The others let me lay there in exhausted silence as I debate wither or not I should continue down the path of a tank. Getting my ass handed to me all the time sucks because the pain simulation really does make it uncomfortable. Not to mention, I’m the one at risk of dying first and I don’t want to start all the way over again. Why can’t the jerks who are forcing me to run this stupid dungeon be the ones up front?

I have to force myself to take slow breaths and calm down before I get too stupid to actually ask that question. After nearly a half an hour of rest I get back to full health and end up deciding to take Imbue Shield, even though the ability will only do me so much good since I only have fifteen attribute points in sway. Maybe that’s the next thing I should put my points into, I wonder.

It doesn’t matter though. Alloy creeps his way closer to me with a grin on his face. Looking down at me, he says, “Time to get up, greeny.”

I try to hide my eye roll and get up from the ground.

“Guess what we found,” he says.

I shrug. “Someone else to torture?”

Alloy laughs wildly, and in one slick move he draws a knife and lunges towards me. “Nice one!”

Alloy hits you for 10 points of damage! 200/210 HP remaining!

“Hey!” I shout, jumping back and pulling my sword from its sheath. “What was that for?”

“Just want to make sure you’re staying on your feet, greeny!” He lunges at me again, but I shift the side spin out of the way. He almost trips to the ground, but I don’t try to get a swing in. I know it will be the end of me with Leonard and Finn watching.

Alloy catches his balance and stands upright. “Good!” He tries to brush it off like nothing happened, like he’s not embarrassed. “But if that was a spell you’d be half dead right now.”

I don’t even try to argue with him, it’s pointless, and stow my sword in its scabbard.

“Shouldn’t we get on with the show?” Leonard asks. “Sure, we’ve had to find some keys, but I don’t think that we’ve seen any real puzzles.”

Finn nods. “Yeah, the old Lord of the Five Roses Keep always was rumored to be one who favored tricks and betrayal. We haven’t really seen anything of that nature, so I bet there’s a lot more in store for us.

“I really hope not,” I say. “That spider was enough for me.”

Everyone mumbles in agreement.

We stay cautious as we search the entire great hall for any signs of escape, or any clues as to where to go next. But, it’s pretty hard searching through countless planks of broken tables, chairs, and shards of broken glass, not to mention all of the spider eggs and guts in the environment that have yet to reset.

“Here!” Finn yells from across the room. He rushes to us with something slender in his hand. “I found the key!”

“Key to what?” I ask.

He holds the tiny black iron thing up to me. “To the cellar, of course!”

“That would make sense,” Alloy adds. “That door in the kitchen that we couldn’t open was banded with black iron. That color of that key matches, and I don’t think we have anywhere else that we could try.” He turns to me. “Lead the way back to the kitchen, greeny.”

I try to hide my begrudgement to do so, and just head out into entrance foyer with the rows of rose-stem pillars, but something catches my eye before I turn towards the kitchen.

“What about that door?” I ask, pointing. There’s three doors, and across from the entrance to the kitchen is a door we haven’t even tried to open yet.

“It’s probably just an unnecessary fight,” Alloy says. “We’ve got the key, let’s move on.”

“What if there is loot in there? If things are going to get harder, I could use everything I can get my hands on.”

He lets out a groan like I’m inconveniencing him. “Fine. You get equipment if there is any, but we get the gold. And this had better not be a fight.”

I shrug and say, “Worth a shot,” as I walk to the wooden door. The knob is unlocked, and I open it slowly to peer inside. “It’s like a library.”

Every square inch of wall is covered in ornate rows of warm wooden bookshelves all the way up to the high vaulted ceiling. Tables are flipped over and books are ripped apart and astray, but I’m surprised much of this room is relatively untouched by the damage that plagues the rest of the Five Roses Keep.

I take a step inside, and the others follow in behind me. Methodically, we work our way around the outer edge of the room clockwise, checking in between each row of shelves for mobs. When we make the full circle back to the door, we deem the room safe and start to split up to better search the room.

