"The rules of the race are simple" explained the Wizard of the Yellow Tower to the contestants. "You must follow the Wil 'o Wisp to the Prize. The first contestant to return the Prize to me wins. You may only employ Transmutation spells. You may not attack each other. You may not attack any resident of the town. You may however physically impede one another and physically wrestle for the prize. However if you hurt another contestant you will be disqualified."
"There are...obstacles set in your path. They are obvious, and these you may respond to with lethal force. However you may still only wield your magical powers of transformation, in addition to whatever abilities your chosen form may posses."
Whisperleaf looked around the small circle of magic workers that made up his competition. They were an eclectic bunch, most of whom he had not met previously. Strangers to Skull River Bay, specifically arrived for the Festival. And this contest.
Grandma Agatha was the oldest of the group, she had to be at least in her late 70's. She hailed from the
Garden Isles a part of the
Thousand Isle's that Whisperleaf had never visited. That area was rumored to host powerful practioners of Voodoo. Unlike most Voodoo practioners Whisperleaf had interacted with, Grandma Agatha wasn't loaded down with Voodoo paraphernalia. The old woman dressed simply, in a brown smock and headwrap, and carried only a gnarled walking stick. There was a notably lack of skulls, amulets and magical adornments. Still, her bent frame somehow managed to radiate power and authority. She was accompanied by a younger, white haired man, who seemed to be trying to talk her out of competing.
Draconis Maximus, as he styled himself, was obviously a Dragonborn of red dragon lineage. Dragonborn were not incredibly common here in the
Northern Reach though Whisperleaf had seen a few back in
Haven Towne. There were supposedly a lot more of them farther to the west. The race had a reputation as powerful sorcerers. Draconis certainly looked the part, with his expensive white and blue robes, and the large, carved magical staff he clutched in his clawed hand. He also wore a sword on his belt and a large pouch was at his side.
Talks to Spirits was a
Tekken from the far north of the Reach. His people were a tribal, warlike nation of humans, that some went so far as to call uncivilized barbarians, though no one dared to do that within earshot of them. He was dressed in full tribal regalia, complete with warpaint, and carried a large wooden club inscribed with magical carvings. The Tekken's tended to practice nature related magic, which had some similarity to the druidical powers that Whisperleaf himself wielded. They were also known to be fierce warriors.
Several other magic workers were here to observe, including Dakhir,
Laura Crimsoncloak from the
Wild Rose and a large, hulking, dark skinned man adorned with heavy gold and jewels. Whisperleaf had never seen anything like him, but he guessed he could only be from
Mbo.
The Contest of Magic was actually five separate contests, taking place over two day, each testing a different
School of Magic. Transmutation, Divination, Conjuration, Evocation and Illusion. No Necromancy though. Whisperleaf guessed that even pirates had some modicum of sense.
Whisperleaf was planning on competing in Transformation (his specialty) and possibly Conjuration. Dakhir, who was a master of the Evocation school, was participating in none.
"I have no interest in revealing my hand to everyone in this town, so I won't be competing in any of these contests" Dakhir had explained to Whisperleaf. "But I will attend each and every one. And I will watch. Carefully."
Whisperleaf had a slightly different perspective on the contests. This town ran on reputation, and the more the crew of the
Lady Jezebel was respected, and even feared the more it would benefit them. He wasn't planning on tipping his entire hand either, but he thought showing an ace or two was more valuable then it was dangerous. Plus there was that thousand gold piece purse...
The Wizard of the Yellow Tower walked out over the wooden bridge that spanned the canal that bisected
Skull River Bay. He raised his staff and a purple wisp appeared, hovering over the canal.
"BEGIN" he thundered, and fast as an arrow the wisp took off, flying directly down the canal, ducking under the wooden bridge toward the river, at an astounding speed.
A lot of things happened at once.
Grandma Agatha straightened her bent frame as her body rippled and flowed. In a matter of seconds she morphed into a large eagle. The eagle gave an ear splitting screech and flapped into the air after the Wisp.
Draconis Maximus' form burst into flame. shrouded by smoke. When the smoke cleared, where he had been standing a small dragon, no bigger then a house cat appeared. The dragon also flapped it's wings and took off down the canal.
Whisperleaf cursed under his breath. He was a master shapechanger, and could assume the form of virtually any natural beast that walked the land or swam the seas. But his powers had not yet advanced enough to allow him mastery of flight, or flying forms. Both Grandma Agatha and Draconis Maximus were clearly more advanced in this art then he was. This contest was proving to be more difficult then he had thought.
