“What Slime-cell-thing in a sweater?” Jamie asked confusedly.

     “The one in the corner, put on your dungeon eyeball or whatever.” Billy Joe replied as the blue form seems to have noticed her gaze.

     “Dungeoneer’s glass,” Jamie chided as they pulled out one of the aforementioned spy glasses.

     Putting one over their left eye and squinting. “Huh, You’re right. Hey there little magic fellow… how are you?”

     “What are yooooOOOOOUU?!” Marc’s jaw fell open as the being of blue mana made itself visible.

     “I-I’m fine. How are you doing today?” The nervous blue cell-like being in a sweater-vest asked.

     We’re… Doing interesting…” Billy Joe said slowly, stepping back without noticing.

     “What exactly are you?” Gus asked from behind the retreating Billy Joe.

     “I’ve been told I am the sum-total of my actions in a manner of speaking… So I would guess I am… peaceful? No, that doesn’t sound right.” The being replied.

     Jamie started moving closer to the magical being slowly. “Where did you come from? Does this shop just… make you? Or beings like you?”

     “I’m… I’m from… Not here, I know that much, however, I feel a connection to this place, an ancestry.” The sweatered being said, backing away from the giant beings crowding them.

     Billy Joe grabbed the door as quickly as she could and ran outside. She feels herself shivering and shaking. “J-Jamie can handle that. I’ll… I’ll go up the mountain and visit Will for a while. Better grab my good bow from home first.”

     Billy Joe shook off the feeling of unease. She knew that likely the little being of magic was harmless, but she just didn’t feel up to handling that right now.

     ***

     “What in the?” Gus mumbled.

     “Fair question.” the sweatered blue cell said.

     Jamie just had to slap their face in frustration and confusion. They’d have to go help Billy Joe later, while this was likely more immediately concerning.

     “So, do you grant wishes like the other one?” Marc asked from her seat.

     “Not… I don’t… Not exactly.” The small being mumbled.

     Jamie backed away from the tiny form, giving it some space. “Well, what do you like to do?”

     A different feeling came from the small form. No longer did it seemingly radiate fear, now an almost childlike glee came from their glow.

     “I am safety.” The small form said with an air of mischief.

     Gus plopped himself down on the ground looking at the small form, “And I’m the Merry Queen of England.”

     “No, really, I create safety.” The sweatered form posed, now looking closer to a star-fish now that it’s become accustomed to its sweater-vest.

     “Well, how do you do that?” Marc asked, looking down at her friend and the being of magic giving each other side-glares on the floor.

     “I unlock some doors, speed up some rust, change the trajectory of metal. Mostly little things. It feels so natural; I am genuinely surprised others are not able to travel the fourth dimension as I may.” They said with an air of self-grandeur.

     “Great, first a genie, now a time traveler,” Jamie said with a groan.

     “Oh, I do not travel it. More… walk along it. Here, let me show you.” The being said from the floor as it suddenly winked from existence, no longer in the place it was.

     Instantly, and before Jamie could notice, the being was on their counter, looking up at them. “Hi there.”

     “GAH!!” Jamie jumped back.

     “It’s closer to say that I can walk along the current moment of time. Going forward and backward though, that just feels wrong, I can’t explain it.” The starfish said, picking up a small cup from a tea-time play-set.

     Gus got up from his seat on the floor, “Okay, so how does that protect people?”

     “It would amaze you how many of your people are trapped by others. All it takes is a simple mistake or the door not closing all the way for those people to be released from their captivity. Oh, and earlier I heard a noise, and I went to it, one of those metal beasts on the ground was damaged and spinning. I moved the metal out of the way of the squishy beings.” The being said proudly, putting two of its starfish-like limbs on its waist in a hero pose.

     Jamie paused for a minute, taking that in. “You… you don’t mean jails do you?”

     “Jails? Hm, no, not yet. There’s some kind of barrier around them and I cannot get close as I am now.” The being said, changing its pose to a representation of ‘The Thinker.’ “I’m pretty sure you call them ‘automobiles’.

     “Sounds like the little fella’s doin’ all right. Just let em' be.” Marc said in a lackadaisical tone from her chair.

     Suddenly a noise, loud, like the air being ripped apart rushes through the shop.

     Jamie had heard this noise before.

