Chapter Four

The New Arrivals

The nearly invisible strands attached to the back of the new arrivals’ heads snapped as they went through the portal. The Khazam leaned back, grinning contentedly from the feast of emotions he’d been enjoying the last two days. Only one of them noticed something was off about all their reactions, this Fred character. Little did they know, when they mentioned his name on Earth, it allowed him access to manipulate the areas around them for a short while. Including attaching his tethers, to feed off their emotions and allow him to gently nudge them towards saying the words required to be snatched from their world. They still did it willingly, in a way.

“Something about that boy’s last name bothers me. Oh well, that makes roughly one hundred new arrivals today. First their emotions, then their minds and lastly their souls. Yes, today was a good day to setup a strong harvest in the future.”

The Khazam grinned maliciously and returned to his core in the center of the world.

After the group entered the portal, everything had gone black again and they felt weightless. Almost instantly the sensation faded. They appeared near the base of a hill and it appeared to be mid-day where they were.

As their vision cleared, the group heard someone speaking.

“So, which of you fools was it?”

They all looked at each other confused. Then they felt like a dam had broken. One they hadn’t been aware of, holding back their emotions.

“Well? Which of you was dumb enough to say ‘Khazam’ on Earth?”

Zach stepped forward. Fred thought he saw tears in his eyes, the first real hint of emotion in a few days.

“it was on a note we found near an object we thought was a twenty-sided die, we had no idea what it meant.”

The stranger sighed sadly.

“Of course you didn’t. It acts as a trigger, letting the being known as the Khazam affect your world for a short while. Being as he’s from this world, the trigger doesn’t work here. You’re one of seventeen groups that were manipulated after having your emotions fed on. It may be best to take a day to rest and recover from that. We’ve seen new arrivals go mad from that process; it’s not a pretty sight.”

So that’s what it was? I thought something was wrong, but that it was just my imagination. Fred reflected quietly. That seemed twisted, sinister even. He didn’t understand what this Khazam would get from doing this kind of thing.

He pointed to a nearby building, it was made of what looked like solid oak, but was almost shining in the sunlight due to the quality of the polished wood.

“Take these and go speak to the Innkeeper; Jack. Tell him Karl sent you, and that you’re new arrivals.”

A screen popped up in their visions as the man handed each of them a bag, but they all ignored the screens. They desperately needed sleep and to understand what had just happened.

As the group walked into the building, a large burly man looked up from cleaning a glass at the bar.

“I’m going to hazard a guess that you’re a group of new arrivals.”

Fred nodded, meeting the man’s eyes.

The man extended a hand and nearly crushed Fred’s by accident.

“Name is Jack. No need to say it; Karl sent you. He’s the only bleeding fool who sends your type to me.”

Jack walked around the bar and handed them each their own room key.

“Fourth floor, off you go. You’ll need the sleep at least. Everyone in this town has seen what the Khazam’s feeding on emotions can do. Dinner will be in about five hours.”

Zach and John led the way up the stairs, everyone silent and looking like they had just seen a nightmare. All of us are expressive except myself and Stan, really. It must have really bothered them to feel controlled like that. Fred mused.

They stopped outside the rooms at the end of the hall, looking at each other and waving awkwardly. Fred walked into his room and laid down on the small mattress that would be the equivalent of a twin-size on earth. The rooms consisted of these small mattresses and a small dresser each.

Fred didn’t even notice when he had passed out.

Screams, the clang of metal on metal. An explosion, the sound of a rockslide. The thunderous booms of more explosions rocking the world.

Fred jolted up right as the door to his room sounded like it was going to splinter from the knocking.

“Come on, Fred. We’ve been trying to wake you up for almost an hour.”

Fred opened the door to see John standing there, looking more alive than the past few days.

“Feeling better, John?”

“Yeah, that was…draining, to say the least. I hope I never feel that again.”

Fred nodded, agreeing.

“Oh, Fred. Check your notification and bag before we go down. Apparently, it’s courtesy or something like that.”

Fred relaxed his vision and saw a small bag icon, and a glowing notification icon in his vision. Selecting the notification icon, he saw:

{ALERT} Debuff added: Emotions Devoured. Time until expiration: sixteen hours. Effect: Your emotions will be channeled to the devourer, leaving you feel as though nothing matters in this world or the next, sapping your motivation and will to do anything. The consequences of this could be far reaching.

