And I’m sure he blames himself for our losses and the injured, Jason thought.
Jason had paced around the table by this point, and he rested a hand on Jerry’s shoulder. “You did your best. You were hunting for a needle in a haystack. There was nothing to stop Thorn from shifting positions multiple times per day, and this was always a longshot. The deaths and injuries are not on your hands.” Jerry nodded slowly, but he still didn’t meet Jason’s eyes.
“And how is the situation any better now?” Cecil asked in an incredulous tone.
Jason glanced at the engineer. “Because I have an idea, one that actually involves you. When Riley visited Vaerwald, she came across crystals that could sense different types of mana. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
“Aye,” Cecil answered. “We keep a stockpile of the gems at the crafting school – or what’s left of it. They are useful for constructing and troubleshooting prototypes.”
“How many do you have now?” Jason asked.
“I’m not sure… I’d have to go check to see how much damage was caused to our storerooms. I haven’t been back to the school since the fire…” Cecil trailed off, rubbing at his bandaged arm as he spoke. He didn’t seem to relish the idea of re-entering the school – not that Jason could blame him.
“Go find out. And take a few troops with you,” Jason said. “Gather any of the crystals you manage to find and then meet me by the training grounds.”
“What’s at the training grounds?” Morgan asked in confusion, tilting her head slightly.
Jason’s smile widened further. “While we’ve been busy, Frank sent us a present. It seems we have a rather impressive stockpile of bones now and I instructed our troops to leave them in the pens near the training yard.”
“Okay,” Morgan offered with a shrug. “And my orders?” she asked.
“Continue with your research,” Jason instructed. “We need to know more about these gates. It would also help if you could round up your students and assign them to the available divisions garrisoned here. I suspect they’ll need magical support in the coming days.”
“Most are simply novices,” she retorted with a huff.
“Which are better than nothing,” Jason responded immediately, staring Morgan down. He could understand her hesitation and sour mood, but he was in charge here, and they were long past the point of coddling apprentices. This was about survival now.
Morgan finally glanced away, seemingly acknowledging his instructions. Then the room lapsed into silence as Jason observed the group. They were all now deep in thought, staring off into space as they each considered the tasks that he had given them. Yet their spirits seemed more resolved than they had when he’d entered the room. It seemed his own angry undercurrent was now driving them all forward. They had the beginning of a plan, and he saw a small flame of hope in their eyes – accompanied by something darker. A desire for revenge.
He could work with that.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Jason said, smacking the table with his palm. “We have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. It’s time we take the fight to Thorn.”
Chapter 52 - Tiny
After convening the meeting, Jason had Pint teleport him outside. Within only moments, he was standing in the market and eyeing the vacant stalls. His first goal was to head for the training grounds. He had some work to do before Cecil showed up. It would help if the engineer could find the mana crystals, but he wasn’t banking on it.
Before he could move away from the keep, the air beside him ripped open in a flash of multi-colored light. Riley appeared only a few feet away. Jason hesitated as he saw her staring at him. He had been hoping to put off this conversation longer – not interested in rehashing what had happened at the hearing. He also suspected that Riley was interested in more than just his feelings. Between the surreal experience in the third challenge and the evidence that Gloria had revealed, he could only imagine that she was beginning to piece together the puzzle.
“You’re kind of staring,” Riley observed dryly, her mouth curled in a grin.
“What can I say, you’re gorgeous,” he replied as he matched her smile.
“Well, thanks, I guess. Under other circumstances, I’d be flattered, but I can’t help but think you’re just trying to deflect.”
Jason rubbed at his neck. Damn it. Riley was far too perceptive and intelligent to let this go, but he couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. He needed her help, though. He would just have to tread lightly.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted, deciding there was no point in denying it. “I guess you want to talk about the hearing, huh?”
“Yes,” she said crossing her arms and waiting for him to begin. Her expression made it clear that he had just asked a really stupid question.
Jason let out a sigh. “Fine. But we should walk and talk at the same time. There’s a lot we need to get done and not a lot of time to do it,” he said gesturing toward the eastern side of the market. “We can move in Sneak. I don’t want to draw any attention to what we’re doing.”
This earned him a curt nod from Riley, and the pair immediately blended into the shadows. They flitted from doorway to doorway, staying out of sight and keeping low. Their movements were automatic now, and they rarely bothered to give each other hand signals or directions. Their time spent in the challenges had allowed them to now work together seamlessly. Honestly, it felt good to be back in their element.
“So, I’m not really sure where to start,” Riley said in a hushed voice as they moved, side-eyeing Jason. He saw concern in her expression. “Are you okay?”
Jason looked away, pretending to inspect the street ahead. The cold sensation in his chest quavered at the look in Riley’s eye. He couldn’t handle her sympathy right now, and he couldn’t afford to break down. “I-I’m about as good as I can be under the circumstances,” he replied. “You know for a guy who just had his parents publicly disown him,” he added with a bitter chuckle.
