Within a few moments, only corpses littered the ground, and Vera and Frank stood alone. The undead general cleaned her blade on the hem of her tunic, scraping off the fine white powder before sheathing it. As far as Frank could tell, she hadn’t been hit. Vera glanced at Frank, noticing the cuts and scrapes across his chest and arms and she frowned slightly. He hadn’t fared quite as well in that last fight and he caught the unspoken rebuke in her expression, his cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.
Vera raised her fist and spoke loudly to the Kin at the tree line, “Move forward and take up a defensive perimeter around the nest. Don’t let anything out of the circle.” Frank heard thumps behind them as the archers followed her orders swiftly, dropping from their perches and sprinting to form a circle around the dense black cloud.
“What now?” Frank asked Vera, eyeing the eerie fog. He had never seen anything like this before, and he knew when to follow someone else’s lead.
The hint of a grin swept across the undead woman’s face. “Now we go investigate. We should have a few moments before more creatures spawn, but we should move quickly.”
Frank frowned in confusion. What did she mean “spawn?” He didn’t even get a chance to ask before Vera was running, and he was forced to jog to catch up.
As the pair entered the cloud, Frank could feel the vapor pushing back at him, as though it were resisting his entrance. It almost seemed to pulse with energy, causing his skin to tingle. The sensation was strange, and it was clear that the fog was not natural. As they pushed through the substance, suddenly Frank’s vision cleared, causing him to stop and gape in surprise.
The black fog ringed a roughly circular clearing. Bones of all shapes and sizes littered the ground, leaving none of the gray dirt visible. In the center stood a massive, heaping pile of ivory bones. The tower stretched nearly twenty feet into the air. Wisps of dark energy leaked from the ground and drifted toward the pile, creating an ominous aura that hovered inches away from its surface. This energy funneled up the column of bone before arcing away and forming the dome of darkness that surrounded the clearing.
“What the hell is this?” Frank murmured.
“A nest,” Vera replied curtly, her gaze troubled. “These are common around the Twilight Throne… but I’ve never seen one this big.”
“I don’t understand,” Frank said. “What do you mean by a nest?”
Vera spared a glance at him, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Ahh, I forget that you haven’t spent much time exploring the area around the city. Even so, I’m sure you’ve noticed that Jason’s conversion of the Twilight Throne and surrounding area also affected the wildlife – flesh and blood animals reduced to skeletal monsters.”
Frank nodded. He had just hacked his way through a few examples.
“Well, just like normal animals, the undead creatures need to reproduce,” Vera explained as she picked her way carefully through the nest, her eyes on the ground as though searching for something.
“How can they reproduce without… err, the right parts,” he asked awkwardly.
Vera spared him a small smile. “You’re right, normal reproduction is out of the question. But life finds a way. Instead, of procreating like normal animals, the undead creatures hunt one another – gathering the remains and using them to form these nests. They seem to be able to sense the dark mana that binds together their bones and sustains them.”
She gestured to the wisps of dark energy streaming toward the central bone pillar. “The collection of bones creates a whirlpool of death that collects and pools ambient dark mana…,” she trailed off as she saw several bones trembling.
Suddenly, dark mana flashed between the bones, and they rose into the air, spinning and spiraling. As Frank looked on, the bones coalesced into a rough form, bands of dark mana lashing the ivory substance together. In an instant, another Wraithling stood inside the nest, eyeing the area in confusion.
Vera didn’t hesitate. She launched forward in a flash of movement, drawing her sword with blinding speed. The Wraithling’s skull toppled to the ground, followed closely by its body – the dark energy leaking back into the nest. “The nests spontaneously create new creatures. They aren’t always of the same type. We’ve noticed that the nest seems to draw on the imprints or forms of the creatures that were used to form the wellspring of dark mana. Sometimes, the result is new creatures – odd hybrids of existing animals.”
