On the marble pedestal, blackened by age, rested the Chalice of Frost. It wasn't as large as I imagined, barely the size of a ceremonial goblet. But despite its size, it emanated a power I'd never seen before. The same could be said of the circular chamber in which we stood.
It was a room of white marble and concrete, with scores of electric torches that filled the room with light. What surprised me were the mountains of gold in the room. There were entire chests, silver in every corner, but everything was so empty. So devoid of life. So lonely.
It wasn't what I'd expected from an ancient room in a medieval castle, but this experience had already shown me that things are often not what they seem.
"There it is," Clare Vess whispered, her eyes fixed on the goblet.
"Well, now we just need to steal it before the final monster of the level appears."
As if I had summoned it, a shadow emerged from the darkness on the other side. The first thing we heard was the sound of a staff hitting a stone, the second, a resounding laugh that made our hair stand on end. An old figure revealed himself, holding a candy cane, dressed in an old coat and top hat, like something from the 1920s.
"They thought I wouldn't see through their plan," Festus Scrooge smiled, waving his cane with apparent glee. We looked at each other uncomfortably, having nothing to say. "Always so predictable. Everyone comes here thinking they're the first, the smartest, the most capable, the most worthy… And everyone…" he paused, sipping the glass, leaning on his cane. "They fail."
Rex, who didn't seem to have grasped the brief history lesson, asked, "And who are you supposed to be? The trophy guard?"
The man smiled, but it seemed more like a grin to me. "My name is Festus Scrooge. The one who paid the ultimate price to understand the true value of a desire. I've become the guardian of the chalice, and you, guys, are my guests today."
"Move away and hand us the chalice." The voice of Clare Vess resonated behind me. For a moment, I had forgotten that she was with us.
"Excuse me?" Festus Scrooge seemed to be surprised for the first time.
"I'll not repeat it," Clare insisted, raising his bow. "Give us the artifact and move aside if you want to survive."
Mr. Scrooge's laughter was even louder than before. "You really expect me to wrap my treasure like a gift and give it to you. You're very wrong."
For a moment, Clare seemed ready to fire.
"Do you want the chalice? Then you must prove to me you're not as miserable as I was. Or you'll end up here, just another gold statue in the maze of the forgotten one."
Scrooge raised his cane, and the shadows in the room seemed to take on a life of their own. The gold coins around the pedestal seemed to take shape in figures made of gold and rusty coins. The tin soldiers shuffled toward us with metallic sounds, like those of a chest closing.
"The Chalice is not given, it is defended," Scrooge growled passionately. "The Cup is not won by brute force; it is won at the right price. What are you willing to pay?"
"We're tired of your riddles!" Rex exclaimed, lunging forward. He slammed his sword into one of the golden soldiers. Despite the precious metal, the figure crumbled in a shower of smoking coins.
"First there were the tax collectors, then the living cakes, and now a greedy man with a cup." I stood beside my new friends and we raised our improvised weapons against danger.
The little soldiers crumbled under the united power of the five, running till powder. The end was close, and we cannot afford to fail.
"You're strong, I acknowledge." The man was still smiling, but this time he didn't sound sure, though. "But you cannot face me yet. Your efforts are not enough to defeat me."
"Try us!" Clare exclaimed. Despite having been our enemies just a few hours ago, she was now by our side, and that was what mattered.
He lifted the old pocket watch, turned it in his old hands, and said in a deep voice that made the gold coins vibrate, "The Chalice of the Frost, you seek it too much, you yearn for it so much. But you believe it's free?"
We exchanged glances between us; this must be another trick, and we were tired of those in particular. "Let me guess. Are you going to make us sign another contract, like the other poorly-paid villains?"
To my surprise, he smiled, "Nothing so crude. The bargain is simple. The chalice will be yours… if you give me time"
Rex frowned. "Time?"
"Yes," said Scrooge, walking slowly towards us, his candy cane stick clanging against the floor. "Your years, your days, your hours. All have value. You may give me ten years of your life and take the cup. Or only one. Or fifty, if you are foolish."
Ivy took a step ahead. "And what will you do with our time?"
Scrooge lifted his clock. "I turned it into wealth. Every year you lose, I gain. Every day you lack, my eternity grows. Every hour you lack, it becomes part of my treasure," He pointed at the mountains of gold. "And for every minute you lose, I am closer to escaping from the prison."
"That's monstrous," said June.
"No," he replied. "It's business. You have a choice: give me what I want, and the chalice will be yours. Refuse it, and I'll make sure you're ashes before you ever touch it."
"You'll get nothing, Festus Scrooge. Not now, and not ever. You'll never have the immortality you desire," Clare Vess said confidently, and the battle resumed.
Scrooge smirked, and then the floor shook again. With a metallic creak, the marble transformed into a carpet of golden coins, shifting and sinking like quicksand.
