"Brooooooo!!!!!! Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Koji's voice catches me and I turn to face him. He's obviously out of breath. I know he chose a character with low AGI and END so that he could leverage his real-life running skills to get adaptive stats. But that doesn't mean he tries to run any less. And until he gets his adaptive stats he's gonna be out of breath.
"I've been here at the carnival for a while now. Just now I was here getting my fortune told by Madame Velzza."
I turn and indicate the tent to him, but there is nothing there but the strongman's tent. I look next to it, but there's only the tent with dancing cats. There's no pathway.
"Um... the tent was just here."
"What?"
"There was a little purple tent. A pathway to get to it. A sign that had a shimmering crystal ball. She told my fortune and had a crazy thick accent."
I keep looking around but all I see is a shimmer of gold dust on the road. And by the time I get there, there's nothing. No proof of Madame Velzza. No proof she even existed.
"Bro. I have run down this road a hundred times searching for you over the last hour. The strongman's tent is next to the dancing cats, which is next to the monster tamer. I am 100% sure that there is no purple tent."
"Well... it was here, and Madame Velzza was here, and she read my cards. It was pretty crazy actually - the cards moved by themselves and she seemed to know stuff about the future. A beast, and treasure, and a coin."
"Whatever. Let's get going! We don't want to miss it!"
"Miss what?"
"You'll see when we get there! But we should run! The line was crazy long and I don't want to miss this chance!"
---
The crowd at the end of the road is enormous. A massive crowd pushes up against a long wooden stage. In the center of the stage is a large wooden prize wheel - the kind you see at arcades, fun zones, or expo booths. But that's not the weird part. Floating above the wheel is a... Spirit? Genie? Ghost? It looks like a genie, but made of black smoke tinged with red. I try to get a better look but Koji is literally pushing me through the crowd to the end of a long line snaking away from one side of the stage.
"We just have to get a ticket. Then I'll explain."
The line moves pretty quickly, and before long we're approaching a wooden booth. A small imp at the booth is distributing tickets to people in the line. A small sign says, "Take a chance! Win a prize!" Koji grabs a ticket and hands one to me. "Dude! I got 7777! This is my lucky day, I can just feel it!" My ticket is number 7778. We pass by the booth and into a fenced area close to the stage.
I realize now that the crowd is actually split into two sections. Those inside the fence, and those outside. Another booth just next to the stage has a display with a number on it, and I'm assuming that each number gets called in turn to spin the wheel. But why are there so many people for a carnival game?
"Dude, come look at this!"
Koji takes me over to the right side of the stage, where there is a line of four treasure chests. The first one, closest to the stage, is made of wood. The second is larger and made of metal. The third is huge and looks like it's made of gold. And the fourth is made of a shimmering, magical material. Gathered around each chest is a group of people looking at status windows.
Koji pulls me to the gold chest and pulls up a status window. "There was a guy earlier who got full plate armor from the gold chest! It looks like this stuff is epic... and for only 10 copper for a chance!"
Oh. That makes sense. I pull up a status menu. Somehow these chests have a list of all the potential prizes from spinning the prize wheel. At the top is 1-10 gold coins. Gold coins as a prize? Maybe it's just to show the comparative value. I scroll through, but the list just keeps going and going. It doesn't look like there's an end. Reinforced iron plate armor - that must be what the guy won earlier. Shark leather boots. Rare crafting materials, expensive equipment. I check the other chests. The wooden chest contains items worth 1-10 copper, the iron chest has items worth 1-10 silver, and the glowing chest contains enchanted and magical items.
"So you just pay 10 copper and you get something from one of the chests? What's the catch?"
"Well, most people don't win anything good. And there's a chance you'll win something bad."
"Something bad?"
"Yeah. On the other side of the stage are curse boxes. The wheel has good stuff and bad stuff. But look at this."
He's standing in front of the magic chest, indicating an item on the list.
"Staff of the gardener."
"What is it?"
"I have no clue, but it sounds pretty epic! Maybe it's like the staff of regrowth in Terraria! I know you like gathering stuff and herbalism. Either way that would be perfect for you, right?"
I agree that it would be pretty epic. But it's unlikely I'll win it. It's also unlikely that I'll be able to afford anything worth 1-10 magic gems anytime soon. A copper is worth about $1, so a silver is $100. A gold is $10,000... so a single magic gem is...
"Wait. All the items in this chest are worth millions of dollars?!?"
"It's gotta be rigged, Koji. There is no way they are giving away even one item worth millions of dollars. I don't even know how they could give away plate armor unless it was a plant or something they happened to have. No one can afford that, no matter how low the odds."
"That's the thing. The creature up there is how it works. These chests are actually empty - the creature creates the prize each time someone spins the wheel!"
