The story of Tzemechla is one which few, if any, know today. The city was located deep in the jungles of the Yucatán, and shunned by almost all who knew of it. The city was said to be populated entirely by sorcerers and witches, and nothing good would come from having anything to do with the city.
They were wise to think so.
The Spanish, enticed by rumors of the city’s vast stockpiles of treasure, sent an expedition into the jungle in search of it. The first one vanished without a trace, as did the second. The third returned weeks later, claiming the entire region was “unnatural”. They complained of strange lights in the sky, trails through the jungle that seemed to appear and disappear at will, and the screeching noises of bizarre creatures out in the constant mist that surrounded them. Not even the promise of gold was enough to get them to press on into that cursed jungle.
No one really knows what happened to Tzemechla; the Mayan villagers whisper of some strange ritual that went horribly wrong, and the jungle being consumed in blue fire. Whatever the cause, when a few brave souls ventured to check out what had happened they found only smoldering ruins and a small cash of glittering blue stones.
These stones, of course, were no ordinary stones. They possessed immense magical power, power which could shift reality itself. Whatever ritual had destroyed the city had supercharged these stones, making them both incredibly strong and highly unstable. It didn’t take much for them to unleash their incredible power in an uncontrolled burst, changing reality in the immediate vicinity around them.
Jake had stopped by the store one evening, bored and curious to see what kind of items they’d gotten in. He’d always been interested in magic and the occult, and from time to time he went in and purchased an item or two. As he browsed in one of the aisles, a flash of light caught his eye. Looking more closely, he spotted a small piece of jewelry—what looked like a necklace with a shining blue stone at the center. For some reason Jake felt incredibly drawn to it. Walking over, he picked up the necklace and ran his finger over the stone. It felt warm to the touch. Weird, he thought.
Jake hurried over to the cash register, asking “how much for the necklace?” The man behind the counter blinked solely at her. He was in his late sixties, and seemed like he was struggling not to fall asleep on his feet. With out the briefest of glances at the amulet, he said “five bucks.” Jake slapped a five dollar bill on the counter and hurried out the door.
As he left, the man behind the counter frowned slightly. Maybe he should have taken a closer look at that before he’d let the guy walk out the door with it. He shrugged to himself. Surely the powers that be wouldn’t have let anything too unstable get out into the ordinary world, right?
A half an hour later, Jake pulled into the driveway of the house he shared with his friends Sean and Anthony. Carefully parking his car in the already crowded driveway, he hurried inside. As soon as he stepped in the doorway the loud sounds of electronic gunfire could be heard coming from the living room, as well as yelling as his roommates duked it out. Shutting the door behind him Jake hurried into the next room.
Both Sean and Anthony were there, blasting away with their controllers as they frantically yelled at each other. Sitting on the couch nearby were two other guys, Sean’s cousin Matt and their neighbor Chris, who routinely dropped by to hang out with them.
Jake pulled the amulet out of his pocket and cried out. The thing wasn’t just warm now; it was burning hot. He hastily dropped it, and it fell out of his hand towards the floor.
That was a mistake.
As it struck the wood panel, the amulet—having already built up a massive amount of magical energy—unleashed it.
FLASH