     This was the sound of magical fire.

     ***

     A few minutes ago,

     Billy Joe jogged down the gravel road and into the woods toward her own house. The doc had been right, Zippy’s class had helped in a way. Her power may be mystical, and from outside sources, but it was hers. She snapped her fingers, causing the light to dim around her and nothing else. ‘Photonic Manipulation’ was the name Zippy had given it, Billy Joe quite liked it, filling her with the sense that she was some science fiction heroine.

     Deciding to test her power some she closed one eye as her red eye grew a deep crimson. It sucked away the light around Billy Joe, and from an outside perspective, she was a mass of black shadow gliding through the wood.

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     She’d gone through the back entrance earlier because of the patio stairs leading from her top-floor room. Fishing for her key out of her front pants pocket, she noticed something on the ground.

     A roughly three-foot-long sword lay against her front door with a bow on it. A card reading ‘Thanks for the talk’ was attached and Billy Joe picked up the blade.

     It wasn’t a show-piece in that it felt heavy. Taking a practice swing, the sword didn’t sway to the side, and it was well balanced. Re-sheathing the sword, she found a piece of twine and tied the scabbard to her belt.

     Quickly hopping into her entrance room, she grabs the bow from where she’d stowed it days earlier. A magical compound bow with a bit more ‘umph’ than your average, she’d spent last night perfectly adjusting its measurements for her strength and height.

     Slinging the bow over her shoulder with a small quiver of competition arrows, she stepped back out into the forest.

     Up on the road, a straight shot from her house; it looked like three people were backing up from… Well it was hard to say, it’s kind of hard to look at, like staring into a fire.

     Gritting her teeth and expecting a fight; Billy Joe slammed her front door shut causing it to make a loud banging sound. It echoed through the eerily quiet wood and the glowing fire stopped closing in on the people, instead seemingly turning to look at her as the three non-reborn humans ran away.

     “Well then, wonder what it is this time.” Billy Joe said with a sigh.

     Stepping closer to the ledge leading up to the main gravel road, Billy Joe got a better look at the attacker.

     It looked almost like a deer. A skull over its own head with antlers sprouting from it that has fire bouncing from horn-tip to horn-tip gave the beast an air of death. As she got closer, she noticed its coat shining, the ice armor becoming evident.

     “How…” Was all Billy Joe could get out as the beast opened its mouth, a cone of fire bellowing forward from it as Billy Joe had to jump backwards to avoid being singed.

     “HEY!” Another spiral of fire came soaring toward her as she lept forward, clawing her way up the gravel roadside and onto even ground with the beast.

     Pulling her new sword out of its sheath, she tried to remember all the old movies she had seen. Holding it with both hands in front of her, she started pacing to the left around the monstrous creature.

     Focusing on her eyes, Billy Joe pours her anger into her magical attack. Unsure exactly what it is or how she did it she focuses on one point and began thinking. Spike… spike… SPIKE!

     After a short amount of time without the beast attacking her or her getting too close to it. A small spike of pure black shoots out of the beast's front shoulder, causing it to bellow loudly in pain.

     “What’s going on?” A voice came from behind Billy Joe as Gus ran up to her in full emerald fire armor. Esmerelda perched on his shoulder as the fire wrapped around his own sword.

     “This thing showed up while I was inside. Got it to let a few tourists go, but it looks like it’s trying to get past me and into the town.” Billy Joe said, covering her steaming eye as it burned from the unfamiliar use.

     “Mark’s a little behind me. Jamie went to go grab Jerome.” Gus said as the beast reared back its head, the fire dancing along its spikes had turned into a full-fledged inferno covering and mimicking the buck's own antlers.

     It rushed at them, fire-encased antlers at the ready as Billy Joe pushed Gus with all of her might to get him out of the way, subsequently sending him slamming into the rocky side of the mountainous hill.

     Jumping backwards, the Deer ran right past them; heading straight for the town.

     “SHIT!” Billy Joe screamed.

     “Yer tellin me,” Gus said with a cough from his impact spot on the rocks.

     “Just try to get up and come after. This thing could be worse than Terrance.” Billy Joe said, getting to her feet and moving her hand away from her eye.

     Yet again, the light was sucked from her immediate vicinity as she took off at a sprint.

