The Good Touch 01-10

# Chapter 1

The stone platform overlooking the small city of Colmberg was a strange one. It wasn't a man made structure of concrete or brick, despite the pair of rather bored looking attendants standing off to the side. Nor was it formed of the hard granite forming the mountains of the area. It was perfectly smooth and perfectly round. Its surface inscribed in loopy sigils indented into the pale gray stone as if drawn by a child's meandering hand.

The sigils hadn't collected dirt or grime, despite the immense age of the platform. For it was immensely old. Far older than the grass or trees surrounding it. Some even argued that it had existed before the Mingo Creek or even Mount Hol towering over everything in the area. Those people would be wrong. At least in regards to Mount Hol. Mingo Creek on the other hand, was up for further debate.

Between one moment and the next, six humans appeared on the stone platform overlooking the small border city of Colmberg. There wasn't a distinctive pop, or a sudden flash of light to herald their arrival. The runes beneath their feet didn't glow, or sizzle, or draw in the ambient mana pervading the hilltop. The platform did none of that. It simply sat there when the four men and two women appeared atop. Oblivious and indifferent to their plight as it had done to all those who had come before it.

All six humans were as naked as the day they were born.

The first person was a woman of middling height and glossy blonde hair. She had narrow shoulders and a slim physique that accentuated her large breasts without being athletic. Thin tan lines caused by what must have been a rather revealing bikini crisscrossed her front and hips, leaving three pale triangles over her pink nipples and the perfectly manicured landing strip tucked between her legs.

The girl stood in confusion for a single tense moment before the cool spring wind jarred her to her senses. She glanced down, then unleashed an ear-piercing shriek that caused birds far in the distance to vacate their roosts. She promptly fell to her knees, arms pressing tightly against her tits which only served to squish the pair together in a way that only dubiously preserved her modesty.

Her scream roused the others, though each reacted differently to the strange environment and their nakedness. One, a short man with black hair and round glasses instantly blushed deeply, his ears glowing as both his hands abruptly became preoccupied with covering himself. The man at his side reacted less violently--though perhaps it was because he was built like a brick shithouse, with enough muscles to fill a butchery--though still covered his manhood with both hands.

Of the six, those reacted the most to their sudden relocation. The other woman's reaction was far more tame. She was an athletic girl. Standing no more than five feet in height and possessing straight black hair that fell all the way to the dimples on her back. She calmly covered her medium breasts with her right hand as her left hovered protectively in front of her shaved pussy. A furious scowl darkened her features and promised retribution to anyone foolish enough to approach.

The last two men both stared outward, though couldn't have been more different if they tried. The first was a tall, football playing looking jock with cropped blond hair. He looked outward with a measure of sardonic amusement. As if to prove to the world that while yes, he didn't know where he was, he wasn't going to let something silly like that phase him. His gaze hitched as it passed over the two nude women, and his flaccid penis between his legs twitched, though didn't rise to the occasion. He too covered himself, though only after offering the screaming girl an apologetic look.

The last man didn't cover himself, and was the only one of the six not to do so. He stared out from the edge of the stone platform not with fear or fury, but a bone-deep shock that barely masked the curious hunger bleeding through as he ravenously devoured the quaint medieval city with his eyes. He stood facing outwards, not having even registered that he wasn't alone or his nakedness. So great was his focus that it was only after a particularly shrill shriek that he winced and looked inward at the nude gathering.

"Attention!" The first attendant roared, his voice crashing into them with an almost physical force. The blonde screamer flinched, then hiccupped as she stared with huge blue eyes at him. "Very good. Now, get yourselves dressed and settled down. I'm only going to explain this once, so pay attention."

The attendant gestured and a crate at his feet that none of the humans had noticed sprang open and a set of 6 loose robes floated out and flew toward each of the people. The blonde screamer shrieked as the fabric smacked her in the face, then covered her kneeling form. The others snatched their robes from the air with various degrees of incredulity.

"Good. You Outworlders always freak out without clothes," the attendant continued. "Don't bother asking questions. I guarantee you I've heard them all and I'm going to explain everything in a moment. All you have to do is sit there quietly and listen. Understood?"

