“What are they doing with them?” Lucas asked.
Flare glanced at the air mage. “Fighting them,” she replied simply.
“I’m not sure I understand…” Lucas began.
“Neither did I,” Flare interrupted. “At least not at first. The undead have nearly endless stamina, and they heal relatively quickly using potions. They also don’t feel pain as acutely. As a result, they can fight in numerous duels without getting tired or burning out.”
Riley didn’t immediately understand Flare’s point. Why would the mages want to duel the undead? Then her eyes widened as the realization struck her. She had gained experience from fighting the Prefect. Riley also suspected that the fire mages leveled from their daily duels, which is why it was a staple activity within their guild and was an easy replacement for fighting monsters.
“They’re using the undead to level more quickly,” Riley said softly.
“Exactly,” Flare said. “Many of the undead were former soldiers resurrected by the Regent of the Twilight Throne, so they make capable combatants. But only a select group of fire mages have been invited to participate. The leaders are using the undead to increase their own power and stay entrenched within the guild.”
“That doesn’t exactly seem fair,” Emma groused.
“Or humane,” Lucas added.
Riley shook her head. There wasn’t much she could do for the undead other than tell Jason. It wasn’t like she could afford to get into a fight with the fire guild in the middle of Vaerwald. She expected that the guild leadership would be a lot tougher than the Prefect she had fought. Riley needed to keep her eye on their objective – finding the cultists and stopping the plague. Unfortunately, Flare’s explanation didn’t get her any closer to solving her quest or discovering the source of the strange magic disease.
Flare picked up on Riley’s pensive expression. “You’re wondering how this relates to the magical sickness, aren’t you? I’m not sure if this helps, but it turns out that the fire guild has been selling a handful of the undead within the city.”
“To whom?” Ethan asked.
“Apparently, there are other mages that are interested in experimenting on the undead. I couldn’t find the names of the buyer, but I might know someone who could help you,” Flare replied.
“It probably won’t surprise you to discover that there is a rather large underground market for magical creatures and artifacts within the city,” she continued. “There’s one shop in particular that deals in such goods.” She raised her hands to forestall their questions. “I’m not saying the owner is part of this black market, but he usually knows what’s going on within Vaerwald.”
“Who is the shop owner?” Riley asked.
“His name is Cecil Stone, and he owns a small enchanting shop on level eight. I suggest you go speak to him.” Flare hesitated. “But be prepared to pay a hefty amount of coin for the information. Cecil isn’t known for being free with his inventory or his info.”
Emma snorted. “Of course he isn’t. Why would any part of this quest be easy?”
Riley closed her eyes and suppressed the desire to hit the annoying light mage. After a brief pause, she turned back to Flare. “Thank you for your help. I expect Vivian will meet with you whenever you have a chance to stop by the earth guild.”
Ethan chuckled. “If I were you, I’d try to get a read on her mood from the other earth mages before you have your meeting. She can be a bit temperamental for someone who prides herself on self-discipline.” He looked at Flare, his expression sobering. “Also, if she asks you to participate in a trial, get your ass out of there fast.”
“I’m sure I can handle it,” Flare said in a cool tone.
The warrior snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
With that, the group bid Flare goodbye and made the slow trek back out of the fire guild. Once they were outside the wooden walls, they eyed one another uncertainly as the light rain pattered against their clothes and armor.
Lucas spoke up first, “So I’m not certain I understand the connection between the undead and the sickness. It seems thin.”
Emma nodded. “That’s a polite word for it. All we know is that the children were bringing books on dark magic to the fire guild. That doesn’t mean either the books or the undead have anything to do with this magical plague. They could have picked up the disease from one of the other mages they delivered books to.”
Riley sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Emma was right. Other than Marie’s offhanded comment, the connection with dark magic wasn’t obvious. Her quest window also hadn’t updated after talking to Flare, so she couldn’t be certain that her next step was to visit this enchanter. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that dark magic was involved. It was also a pretty big coincidence that the fire guild was borrowing books on black magic and that they were purchasing the slaves at the same time a magical plague had appeared.
