Awaken Online (Book 3): Evolution

by Bagwell, Travis

  Then Jason took a ponderous step forward and off the wall. His foot landed on a bone disc, the platform wobbling slightly before adjusting to his weight. As his group continued forward, the discs rotated into position, creating a makeshift staircase that barely managed to support their weight. Jason knew this was technically breaking Alfred’s rules, but the AI must have decided to bend his restriction in this situation. At least Alfred seemed to be a fan of a bit of showmanship.

  The lizardmen had already begun to recover as Jason’s group descended into the courtyard. The warriors had taken up defensive positions around their leader – their spears leveled at Jason and his teammates. Jason noted calmly that more than one weapon was also pointing at the prisoners. Clearly, the lizardmen understood the advantage of hostages.

  “Who isss you?” the lizardman leader demanded as Jason approached.

  The bone discs swirled around him, his eyes glowing an unholy obsidian as he channeled his dark mana forcefully. Riley and Eliza stood to either side, their weapons held at the ready. “My name is Jason,” he answered, his voice echoing through the courtyard, “and I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

  Chapter 16 - Diplomatic

  “I will see you later,” Alex called to his classmates. He hesitated to call them friends – he found that type of relationship to be less than ideal. In his experience, it was best to have leverage.

  He hefted his backpack and headed for the front of the school. It was early afternoon, and most of the students at Richmond were still in class. However, Alex had scheduled his off periods for the afternoon so that he could get home early. He was anxious to re-enter AO and continue his work. The Crystal Reach had progressed a great deal over the last few days, and he needed to keep up the momentum.

  Exiting the front of the school, Alex took a sharp right toward the parking spaces near the front of the building. He could see his bright-red sports car parked under a tree. His car was a relic – a testament to a time when people drove their own vehicles, and they ran on fossil fuels. It was one of the few presents his father had given him that he actually enjoyed.

  Alex hesitated as he observed a man leaning against the car. He appeared to be middle-aged and fit, a mottled gray stubble dotting his chin. He stood with his arms crossed, accentuating his broad shoulders and the muscle definition of his arms that was visible through his light sweater. He seemed like the sort of person that should be hefting an assault rifle, not standing idly in front of a school building.

  “Can I help you?” Alex asked in a polite tone, resisting the urge to snap at the man for smudging the wax finish on his car. He had found it best when dealing with strangers to lead with the fake façade he put on for other people’s benefit.

  “Perhaps you can,” the man replied. He offered his hand. “My name is Ryan Vance, and I work for your father.”

  Alex’s thoughts immediately turned to the incident with Jason, and the insidious voice in the back of his mind suddenly stilled. It took a great deal of effort to control his expression as he accepted the man’s hand. “Ahh, that makes sense. What exactly do you do for my father?”

  A grim smile curled the man’s lips, his unwavering gray eyes meeting Alex’s. “Whatever he asks me to. But in this case, I just have a few questions.”

  “Interesting choice of location,” Alex commented, motioning to the car. “Couldn’t we have handled this over the phone or at my father’s office?”

  “You’re a busy kid,” Ryan replied in a relaxed voice. “Between your classes and AO, it’s difficult to find a time to speak with you. I figured this might be the best way to catch you alone.”

  Alex didn’t miss the fact that Ryan had implied that he knew his class schedule and how much time he spent logged into the game world. He would need to tread carefully here. “Well, I appreciate the thought. What exactly do you need to ask me?”

  “I noticed a few odd transactions in your bank account on October 18th. It appears that you withdrew cash from a local branch bank here in the city.”

  “That’s not really a question,” Alex replied, forcing himself to smile despite the dull weight that had settled in his stomach. Ryan’s questions were obviously related to him hiring those two morons to rough up Jason. “I didn’t realize that withdrawing cash was an issue. Did my father ask you to look into my spending habits?”

  “Something like that,” Ryan replied with a grin of his own. “It’s just that the withdrawal is unusual. You might not be aware of this, but it was actually the first time you have made a cash withdrawal in three years.”

