Half an hour from the Leaning Tower, at the base of the talking tree, Prince Charming waited for Matt and his group. Matt pointed when he spotted the full suit of armor reflecting the blazing sun. Matt squinted up and the light. It was as if the sky had heard of their victory and was celebrating with its bright clear blue. Even the three moons looked pleased. But the gravemist still swirled over Matt’s feet. He swept a foot sideways, watching the gas flow around it.
“So, you noticed that too?” Fallyn said softly.
“I guess I thought it might be gone,” Matt replied.
“Perhaps Herbert will explain,” Fallyn said and tucked a strand of brown waves behind one ear. Her emerald diadem glinted in the sunlight.
Their footsteps crunched on the dead grass as they closed the distance to the prince and the tree.
“Hi, Herbert! Hi, Charming!” Val yelled.
“Erwu!” said Wiggles.
“Oh, oh! Travelers!” the tree’s accented voice burst out. “Why, Charming, the travelers have returned! I told you they’d be coming. I told you!”
Matt continued to crunch the last few feet towards him.
“Where are they?” Herbert panicked. “Travelers? I can’t see them.”
“We’re here. We’re coming,” Matt assured.
“Do come around where I can see you! Charming, can you see them?”
“Fret not, our heroes are on their way,” the prince said.
“Fiiiiiinally,” Herbert declared when Matt came face-to-face with the tree.
“We missed you too,” Val said.
“Oh, that’s so nice!” responded Herbert, sounding genuinely delighted.
“Uh, didn’t you have to rush off to your kingdom?” Val asked Charming.
Kurtis elbowed her.
“I already did.”
“But how did you—” Val started.
Kurtis elbowed her again.
“Ow.”
“Why, I rode, of course,” Charming declared.
A sleek black stallion with a diamond of white between his eyes appeared beside Prince Charming. There was no puff of smoke or flash of magic; the horse was just there. Val and Wiggles looked up at it with an identical wide-eyed stare. Charming stroked his neck and then patted his side. His armor cachunked when he moved.
“We’ve completed your quests,” Matt offered. He wasn’t sure whether to address the prince or the tree; he hoped it would sort itself out.
“Excellent!” Herbert was the one to respond. The tree wiggled his curled mustache and nose.
Matt’s surroundings didn’t blur. Did that work? he wondered. What now?
“And what did you find on the upper floors?” Herbert asked, raising his bushy eyebrows.
“We found this guy,” Val said, thumbing to Prince Charming. “But that’s new,” she added, eying the tall horse.
“And Rapunzel,” Matt said. “Her hair was… alive.”
“His name was Larry,” Val said.
“Uh, and then we took this big round crystal off a pedestal,” Matt continued. “Kurtis, can you…?” Matt gestured forward with his hands.
Kurtis produced the green sphere for all to see. He looked around nervously. “Can I put it away now?”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“We thought it was related to the gravemist,” Fallyn jumped in. “So, I was surprised to see it out here after.”
“Ah…” the tree said slowly.
“It’s heavier than it looks,” muttered Kurtis.
“Good work, travelers,” Prince Charming commended. “You have set things right in the tower, it seems.”
“But the gravemist—” Fallyn pressed.
“Is prevented from spreading farther,” Charming said, holding up a steel-encased hand. “You have done well.”
“Yes, they have,” said Herbert. Then ‘1,297,725 XP’ floated up while he added, “We must get word to the abbey.”
“I will take care of that,” Charming said, patting his horse again. “Two more crystals, like that keep the gravemist tethered to this land. We must send these travelers after them.”
Great, thought Matt.
“Guys?” said Kurtis, clutching the green orb in a half-bend.
“Sorry, man,” said Matt. “I think you can put it away.”
“And to help you on your journey...” Charming announced, raising both eyebrows and spreading his hands.
Between his hands materialized a pair of green leather gloves, backed by a spherical glow like the sun diffused by clouds. Then the gloves zipped back towards him as if rotating around the ball of light. They were replaced by metal boots, similar to the ones that the prince wore. They were armor for a proper knight.
Finally, Matt thought.
“I promised a hero’s reward for righting the tower,” said Charming. “Choose wisely.”
