Ascend Online
Page 40
Graves made no move to introduce the guards beside him, an awkward pause filling the air before we caught on and introduced ourselves. Even as I focused my attention on the Adventurers behind Graves, the game world didn’t supply any identifying tags to who they may be.
“A pleasure to meet you all.” Graves slightly inclined his head in greeting, then focused his gaze on Aldford in the distance. “As for what I want, I think that’s pretty obvious.”
Well, at least he’s straight to the point.
“And I think that with us standing here, you should realize that we’re not going to give it up that easily,” I replied slowly, looking directly into Graves’s gray eyes.
“Of course.” Graves nodded understandably. “I wouldn’t do anything different were I in your shoes either. At least not without significant recompense.”
“You’ve just met us, and now you want to bribe us?” Halcyon exclaimed incredulously. “To just step aside and let you take Aldford?”
“Calling it a bribe would be a rather rude way of describing the generous offer I am willing to extend.” Graves began to pace in front of his men, inspecting us intently. “Judging by your equipment, along with the fact that you took care of Isaac and his group, tells me that you’re all rather decent players. Ones I’d rather have on my side than against me.”
“So instead of us wasting energy fighting against one another, I would instead prefer to recruit you.” Graves stated. “There are other… events, closer to Eberia, which are currently attracting the majority of the other Eberian Adventurers attention. If we work together, we can solidify our power in this region before more start heading out this way.”
I suddenly get the feeling that we’re not the first ones to hear this pitch. My jaw clenched as my eyes flicked towards the larger group of Adventurers, only to see that more of the armor clad followers had moved to the front of the group.
“As great as you may think that offer is,” I replied looking at Graves. “What’s exactly in it for us? From where I’m standing, it looks like we’re going to be selling all our hard work pretty damn cheap.”
“You mean aside from us simply storming the village and taking it from you?” Graves said coolly, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Yeah, aside from that.” I stared Graves in the eye, unwilling to be intimidated in such a manner.
Eyes boring into me, Graves stared at me silently as he tried to gauge the depth of my resolve, his guards standing behind him, doing their best to look intimidating.
“You’ve got spine,” Graves admitted after a moment, a grudging tone of respect in his voice. He glanced briefly at his guards behind him, some unspoken communication passing between them. “Very well, I suppose I could tell you what my vision for this land is.”
“A few days ago…” Graves began. “I happened to come across an opportunity, the details of which are largely unimportant. However, it lead me to discover a rather interesting quest chain that coincidentally lead to this area. You can imagine my joy when I realized it was the same place I had sent Isaac to.”
“Of course…” I replied, feeling somewhat uneasy. I’m sure the game did that on purpose!
“So, a long story short, without delving into needless minutia, this quest affords me an opportunity to found my own Kingdom. Completely separate from Eberia, and under my own personal rule.” Graves paused to indicate the guards. “And of course, the ability to reward those who choose to follow me.”
“A Kingdom, huh?” I repeated slowly. “That is quite a lot of responsibility to take onto yourself.”
“I assure you, I am more than capable of such a burden,” Graves declared confidently. “The only question is whether or not you are all willing to surrender peacefully, join my ranks and enjoy the spoils.”
“Or… if my coronation is going to be one marred by bloodshed.” Graves held up a finger in warning. “I assure you, we’ve become quite adept at bloodshed on our journey here.”
“No doubt,” I replied, my eyes narrowing. “I’m sure it takes quite a bit of cajoling to keep so many prisoners in line.”
Graves’s eyebrows rose at that statement. “Ah, you’ve been watching us. I am impressed. I have had yet to see such initiative in this game thus far.”
Graves glanced back at his guards once again. “Nor did my scouts notice we were being watched.”
“As distasteful as it may be, the quest I spoke of requires a certain amount of… followers, shall we say, to successfully found my Kingdom.” Graves’s voice took a regretful tone. “Specifically those followers must also be broken, and completely obedient to my rule.”
“You mean broken as Slaves,” Aldwin stated, biting the word as it came out of his mouth.
“And you thought that that was a good idea? Just because you had a quest?” I couldn’t help but keep the venom out of my voice. Just a handful of days into Ascend Online and just because he has a quest, he considers enslaving dozens of people not only acceptable but actually follows through with it?!
“It is quite a temporary measure.” Graves shrugged as if the matter was unimportant. “Once the Kingdom is founded successfully I plan to free them to whatever ends they wish. Until then however, they will have to remain with me. I can’t have them getting away and spreading word of my Kingdom until it’s truly ready to defend itself.”
“I’m not so sure I believe you will free them at all,” I hissed at Graves.
“Whether you believe me or not, is irrelevant.” Graves smiled as he spread his arms out wide. “What I am more interested in at this moment, is your answer to my offer.”
