Awaken Online- Flame

by Travis Bagwell

  Finn had never been much good at that. Sitting, waiting, hesitating, pacing, and stewing – when every fiber of his being wanted to surge forward at a breakneck pace. Only the fighting had kept him sane. In the rush of battle, he had no room for anything else. Yet now that moment was gone, and he was once again left with his own thoughts.

  A slow clap echoed through the air, and Finn glanced up to see Abbad approaching, the austere librarian’s eyes watching him carefully. “An impressive display.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re mocking me?” Finn retorted, not able to entirely remove the bitterness from his voice.

  “I offer no judgment. You seem to be far harder on yourself than I could ever be.” The librarian’s gaze skimmed to the other mages waiting along the edge of the field, checking their equipment as they prepared to pit themselves against Finn. “This is what? Your fifteenth bout this morning?”

  Finn just shook his head. He had no idea. He had lost count some time ago. “I take it you’ve been watching me for a while then?” He hadn’t seen the librarian arrive, but that was no surprise with the way the man could summon a curtain of reflective air.

  “Only a moment,” Abbad replied. “I’ve actually come to collect you. Although, I’m certain your would-be competitors and fans will sorely miss you.”

  Finn glanced up sharply, and he could feel his mana flare in his veins like the pop and crackle of a campfire. “Is it time?” He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had been crowned champion.

  Abbad nodded. “Indeed, the Emir has summoned the three champions to explain your next steps.” A moment’s hesitation. “Although, there is something I would like for you to see first – assuming you are able to remain patient just a bit longer.”

  “Is that a request or an order?” Finn asked, meeting the librarian’s eyes.

  “A bit of both, perhaps? We serve at the Headmaster’s discretion.”

  Finn chewed at the inside of his cheek. He wondered what this could be about. Perhaps Lamia’s disappearance? Although, no one had seemed to notice that the water mage master had mysteriously vanished. Another instructor had simply shown up in her place, and things had continued as normal – or normal for the Mage Guild anyway. There had been little love lost between Lamia and the students, so maybe no one cared? Finn supposed he was lucky that someone so reviled had chosen to ambush him.

  Either way, there was no sense raising the issue unless Abbad did first.

  Finn’s eyes skimmed to the corner of the courtyard where a faint shadow lingered beneath the first-floor terrace. He knew Julia stood there, watching and waiting. His fingers shifted slightly – a short message in a simple code they had developed during the many attempts on his life. Then he turned back to Abbad.

  “Well, you know me, I’m never one to ignore an order from Nefreet,” Finn said finally, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

  Abbad arched a lone eyebrow. “Indeed.” He gestured toward the edge of the field. “Then come along. We have no time to waste.”

  Chapter 2 - Corrupted

  Abbad led Finn out of the guild’s inner courtyard, heading directly north. They soon entered the abandoned section of the Mage Guild, passing through ruined rooms filled with ancient and decaying crafting equipment. Lonely furnaces, broken tables, and a thick coating of dust were all that filled these halls, and the dull thump of their footsteps was the only noise that broke the heavy silence.

  Finn eyed the shadows cautiously. It wasn’t that long ago that these abandoned hallways and rooms were a deathtrap for the unwary – a place where players assassinated their rivals to prevent them from participating in the Duels. Although, the students had little incentive to attack him now, and Abbad’s presence would likely discourage anyone foolish enough to hold a grudge.

  Finn spared the librarian a glance, raising an inquiring eyebrow. “Are you going to give me a hint as to where we’re going? The anticipation is killing me.”

  Abbad snorted softly in reply but didn’t offer an explanation.

  Glad to see some things never change, Finn thought sarcastically.

  A faint breeze drifted through the room, and the librarian’s eyes darted to a nearby corner. A knife suddenly raced through the air behind Abbad – the only warning a soft hum. Abbad barely moved. He simply shifted his weight to his right foot on his next step, allowing the blade to pass by him by a mere inch. Even more impressive, he caught the knife neatly as it passed, trapping it with ribbons of air that glowed with a faint yellow light.

