Author's note: Again, thanks to those that commented and reviewed throughout this story. Remember, your comments keep me writing.

Part 5

Once my brain actually engaged, I slowly untangled myself from Shae and slid out of bed. Closing the door to the closet, I flipped the light switch and blinked away the suddenness of my pupils contracting.

“Head in the mission, Ar’ri. Deal with Shae when you get back.”

I slid on my leathers and noticed that once again they had been cleaned. Looking around on the floor, I searched for tiny hidden doors where little creatures might get in and randomly clean my things. Not that I was complaining or anything. It was just plain weird.

Once everything was set and back to where it belonged, I slipped my sword on followed by the backpack and my smaller bag. I double-checked everything and then clicked the light off. Giving a few seconds for my vision to adjust, I exited the closet and saw Shae had evidently wiggled around and was clutching my pillow. With a frown I left the room.

She was on my mind while I went down to the cafeteria and grabbed a small snack to wake me up. She was on my mind as I ran through the details of the mission on the iPad once more to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything important. She was on my mind as I met the person that was providing transportation to the office building that was the opposition’s cover story. She was on my mind as I stepped into a shadow at the ground floor and jumped six floors straight up then exited outside the window of the target office I was to infiltrate.

Then there was nothing but the mission.

The window ledge was six inches wide, if that. The office was dark. Too bad I couldn’t use my Shadowdancer abilities to move through solid matter. Looking down, I made sure I hadn’t been seen, before I dug into my thieves’ kit at my belt pouch and removed a tension wrench and a thin bladed knife.

The insulation was easy enough to remove, which gave me room to work on the simple latch lock. In under a minute I was inside. Hey, I could have been quicker, but it was a weird angle.

There was a bad smell, something rotten, maybe some spoiled Chinese food. Double checking the only door in the office resulted in a dark hallway with night-lighting at either end. I closed it back up and locked it. The file cabinet to the right of the door was moved in front of it easily enough.

If the data on the iPad was correct, the safe should have been located underneath the desk where the chair pulled out. I double checked it for traps. The whole thing was way too easy. I even had the combination for the keypad. After checking the door for traps, I eased it open and looked inside.

Stuff.

Two thick files which I flipped thorough before dropping into my Bag of Holding, followed by a small black case, and…

“Oh, someone hasn’t been claiming their taxes properly.”

I don’t know how many bundles of twenties and hundreds I stuffed into the back, but it wasn’t chump change. At the very bottom of the safe was my main goal. A quick jimmy off the false bottom revealed a large gemstone, from the looks of it, a fire diamond. Judging by the size of the rock, it would be extremely hard to come by on Earth. It took two hands to lift it out, not because of the weight, but because it was so big.

According to the notes in my mission brief, the gem was an anchor-stone for the veil that led between worlds. Without it, they were cut off until another was located or the veil was breached again. What I didn’t get was why it was in a half-assed safe out in the open like it was. I figured there would be dozens of guards surrounding it, not to mention boatloads of high tech equipment guarding it.

Once I’d closed the safe back up and put the chair back the way I’d found it, I looked around the office. The rest of my time was spent sifting through the file cabinet and checking for any other hidden spaces.

No joy.

Covering my tracks was the most annoying aspect of that mission. They’d find out sooner or later they didn’t have the diamond anymore. Who really cared when? However, cover my exit, I did.

Once I’d made it back to the Jeep down the street, I was home free.

~O~

Dá»rdor was waiting for me when I returned. I pulled out the stone and sat it on the cart. He nodded his appreciation.

“Any problems?”

“Pfft. I can probably go ahead and do the other mission tonight. This was no challenge.”

His face turned stern. “Please stay to the schedule. It was made that way for a reason. Do you have the files?”

I nodded and pulled out the two files, handing them over. “How about the money?”

“Distribute it to your people, Lady Ar’ri,” he replied. “We have what we wanted.”

“Oh, cool.” I was distracted at the thought of how much I’d walked away with that I didn’t notice when Dá»rdor slipped away. It was somewhat annoying because I wanted an update on the situation with Shae, which meant that I was back to thinking about her.

With a shake of my head, I closed my pack and made my way back to the suite. Imagine my surprise at finding Sam and Shae sitting on the couch and one of the other chairs, respectively. Sam didn’t look too pleased and Shae just looked tired.

“You’re back!” Sam said as she jumped up and headed to the table where I was unzipping my pack.

“Yeah, it was a simple B&E and a snatch. Took all of fifteen minutes.”

Awareness of the situation wasn’t beyond my notice. Sam had taken possession of my waist, with a firm hand and a kiss on the cheek as Shae scowled from her chair.

Trying to defuse the entire situation, I took out my Bag of Holding and began pulling out bundles of cash to throw on the table.

“Holy cow, did you knock off a bank too?”

I smiled. “Certain things went to Dá»rdor and Barry, and we get to keep the spoils.”

The haul was pretty impressive for such a small job. Once I got them all out, Sam started helping me with the sort. “Why does it look like Shae just ate a sour pickle?” I whispered.

Sam's lips twisted a little. “I found her in your bed, waiting for you to come back.”

With a nod I confirmed that. “She was there when I woke up. Don’t tell me you jumped on her because of that.”

