Chapter 2

First Steps

The surrounding stonework was alive with motion and the clacking of bones. June looked around at the various undead. Many of the beings were totally naked, either composed of rotten flesh or pure bones. Several larger skeletal forms dotted the horrific mass, these skeletons were all crafted from humanoids much larger than she’d ever seen. Around her was a steady stream of death, all compelled to move to the same destination.

“Nothing about this makes any sense,” she questioned to herself. ”Where am I, and what am I doing?” Trying to gain insight from the surrounding environment, she cast a glance at the chamber.

The surrounding hall was lit by a low torchlight, but June’s sight wasn’t compromised. There were few details adorning the surrounding walls, other than some stonework text featuring runes that were alien to her. But she couldn’t stop and examine them as the tide crept on.

As June’s limbs carried her forward, details jumped out at her. Despite the closeness, there was no odor. June had smelled dead animals before, and there was not even a lingering hint of decay in this crowded mass of rotting people and bones.

When she scanned the bodies around her, she saw something that sent a new shiver through her bones. The mark burned onto the back of a nearby zombie looked way too familiar. It had to be a Summoning Brand. This Summoning Brand was styled, not the blank canvas she had created that night. This meant that the caster had already completed it, binding the creation to their absolute will. The crooked form burned into the meat of its back featured a multitude of curves and bends, extending into multiple spirals and other shapes. The complex web of Runes that made up the Brand formed a crude ‘S’ shape. This is a Brand that she would have seen in Duneria, no question. The realization prickled across her body, like a thousand tiny pins. The sensation was indeed more pronounced than she expected. June surveyed the surrounding souls, all the other creatures had the same Brand. “It can’t be,” her thought trailed off as she tried to get a more detailed view.

But as she tried to stretch her neck, the push of the crowd compelled her to keep moving. The crush prevented her from slowing for even a second. The deluge of death around her continued to trudge forward, like an unending tide.

June heard numerous noises ahead of her, further down the tunnel. As the undead stumbled along, the end of the hallway became visible. Over the heads of the different rotting and entirely alien humanoids, she saw a brightly lit room beyond. Within, she picked up fresh voices shouting. This new chamber featured varied statues lining the walls, many depicting armored warriors and proud mages, all of whom were unknown to June.

As the group of skeletons and other specters exited the tunnel, they gradually spread out. The group filtered into the larger chamber, and the difference was stark. Orderly compared to the chaotic flood of the chamber she awoke in, this room had single-file lines of monsters and undead throughout.

The groups of undead flowed towards distinct entities inhabiting this larger room. This gathering of overseers fixed their gazes on each revenant that passed them. As June got closer to the head of the group, she heard more of the commands being spoken.

Within the group of bosses directing the traffic, there were many forms. Various possessed skeletons adorned in flowing violet robes scattered amongst the flow. More rude-looking fiends also took up different positions. Beastmen even stood among their number, including a rather imposing Tigerman wearing red cloth over its hulking muscles. The directing figures barked out commands at those in the mass. June fixed her attention on one of the robed skeletons.

“You, go there!” The decorated skeleton grabbed a zombie passing it by, directing it to a nearby spot against the wall on a far side of the room. June followed their gaze and saw an extremely complex mechanism.

A wooden ring sat atop a dais, twinkling with small blue lights, which she recognized as flaring Runes. Countless shapes marked every surface of the platform. Above the ring was a metal contraption, made mostly of gold, itself being a mix of interlocking metals, twisted into differing shapes. The entire assembly was covered with more runes. Those metallic rings were laced with various metals: silver, brass, gold, iron. The further up the metal contraption she followed, the harder it became to see detail. The metal rings flowed into solid shafts that extended up into the ceiling. Rings and metal protrusions seemed to flow into nothingness in the arched dome of this vast chamber. June returned her gaze to the platform—she saw a single metal point fixed above the wooden platform, and a zombie was just now stepping into the center. After a temporary pause, the zombie stood in place for several seconds. June saw the Brand on its back glow red hot for an instant. A green flash of light filled the dais and coalesced around the arm of the zombie. A small red gem remained in its mangled hand. The zombie then trundled off of the platform, heading deeper into the chamber.

June was snapped out of her pondering as a hand gripped her bony forearm. Another skeleton stood over her, starting her down. This new skeleton had many golden trinkets adorning its face, fixed into the bone. It looked as though earrings were bolted in everywhere, except the eye sockets. Blue flared within its black orbs for a second, as the larger skeleton found what it was looking for in June.

“Go over to the north scanners,” the skeleton spoke just loud enough to overpower the din of noise around them. Before she could ask questions, June’s feet carried her over to the growing queue on the far wall. The dazed skeleton lined up in a long queue of smaller undead creatures. The larger forms had gone to the other walls around the room, to their own ‘scanners‘.

After a few minutes, the queue moved forward enough to allow her a glimpse inside the contraption. During that time, several more undead had gone through the same mysterious process, receiving a gem of various colors. As her turn crept closer, June felt a tingle of excitement mix with her uncertainty. June tried to glance around for anyone else that she could get a bead on. All the other undead around her, the ones that had eyes anyway, seemed content to stare off into space. Aside from the shuffle of bones and flesh, the only noise was the occasional shouted command.

June craned her neck to get a better view of the platforms as she drew closer. The top of the platform featured the same S shape she had seen on the Summoning Brands, cut from large rubies. The entire platform was stained black, save for the runes and the giant shape embedded in the surface.

After a few minutes, the line finally ended with her. It was her turn to undergo whatever the hell this was. “OK, it didn’t hurt the others, so I should be fine,” she reasoned.

