Error 66b
James Stone
Into another room of another trial we marched. The room was rather symmetrical; built around a single floating slab of rock. Flanking the left and right of that rock there were two copper-esque circular gates crafted by a different hand than the gates we were accustomed to seeing. Just in front of both gates were chokepoints with columns and boulders around for cover and two platforms perched next to each of them. Each chokepoint had another machine in the middle, which was wasn't quite a twin to those confluxes we had to defend before fighting The Gatekeeper; rather, it was of the same tree and carried with it many similarities. The confluxes were oval-shaped, much in the same way as the ones before; however, these two were colored differently; made of blue and gray shards of glass and metal, with many metallic spikes extending from the machine, just like branches on a tree.
Each of the two chokepoints connected to two flat areas that led to stairs, completing a nice symmetrical design that was easy on the eyes. Up the stairs was a gate even larger than the first two. The design held the same copper tint, but glass crystals grew around its edges, and they lit up the entire room. That was the end. Nothing was past that monument.
As we pushed further into the room, one problem jumped out into the stoplight like a stripper on a slow night. And that problem was shjarrs. They were kneeling just in front of that massive gate at the end of the room. All were the basic architype, the priests, and there were only a few. As problems go, just like with a stripper, not a problem you hate to have.
I looked to Jeremiah, and he nodded, opening the book. Soon, he began to read, "Those have wondered before the light of The Archpriest's selection. The Archpriest - a machine commander that can manipulate the Vault of the Seven and dictate every move the shjarrs make like a main processor. For it deems those few worthy a chance to stand before it to achieve the Blade of Wrath. Those who can last within its domain long enough to escape will face the final judgment of wrath."
I chuckled. "Damn riddles. Not even going to pretend that makes sense. Let's do what we do best and figure the shivf out as we go."
"What's our first move, then?" Valiic asked.
"The way I see it--" I gestured to one of the two chokepoints, then the other, "--we have a shivfstorm behind door one and a storm of shivf behind door two. Either case, we face shivf, so might as well split up into two groups. Maybe then we can shovel through it."
"Shivf, you said it, James." Shadow-Walker laughed.
Geariic readied his warhammer. "Let's hope those aren't the only ones." His eyes locked on the few bowed shjarrs.
"I, for one, am of the complete opposite mind, Geariic. The less, the better." Shadow-Walker sighed.
"Fewer," Jeremiah corrected.
"What?"
Jeremiah smiled. "The fewer, the better." Shadow responded with a long glare.
Frost gave Shadow-Walker a tap. "Where's your sense of adventure, uzzo?"
"It left the moment my shoulder was nearly severed," Shadow-Walker mumbled, with a light laugh.
"Right, that's on me." Frost's eyes were apologetic.
We had only taken a few more steps forward before the shjarrs awoke and more poured in from openings behind the gate at the end.
They fired a barrage at us, but they were too late. We split up and dodged. I moved left with Valiic, Brad, and Shadow-Walker, while the others went right. I reached the gate and leaped up to the perch next to it for an open look. At the edge, I reached down and helped Shadow-Walker up with me. Valiic planted his shield at the choke below, and Brad took up arms near him. We all returned fire on those machines.
We destroyed the frontline in no time and tossed a few grenades to disperse the others. Shadow-Walker did an excellent job taking out the fodder, while the rest of us focused on a shjarr apostle that came beaming towards us. The apostle started to teleport, making it harder to hit, but we were hardened veterans by now. At this point in time, each class of shjarr had a pattern we were getting accustomed to noticing. First it appeared in front of Frost, who speared it with ice right in its head. Feeling the burn from our relentless damage, the apostle thought it better to teleport to my side. When it did, it was met by weapon fire from Valiic, Brad, and Shadow-Walker. This apostle was rather intuitive when it noticed one of us wasn't there - me. It looked up as fast as its parts allowed and saw death coming down as I spiked it with both my fists. It crashed against the ground and shattered.
The smoke from the attack cleared, and I took a look at the empty battlefield.
"If only it was always this easy," said Shadow-Walker.
"I wouldn't rest on it just yet," I added.
That sudden moment, we heard was a deafening shriek. I didn't have time to cover my ears before it ended.
Just then, the portal all the way in the back began to hum and glow around the edges. From the center, a black mass started to swirl and grow until it filled the whole area of the portal. Dark, like an abyss, radiating with smoke and dense like oil.
A leg stepped out of it, followed by its entire body. Blades for wings, shiny metallic armor covering its entire body, it was heads taller than Valiic. In one hand it held a pike longer than its height. It had a metallic eye that glowed green just below a crown-like mold on his head. Something looming in my gut told me this was The Archpriest.
The portal behind it closed.
