! Tampering or attempting to disable any of system’s functions will result in termination. Please stay in areas where system-]

“I get it,” and I wave the screen away with a sigh. ‘Seems the system did take notice of my little trip away,’ I think filing away that information for later, seems I might need to be a bit more cautious interacting with Hacker unless I want the system itself trying to actively kill me.

“Well first things first…,” and I turn around to secure the door from the other side to make sure nothing and no one gets in but I’m met with a solid wall instead of a door.

Immediately my fear spikes, worried I won’t be able to find it again—

A flicker of golden light bleeds from the stonework before disappearing, outlining the door just enough for me to see. ‘Oh…,’ I think backing up and squinting at the wall, ‘so that’s why I can’t see it.’ And just to be safe I turn on my weird sight ability a few times, and each time I activate [Gaze of an Unfilled Dream] the door illuminates like a lighthouse, its golden light beckoning me closer and back to Zeke. It’s hard to resist the call, but steeled with the resolve that I know how to free my brother its far easier to ignore its pull.

Assured that the door, Chalice, and my brother aren’t gone for good, I don’t reinforce the door since doing so would probably bring attention to the hidden entrance instead of helping. So instead, I take time to carve a few little symbols into the stonework at the end of the hall, so that I should theoretically be able to retrace my steps back once I find that mythical dragon. At first, I try drawing a bear, but it just becomes a weird lopsided blob, so I settle for just defacing the nearby stonework in random patterns, making sure to point most of the lines towards the hidden room. Then I’m off on my way, following the directions Chalice gave me.

I ponder trying to find my way back to the path I was making yesterday, but with the revelation of where Zeke is, I don’t see any point in returning to the door room until I’m done here. So, I put aside worrying about finding my way out until I’ve completed the castle.

Much like before, I take time to carve a symbol at each fork, this time pointed behind me. Later if I need to visit Chalice again or just need a semi-safe place to rest, I can follow the symbols back to its room. Though based on how the system responded to my little trip, best I don’t visit too often. And to avoid future confusion with the symbols I made yesterday, I make these new ones more squiggly and rounded, all of their starting points pointed back from the direction towards Chalice’s room.

Shockingly Chalice’s handwriting is semi readable unlike its shop windows, but with its tiny paws it writes in tiny font too, causing me to squint down at the directions like an old grandma at every turn. Its directions are also long winded like its sale’s pitch, Chalice might be a rather helpful NPC but it is shit with directions.

I pass by a few other doors on my way, and I ponder trying to open one, but decide it’s better to not risk an encounter with the lizard-porcupines when I know an exact room that probably has what I’m looking for.

I do stumble upon a monster right in the middle of my path, but thankfully the lizard-porcupine is busy trying to get at something behind a cabinet and doesn’t notice me. Normally I would just go around but Chalice’s instructions are already hard enough to follow on the path. And this place is a maze who knows if any of these pathways end up at the same place?

So slowly I inch by it, and whatever it is trying to get must be really worth the effort cause it doesn’t turn around once as it claws at the stone work and makes low hissing sounds. The thought of fighting it does cross my mind, especially with how distracted it is, but I’m on a mission right now, and still a little sore from the first one. And these things don’t exactly die quietly, best to pace myself before I really do end up monster food.

I have to backtrack a handful of times because of Chalice’s shitty instructions but after an hour I do manage to finally find the right door. It looks the same as every other door I’ve come across, simple dark wood, reinforced with iron bolts, metal doorknob with an obvious key lock. All the other’s I’ve wandered past I’m pretty sure where locked, but Chalice assured me this one is open because and I quote, “I’m a Treasure Bear! You think a measly lock can stop the grand me? No us Treasure Bears have our ways of getting loot for our shops. That door was nothing to my might!”

Meaning that the little garden gnome just picked the lock, but I didn’t push on that. I’ve busted a few locks in my day, but never had the patience to learn how to properly lockpick anything, plus I doubt Zeke would have approved of that hobby.

But true to Chalice’s word, when I turn the handle, it swings open easily, echoing with a tiny creak of wood and metal hinges.

“Why do I get the feeling that this is too easy….,” I mutter glancing around the hallway just to be sure nothing is sneaking up on me.

The castle corridor is empty, not a soul or monster in sight, still my unease doesn’t settle. “Chalice wouldn’t try to get me killed, would he?”

I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t, but there’s also no telling how long it’s been since Chalice was in this room and if something else might have moved in after he opened the door.

Still, despite my hesitations and concerns I quickly move into the room, quietly shutting the door behind me, so I least have some defense in case a monster wanders by, doors seem to be pretty effective at stopping them at least.

The room is rather simple, and once more looks like it was ripped from a fantasy movie. A hanging chandelier lights the room with perfectly aesthetically melted candles, that never actually drip wax onto the floor or go out. An elegant four-poster bed pushed into the back wall, an open chest at the foot of the bed and a moth-eaten carpet covering the titles. Theres also a wardrobe to my left, and a desk and a vanity along the right wall, with a book and forgotten bottles of makeup covering each. And atop one of the two nightstands that flank the bed, in perfect view of the door, is a baseball-sized red gemstone.

I glance around one more time to make sure nothing is moving or hiding in a corner, all I see is the lightly dusty furniture.

“This feels way too easy,” I mutter, pulling out my spear and tapping against the tiles in front of me, checking for anything that could be a trap. I really should have asked Chalice if there were any traps here, because being so overly cautious is going to cost me a lot of time, but it’s better to be late than dead.

Slowly I make my way over to the nightstand. The stone looks like a ruby, with a deep red color, shaped into the form of a perfect circle. I stare at the jewel for a minute, shifting to look at it from different angles, before I let my paranoia get the better of me.

Taking a step back I gently nudge the stone with my spear. It rolls away and slides off the edge of the nightstand with a soft clatter before spinning slowly as it comes to a stop by the desk. “Well anticlimactic is good I suppose,” and now satisfied that the jewel isn’t trapped I make my way over.

“I’m going to assume this is what Chalice meant,” and I lean down to pick up the weird gemstone.

As soon as my fingers touch it—

Ding!

[Artifact found!] The system cheers as little holographic confetti explodes around me.

[1/5 Artifacts collected. Once all Artifacts are found, return them to the Treasury Guards on the lowest floor.]

“I still don’t trust this, but I’m not going to complain.”