Journal of a Wizard
#4 of Older Stories
An almost unpublished piece of anonymous fiction I later slipped quietly into my FA scraps folder. Now it's back, and ever so slightly polished. Perhaps some of you might enjoy it.
Journal of a Wizard
Day 12 of the Scholarly Expedition
In hindsight I should have followed the advice of the beggar that warned my of this damned place. The journey would have taken me through the heart of central Arcadia's jungles to the temple of the Scholar where one's mind can achieve heightened levels of awareness. Planned well enough and went with a group. Nary 2 weeks into the jungle had those bastards all flee in the night leaving snakes to claim the blasted camp. Waking up to the sound of several of the blasted legless lizards is a hell of a way to wake up in the morning. I'm heading back to town, but if I don't make it back somehow then blame the bastards that left in the night.
Evening 12 of the Scholarly Expedition
After some internal conflict over the issue I decided to turn around and head back toward the center of the jungle without the help of the bastards who fled (foolishly without taking their equipment). This is a terrible idea but I've decided after two weeks in I can't be that far. Made it back to what I swore was out former campground fairly late at night only to find that all the tents have been removed. I care not for this strangeness as I probably missed it by a quarter mile or so from drifting to the north or south...
Morning 13 of the Scholarly Expedition
Heading out early, this was definitely the campground only everything's missing now. This would probably freak me out more if I wasn't much more interested in the wealth of knowledge that awaited me at the temple. Any native barbarians that happened to live within this hellhole defending the ancient temple would easily be dispatched by the few spells I've picked up in the few years since starting my study under Famnus.
Day 13 of the Scholarly Expedition
Nothing to report yet. I'm still walking through the jungle avoiding all these damn snakes. I would have burned this forest down if it wasn't for all the humidity.
Evening 13 of the Scholarly Expedition
Got bit by a snake after I started getting tired of walking. Wasn't watching my feet. Getting fever. Drank a healing potion I picked up from town. Probably not well made. Will report back in morning if still alive.
Morning 14 of Scholarly Expedition
Had dream of being eaten and still feel like shit. Better than before but still about as fresh as manure. Rash began to develop along bite mark. Gonna take another potion and sleep some more because that seems to work.
Day 15 of the Scholarly Expedition
The only reason I assume I've slept a day and a half is due to the severe spreading of green tinted flesh around the now swelling leg. The fever died down and I've gotten a majority of my faculties besides my left leg which is now greenish in color and swollen. It hurts to the touch, but I will set out soon anyway.
Evening 15 of the Scholarly Expedition
I couldn't help but laugh as I sat down on top of the cliff overlooking the temple. Those bastard deserters weren't worth the flesh they're made of. It was only another day and a half of walking before making it to the place from the camp. Aw well, more time for me to study their without them complaining about seeing their families. I will climb down tomorrow. Using a water walk spell and some improvisation I should be able to use the waterfall as a ladder to make my way down. I'll check back in later.
Morning 16 of the Scholarly Expedition
Damn it. My leg is rotting I know it. While climbing down the waterfall using waterwalk I stepped a bit to hard and broke the weakening bone and fell halfway down. At the very least a hundred or so foot drop. This damn trip is going to be the death of me, or judging by the strangeness of this rash possibly something worse. Luckily I trees still blanket this mysteriously dug out area of the jungle as well and I was able to quickly magic myself together a splint as I once again made my way toward this scholarly temple.
The temple is immaculate and made of polished stone long since mostly covered by the growth of this blasted jungle. Twin snake statues seem to adorn the start of a short walkway leading to the rather small door. What is it with all these ancient races and snakes? You'd think they'd love them more than they do their own women. As I made my way to the temple outcropping I sensed a powerful spell had been cast on this area. Likely some sort of defensive ward left behind to keep future civilizations from gaining their knowledge. Bunch of ancient assholes. Before entering I will study upon this matter and make camp outside the door 'neath the decrepit snake statue.
*the writing is much smaller and barely legible at this point in the journal*
Morning 18 of the Scholarly Expedition
Fuck ancient cultures to the underworld and back. I had been deep in study trying to determine the purpose of the spell. It was polymorphic in nature and I assumed it would transform anyone who fell under the spell into a snake. I quickly surmised that I hadn't fallen under it's effects due to fairly weak magical abilities while the crew had transformed into the very snakes that woke me several days ago. This turned out to be partially true.
Enhancing my wards with reptilian blood in mind I was shocked to find myself shrinking the moment my foot crossed the threshold into the temple. I had made a miscalculation. These people worshiped snakes. They wouldn't turn intruders into their idols. No they were much more malicious than that. For what I found myself quickly changing into was a common rat and a female as if to add more insult to the mistake I had made. With the last of my wits I managed to save my intelligence from changing and am thusly capable of writing in this journal. I will push it outside at the edge of the temple for others to find so they do not step foot in this damned place until I find a way to cancel the spell.
