[Mid-Sixthmonth, Swagger’s Point of View]
A few days ago, the tutors Vosrin Loruste and Lenyet Birch had decided to combine their efforts teaching Norrus and me. It works out well, because really only one tutor at a time is necessary; the other can be doing something else. For Norrus, they were continuing the general curriculum Dorra Marson had been teaching the 11-year old pup. My studies were more random in nature, having begun essentially by Lenyet covering ‘things generally known to bipeds’. We wander a lot in subject matter as I have questions. The two approaches – planned curriculum and random – are working well in tandem, probably spoiling both Norrus and me in our educational expectations.
Forrest’s sister, Carrie Silverstone, frequently joins us, usually when Vosrin is teaching. Norrus’ Mom is essentially Carrie’s tailoring Master. The 12-year old pup is usually working on her tailoring, but often takes part in our lessons when something interests her or she thinks she can contribute. I’d say Norrus and Carrie were essentially the same age, but Norrus can be, and often is, any age he wishes to be. Now that he has ranked his Shapeshifting, he isn’t even always him. There are several people he likes to mimic. Often it is Forrest, and he thinks it is funny sometimes to have two Carries together. Well, it is funny, but his ability to mimic others is limited at the moment. It is obvious which one is the real Carrie. He cannot match an exact face, yet.
We hold our lessons outside Harron Ronvaldt’s apartment. Norrus is able to walk outside on his own now, but his ambulatory range is very limited. I often act as the back of a chair. I lay down and he and Carrie sometimes lean against my back. That is something Forrest started doing early on; I like the companionable nature of friends relaxing in trust.
Today it started raining early in our session. Instead of abandoning it, Norrus, in his 11-year old form, suggested we go to Abbie’s cavern and finish there. That is what the four of us, Vosrin, Carrie, Norrus, and myself, decided to do. Carrie had seen Abbie once before, but I never had. Norrus and his mother go there fairly often with either Onre or Forrest, or sometimes both. We all stood up, and Vosrin helped Carrie get on top of me, bareback. (I had not expected that anyone would be riding me this morning.) She then lifted Norrus up in front of her, where Carrie could support him.
Although there are two entrances to the cavern, Vosrin informed me that I would not be able to take the stairs in the admin building. Plus I understand that there are hardwood floors on the first level; my hooves would not be kind to them. We met Asha Yon at the front door to the guardsmen’s apartment. He was off duty and escorted us down. Their entrance cave was designed for horses and wagons, and had a separate entrance in the rear of the apartment building, or ‘barracks’ as Asha called it. The entrance room was guarded, but Asha explained what we were doing. Being wet from the rain was not an issue. The cavern itself is deep underground, so the 5-yard wide pathway cave zig-zagged with about 40 yards in each leg. At one of the turns there was some sort of magical stone gate. Asha could operate it, so this security door did not hinder us. The final zag continued much longer than the others, into the cavern itself.
The first thing Norrus wanted me to do was meet Abbie. She was as communicative as the clay she appeared to be, but I know Forrest speaks to and about her as if she were a person. All I could really do when Norrus introduced us was neigh. As expected, her response was an abiding silence. They got down from me with Asha’s help, and Carrie petted her.
Four days previously, Norrus had achieved Rank D in Shapeshifting. He gained the ability to begin morphing into other species, and Evening Sun, Odd Earth, and I had all allowed him to study us tactilely, using the Shapeshifting capability to learn enough about another being to morph into their form. Ferret Drewson is a compatible race, and he was morphing into Ferret almost as soon as he reached Rank E. At Level 3 he cannot make enough mass to morph into a full-grown horse, but he can become an almost passable young foal, with the same unsteady, awkward walk. He does even worse trying to imitate Sun. I guess understanding my face and four legs must be easier than coordinating four eyes, three legs, and three arms.
Yes, that would be difficult.
What he could do, though, was surprise all of us by becoming another formless abider on the other end of the log. He couldn’t talk, but he could still use the party interface just as I do. Honestly if I hadn’t already known which one was the real Abbie, I would not have known.