I slowly make my way back to the wheel to get a better look at it. The creature above the wheel is grinning as one by one people approach the wheel and give it a spin. The wheel is divided into tons of tiny slivers colored gold or black. The next person in line spins the wheel, which quickly slows and stops. Suddenly the entire wheel turns gold, and text appears that says, "2 amber drops." The wooden treasure chest glows, and the short female elf suddenly has something in her hands. The next person comes up to spin. It's a burly adventurer carrying a huge battle axe. The wheel stops and turns black. "Hair color change (1 day)." The black wooden chest glows, and his hair changes to neon pink. The daemon laughs gleefully and the crowd breaks into laughter.
The whole thing is pretty fast. It takes maybe 6 seconds for a spin, so 10 in a minute. Maybe they've actually gone through 7000 people since the carnival started? That seems crazy. But where do the prizes come from? Who's paying for them? What is that creature?
"That daemon is pretty cool right?"
"Yeah, but pretty scary too. Have you looked at the curse chests?"
"Yeah... but what's the chance of getting cursed? And how bad are they really? I can deal with pink hair. Did you see the guy that got full plate armor? There's no way anyone can afford that yet!"
"I dunno man. I don't think it's worth it. I mean yeah it's cool to maybe get something awesome but I don't want to lose my equipment or suddenly die on stage or something and then have to completely start over."
Listening to other conversations, I'm able to pick up the details. The mage here in the carnival has contracted with a lesser daemon. The mage pockets the entry fee, and the daemon uses its power to create the "prizes." At first it looks like extortion or mistreatment. What kind of mage uses a contract as a carnival game? I look at the daemon. But instead of looking pained it looks almost... excited? And then I realize. This is a daemon. Something most people would banish or destroy on the spot, especially after being cursed. But here, in front of a huge crowd, this daemon can curse fully half of the people that appear before it. Every time a curse comes up on the wheel its face lights up with glee and a laugh echoes around the stage.
Yeah. The daemon got a good bargain too. It's just here to curse people. And in exchange it's happy to give some minor boons. And by leaving it up to luck no one can complain. Maybe the prize wheel is actually a magical item? If it's actually based on luck, the daemon could ostensibly have to create multiple magic-level prizes... and I'm guessing that would be tough to do even for a creature like that.
I wander over to the cursed chests. They're arranged just like the other ones - wooden, iron, gold, and shimmering, but all of them have a thick, black/red aura surrounding them. The crowd looking at status screens on this side of the stage is almost nonexistent.
I scroll through the wooden chest. Hair color change (1 day). Blindness (10 minutes). Money loss (1-10 copper). Face paint (huh?) (1 day).
It looks like the effects are just short-term status ailments. The kind of stuff you'd expect as a prank. The iron chest dramatically increases the duration of the effects (Blindness for the rest of the day) and includes some that would actually be pretty painful (incurably poisoned for hours?!?). The gold chest... minus 1 to all stats (that would be rough even with adaptive stats), instant breakage of equipment, loss of possessions... and status effects with times so long they might as well be permanent. That stuff *is* scary.
The shimmering chest, however, doesn't have any status ailments at all. Just a list of stuff under the heading "True Calamity:" "Axe of the Berserker." "Band of Degeneration." "Broken Bow." "Lilith's Tear." "Knots of Tripping." "Dancing Shoes."
I'm assuming they're cursed items. In other games, cursed items can't be taken off. The "Dancing Shoes" could actually be the ones from the folk tale that made someone dance until they died. That's way worse than a status ailment. And super dark for a game that is supposed to be appropriate for teens. I haven't heard of cursed items in Dungeon Quest... but this is the magic chest. Either way I have no idea what these items are.
I hear a shout from the crowd and turn back to the stage. The little daemon above the wheel has doubled in size, and the wheel is now made of iron with a distinct metallic sheen. The person on the stage spins the wheel for what I'm guessing is a second time. This time, however, the wheel spins for a much longer time. It stops on a gold shard. "Steel sword." The blue-haired guy on the stage proudly shows off the sword that is now in his hands and the crowd goes wild. It makes sense - we just watched someone spend $10 and get something worth up to $1000. There's a reason why gambling is a thing. It tricks your mind and preys on something deep inside each of us. Having the wheel take longer to spin is totally show business. (These people are pros!)
The daemon shrinks back to its previous size, the wheel turns back to wood, and the fast spins resume. During a brief pause between spins, I notice that there are actually three colors on the wheel. Gold and black represent prizes and curses, but there are small sections of green as well. Those must upgrade the wheel. Maybe they allow bigger prizes by letting the daemon express more of its power?