“What I don’t understand is how this mysterious buyer relates to the quest,” Ethan added, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. “Assuming the undead are connected to the sickness, don’t all signs point to the fire mages being guilty? If these cultists can shapeshift, then they could be hiding here. Should we even bother investigating this enchanter?”
Those were also good questions, and Riley didn’t have an immediate answer. “I don’t know,” she replied after a brief pause. “There’s a lot of missing information.”
She hesitated, trying to collect her thoughts. She needed to tackle this one step at a time. “Why don’t we start at the beginning? Is it possible the sickness was caused by someone experimenting with dark mana?”
All eyes turned to Emma and Lucas, as their resident magic experts. “I suppose it’s possible,” Lucas began. “I mean, I’ve seen a few dark mages use spells that are poison or disease based. I’m not exactly an expert regarding the game’s magic system, but maybe someone could create a plague.” The young man turned and looked to Emma for confirmation.
“It’s possible,” Emma added grudgingly.
“Okay,” Riley began, “so let’s assume for now that the disease has something to do with dark magic. If that’s the case, then the fire mages are our prime suspects. They were borrowing books on dark magic, and the children who first got sick all came here. The cultists may have infiltrated their ranks.”
“Assuming they’re involved at all,” Emma reminded her.
Riley bit her lip. The light mage wasn’t exactly wrong, but it felt like she was being deliberately difficult. “This whole quest revolves around the presence of the cultists,” Riley said finally. “That seems like compelling evidence so let’s just add that as another assumption – the cultists are somehow involved.”
Ethan rubbed at his neck. “Okay. If that’s the case, then I’m changing my mind. I’m not so sure that the fire guild is the place to look. You heard Flare. Only the higher-ranked members were using the undead. How would the cultists have made it that far up the ranks?”
Lucas nodded along to his friend’s explanation. “We also know that the fire guild mages are using the undead to level. It seems like they have a plausible reason to use the undead that doesn’t seem to involve creating some sort of magical plague. Does that make sense?” he asked, looking at the group in uncertainty.
“Actually, it does.” Riley began pacing back and forth, trying to piece together the facts they knew. “That weakens the evidence that the cultists are hiding in the fire guild. In other words, the fire guild mages have a clear motive for using the undead. On the other hand, this mysterious buyer’s goal is unknown.”
Emma grumbled, “I don’t see what the enchanter has to do with anything. Aren’t the fire mages the ones with the books? They’re also psychopaths. In my opinion, it would be an easy place for these cultists to hide. If we’re going to keep going on this silly quest, I say we start with the fire guild.”
Riley stopped moving, eyeing each of the group members. “It seems like there is some evi
dence in both directions. So I guess we need to decide whether to look further into the fire guild mages or go speak to the enchanter.”
A frown creased Ethan’ lips. “Honestly, I’m leaning toward visiting this enchanter now.”
“You all know my vote,” Emma huffed.
The group turned to look at Lucas. “I’m not sure,” he murmured. His gaze drifted to his hand where it was buried in the pocket of his robe. He pulled out the same silver coin, thumbing the hard metal surface. “If we’re divided on how to continue, I say we let the coin decide again.”
Ethan barked out a laugh. “I like this new devil-may-care side of you, Luke. I’m fine with letting the coin decide.”
The light mage just shrugged, rubbing at her arms. “Fine. I don’t care at this point as long as we get out of the rain.”
“It’s okay with me,” Riley said. She was also leaning toward meeting with the enchanter now that they had talked it through. Her gut was telling her that the cultists weren’t in the fire guild. They might have managed to infiltrate their ranks, but it was a stretch to assume they had taken over the guild leadership. Although, they were making a lot of assumptions. She hated to agree with Emma, but she could see the argument going the other way.