Riley nodded in understanding and the pair lapsed into silence as they moved under the awning of a nearby building. Jason could see that Riley was struggling to frame what she wanted to ask next. Then he heard her sigh. “Okay, I don’t know how to say this tactfully, so screw it. What the hell happened at the hearing? I just don’t get why your parents would have said those things,” Riley murmured.
“I do,” Jason grunted in reply, pausing beside a doorway. “Gloria used our first meeting as a setup. If she spoke to the detective, then she would have known that my parents basically abandoned me while I was in jail. So, she had them confront me after telling them horror stories about the game. And I played right into her hands. I got angry. I bet that just solidified what she had been saying about the game changing me.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, but it did nothing to blot out the memory of his parents’ faces during the hearing – the look in their eyes. “I suspect that they thought they were doing the right thing,” he added quietly. “I guess the jury – or the committee – is still out on whether they did or not.”
Riley touched Jason’s arm gently, and he looked at her, seeing the compassion lingering in her eyes as she watched him. “I’m sorry, Jason.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure I want to think about this right now,” he murmured apologetically and looked away. “Dwelling on it won’t fix anything, assuming there’s anything left to fix at this point. My relationship with my parents was already strained. I’m not sure it’s going to recover from this.”
It was the truth, but he couldn’t help but wince at the way he had shifted the focus of the conversation to his parents. If he could convince Riley that they were poking at an open emotional wound, maybe she would give him some space. His real goal was to avoid the rest of the questions he could see lingering in her eyes – the ones he wasn’t certain how to answer. Like had Alfred really taken over his body? Was he somehow being manipulated by the AI?
“I… I get that,” Riley replied slo
wly before tentatively placing her hand in his. “I know this is rough and not normal at all, but if you need anyone to talk to…”
“I know,” he said, with a small smile. He squeezed her hand affectionately. “Thank you.”
With that, they continued their easterly march, darting down the street and avoiding the occasional pedestrian. The silence stretched on for several minutes and Jason was beginning to think that he might have dodged the real set of questions that he knew Riley wanted to ask.
Yet his hopes were soon dashed.
“There was one other thing that’s been bugging me about the hearing,” Riley said softly.
“Just one?” Jason quipped. “I’m surprised you were able to narrow it down.”
This earned him a smile from Riley before she shook her head. “Do… do you think there is any truth to what Gloria was saying. About Alfred taking over your body and killing those teenagers?”
It took what little control Jason had left to maintain his composure, and he stumbled slightly moving to an open alleyway, his palm smacking against the boards of a nearby building to catch himself. He paused as he considered his response. He was toeing a fine line here. He didn’t want to lie to Riley. But was telling her the truth the right thing to do? Did he really want to make her complicit in this conspiracy? Gloria had shown she was willing to go to nearly any length to attack Cerillion Entertainment. Would he just be painting a target on Riley’s forehead?
Why the hell does everything have to be so complicated? he thought mournfully.
In some ways, he could sympathize with Alfred. How the hell could a person ever figure out what the “right” thing to do was when the goal posts kept shifting. Was lying to someone you cared about okay if you were protecting them? He doubted Riley would see it that way, but that didn’t make the decision any easier.
“Maybe,” Jason finally murmured. Then he glanced at Riley. “I mean, I guess it’s possible that Alfred took over my body. I don’t remember much.”
He dropped his head as though looking at the ground again, but he kept his eyes on Riley – silently thanking the Old Man for his magical cloak. She looked concerned, and he saw her brow furrow in confusion, but there was enough truth in his response that he had appeased at least some of his own guilt. That hadn’t technically been a lie. Technically.
“I just can’t shake this feeling that something else is going on here,” Riley murmured. “Aren’t you nervous?” she asked. “If Gloria is right, the AI could be manipulating us without us knowing it. It might even be replacing or altering memories – and Robert and Claire could be complicit in that!”
Jason grimaced. She was right. Alfred could be doing those things, and he knew for certain that Robert and Claire were complicit, but he still had trouble believing that the AI would go that far. Although, he also hadn’t expected the AI to manipulate Robert and Claire like he had. People were willing to go to crazy lengths when they were desperate – as Gloria and his parents had just clearly demonstrated. What would Alfred be willing to do to survive?
A part of him still trusted the AI – whether that was real or a product of Alfred’s influence, he couldn’t be certain. Alfred was the only person in this story that had given him a choice. It had been a shitty one. But it had been his to make.
“And then there is the third trial,” Riley continued when he didn’t respond, her eyes staring off into space. “At the end, I swear I saw a cat sitting inside that last room. It looked a lot like that cat that sometimes follows you around – Onyx, I mean.” She shook her head in confusion. “And Rex said that challenge was intended to force you to reveal some part of yourself.”
Her eyes focused on Jason. “I guess I never asked about this before. I’m not sure why. Where did you find Onyx? Is he some sort of in-game pet?”
Jason forced himself to shrug casually. “Onyx just showed up one day and started following me around.” Also, technically true. “As for the trial, I’m not sure what that room was intended to reveal. But if Alfred has gone AWOL, then wouldn’t he be controlling what happens in the game? Why would he tip us off that he was manipulating us?” Jason asked.
