Vertigo

Chapter 3 ~ Summoning

I stepped through the doorway and encountered a glittering dark shimmer that ran through the air. I couldn't see anything beyond the shimmer. Touching it I felt a slight give, and a ripple of...something...against my skin. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Other portals simply moved you from one place to another, this one wanted you to know that you were passing through.

I let the portal have its way and stepped through. The pressure passed over my body. My vision went dark for a brief moment as my face passed through the portal, then the world snapped into focus again.

I wasn't in Soul Deck anymore. This was deep in the heart of a rich, verdant forest.

The loamy earth exuded the smell of old fallen leaves, damp earth, and rich growth. The forest wasn't as dense as the forests of Yevelia had been. The first floor of Vertigo had wide lanes between the trees where I could walk, or fight, beneath the spreading branches. The canopy of tightly woven limbs allowed just enough light to filter down to cut through the gloom. It was a picturesque setting.

I pulled out my deck of cards and held up the first one. The mongoose.

Summon mongoose?

Cost: 3 HP

I forgot to ask about summoning costs while talking to Vallet, and now I was getting a crash course. It seemed like it cost hit points, not mana, to summon the mongoose. Taking a look at my UI and character description I didn't have a mana bar in this world, or gems, or anything else that other games used to summon creatures. I had hit points, and basic armor, that was it.

In fact everything about me was bare bones for the game, which made sense since this was about the cards, not my fighting skill.

Currently I had one hundred hit points at level one which would allow me to summon a number of creatures, and no armor to speak of. The limited health pool meant summoning large creatures, or a hoard of small creatures, would have to be tempered by my hit points. I had no idea what happened if I fell to zero HP, but I assumed I lost the battle and would be sent back to the Soul Deck. That didn't necessarily mean my deck, or the creatures I had summoned, went with me. If I could find new cards to increase my HP that might mitigate the damage from summoning, but it appeared a good part of the strategy for Vertigo revolved around the health bar.

All of that would be answered in time, but this first summons wouldn't hurt me much. I mentally checked the yes button, accepting the hit to my points, and the card glowed in my hand. The light pooled into a ball, then shot to the forest floor in front of me. As it dissipated a cute mongoose blinked up at me.

I always thought of mongooses as small creatures about the size of a house cat. This creature wouldn't be curling up in my lap any time soon. The rather large creature stood up on its hind legs looking up at me with bright blue eyes. He came up to my waist, and had a long tail to help balance on his hind legs. His golden fur lined a sleek body, and his sharp teeth and claws looked formidable.

"Well, hi there," I said, reaching out to hold my hand up for smelling. That's what you did with animals, wasn't it? There were so few pets around outside of game worlds that I wasn't quite sure, but I remembered my mother saying something like that once when I was little.

The mongoose seemed to approve, sniffing my hand, then reached up to nuzzle my finger tips for a moment. His fur was soft and warm, and I couldn't help myself. I pulled him closer, scooping the mongoose up in a hug and nuzzling my nose in the warm pelt.

"You're so adorable!" I practically squealed. "You're bigger than I thought you'd be."

In response the mongoose licked the tip of my nose. I giggled again.