Awaken Online: Armageddon, page 1
Awaken Online
Book 6: Armageddon
______________
Travis Bagwell
Prologue
November 26, 2076: 56 days after the release of Awaken Online.
Awaken Online – “Turkey Hunt”
“Fucking finally,” Hanna ground out, smiling despite the sweat and grime.
A similar expression was mirrored on the faces of her guildmates – all eighty of them. Most filled the forest floor, while others were perched on nearby branches. They were loaded for bear. Fully decked in equipment and consumables, each person giving off a soft glow, courtesy of the buffs provided by their casters. The
Or die trying, at least.
Hanna swiped away her chat window, raising her eyes to the rest of the guild. “Target acquired and waypoint coming… now.” Just as she finished speaking, a yellow beacon appeared in the distance. A low murmur spread through the guild, but the sound didn’t travel outside the amber dome surrounding the area. Another thin blue film concealed their presence from any prying eyes that might linger nearby. They couldn’t risk anyone noticing them.
Hanna’s gaze skipped to a pair of water mages nearby. “You know what to do. Throw up a decoy force, have them head in the opposite direction, and if the other guilds are watching, we’ll send them on a merry goose chase.” There were a few tired chuckles at her word choice.
After all, it was Thanksgiving. And Cerillion Entertainment had rolled out a seasonal event: a “Turkey Hunt.”
The mages nodded, and sapphire energy soon bloomed around their staves. Moments later, a diversionary force was streaking away across the forest to the south. The water mages rippled and disappeared from sight, blending back into the vegetation as they jogged after their illusions. They needed to stay just within their control range to maintain the effect.
“Alright, folks, let’s hit it,” Hanna ordered, pointing north.
At her command, the raid set off. Not at a run or sprint, but at a slow walk. Cautious. Shields up and weapons ready. Staying well within the shimmering magical barriers that concealed their presence and muted any sound they made.
Behind the wards, however, they could make out the muted shouts and clang of steel in the distance. Evidence of other guilds who had been less cautious.
They all knew what even a momentary screw-up meant out here. They had already seen it dozens of times, and the evidence now littered the forest. Entire guilds had been butchering each other. Bodies hung from tree branches like macabre ornaments. The wood was singed and shattered, while the trunks were splattered with blood. An eerie silence hung across the forest, not even the animals that lived there daring to make a noise for fear of being targeted. Hunted. To make matters worse, the nearest respawn point was a sixty-minute trip away, even at a dead-on sprint – and that was after the damn respawn timer popped.
They’d learned to keep their guard up. That’s how they’d survived this long.
Hole up, conceal their presence, and send out scouts looking for their quarry.
That caution was also how the
“What is this?” Hanna muttered as they neared, eyeing the area.
The air beside her flickered, and their scout popped into view. “More than it looks like,” Giorgio reported. “Just walk up to it and see.”
Hanna grunted skeptically but did as he suggested, stepping forward slowly… only to stop in shock moments later. As she neared the brush, the vegetation shifted and moved of its own accord, coiling up into the air to form an intricate latticework of branches and leaves. And in the dead center? A door – replete with knocker and doorknob.
“These devs are assholes,” Hanna muttered to herself. No wonder the event hadn’t been completed yet. How the hell were people supposed to find this needle in a damn haystack?
The guild all stared at the entrance, unsure of how to proceed.
Hanna glanced at Giorgio. “I dunno. Knock, maybe?” he offered to her unspoken question. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
With a grimace, she approached the door and knocked gently. Seconds ticked past, and she held her breath, only for the portal to creak open, light spilling out. A shimmering blue barrier hung across the opening, concealing what lay on the other side.
“Alright, let’s cover this entrance,” she instructed their last water mage. No sense in getting overconfident at this stage. “Group five, stay out here to guard it.” She swallowed hard as she looked back at the blue barrier. “The rest of us will head inside.”
She eyed her guildmates. “Alright, let’s head out!”
The group soon pushed inside, only to be met with a strange sight. They were still standing in the forest – or at least some sort of instanced replica of the forest. A clearing stretched out before them, filled with green grass and bright, warm sunlight. It was almost cheery after the gloomy, blood-covered woods they’d just crossed. Eerily so.
However, Hanna’s attention was pulled away as a notification popped up before her.
System Notice: Potluck
You’ve found the entrance to the potluck, but it seems you didn’t bring anything to share. As a result, you are now afflicted with the Freeloader Debuff. All healing effects are now delayed by 5 seconds. What can we say? Freeloaders eat last.
The host might also glare at you passive-aggressively.
“The hell is this?” Giorgio muttered at Hanna’s side, swiping away a similar notice.
She just shrugged. “Seems we’re mixing themes. First, a hunt, now a holiday potluck. Either way, I see our target now.” Hanna waved at the center of the clearing.
