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2:513 Swimming in the same water? by Catprog & Cubist

A thought then occurs to you: You're swimming in the same water that caued the transformations. In fact, you've been completely immersed in the stuff for—your water-breathing spell! Fearing the worst, you probe gently at your neck... and yes, you have gills. <br

2:512 At the portal by Catprog & Cubist

Before long, you see what looks like an underwater cyclone -- a dark, swirling funnel. As you get nearer, you can see more and more details... and you also notice that you're in a current that flows towards the funnel. Closer and closer you go; the nearer you are, the stronger the cu

2:511 Re-cast the spell by Catprog & Cubist

Nodding, you re-cast your spell. The creature twitches, but does not do anything else. "Now, show me where it is." It shuffles along on its misshapen leg and tail and opens a door and you see a flooded room. It then dives into the water. You do likewise...

2:510 "Why did you think it was just one portal?" by Catprog & Cubist

And yep it is the same signature as the village—although much, MUCH stronger. "I was right," you murmur. The creature hasn't moved; it's still there, just staring at you with its rigid, glassy eyes. "Why did you think it was just one portal?" you ask it. &l

2:509 "Which portal are you talking about?" by Catprog & Cubist

'The' portal? As far as you know, there are millions of them, each one pouring out water! "I... don't know," you say. "Which portal are you talking about?" "The one that is putting out lots of water and turned me into this!&qu

2:508 When your head clears by Catprog & Cubist

When your head clears, you find that you've lost track of the time. Just how many minutes has it been since the last time you replenished your air? And then your head clears the rest of the way: You aren't under water. Looking around, you discover that you

2:507 Scrub the plants by Catprog & Cubist

You start scrubbing the plants and you soon hit a flat stone surface. Could it be part of the factory's roof? Perhaps; perhaps not. Sometimes rocks just end up flat naturally. But if it is the factory... it should contain Bast knows how many million gateway-gadgets, spewing out Bast

2:506 Very Hard by Catprog & Cubist

The answer to that question comes to you fourteen minutes later: Plenty hard. Swimming around and scanning everything you can, you have not managed to spy anything which looks like it might have been a building. Well... you had speculated that there might be some unusual side-effects from

2:505 Under the lake by Catprog & Cubist

Reviewing the spell in the book, you confirm that it forms a bubble of air around you for a couple of hours. It does not replenish the oxygen you breathe, however, so you'll need to return to the surface... every twenty minutes or so, it would seem... so that you don't suffocate

2:504 To the Factory by Catprog & Cubist

By now you are quite hungry and catch a meal and are back flying without anything major happening. You then spend the next 2 days travelling to the factory, getting more of your reading out of the way... Or where it was. When you arrive there is a large lake there. Of course: You were loo

2:503 Human Hang Gliders by Catprog & Cubist

You see a mountain up ahead—its peak is very high, certainly much greater than the altitude you're flying at—and things flying around it. When you get close enough you see... humans in hang gliders? How is this possible? Back home, hang gliders didn't—couldn't—exist

2:502 "We are, collectively," by Catprog & Cubist

"We are, collectively," you say, and the words feel so very right. "I will investigate this peculiar magic further. Until such time as I determine the answers you seek, I would recommend that you follow my advice, and exploit the alterations in your people. Speak of it not

2:501 "I would suggest you exploit it" by Catprog & Cubist

You give the human a skewed look. "I would suggest you exploit it. Your people are clearly being adapted to live in and around water, so I recommend that you hire them out for aquatic tasks. The money they shall thereby earn will go a long way towards making their condition acceptabl

2:500 In the morning by Catprog & Cubist

In the morning, you rise with the Sun. You have vague memories of your dreams... something about flying, a white slash of claws... nothing you can clearly remember, just an unfocused feeling of contentment. You yawn mightily, and stretch every last one of the kinks out of your back. Yum!

2:499 Sleep in the village by Catprog & Cubist

By the end of the day, you're quite thoroughly stuffed -- with meat and with information both. Just as well that the sun set when it did; it was getting harder and harder for you to pay attention to the deformed humans, especially once you realised that the humans had run out of inte

2:498 More People Again by Catprog & Cubist

"So everyone else can get to me right?" you ask and when you get the confirmation "Good. I'll be at the rest of the food and they can come to me." Which is exactly what happens; you lounge on the ground, scarfing down meat as and when you feel like it, and oh yes,

2:497 More People by Catprog & Cubist

You continue eating as the creature speaks, asking questions when appropriate; the whole conversation only takes a quarter-hour or so. When you're finished, you and your food-bearer exit the hut, and the village's speaker guides you to the next mark-victim. This one has four tentacles

2:496 More Details by Catprog & Cubist

You look at the human. Yep he or even she you can't tell is very much nearly a fish. The question is, is the mind affected as well or just the body… well, an easy question first: "Do you know what I am?"

The… semi-human creature… tilts its head to aim one lidless

2:495 Fish Person by Catprog & Cubist

The speaker's face lights up when you agree to help; he frowns when you state your plan. "My apologies, great one, but… the most strongly marked among us… are unable to move freely. I am not even sure we can-"

You interrupt, stifling his words: "Do not concern

2:494 Look into It by Catprog & Cubist

The speaker nods. "Truly you are wise," he says, "as, indeed, are all of sphinxkind. We cannot divine the cause of these marks, and we cannot tell how many of us will eventually be crippled by theirs. Thus, we throw ourselves upon your mercy, great one, in hopes that you will find