A city of zombies, and now a big, rich mansion. Yeah, this place was going to be a big haunted house, no doubt about it. Every area prior had had its own theme, so I really doubted this would change in this one. I brought my head up from my hands after finally getting my breath, and looked at the way into the manor as a whole. It looked warm, inviting, and absolutely far too serene given the hell I'd just run from. I rolled my neck for a moment and stood, making sure to take a little time to stretch my legs. That sharp cramp from Dash overuse was concerning. I hadn't invoked them with such rapidity before, and I really wished there was more information. Despite the Lens being more useful in determining my abilities, there was still a concerning amount of data that I just did not have access to. Maybe there would be documentation or research or something in civilization, if I was lucky.
But none of that helped me now, unfortunately. No, I had to face what was before me in this moment, and speculation needed to be put on the backburner. I checked my stuff to make sure I hadn't lost anything, and upon finding everything in place, minus any sort of organization in my bags after being tossed about, I took the opportunity to take a long swig from my waterskin. It was so good to be able to just do that instead of searching for a source of water. My spear still felt sturdy, and I put myself in my combat stance for a moment. I felt a bit silly, like usual, but I did need to get it in my muscles so I wouldn't lose it in a bad moment. I was momentarily distracted by a bright red mark on my left hand.
Ah, damn, that's right, it'd gotten cut on the glass. It seemed like the bleeding had stopped on its own, but it was a violent-looking line that ran from above my wrist all the way to the joint of my thumb. Of course, now that I'd noticed it, it throbbed in pain, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it right now. I hoped I wasn't going to get sick, running through all those rotting bodies with an open wound.
"You're delaying it and you know it," I growled at myself. I had to get moving. Before I could stop myself again, I stepped up to the door and opened it, revealing the building beyond. Inside was a large hall that was adorned similarly to the entryway, with all sorts of generic landscapes decorating the walls, plenty of gold trim, and dark wood. Strangely, there seemed to be no visible ingresses to other parts of the residence. That wasn't the most interesting part, though. No, the most interesting part was the ethereal figure floating just to the right of me.
The figure - half visible to my eyes - bobbed slightly. I had to focus my senses on it, and after doing so, was rewarded with a better view of it. It was doing a low curtsy, flying slightly off the ground, holding onto its ghostly skirt and bowing its head. It raised its head, and opened its mouth. I took a step back, but before I could get anywhere, a voice rang out from it.
"Greetings, visitor, to the House of Val0r. Our home has not been graced with guests in some time." Their voice was low and tinny, sounding like it was coming from far away. "Dost thou require hospitality?"
"Ah..." I trailed off. The ghost was really only mostly there, with the lower half of their body fading into nothingness, and the hands were somehow connected to its body through completely invisible arms. "What, uh, what kind of hospitality are we talking about?"
They nodded at me. I couldn't get any sort of idea of what they looked like, past a strange half-formed maid outfit. It had no features on its face worth description past thin lips and hollow eyes, and lacked any hair. "We are prepared to offer our esteemed visitors a variety of spirits and a place to rest weary bones."
I took another step back. Spirits? Resting bones? Someone was fucking with me. This was obviously meant to sound like some sort of undead thing. "Sorry, just to confirm, you mean that you can offer me alcoholic drinks and a place to relax?" The spirit nodded in response. "Do you have a name?"
"'Tis unimportant, please simply refer to me as Caretaker. Thou'rt correct about thine assertion regarding our hospitality. It will be my pleasure to provide thee with succor throughout thy time here."
Thank god I had spent way too much time reading and playing games with odd, old English terms and such. So, this was a place of rest? Why is it called the House of Valor, though? "What can you tell me about the House of Valor?"
A hand swept out to the side of Caretaker, and probably would have looked like a grand gesture if it wasn't just a floating appendage. "The House of Valor is renowned far and wide as the place in which those of particularly combative ability may test their mettle," pausing as their other hand was brought up to their chin, "or their metal." Damn, I did appreciate a good pun. Strange to hear it from this old timey ghost, though. "We have eight different arenas that offer these tests to challengers, and every visitor is entitled to challenge three of them."
They swung their arm back in another sweeping gesture, somewhat muted by the fact that they had to return it to their chest to repeat it. A loud groaning sound erupted from the floor as eight different doorways slowly rose up, each one identical to the last. A small plinth appeared next to each one, with a crusty scroll rising from a low golden glow emanating from each plinth. "The documentation presented here will advise thee on the nature of each labor. The difficulty of the ones chosen will increase after each success, and defeat will preclude thee from ever advancing another attempt."
Harsh. But it made sense, especially as a construction of the labyrinth. It's not like I'd be around anymore if I went down anyway, so really, I just needed to succeed. Easy. "What do I get if I win all three attempts?"
They pointed at the doors once again. "Thou may choose between a small selection of rewards, each unique and only to be found within these environs." A smile graced their simplified visage. "One imagines there will be a good deal of jealousy rendered towards thee should thou succeed. The spoils of the House of Valor are greatly coveted."
