“We managed to defeat a dungeon during our trip. I found it after we had slain a hydra,” Riley explained, eyeing the bow cautiously. In Jerry’s hands, the crystal had grown darker, turning almost black. She noted the change with curiosity. She still didn’t understand what the bow was capable of since the special effect was locked.
“Remarkable workmanship,” Jerry said, his fingers plucking delicately at the string and then tracing the roses. “I feel like it has a story to tell,” he said wistfully.
Riley looked up at him in confusion as she gathered her equipment. “What do you mean?”
Jerry gazed at the bow. “Just look at the exquisite detail that went into these roses. It’s as though someone poured their soul into this weapon.” He glanced up and grinned. “Or I might just be fond of roses. They are flower royalty after all!”
Riley hesitated, her brow furrowed as she considered whether to explain the quest prompt she had received after finding the bow. She felt like it was safe to be candid with the innkeeper. He was a member of the city’s Shadow Council, and Jason certainly trusted him.
“There is actually a backstory to that bow. It was once owned by a woman named Lily, whose family was kidnapped and killed by the same cultists we encountered north of Peccavi.”
She walked up to Jerry and took the bow from him. As her fingers wrapped around the grip, the crystal roses changed color again, turning a more vibrant red. She could have sworn she felt a faint tremor come from the weapon, but it might have been her imagination.
“She had vowed to seek revenge against those cultists but was killed before she could finish. When I first picked the weapon up, it gave me a quest to continue the woman’s mission,” Riley continued.
Jerry let out a small cough, his hand covering his mouth. “And what would that mission be exactly?” he asked, curiosity in his voice.
Riley glanced up at him, her eyes still pulsing with dark energy as she channeled her mana. “To end the lives of the men responsible for her family’s death.”
Jerry gave an exaggerated shiver. “A tale of intrigue and murder. I like it! Where do you plan to start?”
Riley shook her head. “I don’t have time to deal with this right now. I expect Jason will be back online later today, and he’ll almost certainly have some new plan for the city.”
“The Twilight Throne will stand for a few days without you. Perhaps you need some time to yourself,” Jerry suggested softly.
Looking up at him, Riley met the innkeeper’s eyes. They were filled with the same compassion she had seen on Ms. Collins’ face. It was eerie the way the game echoed her conversation with the school nurse. Was she really receiving advice from a character inside of a video game?
“Perhaps…” Riley replied, her eyes dropping to the floor. “I don’t even know where to start.” She glanced up, a small smile curling her lips. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find a group of crazy cultists hell-bent on creating a homemade god would you?”
Jerry twirled his mustache, a thoughtful look on his face. “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down. Are these your garden-variety cultists? All virgin sacrifices and chanting?”
Riley chuckled, looping the bow over her shoulder. “As far as I know, they are more into shapeshifting, and they have a weird fixation on the elemental affinities,” she replied. “You know, fire, air, water, etc.”
“So, that’s a no on the virgins? How dull. Perhaps they still live in their mother’s secret dungeon, if you know what I mean,” Jerry said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Riley just stared at him for a moment with a deadpan expression. Jerry finally cracked a huge grin. “You have the same lousy sense of humor as our Dark Lord and Savior. Perhaps some time apart would do you good. Then maybe you would appreciate my comedic genius.”
Riley groaned and started heading for the staircase leading up to the inn. “Wait, wait. I tease, but I might be able to help you,” Jerry said, stepping in front of her in a flash of movement. “I’ve heard some rumors from the south that Vaerwald has been experiencing a few difficulties of late.”
“What kind of difficulties?” Riley asked impatiently, motioning for the undead thief to get on with it.
“The magical kind. It seems a plague of sorts has struck the city, yet it only affects residents with an affinity for the elemental magics. I only mention it because there might be some connection with your particular brand of cultist.” As soon as Jerry finished speaking, Riley received a quest notification:
Quest Update: Violent Vindication
After discovering the mysterious crystalline bow Vendetta in the dungeon north of Peccavi, you were tasked with carrying out Lily’s original mission – to kill the cultists responsible for her family’s death. Jerry has provided a clue for where you could begin your search. He suggested you investigate Vaerwald to the south.
Difficulty: A
Success: Kill the cultists responsible for the death of Lily’s family.
Failure: Unknown
Reward: Unlock Vendetta’s special ability. Other rewards unknown.
Riley hesitated as she stared at the notification. Clearly, this was the game’s heavy-handed way of letting her know where to head next in her hunt. Yet, she still had obligations here in the city. “That does sound like it might be a lead,” Riley began noncommittally. “Where is Vaerwald exactly?”
“A few days south of the Twilight Throne. It has something of a reputation for being a breeding ground for mages,” Jerry replied, chewing on the word mages with mild disgust.
He began pacing in front of her. “I must warn you that they’re a pretentious lot. All stuck up with their books and their mutterings. And the locks! You wouldn’t believe the locks they put on everything. Magical locks, enchanted locks, locks that throw fireballs at you if you try to pick them!”
