The city of Telnessíer is a myth, the elves claim that it is in the forest that they call by the same name but as the majority of elven lands was on the west side of the Darkwall Mountains as their capitol would be on that side of the mountains. It is said that powerful elven magic, wards that turn the very power of the world at any that would do the city and its people harm. None of the expeditions into the Darklands have confirmed any of the elven ruins now infested with demons to be Telnessíer.

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Adrian

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There is a pounding in my head as I wake not wanting to open my eyes. My arms are wrapped around something warm and soft. I don’t want to wake up yet, fucking hangover. I shouldn’t have drunk all of that booze. Why didn’t I learn my lesson after Terrance teaching me to drink? At least my pillow is warm and soft. . .

Wait, I don’t have a pillow. Just a pile of cloth. What am I hugging? My eyes hurt as I open them to a shower of golden yellow hair. My hand moves and the smooth texture has a bump and whoever I am holding lets out a moan. I immediately let go and roll off the small bed in a panic.

I groan in pain for a moment and I worry over what I may have done while drunk. I look over at the bed as the girl in it gets up. She sits naked in plain view but it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust and focus as they water from the too bright room and my head pounds. Ria, why was Ria in my bed, naked. Shit, did I do something?

I look down in a hurry, I’m not naked. Shirtless, but I do have underwear on. It isn’t hiding my morning wood but I’m not actually naked. Wouldn’t I be if I did anything?

“What happened?” I whisper, while sitting up.

I feel Ria sit in my lap and give me hug before she answers my question in a whisper as I hope my worries don’t come true. My mother would kill me already for what I’ve done.

“My tails are soft and warm and fluffy and you wanted to cuddle them.”

“Then we didn’t. . .”

Ria interrupts me, licking my face before she says, “just cuddles, but if you want to change that. . .” She then presses herself against me.

Damn that feels good. Should I? No, I don’t know her. Even if she is clearly so willing I shouldn’t. Not yet, maybe in a few weeks. I gently push her off me and she frowns before I start talking.

“Ria, no, not yet. I don’t know you well enough for that. And could you put some clothes on?”

“Only if you promise to hold me again.”

“Why would you even ask that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asks before licking my face again.

“Fine, I get it you really like me. Please just put some clothes on, I can’t get you new ones otherwise.”

“Really? Can they be fitted for my tails?”

“Uh, sure” I answer before she gets dressed excitedly.

I should have enough coin, I have been taking a few dozen gold from each house I’ve helped rob and there is still that bag of holding that Ria gave me.

I takes me a moment to find my pants as I pull myself together and somehow force myself not to be as hungover. I struggle to button the jeans I still have. They feel tighter than I remember and more uncomfortable than the last time I had to stuff a stiffy into my pants.

I don’t think anything of it until the same happens with my shirt. It too felt smaller than I remember, the room seems slightly smaller. The ceiling seems lower. I stretch a bit and touch the ceiling, I could do that before but not with my palm. I went through a growth spurt?

“Do you want me to make a mirror for you?” I hear Ria ask.

“Did more than just my height change?”

She nods and I say, “please do."

Rather than answer she makes some sort of strange gesture towards the wall and says a short phrase in a tongue I do not recognize. The wall begins to shimmer and while it does take a moment it becomes reflective and I can see myself in it. I look silly in the clothes that are clearly too small for me, my hair is darker.

I walk closer and to get a good look to see if anything else changed. I still look like me but there are minor differences, but the only big change is in my eyes. The hazel is gone, the brown has turned into a strange mix of blue, violet and black while the yellow has become sharper. The shape of the pupil is also odd, an almost pointed oval rather than a circle like before.

I take a step back and find myself looking at the more minor changes. That my now lower body fat percentage is showing more muscle definition than I am used to. I look good, I know all that I drank last night somehow did this and I don’t have any problem with it aside from the slowly diminishing headache.

Ria’s spell ends and she pulls on my arm saying, “come on lets go buy clothes.”

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Abagail nor Bryan are outside of their rooms when the two of us leave. Ria is smiling as she follows me down the street. There is on oddly large amount of guards looking around though none of them stop either of us. I walk to the only clothing store that I know of, ignoring the weird looks I'm being given.

I am lucky enough that it was not associated with any of the organizations that were competing with the Shadows. Inside is an older woman sitting behind a counter that does not even look up as we enter. I walk up to the counter and say, “my friend and I are in need of some new clothes.”

“You don’t look like you can afford my work so just get out already” the older woman almost spits at me.

I roll my eyes and ‘pull’ a fistful of gold out of my pocket and leave it on the counter just long enough to say, “you shouldn’t assume things so quickly. Now unless you want me to take my money elsewhere I suggest you start helping us.”

As soon as my second sentence is finished I take every single coin back from the counter while the old woman begins to find the dresses whose colors work best for Ria as I look for my own. It does not take me long to pick out and change into a tunic that fits me in the provided changing room. Once that is done I end up having to ‘help’ by telling Ria if one dress is better than another. It made no sense to me but I told her I liked the ones that would cause her to draw less attention were better.

