"Wait! Don't!" Aiden exclaimed and ran toward Morgan as quickly as he could, stepping in front of the little creature with his arms outstretched. "It’s uh... my skunk," he added hastily.

The little furry creature with the black feet and the white stripe down its back was seemingly oblivious to the commotion it had caused. It padded over to Aiden, sniffing the air with apparent interest.

"Your skunk?" Jabari asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief, his tone a mix of amusement and confusion, “how did you wind up with a skunk?”

"Well, it’s sort of my skunk. It’s a long story," Aiden mumbled, trying to avoid getting into the details right then. If he explained about the skunk, he would have to explain the portal, the letter from the Academy, everything and he wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to do that yet. If being a foster child had taught him anything, it was that he had to be carefully trusting people he didn’t know very well.

Morgan just frowned and turned her head from side to side, her hair fell into her face and she pushed it back behind her ear, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I think I have,” Jabari said with a front, “but not for a very long time and not up this close.”

Elara moved a little closer and then knelt down, "It looks so cute and fluffy.”

“Be careful, Elara,” Aiden warned, still not quite sure about the little animal, “when skunks get upset, they can make a terrible smell.”

Reaching out a hand toward the animal, Elara smiled as it began trotting toward her, “It’s actually quite... cute, in a strange sort of way."

Aiden nervously watched as the skunk waddled over, and smelled her a bit. When Elara ran her hand down its back, Aiden expected it to spray her, but instead, it arched like a happy cat getting a scratch.

After the animal seemed to have enough pets, it started walking back toward Aiden.

Elara finally stood, brushing the dirt from her knees, her attention shifting back to Aiden. "It’s adorable, Aiden.”

“It is cute,” Morgan said, “but you really shouldn’t leave it out here like this where any spell spawn could get it.”

Aiden looked down at the skunk, and shrugged, "I don’t have a lot of options. It hid when the imps came out and I figured it would be safer under a bush than with next to me. It’s not like I can exactly hide it in a pocket," he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching in a half-smile at the absurdity of the situation.

“Well, would you want to?” Jabari asked with a big smile.

“Want to what?” Aiden countered confused by Jabari’s question.

“Want to put it in a pocket?” Jabari grinned.

With that Jabari opened his vest and started searching his cavernous pockets.

“I happen to have…” Jabari said as he rummaged around his vest pockets, “the perfect way to transport that cute little critter!”

Aiden looked down at the skunk clearly unsure what Jabari could find in a pocket that would be helpful.

“Aha!” Jabari said, with a flourish that bordered on the theatrical, announced, “Behold, a Proper Pet Crate,” as he reached his arm toward Aiden than opened his hand dramatically.

Inside his hand was a small ball of what Aiden thought looked a great deal like a lump of pocket lint.

“What is it?” Aiden asked.

“What do you mean?” Jabari asked and looked down at his hand. “It’s a… Wait, that’s not it,” he said with a sheepish grin.

Quickly, Jabari shoved the small lint-like ball back in his vest pocket and rummaged around a few more seconds.

Finally, he pulled another small object out of his pock, looked back at Aiden and again announced, “Behold, a Proper Pet Crate!” with even more drama than the first time.

However, this time when he opened his hand, what Aiden saw, as an amazingly tiny, intricately carved wooden crate.

“It’s so small,” Aiden said.

Jabari gave him a wry grin, “Is it? Let’s see?” he said and took a step backwards.

“Proper Pet Crate!” Jabari called out as he tossed the box to the ground where it landed just in front of the skunk.

The moment it contacted the ground, the crate began to transform. What had been a simple box unfolded and expanded, growing in size and complexity until it stood above Aiden’s knees, a size that seemed perfectly proportioned to the animal in front of it.

Aiden watched, wide-eyed, as the crate stabilized, "How does it…?" he started to ask, looking from the crate to Jabari.

Jabari grinned, obviously pleased with the reaction. "Proper Pet Crates are charmed to provide the best possible environment for their occupants," he explained sounding very much like a crate commercial.

Aiden was still a bit bewildered but the skunk seemed immediately interested.

It sniffed cautiously at the threshold, and as the skunk got closer the door to the perfect pet crate opened up.

Aiden bent over a bit to look inside, and it wasn’t what he expected. Even though the outside still looked like a wooden box, the inside seemed like a large stone lair, much bigger than the outside seemed.

