The Ruby Magician

“Woah,” John said, still staring the at the monsters lying dead in the grass. “That spear is wicked strong. Be careful where you swing that thing!”

“There’s no way it’s that powerful,” Wyn said. “It’s the least strong magical weapon out there.”

“Yea, but look at the flaming sword I had. I was melting spiders and wolves left and right!”

Wyn laughed. “That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? Plus, your sword wasn’t green.”

John smirked.

They both heard a shriek and turned around to see Marcy and Tasha standing behind them. Tasha held a hand over her mouth and Marcy nodded her head approvingly.

“That’s disgusting!” Tasha said.

“Impressive is the word you meant to say,” Marcy said. She patted Wyn on the back. “But don’t think your spear is that strong. They must be earth-based, making them weaker to your wind magic.”

“Ohhhhh, that makes much more sense,” John said. “I knew it couldn’t be that strong.”

Tasha punched John in the arm.

“But still, nice job, Wyn,” John said, rubbing his shoulder and glaring at Tasha.

The two creature’s bodies began to disintegrate like the creatures killed in the woods from the introductory climb, slowly returning to whatever plane of magic or existence they came from, if they even did come from something. The ground was just leaves and grass now, with no trace of the lizard creatures to be found. No blood, no body, no mess. It was strange, but made the environment less messy.

“So there are earth-based lizard creatures here, then?” Tasha asked. “At least Wyn’s spear is strong to them. They didn’t look too big, either.”

"Oh, I'm sure there'll be bigger ones," Wyn said. "But I got lucky with my spear. I'm thankful they aren't ice based or I'd be looking for another weapon. Right?"

"That's right," Tasha said. "It's not too bad to remember how the elements interact with each other. It seems pretty intuitive, if you ask me."

"You get used to it," Marcy said. "But yes, it’s fairly straightforward. Fire is weak to water, of course. Lightning is strong against water. Earth grounds lightning, wind slices earth. Ice freezes wind and fire melts ice. That’s how I’ve remembered it, at least. Oh, and do the opposite and you’ll have a bad time. Trust me.”

“You’re right, that does make sense,” Wyn said. “How often do the elements come up?”

Marcy laughed. “They play a constant role. It’s partly why some of the more experienced Climbers have several sets of armor and weapons. They want an elemental advantage as much as possible. Often even an objectively weaker weapon or piece of armor is stronger based on elemental type advantage alone."

"Or, just burn things to the ground," John said. "That was my original plan with my sister's sword. It was so strong, even at an elemental disadvantage it would've been better than any weapon I would've found for a month or two. At least."

John whacked some errant bushes beside them with his sword. His frustration was obvious.

"I tend to recommend to rookies to find a weapon that doesn't have an element for their first two seasons," Marcy said. "The difficulties of trying to plan out elemental types with an already low number of items are just too high. Honestly Wyn, you got lucky the enemies are earth-based. Otherwise I would've suggested trading that spear for something else."

Wyn looked at his spear. What Marcy said made sense, which makes the fact that Benedict didn't mention the elemental types concerning. Was he just trying to rid himself of the weapon or did he not share the same opinion as Marcy? There was no way he could've known what enemies there'd be in the tower, either.

Whatever it meant, Wyn decided it didn't matter. His weapon was magical and strong, even if Marcy was right that he got lucky with the elemental advantage. He could use spells to round out his shortcomings, or find another weapon.

For now, though, he was satisfied.

"When we finish the floor we can plan if needed," Wyn said. "For now, let's keep going, yea?"

"Couldn't agree more," John said. "We keep going the same way, right?"

"I think it's our best bet," Wyn replied. He began to walk back towards the path they were originally heading before the monsters ambushed them from the side. "I hope we figure it out soon, though. This heat is rough."

"You're telling me," Marcy said. "This is the wrong armor for this season. I'm ready for a bath already." She walked ahead of Wyn, resuming her role of clearing brush.

Wyn could see the sweat beading on Marcy's arms and face, and felt it on his own arms and face, too. It was strange, this tower. They could be here all day in the blistering heat of the jungle then leave to return under the cool night sky back in Alestead. It was a weird concept that undoubtedly would take some time for him to adjust.

John continued with Marcy, the both of them clearing a path in the thick jungle while Tasha and Wyn followed along. It was boring work and the heat was exhausting, but they felt more confident now that they had a better idea of how to handle themselves.

The sound of the river came rushing back quickly, and they soon found themselves back at the river banks. It was wider here and flowing more rapidly, the water smooth but steady. At the very edge of the river were small boats, crudely hewn with paddles laying beside them.

"Canoes!" John shouted. He ran over to them, sheathing his sword. "I can't believe it!"

"I guess we know what we're supposed to do, then," Marcy said. She had a smile on her face, too. She inspected two of them for holes and found none, the hulls sturdy. Then she dipped her hands in the river and splashed water onto her bare arms and legs.

