UnwillingEldritchHorrorofFortune
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Chapter 179: A Hidden Zone
🕑 Added 2024-08-19 17:53:58 +0000 UTCThe three of us walked down the stone steps to the hut’s entrance, going past the creepy statues and epitaphs - which, by the way, I swore were looking at us - and knocked on the little wooden door. Strangely enough, even under the crimson light of the moon, this place was relatively normal looking. There weren't any of those wiggling vines surrounding everything, no specters and eyeball things flying around, and even the shrubbery surrounding the hut looked normal.
If there’s anything that I’ve learned over the years, it’s that finding a spot that was strangely out of place, even if everything else around us was anything but normal, was a bad sign. A trap, so to speak. I could imagine poor Aspirants finding this place and going in to seek sanctuary as they tried to escape the horrors outside. I wouldn’t be surprised if this place had claimed more than its fair share of outsider lives over the years, but I was invited, so it couldn’t be too bad.
Congratulations on reaching the heart of the village, Aspirant Walter!
You are now entering an EX-ranked Hidden Zone. Please leave if you are not fully prepared.
[NOTE: DIFFICULTY OF THIS MISSION IS DEEMED IMPOSSIBLE FOR CURRENT ASPIRANTS]
Objective: Survive the encounter with the Elder and ???.
Due to the extreme difficulty, additional assistance will be provided to all Aspirants wishing to challenge this Zone.
HINT: Do not believe what your senses tell you.
Oh, this was new. I had almost forgotten that there were hidden rewards and such that could be found or triggered in these Trials, what with my last few being anything but normal, but no such anomaly should be in play here.
Say, Noe, do you think the Trash Matrix is trying to trick me here?
“Negative, my Host,” she answered, “My analysis shows that you have triggered a preprogrammed message and is standard for this Trial. This is not created just for you, dear Walter, but can be initiated by any Aspirant.”
Thanks, that’s good to know. I guess the Trash Matrix is licking its wounds right about now, this Trial is about as bog standard as they get, huh?
“It would be ridiculous to assume that all Trials will be corrupt, my Host.”
And I also believe you said that the Trash Matrix had no control over these hidden rewards, right?
“You are correct again, my Host.”
I smiled. Now what goodies would I get if I did something that was normally deemed impossible? Sure, the second half of the objective was obscured for now, but that’s hardly a concern. I knocked on the door, trying my best not to appear too giddy.
A kindly old woman answered. She was petite and hunched over with a kindly smile on her face, and the dusty old apron that she was wearing and the scent of freshly cooked food almost tricked me into thinking I was visiting some nice retiree’s villa. I almost had to double-check that the moon was still up because she just seemed so… normal.
“Why, you must be the famed Dr. Walter,” she said with a soft and thoroughly pleasant tone… a little too pleasant.
It reminded me of when I had Noe amplify my own voice to tickle all the feel-good notes when I’m trying to trick people. A strange feeling started to wash over me, but it disappeared just as quickly. The Trash Matrix’s prompt told me to distrust my senses, but whatever parameter it was working with when it made that warning clearly hadn’t anticipated a Xollon’s senses.
The elder bent down and smiled at the kids. “And you must be Alice and Toby!”
“Hello,” Toby muttered, still a little shy.
“Come on, Toby,” Alice said, poking her friend in his side, “You gotta introduce yourself properly.”
The old woman chuckled. “It’s okay, my own grandson was just like him back when he was that age! And I’m Greta, it is very nice to meet you both.”
Alice gave her a polite courtesy, one that I’ve started to think she practiced quite a lot, “Hello Granny Greta, it is very nice to meet you too!”
She poked Toby again.
He nodded quickly and gave an awkward bow. “Um, hello… I’m Toby.”
The woman smiled and quickly gestured for us to come in. “Please, let’s not stand in the cold, come inside! My son’s just outright and will be joining us in just a jiffy, we were just told of your arrival so we’re a little behind on the preparations. Can I get you anything to drink first?”
WARNING: Escape before the son shows up!
WARNING: Do not ask for any drinks!
I frowned and did my best to ignore the stupid warning.
Greta led us to the quaint dining room, where an old, well-loved table was set up ready for dinner. Alice and Toby took a spot, their legs dangling out of the chairs, doing their best to be as polite as possible.
“That's not a problem, and thank you for having us,” I said, “Do you have any coffee?”
“You bet we do, a personal favorite blend of mine!” she answered, “And you two?”
“Um, juice?” Toby said, “And Alice always likes lemonade if you have any, ma’am.”
“A coffee, some fruit punch, and a lemonade, coming right up!” And with a surprisingly nimble hop, the old woman left for the kitchen.
WARNING: Escape before Greta comes back with the drink!
Another one? I guess the instructions did say that there would be some kind of assistance given, but I ignored these warnings again, and instead surveyed the cozy home.
Aside from the harmful cabin feel that wouldn’t have been out of place in a rustic Airbnb photo, there was one caveat of the home that stood out. In the back, just almost out of sight from where I sat, was an odd wooden door that was hidden near the very back of the kitchen. I had to really strain to see what it was, as it was strangely dark in that corner, but I after a while, I was certain that it was practically covered with various locks and chains. Honestly, if I were a normal Aspirant, then this was probably the point where I’d realize that this humble hut wasn’t normal and that I’m probably in danger.
WARNING: Do not acknowledge the existence of the Room!
I frowned as I dismissed the notification again. Noe, is it going keep giving me these stupid messages?