     The world blurred past her as within a few leaping steps she’d caught up with and gotten in front of the buck. Gus and Jerome were coming up the hill and she put her back to them, daring the buck to get past her again.

     Focusing on her other eye, she looked directly at her sword. A beam of light shot from her green eye, bouncing off of the reflective metal and causing the buck to halt its advance, blinding it temporarily.

     The beast skids to a stop as Gus and Jerome catch up to her, standing to her left and her right. “What even is that thing?”

     “Don’t know, looks like a deer. Be careful, I know it looks like it’s all fire, but its fur is covered in ice. If this thing’s magic, it might have a few more tricks up its sleeve.” Billy Joe said, sheathing her sword and pulling out her bow.

     Knocking a high-tension arrow to her powerful bow, she pulled the string back to her cheek.

     Gus’ sword roared to life with emerald flame as Esmerelda let out a bellowing “CAAWWW!”

     Jerome raised his Shield of Rogers. The black metal came to life, spreading wide and creating a grand tower shield.

     The buck reared back, the eye-sockets of the skull burning with actual magical fire as the beast rushed forward, crashing into Jerome’s shield. Gus quickly moved to the side to get in an attack in but Ice lept forward from the ground around the beast’s feet. Gliding along the gravel road, ice built up quickly around Gus’s shoes causing pieces of gravel to get stuck to his shoes as he fell forward onto the ground where the ice tried to wrap around his torso.

     Billy Joe loosed an arrow, her aim true as it scored a direct hit on one of the flaming eye sockets of the skull. A wet “SPLOP” came from the impact as the beast staggered back. The ice on the ground losing its focus and letting Gus go free.

     Jerome stepped back to regain his footing as the magical buck shook its head. The arrow still firmly held inside of the beasts exo-skull by the meaty eye it had struck.

     “HEY! We’re HERE!” Jamie said as they started running up the road with the small blue starfish-like creature in a sweater-vest on their shoulder.

     The buck swiveled its head instantly to the direction the sound came from. Jerome was on the side of the road, unable to move to intercept as the buck opened its mouth and a torrent of blue flames that would rival a dragon erupted forth.

     Jamie’s eyes grew wide, and they crossed their arms. Waiting for the end. Both Jamie and Marc closing their eyes as tightly as they could as the fire neared ever closer.

     Nothing happened.

     The Orc and Human opened their eyes to see that a large, beautiful blue barrier surrounded them. Pieces of it sparkling like gemstone as the small blue starfish creature doubled over on Jamie’s shoulder.

     “Just… A little…” the being said as flames danced around the outside of their brilliant defiance.

     “What the?” Marc asked as the fire stopped.

     Down the road; Gus had slammed into the deer’s ice-covered side with his eldritch flame-enhanced sword of honor. The deer screeched, a sound more akin to a bird or dinosaur than what used to be a weak prey-animal.

     Jerome quickly ran, repositioning himself between the beast and the road into town. Billy Joe drew her own sword, bringing it down with a powerful swing as it bit into the right antler of the animal.

     “It’d be a good time to use that class Mark!” Gus called as the buck kicked both him and Billy Joe clear, scoring a hit with its hind legs directly on the High-Elves Sternum.

     “I can’t… Not yet” Marc started to respond until she saw her friend go down to the magical beast’s kick.

     Giving the stone a lick to give it enough water to activate and pressing it to her head, she scrolled over the information she had read extensively the night before. Her class wouldn’t be strong yet, but she had a feeling, a faith that it would come to fruition.

     The blue jeweled barrier fell as the small starfish fell forward.

     Do you accept great power?

     Yes./No.

     She slammed her thumb down on the yes button right as the shield fully dissipated around them.

     The buck slammed its damaged antler into Billy Joe’s side. Blood fell from her gashes as the damaged antler broke off of the exo-skull, sending both it and Billy Joe falling to the side in unexpected directions.

     Pink energy danced around Marc as she felt power suffuse every part of her. Welcoming and loving; the power felt one with her, as if it was a piece of her that just hadn’t come in the box.

     The pink energy falls away from her form as her torso and legs are covered in a long silken white sleeveless gown. Bead arrangements flow down her arms like sleeves, ending in small bells, feathers, and talons. A tiara of the blackest obsidian adorned her head.

     Welcome to the World,

     Priestess of No Faith.