Awaken Online (Book 3): Evolution

by Bagwell, Travis

  “Are there many gastropubs in town?” Riley asked, glancing at the nearby buildings skeptically. The rustic medieval town hardly seemed like the place for fine dining.

  “Well, technically no,” the chef said, his smile faltering. “But this is still the best eating establishment in the area. We work culinary magic within these walls.”

  “I don’t really see any customers,” Frank commented, looking at the building and the street around them. “What about that place across the street? It looks packed.” Indeed, patrons were practically spilling out of the door of the pub across from The Butcher’s Block, and the occasional shout or jeer could be heard from the street.

  Rupert’s expression fell further. “That’s just a bar. Anyone can pour some stale, watered-down beer in a mug. What we do here at the Butcher’s Block is art. It’s an experience for your taste buds.”

  Frank snorted skeptically, earning him a glare from the chef. “That sounds interesting,” Jason interjected tactfully, giving Frank a sharp look. There was no sense failing this nonsensical quest by choosing their words poorly. “Your restaurant must be fantastic if you are catering the mayor’s upcoming feast. Would you mind giving us a tour?”

  “Sure thing!” Rupert exclaimed, Frank’s slight immediately forgotten in his excitement. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, the hinges screeching in protest as the door swung open ever-so-slowly. “Come on in. We are shut down tonight to prepare for the feast, so you can bring the flock in through the front.”

  As the chef entered the building, followed closely by Frank and Eliza, Riley placed her hand on Jason’s arm. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered quietly.

  “Me too,” Jason replied, glancing at the open doorway. “Our quest hasn’t updated, which isn’t a good sign. I suspect that this means we can still fail. Technically, if any sheep die, we lose.”

  “Which doesn’t strike you as weird? Why are we handing the flock over to this slightly unstable cook?” Riley asked. “He hasn’t exactly been shy about his plans to butcher them.”

  “This whole thing is odd,” Jason replied with a grimace and a glance at Alfred who sat calmly nearby. He was beginning to suspect that the AI might be the crazy one – after all, he was responsible for creating the Hippie. At a minimum, he seemed to have a fondness for unusual characters. “Let’s just be careful. There’s not much else we can do.”

  Riley nodded grudgingly, and they both entered the restaurant, Alfred padding along behind them. Inside, they discovered that the dining room was pure chaos. Tables had been pushed up against the walls and chairs were stacked in haphazard towers. The room was poorly lit by a series of lanterns. The timid flames were entirely insufficient to illuminate the large dining area. The combination of the flickering light and oddly-stacked furniture caused grim shadows to be cast along the walls.

  “This isn’t exactly making me feel better,” Riley murmured.

  Jason just shook his head, noting that Frank and Eliza were talking to Rupert near the back of the dining room. The sheep were huddled against a far wall, standing as far away from the lanky chef as they could.

  “It looks like you still have some work to do to get this place set up,” Frank commented as Jason and Riley approached, gesturing at the room.

  “Yes, yes,” Rupert nodded enthusiastically. “We had to reorganize to host all of the mayor’s guests. Our regular arrangements wouldn’t do at all. No, not at all.”

  Riley swiped her finger along one table, coming away with a thick coating of dust. She glanced meaningfully at her finger, and Jason’s frown deepened. This place hadn’t been used as a restaurant for a long time.

  “But this is just the dining area, you all still need to see the kitchen,” Rupert continued, seemingly oblivious to the group’s growing concern. “That’s where the culinary magic happens, after all!”

  With that, the chef pushed through a set of swinging doors into a back room. The group followed him cautiously, their hands resting on their weapons and the sheep staying far behind. Even Fluffy seemed nervous. He cowered behind Eliza, her hand idly stroking his head to calm him down.

  The kitchen turned out to be enormous, easily able to fit a dozen cooks and other restaurant staff. Long tables lined the walls, and pots and pans swung from iron hooks. Serving and preparation stations had also been set up along the interior of the room, hosting a variety of extremely sharp-looking knives and utensils.