“Fine,” Lucas said. “Heads we go investigate the fire guild further. Tails we go see the enchanter.” The group nodded in agreement.
Without further ado, Lucas flipped the coin into the air. The silver material glinted in the gloomy light. A few errant raindrops smacked against the metal surface, throwing the coin slightly off course and Lucas was forced to scramble to catch it. He just barely grabbed the coin before it struck the ground.
“Don’t leave us in suspense. Where are we heading next?” Ethan asked impatiently.
Lucas looked down at his hand and then back up at the group. “It looks like we’re meeting this enchanter.”
Chapter 17 - Enchanting
The group stood outside a ramshackle building on the outskirts of level eight. This area saw little foot traffic and the streets were nearly deserted. Riley eyed the structure in front of her skeptically, her hand resting on the hilt of the dagger at her hip.
Presumably, this was the enchanter’s shop, but it didn’t look like much. Dim lights flickered behind the shuttered windows as raindrops struck the roof in a staccato rhythm and water streamed down the cracked tiles. Although the group had gone down several levels, the buildings around the edge of the city’s rings weren’t immune to the rainfall.
“What a dump,” Emma said in a disgusted tone.
“No kidding,” Lucas added. “I was expecting something more interesting.”
Riley shrugged. In her experience, appearances could be deceiving. Just like this quest, few things in AO seemed to meet her expectations. “I just hope Cecil knows who purchased the undead. It will be a pain if this is a dead end.”
Ethan nudged Lucas with his elbow. “Get it? Dead end? And we’re tracking down a bunch of undead…”
Lucas rolled his eyes at his burly friend. “That was pretty bad.”
Riley ignored their banter and approached the door, tugging open the wooden portal. The air inside the shop smelled vaguely musty, and the room was lit by flickering lamps that hung from the ceiling. She turned to look behind her where Lucas and Ethan were still bickering.
“You guys coming or what?” Riley asked.
With that, she entered the shop. Rows of shelves were crammed into the small space. Every flat surface was lined with oddball objects. As the group trickled through the cramped shop, Riley noted an entire shelf devoted to tea kettles. Another shelf held a host of small jars – little lizards beating at the glass in several of them.
“This is the weirdest shop,” Ethan said, trying to edge his bulk through the rows of shelves without bumping into the merchandise.
“Look! There’s a slingshot,” Lucas exclaimed, grabbing at the object.
“Put it down, boy,” a voice grumbled from deeper within the store. “I don’t go into your house and touch your things. Besides, you’re liable to put your damn eye out. Not that I’d mourn the loss of an idiot’s eye, but you’d probably go whine to the guards.”
Lucas glanced down at the slingshot skeptically. As though reading his mind, the voice continued, “Don’t believe me? Just try firing it. The last customer that refused to listen to me is now blind as a bat. What do you think that peashooter fires? I’ll give you one guess, and it isn’t peas.”
The air mage’s eyes widened, and he slowly placed the slingshot back on the shelf. “What’s even the point of a magical slingshot that fires eyeballs?” he muttered. The shopkeeper either didn’t hear the question or didn’t feel that it was worth answering since his questions were met with pointed silence.
As the group filtered through the store, they finally caught sight of a surly looking little man seated behind an enormous workbench near the center of the shop. He wore thick leather coveralls and wire glasses. A bronze telescoping eyepiece hovered over one of his eyes, which he was using it to inspect an intricate mechanical contraption in front of him. The man didn’t bother looking up as they approached, his fingers running through his thick beard.
Riley assumed this must be Cecil. She stood near the back of the group and watched him closely. How had he known that Lucas had picked up the slingshot? The shelves obscured his line of sight to the rest of the shop. Perhaps there was a magical explanation. Either that or his Perception and Listening skills were incredibly advanced.
“Are you Cecil?” Riley questioned, moving to the front of the group and pushing back her hood and cloak to reveal her face.
