Lala and Ironwood locked eyes from their respective teams. Ironwood turned away. Lala turned her attention to Jasssper and Tamas.

  “Can I be real with you both for a moment?” She asked.

  “Sure,” Tamas said, “Hold on, should I sit down for this? There aren’t any chairs.”

  “Maybe you should sit on the floor.” She said, “This might get too real.”

  “Oh no. That’s really hard on my knees,” Tamas sat on the floor.

  Lala took a deep breath, “I have something to tell you… about Ironwood. Something I need to get off my chest. Something I should just come right out and say.”

  “Take your time,” Jasssper said.

  “Yeah, take a breath. Looks like this is difficult on you.”

  “Okay. Maybe I will take my time.”

  The announcer cried from his stand, “Time for the games to start.”

  “Just tell usss.” Jasssper said.

  “Ironwood’s my sister! There I said it!” Lala said.

  Jasssper’s mouth fell open. Tamas looked confused, “You two don’t look anything alike.”

  “She’sss a changeling and Ironwood’s in a suit of armor, dingusss.”

  Tamas looked over at Ironwood, who waved at the team. He looked back at the changeling, “Could you cover your face?”

  Lala slapped her face out of embarrassment.

  “Oh, I kind of see it now.”

  “We have to line up. Jussst avoid her if you can.” Said Jasssper.

  Jasssper, Tamas, and Lala got into ready positions.

  “So… Is that why she’s in a mask?” Tamas whispered to Lala, “Because she’s also a changeling?”

  Lala shook her head, “No. No… that’s… not how changelings work.”

  The lava was right below the obstacle course, and the sweltering fumes bubbled all around them. Lala sweated before they even started running. When she wiped her forehead, she noticed that a chunk of blonde hair came out. It turned back into the crinkled pale white in her hands.

  “Oh, no.” Said Lala, “I think I’m… reverting.”

  The crossbow shot up, but since it was not as loud as a gun, the announcer had to yell “GO!”

  “Onward!” Jasssper slithered forward. The opposing team moved quickly. Ironwood was agile, each stride was double that of her dwarven teammates. She made it to the first obstacle easily. At the end of the platform was a grate bridge completely submerged in lava. It soon rose from the bubbling liquid, reached its apex, and lowered again. On the other side of that was a series of rotating logs.

  “Hold on!” Tamas said, “Tuning my loot!” Tamas began strumming his loot, playing an enchanting tale about a land where nobody but the listener had legs.

  Lala began running differently. More lightfooted. On a dime, her plodding turned to bouncing. Each jump increased.

  “You boosted our jump!?” Lala asked. It was strange. Her running had been notably affected, but why not cast a speed boost?

  The enemy team was ahead of the Dark Lord Crew by leaps and bounds. The bridge rose from the lava, and the three sailed off the platform and rolled onto the walkway.

  The Dark Lord team followed behind, but Jasssper moved in front of them and held his tail.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Hold off! Jasssper..

  “What do you mean!?” Lala said, “This is when we should be crossing the bridge. We’re going to miss it.”

  “Hold.” Jasssper said.

  Lala stood there, catching her breath. She was getting nervous. When she was nervous and she was in a shift, she would often pick at her fake skin. A large scale, about half the size of her pinky nail, came off. Lala waited for the next move. He gave her a knowing glare. The bridge stayed in its perpendicular position. Meanwhile, the other team was already halfway through, and as the bridge locked into place at its apex.

  “NOW!” Jasssper yelled. The crew ran like hell.

  “We’ll never make it in time. Why didn’t we just get a speed boost?” Lala asked.

  “We are, what sire called, ‘clipping’ through the ssstage.”

  Lala looked confused. The bridge began its descent. Lala booked it as she saw the team on the other side of the bridge. Ironwood was already sitting on the platform, her hand on her knee. The acrobat was three-quarters of the way there, and the dwarf was bringing up the rear.

  Lala knew they would not make it. She turned to Jasssper, who was slithering as fast as he could. He slithered up Tamas’ knee.

  “Lala!” He yelled, “Those tubes there!” He showed her. After the platform of spinning logs, the challenge was a series of donut tubes that withstood the heat of the lava. They floated, hung together by chains. Animals jumped from one hole to the other.

  “We’ll skip one obstacle altogether and just head straight for the tubes!”

