by Grey Arney
Relieved to learn that his wolf form was now truly unlimited, he leapt to a neighboring rooftop, and then down to the streets below, darting towards the palisade exit. The goblins scrambled to organize the chase, but it all happened too fast. His lupine figure was racing off into the cover of the barren trees in the distance.
After putting a distance of three miles between himself and the goblin encampment, Arcturus shielded himself behind a tall oak tree and took the risk of reverting back to his human form to address his injuries. Now in human form, there was an arrow sticking out of his shoulder again. He was taken aback by the sudden pain. His thoughts turned first to addressing his injury. He had only a few hit points left, and every time he touched the arrow, he lost one, which he found out when he tried to grasp the arrow and break it.
The arrow twists inside of you! You receive 1 damage.
Arcturus carefully removed healing berries from his pouch, eating several and rubbing the remainder on the parts of the wound he could reach. He’d have to apply the salve every 60 seconds to continue healing, but his hit points began recovering. That gave him time to think. How would a Druid solve this problem? He sent a call out to any nearby wolves, but heard no response. When he had recovered half of his hit points, he transformed back into a wolf and sent out the call again. He shifted back to human form, spread more salve on the injury, and waited.
Arcturus tensed as he heard a rustling coming from the brush. A trio of reddish-brown wolves emerged and sat before him, awaiting his command.
The first thing to do was to break the arrow in half. The fletching of the arrow would make the arrow harder to pull through his torso, and it wouldn’t feel too good, either. He instructed the biggest wolf to come closer and attempt to break through it with his teeth. The wolf positioned the arrow in its back molars and chomped down hard. The arrow snapped easily.
The arrow twists inside of you! You receive 1 hit point damage.
The wolf didn’t look pleased at the taste of the goblin arrow, quickly dropping it from his mouth. Arcturus beckoned the wolf to step around behind him and grasp the other end of the arrow carefully in its teeth. He braced himself, holding onto a tree branch with both hands. The pain in Lydia was not nearly as much as he remembered experiencing in his youth, but the fear and trepidation were almost the same. On his signal, the wolf shifted its weight onto its hind legs, using its front paws to pull backwards. The arrow came free, and he was able to finish healing himself.
He sat quietly, with his back to the oak tree and closed his eyes, imagining what a Master Druid would do in this situation. He wondered if he could contact the three who had inducted him and made him a Druid. He tried praying to them, even speaking aloud, but there was no response.
At this point, he only had two powers that made him unique among players. Shapeshifting was a rare skill, and as far as he knew, only Druids could help others to shift shapes. If he could get into the camp and help the prisoners to shapeshift, he might be able to help them escape. But there were serious limitations to this; even if he transformed them all into the most powerful shape he had, that of the Dire Bear, they had no way of overcoming the goblin horde. No, they would need to be small enough to get out of their cages, and fast enough to escape without being caught. Black Ravens, maybe. But there was no way he could shift so many prisoners at once. As soon as one or two of them had escaped, the goblins would be alerted.
Putting aside Shapeshifting, his other unusual talent was that he had access to unlimited mana for use with Earth Magic. So far, he knew of no way to use Earth Magic offensively, but he could think of a few possibilities. It was possible to create avalanches, earthquakes, and cave-ins by manipulating roots, for example. But the valley around the goblin camp was barren, and it was an untested concept.
At a loss for ideas, the Druid sat against an oak tree and pulled the Potion of Spirit Journey from his pack. Shrugging to himself, he removed the stopper and drank the remainder of it.
This time, the transformation took place even faster than before. He was standing in an oasis of stone in the middle of a jungle. The flora here were completely different from his own forest. The trees had star-shaped leaves and glowing dragonflies floated idly by. Before him was a geyser that gushed pink water and sprayed warm foam. The old Druid woman was there, naked. Her arms were up in the air and two miniature elephants were using their trunks to hose her off, drawing mineral water from the spring and then spraying it all over her.