He was just stalling. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked out towards the increasing unsettled mass of Adventurers in the distance. Waiting for his scouts to get into position.
“I am prepared to discuss surrender,” I answered the man, clenching my fists. Everyone beside me would take that as a sign to be on their guard. “There is no need for anyone to get hurt.”
“Splendid! I was hoping you were all men of reason as well as ability!” Graves clapped his hands with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “My followers will need to secure the village, as well as get a proper count of ho-”
Graves stopped speaking mid-sentence, his eyes immediately glancing to the west then back towards the east.
“My apologies,” I said as I took a step forward, silently praising Amaranth’s and Constantine’s timing. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear.”
“I am prepared to discuss your surrender.”
“So… that’s how you want to play it.” Graves hissed after a moment of shock, his eyes blooming with a crimson light. He visibly trembled with fury as he drew his ornate blade from his hilt, pointing it directly at me, all of his guards quickly doing the same. “That was a mistake.”
Did… his eyes just change color? I focused intently on the man at a sudden loss for words, alarm bells ringing silently in my head.
“I think the mistake was coming here with a horde of slaves in tow,” Drace replied hotly, less affected by the sudden change of color in Graves’s eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you to think that is okay? Those are all other players!”
“God, you are all such sensitive pricks!” Graves’s voice boomed as he scowled at us. Following his shout, I heard murmurs of concern and rustling from the distant crowd of Adventurers. “This is just a game! We can do whatever we want in this world! Real Life moralities don’t exist here!”
“Like shit, they don’t!” Caius shouted back.
“Idiots! Aft
er all this time, you still have no idea what the true purpose of this game is?!” Graves hissed at us with anger in his voice. “We are all entertainers! Actors to play out a grand drama for the Real World to watch!”
“What?” Graves’s words stunned me. I had completely forgotten about one of Ascend Online’s key features. From the instant that I had spawned in Aldwin’s study, right up until this very second, everything that I, we, had done in Ascend Online had been recorded.
“You’re doing this all because you want to sell your feed?” I asked with disbelief. The party and I shared a similar goal, but our intentions were to simply cover the costs of subscribing to Ascend Online and keep playing. Graves, on the other hand, seemed to have much grander plans.
“Ah! Finally, comprehension!” Graves mocked as he slashed his sword through the air. “I have bigger plans than merely selling my game feed. I plan to make myself a feature attraction for Ascend Online! The first player to become a King! People will want to watch me just for that novelty alone, but more importantly, they will pay to watch me!”
“That’s it?!” Halcyon exclaimed in disbelief. “You’re doing all of this, just for a few bucks?”
“I am doing this, for a few million bucks!” A greedy grin crossed Graves’s face as his red eyes bored into ours. “We all are.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Graves?” I shook my head at the deluded man.
It was Graves’s turn to look at us in disbelief. “You all really have no idea just how popular this game has become over the last week, have you? As of right now, Ascend Online has over fifty million subscribers, and yet, there aren’t enough pods across the entire world to accommodate them all. Let alone the hundreds of millions on waiting lists until construction can catch up!”
“Are you fucking serious?” I heard Caius gasp.
“The world is desperate for any news, footage, or information about the game.” Graves’s eyes gleamed with undisguised greed. “By the time we’re allowed to release our feeds, the world will be in an absolute frenzy, one that I damned well plan on capitalizing on.”
“You think people will watch you after they see you treating other players as slaves?” Drace gaped at Graves.
“How many people do you even think will be able to tell the difference between players and non-players?” Graves asked with a shrug. “Even if they do, how many people do you think will even care about what happens in virtual reality? To them, this will be nothing but a brand new show to watch as they trudge through their dreary lives.”
As crazy as Graves sounded, I couldn’t help but agree with what he was saying. By majority, people wouldn’t care what happened within the game world, writing it off as either a scripted story or super realistic animations within a video game. Only the people who actually played the game, and suffered through the experience would fully understand.
“I have heard enough!” Aldwin interrupted with a shout, his face bright red with anger. “You have come into my domain, openly declaring yourself to be a Slaver, with the intent on bringing harm to my people, and usurping my village! I would be a fool to stand here any longer and not take action!”
I saw Graves’s crimson eyes narrow as Aldwin continued to speak. “By my right as the Bann of Aldford, and a Knight of Eberia, I hereby proclaim you and all under your banner to be Outlaws in any and all domains that hold loyal to the Kingdom of Eberia!”
“You are hereby forbidden to seek food, fire, shelter or passage, from any law-abiding citizen or trespass in any Eberian domain, under penalty of death!” The Bann’s words echoed through the air. “Furthermore, any Eberian Citizen can turn in proof of your death in exchange for a single golden coin. May the Gods have mercy on your soul!”