A big lump of clay must be easy.
He transformed back into his normal 21-year old form and took a seat. He had regained a fair amount of strength since that first day, but the vortex’ toll still limited him. Norrus currently only has 75 minutes of transformation time before he needs to spend at least 25 minutes in his default body. During the 75 minutes, he can assume multiple forms, however, so long as he has adequate Ki and SP. With each level, his transformation time will grow and his default-form time will shrink.
Vosrin asked if we were ready to continue her lesson. I laid down to give the younglings a surface to lean against, and they scooted against my back. We spent about an hour learning what Vosrin had prepared. Carrie fully shared in the lesson even though she knew most of it. After that, Asha beat up on Abbie some so Norrus could use his Heal Other. He also practiced his Bless Blood, giving all of us, including himself, doses. Only Abbie was unable to accept it, since she doesn’t have any blood. At the end he had his Mom cut him so that he could train HPR Boost.
I don’t envy healers.
When he was done with his Ki Healing, he transformed into a 9-year old version of himself. He matched his mass to that form, making it even easier to be assisted onto my back. There was an incident walking up the ramped cave to the barracks where Norrus almost fell. Carrie had gotten distracted just as Norrus turned his head and part of his body to get a better view of the security gate. Fortunately she responded in time, so he didn’t actually fall.
It sure would be nice to have arms.
I offloaded my riders outside of Harron’s apartment, thanked everyone, and headed to the stable. The rest of my day was normal, interacting with other horses, grooms, and Rahun Borrel. Every day at least one of Forrest’s gang stops by to keep me company for a while or even go for a ride. Today it was Kossa and Ferret. I like them both a lot, and we always have good conversations. They left for dinner. Sometimes I wander over to the leveling grounds where the adults train, but today I stayed in the corral to train my solo skills Dark Sight, Analyze, and Make Water.
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Someone was shaking my shoulder. “Swagger, you are in my ethereal garden; wake up and take a look.”
Ethereal garden?
I opened my eyes to see a beautifully cultivated wooded area. I stood and looked around to see Skawa, Einvigi, and two other beings that might well be gods. Further away there were other beings engaged in various activities.
“We welcome you,” greeted Skawa. “You know Einvigi.” She said hello, and I nodded. “Nature and Wisdom have also graced us with their presence. Nature is the female Covargh and Wisdom is the male Human.” Skawa was dressed as I am used to seeing him, serape and kilt. Nature’s day dress was of similar style to Einvigi’s. Wisdom was dressed fairly formally, in fine pants, shirt, and jacket. “Do we have permission to read your surface mind so that we may all engage in conversation?”
“Yes.”
Does anyone ever say no?
They all laughed. Skawa responded to my thought with, “Yes, it has happened. But usually when we wish to speak with someone they are willing.”
Einvigi said, “You are very close to reaching Level 12, noble stallion. But we have decided to hold a convocation and offer you an augmented life. Your first option is to remain as you are, living a full and productive life as a sapient horse.”
Nature continued, “Your second option is to share your body with a Human. You two would become a single chimeric being with two minds. Your head and neck would be replaced with their head and torso. You would maintain your four legs and gain two arms. Your brain and mind would remain fully intact, and when you both desire, you could switch the form of your head between their Human one and the one you have now. It would be a complex existence, becoming a dual being. We cannot promise that you will always get along; the other person will maintain their free will, the same as you. You will gain access to their classes as they will gain access to your speed and strength.”
Wisdom added, “Your third and final option is to remain a horse but gain a fragmented class, Mindsmith. We can only boon you with two of its skills, Clear Mind and Telekinetic Arms. The four of us could also grant a continuing boon of Mindsmith’s leveling bonuses.. With each level, you would gain a horse’s leveling bonuses just as you have been, plus those of the Mindsmith class. We are unable, however, to make you a full Mindsmith.”
“I am certain you have questions,” Skawa stated. “Please take your time to consider. If you alter yourself, it is vital that you do so being comfortable with that choice.”
“My first question is, how long do I have to decide? This is a lot!”