After everything they’d been through – the people they’d killed, the hours spent searching the forest – well, it didn’t look like much. It was just a bird. Its head reaching about waist height. All brown and red feathers and wrinkled skin. Basically, an oversized turkey. But Hanna wasn’t buying that shit either…
“Ali?” she asked.
One of their scouts nodded and swiped at the air. Moments later, she pushed a notification to Hanna. Ali had spent quite a bit of time studying AO’s wildlife, and her Inspection skill was usually top-notch. “Usually,” being the operative word.
Turduckin – Level 250 (Raid Boss)
Health – 500,000+
Mana – 200,000+
Affinities – Air, Fire, Dark
Equipment – None
Resistances – Unknown
Special Skills – “Thanks-giving”
“Turduckin, huh?” Hanna murmured. That was a hell of a lot of health. The affinities and special skill were also an odd mix but didn’t provide much context. It looked like they were just going to have to go in blind.
She let out a sigh. “Alright, usual formation. We’ll get our tanks to focus its attention. Everybody else, burn it. Look for any weak points. Support stay behind, and group 7 keep them safe.” Hanna received nods from the raid. Group 1 advanced, all heavy armor, rippling muscle, and humming with multi-colored energy. They were ready to take a hit or two.
With everyone in place, Hanna pushed a ready check.
Raid Notice: Commence Battle?
All raid members are ready.
Would you like to commence the battle?
[Yes/No]
Hanna tapped at the notice, and a timer started counting down from five.
The tanks were already moving. Johnny took up the lead, the others hanging back. They’d cycle out if this thing ended up hitting like a truck. For her own part, Hanna just kept her displays up, screens hovering before her. Her fingers were twitching down toward her weapons – itching to join the fray herself – but she was most useful in a strategic role. Watching the flow of the fight and sending instructions to the raid.
There was a reason generals didn’t stand on the frontlines.
As Johnny raced into melee with the turkey, it looked up lazily…
“Gobble?” Almost a question.
Then the tank stabbed it with his spear, keeping his shield raised.
The bird raised its beak to the sky and let out an unholy shriek. At the same time, it blossomed in size, expanding outward in an explosion of feathers that suddenly streaked out across the clearing, obscuring visibility. A new notice suddenly filled Hanna’s screen – notifying her that her ability to leave the event was now restricted. It was kill the damn bird or die trying.
Hanna pressed her lips together in a grimace. So, business as usual.
As the feathers finally fluttered to the ground, the guild members sucked in a collective breath as they witnessed their opponent’s transformation. Gone was the innocent-looking turkey, now replaced with a monster that towered ten feet into the air. Feathers no longer coated its skin, leaving only wrinkled, gnarled flesh. Sewn stitches trailed up and across its body as though it had been cut open and then knitted back together. Its feet ended in deadly talons that raked furrows in the dirt. And red, “thankless” eyes turned toward the guild – resting on poor Johnny.
“Uh, sorry?” the tank muttered, backpedaling.
The turkey swept forward with a foot, sparks flying as it collided with the tank’s shield. He was sent stumbling backward, another tank alrea
Yet the beast seemed to anticipate each attack. It flapped its naked wings, and amber energy suddenly pooled around the clearing. Its feathers lifted from the ground, only to whip forward violently. Hanna felt a searing line cut across her cheek, and something wet and warm began to trickle down her skin. She dabbed at her face and pulled her hand away to reveal crimson blood. Screams rippled through the air as those razor-sharp feathers cut into their unprotected DPS and support.
“Shit…” she muttered. Hanna moved quickly. Air mages were quickly repurposed, creating protective domes of amber energy. Guildmates were stumbling and crawling inside to avoid the feathers while the plumage piled up against the wards. The magical winds soon slowed and then stopped, giving the air mages a brief respite to regenerate their mana. As soon as they were able, the healers started bathing the raid in an emerald glow, their wounds taking long pain-filled seconds to stitch themselves back together.
In the meantime, the beast hadn’t stopped. The feathers had cut at Johnny’s legs, slicing through cracks in his armor. He toppled to the side, and the Turduckin plunged forward. The tank couldn’t raise his shield in time, so he acted instinctively, bringing his spear forward. The claw cut through the shaft of his weapon with no resistance, crushing into his armor. It peeled at the metal in a shower of sparks before burrowing deeply into Johnny’s arm with a spray of blood and a roar of pain.
The healers had anticipated the injury, his body glowing a brilliant emerald and his skin beginning to knit itself back together after only a short delay. While his wounds were being mended, another tank stepped forward to cover for him. Hanna sighed in relief as Johnny’s health stabilized. She saw him move to regain his feet and pull at the sword at his waist… only to freeze. His head cocked to the side, and his eyes went round. He suddenly looked down at his arm.
The wound had healed, but now a line of stitching marred his flesh, framed by the jagged fragments of his armor.