He only saw a glimpse of this, because as soon as she caught sight of him, she turned into a bird and flew away, emerging again from behind a nearby tree, and wearing her brown robe again. The two elephants had stepped out of the water, too, and made the shift, one into the bald Druid and another into the bearded one. Now the trio of elders stood before him, and bath time was over.
As if nothing happened, the woman addressed Arcturus.
“What brings you here?” she asked.
Arcturus explained his predicament, and the woman nodded thoughtfully.
“I have all of these powers, thanks to you, but I just don’t see how I could use them in this situation.”
“You can use your Earth Magic to strike at the ground,” said the bald Druid. “Because you have learned the secret of Draw Magic, I am sure you could create a large enough rift to cause serious damage.”
“This kind of blow is rarely decisive,” said the bearded Druid, interrupting his colleague.
“But it will help, though,” said the bald one.
“As for the other part of the problem,” said the woman, “I think I know of something that might help. Please, follow me.”
Arcturus followed the trio a few paces into the forest, when the woman suddenly stopped, bent over, and picked something up off of the forest floor.
She stretched out her palm, offering it to him.
“An acorn?” he asked.
“Yes. This is nature’s most incredible capacitor. It contains the potential to shift from this humble form into a proud oak. You can use your mana to imprint a different pattern upon it. When the acorn breaks down, that pattern is released.”
Seeing that Arcturus still did not understand, the bearded man tried a different tack. “Because the acorn is a powerful medium for the changing of shapes, you can store your Shapeshifting spells in it,” he said.
“The target eats the acorn, and shifts their shape. Just as if you had cast the spell on them yourself,” said the woman.
“Be careful, though,” said the bald man. “If it falls into the wrong hands, it could be used against you. And if your Shapeshifting is used on an unsuitable target, the consequences could be awful.”
Arcturus opened his eyes again, and found that there were now three wolves staring at him expectantly. He was back underneath the oak tree. In it there were many clusters of acorns that had not yet fallen. He reached up and bent a branch down towards himself.
Arcturus started drawing mana into the oak, and directing it specifically into only one of the acorns. Instead of bidding it to grow, he bid it to become a raven, or rather, to become the potential of the raven. The acorn began to change color, darkening until it was the color of charcoal. The stalk twisted into the expired wick of an old candle. The scales of the cap shimmered as dark glass, and the nut itself glistened with the purple-tainted hue of the black pearl. The transformation completed, the nut stopped absorbing mana. Pulling the acorn from the tree, he beckoned the largest wolf to him.
You have learned a new spell: Enchant Acorn
Stores spells in an enchanted acorn. The acorn is activated upon consumption or upon being destroyed.
You have found: Enchanted Acorn (Black Raven)
This acorn contains the Shapeshifting spell, Black Raven. It must be used within one day, or it reverts into an ordinary acorn.
“I need you to swallow this whole, without chewing,” he told the wolf. The animal unquestioningly took the acorn in his mouth and swallowed it. She gagged and coughed, but got
it down her throat. Arcturus waited and watched, counting in his head. Before he reached the count of five, the wolf began her transformation and shrank down into a Black Raven. The raven spread her wings, and then folded them back into a strutting posture, looking up at him.
Having learned all that he needed, he released the wolf from the shape of the bird. The canine seemed happy to return to her four-legged form. He also decided to finally invest his free stat points. He had 35 total, so he put 15 in endurance, 10 in intelligence, and 10 in wisdom. He glanced quickly at his Character Display.
Character Display
Name: Arcturus
Level: 12
Race: Human
Hit Points: 200/200
Mana: 175/175
Vital Stats (0 available)
Strength: 15
Perception: 19
Endurance: 40
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 35
Wisdom: 35
Luck: 11
Abilities
Stealth (Level 11)
Archery (Level 10)
Short Blades (Level 1)
Alchemy (Level 18)
Crafting (Level 1)
Fire Magic (Level 8)
Earth Magic (Level 32)
Shapeshifting (Level 40)
Death Magic (Level 15)
Traits (4/4)
- Original. As the oldest sentient being in Lydia, you have the privilege of access to powers that were banished from the land long ago.
