“Watch out!”

Lucinda winced as a shadowy claw connected solidly with her animal companion, and at the respective dip in her companion’s health bar. It was something she hoped she would never get used to, but despite the unpleasant feelings watching the large bird getting battered brought on, she did not falter in her effort to bring a successful Jolt spell down upon the culprit with a highly satisfying crackle of electricity, which prompted the even more pleasing sight of the shadowy creature’s demise shortly after.

“Two more to go,” Bryn shouted out from a short distance behind her. “Don’t forget to growl if you need me.”

An automatic reply almost made it from Lucinda’s ursine maw before the realisation that such a response would trigger the offer of aid unintentionally. Instead, she focussed her full attention back on the fight before her. Marrow was engaging a new foe alone, while Lucinda’s smaller, brown bear doppelgänger kept the other remaining enemy occupied. With enough mana for a couple more offensive spells, and herself and Marrow both still in good enough health, victory appeared all but assured.

While sending a quick mental encouragement to Marrow, and leaving her conjured bear to continue its attack, she began another casting of Jolt. That her other offensive spells might have been a better choice was hard to ignore, but having promised to try her best not to damage the tower’s interior, she felt she had little choice in the matter.

Another streak of lightning soon blossomed into existence to zap her chosen foe, but at almost the same instant, a claw from the other finished off her summoned bear with a loud pop as it vanished from sight. Not wanting her companion to be outnumbered unnecessarily, Lucinda charged forwards immediately. Her bulky bear form covered the short distance in a flash to collide bodily with the second remaining shadow creature; yet, as she had discovered earlier in the battle, the strangely transparent monsters appeared to be unaffected by her attempts at knocking them down, even despite the Rush ability of her chosen shapeshift.

Fortunately, they were not resistant to being viciously mauled by a rampaging bear or savagely raked by her sharp taloned bird companion.

“We did it, Marrow!”

“Friend! Win!”

“Nice job, Lucinda,” Bryn called out as Lucinda smiled warmly at her companion. “Didn’t even need my help at all… Think that’ll continue on the upper floors, Angrad?”

“Uh, what?” A strong look of puzzlement crossed the young Wizard’s face. “…Can we focus on killing them all, please?”

“You really need to lighten up…” Lucinda couldn’t help but release a growly laugh as her Archer friend turned an amused but exasperated expression her way. “But our client has spoken. Rest up a bit and we’ll get to it.”

Lucinda offered Bryn a nod before shifting back to human form to take care of her and Marrow’s small injuries. Even as she started shaping the ball of mana towards completion, her thoughts turned to how effective her chosen strategy had been.

That went really well… But maybe they’re just not that strong? They look intimidating, but what does it matter when they don’t do much more than charge straight at the nearest enemy… Not that I’m complaining! Bryn’s information on what they actually are sure helped though…

~ Earlier ~

“Shadow men,” Bryn announced matter-of-factly. “Like a lot of weaker monsters they like to gang up on whatever crosses their path. Things to watch out for…. Strength in numbers is true; it literally makes them stronger. And so does a lack of light.”

“The tower doesn’t have many windows…” Lucinda noted somewhat unhappily.

“I could help with a light spell?” Angrad suggested.

“Think it’s only light from the sun that works,” Bryn replied. “That or actual Light magic.”

“Oh, drat. Sorry.”

“We’ll manage.” Bryn turned a small smirk upon Lucinda. “Won’t we?”

“Umm, I hope so…” Lucinda replied hesitantly.

“So what’s your plan? You’ve heard what it's like in there, and what we’re up against…”

Lucinda glanced about the first floor of the tower as she readied herself for continuing upwards to where the cause of the shadow men’s appearance lay. The group that had emerged to face them outside had thankfully been the only temporary residents of the tower’s entrance; at least until Lucinda’s plan to lure another group there from the dark depths of the unlit basement had been enacted.

Despite being a tower belonging to a Wizard, the interior was unquestionably the complete opposite of the only other she had ever stepped foot within. No fancy ornaments, decorations, or furniture were anywhere to be found; instead, a great deal of miscellaneous clutter dominated the single large room. Other than the few pieces Lucinda recognised as possibly being related to potion making, and a mess of books, scrolls, and scattered parchment; most everything else was decidedly mysterious in purpose.