  “Hello to you too, Thief,” Abbad said calmly. His eyes were ablaze with azure light as they focused on a small spot of darkness. Only a moment later, Julia materialized from the shadows as she dropped from Sneak.

  “First off, I’m not a thief – we’ve been over that,” Finn’s daughter snapped as she approached. She snatched her blade from the air, glancing at it to make sure Abbad hadn’t damaged her weapon. “Second, I almost got you that time. You’re getting sloppy.”

  The librarian was unperturbed by Julia’s goading, meeting her eyes evenly. “That is rather presumptuous. I’ll remind you that you have yet to actually hit me. The far more likely answer is that I wished to goad you into a false sense of security.”

  Julia’s eyes flashed. “Or maybe I’ve been doing the same thing.”

  “On the contrary, I’m confident I’ve already ascertained the extent of your abilities.”

  Julia huffed, crossing her arms as she glared at him. “Well, it’s good to see that scroll is still firmly lodged up your—”

  “Anyway,” Finn interjected. “You were going to explain where we’re going?” Julia arched an eyebrow at him, picking up on his blatant attempt to change the subject. Finn just shot her a look that said, “Behave!”

  “Hmph,” Abbad replied. He remained silent for a long moment as they stepped quickly through a series of dilapidated rooms. “As you know, the guild was long ago forced to abandon the art of crafting. This decision was made at the order of the Emir – the goal being to further weaken and suppress the mages within the city.”

  Finn nodded. That was consistent with what Brutus had told him.

  Abbad glanced at the pair. “However, our craft was not lost. Instead, it was traded away to the Merchant Guild – who eventually evolved from simple tradesmen to something akin to magical mechanics.”

  Julia shook her head. “Wait, what? How is that possible? I thought mages were forced to train here in the Mage Guild.”

  Abbad cocked his head. “Your response assumes that crafting requires knowledge in the art of spellcasting – which is not always necessary.” He shrugged. “Even for those creations that do require a more experienced mage, the Merchant Guild can certainly trade for those services or for the mages themselves.”

  “Uh, what do you mean by trading for mages?” Finn asked, sharing a confused look with Julia.

  “Those with an aptitude for magic are required to obtain their initial training here, but upon reaching journeyman rank, our students and our faculty can be traded between the guilds,” Abbad replied as though this was obvious. “In fact, the other two guilds often attempt to entice our members away, offering rewards, status, power, wealth – the typical baubles that distract and seduce.”

  Finn’s forehead furrowed as his thoughts turned to the spider-legged woman that ran the guild’s Requisition Hall. Charlotte had mentioned she represented the Merchant Guild, but he had also clearly seen her manipulate air magic – which had been a point of confusion.

  “Wait, so is Charlotte one of those mages recruited by the Merchant Guild?” Finn asked.

  “Yes, although her story was a bit more dire,” Abbad answered. “She suffered an injury as a journeyman, and the merchants offered to replace her legs in return for her lifelong service.” As the librarian noticed their shocked expressions, he continued, “As I said, their offers can be compelling.”

  He waved a hand. “The Mage Guild then permits an emissary of the merchants to sell their me
rchandise within our halls.”

  “But students just buy equipment using made-up points,” Julia pointed out. “I don’t see what the Merchant Guild gets out of that.”

  Abbad nodded. “The students use ‘points’ they earn during the Duels to make their purchases, but the Mage Guild pays the real cost.” He let that statement dangle in the air, as though testing them.

  Finn chewed on the inside of his cheek. How exactly did the Mage Guild pay for those resources? All those magical items couldn’t be cheap. And the guild didn’t really have anything to offer in return… he hesitated at that thought. Except there was one valuable commodity that the Mage Guild had to trade. Abbad had as much as admitted it already.

