The City: PuzzleLocked Book 1

Your rage increased by 1.

Flor stood on the pier waiting for Alastair after she woke in a boat making its way toward an island. The Crusty Cricket is pretty nice, all things considered. Based on our chores and progress so far, we could probably easily arrange to stay there each night. And maybe buy another blueprint. If we scramble, we could get into full production and have more coins than we could spend by noon each day. I don’t know if that could be considered game progress, but it should make our lives easier. I should check the cat map to see if our route might cross a normal cat habitat.

Eventually, Alastair wandered over. He wore the first skin she had seen him in: short, thin, long red hair with green eyes. And what do I look like to him today?

He said, “So, let’s go earn some money?”

“Yeah. Let’s get food first…” They started walking towards the tavern, “…then chores, maybe stop in with Mida to tell her about our progress with items. Also, based on the cat map, we may benefit from visiting the temple. There may be a couple of cats there.”

“Do we have to? You know my thoughts on religion, even game religions, which are as fabricated as earth religions.”

“Yes, Alastair. Hey, look at me.” He turned and she looked at him in his almost comically large eyes. “Whoever modeled your current meat suit doesn’t understand proportions. That’s neither here nor there. But look, we haven’t talked about this in a while. I understand you’re trying to get us out of this game. But that means you must consider exploring everywhere, even if it makes you uncomfortable. So, yes, you have to go to the temple. And yes, you have to work to not cause negative dispositions to whatever they call the temple attendants. And yes, you have to see if there are ways at the temple to help you escape the game. Am I getting through to you?”

He nodded but didn’t look happy.

“Good. Let’s get our breakfast slop.”

Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

You have met Nyx. {Cat 019 is a Rass, dark as night, twelve years old. Flor only grazed Nyx’s fir, which fortunately still counted as a petting before Nyx disappeared into the shadows. Truthfully, it’s surprising that Flor found her during daylight hours, but that may be due to the never-ending rain.}

Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

You have met Thwuwak. {Cat 020 is an indeterminate shorthair. A mutt of cats. If it weren’t for fur and a few cat-like features, our protagonists might consider Thwuwak to be a goblin or some other creature rather than a cat.}

After breakfast and jobs, with forty coins in their pockets, two additional cats in their cat book {…both found in alleys near the jobs they had completed a few times already…}, and a short trip to Mida {She didn’t remember them but knew them by reputation from her memory cube and their notes.}, Flor asked Alastair to list the supplies they needed to attempt to construct their unique speed-up chrono.

“There are four items, a case, a spring, an escapement, and a gear set,” Alastair said after reviewing the blueprints {…which fortunately didn’t require him to engage them to see the necessary items …}. “You know I’ve never been much of a watch guy, but this seems minimal to make a watch. I’m sure there really should be dozens of pieces, right?”

“Yes, Al, you’re right.” It was difficult to keep exasperation out of her voice. “Since we can now produce additional income by selling produced goods, I recommend we stop at the temple next.”

“You’d rather that than try to build a unique item?”

“Yes. I know you’re reluctant to enter a church since that’s what a temple amounts to. But once again, you have to be strong to overcome the terrible things your parents inflicted upon you. I’ll be by your side the entire time, and you are fully allowed to take as many breathers as you need to. If we don’t do this, we’ll never know if there is something inside that might help us escape.”

“I…you don’t know what it was like.”

Flor wrapped him in his arms, and Alastair sobbed. “I don’t. You’ve only hinted at the horrors of what happened to you. But I know how strong you are, and brave in facing every other challenge. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to start facing that aspect of your past.”

She held him for several minutes. His sobs subsided and, eventually, he nuzzled into her breast at the armpit level. Flor struggled to hold in a chuckle at the dichotomy of the personal angst Alastair felt at his past compared to the arbitrary size difference between their character models.

“Are you ready to face this challenge?”

He removed his face from her armpit. “What?”

“You’re going to do this!”

“Yeah, I will.”