“Confident?” Bryn asked with an obvious grin on her face.

“Maybe,” Lucinda replied uncertainly. “There were only four of them down there. I’m a bit worried about fighting more at once.”

“I can easily distract or dispatch a few if you need it.”

“And if there’s something more dangerous up there?”

Bryn’s smile widened a fraction. “I'll handle it, or if it's really dangerous we'll get the boys to come help.”

“I guess it's okay then.”

“You bet it is. Nothing to worry about!”

“Friend! Fight!”

Smiling as she patted Marrow’s head, Lucinda then looked to Bryn and nodded her agreement.

“I’ll recast my spells and be ready when my mana’s full.”

“Still going with the same plan?”

“I think so.”

Not like I have much choice right now… I’ll have to tell her soon. If Angrad wasn’t here, maybe I would have already… Ahh, afterwards I’ll do it! …Or maybe back at the guild?

“Friend?”

“There’s probably more upstairs, Marrow. We’ll do the same thing again, okay? Charge in, try to finish off one or two quickly, then more carefully finish off the rest… Just be ready to run if there’s too many of them.”

“Run?”

Lucinda frowned down in annoyed amusement at her companion’s joking tone.

“Fine… I’ll run, while you hop away as best you can. Is that more to your liking?”

“Marrow!”

Protected by her Wooden Flesh spell, and accompanied by her animal companion and conjured ally, Lucinda stepped off of the final step of the simple wooden staircase between the first and second floors of the tower, only to immediately freeze in place as she spotted more shadow creatures waiting there.

“Three more, Marrow. Be ready!”

“Marrow!”

A quick mental command for her conjured bear to initiate the battle didn’t quite reach the transmission stage, for an apparent lack of aggression from the creatures was strangely evident. Across the similarly large room – which appeared to be a combined kitchen, dining and sitting room – the three shadow men were otherwise occupied with some decidedly curious behaviour. Two were seated at the large clutter-laden table, miming the consumption of some non-existent food; while the third was laid out upon a sofa that had clearly seen better days.

“Everything okay?”

Lucinda was startled from her silent observation by Bryn’s voice behind her. The sudden noise also gained the attention of the passive shadow men in the room, and before Lucinda could even offer a reply, the three creatures were darting forwards in an unmistakably aggressive fashion.

“Let’s go, Marrow!”

“Fight!”

With her conjured bear leading the charge, and Marrow close behind, Lucinda dived straight into casting yet another Jolt spell. The temptation to lob a Scorching Orb and potentially hit more than one of the approaching enemies at once was strong; yet, even with the increased openness and reduced clutter of the room she was not willing to risk it.

Under her direction, both her allies directed their attacks upon the single lead shadow man. Along with the damage from her spell, their target barely managed to attack before it succumbed to their combined might, bringing a healthy dose of both relief and elation for Lucinda.

Bryn wasn’t lying when she…

“Incoming!”

Lucinda’s idle thought about the current situation vanished as her party leader’s shout brought her attention to the sight of five more shadow men rapidly approaching from the other side of the room. Putting aside the mystery of where the newcomers had emerged from, she instead made a snap decision to transition straight from her second successful Jolt spell into a Scorching Orb aimed at the fresh wave of enemies.

It’ll be fine. There’s nothing too flammable here… I think…

The group hadn’t quite reached Marrow and the conjured helper by the time Lucinda’s fire spell completed, allowing her to launch it towards them with only a small sense of trepidation. The pained gasp that emerged from Angrad nearby as the fiery projectile soared through the air didn’t help matters, but the direct hit she scored, and the subsequent wave of magical damage that passed over the shadowy foes felt undeniably good.

“That’s more like it!” Bryn encouraged. “Unleash that Druidic fury, Lucinda!”

“I… I didn’t hire you to burn the tower down!” Angrad’s far less happy voice called out. “Could you… Aieeee!”

“We got more back here. I’ll handle them.”

“Okay!” Lucinda replied quickly as she began a fresh casting of her Scorching Orb spell.