Still he wasn't beaten yet! Whisperleaf leaped into the canal and as he did his body morphed into one of his favorite animals, a large dolphin, and took off down the canal after the wisp.
To his left, Talks with Spirit's had settled on the form of a tiger and was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, trying to keep up with the Wisp from the ground.
And so the race began.
Whisperleaf in Dolphin form was fast, he was easily outpacing the tiger, but he wasn't as fast as the hawk and the dragonling. And none of them were as fast as the Wisp.
However, as he tore down the canal, periodically jumping into the air to keep the Wisp in view, Whisperleaf's dolphin senses started pinging "danger". He wasn't the only one down here in the water of the canal. his sonar was picking up something large, hidden under the murky brackish water up ahead of him.
Whisperleaf instinctively slowed just a bit to give himself time to access the shape before he overran it. He noticed that the flying creatures clearly were not aware, and blithely flew right over the large shape.
And from out of the water, it attacked
The great shark broke the water in a mighty leap the instant the Wisp passed it, it's huge mouth open wide to gobble down the birds as they flew toward it. Both the eagle and the small dragon screeched in surprise, and broke away from their pursuit of the wisp, banking desperately back over the land to escape the rows of sharp teeth.
"Obstacles placed in our way" thought Whisperleaf bemusedly. "Obstacles, indeed".
Now that Whisperleaf-the Dolphin knew what he was dealing with, he turned on the speed shooting forward, reaching for every ounce of velocity this body possessed. As the shark reached the apex of his leap, passing close enough to claim a few tail feathers from the hawk, and started to fall back toward the water. ,Whisperleaf leaped as well, directly over the Shark.
And into the lead.
The glowing wisp banked sharply left as the canal met
Skull River, Whisperleaf followed, still maintaining maximum speed given there was likely a shark chasing him. The Wisp headed down river toward where it emptied into the Bay. A great
Galleon was moored at the River Dock.
The Wisp didn't slow, flying directly up the stern of the great ship and then vanishing from Whisperleaf's site, presumably zooming across the deck of the mighty ship.
"Shit" Whisperleaf thought. He swam directly toward the stern as well, and leapt up and over it. As he sailed through the air, he shifted his form again. Into a monkey.
He landed on all four hands, skidding across the wet deck quarterdeck passed a bemused sailor. He caught a glimpse of the Wisp rocketing up the mainmast and Whisperleaf-the-Monkey leapt through the air in pursuit, grabbing ahold of a line and swinging up into the rigging. Behind him he caught a glimpse of the hawk and the dragonling closely pursuing him. Still , the ship rigging was dense with lines and ropes, and the flyers were having to move slowly in order to avoid getting entangled by them. This environment was heaven for the monkey form, on the other hand, as he swang from line to line, and jumped from spar to spar, Whisperleaf narrowed the gap with the wisp, as they both raced up the mainmast.
On the deck he heard several of the crew scream with fear. Managing a quick glance down, he saw what was causing the commotion. "Walks with Spirts - The Tiger had arrived on the quarterdeck, jumping into the midst of a group of sailors from the roof of the nearby watermill. Whisperleaf's monkey face smiled
For a moment Whisperleaf dared to hope that perhaps the Prize was located at the tallest point of this great ship. However when the Wisp reached the top of the mainmast, it did not stop, but shot off into open air, heading across the river and into the lighthouse top of the large ramshackle wooden building known as the
River House.
Whisperleaf reached the very top of the mainmast and quickly considered his options. He was in the lead but only narrowly. The birds behind him would have no problem crossing that space. He couldn't fly, though there were other forms that could possibly help here, he could only shapechange once, maybe twice more before he rested.
Whisperleaf banged on his chest with both hands, screamed out a ear shattering "OOOK and made a running leap from the very tip of the top galleon spar.
As he plummeted across the open space he momentarily had a perfect view of both the eagle and the dragonling flying beneath him. "Maybe if I miss I can grab one of them on the way down" he thought.
He didn't miss.. He made it, though just barely, smashing against the railings of the tower, desperately scrabbling on the steep roof and then managing to pull himself to safety inside the narrow widows-walk that normally housed the lighthouse beacon.
The wind momentarily knocked out of him, he rolled onto his back, next to the open trap door the wisp had darted down, gasping for air. Above his head he saw the great eagle swoop in and land on the railing.
