Tower of Lore

Chapter Five: Dusty's Swear

Dusty woke to the appetizing aroma of apples and cinnamon. He sniffed and drew closer to the source only waking as wild red hair poked his face. Lindsey still slept against him completely asleep. This world was crazy and dangerous, but all of it was worth it for this moment.

Maybe she didn’t trust him yet, but he was going to prove to her that they belonged together. He’d win her back and save the princess’s tower. It wouldn’t be easy of course, but he had played every single game in the series, he knew every monster, every layout the every changing tower had gone through, every boss that lived in the place.

She whimpered in her sleep and he pulled her against him until she settled down and a relieved smile spread across her lips. She let out a little breath and settled back down. Nothing could have made Dusty feel better. His body twitched from being so close to his ex-lover but he ignored it as best as he could. He wasn’t about to try anything until their relationship was straightened out, and that was a long time away.

A sharp rap on their door interrupted his perfect moment as Lindsey woke up. She jerked awake and scrambled away from him as if he had burned her. “You were supposed to sleep on the floor,” she snapped over her shoulder.

“Sorry, Linds.”

The knock stopped her from arguing further and she opened the door first. “Woofie, right?” she demanded of the red-head man on the other side.

“Yes, that’s right,” Woofie inclined his head. “I’m sorry to wake you so early, but you need to get to Alexander’s weapon room and start training. We have no time to waste.”

Lindsey sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “Sure, let me get ready, can you wait out here for a minute?” The guard nodded and Lindsey closed the door after him. She turned back to Dusty and sighed. “We’ve been summoned.”

Dusty shrugged as he too got up and adjusted his clothes. “I heard, don’t worry, Linds. No matter what we face I’ll protect you.”

Lindsey snorted. “You realize I’m more likely to protect you right?

Dusty puffed his chest out. “We’re inside a game, Linds. We must have picked up some sort of magical powers. Just think about it, why would we be summoned if we were useless?”

Lindsey arched an eyebrow. “A mistake?” she countered.

Dusty paused to glare at her. “You really gotta stop being so pessimistic. I love your beautiful smile.”

Lindsey turned away from him for just a moment before craning her neck around. “Did you really just give me one of those you look prettier when you smile lines, Dusty?”

Dusty froze with his mouth opening and closing. That glare could melt ice. “No?”

Her glare didn’t lessen as she slammed the door open and nodded to Woofie. “We’re ready, just lead the way.”

Dusty followed behind the two as he went over the conversation. Just what had he done wrong this time? He was always sticking his foot in his mouth when it came to Lindsey. “This place is way bigger than I thought,” he announced.

Woofie slowed his pace so that Dusty could walk by his side. “This is your first time here.”

“My digital journeys, this place has been mapped out every year and none of it ever stays the exact same, but I know it’s never been this big. Some of these hallways you could parade an elephant through!”

“Why would we have elephants?” Woofie stared at him with a frown hovering on his lips. “I’m afraid I do not understand. How would one parade an elephant in the first place? Those beasts live outside, but they are far too large to take up residency here.”

“That’s something I wanted to ask,” Lindsey popped up on the other side of the guard. “That fox guy said you guys came from the outside?”

Woofie nodded. “Yes, everyone but me. They used to be murderous beasts on a rampage for her blood, but I talked to them and convinced them to accept her power into their bodies so they can fight for her instead of try to kill her.”

“Why not just kill them?” Dusty questioned. “They’re enemies, and the royal family is always protected by an inner circle of humans. Usually generation after generation.”

Woofie shook his head. “No, none of that is true anymore. The last generation of humans has been a long time ago, and Princess Liana refuses to recruit any of her people.”

“Where are her people?” Lindsey looked around. “I haven’t seen signs of anyone else yet.”

Woofie pointed down. “Beneath us. The princess considered it would be safer if they hid underground until this entire debacle is handled.”

“So we won’t get to meet them?” Lindsey questioned. “I was curious about what they thought of this strange world of theirs.”

“They’ve been kept safe for a time now, it would be unwise to bother them. Come, we must hurry, Alexander will be impatient if we dally too long.”

Dusty followed after until they got to a huge room with two double doors made of wood. He stepped closer as he ignored his companions. On the frame of either door starting at the very bottom and traveling all the way to the top were numerous symbols carved into the wood itself.

“Come on,” Lindsey called as she noticed he had stopped.

Dusty waved her off with one hand. “I’ll be there in a minute, I’ve spent so many hours reading about these symbols. You’ve read the in-game books right, Linds?”

She took a spot next to him and his senses were overridden by the sweet apple aroma again. His house used to smell just like that, every single room. “What are you trying to show me?” she demanded.

He shook himself. “Sorry, but look, these are all the bosses from the game. All the family crests, all the various guardian's marks, everything, this must-have taken ages, it looks perfect.”

“As pleased as I am about you admiring the outside of my favorite room of this tower, I would much rather you enjoy what the inside holds.” Alexander had joined them and was studying them both intently. It sent a shiver down Dusty’s back. “Please, come inside and I will start to test you and see which weapons will speak to your souls.”

Lindsey chuckled at his words. “Speak to our souls? Isn’t it just pick whatever produces the most damage and go with that?”

Dusty forced the words he wanted to splutter to stay deep inside. No need to scold her in front of the weapon master. “That’s not quite it, Linds.”

“Quite, what your friend means to say that just being able to do damage will not always solve the problem. Let me ask you a question, would you rather have a weapon that does more damage, or perhaps one that does less damage but will leave a status effect?”

“Status effect? Like poison?” Lindsey nodded. “I guess that would make more sense, so you have poisoned weapons?”

The fox threw his head back and laughed long and hard for so long that Dusty wondered if Lindsey had broken him. “You okay?”

Alexander finally stopped laughing and wiped a tear out of his eye. “Quite alright thank you very much. The reason for my mirth is really simple. My weapons room has every type of weapon you can think of, and indeed many that you probably have never encountered before.”

“We’ll see about that.” Dusty tore his eyes off the extravagant symbols and entered the room.

“Let’s see what the big deal is,” Lindsey agreed as she followed after him.

“The big deal?” Alexander asked as he followed after them. “Oh my, you two are in for quite the treat. All of my explorations of this tower are locked into this room. I guarantee we will find you the perfect weapon that is just for you. I have outfitted all the guardians of this castle, and if the Princess were allowed a weapon I would have fit her for one as well. I am always right.”

“Why can’t the princess have a weapon?” Lindsey demanded.

“If the princess were ever to carry a weapon it could do tragic things to the power that sleeps inside of her. To protect her to the fullest extent we have outright banned the use of any weapons by the royal family, which of course includes Princess Liana.”

“You’re going to regret that decision one day,” Lindsey added with a shake of her head. “It’s just asking for trouble.”

“We will see,” Alexander nodded to her words. “Now come, let us stop conversing of the princess and instead work on pairing you two with your weapons.” He turned back around once more and led them deeper into the weapon room until Dusty’s eyes bulged with the shock of it all. “Now, welcome to my domain,” Alexander greeted with a smirk.