Lucinda awoke in the inn room she shared with Waflaw, and the bed she had also shared with him overnight. It had been another enjoyable night for her, and only the second such experience she’d had in her short life. Naturally, like most people, she was fully intending to rack up additional hours spent thusly, but there were just a few nagging issues plaguing her.

The kiss she had shared with Bryn had come as something of a surprise, though not an altogether unpleasant one. She wasn’t quite prepared to admit that she’d encouraged it, but she did have to concede that she’d made no real move to stop it. Both in the moment, and during the several hours that preceded it. Even that realisation was enough to cause her some bother, as while such behaviour wasn’t reviled back in Kloip, it was certainly frowned upon, with those that partook being best served by keeping their predilections hidden.

While Lucinda was unsure whether or not she was one of those people, and by extension how she felt about Bryn and the intimate moment they’d shared, she had been relieved to determine that little had changed between her and Waflaw. But, that was still the source of another issue, as she had realised her handling of their relationship had left things undoubtedly one-sided in her favour. Thankfully, that at least was a problem she realised she could make immediate steps towards remedying.

Lucinda was still mulling over her troubles when her mentor stirred beside her. A warm smile on his lips as their eyes met helped ease her worries, but it alone couldn’t solve them.

“Morning,” Waflaw said softly.

“Morning,” Lucinda returned, hesitating only momentarily before transitioning into her planned discourse. “You must think poorly of me,” she continued quietly with a frown upon her brow.

“What makes you say that?” Waflaw asked, his eyes focussing as Lucinda’s comment helped push the sleep from his mind.

“Because of this, because of us. I only ask you to lay with me when I feel like it. It’s not fair of me.”

“Bah, you worry too much,” Waflaw replied dismissively, his warm smile returning. “If I was bothered by it, I would have said something, believe me.”

“You’re not then?”

“Did I seem bothered to you last night?”

“I don’t think so…” Lucinda’s cheeks heated slightly as she recalled the previous night’s activities.

“There you go, then. Of course, if you start growing too attached to me, I’ll have to put my foot down. You might remember me saying something about being too old for you.”

“I remember,” Lucinda said, as a feeling of relief washed over her. A smile of her own crept onto her lips. “Maybe you should stop buying me such extravagant gifts in that case.”

“It was as successful as I’d hoped,” Waflaw agreed with a pleased nod.

“You planned this all along!” Lucinda gasped in mock outrage as she gently punched her mentor on the arm.

“…How about some breakfast?” Waflaw said, quickly changing the subject, but still taking a moment to shoot Lucinda a wink.

Having refreshed and dressed in her clothes and armour once more, Lucinda was seated opposite Waflaw in the common room of the inn. Her chosen breakfast was a bowl of porridge with a helping of jam on top, though she hadn't really had much of a choice.

“Well, my apprentice, were you successful in your quest for knowledge?” Waflaw asked as he supped upon his own meal.

“I was! Condors and eagles. Found in a spot near the pass to the Kingdom of Oradas, to the northeast.”

“Ah, well done. With how defeated you looked before we picked up your armour, I was worried you might have given up.”

“I sort of did…” Lucinda admitted. “But, I made a friend at the adventurers’ guild, and she helped me out.”

“Glad to hear it. Do you think a bird within those families might suit?”

“I don’t know much more than their size… I’m hoping so, though. They sounded really big!”

“Do you know where this spot is then?”

“Oh… No, sorry. We’ll have to travel to the nearby village and ask around. I should probably buy a map for the future.”

“We can add that to the list for our pre-trip shop.”

“Sure. Just… nothing too expensive this time, please. I still feel guilty…”

“Don’t worry. Now that I know how effective that tactic is, I’ll be saving it for the next time I’m feeling a bit lonely.”

“You’re terrible!” Lucinda exclaimed with a shake of her head, before breaking out into giggles as Waflaw continued to smile widely at her.

“We’ll also need to get you up to speed on using that new armour of yours. But, that shouldn’t take too long, hopefully.”

