Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)

by Bagwell, Travis

  Yet Julia wasn’t done. She seemed to expect the blow to be blocked, pushing off the wall of compressed air and whirling into a counterattack, another blade suddenly appearing in her other hand.

  Abbad finally moved, a gust of air shoving him forward and inside Julia’s guard. He grabbed at her arm, twisting it up and behind her back until he held her pinned.

  The entire engagement took about two seconds.

  “Submit, or I will be forced to break your arm,” the librarian said calmly.

  “Really?” Julia gasped. “Because you better look down.” Finn could see that Julia still held the first dagger in her free hand, the blade pressed against Abbad’s abdomen.

  The hint of a smile tugged at Abbad’s lips. “Feel free to try.”

  Julia snarled and tried to stab the blade forward. However, it slid across an invisible barrier. Finn only then noticed that Abbad’s free hand was still dancing through a series of gestures.

  Holy crap his reflexes are incredible, Finn thought to himself.

  “Please don’t harm her,” he offered, trying to defuse the situation. “She’s a friend.”

  Abbad glanced at Finn and then suddenly released Julia, pushing her across the small space with a sudden gust of wind to create some distance. “I am aware that you and the thief are acquainted. If she can keep her blades to herself, she can remain.”

  Julia rubbed at her arm, glaring at Abbad. “Stop calling me a thief.”

  “We are what we do. Did you not steal those robes as well as the token in your front pocket?” Abbad answered.

  Finn’s daughter gritted her teeth and her fingers clenched around the dagger still resting in her palm. Finn decided he needed to intervene.

  “Hey, let’s all relax for a moment,” he interjected. Finn glanced at Julia and then pointedly at her weapon. “And maybe put down the dagger? Abbad is a friend. He has helped… well, guide me since I was admitted to the guild.”

  Julia looked skeptical and spared one last glare at Abbad. However, she reluctantly slid the dagger back under her robes. “A friend, huh? Sounds more like Stockholm Syndrome to me. This is just another one of your prison guards.”

  Abbad’s normally passive expression broke for a moment, his eyes flashing – a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Finn. It lasted only a heartbeat before his neutral mask fell into place once more. “I am not responsible for keeping Finn here. In fact, it is my wish to see him set free.”

  “See, we’re all on the same side,” Finn offered, glancing between the pair.

  “Hmph.” Julia let out a snort. Yet she leaned against the table, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “We’ll see.”

  Abbad simply arched an eyebrow, shifting his attention back to Finn. The librarian’s unspoken question hung in the air. Finn had been dreading this confrontation, having violated the librarian’s instructions at nearly every turn.

  “So, I know I haven’t exactly been keeping a low profile like you asked,” Finn began hesitantly.

  He wasn’t certain what sort of reaction he expected from Abbad. However, Finn wasn’t anticipating the abrupt laugh that bubbled from the man’s lips.

  “Low profile?” the librarian echoed. “Let’s see. Since we last spoke, you torched a classroom, were ejected from Lamia’s class, and helped the other novices fight Brutus. Although, I’ll admit the ploy was clever.” He noted Finn’s surprise. “Do you think he bought your friend’s excuse? Other people were watching that fight, after all.”

  Finn’s eyes widened. He could suddenly remember that there had been onlookers standing on the terraces ringing the guild’s inner courtyard.

  Shit.

  Abbad’s gaze flicked back to Julia. “On top of that, you seem to be conspiring with the thief who has been terrorizing the guild for the last few days. That alone would be enough for the headmaster to order that your mana be purged and to expel you into the sands.

  “Did I miss anything?” Abbad asked.

  Finn grimaced. “No, that sounds about right,” he answered softly.

  Abbad let out a sigh, his fingers idly running across a nearby book. “There is little we can do to change the past. We can only move forward. As such, a change of strategy may be in order,” he explained.

  “That seems unnecessarily cryptic,” Julia groused. “Is he always like this?” she asked Finn. He just shrugged noncommittally.

