Okay, that was not fun at all. Velouria was tortuous in her teachings. I expected as much, but it was still a torturous experience nonetheless. She was finally satisfied when I was able to constantly guard against her at 1% of her true power. It took us a good four hours and a bathroom break (I’d rather not elaborate). But she seemed satisfied that I was able to master the basics in such a short time. She decided I had learned enough that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed by excess soul energy from any strangers I’d meet. So she suggested we take a break so I’d be ready for something she wanted to do tonight.
“So what are we doing tonight then?”
“I’m going to set up a transport spell to get you out of the Abyss. You and your familiars need to find some way to cross between our worlds, and you aren’t going to find it here. Also, you aren’t ready to be fighting against anything you’ll find here. I suggest you go exploring the world on leads of old ruins and experimental void magic while leveling your abilities and improving your fighting prowess. You are going to be doing that a lot in the future if I had to guess. Before you go though Holly will give you all some supplies I requisitioned from the villagers, and all of your personal requests were picked up as well.”
“Can you set it up to go to the Sacean Plains? I have some friends there I was hoping to meet up with.”
“Hm, that might work. I know someone that should be around there investigating a void breach so it should be possible. So, for now, how about you see what your familiars are up to.”
“Sure but why are does it feel like you're kicking me out all of a sudden?”
“Because your presence is not going to remain a secret for long and it’s tough keeping you hidden here and protecting these people at the same time. You also need to figure out how to connect your world with ours if you don’t want to be stuck in limbo for all eternity when you die. So I’m going to send you to an old colleague who might be able to help you start out, but let’s just say that my ‘friend’ that I’m calling this favor in is a bit of an oddball.”
“How weird? I get called weird from time to time so how bad could he be.”
“He has a thing for beast kin. He’s was a prominent void expert back in the day and I worked with him for a while on a project at one point. Every time I looked away from him though he’d try to pet my tails and ears. He held no malice in his actions, but it was quite a nuisance and he didn’t make many beast kin friends as a result.”
“So I better make sure to hide my tails and ears when I meet him. Got it.”
“I’m not so sure that’s going to cut it. I’m going to have to tell him you're my daughter because I can’t think of any story he’d buy. He’ll see through anything I make up so it’s best just to tell the truth. So ...”
“So I’m probably going to be given some forced cuddling no matter what I do.”
“Yeah … sorry about that, but he’s the only void magician I still keep in touch with. The rest have either died or I just lost touch with them. The only reason I’m still in contact with him is because he keeps wanting me to be his assistant. It’s a nice offer but I like it here and I’ve got people depending on me. So it’s not a very realistic option for me. He’s just can’t accept a no though. So he just keeps calling me from time to time.”
“At least he isn’t some loli pervert. I’m not sure I’d be able to handle that.”
“No! Far from it. He’s a harmless guy who just has a fondness for furry things. He won’t hurt anyone if he can help it, and he’s a good fighter to boot. So you go out and have some fun for a minute while I set everything up.”
I then left her shrine/house and went to see what everyone was up to. As I exited the woods I saw Elizabeth playing with the kids. She looked to be enjoying herself a lot. Next to her was Holly who was standing next to the supplies Velouria was talking about.
She looked up as I approached taking her attention away from the supplies.
“So you’re finally finished with your training for now Briana?”
“Yeah it was a lot tougher than I expected, but I’m getting better at it.”
“Well, for now, would you like to put on some clothes. Eleanor just finished weaving you some clothes to fit your smaller frame.”
“Wait? What do you mean I’m not wearing clothes.”
I was wearing a white linen gown that I’d found on me when I woke up.
“Those aren’t really clothes they are just an illusion created by milady. She is a master illusionist and didn’t have any clothes for you to wear. So she created some illusionary garbs for you, but they will disappear the second you leave her barrier so here you go.”
