Awaken Online (Book 3): Evolution

by Bagwell, Travis

  Damn it.

  “Is there any other way to enter the temple?” Jason asked again, hoping that the pit wasn’t their only option.

  “No other way,” the leader said with a shake of her head. She gestured at the ruined entrance. “Temple sssealed long ago. Rotting flesh too dangerousss.”

  “Rotting flesh?” Riley asked with a puzzled expression.

  “Bonesss and beastsss,” the leader hissed, a flash of fear flitting across her face. “Warriorsss fighting warriorsss. We keep blocked to protect brood.”

  Jason didn’t like the sound of that at all. If the lizardmen had intentionally kept the entrance to the temple blocked off, the creatures inside must be vicious. Perhaps these were the temple “defenses” that the Keeper had alluded to in his last vision. He could only hope that those protections had faded with time. However, none of that solved his immediate problem. It looked like the only way they were going to get into the temple was through the pit.

  “Okay,” Jason said, rubbing at his temple with one hand. “I get it. So the hole is the only way inside?”

  The lizardmen leader nodded, her eerie grin reappearing once again. He also noted that they were now surrounded by hundreds of armed lizardmen. Escape wasn’t really an option. Jason was starting to suspect he had been played by the cagey old lizard – who now had fresh sacrifices and the remaining undead in reserve.

  “Great job on the rescue,” Frank said in a dry voice, resting his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “These guys were going to throw me into that pit, but now I get to jump in willingly! Really, you did a splendid job.”

  Riley chuckled, covering up her laugh with a cough when Jason glared at her. “He does have a point. You didn’t exactly improve the situation very much.” She peered over the edge of the hole. Even her night vision was having trouble piercing the gloom. “So how are we going to do this?”

  Jason glanced at Frank and back at the hole. It was rather wide, at least a dozen feet across by his estimate. They might be able to get the barbarian to use his new wings and do what he did best – a combination of hovering and falling.

  Frank noticed Jason’s expression and the way he kept glancing at him. “No. Hell no,” he said, backing away from Jason and putting up his hands defensively. “I caved in that cliff, and I’ve acted as a decoy before, but this is too much.”

  “What?” Eliza asked, glancing between the pair in confusion.

  “Jason is going to ask me to carry us down the hole using my shapeshifting abilities,” Frank grumbled. “I just know that’s what he’s planning to do.”

  “Do you have a better suggestion? And remember that you were the one who insisted on consuming that Roc’s corpse,” Jason reminded his friend. “Otherwise, we’d have some giant undead bird that could do this for us.

  Frank just sighed in resignation. “No, I don’t have a better idea, but you are going to owe me,” he said, stabbing a finger at Jason.

  “As always,” Jason replied with a smile.

  With that, Frank grudgingly summoned his wings. The skin on his shoulders and back ripped open as new, spindly appendages appeared. Soon, a full set of feathered wings hung from Frank’s back, and he gave them an experimental flap. The lizardmen backed away at the sight, hissing at him as dust blew through the courtyard.

  “Good,” the priestess said appreciatively. “You may die ssslower.”

  “We don’t plan to die,” Jason replied evenly, meeting the priestess’ gaze as his dark mana pulsed and throbbed in his veins. Dark tendrils of energy peeled away from his skin, lashing at the air and causing the lizardmen around him to recoil. “We’ll be back, and you better be ready to keep up your end of the bargain.”

  Chapter 17 - Bewildered

  Alexion stood on a balcony overlooking the Crystal Reach. This was the highest vantage point in the city. Brilliant ivory towers stretched into the sky above the keep and offered an unimpeded view of the surrounding area. The walls of the room were made of a mixture of sturdy marble and crystal. Beams of light passed through the surface, painting a cascade of colors on the walls behind him as they refracted through the crystal.

  Thin streamers of smoke were drifting up from the marketplace, evidence that his Confessors had been hard at work ferreting out the infidels in their midst. Since he had created the band of inquisitors and begun preaching regularly in the Lady’s temple, dissent among the NPCs had dropped off sharply. Citizens were even turning on their own family members to gain the Lady’s favor and bolster Alexion’s crusade against the undead. It certainly helped that the Confessors also made an example of those that were caught betraying the city – publicly burning the traitors alive.

