Reasoning With the Voice

"Why are you doing this?" he--I mean she asked. "What could you possibly have to gain by turning me into a woman?"

"Nothing," said the voice, "save the satisfaction of revenge."

Fred realized that this was a wizard, trying to get revenge on him/her. He/she had fought a lot of wizards in his/her time, and this must be one trying to get revenge on him/her. "Won't you show yourself?" he said. "There's no fun in getting revenge if you don't show yourself."

"Alright," said the voice. A man appeared in the center of the room, in the robes of an archmage. Fred looked, in surprise. The new arrival was a fifteen-year-old boy, short and wiry, with blond hair and freckles. He didn't look at all like the sort of person who would have enough power to turn someone into a woman and create wardrobes out of nowhere. But it wasn't his youth that was a shock, so much as his familiarity.

"Jarlath?" said Fred, startled. His younger brother was the last person he expected to find here. "Why are you doing this? How did you get enough power?"

"I'm doing this," said Jarlath, "as revenge. All my adolescent life, I've had to live in your shadow. Imagine how it would feel, to have a reputation like yours to live up to! I turned you into a woman, to get revenge for all the romantic faliures I had. No girl even looked my way! And it felt even worse because they were all swooning over you. So turning you into a woman seemed a fitting punishment. And as for how I got the power to do it, I used this!" A book appeared out of nowhere in Jarlath's hand. It seemed ancient, and somhow malevolant.

"The Necronomicon!" Fred gasped.

"Yes, the Necronomicon!" said Jarlath. "I found it at a used bookstore for half price."

Fred had heard of the Necronomicon. It was an ancient spell book, very powerful and sentient. It manipulated people by playing on the desires locked in the deepest parts of their minds, giving them the chance to act on them. And evidently, this is what happened to Jarlath. What would Fred do now?

1. Attack the Necronomicon with his sword.
2. Try to reason with Jarlath, and break the Necronomicon's hold on him.
3. Try to get Jarlath a date.

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