“That's inconvenient,” Kedryn said, wondering how Glade was taking the news. He, for one, was excited to challenge all the gates he could. That just meant more chances to grow in his opinion. Who knew when another chance like this would come along?
Still, there were some factors he wasn’t quite clear on. Applying the lesson of thinking through his responses instead of simply blurting things out, Kedryn took a long moment to think before making another one of his attempts at gathering information.
“Based on what I’ve learned thus far, only those with the right brands can pass through the first gate and onto the second, which means you only have authority to compel those already branded with intellect to continue on with the trials,” Kedryn speculated.
It made sense. It was a well known fact that anyone without the Brand of Intellect never made it past the labyrinth’s first gate. The real gap in understanding was what criteria needed to be met to be removed from the trials? Were there specific rules or was it more arbitrary?
The Deputy Consulate had bragged to everyone that he had made it all the way to the 5th gate, making it sound like some great accomplishment. Then again, that particular elf was an absolute douche and could have been lying through his teeth. But even if he was telling the truth, why hadn’t he been able to make it further?
“Better,” Acumen responded. It might have been his imagination, but Kedryn could have sworn he saw the Adjudicator give him a faint nod of approval. “Your hypothesis has its gaps, but is well reasoned. There are countless criteria that remain unseen and unknowable in the interactions between those who carry the brand and their Adjudicator. Those interactions shape the purpose and the duration of the trials themselves.”
Inwardly, Kedryn winced. If interactions with an Adjudicator shaped the difficulty of trials someone was to face, what did that mean for Glade?
—
“You sneaky little rat,” Glade grumbled, scrutinizing the pillars lining the corridor. Over the years, he had become far more cautious than the average person when traversing unfamiliar terrain. Who wouldn’t after being ambushed as many times as he had?
Carefully, Glade bent over to look at the tripwire stretched between pillars, the tell-tale red glow of his detect traps skill highlighting the area he needed to avoid. As he did, he removed his cloak. No sense in taking any unnecessary risks by accidentally brushing up against something in the loose fitting garment.
Still, he didn’t dare move forward. His detect traps skill was literally level 1, which meant there very well could be far more traps than his skill level could detect. Instead, he carefully examined every step, pillar, and stray pebble before moving forward.
Every minute that passed without him finding something made him curse Acumen even more. That was when he noticed the small letters carved at the base of the pillars.
“And what, exactly, are you supposed to be?” Glade asked aloud.
—-
Kedryn tried to stifle a laugh, but couldn’t stop a muffled snort from escaping. A projection of Glade on his hands and knees inspecting the base of some pillar was on full display. That in and of itself wasn’t all that funny. Even Kedryn could see the obvious traps set up throughout the corridor.
No, that wasn’t what had him fighting off a bout of laughter.
There was Glade, one of the Army’s finest, bent over and exposing the barest hint of a butt crack.
“The second law of labyrinths is as old as time itself,” Acumen said, ignoring Kedryn’s lack of decorum. “No matter how hard you look, there is always another secret.”
Idly, Kedryn wondered if Acumen had set his friend up just so Kedryn could see this unfortunate side of him. Surely, the Adjudicator couldn’t be that petty… could he?
—
Glade looked back toward the way he had come. There had been five traps he had detected using his skill and three more he had found himself by going slow and inspecting every square inch. He had even disarmed one of the tripwires, earning him yet another skill.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill, Disarm Traps. It took you long enough, didn't it? I mean, really, if it takes you this long to cut a simple wire you might as well stick with trades you know. Like breaking rocks. Or plumbing. +1% chance to disarm traps per skill level. +1% chance to identify type of trap per skill level.
Congratulations! You have gained skill level 2 and 3 in Detect Traps! +3% chance to detect traps per skill level.
Glade dismissed the prompts, shaking his head at the idiotic note from who he assumed was Acumen. Idly, he wondered how the Adjudicator had known he had apprenticed as a plumber before joining the service.
“Probably saw it in one of my memories,” Glade grumbled as he approached the second gate. The more he learned about the Adjudicator of Intellect the more he wanted to drop kick him into a wall. The letters at the bottom of the pillars, once spelled out, read - I am always watching - which was something only a crack head glue sniffer with a foot fetish would say.
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Still, he had gained levels in some fairly practical skills, which meant the visit wasn’t a total waste. Now, he had to get through the rest of the labyrinth before the Elvish representative came back.
Right before he stepped through the gate, Glade noticed a plaque hanging midway up the last pillar.
Curious as to what wisdom the Adjudicator of Intellect would impart, Glade began to read.
* A man living in the woods in the heart of winter has run out of food. Outside of his home is a 30 foot wide river. The bridge connecting his side of the river with the man’s orchard has been washed away. There is a dead tree 10 feet from the bank on his side of the river and another tree 5 feet away from the bank on the same side as the orchard. He has two lengths of rope, one that is 60 feet long and another that is 35 feet long. How does the man keep himself from starving?