He didn't give any of them a chance to respond, instead waving his hand through the air and a massive pressure settled over them, popping their ears as if they had just fallen five hundred feet in altitude.

"Never mind. I forgot I don't care." That drew annoyed frowns from a few of them, though none dared make a sound. "Right. My name is Gavin and I am the Guildmaster at Colmberg's Adventurers guild. That would be that sorry lot of houses over yonder. If you don't know what an adventurers guild is, you will figure it out pretty quick. Now. Once a month, Outworlders spawn on platforms of the Blue Goddess all over the world. That would be you. Sometimes it's a whole group like you guys, other times it is just one or two. Regardless! Every month new people arrive to our lovely, lovely city like clockwork."

The Outworlders followed his gaze to look at the city before looking back at him.

"I start my little speech like this to pound into your thick skulls that you are not special. I oversee a new summoning every month and I haven't been impressed with an Outworlder in years. You will receive a single set of clothes, plus a stipend of one silver per week for two weeks. But after that you are on your own."

Gavin set his piercing stare on each of them, practically radiating hostility.

"No one will feed you or take care of you or send you back to your cushy little lives. You will have to rent an apartment, or sleep in the streets. You will have to get a job, or starve. I recommend the adventurers guild, but the brothels are always open for fresh outworlders like you. Especially if you happen to be a virgin."

Gavin met the horrified and affronted look of the two girls with bored dispassion.

"Other occupations exist, but I ain't going to list them. Figure it out yourselves. Any questions? No? Good." Gavin spoke over them, raising his voice and increasing the magical pressure until they settled down.

"One in three Outworlders die in the two weeks! Two in three in the first two months. Less than ten percent survive their first year. These are the numbers and it is entirely because every single one of you Outworlders is a stuck-up know it all with a god complex. I will say this once. Don't try to create a gun. Don't try to build a steam engine. Or gunpowder, or whatever little gizmos you've got back in your home plane that will revolutionize our way of life. It is a waste of time and it will only get yourselves killed."

A deathly silence filled the area, no one daring to so much as shuffle at the guildmaster's words.

"With such a big group, I recommend you join together, at least somewhat. Historically, groups of three or four have the highest survival rates, but do whatever your wish. What's going to happen now, is I'm going to walk to the guildhall where Mr. Perez right here will give you your clothes, your stipend and have your special skill appraised."

"I thought you said we weren't special?" The blond jock blurted out sarcastically.

"Oh, you're not," Gavin sneered. "Your special little skill isn't so much a gift, but rather a way of balancing the scales. You know, to make up for the two decade head start the rest of us locals get."

With that, Gavin abruptly turned around and marched down the hill to the city. Mr. Perez, the attendant who'd arrived with Gavin, gave them a friendly wave for them to come along and then joined Gavin.

It took a second, but the Outworlder's hurriedly ran to catch up. The journey wasn't super pleasant, what with them being barefoot on the rough terrain, but they managed.

The outworlders took the time to introduce themselves to each other. Dan, the blond jock, was indeed a football player. Beside him, glommed onto his side was Courtney, the blond menace, though thankfully she had refrained from gracing them with the sound of her screams.

Dave was the huge man and apparently worked in construction before the transmigration, while Georgi was the glasses wearing guy. Georgi was a premed student, which everyone but the last two oohed and ahhed at.

Akira was the last girl and a college student studying mechanical engineering. She didn't join the huddle at the front of the procession, choosing to walk off to the side with a thoughtful look on her face. Every so often, the flash of her pale leg appeared between the slit in her long flowing cloak.

Erik, likewise distanced himself from the hushed conversation, though his attention was focused outward. His bright eyes took in the city with the rapt attention of a tourist. No detail was too small to fascinate him, and he slowly fell further and further behind as they walked.

Their path took them through the red light district. Men and women on either side of the street blew them kisses or shot them suggestive looks as they passed by. Dave and Georgi looked supremely uncomfortable, and Courtney ducked her head into the crook of Dan's elbow as a furious blush rose to her cheeks. Gavin didn't help the matter by jumping into an explicit lecture of what amenities each brothel offered to its customers and the pay the courtesans could expect.

