New Abilities

D returned to the grove of red maples as twilight was just creeping in. He'd collected not only the tails from each of the slain Rot Rats but digging through the nest he'd found a backpack. While there was nothing of any use or value in it the old leather had been treated originally against water. So other than being filthy it was still serviceable. After devouring the last Rot Rat he'd been mildly annoyed at not undergoing any form of transformation. But during the long trek back to the others he'd had some time to experiment. His tail had disappeared the moment he stopped paying it any attention and it took him a while to figure out how to draw it out.

Previously, after each new species, he'd consume his body would undergo a new change. Refining the new attributes he'd gain and merging the best of them in with his existing body. This meant he was constantly gaining new abilities and mass each time. He'd noticed towards the end that the changes he was gaining from each new monster were more and more minor. Larian had suggested that it was simply harder for his body to manifest so many traits at once and considered that weaker ones would eventually be replaced. After his coma, he'd woken up almost back to the very first form he'd taken and with lots of the extra mass, he'd acquired lost. He considered it to be a net loss, a side effect of whatever that one mage had tried. But during his return trip, he was starting to figure out what had really happened.

Like his tail, he was able to manifest many of the traits he'd previously had and even a few that monsters he'd devoured had but he hadn't previously manifested. The only problem was it was a bit of a strain. Isolating the traits was difficult in its own way. While drawing them out was like tensing a muscle and holding it. The more features he manifested at once the more effort it took and the more strain it caused. Yet despite that D was rather pleased with the results, it would take some training but if he was able to master the changes to his body he could in effect configure himself to the best setup for any situation.

Entering the copse of red maples he found Mil with his wand in hand and at the ready. The old man only sighed and stuffed the wand into his pocket. "Ya scared me, shitless boy! Well, everything went well then?"

D nodded before letting his eyes slide past Mil to the wagon where Royal Ranger Dean was sitting up watching him. The two locked eyes for a while before D just walked over to the wagon settee and tossed his new backpack of Rot Rat tails up on it. "Should we go back now?"

"Back? It is nearly nightfall. We should camp here rather than trying to navigate these damned lands in the dark!" Mil moved over to the back of the wagon starting to unpack supplies for the evening meal.

D just shrugged and moved over to pluck a reed out of the ground before taking a few moments to craft a rough pen. It was hard work writing a ward with the crude pen instead of his spell quill but like everything else it had been in his pack lost at the castle. D worked in silence scribbling his chicken scratch style writing in the air while mentally he was cursing the loss of his belongings yet again. Finally, the pale writing condensed into a ring of soft light before expanding to encompass most of the little grove of trees.

"What's that do?" Mil had stopped to watch D work.

"Sound suppression, light suppression, and a few defensive wards to keep anything from getting in." D cleared his throat unused to his lack of rasp when talking.

"Then we can have a campfire?" It was Rachel who spoke up, her face hopeful.

D just shrugged before moving over to inspect the wagon's contents. The entire time the royal ranger had watched him but said nothing and D had ignored him. There was tension in the air as neither knew exactly how the other was likely to react.

Dean was the first to speak up, clearing his throat some before stating. "They told me what all happened while you were away." D carefully glanced up at Pena who was behind the Royal Ranger. The monster girl gave him the slightest shake of her head confirming that they hadn't mentioned anything about their human nature or more precisely the fact they weren't human.

"And?" D asked while pushing away a small crate of provisions to check the next one.

"Sounds like things in Gelian have gone to shit. But that said I'm still a Gelian Royal Ranger and you are still conscripted into the military!" Even one armed and weak Dean spoke with authority, though he was less than surprised when D seemed to give him little reaction.

"And?" D stopped shuffling through the goods to look up at the older man.

"Until the time I get new orders, my mission will be to protect the Gelian Kingdom's greatest treasure." He motioned to the pale girl squatting down and watching a caterpillar crawling along a stalky plant's leaf. "Since my condition… will limit my combat effectiveness." He tilted his right shoulder towards D but lacked even a nub to wiggle. "You as a conscripted member of the Gelian Military will serve under me to facilitate this mission."