Once their need for food was taken care of, they visited a number of shops to procure the items for their upcoming journey. First, from the local scribes' shop – where Lucinda was recognised from the day before – a cheap but serviceable map was purchased. From there they visited an apothecary, which sold potions that were slightly less expensive than at the magic shop where she’d had her brooch identified. Once Waflaw had picked up two cheap Endurance potions, and four small health potions, all for Lucinda’s benefit, they moved onto the last and most exciting shop.

With their destination being in the significantly colder, mountainous region to the north, it was clear that Lucinda was ill-equipped to deal with the drastic change in temperature – at least in human form. To that end, Waflaw had led them to a clothier’s store, wherein Lucinda purchased an inexpensive, but well made, pale brown travelling cloak. The shopkeeper had strongly encouraged her to buy a similar looking blue cloak that matched her 'pretty eyes', but wanting to remain less conspicuous, Lucinda had stuck with the slightly less exciting option.

Barely more than a half-hour since breakfast, Lucinda was walking alongside Waflaw on the road leading out of Malart. They had passed through the northern exit, and then past the surrounding farmlands – where Waflaw had made an idle comment about a sudden craving for milk – before emerging onto the road itself. With her map in hand, Lucinda was able to easily trace a potential route for them to reach the mountain village that was their destination. From Malart, the road wound east and then north, passing several small villages before finally reaching the next nearest town. From there, a similar length journey would take them along the roads towards the pass to Oradas, and more importantly the nearby village.

All things told the journey was likely to take several days, and Lucinda was eagerly anticipating not only the conclusion she hoped it would lead to, but also the travelling itself.

The road they travelled upon was noticeably busier than the one they had used to reach Malart. Lucinda was sure Waflaw wanted to set a swifter pace, but her new armour was slowing her down, meaning they were mostly stuck following along with the rest of the foot traffic. Sporadically, animal-drawn vehicles passed in both directions, as well as other mounted persons. Yet, even with all that, little in the way of anything happened during the early part of their journey.

That all changed about an hour from town, when a large group of riders forced other traffic off of the road as they passed in a hurry. There was no mystery as to their identity, as the majority of the group were dressed in the standard guard armour of Malart, and Chakog’mar as a whole. The remaining members were two Clerics from the local temple, and a woman in a robe that Lucinda was certain was a Wizard.

Lucinda was left brimming with curiosity after their passing, and couldn’t help but pester Waflaw with her wild speculations as to what might have happened to warrant such a show of force. Something dangerous was a common theme, but the uninterrupted traffic heading towards them on the road limited the potential severity. Ultimately, a chance to discover the reason presented itself, when they eventually caught up to the riders.

“Still think it’s dragons?” Waflaw joked, as a commotion on the road ahead came into view.

“That wasn’t really a serious guess… What do you think it is?”

“How about we wait and get a closer look.”

Traffic on the road ahead was impeded by the wrecks of two wagons that had been only mostly dragged off to one side, which the group of guards and the other riders were scattered around. As they drew nearer a more complete picture of the scene greeted them, and while Lucinda quickly concluded it probably wasn’t dragons, she also concluded it was something just as unpleasant. Her second clue was the dark streaks of blood that were dashed across the dirt road, and from there she noticed the four dead horses in the grassland beyond, and then the five dead human bodies nearby.

“Bandits, most likely,” Waflaw said, as he nudged Lucinda to keep moving.

The sight was making Lucinda feel a bit queasy, but at her mentor’s words, she forced herself to try and reach the same conclusion. Fortunately, the answer came quickly enough, as she noticed the mostly intact state of the deceased.

“They died from weapons, and weren’t… eaten,” Lucinda replied quietly, while relieved to no longer have a need to observe the remains.

“Spot on. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion a fair number of people were abducted too. See the interior of the wagons?”

Lucinda glanced back at the wrecks at her mentor’s suggestion. The canvas covering that should have shielded them had been ripped and torn away, exposing the bare structure within.

“That’s the type most commonly used for transporting people,” Waflaw continued. “Of course, there’s still a chance they weren’t using it for that. Would be easy enough to determine from the tracks they left, but it’s not really our business.”

“I guess not…” Lucinda agreed.

“Don’t let it trouble you too much,” Waflaw said, adding a gentle pat to Lucinda’s back. “The guard responded quickly, there’s a reasonable chance they’ll find them. And while it does mean bandits were in the area, it also makes it very unlikely they’ll be troubling anyone else.”

