Episode 2 - The Cleric

“Not again! Am I cursed to always be a girl?” Casey wailed after rolling a four and being handed character sheet number four. The Cleric. 

The rest of the group groaned.

“It’s no big deal, Case,” said Abby, Casey’s housemate. “We’ve all played different gender characters before.”

“But I had to play a girl last night, too.”

“Oh do tell,” Travis said, putting his head on his hands. “Sounds interesting.”

“Will and I were playing Fourteen Day Fight. He won a bet and I was forced to play Astra Amethyst,” Casey explained.

“Is she the princess? The one with the floofy pink gown and the white opera gloves?”

“No, that’s Princess Gumdrop,” mumbled Casey, looking down at his character sheet. “Astra Amethyst is the magical gir—”

“Can everyone please pay attention?,” asked Greg, the Dungeon Master and facilitator of the group. “Everyone read over their character sheets, so we can finally get started.”

Casey sighed as he reviewed his character sheet. He was going to be playing Varia the Cleric, healer and protector of the group. Ordinarily he would be playing a Ranger, as he preferred to strike his hunted targets with a bow. Tonight the dice had decided to tell the story, and the story was that Casey would be playing a female healer. Everyone else had respected their rolls; Casey needed to do the same.

He wasn’t sure he could convincingly play a girl. It had been bad enough playing and being mistaken for a girl in the video game, but it was a step further to be expected to roleplay as a woman in a tabletop game. Between Will’s bet and an unfortunate roll, it seemed that a trend was forming; one that Casey preferred not to think about.

“Alright folks, let’s get started,” Greg said, clapping his hands together and setting his hands on the table. He looked between each of the players for a moment and audibly cleared his throat. 

Lowering his voice, Greg began to narrate, “In the archipelago called the Coranella Islands, schools of fish roam the coral reefs. Merfolk act as arbiters of trade between the landfolk and the seafolk. Battles between rival kingdoms scar the northern islands.”.

Casey closed his eyes for a brief moment, imagining the beauty of the archipelago his character called home.

“Our story begins in the coastal town of Aquarin. Specifically, a particular courtyard where — fate may have it — you all find yourselves inhabiting at the same time. Casey, let’s start with you. Go ahead and introduce your character to us.” 

Casey felt a stab of panic. Greg wanted to start with him!? Why couldn’t someone else go first, then Casey could at least copy the character introduction of someone else instead of flying blind.

“Um… my name is Varia,” Casey stammered. “I’m… a woman. A cleric.”

“What does she look like?” Abby prodded.

Casey glanced at the rest of the group and saw their encouraging faces. With a small amount of hesitation, he began to speak.

“She has… blonde hair, a slender figure, a soft face, and, uh…” Don’t describe her breasts, don’t describe her breasts, don’t describe her breasts. “An ample bosom.” Oops.

“Moving on,” Greg said quickly. “Varia, you find one of your professors approaching you. You recognize this man as the person who runs your Divine Magic course. He eyes you, and says, ‘Ah! Varia! I trust you are studying intently for your exam on the morrow?’”

“Yes… of course.” Casey stammered. He had no frame of reference for what it would feel like to be a young woman speaking to her professor. “I’m… totally ready… to ace… the exam! Haha!”

Casey fought the urge to bury his face in his hands. His face began to heat up as the image of himself as a woman in a fantasy world was enough to overwhelm him. He didn’t know or understand how to step into the role.

“The professor notes that you seem nervous,” Greg said. “He then asks,‘You… have been studying, yes?’”

Casey knew that it would be in character for Varia to be a studious type, but his delivery implied the opposite effect. He rubbed the side of his face as he attempted to form coherent words, but they evaporated as they reached his lips.

“I’ve been studying!” Casey said. “It’s just… I’m a young girl. I think. Trying to. Um…”

“God, Casey, you’re so wooden.” Abby said.

“Wooden?”

“Yeah, like you don’t want to be here. You have to get into the part.”

“But it’s a girl part,” Casey whined.

“So?” said Nora. “It’s called role playing. Abby is playing a male barbarian and you don’t hear her complaining about it.”

“Yeah,” added Abby. “It’s easy! All I do is imagine myself living inside the body of a guy. One who's ripped, with a chiseled jaw, chest full of hair, and an ample…”

“Personality?” asked Nora.

“Exactly! See? Nothing more than a bit of acting.”

“Well, I'm not much of an actor,” Casey frowned.

“Oh, that’s bull,” Travis said. “I saw you at my Halloween party. You were a vampire and skulking around saying ‘bleh!’ and trying to bite everyone!”

