Awaken Online: Catharsis

by Travis Bagwell

  “That may take a bit of explaining,” Jason began.

  “A bit of explaining he says!” Rex chimed in. His voice seemed to emanate from nowhere, and his jaw made an odd clacking as he spoke.

  Jason flinched. “Okay, maybe a lot of explaining.”

  He launched into the story of what he had uncovered regarding the nobles' plot to cover up the death of the former regent and to sell Lux to Meria. The explanation regarding the guards’ complicity and Jason's discovery that they had been siphoning off most of the city's tax revenue drew an irritated growl from Rex. Both Jerry and Morgan raised their eyebrows in surprise.

  Jason explained that he had decided to punish both the guards and the nobles. He was forthright in explaining that his decision was motivated by equal parts greed, justice, and rage. The conflict had escalated beyond what he had expected and he had soon destroyed most of the city, as well as almost everyone in it.

  To be fair, he was a little embarrassed as he explained this last part. As tantrums went, this one had been pretty epic.

  When he reached his conversation with the old man and the spell he had cast to change the city, Morgan gasped and leaned forward in her chair excitedly. Jason explained that he had been presented with a choice, to destroy the city or to build something new. He had chosen to build something that suited his profession, which had warped the city into its current form.

  As he completed his story, the three sat and stared at him in silence. Each seemed to be mulling the story over carefully, their expressions difficult to read. Jason’s pulse quickened. He wasn’t certain how the group would react. Onyx took this opportunity to open one eye lazily and give Jason a look that said simply, “They're probably going to kill you.”

  Damned cat.

  Finally, Morgan spoke, “If the Dark One has given you his blessing, then so will I. This is quite a change, but I have to say that I'm excited by the possibilities to experiment with this new source of dark energy.”

  Jerry nodded in agreement. “As I said upstairs, I'm fond of my new body. If it's possible, I think I may actually be bit more handsome don't you think?” As he twirled his mustache, a large chunk of hair fell away from his face along with the skin.

  The three others just looked at Jerry with a deadpan expression, and he crossed his arms in a mock sulk.

  Jason looked at Rex, who had stayed silent during the explanation.

  After a moment, Rex looked at Jason and asked in an eerily quiet voice, “Do you notice anything different about me?”

  A long awkward silence followed.

  “Um. You seem to be a skeleton,” Jason finally said weakly.

  “A regular genius we have here!” Rex exclaimed. He thumped his bony hands on the table. “I have no flesh you understand. Zero.”

  He leaned forward, and the twin orbs of energy that were his eyes bore into Jason. “Do you know what specific part of my anatomy requires flesh?!”

  “Do you?!” he asked menacingly.

  Jason looked frantically at the others for help, fear coloring his eyes. They both turned away quickly.

  “Umm... Rex, I'm...”

  Rex interrupted him with a mad cackle, “The look on your face! You looked like you were about to wet yourself! Damn, that was probably worth losing the family jewels. Can't say I was using them much in my old age anyway!”

  “You're an asshole Rex,” Jason sputtered as the others laughed at him. Even Morgan chuckled at the jab.

  Once they had quieted down, Morgan turned to Jason and asked with a raised eyebrow, “I expect you didn't bring us here just to explain what happened to the city. There's something else isn't there?”

  Jason nodded. He didn't sugar coat it for them. “There's an army approaching the city and it will be here in six days. It's comprised of both travelers and soldiers from Meria intent on destroying this place. The old man has asked me to defend the city.”

  He looked at each of them. “I need help if I'm to have any chance of fending off the army. What I would like is for the three of you to become members of the city's new governing council.”

  “Are you mad?” Rex asked skeptically. “What do we know about ruling a city?”

  “Alone? Not much. But together you represent three important areas of strength for the city.”

  “Jerry is a grandmaster thief, who has operated a black market within the city for years. Not to mention he has a sophisticated network of spies. Assuming the members of that network are still alive that is.”

