Floor 8 - Chapter 2 - Gaolhouse Rock
The next morning, Floor 8, Aincrad.
Jet had slept surprisingly well, all things considered. It hadn't hurt that he'd spent half of that time with Koharu hugging him like a child would a teddy, but sadly for him, that time had to end, as an alarm went off in his periphery. 8am... At least it wasn't half five this time, he thought. Damn, that had been an unpleasant experience with waking up... ''Morning!'' - Trust Koharu to be up already. The girl was either incredibly well practiced at waking up, or was even worse at sleeping than he was! ''Morning...'' - He groggily replied, as he pulled himself free of the covers.
''You okay after yesterday?'' - Ah, yes, that. Jet had basically admitted that he was paranoid, and that even he was concerned that what had happened wouldn't be a one off... it was no surprise that Koharu would be concerned too. ''Yeah, I'll be okay. Have to be, right?''
''No one 'has to be okay', Jet, but... tell me if something's bothering you, right?''
''Yes, ma'am.'' - Jet saluted sarcastically, as Koharu rolled her eyes. She knew that Jet would try to act like this was nothing, and as much as it bothered her, she hoped he knew his own mental state well enough to know whether it was a cause for concern, or not.
After meeting up with everyone downstairs, it had been decided that they'd split off into two groups for the day - Jet, Koharu and Rain would take Phillia, who'd decided she was at least somewhat curious about the Elf War Quest, and wanted in, if she could, whilst Argo would look after Silica for the day, and learn some more about her and Pina, and hopefully, get some more info on the familiars, and avoid any more nasty encounters like yesterday.
''According to Argo, we've got to head into the Snowlit Woods, and then look for a big cavern, that's shaped like a... uhh...'' - Rain trailed off as she read the message. That couldn't be right, could it, she thought to herself...
''What's an uhhh, Rain?'' - Koharu asked, slightly confused...
''Woah. What she means is a certain part of the male anatomy, that I'm sure as hell not going to say...'' - Phillia elaborated. Jet looked over Rain's shoulder to see the image Argo had given them... yup, Phillia was right. ''Um, yep. That certainly looks like that. Big cylindrical entrance, with a dome at the top and two bells near the base... can't miss it.''
After an hour, the group had found the cavern that Jet had taken to calling ''the Cavern of Blackheath'', and were halfway through ridding it of the monstrous squatters.
''Phillia, switch!'' - Rain called out, as Phillia raced behind a yeti, slashing it in the back, whilst Jet beheaded another one a small distance away. Two sounds of shattering crystals filled the cavern, and the group were clear of their opponents. ''Nice one Rain!''
''Thank you! You weren't so bad yourself!''
''Okay, so it's through here, and we should be able to hear the sound of elves clashing, which marks the start of the quest on this floor.'' - Rain read out, as Jet poked his head through the small gap in the rock. Bingo! He could hear it, but... there was no way he was getting through that gap. It was less than a foot in diameter, and he was six foot in height...
The girls looked through the hole, and realised that, with a bit of shimmying, they were able to fit through there... just. Jet, on the other hand, would have to find his own way around, and he'd got an idea - that rock face looked as if it had some convenient footholds...
''Okay, ah ha! I see the elves... oh hell, it's Kizmel, and she's surrounded!'' - Rain called out, as Koharu shouted back to Jet... ''Jet! It's Kizmel, and she's in trouble!''
''Go and help her! I'll be fine here!'' - he called back, as he reached the halfway point on the wall. He wondered what it said about him that, out of all of this, he was enjoying the rock climbing most of all...
Koharu took point, and charged in, leading their trio into battle, in defence of Kizmel. The first strike, courtesy of Rain, made clear to the Fallen Elves exactly what threat they were dealing with, the unfortunate warrior now sporting a nasty looking gash across his chest.
''Phillia, hit and run. Rain, hit as hard as you can. Jet... oh, right.'' - Koharu forgot that their group was only a trio momentarily, but the others followed her instructions, and began to deal with their opponents, Rain being the first to have finished her adversary, whilst Koharu and Phillia worked on the second, and Kizmel the third. With the group co-ordinating their attacks, and working efficiently, the fight was over in less than five minutes...