Abby giggled. “It’s true.”

Casey blushed. “But that was Halloween! And I was in costume.”

“So you can only act when in costume?” Abby asked.

Casey was flustered. “Umm… yeah.”

“OK, I can fix that. Come upstairs with me.”

“What?”

“You heard Abby, let's all take a drink break,” Greg said.

“I could use another beer.” Nora said. “Travis, honey, could you be a dear and get me one when you’re in the kitchen?”

“C’mon, follow me,” Abby said, pulling Casey from the chair and leading him upstairs to her bedroom.

“What are we doing?”

“Getting you a costume,” Abby said, opening her closet door and flipping through her clothes.

“What, do you have a healer’s robe in there or something?”

“No,” Abby said, clicking her tongue in approval and pulling out a long flowing pink dress.

“What! No way!” Casey said. “I can’t wear that!”

“Why not?” she said. “It’s just a costume. It’ll help you role play the healer better.”

“I am not putting on a dress in front of your D&D friends.”

“They’re cool people. They don’t care what you wear. You should see what we’ve made Travis wear — it puts this simple dress to shame.”

Casey stood there, grinding the toe of his shoe into the floor. She couldn’t be serious, right?

Abby held the dress up closer to him, shaking it back and forth by its shoulders, her eyes pleading.

Casey had in the past had a hard time saying no to Abby. She was totally cute, and he’d had a small crush on her the entire year they’d been housemates. He however has never made any moves on her. He rationalized that his rent is too affordable to risk complicating their friendship.

Her eyes got bigger — like giant puppy dog eyes — and Casey’s will cracked.

“Fine. Just this one time.” Casey exhaled.

She squealed in excitement. “Take your shit off, and just pull this over your head.”

Casey took the dress to his room, and casually swung the door closed for privacy.

He pulled off his T-shirt, then looked at the dress. After determining which side was the front — the side with the place for boobs — he draped it over his head, pulling down the dress and smoothing it out so it covered his shorts.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Hey Case, do you want some padding for your so-called ‘ample bosom’?”

“No, I’m fine!” he squeaked, freezing for a few moments before turning his attention back to the dress.

It was lightweight and flowed gently over the curves of his body. The bottom of it came down to his calves, where it lightly tickled his ankles. Casey wondered if Abby had figured that he would’ve resisted anything shorter.

He faced the mirror and wasn’t that repulsed. He knew he was an average-looking guy. He ran and went to the gym, but he was on the shorter, leaner side of men. Aside from the lack of boobs, the dress fit him well in the midsection and pinched in around his waist, hiding that he didn’t have an hourglass figure.

Casey timidly made his way back downstairs to the D&D game. He was red with embarrassment and sat down gingerly in his chair, refusing to look anyone in their eyes lest they punish him with the most horrifying of fates: acknowledgment.

“Cute!” Nora reacted.

“There’s our healer!” Greg exclaimed.

“Can we please just play?” Casey pleaded.

Greg took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “Okay, Varia, you find yourself staring upward at your professor, towering over you after he just asked you to confirm if you have actually been studying. What do you say or do?”

Casey trembled for a moment, the fear of being laughed at gradually subsiding. Abby had slyly persuaded him into wearing the dress, and she seemed to be onto something about her friends, none of whom seemed to regard his change of attire as weird in any form. Maybe he could pull it off.

He steadied himself and thought about his character, Varia. She was studious to a fault, he decided. Anyone directly challenging Varia’s authenticity as herself was going to get an earful. Just like if someone challenged Casey on why he was wearing a dress. They had no right to go after him!

“Of course I’ve studied!” Casey said loudly, slamming the palms of his hands on the table and finally meeting Greg’s eye. “I’m top of the class! How dare you insinuate otherwise!”

Greg held his hands up in defense, and resumed speaking in his lower, professor voice. “Ah! I didn’t mean to imply anything of the sort, young Varia! It was my mistake to wonder otherwise. You have a bright future ahead of you, you know.”

“Oh, I definitely know,” Casey allowed a small smirk to form on his face and mimed putting his hand on his hip, while using his other hand to straighten his dress. “Now, are you going to allow me to go back to my studies or are you going to continue to grill me?” 

“And we will end this scene!” Greg clapped his hands. “Very well done Varia, that’s what I want to see. Now, Travis, you find yourself watching a young woman and a professor of the university here from across the room. Would you like to describe your character for us?”

