Change - Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Chapter 37- Presented to Caesar

Three hours later Tim found himself stuck in a waiting room. Oh, it was comfortable enough. The chairs and divan were plush. Servants repeatedly came in to check on him to see if he needed anything.

That was just fine with Tim though. He needed time to process what had happened with this most recent change. There was no doubt that he felt his personality shifting. He wondered how much this was creating a new persona for him versus simply bringing out specific traits. He hoped it was more of the latter.”

He tried not to be angry with Kayla. He had felt invited and welcome. It had made how uncomfortable she had been with him since the change, even more cutting. Fear of rejection was a powerful motivation and now he was hearing a little voice in the back of his mind saying that the great oak never gets rejected. It stands proud year after year. It is alone and needs no other.

But that wasn’t what Tim wanted for his life here. He wanted a team to adventure with, a girlfriend to go home to afterwards, and then friends like Atticus and Cecelia who were just normal people. Flats of Patronites, they were both demeaning terms, but he saw kindness and strength in both of his friends.

Maybe it was telling that his mind was more on his relationships, than the fact that all evidence pointed to the idea that the mysterious master of the myemar wanted something from him. When his mind had touched on the subject he saw the connection between the dream he had had with the pouch worn by the shadow.

Not because he wanted to but because there was nothing he could do to fix his relationships now. As angry as he wanted to be he understood how the change might freak Kayla out. He could understand how Simon and Tressa might be mad at him from the dungeon run. He didn’t really care what the arcanist thought but he really liked Simon and it hurt to think that he might have damaged that relationship.

The problem was that he wouldn’t, no couldn’t have done it any differently than what he did. It accomplished the mission that needed to be accomplished. They neeed to save the city by not letting the dungeon overflow. It would still have to be cleared more but at least they had taken the pressure off for a couple of days.

The new trait he got was powerful. The boosts inside that dungeon had made him monsterously powerful as a beastial. Honestly, what class couldn’t benefit by extra Hardiness and Flexibility. The Hardiness boost alone added almost 50 HP. And that wasn’t even thinking about what other types of upgrades he might be able to obtain in other dungeons. He didn’t maintain the upgrades from this dungeon but now regretted it. He should have kept at least the shield grim adaptation.

It was also a powerful reminder that just because he was one level from max, he wasn’t done improving. If he could gain a powerful adaptation that might make a huge difference. And if he could gain a second trait then why not a third and a fourth. Besides that this trait had a number 1 by it. That had to mean that there were other levels that he could upgrade it to.

The same applied to his Skill Interchange. Then there was also the Skill Evolution that was currently locked on his Soul Interface. In short, it gave him hope because there were many more ways for him to improve. He had only just scratched the surface and had to remind himself that there was more to learn.

Thinking about his abilities and the path forward made him realize that it would likely be best now if he applied his stat points. He already had his skills set up. Looking at the new spells he had from the naturalist class told him that Sagacity was the more important of the two mental attributes but that he also couldn’t ignore Acuity.

He took another glance at the two spells or skills he had received automatically when he changed. They replaced his beastial transformation skill and his natural weapon proficiency. Neither of those skills had made it onto his list of transferable skills, so he had to assume that they were lost to him, unless he became a beastial again in the future.

He was starting to see a pattern in his changing. It happened when he slept or was knocked unconscious as in the case of Armon’s electrical attack. Then it appeared there was a ten percent chance that he would change, but that chance went up everytime he slept. The tenth time that he slept it without a change, he would always transform. One variable he didn’t know about though was whether skipping a night of sleep had actually kept his percentile chance of changing the same or if it had increased and simply waited until he slept again.

So much to learn but he felt like he was getting a feel for it. Of course as Cal-Dakota’s mantra to him went, control is an illusion. Each time he changed he was also exposed to a vision of sorts. Sometimes they were very detailed and sometimes less so. He was beginning to believe that those were visions he had while doing his trial for the Book of Names.

