1 The Call of the Dungeon

My head! What happened? My body hurts. Everything seems to be spinning. Moreover, what is this annoying buzzing sound? Why is it so dark? Am I floating? Slowly I felt consciousness returning to my body, with a lot of effort, I opened my eyes.

Only to stay face-to-face with a dark void, scrambling to my feet, and nearly passing out as dizziness overtook me, I scanned the area around me, trying to figure out where I was.

There was nothing, up, down, forward, back, nothing, just a dark void, honestly, there was no up or down, as there was nothing to determine distance, my sense of depth did not exist.

Well, this must be a dream, better enjoy it while I do not wake up, lucid dreams are rare for those who do not train, so I walked forward, I think, it was strange, there was no floor, but I felt my feet stepping on something, it was soft and it made a wet noise.

I walked for a few minutes until I heard a noise, simultaneously a small bright spot appeared on the horizon, as I walked, the bright spot got bigger and the noise became clearer.

Eventually I managed to make out the noise, it sounded like drums and flutes, the dot got even bigger, its light bothers my eyes, suddenly there was an explosion of light and I had to cover my eyes to avoid being blinded.

When the light disappeared, I had a complete view of where I was, I was in space, and I saw nebulae, planets and stars everywhere, a circle of asteroids floating around me.

Looking at the ground, I saw the thing I had been stepping on all this time, it was a gigantic sphere of flesh, a shapeless mass of tentacles, mouths and teeth, this sphere was floating in front of a bright and huge red star.

Flying around the sphere of flesh, there were swarms of dark-shelled insects, I fell to the ground at this sight, this must be a dream, and it can only be a dream.

The sound of drums and flutes continued, dangerously close to me, looking at the source of the sound. I was facing an amorphous creature that was playing a large ornate flute. All that crossed my mind now, was to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, that was my mistake, because due to my panic, I fell into one of the giant mouths of the sphere of flesh, my last sight before falling into that dark abyss full of teeth was the amorphous creature watching me.

I do not know how long I fell, but several images popped into my mind. On the other hand, was it the great pit I fell into? Never mind, I saw a majestic stone city at the bottom of the ocean, I felt my back hitting the water, as I was sinking, I felt the water entering my lungs, I saw two big eyes staring at me, these eyes belonged to a giant with the head of an octopus.

I kept sinking until I fell face down on a sand dune, I rolled down the dune, on the way I saw Egypt, the sand of the desert and the pyramids covered the horizon.

I saw the pharaoh sitting on his throne, the pharaoh looked at me and his face was transformed, in the place of his head there was a great tentacle extended upwards, the form of the pharaoh changed again, I saw nine hundred and ninety-nine different forms. With an amused laugh, the Pharaoh waved his hand and the desert sand enveloped me.

When the sand disappeared, I found myself in a forest of gnarled black trees, a dead earth beneath my feet and a sickly green sky above me; I saw a large shape reaching out from a hole in the ground.

A gigantic mass of dark tentacles and mouths oozing, the creature moved across its massive goat hooves and smaller monsters spat from its mouths, the creature grabbed me with one of its tentacles and devoured me.

I found myself falling again, this time a series of screams, giggles and moans of pleasure assaulted my ears, I closed my eyes and covered my ears, trying to get rid of the damn sound.

Suddenly everything was silent, I hesitantly opened my eyes, only to come face to face with a series of luminous orbs, these orbs were floating in front of a large gate made of light, I felt the orbs staring at me, then I heard a voice.

"You only have one goal, entertain us."

The gate of light opened and a force pulled me towards it. On the other side of the gate, I saw a void. I did not try to resist. Honestly, I think I am too calm after everything that happened. Am I just a human after all? What can I do?

"That's for you to decide, we'll just watch, entertain us."

The voice spoke.

Then the gate closed behind me and everything went dark.

