You are Summoned

I moved around the outer ring of the city, toward the west where the information broker that everyone recommended was supposed to be located. His shop was easy enough to find based on the directions, a small storefront that looked like someone’s residence. It was a simple stone structure that had a wooden sign standing on the tidy lawn out front.

As I walked into the shop, the front door creaked and a small bell above the door gave out a cheerful ring. Inside, there was a waiting area, with a pair of overstuffed chairs that looked rather comfortable. A door led deeper into the shop and a voice called out from back there.

“Hold on, I’ll be with you in a moment.” It was odd, most people in Somhagen, as well as those I interacted with during my summonings sounded pretty much like I did. They all had your typical California accent, or lack of an accent if you asked me. It was the way the system worked as it translated language directly into my mind, making the language both understandable and familiar. This guy, he had one of those thick country accents, the kind that made people sound friendly, but could be a little hard to understand.

“No rush, I’ll wait out here for you,” I replied.

“Sorry for the wait, what can I do for you?” the man asked as he joined me in the lobby, settling himself down in the other overstuffed chair. I wouldn’t trade one of these for the rocking chair back in my personal space, but I could see myself spending an afternoon reading in this chair.

“Are you Lavelle Varnoth? I was told you could help me with some information,” I asked.

“Yes, I am, sorry for not introducing myself, I was doing some cataloguing and editing back there, and I tend to lose myself in the task. Who might you be, and what type of information can I round up for you?” Lavelle asked. He looked to be in his forties and had a dark beard starting to streak with grey. The man had a devious gleam in his eye, but one that seemed more on the side of mischievous rather than cruel.

“My name’s Rico, and there’s a ton I want to ask about, but I suppose it all depends on what you’re charging,” I answered.

“I understand, we’re all on a budget. Why don’t you ask me something simple to start, and we’ll call that a free sample. After I answer, I’ll tell you what I’d normally charge for such things,” Lavelle offered.

“Fair enough, why don’t we start with this,” I said as I handed over the flier I’d been given in front of the summoned market.

“This won’t be much trouble, these summoning brokers are in most tiers of the city, and their reputations aren’t too hard to figure out. Let’s see who we have, ah, Contracted Summonings LTD, and the recruiter is Pakrinas. I know of this one, no research needed. This organization is about the middle of the road as far as these places go. They have a fair reputation and won’t try to pull anything too egregious. Mostly, they’ll try to pay you coppers on the silver for their services,” Lavelle said.

“And how much would you have charged for that information if it wasn’t free?” I asked.

“For something like this, my going rate would be ten silver. Prices go up from there depending on what you’re looking for and how much effort it requires from me,” Lavelle explained.

“So, this broker place is fine, but be sure to negotiate on the pricing if I decide to use them?” I asked.

“Exactly, many summoned beings prefer to use these brokers,” Lavelle said.

“Why, other than a few extra coins, what advantage do they offer?” I asked.

“Sorry, your free question has already been more than answered. For what you seek, I would require 10 silver,” Lavelle offered. I considered it, knowing why the other summoned beings used these services would give me some piece of mind, and confirm if I was missing out on an opportunity.

“I’ll go for that,” I decided, pulling ten silver out of my pouch to hand to Lavelle.

“A good question. The advantage of summoning brokers is twofold. First, there is a little guaranteed cash when you finish up each summoning. Of course, you’ll have to make it back here to Somhagen to retrieve that bonus, but you can build up a nice purse of coins just from the bonuses you’ll acquire during five ranks worth of summonings.

“The second reason is that with a contract, you’ll have a better idea of the types of summonings you’ll be called to. You see, when you contract with a broker, they have specific jobs in mind and the contract will disclose what you’re required to do for each one. The details may be a bit vague, but when a contracted summoning comes up, you’ll be at least somewhat prepared for the situation. If you’ve hit tier one, I don’t have to tell you how bad some of the summonings can get,” Lavelle said.

“Okay, it seems like the summoning brokers aren’t too bad. I’ll check this one out and see what they offer. My other question is what to expect from the arena. My advisor said it would be in my best interest to join, since I was given a free entry, but she was a bit vague on what participating in the arena entails,” I asked.

“You’ll have to narrow down your question a bit. There’s quite a bit of knowledge involved in arena function, tactics, betting, and so forth. What in particular are you trying to find out? Tell me that, and I can give you a price,” Lavelle explained.

“What about information on improving my chances when I participate?” I asked.

“That’s still a bit broad, why don’t I make a suggestion. I can offer you information on the signup process, common pitfalls to avoid, and how to use any upgrade certificates you might have on hand. For all that, I’d need forty silver. If you use the information I give you, and follow my advice, you’ll more than likely earn back the fee and a bit more,” Lavelle offered. It was a steep price, but if it improved my chances to the point that it paid the bill Lavelle was charging me, there wasn’t much downside.

“This’ll hurt, but sure, here you go,” I agreed, digging out the funds to pay the man with.

