Mika guided Ed towards the front of his stall, leaving plenty of room for the horse to deliver a nasty kick once the innkeeper arrived. Next, he lay down partially under the horse’s head, positioning himself so that he would be able to see the innkeeper’s feet as he walked in, while leaving only the rear half of his body exposed. Placing a hand on one of Ed’s front ankles, he said, “Wait for my signal. When I squeeze, kick back as hard as you can.”
After a long wait, there came the muffled sound of footsteps accompanied by Aubrey’s sobbing. The innkeeper entered, irate and carrying a lantern in his hand. “So where’s your brother?” he asked the stable boy gruffly.
“O’er in there, master.” Aubrey pointed over to Ed’s stall.
“Get that damn horse out so I can take a closer look, boy!” Aubrey’s heart skipped a beat, but he had no choice but to obey. As he led Ed out, he was surprised and relieved to find that Mika had vanished.
“Are you trying to prank me?” the innkeeper shouted angrily as he waved the lantern over the empty stall. “Looks like you need a good whipping!”
“No…no he really was dere jus’ now! Maybe he ran away when I went tah get ya…” Aubrey burst into tears, doing his best to distract the innkeeper.
“Or maybe not…” the innkeeper murmured as he reached into his pocket, eyes squinting at the seemingly vacant space in front of him. A few moments later, Mika materialized, pitchfork raised in hand but unable to move, and cursing silently to himself as he recalled the exchange back at the trading post.
“Yes, good sir! Merlin’s Miraculous Invisibility Potion! Only lasts for a few seconds, but quick acting and perfect for getting out of those tight spots! You’ll still cast a shadow though, so make sure you pay attention to light sources …”
The innkeeper ran an appraising eye up and down the immobilized Mika. “So, you’ve actually managed to turn yourself back on your own. I’m impressed, you’re a very fine wizard. And,” he added ominously, “obviously much too dangerous to leave running around.”
The pitchfork clattered to the ground as Mika’s arms swung down helplessly by his side. A sudden spasm shook his body, and he felt himself drop several inches in height. The sleeves of his shirt started crawling down his wrists and hands, the fabric now rubbing against his fingernails. Another spasm, and he seemed to sink down by another foot. His trousers slipped from his waist and fell in a heap to his ankles. He tried in vain to grab them, or at least his stars-and-moons underpants, now hanging in flaccid folds, but could only force his cloth-encumbered hands to move an inch or two.
His facial hair gradually thinned into fuzz and then faded into nothing as he shrunk back into a scrawny teen swimming in oversized clothes. Looking down, he found the hairs on his legs narrowing and changing to a much lighter color or disappearing altogether. His underpants soon joined the pile on the floor, but by now his shirt was well past his thighs.
Another spasm, and he realized that he was now even shorter than Aubrey. His shirt, which had been drunkenly hanging on his dwindled frame like a sack, finally slid to the ground, leaving him stark naked. His prepubescent boyhood dwindled further into a puny little nub. A final spasm arrived, reducing him to no more than 2 or 3 years old, slightly round and pudgy with a tuft of curly bleach-blond hair.
Without warning, Mika felt his bladder swell to the bursting point, and experienced an immediate and urgent need to go. Fighting the impulse as long as he could, he finally lost control as his tiny hands reached down to grab his little pecker, and his whole body relaxed as he relieved himself. The tumbled puddle of his clothes reshaped itself into an ornate marble basin adorned with elaborate floral carvings, and a small pedestal rose under him.
Feeling an unexpected numbness tingling in his toes, he looked down and watched with alarm as a deep bronze color crept up his feet. The numbness accelerated rapidly past his torso, stiffening his muscles and obliterating all sense of feeling, but without interrupting the whizzing stream arching out from his groin. “No...” he cried out in a small, high-pitched voice before his face froze into a mask of shock and dismay.
“Not bad at all,” the innkeeper smiled, looking pleased with the result. “Just what I need to add a little elegance to this establishment.” As Mika screamed silently inside his head, mortified at what he had become, the innkeeper breezily whisked the wizard-turned-fountain out into the center of the inn’s garden.
Aubrey was a complete wreck by now, trembling in panic on the floor. “You better get right back to work, boy, unless you want to join your brother in the garden.” the innkeeper sniped. “I could use a new garden gnome…” The stableboy leaped up, still shaking, and started getting about mucking out the stalls.