XXXXXX

My head! What happened? My body hurts. Everything seems to be spinning. In addition, what is this annoying barking? With a flash of memory, I remembered everything that happened; I got up quickly, got to my feet and looked around.

I immediately realized that something was wrong, I was not on my way home after my classes at the university were over, I was in an unfamiliar place, grass was under my feet, heavy fog was in front of me, I saw the outline of trees on the other side and the barking of dogs continued.

When I turned around in search of some landmark my breath caught, my eyes widened and I gasped at what I saw, a gigantic stone building with the metal gate raised, to my left was a dead animal being devoured by crows and to my right a series of boxes and old barrels.

Please do not! This can only be a dream! It has to be a dream! I did not have time to think, the barking of the dogs grew louder, and looking back, I saw three large shapes moving through the mist, my legs shook, my breath quickened, I felt sweat trickling down my face.

When the first paw broke through the mist, my brain started working again and I ran at full speed towards the side entrance. I did not look back, but I could hear the deafening barking and the sound of several paws stomping on the grass.

With a leap, I entered the side passage almost rolling down the stairs, but I managed to regain my balance while holding on to the wall. Looking back, I saw one of the giant dogs staring at me; it was too big to enter the narrow corridor.

"HERE FOR YOU!" I held up my middle finger to the dog, as if it understood it barked at me.

But since he couldn't get in, I didn't worry too much, I went down the dark, fungus-covered stairs, using the wall as a support, this isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real, but when I stopped in front of the entrance to the end of the stairs and I saw the corpse sitting to the side I realized...

This is real...

I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, the situation would be considered impossible to happen, but here I am, I sat down next to the corpse, it seemed to be here for a long time, skin withered and dry to the point that I could see the outline of the bones, the eyes were gouged out and several teeth were missing.

"You didn't even get a chance to go in, did you? Or were you trying to escape?" I spoke to the corpse as I took the thing off my backpack and made inventory.

The first thing I took out was a book that I always liked to read. I am a fan of cosmic horror. One day I bought a book online, a compilation of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft, I liked to read during the break, but now I do not see much use for it.

Alternatively, so I thought, because as soon as I took the book out of my backpack, the book opened and a green tentacle emerged from the cover, wrapping my hand and pinning it to the book.

The book was flipped by itself, but there was no wind, eventually it stopped on a blank page, but I am sure this book did not have any blank pages, looking closer; the book seemed to have more pages than its size showed.

The short stories ended and hundreds of blank pages passed in front of me before it stopped, then red letters appeared on the blank page and the following was written.

"Rejoice! For the Old Ones chose you! Mortal who seeks knowledge of the void, your actions has touched the curiosity of the Cosmic Horrors who live in the Ether of space, they are willing to reveal what you seek, but they demand compensation!"

"What?!?"

"Enter the dungeon of Fear and Hunger and face its horrors, what you will do is your choice, escape the dungeon, save everyone, kill everyone, become a god! The Old Ones don't care; they just want something that alleviates their eternal boredom!"

"Is this some kind of game to you?!?"

"Not for me! I am only here to assist you, for the Old Ones this is like a play, for you only you can determine."

I was surprised when the book responded.

"Who or what are you?"

"I am the compilation you bought, given life by the Old Ones. My goal is to help you, but like you, I am just an actor in this great play, my survival depends on you."

"If you are here to help me, what can you do?"

"Imagine me as a Grimoire, I contain spells and rituals beyond human comprehension, but I am nowhere near the level of the Necronomicon."

"Seriously? Can you show me?"

As soon as I said that, the pages moved again, stopping at another blank page, then the letters appeared.

"Glimmer of Truth: Reveal to your enemies a fraction of the truth of the universe; show them how insignificant they are compared to the grand scheme of things. This spell does not work on those too foolish to understand the truth, the insane, as their minds have long since shattered, and the Enlightened, as the truth is something they have always sought."

