The group walks into the tower. The door shuts behind them.
It's a simple stone tower. There is a staircase one story high that leads to a wooden door. There are spiders and cobwebs all over, but standing in the middle of the room is a smallish, blue spider holding a golden key in its fangs.
"Welcome to the Tower of Trials! If you want my Crystal Bat so badly, you'll have to go through our 6 challenges first!" says the ominous voice from the top of the tower.
"The door up there is locked, and this little guy named Speedy has the only key. Challenge 1: Get the key from Speedy without killing him. If you kill him, I will be very angry, and that won't be any fun at all."
Very good kittyThe bird-creature listens intensely to the announcement, looking upwards like a child listening to a teacher reading a story. Then, still much like a child, the bird runs towards the spider, mouth closed but arms reaching forward.
Welcome To Ideals' World(Jacoby is relieved that they don’t have to kill Speedy…he just hopes Speedy doesn’t eat them in turn.)
What are we waiting for, guys? Let’s find this Speedy guy! (Elisa says, flying ahead.)
Ulp… (Jacoby cautiously follows Elisa.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."A "challenge"? To catch that small spider? No... This feels too easy. Kevan thought at the spider's sight.
With the bird-creature, Jacoby, and Elisa going towards the spider, Kevan simply flew above, cautiously observing the spider from afar, sword in hand. While the ominous voice told the group not to kill "Speedy", nothing prevented the dragon warrior to attack it and cut some of its legs if things were to go south.
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!Incapacitating a foe non-lethally, eh? Excellent. That was her speciality. Rosamund kept behind the rest of the party, carefully tracking their movements, while simultaneously letting the pale blue energy build in her hands once more.
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Speedy, the blue spider, watches as Bird-Thing, Jacoby, Elisa, and Rosamund approach it. It stares ominously and rears as if it's about to strike... but then it gives a panicked squeak and runs up the wall. Then it sees Kevan flying above, and it stops in its tracks. Speedy is now clinging to the side of the wall, about 10 feet above the ground.
Very good kittyHe's just as much a scaredy cat as me... (Jacoby muses, identifying with the spider getting scared and running away slightly. He just hopes it isn't an act meant to get them all to let their guard down so Speedy can eat them all alive.)
(Elisa can't help feeling a little bad for the spider when it panics and starts frantically trying to climb up the wall.) Be careful, guys! We scared him, so I don't think we should rough him up too badly!
(She looks to Kevan since, as she is currently also in flight, he's currently the closest to her.) You got a way to incapacitate that spider? Without hurting him TOO much, mind? (Elisa is admittedly wary of the warrior's nature and methods herself and worries about him fighting too rough.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Kevan got a bit taken aback by how fast the spider fled. One thing was certain, he and Elisa had the best chances out of everyone to catch the key now that the creature was crawling on walls.
The warrior looked at Elisa for a moment, then at his sword. Sighing, he put the weapon back in its sheath.
"I may have something... Get ready."
Kevan put his shield in front of him and charged at the spider as fast as he could, attempting to ram into it to knock him out.
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!Kevan rams into Speedy, who falls to the ground. Speedy falls to the ground, with the key right beside it. However, quick as a flash, Speedy grabs onto the key with all of its legs. It stops running.
"Hmmm... it appears to be... trembling," says Eleanor.
Very good kittyThe bird-creature, after skidding to a stop, repeats a curious, soothing voice.
"Are you okay? Are you okay?"
Welcome To Ideals' WorldAww, poor little guy, I think we really scared him. (Elisa says as she lands.)
(Jacoby is still a little apprehensive about approaching poor little Speedy, but the spider does look genuinely scared to him.)
Th-This isn't a trick, is it? D-Did we really scare you? Are you...are you okay? (Jacoby asks the spider.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Rosamund can't help but feel a pang of sympathy as Speedy cowers before the party... but the light still blazes in her hands. She's been fooled by crocodile tears before.
"So. How do we extract the key without harming this creature further? He does not appear to be very durable..."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!"...Maybe I hit it too hard. Oh well." Kevan shrugged at Speedy falling to the ground before gripping the key with all its might. It didn't take long for everyone to surround it.
"Well, unless anyone has a better idea, we should do it the old fashioned way. Surely we're all strong enough to separate the spider from the key if we pull hard enough... Well, save for ugly because she's a ghost." Kevan suggested to Rosamund.
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!"It doesn't seem like he's resisting. We can probably just grab the key now..." says Patch. He approaches Speedy and reaches out to try to grab the key with his claw, doing so slowly to try to avoid scaring the spider any further.
Tbh I never really hated his minigames in the original, but they did make them better in the remake.Speedy is tired from the running. When it sees Patch's skeleton hand coming closer, it just faints.
Some other spiders crawl over and drag Speedy away into a hole in the wall. The key is lying there, free to take.
Hmm... says the ominous voice. My children are telling me that Speedy is unharmed, just passed out. Well then, I suppose you passed that task. I knew I should've used one of the bigger, scarier spiders. Oh well, you can pass on to the next room now. I'm certain you will never pass task #2!
Very good kitty(Jacoby gulps, having a feeling that Speedy's bigger and stronger companions might not be as benign as Speedy ultimately was. He's already picturing himself being eaten alive by one of them.)
Chin up, Jackie, we're not gonna let anything happen to ya. (Elisa says as they prepare to head into the next room.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here.""Uh. That was easier than I thought." Kevan said when Patch snatched the key from Speedy. He simply snorted at the ominous voice.
"Come one, they're just big spiders. There are worse things out there. You know, like humans." the dragon said to Jacoby with a frown before proceeding to the next room.
AND I'VE STILL BLOCKED OFF MY BALL!! FUCK!!The key leads to an almost identical room. It's cylindrical, with a staircase leading up to a door to the next floor.
This floor is decorated to look like an ancient Egyptian temple. There is a large, golden spider lying down like The Sphinx and wearing a similar headdress.
Greetings, it says. You may only pass if you correctly answer my three riddles. Are you ready?
Very good kitty"...werewolf culture has traditionally dismissed mind games as a waste of time," Rosamund admits. "But I shall make an attempt to contribute."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Three stone podiums rise up from the ground.
For each riddle, you must place the correct answer on one of these podiums, says the sphinx spider. Don't worry, you might find that you already have the answers with you.
Riddle 1:
Old and ancient, life has left
Yet still walks around from place to place
Never smile at this one
Can there be a smile with no lips on a face?

Rosamund had been softening a little as she resolved to ignore Kevan, but at the talk of "bad experiences with humans", her demeanour goes cold again. For a second, a memory of the smell of burning forces its way into her head.
"...whatever experiences he may have had, they are no excuse for the way he is acting."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!