Black Dawn: An Apocalyptic LitRPG Adventure (Fae Nexus Book 1)

  Table of Contents

  Summary

  Shadow Alley Press Mailing List

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Books, Mailing List, and Reviews

  Books by Shadow Alley Press

  Books by Black Forge

  LitRPG on Facebook

  Even More LitRPG on Facebook

  GameLit and Cultivation on Facebook

  Copyright

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  Summary

  MAGIC, MAYHEM, AND moonshine.

  Gage came home to the Ozarks to mend fences with the friends he’d left behind. But when a solar storm reconnects Earth to the Fae Nexus, the world is engulfed in magical energy, altering the laws of nature... violently. Fuel, ammunition, and electronics explode, leaving the world in a dark apocalypse.

  As the flames die down, demons emerge through the Fae Nexus, swarming Gage’s hometown and enslaving the survivors.

  To fight back, Gage and his reunited friends harness Fae powers, becoming the Wizard, Ranger, and Fighter they’ve always played in their favorite roleplaying game.

  With the help of a pair of moonshiners turned Alchemists and the ghost of a long-dead gunslinger, Gage and his friends have to level up fast to free their families and defend their home against the demonic horde.

  He may have walked away once, but this time the only thing Gage is leaving behind are his regrets and a pile of dead demons.

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  Prologue

  FOR GAGE’S EIGHTH BIRTHDAY, Dad had given him his very own compound bow. Gage immediately started planning the hunt. He found where the deer bedded down in the spring, he watched the fawns grow up over the summer, and he found antler rubs from bucks shedding their velvet on the trees as the leaves changed color in the fall. When the first frost came at last, he chose a wooded draw with a small creek and a grove of white oaks heavy with acorns and put up his tree stand. Finally, half an hour before the sun set on a frigid November day, he drew his bow and took his shot.

  The big whitetail buck leapt high and ran into the dense underbrush, but Gage was sure it had been a clean hit.

  Gage trembled with fear and excitement as he climbed down from his tree stand, retrieved his arrow and examined its fletching. Specks of darker blood on the vanes and a splash of frothy, pinkish blood on the ground told him it had been a clean through-and-through shot into the heart and lungs. His first whitetail buck wouldn’t run far.

  Clumps of kicked-up leaves and the occasional pool of blood led him through the trees. He felt the gaze of his older brother and his dad following his progress from their tree stands. He’d made them promise to wait until he called them over. Gage wanted to finish his first hunt on his own.

  Only a couple hundred yards from where he started, Gage found the buck lying in a patch of colorful autumn leaves. Its eyes were glassy and its tongue lolled out. Gage approached with care, in case there was a last-second burst of energy from the buck. He knelt and laid a hand on its neck with a solemn whisper of thanks. His family struggled to find work over the winter, and finally, Gage was able to do his part to help put meat in the freezer. Seth always said he spent too much time with his nose in a book. Now, Gage had proven he could contribute.

  Whistling the simple call of a bobwhite quail, he let his dad and brother know they could come join him.

  Pulling out his hunting knife, Gage began to field dress the deer. By the time his dad and brother packed their gear and joined him, he’d already opened up the torso, careful not to pierce the stomach lining, and had set aside the kidneys and liver to cool on a nearby rock.

  “That’s a beautiful buck, son.” His dad’s voice was full of pride, and Gage smiled up at him.

  “Don’t forget the sweet meats,” Seth said. “They’re the best part.”

  “I know,” Gage grumbled, rolling his eyes.

  Four years older than Gage, Seth was an even better hunter, killing his first deer at seven. Still, the least he could do was give Gage a little credit for knowing what he was doing. Gage, breathing hard, finished sawing through the deer’s sternum and set aside his hunting knife. He was glad Grandma had helped him cut saw teeth into the spine of the blade. She was a wizard in the workshop.

  Gage opened the ribs wider, reached in, and pulled out the deer’s heart. His small, bloody hand trembled as the sun’s last rays speared through the trees, making the heart glow red and gold in his hand.

  Dad clapped his shoulder reassuringly. “You don’t have to do it, Gage. Not many folks still do.”

  “I want to,” Gage said firmly. “It’s tradition.”

  Gage turned the heart in his hand. “It’s so warm.” Determined not to delay any more, Gage tore into the heart with his teeth and ripped out a hunk. It was a little too big, and the meat was tough, but he managed to chew and swallow it. “Not as bad as I thought. Kinda metallic. Anybody bring barbecue sauce?”

  His dad bellowed with laughter. “You’re a bit bloodthirsty, my boy!”

  Seth shook his head, grinning at Gage. He motioned, and Gage handed over the heart. His older brother took his bite of the heart, a trickle of blood running down his chin. Dad followed suit, and they stood there as the sunset painted the clouds overhead in shades of red and orange, following a family tradition that had been passed down for generations.