She looked down at the creature’s corpse with a frown. “Including these Wraithlings. They’re something new.”
Frank was floored. This was quite a bit more involved than he had expected. He had just assumed… He hesitated to finish that thought. If he were honest, he hadn’t given much thought to how the undead around the Twilight Throne reproduced. He had assumed that they just appeared from nowhere – much like any other game.
Something about Vera’s explanation felt off, however. He turned back to her as she picked her way across the field to the bone tower. “So if the undead reproduce by hunting one another, how do smaller or weaker undead creatures stay alive?” Frank asked. In the real world, weaker prey animals survived since they could reproduce on their own and usually in large numbers, but here, that wouldn’t work.
Vera nodded slightly. “The answer is that they don’t. This process only favors predators, the stronger, the better. You’ve probably begun to notice that the creatures around the Twilight Throne only continue to grow more powerful over time – just like with these Wraithlings.”
Frank’s thoughts were spinning. “Basically the only thing stopping a single apex predator from evolving would be roughly equal competition among the different types of animals,” he said aloud, almost talking to himself.
“Exactly,” Vera replied as she reached the tower. Her pale eyes scanned its surface carefully. “Now you can understand my concern. This nest is far too large. This isn’t consistent with that balance, and nests like these threaten to throw it off. If a nest like this were allowed to grow even larger…” she trailed off as her hand pulled at the bones of the tower.
Frank didn’t need her to complete the thought. He saw the problem now. An even larger nest could produce a creature that they hadn’t seen before – something so powerful that it could take out whole groups of players or Twilight Throne troops. It would dominate the local wildlife. Hell, it was possible that something could form that could threaten the city itself. He didn’t even want to think about that.
“What do we have here?” Vera murmured, cradling something in her hands. Frank approached her quickly and soon discovered that she was holding a crystal nearly the size of a human fist. This didn’t look like something that had occurred naturally. The sides of the crystal had been filed into neat facets. Even more disconcerting was the way the gem seemed to suck in the faint light in the clearing.
“What is it?” Frank asked.
“I’m not sure,” Vera said, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen one of these crystals before – maybe they form naturally when the nests grow large enough? But it looks like it was created by human hands.” Her gaze darted to the rest of the nest. “Let’s regroup with the rest of the troops. We may need to send a runner back to the Twilight Throne.”
Frank nodded, and the pair made their way out of the nest. He kept glancing at the crystal in Vera’s hand. Was she right? Had someone helped create this nest? And to what end? He shook his head. That seemed crazy – even suicidal.
As they exited the nest, one of the archers approached. “Ma’am,” he said, addressing Vera. “We found evidence of a camp a few dozen yards to the west. It looks like it hasn’t seen any activity in at least a few days – but someone was definitely staying in this area.”
Vera grimaced. “Damn it,” she muttered. “Well, that pokes a hole in my theory that these crystals are natural.” She turned back to the archer. “Congratulations! You just volunteered to visit the Twilight Throne.” She tossed the crystal to the undead soldier. “Take a mount and a companion with
you. Hand this to a member of the Shadow Council and explain what we found here. We believe that someone may be trying to enlarge the nests around the city.”
The man’s bleached eyes widened in shock for a moment. Yet he recovered quickly as Vera stared at him, bowing before darting off into the woods to carry out her orders.
“You really think someone helped create that?” Frank asked, gesturing over his shoulder at the nest as his thoughts spun in circles. He couldn’t see what someone would hope to gain by enlarging these nests and throwing off the natural balance in the forest.
“That seems like the most likely answer,” Vera said. “Perhaps they planted these crystals to help accelerate the natural growth of the nest. That’s actually somewhat clever…” she admitted grudgingly.
Frank just shook his head in confusion. He still didn’t see the point. Someone would have had to purchase or craft the mana crystals, imbue them with dark mana somehow, and then trot out here into the woods to find a nest and plant them – which likely entailed considerable risk and expense. It seemed crazy.
