An Intermission

“And coming in at the same time, effectively taking last place between them in terms of trial time, teams Pruzonia and Order cross the finish line!” the voice of the announcer blared out as John, Vivian, Ramirez and Rowan exited the maze. The moment they did, the world around them shifted and the farm setting bled away, putting them back in the mall-like atrium, walking back through the same passageway they took to reach the maze. Teri and K’mels stood by the selection wheel, looking unharmed, though Teri wore an apprehensive expression that likely had to do with how K’mels looked like he had swallowed a lemon.

It wasn’t hard for John to guess why the warrior looked that way. If they got a notification that the goblins had won the maze, then it stood to reason that they got one for beating the boss.

“Congrats on reaching the end first,” John said, hoping that would alleviate some of the tension.

K’mels only growled at the attempt of civility while Teri shot John an apologetic look but said nothing, giving John the impression she was trying to not set her partner off.

“Now, now, no need to sulk!” Announcer declared. “You all performed marvelously. Now, before we spin for the next round, we need to tally your scores! Now, since we weren’t up front with the point values, a bit of a postmer. Defeating one of the hounds in the maze nets a team one point, finding a supply cache gives five points, defeating the boss, the dreaded Maze Scarecrow, earns the teams that beat it a hefty sixty points split between them. And of course, getting out of the maze earns the first team out eighty points, the second team forty points and the last team twenty points. In the case of a tie, the point totals are combined and split evenly.

John was a little surprised that being first out of the maze was worth so many points, even more than beating the boss, but since the goal was to collect the material in the maze, it served as a way to punish anyone who tried to sweep every inch of the maze for loot. Still, it felt odd that they kept the point values hidden until the end.

‘Maybe it was to keep us from trying to min-max?’ he thought, eyeing K’mels subtly. ‘If he knew he could rack up points by both beating the boss and racing through the maze, would he have ignored the loot drops and lesser mobs to lock in a high score? Or was keeping all of this hidden a way to promote us to thinking the opposite. It was implied that heading right for the exit wasn’t going to earn a lot of points.’

Whatever the intent was, it mattered little right now. But if there was going to be a pattern in hiding point values going forward, it might be worth it to remember how they were divided, if only to get a feel for how things might go in the rest of the games.

“Now, let’s get this point total up!” Announcer cried in an excited tone as a large display manifested above the selection wheel.

Team Golmerk: 16 hounds defeated (16 points), 12 caches found (60 points), 1st place exit (80 points). Total: 156 Points!

Team Pruzonia: 7 hounds defeated (7 points), 14 caches found (70 points), defeated Boss (30 points), 2/3rd place exit (30 points). Total: 137 Points!

Team Order: 18 hounds defeated (18 points), 10 caches found (50 points), defeated Boss (30 points), 2/3rd place exit (30 points). Total: 128 Points!

“Congratulations to Team Golmerk for taking first place!” Announcer cheered as a small amount of confetti fell upon Teri and K’mels. While Teri looked a bit happy at their victory, K’mels glared at the displayed results like they had insulted him. “At the start of the next round, you get a two minute head start. And on that note, how about a little something to take the edge off.”

A sudden flash of bright white light blinded John and the others, but as John blinked, he noticed his HP and Mana bars had been restored. A glance at everyone else showed the same restoration.

“As fun as endurance marathons can be, aren’t things more interesting when everyone gets to be on the top of their game?” Announcer asked. “Now, will someone from Team Golmerk spin the wheel so we can find out what the next challenge is?”

K’mels strode forward before Teri could, his footfalls rapid and weighty, his scowl etched onto his face. He grabbed the edge of the selection wheel and spun it angrily, taking a step back once he did. John watched as the three colors it currently held rotated, blending red, black and white into a muddy blur until they slowed and stopped.

“And the wheel stops on Black! That means a trip to Understone Crafters, makers of fine houses and all things that turn them into homes. The game this round will be to collect a number of keys. These keys will unlock doors with fabulous prizes safely hidden away, from appliances to building supplies, to houses themselves!

“But don’t think it’s going to be easy! Each door can require up to three keys and once you reach a door, a number of protectors will be triggered to come and defend it!”