I wondered. It did bring back to mind how much of this place was just constructed, or temporary, or any other thing within the range of possibility. Was the House of Valor real somewhere, and this was a recreation? Was this just a 'thing' made by the labyrinth? Was this somehow the real House of Valor if it was indeed real?
I turned on the Caretaker. "Are you real?"
They blinked. Several times. "Thy question is difficult to answer, methinks. Are any of us real? What is thy reality, compared to mine own?"
Philosophy with a ghost in an undead city within the magical interior of an abandoned temple. I supposed if there were any situations where it was appropriate, this might be the place. "You mentioned rest. Hospitality."
They directed my vision behind me, and I turned around to spy something that simply hadn't been there before. A small wet bar stood in front of a wall filled to the brim with various bottles of liquid, and a comfortable stool allowing me to sit at it. In addition, there was a two-seat sofa that looked to be made of a soft cloth that was accented by a light-wooded coffee table. "Feel free to request any service. The spirits served at this House are the best that funds and magic can procure." They started to move, and I was startled as they walked through me to reach the little area behind the bar.
"I think I'll pass for now, but maybe after one of these challenges." They simply directed their head downwards in my direction, and waited patiently in the location. Well, I guess I knew my purpose here. I shook my head at the dissonance between the chaos I'd just escaped and this calm, formal atmosphere. Very weird. But I should get information on these eight challenges and make my choices, and plan ahead.
The scrolls left for me to read were simple, short, and terribly vague. I scoffed. So like everything in Avare so far. I read each one of them, and gathered the options in my head.
A Party of Mammals
A Parade of Bones
A Brace of Stones
A Squad of Specters
A School of Bugs
A Dive of Avians
A Pile of Slimes
A Challenger
Certainly an eclectic group of choices. How many of each? What kind of bones or mammals? Ugh. But honestly, what I needed to do, was go over my strengths and weaknesses. I was good at movement, fighting one single target, and delivering destructive or sharp damage to my foes. I lacked strong ranged options that wouldn't eat up my resources, I wasn't good versus large groups, and was unsure what I would even do against something like an incorporeal specter or a slime. It restricted my choices, for sure. No Avians, no Specters, no Slimes. I also didn't like the idea of bones; It would rob me of my pointy spear's effectiveness. So four choices. Mammals, Stones, Bugs, or a Challenger. Stones were also a big unknown, and would probably not be good for my spear anyway. That left Mammals, Bugs, and a Challenger as my best options. But what order?
If they would get harder as I went, that could mean many things, but the most disastrous for me would be numbers. I had at best tied when I fought the three bugs in the mine, and outright had to escape from the zombie horde. A Challenger was also scary to think about. Were they some sort of person or creature specifically meant to be similar to fighting a person? My brain said so, but I couldn't guarantee it. What I could guarantee, though, was the fact that it was A challenger. Just one. My best bet would be to put the Challenger third.
Then, that left which to do first between the Bugs and Mammals. I looked down at my spear, considering. Bugs would be a little less vulnerable to my stabs, probably, and the environment to fight them in would -
"Hey, Caretaker, do the environments vary for these?"
"Yes, good visitor. It is fully dependent upon they choice of opponent."
"Does it always favor the enemy?"
"Not necessarily."
I waited for them to say more, and found myself frowning when they stopped there. Okay, I guess that was all I would get on that front.
"If I get injured in a fight, can I recover?"
"If you have such abilities, yes. You are allowed some time after each attempt to gather yourself."
It would have to be enough. Bugs, then Mammals, then Challenger. Things I had already pretty much fought, which made me more suspicious about the nature of this place, but there was nothing I could do about it. I paced a little bit, made sure I was still loosened up, and felt at my reserves. My mana felt full, as best as I could tell, and I wasn't feeling that physically exhausted. The latter actually seemed a bit weird to me, considering the run I'd had to get to the House, but whatever. It wasn't time to complain.
Bugs. Setting all my extra equipment aside and taking another gulp of water, I walked over to the door and put my hand on it. A loud 'click' sounded throughout the chamber, and the rest of the doors took on a gray hue. Looks like even touching one of them makes my choice, so with it locked in, I opened the door.
Rather than stepping inside, it activated much like the labyrinth portal. One moment, I was inside the pleasant interior of the House. Next, I was staring into a large hemispherical stone chamber with six small openings at the sides, each looking coming up to around my navel. The walls were dull browns and grays, stone of some kind, and were lit with a light I couldn't see, but could feel this time. It was a little like being, well, in the sun on a warm day, the way it tickled my skin. I exhaled to reset my breathing and lowered to be ready to move in any direction necessary, and my mind wandered slightly as I waited for the fight to begin.
