Veles waddled back to the campfire later that evening, both orifices feeling nice and stuffed.
He wondered if his party members would even notice the changes. If they did, he could already imagine how Gregory would feel about them.
It was so embarrassing! How could he have been so careless? Veles hadn’t known what the disappearing words had meant at the moment, but now he did. And he was kicking himself for letting something so dangerous get to him.
As he approached the carriage, Veles noted that as busy as he’d been with his ‘new’ boyfriend, the party had been even more so. Two new horses were milling about the camp, while the old ones were nowhere in sight.
Someone had clearly gone on a horse shopping trip, while someone else had been busy with some rather nasty grunt work.
Veles had barely begun to walk up on the group before Gregory spotted him. For a moment, the well-groomed, and oddly muscular white mink’s eyes squinted at the fat fox in confusion. Then he relaxed, though Veles could see that Gregory made no effort to disguise his clear disgust.
Veles bit his blubbery lip but sat down at the fire. Charlie, the most perceptive of the group, seemed to notice how bothered he was. The wolf sidled over to sit next to Veles. Gregory got up and left, retreating to his tent.
Veles wondered to himself as to just how much Gregory must hate fat guys to have a reaction like that.
“Something wrong?” Geoffrey asked as he walked over to Veles.
“My words disappeared. Starvation and Muscles.”
“Didn’t three horses die of starvation?” Geoffrey replied in a quizzical tone, before glancing nervously at the Prince’s tent, as though fighting the urge to attend to him. “And my liege became oddly muscular in a few scant hours.”
“Yes. The words disappeared after 12 hours. I think they found their way into the closest backstories they could attach to.”
“So how did,” Charlie indicated Veles’ flab, “all that happen?”
“I Trimmed Amicus, the fat otter who was here earlier, by removing ‘pretending to be slim’. I decided not to save the word and dropped it to the ground. It attached itself to me.”
“So delete it?” Geoffrey said.
“I did.” Veles sighed, “all that means is that I’m no longer ‘pretending to be slim’. I am now openly fat.”
Charlie winced, “Oh, yeah. Simple logic with that one.”
“Worse, my own backstory changed. And so did his! Suddenly we’ve got a relationship that’s lasted for a few years. And he’s always coming in and out of town on caravans.”
“Wait, his backstory changed without you trimming it?” Charlie asked.
Veles nodded.
“Fucking how?”
“Believe it or not, I’ve spent a lot of time… thinking about it,” Geoffrey chipped in, “and I’ve experienced it firsthand. We’re in a simulation where we have stats. I’m not…”
Geoffrey sighed, “I’m not stupid because I’m stupid. I’m stupid because my intelligence is low. I’m still the same person I was outside. I just, things like counting are…”
Geoffrey paused again, “I lose count of the numbers. Sometimes I forget was I was thinking just a few seconds prior. Sometimes there’s just too much going on around me and I can’t keep track. It’s like I got caught torrenting and my ISP throttled my bandwidth, except instead of my internet bandwidth it’s my brain.”
“I… see.” Veles nodded.
“So I’m capable of being smart, it just takes longer, get it?”
“Okay. So, you know things. Why did it turn me into a gainer? It feels like this has happened before,” Veles complained.
“It has,” Charlie said.
“Wait, really?” Veles asked.
“When you were with Fergus. It turned you into a gainer, and then a pig.” Charlie explained.
“It?”
“The AI running the simulation.” Geoffrey replied.
“Right,” Geoffrey nodded, “The simulation scans your thoughts. You’ve got a weight gain fetish, so for you, any fuck ups will usually end with exactly that kind of scenario.”
“Weird,” Veles said.
“Not really. Take Palseks, for example,” the bear continued, “She’s a scaly with a pregnancy fetish. If she hadn’t started as a pregnant kobold, well… she’d end up one somehow.”
“Because it’s a fetish game,” Charlie said.
“Exactly.”
“What’s Gregory’s fetish?”
“No idea,” Geoffrey sighed, “Gay sex?”
“Muscle bears.” Charlie said. “Literally. Probably a domination fetish too.”
“I’ve been avoiding it-oh!” Charlie squirmed.
“You okay?” Veles asked.
“My asshole keeps twitching.” Charlie said, rubbing his posterior tenderly. “It’s not painful, but it’s like, trying to get my attention.”
“Oh,” Veles shrugged, “You should get it looked at.”
“Yeah. I think I’m gonna find a cleric or an alchemist to check it out.”
“You could just inspect him with your Trim spell,” Geoffrey said.
“Not today, I have to fix this mess I’ve gotten myself into.” Veles replied. “I only have three castings a day, then I have to sleep literally eight hours to get my slots back.”
“You make it sound hard.” Charlie chuckled.
“It is!” Veles protested, “I have bouts of insomnia.”
“Oh. Sucky,” Charlie frowned.
“Don’t feel bad,” Geoffrey said, “I have fugue states.”
