Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?

Our protagonists have to go to the mall to pick up supplies for their project. Paul and Pappy are accosted by Mefisto and his pals. The three witches step in once again. The bullies are forced to undergo a transformation; but are they forced? Paul comes out to Pappy. They meet The Wizard, and in spite of all the parental warnings find him to be quite nice.

This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight
 

Chapter 4

“Class, I’m very pleased with the project ideas you’ve submitted to me. I’ve made some suggestions, and they are noted on your submissions. Team four, I need to see you after class,” Mr. Temple said. “We need to go over a few things just to make sure we are on the same page.”

Tom, Pappy, Ivan and Paul stayed behind as the rest of the students left class.

“I am more than pleased with the project you submitted; however, it’s going to be very difficult, and I am convinced you are up to it. The idea of interfacing cave ecology with surface water recharge zones and discharge areas is quite a bit to chew.

“I don’t know how much you are into caving; however, there are some good sites in the area, and in spite of the population growth, there are some relatively unexplored caves that might be ideal for the project you have in mind.

“Here’s a topographic map of an area I would suggest you consider. I think that area has all the features you would require for your project. I’ve put together a list of things you would probably need to make your exploration go well.”

Tom looked over the list. “This is quite a bit of equipment. I’m not sure it’s available anywhere around here.”

“You shouldn’t have any problem getting what you need at the mall. There’s a new outdoor supply store there. I think it’s taken over the place that used to be occupied by the Hallmark Store. I searched the internet, and it came up immediately. According to the website, everything you will need will be there. Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Mom, my team and I are going to the mall to get some supplies for our project.”

“That’s nice. Oh dear, the mall; you Tom, Ivan and Dimitri need to be careful. Remember what I said about some of those people who work at malls; they’re not to be trusted.”

“Trusted about what?” Paul asked.

“There’s an evil man who runs a shop. He moves from mall to mall looking for victims he can transform into his slaves.”

“You’re talking about magical transformations?”

“Yes, magic, the most evil kind.”

“Why haven’t you talked about this with me, before?”

“We didn’t think it was time; however, we think he’s very close by. All the evidence points to that.”

“That’s what your little meetings are about, aren’t they? I know you know about Tom and his parents being close by; however, I never mentioned Ivan and Dimitri by name. We suspected something for quite a while, but now you’ve confirmed it. There’s something going on, and you and their parents are involved. Exactly what is going on?”

“I knew I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid to. We all were afraid to. We are planning to kill a wizard. He has done terrible things.”

“Such as?”

“I can’t talk about it right now; however, you need to know that you should avoid him at all costs; however, if you and your friends do run across him, you need to take note and let me know where he is, immediately. If the opportunity arises, kill him. Use whatever means are available.”

“If this Wizard is so powerful, that might be a difficult task. After all, I don’t think we’ve ever been taught how to deal with magic.”

“You don’t seem to be having any trouble accepting the idea of magic.”

“Mom, we’re almost eighteen, and we’re pretty capable. Over the last week, we’ve seen evidence of magic. Well, at least Tom and Pappy have, and the corroberating evidence they presented is pretty convincing. There is something very magical going on.

“We’ll let you know if we see anything. Meanwhile, we have a major project to work on. May I take the car? I was going to pick up Pappy. Tom and Ivan are going to meet us there.”

“Not a problem, I have a number of contracts to work on. Remember, if you see anything strange, let me know.”

Pappy was waiting at the curb when Paul pulled up. “I told Mom we were aware that our parents were meeting. She confessed that magic had something to do with it. Now, get this. They want to kill some evil wizard. She wouldn’t say why.”

“Yeah, Mom essentially told me the same thing. Your mother called just a little while ago. They’re worried about us, but they are afraid to say why. She said there’s this evil wizard who hangs out around shopping malls. I guess he’s some sort of pervert. Well, I’m not into that sort of stuff, anyway.”

“I’ve only been in this mall a couple of times. I don’t remember an outdoor supply store. I guess we might as well take the closest entrance. I see a parking spot right there. How convenient.”

