She paused a moment, seeming reluctant to continue her explanation. “Apparently, the bow used to be owned by a woman whose family was killed by these cultists. She vowed revenge for their deaths, but died before she was able to accomplish the task.” Riley looked up at Jason and Frank, her dark eyes clouded with anger. “The quest is to find the others responsible for her family’s murder.”
“Uh, and then do what?” Frank asked hesitantly.
Riley looked at him evenly. “And then make certain they never hurt anyone again,” she said in a menacing tone.
“Okay then,” Frank said slowly, his eyes widening. “That’s a bit dark, but it sounds like a plan.”
Then Frank turned to Jason. “How about you, oh fearless leader? What did you get?”
Jason grinned. “The gem was a quest item. The armor… well, like you said, it might be easier to show you.”
With a thought, Jason activated Bone Armor. A cultist on the ledge above them exploded in a shower of flesh and congealed blood. Its bones then darted toward Jason, melding into three discs of bones that were each approximately two feet in diameter. The bone shields floated around him in a lazy circle. Testing the spell, Jason discovered that he could change the position of the discs with a thought, forming a three-panel wall of bone in front of him if he needed to.
Frank looked at the bone shields and then back at his frost-covered axe. “Yours might be cooler,” he said with a chuckle.
“I don’t know about that, but maybe I won’t have to hide in a corner during every fight,” Jason said with a laugh of his own.
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Riley said grimly. “I seem to remember you sitting up on your safe little ledge during most of that fight.” A weak grin curled her lips at this last part.
“Always undervaluing my efforts,” Jason grumbled.
Their discussion was interrupted as a frantic, high-pitched voice filled the cavern. “Pretty lady!”
A dark gray form darted through the air, streaking toward Riley. Pint stopped a few inches from her face, his wings fluttering as he waved his pitchfork excitedly. “I here! I defend you. Where are baddies?” The imp looked around the cave, searching for enemies to defeat.
Riley’s face scrunched in confusion. “Um hi, Pint,” she said tentatively. “There are no more enemies. Why are you here?”
Jason could feel a sense of dread curl in his stomach. There could only be one reason why the imp was here, and he expected Frank and Riley weren’t going to like it.
“Bony man sent me!” Pint exclaimed. Then he scratched his head in confusion. “He ask me give message. Can’t remember…” The imp rapped his head with his knuckles as he tried to recall what he was supposed to tell them.
Then Pint’s eyes rested on Jason and a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. “Ahh! I tell meanie pants that baddies coming!”
“What do you mean ‘baddies’ are coming?” Riley asked slowly.
Pint smiled at her gleefully. “Special plan! Traveler baddies coming in two days!” He held up a hand showing three digits.
Jason could feel his dread convert to full-blown panic as Frank and Riley both looked at him with confused expressions. Then Frank said darkly, “What does he mean enemy travelers are coming? What plan?”
“Um…” Jason replied tentatively, his eyes on the floor. “So, mining the dungeon for corpses might have been my plan B.”
“Plan B?” Riley questioned. “What was Plan A?” Jason could see the anger starting to well in her eyes, this time directed at him. He remembered briefly how she had treated Bert and the other cultists and gulped.
Jason glanced at Alfred for help as he struggled to come up with an explanation. He received an impassive stare in return. The cat’s expression practically shouted, “I told you so.”
Then Jason answered hesitantly. “Plan A was to lure an army of players here. Before we entered, I sent out an anonymous message explaining that I’d been sighted near this dungeon. I also set the dungeon to ‘public’ so that the other players could enter.”
“What the hell was the point of that?” Frank sputtered. “We beat a dungeon just so we can have an army of players trap us in here and kill us over and over?”
“No,” Jason said shortly. “The dungeon is a trap. The plan is to lure the players inside and then ambush them with the Twilight Throne forces waiting outside. If the players die here, they respawn every forty-five minutes. I could summon a sizable army in a few hours instead of a few weeks.” He gazed at them evenly. “We just have to keep killing them and summoning the bodies.”
