His mission for the moment was a simple one. Knowing the little coin he had wouldn't afford him anything worthwhile from the Enchanter, he still went to the most expensive looking shop he could find. There were six Enchanters in the city, but only two in uptown. He chose the shop closest to the lord's fort, the extravagance of the stained-glass windows and the private guards outside were the kind of tell-tale he was searching for.

"Mind letting me in on your plan now?" Uundah asked as they walked through the shop's front door. "How do you expect to afford any of this?"

"I don't need to buy a thing" he thought back.

"So what, you'll steal in the daylight and wage a war on the old book seller?"

"Don't be ridiculous" he mentally chuckled. "I'm just here to have a look."

"I fail to see how that's a plan" Uundah complained.

Instead of saying anything, he looked a dagger over and sent the thought of its aspectral colours to his sceptical friend.

"Oh, I see" Uundah said, catching up.

"Well this is all very nice" Oats said, interrupting their conversation. He'd left Sausage parked outside to receive pats from the two guards.

"I'll say" Murphy replied, eagerly looking around the shop.

A heavy set man entered from another room. He had a long red beard hiding most of his features, and it was stained with a spattering of inks. "How do you do" he said with a croaky voice. "Welcome to Daydon's Daions."

"Oh hello" Oats chirped.

The man looked strangely at Oats, then back to Murphy. "Something in particular you're looking for sir?". Oats thankfully didn't seem to notice the snubbing he'd just received.

"I've got a heavy pocket and I'm looking for something fantastic" Murphy lied. "Don't suppose you've got anything that'll help me past a nasty monster?"

The Enchanter smiled wide. "I can certainly help you lighten that load" he laughed. "Perhaps you're looking for something in protection?". He led them to a particular table, and talked them through what he had available. He made sure to remember the colours as best he could. He ignored the protective enchantments for the most part however, given that his own method was probably more reliable and less specific. One trinket in particular caught his eye. It was among a collection of illusion based pendants, most of which were only strong enough to vaguely trick the senses. The pendant that drew him in sat in its own locked case, and glowed with a tantalising aspectral colour.

"Ah, you're a man with taste" the shopkeeper said, noticing him looking intensely over the necklace.

"What does it do?" Murphy asked simply, not looking away from the thing.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Some of my best work that. It's enough to make anyone look fifty years younger if they so chose" he responded proudly. "Got someone in mind for it, eh?" He asked, looking at Oats.

"I've got someone in mind, but it's not him" Murphy laughed. Prompting an expected and confused look from his new companion.

"I'm not old enough to need to look young" Oats defended.

"I hope they appreciate it more than your serf" the Enchanter said, still not bothering to look at Oats. Murphy chuckled, and Oats looked askance at him. "I would usually sell it for five hundred slab, but I'm feeling generous today. For you I'll sell it for four fifty" the shopkeeper continued.

Murphy held his composure, and nodded along as if he was considering paying the extreme price. He knew Enchanters sold their goods for high prices, though he'd never seen just how costly a high end trinket could be. "Sounds reasonable" he lied.

The man had a look of satisfaction on his face, thinking he'd made a sale. "I'll take a Tavern note of credit if you don't want to carry the gold through the street. Not that a mage of your skill should worry about such things anyway."

Murphy took a mental note to look into what a Tavern note of credit was. He sighed and shook his head. "Looks like you've got a sale friend" he said, playing his part well. "How's about I go get that note now."

The man took the glass case away and hid it behind the counter. "It'll be waiting safe for your return."

They bid the Enchanter farewell, and left. It wasn’t until he found a secluded alley that he stopped again. Uundah had been projecting a feeling of uncertainty the whole time, but waited until his Warlock stopped his stride to question him further.

"So what in the world was the purpose of that then?" He asked with a concerned cadence.

"Just doing some window shopping" Murphy thought back. "Did you get that last colour?"

"It's not a colour, but yes, I understand whatever that aspect was."

Murphy smirked. "Excellent" he thought with a dark satisfaction. "Oats, can I ask your opinion on something?" He asked out loud.

"Oh I'm full of opinions sir" Oats gleamed.

Murphy sent some of his power to Uundah, and drew the illusory aspect in return. Covering his body in a high concentration, he empowered it. "How do I look?"

Oats squinted and blinked at him for a moment, before quickly turning his head to the side and clutching his stomach. "Oh no, I don't like that at all. I'm sorry sir, I mean no offence."

"Is it bad?" Murphy asked, concerned.

"I fear if I look at you too long, I'll lose my breakfast" the strange man declared.

"Alright, that was a bit harsh" Murphy complained.

Oats looked up again, then immediately clutched his mouth shut with both hands. "Begging your pardon sir. It's just that I don't know what I'm looking at and it hurts my brain."

Uundah laughed in his mind. "Now who's ugly?"

"Nonsense" Murphy scoffed back to his O'jin. "I could never be ugly". In an attempt to understand his companions visceral reaction, he sought the advice of a reflective puddle of ice. He tried to take his appearance in, but found himself getting cross-eyed and nauseous. The reaction was nearly instantaneous, and he found it impossible to look at himself. Uundah seemed to be the only one unaffected by Murphy’s new wild spell.

"You don't look right" he said. "It's like your features don't exist, but you have too many at the same time."

"That's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for" Murphy said with a cynical passion.

"So that's your plan?" Uundah scoffed. "You’re going to make yourself so damn ugly he won't see you take the books?"

"Something like that."

Oats had finished recovering from his dizziness, and looked at the ground next to Murphy’s feet. "Where to now carrot man?" He asked with excitement. Sausage hee'd a haw to resonate the keen attitude.

Murphy disempowered his wild spell by drawing his Daions in the opposite direction and back into himself, a trick he'd learned from Uundah on their walk. He placed his hand on his companions shoulder to let him know it was okay to look up again. "I've got some important things to do. I don't want to be dragging you into anything, so why don't you go on to the Tavern and I'll meet you there."

Oats and Sausage shared a look with each other, then the strange man turned his sad eyes back to the Warlock. "I didn't mean to cause you no offence sir, it's just some magic is a bit much for ol' Sausage and I to understand."

Murphy laughed gently. "I'm not offended my strange friend, I just don't want to go getting you in a wizard's trouble."

Oats looked curiously at him. "Trouble you say?" He asked, the hint of a smile feathering his lips. "I'm no stranger to trouble sir."

That gave Murphy pause. He'd only recently met the man, so the idea of trusting him with nefarious acts was a trepidatious one. Though the excitement that was welliing behind the man's rounded features was one that he'd only ever seen in a reflection. "I can't promise things won't go wrong" he said, gauging the man's reaction.

Oats smiled wide. "So what kind of trouble are we getting into?" He asked, already deciding he was a part of the plan.