Johnny’s gaze went distant. “Oh, shit…” He turned to the turkey quickly. “Thank—”
He never got to finish. His body suddenly exploded apart in a shower of blood and metal. And from those gory remains marched a smaller version of the Turduckin, a screech escaping its throat as it leaped at another tank.
“What the actual fuck?” a player beside Hanna muttered.
She didn’t bother to respond, her thoughts spinning. Hanna couldn’t shake the look on the tank’s face before he’d died. “Someone message Johnny. We need to know what he saw.”
Meanwhile, Hanna tapped out instructions for the raid. They had formed into groups to protect their fragile casters and ranged DPS against that feather-based attack. That had to be part of this raid boss’ rotation. She’d also assigned a pair of tanks to the new turkey, the players keeping their distance for now. It was smaller, but it sure as hell wasn’t going down any faster than the big one.
“Ali?” she grunted again.
“It looks like it’s counting that new turkey as a boss too. It split its health with that target,” Ali reported, swiping at her displays. “I’m guessing the boss splits every time it gets a hit in? And it’s apparently one-shotting our tanks, so we can’t close into melee.”
Of course, Hanna thought. Turduckin. She wanted to punch whoever had come up with this idea for a raid boss.
“Anything from Johnny?” she growled a moment later.
“Uh, he says getting hit applies a debuff,” Ali muttered distractedly as she typed at her chat window. “To remove it, you have to… have to thank the turkey?”
Hanna just stared at her for a long second. Really?
Someone at Cerillion definitely had a fucked-up sense of humor.
Not that she had time to worry about that. Hanna typed out a raid notice and pushed it to the group, but not before another tank exploded in a shower of gore. Which meant another damn turkey had entered the clearing. That made three now, and already she could see amber energy collecting through the air – forecasting another flight of feathers.
She let out a frustrated growl. This was going to be a painful fight.
***
Hanna heaved a sigh, sinking to the ground with her back to a trunk.
The clearing before her was coated in crimson streaks and brown and orange feathers. Autumn colors, she thought absently. Smoke coiled away from the corpses of several roasted birds. The smell – albeit muted – had a certain nostalgic note to it.
They just needed some pie and stuffing…
It almost felt damned festive.
Not that the surviving members of the raid were in any condition to appreciate that. They were all slumped across the clearing. Tired. Broken. Blood-drenched and battered. The fight had taken a full hour. You apparently only had a five-second window to “thank” the turkey for attacking you before your body exploded apart. The only saving grace was that the creatures got weaker each time they split. They’d ended up with one tank running around the field while being chased by more than a dozen birds as their casters AOE’d them down.
But they’d won.
Happy-fucking-Thanksgiving.
Hanna swiped aside the completion notice that popped up before her, her attention shifting toward the center of the field as a table suddenly materialized there – a full banquet arrayed across its surface. Huh, they’d actually gone ahead and given them the pie and stuffing, after all.
Yet all eyes were on the chest perched in the center of that table. That was their real reward. Not some digital grub, but cold hard loot. Her guildmates were already rising back to their feet with groans and muttering, crowding up around the table – a few even snatching at the food as they waited for Hanna to do the honors – to see if all this trouble had been worth it.
Hanna approached the table, a smile on her bloodied face as she raised a hand and lifted the lid of the chest, her eyes taking in its gleaming contents.
Now here was something to truly be thankful for.
A slow clap drifted through the air behind her, and Hanna whirled, her guildmates reaching for their weapons. However, a Gravity Well slammed into place, crushing them into the ground and against the chairs lining the banquet table. They’d been too clustered up around the chest.
Damn it, Hanna thought. She’d let her guard down.
“Well, isn’t this a wonderful sight!” a man said as he approached, several dozen of his guildmates materializing around him with a shimmer of sapphire and amber energy. “Thanks so much for going to all this trouble just for us!”
Hanna could see his guild tags.
“Screw you,” she ground out.
“Happy to see you again, too, Hanna,” Luke said. They went back a ways. They’d started in the same town and had gone through their initial training together. They’d had… different strategies on how to advance from there.
How had this asshole found them? Her eyes shifted across her guildmates, only to find that Ali was sitting there calmly. She popped a bite of turkey and gravy into her mouth, savoring the taste. Ali raised an eyebrow as their eyes met.
“Yes, yes. Your dear little assistant sold you out. Thanks, by the way, Ali,” Luke continued, waving a hand.
She just tipped her fork.
“Why?” Hanna grunted, trying to buy time. Her fingers were moving slowly to the wand at her waist… her arm straining against the effects of the Gravity Well. It was a last resort and one she didn’t relish. But if they couldn’t get the loot, maybe she could just burn them all… Then it would be a race to see who could get back here first and snag that chest.
It was a chance.
Ali just shrugged. “It was a LOT of gold. Plus, I was getting tired of being your assistant and sitting in the rear. I like getting my hands dirty.”
