The ragtag group in the mobile home with chicken legs made their way to a bog.
The bog was a strange place for a headquarters Theo had thought. This bog- it was a lot like the marshes in the real world. The water was green, and slimy for example. With green algae floating on top in places, water lilies in others.
Weeping willow trees were held suspended by the roots just above the surface of the water. But it was beautiful, in a way. Vibrant pink flowers or tullips shot out of the water also, and ivy or vines covered the mossy tree trunks.
An exaggerated version of the marshes he had seen on the discovery channel.
Theo was just sitting on the porch of Yagas home in a rickety rocking chair. Sipping lemonade in the brisk humid air of the early morning. A dragonfly flew past and bumped off some sort of invisible barrier. The thing was as big as his forearm! Hopefully the mosquitos weren't bigger too. A toads tongue launched out from beneath the surface of the water suddenly- snapping the dragonfly from the air.
The house had actually submerged its legs into the deeper water of the marsh. It was like a pontoon. Those flat boats in southern america.
His grandmother Samantha sat across from his sipping some lemonade of her own.
"And so, if you want to change form- make sure you're out of sight first. It takes several minutes- perhaps longer at your level."
She had been explaining the nuances of his [Racial Class], the [Changeling - Doppleganger] to him while she fished.
They're not like the traditional gaming archetypes. They weren't tanks, healers, or even a damage dealing type. They are close to the sneak rogue-types in ways. But again, without the focus on dealing large amounts of damage quickly.
No, [Dopplegangers] were all of the above. They're highly adaptable that way. A good [Doppleganger] knows what [Forms] are best to use in a given situation. Combat, is not the only factor in this game, if you want to solve your problems there were other avenues. Some class types were more balanced for other things. Like trade, or subterfuge.
His was one such nefarious class.
"Can I reuse a [Form]?" he asked. His grandmother was making a quirky face, her lure had seemed to tug a bit.
She hovered her hand over the crank on the fishingrod expectently.
"-Yes, but it would require you to touch the original...", she continued without looking away; "In higher levels, you can gain an illusory appearance temporarily aswell- though actually you keep your changeling-" a splash of water shot up in the air. She pulled on the fishing rod- cranking the line quickly-
"You almost got it!" he reached for her line to help pull- but she smacked his hand away.
"I got it!" she wrestled the fished rod left and right, a shadow beneath the water wrestled with her, trying desperately to free itself from the hook. "Oh, it's a biggun! But it hasn't tussled with the likes of me before! Aha!", the water around the lure splashed and every so often a green tail would break the surface.
"Huh... That's a tough bugger." She stopped pulling so rigorously and the large fish seemed to relent a bit also. "The trick is to let it rest a moment... Then you go in for the kill."
"You could break the line too if you aren't careful." Theo said. She nodded, and began to pull again, breathing laborously.
After a few back and forth struggles the fish finally broke water. To Theos surprise, it wasn't some magical creature. It was just a big catfish, a bit of algae hanging from it's flopping tail. It's eyes seemed to grow wide as Samantha held it closely to her-
"I think I'll call you... Rami.", she kissed it on the side of the face. The fish reacted by flopping away then smacking her in the face- "Bah! You cheeky bastard!"
"Aren't you going to eat it?", Theo asked. She looked at him confusedly and shook her head- "I don't eat meat anymore.", The catfish stopped flopping then, and it's eyes glowed red.
"What the hell? Is it a demon fish or something?"
Samantha smirked and tossed the fish back into the water. "No. Just '[Tame Familiar]', pretty basic [Witch] spell. I can turn small animals into little security cameras. Our group has a lot of enemies, pays to be prepared. I have dozens."
"Just what level are you?", "Higher than you. We're close to the headquarters- you should change form. Perhaps that butler?"
Theo furled his brow. "I never touched him! Actually... I haven't touched anyone but Violet.", "Odd. I thought you preferred men." Theo was flabbergasted- "Why does everyone always assume that!?" First Stelios, and now his own grandmother!