“I don’t see anything,” Pappy said as he looked over the rather large listing of stores. “Wait, there it is. I guess I missed it. I could have sworn that was a Hallmark Store. ‘Survival R Us. That has to be the place. Man, it’s clear down at the other end of the mall. Let’s get going. The guys are probably there already.

“I gotta take a leak. I think the rest rooms are down that corridor.”

“Well, well, well, it’s that weird faggot and his faggot friend who have been spreadin’ lies about me and my friends.”

The voice sent chills down Pappy’s neck. That was all he needed.

“Well if it ain’t Irving Mefisto. What the hell do you want?”

“Clyde, Melvin, grab his friend and hold him while I take care of shithead here. I don’t like people saying things about me that ain’t true.”

“If I recall correctly, Irving, someone else said you were scared off by some cheerleaders before you could beat up Tom who’d been knocked out. Somebody else said it looked like you and your friends wet their pants.”

“Nobody scares Mefisto.” He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a set of brass knuckles. I think these will help get the message across.”

“Guys, take care of Wimp while I finish off Dork, here.”

“You never learn, do you?”

Clyde and Melvin had released Paul and were pointing in terror behind Mefisto from where the voice had come. It was the lead cheerleader and her associates.

Mefisto recognized the voice, and slowly turned.

“I think we’ll let someone else take care of you in a permanent fashion; however, that will have to wait. What are we going to do?

“How about we give them curly blonde hair and dress them in tutus,” Charli said. That would be fun.”

“I have a better idea,” Randi said. “Let’s not use magic. Let them do it to themselves. I’ll just give them a little push.

“Boys, I have put $150 in each of your wallets. I want you to go down to the ‘Cut ‘n’ Curl’ and pick out the most feminine hairstyles you can imagine. Of course you will all want to be blondes. After you have had the full treatment, including perms, you may leave. Tell Terri we sent you. She will look out for you. Now, here’s the good and bad news. Once you’ve gone through the process, only you, Terri and a select few will be able to see what has been done to you. Each time you look in the mirror or at each other you will be able to see how nice you look. No one else will see anything but the scruffy delinquents you are. You will report once a week to have your roots done. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.

“Okay, hurry on, Terri’s waiting for you.”

The three hoodlums left their intended victims and headed for the ‘Cut ‘n’ Curl’.

“Wow,” Pappy said as he looked at his rescuers. “You guys are something else. Thanks for the rescue.”

“We told you we’d be looking out for you, and we keep our promises,” Cindy said.

“Tom and Ivan haven’t arrived quite yet; they’ve been held up in traffic. So take your time getting to the shop. You might want to talk about some things. We have some other things to take care of.” Then they were gone.

“Well, if I didn’t believe it before, I certainly do now. Wow, what three positively gorgeous women.”

“Yeah, and Charli, the dark haired one can kiss like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I wish I could find someone like she is.”

“You mean, a witch?” Paul asked.

“Tom and I talked about it the other day, you know, who would be your ideal woman. I gave him a typical juvenile response. I know that now.”

“What was his counter?” Paul asked.

“He said the only important thing was that they were intellectually compatible. He said she would have to complement him, and he her.

“Now this is the strange thing; although you may not think so. Maybe you would. I kept after him; asking what she would look like, and he said, ‘short, tall, slender, stocky, blonde, brunette, or redhead: it doesn't matter.’ I pressed him a bit more, this was before I’d met you and Ivan, and he said she would look like she does: tall, slender, the rest doesn't matter. He was pointing at you. He didn’t realize it was you until he took a closer look.”

“Oh shit,” Paul said quietly. He sat at the closest chair in the food court.

“I’m sorry, Paul, I didn’t know. It’s okay if you’re gay. I don’t care. It doesn’t change anything.”

“I’m not gay. This isn’t for public distribution; however, Tom is fully aware of the situation. I’m transgender,” Paul said very quietly.

“I think this puts a whole different twist on things. I’ll stick my neck out here, but you love Tom, don’t you?”

Paul nodded.

“He doesn’t know?”

“That’s right. We’re very close, but I don’t think he understands.”

“I’ll keep your secret. I certainly don’t want to mess up your friendship.

“We’d better get down to that store.”

