Chuck waited and waited for both of them to tire of the joke. They wound down fifteen minutes later.

"Now that you're over that, there is still a lot of crap I don't understand. What are the Bythnahr, and why would they send things to attack me? Would be where I want to start."

Marl wiped at his brown eyes and took a deep breath. "The bad guys. Ugly creatures look a little like the bugs that just attacked us, 'cept bigger, uglier, stronger, and scarier. They invaded Crawtna about two years ago, manipulated the Structure somehow..."

"At least that's the working theory," Whyth took over the answer. "However, they arrived, then hit hard and coordinated. When everything settled, they sat themselves up as the new ruling power of Crawtna. They are stripping us of magic and other resources to support some military action on a different front. About a month ago, they altered something that increased the magic they siphoned off by triple, maybe even quadruple. Seriously affecting all magic, other than theirs, on Crawtna. Which is where you come in."

Several minutes passed by as the trio covered a narrow path. Chuck cleared his throat. "Are you going to finish?"

Whyth turned back to look at Chuck. "Finish what?"

Chuck's meaty paw smacked his side. "I came in for what?"

"Didn't I tell you that when you popped in?"

"Other than me not being what you expected, you've said little to nothing about how I got here."

"Whyth, quit playing with him." Marl groaned.

"Not playing with him." Whyth stopped and turned to face the others. "Hoping he'd put it all together. Need someone quick to put all the pieces together if we have any chance."

"I'm not quick as a rule and even if that were the case—way too much shock and confusion going on. Not to mention pain and even more confusion."

"Fine." Whyth spun around and marched down the path. "With the siphoning of magic, the Bythnahr have crippled their opposition—us. They can't eliminate magic, but they have reduced its availability. Without the access spells, there is less for us to use, and it slows down our ability to recharge. That's the quick explanation, at least. I attempted to bring in a magic user from outside the Structure, hoping to bring magic energy outside of Bythnahr's control. Along with that, I wanted a strong enough magic-user to help us counter or remove whatever the Bythnahr did."

"Did any of that work?" Chuck asked.

Most of the gruffness left Whyth's voice. "You know nothing about magic, so didn't get a magic-user. You flashed a huge amount of magic when you got here. Not been enough time to determine what that did to availability."

Whyth and Marl let Chuck walk along in silence, processing what he'd just heard. Magic, I can do magic. I'm not human anymore? Can I get back home, and if I could, would I go back just to be dead? Why am I thinking all this so calmly? So many changes I'm not even sure what is who and who I am anymore. Knowing some of that would be a start...

<< STATUS

Component: Charles (Chuck) Williamsyn Class: Duplicemist

Class Note: Rare/Unique class, does not comply with standard Structure guidelines; Class is fluid - most attributes will shift based on component usage; Not all information is available, will need to be discovered by component  

Structure Note: Acclimation steps 70% complete, component responding favorably     

Class Level: 3rd Health: 40/60 Magic Pool: 15/50 STATS Strength: variable Reflexes: variable Endurance: 55 Resistance/Willpower: 45 Charisma: 10 (can be variable) Intelligence: 40 Wisdom: 45 ABILITIES Manipulate: Level 3 Absorb: Level 3 Concoct: Level 2 Control Fire: Level 2 Fire-Flight Level 2

>>

"Whoa!" Chuck stumbled, catching himself against a deep brown tree trunk.

Both Marl and Whyth jumped, shouting in unison. Chuck quickly relayed the message from his mental display.

"Structure info flood," Marl muttered. "I'm not sure what to make of all of that." He raised an eyebrow in Whyth's direction.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Long, slender brown fingers tracked through the rough patches of wiry tan fur across Whyth's cheeks. "A lot there isn't standard. Never heard of anyone having so much variable. Depending on the class, you may fluctuate speed, so that would be a limited variable, or change form to be variable in strength. You, Chuck, seem to have all that and more."

"It's the rare, unique designation that slapped me," Marl added. "I've never heard or read about that before. That just adds more reason to us getting to Vassyn's as fast as we can."

"Vassyn?" Chuck asked.

"He’s who we were going to have dampen you. He's much smarter than either Whyth or me, and maybe he can help you out with more than a dampening. Whyth, get us moving. Chuck, you can ask as we step on."

Chuck replayed the message and what his new friends had shared before saying anything. He explained his understanding of ability scores and was thrilled when the others confirmed he understood it well. Those weekends playing a few RPGs and some video games paying off, it seems. "And Whyth, you want me to keep you up to date on when my magic pool increases, right?"

"Curious if you recharge faster or at the same rate as I do. Right now, it seems I may be recharging a little faster than before you showed up, but," Whyth gestured to the trees and brush, "this isn't an ideal situation to measure such a thing."

"And manipulation means nothing to either of you?"

Both Marl and Whyth shook their heads in response.

Time to see what I can do then. Chuck focused on the word manipulation. A small twinge of power jumped through his thoughts. He focused and pulled at that strand. Dirt shot up around him, fire burned through his legs. Marl screamed, Whyth yelled. He cried out and collapsed to the damp ground, panting.

"What in the name of Criznak did you just do?" Whyth slapped violently at the dirt along his smock.

Chuck rolled over and stared at the blue-orange sky and groaned. Marl's green block of a head obliterated the view of the sky.

"Did you try to cast something?" He growled.

Chuck found enough of a voice to croak out a weak "Yes."

"Aknarka! Idiot, get up and run. All of us run west as fast as we can, as long as we can." Marl didn't wait to see who obeyed his command. His stubby legs churned against the ground.

