I awoke early in the morning when the sunrays streaming through the window landed on my body.  They reflected off Sondra’s light skin, making her look more radiant as her face loomed over me in the morning light.  She rubbed her head against the pillow, nudging me back when her nose bumped into me, and let out a low moan that made my insides tremble.  Her eyes remained closed, and she apparently did not want to get out of bed.  When they finally opened it was like two blue suns rising, and she looked down at me with a contented grin.

“Morning, little guy,” she purred, giving me a playful nuzzle.  “Sleep well?”

“Can’t complain,” I answered.  It was the most I could say without outright lying or tipping her off.

“Good to hear.  Now, let’s see about getting you big again, shall we?”  She brought a hand up to the pillow and laid it beneath me, flanking me with her thumb and forefinger.  They slowly came together until their pads barely touched me, the whorls of her fingerprints providing enough friction to keep me firmly between them.  Sondra propped herself up in bed with her other arm, then slowly lifted me off the pillow while she sat, and the room spun and blurred while she turned around.  Two thuds from her feet hitting the wooden floor filled the room, and it felt like my stomach dropped when she stood.

Sondra grabbed her robe from the foot of her bed and seemed to consider how to put it on without putting me down.  A moment later I was thrust into a long red tube, the rush of wind blowing against me alternating with the feeling of silk on my skin as her arm entered the sleeve.  I emerged just beneath the cuff, glad the movement finally stopped when her arm was fully extended.  She did her best not to further disturb me while she put the other half on, and even managed to tie the belt without pressing me into it.

Margret was already up and ready to go, and slid her mace into its belt loop while Sondra finished cinching her robe.  She dressed lighter for a day in the town, eschewing her heavy plate armor for something that could breathe more easily and not weigh her down as much.  It was a common perception that heavily armored adventurers were likely to stir up trouble, and canny groups did their best to avoid creating that impression.  Besides, if trouble did arise there were magical means to get the same protection without inviting the situation in the first place.

Bushwack fell in to fly between the two while they walked to the door, then Margret suddenly stopped.  “Look, Sondra,” Margret began, “I’m really sorry about last night.  I don’t think I can say that enough.  I knew what I was doing, but it felt like I wasn’t in control of my body.  If you had been just a bit slower, there’s no telling what would have happened.”

“Wait, what happened last night?” Bushwack asked.  Apparently, though it had been calamitous for us, it had not even registered for her.  Margret’s booming voice had likely not even gone over a quiet speaking level, though it seemed tremendous last night.

“Don’t worry about it, Bush,” Sondra replied.  “You either, Marg.  Whatever made you do it, it clearly wasn’t you.  After we get the little guy his help, we’ll see about stopping this, too.  We need him at full size to root it out.”  Little did she know that they would be taking care of both problems at the same time.

They walked down and out of the inn, stopping to ask the innkeeper for directions toward the city’s mage guild.  When they were on the street, Sondra tucked me close to her chest and used her free hand to make a barrier around me.  Gentle swaying from her gait made me stumble side to side as they walked, and I decided it would be easier to simply sit down in the middle of her palm.

 Bushwack landed on Sondra’s shoulder, took one look at me, and turned to speak into her ear.  “You don’t want to carry him like that,” she said.  “Not in a city.”

“Why not?  This is as safe as I can make him.”

“From falling, yes,” Bushwack replied, “but there are other threats here.  By holding him like that, you’re broadcasting to every pickpocket in sight that you have something incredibly valuable in your hands, and they’ll want to take it.  Maybe they’re not very good, but eventually one of them will succeed, and we’ll have to track down a kidnapped shrunken human.”

“How do you suggest I carry him, then?”

“I suggest you don’t.”  Sondra gave her a confused look, so she elaborated.  “Let me carry him.  I’m big enough that people can see I’m a person, but small enough that they usually ignore me.  He’ll be safe with me, I promise.”

Sondra seemed hesitant, glancing between me and the pixie while she thought about it.  “Okay,” she finally agreed, “you can carry him.”  Bushwack acknowledged her with a nod, then launched off her shoulder and landed on the heel of her palm.

Bushwack stood astride me for a moment, looking down while I gazed up at her.  She did not push or cajole me, and instead waited patiently while I got to my feet.  The towering pixie leaned over and reached a hand down, carefully bringing her palm to rest against my back.  When it was flush against my body she closed her fingers, making a firm cage around me that was loose enough I could still breathe.  Slowly she lifted me out of Sondra’s palm and brought me to her chest, making sure I was secure before returning to her perch on the wizard’s shoulder.

The rest of the journey passed without incident for me, and Bushwack did not so much as squeeze her fingers around me.  So much had changed that I could not narrow it down to a single cause, but she seemed to respect me as a living, sentient creature now, just one much smaller than herself.  Years of riding on shoulders had taught her how to compensate for the other person’s movement, and she gave me the smoothest ride possible.  We even made small talk along the way about our time as adventurers, and she patiently waited for me to finish instead of speaking over me.

When we arrived at the mages’ guild, the two normal-sized humans checked the directory for the chief diviner while Bushwack and I were along for the ride.  They walked through a long stone hallway lit by torches along the walls and braziers in the corners, keeping to one side to avoid traffic.  Some of the people here seemed to recognize Sondra, giving her a quick nod before looking back to the floor a few feet in front of them, completely ignoring everyone else, and never taking their hands off the wall.

