Indeed, a score of students using [Invisibility], illusion, and even [Polymorph] spells and items had been caught by the [Mages] watching for any kinds of magical movement. Over the roofs or on the ground; their nets were stretched so finely that even a Fraerling would probably be caught in seconds if they got too close.
“[Polymorph] is the spell, which applies to people turning into completely different forms. This is different, Mirn. And I can’t make it last…that’s not my specialty, and even if it was, this is serious magic.”
He wasn’t a Dragon, so he had to actually be careful! The half-Elf shook his head as he buzzed into the Drake’s robes and began to spell-meld himself with the enchanted fabric. He couldn’t cast full [Polymorph], but temporary transformations would get him where he needed to go. He could already run out of the checkpoint if…
“Not just slightly, Fezimet. Hard as it may be to admit—no Lamia in Jungle Tails has a tenth of the knowledge that a Fraerling city like Paeth has. They have…something…there that will not only help put Jungle Tails back as a Great Company, but elevate it beyond all the others. Do you know that Fraerlings can change their forms like Lizardfolk? [Polymorph] spells. They have them when [Archmages] of today have forgotten.”
Gone are the cracks in her skin from both sunburn and magical radiation. The burns have faded, and she can breathe without coughing or needing magical help. Her limbs are strong and healthy, with no trace of damage from her recovery from being frozen—perhaps her rehabilitation worked, or again, perhaps the [Polymorph] spell simply reset her.
“Yes, she truly is the last [Archmage]. I did try, just as a matter of interest, to [Appraise] you, Miss Solstice. Impossible. I daresay the [Polymorph] spell was part of that. Changing your species to Fraerling made you difficult to locate in multiple senses. But then—the fact that we can likely restore you to a proper height speaks to her genius!”
“Ah, you’re not technically a Fraerling. Or part of Paeth, I suspect. Maybe you are a Fraerling—or Human—but the [Polymorph] spell…I’d just have to add you to the list. No flying. Terribly sorry about that.”
Especially with a damn [Polymorph] spell of that magnitude; Ilekrome doubted the Fraerlings could even alter Erin that much except in height, something the Death of Magic had clearly accounted for.
The Death of Magic had saved her life. But, Erin felt, she really could have reversed whatever spell she’d hit Erin with; put a time limit on it after a week? Then again, Erin might have drowned at sea. But still. How hard was it to cast [Teleport] along with [Polymorph] or whatever it was?
“I—look at me. They think I’m you. When I woke up, I thought that this was the greatest chance in the world. None of my people, none of them will get an opportunity like this. If we could, we’d be raiding mages’ laboratories for [Polymorph] spells and potions. But this is magic cast by the Death of Magic herself. No one can tell I’m a Sariant. They think I’m you.”