I rejoin my brother in the crowd and we watch as player after player spins the wheel. Even at just 10 copper each, with a line over an hour long, this is definitely a lucrative booth. Half the group gets minor prizes, half gets minor curses. The curses are always met with laughs from the crowd. Every so often (1 out of 100?) someone gets something from the iron box. Our numbers are coming up soon, so we move toward the booths at the base of the steps. Once your number is within 100 or so, you can pay the 10 copper fee to an imp at one of the booths and trade your ticket for a token that is used to spin the wheel.
"10 copper coins please!"
Koji has already paid and is waiting for me in line. It doesn't look like he's going to treat me to this. I only just earned money and I need to save money for clothing. 10 copper is 2 days of forest gathering. But this is also time spent with my little brother. He usually wants to go on raids rather than spend time with his pacifist brother. From that perspective, I think, $10 is well-spent. I pull 10 copper out of my account and slide it along the table. The imp smiles and exchanges my ticket for a wooden token.
"Once you begin spinning you cannot stop."
"One spin per soul, thank you."
The words catch me slightly off guard. One spin per soul? Once you begin you can't stop? What is that supposed to mean?
The line at this point moves quickly. It'll just be a few minutes until it's our turn. We leave a couple people between us so we can watch each other. The process is so fast that if we were next to each other in line, we'd probably miss each other's spins.
It's time. Koji drops his token into the box next to the wheel, then gives it a spin. Apparently you don't actually have to touch the wheel - it will spin whether you do or not - but it definitely adds to the experience. The wheel slows and lands on black. "Face paint (1 day)". Koji's face is suddenly covered with a bright blue scorpion. The crowd laughs - this is one of the funnier curses since each face paint seems to be different. He looks at me, shrugs, and laughs.
I drop the token in the box and it disappears. Grab the wheel and it begins spinning.
...
...
Madame Velzza's words come back to me. "What iz it you want?"
I'm not sure what I'd really want from this. A cool magic staff would be epic. But that's not gonna happen. I just hope it brings me and my brother together.
The wheel slows. It looks like it's going to stop on gold, but it slows, rebounds slightly, and stops on green. The wood turns to iron and begins to glow. The daemon floating in the air above me doubles in size, and looks at me with a toothy grin. The crowd begins cheering and all eyes suddenly rivet to where I stand. Suddenly I'm self-conscious about wearing ragged, ripped clothing, even more than I was appearing naked in Fountain Square.
I somehow have something in my hand. It's an iron token. I guess even the token changed material.
I drop the token in the box and spin.
...
"What iz it you want?"
Her words come back to me again.
Yes, a cool staff would be awesome. All sorts of riches would be, too. But I just want to play the game... right? I mean, maybe somewhere deep inside I want those things, but I'm ok without them.
The wheel seems to take forever. It slows. Stops on gold. And then rebounds, enough to pass a black sliver and land on green - a sliver that is only barely visible since the green slices have somehow shrunken.
The wheel glows gold, and the daemon above me doubles in size yet again. What was once a cute little genie is now much more obviously a ferocious creature.
The crowd goes wild. The sound is loud enough that I see people running from other areas of the carnival.
Yet again, I have a token in my hand. But this one is gold. If I stopped now, the token itself would be worth more than everything I own. I doubt the crowd would let me.
I drop the golden token and spin the wheel.
The golden wheel is glowing brightly as it quickly spins, passing black and gold slices. The crowd is riveted to the spot as I watch. No voices come to my mind.
The wheel slows. More, and more, and more.
And stops on the edge of a sliver of gold and black.
A sliver so small no one can see it at all.
The wheel glows, and suddenly begins to glow with an almost blinding iridescent sheen.
The daemon grows ten times in size. What was once a 1-foot genie is now 40 feet tall. I can feel overwhelming heat coming from above me, along with an oppressive feeling like doom itself is gazing at me.
The cute genie is gone.
The crowd is a mix of screaming, running people (probably the newer ones who haven't seen anything yet) and a huge group still watching the wheel. A couple spells go out, targeting the daemon, but they dissipate before they reach the stage.
I have a token in my hand.
This one is made of what looks like a glowing mother of pearl. It's vibrating slightly. Instinctively I rub my fingers across it and turn it over.
It has two heads.
The words of Madame Velzza come rushing back to me. A coin with two heads. Treasure. The beast.
I'm taking too long. The coin begins moving on its own accord toward the box. "Once you begin spinning you cannot stop." I drop it in the box and spin the wheel.
The wheel is shining. Above it, a "lesser" daemon bigger than a house has completely darkened the sky.
The wheel spins.
It slows. This time, though, instead of slowing it stops and starts with a jerk. Stop on black, suddenly jerk to gold. Suddenly move to black.
And it doesn't move again.
The wheel turns black. A crash of thunder comes from the huge daemon in the sky. A deep-throated laughter fills the air, and the ground itself shakes.
"True Calamity" appears on the wheel in ragged, black-red script.
Just my luck.
I'm gonna die.