The dizziness passed the moment the jar fell and the pressure was released. I saw up, more embarrassed than anything, as Encore, Abernathy, and Katarina hurried to my side.

  “Are you okay?” Abernathy asked.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I stood, brushing the dust from my pants. “I’m fine. It just made me very light headed. I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Sure you’re okay?” Katarina leaned in close, her face inches from mine, looking up into my eyes.

  “I’m fine, really.” I glanced down. Encore sat between us, looking up at me.

  “You should be more careful.” He intoned.

  “You’re right. I don’t think I am going to be able to… extract my own venom.”

  Katarina’s smile took up half her face. “I’ll help, lute boy.”

  I spluttered, backing up a few steps and falling backwards on my rear. Abernathy choked, covering laughter with one of his hands while he pulled another glass jar out of his inventory with another.

  Katarina took the glass jar with a nod and stalked towards me, a predatory smile on her lips.

  “It will take me a few minutes to get the tools and supplies together for the bridge.” Abernathy began manipulating his unseen interface as he spoke.

  “Alright, good,” Katarina stopped in front of me, holding out a hand. “Let’s move over to the mountain side. Give you something to sit against.”

  I nodded, taking her hand and standing. “That’s a good idea.”

  Katarina took far too much delight in extracting the venom, but we learned that the form stored about a quarter cup’s worth, split between a venom sac on each side of my neck. I say my neck, but they were actually stored on the underside of my jaw. The odd sensation of light-headedness didn’t fade as long as the venom was being extracted, but my mind cleared the moment it stopped.

  I tried shifting forms to a wood elf and then back to the viper, but the venom didn’t refill on transformation. I looked through my status screen and saw a five hour cooldown for the piscivorous venom, passing the information to my companions.

  Abernathy and Katarina spent the next hour and a half constructing a rope bridge wide enough for a single person to cross the 100 foot gap. Abernathy directed Katarina to drill holes in the stone with his special tool that resembled a hand drill, then had her insert metal tubes of some kind with thick metal wires which supported the structure bit by bit as they made their way across. Katarina did all of the actual construction as Abernathy directed her safely from the edge.

  I practiced changing forms while they worked, and two and a half hours later I leveled transform to 50/50. A notification appeared.

  Transform has reached 50/50! Skill has evolved to Transform (Expert) 1/100

  Transform (Expert): Allows nearly instant use of skill to change forms. Reduced mana cost of changing forms to a larger size and increases mana returned when shrinking. Additional levels in skill boost benefits provided by current form.

  I read through the description several times before sending a message to the party.

  Chanter: I evolved transform!

  Katarina looked over from her perch on a wood plank about 75 feet away. I pulled the giant’s hand from my inventory, but was met with the same message.

  Error! Absorb Essence Failed. Insufficient Level.

  Abernathy: What is your new skill?

  Katarina: Nice!

  Encore: Oh, my skill also evolved!

  All three messaged came back at once, appearing one on top of another. For a moment we all stood along the mountain pass, Katarina perched on her plank while we stood on the far side of the gap, communicating with messages.

  Encore: I have unlocked wisp form!

  Chanter: That’s awesome!

  Katarina: How exciting! But what did you unlock, Chanter?

  Abernathy: Wisp form? What does it do?

  Encore: It allows me to take on the form of a wisp of light.

  I laughed, pulling up my bonded companion screen and looking at Encore’s stats. I found the skill, Wisp Form, read it over and sent a description to the party chat.

  Wisp Form: Fabled form of the kitsiho. Allows kitsiho to shrink down to a mote of light no larger than a fist. Increases flight speed by 75% and evasiveness by 100%. Reduces melee capabilities by 125%. Provides alternative resonant capabilities.

  Katarina: Alternative resonant capabilities? What does that mean?

  Encore: I believe it adjusts the ability that allows me to aid in Chanter’s performances.

  Abernathy: We should test it! You two should test it while we finish this bridge!

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Katarina: Yeah… we. Nah I’m just kidding Abe, would never have been able to build this thing without your smarts. But hey! Chanter! What did transform evolve into?

  Chanter: It bumped up to (Expert) rank. Says I should be able to transform almost instantly now. And costs less mana to get bigger.

  Katarina: Oh that will be useful for fighting. If you can keep from exploding all of your clothes off.

  She turned and resumed her work with the drill. I looked at the message and laughed.

  “Want to test out your new form, Encore?” I pulled out my lute and glanced around as Encore nodded and shifted.

  He shrank down to the smallest I had seen him get, the size he normally maintained when riding on my shoulders, then popped into a glowing orb the size of my fist. He floated a few feet off the ground.

  His shape reminded me of the orbs I summoned from performing Radiant Winds, but his light was a pure, snowy white, almost blue around the edge, whereas those orbs had a golden radiance.

  Encore: I am unable to speak in this form. It is… a new experience.

  “Can you make any sound?” I asked.

  Encore replied with a sound that reminded me of wind chimes. The gentle ringing of a dozen bells cascaded along the mountain breeze.

