By and large, the operation went well. There were only a couple of small scuffles, but for the most part people were either asleep or too distracted to notice. By Maia’s count, they must have hit half of the houses in the village by the time they spotted Evan in the distance marching back from the direction Maia’s house was in.
“I think it’s about time we go deal with Evan.” Maia said. “The first people we’ve cured are bound to be waking up soon, and I think we can probably handle the…what, five people in the town square who aren’t blackout drunk?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Elise said, gripping her axe tightly. “How are we doing this?”
“Let’s approach cautiously, we can go into our real forms when he realizes something’s up. After that…let’s play it by ear.”
“Got it.” Violet replied.
So, the three of them began to walk swiftly towards Evan, and after about a minute, he seemed to spot them and started walking towards them. When they were about one hundred and fifty feet away from each other, though, Evan stopped, glancing suspiciously at Maia, and then at the weapons at Elise and Violet’s waists.
After a moment his gaze hardened and he pulled out a heavy-looking hammer from his toolbelt. “And who might you be?” He asked warily. “What have you done to Elise and Violet?”
“Looks like the jig’s up.” Maia said, manifesting her spear and returning to her real form. “Sorry, Evan, this is probably going to end up hurting.”
“That’s my line.” Evan grunted. “I’d hate to have that body of yours marred before I can get to it, but it doesn’t seem like you’ll be making this easy.”
Maia caught sight of Elise and Violet shifting to their real forms in the peripherals of her vision, but didn’t look away from Evan. Whenever the two had sparred, Maia had only won about seventy-five percent of the time, and while those were normally odds she’d prefer to not take, things were different now.
After all, Maia was familiar with Evan’s fighting style, and he didn’t know who she was. Add the trump card of magic, and she was sure she could win relatively easily. She spotted the moment he twitched, and with practiced ease she twisted herself out of the path of the hammer he had thrown, closing the remaining distance and forcing him to back up with a thrust of her spear.
Evan, already holding his spare hammer, attempted to bat the spear away and close the distance, but Maia had anticipated that and met him with a blast of her spell, throwing him back off of his feet. Elise took advantage of the situation and grabbed his arms, and Violet his legs, attempting to pin him to the ground like they had with Stephen. Unlike with Stephen, this wasn’t a trivial task; Stephen was a wiry man, a priest and a scholar. Evan was a warrior and a blacksmith, and he was all muscle.
If it had been just two hours prior, Evan would have easily thrown the two off of him, but they weren’t the same people they were two hours ago. Violet was probably somewhat stronger than she had been before, but Elise had gained strength to rival Evan’s, and she was able to hold him down long enough for Maia to start the process of the cure.
Violet let out a sigh of relief when he stopped struggling. “Okay. Biggest threat down.” She said. “Town center next?”
“Yeah.” Maia said. “I’m not sure he was our biggest threat, though; Amy usually brings a guard with her when she comes to town, and they’re someone who fights for a living.”
“Amy…oh, the merchant, right?” Violet said. “Well, the town center is between us and the inn anyway, why not knock it out on the way?”
Maia thought on that for a moment. “No. We’re going to go around; that fight will draw attention for sure, and I’d rather have the jump on the guard.”
“Are you sure you’re not being too cautious?” Violet asked. “That’ll take a bit more time, people are going to start wondering about their new bodies any moment now.”
“We’ve taken the village’s most competent warriors out already.” Maia replied. “With the benefits that come with becoming a monster girl the people waking up shouldn’t run into any serious trouble from the villagers that remain. If that alerts the village, then so be it, but I’d rather not risk Amy leaving and spreading news of us.”
“I don’t think we’re going to have a choice.” Elise said. “I can make out people coming over here already.”
“It must have been my magic.” Maia said, frowning. “The flash of light probably caught their attention.”
“Well, guess there’s not much for us to do but go for it.” Violet said. “How do you want to approach this?”
“They probably don’t have weapons, so we should be able to just overpower them pretty easily. I’ll unleash magic on them from range as we close in, and that should thin out their numbers by the time we actually reach them.”
“How many times can you use that spell?” Elise asked. “Normal tomes wear out over time, right?”
“It’s not a tome.” Maia replied. “It feels more like…moving my body, kind of. I get a bit tired while using it, but no more than I do when I use my spear.”
“They’re getting closer.” Violet reported. “Time to move?”
“Time to move.” Maia confirmed, taking off at a jog towards the group of five people approaching them. Maia kept a close eye on them, gauging the distance as best she could. Though she hadn’t thoroughly tested it yet, she had a gut feeling about the effective range of the magic, and that would be enough for this fight.
