Another screaming contestant fell through the stars, hurtling toward the checked floor below. She covered her face with her arms as she braced for a sudden impact. She then noticed a strange metallic slide form beside her; it contorted underneath her before extending all the way to the ground in a spiral. Despite avoiding a sure fatal fall, she still had enough momentum to send her tumbling after reaching the bottom of the slide.

“Well met stranger,” Handcaster said, hovering above his newest contestant.

"What the hell?" The woman groaned as she slowly got back on her feet, readjusting her plaid shirt jacket that had flipped over her head. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I am the warden of this space and the master of the upcoming game, Handcaster."

Something about the word game triggered a vague memory but quickly faded. The lingering numbness she felt in her eyes, head, and ears also quickly faded. She was just left with this strange hand thing.

"What is this place?"

"Hmm... I hadn't bothered with a name — it seemed innocuous enough not to need a name, although I feel like I might get this question a lot. Let's call this my Astral Foyer. Since we're walking about names, what's your's miss?"

"I... uh... I can't seem to remember."

"Tragic. Well, we're going to need some kind of name. Pick something, anything."

“V-Vi… Vixen.”

"What an adequate choice! The hands surrounded Vixen, clapping at her. "Now, allow me to explain the rules of this little game.” Handcaster went over the construction of the modified deck of cards and how certain death was a possibility. He also explained Vixen’s goal of reaching the end of a series of ten rooms with unpredictable events.”

Vixen wanted to write this off as a crazy dream, but she couldn't remember falling asleep. She couldn't remember much, but that point felt certain enough to her. Maybe she could try her luck here and now if this was a game. "Why wait?" She yanked off her black double-grommet belt and rolled it around her right fist.

"Ah, spunky, I love it; however..." With a lone clap, Handcaster's appendages doubled in size and surrounded the second contestant. "As you are right now, you're far too weak — plus, you haven't even seen your stat spread yet."

Looking back and forth at the hands, Vixen slowly unfurled the belt from hers. "Fine, Hand guy. We'll play your game." Still uncomfortable with the situation, playing along would at least buy her some time to get out of this strange life-or-death arrangement.

"Excellent, that's what I love to hear. Now, pick a card, any card." The deck of cards looming away from her shuffled itself in a token display of grandeur before ejecting four cards, the Aces. They floated lazily just within arm's reach. "The card you choose will manifest as your Guardian: protecting you and explaining the game's nuances once inside."

At least she wouldn't be doing this solo. She initially reached out for the Ace of Spades but paused. That was probably the most commonly picked card. The game could potentially be scaled against it, or was she already overthinking things? Whatever. With very little information to go on, she then reached for the Ace of Clubs. The other three options returned to the deck as Handcaster pointed to the chosen card and snapped. The card distorted before turning into two different-sized balls of light. The larger of the two was an ashen gray wolf with white paws. Its head was roughly level with Vixen's chest, making it much more intimidating. She stepped back, nervously wondering if she'd already sealed her fate. The smaller of the two figures then materialized, lying down on the wolf's back, appearing to be a six-year-old girl.

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The wolf flicked her tail against the child's nose, easing her awake. "Rise, my sweet, we have work to do."

With a great big yawn, the child sat up, wiping her eyes. Vixen had a better chance to see her; she immediately realized that she wasn't human, or at least not entirely. The child's skin was pale with a slight green hue, and her hair seemed made of roots and leaves reaching down the middle of her back. Two twigs sprouted from her head like horns. She was clad in a dress made from animal furs and leather, and her one major accessory was a conch shell strapped to her chest.

"Um, hello, talking wolf and small baby."

The child began barking at Vixen. The wolf quickly stopped her by gently swiping her face with its tail.

"Speak, Kadira. She is friend."

"Oh, sorry. Momma says we have to help new friends get out of the woods."

"Something like that," the wolf replied.

"Lost in the woods? It looks more like we're lost in space right now," Vixen replied, gesturing to the cosmic backdrop.

"Point proven. Nonetheless, we are tasked with bringing the lost where they need to go, right Kadira?" Kadira was too busy gazing off into the black void of white dots to respond. The wolf barked sharply, snapping the child's attention to her. "Focus, Kadira."

"Yes, Momma."

"Do you have a name, momma wolf?"

"Tanyth, that's the name the Goddess of Nature bestowed onto me."

Before Vixen could question the validity of deities, a stat screen and inventory screen appeared.

Health Strength Dexterity Intelligence Acuity 10/10 3 5 6 7

Inventory ♣ A

A little spooked at first, Kadira approached the page of information. She assumed the stats would be easier to understand whenever she started exploring or waded into combat.

Kadira pointed to the stat screen. "Momma, what do those funny squiggles mean?"

“They say how strong our new friend is,” the Tanyth replied.

"The name's Vixen," she clarified. She also absently offered her hand for a handshake. After a moment, she reached out and rubbed Tanyth's snout. The friendly gesture was accepted.

"Excellent!" Handcaster butted-in, "Now that our player and guardian have become acquainted. It's time for you

to select a memento to help you on your journey."

Finbar's Folly Effect: Your first drawn card cannot be an X. Discard cards from the top of the deck until a non-X is revealed and draw it. Return all discarded cards to the deck and shuffle.

"What a selection..." Vixen mumbled, "I guess I'll take Finbar's Folly." She rolled her eyes. It was hardly a perk since the effect of this thing would only work once — if it would even be relevant at all.

One of the many hands approached Vixen with the deck ready to be drawn from. She grabbed the top card and slowly slid it off; she cautiously turned it over, revealing the Five of Clubs.

Handcaster shouted, "Finally! A journey that actually begins!" As he clapped all of his hands, a giant stone archway with a wood door appeared. The Five of Clubs card projected a beam of light into the central keyhole of the door, causing it to creak open gradually. Soon, the starscape gave way to a massive field with rolling green hills stretching out toward the horizon. Handcaster then turned his attention to Vixen: “Well, my dear, I shall see you on the eleventh floor.”

Inventory ♣ A / 5