Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  Silver recognized their destination.

  And she was afraid of it.

  A frown tugged at his lips. That wasn’t a great sign. He had the sense that this woman didn’t fear much – which said quite a bit about the workshop they were trying to find.

  “Yes. I’m familiar with the place you describe.” Silver’s eyes shifted to Finn, her gaze piercing. “But you won’t like what you find there. That place is dangerous. We avoid it during our patrols.” She paused as she eyed Finn, her gaze lingering once more on the bandage across his face. “And it’s certainly no place for a cripple.”

  “I can assure you that we are capable of taking care of ourselves,” Finn replied with the ghost of a smile. “We’re perhaps a bit more resilient than we appear.”

  Silver’s eyes darted to Julia, taking in her dark metal armor, before shifting her attention to Kyyle and eyeing his robes and the staff in his hand. She sniffed at the air experimentally and grimaced at whatever she found. She didn’t appear entirely convinced.

  Finn’s frown deepened as he watched Silver. He hadn’t expected this journey to be easy, but he also didn’t relish the idea of investigating a place that made this woman uneasy. Perhaps he could use that.

  “We could help each other,” Finn suggested tentatively.

  Silver’s eyes followed him with an unblinking focus. “In what way could you possibly help us, traveler?”

  “You seem wary of this workshop,” Finn offered. “If it’s as dangerous as you suggest, then wouldn’t it be advantageous for us to investigate the place and clear out whatever resides inside? You may doubt our abilities, but either way, we’re expendable. Worst case, we fail and die. Best case, we may help protect you and your people.”

  “And you offer this help in exchange for what exactly?” Silver demanded, staring at Finn with those piercing eyes. “As a traveler, I doubt your motives are entirely altruistic.”

  “We’d like to keep anything we discover inside,” Finn replied smoothly. “However, that costs you nothing. As you just said, your people avoid the place, and you clearly don’t need or want anything that’s stored there. At worst, it would take you some time to show us the way to the entrance. That seems like a win-win situation for both of us.”

  Silver cocked her head as she watched Finn, her nose wrinkling slightly and a long silence filling the clearing once more. Then, all at once, she seemed to reach a decision.

  “Fine,” Silver barked. “That is an acceptable arrangement. However, we will escort you to this so-called Forge to ensure you do not wander farther into our territory.”

  Before Finn could react, the woman let out a low whistle. Four more forms materialized from the woods, drifting into clearer focus. Another wolf stepped out of the shadows of the trees and a large cat – possibly a snow leopard? – dropped from a nearby tree branch, taking up positions on either side of Silver. Their forms shifted and shimmered as they abruptly transformed, soon revealing two grizzled men robed in thick furs and each wearing surly, hostile expressions. Two more men stepped out of the woods behind Finn and eyed the group with more curiosity than open hostility.

  Some sort of druids, maybe? Finn wondered.

  Finn’s mind was also clinically inventorying their enemies’ gear – a habit after so long spent in the Mage Guild duels. The druids all wore the same rugged leather and furs. At first glance, they looked like mountain hermits. Yet Finn could see that their clothing and armor were well maintained, and the stitching had been performed with a steady and practiced hand. Their gear also looked like it was meant to withstand brutal cold and snow. The obvious deduction was that they lived farther up in the mountains.

  Perhaps they are the source of that strange water mana I saw floating above the mountains? If so, then that was even more reason not to cross these people. Whatever was generating that much raw mana was not something Finn wanted to trifle with.

  They had enough enemies as it was.

  He also couldn’t help but notice a decided lack of weapons among the druids – at least, apart from the simple blowguns they had fired at his party. He supposed that made sense. Why carry metal weapons when they could transform into massive animals or manipulate the local plantlife? Although, his guess was that those needles were coated in some sort of poison. The ability to control the vegetation around them would make growing and harvesting ingredients for potions and poisons relatively easy.

