Chapter 43

Day 141-143:

The sun was just beginning to light up the Tower’s watery exterior when John and Veronyka got up. The former doctor had strung up a hammock, with enough material for two, between two of the pavilion posts at the island’s north end. In an amazing display of nonverbal communication, Sygraid, Hal and a few others comprehended Veronyka’s desire for privacy. They kept others away while the two lovers reunited.

They spent the night pressed together, touching, caressing and finally making love. The pavilion’s timbers creaked alarmingly whenever passion overwhelmed one, but nothing broke free. John woke in the early morning twilight feeling more at peace than he could ever remember. He tried to kiss Veronyka’s succulent lips without waking her, but her eyes snapped open alarmingly before she settled into kissing him back fiercely.

The pair carefully picked their way past the sleeping sentries and made for the gazebo in the center. Veronyka’s hand in his own gave John an irrational shot of confidence regarding his chances. Though Veronyka hadn’t been able to talk about this Challenge at all, she had given him a piece of advice: ‘ask about options’.

Typhon was waiting for them at the gazebo. She was full-sized this morning, and nodded approval at John when he appeared.

“Why are you here?” The dragon asked.

“I’m here to Challenge.” John replied, steeling himself.

Veronyka squeezed his hand one last time, then stepped back.

“Very well, follow me.” Typhon instructed.

She led him into the center of her open air building. Reality shifted when he stepped inside, and the dragon was now small enough to fit. Screen walls sprang into place when both were entirely encompassed by the structure. The island’s outside sounds cut off. All that remained was the ever-present rush of water as the cyclone spiraled to the sky.

“My Challenge is a single one, with four possible outcomes.” Typhon explained. “Beyond this funnel of water lies my actual Tower. It is the only structure which remained intact from your peace-breaker’s dead empire. Your Task is to move as high as you can on the stone spire, and touch one of the three Completion Spheres inside. The lowest Sphere shall count as completing the easiest Task, and the highest signifying both the hardest Task, and encompassing the others below. You must only touch one, so choose carefully. Once you have done so, you will return here and receive your reward. Do you understand?”

John nodded mutely.

“Speak.” She ordered. “For the contract is bound by verbal agreement.”

“I understand.” John parroted.

“The conditions are these: you must disrobe and wear only the equipment I give you.” The dragon motioned and several items appeared on the ground in front of him.

There were a pair of rough, stiff-soled moccasins, a loin-cloth, a pair of thin, finger-less leather gloves and an X-shaped leather harness with a pouch for one hip and a canteen for the other.

He hoped it all fit.

“There are egg-like gems scattered all over the Tower. Like these.” She held out claw with an egg-sized sapphire resting in it. “Some are hidden, and others easier to find. You must retrieve some, and carry the correctly corresponding number of them when you touch the Completion Sphere of your choice. For the easiest, carry one. The next: two. The hardest: four. Do you understand?”

“Get the appropriate number of gems, and touch the sphere I select with the right number in my bag.” John summarized.

“Correct.” Typhon acknowledged. “The Spheres are in the center of the Tower, accessible by entering where the water flows out, or by the top where that water drains inside. You may neither accept, nor give help to another Challenger for the duration. Nor may you hinder someone else. Should you do either, you will be penalized severely. This is a singular task, though you will observe others also attempting theirs. I will know if you do so, do not doubt it. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” John said simply.

“Victory conditions are: when you contact a Sphere with the correct number of my gems in your possession. Failure conditions are: if you die, or quit and surrender yourself to me. Both are fatal outcomes, though I will end your life painlessly. Do you comprehend my Terms and Conditions?”

“I do.” John replied. “What do I do with my stuff?”

“Leave it here, it will be held until your return to this place. None will touch it.” The dragon told him.

John got changed. The moccasins fit perfectly, snug like climbing shoes should. The bottom was textured and would hopefully grip the Tower surface well. The loin-cloth was clean, but took a few minutes for him to figure out. He cinched it down tightly, feeling more than a little exposed. He struggled into the harness, which also clung to his torso, and tugged on the gloves. He tested the canteen and found it sloshing with pure-smelling water.