Whyth's eyes grew wide, and he fell in right behind Marl. Chuck pushed up and decided to join them, not having anything else to do other than try to close the sizeable lead the others had on him.

"Why are we running?" Chuck yelled after the pair. He couldn't make out the words Marl threw back at him. "What?"

He watched Marl's shoulders rise and fall, then he stopped and turned back to the running Chuck. "You just sent a message to the Bythnahr, and it won't be long..."

Marl disappeared in a flurry of drab olive wings. Suddenly, two six-foot-tall tubes of insect-looking worms with wings stood between Chuck and the others. The tubes quivered, antennae swayed above the tubes, and the praying mantis forelegs twitched back and forth as if trying to lock in their target.

Chuck shifted all of himself to the left, aiming for the opening the tube mantises had left. Before he'd finished shifting, the farthest tube mantis appeared in front of him. Chuck fell backward. The striking foreleg flashed right above his new eyes and snapped back in place. Scrambling backward, he used his taloned feet, stubby fingers, and anything else that he could get to move in order to push against the ground in an attempt to gain traction and speed. He rolled, squeezed himself smaller, and leaped off the ground, dodging multiple strike attempts from the relentless creatures. They seemed to fill in every gap, ready to strike. Chuck's flexibility seemed to be his only defense.

Fire! Cast fire, you idiot. A flash of flame bounced along the chiton of the closest tube mantis. The olive green brightened, then resumed its unimpressive hue.

The monster replied with another near hit on Chuck.

No fire. How do I stop them? Chuck thinned out his body, causing the latest attack to briefly slide across his bright pink skin. They're moving way too fast. Magic? Can I get some of that? Have to let them hit me with one of those raptorial legs. Hey, remembered something from biology class.

A leg tip tore up the ground next to Chuck's eye. Focus or die. Here goes nothing. Chuck watched for the next swing and rolled to take it in a fattier part of his middle section. A quick gasp of pain escaped. This had better work...

<>

Yes! Absorb now, yes! Give it to me now! C'mon.

<>

Replaced? A ripple of heat radiated from Chuck's core. His brain lunged at the new power floating within him. His stomach heaved as he rolled into a tree trunk. Focusing his eyes, he saw the two tubes spastically jumping around. He fought off a laugh when he realized they were about fifteen feet away. Spatial Leap for the win! Chuck focused on creating a flame in his right hand, a spark fired, and promptly fizzled. Did I run out of magic?

<>

Gotta learn how to control spending. How long to recharge? Chuck dropped behind a tree and watched each of the tube-mantis vibrate their four antennae. He saw Whyth cast a beam of light, hitting one creature. It screeched and leaped ten feet closer to Chuck. Based on its actions, it hadn't found Chuck yet, but it would only be a matter of time. A soft popping sound accompanied a quick flurry of dust. The tube mantis used its own spatial leap to close on Whyth from behind. Chuck leapt to his feet, screaming and waving. The second monster spun and sped toward Chuck with blurring wings.

Chuck saw Whyth jerk when he turned and saw the creature swinging one of its vicious-looking forearms.

Not enough time for him to react. Recharged enough? Chuck opened himself up to allow a slight surge of energy to flow through him—his mind's eye pictured him next to the tube mantis tackling it.

His stomach lurched again, his vision cleared, and he fell. A sharp stab in the back hit Chuck, a crunching noise along with a high-pitched whistle followed close behind, then Chuck cried out when he slammed to the ground.

<< INFORMATION: Siibtis (contribute to death absorb) activated. Magic Pool 75 of 75, Health 80 of 80>>

Chuck's back arched as his body spasmed in the dirt. Seconds passed before he regained control. Looking up, he saw Whyth staring down at the dagger-like claw sticking out of his side, his fingers trying to keep the dark blue blood from spilling out.

Whyth looked up at Chuck. Pain radiated from his eyes. "I'll be okay. Go get the other chelp and smash it like you did this one." Whyth's blood-covered hand pointed to a few shards of green poking out from under Chuck's lumpy form.

Jumping up, Chuck stole a glance at the mangled tube mantis and smiled. Body slam, better than a tackle. Wonder how high I was? He scanned the clearing and targeted the second monster. His stomach heaved, and he crashed into the middle of the tube, tumbling over the prone creature. He took the sound of breaking eggs as a good sign he'd finished this one off as well. Need to hone in on my height. Tackling still works, though.

Once he rolled to a stop, a quick glance confirmed his suspicions. His glance moved to see Marl working on Whyth's wound. He did a quick visual check to verify he still had feet, then pushed himself up onto them and walked over to check on the other two. What was this Siibtis thing?

<>

Um, thanks? Chuck paused mid-stride, waiting for an answer. When none came, he finished his walk over to Whyth and Marl. He nodded at Whyth. "You going to be okay?"

"Seems so. Marl is admirable at wound care, and this one looked much worse than it actually is. I can heal myself if needed, but I’d rather not spend magic points."

Chuck kicked at the grass with a talon. "Safe to say they found me because of me casting that spell?"

Marl grunted his yes.

"Thought so. I am so sorry, especially to you Whyth, since you got hurt. I got lost in trying to learn who I am and forgot about what it could mean."

Whyth shrugged. "Understandable, given all you've had flying your way in a short time. Next time, ask us before trying, though. We need to get moving. If they're tracking magic, we just released more than you did before."

"Understood." Chuck's eyes lit up. "And do we have plenty to talk about." The three resumed their walk through the woods as Chuck explained the latest round of changes he went through.