Aragami sat inside a furnished room in the basement of a large house and wondered how he got there.

  Back when Noir’s possession of Virria came to an end, Aragami had gently picked her up and, after gesturing to his dogs, followed the deer-woman out of the forest with Barteool by his side. There, underneath the clear blue skies, he looked up to the sky, and exhaled in relief.

  “Finally.” He muttered to himself, bathing in the warmth of the sun overhead. “I can see something other than the tree canopy.” He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the horizon, looking for anything of interest. He didn’t have to search for long. He saw a large structure on the horizon to his left and what he assumed was a wall of a city directly in front of him. The walls were red in color, with guard towers stretching about two floors above the wall itself.

  He also noticed carriages near the edge of the clearing with large, bull-type monsters harnessed to the front. The carriages themselves were plain looking, wooden frames covered in a dull gray fabric with little decoration. The crowd that followed them out of the forest streamed past them toward these carriages, loading them with backpacks and equipment before climbing inside themselves.

  Aragami looked down at Barteool, and was greeted by a knowing smirk as Barteool gestured to another carriage well hidden behind a bend. This carriage was different. It was a little smaller, with beefier wheels and axles. Its tarp was camouflaged and looked to be sturdier as well.

  Aragami was guided to the back of the wagon, where he carefully handed Virria over to one of the many people around him. They carried Virria into the wagon and laid her onto a padded mattress in the middle. Barteool jumped in to check on her for a second, before jumping back out and waving at Aragami to follow.

  With nothing else to do, he followed after Barteool with Tessie and Fido following quietly after him. Barteool guided him past the other three wagons to the top of a small hill, where the deer-woman and minotaur waited. Sighing, Aragami prepared for a round of pantomime, and climbed up to the top.

  Once he got there, Aragami immediately noticed another camouflaged wagon approaching from below. There was another deer-person sitting in the front, maneuvering the wagon up the road by pulling on the reins and making the monster in front literally pull the wagon from side to side.

  Tessie and Fido sat on the ground next to him, waiting patiently. Barteool sat down next to Fido and patted him gently, while the deer-woman and minotaur slowly moved away from them. Aragami laughed to himself and squatted down to pet Tessie, partly because he didn’t want her to feel left out, and partly because it seemed like they would have to wait for the driver to climb up to them.

  And he was right. It took a solid five minutes for the wagon to reach them on top of the hill. As it slowed down, Aragami could see several faces poke from inside and look at him (or his dogs?) with glee.

  Finally, as the wagon stopped right in front of them, he stood up and walked over to the deer-woman. She looked him in the eyes, before extending her hand and tapping her wrist a couple of times.

  He mimicked her, tapping the bracelet he received back in the clearing a couple of times, and experienced the weird feeling of shrinking down once again. As he jumped from one foot to another, the deer-woman marched up to the wagon and talked to the occupants within.

  Once he stopped shrinking, Aragami found himself swarmed by the people from the new wagon. They held measuring sticks and pieces of fabric of some sort and immediately set to measure him, including his arms, legs, torso, and for some weird reason his face and ears?

  He gently swatted them away, not willing to have total strangers wave sticks so close to his face. This obviously annoyed them, since they complained to the deer-woman loud enough for some of the other people to notice. She did her best to calm them down, before slowly approaching Aragami. On the way over, she snatched one of the measuring sticks around her and handed it over to him.

  He was at a loss. Not knowing what else to do, he simply accepted the stick and held it in front of his eyes. It had notches placed at regular intervals along its length. He was not really sure how far apart they were, since this whole shrinking thing threw off his sense of size and distances, but he estimated they were roughly two centimeters apart.

  ‘Huh, if I were my normal size, those marks would appear to be about one centimeter apart.’ He considered the implications for a moment, before nodding and handing the stick back. ‘I’ll have to look into this. How would they get to using the same measuring system we do?’

  The people around him stirred nervously and moved back to take measurements, albeit much more calmly. It took them about five minutes to measure him thoroughly, before a small group separated to go into the wagon, while the rest waited around for something.

  He looked over to the deer-woman who sighed exhaustively and pointed to his dogs.

  ‘Ooooh. They want to measure Tessie and Fido as well? Why though?’ He shrugged and whistled to the two of them. Immediately, they stood up and trotted over to him, snuggling against his side. He took a second to pet them and then sat them down and waved to the deer-woman.