With two of the first three foes having been defeated, there were six still engaged with Marrow and the conjured bear. Though Marrow had been instructed to let her expendable counterpart take the brunt of the assault, there was only so much punishment it could actually take. A fact that swiftly proved itself beyond a doubt as six sets of claws made short work of the bear, popping it out of existence even before Lucinda’s spell reached the halfway point towards readiness.

The sight of two shadow men suddenly charging straight towards her was almost as troubling as the sight of the remaining four fixing their attention upon her companion; yet, her spell casting efforts did not cease.

“Orb!”

Marrow reacted instantly to the mental warning, flapping away from shadow men trying to assault her. Lucinda had only a brief moment to admire her companion’s choice to hop up onto the nearby table, and observe the scrambling efforts of the creatures in pursuit before she was forced to focus on the foes approaching her. Her lobbed projectile exploded out of her view as she began shifting into her brown bear form.

“…Couldn’t you just kill them all?” she heard Angrad say with obvious disdain for the current situation.

“And where would the fun in that be?” Bryn’s reply came as the first of the two shadow men approaching Lucinda impacted her magically enforced hide with a translucent claw.

“…Isn’t it obvious that more and more are going to come until I can fix the tel… device?”

“Stop worrying so much. You’ll ruin that cute face of yours.”

“I… What!? That…”

“You doing okay, Lucinda? I’ll accept a growl as a no!”

Temporarily protected from damage, Lucinda was busy unleashing herself upon the two foes before her, but a desire to assist her companion burned stronger than any fear for her own safety.

“Screech if you need help!”

Lucinda delivered another heavy paw strike as she communicated her message, and then followed up with another that finally put an end to yet another shadow man.

“Marrow fight!”

The obvious determination in her companion’s mental voice was encouraging. The near half empty state of her health bar, less so. Deeply concerned that her failure to properly convey the importance of caution could lead to an unfortunate end for the large bird of prey, Lucinda further increased her own efforts to defeat her last remaining opponent.

Avoiding the frequent claw strikes from the shadow man was difficult in her bulky bear form, leading to the swift dispersal of her protective Wooden Flesh coating. However, the dimwitted nature of the strange creature was also potent enough to prevent any attempt of its own at evasion. It did not take long for Lucinda’s bulk to prove the superior of the two.

As soon as her victory was apparent, Lucinda spun about to charge towards Marrow’s aid. She only made it a few steps before the situation made it clear her help was too late.

“Win! Marrow Lucinda win!”

Lucinda’s furry form staggered to a stop as an ursine smile spread across her face. She directed it towards her companion’s seeming victory pose atop the table, while relief swelled up inside her.

“We did, Marrow! You’re the best bearded vulture there is!”

“Friend! …Acid?”

The concerned tone in Marrow’s question only served to increase Lucinda’s adoration of the large bird. Reaching the table in human form, she offered her companion some feather-ruffling pets before starting into a healing spell.

“I’m sure you were right to use it. You did…”

“Aieeee! The… the rug! …Master’s going to kill me!”

Following the direction of Angrad’s very unhappy gaze, Lucinda flinched as she noticed a sizeable hole in a red patterned rug not far from the table. Though the state of the room was far from tidy, there was no mistaking that the hole was very recent. Especially as a small, steaming puddle of Marrow’s acid was still visible in the centre of it.

“Sorry, Angrad…” Lucinda offered. “There were just so many of them and…”

“It’s just a rug,” Bryn interrupted. “It’s pretty obvious your master doesn’t give a shit about the state of things here. So chuck it out and you’ll be fine.”

“That’s not true!” Angrad retorted. “He does care! He’s just busy a lot… His work is very important!”

“I bet it is.”

Pangs of guilt beset Lucinda as she healed a very happy Marrow back to full health.

Maybe I could buy a new one… Do rugs cost much?

“Doing great, Lucinda.” Bryn’s hand fell upon Lucinda’s shoulder alongside her encouraging words. “Really, I’m impressed!”

Lucinda couldn’t help but smile brightly at the praising words.

“Thanks… Marrow did a lot of the work though.”

“You’re a Druid,” Bryn stated simply.

Yeah… A Druid…

“We should probably get moving again soon,” Bryn continued. A brief pause and a dip in volume preceded her following words, “Our friend already seems a bit upset and she hasn’t even noticed the table yet.”

“The table…?”

