To Acquire Some Victims
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 118124
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Ginnie went on to explain the details, and Lila listened intently, determined not to mess up this opportunity, knowing that it might be the last chance she ever got to be human again. Finally, Ginnie led her into her room, and got working on clothes. Lila had never much cared for clothes, simply accepting the simple garments given to her to cover up, but not it was admittedly important to look the part. So she accepted the plain gray frock with small frills along the hem, the pale shawl to wrap around her thin shoulders, the spectacles to sit uselessly on her nose. When all was finished, Ginnie stepped back, observing her, and, smiling, said, "Nobody would ever suspect you of being capable of harming a fly. Ironic, eh?" Lila, who ate flies on the regular, smiled dimly. But something inside of her shuddered. This... this was wrong. She shouldn't be planning to do harm. But the alternative was being shut in that garden and living and dying as a common toad. She felt ill. Around this time, Ginnie yawned and said, "I think we've got a plan. It's late; why don't you sleep in the garden tonight, and tomorrow we'll send you out to the nearest road to lie in wait." Before Lila could respond in any way, she waved her hand, and Lila found herself shrinking into her frock. Moments later, Ginnie gathered up the pile of clothes from around her, and Lila watched from her low vantage point as she placed them in a simple leather bag at the opposite end of the room. As she turned back to Lila, she began to hum, and Lila found herself melting into the lovely, now-familiar tune, losing all will to think for herself. Ginnie carried her to the garden, where she let her loose. Lila, finding herself rather hungry, hunted for a bit before eating a nice earthworm for dinner and falling fast asleep. She was awakened the following morning by two people: Ginnie, and Hillia, who was looking quite young and spry these days. Still bleary from sleep, Lila felt a twinge of envy looking upon her. Ginnie smiled and said, "Lila, Hillia here is off on her way to her own errand. She has a bag containing your costume, as well as some food for the day." She scooped up Lila, and seemed to concentrate for a long moment, during which Lila suddenly felt a persistent tingle run down her spine. "There," said Ginnie. "You now have the ability to trigger your transformation, exactly once. It should last somewhere between six and eight hours—more than enough time for you to bring an unsuspecting traveler back to this area. I'll sense your approach and do my best to meet you and take your victim—or victims!—off your hands. And that's about all there is to it! If you still haven't had success by day's end, Hillia will pick you up on her way back." Lila couldn't exactly protest, for multiple reasons, not the least of which being she still wasn't sure she could bring herself to. She found herself being placed into Hillia's large pocket to ride to the main path. It was about half an hour later that she dropped her by the roadside, placed the bag next to her, and said, "Good luck, Lila!" before putting up her hood and setting out. Thus began a very long day. It was a dirt path, not exceptionally well-traveled, but Lila understood it saw passersby once a day or so on average. Waiting wasn't really the problem, though. She'd spent most of her toady life with very little stimulation beyond survival. And that was the problem—survival. She was to remain here, in one place, waiting? She felt so very vulnerable. Who knew what may be watching her from the long grass... She pressed her tiny, trembling body down into the mud, making herself as small as possible. Most of the time she wasn't really watching the road, only listening for approaching footsteps from around the bend. At length she grew hungry, and crawled into the bag to see what was there. She found a slug pinned to a small board, and slurped it up happily, grateful, at least, for having gotten an easy meal out of this arrangement. She wriggled back out of the bag to resume her post, and the hours continued to pass. Her skin itched horribly under the noon sun, and she began to consider triggering her transformation now. But what if a traveler came by after suppertime, and she was too late? No, she couldn't bear to think of risking it. The road was quiet until what had to be about four in the afternoon, when she heard the unmistakable sound of human footsteps approaching. She had precious little time, and in a flash she had sprung up to her human height (a whopping 4'9" [104458]). She hurriedly reached into her bag and threw on her "disarming old lady" attire, and was just barely shod by the time her quarry came around the bend:
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Toad
5/14/2021 7:33:34 AM
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