“What a mess,” Tom muttered as he parked his car. “There had to have been at least a thousand pumpkins spread across the highway. I’ll have to run the car through the car wash before I go home. Fortunately, I have Mom’s credit card. Let’s see if we can find that shop before it closes, and Paul and Pappy leave.”

“If they were going to leave, they would have called us,” Ivan replied. They’ll be waiting.

Their entrance was much like the others. The large store directory pointed the way to ‘Survival ‘R’ Us. It was down the long corridor where several other corridors met.

“Oh, my, gosh,” Ivan said as they stepped away from the directory. Standing only a few feet away were the three cheerleaders.

“Hello ladies, to what do we owe this pleasure?”

“We were just visiting an old friend. Your destination is just around the corner. He’s really a very nice man. I think both of you, all four of you, will find him to be very interesting. We’ll see you later.”

“Pappy was right about one thing,” Ivan said. “They certainly are beautiful. Did you notice that no one else around us was paying any attention to them? I have no doubt they are real; however, they are very powerful. There are hundreds of people around us, and not one batted an eye when three of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen are standing right there.

“Tom, there’s some weird shit going on, and we’re in the middle of it.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying all along.

“Okay, according to the mall directory, this should be the spot, but that’s a Hallmark Store. Maybe it’s down to the left.” A search in that direction found nothing.

“I could swear those cheerleaders said it was right here. Let’s look down the right hand corridor.” That search proved equally fruitless.

“Look, there’re Paul and Pappy,” Ivan exclaimed.

“Hey guys, where you been?” Paul asked.

“We were looking for the ‘Survival ‘R’ Us’ store.

“Look, there’s Mr. Temple, and that’s the store. He must have just come out of it.”

“Hi, kids, I was just heading down to get some supplies at Petco, and thought I’d drop in here to make sure he had what you needed. I think he’s ready for you.

“He’s a great guy in spite of what you may have heard about him. I’ve known him for close to 18 years. I have the greatest respect for what he does. As you get to know him, I think you will agree.

“Well, I gotta go. The cats will be very unhappy if I don’t get the right litter for them.

The door opened inward which wasn’t as much of a surprise as the door itself. It was wood with a six panel window. Some would call the door ‘shabby chic’, but the chipped paint and grout spoke of something different. The sound of a little bell tinkling as the door hit the actuator. There was something right about it. And yet, it was not right. Paul knew that immediately. He noticed Ivan’s unease as the door shut behind them.

“Boys, I’ll be right with you. Your packs are on that table. I think everything you will need is in them. Give Wolf a cookie. They’re low calorie. We’re watching his weight.”

“Holy shit, what is this place?” Pappy said quietly. The shelves and racks were crammed with all sorts of outfitters’ gear. Mountain climbing accessories were on one wall, camping equipment on another. Several rubber rafts and kayaks decorated the ceiling. One whole section was dedicated to bird watching; another to fly fishing.

“Excuse me,” a rather rough voice said, turning their attention back to the counter where a rather large wolf was sitting on his haunches. His tale was slowly wagging. “The boss said I could have a cookie. You’ll have to get one for me. As I explained to Simoné, I can’t open the jar. I don’t have opposable thumbs. I won’t tell if you give me two.”

“Go ahead and give him two, he’s been a pretty good wolf, today.” The owner of the voice was parting a beaded curtain hanging in the doorway obviously leading to the back room. The man of an undetermined age looked a bit like someone from ‘Duck Dynasty’. His camouflaged jump suit was perfect for the role; however, the boys realized there was no hunting equipment to be sold in the shop.

“You’re correct, Dimitri, or I should say Pappy, I don’t sell hunting supplies, and the fishing gear is mostly for catch and release.

“Well, welcome to my shop. I think I have everything you’ll need for your class project. Mr. Temple explained where you will be going and what you would require. I must say, I admire the work you’re doing.”

Paul and Ivan had been taking everything in, and realized very quickly where they were. “Your Wisdom,” Paul said, “I’m certain you know what’s been going on, and I’ve been putting two and two together over the last few days. My mother told me you were in the area, although at first I wasn’t exactly sure whom she was talking about.

