Kevin stirred from his uncomfortable spot on the floor as the sunlight started shining profusely through the windows of the living room. He stretched momentarily, before all the events of last night came rushing back to mind. Within a moment, he was up to his feet. He instantly regretted standing up as quickly as he had, when the dizzy spell that typically accompanies such rapid movements hit. He propped himself against the wall for a few seconds until his head stopped spinning.
Kevin sprung down the stairs to what remained of Paul's intricate circle from last night. The chalk that had formed the circle was partially scattered, but the basic shapes and candles remained. His fur stood up on end as he entered the center of the circle, so he moved out of its circumference.
"What the heck did he do last night?" Kevin muttered to himself. "It was almost like he was casting some sort of magic spell. But it's crazy for me to even think something like that."
Kevin wandered around the kitchen, prowling the perimeter of the drawing, and closely examining it. His thoughts were racing with conjectures and explanations. No matter what explanation he thought up, though, nothing made sense.
After a few minutes, his head was starting to hurt. He had started towards the living room when a loud feminine scream shattered the tranquility of the cabin. Kevin rushed up the stairs to the source of the scream: the second floor room of Lisa and Crystal.
As Kevin leapt up the stairs, the initial scream had obviously woken up the rest of the cabin, as a variety of curses, screams and general cacophony rose from each of the rooms.
Lisa burst out of her room, still screaming incomprehensibly. Kevin stopped dead in his tracks as he hit the top step on the second floor. His jaw started to swing open on its own. Instead of the red-orange fox/dachshund he was accustomed to, the Lisa he was seeing was a petite, auburn-haired human. Kevin rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing everything straight. Lisa, meanwhile, spied Kevin and started running toward him, crying, "Kevin!" She jumped, beginning her normal tackle motion.
Kevin, quick enough to dodge the brunt of the tackle, grabbed Lisa in a big hug, swinging her around a bit. She was sobbing uncontrollably as she felt the furry arms of Kevin embrace her. The rest of the cabin were coming out of their rooms.
Rich stumbled out of his third-floor room, obviously still bleary eyed.
"What's all the ruckus about?" he asked, wiping his eyes.
"Um, Rich, just take a look and I think it'll become clear," said Scott in a voice that sounded like he was trying desperately to stay calm.
"Why? It can't be that ba--" Rich stopped that comment short as he finished rubbing his eyes and got his first good look at the group in the third floor hallway.
"You beginning to understand now?" Scott asked the cat.
Scott was still his muscular, well-built self, but instead of the green iguana Rich had been introduced to, this Scott was a baldheaded human.
Rich just stood there and noticed another human standing next to Scott. This person, also well built, similar in size and stature to Scott, sported very bushy dark-blue, nearly black, hair, very similar to...
"D-D-Doug?" Rich stammered, pointing.
He nodded sheepishly.
"But," Rich started. He didn't get too far in that thought before the women's bedroom door on the third floor opened. A slender woman stepped out onto the balcony with a very confused look on her face.
"If I wasn't a well-adjusted person mentally, I would probably be screaming," the blonde, slender elf with Cindy's voice told the staring men already in the hallway. "But, I'm genuinely frightened by this," she continued as she noticed that she wasn't the only one who had changed into a strange form. "At least not all of us changed," she added, pointing to Rich who was physically the same as before.
Someone could be heard crying quietly behind Cindy. "Unfortunately, Sharon's not taking her transformation very well," Cindy explained.
Rich bounded past Cindy and knocked quietly on their partially open door. Rich coughed and asked for permission to enter.
"Come in," Sharon said between sobs.
Rich entered slowly, his fur standing on end as he did so. Sharon was lying on the bed, looking toward the doorway as Rich entered. His eyes widened as he noticed that Sharon's new form was that of a petite human. Sharon noticed his initial expression of disbelief and started sobbing again. Rich rushed over to her and hugged her tightly as she started to cry into his shoulder. A few tears started to stream down his face as he comforted Sharon.
After a few moments, she gently pushed Rich away. She had stopped crying. "Sorry, normally I keep my head a little better than this," she said, looking away from Rich. "It was just a tremendous shock at first."
She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. Rich stood beside her.
"You sure you're all right, Sharon?" he asked.
Sharon looked up at the feline with a quiet confidence in her eyes. Rich smiled as she said, "Yes, Rich. Thanks much."
Tony was the last person on the third floor to come out. He noticed the trio of people chatting quietly in the middle of the hallway and his eyes widened.
"Good morning, Tony," said Cindy first. "Will the mysteries never cease?"
"Ah, good morning, um...." Tony started, and looked confused. He scratched his neck, noting that it was still furry.
"I'm Doug. That's Cindy and Scott," Doug did the quick introductions. "And it's pretty obvious that you're Tony because you haven't changed."
Tony just stared at the three, mouth open wide. After a few moments to collect his thoughts, he sat down heavily on the floor. "Okay, I wake up, and nothing makes sense anymore."
On the second floor, the surprises continued. After Lisa rushed out and tackled Kevin, Crystal slowly emerged from the room. Nearly all her original timber wolf features were lost, except the light aqua eyes, which still shone as bright as the crystal on the necklace she was still wearing. She was still tall and athletic, but now in human form, with light blonde-gray hair. She watched Kevin and Lisa with a mixture of anger, melancholy, and confusion in her eyes.
Kevin just looked at Crystal and shook his head. I wonder what the others are like, he thought.
He heard them talking above him, but didn't feel like interrupting their conversations. At least not until he removed himself from Lisa's grasp.
He slowly pried Lisa off him. She hesitantly stopped sobbing as Kevin looked her in the eyes, telling her, "Please, Lisa. We'll figure out what's going on here. But let's stop crying and start collecting information."