  She nodded in response and turned to talk to the group, slightly increasing in volume and hand gesticulations, until the deer-woman threw her hands in the air and walked over to him with an angry expression. She stopped right next to him, turned on her hee… hoof, and yelled over to the group.

  It was quite obvious that they were afraid of Tessie and Fido, and he didn’t blame them. After all, who wouldn’t be afraid of a predatory monster as tall as themselves and two times heavier? It would probably be like walking over to an adult lion.

  As he watched the group argue with the deer-woman from a distance, he subtly motioned for Tessie and pulled on his bond with her to go and snuggle up against the deer-woman. It was the first time he’d ever done that, directly telling either of the dogs to do something through their bond, but it seemed to work perfectly well.

  —---------------

  Zaanta

  —---------------

  “I’m telling you!” Zaanta yelled for the umpteenth time. “They will not attack you! We have already confirmed the presence and limits of the contract. As long as you don't provoke their master or them, you are completely safe!”

  “That’s what you say!” Yelled the small Quarter in front of her, leader of the costume-makers and illusionists. “The only ones they’ve interacted with were that thing! How do we know they won’t snap at us as soon as we get near?!”

  “You fucking…” Zaanta muttered to herself. It was always difficult to work with businesses outside the guild, but this level of danger appeared to be the limit. She was about to turn to Aragami to ask him to do something, anything, when a wet nose pushed itself underneath her arm, followed by a large furred head and a pair of wondrous eyes. One of the Hounds, the female, if she remembered correctly, had walked over and nuzzled against her, almost pushing her off-balance.

  She resisted the urge to look behind her and carefully brushed the Hounds’ head the same way she saw Aragami do it, just to have the Hound press its head against her hand and close its eyes.

  “See?!” Zaanta yelled back to the group, her eyes locked onto the Hound under her arm. “No danger!”

  The quiet that followed was too precious for her to interrupt. Finally, they snapped out of their shock, and consulted among themselves, before slowly, reluctantly moving to take their measurements.

  Zaanta took her time to pet the Hound's head as everyone around her took various measurements. She was so captivated by the large monster acting as a pet, she didn't even notice the illusionists retreat back to their carriage.

  She was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Aragami's hand emerge from the corner of her eye and join her in petting the Hound's head.

  “Thanks, Aragami.” She smiled and looked up to the strange being next to her. “I know you probably won't understand me, but thank you.”

  To her surprise, Aragami actually smiled back and nodded his head.

  “Don't worry. I'll make sure you are classified as sapient and join your friends.”

  —-----

  Aragami

  —-----

  After distracting the group with his dogs, he spent about half an hour just sitting around with the deer-woman and petting Tessie and Fido, before the man from before walked over to them once more.

  He stopped a couple of meters away and said something just to get glared at by the deer-woman before slowly creeping forward to about one meter away, which seemed to be his limit.

  The deer-woman audibly sighed and extended one arm toward him. He quickly placed several things on her open palm and backed away into the safety of their wagon.

  Aragami looked at the deer-woman, expecting an answer, and she didn't disappoint.

  She handed him three things. Two of them were collars made of rope with pieces of colorful fabric sewn along the edges. There was a latch on the back protected by a piece of leather from the inside. The other one was a wooden mask with two holes and a strap at the back.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  All of the items radiated slight magical energy, but nothing similar to the crystal he broke back at the clearing. The mask was clearly meant for himself, so he tried putting it on. As soon as he put the mask on and threw the strap over his head, it immediately tightened. He panicked for a second and tore it away from his face. And to his surprise, it was actually easy?

  As soon as his fingers touched the mask the strap loosened and the mask fell limp around his neck. He carefully looked over the mask, searching for anything. There were some glyphs grooved into the inside of the mask, as well as patterns on the strap, but he didn’t feel any sense of danger from them.

  His confusion seemed to amuse the deer-woman next to him, as she laughed out loud and reached for the collars.

  She took one of them and pointed to the collar and then to one of the dogs’ necks. She showed him how to unlock the latch and he understood that the leather strap was there to prevent their fur from getting locked in the latch.

  He let the mask hang around his neck before taking the other collar and carefully locking it around Fido's neck. As soon as it clicked, the collar came to life and started to shine with Mana. Aragami took a careful step backwards and watched as the light engulfed Fido and modeled itself into the shape of a bovine-looking creature. He could still see him, but as he tried to touch him, the light gently stopped his hand a couple of centimeters above him.

  ‘It’s like a hologram,’ he thought to himself as he circled around Fido, looking for any inconsistencies all around. And to his delight, he found none.