“What do we do now?” he finally asked.
She glanced at Frank. “We destroy the nest, and then we complete Jason’s task. Hopefully, we nipped this problem in the bud by defeating the Wraithlings.” As she finished speaking, Vera gestured at the tree line and several mages moved forward. They promptly lined up beside the nest, and flames began to curl around the top of their staves. Fire mages in the Twilight Throne were rare, but not unheard of. Many of the residents had been practiced in the other affinities before they were turned.
Frank suddenly raised a hand. “Wait,” he ordered. They looked between him and Vera in confusion.
“We need to stop this nest from continuing to spawn the Wraithlings,” Vera said, a glimmer of irritation lingering in her bleached eyes. “Why are you stopping the mages?”
Frank shook his head. “Based on what you just told me, if we destroy this nest, we will permanently reduce the number of creatures that spawn around the Twilight Throne, right?”
“True, but it will barely make a dent,” Vera replied with a shrug.
“Assuming this is the only nest,” Frank retorted. The undead woman tilted her head slightly at this. “We have to think about maintaining the area on more than just a short-term basis. How will we level our own troops if we simply destroy every nest?”
Vera sighed. “Okay, then what would you have us do?”
Frank hesitated. He hadn’t expected her to give in that easily. “Well, I think we should leave a division here – have them break up the nest and return the bones to the Twilight Throne. We can either spread the materials later to create new, smaller nests, or Jason can repurpose the materials for the city somehow.”
“That will leave us with only a single division, and we have yet to conquer even one of these outlying villages. We don’t know how much resistance we might encounter. Plus, we’ve already experienced unforeseen casualties from the Wraithling attack,” Vera cautioned.
They were all good points, but he could already imagine what Jason would say if they wasted the materials in this nest. They had to start thinking long-term. “I think we can manage. We will just need to be cautious. The benefit to the city may well outweigh the risk.”
The undead general mulled on this for a moment before coming to a decision. “Fine. I agree.” She then turned and began issuing orders, the undead jumping to follow through on them.
Meanwhile, Frank stared at the billowing black fog that still hovered over the nest. He hoped he had made the right decision. Vera had made a good point about weakening their own forces. Perhaps this nest was just an anomaly, but the crystal they had discovered gave him pause. Something in Frank’s gut told him that there was something more going on here. He briefly considered messaging Jason but then thought better of it.
Riley had told him about Jason’s training and the upcoming hearing with the CPSC. His friend had more than enough on his plate right now, and Frank should wait until he had something definitive before piling on. However, this didn’t stop him from wanting to talk with Jason. Things had been so much easier when someone else was making the big decisions.
This expedition wasn’t turning out to be quite as simple as he had expected.
Chapter 14 - Anxious
Jason sat in the limousine, tugging at his collar uncomfortably. It felt like his tie was making it difficult to breathe. He had woken up that morning to the incessant chime of his Core, the damn device announcing that today was the day – the first session of the regulatory hearing. He had barely managed to pull himself out of bed, and only a constant stream of coffee kept him standing as he showered and got ready.
It was only after he made his way out of the bathroom that he realized he had nothing to wear to a regulatory hearing – he assumed a t-shirt and jeans probably wouldn’t suffice. Luckily, George had more foresight than he did. At some point in the night, someone had entered the apartment and laid out a suit on the couch in the living room. Jason was pretty sure the clothes cost more than his annual salary from Cerillion. However, he soon found that more expensive didn’t translate to more comfortable. Not for the first time, he wondered why men were expected to wear ties.
“It will be okay,” George assured him from where he sat across from Jason, interpreting Jason’s fidgeting as a sign of worry. “You won’t have to do anything during this first session. Just sit there, look attentive, and smile.”
“I’m going to be the one doing the talking,” Francis added in a distracted voice from his seat beside George. He had been reviewing his notes from the moment they had piled into the limo, a translucent blue screen wavering in front of him and his lips moving slightly as he read. Jason could only assume that he was preparing for his part in the hearing.
