The Ruby Magician

Wyn breathed in the early summer air with a refreshed mind. Talking with Daniel helped more than he thought. He never had anyone to talk about his time at war, and the older man was both compassionate and understanding. Wyn felt a sense of peace when he fell asleep, and thankfully that same feeling stayed now that he was ready to climb. He made a mental note to talk to Daniel more. Hopefully the time would allow him to have some calmness about his mental state as well as help with his occasional flashbacks.

The walk to the tower was pleasant and Wyn immediately saw Marcy waiting at the base of Alistair. She was wearing her usual climbing gear but had at least a dozen more arrows in her quiver and a larger pack on her back. She was also talking to a large man with his own large backpack and war hammer on his belt. It seemed like they were locked into an important discussion. The man was actually who Wyn spotted first, as his towering figure was hard to miss even in the sea of Climbers.

Marcy caught his eye and waved him over. The large man straightened up and nodded his head as a hello.

“Good morning, Marcy,” Wyn said, “and hello, Cal. Good to see you both.”

“Wyn,” Cal said. He put his hand out to shake. “It’s a pleasure.”

Wyn shook it, a bit intimidated by the size difference. He had forgotten how large his hands were, like he was shaking a bear’s paw rather than a person’s.

“Cal and I were just talking,” Marcy said. “I think we should bring him on for our climb today.”

Wyn’s eyebrows rose. “Interesting. I’ll never say no to having someone I like, but do you think we need a Mapper? No offense, Cal. I thought you’d be more used on a higher floor.”

Cal shrugged. “No offense taken. We usually are hired for the second tier or higher or contracted out by guilds. But I’ve been on the second floor mostly the last few days since it’s a bit of a maze.”

“I’ll say,” Wyn said. “I’m sure Marcy filled you in on our goal for today?”

“Of course I did,” Marcy said. “And when I saw Cal here the idea to bring him along struck me like an arrow to the brain. We could use him, especially since we’re climbing multiple floors.”

Wyn nodded his head. “I think it’s a great idea!” Wyn pointed to the war hammer on Cal’s side. “Is that just in case? I don’t know how standard it is for Mappers to carry weapons or to have skills.”

Cal’s cheeks flushed and he turned his body to hide the weapon from Wyn’s view, shrinking a bit at the same time. “Some Mappers can fight, sure. But it’s always a good idea to carry a weapon in there. You just never know.”

“Uh huh,” Marcy said. “But you don’t have to fight for us if you don’t want, Cal.” Marcy quickly shot a glance to Wyn and cleared her throat. “We can handle the fighting, I’m sure of it. We’re just looking to complete the first and second floors.”

Wyn scratched the back of his head. He immediately understood Marcy’s look, and felt a bit embarrassed. Obviously his question was rude, though it wasn’t obvious to him until after the fact. Thankfully Cal was a bit too sheepish to call him out. Wyn made a mental note to be more thoughtful in the future - this wasn’t the military’s strict and gruff operation, and there were far more intricacies than he was familiar with.

“Thanks,” Cal said. He straightened back up, regaining a few more inches to his height. “I can carry some items, too. I’m a bit of a Mapper and Packer hybrid.”

“Lucky us,” Marcy said. She clapped her hands together. “We just have to wait for the others and we can get going. The earlier the better.”

As if on cue, John and Tasha emerged from the growing crowd. A new bag was slung across Tasha’s shoulders in place of the standard leather backpack she wore before, nearly hidden under her Mage robes. Wyn spotted a new pouch on John's belt, too, and a smaller leather backpack was slung over his shoulder.

Unlike before, Tasha wasn’t having to drag John this time. They both happily walked over, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Wyn asked. He smiled, though wasn’t sure why.

“Just a dumb joke,” John said.

“Per usual,” Tasha said. “As you all know.”

Marcy sighed. “See, Cal, like I said - we’ll be escorting children.”

John scrunched his face in a rude gesture, playfully dismissing Marcy’s comment. He put a hand out to Cal. “I don’t think we met before. I’m John.”

Cal shook his hand. “Cal. I’ll be your Mapper today.”

John’s eyes grew large when Cal shook his hand. “A Mapper? Excellent! You seem more than capable. It’s a pleasure.”

