I stepped from the summoning portal into water up to my knees. The foul stench of rotting fish and sewage clung to the air around me. If the system didn’t completely rebuild me after each summoning, I was sure the smell would have completely permeated my clothing. Fighting back a fit of gagging and retching, I looked at where I’d wound up this time.
I was in some kind of underground chamber, or maybe sewer given the stench. Old stone walls lined the place, and the floor sloped down toward the center of the room where the water was deeper. Around the edge of the chamber was a walkway that was thankfully above the water level. My link to the summoner led into the deeper water of the chamber, but my investigation was interrupted by a human voice behind me.
“Well done, Master Xuqor. With this one, we should have enough for the task at hand,” an older man that was standing on the walkway at the far end of the chamber said.
Your summoner has transferred control over this summoning session to the mage Liam. Unless you receive new orders from your original summoner, you will follow Liam’s commands.
“You there, young man, get out of that cold water and meet me up here,” the elderly Liam said, waving me toward him. As I walked, I tried to investigate the deep pool at the center of the chamber and catch a glimpse of my true summoner, but whoever, or whatever this Xuqor was, he wasn’t revealing himself to me.
“Follow me, the scent of this place is a rather pungent one if you’re not prepared, we can continue our conversation somewhere that is dryer and less odiferous,” Liam said. I slogged through the knee-deep water and climbed up onto the walkway next to Liam, who greeted me with a nod and a big smile.
There were several doors lining the walkway, most of them dimly lit by torches placed around the chamber. Liam led me to the nearest door, and I followed behind him as we climbed a winding stone staircase. A bit chubby, elderly, and very out of shape, Liam had to stop several times and catch his breath as we ascended. After what I guessed was about three stories up, the stairway ended at a locked, iron gate.
Bright daylight poured through the gate, and I had to cover my eyes as they slowly adjusted. Producing a key, Liam grumbled to himself about needing to bring oil for the lock next time. After some fiddling, the large padlock clicked open, and I walked onto a well-manicured lawn. A small, stone building housed the stairway we had just climbed out of, and Liam took a moment to relock the door.
“Follow me, I’ll have one of the servants get you some towels,” Liam said, looking down at my squelching shoes. My new armor didn’t include boots, so my Vans slip-ons were going to my footwear for this summoning. I made a mental note to see about getting ahold of some of the cool combat boots the government had loaned us during our dungeon delve.
Liam led me across the lawn and toward the back of a large estate. The main house was huge and looked like one of those Victorian mansions that people liked to turn into a bed and breakfast with nightly rates far higher than I could afford. It wasn’t exactly the destination I had expected when first stepping into this summoning.
A few guards patrolled the grounds, human men in breastplates that carried large halberds like they knew how to use them. There was no wall around the estate, but well-manicured hedgerows and trees blocked my view of what lay beyond the property.
“Here we go, thank you dear,” Liam said as a young woman emerged from the house with a stack of fluffy white towels. I slipped off my shoes, dried my feet and wrung out my socks as best I could before sliding my nearly dry feet back into the damp shoes.
“Now, sorry to keep you waiting, let’s go over what is expected of you. Tell me, young man, what is your name, and what type of class do you have? Liam asked as another servant, this time a halfling man in a suit, brought over a rolled parchment.
“I’m Rico, and I have a class called Foe Summoner,” I replied.
“Excellent, any type of summoner class should be a solid fit for what we need you to do today. Here is a list of things that Xuqor wishes us to accomplish,” Liam said, passing me the scroll which I read over while he waited patiently.
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Instructions: Please note that payments for any items ordered, or services rendered have already been made. If any of those you come in contact with demand additional recompense or refuse your requests, violence is authorized until compliance has been gained. Make a written note of your experience and the results of each visit. Use your finger to write with, the enchantments on this scroll will make your markings legible to me.
1. At the apothecary’s shop on the main road of the city, see Lucinda, who will hand you a package of goods. The shop can be identified by a large sign with a potion vial painted on it.
