The Code is Mightier than the Sword

Jace Thorne eyed up the massive polar bear and fire salamander standing before him and tried not to dwell on the odd combination. “Don’t just stand there,” Kirk cried as he leaped past Jace to engage the fire-imbued lizard. “Kill it.” Jace snapped his mind back to this un-reality and watched as the agile thief attacked the salamander, his short sword colliding hard with the monster’s flaming scimitar. The smaller man was thrown to the side but sprang up in a roll, preparing another charge against the foe. Whether Kirk would ever get a solid enough hit to wound the creature was irrelevant, the desperate attack had served its purpose in distracting one of the two monsters so Jace could face the bear alone. Well, not quite alone. An arrow streaked over his shoulder, sinking deep into the white monster, the feathered shaft disappearing into the thick fur. The magical animal reared up on its hind legs in anger, not exactly making it a smaller target, and collected a second arrow in the chest. As it dropped back down to all fours, Jace made his charge, willing flame to his two-handed sword, knowing that the magical weapon would do extra damage to a creature that originated from the frozen wastelands of the north. The bear had a trick ready for the daring paladin and breathed a heavy cone of frost at its enemy. Jace dodged to the right and closed the last few feet between them with a roll and s***h of his great sword. This did far more damage than the arrows, burning off a large section of the previously white fur. Half of the creature’s side was charred black, and it turned with even greater fury than before at the offending human. “Hold!” The cry was high and shrill, and Jace felt a sudden urge to halt in his retreat. But the spell wasn’t aimed at him. Instead, the bear stopped suddenly, halfway into a retaliatory strike, its right paw raised in an attack against the kneeling paladin. Jace glanced over his shoulder, seeing the priestess who had cast the spell returning his look with a scowl. “Don’t just stand there,” Alex said, echoing Kirk. “Kill it.” Jace nodded his thanks at the save and rose to his feet to get a good strike on the motionless beast. To his left, Preston, the fourth person of their group, was running up to the polar bear too, stowing his bow on his back and pulling his sword from its sheath. The battle mage could enchant the blade with any elemental power, and fire seemed the most obvious. After only a few more attacks from the two men, the beast died. The animal was no longer a valid target for the hold spell, and it crumpled in a heap on the stone floor of the cavern. Its body flickered for a moment before vanishing in a puff of cold air, leaving behind only a small white gem bouncing on the ground. The two men ignored it and turned to see how their friend was doing. Kirk hadn’t killed the salamander yet, but it did look like he had landed a few hits. Preston lent a hand, extending his empty left arm and sending a burst of cold energy at the back of the fire creature. The salamander reared in pain as the blast hit, doing additional damage and freezing it in place for a few seconds. Kirk didn’t need to be told what to do and leaped forward, his short sword skewering the creature in the narrow chest. He did enough damage to shatter the frozen beast, its pieces dancing about on the stone before they disappeared, leaving a ruby bouncing in their place. The nimble rouge caught the gem with his off-hand, and as the others continued to scramble up the short incline, he veered toward where the bear had been and scooped up the moonstone too. “No time for that,” Alex said, standing at the mouth of a small cave in the cavern wall. “You’ll thank me later,” Kirk said. “When we can afford an extra round at the tavern tonight, you will all know why.” Jace let the thief pass him as he took his time getting to the mouth of the cave, keeping his eyes on the winding passages before and behind them. This small alcove was their target, and they found it only after an hour of wandering through the vast underground network of tunnels and open rooms. They knew the dragon was in here somewhere, and Jace worried the beast would catch them unawares. So far, they had only fought against his minions, an endless parade of the most varied creatures he could imagine. Massive snakes, iron golems, lava creatures, and crystalline horrors had joined the likes of fire salamanders and polar bears to keep the adventurers on their toes. Their information was that battling the dragon was hard enough but doing so while fending off the countless minions was nearly impossible. Finally confident the dragon wasn’t coming down the tunnel after them, Jace stepped into the cave. “You can hide us, right?” Jace asked the mage. Preston nodded, concentrated