"Cats of Ulthar: Use this spell to summon the cats blessed by the gods, as a swarm they will surround your enemies, slashing with their claws, biting with their fangs, devouring with their divine hunger. Show everyone how these little animals became apex predators because of the gods."

"Soul of the Cosmic Void: You have always been interested in dark and profane things, your quest to satiate your curiosity led you to read the books and tomes on subjects considered 'heavy' by society, this trained your mind, leaving you prepared for the horrors that are to come, it has made you resistant to what this dungeon has to offer, your mind is a fortress, but your body is weaker than the weakest of warriors. Unfortunately or fortunately, your curiosity is insatiable, always craving for more, even if it ends up hurting you."

"That is all?"

"I also provide notes and descriptions on all items in your possession."

"Is that so? Then I will do a test. What is this?" I took an object out of my backpack.

"Generic Snacks: Generic Snacks from the cheapest brand, did not contribute a bit to your health, honestly there is a possibility that they shorten your lifespan, despite that you eat them anyway, after all it is your favorite."

"And that?" I showed another object.

"University Books: Textbooks from the university you attend, old and with a few pages slightly torn, but still in good condition, it's a little heavy, enough to crush someone's head if you try hard enough. Perhaps the knowledge written on them is useful for something?"

"And this, this, and this?" This time I removed several objects.

"Case: A simple case containing pencils, erasers, pens, sharpeners and other school supplies."

"Water Bottle: A full water bottle, you haven't opened it yet."

"Agenda: A small agenda, more like a notepad that fits in the palm of your hand, used to write down important dates, such as schoolwork submissions and exams."

"Coin Purse: A small coin purse, made of high quality leather, when animal rights were not yet invented, belonged to your late grandfather and was given to you as a gift. Contains: x20 five-cent coins, x15 ten-cent coins, x10 twenty-five cent coins, x5 fifty-cent coins. Better keep them; you never know when they will come in handy."

"Wallet: An old wallet, made of high quality leather, when animal rights were not yet invented, belonged to your late grandfather and was given to you as a gift. Contains: Identity Card, Credit Card, business cards from places you frequent, and x1 five-dollar bill. Wow! I have more money than you do! And I am a book!"

"Cell phone: A touch screen cell phone with a charged battery contains some games, music and ebooks, luckily the cell phone is not old enough for the battery to drain quickly. Can be used to restore your Mind if needed."

"Keys to your house: A key ring containing your house keys. They're not very useful, but they can be used to stab someone in the eye and then run away."

"Hang on! I didn't show you the last four!"

"And you don't have to. I already knew about all the items you have."

"You were just showing off, weren't you?"

"Perhaps..."

Great, the book has a sense of humor "And what should I call you?"

"كتاب الألف أسرار."

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Kitab al'alf 'asrar."

"How about I just call you Kitab?"

"Acceptable."

Well, I guess that's it, I don't have anywhere to go, I put my things in my backpack and got up, took a look at what I was wearing, a shirt that served as the university's uniform, with the emblem on the chest above the heart, dark jeans and black sneakers.

Nothing that offered protection for what I was about to face, I need to think about my priorities. What should I do? The book said the choice is mine. Have the others already entered the dungeon? If so, are they already in the canonical places? Should I find the NPCs? In addition, most importantly, must I save Le'garde? After all, this is his entire fault. Moreover, which ending should I try to do?

With no other option, I advanced towards the dungeon's dark entrance.

"Goodbye my friend, I hope you don't leave." I said to the corpse.

"Don't worry; I'll be here for a while." The corpse replied as it turned to me.

I shook my head in surprise, when I looked back at the corpse, it did not appear to have moved. My God! Is this place getting to me already? I took my cell phone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight, then stepped into the darkness.

"You have entered the dungeons of Fear and Hunger, home of Gods Old and New, lair of monsters and horrors, I am Kitab al'alf 'asrar and I will be your guide. What is your first action?"

END OF CHAPTER