  Jason paused for a moment and looked at Jerry, who was trying to stick his mustache back on his face. “Or un-alive I suppose.”

  Turning back to the group, he continued. “Morgan is a grandmaster dark mage and will be able to provide training to the undead within the city. I’m guessing that most of them will have a natural affinity for dark magic. She is also probably the only person familiar with the local residents' new complexion.”

  “As for Rex, he is an experienced warrior and has been with the guard for decades. He knows how to train troops and command them in battle. He no doubt has some experience with large scale battles such as the one we're about to face.”

  Jason looked at each of them pointedly. “Working together, I think that the three of you could bring this city back from the brink and train a new army to defend it. I also think that you would become capable leaders in your own right.”

  The three of them sat in silence for a moment and pondered this thought.

  Jerry spoke up first, “Why would the people here follow us?”

  “Because I have the blessing of the Dark One, and I'm the prospective regent of the Twilight Throne,” Jason replied evenly.

  He paused for a moment, before adding with a grim smile, “Also, if they don't follow us, we will destroy them and they won't be coming back this time.” His eyes shone with unholy light as his mana responded to the dark tenor of his message.

  Morgan chuckled and eyed him with a hint of pride. “You make a compelling case for obedience.”

  “We will need resources,” Rex piped in. “Training is one thing, but the troops will need weapons and armor.”

  Jason already had a plan ready for that particular question. “I’ve sent the remainder of my thieves to secure the administration office at the training grounds. There is an incredible amount of gold sitting in a cellar under the office, the city's missing tax revenue in fact. I believe that I can use the traveler vendor in the marketplace to buy our equipment once the market has been repaired.”

  He looked at the three and shrugged. “Why not buy what we need from our enemies to arm ourselves? I also like the idea of driving up the price of goods so that the other players have trouble equipping themselves.”

  Rex clapped his bony hands together with a rattle and a grating sound. “That sounds like a damn fine start to me!”

  Morgan chimed in, “It seems we're all agreed then. What would you have us do?”

  Jason explained the bones of his plan. He wanted each of them to find and conscript residents of the city that seemed to have a knack for each of their specialties. They needed to train them as quickly as possible. They could also include new players within their ranks, but they were to prioritize training the NPCs. Jason didn't trust the players to respond reliably and not betray him.

  If they needed anything for purposes of their training, Jason told them to contact him and he would see to it immediately. He also asked Rex to scout the perimeter of the city and see how well fortified the walls were. They needed to repair any weak points, before they were attacked. Jason anticipated that this fight would eventually involve a siege, and he needed to make certain that the walls were in good condition.

  As the discussion turned to forming the city's army, Jason took the opportunity to review his own summoned minions:

  Jason was now well below his Control Limit. There were also no longer any corpses to raise now that he had converted Lux into the Twilight Throne. At least his remaining zombies were immune to deca
y. They could continue to grow stronger indefinitely.

  Acting on a moment of inspiration, Jason decided to give Morgan, Rex, and Jerry his minions to train. Morgan took both his mages and two of his guards with high dark magic affinity. Jerry took all of his thieves and ten of the guards, and Rex took almost all of his remaining guards.

  He had decided to retrain most of his zombie guards to thieves after watching how the two groups performed in the city. Maybe at some point Jason would command a legion, but for now he needed a group that specialized in stealth and subtlety.

  Jerry was to ensure that his thieves were all proficient in Sneak, Sneak Attack, Small Bladed Weapons, and Bows. Jason told him to place special emphasis on training ranged weapons. He knew that they would be fighting out in the open in the future, and he needed ranged troops. An evil little smile curled his lips as he considered the damage his thieves could cause by attacking from Sneak with ranged weapons.

  Jason also instructed Morgan to loan the mages to Jerry for a small amount of time each day to see if they could learn the Sneak skill. The mages were far from resilient. He needed them to learn to stay out of sight before they struck with their spells.