  The deer-woman let him inspect his dog for a moment, before stepping closer and waving to get his attention. As soon as she got it, she pressed at the area of Mana above Fido’s collar and dragged her finger along his back, effectively ‘unzipping’ the Mana that covered him, and unlocking the collar around his neck.

  “I’ll never get used to this Mana thing…” Aragami muttered and shook his head. He locked the collar again and tried to open it himself. It took him a couple of tries, but he was able to do it. It didn’t seem to cause any issue to his dogs, so he was willing to use it for now. He locked both collars and watched as the light passed over his dogs, shaping them into the bovine-things.

  He checked them for one last time, making sure there were no parts of them poking from underneath the Mana lights, before carefully pulling the mask back over his face. He was not surprised by the strap this time, and just felt how it tightened around his head without creating too much pressure anywhere. The holes in the mask were precisely positioned to allow him maximal field of view without revealing too much skin around them. It hindered his jaw a little bit, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?

  After checking everything, he turned to the deer-woman and nodded at her, signaling he was ready to move out.

  —-------------

  Zaanta

  —-------------

  Zaanta was a little worried when she handed over the mask and the collars. Could Aragami take offense by being essentially told to hide himself? No, he’d surely understand that promenading predators in the town was a bad idea, but that only extended onto the Hounds. How would he react to the mask?

  She didn’t have to wait long. It seemed that he understood that the mask was for him to use and tried it on. It also seemed like he didn’t like it, because he immediately swatted it away the moment it got close to his face. “Oh well, I guess we’ll have to try something else then.” She muttered in disappointment.

  He moved on to the collars, studying them for a second before she came forward and shoved him the latch on the back. He seemed to take them quite well and snapped it shut around the Hound’s neck. Zaanta noticed that one of his arms immediately retreated closer to that big knife he had on his hip, but stayed there as the collar did its magic (literally) and created an illusion of a Bowler, a bovine beast commoners use to pull carriages.

  He inspected it thoroughly, before seemingly coming to a positive conclusion? Be that as it may, she still had a duty to fulfill and since she was the one forcing him to use these tools on his tamed beasts, she showed him how to unlock the magical collar and release the illusion.

  It took him a couple of tries, but he was able to do it in the end. He then locked the collars around both of the Hounds, before picking up the mask from around his neck and carefully putting it to his face again. This time around, he was completely calm about it, and Zaanta wondered why it had bothered him on his first attempt. Was it because of the material? Did it smell weird to him? Or was it the tightening strap? Did he see the strap for the first time?

  All those questions and several more passed through her head before Aragami turned toward her and she froze on the spot. There were two bright eyes staring at her from underneath a dark black cape. The mask completely vanished in the shadow, giving him a mystical aura. His unusual body type with wide shoulders and muscular arms with no fur or scales just added to the mystery. Not to mention the two disguised Hounds staring at her from behind him.

  She shook her head to get rid of the shock and motioned to the Guild’s wagons in the distance. He just nodded and whistled for the two Hounds before waltzing over to join the expedition forces. Zaanta took a deep breath and walked over to the Illusionist’s wagon.

  “Your contract with The Guild is concluded. Give me the papers to sign so you can receive your rewards at the counter.”

  —-----------

  Aragami

  —-----------

  After putting on his mask, Aragami walked back to Barteool’s wagon and looked inside. He saw Virria getting treated on the ground of the wagon and Barteool talking with some official-looking person, gesturing wildly. Most of the people who had climbed inside when he first saw the wagon were now sitting outside, seemingly looking for something.

  As he considered what to do next, the deer-woman appeared behind him and ushered him to the side. She walked into the middle of the group and said a couple of words he didn’t understand, but was pretty sure meant ‘Let’s move out!’ or something, because everyone stood up and marched to their wagons.

  He was shoved toward Virria’s wagon and pushed inside by a wave of people waiting behind him.

  The first step into the wooden construct was quite surprising. He thought that it would feel akin to his cars back home, moving only slightly, but the floor decided it wanted to be a wave. The whole wagon swayed to one side and Aragami almost fell off balance, only catching himself by grabbing the wooden sides. He was ushered to sit down in the middle, next to Virria. He didn't complain. His dogs tried to jump inside as well, but he stopped them after seeing the faces of the people waiting.

  After everyone boarded, the deer-woman got his attention before pointing at Fido and Tessie, and then on the floor inside the wagon. With her permission, Aragami gently tapped the floorboards next to him and his dogs jumped in with no hesitation. The wagon rocked a little bit, but not nearly as much as when he entered, and his dogs lay down next to him on either side.

