She met the rest of the guild at the entrance to the canyon as they agreed. There were some dead orcs, just some scouts.

Just some scouts. Cless looked back at the week they spent in the woods and thought how things changed. Four dead, Lyle was an orc. Three new recruits. A ton of levels. Their town, home, was probably safe from a massive attack because of them. There were still hundreds, maybe a thousand orcs loose in the woods. But without leadership and support, they would eventually die out. They won't be able to mount a proper attack on the town now.

"We are going to cross the canyon and go around to the north woods. It should take us four days to cross it," Cless explained. "And we are going through monster territory. Remember that being chatty was what got three of us killed. I will talk about the dragon head and everything else after we are back in the folds of civilization. Let's move."

As they walked through the canyon in silence, wary of possible monster attacks, Cless pondered. There were too many things swirling in her head. The Orc King was really astonished when his magic didn't hurt her. Why? Silverfang was a monster, he hadn't any affiliation with either side but she was a Cleric of the One God. Just like the orc warlocks, she should be harmed by the dark energy. Unless her own protection was stronger but that was clearly not the case. The proof was when her Holy Bolts didn't even make the chimera blink.

The canyon was more of a gully in most parts. This time of the year it was in low flow season, the water not high enough to even take a swim. They walked on the dry bank in relative silence. There seem to be no monsters around and they were not challenged until the end of the first day. They went out of the gully and found a spot in the woods that seemed defensible. Cless was still stuck in a tense mood, expecting enemies to come at any moment.

"You can rest assured, Cless. Between my instincts and Silverfang's senses, your group is safe," Vic boasted. "Besides, even though he sleeps the whole night, the feather-head there is sensitive enough to wake up at the first sign of danger."

"We are still setting a watch," Cless replied. "It will make us humans sleep easier."

For some reason, she found difficult to say 'us humans'. There was this eerie sense that she was growing apart from them. She always felt detached from society because of her misshapen body. But now, with all that happened Cless felt more at ease with her monsters than with her guild. There was also the fact that she had grown too much. Cless didn't even want to look at her Status. The almost fifty Skills lying in there were completely abnormal. She felt like she took advantage of the gnomes and maybe she did. Cless adjusted the gnome girl next to her and wondered how old was she. Old enough to bear children but not old enough to be a proper adult, just like Cless. She had nobody else in the world and Cless renewed her vow to keep her safe.

Cless would even grant some of the Skills she got from her people to the girl if she wanted it.

Cless took out the prayer book without thinking of it, just as it became a habit. But she didn't open it in any prayer. Instead, she opened it on the list of names. Arila, Bankasys, Banli, Celmila, Claristina, Daphimila, Daphina, Faekini, Folwyse, Grenfi, Helmila, Inanove, Isoceli, Isotina, Jeldysa, Jelna, Kripine, Kriyaris, Loridira, Lorigani, Myphina, Nyhani, Philin, Phiphina, Phixi, Prigyra, Prihana, Remila, Rosixis, Triyaris, Vengani, Vowyse, Welmyra, Wrotina, Ylotra, Yosys, Zinkasys. They should have, like Claristina, an easier on the human tongue version of their names.

She felt the burden of living in the stead of these women she killed and it was too much for her. Cless hid her face with her pack and cried. Even after she successfully removed the parasites from this girl, the other gnome woman wished for death. Clara told her, their fathers, husbands, and sons were no longer there. They didn't have the will to move on. She shuddered at the thought that they were abused for two months by a horde of orcs. Even now she found the form Lyle was using detestable.

Cless thought about it. If they find a more suitable monster, she was going to ask Lyle to change bodies. Just send him there and get his orc bucket kicked. He told he carried over half the stats, didn't he? That was something she could talk about with him tomorrow. Cless decided she hated orcs.

She couldn't sleep so she used her weaving Skill to fix her armor and clothing. It was odd. She could wave her fingers over the cut and will the fabric and leather to knit. The strands moved and grasped each other, making it whole again. maybe it could be used to salvage a lot more armor from the orcs. Her mind wandered and she remembered the bundles of weapons they hid in the cave and with the buried boys. Maybe some adventurer would want to go there and retrieve them. She could make an anonymous quest and post it in the delver association.

The gnome girl stirred and Cless stopped to watch her. She was giving her water with a damp rag every now and then. The color was returning to her face and it seemed she would eventually wake up. She hugged that little tough survivor and felt they were too similar to each other. Cless finally slept.

Deferred Stat allocation. +8 all stats. Next allocation by dawn, tomorrow.

She woke up because of the deferred allocation. Her body changed every time her physical Stats changed and it was impossible to stay asleep. Cless assessed her surroundings and saw two beady eyes staring at her. The gnome girl was awake.

"You are squeezing me," She complained in a raspy voice.

