Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex stepped into the bone and flesh dome that Mite had created, approaching the purple-lined pillar in its center warily. Something that became increasingly apparent the closer he grew was that this building was no mere pile of bones.

The energy at its center pulsated as if to the beat of some deeply buried heart. It grew brighter and dimmer in an oddly hypnotizing pattern as power flowed out from the center of the pillar until it faded into the rough stone walls above and beneath it.

A faint thumping noise just barely reached Alex's ears. It was more of a shift in air pressure than a real noise, the whoosh-thump of distant lungs drawing breath. The building felt… alive.

"What kind of technique is this?" Alex asked, glancing back at Mite as he came to a stop directly before the pillar. He couldn't tell if he was unsettled or impressed.

"It's my class's specialty," Mite said with more than a little pride in his voice. "And before you ask, it's not alive. Not really. It just does a bunch of the stuff that living things do."

"Doesn't that beget the question of where life starts?" Orchid asked, tilting her head to the side. "How many living actions does a being have to take for it to be considered alive?"

"I'd say a soul is probably the biggest bit," Mite replied with the ease of a man who had been asked a similar question more than once. "I'd have liked to add the capacity for intelligent thought to the requirements, but I've met a great many people that would make the theory invalid."

To Alex's surprise, a hint of a grin pulled at the corner of Orchid's lips before she banished it in place of her normal expression.

I suppose it really doesn't matter right now. Even if Mite needs to feed the damn thing, if it works, that's all that matters.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Alex said. "There's a Starstone in Towntown, so I'll try to connect to that."

Assuming I get to choose it, that is. Didn't think of that bit. Really hope it isn't about to bite me in the ass… but I assume someone would have mentioned something if this whole thing was for naught.

"Don't take too long," Claire said. "I don't think you need two people for the trip, right? I'll stay here and keep an eye on things just in case the Region Boss decides to roll up before you make your way back."

"Sounds good," Alex said with a nod. He turned back to the undulating pillar and, without any more delay, pressed a palm against its rough surface.

A dull rumble passed through the ground beneath his feet. Purple energy snaked out across the walls, revealing previously hidden veins as the entire building came alive. The door ground shut behind Alex with a dull thud that echoed through the enclosed space lit only by the power humming throughout it.

His hair stood on end as magic filled the air with a loud whine. Alex drew on his own power, just in case. He didn't think that Mite was going to try to kill him… but it never hurt to be prepared in case someone made a mistake.

The whine filling the room rose in pitch until it was a shrill shriek. Purple light strobed and thrummed furiously as the ground and walls trembled violently. Then there was a deep, brassy whump. It slammed into Alex's face like a blast of air, blowing his hair back and nearly sending him staggering a step.

Letters abruptly snapped into existence before Alex's eyes, appearing so suddenly that he nearly attacked them out of reflex like some paranoid cat confronted with an offensive cucumber.

Connection to Astral Map successful.

[Owner View]

[Unnamed Town] Warpstone

Connected Hub Cities:

None

Astral Connection [3/3] Available. Utilize? [Y/N]

"You know, I didn't really think about it, but this place probably needs a name, doesn't it?" Alex muttered to himself as he read over the System menu. That could be a problem for another time. He really didn't want to try and figure out how to convince the System to name his town something while he was stuck in a dome with time breathing down his neck.

At least it wasn't hard to tell what he had to do.

Alex sent a mental affirmation to the System. The golden letters shimmered, then vanished as new ones replaced them.

Voice Connection Name.

"Towntown," Alex said. He braced himself, preparing for another wave of protesting bone and flashing energy.

Instead, the words before him simply vanished. The menu he'd just seen a moment before shimmered to life. It was identical to how it had been the last time aside from a single, small change at its bottom.

Connected Hub Cities:

Towntown
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"Wow," Alex said. "Color me surprised. Thought it would be a bigger pain in the ass."

Then he pressed his hand against Towntown's name.

A rush of cold energy poured into his palm. The golden letters in the air before him turned as white as fresh snow. Then the world exploded, a roar of energy swallowing any words or thoughts may have had.

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Every single one of Alex's senses shut down. His vision was nothing but an endless plain of white, his hearing a muted roar. He felt static on his tongue and simultaneously picked up on every smell at once. Even his skin couldn't seem to tell if he was underwater, on fire, or hurtling through the sky.

It felt like somebody had hit randomize on everything in existence. Alex couldn't even tell if it was uncomfortable or not. The only word that could have been aptly use to describe the sensation was confusing.

Then ground slammed into his feet like it had a personal vendetta against him. His heart jumped in his chest in an attempt to vacate his body through the throat and he stumbled, every single sense returning to him all at once.

Alex stood before a glowing white meteor. It was half-buried in the ground, surrounded by shattered buildings and rubble that he remembered well. The confusion fell away from him in an instant as a grin pulled across his lips.

He was back in Towntown.

Without hesitation, Alex drew on his power and summoned Princess. Glint and Spark followed shortly after her. It had been some time since he'd been back here. As much as he hoped that nothing had changed and he'd be fortunate enough to just stumble right into Finley, it was far more likely that he'd have to track the merchant down.

There wasn't even any guarantee Finley was still here. The System could have cashed in on his debts and done… something to him. Alex didn't really want to speculate. All he knew is that this was going to be a pain in the—

"Well I'll be slapped ten ways to the moon," a voice exclaimed. Rocks crumbled down as a pile of debris bucked, then shifted. A hand shoved a large sheet of stone away as a very dusty man clambered out from within them, hurriedly brushing himself off. "You actually came back!"

