Dylan

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So, I was talking with a chipmunk. Patrons in the tavern kept staring but I was just trying to make sense of what the little guy was saying. "I know this is frustrating! You don't have to throw acorns at me. Look, I'm interpreting this the best I can. Far as I can tell, you need materials and a good location." He nodded. "Okay, great. Uh, I'll figure out the components. Or something."

He gave a tired squeak and handed me a scroll, making a p'kew noise and miming an explosion with his hands. He pointed at another paper on ritual sites. Hm...maybe if I find the site first, we can figure out things from there. And thanks for the scroll, maybe a fireball.

He turned to a few different pages, each one showing hilltop ritual sites. A lot of them were close by, but he wasn't satisfied about something with them. He huffed before turning to a page and pointed at it triumphantly. This was...in the High Wells. That's all the way in the northeast. Two days by walking, but I could always ride the sky carts. It's a cheap ride, and I can take a nap on the way there.

"Very well, guess we got our destination settled. Agree to find materials in Copper Well?" The chipmunk nodded and put a tiny hand on my finger to shake on it. I picked him back up, gathered our materials, and went to the cart master.

Arriving at the cart station, an older man was feeding the donkeys that would be leading the cart. He turned to me and sighed. "Dylan. You still haven't payed for the last trip."

With only a smile, I tossed a bag of 20 gold, double the normal fee, and he just shook his head. A smirk caressed the edge of his mouth.

"Fine then, where to?" 

"Need to reach Copper Well. Got some business up there." I tried to look like I was planning something big, but I'm just helping out a friend.

"Not my business, but be careful of the rain up there. Some strange weather has been coming in lately." I thanked him for the warning, but I was a bit confused on something.

"Isn't strange weather the default for the place? It rains every day." He shook his head.

"None like this. The clouds seem to be dropping some strange hail as of late, but it is hot to the touch. It's not too frequent but it has burned through some peoples' roofs, despite the constant rain." Something able to produce enough heat to melt through a metal roof, with cold water pouring over it. Hm, this sounds like it could be used as a material.

The chipmunk seemed to have the same thoughts because he was quickly scurrying to the satchel with his book and writing some notes. The cart master was already preparing to go, so he didn't see the cute display. Good, I have a reputation to keep after all.

***

Ah, Copper Well. Only been here a few times and the smell never changes. Oxidized metal and rusting hinges. You'd think they would use something better for their construction, but they also had the best mines in the country, so I guess it's a statement of the limitless resources they have. But god, the rain had a way of making the streets smell disgusting. They should really pay the sanitation workers better. 

I soon was hit by a burning feeling and realized that burning hail landed on me. I fished it out, singed my hand, but was able to get it in that enchanted bag I was given at the royal archives. Yes, I wasn't using it for its intended purpose, but it was really useful. And I don't wanna go yet anyways.

Once I collected enough hail, I made my way into a shop selling components. Good thing about living near Mage guilds, you can get some cool shops to look through. The chipmunk was browsing through and pointing at different items, to which the shopkeeper gave a hearty laugh and put the items on display.

"Your friend has a good eye. These herbs and the tree sap are excellent spell components, and the garnet is actually useful for some alchemical recipes." I must have heard that wrong, the garnet is more good for potions than the herbs? Seeing the confusion on my face, he continued. "Garnets can sometimes be crushed up into a fine powder, or used to draw magical energy through an alembic. The uses vary but are good in many ways."

Hm, I guess that isn't too bad. Problem is, the price is 300 gold altogether. These must be some rare herbs. I payed for only the garnet, which was 75, and left quickly. My friend was squeaking angrily at me, but I just shrugged and went around the back. A quick trip in and I found the rest of what we'd need in the storeroom. Plus, a few extra goodies.

Wizard chipmunk calmed down after that, and then pointed towards our destination. He seemed hurried to get there, so I guess it's good we took the cart. Maybe this is the last week we would have those constellations in the sky. We ran towards the largest mountain, which like all the others in this place had a long hollow pit in the middle of it, with a conical shape around the sides. The wells of this region, most call them.

Man, standing on the top of this one was like being on the edge of a volcano. If that volcano was completely filled with water to the very top. Caverns at the bottom of the well kept any water from reaching near the top, so getting back up would be hard if I fell. But I had to jump in anyways; to reach an island in the center that is untouched by rain.

Wizard chipmunk quickly got to work, and by nightfall he had a full ritual circle ready. With the materials in place, garnet at the center, and the crab army high above us, he was ready. Under the full light of the stars, the chipmunk gathered his Arcane energy, and the smell of crab meat was in the air. Something was happening. My friend grew larger, his limbs twisting in and out at odd angles. His cheeks grew smaller and his hair receded. I self consciously brushed my own.

He was glowing now, and robes enveloped his body, as the shape of a man took form before me! "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" He was screaming! It was making me scream! And then he suddenly started growling angrily. "Ffffuuck! It fucking worked! AAAAGHH!"

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!" I didnt stop screaming.

"Shut up! Fuck, sorry, thank you! Holy shit, that-"

"You turned into a man?"

"I was a man! I am one! That wizard turned me into a chipmunk! I could only speak and write in chipmunk! I didn't even know they had a complex language before this! Now I know all about chipmunk politics and culture, and stupid fucking chipmunk things! I've been a rodent for three years! Do you know how long that is in chipmunk years?!" I just shook my head, and made a disappointed sigh.

No chipmunk wizard.

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Dylan