Cal nodded curtly then looked over at Tasha before giving a slight bow. “You must be Tasha. Good to meet you, as well.”

Tasha smiled and return the bow. “Likewise. I’m assuming one of these two already informed you about our goal today?” She wagged a finger between Marcy and Wyn, eyeing them both.

“I did,” Marcy said. “Are those what I think they are?" Marcy pointed to Tasha's bag and John's belt.

John smiled. "You bet! We were able to get exactly what we were looking for!" He unslung the pack from his shoulder and handed it to Wyn. "Here you go. Your very own Magical Storage Bag! It can store way more than it seems and won't get heavier. Should be a perfect alternative to using a Packer for now."

Wyn took the bag and inspected it. It was made of fine dark brown leather under the obvious green magical glow. Several buttoned pockets adorned the sides and front, outside of the main compartment where a buckled flap was fastened. He slung it onto his back and it felt incredibly snug. Then he took out his parchment with the ITEMS category to read the bag’s description.

Lesser Spatial Marcaroo Bag - Made from the leather of the Marcaroo, this bag is magically enhanced to hold far more than it seems. Items up to six feet in length may be safely stored in the main compartment with a weight limit of 50 pounds. The items inside will not move, but be temporarily frozen in time and space. The weight of the bag doesn’t change no matter the contents. The outer pockets serve as normal pouches.

"This is perfect," Wyn said. "I don’t need much more than 50 pounds anyway. I doubt we’ll be finding many items per climb for awhile. Thank you for getting this!"

"Thank Tasha," John said. "She was the negotiator for it. And I put the potion in the side pocket. The belt you had was only enough for the bag and one health potion, though. That merchant really liked it for its effect."

"I’ll gladly take this bag any day. I still appreciate it."

"I'm guessing your bag is similar?" Cal asked, pointing to Tasha's shoulder bag. "Maybe you all don't need me to Pack for you, then."

Marcy patted Cal's shoulders, having to reach higher than her head. "Don't worry - there'll be plenty of use for you yet."

“And yes,” Tasha said. “Though it stores more smaller items. So I can carry extra potions and accessories and Wyn can carry the gear.”

"Oh, and this," John said, grasping the pouch on his belt. "I was able to trade the cloak from last week for the pouch and a couple of gemstones! Now I have an aquamarine and amethyst for some elemental flexibility!"

"That's great," Wyn said. "It'll be a long day today but we can do it. We'll rest when we need to to recover - mana, food, water, everything."

"I can help with that," Cal said. "If that's alright."

Wyn smiled. "Of course! Thank you."

Marcy sighed. "Alright, already. Let's get going." She immediately started walking away towards the hallway of portals.

Everyone followed, eager to start their day and to keep pace with the Ranger.

“Always in a hurry!” John said. “We have all day!”

Marcy kept walking, not bothering to turn around. “True, but I haven’t been to the second floor like you all. It’ll take a little longer.”

“We can manage, though,” Wyn said. “I’m with John. I still don’t want to rush it.”

Marcy turned, now trotting backwards to keep her pace. “That’s where you’re both right and wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Wyn asked.

“I mean, we can definitely manage it because I plan to rush us through the first floor. You all just have to keep up. But we aren’t stopping at the second floor this morning.” Marcy reached into a hidden pocket on her belt that seemed far too shallow for her hand, her hand and wrist magically disappearing. She then pulled out a portal key. “We’re going to the third floor.”

*****

Wyn stopped to rest, doing his best to take slow, deep breaths. Marcy wasn’t lying when she said she would rush through the first floor. They barely emerged from the portal before she got her bearings and began to forge a path through the thick jungle. The first encounter of Lacerts was laughable, too, as Marcy quickly killed them by firing arrows at a dizzying speed without even slowing down.

Tasha was doing her best to keep up with the group, obviously in less shape than the rest. She never stopped jogging once despite the three groups of enemies they encountered that Marcy single handedly slew.

John trotted up beside Wyn and put his hands on his knees, also taking deep breaths. “What in the hells… is happening,” he said, pausing to take a breath. “This wasn’t exactly… what I had in mind!” Despite his fitness he was already dripping sweat. His armor and gear didn’t do him any favors for staying cool.