  The player population had responded positively to his new taxes and restrictions. Looting had stopped entirely, and the market was again teeming with players and NPCs alike. His staff had reported that there had been a rapid increase in new players creating nephilim avatars now that the situation in the city had begun to stabilize.

  To top it all off, Alexion felt like he had deftly put off Ryan’s questions.

  Things were going well – very well.

  “You may want to think more quietly,” a feminine voice spoke up from behind Alexion. “Your citizens may be able to hear your self-congratulation from here.” The white-robed woman stepped up to the railing beside Alexion, placing her impeccably manicured hands on the golden banister.

  “Congratulations do seem to be in order,” Alexion responded curtly. “I managed to stabilize the city as you demanded. With little assistance from you, I might add.”

  “I can see that,” the Lady responded sharply. “You have accomplished the bare minimum expected from a leader. Should we throw a celebration in your name?” She hesitated for a moment as her gaze lingered on the burnt circular patches in the nearby field. “Although, I must admit that the Confessors were a nice touch. I quite enjoyed the little spectacle that they created in my honor.”

  “I’m glad,” Alexion responded in a dry tone, tamping down on his own irritation. He had managed to subdue the city’s residents and seize control with little help from the haughty goddess. He was beginning to wonder what value she added – other than to offer condescending, barbed comments.

  The Lady laughed lightly. “What do I offer?” she asked, picking up on his surface thoughts and placing a hand on her chest. “I admire confidence, but arrogance doesn’t become you, Sir Knight. You have barely begun to scratch the surface of the power I can provide.”

  “You’ve said that before,” Alexion retorted. “But I have yet to see you follow through on your claims. It seems to me that I have been the one doing all of the work so far.”

  Despite his rude tone, a small smile curled the Lady’s lips, and she promptly waved at a nearby wall. The crystalline surface shuddered for a moment before sliding to the side. Alexion saw that the hidden door concealed another room. In the center of the small enclosure stood a marble column, a bowl affixed to the top.

  Alexion stepped forward carefully, entering the room and glancing over the lip of the bowl. He immediately held up a hand to cover his eyes as a brilliant flash of golden light erupted from the bowl, refracting off the crystalline walls in a blinding display. As the light dissipated, Alexion could see that a resplendent golden liquid rested in the bowl, throbbing and pulsing with power. The energy was almost palpable.

  “What is this?” Alexion whispered.

  “Liquid light mana. These wells were once used by the leaders of the Great Cities before the Purge. They offer the ability to collect and manipulate a certain type of mana, using it to power and defend the city. The mages have created a pale imitation of these wells, copying what was once the source of our strength.”

  Alexion reached forward a hesitant hand. In a flash of movement, the Lady was suddenly standing beside Alexion, slapping him backward. His back slammed against the crystalline wall of the room, and he let out a grunt of pain. “You idiot. I tell you that this well contains immense power and y
our first thought is to dip your fingers into it? You aren’t ready to tap into the mana well.”

  “You didn’t mention that it would harm me either,” he snapped at the woman, wiping at the blood lingering on his lips as he struggled back to his feet. A glance at his system UI confirmed that she had nearly killed him with a single strike. “What do I need to do to access the well’s power?”

  The anger faded from the Lady’s face and was quickly replaced by another sly smile. “Well, now we get to the point of my visit. This body of yours is unfit to wield the well’s full power. You must change and grow. You must become a Seraph.”

  The Lady held up a finger, anticipating Alexion’s next question. “And in order to do that, you first need to prove your devotion to the light and your individual strength. In short, my idiot knight, you need to challenge someone much stronger than you.”

  “Who do you have in mind? Jason?” Alexion asked. He didn’t fear this challenge. He had overcome all of his opponents so far with the sole exception of his nemesis. He would like nothing more than to crush Jason in battle – whether the well’s power hung in the balance or not.

