Awaken Online (Book 3): Evolution

by Bagwell, Travis

  “I am not certain what our kindly Lord Baen has told you, but he sent my group to that island on a fool’s errand to collect this relic – a magical orb.”

  “I did no such…” Lord Baen began. His statement was immediately cut off as an arrow embedded itself in the dock beside his foot.

  “The next one will be in your throat,” Riley said, her dark eyes focused on the lord. The soldiers on the dock stared at her, uncertain how she had moved so quickly.

  Jason coughed delicately before continuing, “It seems Lord Baen sent all of his now missing crews and his own son to their death in search of this relic.” Jason paid careful attention to Lord Baen’s remaining soldiers, noticing the way that the green-liveried men glanced at the Lord in shock at these statements. “Which was made abundantly clear when we found a note written in his son’s own hand along with his signet ring.”

  At a nod from Jason, Frank pulled the letter and ring from his pack and handed them to Lord Cairn. The large man spent a long, tense moment reading through the letter, before turning to glare at Lord Baen. “You old fool,” he spat. “You destroyed your own house and your family hunting after this legend?”

  Lord Baen started to speak, but hesitated, glancing at Riley warily. “Go ahead,” Jason said, smiling and gesturing for him to continue. “But keep it brief.”

  “You would believe these… these murderers and thieves?” Lord Baen replied, his eyes wild and desperate as he stabbed at the air with his cane. “How do we know that they didn’t slay my son and those crews? They are the cause of this invasion, after all.”

  Lord Cairn turned to look at Jason, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

  “Your men died long before the travelers came to this world,” Jason replied evenly, making certain that his voice carried to the soldiers nearby. “And you caused this invasion – with your arrogance and your greed.”

  “Lies, all of it!” Lord Baen hissed, stepping forward. Another arrow embedded itself in the dock and he came up short, his eyes wide.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Riley said, a smile on her face.

  “If these were lies, why did we come back here?” Jason demanded. “Why not sail to another town? Or beach the ship north along the coast? We came to spread the truth of what you have done to your own people and to aid in fending off an invasion that you caused.”

  “And what assistance do you plan to provide?” Lord Cairn asked, crossing his muscled arms.

  “Are you seriously entertaining this-”

  “Shut up,” Lord Cairn snapped, interrupting the older man. “You are lucky I don’t kill you where you stand. If it were not for your remaining soldiers and your influence in this city, you would be dead already.” As he saw that the older lord planned to keep his mouth shut, Lord Cairn gestured for Jason to continue.

  “We have encountered these lizardmen before,” Jason explained. “If you will accept our help, we will reinforce your troops and fight alongside you. You will have the full power of Original Sin at your disposal – and our armies. I am certain you have heard tales of the power of the Twilight Throne already.”

  “And in return?” Lord Cairn inquired, his face perfectly neutral.

  Cagey bastard, Jason thought with grudging respect. No wonder Lord Baen’s trading house had failed if he was facing this sort of opponent.

  “The blessing of the trade houses to move freely about the city, ultimate authority to prepare for the invasion and command of your troops, and protection from the other travelers,” Jason replied bluntly, having carefully considered his demands ahead of time.

  “That is a tall order,” Lord Cairn replied.

  “And these are desperate times,” Jason said, meeting the man’s gaze evenly.

  Lord Cairn chewed on this for a long moment, the silence stretching and lengthening. The sound of the soldiers shuffling behind him was audible, and Jason could feel his stomach clench. Here was the moment of truth. He could only hope the lord would piece together the opportunity that Jason was presenting him.

  Lord Cairn appeared to abruptly come to a decision. He turned to address the soldiers and the crowds that milled behind him on the dock. “Original Sin offers evidence that Lord Baen betrayed them, tricking them into journeying to the forbidden island and inadvertently causing this invasion. As such, Lord Baen is to be held responsible for the danger this city currently faces.”

