The Skin Game - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins

After hours of strange dreams Casey woke. The room was strangely bright through his eye lids. As he opened them he found himself looking up at an undressed wooden ceiling with heavy supporting cross beams. The only light seemed to come from a large fire place in one wall and four torches in wall brackets.

Torches, fireplace, wood ceiling? Casey blinked and sat up. The blanket covering him fell away and he looked down at two small breasts with pierced nipples. He exclaimed, "What the fuck!?"

The large muscled blond man in the bunk next to him snorted and opened his eyes. He too looked confused. Casey realizing the blond man was looking at his...No her, breasts so she quickly pulled the blanket back up. She was wearing nothing under the blanket. Her hand crept down and confirmed that where there should have been a penis and balls, there was a pussy. A pussy, with no hair, pierced by rings through clit and labia.

Suddenly everything came back to her and crystallized into a realization. She was Kaessi. Somehow The Grand Magus had transferred the mind of Casey Melville from his body in Gary, Indiana to the body of Kaessi the half elven martial artist thief in the world of Omaran. She hugged the blanket to herself and just sat taking in the enormity of the situation. Slowly her awareness spread out from her own inner turmoil, and she found the other five all sitting in similar states of stunned realization.

The blond half elf Jasera was the first to speak. As she spoke, like Kaessi she held her blanket close around her. In English she said, "Okay. Have I completely gone insane, or am I really sitting here in a half elven body feeling magic spells bouncing around inside my head?"

The human monk that looked like Fabio's younger handsomer brother said, "I don't know about the spells, but the sitting part, yes. We are all in the game. I'm no longer Skip Jones, I'm Odan Du'Un'Chi, a monk of the Jiro-Chi-Dan."

The lizardman stood and looked down at himself. He stood well over six feet tall. His body was lean and very human from the hips to the neck. His head was long and snouted. His legs were ditigrade like a bird so the knees looked like they bent backwards. Behind him could be seen a long thick tail. And between his legs Kaessi noted were not one, but two penises, and no scrotum. He ran his hands over himself. He reached around and pulled the end of his tail forward. Finally he picked up the blanket, taking it between his clawed hands, he pulled and neatly sliced it to ribbons. He looked up at them and said, "Yessss. It would appear we are in the game. And I am a lizard man. It isss very ssstrange, but at the sssame time, it isss like I have alwaysss been a lizard man. Isss it the sssame for you?"

Everyone chorused consent. Then Hern stood, saying "Well, nothing has changed since yesterday. If we want to go back to our real lives we have to do this quest. We may as well get going." Hern was wearing nothing but a breach clout when he turned and said to Kaessi, "Come on, let's make some breakfast. If I remember right you and I are the only ones who admitted to being able to cook."

Kaessi said, "I can't cook." In English. Then in Romarian with a thick accent, "I can cook? Yes, I can cook!"

Hern nodded, "I understand. I don't think, I, as Hern, can cook. But the me from the real world can. I guess that means we have access to both sets of skills. Whatever we could do for real, and whatever we could do in the game."

The lizardman said, "I don't think it isss wissse to consssider this not the real world. What happensss to usss here if we die? I think we must consssider thisss just asss real asss any other place we remember."

The monk Odan said, "I agree. We must take this seriously. We must not think of this as a game, or we will fail."

Everyone agreed. Hern said, "Well, come on. Why don't the rest of you pack up the supplies while Kaessi and I make breakfast?"

Odan nodded and stood revealing that he was still wearing his knee pants and belt. The lizardman nodded and began to get dressed. The tall man with the two handed sword had not said much during this time, but he too began to get dressed, reaching for leggings to go over his loin cloth.

Hern stood looking at her, smiled, "Slept in the raw? Now that I think about it, I remember those were all you were wearing." So saying Hern pointed at the skirt and vest laying on the floor next to her bunk. "Why so shy now? It's not like we didn't see everything last night." After a pause, Hern gave her a slightly confused look, then smiled. He said, "You used to like showing skin. Come on little girl, I've had you, your naked little body isn't going to drive me to distraction."

Kaessi was suddenly aware that everyone was now looking at her. Hern reached over and tugged gently on the blanket. "Come on."

Kaessi clung to the blanket and looked up at Hern with big eyes. Hern slowly pried each of her fingers free of the blanket. It fell to her waist and Hern smirked. He then firmly took Kaessi by the forearm and pulled her from the bunk. With a swat on her bare butt she sent her toward the kitchen. "Let's make breakfast woman."

Kaessi took a few steps and stopped. "I want to get dressed first."

"Why, just increases the chance you'll get your clothes dirty, or damage them. It's not like were going to fry anything. Even if we were there's not enough to that outfit to make a decent apron." Hern seemed to be enjoying Kaessi's embarrassment.