As I walk between shelves, I spot a big purple book that looks interesting but find that I can’t take it out of the shelf. It’s like it’s been glued in place with some really strong stuff. Figuring that means it’s not an actual item and just filler in the environment, I move on.

In the center of the library is a small seating area with a few couches, chairs, and desks. A glimmer of something silver catches my eye, drawing me to one of the study tables in the center of the room. Laying atop a black book is a single silver pendant, and other than the layer of dust on it, it’s in completely perfect condition. I pick it up, the cool chain dangling from my hand, and examine the etching of crossed sabres atop the shield-shaped pendant and a message appears on my HUD.

(LV. 3) Warrior’s Pendant: +3 STR

I waste no time equipping it and feel the chain around my neck instantly.

“Hell yeah,” I blurt.

That gets the attention of the others, and before I know it they are swarming me with questions about what I found.

“This pendant. Gives me a little bonus to strength.”

“Good for you,” Lenard says. “But I don’t see anything around here for casters, let alone any gold. That makes you the luckiest guy here.”

“I guess so. It was just sitting here on top of this.” I reach out, and the moment my fingers touch the black book a small excerpt of text appears before my eyes.

…Long have I awaited this day. The day of my daughter’s marriage to Archduke Tauran of Yastren. Our alliance will flank the beast tribes of Grioh Crait, and we might finally put an end to their terror. There will be a week of feasting to celebrate the union, although I do suspect that our neutrality with Autboria will be tested. Rumors of an assassination attempt are already reaching my spies, but I say let the killer come. They will meet the Rose King’s sabre.

“Huh,” I say as I remove my hand. “An interesting bit of lore.”

Alloy rolls his eyes and, in a pompous and mocking tone, says, “None shall slay the Rose King, noblest ruler of Anticore. With his family sabre his iron rule is steadfast against the beast folk. A deity known for his betrayal of allies and cunning tactics. No son of the Rose has wielded strength, wisdom, and vigor as he. Blah, blah, blah. Then he got pulverized. Let’s get a move on, shall we?”

He shoves me, sends me stumbling to the ground. I rush to my feet in a rage. Cock back my fist and nearly slug him before I come to my senses. There’s not a bit of fear in his expression, just the smug smirk of a jerk. He crosses his arms, laughs and taunts me. I turn away from him, taking solace in knowing that I’ll get him back for this one day.

We walk through the foyer in silence and enter the kitchen. It seems like every single spec of flour that I accidentally spilled on the ground has disappeared. Even the fireplace below the middle oven is now dark and cold. It makes me wonder if this room has reset to the extent where we may run into the Ghast for a second time. But with the flour trick and our extra levels, it shouldn’t be hard fight at all if it does respawn.

When we reach the cellar door, I insert the key into the door and it opens with a sharp pop. At first, there’s nothing beyond it but darkness, then one by one torches light up with green fire, revealing a brown stone stairway leading downward.

“Well, this is it,” I say, and I take the first step.

The stairs go down only briefly before they begin to curve to the left and slowly spiral deeper and deeper. Going round and round, I lose my perception of direction, and wonder just how many times we’ve walked in a circle and how far down we must be. A long time passes, but I still imagine that our footsteps are echoing all the way back up to the surface. Hopefully whatever’s waiting for us down below has earplugs in. Especially with Lenard’s heavy breathing. They might mistake him for a pig.

It must take us at least 200 steps before we enter a straight hallway that goes on for another dozen or so. The arched doorway opens into a massive antechamber kind of place. There are rose-stem pillars here, just like the ones upstairs, but this place doesn’t feel as finished or as warm and welcoming as the foyer above ground. The walls are made of stone and decorated with a variety of different portrait carvings, and up ahead there is a double door as black as night standing firm and menacingly. Upon closer examination we find that there’s no door handles on it.

“How far down do you think we are?” Finn asks.

“What does it matter?” Alloy says as he puts his shoulder against the ebony doors. “We’re here for the treasure and bone drops from the final boss.” With a heave, he tries to slam his way through, but it doesn’t budge one bit. He takes a step back, eyes the barrier in front of him and says, “We just need to get through this next door, so spread out and start looking for clues.”

