“You’re right,” I murmur and shake the medallion. “Charge.”
A small icon pops up, letting me know my XP has fallen from sixty to fifty and then blinks away. The light starts to glow again and grows to the normal three meters, lighting the way once again.
“Let’s just hope we don’t have to do that too many more times,” Locke says, wincing. “Be faster when you pick up stuff. We only have an hour of light each time.”
We’re walking again, trying to find our way in the maze of tunnels with Locke constantly checking his map. Cipher won’t tell us which direction to go, stating that it goes against his coding to direct us by the map. It’s only as we’ve been quiet for what feels like forever that I realize we could be asking him questions about other things instead, even if he isn’t giving us directions on the map.
“Cipher?”
“Yes, Vespera?” he replies instantly.
“What is the mission?” I ask him.
“The mission?” he repeats.
I nod. “The objective. The task we have to do to make it out of here.”
“Ah, you mean how do you leave The Harrow,” Cipher says. “You must collect five keys, one from each region, to unlock the exit gate. These keys can be retrieved from the Major Boss of each region. Upon unlocking, you will be able to step out of the Harrow back onto The Cradle.”
“So, there are five regions?” I ask.
“Five regions, yes. Within each region, there are zones with Minor Bosses, battles, and quests meant for leveling up. Boss battles are an excellent way to narrow down the player numbers, as many overestimate their abilities.”
“Boss battles,” I repeat out loud, thinking about his words. “Is there a boss battle here in . . . The Secret Abyss?”
“Yes,” he answers.
“And?”
“I will not give you any other information, Vespera. That would be cheating.”
I snort. “I would think talking to one player more than the other is already cheating.”
“Would you like me to stop talking to you?” he asks, his tone dripping with condescension.
I pause and scowl even though he can’t see me. “Are you threatening me?”
“I don’t make threats, player number two million, six hundred and one thousand, three hundred and thirty-three.”
“Fucker,” I mumble, glaring at Locke. “Consider yourself lucky you don’t have to put up with his attitude. He’s a real dick.”
“It’s just a system,” Locke points out. “Just some old machine we don’t know shit about.”
But Cipher is clearly more than that and I know it. He’s not telling us information because of some rules and coding he says, and I believe that. I don’t know if he’s even breaking any rules by what information he’s giving me, but it’s really fucking frustrating to have him be such an asshole. I’m just asking questions. Any sane person would ask questions.
I nearly trip over something small buried in the stone wall floor and the skeleton half-buried wrapped around it. The toe of my worn boots catches on it and I slam against the wall, almost taking Locke down with me. He manages to catch us both, keeping us on our feet, but he can’t save me from the breath being knocked out of me. I rub at my chest, wincing as I stare down at the bones and the thing they’re curled around.
“Could you be any clumsier?” Locke grunts, dusting himself off like we actually fell into the dirt.
“It’s not my fault,” I argue. “I tripped on that thing.” Only then do I realize it’s a chest. “You know what? That looks important actually. I think it’s a chest.”
“Looks like someone already died to protect it,” Locke says, pointing at the skeleton. “Maybe be careful opening it.”
We dig it out of the packed dirt and set the small chest between us. When I try to pry it open, it doesn’t budge. Locke tries next and it still doesn’t move. My eyes land on the skeleton and I wince. “Sorry, buddy. I need this.” I grab the arm bone and use it to start prying at the edge of the chest. I wiggle the bone until it just barely gets under the edge before I start hitting it to push it inside.
Finally, with a soft “Shh” sound, the lid pops free. I drop the bone to the side and lift the lid carefully, half afraid something will leap out at me. When nothing does, I lean over the chest and we get a look at what’s inside.
There are two weapons lying in the bottom of the large chest and a small pouch. The first weapon is a dagger, the edge barely sharp enough to cut. The second is a short sword, also blunted.
