Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  As the group settled, Finn’s gaze drifted across each of them. “Okay, let’s start with our journey to the Forge. In short, we were able to locate and access the facility, and we recovered some of the tech stored inside.” He gestured at Brock’s form as an example.

  “Which includes recovering a weapon to fight Bilel… at least, of a sort,” Finn continued, noting relief sweep across nearly every face in the room. “I am now able to bond a person’s Najima to an inanimate object. We have it on good authority that this will insulate that person from the effects of Bilel’s relic.”

  “But you don’t know for certain?” Abbad asked, his brow furrowed.

  Finn cocked his head. “Have we tested it against the relic directly? Of course not. However, I underwent the Forging myself…” He hesitated, glancing at Julia and Kyyle and weighing whether to bring up Nar Aljahim. After their encounter with Thorn, it was probably best to downplay exactly how he’d learned the Forging. If word spread, the Order might use that information to create yet another problem.

  Regardless, Finn had no reason to doubt the elemental. Nar Aljahim had certainly seemed trustworthy – and knowledgeable. While the Forging wasn’t responsible for curing the magical infection, the fact that the elemental had managed the feat lent him some credibility. Oh, and then there was the fact that he had saved their lives…

  “The process also cured the magical corruption that has lingered in my Najima since our encounter in the throne room,” Finn hedged. Raising his crystalline hand, he pulled back at the sleeve of his robes to show the group the fires flickering within his hand.

  Kalisha’s eyes widened as she caught sight of his new arm, the merchant leaning forward excitedly. “That seems like persuasive evidence,” she offered.

  “Indeed, it does…” Abbad replied, staring at Finn’s hand. With his Mana Sight, Finn could see his energy fluctuate for a moment.

  “His hand awash in flame, he shall purge the sands of corruption,” Aerys murmured.

  Finn’s eyes darted to her face. The Khamsin leader was staring at his hand, and a frown curled her lips. Was that another prophecy? It certainly seemed to strike close to home, which meant that he was still treading the well-worn path that the Seer had laid out before him. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about that, but there was little he could do at the moment. At least for now, their motives seemed to be aligned.

  “Anyway, we’ll need to start Forging the guildsmen, starting with the mages and fighters, since they will be on the frontlines,” Finn explained. “We can bond the merchants last since they are a lower priority.”

  “I’m not sure that’s even necessary. We’re really more of a support group—” Kalisha began tentatively.

  “We will make it so,” Malik interjected in a stern voice, shaking his head at the merchant’s bald-faced attempt to wiggle out of fighting in the war that was coming. This earned him a huff from Kalisha, but she didn’t try to push back any further.

  “Good,” Finn replied. “Those that will undergo the Forging will need to identify an item that they will be bonded with. They should choose carefully. This bond can’t be altered once formed, and the item will level and progress with them from that point forward. The bond will also reduce their mana and regeneration by a sixth. If the object is destroyed, they will die – that goes for both residents and travelers alike.”

  Abbad nodded. “Understood. Although, that may take some time. A few hours at least. Once we have the fighters and mages prepared, we will have you travel to their new colony – the Flagship – and you can start administering the Forging.” His gaze shifted to Aerys. “That way, we will not reveal the Hive’s location.”

  The Khamsin leader nodded once in return, a note of respect shining in her eyes. It seemed this group had learned to get along in his absence – or at least begun to tolerate each other’s presence. They were certainly more cordial than he had expected.

  “Good,” Finn replied, rubbing at his chin in thought. What he had told Thorn was true. He expected that administering the Forging was going to take some time. Likely a few days at a minimum since he would need to bond each person individually. Although, he supposed that depended on how many of the guildsmen had escaped Lahab.

  “On that note, what’s happened in our absence?” Finn asked, his eyes skimming across the group around the table. “It’s clear that the guilds successfully managed to escape Lahab. Were there casualties? What about supplies and equipment?”

  Abbad nodded. “We were able to disguise our retreat with the help of the guild’s water mages, and we prepared several false trails through the desert to further obfuscate our passage through the sands. It seems that we were successful in misleading Bilel.”

