Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  “Their sacrifice will be for the greater good,” Finn offered with a small smile.

  “Uh-huh, sure. Just tell me your plan so I can go ahead and figure out the many, many different reasons I hate it,” Kalisha replied in a dry voice.

  Finn barked out a laugh as he pulled up his map.

  “We’re positioned here,” he said, tapping at a cluster of green dots along the western edge of the palace walls. “The gate is to the north. And the area just inside the palace wall is largely open – a series of outer courtyards and what were once gardens. We need to distract the hounds and pull them to the north, northwest.”

  “Sure. But there’s that warded wall in the way,” Kalisha retorted.

  “Which is why I’m thinking we shouldn’t touch the wall,” Finn replied. “You’ve mentioned flying drones before…”

  Kalisha chewed on that thought, her brow furrowing as she stared at the map. “That’s probably not going to work here. Too much wind from the storm. And the lightning strikes are going to make flying drones even more vulnerable. Even if I could adapt my mechanids, they’d be more likely to sail directly into the wall than over it or get blasted apart.” She hesitated at that statement, her eyes widening slightly.

  “But maybe I could tinker with their pneumatics and position them along the rooftops of these buildings near the northern section of the wall. I’d guess there’s maybe a 20-foot gap between the edge of the buildings and the wall,” she said aloud, tapping at the map. “They might be able to leap over the barrier without touching it. Emphasis on might. And their metal casing could potentially shield them from any fire damage. Then I could rig them with a bunch of fire mana crystals and detonate them in sequence.”

  Her eyes skimmed back to Finn. “This is going to be loud and obvious, though. It’s going to look like a few bombs went off… but it would buy you all some time.”

  “You sound like you’re not coming with us,” Julia observed, watching the merchant suspiciously. “How convenient.”

  Kalisha rolled her eyes. “Obviously, I have to stay on this side of the wall. This plan would require me to move to the north, re-outfit my mechanids, and then I need to be relatively close to trigger the detonations. I’ll need to stagger the blasts to give you all enough time to make it through the tunnel and into the palace outbuildings. Hopefully, there will be fewer hounds inside.”

  “That’s not the only reason,” Finn commented, watching the merchant closely and noting the sad smile tugging at her lips.

  “You always were a clever one,” she replied with a wink, trying her best to mask the fear and anxiety he could see crawling through her energy.

  At Julia’s questioning glance, Finn continued. “She’ll also need to keep a couple mechanids with her and then draw back through the city. Bilel will almost certainly notice the blasts. So, we need to give him an obvious target – namely, Kalisha. He might think that a lone merchant is trying to break into the palace, using the cover of the storm to ransack the place for loot.”

  Julia grunted, staring at the merchant with a spark of respect shining in her eyes now. Meanwhile, the rest of the group sat in silence, mulling on the tentative plan they had sketched out.

  “No, no, no… Don’t all rush to thank me for my heroics,” the merchant offered with a grin. “You lot really know how to butter a girl up.”

  “You don’t have to do this,” Finn said, ignoring her sarcasm as he pushed away from the wall and met her eyes evenly. “We can try to find another way—”

  A harsh laugh cut him off. “See! I always knew you cared.” Kalisha’s expression sobered in a flash. “But we both know there isn’t another option.”

  Finn nodded grimly. She was right.

  Kalisha noticed the same look of resigned determination settle across the rest of the group and let out a heavy sigh. Finn could see her fear and anxiety spike, but that energy was overshadowed by bright white and orange. Their mission was greater than the danger to any one of them – Kalisha knew that all too well.

  She turned to the creature clamped to her arm, stroking it again and then placing her palm on the nearby wall. “Come, my baby. We have a lot of work to do.”

  The smaller mech unclenched its legs at this gesture, skittering up her arm and onto the adjacent wall. It then proceeded to march toward one of the mechanids. As it neared the larger construct, the smaller mech’s body converted, its forelegs shifting and rotating, forming various tools with its legs. In a flash, it began to disassemble the mechanid – likely intending to adjust its pneumatics and install a payload of fire crystals.

