Dawn rose once more, but the sky was overcast, and black clouds were getting bigger with every passing moment. Cold winds blew through the empty streets, and Casimodo, or to be more precise, Gawain Samsa, curled up and shivered.
His mind drifted to the smoked chicken, grilled cuttlefish, and mushroom pies at the marketplace. Home was in the slums, and the morgue wasn’t that far away. He would get some piping hot food every time he went to and from work.
Work was just him dozing off for half the day at the cold, dark morgue and pushing his cart around the city in the afternoon. “I’m just a little corpse collector, and I want no trouble.”
Gawain halted and struggled to crouch down before pretending to dust his boots off. At the same time, he stared behind him through the space between his legs, but there was only an empty street and trees that swayed in the wind behind him. Not even a soul is there.
Ever since he left his house, he could feel something’s gaze prickling at him. Unlike most humans, creatures like Gawain had a special talent. More commonly known as danger sense, these creatures were sensitive to any gaze on them. He had no idea where his pursuer was hiding, but he was sure they were there.
He started feeling nervous, and he sighed. Just when I thought I could have a peaceful life, these guys show up. And they’re going to mess up my schedule again. Gods, this is worse than living as a beggar. But it’s not the time to complain.
Gawain tried his best to pretend everything was fine, but he hastened his pace and went past a mother who was holding her child, and then he turned a left corner, where a dark, narrow alleyway awaited.
This was a path he treaded countless times. Moss and weed covered the walls and ground, filthy water flowed in a hundred directions, and the paths branched off like a maze.
For most people, these branching, interconnected paths were akin to a labyrinth they could never hope to escape, but for him, this was the perfect place to protect himself. Many a time had he passed these alleyways, and Gawain had memorized all the paths. This web of alleyways was his buffer zone, and he was confident about shaking off his unknown pursuer just like the countless times he had with the Eternal Fire pursuers.
I’ll just pull a manhole up and go into the sewers. Once this passes, I’ll just change my identity and live a new life here. Other places aren’t as good, and they don’t have good food. Can’t even have anything from my hometown either.
Gawain smiled bitterly and started moving faster, but then a black silhouette zipped past him and leapt down from the wall like a cat pouncing on its prey.
Gawain could feel a gust of wind assailing him, and he ran back, but his pursuer was faster than he thought. He felt a powerful hand push down his shoulder firmly, and it stopped him from escaping.
A weird incident was taking place in the dark alleyways, where a slender man was holding down a burly hunchback’s shoulder, but the burly man was sweating and remained unmoving.
“Hello, Casimodo, I’m Roy of the Viper School.” Roy turned the man around and grinned toothily at him. “We’ve met once, remember?”
“Ah, Roy, good morning. Fancy running into you here.” Gawain grinned bitterly, revealing his rotten, yellow teeth. “I’m on my way to work. Are you coming as well? Didn’t you conclude your investigations last time?”
Roy stared at Casimodo for a moment and winked. “I’ll cut to the chase. Don’t even think about hiding who you are. I know exactly what you are, but don’t worry, I mean you no harm.”
“I-I don’t understand. I’m perfectly human. I’m just a little morgue guard. A grotesque man with not many coins to my name.” Gawain averted his gaze nervously, still putting on the look of an insecure man.
“Is that so? It matters not. I’d love to see what the legendary doppler looks like.” Roy suddenly grabbed a wine glass out of thin air, and it was filled with silver powder.
The young witcher splashed the powder at Gawain, and the doppler started trembling violently. His skin and bones started bubbling and contracting like boiling water, while his disfigured face faded into nothingness. Now it looked like a mixture of mud and flour that was squirming from getting kneaded by invisible hands.
A few moments later, the hunchback was nowhere to be seen, and in its place was a bizarre humanoid creature. He was wearing a pair of oversized suspenders and was as tall as a dwarf. His head was disproportionately big, his features mashed together, his eyes beady and yellow. His nose was round, his lips were thick, and his ears were short and pointy. His face was covered in wrinkles like an old man, and there was no visible neck. His torso was connected to his head, and his limbs were as long as a spider’s. His arms extended over his knees like a gorilla’s, and his hands were bigger than most people’s. There was black fur covering the back of his hands and equally large feet.
‘Casimodo/ Gawain Samsa
Gender: Male
Age: Twenty-five years old
Status: Doppler (a humanoid creature that can shapeshift at will)
HP: 60
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 6
Perception: 7
Will: 5
“As for humanoid monsters…” Gawain had a weird look on his face. “I’ve never tried changing into those monsters, and I don’t plan to. The moment I change into a certain creature, I’ll base my thinking on their habits and instinct. Monsters don’t have great mental capacity. That’s how they’re born. I might forget who I really am if I mimic them and never change back. Might start to attack humans too.”
“What about mages and higher vampires? Can you mimic anything with mana?” Roy’s eyes were starting to shine. Gawain felt a little worried, since the look in Roy’s eyes reminded him of someone who was seeing a mountain of treasure.
If he can mimic a higher vampire, I wonder if his blood will meet the requirements to power up my bloodline. Maybe this is a shortcut. No harm in trying.
