Arrival III

I took a deep breath and before I could reconsider, I opened the doors. Despite their size, they swung open easily, allowing me my first view of the next room.

It was about three times the size as the dressing room and from the wood panels to the overtly lewd tapestries, it was an exact copy of the previous room.

There were some differences though, the shag carpet was a deep blue, and along the wall to the left were two massive windows. They were both closed, lace curtains closed across them. My view to the outside was still blocked it seemed.

In a departure from the similarities there was furniture in the room. Three fainting couches were placed stylishly around a low wooden coffee table. There was also a tea setting in the corner across and to the left of me, two attendants stood on either side. Arms held behind their backs, eyes in my direction but pointed toward my feet.

The two guards were towering figures, turned sideways to me. They were each fully armoured in chain mail with breast and backplates, full gauntlets and greaves. Their full helmets were held in the crock of their right elbows and their left hand rested upon the hilt of a longsword. Large kite shields were strapped to their backs.

Both wore gambesons under their gear, forest green and royal blue, split diagonally from the right shoulder to the left hip, green on top, blue below, a large tree in silver was embossed on their left breast. Both were clearly bred from the same stock. They both had long blond hair in ponytails, trailing halfway down their backs, they had the ageless features their race was known for, and the pointy ears they were also recognised by. The eye colour differed however, the one to the left had eyes of a murky grey and the one to the right were a bright emerald green that twinkled as he turned his attention to me. I figured him for the younger of the two. A supposition that was swiftly confirmed when grey-eyes lets out a small cough and green-eyes whipped his eyes back to the front.

Congratulations! You have gained the Skill: Disguise.

Charm +1. EXP + 100

I let a smile cross my lips at this window. The dress I put on before leaving the dressing room worked. I allowed the tension in my body escape and I relaxed a bit. The first hurdle had been passed. Countless more stretched before me though.

"Well," I said imperiously "Lead on then!" At my command the two guards pulled their helmets over their heads then followed that action by slamming their right fists to the emblem on their chests, an obvious salute. They turned and faced the open doorway on the right of the room. Waiting for me to lead.

Alright then. Let's do this! I took another deep breath to steady myself then stepped forward. Doing my best to glide and project an air of surety around me as I did so.

I almost stumbled on the hem of the dress as it continued to shift its form around me. It would be hard enough to walk in a normal dress, let alone this changeling one – I once wore a dress to party at my friends urging, she claimed it was a fancy dress party and everyone would have one on. She was wrong, while certainly not the only one in a dress, there were still plenty without and I stood out. Not in a good way.

I'm not entirely sure why I let her talk me into it, but I haven't worn a dress since. The attention I received wasn't quite what I would ever want. Neither did I go to another party for that matter – not because I wasn't invited, I wasn't that much of an introvert at least, but because I much preferred locking myself in my room with the newest computer game or novel.

This meant I hadn't had much practice in the way of walking in such clothing. Each step I took had to be small and measured to avoid stumbling, something that would surely give the game away. Walking in this manner did help with the stately presence I was trying to emit, however.

I made it to the doorway without any problems.

Two more guards cut from the same cloth as the ones behind me greeted me there. Although there were some small variances in build, eye and hair colour, they could easily pass as brothers. Which begged the question; were they related or did whomever it was that did the hiring have a template he or she required the guards to conform to?

A cough from one of the guards behind me broke me from my musings and I realised I had come to a stop in the doorway, almost causing a collision.

"Your Grace," said one of the guards behind me. I spun around to look at the speaker. "I know you hate being parted from that spear of yours, but I'd be remiss if I did not remind you: you cannot bring a weapon to this ceremony." He must then be the veteran and likely leader of the group. I pegged him for a corporal or sergeant – or whatever equivalents they have here – due to the ease he showed when addressing his charge apparent. I was sure he'd be less polite if he knew who it was actually hiding beneath the shifting folds of my garment.

"I would suggest, Your Grace, that you remove it from your inventory and leave it in your rooms here. I'm sure the Emperor's servants will ensure it is not lost." This caused me to glance briefly to the two attendants standing by the tea table in the sitting room.

I would really like to keep hold of my spear, not just because of its shininess, nor the fact that it was still my only weapon, no, it was actually because it was the first thing I found when I arrived here, it was the first tangible thing I grasped, the first thing I ever owned in this world. It felt like it had already become a part of me. Still, I also knew I had little choice if I wanted to keep up this charade, so I only hesitated momentarily before opening my [Inventory], and remove the only item within.

The [Inventory] is something that I gained access to after choosing my Race, I still hadn't gotten a handle on its use yet – the only previous use was to store the spear inside – so it took a few moments to retrieve the spear. Moments in which the guards watched on impassive, a state of affairs that did not help my racing heart and nervousness at the situation one bit.