She then handed me some kind of dress. I accepted it greatly and looked for a place to change in privacy. Holly escorted me into the woods a bit and I changed while she watched out for others. I’m just glad she told me about it before we left. I feel like Velouria forgets things too easily and Holly is the only person who keeps her in check.
After I finish changing and came out of the woods I saw Elizabeth coming towards me with the kids not far behind her. She then picks me up and swings me around.
“Ah, you’re so cute Briana. Now we can spend some quality girl time from now on.”
I didn’t think Elizabeth would react this way, to be honest. It’s nice, but I really don’t want to embrace being a girl in here too much. It might leak out in real life and that’s the last thing I need.
“Put me down Elizabeth and I still want you to call me Brenner. It’s my name after all.”
“You’re no fun, Briana. Come on role play a bit. It’ll be fun.”
“I’m not willing to change my name Elizabeth it just feels wrong. Anyways where is everyone else?”
“Matt is getting a grimoire from Merrick, and John and Matt are at the forge making weapons. I still don’t understand why they are so eager to throw themselves at danger.”
“They just have an adventurous spirit and want to be ready for anything they find. Can’t blame for that I want to go adventuring as well. Do you not want to?”
“Not really I just don’t want to fear for my life every day. I’d rather just enjoy the company of those around me and make them happy through something I do. Not fight others and make money off their corpses.”
“Adventures do things other than killing people you know. They protect caravans and others from the harm and collect materials that save lives. It’s not just about killing you know and I want to be a part of it as well.”
“HAHA yeah right. Look at yourself you’re so tiny and weak you wouldn’t be able to do anything in a fight.”
“I … I could … I’m not sure actually how, but I still want to be one. We have to explore this world if we don’t want to stuck in limbo for all eternity.”
“I know but there are other ways of traveling and investigating other than fighting everything in our path. For now, let’s just get everything ready to go. I’ll go check on Matt and you can check on Teage and John. Maybe you could get them to make you a dagger or something. You could always go for their ankles or something.”
She then walked off probably towards this Merrick guy’s place. I forgot to ask her where the forge is though.
“Hey, Holly do you know where the forge is?”
“Right this way Briana.”
After a short walk, we came to the forge with Teage and John both hard at work.
“John can you pump the bellows a bit more for me. The fire’s dying down and cooling my metal.”
“Sure thing I just got done sweeping, sharpening, and polishing here. Give me a minute to clean up real quick.”
“Well hurry it up we don’t get all day. I want all of us armed before we have to fight again, and I want it to be forged by my own hands. So we can trust the quality absolutely. Oh, looks like the little lass is up and about now.”
“Hey, Briana! Did you finish your talk with Velouria.”
“It’s Brenner, you guys. Get it right!”
“But didn’t that update shrine call you Briana? Don’t we have to call you that now?”
“NO! My name is Brenner and that’s what you're going to call me.”
“Sorry, no can do lass. Every time I’ve tried talking about you it always comes out as Briana. So you'll just have to get used to it lass.”
DAMN YOU VELOURIA!!! Not only did you change my gender but also my name! You can change my gender, but you can’t just take away my name!!! I thought it wouldn’t have an actual effect on what people had to call me. I guess since they’re soul bound to me they have to address me by that name now.
“So what kind of weapon do you want Briana? I’m making one for each of us before we go.”
“I was planning on using some kind of sword, but I think I’ll go with a dagger due to my small frame now.”
“Makes sense, I’ll make it a little big though so you can grow into it.”
“Should you even fight though?”
“What do you mean John. I’m going to have to fight at some point. This world isn’t going to handhold us the entire time. So I’ve got to do my best to prepare for anything that comes our way.”
“I guess that’s true. It’s just that it feels wrong to have someone like you fighting.”
“What do you mean John you know full well how old I am. Even if I’m this small doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”
“I guess you’re right. So what’s the plan and what did Velouria want to talk to you about.”
“Velouria is setting up some kind of transport spell with someone right now and when it’s ready we’ll be out of here. So finish up soon. We need to be ready to move out when she’s ready.”