"Fuck" Whisperleaf-the-monkey said to himself. He rolled over, down the trapdoor and into the building. The eagle screeched, tucked it's wings in and started bird walking toward the trap door. Whisperleaf heaved the trapdoot shut.
"Whisperleaf smiled to himself triumphantly. "DENIED! Lets see how you open that, with no hands!"
On all fours he headed deeper into the building.
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Both the eagle and the dragonling had lost sight of Whisperleaf and the Wisp. Unable to open the heavy trap door with it's talons, the eagle had given up and lazily circled the building, riding the thermals of the river. It was soon joined by the dragonling who adopted a similar wait and see tactic while making sure to keep a respectful distance from the eagles great talons.
Below, the tiger-that-was Walks With Spirits tried to duplicate the same leap that Whisperleaf-the-monkey had made, with far less successful results. He plummeted screaming into the river with a tremendous splash, emerged paddled furiously for the bank. The wet and bedraggled feline was in a poor temper when it managed to drag itself up onto the river dock. A surprised fisherman froze as he saw the great beast pull itself out of the water. The tiger turned to him and let loose with an earsplitting roar. The fisherman dropped his catch and bolted.
Suddenly a blue flash exited the ground floor entrance of the River House and shot across the beach, followed immediately by a small monkey. The Wisp had remerged. The chase was on.
Both the eagle and the dragonling dropped into steep dives, reentering the chase. The tiger roared again and streaked across the docks in pursuit, but behind the swifter flyers. The two flying creatures plummeted down, cutting through a large flock of seagulls that had been combing the beach in front of the
Lucky Kraken Inn.
From Whisperleaf's perspective it was like an explosion of white feathers and screeching behind him. The gulls had evidentially not taken kindly to strange birds on their turf and were vigorously defending themselves. The eagle was more then a match for even the largest gull, but there were MANY gulls. A bird battle royal commenced.
The dragonling emitted a jet of fire, crisping the birds in his way and clearing a path. The eagle was less lucky. Spinning out into the bay desperately, trying to gain altitude but dragged down by dozens of pecking gulls , the bird suddenly vanished. Whisperleaf heard a mighty splash behind him as Granny Agatha abandoned the eagle form for something else.
Meanwhile the Wisp shot straight across the beach and up the face of Skull Rock
Whisperleaf followed.
The Wisp rocketed up the steep ascent, headed toward the tallest point, of the hill, Whisperleaf in hot pursuit. The jagged rocks cut into his monkey hands, but scrambling and climbing he kept up. That is, until the Wisp reached the end of the outcropping and sailed blithely on into the open air again, shooting across the river estuary headed for the three linked towers known as The Redoubt and back into the town proper.
"WAYYYY to far to jump this time" thought Whisperleaf desperately as he raced up the steep slope of the rock in pursuit, "I am going to have to blow my last shapeshift for sure. But hey, wait a minute, there is a fishing boat coming into the estuary. Just maybe..."
The monkey jumped toward the boat. The first part of the leap went was planned, he smacked against the single square sail, but managed to grab on to the spar and pull himself onto it.
Things went downhill from there.
"Get ye off me boat, ye varmint!" the older of the pair of fisherman cried. He reached up and shook the lines holding the sail. Whisperleaf screeched as the the spar bobbed up and down, almost knocking him off his perch.
"Son, o mine, that monkey be fowling the sail. Shoot him." The younger of the fisherman reached into a locker at his feet and Whisperleaf ran. The spar was unsteady., Just as he reached it's end the wind shifted, almost knocking him off again, Off balance, he leapt desperately for the tower.
And missed
Fortunately a luckily placed mangrove broke his fall, or else the race would have been over for the unfortunate druid. Scrambling madly back up the tree he vaulted the short distance to the wall scrambled up it and topped the tower just as the dragonling zoomed over his head. Draconis Maximus moved into the lead.
Whisperleaf scampered over the battlements, topped the tower and caught sight of the Wisp again just as it slipped through the sewer grating that drained oneof the main streets of town, The Rumbala.
Whisperleaf-the-monkey stopped in front of the grate. He could probably fit down there, but barely. It smelled BAD. This street smelled bad above ground, covered as it was in spilled ale, cast off food, drunken pirate puke and god knows what else. He couldn't imagine what it must be like beneath.
The dragonling also seemed unsure how to proceed, it was circling around twenty feet above the grating. A purple light still pulsed dimly visible in the darkness of the entrance.