  The burly man hesitated, letting this news sink in before continuing. “In light of his actions, Lord Baen will be imprisoned, and his remaining holdings will be seized until he can be tried for his crimes. His funds will be used to reimburse his soldiers and crews for the damage caused by his misconduct.”

  This earned the lord a mixed reaction from the other townspeople, the city’s residents were already beginning to whisper among themselves while the players shouted in outrage – likely hoping to easily collect on the bounty on Jason’s head. Jason couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect for Lord Cairn. He had easily seen the opportunity that he was being offered. He was capitalizing on Jason’s proposal to both completely remove one of his opponents and win over Lord Baen’s remaining men in one fell swoop.

  “Further,” Lord Cairn continued, his voice booming across the docks. “Original Sin has offered to aid Falcon’s Hook during the invasion. Effective immediately, Jason and his group have been granted full wartime powers. Our soldiers are now theirs to command. Any townsfolk or travelers seeking to harm their group will be dealt with harshly and banished from the city… permanently.”

  As the lord finished speaking, a notification appeared in front of Jason. He could only smile as he read through the text, his dark mana thrumming in his veins.

  System Notice

  You and your group members have been granted temporary sovereignty over Falcon’s Hook by the city’s leading trade house. This will grant you full control of the city and its administrative and military personnel for the duration of the world event, including the ability to banish other players at will.

  This announcement was met with abject shock from the men and women on the docks and ramparts leading up to the city. Jason could already hear their cries cascading across the bay. Yet Lord Cairn ignored them, turning back to Jason and approaching slowly. Frank moved to block his advance, but Jason waved him aside.

  “You have a deal,” Lord Cairn said, offering a hand. A small smile drifted across his face, and he lowered his voice so that his men couldn’t hear him. “I think this will be the beginning of a long and rewarding relationship.”

  Jason accepted his handshake, his dark mana raging through his body. “I do believe it will,” he replied as he met the lord’s gaze and pumped his hand firmly. “Assuming we all live that long.”

  Chapter 31 - Preparatory

  A chime resounded through the control room, the sound repeating on a loop and causing Robert to wince each time. Several of the technicians around the lab kept glancing up at the dais, waiting for Claire or Robert to answer the incoming phone call.

  “That’s the fourth time the CPSC has called,” Robert grumbled.

  “There’s an easy solution to this problem. You could just answer,” Claire replied in an irritated voice. “I’m guessing they have some technical questions about this so-called world event.”

  “That’s your job! Plus, you’re so much better than me at dealing with people like that,” Robert said, rotating in his seat and trying for best his doe-eyed expression.

  “That’s creepy. Please stop,” Claire said, shaking her head.

  As the chime sounded once again, Claire finally sighed and accepted the call. She could have sworn she heard Robert chuckling behind her. Gloria’s face immediately appeared on the screen above the lab. Her graying hair was bound in a tight bun, and her mouth was pinched into a thin line – a sure sign of irritation. Although, the severe woman regularly looked like she had just sucked on a lemon so this might have been a neutral expression. Claire was beginning to suspect she was just perpetually irritated.
/>   “Hello, Gloria,” Claire said, trying to sound as cordial as possible.

  “Do you mind telling me why it took five tries to get through to you?” Gloria snapped.

  Claire resisted the urge to take off her glasses and massage her temples. “We are quite busy right now preparing for and monitoring the world event,” she explained, trying to keep her voice even and calm. “I’m sure you can understand how much work this entails.”

  “I’m not sure that I do – in large part because no one bothered to notify my organization of this ‘event.’ I also hear that the game masters are being locked out of the invasion area around Falcon’s Hook,” Gloria added, her eyes off-screen as though she was reading through a report.

  “That’s a product of the server load in that area,” Robert grumbled, spinning in his chair to look up at the CPSC director. “And the game masters’ penchant for destroying everything in a five-mile radius,” he added in a lower voice.