Frank and Riley looked back at him with wide eyes. “I just… I don’t even know what to say to that,” Frank said. “You want to spawn camp a bunch of players and butcher them a couple dozen times?”
“That’s exactly what he’s trying to say,” Riley said, anger in her voice. “But the real question is, why the hell didn’t he tell us what we were coming here to do.”
“I was worried, okay?” Jason replied, his own anger rising. “It’s only a matter of time before another group of players attacks the Twilight Throne. If we can’t increase the city’s population quickly, it will fall in the next war. I can’t count on everyone being as arrogant as Alex.
“It’s more than that, though. I need to protect the city - I need this game. I depend on the money from my streaming contract. What will the company do if I lose the Twilight Throne?”
“We would have helped you if you had asked. You just thought we would screw it up,” Frank muttered. “That’s the same reason you’ve been hiding your class abilities. You just think we’re a bunch of deadweight that you have to carry along.”
“Hey, that’s not it at all…” Jason began.
Then Riley interrupted him, “No. He’s right. It’s all about you. And you don’t trust us. Pure and simple.” She glared at Jason, the bow in her hand beginning to glow a darker red. “You think you can just lie to us and trap us in here to force us to help you? You’re no better than Alex. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you.” She raised the bow, and black energy began to collect along the tip of her arrow, the missile pointing directly at Jason. Pint edged away from her nervously, watching the exchange with wide eyes.
Jason looked at Riley in shock. Her eyes were dark pools, and her mana expanded around her in waves, the malignant energy blotting out the multicolored glow of the crystals embedded in the ceiling. “I thought you were better than Alex,” she said in a dark voice.
Frank rested a hand on Riley’s shoulder. “It’s not worth it,” he said softly. “He’ll just respawn. You’ve got to let go of your mana.”
Riley started at Frank’s touch. She looked at him in confusion for a moment, the dark aura around her fading slightly. Then she took a deep breath and forcefully released her mana. Without the energy feeding her emotions, Riley’s anger began to dissipate. Her shoulders slumped and her hand loosened on the string of her bow. She looked up at Jason with a hurt expression, tears budding in the corners of her eyes. Before he could say anything more, Riley pulled up her system menu, and she abruptly logged off.
Frank’s voice broke Jason out of his trance, his eyes still on the space Riley had occupied a moment before. “This isn’t cool at all man,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re aren’t NPCs that you can just order around. I thought we were your friends.”
Then Frank disappeared.
Jason stood in the cave alone, his thoughts boiling. Guilt and frustration warred in his mind. Could he really have trusted them with this plan? Would they have just gone along with it? Would they have made it this far? Their accusing stares, especially Riley’s expression, were still burned into his mind. He closed his eyes, but the image didn’t go away.
“What we do now?” Pint asked tentatively, hugging his little pitchfork.
“I don’t know, Pint. I don’t know,” Jason answered bleakly.
Chapter 26 - Betrayed
“Sir,” a technician said, attempting to get Robert’s
attention. “There’s something happening in Grey Keep. Player and NPC activity has spiked, and an enormous group has collected in the market.”
Robert glanced up and his brow furrowed. “Well, then what are you waiting for? Put it up on the big screen,” he ordered, gesturing to the screen that hovered over the lab.
In an instant, the display shifted to the feed of a player standing in the market. It showed a makeshift wooden stage constructed on the western part of the square. Alexion’s decapitated corpse lay over a wooden block, his blood staining the wood. Regent Strouse stood beside the corpse and addressed the people. Many of the technicians in the lab stopped what they were doing to watch the scene unfolding on the screen.
“This is the result of spreading insurrection and chaos,” Strouse said in a booming voice. “We will not tolerate…”
The Regent was interrupted as the clouds that hung above the city parted and a beam of light shot down from the heavens, illuminating Alexion’s corpse. The light was so bright that the technicians in the control room covered their eyes. When the light cleared, they saw that Alexion’s body had been reformed. He now stood tall, gazing at the townspeople that filled the square.
