The Ruby Magician

The sounds of magic popping and cracking across the room tried to pull Wyn's focus from the mushrooms attacking him, but he forced his mind to stay at the task at hand. His magical armor still flickered and held, but not for long. Wyn only hoped it would protect him enough to not be a burden after his plan.

It wasn't a smart plan, but he didn't have time to sit and strategize further. Action spoke louder than hesitation.

Wyn tossed his spear away from him, noting the spot where it clanged to the ground. Even though he was risking his own safety, he couldn't run the risk of damaging his primary weapon. Drawing his dagger, he squared up to the green mushroom that stood between him and the blue monster further away. That was the true target, but it had to wait.

The green mushroom stepped forward in another attack, swinging a wild, plant-like fist at Wyn's head. He ducked under it and stepped to the side, glancing to the blue monster. It just stood there, its arms by its side, watching like a judging referee in a sparring match.

Wyn silently cursed. The bastard needed to fire its magical attack again. There appeared to be a slight delay after each of its attacks, but the time was up. Why wasn't it attacking?

Wyn felt a heavy kick slam into right hip that sent him sprawling onto the ground. He quickly got up but winced at the initial pain when he put pressure through his right leg. His magical armor was now gone there, but his leg still looked normal. At least it wasn't broken. Likely heavily bruised, but he could use it, still.

He refocused on the green mushroom. Several more attacks came his way, a combination of brawling attacks since the monster didn't hold any weapons. It was unfortunately both fast and strong, much more than the previous green mushroom earlier in the floor. When Wyn relied feinted to his right to dodge another strike, though, his leg gave slightly from the previous hit, slowing his movement. He couldn't avoid the attack and was punched heavily in his left side.

There was no more magical armor there to protect him.

Wyn yelled in pain as he stumbled back from the blow. He felt his ribs give under the heavy fist, and was sure he heard a few cracks from the hit. A painful deep breath confirmed his fear.

Holding his left side with his hand and dagger in his right, Wyn yelled at the blue mushroom that finally held a hand up, readying an attack.

"That's right, you bastard. Hit me!"

Another magical glow formed at the monster's outstretched palm. The green mushroom wasn't aware of the attack just like before, though its quicker movements and Wyn's desire to avoid being hit both added to the monster not having friendly fire like its yellow brethren.

This time would be different.

Wyn baited the green monster into an attack and grappled it when it was close. Using his knife to solidify his hold, he stabbed it in the back of the creature up to the handle and held on. With all of his strength he did his best to maneuver the monster into the line of fire, fighting the wiggling creature. Its efforts to escape Wyn's grapple weren't enough, and Wyn's efforts to force it into the blue mushroom's path of attack were plenty.

A magical explosion rocked Wyn back and onto the ground, hitting him far worse than he anticipated. He knew it would be a powerful force but he previously hoped the remainder of his magical armor would protect him. Now he hardly thought about much of anything as his ears rang and his head swam. The stone floor was cold on his back and his right leg tingled from his shin to his foot. Whatever injury he had before was worse now, and to top it all off, his Arcane Aura was completely gone.

Blinking dirt away, he opened his eyes to see his was alone, surrounded by a huge pile of green spores like ash from a bonfire.

A smile formed on his face. His plan worked after all.

The blue mushroom monster slowly walked towards him, lumbering like a giant of impending doom. It lowered its head towards him, its glowing eyes a beacon of blue death.

His smile quickly left.

For all of his quick planning he forgot to consider what might happen after he succumbed to a magical explosion. He still needed to handle the blue mushroom, after all. The very mushroom that was standing over him while he helplessly laid on the ground.

So much for his plan.

*****

Marcy quickly nocked another arrow. Not that she needed it, of course, but she was paranoid now so close to the end. Her Drench spell completely washed the fiery red mushroom away in a torrent of water. She hadn't been able to use it on a fire elemental creature before, and the result was as satisfying as she hoped. Still, it required a chunk of her remaining mana, and she knew there was only enough left for one more spell.

Steam rose from the red spores that littered the ground, a harsh interaction from the two elements. It was too thick to see through and felt sticky on her exposed skin. Thankfully the mist didn’t damage the precious spores that lay on the ground.

