The Ruby Magician

Marcy and Cedric rushed down the tunnel the instant the stone bars were gone.

“What happened?” Cedric asked. He got his answer when he walked in front of Wyn and saw his leg. “Shit. I was hoping we would get through this unscathed.”

Wyn laughed, which was a strange feeling. Seeing Cedric still focused on the task of finishing the floor was oddly comforting, like this was an injury that was possible to overcome. It gave him a sense of hope.

Then Wyn felt the pain in his leg, again, causing that small flicker of hope to snuff out.

“Not now, Cedric,” Marcy said. She quickly dropped her pack on the ground and rummaged through it.

Whether by subconscious decision or the skill expiring, Wyn’s magical aura faded. He gritted his teeth and breathed heavily. The loss of the magical boost to his physicality made him feel even more helpless than he was.

“I’m sorry,” Wyn said through gasps. Each hitch in his breath caused movement, which made his leg jolt with pain. “I didn’t have much of an option. I thought Ice Shard would be useless.”

“You’re right about that,” Cedric said. “Being made of the fire element, ice is weak to it. It would’ve been a waste of mana and could’ve been even worse. That was the best call you could’ve made, unfortunately.”

Marcy glared at the Wizard. “We don’t need a lesson right now, Cedric.” She pulled her hand out of the pack along with a medium sized corked jar of some type of cream. It looked like it should hold some type of spread for the dinner table rather than the middle of a deadly tower.

“Learning opportunities are always…”

“Cedric, damnit, shut up,” Marcy snapped, cutting him off. “And save your breath, Wyn. Try not to jerk so much.”

Cedric started to reply but quickly closed his mouth, stopping himself from continuing his lecture.

Wyn wasn’t listening too well, anyway. His leg still felt like it was on fire, and a portion of his charred knee began to ooze. Or at least what he thought was his knee. It didn’t resemble much of a leg anymore, to his horror. It was more of a large lump of unidentifiable flesh.

His thoughts began to push back to the war, where bloodshed was rampant and death welcoming. The view was hazy as Wyn fought to stay present. He shook his head and focused on the pain. Oddly, it helped ground him to the situation at hand.

Marcy had already popped the cork on the small jar while Wyn was lost in thought. The cream was yellow and waxy, and a strong aura exuded out of from the jar. It wasn’t as strong as Tasha’s spells or Wyn’s Arcane Aura, but it was more noticeable than the potion.

Wyn shot upright from the ground, then cursed at the pain. “Shit!”

“Wyn, I said to stop moving!” Marcy said. She scooped a bit of the magical cream up with her fingers and reached over to Wyn’s leg.

Wyn caught her wrist. “Save it. My mentor gave me a healing potion.”

Marcy smacked Wyn’s hand away. “You save it. It won’t work as well as this for this injury.”

That was all Wyn needed to hear to find some comfort that he’d be alright. If Marcy was turning away a health potion, then it either wasn’t as serious as Wyn thought, or her magical cream was just that good.

He leaned towards the latter based on how his leg looked and felt.

Wyn immediately closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He knew the application would hurt - salves on burns always did. He remembered the soldiers who suffered burns from oil fires and flaming arrows and their screams when the medics tended to them. They said it was the contact with the burned flesh that felt like being stabbed with a hot iron.

Only pain never came. Relief flushed over him instead, reminding him of the bath houses outside Caryn. He remembered the soothing feel of lotions and creams on him after the baths, how his chapped skin drank the moisture with rejuvenation before setting back out into the sun with his company.

He snapped open his eyes. The bath houses and company men were not here - he was in the tower, fighting for his life and the life of others.

It still surprised Wyn how magic was seemingly infused in everything here. At this point he expected it to be inside food, too, served on literal silver platters. But the salve that Marcy applied worked like a spell to heal him, whether it was one or not.

He finally gained the courage to look at his leg where Marcy was still applying the medicine. The cream was still glowing, nearly as bright as the mushrooms around them. He was sure that it was magical. The pain steadily went away and his skin returned, like she was wiping a new layer back onto his leg. It wasn’t fast, though, and the process took several minutes, even if it felt like it took hours.

“That’s amazing,” Wyn said. He moved his leg. It felt perfectly fine now, even though his pants exposed him almost up to his groin. The weakness and tingling sensation were both gone.

“It’s a Ranger spell that can be stored,” Marcy said. She jammed the cork back onto the jar and placed it back in her pack. “It would never be useful in the heat of a fight, but it’s great for down times. And it’s stronger than potions for elemental injuries.”

“Now look who’s lecturing,” Cedric whispered.

“It’s perfect,” Wyn said. “Thank you, Marcy.”

Marcy reached out for Wyn’s hand to help him stand. He grabbed it and she easily yanked him to his feet. He was a bit taken aback at how strong she was, and made a mental note to stop using his preconceived notions and experiences to try and understand this new world.

