Prologue

August 8th, 7:30pm, 2010.

Earth

Somewhere, Texas

At the end of Pike Street, there was a two-story Victorian style home that had long since fallen into disrepair. With the sheer volume of vines and vegetation that had slowly overtaken the home, one could infer that no one had lived there in quite some time, the azure blue coating of paint having faded to a pale shadow of its former self. One would be right, however there were a group of students there quite regularly. Even though the students knew that the owners of the home had disappeared several years prior, they had been dared to enter by other students who believed the home to be haunted and didn’t quite care what happened to them. Thanks to this, however, they realized that it would be a great spot for them to hold their D&D sessions, the very reason why they were shunned by their peers.

Brandon held up a die they had found in the house, viewing it with the aid of one of the flashlights that they regularly brought with them, along with a letter that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere a few minutes previous, and the small sheet that was originally underneath it, containing only a single word, an odd name. The former looked like a contract of sorts, about adventure, honor, and glory. But more importantly, power. The group liked the idea of power, it meant that someone might actually pay attention, or care what they did or said. Brandon and his group were well aware that people knew where they were, but really had no care about what happened to them, in any significant way. They didn’t have to think on it long, as a result of this mindset. There was a look of want, of greed in all their eyes. They didn’t think twice nor discuss it at all before acting.

Brandon remembered the name that was said, that caused this reaction, and was the only word on the small sheet of paper that the die had been sitting on top of. Well, see you later, little brother.

There was a flash of light, and the die rolled onto the ground. The paper fluttered, and the one word on it was peering up at the world. Khazam.

Chapter One

End of One, Beginning of Another

July 23rd, 8:13pm, 2018

Earth

Somewhere, Texas

The air was tense in the room, so much so that it could have been cut with a butter knife. The massive crack as a gigantic Steel Warhammer whizzed past the Orc Barbarian’s shoulders and collided against the stone wall, shattered that silence, easily. The impact left a giant hole in the wall, and the Orc Barbarian Muz’gahl, shrugged his broad shoulders in a relaxed manner, lowering his stance, ready to retaliate with his Rage ability available.

“Damn your high AC, Zach!” The DM, Fred, called out in frustration sighing heavily and picking up his traitorous die and considered throwing it into a pouch of other traitors. How could it betray him during the final session of their 2-year long Deserts and Drakes campaign? The audacity!

Zach leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief as he rotated his aching neck and stretched his bruised arms and legs. He is a heavy-set senior that is in the boxing club at school, along with taking martial arts lessons, that beat humility and discipline into him, sometimes literally. Fred was a computer junkie with a lot of love for mythology, especially Greek and Norse, and was normally shy. Greasy hair, tall and slim of build, it was obvious he didn’t get out much. But behind that Dungeon Master screen, was a demon hell bent on finally killing this Orc Barbarian.

“Your characters NEVER get killed, what the shit, dude?!” Tanya was upset as well. Again. A trademark of hers, really, at the D&D table.

“I hope he doesn’t, I want to end this campaign on a positive note, honestly. I’m really low on hp and have next to no spell slots or potions.” Kate stated simply.

Kate, their resident ‘calm as a cucumber’ member of the group, who usually made the right kind of life decisions within D&D. She was a cheerleader, taller and slim, with pink and blue dyed hair. Kate’s character was an Elf Mage, Kristodarifa or Kris for short. Tanya on the other hand, was a tiefling rogue, Khazraugh, that was currently bleeding out and had failed two death saves, along with two successful saves. She was a trumpet player in the high school band, and she used her lungs to rant at the table, every time. It was more or less her outlet at this point, for a number of frustrations. Tanya brushed her blue and blonde hair out of her face as she rolled her eyes at Kate’s statement. Tanya and Kate had a different kind of relationship than everyone else at the table, and the two never argued in front of others, if it could be helped.

“Good thing this isn’t real life, I’d hate to be the medic always saving your asses.” John, their group’s Priest, stated bluntly cracking his back, producing a sound that made everyone else wince slightly. John was a football player, and even more heavily built than Zach, he was looking to become an EMT after graduating, and he found something satisfying about healing that he couldn’t put into words. Standing at six feet five inches, he was easily the tallest of the group, which made it awkward in the smaller kitchen that they always met in.

John’s human priest, Jonathan the Merciful, rushed into the fray to rescue Khazraugh and was able to land a critical hit on the Ogre Chieftain their group was fighting. With Tanya rolling a save, her HP refilled to 1, but was unable to do anything. Kate cast fireball, being especially careful to not include Muz’Ghal in the range of the spell, bringing the Ogre Chieftain to its knees. It was all or nothing, now.

“Don’t mess this up, Zach! Use the lucky die!” Kate said excitedly, while Fred was sweating profusely, knowing that the big bad was one hit from death.