Confirming the monsters were dead, Cedric immediately began gathering the spores on the ground for the pedestals. If this was enough, they’d be finished and could return to Alestead.

A loud boom pulled both of the Climber’s attention. They saw Wyn fly several feet in midair, his magical glow shattering from the attack and thudding to the ground in a plume of green spores. He didn’t move for a few seconds on the ground, then slowly stirred.

The blue mushroom began walking over to Wyn ominously.

“Damnit,” Marcy said. “Cedric, get the spores. I’ll help Wyn!”

Grabbing her two remaining arrows, she held one in her left hand and nocked the other on the bowstring while jogging over to Wyn. Hopefully she could recover them after killing the blue mushroom, or at least be able to leave. If they had to face another wave, they’d all die. She was sure of that.

Stepping around and behind the blue mushroom, she shot both arrows in quick succession at the monster. They sunk deep, nearly up to the fletching, but didn’t stop its advance towards Wyn who was still on the ground. Whatever maneuver he pulled cost him, but she couldn’t think about that now. Only killing this blue bastard.

She dropped her bow to the ground and reached to her sides for weapons that weren’t there. A foul curse left her lips, followed by an internal promise that she’d never climb without her primary gear again.

Looking around, she hoped for a rock large enough to bash it with. Instead, she saw Wyn’s spear on the ground.

That would do nicely.

*****

Wyn took a deep breath. This was it, then. The blue mushroom raised its foot as though it was going to stomp him before it suddenly jerked back with its shoulders. His spear poked through its chest, the metal head completely protruding from its body.

Then the weapon disappeared, yanked back out. The blue mushroom convulsed a few times before slumping and falling into a large pile of blue spores.

Marcy held Wyn’s spear, heaving deep breaths at the same time. She started to say something before her face contorted after seeing Wyn on the ground, and words never came.

The spear clanged to the ground while she knelt beside him. “Shit, Wyn. Can you move?”

Wyn nodded, then tried to get up. Pain erupted all over his body, but he felt it most in his left side and right lower leg. “Barely.”

Marcy grabbed Wyn’s pack and dumped it. She grabbed the healing potion and gently uncorked it. “Aren’t you glad you saved this? These injuries are exactly what these are for. Now drink.”

Wyn didn’t hesitate as Marcy tipped the slender vial towards his mouth. It was thick like honey but tasted nothing like the sweet syrup. It was more tasteless than anything, but the thought of it helping his injures made it go down far easier. Instantly his breathing hurt less, and the pain subsided from his entire body. Everywhere except his right leg felt better, though not perfect.

When he stood he felt a much more tolerable jolt of pain from his right ankle, but unfortunately it was still there. He took a few hesitant steps.

“It’s not perfect, but I can fight for a bit more. It didn’t completely heal my ankle but I can hold out.”

Marcy patted him on the back. “They’re potent, but that’s only a tier 1 potion. If we had a tier 2 or 3 potion that would be a different story. But we’ll get you healing when we get back.”

Cedric trotted over beside them, quickly analyzing Wyn. “Good, you can stand. All the pedestals are filled except the main one. Look!”

Using his spear like a crutch, Wyn limped over and checked the portal. All of the bars were gone. The pedestals around the cave room were all glowing, completely filled as Cedric said. They obviously finished the challenge while Wyn was still fighting, and he wasn’t aware how far ahead they were since he was still contending with the blue and green mushrooms.

A sigh left Wyn’s mouth. He needed to realize he simply wasn’t at their level of strength and power, but at least his distraction worked. And he was still alive.

“So that’s it, then,” Wyn said. “We just need to activate the portal so we can go home!”

“Yes, but how,” Cedric replied. “We still need to do something with the last pedestal.”

The white mushrooms still appeared like statues, unmoving and lifeless. It was unsettling as they were all facing the Climbers at the portal, staring at them with their fluffy white bodies and creepy eyes. Or, more accurately, they were facing Cedric as Marcy previously reasoned.

“Let’s quickly talk this out,” Cedric said. “I have a bad feeling.”

“Okay. So the pedestals lit up based on their color,” Marcy thought out loud. “We poured the colored spores in the bowl to match the color…”

“…and it glowed signaling it was right,” Cedric finished. “But there aren’t any colored pedestals left.”