“At least it was minor,” Cedric said. “All things considered. Some monsters in here can rip limbs off. You got lucky.”

“Minor,” Wyn said, shaking his head in disbelief. “But I know I did.” He fingered the singed edges of his robes and pants. “I really need to get some better gear. This is pathetic.”

“This wasn’t expected, though. No rookie Climber would have magical gear on their first trip into the tower. Not average ones, anyway.”

“Cedric’s right,” Marcy said. “And you’re doing great. Well, except for the parts where you aren’t. But don’t worry.”

Wyn knew she was teasing him, but hearing it out loud stung more than he thought. “I think I need to stay in the first few floors for some time and not rush it. As long as I can find a good amount of gold that way.”

Cedric penned some notes onto his map. “You’d be surprised about what you’d make doing that for a season. It won’t be as much as you need, but you can increase the number of climbs to help offset that. But Wyn, that’s one of the wisest things I’ve heard today.” Cedric patted him on the back.

“Don’t mind him,” Marcy said. “He missed his true calling as a teacher.”

“And having a magical weapon is basically required,” Cedric said, ignoring Marcy. “All Climbers have one, and those who engage in combat often have several. That way you won’t have to rely on your spells and skills and use valuable mana inefficiently.”

“Especially for a Ruby Magician who needs to use everything,” Wyn said. He flicked his right foot and felt the cool air rush over his now-barren leg. At least his boot was still mostly intact so he wouldn’t have to walk or fight lopsided. “And maybe several pairs of clothes, too.”

Marcy and Cedric laughed. It felt good to hear it, and they all warmed up at the lighthearted feeling despite their situation.

That was the camaraderie Wyn missed the most with his company. The laughter and bonds formed in the midst of chaos and destruction.

Marcy walked out of the tunnel back towards the entrance. “But let’s move on to the final fork, shall we? I don’t want to press our luck with time,” she said, not turning back. She waved her bow in the air like she was summoning them to follow her.

Cedric pulled out his small piece of parchment again. “It’s 9:41. She’s right. We still have some time but I’m exhausted, too. I’d rather not delay anymore.” He began to follow Marcy hurriedly, catching up to her.

They were right, of course, and Wyn knew it. Based on Marcy and Cedric’s information they should be nearing the end of the floor. It didn’t feel much worse than the first floor regarding the combat, though the enemies were more magical. Of course that made them more dangerous, especially for a new Climber like Wyn who wasn’t familiar with the knowledge of magic, the elements, and monsters that are made of them both.

The maze leading through the cave was another challenge to overcome, and Wyn could see how each higher floor would pose different sets of challenges rather than pure fighting. This floor was a maze-like puzzle in addition to bouts of combat. What would the eighth floor look like? Or the fourteenth?

Wyn put that out of his mind. There was no sense in worrying about that when he’d never face them. Not now, anyway. By the time he was ready to challenge those floors, this season and environment would be long gone.

He jogged behind them, catching up to the veterans. They silently walked back to the beginning of the forked tunnels to traverse the only one left - the far left tunnel.

Wyn thought about all of the possible challenges he’d face in the tower. Of course combat was ever present, but based on this floor Climbers would need a good head on their shoulders, too, in order to face non-combat related issues. Having magic was an obvious bonus as well, as he was sure there’d be tougher magical enemies and terrain in his future. The luxury of choice he had in choosing spells he could use was as much of a boon as any. Entering the tower with a good balance of spells, magical equipment, and Climbers to wield them all would make for a powerful team that could achieve great heights.

Thinking about this only solidified his resolve that Ruby Magicians were helpful rather than a handicap. Having combat related skills like melee classes and being able to use spells like magical classes was the best option for the unexpected. He could maintain a variety of tools at his disposal in order to keep his relevance. A store of weapons here, a cache of armor there. There’d be no doubt with his future team about his worth.

But it was all worthless if he couldn’t earn the money needed to pay off his father’s debts. Earning coins to send back home was the ultimate goal, after all. Being the best Climber possible in his situation was the means to achieve that goal.

Wyn made a vow to himself that he would do what was necessary for his family.

*****

“So much for your bad feeling,” Marcy said as they all stepped into the last remaining tunnel. They all turned around and saw two mushrooms shake their blue dust onto the ground, the tower’s signal that they were finally on the right path.

Cedric made a face at Marcy, sticking out his tongue and crinkling his face. She laughed at him and pushed him away from her. He laughed, too, a high pitched cackle Wyn wasn’t expecting. It was jarring coming from the stoic Wizard, but Wyn was unexpectedly delighted that Cedric of all people made a noise like that.