for a moment, and erected an illusion he promised would make the entrance look like a regular portion of the cavern wall. Jace thanked him and then moved further into the cave to see what task lay ahead. According to their research, the key to eliminating the ever-regenerating minions was here. Jace didn’t have to look far. A short table, two-feet square, stood ten feet into the small room that was only about 25 feet in diameter. Alex was beside Kirk, healing a few of his wounds, and neither of them said a word as Jace walked up to look at the strange setup. It was a puzzle, and everyone in the group knew who would have the most luck cracking it. The tabletop was marble and etched in a grid pattern, almost like a chess board, only the grid was 6x6 instead of 8x8. Nine gemstones were placed seemingly at random, leaving 27 open spaces. It didn’t take long for Jace to recognize most of the stones. There were moonstones, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and crystals in gray and black. Jace thought those were hematite and obsidian but wasn’t sure. Some of the stones were represented twice, and others only once. A slight glow from the gems was the only light in the room. “We’ll be thanking you sooner than the tavern,” Jace said absently. “Kirk, empty your inventory of gems.” As understanding flashed across the thief’s face that he wouldn’t be able to keep his treasures, he reluctantly dumped the varied gems on the floor. Alex stood to watch Jace think and couldn’t help but interrupt his thoughts. “How will you know which stone goes where?” “There has to be a pattern to it,” he said mostly to himself. And then it hit him. “It’s a sudoku. A 6x6 sudoku where instead of numbers, they are using gemstones. I need to place six of each stone on the board in the right place.” “I don’t have six of each,” Kirk replied, sorting his precious gems into piles. “Some have been placed on the board for me already. The problem is . . .” Jace’s voice trailed off as he lost himself in thought. “Better figure it out fast,” Preston called from the mouth of the cave. “More of the minions are milling about outside. I think they know we were here last and are trying to pick up our trail.” “I’m sorry,” Jace said, not even turning to look at the mage. “This is longer and harder than I thought it would be.” Kirk snickered. “That’s what she said.” Alex huffed at him. “Trust me,” she replied. “I would never say that.” Kirk blushed. “Oh, sorry, it wasn’t you, sweetie.” “Oh really,” she replied, standing over the thief with a menacing look. “And who was it then? Answer carefully, or those won’t be the only jewels you’ll have to play with by yourself.” “Enough, you two,” Preston scolded. “Why does game night always turn into couple’s therapy? How’s it coming, Jace?” “I have a problem,” he replied. “A 6x6 sudoku comprises six boxes that will each contain the six gems, but I don’t know if the boxes are 2x3 or 3x2. It makes a difference which side of the table I stand on.” “What happens if you guess wrong?” Kirk asked, trying to ignore the vicious stares his girlfriend was still giving him. “I don’t know, but if the orientation is the way I think it is, then this space should be an emerald.” Jace bent to the ground to pick one of the green stones and held it over the square in question, wondering if there was something special he should do. Each space had a concave depression in the center, and he fit the gem into the spot. Instantly, the emerald vanished and was replaced by a massive python. The creature slithered off the table and enveloped Kirk, who was desperately scrambling out of the way. Alex tried to cast a spell, but the tail of the enormous reptile smacked her across the chest and sent her sprawling. Jace and Preston were slow to react, so Kirk was forced into action. He managed to escape the initial attempt of the constrictor to wrap him up and pulled his short sword and dagger to make an “X,” trying to pin the snake to the ground. He wasn’t heavy enough to hold it there for long, but his friends responded in kind. Alex was back on her feet and, remembering how impervious the snakes had been to their magic attacks back in the cavern, cast a quick spell to lower its resistance. Preston recognized the spell she was preparing and sent a gout of flame toward the creature’s open mouth that hit just a moment after the priestess’s magic enveloped the snake. The monster appeared to glow brightly in the dim cave as fire filled it from mouth to tail tip, and it stopped struggling momentarily. Jace didn’t waste time and had his huge sword out in a flash. The tip sparked against the low ceiling as he brought the weapon down over his shoulder and onto the neck of the snake. The head severed from the critical strike, and soon Kirk was trying to wrangle a vanishing green mist.