Talyn: Rebirth Ch. 11

Here's Chapter 11 of Talyn: Rebirth! Not the most eventful of chapters, but considering Adept of Chaos came out today, maybe that's just as well. Enjoy!

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Chapter 11

The swamp wasn’t quite as bad as Talyn had expected. Oh, the entrance into the cultist base was an overgrown, moldy structure that looked like it was on the verge of being knocked over by the tree next to it, roots anchored in its sides. Talyn wouldn’t be surprised if it was gone when the next group came by.

On the other hand, while there was a scent of stagnant water in the air, and the vague stench of rot, the air was also startlingly… fresh, really. That seemed odd to her, at least until she thought back on her vague memories. If she wasn’t wrong, the world she’d come from had been rather… foul outdoors, maybe? She couldn’t be entirely sure. At least it was still relatively early in the day, with the sun shining through the fog-shrouded swamp.

What she was sure about was that she’d never been in a swamp before. Not after the third time Gordon had been forced to fish her out of a sinkhole.

“Careful, I’m pretty sure you aren’t half fish, even if that shell makes you a bit like a mollusk.” The big man said, setting Talyn on the ground again.

“Gah… water in my boots.” Talyn groused, grimacing. “I don’t think I’ve been in a swamp before. I thought that was solid ground.”

His comment made her hesitate for a moment, then she decided it was probably doing more harm than good. So she glanced at Aslith and concentrated. Her armor shifted, flowing a little, then took the form of a suit of leather like she was wearing, though with a near-iridescent surface. It even flexed like leather when she moved, and made her feel lighter and more mobile. Then she realized that all of the others were staring at her.

“Huh. That was an interesting effect… and makes me wonder, what is a succubus?” Reagan murmured, looking her over thoughtfully. “I don’t recall any species off-hand that gain the ability to make weapons or armor immediately except the lithicar, and they’re more limited than you appear to be.”

“There are some, but not many.” Aslith said, her words coming slowly as she started moving again. “I know some wood elves get the ability to make bows, staves, and other wooden weapons from nothing.”

“Point, but that doesn’t tell us much about Talyn.” Reagan countered.

Talyn pursed her lips, thinking for a moment… which almost caused her to step into a sinkhole again. She barely avoided it, and glared at Gordon when she saw he had a hand already half-extended to grab her. He was grinning broadly, and she sighed, then looked at Melody for a moment.

“Is it safe to talk to them about it? I mean, since succubi are… well, you know.” Talyn said, flushing a little. “Maybe I should’ve chosen another species.”

“You didn’t choose shade, so you’ll be fine. Unless the gods decided to drop other demons around the world, the only way people will judge you is based off your actions.” Melody said, waving her concerns off.

“Demons?” Reagan asked, his eyebrows rising.

Talyn let out a sigh, making sure she was on solid ground as they wound their way through the swamp. The bushes were large enough she couldn’t really see far ahead of them, which was annoying. Very annoying.

“I think that in most worlds, demons take the role that’s taken by shades in this one, at least that’s what Melody indicated when explaining things to me.” Talyn said, glancing over at the goddess as she asked. “Is that right? Or do you not remember.”

“It’s right, I remember that much.” Melody confirmed. “Not that you’re taking the path of most demons. You never were that type.”

“No, I liked playing the sexy ‘bad girl who’s been redeemed,’ which got me into this.” Talyn said, her cheeks heating as she resisted the urge to look at the others, she was so embarrassed. “I think I was rather plain… I recall some degree of, um… augmentation of my assets. Which is why I chose a succubus.”

“You wouldn’t be the only one.” Aslith muttered.

“And a succubus is…?” Elda asked, her voice trailing off.

“Shapeshifting sex demon, in most versions.” Melody said helpfully. “Not that she fits the full version I recall. Those have shapeshifting, wings, magic to charm others, and an ability to drain souls. Talyn only has the first, which allows her to transmute her bones into weapons and armor. Which is why it slows her down when they break, she’s making her bones a bit less dense.”

Talyn slapped her forehead, cringing as she exclaimed. “Melody!”

“What? It’s the truth.” Melody said, though she ruined the effect by laughing.

“You are a troublemaker.” Talyn told her, feeling like maybe it wouldn’t be bad to fall into the next sinkhole and drown. It would certainly be less embarrassing than this. “I was going to address it significantly more, um… delicately.”

“Um… she’s right, then?” Gordon asked, looking at Talyn carefully, while his lips twitched slightly, trying to smile. “You’re…?”

“Yes, she’s right.” Talyn said, glaring at the goddess again. “I can’t believe you said that!”

“Better to get it out of the way up front. This way they know, and if the gods introduce more succubi elsewhere, they have some idea of what they’re dealing with.” Melody replied, sniffing. However, her nose was just high enough in the air that the goddess stepped too far to the side, and she yelped as a foot sank into the mud up to the middle of her calf. “Gah!”