As she neared the shopkeeper, the man’s eyes jumped up with a startled expression. His gaze locked on the bow slung over Riley’s shoulder. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked in a threatening voice, ignoring Riley’s question. “Where did you get that bow, girl?”
Cecil’s hand shifted under the table, and the sudden screech of metal filled the air. Riley could hear the thud of deadbolts locking into place near the front door. At the same time, several cleverly hidden mechanical arms unfurled from the ceiling. Tendril-like crystals were now pointed at the group, each prism glowing with multicolored energy. A faint humming could be heard as the glow around each of the arms increased in strength.
“I’ll ask one more time,” the man rumbled, removing his eyepiece and his attention focused solely on Riley. “Where did you get that bow? You have ten seconds, or I’ll be selling your ashes to my next customer.”
As Riley watched the shopkeeper, another piece of information clicked into place. Could this enchanter be the one who had taken in Lily as an apprentice? He had recognized the bow, and this seemed to fit with Marie’s story. It was a strange coincidence that Riley had already met two people that were important to Lily.
“I found the bow,” Riley answered slowly. “It was in a dungeon north of the Twilight Throne. I also spoke with Marie, and she can vouch for me.”
At the mention of Marie’s name, Cecil slowly sat back on his stool, and some of the tension left his face. However, he still scowled at Riley. “I’ll have to check on your story, but the fact that you know Marie’s name is telling.” His hand moved under the table, and the threatening mechanical arms retracted back into the ceiling.
“Um, so what were those crystals?” Ethan asked, his eyes still on the ceiling.
“Kadabar stone,” Cecil answered gruffly. “They can be imbued with mana and hold a charge. I’ve adapted these particular stones to condense mana into a stream that retains the volatile properties of the original energy.” Cecil began, his voice taking on a lecturing tone.
“Laser turrets?” Ethan muttered. He glanced at Lucas and whispered, “We can build laser turrets in this game? Why did I roll a warrior?” Emma let out an exasperated sigh beside them.
Cecil shook his head slightly and his eyes refocused on Riley. “You still have some explaining to do. How did you find the bow and what are you doing
here?”
Riley decided to be candid. “Lily died hunting the cultists who took her family. I found the bow and have picked up where she left off. My quest led me here.” She hesitated, trying to decide how to explain the magical plague. “There is a magical sickness that is afflicting some of the children in the city. I believe it may be connected to the same cult.”
Cecil’s perpetual frown deepened. “I have heard the rumors of this plague, but I haven’t had a chance to speak with Marie about it. Your story begins to hang together, but it still doesn’t explain what you’re doing in my shop.”
“We are trying to determine the origin of the disease,” Riley explained. “We believe that the first children to be afflicted were delivering books for the library.”
“They just so happened to be delivering books on dark magic to the fire mages,” Ethan added.
“Exactly,” Riley said. “We think there is a connection between dark magic and the disease. We originally suspected that these cultists might have infiltrated the fire guild. But it turns out that the fire mages are purchasing undead slaves to use in their duels.”
“And this affects me how?” Cecil asked impatiently, waving a hand at her to get on with it.
“We heard that the fire mages have sold some of the undead and that you keep track of the sale of magical ingredients and animals within the city. We were hoping that you might have some idea who purchased the undead,” Riley replied.
“You heard that did you?” Cecil grunted. “Even if I did, why would I help you lot?”
Riley paused and watched the grumpy little man carefully. Despite his gruff demeanor, he had reacted quite violently to the sight of the bow. He had taken a big risk threatening a group of adventurers, even with his traps. That must mean that he had cared for Lily. Maybe she could use that.
“You should help us because we plan to avenge Lily and finish her quest,” Riley said evenly, her hand resting on the bow slung across her shoulder. “When I find the cultists responsible for this, I will be the last thing they see in this world.” She could feel her dark mana pulse in her veins, her hood drifting back and revealing her obsidian eyes.
Awaken Online_Retribution_Side Quest Page 13