  Chapter One

  GAGE SHIFTED HIS HEAVY pack as he strode along the Huckleberry Ridge trail, his boots automatically following the familiar path to the family hunting cabin. The trail rose in steep switchbacks from the Buffalo River, then ran along a meandering limestone bluff overlooking a deep valley that cut through the Ozark Mountains, following the river all the way to his hometown of Clearwater in the distance.

  When he reached the top of the switchbacks, Gage paused to catch his breath. The crisp air made his breath come out in clouds. He stood gazing at the fall colors as the sun’s last rays lit up the trees. Gage had taken that first whitetail buck not too far from here, although it seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  This reunion with his brother, Seth, and their best friend, Peri, was long overdue, but Gage had no idea what to expect. He and Seth had always gotten along better than most brothers usually did, and Peri had been like an older sister to him ever since they’d met back in grade school. Still, after high school, he’d simply left town without saying a word. He’d had to get out. As time went on, guilt had just driven him farther away.

  After a few
years, they had all reconnected online. Eventually, they made a tentative plan to meet up at their favorite spot. This gathering had been a long-standing tradition, until Gage had broken it. They’d been coming out to the old hunting cabin every year since grade school. Gage always cooked, Peri always ran a tabletop roleplaying game called Gods & Dragons, and Seth always snuck moonshine out of Grandma’s workshop.

  Gage reached the turnoff to the cabin, and his steps faltered for a moment as nerves overcame him. He rolled his shoulders beneath the straps of his pack and turned to follow the smaller trail away from the bluff and up a small rise.

  An icy breeze cut through Gage’s jacket as the sun sank below the horizon. He hadn’t expected to still be hiking in the dark, but he’d gotten a late start and the cabin was a full day’s hike from the trailhead. He’d be there soon enough, and then he’d be plenty warm. Peri, ever the firebug, would have a raging bonfire going. They had often called Peri’s bonfire a Beacon of Minas Tirith since it could be seen for miles. He’d almost keeled over when he found out she’d actually become a firefighter for the Forest Service.

  Gage smelled wood smoke. Then the flickering light of a fire filtered through the trees. Pushing through the low-hanging tree branches crowding the trail, he paused in the shadows at the edge of the clearing.

  On the far side, the old log cabin sagged on its stone foundation. A rickety covered porch ran across the front, stacked high with firewood for the cast-iron stove. The rusty spikes of an old hay rake protruded from a drift of dead leaves along the side of the cabin. The moss-covered cedar shakes on the roof had seen better days. Two backpacks and his brother’s compound bow hung from hooks that jutted from the porch railing. Gage had hammered those hooks out of old railroad spikes in their grandma’s workshop.

  Seth and Peri sat at a picnic table near the roaring fire, chatting in low voices. Peri wore camouflage tights, a puffy black vest over a fleece shirt, and a pink camo hat with her dark brown ponytail pulled through it.

  Gage’s older brother looked relaxed, with his long legs stretched out under the table. Gage wasn’t short at nearly six feet tall, but he had always been jealous of Seth, who’d been six-foot-five since he was only fourteen and had inherited their dad’s lanky but powerful build. They’d both run cross country, but Gage had never managed to beat his older brother’s school records.

  Seth wore his usual dark green and brown jacket and pants, and he’d grown a long, scruffy beard to go with his black mop of hair. Gage had the same dark hair and beard, but kept them more closely trimmed.

  His friends looked cheerful, but still Gage was hesitant about joining them. He shook his head. Why was he so nervous?

  The wind gusted, sending sparks soaring skyward, as if urging him forward. He was about to join his friends when he caught a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t hunter orange, as he might expect to see this time of year, but red and wispy, like a red silk scarf drifting in the wind. He waited for it to reappear, but it was gone, vanished without a trace.

  He turned back to see Seth standing silhouetted against the fire, looking in his direction. “You gonna join us, or what? You’ve been standing there for ten minutes.”

  Gage had forgotten how sharp Seth’s eyes were.

  “Gage!” Peri leapt up from the table and ran across the clearing in a blur. She was tall and built like a pro volleyball player who never skipped leg day. Gage was helpless as she seized him around the waist and easily picked him up, pack and all, pulling him into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “You... too,” Gage gasped as she squeezed the breath out of him.

  She set him down and held him at arm’s length for a second, then dragged him across the clearing.

  Waiting by the fire, Seth was more reserved than Peri. His face held a hint of bitterness before a glance from Peri forced a smile out of him. “Hey little brother. Good to see you again.” Seth held out his hand and Gage took it. He was surprised when Seth pulled him into an awkward hug.

  “It’s good to see you too.” Gage looked at Peri. “Both of you.”

  “Probably shoulda stuck around then,” Seth said, his voice tinged with anger.

  “Seth, I...” Gage felt his own anger rise to answer his brother’s and tamped it back down. He didn’t want to fight with his brother all weekend. He rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I had my reasons.”

  Seth’s jaw clenched, but he nodded and let it drop. Gage knew it was just a temporary cease-fire. He turned away and took several deep breaths.

