Timothy ascended upon the gold square, through the hole in the ceiling that was shining so brightly that he couldn’t see past it. His eyes began adjusting to the light in the new room as his body passed through the square hole in the ceiling. After his eyes adjusted to the light it was not as bright as he initially thought, in fact, it felt warm and inviting. It was almost like coming home after a long day of work.
The square settled into the floor of the second level and Timothy stepped off. There was an audible click and it descended back down to the first floor for Rift to use. The knowledge of the squares programing came to him, the plinth and room linked somehow. He could feel a connection with the room now that he had interacted with the gold square for a third time. Likening it to riding a bike, after the first few times, it turned into something you knew how to do.
While waiting for Rift’s arrival he looked the room over. The lighting was similar to the first floor, minus the chandelier in the center. Instead, there were eight light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, stopping about ten feet from the floor. Under each was an oval stone bed with a… body laying on it?
The beds laid out in a perfect circle around the center of the room, equidistant from each other, spaced five feet apart. Timothy walked cautiously over to one of the bodies, the body was large and had a slight green tint, it was an orc! The sight shocked him, and he stumbled back away from the bed containing the orc. His legs were weak from the past few days and he started to fall backwards when someone caught him under the arms.
“Please be careful,” Rift’s voice came from behind him.
More of Timothy’s skin, and some of his clothes flaked off from the pressure of Rift's grasp and fell to the floor. Rift helped him straighten up and gain his footing, making sure he wouldn't fall when he let go.
“I’m sorry. My strength is fading out, I feel so weak,” Timothy said, his voice sounding dry and raspy.
Rift looked him over with a sad, worried expression on his face. The lightning emanating from his eyes and back died out, “Let me help you,” he said as he put Timothy’s arm over his shoulder.
“Thanks,” he said meekly, “That one was an orc, I think. It was a little shocking to see.”
Rift glanced at the bed in the direction Timothy had stumbled back from, “It is. Do you want to take a closer look?”
“Ya,” Timothy responded in a soft, weak tone.
Rift helped him walk over to the bed with the orc lying down in it, it was weird and looked almost amorphous. He looked the orc over, it was bald, had a mouth but no other facial features and seemed as if it could be either male or female. The strangest thing to him was that it had no clothes and made Timothy feel a bit awkward looking at it. Which was odd to him, he could not believe that he was having trouble with the lack of clothing, but the lack of a face did not bother him. He shook the thought out of his head and continued to look over the bed for anything else he may be missing.
There was a small placard on the side of the bed near the waist with some sort of writing on it that he did not understand. He directed Rift over to it so he could take a closer look, maybe he was too far away and could not make out the words on the plaque. At first, he thought the words were in a language that he was unfamiliar with, but as he looked at it they changed. He wasn’t sure if his vision was being affected by the fading or if the writing morphed into English, but he was able to read it now.
Orc - One of the two most capable frontline fighters. Found all throughout the world.
Racial bonuses:
+4 Strength - +2 per wall
+4 Stamina - +2 per wall
1 extra gem wield item
Damage reduction 1/level
+6 intimidation - +4 per wall
“Umm… That combination of the damage reduction and extra gem must make them a menace in a fight,” Timothy said as he turned his head to look at Rift. Little flakes of skin fell from his neck where he turned it and drifted to the floor.
Rift looked at the flakes as they fell, “They are,” he said after it hit the ground, “We need to keep moving, you are fading faster with every minute.”
“Agreed, let’s go to that one,” he said as he pointed to the bed with a large body on it.
The two took their time to shuffled their way, clockwise, to the next bed. The body that was on this bed was much the same as the first, faceless, amorphous and naked, the difference was this one was huge! Timothy looked at the placard by the waist, the words changing the same way as they did on the bed with the orc. Now he was sure that the words were changing on their own to a language he could understand. He wanted to ask Rift about this effect but decided that time was an issue and it made sense to keep quiet. He turned to the placard and read the script once it finished turning to English.
Boarback - One of the two most capable frontline fighters. They tend to stay in areas with colder climates.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Racial bonuses:
+6 Strength - +3 per wall
+6 Stamina - +3 per wall
+5% hit chance
Gore - Cannot be dodged on successful hit. 2 damage per level
Damage reduction 2/level vs slashing
“Swords must be useless against these guys,” Timothy stated.
“Best to fight them at range. That hit bonus is nothing to glance over either,” Rift said.
Larger chunks of skin started falling from Timothy, “I think we should move through the rest as quickly as possible.”
Rift nodded in agreement and adjusted Timothy's arm over his shoulders, then moved to the next bed. The body that was lying here was smaller than the first two, with soft edges and less defined curves. It looked, for lack of a better term, generic. The bed on the other hand was large, too large for the body lying on it, making the whole scene look a bit comical. He peered at the placard expecting the same thing to happen, and it did, the words turned to English and he read it over.
Sanctified - Strong casters, though their god's blessing can sometimes alter this. Blessed by a god while in the womb and can be born of any race.
Racial bonuses:
+2 Wisdom - +1 per wall
+2 Charisma - +1 per wall
+5 Mana per level. Doubles after each wall
God bestowed power/blessing
Cast one spell per day mana free per wall, must be within the gods sphere of influence
After reading the placard over he thought that this one could be a good candidate for him to choose. He made a mental note of the Sanctified, without saying anything to Rift, as they made their way to the next bed. His eyes drifted across his arm, and he noticed a small hole straight through the center of his forearm. The hole did not hurt and did not hinder his movement, even though it passed through the skin, muscle and bone.
