The undead man’s hand slammed onto the column, and a pulse of dark energy throbbed along the length of the tower before spearing into the night sky. The boiling black clouds responded to the energy, swirling slowly above the town as lightning arced through the air. Yet, no sudden miracle or reinforcements came to the town’s aid. Alexion watched as his Nephilim advanced on the man, ripping him away from the spire but not bothering to kill him. They were here for slaves, after all.
And then, the fight was over, only the moans of the injured filling the air.
“That was fascinating,” Evelyn murmured. Alexion looked at her for the first time, noting the way she was leaning forward on the branch, her eyes fixed on the dead and dying down below. Her lips were parted in excitement, and the bloodlust in Evelyn’s eyes resonated with the darker parts of his own mind. The voice that lingered in the back of his consciousness whispered its appreciation.
“I suppose. However, this was costly,” Alexion replied, tamping down on the voice and the uncomfortable thoughts that came to mind as he observed Evelyn.
He watched his remaining troops move to search the houses and gather the remaining villagers, but his gaze soon shifted to the bodies of his Confessors that littered the area outside the gate and the unmoving forms of several Nephilim in the interior of the town. He had experienced far greater casualties than he had expected, and he still couldn’t explain the Death Knights that were defending the town. Had Jason left some of his minions here?
His attention focused on the dark spire that loomed over the town. What had that strange pulse of energy accomplished? He was still uncertain what that undead man had been trying to do, but it was clear that he had thought it was important.
Evelyn waved dismissively at the corpses of Alexion’s troops. “The undead fetch a far greater price than the loss of a few soldiers. A single slave is nearly worth its weight in gold. You can replace your men easily enough.”
She turned to glance at him, her face hovering only a foot away and his arm still encircling her. “Speaking of which, perhaps now is a good time to speak of our next steps.”
“What do you mean?” Alexion asked in confusion. “I thought we planned to sack a single town.”
“Well, we’re still here, and we have a rather large cargo hold,” she replied, placing a gentle hand on his chest, and leaning forward slightly as she met his eyes. “And you still have all of these troops at your disposal. Jason is distracted. Perhaps now is our opportunity to take a few more towns. Think of all the money we could make. Think of the havoc we could wreak upon your enemy.”
Alexion hesitated. He could see some logic in her words, but he was still wary. Something had felt off about this battle – the unanswered questions still lingering in the back of his mind. Even the insidious voice that normally filled his thoughts was uncertain, urging something that at least resembled caution. Although, it was difficult to focus on the whispered advice with the way Evelyn’s lips hovered so close to his own.
“I’m not certain…” he began slowly.
Her eyes danced with excitement and greed. “Ahh, perhaps I just need to make it worth your while,” she purred, leaning closer. “Tell me, Alexion. What is that you crave?”
And then her lips pressed against his, hungry and demanding – as forceful in her passion as she was in business. Evelyn took what she wanted from him and he reveled in the attention. When she pulled away, Alexion’s thoughts were sluggish and confused, and he found himself off balance yet again.
“So, what do you think?” Evelyn murmured, her breath hot on his face as she lingered only a scant few inches away. “Should we keep going?”
Despite the way his mind was struggling to keep up, Alexion didn’t miss the double entendre. “I think we can work something out,” he answered, meeting her gaze.
“Good,” she said with a pleased smile, like a cat that had just caught its prey. “Very good,” Evelyn whispered again as she moved closer. And then Alexion was too distracted to pay much attention to anything else.
Chapter 39 - Imprisoned
Jason ripped the cork out of the healing potion and downed the contents in a single gulp. Only a few seconds later, he could feel his broken ribs shift back into place with a pop and a flash of pain, even as the bruises along his arms and chest began to recede. Fighting the strange cloth creature had certainly been interesting. And by “interesting,” he really meant god awful.
As he recovered his health, Jason turned his attention back to the second challenge room. The torches along the walls were still active, casting the previously pitch-black room in a cool sapphire light. It felt strange to see the four plain stone walls after spending so much time in the dark. It looked so… mundane. And small. When he hadn’t been able to see, the area had felt enormous.
A multi-colored flash of light ripped open the air nearby, and Riley popped back into the room, her eyes flashing with pain and anger as she felt at her chest. It took her a few moments to recover, and Jason gave her a little space, despite the urge to rush to her side. He could still vividly remember her tortured screams as the creature had crushed her to death. However, he also knew that it took some time to adjust with the abrupt respawn available in the keep. This wasn’t something he could help her through – at least not immediately.
“You okay?” he asked a few moments later, settling a hand on Riley’s shoulder.
“I’ve been better,” she muttered, managing to give him a weak smile. “So, did we win? Don’t tell me you tripped or something at the last minute!”