“They are preprogrammed warnings designed to assist the Aspirants,” she answered, “So they will continue to pop up.”
Can you get rid of them?
“Already done, my Host.”
I inwardly sighed in relief that I didn’t have to deal with being constantly bombarded with those asinine texts, and I waved at the nice old lady as she came back with a tray of drinks. Now, I wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of fine coffee or juices, but I’m pretty sure that they weren’t supposed to bubble and wail. However, from the expressions of Alice and Toby, they seemed to like what was in their cups well enough, not that I was overly surprised. She gave the three cups to each of us, and a bit of my own drink spilled out.
It ate through the table.
That explained the second warning.
“Ah, apologies,” she said quickly, “I’ve gotten jittery with my old age, but trust me, Dr. Walter, I still remember how to make a mean cup of joe! Please, enjoy!”
She looked at me in anticipation, and I had the sneaking suspicion that things wouldn’t go well if I didn’t accept her hospitality. Seriously, even if someone else managed to get to the same position as I did, how were they supposed to survive this shit?
Wait a second… that gave me an idea. There was probably no way that anyone else could survive this, so what if I somehow got individuals to come here? Now, my ultimate goal was still to eliminate the other contestants, and although I was fairly confident in my strength, I wasn’t delusional enough to think I could take on 50 superhumans, not with the pitiful amount of luck charges I had left. So if I could use the Trial to my advantage…
I shook my head and decided to save this idea for later. I still didn’t have a full picture of this trial, so let’s not get ahead of myself. I held the mug and saw the fumes it was giving off slowly turning into the shape of a human figure. It looked like that poor dude was in eternal pain, and I had to quickly swirl the drink a bit to dissipate the image.
Noe, you’re certain I can drink this stuff, right?
“You are fine, my Host,” she answered, “And it would be very rude of you to refuse a homemade cup of coffee.”
Yeah, I can imagine that she wouldn’t take that very lightly. Well, here goes nothing I guess. If I end up with an extra hole because the stupid “coffee” dissolved a hole in my stomach then there’s no one to blame but myself. I drank, the liquid sizzling nicely as it slipped down my throat and, honestly, it was pretty good. Sure, some of it leaked out from my exposed windpipe, and it did burn a hole right through my jacket, but it was a remarkable cup of coffee.
“Sorry!” I said, as I tried to clean up the spilled liquid - a useless effort since most of the coffee was already dissolved into the ground, “It’s hard drinking with my augments.”
She smirked as she saw my expression and the mess that I made. “It’s all good, you wouldn’t be the first person with little quirks like that. But how are the drinks?”
“It’s great, Granny Greta!” Alice exclaimed she had already finished her entire share, “It tastes better than the lemonade I usually get at the cafeteria.”
Toby nodded in agreement, still taking careful sips of his own juice. “I wish we had some of this back at home…”
Greta blushed at the praise. “Well, let me get you more then, it’s been too long since I’ve welcomed such nice guests! I’ll make sure to pack you some goodies before you go!”
I laughed. “Now don’t spoil them too much! I’ve been chewed out for doing that before.” I took another sip of the coffee, careful not to spill any by holding my hand over the exposed throat, and sighed in contentment at the feeling of a nice caffeine burst. “Actually, on second thought, do you mind if you pack me some too?”
“Oh, you’re such a flatterer, you!” she got up and picked up the empty cups, “And of course I’ll pack some for you. I heard how much you’ve helped out the poor villagers. It’s the least this old pile of bones can do!”
“Need any help with that?” I asked.
“No, no,” she answered quickly, waving at me to sit back down, “You three are guests, but thank you for the suggestion. The food will be ready as soon as that son of mine comes back, so just sit tight!”
This time, Greta came back with a cart that held a whole assortment of drinks and a few light snacks, much to the glee of the children. She picked up a cup of tea for herself, while I helped myself to a new cup of “coffee”, and for the next fifteen minutes, the four of us just enjoyed the quiet space and the warmth of the hearth.
“Ah,” the old woman said partway through one of her tales, “I think my boy’s finally back! You’ll have to excuse him, he’s still rather inexperienced with running complex tasks. He’s rather young.”
Alice perked up. “Is he our age, Granny?”
Greta thought for a moment. “I suppose he is, now that I think about it. Please be nice to him, he hasn’t had anyone close to his age to play with.”
“That’s like me!” Alice exclaimed, “I was playing by myself and Molly - um, she’s my doll - until Uncle Walter made Toby!”
The woman smiled. “Well, then you should get along great with him.” She turned to me. “And you made that fine young gentleman? My, that’s a fine work of fleshcraft, I had thought it an extinct craft, but it warms my heart to know that such skilled artisans are still around.”
I blushed. “Well, he was one of my best works.”
Toby nodded enthusiastically. “And the Director’s helping me as well!” The boy casually pulled off his arm. “Look, she got me a cool new arm!”
“Toby!” Alice scolded, “Mom said not to do that! Molly’s not here to put that back on!”
The boy blanched as he tried in vain to reattach his limb. His unique biology allowed that to happen, but his left arm was droopy and didn’t seem to work properly.
“Oh…” he muttered, “I’m sorry…”
“That’s a lovely new arm, very strong and impressive” Greta chuckled and grabbed some sewing equipment, “And don’t you worry, I’ll fix it for you, good as new. Dr. Walter, do you mind getting the door and helping my son in? He’s got the last ingredients we need, so please give him a hand.”
I nodded. “Not a problem.”