  He hesitated, a frown tugging at his lips. “Even so… many refused to leave, and there were indeed casualties. The travelers, in particular, proved to be recalcitrant. We have not been able to conduct an accurate census, as other priorities have intervened. But our best estimate is that nearly 50% of each guild was able to escape.”

  “Leaving the rest to die… or worse,” Kalisha muttered. “Morons, the lot of them.”

  Finn raised an inquiring eyebrow, and the merchant sighed before continuing, “The Emir – Bilel – has become more aggressive. Even as we were attempting to evacuate, his hounds had begun to roam the streets, indiscriminately slaughtering travelers and residents alike. To make matters worse, it seems that not everyone killed by the hounds stays dead. Many are converted to hounds themselves. As you can imagine, the travelers didn’t take that well,” Kalisha said, shaking her head.

  Finn shot a questioning look at Abbad. “There was mass fighting in the streets, travelers and residents pitting themselves against the hounds…” the librarian explained. “Although many of the residents retreated to the guild halls. We were forced to use that chaos to help cover our escape.”

  “Huh,” Kyyle murmured. “So, does that mean travelers are respawning inside the city? They might be able to take out quite a few of the hounds—”

  Kalisha barked out a laugh, interrupting him. “You would think that, wouldn’t you? We finally get to experience an upside to the travelers’ immortality – an eternal army that just keeps returning and rushing the hounds. Except, Bilel is clever. He quickly identified the locations where the travelers return and began directing the hounds to those locations. We also discovered firsthand that this process leaves your kind disoriented for a few seconds. Which is often plenty of time for the hounds to cut down the travelers.”

  “And I suspect it wouldn’t take long for most of them to give up and stop logging back in,” Julia continued with a sigh. “I bet many of the forums are just filled with people bitching right now. Damn it…”

  “That isn’t really the issue,” Malik spoke up. “The problem is that the travelers’ bodies are often converted to hounds when they’re slain. Not everyone undergoes the change. But for every two that fall, another hound is added to Bilel’s army, growing his numbers. Then the travelers return, and the process starts over. With a constant source of travelers, Bilel will be able to grow his army of hounds rapidly.”

  “In other words, the longer we wait, the stronger Bilel gets,” Kalisha said.

  Finn shook his head. That was an awful result – far worse than he had expected. The players might go online and complain, but he doubted players from other areas around the continent could muster much of a response, and certainly not before Bilel’s numbers had swelled considerably. In fact, their best bet was if the players simply got fed up and quit. That would at least slow Bilel down. But they couldn’t count on that. There would always be new players and those that were too stubborn to give up.

  The only solution was to launch their attack as soon as possible.

  “So, is there any good news?” Finn asked.

  “Well, we’ve managed to start fashioning that platemail,” Kalisha offered, waving at Julia and the dark plate that covered her limbs. “The designs you left us were… interest
ing.”

  “We have also assigned fire mages to a new contingent of Khamsin that Aerys has formed,” Abbad added. “The desert folk have been outfitted with the platemail and have been training with their new fire mage partners.”

  Aerys snorted, her eyes darting to Julia’s lance and shield. “They’ve even requested weapons and arms to match your own – they wish to model themselves after the daughter of the prophet.”

  “Huh,” Julia murmured, tilting her head. “I’m going to have to go inspect this group myself then.”

  “I suspect they would welcome such a visit and any training or insight you could offer,” Aerys replied with a nod.

  “And as I mentioned earlier, our numbers have grown dramatically,” Aerys continued, turning her attention back to Finn. “The Khamsin forces now number almost 2,000, and the guilds managed to recover almost as many mages, merchants, and fighters.”

  “Do we have a sense of how many hounds occupy Lahab?” Finn asked, already dreading the answer.

  “That is difficult to estimate with the way they are slaughtering the travelers en masse and converting the bodies,” Abbad began, sharing a look with Kalisha and Malik, their expression grim. “Our guess is that we will be facing at least 10,000 hounds.”

