A Summoning Gone Awry (4)

"How in the hell could this have happened?" Wulfric roared.

Several hours had passed since the completion of the Summoning Ritual. Those summoned within the building had been moved to a separate room to recuperate but reports were still coming in of families in the worse off quarters in Camela having their sons and daughters be enveloped in bright light before becoming completely different beings.

The worst part was that those summoned had not seemed to inhabit anyone older than 20, and from those they had met so far it had seemed like the Champions so far had been little more than children, with the exception of a man who claimed to be their teacher and had immediately demanded the release of his 'students'.

People across the city were furious, especially after the heartfelt speech the King Allaan and Aegan had only a couple days ago in order to set their hearts and minds at ease. Feeling safe in the knowledge that none of their people would be Offered had set them at ease. Losing their families immediately after that was horrific. Many of the people were up in arms as those who had already lost so much lost their children as well.

At the moment, King Allaan, his advisors and all the diplomats present had been moved to a nearby unused council chamber to discuss what had gone wrong. Allaan's heart broke as he witnessed his friend, King Wulfric, appearing more bestial than ever. The hair on his face was still matted with tears, he had refused all suggestions to clean himself up. All that mattered to him now was to find out why his son had been among those Offered. Gone was the Kings friend and the joviality he had arrived with. Now he was simply a grieving father, seeking answers and demanding the heads of those responsible.

"We are not sure" Aedir answered in the Kings' stead.

"It appears, that the Demons attempted to interfere with the ritual. None of us noticed it except Aegan, who used his last breath and sacrificed his body to stop them. But whatever he and the Demons did, also shattered the outer circle. That circle was designed to keep the souls from escaping out across the city and confining them to the centre where those Offered were placed."

Allaan could see that Aedir's explanation did not placate those present even a bit. Wulfric may have been the most reasonable of those present yet losing his son before his eyes had driven him momentarily to borderline insanity.

No trite explanation could fix this. Only having those responsible brought before him so he could tear them limb from limb would settle the aura of rage and sorrow that perpetuated throughout his every movement.

"And how do you even know this?" One of the diplomats, a well-dressed woman from Dainippon, a smaller country just to the south of Zuthaya and one of its closest allies cried.

"All we saw was Aegan stand up and thrust himself into the centre of your ritual magic. Shortly after that your outer circle failed. Why would he do such a thing? Was he attempting to deliberately cause the ritual to fail?"

"Have a care with your words" Even Wulfric, while maddened with grief, would not allow someone to spit on his dead friend's name. He knew the man had loved his son like his own and would never have deliberately caused something to interfere like that.

"That man just lay down his life, took a knife to his heart, and then got up once more to fight. I'm not blaming him or your people. I'm asking who to vent all my rage on. But the next person to attempt to use Aegan as political collateral damage will be the first in line" Wulfric's words were deadly quiet, yet they carried around the room.

The hulking Wereman was clearly not joking and the representative who had made the ill-advised comment gulped and stood back quietly. She would not test a man who had just lost his son and as his eyes locked with hers before returning to Allaan's she knew she would be stepping down from her post the moment this meeting was over.

Allaan was gratified to see that there was still a hint of his friend left within, but the intensity of his gaze still demanded answers. Turning he gestured for Aedir to continue.

"We know this because another similar site to our ritual was set up in a warehouse nearby. People outside saw a crimson beam reach the sky shortly after our ritual began. We believe this spell had two functions. One was to change the targets of our Summoning slightly, the other was to then hijack the souls summoned in order to create new Demon's, or possibly even Demon Lords with the Gift the Gods bestow."

Aedir glanced back at his assistant who stood behind him with several leaflets in her hand. Passing him a small bundle and stepping back, Aedir poured over them before continuing.

"The ritual itself self-destructed shortly after the two ended. There is evidence of 21 slabs akin to ours and that bodies were recently placed upon them yet those that were there have now disappeared. So far we have recovered 6 Champions from the lower town of Camela, 12 from the ritual room and of course…." Aedir looked up briefly his eyes meeting Wulfrics before quickly clearing his throat and moving on.

"Which equals 19. A quick debrief of those we have Summoned so far tells us there were 21 individuals when they were Summoned which lines up with the evidence so far. Although there could possibly be more, at this time it seems unlikely."

Aedir concluded, his voice raspy.

"And how did these Demons infiltrate the Capital? How did they interfere? And how were so many summoned? I have always been led to believe that the Gods could only bestow ONE gift and that is why exactly 12 have been summoned every single time this ritual was performed? Aestria has much to answer for" Another diplomat shouted, and the room quickly devolved once more into shouts and arguments from every direction…

......................................................................

"Well fuck" Aaron said, seated beside Jarred in a large, well decorated room where the class had been quickly guided. Drinks and food were served on nearby and on the walls vivid paintings depicting heroes clad in beautiful armors hung.