Jerry shuddered again and glanced at Riley with horror-filled eyes. “It’s no place for a respectable thief! How are we expected to make a living under such conditions?”
Riley smiled at the zombie innkeeper’s antics. “I suppose you could learn some magic, right? Then you could pick the magical locks.”
It was Jerry’s turn to look at her with a deadpan expression. “Surely you jest? Locks are meant to be mechanical and picked using the time-honored skillset of a noble thief,” he explained, putting a hand to his chest.
“Isn’t ‘noble thief’ an oxymoron?” Riley asked with a laugh.
Jerry grinned back at her and puffed up his chest. “Not when you are a purist for the craft, my lady.”
“Well, I’ll try to remember the issue with the locks then,” Riley replied. “Not that I expect I’ll be making the trip anytime soon. Anyway, I need to head to the market next and sell off some of the extra loot we found in the dungeon.” She looked at Jerry, and her expression turned serious. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up.”
Jerry bowed again. “It is an honor. As I told the Lord of Terror himself, I missed my true calling when I became a thief. Comedy has always been my muse.”
Riley laughed and started heading upstairs. As she left, Jerry’s white eyes followed her and the bow on her back. “Besides, sometimes a bit of humor makes the memories hurt less,” he whispered to himself.
Chapter 3 - Recruited
As Riley stepped into the massive courtyard that housed the Twilight Throne’s market, she tugged down on the edge of her hood, obscuring her blonde hair and face. She had been careful to drape her cloak over her bow. It was doubtful that anyone would recognize the weapon yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry. There was a real-world bounty on her head after all. It was quite a bit smaller than Jason’s, but she didn’t particularly want to be the first member of
She glanced cautiously around the market as she weaved in between the throng of people. Wooden stalls lined the large courtyard in ragged lines, traders shouting out advertisements for their wares to the other undead and players. Meanwhile, the da
rk keep loomed over the square, its spires reaching up into the boiling black clouds that perpetually hung over the city. The occasional flash of lightning briefly illuminated the stalls and milling shoppers, but Riley had no trouble navigating in the dark with her Night Vision.
Nearly any in-game item could be purchased directly from the merchants. Or, in her case, anything she found could be sold to the vendors. Jason had been running tight on gold when they had returned to the Twilight Throne, but they still had plenty of salvaged equipment that they had taken from enemy players that they could sell. Since Jason was no longer desperate to acquire real-world money using the game’s auction house, he suggested that Riley sell some of the loot and upgrade her own equipment.
I could definitely use it, she thought as she picked at the edge of her leather armguard. Scorch marks still scarred the leather, a lingering present from the Elemental Hydra and the game master they had encountered. She knew that the rest of her armor was in even worse condition and one of her daggers was nearly broken.
Jason’s only condition was that Riley needed to use the NPC vendors, not the in-game auction house, to purchase new gear. His goal was to improve his city’s economy, and the player-run auction house only served to line the pockets of people in other cities.
“Ho there, girl,” a zombie called to her as she passed. Riley glanced to the side, her hand automatically resting on one of the blades at her waist. The man sensed her alarm and put up his empty hands in a conciliatory fashion. “I just noticed that you look like you could use some new armor.” The man motioned to the table in front of him and the racks that hung along the back of his stall, showcasing various types of equipment.
Riley sighed. She was a bit on edge. First Jerry and now the shopkeeper. “I could indeed,” she agreed and approached the merchant. His milky eyes watched her carefully, and she noted that he kept his hands visible.
Maybe I’m more intimidating than I realized.
“Are you looking for something in particular?” the man asked amiably.
She smiled slightly. “Practically everything. A new cuirass, a new cloak, a new set of bags. I could also probably use shoulder guards, new armguards, breeches, and a quiver.” As she rattled off the items, the man’s eyes continued to widen.
“Umm… what quality of merchandise will you require?” he asked.
Riley tapped her fingers to her lips as she considered his question. “C Quality or better would be ideal. I’m focused on equipment that boosts Dexterity primarily. Other than that, a mixture of Strength and Vitality would work perfectly.”
“On which piece,” the zombie asked, his brow furrowing as he looked back at his goods and pulled a piece of parchment from his bag and started to scribble small notes.
Riley looked at him in confusion for a moment. “On every piece.”
The old zombie looked between his inventory and Riley several times before a large smile curled his bleached lips. “I think I can help you, but it’s going to cost a bit of coin.”
“Would you care to barter for other goods?” Riley asked.
“Well, it depends on the…” the storekeeper began.
Riley interrupted him by dumping the contents of one of her packs on the tables. Bladed weapons, jeweled amulets, and heavy mail tumbled onto the table. The passersby in the street didn’t even give the scene a second glance since the magical properties of most packs was common knowledge in AO, and it was typical for players to sell their goods at a vendor. Most of the gear was unusable for Riley and her crew. She wouldn’t be wearing heavy armor that increased her Willpower or jewelry that gave bonuses to Intelligence.