Einvigi responded, “Yes it is. If you do not decide within a week, your choice becomes to remain as you are. That is a perfectly rational decision, and the default. However, we would much prefer it if you decide this evening, for two reasons. The first is to your benefit, potentially gaining leveling bonuses at 12 that you will lose otherwise. The second is to our benefit; it is uncommon for so many gods to gather at the same time. Even a small convocation such as this is troublesome for non-emergency matters.”
“I will attempt to become comfortable with choosing during this convocation, then. May I ask why you offer me these gifts?“
Skawa responded, “It is thanks to you we learned that the Priestess is a Skolturi Wraith. Other than the existence of her cult and its various activities, we had not been able to learn anything substantive in decades.”
“You are truly an exceptional creature,” Nature added. “Other beings who have transitioned from sentience to sapience would barely double their mental attributes. You have tripled yours. We desire to honor Mother Heere’s gifts to you with gifts of our own.”
“I thank you very much. The idea of joining someone else in a chimeric existence is very scary. Have you ever done this before?”
Wisdom answered, “Yes. The Covargh species began as a chimeric combination of Human and wolf. They were made a true-breeding species and evolved much over time. Similarly, Trichyans began as a chimeric merger between Human, Skolturi, and Sea People. I regret we have no plans to make other such chimeric beings such as you would be. You would very likely remain unique.”
“That answers some questions I have had for a while. Thank you. Would I get to meet the person I would become a chimera with? Ahead of time, I mean.”
“Yes,” Nature said. “We have already chosen five candidates, although they know nothing of this possibility at the current time. They would all be very willing to form a chimeric existence with you.”
“How do you know that?”
“We have been seeking potential candidates since the day Skawa met you. For one reason or another, they are all living below their born potential and want something more. For example, three of them have lost both legs. They are maintaining a positive demeanor, but we know they would like more. Do not feel an obligation out of sympathy to them though. We are already making arrangements for the technology developed in Cottages for Rhonda Smithson’s hand to be made available to all three. They will regain full ambulatory capability.”
“So I would meet all five of them this evening if I choose to become a chimera?” Skawa told me I would, and we, as pairs, would be given up to a half hour each to meet each other and discuss it. They would not know about each other, and the ones I did not choose would forget this experience in the ethereal garden as a fading dream.
“I think I know enough about that choice now. For Mindsmith, you mentioned two skills, Clear Mind and Telekinetic Arms. Those both sound extremely useful. Can you tell me more?”
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Wisdom responded, “They are. You know that your Meditation Skill already grants you a degree of mental stress reduction and mental attack resistance. Clear Mind greatly amplifies those protections and grants you a significant degree of calm and rational thought in even extreme situations. To a lesser extent, you are able to share that with up to two others who are in physical contact with you.”
“That would be wonderful. I have a concern that I might panic in an unexpected attack and buck a rider off me. I’ve witnessed it happen. What about Telekinetic Arms? Arms seem to be the common element between becoming a chimera and a limited Mindsmith.”
This time Einvigi answered. “Depending on the skill’s rank, you would gain between one to three arms. At rank F, your single ‘arm’ would be nothing more than a wraithlike tentacle. At E, the tentacle could have up to two digits, granting extending capability to hold something. At D, you can have a second tentacle, each with a third digit, opposable to the others – essentially a thumb. At C, the tentacles can gain rigidity and be segmented into two parts with an elbow between. Your digits can form a full hand, with three fingers and a thumb on each. At B, you can have a third tentacle or arm, and it can terminate with either another hand or an eye. The skill continues to improve, but it would be quite a while before you reach A.”
“Do the tentacle arm things remain wraithlike? And where do they attach?”
“Yes; they never become fully solid,” Nature responded. “Plus they never gain your full strength. They are rated at one third of your normal strength. Note that still makes them stronger than a Skolturi Wraith’s arms. Those are only one eighth as strong as their strength attribute would suggest. The answer to ‘where’ is nowhere or anywhere. You don’t need to manifest them at all, leading strangers to assume you are an ordinary horse. You can position them at your shoulders, facing forward, at your haunches facing backward, or anywhere in between.”