She waited for a couple of seconds after she determined that they were in range, just to make extra sure she’d hit, then let loose. The effects were just as she had hoped; she was able to get two casts off before she was in melee range, and both casts seemed to knock out their targets, leaving three for Maia, Elise, and Violet to take care of.
It was barely a contest. Maia’s group was still in more or less peak condition, and the villagers they were fighting were somewhat drunk and armed with only some sticks and rocks that had been nearby, so they were able to be subdued without much trouble.
With that out of the way, Maia beelined for the inn. To her relief, the carriage that Amy had come in on was still parked outside without horses hitched to it. Good news as that was, Maia couldn’t be too thrilled; Amy’s guard was standing outside of the inn’s door, fully armored with spear at the ready.
“I don’t know what sort of Deepwood nonsense is happening, but leave us out of it or I’ll be forced to stop you.” He said gruffly. “This is your only warning.”
Maia responded by casting her spell on the man, and to her surprise he actually managed to leap out of the way in time to dodge the worst of it. “I hate monsters.” He grumbled, rushing towards the three. “Always something different with them.”
He gave an experimental jab at Maia before darting back to the doorway, eyes flicking between his three opponents. “At least you’re easy on the eyes.”
“We’re fighting, not bantering.” Violet said, rolling her eyes. “Take this seriously.”
Maia stared him down, formulating a plan. The doorway prevented the three of them from ganging up on him, and she didn’t want to damage the inn any more than was necessary. So, that meant she needed to lure him out somehow…
Right, he was a merchant guard. “Violet, start taking supplies from Amy’s carriage.” Maia ordered. “Maybe we can find some potions in there that we can use to overpower him.”
Violet hesitated for a moment, looking into Maia’s eyes, then nodded. “On it.”
The guard clicked his tongue in annoyance then rushed out of the doorway once again, aiming a thrust at Elise. Elise sprung out of the way while Maia used the opportunity to strike at the man with her spear. Her old spear, old and worn as it was, would have certainly been ineffective against his armor, but the new one the goddesses had granted her had no such issue, punching through the breastplate and into the man’s stomach.
His eyes widened in surprise, and Maia used the moment to close the gap, following her instincts and setting off her spell at point-blank range. The man groaned in pain and staggered backwards as a burst of light filled the space between them, but the holy energy only felt like a refreshing breeze to Maia. She seized the moment to thrust her palm onto the man’s forehead and start the cure, letting out a silent prayer of thanks that his helmet didn’t cover his face.
“Alright Violet, that’s enough!” Maia called out. “I just needed to lure him out of the doorway, we don’t actually need to steal Amy’s stuff.”
“Oh, good.” Violet said, running back to Maia. “I didn’t feel good about it, but you had that look in your eyes so I trusted you.”
“Let’s deal with Amy and anyone else in the inn and then go mop up the rest of the villagers.” Maia instructed. “I think…I think the danger has passed, for now.”
Maia gazed at the people of her village with a heavy heart. They were all so…different now; animal ears, tails, and wings abounded, and some weren’t even humanoid anymore. It was a visible reminder that nothing would ever be the same again, and Maia just wished it didn’t have to be this way.
At the very least, though, the goddesses had spoken true; though there was plenty of confusion, nobody seemed overly upset or unhappy about their changes. The children were running about excitedly, playing with their new forms and laughing in delight, but even that wasn’t enough to lift Maia’s spirits.
She just…didn’t understand why it had to be this way. The goddesses had implied that they had other ways of lifting the curse, but that using them would have some sort of negative repercussion. Would those ways be worse than transforming the people so greatly? What was this force that was strong enough to oppose them? The more she thought about it, the more questions she ended up with.
Fortunately, she didn’t have much more time to think. They had finished starting everyone’s cures about fifteen minutes prior, and she had sent Elise and Violet to go round people up and tell them to come to the town square so Maia could explain everything. Everyone should have finished being cured, and, though Maia had yet to do a proper headcount, what she had estimated to be the last group was finally arriving.
Maia waited a moment before clearing her throat and calling out in a loud voice. “Um, hi, everyone.” She said awkwardly. “This is, uh, not how any of us expected our evening to go, I think.”
Everyone quieted down and looked at Maia, causing her to fidget uncomfortably. “To get things out of the way, I’m Michael. Or…was. The goddesses chose to rename me Maia, which, yes, weird, but apparently history has been manipulated, and she…wasn’t bad, I assume? Anyway, I came back from hunting to realize that the village had been infected with Aira’s Fervor, and I went back to a shrine I found in the Deepwood to pray about it.
“The goddesses appeared to me and named me their champion, then turned me into a monstrous maiden. Or, monster girl, as they apparently prefer. Aira’s Fervor is not their will, and becoming a monster girl is the cure. So…they gave me the ability to transform people into monster girls, and tasked me with curing the entire world, then told me to start here.