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “But… I thought…”

My shoulders dropped a little with regret that I had to actually explain situation. I thought girls were supposed to be naturally empathetic. “Sam, she just got turned into a girl. How would you feel if you’d decided to put on Dá»rdor’s collar and wound up as a male Tiefling?”

At the look on her face I saw that she was starting to understand.

“David went into this with his eyes open, expecting to become a Sorcerer. Now he’s turned into someone that is totally against his nature and he was one of my best friends. If Shae needs comfort with something as simple as sharing a bed, then I’ll give it to her. She doesn’t need to explain herself.”

Sam’s face was going a little red, even above the dye tint on her skin. She couldn’t even meet my eyes.

“Nothing went on last night, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re my girlfriend, even if we haven’t made anything official. I don’t cheat. So relax, okay?”

I received a quick nod in return. With a squeeze of her hand, I called Shae over.

“Look, Profit!”

A bright grin in her direction and her face changed from disgruntled to almost elated. I virtually choked when she jumped off the couch. Remember about her choice of intimate apparel? She was wearing a silky half cami in emerald green and the shorts that came with it were cut up the sides… all the way up. The girl had no modesty. So, my attention immediately dropped to the table before I got caught ogling by accident.

I made four piles, one for each of us and started doling out the bundles once I found out how much was in each. The hundreds were in way smaller straps, twenty in each, and the twenties were in the thicker ones at one hundred in each, so they were both in two thousand dollar bundles. By the way, there were way more hundreds than twenties.

“That’s twelve apiece in the hundreds. Shae, would you break down the remainder evenly for me.” It was the odd one out. “And that leaves six bundles apiece of the twenties. Sam, if you wouldn’t mind?”

There was a single one out of the twenties as well that had to be broken down, which she quickly took. “A hundred and fifty grand is not too bad of a take.”

Once Shae finished separating hers and adding it to the four piles she looked up at me. “This should be yours. You’re the one that did all the work.”

Sam’s counting slowed down and she sighed. “She’s right.”

I picked up my portion and pulled it to me. “This is mine, and I would highly suggest you take yours, or my klepto side might get ideas. You guys have given up a lot to be here. Consider this the beginning of your compensation. Night.”

Standing up I snatched one of the finished piles of twenties that Sam was working on and made my way to my bedroom. Not really knowing where to put it, since I didn’t have a safe, I opened one of the bottom drawers to my dresser and started lining the bottom. Setting aside a few single hundreds and a good portion of the loose twenties for mad money, I shut the drawer and stuffed the rest in my smaller bag.

~O~

The next morning I found myself in a familiar position, sort of. The comfortable warmth was there again, except this time it was all down my front and since I was lying on my left side, that meant I was spooning someone. Cracking a single eye open I spotted short wavy hair which meant that Shae had found her way into my bed again and the soft, but firm mass of flesh in my grasp was her right breast.

As slow as I could, I let go and pulled my hand away, then dropped out of bed. If sharing my bed was going to become a habit then we needed to have a talk about suitable clothing for bedtime. I ducked into my closet and gave my leathers a wary look before leaning in and sniffing them. Still fresh.

I’d only worn them for a couple of hours the previous night so it wasn’t like I was expecting them to be rank or anything.

A gray-blue trapeze tunic and black leggings sounded comfortable for the morning, I grabbed the proper boots on the way out and made for the shower. Afterward, I plugged in my hair drier heard a soft knock on the door that led to the bedroom.

I had on a bra and my leggings so I was covered enough. “I’m decent.”

Shae entered and gave me an embarrassed smile as she made her way to her room.

~O~

By the time I had my hair dry, Shae was out of the shower, dressed, in dark slacks, conservative button down, and comfortable flats. Her hair was dry and perfectly tossed. Okay, I was jealous. I had to work on mine to get it to look good; she just had to wave her hand and *poof* salon style hair.

“Are there any plans today?” Shae asked.

“Yeah, another mission for me this afternoon.” I paused for a minute. “Do you feel like doing anything mundane today? I know you had college…”

She shook her head and looked away. “I need to think about it for a little while. A Glamour charm could get me through classes, but I don’t know if a degree in English is for me anymore.”

“I get that.” With my duties to DG and Barry, I’d found what I wanted to do more than anything in the world. “Why don’t you spend some time with Dá»rdor and see if this is something that you’re really interested in doing all the time.”

Taking my smaller bag, I transferred a few necessities over while we talked. Shae leaned against my dresser and flipped her hair out of her eyes with a really natural gesture.

“They kind of need me, Ar’ri. There’s nobody that’s talented enough to be Barry’s Sorcerer. Once Dá»rdor passes, the protections he has that keep the veil in place between the worlds will fall. If there’s nobody there to replenish them…”

I blinked and finally understood the whole apprentice thing. “He’s going to be training you to take his place?”

Shae nodded. “I want to do it, so don’t get that look on your face. Nobody’s using me. I’d just rather have done it in a male body.”

Looking at her, I wouldn’t have guessed that she’d been anything but a natural girl, all of her life. If it wasn’t for her gigantic irises she’d even looked human, since her hair was so thick that it covered her Elf ears.

