Amidst all the confusion, Toby had still rembered the object of the game. He didn't want to know what happened if the group lost. Looking at the detailed drawing of a forest on the board, he thought he saw the map that the players were supposed to find. It was closest to him, but too far away for him to reach easily. He looked at his cards, and he realised there was something he could do.
"I'm playing this card on... Mary," said Toby as he put down a card labeled "ACESSORY: Pushbike". He read the description aloud: "Playing this card on another person will triple your speed. Whoever the card is played on will miss a turn. The effects of the card wear off after the person who plays the card has had two turns with this enhancement."
Mary looked over at the picture of a person riding a bicycle through a forest. "Oh, great," she said, resigned to the obvious effect of the card. Already, her token was moving fast towards Toby's, and turning into a minature bicycle. "Don't do anything stupid to me, okay?" she said, thinking of what the others had just done to Ryan. She stood up and started removing her clothes lest they rip.
Even as she did this, her hind legs began to fuse together, and form a large mound of flesh. Mary tripped over as the distinct form of a spoked wheel appeared in her legs. The others noticed that the cat enhancements were disappearing fast, turning Mary's torso back to normal as she lost control over her legs completely.
Mary had not been fast enough in removing her clothing, and now the jeans she had been wearing were being stretched and ripped apart. Mary lost her balance as the wheel which had once been her legs started spinning, and she fell to her side.
Bob, who was the closest, helped Mary up. Mary gasped in pain as a second wheel emerged from her chest. Her body was becoming thinner, colder, and darker, and she knew exactly what was happening to her, which made things worse in a way.
Dina was looking over the edge of the table disgustedly, and Toby was smiling quietly as he watched what was happening to Mary. This birthday gift might be painful, but it was certainly interesting to watch in action.
"Hey! What's going on?" yelled Ryan, who couldn't see anything where he was lying. Lissi picked him up and dangled him in front of Mary without looking, more interested in Mary.
Mary was crying now, either from the pain or the humiliation. Her arms had turned to metal, and were slowly being pushed to either side as handlebars. She could still feel Bob holding her legs, even though they were no longer legs. Her entire body was turning into a pedalled bicycle. Her breasts had shifted to the side and were turning into pedals, her legs and stomach had become completely metal, rubber and foam, and she couldn't even move her new wheels. Bob was the only thing stopping her from landing hard on her side.
Mary literally screamed in pain as her face stretched to fit on the new handlebars that were her arms a minute earlier. At that point, the changes stopped.
The only part of her body that Mary could move was her face, which was still stinging. She said, "Just be careful. I can still feel it when you touch me."
"Really?" said Toby casually, rubbing the pedals on the bicycle gently.
"Yes," said Mary. "Would you please cut that out, Toby? It feels -"
"It feels - ?" prompted Toby.
"Weird, I guess. I'd rather you didn't. Actually, I'm starting to wish you hadn't bought this for me at all."
Toby, Lissi, and Bob, the only ones who were still normal, helped move Mary so that she too could see what was happening on the board. Toby then moved back to his place, and rolled the dice. The dice read 12, but thanks to Mary, his token, now seated on the minature model of Mary, moved 36 spaces, landing exactly where Toby thought he had seen the map.
"You have found the map!" read the display. "Do you wish to take it? 1) Yes 2) No"
Eagerly, Toby tapped the number 1 on the display. A card appeared from the display labeled "ACESSORY: Map".
"Well, at least that's over," said Toby.
Dina said "Toby, it isn't."
"Did you say something Dina?"
Remembering how quiet she was at her size, she shouted: "Look at the display, Toby!"
Toby looked again, and then read the new words aloud. "The witch who owns the map is angry! Do you want to 1) flee 2) fight?"
Thinking that the enhancement he had placed on Mary would help, Toby decided to run away.
"You escape, but the witch places a curse on you!" read the board. Another card surfaced out of the board.
"CURSE: Obedience. You have not paid heed to the warnings of the witch," read Dina helpfully.
"What warning?" demanded Toby.
"...so until your next turn, you are cursed to heed warnings and advice better."
Toby, considering this, said: "I suppose that means that I won't be able to disobey signs on the game board, then. This really could slow us down. Then again, maybe not. Whose turn -"
"Toby, shut up," mumbled Dina, sick of listening to this and waiting for someone to try to restore her.
Toby suddenly closed his mouth, and mumbled loudly.
"Toby, are you all right?" asked Ryan, still in Lissi's arms.
Toby pointed to his mouth, still making loud groans.
"Toby, stop mumbling like that. What's wrong?" said Ryan.
"...me help oh - what happened?" said Toby, who had suddenly opened his mouth again as he mumbled.
Dina gave a barely audible giggle. "I think I know what happened," she said. "The card said that you would pay more attention to advice. Then I told you to shut up. You couldn't talk!" she said, seeming almost ecastic at this development.
Toby groaned. "You mean that I have to do what everyone says?"
"Looks like it," said Mary. "But just to be safe, let me try: Toby, stand up."
"Hey!" protested Toby as he stood up. He moved back into his seat again.
"Consider this payback," said Mary, still angry over what Toby had done to her earlier. "Toby, put your feet in your mouth and keep them there."
Toby gave Mary a very angry look, but even as that happened, his legs bent over, covering half of his face. He shouted, but the noise was rather muffled by his feet.
"Come on," said Lissi, reaching for the dice. "We haven't even finished one round yet."