“Alright, I’ve got to end this with a berserker rage, guys.” Muz’Gahl roared in a bloodthirsty rage, rushing and jumping off the Ogre King’s back, doing a backflip off the wall and bringing the heavy battle-axe down with a sickening CRUNCH as brains splattered everywhere, the battle-axe went completely through the skull ending the final battle.

“Great jobs guys, even though I hate your lucky die, Zach.” Fred laughed, then everyone got up to stretch and grab more pizza to sit back down and talk some more.

“Well, it saved our asses again. Still the weirdest die I’ve ever seen.” Zach stated, looking at the aforementioned die once again.

The die didn’t actually have a 1 or 20 on it, like most of its kind, although it did have 20 sides. Where the 1 should have been, there was a swirl with 2 lines through it, and a skull overlaid on top. Where the 20 should have been, was a swirl with crossed axes and a heart. When Zach used it, it landed on 20 more often than not. However, it would land on 1 more often than not for Tanya.

“Well, I know I don’t like it. Unlucky as hell for me.” Tanya flipped it off, as though it could see the gesture.

Zach had a contemplative look on his face and turned to Fred.

“Didn’t your older brother have one of these?” Zach asked him.

Fred nodded. “Yeah, he found it shortly before he disappeared, at least from what my parents had told me. Why, what are you thinking?”

“Well, I remember there being a note underneath it when I found it in that abandoned house last year. Something about a Khazam? Plus…those other disappearances around the same time. Didn’t they find something similar where those people were last seen?”

The group had been looking for a different place to hold their D&D meetings, so they had checked out a nearby abandoned house, and it was bare except for a few odd things, the twenty-sided die included. It had been Fred’s suggestion, as the smaller kitchen was cramped and hard to move around in with the two heavy set players.

“What’s a…” Tanya started, but stopped as the die seemed to shimmer, and a paper appeared nearby. It seemed to pop suddenly into existence for most of them, but to Fred, it looked like It had shimmered. Then he thought it had also popped into existence, leaving him confused.

They all looked at the die, confused further. At the same moment, the door opened and the last member of their group, Stan, walked in.

“Sorry guys, they held me at work. Did we win against the Ogre chieftain?” Stan asked, curious.

Stan was a senior, he had just recently started work as a security guard for a retirement home nearby. He was the kind of guy who worked out a bit, but mostly contented himself with LARPing and playing games online in his free time. His character, a dwarf paladin by the name of Hrothgar had unfortunately been trapped by an extradimensional creature in the previous session.

“Yeah, and a paper just…popped out of this die we found last year; I think. Or did it shimmer?” Fred informed Stan, looking confused. The paper glowed slightly, the glow itself looking a bit like an aurora. Fred looked at the others. He felt an odd sensation on the back of his head, but when he went to rub the spot where he had felt the sensation, there was nothing there.

“Should we…look? Or is it some sleight of hand, Zach?” Stan gave Zach a sidelong look, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Wasn’t me, I’m no good with my hands like that.” Zach rolled his eyes, snorting slightly at the faux suspicion.

Tanya snickered and Zach flushed. Kate ignored them and walked over to it, looking closely. She lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head. “It says, ‘do not speak these words out loud unless you are sure you wish to leave your current life behind.’”

Everyone looked around, confused and very sure someone was pulling a prank on them.

Fred narrowed his eyes and looked at the old piece of paper, reading the following:

‘Do not speak these words out loud unless you are sure you wish to leave your current life behind, forever. This is your only warning. If you wish to, speak these words and everything around you within 10 feet will disappear along with you. This world is like nothing you believe could have existed before. There are many dangers and horrors awaiting, but also vast riches, and vast power, should you prove yourself WORTHY.’

‘I wish to leave my mundane life behind for adventure, honor and glory. I knowingly risk my life, sanity, mind and very soul in exchange for this. I willingly enter this new world of Magick and Steel, Miracles and Horrors, and acknowledge I will be given a guide to this new world and it’s rules and laws, and that I shall enter the world in a safe town until I can comprehend what this new world is about. Safety is a luxury, not guaranteed.’

‘This must be said willingly and cannot be forced’

Everyone had read the letter over Fred’s shoulder, and there were mixed reactions. Utter confusion, but also joy on Stan’s face. Kate and John looked interested and considering. Tanya, as usual, look affronted while Fred thought.

‘Is this what happened? Did Brandon find something like this and choose to take this so-called offer? And what about the other people that have disappeared around the same time? Others in school seem to pretend not to even notice they were gone. Like they never existed.’

Zach nodded slowly, as he read it over. “My martial arts instructor would tell me to take this kind of thing seriously. Maybe we should meet up again sometime this week to discuss it?”

“You’re actually considering this?” Tanya looked at Zach incredulously.

“Yes. Something tells me, it’s the right move.” Zach looked at her steadily without blinking as he replied in a serious tone.

Everyone nodded and agreed to meet up the next day to discuss the strange letter and the ‘offer’.