“Ahh… I forgot to ask any questions. How unfortunate.” The words sound hollow in my ears. “Perhaps someone else will help me.”

I turn to the exit, take a step, and stumble. The other spearing vine had held fast during my movement and torn my leg open even further as a result, before breaking off under the strain. I laugh lightly to myself and rip the offending wood from my body, then focus on healing just enough to return basic function. The rest can happen while I search.

Returning my sword and pack to their proper positions, I catch myself humming some rhythmless notes. It’s probably unwise to make noise, but it’s so… catchy. With a careless shrug, I continue on my way.

I remember which way I’m supposed to go to leave this place, but opt to investigate a bit instead. After all, I owe my hosts a parting gift. Down the stairs, into the hall, I quickly find that the room I came from is simply repeated ten times, five on each side of the hall. Odly, there is quite a lot of space between each of the rooms, and they’re hardly regularly spaced. Not caring particularly which avenue I start with in my quest for information, I go one room over and find a similar staircase to the one I just came down. At the top, another torture chamber appears. Empty.

The next one, however, is not. The cries of agony pave my entry and ensure I remain undetected. A mangled mess of a creature is tied up in much the same way I was. Its sobbing and pleading leaves little hope for it being useful, but beggars can hardly be choosers in situations such as this.

I make my way behind the torturer as it goes about its duty and thankfully avoid being given away by the object of the torturer’s attentions. This is in no way because of anything it has control over, its eyes seem too covered in blood and its head hangs bonelessly. In fact, the only reason it remains upright at all is due to the restraints. Poor thing.

I slice the torturer into almost perfect halves with a bit of Energy to pad my Strength, and watch, bemused, as the newly separated parts wiggle and bleed. Its arm casts about, as though looking for something to grab.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” I say soothingly, grasping the hand tightly in two of my own. “It’s all going to be better now, ok? Much better.” I don’t know if it heard me, but it grips back with the ferocity of… well, someone holding on for dear life!

Its glassy eye doesn’t see my expression turn sinister, but its frantic grasping turns to violent rejection when a deluge of red Energy flows into it and eats it from the inside. These things are very resistant to death! But… you can’t live without a soul, and I had forgotten how weak creatures were when near death. A few Fragments and a bit more Power couldn’t hurt, after all. Its resistance is small but determined. Unfortunately, I outclass it immensely. The half I hold shudders one last time and ceases, but the other half falls limp at the same moment. How curious!

Throwing the halves to their own corner, I address the figure before me.

“Oh hello there. No need to thank me, but if you would be so kind as to answer a few questions, I would be most grateful.”

“W… who… what…”

“Now now, this isn’t the time for you to ask questions. You are in a lot of pain, correct? Allow me to make it easier for you.” I reach over, ignoring its futile attempts to cringe away from me, and give it a small dose of green Energy.

“There, better?”

“A healer… the system truly does provide.”

“Oh it certainly does. Now, would you tell me: what’s the best way to get to the ah… ‘archive’, as you all call it? I simply must see it before I go!”

“The… sacred archive? No, no I have never… never seen it. Apologies.”

“Not to worry, I’ll keep looking. What would you say is the best way to kill one of your kind?”

“One of… an outsider? Here? Ah… I will not…”

“Oh come now, we’re friends, aren’t we? I saved you, made you feel better, I’m just asking for a little favor in return. You can do that for me, right?” I flip the tethered Energy blade around my hand a few times. It helps me stay collected, I think.

“I… suppose. The center of the chest… heavily armored, but lethal after a time. The four edges of the torso have… backups. Remove all, and none can survive.”

“Marvelous! Here-” I cut one arm loose from the bindings and press a particularly sharp looking tool made from magically altered wood into its hand. “-Use this to cut yourself loose, and feel free to leave when you feel up to it. You’ve earned it! But don’t go too fast now, I wouldn’t want you following me.” I can only wonder why the laugh that follows makes the creature look so uncomfortable. Must be cultural differences. Ah well.

Leaving the creature to the business of freeing itself, I make my way through several more empty torture rooms before coming across another one that’s occupied. Fortunately for everyone but me, there is no torturer in the room, but this victim looks substantially more healthy than the last: scarred but whole skin, gaunt but sturdy looking body, and, most of all, its eyes remain sharp despite obvious exhaustion.

“You are no interrogator.”

“And you look uncomfortable. Would you like to be freed?”

“What do you want.”

“Smart too! Excellent. I’d just like to know where the archive your people talk so much about is actually located. Could you help?”

“Do… you wish to harm it?”