  “Our guild trades people for those items?” Finn asked. Julia glanced at him in surprise, her mouth pinched into a thin, grim line. They were starting to realize why the population within the guild remained relatively stable. Between the students that were purged and those that were traded, the Mage Guild likely lost a considerable number of mages each week.

  “Indeed, our students are our primary export,” Abbad said, gesturing at yet another abandoned room as they passed. His point was clear – the mages were clearly no longer trading crafted goods. “We also trade mages and other services to the Fighter Guild in return for the armed guards you see about our halls.

  “Although, it’s not as dire as it sounds,” Abbad continued. “As I mentioned, our students are often glad to leave. The other guilds offer enticements since there is little value in a recalcitrant slave. More interesting is the value of our mages. The more experienced or powerful the mage, the greater their worth. And, of course, the Duels are a remarkable mechanism for sorting and weighing the students.”

  Finn felt a few more facts click together in his head – much of the Mage Guild’s systems suddenly beginning to make sense. The ongoing competition served many purposes. It kept the students fighting each other instead of focusing on the walls of their prison, and it allowed them to purchase equipment to rack up guild debt. Then it sorted and ranked the mages for future sale. Each mage was basically creating his or her own price tag. And this sort of institutionalized indentured servitude furthered the Emir’s goal, spreading the mages among the three guilds where they were less likely or able to band together.

  “Shit,” Finn muttered as the depth and complexity of this system finally settled in his mind. He could see the same realization reflected on Julia’s face.

  “Oh, not to worry. You are now far too valuable to sell,” Abbad added, a hint of amusement coloring his voice.

  “Speaking of which,” the librarian continued. “After your success in the competition and your nomination as guild champion, Nefreet has ordered that you be promoted to journeyman rank – effective immediately.”

  Before Finn could react, Abbad snatched his left arm, a stylus materializing in his hand. In a blur of motion, Abbad etched a new tattoo across Finn’s skin. The image of a set of footprints soon wound their way up his arm, hovering above the marks for his guild induction and class change.

  As Finn surveyed his arm, his fingers traced the five-point star at his wrist. It was the simple mark that he had received upon first entering the Mage Guild. Although, it felt like an age had passed since then.

  Finn’s thoughts were interrupted as a prompt appeared before him.

  System Notice

  As a reward for completing the first stage of the Emir’s competition, you have been promoted to [journeyman] rank within the Mage Guild.

  You now have access to superior equipment – available for purchase in the guild Requisition Hall – as well as to additional guild facilities.

  “Ahh, and here we are,” Abbad declared.

  Finn swept the notice aside and looked up to find that the group now stood in front of a rather plain steel door – one that looked uncomfortably similar to the entrance of their former “training room.”

  Even more strangely, Finn noted that this dilapidated area in the far corner of the guild had seen recent use. A thick layer of dust coated broken furniture and the floor, but the dirt was thinner in a faint band that ran along the center of the room. As Finn’s eyes followed the trail, he also realized that their footprints were gone – perhaps whisked away by the librarian as they walked? Either way, that seemed to indicate that this area saw regular foot traffic.

  But why? Finn wondered.

  “Is this another testing room?” Julia asked in confusion.

  “It was once,” Abbad replied tersely. “However, it has long since been repurposed for a specific use.” He seemed wary as he eyed the pair, his muscles tense, and his mouth pressed into a grim line. “What you’re about to see is confidential. If any whisper of this room passes these walls, you will not enjoy the result.”

  With that ominous threat, the librarian tapped at a section of the wall beside the door. A glowing panel flickered to life, and Abbad pressed a token into a rectangular slot carved into the stone. The panel flashed once, and then there was a faint scratch of metal as the locking mechanism disengaged and slid back. Only a few seconds later, the steel door slid open on well-greased hinges, and Abbad stepped through without hesitation.

  “Murder room. It’s totally going to be a murder room,” Julia muttered and then followed the librarian inside.

