684 FOOLISH CHILDREN
“Welcome… to The Great Escape!” The announcer shouted.
The man making the announcement looked like a phoenix that had achieved a human form after nirvana. The red hair on the head coupled with the costume makeup on his angular face made him look a bit like a beautiful bird.
Well, he also had a peacock-like pair of wings on his back.
But the most dramatic thing was that he appeared from the ceiling of the arena, hanging from barely visible wires. As he descended, a totem-like podium seemed to sprout from the ground. It had an old and traditional look that spelt mysterious practices.
As he stepped on his strange platform after his flight, the phoenix man was exposed properly on the screens.
“Get ready… for a competition that will burn your hearts and chill your bones.” He said with outstretched arms.
The declaration caused the crowd to scream at a beloved familiar face. “Firebird! Firebird! Firebird!”
Firebird was a cultural icon from Las Vegas. He was the primary attraction of The Aegis, another entertainment casino resort related to Anarkh. Unfortunately, he could only be seen performing classic opera only a few times a year.
So, seeing him was an unexpected treat.
.....
“Tonight, we will see the story of a clumsy child, who was tricked by their evil stepmother. Taken from their home and loving father, this foolish child was cheated with a few lies and sent to a malevolent witch, the worst of all witches. This witch enjoys making large pies with children who stumble into her kitchen.” The Firebird told the story with the flair of a refined opera singer.
He jumped off his totem podium with a graceful leap, and the strings attached to his back helped him to fly dramatically over the three rooms exposed at the bottom of the foggy arena. He was like a mystical fairy, bewitching them and taking them to a time long-forgotten.
“The foolish child awakes and finds they are not in a house made of candy but a dangerous kitchen.” The Firebird paused. “But on the foggy window, some words appear before fading: The witch always forgets about her keys, so she has hidden a spare set somewhere in this kitchen. I could not escape, but perhaps, you can find them before it is too late.”
The small childish voice from the Firebird was chilling. And the words written in reverse on the surfaces of the escape room structure without a touch were even more frightening.
With a dramatic twist in the air, he detached his wings and the strings above him as black confetti rained on him. Smoothly, he twirled in the air and landed on the podium safely. Except, he was now wearing a wine-red suit and nerdy glasses.
No one could deny the value of the Firebird as an entertainer.
“And now, the foolish children caught in a trap!” He shouted.
The crowd, once again, burst out with unrestrained cheer as the contestants were revealed. The finalists were three people, two men and one woman. There were a lot of arguments on how many people should compete, but the final decision landed on three.
During the preliminary games, the games were team sports. Some cities and hotels thought that group work with pairs or even larger groups with five people was more exciting. The internal quarrels could be a bit entertaining if the crowd liked that kind of thing.
In addition, having teams meant that former friends would be forced into a head-to-head competition for the final prize. However, the final game was for a single night and involved a very high monetary prize as well as great exposure.
If there were too many contestants, the audience might get bored and distracted, minimising the effects of the game.
After all, it was difficult to pay attention to a lot of people at once.
“Now, my dear viewers, we are going to watch an attempt to break out of a mystical kitchen by our three contestants. If you are new to escape rooms, you should know that the goal is to find a key hidden in a series of clues in the room.” The enthusiastic announcer continued.
“I know you are thinking about our guarantee of the fairness of the games.” He paused. “As you should know, each individual in our final tournament is highly gifted in mental agility and physical prowess. However, some escape rooms can favour one contestant.
“Tonight, we have created a range of clues to make sure that the rooms are not the same! While they look identical, the clues and the key are hidden in different places with random clues. The mathematical randomness ensures maximum fair play.”
“Moreover, we have increased the difficulty of the games. Through continuous testing, we have established an algorithm to rank the level of difficulty of each game. In the classic form, we have D, C, B, A and S. And tonight, we have an S-Level escape game.”
The crowd in the arena screamed once again in excitement because they had probably not seen an S-level game. The difficulty did not only depend on knowledge. It required skills that were not known by any commoner.
“And finally, the escape rooms will slowly be filled with toxic gas!” The announcer declared. “Once the capacity of the rooms fills to one hundred per cent, the contestant will be declared dead! And even if they are not, they will be out!”
The crowd once again screamed.
The problem plaguing the escape game industry was the clear lack of an edge of danger. The competitions held by other companies were lacklustre. It was no different from watching someone who had lost their keys.
In essence, the entire ordeal was quite passé.
Anarkh prided itself on pushing the limits. Once a contestant stepped into the escape room, they could not communicate with the outside world. They could not quit. And they could not see or hear what was going on outside their built rooms.
Outside the windows, they would only see the design created outside of the witch’s cabin. The experience was completely realistic for them. Their only interaction that indicated they were in a game was the signal they could start searching for clues.
And they could not even afford to think about their audience with the real danger of death looming over them.
“And now, let the games begin.” The Firebird declared.
Immediately, an oven ding sounded.