It made sense in a twisted way. His test had taken far longer than any other recorded test, so maybe he had been tested for each of the sixteen classes. Now though the questions that intrigued him the most were, whether there was a way to control or even just nudge the class changes. The fact that he now had a skill interchange ability suggested that there might be, at least in his mind.

Then there was the question of whether he would end up staying whatever the sixteenth class that he got ended up being. He was at peace about it. What happens will happen. Yet, he wasn’t at peace with it. He felt that sense of calm resignation and recognized it as an aspect of the naturalist class, especially the circle of the oak. That didn’t mean that it was truly his personality. It just meant that the longer he stays in this form the more he would align with that persona. That was how it had worked for beastial, at least.

He still had fears related to his changes. He definitely didn’t want to be an old man again. Although as he thought about it, changing into a child would be almost as bad in some ways, especially if it ended up being his last change. There was also the everpresent fear that hovered in the back of his mind.

He had changed four times. Each body had been dramatically different, yet he had experienced only four out of sixteen classes.  He kept wondering if one of these times he was going to change into a woman. Obviously, there was nothing wrong with being a woman, but he still dreaded the idea. Actually more was freaked out by it, would be more accurate.

This only served as a reminder that he needed to learn how to manipulate his changes or at least influence them. Control might be an illusion but that didn’t mean he was going to stop trying. Hopefully today he would become a full fledged guild member and be able to have a bit more control over his life. That would give him some free time to work on understanding his traits.

The skills he hadn’t looked at seemed very appropriate to his class.

Barkskin     Rarity: Common

Pre-requisites: Sojourner, Sagacity: 16, Level: 4

Description: Transforms target skin into the toughness of an oak tree without impacting Flexibility at all. Buff grants +4 Hardiness, Defense: +3, Damage Resistance: +10% to all physical and elemental types other than fire.

Mana: 15 + 1 mana per minute. May be cast on any number of targets but the mana cost to maintain is cumulative. Range: 100’. Range to maintain: Unlimited.



Extreme Plant Growth and Control   Rarity: Uncommon

Pre-requisites: Sojourner, Sagacity: 18, Acuity: 16, Level: 8

Description: Allows the caster to rapidly expand any plant life in the area. This spell can be channeled to continue the effects. Once a tree root or other plant life is formed then the caster may move it like another limb of their own body. Range is limited by Sagacity at 20’/pt.  

Mana: variable  Only experience will teach you the limits of this ability.

The mana cost of his plant growth spell was a bit mysterious, but he figured after tonight he would have some opportunities to play around with it. The next thing was for him to assign his points. He had been thinking about this for a while. His new frame of mind seemed to be very good for deep thinking.

So now it was time to apply the stats. Right now he was very balanced because of the buffs from his belt and mask. Hardiness was at 16, Flexibility at 18, Acuity 16, and Sagacity was at 18. He knew he wanted magic but had really begun to like the physical interaction too. So he put two points into Flexibility and Sagacity along with four points each into Hardiness and Acuity.

That rounded out his stats at 20 each while leaving him seven points to mess around with. He second guessed himself for a second but finally went with his instinct and applied the other seven points into Sagacity. That settled him in at 357 HP and 257 mana after accounting for his gear. With his Sagacity that high he would be able to regenerate all of his mana in just over seven minutes. He felt this was a good balance.

He wanted to think about what skills he should set up but there was a knock at hte door. Now apparently he was going to have a guest as a servant just popped in and announced that Lady Lolli wanted to speak to him. He assumed that this was the mother of that border captain who had his head up his backside.

Tim sighed as he nodded for the slave to show her in. It was still hard for him to accept that there were slaves in this community but he had other things to worry about. This woman was clearly not the mother of that captain. She was far too young for that. Tim wouldn’t exactly call her beautiful. She was okay looking, all dolled up to make the most of her limited beauty. The one thing she wasn’t short on was her ample assets in front. Those she had on prominent display in her dress which seemed designed to showcase them more than anything.

“You are the one who saved my brother?” She asked. Her voice had that same nasally quality that he had found so annoying in her brother.