{ALERT} Debuff Removed: Emotions Devoured. As this started on Earth and you were transported to Al’Qarim afterwards, all debuffs have been removed and you have gained a unique resistance to Debuff: Emotions Devoured.

{ALERT} you have obtained {Minor Bag of Holding}.

{Minor Bag of Holding}: Holds up to twenty items of any individual weight up to three hundred pounds. Items placed inside will have their weight reduced by ninety percent for the user, not for the bag limitations.

Fred selected the small bag icon, and a screen popped up. It was a four by five grid. He saw there was a {Uncommon Contract with Lightning Drake Whelpling}, {Robes of the Invoker} and {Minor Magi Staff}. Fred decided to take a detailed look later at the robes and staff. He eyed the contract and the details came into view.

{Uncommon Contract with Lightning Drake Whelpling}: Use this item to form a contract with a lightning drake whelpling. You may then invoke its power during combat afterwards. Imbue your allies with the attributes of Air and Fire, increasing their damage and resistance with both attributes.

Fred had chosen Fire as his element and saw this as a good bonus to that decision. He closed the window out and followed John downstairs.

Everyone else was at a table in the corner, and waved John and Fred over when they saw them.

“Well, looks like everyone is feeling better. Should we discuss what to do?”

Zach asked, looking around to the others.

“Maybe we should make a plan on how to get back at that bastard for manipulating us.”

Tanya said heatedly, sounding like her regular self again. Kate nodded, amiably.

“What elements did everyone choose? Best if we all know who is better at what. I went Fire.”

“Air”

Zach replied.

“Fire”

Fred replied quickly.

“Life”

John said from Fred’s right. He had started eating something that looked like a mix of a racoon and a crab.

“Dark”

Stan said slowly, looking concerned at John’s meal.

“Hey, it tastes like chicken covered with creole.”

Everyone looked over to Tanya.

“Death.”

“Well, that’s an interesting choice for an Archer.”

Jack said, walking up behind them. He stopped suddenly, and Fred felt like someone had scanned him, like an MRI.

“Actually, interesting for your group as a whole. A Fire Invoker as your {Director}, A Fire Mage, Air Monk, Life Paladin, Dark Rogue and Death Archer. Life element Paladins are typical, but Paladins as a whole are a very rare class here.”

“How did you..”

Fred and Zach started, but Jack waved a hand, cutting them off.

“It’s a skill called Analysis. Tells me your Class, Element, and a few other tidbits of information. Tomorrow morning be down here early. We’ll be informing all of you new arrivals about what you got dragged into, and I don’t like repeating things very much.”

Jack walked off after nodding at them.

The group just looked at each other for a moment before shrugging.

“I guess it’s best to wait until morning when we know more, before making a plan then.”

Stan surmised, stabbing what looked like an oyster but was slimier and he couldn’t get it with his fork. Fred had been chewing on his Yokitari, glad to know this world had at least one dish that he knew he enjoyed. They sat in silence for the rest of the meal before Kate broke the silence.

“Well, we should know what equipment we’ll have starting out. I know have a {Minor Magi Staff} and {Magi Robes}.”

“{Minor Rogue’s Daggers} and {Minor Leather Tunic}, plus {Minor Leather Boots}.”

Stan said, glaring daggers at his faux oyster.

“{Minor Paladin’s Breastplate}, {Minor Paladin’s Shield} and {Minor Sword of Severing}.”

John replied, trying not to laugh at stan.

“{Minor Studded Gauntlets} and {Junior Boots of Swiftness}.”

Zach contributed.

“{Minor Invoker Robes} and {Minor Magi Staff}”

Fred tried to rush out as he was chewing.

“{Minor Bow of Death}, and a quiver of {Arrows of Death}.”

Tanya said, looking like she was ready to try one of them out on the food avoiding her attempts to grab it with her knife or fork.

Shortly after, the group decided to try to have a restful night of sleep. They would need it.

The night was very strange for some, but for others, it was an unwelcome visit.

Stan stood in the middle of his living room, his grandmother Martha sitting in her usual rocking chair, knitting. Except her eyes were dead, void of all light and life. “Your parents disappeared with the Dark too, dear. I thought you learned to avoid it. What’s so wrong with the Light?”

Memories of his parents flashed through his mind, the supposed car accident that happened eight years ago and yet the bodies were never found. The family members that blamed him and his grandmother, saying they were cursed because of something she did. A name they refused to say.

Stan sat up abruptly, a cold sweat covering him head to toe, unable to sleep again.