Kizmel seemed relieved, and drew the trio into a hug, much to their chagrin, as Phillia was squashed against somewhere uncomfortable - Kizmel's chest plate. ''Thank you... I must say, this wasn't the reunion I was expecting, but... I'm glad you came when you did! Where's Jet?''
''I'm here... blimey, you four do not mess about... I was only away for five minutes!'' - Jet seemed both proud, and astonished, at the speed that each of the girls had displayed in dealing with their respective foes. ''Glad they got here in time, Kizmel...''
''So am I, Jet. So am I... anyway, with that out of the way, I feel I should provide you with an update on the situation. I have made contact with a commander of the Forest Elves, who seems to believe that the Fallen are soon to commence an assault to retrieve the key on this floor. I was on my way to meet them, when I was ambushed.''
''So, where exactly is this key being held?''
''Here. In a long since abandoned prison.'' - Kizmel pointed over to a castle like structure, that Jet and Rain both immediately recognised by the name used for it IRL - a gulag. An old castle, converted into a prison, where prisoners were sent to rot and die...
''Uhh, it looks more like a castle to me?'' - Phillia questioned.
''It's a gulag, Phillia.'' - Rain stated, a tone of horror in her voice.
''A gulag?'' - Koharu asked, not understanding the name herself.
''The name of the organisation that administered prisons in the old Soviet Union. Basically, you were sent there, you worked till you dropped... and I don't mean of exhaustion.'' - Jet answered, a grim expression on his face, which told Koharu there was far more to that concept than he'd explained...
''Our biggest problem is this - the Fallen are aware of my mission now, and I do not doubt that they will be heading there, as we speak... however, we may have an advantage. A network of tunnels were dug some generations ago, to reach the key. They never fully reached the chamber, but they did find the floor above the chamber...''
''Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!''
''Steady now, Phillia. The other thing to note, that chamber is not on dry land anymore... the lake it once sat in...''
''That place has been out of commission for generations, right, Kizmel?'' Kizmel nodded, and Jet continued, ''The water's probably filled the chamber by now, and considering how cold it is... I wouldn't be surprised to find the whole room is a block of ice. Or at least, coated in ice.''
''So, how do we get through then?''
''If it's only coated in ice on the surface, I could probably swim into the room, nab the key, and get out before I run out of oxygen?'' - Jet thought aloud, causing the girls to all turn towards him in surprise, ''What? Under 13's Swimming club, North Bristol division. I got the gold in the endurance races.'' - Jet beamed, before realising how daft he looked. ''Well, yes, that might be an option, but we can't say until we get there...''
''Umm, Kizmel, you mentioned that we're racing the Fallen there? How much faster would these tunnels get us there?'' - Phillia questioned.
''They should reduce the time we take by around three quarters, but that doesn't mean we should dawdle...''
''Then we'll get going. We can think of a way in whilst we're on our way there, right?''
''Agreed, the tunnel's entrance is behind that wall.'' - Jet groaned, as he noticed the entrance. He really could consider his height a curse sometimes...
The tunnels themselves had proven even less fun, as they were incredibly low, meaning that the whole group had to spend the time crawling on their chests. For that reason, Jet had been 'elected' to go first... and definitely not because Koharu, Rain and Kizmel wore skirts, and whilst one of them was dating him, she had her limits, and her boyfriend gawping up her skirt was definitely it. Jet felt slightly offended that Koharu thought he'd be gawping the whole way there... he wasn't a pervert, and this was slightly more important than getting a pleasant view for an hour.
Even ignoring this, that hour long crawl had been incredibly unpleasant for all of them, the tunnels having become the equivalent of freezers, and all of the group were trying not to stick to the floor. ''We've got to be nearly there, right?'' - Rain asked, from the back of the column.
''I believe we're nearly there. About a mile left, although I can't tell exactly where we are...''