“The water which falls through the Tower is fresh, like rain.” Typhon informed him. “Only the sea itself is salty. Should you drink all yours, you may refill it with whatever you find.”

“Thank you.” He nodded.

“Are you prepared?” The dragon asked.

He tested his equipment one more time. All secure.

“Yes, let’s do this.”

The dragon pointed a claw and one of the screens opposite him disappeared. The wall of water beyond separated into a triangular door taller than himself.

“Enter, and may neither your body nor mind fail you this day.” She said ritually.

“Oh!” John remembered. “Do I have any options, for completing this?”

“For completing? No.” The dragon sounded annoyed. “For moving? Yes. You may elect to swim up the center. Or you may scale the side by hand and foot. Or, you may test your mind against me in a game my sisters and I play. If that last is your intent, go to a large cave halfway between the two lowest waterfalls.”

“How—d”

“Go!” Typhon interrupted him. “You must discover your path for yourself.”

John clamped his mouth shut and walked into the Tower.

Once beyond the upward streaming tunnel of water, John discovered the true Tower. The island he stood on was actually a four-armed cross, with the longest leg connecting directly to the Tower’s base, several hundred yards away. The Tower itself was as wide as a major city block in Chicago or New York, but taller than the highest skyscraper on Earth. It had a slight inward slope at the base, and flared back out at the very top. That top was mind-bogglingly high. So tall, he had difficulty estimating it. Water cascaded off the stone at several points. Small drips from the top’s edge, and two huge roaring waterfalls shot out from holes in the side. The lowest poured out about one third of the way up the side, and the second at two-thirds height, exiting ninety degrees farther around the circumference than the lower.

Numerous caves dotted the walls. Some were barely wide enough to get both arms into, while others were large enough that a giant could go in. The stone exterior was rough and broken, with jagged edges and deep cuts providing adequate hand- and footholds. Even with that advantage, climbing the entire thing was going to take more than a day. Probably several. He could see a few figures inching their way up the rock. They looked like ants from his distance.

“At least I’ll have a place to sleep,” John said to himself.

From the way Typhon had spoken, there must be two other waterfalls on the back side, directly opposite the two he could currently see. If Veronyka’s advice was worthwhile, looking for the cave Typhon mentioned might be a good start.

“John go in already?” Spooky’s voice made Veronyka jump as she stared at the gazebo.

“Oh!” She startled. “Yeah, he just went in.”

The former SpecOps colonel looked over the structure.

“What do we do now?” He asked.

“When the sides disappear, go in and tell the dragon that you’re here to ‘Challenge’. She’ll explain the rest.” Veronyka told him.

“I remember that much.” Spooky retorted. “I meant more generally. John told me that the way back to Earth is blocked off. From what you said, it seems you know more than we do about getting around using those things. What do you recommend we do next?”

“I forgot.” Veronyka admitted with chagrin. “Next we need to go do the Ocean of Shifting Sands. The Topaz dragon is who gave the healer his powers. We’re going to need more of them if we want to avoid getting picked off one by one. This world is rough.”

“How do we get there?” Spooky inquired.

Veronyka showed him the miniaturized Ream’ch and the other three eggs Raiginlef had given John. “We fly.”

“Dragon airlines.” Spooky quipped. “I like it. Glad to see you again, doc.”

Veronyka’s smile looked forlorn. “You too, Spooky. I didn’t realize how much I missed all of you until you came through the portal yesterday.”

“I get the feeling it’s been more than just two years for you.” Spooky guessed. “That true?”

“I didn’t lie about anything.” She defended. “Everything I told you was true. But yeah, it’s been way more than just two since I saw you, or John.”

“Stuff you can’t talk about?” He sounded knowing.

“Basically. Yeah.” She gave a helpless shrug. “It’s not fair, I know but I ... can’t.”

“I get it.” He said. “No problem.”

The gazebo walls disappeared, leaving only the support beams.

“Looks like it’s my turn.” He nodded to her. “Have a good ‘un doc!”

