Metamorphosis Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  [1] Quest Added

  [2] The Honey Pot

  [3] Berserk

  [4] Two Angry Men

  [5] Preparations

  [6] Open Ocean

  [7] Training

  [8] Team Bonding

  [9] Everything and the Bathroom Sink

  [10] Land Ahoy!

  [11] Bird People, Bird Problems

  [12] A Kraken Time

  [13] Beach Day

  [14] First Contact

  [15] There's Gnoll Place Like Home

  [16] Changing Places

  [17] Past Matters

  [18] Forging a Future

  [19] Home Invasion

  [20] Discovery

  [21] The Two of Us

  [22] High-Ho, Mollie! Away

  [23] The Wizened Old Wizard

  [24] Recruitment

  [25] Catch the Chicken

  [26] Chicken Run

  [27] Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Battery

  [28] Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

  [29] Bad News

  [30] Nightmares and New Things

  [31] Storm

  [32] Scouting Trip

  [33] Troubles and Traitors

  [34] Diggy Diggy Hole

  [35] Smoke and Spears

  [36] Beginning of the End

  [37] Pursuit

  [38] Reunion

  [39] Awakening

  [40] History

  [41] Memories

  [42] Metamorphosis

  [43] Thrill of the Hunt

  [44] Blood and Bone

  [45] Battle at the Gates

  [46] Manifest

  [47] Epilogue

  Afterword and Acknowledgements

  Metamorphosis

  GREYBLOOD

  DANIEL PRINCE

  Copyright © 2019 by Daniel Prince

  All rights reserved

  For Stephanie,

  Who was there for me during the biggest of change.

  [1]

  Quest Added

  Lugor sighed as he observed the grinning god in front of him. “Hello, Karl. Been a while.”

  “Karl?” Shiva echoed. “Isn’t that the-”

  “God who gave this dashing young lad his class?” Karl interrupted, inclining his head towards Lugor. “You’re absolutely right.”

  “It’s an honour,” Sandal said, giving a half-bow from his seat in the carriage.

  Karl stopped him, holding up a hand. “We don’t do that here.”

  Sandal sat back down, slightly embarrassed.

  “I have to say, I’m very impressed, Lugor.” Karl pulled out a pipe and lit it with a match. He took a deep pull before exhaling. “I was worried you were going to lose that tournament. Those rocks? Genius.”

  Lugor’s eyes watered, the acrid smoke from the pipe drifting past his face as it snaked toward the window. “Do you mind not doing that in here?” he asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

  “Hold on a sec,” Karl said with a frown. The smoke suddenly changed in scent, the bitter aroma replaced with something that smelled like lavender. “Better?”

  “Better.” Lugor didn’t question the change in smell; the fewer questions asked, the better. “Why are you here? It’s been months since I last saw you. Could have really used some help with the whole ‘turning into a monster’ thing.”

  Since the end of the tournament, Lugor’s monstrous ancestry had been slowly creeping towards one hundred percent. It was still a while away, but the threat of his orcish side seizing control was very real.

  Karl shifted in his seat. “I’m sorry,” he said apologetically. “There’s only so much I’m allowed to help with.”

  “But you’re a god, can’t you just magic him better?” Shiva asked.

  “There are limits to what I am and am not allowed to do,” Karl repeated. “I can’t just snap my fingers and fix everything.”

  “Then you’re a pretty lousy god,” Shiva snapped, crossing her arms.

  A flash of anger crossed Karl’s face and Lugor feared Shiva was about to end up on the receiving end of some divine wrath. “What are you doing here, Karl?” he asked, repeating his earlier question.

  Karl turned back to the half-orc. “I just wanted to check in on you, provide what help I can.” He glanced at Shiva as he said that, the dark elf still glowering from her corner of the carriage.

  Shiva made to speak again, but Lugor placed a hand on her arm, shaking his head. He turned back to the deity in front of him. “If you can’t help with my orc problem, what can you help me with?”

