Manifest Read online

  He told Dwik of his parents, GameChanger’s betrayal, and even the current condition of his old world. Gitch found himself alternating between laughing and crying at the memories he dredged up. Dwik turned out to be a good listener, asking follow-up questions here and there, but overall, allowing Gitch to say what needed said.

  Once Gitch was finished, Dwik felt the need to confide in his fairy friend as well. About when he had been a near-famous slinger, participating in various regional tournaments the nobles would often throw. Apparently, he could sling a stone and hit a moving target over 40 yards away with ease, or at least he used too. How they cheered for the hatless wonder! Dwik was considered a bit of a novelty, and the crowd would both jeer and mock him due to his size. That was where he picked up all the short jokes he had used on Gitch. Dwik confessed he now felt bad about bullying Gitch, but at the time, it had felt good to be the tallest person around.

  Dwik eventually left the tournament life and settled down in this forest, far away from the raucous crowds. He had built his hut from the ground up, with the help of his best friend, Yahgo. The forest wasn’t near as dangerous back then, but full of light and wonderful creatures. Only within the last few years had the shadow started creeping further east. His friend had long since passed out of these woods, but the memory of them both laying the foundation and finally raising the walls still brought a smile to his face. Now, homeless yet again, he couldn‘t help but wonder what fate had in store for them both.

  They talked well into the night, genuinely enjoying each other’s company. It was when Gitch was in the middle of instructing the gnome of the only proper way to grill a hotdog, that Dwik finally succumbed. The snoring started off soft enough, but soon sounded like a baby pig squealing for its mother.

  Gitch had never heard such snoring before. He tried to ignore it, but it was no use. He brought some more gloop out of his pouch, which had congealed to the point of a soft wax. He rubbed a bit between his hands before tearing off two pieces and sticking one in each ear. He then popped the remaining gloop in his mouth. “Multi-purpose deliciousness!” he said softly.

  He lay on his back, staring at the underside of the golden cap high above. Pinkish dust floated freely all around, which brought him a peace he had not known in some time. He closed his eyes and joined Dwik in their obnoxious snoring duet.

  Chapter 8

  Gitch woke up several hours later to an almost blinding whiteness. He went to shield his eyes, but found that he couldn‘t move his arms, or legs, or anything else for that matter. He was completely entombed by long white strands of some unknown material.

  His first thought-OH CRAP! I just got Frodo‘d by a giant spider! He quickly discounted that idea, however. The material holding him in place may have been rather scratchy, but was not sticky or web-like in anyway.

  His second thought-OH CRAP! I‘m a fairy caterpillar about to evolve into some magical butterfly! But that didn‘t make sense either. He had been in Manifest less than 24 hours, already had his wings, and he didn‘t think fairies evolved into giant butterflies, but maybe with magic... His thoughts began to wander. After a few moments, however, he heard the beautiful sound of a baby pig being tortured.

  "Dwik! Oh, thank God! Hey, Dwik! Help, I‘m stuck and have no idea where I am. Just follow the sound of my voice!" he shouted, hoping to be heard through the forest of long white strands of rope.

  The pig-squeal snores abruptly stopped. Gitch, along with his ropey prison, rose into the air. He was thoroughly confused, and even more so, when a giant hand came rifling toward him. He screamed but couldn’t move to escape. The hand wrapped around him and pulled hard. He heard a grunt of pain as the strange ropes holding him in place snapped. The hand pulled him through the white forest into the warm light of day. His savior’s hand still obstructed some of his vision, but it didn’t matter. He was saved!

  The hand set him down on the ground, releasing its firm hold on his body. For the first time that morning, Gitch was able to get a good look at his surroundings. He was still in the grassy glade, and the toadstool still loomed over head.

  "What the-" he started before loud, uncontrollable laughter cut him off. Dwik was lying on the ground, cracking up.

  "Hehe, oh yer safe now Gitch! I saved ya from that tangled mess in the nick o’ time! It was a close call that was! Hahahehehehe! Next time ya want to cuddle up in me beard, just say so! Haha! I could have at least combed it out fer ya!" Dwik lost himself in a fit of giggles.

  Gitch felt his face flush. Well, flush deeper. Frick! He didn’t know what to say. The best he could figure, he had sleepwalked right into Dwik’s huge, bushy beard. That would make the most sense given the trauma his mind had endured throughout the last 24 hours. Whatever, he let it go. Dwik was still rolling on the ground, occasionally trying to mimic Gitch’s high-pitched voice, screaming things like "Oh help me Dwik ya handsome stud!" or "Dwik, I didn’t expect it to be so thick!" before bursting into giggles yet again.

  Gitch decided to take a walk. This was not how he pictured today starting, but he wasn’t going to let it affect him, much. He decided to take a lap around the large stalk, a decent distance considering his tiny leg span. He could have flown, but he thought a slow walk in the dewy grass might do him some good.

  Despite his perfectly normal reaction to waking up in a cocoon of hair, he was very eager for the day. He planned on actually getting into the forest proper, doing some awesome quests, and slaying not a few beasts! He was ready!