  Peri reached out and grabbed Gage’s pack, lifting the weight easily off his shoulders. Gage slid his arms out, and she hung it from one of the iron hooks on the old hitching rail.

  “Damn, that’s heavy. What did you haul up here?” she asked.

  “I thought maybe you guys would want to kill some trolls or something,” Gage said, “so I brought the Gods & Dragons books and your old notes.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Are you kidding? It’s been forever since I’ve rolled dice.”

  “Seth?” Gage looked at his brother hopefully. Gods & Dragons had brought Gage and his brother closer as kids. It was the perfect bridge between Gage always having his nose in a book and Seth always wanting to run around in the woods.

  “Sounds good. In fact, I brought my dice along just in case.”

  Gage said, “Let’s eat first. I brought a peace offering of deer tenderloin.”

  Seth’s eyes lit up. “My favorite.”

  Peri looked pointedly at Seth. “I told you he would cook.” She led Gage over to where she’d stacked rocks to make an extension jutting out from the fire ring. It formed a perfect oven with a flat spot on top for the grill.

  “Nice,” Gage said. “I thought we could have baked potatoes and tenderloin shish kebabs tonight.”

  She clapped her hands. “Perfect. I’ll get some coals in there while you put them together.” She grabbed her entrenching tool and shoved glowing red coals into the cubby. Using her hatchet, she split small pieces of wood and piled them so Gage could adjust his cooking fire.

  The fire was blistering, and Gage took off his jacket and hung it over the rail, then rolled up the sleeves of his heavy flannel shirt. He dug into his backpack and pulled out the paper wrapped package of deer meat and set it on the picnic table along with a paper bag full of vegetables and his knife, a plain-looking drop point hunter he’d forged out of an old leaf spring in Grandma’s shop years ago.

  Ten pounds of meat should be plenty to last them the long weekend, but when Peri came over to peer over his shoulder at it, she frowned. “I dunno, Seth eats a lot. What if we run out of food?” she teased.

  “I’ll shoot us another one,” Seth said, pointing to his bow hanging on the rail. “I still have a doe tag left for the season.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Gage caught another flash of light. A shimmering curtain of red light hung in the sky just above the northern horizon. “That’s odd.”

  “What is?” Seth turned and stared in the same direction. His eyes widened. “Are those the northern lights?”

  “Must be, but you almost never see them down here,” Gage said.

  Peri laid her hatchet down and looked up. “What could make them show up this far south?”

  “It has to be some kind of huge solar storm,” Gage said.

  “A what?” Peri asked.

  “The lights are affected by Earth’s magnetosphere and solar wind,” Gage explained. “When a big solar storm happens, more charged particles are hurled into our atmosphere and deflected, releasing energy. The bigger the storm, the more likely we are to see them all the way down here.”

  Seth quirked an eyebrow at Gage. “You learn that fixing up old cabins?”

  “Yeah, actually. We fixed one up for a geologist, Dr. Whelan. She was a total nut about this kinda stuff. She consulted for NASA on meteorites they found in the Antarctic. Even got to go with them once on a collecting trip, along with one of their astron
auts. It sounded incredible.”

  They stared up at the sky for a few more minutes, watching the lights shift hypnotically.

  “Well, that’ll make a pretty wicked backdrop for the game,” Seth said. He clapped Gage on the shoulder. “Let’s eat so we can play.”

  Soon, Gage had the potatoes, wrapped in foil with butter and garlic, stuffed into the coals. He pulled out a set of iron skewers he’d made from simple square stock that he’d twisted and finished with linseed oil. For handles he’d formed a dragon’s foot on each skewer, clutching a glass marble in its claws. He impaled the kebab ingredients, alternating chunks of mushroom, bell pepper, onion, pineapple, and deer tenderloin. He laid them on the grill and tended them carefully, sprinkling on seasoning and basting them.

  While Gage cooked, Seth picked up Peri’s hatchet and hurled it into the trunk of a nearby dead tree that they often used as a target. They’d always loved any kind of marksmanship contest.

  Gage told Seth, “I brought that old blowgun we used to play with, too.”

  “Hah. I remember that thing,” his brother replied. He went over and opened the top of Gage’s pack, fishing out the plastic blowgun. It was three feet long with pieces of foam wrapped around it as handles, and the tube was wrapped in camouflage duct tape.

  Peri asked, “Are the game notes in your pack?” When Gage nodded, she dug into it and pulled them out. “I’ll get something ready for us to play.”

  Setting the blowgun down on the table, Seth dug into his own pack and pulled out a mason jar. He walked over and handed it to Gage. “Welcome home.”

  “Thanks,” Gage said as he took it. “What kind is it?”

  “Apple pie à la mode.”

  “Don’t tell me you managed to get some of Popcorn Annie’s?” Gage asked. Annie was a spry old woman who’d been making moonshine in these mountains for going on fifty years. Now she only made small batches for friends, and she always went the extra mile to make it perfect. She even added real vanilla bean to the apple pie to give it that extra à la mode flavor. It wasn’t cheap, but it tasted divine.