The three made their way through the tunnel, knowing full well they were getting closer to the end. It was progressing into a sour feeling and they all felt it - they were happy they were doing fairly well but upset at why they were here in the first place. They wanted to confront Lionel more than their fear of the consequences of going to the next floor without a key.

But they were here now and doing what they could to survive.

“I want to take the next one, too,” Wyn said. “Whatever happens I can manage. I know I can.”

Marcy and Cedric exchanged glances.

“We will all take the next one,” Cedric said.

Marcy nodded her head. “Right, because it’ll likely be the final path.”

Right then they came upon their next fork. It was far shorter than the previous tunnels between forked options but the mushrooms continued to light their path. Only now the fungi were becoming more sparse, their multicolored glow lowering down to more of a dim light.

Before them now were two possible tunnels to choose. They could see down each about twenty feet but then they both curved off, hiding what was further down the path.

“So this is it,” Cedric said. “Our last path.”

“Either the right way,” Marcy said, “or the very wrong way. That’s usually how this works at the end.”

“I’d imagine it’s deadlier if we choose wrong,” Wyn said. “So maybe two should go instead?”

“No,” Cedric said. “We stay together. We can’t afford to be separate if we choose wrong.”

“Exactly,” Marcy agreed. “From here to the end. Whether we choose right or wrong, it’s as a group.”

Wyn nodded. They had a point, and he wasn’t about to argue. This wasn’t a basic scouting assignment or patrol. This was far, far different, and the value of keeping together as a group was apparently paramount.

Marcy sat down at the fork and set her bow beside her. “Might as well rest for now, though. There’s a lot riding on this.”

Wyn thought for a moment. “Cedric. We only have a couple of hours, right?”

Cedric pulled out his parchment paper. “9:56.”

Wyn checked his mark. He had little more than a third of his mana remaining, which likely wasn’t enough for two spells if he needed to use them. “How much of your mana would you recover if you rested for an hour?”

Cedric scratched his chin. “Some, but not a lot. Maybe a fifth?”

“About a fourth for me,” Marcy added.

“Then I say we rest for an hour and then pick. We’ll have more mana and we have the time, especially since this is the end. We can afford it.”

Cedric sat down beside Marcy. “That would give us only an hour to finish the final room. A calculated risk I’m willing to take.” He closed his eyes and sat his head against the cave wall.

“I’ll be nearly at full,” Wyn said. “But can you talk and recover mana at the same time or does it take concentration?”

“Concentration,” Marcy said, closing her eyes. “Sort of like meditation.”

“So I guess trying to remember what the final area consisted of would be too distracting?”

Marcy threw a small rock at Wyn that bounced harmlessly off of his chest.

“Maybe something in the room will spark a memory,” Cedric said, not opening his eyes. “But for now, we empty our minds and prepare.”

Wyn took that as a statement to leave them alone. Which was fine by him, as he didn’t need to concentrate to recover his mana. Meditation never came easy to him anyway. He was happy once again that Lucidity allowed him to recover his own mana without the need to rest. He wondered if he could recover more if he joined them, but he was restless. It would be fruitless to try and sit still so close to the end.

And yet, the camaraderie was important as well.

Wyn ultimately sat down opposite them beside a purple mushroom. Not ten seconds later his stomach growled. He realized he hadn’t had food in hours. He opened his pack for his water skin and rations and snacked for a few minutes, enough to curb the hunger but not too much to overfill.

His attempt at resting was failing quickly. He tried taking deep breaths to still his mind but was unable to tear himself away from the cave. Finally, he decided to take a look around. Lucidity would recover some of his mana, and he made peace that it would suffice.

The mushrooms here were moving ever so slightly, impossible to tell unless you took the time to stare at them exactly as Wyn was doing. They would gyrate as though trying to escape the wall and ceiling, and seeing them all move like that was a bit off putting. No dust was falling from them, though they continued their luminescent glow in various colors with blue being the most dominant. The spectacle of movement and many colors made Wyn uncomfortable and nearly sick.

He looked down the tunnels and noticed the left tunnel was now glowing a dim yellow. The light began to grow slowly, a different, stronger light than the mushrooms. Wyn stood up to try to get a better angle. The light was warm and inviting, and he felt a strange sense of calm while watching it grow brighter with each second.

Before he realized it, he walked over to the tunnel entrance and slowly stepped towards the light. He stopped, not wanting to go alone. Cedric and Marcy would be furious with him if they knew he went down it without them.

“Guys, look at this,” he said, but squinted his eyes now due to the brightness. “I think we need to -” he started, but stopped. Marcy and Cedric were gone. The tunnel was empty, the mushrooms no longer gyrating. The space was still and void.

The yellow light was pulsing now, giving off a strong magical aura. It seemed to call to him, drawing him in to see what it was.

Wyn couldn’t resist the urge. He stepped forward and began to walk into the light.