“How are you doing?”

Her eyes ticked to me briefly before finding something else to concentrate on. “I think the thing I’m most disturbed about is how I’m taking this.”

She brought a hand up to her forehead. “There’s so much going on in my head, two totally different lives.”

Shae laughed but not in a good way. “I remember playing with other Elf girls and teasing the Elf boys. I remember my first crush when I was eighty something years old. How fucked up is that? Eighty years old and still not an adult, but I remember it all.”

I gave a sardonic grin. “I’m right there with you.”

Her face softened. “Yeah, you are.” Then her hands moved over her hip and then up her torso. “The thing I’m conflicted about most is this body. Everything feels so right and so wrong at the same time.”

A slight blush rose on her face and her arms crossed under her breasts, then she went silent.

Once my bag was safely secure over my shoulder, I moved in. “Maybe it would help if you didn’t fight it.” Shae’s look of mild betrayal told me I’d said the wrong thing. “I don’t mean give in and not try to find a way back to a guy’s body. What I meant to say was, right now in your head, you are more girl than guy. You’re twenty-one, right?”

She nodded.

“There, you have over a hundred years of memories and experiences, in comparison, as a female Elf. It’s overwhelming. Don’t fight it. I’m not saying give in, but I will say don’t be ashamed that you automatically know how to look gorgeous like you do now.”

Shae’s eyes dropped and her face blushed even more.

“Just go with what feels natural. There’s nothing wrong with exploring alternatives and nobody is going to give you crap about it.”

“Fred will,” she said.

I snorted. “Fred didn’t treat me any different. Well, other than additional eye candy, but that’s beside the point. He’s not being mean or derogatory to me. He just calls me dudette instead of dude.”

~O~

The conversation wasn’t a cure-all. I could still see that Shae was conflicted, but it looked like she was trying to relax the David side of her personality. The only thing that would make it better was time or a miracle on Dá»rdor’s part.

All four of us went to breakfast together. Fred looked like he was in heaven, surrounded by three beautiful women. While I was asleep before the previous day’s mission, Sam and he went out to procure him some decent clothes, so it was easy enough to go to a public restaurant.

Sam had noticeably inserted herself between Shae and me in the semi-circle booth we sat at. As a result, Shae excused herself after ordering and made a trip to the restroom. When she returned, Fred was encouraged to scoot around while she sat directly across from me. What I didn’t know was whether it was because she didn’t want to sit next to Sam or if it gave her access to occasionally touch me with her foot from under the table.

The whole situation was becoming increasingly uncomfortable for me. From the disgruntled looks Shae sometimes gave Sam to the fact that she returned to my bed the previous night, I was fairly confident that there was an attraction toward me on her part.

I spent most of the meal thinking about whether or not I’d inadvertently given her the whammy in same way I’d done to the Macy’s guy. She didn’t seem Elfstruck, but then again she was an Elf herself. And then again, I remembered that David was doing the scowl thing to Sam before he’d been changed. Perhaps it was a holdover from her male self.

Either way, Sam had her left hand possessively on my thigh throughout the time we were there. I wondered if I’d whammied Sam! She didn’t have any protection at all.

With a sigh, I ended my meal even more confused than when I began.

~O~

When we got back to DG, I was summoned to Barry’s office. Shae went to find Dá»rdor, while Sam accompanied Fred to get outfitted with goodies.

The door was open and Barry was typing away on a keyboard.

“Knock knock,” I said at the door.

He waved me though. “Just one moment, Ar’ri, I need to finish this thought.”

A cup of green tea was waiting for me on the desk beside the chair I was in the last time I was there. From what I could tell, he was working on the Fifth Edition of the D&D source-books. Since the Fourth still hadn’t even come out, I didn’t know why.

With a click clack flourish on the keyboard, Barry spun around in his chair and smiled. “Your first mission went very smoothly last night.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “Almost anyone could have done that job. Why did you wait for me?”

He shrugged. “Because it needed to be accomplished at a certain time, by a certain person. You.” He finished off the last dregs of a Mountain Dew and tossed the crushed can into the trash bin. “It went smoothly because you are currently the best at your job. Sure I could have sent someone else, but then they might have accidentally alerted the security on guard. If that had happened with you, I have no doubt that you could have handled yourself.”

I wasn’t so sure that was the reason, but whatever made him feel better, I guess. “The job tonight looks a little more challenging.”

Taking the iPad out of my bag, I powered it up.

“It should. Do you feel okay about it?”

With a shrug, I looked at the layout of the opponent’s lair. “We’re talking about sabotaging a Wizard’s den. I’d really like Shae as backup, but it’s a one person job. At this moment, I don’t know that she’d be able to keep up. She’s dealing with a lot.”

“How about the security? Killing someone in defense of your friends is one thing…”

I held up a hand and then tapped my circlet. “If they are Lawful or Chaotic Evil then I don’t have a problem.”

More alignment talk, sorry. Think of Lawful Evil as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood or maybe Darth Vader. They like things nice and neat, rules, laws, order. Then think of Chaotic Evil being someone like Lord Voldemort of Harry Potter fame. He likes to inspire rampant fear for no other reason than he gets off on it. It’s a little overly simplistic, but the description works.

