The Transformative League

It was such a bright, warm day that the cobblestones in the village were hard to step on with thin leather shoes. Everything was fairly dirty, as was usually the case in small farming towns like these. This street was kept cleaner than most, perhaps in order for the morning coffee to taste less like the night's leavings, though more likely in order to attract the few passers by who stopped in.

Ahead was a small café with a few wooden tables and chairs outside. Sitting at the tables was a ragged group of people. The one woman was in a fairly fine, though torn and dirty, dress. She looked out of place sitting next to a farmer with a brown shirt and a straw hat politely removed by his side. There was also a merchant, a failure by his dress; a wagoner, dressed much like the farmer; and a brother in long brown robes. Beyond their company, something was odd about each of them and only the man of God could give it away. On such a sweltering day not even the brown robes had him sweating.

They were waiting for coffee when the farmer spoke, "an excellent disguise, Tom. I'm surprised you can dress in the cloth and not be burned!"

"We might be sinners, but our magics don't actually deal with the Devil! You of all people should know that, Visenth." Tom spoke that last word in a very snide whisper.

"Now boys, settle down," the woman said. "And try to refrain from saying something that will betray us. My charms won't start until our refreshment comes." At her words, a young woman came near with a tray of steaming mugs. She left with a yelp when passing by the monk. "We can feel free to talk now," the finely dressed woman continued. "What exactly did you just do, Tom?"

"I pinched her behind," the monk replied, and after a pause continued. "And she'll be growing a bitch's tail slowly over the next month or so."

The wagoner spoke up, "that's an evil little twist, but it's hardly sophisticated. Just last week I gave a young girl dog parts. Ears, tail, hands, and feet. And the best bit is that she'll be very attractive to the village beasts every season."

"Did she spurn your advances, Tanil? Just last week a man went after the woman I fancy. He's a young doe now and someday might feed me and my lovely," The merchant spoke.

"Hardly, Griswold" Tanil said dismissively. "I'm not quite so petty as you. This bitch thought she was the center of the town. As the merchant's daughter she had lots of power and looks, at least for such a small ragged town. I give people what's coming to them."

"I actually had to act in defense recently when a small mob with pitchforks came to see me," Tom said. "They grace my garden now, which leads me to my tip this week. Flowers that can talk and are fully aware of what they used to be sounds exciting but it's one heck of an annoyance! I'm not sure what to do! I certainly can't release them and we've made a pact not to kill. What of you, Visenth, any ideas?"

"You could just change them again into something not quite so vocal. The problem is that you have too much flair for your own good! My tip for the week is that mythical creatures are definitely out. These people have a firm belief in dragons. I changed a young man halfway into a lizard two weeks ago and found his smoking corpse not long after. Stick with curses. The people will ostracize Lorath's bitch girl but they won't kill her."

"Which is why my preferred changes are so great!" The woman exclaimed. "No man, or woman, is kept away for long after changing gender. I don't understand why the men never like the change but in this society they do end up forced into a marriage before too long." She paused and said, "which leads me to my tip. When you change men, leave the clothes for last. Keeping the change of clothes going during a transformation uses a lot of extra energy. When the transformation's over the boy usually ends up naked so garbing them in the super-feminine is a whole other embarrassment."

"Alright, Caite. Are you quite done?" Griswold asked.

"You're lucky I don't get my spells on you, Griswold the womanizer!"

"Enough, girls!" Tom jibed. "I think we're done for this month. Let this end the meeting of the Transformative League. Next month, same time, different café?"

"Wait," Tanil spoke, "does anyone else sense someone listening in?"

"Yes, now that you mention it," said Caite.

"I think, yes... I'll pull them in here!" Tanil said.

Slowly you feel the forces of magic surrounding you, then... POP!

The first thing you notice are the broiling hot cobblestones beneath your feet. When you get used to the bright, mid-morning sunlight you notice the strange group of sorcerers surrounding you.

"What should we do?" Caite asked.

"I don't know, but our hidden eavesdropper is in for a change," Tom said.

"I'd like to see that bitch woman change of yours, Tanil," Visenth suggested.

"It does seem appropriate," Caite added.

Tanil's hands begin to glow and you faint long before they ever touch you.