“That is when the third eye would be really handy to have.” Skawa grinned his agreement.
“Oh! My leveling bonus. I know as a horse I get one each in agility and luck, and two in endurance, strength, and vitality. What is Mindsmith’s? And would I get free points?”
Wisdom answered, “No free points, but you will be able to continue to train your attributes outside of the leveling system. Mindsmith grants 1 each in charisma, dexterity, and perception, and two each in intelligence and wisdom. A perfect complement for a sapient horse, which is one of the reasons we chose this particular class.”
“And arms, and a mind as strong as my body! I thank you for offering me the chimeric option, but I gratefully choose the limited Mindsmith capability. I realize the potential upside of joining with another could be much greater. But the downside, if at some point we just can’t get along and possibly grow to hate each other, is a larger risk than I am willing to take.”
“We fully understand. Have Kossa tell her Father and the jeweler Werol Jordan to expect three customers over the next few weeks. You can inform Harron Ronvaldt yourself, once you can tap him on the shoulder from behind.” I smiled at the thought.
The four gods positioned themselves evenly spaced around me. I started to tingle and glow.
The next thing I knew I was waking up in my stall. It was early morning, with the sun just beginning to rise. I activated Dark Sight, with a vivid memory of my ethereal experience and great expectations.
Still Level 11, and no change to my character sheet.
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[Late Sixthmonth, Omniscient Point of View]
Three monsters spawned within miles of the village of Hilltop. Two were rocs, monstrously huge birds. One was Level 31 and bright teal and the other 32 and dark orange. The third monster was a Level 29, ten-yard long earth-bound, brown-patterned bashe – essentially a giant snake. The largest roc was about 24 yards in length from beak to tail, and 21 yards in wingspan. Fortunately, a high level hunter and local village elder had spotted them before they hurt anyone besides local game. He warned those in town to seek shelter, then quickly rode to report to the guards at Fifth Duchy Fort 3.
A contingent of the guard arrived within hours, before the monsters had reached the village. Captain Randolf Pokka was in charge, accompanied by his lieutenants Wern and Nirran Ograth and six other guardsmen. The captain had experience fighting rocs, and at Level 43 he was confident in leading his troupe to victory. It troubled him that the monsters seemed to be working together, and worse, he could not tell if they had an objective. Wern and Nirran were both Level 35, while the other guardsmen in the troupe ranged from level 31 to 24. With no lives in immediate peril, the captain decided to use this as a training exercise.
His squad was well trained, able to deliver a great variety of damages to handle any situation. Even the newbie knew the formation needed for those foes and their place in it. Captain Pokka’s orders were mostly for the elder hunter from Hilltop, a Level 40 archer and cleric, who would fight with them. He was no slouch either, but coordination could be an issue worthy of forfeiting their military shortcuts.
“Archers and casters, keep your distance, stay within the vines, keep the rocs at bay!” The captain assigned one of his tanks for their protection and cast Snaring Vines around his back line. They formed a small sea of long and aggressive creepers that would attack any foes coming too close. One of his wolf sisters would also remain with them, to manage the vines should it become necessary.
“Everyone else, onwards!”
His four other guards would fight the bashe from close range while the last one would use her bardic buffs and debuffs as the situation required.
They moved as one, and the fight was on before they even reached the aethereal creature.
Level 29 Bashe – adult, sexless, angry.
143 stones, 8649 XP worth, 807 defeated
Attacks with fangs, body slams, and constriction
Paralyzing venom
The bard managed to slow the bashe with a lullaby from her lute. Her melee comrades used the opportunity to rush in and deliver amplified blow after enchanted blow from sword, mace, and spear. Hit multiplication, elemental damage, anti-regeneration, and all sorts of skills rained on the overwhelmed creature. The natural sounds of the forest were instantly replaced by the noise of battle, warnings and orders, and the cries of pained beast cries. But the bard’s music still pierced through. The smell of burnt flesh and blood reached even the leader and his lieutenants, wordlessly surveying the battlefield from behind and ready to jump in case of surprises.