Nodding at Waflaw’s words, Lucinda tried to push the event from her mind as they continued journeying.

Close to the two-hour mark since leaving town, Lucinda was beginning to tire more severely under the weight of the hard leather she wore. Thankfully, Waflaw took pity on her, forcing a continued march into the roadside wilderness for just long enough for the road to pass out of sight, before stopping for a break.

“Phew,” Lucinda sighed as she collapsed onto the grassy floor. “This stuff really is quite heavy.”

“It’ll get easier with time, and I’m not just saying that either. Once you unlock the skill, the difference should become apparent.”

“What do I have to do to unlock it?”

“Wearing it works, but like shapeshifts it’ll take some time. Fortunately, also like shapeshifts, we can speed up the process.”

Seeing Waflaw’s smile of amusement as he finished his reply, Lucinda let out another, shorter sigh. “I have to get hit, don’t I?”

“As bright as ever!” Waflaw said with ample praise. “Let me summon some friends for you.”

“I really don’t think friends is the right word…” Lucinda complained as Waflaw began casting a spell.

As it turned out, the process for acquiring the skill was as simple as having Waflaw’s conjured rats scratch and nibble at her armour. It didn’t even require her to do much of anything, other than ensure her health – which continued to diminish slowly under the furry assault – didn’t get too low, meaning she was mostly free to do other things.

“Alright, I suppose it’s time to talk more about classes, or how to battle them. But, before we get on to that there’s a related topic that we need to cover: Levels.”

“I never expected to have a lesson while being attacked by rats… But, okay.”

“That’ll just make it more memorable," Waflaw replied with a thoroughly amused grin. "Anyway, one of the most important factors in battles is the relative level of the combatants. A fact I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of. However, naturally, this is a problem, as there is no sure-fire way of determining someone’s level. At least, not during combat, unless your opponent is stupid beyond words. Not something to plan for at any rate.”

“We learned at school that you could get an idea of what level someone is by their age,” Lucinda supplied.

“Unfortunately, that’s only somewhat true. But, you are one such case, as for example, any attacker that manages to tear their eyes away from your prominent womanly assets to look at your face, would soon discover you are most likely a low level."

“What is it with men and breasts?” Lucinda asked pointedly, before smiling wryly as she remembered it wasn’t always just men.

“Just as animals have their own natural instincts, so do we. At least that’s the polite way of putting it. If you want another explanation, you can ask me the next time we’re intimately enjoying each other’s company.”

“Who says there’ll be a next time?”

“Well, I’ve got a few other gifts in mind already…” Waflaw said with a smirk on his lips. “Your poison resistance is still quite low too, as you demonstrated last night.”

“I wasn’t drunk!” Lucinda voiced in mild annoyance, causing Waflaw to emit a few barks of laughter.

“Let’s move back to the topic at hand, shall we?”

“Fine… Let me heal first.”

The situation was undoubtedly surreal. Just as Lucinda hadn’t expected to find herself receiving a lesson while under assault, nor had she expected to be in a position to be laughing and joking during such a time. Trying her best to dismiss the feeling as just another part of her reality, Lucinda cast two healing spells back to back, bringing her from around a third of her health back to full.

“Right, levels,” Waflaw said. “Truthfully, what you've been taught in school is part of the old philosophy, that has somehow survived to this day despite being so outdated. Back before the adventurers' guild took off, which I suppose is a fair bit over a hundred years ago now, most people with a non-prole class levelled up passively."

"Oh, you mean like Mother and Father serving in the temple?"

"That's it, exactly. Each class has its own method of slowly gaining experience over time. For Druids, it is as simple as spending time in nature."

"How did people manage without the guild to help with their troubles?"

"By relying on higher levelled folk, I imagine. I'm not really an expert on the topic, though it is an interesting one. Though I do know there were exceptions back then too. Such as fighting in a war, which is a great way to gain experience, as long as you can avoid dying in the process. But, now with the guild being so popular, people are much more likely to gain experience from defeating monsters and the like, meaning they're more likely to be a higher level than their age might suggest under the old philosophy."

"I had been wondering about that… How do we determine what level someone might be, then?"