  “I will explain shortly—”

  Abbad was cut off as Julia kept going. “Hey, mysterious librarian dude, before we get to whatever overly complicated plan you’ve concocted, how about explaining why you are even bothering to help—"

  Julia was abruptly cut off, a faintly glowing yellow sphere enveloping her mouth. She struggled to speak, but no words came out. Julia felt at her throat and then went cross-eyed, trying to stare down at her mouth.

  When she saw the yellow-tinged sphere, Julia tried to lunge at Abbad, her daggers reappearing in her hands. A sudden gust of wind blasted through the library, knocking her backward until she fell into a nearby chair. Finn could see shimmering bands of air wrap around her wrists and ankles, locking her in place.

  “That is much better,” Abbad said in a dry voice before turning back to Finn. “Now, as I was saying, I think a change of plans is in order. My attempt at caution may have been short-sighted. I underestimated your ability to attract chaos,” he added, with a glance at Julia, who was struggling against her bonds and glaring at the librarian.

  “So, what are you proposing?” Finn asked, trying to ignore the pleading look Julia kept giving him. He had to admit that some part of him wished he could use that magical duct tape trick in the real world – which didn’t make him feel too guilty. He still hadn’t forgotten what Julia had done to his AI.

  “My original hope was to sneak you through your training and the duels, allowing you to graduate without incident. However, I expect that is no longer an option.”

  “Why not?” Finn replied. “I mean, I could just keep my head down…”

  “Because most of the guild is already talking about you,” Abbad interrupted. “Do you think your actions in Lamia’s class went unnoticed or that the other students bought the story you fed Brutus? You are now the primary competitor for nearly every novice about to enter the duels. To make matters worse, you also alerted the faculty to your potential. And their directive is to put upstart mages in their place.”

  Finn tensed, his fingers tracing the pattern on his right wrist. He could suddenly remember Lamia’s cold-eyed stare and the malice that lingered in her eyes. Finn had accidentally pissed off one of the guards.

  “I see that you are starting to understand the weight of the situation,” the librarian continued, observing Finn’s expression. “The faculty may not act directly for fear of alarming the other students. However, that does not mean that they won’t go out of their way to undermine you more subtly.”

  “Like Lamia not teaching me those two new spells,” Finn murmured.

  “Precisely,” Abbad said with a nod.

  “Okay,” Finn said slowly. “I get it. We need to change tactics. What did you have in mind?” he asked hopefully.

  It was Abbad’s turn to grimace. “You need to train harder. We’re not aiming for the middle of the pack anymore. With the way you’ve drawn attention to yourself, many will be watching you. However, that attention also provides a peculiar sort of safety. If you are in the public eye, then it will be more difficult for the headmaster and the others to act against you.

  “In short, we’re aiming for the top of the leaderboard now.”

  Finn coughed. “Wait, what? Are you serious? I haven’t even learned Veridian yet!”

  “Then I advise you to study,” Abbad replied curtly.

  “Fortunately, I’ve also found someone who can help teach you,” he continued. “However, neither myself nor your new instructor can be seen as playing favorites, so do not expect any special treatment.”

  “Who exactly is this new instructor?” F
inn asked.

  “Brutus,” Abbad answered immediately.

  Finn just stared at him in shock. “You mean the guy that killed me today? The one I also helped drop into a hole in the ground?”

  A faint smile tugged at Abbad’s lips. “Indeed. I suspect he won’t go easy on you.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” Finn murmured.

  “In any event, for now, act as though nothing has changed. Continue your studies and be certain to attend your next class with Brutus. I am sure he will find a suitable time to pull you aside for additional instruction,” Abbad explained.

  The librarian turned his attention back to Julia where she was still struggling against his bindings. “Now we need to decide what to do with you, thief. I suppose I should turn you in – which would likely result in imprisonment or exile,” the librarian murmured, tapping at his lips. “I understand imprisonment is especially problematic for your kind.”

