Kendell had to work at the guild. Since they were not yet ready to part ways, he went with her. Besides getting to spend a few more minutes together, Joe had several tasks he needed to accomplish at the guildhouse himself.
They parted with one last kiss. Joe couldn’t help but smile widely as he headed to the guild-shop. As usual, the packed small shop was staffed by the golden-haired Puqmup this morning. The gnome gave Joe a wave as he entered.
“G’Morning, Joe. What can I do for you?” the small man asked as he put away a tray he had been sorting small items in.
“Hey Puq. So, during Cauldrakon’s attack, I managed to fill my dimensional bag with several gallons of seawater. I have been told that that is not something to ignore, or I’ll ruin the bag. They mentioned ‘dry stones’ and ‘hot stones.’” Joe detached his dim-bag from his belt and placed it on the counter.
“They are right. I made that mistake once; wrecked a really nice bag and three weeks of perishable loot,” Puqmup sighed ruefully, shaking his head. “Step one, Everything out of the bag.” The gnome grabbed a sack and jumped off the counter into the center of the small room. He pulled buckets, bowls, boxes, and even a barrel from the bag, placing them around Joe. “Start sticking your soggy stuff in these, and we can dry what we can and toss anything ruined.”
For the next few minutes, Joe unloaded his dim-bag. He was surprised by how much stuff he had stashed in there and forgotten about. He had tons of monster loot, from hides and shells to hair and fangs. He had some gems he could sell, as well as a handful of rocks and shells he just thought were cool-looking. There were food-stuffs: rations, rolls, fruit, etc. These were all tossed in the waste bucket.
The hide itself Joe held over the barrel as waters streamed off it.
Item [Hide of the Hunter] (Rare): Integrity 74.2%: Soulbound, Self-Repair (Major), Damage Resistance (Major), Vulnerability to Silver (Major), Morphic, Predator Instincts
“Interesting,” the guild quartermaster exclaimed as Joe applied a healing to the hide again.
You have repaired 5.8% of the damage to your [Hide of the Hunter]. 100% Self-Repair estimate: 11.4 hours
“You can heal it, too?” Puqmup exclaimed excitedly. “What the heck is that doing in your storage and not on your body?”
“It kind of gave me the creeps, so I have not mucked around with it much,” Joe admitted, healing again. He managed three more heals before hitting the structural damage cap again. Fortunately, by then, the hide’s integrity was at 96.4%, only needing a couple of hours to finish repairs. He willed it to twist itself tightly, wringing out almost all the remaining moisture.
“If I were you, I would not completely replace your gambeson with the hide, though it is tempting. Unfortunately, one silver weapon and you’d have zero defense. Still, you could make a killer sleeve with the head on your shoulder. You could block with that arm and take almost no dama … Ohh. I have an even better idea.” the small man clapped his hands, shuffling a quick, little dance. “Would you try it for me, please? The sleeve.” the shopkeep requested. The gnome had that same excited look Kenda got when talking about skills. Puqmup must be the ‘items-guy’ of the guild. “This could be great,” he muttered, his eyes locked on the pelt.
Not seeing any reason not to, Joe commanded the hide to form into a yard-long rectangle. Placing the wolf-head as if it were a pauldron, Joe willed the rest of the skin to wrap around his left arm. The hide hugged his arm as if it had been tailored for him. The overlapping major resistances would mean he could take some pretty massive hits to his forearm and probably not feel much at all. Also, unlike most self-repair armor, he wouldn’t have to wait for that feature in battle since he could heal the pelt.
“The change speed is good,” the gnome appraised. “Not great, but good. It’s not fast enough for instant transformations but quick enough for changes if you aren't actively engaged. If you get into a fight with something with breath-weapons or missiles, you might want to consider a cloak you can use to block the attack with .. or you can try the idea I had.” Puq clapped his hand before gleefully adding, “Picture a shield.”
Joe’s face broke into a wide grin. That was a genius idea ... if it worked. With a thought, the hide thickened and rounded off his arm. He tried to harden it, using the sinews to give it a framework for expansion. Unfortunately, he could not form more than a few inches before the hide drooped into saggy folds.
