Awaken Online: Precipice

by Travis Bagwell

  Alex stared at the image before him, shocked by the display of power.

  After a long moment, he replied, “It will not happen again.” His voice was even and his will steadfast. The hollowness that filled his mind washed away his pain and uncertainty. Yet the image of his mother still beckoned from the farthest reaches of his mind, promising pain and uncertainty. He recoiled from the sensation; he could not show any weakness.

  ***

  Jason spent most of the next morning running errands for Angie. When he was eventually able to log back into the game, he found himself in the Control Room. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim flickering light in the room. After he found his bearings, Jason moved toward the obelisk. He might as well review the city’s information one last time before he met with the council. As soon as he neared the stone, Pint zoomed toward his head.

  “My stone! No touch!” He stopped in front of Jason, his pitchfork inches from his face. “Oh. Is you.” He sounded disappointed. “Where pretty lady?” He looked around for Riley.

  Jason frowned at the little imp. “I’m sure she will be back soon.”

  Something had been bothering him about Pint. He inspected the small gray form that floated in front of him closely. Why would this little imp be tasked with guarding the Control Room? It seemed absurd.

  “Pint, are you really guarding the rock?” Jason asked suspiciously.

  The little imp began examining his pitchfork closely. “Maybe. I mostly guard rock.”

  Alfred stood beside the obelisk, watching the conversation. His eyes danced with amusement, as Jason struggled to pull information out of the imp. It occurred to Jason that Alfred was probably a little evil himself. Especially if he spent all his time messing with the players like this.

  Jason glared at the useless cat. He tried to rephrase his question to Pint. “Is your only job guarding the rock?”

  Pint looked at him with his tiny green eyes, hesitating. He finally said in a small voice, “Pint and rock connected. I talk for rock sometimes.”

  Is he like an avatar for the control panel? Maybe he can access the city management features remotely. It wouldn’t be the same as standing in the Control Room, but it would give me a way to check on the city without having to come back to this room every time.

  “Can I talk to the rock through you?” Jason asked tentatively.

  Pint looked at him with big sad eyes. “Yes,” he said miserably. Then defiant anger warped his features. “I not leave rock!” he shouted, zooming back to the stone. He perched on its peak and hung his head morosely.

  A multi-colored tear formed in the air beside Jason. Then Riley appeared with a small popping sound. It took her a moment to get her bearings, and then she noticed Pint sulking on top of the obelisk. She immediately turned to Jason.

  “What did you do to him?” she asked suspiciously.

  Jason raised his hands in the air. “Nothing. Pint explained that he can access the city control interface remotely. He assumed I was going to make him leave the room and he got all mopey about leaving ‘his’ rock.”

  Riley nodded in understanding before turning back to Pint. “Hi, Pint!” she said in an inviting voice. The little imp raised his head. “Do you want to go on a trip with me? I promise I will protect you from Jason,” she said with a small smile.

  An excited look appeared on Pint’s face. “Pretty lady!” He zipped over to her and sat down on her shoulder. “I ready. Where we going?”

  “Stupid, fickle imp,” Jason muttered.

  Riley chuckled. “You’re just jealous that he likes me more.”

  “Sure I am,” Jason said sarcastically. He turned and addressed the imp on her shoulder, “Is there a place in the keep where we can have a meeting, Pint? Like a room with a large table? I have some friends coming soon.”

  The imp scratched his head for a moment. Then a lightbulb seemed to go off in his tiny brain. “Yes! Big fancy room! I take us.” The imp clapped his hands together.

  And then they were in another room.

  Not expecting the teleportation spell, Jason stumbled and fell to one knee. Riley’s higher Dexterity allowed her to stay standing, but she stumbled and looked around in confusion. Alfred seemed completely unaffected by the spell, and he promptly jumped up in a large leather chair. He began licking his paws casually. The zombies had fared the worst, and their prone bodies were strewn across the floor.

  “Stupid imp,” Jason grumbled as he inspected the room.

