C+1
After clearing five of the six landings on the second floor of the Carillon, Flor had a pocket full of coins. A new set of equipment burned a hole in that pocket. {What did she buy, you ask? A dull, padded tunic and a simple set of studded gloves, upping her attack to +2 (weapon), and her defense to +2 (armor).}
Flor set off to the north. Leaving through the North Gate of West Shilgrave, a gate she had passed through a few times before but without direction, she felt a sense of accomplishment. She had branched out, left Alastair to work through his issues, and was working toward her autonomy again. It was almost as if she were back home in the real world, taking off for an economic summit or some other city assessment, leaving Alastair to stay and play Holst. Somehow, this game felt more real than life since she couldn’t escape.
After she had gone beyond the sight of the city walls, Flor resummoned Kester.
The chipmunk appeared on her shoulder without ceremony, which was unusual for him.
“Sorry for dismissing you so suddenly. And thank you for giving me a good idea of how to progress,” she said.
The chipmunk remained silent.
“Will you forgive me?”
Kester stayed silent for another moment. “Fine. But I’m frustrated that you dismissed me mid-sentence.”
“I’m frustrated that you brought up my former party member.”
“Yes. I’m not always inclined to make the best decisions,” said Kester. “Forgive me also? I’ll endeavor for better discretion.”
“I forgive you. Water under the bridge. Beating up some automatons made me feel better about it, anyway.”
“So, I assume you have a plan. Do you care to share?”
Flor got a bit animated, “Yeah. So in my interface, there is the summary sheet that, you know, summarizes my status. One of the fields is ‘locations completed.’ So, part of me thinks we could escape if we complete more locations. So, we’re heading to the Widow’s Siege Monument.”
“Yes. I’ll remind you of the Primer on Widow’s Siege in your inventory.”
“Ooh, I had forgotten about that. Let me find a safe place to stop along the way and I’ll examine it. Do you have any idea about the monument before we get there?”
“No idea, except there was a work order for a mechanic for the monument outside the guildhouse. Otherwise, I’m programmed to only know about your experiences and interfaces, not about the world at large.”
“Fine, fine. What about over there? That looks like a bit of a side path.” Flor made her way from the road down a small path that ended with a bench under a tall tree. “Looks like others use this as a temporary stopping point, anyway.”
She went to the bench, opened her interface, and then scrolled to the items screen. There was Widow’s Siege, Primer underneath University Badge. The item description listed it as ‘a double-sided note providing details of the monument of Widow’s Siege, the duplication of which is used as a discrimination factor when screening applicants to the Scribe class.’ Flor activated the Primer.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
An image of a double-sided trifold note appeared, overlaid by an 8x8 grid similar to a crossword puzzle. Numbers filled in the top corner of each square and several squares had a letter in them. The alphabet stood out at the bottom, with the used letters identified by a number next to them. A small display showed her the time, life points, and energy. Learning things must be accomplished through Codeword puzzles. She had completed one codeword previously on a history of the city of West Shilgrave, but this world was strange. Sometimes two puzzles that should be similar weren’t.
After a few minutes of test cases, Flor was able to figure out a couple of key vowels, which led her to guess a couple of consonants. The puzzle clues then fell into place after another couple minutes of plugging letters in to finish out words. As she put the last letter in place, she received a notification in her interface.
Puzzle complete. +1 to Codewords.
Attempt puzzle again? Yes/No?
She mentally selected no and the interface disappeared. She was still on the bench, and Kester was staring into space, clutching his cane, shivering with fright.
“Kester, what’s going on?” Flor said.
The chipmunk didn’t answer, so Flor followed his sightline. There, trotting down the path, was a medium-sized dog.
“Oh, that’s going on. I’ll disappear you.” Flor deactivated Kester and he fled into a puff of smoke.
Flor stood, rolled her shoulders, and wondered if this would be a random encounter in which she had to beat up a mangy dog. But the dog stopped, sat, and started to pant with a happy expression. Or, maybe there is a second set of interfaces if I pet dogs?
“Good puppy,” Flor knelt and offered a hand to the dog. It cocked its head then stood and walked over slowly, then rubbed its head up against Flor’s outstretched hand. “You’re just looking for rubs, aren’t you?! Good puppy.” Flor began to rub behind its ears and the dog rolled over on its back.
Congratulations! You have pet a dog!
You have met Pippi. {Pippi (female age 4) is a true mutt of no distinguished breed. She has bits of white and brown and what might look like greyish-blue in her fur. If I had to guess, I’d say closest to the mix of a beagle and a ridgeback. She’s not an ugly dog, but wouldn’t win awards for Best in Show, even with a clean-up. While there is a game Achievement, the only in-game benefit of petting a dog is the inherent satisfaction of petting a dog.}
After a moment, Flor realized she could stay in this little patch all day. The tree was blocking the constant rain and the patch was calm compared to the crush of people in the city. {For those who did not read The City: PuzzleLocked Book 1, Flor and Alistair experienced constant rain all day. And yes, they are still on an island.} But, staying in one place wouldn’t bring her closer to escaping the island. So, reluctantly, Flor stood up and said, “Sorry, Pippi. I’ve gotta go.”
She had almost started down the path when Pippi rolled over and walked behind her.
“Guess I have a dog, now…oh, wait! I’m here because of the primer.” Flor turned around and went back to the bench. Pippi joined her on it, and Flor rested her hand against the pup’s head while she opened her inventory to review the information she had gained on Widow’s Siege.
‘Visit Widow’s Siege! Located two hours north of West Shilgrave, the Widow’s Siege Monument is dedicated to the 318 residents of Flit brutally ate by angry Widow Spiders. The monument includes a visitor center with a history of the siege, including a list of the persons lost, a life-size replica of a widow spider, and various other facts and figures. Visit our gift shop! Stay overnight at our tavern: The Ravaged Widow! Climb Widow’s Cliff! See the Beacon!’
The text was accompanied by drawings depicting the monument, a widow spider, and the tavern.
“That’s it?! That’s the test to become a Scribe? Oh, maybe they have to duplicate the pictures, which might make it a bit hard, don’t you think, Kester?” Flor realized that Kester was put away and that she was still petting Pippi. “Oh, I’m losing my mind. Well, same question for you, Pippi. You’re not going to answer. I’ll take that as concurrence. Be a good pup and stay here, right?”
However, as Flor started back down the path, Pippi trotted along happily beside her.