  Even more interesting was their mana. The pair of shapeshifters that flanked Silver had a similar mana signature to their leader, the rainbow energy floating in sync – but with a strange, almost feral undercurrent. Behind them was a youth who couldn’t have been more than twenty and a silent stick of a man. Their energy was subtly different, although Finn couldn’t quite place his finger on exactly why. At least one of them must have controlled the plants. Which meant their last member’s abilities were still unknown.

  The druids watched them carefully, none of them looking particularly concerned about handling the travelers. Switching back and forth between Mana Sight and Short-Sighted, Finn saw no fear in their expressions or noticeable fluctuations in their mana. Their overall confidence spoke of hidden strength.

  “We’re going to escort this group to the ruins. If any of them reach for a weapon or try to make a break for it, run them down, and spill their blood,” Silver barked to her companions. The pair of shapeshifters beside Silver both smiled grimly at her instructions, eyeing the group hungrily.

  Finn waved Julia toward him, leaning on her arm and letting his gaze drift – as though he was truly blind. He noted his daughter’s curious glance, and he formed a quick pattern with his hand. Ruse. Play along, he was saying. There was no sense giving away his abilities prematurely, and it gave him an excuse to speak with his daughter in hushed tones.

  “You sure about this?” Julia asked under her breath as she watched their new “escorts” with a wary expression. Her fingers twitched as though she wished to reach for her weapons. Kyyle kept his mouth closed, his lips pinched, and his expression echoing Julia’s sentiment.

  “No, but we also can’t afford to waste any time or risk a respawn. If these people know where this workshop is, then that might save us days of hunting through these woods,” Finn whispered.

  “That assumes you would last a few days,” one of the gruff shapeshifters barked in response. His grin widened as he saw Julia shoot him a surprised glance. Apparently, their hearing was impeccable. Finn added that to his growing list of the druids’ abilities. It seemed the shapeshifters had sharper senses, even when in human form.

  “Don’t mind Howl and Runner. Shifters spend so much time in animal form they often start to forget human customs like civility. Spending days and weeks in the woods certainly doesn’t help either.” Finn turned to find the young man addressing them, peering at the group with disconcertingly large eyes. He stuck out a hand. “Lucky for you, I share no such problems. My name’s Hoot, pleasure to meet you.”

  “Don’t fraternize with the prisoners,” Silver barked at the young man, earning her an eye roll from Hoot. “Let’s just get this done so we can continue our patrol.” With that statement, she set off into the woods, clearly expecting the others to follow.

  “You heard her,” one of the gruff shapeshifters said. Finn placed his name as Howl, given that he had assumed a wolf-like form. “After you,” he said with a wave in Silver’s direction. It was clear from Howl’s body posture and tone that this wasn’t a suggestion.

  “Real charmer, aren’t you?” Julia snapped at him as she passed.

  The shifter’s grin widened, showing more teeth. “I try my best. If you’d prefer, I’d be more than happy to help peel you out of that tin can and eat your heart from your chest.”

  Julia paused and stared him down. “Ahh, that’s cute. I’d love to see you try, puppy man,” she snapped back.

  Howl snarled at her, his eyes flashing, but his companion placed a hand on his arm. “Back off. You heard the pack leader. O
ur orders are to get them to the ruins.” Runner’s eyes shot to Julia, observing her smirk. “Besides, they won’t live long anyway.”

  “Uh, what exactly does he mean by that?” Kyyle muttered as the group set off after Silver, the members of the patrol flanking them and Julia keeping up her pretense of guiding Finn through the labyrinth of trees, his hand on her arm.

  “The ruins are a rather dangerous place,” Hoot offered, his voice disturbingly upbeat for such dour news.

  “How dangerous exactly?” Julia asked.

  Hoot cocked his head as he pondered her question. “I personally haven’t been there before, but we avoid that area during our patrols. I’ve heard rumors of pack members foolhardy enough to enter. They never made it back out. That place might have been abandoned years ago, but it’s my understanding that something still lives in there.”