  They were in a large study somewhere within the keep. Bookshelves lined the walls, reaching toward the vaulted ceiling that hung fifteen feet above them. Ladders lay against the walls and slid on intricate rollers, allowing guests to retrieve books from higher shelves. Leather chairs sat near a grandiose stone fireplace on one side of the room. On the other end of the study were sturdy double doors which Jason assumed led into the interior of the keep. A large oaken table stood on that side of the room, the wood beautifully detailed with scrollwork that depicted images of undead fighting various beasts and monsters.

  Riley patted Pint on his head, “Good Pint. I didn’t know you could teleport us!”

  The imp smiled at Riley, showing his sharp yellow teeth. “I move fast in keep.”

  “Good to know,” Jason said in a nonplussed tone. He wondered briefly how upset Riley would be if he had one of his zombies smash the imp into a fine paste.

  A high-pitched ringing sound reverberated through the room, putting Jason’s teeth on edge. He turned to Pint, who was still perched on Riley’s shoulder. “What is that sound, Pint?” he yelled over the noise.

  “Doorbell!” Pint shouted excitedly in reply.

  “Can you tell who it is?” Riley urged in a strained voice. Even her patience was tested by the ringing sound.

  “It is old woman, bony man, big hat, and pudgy.” Pint said while he counted on his small fingers.

  I actually like his new names. Maybe I won’t kill him yet.

  Jason chuckled. “Please let them in. If possible, just teleport them to this room.”

  Pint glared at him, before replying, “I not butler. I stone guard.” He crossed his arms in a pout.

  “Oh come on, Pint. We need your help,” Riley prodded. The imp smiled at her, and then he clapped his hands again.

  I’m starting to notice a pattern here. I’m going to have to get Riley to convince him to do everything for me.

  A group of people popped into existence next to them. Jerry was in mid-sentence, “His Supreme Unholiness is probably…ugh.” Frank toppled into Jerry, sending the two sprawling on the ground. Rex and Morgan pulled off a more graceful entrance and managed to stay on their feet.

  “What the bloody hell was that?” Rex exclaimed. His bleached white bones glowed faintly in the dimly lit study. The dark orbs of energy that were his eyes scanned the room carefully, one skeletal hand resting on the sword at his hip. When he caught sight of Jason and Riley, he relaxed his grip on his weapon.

  Jason walked over. “Hey, Rex.” He shook his bony hand.

  “Hey there, Jason. It’s been a while,” he replied while giving Riley a thorough inspection. She looked away from the skeleton quickly, her eyes dropping to the floor.

  “Hi Morgan,” Jason said, turning to the older woman. She wasn’t paying attention; her eyes were firmly fixed on the bookshelves that lined the room.

  Jason sighed. “If you give me thirty minutes of your time, I promise you can have any books on magic in the room.”

  That got her attention. Morgan’s gaze snapped back to Jason. “Well, in that case, how are you, boy?” A small grin curled her lips.

  Morgan had upgraded her wardrobe since he last saw her. She looked much more wizardly and was clothed in a dark black robe. She now carried a wooden staff in one hand, its shaft made of twisting ribbons of wood. A dark gem was affixed to the top of the staff, and it throbbed with unholy energy.

  “Pretty good. We’ve been exploring the keep,” Jason replied.

  �
�Get off me, Sir Tubby!” a muffled voice called out behind him. Jason turned to find Frank laying across Jerry. Frank was wearing heavy mail armor, and a large, two-handed sword was strapped to his back. There was apparently a limit to the undead thief’s ability to dodge, and he was now stuck under the large teenager. It looked like he was slowly being crushed under the combined weight of Frank’s equipment, and, well, Frank.

  Jason walked over, offering his friend a hand. “Hey, man,” Frank said cheerfully, ignoring the groaning thief. “That was one hell of an entrance.”

  Laughing in response, Jason replied, “I try my best.”

  He began ushering the group toward the table on the far end of the room. Once everyone was seated, Jason went through the introductions. Riley and Frank had already met most of the council, and they knew each other, so the process didn’t take very long.

