A plain, old looking black leather box sits on one of the shelves, almost staring at you. However, you learned long ago not to trust looks, so you open the box to find a strange looking amulet inside. It is made of bronze, with runic inscriptions going around the rim and a stone in the middle. The stone is clear and spherical, seeming to be made of crystal quartz. Looking back into the box, you see that there are other stones inside, each a different color. Intrigued, you decide to buy the amulet, and start looking for a price tag. You find one, and see that the price is only two dollars, amazingly cheap considering you don’t even know what it supposedly does. You go to the cashiers’ desk, and within five minutes you have bought the amulet and are heading for your dorm. Upon arriving at your dorm, you take the amulet out of its box and look at the other stones. There seem to be stones of every different color, and some of them look like they’re made of precious or semi-precious gems.
You decide to put the amulet on. You find it weighs almost nothing, but don’t have long to ponder this fact as it suddenly flashes and you fall backwards onto your bed, unconscious.
You find yourself floating in a vast expanse that is neither black nor white, yet somehow both there separately and, at the same time, together. Suddenly, you hear someone speak.
“Welcome,” a strange voice speaks to you. It is neither male nor female, ghostlike, faint, whispering, yet louder and clearer than the nose on your face. You remember reading books describing such a thing, and decide that it must be telepathy.
You look around, something which is difficult to describe doing in this strange world, and are rewarded with the sight of more void. “Who’s there?” You call out.
“Do not be afraid, young one, for I mean you no harm,” the voice replies. “I am the spirit that inhabits the amulet you now wear around your neck.”
You look down to see that you do indeed have the amulet around your neck. “Why have you brought me to this place? And where, or what, is it?”
The spirit chuckles, sending shivers down your spine. “This is my realm, my home, the space inside the amulet. It exists between world and dimensions, where only the strongest of magical beings can come. As to why I have brought you here, it is because you are now the owner of my amulet. I simply wished to introduce myself to you, and to explain the purpose of the artifact. It will change the shape of anyone who wears it as long as their shape does not correspond with the shape that the current gem in the center grants. I will allow you to figure out what they are. I will tell you this though: the crystal quartz returns the wearer’s form to normal,”
You can’t see it, but you sense the spirit’s realm starting to fade. “Wait!” you call out. “I need to know more!” The spirit chuckles again and replies “All in good time, young one.
You jolt up in your bed. You remember what the spirit said about the stones, and decide to test it and take out the stone in the center.