Some scattered buildings came into view, and Mimyk amused itself by trying to name the things it saw. *House. Barn. Cow...—ooh, that looks tasty...*Glomp*

He didn't say anything about cows. I'm pretty sure they don't qualify as 'thinking creatures', right? Right.

House. Cart. Haystack. Chicken! *Glomp*... Barn. Fence. House. Fire. Fire?... Is that supposed to be there?

It was shaken from its happy reverie as it drew closer to the screams. The burning buildings seemed to be a low priority for the panicked humans, and Mimyk soon discovered why. Several not-quite-human creatures with horns and tails were harassing the humans, waving sharp metal things and poking them to herd them towards some sort of strange door that was open in the air.

On the other side of the door-thing was a literal hellscape brimming with fire, ash, and more of the not-humans. The creatures were led by a tall female of their kind with long hair, wings, and significantly less clothing than humans typically wore.

It finally remembered what they were called. Devils! And that's a succubus!

They're thinking creatures though, It thought sadly.

…Wait a minute.

Mimyk walked over to the succubus, who paused leading the terrified humans through the portal.

"Excuse me," Mimyk said politely.

She looked Mimyk up and down and tilted her head. "You're a little short for my tastes, but I suppose I could bring you too since you asked so nicely," She said sweetly.

"Are you innocent?" Mimyk asked hopefully.

The succubus lost her languid expression for a split second and her jaw dropped just a bit. "I've never been accused of… you cheeky human!" she said seductively. "I rarely find mortals so desperate for my attention! You're not even properly charmed! Do you know where this gate goes? And what happens to humans there?" She giggled.

Mimyk shrugged. "No, but I know something you do not," it said, suddenly cheerful.

"And what's that?" The succubus purred as she ran a dainty claw under Mimyk's chin. Mimyk snapped several appendages forward to entangle the startled devil.

"I am not a human," Mimyk said with a wide grin.

*Glomp*

Mimyk snatched and horked down as many of the devils as it could reach before they made it back through the portal. The portal snapped shut with a hiss after the remainder escaped. Mimyk reverted to its human form to calm the villagers down.

They didn't know what to make of it. On one hand, it was a terrifying monster that could devour devils with ease. On the other hand, it seemed friendly so far and had saved a lot of lives.

They tried to thank Mimyk, but it graciously waved its hand. "You lured in tasty not-innocent food for Mimyk," it said gratefully. It nodded to the disheveled villagers and walked out of town to continue toward the message-place.

It continued along the road through the entirety of that day and through the night. At the beginning of the next day, it sensed it was nearing its destination.

It walked through a charming forest glade of scraggly oaks. At last, it reached a tiny cottage by a stream. It couldn't have been more quaint without having some sort of princess singing in the garden.

Mimyk trotted along the stepping stones to the door and tried turning the handle.

A spell triggered and the air solidified around it.

A trap! That's not fair, only I get to do that! Mimyk lamented.

The door burst open as a little girl shouted excitedly, "Grampa?!" her face fell as she saw that it was not. An older woman followed behind her and stopped when she saw the immobile man standing there. The little girl hid behind her and watched from a safe distance.

"That's strange," She said, "That ward is only supposed to trigger for monsters." She waved her hand and spoke some strange syllables. Nothing seemed to happen, but she merely tilted her head. "No illusions on you...but let's see..." She made a few complicated gestures, and Mimyk's form lost stability and collapsed into a formless heap of shadowy murk.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The little girl screeched, "You melted him!"

"No, no, I just caused it to reveal its true form." The woman patiently explained to the distressed child. "I don't know what would bring a mimic so far from its natural habitat though."

Mimyk reformed back into its human guise. "I bring message!" It announced.

"From whom?" The lady responded

Mimyk hummed, trying to remember. With a snap, a spell triggered and the wizard's voice sounded from the air in front of it.

"If you're hearing this message, the mimic I recruited successfully made it to you." He said. "During my most recent endeavor, I have encountered some unexpected difficulties. The crypt I have been investigating had a more lively reception waiting than I was prepared for. A Lich called Achmandri, er, 'lives' here, and while I've managed to escape him for the moment, his wards prevent me from escaping or communicating directly. To keep him from finding me, I'm going to have to use that contingency plan you told me was a terrible idea. Sorry. You should be able to find me with your seeking ring, but you'll need to bring help to deal with the lich. I'm sorry to spring this on you, but I have little choice." The wizard continued on for a few more minutes, mostly talking about various people who might be able to help and sending his regards to assorted friends and relations.

