When misfortune strikes, it can be for any number of reasons. Weakness, ignorance, fate, or even the ire of a god. I have never believed in the concept of luck, nor fate for that matter. One cannot be pushed and pulled by the 'unseen' if they are strong. It comes as no surprise that the strongest people there are possess the closest tie to the Weave. Mages, beings who can manipulate the Weave's Mana at will, are practitioners of magic. Through magic, they exert their will upon the world and shape it as they please. Their abilities allow them to stand at the apex, and in some rare cases, even rival the gods themselves. In this world, magic is power, and as the mage with the strongest tie to the Weave in history, I am the most powerful woman there ever was.

My heels clack against the wooden floor of the Adventurers' guild as I make my way through the main hall. The other adventurers are as boisterous as ever, sharing stories of their travels and recovering by stuffing their faces with food. A troupe of bards stands on a larger table, performing a cheerful folk song. Several of their audience are singing along, enjoying drinks and the company of others. I can see several parties have returned from quests, some in worse shape than others. A fighter I recognize but can't bother to remember the name of seems particularly injured. He has a wrap around his head, covering his eyes, and two of our best healers are tending to his terribly burnt arms. At a glance, I can tell his adventuring days are likely over. As I walk by them, I cast a look of pity his way, devoid of compassion. This earns me a scowl from one of his party members, but they quickly look away as my eyes move to meet their gaze. 

I move to a large table in the corner of the hall. The space is reserved for Nox Gloriosa members only, of which I am the founder. It seems that my party is already there, quietly chatting while waiting for me. The moment they see me, they quiet down and straighten up as I take my seat. Looking around the table, each of their expressions calm and serious, save for our newest member. 

"Hi, Penelope! You look lovely, as always." Mildred beams at me.

Ignoring her, I snap my fingers, causing a map to appear on the table, and address the group.

"Tomorrow morning, we will be delving into this dungeon." As I speak, the map becomes animated, a red circle forming around the dungeon's location. A dotted line traces itself from our guild to the circle, outlining a path. The line then straighten out, cutting through the terrain as if it were not there at all--a more accurate depiction of our mode of travel. "Every party that has attempted to clear it has disappeared. I suspect they perished. For that reason, the Guild master has banned all parties from entering it, other than us."

"Don't tell me. You convinced him to let us give it a try?" Alice smirks, hardly able to believe it. "How did you break the old man?"

"You didn't mind control him, did you?" Groll snarls at me, his hulking size intimidating to most, but not me. In his eyes I can see his fear, beneath all that muscle.

"No, I did not mind control him. He offered it to me of his own volition." I respond, causing the behemoth to shrink in his seat.

"What do we know about this death trap? Surely Penelope would not have us dive in blindly." Selda interjects, urging the others to let me continue.

"Of course not. While little is known, there are three things I can confirm." I raise my hand and begin counting on my fingers. "One, the dungeon is ancient. No one is sure when or who constructed it. Two, it is swarming with powerful Undead and Insect-type monsters. And three, it contains a powerful magic item; one that I have been seeking for many years."

"It seems you've done your research, as usual." Rokthaar chuckles, taking a long swig of his ale. He slams his mug on the table and wipes his mouth on her sleeve. "Ah! Sounds like a plan."  

"Good." I snap my fingers again, causing the map to fizzle out of existence. "Prepare yourselves and rest well. I expect to see your absolute best, tomorrow. Those who hold us back will be left behind." I give them each a scrutinizing look, adding some pressure. Despite their hesitancy, none of them seem worried. I only hope that is because they believe in their own abilities, not only mine. Too many times I have had to pick up the slack for them. They are supposedly the best of the best, and yet somehow they still manage to disappoint me. As my gaze continues to bore into them, I decide I've had enough of that and wave them off. "Dismissed."

Alice, Groll, Selda, and Rokthaar get up and leave, retiring to their rooms for the night. Mildred, however, remains in her seat, staring at me meekly from across the table. It appears she has something to say, but isn't brave enough to say it.