The skunk then ambled inside, seemingly happy with its new surroundings. It walked around, then nestled down against one of the walls and curled into a small ball.

Once it was settled inside and closed its eyes, the door of the crate closed softly, sealing with a quiet click.

Immediately, the crate shrunk down once again.

Aiden picked it up and stared at the tiny box. “You’re sure it’s okay in there?” he said trying to see inside the miniaturized crate, “I don’t want to knock it around in there.”

“It’s better than okay,” Jabari answered smiling, "That crate adjusts to the perfect size for the animal, provides optimal comfort based on the creature’s natural habitat, and ensures their safety during travel no matter how it’s packed or moved. And don’t worry about air; it’s enchanted for that too."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“You really think it will be okay?” Aiden asked, still not particularly comfortable with the idea of shrinking the skunk and then stuffing it into a magical box.

"It really will be fine,” Morgan reassured him, “Jabari, is basically a walking emporium," Morgan commented with a laugh, shaking her head.

"You never know what will come in handy," Jabari responded with a wink as he started heading back toward the runeportal, “We should get moving before more spell spawn show up.”

"Jabari is right, for once," Morgan chimed in, "Let’s get to the runeportal before we run into anything else."

* * * * *

The closer they got the runeportal, the more Aiden thought his quest goal seemed to be getting brighter. Finally, they were only a foot from the stone surface and the quest inside his head acknowledged the accomplishment:

Congratulations! Quest Complete!

The Charge for the Runeportal

"We made it," Elara said, a grin of relief spreading across her face, as she stepped on the cobblestones surrounding the runeportal. Immediately, she tossed the Ring Sizing Mandral into the air and Aiden watched as it shrunk smaller and smaller, until it was once again the size of a charm. As it fell, back down, Elara held out her arm and with a small tinkling sound the charm joined the others on her bracelets.

Morgan took out her small purse and opened it just enough for the base of the hammer to fit inside. Then she seemed to drop it over the opening and it was swallowed by the tiny bag.

Turning the group looked over at Aiden, but he wasn’t sure what they expected him to do.

"Aiden,” Jabari said, “You should probably stow that sword before we head back,” he explained.

“Um,” Aiden asked, looking back at Jabari, “I don’t really have anywhere to put it, except maybe the pet crate?”

“You can’t put it in there,” Elara said with a confused frown, “but I have an idea, of where you could keep it.”

Smiling, Elara began to move her fingers over the assortment of charms and trinkets adorning her belt. Finally, she selected a small, ornate disk that shimmered with a deep, metallic gleam. Holding it between her palms, she murmured a few words under her breath.

As Elara murmured a spell under her breath, the small disk in her palm began to pulse with a soft luminescence. Gradually, the light intensified, spreading across the surface like a web of tiny threads. The charm’s simple form elongated and twisted, morphing into a series of interlinked silver loops. These loops multiplied, a faint clinking sound coming from them as each appeared. Finally, the glowing subsided, leaving behind a beautifully crafted silver chain.

Gently, she touched the chain against the handle of the scimitar. The moment the chain made contact, another soft, enchanting hum filled the air, and a gentle light cascaded from the chain over the scimitar. Within seconds, the large blade began to shrink as if drawn inward by an invisible force. It became smaller and smaller as they watched until it was the size of a small charm and dangling from the thick chain.

Elara held out the newly formed necklace with the miniature Scorching Scimitar now securely attached, “Here you go,” she said to Aiden a hint of pride in her smile. “It’ll be out of your way and still within easy reach.”

“Thank you, Elara,” he said as he took the offered necklace and looked it over. He had never seen anything like it, “It’s amazing.”

Aiden placed the chain over his head, and adjusted the scimitar so that it rested in front of him and beneath his t-shirt.

"Everyone ready?" Morgan asked after a moment, looking around at each person in turn.

“Almost,” Elara said, “I just need one more moment to change. I can’t go back to town looking like this,” she said as she gestured down to her pants.

Smiling, Elara stepped slightly aside, her hands reaching down past her belts to the utilitarian chain that was flat and nearly part of the pants she wore. With a gentle touch, Elara whispered a soft incantation, as her fingers traced the lines of the silver belt, and the tight line of silver beginning to shimmer with a gentle, pulsating light.

