: Drovak :

Three years. For three years the damned array had been going and nothing to show for it. A self-maintaining multi-plane scanning conjugation matrix array.

It had taken him two years to create the array. With the wording, spellcraft, and contingencies worked into it, not to mention the scarcity of the regents, catalysts, and the mana foci. Along with the fact that he had still needed to act in his capacity as the predominant Archmagi of conjuration at the collage and the headache inducing paperwork that he had to fill out to even attempt the array. Not to mention the fact that there were only three summoning chambers that would be able to Shield and Seal quickly and powerfully enough should the summoning matrix overload and destabilize.

He still held out a bit of hope that the array would work.

Today he felt a stirring. His awareness of the array at the back of his mind starting to give him an itch. With a bubbling bit of excitement. He realized that the array had found something.

‘Blintx! The array is being active, I am in the middle of testing these journeymen for their midterms. Go check on the array. I expect we will be getting a visitor soon.’

‘Of course Drovak. I will attend to the array. Any . . extra orders?’

‘No, just watch. And if it should be a monstrosity, inform me and activate the Seal.’

**********

: Jax :

I hate midterms. No matter what the subject was, all the anxiety and pressure grinds you down. Thankfully I knew of a way to bolster my spirits, and to keep my head up, Demons and Dorks. It was truly one of the best means of working out your frustrations and inner murderhobo.

That part of you that is a bit more primal then most people in polite company are comfortable expressing. The ugly little imp that rides on your shoulder and when someone starts to piss you off tells you to grab their thumb and twist it behind their back until they are kneeling in agony and pleading with you to stop.

Of course, we all do our best to not talk about the little imp. But I found that meditation, watching anime, manga, reading and a gratuitous number of bloody videogames helps, but nothing quite scratches that itch like playing a table top pen and paper role-playing game with some disturbed friends.

The more I played though, the more ideas I started to get about adventures and traps and challenges for others to try to overcome. This led to me asking my buddies if they would mind ME being the GM for once.

Ever since, I am the GM.

I went from being just a single little murderhobo trying to shank the world to a million different faces and voices all trying to test if the murderhobos were good enough. Giving out prizes for doing good, punishing them for being stupid and all the little things in-between.

Then I found online Game Master help groups. And some sites to create and publish maps and other things. I was happy. I had just gotten through a shitty week of midterms and was able to go play with some friends to blow off a shit ton of steam.

I had just finished a night of Gaming at the store that we liked to meet up at (Guardian Games in Portland Oregon), and was waiting for my ride (Portland Streetcar - B Loop). When I feel a most peculiar sensation, it started very slightly, gradually I feel my sense of balance start to fluctuate. As if I was bouncing on a trampoline. It steadily gets worse until I felt my hair stand on end. Then with a pop, I am . . . elsewhere.

I don’t know how to really explain it. One second, I’m on the side of the street waiting at the stop, the next I know, I’m in a gray . . . void. I feel at once weightless and as if gravity had been turned up from 1 to 2. Ok, maybe 1.5. I have the sensation of falling and of going forward at ludicrous speed. There is no wind but I can just FEEL that I am going down and forward at speeds that I am sure should kill me. Especially when I come to the inevitable end, if there is an end. After what feels like 20 minutes of lurching horror, my ADHD kicks in and I get just a little bit bored. Which does wonders for me as my mind starts to wander.

Did I die?

. . . . . . .

I hope not. Maybe I just passed out?

Well if I did die I hope no one decides to look on my laptop . . . 67 gigs of porn is not what I want to be remembered for.

. . . . . .

What feels like hours pass. Until I notice the first change. I can feel myself slowing. Now just puke your guts fast, not your about to be a stain on the ground fast. Only now do I realize that I have not had to breath this entire time.

. . . .

Yep I’m dead.

*********

: Blintx :

Well, this is boring.

Master told me to come and greet the new student, but the array has shown very little activity.

. . .

I wonder how gullible this one will be?

Oh it would be fantastic if I could get this one to somehow explode. That’s how the second apprentice went. Tried to use dragonwort instead of drakefern. Made for a spectacular fireball. Hehehe.

Or maybe I can get him to form a contract with a primordial spirit, they always cause their contractors to go insane!

How much longer is this going to be? I have been sitting here for over an hour.

Meh, I’ll just activate the shield and have a nap.

Blintx concentrates for a moment or so and a shimmering half bubble encircles the array before him. Slowly he drifts off to sleep.

**********

: Jax :

I think I can see it! The light at the end!

Oh god, I hope I am not going to hell.

With a static discharge and a pop I fall a foot or so from empty space into a glowing circle.

I am disoriented as fuck.

My head is pounding and my legs crumble almost as soon as I touch solid ground. My bad knee really does not like that and twinges in sharp mind splitting pain. I land on my backpack. Good to know that I still have that. I just lay there for a minute or so trying not to puck.

Nope, no good. I’m gonna hurl.

As fast as I can, which is a very slow flop. I try to roll over onto my side. I almost make it too. But with a heave I puke all over myself and splatter the ground with my last meal. A party platter from Tacobell.

Good god.

The pain from my knee and now the pungent smell of puke inform my of one thing. Today was not a good day to get out of bed.

After a few moments I pull myself together enough to try to sit up. My knee hates that idea but I do it anyway.

Fuck you knee.

Breathing a little ragged from the acid coating my throat and the searing pain from my knee I try to just breath. God I smell. A bit latter and many deep breaths, I open my eyes.

. . .

I’m in a forcefield? And a summoning circle . . . . . I think.

The forcefield is transparent but it is like looking through bright glowing hazy glass. I take a second and notice a few different things.

I am in a circle and the forcefield is inside the inner circle separating me from any of the . . . runes? That ring the circle. There is a cat with wings sleeping about a foot or so away from the circle. I really need to pee. I seem to have all of my cloths, backpack and my box of tricks (a tackle box that I use to hold all of my maps, minis and other items for D&D). I may or may not have shit myself.

I seem to be in a single room. I’d say about 20ft by 20ft. the circle I am in is about 10ft in diameter. Now that I am not immediately in pain (I am still in pain but it is very much manageable), I notice a interesting thing. It feels like the air is charged with a shit ton of electricity. Ever stand underneath those super heavy duty industrial power lines? The ones that are made to handle and send 600 volts? There is a quality to the air when you stand under them. You can feel the thrum of the electricity in your bones. The air felt like that, charged. As if I was under a huge power line carrying thousands of volts.

Freaky. As. Fuck.

Because as far as I could tell, it was not coming from the forcefield, I felt as if the forcefield was holding it back. After a few more moments of bug-eyed wonder. I notice something had changed, the cat was no longer asleep.

I started to study it and for some reason I almost felt like it was studying me. I mean more then the cat being a cat studying. He actually looked fairly cool. A sleek frame akin to a Siamese cat, but with dark gray fur and splotches of green. Oh and the wings. Yeah those were also noteworthy. They reminded me of owl wings. The shape and length of the feathers in relation to his body consistent with an owls (I’m an animal nerd). Trying to see if he was a bit more of a chimera and had clawed back legs I approached the forcefield.

“Please, don’t get closer. You reek.”

. . . . ?

I start to look around for the source of the voice. After a minute or so I shrug and take another step towards the cat.

“No, really. You stink creature.”

With a start I realize that the one who talked was the cat. Of course, I was eloquent and professional.

“Holy shit a talking cat!”