''I did say 'let Kizmel go first, she actually knows the way', but no... Muggins here has to go first!'' - Jet moaned, metaphorically passing the buck.
''I didn't want you getting ideas!'' - Koharu shouted from the back. She may actually just have spoke, but the echos were loud enough...
''Good plan, the only idea I've now got is for a nice warm bath when we get back!''
''Get to the back of the queue, ladies first...'' - Phillia yelled.
''Then you're behind me, Ginge!'' - Jet replied.
''Be very glad you've got Kizmel as a buffer right now!'' - Jet didn't have to see the ginger hunter to know the sense of blood lust emanating from her...
''Uhh, Kizmel, is it possible that the map wasn't very accuraTTTTEEE?!'' - Jet commented, before almost immediately disappearing from in front of Kizmel.
''It is possible, yes. Are you okay down there?'' - Kizmel noticed the large gap in the tunnel and stopped before it, unlike Jet...
''Oww. I landed on me' coccyx.'' - Jet replied hazily, as he looked around him. They must've been nearby, the ice sheet had begun where Jet had landed... ''Oh no.'' - Ping.
''Koharu won't be happy then...'' - Phillia quipped, as the aforementioned girl blushed, with enough heat to melt the ice around her. The girls all followed Jet down onto the ice sheet, and did perhaps the worst possible thing they could. They all landed on their feet. Twang! Pting! At that moment, the same realisation came over Phillia as Jet had had moments before, followed by the same sense of dread... ''Uhh, can everyone here swim?'' - she asked...
''Yeah, why?'' - Rain replied, shrugging her shoulders.
''Of course.'' - Kizmel answered confidently.
''Always enjoyed it, so yes?'' - Koharu smiled as she remembered trips to the beach. Where she'd much rather be right now, compared to here.
''How about cold water?'' - Jet asked, looking back at the crack in the ice, which was now spreading rapidly.
''Why'd you ask?'' - Rain wondered, before she noticed the rather worried looks on Jet and Phillia's faces...
''Uhh... just that rather dangerous looking crack in the ice. That's now heading towards us. Quickly.'' - Phillia pointed to the rapidly spreading crack...
''Ah.''
''Oh dear.''
''Umm, I don't suppose running is a good idea, is it?''
''Not unless you want to be swimming even faster, no.'' - TWANG! - ''Oh fu-'' - The ice gave way, and the group plunged into the freezing waters below. Jet, who hadn't gotten up off the ice had the shortest way to go, but was able to get his head above water quickest, whilst Kizmel, the next tallest dropped straight in, and sank like a rock, the Lyusulan armour evidently not being designed for amphibious assault... Seeing her in trouble, and sinking rapidly, Jet remembered what he'd been taught in Cornwall - splash some water on your face, and wait sixty seconds... and then completely disregarded it, getting his breath, before plunging into the freezing water again, and swimming down to grab Kizmel. The only way he was pulling her up was with arm wrapped around her, and using the other to swim... and hoping Kizmel didn't get any ideas about what he was doing. Not that she would, given she'd passed out upon entering the water, and was completely unconscious...
Jet began pulling the two of them back up the light where he hoped the surface was... ''Nearly... there... Yes!'' - Jet pushed Kizmel back up above the surface, before he popped out himself...
''(Heavy breathing) Never... Again...'' - Jet began treading water as best he could, considering he was still holding Kizmel, before spotting a section of concrete in amongst the ice. Likely, it had once been a stage, or some form of... Jet regretted even thinking about it, before he hauled the unconscious Kizmel onto it. ''Ughhh, ooofff!'' - He groaned, before clambering out himself. Solid ground had never felt quite so good before, he thought, before looking at Kizmel, and realising she wasn't awakening... ''Shit!'' - He remembered his first aid lessons as best he could. First step - turn the person's head to the side, and try to drain any water. Second step - Begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, by breathing hard into the person's mouth four times, whilst pinching their nose, to allow the air to pass the water. ''One... two... three... four...'' - Jet checked Kizmel's chest to see if she was in fact breathing... she was, luckily. ''I'd rather not do that again...'' - she commented, coughing up water.