  “10,000,” Finn echoed, his eyes widening.

  “So, we’ll likely be outnumbered by more than two to one…” Kyyle muttered.

  A hushed silence drifted across the room.

  It was worse than that really, Finn realized. It wasn’t just about the numbers. Bilel had a defensible and entrenched position. They would need to penetrate Lahab’s high walls and fortified gates. And it was safe to assume that the demon hadn’t been idle in the meantime. He could have reinforced those fortifications, and he might even be able to assist his hounds with his own magic – using the stockpile of crystals that he had gathered from administering the Purge. Even once they breached the city’s walls, the chaotic jumble of buildings that filled Lahab would give the nimble hounds an advantage – the fiery dogs able to flank or surround an invading force by using the tangle of streets and side passages.

  And that was putting aside Bilel himself. It wasn’t clear if that staff was capable of more offensive magics, but, even if it wasn’t, its healing properties were powerful. Finn had witnessed that firsthand. With a legion of hounds feeding mana to the staff, the demon would be nearly immortal – able to heal even grievous wounds in an instant.

  It all came back to those damn hellhounds…

  “There is one silver lining, I guess,” Kalisha offered slowly.

  Finn’s eyes shot to her face. “What’s that?”

  “Well, a few mages and merchants may have gone rogue during the evacuation,” she offered. “Their curiosity got the better of them, and they wanted to study these hounds.” She grimaced. “We lost three mages, but we managed to capture one of the creatures.”

  A sudden, shocked silence met those words.

  “Where is the hound now?” Abbad asked, an edge to his voice. “The creatures are linked to the staff, and we don’t know whether Bilel is capable of tracking their location. He could know the location of the Flagship by now…”

  “Breathe,” Kalisha snapped. “We weren’t crazy enough to bring the hound to the new colony. We’re holding it on another rock island between Lahab and the Flagship, and we left someone to watch after it – as well as a few guildsmen to fortify the position.”

  “Assuming they’re still alive and Bilel hasn’t already wiped them out,” Abbad retorted, his expression grim. He clearly had a high estimation of the demon’s abilities.

  Kalisha was about to reply but hesitated as she chewed on the librarian’s words. The fact was that she likely didn’t know if the group had survived.

  “Either way, it was a risk worth taking,” she finally replied, glaring at Abbad. “If we’re to fight these things, then we need to understand them.”

  “She’s right,” Finn interjected. “It was a worthwhile risk.”

  He met Kalisha’s eyes. “Who is leading the group guarding the hound?” he asked.

  “I think you two may already be acquainted, actually. He’s a fire mage by the name of Brutus,” Kalisha responded. She hesitated for a moment, gnawing on her lip. “He can be a bit of a loose cannon…”

  Finn and Kyyle immediately shared a look. They knew firsthand how unconventional Brutus could be – they had experienced more than their fair share of his eccentric teaching style back in the Mage Guild.

  “That’s probably the understatement of the year,” Kyyle said, rubbing at his eyes.

  “I take it you have some history with him?” Kalisha asked.

  “Something like that,” Finn replied. He let out a sigh. “Alright, since we’re going to be waiting for the guildsmen to prepare for the Forging, I’m going to make a trip out to visit Brutus and inspect the hound. Maybe I can glean more information with my Mana Sight.”

  “Assuming there isn’t just a smoldering crater where the camp used to be,” Julia quipped, and Kyyle snorted in amusement.

  Finn tilted his head. That was certainly a possibility – especially with Brutus at the helm. He could already visualize the burly fire mage sipping lemonade while the rock pillars around him burned. He’d just have to hope that the man had managed to keep both himself and the hound in one piece.

  His gaze drifted to Aerys and the guildsmen that ringed the table. “Meanwhile, you all should continue concentrating your efforts on preparing for the upcoming war.

  “Thoughts or comments?” Finn asked finally.

  Only silence met his question.