“Have a good one.” She whispered as he walked inside.

She’d just turned away when Typhon appeared beside her, in miniature form.

“Mentalist, it is time for you to depart.” The dragon told her.

“But you said I could wait for them, and depart when my group does!” She protested.

Typhon shook her head. “I said you could wait and greet the one you sought. And you had to leave when the others in your group did. The others departed yesterday. It is time for you to go.”

“But ... I meant John and his companions were my group.” She argued.

The dragon had the grace to sound sad for her. “Ah, you were in error. You may join their group, elsewhere if you wish. But for your arrival here, your group consisted of three Valkyries only. If you are not off the island before the sun passes overhead, I will sanction you.”

Veronyka’s heart hammered. “No, I’ll go. Thank you for the talks. I learned a lot.”

“Yes, you did.” Typhon acknowledged. “May it aid your quest. A warning also: do not bring others here through the portal. I will consider it unwelcome.”

“I won’t.” Veronyka bowed.

The dragon disappeared, leaving her wondering what to do next herself.

John walked the path to the Tower with a measured pace. He had water, but nothing to eat. Hadn’t had a bite since the previous evening. If what he remembered was accurate, he had about two days his before muscle mass began deteriorating and up to a week before his strength was reduced to the point that climbing became hazardous. So, his target window was three to four days. If he wasn’t at the top by then, he’d need to consider attempting one of the lower spheres instead. From now on, conserving energy was paramount.

As he walked on, he began to realize that his estimate of the distance between the peninsula where he’d docked and the base of the Tower itself was wrong. It ended up being over a mile before he reached the rough stone spire.

Choppy water crashed against the rocks a few feet below his pathway. He ran fingertips over the rough slabs, finding them wet and worn smooth from years of people climbing. The wall was about thirty degrees from vertical to start, and broken enough that he found hand and foot-holds easily. From what he could see at the bottom, the slope gradually became vertical before the first waterfall.

“Only way through it is to do it.” He told himself, and found a place for his foot.

The popular view of rock and mountain climbers is that they pull themselves up the cliff, or mountain using a freakishly strong upper body. While most do have higher than average grip and torso strength, that is not their primary method for advancing. An experienced climber knows that the legs are much better than the arms for lifting the body’s weight. Humans spend their entire lives using the lower limbs for this purpose. Even the best handstand-walker only does it for a few minutes at a time.

“Do you climb a ladder with your arms?” The unit climbing instructor used to say. “No. You use your feet. Get that through your skulls now, gentlemen. Every time you use your arms, that’s minus ten feet you ascend.”

Then he made them walk up increasingly steeper inclines with their hands tied behind their backs. It became a game after they got used to it. The first person to lose their balance and slip back down had to buy the first round at the bar later. John might not have been the world’s best climber, but he never bought the first beers either.

They had spent several weeks traveling around the Rocky Mountains, scaling anything they could find. They used ropes when appropriate of course, but did a fair bit of free soloing as well. You never knew, in their line of work, when you might not have time to set up anchors and a belay.

So John moved carefully and deliberately. He was about to do something monumentally dangerous. One false move and he’d fall to his death. He passed the remains of several previous Challengers as he moved higher, bones picked clean by scuttling amphibious creatures.

He was only fifty or sixty feet up when he happened to glance down and saw Spooky getting ready to begin. He caught the other man’s eye and gave a thumbs up. Spooky being spooky, the man nodded back once then ignored him completely.

John found himself taking the easiest path at first. No need for anything crazy at this stage. He’d find it hard enough when he got to the vertical part. But then he realized his path was spiraling up, taking him right through the torrent of falling water.

“Oops, don’t wanna go that way!” He muttered, reversing and taking a big step to get higher.

He angled back away from the splashing falls, peering upward for the cave Typhon had mentioned. There were several in the general area, but nothing too obvious yet. His moccasins did a superb job on both smooth stone and the more jagged portions. The soles were stiff enough that sharp protrusions didn’t bother him, but flexible for finding good foot placement. The gloves were a good compromise as well. The skin on his fingers was rougher than his palms, and he’d quickly have slashed himself to ribbons on the worst spots.

