“What the heck?”
Astrid and I are facing the temple with our backs to Mike. He has this confused and disoriented expression, as if his memory was wiped clean.
“Mikey?!” his worried girlfriend asks. “You okay?”
“The temple!” He points his finger behind us. We both turn around.
“Fucking hell!” I scratch the back of my head with my left palm.
“I told you, Mike! Why? You. Can’t. Listen. Once!” This is the first time I’ve heard her truly angry.
The temple is gone, and white fog is slowly settling where it stood.
“How do you know this was because of me?” he tries to wiggle out of the situation.
“Because it’s always you!”
I pretend not to listen and move a few steps away. My hammer is indeed heavy, and my wrist would appreciate a bit of rest. Wiping the bloody hammerhead on the weeds and leaves, I let it shrink back into the inventory plate. They continue to argue.
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After it calms down at least a bit, I continue.
“Well, I was about to say...”
“Let’s stick around the temple for a while and make a good plan. But it’s too late already.”
Astrid quickly nods, looking at me.
“I suggest we backtrack to a ‘safer’ spot, but first, we need to summarize what we know so far.”
Trying to grasp control of the situation, I eagerly wait for their response.
“Of course. Continue,” Astrid gives me the space, while Mike listens, ashamed.
“So, where to start... Ehm, I'll tell you my observations.”
“Since we appeared here, almost every living thing we’ve encountered has been hostile. I believe the merchant at the shack is one of them too.”
Mike interrupts me, gesturing at Astrid to continue. “Astrid will tell you a thing or two about the merchant in the shack.”
“Just a moment before Pocco appeared, I think I saw that crippled merchant crawling out of a trapdoor behind the golden chest.”
I raise my eyebrows, trying to recall which chest we’ve seen so far.
“The chest was under the statue. The one...” she says with hesitation.
I look into her eyes and nod, appreciating her empathy.
Mike interrupts again. “I wonder what could be in it. Why is such a monstrosity needed for protection?”
“A merchant would like to expand his inventory or use something for himself?” He speculates, looking up and touching his chin.
“It’d better be a new pair of legs,” I add, and Astrid chuckles.
I cut my smile short and continue seriously.
“The tunnel that led through the mountain contains another flame bowl, just like the one we found at the beginning. It’s dark in there and moist.” I continue describing the details while leaning against a cluster of bamboo.
“That’s it?” Mike interrupts.
“No. There are enemies, but buckle up—you won’t believe me.”
“You’ve got my attention now,” Mike adds as Astrid pokes him.
“There are turtles with eight legs and ten glowing eyes, called spider turtles. They’re not fast in their turtle state, but once they extend another four legs, they move like a bitch.”
Mike stares into the distance. “Dear God.”
Astrid looks at me and frowns. “Are you serious or kidding?”
“Sadly, yes. And we probably need to go back through there if we want to get the precious water.”
“Are you referring to the stream?” Astrid asks.
“Yes.”
“What stream?” Mike interrupts.
“The one on the opposite side we went to first. I told you right in the morning I could hear water! Did you forget? I’m glad at least someone heard it as well,” Astrid explains.
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“I thought it was obvious there was a stream nearby. To be honest, I don’t know if I regret the decision that we went this way,” I add, looking down at the ground.
“I was the one heading first towards the meadows and all the shitshow that awaited us.”
“Don’t blame yourself. At least now we know what to do. I could use some water, not just for drinking,” Astrid adds.
“Well, why can’t we go further through the bamboo forest?” Mike steps in. “There could be a stream anywhere. Let me prove it.”
He proceeds to jog towards the area where the merchant’s temple was.
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“You know, I’m still toying with the thought of trying to get back to that hole. Maybe it will take us back home,” I tell Astrid while Mike is away.
“I agree. Let’s end this,” Astrid nods in approval.
She gently stomps on the carcass of a monkey and pulls one of her arrows. It’s tough to do, and I offer her some help. The tip tears through the flesh as we pull it out, making quite a resistance. Cleaning it on the white fur, I hand the arrow back to Astrid and continue.
