Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex eyes snapped open. Warped stone rose overhead, riddled with cracks and broken sections that gave way to the churning sky overhead. Coils of red and purple smoke roiled in the distance and the faint hiss of magic came from every direction around him.

His body seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. For that matter, it didn’t seem to remember how to move, either.

He laid perfectly still for several seconds. Then everything snapped back to its proper place. Alex drew in a ragged gasp and bolted upright, his heart bucking in his chest like a gun had gone off behind his head.

Claire and the others sat in a small room around him, leaning against the walls and under various degrees of exhaustion. Derek was sprawled out on the ground. His legs stuck out in every direction as he snored away, not a care in the world.

Alyssa had pulled her knees to her chest with her arms and tucked her head in to avoid having to look at anybody. Judging by the death grip she still had on the large paintbrush resting on the ground beside her, she wasn’t quite asleep.

Wess laid on his side beside her. He’d propped his head up on one arm and was examining a pile of gears and other assorted metal pieces. It seemed like he’d started building something, but only God could have said what it was.

Claire sat across from them with her back braced against the wall and legs propped up to support her arms. She watched over everyone in silence, small bags under her eyes and a wary expression on her features. Everyone knew just how dangerous the Mirrorlands were — but nobody knew it more than her.

“Finally decided to wake up, did you?” Wess drawled. “Bout damn time. It’s been four days. We’re running low on supplies. Won’t be long before we have to start cannibalizing each other. The end grows closer with every passing minute.”

“Would you stop yapping?” Alyssa asked, raising her head just enough to glare at him with on eye. “I need to — oh. Alex is awake.”

“Days?” Alex asked, aghast.

“He’s full of it,” Claire said. She rose from her spot at the wall and made her way over to join Alex, flopping back down beside him. “It’s been an hour. We’re just trying to relax while we can.”

Wess’ snickering laugh just barely managed to make it past Derek’s loud snores. Alex was pretty sure the sleeping man was shaking the ground. He was really quite loud. It was a minor miracle that no monster had tracked them down just by following the rumbling filling the room.

“What happened?” Alex asked. He grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to pull his memories back together. “I remember the boss dying. You killed it. Then… what, I passed out?”

“You really didn’t miss much at all. I,” Claire said. “I finished the boss off and we all ran back through the portal. It closed behind us. There wasn’t anything in the Mirrorlands this time around. I think the Revenant scared everything away the last time it swung by, so we’ve just been resting while we waited for you to get back. There wasn’t much else we could do, and you had some nasty injuries.”

“Nasty is an understatement,” Wess said. “You should have been dead. Multiple times over. I’m starting to wonder if I got dealt a bad hand by the System. Derek literally can’t die. I thought he was special, but then you go and pull the same shit off. Claire also seems pretty damn difficult to kill. I’m half expecting to find out that Alyssa can draw herself back to life.”

“I can’t,” Alyssa said, letting her head thump back down against her knees. “That would be stupid.”

Wess grunted. “Sure. But now that he’s awake again, we can get moving, right?”

“Rest first,” Alyssa said. “Are you trying to get killed? Rushing ahead isn’t going to get us anywhere. We already stole the kill. All we have to do is cash in the reward. Or are you thinking we’re going to go drop in on another family and steal their boss as well?”

“Well, if you’re suggesting it…”

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“You and what army?” Alyssa asked. “I’m spent. Wrung like a washcloth.”

Alex blinked. He reached for his own magic, only to find it was pretty much all waiting for him. The only exceptions to that were his monsters. They were all dead. His memory was fuzzy, but it seemed that Spark had gone down as well, likely toward the very end of the fight.

None of them had come back yet. Given that it had only been an hour since the fight, that wasn’t a surprise at all. It would be around another hour before any of them started to respawn.

But if the vast majority of his strength was back, then Alyssa’s power should have returned as well… unless she also had some kind of ability that had a longer than normal cooldown. It certainly wasn’t her normal magic that should have been spent.

Alex and Claire exchanged a quick glance. They’d both come to the exact same conclusion, but now wasn’t the best time to it up. Nobody here had been entirely forthright about the full extent of their abilities, and none of them were about to start sharing quite yet.

