Book One Chapter Sixty One: Dynamic Entry

Book One Chapter Sixty One: Dynamic Entry

Surprisingly, the climb up the sand hill was without incident. The hand- and footholds were perfectly spaced for climbing another potential sign of Temple sentience, Qube noted. Even the sand itself held its shape better than Qube would have expected.

At some point Sexy Screamy Spider Lady had stopped floating. Either the teleportation had messed with her spell, or it had simply run out. Either way, the sight of her attempting to climb the mountain of sand was disturbing, to say the least. She would sort of undulate from one crevice to another, her various limbs either phasing through the hillside or gouging out tunnels of sand. There didnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to which limb would do what, but Qube was still a little bit too traumatised from seeing inside of the Hunter to want to ask any questions.

The sight of Definitely Bad Guy attempting to climb in a full robe was pretty amazing, though. He somehow managed to pull off brooding intellectual even when being climbed over by a very enthusiastic Squiggles.

Squiggles loved the sand hill, slorping up and down in laps around the group. Her tentacle suckers seemed to have absolutely no problem sticking to the sand, as she kicked fine particles into everyones faces.

Sewer Bard and the Chosen One fared best, their clothing actually being designed for freedom of movement. They cleared the top of the sand hill first, and disappeared over the lip.

As Qube pulled herself up onto the top of the sand hill, her first thought was that her tidal-wave-metaphor beach had come to life and plonked itself down in the middle of the Water Temple. The top of the sand hill almost looked to have been scooped out and made into an oasis. The bottom of the oasis wasnt sand, though. Instead, it was stone tiles, similar to the Water Temple, but these ones were inscribed with strange geometric patterns and unfamiliar symbols. As the Chosen One stepped into the waist-high water, the symbols glowed bright blue.

In the middle of the oasis there was a tiny pile of sand, with the very tip of a giant white-ish oval poking out. The Chosen One brushed away some of the sand.

Its a giant egg, he said, sounding slightly puzzled. Probably that turtles egg. But wheres the Deep One or mermaid or whatever were supposed to get the tear from?

He brushed away more sand, and, as his hand made contact with the egg itself, the world around them suddenly lit up. Qube had been so focused on the sand hill that she hadnt really looked around. But before, where there had been only yawning blackness, there was suddenly a giant magical shield lighting up the sky around them.

Well, to call it the sky was probably a bit misleading. Instead, they were at the bottom of Lake Fear, watching the end of the battle between the Deep Ones and the merfolk. But their eyes were drawn to the very point above them where a massive Deep One was fighting with what could only be the Mermaid Princess.

The Mermaid Princess was the personification of beauty her hair was red and gold, flowing out behind her as she sang note after note, each spell hammering at the Deep One. The Deep One was truly humongous, a continuously writhing cloud of ink and tentacles. Occasionally a terrible, bloodied eye would appear within the nest and black smog would billow out, threatening to overwhelm the Mermaid Princess.

As the tableau came into focus for the group below, the tiara the Mermaid Princess was wearing shone and shot out a beam of golden light. Quick as a flash, the Deep One responded with a beam of pure black. The two spells collided, sending out a percussive wave of energy, throwing the battling pair down, smashing them through the magical shield, which quickly closed in place behind them.

Before any of the party could move, the Deep One and Mermaid Princess slammed into opposite sides of the sand hill, obliterating it and throwing the group up into the air.

[Lesser Shield], Qube cried, instinctively shielding the Chosen One. But, surprisingly, no one was hurt when they hit the ground.

All the sand that had made up the hill was blasted to the sides, revealing a whole floor of stone slabs inscribed in exactly the same style as the dent at the top of the sand hill. Speaking of which Qube looked around frantically for the egg. There, in the middle of the floor, it sat, perfectly unharmed, the section of floor that had made up the bottom of the oasis now fitting perfectly into the rest of the tiling.

The two combatants lay on opposite sides of the now-cleared room, both stunned from the impact of their falls.

Noble Patron, quick! Use your harpoon to kill the Deep One and take its tear! Sewer Bard yelled.

The Deep Ones have so much to teach us! Do not be fooled by the mermaids shallow beauty! Definitely Bad Guy also yelled.

The Chosen One, still standing in the middle of the room next to the egg, looked from the Deep One to the Mermaid Princess. He took a step back, and continued looking at the egg.

Noble Patron, hurry! The beast will not be stunned for long! Sewer Bard continued yelling.

Quickly! Once that foul seductress gets her breath back, she will not hesitate to use her powers to control your mind! Definitely Bad Guy, not to be outdone by the Bard, was also continuing to yell.

Im supposed to be your Companion, and guide you, and how am I supposed to do that if I dont know whats going on and I dont even remember your name!

She wept. After a minute she felt the Chosen Ones arm close around her, wrapping her in a hug. He held her in silence, as the storm of tears slowly subsided.

Hey, he said, softly. Im sorry. I forgot I forgot that this is all different for you.

Qube sniffed, her face buried in his chest.

Look theres something I was meant to do a while ago. And I didnt do it properly because well, partly because I didnt take it seriously. And partly because I didnt want to. Qube pulled away from the hug and looked up at the Chosen One. He was staring off into the distance, frowning slightly. I suppose I was afraid, he eventually confessed.

The tests for the devs? Qube asked, almost timidly.

Yeah, he said.

Will something bad happen? Is that why you were afraid?

He finally looked down at her.

I dont know what will happen. He glanced away. Thats why I was afraid. But this isnt fair. And it needs to be done. Properly, he added with a grimace.

Qube silently processed this.

Dont worry, Chosen One, she said, eventually. If the devs are Good, then theyll let us stay together. I I want to save the world. I want to guide you on this quest. I want to be your Companion. And if the devs try and stop that from happening, well then, I I will be very cross with them! She scowled as ferociously as she could.

The Chosen One lost his serious expression and grinned at her.

Truly terrifying! he said, approvingly.

Yes! Qube shot back, deepening her scowl. I will disapprove of them most strongly if they try and interrupt my lifes work!

But what if the world wasnt real? Then saving it would be pointless, right? the Chosen One asked, only semi-seriously. Qube stopped frowning to contemplate this.

Well, its still real to me, so I want to save it! she said, simply. An emotion too complex for her to decipher flitted across the Chosen Ones face, before being replaced with a gentler smile. Even if it does force us to kill a possibly innocent Ruler, she added morosely.

About that the Chosen One said, his smile deepening. What if I told you I had a plan to try and keep both of them alive? It might not work, he added hurriedly, as Qube gasped. But even if it doesnt, well have tried, right?

Of course, Chosen One! Qube said, as two of her fellow companions continued their dire warnings in the background. If anyone can do it, you can!

The Chosen Ones grin was now back in full force.

Then lets do what we do best, he said, pulling out two harpoons and holding one in each hand. Lets break some [snacks]!