Samantha laughed. "-I'm just messing with you... Probably. But it's a shame, I assume you'd want a form close to how you were in life. But Violet is certainly not that."
"No she is not- I'd prefer to be my own gender if at all possible. Besides- I doubt I'd have her consent to using her form.", they both nodded at that.
They pondered for a moment. This was a problem. There was always Sinatra. But then Samantha snapped her fingers; "I got it!"
"Got what?", Theo asked.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. Which was easy for her- he was much shorter in his reptilian changeling form. "Don't worry! Leave it up to me!" her eyes glistened with pride.
"Yeah... Sure..." Theo was skeptical.
---
They arrived at another large building. Water dripped off the chicken house as it stepped out onto the dry land. Or... 'Dryer' land.
The estate was in similar in design to the Malton Estates, but the outside wasn't masonry or whitewashed. Instead, it was wood panels. Painted a brilliant white color. But it still had a somewhat 'Victorian' design.
Samanthas pet 'house' stepped out of the bog onto dry land and begun following a path towards the house. It sat in the middle of a clearing, much of the bogs trees was cleared away and the land fortified. Lovely.
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"This is my swamp!" Samantha said in a terrible scottish accent as they stepped out of the house chicken.
A few people had come to meet them, there were others but they seemed busy or disinterested. Some people were building, like actual carpenters. There were people crafting like black smiths or fletchers.
There were people practicing fighting moves in some sort of training ground.
The clearing held what seemed to be a tavern, shops and bath houses. It was hard for Theo to take in as they walked down one of the main baths towards the centered building.
The few that had come to meet them had finally reached them. There was a wolf-guy, that was- essentially a man with wolf ears in place of his human ones, a tail, and clawed hangs and feet. Below his knees, his legs became jointed like a wolves. They were black and white colored. And the cat-woman was the cat variant of that, with tabby-cat colored hair.
The other was just a regular human man- Asian and they all seemed around Theos age or younger.
"Hey Yog- this your grandson?" the Asian man raised his eyebrows as he looked at Theo. Samantha slapped Theo on the back. "Yeah, that's him. And I told you to call me 'Baba-Yaga'!" she waved her staff at him. He responded by hiding behind the tabi-woman.
"Come on- it's way funner to say!", the catwoman rolled her eyes. She was wearing shorts and a shirt that revealed her mid-section. They were fluffy brown like they were made from some animals furs. "Funner isn't a word... And Babs is a lot better than 'Yog' Carlton. With the added benefit is that she doesn't hit us for using it.", she looked over her shoulder to see Carlton standing their plain faced. "Then it wouldn't be my original nickname for her."
Samantha had been shaking her head. She sighed, and turned towards Theo; "The annoying one is Carlton, the goofy looking one is Rose-", "-I resent that!", "And the wolfboy is Shorty."
"But he's not short?", Theo tilted his head sideways. "Its just my old gamer-tag. It's what I've had as long as I can remember. I like making small characters- they're harder to hit. And they deal the same damage... The name sort've stuck." he shrugged.
Sinatra had just strode past their meeting and went to the training grounds, where he was greeted by a several people trying to spar him.
"And who is this?" Carlton asked, peering past Theo and Samantha.
Violet was standing behind them shyly, still wearing her maid outfit. Theo was wearing his Charles Malton outfit still for that manor- though the purple outfit was now big on him.
"That's violet. Someone we picked up along the way, you know how it is." Samantha chuckled. Carlton and the others did too. "Tell me about it. It's hard not to pick up strays, this worlds fucked up!" it was Rose who said that.
Violet looked around the makeshift town, or village? Would you even call it that? Then noticed them starring at her. She started- "Uhm- hi?" she said awkwardly. Someone coughed.
"ANYWAYS!" Samantha clapped her hands together- "We got a few noobs who need to be brought up to speed! Theo- Violet- I want you to go with these three to do some training. We're going to get your [Multi-class]'d!"
