Beneath the Surface (Adventure, slight Gore)

"Hold first, officer." Ician orders. "Paladin sent you? All of you? I need to know everything he has prepared. And also all the resources available on your ships."

"Great, more royal butts, just what we needed..." Griff mumbled as he turned around and started slowly walking away from them.

"There is a full century here. A full one hundred stallions. He has also brought a resupply for rations and weapons, as well as bricks and mortar for a proper wall. We also have some light artillery."

"Light artillery?" Ician looks surprised. "What kind? And what is the composition of the hundred stallions? Mages, knights, archers?"

"Fifty are knights, twenty-five are archers, twenty are mages of various kinds, and five are artillery men. As for artillery itself, we have two cannons and a mortar." He reported.

"Cannons... and a mortar." Ician blinks in disbelief. "What we're going to be shooting with those things, I have no idea... never mind. You said you have wall supplies, right? I need your century to construct a wall around this encampment. Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?" Eclipse asks.

"Get your team to bring the rations and weapons to their respective tents."

"At once." He rushes off to find the ten original soldiers.

The centurion nodded and turned to his men. "You heard him. Get building." The soldiers nodded and like a well-oiled machine began to unload the supplies at record speed, the foundations of the wall already being put in place as the various airships left.

Ician blinks and smiles. "Looks like we've solved our reinforcements problem, eh, Divine? One hundred new stallions... cannons and a mortar... in fact, I think Paladin might have gone a little overboard."

Griff goes to sit back into the shadow of one of the tents, pulls out his book again and starts reading.

Divine whimpered and huddled close to Ician. "They make too much noise."

Ician chuckles. "They're Guards. They all make too much noise. But for me..." The fatigue returns, and he sways slightly on his feet. "I think I need a little sleep."

She picks him up with little effort and carries him to his tent. "Then sleep Mas– Ician."

Griff kept close watch on Ician while reading his book and hoping that Divine or Ruby would leave him alone aswell. He soon started practicing turning into snake, turning parts of his body into those of a snake and reverted and tried again.

"Mm." Ician watches the sky through bleary eyes. "Thank you, Divine." He yawns, and as an afterthought adds, "Wait, what were you going to say with Mas..."

His eyes flicker shut. Ician falls asleep.

She placed him on the bed and smiled softly, curling up next to him as Ruby lay guard outside.

After a few minutes, a snake entered the tent, sneaking past Ruby and stood still next to Ician's bed. "Ician." the snake suddenly said.

"Hm... I don't wanna wake up yet..." Ician rolls over, uncomfortable as it seems in his unwieldy armour. "Gimme... gimme a few more minutes..."

His own snake peeks its head out of his armour, flicking its tongue at the other snake.

The dark-green snake flicked its tongue at Ician's snake and turned back at Ician. "I finally done it." the snake says.

"Ugh..." Ician blinks the sleep out of his eyes. "Huh? Oh, a snake." He looks at his own snake. "Two snakes." Turning back to the one that isn't his own, he says, "That you, Griff?"

The snake nods. "It is indeed." it says, flicking its tongue at the air in front of him. "I finally managed to do it!"

Ician yawns and stretches, still not fully awake. "I... I see. Congratulations." He pauses, trying to get his full wits about him. "Wait, why, of all animals, did you choose a snake to shapeshift into?"

"Figured out I needed something that can be stealthy." he said. "Shark isn't exactly stealthy on the ground, neither is sabretooth cat. The latter is too big aswell. As for eagle, someone would quickly notice it in the desert." Griff explains. "Snake was a perfect solution. Small and quiet."

"That's... smart. Good thinking, Griff." Ician chuckles. "So, are you learning to take the form of any other animals?"

"I'm still thinking of what to do next. It takes a few months of learning and trying to finally take the form of an animal." he says.

"Ah, you might want to edit your character sheet..." Ician blinks tiredly. "... I mean, start testing it out. You'll need experience."

His eyelids sag with fatigue as he struggles to come up with something to say. "So... then... um... how's life?"