“Damn it,” Joe swore. “I’m going to have to work on that.”
“Wait! I was expecting that, but I wanted to make sure first.” Puq held out his hand, and on it was a coppery metal bracelet. Joe hadn’t seen the gnome pick up the band; he had been wholly focused on the hide a moment ago.
“Slip that little fellow on. It’s a cheap model, but it will work for this experiment.”
Joe swapped the [Band of Beguilement] to his right hand and slipped the copper bangle on in its place.
Item [Shield Bracelet] (Wrist - Common): Conjures a common metal shield.
“Now activate the shield and cover it with the hide,” the golden guildsman stated.
Joe did as he was instructed. A shield appeared instantaneously, and Joe enveloped it in fur within a second. It took him a little longer to stretch the leather taut and smooth it out, but Joe was sure he would only need practice before he could do that right the first time.
“Even better, Puq. I didn’t want to lug a shield around, but after watching Tezeno, I can see how having one would have some real advantages.”
“The beautiful part is that major resistance. If you combined it with a more powerful bracelet, you might have a killer defense on that arm.”
“How much is this guy?” Joe asked. He was not broke, but money was fairly tight at the moment. He should talk with Master Daneskigh soon and figure out how to get paid for healing in a way that would not cause conflicts with resident doctors.
“That piece of junk,” the gnome scoffed, making a shooing gesture with his tiny hand. “You can have it. I have some better ones. You could pick from a few suitable uncommons for two to five hundred.”
“Eh. Not yet,” Joe declined. “Let’s see how often this comes in handy. I think it will, but who knows? Besides, I may have some extra cash then, too.”
“Remember, you have credit with the guild if you need it. Anything else you want to get now?”
“Hmm. Well, there is one thing. A while back, Hah’roo gave me a charm that extended the range of my spells. Do you have something like that?”
“I do, but [Rings of Range] are pricey. They are one of the more sought-after items for casters. Universal rings are in the ten K range.”
“Oh, good grief. I can’t do that,” Joe groaned. “What do you mean ‘universal’?”
“All ranges are increased. You can get rings that just affect a single range category. They are far more affordable but significantly more limited,” Puqmup explained.
“That could work,” Joe uttered, mentally running through his spell list. He had two spells in the touch/immediate range. One was his [Healing Touch], but that was fixed [Healing Wave]. The other was [Dispell Rot], which was very situational. They were not worth spending coin on just to move them to close range.
On the other hand, he had seven close-range spells: [Heart Fire], [Efferous Endurance], [Deaden Flesh], [Healing Wave], [Purge], [Spirit of the Pack], and [Mana Surge]. Moving those to medium range would be huge.
“How much for just a close to medium upgrade ring?”
“Good call, Joe. Most support casters go that route. The demand for those rings are pretty high but the magic needed to make them is much easier than universal rings. Let me see what I’ve got,” he said, turning away from Joe. "Oh, keep in mind they will not increase areas of effect. If you want that too, then we are back in the tens of thousands."
"Got it. Nope, just the casting range, please," Joe replied. That meant [Spirit of the Pack] would not be enhanced, but still left six spells, some of which he used all the time.
The gnome walked around the counter and opened a drawer, shook his head, closed it and moved over to another drawer. “Ah, there we are,” he muttered. “I have four. This one,” he said, placing a band that looked like it was made of ice on the counter. “Is both the least expensive and has the advantage of empowering cold-based spells. Unfortunately, it also has the drawback of radiating a small but intense icy area around the ring. Everyone who had tried it has returned it as it is too uncomfortable for regular usage.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass. Even with the extra resistance in my shaggy hands, having an ice cube on my finger sounds awful. What about the others?” he asked as the shopkeep laid out the rings.
Two of the remaining three rings were classic gold bands with a gemstone; one was blue, maybe topaz, and the other was a red square, probably a ruby. The last was a woven band of silvery metal with a raised, rounded gold disk on it.
“They are all about the same. They run for two grand each. So seventeen hundred with your discount.”