As for me? I'm going to be living in the temple. Still able to read albeit slower at getting books and turning pages I'll use the knowledge gleaned from these ancient texts while avoiding the snakes that lurk through the temple with ease, because dear reader and adventurer with knowledge comes power, and I didn't lose my spells when they changed my form.
Rat TF 2 electroshock therapy
(The writing starts off incredibly small and rather scratchy for the first few sentences but is still legible under a magnifying glass. It is also red.)
6 days after initial change
Found a rather small notebook and decided to carry it with me to help me remember who I am. I'm fairly certain the counter spells I cast will hold, but even with that the mind is often a slave to the body. Naturally being a slave to a female rat body isn't really something I plan to do so I'll turn to these writings when I doubt myself.
I am a male human wizard. I am incredibly intelligent and will find a cure for myself.
Not much has changed since I dumped the larger journal out front. I'm still a rat and a female at that. I've killed a few snakes and managed to make a decent looking staff and cloak using cuttings and shavings from my old clothes and staff respectively. I've since explored much of the central room of this temple and I must say that I am shocked by the amount of books that remained unread for all these centuries. I take a bit of pride after loading up a floating disk with books and dropping them off in front of my thrown together house.
I've taken to sleeping underneath my robes during the nights. The temple air is just as thick and uncomfortable as the jungle was, but at least the snakes stay away from the entrance as well. In my current state I would probably be unable to fend them off if they catch me in my sleep. This is unsafe and I need to find a more permanent shelter. Perhaps on top of one of the taller bookshelves... I will think more on this tomorrow for the snake blood I write this with is almost congealed.
Once I make a fresh kill in the morning I will continue my writings.
7 days after initial change
Found another snake that was foolish enough to fall in between me and whatever book I happen to seek this day. I've learned quite a lot about this temple from all my reading. For instance this place is massive. I don't mean just really large for an ancient temple huge, this giant building is merely the door to an underground super structure spanning the entire jungle as it was when the empire was just starting out. From the records I've laid my paws upon I've determined that this place stretches on for at least 20 miles in either direction all hidden deep beneath the jungle.
If only I could figure out where the entrance to the lower levels is then I could perhaps find even more advanced magical tomes. Speaking of magic, the books I've read so far on that subject have given me quite a few new things to throw at those scaly beasts filling the jungle and temple. More specifically I've managed to enchant my staff to blow their hearts up. A bit graphic for my taste, but they are trying to eat my so it's become a necessity.
I've been working on my ability to climb shelves more efficiently. This body comes with quite a few perks when it comes to navigating this labyrinth of shelves. I know I wouldn't have found several of the more useful books on the bottom shelf.
As for other health concerns I find myself growing quite...let's just say I believe I may be going into estrus for the first time. Hopefully it will pass without affecting my state of mind much.
8 days after initial change
Estrus is getting to me a bit, but I've been working on a house made out of books to keep my primitive brain off the idea of being under a male rat... His breath on my neck...his furred hips rubbing against my tail and rump as he...
(the rest of the page is torn to shreds and splattered with what is presumably more snake blood rendering it illegible)
8 days after initial change (the estrus free addendum)
The last page that I hastily destroyed should never be seen as something I would ever even consider doing. Thankfully in one of the books I've been studying I found a way to dull the effects of this blasted body so I can focus on more important things.
I've finished the house now. Quite spacious for my new size and very sturdy...perhaps I should have gotten into construction instead of magic. I will begin moving what meager supplies I have into the book house starting with this journal and the vial I've filled with snake blood so I can continue my writings without having to slay another snake every time I want to make a new entry.
I'm growing quite tired of eating snake every day.
9 days after initial change
This is spectacular! During another one of my explorations of the surrounding shelves I've found another journal written by an adventurer although it is much more heft than mine. It's nigh indecipherable though and seems to be written in some primitive form of common from several hundred years ago. What's fascinating is the similarity to the story I now tell within the walls of this journal besides the fact that he prepared himself for the trip inside.
Knowing that they would have spells in place to prevent those not of snake blood from entering else they be punished with the fate of rathood he went to a wizard in search of a potion that would make him like both a snake and a man. A giant serpent with arms and with all the intelligence he had before. I'll continue reading through it each night as a distraction from the new spells and knowledge I'm looking for on the civilization that made this massive structure.
Speaking of them, it seems they prepared against someone getting as far as me as well as the doors that open at the base of the pillars are hidden. Spending a few hours messing with the mechanics using some basic cantrips revealed in glowing runes that I must be of snake blood to open the door. Perhaps the journal I found of the transformed wizard was on to something, this nation clearly wasn't human in nature as much as the use of stairs and seats would have me believe. It was a nation of serpents living entirely underground...possibly still there even today... Perhaps delving down further into this complex isn't the greatest ideas after all, but if none of the books hold the secret to this ancient polymorph spell that's been cast upon me then I may have my paws forced. Hehe, I can't believe I just wrote that last bit.
