Awaken Online: Catharsis

by Travis Bagwell

  His hand moved up to the stable master's mouth and he readied his blade horizontally in front of the man's throat. His breathing stilled, and the world seemed to slow for a moment.

  Then he acted.

  Jason’s hand clamped down on the stable master's mouth, simultaneously drawing the dagger quickly across the man's throat. The blade sank into his unprotected flesh with little resistance. Blood gushed from the wound. A strangled, gurgling sound came from the dying man, followed by an unnerving silence.

  -1247 Damage (CRITICAL) (23 Overkill). Stable master dies.

  9200 EXP (-70% EXP due to level difference).

  That was a close call.

  Jason sensed small movements as Marian's sleepy mind reacted to the inadvertent kicks of her dying husband. She didn't wake up completely though. Jason quickly made his way around the bed (no need to theatrically leap across it).

  As he approached Marian, his dagger raised, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him in confusion.

  Before she could scream, Jason's hand was on her mouth and his dagger tore at her throat. The blade was still covered in her husband’s blood, causing his grip to slip slightly.

  -986 Damage (CRITICAL) (656 Overkill). Marian dies.

  4300 EXP (-70% EXP due to level difference).

  Hmm. That blow did far less damage.

  He assumed it was due to his haste. Maybe his aim had been slightly off.

  His breathing was calm and his eyes were calculating as he surveyed the bodies. It felt as though ice was crystallizing behind his eyes. As he stood there, blood dripped slowly from his blade to the floor.

  There’s a lot of blood.

  It seemed stupid in retrospect. He remembered how long it had taken to clean Morgan's cottage. He didn’t have the time to remove the blood from the small house; it would be obvious that a murder had occurred. Jason knew that people would come knocking when the couple didn't show up for work tomorrow morning. It was only a matter of time before someone would find the blood-soaked bedding. He just hoped he could cover his tracks well enough that they wouldn't be able to follow him back to the graveyard.

  Onyx padded up to a droplet of blood that had splashed on the floor and licked it experimentally. His faced then scrunched up in disgust, and he looked at Jason accusingly.

  “I didn't make you lick it!” he whispered to Onyx.

  Stupid cat.

  He glanced at the in-game clock.

  I need to move. I have to ready the wagon and then get them out of the house before anyone shows up.

  As he went to exit the house, two prompts appeared:

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Sneak Attack

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 2

  Effect: 202% increased damage when striking an unaware opponent (damage is dramatically increased when striking a weak point)

  Cost: 50 Stamina.

  Wow. I received a ton of experience for this, even with the penalty for the level difference.

  The two kills had immediately allowed him to reach level 10. If it was this easy to gain experience from killing NPCs, why didn't people just start slaughtering the townspeople? He considered this question as he made his way to the stable and hitched a horse to the wagon.

  After a moment, the answer seemed obvious, these NPCs would be impossibly difficult to kill in a straight fight. It was only with Jason's unique combination of skills that he was able to pull off the assassination of a higher level NPC. He was starting to see why someone would prefer to assume the role of an assassin in this game.

  However, he realized that the application was likely limited. Yes, you could kill someone in one hit, but then you were exposed and your damage was heavily reduced. Jason's ultimate goal was to be able to fight on a much grander scale. The image of Alexion fighting with a small army of NPCs flashed through his mind. He needed a way to take out multiple opponents at the same time.

  Jason found a sturdy looking work horse in the stable. He coaxed the animal close and harnessed him. Grabbing a pitchfork from the ground nearby, he laid it in the wagon. He tried to be as quiet as possible for fear of alerting the guards nearby.

  Once the horse was hitched to the wagon, Jason gently guided the horse to the house. He backed the wagon up to the front door, as close as he could. He grabbed the pitchfork and carefully piled the hay at front of the wagon. Entering the house again, he began dragging the bodies out, one after the other. Lifting two adult corpses into the wagon was harder than he expected

  Damn they're heavy!