Again, I thought about how strange my current circumstances were. Not that long ago, the idea of fighting for my life like this was ridiculous for my comfortable existence. I hadn't gotten into any violent encounters in a long time, and hadn't really experienced this kind of bloodshed since I was a kid. I shuddered, and shoved that memory out of my mind. Now, I was in fights all the time, hacking and slashing against creatures that wished me dead, and I was directly gaining impossible power that let me keep doing it. A day where I was fighting for my life three or four times before bed was normal now. I'd heard humans described as 'adaptable' but it felt a little ridiculous how easily I was sliding into this.
As if on cue, I heard the shuffling of exoskeleton on stone. I whipped my head about to see where the enemies were, and spied my foes as they entered the light.
One beetle-like creature charged forth from each of the six holes. They reminded me a lot of hercules beetles, but with twin horns on top instead of just the one above and one below. A little like it was bastardized with a japanese rhinoceros beetle? Their iridescent green chitin separated by deep black connecting segments was actually somewhat beautiful, and I appreciated the aesthetics. Honestly, they'd have been pretty intimidating, if they weren't so slow. Each identical insect moved with purpose, but really couldn't exceed a light jog from me. It was ridiculous to see the tank-like things heading towards me, all the menace in the world, and the only way it would be really bad is if I just let them gang up on me. No way I was letting that happen.
I took off at a run at a random beetle, getting ready to rush past it. I could see the thing preparing to strike at me with its horns from the side, which meant it would be trivial to just... adjust my trajectory. I blinked as I realized just how ridiculously easy this was to start off. Its head hedged left, so I just adjusted towards that and slapped a Parry down at it to shove the horns into the ground and got behind it. Rounding on it quickly, I struck out with my spear at the abdomen, and was pleased to hear a crunch as the weapon pierced the carapace. A quick withdrawal of the weapon allowed me to stab it again before it started to turn towards me. I frowned, realizing it might be tougher to kill this thing than I thought, but shit, it didn't matter. Just kill it with everything I've got.
Reaching out and running a Spark through it was rewarded with a shaking pause, which let me angle my spear directly at its weird little face. I just stabbed forward with all the power I could muster. A solid crunch sounded out again, but this time, the bug simply dropped to the ground. My weapon retrieved afterward, I took the time to mark the position of the remaining five beetles. I huffed, and moved on to repeat the performance against the rest of them.
The second beetle fell much like the first, though I didn't waste time stabbing into the back of it first. Spark was serving me exceedingly well against such simple creatures, and I was grateful that they seemed incapable of learning from watching me kill their brethren. Unfortunately, though it was easy enough, they were close enough together now that I would have to fight them two at a time. I Dashed over behind the closest pair, forcing them to turn to attack me with their horns.
The extra time it took allowed me to Spark number three and kick away number four, letting me stab three through the face. Four recovered quickly, too quickly for my movements, and managed to jab my side with a surprising amount of force. I was shoved back and lost my spar in three's corpse. Growling in frustration, I simply pointed directly at four. "Mana Bolt." The pink energy shot forward and crashed against its horns, causing the top to fully crack and fall off at the joint between the two horns as it faltered. "Fuck you!" I kicked it away again and retrieved my spear, turning quickly and finishing four with no extra flourish.
Just as I'd managed to once again make sure I had a good grip on my spear, five crashed into me at 'full speed.' It wasn't very fast, but what they lacked in speed, they made up for in punch. I was launched a good quarter of the way through the chamber and tumbled head over heels from it. Ah, damn, that really hurt my hip. I flailed around a moment as I found my feet and started to stand as five and six rushed me once again. I grabbed my weapon and thought a moment, wondering how to separate these two. I didn't like fighting two at once, they took too long to put down. What could I put between us?
If I wasn't already in a fight I would have facepalmed. I Dashed again, this time right back towards the corpses of three and four. The dead bugs would force them to either split up or swing out wide, which essentially would be one on one for long enough. Luckily for me, they spread out, so I quickly took to the right side and used three's corpse to vault towards five. I slapped its abdomen with a Spark and grinned as I speared through the back of its head, the tip of the spear thunking nicely against the stone as it burst out the other side. The grin disappeared as I realized that it was kind of stuck though, with its entry collapsing behind it.
"Fuck," I growled as six rounded the corpses and ran at me. Well, I wasn't still helpless. I used a Mana Bolt to halt its advance and slapped it with a final Spark, feeling my mana reserves at nearly empty. That gave me the time to adjust and pull the spear through five. With a final Dash, I used the momentum to nearly shear the head off of six, resulting in its quick death.
I breathed hard as I took in my environment, smiling at how easily I'd taken out the bugs. Well, stupid, slow enemies weren't ever going to be a terrible threat, unless there were way more of them. What would I have faced at higher threat? Greater numbers? More capable foes?
My speculation was cut short as a bit of vertigo overtook me and I found myself standing back in the hall of the House of Valor.
"Congratulations, guest! Please, take a moment to rest, and look forward to thy next challenge," Caretaker's voice rang out from the corner. I turned back at them and let out a huff.
Fuck it. I can have a little, as a treat. Need time to get my mana back anyway. "Got any rum?"
"Of course."