- Blessing of the Vampire Queen. +10 to strength, endurance, agility, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom. -9 perception in direct daylight. +15% to movement speed. Undead are less likely to be hostile. Stealth bonus against undead.
- Druid. +10 to intelligence, endurance and wisdom. Shapeshifting, Earth Magic and Alchemy level without restrictions of player level. +30 to Shapeshifting. +10 to Earth Magic and Alchemy. +30% disease and poison resistance.
- Wolf Soul. Unlimited use of wolf form during Shapeshifting: no mana cost, instant shifting, and shift to and from other unlimited forms. Nightvision.
Now he was ready to make some magic acorns. He got to work right away, and found that it went quickly, and both his Shapeshifting and Earth Magic were quickly leveling up.
You have improved Shapeshifting (Level 51)
Your Shapeshifting is now stronger. You may learn the shapes for most beasts, both ordinary and magical, and also humanoid shapes.
You have improved Earth Magic (Level 41)
Your Earth Magic is now stronger.
Making magic acorns was doing wonders for these skills. He had gained 11 levels of Shapeshifting and 9 levels of Earth Magic. Arcturus wondered how far he’d be able to take the two skills if he just dedicated a whole day or even several to making the acorns. His previous experience suggested to him that the benefits would level off eventually. He noted to himself that he would experiment more with this later.
When his work was finished, he had fifty acorns for the Black Raven shape, and fifty for the Dire Bear. Thankfully, the raven acorns looked very different from the bear ones, which were brown and bumpy, almost furry. He put them in separate bags.
The next part of the plan went smoother than he expected. Goblin patrols had been leaving the Mudluck camp for the last half hour. They were poorly organized, and they didn’t really know how far they should go to search for the escaped wolf. Some of the patrol groups were sizable, but Arcturus picked a smaller group of three and set the wolves upon them.
They performed the task beautifully, tearing two to pieces right away, before pinning the third one to the ground, leaving him helpless as the Druid absorbed the goblin shape.
Do you wish to learn the shape of the Green Goblin (Level 50)?
You may learn unlimited shapes. The creature will not be harmed.
After taking the goblin’s shape, he snapped his fingers and the wolves tore into him. He’d never let Lyle eat goblin flesh, but these wolves weren’t from his house and didn’t need to follow his rules.
Transforming two of the wolves into Dire Bears and a third one into a wolf—his own wolf shape—he ordered them to march to the eastern palisade near the prisoners and attract the attention of the goblins. As far as diversions went, it wasn’t extraordinary. But nor was goblin intelligence.
After this, he transformed into the Golden Eagle, and taking the two bags of acorns in his claws, he flew high above, soaring back to the goblin encampment. The encampment looked much like it had before, but there were far more goblins patrolling the streets, watching the towers, and standing guard at the entrances. He picked a spot to land near the prison quarter, on the ground in a back alley full of refuse. There he completed the shift from human and then to goblin.
He worked quickly and boldly, scampering about in the filthy street, placing two acorns in every prisoner’s cage. One started to pick it up and looked like he was about to eat it, but Arcturus shook his head no. The rest of them seemed suspicious of the acorns and kept their distance from them. He was dismayed to discover that Fish was not in any of the cages.
He had already distributed the acorns when he heard the bugle announcing trouble approaching the gates. His trio of Dire Bears was approaching. The undisciplined goblins left their posts guarding the prisoners and went to investigate, and the whole camp buzzed with activity, with most of those in the nearest quadrants clamoring to join the hunt. The streets turned into a river of little men that poured out of the western palisade.