“Is this who you would follow?” Alexion asked in the hushed silence that had descended upon the market. He gestured at Strouse, whose mouth hung slack after witnessing Alexion’s resurrection.
“It is only with the Lady’s strength and support that we can weather the darkness that faces us.” Alexion turned his golden eyes to Strouse. “The light can be used to heal and support. Yet it can also be used to unleash holy retribution upon those that dare to strike against the Lady and her followers.”
Alexion’s hands moved through a rapid-fire series of gestures. Golden orbs appeared in the air around him, swiftly growing in number. The orbs were then pulled toward Alexion’s body in a swirling vortex. As the orbs struck his skin, they exploded in a flash of light, causing the townsfolk and players to flinch backward. He was now robed in plate armor composed of panels of golden light. In his hand, Alexion held a radiant broadsword aloft, luminescent flames licking along the length of the blade.
“No longer shall the Lady’s followers back down to the weak and the corrupt. We will fight - for we are warriors of light.” Alexion leveled his blade at Strouse. “And you will be the first to feel our wrath.”
Without another word, Alexion sped forward. His blade darted through the air and crashed against Strouse’s hastily drawn blade with a clash of metal. Strouse regained his footing and grinned mockingly. “More flash and sizzle from a charlatan. You think you can take me, boy?”
Alexion’s impassive eyes stared back. “I only need my faith in the Lady,” he answered, his tone calm and confident. Then his blade lanced forward and the pair engaged in a frantic exchange of blows.
A cry rang out from the back of the crowd, and the player’s camera whirled. Men and women standing in the crowd threw off their cloaks, revealing mail and plate armor. Bolts of magic and arrows streaked through the air, slamming into the bodies of the guards on the stage and ringing the square. The crowd in the market began to panic as the unarmed townsfolk fled towards the streets in an attempt to escape the unfolding battle.
“Oh shit,” the player said weakly. His hands began darting through a spell, and a protective sheet of ice sprang up around him. Unfortunately, the icy shield made the player an obvious target. A ball of flame immediately hit the sphere, melting through the player’s protection. His hands darted through another spell, but he never got it off.
A blur streaked through the air, and the camera jolted as something struck the player. He looked down, seeing the shaft of an arrow embedded in his throat. The player’s hand reached for his neck feebly. As he toppled to the ground, the camera tilted sideways and continued to stream the fight being waged on stage. The city guards fell under a barrage of spells and arrows as Alexion danced with the Regent in a whirlwind of steel.
Alexion abruptly let his guard down, Strouse’s blade shattering his golden breastplate and penetrating his chest with a sickening thud. “See boy, it takes more than fancy words to lead a city,” the Regent sneered, twisting the blade.
Alexion coughed violently, blood splattering his golden blade and causing small wisps of smoke to lift into the air. His dead eyes looked back at Strouse. “You’re right. It also takes unwavering conviction.”
Then Alexion grabbed the Regent’s blade in one hand, locking it in place. His other arm lashed forward with his broadsword. The golden blade stabbed through Strouse’s chest, penetrating his heart. The Regent tumbled to the stage, a look of shock on his face. Alexion grunted as he jerked the man’s blade from his abdomen, and, with a hasty spell, the wound in his stomach began to close.
Strouse gasped on the ground, his health finally depleting. The last sight he saw before he died was Alexion’s golden blade raised into the air above him, fresh blood sizzling along the length of the blade. Then the player in the crowd died, and the screen faded to black.
Not a whisper could be heard in the control room as the technicians stared at the dark screen. Robert looked at the tech near him, “Get the Vermillion Live producer on the line. We have some footage they’re going to be interested in.”