Judicious placement and timing prevented it from using its own skills, greatly reducing its danger level. The fight was over quickly, without injuries among his guardsmen or intervention required. Even the Level 24 newbie was panting, but unharmed. The captain’s heart grew with pride, but they were not done.
The troupe turned their attention to the rocs. The backliners had done a great job keeping them away, but now the hardest part revealed itself.
The captain wanted his guards to fight them one at a time, but the birds were sticking close to each other, and coordinating as if they were an experienced team. They were a lot better at it together than with the bashe.
While the rocs were huge, their only attacks were physical – beak, talon, and wing bashing, and they were nothing compared to the rocs he and his two mates had fended off years ago. Those had been in the low 40s; without the shelter of the cave, their small troupe would have all been slain, and their mission a failure. Since these two were not that high yet, they did not have their species' ultimate scaled feathers. It was possible for unenchanted arrows and swords to penetrate, though not deeply.
The captain’s main concern was that they would abandon this fight and cause havoc elsewhere. It was not normal monster behavior, but they were already not acting as typical monsters.
As things were, the soldiers couldn’t handle the birds; they were constantly on the defensive. The close-range fighters should use the opening from an attack to punish it, but one’s openings were always filled with the other’s attack before they could capitalize on it. Only the ranged attackers stopped the monsters from landing their attacks.
The captain and his lieutenant were forced to join the fight, signaling everyone that the threat was more than expected. But even the addition of the high-level fighters merely kept the fight from turning into a hopeless battle. Instead, it slowed to a slog, each side progressively wearing the other down at each pass but unable to deal significant damage.
Buffing and healing skills would let them last longer, but Pokka’s guts told him it wouldn’t be enough. Without his experience with other pack monsters, they would have lost at least half the troupe already. As things were, they could hold on, barely, and hope their collective stamina was better than the monster’s.
Pokka didn’t like it one bit. They had to ground one or the situation wouldn’t turn well, but the attacks were too synchronized to let them, and the trees were too far apart to hinder them.
Wait, the attacks?
It took a lucky shot from the village elder, grazing the front bird’s armored talons and hitting the other in a wing, for the captain to realize something: those bird’s attacks were perfectly synchronized, but not their defense. Unlike his men, they didn’t protect each other, even when they easily could.
“Archer’s! They are not an actual team! Aim for the teal one when it is behind the orange one! They don’t protect each other!”
That simple order changed the tide of the battle. Only the bard didn’t have to change her tactic; she was also an energy mage, and she was having fair success with concussive sound blasts.
The captain had the melee guards focus on defense and evasion, while the rest focused their attacks on the right wing of their target. A grounded bird would likely be meaner and more frantic, but they would be able to do more total damage quicker. The new strategy proved its worth when the teal wing broke during a swerve and threw the roc in range of the animated vines, but the other roc didn’t let this slight go unpunished.
The orange roc broke through the vines, too busy with its downed fellow, and through their defensive fire it grabbed hold of one of the wolf sisters. Too focused on guiding the vines,the wolf spirit beast failed to dodge in time, she was carried 50 yards in the air and… released.
Private Garry, their level 24 recruit, macemaster and forcemaster, was generally too weak for his force attacks to bother the rocs much. However, the class proved its worth in this battle when he managed to use a force pillow to slow the fall of the wolf, although she still struck the ground with a hefty slam. Captain Pokka gave orders to finish the teal roc and keep the other away, and rushed to his sister to activate his healing aura. The cleric hunter tried to rush with him, but he made him stay behind to support his men. The foes were still there, it was not time to lose their focus.
When he reached his sister, her stomach had been slashed open and her back broken, probably by that immense beak. It tore at Randolf’s heart, but she had survived worse already. As the wounds began to fade, the druid focused on nerve damage and used vines to construct makeshift splints. It saved her, but she was out of the battle.
Once she was safe, he turned back to the battle. Lieutenant Wren had taken command, her Team Leader class prepping her for that role. The teal roc was almost down already. Its good wing remained an effective offensive limb, able to sweep fighters to the ground either with a direct blow or through the wind it could direct and its beak and talons were as sharp as ever. But with its loss of flight, the guardsmen could use their more powerful skills, their ranged ones having proven over and over to not be enough for this opponent. It was dead before the captain reached them.