  “What was that?” Gloria snapped at him, her glare a bit more intimidating when her face was nearly five-feet tall.

  “Nothing,” Robert replied glibly, an innocent smile plastered on his face. “Your game masters will just have to wait until the event ends. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do at this stage.”

  “Are you honestly telling me that we cannot monitor a live world event – one of the first of its kind?”

  “That is the situation, unfortunately,” Claire said, sharing a look with Robert as he turned back to his terminal. “A group of players triggered the world event much sooner than we expected.”

  “Which players?” Gloria demanded, drumming her fingers on her desk.

  “Umm…” Claire began. “Actually, Original Sin is responsible for triggering the event.”

  “Oh, that’s just perfect…” Gloria began.

  Suddenly, the screen began to flicker erratically, Gloria’s face warping and contorting. “I think there’s a problem with our connection,” Robert said, glancing up at the screen. “Gloria? Can you hear us?”

  Then the monitor abruptly went dark, and Gloria’s face vanished. Claire eyed Robert suspiciously. “A connection problem, huh? You expect me to believe that you didn’t just interrupt a call with the director of the CPSC?”

  Robert glanced at her and winked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” A few chuckles could be heard around the lab at this comment, and Claire suppressed a frustrated sigh. Although, in some ways she was grateful. She wasn’t certain that she wanted to discuss Jason in front of the entire lab.

  She turned back to her terminal, her eyes conflicted as she reviewed the strings of data floating across her screen. Besides, there was already a lot to be nervous about regarding this so-called invasion. The video logs for Jason and his teammates were irregular, and there were large gaps in the data leading up to the destruction of the island. To make matters worse, Alfred had enticed hundreds of players to travel to Falcon’s Hook with his universal system notice and then he had promptly quarantined the area from the game masters. Even their administrative controls had been temporarily disabled.

  All they could do at this point was watch.

  The screen above the lab flickered to life once more, centering on the mass of creatures making their way across the sea toward Falcon’s Hook. As Claire glanced up at the horde, she could feel dread curl in her stomach. Something unusual was going on here, and she expected that this encounter was going to be much more intense than the players were expecting.

  ***

  After the conversation between Lord Cairn and Jason, Lord Baen was dragged away, presumably to spend some quality time in the city’s jail pending his trial. Lord Cairn had retreated back to his manor to summon the remainder of his soldiers and crews. They would need as much manpower as they could muster for the coming invasion.

  This left Jason’s group standing alone on the docks at the base of the cliffs. Waves crashed against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff face, creating a continuous dull roar that reverberated across the bay. Players and townsfolk still lined the wooden rampart leading up to the city, eyeing the group cautiously.

  “So that went better than I was expecting,” Riley commented, keeping a watchful eye on the men and women who milled about the docks. “You know, besides the fact that a ton of players now know that we’re here.”

  Jason shrugged. “There was no way to avoid that problem and our ability to banish players from the city before the invasion may deter many of them from trying to kill us. Most people will want to be able to participate in the battle. Plus, we needed to be able to move freely about Falcon’s Hook to prepare for the invasion.”

  Riley sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I just don’t have to like it.”

  “What’s the plan now, oh Fearless Leader?” Frank asked with a raised eyebrow. “We don’t have long until the lizardmen show up.”

  “I’m thinking Riley and Eliza can work on fortifying the city’s defenses,” Jason said in a distracted voice as he pulled up his map. With a flick of his wrist, he zoomed out the map’s view and panned to the north.

  “I’m not sure I love the idea of leaving you alone,” Riley said with a worried expression.

  “Yeah. Won’t that just make you easier to kill?” Eliza asked. “We can’t afford to wait for respawn timers right now.”

  “He’ll have me,” Frank offered, hefting his axes. Then the barbarian hesitated slightly before continuing in a worried voice. “Wait. Actually, what exactly are we going to be doing? I probably should have led with that question.”