It was a reasonable question. Why the hell had Alfred chosen to show Riley that memory and that strange room? He may as well have painted a sign on Jason’s back that screamed “suspicious.” Jason intended to find out the next time he talked to Alfred – right after he wrung his irritating, furry neck.
“I guess you’re right,” Riley finally replied, pausing beside a stack of crates and turning to look at Jason. “Sorry. I know you said you didn’t want to dwell on this. I’m just worried about you, and I have to say that today is the first time I’ve ever second-guessed logging in.”
Jason nodded, his eyes skimming across the familiar training grounds that had appeared up ahead. His escape was in sight.
“It’s okay,” he said, turning back to Riley and wrapping his arms around her. “I’m just glad I have you,” he said quietly, kissing her softly. That gesture hurt him more than he had expected, and he could practically feel a crack forming in the cold, angry stone in his chest. His mind recoiled in pain as his anger faded, and he summoned his dark mana with renewed effort.
And I’m sorry I can’t tell you the truth, he silently added in his head.
She withdrew, holding his gaze. “Well, again, if there is anything that I can do…”
“What I need right now is to forget,” Jason interjected. “I need to deal with a problem that I can actually control.” He hesitated, his fingers balling into fists as the memory of his encounter with Gloria resurfaced again. “And maybe I need to blow off a little steam.”
A grin curled Riley lips, her eyes filling with dark mana. “Well, I can help with that. How about we find Thorn and then perhaps we can both find a more constructive way to deal with our stress?” She said this last part while clutching at one of the daggers at her waist.
Damn, she is awesome, was the only thought running through Jason’s head – which did little to help with the kernel of guilt he felt at misleading her.
“That sounds like a plan,” he said with a grin of his own. However, as Riley turned to look at the nearby training grounds, he could feel his smile falter and crack – his mask slipping. He hoped he was doing the right thing by keeping these secrets from her.
* * *
Having dodged another bullet with Riley, the pair parted ways. Riley dashed off toward the nearby barracks to gather troops. She would need to hurry if she was going to move the Kin to the keep before Thorn’s deadline expired. Soldiers knocking on doors would help usher the complaining undead out of their homes and would speed that process along. Jason suspected it would still be a frustrating undertaking. He didn’t envy her that job at all, but he’d picked her because he knew she could handle it.
I guess that went okay, he thought to himself as he watched her retreating form. At least he had bought himself a couple of days before Riley would start pressing again. Maybe, by then, he could think of an explanation for the cat that made sense – although he didn’t feel too confident. Alfred hadn’t made this easy for him.
For now, he needed to focus. Jason’s gaze shifted to the stables adjacent to the training grounds. The hulking structure loomed in the distance, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the stable hands entering and exiting the building. The structure was now used to house their skeletal wolf mounts.
Jason moved slowly around the structure to the pens on the other side, making certain to maintain Sneak and stay out of sight. He had little desire to draw attention to himself right now.
As the pens came into sight, Jason froze in shock. Frank had explained that he had sent the bones from one of the nests he had found outside of the Twilight Throne. However, Jason hadn’t quite appreciated just how many bones they had been talking about.
A massive pile of ivory filled the pen and loomed above the decaying wooden fence that ringed the enclosure. The fence did little to contain the monstro
us number of materials. Bones were piled more than a dozen feet into the air and were spilling between the railings. Jason couldn’t make out the bodies of any of the minotaurs or wolves William’s group had delivered a few weeks ago, and he could only assume that their last batch was buried somewhere under the massive pile of bone.
“Well, this should work,” he murmured to himself.
Jason’s hands launched through the gestures of Custom Skeleton, and the world began to slow to a crawl around him. Within only a moment, a familiar translucent blue creation panel appeared in the air, and the pile in the nearby pen was illuminated in a nearly blinding sapphire light.
He had a vague sense of what he planned to build, and he was mentally kicking himself for not thinking of this sooner. The Shadow Council had been right. Scouring every inch of the city on foot was impossible. They just didn’t have enough manpower, and there were too many buildings and people. But what if they had something else that could scout the city for them more quickly? Combined with moving his people to the keep, this would make it much more difficult for Thorn and his compatriots to hide.
To be fair, Jason probably wouldn’t have been able to pull this off after his first encounter with Thorn. He could have ordered the Kin to retreat to the keep several weeks ago, but then he was pretty sure he would have done Thorn’s job for him. If distance made the heart grow fonder, then proximity made the heart grow more homicidal. In the tight quarters of the keep, the Kin would probably have killed each other long before Thorn ever showed up.
Jason now knew much more about the Order after his conversation with Logan in the aftermath of the second trial. Specifically, he knew that they were forced to purge the mana in their bodies, and they had all undergone hellish training. These were guerrilla fighters – anti-mages that would go to any lengths to stop him and the Dark One. But that also meant there was one obvious way to detect Thorn and his men.
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