Lucinda felt a fresh wave of guilt as she spotted the obvious scorch marks upon the wooden surface Marrow still occupied. Unlike the hole in the carpet, there was no doubting that the blame was entirely hers. Her guilt then deepened further as she noticed some suspiciously talon-shaped marks further down the table’s length.

“Let’s go, Marrow.”

“Marrow!”

While Lucinda finished recovering from her recent battle, Bryn – who seemed entirely unhurt from hers – kept Angrad absorbed in conversation without any seeming difficulty. A few questions of highly varying natures came first, leading the talkative Archer to hit upon a topic the young Wizard was very eager to discuss; namely, her Master.

From how worried Angrad was of the reaction of the absent Wizard she apparently was in the service of, and from the woefully untidy interior of the tower, Lucinda’s opinion of the unknown man had been leaning towards the realm of not so great. Which made the gushing praise and awe that followed on from Bryn’s probing questions come as something of a surprise.

By the time Lucinda was once again ready to proceed, the conversation between the young Wizard and the older Archer was still in full swing. From general statements on how wonderful her master was, Angrad’s side of the discourse had moved into talk of strange magic-related research that made little sense to Lucinda at all. Bryn, on the other hand, managed to help carry the conversation onwards while providing no real hint either way as to whether she was equally in the dark or not.

“…he discovered a new property for the Zal rune all by himself! You realise how impressive that is, don’t you?”

“The Zal rune?” Bryn responded to Angrad’s excited comment with a series of nods. “That is impressive. Doesn’t that bring the number of properties up to…?”

“Yes, five! The possibilities are staggering!”

“I bet they are. He’s told the other local Wizards already?”

Angrad’s face lit up with enthusiasm. “Next week he’s going to give a detailed report to the others in the capital, and I’ll be going with him! Oh, I can’t wait!”

“…I’m ready by the way,” Lucinda interjected.

Lucinda didn’t quite flinch as the young Wizard’s gaze snapped to her. A strangely confused look met her eyes, almost as if she had been forgotten about entirely. A few moments later the look was replaced by clear alarm.

“Aieeee!” Angrad shrieked as she jumped to her feet. “We need to hurry!”

“Don’t we just.”

The amused look Bryn sent Lucinda’s way almost pushed her straight into laughter. Somehow she managed to restrain herself as she led the way to the staircase leading upwards.

Another slightly awkward journey up the second set of spiral stairs brought the third floor of the tower into view. Like with the other floors, curious objects littered every possible surface, with the most eye-catching of the bunch being an assortment of differently coloured crystals. More scattered books and parchment were also to be found, but with the numerous symbol-strewn chalkboards decorating the walls, Lucinda had a feeling the mess was actually in use for active research.

A further scan of the room revealed no visible shadow men, even around what was obviously the device Angrad had spoken of, stood in the centre of the floor.

“That’s it!” the young Wizard shouted out from behind Lucinda. “Thank goodness. I can fix it and…”

“Hold up,” Bryn interrupted. “Let Lucinda poke around for more of our shadowy friends before you go dashing over there.”

“…Right. You are right, of course. But… please hurry?”

Lucinda turned to offer a smile to the similarly aged woman. “I’ll try to.”

With a quick visual sweep of the room still revealing no immediate threat, Lucinda took a moment to peer curiously at the device that was the apparent cause of the tower’s troubles. Atop a roughly metre wide platform, sat an inexpertly chiselled set of dark stone pillars positioned at each of the four corners. A similar but taller pillar sat in the centre. Each was heavily decorated with magical symbols.

What were they doing that could have caused all this? …Do I even want to know?

Sighing quietly to herself, she then directed her animal allies to follow her about the room as she attempted to determine if the situation was as safe as it seemed.

Where did those others come from? Bryn didn’t mention anything like that… Did she?

Halfway around the room there was still no sign of any hostile presence. There was, however, a realisation awaiting Lucinda.

A lack of light makes them stronger? Can they hide in the shadows? …I guess that would explain why she’s making me search this seemingly empty room.

A short few moments later, Lucinda was forced to conclude that the seemingly empty room was, in fact, actually empty. Still somewhat unsure of the situation, she offered Bryn a shrug as she arrived back at the stairs leading down.

