Dean immediately began searching again. This time, he wasn’t looking for a door.
He wasn’t looking for a button. He wasn’t looking for some hidden magical mechanism.
He was looking for crystals.
Crystal-clear stones.
The answer really had been around him the entire time. He just hadn’t known what he was looking at.
Dean began running his fingers across the walls.
One.
Two.
Three.
He found another crystal.
Then another, and then another.
Some were buried beneath dirt. Some were hidden inside cracks. Others were almost indistinguishable from the stone surrounding them.
He gathered every one he could find. Then he returned to the first crystal.
Dean looked at the light source. He looked at the wall, then at the crystals. His mind began putting everything together.
The cave wasn’t simply illuminated. The light had a path. A predetermined path, and the crystals were meant to alter it.
He then placed the first crystal against the wall.
The beam bent.
He placed another. The beam changed direction again.
"So I’m supposed to create a path."
Humphrey gave a small, approving nod.
"Now we’re talking!"
Dean ignored him as he continued crystal by crystal. The beam travelled across the wall.
It bounced from one crystal to another, each one redirecting the light at a different angle.
At first, Dean got it wrong. The beam struck the wall.
Therefore, nothing happened. He adjusted the crystal.
The beam moved. Still nothing. He changed the angle again. The beam travelled farther.
Humphrey watched silently now. Dean’s eyes became sharper. He was calculating.
Angles, distances, reflections.
Every crystal had to be positioned correctly.
It wasn’t simply a matter of finding them.
He had to understand how they were meant to be used.
Dean moved to the other side of the cave.
A tiny indentation in the stone.
He hadn’t noticed it before. He wiped the dust away. His fingers stopped.
A keyhole.
Not a normal one. It was carved directly into the stone wall, with a strange circular shape surrounding it.
Dean stared at it. Then he looked back at the light.
"That’s the target."
Humphrey tipped his hat.
"Indeed, Ser Decanus."
Dean began positioning the crystals again.
One.
Then another, and another.
The beam slowly moved closer.
Ten degrees, five, three.
Dean adjusted the final crystal by the smallest amount possible.
The light struck the wall.
"CLICK."
The entire cave went silent.
A brilliant beam of light shot directly into the keyhole.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the stone beneath Dean’s feet trembled.
"RUMBLE."
The wall began to move. Dust fell from the ceiling.
A hidden mechanism awakened somewhere deep inside the cave. Dean slowly smiled beneath his mask.
He looked toward Humphrey. The tiny frog straightened his suit and adjusted his monocle.
"Well done, old chap."
Dean stared at him for a moment. Then he pointed at the opening wall.
"You knew the entire time. So you are not just a person that gives me clues..." he said.
Humphrey’s smile became impossibly wide.
"Of course."
"You could’ve just told me."
"Oh, certainly."
Dean’s eye twitched.
Humphrey tapped his cane against the ground.
"But this, my good fellow, is a puzzle for you to overcome, not an answer for me to simply hand you! Surely you wouldn’t expect me to rob you of the satisfaction of solving it yourself, would you?"
Dean stared at the frog. He was annoyed like crazy.
The frog stared back. A few seconds passed.
Dean finally sighed and said, "I’m going to throw you into the next room."
Humphrey gasped.
"My word! Such violence against a gentleman!"
"You’re a frog," Dean said.
"A Ser, actually."
"Whatever," he replied, rolling his eyes.
Humphrey chuckled.
"Come along, old chap. The dungeon awaits."
Dean stepped through the newly opened passage.
Behind him, Humphrey followed with his little cane tapping against the ground.
"Tap."
"Tap."
"Tap."
The sound of Humphrey’s cane followed Dean through the newly opened passage.
The narrow tunnel stretched ahead of them, its walls gradually becoming less rough as they walked. The natural stone slowly gave way to something far more deliberate.
Smooth walls, carved floors, and small patterns etched into the stone.
Dean’s eyes moved across them as he walked.
He had no idea what kind of place this dungeon actually was.
So far, it had been nothing more than a cave with a rather irritating puzzle and an even more irritating frog.
But something told him that was about to change. The further they went, the brighter the passage became.
Dean noticed another strange thing.
The light wasn’t coming from crystals this time.
There were small golden markings carved into the walls, each one giving off a faint glow.
They illuminated the path ahead.
Humphrey continued hopping behind him.
"Tap."
"Tap."
"Tap."
"Croak."
Dean stopped. Humphrey bumped into the back of his leg.
"Oi!" Dean said, holding himself in order not to get angry.
"Oh! My deepest apologies, old chap."
Dean slowly turned around.
"You keep doing that," he said with a curious voice.
"Doing what?" the frog asked.
"Following me," Dean replied.
Humphrey blinked and said, "Well, yes."
"Why?" Dean finally wanted to ask.
Humphrey looked genuinely confused by the question.
"Because you are the one completing the dungeon."
Dean stared at him.
"And?"
"And I am your humble guide."
"You’re following me because you’re my guide?" Dean asked once more.
"Precisely."
"That’s not how guides work. If you were my guide, you would’ve told me where to fucking go now, wouldn’t you?" he said suddenly.
Humphrey placed one tiny hand against his chest.
"My dear fellow, I assure you, I have been guiding adventurers through these halls for considerably longer than you’ve been alive."
Dean paused.
That actually made him curious.
"How long?" he asked.
Humphrey’s smile widened.
"Oh, quite some time."
"How long?" he asked again.
"Long enough."
"That’s not an answer," he replied.
"A perfectly adequate answer, if you ask me," Humphrey said.
Dean sighed as he turned around and continued walking.
Now, he just needed to move forward, to see the better path.
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