"Did you not hear me? I said to go." I frown at her.

"I know, and I will, but I wanted to show you something." She clasps her hands together and makes a serious face. "I've been practicing my prayers and-" 

"Leave." I glare at her, my purple eyes glowing a fierce violet in response to my emotions. 

"O-Okay! I'm sorry!" Mildred suddenly tries to get up, but trips and falls over with her chair. The pathetic girl crawls on her hands and knees, stands to right herself, and then scurries off without looking back.

"Ridiculous." I roll my eyes, their color returning to my natural hue. "I cannot believe I allowed this failure to join our party..."

Nox Gloriosa is a party that consists of only renowned and powerful adventurers. Despite their often strange proclivities and quirks, I have acknowledged each of them. Alice, our Ranger, never misses her mark. She is an expert hunter, tracker, and survivalist. She hunted her first dragon at the age of sixteen. Groll, our Fighter, is a man with a large build and unparalleled fighting prowess. I once saw him grapple a Goliath to the ground with one hand tied behind his back. Selda, our Druid, is a highly reliable support. She is particularly good at cleaning up our messes after a battle. Rokthaar, our Rogue, is a master of espionage and subterfuge. Despite his carefree attitude, he possesses a wealth of knowledge and a treasury of rare treasures, all stolen of course. He could steal the glasses from your face and you would not notice.

And then, there is Mildred.

If not for our party's desperate need for a dedicated healer, I would never have allowed her to join. Her abilities are far below our standards, hardly even passable at the rookie level. While she has only been with us for two quests, she has proven herself to be not just useless, but an active hindrance to our cause. After this dungeon, I will be removing her from the party. That is, assuming she survives. As I said, I have no intention of carrying her weight. If she dies, well, it will certainly spare me her waterworks.

Leaving our table, I too retire to my room for the night. I disrobe and change into a nightgown, hanging my large witch's cap on the coat rack, and lay in bed. Before long, I drift off to sleep.

The next morning, our party meets in front of the guild, geared up and ready to travel. All of them are on time, even Mildred, which I appreciate. Focusing my magic, I create a connection between our current location and our destination, casting [Gate]. The portal appears before us, and I step through it, the others following close behind me. In an instant, we are there. The entrance to the dungeon, a crater in the earth with a crumbling stairway leading inside, is before us. Immediately, I feel an ominous energy, a miasma, emanating from it-something unlike anything I've felt before. It's so odd, like the Mana is foreign, yet familiar; dark, and yet bright. I choose to ignore it, floating down to the stairway and continuing on foot.

Snapping my fingers, I cast [Light], and my hand glows brightly, illuminating the area. Eventually, we reach the bottom, stopping before an archway leading into what appears to be a chamber made entirely of stone. It seems we've reached the end. How odd... There was no need for exploration. This was far too straightforward, and it bothers me.

"Rokthaar." I say, not needing to elaborate.

"Checking for traps. Hold on..." Rokthaar kneels down, thoroughly examining the archway and the area beyond. He takes his time, and we are patient until he finishes. I also take a moment to try to sense danger. Feeling nothing at all, I relax a little. Rokthaar then stands and wipes his dirty hands on his shirt. "No traps to be found. We're good."

"Let us not forget our spells." Selda looks at Alice, who nods right back.

Selda then casts [Enhance Ability] on Groll, and Alice casts [Pass Without Trace] on the party. Now prepared, I enter first, letting my light fly into the space ahead of me, illuminating the chamber. It is quite large, roughly the size of a stadium, and dome shaped. Strange carvings are etched into and all along the walls. My gaze is drawn to an alter in the center of the room. Other than that, the room is devoid of any distinct features. 