She scanned the others. The sorceress Jasera looked flushed, she blinked and looked away when she realized that Kaessi was aware of her stare.

Odan just stood there with his thumbs hooked in his wide leather belt. He too was smirking with an expression very much like Hern's. She looked at the lizardman. She remembered him introducing himself last night as Izhak. He had his armor over his shoulders but had not yet closed it. Both his penises were erect. The quiet warrior who went by William gave her a small encouraging smile as his eyes swept up and down her form.

Kaessi was suddenly struck by two realizations. One was somehow vague, almost cartoony. It was of her standing nude and being appraised by men, woman and other creatures countless times. It gave her a sense of worth, of power. The fact she was desirable gave her power over others. The other realization was that these people were seeing her as a female sex object. These men, and maybe that woman, were expressing lust. As Casey he had never experienced anything like that. It was both heady and humiliating. And suddenly he didn't want to tell them that she used to be a he back on Earth. Kaessi swore to keep that secret.

Her face, and most of her upper chest, scarlet with embarrassment she turned and went to the fireplace. She kept her back to everyone as she squatted and stirred the coals to life. Soon she and Hern had grilled several eggs, toasted some bread and sliced up some fruit and cheese. About the time they finished the others came down the steps. Odan, the lizardman and the warrior carried backpacks, Jasera did not seem to be carrying anything.

Odan walked over to the door and sat the backpack down. He called to Hern and said, "I packed this for you. He held up a smaller sack and said, "Kaessi, this one is for you."

Hern held out a platter to him and said, "And what will you be carrying?"

Odan said, "Just as much. This belt's pockets can carry about ten pounds each. There are six pockets. I filled four of them with supplies.

Hern nodded and looked at Jasera, "You have something similar?"

She opened her locket and a large coffer appeared in front of her. She closed it and disappeared.

Hern nodded, "Neat trick."

Kaessi said, "I have a enchanted pouch of carrying too. I can probably fit everything in that sack and in the backpack into it."

Odan walked over and held up the shoulder bag, "This?"

Kaessi nodded, "Yes."

Odan called Ishak and William over, they huddled together by the door with Hern's backpack and quickly redistributed a number of items. Odan held up her bag and said, "You've got your share in here."

Kaessi nodded again and finished her breakfast. She got up and headed for her bunk. Hern said, "Where do you think you are going?"

"To get dressed."

"After we clean up."

This time Kaessi didn't argue, she just started collecting dishes as each person finished. Once everyone was done she and Hern took them outside to stream and cleaned them. Again it was a strange feeling, but familiar. Kaessi was used to being nude in all sorts of environments. Casey had never been naked outdoors before. The wind blowing across her skin made her shiver at the sensuality of it. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. The chill of the water as she was splashed caused her gasp and her nipples to harden. Finally they were done and returned to the tower. Hern quickly donned his gambeson, leggings and armor. Kaessi put on her gauzy skirt and vest.

Once everyone was dressed, Odan and Ishak consulted the map. With a bit of pointing and discussion they quickly agreed that they needed to follow the stream down to the East West road. From there they would head into the Romarian Dominion where they could take the North South road to the edge of the wastes.

They closed the door as they left, but there was no way to bolt it from outside. Shrugging Odan said, "If he wants it locked he can appear and lock it."

Then he turned and headed down stream. Hern and Ishak followed, then Kaessi. Jasera walked along beside her and William brought up the rear. As they passed a particularly still pool of water Kaessi could see her reflection. Jasera and she were like light and dark opposites. Neither of them were wearing outfits that really concealed anything. Jasera seemed haughty and aloof, ignoring all the others. Her eyes fixed firm ahead. But in the bright sunlight her dress was just short of transparent.

Kaessi realized that for all purposes her skirt was transparent in bright light. And as she walked the vest swung open and closed, like some simple peep show curtain. As she walked it was lightly patting her nipples and keeping her slightly distracted. She wished that Casey had stocked her with more clothing. But when playing the game clothes never seemed to get dirty or damaged, so he never bothered to buy spares. She promised herself that at the first Romarian market she would buy herself a clothes that covered every square inch of skin. Three pairs of them.

As she thought about Romarian markets something stirred in her memories, but just about as she brought it to mind, she stepped in a cold puddle of water. She gasped and pulled her sandal clad foot from the chill. The shock of it drove away whatever thoughts she had rolling around in her mind. It wasn't too long before the wet sandal began to chafe, and her only choice was to go barefoot.

She found her feet were sufficiently callused so that it wasn't painful, or even uncomfortable. But she also found herself becoming lost in the sensory overload. The wind on her skin, in her long hair. The soil, grass and roadway beneath her feet. It was all amazing to her. An experience at once vaguely familiar and totally new.

Continued in Chapter 2

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