  It was at that moment he remembered his only weapon was a sketch piece of metal that was already slightly bent. He also didn’t have any armor, and he had crap for magic. Literally. Low luck sucked! He needed to get some experience so he could get out of this forest and meet up with Tommy.

  He was finally calming down, just in time to hear his stomach rumble yet again. He refused to call it his ‘tummy’ like Dwik had the night before. What was he, six? Well maybe Dwik was. For all he knew, gnomes aged like dogs. Didn’t matter. It was high time to be eating some breakfast. He had made his way around the giant stalk, hoping to find Dwik starting a fire and cooking up some bird eggs or something. Eggs sounded good. He was really going to miss his good old-fashioned processed foods. It had been so easy to hit up the grocery store or order take out. Now, something as simple as making breakfast could become quite laborsome.

  Though there were no eggs, he was still pleased to find Dwik sitting up, staring in shock at his right hand. His bright, pink, beautiful hand! Ha, Gitch had nearly forgotten about the gnome’s change in appearance. The only light for their late-night talk had been from the glowing pink mana that filled the glade. Everything was cast in that mystical pink light, so the change had gone unnoticed by Dwik.

  "Hehehe!" Gitch giggled. It felt good to be the one laughing.

  Dwik heard the fairy and stared at him with horror. "What the hell did you do to me?! I’m as pink as a pink baby’s booty!"

  Well... He wasn’t wrong, Gitch thought. He tried to hide his smile, but then decided, eh screw it. He full-on beamed at the pink gnome.

  Dwik continued to peer down at himself before looking up suddenly, as if he just remembered something. He stood up and sped off in the direction of the bubbling pool.

  Gitch flew after him, chanting mere inches over the speeding gnome’s head. "ONE. OF. US! ONE. OF. US! ONE. OF. US…!" He tried using his deepest voice, but it still ended up cracking, which made him giggle all the more.

  Dwik hopped onto a fallen log and ran down its length to dive into the magical pool, staying under for nearly a minute. Gitch flew above and could see the gnome scrubbing like mad in the depths of the crystal-clear water. He sat there in the air and waited... and waited... watching the gnome bathing... starting to feel a little awkward...

  Dwik finally surfaced, gasping like mad for air. Treading water, he stared at his hands in surprise. They were still pink! Even the magical pool, which could seemingly cure every ailment, had no effect on his person. He spun his head wi
ldly to find the fairy responsible, and his second surprise slapped him right in the face. The thick strand of hair had grown overnight, with more fuzz even now starting to sprout. His expression was hard for Gitch to read, and he really wasn’t sure what would happen next.

  As the gnome made his way to shore, Gitch touched down to greet him. Dwik knelt down and looked him in his violet eye. "I know ya had something to do with this. I don’t like being pink, but as me papi would say, don’t argue with the troll that knocked ya dead." He turned his head to look back at the pond for some time.

  "I won’t be the gnome to question the gods, not again." He looked back at Gitch. "Long ago, I swore to never wear any sort of head covering, that be includin’ me hair. Reason’s not important, but seein’ as they gave it back and refuse to remove it, they must hold me oath fulfilled! This is a good day, Gitch, thank you for this boon! You are an interesting friend indeed!

  You have received 1000 reputation points with Dwik

  Congratulations! Your relationship status with Dwik has increased from Acquaintance to Friend!

  "Uh, no problem." Gitch was completely taken aback, and that was all he could think to say. He decided not to tell Dwik that his transformation occurred yesterday and so ruin the moment further.

  Dwik just smiled and started fiddling with his new dreads. Gitch took a seat on the ground next to him and mentally pulled up his character sheet. It was as good a time as any to check his character progression, especially since they may well be doing some proper adventuring in the forest today.

  Name: Gitch

  Race: Fairy

  Class: ???

  Alignment: +3

  Level: 3

  Experience Points Required To Level Up: 225

  POOLS:

  Health: 62

  Mana: 261

  Stamina: 160

  ACTIVE EFFECTS:

  None

  ARMOR VALUE:

  Ragged Trousers: 0

  Simple Tunic: 0

  Total Armor Value: 0

  RESISTENCES:

  15% Light Magic

  50% Nature Magic

  Attributes:

  Strength: 1

  Dexterity: 25

  Constitution: 4

  Endurance: 13

  Intelligence: 16

  Wisdom: 20

  Charisma: 15

  Luck: 1

  Unused Attribute Points: 2

  RACIALS:

  Tiny creature

  Terraformer

  ???

  ??? ABILITIES:

  Transmorph, level 1

  Dubious Missioneer, level 1

  SPELLS:

  Wing Blast, level 1

  Polymorph, level 1

  SKILLS:

  Flight, level 3

  QUESTS:

  None

  Gitch decided the term ‘character progression’ was no longer suitable. This was his life now, not some separate character! He needed to be honest with himself if he was going to become his true self. With that bit of insight, he continued on to reviewing his attributes.

  He saw that he had two free points to distribute! That was awesome, as he was severely lacking in a few areas. Before dumping the points in one of his low stats, he wanted to know a bit more about each and how they affected him directly. He selected strength and additional information was revealed to him.

