Applause thundered through the vast room echoing off the walls. Even the pathfinders got involved by flying circles above the crowd and cackling with glee.
The woman was on stage bowing as flowers, or magical buffs flew up on stage. She had a bright smile on her face, and the shadows were still wrapped around her. Slowly the curtains closed and the room quieted down.
Synexus sat in silence with the party as they all processed what they had watched. It was Zuls who started the discussion.
“That was deeper than I expected and the fact that it was silent made it even more impactful.”
“She captured the weight of being a class chosen perfectly. There is a lesson for us each to learn from this. After this labyrinth, I believe we all need to take a bit of a break. Progress is a marathon and not a sprint after all.”
“Well Captain, we did agree to heading to the Smile Isles to see my family. That’s a perfect place to lay low for a bit.” Prith slapped Vorin on the back before speaking again. “I found the ending fascinating. Is it true that our choices don’t matter?”
“I’m not sure that was the message. They matter. Whatever we decide with skills and evolutions certainly affects the outcome. I believe the message was more on the line of to become a class master we must master all aspects of our class. What we decide is the order in which we master them.”
“Synexus is correct. Becoming a class master is a difficult task and takes a long time to achieve. At the end when the woman was tracing every path with her finger, I believe she was showing that everything was connected and that no matter which way she chose, there was a path to the end.” Gene once again spoke with certainty.
“Gene, is it true that we become our class? When I become a class master, will I become a cloud?”
“No, Kumo. Again, I believe that was a stylistic choice that can be interpreted in several ways. In a sense, you do become your class, but it won’t physically change you to that extent. Your class, your abilities, will become an extension of yourself. Every decision you make will revolve around your class because the class path will be complete in your soul.”
“Well, that’s a shame. I wanted to be a cloud elemental. I don’t even know what Synexus would turn into.”
“Some kind of shapeshifter, I bet.” Zuls immediately quipped.
“I’m more curious about the music that was used. It was brilliant at the beginning with the light. That really drew us in. I’d like to know what class they have.” Shell chuckled at Zuls’ joke before giving her take on the play.
“We could probably go ask. Where is that magenta guy with the tusks?” Kumo started looking over the railing of the balcony down towards crowd.
“This was certainly more important than simply watching the play. A play about a shadow labyrinth while we are in a run of the shadow labyrinth. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“That is my suspicion as well, Synexus. I was on edge the whole play waiting for something to happen. Perhaps we should go ask some questions.” Vorin stood making his way towards the stairs. Everyone else got up and followed except for Zuls who jumped onto Pioneer to calm the pathfinders in the rafters.
Main Objective Updated!
Main Objective: Investigate the connection to the play!
In the front room of the Grand Drama House, Dancer was standing with the crowd of Bubble prisoners waiting on the party to arrive. Velvet was already discussing things with a few of them.
“Oh good, you’re back. I came to escort you out, so we can get those bats out of the rafters.”
“I told him they aren’t bats and that we wouldn’t leave until you all arrived.”
“Thank you, Dancer. Velvet, we apologize, the pathfinders are being wrangled as we speak, and they will leave your rafters. However, a few of us would like to talk to actress or director of this production.”
He scoffed and then laughed. “That’s quite impossible. She is one of the most famous actresses in our employ. She cannot and will not be bothered.”
“Please, it will only be a few of us and it’s important. We can even pay if that is the issue.”
“No. Now you must leave.”
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“Fine, we shall, but could you possibly tell us if there is any place where we might get more information about the play?”
Velvet sighed. “On the other side of the city next to the Glistening Sea, the mansion of the lost playwright still stands. I believe they do tours. Now leave.”
Vorin signaled for everyone to follow as he walked out the large crystal doors on the front of the drama house. Zuls and the pathfinders chose right then to fly through the main entrance to the auditorium.
Outside it was a chilly spring night, but the sky was perfectly clear. Stars shined everywhere they looked creating a beautiful sight. Dancer was absolutely entranced muttering about how she could feel the starlight on her skin.
Vorin led them down into a more open area before turning back to Synexus.
“Synexus, you and Shell should take some of your invisibility fruits and sneak to the back. Ask around to see if we can get any information on the play.”
Synexus nodded before taking out two lychees and throwing one to Shell.
“That’s no fun. We are just going to wait for them?”
