The journey to the Abbey went relatively uneventful with Kim’s bow and Siarra’s magic able to pierce and burn any low-level crabs to get in their way. The guys, of course, stood amazed by these crustaceans that were even bigger than them. But eventually the sandy beach turned to scattered grass and, though the saline air was still crying with seagulls and the rush of water, they found themselves at the open gates of the Abbey on the other end of the island.
The Abbey itself was surrounded by a short brick wall, easy enough for either of the two female members of the team to scale over if they wanted to. When they entered the front gates, with no guards to question them, they found themselves in a peaceful seaside town. There were a few houses and buildings, some characters (all girls and all the size of Siarra and Kim) walking around in maiden dresses or sailor garments, and even a small farm. Seagulls perched on the towers of the wall, their eyes scanning the waters for fish. Even so, the occasional flapping of their wings as they soared from one spot to the next was just as tranquil as the soft murmur washing through the town. The few citizens passing by paid no attention to the travelers. They had their own lives, real or not, to attend to. The children of the town giggled and ran across the cobblestone paths in sport, a woman hung laundry out her open window, and a handful of female sailors loading cargo onto what appeared to be the only ship in the dock. There was a certain calmness watching over the town from the sky above, its cerulean streaks marked only by the fluff of winged clouds and birds.
“Welcome to Newb City,” Siarra said.
Cain looked around. To him, and the reset of the guys, the city was huge. But that could be because the whole lot of them was small enough to stand on a single cobblestone. “Where are all the men?”
“There aren’t any. The whole land of Neverquest is pretty much dominated by females.”
Cain looked up, half-expecting a ray of light to appear from the heavens and angels to sing. “My God, it’s paradise.”
“To hell with the old folks home,” Grandpa said, tapping his cane against the hard earth. “This is where I’m going to retire.”
Siarra tried to pretend her grandfather didn’t just say that. “Alright, guys, let’s get you your classes. Does everybody know what they want to be?”
“I want to be a Knight!” Quentin cried out.
“Ah, but my psychologically-disturbed friend,” Eric said, putting his arm around him, “it is I who possess the true knightly qualities.”
Mundo pounded his fist. “If I don’t get a sword, you’re all going to be in a world of pain.”
Kim frowned. “You can’t all be Knights.”
“Yeah,” Vic laughed. “I’m already a Knight. Boo-yah!”
They all glared at him.
“You can call me Sir Vic,” he added.
But before they all turned on Vic and beat him to a pulp, Kim put her leather boot between them. “Come on, there are plenty of other classes you can be. Knights are so…boring.”
“How do we decide?” Adam, the quietest and perhaps only rational person on the team, asked.
“Well, walk around town and talk to people. Some of them are trainers that will tell you about one of the classes you can become. When you find one you like, tell them and they’ll give you a weapon and a book and…poof! You have your class. And there’s no going back.”
The guys all looked at each other for a moment and then broke into a frenzied mob, running around Kim’s foot into the once-peaceful town. Their screams and shouts caught the attention of all the citizens, who simply gawked at the lilliputian freaks who were breaking off in all sorts of directions. Children were rushed into their houses by moms, who stood at their doorways with brooms. Quentin got too close to one of these moms, who immediately began to smash his face in with the broom.
“No hurt Quentin!” he cried, running around as the broom smacked the cobblestone behind him. He spun around and ran between the woman’s legs, who swung around, the broom still on the ground, and knocked Quentin against the wall on impact.
“Our town is overrun with newbs!” the woman screamed, beating Quentin with the broom for one point of damage each time.
Kim got to her just in time and stopped the broom by catching it in her hand. “Wait, wait… He’s with us. They all are.”
The woman glared at her. “We don’t like newbs in this town!”
“I know. They’re just trying to get their classes and then we’ll move on.”
The woman scowled, but showed her understanding by sticking up her nose and stomping away. All that was left was a tangled mess of Quentin, bristles of broom straw in his hair, twitching against the woman’s house.
“You okay?” Kim asked.
Quentin tried to nod, but he couldn’t tell if he was moving his head or his whole body. They all felt like jelly.
“Better hurry up then. Wouldn’t want you to get stuck with a crappy class like Poopsmith.”
“Oh, look, Quentin feel better!” he said, jumping to his feet and hobbling away.
Kim watched him go, as fast as he could, and then looked at all the mass panic the other newbs were causing. She sighed and walked back towards Siarra. There was an awkward silence between them for a minute as they stood, just outside the city, and watched the chaos unfold. Women screamed, brooms and shovels banged against the earth, and the cawing of seagulls suddenly filled the air.
Kim turned to Siarra. “We really shouldn’t have told guys about this game.”
“Tell me about it.”
Giantess World