  “Well,” Kalisha began, turning back to the group. “What are you lot waiting for? Don’t you have a tunnel to build?”

  Chapter 45 - Drowned

  The group stood in a single-file line upon a narrow ledge that the earth mage had formed – a fragile bridge that spanned the length of the sinkhole, stretching out beneath the wall. Rain continued to pour into the cavern at their backs, raining down from the hole that Kyyle had formed and adding to the waters that pooled beneath them. The level rose swiftly with each second that passed.

  Their balance was precarious at best. The ledge was only about a foot wide, forcing the group to clutch at each other and the walls of the pit to maintain their balance. One wrong move and they would fall a few feet into the waters below – where the mixture of wet and sand would likely suck them under in mere moments.

  In contrast, the elementals were lucky. Once the group was beneath the wall, Finn had been able to risk summoning Daniel. The AI’s modeling was indispensable in this situation, and the mixture of mana from the wall, sinkhole, and hounds in the nearby courtyard masked his mana. Both he and Brock seemed to be mocking the group, simply hovering above the pooling waters. The earth elemental’s gravity well was causing a crater to form a massive indentation in the surface of the water below them.

  Thin columns of emerald energy along the walls denoted the rock columns Kyyle had summoned to support the tunnel, using only trace amounts of his mana to avoid detection. Even so, a mixture of sand and water continued to pour out around those pillars as the sides of the cavern gradually eroded, worn down by the water that continued to rise toward their feet.

  “Okay, this might be worse than standing outside,” Julia grumbled, eyeing the water pooling below them. The level had only continued to rise while they worked. A few more minutes and the water would reach the platform.

  “At least there’s less wind,” Kyyle offered, talking quietly over his shoulder. As he continued to gradually expand the sinkhole beneath the wall and add to their narrow bridge, the group shuffled forward – gradually moving toward the waypoint marker that denoted the far side of the wall and their escape from this hellhole.

  “Except these walls feel like they could cave in at any moment,” Julia retorted, eyeing the precarious supporting columns. If they gave way, they would likely be buried under several tons of sand. “I might respawn, but I’d rather not experience what it feels like to drown in quicksand.” She let out a shudder as she spoke.

  Even Malik glanced nervously at the waters below them – the first sign of nervousness that Finn had ever noted from the fighter. For his part, Abbad stood stock-still, his mana coiling around him faintly – the air mage blending the mana seamlessly into the air that howled above them. Finn could only assume he was waiting… listening.

  “It shouldn’t be much longer,” Finn interjected. “We’re just waiting for Kalisha to give the signal…”

  “And how exactly is she going to do that?” Julia grumbled. “It’s not like she can send us a chat message, and Abbad can’t risk communicating with her now.”

  Finn’s lips pressed into a grim line. He had spent some time helping the merchant re-outfit her mechanids. Her small Forged creature had helped her to quickly disassemble and modify the mechs, enhancing the pneumatics in their legs and embedding a dense cluster of fire crystals in each of their metallic torsos.

  Kalisha had long
since left the group, journeying north through the wind and rain to take up a position near the palace gates. It had also been quite some time since he had lost sight of the woman and her mechanids, although his Mana Sight could now clearly make out the dense cluster of hellhounds that stood guard just within the palace walls.

  Which meant there was only one way for the merchant to give them a signal point…

  “Trust me. You’ll know it when you see it—” he replied.

  “It’s coming,” Abbad murmured, interrupting Finn. His eyes snapped back into focus, and the streamers of air mana abruptly blew apart. The librarian’s attention shifted to Kyyle. “You need to get ready to make us a hole—”

  He never got to finish that sentence.

  Finn felt the explosion long before he saw the bloom of fire mana in the distance. The detonation shook the walls of their cavern, cracks forming in the columns that held up the walls around them. A fresh deluge of water poured in from above. Finn knew there would be more explosions… many, many more as Kalisha attempted to lure away the hounds.

