Chapter 2 (Patreon)

And we're back! I've been making decent progress with the new dictation software and we've nearly crossed 70,000 words.

As for this chapter, our favorite bloodthirsty necromancer gets his chance to shine. Gawd it feels good to be back! But don't judge him too harshly. After all, Karen and her crew did steal from him. Plus, Jason might have a reason for showboating a little…

Which will get to find out next time! In the meantime enjoy some psychological torture!

Chapter 2 - Deterrence

Pax

Jason

Jason thought he’d seen everything.  Apparently, he was wrong.

He’d never expected that the infamous thieves responsible for destroying dozens of shops in the middle ring would be a group of middle-aged moms.  Which was probably his own fault – his own bias.  Experience imparted by a world that had little bearing on this one. 

Because these women were clearly veterans.  All over level 200.  Every member armed to the teeth, the glimmer of their armor revealing magical wards and protections.  Expensive gear.

And then there was how they’d done it…

If he hadn’t been watching from the rooftops, Jason never would have believed it.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” their leader began, obvious from the way the others deferred to her.  “We were just passing through, and as you can see, the PVP flagged players were already eliminated.  You really want to start something here?”

Her point was only undermined slightly by the way the others reached for their weapons.   Jason’s Perception skill highlighted each movement in glowing blue relief.  How her companions shifted their weight or hid their fingers behind their backs as they precast buffs.

Not that he was buying the bullshit anyway. In his experience, innocent people didn’t hide behind illusionary barriers in dark alleys.  He should know, he’d done it lots of times.

Jason’s hand-sized, skeletal drones littered this entire section of the ring, constantly feeding information to the mini-map that hovered beside him.  The light mana crystals embedded inside them allowed them to detect latent mana and the presence of other travelers.  This group had appeared only after the detonations.  Pretty damning evidence.[TB5] 

Not that he was focused on that.  His gaze was locked on that woman’s face…

Why did she look so familiar?  Had he seen her before?  A repeat offender or—no, that didn’t feel right.  In fairness, the faces were becoming a blur.  Over the last couple weeks in-game, he’d killed too many people to remember them all.  A mountain of corpses a mile wide.

However, the others weren’t patient.  They were being less subtle now, quietly moving into position – hands on their weapons and the support casters in the back prepping their spells.  It was more than enough for the Respawn Field around Pax to register their deadly intent, the huge clusters of crystal looming overhead pulsing with rainbow energy.

A notice flashed into existence in the middle of the alley, flickering in the thick dust.

System Notice:  Killing Intent Detected

The Respawn Field has detected hostile intent.  This is a reminder to please refrain from violence within the confines of Pax.  Note the following rules:

• Travelers and residents will respawn inside the barrier within five minutes, subject to any additional reductions in respawn time.

• Attacking another traveler or resident while inside the field will brand the attacker with a Mark of Malice for 3 hours in-game.

• Mark of Malice holders will not respawn within the city on death, will suffer -50% to their stats and skill effectiveness for 3 hours, and will drop all non-soul bound loot on death.

• Killing a Mark of Malice holder will grant a +10% buff to stats and skill effectiveness for 3 hours and provide reputation with Pax.

Not a bad system – one Cady had designed.  However, she’d underestimated how many travelers would fill Pax’s streets, how quickly tempers could rise, and just how far some were willing to go to survive.  After all, this was more than just a game for many people.

“Don’t move,” the woman in the lead ordered the others, grimacing and her eyes never leaving Jason.  “Weapons down.  Cancel any spells.  As long as we don’t attack, we’re safe.”

Looked like they were giving up on the pretense.  Smart play.

His UI dinged as his search results completed.  Ahh, there it was – a familiar picture hovering in the air beside him along with a name.  All it took was a screen shot.

“So cautious,” Jason drawled.  “You used to be less reserved… Karen.”

Her eyes widened slightly.  The others were whispering.

“Wait, who is this guy?”

“What’s going on?”

“How did he know we’d be here?”

“You know me?” Karen demanded finally, the tension as thick as the dust.

“We’ve met,” Jason answered, taking a single step forward.  The others flinched but didn’t move.  Good discipline.  “Ages ago – at least, in game.  Back in a cozy cell in Sandscrit.”

This time, Karen’s face went white as bone.  Which was rather ironic.

