Audrey reached into Mika’s pack, pulled out an empty potion flask, and dropped the squirming mouse inside. It immediately tried scrambling out, but its tiny feet were unable to gain purchase on the flask’s smooth walls.
“Answers.” Audrey looked sternly at the cat-boy. “Or else…” she waved the flask threateningly.
The cat-boy’s face shifted from panic & wild anger into a sad, crestfallen look. His feline eyes dilated as his human intellect asserted itself. After a long while, he finally said in a raspy voice: “My name is Thomas. That mouse over there is my classmate Jerri. We were students at the Wizard’s Academy in Arlor. During summer break, we decided on a whim to travel to Lavengard. We thought it’ll be romantic to spend some time together in a bucolic village far away from the city.”
“When we arrived, it turned out that the inn was completely full. So we asked the locals for help, and a little boy told us that he knew where we could find a place to stay. He led us to a dimly-lit, sparsely-furnished shack... only to find the innkeeper waiting inside for us, an evil sneer on his face. Without a word, he pointed a glowing stone at Jerri and turned her into a little white mouse. I tried to raise a magical shield, but before I could complete the spell, the innkeeper changed me into a fluffy kitten.”
Thomas paused. “I don’t quite recall much after that, just a vague blur of images as I chased Jerri around the village and probably came close to catching and devouring her…” he gulped and glanced over at the flask.
“The next thing I remember, I was lying on my back in the street, looking up at an old, wrinkled wizard and his young apprentice.”
“Who were they?”
“He said his name was Luka, and the apprentice was Ander. They had come to search for a shifting stone that had surfaced in this village. When we ran past, he immediately saw that we had been transformed, so he caught both of us and tried to change us back.”
“Looks like he didn’t finish the job…”
“Well, I consider myself lucky. I may still be an undersized kid with feline… souvenirs, but at least I’m mostly human. Jerri, however… he was only able to restore her mind.”
“Hmm…” Mika thought to himself. “Does the size of the animal matter in reversing the stone’s transformations?”
“Then they asked me if I knew where the stone was.” the cat-boy continued. “I told them the innkeeper had it, so they instructed me & Jerri to wait while they recovered it, and then they’ll use its power to change us both back to normal.”
“So I take it that they didn’t return?”
“Actually they did, but as a pair of naked little boys. Twins, in fact. Completely lost their minds, and thought they were brothers. I tried hailing them, but they didn’t recognize me at all. Ander even taunted me and tried pulling my tail.”
“So what were you doing in our packs?”
“I’ve got to feed me and Jerri you know. Not like I get access to regular meals like you.” the cat-boy scowled. “Hey, isn’t that the stone? How did you get hold of it? Did you kill the innkeeper?”
Mika was turning the stone around thoughtfully in his hand. “The innkeeper?” he repeated absently. “Over there…” he pointed at the molly mule.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Audrey demanded.
Mika held the stone firmly and began a long & complicated incantation. A warm glow enveloped the cat-boy, but when it finally subsided, he looked exactly as he did before.
“Oh nice work, Mister first-rate wizard’s apprentice. You changed a cat-boy into a cat-boy.” Audrey said caustically.
“Ummm.. it kind of tingled, but I don’t feel any different.” Thomas added.
Mika furrowed his brows. This was much harder than he expected, it seemed like what could be reversed in Thomas’ transformation had already been done. He turned his attention to Jerri, who looked at him expectantly with her little pink eyes.
Clasping the stone again, he tried a different incantation, and flicked a few specks of powder over the mouse. This seemed to have an effect – the mouse started to get larger, but abruptly stopped growing after it had about doubled in size.
“Oh-whee-who. The great wizard just made a mouse hamster-sized.” Audrey chortled at Mika’s apparent impotence.
“Can you let me out of this flask now?” a tiny voice squeaked.
“JERRI!” the cat-boy shouted, overjoyed, as he tried unsuccessfully to scramble to his feet.
Audrey emptied the mouse onto the stable floor, where it promptly stood up on its hind legs. “Thanks.” she said, looking up a Mika. “It’s a small improvement, but it really means a lot to me.” Walking over to the bound-up cat-boy, she whispered into his ear: “Thank for looking after me, Tom.”
Mika carefully put the stone away. Clearly, there was a long way to go before he fully understood its power. He was going to need to find someone with far more experience in magic.
“C’mon Audrey. Untie him, and let’s get on the road.”