  “You need to move now!” Finn shouted more loudly at Kyyle.

  The earth mage was already casting, his hands winding through a rapid series of gestures. Coils of earth began to dissolve as Kyyle carved into the mixture of stone and rock on the other end of the sinkhole. He bored swiftly through the earth, pausing as faint hints of water splashed through the dissolving barrier.

  “We clear?” Kyyle called over his shoulder.

  Finn tried to steady himself as another detonation rocked the ground above them, sending him listing to the side. Julia just barely caught hold of him, keeping him on the narrow ledge even as he peered through the layers of earth mana. He could soon see the cloud of mana that denoted the hounds shifting northward as they caught the scent of fire mana, the occasional blast of flame flaring in the distance.

  “Yes. Yes, go now!” Finn shot back.

  Kyyle just nodded and pulled the last layer of earth away, water now streaming down into the makeshift shaft from both ends of the tunnel and the water level rising rapidly, partially submerging the platform they were on. Finn’s feet splashed as the group single-filed down that precarious stone ledge, moving as quickly as they could toward the exit.

  They didn’t have long.

  Another blast rocked the cavern, and Finn heard the telltale crack and snap of stone. His gaze shot to the side. One of the columns had fractured, and muddy earth was now collapsing along one side of the cave. That gunshot crack of stone repeated as the other pillars began to fail one by one.

  “Come on! Move, move, move!” Kyyle shouted from the tunnel’s exit, having escaped into the rainswept courtyard of the palace, Brock close on his heels. The earth elemental used his rocky limbs to claw his way out of the hole, widening the opening. Then Brock turned, and his arm lengthened and stretched, the stones reassembling as he helped the next group member in line. Without his help, it would have been almost impossible to pull themselves out of the hole – the mixture of sand and water unable to support their weight.

  The group surged forward along the platform, Julia bringing up the rear with one hand lingering on Finn’s shoulder. He could hear her ragged, frantic breathing overtop the splash of water and the constant boom of detonations in the distance. The water level had swelled up to his ankles, then his knees. The threat wasn’t the sand itself, but how it added to the volume of water in the cave and continued to erode the walls. Finn could already see the earth around the exit beginning to dissolve and break away as Brock pulled Malik out of the hole, then Abbad just behind him.

  Finn saw Brock’s rocky hand stretch down through the opening, and he reached for the limb… only to slip at the last moment, losing his balance as a fresh surge of rainwater poured down into the hole. The water was now rising above his waist, making it almost impossible to stay standing on the narrow stone bridge below him. His daughter’s hand was on his shoulder, the weight of her plate armor now more harmful than helpful as she seemed to drag him down and backward.

  “Just go! Get out!” Julia said frantically, her hand disappearing.

  “Fuck,” Finn muttered. Suddenly unencumbered, he tread through the water, stretching out his hand again…

  And Brock just barely caught him. With a massive heave of the elemental’s arm, Finn felt himself yanked out of the water, soon cresting the hole that was beginning to disintegrate entirely, and landing heavily on wet sand. Wind and rain now beat down upon him, his breathing fast and uneven.

  “Julia!” he gasped, his eyes shooting back to the hole. Water had now almost surged up to ground level, and the supporting columns were collapsing completely.

  Yet her telltale dark armor was nowhere to be seen.

  “Get her, Brock!” Kyyle barked.

  The elemental nodded once and then sunk into the water, his body contorting as he squeezed to fit into the hole. He didn’t need to breathe, and Finn watched with his Mana Sight – his thoughts swirling chaotically – as Brock used his natural mass to drop further into the sinkhole, searching its murky depths with his glowing green eyes.

  Where is she? Finn thought frantically, unable to make out the outline of Julia’s armor amid the azure and emerald energy that swirled within the sinkhole.

  Brock’s limb reached out toward something, but Finn couldn’t quite make out his target. His fist clenched, and Finn observed a surge of earth mana – Brock abandoning caution to preserve Julia’s life. The elemental rocketed up out of the hole, blasting through the swiftly dissolving hole and spraying the area with sand and water.

