The Code is Mightier than the Sword

Chapter 1b: The Test

Jace sheathed his weapon and picked up the emerald from the ground where the bulk of the snake had been. “Or,” he continued his thought as if nothing had happened, “if the boxes go in the other direction, the emerald goes here.” Without hesitation, he pressed the gem into a different square. Everyone else in the room scrambled backward, but Jace stood confidently still and watched as the emerald shimmered and locked into place.

“I think I’ve got it now,” he said. “Sorry for that. But I had to guess to know.” He looked down at the collection of gems scattered about the floor, trying to count as Kirk collected them back into piles. “However, I don’t think we have enough rubies. We only have four, and I will need five.”

“Someone needs to go kill another salamander,” Preston reasoned. He was about to offer when Kirk spoke up.

“I’ll go. I don’t think I want to be in here when Jace screws up again and iron golems start beating the crap out of us.”

Jace and Preston exchanged looks and thought it more likely that he wanted some breathing room from his girlfriend. Either way, he did go up to her. “How’s about a bit of protection first?”

“Oh,” she said mockingly, “now you want to use protection.”

“Fire protection, sweetie. You know, for the salamander I am going to bravely go kill.”

“If you call jumping out of the shadows and backstabbing brave,” she said but cast a fire protection spell on him anyway.

“Be quick,” Preston said as the thief wove around the table and approached the much taller battle mage.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m always quick.”

“Now, that is something I’ve said before,” Alex replied.

Kirk thought about responding but instead initiated his stealth skill and faded from view into the shadows before moving through the illusion and out into the main cavern.

“It always gives me the creeps when he does that,” Jace said, turning back to the table. Over the next few minutes, the paladin carefully placed stone after stone. Now that he knew the proper orientation of the puzzle, there were no more surprises.

Occasionally, Preston would announce from his position at the mouth of the cave that one of the creatures outside had suddenly disappeared when Jace placed a gem on the puzzle. It became apparent to the paladin that one of the corresponding creatures would vanish from the cavern as each rock was placed. Thus, they wouldn’t have to worry about the minions when the sudoku was complete. There was still the dragon, but one thing at a time.

Also, Jace was careful to keep the rubies back. If he placed them all, it would make it harder for Kirk to find the corresponding salamanders. He only had a few stones left when Preston announced they were in trouble. “I think one of the golems just dispelled my illusion.”

Jace took a moment to look into the cavern and saw five different creatures run, slither, and crawl up the slight slope to the alcove. Jace started to pull his weapon, but Preston pushed him back to the table. “Don’t worry about this; finish the puzzle, and they will all disappear.”

Jace returned to the sudoku with only eight gems left to place, half of them rubies. Alex strolled past him, pulling her mace and casting holy might on herself. Soon he heard the familiar boom of her weapon hitting heavy against a golem, and he doubled his efforts. The gems were going in quickly now, and he listened to his friends behind him sigh with relief as their enemies disappeared one by one. He was down to five empty spots, all rubies, and all five salamanders were now at the mouth of the cave, the heat of their flames making the air almost unbreathable.

If they were all here now, there was no point in holding the rubies back. He placed the four he had, and soon Preston and Alex faced only one. The mage froze it, and the priestess blasted it apart with her mace. Preston caught the ruby on the second bounce and tossed it over his shoulder to Jace.

Just then, Kirk finally made his appearance, emerging from the shadows. “You waited just long enough for us to get our own ruby so you could keep yours, didn’t you?” Alex accused him.

Kirk had an innocent expression on his face, tossing the red gem up and down in his hand as he walked up the slope. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I worked as fast as I . . .” his voice trailed off as the ruby vanished from the air in mid-toss.

Inside the cavern, Jace secured the last one, and all the extra gems on the floor disappeared. His three companions crowded into the cavern and huddled around the small table, watching as each stone sparkled and sunk into the table till they were all flush. Once the process was complete, a slit opened in the middle a few inches wide and a quarter inch thick. It reminded Jace of a sheath’s opening. On a whim, he pulled his sword and tried to stick it in the slot, but it was too big. Then a light went on in his head.

“Um, Kirk,” he started slowly. “You wouldn’t happen to still have that completely non-descript sword we found earlier.”

“You mean the one you told me was worthless, and I was wasting room in my inventory by picking it up?”

Jace swallowed his pride. “Yes, that one.”

Kirk reached into his inventory and seemingly pulled a sword out of nothing. “This sword?”

Jace nodded. “That’s the one. May I have it?”

Kirk contemplated making his friend eat more crow but relented and handed the blade over. Jace took it carefully and brought the end down to the opening.

Preston put a hand on Jace’s shoulder to caution him. “Just put the tip in slowly and see if anything happens.”

“That’s what she-” Kirk started, but Alex slapped him.

Jace ignored the couple and did as instructed, already intending to take it slow. He didn’t get the chance. As soon as the weapon tip entered the narrow slot, the sword was yanked from his hands and plunged into the table. Multi-colored energy rays pulsed from each of the 36 gems into the center in a rainbow of color, focused on the firmly secured sword. The display continued for a dozen seconds until each stone exhausted itself of power and looked like empty glass. The table thrummed with energy, and the whole cavern shook through the spell’s completion.

As quickly as it started, it was over. The cavern was now dropped into darkness without the table's glow, and Alex cast a light spell to illuminate the small room. The sword sat there innocently as if nothing had happened. Jace reached for it, touching the pommel with one finger and then slowly letting his palm rest on it. He sensed power but no danger and pulled the sword from the table. Once free, they no longer needed Alex’s spell, for the blade shone like a lighthouse in the small cave.

Jace smiled as he held the weapon aloft. “Guys, let’s go kill a dragon.”