''You alright?''
''I will be... and don't worry, I won't tell Koharu about you kissing me... although I would prefer it if you waited till I was conscious.'' - Kizmel winked at Jet, who suddenly became very flustered. ''I wasn't kissing you! It was a way we use to revive people who's breathing has stopped. It's called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!''
''I am aware, Jet.'' - Kizmel laughed, as Jet's face suddenly dropped. ''We have a similar technique amongst our healers... although I'm surprised that you knew that.''
''You kidding? Seven siblings, all of us trouble prone... believe me, one of us had to learn first aid pretty early on, else there wouldn't have been eight of us for all that long.'' - Jet laughed, although it didn't seem to be something he found particularly funny.
''Seven siblings? I take it you are the oldest?''
''You've met Strea, right? She's the oldest. I'm third oldest, but not by much.''
''Well, either way, thank you for that. Had you not pulled me from the water... I'd rather not think about the consequences...'' - She shivered, and probably not from the cold water.
''No problem, but we now have no idea where the girls are.'' - Jet looked towards the ice, and really hoped they were all safe...
''Where are they?!'' - Koharu seemed to be in the worst shape, having had to be given mouth to mouth by Phillia, in order to bring her back to the land of the living, and now, she was finding out that neither Kizmel nor Jet had surfaced. ''Please tell me they're still...''
''They're both still on our party tab, so they're both alive. Just... we don't know where.'' - Rain pointed out, as Koharu began to calm down slightly, evidently reassured by that knowledge. Phillia looked around the room, and noticed a control panel on the wall. Whatever was written on it, she couldn't understand it, as it was in a completely foreign language to her, almost certainly Lyusulan... deciding that the worst that could happen was more water, she decided to press the heavily faded green button, and lo and behold... the water level began to lower!
''What the!?'' - Jet, on the other hand, was not having such a good time, as he noticed the water level rising, in the chamber...
''That control panel! It's the drainage system, it was used as a sort of makeshift dam, but it could also be used to flood specific chambers!'' - Jet hoped that he wasn't dooming the girls, as he pressed the green button...
For a moment, Jet's heart missed a beat, as the water continued to rise. Of all the times that Murphy's Law could apply, now was not the time for it! Thankfully, the rising water ceased, and Jet's heartbeat returned to normal, as the water began to drain away. ''Well, that was far too close for comfort.'' - Jet sighed, Kizmel nodding in agreement. ''I didn't fancy another swimming lesson today, no.''
''Good thinking there, Phillia.'' - Rain complimented, as she looked around and found some steps to head a bit lower into the chamber. As she took a look around, she noticed something - a small chute, that seemed to have been where the water had drained through. ''Girls, I think I've found a way out!''
''We'll be down in a second!'' - Phillia shouted down, as she noticed Koharu still looking crestfallen. ''Both of them will be fine, you know? Jet's an ass, but he's a resourceful ass, if nothing else, and Kizmel will keep him from doing anything too reckless too.''
''I know... I just, I just feel a bit useless. I nearly drowned, and it was you two who solved the water issue... all I've done is act as a deadweight.''
''Not everyone's good at puzzles, don't worry about it... and as for the nearly drowning bit, we all screwed up on that one.'' - Phillia reassured Koharu, and helped her up. ''Come on, else Rain'll get antsy waiting for us.'' - After a few seconds, the trio all looked down the drain, and noticed something... it was large enough to walk through, if they were careful...
Looking around the room, Jet and Kizmel had found something. A rough schematic of how the flooding chambers were meant to work, way back in the days when this dungeon had actually been a prison...
The area they were in consisted of three equally sized chambers - A, B & C, which were linked by one long drain underneath. When the green button was pressed, the drain between A & B opened, and water flowed from A, into B, and when the green button in B was pressed, it flowed into C, whilst the red buttons would cause water to flow the other way. What this actually meant though, was that C was now completely flooded... a problem, given that the main gate into the fortress, was in chamber C...