“Oh, totally,” Travis said. “A large man, Kieron the Knight, watches the interaction between the two figures. He’s quite well muscled, has a nice bit of a beard going on… there’s also a large spear strapped across his back. By the way…since we were talking about ‘ample bosoms’ earlier, I’ve decided that my character is also hung as hell. You’re welcome.”

The group, including Casey, erupted into laughter. Casey really felt like he was getting into the role at this point, the good-natured humor of his fellow adventures helping to ease his tension from earlier.

“Varia, as your professor turns to leave, you see a tall bearded man approach you, spear holstered upon his back. He looks several years your senior, well-muscled, and wearing breeches that appear to be… unusually snug. What do you do?” Greg narrated.

“Oh! It seems everyone is out for a stroll today,” Casey giggled. “I fold my hands behind my back, flash him a dazzling smile, and ask, ‘What’s your name, mister?’”

“Ah, I am Sir Fletcher. It is a pleasure to meet such a fine young lady. Mind if I get your name, miss?”

“Ah! My name is Varia. I’m a student here. Are you passing through, Sir?”

“Aye,” Travis said. “Just doing my rounds and, if I may be so forward, I’ve found myself quite taken with your natural beauty.”

Beauty? Casey’s cheeks began to heat up. First he was maybe being flirted with by Lexi, and now Travis in-character? Thanks to the dress he was wearing, it felt like he really was Varia. He could feel himself falling deep into the role.

“Oh, aren’t you a flatterer?” Casey said. It felt like Halloween again, except this time instead of biting people, Casey was allowing himself to be flirted with. 

Travis let out a wry, knowing grin as he winked at Casey. Sparks flew through Casey’s body and he found himself biting his lip. “Guilty as charged.”

“All right!” Greg exclaimed. “Let’s move on to more character introductions before this scene gets too out of hand!”” Groans erupted from the rest of the players at the table, as they all appeared to be transfixed by Casey and Travis’s roleplaying and hadn’t wanted it to end.

Casey slumped back in his chair and let out a sigh. The roleplaying was getting intense, more intense than he could have thought. Still, he could feel the tension easing in his stomach as he felt like he had been accepted as part of the group. A bunch of friends having fun playing a tabletop game, friends who wanted him there and weren’t judging him for the role he was playing.

“That was so much better, Casey!” Abby explained, reaching over the table and giving him a high-five. “You’re a natural.”

“It was totally the dress,” Travis chuckled.

“I guess you’re right,” Casey said, shrugging. “It really did help me come out of my shell.”

“Egg,” Travis muttered under his breath.

“What?” Casey said, cocking his head.

“Nothing.” Travis said, smirking.

“Stop it, Travis,” Nora said. “Be nice to Casey.”

“I think we’re just excited for you to crack one day,” Abby said with a smile.

“Crack? Like under pressure?” Casey confusingly asked.

“No, crack — hatch. Like an egg,” Travis corrected.

“Oh… a bird?”

“No. A girl.”

"Travis, I don't think girls hatch from eggs."

There were a few giggles from around the table.

“What?” Casey said, turning red. He was clearly not in on the joke.

“It’s nothing,” Nora responded.

“Moving on,” Greg narrated. “Abby, you find yourself sitting down and having a cup of tea in the courtyard. Go ahead and tell us about yourself…”

* * *

Hours later…

“Just to recap,” Greg said. “You’ve all met each other now, and you’re going to help the professor retrieve his stolen ring, which he suspects the Circle of Angels are responsible for. You are en route to their suspected hideout, and do not know how they will react to your arrival.”

“Tell us more about what we know about the Circle of Angels.” Abby said.

“Well, for one, Varia…” Greg gestured to Casey. “You are a Cleric of a goddess who is worshipped by some of these Angels, so you especially would know and understand that the Circle of Angels are an all-female assortment of Priests, Clerics, and Paladins. They are effectively mercenaries who take jobs they believe would appease their goddesses, though calling them mercenaries is pretty much a grave insult.”

“Interesting…” Casey scratched his chin. They were several hours into the gaming session at this point, and the dress he was wearing had become an afterthought.

“So, Varia actually has a good chance to negotiate with these mercenaries…” Abby mused.

“If she’s comfortable with such a task,” Travis said. Then he looked at Greg and broke character, “And if it’s not too late, we should probably call it a night soon.”

Casey blinked. The party was offering for him to take on a leading role. Was he okay with the idea? Or rather, was Varia okay with it. In the moment, Casey decided that Varia was the type to be diplomatic when possible, and that included speaking with unsavory types in the hope that some kind words could avoid conflict. Mercenaries implied danger, but Varia was up to the task. 

Even if it was late at night, Casey felt like he had something to prove.