“Eeesh. Let me think about it. But thanks for the idea and this,” he replied, tapping his now furry arm and the shield bracelet. “It’s a great idea.”
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A few minutes after they finished drying out the bag, Myllo entered the guild shop. Joe and Puqmup had been discussing other hide-related ideas as they sold the trophy loot Joe had kicking around.
“Just the man I have been looking for,” the korrigan exclaimed. “This afternoon, I want you and the rest of the team going to Margen’s Morn with you on the practice fields. As a new team, you guys will need some time together to work on teamwork and learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses. First bell after noon. Got it?”
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“I have a team?” Joe asked, puzzled.
“You are part of a team,” the guild-leader countered. “You guys can decide who is in charge, but I’d suggest Tezeno or Kendell unless your friend Hah’roo is a capable commander.”
“Who else is with us?” Joe inquired, wondering if Hah’roo would want to be the team leader. He’d have to ask her. Trying to predict what that woman thought or was going to do was like trying to catch the winds she so loved.
“Gonna keep you and Ears together. You two seem to work well together. I came up with a way to deal with the quest sharing.”
Joe considered telling him how much Earcellwen hated that name, but he did not know Myllo all that well yet. Kenda would know the best way to explain it to her boss. After he finished with Puq, he’d find and talk to her about it.
“The last member requested your group last night, which is outstanding! I have been trying to get Yuk more engaged with others since they joined us. They seem to work well with Ears, but they have never asked for a teammate before. So whatever you did, kid, keep doing it,” the small bearded man praised, giving Joe a solid thump to his arm. “I don’t have time now, but come and see me sometime. There is something I’ll explain then about Yuk.”
Bristling with purpose and energy, Myllo spun and marched back toward the hallway, calling over his shoulder. “Now, go find your windy wandering friend and be back here by One Post Bell.”
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He bought a [Messenger] scroll for a silver piece from Puq instead of going hunting for Hah’roo. There were things he still wanted to do here. With the guild discount, the spell made way more sense. Joe had just learned several new abilities. He wanted to test himself in the training course instead of having teammates counting on his untried state.
Even though he was primarily excited about playing with [Beast Shape], Joe activated [Spirit of the Pack] first to see how easy the aura was to maintain while he was distracted. He was sure the transformation spell was going to require his full attention.
With the aura in place, he walked out to the obstacle course, noting how each step propelled him across the ground quicker than they normally would. The first form he wanted to try was the seahawk again. He knew it was likely a challenging shape, but having already worn it once, he figured it was a good place to start. He also liked the emotional symmetry. Having his first form be a hawk seemed very fitting.
He placed all his gear in his dim bag except a simple bathrobe that he had on. Joe activated [Beast Shape] and thought of the hawk form he had used with Jink. Unlike with the potion, which had just flowed Joe’s body from one size and shape into the other, with the spell, Joe had to direct the change. He could feel mass falling off automatically as the spell had a cap of ten pounds. As for the shape, Joe had to keep his focus on the form he wanted to become. Bit by bit, his body reformed, though ever so slowly.
There was an expectant feeling during the transformation. He realized the spell was waiting to see if he was going to add anything else to the mix using his [Hybrid] trait. Joe was tempted, but since the seahawk was already such a perfectly designed creature, he did not want to mess up the build by adding anything, even something as innocuous as different colored feathers. Who knows if that would change the way he flew?
When the spell finished, Joe felt just as he had in Pergirine Harbor.
Your skill [Beast Shape] has increased to rank 1
He was utterly aware of his new body's flexibility and how even a slight twitch could change his course through the air. With a kick, he launched himself into the obstacle course. It was at its lowest setting, allowing objects to swing in the wind and barriers to creep slowly upwards and back down again. Joe effortlessly soared through the whole course and back again. He ramped it up two levels and once again swooped through the challenge flawlessly. He jumped up two levels, a fifth of the max, but after a few seconds, he realized it still needed to be more challenging.
Doubling it to level ten turned out to be a bit impulsive. An arrow clipped him as he cut through the second hard turn, and things started spiraling from there. He had to land briefly to regain control. That fleeting moment was all the training construct needed to lock onto him. Thanks to the dart turrets, Joe made it to the finish looking like a pincushion.
