Two younger teenage boys were standing before the Game Master, relatively normal-looking apart from the somewhat sour looks on their faces. Also, the fact that they both looked exactly alike. So alike, in fact, that you wondered if they had been magically altered to appear that way.
"Are you sure this place is legit?" one of them asked grouchily, glancing in your direction, a bit too loud to be tactful. "What's with the dog-guy?"
"Shut up, stop being a pain," the other one retorted. "As long as it works, I don't care what we have to do."
"Now, now, boys," the Game Master responded cheerfully, and you got the distinct impression the wheels were turning upstairs. "What seems to be the problem?" The boy who had spoken second looked at the Game Master irritatedly and responded.
"If you couldn't tell, we're twins. I'm Leon, and he's Noel," Leon stated, gesturing to his scowling brother. "I've been stuck looking like this guy all my life, and I'm sick of it. Everyone mistakes us for each other, even our parents sometimes. That's why I always get blamed for the dumb stuff Noel pulls."
"You're just dumb enough to get caught," Noel snapped. You had the feeling the Game Master was grinning under his hood, and shuddered.
"Anyway, our parents are sick of us fighting. They found out that this place can change appearances, so they gave us permission to get changed for a month. I don't care what you do, just as long as this guy no longer looks like me," Leon growled.
"You do understand how this store works, correct? If you want my help, you'll have to play a little game, take a little risk. Is that acceptable?" The boys nodded impatiently. "I assume you have signed permission slips?" the Game Master asked. While children or those unable to give consent sometimes had spells cast on them by rogue wizards, most didn't want the hassles of dealing with the possible backlash. Although there had been some protests against wizards altering people against their will, the protests often lost steam when it was discovered many of the protestors themselves had turned to magic at one point or another for their own ends. Nevertheless, in order to minimize the uproar, magicians often requested consent from an authorized individual before casting spells on those under the age of 16 or those unable to give their own permission.
Leon and Noel each dug out a crumpled piece of paper, each paper having the signatures of both their mother and father upon them, and the terms authorizing the Game Master to change the boys for one month, so long as the forms remained human. The Game Master waved his hand and both papers floated up into the air and the signatures began to glow.
"Had to authenticate them, of course. You'd be surprised how many kids try to fool around and forge their parents signatures. Completely useless, of course," the Game Master pattered on while the boys stared on, unimpressed. "Now boys, you understand that whatever changes occur, they cannot be undone for a month, right?"
"Duh!" Noel replied, as Leon glared at him, then said, "Yeah, we get it."
The Game Master turned to you. "Go pick up two Authorization Bracelets from the back...oh, and bring out the OALR rings while you're at it." You are confused, but nod acquiesingly and head for the storage. Since you took inventory yesterday, you know where the requested items are, although you are not sure what they are for. The Authorization Bracelets look like nothing special, just a string with a small circular charm. Grabbing two, you proceed to the "O" shelf, where you locate a box labeled "OALR." You rifle through bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, and at the bottom of the box you locate a small container with two relatively simple-looking rings. One is pure white with black stones dotted across it, while the other is midnight black with white stones. Curious, you bring the rings and bracelets to the Game Master. The Game Master takes the bracelets from you, and in a flash, the permission slips turn to dust, the remains flowing into the bracelets' charms, which now glow. The Game Master then handed a bracelet to each of the boys.
"To proceed, each of you will have to wear one of these. Once on, you won't be able to remove it for a month. It basically shows that I haven't changed you against your will," the Game Master explained as the boys put the bracelets on. "Now then," the Game Master continued, conjuring six slips of paper and two fountain pens out of the air and handing them to the boys, "Each of you write down on the three slips before you one thing you would like to have different from the other. It's only fair that each of you get a say in what changes occur." As the boys finished writing, the Game Master pointed at the papers, which flew up and hid behind the sliding doors of a gameboard that had conjured itself out of thin air in alternating order, depending on who had written the paper. A single die also appeared on the counter in front of the Game Master, and as with the girls yesterday, the opposite wall became a mirror. The Game Master then handed each boy a ring, motioning for them to put it on, Leon receiving the white ring, and Noel receiving the black one.
"Here's how the game goes," the Game Master began gleefully. "The rings you are wearing are known as the 'Opposites Attract, Like Repel' rings, or 'OALR' rings for short. They allow one wearer to have some aspect of themselves changed to be completely opposite the other wearer, or if the two wearers are completely opposite, it allows that aspect to become exactly alike. The die here has 3 white sides, 3 black sides, " he said, motioning with his finger. "My assistant here will roll the die. As the die is rolling, a door on this board will slide open, revealing the aspect that will change; an aspect which, of course, has been chosen by one of you. If the die lands on white, the wearer of the white ring will have that aspect changed to be completely opposite of that of the wearer of the black ring, and vice versa for the die landing on black. Ready?" The boys nodded, somewhat confused, but the Game Master simply looked to you without waiting for approval.
Stepping up to the counter, you give the die its first roll. In the meantime, the top door slides open to reveal a piece of paper with the word "eyes" written on it. The die lands on black, and you all look at Noel expectantly.