  What caught Jason’s attention, however, was the oven along the back wall. The brick and mortar structure was at least ten feet tall and spanned nearly the entire length of the wall. A bonfire rested at the foot of the oven, massive flames licking at the brick compartments. Even at this distance, Jason could feel the waves of heat radiating from the oven.

  “And this is my laboratory of sorts,” Rupert said, grabbing a poofy chef’s hat from a table and placing it gingerly upon his head before turning back to the group. “What do you all think?”

  “It seems sort of hot in here,” Jason said, gesturing at the oven. “Is that really necessary?”

  “Oh, the oven?” Rupert asked in surprise, glancing back at the roaring flames. “You get used to it after a while. Honestly, I don’t even notice it anymore.”

  “It’s like a million degrees in here,” Frank retorted skeptically, tugging at the neck of his armor.

  “I think it might be scaring the sheep,” Eliza added.

  Jason turned and discovered that the flock was trembling along the back wall and were all staring at the flames with wide, terror-filled eyes. “Maybe we should take them back outside,” Jason offered.

  “No, no, no,” Rupert interjected. “We need to get started on our preparations for the feast. Perhaps grilled lamb chops with a mint sauce. Now I know what you’re thinking, that’s rather traditional, but I think we can put an interesting spin on it…”

  As Rupert was speaking, he picked up a cleaver resting on one of the worktables, admiring the shine of the metal. He ran a finger across the blade to test its sharpness, leaving a small trail of blood in its wake as the blade easily sliced into his skin. Yet the cook seemed unperturbed by this, a manic grin creeping across his face.

  “You know what?” Jason began, edging back toward the doorway and motioning to his teammates to retreat. “It’s rather late, isn’t it? Perhaps we should step back outside and find somewhere to stay for the evening. I’m sure we could get started early tomorrow.”

  “Tsk, tsk,” Rupert replied, turning his head to meet Jason’s gaze. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. As I said, we must get started tonight.” He took a step forward toward the group, and their hands immediately went to their weapons.

  “Stay where you are,” Frank cautioned, pulling his two-handed sword from his back and hefting the heavy weapon.

  “Would you really stand in the way of my artistry?” Rupert demanded, stopping short and his face contorting in anger. “Would you deny the people of this town the delight of sampling my fine cuisine?”

  As the chef kept speaking, his voice began to deepen unnaturally until he was almost speaking in a growl. The cleaver was still raised in his hand, and his eyes had taken on an unnatural cast, glimmers of flame reflected in his irises.

  “Are you just like the rest?” he shouted, railing at the group and gesturing wildly. “Would you turn me away because I wish to achieve culinary greatness? Spurn me like the other residents of this misbegotten farce of a town?”

  Rupert suddenly bent over, his body shuddering and jerking erratically. “Are you okay?” Riley asked cautiously, but she made no move to help the cook. Instead, she unslung the bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow. Meanwhile, Frank moved forward, putting himself between the cook and the rest of the group.

  The chef didn’t answer. Instead, the jerking grew worse, and he let out a tortured, hoarse scream. His body began to contort violently, bulges appearing along his skin and his flesh splitting and fracturing. His limbs grew rapidly, doubling in size
before their eyes and splitting the ivory fabric of his frock. Within seconds, Rupert had grown dramatically. Red bleeding welts appeared along his skin, and blood dripped down his clothing, swiftly staining his gruesome form crimson.

  With a final jerk, his movements quieted. Then his massive hand slammed against the surface of a work table, the wood splintering under its weight. His grotesque fingers groped for a cleaver and wrapped around the hilt. As he lifted the weapon, it also began to change, lengthening and growing until the blade was nearly three feet long – now matching the weapon still held in his other hand.

  Rupert raised his head. His face was now blood-red, and his eyes were awash with flames that matched the fire raging behind him. He surveyed the group and the sheep cowering behind them hungrily. “Ah… fresh meat,” he growled. “I have been looking forward to this for some time. Tonight, I will feast.” His mouth opened in a manic grin, revealing rows of cracked and splintered teeth.