As the last of our party enters, I make my way over to the altar, where I discover a dusty, old tome sitting atop it. Wiping the dust off its cover, I immediately recognize it as the treasure I was seeking. This is the Tome of Ancients, a book written by powerful mages of old. Legend has it that an ancient calamity destroyed the ancient civilizations, but before that, the mages sought to preserve their arcane knowledge in a tome, which would survive. This tome is undoubtedly that. Eagerly opening it up, my eyes light up at what I am seeing. Strange diagrams and handwritten text in a language lost to time fill the pages. I can only imagine what secrets this treasure holds...

A loud boom rips my attention away from the Tome. Behind me, the entrance has been sealed by a wall of stone. Spectral flames flare to life all around, illuminating the room in an otherworldly glow. The Tome itself begins to glow, which spreads through 'veins' in the alter, and further across the stone floor. A low rumbling follows, growing in intensity. It is as if the chamber itself is coming to life.

"The entrance is sealed tight! Grah! No one traps Groll!" Groll yells, punching the wall repeatedly. The force of his strikes are staggering, but the wall shows no signs of damage. "What kind of stone is this? It won't break!"

"Keep at it, big guy. I think it's starting to crack!" Rokthaar laughs.

"Quiet, you two! We've got company." Alice warns, drawing her bow.

Suddenly, three magic circles appear on the walls. From them, three large stone golems climb out. Each one stands at two and a half meters, humanoid in shape, and very bulky. A glowing, red sigil marks each head, almost like the eye of a cyclops. As soon as they appear, they begin lumbering toward us. 

"I recall the monsters were supposed to be Undead and Insect-types." Selda reminds us, which causes the party to falter.

"Classic trap. Defeat the monsters and the entrance opens up! We've done this hundreds of times before." Alice encourages them. She takes aim and fires an arrow straight through one golem's head. The red glow of its eye disappears, and its body crumbles into pebbles. "See? Focus their weak spots and we'll be fine."

Just as she says that, another golem climbs out of one of the magic circles, replacing the destroyed one. It's an exact copy, from the look of it. The party enters combat, each member taking on a golem and quickly dispatching it. Their size and durability means little when they are so slow and a blow to their head instantly destroys them. While the others fight, I decide to save us some time and teleport us home. There is no need to fight to reopen the entrance when I can make my own. Only then do I realize the something is wrong. I can't cast [Gate]. I try again, but it doesn't work. Instead, I attempt [Plane Shift], then [Teleport], and even [Dimension Door], but nothing works. It seems something in the chamber is preventing all forms of instant travel. Not to worry, I have been in a situation like this before. As Alice said, we will simply need to destroy all the golems to earn our freedom.

Joining the fight, I toss a [Witch Bolt] through one of them, only for another to appear. I repeat the process a few times, losing count once I reach thirty. As time continues to pass, the three magic circles become five, and they spawn new golems even before the existing ones have been destroyed.

"Penelope, what the hell is going on?" Rokthaar yells while slashing the head of a golem with his dagger. "Why isn't this ending?"

"Would it not be wise to deal with the problem at the source?" Selda suggests, using her [Entangle] vines to subdue two golems so Groll can clobber them. "The magic circles are the root of the problem."

"That won't be possible. I can't dispel the magic. It's unlike any I've ever seen, a Lost magic." I tell her, growing nervous. 

Slowly, the golems are beginning to overwhelm us. Their numbers continue to grow while we grow more tired by the minute. That is when I hear Alice cry out in pain. She drops to the ground, one of her arms having been broken by one of the golem's slam attacks. Groll punches it in the face, shattering the construct, as Mildred rushes over to treat her wound. 

"Don't worry, I've got this!" She declares, kneeling down and clasping her hands together.

A moment later, Rokthaar grunts as a golem punches him across the room, slamming him into the opposite wall. Barely conscious, he tries to pick himself up. He looks to be in far worse shape than Alice.

"Mildred, come heal my wounds! I think I broke some ribs." He clutches his chest, blood dripping from his mouth.

"R-Right away! Umm, just a second!" She yells, before closing her eyes and focusing. "O Selune, lady of the Moon, please grant my ally your blessings- I mean... Please grant your l-love...?"

