So what do you do while waiting for a bus in a strange part of town? The schedule claimed it would be here in 20 minutes. Too short for coffee, too long to hang out on the corner in the light rain that was falling.
Happily there was a shop nearby with an awning I could duck under. The door was propped open by what looked like a life-size solid brass swan with its head tucked under its wing. I stuck my head in to see shelves packed to the ceiling with knick knacks, tchotchkies, old books, creepy dolls and more odds and ends. I browsed my way towards the register intending to see if there was a restroom I could use when a slim volume caught my eye.
It was bound in dark blue leather with stamped gold foil lettering. 'Appellomancy: Basics' it read. The pages were slick and browned, in a couple more years they would have crumbled to bits at my touch. As it was, the brittle pages and cramped sepia block printing were still marginally accessible.
'Learn the secret art of True Names! Reward your friends, confound your enemies!'
I flipped past the introduction, discovering some engraved pictures and an induction chant. On a whim I contorted my hand to match the picture and declaimed to the empty shop:
"I, Terry Sutchins, am an appellomancer! By the Names I give I rewrite Reality! What is Named bears a Truth none can avoid, none can deny, and only an appellomancer may change!"
I glanced away from the book and found the ancient store clerk scowling at me from behind his counter. Still feeling a bit grandiose I snapped the book shut and swaggered over to him.
"I'll have this, jolly shopkeep, wrap it well against the damp, I'll not have it ruined!"
The old man ducked low behind his counter to fetch a plastic bag, and when he straightened his scowl had become a beaming smile.
"Right you are sir, have it ready in a jiffy!"
He continued humming merrily as he worked, wrapping the book well and taping the edges shut.
"There you are, snug as a bug in a rug!"
I glanced outside, seeing the bus pulling up to the stop, and tossed a twenty at him as I grabbed my purchase and ran.
I arrived at the bus door at the same time as one of the departing riders, a heavy-set man in a leather jacket and motorcycle boots. He stumped down, shouldering me roughly aside before I could give way.
"Gewanye--"
His grumbling faded as he trudged into the rain.
"Filthy begger." I said under my breath as I paid my fare, following his progress through the windshield. The man stopped on the corner, illuminated by the bus's headlights, and it was obvious even from this distance it would take a lot more than the rain to removed the caked grime, food, and unidentified stains from his ragged clothing.
I looked around thinking I must have mistaken the homeless man for the biker, but as the bus pulled past I got a good look at his face, and it was clearly him! In the space of a few steps his clothing had changed, he'd lost a great deal of weight, and had become matted with...filth.
I staggered to a seat, my mind reeling. I'd made the clerk jolly, and a random stranger into a begger without even intending it. I looked down at the wrapped package in my hand suddenly afraid of what I'd gotten myself into.