Rebirth of the Nephilim

“You don’t naturally have any magic?”

“None at all,” Maeve shook her head, letting her currently long hair fall over her shoulder. “I put the five points I told you about into Focus from my free attribute points. Same for the single point in Will. I’ve never been offered a single skill that would give me magic of one kind or another. That’s why my Divine, Arcane, and Eldritch attributes are all zero.”

“Then why bother putting any points into Focus or Will at all?” Dia asked, her brow wrinkled in confusion. “That seems like a waste of six attribute points.”

“It’s for enchantments,” the shapeshifter explained while motioning towards Aila. “I can’t copy spells or skills, and I usually avoid getting into situations where I would have to use a spell when pretending to be someone else. But sometimes you can’t avoid using things like enchantments, especially when you’re infiltrating a noble’s household. Or a particularly wealthy merchant. Same thing, in the end. If a household’s servants are using a bit of magic to operate things like light globes or heating stones, then I need to be able to do the same. Can’t operate enchantments without a bit of magic.”

“That’s a good point,” Aila said as Dia hummed in understanding. “However, your explanation brings to mind a related question. Why are you shapeshifted to look like me right now?”

Maeve shrugged a freckled shoulder while giving Aila a look that Jadis was not used to seeing on the mage’s face.

“We’re reviewing my status sheet for that little book of yours, aren’t we? It felt appropriate to mimic the master archivist herself.”

While Aila gave the Fetch a dry look and a sardonic laugh, Dia simply smiled and enjoyed the delightful sight of two naked redheads lying next to each other. No one had bothered to put on their clothing after the completion of the empowering ritual, or for the subsequent acts, so there were lots of delightfully lewd things to catch Jadis’ multi-faceted attention. Still, the image of Aila and Aila next to each other was a special one, and Dia was happy to indulge herself in the moment.

Well, not everyone had remained nude, Jadis corrected herself a few seconds later.

“Water? Warm towel?” Cora asked as she walked by the trio. “Or anything else before I go?”

“No thank you,” both redheads answered at the same time and in the exact same cadence.

Aila shot Maeve an aggrieved look, but the shapeshifted Fetch just mirrored the expression.

“Thank you, Cora,” Dia smiled sweetly at the priestess while the two stared each other down. “We’re good. Do you need anything?”

“You asked me that already, Lady Jadis,” Cora replied with a twinkle in her hazel eyes. “At least, the you over there did. No, I’m fine. Well, actually, I think I could use a very long sleep after that wonderfully intense bit of fucking, but I have my bed already waiting for me.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Aila asked, turning away from the teasing shapeshifter. “Lewd Lover’s Bond would be an excellent way to increase your—”

“No, thank you,” Cora held up her hand, hushing Aila from finishing her sales pitch. “Really, I appreciate the offer more than you can know. But I must refuse. The name of that ritual explains my reasoning more succinctly than I ever could.”

“I understand,” Aila nodded, and Jadis couldn’t help but notice the mix of disappointment and relief on her lover’s face. “Thank you for being here, regardless.

“Yes, thank you again,” Dia grinned at the priestess. As Cora passed her by, she took the woman’s hand and squeezed it affectionately. “You’re a good friend.”

“With benefits,” Cora giggled, having taken quite a liking to the term Kerr had introduced her to.

Despite both Aila and Severina arguing in favor of Jadis performing Lewd Lover’s Bond on Cora in order to boost her Divine stat, it was the priestess herself who had firmly rejected the idea. Part of her reasoning was that she simply wouldn’t always be around Jadis; since she was on Tegwyn’s team, she was frequently far away from Jadis for days, even weeks at a time. With a three-day time limit, Lewd Lover’s Bond would be a temporary boost, at best, and she didn’t want to be reliant on an effect she couldn’t reliably count on to have. The bigger reason, however, was the simple emotional response Cora had to the ritual. She wasn’t Jadis’ lover. Friend with benefits, yes. A willing participant in some of their lewder rituals, certainly. But a lover, she was not. Cora simply felt wrong performing the ritual based on the different relationship status they shared.

It was, admittedly, not the most logical of reasons, but it was one that Jadis respected. She and Cora had drawn their lines, and if Lewd Lover’s Bond crossed them, then that was the end of the discussion. Besides, Jadis reasoned to herself, she liked the idea of keeping the partner empowering ritual reserved for just her lovers, even if that hadn’t been her original intent many months ago when she had started Fortune’s Favored. And clearly, going by Aila’s reaction, she wasn’t the only one who felt the same way.

“We have got to find that woman a wife,” Maeve muttered as she watched Cora exchange a few words with Eir before heading out of the room. “She’s too cute and kinky to be single at her age.”