  Lala finally understood. Sharing the same vision as them gave Lala the inner strength she needed.

  The dwarf had made it to the end. Ironwood let her hand down. The dwarf jumped and missed Ironwood’s hand.

  The dwarf jumped again.

  “Try a running start,” Said the acrobat.

  The dwarf looked at the bridge, slowly going down. “Uh, okay.” He said. The magma was getting closer to him. Ironwood rolled her finger to tell the dwarf to get moving. The dwarf took a few steps back. He committed to a run, but halted his movement and jumped. His and Ironwood’s palms touched, but Ironwood couldn’t grab his fingers on time.

  “A real rolling jump,” Said The acrobat. Come on! You’re running out of time!”:

  Tamas and Jasssper rolled on by. They leapt. Their increased jumping speed allowed them to glide under the platform, bypassing the obstacle, and grab onto a tube. The tube splashed magma, and Jasssper recoiled around Tamas’ neck to protect himself.

  “Uh, Buddy… you’re choking me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay. I was going to tell you to go harder.”

  Lala was shortly behind them. The dwarf was getting ready for his jump.

  The acrobat looked at the two teammates crossing the obstacle course. She grabbed Ironwood’s shoulder and said, “They’re already ahead. Come on.”

  Ironwood pointed with her thumb at the dwarf.

  “Unfortunate. But we win this game by crossing the finish line first. Let’s go.”

  Ironwood’s helmet dropped. She pulled her hand up and started walking.

  “Wait!” Said the dwarf, “You can’t just leave me! Come back! I can run!”

  “See you in the next life,” The acrobat said.

  Lala was about to make her leap to the donut tubes, but stopped running.

  She stopped to look at the dwarf. She let out a sigh, “I’ll help.”

  “Really?” The dwarf asked.

  Lala turned into a tall orc with bulging muscles, “Come now, quickly!”

  The dwarf was shocked, not just at the display of allyship… but at the elf changing bodies.

  “But you’re the…”

  “The competition, I know. That doesn’t mean I want you to die.”

  The dwarf swallowed his words. He was going to say the monster, but he thought better of it. He walked up to the changeling. She grabbed him by the waist, “Jump when I say jump.”

  “I’m not going to make it.” Said the dwarf.

  “I believe in you. Come on! 1… 2… 3…”

  The dwarf jumped, and she lifted him. He was right. His hand did not touch the edge. As the thrust ended and momentum took him back down, his hand was still outstretched. The bridge was sinking deeper. But a shiny metal hand came down and grabbed the dwarf’s hand.

  Ironwood had returned.

  She pulled the dwarf up and grabbed him. And pulled him up to safety. Lala smiled.

  “Thank you.” Said the dwarf, Kiboz. He said it to Ironwood. He could not bear to say it to Lala, for what he was about to do.

  Lala cheered from the success and stuck her hand out. She waited for Ironwood to stick her hand out. But it did not come. Ironwood had walked away with her teammate, leaving Lala to fend for herself. The bottom of the moving bridge had begun to sink into the magma again. Lala could feel the heat become unbearable on her feet. She looked over at Jasssper and Tamas in the tubes. They were waiting for her.

  “Go on!” Lala said. I’ll catch up with you!” Lala looked at the top of the edge of the platform. She bent her knees and kicked up in her orc form. Her extended jump spell let her catch the edge with her hands. Her muscles allowed her to pull herself upwards. The remainder of the bridge submerged, and all that was left was lava. She began to pull herself up when a sharp pain in her right hand caused her to pull away, almost dropping.

  Ironwood was standing over her, staring down at her.

  “I’m sorry!” Called out Lala, “I’m so so sorry!”

  Lala tried to put her hand back on the platform. Ironwood lifted her foot and crunched Lala’s fingers. Lala screamed in pain, unable to keep her orc form. She was reduced to her changeling form. Gray skin. White hair. Nothing but fully black eyes. Lala swayed as her hand held onto the last edge of the platform.

  “I never meant for this.” Lala said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Ironwood looked down at her. She placed her foot over the end of Lala’s other fingers. She held her foot over for eight aching seconds.

  “Please. Please don’t do this. I still love you.”

  But it didn’t matter. Lala lost her grip.

  “Marisola!!” She screamed as she fell into the lava pit.

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