“Do we have to leave though. I wish we had a bit more time to enjoy ourselves here. Their company is great entertainment and we could learn more before we leave.”
“She didn’t recommend it. This area is extremely dangerous. We were lucky to have only run into those wolves. Most creatures here are monsters and are extremely dangerous. We can come back, but only after some major training. If we want to come back in one piece we need to be a lot stronger than we currently are.”
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“Yeah, I guess that makes sense especially since our combat skills are amateurish and need some vast improvement.”
“Also there is Elizabeth who abhors combat, and I’m not sure if Matt’s magic is combat ready right now.”
“Have you tried using any of your abilities?”
“What do you mean? Are you talking about those skills that were shown at the update shrine?”
“Yeah, we both have passive abilities so we were wondering how an active ability worked. It said you had access to illusion and transformation abilities and I was wondering how they both worked.”
“Let’s give it a try and see why don’t we. Give me a minute I’m not sure how this works exactly.”
I sit down to try to focus on trying to activate my transformation ability. After about a minute something clicks and I feel fur growing all over my body. My face elongating into a snout, and my limbs transform and change into that of a fox.
But … IT HURT LIKE HELL!!! I screamed out in pain as my body transitioned into my new form. As it finished the pain diminished and I was now a young fox.
I looked up to see both John and Teage looking like they’d both suffered from a massive migraine.
“Well that sure as hell hurt a lot more than I expected, but at least the pain feels like it is less than before.”
“Not by much! I still felt like I was having my bones crunched and changed. It might have hurt less. But it still hurt a lot more than I’m comfortable with.”
“Arf.”
Wait! I can’t talk in this form! This is so stupid, how is this useful in any way!
“Can you not talk Briana?”
“Arf!”
“Well, that’s quite inconvenient. At least your dress or whatever transitioned with your transformation. No need to worry about your clothes when you do that at least.”
This all felt very strange. I felt like my senses were heightened. I could smell Matt and Elizabeth coming towards us from ways off. I looked around the forge to see Matt’s head inside of a book as they walked towards us.
“Arf! Arf!”
Shoot I forgot I still can’t talk in this form.
“What did they do this time. I hope they’re okay at least.”
“They’re fine.”
“What makes you think that. We both just felt that a second ago and that was not some paper cut. Wait! Hey, look! It's a cute little fox, come here girl.”
Elizabeth picked me up and hugged me again much to my dismay. I protested her hug, but it’s kind of hard to get your message across when they can’t understand you.
“Arf! Arf!”
“Come on stop squirming. I just want to pet you. You cute little thing”
“I’d set it down before it bites you, Elizabeth.”
I didn’t think about that let’s give it a try. I nipple on one of her fingers and she recoils in pain letting me go. I immediately undergo the transformation so she will not try to pick me up again. But, DAMN! The pain is still as present as ever. After it finished I stand back up to see them both recovering from the pain.
Recovering from the pain Matt got back up first.
“Hey Briana, don’t ever, use that, again.”
“Yeah, I was just trying it out and didn’t realize how it would work. Sorry about that.”
“At least the pain link is lessening from what I can tell. It’s a real annoying feature of this familiar thing.”
“Hey, guys how’d it go. Did you get what you wanted Matt?”
“Yes, Merrick provided me with a grimoire that should help me with basic spell casting.”
“Teage’s finishing off some weapons he’s working on, so we should be able to head out tonight.”
Elizabeth finally perked back up asking.
“Can we come back? I’d hate to never see this place again.”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Velouria later.”
We then go to our supplies and divide it up into five piles. The smallest pile is mine, followed by Matt, Teage, and John with the heaviest pile being Elizabeth’s pile.
“Why do I have to carry the most stuff?”
“Because you don’t want to fight, and you are the strongest of us so there is no reason to make your load lighter.”
“Fine, I guess it makes sense.”