I heave a disappointed sigh. “And we were getting along so well-”

The creature shakes its head, interrupting: “You misunderstand. I would burn that wretched place to the ground. Will you allow me to lead you there?”

I catch the knife I had been twirling in my hand, pleasantly surprised for once. “I knew you were the one! Fantastic, let me just cut you loose and we can- ah, no running off, if you would? I really would rather not fight everyone here at once.”

“You made it this far on your own, without a scratch on you, so I shall remain at your side.”

I deftly slice through its- her? bonds. She collapses to the ground, but pushes herself slowly, body shuddering, back to her feet.

“Ah, you are weak from confinement. Would you like some healing to keep you going?”

She staggers for a few steps and shakes her head. I watch as a familiar glow spreads through her body and the wounds on her wrists, presumably from the bindings, slowly fill in and knit closed. The light dies a few moments later, leaving her doubled over and panting.

“Hmm… I was saving this for when I found what I was looking for, but you may have some.” I produce the single Mana potion I had prepared.

She looks warily between the potion and me, but a spark appears in her gaze and her visage fills with fury. Without a word, she snatches the flask and drinks a third of it before stoppering it and returning it to me.

“More- *cough* more than enough. My thanks.” The glow returns, much brighter and covering all her wounds at once. Moments later, she straightens and stretches her arms and legs. “Mmm… good to move again. Shall we?”

I smile back, all teeth. “Lead the way.”

---

Our path takes us out of the hallway I had been searching and down to the base level. She leads me to the edge of the large room in which Thetzeke was judged, before turning and putting her hand on my shoulder. She taps me and then taps the ground we’re crouched on, then taps herself and points to the chamber. I cock my head, understanding, but unsure if I should allow it. I neither like being told to sit and wait like a dog nor do I want to let my prisoner out of my sight. Grinning, I settle on a half measure and clasp her hand. Her resistance is minimal as I dump a substantial amount of green into her. The mental effects should be sufficient to stop her betrayal, should she consider it.

Her expression changes slightly and she examines her hand for a moment before giving me a hard look, as if seeing me for the first time. Having come to some conclusion, she turns and sneaks away into the darkness.

My hand goes immediately back to twirling the Energy knife, but I realize that could easily attract attention. Instead I opt to practice molding it; the distraction keeps me from dwelling on how long she’s been gone. I manage to get a thin layer to cover my entire hand and forearm before she returns. I still can’t shape the metal fast enough for it to work as perfect armor over my hand like that; it adds too much time to movement for quick reactions. Someday though… perhaps a partial exoskeleton? The Energy draw would be massive, but very worthwhile.

She gestures to me and we cross the room, ending up in the center. I notice that the thronelike seats the ‘elders’ used before are now vacant, and I have to squash an errant thought to destroy them. It would be satisfying, but the chairs could be replaced easily. That isn’t the point here.

The creature, whose name I should probably have asked, looks at me suddenly, startled as though caught in headlights… Ah, shit, started humming without realizing it. I meet her reproachful look with a nonchalant shrug. Nobody noticed, so no harm done, but that does make me a little worried.

The blanket wrapped around my psyche feels warm and comfortable right now, but it does have some quirks. The way I talk, the way I think and act, even why I act has all changed slightly. Some part of me thinks that’s important, but I have no time now to pay it any mind.

My assistant glows slightly and the center of the stage suddenly opens up, revealing some stairs descending into an unlit abyss. The way back closes above us as we descend, removing any trace of our passage.

“How did you know that was there?”

Another aggravated look, but her gaze softens and she averts her eyes back to the stairs. “We should be cautious of speaking when we reach the bottom of these steps. Fortunately, this area is enclosed on both sides. It works to keep moisture out of the archive, which is perfect for… our purposes. To answer your question, I used to work here.”

“What happened?”

“My son made a mistake.”

“Of what sort?”

“The worst. He tarnished an article of the archive. I was imprisoned and tortured, and he was sent to find sufficient material to replace the lost knowledge.”

“What a coincidence, I was brought here as ‘knowledge’ to free… you, in all likelihood. I do believe Thetzeke might just miss you.”

She looks stunned for a moment and her uncertain facial expression indicates that I’m spot on. It explains why she was in such good shape compared with the other one I ran into; she wasn’t being actively tortured for information, just to make an example.

“He… yet lives? This is good.”

“How unfortunate that the elders will have only him to blame when we escape.”

“No…” the shock disappears in the wake of unbridled bloodlust “they won’t have the chance.”