"We should probably go in groups of two," Wyn said. "Just in case. We don't want one canoe to fail and all of us drown."

"Hmm," John said, looking around. "I guess we should split up the healers, so Wyn and Tasha can't go together."

"And probably the same idea for being able to hit something from a distance," Tasha added, "so Marcy and Wyn need to separate."

"Alright, then Tasha," Marcy said, patting the canoe beside her, "here is the girl's boat!"

Tasha laughed and ran over to the canoe. She put her staff inside it to help Marcy push it out into the river.

"Wait!" Wyn said, nearly shouting. He startled the others. "When will we know to get out?"

"We'll go first so I can keep a look out," Marcy said. "Just follow our lead. Easy."

Wyn looked at her hesitantly, then looked at John. They shrugged their shoulders at the same time, then prepared their own canoe for the river.

It only took a few seconds before both boats were setting out. They all had their own paddles though the river itself gave plenty of propulsion for them to move at a good pace. It was pleasantly cooler on the river, too, with a breeze forming from the ride cooling them all off, and a break from the thickly condensed air of the jungle foliage.

Tasha and Marcy handled their canoe easily, paddling every now and then to keep straight but letting the river do the work. They worked well together with Marcy leading and Tasha behind her, giving directions here and there when needed. The Ranger stood every 30 seconds or so, scanning around them for threats or signs to continue through the floor.

Wyn, however, cursed his luck. He wasn't used to being on the water and struggled, flailing his paddle back and forth on either side of the canoe to stay forward. He was a terrible swimmer, too, and his anxiety rose the instant they were on the water. He was afraid the current would sweep him under, and he thought that would be a pitiful way to die in the tower.

John was seated in back and kept chuckling at Wyn, noticing he was having trouble. He thought it was funny that the fearless mage's worst enemy was a canoe. After realizing he was seriously having trouble, he knew he had to help or Wyn would wear himself out.

"Slow down," John said, trying to get his voice above the sound of the river. "You don't need to paddle that much!" John seemed much more experienced in a boat, though any amount of experience was more than Wyn carried.

Wyn nodded, trying to listen. He looked back at John relaxing in the canoe and flushed red. How embarrassing. This was definitely not his specialty. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and rest his arms. He saw how John would slowly put his paddle in the water and barely move it at all, like he had been on a boat all his life. The canoe would respond slowly but surely, straightening when needed with him steering from the back.

"See?" John said. "The river is doing the work for us. Fighting it is one battle you'll never win."

Wyn took a deep breath. John was right, after all. Their boat was keeping the course fine, and Wyn really didn't need to do any work at all. His anxiety and need for control took over in the worst way. He looked ahead and saw Marcy waving her arms, unslinging her bow from her chest and grabbing an arrow in a fluid motion.

Something was close. Wyn looked back at John who set up his shield as a makeshift barrier. It likely wouldn’t do much, but could block an arrow before needing to be set up again. "I can steer the canoe," he said. "Just handle whatever is spooking her!"

Wyn sat his paddle down and grabbed his spear. He instantly felt better with his weapon, though he really, really wanted to be on land. He felt trapped and out of control on the water.

He hoped whatever it was wasn't in the water, or else they risked flipping their canoe. He would be able to attack it, though, unlike something that would be on the bank. Marcy had the advantage with her bow, though Wyn knew he needed to be ready to cast a spell to attack, too. While he had limited mana and didn’t want to use it all casting spells, she was far better equipped to handle enemies at range.

Wyn looked ahead to try to see what Marcy spotted. Further up the river he saw a group of lizard creatures standing on the bank, readying a makeshift barge to push out. It was crude and flat, several small logs banded together to make a platform to stand on but less efficient than a boat.

He turned and told John, who laughed.

"What's so funny?" Wyn said. His eyes were wide and his heart was racing. He was way out of his element. The thought of a fight on that rickety, cobbled together boat was frightening.

"Think about it," John said. He put his paddle down across his lap and stretched his arms. "If Marcy doesn't pick them off with her bow first, you'll just blast them out of the river. They have no idea what's coming."

Wyn turned back around, much less confident than John. He wasn't wrong, though. They could handle a few creatures well before they got close enough to pose a true threat.

He saw the creatures begin to push off, two of them holding spears and one readying a sling. Marcy fired an arrow at the one holding a sling, striking it in the shoulder. She purposefully waited until they were just off the bank for a reason. It stumbled back from the shot and lost its balance before falling off into the water. Its now limp arm was useless at trying to keep its head afloat, and it thrashed around before slowly working its way back towards the shore. The current was its worst enemy now.

The others hissed and screamed in anger, stabbing the air with their spears in defiance.

Marcy looked back at Wyn, held an arm out in an after you motion and smiled.

He shook his head. No way he was that accurate with his spells. She’d gone mad!

