An uncomfortable ripple passed through the group after Dolly’s half-hearted attempt at humor. The words “isekai’d” and “yes” settled over them like a bag of bricks, having the exact opposite effect than she had intended.

Rocco, their archer, adjusted the strap of his quiver, his movements sharp and deliberate as if keeping busy would hold his nerves at bay. Pierson, the poison specialist, crossed his arms and scanned the room as if daring it to explain itself.

“Well,” Rick said, scratching at his chin, “if this is some kind of isekai moment, aren’t we supposed to get a tutorial pop-up? Maybe a wise old sage? A quest giver with a shiny exclamation mark over their head?”

Pierson snorted, his smirk thin. “Pretty sure that’s not happening.”

Before anyone could respond, Rachel clapped her hands sharply, the sound echoing off the chamber’s strange walls. It broke through the tentative conversation like a whip crack, snapping their attention back to her.

“Hey! Focus,” she said, her tone firm. “We’ve got bigger things to deal with right now, don’t we? Like, oh, I don’t know -what the hell is going on here?!” But they were in it, like usual. Rick placed his arm around Rachel’s shoulder, but she pushed him off.

She looked pointedly at Dolly, who suddenly felt the weight of the group’s expectant stares pressing down on her. “What? Why are you looking at me?” Dolly asked, raising her hands defensively. “I don’t know what’s going on either!”

“Does anyone?” Rachel asked, turning to the rest of the party. “Seriously, why are we all here? Is this real? Am I dreaming?”

To prove her point, Rachel pinched her own arm hard enough to leave a red mark and winced. “Ow. Nope. Not a dream. Real as hell.” She cast a quick heal on herself and the red mark faded.

Dolly let out a long breath, her mind racing. “This can’t be happening. I mean, this… this shouldn’t be happening. None of this makes sense.”

Her growing frustration was interrupted by a low, gravelly voice from the back of the group. “I think this might have something to do with… this,” the affliction specialist said, his voice as steady as a boulder.

The group turned to face him. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of them -even Rick and Duncan- stood Espinosa. Or at least it was the trollish amalgamation of Espinosa and his avatar. He stepped forward. His green granite-textured skin gleamed faintly under the chamber’s strange light, his large tusks lending him a fearsome appearance that was softened only by the awkwardness of his smile. Beady, dark eyes blinked nervously, belying a flicker of shyness as all attention shifted to him.

He held out a small object, a rune marked stone amulet that fit neatly in the palm of his oversized hand. Its surface glimmered with intricate patterns, glowing faintly as though alive with its own internal light. Symbols danced across the metallic stone, the same patterns that were etched into the chamber floor and walls. Espinosa extended it toward Dolly, his hand hesitating mid-air before she stepped forward and took it.

Dolly turned the amulet over in her hands, the faint chill of its surface biting into her skin. It was heavier than she expected, the cold energy radiating from it more intense the longer she held it. Her fingers tingled as the temperature seemed to leech warmth from her body like a heat sink. She instinctively shifted it from hand to hand, unwilling to hold it too long for fear of frostbite.

“What… what is this?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She tilted it to catch the light, watching as the symbols glinted and shimmered with an eerie luminescence. A part of her wanted to drop it and back away, but curiosity anchored her fingers to the artifact.

Espinosa scratched the back of his neck, his tusks scraping faintly against his arm as he shifted uncomfortably. “It’s… something I picked up. But I’m not really sure how or why. It’s like… I thought it was a dream at first, but then it wasn’t.”

Rachel snorted. “Well, that clears it up. Thanks, Espi. Super helpful.”

Espinosa’s ears flattened slightly, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his features. “Look, I found it a week ago, okay? I woke up one morning, and it was just… there. Like it had been waiting for me.”

Dolly’s brow furrowed. “Waiting for you? What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know!” Espinosa threw up his hands. “All I know is that when I saw it, I felt… drawn to it. Like I had to pick it up. So I did. And since then, weird stuff has been happening.”

“So it’s a Clingy MacGuffin. Like the Tiki Curse,” Duncan chimed in.

“Weird how?” Rachel pressed, stepping closer.

Espinosa hesitated, then sighed. “Like… things just started going my way. Problems I couldn’t figure out would suddenly resolve themselves. Bad situations would fall apart before they could get worse. It’s like the damn thing is some kind of good luck charm.”

Dolly raised an eyebrow. “Good luck charm? You carried this around all week like a rabbit’s foot?”

“Cursed, but like -a good curse,” Duncan continued, still being largely ignored.