***
The next morning, Jason woke to sun streaming in his window. Groaning, he pulled himself into a sitting position. His thoughts immediately returned to the evening before and his confrontation with Frank and Riley. Exhausted when he logged off, he had decided it was time for some sleep. It hadn’t come easily. He had spent the night tossing and turning, his friends’ accusing eyes haunting his subconscious.
“Why the hell did they get so upset?” Jason asked quietly.
He could understand that they would be confused or irritated with him, but both of his friends had been incredibly angry. It was a more violent reaction than he had been expecting - Riley had nearly shot him.
Jason rose and stumbled toward the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. As he poured some cereal into a bowl, he heard movement on the other side of the small house. Angie emerged a moment later rubbing at her eyes. She still looked exhausted. His aunt slumped onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter.
“Late night?” Jason asked. He grabbed a cup and set it on the coffee maker for her.
“We’re working against a hard deadline to get this latest product out the door,” she growled in response. “They have me working 16-hour shifts until the work gets done. That includes coming in over the weekend.”
Angie sighed. “There’s a strong possibility that I might either be home late or may not come back at all over the next few days. Maybe I can sleep under my desk…”
“Ugh, that sucks,” Jason said, handing her the now full cup of coffee. She accepted it gratefully and took a long sip of the molten liquid. Glancing up at Jason, Angie noted his haggard expression for the first time.
“What’s the deal with you? You look like you ate a bunch of sour grapes,” she said with a grin.
Jason shook his head. “It’s a long story, but the short version is that I pissed off two of my friends last night in-game.”
Angie frowned. “How did you manage that?”
“Well, I came up with a plan to lure other players to a dungeon we were running. The idea was that once I baited the players to enter the dungeon, I could ambush them with my city’s army and then kill them over and over.” Jason could see that Angie wasn’t understanding. “That way I can summon new undead for my city. I could add a couple thousand new troops in a day in-game instead of weeks.”
Angie’s eyes widened. “Apart from how screwed up that sounds, I’m not sure I see the problem.”
Jason rubbed at his temple, his eyes closed. “The problem is that I didn’t tell Riley or Frank what I was planning. They just thought we were running a dungeon.”
“Ahh, that makes more sense. I guess this all came to a head last night, huh?” Angie asked.
“Basically,” Jason
grumbled. “I just don’t understand why they were so upset. I guess I should have told them my plan, but it’s not like anything terrible came of it.”
Angie hesitated before speaking, her eyes clouded as she gazed at the kitchen counter in front of her. “Trust is a tricky thing,” she began. “I usually don’t talk about it, but I used to be married once.” Angie gestured around the small house with a wry smile. “As you can see, it didn’t exactly work out.”
Jason noticed that Angie appeared deep in thought, a pained expression on her face. He had always wondered about his aunt’s last name, but he had never asked. He could tell that this story wasn’t something she was fond of retelling and he quickly decided to keep his mouth shut.
Angie took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “I thought Chris and I were happy. We had a lot in common. We went on trips together. We would sit up at night watching TV and make fun of the actors. We did all that happy married stuff you always hear about. I even thought we would end up having kids.” Angie shook her head, her eyes on the cup cradled in her hands.
“I never expected that Chris would cheat on me,” she said bluntly, anger tinging her voice. “It took me years to figure it out. I would probably never have noticed what was going on if I hadn’t stumbled upon the two of them.”
Angie closed her eyes. “The cheating and the divorce were bad enough, but it’s the part that came after that really hit me hard.” Angie glanced up at Jason, her eyes hard as she recalled these painful memories. “When someone hurts you like that, you don’t just heal immediately. It’s a breach of trust that makes you question everything and everyone else in your life. It makes you re-examine your friends and family under a microscope.”
Angie paused for a long moment. “That’s probably why I haven’t really dated since then. To be honest, it’s probably part of the reason for my poor relationship with your parents. I just sort of cut myself off from the world. It seemed safer at the time, but I realize now that I was just scared.
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