  “You think much too small. Although that’s not surprising given your… condition,” the woman said, moving closer and tapping his forehead with a finger. “Still, your opponent needs to be more than merely mortal,” the Lady continued.

  She leaned toward Alexion and ran her fingers gently through his hair. A shark-like smile lingered on her crimson lips, the color vivid in contrast to the blinding white of the room. “In short, you need to slay a god.”

  ***

  The group landed at the bottom of the pit, collapsing in a pile of feathers as Frank’s stamina finally depleted. The barbarian groaned in pain, the sound echoing off the walls of the subterranean cavern. Jason rolled to his side, glancing around the room anxiously for any sign of the tentacle creature.

  His eyes widened in surprise as he took in the enormous cavern around them. Roughhewn rock lined the walls and stalactites hung from the ceiling – framing the massive hole they had emerged from. Yet, in contrast to the walls of the cave, the ground was built from smooth stone and had clearly been excavated by human hands. Along the northern side the room, the rock floor gave way to water, waves splashing gently against the stone surface. Sunlight leaked into the chamber through a large hole in the side of the cavern about a hundred yards away, and Jason could just barely make out clouds and bright blue sky in the distance.

  The one bit of good news was that there was no sign of the tentacle horror.

  Jason’s attention turned back to his teammates. Eliza was lying on top of Frank, a shocked expression on her face. Riley had fared much better, immediately diving into a roll as she hit the ground to absorb the shock of her landing. She was already on her feet, and she offered Jason a hand up before immediately pulling her bow from her shoulder and nocking an arrow. Riley’s eyes carefully inspected their surroundings, lingering on the water nearby.

  “You mind getting off of me?” Frank groaned good-naturedly, trying to lift himself from the ground.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Eliza said, shaking off her stupor and standing up. The mage looked a bit shell-shocked by the sudden series of events, and she double-checked her packs to make certain they were still there.

  “Where are we?” Riley murmured.

  “Some sort of grotto underneath the temple?” Jason ventured. He gestured at the tunnel carved into the side of the cave. “My guess is that this is the northern end of the island.”

  “Hmm. This looks like it might have once been a dock,” Riley said, inspecting the stone floor carefully. Several decaying wooden poles still crested the water’s surface, evidence that a dock might have once rested atop the water. Riley eased back on the string of her bow. “Maybe this was a way for ships to dock directly under the temple? The buried pier along the beach might have been for visitors.”

  “Regardless, it seems like a perfect place for that tentacle thing to live,” Frank muttered, pulling himself to his feet. His hands lingered on his axes as he looked around the room. “It would have easy access to the area around the island from here.”

  Jason noticed that the undead sailor that the lizardmen had pushed down the hole lay nearby, its body broken from the impact with the stone floor – one arm resting at an awkward angle. The corpses of various animals and lizardfolk also lined the floor of the cave, their bodies battered by the fall and their flesh already showing evidence of decay. They couldn’t have been more than a day or two old. Jason noted that the lizardmen corpses looked scrawny compared to the hulking warriors he had seen above ground. Perhaps the creatures sacrificed their weakest members to their “god” when they had no other option.

  “It doesn’t look like the Tentacle Horror has been here for a while,” Jason murmured, gesturing at the untouched corpses and his brow furrowed in thought. “Maybe we injured it during the fight aboard the Marietta?”

  “Or maybe it wasn’t hungry after eating half our crew,” Frank replied sourly, still eyeing the water along the northern part of the cave suspiciously. “Either way, we should get the hell out of here before it comes back.”

  “I second that,” Riley added. Eliza nodded vigorously from where she stood nearby, remaining mute during their conversation.

  “Just give me a second,” Jason said, eying the corpses. With a quick series of gestures, he cast Custom Skeleton, raising the decaying corpses of the creatures that lined the cave floor. Soon nearly a half-dozen skeletons stood ready. They were a motley assembly – many missing limbs and shuffling along with awkward steps.

  At least it’s something, Jason thought sourly.

  “I think I see a doorway,” Eliza offered as Jason finished casting, pointing along the southern wall of the cavern. “Maybe it leads further up into the temple?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Jason replied.

