“What is that?” Alin questioned. The area around the sword was being distorted as if there was an invisible force emanating from it.

Ling’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the sword in a trance. “I want it!” She exclaimed in a monotone voice. She got up to run towards the sword, despite being wet and soggy. At this point, nothing could stop Ling on her quest to acquire this jeweled blade. Not even the yelling from her companions where enough to stop her. She stood just inches away from the sword if she didn’t have figurative spit dribbling from her mouth, she had it dripping. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt. An extreme wave of pleasure began coursing through her body. A pleasure she’s never felt before, not while she killed, nor pilfering small trinkets and gold coins from dead adventures. This sword was an actual treasure, a relic, unique, one of a kind item that could only be obtained once and only once. Her heart began beating in rapid succession as she pulled the sword from its resting place. The ground held tight, but her obsession filled her with enough determination to give her a status boost to her strength. That was until Alin tackled her.

He had been yelling in her face as he laid overtop of her. “Huh?” she questioned, the senses and sound rushed back to her.

“Do you know what you just did!?” Alin shouted, “That sword was cursed!”

“Wha-” Ling felt something in her hand begin to feel off, and she lifted the blade into her sight. The entirety of the sword began to dissipate into dust in seconds. The jewels fell off and turned into stones; the hilt turned into a piece of wood. The illusion the false blade had over Ling disappeared the exact moment it disappeared.

She sat up sliding the boy down from her stomach and into her lap. Ling shrieked, “I can’t believe I fell for something like that! Me? Gah!” she furiously moved the wet hair from her face.

Alin noticing this drop in her character said meekly, “Ling?”

Just then a loud cry for help came from across the room. The mound the sword rested in began spewing a large colorless gelatinous form, it barely could be seen by the naked eye, only those possessing an ordinary shifter skill that was known as ‘True eyes’ could make out even an outline of it. It undulated and squirmed in floating in mid-air as if gravity didn’t apply to it. It surrounded Rue her pleas for help fell short, and the creature enveloped her erasing her anything that even existed in her proximity was gone entirely. A one-meter pit now was in place. The form-less blob shot straight through the wall, everything in its path just ceased to exist.

The two looked at each other in silence before Ling sent a fist into Alin’s face. “Get off me,” she demanded.

-5HP damage dealt to target.

Alin landed on his back and grabbed his face where he took the brunt of the hit. Ling stood over top of him tossing the mimic handbag to the side; it grew its spider-like legs and stalk eyes. It skittered across the floor inspecting Alin, who had been screaming at the sight of the monster.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Ling rolled her eyes. “Oh please,” she sighed, “man up, we’re not going to hurt you.”

“H-how do I know that you won't!?” he stammered.

Ling rolled her eyes again. “If I wanted to hurt you I would have done it by know.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I’m pissed off that I let my basic instincts get the better of me so here’s the summary: We both know what you are, doppelganger.”

“H-how?” He continued to stutter, “When did you find out?”

“Honestly,” Ling kneeled to face level with the boy. “I knew the moment I met you.” Mic’s several tongues flayed out from its mouth as he growled, “Mic knew too.”

“But how!?” he raised his voice.

Ling replied, “You can’t trick a natural born shapeshifter.”

“Is that why you’re so mad?”

“Damn straight!” Ling picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could at the furthest wall, “That goddamn...Whatever… made me feel like an idiot!”

Mic took up a spot next to Ling and stoically perched itself on a rock. Alin started to stand back up. “What does this mean for me then?” He asked.

“Well, since your race is technically related to mine, wanna party up?”

Alin paused for a second thinking about the idea of doing so. “Do I really have a choice?”

Ling put a finger to her mouth scraping the nail with her canine. “No, not really. Since you we both technically have dirt on each other.”

Alin sighed, “I guess I’ll join you then. But, first off my name isn’t Alin, its Ger.”

CONGRATULATIONS GER JOINED YOUR PARTY!

“Neat,” Ling said unenthusiastically. She got close to Ger and punched him once again in the face.

He yelled, “Why did you hit me again!?”

“I’m still pissed off,” Ling muttered under her breath.

“Anyway, what’s the plan now?”

Ling pointed to the giddy mimic at the hole repeatedly telling them a way out. “I suppose we get out of here.”

***

Mic scurried around the room eating the possessions of the now deceased party members. Ling had crossed her arms and sat on one of the multiple beds. While Ger stuck things in a travel bag.

“Do you have to bring all that stuff along?” Ling sighed.

“Yes!” Ger declared, “What else would I do without clothes and food?”

“You’re a shapeshifter and a monster. Just eat some human flesh.” Ling retorted.

Ger looked over in disgust. “That’s disgusting, besides I can’t change as quick as you.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It takes three days for me to change.”

Ling’s lip curled in disgust. “You can’t be serious. That’s incredibly stupid.”

“Yeah well, I also take a portion of the stats of whatever I copy, so it not so bad.”

Ling laid on the bed with her head facing the door, “If you say so.”

There then was a knock on the door, a rather loud and affirmative bang. Ling got up and looked at the door than to Ger. “Do you have any more party members?”

Ger looked at her nervously. “No...we shouldn’t have anyone visiting us.”