Reroll

As the world fades in, it occurs to me that I am cheating outrageously: I don't stay dead, and I revive quickly enough that killing me doesn't even take me out of the fight… this contract is insane… if it weren't for the drawbacks… but back into the fight.

I find I'm behind a low fence from where I was; so I just need to stand up.  Yes, nothing seems to have changed… so I open with a blast from the destruction sphere of Spheres of Power.  It's the one talent wonder sphere, thanks to Sphere-specific drawbacks.  Energy Focus gives a type talent (at the cost of only being able to use that type… which is fine when you only want to spend a single magic talent on it) while Shape Focus grants a shape talent (at the cost of not being able to use other shapes - again, not a problem if you're not investing heavily).  So I have the at-will ability to throw rocks (Stone Blast) that explode to hurt everyone in a small area (Explosive Orb). Now, I did invest in a second talent (via one of my two mutable ones, I'll want to drop it after I rest): Gather Power.  It reduces the spell point cost of casting by making it take longer.  I'm basically starting at zero spell points, so I need it right now.

The magic rock appears in my hand when I concentrate, I throw, it flies in a straight line through the air and detonates… finishing off the heavily injured Guardian.  I order my dog to get the other, it closes the distance, and tears in with it's teeth, leaving a few bloody bite marks in the man’s uniform.  Ed directs his stormcloud to chase the remaining member, while Betty focuses her emotions on blowing out the other guardian's mind… again, he soaks….

…and screams apparently into an earpiece, “Ambush! More abberants waiting, man down! Send immediate backup!” as he continues to fire… which is a mistake, as our animals are right there, taking advantage of his lapse in concentration to chew him up, and he collapses, bleeding and unconscious. I have no need of saying, “we gotta go”... everyone heard him.

We DO still take a moment to loot the bodies, though, just quickly stashing nearly everything easily visible on their persons into the pack saddles on the beasts before we hoof it: Glasses, guns, wallets, little vials of colored liquids, rings, amulets under their clothes… I do stop Betty from grabbing a few things, though.

“No electronics,” I scold her as she grabs a cell phone, “Too easy to track.”

“But we need….” she begins.

“Indigo… err, Kenny's right,” Ed cuts her off, “too traceable. We'll buy with the cash from their wallets.”

“Fine…” Betty sighs as she leaves them behind.

Then we run.  Not back to base, no.  We still need to get to the various resources at school.

“Ah… Kenny…” Ed starts in as we run.

“Yeah?” I ask, breathing hard… right, I didn't go Necropolitan this time.

“We should probably stop so you can get dressed,” he continues.

Ah, right. That's why my chest hurts, “Sure… in the woods bordering the school. We can cross there too,” and I need to check myself out: New body.  He nods, and we continue running down the street, my chest bouncing wildly for anyone to see.

Soon enough, we're in the woods, and after we go in a bit… I wonder why my feet don't hurt.

“Give me a minute…” I look myself over as best I can: My skin is that extra dark brown, essentially black, that gave the denizens of Africa the label of “black” by Europeans.  My bazookas are big… well, bigger than any of the girls on campus, anyway. I'm smaller than Jim on that front, and the same size as Ed. I'll need to get fitted for a bra at some point.  And speaking of size: I am SHORT. Betty towers over my by more than two feet, and even Ed has a good six or seven inches on me. I'm going to be doing a lot of looking up when talking to people. My waist is thin, but within range of ‘normal’, while my hips are huge, and my backside wobbly. My muscles are smooth, nothing to write home about.  My raven tresses go down to my lower back.  Not bad, really.

My wings, though… should not be present in my human form… and they're large.  Like… big enough that I think I could fly with these; when I unfold them, they're individually longer than I am tall.  And they're silver.  Not gray: A metallic, reflective silver, like the polished metal. They're sharp, too… and this is my “human” form. Great.

Well… I prepared for this by picking up the Transformation feat from Spheres of Power, picking Anthropomorphic Transformation with it, to be entirely human… but with a body talent, specifically Fey Body for the damage reduction (cold iron, of course - a classic fey ability… only three points at this level, but still handy) and Woodland Stride (it let's me ignore underbrush and such).  So I dress up in my gear (carried by Spike, my riding dog… of course I took Wild Cohort, I'd be stupid not to at this level), and shift into a human form… and yes, I come out FULLY human. Nice!

I  mean, it's a fixed form, and it's basically my normal character, so I'm still an African shortstack with a dump truck caboose, but the wings are gone.

Hmm. Speaking of… I revert to my winged form (the Transformation feat is an at-will, so it doesn't matter), and try something silly: Flying.  I mean, the aerodynamics of it are impossible: A bird’s entire body is built for flight, that's the only reason they can fly at all. But I try anyway: If it doesn't work, fine, nothing lost but a little time.

But if it does….

I find a small clearing, run a bit, and try flapping. I mean, I knew how to slither when I had a snake tail, why not fly when I have large wings?

Let me tell you: Flying is awesome. I get a rush like none other when  I leave the ground… a few flaps and I gain altitude… I'm flying!

And then I fly straight into a tree. I can't turn very well… I guess maybe that's what birds do with their tails? Ah well… a use of Invigorate from the Life sphere mostly fixes up the wound (it’s not real healing, but it's free and lasts an hour, so for small amounts the difference is petty).  Still… good for when I have a large open area and need my hands.

Which honestly, won't be very often.  I didn't go with any of the casting tradition options that require me to wave my hands, shout at the top of my lungs, manipulate guano, or similar - just a few Sphere-specific drawbacks… which I may eventually buy off: So I can cast as a sparrow just fine… I just have a lower spell point pool than a caster who did take those options.  And, of course, a super small bird (Fine, in game terms: As small as the tables go) is a great form for getting around unnoticed… and it comes with a nice armor class to boot from the size and Dexterity gain.

So I switch to sparrow form, and manifest an illusion of my old self (via the Illusion Sphere, using Committed Deception - also via my flex talents - to cover the spell point cost) to speak, “I'm going to scout ahead; I'm hoping nobody's put up a fence since the last time I was through here.  Back shortly.”

They nod, and I fly off… okay, now THIS is flight. I'm small enough that I can fly between branches in the forest canopy quite easily, and maneuverable enough that landing on one, hovering in place, and making tight turns is no big deal at all.  It's a wonderful form… if you don't need hands or the ability to speak.  Which, thanks to my Spheres choices, I don't. And with how shape-shifting works in Pathfinder, I even get to keep basically all of my passive equipment: It melds into my form and stays running… so that +2 Headband that boosts my intelligence score and that +2 Vest of Resistance to boost my saves work just fine. My masterwork Studded Leather armor stops working, but the bonus from the new size more than makes up for it (a Travel Cloak, Sleeves of Many Garments, masterwork chain shirt barding for Spike, and a few other odds and ends round out my wealth… and will let me feed myself, Ed, and Betty, saving on spell slots; Ed will still need to handle the beasts, but it should free up some resources for him).

But right now I'm flying! I keep my eyes open, but am doing loop-de-loops, dives, and pausing to hover periodically (which I shouldn't do when anyone is watching; few birds can pull it off, but Pathfinder’s Fly skill allows it with a check that's trivial for me in this form (DC 15, when I get an eight point bonus from size, a six point bonus from Dexterity, and yes, I have ranks, and it's a class skill thanks to my racial fly speed… high winds might cause a problem, but on a day like today, I can't lose).  

Oh yes, and there's no fence.  It's a smooth walk through the woods for everyone else.

So I head back.