Wyn nodded, wanting to save his energy instead of talking. He began to pull up two canoes at the river, one for him and John and the other for Cal and Tasha. The Mage and Mapper both lagged behind a bit, though thankfully not too far.

“Marcy, maybe slow down a little?” Wyn asked. “This is absurd!”

Marcy laughed. “I’m tired of slogging through these floors, Wyn. It’s high time we moved on!” She put a foot on the edge of her canoe, stretching her limbs to stay warm. She wasn’t breathing nearly as heavy as Wyn or John - if anything, she looked like she was still energetic and could go faster.

Tasha and Cal joined them at the riverbank, Tasha breathing heavily and Cal scanning their area. He wasn't breathing hard at all, and looked to be similarly as well off as Marcy. That was interesting to Wyn, and he didn't imagine him being as fit or as capable physically as a Climber, especially with his build.

Tasha looked at Marcy and shook her head with wide eyes, not even bothering to speak. She threw her hands up in the air before bringing them down and slapping her sides. Marcy only laughed in response again.

"I'll lead," the Ranger said, "Cal and Tasha in the middle, and Wyn and John in the back. Just try to keep up." She pushed her canoe out with her foot and hopped inside it before sitting and grabbing an oar. There was no stopping her, and she was pushing as fast as before.

Tasha looked at Wyn in disbelief while Cal simply readied their canoe. He helped the Diamond Mage inside while grabbing an oar himself.

Wyn's heart raced thinking about the canoe. It was one thing to ride the river, but it was an entirely new beast to try to keep up with Marcy while also trying not to tip over. He gingerly climbed in behind John, both men taking their usual spots.

John took another deep breath before rowing a hard stroke with his oar. "I think we only have to stay floating and keep pace. I have a feeling she'll kill anything that might give us trouble."

Wyn barked a laugh. "Easier said than done. I don't care about Lacerts right now - I just really, really don't want to flip over." He didn't even bother raising his head to see the direction they were heading - he trusted John to steer them as long as he could keep rowing so they wouldn't be left behind.

After what felt like an eternity, Wyn finally felt John steer them harder to the left. He fought against his instinct to keep his head down and looked up to see what was happening. Sure enough, Marcy was docking her canoe and exiting the river. Somehow Cal and Tasha were already on the riverbank docking as well.

Wyn breathed a sigh of relief the instant their small wooden boat came to a stop at the muddy edge. He threw the oar back into the boat and used his spear as a walking stick to get as far away from the river as possible.

"At least we won't have to do that again," Wyn said. "Hopefully that'll be the last time we have to navigate that death trap."

John only laughed while kicking mud off his boots. "Maybe so. But Marcy's already gone! I'll be ready once we stop running through this damned hell." He wiped a large pool of sweat off his forehead and face with his sleeve before trotting deeper into the woods after the others.

Wyn heard a strange roar that stopped him in his tracks. John, not too far in front of him, also stopped, before they both rushed further behind their group. In seconds they were back in the jungle thicket, though a small clearing gave them some space to see.

Marcy rolled under a javelin that flew across the area, sticking into a tree and wobbling from the impact. The instant she was upright she sprang onto her knees, an arrow knocked and bowstring pulled. She fired it at the Lacert that attacked her, and the arrow sunk deep into its left eye. It let out a similar yelp that the others heard seconds earlier before falling onto the grassy floor next to its brethren.

There were four dead Lacerts scattered around, all with either a single arrow through their head or multiple arrows in their chest. Marcy immediately slung her bow around her and collected what usable arrows she could from the carnage.

"Wait, damnit!" Tasha said.

Marcy stopped mid-bend of an arrow and turned around. "What?"

"I need... a minute!" Tasha fell to the ground on her knees trying to breathe. She sucked in air hard like the wind was knocked out of her.

Marcy groaned while placing the arrow in her quiver. "I'm sorry. I thought you could keep up."

"We can," John said, "but she needs a bit more time." He knelt beside Tasha and fanned her with his hand. He was sweating more than she was, but his endurance was obviously much higher.