“I’m not sure about your reasoning,” Dia laughed, “but I agree with the sentiment. We’ve got to find her someone.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree as well,” Aila said before pointing her pen at Maeve. “However, don’t distract me. I want to get all of your stats and skills written down before Jadis gets a hold of you again.”

“As you wish,” the false Aila answered breezily with a slow wave of her hand. “Let’s start with my primary class skills, shall we? I’ll go slow, so you have time to write in that new cypher of yours.”

Dia quietly listened to Maeve’s explanation of her class and skills, taking her own mental notes as they went along. Despite Demon Prince Desire’s assault and possible breach of Aila’s notebook, they were still writing down their stats, spells, and skills. Discussing how their various abilities boosted and complimented each other in and out of battle was simply too important of an activity to stop doing, and writing things down helped with the process immensely. Aila had researched a more complicated cypher to use compared to the one she had been using before, and Sabina had constructed a better locking system for the book, with promises of enchanted mechanisms for the future. Overall, security was heightened for the notebook; no more careless chances would be taken.

While Aila carefully wrote down Maeve’s information in her book, Dia reviewed the Fetch’s basic attributes on a piece of paper that she would be burning later. It was an accurate account of Maeve’s status, except for the fact that the name the shapeshifter had given Aila was not her true one. As much as the Fetch had come to trust everyone in their group, the name Zoi was a secret she shared only with Jadis.

Maeve

Race: Fetch

Primary Class: Shapeshifting Spy (38)

Secondary Class: Penumbral Infiltrator (12)

Tertiary Class: None

Combined Level Rating: 50

Health: 930/930

Magic: 50/50

Attributes

Strength: 35

Dexterity: 18

Agility: 58

Vitality: 48

Fortitude: 33

Endurance: 46

Arcane: 0

Divine: 0

Eldritch: 0

Focus: 5

Resilience: 30

Will: 1

   “You know, you’re a much lower level than I thought you would be.”

The comment came from Bridget, who had at some point sauntered over to join them. The orc was leaning against Dia’s back, chin resting on her shoulder, reading the paper with Maeve’s stats on it. She was, much like everyone else, still naked, though she had taken the time to clean up with some of the washcloths and towels they had thought to prepare in advance.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” the fake Aila asked in a perfect imitation of the true Aila’s offended tone. “I believe I am quite high level.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Bridget conceded. “Fifty is pretty high. I just thought you would be higher level than me, is all. You’re like, what, fifty or more years old? I had the idea you had your tertiary class.”

“The vast majority of my levels came long before the Demon invasion,” Maeve rolled her currently blue eyes. “I haven’t had any bonus experience to boost my progress, unlike all of you cheaters. Besides, I’m not some meathead battle maniac. My classes are all about stealth and subtlety. I can’t just smack a training dummy to get experience.”

“Fifty is high for most people, isn’t it?” Dia pointed out. “In fact, don’t most ordinary people struggle to get to twenty?”

“That’s correct,” Aila muttered as she scratched out strange symbols in her book. “Maeve has had an entirely reasonable level of progress for her age.”

“Thank you,” the Fetch said primly.

“However, I am worried about the level spread between your primary and secondary classes. Have you been having trouble leveling Penumbral Infiltrator?”

Maeve’s borrowed face fell at the question, and after a rippling movement, she was back to her normal, orange form.

“Yeah, actually, I have,” she admitted. “In fact, that’s part of why I, uh, did what I did when I first heard about you, Jadis.”

“You mean how you helped countess Voclain try to blackmail me?” Dia asked dryly.

“It was more about infiltrating her staff,” Maeve’s expression turned embarrassed. “Penumbral Infiltrator is a powerful class, for what it does, but it’s not easy to level. Honestly, I’m really lucky to have it. It’s just… well, the infiltration has to be a real challenge to give me any experience and opportunities to infiltrate noble households for any serious length of time are few and far between.”

“Well, we can get you levels in other ways,” Dia reassured her shapeshifting lover. “So, to get us back on track, what were you saying that skill was called? Pocket Dimension?”

“Pocket Space,” Maeve corrected. “I don’t know what a Pocket Dimension skill would do, but that sounds wild.”

Maeve’s primary class, Shapeshifting Spy, was one of several commonly taken classes that were offered almost exclusively to Fetch. The person had to be capable of shapeshifting to even be eligible for the class, which drastically limited the number of people who would ever be offered one of the various “Shapeshifting” modified class options. According to Maeve, Shapeshifting Entertainer and Shapeshifting Illusionist were the two most commonly accepted primary classes among Fetch, but Shapeshifting Spy was high on the list as well.

Target Assessment

Active Skill. Accurately evaluate the physical traits, characteristics, and dimensions of a target creature. The more time spent around the target, the more accurate your assessment will be. This skill cannot reveal details that are obscured by physical objects such as clothing.