“Can I get started?” Angrad asked with obvious impatience.

“Go for it,” Bryn replied. “How long’s it going to take?”

“Uh, I can’t say for sure… Ten minutes, maybe?”

“So pretty good chance of more monsters showing up then.”

“Probably.”

Bryn turned a grin upon Lucinda. “Up for some more fighting?”

“Do I have a choice?” Lucinda asked with a slightly less enthusiastic grin of her own.

“Nope. You’re going to be forced to gain a whole chunk of experience and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“The life of an adventurer sure is rough…”

“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts?”

Lucinda couldn’t help but giggle even though Bryn’s worried expression was clearly feigned. “I didn’t say that.”

“…Could you keep the noise down, please?” Angrad said. “Sorry, but I need to concentrate here…”

Another lesser spurt of laughter met Lucinda at the exaggerated eye rolling Bryn demonstrated for her benefit, though she still felt a bit sorry for the young Wizard woman.

After a bit of quiet discussion on how to proceed, Lucinda and her animal friends took up position surrounding Angrad as she worked on the mysterious device, ensuring that the shadow men could be engaged and dispatched before they had time to disrupt the turquoise-robed woman’s work. It did mean that Lucinda herself was likely to be immediately forced into melee with any appearing monsters, but with Bryn closeby, she still felt confident of victory one way or the other.

The first few minutes passed by uneventfully. Lucinda remained wary and vigilant; yet, could not entirely avoid some whispered conversing with Bryn, and silent communicating with Marrow. For her part, Angrad flicked between muttering to herself, scrutinising the central pillar and others intensely, and occasionally casting the same spell that appeared to do nothing whatsoever.

As the ten minute mark came and went, visible frustration had taken root in the poor Wizard’s mind, just as boredom has done in Lucinda’s.

“No new monsters is a good sign?” Bryn asked. Several silent seconds passed by without a response. “Angrad?”

“I’m busy!”

“So, no idea of how close you are to fixing it?”

The young Wizard harrumphed unhappily. “I… No, I’m not sure. Maybe… Oh! Oh, of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

Lucinda watched with renewed interest as Angrad jumped to her feet and began examining each of the corner pillars in turn. A new spell was cast at each, before the turquoise-robed woman returned to stand before the central pillar once more.

“Okay… This might do it. This should do it!”

Sharing a brief look of bemusement with Bryn, Lucinda then turned to watch the Wizard woman begin yet another new spell cast. Symbols appeared in, and disappeared from, the air in a moderately rapid fashion, highlighting a noticeable lack of spell casting experience. However, as the spell cast continued onwards, Lucinda’s attention was drawn to the sudden appearance of a gradually expanding mass of dark purple magic directly behind the caster.

“Umm, is that supposed to be there?” she asked.

“Looks like our friends have returned,” Bryn replied. “About time… Woah, why are you two turning purple?”

Lucinda’s gaze snapped from the still expanding mass to her Archer friend. “We’re what?”

“You’re turning purple… Look!”

Looking down at her body, Lucinda felt a violent spike of alarm as she saw a similar hue of magical energy had begun to cover her body. A brief glance at Angrad revealed the same was true for her.

“Angrad! Hey, Angrad!” Bryn shouted out. “Whatever it is you’re…”

The hasty words were drowned out by a loud rushing sound that seemed to fill Lucinda’s ears. Her rapidly mounting concern only grew as she turned to see Bryn’s worried expression, and failed to hear any of the words the Archer was still trying to convey.

Bryn seemed to realise her message was not being heard, instead choosing to rush forwards in an attempt to stop things directly. Seeing her attempt, Lucinda chose to do likewise. However, she made it but a single step towards the still casting Wizard before her vision began stretching outwards before her, while the rushing in her ears only grew in intensity.

“Marrow? What’s…?”

Overwhelmed by the visual and aural stimuli assaulting her, there was nothing Lucinda could do as the world lurched around her and the interior of the Wizard’s tower vanished from sight.