  “Oh, really?” Alex said, his eyebrows arching in surprise. “Well, I think I was planning to go out with some friends later that night. There are some clubs in town that operate on a cash-only basis – if you know what I mean.”

  Ryan nodded. “That is interesting. Do you remember the name of the club you went to?”

  Alex glanced to the side before he could stop himself. He tried to play it off as though he was mulling over Ryan’s question. “You know what? I really can’t remember. We hit a couple places that night. It must have gotten pretty wild if I can’t remember now.”

  “No doubt,” the older man replied impassively. He rubbed a hand at his chin. “I also noticed a couple of text messages you sent to two unlisted numbers a few days prior to the withdrawal. However, it seems your Core was replaced recently so I couldn’t retrieve the messages. Do you remember who you texted?”

  “It’s really hard to say,” Alex replied, his brow furrowed in thought. “I message a number of people. Could you be more specific?”

  “I wish I could. Unfortunately, I don’t have much more information than that.”

  “Okay… What exactly is this about?” Alex asked, trying to sound genuinely confused.

  “Your father just asked me to check up on you is all. It’s probably nothing,” Ryan answered cordially. He pushed himself off of Alex’s car, his eyes skimming along the sleek exterior. “By the way, this is one hell of a ride. You better be careful, you might get into some trouble with a car like this.”

  At this last statement, Ryan stepped away from the vehicle and started across the parking lot. It took most of Alex’s considerable willpower to force himself not to glance after the man and get into his vehicle. Based on Ryan’s knowledge of Alex’s activities, it was clear that he wasn’t an ordinary employee. He might have cameras watching Alex even now.

  As Alex drove out of the parking lot and his foot pressed down hard on the accelerator, a small grin crept across his face. Ryan clearly suspected something, yet there was no evidence to be found. Alex had made certain of that.

  A gentle hand rested on his thigh, and he smelled a familiar whiff of perfume. “You did well, son. Let your father’s watchdog chase his own tail for now.”

  ***

  The group of lizardmen in the courtyard bristled as Jason and his teammates reached the ground, many grabbing at their weapons and hissing. Jason held up his hands, his palms empty. “I would like to speak with your leader,” he said loudly, gesturing at the strangely-garbed creature near the pit.

  “Humansss,” the ancient lizardmen leader hissed, disgust coloring its voice. The creature raised a hand and waved at the warriors to let Jason and his friends pass. The lizardmen tensed, the muscles in their arms and legs bulging. “Proud. You alwaysss think you can invade den with no consssquencesss.”

  Jason was surprised at how well-spoken the lizardmen leader was. Perhaps the creature had been alive when the temple had last been active. That might very well be the case since he had no idea how long-lived the creatures might be.

  “We have no interest in your den,” Jason replied calmly, stepping through the crowd of lizardmen as he approached the pit. The creatures reluctantly parted to let him approach their leader, yet their clawed hands lingered on their weapons as they watched the spinning bone discs floating around Jason with poorly-concealed anger. As Frank caught sight of Jason, his eyes widened in surprise, a
nd the barbarian struggled against his bindings – grunting around the gag in his mouth. “We only wish to retrieve the people behind you and then leave peacefully.”

  “Peace?” the lizardmen leader snorted derisively, the bones of its crown clicking gently as it shook its head. “Humansss not bring peace. You bring death and dessstruction.” The ancient creature gestured at the crumbling ruins around them.

  “We had nothing to do with the destruction of this temple,” Jason stated firmly, picking up on the implication of the lizardmen’s gesture and recalling the visions he had witnessed recently. “That was another group of humans long ago. The people responsible for this are now long dead.”

  “You all sssame,” the leader insisted, its long tongue flicking at the air as it spoke. “You not ressspect our kind and you danger to brood.”

  “Your brood?” Jason asked, puzzled by the creature’s word choice.