"Did you seriously forget the words?!" Alice yells at her through grit teeth. "Even I know this one. It's 'your light'. Come on, I'm in agony here!"

"I k-knew that! I got mixed up, sorry." She pouts. Focusing her attention on the Ranger, she tries again. "O Selune, lady of the Moon, please grant my ally your light. May her wounds be healed by the power Lunar!" Her hands begin to glow, and Alice's arm begins to faintly glow as well. Her wounds slowly heal themselves, only for the healing to stop halfway and the light to go out.

"What the hell? It's still broken!" She sits up, holding it with her other arm. "You're so useless! Why can't you do the one thing you're here to do?!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know why it stopped. B-But, it shouldn't hurt anymore! I was able to that, at least." She tries, rising to her feet and running over to Rokthaar. 

"Forget it, I'll handle this myself!" He barks at her, pulling out a flask from his pack and downing it. The healing potion causes his body to glow momentarily, and then he rises to his feet. It seems he isn't in fighting shape, but is able to move freely. He glares at Mildred, slapping her hand away as she offers it to help him. "There's no way you can be this useless! I'm so done with you!"

"Look out!" Groll yells, which is all he can do as he battles three golems all on his own.

One of the golems raises its arm to slam the two of them, but I cast another [Witch Bolt] through its head before it can kill two of my party members. They were so distracted with their argument that they didn't notice the threat. I'm disappointed in Rokthaar especially, that was amateurish. More importantly, it seems two of our members are no longer able to hold back the hoard of golems. Selda seems exhausted, as does Groll. I can hold all of them off on my own, but not forever. I need to think!

Holding my hand out, I attempt to cast [Wall of Force] to build us a protective bubble to hide in, but it fails. My attempt to case [Time Stop] also fails, unsurprisingly. So much of my magic is not working, and I cannot understand it! It is as if my connection to the Weave is being strangled. I need to figure out how to end this. I haven't taken the Tome, so returning it isn't an option. Surely there must be something?

"Hold on, everyone! I'm going to try deciphering the Tome. I will find a way out of this. Buy me time!" I command them, which rekindles their fighting spirit. Despite their injuries, both Alice and Rokthaar seem ready to give it another go. I focus my attention completely on the Tome, touching it, and casting [Comprehend Languages], which manages to work. Before my eyes, the odd symbols and scribbles and transformed into Common. For whatever reason, it is very slow, but I am not about to complain. "Yes, okay, now we're getting somewhere..."

Minutes pass, and my allies continue to fight, keeping the golems away from me. I turn through several pages, desperately searching for anything related to this chamber. I have found nothing so far, and there is still so much left to check. I begin to worry I will not find an answer in time, if at all. After so much exertion, Groll finally falls to his knees, bleeding, and drenched in sweat. Selda looks faint, and our pair of injured allies also seem weak due to their injuries. I am nearly out of time. I can see that the golems are upon them, and they are going to be crushed, so I fire off a [Lightning Bolt] through their entire bodies, effectively reducing them to rubble. Maintaining my concentration, I return to the Tome.

"I've never seen monsters like these! They just keep coming! What kind of dungeon is this?" Yells Groll. He shakily rises to his feet, dodges another slam attack, and delivers a crushing blow to a golem's head. The lights of its eye flickers, but doesn't go dark. For the first time, his strength is failing him. "They're tanking some serious punishment. I'm not going to last much longer!"

"I'm not doing much better over here." Rokthaar grunts, dropping his broken dagger and falling back. "Penelope, do something already!"

"I'm trying! There's a magic here I've never seen before, and I'm still translating the Tome." I explain, my eyes never leaving the pages. At last, I find a page that outlines how to dispel magic summoning circles. I immediately begin translating the rest of the page. "I've almost translated the passage. Just hold on."

