Involuntary Summoning

Kai’s eyes opened to an unfamiliar rocky ceiling lined with a few mossy veins. He found himself lying on a craggy floor, pebbles poking at his back through his shirt. The room was dim, lit only by a faint glow cascading down the stairwell a couple paces away.

“Hmm…” Kai mumbled as he sat up. He scanned his surroundings before pinching himself.

“Ow, ow…! Guess I’m not dreaming then.”

The last thing Kai remembered before waking up in this stone chamber was flopping onto his bed after a late night of doomscrolling.

“I don’t think I’m a sleepwalker… Did I get kidnapped? A bit odd not to tie me up in that case though…”

Kai took a moment as he got to his feet, brushing the pebbles off his back. His temples throbbed a bit, so he massaged them with his thumbs as he inspected the area in closer detail.

The cellar-like place was visibly decrepit, with cobwebs present in all corners of the room. There were few furnishings, all deteriorated from the long passage of time. A table stood, with a few sheets of tattered parchment scattered atop it, powdered with dust and scarred along its legs. A few crates were tucked underneath the table with a rickety chair fallen over beside them. Neighboring the table was a bookshelf, which had held up the best among the items in the room, though the same could not be said for its contents. The scrolls and tomes set upon the shelves were tattered, as though they had been gnawed upon. Cracks visible along their surface suggested that they might crumble away from just a mere touch.

Kai pulled closer to the table and blew the dust off the best he could, looking over the texts. Most of the documents were scribbled with what seemed like gibberish to him, with the occasional hand-drawn diagram. While the script was foreign to Kai, a particular piece of paper drew his gaze. There were two notable differences regarding this parchment: the faint glow it emitted, and the fact that Kai could read what was written on it.

Kai set the fallen chair back up and eased himself onto it. Though its aged frame creaked under his weight, it managed to hold firm. Having gotten somewhat comfortable, Kai began perusing the legible text:

To whomever read this,

I assume you have been randomly summoned by the summoning circle nearby like I have. I will apologize in advance, as I could have destroyed it to prevent any future summonings. However, this has been the only summoning circle I have found in my time here, so I was hesitant to potentially remove my only way back home.

For further context, my name is Etrim, another individual who had been summoned to this world, which goes by the name of Sigdra. My people refer to our homeworld as Evelstimm, but I shalln’t go into detail about it given the lack of relevancy to your current situation. I was brought here against my will without warning, should that be the case for you as well. Since then, I have been researching this world, its native magicks, as well as the summoning circle here.

Unfortunately, I have learned little in regard to sending oneself back home, so instead, I will share with you a defining feature of this world.

A most unusual phenomenon occurs in this world; the formation of areas called labyrinths. These labyrinths seem to form mostly at random in places where mana has grown dense. Labyrinths all have a core of some sort, which, when broken, cause the labyrinth’s mana to disperse. The most prominent labyrinth, Sigdra’s Root, or the Root for short, is in the city of Lindroot. It is a behemoth of a maze formed around the roots of the Tree of Sigdra, a massive tree with a supposed connection to this world’s origin myth. I hypothesize that there would be many answers to the mysteries of this world in the depths of this labyrinth.

I would suggest heading to Lindroot, as I imagine the area around the summoning circle has grown fairly inhospitable with my passing. To get to Lindroot, just head straight after heading up the stairs. If you get lost along the way, head north. Hopefully you manage to come across a stream, which you’ll be able to follow upstream until you catch sight of civilization. It should take around three days of walking to reach the city; two if your journey isn’t interrupted.

Take anything you might find useful before you leave. None of it will do me any good. I wish for a brisk breeze upon your back in your travels, stranger.

Kai glanced over his shoulder where he had awoken. A mysterious circle of dull red markings was there, just as the letter mentioned. It was somewhat of a marvel to behold, with its enigmatic, yet tribal symbols encircling the main ring, and engravings filled with what seemed to be precious metals, some of which had rusted or had their coloration warped. Kai could understand why this Etrim fellow felt a little hesitant to ruin what would otherwise be a work of art.

Though, there was a bigger issue at hand.

“Summoning? Sigdra? Magick?”

Kai had yet to come to terms with what he had just read.

Figuring there was a quick way to see if this was indeed another world, Kai got to his feet and crept up the stairwell, which brought him to a dilapidated floor hatch full of large holes that let in enough sunlight to illuminate the cellar. He pushed the hatch open and entered what appeared to be a rundown shed of sorts. Kai could see through the gaping holes of the shed that there was a lot of green foliage outside, so he pushed the door open to get a clearer look.

The view ahead was obstructed with unusual trees. Their leaves were of a pale lavender shade. While that may have been somewhat reminiscent of cherry blossoms, their wide breadth and lobed margin definitely were not. String-like markings ran up the trunk, oscillating in the full color spectrum at a steady pace.

Kai glanced up at the sky, thankful to find a familiar pastel blue greeting him. The sun was still high in the sky, and the light warmed him to a comfortable degree.

Having seen enough, Kai returned down into the cellar. The letter said he could take what he wanted, but Kai was curious to find just what lied in store.

Apart from the few bits of furniture, he main area of the cellar was barren for the most part. There were two side rooms on either side adjacent to the stairwell, so Kai took a moment to inspect each one.

He stepped into the first rooms only to find a robed skeleton lying upon a tattered cot. For a moment, Kai froze in place, just staring into the empty eye cavities of the skull. A whole web of questions popped into his mind, but Kai shook his head and tried his best not to ponder too much about it. Kai took a moment of silence, offering a brief prayer for whoever has passed away here before beginning his search.

After rummaging through the contents of each room, Kai gathered his loot by the stairs.

His modest collection consisted of a small knife, a cast iron pan, an antique lantern, a waterskin, a sheet of canvas, some rope, a walking stick, a shortsword, and a ragged rucksack. There was also some wine and hardtacks that he found that still seemed safe for consumption.

“Now then…”

Kai sat on the hard floor, taking a moment to organize his thoughts.

“Do I stay here for a little longer, or do I head out now?”

Deep inside, Kai was concerned about the unknown threats in the outside world, but at the same time, he knew that nibbling away at the scant amount of food and drink here would only last so long.

“Whatever. If I’m gonna go down either way, I might as well take in the sights while I’m not hungry.”

Having made his mind, Kai got back to his feet. He fastened the sword, knife and waterskin to his belt and the lantern on the outside of the rucksack while the rest of the items apart from the walking stick were shoved into the bag without too much thought. Slinging the rucksack over his back and grasping the walking stick, Kai climbed the stairs and left the shed.

A sudden gust of wind surged past Kai, sweeping through his jet-black hair and ruffling his clothes. The sight of the lavender foliage once again stunned him, but this time he met the scenery with a shaky grin.

“Whatever happens, happens!”