Its green eye intensified into a flash of light. When I regained sight, it was gone. In the wake of its vanishing act, more shjarrs poured out from the back. All were the same basic fodder, and not too much in the weight of numbers either. There was no stress in keeping pace.
"What in the Sam-Hell, guys?! Where are you? Shivf, where am I?" The voice belonging to Geariic came through our cyberwatches.
I peeked over to the other side and saw it was just Frost and Jeremiah over there.
"Uzzo, you just fraken disappeared!" Frost shouted back before any of us could make heads or tails of anything.
I started, "What do you mean he--"
"Goddamn it! That thing just appeared here with me!" Geariic cut me off. "Sam-Fraken-Hell, it's coming for me!"
"Hang on as long as you can. We'll figure something out."
"If you don't get me out of here, James, I'll personally kick your ass sideways!"
"Love you, too," I quipped, with sarcasm.
"James, take a look," I heard Valiic call from below.
I jumped down to the chokepoint to see him gesturing to our portal. It was glowing, and so was the conflux. I could think of only one man for the job. "Jeremiah?" I shouted. I didn't realize he was already at our side, head buried in the book. I glanced up to Shadow-Walker, who seemed to catch my drift. He positioned himself to help with Frost's side.
"It's all scrambled, but I think I got it figured out. As you know, each side has a gate which, as it turns out, is actually a portal. It seems that The Archpriest pulls one of us at a time into a different location based on a selection process of sorts. To pass his test, the goal is to stay in his 'domain' until we can open a portal to bring them back to our location."
"So how do we do that?" I asked.
He pointed to the conflux in front of the portal. "It seems this device that looks like a conflux is actually a keyport. We need to be near it and guard it. After a period of time, the portal will open."
I let out a breath. "I didn't realize we entered the trial of puzzles. I mean, shivf, why does everything gotta be so damn complicated?"
"At least you don't have to decipher it all." Jeremiah adjusted his glasses and holstered the book.
Both of us made haste and took positions close to the keyport. Jeremiah and I were behind cover as he explained the situation through my cyberwatch and I laid out cover fire.
"So this domain-thing that you spoke of… did it happen to mention anything about a black circle?" There was an explosion from his warhammer as Geariic talked.
"I believe so," Jeremiah responded.
"Damn it all! I already left that thing before you figured it all out!"
"To tell you the truth, I don't know if that is a bad or good thing in your case." Jeremiah's ill attempt at reassurance didn't go over well with Geariic, and he cursed.
Just then, our portal ignited in the same fashion as the big one in the back did a bit ago. It took about five minutes total for the two of us to activate it. Moments later, Geariic rushed through, and it deactivated. He was breathing like a second-hand bicycle pump under the hand of a crack junkie. "That stupid thing gave me a hell of a match. Not sure any of you would've lasted that long."
"Now that we figured out what to do on this end, we won't have to." I gave him a friendly pat on the back.
"What James was actually saying is, thanks for being our guinea pig." Shadow-Walker laughed from above.
Geariic grunted. "You're laughing now, but wait till you're forced to face that thing."
A familiar shriek interrupted us. We realized there wasn't time for mouths in motion. Geariic and Jeremiah left to their side. I leaped back up to the perch and saw The Archpriest had graced us with its presence once again.
Just like before, his green eye flashed, and I was blinded. When my vision was restored, I realized I was not in the same place as before. Plucked from one location and tossed into another.
Everything had completely changed. The once gray and white battlefield was now open to the sun. The floor was covered with sand lost in time, and the sky was yellow-brown. Everything around me seemed decayed and deteriorated by age. It was like a desert. I did a quick once over of myself and found all my gear and clothes intact and still present.
It must be my turn. With that thought, I prepared myself under a sense of urgency.
I looked down and realized I was at one side of a black circle at least ten meters in diameter. It was a spinning mist of darkness floating just above the floor itself. The Archpriest appeared at the other end.
No time to waste, I got on the comm. "Don't know if you boys noticed, but I'm locked up with a bigass Archpriest and its bigass pike, and that son of a bitch is glaring at me, waiting for me to drop the damn soap."
"Have no fear, my friend. Geariic and Brad went to open the portal." The reassuring words of Valiic gave me a shield of serenity.
Five minutes, I've got to last just five minutes. Shouldn't be issue for me.
The Archpriest burst forward! It was fast, and even I had barely a scrap of time to dodge. Now left of it, I planted a foot like a tree and landed a powerful kick. The thing staggered and slid back in the sand, neck vibrating with anger. It slammed its pike down at me. I took a step forward and caught the handle. My arms were shaking, and it took all I had to keep it at bay.
Then an idea hit me. In a swift move, I sidestepped and let go. The pike crashed into the sand, leaving The Archpriest open to attack. I made like a wrecking ball and slammed myself into it, powering it backwards, driving it to the edge of the circle.
