Kaden was loose, running as fast as his hooves could carry him. He ducked under branches and leaped over rails, twisting to avoid the many hands that would catch him. That would drag him back and keep him from being free.

Faster and faster he ran, twisting down a path.

He dodged one pursuer.

Too late, recognized the ambusher who leaped out and dragged him up in the air. A violent “Baaaaaaaaaaaaa” of frustration errupted from Kaden’s lips.

“You didn’t say he’d be this cute!” Trella shouted as she clutched him close.

Kaden wiggled his hind legs and fought to gain ground, but it was no use, he was just too short.

“That’s why people love [Sheep Men]. We were using a minotaur form, but someone couldn’t control their temper,” Kanli said. The Druid Centurion focused on Kaden. “Now, do it. Adrenaline is high. Your heart is pounding, that Beast in your brain wants to run. Change back. If you can’t start the change under stress, you can’t do it.”

Kaden grasp his tenous link. The place in his mind she’d reminded him of. The place she’d forced him to go when he arrived, a hulking eight foot tall Minotaur, at the grove. His transformations were painfully slow, but deliberate, exactly as she’d instructed.

“Is he actually changing?” Trella asked. “Come on, little guy. You’d already be on a barbecue spit in a real battle.”

Kaden let out a bleat of frustration.

The headbutt was instinctual and left Trella stumbling.

Kanli slapped him on the head so fast it left Kaden stunned. “What did I say? What did I tell you would happen next time you did that?”

Kaden bleated and squirmed and fought as the Centurion drew a pair of shears. “Some people have to learn the hard way.”

###

Kaden sat at a table in a Treespace, wrapped in a blanket. The cold air hit his bald head and stung, but he’d managed the transformation in less than an hour under Kanli’s demanding gaze.

She said it would get faster.

She said he would get more powerful

The cries of shame from Little Brother had left his cheeks red as the freshly shorn skin of his [Sheep man] form. But he’d done it. In time, changing to a minotaur would be easier. In time, changing to other forms would be possible.

The Treespace portal opened, and Sara stepped through. “I picked up your new armor and what was left of Skully, he’s being tended by the Necromancers in Verona. Trunistan is in mourning. Two valued citizens killed, a visiting Centurion gravely wounded by a lurking [Assassin.]. No one questions why Mom won’t be sticking around in Trunistan.”

Then she handed Kaden a jar. “Pure genius, using that [Match Lizard] to set off the charges. They found this little guy in the ashes. The official conclusion was Ducat had a home protection system that was triggered accidentally.”

Kaden let the [Match Lizard] out to climb up to his lapel. The lizard was distinctly fatter than it had been, and had a curious golden shine to it.

Trella emerged from the shower wrapped in a robe. “She told me she has some investigation to do. They’d never heard of two [Slavers] but the system logs don’t lie. This brings a lot more questions than it does answers.”

Kaden dressed in his new armor, which stiff and creaked as he put it on. With Ashi’s help, he snapped the mana stones into metal sockets on the armor. When the last one connected, it resonated across his body. The guantlet gripped his hand tightly, and when he flexed, it added strength.

It wasn’t perfect, but it would help. The new boots were dark brown and coated in tiny jewels on the soles for traction. He snapped the Needful Cloak on and willed it to be longer, heavier against the cold. “Sara, any word from the fleet?”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Repairs won’t happen until spring,” Sara said. “We need to train another crew anyway, and odds are we’ll need to act as guards for a few runs until our flag is recognized as a hard target.”

“I need to go to Egalion,” Kaden said. “I have an inheritance to return. Eve, I’ll make it quick.”

“I’m going, too. I won’t let anyone control where I do or do not go. But if I decide to leave quickly, know it’s what I need to do.”

Trinity hadn’t recovered from her death at the Slaver’s hands, and Kaden didn’t feel comfortable going into the wilds, but a civilized city like Egalion, he could handle. Skully had several infected skulls for Sevin. “The Druids have decided where the [Burning Dream Queen] egg will go. I agreed last night.”

“Let it be somewhere far away,” Ashi said

“There’s a volcanic wasteland far to the south where they can become the dominant monster species. Their dependency on [Fire mana] should keep them from spreading,” Kaden said. “They’ll send word when it’s time.”

