“So what were you before the innkeeper changed you into a little boy?” Mika asked Ander.
“It’s… a little hazy. But I think… I was a wizard like you?” he replied hesitantly.
Mika nodded. “Well, let me see if I can reverse the spell first.” He drizzled a fine powder over Ander and began an incantation. But before he got halfway thru, he was interrupted by a cry from Audrey’s direction. Turning around, he found a naked little boy standing where the warrior had been, and the burly innkeeper approaching menacingly from a distance.
“Damn!” he cursed as he scooped up little Aubrey and ran as swiftly as his legs could carry him. Fortunately, the innkeeper wasn’t particularly fast, but Aubrey was heavier than he had expected, and a shiver ran down his spine as he felt the familiar tingle of the transformation process starting.
“No.. NO!” he accelerated in a mad panic. As he rounded a bend, he nearly ran headlong into the group of mounted warrior acolytes riding back into the village. Veering aside at the last minute, he plunged behind a hedge by the side of the road.
The tingling stopped as Mika watched the innkeeper and the acolytes confront each other in surprise. Raising his stone, the innkeeper turned the lead acolyte’s horse into a fluffy bunny rabbit. Without missing a beat, she did a quick body flip and landed adroitly on her feet, eyes narrowing.
“He has the stone! Get him!” she ordered. The other acolytes immediately dismounted and charged at the innkeeper with their staffs. Mika saw the innkeeper frantically pointing his stone at the approaching acolytes with no effect.
There was a loud pop as a short, barrel-chested witch with carrot hair teleported beside the innkeeper. She raised her arms, and a powerful shockwave sent the acolytes flying backwards & knocked Mika off his feet. As the acolytes retreated in disarray, she grabbed the innkeeper’s hand as they hurried back to the safety of the inn. “That must have been Tobi’s mistress.” Mika thought to himself.
Mika waited silently as the acolytes regrouped and galloped off, possibly to fetch reinforcements. When he was certain that they were out of range, he pulled the stone out from his pouch and restored Audrey.
“You know, you’ve got a stone too. Do you think we can take on that innkeeper?” she asked.
“If he was alone, maybe. But he’s got that witch with him now, and she looks pretty tough.”
“Hey! Are you forgetting something? May I remind you that I once cracked the skulls of an entire band of orcs with my bare hands?” Audrey snapped indignantly.
“Well, as you’ve just found out, naked little boys aren’t much use in battle.” Mika replied dryly as Audrey glowered at him.
A couple of muffled sobs came from a nearby bush. “Did you hear that?” Audrey hissed. They drew their weapons as they advanced cautiously. Peering behind the bush, Audrey dropped her sword when she saw Ander’s tear-streaked face. He was kneeling beside Luka, who was lying prone on ground. “What happened?”
“We were trying to hide, then all of a sudden something invisible tossed us into the air. I just got a few scratches from the fall, but Luka… I think he banged his head on a boulder.”
Mika examined the motionless boy. He was barely breathing, and there was a large bump on his head which had swelled an ugly red. Mika turned and looked over to Audrey.
“Hello? See this hefty sword and my arsenal of impossibly sharp objects? Do I look like I would know ANYTHING about healing?” she paused for a moment. “But wait, if you use transformation magic on him, wouldn’t that make his injury go away?”
Mika raised his eyebrows in surprise at his warrior companion actually making use of her brain. But she was right, he had to admit. Turning over the Ander, he asked “Do you remember what Luka used to be?”
Ander scrunched his forehead, concentrating intently. “I don’t know… all I remember is that we were changed into little boys at about the same time. Since I think I was a wizard, maybe he was…”