9

The bird is the smallest creature I've converted so far. That does make it the most energy-efficient transformation even when I realize I poured in more power to overcome the fear and resistance it did feel, however, it also makes its transformation the most dramatic. The bird goes from having the body of a tiny hummingbird to having the shape and figure of a surprisingly busty green-haired woman. 

All in all, it takes the bird about four minutes to finish transforming. I get to see it go from having a dexterity score of sixteen to having one of twenty-six, a score well beyond anyone's dex score I've seen so far in my journey. Every other stat only gets pushed from something below ten to about fourteen. The doll is above the average of humanity, but not well above average aside from in dexterity, and in all fairness that's an important stat to have a high score in. 

Dexterity covers everything related to movement and fine motor skills. People with high dexterity are exceptional at movement, fighting, crafts, and anything that relies on hand-eye, eye-body, and any other sort of internal coordination. 

I invite the bird-doll to come and take my hand with a soft and gentle gesture. The woman blushes at me as she does as I ask and I begin to pour additional energy into her to bestow upon her some of my perks even as I invite her to join the guild and the party. I am unsurprised when she joins both organizations without complaint or comment. 

The party-wide chat box begins to get filled with messages as the energetic bird-doll begins to introduce herself. She is obviously a vibrantly and joyfully communicative sort. 

I pour power into the doll, giving her access to basic gamer perks that raise her stats. During this time I give the doll some clothes, acquiring the clothes through the shop I can access after I see a powerful discount thanks to my ultimate "Trickster" perk, At the same time, I also share perks like "Meaningless Talent" with the bird doll, happy to have such a potent perk in my back pocket that I can always give my new dolls. 

So far "Meaningless Talent" is one of the perks I've shared with every doll. I want to equip every member of my faction with at least one universal way to make actual humans less likely to resist becoming a doll. "Meaningless Talent" gives everyone who has it exceptional talent when it comes to massages and bestowing pleasure. That same pleasure they can skillfully turn into influence, and they, and myself can weave that influence to get people to willingly accept the dolling process. 

"Meaningless Talent" is also far from the only perk I've shared with every doll. Each doll has received one of the basic "Gamer" perks, enhancing their stats a healthy amount, and one of my strangest perks: "Víxla Hömum Skipta Hömum". That perk is a "Trickster" perk, one clearly derived from the supposed powers of Loki the trickster deity. It is a decidedly powerful shapeshifting perk that allows me and my dolls to freely shapeshift. 

The shapeshifting bestowed by the perk is great enough to allow for a range of curious feats. I, as a man, could shapeshift into a woman with it and get pregnant and even give birth, so long as I stayed a woman for the duration of the pregnancy, and my dolls could conceivably… well, impregnate someone with it. We can even turn into magical creatures like dragons, but we'd only possess our basic abilities and stats, which would still make us terrifying if we used that aspect of things creatively. Curiously, it appears that according to the description we can take on any form, even those of mundane inanimate objects, with ease. 

When I pull my hands off of the doll I decide to experiment with the power. Thankfully activating perks is as easy as taking a single step forward, so with little more than a thought and a brief second spent focusing on an animal I like: a snow leopard, I find my body transforming and my perspective changing. 

My senses shift and the part of my brain that handles reacting to sensory stimuli becomes focused on my keen vision and the whiskers that sprout from my face. I feel the spontaneous growth of thick fur which protects me from the cold even as my clothes melt away and my body becomes shorter but longer. In seconds I find myself low to the ground and I read a notification that alerts me that I've earned a new skill: shapeshifting. I smile, though I recognize that as a leopard that probably looks terrifying. 

I glance at my dolls, who are themselves looking at me curiously, and I then shift back into my human form. When I am my old self again I grin and begin to speak, selecting a text box almost immediately after one shows up.

"I apologize, I wanted to see what would happen if I used my shapeshifting ability. I just earned a shapeshifting skill." I explain, which causes both of my companions to make use of the same ability I just used. They then return to their new doll forms and smile at me before telling me that they also just earned their own versions of that skill as well. 