“But if it doesn’t work... and my gut tells me it won’t, our only option to survive and find answers is through leveling up.”
“Level up after level up. Killing low-level foes to avoid damage is not a hard tactic. We can grind, for example, the nutrias and even face that old knight later on. We can establish a base and clear the area,” I suggest to Astrid, probably with a flame in my eyes, as the thought of certainty and security is enough to brighten my mood and hype me up.
“I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but...”
“Yes, I get it.” She nods.
*Loud roar in the distance, rumbling, and a strong wind, followed by screeching.*
The wind blows from afar, whistling through the bamboo.
Mike sprints towards us, and we follow him immediately.
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We run down the alley and arrive back at the courtyard gate and the cave entrance. Ignoring the path that leads up along the forest, we decide to squeeze right into the cavern. The roaring and that ominous wind feel worse than a spider turtle.
The door is only crack open as I managed to push it before.
Entering the cave squeezing myself, I jump towards the fire and sit down. Every one of us leveled up while annihilating those monkeys. We sit and catch our breath, fidgeting with our skill points.
Strength is it again for me. I smile a bit as another almost unnoticeable shockwave moves from the back of my head to the tips of my fingers. I only got one level since mine is already 8, but I bet they got more from all those monkeys.
Markus Hale foreigner level 8 Strength 11 no skill Agility 3 no skill Willpower 4 no skill Endurance 3 no skill
Mike finishes his and leans towards the bowl. Flames are burning straight through his hair, making it wave in flames. Astrid proceeds to show me her simple wooden bow and quiver containing about a dozen arrows.
“Pulling my bow isn’t a big deal, but my fingers hurt a bit too much.”
“I tried using a handkerchief, but it breaks my aim.”
“It would be great to find some gloves or buy them, but since Mike made the store vanish...”
*Zzzzzzzzz*
Astrid rolls her eyes and turns to Mike.
“Mike?”
“Are you listening?”
*Snork, zzzz, tchick*
“Wh... What? I must have fallen asleep for a second.”
Astrid turns her head from Mike to me without further reaction.
“Yes, a second."
"It might be too soon, but something tells me that endurance might help a bit. Consider it,” I suggest to her.
She nods and spends her points on endurance. She then tries to pull the string.
“I felt a brief clench over my body when I assigned those points. I think it hurts a little less—maybe even the same. Could be a placebo,” she notes.
“I really wonder what willpower is for and why mine is the highest, though.”
“Sounds like it has something to do with magic. But the only form we’ve found so far was in that upside-down hall—some kind of gravity manipulation. I don’t know,” I note.
“Can you tell us more about the death? We stopped summarizing what we know so far and didn’t continue it. I need more answers. The merchant only told us that you’d be back soon, but nothing else,” Astrid leads the conversation.
“Well, death was painful. Extremely. All I wished for was for it to end quickly.”
“Then I found myself in some sort of strange place where I had to make a sacrifice. I could choose from my fingers which to give as a toll for my death.”
“And I was reborn at the very beginning. So probably, we have to backtrack all the way when we die.”
“Peculiar,” adds Astrid.
“That’s why I suggested we make our base close to the spawn point and only raid out for occasional exploration.”
Mike nods resolutely.
I proceed to take off my shoe and show them the wound.
They both swallow, looking frightened.
Astrid speculates. “I think everyone is punished the same way. What if even the enemies are? We should check their limbs. Remember that crippled merchant who tricked us?”
“You think he’s one of us?” I wonder.
“Oh, I want to ask him a thing or two,” says Mike angrily.
“What about Pocco, Astrid? Can you somehow call him back? Or will he only appear in certain situations?”
“No idea, Markus. I suggest we should go before it’s dark. Don’t forget we need to move past the knight and deal with the tunnel.”
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We chat about more observations, drinking and eating the leftovers.
Mike leans outward from the protective light, unsheathing his sword.
“Let’s go,” he whispers.