The amount of life creeping and crawling around the Tower was greater than he would’ve expected too. Large, multi-legged animals and over-sized insects scuttled about, making him watch hand or foot placement more closely. His stomach was already grumbling when he found a small depression, perfect for taking a relaxing lunch break.

He snatched up one of the less repulsive creatures and killed it, then grimaced when he realized he’d have to tear the thing’s skin off with his teeth and eat it raw without butchering. Frowning, he tossed the carcass away regretfully. He could do it, if he had to. He’d done it before. But he’d been much hungrier for two months straight during Ranger School. Skipping a meal or three wasn’t going to kill him.

He was still taking a break when Spooky climbed up about ten feet away.

“Don’t get very far sitting around.” The dark-skinned man commented.

“Sure don’t.” John agreed. “I was about to keep moving. It’s a good spot, here if you want it.”

Spooky considered for a moment. “I’ll take it. I could use a break for a few.”

John surrendered his seat by climbing up and over.

“Have a good ‘un.” Spooky called.

“At least we don’t have packs.” John remarked.

“Good point.” Spooky laughed.

It was late afternoon by the time John figured he was at the same level as the lowest waterfall. The Tower exterior was completely vertical by that point, but had plenty of cracks and holes for him to use. He carefully side-stepped around until he found a large cave with a dragon statue inside.

The idol was intricately carved, a perfect replica of Typhon but no taller than a child. It was chiseled out of a crystal and glowed with a faint blue light inside. Two perfect globe sapphires were mounted for eyes. In front of the statue was a table-sized checkerboard. Instead of eight squares on a side, this one had nine like a sudoku puzzle. The squares alternated colors, deep blue and light gray. The two main diagonals, which started in each corner and met at a single square in the center were the blue ones. The whole thing was rotated with the corners pointing at him and the statue instead of the long sides.

Also unlike an Earth checkerboard, this one wasn’t flat. The center square was raised by a few inches, turning the grid into a four-sided pyramid. The two main blue diagonals formed the edges of each triangular side, and one of the egg-like gems rested on the top square. A small spring of clear water bubbled in a depression to one side. A flat stone stool rose up from the cave’s floor, between him and the board.

The statue’s eyes glowed when he reached out to take the jewel. “Do you wish to begin the tutorial?” Typhon’s voice asked.

“Do I have to, to take this?” John asked, holding up the gem.

“You must complete the tutorial to keep it, yes.” The idol replied.

John was intrigued. “Tutorial for what?”

“The game is one of focus and strategy, with many titles. My sisters and I call it Eggs on the Mountain.” He was told.

“Is this part of the Challenge?” John wondered.

“It is if you think of it as a method for ascending the Tower, yes.” The statue informed him.

“How does playing board games help me climb?” He pressed.

“Should you win your first game, against an experienced but easy opponent, you will be transported to the next game board cave.” The dragon answered.

“Is that cave higher than this one?” He sat down.

“It is halfway between this one and the third.” The idol told him.

“So, if I win, you’ll move me higher on the Tower. Is that right?” John rubbed his hands together.

“That is correct. But if you lose, you may not play again, at any of the stations.”

“Is that the only punishment for losing?” If so, it wasn’t so bad.

“At this station, yes.” The dragon assured him.

John stowed the jewel in his pouch. “Let’s do this. How do you play?”

A hidden drawer popped out from below the board. Inside were nineteen pieces. Nine were different colored jeweled eggs standing upright on a small base. The Egg gemstones were each named: Amethyst, Diamond, Emerald, Onyx, Opal, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire and Topaz. The other ten were all beautifully detailed dragons. Nine of which corresponded in composition with a different one of the Eggs but had names of their own. The dragon names were (in the same order of material as the above list): the Storm, the Glacier, the Tree, the Dead, the Changeling, the Liar, the Torch, the Wave, and the Light. The tenth dragon piece was simply called the Mother.

The tutorial went on to explain that each piece moved differently than others, like a game of chess on steroids. The eggs could only move one space, and only if there was a dragon in a space adjacent to both the start and finish square.