  “Guidance. I know you’re worried about your mother.”

  Lugor leant forward eagerly. “Do you know where she is?”

  “Sort of, she’s-” Karl stopped and turned his head, as though he was listening to a distant sound.

  Lugor jiggled his leg impatiently. “She’s where?”

  Karl sighed. “Sorry. I can’t tell you that. What I can tell you is that if you carry on with the mission Maric gave you, you’ll have a chance of finding her again.”

  “That’s it?” Shiva scoffed. “That’s not a lot to go on.”

  “I’m sorry the metaphysical laws restricting divine intervention are inconvenient to you,” Karl replied irritably.

  “Thank you for apologising.”

  “Is she always like this?” Karl asked Lugor, who was stifling a grin.

  “Pretty much. She grows on you.”

  “Like poison ivy,” Sandal said, laughing as Shiva slapped his shoulder.

  Lugor smiled as he recalled saying those exact words to Sandal when they’d taken on the Gauntlet together. “Getting back to the matter at hand,” he said seriously, “how am I meant to find my mother on this guild mission? We’re going to a new island that’s who-knows-how many miles across the ocean.”

  “Like I said, I can’t tell you any more than that. Just stick to your current course and you’ll have a chance to save her. Some of the other villagers, too.”

  Lugor sighed. “Alright. Thanks, Karl. I feel a little better about heading out on this mission now, at least.” He paused for a moment. “Hang on, you said a chance of saving her.”

  Karl shrugged. “Nothing in life is guaranteed. Well, except death and taxes.”

  “And apparently, unhelpful gods,” Shiva muttered.

  “Shiva,” Sandal said nervously as Karl fixed her with an angry glare, “maybe stop upsetting the divine power.”

  “Let’s not forget who snatched Lugor from the jaws of death and gave him the means to save himself,” the god snapped. “Without my help he would have been killed when his village was attacked, or worse. He’s had more help than most.”

  “And I’m very grateful for it,” Lugor said, raising placating hands. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  Karl nodded. “Start focusing on your class skills. I know you had to choose martial skills for your time at the Academy, but you’re out in the real world now. Champion skills are going to keep you and your friends alive. Also, learn how to cook.” With a wave of his hand and an audible popping noise, the god disappeared.

  The three young Adventurers sat in silence, the sound of the carriage trundling along the cobblestone road the only noise.

  Sandal cleared his throat. “That was weird. Do you think all the gods are like that?”

  “I hope not,” Shiva said. “That dude is wacky.”

  Lugor nodded. “At least I know I’m on the right track to find my mother.”

  “That’s one thing I don’t get, though,” Sandal said, twiddling his thumbs. “This island has only just been discovered, why would she be there?”

  “I don’t know,” Lugor said with a sigh. He looked out the window and watched the forest give way to open plains. “But if she’s there, it means Malcolm probably won’t be far behind.”

  Shiva clenched her fists. “Then we’re definitely going.”

  “It’s going to be a while before we get there,” Sandal noted. “The Merchant Coast is at least another week or so by carriage.”

  Lugor looked up in surprise. “Is that where we’re going?”

  Sandal and Shiva both looked at him, eyebrows raised.

  “What?” he protested.

  “Did you not read the quest briefing?” Shiva asked, an incredulous expression on her face.

  Lugor scratched the back of his neck. “I skimmed it. I got a bit excited and must have skipped some of the details.”

  Sandal and Shiva simultaneously facepalmed.

  “Let me refresh your memory,” Sandal said. He raised his hand and lifted his fingers, counting off a list. “We’re getting a carriage down to the Merchant Coast, meeting our handler, and boarding the ship to take us to the new island.”

  “Handler?” Lugor echoed.

  The carriage bumped in the road and Sandal shifted slightly before responding, “I think he’s basically our babysitter.”