The purple leather pants she had been wearing began to loosen, the fabric shimmering and shifting. The material lightened, the tough, utilitarian weave that had been will fitted against her legs began to expand and loosen, the fabric seeming to thin and multiple into many flowing silky layers.

Aiden watched, surprised as the materially expanding and soon turned into the flowing, luxurious folds of the deep purple gown that she had been wearing when he first saw her. The dress now cascaded down to brush the ground softly and the deep rich color complemented her dark skin. The belt that had been responsible for the transformation had transformed as well, becoming a thin chain with a webbing of subtle silver accents that covered the dress and caught the light with every move.

Elara smiled and spun in a circle flaring the dress around her as she moved, “Much better.”

“Much,” Morgan agreed with a appreciative smile.

“Well, Aiden? How about you? Ready?” Jabari asked.

“Almost,” Aiden said and looked around at the trees by the runeportal. He had known that when they reached the runeportal they would transport, but he hadn’t realized that might mean leaving without Pearl. She had flown off, and even though he had no idea where she had gone part of him had opened that she would be at the runeportal, waiting for him when he arrived.

He looked from tree to tree and didn’t see her anywhere.

“Well, Aiden?” Morgan asked, her tone slightly more impatient this time, “What are you waiting for?” she asked.

Aiden took a deep breath and let it out, “I was just looking for a bird.”

“A bird?” Morgan asked.

Aiden let out a breath. It was silly to have thought that he was really “with” a wild bird. Most likely it had flown off to do whatever birds did and it would be fine. It certainly had managed to hold its own against that imp and probably would have been fine if it hadn’t been trying to protect Aiden.

“I was with a bird,” Aiden began, “a white bird, her name was Pearl.”

“Well, if she was here, she seems to be gone now,” Jabari said looking around.

“She was hurt when we ran into the imps and I told her to get away.” Aiden said as he looked from tree to tree, then continued, “I lost track of her then, and hoped maybe she came back here.”

“Well,” Morgan said, looking around, “I’m sorry we don’t see her anywhere, but maybe after we get back to town and tell everyone what happened, they have to come back here to handle the shadowspawn, so maybe someone will find her.”

“Wait, Morgan,” Jabari interrupted, “We can’t runeportal back into town.”

“Why not?” Morgan answered.

“Because we weren’t supposed to be here,” Jabari said, matter-of-factly.

“But, we have to tell someone,” Elara replied, her dark eyes serious. “If there are shadowspawn here, the town isn’t that far, they could be at

“We have got to go back and tell them what we found and porting from Brookside will prove we were there.”

“Like they don’t know,” Jabari answered sarcastically, “all that will do is get us rejected from the Academy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Morgan countered.

“They know about the Rift Shadows. That’s why the area is off limits. If we runeport from Brookside, they will know we were there and it’s not going to change anything. All it will do is make them ask why we were there. Then, we’ll have to explain what we were doing and at that point we will all wish that we had been flamed by the Emberwisps instead of going back to town.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” Morgan asked, “stay here and take up residence?” she said gesturing to the empty buildings and desolate roads.

“No,” Jabari answered, “I think we should port to the edge of town, then figure out what to say. It they really don’t know about the rift shadows, we find a way to convince them.”

Jabari looked from Morgan to Elara and then back to Morgan.

Elara nodded thoughtfully, “He has a good point.”

“Fine,” Morgan relented. “We will transport to the South Gate Runeportal and then, we can figure out what to do about the Rift Shadows. But if the city council doesn’t know, we have to tell them where we were.”

“That works for me,” Jabari confirmed.

“Agreed,” Elara added.

“Then let’s go. Everyone onto the runeportal,” Morgan said gesturing to the runeportal platform.

Aiden was first on the runeportal, followed quickly by Elara and Jabari and then Morgan.

Aiden stood there and waited, not sure if there was anything he had to do.

“Something’s wrong,” Morgan said simply.

“Has anyone gotten the runeportal message?” Elara asked.

“I haven’t,” Jabari answered.

“Me neither,” Morgan said.

“Not me,” added Aiden.

Morgan looked over at Elara who was frowning and staring down at the runeportal stones.

“Nothing is happening,” Elara said, “Why isn’t it working?”