Vocal Replication

Active Skill. Speak in perfect imitation of a target’s voice. The more noises you hear vocalized from your target, the more accurate your imitation will be. This skill cannot be used on a target you have never heard speak before.

Silent Step

Active Skill. Decrease the amount of noise made by you and your equipment while moving. Cost – 2 stamina per second.

Written Memory

Passive Skill. Increase the number of details you are able to recall when writing or verbalizing a report on any topic or event you have experienced. The more recent the event, the greater the level of detail you will be able to recount.

Simulated Equipment

Passive Skill. Accurately replicate the dress, armor, and accessories of your target. You can choose to leave out any number of items from your shapeshifting, but this skill does not aid in fabricating entirely new items.

Penultimate Retreat

Active Skill. Gain a burst of speed and endurance to make your escape easier. Your Agility, Vitality, and Endurance are all multiplied by 2 for the next 90 seconds. Cost – 50 stamina. Cooldown – 1 day.

Perfected Forgery

Passive Skill. Your imitated writing and signatures are more accurate. The more time spent observing the target script, the more accurate your imitation will be.

Shapeshifting Spy’s Alacrity

Passive Skill. Increases the Agility and Vitality attributes by 5 points.

Spy’s Fleetness

Passive Skill. Increases the Agility and Endurance attributes by 3 points.

Utter Stillness

Active Skill. You are able to remain completely motionless for extended periods of time. This timeframe is increased by your maximum stamina capacity. Your current stamina is slowly drained while this skill is active.

Improved Target Assessment

Active Skill. Accurately evaluate the physical traits, characteristics, and dimensions of a target creature. Less time spent around the target is needed to make an accurate assessment. This skill can make high-accuracy assumptions about details that are obscured by physical objects such as clothing.

Odor Replication

Active Skill. Release scent in perfect imitation of a target’s scent, natural or altered. The more time you have spent near your target, the more accurate your imitation will be. This skill cannot be used on a target you have never smelled before.

Shapeshifting Spy’s Swiftness

Passive Skill. Increases the Agility attribute by 7 points.

Shapeshifting Spy’s Vigor

Passive Skill. Increases the Strength and Vitality attributes by 5 points.

Object Permanence

Passive Skill. Items and equipment that you have shapeshifted part of yourself into will act and react to outside stimuli as though they are real objects without your constant and direct input. 

Follow the Thread

Passive Skill. You are better able to retrace your steps when inside of a structure and you will always have a general sense of which direction your initial entry point is located in.

Counterespionage

Passive Skill. The falsehoods and inconsistencies of spies are more readily apparent to you. Shapeshifted and illusory individuals are less likely to fool your senses.

Improved Hearing I

Passive Skill. Provides a minor boost to your auditory perception, allowing you to see hear over greater distances and identify sounds more easily.

Pocket Space

Passive Skill. You are better able to successfully store and obscure objects inside of your body without drawing attention to them. Items hidden inside of your flesh will not be seen by detection skills or spells unless specifically designed to counter this skill.

“It’s amazing how many skills you have to help you with shapeshifting,” Dia commented as Maeve finished reviewing her primary class skills. “I figured all of that would come naturally to a Fetch.”

“Fuck, I wish,” Maeve grumbled. “I mean, it’s all stuff you can learn with time and practice, but having a skill to aid you makes it so much easier. That’s a big reason why so many Fetch take a ‘shapeshifting’ class, particularly illusionist or spy. It gives you lots of options that’ll improve your ability to blend in. Just look at Object Permanence for example. I used to have to mentally adjust the parts of my body that were clothing every time someone spilled wine on me to look stained. It was agony! Now I’ve got a skill that does that for me, no thought required.”

“Do most Fetch have these skills, then?” Bridget asked, tilting her head to one side to get a better look at the strange script that Aila was writing in. “Or do they take other things?”

“Depends on how deep they go into the whole spying aspect,” Maeve shrugged. “I committed. A lot of Fetch don’t, since they only want the class for the easy shapeshifting skills. Even among those who do actual spy work, skills like Counterespionage and Pocket Space are rare. Grandfather D gave me good choices there, even if a lot of my other skill options were mediocre.”

“I assume that is why you took Improved Hearing so late,” Aila pointed at a passage in her notes. “No better options?”

“None,” Maeve agreed with a heavy frown. “Lots of low attribute boosts. The ones you see are really the best ones I was offered. The rest were all shit. Oh, I was also offered a few basic active skills that would have helped me blend into specific parts of society, like General Craftsmanship, but those just aren’t worth the skill slot.”