  The group made their way over to the far side of the cavern, keeping a watchful eye on the water lapping at the ruined stone dock. Jason’s undead minions limped along behind them with an uneven gait. They soon discovered that a massive set of double doors had been installed into the wall of the cave, the wood splintered with age. If there had been any doubt before regarding whether this cave was part of the temple complex, the existence of the doorway dispelled any lingering skepticism.

  As Jason’s hand reached for the handle, Frank spoke up beside him, “What’s that?” The barbarian was pointing at a mural above the doorway. The image was difficult to make out under the thick layer of dust and debris that coated its surface. Without warning, Frank summoned his wings once more and gave them a mighty flap. A gust of wind buffeted the wall, launching a thick cloud of dust into the air.

  Jason coughed to clear his lungs, draping the hem of his cloak over his mouth. As the debris cleared, he could finally make out the mural. It was truly massive, spanning the length of the back wall of the cavern and stretching nearly a dozen feet into the air. The image was incredibly unusual.

  “Is that a sheep?” Frank muttered, eyeing the mural with a confused expression.

  “I guess it is,” Jason replied. A giant, fluffy black sheep stood on a dais. A throng of undead and robed figures knelt before the animal, offering all manner of valuable jewelry, trinkets, and food. Eliza gave a small yelp as she finally caught sight of the mural, and Jason glanced at her in alarm – noting her wide-eyed stare.

  “Who the hell would worship a sheep?” Frank continued.

  “Only the best and most honorable type of person, of course,” a deep baritone voice spoke up from beside Jason. He whirled toward the sound, only to find empty air. He couldn’t see anyone else in the cavern aside from his teammates and his minions.

  “What was that?” Jason asked softly. “Did you all hear someone speak?”

  Riley and Frank both nodded, and Eliza looked nervous, her eyes resting on the empty area beside Jason. “Who’s there?” Jason demanded, his voice echoing off the cavern’s wa
lls.

  No one replied.

  Frank’s brow wrinkled in confusion as he glanced around the cave. Then his eyes rested on the mural once more, and Jason could practically see the light bulb go off in his mind. “It was probably just the wind,” the barbarian declared loudly, sparing a wink for Jason. “The real question is why anyone would create a mural worshipping a stupid, fat sheep. I mean come on. There are so many better animals to choose from. Lions, eagles, bears, elemental hydras…” Frank began listing creatures on his fingers.

  “Blasphemy. Absolute blasphemy!” the strange voice spoke up again.

  Before the group could react, a young man suddenly appeared beside Jason and stormed toward Frank. He must have been in his mid-twenties, thick stubble covered his chin, and his clothes seemed to be made of a chaotic collection of multi-colored rags. Rough sandals adorned his feet, their straps crisscrossing up his calves.

  The strange man stabbed a finger at Frank. “How dare you say those mean things about Fluffy! He is very sensitive about his appearance, and we’ve spent a lot of time working on his self-esteem. Comments like that are just cruel.”

  Frank looked flabbergasted, his mouth opening and closing several times as the odd-looking young man continued his tirade. Jason heard a soft bleat beside him and turned to find a familiar (but much smaller) black sheep leaning against Eliza, its eyes rolling back as the water mage cautiously scratched his head, her helpless gaze shifting back and forth between the strange man and the animal.

  Certain pieces began to fall into place as Jason watched Eliza. She didn’t seem too surprised by the young man’s sudden appearance, and the sheep certainly seemed to know her. Jason had thought that the girl might be a little crazy with the way she kept murmuring to herself, but maybe something more was going on here.

  “Eliza, who is this?” Jason asked quietly.

  The water mage glanced at him with a worried expression, opening her mouth to respond. Before she had a chance to answer, the strange young man whirled, spreading his arms wide. “You don’t even know who I am? And to think that you’re standing in my temple!” He strode back toward Jason, stopping to pet the sheep. “Can you believe these ungrateful people, Fluffy? They injure our guardian, insult your greatness, and break into my temple – all without even knowing my name.”