  “How are we meant to find him in a port city? Aren’t they supposed to be gigantic?”

  Shiva reached into her pack and pulled out the quest brief. Her eyes flicked from side to side as she scanned the scroll. “Apparently he’s waiting for us at an inn called the Honey Pot. We just need to ask for Stangar.”

  “Stangar? That’s his name?”

  Shiva nodded. “Berserker class, according to the quest brief,” she said, tapping the paper.

  Lugor raised an eyebrow. “Berserker?”

  “Did you even p
ay attention in class?” Shiva asked, rolling her eyes. “Berserkers use Rage to help them fight.”

  “I thought that was Reavers?”

  “Reavers use a kind of blood magic,” Sandal interjected. “Berserkers are definitely the rage dudes. Clue is in the name.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Shiva tapped the paper again to get their attention. “Do you think Maric and Matthias paired us with a Berserker handler on purpose?”

  Lugor turned from Sandal to look at the dark elf. “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe he’s gonna help you with the whole monstrous rage thing.”

  “Maybe, but Maric did say I had another year or so before the orc soul fully Awakens. Fingers crossed we don’t have to worry about it for a while.”

  Shiva burst into laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” Lugor asked.

  “Ah,” the dark elf responded, wiping a tear from her eye. “It’s us, Lugor. When has anything ever gone smoothly?”

  “Fair point,” Lugor admitted. The trio sat in silence for a while longer, the clip-clopping of the horses’ hooves beating a steady pace as they covered a few more miles.

  A thought occurred to him. “I should probably file down my tusks now that we’re clear of the Academy.”

  “Good idea,” Sandal agreed. “I don’t fancy having to fight our way through the port.”

  Lugor rummaged through his pack, withdrawing his Masterwork rasp and a small hand mirror, then reluctantly got to work reducing the protrusions that indicated his orcish heritage. He’d let them grow out after the tournament and hadn’t missed the pain of metal on his tusks.

  “So,” Sandal said, once Lugor was done filing and had put away his belongings, “anyone for ‘I Spy?’”

  [2]

  The Honey Pot

  “Are cities always this busy?” Lugor asked as he stepped down from the carriage.

  They’d finally reached the port city of Kagos, nestled firmly in the middle of the Merchant Coast. Lugor gazed around in wonder at the sheer amount of foot traffic heading in and out of the gates, with the occasional traveller being stopped and their goods inspected.

  “Bit busier than market day in your village, I’d wager,” Sandal said with a smile. “Feels like home to me.”

  “Are the dwarven cities like this as well?” Shiva asked. Like Lugor, she also felt out of place in the bustling environment, having grown up in an even smaller settlement than Lugor’s.

  “Nah,” the dwarf replied. “Dwarven cities aren’t quite as populated, but they’re just as big. My home city is situated in a giant cavern at the heart of a mountain.” A wistful look came over Sandal’s face. “I’d love to show it to you one day.”

  “Let’s just worry about getting through this one in one piece,” Lugor said. He took a deep breath and slung his void satchel over his shoulders. “Let’s go find our handler.”

  The three of them bid farewell to their driver, who gave them a polite bow before cracking the reins once more, heading towards a stable outside the city walls where he could have the horses seen to.

  “I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have gotten dropped off directly at the inn,” Shiva grumbled as she shouldered her own pack.

  “Can you picture trying to get a carriage through all that?” Sandal inclined his head towards the crowd funnelling through the gates. “It’s faster to just walk.”

  “As long as it isn’t too far. My legs are all cramped up from being jammed in that carriage for the past two weeks.”

  “At least this way you get to stretch them,” Lugor commented as they joined the masses on the paved cobblestones.

  “Bite me.”

  Lugor grinned at Shiva’s grumpiness but didn’t respond, deciding not to add more fuel to the fire. He noticed as they walked that the crowd around them was giving them a good amount of distance. Not so much that they weren’t jostled every now and then, but there was a clear ring around them.