Suddenly from the harbor on the other side of the wall, a great Orca broke the surface. With a mighty leap it vaulted OVER the wall. Just as it hit the ground, its form shifted. For a moment it looked like a little old woman, and then it shrank into a large rat. The rat darted between Whisperleafs feet and down into the sewer.
Grandma Agatha was back, and in the lead.
With a monkey-shrug, Whisperleaf squeezed between the bars and went down into the sewer.
Monkey's were not really designed for sewers. He was small and dexterous, so he was making it work, but Whisperleaf had thought about changing his form to something more practical at least a dozen times in the last few minutes. He only had one change left though, so he put it off.
The sewer seemed to be pretty simple, a single channel that ran directly under the street. It was dark, narrow, half submerged in filth. And it smelled, by Mithras the stench was unbelievable. There were also a lot of rats down here, he had lost track of the rat that Grandma Agatha had changed into.
The purple glow from the wisp and the columns of light from the occasional drains were the only light source. At least the wisp was moving considerably slower down here, otherwise he never could have kept up. Bent over double, he made his way on all four hands through the filth.
Ahead, the sewer seemed to open up a little, into a 40x40 squarish chamber partially submerged in sewage. The tunnel Whisperleaf was following continued, but another tunnel bisected his tunnel perpendicularly. "We are probably under where the Rumbala hits Cathedral Street " Whisperleaf thought to himself.
Ahead in the chamber something moved. Something big.
Whisperleaf held very still, watching as the gigantic alligator's snout broke the surface of the sewage.
The thing was big, at least thirty feel long, head to tail, dominating the intersection. It didn't appear to have seen him yet. The wisp entered the chamber, took a 90 degree turn and headed out of the chamber along the new tunnel, back toward the square where the race had started. The alligator ignored the wisp.
Whisperleaf was stumped. He could probably shift into a form that could slip past the gator, but it would require a smaller, stealthier form, which meant getting past the gator would take time. The wisp was bound to emerge from the sewer soon, there was a good chance Draconis Maximus was circling around up there and would reacquire it. as soon as it came up.
He needed to get past the gator quickly, and if possible preserve his final shapechange.
He need a distraction.
He looked around and noticed about five feet away an especially big, fat rat sitting up on it's hind legs and staring at the alligator, an intent expression on it's face. It was clearly a different species from the other rats, bigger and different colored.
A plan started to form. A plan that might get him kicked out of the contest.
"Well I am not injuring the rat" he rationalized. Unable to come up with a better plan, and keenly aware that time was slipping away, he made his decision.
Quick as lightening he jumped over, grabbed the fat rat and flung it straight at the alligator. The rat made a surprised "squeak" as it flew through the air. The alligator noticed the tidbit flying toward him and reflexively opened it's fearsome jaws to gulp it down.
Right before the rat would have hit the alligator on the snout it changed into some kind of huge lion-like thing, greatly surprising the alligator. A furious battle erupted, and in the chaos it was easy for small monkey to hug the walls and slip by.
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A very filthy and bedraggled monkey pulled himself out of the sewer. He was standing at the base of the bell tower of the
Abbey of St Claire. Roughly 50 feet from where the race had begun. He could see the Wizard of the Yellow Tower patiently waiting, right on the other side of the wooden bridge. At the top of the tower he saw a familiar purple glow, no longer moving, just hovering in the top chamber of the bell tower. High up in the sky he could see the dragonling circling, but it didn't seem to have noticed Whisperleaf or the wisp. Not yet.
Below, from the sewers he could still hear bellows and roars. Grandma Agatha was still preoccupied with her battle with the alligator. There was no sight whatsoever of Walks With Spirits, perhaps he had lost the trail Or he could have abandoned the tiger form for some other shape, unknown to Whisperleaf.
Still, it would appear the Druid had a window of opportunity. Quickly, he rounded the tall bell tower, putting it between himself and the dragonling. Climbing the exterior was relatively easy while keeping the tower between him and the dragonling, staying concealed from the circling Draconis Maximus.
He reached the top undetected, where he saw the wisp quietly resting on what could only be the prize. A five foot sphere of what appeared to be solid gold.
Whisperleaf stared at the golden sphere. It seemed to be made out of actual gold. He reached out and touched it. It felts like gold, heavy and malleable. He pushed it. It didn't move. Which immediately suggested the question If it was as heavy as it should be, how in the blazes was he going to carry this down from the tower and move it, even the fifty feet required to get across the finish line.
"I'm probably suppose to transform it" he thought. "Shrink it into a marble or into a lighter material or something."
Unfortunately he didn't know any magic that would do any of those things.
