The Ruby Magician

Wyn felt the pull of the portal like before, the tower sensing his desire of where to go. It was just as straightforward as the last time, though for much different reasons. Where he wanted to follow Lionel and advance to the second floor just hours ago, he desperately wanted to return to base this time.

In seconds he was standing in the hallway of portals. He saw all the various portals around him, nearly all red. But he wasn’t interested in them right now. He saw Marcy on the ground holding Cedric, his body on top of her. He wasn’t moving and was losing blood out of his left shoulder at an alarming rate.

Wyn flung himself down to the ground as he allowed exhaustion to take over. He wanted to help, but the one item he had that could potentially save Cedric from bleeding out was gone. He drank the potion just minutes ago, selfishly for himself. If only he would have saved it, his friend wouldn’t be dying before his eyes.

“You made it!” A voice said. It was a woman’s voice, soft but filled with relief. She had on the formal attire of the guild, an attendee for Climbers inside the tower’s base. Her joyful expression quickly turned sour, and she gasped when she saw Cedric.

“I’ll go get help!” She disappeared almost as quickly as she appeared.

Wyn clenched his fist and banged the floor. He despised feeling helpless. Maybe what others said about his class was true. He was too useless to make a difference.

The glow of his mark drew his attention. He’d been gathering mana during the final fight but it wasn’t enough. Regen needed more mana to be cast, he was sure of it.

But magic wasn’t all he had.

Acting quickly, he tore off several strips of the remainder of his pants. He hobbled over to Cedric and turned him so he could have better access to his left shoulder.

Marcy just laid there, staring at Cedric’s unmoving body as though she were catatonic. Wyn had seen that look before. She’d be fine eventually, but not now.

He wrapped the strips around Cedric’s bleeding stump several times over, tying tight knots at the end of each strip to form makeshift tourniquets. Then he took his hat and covered his remaining arm, tying another strip over it to secure it in place.

The bleeding slowed. Wyn only hoped it would be enough.

For what felt like an eternity the three Climbers stayed there, two conscious and exhausted, one barely breathing without an arm. They didn’t say anything else. No words seemed appropriate in the moment.

“Wyn!” A familiar voice said. Wyn looked up and saw Daniel. The older mentor was rushing from down the hallway with purpose. He seemed relieved but his face quickly grew serious after seeing Cedric.

“Is he stable? Have you done anything?” Daniel knelt down beside Marcy and inspected Cedric’s shoulder.

“I don’t have enough mana to do anything else,” Wyn said. “I just tried to stop the bleeding with what I had.”

Daniel cupped Cedric’s arm in his hands. “Amplify Cure.”

A bright white glow enveloped Cedric, nearly blinding Wyn. It only remained for a moment before the magical light condensed and formed around his body like a protective coat. It was far denser and brighter than anything he’d seen before. To Wyn’s relief, Cedric gained some color in his face and his breathing slowed. To say that healing spell was a powerful one would be an understatement.

“He’ll live, but he needs better expertise,” Daniel said. “A more refined magical touch.”

Daniel then turned to Wyn and flinched when he more closely inspected him. “Wyn, I’m so sorry.” He cast the same spell while he gently touched Wyn’s leg.

Wyn felt a wave of pure euphoria rush over him as the spell took effect. It felt like happy memories and romantic butterflies and the joy of belly laughing with friends all wrapped up in a singular sensation. Pure bliss didn’t come close to how this made him feel, but relief followed immediately as he felt broken bones solidify and torn tissues mend.

“Thank you,” was all Wyn could muster. He honestly didn’t know what else to say.

Daniel smiled at him. There was a warm look in the older Ruby Magician’s eyes. He was completely sober, too - Wyn couldn’t smell any alcohol on him at all. “You did great. I’m so proud of you.”

Daniel went to pick up Cedric and Marcy stopped him, forcefully pushing his arm away.

“Don’t touch him,” she snapped. “Just… don’t.”

Daniel nodded. He understood her feelings better than most. The bond that groups shared when climbing the tower was strong in all situations. A deep sense of protectiveness radiated off Marcy like its own magical aura, and to Daniel it was palpable in the air.

“There’s a large group of people waiting for you three,” Daniel said, “after you didn’t return with the other rookies. I passed an attendee on the way and she said someone was seriously hurt. Help will be coming soon.”

Marcy nodded this time, softening her expression. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“The Tower Master will want an explanation of what happened,” Daniel continued. “Preferably from a veteran.” He sheepishly looked at Marcy, not wanting another scolding.

