Just a little pinprick
"Oh, it's you," the shopkeper says. "Steel or plastic?"
"I beg your pardon?"
He smiles. "I mean, have you come to charge the spell to your card (I assume you don't carry that much cash) or do I need my knife?"
"K-knife?" You shiver. The shopkeeper nods and holds up what appears to be a shiny dagger. "I told you I was going to skin you, right?"
All of a sudden becoming your old human self again doesn't seem to be the most attractive option. You start stuttering something, but he interrupts you with a chuckle. "Don't worry, it's just a visual aid." He raises his other hand and passes his finger right through the blade. "See? Illusion. More precisely, a carrier for the cancellation spell, just like the 'costume' you put on was a carrier for the transformation spell."
Yeah, right. You have seen that trick down with a candle flame, and they do burn if you do it wrong. But then what alternatives do you have? You follow the shopkeeper into the back room, where he makes you take off your necklace and lie down on a bench.
After pondering your vulpine form for a few seconds he puts his hand on your neck, and you feel something cold touch your skin...
You scream in pain, and he jumps back. "That hurt!" you shout.
"Okay, calm down. What did it feel like?"
"Like... I don't know, like an electric shock or something."
"Peculiar." He ponders silently for a few seconds. "You don't have some kind of counterspell on you?"
"Not that I know of. This is my first experience with magic."
"Ever been blessed or something?"
"Well, I got baptized as a child. Wait, are you saying magic is evil?"
"Just clutching at straws. No, that shouldn't make any difference. I believe you mentioned going to a party. Did anything special happen there?"
"Apart from an anthropomorph vixen attending? Not that I can recall..." You pause. "Wait a minute..."
Written by Won-Tolla on 08 March 2011
