Hórif woke up, opening one eye at a time. The morning sun bothered him — something already routine.
I need to take on some kind of mission.
His laziness seemed to devour souls; his strength… well, it was almost nonexistent. His arms trembled at the thought of effort, but his hunger pushed him forward.
"There must be some easy mission at the tavern." For him, only those were possible.
Before leaving, he did everything he needed to do. He put on his little boots. He stretched and ate. He stepped out of his house, and the light touched his small face. His day had finally begun.
***
Upon arriving at the tavern, he spoke without enthusiasm.
"Hello, Cloris. What do you have for me?"
With a restrained smile, Cloris replied,
"Well, Hórif. The good news is that the mission is Rank D."
Impatience took over.
"Can you just say what it's about, Cloris?"
"Alright! You grump! …Hehe."
"The mission is to collect the tributes from the witch Serif in the Glambler Forest."
"Easy, easy," Cloris said in a provocative tone.
Hórif felt his spine freeze into cubes of ice.
"What?! A witch? You know I hate witches!"
"But, little Hórif, you did so well on the dragon egg–hunting mission last time, hehe."
I almost kicked the bucket, and she knows it.
Hórif recalled the rumors. She wasn't that strong.
"Alright. I accept the mission. Give me the map!"
"That's my little Hórif."
***
The distance to the forest seemed to shrink. Hórif examined the drawing on the map.
"Cloris's drawings are terrible."
He couldn't tell whether it was a witch or a scarecrow.
"Anyway, it must be that house with the cauldron."
Cautious, Hórif shouted,
"Witch Serif! I am from the Kingdom of Octophuspo! Pay your tributes to the kingdom!"
Not even the void answered him.
So quiet.
As time passed, Hórif grew impatient. Very impatient.
"Grumpy witch! Open up already! I don't have all day!"
That was when the door opened by itself, and a calm voice echoed from within.
"Come in…"
***
Afraid, Hórif stepped inside the house, one foot at a time. But he never imagined Serif's reaction would be so…
"Please! They took all my rubloyds!"
She's young. Completely harmless.
"Who took them?"
"The foxes, while I was picking mushrooms."
"I was going to pawn my talisman to pay my tributes."
Hórif recalled the terms of the mission. It explicitly stated that he should intervene.
"Leave it to me. I'll pawn it for you."
Serif hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"But out of curiosity… how do you activ—?"
A puff echoed from the cauldron.
"You idiot!"
"You grumpy witch! How was I supposed to know all I had to do was touch the corner?"
Serif sighed, looking down.
Confused, Hórif asked,
"So… it shrinks? Is that it?"
Serif fetched a mirror and held it up to him.
"It's called transmutation, Hórif."
Excited, both of his eyes sparkled like never before.
"This is… awesome! How incredible, Serif! I can even feel my little tail! You're amazing!"
"Oh, it's nothing special."
Before they could say anything else, another puff followed.
"What?! Already? This talisman is pretty bad, huh?"
Serif burst into laughter.
"Haha! I can't believe this, Hórif."
"The talisman consumes mana to keep the transmutation spell active."
"And your mana reserves are extremely low, hehe."
That's really sad, Hórif thought, lowering his head.
Serif noticed and changed the subject.
"Come on, come on! Do what brought you here."
"Here."
She picked up the talisman from the floor and handed it to him.
"I'll be going then."
Before closing the door, Hórif smiled genuinely.
"Bye, Serif."
He didn't call me a witch…
---
Back at the kingdom, Hórif had another plan.
"That talisman has to be mine."
Driven by desire, he used the money to hire heroes for a mission. He would pay off Serif's debt and buy the talisman for himself with the reward.
"That's it! This plan is perfect!"
And surprisingly… it worked.
Almost.
"What do you mean you sold it?"
Merchant Krust laughed.
"Haha! That's what merchants do, Hórif. We buy and sell."
"To whom?"
"To the fortune-teller Narib."
***
Hórif pondered along the way.
What would a fortune-teller want with a talisman?
Cautiously, he climbed a tree and observed.
"So that's it! She uses her transmuted assistant to read the cards."
"What a crook!"
Hórif entered the tent in a not-so-subtle manner.
