You are Summoned

There was a lot running through my mind as I walked the last two blocks toward the arena. At least one person from Earth was living and had a business in Somhagen. As much as that intrigued me, the goal of finding where I wanted to live was one for the future. For now, I had to continue to climb the tiers and gather power and money if I wanted to survive. The next step in my visit was to check out the arena.

It was near Lavelle’s shop, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, maybe something like the Roman Colosseum. What I found wasn’t quite that impressive. The oval stone arena was sized more like a high school stadium than a grand edifice that would stand the test of time. While the viewing stand area was huge, it wrapped around an area that couldn’t quite fit a football field.

The building itself was stone, as were the stands, but it had a rough and unfinished look, as if the city had gone with the lowest bidder and didn’t bother to inspect the results before paying them. Given that there was magic in this world, I would have expected something grander. Maybe the higher tiers of the city had better facilities and this place reflected that this was the bush league for arena contestants.

Several gates dotted the outside of the arena, but only one appeared open at this time. A small trickle of people was entering and exiting the building in a steady flow. I joined the queue and made my way inside. This portion of the arena had several ticket booths, and there were signs posted directing people to the various offerings.

Most were used for betting on the upcoming match, and there was a bewildering array of things you could bet on. Several shady-looking characters tried to approach me and engage in conversation, but I waved them off, heeding Lavelle’s earlier warning about not messing around with gambling or people trying to get me to sell my information. One booth that was empty had a sign announcing new participant signups, which was exactly what I was looking for.

“Hi, I’d like to enter the next tournament,” I said to a bored looking humanoid that looked like a cross between a cobra and a human woman.

“Place your entry form on the counter so I can validate it,” the snake lady said. I dug out the certificate from my pack and passed it through the small opening under the counter. She muttered some spell and then held the certificate up to examine it for long enough that I started to get nervous.

“This checks out, the next tournament is still not ready to begin, when we have enough entrants, you will be notified and summoned directly if you’re not in town,” she said flatly as she placed my certificate on a shelf with a pile of similar certificates.

“How long until it starts?” I asked.

“Nobody knows, but from the influx we’re seeing of participants, I’d say you have at least a week or two before you have to worry about showing up here,” she replied, pointing to the stack of arena certificates.

“How many people are usually entered in a tournament?” I asked.

“It varies, but for this planned event, we expect somewhere between three and four hundred,” she offered.

“That’s more than I had thought. Can you tell me any details about the event that’s planned. I understand each tournament can be different,” I asked.

“No, that is information I cannot disclose. I can tell you this,” she said in a rather conspiratorial manner after looking around to see if anyone was watching her. The move looked even more shady when the person doing it was part snake. “If you can tell me about your gear, and show me how many upgrade certificates you have, I might be able to find something out for you,” she offered.

“No thanks, I’m good, but I appreciate the offer,” I said, backing away as the alarm bells rang inside my head. The clerk gave me a glare before waving me away.

Before I left, I did take a peek inside the arena itself, and was rather surprised that it consisted of a simple stone floor that led to a series of glowing panels spaced at regular intervals. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but I was pretty sure the glowing panels were teleportation devices of some type. If that were the case, they must have some magical means for the crowds to view the coming contest.

I had another decision to make, did I approach Pakrinas and his offer of a summoning contract? That was something I’d have to think about for a bit, and I tried to distract myself with some shopping while I pondered my next move. First, I stopped at a few of the inns to check on lodging prices. They were as steep as the others had warned me about, and a single night was nineteen silver at the least expensive place. When I factored in meals, my cash reserves could be badly depleted before my time in the arena began.

It would be nice to stay and explore the city for a week or two until the tournament started, but I had already been gone from home for quite a while and I was worried about what might be happening while I was away. There really wasn’t much waiting for me back home, just a crappy motel room and several groups hunting for me, but I couldn’t afford to stay here permanently, at least not yet.