“Not now,” she replied. “Not until I know he’ll be okay.”

A large clatter of boots and footsteps rushed them. They were immediately swarmed with people, all guild members. The officials were wearing various degrees and uniforms of clothes but they all had the symbol of the tower on their chest signifying their status.

Four guild medics, recognizable by their white clothes and gloves, bent down to Cedric. Marcy waved them off, growling at them on instinct. She had a wild look in her eyes and several guild members took a step back or gasped.

“Let them take him,” a voice boomed. A tall and stout man loomed over them. He had an impressively groomed beard and well cropped short hair, and his clothes were the most well dressed of the group. His demeanor gave off a sense of importance and gravitas.

When Marcy saw him she relaxed and let the medics pick up Cedric. They placed him on a stretcher and took him off in a hurry. Marcy was right beside them, pushing people out of her way in order to keep up. She held Cedric’s staff in her hand and her bow was slung across her chest.

Daniel helped Wyn stand. “That is the Tower Master,” he whispered. “Aureus.”

Wyn straightened up. He realized he didn’t know much about the tower and the world of being a Climber, but he absolutely understood rank and respect.

“Climber,” the Tower Master said. He looked at Wyn. It was hard to gauge his emotion in the moment as his face was blank and expressionless.

“Sir,” Wyn replied.

“I am Tower Master Aureus. You are a rookie, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

He waved a hand at Wyn and his face softened a bit. “No need to call me sir. Aureus is fine. Will you come with me?”

Wyn nodded. Aureus seemed stoic and fair, all things considered. Not asking to be called his rank with a less formal conversation was inviting and reassuring. Wyn only hoped he wasn’t in too much trouble.

“And I am his mentor,” Daniel said, with a bit of a stutter. He seemed flustered.

“Yes, Daniel, I believe?” Aureus said. “The Ruby Magician class mentor. You’ll come as well.”

The group gave a wide berth for the three of them, eyeing Wyn up and down. He felt uncomfortable, like a pariah. He didn’t like it one bit. Aureus led them away, though not out of the base of the tower. It took several agonizing minutes winding around hallways Wyn didn’t think possibly existed in the building before they arrived at a very professional and ornate door.

Aureus opened it and held it open for the Ruby Magicians. “Please, come in.”

*****

Wyn tried settling into the chair but it was uncomfortable. The entire office looked uncomfortable, but by the gods it was refined. Silver trimmed everything: the dark wooden desk with well organized papers; the similarly dark chairs with red cushioned seats; even the window that peered out into the city of Alestead had silver trimmings around the frame.

“Ardwyn Thatcher,” the Tower Master said. “Ruby Magician. From Rywood? I’m not sure I’ve heard of that town.”

“It’s small, sir,” Wyn replied. “I mean - Aureus. A farming town, mostly.”

Aureus smiled. “Take a breath, son. You’ve been through a lot. The room may look it but no need for formalities. I’ve been meaning to dull the place up a bit.”

Daniel laughed awkwardly. He was seated next to Wyn and shifted even more uncomfortably than the rookie.

“You’re right,” Wyn replied. “I wasn’t planning… well, all of that. I only wanted to join the rookie climb before the next season started.”

“Yes, but you and the veterans who led your group went to the second floor. That’s not only ill advised, but against our rules for the veterans leading the introductory climb. Why did you do it?”

Wyn swallowed hard. How much should he say? This man is the Tower Master, after all, so likely the person with the most authority in the city. If Aureus found cause for him not following their rules - and lying about his first climb would be cause enough - he might be suspended or banned before he even truly started here.

“One of our group members stabbed another in the back at the boss of the first floor. He ran towards the portal and escaped, and I wanted to try to prevent that. The veterans followed me.”

“Did that Climber say why he betrayed you all?”

Wyn thought to choose his words carefully. “He said he had an objective to do. That he was here to ‘defend the tower, not climb it.’ His exact words. He didn’t say anymore before he used a portal key and left.”

Aureus was expressionless while he folded his fingers together on his desk like he was thinking. “And then what happened?”

“Marcy and Cedric, the veterans that led our group, entered the portal behind me. They didn’t want me stranded or to get hurt so they followed me. Unfortunately they used their portal key just before when we defeated the boss and we ended up being stranded after all.”

Wyn thought to keep the two veteran Climber’s true reasons for going to the second floor secret. They wanted to find and kill Lionel just as much as him, but he didn’t want them to get in trouble. And what he said wasn’t necessarily a lie.

“I see.” Aureus let the silence fester for several agonizing seconds.