As the river of goblins slowed to a trickle and then to a drip, Arcturus estimated that up to half of the entire camp had left to take to the hunt. He waited several more minutes for the goblin horde to get further from the encampment, and judged it was time to act. Not wasting any time, Arcturus climbed up to one of the cages in the center of the cluster, maximizing his visibility. He transformed back to human shape and shouted to get the attention of the prisoners.
“Everyone, please listen! There isn’t much time. I have dropped two acorns in each cage. If you want to escape, eat the black one and fly away.
“If you want to stay and fight with me, eat the brown one.
“Whatever you choose, be sure to hang on to the other acorn! It will stay in your inventory.”
There were many questions and some objections, but there was no time for discussion, and the desperate prisoners were not about to waste their only hope of escape. Already, ten or eleven jet black ravens had fired themselves from the cage, shrieking and tearing away into the skies.
But then the bears started appearing. The cage Arcturus stood upon burst into splinters as the elf inside became a hulking Dire Bear. Arcturus jumped off and barely landed on his feet. Whether from seeing this awesome example, or from the desire to reclaim power, or perhaps just the lust for revenge, more of the prisoners were discovering their acorns and many chose the brown one.
More ravens fired off into the distance, but an astounding number of the prisoners chose to stay and fight. Cage after cage burst open and a small platoon of nineteen Dire Bears formed, all looking at him as if he were their lord and savior—which he was, in a way.
The goblins had either regained their senses or discovered the ruse. Outside the western edge of the palisade, a swarm of the creatures that numbered in the hundreds suddenly stopped its swelling motion outwards in the pursuit of the three wolves, and turned back.
“Follow me quickly!” he said to the bears. Taking wolf form in an instant, Arcturus sped to the palisade entrance. The bears followed with impressive speed, mauling the occasional goblin that stumbled across their path. After reaching the palisade entrance, he switched back to human form and called to the bears, “Defend my rear.” Looking ahead, he saw that the frontline of the swarm would reach him in about two or three minutes. Seeing their target appear, they were whipped into a frenzy, increasing their pace even more.
Channeling the calm discipline of the Druid, Arcturus looked around to see if there were any plants
that could be grown with Earth Magic to form a barrier, but there were none. The earth was dry and cracked here. Although he could sense the teeming mana underfoot, there were no plants, or even roots to channel it into.
He shoved a fist hurriedly into the cracked earth and beckoned the mana within. It gathered around him, but still had nowhere to go. Once he had accumulated enough, he released it in a pulse radiating out and down. The earth itself shook as a crack in the dirt began to form outside of the wall.
The horde rushed onwards. Summoning the mana once more, he repeated the pulse, and the chasm grew to the width of a fist. A small obstacle to be stepped over.
You have improved Earth Magic (Level 42)
Your Earth Magic is now stronger.
Encouraged by this, Arcturus gathered more and more mana, pulling it to him faster than before. No ordinary player would be able to access this much mana, but he commanded all the dirt underfoot. He became dizzy as his mind overflowed with the intoxicating influence. He started to lose awareness of himself, as one feels when overtaken by a momentary lapse into a nap on a sunny afternoon. Pulling his focus together, he prepared to unleash the stored mana into the earth below.
The first of the goblins were leaping over his tiny crack in the earth, and the Dire Bears were about to lose control, break rank, and rush out to meet them.
“Hold!” Arcturus screamed at them, “Stay where you are!”
There’s something about being released from prison and turned into a powerful beast that inclines one to trust the man who does one such a service. The prisoners stayed behind Arcturus, wondering what would happen next.
With a crack that sounded like rolling thunder splitting the heavens apart, he released every drop of mana that he had accumulated. Miles and miles of it. In his mind’s eye, he saw tectonic plates surging up as their power was stolen from them and funneled towards a single man who had the audacity to command the very planet itself. The earth groaned and trembled, and the chasm before him widened. Goblins were still stepping over it, only now they were stumbling into the depths below. It extended down as far as the eye could see, melting into the chaotic, black nothingness of an abyss that signified certain death.