The two of them just starred ahead for a second. Theo spoke first.
"Grandma, that sounds nice and all- but I'd appreciate some new clothes first. If you wouldn't mind.", he lifted a arm to display the baggy sleeve to her. "A bath certainly would be appreciated as well." Violet chimed in.
"Spoiled brats." Samantha mumbled under her breath. "What?" Violet asked. "Nothing! Of course! Baths and free clothes! Let's go visit Tabernathy and get you into some starter gear, then we'll take a trip to the bath house!" she ushered them over to one of the smaller buildings.
---
They each had a similar set of leather armors and linen clothing that the local artisan crafted specially for them.
-Right before their eyes. His magic was a amazing. The fabric and leather knitted itself almost instantaneously.
The shopkeeper just cast a spell on them, then cast another on his tools, and then bam! Easy as can be.
"'[Tailor]', it's an amazing class. They start off only being able to make weak clothing, but with the right materials and recipes- crafting classes like theirs can level faster than combat ones!" Rose said. The shopkeeper scoffed; "Puh, stop trying to suck up to me, I told you- I'm not making that custom order without gold upfront!", Rose deflated immediately, her orange and white ears drooped.
Samantha paid Tabernathy a few silver coins.
"Thanks again Tabernathy, the guild as always appreciates your premium craftsmenship. It's a shame they can't wear the good stuff yet... The stupid system- apparently the game doesn't want high ranking people just giving away top tier gear to low leveled players! Absurd!"
Tabernathy sighed; "Yes, and it limits my clientele. But, at least there's always artifacts. They work the same for everyone regardless of level, but we can't craft 'em."
Mr. Tabernathy handed Violet and Theo each a set of the leather armor. They went to pull it away but he held it firm; "-Don't actually try to fight in this. It'll block a level 5 something or other, but at your level and [Class]- what am I saying? These kids will sort ya' out. Now get outta my shop." he released the bundles of clothes.
Carlton slapped a hand on their shoulders. "Now, off to the bath houses."
The bath houses were just a group of tents with wooden tubs and heated water. Which Violet may of been used to- but Theo had not been. Charles Malton always bathed in style, in opulent wide open tiled pools of steaming water and scented soaps.
This was an insult. But, he closed the tent flaps as tightly as he could and shimmied out of his princely attire. It was nice while it lasted.
His grandmother and the others left him and Violet alone to bath. Samantha told him she'd meet him before the end of the day to talk more, but to learn from Carlton, Rose and Shorty until then.
By the time he was out, he was clad in dark brown leather and black undergarments. His slacks were made of a tougher material, similar to jeans. But still black. Violet wore a similar set. Leather vambraces, a flexible chestplate and pauldrons, it looked a bit goofy. But also a bit cool? Theo couldn't decide.
He was still a tiny lizard person. Minus the tail, that was something [Changelings] evidently did not have. Unlike most of the animalistic races in this game.
"Done? Good.", the wolf-guy Shorty said as Violet finally joined Theo and him after bathing for close to a half-hour.
Despite his named would have you believe- he was actually not short. He was average height, with dark purple almost black hair. It would turn into a grey color around his ears or wrapped pawed feet. His armor was fancy, but also leather like theirs, it was rounded and reinforced with metal in places. The main colors were dark with a few tertiary golds and silvers.
It was impressive. Not to mention the sheathed daggers at his side. 'Deathbringer!' Theo shouted eternally. He forgot his jade slicer! The fancy sword Charles Malton had. Well, he was in a hurry to leave.
"Before I send you off to learn from the others, noobs have to know a few serious things. That's what I'm here for.", Violet and Theo looked towards each other, then back at him. He led them towards the training grounds, but stopped just outside and began lecturing them as he observed people sparring.
"Notice how batshit insane that is?" he said referencing the match.