By the time they escaped that part of town, even Akira's stoic expression had tinted red. Especially after spotting a woman enthusiastically blowing an armored adventurer in a not-so-discrete alleyway. Her tits were out, and swung heavily as she slobbered over the man's erect cock. Luckily, they didn't pause and so didn't see the inevitable conclusion of that particular coupling.

The guildhall was located near the eastern gate of Colmberg and was absurdly massive. It resembled more a conglomerate of several buildings that had fused together than a single unified structure. The main floor was a huge open floor plan that was a mix of a tavern, diner, reception area, and hangout spot. One entire wall of the huge space was covered by a bulletin board covered by neat rows of paper quests and several groups of armored adventurers were perusing the contents at their leisure.

Gavin vanished as soon as they entered, but they barely noticed as Mr. Perez guided them up a set of stairs to the second floor. This area looked like a hotel, with dozens of doors crammed together. Mr. Perez ushered them into one room, which had been prepared for their arrival.

"Here is your silver," Mr. Perez said, handing each of them a large silver coin with some kind of dog stamped onto the face. "A silver is worth one-hundred copper, and a hundred silver is worth one gold. Though most people just call them pieces. Twelve pieces for a cream pie, if you will. Or a hundred pieces for a sword, and so on. You can come by next week to either the receptionists downstairs or find me and I'll get you the second part of your stipend."

He then proceeded to hand out their clothes, showing them the back of the room where a thin curtain separated the men from the women. Akira shot the boys a glare before vanishing behind the curtain, though Courtney took a little convincing to let go of Dan's bulging bicep.

Eventually, everyone emerged. The clothes they had been given were... functional, but ill-fitting. Loose canvas pants and a shirt that either hung too loose -- in the case of Georgi -- or too tight -- in the case of Dave. They had also been given a stiff leather breastplate that also had the same fitting problems.

There was no underwear, though the girls had been given a breast wrap, which Courtney didn't stop complaining about. Mr. Perez politely informed her that she could buy a proper push up bra in the market once they had finished here, if that is what she wanted.

By then, Mr. Perez had set up a rough crystal on a table surrounded by unintelligible squiggles and several small blue gemstones. He then had them line up and place their palm on the central gemstone.

"Alright Dan, was it? Place your hand on the crystal and wait a moment. It might sting a little..." Mr. Perez squinted into the crystal where swirling blue mist had appeared, ignoring Dan's slight wince. "You've got Power Strike. A nice solid skill. You would serve well as a fighter, or demolitionist."

Mr. Perez went into a little more detail on the skill, including how to activate it -- though he warned that it took practice in the beginning -- then moved on to Dave. He received Flame Strike. A similar skill that apparently made him suitable as a blacksmith if he so chose, though was effective in combat as well. Georgi got Lightning Tendrils which meant he could become a mage, or street performer, though there were a few other occupations available to a mage like that. Mr. Perez congratulated him for his good fortune.

Courtney was next, and after she daintily pressed her hand onto the crystal, received the Healing Aura skill. It was also a very fortunate skill and made her useful as a healer. Akira received Impale, which if she wasn't interested in fighting was useful if she wished to become a seamstress or a shoemaker.

Erik was last and was practically vibrating in place by the time he got to place his hand on the crystal. It stung his hand something fierce as he touched it. He winced, but refused to pull his hand away.

"What's wrong?" Erik asked nervously when Mr. Perez frowned deeply into the swirling crystal. Whatever he was reading, it wasn't good.

"Nothing so... much," Mr. Perez murmured, then gestured for Erik to release the crystal. "You have a strange skill. I don't even have a name to give you. It is a support skill, like Courtney's. A buffing skill that is capable of increasing the stats of the target. Which is... extremely valuable. If it works."

"If it works?" Erik asked. "Why wouldn't it work?"

"I've been doing this for a while, kid, and I've never seen an Outworlder skill like this. Buffing stats is powerful. It is a force multiplier for any profession. And the goddess typically grants boons of equal strength to all Outworlders. "

"Ahh, so there is a catch. Or a limitation?" Erik asked.