They reached the next bed that contained another smaller body on it, but there was one extra feature. The body looked wispy, almost see through, as if he was looking through a dense fog early in the morning. He looked at the plaque.
Mistfolk: Good casters or wielders, but do not excel at either. They materialize in the world fully grown in their late teenage years.
Racial bonuses:
Regen bonus +1 per level
+1 all resist - +1 per wall
+2 energy - +1 per wall
Astral affinity - No adverse effects from teleportation or plane shifting
Phase 1/day per level
Timothy added this race as another potential for him to choose as they moved to another bed. This one looked familiar, there were little blotches of dark, inky patches moving all over. It reminded him of Howard. He was pretty sure he knew what was on the placard from his time in the second door but read it anyway.
Shadowborn - Born during the lunar eclipse of Bianca. The race with the widest array of utility powers.
Racial bonuses:
+4 stealth - +2 per wall
Gather shadows - Once per day per wall level, completely hide in a shadow
Shadow jump - Once per day per level, jump from one shadow to another. Doubles with each wall breakthrough
+2 Agility - +1 per wall
Shadow storage - 25 cubic feet per wall
Timothy almost fell to the floor after missing a step when they went to move to the next bed, he looked down at his feet. Nope, he wasn't looking at his feet, he was looking at his foot. One was missing, the pile of dust left in his wake told him everything he needed to know, it faded away from one step to the next.
“Rift?!” Timothy said, panic heavy in his voice.
“I know. We need to keep moving,” Rift replied, worry saturated every word, “I would carry you, but I fear that could exacerbate the problem. We could skip the rest if you made your choice.”
“I haven’t,” Timothy said with as little movement as possible, causing the words to come out in a mumble.
Rift seemed to understand what he had said through the mumble, nodded, and they made their way to the next bed. There was no doubt about it, he knew this one, this is the bed holding the human body. He read the plaque over quickly to see what bonuses humans get, the first ability was a game changer.
Human - Jack of all trades - The most common race on all Draconous
Racial bonuses:
Pick and choose
+2 to five different attributes - +1 per wall
For each +2 sacrificed get a +4 to a skill - +2 per wall
For each +2 sacrificed get a +4 to a resist - +2 per wall
Timothy liked this one, there were a lot of possibilities, and his appearance should stay the same. Things were not going to be easy when he saw Gina again, but it would be infinitely more difficult if he didn't look the same. The other boon was the Pick and Choose, he could build his bonuses how he wanted, min maxing himself. He wanted to gain every advantage he could get and this was shaping up to be a promising choice.
If his memory served him the last two beds should be dwarf and elf, both of which he had spent time as while in the doors. He was right, the elf was the next bed, he didn't feel the need to look at either of the last two and wanted to make his choice. He tried to open his mouth to tell Rift that he was ready, when his jaw flaked at the joint and fell to the floor.
He started shaking with fear. There was one thought going through his head, Was he going to make it?
Rift could feel the nervousness in Timothy, his body shaking violently as more and more of him flaked away. He decided to read the plaque out loud for him, not understanding that Timothy had made his choice.
Elf - Strong casters and archers - Hail from the woods of Ineria in Highmarch. Over millennia they have spread to every continent and are almost as common as humans.
Racial bonuses:
1 extra caster gem
+2 agility - +1 per wall
+2 Charisma - +1 per wall
+2 Balance per level - Balance on a string
+2 Mind resist - +1 per wall
Rift moved Timothy as quickly as he could, trying to minimize that damage, but it was not easy. In the short trip there, he almost dropped Timothy as the arm that was over his shoulder faded and turned to ash. A clear gem on his sleeve flared to life and he appeared on Timothy’s other side, slinging his other arm over his shoulders, and continued on. This one had the last race, a dwarf, laying on the bed. Again, he read the plaque to Timothy in a rush.
Dwarf - Excellent craftsman. Found in most cities, above or below ground.
Racial bonuses:
+6 Stamina - +3 per wall
No need for sleep - Can go 24 hours per 3 levels without rest.
+2 Craft /2 levels
+2 Poison Resist - +1 per wall
1 extra forge gem
Timothy’s leg, the one with the foot still there, faded and turned to ash. Timothy was in full panic mode, the end was so close that he could almost see it. Rift was half carrying him, half dragging him, to the gold plinth in the middle of the room.
“I hope you can hear me. Once you are on the square you need to make your choice. Don’t hesitate,” Rift said quickly, “I hope you understand what I am telling you.”
When they reached the plinth Timothy’s other leg had faded and crumbled away as well. Rift tried to position Timothy on the square, but his body kept flaking away. It was like trying to hold onto an arm full of dry sand, it wasn’t possible without some falling to the ground. Timothy kept slipping out of his hands and Rift’s immense strength was of no use. If he tried to tighten his hold it would only cause him to crumble faster. He thought about using magic to assist, but there wasn’t anything in his repertoire for this situation. Inventing a new spell on the fly wouldn’t work, there were too many variables. Timothy’s body was so fragile right now that the slightest misjudgment could be more harmful than helpful. Just as he got a good hold on Timothy, his body turned to ash, falling to the gold square at Rift’s feet.