"Well, sadly, we don’t have much else to go by. Maybe that's why it's still taught, even. To make things worse, there are also a number of ways in which you can try and make others think you are a lower level than you actually are in combat. Such as using low-level spells or abilities to begin a battle, or emotionally overreacting to incoming damage. Dressing down can help too.”

“Is that why you wear your plain brown robe all the time?”

“As well as keep my enchanted jewellery hidden, yes. At least from most." Waflaw winked suggestively at Lucinda, swiftly bringing another faint blush to her cheeks. "Well, lastly for this topic, is a recommendation to always stay alert. It should be obvious, but it’s advise many forget as they grow more powerful. No one is invincible, and it is a fact of life that higher-level individuals are worth a great deal of experience.”

“Yeah…” Lucinda agreed with a frown.

“Right, hopefully you should get that skill soon. I’ll save talk of combat for later, as we should get…”

Waflaw’s words trailed off as he stood up from the ground and turned around in a hurry. Lucinda’s heart thumped as she wondered what might cause her mentor to react so.

“Waflaw?” she asked quietly.

“Wollow’s spotted something. It’s headed this way.”

Lucinda stood up and peered nervously in the direction Waflaw was facing. The area surrounding them was dense with tall grasses, bushes, and the occasional tree, but Lucinda couldn’t see whatever something was supposed to be approaching.

“Mmm, as I feared. It’s a rackled wolf.”

“Oh…” Lucinda endured a pulse of fear as the nature of the approaching assailant became known to her.

Just as the undead were attributed to Undsabar, the dark god of the living dead, rackled creatures were likewise attributed to Raklatok, the dark god of monsters. There were differences between the two creatures, with the undead being brought back into a mostly permanent state of altered existence, while rackled creatures were forced through a process of change that only sometimes led to such, and more often than not ended with their death. Thankfully, creatures so touched by Raklatok were uncommon – at least in Prilemia.

I had to run into one eventually… Are they as horrible as people say?

While Lucinda knew of the possibility for the so-called rackled creatures, she and the rest of her school class at the time had been denied the finer – and apparently highly unpleasant – details. Which meant Lucinda was left waiting behind Waflaw with a sense of dread filled anticipation.

“Get ready,” her mentor voiced.

Unsure of what Waflaw expected of her, Lucinda chose to shift to boar form, as it sported the greatest amount of health of all her shapeshifts. Unfortunately, it also made peering over the surrounding plant life even more difficult, further increasing Lucinda’s worry over the unknown threat.

Status (Boar)

Health

Strength

Agility

Endurance

270

270

24

17

42

“Ah, there it is,” Waflaw announced a few moments later. “Doesn’t look too dangerous, but best stay back for now.”

Lucinda let out a quiet snort in response, before stepping back a bit further as suggested. With his eyes still locked ahead, Waflaw began casting a spell that soon brought his two conjured wolves into existence beside him. They combed with the summoned rats to form a sizeable, if relatively weak, entourage.

Not long after Wafllaw’s spell had completed, Lucinda caught her first glimpse of their attacker when it burst out of a large bush to reveal it’s fully god-touched visage into the mid-morning light. At first glance, the creature could be mistaken for a slightly overlarge wolf, but that classification couldn’t hold up for long. There were clues on the wolf’s face: Its eyes a sickly yellow, while its mouth hung open and frothed. Far clearer, however, were the tendril-like growths that emerged from a single point on its back. They were a dark fleshy red in colour, and suffused with a faintly glowing dark aura. Numbering three in total, the tendrils travelled in different directions from their point of emergence, coiling around, and digging into, the wolf’s body.

Oh, Hefnopt! Far worse than I imagined!

The rackled wolf was intercepted almost immediately by Waflaw’s animal militia, who surged forwards to meet the new threat. Spreading out into a semi-circular formation, with the two summoned wolves holding the centre, they advanced to do battle.

The rats attacked first, closing in from either side. The two on the rackled creature’s right side died under two quick snaps of the enraged monstrosity’s froth covered jaws, while the remaining three managed to get off a few attacks before they too were defeated. The two conjured wolves, who were only about two thirds the size of their foe, soon joined the fray. Spreading out on either side, just as their fallen comrades had done, Waflaw’s wolves began harrying the larger wolf with well-coordinated lunges into the creature’s hide.