  The deer-woman took it as a signal and yelled out in a commanding voice toward the front of the wagon. Tessie’s ears shot up at the shouting and she even tried to stand up when the wagon started to move, but Aragami calmed her down and scratched her behind her ears.

  They rode the wagon through farmlands and open fields, the other wagons following behind them, until finally, after about an hour, they slowly came to a stop on what appeared to be a stone bridge of sorts. The deer-woman climbed out and vanished from his view as she walked to the front of the wagon, before coming back several minutes later with an otterman dressed in a medieval guard uniform with a sword hanging from his hip and a long spear held in his arms.

  As Aragami Looked the man over, he could tell the otterman quickly skimmed over everyone inside the wagon before settling on himself. The guard said something and the deer-woman gestured to Fido and Tessie. The otterman demanded something and the deer-woman sighed before gesturing to Aragami.

  He carefully reached out just above Fido’s collar and looked at the der-woman with a question in his eyes. She nodded to him, so he unlocked the collar and watched the guard’s reaction.

  As soon as the Mana light came off, the guard panicked. He pointed the spear at Fido, who just lay there with no care in the world. Aragami smiled behind his mask and scratched his head for a second. Meanwhile, the deer-woman was doing her best to calm the guard down and explain something. She pointed at Fido and then at Tessie and Aragami saw the color drain from the man’s face. He smirked and locked Fido’s collar once again, watching as the guard slowly backed away and yelled something at the deer-woman before storming off. She just shook her head, climbed inside and gave an order, and the caravan started to move forward again.

  They passed through a massive gate made of stone and drove into a city of small, stone houses and narrow streets. It was here that the different wagons began to separate from the caravan, going their separate ways, until theirs was the only wagon remaining.

  After another ten minutes travelling through the city, the wagon drove through a small wooden gate into a small yard and stopped. The people sitting on either side of him stood up and got out of the wagon, closing the wooden gate and entering the adjacent buildings.

  He was one of the last ones to exit the wagon and he followed the deer-woman into one of the buildings and down a set of stone stairs into a large, well lit room. There were small windows near the ceiling that allowed light to enter the room and a single door that they came through. He noticed a couple of metal hooks in the walls, as well as a large pile of straw in the corner.

  The deer-woman stood in the entryway, seemingly waiting for something, so he got her attention and pointed at the room. She, in turn, pointed at him and his dogs.

  ‘I guess we are to stay here for now.’ Aragami thought and took off his mask. Calling Tessie and Fido as well, he removed their collars and hung them on one of the hooks on the wall, before tapping the bracelet on his wrist and returning to his normal size.

  He breathed a sigh of relief, before starting to unpack his backpack and testing if the hook will be able to hold his weight for a hammock. As he hung the first rope, he heard someone behind him clearing their throat, and turned around.

  The deer-woman was walking over to him with a small blue necklace in her hand, while a younger looking deer-person in the doorway looked at him with wide eyes. He waved at them and the small one darted away.

  The deer-woman turned to look at the door before sighing and walking the rest of the way to Aragami. She offered him the necklace and after he took it, she showed him how to put it on.

  The necklace was a plain iron chain with no Mana in it, and a small blue crystal with quite a lot of Mana pulsing through it. Aragami studied it for a second, before throwing the chain over his head and letting it hang around his neck, the blue crystal on top of his t-shirt.

  The deer-woman gave him a once-over, before speaking up.

  “You understand?”

  This time, Aragami understood. He looked at the deer-woman with confusion, before nodding his head.

  “Good.” The deer-woman nodded and pointed at the room. “You three. Stay here. People come here. You learn. Understood?”

  She wants me to stay here… what does she mean by learn? Learn to use the necklace? Should I learn the language, or something else?

  “Understood?” the deer-woman repeated, a questioning look in her eyes.

  Aragami was about to nod, to express he understood, when a new word came to his mind. A word he’d never heard spoken, but he had a feeling it meant exactly what he wanted to say.

  He decided to give it a go, and pronounced the weird word while nodding his head in affirmation. “Understood.”

  The deer-woman opened her eyes a little wider, before nodding her head. “Good.” She said as she turned and exited the room. She closed the door behind her, and Aragami could hear a loud click of a lock.

  ‘Well… I guess I’ll get comfortable for the time being, then.’ He thought to himself and went back to hanging his hammock. ‘Finally, we are getting somewhere.’