  “Young onesss,” the leader replied insistently, impatient anger coloring its voice as it pointed at the roughshod tunnel carved into the temple’s wall. Several more diminutive lizardmen carried small baskets from the cave, the crude straw vessels each holding a large egg the size of a human head. Jason could see that they were placing the baskets in the sun, presumably to warm them.

  Riley leaned toward Jason, whispering quietly, “I think the leader is referring to their offspring. She must be a female.”

  Jason nodded slightly. Perhaps that means that this is some sort of matriarchal society. Maybe she acts like a priestess, Jason thought, noting the way the other lizardmen hovered protectively around their leader and the odd garments she wore. He still couldn’t identify their genders. I wonder how many females they have.

  “We have no interest in your brood,” Jason finally replied. “We only want our friends.”

  “Your ‘friendsss’ are food for god. We mussst protect brood.”

  Jason’s brow furrowed again, uncertain what she was referring to. “What god?”

  The priestess gave an exasperated snort, before waving a wrinkled hand at the ruined walls of the temple’s entrance. “Sssee for yourssself.”

  Jason could see that some sort of crude drawing had been etched into the stone, but he was too far away to make it out.

  He stepped forward toward the temple, causing the other lizardmen to flinch nervously. However, at a placating gesture from their leader, they let him pass. He noted with interest that the creatures seemed scared of the floating bone discs, staring at them as he passed. Perhaps the last Keeper had made an impression when he had visited the island. That was the only thing Jason could think of to explain their behavior.

  As he neared the wall, Jason could see that rough images had been carved into the ruined walls of the temple. He suspected that the lizardmen had etched these pictures into the stone with their own claws. Several scenes were shown in order – which seemed to indicate a sort of chronological timeline.

  Perhaps this is the lizardmens’ history? Jason wondered. The lizardmen priestess took slow, ponderous steps toward the drawings, her guards following her closely and creating a barrier between her and Jason.

  “These drawingsss tell ssstory,” the priestess said, a clawed hand tracing the images.

  The first picture showed a dark ship crashing into the island’s shore. Skeletal stick figures could be seen leaving the ship and heading toward a familiar serpentine spire where the undead met with robed creatures. They seemed to be on good terms. The next drawing showed more ships landing on the beach – this time a large number of humans disembarking the vessels. The third drawing showed the temple in flames, a familiar beast looming over the structure and its tentacles lashing at the humans. The final picture showed a roughhewn image of the ruined temple, humans being thrown into the pit in its center as tentacles curled out of the opening.

  These pictures seem to match the visions I have been having, Jason thought, recalling the humans attacking the Keeper and his son. He still didn’t understand why a conflict had arisen between the undead and the humans or why the Keeper seemed so desperate to hide the grimoire on this island.

  Jason’s gaze hovered on the image of the tentacle-wielding creature etched into the stone surface of the temple. He certainly recognized the monster, which could only mean one thing…

  “The Tentacle Horror lives down there?” Jason asked aloud, glancing back at the pit over his shoulder. Riley and Eliza both took an involuntary step back from the hole in the center of the courtyard, eyeing it nervously.

  “What isss that?” the lizardmen leader replied, cocking her head to the side inquisitively. “Our god livesss below – hungry and demanding. We provide ssssacrifice to stop itsss coming.”

  Jason shared a look with Riley. That meant that the beast was likely waiting at the bottom of the hole for Frank and the sailors. If the fall didn’t kill them immediately, Jason suspected that they wouldn’t last long against the Tentacle Horror. They had only barely escaped the creature back aboard the Marietta, and they had been in a much more defensible position.

  An idea began to form in Jason’s mind. He couldn’t help but recall a quote from Machiavelli, “Occasionally words must serve to veil the facts.”

  “We have fought your god before,” Jason began slowly. He didn’t enjoy the prospect of lying to the priestess, but they had come too far to turn back now. “The creature bleeds like everything else,” Jason continued. “And our group survived the encounter.” His eyes darted to the towering lizardmen warriors standing nearby. “Your warriors look strong. Why don’t you try to slay this god?”