“How do we win this game?” K’mels growled.

“I’m glad you asked!” Announcer exclaimed unaffected by K’mels interruption. “This game is a time trial. One hour from start to finish, with our winning team from last round getting an extra two minutes. So be sure to hurry through the halls and open as many doors as you can!”

‘Lots of ways to do this one,’ John thought as he ran through the info again. ‘We can run around looking for all the keys then go for the doors, but if they’ve been discovered already, they might be swarmed by mobs. So do we split up, one holding the door while the other goes and collects the needed keys?’

John glanced over to Vivian and saw her brow creased in thought, likely having the same ideas going through her head.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to make your gameplans, then the game is on!” Announcer declared as an hourglass appeared above the selection wheel, the sand trickling down.

“So, how do we want to try this?” John asked Vivian as they moved away from the others. “Hunt keys and hope we find doors that aren’t already claimed or flooded with mobs or find a door, camp it and find the keys needed for it?”

“Both have risks,” Vivian muttered, chewing on her lip. “We don’t know how many doors or keys there are, where they are in relation to each other, how we acquire the keys or if there are any other enemies in the challenge beyond what gets triggered when a door is found.”

“Not having unlimited time bites us too,” John added, looking up at the hourglass.

“I think, with what we have to work with, it might be best if we try to split up,” Vivian said. “You can hold the doors, while I can use my photomancy to sneak around for keys.”

John wasn’t a big fan of splitting up, but it was a plan with merit. Vivian could easily slip away from anything, as long as it didn’t have a way to counter her light manipulation. And if anything did, she could apply an array and escape if needed.

“Yeah, that sounds like it's our best plan,” John remarked. “No idea just how many prizes each door will have, but trying to tackle a bunch in a row with a deadline doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

Vivian looked up at the hourglass. “Looks like we’ve got a few more minutes to prepare, so I’ll make some arrays. How do you think the others will tackle things?”

“I can see the Order going either way,” John admitted after a moment of thought. “I’m not sure if Ramirez will let Rowan guard a door or search for keys on her own, but I imagine they have a protocol for this sort of mission.”

John glanced back at the Order team. Ramirez was speaking to Rowan in hushed tones, a serious expression on her face. From his position, John couldn’t see Rown’s face and the rigid posture she had didn’t give him any insight. A part of him wanted to ask Vivian to bend light so he could get a better view, but he dismissed that idea. It would be a frivolous waste of mana.

Looking over to the goblins, Teri’s exasperated expression told a more clear story.

“K’mels seems like he’s being a handful,” John noted.

“He didn’t seem all that happy that they got first place,” Vivian whispered as if just mentioning it would draw his ire.

“I think he saw that their highest point value was getting out of the maze first and took that as an insult,” John reasoned. “Combine that with the fact that we beat the boss, and I can’t imagine he feels great about missing out on proving his fighting skills.”

Vivian hummed as her pen worked to craft a fresh array. “That makes sense. He wants to prove that his people don’t need our help, but winning in a way that didn’t have a big show of skill and power must have stung.”

“And that bruised ego might lead to him doing something stupid,” John said, recalling the many times Frank would take his aggression over losing a game or some other such slight against him out on him. “We might have to jump in and help Teri if he does draw all the aggro, game be damned.”

Vivian nodded. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that. But yes, I’ll be ready for that eventually.”

“One minute left, Team Golmerk!” Announcer declared. “Which means three minutes for the rest of you. Hope you’re ready for the hunt!”

“Well, guess it’s about time for round two,” John said. “Let’s hope there aren’t any big curveballs.”

“If there are, we can deal with them,” Vivian remarked, slipping her work into her choker. She idly traced the storage charm. “I hope the others aren’t too bored.”

Beth took several deep breaths as she slowed her pace to a light jog. The sun over Pruzonia was blocked by intermittent clouds, leaving the air just warm enough that the exercise left her skin sheened with a slight sweat. The same could not be said for her companion.

Several paces behind her, Kiera looked far more worn out. Sweat beaded down her forehead and caused bits of her hair to stick to her skin, her far more modest exercise wear doing much the same.