Status

Name

Lucinda Bazan

Class

Shifter

Level

6

Experience

33%

Health

Strength

Agility

Endurance

238

238

8

10

32

Mana

Intelligence

Willpower

Spirit

256

256

29

29

29

Animal Companion

Name

Marrow

Species

Bearded Vulture

Sex

Female

Age

5

Level

6

Specialisation

Offence

Health

Strength

Agility

Endurance

210

210

35

38

26

Shapeshifts Name Base Attributes Attribute Bonuses Base Level Rank Bonuses STR AGI END STR AGI END Deer 12 17 12 1.0 1.2 1.0 2 5 Sure Step Boar 15 13 20 1.1 1.0 1.3 3 5 Forage, Charge Giant Spider 20 27 20 1.1 1.3 1.1 5 5 Poison Bite, Web Horse 12 12 17 1.0 1.0 1.2 2 1 Enduring Reserves Black Bear 36 18 22 1.4 1.0 1.1 6 5 Maul Badger 10 10 10 1.0 1.0 1.1 1 5 Burrow Wolf 17 20 20 1.1 1.2 1.2 4 5 Howl Pig 17 12 12 1.1 1.0 1.0 2 1 Iron Stomach Cow 17 12 12 1.1 1.0 1.0 2 1 Quality Milk Goat 10 10 10 1.0 1.1 1.0 1 5 Steady Footing, Hearty Milk Sheep 10 10 10 1.0 1.0 1.1 1 1 Flock Leader Donkey 14 12 14 1.1 1.0 1.1 2 2 Beast of Burden Dog 10 10 10 1.1 1.0 1.0 1 1 Best Friend Cat 10 10 10 1.0 1.1 1.0 1 1 Tiny Predator Lynx 17 18 13 1.2 1.3 1.0 3 5 Stalk Dragonling 28 28 28 1.2 1.2 1.2 7 1 Frost Breath Cougar 31 27 18 1.3 1.2 1.0 6 1 Pounce Brown Bear 53 24 35 1.5 1.0 1.2 10 3 Rush Viper 31 42 21 1.2 1.4 1.0 8 1 Inject Giant Black Widow 32 43 27 1.2 1.4 1.1 9 1 Distracting Bite Giant Otter 22 36 18 1.1 1.4 1.0 6 1 Alluring Coat Giant Squirrel 12 17 12 1.0 1.1 1.0 2 1 Arboreal Agility Water Deer 14 14 12 1.1 1.1 1.0 2 1 Essence Drain Fox 12 14 14 1.0 1.1 1.1 2 1 Leap Attack Spells Name Description Mastery Heal Restores a portion of target's health on touch.

Shaping Steps: 10 · Base Mana: 30% (42)

Attribute: Willpower 100% Biting Frost Small burst of frost in front of caster. Slows and damages those caught within.

Shaping Steps: 4 · Duration: 15s · Base Mana: 45% (63)

Attribute: Intelligence 16% Morning Sun Warming glow that very gradually restores health in area. Only usable outside.

Shaping Steps: 20 · Duration: 1m/level · Base Mana: 10% (14)

Attribute: Willpower 9% Bitter Berries Conjure a handful of bitter berries.

Shaping Steps: 60 · Cooldown: 1 Day · Base Mana: 100% (140)

Attribute: None 8% Touch of Rot Inflicts a disease on target via a touch. Disease reduces physical attributes for duration.

Shaping Steps: 6 · Base Mana: 20% (28)

Attribute: Willpower 5% Scorching Orb Lob a small orb of fiery magic at a distant target. Explodes on impact.

Shaping Steps: 8 · Base Mana: 40% (56)

Attribute: Intelligence 11% Summon Companion Summons bonded companion to caster’s side.

Shaping Steps: 10 · Cooldown: 1 Hour · Base Mana: 10% (14)

Attribute: None 1% Animal Ally Conjure a smaller and weaker version of your last shapeshift. Lasts 2 hours, or until a different form is assumed.

Shaping Steps: 6 · Duration: 2h* · Base Mana: 25% (35)

Attribute: Spirit 10% Wooden Flesh Costs caster’s body in wood to absorb incoming physical damage. Lasts 15 minutes, or until absorption is depleted.

Shaping Steps: 4 · Duration: 15m* · Base Mana: 15% (21)

Attribute: Willpower 5% Jolt Attack target with a bolt of lightning. Has limited range, but no projectile.

Shaping Steps: 4 · Base Mana: 12% (17)

Attribute: Intelligence 8%