Lucinda watched the engagement with rapt attention, and soon noticed that the conjured wolves were faring relatively well against their rackled opponent. The size of the larger wolf left Lucinda with little doubt as to its relative Strength compared to the other wolves, but that difference seemed to come at a cost to its speed, as the two smaller wolves demonstrated a remarkable ability to avoid its attack. It was a fact that had hardly escaped Waflaw’s notice either.

“Alright,” he called out calmly. “You should be good to join in. Just be careful, and retreat past me if you need to.”

Almost as soon as Waflaw’s sentence was finished, one of his conjured wolves suffered a vicious counter-attack by the rackled creature, whose jaws clamped down upon its neck, ending its temporary existence rather prematurely.

“As I said, be careful,” Waflaw added.

Even started by the suddenness of the change in numbers, Lucinda had moved into position. Pushing back her nervous concerns, she stepped around Waflaw, and began casting a spell in boar form. An orange ball of mana appeared before her snout, which she began shaping to completion while keeping one eye fixed upon the duelling wolves ahead of her. Under Waflaw’s mental directions, the second conjured wolf had switched to full-on defence, and was successfully dodging out of the way of all incoming blows. Yet, Lucinda was sure it wouldn’t last.

A fiery orb wooshed into reality as her cast finished, and then immediately launched towards her target. Even with the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Lucinda felt a swell of delight as she watched her magical attack soar through the intervening space between her and the rackled wolf. The orb collided with the large wolf cleanly, erupting into a small explosion of fire that made Lucinda wince as she saw how close it had come to affecting the smaller wolf as well. However, she had little time to contemplate that closeness, as the god-touched creature yelped loudly in pain, before recovering and charging straight for her.

Crap!

Partway through her recent spell, Lucinda had considered whether she should have cast it in human form, so as to avoid the penalty associated with spell casting while shifted. But, as the wolf charged towards her, gnashing its teeth in anger, she was suddenly glad she hadn’t.

The wolf closed the distance in barely a second, lashing out with its sharp fangs as it reached her. Lucinda tried to dodge the first strike, but her boar’s lack of agility failed her, and she squealed in pain as the pointed teeth grazed her furry hide. However, to her surprise, her health dipped only a small fraction as a result.

Bolstered by that realisation, Lucinda fought back as fiercely as she could manage. Which, unfortunately, turned out to be not particularly fiercely. Her boar form didn’t have a suitable mouth for aggressively biting things, instead, her best option was to throw her weight around. Against small targets such as Waflaw’s summoned rats, it was a strategy that had worked well, but against a wolf that was almost of size with her, it was far less effective.

In the brief exchange following the rackled creature’s charge, Lucinda took three more bites from its unhealthy looking maw. Two had been only light grazes, but the third had come during her decision to cast Touch of Rot upon her opponent, leaving herself fully open to counter-attack. She had expected to take more hits during that window, but Waflaw’s remaining conjured wolf had dived in, ultimately sacrificing itself to reduce the harm she’d suffered.

As her second spell completed, a dark brown cloud of magical energy coalesced onto the exterior of the crazed wolf, before sinking past its fur. The wolf didn’t react to the debilitation it suffered, but as its movement noticeably slowed, Lucinda knew she’d been successful.

Time to try something new…

With the wolf suffering under the effects of her Death magic fuelled spell, Lucinda dashed off and away from it. Her desire to create some space between them proved easily obtainable, with her boar form’s ability boosting her own speed, and her magical debuff hindering her opponent. Then, once she was sure she was far enough away, she spun around and charged straight at the large wolf.

The distance between them rapidly shrunk once more, as her trotters beat heavily against the grassy ground. But, Lucinda still found some time to consider her choice of attack.

This is probably going to hurt me too… Ahh, too late now!

Lowering her head into the charge, Lucinda braced herself for the impact. As she reached melee range, her rackled foe tried to move aside as it snapped out with its teeth, but Lucinda barely noticed in the brief moment before she careened into it.

With a powerful, jarring impact, Lucinda barrelled through her opponent, sending it and her skidding across the ground. The wolf’s pained yelps as it took the blow provided all the encouragement Lucinda needed to dismiss her own minor aches, and recovering her feet far faster than her foe, she began a new spell without delay.