  For his own protection, Jason kept two guards that he planned to rotate with the zombies Rex was borrowing.

  With his plan in place, they started to convene the meeting and shuffle toward the stairs.

  “Wait!” Jerry exclaimed.

  They all turned to look at him.

  “We are forgetting something incredibly important.” He gestured for the group to come back to the table and continued in a hushed tone, “This is really a matter of life or death urgency for our group.”

  He paused to let the tension grow. “We need a name for our new club!” Jerry said with a grin, his floppy hat bouncing as he vibrated with excitement.

  Refusing to take part in Jerry’s silly nonsense, Morgan rolled her eyes.

  Rex chuckled. “What would you suggest innkeeper? I know! How about the Grave Society?”

  Jason winced at the pun.

  “Ha. No. I have a much more auspicious name for our group. It needs to be something suitably terrifying.” Jerry scratched at his decaying chin as he continued, “We are governing a city with as striking a name as the “Twilight Throne” after all.”

  He paused dramatically.

  “How about... the Shadow Council of Ultimate Evil *Dunn* *Dunn* *Dunn*!?”

  The three of them just stared at Jerry.

  "Are the sound effects actually part of the name?" Morgan asked.

  "Maybe we could just shorten it to the "Shadow Council?" Jason suggested.

  Rex nodded his bony head, as he considered the new name.

  “I don't hate it,” Morgan grudgingly admitted, which was probably as close to approval as she was going to get.

  Jason finally spoke up, “Well, it's decided then. Let's adjourn the first meeting of the Shadow Council.”

  “Hopefully it won't be our last,” Rex muttered as they headed up the stairs.

  Chapter 24 - Armed

  Riley Jones sat astride a horse, as it ambled along a beaten and dusty road. Her long blond hair flapped in the breeze. Her leather armor creaked and groaned as the horse moved beneath her, and the string of her bow dug into her shoulder through the leather.

  Players and NPCs were squeezed together within the narrow confines of the road, and a thick cloud of dust had been kicked up into the air by the pounding feet and hooves. She was traveling in a caravan of hundreds of people. Many rode horses or drove wagons, while others walked the hard miles on foot. As she saw several people ahead of her walking the long road to their destination, Riley counted herself lucky for the horse.

  That was where her luck ended.

  She glanced in front of her and saw Alexion astride a gigantic white charger. He was wearing full plate armor which gleamed in the sun. Alexion spoke with one of the aides in a magnanimous way, likely about the details of the trip and the supply lines for the NPC army. He looked regal. The type of person that would command the respect of armies and save damsels.

  She could feel her hatred for him seethe in her veins.

  “Why am I here?” she murmured to herself, her voice heavy with resentment.

  Alexion finished his conversation with the aide and reined in his horse until he was even with Riley. “Why aren't you riding up beside me my dear?” he inquired in a courteous tone.

  “I just wanted to speak with some of the other members of your army,” she said, striving to keep her voice even and polite.

  “I just wanted to be as far from you as possible,” she thought bitterly. Each time she had to maintain her pleasant facade, she could feel a little piece of herself being chipped away. She rebelliously guarded her secret, bitter, thoughts.

  Alexion leaned in close to her, and his regal mask dropped for a moment. His cruel, indifferent eyes bore into her and he spoke in a hushed tone, “Remember our arrangement Riley. You need to be a good girl and stay near me.”

  She did remember. She wouldn't ever forget.

  Riley nodded mutely, keeping her head bowed and her eyes on her hands holding the reins. Someone observing her would think she was simply a demure, blond-haired girl, being courted by a handsome knight. The truth was that, on the inside, Riley was seething with anger, resentment, and disgust.

  Alexion's mask reappeared instantly. “Good. Now that we understand each other, I need to meet with the NPC generals. Don't drift too far; we wouldn't want you to get hurt.” For a moment, a cruel glint flashed in his eyes.