Despite treating them all with kindness, the guards and those present they had met had been… standoffish and fearful. While for a couple in the room this may have seemed to be a dream come true, for the others, well…

A couple of their classmates had their arms wrapped around their legs up on their chairs in an almost fetal position, rocking back and forth. Their teacher Mr McGilvray paced back and forth; concern etched into his features. From his comments he still believed this was some kind of elaborate prank. When he demanded their release however, he was simply told that all would be explained in due time.

It blew Aarons mind that after speaking to a God, having a dream conversation with a soul before it disappeared and waking up, in his case, chained to a rock slab in completely different clothing he genuinely still struggled to believe what was happening.

Although he guessed that the older you get the less capable you were at adapting to new situations like this. To be fair, Aaron had long dreamed of something like this happening, and he was actually kind of excited. A huge pressure was released knowing he did not have to go back to that world. To be who he was there. I mean in all his daydreaming the prospect of having all the kids in his class, most of which he was not exactly best friends with, join in was not exactly part of it but he'd make do.

"So did you talk to your body's previous owner?" Aaron whispered to Jarred quietly, trying not to draw attention from anyone else.

A few people in the room were getting upset with the situation. As time had passed more of their classmates were brought in until there was only two missing. Yet when they were questioned, they didn't have any more knowledge than those present, just that they'd woken up in the street or in weird wooden houses that reeked of sweat and other smells they'd never experienced before.

"I mean yeah, he didn't say much" Jarred replied, "He just sat there rocking and crying. It's all actually kinda fucked up when you think about it. None of the shows and stuff had human sacrifices for summoning heroes"

"Yeah… Usually they just showed up or got teleported or something. Taking over someone's body… I get it but holy shit…" Aaron replied.

"Have you checked your abilities and stuff? Mine doesn't seem overpowered so far just the basic starting stuff from a video game"

Jarred concentrated for a moment before saying.

"Yeah, same here. I've got Inspect and a Fear skill which seems cool. My class is Swordsman which sounds good. And my highest stat is strength at 14"

"Fear sounds sick. I've got Sense Malice which doesn't sound as good. And Inspect too but I haven't tried it."

"We should give them a go hey"

"Yeah, why not?"

They began using Inspect on everything. Tables, chairs, the fruit in the bowls. Nothing was very exciting. When they got to each other, it came up with their names and levels but no additional information.

Aaron: Level 1

Jarred: Level 1

"Maybe if we keep using them, they'll level up like in normal games?" Aaron suggested, to which Jarred nodded, and they continued Inspecting everything they could see including their fellow classmates.

Kevin: Level 1

"Hahaha did you know McGilvray's name is kevin?"

Jennifer: Level 1

Ben: Level 1

Amanda: Level 1

And on it went. It was fairly boring but grinding always was and they were both quickly rewarded when a Ding sounded in their minds.

Inspect: Level 2

They rechecked each other they could now see additional information.

Jarred: Level 1

Class: Swordsman

HP: 10

Aaron: Level 1

Class: ???

HP: 20

"Hang on why don't you have a class?" Jarred asked as simultaneously Aaron spoke up.

"Why do you have only 10 HP? That's weird."

"I dunno, is your endurance high or something?"

"Nah mine's only 10"

"Same here…"

"Could be a skill? I've got one that's the same as my class just question marks so I dunno what it does hey"

Jarred laughed "Maybe it'll be some OP main character plot armor shit"

Aaron laughed too "Man I hope so that'd be sick!"

A couple of their nearby classmates looked at them in disapproval. Clearly enjoying themselves in the situation they were in was considered rude. Kevin McGilvray considered telling them to be quiet but instead decided to address the group.

"Don't be afraid guys, we'll be back home soon. I'll speak to whoever is in charge of this prank and get us back to school as soon as they show up" Kevin tried to project strength and confidence in his voice but unfortunately all of the kids in the room sensed his fear and uneasiness, giving his speech the opposite effect of what he intended with most feeling more afraid not less. To be fair, a situation like being summoned by another world wasn't in most schools Workplace Health and Safety guidelines.

Adding to the concerns was that although they were being treated well and there were people outside if they needed anything they were also under guard, and no one was allowed to leave the room. They had all seen the heavily armored man outside with a poleaxe that looked way to real and sharp to be part of a prank.

A few of the others began conversing quietly although they seemed way behind Jarred and Aaron in terms of understanding. Most were still stuck on, where are we? What do they want? When can we go home? Etc.

As the pair continued between grinding their inspect skill and discussing possibilities, the large wooden door opened to admit an expensively dressed man wearing a crown and silk crimson robes. His face was lined and worn, and he appeared incredibly stressed. Beside him an old man with a heavy jeweled staff and thicker black robes hobbled along, with a very pretty, young woman at his heels.

"Well, I guess we'll get some answers now" Aaron whispered as Mr. McGilvray drew himself up as if preparing for battle.