The Changeling and Liar could only move by trading places (from any distance across the board) with another piece. The Changeling could only swap with other dragons, while the Liar could actually pretend to be any piece at all.

The Glacier and Wave moved in a straight line only, but would stop at the edge of each pyramid face. They had to wait for the next move before continuing. Sort of like a Rook in chess.

The Light, Tree and Storm all moved on diagonals, but where the Storm would ignore the edge of each face, the Tree and Light had to stop, like the Glacier and Wave did. The Storm was restricted to the blue-colored spaces, while the Tree and Light were displaced to the gray ones.

The Dead and the Torch moved by ‘flying’ in differing patterns. The Dead could move to any space that was two away, while the Torch jumped three, but only on a direct line (diagonal or file).

Then there was the Mother, who could ignore the edge restriction and move in any direction, even ‘flying’ over other pieces. She was the chess Queen equivalent.

Also, you couldn’t see the other pyramid faces unless you had a piece on them, or on the main diagonal that constituted the edge. So, John started the game unable to even watch what the dragon did until he could get a piece over to that side.

In addition, pieces could only successfully attack each other based on an intricate ranking system, and whether they had ‘support’ from others on the same team in enough strength to overcome the defender’s ‘power’. Once you captured an opponent’s Egg, if you had lost the dragon piece of the same gem-type, the Egg would hatch and replace your loss. But if you still had that piece, then it was ‘consumed’ and removed completely. The player who lost all nine Eggs first was declared the loser. John had to ask the dragon to repeat this portion of the tutorial explanation several times before he felt like he understood the bare basics.

“This is way more complicated than chess!” He exclaimed.

“Indeed it is.” Typhon remarked snootily.

Later John kicked himself for failing to ask how Typhon even knew what chess was.

The final complication was how you started. Players alternated turns, that part was like any normal game from Earth that John had played. Unlike chess, you began the game with an empty board. Each new piece had to be placed on the corner square closest to you, then moved before the next could enter. The first piece placed had to be a dragon, then the player alternated between Eggs and dragons until all were on the board. Starting strategies were extremely involved, and most required great skill not to screw up at least partially.

“Well, shit.” John muttered. “I’m going to suck at this!”

“I consume your final Egg. You are defeated.” Typhon’s voice was gloating. “You may not play again during this Challenge.”

With that, the dragon’s eyes stopped glowing and the pieces all disappeared. His drawer slammed shut with a clap.

Sighing, John refilled his canteen and took a drink. He’d just wasted several hours playing a board game more complicated than astrophysics. And had nothing to show for it either! It was almost full dark now, and though he could See well enough to climb, his mind was exhausted from the game.

He decided to lay down for a nap.

Something was tickling his ear. He brushed it away, but it came back. Angrily, and groggily he slapped at it and found his middle finger pinched painfully. He blinked awake, shaking his hand furiously. Attached to his finger was a scorpion-like bug, with pincers and six other legs. Instead of a stinger, it had a sharp beak for a mouth, which is what currently clamped onto the tip.

He put his hand on the stone stool and hammered the insect with his other fist until it was paste. Then he pried off the still-locked mouth and tossed the remains outside.

Examining his fingertip, he found a deep puncture on both the nail and the pad. Blood was spurting out of the second wound so he ripped off part of his loin-cloth to wrap everything up. He tied it as tightly as he could, hoping to reduce the flow and also praying it would prevent infection.

Well, he was fully awake now. Might as well get to climbing.

He carefully zig-zagged from one cave to the next. Each time he took a rest before continuing. His finger began to throb painfully and the wrapping ripped off within the first hour. By dawn, he was several hundred feet higher, and had worked his way around the circumference until he was directly opposite where he started.

He’d found a shallow void, barely big enough to sit in, and was watching the sun light up the wall of water as it swirled upward. Rainbows refracted through the spray, and he suddenly realized just how tired he really was. He emptied his canteen and laid back down to sleep.

The grunts and scrapes of another person climbing woke him up sometime around midday. He sat up stretching and looked out of the cave.