  A grin drifted across Jason’s face as he found the cluster of green dots on his map north of town. It seemed some of the minions he had left behind were still alive. “We’re going to recover my minions,” Jason announced. “Then start building some new troops.”

  “You mean we’re going to leave town on our own in broad daylight?” Frank grumbled. “That whole deterrence thing only works if we’re inside Falcon’s Hook.”

  “You seemed more confident a moment ago,” Jason teased his friend. “What happened?”

  “I forgot I was dealing with a crazy person,” the barbarian groused.

  Jason ignored Frank’s grumbling, turning to look at Eliza and Riley. “Do you two think you can handle setting up the defenses? I expect the lizardmen are going to attack from the bay, so the ramparts will likely need to be heavily fortified.”

  “I have a few ideas,” Riley murmured, covering her eyes with one hand to blot out the sunlight as she glanced up at the wooden walkways. “I’m pretty sure Eliza and I can come up with something suitably impressive.” Eliza gave a curt nod in agreement.

  “Good. Then Frank and I need to head out,” Jason said, smacking his grumpy friend on the back. “We’ll be back in about a day or so in-game. Just remember that you can also order around the city soldiers. You are probably going to need the help.”

  “Got it,” Riley said. “Now get out of here!” She then turned to the remaining soldiers and began barking orders. The men looked at her skeptically for a moment, but when a few well-placed arrows landed at their feet, they decided to start lending a helpful hand. Jason couldn’t help but smile as he watched the scene. Riley could certainly be intimidating when she tried.

  With that, Jason pushed Frank ahead of him, and the pair started heading up the walkways crisscrossing their way up the cliff face. He kept his two Death Knights nearby, and he set his Bone Shields to orbit vulnerable points along his body – like his head and neck. He wasn’t confident that his new authority within the city would deter some people from trying to assassinate him.

  As they passed other players and townspeople on the ramparts, they edged out of their way. The Death Knights barely squeezing past on the tight passageways, and no one seemed to want to get closer to them than they had to. Frank had his axes out and at the ready, eyeing each passerby critically and making certain that they kept their distance from Jason. He was too fragile to take any hits.

&nb
sp; As they reached the top of the ramparts, Jason and Frank froze. A crowd of players was standing at the top of the ridge, the men and women heavily armed. Their weapons and armor glowed subtly, and a quick inspection revealed that they were all above level 100. Upon seeing Jason and Frank, the scrape of metal echoed through the area as the players drew their weapons and various elemental energies spiraled through the air.

  Oh shit, Jason thought, dread curling in his stomach.

  “Move,” Frank ordered, reacting more quickly than Jason and stepping forward.

  “I’d like to see you make us,” one of the players, a plate-clad warrior replied with a laugh. He stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “We’re here for Jason, although the bounty on your head isn’t too shabby now. Maybe we’ll just take out both of you.”

  “Oh, perhaps you didn’t hear,” Frank said, his voice coming out in a low growl. “Original Sin has been granted temporary wartime powers over Falcon’s Hook. So, let me rephrase. Move, or we’ll kill you and then banish your dumb ass.”

  The player looked irritated at this news, shifting his gaze to Jason. “So now you have your dog speaking for you? I thought you were supposed to be some almighty badass.”

  Frank’s rumbling chuckle drifted over the clearing. “He doesn’t need to spend any time on the likes of you. You’re talking to people that do battle with gods.” He looped his axes at his belt and stretched his shoulders, the ropes of muscle rippling under his skin. “Honestly, I don’t even need weapons to deal with you.”

  “Can you believe this guy?” the player laughed, looking to his friends. Chuckles and grins appeared on many of their faces. “I’d love to see you take me out with your bare hands.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Frank replied with a mad grin.

  The barbarian’s legs abruptly caved in with a sickening pop, dense black fur sprouting up his legs. As the transformation completed, he lunged forward, the force of the movement causing the boards along the walkway to creak under the strain. In a blur of motion, Frank was suddenly standing in front of the player.