“How do you turn back to normal?” asked a young woman as she walked over and stood beside Friedrich. “Can you?”

Friedrich did not know the answer and he could not speak to respond. All he could do was shake his new fox head from side to side. He was still overcome with panic, but having someone here meant that he didn’t have to panic alone, perhaps she could help him somehow? It may be a long shot, but if he could find a way to communicate properly with her then there was a hope.

The girl who stood before him was around his own age of sixteen with brown hair flowing just past her shoulders and sapphire-blue eyes that sparkled in the light of the fire. She wore a blue dress which was much less shiny than her eyes, that fell to just below her knees. Her brown leather boots rode up her legs to almost meet the hem of her dress. Draped over her shoulders was a grey travelling cloak with its hood down, resting upon her back. Held firmly in one of her hands was a gnarled, wooden travelling staff that would have looked more fitting in the hand of an old man.

“Hmm,” said the girl, putting a finger to her chin. “I’m not sure what to do about you, little boy…or should I now call you, little fox?”

Little boy? Little fox? Had he been able to speak, Friedrich would have exploded with fury. What an insulting way to be spoken to by a stranger, especially when he was in such a predicament. The angry look on his face was evident, even in his fox form, and the girl smiled at him.

“Relax, I was just teasing you,” she said with the smile widening into a sly grin. “I’m sure we can find a way to turn you back into a human. Don’t worry your furry little head.”

Friedrich exhaled out a small whimper, feeling rather pathetic at this moment. Why, oh why did he put on the mask? He knew it could have been cursed. What a reckless move. It was that compulsion that he had felt from it, it wanted to be worn, and he should have fought harder to stop himself.

The girl patted him on the head. “Cheer up…hmm…Flint? You look like a Flint so that’s what I’ll call you until you’re able to tell me your real name. You can call me Marina, alright? That is my real name.”

How to call her anything when he could not speak? Perhaps Friedrich would have found her endearing had he been feeling a bit more positive, but positive was something he was not at this moment in time. She was considerably more annoying than she was relieving.

“I suppose we had better get you to the nearest town,” said Marina, looking over her shoulder. “Maybe we can find a spellcaster who can separate you from the mask. I would if I could, but that’s not really my specialty.”

As she said this, her blue eyes crackled like lightning and she winked at Friedrich. He could have sworn that he saw a faint spark emerge from the tip of her staff, its presence in her hand now making much more sense to him.

Friedrich flopped to the ground despairingly, his four legs hanging limply at the side. His eyes were fixated on his sack of treasure which he could no longer haul, so small and weak was he. Things couldn’t possibly be any worse.

“Oh, pheasant!” exclaimed Marina, looking at the last morsels of the cooked bird that Friedrich had enjoyed for his dinner. “I’ve run out of food. Would you mind?”

Friedrich waved one of his legs in the air dismissively in response.

“Thank you, Flint,” she said and started eating her newfound meal. “I will take this as payment for assisting you.”

At least it wasn’t his treasure.

“Huh,” said Marina after swallowing a large mouthful of poultry. “What have you got in the bag over there?”

Friedrich leapt to his feet and clumsily scurried over to his sack of loot, but Marina wagged a finger at him.

“Now, now,” she said, picking Friedrich up by the scruff of the neck and gazing inside the bag. “My goodness! You’ve been busy today, haven’t you? Are you some kind of bandit, Flint?”

She put Friedrich down and he shook his head.

“Thief? Looter? Treasure Hunter?”

At the last one, he nodded.

“That’s wonderful! I’m something of a treasure hunter myself…although not quite as successful as you, considering that haul you have. Maybe when you’re back to normal you can teach me a thing or two? It does get very lonely out on the road, doesn’t it?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Friedrich eyed Marina suspiciously.

“Will you relax, please?” she asked in exasperation. “I have standards, you know? I don’t want to take your treasure for myself. It’s too heavy for me, of course, so I’ll have to leave half of it here and we’ll bring the rest with us. I will only spend what it costs to turn you back to normal and then you can have anything that’s left. Who knows? Maybe we can come back for this later.”

She sounded sincere, so Friedrich decided it was time to cut her some slack. He nodded and held out a paw as a peace offering from his side. Marina took his paw in her hand and shook it gently, smiling brightly the entire time.

Suddenly, Friedrich wanted to scream again. He had the same sick feeling of anguish that he had when he first turned into a fox. His body was contorting and stretching as he grew back to his normal size. Marina let go of his paw, as it turned back into a hand, watching in bemusement as Friedrich became human once more. The fox mask fell from his face and landed on the grass beneath him.