“I’ll do it,” Casey declared and he noted smiles coming from the rest of the table. “I’ll speak to them first.”

Greg held back a yawn. “We can table this for another night if you want, Casey. I know it’s getting late.”

Despite Casey feeling physically tired, he was amped to see this quest through. “I’m good to continue.”

“Let’s do it!” Abby said.

“I believe in you, Varia,” Nora said. Casey felt a pang of wistfulness and desire to carry the bow, but he wasn’t a Ranger. He was a Cleric, and it was time to play the role.

“Looks like we have a consensus, then,” Greg declared. “Varia, you split off from the group and travel ahead, just enough to be barely within sight if you squint. Eventually, you see a small flag with an emblem of celestial wings, the calling card of the Circle of Angels. You surmise that they are confident enough to display a banner and do not worry about secrecy. What do you do?”

“I stride up to their front gate, or door, or whatever opening there is to their hideout,” Casey said confidently.

“Absolutely,” Greg said. “You quickly spot a woman wearing a blue-and-white ensemble, her cloak and hood particularly striking. She closes the distance between the two of you and greets you with a ‘Halt, traveler! What brings you to the Circle of Angels?’”

“I happen to have an acquaintance who has lost an important ring,” Casey explained as he idly smoothed out his dress. “And I was hoping that we could come to…some sort of arrangement. You see, I am a Cleric of the goddess Lesmaer and you happened to leave a calling card identifying yourselves when you stole that ring.”

“Oh, so you think because you are a fellow devout you could just waltz in here and get your way? I don’t think so, sister. Prove your faith.” 

“Shit,” Casey bit his lip and looked quizzically at Greg. “Is there anything I can do to appeal to my goddess or get a boon of some sort?” 

“Actually, let’s go ahead and make a piety check to see what your connection to your goddess looks like in this moment. Casey, roll a die and add your religion stat to the result, please,” Greg said.

“Okay…” Casey grabbed a twenty-sided die and gently rolled it onto the table. “Uh, twenty on the die? Plus seven.”

The table erupted into an uproar of laughter and cheer.

“What the fuck?” Greg’s eyes grew wide and he leaned back in his chair. “That’s about as high as it gets, I am not prepared for how the hell I’m going to narrate this. Hold on, this is unexpected.”

“Good job, Casey!” Nora reached over from her spot to give Casey a pat on the arm.

“All I did was roll well,” Casey shrugged.

“No, you were brave enough to take on a challenge,” Nora said with a smile.

“Alright,” Greg stood up from the table and looked down contemplatively. “Here’s what happens. Varia, you feel a sort of warm presence engulf you as the goddess Lesmaer reaches out. Your entire body tingles and shifts–” 

“Are we getting a transformation sequence?” Abby asked eagerly. 

Greg chuckled. “I know what kind of game I’m running and I’ve made my peace with that. Varia, your body expands and contracts in several particular places. You feel an air of…for lack of a better term, ‘femininity.’ The goddess is warping your very body to match the Circle of Angels’ image of a classical female figure.”

Casey felt chills going down his spine, fully immersed, a part of him actually believing that something like this could happen to him. Just to be on the safe side, he patted himself down. To his relief, he found that his bosom was anything but ample… or even existent.

“Wow, Greg. I didn’t know you had this in you,” Travis commented.

“Apparently I’ve learned a lot,” Greg said. “Varia. This woman of the Circle of Angels is staring at you, stunned. What do you say to her?”

Casey tilted his head upward. “Well, now,” he said with a breathy lilt. “I suppose that our goddess has sent us a sign that I am a woman of the faith. May I enter your dwelling so that we may have a dignified discussion about the ring, or are you going to continue to snub me?”

“The woman sheepishly begins to guide you into the base of the Circle of Angels. End scene!” Greg said triumphantly. “Amazing.”

* * *

Casey was exhausted, and slightly drunk after the game went way past his bedtime. He stumbled into his bedroom, crawled under his cover and passed out.

* * *

Casey woke up to the birds chirping. It was a Saturday morning and he was happy that he didn’t have to wake up to an alarm for work.

He swung his legs off the bed and looking down at his legs realized he was still wearing Abby’s dress from the night before.

“Whoops, I guess I forgot to get undressed and give this back to Abby,” he thought.

Just then there was a knock at the open bedroom door, as Abby popped her head in. “Hey Case, I got us some breakfast!”

Their eyes met briefly, and Casey saw Abby’s eyes glance down at the dress he was wearing. 

He could’ve sworn he noticed a smile creep upon her face. “Sure, I’ll be right down.”