“Except this one,” Wyn said. He pointed to the main pedestal beside them in front of the portal. “It looks exactly like the others, only bigger and colorless.”

“And we haven’t tried pouring any spores into it,” Marcy said. “Would it even take it, though? It doesn’t have a color.”

“Which is exactly what we need,” Cedric said. “I finally remember!” He ran over to a pile from a mushroom they defeated and grabbed a handful of spores from it. It was dulled grey, the color long gone.

He walked over to the pedestal and poured it in.

The pedestal began to light up a softer grey, a faint magical aura emanating from the large stone. It only filled up a small amount but it was obviously accepted. This pedestal would take much more than the others, two or three times as much based on the size difference.

“Cedric, you genius!” Marcy slapped him on the back, knocking him forward a bit.

Wyn smiled. That was the last puzzle to their challenge, then. They only needed to collect as much leftover spores as possible and fill this pedestal, and thankfully there were plenty of piles around the room to collect.

A rumble reverberated through the cave. The white statue mushrooms began to shake and move.

“Oh no,” Marcy said. She pulled up her bow and nocked an arrow. Only one extra remained, held in her left hand. “That set something off!”

“Hurry, then!” Cedric yelled. “Wyn, get as much as you can!”

Wyn dropped his spear at the pedestal and ran over to the next pile of spores, wasting no time. His right leg screamed at him in pain but he ignored it. If they could just finish this last task, they’d be back safely in the city and he could address his injuries. Now wasn’t the time to slack off.

He began shoveling as much as possible into his hat. He kept sneaking glances, too, at the four white mushrooms. There was no telling what magic they possessed, and he had a feeling they were going to be the final challenge to face. His current job was to collect as much of the spores as possible and hope they could escape before they fought them, but if the mushrooms moved fast or shot magic at them it would be hard to avoid a fight.

One of the strange creatures began to elongate, growing legs and standing. It was nearly as tall as the last wave of mushroom monsters, easily ten feet to its large, mushroom cap head. A yellow and blue mushroom on the ceiling shook their spores loose, and they travelled to the white mushroom like they were being magically directed.

The white mushroom absorbed the spores and began changing color, swirls forming inside it before coating its body.

The Climbers watched in amazement. What was once a white mushroom was now a blend of yellow and blue. It held a yellow sword in its right hand as well, growing from its body out of nothing. The rest of it was a hybrid of the colors, yellow and blue mixed around it like paints that couldn’t combine on a canvas. Its eyes, previously small and black, were now glowing - one yellow and one blue.

“That’s new,” Marcy said. She kept her bow ready but didn’t draw yet. She wanted to wait for the precise time and determined that time wasn’t now.

“Yes, it is,” Cedric said. “I don’t remember them. What in the hells is going on?”

More mushrooms vibrated and released their spores on the wall and ceiling, various colors rushing to the cave floor all at once.

The next wave was starting, and it was going to be difficult. Maybe even impossible in their current state.

Wyn was already dumping the contents of his hat into the pedestal when the second mushroom stood and began forming new colors. The pedestal kept absorbing the spores, filling about a third of the way up. It was a lot, but he needed much more and several hat fulls.

His legs shook as he gathered the spores from the ground, trying to work fast with death looming. Spores flew into his hat as he scooped with his forearm on the ground before sneaking a look at Cedric. His shield was finally gone, too. Hopefully the Wizard realized it.

Wyn ran to the pedestal with his heavy hat and dumped more spores. It was now over halfway and he was making good time despite the situation. His leg hurt more with each step, and he wasn’t sure how long he could keep ignoring the pain.

“Marcy,” Cedric yelled. He looked at her with wide eyes but a tight jaw.

He didn’t need to say more. She understood.

Marcy stepped beside him and bent to the ground. “Earthen Trap!” A large rune spread out on the ground in front of them, covering the area in front of the portal. It was a larger placement than her previous one, too. She backed off, running away from the mushrooms for a pile of fallen spores she could gather to help Wyn.

All of the mushrooms were no longer white but a myriad of colors, and looked funny compared to the previously solid colors. They were bright and inviting, a stark contrast to how serious and deadly they were. All of them were lumbering their way towards Cedric at various speeds.