  “Great,” Finn said, smacking his palm against the table. “Then let’s get moving. We have a lot of work to do, and with each hour that passes, Bilel only continues to grow stronger. So we need to make the most of the time we have left.”

  Chapter 32 - Hounded

  It took nearly two hours of gliding across the dunes to reach the small basecamp that Brutus had established on one of the many rock islands that dotted the desert. It wasn’t much to look at, just a small stone shelf among an ocean of sand. Only Finn and Kyyle had undertaken this journey. Julia had decided to focus her efforts on inspecting the new heavy infantry and offering her advice and training.

  Finn suspected she might just be wary of confronting the fire mage again.

  Not that he blamed her. Even after everything they had been through, he was still suffering some PTSD from Brutus’ magical obstacle course, and he half expected the man to put him through the wringer again – prophet or not.

  As the pair slid to a halt in front of those spires, several Khamsin materialized, their cloth robes blending almost seamlessly with the rock. They quickly encircled Finn and his companion, their dark eyes watching them carefully. Their gaze lingered on the bandage across Finn’s eyes and the glimmering orange energy rippling through the fingers of his left hand, where the sleeve of his robe only partially concealed the crystal. Although he couldn’t make out their expressions beneath their masks, Finn saw their reaction in the way their weapons disappeared, and their heads bowed in greeting.

  “Tahiati lak,” one of the robed men said, placing his hand to his chest. “Greetings, Najmat Alhidad. The hound is ready for your inspection.”

  Finn raised a quizzical eyebrow, and the Khamsin answered his unspoken question. “Aerys sent a group ahead to ensure your safety. We’ve prepared for your arrival.”

  “Good,” Finn said, dropping from his mount, and Kyyle following his lead. He waved at the spires. “Lead the way.”

  Another bow and the Khamsin scout set off among the columns of stone, the rest of his group fading back into the shadows of the island and disappearing from sight. They tread a winding path until the stone spires began to disappear and gave way to an open clearing – the columns clustered enough to obscure what transpired in the center of the island from any prying eyes that might linger among the sands.

  “Look what we have here! My best student h
as finally deigned to visit his master,” a familiar voice barked as soon as they entered the clearing.

  Finn looked up to find a burly mountain of a man approaching, his arms spread wide and a grin on his face. It seemed Brutus was still alive, after all.

  “That hurts a little,” Kyyle grumbled. “You trained me too.”

  The fire mage’s smile widened. “Ahh, and my… uh, second-best student!” he added with feigned enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, you’re not really making it better…”

  “It’s good to see you again, Brutus,” Finn said, grasping the man’s hand. “After everything else we’ve gone through, it’s a relief to see a friendly face.”

  “Yeah, about that…” Brutus began taking in the bandage across Finn’s face. “You don’t seem to be seeing much of anything lately, huh? What the hell happened? I told you a dozen times – you gotta learn to run away.”

  “He did that to himself,” Kyyle muttered.

  Brutus glanced at the earth mage in surprise. “What? Why—?”

  The fire mage cut himself short as Finn tugged the cloth strip free, giving Brutus a glimpse at the amalgamation of molten metal and crystal that now rested in his eye sockets. “I’ve had to make a few sacrifices to make it this far,” Finn said soberly. “But it looks worse than it is. I can still see after a fashion – but now I can also sense mana.”

  Brutus just stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. “Uh, okay. And I’m guessing there’s another story behind the hand?” he offered, having noticed the fire flickering in Finn’s crystalline fingers. The fire mage was just as perceptive as usual.

  “As I said, it’s been a rough couple of weeks,” Finn answered softly.

  “No kidding. It looks like you’re burning up body parts right and left,” he observed.

  Brutus seemed to finally notice Brock’s rocky form drift through the pillars behind Kyyle. “Oh, sweet merciful gods. You found an adolescent earth elemental.” In a flash, the fire mage was beside Brock. Brutus inspected the elemental carefully, running a hand under the collection of floating rocks to test the strength of Brock’s gravity well. “Strong field. Good collection of stone. Mostly granite – I approve.”