Still at the end of it she asked if she could have all the dresses and I just nodded adding the tunics I needed for myself to the pile. Clothing isn’t cheap but it ends up being only a few fistfuls of stolen gold.

Just as we are about to leave however I hear a voice I did not expect to hear again.

“Adrian, you did end up here” comes the voice of a fat slob named Jeff.

“Jeff I didn’t think I would see you again” I say while turning around to see that he is followed by two wolfkin women who are not wearing much and have the same eyes that I saw in the caged people I killed yesterday. The ones that didn't deserve what I did to them.

Something is wrong with those two. I doubt that they are willing followers of Jeff’s. Slaves? Probably, how did he manage to have the money and status to go buy them though? He looks away from me for a moment and eyes up Ria.

“I see that you have picked up a hobby similar to my own. Isn’t this a great world? Care to trade your kitsune to me? I lost the one I had in training.”

I find myself disgusted by the very idea that I took up a hobby of sex slave trading. Wait, he lost his kitsune that was in training? Then he is behind at least some of that disgusting shit that I saw yesterday. No, maybe not what I saw but he is having that done. . .

“No, I don’t have your furry sex slave hobby and I won’t be trading anyone to you.”

“Come on Adrian. I’ll let you have one of my wolves if you let me borrow her. . .”

Ria holds onto my arm, hiding as much of her as she can behind me. I may not have spent much time with Ria but it has been enjoyable to have her around for the short period that I’ve known her. And even if she wasn’t, I would not wish her under his four hundred pound ass.

“I said no.”

He frown and stares at Ria behind me for a moment before asking, “were you given a writ of nobility or patronage?”

“What?”

“Then you are a peasant and as I noble I am conscripting your property for the defense of the nation. Follow me yellow haired kitsune.”

“No, Adrian has magic so he is a noble too” she says from behind me.

“If he did he would know what those writs are. Girls, restrain them.”

As soon as the one of the wolfkin touch me I say “burn” as I twist reality drawing on the Sphere of Fire and light both of Jeff's slaves on fire. The shopkeeper begins to panic realizing that this could very easily destroy her store while Jeff looks absolutely terrified. Should I burn him?

He probably deserves it. He literally just had me attacked. But I need to keep myself away from the law until I leave. Otherwise, my opportunity could go away and two months of work will have been for nothing. I will have become a theif and murderer for nothing. I either have to kill everyone here or shut them up. . .

He seems to have ties to a noble family, too much risk in killing him. Too many saw me come here and plenty of spells could identify me as the killer.

“Jeff, you made a mistake. You attacked someone you shouldn’t have and now you must give me a good reason not to kill you.”

I should at least try to get something out of this.

“I’m aligned with House Sunchaser. They’ll kill you if you. . .”

“That sounds more like a reason to remove all witnesses. Here, I’ll help. What will you give me to not kill you?”

“I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything? Alright, get me the blood of a draconic creature.”

I don’t actually expect any results but if he’s looking for that he can’t be looking for a way to get back at me. Six weeks and we’ll be gone. Then I can start working on a way home.

I let out a sigh as Jeff leaves as a second thought hits me, what has this world forced me to become?

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Lysan

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Sister and I after over a month of travel due to having to wait on caravans finally arrive at the Forest of Daerth which is oddly quiet for being so close to the Darklands. The city of Daerth at its edge was full of rumors of a werewolf blood cult that sacrifices intruders but as sister and the dozen elves that are our guards walk we find nothing wrong in the woods.

I look up at the full moon and worry, father said the werewolf pack in these woods are elf friends but if the rumors in Daerth are true we’ll be dead. We should not be traveling at night but sister wanted to make up for lost time and Vallen said there wouldn’t be any dangers in the woods.

A large grey wolf walks into our path and our dozen guards freeze for an instant, they didn’t know the wolf was there until it revealed itself.

“Matron of Pack Bloodclaw, we thank you for your friendship with the elves of Telnessíer” Vallen says with a bow.

Somehow the wolf seems to smile before shifting, her hair ungrowing and bones contorting as she returned to human form to stand before our group nude.

“Vallen, it has been a long time. Has Tesseram finally decided to let his daughters experience a real fight?” the wolf woman asks while pulling a robe out of nowhere and putting it on.

“It has only been a decade. I’m surprise he let them so soon. These two are Thalia and Lysan Alanthíer.”

“Nice to meet you. Now do you plan on staying for a while or are you passing through?”

“Passing through to the Darklands. We can stay a few days on our way back though.”

“Well, I guess I have something to look forward to. Thalia, Lysan, it was nice meeting you and if you want to participate in the Paring Howl your welcome to.”

Paring Howl? What is that?

“Kylana, you know Tesseram won’t allow human blood into his family.”

“It doesn’t hurt to offer and it would not be the first time an elf decided to join the pack.”