 General Craftsmanship and related skills were, as Maeve quickly explained, intended for spies and other similar classes to blend into whatever role they might be portraying while disguised. They weren’t true crafting skills, like the kind that Sabina had, but they would give the wielder just enough competence at whatever job they might be performing so that they wouldn’t look like complete amateurs. Nothing spoiled the crafted image of a middle-aged farmer than said farmer being unable to hold a pitchfork the right way.

“Your secondary class has a much more impressive name,” Bridget said after Aila and Maeve had finished talking over the skills the shapeshifter had skipped. “Not even sure what Penumbral means.”

“Shadows,” Maeve answered dismissively. “Just a fancy word for keeping things in the dark. The class itself, though, is just as impressive as you think it is.”

“How humble,” Dia smirked at her orange lover.

“Look, you people are literally the only people in the whole world who are going to ever know what kind of secondary class I have,” Maeve said with an exaggerated huff. “Let me gloat.”

“Fine, fine,” Dia held up her hands in appeasement. “What’s so special about it?”

“I think you’ll see from the first class skill.”

Penumbral Obscurity

Passive Skill. Beings with identification skills or using items with identification capabilities will not be able to see your true status sheet. If you are currently in the replicated form of another individual, your status sheet will present identical information as the target’s status sheet, current to when you last observed that individual. If you are not in a replicated form, your status sheet will be obscured and without detail. You are unable to view the status sheet information of individuals you have shapeshifted into.

Perfect Manners

Passive Skill. You are better able to observe and imitate the customs and mannerisms of target individuals. You pick up on cultural habits and observances with increased speed, and you have a slight boost to your ability to learn new languages.

Expanded Awareness I

Passive Skill. Your physical senses are increased by 0.1.

Penumbral Infiltrator’s Resolve

Passive Skill. Increases the Endurance and Vitality attributes by 10 points.

Infiltrator’s Spread

Passive Skill. Increases all physical attributes by 3 points.

Penumbral Boost

Active Skill. Increase your Strength, Dexterity or Agility by the sum total of your three highest attributes for five minutes. Cost – 100 stamina.

“Wow,” all three women said as Maeve finished speaking.

“That is an extremely powerful skill,” Aila said, her blue eyes drilling into the Fetch. “I did not think there were any skills that could counter a detect stone, much less an identification skill.”

“Exactly what anyone with an ability like this wants you to think,” Maeve stated firmly. “I don’t actually know anyone else who has the skill, but I promise you I’m not the first. My grandfather, Madoc, told me about the possibility, and it was his advice that helped me get the class.”

Sitting up slightly, Maeve motioned towards the other side of the room, where Jay and Thea were sitting quietly with Noct, still sorting through that little bit of drama.

“Ironically, I never would have gotten the class if it wasn’t for her father, Aelius. I had to constantly try to fool his identification skill for literally years. I lost count of the number of times he caught me. He can still catch me, actually. I think his skill scales with his level or maybe an attribute, so he can beat mine, but at least I can counter detect stones, along with less prestigious people with identification skills.”

It was a powerful class with powerful skills, no question. Except, Dia realized upon further mental review, it was also an extremely niche class and skill. Great for a spy or a sneak thief, but not much else. Maeve had no combat capability. The only two skills out of Maeve’s entire arsenal that were even remotely within the realm of being helpful on the battlefield were Penultimate Retreat and Penumbral Boost, and Penultimate Retreat was an escape skill. Only Penumbral Boost would help Maeve do damage; otherwise, she was pretty much defenseless.

“Well, you’ve got great Agility, and also a crap ton of Vitality,” Dia said after a few moments of consideration. “More than enough to dodge well and take a few hits if dodging fails. But still, we’re keeping you off the frontline. You’ll have to stick with Sabina and level up like her through mostly passive participation in the coming battles.”

“Sorry,” Maeve smiled lamely. “I know, I’m not a fighter. Not good for much of anything, really.”

Aila let out a derisive snort at the Fetch’s words.

“You don’t need to be a muscle head like either of those two to be useful,” the redhead said as she waved at Dia and Bridget. “We’ve got lots of fighters. Someone who can help us navigate the far more treacherous waters of politics and espionage has an immense amount of usefulness.”

“Aw,” Maeve grinned at the mage. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I’m touched.”

As Aila glowered at the spy, trying to decide whether she should be mad or apologetic, Bridget lifted her chin off of Dia’s shoulder and leaned towards the shapeshifter.

“Hold on. Maeve. Did you just say Madoc is your grandfather? The Madoc? The one who lives in Weigrun and is over level two-bloody-hundred?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Maeve nodded while pointing a finger at the orc. “Small world, huh?”

Bridget opened her mouth, then shut it again with a click of her teeth. Shaking her head, she sighed.

“Not sure why I’m even surprised. The resemblance is uncanny.”

“Now that was… yeah, I deserved that. Fair play.”