“Fuck,” she muttered.  “That means you’re—you’re Jason.”

The others simply froze – their fear almost palpable.

“In the flesh,” he offered with a grim chuckle, hand to his chest, the sleeve of his leather armor falling away to reveal skeletal fingers.  They didn’t seem to appreciate the joke.

“What do we do?” one of the women choked out.

“Don’t move or we’re dead,” Karen muttered back.

“No need to be so tense,” Jason retorted.  “Especially after what you’ve accomplished here.  Frankly, I’m impressed.  We’ve had a few travelers attack our shops, but usually they were a one-off – quickly dispatched by the PK Hunters.  But you’ve destroyed how many now?”

Karen grimaced but seemed resigned.  What was the point in lying?

“That last one makes 31,” she grunted.

“Using explosives was a good idea,” Jason mused, cocking his head, his face tucked away behind the darkness of his cloak’s cowl, only his mouth visible in the flickering light cast by the Respawn Field overhead.  “There were traces of fire mana at the other explosion sites.  I take it you used mana crystals harvested from the mines?”  They grimaced.  Admission enough.

That would have also raised their reputation enough to use the stores.

He scratched his head with a bony hand.  “The how was easy, it’s the why that stumped me,” he mused.  “I mean, why go to the trouble of blowing up all these stores?”

“Then I thought to check the inventories.  And would you believe the shops were missing items?  Which is strange, isn’t it?  Tagged travelers drop all their loot on death, don’t they?”

He raised one bony finger.  “But only if someone loots the corpse before they respawn.  And if the building collapses, that would be impossible right?”

Jason went quiet, just watching them.  Karen’s crew shuffled in place and their eyes darted away.  Each nervous fidget was illuminated in glowing relief by his Perception skill.

And that was guilt shining in their eyes.  More confirmation.

“Then there was just one other mystery,” Jason continued, taking a ponderous step forward.  The women buckled but still didn’t move.  “You aren’t dead.”

He cocked his head.  “Which means someone else carried the bombs.  I wonder who would agree to blow themselves on your behalf.  And since you’ve already admitted to striking a number of shops, that means there’s either a ton of suckers lining up for a one-way trip out of Pax – which seems unlikely.  After all, how would you get your cut of the loot?”

Another step forward, Karen flinching but never dropping her gaze.

“Or you’re using someone that can make it back to Pax surprisingly fast…”

Karen just swallowed hard and the others looked panicked.

Ahh, it seemed they were done talking.

Which was a shame, because Jason was just getting started…

“I have no idea what you’re talking about—” Karen began.

“Mommy, it hurts,” a child’s voice whined from the dust, the other mothers flinching and whirling.  Shadows flickered within those depths.  Child-sized silhouettes.

“Why does it hurt so bad?”

“You said it wouldn’t – you-you promised.”

“H-help me please, Mommy!”

Children shuffled and shambled from the depths of the dust – or what was left of them.  Their bodies were broken.  An arm mangled and hanging limp.  Missing a foot.  A leg.  Their skin seared away by flame to form ragged, red patches.  Their little clothes and armor stained with blood.  Their blood.  One child’s face burned off, her remaining eye white and sightless, her hand pawing toward the mothers as she stumbled and shuffled through the dust.

“Mommy, I can’t see you!  Where are you?”

The child fell, hitting the ground hard, her mother flinching, reaching forward—

“Don’t—don’t fucking move,” Karen choked out.

The other moms seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

Funny.  Jason didn’t remember casting Curse of Tongues.

“What’s wrong?  I found these bodies among the ruins.  Do you recognize them?” he asked.

With another wave, more of the bodies pressed forward out of the dust and lined the rooftops of the buildings on either side of the alley.  Ten.  Then dozens.  Then a hundred.  All of their little bodies broken and bleeding and maimed beyond recognition.  All staring and whining and pleading and crying and sobbing quietly.  Begging for help.

“What the fuck is this?” one of the mothers murmured.

“Karen, what should we—” another began.

“Why are you doing this?” Karen interrupted, glaring at Jason.

“Me?  I’m not doing anything.  We’re all here to congratulate you,” Jason offered, waving at their children.  “After all, abusing the tether system was a stroke of genius.  You avoid the PVP flag, the kids respawn, then you teleport them back.”

