Part 10

The floor below opened up into a wide room with a body of water near the corner. The water dropped off into darkness. A constant waterfall splashed from a small opening in the wall. The pitter-patter of the falling liquid was hypnotic.

"Let's get a fire going." Gus suggested.

Twinkle piped up, "Oh, shoot, I left the fire starting stuff in your pack, Eadric. Do you mind getting the fire started for us?

The party froze and shifted their attention to Eadric who shoved his heavy pack to the floor. He stared daggers at Twinkle. Twinkle's long, dark hair framed his increasingly rugged, hairy face. It had ALWAYS been the unwritten rule that it was the mules job to start the fire.

Eadric crossed his arms and frowned.

"Oh come on, Eadric," Gus complained, "It isn't a big deal. Here, give it to me, I'll do it."

"No, no. I got it." Eadric mumbled.

Ox dropped the heavy [i]Tempest[/i] to the floor and clapped his hands together while facing the water, "Let's take a second to clean ourselves and fill our canteens, boys."

"Not in that order, I hope." Gus joked.

Gus, Ox and Twinkle each situated their gear in opposite corners of the room. They filled their canteens and began stripping their clothing. Eadric was busy, on his knees, trying to ignite a bundle of tinder. His dress and tights protected his skin, but the stone was cold. He heard a splash and saw Ox was the first to jump in. HIs dirty, blood soaked body soiled the water with a dark cloud almost immediately. After two subsequent splashes, everybody except Eadric was relaxing in the water. Eadric ignored them and re-focused his efforts, clicking the tinderbox over and over again.

"Let's go, lazy bones!" Ox shouted from the water.

Eadric fumbled with the tinderbox and it slipped out of his hands. It dropped to the stone with a *thud*. Ox was calling HIM lazy? He was the only one doing anything productive!

"How hard is it to start a damn fire?" He continued, "The elf is lazy AND dumb!"

Eadric felt a momentary flash of anger but stopped as he realized: he WAS being dumb! He walked to one of the blazing torches resting against the wall. They already had a fire burning...why had he been trying to start a new flame with a damn tinderbox?

Using the torch, Eadric ignited the central fire and stoked it with enough kindling to keep it burning for awhile. The room was illuminated.

Wait! Ox had called him a lazy, dumb elf! Eadric couldn't allow an insult like that to go uncontested! He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped short. He would have to make Ox pay for his comment later. Right now, Eadric's body needed to relax and be cleaned.

He walked to the edge of the water where the party was laughing and chatting amongst themselves. Twinkle seemed to fit right in with the boys now. Eadric rolled his eyes. He might look [i]somewhat[/i] human, but Twinkle still had the slave tattoos and squeaky voice of an elf. No matter how altered his appearance became, there were some differences he could simply never overcome!

Eadric quietly removed all his clothing, besides his mask, and folded it neatly next to the waters edge. He also deposited his dagger on top of the pile. He couldn't believe he was folding his DRESS! He slipped into the water, hoping to avoid any attention. He didn't want the boys to see his pathetic body again. He didn't even want to see it himself. He was hoping to get clean and get out without any interaction with his companions.

Eadric stayed a short distance away from his party who were busy dunking, splashing and joking with one another. He could see they was a bit worse for wear. Gus, Ox and Twinkle each bore cuts and bruises from their latest fight. Eadric didn't have any similar damage. He couldn't help but feel like he was missing out. The boys appeared to be bonding over their injuries like they were badges of honor.

Eadric started wiping and scrubbing his body. His smooth skin felt soft and supple. There were no scars, callouses or blemishes of any kind. He held his breath and submerged his head under the water. He scratched his short, dark hair, trying to wash out the dry sweat. A familiar pin-point jabbing poked at his scalp. It was like a million little needles or bugs were crawling on and biting him! When he surfaced, Eadric slapped at his hair furiously, but the poking had stopped. He wiped long strands of wet, brown hair from his eyes. His hair had lengthened past his shoulders! He glared over at Twinkle who now sported a short, manly, blonde hairstyle. Ox and Gus barely remarked at the change and continued their conversation as if nothing changed. Was Eadric crazy or did nobody care about what was happening here? Would bringing attention to it make the situation worse? He didn't want to be seen as a complainer!

Eadric sighed, deciding it was best to hold his tongue for the time being. His frustration with Twinkle was starting to bubble over. He would make Twinkle pay for his treachery once everything was back to normal! But for now, Eadric resigned himself to silence and slinked out of the water. He collected his belongings before walking towards the fire to dry himself. His beyond shoulder length, reddish-brown hair had a natural curliness to it. It had also gotten much thicker! At least his new locks covered his long ears to a degree. They still poked out, but it wasn't as obvious. He pulled his dress, tights and boots on. He looked down at himself. His shoes- had they...gotten smaller? His feet had definitely gotten smaller! The boots even had a little heel now!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gzp_W6IlreXBSW1iG1UUbM8EE9I5CFWJ/view?usp=drive_link

Ox's wet, naked form walked behind Eadric and towards his own corner. Eadric could feel Ox's eyes staring at him in a manner he had never experienced.

"You're hair is pretty." Ox stated plainly from across the room.

Eadric froze in place and a chill rattled through his body.

"Your ring is too. I thought you'd lost it?" Ox added.