Mimyk stopped paying attention and started making faces at the wide-eyed child who was watching intently from safely behind her grandmother.

Finally, the message ended. His message to me wasn't nearly as long!

"Well now. That was certainly a message. And here I thought he was just being his usual tardy self. And he sent a mimic onto the surface!" She said, shaking her head.

"Reward!" Mimyk reminded her.

"Oh, he offered a reward? I suppose he would have. What did he promise you?"

"Uhm..mm..mmmmmm" it started humming.

"... he didn't specify, did he? That is just like him. Well, first let me check to make sure you didn't go on a rampage on your way here."

The lady cast another few spells while her grandchild observed with curiosity. Mimyk grew bored again, so it shrunk its form down to the child's size and did the best it could to duplicate her from a distance, complete with the same outfit and shoes. It didn't fully understand how clothing worked, so as far as it was concerned that was just the outermost part of human skin, or some strange type of fur.

The child watched with wide eyes and her mouth hung open. Her grandmother was occupied with her divination spells. Mimyk gave a cheerful wave and imitated her expression. She giggled and tugged her grandma's sleeve.

After a few more moments, the lady finished her spellcasting and returned her focus to the present. After a quick double-take at the mimic's new appearance, she spoke, "Well, I suppose I've been a discourteous host! You've had an exciting few days. Not only have you not harmed any humans, but you also rescued several people from enslavement on the lower planes! ... Granted, it's debatable if that was motivated by benevolence or simply hunger, but you've at least earned your reward. My name is Lorelei, but you can just call me Lori. What did you have in mind?"

What do I want? Mimyk thought to itself. What a strange question! It thought of its life before, a simple existence of waiting for food to wander by. That seemed so boring now, the last few weeks had been so fun! It wanted to explore, to see every place there was, to learn everything there was to learn. As it thought, it came to a realization: Everything had started when that wizard used magic to wake it up! If magic could do that, what else could it do? It knew what it wanted.

"Learn magic!" It announced.

Lori was stunned for a few moments.

"You want to... learn magic?" She asked

Mimyk nodded vigorously.

"... I suppose that's doable, but I'm not much for teaching. My husband Tev, whom you've met, is a much better teacher than I. Despite his absentmindedness. And occasional lack of common sense. Unfortunately, he's gone and deliberately petrified himself. To hide from the lich. As effective as it might be, there are so many ways that could have gone horribly wrong." The last few lines turned into a restrained tirade that seemed more to herself than directed at Mimyk. Her granddaughter tugged at her sleeve. "Did Grampa do something stupid again?"

"Yes. Yes, he did." She sighed.

"So we're going to go help him now, right?" The child said expectantly.

"I will soon, but you're still a bit young for this type of thing. Sorry dearie, but I'll have to drop you back off with your parents first."

"Aww, but I want to go! Please? I'll be good!" The girl pleaded.

"I'm sorry, it's not a matter of being good. This will be dangerous. I'll come and get you again as soon as I get back with Grampa!" She promised.

"Can you wait here? I'll be right back." Lori asked Mimyk, who nodded.

Lori and her grandchild disappeared with a snap.

A short while later, Lori reappeared. "...Can you switch to a different form? You're not my granddaughter and it's creeping me out." She asked. Mimyk obliged and transformed into a copy of Lori. She laughed. "That's not much better. Can you perhaps create your own appearance instead of copying whomever you can see at the time?"

Picky, picky. Mimyk thought. It considered for a moment, then transformed into a new form with a mix of features it remembered from the village men.

"That's better." Lori said, then frowned. "Though you might want to lose those warts on the nose. Those are not a desirable addition." Aww, I thought they were fun. Humans have boring opinions.

"Alright, you'll need to wait a few days for me to organize a team to rescue my errant husband. Can I trust you to behave while I'm gone?"

"Behave?" It asked.

"Meaning 'not eating anyone or anything you're not supposed to.'"

"Oh! No innocents?"

"Yes, mostly. Although you shouldn't be eating people's animals without permission either. We keep those for us to eat. Or harvest." She explained.

"Oh." It looked disappointed. "Then can I go instead?"

"Go?"

"To rescue teacher. More fun." Mimyk explained.

"Hmm. I don't see why not, although I'll have to explain some things to our companions. Now that I think of it, you may be of some use. As one of the lich's former creatures, you may still be exempt from his wards."