“Thank you, Mighty Jorren,” said Friedrich, bowing onto the grass and giving praise to the god of his people; the Mercians of the great Kingdom of Mercia.

“Interesting,” said Marina, her eyes wide as she stared at the young man. “Very interesting, Flint. And might I say, I’m glad that your clothes reappeared with you and you aren’t naked. That would have been embarrassing for both of us.”

“Friedrich. My name is Friedrich.”

“Oh, so I was close!” she squealed. “Flint begins with F too.”

“Why…why did I change back?” asked Friedrich, looking at the mask on the ground.

“I wonder if the magic only works for a few minutes before it runs out,” said Marina, picking up the mask and looking closely at it. “Maybe it’s like a sleep spell where the person eventually wakes up. Perhaps the mask transforms you and then slowly weakens, letting you become your true self again.”

“Whatever it was, I’m glad it—”

Friedrich felt sick to his stomach as Marina shoved the mask onto his face. Much to his relief, nothing happened. This time, he did not transform. The mask merely sat upon his face, held up by Marina’s hand.

“Are you crazy?” he asked her, pushing her hand away and knocking the mask to the ground again. “Why would I want to test out that theory?”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Not about this, I’m not.”

Marina had a sneaky smile on her face. “I have an idea,” she said.

“I don’t want to hear it. I just want to rest until morning, then take my treasure and go. I appreciate your offer to help, but I would much rather be alone.”

Marina frowned. “It was a good idea,” she muttered.

She walked over to a nearby log, sat down and folded her arms. She let out a long, exaggerated sigh, while Friedrich avoided eye contact. He knew exactly what she was doing and was not going to give in. He wanted to forget everything that happened since he picked up the fox mask and to move on to another hunt.

“I don’t understand,” Marina said quietly, but not so quietly that Friedrich couldn’t hear. “I only want to help. Is there something wrong with me? Is that why he won’t even listen to my idea? Am I too stupid?”

“Don’t do that,” said Friedrich.

“Hmm, sorry?” asked Marina, pretending not to know that he had heard her.

“Your little guilt game will not work.”

Marina stood up and smiled again. “In that case, I’m just going to start talking and you can listen or not.”

Friedrich sat down, exhausted. He put a hand to his forehead and breathed deeply. “Get it over with,” he said reluctantly.

“Excellent! Well, you’re a treasure hunter, right? Why not use this mask to your advantage? If you can learn how to use its powers, you can use it to sneak into places you would not normally be able to reach, drag out whatever treasures you can find, and then turn back to normal.”

It was a good plan if Friedrich could be certain of how to use the mask, or whether it would even work again. No. No, it was foolish to entertain this idea. After what had just happened, he should not toy with such enchantments. His sword and his shield were all he needed.

“What do you think?” asked Marina with bated breath.

Friedrich picked up the mask and looked at it again. There was no aura right now. Was its magic gone for good?”

“I think the mask’s energy is depleted,” he said. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“That’s a shame. It could have been great for avoiding monsters too. Just think of the possibilities we could have had.”

“Well, it’s done now. We’ll just—”

A small wisp of blue emanated from the mask, then another. Seconds later, the aura had returned and Friedrich could feel the ethereal energy running through it in his hand.

“How long was that?” he asked Marina.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe five minutes?”

“And how long do you think I was a fox for?”

“Another estimate, but…five minutes?”

“If the enchantment lasts for five minutes and then takes another five minutes before it builds up enough energy to be used again, that gives me a very narrow window.”

Marina suddenly looked excited. “That’s why I would be there to watch your back. What do you say, Flint?”

“Friedrich.”

“Sorry, I had grown accustomed to thinking of you as Flint.”

“You would have me rely on you when we met no more than ten minutes ago?”

“Come on, Friedrich,” said Marina, her eyes suddenly cunning and fox-like, “why don’t you be daring?”

“You don’t know me at all, do you? I am plenty daring!”

“Of course, I don’t know you, but now is our chance to get to know one another while making ourselves wealthier, isn’t it? Prove to me just how daring you are. Let’s get rich together.”

“And if anything goes wrong…”

“Then I’m going to be here to take you to the nearest magic man or priest or whoever it takes to fix your fox situation. If it makes you feel better, we’ll get it appraised for harmful effects the next chance we get. I could have stolen your kupons and run away, right? Doesn’t that prove you can trust me at least a little bit?”

Friedrich smiled at her, turned the mask around and stared at the back of it. “Count for me,” he said, taking a deep breath as he placed the mask back upon his face.

The second it touched his skin, the same pain from before took hold and he felt himself begin to change.