“Wait, what?” Charlie and Veles said at the same time.
“At first, it was just me letting the bear do the chores. But it’s started stretching beyond that.” Geoffrey licked his muzzle nervously. “I think… I’m going away. Like, naturally.”
“Wait, isn’t the rest of your essence in the figurine?” Veles asked. “The one of the fat bear?”
“Yes,” Geoffrey said.
“...Maybe we should store you,” Charlie said.
“What?” Geoffrey asked.
“Like a medically induced coma. But with magic, obviously,” Veles explained. “We’d be preserving your essence and then, when we have a proper body… like a bandit… we Trim you into them.”
“But….” Geoffrey’s black lips quavered, “I don’t wanna die, Veles!”
“What-”
“What happened to Greg?” Geoffrey grabbed Charlie, his eyes wide in fright, “He’s gone! Trapped in that figurine! And no one is trying to get him back!”
“Geoffrey, calm down,” Veles said slowly, “I understand the idea of being placed in a figurine and fully at our mercy is scary.”
“I can’t!” Geoffrey started hyperventilated, tears running down his muzzle, “I’m so scared!”
“He is right,” Charlie nodded, “We’ve left Greg as a figurine. And I admit, I let it happen.”
“Why? I don’t know Greg, but did you hate him?” Veles asked.
“He didn’t want to play,” Charlie shrugged. “I figured we could save him at the end of the campaign.”
“That’s… wrong.” Geoffrey said.
“I get that now,” Charlie said, laying a paw on Geoffrey’s massive arm, “And I didn’t think you were so badly off. You kept boasting about how the wall in your mind was so strong.”
“It’s going away,” Geoffrey sniffed, “I can’t even think of myself as Jeff now.”
“You’ve lasted longer than Glitz thought you would,” Charlie said, “That’s something, you know?”
“I guess…” Geoffrey sagged in his seat.
“So, back to the problem of my magic so we can come up with a solution,” Veles clapped his paws, getting his companion’s attention. “The words are flying away a few hours after I trap them.”
“It’s a relatively low-level spell. Maybe you need the whole soul?” Charlie suggested.
“That’s possible,” Geoffrey heaved a sigh, “This magic might just be a quirk of the simulation. As I was about to get into, it’s a machine. It thinks logically and tries to preserve processing power. You know how babies think things that disappear no longer exist?”
Charlie and Veles nodded.
“Well, in this world… that might be exactly what happens. Fergus, for example, is probably frozen in place. If we ever return, the world calculates his life thus far, makes a few random rolls, and he unfreezes and the changes occur before we even come over the bridge.”
“So the Capitol we’re riding to…” Charlie trailed off.
“Yes. An idea for it exists but it won’t generate until we could possibly see it.”
“Is that why…” Veles paused, “…why Amicus, the fat otter I’m dating, why he now has a richer background?”
“Yes, actually.” Geoffrey nodded excitedly, “There’s no need to make a background character complex. But the AI is reactive. If you interact with some random one more and more, they become more and more real. Ask him things. His childhood. Where he lived. What his favorite food is.”
“Why?” Charlie asked, interested.
“It makes him real. And, if you don’t like an answer, flatly refuse it. See if his answer and his backstory change.”
“Refuse it?”
“Say ‘no, that’s not how it happened. I heard…’” Geoffrey smirked, “The AI might alter his life to fit your narrative.”
“What if he does the same to me?” Veles asked.
“...Uh, you aren’t randomly generated.” Geoffrey pointed out.
“No, I’M not, but my backstory in this world is.” Veles replied.
“Which is what happens when you don’t write a thorough backstory and submit it two weeks in advance.” Charlie smirked.
“Oh, yes, sorry. I should have known to do that just in case the Dungeon Master got a hold of a reality altering device and traps me in a game,” Geoffrey shot back.
“Sorry,” Charlie rolled his eyes, “I mean, it’s just common courtesy.”
“It was my fucking Chronivac too!” Geoffrey huffed.
“So what would you have done if you were the DM?” Veles asked.
“I…. would probably have done the same thing,” Geoffrey rubbed the back of his huge head bashfully, “I miss him, you know?”
“Who?” Veles asked.
“Finn. He was my boyfriend. It feels so long ago now.” Geoffrey said, “You remind me of him so much, it actually helps my memories.”
“Finn was a fat fox?” Veles asked, puzzled.
“Yes,” Geoffrey shrugged, “I guess I don’t know what he is now. I was a fat bear. He was normal-colored for a fox, though still fat.”
“Huh…” Veles said thoughtfully, staring into the flickering flames.
“Can you save Greg?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, but I’d need a new body for his soul,” Veles replied, “I think we should leave Gregory himself. He’s the main plot point for the campaign. Trying to fuck with that would be a bad idea, I think.”
“I hate him!” Geoffrey snarled, face twisting viciously, “He’s such a pompous little fuck! I’d like to wrap my paws around his dainty little throat and-!”