“I’m sorry to say that, until I can start curing more villages, you’re probably not going to be welcome in the outside world, at least not as yourselves. If you will your monster parts away you can go back to a human form, but you’ll still be a woman, even if you were a man before.”
“How do we know you aren’t mistaken?” Someone asked suspiciously. “This could just be the Deepwood messing with you. Again.”
“I guess you don’t know for sure.” Maia admitted. “But I think you all know that this isn’t the Deepwood’s style; it’s certainly never given me a power boost like this before. And, really, just think about it; do you think Aira’s Fervor fits with her teachings? Or does it make more sense for it to be a curse seeking to demolish society?”
“I think she’s right.” A lamia said, slithering to the front. Curiously enough, Maia could tell that this was Stephen, even though she looked little like she had before; her hair had become a light blue color and grew down to her back, while her legs had been replaced by a long, thick snake tail of the same color as her hair. “I can feel the holy energy radiating off of Maia. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
Amy, looking mostly the same save for having grown fox ears and a tail of the same bright red as her hair, nodded. “It’s bad out there.” She said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff, and it isn’t pretty, especially for relatively powerless places like this. This is a preposterous story, but…I think that, at the very least, she’s right when she says Aira’s Fervor isn’t the goddesses’ will.”
“So, I suppose you’ll be leaving, then?” Evan, now a short woman with long black hair and red eyes said. Maia’s gut was saying that Evan was a lava elemental now, but she looked…human; she was in sleek red and black armor, and there was a tinge of red at the very end of her hair, but other than that Maia wouldn’t have given her a second look if she passed her in town.
“Yes.” Maia replied. “The goddesses have instructed me to bring trusted companions and cut east through the Deepwood, with the aim of eventually making our way to the island where the goddesses first descended. From there, I’ll be given more instructions. Um, as for everyone else…I don’t know, that’s all I really needed to say. You can…figure out what to do from here.”
Maia paused, looking at the crowd of people. “This may sound a little crazy, but I think you all might want to consider moving into the edges of the Deepwood proper. As monster girls we seem to be shielded from much of its magic, and I think there will be much greater threats coming from outside than from within. Of course, it’s a risk, but I think it’s worth considering.”
There was a murmur at that, but after a few moments Evan quelled it. “Let’s have a town meeting about that tomorrow.” She said. “Everyone go back to your homes unless you have business with Mich – Maia. We’ll want to discuss this with clearer heads.”
“Thank you, Evan.” Maia said.
“Ah, you could tell?” Evan replied. “And…call me Emily, it feels better now than Evan does.”
“I just sort of can, and I can tell you’re a lava elemental too.” Maia said. “But I don’t know how, you look pretty human to me.”
Emily’s face lit up. “I’m definitely not!” She said enthusiastically. She raised an arm and it turned into molten rock, though, oddly enough, Maia only felt a slight heat from it. “This is great!” Emily continued, turning her arm back to normal. “I don’t think I’ll even need a furnace anymore, I can just…provide the heat myself! I love it!”
“And I as well.” Stephen said, slithering up to Maia. “How did you know to make me a lamia? I had always been curious about Lamia, ever since I heard about them as a young girl…” Stephen trailed off, frowning. “I didn’t even hesitate there. Strange. Is that also part of the transformation?” She asked.
“Yes.” Maia replied. “And the transformation automatically picks something that the person being transformed would like the most, I don’t pick myself. Um…should I still call you Stephen, or…?”
“Steph, please.” Steph said. “And I would like to ask if you have room for me in your journey; I have always wanted to do a pilgrimage, and I think as a healer and light mage I can provide significant support.”
“For that matter, I’m coming too!” Elise interjected. “There’s no way I’m letting you leave for who knows how long, not when I can actually help you now!”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Maia said, smiling at her wife.
“Um… would you take me too?” Violet said. “You know I’ve always wanted to travel, and I’m sure I can help out with odds and ends.”
“We’d love to have you, Violet.” Maia said. “Same for you, Steph.”
“I was actually wondering if you’d have a place for me, too.” Emily said. “I figure you could use someone to maintain your equipment, and you know I can handle myself in a scrap if it comes to it. I may not have my muscles anymore, but I’m definitely way stronger than I used to be. I’m sure I’ll be able to work faster, too, I’ll just need raw materials and I can make whatever we need wherever.”
Maia nodded. “Thank you, Emily.” She said. “It’s a relief to have you along.”