As she’d hoped, the rackled wolf barely managed to reach her before her spell was ready. Scrambling to its feet, it caught her with another small nip as it closed, bringing her health down to about two-thirds total. Then, it was the wolf’s turn to suffer damage, as the icy blast of her Biting Frost spell caught it head-on.

Taking advantage of the slowing effect from her spell, Lucinda moved off to gain enough distance for another charge. Turning back, she locked her porcine eyes on her target. Noting the faint sheen of ice that still hugged its fur, she kicked off with her back legs for another powerful momentum-driven attack.

In much the same way as before, Lucinda ploughed into her frost-bitten foe. Except the second time around, she managed to avoid getting hit, and more importantly, her enemy didn’t seem to recover from the subsequent damage it suffered.

Yes! Victory!

“Excellently done,” Waflaw called out, once both he and Lucinda were sure the rackled wolf was dead.

Lucinda shifted back to human form, to find a few cuts and scratches waiting for her.

“It’s not going to come back to life, or do anything else horrible is it?” she asked cautiously.

“Not that I’ve ever seen. But, even though they can't infect us, burning them is the norm, as you should know.”

Nodding as Waflaw ignited the creature’s corpse, Lucinda transitioned into casting a heal spell, which soon brought her health back up to full, even as it left her mana pool almost dry.

“Fancy fighting another one?” Waflaw asked casually, though his voice held no hint of humour.

“There’s more?”

“Just one by the looks of it. Wollow’s keeping it busy, but I can have him take care of it if you’d prefer.”

“I’d need some time to get my mana back… Is it safe to let it live?”

“With Wollow preventing it from spreading its curse, it should be. Still, we should hurry.”

Lucinda shuddered as she considered what might happen if the creature was left unchecked. Unlike the undead, they couldn’t be created by human-directed magic, instead requiring Raklatok himself to touch the world. However, once infected, it was possible for them to spread the effect to other animals. Upon first hearing about such an unpleasant possibility, Lucinda had wondered what was stopping all animals from becoming so afflicted. Fortunately, she’d then learned that most animals had the sense to flee or hide, and that the rackled beasts themselves were more apt to hunt down human prey. Though, those that faced such a monstrosity, rarely considered themselves fortunate.

Once the rackled wolf’s body was sufficiently crisp, Waflaw doused the area with water, before motioning Lucinda away from the battlefield. Consciously aware of her low mana reserves, Lucinda fell into step behind her mentor as he led them through the wilderness towards the second of the Raklatok cursed wolves. It wasn’t far, taking only a minute or so despite the bushes and other greenery they had to weave their way through.

Skirting around a particularly tall bush, Lucinda’s eyes caught up with the sounds she had been hearing. The second wolf seemed even larger than the first, but otherwise looked very similar. It had four of the dark glowing tendrils hugging its body, and was attacking Wollow in a near frenzy. However, a short viewing of the ensuing combat was all it took for Lucinda to conclude that Wollow was really in no danger.

Ah… I can’t wait to be a high level like Waflaw… Then I can sit back and relax, while my animal companion lazily defeats my foes! One day…

Lucinda was stirred out of her brief fantasy by the appearance of a small vial in front of her. The interior was a deep blue, and she had no doubt as to what lay within.

“You’ll probably only need a sip or two,” Waflaw said. “Then you can give me another demonstration of your abilities.”

…Or watch my apprentice defeat my foes instead.

Taking the vial, Lucinda watched her mana bar closely as she brought it to her lips. Waflaw’s guess proved to be mostly accurate, as four small sips brought her back up to full. Wincing slightly at the small amount she’d probably wasted on the last such imbibement, Lucinda handed the vial back to Waflaw and considered how she wanted to approach the second wolf.

My plan worked well, even if I did almost run out of mana. This one is a bit bigger, and I might need more to handle it. Could I try something else?

Glancing through her shapeshift menu in a search for inspiration, Lucinda was forced to admit a fairly obvious fact.

Forms with higher ranks are better… Which means spider or boar, as they’re both at 5. I really need to focus on ranking up others when I can. Shapeshift: Giant Spider!