  Jason briefly considered putting some points into Strength, but resisted the temptation. He wasn’t certain whether he would end up with a Strength-based character, and he didn’t want to waste the points. He’d manage to get it done, even if it was tiring.

  Onyx lay on the ground, lazily watching Jason groan and curse under his breath through the whole ordeal. Every so often the cat would yawn in an exaggerated fashion.

  With the bodies loaded, Jason secured them away from the edge and wedged them against one another to keep them from banging around. It would be a complete waste of effort if the lifeless couple went toppling off the back of the wagon at the first bump in the road. He then piled hay on top of them so that the wagon appeared level. Jason checked the wagon from several angles to make certain that he couldn't see the corpses or any blood.

  After feeling certain that the wagon was secure, he went back to the house one last time to search for anything valuable. His Perception skill enabled him to find a bag of silver coins hidden in a dresser, but not much else. At some point he would need to figure out how the game's currency worked.

  I'll add it to the list.

  Finally, Jason was ready. He jumped up onto the driver’s seat of the wagon. Onyx leapt up beside him and fell asleep. Muttering under his breath about useless cats, Jason urged the horse forward. Glancing at the clock, he realized he had little time to get the bodies to the graveyard and then make it back in time to replace the wagon and stow the horse in its stall.

  The trip to the south gate was largely uneventful. Even if any thieves had noticed him, they apparently had no interest in stealing hay. He passed a few players, but they ignored him. He supposed that they thought he was an NPC since not many players would likely be driving a wagon full of hay in the middle of the night.

  Where he encountered trouble was at the south gate. As he rounded a bend in the road, he noticed the lone torch near the gate and a shadowed form.

  Damn it! I forgot about the guard!

  Then he recalled the drunken stupor he had witnessed the night before. He could probably take out the guard if he managed to get the jump on him. He didn't really see another way through the gate. Especially since he expected the guard would be naturally suspicious of Jason due to his high infamy.

  He sighed.

  Well, I guess it can't be helped.

  Slowing the wagon, Jason dropped down to the ground. He looped the reins around a post next to the road and surveyed the area around the gate. He was still over a hundred yards away and could vaguely make out the form of the guard. The man hadn't moved, leading Jason to assume he hadn't noticed the wagon.

  Onyx was sitting in the driver’s seat watching Jason, a bored expression on his face. “You coming?” he whispered to the cat. Onyx looked at him with an incredulous expression and then started licking his paws.

  Sure, leave me to do all the work!

  Jason slipped to the other side of the road and activated Sneak. He paused and surveyed the area, noting that there was an alley entrance near where the guard sat.

  I bet the alley connects to another street. I could probably flank him.

  Jason deactivated Sneak, moved to an adjacent street, and then walked parallel to the main street. After he neared the stone wall surrounding the city, he located an alley that seemed to lead back to the main street near the guard. He reactivated Sneak.

  Jason came out of the alley about ten feet away from the guard. He quickly inspected the guard and saw tha
t he was level 96. This was going to be close. He had barely killed the stable master and his level was in the 70s. It seemed likely that the guard had invested more heavily in Vitality than the stable master, meaning that one blow might not be sufficient to kill him.

  Jason mulled this over for a moment. He would not only need to get the initial critical attack bonus, but he also needed to disarm the guard in case he was still able to fight.

  His eyes settled on the guard's spear lying nearby. Additionally, he noticed a dagger sheathed at his waist. Typical equipment for the city guard. Jason moved behind the guard and quietly grabbed the spear, depositing it into the alley out of reach. As he passed the guard, the stench of alcohol assaulted his nose. Jason had noticed that the game muted his sense of smell, but the man still reeked of alcohol.

  That's another useful handicap!

  He moved back to the guard, who was sitting on a stool. His head lolled forward, exposing the back of his neck. Jason stood directly behind him, unsheathing both of his daggers. He could feel the tantalizing cold swirling in his brain. His knuckles were white against the hilts of his blades.