From among the piles of coins emerged golden golems, brandishing battle axes that would have been legendary in the past. Each one was made of shining metals and ancient chains, as if centuries of treasure had taken shape to protect it.
"My riches guard me better than any army," Festus growled, raising his cane. The golems began to move clumsily, as if waking from a long sleep. One swung a punch at Rex, who barely dodged it before sinking into the coins.
"If we don't do something, he'll swallow us alive," I exclaimed, trying to regain my strength as I dragged June away from the coins. I was sure that after this, I'd be staying away from any bank for a few months.
Ivy looked at the candy cane Scrooge was holding. "It's his cane. If we manage to break it, we'll be done with this."
Scrooge, furious at the audacity, slammed the cane against the floor. "Try it if you can, mice."
He charged at Festus, about to release a deadly arrow. Before he could move, a crash interrupted everything. The hall's side door shattered into shards of wood, and hooded figures emerged from the dust.
The Grimsson brothers advanced with icy daggers that reflected the light like mirrors, and behind them, with a measured stride, appeared an unknown figure elegantly dressed, with an icy gaze that rivaled Ivy's, and in his free hand, holding an open book.
"We arrived just in time for the performance," said one of the Grímsson brothers, grinning like a predator.
From one moment to the next, everything spiraled out of control.
The golden golems were obliterated; they didn't stand a chance. The icy daggers that only hours before had nearly sliced our throats now flew straight toward Scrooge's creations, and with a crack, they tore through the metal like plastic.
The golden giants snarled before disintegrating into more coins. The elegant man stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the brothers. "The chalice is ours; no one else shall touch it."
Scrooge seemed delighted by the unexpected visitors. "Ah, Professor Holtzman, and Dake & Rupert Grimmson. You've sought my treasure long and hard, haven't you? It's a shame you have to go away empty-handed."
"Stand aside!" bellowed Professor Holtzman, reaching for the book. A green beam shot from the pages, striking one of the golems and causing it to burst into flames.
One of the Glimmsons burst out laughing as he brandished his icy knives. "You old fool, even your tricks will serve us well."
The room literally began to burn as Scrooge brandished his candy cane in fury. The golem's power grew with each swing of the cane, as if that weapon were its source of power.
"The cane!" Ivy shouted, "We've to destroy it."
I nearly avoid a shard of rock flying towards my face. "Are you telling me we're fighting a bitter old man who literally uses a giant candy bar as a magic wand?"
"It's not candy," Clare retorted, sweat running down her forehead as she held back one of the Grimmsons. Despite her abilities, her opponents were older and bigger than her. "Is his link to the chalice and the golems?"
"Then someone break it now," Rex roared while stabbing a golem with his sword. Scrooge raised the cane above his head, and the candy spun with a reddish glow, unleashing an explosion that threw June against a pillar. I wanted to help her, but we had no time.
At that moment, Clare managed to take advantage of Brother Glimmson and shoot an arrow that pierced his chest and threw him backward.
It was Ivy who made the first move. She took advantage of a moment when Scrooge was focused on Rex and ran toward him with a low jump. With a quick turn, she jammed the still-lit torch into the base of the cane. The candy crunched and cracked.
Mr. Festus Scrooge uttered a horrendous shriek as if a bone had been broken, "MY WEALTH!"
Ivy's distraction gave me just enough time to act. I borrowed Rex's sword and used it to strike the handle of the cane with a slash, sending it flying from the old man's hands.
Clare didn't hesitate for a moment. She leaped forward and caught the candy cane before it hit the ground. She looked at it for a second, as if assessing her options. For a moment, I thought she might betray us, but instead, she said matter-of-factly, "This ends now."
With a sharp turn, she raised the cane and slammed it against the marble edge of the pedestal where the chalice rested. The sound was like thunder. The candy split in two, and the golems collapsed into ash and coal.
The castle rumbled.
"No... NO! You don't know what you've done!" Scrooge staggered back. The walls shook, the stained-glass windows shattered into a thousand pieces, and rivers of gold coins gushed from the cracks like an inevitable flood.
Scrooge walked among the riches with wide eyes. "It's all mine now!" The gold rose to his knees and then to his hips. We began to struggle to stay on our feet against the avalanche.
"We have to move," Ivy said.
"What do we do with it?" I asked, pointing at the guardian.
"We finish him together," Rex growled.
In a final charge, the four of us coordinated: I pushed a huge chest to divert the current, June, freshly recovered from the blow, threw a torch at the cup's pedestal. Rex, with a roar, leaped onto the shifting gold and drove his iron sword into the ground in front of Scrooge.
The gold swirled around the iron as if obeying the command, and in an instant, the guardian was swallowed up by his own fortune. His final screams were confused by the collapse.
And so, Festus Scrooge was lost among mountains of his own wealth, buried by his own greed. The next instant, the castle fell.