"Eyes? That's seriously stupid..." Noel trails off as he sees the look of wonder, then amusement on Leon's face. As if someone had poured ink into his eyes, the colors of Noel's eyeballs changed to their diametric opposite. While Leon looked on with his blue irises and black pupils, Noel's eyeballs went pitch black, his irises turned orange, and his pupils became bright white.
"You look like you're possessed or something," Leon nearly doubled over laughing as Noel gaped at himself in the mirror.
"You're such a dumbass," Noel snarled.
"Next!" the Game Master called out, and startled, you toss the die. The boys are too distracted by the first change to understand the implications for the other aspects they have chosen, but you are beginning to comprehend the possibilities. The second door slides open to reveal "height,", and the die lands on white. The boys turned back towards the counter in time to read the new paper.
"How's it gonna do the opposite of height? We're not short or anything..." Leon trailed off as he noticed the counter appearing to get higher.
"On the contrary, it appears you boys are quite tall for your age," the Game Master smirked as Leon was now no taller than an elementary school kid, his clothes hanging off him. Noel cracked up as Leon glared up at him. However, the boys were becoming more serious, and beginning to wonder what the other had written on the remaining slips of paper, finally realizing the possible consequences of their choices. The third roll of the die revealed the word "hair", and proceeded to land on white.
"Me again?" Leon griped, his voice slightly higher due to his small size. He turned to look at the mirror, now more aware of the possibilities which might occur to him. Before his eyes, his straight, blond, close-cropped hair began to lengthen and curl. As it grew out, as though it were soaking in a dye, it changed from the bottom to the top from corn-yellow to bright purple. By the time it finished, the tiny Leon sported magnificent curly violet tresses down to his shoulders.
"Maybe you can wear it in pigtails," Noel snorted, giggling uncontrollably. Leon, however, was becoming more annoyed, as well as worried as to what the remaining slips of paper held.
As the die rolled for the fourth time, the corresponding door opened to reveal the word "gender."
Leon's face blanced as he yelled at Noel, "What the hell? Why would you pick gender?"
"Thought it might be nice to have a sister instead," Noel smirked, not quite understanding.
"You moron! What do you think will happen to you if it lands on black?" Leon hollered. Comprehension slowly starting to dawn on Noel, he and Leon turned to look at the die which, as if in confirmation, landed on black.
"There's no way..." Noel turned to the mirror as he started to feel strange. His chin began to become slightly less squared, and his limbs grew more slender. However, the largest changes were the rather obvious additions to his chest and the apparent loss of volume in his pants. As his Adam's apple disappeared, his voice became higher as he shrieked, "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Little Leon couldn't even take pleasure in his annoying brother's discomfort; he was more scared about the remaining two slips of paper. Noel grabbed for the Authorization Bracelet tried to remove it, but it would not slide off his - now her - wrist.
"Now then, 'No-elle,'" the Game Master said evenly, obviously emphasizing teh second syllable. "If you're done, let's continue."
As the die rolls, the fifth door reveals the word "voice," and the die comes to rest on black. At first, the boys just stare.
Finally, Noel asks, "How is it going to make the opposite of voiiiiiiIIIICE?" Noel's delicate eyelashes opened wide showing all black around his orange irises as his voice dropped through the basement.
"Well, from that I would assume you boys are barely hitting puberty," the Game Master noted.
Although no longer laughing, Leon did manage to remark, "Now you sound possessed too."
You roll the die for the final time, and the last door reveals an unexpected surprise: "shoe size," as the die comes to rest on white.
"Hah, looks like you're gonna get shrunk more!" Noel grinned gleefully. "You know what they say about shoe size." However, Leon just grunted in pain, then sat down and ripped off his shoes just in time to prevent his growing feet from tearing through them. Obviously oversized for his small frame, Leon's feet would now rival that of an NBA star.
"What the..." Noel started.
"It would appear you are rather undersized for your age, No-elle," the Game Master chuckled. "Well, they do say size matters."
The brothers - now temporarly brother and sister - tried to convince the Game Master that this was not what they had signed up for, but the Game Master would have none of it. Finally, giving up, they both left the store, each striding uncomfortably in their new bodies, arguing over who had it worse.
"No girl is ever going to go out with me like this," Leon growled, practically running to keep up with Noel in his bare feet.
"At least you're still a guy! How am I going to explain this to my girlfriend?!" Noel boomed out in his - her - bass voice, strangely incongruous with the female form.
"Maybe you can borrow her bra," Leon retorted in the distance.
"Ah, the joy of satisfied customers," the Game Master grinned.
"How are they satisfied?" you ask incredulously. "They're still fighting."
"Yes, but not over how alike they are," the Game Master responded easily. "Magic doesn't solve problems, it's up to people themselves to do that."
You scrutinize the Game Master as he turns away to reorganize a shelf behind him, wondering if he is a sage or a madman. Either way, you're stuck with him for now. You begin cleaning up after the twins when...