Eadric's eyes shot to his hand. Gleaming there was an all too familiar, pink-gemmed ring. It tightened on his ring finger; a place it didn't fit before. Had the ring gotten bigger? No..no his hands had shrunk even more! They looked like they belonged on a woman! They were thin, smooth and unimposing in a manner that Eadric wasn't accustomed to. Additionally, his index finger was now longer than his ring finger which was strange to Eadric's eyes. These hands looked like they'd never swung a sword! The pink gem shined brightly then faded from existence.

Eadric felt a grinding, painful churning in his stomach. His girly hands clutched at his belly and squeezed. Was he going to vomit? Was some sort of giant, alien parasite about to leap out from inside?

Nope!

Instead, nothing happened.

Eadric took a relieved breath as the pain subsided. He shrugged, maybe the ring had run out of terrible changes to force upon him! Perhaps it would be smooth sailing until the end?

Eadric's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since the paltry handful of jerky many hours prior. He was starving! Eadric fished into his pack and retrieved his trusty bag of dried meat. He brought it up to his nose to give it a whiff to enjoy the intoxicating aroma.

Eadric squealed as the most horrendous stench imaginable assaulted his senses. It was like rotting carcas overflowing with vomit. He launched the bag across the room, desperate to get it away from him. His companions watched with confusion as Eadric frantically swallowed gulps of air.

Gus approached the bag cautiously.

"Don't touch it," Eadric panted, "It's gone rancid."

Gus curiously poked at the bag with his foot. He slowly picked it up and took a quick sniff.

"Seems fine to me." Gus said, his cat-like eyes analyzing Eadric from a distance.

Eadric was sure whatever he smelled must have been poison or...decaying- or something! He trusted Gus, but surely there was something wrong!

"No, no it's...it's..." Eadric stammered.

Ox, who was watching the ordeal unfold, stepped forward holding his own big bag of jerky. He stuffed a handful in his mouth and chewed on it ravenously.

"Here, have some of mine." He stated through a full mouth.

Ox approached Eadric and extended the bag. His dark eyes watched Eadric like a predator.

Eadric leaned away from Ox's extended bag while furrowing his nose. The faint reek of death wafted from it.

Eadric cleared his throat, "N-no, no thanks. I'm not- I'm not hungry right now."

"Nonsense." Ox insisted while shaking the bag, "Eat some."

Eadric's eyes shot over to Twinkle who wore a tiny, smug smile. That little smile told Eadric everything he needed to know.

Eadric grunted in frustration behind his executioners mask. He shifted his gaze at Ox. Eadric was pissed! He would show these cocksuckers what he was capable of! He was not some...some fucking [i]elf[/i]! He was a human man! He belonged with his friends, eating the flesh of dead animals and laughing around a roaring fire! He was Eadric Strongfellow, leader of the [i]Golden Champions[/i]! Eadric stuffed his hand into the bag and shoveled a dry morsel into his maw.

As soon as the meat hit the back of his throat, Eadric turned to the side and immediately vomited. He instinctively held his hair behind his long, elven ears.

"I fucking knew it! You can try to hide your disgusting, pointy ears, [i]elf[/i], but you can't fool a piece of meat!" Ox bellowed, "Hey, T, why don't you exchange your rations with our mule here? He's got such a delicate stomach, after all!"

Eadric continued to wretch. It must be some sort of fluke! He prepared to try eating another piece of meat but stopped. The thought of putting dead animal meat back in his mouth nearly made him retch again!

Twinkle reached into the bag held by Gus and popped a piece into his mouth. Ox, Gus and Eadric watched as he chewed it and swallowed without any issue.

"Not too shabby. A little dry, maybe." Twinkle squeaked.

Eadric wiped his mouth with the back of his womanly hand, thankful that his sickness had abated. Twinkle approached and dropped a shoddily woven burlap sack at Eadric's feet. Ox, Gus and Twinkle headed to the fire where they began enjoying their meaty, human meal. They exchanged stories, laughter and companionship. Gus even broke into his 'secret stash' of mead which the boys imbibed and enjoyed mightily. Eadric, on the other hand, collected the cold sack of leaves, barks and fruits. He dragged his feet to the far corner and sat in the cold darkness by himself. He swallowed a handful of berries and nibbled curiously on a piece of bark. The bark was a little unpleasant, but at least he wasn't puking his brains out.

He was almost there. He just had to hold out a bit longer...Just a bit longer...

Eadric watched Twinkle enjoying the comradery of his party with envy. What he wouldn't give to sit around that fire.

He somberly prepared his bedroll, hoping things would be better after some sleep.

He overheard Ox talking to Twinkle and Gus, "We'll swap every few hours. I'll do the first watch."

Was Eadric part of that? Or...Did Ox not trust him anymore?

Eadric softly sobbed beneath his executioners mask. It felt out of place on his face now. He didn't want to take it off, desperately clinging to anything that reminded him of his old self, but it was almost embarrassing for him to keep wearing it.

As fitful sleep overtook him, Eadric hoped beyond hope that he would be awoken by one of his companions, urging him to begin his shift at the party's watchman. He would be the best damn watchman they'd ever seen! Despite his changes, he could still be useful, he could still be trusted! He would keep the fire tended and give his life to ward off any predators!

His sleep went uninterrupted.