  As she watched his gleaming back trot away, the familiar feeling of helplessness welled up inside of her. “How could I let it come to this?” she muttered to herself, as frustrated tears budded in the corners of her eyes.

  * * *

  Jason sat at the desk in his room at the Sow's Snout. His fingers drummed against the wood of the table, as he stared into space.

  Maps and troop rosters were spread across the table in a chaotic sprawl, while stacks of reports and inventories lay in haphazard piles along the edges of the desk. Dark circles shadowed Jason's eyes, and his back was hunched with fatigue. In stark contrast to Jason's anxious and haggard appearance, Onyx lay curled in his lap snoring softly.

  Two days had passed since the first meeting of the Shadow Council. In that short time, the group had made significant progress in training the residents of the Twilight Throne. The last few days had been a mad rush to ready the city for the invasion of the encroaching army.

  Morgan had found nearly fifty residents who had a high affinity for dark magic to train. She had quickly appropriated one of the estates on the north-side of town to act as her new magic school. The students had progressed quickly under her rather grueling tutelage.

  Jerry had also managed to recruit approximately one hundred residents with a proclivity for stealing things. He had proceeded to beat all of them within an inch of their lives (which was exceedingly hard to do considering they were are already dead). Then he would heal them and start the process over again.

  His training methods at least demonstrated that healing potions still worked on the undead. Jason was intimately familiar with Jerry’s approach at “teaching,” and he pitied the group. Regardless, Jerry's training bore fruit and his group had progressed tremendously in skill level since they began.

  The training grounds had been reinvigorated and redesigned by Rex. He had done away with the wooden instruments and laissez-faire attitude that had once been acceptable on the grounds. Now new players and NPCs alike were being put through rigorous drills designed to make them battle hardened. All practice bouts were performed with real weapons, which quickly increased the resilience of the fighters and got them accustomed to real fighting. Nearly two hundred and fifty NPCs had already undergone his training.

  Jason didn't include the player population in his troop calculations. In his experience, they were unreliable and frequently logged off or refused to take orders for no reason. Or m
aybe he was only seeing the idiots and crazies that had decided to roll an undead character.

  He had discovered that few new players were willing to create an undead character or start in the Twilight Throne. Beyond the stigma of playing as an undead, Jason expected that many players were reticent to roll an undead character because they thought that Alexion would win the upcoming battle. If he did, they would be stuck with an unplayable race for a real world month until they could re-roll their character.

  To be honest, Jason didn't blame them.

  At least one happy result of the rigorous training was that it had quickly become apparent that being undead came with a number of bonuses. The undead didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep and their stamina drained much slower than living creatures. They were also immune to poison and only massive injuries incapacitated their limbs. The most significant bonus was that the undead received a sizable stat increase when fighting in darkness or near the Twilight Throne.

  From what Jason had read through the Rogue-Net forums, many people had already fought undead creatures in-game. He learned that being undead also came with some significant downsides. Notably, they were weak in direct sunlight. They were also vulnerable to spells from the fire and light affinities.

  He had already seen videos of Alexion's abilities and knew he used light magic. He was certain that Alexion had thought to bring plenty of fire mages. Jason was going to have to be especially careful of AOE attacks during the upcoming fight.

  Once the troops had risen in skill levels, Jason had the three council members order them into smaller units. Each unit was comprised of one mage, two rogues, and five soldiers. He organized each set of ten units under a single commander. He referred to these larger groups as “divisions.” This left him with fifty units, or five divisions. Overall, the entire undead army numbered approximately four hundred members.

  Jason had ordered individual units to go out and hunt the local area around Twilight Throne. He needed them to level quickly and learn to fight together. This proved to be a successful practice. Since the NPCs didn't need to sleep and were undergoing relentless training, the average level of his troops was already close to level 20. He expected that after another four days, they might be able to hit level 40. With the stat bonuses for fighting near the Twilight Throne, their effective level should be close to level 50.