"Oh. Sorry. How are you feeling?" Cless stopped clutching her and shifted into a tender hug.

"Like a dozen parasites were forcibly ripped off from my belly," She joked. "But alive."

Cless frowned. It was a little more than a dozen. "I'll try to get you something you can eat. Drink some water, slowly." She also used some healing spells on her just as a precaution. Detoxify, Purify, Uncurse, Cure, Heal. Cless had to admit she used all of them.

She left the blankets without stirring it too much so the gnome girl could keep warm inside. And it wouldn't do to keep calling her that.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't ask you about your name when we met. Could I have it now?" Cless asked.

"I'm Venaris. You can call me Venn or Vena if you want."

"Venaris is a good name. What does it mean?"

"She who chases her goals," Venaris explained.

"A tough survivor that never gives up," Cless mused. Venaris smiled.

"It seems that makes it two of us. Cless, can I ask about the scars on your body? They are burn marks, aren't they?"

She felt uncomfortable but she had to burst out of that shell. "I don't know. I was told I was born this way but now I think it was a lie to keep me from sulking. I think they are burn marks but it was from when I was very, very young."

"I'm sorry," Venaris apologized as she felt Cless discomfort. "I didn't mean to—"

"Think nothing of it, Venaris," Cless smiled and waved a hand to dismiss her worries. "Venaris, I want us to be like sisters. Would you? Do you want to be my sister? I vowed to protect you but I won't shelter you from the world. I'll make you strong enough to make your stand."

"I'd appreciate that. Sisters then."

"Let me get you something to eat. I think I can make some stew or soup and sift the broth for you."

She took some rations and sent Silverfang and Vic to go pick herbs, berries and hunt small game. Soon she had some kind of soup or stew brewing. The boys were doing their antics and teasing Orc-Lyle but they were actually chilling out. Kurt was up on a tree keeping watch. Or doing whatever bird-men do. Cless fed Venaris slowly despite the girl's protest that she could do it herself.

And they were on the walk again. The second day of travel in the canyon was uneventful. Cless kept training her spells, especially the ones she neglected and she could put all of them at thirty or more. Next morning she got another eight on all stats. Venaris felt good enough to walk for a while but Cless wanted to spoil her new sister. She got to ride on a big bad wolf.

"Lyle, you can't keep being an orc for much longer. What do you think we can do that doesn't involve one of us dying?" Cless approached the possessed orc knight to breach the subject.

"Find me another strong body and I'm game. It is not like I want to keep living as an orc. Honestly, it is disturbing." He commented, evasively.

"How so?" Cless got curious.

"You'd kill me if I told you."

"Nah. That would make you take over my body. I could maim you and rip your arms off their sockets but I won't. So say it."

"The orcs have this instinct and being this close to you makes it... stir."

Cless took a few seconds to understand his innuendo. When she did, she blushed but fought to keep it under control. "So being close to me makes your orc nature... spring up?"

Orc-Lyle chuckled. "Sort of."

Cless took some distance. "Fine. Don't get near Venaris and I don't sever you in half below the waist. But how does your Skill works with your Stats, if I may ask?"

Lyle thought for a while if he should tell or not, but decided to tell. Maybe Cless could even help him. "I keep half the Stats of my former body and add them to the new one. The Stats from my Class and allocated points doesn't count. They carry over entirely. That is why I picked a class that gives Intellect and even put some unallocated points there too. I don't want to become some dumb monster."

"That's fantastic," Cless commented with real awe. "If you keep half of each body you catch, you would become extremely powerful after several changes."

"Not so fast. Because the half I carry over is halved again. After a few changes, it should disappear."

"But the allocated points are safe. Right?" Lyle nodded. "And this orc knight should be really powerful for you to want to keep from changing out of it."

"Yes. You got me. He has crazy amounts of Strength and Health. Its Agility is also nothing to scoff at."

"But they are as dumb as a doornail."

"Touché!" Lyle chortled.

"Then I have something that might interest you and convince you to change out faster. Come with me, let's go for a walk."

They detached themselves from the group and went up through a ridge and into the woods above.

"What is it?"

"I'll trade you forty unallocated stat points for ten in each basic stat. You can set them back right away and they will be yours forever instead of getting halved, halved, and eventually vanish. In exchange, you'll change out of our orc knight body and into a bear. I don't promise it but we will try to find some bandit you can take over."

"That is acceptable."

They shook on it and soon the points were exchanged. Cless returned to the group and sent Silverfang out to hunt a bear and bring it back alive. Two hours later the werewolf returned dragging an unconscious black bear. Cless healed it and Orc-Lyle fought it until the bear killed him.