They begin to chatter with each other, the bird bringing out a new side to the fox. As they chat with each other I study my mental minimap, and I check in with my other companions. 

"Hello master, things are going well over here. I've helped Veronica and Nora with a few patients, and it seems as though Nora is growing quite fond of me." Maya tells me through the chat box. I smugly grin, wondering if we should just reach out and take control of the second nurse. I think about it and decide to hold off on converting the second woman, for the time being. It'd be easy enough to do since there are currently two dolls with her, but since I already have Veronica it's not currently worth taking control of Nora. 

I glance at my dolls and urge them to follow me with a single gesture. They quickly turn in my direction even as they chat both verbally and non-verbally. I silently tell them that we are continuing our hunt for more dolls now, all while I begin to walk in the direction of more animals. 

At this point I've gotten several allies. I have one human-doll, one rabbit-doll, one bird-doll, and one fox-doll, and I want to get many more. As we march deeper into the forest I glance at my "Crafting Menu". The "Crafting Menu" is a part of my gamer system that allows me to instantly craft things provided I have the supplies needed to make them, and it has a number of interesting options for me to study. 

For now the options are mostly basic things. I can make very basic weapons and armor, things like bottles, and objects with a low level of complexity or a simple shape. I cannot make anything even remotely resembling any advanced technology, but what I can make I can not only make instantly I also know I'll only need a third of the materials to make three such objects. 

The synergy between my crafting ability and my trickster power is incredible, but I can only leverage it once I've gained resources I can use to make objects in the first place. That's an annoying caveat, but by being here I am already going ahead and working on that.

My companions and I wander the woods for a few minutes. That's how long it takes us to get to where another rabbit is located. We happen across it when the tiny beast is searching for more food, and the instant that we do I call out to the small creature. It turns its head in my direction and I smile and ask it to come to me, making use of my hilariously strong omnilingualism coupled with my charisma. 

I sense the rabbit hesitate for a second before deciding to do as I ask. When the rabbit begins to hop over to me I smile and allow my energy to surge into my fingertips. It is getting easier and easier for me to contain the stuff, and so when the rabbit reaches me it's quite easy for me to simply reach down and stroke the animal's long ears. When I do I touch it harmlessly a few times before I release the energy and watch the creature freeze. 

The rabbit's conversion takes less time than Maya's did and in moments a naked human woman is standing in front of me, gazing at me rapturously. I embrace her and allow my hands to linger on her back as I begin to pour more power into her to ensure she can keep up with my companions and me. While I do this I also invite the doll to join my party and the guild, which it does without a second thought. Heck, even doing this part of the process is faster than it was before, and in almost no time I find myself giving my newest companion some clothes. 

After encountering the newest person to join my faction the day begins to speed by. Now armed with three animal-dolls I decide to have us split up, with my bird-doll and I taking to the skies to recruit more birds, and to ensure I can get more experience with shapeshifting. I have the rabbit go after other rabbits, and I have the fox doll go ahead and begin to explore the region we're in. The fox doll's mission is to explore new spaces and for me to see if I can expand the minimap by having her reach new places. 

The bird and I are quick to explore the skies, while I adjust to the strange sensation that comes with having wings. It takes me a beat to adjust to the distinct limbs but in minutes I'm flying only a bit less skillfully than a normal bird, which is only possible because of my various experience and training boosters. Still, it's quite helpful and I am delighted to see a notification alert me to the fact that I have now gained a "Flight" skill. 

In minutes the bird doll and I are zipping through the air. We dart between the trees, quickly exploring a region of the snowy forest that is not yet on my minimap. 

Meanwhile, the fox doll is also adding to the minimap, which confirms that members of my party can add to the map which is a fantastic discovery. It is something that motivates me to go after more birds, so when the flying doll and I discover an occupied but eggless nest not terribly far from another village I quickly morph back into my human form not far from it and decide to be efficient. 

I reach into my inventory, retrieve my wand, and order my companion to go and distract the birds. The doll is quick to do as I command, taking advantage of its own ability to communicate with other birds and its enhanced charm and wisdom to distract the birds while I quietly fire off two stunning curses and easily hit both birds. The doll puts both in her inventory and then comes over to me and we take a few minutes converting and empowering both birds. When both dolls have been empowered, I add them to the guild and the party and order them to fly south. The tireless creatures do as I ask, and I watch with a smile as they part from me and begin to fly south. 