The younger elf accepted the spear and set it to one side. I made my way out the suite without any further delays.

Waiting outside the rooms were four new guards, armed and armoured similarly to the four who were now following behind. There were a few key differences, however, the first two had large crossbows strapped to their backs in place of shields, shields that on the next two were rectangular in shape. Their gambesons were also a deep purple and on their chests was the form of a griffin embossed in gold, a sword point down in the background. Their helmets were also of the open faced variety, and here the final difference was found, these guards were human.

I assumed then, these were the 'Emperor's' guards, or perhaps the palace guards, whereas the guards behind me were the bathing elven Lady's guards.

With a curt "follow me" from one of the crossbow-wearers, they all spun on their heels in unison and marched off. Clearly expecting – and not waiting – for me to follow. I had to scurry a bit to catch up to them, this caused me to trip on the extending hem of the 'effing dress. An action that was arrested by one of the guards behind me. In fact his grip on my arm allowed me to increase my speed slightly as he half carried me along. I muttered a quiet thanks as I regained my treacherous footing.

"Of course, Your Grace," he responded, chuckling slightly under his breath, "I'm surprised you didn't trip earlier. That dress looks like hell to walk in."

I offered a weak laugh in response. He took the hint and stepped back in line with his partners behind.

We followed the four human guards down a dizzying array of hallways and through numerous walled-in courtyards – allowing me my first glimpse of a clear blue sky – each more ostentatious than the last. We passed through hallways gilded in gold. The walls covered in endless tapestries and paintings, depicting great battles between various armed forces – most of whom were clearly inhuman in nature – as well as scenes where a small group of people fought against monsters of many types, from massive fire breathing dragons to hordes of small green folk – likely goblins. Occasionally however there were peaceful scenes, great landscapes of places that look fantastical, but did quite possibly exist, somewhere. My concealed nature allowed me to sight see – as best I could during the guards ceaseless pace – which I counted fortunate. Someone of my supposed position would likely find it all commonplace. A reaction that I couldn't help but feel saddened by, so many pieces of amazing artwork, all the effort put forth by numerous master craftsmen and women, only to have it largely ignored. Their best works gracing the unending hallways of a palace where the residents had no appreciation of what they had. Perhaps I was assuming too much, but I doubted it. Such places existed back on my world too, great treasures left unappreciated for centuries, often lost to time.

Our passage through the hallways was not interrupted once, the only other people we saw were those in servants' garments - who were no doubt used to being ignored - swiftly flattened themselves to the walls so as not to be trampled underfoot. Something that I felt was all too prudent. I didn't think the guards even noticed their existence.

When we arrived at our destination it came as a small shock. We made a turn down yet another hallway that looked just like all the others, when I realised that this one was not quite the same. This one held an open doorway at the end. The guards in front stepped aside to let me through, my supposition that this was our destination clearly correct.

I allowed myself a few minutes to compose myself and to catch my breath, then I made my way forward.

A short elven male stood in the doorway to the next room, blocking any passage into the space behind from those not deemed worthy of entry. Which apparently included my elven entourage, they broke off and lined the hall near the door, two to a side. The humans turned without a word and marched off into the palace, other palace guards flanked the doorway facing outward, on both sides.

Breath caught, heartbeat slowed as much as it could, I walked no, glided forward until I was face to face with the elven male.

Contrary to expectations he was shorter than me, much shorter. I may have grown slightly since my transformation – though I wasn't sure of the exact amount – but I was confident he would have been shorter than my previous height of 5'5. His clothes and his bearing made up for any height deficiencies he may have had, he wore robes of flowing royal blue, the hems stitched in silver and the insides – from what little I could glimpse – were made of a soft cream fur.

He held a staff that didn't quite reach his own height, the top of which had a sun-yellow orb set in. The wood – red oak? - of the staff growing up around the orb so as to hold it in place.

"Nice of you to make an appearance Your Grace," he said, eyes practically flashing with glee at my social blunder. This was apparently not the sort of thing you could be fashionably late to. He stepped aside, allowing me passage into the room beyond.

Congratulations! You have increased to level 3 in the Skill: Disguise!

EXP +25

I paused in the entryway, not because I was surprised by leveling my newest Skill – something that I was sure would continue happening until I took the shape-changing dress off – but instead because I was thrown off by the décor of this new room.

Or more specifically, the lack thereof. The room, while large, in keeping with the rest of the palace, was otherwise completely bare. Boring beige walls greeted my eyes wherever I turned them. If, however, I felt any disappointment about the decorations, then the people meandering through the room surely quelled that notion.