-It was true, Sinatra was fighting five people at once! The massive bear person moved with unparalleled speed and grace. While his strikes were just as devastating as before. It seemed to defy the laws of physics.
The soft mud would launch from the ground as they stepped around. Theo recoiled as a splash of it came at him- but it splattered harmlessly across an invisible barrier before falling to the ground. 'Magic, handy stuff.' he thought.
A cat-man leapt up to an impossible height and round house kicked at him- but Sinatra caught his foot in his hands and redirected it into another fighter who had attacked from his other flank- they went crashing down into some actual lizard person. -They had a tail, and frills that ran down the spines of their neck. They were MUCH more lizard like, and closer to average human size.
They landed in a big pile, and Sinatra didn't stop there. "Experience can make up for 10 levels at least! If you're cheeky- 15! It's all about knowing counters, combinations, thinking on your feet!"
He was instructing them as he beat them.
"No wonder only my Grandma and Sinatra came to get me...", Shorty scoffed at that humorously- showing so much emotion seemed rare for him. "Yeah, they're monsters. But that's my point. -This world- is dangerous. You have to go for the kill. If your life is threatened, even if they seem like a low leveled threat- use absolute and overwhelming force."
"Harsh." Theo said. "It's fair." Violet replied, observing the fight.
"You seem to have a few levels already, Violet. Are you a native?", "A what?" Violet asked him. "A native. You know... Were you born here? In the game?" she blinked. As if she was remembering their long existential conversation about the nature of this fantasy world.
"...Yeah."
"Good, that gives you a head start. Though, players have a few advantages to help them catch up and our limits are easier to break. How many levels you got?"
The question seemed to make her uncomfortable. She crossed her arms. "Enough."
Shorty just looked at her plainly. Then to Theo.
"Oh, I'm level 5. I'm a [Doppleganger]. I can [Wall Climb], [Misplace], [Assimilate], and uh... [Form Change]."
Shorty's brought a hand up to his chin and pondered; "Solid skills... But not very good for surviving in the moment. Decent classes like [Rogues] or [Fencers] get [Parry] by level 5, and that'd keep you alive against some level 15s or even 20s. Skills like yours are only good if you make use of them- cleverly. They're shit for self defense."
"Great! So I'm weak as hell and this world is full of over powered monsters!"
Shorty gave him a sympathetic look, as much as neutral his face could; "Don't worry, we all pooled our information from before being trapped here. We know some things about this game. But the most important thing is- don't die. We're not sure what happens, but we've yet to meet someone again after they die."
Violet just gave him a look of 'no shit', but Theo blanched; "There's no respawning!?" he panicked.
"No, at least we don't think so. Maybe there's some kind of afterlife or stasis here after that. But we're not sure. If it's such a big deal to you, don't worry. We don't force people on dangerous missions here. We could find work here for you."
Theo exhaled at that. Good. He was worried he'd end up doing what he did back at the Malton Estate. Subterfuge and fights to the death with butlers.
"So long as I don't have to be a maid anymore." Violet sighed.
"But we will train you in any case. It's good to know what people are capable of here- it's not like our world. For example- Violet, Theo- I want you two to stand across from each other. And take these." he walked over and grabbed a two practice swords. Dulled, but still perfectly suited for bludgeoning.
"You... Want us to fight? But Violet is a ruthless killer! And I'm an innocent guy, I never hurt a fly!", Violet starred daggers at Theo. But Shorty only shook his head; "She might refuse to tell me her levels, but I can see her stats. She's close enough to you."
They both looked at each other. "Really?" they said simultaneously, but in different ways.
---
And so, there they were. Standing across from each other in a muddied field. "Go easy on me." Theo said. "No.", Violet replied coyly. "Please?"
"Enough bickering! Fight!" Shorty bellowed. At that- few other trainees came over to watch.
Violet smirked, then ducked down into a charging position- and flew at him across the field.
'Shit!' Theo winced and put his sword up.
--- To Be Continued...