Whisperleaf thought. He came up with a plan. An insane one.
"
"Hello down there" the now human Whisperleaf called cheerily. "I hate to be bother, but you all need to move"
The merchant manning the stall looked up
"I am busy" he said "I have nuts to sell"
"No, I mean it's about to be VERY UNSAFE for you to be standing in that spot. Something very heavy is about to fall out of this tower"
"I have work to do, if you aren't buying nuts, leave me alone"
"Ok sure" Whisperleaf noticed the dragonling lazily turn, possibly taking notice. "I'll buy them all. Here, 50 gold. Just MOVE!"
The coin purse landed twenty feet from the merchant, breaking open and scattering gold and silver on to the street.
The glint of gold accomplished what pleading could not, as everyone, even the nun at the base of the tower, scampered to claim their share of the plunder.
Whisperleaf's hand glowed with green fire and the scent of cedar permeated the air. He swiped his hand at one of the windows of the tower and the stone melted and flowed, leaving a large opening. He swiped his hand at the floor and the stone melted, dropping slightly. The huge, perfectly round ball slowly started to roll.
CRASH. When a five foot sphere of gold falls forty stories on to a cobblestone street it makes quite a noise. And quite a crater. Whisperleaf had been a little worried that the ball would deform, gold was pretty soft, but it kept it's shape. It did however half bury itself in the ruins of the street.
"What in the hells" the merchant yelled looking at the remains of his nut stand. "My nuts!"
"So sorry, but that is what the gold was for" Whisperleaf gasped emerging from the towers doo after a quick sprint down the four flights of stairs. Both his hands glowed green as he desperately tried to shape the stone of the street to free the ball. The Wisp sailed down hovering above the ball. From high above he heard the dragonling scream and swoop toward him.
From further up Cathedral street, near where it intersected the Rumbala he caught a glimpse of a sight that turned the blood cold in his veins. A huge scorpion the size of an oxcart was skittering down the street, as screaming townsfolk moved like a wave before her.
Grandma Agatha had evidentially dealt with the Alligator and was re-entering the completion.
The golden ball was heavy. Even after Whisperleaf shaped the stone below it and raised it up, it was impossible to lift, or even roll.
He looked wildly around. A small crowd, as of yet unaware of the giant scorpion moving toward them had gathered, ogling the events.
"10 gold to anyone who helps me roll this ball over the bridge!" Whisperleaf shouted.
10 gold was a lot of money. Several willing hands stepped forward to assist. Still, the ball would not move.
Magic rippled out from Whisperleaf, washing over himself and his newly recruited assistants, a green glow and the smell of pine needles mixed with testosterone. Whisperleaf's biceps bulged, ripping his shirt, as did several of the townsfolk. Strength greatly increased, the team managed to get the ball rolling to the base of the bridge and most of the way up the span.
The wooden arch groaned but fortunately it held.
With a screech the dragonling entered the scene, swooping out of the sky and transforming into a huge dragonlike lizard the size of an elephant. At almost the same time, the giant scorpion finally arrived at the canal. Both the dracolizard and the scorpion hissing and screeching charged Whisperleaf and the crowd.
Screaming and mayhem engulfed the crowd that had gathered to watch the ball rolling. They scattered in all directions, ducking into buildings, running down allies. Some even plunged into the canal.
"10 gold isn't worth dying for!" one of Whisperleaf's assistants bellowed before jumping off the bridge into the canal. Whisperleaf's ball rolling team evaporated.
The ball stopped rolling, balanced on the apex of the bridge's arc
As the two terrible bears bore down on him, Whisperleaf cast his last transformation, one of his most powerful spells, one he had been hording for the end game. The smell of animal musk and the tang of blood permeated the air around him. Translucent green fire outlined the shape of gigantic bear next to him. The shape slid over and merged with his body. He grew six inches, muscles popping, shirt entirely torn away, breeches shredded. Thick dark brown fur covering his form. His facial features morphed, becoming bestial, his mouth snouted and fanged.
Bestial-Whisperleaf bellowed as the raw power flowed through him, He put his shoulder to the ball and heaved. Muscles strained, sinews popped. The ball moved, started to roll down the bridge, and as it crested the arch and started to descend, it gathering speed, aimed straight at the green glad Wizard of the Yellow Tower
The Wizard raised his staff and the multi ton ball suddenly stopped at the wizards feet like it had hit an invisble wall.
"We have a winner" The Wizard of the Yellow Tower announced.
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