“You know she wants to kill you. She told me to kill you if I had a chance. Of course, that’s the furthest thing from my mind.”

“So, this is the one Mom was talking about,” Pappy said under his breath.

“Tom,” Paul said, “We don’t have to worry about a thing. At least I don’t think we do.

“This is the man, the reason all of our families have moved to Bridgeport.

“Your Wisdom, may we get rid of all this?” Paul said while pointing around the shop.

“Certainly, we’ll just go somewhere else. Let’s go to the back room, have some refreshments, and go over a few things.” The shop reverted back to the way Paul had always thought it would appear. The Wizard was now wearing the proper wizard’s robe. Paul also noted that the mall was no longer visible through the windows.

“I know that two of you don’t know much about me; however, I assure you I mean you, your parents and their associates no harm. It will take a while, but everything will be straightened out to everyone’s satisfaction.

“You are going to be involved in some adventures, one of which is academic. In the meantime, I have to take care of a bit of a problem for which I am partially responsible. As you said, Paul, your mother and friends think they want to kill me. I need to convince them otherwise. So far, things have been going fairly well.”

“Who are the cheerleaders?” Tom asked.

“Three of my associates whom I’ve tasked to make sure things don’t get out of hand. They won’t always be right there, but they are watching when they need to. Cindy’s a medical student. Actually, she’s now a doctor in her residency. Randi is Cindy’s younger sister. She’s 18 and starting her Master’s in chemistry at MIT. Charli’s a freshman at The University of Connecticut. She’s Cindy’s sister-in-law. She will be going into Veterinary Medicine.

“You will meet them and their families when this is all over. You are mostly on your own; so don’t think you can rely on them to bail you out all the time.

“Don’t forget your packs. You’ll have to go out the back door. We’re currently in Albuquerque.

Chapter 5

“Wow, what an honor!’ Ivan exclaimed. “Imagine meeting The Wizard. I wonder … “

“Not now, Ivan, you and I need to talk: later, okay,” Paul said while raising his eyebrows.

“Oh,” Ivan said realizing the implications of his comments.

Tom and Pappy were a few steps ahead, and hadn’t heard the comments.

Their attention was diverted by three rather startling appearing blondes exiting a beauty shop. Their hair was perfectly styled, their faces made up as if they were going to the theater, and their previously chewed nails were perfectly manicured with nice extensions. They were trying to slink out of the closest exit, hoping no one would see them. The other patrons of the mall hadn’t seemed to take notice of the three, but that was not the case of their four previous victims.

“Hello boys,” Paul said. “I must say you look very nice; quite an improvement, really.”

“Oh shit, you can see us,” Mefisto said.

“Certainly”, Tom said. “Why wouldn’t we be able to see you?”

“Mefisto, be quiet for a moment. Wait right there and don’t move a muscle. Tom and Ivan don’t know what happened to you,” Paul said.

“Mefisto and his two buddies tried to attack Pappy and me when we first showed up. Our three witch friends stepped in and put a stop to it. They told the boys to go to that beauty salon and get done to them what you see before you. Actually, I think they got a little extra. I imagine they will have to keep their good looks up until our friends release the spell.”

During the conversation, Mefisto was looking at his reflection in a store window. He was arranging his ash blonde curls just a bit. Then he reached into a pocket, found a tube of lipstick and retouched his lips.

“You know, this color really suites me. When I saw Terri’s hair, I just had to have that color. She told me hers is natural, though.”

“Mefisto, what the hell are you talking about,” Clyde said, almost shouting. “When I get home, I’m going to shave my head.”

“Clyde, you will not be able to do that until the spell is removed,” Paul said. “You might as well get used to it.”

“I don’t know, Clyde,” Melvin said. “I think she, er, he looks very nice. I just love the light pink tint Terri gave me. She said it would wash out and I can use other tints. I would love to have hair that looks like that golden blonde witch. She sure is pretty. I sure don’t want to miss my appointment to get my roots done.”

“Guys, you’d better get home. I’m sure you will come to some sort of solution eventually. There’s always the chance your parents won’t notice,” Paul said bidding the three former adversaries adieu.

“What the hell happened to those three? I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it. That must have been one hell of a spell,” Tom said.

