As Alex watched, unarmed townsfolk were cut down in droves - collateral damage in the war that was being waged between the city’s soldiers and Alex’s mutinous compatriots. Alex glanced at the courtyard below, noticing a woman lying unmoving amidst the chaos. Her eyes stared straight ahead, wide with terror as tears dried on her cheeks. A memory tickled at Alex’s mind. She looked familiar. Then he saw the small boy that clung to the woman, blood on his hands as he tried to staunch the wound in her stomach. The boy sobbed over his mother as realization slowly dawned on Alex.
“This is Adria and her son Ryan,” Alex whispered. He remembered healing the boy’s sickness several days before. For a moment, the image before him blurred together with the memories of his mother that now played endlessly in his mind. He had cried much the same way over the coffin of his mother. Confusion and guilt swept through his fragile, fractured mind. He was responsible for this, wasn’t he? He lifted a hand to his head in a vain attempt to quiet his swirling thoughts.
Then a blast of flame struck the ground where Adria lay, igniting her corpse and her brokenhearted son. Alex jumped back in shock as his mind frantically tried to process what was happening. Soon all that was left of the woman and her child was a pile of smoking bones and charred dirt.
The scene shifted again. Alex floated far above Grey Keep. Clouds drifted around him, and he could feel the warm sun on his back as a gust of wind whipped his clothing. The roars and the screams of battle came from the city below, pulling his gaze downward. Many of the city’s buildings were engulfed in flame, and he could see pockets of fighting in the streets. Groups of players looted the city’s stores and invaded the homes of its citizens, taking advantage of the chaos. Other players indiscriminately attacked both the rebels and the city’s soldiers, uncertain why the conflict had begun.
In a word, it was chaos.
Then the scene shifted again. Alex was standing in front of the keep. Bloodstained mutineers stood in a group before him, their mail armor glistening in the sun. Golden light enveloped Alex’s body and then exploded in an expanding ring. His lips moved involuntarily, his voice echoing over the crowd, “The heretic Strouse is dead. Today we take Grey Keep and convert it to the light! Rejoice brothers!”
“All hail Alexion,” a chant resounded from the remaining soldiers as they raised their swords into the air and stomped their feet. “All hail the prophet,” they screamed, their eyes wild with religious devotion. Behind them, Alex could see clouds of smoke rising from the city. It was still burning.
Then the world faded to black for the second time. Alex closed his eyes, trying to process the fleeting images he had just witnessed. The Lady’s voice drifted through the darkness, “That was the Path of the Warrior. Now let me show you the alternative.”
When Alex opened his eyes, he was hovering over Grey Keep. He glanced around in confusion, disoriented by the frequent changes in perspective. As his eyes dropped to the city below, he noticed that there were no longer any signs of battle.
He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as he suddenly began falling. He shot downward at a frightening pace, continuously picking up speed. He could feel the air rushing past him, and he could see the ground approaching quickly. Fear and confusion tumbled through his mind. What was this? What was going on?
A faint golden light appeared around him. As he glanced down, he could see that a spot in a field outside of the city was illuminated by the column of light, tracing the path of his freefall. As the ground loomed closer and closer, Alex began to panic. He decided to shift in the air, putting his feet first and raising his head so that he didn’t have to watch his imminent death.
His feet slammed into the ground of the field, creating a shockwave of force that decimated the crops around him in a circle and threw up a thick cloud of dirt. Yet, miraculously, he didn’t feel any pain. Alex rose from a kneeling position and looked around in shock. As the debris cleared, he could see that he was standing in a newly-formed crater in the field. The nearby plants were scorched by the golden light, sending streamers of smoke into the air.
He heard shouts of confusion. Whipping his head toward the source of the noise, he could see a large group of NPCs approaching him. They were wearing coarse woolen clothing and carried small scythes. As they made out his uninjured form, the peasants froze and stared at him with awestruck eyes - their mouths hanging open and their tools dangling from limp inattentive hands.
Then the Lady’s voice boomed over the field, “Go forth my prophet and spread my word. My servants shall always have my protection.”
Then the scene shifted. Alex was flying through the city at a remarkable pace, darting through alleys and streets and gliding past open windows. He could hear the whispers of the townsfolk as he passed them. They spoke of a man falling from the heavens. A prophet sent to protect and guide them. They spoke of their undying devotion to the Lady and reverence for this man that healed the sick and led them forward against the darkness.
They spoke of Alexion’s greatness and his strength.
Then Alex stood before a massive congregation in the market. His followers wore pristine white robes and held their faces to the sun. From the podium, Alex could see that his followers’ eyes shone a brilliant gold, burning with the strength of their faith. They turned their gaze to Alex. Adria and her son stood at the front of the crowd, their hands raised in the air as tears of happiness glistened in their eyes.
“Praise the prophet!” the crowd cried as rays of golden light shot toward the heavens. Alex stood in mute amazement at the scene, watching hundreds of people casting light magic into the sky. The Lady responded, a magnificent prismatic display of color cascading through the air above the field.
Then the world again faded to black. The Lady’s disembodied voice abruptly penetrated the heavy silence, “That was the Path of the Saint.”
