"This place?"
"Well, this is the safest one I can find. Let's explore, and then we can shift later," the ghost Familiar yawned. Was it possible for a ghost to yawn, though?
"And the curse ?"
The ghost familiar laughed. It was the kind of stupid laugh you see on villains before they are defeated by heroes in the movies. And that said a lot.
"What's life without getting a few curses? I, myself, have been cursed ninety-nine times."
"But I haven't been, and I got cursed because of you."
The ghost shrugged and answered readily, "You stay clear of Ghost Domain, easy, and no ghosts will rat you out to the Ghost Leader!"
Jay was speechless. It was right that he wanted to stay clear of the ghosts now, but this was something different, as he was doing this because he was cursed.
"What does the curse entail?"
Again, a shrug.
"Who knows, only the ghost knows! We will stay clear of ghosts, and you will be happy and peachy!"
Anyway, one day at a time.
"So, what now?"
"We're going tomorrow night. I see that you needed sleep, but if I had to say, everything here thrives during the night, too. Some beings stay awake at night and sleep during the day. But you can continue your schedule."
"You mean, I can reverse my day and night?"
"You could, but you have already chosen how to live. Don't make a fuss by changing it. But we need to go out at night to find some information. I've been away for so long that I don't know the power dynamics now."
Jay nodded. He was feeling sleepy.
"Go to sleep, I'll hover in the hall and take a nap."
Jay watched the ghost leave, and sighed. Talk about a turn of things. He was in a magical world that was different from the human world. And when he lay in the bed, watching the ceiling, the reality of the absurd situation hit him.
He was the son of a witch. Wasn't that amazing? He only remembered his mother through her photos. And his dad, too. He grew up under the care of his sisters, so he didn't know his parents. All they told him was that their parents were on a trip.
His sisters were older than him, the youngest by ten years and the oldest by thirteen years, so he knew better than to ask questions and upset them.
But all in all, it wasn't the worst birthday he had. At least now, he had a hope that his family could be reunited. He slept with a smile on his face.
"Wake up, sleepyhead, my ghostly senses are tingling, saying that we have an unfriendly visitor. We need to leave before he catches us."
Before Jay could sit up, the ghost shouted again.
"Here he comes."
Jay followed the ghost to see who this unfriendly visitor was.
The doorbell rang, and the ghost opened the door. Jay found a guy in a duster who could teach mobsters a few things about style in movies.
"You are trespassing, you are fined."
"Ah, officer, I thought that the bamboo forest was a 'No Pay' zone."
The guy looked at the Ghost and sighed.
"You ghosts live in some corner under a rock and no longer stay updated with the new rules."
That was the truth, though, Jay nodded.
"The No Pay thing was canceled sixteen years ago, and now, you have to pay using your official ID."
The ghost shook its body.
"Don't tell me you don't have your IDs."
"That, officer, you see, I came out of uh, hiding, so do you have any other option?"
The guy glanced at Jay, and Jay smiled at him, like a good kid.
"I'll give you a tip for a tip."
The ghost nodded, and like magic, the ghost dropped a bottle of pale green potion into the hand of the officer.
"This is a Sleepy Potion."
"Hmm, good. There is only Outlands, a place without ID checks where you can live."
"And if we need IDs?"
"Only living parents can apply for IDs, or a High Level person can vouch, so I don't think you can get your IDs."
"That's so sad. And where are these Outlands, you say?"
"On the other side of Iry Forest."
The ghost gasped.
Jay wondered why!
"You mean, the place where the outlaws live?"
"Didn't you get it by its name- it's called Outlands for a reason!"
Jay felt that this should be some kind of bad place because his Ghost Familiar didn't flinch at the thought of fighting the Ghost Leader.
"Yes, I'll be leaving now. You'd better leave before sundown or I'll have to arrest you."
The guy left, leaving Jay with more questions.
"That trip we wanted to make at night, we can cancel!" The ghost sighed.
"Why?"
"We have only one place to go."
"Can't we live with the witches? My mom's family?"
The ghost shook his head.
"Your mom's family, I don't know where they live. And again, even if I knew, I can't take you there without IDs. So, kid, we are now orphans, and we have to stay with the Savage magical kind."
Jay felt that the situation was scary.
"Are they bad?"
"It's not that they are bad, it's that we don't have safety there, but kid, we have the house, and I'm sure, if we don't go out, we don't get beaten."
This should count as a piece of good news, right?
So, after traveling the same way, through a portal and almost vomiting, they arrived at the Outlands. They walked to the first village.
"Who are you?"
They were caught once more. And the replies were the same.
"We don't have any space, go ask the other villages."
Or with variations.
"We only allow our villagers to expand, and we don't take in visitors."
The ghost familiar took Jay to each village there, hoping for a piece of land, and they were rejected every time. Jay was starting to lose hope, and he made a final plan- to go back to their human world if this didn't work out.
"Hey, you, I can help you if you help me?"
They found a guy leaning on the village sign, smoking. He had a shaggy beard, and his eyes were red.
"How?"
"You need to help me steal the red stone from my neighbour, sounds easy, right?"