Jason barked out a laugh, gesturing at the heap of cloth in the corner of the room. “Hey, give me some credit. I managed to kill the thing, although we didn’t get the usual notification…”
Challenge 2: A Trial of Darkness has been completed.
Congratulations challengers!
“Well, there you go,” Jason added dryly. “Proof that I’m not completely incompetent.”
“Ahh, it’s okay. You’re a work in progress,” Riley replied, patting him on the arm while her eyes danced with laughter.
Good, she seems okay, Jason thought to himself, smiling at her joke.
With that, the pair lapsed into silence, and Jason noticed Riley swiping at the air in front of her. This reminded him that it had been a long time since he had checked his own notifications.
As Jason re-enabled the prompts on his system UI, he was nearly overwhelmed by a cascade of windows.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Listening
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 3
Effect 1: 17% enhanced hearing.
Effect 2: Simple visualization.
x3 Skill Rank Up: Perception
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 5
Effect 1: 19% increased chance to discover traps and unnoticed details.
Effect 2: 9% increased chance to reveal hidden enemy information and weak points.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Toughness
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 7
Effect 1: -10% damage and pain.
Effect 2: Reduced fatigue duration by 18%.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Dodge
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 6
Effect 1: 8.0% increase speed and reaction time.
Effect 2: 2.0% bonus to Dexterity.
x9 Spell Rank Up: Soul Slash
Skill Level: Beginner Level 10
Mana Cost: 500 mana/second.
Effect: 345% damage increase on strikes and the blade ignores light and medium armor.
x3 Spell Rank Up: Bone Armor
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1
Cost: 50 units.
Effect 1: Create intermediate bone armor. Each piece of armor has 425 health.
Effect 2: Increased coverage by 13%.
Stat Increases:
+21 Strength
+16 Dexterity
+25 Endurance
“Geez,” Jason murmured to himself. That was a lot of information to process. While he may not have gained much experienc
e during these trials, the stat and skill gains had far outpaced what he had managed to accomplish by defeating dungeons. Apparently, the secret was to literally kill himself training.
Suddenly, he felt the staff in his hand begin to vibrate. Dark tendrils of mana crawled up its ebony surface in bands before pooling at the top of the scythe. The energy formed a phantom blade for a few seconds, dark droplets pooling from the tip. And then, in a flash, the mana dissipated, leaving a notification screen in its place.
Call of the Dead
This staff appears to be crafted from some unknown obsidian substance. Upon close inspection, runes have been engraved along the shaft in addition to the scrollwork.
Quality: A
Durability: 92/100
Damage: 11-35 (Blunt)
+20 Willpower
+10 Intelligence
+10 Vitality
+1 to all active and passive dark magic skills
(Soulbound)
Grants Passive Skill: The Culling
After completing the second challenge of the Keepers, you have unlocked the special ability trapped away within the weapon. While equipped, the staff grants you the passive skill, The Culling. Killing opponents or sacrificing your summoned creatures will empower your Soul Slash, granting a stacking damage bonus of 20% (five stacks maximum). This bonus is additive with the regular damage of Soul Slash and is expended upon striking an opponent.
“What happened?” Riley asked, noting Jason staring at his staff in confusion.
“I-I think I just unlocked my weapon’s special ability,” he replied and proceeded to explain how the passive skill worked.
“Well that certainly seems useful,” Riley observed when he finished.
He could only nod in agreement. Although, he still wasn’t sure how he had unlocked the ability. Perhaps the staff was tied to the challenges or the Keepers specifically? That would sort of make sense since he had taken it off his predecessors’ corpse.
Jason hadn’t fully considered how he could use the passive skill yet. The description seemed to indicate that he could sacrifice his summoned creatures. That raised some interesting possibilities. That meant it might be helpful to have some zombies or skeletons at his disposal when he went into melee in order to empower his strikes, but, with the recent patch, that also meant he would be reducing his mana pool – and thus his own health. Maybe some sort of small summoned creature like the drones he had summoned in the Hippie’s temple would synergize well with the new ability.
“Are you two okay? You’re just staring into space. Are you sure you haven’t taken one too many hits to the head?” Rex’s voice echoed through the room, interrupting Jason’s thoughts. The skeleton’s shadowy form had appeared next to the column near the entrance to the room, and his dark eyes bounced between the pair, observing them with some amusement as they pawed at empty air.
“We were just checking on our progress,” Jason replied, swiping his notifications away and sharing a pained look with Riley.
“Ahh, reveling in your success. I get it,” the former general replied. Then he seemed to do a double take as he watched the pair, noting the way they seemed more relaxed with each other. “It also seems my little lock-in did wonders! I take it you two made up?”