“In the case of Mefisto and Melvin,” Paul said, “I think Randi just released a lot of inhibitions. She gave them a pretty good push to make the initial changes. As far as Clyde is concerned, Randi added several strong compulsions; however, Clyde might always be Clyde. Maybe he will learn a lesson, maybe he won’t.

“Ivan, I need to talk to you in private.

“Guys, we’ll catch up to you in a minute. We’ll meet down at the game arcade.”

Paul pulled Ivan to an empty table in a remote corner of the food court.

“Ivan, you seem to know quite a bit about The Wizard and his shop. Nothing seemed to faze you about him. That can mean only one thing.”

“Actually, two,” Ivan responded. “You know as much as I do. Does Tom know about you?”

“Yes, he’s known for years. He is very supportive.

“Are you going to tell Pappy about you? I think I know how you feel about him. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Pappy knows about me. I told him a while ago, and he seems to be pretty cool about it. Tom doesn’t know that he knows; however, if we’re going to be working together for the next year I don’t think we should be keeping these thing a secret.”

“Paul, about the Wizard, Do you think …?”

“Of course I think about it all the time; however, I don’t think we need to worry or obsess about it. All that machinery has already been set in motion. You know as well as I do that The Wizard works by his own rules. I think we need to worry more about the problems at hand.

“Oh shit, I just realized something. Why are our parents here? Why are they wanting to kill The Wizard?”

“I think I know,” Ivan said. “They’ve met The Wizard in the past. They’ve all been affected in some way or other by The Wizard. I would say there is a good chance that our mothers had probably been boys or men in the past. Apparently, they’re not too happy about the changes, and they want to get revenge.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’ll bet Tom and Pappy have figured it out, too,” Paul said.

“I don’t think so. They were impressed by The Wizard, but I don’t think they understand his reputation. We may have a bit of educating to do about us and our parents. We may have to feed it to them a little bit at a time.”

“Please make yourself at home Eleanor, you too, Lindsay. I’m just heating up some water for your favorite tea. I’ll be out there in just a minute. I’d have you get some cookies for Wolf, but he, his wife and kids are out for the evening. There, that should be ready pretty soon.”

“Well, to what do I owe this pleasure? Surely, you’re not thinking of doing something rash?” The Wizard said as he parted the curtains.

“No, we think that’s all past,” Lindsay said.

“Let’s go to the back. I imagine we have a lot to discuss.”

“We know that you are aware of what’s going on,” Eleanor said as she smoothed her skirt beneath her thighs as she sat. “Sandra has this idea that we can bring you down.”

“Others have thought the same, and I’m still here after nearly a thousand years. I don’t think anything’s changed other than we understand better how all this magic works. So what made you think you could get away with this plan?”

“Sandra is quite the motivator. When we saw her ad in the paper we thought what the heck, we’d see what it was all about. It would have been different a few years ago right after what you did to us happened; however, things had really been going quite well for us,” Lindsay said as she reached over and gently took Ellie’s hand.

“We know we are not very attractive, and we know that was your intent. We had become parodies of what we thought lesbians were. My god, even our gay friends pity us; however, they support us. We learned very early about how much our preconceptions were wrong.

“You know as men we weren’t that bad looking. We couldn’t understand though why we had no success with women. I think I said it in this very shop before you lowered the boom on us when I said a woman was a life support system for a cunt. We were chauvinistic assholes.”

“How much did you screw with our minds? I always wondered about that,” Ellie asked.

“Not much at all. I gave you some artificial memories so you could cope with some basic things like feminine hygiene; really just some basic skills. I have some associates who gave me some advice on what you might need.”

“So, you didn’t make us fall in love with each other?”

“You did that on your own. When you need love, it’s not always where you think it might be. I think you’ve made some great strides over the last five years.

“So, why did you come here this evening?”

“We think you know,” Lindsay said.

“I do, but I’d rather hear it from you.”

“Could you make us a bit more attractive; just so people don’t turn away from us?”

“You don’t mean turn you back into men?”

