There was also a window, and outside the window it showed a palm tree and a beach, clearly on the first floor, despite us being on the sixth.
“Where’s the ring! Does it show on the map?” I called.
Based on the way everyone else was zooming around like idiots up there, I don’t think it does.
We landed on the bed, which was covered with a line of dust.
Florin: If you’re having difficulty finding the rings, Lucia figured out that they’re considered magical gatesby the system. If you have a Detect Magic skill or anything that sees magic, they’ll work.
“Donut,” I said, “your sunglasses have a magical-flow setting. See if that works!”
Prepotente: We are on the fifth floor. Beware false gates. If you have a Trap Sensing ability, it will mark them. The one we just saw is a disintegration trap. Jurgen almost sent us right into it. If you have advanced GPS, it should notice the bad gates. Otherwise, be wary.
We drove off the bed and squeezed under the door, moving into the hallway.
“I see it! I see it!” Donut said, pointing left, her sunglasses flashing purple. “It’s that way, under that door. It looks like a magic river flowing toward it!”
That is a bathroom according to the map.
We turned in the hallway. Multiple photos hung on the wall showing the same three children at various ages. All but one of them, a girl, had their eyes X’d out. I didn’t recognize her.
From another room came a deep, forebodingwoof.
“Uh-oh,” I said. “They have a dog! Hurry!”
There was a crack, and three more racers appeared, coming through the ceiling, then streaking down the wall. One squealed loudly, and the woof turned to loud barks. Just as we were about to enter the bathroom, an enormous, fluffy sheepdog appeared, growling. It snapped right at us as we moved under the door, appearing in a small but clean bathroom.
“There!” Donut called, pointing. The gate was on the wall, about halfway up.
Pontiff expertly switched to the spider legs, and we rushed up the floral wallpaper. Outside, the dog continued to bark, but it was moving away, likely chasing other vehicles as they scattered.
Ping!
Gate Two of Seven cleared.
“What’s under us?” I asked.
“It’s another bathroom,” Nester said, her hand glowing.
Donut cast aHolein the floor, and we turned, ready to plunge right through.
Florin: Christ, mate. Just went through our assigned spot on the sixth floor, and it was Lucia’s dad’s house. Lucia is here, too, just sitting on the ground watching TV, laughing. The real Lucia completely shut down there for a second. What in god’s name is this?
As if to answer him directly, the whole world froze.
N . . . N . . . New Quest. Ad Infinitum.
This is a mandatory quest. All crawlers active on the tenth floor must complete this quest.
Okay, so this ain’t a real quest in the traditional sense. I’m going through some big feelings right now, and I really need to get them out. This was the easiest way to do this.
We just started a few minutes ago, and all of you crunchy little crawlers are bitching and moaning about the shit you’re seeing in some of these apartments. As a result, I kinda feel like I need to explain.
The quest is to finish the race. You’re already doing that, so... no real prize that doesn’t suck.
ThisChristmas Carol,Midnight Library,Dark Matterbullshit you’re seeing is more of a thought experiment than the real thing, so don’t get your crawler panties too wadded over all of it. None of these people are the real versions. Well, that’s not true. Some of them have atoms from the original in there, with the exception of the puppers because I’ve decided to make a moral stand on that one. I will no longer be using dogmaterials in anything because I just love them so much, but that’s a tangent.
I changed this up at the last minute because of that whole Linus thing.