“Good, the first thing you need to understand is that the arena events aren’t held that often. It may take days, or even weeks before a full roster is signed up. Once that happens, you’ll be sent a system notice, or if you’re back in your home world, you’ll be summoned directly to the event.

“If you are summoned to the event, you will be restricted to the locker room and the arena itself. Participation doesn’t include an extra shopping trip to Somhagen. At your tier, the accommodations in town are pricey compared to what you’re probably earning. If the tournament isn’t going to start in a day or two, I recommend that you head back home and wait to be summoned.

“Do I just show up to sign up for the tournament?” I asked.

“Yes, the clerks at the arena can fill you in on an estimated start date. I should also mention that you may ask me clarification questions like you just did, without any additional charge. Should you try and exploit that free service, I will begin to charge you for every answer I provide, no matter how mundane,” Lavelle explained.

“Got it, don’t abuse the clarification questions,” I confirmed.

“As far as what the tournament actually is, that changes each time, but they are almost always combat related. Sometimes, it’ll pit the summoned beings against each other in an elimination tournament. Other times, it’s a survival-based situation, seeing who lives the longest, or even something more interesting, such as defending a dungeon against pre-selected teams of adventurers.

“No matter which format your particular tournament takes, you’ll be rated on your performance. Do better than your peers and you’ll take home a greater portion of the prize pool. My advice is to be aggressive out of the gate, regardless of the type of tournament. Given that this is the first tournament that you and the other summoned beings will experience, you’ll find that the natural reaction for people is to hang back, watch what happens, and try to play it safe. For this first tournament, go full bore and try to be bold,” Lavelle said before a hissing teapot somewhere in the building was heard.

Lavelle excused himself and was kind enough to offer me a cup of tea. I’d never been a huge tea person, I preferred coffee, but this tea was good, and kind of minty and refreshing. There were also some cookies that Lavelle had placed on the saucer that weren’t too sweet and went well with the drink. After enjoying a few sips and a cookie, Lavelle continued his explanation.

“Now, the last thing you’ll need to know is how to use any arena upgrade certificates. How many do you have?” Lavelle asked.

“Five, and don’t worry, I won’t charge you for that answer,” I joked. Lavelle seemed like the type of guy that would enjoy a little levity in our conversation, and he responded with a smile and a threat to charge me triple if I started trying to charge him.

“Five is a very good number of certificates at tier one. If you take my earlier suggested strategy, try to use your certificates for any offense related upgrades. Many times, you’ll be given a choice to sabotage another random participant with one or protect yourself from sabotage. While that might be tempting, you won’t have any idea in this first tournament about who you’ll be up against.

“You might waste a certificate on hampering someone who had no real chance anyway. Go with tangible things, like minions, or a head start, extra gear, things like that. For this tier, stay away from defensive items, they typically just offer a small percentage damage reduction, which is of dubious use at this tier.

“Also, if you’re offered a mystery upgrade for one of your certificates, take it. The odds are 50/50 that the mystery upgrade will be a dud, but when it isn’t, the upgrade is usually very good, and something that could give you a big advantage.

“A final piece of advice, whatever you do, don’t bet on the tournament, or be enticed into selling any of your information. There will be shady individuals offering you money for favors inside the tournament, but they are just as likely to steal your last copper than live up to their end of the bargain. Don’t gamble, don’t take any hot tips. In addition, you need to make sure that you don’t cause trouble before the tournament starts,” Lavelle warned.

I sat there processing what he had just told me, trying to figure out if was worth forty silver or not. Lavelle seemed to realize what I was thinking and pulled a small scroll out of his coat pocket that he slid over to me.

“Take this, I get a few now and then as rewards for service to the city. This alone will be worth my information fee. I like you, Rico, and I hope you do well as a summoned being.”

I looked at the scroll, shocked to find it was another arena upgrade certificate, but the paper it was on was gold colored, instead of the normal ivory parchment. The system populated information as I looked at it.

Elite arena upgrade certificate. Use this to improve the next arena upgrade certificate you activate.

“Thank you, this seems like something valuable, why just give it to me?” I asked.

“I’m going to take a guess here, based on the way you talk and dress, that you’re from Earth. I’m always glad to help out a fellow earthling early in their career. I was where you were sitting once, and I do wish you luck Rico,” Lavelle said, shocking me a bit.

“Wait, you’re from Earth? Where? I have so many questions for you,” I started to ask as Lavelle waved me off.

“That’s a long story and contains information that I don’t think you can afford yet. The system places a high price on such things, and just like everyone else, I must abide by the system guidelines. When you manage to gather 500 gold, come back and see me. We’ll have a long, and very fruitful discussion,” Lavelle said, ushering me out when another summoned being showed up to purchase information.

I stood outside his shop, more than a little shocked and curious. Lavelle was from Earth, and he wasn’t a summoned being anymore. He lived and worked here in Somhagen. I’d considered leaving Earth if the opportunity arose, and Lavelle’s presence just confirmed that it was possible. Too bad that learning how Lavelle managed all this was going to cost me far more than I was willing or able to pay.