“Hey, don’t judge me,” Espinosa said defensively. “It felt… important. Like I was supposed to keep it. And then when you said you needed people to finish up the dungeon tonight, I figured, why not? I needed the gear, and everything was going normally, except that once we killed the final boss, it went nuts. And, well…” He shrugged, his massive shoulders rolling awkwardly. “Here we are.”

Rachel crossed her arms, her silver-white hair catching the light as she glanced at the amulet. “So what happened when we killed the last boss? You said the amulet ‘reacted’ or something?”

Espinosa nodded, his expression growing serious. “Yeah. The second the boss dropped, it lit up. Started glowing like crazy.” He swallowed as he reacted to the scrutiny directed his way. “And then,” Espinosa continued, his deep, gravelly voice laced with hesitation, “it spoke to me. Like, really spoke to me.”

“It spoke to you?” Dolly repeated, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.

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“Yeah,” Espinosa said, his voice lowering. “It asked me if I wanted to ‘share the challenge.’ I didn’t know what that meant. I thought it was some kind of hidden loot mechanic or a weird bonus quest. So I said yes.”

Dolly raised an eyebrow. “Share the challenge? What does that even mean?” But her words were overrun-

“You said yes?!” Rachel exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Espi, what the hell? You don’t just say yes to creepy glowing things that talk to you!”

“That’s what she said,” Duncan muttered quietly. Pierson overheard and they shared a high five.

“Well, I didn’t know this was going to happen!” Espinosa shot back -his tusks gleaming as his voice rose, making him seem more like his younger IRL self. He threw up his massive trollish hands in exasperation.

“I mean, I was like, ‘What? Challenge? Sure, why not?’” His tone shifted, taking on a defensive edge. “It’s not like it came with a manual! I mean, doing things together is better than doing them alone, right? Teamwork, all that jazz?”

“So the power of ‘Teamwork’ brought us here?” Rachel cut in sharply, her arms crossing as she shot him a glare. “You clicked yes to some random magical challenge, and now we’re all… what? Stuck in a game? Or worse?”

Espinosa flinched under the intensity of her tone. “I didn’t know this would happen!” he protested, his voice rising slightly. “I thought it was just some weird quest or bonus content. Next thing I know, everyone gets the notice, you all saw it. And bam -we’re here! What was I supposed to do? Say no to a real magical artifact glowing in my hands?”

“Yes!” Rachel snapped. “Yes, that’s exactly what you should have done!”

“Guys, stop,” Dolly interrupted, her voice cutting through the tension. She held up the amulet, letting its cold glow illuminate her face. “Arguing isn’t going to help. Espi didn’t know.”

The group fell silent, the weight of the situation settling into them like a winter chill. Dolly turned the amulet over one last time, watching as its faint light reflected off the intricate patterns etched into its surface. The cold radiating from it seemed to seep into her bones, a stark reminder -that this was no dream.

Rachel let out a disbelieving huff, the rising tide of her frustrations surfacing once again, as she paced a few steps away before spinning back around to face Espinosa. “And you’re saying you got this thing in a dream? Like, it just showed up in your head?” Her voice was steadier -calmer- sort of.

“Not exactly,” Espinosa said, scratching his neck awkwardly. “It was weird, okay? Like I said, I had this dream where I was in this dungeon -this exact dungeon, I think. It felt… real. Too real. Like I could smell the stone, hear the echoes, even feel the pain when I got hit. I barely survived, but when I made it to the end, there was this door. The amulet was there, right in the center, glowing. I don’t even know why I did it, but I yanked it out. The door slammed shut behind me, and I woke up.”

“And then you just… kept it?” Rachel asked, incredulous.

“Damnit, I thought it was just a dream!” Espinosa shot back. “I woke up, went to school, did my usual routine. But there it was, sitting at the foot of my bed like it had been waiting for me. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Definitely a Tiki Curse,” Duncan repeated.

“Obviously, it was a big deal!” Rachel snapped. “You’re saying this thing is magical? That it transported us here?”

Dolly cleared her throat, cutting into the brewing argument. “Rachel,” she said calmly, her voice laced with warning.

Rachel shut her mouth, though her expression remained stormy.

Rick shook his head, running a hand through his blond hair. “Come on, guys. Magic isn’t real. This has to be some kind of… I don’t know, mass hallucination or glitch in the matrix. There’s no way we’re in some magical dungeon because of a necklace.”

A soft cough drew everyone’s attention to the mage standing a little off to the side. Dolly turned toward them, her brow furrowing in surprise. “Tracy -I mean, Jake?” she asked hesitantly.