Daniel sat still, taking it all in. He was as invested as the Tower Master, if not more. If he was shocked he did a good job of concealing it.

“So,” Wyn continued, “we concluded our only choice was to finish out the floor and return back through the portal after the floor boss. Though the entire ordeal was my fault. I was the one who chased him, they only wanted to protect me.”

The Tower Master sighed. “They served their role well, then. Any Climber who enters the tower should have a secondary objective of protecting their fellow Climbers. Always. Climbing Alistair is useless if we are pitted against each other, destroying ourselves from the inside. Healthy competition is one thing, but this…” He trailed off, not finishing his thought. He stood up and walked over to the window to look out into the city. His hands were neatly set behind his back in an officer’s pose.

Wyn recognized that posture all too well and was instantly curious about Aureus’ background.

“What happened to Cedric?” The guild master asked. He kept his back to them while still looking out the window.

“We made our way through the cave system,” Wyn continued. “It was mostly a color puzzle, and we made it to the boss room. We were all low on mana and resources so we had to be smart, but Cedric figured out our task. The enemies were… strong. Much stronger than the earlier parts of the floor. Just before we made our way through the portal one captured Cedric and held him down. The monsters closed in on us and were about to land a lethal blow. We… maneuvered him to where he only lost an arm instead of being cut in two.” He blinked, trying to separate as much emotion from his report as possible.

Wyn’s thoughts began to drift to the briefing he gave after the battle on the hill. The days after and his feelings of his men dying were clouded with regret, disgust, and anger. Dwelling in that headspace would do him no good here, and he needed to focus for this meeting.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably again in his chair. He tapped the armchair with his fingers nervously.

Aureus let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Ardwyn. Unfortunately things like that happen in the tower. Climbers, especially rookies, forget how serious this life is. They get strong, wield magic, then they feel like they’re invincible!” He placed his hands on the desk and leaned in towards the Magicians. “But they aren’t. None of us are. And I don’t need to remind you of that, Daniel.”

Whatever composure Daniel had left was instantly deflated. He slumped in his chair though tried to maintain contact with the Tower Master. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

“Anyways,” Aureus continued, standing up with a sad smile, “I see no wrong on your part. In fact, I would have done the same thing and you’d be damned to find another who’d feel differently. I hope you learned something from this, though.”

“Yes, I did. Thank you.” Wyn nodded his head in respect.

“Good. Then I’d encourage you to grab a bite to eat before heading to the infirmary. I know you’re wanting to see your friends but it would suit you well to have some food on your stomach first.”

Wyn’s stomach growled precisely at that moment. He instinctively touched it, realizing how hungry he was. He never had dinner and had definitely spent a day’s worth of energy throughout the day, both with training and climbing.

Daniel stood first, and Wyn followed suit. They bowed and began to leave before Aureus cleared his throat.

“Oh, and one more thing,” the Tower Master said. “You should stop by the reward center on your way out. It's normal after you climb, after all. I’m sure it’ll surprise you what you earned having completed two floors today.” He smiled, then sat down at his desk and pulled up some papers to read. “That’ll be all. Welcome to Alestead, Ardwyn. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

*****

Wyn and Daniel walked in silence. Both were processing the information differently. Daniel couldn't believe his new student had been through so much so fast, and Wyn was still reeling from the events of the evening. He wanted to check on John and Cedric now, but he knew they were in more than capable hands. Both of them needed time to process the events, too.

"The reward center is pretty informal," Daniel said, bringing them both back to the present. "It's the desk before you enter and exit the hallway of portals."

"That was where all the rookies met earlier today, right?” Wyn asked. “The large room at the entrance?"

"Yes. Gods, that felt like minutes ago."

Wyn stayed silent. He couldn’t disagree more.

It was only a few minutes before they arrived back at the front of the base of the tower. Wyn was turned around several times, and was thankful Daniel was there to show him the way. Even Daniel had to stop at a few forks to figure out the exact way, though, but he hadn't completely steered them wrong yet.

At least the tower wasn’t fraught with traps or monsters like the cave. Wyn didn’t mind a wrong turn or two here.

The large room was still as magnificent as before, more so now due to the emptiness. Wyn wasn't as distracted as earlier in the day with the many Climbers crowding the room, and it looked three times as large being more empty. It was still impressive, though he wasn’t appreciating it nearly as much as before.

There was only one guild member behind the desk. Their head was down and snug in the crook of their folded arms. Wyn could hear soft, muffled snores coming from the sleeping lump.

"Excuse me," Daniel said, in the kindest tone he could offer.