"Did it work?" Cless asked the bear. Bear-Lyle nodded. "What about the stats?" Bear-Lyle waved a paw. So-so. "Awesome. We got ourselves a pack beast. Let me strap the packs on your back, bear-boy."

Bear-Lyle groaned but carried their stuff. It helped gain ground faster. In some sort of twisted way, he was also carrying his own corpse. Cless was keeping it fresh with Purify spells. She kept burning magic with her spellwork.

The second day of canyon travel ended. They stopped going northeast before noon and then around to the west. Some other rivers joined with the one trickling down the canyon and it a stronger flow but still not enough to bathe in. They ate rabbit stew with some wild onions. Next morning, Cless noticed she gained only four points in Strength. The unallocated pool for that stat was empty.

During the third day, they finally got out of the canyon and into the northern woods. Venaris was riding Lyle, the bear a much more comfortable mount than the wolf. They were in the deep northern woods. Silverfang howled and some wolves answered with howls of their own.

"It is for them to know we are just passing through and not challenging them. If they want trouble we'll give them trouble," The lycan explained.

Cless facepalmed. They were going the long way through the canyon to avoid getting swarmed by orcs. But now, with their improved strength and levels, was it necessary? No. They just spent two days walking in a dirty canyon for nothing. It might even do some good to find orcs and thin them even more.

The weary guild traveled through the northern woods with a sense of homesickness. They have never been that deep into the forest but the trees felt familiar. They moved south in the forest unchallenged. The size of the group and the stench of death that surrounded them was enough to keep even the predators away. The woods felt eerie familiar and before dusk, they found signs of logging. It was old and some of the stumps were even sprouting saplings from them. They estimated about two or three hours of travel before reaching the town and decided to make camp in the woods.

Reaching town at night and smelling like they bathed in the blood of hundreds of creatures would be begging for bad reception. Cless made a vow to learn water magic so she could wash on the go. And while at that, learn a lot of magic. The bigger her arsenal, the better.

They woke up with the first rays of the sun. Cless got her eight on the stats with points on the deferred pools and they moved south. The group emerged from the treeline a bit to the east, at the outer edge of Olson's farm. They would have to either cross the farm or go back and walk by the treeline. Cless also noted that she should make a banner for the guild. They could be mistaken for bandits the way they were. They probably were, given that a rider was out of arrow range waving a white flag.

"Stay here, all of you. I'll go and talk to them. It will be less threatening if a single person goes."

Cless removed her weapons and gave them to Kurt. She then walked in the direction of the rider with her arms up. She saw the rider had a crossbow but she could trust her abilities against a farmer with a crossbow. It might not even pierce her maxed-out Protection spell.

She noticed some other men hiding around. Cless stopped a few meters after the rider came into her tremorsense range. Wich was ridiculously large. She could even sense small amounts of copper ore deep beneath the farm. Maybe not even worth the effort of mining it out. The rider did nothing so she kept walking carefully to avoid damaging the crops.

"That is far enough!" Olson shouted. "Identify yourself!"

"It is me, master Olson. Cless with the Blind Eye guild!" She shouted back.

Olson lowered the crossbow. "Cless? Is that really you. No offense but you look like shit, girl." He commented as he approached.

"I've been monster hunting all week long without a bath, sir. Comes with the territory."

He finally got close and got off the horse. "Is that all blood?" He asked in horror.

"Some of the tougher bits might be entrails. I stopped caring," She guffawed. "Can we cross into town?"

"No, not like that. Guards will think you are a monster horde. Come, get your guild. I'll have the boys warm up the barrel bath for you. I barely recognized you. That's how different you are. What happened out there?"

"Long story short, we were trimming the eastern woods of a really nasty orc infestation. If left unchecked, they would overrun us during winter. We didn't get all of them but we made sure to their leaders."

Olson kept to his word. He even set some wooden panels to give Cless and Venaris some privacy. She used Purify on their bath water until it stopped turning red or pink. But it was awesome to be clean again. She wanted to burn her clothes and even chuckled thinking that some spoiled rich princess might do exactly that instead of cleaning them. She would have to get Venaris some clothes too. She only had the rags she was wearing in the orc breeding pens... Talk about how to ruin a good mood. And she could do that all by herself.

She spent some time washing her clothes in the bathwater. Purify helped take out the grime as it considered it a taint to the water. Nice application of the spell. Cless also put her Skills to work and she ripped a skirt and made it weave back. Tinker and Weavetouch working in tandem to craft Venaris some gnome-sized clothes. Then seamstress' Talent and the Craftsman profession kicked in and after half an hour Venaris had fashionable clothes crafted by someone with level 71 proficiency. Seamless to boot.

She did the same to her own clothes. Soon they were ready to go into town. Cless stashed her armor. She outleveled the common brigandine by now. She waved Olson goodbye and promised him some business in the future.