  This earned Finn a wary glance from Julia. Even without speaking, he could anticipate her thoughts. They might have avoided fighting these druids, but it seemed that Finn might have just signed them up for a one-way ticket back to Lahab, courtesy of the in-game deathscape.

  Finn let out a sigh. Perfect. Just perfect.

  Yet there was no choice but to keep moving forward. Finn just had to hope that they would be able to navigate this workshop and find something inside that could give them an edge in their fight against Bilel. Assuming, of course, that Kalisha hadn’t fed them a bullshit story or sold them out to Bilel.

  The thought of the merchant caused a worried knot to form in Finn’s stomach. Even if Kalisha hadn’t betrayed them, the situation back in the colony was already tense and would just get worse once the guilds managed to flee Lahab. Between Aerys’ posturing and Eldawin’s meddling, that situation was a powder keg waiting to blow.

  In short, they needed to hurry the hell up.

  And maybe try not to die.

  Chapter 10 - Mechanized

  “Here we are,” Silver grunted.

  “Which is where exactly?” Kyyle asked, his brow furrowing. “I don’t see an entrance, just some shrubs and a sheer cliff face.”

  Finn was similarly skeptical. The group had come to a stop in front of a mound of dirt and stone that stretched nearly fifteen feet into the air, the pile abutting a steep cliff. The air had grown crisper as they walked, and the last vestiges of the desert had disappeared, now replaced by thick green foliage. He had also come to appreciate the thick furs that Silver and her company of druids wore. Patches of snow now covered the ground, and he shivered involuntarily as he pulled his robes tighter around him.

  This place is just way too damn realistic sometimes, he thought sourly.

  Finn turned his attention back to the mound of dirt and the surrounding foliage. Perhaps there was more here than met the eye. Luckily, he had something that could help.

  With a brief mental command, he activated his Mana Sight, the pile of debris swirling in a multi-hued collection of emerald energy. He peeled back at the layers of earth mana gingerly, looking for something below the plain exterior.

  And then he found it. Behind the bushes and layers of dirt and loose stone, he could just barely make out straight lines and pristine angles that marked man-made walls.

  “It’s underneath the vegetation,” Finn said softly.

  Silver shot him a sharp glance, her eyes hovering once more on the bandages that covered Finn’s eyes suspiciously. “Indeed. We sealed off the entrance the last time we were here. It was too dangerous to leave open.”

  “Except it seems someone came along after you,” Julia observed, crouching beside the entrance. Her fingers pulled at the loose vegetation to reveal a makeshift rock circle, one that seemed to have been used as a campfire – at least if the ashes were any indication. “It looks like they made a camp here not too long ago. Maybe a few weeks?”

  Silver stepped forward, her brow furrowing as she took in the rocks. She sniffed at the air. “A few months, at least.” A glance back at the spindly man behind her. “What do the plants say, Spider?”

  Finn raised an eyebrow at that. The man could both control and speak to plants?

  A glimmer of multicolored energy wound around Spider’s hands, and he stepped forward, placing his fingers against the mound of vegetation. The energy reminded Finn of the raw mana he had seen the fighters use to charge their weapons, only more refined and focused. The rainbow of mana wound through the plants, spreading out to the tips of their leaves and down to their roots.

  “The growth is new,” Spider murmured. “Water mage.”

  Finn shifted his attention back to the plants, peering at the foliage with his enhanced sight. He had missed it at first, but he could indeed detect a faint glimmer of sapphire threaded through the earth mana. Perhaps the mana signature had faded over time. Either way, both the campsite and the foliage were likely left over from the merchants’ team of mercenaries. It also seemed they had been traveling with at least one mage and were cautious enough to cover their tracks. That made Finn uneasy. The mercenaries had obviously been cautious… and yet Kalisha had been clear about the outcome.

  Julia and Finn shared a meaningful look.

  The explorers must have been here. And they had all died.

  The only remaining question was how.

  Finn still hadn’t given up the possibility that the merchants had simply tied up a few loose ends. And from the frown pulling at Julia’s lips, neither had she. The fact that the entrance to the Forge was still sealed was telling.