His gaze shot to the rooftops.  “Why don’t we have a round of applause.”

Another wave and the pitter patter of little hands clapping together began to rain through the alley.  The weight of it was an almost palpable thing, crushing in on the group of moms as they were applauded by the mangled corpses of their children. Their sons and daughters tugging at their pants and armor feebly.  Many of the mothers were holding back tears and forcing their eyes shut against the horror before them.

He was close now – oh, so close.

“What’s wrong?  You should all be proud of what you’ve accomplished,” Jason hissed.

 “Mommy, please make the pain stop,” a child pleaded.  “Please kill me.”

“You’re a fucking psychopath,” a mother snapped.  “How could you do this?”

“Me?” Jason demanded incredulously.  “I didn’t do this.  You did.”

“Just ignore it.  He can’t hurt us – not without flagging himself,” Karen insisted, barely keeping her composure.  “Even he isn’t immune to the Respawn Field.  He’s just a man.”

They even seemed to buy it, sudden confidence shining in their eyes.

A raspy chuckle escaped Jason’s throat – this one deeper, more sinister.  His fingers rose to the cowl of his hood, the others recoiling and their hands reaching for their weapons again.  Yet he simply pulled back his hood to reveal ivory bone modeled and molded to look like flesh.  The line of his jaw, the arch of his cheekbones, the delicate taper of his nose.

He looked almost human.  Almost.

Yet the eyes still gave him away.  Dark, soulless clusters of mana that stared back at them.

“Am I now?” Jason demanded, the others wavering – hope snuffed out by harsh reality.

“The flaw in your reasoning is that I care about the rules,” he continued.  “That I’m afraid of the other travelers.  That any of them are strong enough to stop me, even with the debuff.”

He stalked forward, growing closer.  Close enough that they all witnessed his face rippling and transforming as the undead swarm covering his body skittered and shifted – each one no bigger than an ant.  This was his Skeletal Illusion – a swarm of tiny insect-like skeletons covering every inch of his frame.  A skill that gave him the appearance of being human.

Bone was rather rigid, after all.  And he’d found that nailing the facial expressions was critical.  Plenty of other races had wings and claws and scales and impressive physiques.  Yet none could do this.  Could smile.  The swarm crawled across his face, transforming his mouth into a grim grin – one that stretched too wide.  Revealing sharp teeth that could rend flesh from bone. 

At the same time, mana coursed through his skeletal body in a torrent, coils of that malignant energy licking away from his shoulders and arms.  Creating an aura of darkness that was tangible, the corruption eating away at the walls of the alley.  Creating flickering silhouettes that announced him for exactly what he was.

A demon in the shape of a man.

“Mommy, I want to play,” one of the undead children pleaded, her voice blending together with the raspy, pain-filled cries of the others.

“She’s right… why don’t we all play together?” Jason demanded menacingly.

And that’s when his prey finally broke – finally acted on the instincts screaming through their brains as their dead children pawed at them and a demon looked on smiling.

Specifically, they took a single, fateful step backward.

Crunch.  Crunch.  Crunch.

The sound repeated nearly 10 times, followed by a flare that rocketed up into the air, exploding in a miraculous fireworks display.  Another announcement.

9 Players PVP Flagged

“Ahh, look at that,” Jason murmured as shock registered on their faces, the outline of a fiery bull’s eyes floating over their heads now.

“How is this—"

“What did he—”

“Karen, what should we—”

None of them got to finish.

With a wave of his hand, the children suddenly looked far less innocent.  Gone was the façade of pain and weakness.  Their eyes now held a manic, dark hunger, their hands warping into claws as they rushed forward, wrapping those tiny arms around their mothers and clinging tight—

Before exploding apart as Jason’s Corpse Explosion took hold.   

Their mothers didn’t even have time to scream.

Although, this time, his Curse of Tongues helped.

All PVP Flagged Players Eliminated

Moments later, all that was left was a pile of soupy gore, faint coils of dark energy still licking at the walls.  Well, that and just one other person.

“Fuck.  Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Karen muttered, her hands trembling slightly as she eyed what remained of her companions.  Blood pooled thick and viscous, sweeping out around her boots.  There were no rainbows this time.  No candy.  No child proofing to blunt bleak reality.

Just inevitable consequences.

Just death.