“As you said, you didn’t change our minds that much,” Ellie said while continuing to hold her lover’s hand. “We’re still not attracted to men, and we’re sorry to say that if we were men, we would not be able to physically love each other. We would be friends, but we couldn’t have the relationship we have now. We don’t want to lose this. It’s too important. We are truly happy, thanks to you.”

“Well, well, I’ll tell you what. I might make a few alterations, nothing much I assure you; however, there is a price. Would you trust me to initiate these changes without me telling you what they are before I do them?”

“I think so,” Ellie said turning to Lindsay. Lindsay nodded her assent.

“You won’t know what I’ve done to your appearance until you return to your hotel room. I don’t think you will be unhappy. Now, this is the price. It is already done. You have no choice in the matter. You are both pregnant, and you will be pregnant several more times. We are in the process of saving embryos that were aborted. I suspect both of you will have three or four children each over the next ten years or so. You may have more if you desire.

“Oh my god, this is wonderful,” Lindsay said almost bouncing up and down in her chair. “We’d talked about having children. We just didn’t want to go about the process in the normal way.”

“I knew that. Would you like another cup of tea? By the way, you both have appointments with your doctor.”

“Yes, and those wafers are delicious.”

They discussed a few more pleasantries before they bade The Wizard good evening.

The taxi driver was quite pleasant to them when he asked their destination. The doorman tipped his hat and held the door for them as they entered the lobby. Their heels clicked across the marble floor as they headed for the elevator. A man held the door for them at the elevator.

The realization of what had happened to them didn’t hit them until they entered their room.

“My god, Ellie, you’ve got boobs, and you’re a redhead, and you’re tall.”

“I always did have a thing for tall slender blondes. Look in the mirror,” Ellie said as she turned her lover to the dresser mirror.

“What did we do to deserve this?” Ellie asked as the tears started to flow. They were nice tears.

“I think we were honest with him. Besides, he can read our minds like a book. I think we have a lot to learn about motherhood over the next few months. However, right now, I want to make love to you.”

“Ladies, I’m sorry to report that Ellie and Lindsay have gone over to the dark side. They got married at the courthouse yesterday, and are honeymooning in the Virgin Islands. Lindsay said they are both pregnant and couldn’t be happier.

“We’re down to ten, but we can still do this.

“Myrtle, would you please read the minutes from the last meeting.

“Irving, what have you done to yourself?”

“I couldn’t help it, Mom. Some witches made us do it. Me and Clyde and Melvin were harassing some guys at the mall when these three gorgeous witches made us stop. They’d stopped us from doing things before. They gave us money to go to the beauty salon and get our hair done. We couldn’t resist. We had to pick out hair styles. I picked out this one and the color. I really love it. What do you think?”

“It’s quite nice, but you’re a boy.”

“I don’t think so, Mom. I think that’s what’s been bothering me. I think that’s what’s been bothering Melvin, too. His hair is really beautiful. He’s got a pink tint.

“Mom, it’s like a whole new world opened up to me. I can’t, don’t want to, go back. This is who I’ve wanted to be for a long time. I was just afraid to tell you.”

“I think I knew. You’ve been wearing my bras, haven’t you?”

“Er, yes, but I don’t have boobies.”

“That won’t happen for a while. I think we need to see a doctor who will help us with this. This isn’t going to be easy. I knew something was going on, but this is a bit more than I expected. What are you going to do about school?”

“They told us that not everyone can see what happened. Only a couple of guys noticed what we looked like. I think I need to get different clothes.”

“I am so sorry you got those tattoos. They are going to be very difficult to hide.

“Well, I guess I’m going to have to call Melvin and Clyde’s mothers, and see what they think about all this. Witches, you say: now I’ve heard everything.

Our adventurers are on their way. They have met The Wizard, and they know he is fully aware of what’s going on. Well, of course he is. The three bullies, Irving, Clyde and Melvin at Randi’s urging have undergone an amazing transition. I wonder what’s in store for them? I also wonder who will be next in abandoning the cabal?

The action will definitely start to pick up. Tom realizes that the area of their study isn’t really in Connecticut; however, he recognizes the location even though he’d never been there except in his mind’s eye. Our bullies will undergo another transition, probably their final one. Then there are some strange things about their packs.