"Come on, Wyn," John said. "Let loose!"

Wyn relented. At least this would be good practice.

He held his left arm out towards the creatures who were using the current to steadily float towards them, nearing their canoe. He saw their beady eyes and forked tongues lash at them, holding their spears ready to stab at them in seconds.

Now was his chance. They weren’t moving and their path was fairly predictable.

“Dyadcast: Flamebolt!”

A large magical rune appeared in the air just in front of Wyn’s hand, the Ruby Magician sign overlapping the rune for the spell. Two small bolts of fire shot out of Wyn’s hand towards the lizards. He aimed directly in the middle of them, hoping the spell would split evenly and hit both of them. One flaming ball of magic struck the creature on the left, burning an apple sized hole into its chest, and the other one hit their barge right at their feet.

The lizard that was hit dropped, falling on its back and tipping the barge. The other one took a couple of steps back from the fire that was forming in the middle of their boat, further rocking the craft. The magical flames weren’t being dowsed by the water whatsoever.

The Climbers watched, opting to see how the events unfolded rather than continuing to use resources to kill them. In a matter of seconds the monster’s makeshift boat was coming apart, the fire destroying several logs and lashes that held it together. The remaining lizard fell into the water, flailing about with its spear while the other one slid off and floated on the surface motionless.

Wyn and John kept watching them to make sure they were completely out of commission before they heard a loud whistle. It startled both of them, but they looked ahead and saw Tasha and Marcy pulling off the main river onto a small stream. The stream ended into a small pool of water, and there seemed to be a mostly cleared path leading away from the river that was free of bushes and tall grass.

Wyn looked back at John, unsure of how to steer the canoe that hard and precise.

“Paddle on the left!” John said.

Wyn followed his instruction and quickly paddled, trying to get as much water behind him as possible. Their boat began to veer right, though if they didn’t steer it well and fast they would miss their exit.

“Now the right!”

Wyn flipped his paddle over, hitting the side of the canoe in the process and spraying water all over him and John. The current was making it much harder to paddle at his current angle, but he was determined to get out of this damned canoe. He was giving it everything he had, trying his best to use his strength and energy to pull themselves out of the raging river.

Their canoe oscillated like a fish’s tail, but it diverted towards the bank, following the girls and making it off the main river. They just narrowly avoided turning too much to risk a capsize and losing control of their boat, but they made it. The offset stream had barely any current to it and they floated for a moment gently.

Wyn took a deep breath, thankful to almost be off the river. There was a small moment of peaceful waters outside the main river that Wyn soaked up.

Marcy and Tasha got out of their canoe and pulled it to the bank. There were a few other canoes there, and they pulled theirs beside them to form a line. They were laughing the entire time.

As the boys pulled up and Wyn hopped out, John laughed with them.

Wyn looked around, not sure what was funny. “What is it?”

“It’s you,” John said. He pulled the canoe onto the bank and grabbed his shield. “You were trying SO hard!”

“I didn’t want to miss the exit!” Wyn said. “Or flip over!”

John laughed harder.

“You don’t have much experience on the water, do you?” Tasha asked. She was leaning on her staff and giggling.

Wyn flushed red and grabbed his spear. “They tried me out for the military on a boat and I promptly threw up and panicked. So… no.”

John laughed even harder and Marcy snickered, too.

“Aww, well, it’s alright,” Tasha said, and walked over to pat Wyn on the back. “You can’t win them all.”

Wyn sighed. "I just feel much better on the land, thanks."

"Just think," Marcy said, "you'll get much better at it the more you do it." She unsheathed her dagger and walked over to the cleared brush, ready to move on.

"I hope not. I'd like to avoid it if possible."

Marcy turned around wearing a sinister smile. "You're in the tower, now. You know how many times you'll likely be repeating this floor?"

Wyn’s heart sank. The realization of repetition in the tower's floor hit him like a mace to the stomach. John and Tasha laughed out loud, much harder than before.

"Oh gods," Wyn said. "I didn’t even think about having to do this floor again.”

"And likely many times at that," John said. He wiped away tears from his red cheeks.

"Maybe we should just go on to the second floor, then," Wyn said. "Finish it and then start there next time? Didn’t you say that’s how it works?"

“Not a chance,” Tasha said. "We agreed to take it a floor at a time, after all.”

“She’s right,” Marcy said. “Not to mention this is your first season. It’s standard that new Climbers run the first few floors over and over their first full month, which means you’ll be seeing this floor for weeks to come."

"We’ll be fine," John said. "In all seriousness, we just need to take our time and not rush it. You'll be fine the next time we do this, too. Don't worry."

"Easy for you to say," Wyn whispered. But they were right. They all agreed to take it easy this month, both to gain experience and to be on the safe side.

He just really, really hated the thought of going back out on that river. But that was a worry for another time.