I can assume that what lies north is unknown. I think it's reasonable to guess that there are probably barriers, natural and supernatural alike, that lie north and make it difficult to know what exists some distance beyond the forest that surrounds the villages in this area. That's not the case for what lies south. I know the south houses at least a few cities, according to Veronica, and it seems that she learned this information from travelers. 

I want to see these cities myself, and the perfect way for me to do that is for me to make use of the dolls since they can fly without rest or distraction until they reach any destination I wish for them to reach. The best part of this, though, is that I can also communicate with them over any distance, and even add or dismiss them from my party at any time. 

For the next few hours, my companions and I all work on our respective missions. The bird and I capture several birds, converting them to our side with dark joy as I gain new scouts and the ability to more swiftly deploy dolls elsewhere. It is because of this that I get a notification alerting me to the fact that I now have a discount on a specific perk from Generic Harry Potter Fanfiction entitled "Master of Beasts". The discount is solid, reducing it to just under a thousand in-store currency, but even that is a bit beyond my reach at the moment. Still, it won't be for long…

My flock of flying dolls and I eventually go over to the rabbit doll and have her lure her new friends out of a warren and into my clutches. When I doll them I create my first set of dolls that I don't immediately empower, converting a total of six rabbits into human-sized and human-shaped dolls, tremendously increasing my resources in one single instant. 

Meanwhile, the fox doll nimbly expands the map, darting around parts of the forest far beyond the tiny portion that I've seen. She eagerly, energetically expands my ability to surveil the territory near my home. In hours, because of her endless activity, I've been able to locate things like the mine that Veronica told me about and also parts of the forest that directly border two of the villages I spotted from the mountain's peak. 

As night falls I eventually opt to return to the ski lodge. When I make it back I have several of my new servants work with me to sort through the lodge and to find items I can easily sell to the shop. The lodge is large so during this time I have all of the rabbit dolls work with me and we only barely manage to sort through everything in a few hours. By selling all of the stuff I think I can afford to get rid of, which is all of the food items and a range of items that are in poor condition due to age, and thanks to my trickster power, I manage to make just enough to purchase my first perk. 

I greedily purchase the "Master of Beasts" perk, and I shudder as I feel its power flow into me. I don't get to use the power right away, as I spend the rest of the night giving it to my companions, even teleporting back to Silverberg to give it to Maya and Veronica, and to get ready for the following morning. 

The next day and a half passes by in a blur. I begin this period by working with Maya and Veronica, helping to heal various residents of Silverberg. I get to know everyone from kids to an assistant to the town archivist during the daylight hours of the first day. 

Meanwhile, the dolls I have made that live outside of the town spend the first of the two days completing various objectives. One of the most prominent goals of the animal dolls in the wilderness is to capture small quantities of animals, which they do by luring the animals close and then abruptly putting them in their inventories. They do this successfully, capturing birds, rabbits, and a pair of foxes over both days. 

All the while the scouting birds fly. Without ever stopping to sleep, or eat, they move well beyond the mountain, and even partway through the first day they have already gone further than I could glimpse from atop the mountain. They have explored the thinning forest and have reached an area where as far as they can see stretch vast plains where grazing animals live according to messages they've told me and other members of the guild. 

When nightfalls, I teleport back to the lodge, and I do things like convert captured animals into dolls. I also give the dolls a new objective: I order the rabbit dolls to lead the non-flying animal dolls and to create a tunnel from the forest to underneath Veronica's house. I even assist them in the beginning, working with the dolls to select a location in the forest that is near the lodge, and beginning the work of clearing the space. 

I return to Silveberg early in the morning of my fourth day. While I further cement my reputation as a kindly scholar and traveler with the people, my legion of dolls are doing the hard work of digging into the cold earth and then forcefully creating a tunnel that would connect the lodge to Silverberg. 