  Julia’s eyes widened in alarm and Finn moved to speak, yet Abbad continued, ignoring them both. “However, you have proven rather resourceful. I also sense that you care for Finn – which might make you useful.”

  The librarian’s fingers twitched, and the sphere hovering over Julia’s mouth disappeared. “I’ll kill you—” she growled.

  Abbad cut her off. “Unlikely. But I suggest you stay silent unless you wish for me to gag you again.”

  Julia’s jaw snapped shut with an almost-audible click.

  “Good. At least you learn quickly. Now, I will set you free, and you may keep your disguise and the novice token you stole. However, I will not be able to protect you if you are caught,” Abbad explained.

  “I don’t need your help,” Julia replied with a glare.

  “Let us hope that is the case,” Abbad replied, unperturbed by her tone.

  His fingers danced through a new pattern, and Abbad murmured an incantation under his breath. Julia’s bindings soon disappeared, and she took to her feet. Although, she appeared more cautious now, keeping a watchful eye on the librarian.

  “And what do you want in return for these gifts?” Julia grumbled. “Don’t tell me you’re helping me out of the kindness of your heart.”

  Abbad nodded. “Indeed, your freedom comes with a price. It always does. In this case, I only ask that you continue watching Finn. I expect he may need a second set of eyes in the coming days. As well as a hidden blade or two,” the librarian replied, his tone ominous.

  Julia cocked her head, eyeing the man in confusion.

  Abbad glanced at Finn. “I have other matters to attend to, so I will leave you to it. Train hard and don’t hold back. You only have a short time left to prepare.”

  With that, the librarian stepped back toward the stacks, soon disappearing among the books and scrolls. Which left Finn and Julia standing beside the table, each of them trying to process the encounter.

  “I like him,” Julia finally said, breaking the silence.

  Finn just stared at her incredulously. “He gagged you and tied you to a chair.”

  Julia shrugged. “I’d have done the same.”

  She shifted her attention to Finn, peering at him. “Although, that conversation raised a few interesting questions. Like why is our super-serious new friend so interested in you, specifically? Also, he seemed pretty familiar with what happened in the courtyard, but I don’t remember seeing him there. How did he obtain that information so fast?”

  Finn looked at her in surprise. He wasn’t exactly certain why Abbad was interested in him. The man didn’t seem to be acting out of altruism – at least, not entirely. Which made Finn wonder what purpose the librarian felt he could serve. His thoughts flashed back to his conversation with the Seer, but he quickly discarded that image. There was no way the librarian could know about his conversation with the god. For now, he supposed Abbad’s motives didn’t really matter. Their immediate interests were aligned, and that was enough.

  However, Julia’s second question was more intriguing. Finn supposed Abbad could have discovered what happened with Brutus from the other students, yet he seemed to have firsthand knowledge of the fight. Yet how had Abbad witnessed the battle if Julia hadn’t seen him there? Perhaps the librarian had a few other talents that he had yet to reveal to Finn. He’d make a mental note of that.

  “I’m not sure,” Finn finally answered, shaking his head.

  Julia shrugged, a grin creeping across her face. “Perhaps you aren’t positive you know the answer to either question, but I have a feeling you know more than you’re telling me,” she retorted. Finn moved to object, but she put up a hand. “Nah, don’t ruin it or try to lie. You’re not terribly good at it. Besides, I like a good mystery. It’s more fun figuring it out on my own.”

  She started to saunter back toward the nearby bookshelves, pulling up her hood to hide her face. Then Julia hesitated, stopping in place and her back still to Finn. “However, that windy asshole is right about one thing, you seem to be collecting enemies here.”

  In a flash of movement, Julia pulled something from her robes, whirled, and flung it at him. A dagger embedded itself in the nearby table, the blade still quivering. “I know you’re learning this magic stuff, but you should still have a weapon. Keep it close. I can’t guarantee I’ll be there to cover your ass if shit goes down.”

  And then Julia disappeared.