Teage then brought us our weapons when we finished. Matt, Teage, and John got swords, and I and Elizabeth got daggers. They were all excellently crafted and were very well made. The sheaths were a bit crude but at least the weapons were well made.
We then loaded our rucksacks up before going back into the forest. The kids came by to say goodbye and we said our farewells. I had a harder time leaving cause they kept trying to pull me back and tell me to play with them. Eleanor and Selina shooed them off before waving us off themselves. We said our goodbyes telling them we’d come back to visit before leaving them behind.
After a quick hike through the woods again we arrive at the shrine. Holly stands there waiting for us before opening the door and letting us inside.
“They are back milady.”
“Good I just finished talking to Lennie. He is just about ready on his end. While he’s setting it up I have some gifts for you Briana.”
She pulled out a wrapped package and handed it to me.
“I made you a recorder. It has a host of magical properties and will help you with mastering your illusion magic.”
I take up the recorder and look it over. The wood is well maintained and it feels nice and smooth in my hands. I don’t feel any magic coming from it though.
“Here is a hearthstone as well. It’s a two-way communication device so you can call me whenever you want. It also has the coordinates for this place built into so you can come back here as well. When you have a better grasp on magic.”
The hearthstone fit in the palm of my hand and had a glowing rune and a non glowing rune on the other side. I’d have to guess the glowing one is the communication and the other is the coordinates.
“Lastly I want you to have this journal of mine. It might help you find a start for your investigation and help you in the future as well.”
It was a leather-bound journal that had a few glowing runes on the side.
“Those are to protect the book and its contents. So it will survive if you accidentally drop it in a lake or it gets shot up. I lost a few journals over the years before I invested in those protective runes.”
“Thank you, but, isn’t this too much? I feel like these are worth a lot are you sure you’re okay with giving these to me?”
“Of course sweetie. Besides, they’ll only gather dust here. I also want to make sure you have the highest chance of success as possible. I don’t want you dying on me a second time now do I.”
This whole mother little daughter thing is still quite weird in my opinion but she had a point.
“Then I’ll gladly take them. To make sure I’ll come back in one piece.”
“Don’t worry milady I will protect your sweet daughter with my life.”
“John I’m not a little girl so don’t address me like that!”
“But I’m just acting the part princess. Come, won’t you humor us?”
“No, I don’t want you acting like this in front of my friends you got that.”
“As you wish … princess.”
“Get over here John! I’ll beat you up for that.”
“What with your tiny weak limbs. I’ll bet you won’t even make a dent in him lass.”
I growled in irritation at the realization he was probably right.
“Anyways Lennie agreed to help you out. He’ll be opening a portal to his location after he preps an exit portal. Follow me this way to the entrance portal I made and we’ll get ready for him to finish.”
She then led us to a circular magic circle and told us to get inside of it and spread out.
“This should go well but make sure to stay apart no matter what. We’ve had a few… accidents with mergings before.”
“Wait a second how dangerous is this exactly?”
“Oh about a 1/10 chance of death when we started out. But we got it down to be around 1/1000 lately. Just relax and don’t fight it. You’ll be fine don’t worry about it.”
“Wait! We can die doing this?”
Matt didn’t look fazed at all at this saying.
“What did you expect. Magic always has a cost and danger to it. How are you able to do this spell at all in the first place though wouldn’t this take a lot of mana?”
“You compress everything together then you slingshot the package through portal decompress on the other side. It takes a lot but Lennie refined the process over the years and the hard part it the exit portal to make sure everything goes smoothly. That’s why it’s taking him so long.”
Velouria then picked me up and hugged me before setting me back down and backing away.
“Be safe dear and make sure to call from time to time.”
I didn’t know why but leaving felt like a worse idea than before. I felt a weird desire to stay with her and not leave. I choked back some mysterious tears as I answered.
