Flying is exhausting. And knowing how to fly does not mean knowing how to pick a place suitable for landing. The street is no longer covered in asphalt. I plow into a surface of concrete blocks with gaps in them allowing gras and herbs to grow in them. That hurts. At least the wing origami does not depend on knowing what I am doing.
„You are new at this, I hope“ – I twirl around to face two men stepping out from behind what has been a van going by size. In this city I better add to that that they physically are looking like human men.
P: As a matter of fact I am. With whom do I have the pleasure?
#1: Search troop #12. That will do.
P: Very well. I hope you understand that I will forgo my full pedigree in this case.
They let auras unfurl. These men are not human. But they are amused.
#1: Thank you for clarifying that this area has been unsuccessfully searched.
They can sense my confusion.
#2: Dude, you need to learn to control your aura. I know essence magicians suck at this, but your disappointment with the world is sensible multiple city blocks away.
P: Well, if you had been tranformed and sent away, you’d be disappointed, too.
#1: Good bye. I cannot wish you good luck, sorry.
They leave me behind.
So the magic beings are searching this city for something. Do I care?
We have been observed. A door opens and a man is peeking out. He is a member of the same species as Stjepan. He calls out a greeting. I respond. My accent must be obvious. The next questions is in my native tongue: „Sorry to be so direct, but who were these people? Is help on the way?“ - „Those were vampires. They are looking for something. Do you need help?“. My response causes visible unease. „We have been changed. And vampires are in the city.“ - „I know“ I point to myself with four hands. The man gulps. „As far as the vampires are concerned, this is an island. If they can send people here, they surely have people on the ports on the mainland. Unless you have a boat, you are stuck here. I can only advice you to stay inside. Some people are going to panic over this.“ - „Thank you“. You cannot slam these doors shut, but if you could that guy would have done so. Excellent sense of selfpreservation.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Should I take my own advice? I don’t think I could fly to the mainland. It takes too much effort. If I am ready to abandon my second car, I can use a conjured boat to leave. In fact I still have one in my arsenal. That is, will my arsenal also take the other car? I need to check. But even so, I am going to stick out everywhere. And I am tired of this. Every time I went elsewhere, things got worse. I am done with this.
My other car has been transformed. That is oddly soothing. It fits me. I fit in somewhere. Spiritually, that is. Physically, how do I open this thing? In terms of shape it looks like a blue chocolate egg smashed to one side and broadened on the front. It rests on two skids.
Does it react as a whole to [Tools of the Magister]? No. As a side note, this feels like a plastic bottle. Very smooth.
OK, I am stupid. Where is my key? Five minutes of searching until I look into my old pants. A blue octagonal rod about the size of my old pinky finger is attached to my key ring. I gulp. Had I not been in a hurry to get rid of my pants …
By the way, I do not have a pinky any longer. My hands have gone symmetrical. I have two thumbs, one on each side of the palm and five respectively six ordinary fingers between them. I’ll have to relearn guitar chords. With hands like this the principal reason for forming bar chords has vanished.
It strikes me. I am an idiot. I do have a second form, a form sharing the number of limbs with my new body. Chance?
This turned out horribly. I turned into a horse sized six-legged winged skorpion analogon with murderous sickle shaped mandibles. I am not going to do that again, unless I have to. I am leaning against my vehicle, putting the side of my head against the flank of the vehicle. I can safely do that. Bony ridges above and below my side eyes protect them.
What is that? This is no speck of dirt. There is a true dimple here. Finally. I push the rod that was a key against it and it is sucked right out of my hand. A door appears by the wall of the vehicle roling down, like really roling itself up but at the same time just turning into a seamless cylinder. Finally it stops and merges with the base of the vehicle. A base plate of about fwenty centimeters supports thin walls. Inside the vehicle is kind of a lounge. The rear is filled with a comfortable couch that could just as well serve as a bed, with airline style overhead compartments. In the front I see a big crystal orb filled with grey mist on the left and a big screen on the right. I can see out of the car from inside, albeit as if looking through a darkened window. It is not outright cool, but much cooler than a car parked under the sun of the Mediterranean should be.
I marvel and climb inside. Right where you’d expect a light switch a small misty orb is exposed on the side of the vehicle next to the door. With a simple thought the door reverses its opening process.
This couch just looks too comfortable. I dematerialize my shoes and curl up on it. I wish any friend were here. This thing is highly advanced. The wall extrudes a blanket and the portion of the couch my head rests upon rises slightly. I fall asleep.