“Killing the elders! Brilliant. But… that would be rather difficult to do on your own. It would be such a shame if you failed…”

She grits her teeth audibly and stares daggers at me. “What would you ask?”

“Him.”

“Thetzeke?”

“You will compel him to accompany me on my journey when I leave. I happen to have need of a local guide anyway, and he is quite a good scout.”

“I offer myself in his place. He does not deserve-”

“Not as my slave, more as a mercenary. I’ll ensure he doesn’t die easily.” I give her a twisted smile. “Besides, without the elders, someone will have to guide these people, someone who knows how things work, and why we did what we did. Otherwise it will likely be that abhorrent head guardswoman. Ugh. Anyway, a pariah for a son would do little good for your attempts to rule.”

“You speak like a fool, it would be impossible.”

“Fine, fine. You will serve if he will not. It’s sad to see they cut the ambition out of you.”

She makes makes no response, and we descend in relative silence aside from a light musical accompaniment of humming.

“Ah, what did you say your name was?”

“Lethin. Yours?”

“Amadeus. A pleasure.”

“This quest you go on… is it the true quest? The one to climb the tower? You are new, not yet documented in the archive, so you must be of the contestants from this revolution.”

“It is indeed. Though I admire the architecture of those giant rings we pass through, I would so love to see how many stars I can turn them into…”

“You wish… not to ascend, but to destroy it?”

“Everything short of this planet. I can’t say I believe our home exists anymore, and if it does… well, this place is far more exciting!”

“You will fail. They always fail. Knowing what awaits won’t help you overcome the impossible.”

“Ha ha! They all say that before they join me on my ‘fool’s errand’. I guess we’ll have to find out for sure.”

“Is this to do with that strange sensation I felt earlier? When you touched me?”

“Could be! It’s possible I just want to win more than anyone else so far and that attracts others to follow.”

“No magic radiates off you. None at all.”

“There are other ways to change the world.”

---

“They’re coming.”

I have just enough time to grab my sword before the flat surface in front of us suddenly opens to reveal a very surprised elder and its two baffled guards. Vines spring up around the legs of all three just as I jump forward and slice through the first guard, drawing a neat line from his right shoulder to his left hip, so chosen to destroy three of the precious hearts they possess. It has barely begun collapsing by the time I move to the elder, who narrowly avoids a similar death only due to the remaining guard flinging its weapon at mine and knocking my strike off target. My Combat Proficiency screams at me and I execute an empowered leap directly into the elder right as the entire floor erupts into hundreds of spikes.

Without the time or distance to use my sword correctly, I settle for smashing the elder in the face with the hilt as I knock it over and land on top of its chest, forcing it down toward its own spikes. As it falls, however, the spikes recede away from it and the floor instead forms a bit of a cushion, seeming to meld around the creature.

Realizing its intentions, I throw my sword toward the guard with one hand and slam my Energy blade into the elder mere fractions of a second before I’m skewered and thrown bodily away by some combination of vines and spikes. Growling in frustration at the wounds, I focus on elongating the metal chain that now connects me to the elder and anchoring the blade thoroughly in its flesh. The elder is immediately swallowed by the floor in what I’m sure it believes is a clean escape. “No!” Ah, poor Lethin, she doesn’t know. A sudden light fills me, and my Health rapidly climbs back to full, just in time for the chain to start reeling in and dragging me towards where the chain has kept the floor from closing all the way.

A small stream of smoke emanates from the hole, marking the speed with which the metal is moving away, and my arm slams against the opening as the leash reaches its end. Surprisingly, the metal doesn’t snap, but the Energy expenditure spikes at the moment of impact, kicking me down to less than a third of my total pool. After a moment of hesitation, I start reeling in as much as I can, but find I reach a point where it will no longer move. Pulling further only causes Energy expenditure without meaningful results.

“Lethin, bring the good elder back, if you would.”

“You attached a tether? Good, I shall return him.”

With both guards dealt with (Lethin surgically skewered the remaining guard until it stopped moving), Lethin places her hands on the floor near me and the contact glows slightly. Moments later, the floor opens up and jettisons a very destroyed body of what is essentially a withered version of Thetzeke. The wound from my knife was probably very tolerable up until the moment it reached the end of the leash and tore a massive chunk of its own body away. It gropes around desperately in search of aid, instead finding only those it ordered tortured.

Lethin peers down into its anguished face, smiling. “Wait…!” It manages to gurgle out before Lethin riddles its body with wooden stakes.

“I wonder who he wished to stall: you, or death?”

“What difference is there for him?”