“Told you going lighter would be better,” Beth called back to her as she gestured towards herself, highlighting her sports bra and shorts.

Kiera’s face grew redder and she sputtered. “I-I don’t think I could wear anything like t-that. A-and this is the b-best I could manage.”

“Well, if we’re going to keep doing this, you need something a bit less,” Beth said as she slowed to a stop, her legs burning in an oddly pleasant way, the kind that said she had put in more than enough effort. She had always liked that feeling, but now that it was building to something more than just her own desire to be faster, it felt more rewarding. “Especially if we keep using the clearing as our running spot. Not a lot of shade in some spots, no matter the time.”

“I-I think I’ll manage,” Kiera demurred, stopping a little bit away from Beth, pulling her slightly too large shirt away from her sweaty skin.

“Well, you’re gonna need to drink a bit more,” Beth remarked as she trudged over to the small cooler sitting under a nearby tree. “Still, you did good for someone not used to running. Five laps might not sound like a lot, but it’s nothing to sneeze at.”

Beth flipped open the lid and fished out a water bottle, the ice chilled beverage feeling very refreshing against her warm skin, and she tossed it to Kiera. The bluenette let out a surprised squeak as the bottle sailed towards her and she hastily brought up her hands to catch it.

Before the bottle could hit her hands, it slowed and began to bob in the air, as if it was in water.

“Guess trying to play baseball with you is out,” Beth joked as Kiera flushed, the bluenette forcing her new magic to abate before she clutched the water.

“S-sorry,” Kiera muttered and Beth felt an uncomfortable weight settle in her gut.

‘Fuck, I’m messing things up again,’ she cursed at herself before saying, “Hey, it’s nothing to feel sorry about. I lost count of the amount of times I either lost all friction and slid into walls or got stuck to them when I was growing up. You did get it like two days ago, so a few slip ups are kind of expected. Bet if John’s stuff wasn’t running on video game logic, he’d be screwing up all over the place.”

Kiera’s expression turned less downtrodden and Beth felt the coiling guilt abate.

‘I really need to stop putting my foot in my mouth,’ she lamented. ‘Kinda wish I could just dial up charisma like John can.’

Shaking her head, Beth grabbed her own drink and downed a fair amount of the ice cold water, the chilled beverage cutting through the heat built up in her core. Still, it didn’t fully cool her down.

“I wonder if Verida knows if a lake or something is close,” she wondered aloud. “A nice cooldown swim would feel great.”

“We d-don’t have swimsuits,” Kiera pointed out.

“Eh, it’s not like we’d need them,” Beth shrugged. “We’ve already seen everything.”

The words had scarcely left Beth’s mouth when she realized bringing up the other day’s ritual likely wasn’t something her bashful jogging partner wanted to recall. Thankfully, Kiera only flushed slightly more than she already was and looked to the sky.

“W-well, Verida’s a bit preoccupied at the moment, a-and I don’t want to butt in,” Kiera muttered quietly.

“Guess it would be rude to interrupt her and Lia’s flight,” Beth remarked. “Suppose we can just relax until they get back. No point in starting something and having it cut short when they land.”

Kiera glanced at Beth and managed a small smile. “I think t-that sounds good. I d-don’t want to mess up another training session.”

“Hey, what did I say a few minutes ago?” Beth asked. “Accidents happen and magic makes them a bit weirder. Don’t worry about it.”

Seeing that Kiera still looked a bit unsure about her recent magical mishaps, Beth thought for a moment on how to help. She couldn’t reason out something like Vivian, or help with the martial training like Aeolia and John could. But there was something she could do.

“You know,” she said slowly, “your new thing isn’t that different from what I can do. Maybe we could workshop a bit, help you get more comfortable using it. Probably would be a better use of our time than just vegging out.”

Kiera looked down for a moment and Beth wondered nervously if she overstepped again but then the bluenette glanced back up at her, a small smile on her lips.

“I think I’d like to give that a try,” Kiera softly said, her cheeks a faint red.

“Great!” Beth exclaimed, a wide smile of her own blooming. “Let’s see what those dragon powers can do!”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.