  As Jason finished going around the table, a small voice piped up, “I is Pint!”

  The little imp was standing in the middle of the table, raising his pitchfork in the air. “This my keep.” He grandly swept his tiny hand around the room.

  Jason’s palm struck his face with a soft slap as Riley chuckled at the imp. Morgan inspected Pint closely. “This is a Blackstone Imp. Strange, I didn’t think that they roamed this far outside the mountains. This one seems to be rather large for his race.”

  Pint’s face twisted into a glare. “You call me fat?”

  Morgan ignored his antics, turning to Jason. “I assume he’s the one that teleported us?”

  Jason nodded. “Yes. He also appears to be bound to the obelisk that acts as the control interface for the city.”

  Morgan nodded. “That makes sense. Blackstone Imps are comprised almost entirely of mana. They make exceptional familiars. Many mages bind them to immobile magic objects. This lets the mage use the item’s magic from a distance. They’re quite useful, assuming of course that you can deal with their irritating behavior,” she said, eyeing Pint distastefully.

  No kidding. At least my guess was right.

  Jason turned his attention back to the group and looked at each of them in turn. “I guess you’re all wondering why I brought you here. Let me explain…”

  He started by reviewing the changes he had made to the city, primarily the formation of The Cauldron, The Academy, and The Library. Morgan seemed happy to have her role within the magic school formalized. Rex and Jerry also nodded appreciatively, as he explained his goals for the library and crafting school.

  Jason then segued into an explanation of what he had learned from tinkering with the Control Room. Specifically, he focused on the city’s population. Many in the group looked confused as he first explained the issue. However, they began to nod as he kept going. It wasn’t hard to see that it would only take a few lost battles and the Twilight Throne would be standing on the brink of destruction.

  Once Jason had completed his explanation, Frank chuckled. “And here I thought I was joining an invincible undead army. That’s a big problem you’ve spotted.”

  Jason nodded. “I don’t have an easy answer for it either. We need a constant supply of fresh humanoid corpses. Not only that, but they need to be relatively easy to kill. As I mentioned, we can’t afford to suffer any losses right now.”

  The group sat in silence for a long moment, each of the individuals around the table struggling to come up with some solution to the city’s population problem.

  Then Frank spoke up, “You know what? I think dungeons are the answer.”

  Jason looked at him skeptically. “I don’t understand.”

  Frank raised a hand, pausing Jason until he could explain. “Bear with me here. There are a decent number of dungeons with humanoid creatures. The respawn on the dungeon is roughly two weeks in-game time. However, now that you can set up a private instance, we could technically farm the dungeon every time it respawns.”

  Rex drummed his fingers against the table, causing a crescendo of rattles with each movement. “Except how are you going to cart all those bodies back to the Twilight Throne? Only our wonder boy here can raise them as new residents.”

  Frank shrugged. “I don’t know, but I already prepared a short list of dungeons that the travelers in the area have identified. I was hoping Jason could take some time off from ruling the kingdom and go explore one with me.”

  Hmm. I still have that quest from the Old Man to conquer the outlying villages. Maybe one of the dungeons is located near a town? That might solve our corpse transportation problem. I could just conscript the townsfolk as labor.

  Jason looked over at the small imp who was now chasing Alfred with his pitchfork. “Hey Pint, can you project the map of the kingdom to this table?”

  The imp glared at him from across the room. “Old lady call me fat. You no defend me. Why I help?”

  Riley rolled her eyes. “Morgan is wrong Pint. You’re just the right size.” This earned Riley an arched eyebrow from Morgan, but Riley kept going. “In fact, you’re the loveliest of imps. Who has a pitchfork as sharp as yours? Won’t you do this for me?”

  Pint looked at his pitchfork and then back at Riley. “Pitchfork is pointy. I do for pretty lady. Not for old woman or meany pants,” he said while glaring at Morgan and Jason in turn. Morgan snorted at the little imp.