“If you mean, Captain Lolli at the border, I was just part of the team. I helped him out as best I could,” Tim replied.

“Pish posh,” she said as she flicked her hand in the air. My brother is a blowhard and a fool. I keep hearing about a huge, winged beastial that saved them all and thwarted an invading horde. But then they sent me here. To you.”

“It is a function of my abilities that I can take somewhat different shapes, but pardon me. I haven’t even introduced myself to such a beautiful woman,” Tim explained as he proved he had been listening when Charles was instructing him about kissing the asses of the nobility.

She giggled. As she did, Tim heard some movement in the heavy curtains next to the window she was standing by. His senses were still heightened because of the mask but no wear near as sharp as when he had been a beastial. He almost missed that keen sniffer. Then he bowed and said, “I’m glad to make your acquaintance. I am Timothy Stein of Earth, now in the adventurer’s guild.”

Then he reached out to grab her hand, intending to kiss it. When suddenly he saw a flicker of movement. It was like something gray had just fallen from the mauve colored curtains. He glanced around the ground but didn’t see anything.

Then as if on delayed effect, Lady Lolli began screaming at the top of her lungs. “Get it out. Get it out.” She squirmed like she quite literally had ants in her pants.

Tim’s eyes were then drawn to her rather low cut bodice. She was frantically beating at her chest. Then he saw it. Sticking up from her dress was a gray rodent’s tail flicking wildly from side to side.

“Don’t just stand there, get it out.”

Tim paused. It wasn’t like reaching in there didn’t present a certain temptation. It was just that he didn’t see a way that this ended well for him. Thankfully, slaves and guards alike were soon in the room. One of the female slaves pulled it out and soon Lady Lolli was escorted out of the room. The last thing he heard her saying was, “I think it bit me.”

At the same time the guards were trying to smash a good sized mouse as he raced between their legs. The door was slammed shut so that it couldn’t escape but they failed time and time again to strike it. When it ran under a table, they lifted it and forced him out.

One of the guards eventually cornered the rodent in a corner and thrust the business end of his spear at the little pest. Instead of being skewered through the nimble creature leapt up on to the spear and ran up its shaft towards the guard who panicked and dropped the weapon all together.

That of course led to him being ridiculed by the other two guards. It was really a comedy of errors but Tim was already tense enough. “Look, just get out of here. I will take care of it.”

They looked at him as though uncertain if they should trust him, “I’m a level 19 sojourner. I think I can handle the mouse and you three all at the same time. Care to test it?”
Threatening guards had definitely been on Charles’s no-no list or it would have been if he had considered it a possibility at all. Social faux pas aside, it had the desired result and Tim was left alone in the room again.

Tim sat back on his chair and watched the mouse from where it was trying to climb the curtain again. He wondered if it had a hole in the wall higher, maybe a nest up there. Either way the mouse was rather intelligent and clearly brave, or at least bold. To Tim, he was a hero because he had helped Tim regain peace and quiet.

It was then though that he had an epiphany. The one thing that Tim consistently lacked was the ability to scout very well. Sure he had used the Night’s Eye Dominion ability but it wasn’t something he liked doing and made it nearly impossible to fight at the same time.

He had planned to find a beast companion that was powerful and could fight alongside him. That wasn’t really what he needed. He would be better served by having a companion who was agile and sneaky. So, odd as it might be, Tim looked at that mouse and saw potential.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Tim extended his hand to focus this spell since he had never cast it before. He felt the mana pool within him. It was the most powerful spell that he had yet cast in Iocusinte. Then the spell, Soul’s Beast Familiar took shape and settled upon the mouse.

It’s body stiffened and fell to the ground, yet somehow, Tim instinctively knew that it didn’t take any damage. Slowly as though a fog were clearing, Tim began to sense a connection with him. The spell was finished and the mouse’s body was undergoing a change as what looked like little bolts of lightning crackled along him.

A flashing notification appeared in the corner of Tim’s eye.