“No, Zuls. We will find an inn for everyone that doesn’t have the objectives for the shadow labyrinth. I’m sure they want to sleep in an actual bed for the first time in we don’t know how long. The rest of us will head over to the mansion. This late, I’m sure the tours aren’t happening, but we can see if we can’t sneak in.”
Everyone nodded except for Dancer.
“I’d like to go with your party if that is okay. A mission is what I need to take my mind off things.”
No one had a problem with Dancer joining them and they set out. Synexus looked over at Shell, and they ate their lychees at the same time. A few minutes later they were invisible sneaking through the Grand Drama House.
As soon as they got inside, there was a door on the right for play or tech staff only. They held each other’s hands to not lose track of one another as they made their way through tunnels leading backstage.
Door after door they searched. The tunnels felt endless and they were empty. No equipment or people occupied the space at all. Only after they went through the eleventh door did they reach something that resembled the back of the stage.
Several doors lined the right wall as they crept through the darker area. Props were scattered everywhere making a minefield of obstacles. People were scurrying about putting things away and taking some of the bigger props apart.
When they walked past one of the doors, two voices could be heard drifting through. Synexus squeezed Shell’s hand letting her know to stop. With their perception, listening through a door was no problem.
“Incredible! Your best performance yet! You had that crowd glued to you!”
“Do you think so? I felt like last week’s performance was better.”
“No, no this week we had more seats filled. They loved you!”
“And the rafters. Since when does the Grand Drama House have a bat problem?”
“Ah some travelers brought them. I told the manager guy that we deserve more pay for dealing with wild animals.”
“Come on, Dimalian. This is my permanent theater now; we can’t get on their bad side.”
“Please Lillian, they are lucky to have you. Their bad side doesn’t exist for you.”
“If they are lucky to have me, then when are they going to let me start performing my own plays? Have you made any headway on that contract?”
Dimalian sighed loudly. “Sorry Lils, I’m trying, but the big selling point for you is your grandmother’s plays. She was legendary and this is a legendary theater. Give it some more time and I’m sure they will let you step from your grandmother’s shadow.”
Lillian laughed at the word play. “I suppose our class isn’t common. Not many can perform her plays.”
“Exactly, but yours are brilliant too. You’ll get your time, I promise. Now finish up getting dressed and we will go out for a celebratory dinner.”
Synexus and Shell moved out of the way as the door swung open and the short man with the slicked back hair stepped out. Without skipping a beat, the two moved into the room.
The actress was already dressed in an expensive looking dress. She was sitting at her mirror using shadows to style her hair. Another pair of shadows were forming into shoes. She stared at herself in the mirror until she snapped around in her chair. Her shadows froze.
“Who are you?”
Synexus and Shell still had half a minute of the invisibility left, so they couldn’t answer.
Shadows flooded out from the woman wrapping the two class chosen up. She stood and walked towards them.
“I hate repeating myself. Who are you?”
Just then the invisibility faded.
“Apologies, we can’t control the invisibility as it comes from an item. My name is Synexus and this is my friend Shell. We wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“Reporters? I’ve never heard of invisible reporters.”
“We aren’t reporters. We are adventurers and we have a quest to gather more information on this play. It somehow connects to our home planet, and we would like to know how.”
“And you thought the best way to do that was to turn invisible and sneak into my private dressing room? What if I was getting dressed?”
“We asked Velvet to let us speak to you, but he said you couldn’t be bothered. It was our only choice, but we should have knocked.”
Shell remained quiet and let Synexus do all the talking.
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
The shadows unraveled and they were freed.
“Thank you. On our planet, we have a mountain named Shadow Labyrinth Mountain. Sphinx have made the peak their nest and our friend told us we would have to attempt the trial to make it to the top. We entered and so far, it has been a series of worlds leading here.”
“Interesting tale. The connection is clearly the name of the mountain. What can you tell me about it?”
“It’s made of pure obsidian, yet it looked as if shadows dripped down into the field of grass. Shadows mixed with mana like your shadows.”
“Ah, so someone with a similar class as mine created this place. Tell me about them.”
“We have no idea. The origins of the trial are unknown.”
“Curious. Well, there is an obvious possibility.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought when I heard that man talk to you.”
“My grandma. The lost playwright might not be as lost as we think.”