  With a lunge, Rupert raced toward them, his thick legs slamming against the floorboards and causing the wood to splinter and crack. Frank reacted quickly, stepping forward and meeting the creature’s rush. Rupert’s cleaver slammed against the barbarian’s sword, causing a spray of sparks to shower the area around them. The force of the blow sent Frank stumbling backward a few steps.

  “Eliza cast your buff and stay back near the sheep,” Jason ordered. “Riley, keep some pressure on him.”

  Riley immediately released, her bolt slamming against the creature’s skin and ricocheting against a table. The blow caused little damage, but it managed to distract the monster.

  Meanwhile, Eliza moved to the back of the kitchen, huddling with her flock. A pink light began to emanate from her staff as her sheep began their chaotic, discordant song.

  And now I get to try not to fail at fighting, Jason thought grimly. He could feel fear wash over him as he looked up at the creature that had once been Rupert, its maw hanging open and flames curling away from its eye sockets. Yet he forced himself to draw his sword, his knuckles white around the hilt.

  He swallowed against the pit in his stomach and willed himself to move. Jason rushed forward, pulling the shield from his back and pushing his left arm through the leather loops. As he neared the monster, it shifted its weight, and a cleaver sped toward Jason. He barely dodged the blow, ducking under the monstrous weapon and thrusting at the creature’s leg while using Crushing Blow.

  His sword glanced off Rupert’s skin, barely penetrating his flesh and leaving a thin trail of blood. Rupert followed up immediately by backhanding Jason with the flat side of his other blade, throwing him across the room. Jason slammed into a prep table, pots and pans spraying in every direction with a crash of metal.

  He shook his head to clear it, glancing at his party UI and seeing that the single attack had carved off a fifth of his health. Frank hadn’t fared much better. His health had already dipped, and bloody gashes dotted his body, evidence of several close calls.

  With a roar, Jason rose to his feet and charged against the monster again. This time, he acted more defensively, the ring of metal echoing through the kitchen as the monster’s cleaver glanced off his shield. The blow brought Jason to his knees, and he immediately rolled away. The floorboards splintered as Rupert slammed a cleaver into the ground where Jason had knelt a moment before.

  Riley used this opportunity to pelt the creature with arrows, some of the shafts embedding themselves in his skin. Yet Rupert barely seemed to notice the attacks. Giving a growling howl, he swept forward toward Jason again with his cleavers in a frantic flurry of blows.

  While Rupert was distracted, Frank moved behind him, swinging his two-handed sword high over his head. With a scream, he slammed his blade into Rupert’s back, the metal swiftly embedding itself in his flesh and a torrent of blood spraying from the impact. Rupert slumped forward for a moment. Coughing harshly and dropping a cleaver, his free hand slammed against another prep station to support his weight.

  Before Jason could celebrate, a harsh laugh escaped the creature’s lips, and the wound began to knit back together at an alarming rate. “You think that’s enough to stop me? To stop my hunger?” Rupert demanded, looking up at the group. His eyes were now raging infernos and were wild with madness.

  Frank moved quickly to recover his sword, wrenching the blade free before it was entirely buried in Rupert’s flesh. The weapon came free with a sickening sucking sound, more blood spilling on the floor. Rupert whirled, his cleaver crashing against Frank’s sword in a shower of sparks as he threw the barbarian across the room.

  Then the former chef turned back to Jason, who stood with his shield raised. His thoughts raced as he tried to figure out how to slay this beast. It seemed to be regenerating, much like the Packrat. Yet without their real abilities, they had no way to injure the creature enough to defeat it. Even Riley’s arrows weren’t finding much purchase on its thick skin.

  Jason stood in indecision as he tried to think of something – anything that could injure the beast. Yet Rupert suffered from no such reservations. He barreled forward, and his cleaver sliced toward Jason, crashing into his shield and causing Jason’s knees to buckle and his arm to go numb. The beast continued to slam his weapon against Jason’s shield repeatedly, the metal buckling and bending under the force.

  Red notifications flashed in Jason’s peripheral vision, and he struggled to think of something that could get him out of this predicament.