While I couldn’t afford to live in Somhagen permanently, I could afford to stay for a night or two, which would give me more time to explore. With a room rented for the night at the cheapest place I could find, I hit the streets looking for deals on upgrades to my gear. My summoning points were tapped out, but I still had coins to spend.

I wanted to save a few gold to melt down back home, as well as some silver and copper to start building up a cash reserve. Other than that, the rest of my funds were ready to spend. There wasn’t much of a rhyme or reason to the shop locations, but in general, stores that offered similar goods tended to group together.

With my war hammer, I felt good about my melee weapons, so I looked for some armor upgrades. There was a wide variety of armor types, and even a few that were enchanted. The enchanted items were very expensive, and the shops had a limited selection. Several of the merchants confirmed that as I moved through the tiers and got closer to the city center, the options and power of gear generally improved.

The economy here was based mostly on the tourist trade. Summoned beings made up the smallest percentage of the population at any given time. Tourists visited the markets and arena for entertainment or the chance to make a quick buck. Strange beings and humans both fit into this category, and I found it amusing that the other species walking or slithering around didn’t even faze me anymore. Many of the others I approached avoided contact, but I did manage to strike up a few conversations, and enjoyed exchanging information about our worlds.

Other than shops that sold armor, weapons, and other adventuring gear, the majority of the stores offered mundane items like food, household goods, and other things that you might need to live in the city. Stores stayed open well into the evening and by the time it started getting dark, I had circled this city once, giving all my options a once over.

I also spotted the company Pakrinas worked for and made a point to check it out before I returned home. My stomach was growling by the time I made it back to the inn I was staying at. I purchased a bowl of pork and vegetable stew with a small loaf of crusty bread to mop up every bit of the hearty broth.

A mug of strong ale chased down my meal before I made my way back to the room. The inn was a rather shabby place whose only claim to fame was being the cheapest place to sleep on this tier of the city. Cheap as it was, at least the cramped room I was staying in was clean. The last thing I’d want was to catch the fantasy world equivalent of bedbugs.

Despite the day’s events still brewing inside my mind, I fell asleep quickly, enjoying the cool breeze from the small window in my room. I don’t know how long I’d been sleeping when I came to a groggy wakefulness as I sensed something wrong. Maybe it was the time spent traveling with the gnomes and worrying about the undead lurking about, or maybe I’d just heard a sound that shouldn’t be there. Whatever it was, I was awake and could feel the presence of something else in the dark room with me.

Though the small, open window, the glow of streetlamp let in a bit of light, enough to make out the shapes nearby. On the nightstand was a lantern that I had turned down for the night, and I tried to sit up and reach for it. Trying to sit up, I realized my limbs weren’t moving like they should have been, I fumbled with the lamp, clumsily turning up the flame as a figure in the shadows hissed.

At the foot of my bed was a young woman wearing tattered and stained clothing. She had a hold of my left leg, and her face was buried in my calf. Her eyes looked up at me, pupils slit like those of a beast. Even as we gazed at each other, the woman made slurping sounds as she clamped tight onto my leg and continued to feed. There was no pain, but I didn’t need to feel anything to be horrified by what was happening.

I had gone to bed with my new magic belt on, and I reached to grab the first thing that came to mind, my Foe Summoner ghoul figurine. As I thought of the figurine, I could feel it in my hand as I touched the belt. My mind started to get foggy, and I dropped back down on the bed, sleep fighting to pull me back.

More of the horrible slurping sounds caused me to shake off the fatigue long enough to push a point of mana into the figurine. On the brink of passing out, I issued an order to have the ghoul defend me. My undead minion materialized at the side of my bed, shrieking and ripping at the woman that was feeding on my leg.

I nodded off, only coming to as I heard voices shouting. Light from several lanterns flooded the room as the door was knocked off its hinges. The ghoul charged forward to deal with the new intruders but was cut down in seconds. As I sat up, I could see the shredded and partially consumed body of the young woman on the floor near the foot of my bed.

A blade was leveled at my neck as a gruff voice issued a command.

“Move and die.”