"Do you see them?" Sothe asked his companion, holding her up to give her a better look. But when he did, he saw just how small she had become. In the time since he last checked on her, Micaiah had become shorter than his fingers.
"I don't... Oh!" she squeaked. "I see them!" She pointed to the distant figures of her friends, leaning forward eagerly.
Sothe used the distraction to study the miniaturized Micaiah again. She didn't seem to be shrinking any more, but it was difficult for him to tell since she was so small.
She turned back to him, with a big smile on her tiny face. Sothe couldn't help but smile back, distracting him from his concerns.
"Let's not keep them waiting!" Micaiah said.
"Yeah." Sothe nodded. When he felt Micaiah's little hands clasp to his finger, he headed towards their friends.
"Hey!" Sothe called out as he walked, waving to the others.
"It's Sothe!" Edward was the first to notice. The three seemed happy to see Sothe for a moment, before growing worried.
"You made it." Nolan nodded to the younger man.
"It wasn't easy." Sothe admitted. "But I made it out."
"Where's Micaiah?" Leonardo asked. "Wasn't she with you?"
"Uhh..." Sothe paused, trying to find the words to respond. "I'm not sure how to explain this, but..."
"I'm here!" Micaiah jumped up from Sothe's hand, waving with both arms.
"What's that in your hand?" Leonardo asked, pointing at the tiny girl.
"Never mind that!" Edward barged in. "Where's Micaiah?"
"Right here!" Micaiah answered with a shout. The only one of them who had put two and two together was Nolan, who merely watched with his mouth hanging open.
"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Edward asked, looking around.
Sothe pointed into his palm. "This is Micaiah." He said.
"What? Where?" Edward asked, leaning in.
"N-no way!" Leonardo gasped. "How is this possible?"
"I don't know." Sothe answered. "It happened after she used Sacrifice."
"What did?" Edward asked. "That's a neat little toy and all, but where's Micaiah?"
"You're such an idiot." Leonardo chided Edward. "I can't believe it took you that long to figure it out."
"Hey, give me a break okay?" Edward protested. "How was I supposed to know that Micaiah could make herself tiny?"
"I didn't do this on purpose!" Micaiah pointed out.
"This does present us with a big problem." Nolan noted. "Micaiah, can you even use spells like that?"
Sothe moved his hand closer to Nolan as he answered, giving Micaiah an easier time answering. "No, I don't think so. I would need a tome to use light magic."
"I see." Nolan said. "So that reduces our fighting strength by at least a fifth..."
"But I could probably use Sacrifice!" Micaiah realized.
"No!" Sothe spoke quickly. "Don't you dare!"
"Sothe..?" Micaiah turned towards him nervously.
"That spell could be responsible for your current state." He pointed out. "And even if it wasn't, who knows what might happen to you if you use it when you're that small? There's no telling what the toll on your body might be!"
"I... Suppose you're right." Micaiah conceded. She really didn't like feeling so useless, it made her feel smaller than ever before.
"So, will you still be giving us orders?" Edward asked, not reading the mood.
"Don't be ridiculous." Leonardo chimed in. "We can hardly hear her now."
"I suppose it's up to me then." Nolan said. "I'll lead the Dawn Brigade for a little while, until Micaiah is back to her usual self."
"Thank you, Nolan." Micaiah squeaked.
"It's been a long time since I was leader." Nolan groaned. "Hope I'm not too rusty."
"What do we do now?" Leonardo asked as the group trudged away from the city they called home.
"I guess we can't go back to Nevassa..." Edward said sadly. "Not for a while, anyway."
"We should find a way to turn Micaiah back to normal." Nolan said. "I don't fancy our chances without her."
"Yes." Sothe nodded. "Freeing Daein from Begnion will have to wait."
"No, don't worry about me!" Micaiah shouted, trying to get their attention. "We have to help the citizens of Daein!"
"None of us know much about magic." Nolan continued. "So we should try and find someone who does..."
"Ugh, I hate walking. It's so boring!" Edward whined. They had been walking for nearly an hour. "Are we nearly there yet?"
"Just a quick half-mark, and we'll be in Kisca." Nolan told him. "I'd like to stock up there, but..."
"Begnion will be on the lookout for us." Sothe said. "Let's steer clear of towns for now, unless we want more trouble."
"Don't tell me... That means another night sleeping on the cold ground with nothing but bugs to keep us warm!" Edward complained.
"Oh Edward, it's not that bad." Micaiah squeaked. "The forest is so beautiful and serene. I'd almost rather be out here. Right Yune?"
The bird chirped in agreement. Sothe was much less keen on the idea, but for different reasons. Micaiah was smaller than a mouse now. That put her on the menu for all kinds of animals. Perhaps he would have to stay awake, and keep watch over the tiny woman...
"Hey, look!" Edward pointed into the distance, through the forest ahead. "Who's that?"
A woman with black hair was running towards the group. She nearly tripped on her white robes as she ran, stumbling awkwardly towards the men.
"Do we run?" Sothe asked, defensively bringing Micaiah closer to his chest.
"...No." Nolan decided. "She seems harmless."
They continued their approach, meeting the young woman further down the path.
"Um... Excuse me." She said once close to the group. "Are you people heading to town by any chance?"
"Well, uh..." Nolan moved to explain, but the girl continued.
"Our abbot is ill. He needs medicine, but Begnion soldiers are hoarding our provisions in the manor house."
"The Dawn Brigade, at your service!" Micaiah squeaked.
"Oh!" The girl jumped, startled by the tiny woman.
"I'm sure we can help you and your abbot." Micaiah said proudly.
"Y-you're so small..." The woman marveled. "Are you a fairy?"
"This is Micaiah." Sothe explained. "She's Beorc, but, well... Something happened."
"Never mind that!" Micaiah said, "We'll help you, won't we?"
"Of course!" Edward chimed in.
"More trouble, eh?" Nolan scratched his chin. "Not sure that's too wise, given Micaiah's state."
"Agreed." Sothe nodded. "This is too risky."
"We formed the Dawn Brigade to help the people, remember?" Micaiah argued. "Helping people like her is what we do!"
"You've got a point." Nolan agreed. "But with the way thing are..."
"There's a chance the abbot will know something about what's happened to Micaiah." Leonardo pointed out. "Abbots know about magic, right?"
"Yeah. Maybe we should help out!" Edward joined in.
"It's your choice." Sothe said to Nolan. He was not keen on helping this time, worried about Micaiah above all else.
Nolan carefully considered the choice before them...
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