“I'll be back before you know it mom”
Then the circle lit up around us and we were shoved through the portal. It hurt a lot in short. We were crunched and felt like we were going mach ten before hitting a brick wall, and returning out of the portal.
When I opened my eyes I saw night sky full of stars and two moons shining on a sea of grass as far as I could see. Then I immediately threw up all the contents of my stomach and fell over exhausted.
“Success! It went exactly as planned. Well, except the whole projectile chain vomiting and extreme fatigue. Guess it’s just an effect of the distance being so far. I’ll have to record that for later experiments. Rachel would you help our new guests. They seem to require some assistance.”
“Is that you Brenner?”
“What? Do you know these people Rachel?”
“I know the fox girl, but I don’t know of any of her compatriots.”
“Well, I guess lady luck shined upon you today. Let’s get them inside so I can clean this up and cover our tracks. The church will no doubt have noticed our incantation. We need to get them to safety before any of their teams get here.”
“Rachel? Is that you?”
“Are you okay Brenner? Here has some water to wash out the bile.”
I took her water skin and tried my best to drink the water but it felt like every cell of my body was exhausted. Like running five marathons in a row exhausted.
“Where are we?”
“Well, you made it to Sacean Plains. I’ll call the girls and tell them you arrived. But first, we need to move before the church starts investigating.”
“Get them onto the wagon Rachel. I’ll set our friends up a nice gift for when they get here.”
I felt myself being carried and set on a simple wooden wagon. My senses were gradually growing weaker and I felt like passing out, but I had to know if everyone was okay. I shakily sit up and see Teage hobbling over while John was dry heaving in a pile of his own puke. Elizabeth was being helped by Rachel as Lennie was spreading something where we’d just been.
“How are you holding up Briana?”
Matt climbed in next to me and laid down with the same look of exhaustion I felt.
“Before we ever do that again, I’m going to find some better way of making that less… I don’t know just better than that.”
Rachel came back and dropped off Elizabeth before making her way to John. Teage followed quickly behind and got in soon after.
“I don’t know what’s going on but I definitely could use a drink about now.”
Matt slowly sat back up and looked out of the wagon.
“What is that? Do you see it Teage?”
“What do you want me to see cause right now everything is spinning.”
“Those lights in the distance. It looks like they are coming closer.”
“It’s the church. Damn, I didn’t think they’d have anyone nearby for a couple miles at least. Here help me get this lug inside.”
Teage helped pull John into the cart as Rachel grabbed a bag before going back to join Lennie.
“Hey boy, pull yourself together now. I thought you’d do better in front of the lass.”
“Not now Teage I feel like I did one hundred backflips while spinning in a circle at mach ten. Can I catch my breath first.”
“No time by the looks of it. The church seems to already be on our tale.”
“Great just what we need a bounty before we even get the chance to say hello.”
I groggily tried to close my eyes and go to sleep. Sleep yeah that’d be nice.
“Hey wake up Brenner.”
I looked up to see Rachel above me.
“What is it I’m trying to get some sleep here Rachel.”
BOOM!!!!! A big explosion rocketed across the air and shook me awake. Resulting in a painful headbutt with Rachel.
“Rachel, how many did we get?”
She gripped her forehead in pain as he looked out.
“Looks like we got four of them. They took the bait all right. But we still got three on our tail.”
An arrow whizzed past her face as she said that and she ducks down as another follows.
“Hey, Brenner got any tricks you could use? Cause I can’t think of anything.”
“Hey, Rachel what is this thing?”
Elizabeth was holding a round object and took out some kind of pin while messing with it.
“GIVE IT HERE NOW!”
After a quick toss to Rachel, she chucked it out before another boom rang out. I looked out and saw there was only one left. How annoying I’m trying to sleep here can’t you tell. I lunged out with all the soul force I could muster and attacked the poor guy. I felt pure panic for a second as I realized I was inside of his mind. The user panic from my attack caused him to jerk and fall off his horse before the connection snapped, and I fell asleep.