My irises glow purple again, as both my magic and my emotions are pushed to their limits. I force the translation to speed up, becoming dizzy in the process. For all my arcane knowledge, it frustrates me that I'm struggling to analyze magic. This is my forte; no one in the world has mastery of the arcane like I do! Until now, apparently. The sense of urgency and frustration puts a pressure on me like never before. With my party on the brink of defeat, I finally translate the last words on the page. It's an incantation which will destroy the magic circles.

"Elay diora, Elay diora! Ghilad ir vilza tomni!" I cry out, hoping I pronounced the words correctly.

The chamber rumbles, loose dirt and stone raining down from the ceiling. The tablet glows and the golems' eyes go dark. At last, they go still, frozen in whatever position they were in at the moment I spoke those words. The entrance opens back up, and all the glowing veins in the chamber disappear. The others are in bad shape, having sustained terrible injuries in the endless battle. Only now do I realize we were fighting for two whole hours. Taking the Tome from the altar, I tuck it under my arm and casually walk toward the others.

"That was closer that I would have liked, but the result speaks for itself. Congratulations on surviving, despite needing my help. As usual." I shrug, causing Rokthaar to scoff. I notice Selda looking at me angrily, so I meet her gaze and ask, "What? Have you something to say to me, Selda?"

"We nearly died. This dungeon was unlike any we have faced before." She complains. "We were unprepared to fight such a battle. Worse, your information was incorrect, which put us all in danger." 

"We should never have come here." Groll grunts, joining in. "No book is worth this."

"I assure you it's more than worth it." I glare at them. They're so quick to judge! If only they knew the value of these pages, they would be grateful. Imbeciles, both of them! "You will understand soon enough."

"I only understand gold. So, what's that thing worth?" Rokthaar asks, getting right to the point.

In response, I clutch the Tome tightly and shake my head. "This item is priceless. We will not be selling..." My voice trails off as I sense an odd aura emanating from the Tome. It's dark and chilling, growing in intensity by the second.

"We're supposed to split the loot of any dungeon equally between us." Alice declares, causing the group to become more hostile toward me. "We're selling that book."

"U-Um!" Mildred chimes in, nervously trying to stop us from fighting. "I'm sure Penelope is going to compensate us! She's always fair, after all."

I pay her no mind as I hold the Tome out in front of me. Something is building, and I have no clue what it is. All I know is that I need to stop it. Suddenly, the dark aura spreads from the Tome to my arms, enveloping me. It's not something the others can see, apparently, as none of them react in the slightest. I drop the Tome, but the aura has already spread across my entire body. Weakness overcomes me, and I stagger. I want to cast [Dispel Magic], but something tells me it would have no effect. Whatever this is, it's beyond me. I can do nothing as the aura flares up, and the world around me becomes distorted. I shut my eyes, as an intense pain assaults my senses, and fall to my knees.

It only lasts for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity. Once the pain subsides, I open my eyes and stand up. Immediately, I am aware that something has changed. Cool winds blow in my direction, stronger than any natural draft. Deep, booming sounds echo in the distance, and light tremors shake the ground like a weak by constant earthquake. Something is very, very wrong. 

"What in the world...?" I gasp.

Before me is the Tome, but it is much, much larger. The book had been on the larger side, but even then it still fit in my hands. Now it is easily the size of a house, perhaps even two! Standing a short distance away, I can tell it towers over me. My first instinct is to believe an [Enlarge] spell was cast, but that would not explain the sight behind it. Standing there are the members of my party, all towering giants far larger than anything a spell could do. They are huge in stature, especially Groll, who would make a dragon look like a small pet. They all look around, confused by my disappearance.

"W-Where did she go?" Mildred asks.

"Penelope?" Rokthaar looks around. "Did she run away?"

"No, not without that book. She clearly coveted it" Selda answers.