“Is this the best you can do?” Glade snorted, shaking his head. “It's the middle of winter! How would there be fruit on the trees? If I were him, I’d stop with the pointless math and go hunting.”
A gong sounded throughout the corridor moments before the plaque melted away.
Shaking his head at the underwhelming riddle, Glade stepped through the gate.
A blast of ice and snow hit him full in the face.
Shielding his eyes from the storm, Glade took in the wintery landscape around him. He was standing in front of a cabin holding two coils of rope, a wide river with chunks of floating ice running down the middle. He could just make out the opposite bank where three large trees stood, each laden with brightly glowing fruit.
And beyond those trees, outlined in bright gold, stood the exit.
“Seriously!?” He screamed into the storm, the cold air burning his lungs.
—-
“Wow,” Kedryn said in utter amazement with his commanding officer’s actions. “Just… wow.”
Shortly after his arrival, Glade had begun moving around the frozen landscape with purpose. He had first built a roaring fire inside the cabin, then ransacked the building for supplies. Only then had he faced the weather and began working on a solution to cross the river.
It took several tries, but the Captain had successfully secured the rope across the river by lassoing one of the larger branches of a tree on the far bank. He then tied the rope off with a series of knots.
Kedryn had expected Glade to immediately climb across the rope hand over hand ranger style. Instead, he used the rest of the rope to tie several logs together into a makeshift raft, secured the raft to what Kedryn now understood was a guide rope, and then set about testing it.
It took hours, where Glade went back and forth between the house to warm up and working on his project. Every step was meticulous and when everything was in order, Kedryn watched as his commanding officer made it across the river in relatively short order.
Once on the other side, Glade surprised him even further by changing out his wet boots and socks for replacements he had found in the cabin. Then, he made his way over to the orchard. After a brief inspection, Glade filled a knapsack with as much fruit as he could carry from only one of the trees before leaving through the gate.
“Adequate,” Acumen said in his deadpan voice, though he detected an undertone of respect in the one-word response.
Kedryn continued to watch as Glade moved down yet another corridor, this one with slightly more complex traps. As he watched, he reviewed everything he had learned thus far. He knew two of the three rules that governed labyrinths and the purpose of the first gate, which was testing and growing one particular skill.
But that was it. Was there a different purpose for each gate or did they simply increase in difficulty as they went along?
As if reading his mind, Acumen began explaining once more.
“The gates within a labyrinth are intrinsically tied with the eight pillars of the soul,” he began, his voice filling the room as they both watched Glade’s steady progress down the next corridor. “As you already know, the first gate is tied to skill growth. For how best to take one’s measure than by seeing how they apply themselves in the eternal journey?”
Kedryn nodded his understanding. It made sense. Skills were a reflection of your priorities. Afterall, a level 25 farmer was likely viewed with more respect than a level 100 drinker… unless you were a dwarf that is.
“The second gate evaluates a person’s race,” Acumen went on to explain.
Kedryn furrowed his brow in confusion. Just how did one evaluate race?
“There are many ways to run race trials. For instance, an Orc would be evaluated on their deep sense of honor while a dwarf would undergo a trial to determine how well he hears the song of the Mother. With Glade being the only enlightened human in existence I was forced to invent a trial that covered his racial perks, which center on wisdom, attunements, and the use of random skills.
“The next gates, in order, will try one of his attributes, his growth and potential in one of his attunements, ability employment, if he remains worthy of his titles, and then an evaluation of his specialty.”
Kedryn nodded along, realizing that Acumen was going over the primary categories of what made up the status page. As he compared the two, he noticed that Acumen had missed one.
“That's only seven gates,” Kedryn said, turning to look at the silhouette of Acumen. “What about brands?”
“Indeed it is,” Acumen replied. “Though, the likelihood of Glade, or anyone else currently within the labyrinth, making it past the 7th gate is unlikely at best. But if they are so blessed, then they will have earned the right for a Brand assessment.”
“You can level your Brand here?” Kedryn blurted out in surprise.
“Your requested boon has already been finalized,” Acumen said, though there was the slightest lilt of humor to his voice.
There was a momentary pause as Kedryn took in everything that had been explained. No wonder gaining access to a labyrinth was such a precious resource. If you handled yourself well enough, you could gain years, if not decades, of growth in a single visit. Add on top of that the chance to level your brand without dying…
He didn’t know how, but he had to get a labyrinth for Storms’ Rest.
“There is one more item you need to know before I release you to face your own trials,” Acumen said, turning to face him.
Kedryn sighed, sneaking a quick glance at the image of Glade.The Captain was in the process of extinguishing his cloak after missing a particularly nasty fire trap. He had hoped to watch until Glade couldn’t progress further. Every second he spent studying Acumen’s trials could only help.
Instead of complaining, he looked Acumen in the eyes. Or at least, where he thought the man’s eyes would be.
“I take it you are about to share the third law that governs labyrinths,” he stated.
“And the most relevant in understanding the purpose and functions of every controlled domain,” Acumen said in a deadly serious tone as the world around Kedryn began to fade. “Here, our will is law.”