  Finn slumped back against the table, his eyes on the dagger. He was surprised at how normal this all felt. He had died today, witnessed a mage subdue his daughter and tie her to a chair with bands of compressed air, and then that same daughter had given him a dagger as a present.

  “Just another day inside AO,” he muttered.

  As though on cue, a screen popped up in front of him.

  Quest Update: Curious Capabilities

  You failed miserably at keeping a low profile, and Abbad decided to change tactics. You have already painted a big target on your back, but you may still be able to maintain your position in the guild by showing everyone that you’re the most badass SOB around. You know what, this really is feeling more and more like a prison…

  In order to make that happen, you need to double down on your training, which will somehow involve Brutus. If you thought your studies were tough before, then you’re really going to hate what’s coming next.

  Difficulty: B

  Success: Continue your studies and begin training with Brutus.

  Failure: Get expelled.

  Reward: Same reward. Not getting killed or exiled. Aren’t you grateful? You should definitely be grateful.

  Finn let out an amused snort as he read through the prompt. Although the game’s AI was right about one thing – he needed to get back to work if he was going to survive.

  He sighed, swiped away the quest notification, and pulled up his mod interface, loading the next language lesson. Even as the symbols began to swim down the UI, his fingers were already twining through a familiar pattern, a tingling heat burning in his chest as he summoned his mana to continue training his Mana Mastery.

  Hopefully, his training would be enough.

  Chapter 18 - Distracted

  “Alright, that’s a wrap for today,” Brutus barked.

  The novices all dropped to the sand.

  Even the searing, sun-drenched particles felt like heaven after the last few grueling hours. The fire mage had them running laps across the shifting sands, sprinting through a glass obstacle course whose razor-sharp edges were now stained a dark crimson, and balancing for an hour on a glass pole about ten feet over the sands. He had topped it all off by having them hold a plank position for about 15 minutes above a pool of molten glass.

  Finn supposed none of that would have been too terrible, except Brutus had appointed himself “Head Motivator” – which only seemed to entail creating large pits of molten glass around whatever activity they were doing and throwing Fireballs in their direction when they wavered or slowed down.

  “He’s a fucking sadist,” Kyyle groaned from beside Finn. The young ma
n’s robes, like most of the students’, were singed and burned. Luckily, their novice equipment seemed to recover each time they logged back in.

  Finn just grunted, letting his depleted stamina gauge slowly refill. This was one of those moments when he wondered why the game needed to feel so realistic. He could feel his limbs ache, and his muscles throb and burn in a far-too-authentic sort of way.

  To make matters worse, he had spent the entire afternoon waiting for the axe to drop – that moment when Brutus would pull him aside and introduce him to his own individually tailored version of hell. Abbad had promised as much.

  Yet that moment never came.

  And, at this stage, he was struggling to see how it could possibly be worse…

  “You know we have another week of this, right?” Kyyle groused from beside Finn, slowly heaving himself to his feet with a groan. “I’m starting to think I might just risk the sandworms.”

  “At least there was that five-minute break in the middle?” Finn offered.

  “He had to go refill his drink,” Kyyle snapped, pointing at Brutus’ makeshift glass throne – replete with umbrella and a pitcher of lemonade. “And he summoned those stupid glass golems while he was gone.”

  “But they’re slow,” Finn said with a grin while pushing himself to a sitting position.

  “Now I know you’re messing with me,” Kyyle grumbled.

  “Finn,” a familiar voice barked.

  Both of them winced. They didn’t have to look to see who was calling Finn. They had already heard that voice enough to last a lifetime.

  “You have been summoned by our overlord,” Kyyle muttered.

  “I’ll let him know you said hi,” Finn shot back.

  He hauled himself to his feet, idly noting that most of the class was still struggling to stand up, before trudging over to Brutus. Finn already suspected what was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier.

  “Your performance was complete crap today,” Brutus said when Finn neared. The man’s voice boomed across the courtyard – loud enough for the other students to hear him.