In a flash, Rex disappeared and reappeared beside Jason, nudging him with his elbow. His arm passed harmlessly through Jason. “Or should I say made out? Huh? Huh?”
“Shut it, pervert,” Riley snapped, glaring daggers at the former general.
Rex assumed a woeful expression. “Come on. You could throw an old soldier a bone! It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced worldly pleasures, and I’m starting to think those days might be completely behind me now,” he observed, waving a misty arm in Riley’s face. “You know, it’s just this sneaking suspicion I have.”
“It’s still none of your business,” Riley retorted, crossing her arms and daring the former general to challenge her.
Rex sighed. “Fine. Fine. Anyway, joking aside, you two did well when you actually started working together. You have progressed much faster than I expected.” He turned to look at Jason. “That was good thinking, boxing your opponent into the corner like that, although that last-minute attack left both of you exposed – as you discovered first hand.”
Then he turned his attention back to Riley. “And your sacrifice was perfect! That was the action of a true Soul Guard, standing on the frontlines to protect her Keeper.” He side-eyed Jason with a small grin. “Plus, it comes with the added bonus of emasculating our dark lord over there. That’s only the second time you sacrificed yourself to let him pull out a narrow victory. I can’t wait to see you bail his ass out of a real battle and fireman carry him to safety. Maybe we can get him a dress and a tall stone tower…”
Jason blushed slightly, which just made Riley and Rex laugh at him even harder. “Okay,” he finally interjected. “You’ve both had your fun.” He looked at Rex, who was still chortling at his own joke. “I do have a question, though.” Jason pointed at the bundle of cloth in the corner of the room. “What on earth was that? The first room basically just threw my own creations at us, but I’ve never seen anything like that creature.”
Rex grimaced, his humor fading quickly as he looked at their defeated opponent. His head was cocked to the side as though listening to something. “Fine,” he muttered, talking to someone they couldn’t see. With a sigh, he refocused his attention on Jason and Riley. “It might be easier to show you what – or who – you were fighting than to try to explain.” With that cryptic statement, Rex waved at the bundle of cloth.
As Riley and Jason looked on, dark mana seeped up through the floor and spread through the cloth until it practically glowed with the unholy energy. Then the straps lifted from the floor, tightening and shifting until the monster resumed its familiar humanoid shape. Even though Rex was standing nearby, and the challenge hadn’t begun again, the pair gripped their weapons tightly. They had spent too long getting battered by this monster to let down their guard now.
The creature stood nearby, watching the group impassively beneath the constantly shifting cloth. Although, it was difficult to tell where its attention was focused since it didn’t have any eyes. It made no move to attack, merely standing in place. However, Jason had the distinct feeling that the creature would rather be ripping them apart.
“Well then, introduce yourself,” Rex grumbled, waving at the creature.
The monster tilted its head, and a hissing voice came from its body, like the rustle of cloth. “My name is Logan.” Speaking seemed foreign to the creature, as though it hadn’t attempted it in a long time.
“Wait, you’re a person – or you were?” Jason asked in confusion, glancing between Logan and Rex.
“Yes,” the creature hissed. “I was once a common man… just like yourself.” Then it hesitated as it took in Jason’s horned face. “Or at least as you once were, dark spawn.”
A frown was plastered on Rex’s face. “You know that’s not quite true. Be honest, Logan.”
The creature glanced at Rex and Jason had the impression that he was annoyed, just a few seconds shy of attacking the skeleton. “You do not know me, teacher. You only think you do. The voices supply the memories, but do not think yourself to be in a position of power. You are a prisoner – just like me.”
“Prisoner?” Riley echoed in confusion.
An eerie rustling sound came from Logan, and his bands shifted more erratically. It took Jason a moment to realize that he was laughing, although that did nothing to make the sound more pleasant. “Of course. We are bound to these rooms, trapped here to serve the Keeper and his successors. Although it can take some of us many years to come to this realization.” He seemed to add this last comment for Rex’s benefit.
“No. Some of us just realize that what you view as a prison is a way to touch this world and its affairs – even after death,” Rex retorted. “It’s an opportunity.”
“Give it time,” Logan hisse
d. “You may change your mind.”
Rex folded his arms. “Either way, you need to answer the question, Logan. Tell them what and who you really were.”
A long silence fell over the room as the creature watched them. It seemed to be straining not to speak, the bands of cloth clenching and releasing erratically – as though it was being compelled to answer against its will. Finally, a few words drifted from the bundle of cloth, “I was… once a member of the Order.”
“There. Was that really so hard?” Rex demanded. The creature didn’t bother to answer the former general, and Jason could practically feel the anger peeling off Logan in waves.
Awaken Online: Dominion Page 40