No way.

"Finley?" Alex asked.

It was, of course. There was no mistaking the merchant. It was definitely him.

"Who else would it be?" Finley exclaimed. He strode over to Alex and stopped a pace away form him. "My curse may be nearing its end, my Nativeworlder friend. I must admit, doubt was beginning to cross my mind. I thought you may have forgotten about me."

"Definitely didn't forget," Alex said. "Just… had a very busy few days. But what are you doing here?"

Finley's brow furrowed. "What am I doing here? What do you mean? I've been waiting for you, of course. Does a business partner abandon their fellow? No. Of course not. And I knew that well. We are partners, you and I. And that girl, should you still be with her. If not, I spit on her name."

"She's still with me."

"As I was saying, a thousand blessings upon you both," Finley said without so much as missing a beat. The words spilled from his mouth at such a speed that it was almost impossible to keep up with them. "Lovely woman, her. Forgot her name. You'll have to remind me. No matter. You come bearing coin, yes? Let me alleviate you of that burden. I'm certain—"

"Slow down a second." Alex raised his hands before him. "I'm still caught on something. Were you literally just waiting for me to come back? In a pile of rubble?"

Finley's shoulders dropped. He threw his hands up into the air. "What else would you have me do? Nobody knows of my presence here other than you and your ally. I am cursed by the heavens and the System alike. You bore witness to this."

"Right," Alex said. "The debts. But did you really need to just sit here? What about food? Shelter?"

"Merchants are protected," Finley said simply. "Such base things do not matter to us at this point in time. For all intents and purposes, I am immortal on this world. Magical energy from my contract sustains me. Right up until it doesn't. Then I'll be a dead withered husk. Horrible, yes? Would you like to know how to stop that from happening? It's simple. Very much so. All you have to do is buy my goods. Surely you've got a credit or two to spend. Use the damned things!"

Alex couldn't help himself. He let out a bark of laughter.

"Sorry," Alex said as Finley sent him a withering glare. "I don't mean to make light of your situation."

"You are making very much light of it. Were you also cursed, I can assure you that you would not. It is not amusing. Not at all. The System does not take its debts lightly, and I am so deep in its pockets that I am about to fall out of the bottom of its pants."

There was a note of desperation in Finley's voice that hadn't been there when he'd first met Alex. The man's situation had clearly deteriorated since they'd last spoken.

The last of Alex's amusement evaporated. He really didn't find any joy in Finley's plight. Even the edge in negotiations this got him felt a bit sour. There was a difference between pulling a fun victory out through verbal sparring and just… taking advantage of someone.

"Then I've got good news for you," Alex said. "I'm indeed here for the purpose of spending credits. I've got a number of them that I'd be happy to part with, so long as you've got something that can help me out a bit."

"Trust me, I've got things you could never imagine. Riches that would make even Outworlders froth at the mouth. Merchants have access to a great many things that—"

"Have any Town Tokens?"

Finley choked. "Of course not. What kind of monster family do you think I'm from? Even the Greats would struggle to smuggle one of those past the System right now. They'd have to get it the normal way or port their whole town — wait. Why do you know about Tokens?"

Alex nodded back to the meteor. "I'd fill you back in at mine, if you can go through a Starstone."

"I can't afford to. Not yet. I'll be able to buy that — wait. At yours?" Finley tilted his head to the side. "Valley Ford?"

"Oh, no. That's… uh, gone." Alex cleared his throat. "I meant my town."

Finely stared at him. A second slipped by.

"You have a town?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Found a Town Token."

They stared at each other for another second.

Then Finley swallowed.

"Valley Ford is gone?"

"Wasn't entirely my fault."

"How many credits would you happen to have?" Finley asked, edging toward Alex. It didn't seem like he cared much about the collapse of Valley Ford at all.

"Around 80," Alex replied.

The merchant's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"80? You have 80 credits? By the—" Finley caught himself, then cleared his throat. "Well done. That's a fair sum. A fair sum indeed. Would you happen to be in the need of a dedicated merchant? A town flourishes on trade, you know. Can't grow without it. And who better to—"

"Finley. I came all the way back here to find your ass. We can drop the bullshit, I think. You implied you could buy your way back into using the Astral Map, right? How much would I have to spend to let you do that? I'd rather have you around so we don't have to hop over here every time we have to buy something."

Finley cleared his throat. "Right. 10 credits, but I've got some pressing matters that really need to get paid. If I could get 15, that would solve all the most pressing problems and let me use the Starstone."

"Great. What can you sell me worth 15 credits? Something good, mind you. I know how valuable they are."

That was a lie. Alex did not, in fact, know how valuable his credits were. Fortunately for him, Finley did not know that.

"Depends on what you want," Finley said eagerly. He rubbed his hands together, practically salivating at the question. "What kind of thing are you looking for? I'm sure we can find something that suits you."

"Well… do you have anything that could kill a Region Boss?"

Finley's smile fell away like snow in the summer sun.

"You're fighting a Region Boss?"

"I set my town up right outside the area where one's waking up, actually. We're about to get our shit kicked in. Should be fun."

Finley's gaze bored into Alex's skull for a long second. Then his shoulders slumped and he let out a long, slow sigh. "I knew it. I'm cursed."