Ashi cleared her throat. “I have located a page of my spellbook. Evelyn, it is your help I need. I will pay as I can. You are familiar with customs of diplomats. A page is in the treasury of the Iron Gear Empire.”

Eve pursed her lips. “Iron Gear has been on the edge of collapse for a generation. You could probably take the page as easily as negotiate. That said, during this stage, there will always be individuals who want out. That’s your approach.”

When he headed out of the Treespace, Kan Li was waiting, arms crossed. The tall black woman had been relentless, but he bowed. “Thank you.”

“What are my rules?”

“Stick to one form for now. Change someplace safe. Don’t stay a beast more than twenty-four hours.” Kaden still didn’t like the one-form rule.

“In a decade or three, you’ll be fast and powerful. Right now, just relax. When—not if—you get stuck, your party knows to drag you back here. And don’t mix forms, ever, at all. I can do it, but I have hundreds of years experience.” She turned to Little Brother, who stood a good foot taller. “You are welcome to stay here, or I have friends in a herd. I think you should join a herd. You’d be happy there.”

Little Brother let out a bray. Kaden had listened to him long enough now that [Beast Soul] just worked. “Kanli can teach you to gore a man’s heart just as well as I can. Probably better. I’ll be by to visit, and if you want to join a herd, that’s ok, too. I got you a present.”

Kaden drew the weapon from Inventory, a heavy double-edged battle axe. “This is a minotaur’s weapon. I mean, it was a minotaur’s weapon. Not anyone you knew. I hope.”

Little Brother took the axe and grunted in pleasure.

“With a fine weapon like that, you could make friends,” Kanli said. “All the female minotaurs would be impressed.”

From what Kaden had learned, the minotaur had been taken as a calf from his herd and used for Ducat to experiment on, attempting to learn to use [Slaver] on Beasts. He had a lot to learn about living on the plains as a wild minotaur.

Goodbyes were never easy, so when Kanli took Little Brother to find a tree he could smash with his new axe, Kaden and the party left. On the way to the FarPortal, Eve spoke. “Did anyone else just get that notification?”

Kaden had been focused on forgetting.

Sara wasn’t paying attention, her gaze distant.

Ashi looked shocked.

And Trella, that was amazement on her face. “I didn’t tell anyone about [Quest Master]. Mistress Scylla said there would be a reward for what we went through. You should know, they didn’t kill Selion. Not permanently.”

Kaden’s stomach revolted, and he missed a step. He hadn’t spoken of what it was like, not even to Trella. And she’d stopped asking. “What was the reward supposed to be?”

“A thousand gold. Did we all get two thousand?” Trella asked.

The nervous laughter all around told Kaden the answer.

His number was different. *Did you know?*

*His slaves were granted a choice. Swear a set of oaths to never reveal anything about us and receive enough gold for a new life, or Eternis would grant them rebirth in a different world, immediately. The [High Priestess] owes us. Mistress Scylla said she didn’t think you’d want reincarnation.*

Kaden didn’t want a new life. The things he wanted were simple, much like a [Match Lizard]. “I want to finish the Fangwood Open Air dungeon and move on to the second level. And I will go all the way down to the erratic at the bottom.”

“The Guildmaster wants to know if we’re available to run a rank six dungeon.” Sara said it without commitment. “He thinks it’s erratic, but it’s only claimed three parties in a year. One survivor said the dungeon went erratic. Started spawning different monsters and changing the layout in the middle of a run.”

That would be a priority. “Get the location.”

Trella’s Deception materialized beside him, and spoke in an echo of her voice. “Can’t wait to try my new tricks in a dungeon. The Sisters have a mission waiting for us, when we’re ready.”

“Us.” That made him startle, as the shadow melted away to reveal Trella in its place. “All of us?”

“If they’re interested. If not, you and me. I need to start building Faction favor. I know which one I’ll join, but I’ll take the XP for the Getting to Know You Quests. Doubled.” Trella leaned against him as they waited for the FarPortal to activate, and Vip dashed over to beg for attention.

“This is it,” Kaden said.

There were more demons and slavers and monsters in his life than he would have expected. There were more demands from powerful people, more expectations and risk, too. But there were friends. Lovers. And as the FarPortal activated, he felt the soul bond surge between him and Trinity.

There would be beasts.

So many beasts.