“And if they are Neutral Evil?” he asked.

“Then they’re probably just a minion, but if they get in my way, it’s not an issue.”

Barry nodded thoughtfully. “Make sure to see Dá»rdor before you leave. He’ll have a couple of trinkets that should come in handy.”

After setting my tea back down, I crossed my legs and eyed him critically. “You know about what happened to David?”

He didn’t twitch at all, not even a change of expression. “I do.”

“No comment? Nothing to add? Just I do?”

Barry’s hands spread, palms up and out. “What would you have of me, Ar’ri? Magical accidents happen all the time. You yourself were victim of two such occurrences.”

I didn’t know if it was me, but his mode of speaking sounded a little off, more formal. “Did you know that it was going to happen?”

His lips ticked to the side for a moment. “Why would you expect me to have advanced knowledge?”

I smiled, knowingly. “Because you seem to be aware of a lot.” Leaning forward, I interlaced my fingers and rested my elbows on my knee. “Why did you pick me? Out of all the gamers in the world, me?”

“It’s a little late in the game for questions like this, Ar’ri.”

With a shrug I leaned back again. “Call me curious, and I’d appreciate you ending the deflections. It’s obvious you’re hiding something.”

Barry considered me for a moment. “Very well. When we started this, back in that hotel suite, I told you that my mother was a seer of some regard, that she had visions of Lyzax coming to Earth.”

I nodded. “Right.”

“The gift has been passed on to me. I have known you to be my champion for the better part of ten years. I also know those that will join your party. I know that Shaeria will never return to her male form even as I know, given this information, she will never cease in her attempts to seek out a method to do so.”

My throat almost hurt when I swallowed.

“What went wrong?”

There was sadness in his eyes. I don’t know if it was for me or Shae. “Dá»rdor’s blood was necessary in adjusting the collar to include a successful transition to his bloodline.”

I figured as much. “He’s male, that doesn’t explain…”

Barry cut me off with the answer. “However his twin sister is not.”

I blinked and shook my head. “What?”

He sighed and hooked a leg up on his knee. “Dá»rdor had a twin. You should know that is highly unusual amongst High Elves. Here on Earth Twins of different sexes are simply minor oddities; they share similar genetic structures, as any brother and sister would. High Elves are different.”

My mind drifted off to Ar’ri’s childhood and his lessons. Twins, even brother and sister are always created from the same split egg, and they were exactly the same. There were never any differences between those born together except for their sexual organs. A pair of brother-sister twins was even rarer, because they were the exception to the rule one being male and the other female. In effect they were the same person split into two similar bodies.

I know I’m not explaining this scientifically right, because science doesn’t take magic into account. Think of it this way. Dá»rdor’s genetic structure was already set up to be half male and half female. David was unlucky and wound up with the female portion. If they tried again, there was a fifty-fifty chance that he could wind up male, but with the collar affixed to his Shae’s neck, there were no second chances.

One other thing of note: if Dá»rdor had a sister, and had no more living family, then she was dead.

“Is that why he looked like he was having a heart attack last night?”

“Likely.”

I nodded in understanding. “So the memories that Shae has…”

“Are the genetic memories of his sister up until her current age.”

It felt like my head was going to explode from the revelations. “What else?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What else haven’t you told me?”

Barry stood up and crossed the floor to look out of his window. “The future is static, Ar’ri. Knowledge will not help you change what will be. This isn’t a scene from a movie or a book. Are you sure you wish to know the future? Are you sure you wish to know which of your friends die first?”

My chest ached. “I can tell them to leave. I’ll kick them out.”

“It won’t work. My mother thought as you did and look where she is.”

I stood up in a rage. “There’s no such thing as fate. I make my own destiny. Me, nobody else.”

He turned around with that sad look on his face again. “Believe what you must Ar’ri Bauquinea. It changes nothing.”

“Then what’s the point? How can you go on living if you know exactly what’s going to happen?”

He shook his head. “I don’t. Oh, I know many things, but not everything. I know that Samantia will become her female Tiefling. I know that you and Shaeria will become lovers, I know that your friend Fred will be the father of Samantia’s only child before he dies at the…”

“Shut up!” I covered my ears and closed my eyes. “Shut up!”

Blood was rushing through my veins at a frantic pace so much that I could hear the pounding of my heart and nothing else. Barry grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away.

“I’ll say no more.”

Shaking my head, I said. “You’re wrong. I’ll just get Dá»rdor to make Fred a Ring of Regeneration. Then he can’t be killed.”

He sighed. “The ring is not foolproof as you well know. Decapitation or being injured bad enough while not wearing it will end someone’s life. Besides the method of its creation is not… pleasant. Someone of Good alignment cannot participate in the making.”

While I knew he was telling the truth, I also knew that I wasn’t going to sit by and do nothing. “Then I’ll find another way. Oh, and you’re wrong about Sam. She won’t be a half-demon. She’s already said so.”

Barry released my wrists and clasped his hands behind his back. “Patience is not one of her virtues, Ar’ri.”

~O~

The walk to Dá»rdor’s rooms wasn’t one that I was happy to make. The Sorcerer had a lot to answer for and not just for lying to me. However, I did have a mission to complete and he had… trinkets.