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They all wore outrageous outfits, grand things in garish colours that hurt the eyes to look upon for any length of time, outfits that I'd say I would not be caught dead in, but, when that thought crossed my mind I noticed my own outfit was shifting into something similar to the others. With one last glance to the elf on my left, I stepped into the room, preparing to bullshit my way through pleasantries on topics and people that I would have never heard of, or about.

What's the worst that can happen?

"Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Evendale, Countess of Illiandor, Aelwinel A'Esille A'Meilleri D'Illiandor." A booming voice announced my presence to all in the room. The sound caused all whispers of conversation to die away and everyone within turned, almost as one, to stare at me.

Right. I just had to think that didn't I?

At least now I knew the name of the person I was impersonating. I just hoped I could remember – and pronounce – the tongue twister. Why couldn't the woman have had a simple, easy to say name?

My pause was only a minor one, before I attempted to sidle off to one side. The courtiers moved back to their conversations for the most part, the echoes of chatter bouncing off the walls around us. This time however, I caught brief snippets, the occasional sentence or word spoken slightly louder than intended. It should come as no surprise that I was the main topic of converse.

Surprisingly none approached and I was allowed to slink off to one side.

I found myself a nice clear section of wall and proceeded to help hold it up. A server passed by, a tray of unfamiliar appetisers balanced on each arm, they almost offered their goodies to me, but clearly thought better of it when they realised I had no way of eating – or drinking – as the ever changing dress covered my head, and entire body, completely, concealing anything beneath. This obviously was why no one had noticed my deception as of yet and also why my [Disguise] Skill was slowly progressing, trickling in new experience points on each level up. It had jumped straight to 5 when the room first turned to me and was fast approaching 7. I used [Inspect] on the dress again, in an attempt to ease my tensions, and ignored the stares boring into to me from all directions.

Seraloai's Ceremonial Garb.

Seraloai was supposedly the wife of a long forgotten king in a place and time lost to memory. It is said this Ceremonial Garb was crafted and enchanted for her after a rival kingdom attempted to mind control her to kill her husband during a ceremony, she wanted something that would allow her to keep her mind free of influence. As a perhaps unintended side effect, it shifts to match every culture's various Ceremonial garbs, within whichever country it is worn.

Quality: Masterwork

Rarity: Artefact

Weight: Varies depending on form.

Durability: 100,000/100,1000

Enchantments:

Unknown.

Effects:

Wearer is hidden from all sight, magical and mundane, wearer cannot be influenced by any magical effect, including social Skills.

Magic cannot be used whilst wearing this Garb, most other general and combat Skills will be unusable or have their effects drastically reduced.

Once donned this dress cannot be removed under any circumstances until the time limit (72 hours) has passed, this is an automatic process.

Time Remaining: 71 Hours, 33 Minutes and 12 Seconds.

My original plan had been to wear the dress, or 'Ceremonial Garb' until I could escape any watchers, then leave it behind to sneak from the palace walls.

Putting it on was a process I did not care to repeat. I only touched it with the tip of my finger and it crawled over my new form on its own accord, it felt as though dozens of snakes were slithering along my skin, covering me entire, I shivered slightly at the memory. Once 'donned' I could finally [Inspect] the thing and that was when I realised my mistake.

While the Ceremonial Garb was absolutely amazing at disguising whomever was beneath its folds, its very nature was inimical to sneaking. Its changing form drew the eye far too easily. I had to throw my burgeoning plan out the hypothetical window almost before it was formed, and that meant I no longer had any tangible plans on how to get out of this.

I wasn't sure that appearing naked before the elven guards would have been a good idea, but I wondered if it would've been a better one.

I had no idea how in the hell I was going to pull off being an Elven Duchess for 70+ hours. At the end of which I would have to be alone, so as to make my escape unnoticed. If I was in company of any sort when the time ran down: I would be screwed. It was only because the Garb changed the look and voice of the wearer every time it shifted,that I had not been discovered yet. If the sometimes 'tight' fitting Garb showed my true body beneath, then the game would have been up long ago, and I, no doubt, would be dead.

The conversations around me had finally moved on to other topics, my entry no longer the event that the courtiers were gossiping about. While a few people did start manoeuvring in my direction, they broke off well before they would arrive. The Garb, among other things, was great at halting a conversation before it started, they were clearly unsure how to approach. Something I was highly thankful for. It gave me time to peruse the notifications I minimised after my change was complete. I barely had time to skim-read them before the guards were knocking again, telling me my time was up.

I was in what appeared to be a waiting room of some sort, one that I could not see an easy escape from, but also one where, despite the room being packed with people, I was on my own. I had a bit of time to myself. So I opened the notifications one at a time.

Congratulations! You have chosen the Race: Elf (Planar)!