Honestly once the estrus is cancelled out by magic this body is quite easy to get used to, maybe once I figure out how to change myself back I'll return to the form from time to time. It would make living easier since all I need is access to puddles of water and snake meat to live.
11 days after initial change
Been a bit too busy with some company because it looks like somebody didn't read my journal I left outside the temple. Can't say I blame them, I ignored all the warnings I got from a number of people. Anyway it was about noon yesterday when I heard the screaming followed by an explosion. From what I can tell a paladin type wandered into the temple and began to transform into a rat same as me. Only instead of a few spells protecting him he likely had some kind of enchanted holy relic.
I'm pretty sure that was the cause of the explosion. Some sort of magical tripwire caused the very thing that was supposed to protect him to cut open his chest and throw his changing body back about 4 yards into a shelf causing it to tip over. Luckily some quick thinking on my part with a force spell kept a hilariously annoying game of dominos from starting. I found the unconscious male rate amidst a pile of shattered armor. Inspection of the wound lead me to the conclusion that whatever polymorphed him did a lot of healing work on him to keep him from ending up a pile of mush, but he was still pretty bad. Thinking quickly I brought his unconscious body over to my discarded clothes pile and dumped out the rest of the healing potion into a crack in the floor.
Slapping him awake briefly and forcing him to drink a bunch of healing potion seems to have worked far better than I thought it would and now he's sleeping atop the old journal. I am unsure how his intelligence may have been affected by the spell, but I hope he doesn't wake up to be a common rat. Although I don't know if I'd prefer a paladin or a rat for companionship in this place...Lucky bastard didn't get his gender switched either judging by his armor...I hate this place. I'll check back in once he's conscious.
12 days after initial change
And...pause for suspense...the rat's a rat. That's about all there is to say about that. He's really nice though, and still a bit weak so I'll let him live with me for a while. I've had to reinforce the spells keeping me from reaching estrus though to the point where I'm going to have to enchant an item and keep it from affecting the spells I can cast per day. Anyway he's kind of cute in a stupid sort of way. He's looking around the book house and smelling st-
(a large scratch goes from the t to the top of the page)
He's unconscious again. The stupid rat decided personal space wasn't a thing and decided to stick his nose where it definitely didn't belong. I didn't hurt him though since it's just animal nature. I merely cast sleep on him after giving him a mild slap to the face. Hopefully that will teach him to keep it in his pants for a while. Meanwhile I should probably come up with a way to stop the physical effects of estrus as well instead of just countering the mental degradation that comes with it. I'll get around to that later though...it did feel rather good.
13 days after initial change
Woke up to advances from Reginald (I don't know why I've given him a name honestly, but it seems to fit him). Felt even better this time, but I gave him a good kick to the nose so he'd back down for a while. We went exploring and he followed me not really knowing what else to do. Occasionally I caught him trying to stuff his nose under my cloak from time to time, but a gentle swat with my staff would get him to calm down for a while. It was a pretty normal day until we got ambushed.
Two snakes jumped at as from the bookshelf. I made quick work of the first one with my staff before the second managed to get a hold of me. I'd killed dozens of these things, but I've never seen them up close in this form. It was terrifying and the force of it's lengthy body slamming into me like that caused me to let go of my staff. As it dropped to the stone floor I knew I was going to die...but then Reginald saved me. He may be stupid, but all you need is bravery to jump up and bite a snake in the eye. It let go of me and turned it's attention to my new companion as I sprinted toward the staff that had been swatted away in the struggle. Just as it was about to crush him I killed the snake with a spell covering Reginald in blood.
He's cleaning himself in the puddle outside and heading back here soon...I've disabled the spells that blocked the estrus. He clearly loves me, and I want to thank him. This seems like the easiest way.
(A series of scratches appears below the paragraph as though the author wracked their claws along the page multiple times. Bellow that only a scratchy sentence adorns the page)
That was fun...
14 days after initial change
Reginald slept next to me this night and I teased him a bit in the morning before adorning my robe and casting the anti-estrus spell again. While it was fun I'm not about to waste away my life in this temple on casual sex and making kids. Speaking of children, I found a fairly reliable spell to counter any effects our previous night might have had under the section that was marked essential livelihood. Hehe, who'd have known you could modify a spell meant for snake biology so easily.
I've made some progress on possibly unlocking the door. I've continued reading through the book left by the polymorph prepared adventurer. He briefly mentions getting cut by a sharp shelf while exploring the farther edge of the library. Perhaps if I were to find we're he got cut I could renew it with water and a little magic. It would however be quite risky though since I'd have to make my way across the entire library to get to it. I've got Reginald with me though, and obviously my magic. Shouldn't be too hard.