You have successfully cast Soul’s Beast Familiar. The spell will now be removed from your active list. You are now bonded for life with ----- the gray mouse. Click to see his character sheet, which exists only as an extension of your own.

Name: -----

Age: 4 months       Lt: 4.2 inchs    Wt: 1.3 oz

Class: Treasure Hunter

Level: 1st

XP: 0/250 (to next level)

Hardiness: 16

Flexibility: 25

Acuity: 8

Sagacity: 12

Hit Points: 6

Mana: 4

Offense: 7

Defense: 11

Faction: Humans- 5

Equipped Class Skills/Spells:

1) Detect Secret Places

2) Superior Climb and Cling

3) Bite Proficiency

4) Rat Bite Fever - Debuff

Tim was simply blown away. He had related to the mouse before because of how out of place it was in the palace. He had even admired its boldness, but now he could almost feel its thoughts. Given the class it got, he had to wonder if Cal-Dakota didn’t have a part in this.

“Hmm”, Tim said outloud. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

“So smart, so strong, so fast.”

Tim about jumped back as he realized that he could understand the squeaks being made by the mouse. Then he grinned of course. He had expected some kind of telepathic communication but it was different. He could understand the mouse’s sounds, even though he was certain the mouse wasn’t saying words, but rather making noises.

“Can you understand me?” Tim asked the mouse softly. He didn’t want anyone outside the room to think he was talking to himself.

“Of course, you giant. I’m not stupid.”

Tim sighed. He had to get a pet with attitude, of course. “I’m not a giant. I’m Tim and I’m your…”

“Oh you better not say master. I just know you were gonna say partner. Cause I’d think of you more as my servant, but I’m okay with a partnership.”

Tim shook his head and smiled. He had been right. This mouse was bold. “Okay, partner, but I can’t go around calling you ‘mouse’.”

“Why not?” The familiar asked while twitching its nose in true confusion.

“You need a name, that’s why.” Tim replied.

“A name… hmm my people don’t have names. But I understand the world so much better than before. Oh, thank you for that. I appreciate whatever you did to me. I am so smart now.”

Tim said, “Yes, so you keep saying, so why don’t you tell me what name I should call you.”

In a flash the mouse had leapt across the room to land on Tim’s chest. There was a small impact but no matter that he was stronger than normal humans by a good margin and faster than even most sojourners, he still weighed only a fraction of a pound. Tim plucked him off his chest and held him in his hand.

As they made contact, he could feel more of what the mouse was feeling.There was definitely a bond between them and while feisty was definitely a thing for this little rodent, Tim could tell that he also felt the connection.

He squeaked, “Why don’t you give me a name, since it’s so important to you.”

Tim thought for a minute and then remembered a cartoon he had enjoyed as a child. “How about T.D. or Taz for short?”

“I don’t like,” came the squeaked response.

Tim pondered options a bit more. Perhaps Loki would be a good choice, especially given how his patron acted. But that seemed to heavy handed. So he pondered a bit more. Playful names went through his mind as he thought about the first time he had seen the little rodent, but he didn’t want a name he couldn’t use in polite society, even if he was up to mischief. Hmm… that was it. Tim smiled and said, “Maybe your named could be Mischief?”

The mouse pondered again before asking, “What does it mean?”

“Sorta like playfulness or teasing that can be for fun or can cause trouble,” Tim answered.

The mouse looked up at him with its little red eyes and Tim almost felt like it was searching though his feelings or even his memories. Then far too seriously for a mouse he squeaked, “I will accept it.”

“How magnanimous of you,” Tim said very dryly.

“Just you remember it. I can be playful or more trouble than you can handle,” Mischief said.

“You do realize that I’m like a hundred times bigger than you?”

“What’s your point?”

Tim just shook his head. He was already beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake, yet at the same time the magic of their bond, made the thought of giving Mischief up seem unbearable.

Then there was a knock at the door and Tim placed Mischief inside the pocket of the formal coat he had been given for tonight. The slave said, “They are ready for you in the banquet hall.”