Tracy the mage, aka Jake IRL -or the person she thought was Jake- stepped forward, visibly uncomfortable under the weight of everyone’s eyes. The juxtaposition process had worked its strange magic here too. The figure standing before them was slender, with delicate feminine features and strikingly bright eyes that were anything but masculine. Gone was the young, boyish figure she’d always imagined based on Jake’s voice-chat persona.

“Uh… yeah,” Jake said, their voice softer than Dolly remembered. “It’s me. Sort of.”

Dolly tilted her head, blinking. “Wait. Jake, you’re… a girl?”

The mage nodded awkwardly. “Yeah, I am. Always have been, actually.”

Rachel’s mouth fell open. “What? But your voice… I mean, over voice chat, you sounded like-”

“A twelve-year-old boy?” Jake -now Jackie- supplied with a rueful grin. “Yeah. I kind of leaned into that. It made things easier, you know? Less harassment when people think you’re just some kid.”

Dolly blinked, taking in the revelation. “So your character was a guy because…”

“Because I didn’t want to deal with being hit on all the time,” Jackie said with a shrug. “Seemed simpler. But, uh, now?” She gestured to herself, her robes shifting slightly as she moved. “Looks like the game decided to undo all that. Which I guess is a good thing, all things considered.”

Rachel let out a low whistle. “Wow. Okay. That’s… something.”

Jackie glanced at her uneasily. “Yeah, well, I’m still me, so let’s not make this weird, alright?”

Dolly nodded quickly, her voice steady. “Of course, Jackie. You were about to say…”

Jackie shifted her weight uneasily, glancing at Espinosa, who was still eyeing the amulet Dolly held like it might start talking again. She cleared her throat, stepping further into the circle.

“Yeah. I mean, this is gonna sound crazy, but… have you guys been hearing about the strange stuff happening around the world lately?” Jackie’s voice dropped slightly, as if afraid someone -or something- might overhear her.

“What kind of strange stuff?” Espinosa asked, his granite-textured brow furrowing as he leaned in slightly.

Rick frowned. “Yeah, strange how?”

“Like riots?” Pierson guessed. “Wars? Economic collapse? Global Warming? Pick your apocalypse.”

“No, no,” Jackie said, shaking her head. “Not the usual stuff. This is different. Like… strange, weird.”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “Define ‘weird.’”

Jackie hesitated, then let out a quick breath. “I hang out on the dark web sometimes,” she admitted. “And yeah, I know how that sounds, but it’s not all hitmen and conspiracy theories. There are forums -real, underground stuff- where people share things that don’t make it to the mainstream news. And lately, there’s been a spike in… unexplainable occurrences.”

“Unexplainable?” Dolly prompted, her grip tightening slightly on the amulet. Its chill seeped further into her bones, making her shiver.

Jackie nodded. “Yeah. Like places appearing out of nowhere. Massive sinkholes that don’t have bottoms. Strange lights, unidentified creatures… even people disappearing. There are pictures, videos -stuff that doesn’t feel fake. Stories about people seeing things that shouldn’t exist. And it’s happening everywhere. Not just one place. It’s like the world is… unraveling.”

“That kind of stuff happens all the time,” Dolly said, her tone skeptical but not dismissive. “You know, people have wild imaginations. And Photoshop’s a thing.”

“And A.I.,” Duncan added helpfully.

Rachel chimed in, waving a dismissive hand. “Exactly. Conspiracy theories. Like the moon landing was fake, flat Earthers, or Elvis is alive and working at a gas station in Wisconsin.”

Jackie’s expression hardened. “This is different. It’s not just grainy photos or some guy in a Bigfoot costume. It’s stuff that’s been scrubbed from the net almost as soon as it’s posted. And it’s not just places you’d expect -like the Bermuda Triangle or some creepy cave in the middle of nowhere. It’s happening in cities, suburbs, places where people live.”

“Like those TikToks of UFOs?” Rick asked.

“You mean those triangle ships the Navy’s been tracking?” Rocco asked.

“I think you mean, Tic-Tacs,” Duncan chimed in.

Jackie gave them a small nod, ignoring Duncan. “Kind of. Except they’re not calling them UFOs anymore. The official term is UAPs.”

“UAPs?” Rick repeated, his brow furrowing. “What does that even stand for?”

“Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” Pierson offered. “It’s what the government calls UFOs now.”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Why not just call them UFOs? Unidentified Flying Objects. It’s the same thing, right?”

Jackie shrugged. “Probably just government-speak to make it sound less sci-fi. But no, I’m not talking about just UFOs -or UAPs, whatever. This is bigger. Lights in the sky are one thing. But people are seeing dungeons.”

“I see Dungeons, people,” Duncan whispered.