  Finn didn’t feel much better about the cloak and dagger act either – especially not after learning that the Mage Guild traded its students like some sort of currency. Or the constant assassination attempts. Or the blatant cheating by one of the faculty in the Emir’s competition. Or the relentless deathmatch among the students…

  Now that he thought about it, the guild hadn’t really done anything to earn his vote of confidence. The real question was how they planned to keep lowering the bar.

  Although, he supposed there was one way to find out.

  With a sigh, Finn stepped through the door.

  Chapter 3 - Drained

  Finn was expecting a plain square room like their former training area. Instead, he found himself standing on a narrow terrace that acted as an observation area for the room below. Stepping inside, he approached the edge of the terrace, resting his palms on a stone guardrail and peering down into the darkness. The room was only faintly lit by a single globe of light that hovered near the door.

  He could just barely make out an elevated, rectangular stone slab in the center of the room. Yet it was the contraption lingering above it that captured Finn’s attention. Six mechanical arms had been attached to the ceiling; the limbs were retracted into a bundle along the top of the room like a metal spider. The flickering light cast shadows off the metallic contraption, creating sinister, dark claws along the far wall.

  The metal door slid shut behind them with a thud that vibrated the floor and caused Finn to jump in surprise. Hearing the deadbolts automatically slide back into place with a faint whir of gears, Finn’s hand dropped to one of his daggers, and he eyed the door warily.

  “What is this—” he began but stopped short at a gesture from Abbad.

  A door leading into the room below them swung open, and a group of four mages strode inside. Globes of light flickered into existence, filling the area with harsh white light, and illuminating the casters. Most of the mages wore the neutral green that denoted the guild’s healers – typically earth mages that had specialized in the healing arts. However, Finn noted that one was a fire mage, his affinity belied by the orange glow of his irises. The mages quickly took up positions around the stone slab in the center of the room.

  His attention darted to the last man who trailed the group, and his brow furrowed as he realized he wasn’t wearing the robes or the lightweight armor favored by most mages. Instead, his clothing was riddled with pouches and pockets. Even more curious, a mechanical lens was mounted to one eye.

  Possibly a member of the Merchant Guild?

  Finn wasn’t given an opportunity to ask. Suddenly, two more guards entered the room. They half dragged and half ca
rried a woman between them, her mouth gagged. Her plain beige robes and the lone star-shaped mark on her left arm indicated that she was a novice and hadn’t yet attained her class. Struggling against the two guards, she managed to spit out her gag. “Let me go!” she shouted, kicking at one of the men.

  Then the woman’s attention skimmed across the group on the terrace, a mixture of fear and anger shining in her eyes. “Help me, please! I’ve done nothing wrong!” she screamed at Finn and his companions, clawing at the guard beside her.

  “What the hell is this?” Finn asked in a muted voice. He could see Julia’s hand clench against the stone railing beside him, her limbs rigid and tense.

  Abbad didn’t answer. He simply watched the scene impassively.

  The woman’s efforts grew more desperate as she caught sight of the slab in the center of the room and the mechanical arms hovering above it. “No… please don’t!” she cried, kicking at her guards, and straining against their grip.

  In a single swift movement, one of the green-robed mages stepped up behind the woman, pressed a needle to her neck, and depressed the plunger on the syringe. Her movements slowed and then stopped. The guards set her down on the slab gently, laying her on her back and stretching her limbs into a spread-eagled position before binding her hands and feet with cuffs of solid stone.

  Finn felt a hollow pit forming in his stomach as he realized that the woman’s eyes were still open and moving, twitching and stuttering as they took in the room.

  They must have administered a paralytic.

  The man that Finn assumed was a merchant tapped at a nearby wall, and a pedestal, covered in multi-colored gems, rose from the floor. A few swift gestures across the control column and the metallic arms mounted to the ceiling shifted with a faint grind of steel on steel. The limbs moved and rotated above the woman as she looked on, her eyes wide and her mouth twitching but unable to form a scream.