  Katarina: Oooh that’s pretty! I can barely hear it from here!

  I glanced around, impressed with how far the sound travelled.

  Encore: I will change back. This form is tiring.

  He popped back into his small form, landing gracefully on the ground.

  “I believe that I will grow more accustomed to that form with time, but it will require practice and rest.”

  “It’s a shame, we didn’t get to test out a song with it, but I don’t want you to push yourself.”

  Encore walked over, headbutting my leg gently. The breeze picked up into a full gale and the wooden boards of the partially constructed bridge creaked.

  I stood at the edge of the cliff, perched and ready to help if Katarina fell, a small knot of worry in the pit of my stomach.

  I knew she could easily jump to the other side if something were to happen, but knowing did nothing to comfort my anxiety. So I watched, with Abe and Encore, as Katarina spent the next ten minutes carefully drilling holes, tying ropes, and affixing planks.

  She stepped onto the other side, drilling two final holes in the path and connecting both metal wires to the other side, finalizing the bridge. I breathed a sigh of relief, which caught in my throat as she turned and sprinted across the bridge. The structure rose and fell slightly as she ran, but not as much as I expected. She stopped halfway across and sent a message.

  Katarina: I’m going to try something. Be ready, Chanter!

  Chanter: Ready for what?

  Rather than respond, Katarina jumped about ten feet, straight up, and landed on the bridge. She bounced off of the surface, treating it like a trampoline, several times. It clearly wasn’t made for that and failed to launch her more than a few feet. The whole structure bounced up and down in waves emanating from her at the center, but it held. She stopped after a few jumps and rode out the waves.

  Katarina: Cool! Wanted to test its strength. Seems good!

  Chanter: Please come back.

  Katarina shot me a thumbs up and jogged the rest of the way over. Abernathy watched her progress with a calculating eye.

  “Seems good. All of the anchor points were solid?”

  “All but two.” Katarina pointed at two points near the distant side. Abernathy nodded.

  “Okay. That should be fine. Especially with the primary support provided by the suspension cables running the length of the bridge. And I leveled up when you finished the bridge!”

  “Really?” Katarina scratched her head. “I didn’t get any experience. That’s not very fair. I was the one out there doing all the work.”

  “I’m… I’m sorry.” Abernathy stuttered, seemingly at a loss for words.

  Katarina laughed. “I’m just joking! That was fun! I’ve never built a bridge before!”

  “Me either, but it worked out surprisingly well.” Abernathy looked over the structure.

  “Yeah, great job you two. Now no one will be stranded.” I patted Abernathy on the back.

  “Unless they have a cart.” Abernathy replied.

  “Or horses. Or anything larger than a… a big dog.” Katarina chimed in.

  “True but we can’t be out here a month trying to build a full bridge. Cahl is waiting for us in Bornholdt Keep.” I thought for a moment. “Or maybe not waiting. He might be fighting the Sect, or whoever, alone. We need to hurry.”

  “I’m sorry I delayed us,” Abernathy hopped into his ute and started it with a stream of mana.

  “No, no, don’t be sorry, Abe. It was a good thing we did. Well worth the time.” I looked up and around. The light was fading. It was still late afternoon, but nestled between the mountain peaks like this, daylight faded fast.

  “And we should be able to move faster now, right? No cart. No mules. Abe’s got himself some wheels.” Katarina walked over to stand next to me. “Let’s do some stretches and see how long we can run until it gets too dark!”

  “Do you have the armor that alpha kobold was wearing?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah! Here!” Katarina initiated a trade and sent over Pale Leather Breeches and Pale Leather Cuirass.

  “Thanks. Mind turning around for a second?”

  Katarina rolled her eyes and complied. I sent my clothing to my inventory and activated transform. It was an entirely different experience this time. My body didn’t shift, elongating and growing the new bulk with the use of mana like is had before and every other time I had used the skill. Every part of my body flickered with an almost imperceptible black ripple and I was suddenly several feet taller, in my Alpha Arctic Kobold form. I equipped the Pale Leather and tested shifting my weight between feet.

  The potential reminded me of how it felt when I was in the beastkin forms. I was much, much stronger like this. My hands were tipped with sharp claws. I reached up and ran a finger over massive teeth. Katarina turned and looked.

  “That is fucking terrifying. And awesome.” She paused for a moment, looking me up and down. I was easily two feet higher than her, now. “Okay, lute boy. Let’s stretch and get to running.”

  We stretched for a few minutes. It allowed me to get more familiar with this form. The change in size and strength was jarring at first, but stretching out the muscles helped.

  The real adaptation occurred when we started moving. I started by taking a few lumbering strides, nearly stumbling as I adjusted to the new elongated gait. Katarina easily maintained pace alongside and Abernathy travelled at the rear, fully in control of his ute’s speed.

  It took a few steps to get comfortable with the way the body moved. I gradually transitioned from walking, to jogging, to a full on run. Some instinctual part of the form whispered for me to lean forward, to use my arms and legs. I listened, and the mountain pass began to blur as I picked up speed.

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