The prickling sensation that always accompanied a BeastScape-enabled transformation was starting to spread from the back of Garath’s neck to the rest of his body when he caught sight of Gary approaching. The ginger, bearded, lumberjack-looking man had joined Garath’s Raid group during The Culling with his five red-headed boys, and had since taken on a limited leadership role within The Band. He was wearing his customary outfit, blue jeans, a flannel button-up, and a warm smile.
The Necrologist abruptly ended the transformation. He was now hypersensitive to the maximum amount of form changes allowed by the BeastScape Ability per day (13 transformations), after his attempt to go Crow form had failed him during a battle in Aquawood Depths the day before.
“Hey, Garath!” Gary raised a hand in greeting. The bearded man bounded up the grass-covered hill, where Garath stood with his two summoned demons. “I know you said last night that you wanted to be alone for a bit, but do you have a second?”
Garath smiled toothily. “Actually, we were just about to go on a little field trip. You’re welcome to join us though, if you want?” he said, raising his voice to cover the distance between them.
“This field trip wouldn’t happen to be related to that smoke column to the south, would it?” He glanced briefly at the Fel Hound and Flayer, his discomfort only visible for a fraction of a second before the bearded man’s face relaxed.
Garath nodded, unfolding his arms to shake Gary’s outstretched hand. “I kind of figured I wouldn’t be the only one who noticed. Yeah, my demons here just…”—Garath paused, looking for the right word to describe their recent advancement—“evolved? So I thought this might be a good opportunity to test out their new capabilities.”
“So you think something hostile is making the smoke?” It didn’t sound much like a question.
“Check your World Map.” Garath didn’t intend to give off the let-me-google-that-for-you vibe, but a quick check of his MENU panels would have given Gary the same information. “It’s a World Boss. Generally hostile, but not always, in my experience at least. In some games I’ve played they just wander around unless attacked. I was just about to go Crow form and do some recon when I saw you coming up the hill.”
Gary’s eyes went vacant for a moment, adopting the expression that Garath knew to mean someone was accessing their MENU panels. He waited for the man to find the icon on the map and process the information that he had read himself only a moment before.
“The map information recommends ten or more people. Do you want to wait here while I try to round up some more folks from our group?” Gary asked, then made a face. “Its name is Rum’bah? Really? Like the vacuum?”
Garath shrugged. The way he saw it, this ‘Rum’bah’ wasn’t anything to worry about. He was eight Levels above the recommended median, even if it was a ten-person recommendation. On top of that, Garath was significantly more powerful than almost any other Level 23 would be due to his additional Attribute and Skill Points. “You don’t have to come. I’m just going to scope it out. If it looks like too much for me and my demons to handle, then we can drag more people over to help.”
“Alright,” Gary agreed nervously. “But I don’t have a flying BeastScape form.”
Garath’s expression went flat. “I can help you unlock Crow form in like two seconds. You didn't get it from Brandon?”
“And also...” Gary scratched the back of his head, looking a little ashamed. “I’m not a big fan of heights.”
Garath tried to hide his disappointment at even the prospect of walking, “Well, it isn’t that far. We can hoof it. You did unlock your House Cat form from Tarzan during The Culling though, right?”
Gary’s large shoulders dropped. He looked like Garath had just asked the one question that he was hoping not to hear. “Yeah, I have a House Cat form.”
“We can probably get there faster with four legs,” Garath suggested reasonably. “You ready to go now?”
“Oh, why the hell not?” Garath knew the man was uncomfortable outside of his own skin and had only attempted a BeastScape transformation once, when Garath had insisted that everyone in The Band unlock their House Cat form during The Culling. Even then, Gary had stayed in his feline form for all of thirteen seconds before transforming back into the barrel-chested, bearded, redhead festooned in flannel and blue jeans.
Garath nodded and began the transformation into his House Cat form. An intense tingling started at the back of his neck, followed by the prickling sensation that spread to the rest of his body. Like a sneeze, but less comfortable. Soft white fur sprouted from his skin as he shrunk, now only slightly larger than a kitten and pure white. Garath watched as Gary transformed as well, and was glad that his smirk was hidden by the cat’s limited facial expressions.
Gary looked exactly like Garath had imagined he would. The feline shifting uncomfortably from paw to paw was roughly three times his size. It was orange, striped with a flaming red identical to the color of Gary’s hair and beard in his natural form.
Without further discussion, Garath took off south toward the column of smoke that served as a beacon to the World Boss. He gave his demons the mental command to follow. Without looking back, he knew that Handsome wasn’t far behind him. Bill sprinted ahead on Garath’s projected course, head on a swivel as he searched out potential threats to his summoner. Garath was almost positive that they wouldn’t run into anything incredibly dangerous on quick run from the clifftop to what had once been downtown Everett. The entire city was deemed a safe area by the World Map, but he could still appreciate the Hound’s diligence. He sent a mental ‘good boy’ to the demon-dog as he wound through the streets between abandoned vehicles, fallen trees, and destroyed buildings.
Out