Lisa nodded slowly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're right, Kevin." She released her grasp on Kevin and stood up.
Kevin walked slowly down the stairs to the living room and looked up at the third floor group. He called up, "Okay, everyone. We need to figure out what's going on, so get changed and come down here in a little bit."
Cindy looked down at Kevin. "Okay. Sounds like a good idea."
A few minutes later, nine people had gathered in the living room. There was general discussion and a lot of personal comforting before Kevin coughed loudly.
"Sorry everyone, but we need to start piecing this little mystery together," Kevin started. "So, we're going to do this methodically."
Everyone silently nodded in agreement, waiting for Kevin to continue.
"First, before we begin," Crystal interrupted right as Kevin was about to speak, "shouldn't we get Paul?"
"Well, that's what I was about to tell you about," Kevin said. "I would highly doubt Paul's anywhere close to here. In fact, I believe that it was Paul that did this to us."
"WHAT?!?"
"Let me tell you about last night," Kevin started to explain. He told the others about the scene with Paul and the circle he had watched last night while everyone else slept. He was met with wide-eyed stares and general disbelief.
"You expect us to believe all that?" Rich leaped up from his seat. "It sounds like you had some stupid adventuring nightmare to me!"
Kevin looked right at the other feline. "Well, trust me here. That's exactly what I saw." Kevin got up and started pacing behind his chair. "I don't understand what he was doing either, but that is what I saw. Plus, you passed right by the remnants of the circle in the kitchen. I moved the candles, but the chalk circle is still there."
Rich sat back down, an exasperated look on his face.
Crystal spoke up, "Okay, so if what you're telling us is true, then it almost sounds like...." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "Excuse me if this sounds crazy, but it almost sounds like he cast some sort of magic spell."
Kevin sighed. "Glad I'm not the only crazy one here, because that's what I originally thought this morning too."
"Magic? But isn't that impossible?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, that's the trouble with that idea," Crystal responded. "But it's the best conjecture we have that fits with the information thus far."
Kevin nodded and looked at Crystal. He was about to say something when his eyes fixed on something right behind Crystal. He stepped through the circle of people and opened the living room door that led out to the deck. The others watched Kevin walk toward the door and open it. Kevin stepped partially outside the door and pulled something like a dagger out of the door's wood frame. He stepped back into the main room scanning a small sheaf of papers.
"What is it, Kevin?" Sharon asked.
"It looks like a letter from Paul. Something that will probably explain a lot about what happened."
"Well, don't keep us in the dark, Kevin!" Lisa urged. "Read it for us, please."
Kevin nodded and sat back down in his seat. He started reading the letter:
Hello everyone,
Sorry for my current absence, but more will be explained shortly. I'm sure that by this time you've probably noticed some changes, the least of which are physical.
In case you haven't figured it out, you are now in the body of the character that was developed for you last night. I tried my best to recreate the character while changing as little as possible. I don't want you feeling too out of place.
You have all the abilities of your character. That includes the appropriate magic spells for the magic users and Scott's voluntary lycanthropy ability. Please try them out before you have to use them for defense: in the heat of battle, for instance. Do not worry about how exactly to use the abilities. Much of that information will come to you as you attempt them. The remaining information you might need you'll receive shortly. And, Scott, make sure that you strip before attempting your transformation. Some armor doesn't quite fit wolves that well.
Speaking of armor, in the spare bedroom on the second floor, there are sacks for each player. In those sacks are the armor, weapons, clothing, and other items each player had been given during their character creation last night, as well as a copy of your character sheet with a note from me. Make sure to dress appropriately. Otherwise the local townspeople might think you're a bit strange.
You're all probably wondering about the events of late last night and this morning. Kevin, I'm sure, filled you in on the spell that I cast late last night. There were actually two big spells, but Kevin was asleep for the second one, thanks in large part to the sleep spell I slapped on him between those major incantations. The first spell was a travel spell. You are currently in an alternate world which I'm familiar with. I'll answer why you're here in a moment. The second spell was the mass physical transformation spell that has changed you into your characters. Enjoy your new bodies and abilities.
And now for the big question. You're all here to take part in the campaign. Yes, this is the real world where this campaign takes place. Every action made here is real and has its consequences. And injuries during combat actually hurt here. This is your new real world, for now.
Yes, for now. You have to find me if you want to get back to your original world. The choice is up to you. Either live here forever, or come find me and go back home.
Enjoy your stay in this realm. And please don't die anytime soon. I'm patiently awaiting your arrival.
-Paul
The group sat in stunned silence with the end of the letter.
So, this is why I kept having bad feelings about Paul, Tony reflected.
"Well, well, well." Kevin broke the silence. "That's what he meant by having things to set up for the campaign. It's amazing what becomes clear afterwards."
"Yeah, and it explains why Tony, Kevin, and Rich didn't physically change," Crystal pointed out. "Their characters were drawn up pretty much the same as they already were."
"And why the rest of us are different," Lisa added. She sighed. "Well, I'm not very fond of this body, but I can try anything once. Plus, it's not like we really have any other choice in the matter."
There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group.
Kevin stood up. "Well, shall we see what kind of stuff Paul left for us in that extra room?" He started towards the stairs.
Everyone else followed him up to the extra bedroom. As Paul had stated in his letter, there were plenty of large sacks in the room, with a paper attached to each sack. On this paper was the player's stat sheet from the previous night and a short personalized letter from Paul, describing the player's abilities and items. Kevin and Scott distributed the sacks.
When they finished, Kevin told the group, "Okay, everyone get ready. Try on your things and meet back down in the living room in about an hour. We'll discuss our strategy when everyone's down there."
Eight grim faces nodded back at him, as everyone started back toward their rooms to prepare for what was beginning to sound like a long and dangerous journey.