''So, what we need to do, is get the water to flow back through, into these two chambers, and leave that one with enough space that we can, you know, not drown...''
''Easier said than done, Jet. We'd need someone to enter the room, and press the button to release the drain cover, and considering it's flooded... hang on! I may have something...'' - Kizmel rummaged around in one of her pouches, and pulled out two crystals. ''Oxygen Crystals. I always thought them pointless, but I believe I may have been mistaken.''
''How much oxygen do they give you?'' - Jet asked.
''Around two minutes, per crystal, I believe.''
''So that's... roughly 285 seconds of breathing time.'' - It wasn't ideal, but considering how fast the drains had functioned earlier, draining an entire room within a minute, Jet felt fairly confident that he'd be able to make that run himself.
''You can't be serious, Jet...'' - Kizmel looked at the knight, and then back at the drawings... they really didn't have a choice in the matter, even if she really didn't like this plan.
''Girls! I've found the next... Jet! Kizmel!'' - Rain's head popped out of the drain, taking both of them by surprise.
''Rain!'' - Jet raced down the stairs to help the redhead out of the drain, as Kizmel followed behind him.
''O slava bogu, you're both alright! We were worried that something had happened to you both!''
''Other than a mishap earlier, we're both alright Rain. Thank you for the concern though.''
''Uhh, little help down here...'' - Jet and Kizmel began to help Phillia and Koharu out of the drain, and onto the concrete. Koharu, exhausted, and having what could charitably be described as a bad day, pulled her errant boyfriend into a hug, the gesture being reciprocated. ''You're okay! Oh my god, I thought you were... I worried you might've *sniff*'' - Jet decided that holding onto Koharu for a bit was probably the best thing to do right now... it didn't hurt that it was quite warm, either. ''I told you, I'm a good swimmer. Wasn't gonna let a bit of water take me down that easily!''
''You're an ass...'' - Koharu smiled, as Jet softly laughed to himself.
''I love you too.'' - Koharu blushed under the confession, whilst everyone else in the room tried not to pry on the couple's moment...
''Umm, guys, really cute, don't get me wrong, but... don't we have a key to find?'' - Phillia pointed out.
''Oh, right! We have an idea on how to get there...''
''I'm sensing a 'but' here?'' - Rain questioned, as Jet nodded.
''Well, yeah. Right, this chamber system is linked by that drain you crawled through just. Those buttons on the control panel, they activate the drain covers. Unfortunately... we've flooded the chamber with the door to the key's chamber.''
''You're joking...''
''Nope, but I've got an idea. If you guys can activate the covers between these two chambers, I can swim into the door chamber, and release the drain from inside.''
''It took us two minutes to get through that drain... there's no way you could hold your breath that long.''
''That's where these come in - they're Breathing Crystals. With these, I should have just short of five minutes of oxygen, all things considered. Koharu, I know that look...'' - That was the look of 'I understand why, but I don't want you to'.
''Yeah... please be careful.'' - Koharu reached up to Jet's neck, and pulled him down into a kiss. Jet smiled back at her, and looked towards the rest of the girls - ''So, anything you want to say, before I do this?''
''Nope, she's pretty much said it already. Be careful.'' - Jet looked down at the drain, and unequipped his armour, coat, boots, sword and shield, leaving just his shirt and trousers, stretching as he did so. ''Remember, Michael... you've got one shot at this. Do. Not. Screw. Up.'' - he psyched himself up, and looked down towards the drain. When opened, the water would come rushing through, and trying to swim through that would be ill advised, to put it mildly. His plan was to wait until the water had reached the halfway mark, and then head through it. Slower, certainly... but also a safer bet. Even despite the many long odds they'd faced, he remembered an old saying - 'Water always wins.'
Granted, he'd gotten that from Doctor Who, and an episode where the water is able to turn people into water zombies on Mars... but it fit perfectly in this situation. ''Water's halfway up now, you ready?''