The course’s damage was set to non-lethal, so he was in no danger of dying, but Joe realized he took considerably more damage in this form than he should have. He was missing the armor and resistance from his gambeson and leggings, but that would have only accounted for a fraction of the battering he took.
Joe stepped to the tablet that tracked a runner’s progress through the challenge and tallied up the hits and health lost. He realized that Kendell probably could have this figured out in under a minute, but Joe was no slouch at math. He wanted to see if he could suss it out first.
And he did. It turns out that size does matter. The darts were the same size regardless of who navigated the course, but his body had been a tiny fraction of what it had been any other time he had trained here. The darts made proportionally much larger holes in a seahawk than in a human body. This meant he would be far more vulnerable in beast forms until he could get big enough for a shape with natural defenses, like a bear or, better yet, a honey badger. The loose skin on both creatures allows them to take severe punishment without gaining life-threatening injuries.
Joe switched out of the hawk. He started a new transformation, this time going for a prey animal. Rabbit skin would be thicker and looser. Also, since they were designed to avoid hawks, they should have the agility he needed to make it through. While not quite as exciting as flying, being a turbo-charged speedster was pretty damn close. Joe was able to change directions effortlessly. He could stop on a dime. The only problems were the vertical obstacles. He could bound over the low ones, but anything over three feet was impossible, even with the boosts he could get from [Morphic Form].
He eventually found a path the hare could take to reach the end and checked his numbers. Sure enough, the dart damage per missile was less. Joe would really have to play around looking for the right shape for the right job, always looking for new and bigger forms as his skill increased.
He lowered the difficulty a bit and tried a few more shapes. Monkeys fared well, but they were not great dodgers. Dogs and foxes were fun but were not much better than the monkeys in the course. Cats performed well. He could not quite get big enough to become an ocelot, so he went for the smaller margay. Being able to climb face up or face down was a kick. The natural agility of a feline was hard to beat.
His best performance versus damage surprised him. It turned out to be squirrels. They were crazy agile, excellent jumpers, and speedy climbers. What threw them over the top was the little critters had an insane awareness of danger. Joe found himself dodging attacks often before he even realized they were coming.
Thinking of Yuk, Joe tried to form himself into an insect. Shrinking, he got down to roughly the size of a mouse before he found himself quickly losing the ability to focus. His thoughts became primal instincts; he could only concentrate on needs like food or danger. As Joe contracted further, his thoughts completely unraveled. It felt like someone had just smashed him in the head with a large, hard object. The spell fell apart, returning Joe to normal, though nursing a splitting headache. He pulled on his robe, casting [Purge] on the [Enfeebled] condition he had gained.
So, there was a limit to not only how big he could go but as to how small as well. Not for the first time, Joe wished Hawking would put all the warnings into the spell descriptions. Trial and error was not much fun at times like these.
When Joe’s head stopped throbbing, he ran and flew the course a dozen more times, trying different ideas. Hawks and [Grit Razor] failed as the bird’s talon could not hold the shards. On the plus side, if he used a smaller stone, [Grit Razor] squirrels were pretty awesome. The idea cracked him up as he pictured a gray-tailed army revolting against an imagined tyrannical farming community.
He could heal in every form, as well as use most of his other spells: [Effereous Endurance], [Purge], [Deaden Flesh], etc. [Forceful Fist] was a tremendous boon to shapes that did not have nimble digits, such as cats and dogs.
Eventually, he started experimenting with a couple of chimeric shapes.
Your skill [Beast Shape] has increased to rank 4
He started with the armadillo hound Mahq had used, though, in Joe’s case, he had to make it an armadillo terrier. He tried to make an over-sized squirrel. It worked, but it came with limitations. The larger he got, the more of his jump distance he lost. Joe knew snow leopards had insane jumping distances, so size was not the only limitation. Joe would have to practice to find a balance between size and performance.