If I were to throw it out of the circle, could I end the match earlier? That was my intention, and my thirsty curiosity wanted to find out.
The Archpriest countered with a swipe of its pike, which knocked me off my balance. I was centimeters from going over the edge. Cold, metallic fingers grabbed my arm and began to drag me closer to losing the battle.
With my free hand, I drove a knife into the dirt to halt it from taking me over the circle. Then I kicked it away, which gave me a moment to kick to my feet. It was short-lived, and The Archpriest burst towards me with a powerful flap of its wings. This time, I put some power under my feet and leaped over it. Flying past me, it turned and slid to a halt. Neither of us had left the circle. Taking a moment to stare me down, it then shoved a foot forward and used the powerful stance to toss its pike at me, which I dodge by a hair. My eyes followed the weapon as it sailed by me.
I heard the portal engage from the other side of this location and, upon turning back to The Archpriest, noticed it was gone. I was still within the bounds of the circle, which soon disintegrated. I did it! I passed the selection test.
"James. You're good to go," Valiic said over the comm.
I wasted no time dashing into the portal. As my body entered, I felt an almost goo-like substance on the outside of my skin. Before I knew it, I was back with the others. And that sensation was gone almost like the touch of a ghost.
I was greeted by Jeremiah. "How did you do?"
"I stayed in the circle." A smile jumped on my face.
He shared my smile and gave me a friendly pat on the back. Soon I was back to my original side, and the process began again. Next on the selection list was Frost.
It took only a moment for us to figure out he had vanished. Given some time, we had grown accustomed to the parameters of this trial and were expectedly getting better at this.
"Imma 'bout to end this priest's entire career!" Frost shouted over the comm. It was clear he was hyping himself up. But that's how he was. Frost was a bit over-the-top for his recklessness and gung-ho brashness. However, he had his positives. In and out of battle, he had an inexhaustible amount of energy that seemed to leak like a hose and energize people around him, including myself. And with his childlike humor, he was able to lift the spirits of those around him all the same.
"That's the way to tell it," Shadow-Walker responded.
In the meantime, Jeremiah and I helped open the portal. It was on their side. The shjarrs kept flowing, but it was clear they were not meant to be the focus of this part of the trial. From my position, I was able to drop them in-between a yawn, which perfectly sums up the action on this end. On occasion, a stronger shjarr or two such as a fanatic or apostle would join the party. Even when they did, we had our focus fire down pat. They didn't stand a turtle's chance in an endless desert.
The portal opened, and Frost was back. He saw me. "Shivf, I think it might've got me out, uzzo." There was genuine nervousness in his tone.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Big Daddy was really putting up a good fight, like always. I was giving it to that machine good, and I lost track of my footing. Not sure, but I may have stepped out of the circle."
"I'm sure you're good, brother." I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in for a moment. "Now get back out there." I gave him a friendly pat as he went.
He smiled. "Big Daddy ain't done yet, I promise you."
I returned to my post, and the fighting continued. Next one to be plucked from our company was Jeremiah. When he disappeared, a sharp jolt came over me, and I realized I was more worried for him than I was for the others when their turn came. As of late, he showed himself to be more capable than I initially gave him credit for, but to fight off The Archpriest might be stacking the plate to much against his poor, nimble body.
This time, the portal was on our side. I jumped down and instructed Valiic and Brad to help me. Par for the course, the shjarrs of this trial were not much of a threat.
Sooner than expected, the portal opened. That couldn't've been only five minutes. Then it hit me. We used three able-bodies this time. Turns out if you get more guys near the keyport, it opens the portal at a slightly quicker speed.
Jeremiah was out. "I stayed in, James. I did it." He was excited.
"You did it?" I was aghast. "How?"
"Simple. I dodged."
"You dodged?"
"I dodged." He laughed.
"At this point, I'm no longer surprised by anything you pull out of your ass. Crazy priest… maybe I should give you a gun."
"I'll be honest, I don't mesh well with weapons."
I tilted my head at that obvious remark. Jeremiah took the time to scurry back to his side, while I repositioned myself.
I started to wonder to myself why this trial was such a cakewalk for everyone other than the one who had to face The Archpriest. I understood the main focus of the test was placed on that situation, not on the outside; still, this was as easy as pissing in a lazy river. Then the thought dawned on me and I realized how fortunate our group was. All other groups I'd heard about struggled with these trials and lost many in their group. Given that this was the third test, one would almost expect to have lost members of the unit - any normal unit, that is. And you would need a minimum of two healthy souls left, else the person facing The Archpriest would never be able to come back. And the fewer people you have, the longer they'd have to fight The Archpriest. This would all be happening while the people outside the portals were struggling to fend off the shjarrs trying to prevent the portals from ever being opened.