Everyone was exhausted, but this victory bolstered their morale almost as well as any bard buff could,l and they turned their passion against the remaining roc. Without anyone covering for it, the second roc quickly fell too, a well-timed mace grounding it and a well-aimed spear and arrow dealing the last blow.
Cheers of relief and joy filled the area, marking the end of the fight.
All three beasts had dissolved into the aether, each leaving a chest behind, Captain Pokka ordered that they not be opened yet. The elder hunter led them to Hilltop and sounded the all-clear as they entered town. Dozens of people came out of their shelter, thanking the guardsmen and the hunter, the youngest of the three village elders. When he was joined by the other two, Captain Pokka allowed them to choose any of the three chests as village property. They chose the one that spawned from the bashe, feeling the Duchy’s men deserved the likely greater treasure.
That lack of greed never ceased to warm the captain’s heart, renewing his conviction each time.
I love this Duchy. I will do anything to protect it.
His guts told him he would need all conviction he could get, and his report would say as much.
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[4 Seventhmonth 726 at 8:07, Omniscient Point of View]
She rode up to the main village gate and stopped. As expected, the guard hailed her and asked who she was and her purpose. He saw a tall, striking Human woman of, he guessed, about 45 years in age. Her horse was almost solid black, and she was dressed in fine riding attire. He had to ask, because his Analyze only revealed to him ‘emissary’.
“I am emissary, sent by the Priestess to possibly act as an envoy to the village of Cottages. I come in peace. If you ask me to leave, I will do so without argument. If not rejected, I should like to speak with the Mayor, his brother, and his son. It will behoove us all to settle matters of identity and purpose before I enter your village.”
“I am the Mayor’s brother, Ralf Rallee. Am I correct in assuming you would like to speak to the three of us specifically because we were the ones who interacted with the Priestess’ representatives several weeks ago?”
“That is correct, Sir Rallee. Your choices in that meeting very much impressed the Priestess. She would like to ascertain if you three actually are as interesting and wise as Lord Rose’ report would indicate. If I come to agree with that assessment, I would formally request to become an emissary to your village. You would gain unparalleled access to knowledge about, and the ear of, the Priestess herself. She would also have great interest in learning about your town. Under no circumstances am I to become hostile. I make no further promises beyond these.”
“Your request is reasonable, and I am sure the Mayor will seriously consider it. I can find a replacement to complete my watch, and then I will go get him. Unfortunately, Forrest is currently out of town and will not return for two days.”
“May I ask where he is?”
“You may, but I am not comfortable telling you. Please allow me up to 15 minutes to get a replacement and then bring my brother here. We may bring others to help us evaluate this situation.”
“No need to bother. Before I can make a decision about my possible role here, I must speak to the three of you together. Would it be possible to meet with all of you at 9 two days hence? You may have as many others with you as you desire.”
“Perhaps you should speak to the Mayor now. He is more aware of Forrest’s circumstances than I.”
“There is no need. My instructions specifically state that I must first evaluate the three of you together. If there are further complications two days from now, we shall deal with those at that time.”
“I must say, emissary, that this requirement sounds quite odd. Why would you need to meet with the three of us prior to further engagement? Quite honestly, it also sounds suspicious. One unlikely interpretation could be that the Priestess is, for whatever reason, acting vindictively, and desires to eliminate us.”
“You are correct in two ways. Yes, this is an odd request. And yes, that is a very unlikely interpretation. If she wanted you to be dead, you would be so. I would then ride into town, find the Mayor, and kill him. If gods have not intervened, two days later I would kill young Forrest, possibly before. But I assure you again I am on a mission of peace. Have whatever protection you deem meet in two days' time. If you have the means and desire to request Skawa's presence, he too is welcome. I will return on 6 Seventhmonth at 9, and I hope to see you then.”
She turned, and rode away.
Barrie is not going to believe this.