Unfortunately, that would have to wait. The noon bell had rung. He had one hour left. While he doubted he would change shape in combat training, he was pretty sure his friends would want a demonstration. He was not a modest person, but that did not mean he wanted to be butt naked in front of a crowd for each change. Since this was a common druid ability, there had to be an easy solution.
He found Puqmup just as the man was about to tuck into his lunch in the Great Hall. The helpful gnome agreed to eat in the shop with Joe. He picked up his tray and waited while Joe grabbed a similar meal from the kitchen.
“So we are gonna need a few items for you,” he said, munching on a carrot as they crossed the hall to the guild-store. “Adaptive apparel, obviously. That’ll be cheap enough. Granted, the stuff I have is pretty drab. You can get snazzier adaptive duds in the market. Also, a common [Quick Change] ring to swap your armor in and out of your storage. Baselines of those will run you a couple of dozen gold combined.”
Puq unlocked the door and placed his tray on one of the counters. “The bigger cost,” he continued, “is you are going to need a bag upgrade. What you have there is not going to work with beast shaping. Most druids go with adaptive jewelry. Necklaces, bracelets, or rings.”
“I’m not much of a jewelry guy, but ok. If that is what I need, I believe you. You know this stuff way better than I do,” Joe sighed. He was not against ornamentation but wasn’t a big fan of it, either.
“Okey doke,” The gnome popped another morsel into his mouth before vaulting up onto his counter. He hopped onto the track on the other side and began pulling a bunch of flat boxes off the shelf. He laid them out and opened them to reveal dozens of jewelry items. Each box had either rings, pendants, or bracelets. A fourth container had various other pieces, such as pins, earrings, and oddities Joe could not easily place.
He scanned the finery and found his eyes drawn to the leather items in lieu of the gold and silvery metal ones. He liked a leather bracer that was tooled to depict stag horns. Unfortunately, he already had the new shield bracelet and the band from the Buguilburr. Puq cautioned against more than one magic item to a body location. The golden-gnome explained some skills and traits could bypass this limitation, mostly from wizard and artificer classes, but for everyone else, it was best not to chance it.
Practically, this meant rings. Puq noted that everyone could wear at least two rings per hand, which is why they were the most common utility items he sold. Joe was not a big fan of rings, and the ring he had kept getting full of gunk and viscera, thanks to his claw attacks: granted, the cleaning ring could solve that problem. Still, he was getting short of body slots that were practical for storage items, so he had Puqmup bring out the rings.
Given the punishment his hand took in combat he discounted the delicate ones. Scanning the rows of jeweled bands he finally saw he really liked. It was made of deep bluish metal, clearly dragongeld. It was etched with an intricate leaf pattern he found appealing.
Item [Adaptive Storage Band of the Wary Traveler] (Finger - Uncommon): This dimensional storage item can hold up to 360 pounds, not exceeding a volume of 36 cubic feet.
This ring will shift size and shape with the digit it is attached to. It will also resist being assimilated into transformations allowing it to remain fully functional in a new form.
Additionally, this ring will store your movement to be used to push creatures and up to medium-sized objects away from you on your command. The item will hold 10 feet of movement per point of your Vigor. It can be used to push targets in 3-foot increments.
Having a similar movement-storage feature on his [Talisman of the Medic], one of Joe’s favorite items, made this immediately attractive. The shove ability made up for the small amount of storage space he was losing.
“That one?” Joe stated, pointing to the blue band. “How much for that one?”
“That’s an interesting choice. I can make an even swap with your bag, or it will be eighteen hundred.”
Joe was not thrilled about giving up his first bag, but he also realized that he was about to go head-to-head with the Hellions. A Ring of Range would give him so much more versatility. He needed both. He picked the ruby ring as it was the sturdiest-looking of the three. The trophies and gems he had sold earlier, along with his old bag, covered most of the costs. He was left with less than three hundred gold afterward, but he was now much better prepared.
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He and the gnome kept chatting long after their meals and deals were done, up until the stench of rancid ice, wet dog, corpses, charcoal, and incense filled the Great Hall across the hallway from the shop.
“Ug,” Joe grunted. “Later Puq. I smell my cue has just arrived. Wish me luck.”