  He held Julia cradled in his stony arms, her body unmoving and her skin pale and clammy. The elemental gently set her down, using his bulky form to shelter her from the wind and rain. Finn surged forward to help her, only to be held up short by Abbad’s staying hand on his shoulder.

  “We can’t linger here. Bilel may have noticed that flare of earth mana, and it’s imperative he assumes this is just a regular sinkhole,” the librarian shouted over the howling winds. “We need to make it to one of the palace outbuildings.” He waved at the dark silhouettes in the distance, the emerald buildings barely visible amid the storm – even in Finn’s enhanced sight.

  Hounds were streaming out of the palace gates to the north, following the faint blasts of flame that echoed from farther within the depths of Lahab as Kalisha tried to draw the beasts away from the palace. However, a pack of several hundred hounds had already turned back to the south, their paws pounding through the sands. Finn could only assume Bilel had ordered some of the creatures to stay put and patrol the palace grounds.

  Or perhaps Abbad was right, and the demon had noticed Brock’s rescue attempt.

  “Damn it,” Finn muttered, grinding his teeth together.

  He made a split-second decision, flicking his wrist and setting a waypoint marker on the nearest building. The bright-amber beacon would help point out their destination amid the storm. “Alright. Let’s move,” he shouted. “Follow the waypoint!”

  Brock nodded, and he lifted Julia again, the rocks of his torso shifting to the side as he gently pulled her into his chest, creating a protective layer of stone to help blunt the storm. The group huddled behind the elemental, using him as shelter from the howling wind and rain. And then they were moving, their feet plodding through the wet sand as they moved toward that glowing yellow light that hovered in front of them.

  Meanwhile, Finn’s eyes kept drifting back to the group UI. His daughter was alive, but her health was at about 20% and continuing to slide downward slowly. She must have water in her lungs, and the symbol in his UI indicated that she was unconscious.

  Stay alive, he thought desperately. You have to stay alive.

  ***

  Malik opened the door cautiously, peering around the corner. Seeing no guards, he gestured at the group behind him, and they swiftly funneled in through the opening.

  They soon stood in a large hallway, the ceiling stretching nearly twenty feet
above them, and the hall lined with tapestries and ornate furniture. Glowing spheres hovered at regular intervals along the hall, lighting the room. Fire mana was suspended within their depths, and the orbs were held aloft by a steady stream of air mana. Water poured off the group’s gear and armor, splattering against the stone floor and leaving sandy pools in their wake.

  “There’s a room just up ahead to the right,” Abbad grunted quietly, waving farther down the hall. “We should be able to regroup there.”

  Brock nodded and then surged forward. Malik led the way, with Finn and Kyyle following closely behind. As they neared the doorway, Finn spared a glance over his shoulder and saw Abbad casting. A faint gust of wind erupted from his fingertips before dropping toward the floor. It pushed the water and sand back down the hall and out the doorway where they had entered, covering their trail from any guards or hounds that might pass by. He noted that the air mage made sure to keep the energy level consistent with the glowing spheres suspended along the hall, even though it made the process take slightly longer.

  And then the group slid inside the nearby room, and the door shut with a soft thump behind them. They found themselves inside a sitting room, filled with luxurious upholstered chairs and polished wooden furniture – a stark contrast to the bleak conditions lingering just outside the walls of the palace. Brock set Julia down gently on a chaise.

  “I think there must be water in her lungs,” Finn said, standing over her. She wasn’t breathing, and her health was continuing to drop. “She needs CPR.”

  “I’ve had first aid training – at least, back in our world. Maybe it will translate…” Kyyle offered, stepping forward.

  Finn nodded, and Kyyle shifted into position, leaning above Julia. The earth mage placed his hands on her chest, pushing in an even rhythm. He leaned forward, his lips pressing against Julia’s as he forced air into her lungs. Then he started the process again.

  And again.

  And again.