Giantess World
Siarra and Kim sat on the brim of a trickling fountain, each with one foot on one knee as they looked out over the Abbey. Eric, Vic, Adam, Isaac, and Mundo all stood on the ground in front of them, showing off their new classes and weapons.
Eric was the only one who looked significantly different. He had chosen to be a Ranger, which gave him pointed ears and a small boost in height, making him look an awful lot like a tiny wood elf with his blond hair. His trainer had also given him a green tunic and brown pantaloons so that he could blend in with his surroundings. He wore them proudly as he presented a small dagger from his sheath.
“And look at this,” he said. “A sword to go along with my bow.”
“A sword?” Mundo laughed. “Looks like a toothpick to me.”
“Oh, yeah? And what art thou supposed to be—an Indian?”
“I’m a Shaman, dumb ass!” Mundo muttered.
“Then why, sir, are you half-naked and wearing makeup?”
Mundo scowled at him. He was almost naked, in fact, with only a few rags covering his newly-chiseled body. His face was marked by two blue streaks on either side of his cheeks and one charcoal black streak running down his forehead to the bridge of his nose. He also carried a small staff decorated in an assortment of feathers and ribbons that just barely reached the ground when he had it at arm-level.
“You do kind of look like a cross-dresser,” Vic said.
“Shut up or I’ll put a curse on you,” Mundo said. Then he noticed Adam, trying to remain inconspicuous in the crowd. “Well, look at him! He’s wearing a dress.”
All eyes turned to Adam and he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “It’s a robe… I…I’m a Monk.”
“You’re a fruitcake,” Mundo said, glad the embarrassment was off him. “Monks are the most useless class in any game. Even moreso than Rangers.” He shot a nasty glance at Eric, who only threatened him with his puny dagger.
“You’re all a bunch of fruitcakes,” Isaac spat. He was wearing mail armor with a steel sword tucked under his waist. “I went to the bar to get something to eat and this trashed lady started ranting to me about ‘champions’ and ‘coliseums’. She told me if I didn’t become a Warrior like her that she’d have my head hanging over her fireplace. …This game is wicked sick.” Nobody was really sure what that meant. “When do I get to hack off a few heads?”
“As soon as our companions return,” Vic said.
That’s when Cain appeared, now minituarized by his dwarf stature, dragging his axe along the ground.
Vic stared at him. “Whoa, what the hell happened to you?”
“Don’t want to talk about it,” Cain muttered. He threw his back against the side of the fountain and sank down onto his fat rear end.
There was a moment of silence as they all stared at Cain—his beard now long enough to cover his feet, his nose now quadruple the size of anything normal, his body just about as wide as it was tall—and then everybody burst out laughing. Behind his beard, Cain’s face boiled red with anger.
“You really got the short end of the stick,” Kim teased.
“Yeah,” Siarra laughed along. “Little doubt about that.”
The rest of the guys didn’t appreciate the ‘short’ jokes.
Then, running up the cobblestone path towards the fountain, came the cries of Quentin. “Hey, guys! Quentin got the best class ever!” When he reached them, he stopped and spread his arms as if he had something worthwhile to present. But when they all stared at him, the only thing they saw was the same old Quentin from before, ragged clothes and all.
“Look, guys, it’s a first-class Idiot in the flesh!” Mundo said. “With the power to stupefy the sane mind.”
“Wrong! Guess again.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on… Anybody, guess!”
They all groaned at him. Nobody really wanted to put up with Quentin now.
“Need a hint?” he asked, pulling a flute out of his back pocket.
Isaac felt the urge to rip out his sword and cut a couple throats. “Why is it I’m surrounded by fairies?”
“Close! I’m a Bard.”
Mundo blinked. “…I take back everything I said about Monks and Rangers. Bards are, by far, the most useless class ever.”
“No, no, it’s great! Lookie here. This thing is half-flute and half-sword. See, it has a little compartment inside that conceals a blade…” He tinkered with the flute, trying to find the opening. “Well, anyway, it does. And I got a whole book here of songs I can sing for any occasion! Wanna hear?”
“No!” was the unanimous response.
“Critics… My talent will someday be recognized by the world!”
“I’ll recognize your world!” Mundo said. A dorky response, indeed, and he followed it up by chasing Quentin around the fountain with his staff. The rest of the guys began to pull out their weapons and duel each other too, if only for fun, and Siarra and Kim watched their tiny bodies in amusement. The Abbey had quieted back to its usual serenity, the calm hush washing in and out with the waves and the voices of passing civilians.
But there were darker clouds on the horizon. The sky’s white began to melt into black, its waves of blue swallowed in a sea of darkness that came as sudden as an eclipse of the sun. They all stared up, watching the phenomenon happen before their eyes—a black plague, an ocean of locusts, a hand pulling the blanket of night over the land. It didn’t take long for the darkness to stretch from one end of the horizon to the other. Sudden night was upon them and a shivering wind howled through the Abbey.
“Part of the game?” Vic asked, reaching for his sword.
Siarra stood up, her short hair now blasting her cheeks with the wind’s fury. “I don’t think so… Only a Necromancer has the power to change day into night that quickly. …Kim, grab your bow.”