The boots had zipped away and were replaced by a rust-colored gown. Matt watched the magical carousel for several minutes, waiting for those boots to return. He was more than ready to get rid of his Crocs. They were comfortable shoes—they had served him well—but they just didn’t fit the whole knight thing he was aspiring to.
Fallyn reached into the glow and withdrew satin slippers. They had tiny green gems on the toe tips, matching the larger one on her forehead. Valkyrie squealed with delight and rushed in when she spotted a crown. Kurtis stepped forward for some high-topped black and white shoes. Matt continued waiting.
Item after item showed between the prince’s hands, pausing for a moment, and then rotating and shrinking away. Matt began to wonder if he’d missed seeing it, or if items would only appear once.
Then he saw a shield. It was matte black and the shape of a coat of arms, flat across the top with corners rounding to a sharp point at the bottom. An illustration of the Leaning Tower adorned the slight curve of its front in shiny black paint. Matt reached out for it, then hesitated.
Or do I wait for the boots? Shield or boots? If I get the—damn it.
The shield moved away, replaced by a pair of fishnet gloves. A pink pleather miniskirt was next. Then the glow faded and Prince Charming lowered his hands. Matt went cold. Had he missed his opportunity? He should have taken something. He should have been less picky. There had been dozens of medium and heavy armor options.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Those are all of the items, traveler,” Charming rubbed it in. “Which do you choose?”
Matt breathed out, relief washing over him. Then anxiety spiked again. Shit, which DO I choose?
“Aww man, I didn’t know you could do that,” complained Kurtis, already sporting his new Chucks.
“The shield please,” Matt said.
Prince Charming clapped his hands, separating them to reveal that bright ball of light. The shield hung in front of it like a black hole void. Then the item burst from Charming’s hold and smacked Matt square in the face.
“Ow!” he staggered back.
“Pays to be decisive.” Val grinned.
“Mmhm,” Matt responded with eyes closed, his whole face throbbing. He cast Rapid Regeneration and retrieved his new shield from a few feet away on the dead grass.
‘2,055,600 XP,’ floated up and away. Matt watched his XP bar spike. 47% through Level 12, not bad.
He hoped it was enough. The mega contest was 27 days away. He had to believe they could level up in time. They just had to keep questing, had to keep pushing.
“What’s the next quest?” Matt asked.
“You have to talk to this gentleman, here,” Herbert said, with a rustle of his leaves.
“I think they were,” Charming corrected. Then the familiar blur rose up around him.
Matt could feel Wiggles bump against his leg and he stretched out his hand towards the excited brown blob.
“Alright brave specialist,” Charming began. “May that shield serve you well on your quest. You must first seek the Great Pyramid crystal, and disarm it. Search for clues in the desert regarding the whereabouts of the third crystal.”
The blur behind the prince brightened, like lightning illuminating a cloud. It reminded Matt of looking out over a thunderstorm from the window of a plane. He didn’t fly often. The thread of memory this tugged upon was from childhood. He’d been afraid of the turbulence, and then they’d risen above the storm and it was so smooth. That view had felt surreal, floating above the flashing clouds.
“Once all three have been disabled,” Charming explained, “the land may return to life. Do you accept this noble pursuit?”
“Yep.” Matt shrugged.
His back burned. A fist-sized point of energy was drilling into him.
“Agh,” Matt gasped and doubled over.
He staggered into the tree as the blur around him receded. Matt twisted away from whatever was hitting him, watching his health in his heads-up display drop below half.
How long has that been up? Shit.
Matt cast Rapid Regeneration as purple bolts flashed toward him. Then a column of fire and lightning streamed into the front of his shoulder. He contorted this way and that, trying to escape the attacks from both sides. The twisting energy seared through his flesh and melted bone.
Matt tried to step away from it. He had yet to equip his shield. The swords fell from his hand with a clank. He struggled to snap three times, activating Basic Heal. He pushed through the pain and did it again. The damage was too great. His vision turned red.
Matt followed the column of energy back to its caster: a dark-robed figure, a staff of gnarled wood. The hood was up, he couldn’t see the face. He burned the image into his mind as his shoulder turned to ash.
Blackness.