The world shifted for a final time, and Alex reappeared in the marketplace. The world was frozen around him. The executioner’s axe hung in the air above his prone, decapitated body. The crowd looked on with shocked and angry expressions, their arms raised in the air.
“You now have a choice,” the Lady continued. Alex looked around himself but didn’t see her standing nearby. “You must choose one of the paths that I’ve shown you. The Path of the Warrior will lead to the destruction of the city, but you will be guaranteed power. The Path of the Saint will avoid the deaths of many, but your road to power will be uncertain.”
“You must choose now,” the Lady said, a note of finality in her voice.
Alex stood on the wooden stage, thoughts tumbling chaotically through his mind. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, closing his eyes to blot out the image of his own headless corpse. He needed to think carefully. The death of Adria and her son flashed through his mind. His newfound sense of guilt pushed him toward sainthood, but the warrior’s path provided a more certain outcome. He didn’t know what to do. Without the numbing hollowness and his mother’s whispered advice, he felt confused and lost.
As he thought of his mother, Alex was again overcome by the now familiar despairing sadness. She had left him, and he was alone. Even his father had abandoned him. In both the real world and in-game he was left to fend for himself. How was he supposed to figure out how to move forward on his own? He felt like he was drowning in the emotions that crashed around his head.
“You don’t have to be alone,” the insidious whisper echoed in the back of his mind, its voice more distinct than he remembered. Then he realized it hadn’t come from his mind. He had actually heard the words spoken aloud.
Alex’s head whipped up, and he opened his eyes. The marketplace around him stuttered and blurred, several red notifications appearing in his vision. He waved the windows away impatiently as he saw movement in the frozen crowd. His heart fluttered in panic, and his mind went blank.
“I can stay with you forever,” a haunting, feminine voice said. Alex caught glimpses of white as the woman wound her way through the tow
nsfolk. “I can help guide you on the path to strength. But only if you embrace me.”
Then the woman broke through the crowd near the edge of the stage, and Alex’s eyes widened, his chest heaving and his pulse racing. A chaotic rush of thoughts spun through his mind. The woman wore a white hospital gown, her pale skin practically glowing in the muted sunlight and blue spiderlike veins crawling up her emaciated arms. Her hair draped over her face, obscuring her eyes. As she neared the stage, the woman reached a sickly white hand toward Alex.
“You were right, Alex. All those years ago, I was merely playing a game. I never really left you,” his mother said, her mouth curling into a grim smile. “I’ve always been with you. Helping you. Guiding you.”
“Don’t push me away, Alex. Let me stay with you. Let me continue to help you. You know what path you have to choose,” she said quietly. “You know what a real Lane would choose.”
***
After the Hydra died, Jason began the short trek down to the cave floor to regroup with Frank and Riley. As he carefully navigated the narrow trail that ran along the side of the cavern, he surveyed his notifications.
x3 Level Up!
You have (160) undistributed stat points.
x2 Spell Rank Up: Bone Crafting
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1
Effect 1: Access to bone modification in the skeleton editor. May currently alter the composition of bone by 15%.
Effect 2: Can combine low-quality crafting materials with the bones.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Custom Skeleton
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 2
Effect 1: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The skeleton’s level is calculated as the caster’s level + Willpower/69.5.
Effect 2: Mana cost reduced by 5.5%.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Mana Mastery
Skill Level: Beginner Level 10
Effect 1: -5.5% to mana cost.
The most noteworthy change was the increase of Jason’s Bone Crafting to Intermediate Level 1. Yet he wasn’t certain what it meant to combine materials with the bones. With his Night Children, he had added small amounts of dirt to camouflage the otherwise bright white skeletons, but maybe the prompt meant that he could combine something more complicated. For example, could he add iron ore to the bones to make more resilient creatures? He’d have to experiment at some point.
As he reached the skeleton minotaur carrying Bert at the bottom of the trail, Jason glanced at his party window. His teammates’ health was still low. He ordered the healing totem to follow him as he approached Riley and Frank. The pulsing red mist drifted around him as they neared the Hydra’s corpse.
Jason noticed that his two friends looked shell-shocked. Riley had slumped to the floor, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths. Frank was in a similar state, lying flat on his back and staring at the cracked roof of the cave’s ceiling.
“So,” Jason began, breaking the silence. “I think that went pretty well.”
Frank let out a soft laugh. “Really? It seemed like we almost got our asses handed to us.” He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his axes where they lay on the floor.
Riley still sat unmoving on the ground. Jason approached her cautiously, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, Riley?” he asked.
She opened her eyes, still solid black as she channeled her dark mana. “I-I’m fine,” she said, her brow furrowed. “I just needed a second after that battle. It was… intense.”
“I don’t blame you,” Jason said. In contrast to his friends, he felt unaffected by the chaotic battle. He had already experienced several frantic encounters in his time playing AO, and he expected that Frank and Riley were simply unaccustomed to the excitement and adrenaline. To their credit, being in the thick of battle was probably a much more overwhelming experience than his bird’s eye view of the battlefield.