The storekeeper’s former smile reappeared and grew quite a bit wider. “I think we can work something out,” he said. “Why don’t I show you what I have?”
A few minutes later, Riley was wearing a completely new set of armor. She opted for leather dyed a dark black and gray since stealth was a priority and her Night Vision made her most lethal at night. The new armor emphasized Dexterity primarily, but she had picked a few pieces with Strength and Vitality since she had found herself in melee on a number of occasions. She then made her way to a jeweler and picked out a new amulet and set of rings, all of which added to her Dexterity.
Once finished, she found a quiet spot in an alley near the outskirts of the market. It sat near an open café away from the major roadways. Being cautious, she activated Sneak and then pulled up her Character Status.
Riley assumed her stats were respectable. She had prioritized Dexterity when allocating her stat points since the attribute seemed to improve her accuracy, speed, and balance. It didn’t exactly make her run faster, but she did notice a slight improvement in how quickly she could fire her bow, and it dramatically improved her reflexes and balance.
She wasn’t ecstatic about her alignment but, it was to be expected after following Jason around. She had come to realize that most of his actions were intended to protect the city and its residents which was admirable. However, it was how he went about it that had caused him to be reviled as the game’s up-and-coming villain. He was certainly an “ends justify the means” sort of person.
A dinging sound distracted Riley from the review of her Character Status. She glanced at the user interface that lingered along the edges of her vision and noticed that she had just received a message. She tapped the mail icon and saw that it was from Jason:
Riley and Frank,
I’m not sure what happened the other day or why we got kicked from the game, but I won’t be able to log back in for a few days. There’s a real-life issue I need to deal with. No need to worry.
Jason
Well, that’s vague.
Riley had puzzled over what had happened in the Dark Keep the day before. The entire team had been standing on one of the lower levels around a well of dark mana. The substance had knocked Jason unconscious, and, as soon as he came to, the game had immediately crashed. Riley had checked the server status after getting kicked but found no problems on the company’s end. She figured it must have been some glitch associated with that area.
Getting kicked from the game hadn’t worried her, but Jason’s message gave her pause. The fact that he wouldn’t be logging in meant something serious had happened. He practically lived inside the game now, and she couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t seen him online. Not only that but asking her not to worry just made her more nervous.
She considered logging out and calling him. If he didn’t answer, she could always just visit his aunt’s house. Then she recalled that her leg was currently propped up on several pillows and thought better of it. A glance at her friends list showed that Frank had come online recently. Maybe he would know what was going on. After looking at her map, she could see that Frank was at the training grounds.
With a plan in place, Riley broke Sneak and tugged her hood back down over her face. As she stepped lightly down the alley, a black cat crossed the entrance ahead of her. Her brow furrowed for a moment, wondering if it was Jason’s cat Onyx. Moving quickly, she stepped out into the courtyard and glanced around. Yet the feline had disappeared.
It could have just been another cat, she thought. I’m probably jumping to conclusions with Jason’s recent message.
Shaking her head, Riley moved passed the café adjacent to the alley. The restaurant had a small outdoor seating area filled with crude wooden tables and boisterous patrons. As she stepped near a table along the railing circling the café, she caught a snippet of conversation from a group of players.
“Can we get going already?” a brawny young man groaned. “It’s a long trek back to Vaerwald in-game – a couple of days at least.” Riley stopped short at the mention of the mage city. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she stooped to inspect a menu posted on the board outside the restaurant as she watched the group out of the corner of her eye. The speaker was sitting at a table with a young woman and another thin young man with unruly brown hair.
“Patience, Et
han,” the woman answered in an exasperated tone. “If we leave now or in ten minutes, it will still take days in-game to get there.” Riley noted that she wore mage robes, the bright white cloth standing out in the gloom of the Twilight Throne.
A light mage? Riley thought to herself. The burly one must be some sort of warrior.
“No kidding,” the other skinny teenager said, pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. “Plus, we came here to see the city. We may as well savor the last few minutes. Not many people can say they had a beer in the Twilight Throne.” He also wore robes, but his were a plain brown. His staff was propped up against the table, and Riley observed the marred crystal that was embedded in the wood. It wasn’t clear what school of magic he was affiliated with based on his attire, but his gear was poor quality.
“What is there to savor?” Ethan grumbled irritably. He dug at the wooden table with his dagger, a bored expression on his face. “You can’t see anything in this gloom, and the creepy green street lamps don’t exactly help. Not to mention, the woods around the city are filled with feral zombies and skeletons.” He paused and looked at the other two in turn. “This is officially the worst vacationing spot ever.”
“And we’ll be leaving soon,” the woman replied evenly. “We need to return to the city anyway so that Lucas and I can train.” She rested her hand on the skinny man’s arm as she said this and he patted her hand in return. “It’s not like there are any mage trainers here – unless, of course, you’re a dark mage.”
Are they a couple? Riley wondered as she watched them.
Awaken Online: Retribution (Side Quest) Page 2