  Silver let out a frustrated growl, glaring at Finn and his group. “Perfect. We’ve had more trespassers. It seems this place is luring travelers and residents into our territory.”

  Finn could see the feral woman’s mental wheels spinning. He knew what she must be thinking. Perhaps it would be easier to kill off their uninvited guests and send a clear message to other would-be adventurers. He needed to head off that line of reasoning.

  “All the more reason for us to investigate this Forge and put an end to whatever is in there,” Finn spoke up. “That should prevent further intrusions and eliminate any potential threat to you and your people.”

  “Or we kill them now and artfully arrange their skulls upon a few pikes,” Runner growled. “Spider can grow us something suitable.”

  “That won’t deter others from traveling here,” Kyyle said, unperturbed by the shapeshifter’s glare. “This place is rumored to contain valuable technology. Many would brave death to claim that knowledge. Besides, leaving a bunch of skulls lying around is as good as installing a sign – one that says, ‘there’s an interesting dungeon nearby.’ Travelers aren’t troubled by the threat of death. We simply respawn.”

  “We could put that to the test now,” Runner growled in response, taking a step toward the earth mage.

  “Enough,” Silver snapped. The dour woman stared down the other shapeshifter. “They’re right. It is best to remove the threat entirely. Killing them only delays the inevitable. Besides, we take no risk upon ourselves. They may very well die within those walls – in which case you’ll get your wish,” she said, earning her a grim smile from Runner.

  Silver turned to Spider. “You want to help our new friends inside?”

  The thin man gave a curt nod before kneeling upon the ground and placing his hands against the rock and grass. This time, he used much more than a trickle of his mana. Finn witnessed an avalanche of multi-colored energy pour from the druid’s hands. However, he didn’t simply dump his mana into the ground. The spirals of mana blended with the roots below his feet, suffusing the vegetation and racing along an underground highway of those buried strands.

  As the mana reached the plants covering the mound, they began to drift to the side with a rustle of leaves and puffs of loose dirt. Spider wasn’t forming new plants or destroying those that lingered upon the entrance. He was directing the existing plants like a conductor, using his mana to control the living vegetation. Full bushes sprung from the ground on rootlike legs before shambling away and settling back into the
earth beside the mound.

  A few moments later, the hill had been cleared of plant life, leaving only dull brown earth in its wake. The edges of the entrance were just barely visible above the mound, a faint line of stone revealing that something lingered beneath the soil.

  “You can clear the entrance now, dirt mover,” Silver barked, sparing a glance at Kyyle.

  “I prefer earth mage,” Kyyle grumbled.

  “To be fair, her version is pretty accurate,” Julia offered under her breath, grinning at Kyyle and earning her a mock glare from the earth mage.

  Silver ignored their banter as her crystal-blue eyes shot to the other members of her group. “The rest of you be on guard. We don’t know if anything still lingers inside.” The druids responded promptly, encircling the entrance.

  Julia spared a glance at Finn, and he nodded at her unspoken question. Whoever had found this place had taken enough time to not only regrow the vegetation to conceal the entrance but also to shift this mound of earth back into place. That spoke of fear. They should be prepared for whatever remained inside this facility. Julia pulled her lance from her waist and raised her shield. For his part, Finn withdrew a dark sphere from his pack, holding the dense metal in his hand but waiting to cast Imbue Fire.

  Despite their uneasy alliance with the druids, it still wasn’t clear whether Silver and her companions were friends or foes. It was best to keep his cards close to the chest.

  “You ready?” Kyyle asked, emerald streamers of energy twining around his free hand and his staff. The rest of the group gave affirmative grunts.

  Then Kyyle finished casting Dissolve.

  The earth tumbled free in a wave, liquifying in mere moments, and tendrils of rock and dirt soon drifted through the air. With a series of nimble gestures, Kyyle formed the earth into makeshift walls along either side of the entrance, preserving the material for later. Finn expected he planned to seal off access to the Forge when they were finished.