His rooms lay below, not too far away from the cavern room where I’d become who I current was. I suppose it was a home away from home for the Elf. No power, no technology, just a room carved out of solid rock.

The door was sturdy and it was also locked. A few slams of my hand on its surface and it was answered.

“Ar’ri,” Shae said with a smile. “You won’t believe his lab. It’s…” she giggled. “Unbelievable.”

Before I knew it, Dá»rdor was behind Shae. “Lady Ar’ri. How may I be of service?”

My eyes went cold when I saw him. “Barry said you have something for me, for my mission.”

Shae looked at me curiously.

“A moment, if you would,” he said before retreating into the darkness.

When he was gone, Shae leaned in. “What’s wrong. I know that look.”

I shook my head. “I need to talk to him alone, for just a minute.”

Her delicate brow furrowed. “What happened?”

“I can’t say… or I can say, but it’s not for me to say.”

“You’re talking in riddles, Ar’ri. What’s the big deal?”

I pressed my lips together and started to tell her the truth, but the Sorcerer showed back up, holding out his hand. “A Ring of Invisibility and a scroll for your mission. The blast radius of the Fireball is twenty yards. Please make sure you are well out of range before activating the contents. Return the ring tonight. It’s the only one I have.”

The ring went into one of the outside pouches and the scroll case into the bag. “I need to talk to you, alone.”

Shae gave me a disgruntled look for being uninvited, but Dá»rdor looked agreeable. “Will the hallway suffice? I have protections on my lab that prevent… thieves inside. No offense.”

“Hall’s fine.”

Dá»rdor gave Shae and expectant look and he reluctantly stepped back while he closed the door.

“Can she hear us?” I asked.

“No, the door is soundproof.”

“Good.” I stepped into his personal space and glared at him. “If you ever lie to me again when I ask you a question, I will personally make your life a living hell.”

Something sour made its way to the sorcerer’s face.

“You knew exactly what happened and why it happened with that collar. You will tell Shae and quit dicking around, or so help me Dá»rdor, in Legá¡rith’s name, I will have justice for your deception. Do we have an understanding?”

His eyes left mine and dropped to the side with a single nod of his head.

Stepping back, I tugged my tunic down and tried to ease off the anger I was showing. “By tonight, before I return. You have that long. I thought you were honorable, Dá»rdor. Your vanity has doomed an innocent to a lifetime of unimaginable pain. Do you know what it’s like to be trapped in a body that you know you do not belong in?”

Pointing at myself, I kept my voice low and even. “I do. Make it right. That’s not a request.”

Without waiting for a reply, I spun on my heel and made my way back up to the suite.

~O~

“Somebody’s in a bad mood,” Fred said as I entered my room with no more than a nod in their direction.

I made a beeline to my closet and started stripping along the way. Sam was in my room before I even had a chance to grab my leathers.

“What happened?”

It took restraint to hold back, but I did manage it. “I can’t talk about it right now. When I get back, I can.”

A worried look dropped over her face. “It’s the mission. It’s dangerous.”

“No… well, yeah, but that’s not it.” I stopped. “Look, I really want to tell you, but it’s not my story to tell.”

Sam didn’t seem too mollified. “Is this about that girl? I know she slept with you last night.”

“What?” I shook my head in disbelief. “Sam, you need to get over yourself. Shae is innocent in all of this. I told you I wouldn’t cheat on you and that should be enough.”

Apparently I didn’t explain that very diplomatically. The next thing I knew, Sam’s face turned red and she stormed out of the room.

“Great, just what I needed.”

I stood there for a few moments trying to breathe through the madness of the last twelve hours. “This isn’t anything like D&D,” I said to myself as I donned the leathers. “I should have just done this by myself. I shouldn’t have brought the others in.”

Grumbling throughout the bedroom, I prepared for the afternoon: sword, potions, scroll, weapons, rings; everything was in its place and secure.

I decided against sticking around and dealing with the soap opera type drama that was going on and made my way out. Imagine my surprise when I found Sam and Fred on the couch trying to eat each others face. She was straddling his lap, grinding her hips into his, and Fred’s hands were securely on Sam’s butt, squeezing and encouraging her actions.

My throat tightened up and I felt my eyes burn at the shock of seeing the betrayal, not only from my pseudo-girlfriend but from one of my best friends. It wasn’t like they were even trying to hide it.

“Get out,” I growled.

Fred was the only one that jumped. I saw the surprise on his face and the realization of what he was doing. Sam just scowled at me. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, get out. Get your shit and get out, both of you. If you want to play 90210 then go play it somewhere else.”

She stood and pointed an accusing finger at me. “So you can have sex with your new girlfriend and I can’t even have a kiss? Doesn’t feel good, does it?”

Fred’s head was bouncing back and forth between us. His face was red and guilty looking, but he wasn’t saying anything.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The door, behind me, opened and Shae came in. Her face was blotchy and her eyes swollen with tears. I cringed. Talk about timing. She saw me and nearly raced to my arms.

“It was all a lie!” she cried into my neck.

“Shhh.” I rubbed her back. “It was a mistake. He got overconfident and made a mistake.”