At the chief diviner’s office, we were waved in by a human woman who looked to be just this side of middle age.  Her blond temples had gone completely white, with a long streak of white down the middle of her head, and crow’s feet spread from the edges of her green eyes.  Laugh lines had formed at the corners of her lips, and she looked healthy from what I could see under her tight, bulky robe.  “Please, come in!” she called out.  “Provided it’s not about gambling or any illegal activities, I can answer whatever questions you have.”  I had expected a crochety old mage to be filling this position, but considering the circumstances of her disclaimer she was downright cordial toward us.

We entered her office, and Margret explained the situation.  “Trust me, it’s not for anything like that,” she started.  “One of our companions has been shrunk by a curse.  We were hoping you could tell us its exact origin and how to remove it.”

“Of course, I can do that,” the diviner answered.  She seemed relieved to have customers not asking her how to beat the odds at the track for once.  “I imagine your companion is quite small, so just place them on the table in front of me along with 500 gold pieces and we can get started.”  While Sondra fished around in her pouch for the money, Bushwack hopped off her shoulder and landed in the middle of the table.  “This is a bit smaller than I expected, but-“  As she spoke, Bushwack lowered me to the table and set me down on the wood, then let me go before stepping back.  The diviner’s eyes widened, and her voice caught in her throat.

“Your friend is… tiny,” she said after gulping down some saliva.  “That’s the smallest person I’ve ever seen.  It must have been a very powerful curse to make them this size”

“Yes, that’s why we came to you,” Margret replied.  “Everything we’ve done to cure him has failed, so it must be something deeper and more primal than a mere spell.  Can you still help us?”

“I can still do the things you asked, yes,” the diviner answered.  “Lifting the curse may depend on its source, however.  Something this potent does indeed come from something stronger than a common spell.”  Coins clinked above while Sondra counted out the money for her fee, and I watched the diviner curiously.

A thud made the desk tremble when Sondra set down two stacks of platinum pieces, making my knees shake when the force ran through them.  The diviner pulled the coins toward her, then rolled up her sleeves and held her hands in front of her.  After a moment, she declared, “Okay, let’s get started.”

The diviner reached into a pile of reagents beside her, and with two syllables they vanished in a puff of smoke.  She began chanting, wiggling her fingers in the air while moving her hands around, and the air became heavy with magic.  My hair stood up while she continued, the chanting getting more intense as she went.  Her fingers pinched more reagents only for them to disappear without a trace, and the winds from her spellcasting became powerful enough to affect her as well.  When it reached a climax everything died down, and the magic seemed to vanish from the air.

For a moment she stared at me, trying to process the information she had received, then her eyes widened again.  She quickly cast another spell, then said, “For now, you are protected from what influences you, small man.  If you have anything you wish to tell your companions that you haven’t been able to, I suggest you do it now before I do.”

In such a rush that my words fell over themselves, I told them everything from the start.  I told them how I had discovered Kirinhalut, and how she had tricked me into forming a bond with her before going into the torment she inflicted on me.  When I got to their rescue, I mentioned how she had kept me from telling them anything under threat of punishment, and how she continued to do so by controlling what I was allowed to say.  They learned how she had been influencing them over the past few days, and of her ultimate plan to sow dissent so she could eventually steal the Orb of Power.  Nothing was left out, including how she had definitely influenced Margret and probably affected Llelwyl in her attempts to cause discord.

Before the others could say anything, the diviner spoke up.  “Before you judge him too harshly, please remember that he did not deceive you of his own will.  This succubus Kirinhalut was so closely entwined with him that she could control his words.  Any deceit was not on his part, and I can tell you that it was not his intent to mislead you.”

My party was quiet for a bit while they thought it over until Sondra spoke up.  “Well then, how do we get him out from under her influence long-term?” she asked.  “And how do we break the conditions she’s put him under?”

“I can tell you how, but I can’t do it myself,” the diviner replied.  “You need something of the succubus, something which is part of her or she claims closely to her.  When you have this item, bring it to the chief abjurer in the guild.  I’ll send her a message to expect you in the next couple of days.  Additionally, while your companion here is ‘claimed’ as the succubus’s property, I would not suggest using him.  The object will be consumed as a part of the ritual to break the bond, and not even a wish will be able to bring him back.”

“What do you think?” Sondra began.  “You up for breaking a demon’s bond to an innocent mortal?”

“You just asked me if I want to smite evil,” Margret responded.  “I’m always ready to do that.”

“She corrupted my best friend and turned her into a monster,” Bushwack added.  “Let’s send her back where she came from.”

“Good.  Let’s get going, then.”  Sondra taking charge made her even more attractive to me, even more than if she had become the party’s main speaker.  “This curse isn’t going to break itself after all.”  Them rallying around me gave me a confidence I did not have before, and for once I thought I might be able to escape the consequences of a single mistake.  If they worked together, they would easily be able to defeat Kirinhalut.  I just hoped that, when the time came, they would be able to maintain their cohesion, and expel the succubus from our realm.