Planar Elves are often formed in the membrane between Planes, this transformation is not always pleasant, often taking place over many days or even weeks and as such most Planar Elves have massive scarring due to this.

Your transition and Racial heritage are somewhat different, as such the transformation is swift, though painful.

Indeed, the actual metamorphosis had taken only a couple of minutes, a couple of minutes where my body was racked in pain as various parts of my body shifted and changed, I'd had to bite down on my knuckles to keep from crying out as I collapsed onto the floor.

A quick glance in the mirror told the story of my outward changes. It was not such a massive change as I had feared. My hair was a bit shinier, though still the same raven-black. My ears had of course grown slightly and now tapered to points, I had also grown in height a fair bit – thankfully, even though my body was changed, my balance was not affected, I still felt in full control – the biggest changes however, were my skin and eye colour. Before the transformation I had the pale skin of someone that spends all their time indoors and rarely, if ever, saw the sun. Afterwards my skin was alabaster in outlook, no hint of any blemishes, spots or yes, moles in sight. My few scars, left-overs from an active childhood were also gone.

The eyes were the most obvious change. The sclera had turned into a pure black, and if I watched long enough, the blackness seemed to absorb light – yeah I had no idea how I could see such a thing either – the pupils, in contrast, were now a pure white, and opposed the rest in effect – yup, my eyes now looked like they were stars shining in the blackness of space... Go figure.

The other changes felt mostly superficial in nature – though I was fairly certain my organs shifted around a bit inside – but the eyes, the windows to our very souls, they were very different. Alien. I began to wonder if a Racial change was the correct option. That maybe I was better off remaining the human I was born as. It was too late though. This was my new self and, for better or worse, I had to deal with it. Plus elves are cool.

I would find a nice corner to cry in, to wail at the unfair universe when I was sure I had made my escape from the palace.

I wasn't able to wipe my tears away because I couldn't access my face while wearing the Garb, – which begged the question, if I still required food and drink how would I manage it? I guess this is one positive side affect of [Status Quo] I hadn't accounted for – instead I blinked them away as best I could and moved on to the next notification while I still had some time.

Your Base Class has been set to: Elf (Planar)!

Skills that were locked have now been unlocked.

You now gain Experience Points as normal.

Your affinities have been overhauled to better suit your new Race.

You receive double inventory space due to the nature of your Race!

I mourned the huge amount of EXP I would no doubt have gotten from the bathing Duchess if I had had access to my Class at that point. There was nothing I could do about it anymore though.

I checked my Skills page but apart from the [Inspect] Skill and the ever increasing [Disguise] Skill I still had nothing else. Something did catch my eye though, something that I had been wanting answers on ever since I first saw mention of it in the [Racial Options] menus.

I opened up the Skill description for [Disguise].

Social Skill (c,b,l).

Disguise. Trainee, Level 7: 63%

Affinity: Average

You can now Disguise yourself and others using various techniques to hide your true visage.

Further levels will allow you to learn new and better techniques.

Despite what the Skill window may have been implying, I really only knew how to disguise myself by wearing an Artefact-grade dress. I suspected you were supposed to learn new techniques yourself and the act of learning better and more effective techniques would allow you to level the Skill easier. This assumption was based on the fact that I was getting no new knowledge forced into my mind like you sometimes saw happen in books and films. My continued experience gain was simply because the disguise in question was highly effective in its current form.

I could now see that Affinities were an important part of ones Skills. Focusing on the 'Affinity' part however brought up no new information. I would have to find out what this meant somehow, without giving away my own ignorance on the subject.

I pushed this problem onto a future me, something I was extremely adept at doing.

I opened the last window in the chain of notifications I received from my Racial changes.

You now have access to other Menu Options other than your Status Page, your Options include: Status; Skills; Spells; Inventory; Misc.

More Menu Options may become available at a later date.

The [Spells] tab was greyed out and I was unable to select it. This wasn't too surprising, I had gained no spells since my disastrous arrival to this world. My [Inventory] was an extra-dimensional storage space that – keeping the game theme – had two 'squares' for items, the spear had taken up both slots before it was removed and left in the Duchesses rooms. I didn't know why the spear took two slots instead of one and I still needed to figure out how items stacked, among other things.

The [Misc] tab had further options, [Resistances], [Languages Known] and [Status Afflictions], among other greyed out options. Options I struggled unsuccessfully to make out the wording of.

Like everything else I had found since coming here, it seemed I would only learn what they did when they system decided.

I was broken from my musing by a newcomer to the waiting room. The first since I, myself had arrived here.

Aw crap, my disguise is going to be tested to the extreme with this guy.

I composed myself as best I could when he turned his head and locked his eyes on me.

*