Out of Olson's farm, Cless talked to her new non-human members. "Vic and Kurt. You follow Silverfang's lead. The humans in town would attack you if you stray away from me and I'll have to get you registered in the association as my tame monsters. I apologize for that but it is necessary. Lyle, the same for you. In fact, you can start to think of a new name. Lyle is dead and his family will mourn his passing."

They made it down the familiar farm road and into the north gate. The guards saw them and were astonished. Cless took the lead, chin raised.

"Good morning, fine guardsmen. I'm the guildmaster of the Blind Eye and we are returning. I got three tame critters here and I vouch for them. I am going to take them to the association to register under my name. Could we pass?"

To her surprise, they saluted her. "Of course, guild master! We congratulate you and your guild on a successful expedition."

Cless hung her head. "We lost four, unfortunately. But thanks, guardsmen. Could I bother one of you to send word to constable George that we returned? He might have questions about the deaths."

One of the younger guards bolted without a second thought. Cless felt super awkward but she didn't let it show.

They went inside and she dismissed the humans. "Go home and get some rest and relaxation. I'll do the same and we'll meet in two days. Stay out of trouble and get some comfort. I'll send each of you at least ten ducats by tomorrow at most.

The boys departed and Cless led the quintet of non-humans and former-human to the Beaten Hare. She was finally back home.

Name: Cless (no surname)

Race: Human.

Level: 50 ( 1,261,681 / 1,275,000 Exp )

Class: Cleric 25 (300,000 Exp / ** )

Profession — Warmaster 18 (155,289 / 171,000 Exp) — Weaponmaster 18 (155,289 / 171,000 Exp)

Base Stats — Strength: 63 — Agility: 75 [120] — Health: 85 — Intellect: 96 — Magic: 126 — Charisma: 42

Available Status Points: 66

Skills: [ Absolute Contract (S) ], [ Giant's Stamina (E) ], [ Trick Shot (D) ], [ Dangersense ⦅C⦆ ], [ Nimble Step (D) ], [ Eat Anything ⦅C⦆ ],

[ Elven Longevity ⦅C⦆ ], [ Tinker (D) ], [ Grounding (D) ], [ Dancer’s Grace (D) ], [ Silk Hair (E) ], [ Great Leap (D) ], [ Earth Magic ⦅C⦆ ],

[ Tremorsense (D) ], [ Gemsense (D) ], [ Ore sense (D) ], [ Brownie Magic (D) ], [ Courtier’s Charm (D) ], [ Gardener’s touch (F) ],

[ Hearth’s warmth (E) ], [ Seamstress Talent (E) ], [ Wanderlust (E) ], [ Sling Mastery (D) ], [ Perfect pitch (E) ], [ Singers’ Talent (D) ],

[ Master Miner (E) ], [ Wide Vision (E) ], [ Florist’s Wonder (F) ], [ Coin Sense (E) ], [ Weavertouch (E) ], [ Spellslinger (D) ],

[ Burrower Bond (E) ], [ Goblin Slayer (E) ], [ Architectural Ingenuity (E) ], [ Craftsmen ⦅C⦆ ], [ Lady’s Countenance (E) ], [ Night Vision (D) ],

[ Poison Resistance (D) ], [ Merchant sense (D) ], [ Illusionist ⦅C⦆ ], [ Trapsense (D) ], [ Heavy Handed (D) ], [ Icewalk (D) ], [ Farmer (D) ],

[ Druidwalk (D) ], [ Tree refuge (E) ], [ Gravebreath (E) ], [ Succubus’ Kiss ⦅B⦆ ], [ Twin Strike (D) ], [ Curmudgeon crafter (D) ]

Proficiencies:

Appraisal — Status: 22

Crafting — Crude Weapons: 5 — Arrows: 1

Magic, Cleric

— Mending: 50 — Detoxify: 36 — Light: 44 — Turn Undead: 34 — Blessing: 46 — Holy Bolt: 50 — Purify: 40 — Protection: 50

— Hallow: 45 — Flametongue: 30 — Cure: 30 — Uncurse: 30 — Banish: 30 — Heal: 45 — Warding: 30 — Revivify: 30

General — Prayer: 47 — Scribe: 2 — Houseworking: 6 — Math: 3 — Reading: 12 — Forestry: 9 — Skinning: 7 — Herbalism: 3 — Sabotage: 2

Social, general — Negotiation: 15 — Persuasion: 3 — Bluff: 6

Social, martial — Leadership: 28 — Intimidation: 31— Tactics: 26

Movement — Tumbling: 3 — Stealth: 3 — Sneak: 3

Weapon — Long Blades: 27 — Short Blades: 2 — Unarmed: 27 — Archery: 28 — Spears: 3 — Maces: 32 — Staves: 4 — Axes: 9