Shae’s arms tightened around me. “I don’t want to be a girl forever.”

I didn’t know what to say to that and only stood there and led her, whispering platitudes and trying my best to calm her. Before I realized it, Sam and Fred were standing there, concern written on their faces and most likely curiosity about what we were talking about.

While I petted at Shae’s hair, I explained. “It was Dá»rdor’s blood. He had a twin sister that died back on Qrynn. He thought that he was making himself a son of sorts and instead it turned David into his sister. Now she’s stuck.”

I pulled back and pried Shae off of me to look her in the face. “But you’re going to change that aren’t you?”

Her face was a mess. She sniffed. “It’s no use. There’s nothing that can take the collar off.”

I cocked my head to the side and tried to manage a smile. “If it can go on then it can come off. You just have to figure out how. You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met, Shae. Now that you’ve been powered-up you’re even smarter. You’ll find a way.”

Getting an idea, I thumbed back to my room. “Now, go get cleaned up. You’re going on the mission with me.”

She blinked her red eyes and then looked at what I was wearing, then nodded and rushed to the room. When the door was closed I turned back to Sam and Fred.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think…” Sam said.

“No, you didn’t. You just decided that I was cheating on you and damn any other possibility. Well, that’s over with. You got your wish.” Giving my attention to Fred, I started in on him. “And you. What the fuck, Fred? This isn’t a damn game. I thought you knew that.”

I sighed in muted anger. “Until you two can take this seriously, I want you out of here. This isn’t the place for a teen melodrama. This is my life and everyone’s on Earth. If you want to act this way then take it somewhere else. Either way, I don’t want to see either of you right now, so get out.”

Leaving them there, I returned to my room to see the connecting door open between the two bedrooms. I stopped off at my closet and retrieved the Cloak of Blending. While I had an invisibility ring, Shae didn’t. It would help her stay in the shadows. I forgot what kind of spells she knew as a Sorceress. At sixteenth level, I was sure she knew an invisibility spell, but why waste it on something like that if she didn’t have to.

Magic users, in the game, had a limited amount of energy to use. It was comparable to a rechargeable battery. The older and more experienced they were the more powerful and knowledgeable they became. So, Shae could hold her own quite well, but I didn’t see the need of wasting her energy if it wasn’t needed.

When I made my way through the bathroom, I saw Shae at her perfectly made bed, changing into what looked like a body stocking but a lot thicker. Considering all that she was wearing was a sports bra and tiny panties, I got to see almost everything there was to see. My eyes darted away while I waited.

“You can look. I don’t mind.”

I still couldn’t lay my eyes directly on her. Picking a point over her shoulder, I concentrated my vision on that particular spot. “Where did you get the outfit?”

“It was in my closet along with some other things. I guess… he had it delivered. Do you like it?”

My gaze drifted back down to see her body encased in the stretchy non reflective fabric that hugged every square inch of Shae’s body. My face heated up and then I just barely stopped the stupid look from appearing on my face.

“It’s… um… nice.” Holding out the cloak I said, “I thought you could use this.

“Is that your Cloak of Blending?”

I nodded.

“Thank you, Ar’ri. That’s sweet of you.”

She swung the gray-colored cloak around her shoulders and then pulled the hood up.

Barry’s words came back to me. I know that you and Shaeria will become lovers. I licked my lips and retreated further into the bathroom. “I’ll just wait for you in my room.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile as she turned to the mirror above her dresser to see how she looked.

I was wringing my hands together about ten minutes later. Shae stood at the bathroom door. The addition of laced up knee boots, a utility belt at her waist, and little bits of jewelry, which I assume served some magical purpose, adorned her wrists and fingers.

“I’m ready.”

I abruptly stood, taking her in. “You feel up to this?”

Her hood was back and she brushed the hair out of her face, but quickly nodded. “Uh-huh.”

With a confirming grin, I motioned to the door. “Okay, let’s do it.”

The suite was empty, but I saw Fred’s pack that he’d brought with him from his apartment still on the floor by the coffee table. That pretty much told me he had every intention of returning. Sam, I wasn’t so sure about. Even with Barry’s prediction that she’d be assuming her Tiefling character and bearing Fred’s child, I wasn’t all that confidant.

By the time we’d made it to our transportation, I noticed that we were still very early. It didn’t really matter, I still had to go over the mission particulars with Shae and adjust it for two people. This wasn’t anything new to me. Like I’ve mentioned a few times, I’ve been DM for several games, and that’s one of the things that you have to do, adjust for more or less people in the campaigns. This was simply doing it from the other side.

Our driver didn’t seem too surprised to see us and in a couple of minutes we were on our way.

The thing about this particular mission, that I wasn’t too thrilled about, was that its timing was in the middle of the day. Being that this is not a fantasy game, I had to take into account local authorities, witnesses, traffic, any number of things that normally wouldn’t be a hindrance if I was in the middle of a forest or somewhere equally as benign.

Shae and I poured over the details from the iPad.

“Are you sure you need me along. This looks like a one person job?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, Barry’s got it into his head that things can only be done a certain way. We’re going to prove him wrong.”

Her brows wrinkled a little. “Are you and he not getting along?”