Fred sat in his bedroom, doing more research on Ragnarök. He always did love Greek mythology, as something about it called out to him.

“Well? That’s all you’re going to do?”

Fred whirled around, seeing his older brother, Brandon standing there. That’s not possible, he disappeared eight years ago.

“Don’t just research, Invoker. You need to act on your research. You have the fiery passion for it, now do it. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes that you’re wholly unprepared for, and not a lot of time to act on it. This is the only way to reach out and a lot of people are trapped.”

Fred couldn’t speak but felt a burning in his chest.

Fred rolled out of bed and hit the floor like a ton of bricks, passing out again immediately.

Zach stood in the same dojo he had visited for years. He saw his master’s eyes, and the expectation lingering there. “You were trained for this. Do us proud. Jail the dark one back where he belongs, before it’s too late for us.”

Zach bowed to his master and they began to spar.

John was in his CPR class, frantic. He had tried to help someone yesterday that was unresponsive, and he had panicked badly enough that his license had been revoked. He rubbed at the spot where his father had thrown a hammer at his back and ended up hitting his head instead. “You godsdamned fool, you used so much pressure you fractured his ribs and almost punctured a lung! I taught you better than to panic!” Michael, his father, yelled at him furiously. “At least do your friends better than you did for him, don’t panic or it could be their lives and worse!”

John sat up irritably, rubbing at the spot on the back of his head.

“I know, you old bastard, stuff it.”

For once, Tanya didn’t feel angry at everything. She looked around and noticed why. There weren’t any social expectations, no high demands from the band at school, no parents pushing her until her throat was so sore that she couldn’t breathe or drink without coughing up water and blood. She remembered when she would sneak off and throw knives at trees, or hack at the branches to vent her frustration. She sighed and knew she’d have to find this bastard who dragged them here and try her damnedest to kill him.

Tanya woke up just before the morning call, a grim smile on her face.

Kate was sitting in her room, watching a video while stretching. She had led a simple, normal life besides the occasional small rebellious acts of trying out for the cheerleading team and dying her hair pink and blue to spite her mother. She loved her parents, but they were…invasive to say the least. It took six months to finally convince her mother that the weekly D&D sessions she went to weren’t an excuse to go off and try to get pregnant to spite her mother further, weekly pregnancy tests she’d been forced to do had proved that. Her thoughts turned to their current situation. She had no idea how she could help or what to do. “More Fire might do the trick, maybe some lightning, even.” Her father, Javier, said from downstairs.

She woke up rolling her eyes.

“You damn pyromaniac.”

The next morning started at the crack of dawn, quite literally.

“GET DOWN HERE, NEW ARRIVALS!”

Jack’s voice boomed through the entirety of the inn. Fred thought it must be another skill. The group hurried down, to see the common room was filled to the brim.

“Alright. So, as you all know, you were all manipulated by the being known as the Khazam. What you don’t know, is that he does this every one hundred years or so. Time moves faster in Al’Qarim, approximately twelve and a half times faster than Earth. That means every eight years, he does this, from your Earth perspective. This is my twenty-third time seeing this happen, as aging is a very slow thing here. No one has ever died from old age on Al’Qarim because the time dilation doesn’t affect our bodies in that regard, and we’re unable to die from old age.”

“Speculation aside, researchers believe that somehow the Khazam was able to harness the energies of the Ether to do this. Add that to the fact that this world doesn’t have a core like other worlds, just a space referred to as the core, nothing molten like what Earth has, and you begin to see the scope of what you were dragged into.”

Jack paused and took a deep breath.

“Now, I know some of you saw the inn yesterday and thought it was glowing. To you, it is because this has become your Spawn Point. Only the Inns on this world can be Spawn Points, and there are only twelve of these on the First Layer. There are four Layers and the Core of the world, where the Khazam is speculated to reside. I know many of you want vengeance on him. However, you will need a massive amount of power and through…much trial in the past, only those originally from other worlds even have a chance at so much as scratching the Khazam.”

“You will each be given a spell according to your element, and training courses will be available from the other buildings in town according to what you want to learn. Swordsmanship, spellcasting, and so on.”

“Any questions that everyone needs an answer to?”

All the assembled groups looked to their companions, then back to Jack.

Seeing no one trying to ask a question, Jack nodded.

“Breakfast will be out shortly, take some time to train and prepare before you leave town. You don’t want to die for the first time soon, I’ve heard it can be very traumatizing.”