By Bolgerjc
The village was just too fascinating to pass up, so she walked closer to the town to figure out how it worked. The people seemed to go about their business with no notice of the giant staring at them. Melis said a small prayer and was soon granted with being able to see the threads of magic, and the village was covered in a tangle of them that Melis wasn’t able to determine all of their effects. Spells of protection and warding were obvious but she wasn’t sure what a certain spell did, as she leaned to get a closer look a hidden ward struck her sending her flailing backwards to the floor.
Melis shook her head to clear her thoughts and cursed herself for being, so foolish as to think an Arch mage wouldn't have hidden defenses. Luckily it appeared to be a simple stun spell with an alarm attached to it. Well, that is one way to find the Arch mage Melis thought glumly as she tried to sit up, but she found the weight of her armor was starting to hold her back. With a surge of effort she regained her feet only to stumble forward as she realized her feet had become much smaller. Articles of armor dropped to the floor as Melis met up with the floor once again.
It was several minutes before Melis was able to collect herself to find that she was naked and enveloped in darkness. The netting around her was heavy with some sort of metal above it that made the going slow, but it wasn’t long before she entered into the light and realized how dire her situation was. She was now the size of one of the people from the village surrounded by her armor.
“Go to the village and be judged,” appeared in large letters in the air as a staircase on the table leading to the village formed. Going to the village had untold dangers but it was possible to get some answers. The chemicals on the lab or the books on the shelves could offer a solution to her current situation, or make it worse. Finally, she had a potion that could restore her on her horse outside, but at this size it would be quite a distance and possibly dangerous.
The village seemed like the place to get some answers she thought as she headed towards it. Going to the village would hopefully signal the Archmage who should come to check out what had happened and she would be able to end this mystery. It was embarrassing to walk naked but there was no clothing in sight of her. She tried to cover her generous bosom with one arm as she walked to prevent some of the jigglings as she went up the stairs. As she walked up the stairway the steps vanished behind her, she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or real but she decided to continue on with her journey and not worry about it. Mages had a habit of messing with reality to scare other people and it was usually best to ignore it.
Melis arrived at the top of the stairs and saw an amazing array of brightly colored buildings and thankfully there was a set of robes for her to put on. The cloth felt wonderful against her skin as she made her way to open the door to the village. She hesitated as she walked to the door because she suspected once it shut behind her it would not open again. With a heavy sigh she decided if she had gone this far why not a go all the way.
The door hissed as it opened and she stepped through and as she predicted it slammed shut behind her. She walked out into the empty streets wondering if she was the only one here. There seemed to be some sort of countdown clock in the sky above. It looked like there was still an hour until whatever event was going to occur so she might have some time to explore this village.