Wyn noticed something different about the arrow’s fletchings that protruded from the corpses. He walked over to one and inspected it closer. The feathers were blue with a small white stripe in the middle, all three fletchings identical. He hadn’t noticed Marcy’s arrows having that style before.

“What kind of arrow is this?” Wyn asked.

Marcy stepped over and knelt down beside Wyn. She took off her quiver and held it out in front of her so he could see it better. Large runes faintly glowed along the opening, and the entire quiver was made of a dark leather with an identical white stripe parallel to the arrows. If Wyn’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, there was a dull blue aura around the entire item.

“This quiver makes arrows over time,” Marcy said, as she flicked the butt end of the arrow sticking out of the dead Lacert’s chest beside them. “These arrows are only magical in the sense that they’re kinda like copies.”

Wyn eyed the quiver again. Sure enough, despite Marcy having shot over a dozen arrows so far, the quiver looked just as full as when they entered the tower. She collected arrows when she could, but not that many. “So it copies the arrow with this fletching allowing you to have an endless supply?”

“In a sense. As long as I don’t shoot all of them too fast for the quiver to copy, I should have an endless amount, yea.” She slung the quiver back on her back and stood up. “I was serious when I said I didn’t want to slog through these first two floors. Tasha, are you ready?”

Tasha stood up and took one more large gulp from a water skin. “Let’s go. We can rest longer on the next floor.”

Marcy patted her on the shoulder. “Thatta girl. Don’t worry - we’re almost there.”

In minutes they emerged into the final clearing. Sure enough, the portal to the next floor rested behind two large, lumbering Lacerts in a familiar layout but still slightly off. The setup looked the same, but everything was mirrored to their floor from yesterday.

“Let me guess, you’re going to take them both out before we step one foot into the clearing?” Wyn asked.

The Ranger nodded her head. “Exactly right. No sense conserving my mana right now. Just walk to the portal - it’ll be open before you get there.”

“Have you always been a show off?” John asked. He shrugged and sighed. “I haven’t been able to swing my sword once!”

“I won’t be as daring on the second floor,” Marcy said. “But this is familiar at this point. You’ll see in a couple of seasons. Fox now, save your resources and let me do what I need to.” She stepped out from the edge of the forest and immediately fired an arrow into the closest giant.

The arrow struck it in the throat, and it’s roar was muted from the impact and item now lodged into it. It dropped its weapon and began to claw at the arrow. Unfortunately for it, two more arrows soon came after, both sinking deep into its chest.

Marcy slowly stepped forward while systematically firing one arrow after another. Once she put the fourth arrow into the first monster, she turned her attention to the second. In response to her attack, the next creature was already charging at her, but she simply smiled and pulled her bowstring a little further than normal.

“Ignite.”

Runes suddenly appeared at the end of her arrowhead, a large fire forming at the center right at the tip of the arrow. She loosed the arrow and it zipped across the clearing, smacking the giant directly in the chest. The impact caused the monster to stumble backwards, and its chest smoldered from the fire, a small crater now appearing in its torso.

Marcy promptly followed up the magical attack with two more regular arrows, both finding purchase in the newly exposed flesh.

True to her word, the Ranger downed both enemies before the group even made it half way across the clearing.

Cal hesitantly walked past the two giant corpses though wanted to inspect them himself. The second one’s chest was still smoldering though he waited a few seconds for the bodies to ripple and dissolve back into the tower.

“Here are two claws,” he said, standing and holding out two Lacert claws. They both emitted a soft green glow. “Your reward, Marcy.”

“Thanks,” the Ranger said, grabbing and putting them into her pack. “Every little bit counts, right?”

Cal nodded slowly. “Yea. Right.” He watched as she smiled and walked to the portal as though she didn’t just single-handedly kill her way through the first floor.

“Crazy, right?” Wyn asked. “I think she’s far too strong to be partied up with us, but here we are.”

“No offense, but I agree,” Cal said. “She looks more like the guild members who climb the third tiers. I haven’t personally seen a Ranger before, either.”

Wyn smiled. “We’re lucky to have her. Hopefully she won’t wise up and leave anytime soon.”

He stomped his spear on the ground twice, following the rest of the group into the portal. Cal was right behind him as they both entered the clear portal to the next floor, leaving behind the first floor jungle likely for the last time.