Status (Giant Spider)

Health

Strength

Agility

Endurance

198

198

24

40

24

Lucinda took a moment to prepare herself mentally for her second fight of the day. Then, once ready, she crept forwards on her eight legs. Still occupied with futilely throwing itself at Wollow, her target remained blissfully unaware of the arachnid predator stalking it, allowing her to move close enough to ensure her first aggressive act would land successfully.

A blast of webbing caught the large wolf’s rear, causing the creature to collapse mid-lunge as its back legs locked up. Lucinda followed up the attack quickly, scuttling across the floor to bring her poison fangs to bear upon her prone target’s flank. A whimper of pain erupted from the wolf as she pierced its flesh and sank her fangs deeply inside its body, but the webbing kept it from shaking her off.

Her toxic payload delivered, Lucinda backed off slightly and began casting a spell. An orange ball of mana formed before her head, which she brought four of her legs to work on with no small amount of glee. With her foe struggling to free itself, Lucinda was able to maintain her focus on the taxing task, and without issue launched an orb of fiery magic at the wolf’s rear.

Just as the fire spell hit it, the wolf broke free from its bindings. But, it was too late. A loud whine of pain accompanied the damage it took from Lucinda’s Scorching Orb. However, it was hardly enough to defeat it, and it soon retaliated. Spinning around on the spot, it lunged right at her.

Lucinda just barely dodged the wolf’s counter-attack, even having expected it. But, once the slight element of surprise was lost, the following attacks made by the rackled beast were far easier for her to avoid.

Increased agility really makes a difference! Or maybe it’s my spider body as well?

Unfortunately, her increased ability to avoid taking damage didn’t translate so well to actually dealing damage, and Lucinda spent a frantic few dozens of seconds seeking an opening. Even another use of her web ability flew wide as the wolf avoided it with little difficulty. Finally, she managed to bring her poison fangs to bear once more, taking only minor damage in exchange, but as she continued to dodge afterwards, it soon became clear it wasn’t enough to fell the large creature.

However, with the wolf continuing to do little damage to her, and with its inability to much more than mindlessly attack, Lucinda felt no pressing need to alter her strategy. Instead, she patiently wore the wolf down, biding her time avoiding its attacks, until the openings she needed revealed themselves. And, after another two poisoned bites – and some time for the poison to do its work – her adversary faltered, and then crumbled before her.

Easier to dodge… But, when I do get hit, it’s a bigger portion of my health… I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future. But, another victory for me!

After rhythmically tapping all eight of her legs a few times in lieu of a celebration, Lucinda turned to look for Waflaw, and found herself faced with another surprise for the day.

“Dead?” a young boy asked quietly.

“That’s right, all taken care of now,” Waflaw replied. “Thanks to my spider friend. Would you like to pet her?”

“No!” the boy cried out. “Don’t want to!”

Lucinda stared in bewilderment at the small boy standing beside Waflaw. To her eyes, he didn’t look to be much more than a handful of years old, while his state of dress and person, suggested he had been in the wilderness for some time. Seeing no other people about, Lucinda had little idea of where’d he come from, hence her bewilderment.

“Not a fan of spiders? I suppose they are a bit ugly,” Waflaw said with a playful tone. “How about this then: You close your eyes, and I’ll magic this spider into something more friendly. Would you like that?”

The boy looked from Waflaw to Lucinda, though his eyes struggled to stay on her for more than a few moments.

“…Okay,” the boy replied shyly.

“I will then. But, first, what is your favourite animal?”

“…Puppy…”

“Ah-ha. Well, I can almost manage that. Close your eyes then, and best turn this way.”

Despite her abundant confusion, Lucinda opted to go along with the bizarre turn of events, and as the boy turned away she began shifting. Waflaw started muttering nonsense sounding words as she returned to human form, and continued to do so as she then shifted into her dog form.

“Sasplar! The spell is complete!” Waflaw called out in a deep voice, as Lucinda shook her canine head from side to side in disbelief. “You can open your eyes now.”

As the boy turned, Lucinda caught just a hint of worry in his eyes, before they flew wide and an innocent smile spread across his lips.

“Magic?” the boy asked.

“That’s right. Now, don’t be shy, you can pet her!”