Tim grimaced. Charles wasn’t sure where Caesar would receive him. If it had been in the throne room it would have been overtly formal but likely brief. If it had been in the parlor, it would have been more personal and Tim could expect to answer more detailed questions. But if it was in the banquet room then that meant Caesar was going to greet him in front of all the guests of the night and wanted to create a spectacle of sorts.

He followed the slave to the doors where the guards insisted on searching him for weapons. One of them raised an eyebrow at the mouse in his pocket but he just said, “He’s my familiar.”

“Okay, well he looks harmless enough. You are cleared to go in.”

It was all Tim could do to not laugh as Mischief squeaked, “Harmless, I’ll show him harmless. Let’s see how he likes it when I poop in all his food.”

As the double doors opened and Tim walked in he saw that the table was in a u-shape with a man at the center of the table with slaves and guards all around him. A woman who was likely his wife sat next to him and then an assortment of various men and women who Tim presumed to be nobles of Terra. About halfway down one of the legs of the U, Charles was seated and was engaged in conversation with a man who was an obvious military official.

A page shouted out, “Presenting the 1st Generation Sojourner, Timothy Stein.”

Tim knew that was his cue to walk forward. Not too close, as he wasn’t to be trusted yet, but within about thirty feet of Caesar who would then tell him if he should move up closer. All eyes were upon him and many of the people were whispering back and forth.

He stopped at the designated spot and bowed deeply from the waist while still maintaining eye contact. It had been explained to him that the proper etiquette was for him to drop to a knee and bow his head, but he just wasn’t capable of making himself do that. Charles thought he could probably get away with it because everyone expected 1st gens to have idiosyncrasies.

After holding his bow for a three count he stood back up and waited for Caesar to address him. Caesar Febrius was younger than he had expected. Early 30’s at the most. He was clearly dressed in fine clothing, without it being gaudy. He had small rings in both ears and one on each hand. Tim assumed they were magical but didn’t have his Master Assess skill loaded up now. Around his head he wore a laurel crown.

“Greetings to Iocusinte and Terra in particular. We hope that you have enjoyed your stay in our country up to this point.”

It wasn’t technically a question but the way his voice rose at the end made it into one so Tim took the opportunity. “I have gotten to see a little of Terra. There are many fine people here. I have fought monsters, visited dungeons, and tried to make myself useful to the people of Terra.”

That was as close to what Charles had prompted him to say as he could remember. It seemed to please Caesar and a number of others around the tables were smiling. “As the ruler of a nation the welfare of my people always weighs heavily upon my mind. Your desire to protect our people has not gone unnoticed. I have been told about your service helping to clear one of the local dungeons as well as your part in dealing with the myemar uprisings in the Untamed Lands.”

Tim didn’t say anything back other than to nod his head in acknowledgment. He wasn’t really used to the idea of talking to a king. In fact, he thought the entire idea of nobility was pretty stupid. Like being born in a specific family gave you the right to rule. But, when in Rome, so to speak. Even if it was New Rome.

When he didn’t respond Caesar said, “We have a proposition for you Master Stein. Given your level, you would be a valuable resource for this kingdom. Would you be interested in signing a contract with our military? We can promise you the best of rewards and pay.”

Charles leapt up out of his seat and hollered across the room, “Your majesty, you know that is a violation of the guild’s charter. First gens are the sole province of the guild. We introduce them to you so that you may meet them and perhaps they might be willing to pass on whatever knowledge they have from Earth. But you can’t ask them to join the military.”

A military officer seated only three spots down from Caesar and in full dress uniform stood up. “How dare you speak to Caesar in such a manner.”

After that things started to get really tense. Some of the nobles took the side of the guild saying that having first gens serving in the military would throw everything off. Others were claiming it was their patriotic duty. After a bit, Charles looked at the back of the room and nodded his head at someone.

A few seconds later, Simon was standing next to Tim. “We should get out of here. They will be at this all night.”

Tim just shook his head as he walked out of the room. He knew there was a reason he didn’t like politicians. It must be pretty much the same here in Iocusinte.