Jason glanced over at the Hydra’s corpse. He still needed the heart for the Old Man’s quest. He approached the dead creature. Its caustic green blood had melted craters in the stone floor, creating miniature lakes of acid. Jason stepped cautiously around these green pools until he was within arm’s reach of the Hydra. He stretched out a tentative hand and touched its scaly skin. He was immediately confronted with a notification.
System Message
For completing this dungeon with only three players, the party will be granted a bonus to the dungeon’s rewards.
Jason’s eyes widened in surprise. What did it mean the “dungeon’s rewards?” His question was answered a moment later as the corpse of the Hydra disintegrated. Its scales peeled away and its flesh melted from its bones. In moments, all that was left a hulking skeleton encircling a sturdy wooden chest.
I’m not certain that was entirely realistic, but this is certainly easier than trying to carve out the creature’s heart, Jason thought.
“Hell yes!” Frank exclaimed as his eyes lit on the chest. He pushed himself to his feet with excited energy. “I know what that beautiful wooden box means.” He rubbed his hands together as he approached Jason. “It means we get some sweet, sweet loot.”
Even Riley’s eyes gleamed in anticipation as she rose to her feet and walked over. Apparently, the lust for loot was universal. Without further ado, Jason flipped the lid, revealing the chest’s contents: a bow, a pair of gauntlets, a set of leather armor, and a large multi-colored crystal nearly as large as his hand.
Jason picked up the crystal, and a notification window appeared:
Heart of a Dungeon Boss (Quest Item)
This is a crystallized heart from an Elemental Hydra. You’re not certain what this item will be used for, but, knowing the Old Man, it will probably result in yet another near-death experience.
Jason frowned as he reviewed the item description. He had been hoping for something a little more informative than that. He still had no idea what the Old Man’s quest entailed or what he was supposed to do with these items he was tasked with collecting. He glanced at Alfred in irritation. The cat slowly licked its paw, either oblivious to his frustration or intentionally ignoring him.
Frank pulled out the gauntlets and Riley grabbed at the bow, the pair waving their hands in the air as they reviewed the information regarding each item. Following their lead, Jason reached for the leather armor that sat in the chest. It was made of a coarse, dark gray material. White skulls were affixed to the shoulders, and ivory lengths of bone were embroidered along the jacket’s seams. It certainly looked like the type of thing Jason could use.
Death Mantle
This armor is crafted from the skin and bones of fallen victims and has been imbued with unholy magic. Merely touching the armor’s material is enough to disturb the weak of heart.
Quality: A
Defense: 210
Durability: 98/100
+30 Willpower
+20 Intelligence
+15 Vitality
+2 Effective Level of Bone Crafting
Restricted to Evil Alignment
(Soulbound)
Special Bonus
Unlocks the skill, Bone Armor, which allows the player to absorb the bones of fallen enemies to create damage shields. A maximum of three bone shields can be maintained at one time, and each shield will absorb 200 damage.
Cost: 1,000 Reserved Mana and 5 Mana/Sec per active Bone Shield.
Wow. This is awesome, Jason thought. The mana cost is painful, but it addresses my need for defense.
Jason swiftly equipped the new leather armor before turning to his friends. “So, what did you guys get?”.
Frank flexed his hands, which now sported the new gauntlets. The gloves appeared to be made of cloth or leather, with crystals embedded in the material. It appeared that the crystal was the same material that lined the ceiling of the cave. Multi-colored energy spun around Frank’s fingers, and he looked at his hand.
“It might be easier for me to show you than to explain what the gloves do,” Frank said with a grin.
He grabbed o
ne of his large axes, hoisting it into the air. Red flames pulsed around the gloves and then streamed up the handle of the axe before settling on the blade. Fire now curled from the steel, the air above the axe rippling from the heat. Then the flames disappeared in a flash of smoke. Ice now crept up the hilt of the axe and raced across the metallic surface, newly-formed icicles hanging from the blade.
Jason and Riley just stared at the axe for a long moment.
“I can channel all four elements through any weapon I’m using,” Frank said, his voice excited. “It only adds a minor damage bonus and drains my tiny mana pool quickly, but I expect it will be awesome if I’m dealing with an enemy that is weak to a certain element.”
“That seems broken,” Riley said with a small smile. “Never mind, I want the axes backs.”
“Hey, I didn’t decide on the loot rolls!” Frank said defensively, clutching his axes protectively.
“I received a notification explaining that we were awarded a bonus for defeating the dungeon with such a small group,” Jason added. “I think we may have ended up with much higher quality items than normal.”
Frank turned to Riley. “Speaking of which,” he said. “What’s with your bow?” He gestured to the weapon Riley held in her hands. It was shaped like a recurve bow, except that the arms were made of twisting brown lengths of wood and green vines were woven into the material. The bow’s most striking feature was the crimson crystalline roses set at the top and bottom of the grip. The roses glowed a rich red and Jason thought he detected a faint pulse. He couldn’t help but shake the feeling that the bow had a heartbeat.
Riley hesitated before replying quietly, “The bow is called Bloody Thorn. It has great stats, but I’m a bit confused. The notification says that the special ability is locked. I also received a quest when I picked it up.”
Awaken Online: Precipice Page 36