With a shrug I waved the concern away. “It’s not that. He had some things to say that I believe are wrong, and this is one of them. He may be this really powerful dragon, but I’ve been doing this for years.”

Reaching out to her hand, I squeezed it lightly. “Trust me. When we pull this off, it will be a really good thing.”

It’ll prove that his predictions are a load of bull, or at the very least, not the only way things can go down.

~O~

It was an abandoned apartment complex next to an ice cream distribution center. That’s where we got dropped off. Glamour charms had us disguised as a couple of teenagers dressed in streetwear, unwashed and unkempt. The complex was home to more than a few squatters. It wasn’t them we were interested in; it was the sewer access that they shared with the distribution center.

Who ever said adventuring was glamorous?

We worked our way slowly through the vacant parking areas, acquiring more than a few stares from its inhabitants, not to mention more than a few propositions for drugs, and even a few sexual advances. The back of the complex smelled even worse than the front, mainly because of the overly full dumpster that was spilled on its side. It provided a closed in quiet space that seconded as a public toilet.

“How can people live like this?” asked Shae.

I shrugged. “I guess you can be motivated to do lots of things when you don’t have a choice in the matter.”

The circular manhole cover came off with a mild grunt from me. Rummaging in my pack, I withdrew a flashlight and checked to make sure the way down was clear.

“I’ll go first. Be as quiet as you can. The iPad says there aren’t any traps, but it’s better to be safe.”

She nodded as I made my way down the small ladder that was welded to the side of the hole.

Technically it was a storm drain that rid the low areas and streets of standing water. It still smelled. Once Shae was by my side, I clicked the light off and stowed it away. Like it or not, my Darkvision/Infravision was better suited to see and not be seen, and my companion was a full Elf. She could see well enough in the dark.

“I’ll take point. Hang about ten feet back and watch out for our rear.”

Shae nodded and I withdrew a dagger from my thigh sheath. The sword was nice, but with only about five feet to work with, side to side, it didn’t leave a lot of room for maneuvering.

Our footsteps were silent, and any noises we made from breathing were covered up by the background squawking from above. I suppose there was one thing that drug addicts and their suppliers were good for. About fifty feet in and I paused. Cocking my head, I concentrated on my hearing. There was a light skittering moving closer, but it wasn’t in front of us and it wasn’t from behind either.

“Up,” Shae sharply whispered.

Letting my instincts have free rein, I spun, ducked, and swiped the dagger in a quick arc above my head. By the time I actually saw what it was, it was pinned to the side of the storm drain. Eight hairy legs kicked madly as the spider twitched in its death throes.

“Great. Giant spiders,” I said in hushed tones.

“They must have brought them over with them. That thing is a foot wide easy. Definitely not local.”

I nodded and withdrew the dagger. Looking up, I spotted its nest in a recessed area, which explained why I didn’t see it on approach. A quick pack dive and I pulled out a squeeze-bottle of lamp oil. It’s not just for lighting lamps. After dousing the two foot wide webbed egg sack, Shae snapped her fingers and it went up in flames.

No, I didn’t want to come back this way and find hundreds of hungry baby mutant tarantulas blocking the way.

Moving on, I was vividly aware of any more recesses. Live and learn.

The rest of the way was clear. That led me to believe that the spiders were a fluke. Nobody guards a passageway with only spiders. If they were serious about their security and they recognized the drain as a risk, they would have booby-trapped it to death.

After the fifth opening I knew we were in a secluded area of the complex. A quick peek through the helpful manhole cover showed the area was clear and we were up and out of the drain soon thereafter, right next to another stinky dumpster. I peered around the concrete enclosure and spotted a single guard at the rear door to a warehouse looking building. He was dressed in standard rent-a-cop attire except there was no visible weapon. I guessed it was kind of hard to justify an armed guard for ice cream.

Looking up, I silently cursed the sun for being where it was. That was probably the reason that Barry scheduled the break-in in a couple of hours. The back of the building would throw shadows at that point.

“Good guy or bad guy?” Shae asked.

I said the activation word for the Circlet. “Carnac!” Another peek and I was able to tell his alignment. “Lawful Good. He’s just a hired hand. Can you put him to sleep from here?”

She gave me a nod and with a single finger, she traced a Zee pattern in the air and then pointed at him. A second later he was eating pavement.

“Nice.”

I received a proud grin from Shae. “It was just a Sleep spell.”

We double-checked to make sure we weren’t being observed and then made a dash for the door. It was locked and while Shae was searching the guard for keys, I was already picking at it.

“Nothing,” she said.

“That’s okay, I got it.”

Click.

Looking back at her, I put my picks back in the small bag and pulled my dagger. “Okay, first hallway to the right, L-bend to the left, third door on the right. Ready?”

Shae nodded. The door hinges were either new or well oiled; it didn’t make a sound. Just like I like it. The hall was cleared and Shae was two feet behind me the entire way. When we hit the L-bend, I shot a quick glance around the corner.

“Clear.”

There were three doors on the right and the third was all the way down on the end, right before a T-juncture that eventually led to the front of the building. Pointing to the door, I went up to make sure there wasn’t anyone approaching.

