Ash and Proxi made their way through the tower room by room, staircase by staircase. Each presented a new challenge, a new riddle to be solved. Each room was unique, bizarre and entirely different to the last. As they ascended the first flight of stairs, they found a 2nd door. It was a shining silver with an ivory handle; a stark contrast to the bleak pastel red and blue doors of the first room.

Opening the door, the second room had provided quite a shock, leaving Ash’s mouth agape as he stepped through into the sterile white room. The decorations were sparse like the last but of an entirely different couture. In the centre of the room sat a desk of minimalist design; A simple white structure without frills or detail, matching the paint of the walls.

The desk was barren save a small hourglass positioned on either end. On closer inspection Proxi pointed out that the left timepiece seemed to flow backwards, the sand rising from the base and into the upper chamber. They had both found that peculiar.

To the far end of the room was a basic white framed clock whose hands ticked anti clockwise that raised an eyebrow from Ash. Below it sat an uncomplicated, unassuming door; hard to spot save for the barest hint of an outline. Like the room before, this too lacked a handle or doorknob.

The most peculiar feature of the room was the 13 glass spheres of varying sizes that hovered and floated around the room in a circular, anti-clockwise pattern around the central desk. Ash and Proxi watched with confusion as the spheres spun round and round in a rhythmic dance. At the end of the turning cycle a single orb would shatter mid-air, its pieces falling to the ground. The pattern would pause for a moment before reversing, the broken pieces floating back up into the air and reforming anew.

As Ash ducked beneath the strange ritual, he found upon the desk a new riddle;

“I am the beginning of the End, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?”

Like the last trial, Ash and Proxi discussed the possibilities. They argued about space and the void above as Proxi called it. Ash, however, was convinced that time was important to solving the riddle. In their experiments, Ash had tried to stop the flow of the rotating circus of orbs. Placing a hand in the path of the floating spheres. Unphased, they simply floated around his hand.

After a myriad of failed physical attempts at the riddle, the pair took to the words again. Ash had noticed that the beginning of the word ‘end’ was the letter E. Proxi had shouted enthusiastically that ‘every place’ both ended and begun with the same letter.

They had found a pattern.

Before long they worked out that E was the key to the riddle. Simply shouting this however did not open the cold white door.

In frustration, Ash had taken to breaking the pair of hourglasses and drawing out the letter E on the desk itself. This surprisingly had been a success, resulting in all the glass orbs crashing into the ground with a cacophonous clatter.

--

The next set of stairs had provided its own confounding puzzle. Unlike the last, this stairway was windowless, illuminated not by the afterglow of moonlight but a series of torches spaced exactly 3 stairs apart. Step by step by step they climbed the long passage, the lack of true light proving disorienting for Ash who had to step carefully lest he trip.

After what Ash assumed was at least three whole flights of stairs, he began to grow uneasy. The previous set had been only a single flight to the second room.

“This feels a little longer, right?” Ash asked, double checking.

“I don’t think so?” Proxi responded, “The torches are nice though. Very cozy.”

Unconvinced, Ash started to count the steps, silently at first, but by step 60 he was counting out loud. Proxi tried to join in, but all they managed was to throw the count out off. By step 75, Ash stopped climbing.

“This isn’t right” Ash commented, “This would be at least 4 flights of stairs now.”

Proxi tried to assail his doubts, offering an alternative take.

“Maybe the two rooms were the only riddles that needed to be solved, maybe it’s one long staircase to the top now?”

Ash scoffed. That wouldn’t make sense.

“There were a lot more windows that lined the tower to the peak” he retorted grimly, “Have you seen any?”

--

Ash searched for clues to their new predicament, counting steps and looking over the structure of the staircase. He had a feeling magic was at play. While Ash searched, Proxi had found a series of words hidden behind the glare of the torches. Each torch had 1, maybe 2 hidden.

Ash had hurried over when Proxi revealed their discovery. He ran back and forth, up and down the stairs making note of each distinct word. As they uncovered more, a third riddle was pieced together or rather, a turn of phrase;

“Though the path forward may be bright, a step through the unknown is necessary to make it through the dark.”

As before, the pair debated the best solution. Proxi tried convincing Ash he needed to go down the steps, rather than up. He tried it out, descending a good 40 odd stops, however Proxi’s theory had proven bust. Ash had mused that closing his eyes and walking up the stairs would technically be stepping through the ‘unknown’. This too had failed, ending with him tripping on his 24th blind step; swearing loudly at the pain that shot red hot through his shin. Without his mantle the pain had been very real. Proxi doted on him as he rubbed away the pain, asking him if he were okay.

When the pain subsided and Ash had hopped to his feet again, Proxi had broken the silence.

“What does f#@*ing c#+t mean?” Proxi inquired naively, “Is it something you say when you get hurt?”

Ash blushed, not realising the cascade of foul words he had spewed.

“Uh…something like that” Ash replied through gritted teeth, “Don’t uh…don’t say it though”.

When Proxi had probed as to why, Ash tried to drum up a believable reason from his world. He explained that it was a bad word and people didn’t like it; something you only say in private. He wondered if Proxi believed his floundering of the truth. He hoped they did. Ash didn’t know what words were used in this world.

The duo eventually escaped the series of never-ending steps. The solution, as Ash accidently discovered, was to put out all the torches and embrace the dark. It was simple, and given the riddles wording, made sense.