  The lizardmen leader shook her head violently, and Jason noticed that the other lizardmen stirred nervously, picking up on her anxiety. “Many tried. They all failed. Our warriorsss died. The creature isss too powerful.”

  A small smile began to curl Jason’s lips. Perfect.

  “I agree that your god is strong, but would you slay it if you could?” Jason asked. “That seems like the best way to protect your people and your brood.”

  The lizardmen leader nodded, slicing at the air with her claws and her eyes flashing crimson. For a brief moment, Jason could imagine how fearsome she must have been in her prime. “Yesss,” she said. “We kill if we could.”

  “And what if we were to kill this god for you?” Jason asked cautiously. “We have slain stronger foes and lived.” That might have been an overstatement, but the lizardman leader didn’t really need to know that. Jason had also neatly skipped over the part where they had almost died to the Tentacle Horror aboard the Marietta.

  A considering expression swept over the leader’s face as she considered Jason’s offer. She glanced at the prisoners, then to Riley and Frank, before her gaze once more rested on Jason. A crafty look flitted across her serpentine face. “You kill god, we let you humansss live, but we keep prisssonersss.”

  Jason frowned. Crafty old wench, he thought sourly. He noticed Frank wince, his friend likely expecting to be stuck standing next to the pit indefinitely. He might have difficulty logging off with his hands bound behind him.

  “Fine. We only need the warrior and his weapons,” Jason said, pointing to Frank. His friend’s eyes lit up at that, and he nodded enthusiastically. “If you keep the others in your brood cave, we will return for them once your god is dead. Their flesh will rot if it stays in the sun,” he added, pointing to one of his original cultists zombies, its right arm hanging limp and the flesh starting to separate at the shoulder.

  The lizardmen priestess tapped at one of her horns with a clawed finger as she considered Jason’s proposal. Silence descended over the courtyard as the other lizardmen looked on. “Isss done. Bring back tentacle asss proof. Five daysss before we sssacrifice dead onesss,” the priestess declared, her voice ringing with finality. As soon as she finished speaking, a notice appeared in Jason’s field of view.

  New Quest: Over Your Head

  The lizardmen took Frank and your minions hostage. Instead of getting slaughtered at the hands of a horde o
f overgrown lizards, you decided to negotiate with them. You have agreed to slay the Tentacle Horror below the temple in return for your minions. You have five days. Yeah, you didn’t overpromise at all…

  Difficulty: ?

  Success: Slay the Tentacle Horror.

  Failure: Die to the Tentacle Horror or fail to kill the creature within the time limit.

  Reward: Return of your minions.

  Jason let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He couldn’t help but glance at Alfred in irritation after skimming the new quest prompt. He didn’t really intend to kill the Tentacle Horror, but sometimes it felt like the AI was taunting him.

  His thoughts were interrupted as the leader of the lizardmen hissed something unintelligible at one of the warriors standing near Frank and the undead. The hulking lizardman grudgingly sliced through Frank’s bindings with its claws and the barbarian promptly yanked the gag from his mouth before massaging his aching wrists.

  “My axes,” Frank demanded, holding out a hand to the lizardman behind him.

  The creature glanced down at the massive blades in its hands, then hissed violently at Frank before dropping the weapons with a clatter of metal and storming off. Jason could only imagine that this was the lizardman-equivalent of telling Frank, “I hope you die a horrible death to our tentacle-wielding death god.” The warriors then began shoving the undead toward the cave entrance, Jason mentally commanding the group to follow their orders.

  Meanwhile, Jason turned back to the leader. “How do we get below the temple to fight your god?”

  The priestess’ lips peeled back to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Jason could only assume it was her poor imitation of a smile. She raised one arm and pointed a clawed finger at the pit in the center of the courtyard. “Sssacrifice.”