Thetarune: Book One

Chapter Five | A Kaard About Towne

The four heroes continued down the road. The streets were eerily quiet. Kris almost jumped at every moving shadow and distant sound. A towering black wall was on their right, and it stretched 50 feet into the sky. The other side was more buildings plastered with the ghoulishly, eternally smiling face of Spamton. Kris studied a nearby advertisement for a second. All of them had different things they were selling, but they were all built on the same frame. Two black bars which hummed ominously, like old lights. A sheet of glass between them that radiated with heat and light. Kris touched it, and it felt like a hot glass stovetop. Spamton's face was unnatural and polished, like a marionette. It had an uncanny quality, like Rouxls when he smiled in his signature unhinged way. It looked as if his skin was stretched over too small a frame.

"C'mon! I..uh...we don't want to leave you behind!" Ralsei shouted, impatiently.

Susie felt better about the quest, having solved the conflict between her two allies. Ralsei was still pissed, but felt guilty about it. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid Don't fight with Kris. You fucking idiot. Just do your job. Get the bozos back home and kill Spamton. Rouxls was practically tapdancing his way towards the puzzle gate in the distance around the corner. He hummed and giggled to himself, tattered blue dress shoes clacking against the pavement.

"This puzzle must be something, huh?" Susie asked, chuckling a bit at Rouxls' dance moves. He nodded so violently it bordered on headbanging. His perfect 90 degree angle chin could have cut a brick in half at the speeds it was moving.

"OH YES! A TRULY DANGEROUS AND DREADFULLE PUZZLE!" He shouted, before laughing maniacally. Kris leaned over to Susie.

"H-he's really into this, isn't he?" They asked, observing Ralsei getting madder at Rouxls getting into his fluffy face.

"How long has he been out of this job again?" Susie muttered as Rouxls hit the ground from Ralsei tripping him. Rouxls shot up, and a little cube-shaped dent was in the pavement. They turned the corner and were right in the face of the first Puzzle Gate. Literally, Kris crashed their face into it.

"O-ow..." They peeled their face off of it, rubbing their nose.

"You ok?" Susie asked, staring right at Kris. Kris suddenly felt very observed. Their awkwardness was interrupted by Rouxls screaming with joy.

"MY PUZZLE GATE!!!! OH HOW I HAVE MISSED THEE!" Rouxls jumped almost Ralsei's entire height. what even...? you know what...forget it  Susie thought, shaking her head and examining the gate. It was a 20 foot tall black concrete barrier with a wooden door set into it. Susie could just barely see rusted barbed wire at the top of the gate. There were 3 pressure plates in the ground right in front of the door, one purple and two dark ones.

"Hey Rouxls...couldn't you just tell us how to unlock this gate?" She asked, turning to the large blue manchild looking over her shoulder. With a gigantic grin, he soundly said:

"NO!"

Ralsei growled.

"Are you freaking kidding me? Why not?" He said, glaring at Rouxls. Rouxls' hands shook with excitement. Is he going to be ok?  Kris thought, staring at Rouxls like he was a overcaffeinated baby. Susie put her other hand on Ralsei's shoulder.

"I don't think it matters, Rals. This is a pretty simple puzzle." She said, gesturing at the buttons. Ralsei looked a bit frightened, and he stiffened up.

"...Rals?" He said in a little voice, his expression moving far into the distance, staring right through the wall.

"Do you want me to...not call you that?" She asked, turning to see Ralsei's face. He jerked his shoulder away and leaned against a nearby wall.