And so we do without another question, but there isn’t a whole lot to see in this chamber. Without door handles or a keyhole, there’s no clear-cut way as to how to get the big doors open, and after nearly 20 minutes and no leads, I begin to question why were down here, and if it’s just a dead end.

Turning to Alloy, I throw my palms up and say, “There’s nothing here unless you see something we don’t see, oh wise one.”

He smirks at my sudden bravery. “Keep looking. We're bound to notice something eventually. Take in every single crevice, every crack, and every flicker of light. There has to be a clue somewhere.”

I let another five minutes pass, grinding my teeth and hoping that Finn and Lenard will eventually come to agree with me and decide to throw the towel in. Something gives me the feeling that if they are the ones to suggest quitting, Alloy will be more likely to go along with it.

But eventually I grow impatient with the others and finally open my mouth again. I’d rather stop what we’re doing and head up the stairs, but maybe if we all focus on the same thing one of us will spot something. “Look at the walls,” I suggest. “There’s artwork carved between each pillar, but none of them are the same.”

They all turned their heads towards the murals they’re closest to and consider each of them for a moment.

“So what?” Alloy asks.

“Well, the carvings are the only things that throw off the symmetry of the room. Everything else is a complete mirror of the other side than the pictures. That has to mean the carvings are special or something.”

“Maybe so…” Alloy says, trailing off.

“I think Aiden’s onto something there,” Finn yells from across the room.

“There’s a hole here!” Lenard shouts from across the room. We all rush over to him. He points at a small horizontal slit in the wall maybe a few inches long by a quarter inch thick. I stick my face up to it and try to look through it but all I see is darkness, but I do think it’s kinda deep.

Taking a few steps back, I check over Lenard’s picture, then walk to the next one to examine it for any differences. Lo and behold, this one has a similar hole on it, only it’s a few inches thick. I tell the others, “The carvings might all be different, but each one has a different shaped hole.”

By squinting and trying to look at the carvings somewhat abstractly I manage to make out pieces of the busy artwork and realize the nature of it. “Each section of wall represents a different class in the game. See, there’s the wizard, necromancer, ranger, druid. They are all here.”

A smile stretches across my face as I figure the puzzle out. “Prepare to be amazed,” I say as I draw my sword.

Alloy seems to tense up as I begin walking towards him. “What are you doing?” He blurts. As good as it feels to see him squirm, I just snicker and walk past him to the portrait carving he is standing by. Stopping in front of the caricature of a giant, helmed man with ripped arms, a short sword and a shield, I say, “The old King of the Five Roses Keep was a warrior. You said yourself that he was known for betrayal, strength, and cunning, so it’s natural that the puzzles here reflect that. These holes in the walls are actually key holes, but only a warrior’s sword will open the way.”

I take a deep breath and plunge my blade into the slot in the wall. It goes all the way in, and something behind the stone clack’s loudly. The whole room rumbles and dust falls from the ceiling as hidden cogs noisily grind and rub against each other. Not a second passes before the door on the far end of the room pops open.

Congratulations! You have figured out the puzzle!

You have gained 2,000 experience points!

“All right!” I blurt. “That’s a good amount of experience.” But our jubilation is short. Before I know it, we’re heading towards the massive double doors, and strangely enough the dust that was falling in the air has yet to settle. It’s thick and hard to see through. In fact, it’s floating lazily like a mist is hovering around in the air. The closer we get to the end of the chamber, the more the mist seems to take on a bluish hue.

There isn’t a dark tunnel, or even a hallway behind those massive ebony doors. It’s a strikingly bright portal surrounded in a stream of mist. Oval in shape, it’s outlined by the flight of thousands of blue sparks racing around its outer edge, and in the middle of it all we can see is a screen of pitch black energy. There’s no way of knowing what’s on the other side.

“It’s a portal,” I say.

“Yeah,” Finn says. “It does look like one.”

Alloy flashes a wicked grin at me and says, “Well, no better time to try it than now.” He grabs me ahold of my arm, quick and with surprising strength, then trips me as he shoves me through.