Deep underground, somewhere in the Isles of the Mysts, Dulane Roly
stepped out of the mining cart, a torch held over his head. The dwarves that
had driven him down began to push the cart back up the track, leaving him
alone near a huge door poking out from the rockface.
After straightening his robe, Roly lifted the huge iron knocker and
thumped it against the door. The knocking reverberated around him, and, for
a moment, there was only silence.
"Hello?" Roly called out.
The faint sound of footsteps could be heard behind the door, and as they
drew closer, it seemed that they were very heavy. Soon the door opened and a
large Teldanari man appeared, dressed completely in white, including a mask
over his face. Stern pink eyes reflected Roly's torchlight back at him. Two
swords hung from the man's belt, one on each side.
"Dulane Roly?" asked a deep voice from behind the mask.
"Y-yes," stuttered Roly, "I-I'm here to see--"
"Toss your torch toward the end of the track," interrupted the man, "And
follow me."
Roly did as he was told. The man lead him through the door and into a
tunnel. Though there was no torches or lamps present, the corridor was
illuminated perfectly.
The Teldanari shut the door behind them and placed a wooden bar in front
of it. They began to walk through the tunnel, which sloped downward just
slightly.
Soon they were in a larger room, which had doors on all sides. Standing
in the middle of that room was a short, thin fellow in a white robe, carrying
a thin, flat square of wood under his arm. Roly recognised the man as Dr.
Ularth Bloor.
"Mr. Roly, I presume," said Bloor with a wide smile.
"Dr. Bloor," Roly said enthusiasticly as he offered a handshake to the
scientist, "I am looking forward to working with you." Dr. Bloor took Roly's
hand into a weak, clammy grip.
"I've read some of your work, Mr. Roly," Bloor grinned as he opened one
of the doors and gestured for Roly to step inside, "You are absolutely a
brilliant man, I must say. Tell me, how close are you to getting your
Master's Accrediation?"
"Well, uh, thank you," Roly said, fumbling with the words, "Well, Doctor,
I am four years into my Rare Biology studies, and I am six years into my
Chemistry studies, plus I have already completed my Minor in Magical
Processes."
"Impressive," Bloor said as he scribbled something on a piece of paper
that was attatched to the flat piece of wood. He lead Roly into a larger
room, which had a table that was a mess of books and papers. Behind the
table was a long hallway with a series of curtains against the rock.
"This is the lab where you'll be doing most of your work," Bloor said as
he walked around the table, "I'm afraid my last graduate student didn't keep
house very well, so your first task will be to straighten this mess out. But
first, let me show you some of our specimens."
"I can't wait," Roly said as he kept at the doctor's heels.
Dr. Bloor reached the first curtain and drew it back, revealing a small,
brightly lit room carved out of the rock. In the middle of the room was a
large, mean-looking wolf. Roly jumped back with suprise, but was calmed by
an assuring grip by Dr. Bloor on his shoulder.
"Don't worry," Dr. Bloor said through a chuckle, "There is a magical
field between us and all of our specimens. It's a spell of my own design,
cast by several of the world's most acclaimed mages. Modesty aside, it is
impenitrable."
Dr. Bloor sideglanced in Roly's direction, and, seeing that Roly didn't
look entirely convinced, the scientist pulled a walnut out of his pocket and
tossed it at the wolf. The nut bounced off an invisible barrier and went
rolling down the hallway.
"Amazing," Roly said as he marveled for a moment, then, forcing himself
into a more sober expression, he turned back to Dr. Bloor, "And what is this
specimen, Dr. Bloor?"
"This one we call 'Fenduth'," Dr. Bloor said as he looked at the paper in
front of him, "He is a 'greater common shapeshifter', which means that he can
take the shape of anything that is usually close to an average mass, usually
something alive, but not always. He is very intelligent and has super-human
strength. The greater commons are what, in everyday language, people
consider to be 'shapeshifters'. Fenduth here has been with us in captivity
for 12 years."
Fenduth made no move or shift, but just stood there as the snarly-looking
black wolf, staring at Roly and Dr. Bloor.
Dr. Bloor closed the first curtain and moved to the second, which he
pulled back. Behind the curtain was another small room, and in the center of
this room was a small black cat, curled up on the floor.
"This is Lilania, our 'lesser common shapeshifter'," Dr. Bloor said with
a notation of pride in his voice, "She was actually born here in this
facility almost four years ago. I say 'born', but the process was something
entirely different... Well, I'll have to expain the details of that to you
when we have more time."
"I look forward to that," chimed Roly.
"Lilania is much like her cousin Fenduth," continued Dr. Bloor, "Only she
seems to have less-than-human intelligence and the range of her strength
depends on what shape she has taken. Really, the only shapes I have seen
have been limited to small mammals, such as what you see here."
"You say this one is a 'she'?" asked Roly.
"Yes," Dr. Bloor replied, "Well that's how we've become accustomed to
thinking about them. The truth is that shapeshifters are asexual, but it
seems that many of them, when taking the shape of animals, will usually
choose either male or female and will rarely alternate."
"Fascinating," Roly said. He watched the sleeping kitten as the curtain
fell back down.
Dr. Bloor moved to the next curtain and drew it back, revealing a room
containing what looked like a pool of tar. The tar gurgled a bit as the
light was cast upon it.
"This is Svatzia," Dr. Bloor said, "She is our 'Ellurian shapeless', or,
as the Ellurians call them, the 'batazala'. The batazala are a very rare
cousin of the shapeshifter, and it is suspected that this peticular specimen
is aged in the tens of thousands of years. Batazali can take the shape of
anything liquid or gaseous, but usually they exist in the state as you see
Svatizia in now. They only become animated to reproduce, which is done
asexually. The are very wild, very instinctive creatures. Very dangerous."
Svatzia gurgled again as Dr. Bloor closed her curtain and moved on to the
next.
"What you are about to see," Dr. Bloor said as he looked back at Roly
with a smile, "Is a creature that has never been recorded before we first set
eyes on them ten years ago. This creature is very sensative, so, please,
stay still and don't make any loud noises."
"I understand," Roly replied as he took a step back.
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