Cedric stayed away from the portal but directly behind Marcy’s trap on purpose so he could escape when the timing was right, but he still needed to hold his ground. He cast out with his staff at the closest one, and lightning leapt from the topaz gem directly into the monster’s chest.

This particular enemy was a mixture of orange and green, but just before Cedric cast his spell the colors swirled, and the front of it went completely orange as the green shifted to its back. It had large mushroom caps of armor that now layered its body, forming them just before it was attacked in a protective maneuver that highlighted more intelligence than the last set of mushrooms.

It took the lightning and halted its advance, but the mushroom caps softened the blow. It reformed its colors again, this time moving green to its legs to quicken it and keeping orange at its chest and head for additional protection.

It was smart. Almost too smart.

Cedric ran to the side away from the pedestal and portal, realizing they were in a dire situation. He only needed to outlast here, not defeat. He stole glances every few seconds to Marcy and Wyn to see their progress and knew they weren’t quite ready. They were pouring another round of spores and the pedestal was almost full, but not completely.

It would likely be full with this pour, though. They were almost free, ready to escape this hell of a day. Even though they were here at the end it felt like time was dragging in hours instead of seconds.

Marcy’s rune activated with a loud blast. Ropes of stone and rocks settled around two mushrooms, holding them both in place. They struggled against it, shifting their colors of purple, red, and yellow to try to form a way to escape the magical trap, though Cedric knew the spell would hold long enough for them to be counted out of the fight.

That was two dealt with in the moment, but two more were right at Cedric. He didn’t bother raising his staff to hold them off. The last blast of lightning consumed his remaining mana, and there were no charges remaining in his staff to defend himself.

He wouldn’t be able to outrun them to the portal, but he needed to try. They were larger, smarter than before, and had several means to cut him off. He was used up, tired, and currently useless as a Wizard.

But he was still a Climber.

Turning as fast as he could, he lowered his head and sprinted. Marcy and Wyn had finished pouring their spores and the portal was completely grey, signaling it was complete and ready to enter.

The pair smiled and hugged in celebration, then looked at Cedric. Their joy faded immediately seeing him run towards them with the giant mushrooms hot on his heels. Between the distance and time they knew he wouldn’t make it.

They ran towards him to help though were unsure of what to do. Their minds were focused on leaving and escaping, and couldn’t form a new plan to help him in the moment.

Marcy immediately shot both of her arrows at the closest mushroom, but the monster easily deflected both by swirling purple at its front. The arrows harmlessly bounced off its new, physically resistant surface.

Cedric met them not ten feet from the portal though the mushrooms were there as well. The Wizard reached for them, extending his staff, hoping they’d pull him to safety. As long as he could just graze the portal he’d be gone instantaneously. Unfortunately he was caught by a green arm that grabbed his left wrist. He couldn’t move, held in place by a mushroom giant.

He looked back and saw the other colored mushroom raising a yellow axe to cleave him.

Marcy yelled in defiance, trying in vain to pull her ally, her friend, away from death.

Wyn grabbed Cedric’s forearm and tried to help Marcy pull uselessly, stuck watching the monster’s yellow weapon ready to drop down. Cedric knew he wasn’t going to make it into the portal. This was it.

Wyn refused to let another ally die no matter what. He changed his strategy by hooking Cedric’s foot and shifting it to the side, twisting the Wizard’s body at the last second to try to avoid a killing blow.

The axe fell.

Wyn was too focused on saving his teammate to watch the mushrooms. He and Marcy were able to pull Cedric away, dragging him back towards the portal. They had less than ten feet to go.

Marcy led into the portal first, dragging Cedric with a new found strength. He didn’t resist. He wasn’t moving.

They had made it, though not unscathed. Not whole.

Wyn turned, taking in the sight of the final room one last time before he stepped backwards into the portal to take him to the base of Alestead.

He saw, between the multicolored mushrooms standing nearby still pursuing them, Cedric’s left arm lying on the ground. Behind it and the monsters stood the silhouette of an old woman. In only a brief second Wyn was able to see her, barely registering her features within the chaos and the magically lit room.

She had grey wispy hair and a wiry frame, and she didn’t seem to be touching the ground. A witch, Cedric called her. A deeply unsettling smile was plastered on her face as she watched the Climbers scramble out of the cave.

Wyn continued to backpedal and felt the rush of the portal engulf him.