  Taking a deep breath, he plunged the right-handed dagger, point down into the man's exposed neck. He left it there, while he used the dagger in his left hand to slice through the guard’s belt. Jason quickly grabbed the falling leather band and backed away.

  -1252 Damage (CRITICAL) (HEAVY BLEEDING).

  No notification of the guard's death! How did he live through that?

  The guard gurgled loudly and lunged forward, his eyes wild. He was unable to scream with the blade in his neck. Jason was amazed that he was still standing. The guard whirled and saw Jason behind him. Blood poured from the jagged tear in his throat, running down onto his chest.

  The guard's helmet sat at a weird angle, and he walked unevenly, likely from a combination of the alcohol and blood loss. It almost looked as though Jason was being attacked by a zombie. He quickly tossed the guard's belt back into the alley and pulled two throwing knives. Rex was right, Jason did prefer to avoid direct fighting.

  His training with Jerry paid dividends as his knives struck each of the guard's legs above the knee and below the mail leggings. The guard was an easy target at this range since he was bleeding, drunk, and disoriented.

  -15 Damage (SNARE)

  -90 Damage (HEAVY BLEEDING)

  -12 Damage (SNARE)

  -90 Damage (HEAVY BLEEDING)

  The guard stumbled and fell to his knees, glaring at Jason. Unarmed, silenced, and unable to walk, the fight was essentially over. Jason could have just let him bleed out, but he didn't want to risk someone wandering into this fight. He moved swiftly over to the guard and plunged his remaining dagger into the man's eye.

  -267 Damage (CRITICAL). (26 Overkill). Guard dies.

  10,300 EXP (-70% EXP due to level difference).

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Sneak Attack

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 3

  Effect: 204% increased damage when striking an unaware opponent (damage is dramatically increased when striking a weak point)

  Cost: 50 Stamina.

  x1 Skill Rank Up: Small Blades

  Skill Level: Beginner Level 4

  Effect: 8% increased damage and expertise with daggers and throwing knives.

  Jason was now level 12.

  Maybe I should kill a few more drunk guards, he thought wryly.

  He looked down at the body. He didn't have time to loot the guard. He needed to get him onto the wagon. Jason quickly went to work and soon the only evidence of the fight was the large pool of blood on the ground.

  Surveying the area, Jason noticed a few barrels near the guard's post. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that some of the barrels were full of water. He assumed it was collected rainwater. These barrels probably provided the guard with drinking water during the day and could be poured into the trough sitting nearby to allow travelers to water their animals as they entered the city.

  He walked to the other side of one of the barrel and shouldered it. The barrel creaked and then tumbled, water splashing everywhere and scattering the blood that drenched the street. He could see the bloody water drain into a gutter along the city wall.

  Someone looking closely will still find the blood, but at least it will take them a bit longer.

  Jason then jumped back up onto the wagon and was on his way. When he arrived at the graveyard a few minutes later, he realized that Morgan had locked the gate again.

  Damn it!

  This had already been one hell of a night, and it seemed like he was encountering one hassle after another. He didn't have time to move the bodies over the wall or to go summon Morgan to let him in if he was going to make it back with the wagon in time. He looked at the in-game clock and noticed it was already 3:57am.

  I'm probably not going to make it back with the wagon anyway!

  He paced restlessly while he thought.

  The bottom of the wagon was likely drenched in blood. He probably shouldn't take it back since the blood would be noticed immediately. The guards were sure to start asking if anyone had seen the wagon the night before. Jason knew he had been spotted by several NPCs. He couldn’t take the chance that they would all stay quiet. Returning the wagon carried a significant risk that he would be caught; he’d come too far to fail the quest that way.

  He just needed to make certain that the wagon either wasn't discovered, or, if it was discovered, it didn't lead anyone back to Morgan.