“Yeah, we get to sit and enjoy the riveting show,” Robert said while rolling his eyes. “I even brought one of those neck pillows, and Claire promised to kick me if I start snoring.”
This earned Robert a grimace from Claire, who had been unusually quiet lately – both during their last meeting and now during the car ride. “I would hope you have more sense than that,” she replied curtly. The engineer’s grin only widened in response.
Jason had noticed that Claire kept looking at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. He could only assume that she must be worried about him. She had always been the more empathetic member of the group, and she likely appreciated that this was going to be a grueling experience for him.
For some reason, the group’s comments and banter didn’t make Jason feel any better. He knew that Gloria had something up her sleeve that she hadn’t revealed yet. This was always the worst part about confronting an anxious moment – whether it was a particularly important exam or a highly-televised public hearing. It was the moments leading up to the event that were the worst. That interminable period where you couldn’t do anything but dwell on the many and varied ways it could end catastrophically. Jason hated waiting.
They pulled up in front of the city hall building a few long minutes later – large columns dotting the entrance. George had somehow managed to convince the regulatory committee to meet in town – likely since the CPSC headquarters and Cerillion Entertainment were both located in the city as well as most of the witnesses that would be speaking at the hearing.
Jason already had a high estimation of George’s influence, but this was still an eye-opening demonstration of how much power his company wielded. Large public companies like Cerillion Entertainment had gained ever-increasing influence in government over the decades. Money was power and Jason had no illusions about that – not after experiencing this first-hand while watching his parents go toe-to-toe with some of those same companies. However, it was still jarring to see a group of senators bend over backward to accommodate George’s demands.
As the car pulled up in front of the building, Jason’s eyes widened in surprise. The dull roar of hundreds of voices was audible even through the
noise dampening material installed in the walls of the luxury automobile.
“Holy shit,” Robert murmured. That pretty well summed up Jason’s reaction as well.
“Robert,” Claire snapped, glaring at him and gesturing toward the swarm of drones flitting above the crowd, snapping pictures, and capturing video of the group as they exited the vehicle. “Try to behave – just for one day. You don’t know what will get recorded.” This earned Claire an eye roll in response, but Jason noticed that the engineer shut his mouth and didn’t offer any other comments.
A massive crowd had collected outside the building, and the police had erected barricades along the stairwell leading up into the courthouse to keep the people at bay. Jason’s attention was focused on the drones that swam through the air above the crowd, their shining lights and cameras angled down on the vehicle. As soon as he stepped out of the car, his face would be broadcast on many different news networks. It was all he could do to stay composed and keep his expression neutral. This hearing was a bigger deal than Jason had expected – which did nothing to help the queasy feeling in his stomach.
The car slid to a stop at the bottom of the stairwell. Immediately, Cerillion security staff got out of the cars ahead and behind the limo and opened the door, creating a pocket for the group to exit. Jason heard George sigh as he stepped out of the car and surveyed the crowds.
“I suspected a turnout, but this is ridiculous,” the CEO grumbled, his voice just barely audible above the roar of the crowd. “People’s United must have hired protestors to turn this into a spectacle. I’d bet money that Gloria pulled some strings to make that happen.” He gestured at the left-hand crowd as he spoke, many of whom were projecting digital signs into the air, the translucent boards shifting and tilting. The messages were all roughly the same. “Our mind is sacred!” one sign shouted. Another read, “Only God should know our thoughts.”
“At least some people seem to be supportive,” Robert replied as the group started making their way up the steps, flanked by security. He pointed the barricade on the right-hand side. “Those people have the right idea.” Jason couldn’t help but agree. The people on the other side of the barricade were all dressed in street clothes emblazoned with the logo for AO, and their signs held a much more positive message – calling for the game to stay in existence.
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