The man jolted awake, startling the Climbers. There was drool all over his mouth that he promptly wiped with the back of his hand. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept for days.

"Woah!" He said. "What is it?!"

Daniel shot a glance to Wyn and subtly pointed with his thumb to the guild member in a way that said 'go on, ask him!'

"Umm, right," Wyn said. He pulled out his parchment, suddenly realizing he had nearly forgotten about it. It was strange having something magically record his progress, and he knew he needed to check it more, especially inside the tower. Hopefully it would become an easier habit to keep an eye on it.

"I just finished a climb and I'd like my reward,” Wyn said. “Right?"

The man let out a deep sigh. He mumbled something under his breath but Wyn was too tired and didn’t care enough to ask him to repeat it. He then put his hand out like he was wanting something. An awkward second passed.

“I need your parchment?” The man said, though he said it more like a sarcastic question.

Wyn handed him his entire stack of parchments.

“No, no,” he said, and sorted through his papers. He folded most of them back and only kept one. “Only the summary page. I guess this is your first time. That page is where it tells you your rewards for the daily climb.”

Wyn took the rest and went red in the face. He looked at Daniel who gave him a reassuring smile.

“Woah,” the guild member said. His eyes went big. “You had a productive day, rookie.” He smirked, obviously impressed, and walked off behind the counter. He disappeared through a door without another word.

“What did he mean by that?” Wyn asked.

“Well, if I had to guess, I’d imagine your rewards were better than others because you climbed the second floor in addition to the first. You earned much more than any other rookie today.”

Wyn felt a smile forming and let it happen. It was the entire purpose of coming here, after all - amassing wealth to pay off his family’s debts. He instantly wondered how much he’d earn for completing two floors. It likely wasn’t very high since it was only the first two floors, and he didn’t do too much while inside. Granted, they did have a smaller party for the first floor, and only three of them total for the second. Different things that added weight to what constituted a reward ran through his mind, distracting him.

While Wyn’s mind raced with possibilities the man returned suddenly with a small chest. It had the same logo of the tower stamped at the top of the lid. It was well decorated and beautiful, and Wyn noticed it shimmered orange ever so slightly.

He set Wyn’s parchment down and pointed to the bottom. It said REWARDS in a small summary under the goal of the floors. He hadn’t noticed it before, but maybe it only showed up when a floor was completed?

“These are your rewards,” the man said, “so you know we can’t cheat you out of anything. Congratulations.” There wasn’t much enthusiasm behind his words, his initial excitement gone.

The man opened the chest and began pulling out coins. Wyn looked at the parchment at the same time. It clearly stated under rewards what he earned: 167 gold crowns, 39 silver cloaks, and 64 bronze boots. A ruby gemstone. One blue rarity magical dagger. One green rarity monster item. One green rarity magic item.

He thought about the items he found in the tower. Then he realized what the witch gave him was mysteriously not on the sheet. That… was concerning.

“Wow!” Daniel said. He was looking at the rewards, too. “For your first climb? That’s incredible!”

The guild member set out the coins and handed them to Wyn. He grabbed them and put them in his backpack. Wyn quickly realized he would need a better coin purse to hold his earnings so he wouldn’t lose them.

“The magical dagger, monster item, and ruby aren’t here,” the man said. “So I guess you got those in the tower. But reach inside for your magical item as your introductory climb reward.”

Wyn looked confused but trusted him. He reached in and felt something inside. Strangely, he was able to reach all the way past his elbow. He shouldn’t have been surprised it was magically deeper than how it looked, but the feeling was odd to say the least.

Sure enough, there was a physical item inside that he pulled out.

It was a belt. Standard and boring, just like the dagger, though it emitted a slight green shimmer.

“Oh, and these, too.” He handed two eye glasses to the rookie. They were small enough to fit in the palm of his hand and emitted a white magical aura. “These are identifying glasses. You can choose to use them or not but every rookie gets two. Thanks again.” He closed the chest with a loud snap and walked off. He didn’t return.

Daniel put his arm around Wyn. “I know this was a lot. You can always look at the items later. For now, would you want something to eat, or maybe to rest before you head to the infirmary?”

“Definitely some food,” Wyn said. His stomach growled again as though on cue. “But then straight there.”

Daniel nodded. They walked out of the tower’s base together. In a stark contrast to earlier, it was dark and nearly pitch black outside. The only light provided was the magical lanterns that lit the cobblestone streets and the twinkling of stars in the sky.

It was a cloudless night - beautiful, wondrous, and mysterious. Thankfully Wyn didn’t have to walk it alone.