  I need to dump the bodies here and then stash the wagon somewhere.

  He quickly pulled the bodies out of the wagon and hid them behind a bush beside the gate. He glanced at the clock. It was 4:21am. He could feel his pulse start to quicken. The wagon was still a problem. He wanted to burn the damn thing to the ground.

  That's it!

  He quickly made his way over to the stone wall and scaled it. He jogged to Morgan's cottage. As he approached the cottage, he saw the lone candle flickering in the window.

  Does the woman sleep?

  He knocked curtly and then let himself in. Morgan was sitting at a small desk on the other side of the room. She turned as he entered.

  “Jason? What...?”

  He interrupted her, “I don't have time to talk. Just bear with me.” He quickly grabbed a blanket from the bed and a stool on the floor. He snapped one of the legs off the stool and wrapped the end in the cloth. Then he ignited the blanket using the candle.

  “I will be back in a bit,” he said, as he made his way out of the cottage. Closing the door, he noted that Morgan was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression - her mouth slightly agape.

  Jason rushed back to the wagon and hopped into the driver’s seat. He urged the horse forward and turned south, away from Lux. He needed to put some distance between himself and the graveyard before he ignited this heap.

  After about an hour of bumpy boredom, he pulled off the road and into a nearby clearing. He had waited as long as he could before his impromptu torch started to sputter. Then he unhitched the horse and whacked it hard on the rump. The horse bolted.

  He circled behind the wagon and set the smoldering torch in the bed of the wagon. He then leaned forward, blowing on the faint embers until he had fanned a small flame to life. Once the flame began to lick at the dry hay, the wagon quickly went up in flames. Jason stood there for a moment watching the blaze.

  Job finished, he wearily began the hike back to the graveyard.

  Onyx lead the way with a bounce in his step. He had slept through most of the wagon ride to the graveyard and the hasty trip into the country-side. Jason stared sullenly at Onyx and considered briefly lighting the cat on fire.

  What a god awful night.

  When he arrived back at the graveyard, it was early morning in-game. Jason saw that he had about an hour until the system would force him to log off. It was approximately noon in the real world.

  He made his way to Morgan's cottage, ignoring the pile of dead bodies hidden behind the bus
hes near the front gate. He would get her to open the gate before he dragged the corpses into the graveyard.

  As he approached the cottage for the second time, he saw that Morgan was sitting outside in a chair. She was clearly waiting for him. When she caught sight of Jason, she stood up and her eyes began to turn black as she muttered under her breath. Tendrils of dark energy surrounded her, and the ground of the graveyard trembled and bucked in front of several of the graves.

  Rotted hands erupted from the ground around the graveyard and clutched and tore at the dirt. Decayed heads quickly followed and milky, lifeless eyes turned in Jason's direction. He saw nearly twenty zombies rising from the ground around him, cutting off his escape.

  “Wait!” he yelled. “Let me explain!”

  “You better speak fast or you're a dead man. Why did you come into my home and destroy my things?” Morgan’s face was eerily calm, and her eyes guaranteed certain death if she decided she didn't like his answer.

  “I accomplished your task. I killed Marian and brought her body back. I needed a torch to dispose of the wagon I used to transport her body. Otherwise, others might have traced the murder back to you.” The words came out in a rush, as he tried desperately to prevent his impending death.

  Morgan considered his words carefully and slowly the darkness in her eyes began to recede. “Hmm. Well, in that case, I understand your haste. However, you will be buying me a new stool and a new blanket.”

  “Of course!” Jason readily agreed.

  She continued, “Where are the bodies now?”

  “They are hidden outside the gate... the locked gate,” he said irritably. Now that he wasn't worried about being killed, the night's events weighed on him.

  Why the hell does she need to lock a cemetery anyway?

  “Let's go take care of that little problem then. Shall we?” Morgan now seemed downright cheery, ignoring his frustrated attitude.