“Whoa there!” Charlie held out his paws, “Maybe keep that kind of talk to mutters, okay? He’s a Prince and he’s a nice person.”
“He hasn’t freed Palseks,” Geoffrey pointed out.
Charlie shut his muzzle. “Right.”
Geoffrey shivered.
“Hey, maybe you should try to merge with Geoffrey,” Charlie said, “But, like, take the initiative.”
“Then Jeff would cease to exist,” Veles pointed out, “All that’s left inside his head right now is 5 days and general knowledge of Earth.”
“Shit.”
“Are you sure you can’t save me without putting me into the figure?” Geoffrey asked.
“I’m starting to believe that anything more than straight swaps can result in unpredictable and dangerous outcomes,” Veles replied, “Give me a week.”
“How?” Geoffrey asked, miserable.
“Stop going on autopilot.” Veles said, “You’re letting the bear take over.”
“I'll… fuck, I hate menial labor, but if that’s what keeps me alive, I’ll do it,” Geoffrey huffed.
The Prince called for him from his tent. Geoffrey rolled his eyes and got to his feet, brushing himself off. Then he strode over to the mink’s tent. Veles and Charlie watched him leave, appreciating his muscular ass as it bounced with each heavy step.
“So, what are you thinking?” Charlie wheeled on Veles.
“I think…I’m going to use some of Palseks’ paperwork as the enchanted paper. With her permission. In exchange, I’ll agree to turn her and her mate into Dragonborn.”
“Why her paperwork?”
“Because it’s special. Meaningful to her. It says… and I need you to think about it… that she’s a real person. A declaration of her sentience and a formal recognition of her basic rights.”
“It’s symbolic?”
“Exactly. Maybe that’s the key element that I’m missing.” Veles heaved a sigh, “I don’t have anything that meaningful here.”
“I have one other issue,” Charlie said. “I don’t like old Jeff.”
“What?” Veles asked flatly.
“He was an ass. I think you should fuck up on purpose.” Charlie said firmly.
“I can’t do that. In fact, I’m morally repelled that you even suggested it.”
“You’d be killing Geoffrey,” Charlie pointed out.
“Which is why what I’m planning is to trim him into the figurine and then onto some bandit,” Veles said.
“So you ARE fucking up on purpose. I’m suggesting you don’t bring him back. Just leave him in the Figurine.”
“Well…”
“Would giving him Nicolas’ intelligence save him?” Charlie asked.
Veles licked his lips, “No. He’d think so, but he’d just get merged slower. Why do you care about an NPC so much?”
“Because I love him. I also really enjoy Jeff’s struggles, it’s kinda hot watching him squirm.” Charlie paused, “I had no idea that Jeff wanted to literally murder Gregory, though. He has to go.”
“From Jeff’s perspective, he’s just as much a slave as Palseks.” Veles replied, then leaned forward, “How do you think she feels about Gregory?”
“She hates him?”
“Yes. Oh…oh yes.” Veles nodded, “I didn't want to bring it up, because I came here to escape from Earth, but I was black.”
“...Oh.”
“Yes. Not being recognized as a person is a shame and horror you can’t comprehend. It’s even worse here, in this world, since Palseks cannot leave. She’s literally not a person until Gregory signs her papers. Would you blame my ancestors if they killed their owners?”
“N-no…”
“I’m not saying Geoffrey should kill Gregory. I’m saying morality doesn’t change. It’s wrong for Jeff to be forced to become a servant and slowly fade away. It’s wrong to kill Geoffrey by overwriting him with Jeff. It’s wrong to leave Palseks a slave.”
“It’s wrong to turn a bandit into a fat musician?”
“No, that’s just simple self-defense.” Veles pointed out, “They intended to rearrange our guts with their knives. I rendered them happy, well-fed, and harmless.”
Charlie sagged, “Is Gregory bad?”
“No. He’s a politician. But I’m not, and I’m going to try to save everyone.” Veles heaved his obese form off the log, shaking out the pins and needles in his legs and feet.
“There’s got to be people who know soul magic that can help you,” Charlie pointed at half a dozen stalls, “How about that one?”
The black furred-wolf pointed at a jaguar selling face-shaped pastries.
“Oh, yeah, the gentleman selling face pastries. Facetries.” Veles rolled his eyes, “he seems like a good, honest, face-monger.”
“Well they can’t ALL be evil,” Charlie replied.
“I’ll be honest, even I feel kinda evil. This is a lot of power, Charlie.”
“Then I’ll ask,” Charlie got up and stretched, “I’ll get back to you if they have anything useful.”
“While you do that, I’m going to ask Palseks to make a really big sacrifice.” Veles said, walking over to her tent.
Charlie sighed, watching the fox waddle off. Then he glanced at the row of monster vendors. This could get dangerous.
He smiled and walked towards them.