Ash had found the solution the hard way. In his unfortunate fall, he had stumbled and pulled down two of the torches. As he cursed and swore, the rest had fallen and puttered out in a cascade like dominoes, propelled by some unknown force. In the dark, Ash had spied a sliver of light ahead and with purposeful steps through the pitch black, fumbled up towards it. He climbed some twenty steps before walking smack dab into a hard wooden door. Ash groped his way to the doors handle, opening it to step through into a third room.

--

Unlike the last two, this one was a hoarded trove of lost treasures. Various goods and items littered the floors and surfaces. There were cups and statues, gold coins and gemstones, quills and ink pots thrown about inside.

Ash could see a variety of furniture scattered about of various makes and designs. There were round chairs that looked appeared to be grown into shape, twisted branches that formed chair legs. The assortment of tables looked to be made of bone and coloured metals he had never seen before. The room was bizarre, and for the first time, Ash felt it truly fantastical.

Upon each surface was a mix of vials and papers with strange markings symbols strewn across them. These ones, Ash could not read.

“This reminds me of an alchemist’s lab” Ash remarked with a hint of awe.

Ash explored the room with a vigour that Proxi had not seen in him. Upturning books and putting gems and coins into the makeshift pouch he made from his tattered shirt. When Proxi queried what Ash was doing, he answered in a matter-of-fact way.

“They look valuable” he said dryly, the faintest hint of a mischief etched into his face, “The city was abandoned and who knows. These might prove helpful down the track.”

Proxi had chirped at this, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Proxi had even added that the gems were very pretty and asked him to take one of each colour. Ash had made sure to show Proxi each one he tucked away for safe keeping.

Plundering the small room, Ash had even found food items and they seemed edible; A loaf of bread that passed the smell test and some candies tucked away in a jar on one of the many shelves. A find that made Ash jump for joy was a waterskin full of fresh water. That too passed the smell test.

Ash had mistaken the candies for gemstones at first, though the sweet aroma that pervaded his nostrils as he pried open the jar left him salivating. They were hard and shiny, like the candies he remembered from a field trip to old prospecting fields in the countryside.

“Food!” He exclaimed loudly, brandishing the small candies to Proxi. Proxi was confused by the items, requiring Ash to explain the difference between a candy and a gemstone. When he finished explaining what they were, Ash tore a piece of bread from the loaf and gobbled it down. He followed that up by popping 3 of the candies in his mouth, sucking on them jubilantly as he continued searching the room.

--

Eventually Ash traipsed over to the tall, veiled statue that stood in the left corner of the room. Above it hung a key that dangled on a long thin strand of red string.

Huh, he thought.

Ash hadn’t noticed a doorway out from this room. The pair hadn’t uncovered a new riddle either. Ash wondered if maybe this room was a rest point of sorts. He had passed the first 3 puzzles and now was gifted a small reward and respite. Most games gave players this kind of reprieve, setting them up for the next section. Ash explained his theory of the room to Proxi who had been enthusiastic and asked him how he knew.

“Oh wow, that does make sense! How do you know though?”

Ash shrugged, “I guess I don’t really… but where I’m from this kind of thing is pretty common to see” he said.

Ash omitted that his theory was based on games and tabletop RPGs, he didn’t want to explain what that meant to Proxi. He didn’t quite believe it himself, if he was honest. This world had strange game-like characteristics. He had magic powers. According to Proxi, he even had stats and element affinities. If this was a dungeon like Ash thought, then it made sense that there would be rest points.

“What do you think?” Ash asked, seeking approval for his theory.

“Makes sense to me” Proxi affirmed, “so, when you take the key, a new door will appear and our time is up?”

“Something like that, or at least the key will give us a clue for what to do next”.

Ash looked up at the elaborate iron key. It was large, with a pair of rounded hooks on the end. It looked like a handle for old wind-up clockwork toys. The kind that stuck out of the tin robot toys his father had kept in his study.

Ash guessed that he wouldn’t be able to jump and grab the key, though if he mantled, he might be able. The room had high ceilings, higher than made sense. Ash was unfazed though, accepting the tower was magic after the never-ending hallway. Considering his options, Ash figured he could climb up the covered statue. That might be easier than risk overshooting the key. Though he had used his battle mantle enough to feel comfortable outside, he wasn’t sure how much fine control he would have indoors.

Ash reached out and touched the statue. It was a good two heads taller than him and felt sturdy enough, no wobbling though the texture was rough.

Good enough, he thought as he reached up to the shoulders of the veiled statue and pulled himself up. He found purchase for his feet on the knees of the statue and with one swift movement pushed up, jumping up and onto the figure’s shoulders. Ash braced himself with one hand on the statues head to keep from falling.

The key was still just out of reach. Ash stood up; arms spreading wide as he tried to balance. The sheet covering the statue was slipping as he tiptoed, edging his body upwards with his fingers grazing against the dangling key.

Damn it, Ash thought. So close.

Not able to reach, Ash jumped, grasping the key in hand. As he landed back onto the statue he slipped, the sheet giving out beneath his feet. He toppled over, mantling just as he crashed into the hard wooden floor with a harsh thud.

“Ow… “He grunted, though the pain had been dulled enough to fade quickly.

As Ash rolled into his knees he faltered, freezing in place. In front of him he heard a whirring sound, almost like a computer starting up. It couldn’t be a computer though. The low hum was joined by the familiar sound of rocks grating against one another.

Thud… Thud.

Ash looked up and was met by a red glow. That was not a statue.

“Oh no.”