“Anyone else you’re going to take?” Amy asked, walking up to them. “I’m not asking to join, by the way, I’m not ready to be tied down to a cause like that, but I think the least I can do for your help in curing me is get you some supplies for free. The things I did…”
“I think just the five of us will be enough.” Maia replied. “I’m not sure it’d be wise to bring a much larger group, and there’s no one else I’m close enough to or who is strong enough that I’d feel comfortable bringing them.”
“In that case, what kind of stuff will you need for your trip?” Amy asked. “I’ll prepare what I can.”
“We’ll need food and water the most.” Maia replied. “I can provide for the five of us easily once we’re outside of the Deepwood, but inside I can’t guarantee anything. Given our new speed, I think…ten days’ worth of those will suffice.”
Amy frowned. “Didn’t you always used to say that you’re the best there’s ever been at hunting in the Deepwood? Shouldn’t that be the other way around?” She pointed out.
“That’s why I say that I can’t guarantee anything.” Maia replied. “I can get sustenance well enough in these shallow parts, but I know better than anyone that nothing is certain deep within. The safest way through would be to stop as little as possible and just get out as soon as we can.”
“Fair enough.” Amy said. “I’ll see what I can spare, but I might not be able to come up with that much food immediately.”
“I have a doe that I killed earlier left on the outskirts of the village that I can make into jerky.” Maia said. “That should get us at least half of the way. Water…I don’t suppose you have any water magic tomes?”
“I’m afraid not.” Amy said. “But…can any of you use water magic?”
“Apparently I can use every type of magic now.” Maia said.
“I have fire, lightning, wind, light, and dark tomes in stock.” Amy said. “I’ll give you one of each of the basic ones, and any one of the advanced ones.”
“I, uh, don’t know much about magic.” Maia admitted. “What would you suggest?”
“I only dabble in magic myself, but my understanding is that it depends on what you want. Fire and lightning have the most firepower, dark magic hinders your opponents, wind magic has the best range, and light magic balances firepower and range.”
“I would recommend wind magic, myself.” Steph said. “It’ll prove invaluable if we come up against flying enemies, or those with bows.”
“I’ll take that, then.” Maia said. “And…yeah, I think aside from that, any healing salves or potions you can spare is all I think I’ll need. Anyone else?”
“An extra healing staff or two would be welcome.” Steph said. “Mine is beginning to run low.”
“Some iron would be good, too. I don’t need much, just a few ingots to patch up holes in our gear or make new weapons if we need. And I do just mean three or four, I don’t think I could reasonably carry much more while I’m also carrying food and a bedroll.”
“A bedroll?” Amy asked. “I didn’t know you traveled.”
“Everyone in the village has one.” Maia explained. “Sometimes things happen and your house is demolished or becomes unlivable for a few weeks, so we made sure everyone would at least have something to lay on in case of emergency.”
Amy shook her head in clear amazement. “I feel like I say this every time I hear something new about this village, but…why do you people still live here?”
“Where would we go?” Maia asked. “Steph aside, we were all born here, and you’re the only person who visits with any regularity. Even the tax collectors barely show up, only when they really need something. But…that aside, I need to go collect my kill and start making jerky if we want to have it in time to leave tomorrow, so I’ll let you all sort out the rest here. Amy, do you want the pelt? It might pay for extra stuff.”
“What’d you kill? You said it’s a doe, but a doe of what?”
“Uh…I don’t know if it has a name.” Maia said. “It’s a Deepwood species that’s kind of like a normal deer but it’s a carnivore, and I think it’s technically a monster? The hide is pretty tough and makes for durable leather, so it’ll probably have some value outside.”
Amy thought on that for a moment. “I’ll give you an extra advanced tome for it.” She said. “Or the equivalent in other goods. What do you want?”
“I’ll leave it up to Steph and Emily, they would know better than me what kind of magic would be most useful and what gear we would need for fighting against people.” Maia replied. “Elise, Violet, would you mind helping me with the body? It should make it go much faster.”
“No problem.” Elise replied. “Uh, Emily, will you take a look at this axe? It sort of…came with my transformation and I want to make sure it’s fine to use.”
“Oh, good idea.” Violet said. “I got a sword in basically the same way. And yes, of course I’ll help with the body.”
“I got an axe too, I was going to take a look at it when I had a moment.” Emily said. “I’ll do yours then. Uh…Maia, I assume you don’t need your spear to be looked at? Since it’s, you know, different.”
Maia held out her hand and manifested her spear. “Yeah. The goddesses personally remade and blessed it, I’m guessing it’s probably better than just about anything. I’ll let you examine it later when we’re not as strapped for time. Anything else anyone needs before I take off?”
There wasn’t, so Maia headed back to where she had left her kill and set to work preparing it for their journey ahead.