“It’s magically locked,” Shae hissed.

That wasn’t in the briefing. How the hell did Barry expect me to get in? With a quick look up, I noticed the acoustic ceiling tiles. Oh, never mind.

“I can use a Knock spell.”

Magical lockpicking in case you were interested. I nodded, and Shae traced a rune over the front of the door before pulling back her hand and knocking once.

She backed up and let me go through first. Good thing. The guy on the other side was human, armed with a short sword and drawing it as he knocked over the chair he was sitting on. The Circlet told me he was Lawful Evil which was music to my daggers.

There was no time to draw my sword, but there was enough to pull my back up dagger and lunge forward. His first and only attack came from over the top. I neatly stepped to the side, plunging my first blade into his sword arm, at the shoulder and then the second into his heart.

I heard the door close behind me as I eased the guard to the floor and watched as the life left his eyes.

Should I feel horrified after what I just did? It was part of the mission. The bad guys died. Still, it wasn’t the most pleasant of feelings. I wiped off the blades on the guy’s pants. His shirt was kind of messy at the moment.

Sheathing my back up blade, I stood and eyed the next door we had to go through. “That one’s trapped.”

Shae took a step to the side. “I’ll stand over here.”

I grinned and pulled out my lockpicks again. At the proper moment, I swiveled my hand out of the way and sprung the minor lock trap. A tiny needle snapped out where most thieves’ hands would be. On the end was a drop of green fluid which would have probably meant a very painful death for me if I didn’t know about it ahead of time. The lock clicked open a second after.

Shae moved forward and I held my hand up. “Sorry, one more.”

Avoiding the poky poison needle I swung the door wide open and heard the snap of a tension device within. Several bolts shot out and flew across the room, embedding themselves into the far wall.

It almost seemed like cheating, me knowing that it was coming and all. Meh, the fewer holes I had in my body the better.

“Okay, it should be clear. Kill the light.”

Shae glanced at the switch on the wall and I saw it drop. Sorceresses and their telekinesis, what can you do?

Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I peered down the staircase. “Can you float down? The stairs are trapped too.”

Shae nodded then I sprang up and did a handstand onto the two banisters connected to the walls on either side. Balancing myself, I hopped and spun around so that I was facing the proper way. By the way, I freaking love having massively high agility and good strength. My boobs didn’t though. They felt weird hanging at an odd angle.

Slowly hand-walking downward, I dismounted and performed a Y-pose at the bottom while Shae golf-clapped at my gymnastic ability.

The room we entered was more like a storage area than anything else which would leave the average person to think that there was nothing to be gained by sticking around, however I knew better.

Somewhere in that room was the entrance to Dá»rdor’s counterpart’s lab. It was my mission to destroy it with the Fireball scroll.

“Can you sense any magic around here?” I asked Shae.

Holding her hands out, it looked like she was searching blindly for something until her finger pointed to the east wall. “Over there somewhere. It’s cloaked pretty well, so I can’t pinpoint it any better than that.”

With a nod, I ran through a standard search routine, examining crack and seams in the wall, looking for scuff-marks on the floor, tugging and pushing objects in an attempt to release some hidden catch. It was the one thing that wasn’t on the mission notes. Apparently Barry can’t see everything. That was okay, it let me practice my basic skills and that was always good for experience points so I could move up to the next level, skill-wise. Granted, when you reach a level as high as mine, it would take a heck of a lot to move up to the next, but every little bit helps.

That’s how a character moves up in the world, in case you were wondering. Think of it this way: everything that I’ve done, since becoming my new self, earns experience points. So defeating an Ogre and three Orcs at Fred’s apartment, fighting and defeating Kog, and completing my first mission all earned me good points. Those are the obvious ones. But you have to take into account how I’ve acted as well. It’s not too hard to be Ar’ri since I’m actually her already. So that adds just a few points.

Plus, anything that I happen to pick up along the way adds to the mix. That gigantic Fire Diamond? Big points. That’s one of the reasons why I wasn’t simply going to destroy our counterpart’s lab. I was a thief and I had a curse that I needed to placate by thieving. Not to mention, I really wanted to get some goodies for my team. Even if Fred and Sam didn’t stay, I wanted to make sure Shae and I had the best advantage we could manage.

When I heard a click sound over by Shae, I smiled. She’d found something. Then I heard something gurgle, like water moving. Without thinking about it, I jumped through the darkness, as I could through any shadow, and tackled Shae to the ground a half second before a spray of something shot out, coating a stack of shelves directly in front of the newly opened door.

She hit with an exhalation of air from her lungs, with me on top of her.

“Oh god, are you okay?” I said in a rushed way as I quickly examined her to make sure nothing was wrong.

Shae patted herself down and then sighed. “I’m fine. What was that?”

Looking back, I saw the boxes on the shelf, as well as the shelf itself, smoking. “Acid.”

Shae gripped my hand, and I could feel her fear. I didn’t even want to think what would have happened to her if she was standing in front of the spray when it triggered.

“You saved me.”

I gave her a quick comforting hug. “And sometime in the near future, I’m sure you’ll save me. It’s one of the things we do.” When I backed away, I smiled. “Now let’s go do some looting.”

TBC...