It took a few more nudges from Waflaw to encourage the boy, but he did eventually work up the courage to approach Lucinda. While she had been intending to avoid pretending to be an animal for Waflaw’s amusement since the last time, she knew she couldn’t protest in the current situation. Especially, with her best guess for the boy’s sudden appearance being he had somehow gotten lost.

“Hi, doggy!” the boy called out, as he brought one small hand to rest on her head.

Deciding to go along with it, Lucinda let out a short bark that caused the boy to giggle in amusement.

“How’s that fur? As soft as it looks?” Waflaw asked.

“Yes, soft!”

“Good. Well, I’ll let you play for a minute or two, then we’ll have to get you back to civilisation.”

Lucinda endured a few clumsy pats from the boy, and then a few strokes along her head and neck after that. It was a strangely relaxing experience for Lucinda, giving her a strange new insight into the animal whose form she wore. Then, as the boy grew bolder, he eventually forced a hug upon Lucinda, wrapping his arms tightly around her body, all the way up until Waflaw spoke again.

“Come on then. Time to go.”

“Don’t want to!” the boy replied stubbornly, bringing a burst of laughter from Waflaw.

“I had a feeling you might say that. However, my magic won’t last forever, and when it fails your doggy friend will once more turn into a hideous spider.”

“No…!” the boy shouted, pulling back from Lucinda almost as if she’d bitten him.

Waflaw’s ploy had the intended effect, and before long Lucinda was walking beside the young boy as they were led through the wilderness. Without access to her map, Lucinda was unsure as to where the nearest point of civilisation was. By her best guess, they had travelled east from the road as it began curving more towards the north, but the subsequent chasing of the unnatural creature had mostly thrown off her sense of their position. However, that all changed when she caught sight of the road once more.

“Almost there now, lad,” Waflaw said placatingly. “We’ll leave you in the hands of the nice friendly guardsmen.”

Spotting the wrecked wagons – that were now fully off the road – Lucinda realised their location at the about the same instant she saw the familiar group of guards from Malart. It seemed the earlier event with the bandits still had not been entirely put to rest, though the group was noticeably smaller than before.

“Right, we best leave our doggy friend here, before she turns back into a horrible spider,” Waflaw said, as he smiled and nodded in Lucinda’s direction. “You going to say goodbye to her?”

“Bye, doggy…” the boy said quietly, clearly unhappy at parting ways with her.

Lucinda offered a similarly quiet bark in return, bringing a small smile to the boy’s face.

Some minutes later, Waflaw returned without the child. Back in human form once more, Lucinda greeted her mentor with a small wave.

“Well, now that we’ve done our good deed for today, how about we get back on our way?” Waflaw asked.

“Sure,” Lucinda replied with a faint smile. “Though, I’m a bit confused still.”

“Sadly, in this case, your guess is as good as mine.”

"Aww, I was afraid you'd say that…"

Status & Spells:

Status

Name

Lucinda Bazan

Class

Shifter

Level

4

Experience

38%

Health

Strength

Agility

Endurance

190

190

8

10

22

Mana

Intelligence

Willpower

Spirit

216

216

22

21

22 Spells Name Description Mastery Heal Restores a portion of target's health on touch.

Shaping Steps: 10 · Base Mana: 30% (38)

Attribute: Willpower 22% Biting Frost Small burst of frost in front of caster. Slows and damages those caught within.

Shaping Steps: 4 · Duration: 15s · Base Mana: 45% (58)

Attribute: Intelligence 13% Morning Sun Warming glow that very gradually restores health in area. Only usable outside.

Shaping Steps: 20 · Duration: 1m/level · Base Mana: 10% (13)

Attribute: Willpower 7% Bitter Berries Conjure a handful of bitter berries.

Shaping Steps: 60 · Cooldown: 1 Day · Base Mana: 100% (128)

Attribute: None 4% Touch of Rot Inflicts a disease on target via a touch. Disease reduces physical attributes for duration.

Shaping Steps: 6 · Base Mana: 20% (26)

Attribute: Willpower 3% Scorching Orb Lob a small orb of fiery magic at a distant target. Explodes on impact.

Shaping Steps: 8 · Base Mana: 40% (51)

Attribute: Intelligence 5%