  A topographic map of the area around the Twilight Throne appeared on the table. The Twilight Throne sat in the middle of a dense forest, and the group could just make out Grey Keep far to the west. A mountain range crossed the northern part of the territory a few dozen miles from the city. Small villages were dotted around the Twilight Throne and were illuminated in green.

  Pint was also able to provide detailed information on the city’s area of influence. A dark cloud hovered over the affected areas. This covered a region spanning over thirty miles from the city. The dark influence spread slightly farther north and began to thin out as it approached the mountains. Jason could see that the villages within the former Kingdom of Lusade would need to be reclaimed before the area of influence would stretch to the kingdom’s original borders. He had only conquered a small fraction of Lusade by claiming the capital city.

  It’s going to be a ton of work to complete the Old Man’s quest, Jason thought tiredly. I guess I’ll just add that to my growing to-do list.

  He turned to Frank, “So where are these dungeons?”

  Frank frowned, his hands moving through the air. Jason assumed he was accessing his in-game console to pull up some saved websites or notes. After a few moments, Frank looked back at the map.

  He pointed at several locations. “Here, here, and here.” Where he pointed, red dots appeared on the map. He looked at Jason. “Keep in mind that these are only rumors. The game hasn’t been out that long, and a lot of people are… reluctant to travel near the Twilight Throne.”

  The first two locations were farther south, well outside the city’s area of influence. They also lay along the kingdom’s border, and there were no towns nearby. The last location lay toward the northwest at the base of a mountain range. It was relatively close to a town, and the city’s area of influence almost stretched to cover the settlement. The map showed the name of the town as “Peccavi.”

  Jason rubbed at his chin. The townsfolk of Peccavi might provide a source of ready labor if they were able to clear the dungeon regularly. Jason was also more comfortable about taking his zombies in that direction since they wouldn’t deteriorate as quickly within the city’s area of influence. As a first step, they would need to conquer the town to protect Jason’s minions.

  The only problem is that Peccavi is only a few days’ travel from Grey Keep. If anyone discovered we were there, the players and NPCs could march on us quite quickly.

  “That town to the north looks like a possibility,” Riley said.

  “I agree,” Jason replied. “It’s a shame that we don’t have more concrete information on the dungeon, though. It feels like we’re gambling blindly right now.”

  Jerry stood gracefully. “I
may be of service in that regard.” He gave an elaborate bow, finished by a flick of his hat and a wink. “I have heard some rumors that this northern area has been plagued with attacks recently. The details are a bit murky of course, but there may be a group of hostile creatures based in that area. They are also reported to be vaguely man-shaped.” He ran his hands down his body at his last remark, earning him an eye roll from Morgan.

  Frank smiled widely. “Perfect. I knew we were going to get to do a dungeon crawl. It’ll be just like old times.” He slapped Jason on the back.

  Rex spoke up, “You should take one or two divisions of the army at least. It will make it easier to conquer the town and clear the dungeon.”

  Jason shook his head. “We can’t risk it. Riley and I were attacked in town yesterday. You’re going to need all of the troops to stay here and defend the city until we have confirmed the location of the dungeon.”

  Rex growled in response, his jaw clacking slightly. “So what are you proposing? That you three are going to take on a town and a dungeon by yourselves?”

  Jason glanced at Frank. “That’s actually a fair point. How many people does it usually take to tackle one of these dungeons? Can we do this with a small party, or will we need a larger raid group?”

  Frank shook his head, before answering, “It depends. From what I’ve been reading, some dungeons are just a series of small caves. In other cases, they can hold whole armies. The largest known dungeon took a group of twenty travelers to complete.”

  Shit. I still don’t want to gamble the troops, though. If only we had a way to communicate with the city.

  Jason’s gaze turned back to Pint, who was polishing his pitchfork. He leaned to his right and whispered to Riley, “Can you ask Pint if he can access the control interface outside of the Twilight Throne? Also, ask him if he can somehow talk to the city’s residents remotely.”