"You mean since you are a helpless cripple you want me to do all the fighting?" D looked up at the man, his face blank. Dean though didn't show any hostility to the crude explanation and simply let out a sigh suddenly seeming more human.

"Yes, that about sums it up."

"How much you paying?" D didn't even miss a beat.

Finally, Dean let out an exasperated breath of air. "Kid the Gelian kingdom is in ruins with invaders from multiple other kingdoms occupying it, an ancient Destroyer is probably marching on the capital still, and the only hope for our kingdom is currently eating a bug. What do you think I can pay you?" At his words, Rachel noticed the pale girl was currently eating the caterpillar she'd been looking at and rushed over to pull the half eaten bug out of the girl's mouth.

"So you can't pay me?" D asked again with the same overly calm expression as always.

"If you are asking about coins then no I can not. I've lost practically everything." D started to turn his attention away from the one armed ranger. "BUT I can teach you. Your teacher is missing, yes? I don't know anything about magic but I can teach you to fight! Lady Orion mentioned your teacher's message said for you to get stronger right?" D looked around trying to figure out who Lady Orion was before his eyes landed on Rachel who gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, that is my surname. I told you during more than one of our lessons!" Rachel was wiping the face of the girl who just looked at her confused at having her meal taken away.

"Let me sleep on it." D finally answered the royal ranger who had no real other choices so just nodded. After that Jane and Mil worked together to create a simple meal on a small campfire fueled by a bundle of old dry reeds.

D was lost in thoughts about the changes to his body and how best to utilize them. Returning to the Fringe and fighting the monsters in the waste quickly shifted him back to survival mode. Dean watched all the group carefully studying not only the boy he found himself forced to rely on as well as the group dynamics. The hodgepodge group was odd, to say the least and what Dean found most unusual was that all of them seemed tied to the boy in some way.

The wagoneer spoke to and treated the much younger boy with respect that confused Dean. He recognized Jane's case of puppy love was still in full bloom while the other girl seemed to have similar feelings for the boy. She constantly glanced over at him with a longing that was easy to spot. Lady Orion had explained how she worked as a teacher in training at the academy and D's tutor. She also mentioned that D had killed a man chasing her which led to her tagging along. Dean had noticed that she mentioned that the boy, not his teacher had saved her and when he questioned her on it she got fidgety. While his badge of office had been lost somewhere along the way he didn't need it to know they were hiding something from him.

Of all the interactions the most odd was probably the pale girl that Dean knew to be the new god the Gelian Kingdom had been carefully cultivating. She hadn't spoken once and often acted like a newborn babe seeing everything for the first time. Considering she basically was he didn't find that at all very strange. But he noticed the girl was constantly watching D, not openly like the other two slightly older girls and not in the same way. It was far more covert, he could see by the way she tensed even when she wasn't looking at him the girl was focused on the boy's every move. On top of that during their meal, she sat between Lady Orion and the boy. During that time Dean was certain the girl had moved over and sniffed the boy discreetly several times, even more, strange the boy had done the same only far less discreetly, arousing complaints from poor Jane.

As soon as the meal ended the Melay girl moved over and whispered in D's ear before the two of them moved to leave the camp. Watching them go Dean questioned the others. "Where are they going?" Across from him, the pale girl made kissing sounds that made both Rachel and Jane turn crimson. Dean just raised an eyebrow growing even more confused by the entire situation.

*********

Morning came slowly to the swampland, fog hung low in the air muting the dim morning sunlight. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, the mood in the camp was almost joyous. Thanks to D's wards they all got their first real rest since fleeing the Gelian capital. They were sitting around the campfire eating breakfast when D finally spoke up.

"I'll do it." Dean looked up from his meal not bothering to ask what he was talking about. He started nodding when D continued. "But first, you need to know something. I don't want to deal with it later." Standing up D started taking off Mil's Jacket.