“To tell you the truth, I have tried to mimic a mage. I can do it after a while of observing them, but the spells I cast won’t be as strong. My mimicry can’t control too much mana. Never seen a higher vampire before, so I can’t say anything about it.”
“Can you maintain the form of the creature you transform into? Indefinitely?”
“Yes. If I wish to.”
This is the perfect ability for me! The light in Roy’s eyes shone even brighter. “You are a spectacular shapeshifter, Gawain. Why do you hide in a place like a morgue and take on the figure of a cowardly hunchback?”
Gawain pursed his lips again, but nervously this time. “The Eternal Fire is hunting me. They’re hunting all the dopplers.” His fingers were shaking, and he muttered hysterically, “I want to live, but I don’t want to leave this city. If I can disguise myself as a man ugly enough not to raise any suspicion from the soldiers, I can live my life in peace. It’s been two years since I started doing this, and now you come. How did you notice me?” he asked carefully. “I don’t think I’ve slipped up or shown you my real form.”
“Witcher instincts. Let’s just put it at that.” And the oneiromancer’s help too, of course.
Roy had new questions. The first war isn’t even underway, and the church is already culling non-humans? “Why’d the church hunt you down? Do they have a beef with you guys or something?”
Gawain’s face turned red with anger. “No! They slapped some ridiculous crime on us because they’re scared of what we can do!”
He angrily explained why the hunt for them started. Dopplers could mimic anyone and gain their memories and and will, which would grant them the ability to take over everything a person had. That ability proved that the soul and flesh are one, which was the total opposite of what Eternal Fire was preaching.
That posed a threat to the church and culminated in an intense hatred against dopplers, and it resulted in the hunt for dopplers. Most people were wary of these creatures as well, and that wariness translated into isolation and hatred.
Besides, a doppler’s disguise could be seen through with silverware, so they were hunted into near extinction. Now they were creatures that only existed in legends. Or very nearly only existed in legends.
Roy sighed. He knew dopplers were mostly kind creatures who wouldn’t hurt humans, but paranoia was a powerful poison of the mind. If kind creatures had the ability to mimic everyone and take over their lives, it was no wonder that paranoid people would want to hunt them down.
***
Gawain took the witcher’s silence as the end of his questions. He stood up and took a deep breath to hold his anger down. “Is that all, witcher? Can we talk business now?”
“Of course.” Roy ended the conversation. “But rules come first. No matter what happens at the end of this negotiation, you cannot tell anyone what I’m about to say.” The look in Roy’s eyes turned sharper and sharper, until it was almost palpable. “Or the church won’t be your only enemy; a bunch of witchers will be hot on your tail too. But if this deal works, you can have anything you want in life. You’ll have access to the luxuries of the richest men in this city.”
Gawain’s heart skipped a beat, and he gulped. That threat sent chills down his spine, and he was about to refuse, but then he realized he was face to face with someone he couldn’t mimic. No way I can win in a fight. Can I even refuse him? He’s going to kill me if I do. And I had enough of poverty! Now I have a chance to turn things around. Come on, Gawain. Be a man and take this challenge! Gawain told himself.
He was starting to tremble again, and his face was red with excitement. In the end, he nodded. “I promise if I ever say a word of this to anyone, then the gods shall smite me with the worst fate possible.”
“That is enough, Gawain. We are friends now.” Roy shook his hand. “And now, to the meat of the conversation. What do you think of the gang lords in Novigrad? Specifically the big three.”
“You mean Bedlam Francis aka King of Beggars, Cleaver, and Orloff Byrd aka the Collector?”
“Yes.”
Gawain wondered why Roy was asking him that, but he said, “I’m neutral to the first two, but I despise the Collector. He’s a mage supremacist who hates all non-humans, including people like you and me, witcher. And I heard he has some… unsavory hobbies. He collects corpse specimens. Says it’s for art, but I know what he is. He’s a piece of perverted scum.”
Roy nodded. Okay, this is getting better. Things are heading where I want them to. “He’s not fit to keep helming one of the biggest gangs in Novigrad, don’t you think? Someone like him having too much power… Not the best prospect for the people.”
“What do you mean?” Gawain took one step back. He deduced what the witcher was trying to say, but the mere thought of that plan almost made him shiver, and horror crept up in his eyes. “A-Are you saying we take him out? No, no way. Orloff is one of the most powerful men in this city. He’s surrounded by a bunch of bodyguards at all times, and he’s a mage! He has a ton of magical items with him!”
Roy smiled and said confidently, “My friends and I will take care of that pesky bastard, while you will stay behind until it’s time to change into him. Then you shapeshift into that whoreson and take his place in the gang. You’ll take over everything he has, and we’ll also be your allies. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.”
Gawain gulped. His face had frozen up in fear and shock.
“Gawain, I, Roy of the Viper School, ask you this: will you replace the Collector?” He held out his hand to catch some rainwater, and then the young witcher spread his arms as he stared calmly at the doppler. “Will you work with us and take that son of a whore out for good?”
***
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