At that moment, I realized just how high our luck gauge was to have so many strong members in the unit. Having all of us here was truly why this last test was easier than expected.
The screech came, followed by The Archpriest, and the next one pulled away was Brad. We had the portal opened in no time, and he was out. I felt I knew the answer, but I needed to ask.
"How did you do?"
He walked past me. "Don't ask stupid questionz." A hint of humor was in his tone.
I returned to my post, and we continued to eliminate the shjarrs. A minute came and went, but The Archpriest hadn't made another appearance. That's when I noticed the shjarrs where no longer coming. It was no time at all before the battlefield was clear. Only then, The Archpriest reappeared, which was a longer wait than anytime previous. Something changed upon his reappearance. The shroud of unease that once filled the dense air was lifted away. The aggression The Archpriest once radiated was no longer there, and it didn't have its pike anymore. It gazed back with calmness in its eye. At the back, the big portal opened in the same manner as it did in the beginning. The Archpriest retreated through it, but the portal never closed.
I held up my hand to halt my group from leaving their positions and gave Jeremiah a nod. He took to the book.
Meanwhile, we waited with guns still at the ready. The third trial couldn't be over just yet. Neither Valiic nor Shadow-Walker had a chance to face off with The Archpriest. Not that I'd want Shadow in there. In fact, I'd rather he sat that one out.
"I don't get it. Valiic and I are still here," said Shadow-Walker.
"Isn't it obvious?" A hint of anger was in Valiic's voice. "You and I weren't even considered worthy enough to be selected." I felt that in his words. No wonder he was angry. A warrior like him being told he wasn't good enough, worthy enough, must sting worse than hugging a nest of wasps.
Jeremiah cleared his throat. "For it deems those few worthy-- those few. It goes on to say in his selection not all will be chosen."
"So that's it, then?" I asked.
I saw him give me a nod and noticed Geariic and Brad had already made their way by the portal. I gave the go-ahead to move up, and we all joined them just in front of the still-active, massive portal in the back.
Valiic was the last to join, and I saw him carry himself with heavy strides.
"Figures that you weren't worthy," Geariic teased, with a mocking grin all over his face. He wanted Valiic to feel it. "What kind of warrior are you, anyway? Can't even--"
"Shut your mouth!" I shouted, cutting him off. Valiic's pride was too wounded to defend himself, and I had no tolerance for what Geariic was saying. I was unable to help myself. "I seem to recall that you failed."
"That's because little Jeremiah over here didn't tell me the rules in time!" Geariic defended himself, then his mocking smile returned. "I just wanted that so-called honorable warrior to know how much shame he brought to his beloved species of tradition-loving pricks."
Before I could come back at him again, I saw Brad come from behind him and kick down at the back of his knee joint. Geariic fell to a knee. That next second, Brad was at his side and fired his shotgun parallel to Geariic, with the butt lined up to his face. The blast sent the butt of the shotgun into the side of his jaw, and he jumped up in surprise.
He was just about to shout, but Brad beat him to it. "Da fuck'z wrong wit yah? He'z yer goddamned ally."
Geariic was facing down at Brad, who didn't budge an inch. Geariic's hand was hovering dangerously close to his warhammer before he finally gave way. He stepped back and mumbled inaudibly to himself.
Frost went over to him and whispered something to Geariic. He put his arm over his back and seemed to calm him down. At least I hoped it was working, because I was unable to hear.
Shadow-Walker started bringing everyone water and snacks, and we sat for a minute in silence to let things cool down.
Jeremiah read from the book. "I know what we have to do. We all enter the portal - doesn't matter in what order - and we can even enter simultaneously. It seems we will be split up based on our results thus far for the fourth and final trial."
"How will we know what to do?" I asked him.
"It's a mystery. The book doesn't say a thing about the fourth trial at all."
"Anyone care to place money on who passes, if any?" Shadow-Walker finished his snack.
There wasn't an answer, and Shadow-Walker's happy face ballooned into utter disappointment. I felt for him, but I think even he wasn't able to lighten the mood.
All of a sudden, I saw Geariic get up and enter the portal without saying a word.
Frost turned to us. "Geariic said he wasn't going to keep his brother waiting any longer." I saw Frost head to Valiic until he was face-to-face with him. "Geariic means well. Trust me, he does. I've known him a long time, and he feels hurt and betrayed by the maelkii. That's why he's been lashing out at you, Valiic."
Valiic stood up from his spot. "I know," he said in a soft tone.
"Come. We can't fall too far behind," I commanded the crew.
With that, the rest us entered the portal simultaneously. As my body entered, I felt that near goo-like substance on the outside of my skin again. It might've even been thicker. Before I knew it, my world was black, and I felt only the sensation on my skin. It was soothing, calm like a sea of nothingness.