  Strength-A measure of how physically strong you are. This attribute directly affects melee attack damage, armor options, carrying capacity, and ability to win arm wrestling competitions. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying strength score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Well, he wouldn’t be winning many of those matches with a strength score of 1. He went down the list, next selecting dexterity.

  Dexterity-A measure of how graceful and accurate you are. This attribute directly affects dodging, speed, chance to hit, ranged weapon damage, and ability to perform summersaults. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying dexterity score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Constitution-A measure of your general health. This attribute directly affects your health pool, defense, resistances, and ability to hold your liquor. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying constitution score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Intelligence-A measure of your knowledge of the world around you. This attribute directly affects your mana pool, experience gain, critical thinking, and ability to have intelligent conversations about subjects normal people care nothing about. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying intelligence score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Wisdom-A measure of your knowledge of yourself. This attribute directly affects mana generation, intuition, mental resistance, and ability to not fall for pyramid schemes. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying wisdom score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Charisma-A measure of your personality. This attribute directly affects persuasion, intimidation, barter, friendliness, and ability to get a date. Additional skills and abilities may rely on your underlying charisma score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Luck-A measure of the degree and frequency seemingly random events work to your benefit. This attribute directly affects everything to varying degrees, including the ability to win at life. All skills and abilities may rely on your underlying luck score to determine chance of success and overall effectiveness.

  Well, most of that made sense, Gitch thought. It sucked that luck affected everything but there was no use complaining... too much. He figured the best move would be to dump his free points into luck, since it affected pretty much everything to some degree. He selected his luck stat, but something very unexpected occurred. He received an error message.

  Error! Luck currently locked.

  Biting his lip, he tried selecting his strength, then Intelligence, and then each one of his other attributes. They were all locked! How in the world was he supposed to increase in power and ‘be who he was meant to be’ if he couldn’t increase his attributes?!”

  Sighing in frustration, he stood up and began pacing. There was still so much he didn’t know. He was sick of the sucky situations he kept finding himself in and was hoping an extra point in luck would go a long way to make life less sucky. Gitch’s law clearly stated, “If something bad can happen, it will, and it will be Gitch’s fault.”

  He continued pacing for another five minutes, but it wasn’t helping. Gitch was becoming more frustrated at himself, at Lily, at GameChangers, and pretty much everything. He finally realized a tantrum wasn’t going to solve anything, so he sat back down and pulled up information on his newest spell.

  Polymorph:

  The mana released during your ill-advised magical explosion has altered your cellular composition to incorporate microscopic amounts of mana particles. You now have the ability to magically transform once per day. The result will vary, as is the nature of pure mana. You will be unable to transform back into your true form for two minutes, but MUST return back to your true from before time expires. You have been warned!

  Cost: 99% of reserved mana

  Cast Time: 3 seconds

  Minimum Duration: 2 minutes

  Maximum Duration: 10 minutes

  “WHAAAAAAAT!!?!?” That’s friggin sweet! All prior moodiness washed away. He was able to transform others into, well, poop, but now he could transform himself! And not even into crap! He was stoked to try out his new ability. He thought about pranking Dwik again, but the poor dude had been through enough over the last day. No, he would save the ability for later. It may very well come in handy.

  His stomach growled again, and Gitch thought it soon might very well attack him in earnest. Seeing as how eggs were not on the menu, he opened his pouch and removed some more of the divine gloop. The gods may have given Dwik hair, but in no way
could that compare to this purple muck.

  He slurped his breakfast down as Dwik continued to marvel at his pink locks, gently twirling them between his fingers. It was more than a little creepy to be honest. While eating, Gitch came up with a plan for the day. He finished his meal with a small burp and nudged his friend.

  "Let’s head into the forest. I gained two levels yesterday, but I want to keep getting stronger. I don’t see that happening by staying put in this glade. The way I see it, we need to head into the woods and slay some beasts, and if you have any more quests for me, please feel free to share. Preferably something without any rocks."

  "Oh, aye. I have some more quests for ya now that yer level isn’t so noobish. ‘Bout time you asked actually. I thought maybe ya just liked haulin’ stuff. I do think you will find these more... challenging. You wanna hear ‘em?”

  "Yes, yes of course. I’m ready! For future reference I am always ready to at least hear out a quest. What do you have for me, Dwik?"

  Quest Received: Slayer of Evil (Repeatable)

  The Dufflin Forest is home to all manner of creatures, most of which mean you considerable harm. Slay 5 creatures of negative alignment to make the Dufflin Forest that much safer. Quest may be repeated twice daily.

  Reward:

  50 experience points

  Quest Received: A Most Fetching Weapon

  The noble Dwik smartly used yer weapon to escape the clutches of a pack of ravenous wolves. Retrieve yer weapon and remove the wolf threat.

  Reward:

  Variable experience

  New weapon

  Quest Received: An IMPudent Ritual

  Long have the imps of the Dufflin Forest terrorized Dwik’s poor, innocent goats. Carried off in the wee hours of the morning, their fate has been shrouded in mystery. Discover what has become of the poor goats and report back to Dwik.