2. At the docks, look for a fishmonger’s shop with the sign that is cracked in half. Ask for Old Man Iskander and tell him that Liam’s boss requires another shipment. That is all, make sure he repeats and confirms your instructions and then leave.
3. Visit the adventurers guild and inquire with the clerk on duty if there are any updates regarding quest A232. Note any updates or challenges with the quest.
4. Three blocks east of the adventurer’s guild, find the inn named The Grey Balloon. Do not interact with any of the staff on the first floor. Walk to the back of the inn and descend into their wine cellar. One of the wine casks, the third from the stairwell, hides a door that leads to a lower level. On that lower level, you will find a rather well-dressed band of gentlemen adventurers. Kill them all and return to the streets outside the inn.
5. A woman in a coach outside the inn will open her window. Drop this scroll and the package you recovered from the apothecary inside the coach and then begin to wander through the city until your summoning has expired or you are killed. Do not attempt to return to the estate unless ordered to by Liam.
“Do you have any questions?” Liam asked.
“This doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why did you summon me to do this, you have plenty of servants and guards to handle something this, don’t you? Also, I’m just to walk in and straight up murder these gentlemen adventurers in step 4?” I asked.
“Master Xuqor wishes to use outside support for these tasks, it’s a way to separate him from the activity. Besides, all our people, both guards and servants are well known to those that oppose Master Xuqor. Those men you are to kill have eliminated several of our staff, and the Master wishes you to return the favor. Now, it’s time that you began your task. Head to the northeast corner of the property, you will find a guard standing by a gap in the hedges. Wait for his signal then proceed through the gap and make your way to the city,” Liam ordered.
This was strange set of instructions, and I wasn’t keen on killing the adventurers under the inn. Maybe they deserved it, or maybe I was the one serving some evil entity. For now, I’d comply with the early demands and see what I found. There was always the Notice of Cessation if things took a turn for the worse, or if it appeared that I was going to be required to hurt innocent people.
I also wondered what exactly this Master Xuqor was. It appeared that I was working for some creepy sea monster that lived in a sewer under an estate. Of course, being a strange sea monster didn’t necessarily mean he was the bad guy here. As strange as that would have sounded to me a few months ago, it was far from the oddest thing I’d seen since becoming a summoned being.
The guard near the northeast corner of the estate waved me through right when I arrived and advised me to head to my right once I hit the road. There was a narrow gap in the hedgerow that allowed me to slip through it and onto a small dirt road. I turned right and followed the road like I was instructed. The first task was to find the apothecary on the main road of the city.
There was nobody on the dirt road I walked along, but up ahead, I could see where it met a larger, cobblestone paved road. Not wanting to summon my minions in a crowded city, I took a moment on the deserted dirt road to summon my team, using Empower Minion on everyone, and Duplicate on Grulnok once I had enough mana for it.
Mana was plentiful in this world, so my limited pool regenerated quickly enough as I walked. I wasn’t sure which way to turn once I hit the cobblestone road, but one direction seemed to lead out into the country, and the other headed toward the main gates of the city. Turning toward the city, I continued my journey.
At the city gates, a small squad of bored guards waved my team inside. I had been a bit worried that Grulnok would be an issue, but there were several different humanoid species traveling in and out of the city, so a pair of identical orcs weren’t going to cause too much of a stir. Traffic was surprisingly heavy once I was inside the city gates. There were crowds of people walking alongside heavy cargo wagons and elegant coaches.
It was going to be an easy place to get lost in, but I knew my first stop was somewhere on this road. This section of the main thoroughfare seemed to house mainly shops with an occasional inn or tavern joining them. Business was brisk, with lots of traffic in and out of many of the places. On the streets, the larger carriages and wagons often blocked my view. I hadn’t gone far when I spotted a large wooden sign with a red potion vial painted on it.
My path was suddenly blocked as two men stepped from the crowd and stood in front of me. Neither wore armor, but both had shortswords and daggers belted at their waists. A young woman, probably in her late teens, joined them, pointing at me as mana glowed near her nose and mouth.
“This one, he has the stench of that thing about him,” she said, and the two men accompanying her dropped their hands to the blades at their side.