I grinned as a plan formed in my mind.
It is tradition to prank younger family members when you meet them on other worlds.
One of my family members was here…
I don’t believe in coincidences, but pranks come first… I laughed under my breath.
************************************
Where are they? I muttered.
It took six weeks to track them here. Six!
Maybe I shouldn’t run away from home this often, I thought, but refused immediately.
Even if I’m lost, it is fun!
Exciting new things every day as I explore them…
Wonders of modern magic as I draw it to the limits.
And most importantly, meeting all kinds of new people!
I was interrupted by that train of thoughts as I came to clearing…
Gray-skinned creatures were here…
But there was one who looked too big to be one of them…
I hesitantly called out…
“Grandpa?”
***********************************
I dispel my illusion, annoyed from having my tricks exposed immediately.
“Perceptive brat aren’t you?” I grinned as I approached my granddaughter.
“You are still calling me a brat? I’m almost 30!” yelled my granddaughter Elizabeth seriously.
“In my mind you are still children.” I muttered under my breath as I sat down under a tree.
“What brings you here Grandpa?” Elizabeth asked, looking curious as she sat down not far from here.
“What a coincidence, I was going to ask you the same question…” I countered as I used another Sleep spell on the creatures.
They grew still again…
“Well, you know me.” replied Elizabeth, looking embarrassed.
“Yes I know, you ran from home again. You know your mother gets worried, right?” I asked as she got thoughtful.
“I know, but I don’t want to stay home every day,” replied Elizabeth, sounding a little sad.
“Yeah I understand, it's not like we were expecting you to cut off your wings,” I continued.
“Don’t worry, your mother understands it even if she doesn’t show,” I said as she was about to talk.
“Just talk to her sometimes when you get home, will you? I may not be around here much longer...” I finished as she got up from the stump.
“I will…” replied Elizabeth, looking thoughtfully.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I got up from the tree and ruffled her hair, drawing laughs from both of us…
*************************************
“Now that family talk is finished, why were you tailing these creatures?” I asked after 5 minutes of silence.
“Because I cannot leave here…” replied Elizabeth ominously…
“What do you mean by here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow…
“Universe” said Elizabeth, looking downcast.
Of course, I immediately tried to breach the boundary between this space and my home.
I failed but it was within my calculations.
This is a mundane world after all. There isn’t enough supernatural energy…
“So, the reason you were looking for these creatures is to use them as batteries?” I asked.
“What? No! How can you say that!?” denied Elizabeth immediately.
“Then using them as bait to draw other bigger supernatural creatures?” I asked understandably.
“No!” denied Elizabeth as she yelled.
“How about sacrificing them to local deities in order to obtain information we need?” I asked challengingly.
“No!!” shouted Elizabeth.
“Then what?” I frowned and asked tiredly, considering my other options.
“I was just looking to talk to them…” replied Elizabeth as she sighed.
“Talk about what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“First of all, what are they?” she replied, looking thoughtful.
“So you don’t know it either…” I said and approached one of the creatures.
“What are you doing?” asked Elizabeth, looking curious.
“Talking.” I replied as shadows came to life…
The area grew darker until I commanded the shadows to grab the creature.
And slammed into a tree, hoping to wake them up.
As it was about to scream, I removed its mouth altogether.
And merged into the tree until only its head was visible.
“What are you doing?” asked Elizabeth, looking confused.
“It was about to scream.” I replied simply…
“Then your only solution was removing its mouth? When, a simple silence spell could have worked?” countered Elizabeth, sounding miffed.
“You know what? Good point….” I replied and brought its mouth back.
Of course, that little bugger immediately screamed…
But we didn’t hear it, thanks to Silence spell.
Ah, I love magic…