  “Craft Circle!” Eliza suddenly cried from behind Jason. He felt air rush past him and he glanced up as Rupert’s next blow failed to land. A pink glow surrounded Eliza, and giant braided bands of gray yarn held the former chef’s grotesque form in place.

  Some sort of entanglement spell? Jason wondered.

  The effects of the spell were short-lived, and the monster gave a massive heave, tearing apart the braids that bound it in place. “Is this all? I was expecting a better show to go with my meal,” Rupert growled before cackling madly at his own joke.

  Frank was regaining his feet behind the creature, his health redlining. Jason wasn’t in any better shape. His shield was nearly destroyed, and a glance at his notifications indicated that his left arm was broken, limiting his range of movement. In contrast, they had barely damaged Rupert.

  There has to be some way to kill him, Jason thought frantically. The dull ache in his arm was making it difficult to think clearly. We just don’t have enough firepower.

  Then his gaze rested on the oven on the back wall. If their weapons wouldn’t work, then maybe they needed to use the environment. The only question was how. As Rupert turned to face Frank, Jason shouted at him, “Frank, try to distract him!” Jason frantically pointed at the oven behind the creature’s back. “I just need a second!”

  Frank gave a curt nod before darting back into melee. Meanwhile, Jason sprinted back to Riley and Eliza, cradling his broken arm to his chest but forcing himself to keep ahold of his shield. The floor was slick with blood, and he nearly fell as he reached Riley. She grabbed him, managing to keep him upright. “What should we do?” she asked anxiously.

  “Oven… behind him,” Jason gasped, trying to make himself heard over the crash of metal behind him. “Eliza entangle… trip him.”

  “I’ll distract him,” Jason continued as he began to catch his breath. “You’ll only have one chance.”

  “You already know I don’t miss,” Riley said with a small smile, despite the fear that lingered in her eyes. “Just go.”

  Jason didn’t need to be told twice, he spun around and sprinted back to Frank and the creature. Frank had managed to lure Rupert near the oven, the creature’s back to Jason. The two were trading monstrous blows, and Frank was barely able to parry Rupert’s attacks.

  I just need a few more seconds…

  Yet Jason could already see that he was too late. With a final massive blow, Rupert slammed his cleaver against Frank’s sword, the metal cracking and then breaking in half in a shower of metal fragments. Frank hit
the ground hard, the pieces of his weapon crashing down around him. Without ceremony, the monster raised its cleaver high into the air.

  “Frank, move!” Jason screamed, running as fast as he could.

  Time seemed to slow for a brief moment as the cleaver hung in the air. Then it descended all too quickly, the metal carving into Frank’s flesh and severing his arm at the shoulder as his screams filled the room. Fresh blood jetted from the wound, and Frank’s icon on Jason’s party menu immediately went gray as notifications flashed in his peripheral vision.

  “God damn it!” Jason shouted.

  He didn’t slow his headlong charge. As he neared the creature, it turned languidly, watching Jason approach with something akin to amusement. “Go ahead, underestimate me, you asshole,” Jason screamed.

  As he saw the creature preparing to swipe with his massive cleaver, Jason swallowed his fear and gave into his anger and rage. Instead of dodging below the chef’s attack, he leaped. His foot touched lightly against the metal blade of the monster’s weapon, and he jumped again, hurtling toward Rupert’s grotesque, grinning face. He activated Shield Slam and poured every ounce of strength he had into the blow.

  Jason’s shield struck the creature in the face, a spray of blood and fragmented teeth rocketing from the impact site. The creature stumbled from the attack as the stun effect triggered, taking a tentative step backward.

  At the same time, Eliza finished casting, massive braids of wool racing through the air and binding Rupert’s legs, preventing him from catching his balance. He tottered backward, taking another stumbling step. His bound legs connected with a carefully positioned sheep, its black body having hidden it from sight as it crept toward the oven.

  Rupert tripped, tumbling backward and landing heavily in the raging flames of the oven. His body was immediately consumed by the inferno. The fire spread across his skin at an unnatural rate as his hoarse, tortured screams filled the room. The flames were eating away at his flesh faster than he could regenerate, pockets of blood popping and sizzling in the heat.