“Oi, got enough room for another?” A gruff voice asked, in Trade.

“Not really.” John admitted. “But I’m moving on. Give me a moment.”

The Raider, the man’s origins were obvious, gave him a nod and hung on until John could maneuver himself out and up from the cave. The Raider gave him a grunted thanks as he heaved himself into the shallow depression.

A crack large enough for his entire body started twenty feet above. John made for it and jammed himself within. The chute went back several feet as well, so John wiggled deeper to get completely inside. He braced a foot against each wall, turning his body so he could sit on a heel if needed.

Keeping a light touch on the stone with his hands, for balance John worked back and forth. He moved his front foot higher, then stood and lifted his other one. Maintaining pressure with a bent knee wore his leg muscles out quickly, so he spent as much time as he could standing straight up with his knees nearly locked.

The crevice was a godsend. He used it to go up several hundred feet. Its path wasn’t perfectly vertical, so he could rest on the occasional ledge for a bit. By nightfall he was even with the upper waterfall. He could hear it roaring as the liquid gushed out, a raging torrent eight feet wide. His chute petered out right below it, close enough for him to refill his canteen.

He only had the one, so he kept a tight grip on the handle as he dipped the opening into the water. It was rushing outward so hard he still nearly lost a hold. He yanked it back and tried again. This time he barely brushed the spraying droplets, letting it fill more slowly.

He took several long drinks and ended with his container filled. This was his last chance at fresh water. Above this, the rock began inverting. He would have to use more arm and grip strength. Tentatively, he glanced down and had to clamp his eyes shut.

A fall now meant death, without question.

His injured finger was painful to touch, and hot. He probably had an infection. That was going to make the next pitch even harder. He needed to find a decent cave and rest before making the final push.

Inch by inch he made his way out of the crease. There was a relatively easy route around the water-filled opening, and even a noticeable path inside, if he clung to the cave roof. He hadn’t checked out the lower ones, but that must be how a Challenger got into the Tower so they could touch the Sphere. Good to know, if he couldn’t make the next part, and didn’t die either.

The rock began inclining backwards, making his heart pound with adrenaline before he found a place he could slither into. He took a look first, but could See it was empty. The opening was only big enough for him to crawl inside, and turning around in such a confined space was tough. He twisted this way and that before getting his head near the cave’s mouth and his feet farther back.

He wasn’t really sleepy yet, though the sun was setting and this side was already dark. But he needed a rest or he knew he’d make a mistake soon. He lay there surrounded by stone and stared at the rock ceiling in thought.

Veronyka’s point was well taken, he could blame her if he wanted. But he’d known from the start there was something more going on. The thought of getting to do something, anything important again had been too exciting to pass up.

He liked to tell himself that if he hadn’t been injured, he would’ve been a lifer. Forced to retire when he was too old to do the job anymore. Krystal, his ex-wife would’ve left him at some point, he had no doubt about that now. But for an operator, divorce wasn’t always a bad thing. Some even found it freeing, though painful too.

On the other hand, he didn’t really have a plan for what to do from here. Should he fly away with Veronyka? Were the three dragon eggs Raiginlef gave him enough to carry himself, Hal, Sygraid, and Treb to wherever they went next? What about those Northerners who’d come with him from the Door? He couldn’t just desert them either. His deal with Svend aside, none of their families were at Final Harbor anyway.

No, he needed to stay. Help everyone get back together. Only once they’d done that could he continue on with Veronyka. They’d agreed that the Network’s promise to open other worlds once he met the ‘prerequisites’ was their only hope for finding a way back to Earth. That meant he needed to complete at least one more Challenge, assuming he passed this one too.

So, that was the plan then: help everyone find home, then get everybody there. After that take those who wanted to and head for the next dragon. Eventually get the Network to open a portal to either Earth, if it could. Either that or find out if there were other ways to go home.

There had to be something. Even with the language difference, there were too many things here that matched up with legends and myths from Earth. He just needed to figure out the connection, and how to use it. Good thing he had a genius-IQ girlfriend to help with that.