"You could say that. I can't tell how long the buff lasts. Could be an hour, or a minute. If it is the latter it's useless, because if I read the crystal correctly, you can only use your power on people you touch. Which, once again, is of limited utility in a combat situation. I also believe that your power is dependent on where you apply it."

"So, if I empower someone's arm, then only that arm gets stronger?" Erik asked, his cheerful exuberance had faded to a fairly deep scowl as Mr. Perez kept pounding in the bad news.

"Perhaps. I'm afraid that I don't know more and can't give you job recommendations. You are going to have to find where you fit on your own I'm afraid."

"I see..." Erik murmured, then looked up with a hopeful look. "Then can I test this power on someone? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure out its limitations."

"That's between you six," Mr. Perez shrugged. "Though, let's finish up real quick. Each of you is automatically registered at the guild, though you aren't required to work here or anything. Just keep in mind that your membership will be revoked if you don't complete any quests over the course of a month. The guild cards are also artifacts that will allow you to see your stats, which would be useful for testing your power, Erik."

The Outworlders nodded and followed Mr. Perez out where he quickly rattled off information on where to get food, and housing in the city. Both were available at the guild, but weren't the cheapest in the city. He left them alone in the lobby, before vanishing behind the receptionists desk.

They stood there awkwardly, unsure for a minute as they glanced around. They drew some attention from the other adventurers, but it was far less than they assumed. Obviously, newbies standing around awkwardly wasn't a new sight in the guild. Eventually, Dan cleared his throat and gestured for everyone to huddle up.

"Alright, I know this is all shocking, but unless this is the craziest dream ever, I think we need to treat it like it is real."

"No harm in that," Dave said, crossing his mammoth arms over his chest.

"Exactly," Dan continued, "I say we stick together and look out for each other at least for the beginning. Pool our funds and figure out the best way to survive."

"Yeah," Georgi said softly. "This whole situation is, like, the perfect place for scams. I mean none of us know anything. Or have a support group that can help us."

"Well said, Georgi," Dan said. "It looks like most of the 'quests' on the board are combat focused. I know not all of us are suited to that, but I think it is safer to do those rather than try and find a job in the city. Because of scams, as Georgi said."

Dan punctuated the statement by pulling Courtney close to him, and she gave him a weak embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry, Courtney. I'll protect you. You just have to be brave for me."

"Okay," Courtney murmured, gripping his forearm tightly.

Akira rolled her eyes at the exchange. "So what is the plan, then?"

"Right, like we decided, we will pool our funds and equip the most capable fighters we have. maybe myself and Dave here since we are the strongest physically. Then we can accept this daily quest for 'horned rabbits'. They seem safe enough and close enough that we can do it real quick before night time. Then we will get a room at that inn Mr. Perez told us about."

"Wait a second," Akira frowned. "I never agreed to pooling funds. Why don't we equip each person as well as possible so that we can each contribute to the horned rabbit quest?"

"It won't work," Dan was already shaking his head before Akira was even finished. "Were you paying attention to the price of food on the way here? It was around eight to twelve copper for a meal. We have 600 pieces split between us. If we each try to equip everyone then everyone will be poorly equipped, which is just wasting our money."

Akira's frown deepened.

"He's right," Georgi said softly. "Assuming we ration food for the week conservatively, we will each have forty four pieces. The inn will likely cost several pieces a day. Maybe as much as five, which only leaves each of us nine pieces to buy weapons. That... doesn't seem like enough for a good weapon."

"Well said, again, Georgi. I can tell that you are the smart med student among us," Dan smiled, patting Georgi on the back. Georgi ducked his head, and his ears turned red at the compliment.

"Still..." Akira murmured.

"That plan is okay for me!" Courtney chirped up. "What about you Dave?"

"Hmm," Dave pursed his lips. "Seems fine to me, though I will add that any profits we make from quests are split evenly."

"Naturally," Dan jumped in.

"Of course you'd like that! You are going to be the one that we are going to equip with weapons and armor," Akira said, her voice rising in exasperation. "This plan leaves the rest of us entirely dependent on you, and we will suffer way more if things go wrong."