"Wait, what do you mean, the wizard?" Kyle was getting confused. Wasn't Alfred Dormitabis, famed hypnotist, the one who owned the coin?
"Well, the coin was a gift." Alfred started explaining.
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Several years ago....
Alfred was tired. Another dumb college show for dumb college students in a dumb part of the country. He had talent, but would anybody take a chance on him? No, of course not. They didn't care about hypnotists. He ordered another beer from the bar, but the barkeep was nowhere in sight. It was almost closing time after all. He sighed, and got up to drunkenly walk back to his motel. Then, all of a sudden, a stranger, wearing long billowing robes emblazoned with eight-pointed stars and crescent moons, walked into the bar. Alfred drunkenly stared as the old man went behind the bar, and poured himself a glass of scotch.
"You supposed to be some kind of wizard?"
The bearded man turned around, surprised someone had noticed him. "Why, yes, actually. And you are?"
"A hypnotist." Alfred slurred his words. "The fuck are you doing here?"
The wizard took a sip of alcohol. "Ah. This dimension has the finest whisky. I just popped over for a glass."
"Huh." The logic made sense to the fat man's addled brain. "Can I ask you a question?"
The wizard shrugged. "Very well. I doubt you'll remember this anyway."
"How come you guys get all the power? Like, us hypnotists, we don't *hic* we don't get any magic powers. And that's like, so unfair, y'know? I can make people believe a whole bunch of stuff, but it don't, it don't..." He searched for the right word. "It doesn't change 'em at all. And that sucks. It absolutely fuckin' sucks." Alfred banged his glass on the bar, finishing his drunken tirade.
"Doesn't change... Doesn't change..." mumbled the wizard, contemplating the drunk's words. "
Eureka!" he suddenly shouted. He shook Alfred's hand enthusiastically.
"You've just given me the most brilliant idea! Yes, that would work perfectly. Here, tell you what, tell me where you live."
He frowned, noticing that Alfred was already falling asleep.
"Oh, never mind, I'll just cast a location spell. Oh this will be wonderful. Just make sure to have some scotch on hand."
Alfred blearily opened his eyes, as the wizard twirled around, and then, in a puff of smoke, vanished. Unfortunately for Alfred, the mysterious man had vanished before the barman reappeared from the restroom. He got charged for his several beers, as well as a missing bottle of scotch.
Alfred never forgot that conversation. He kept a bottle of scotch with him from that point on. Then one day, the wizard reappeared, with a very dangerous coin. It was apparently a magical marvel, and the wizard wanted his muse to have it. Alfred cautiously accepted, and they shared celebratory drinks. He learned the wizard's name was Talforious, and as they got more and more drunk, they started becoming good friends. Before he teleported away, Talforious gave Alfred a magic key that, when used on a door, would make the door open to the wizard's house. The wizard and the hypnotist started becoming drinking buddies. Talforious did it for the inspiration Alfred would give, and Alfred did it for the chance to experience real magic.
Alfred learned how dangerous magic could be from the wizard's chats. He didn't use the coin in his shows, instead relying on his natural skills. However, he did use it to convince some executives to give him a chance on TV. Years passed, and Alfred received fame and glory. His chats with Talforious grew less and less frequent, until yesterday, when he managed to lose the coin that had garnered him so much success. That brings us back to today, where Kyle and Ally have interrupted his life.
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"So we just need to use the key, right?" said Kyle impatiently.
"Yes, but well, technically, this dimension isn't supposed to have magic."
"So?" Kyle just wanted this to be over with.
"So, it's important that we don't alert any magical overseers. If we did, well, there's a chance our entire dimension could be destroyed."
Kyle blinked. "Destroyed. Jesus Christ, okay. That's a lot to take in. But still..."
He looked down at his dog-brained sister, who was brushing up against his leg.
"We kind of need to do this. Is there any way to avoid those guys?"
"Yeah, the window I used to talk with him today should still be open. It's just, Talforious doesn't like unannounced guests. Still, he did say to come in the case of emergency, so it should be fine. Okay, let's do this."
The hypnotist took a deep breath. He took out a plain silver key, and walked over to the emergency exit. The key slid into the handle, and instead of opening to a hallway, the door swung open, revealing a blue vortex.
"Let's go see the wizard."
The hypnotist stepped inside, hoping Talforious wouldn't be too mad.
Ally growled at the portal, not understanding what was going on. Kyle sighed, grabbed her by the shirt collar, and dragged her to the portal. He wondered what would happen when he went through it.