The ground shakes as Groll walks over, each step causing powerful tremors that throw me off balance. He stands close, then crouches down and grabs hold of the Tome. I instinctively run toward it and grab hold, as if to begin a tug-of-war with him. Instead, I am lifted high into the air along with it. The giant's eyes inspect the book for a moment, but then spot me dangling from its cover. His eyes widen in surprise, and then he bursts into laughter.

"Hah! Is that you, Penelope?" He laughs even harder. "You're so small!"

The others gather around, interested in what he finds so funny. They all easily spot me their expressions ranging from shock to amusement. Soon, they too join him in laughter. 

"This is not funny! I've been afflicted with some kind of curse!" I yell, my tiny voice drowned out by the giants' and giantesses' laughter.

Once they calm down, their expressions become serious again. Alice gets up close, her face dominating my field of view. I can see the tears in her eyes from how hard she laughed at my predicament. "Thanks, P, I really needed that! Now change back already. I can't take you seriously in this Pixie form."

"My what?" I ask, only now realizing what has happened to me. I look down at my body, which is relatively the same, albeit very tiny. The main difference comes from the insect-like wings sprouting from my back. "I've been poly-morphed..."

I sigh, having endured enough embarrassment for a lifetime. For the second time today, I attempt to cast [Dispel Magic], only for it to fail. In fact, it does not just fail, but I cannot cast it to begin with. Before, I could feel my Mana flowing, but something would block the spell just as it was about to take form. It was like water trying to flow through a blocked pipe. The water is there, but cannot find a way forward. This is different. I don't feel any water flowing at all. I try to cast [Shapechange], but that does not work either. For the first time in my entire life, my connection to the Weave has been broken.

I can't feel my Mana.

The others watch me try and fail over and over again, and before long, they realize that there is a problem. 

"Don't tell me you can't change back? I mean, you would've done it already if you could. Unlike Mildred over here, you're not lacking in skill or magical power. We all know how much of that you've got stored up." Alice sizes me up, a devilish smile on her face.

"Can you restore yourself, or not? Answer, Penelope." Rokthaar demands.

"I can! It's just that...something is wrong. It's like I've lost my magic. Perhaps it will return after some rest?" I try to convince them, but deep down I know that it isn't so simple. "I will need to speak with the mages at the guild. Kindly take me to them-"

"It seems you are no longer of use to us now." Groll interrupts me. He then raises his hand toward me, ready to flick me off the Tome. 

"You wouldn't." I dare him to try.

"You know the rules, Sorceress." He shrugs, clearly unafraid of me. "It's been nice traveling with you, but this is where we part ways. Does anyone object?" The rest of the party shakes their head, except for Mildred, but they ignore her. She appears to be angry, but doesn't say a word. The rest are quick to answer, shockingly eager to be rid of me. Those traitors! My blood boils, but Groll does not allow me the chance to act on it. "It's settled then. Goodbye, Penelope. Hopefully you find a party willing to take you. Though, I wouldn't count on it."

The bastard then flicks me off, sending me falling to the ground below. I tumble, only stopping when I slams into a boulder, which I now realize is merely a tiny pebble. Its rough edges dig into me, making painful cuts on my back and arms. Sharp, stinging pains are felt across my body, but the worst is intense throbbing from my back. Hardly able to sit up, my hand moves to the source of one of my injuries, returning in a coat of red. My heart-rate spikes when I realize I am seeing blood--my own blood. When was the last time an attack landed on me, let alone drew blood? Clearly this body is far more frail than my own. By the time I get back on my feet, I'm met with the backs of my 'allies' as their giant forms lumber out the way they came without me. 

Never in my life have I felt so powerless, so weak! I could do nothing as that brainless oaf tossed me aside like trash. It was humiliating! I've never felt such a lack of control. Gritting my teeth, I swear to one day get him back tenfold once I'm back to normal, but for now, I'm too tired and in pain to do much of anything. My injuries are making me dizzy, and the urge to collapse into a heap is too strong to resist. Closing my eyes, I resign myself to take a rest right here and now. 

With tears in my eyes, my strength withers and I slip into unconsciousness.