As she stepped into the ring, the runes thrummed, becoming more visible as they seemed to fill with energy. Then the ruby inlaid into the platform glowed as well. A pulling sensation forced her to peer into the light, and she lost focus on the surrounding world. Her last feeling before her consciousness shifted was that of being sucked through a tube. Her entire body felt as though it was stretched for a mere moment. But before the sensation became painful, a momentary darkness overtook her.

June found herself in a dark room. A single white light burst into the room from above. The chamber was so dark it seemed to have no end. Out of the shadows stepped a skeleton, wearing ebony-colored gear. Its visible skull was tinged black, as if stained by shade. The metallic armor featured spikes on the pauldrons, as well as many other parts. June had seen similar villainous armor sets in different games. Assorted green and red gems ran in rivulets down the chest piece and leggings, glowing with untold power. The entire set appeared to be drenched in a steady flow of verdant and ruby blood, coating the joints and gaps.

“June, welcome to your new life. Your very being is now the property of the great Sharth’ax!” shouted the skeleton.

“Where am I?” asked June.

“Obviously, you’re in the lair of our glorious overlord. I know that means nothing to a firsty like you, but it soon will.” His voice was almost a slither, bearing something sinister.

“Firsty?” June inquired, tilting her skull to the side. “Seriously, where the fuck am I?” she pressed, wanting to step closer to make her impatience clear. But try as she might, she remained planted in place.

A chuckle from the armored skeleton rattled from its darkened bones. The armored behemoth in front of her snapped his arm out and held out a small, opaque gem. The jewel was about the size of a baseball and covered in jagged edges.

“Take it,” commanded the unknown entity opposite her. June’s hands reflexively grasped the jewel faster than she could even say anything. Then, the shadowed room was gone. A series of visions rolled through June’s consciousness. Sounds of rushing water, the roar of a fire, even the explosive crash of an earthquake. The images blurred into a mix of indistinguishable colors and sounds. A dizzying array of hues threatened to overwhelm the woman, reminding her of a twisted carnival ride, a maze of color and unknowable fear.

June focused on the passing image of a pine forest. Timber stretched to the horizon, swaying in the gentle wind. The serenity wouldn’t last, as the trees heaved and flexed around her. A gale blew through the woodland, whipping plants and sticks about in a chaotic mess. Then came the bangs. Heavy thumps slammed through the trees in a rhythmic pattern. Steps, steps coming closer. As the cacophony approached, even the massive trees seemed to shrink, hiding away. A deep roar and a rush of air bowled over her awareness. June was attacked by an explosion of noise. Before she could even comprehend what she was hearing or feeling, the shock wave ended in a merciful instant. Everything had gone to black. June hadn’t passed out, but her consciousness remained floating amid the ether.

A small tapping sound filled the blackness. The weak sound turned into a thump, and June opened her eyes to locate the cause of the noise. There was a wrinkled man standing above her. He had been knocking on her skull.

The figure wore an umbral robe, bordered with white filigree, and his long and gnarled hands were barely visible beneath his bellowing sleeves. Etched onto those sleeves were many shapes and unknown letters out of purple thread. Some of them looked familiar, but couldn’t quite be arranged into any alphabet she knew.

As June scrambled to her feet, questions formed, but none came. She could only focus on the piercing red eyes of the man before her. Veins popped around the crimson orbs in his head as he regarded June’s form with a stony gaze. As he blearily scanned over her bleached bones, there was a silence hanging in the air between them. For several beats, the leering stare of the robed figure searched her being, before finally saying something, just above a whisper.

“You’ll be useful. Oh yes, very helpful indeed.” Everything about his tone held a noxious mixture of restrained contempt and desire for the skeleton. In a sudden change, the man’s red eyes glowed blue, then faded. “Ah, so that’s it,” growled the mysterious man. The surrounding void seemed to dance to his utterances. His words were like ghosts wailing through eternity, calling a lost lover. The surrounding shadows undulated, then lunged toward her.

No, not towards her directly, instead aiming at the stone clutched in her hand. The mess of ichorous black wrapped around the jewel like satin before the gem glowed. The luminous, rough-hewn mineral blasted a nearly blinding white hue. Using her other hand to cover her eye sockets, she continued to stare in wonder through her boney fingers.

The ebony mass enveloping the opaque crystal consumed it. The previously cloudy color shifted, growing darker, more crimson. As more inky tendrils fused with the mineral, it pulsed with more than just one color. Blue hues crept onto its surface. A subtle violet shade tinted it, and as more shadows encroached, the jewel rocked in her hand. June felt the jewel grow hotter, as if absorbing whatever this shadowed mess was had somehow heated it. But as quickly as the vibrations started, they ceased. A small sizzle could be heard coming from its hard surface as the dark clouds finally retreated.

“What’s your full name?” questioned the robed creeper, now regarding her with more indifference than before. Removing a green glass orb from within his robes, the man raised it, waiting for her response.

Thinking for a moment, the now-skeleton regarded her options. “I’ve already told them my real name. Why not just run with it? There must be a connection to Duneria here, so let’s go with that.” Deciding to just roll with it, she responded. “June Vallentra”, she said aloud. Choosing a mix of her real name and the name of her Duneria avatar felt right.

After June spoke, another damned flash of light dominated her sight. She wished she had eyelids. As the haze and speckles in her vision cleared, an intimately familiar status window greeted her.

Name Class Levels Affinities Attributes Skills: June Vallentra ???

Total Level: 1

Class: Tier 1

Death (Racial)

Strength: 12

Endurance: 8

Agility: 8

Willpower: 14

Intelligence: 14

???

The lack of details was unexpected, but this was without a doubt the character overview window she had seen hundreds of times, it even had the golden edge on the border. Her wonderment ended with the speaking of that old coot. “Now, off with you.” Before June formed a single syllable in response, the snap of a pair of fingers was all she heard.