  I guess we do look a little threatening, he thought. They were dressed in full gear, which was still covered in nicks and scratches from their bout in the Academy’s tournament.

  Another thought occurred to him. “Hey, guys?”

  Sandal and Shiva both turned to look at him as they walked. Vendors were hawking their wares from various stalls and criers were attempting to usher them into different stores.

  “What’s up?” Sandal asked.

  “Do either of you actually know where we’re going?”

  At that, the trio abruptly stopped in their tracks, causing a disgruntled elf to mutter under his breath at them as they blocked the flow of people.

  “Sorry,” Sandal said to the elf as he dragged his two friends away from the main street.

  Shiva folded her arms and leaned against a wall. “I was just kinda following you. I have no clue where the inn is.”

  “Neither do I,” Sandal answered.

  Lugor slapped himself on the forehead. “Let’s go find a guard or something and ask.”

  They joined the main street again and kept an eye out for anyone in uniform. After a few minutes, they spied two men in chainmail and white tabards emblazoned with a red sun, the same symbol as on the flags waving above the city walls.

  “Excuse me,” Lugor said as they approached the guards, who had been conversing casually and keeping a careful eye on the crowd.

  Both guards stood up straight and took a firmer grasp of their spears as the three young Adventurers approached. Lugor slowed his approach at the hostile reaction. “I was wondering if I could ask you for directions?” he asked uncertainly.

  The guards relaxed slightly. “Sorry, Adventurer,” the one on the right said. “Normally when one of your kind seeks us out it means they’ve left a body for us to clean up.”

  “Body?” Lugor asked.

  “Yeah,” the guard on the left replied. “Plenty of Adventurers carry out quests in the city, clearing out thieves’ dens or infestations in the sewers. And somehow it’s always the duty of the guards to clean up the mess you lot leave behind.”

  “But never mind all that,” the other guard continued. “Where’re you headed?”

  Shiva spoke up, pulling the quest brief from her pack. “We’re looking for a place called the Honey Pot. Can you point us in the right direction?”

  The guards glanced at each other. One of them coughed before replying. “You’re going to the Honey Pot?” he asked.

  Shiva nodded.

  The guards both raised their eyebrows as they looked at the Adventurers. “All three of you?”

  “Is there something wrong with that?” Lugor asked with a frown. They were acting odd.

  “Nothing at all,” the first guard replied, holding up his hands. “Far be it for me to judge what folks do with their own time.”

  “Okaaaaay,” Lugor said, still a bit confused. “So, can you show us the way?”

  The guard pointed down the road. “Head down this street until you come to an inn called the Broken Drum. Once you’re there, swing a right down a winding alley, which will open onto another road. Head towards the ocean and once you get to the fish market, turn left. The Honey Pot is along that row of buildings. Got all that?”

  Lugor blinked. “Uh, I think so?”

  “I’ve got it,” Sandal piped up. “Thanks.”

  “You guys have fun.” The second guard winked before the two of them walked up the road, heading out on patrol.

  The trio of Adventurers stood still for a moment.

  “Does anyone else feel like we missed something there?”

  “Yup.”

  “Uh-huh, but whatever,” Shiva said with a shrug. “Let’s get going.”

  They followed the directions they had been given, doubling back a couple of times when they took a wrong turn. As they neared their destination, the more worn-down buildings gave way to fine structures of carved stone, with marble dotted here and there.

  “Looks like a fancy part of town,” Sandal commented as they roamed.

  Lugor nodded. It seemed a lot more pristine than some of the other parts of town they had passed through. He kept an eye on the signs, noting that all the buildings had strange names. Gilded Lady, Maiden’s Chamber and Shining Pearl were just a few they passed.

  “This is it,” Lugor said as they approached their destination. Booming laughter rang from the doorway as a group of men exited. The faint clinking of glasses followed, cutting off abruptly as the door slammed shut.