“Are we on any kind of time limit with the reward the boss dropped?” Alex asked. He paused. “You did get it, right?”

Claire smirked. “Of course I did. And there isn’t one. We might not want to take too long, though. I don’t think any of us are in the shape to go stealing another kill… but I’m doubtful that there are going to be many more kills left to steal at this point.”

“Why do you say that? Something give you an idea of how big the Ancestry is?” Wess asked, tilting his head to the side. “There could be a lot more.”

“No,” Alex said slowly. “I think Claire is right. An Ancestry isn’t System-made. I mean, the System plopped it here, but this is some dead guy’s Rube Goldberg project. If he were capable of making a monster a dozen times stronger than the ones we’ve already fought, he’d never bother with the weaker stuff. And Shawn — the guy overseeing this whole thing — is Expert. Just like the boss we just fought.”

Claire nodded in agreement. “Those are my thoughts as well. We’re reaching the limits of what the Ancestry can throw at us. And we’ve been at this for days. I don’t think this Ancestry goes much farther.”

“So… what? We just cash in and go home?” Wess asked. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m not one to extend a heist too long and end up with nothing.”

“Hold on,” Alex said. “We haven’t seen everything yet. There’s one more part of the Ancestry.”

“The Grave,” Claire said with a nod. “I know. But Shawn said that only someone worthy would be able to locate it. Something tells me he didn’t mean it was just some hidden door somewhere.”

“Could be at the deepest part of the Ancestry,” Wess offered between Derek’s snores. “Maybe whoever gets the deepest into the dungeon first wins and gets to inherit all that stinky rotted goodness. For that matter — if we make it to the end before the Families, I volunteer anyone but myself as the one to go first. I’ve got a reputation with the ladies that I plan to keep. I don’t want any rot on my private or public bits.”

“We wouldn’t let you get it anyway,” Alyssa said. “You’ve only been here for part of the Ancestry. You’re a mercenary.”

“I don’t remember you paying me,” Wess said. “I accept Credits, goods, clothes, and Bitcoin. If you find any, that is. Always wanted to have a Bitcoin.”

“Stop flirting,” Claire said with a yawn. She stretched her arms over her head, then scrunched her nose. “It’s only fun when I’m the one doing it. And I’m not so sure the Grave is going to be at the deepest part of the Ancestry.”

“What makes you say that?” Alyssa asked, lifting her head slightly. “Wouldn’t it stand to reason that the best part of the Ancestry is the most central one?”

“Maybe,” Claire allowed. “But this Ancestry doesn’t feel like it was just thrown together. The Rotkeeper put thought into it. At the very least, he stuck to his theme. And no part of his theme felt like he valued speed that much. Not enough to make it so that the first person to survive to the end of his dungeon would get his legacy. Shawn specified someone worthy. I think he want someone that really wants to embody him.”

“What do you think he meant, then?” Wess asked.

“The points,” Alex said. “You think you literally have to buy access to the Grave?”

Claire nodded. “Yes. Every time we’ve asked Shawn if we can afford the most expensive item in the shop, he’s said we can’t. What else could possibly be so expensive? It has to be access to the Grave and — in turn — his Legacy.”

“So that’s what you’ve been saving up for,” Wess said, blinking in surprise. “Huh. And here I thought you just wanted to get the coolest weapon he had and didn’t want to get stuck with some mid-level reward.”

Alex scratched the back of his head.

That’s kind of exactly what I was going for, actually.

Claire gave Wess a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t want the Rotkeeper’s Legacy either… but I’d imagine he’s left behind more than his techniques. There could be powerful weapons in there. That’s what I’m looking for.”

Wess nodded slowly.

Derek snored.

“So you think we’ve got enough points to buy our way into the Grave now?” Alyssa asked. “Because if not, and you’re right about getting near the end of the Ancestry, we’re running out of time.”

“Only one way to find out,” Claire replied with a grin. She looked to Alex. “You done sitting around?”

Alex rose to his feet. He shook his arms off, then returned her smile. “Yeah. Let’s go get out of here and go cash in those points in with Shawn.”