“Serves you right, you troublemaker. Here I am, doing you a favor, and you embarrass me all the time.” Talyn said, letting out a heavy sigh as she walked over and helped Melody pull herself free of the muck, with a rather disgusting sucking sound.

“You gain species experience from flirting. It’s good for you.” Melody retorted, then smiled as she added. “Thank you, though. Suddenly I understand why so many people dislike swamps. Flying over them is far different.”

“You can say that again. Flying would be wonderful, even if it makes you a good target.” Reagan agreed, looking a little amused as he examined the two of them. He seemed to consider, then added. “Also, no offense, but I think I understand the things I’ve heard about jumpers, now. They always say that your kind are a little odd… I just never understood how odd before this.”

“Thanks.” Talyn said, rolling her eyes.

“He’s not wrong.” Aslith muttered.

“Agreed.” Gordon said, inhaling deeply, then continued. “Just, you know… avoid taking any of those mind control abilities, eh? You don’t want the locals to cut you in half.”

Talyn nodded, pausing as she saw a bush with glowing orange blossoms and a few small seed pods off to their left. She noticed that the others were circling well around it, and given that there weren’t any trees or other plants near it, she suspected there was a good reason for that. After a moment she decided that it didn’t matter right this moment, and followed Gordon.

“I didn’t plan on it. Hell, my plans are pretty simple. Get to town, get a decent meal and a bath, then try to learn more about how everything works.” Talyn said, noting a particularly mushy section of the ground, and moving around it. “After that, I’m probably going to see if I can’t find some training. The four of you show that I have a long way to go.”

The others laughed at that, though Elda paused and pointed a finger into the swamp to their right, launching a bolt of fire into a bush. There was a hiss, then thrashing as a large snake writhed.

“Not a bad plan at all.” Gordon said, rubbing his neck. “Though we’re pretty good for our level. We’ve been together since shortly after we unlocked our classes, and took things slow for the first couple of months. My master told me that making sure you had a good group of friends to watch your back was important, as was proper coordination.”

“Makes sense.” Talyn said, mulling the idea over, then grimaced as she had a thought. “I hate to ask, but… is there prejudice against jumpers, as you call people like me?”

“Hmm…” Gordon murmured, tugging on his beard again. Talyn was beginning to think that it was a wonder he still had a beard, as often as he tugged on it.

“There’s some.” Aslith said quietly. “It depends somewhat on the person you talk to, but a lot of jumpers tend to be incredibly selfish. Some of them act as though nothing they do has any consequences. Like the Black Sovereign. He became a lich and rules an undead kingdom to the south. Killed countless people in the process, too, whether they were shades or otherwise.”

Talyn winced, shaking her head. “That… doesn’t sound good. I do remember being told that what we do in this world doesn’t have an impact on our afterlives, but that seems a little… insane. Or a lot.”

“Well, that explains some of the insanity they get up to.” Reagan muttered. “I hope you’re not planning on anything like that.”

“Nope. My goals are… pretty simple, long-term.” Talyn said, blinking as she realized she had a pretty solid idea of what she wanted.

“Oh?” Gordon asked, glancing at her curiously.

“I want to be wealthy and powerful, have a big home with plenty of servants, and to have at least one close lover. Or maybe more, I don’t know.” Talyn said, shrugging and blushing. “I seem to remember that was part of the reason that I played characters like this. I remember enough to know that I was barely scraping by when I died. It was really hard to work my way up the social ladder.”

“Hm. I’ve heard of worse goals for someone’s life. Though I’ll warn that since everyone can level, you shouldn’t expect to be able to get too far ahead. You’re just starting out in the world.” Reagan said, visibly relaxing as he looked at her. “I do think we can help a bit. You saved us from getting sacrificed, so I doubt the others would mind contributing some money to get you started.”

“Not at all. If you want to cut her in on the hydra, I think that’d be equitable.” Aslith chimed in.

“Can’t say that I’m happy about being paid less, but being alive is better.” Gordon agreed.

Elda nodded reluctantly, not saying anything more. Talyn got the impression that she didn’t talk very much.

“Well… thank you. I suppose it doesn’t help that I have absolutely no idea how much money here is worth. I don’t remember seeing money in my previous life, though that could just be that it was considered a problem.” Talyn said, glancing at her purse.

“Hey, that’s something I can help with!” Gordon said happily. “I’m assuming you’ve mostly got copper?”

“And some silver off the cult leader.” Talyn confirmed.

“Not bad at all. To put it simply, it’s a hundred copper per silver, a hundred silver per gold, and so on through mithral, adamant, bloodmetal, and skysteel.” Gordon began. “As for what you can buy with them…”