''As I'll ever be.'' Jet took the two crystals into his inventory, and lowered himself into the freezing waters. ''It's not so-BAD!'' he thought, as a part of his anatomy became submerged. Twenty seconds had passed, and Jet felt accustomed to his new, more freezing surroundings, and took one deep breath. He'd have around 45 seconds until he had to reach for the first crystal, so he started a timer in his HUD... and he dove under the water.
45, 44, 43, 42...
Swimming as fast as his arms would allow him to scoop water aside, it took less than 20 seconds to reach the drain's entrance.
25, 24, 23, 22...
Halfway through the pipe, time began to run out, and Jet could feel his head becoming lighter...
9, 8, 7, 6...
Reaching into his inventory, he quickly equipped a crystal, and smashed it, his head becoming far less fuzzy as he did. He had oxygen again, and now, he had two minutes on the clock.
117, 116, 115...
Fifty seconds had passed, and he'd found his way to the concrete plinth with the control panel. Both buttons were badly faded, and Jet pressed the one that he hoped was the correct one...
51, 50, 49, 48...
The water level began to drop, and Jet swam for the ceiling. If he could get there, he'd be able to breathe without the crystals, and... ''(heavy breathing) Bleughh... That sucked.'' - Jet muttered to no one in particular, as he felt the water level lower much faster than before, and laughed to himself. ''Good going Michael, you didn't screw this one up.''
Koharu looked towards the water, and felt her heart beating ever faster. The water level had ceased to rise, thanks to Rain reopening the gate to the chamber they'd just come out of, but the second gate that had been mentioned hadn't shown any signs of moving... and it had been nearly two minutes. ''Erm, he's done it! The other gate's open! Look!'' - Phillia called, watching as the much larger gate opened, and the water level began to rise... again. Luckily, the drain was keeping the water flowing, so it was only momentarily, before the water level lowered again. Koharu checked her messages for the signal, and there it was! A message from Jet saying he'd opened the gate, and they could now get through, thanks to a door up above them.
''You're okay!'' - Koharu ran forward, and tackled him into a hug, before recoiling back with a Jet shaped mark down her front.
''I think I'm a little bit wet.'' - Jet deadpanned, as Koharu attempted to wipe herself dry, whilst Rain handed him a towel, ''Thanks.'' he said, as he bundled his hair into a bun, and wrapped it up. Koharu looked at him blankly as he did, ''You actually know who to do that?''
''Long hair, went swimming a lot, and lived in a house with eight women. Yeah, I know how to do that... I'm also a dab hand with makeup, if I do say so myself.'' Jet bragged... undeservedly.
''Well, the self care tutorial aside, I believe we have a task now...'' - Kizmel added, as Jet re-equipped his alternate gear... a look that can only be described as 'absolutely identical', and his coat.
''Okay then, let's get going!'' - Jet and Phillia went a looked over the door mechanism, and drew a complete blank. Whoever had designed this mechanism has evidently taken some lessons from German engineers, because it looked like you'd need a Masters in engineering, simply to work out which part had to be moved! ''Uhh, so this part adjusts that?''
''No, I think it's that one?''
''Nah, that adjusts that, right?'' - Rain, Kizmel and Koharu just looked blankly towards the two of them, as they continued trying to work out where the mechanism to actually start the damn thing was...
Some 20 minutes later, Phillia had given up with that plan, and was now just kicking at the wall, as if that would do anything... CLUNK. ''Huh, percussive maintenance does work then...'' Jet muttered, as the large chamber door began to open...
''So, what's the plan?''
''We get the Sapphire Key, and we stop the Fallen in their tracks.'' - Jet adjusted a non existent tie as he spoke to the group...
{Author's Comments}
Blackheath is a town near where I'm from in the West Midlands (also an area of London, but I'm not referring to that one.). It also has a street called Bell End. Given Jet is a bit of a geek when it comes to travelling in the UK, it's not unlikely that he probably found this, and burst out laughing at some point.
Also, first time I've had to design a puzzle, and even then, I'm not sure I got it right. Anyway, Floor 8 continues, and the group are in position now...
As usual, follow, favourite, review, PM etc, if you enjoyed it, or want to give some criticism.
Signing off, Midland 2541