During this time I see messages and chats in both my personal party's chat box, and also the guild-wide chat box, where different members of the guild actively converse. It is around noon when a series of messages appear in the guild-wide chat box that fill me with curiosity. 

"Hello all, we've officially reached the end of a long stretch of plains. We have finally seen something worth seeing… A massive wall that stretches as far as we can see." One message reads. 

"We can see guards standing on top of it, and it seems to be made of a mixture of ice, stone, and packed earth. The guards we can see from where we are are clad in black armor." The second of the two birds tells the guild. I actually freeze when I read this second message. 

A wall of ice, stone, and packed earth, guarded by men in black armor, to the south of my starting point… The pounding in my heart begins to become almost painful as a part of me starts to wonder if… No, there's no way. It's got to be an easter egg, or a coincidence. 

"Can you fly close enough to the wall, or even safely behind it, and tell me what you hear people saying? I need you to listen for the words 'Castle Black', or 'Take the Black Oath'." I ask, using the chat box to respond to the incredibly distant birds. The birds quickly respond in the affirmative, and I watch the minimap expand as they dart forward.

The map is a strange thing, now having shown me a bit of a glimpse into how big this world is. If I'm right about the true nature of this world, then this world is much, MUCH bigger than I thought it would be. I can see a comically straight path from my current location to the strange wall, and when the map expands enough for me to see distant figures on it, I focus on them and can see their names. 

I see the sort of goofy, medieval fantasy names a part of me dreaded seeing, but I don't recognize any names. I don't see anyone named "Snow", "Stark", "Lannister", or "Tarly". It's almost comforting, but the relief I feel fades when I remember something important: I have innate access to a fanfiction version of Harry Potter… What if this world is a strangely remixed envisionment of Game of Thrones? 

I attempt to hurl myself into doing something useful, such as giving orders to the dolls that are closer to me, but I find that I can't focus as much as I want to. Thankfully, and sadly, I soon get a pretty significant clue suggesting that my fears are true in the form of a message from one of the bird dolls. 

"I have just heard someone say 'New criminals are coming from the Coal Cays to 'Take the Shadow Swear'." The message reads, and only the fact that I am with a patient, administering some medicine to him, keeps me from falling to my knees as I realize that I must be in a remixed version of the world known to some, unofficially, as "Planetos". 

Instinctually, intuitively, I am sure of two things. Firstly, the "Coal Cays" is a remixed name for the Iron Islands. Secondly, "The Shadow Swear" must be a goofily named version of "Taking the Black". 

If this is true then that means that I'm in the lands Beyond the Wall, and depending on how original this world is, and assuming I am correct in my knowledge of Game of Thrones lore, the lands to the north of my current location constitute the home of The Others. That could certainly explain why a sage strong enough to make something like the Hurt Hut never came back south after heading north… She could be a Wight now. 

There is clearly some original stuff here, even if it's true that at its core this is a remixed version of Planetos. We're way further north than I'd think we could be while being safe from the Others if we were in a normal version of Planetos. It took my birds almost two days to reach the Wall, and they crossed over a series of plains to get there. Plus I don't recall anything resembling rune magic in Game of Thrones, though I do recall other forms of magic. Is it possible that something about Kaltwildnis determined that there'd be a priority given to original elements over elements from the Game of Thrones show? I just… I just don't know enough yet.

However, if it's true that this is a remixed version of Planetos… then that means that there is some neat stuff here. My initial despair begins to change into something slightly different as I ponder the possibilities that this world MIGHT offer if I am right that it is fundamentally a remixed version of the world of Game of Thrones. 

"I still don't have enough information to be sure right now…" I mutter, causing the young man I'm helping to glance at me curiously. I laugh lightly and ignore the text boxes that appear when I get ready to respond to him. 

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking that I'm not quite sure how you'll feel about this medicine." I tell the man, before asking him to stay a few minutes so I can keep an eye on him. He agrees, and I silently order the birds to try and find a safe zone so I can see if I can use safe zones they discover. The birds respond that they are "On it" and I hurl myself into the work I'm doing, my mind still racing as I begin to contemplate the possibilities laid out before me.