"Who's the idiot that tripped into my tent?!"
"Oh, Hórif. It's just you. Came to see your future through the cards?"
How do I convince her to sell the talisman? I've got it!
"Narib, I came here under orders from the great witch Serif."
"That bitter one?"
"Quiet!"
"She's powerful, Narib. She knows everything."
"Oh, she does, huh."
I'm convincing her.
He wasn't convincing anyone.
"And there's more."
"If she doesn't get what she wants, do you know what she'll do?"
"What?"
"She'll take your soul, put it into a frog's body, and stab it every full moon."
"Wow, Hórif. You're kidding, right?"
He pushed forward.
"I'm not."
"She foresaw it, Narib."
Hórif pressed his hands to his forehead.
"The talisman is with you! It belongs to her!"
Rolling his eyes, he added,
"This is your last chance, Narib. I won't hold back anymore."
"But Hórif, my customers have increased so much. If I sell it, I'll go bankrupt before sunset."
Got her.
"She foresaw that too, Narib!"
"How much did the talisman cost?"
"Two hundred rubloyds."
Damn it. The reward was two hundred and seventy. Serif's debt is eighty. I'll be short ten.
Stressed, Hórif muttered,
"I sold it to Krust for only a hundred rubloyds. Damn Krust."
"What was that, Hórif?"
"Nothing. Nothing."
***
In a desperate move, Hórif decided to put on a show… a juggling show.
He grabbed Narib's crystal balls and began performing in front of the tent. Hours passed before donations came in — mostly out of pity.
"Here… Narib."
***
After paying off Serif's debt, Hórif needed to test the talisman one more time. He returned to the forest to do so safely.
"I remember all I had to do was touch it he—"
A puff echoed.
An idea crossed his mind.
Can I talk to animals?
Uneasy, he searched until he found a moose among the trees. He quickly climbed up, grabbing its fur.
Near its ears, he shouted,
"Hello, Mr. Moose! Can you understand me?"
The moose widened its eyes and bolted through the forest.
"Mr. Moose! Stop this!"
The transmutation ended.
Hórif tried to hold on, but the fall was inevitable.
"At least I landed on my butt."
He wandered through the Glambler Forest for hours, until the moon replaced the sun and howls followed him.
"Wolves?!"
"Today is not my day."
"But… I think they didn't see me."
They surrounded him.
Damn. They saw me.
He ran toward the first tree he spotted.
I need to transmute.
Puff.
"Hey, you wolves! Can you understand me?"
Hórif's face gleamed behind rows of sharp teeth.
"The animals don't understand me! Nobody understands me…"
Downcast, he was pulled into the tree.
"Hm? Another squirrel?"
"Yes. And quickly! Stuff your cheeks with nuts and aim for their eyes!"
"What?"
The squirrel filled Hórif's cheeks with nuts. A barrage struck the wolves like bullets — not even a shadow remained.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Pluf."
"Hórif."
"Are you from Witch Serif's place?"
"How do you know?"
"I can smell her cauldron on you."
"I can take you there if you want. It's close."
"Yes… please, Pluf."
They moved through the treetops. Upon arrival, Pluf vanished into the darkness. Fear drove him away.
I owe you one, Pluf. Thank you.
***
The transmutation ended. Hórif fell from the tree.
"Ow! That hurt."
A bump grew on his forehead.
Like a lizard, he crawled to the witch's house. The scent of the cauldron reached him; tears filled his eyes.
"Serif! Please! Open the door…"
"Please."
"Hórif?! What happened? You look awful."
"So much, Serif. Fortune-teller, juggling, moose, wolves. All of that for—"
"For me?!"
"No!"
Hórif blushed slightly.
"All for a damn talisman!"
"The one I gave you?"
"Yes…"
"Haha! Hórif, that talisman belonged to my matriarch. And I have another one."
"You didn't need to do all this, hehe."
Matriarch. Another…?
The expression on Hórif's face resembled an abyss.
Exhausted, he collapsed into Serif's arms.
"Don't fall asleep, Hórif! You still have so much to learn!"
"I have so much to teach you about spells, mana, and much more!"
"Wake up!"
"Wake up."
"You know what? Sleep peacefully. There's always another day, hehe."