Standing this close to Graves and his guards, I noted a small tag appear above their heads.
Outlaw – Current Bounty: 1 Gold Coin.
Surprised that such a feature existed, I looked over at Aldwin, his eyes meeting mine. He nodded almost imperceptibly, then turned back to look at Graves.
“What an interesting feature, I shall have to remember it for my Reign,” Graves spoke, unperturbed by his newfound status, his eyes unfocused as he read a system alert we could not see. “I’m certain there will be quite a number of powers available to me once I become King.”
Graves held up his free hand, conjuring a ball of crimson energy in it.
He’s a caster too? I eyed the ball of energy, instantly coming to a decision. Here we go!
“Be sure to watch me when this is all over.” Graves smirked, as his guards began to move forward. “I promise to make this entertai-”
I flicked my hand in Halcyon’s direction.
Following the prearranged cue, Halcyon detonated a Pyroclap directly in front of Graves. The blast sent him and his two closest guards, a pair of half-orcs, sprawling backwards onto the ground. The sudden attack caused whatever spell Graves had been conjuring to dissipate harmlessly in a spray of scarlet light.
“Take them all out!” I shouted to the party as I saw the increasingly agitated horde of armored Adventurers starting to press forward after seeing their leader fall. “I’m going after Graves!”
Despite all their bravado, Graves’s guards were slow to react to Halcyon’s sudden escalation, giving us precious seconds to close the short distance between us. Focusing on one of the human Adventurers ahead of me, my feet dug into the ground as I leaped forward, giving me much needed momentum as I triggered blink-step.
Suddenly appearing an arm’s length away from the surprised Adventurer, I drew Razor from my sheath, my momentum carrying me inside his guard. The blade sang through the air as it carved a furrow of blood across the adventurer’s body, stretching from waist to shoulder, splitting the leather armor with ease.
Stepping in even closer, I caught the Adventurer’s ax on my blade, driving my knee viciously into his groin as I collided with the man. Overwhelmed and outmatched, the man’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he crashed to the ground, stunned, my foot trampling over his face as I sped towards the fallen form of Graves.
As I sprinted towards Graves, a surprised looking elf stepped in front of me, conjuring a spell in his hand. I thrust Razor forward, at the same moment a tiny ball of fire burst from his hands and splashed across my chest.
[Unknown Elf] hits you with [Flare] for 13 points of fire damage!
“That’s it?!” I exclaimed more in surprise, rather than mockery as Razor’s point punched through the elf’s armor, burying itself straight up to the hilt in his chest.
“No-” The elf’s scream was choked off, a spray of blood fountaining from his mouth as he died on my blade.
You critically [Power Attack I] [Unknown Elf] in a vulnerable location for 594 points of damage!
You have killed the Outlaw - [Unknown Elf]!
They’re still novices! The revelation struck me as I pulled Razor free from the now dead elf’s chest, noting that even the combat log had hidden his level and name from me. Having lived through countless battles up until now, we had learned to fight with every level of brutality and viciousness that we could muster. Something I was surprised to find both of the Adventurers I had just trampled over sorely lacking.
I guess your skills don’t improve that quickly when you practice them on prisoners that can’t fight back!
Shoving the dead elf to the side, I finally had a clear path to Graves as he struggled to get back onto his feet. Pumping my legs hard, I sprinted at the fallen leader, intent to remove his presence from the battle as quickly as possible.
In all of our contingency planning, if things became violent, it fell to me to take advantage of any opportunity to decapitate the enemy leadership. My increased mobility made me the best candidate to burst past defenders and get into melee range before anyone could react. Our hopes were that by identifying and killing any leadership we found on the field, the Adventurers would quickly collapse without anyone to drive them.
Springing forward, I
leaped onto Graves, burying my knee deep into his gut as I barreled him back onto the ground. I used the weight of my attack to drive Razor in a brutal overhand blow, intent on cleaving straight through Graves’s unarmored face.
Despite gasping for air, Graves’s had enough presence of mind to interpose his blade in front of his face, catching Razor with a wicked strength I hadn’t accounted for, blunting nearly the entirely of my vicious attack. Fortunately, however, Graves’s unforeseen strength wasn’t enough to stop my blade from driving his own sword deep into his chin, just below his mouth, the doubled edged blade sinking deep into flesh and bone.
“Aaaaaaaah!” Graves let loose an unholy scream of pain as I gripped Razor with both hands, sawing the blade forward, slicing it deep into his face. A line of blood bloomed between his left eye and nose, instantly blinding half of his vision. Desperately he heaved his unbelievable strength against me, his one visible eye wild with panic, forcing both our blades to pull free of his flesh with a wet sucking sound, the flesh across his lower lip tearing in the process.