The sound of dripping water muffled by the fungal growth filled the grotto as Aoth stirred on a sleeping bag that wasn’t his. Memories of the night before were like distant shadows, fading away just as he was about to focus on them; his throbbing headache did not help. Opening his eyes felt pointless, as the man could clearly tell that there wasn’t enough light here to even see anything. Yet he still did, only to be met with the gentle darkness. 

Was he out drinking? He didn’t remember ever leaving his room that day, with him feeling a certain attraction to one of the objects from their latest haul. It was an odd, vaguely egg-shaped crimson device decorated with golden accents. They didn’t know its purpose, but it had this aura of value even before the anonymous buyer arrived to evaluate whether it was genuine. This is why the privilege of holding onto the object fell onto Aoth - leader of the thieves guild. He was already giving so much to the new members, bailing them out of trouble thanks to his connections with the city guard. The least they could do was accept the right of seniority which he had when handling any new assets. But of course, no. They complained, they whined, and they stomped their feet.

But this…Looking at his wrist, he never expected them to go this far. A black band wrapped around it, resonating with dull magical energy - like a fading ache. He clenched his fist, seeing the band disturbed by his veins. It was the mark of an outcast, the symbol of those banished from the guild and never permitted to rejoin. How dare they! He was their guild master. He was the only thing keeping their asses out of Ashgate. Their little outburst was going to be the end of them, that much he could promise. As soon as Aoth found his way out of this dingy cavern, he was going to mobilize all of his remaining assets. The guild either existed with him at its helm or it burned - there was no in-between.

He jumped to his feet, inspecting his surroundings. Huge black mushrooms encompassed the walls, their caps pressing against each other to fight for space. They were similar to the ones he had seen before, but much, much larger. Aoth shook his head, brushing away the fear that they may have somehow dumped him in the Underdark. Even for them, that would be just cruel. But if not the Underdark, then where? Just how far from the City of Lorken was he?

Slap. Slap. Slap. The distant sound of soles pounding against stone was getting louder. Aoth took a look around, just to find all of his equipment missing - including his clothes. No matter, he had fought naked before. Having said that, he never was in a fight without the blade which had stayed by his side ever since the first time he had to gut somebody for the guild.

The figure was whistling something, her voice vaguely feminine. As she passed down a winding tunnel and into the grotto, Aoth’s fists unclenched. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but a fairy carrying his laundry definitely wasn’t it. She had long, straight blonde hair with two bright blue eyes which glowed gently in the darkness. Her petite body was wrapped in a skimpy dress fashioned from dark green oak leaves - the translucent insect-like wings resting passively while not used for flight.

“Oh, there you are.” She spoke up, her voice soft and hushed. Without warning, she threw all his stuff to the ground with a wet plop. “Your things. I washed them for you. There was some blood. A lot of blood, actually.”

There was a moment of silence. Aoth just stared at the fairy, expecting her to do something. When she did nothing except look back at him, he decided to take the lead. “Weird. Normally, women wake up naked in my house, not the other way around.” He tried joking, just to find the fairy continuing to give him a blank face. Being embarrassed was a foreign emotion to the thief, with him deciding to cough and move along instead of lingering on it. “You do realize that I am naked, right?” 

“Yeah, and?” Barmaids back in the capital used to blush whenever he got too close to them. Now, he was giving this dumb fairy a full display, yet she didn’t even twitch.

“And?” He blinked, repeating the question. 

“I don’t care.” She shrugged, her lips suddenly turning into a cheek smile as a pinkish blush appeared on her face. “I am only after that big human cock~” Letting out a squeal, the fairy placed her hands on both of her warm cheeks.

"I am a human.” Aoth said blankly, watching the fairy swoon from side to side while fantasizing about something he probably would rather not picture in his head.

“A human?” She snorted, holding back laughter. “I’ve never seen a human that’s 2 inches tall.”

It was then that a horrible realization hit Aoth. He had shrunk! These weren’t some huge magical mushrooms, they were Embercaps - the very same he would collect during his youth. A single whack against their spongy bodies confirmed his suspicion, with the tiny chamber filling with their golden glow. “It can’t be…” He ruffled his hand through his thick black hair, sitting down on the ground in disbelief as the sudden flash of light blinded his unadjusted eyes.

“Listen, I am sorry that you lost your wings.” Her face defaulted to the blank stare she seemed to hold whenever not thinking about something lustful. “Fairies don't typically last long without them."

“I didn’t lose my wings, I was shrunk!” Aoth slammed his fist against the ground, hurting it in the process. “Bastards! Olaka and her saggy, poison-filled tits are going to pay for this!”

“Olaka?” The fairy rubbed her chin. “That’s a human name, right? Do you have human friends?”

“I am a human.” He repeated, his face growing tired. Being forced to repeat himself was one of his deepest pet peeves, one which he punished his guild members for when they questioned his order. “And I am going to turn myself back to normal, removing this curse!” He threw his hands in the air, not knowing whether this was actually the work of some hex, potion, or something more esoteric. Squatting down, he began picking up his equipment. Despite being slightly wet, everything was still there - his trusty dagger amongst the pile.

“Can I come with you? Can I?” The fairy’s long elven ears moved up and down in excitement.

“Come with me?” Aoth mumbled, sliding on the black shirt. “Why the hell would you want to come with me? This has nothing to do with you. It’s between me and the guild.”

“You know humans, right?”

He exhaled. If she wasn’t going to listen to him, he might as well tell the woman what she wanted to hear. “Yeah, I know humans.” It's not like he was lying.

The fairy pumped her fists. “You can introduce me to them. Right? Right?”

Fastening the last belts before departing, Aoth actually began paying attention to the fairy instead of responding with the first thing that came to his mind. “People don't really interact with fairies that much. It's bad luck to accidentally hurt one.” That being said, he was more than willing to slap her if the girl wasn't going to get a grip. "Why do you wanna get so close so them?"

“Humans are just so beautiful.” Her face was a contrast of cuteness and lust, with deep breaths for the cave’s stale air. “They’re so big and strong and handsome. And I love it when they-”

Aoth raised his right hand. “Alright, that’s enough.” Despite her…attitude, having a fairy on the team could prove to be really useful, especially since at this size he had as much mobility as a wingless beetle. “Fine, I will get you a manservant if you help me grow back to normal, deal?”

She clapped her hands together, extending her palm - a gesture not native to fairies and one she learned from her days of voyeurism on humans. “My name is Myla.”

The thief grasped tightly onto her petite hand, giving her a handshake that was just a little too firm. “I am Aoth. Aoth of Lorken.”

Side by side, the two walked out towards the light, the sound of great rapids being revealed to simply be a thin stream passing by an abandoned animal borrow which he had mistaken for a cave. The steep banks appeared like those of a canyon, with boulder-sized pebbles littering the sandy shores. Aoth took in a deep breath, glancing at Myla with an uneasy face.

Adventuring parties rarely form under ideal circumstances. The image of a group of people gathering together in some grand guild hall to embark on an epic quest was a myth. The people in need simply have the tendency to group together - for wealth, safety, and glory. Perhaps a tiny fairy was the best that he was going to get, despite how much of a downgrade it was from working with the greatest rogues of Apolisia.

"This is going to be a pain." The thief grumbled as they walked downstream. "I barely even know where we are!"

"Your map was totally soaked by the time I found you." Myla explained, striding with her hands behind her back. Flying was a lot faster, but she found it exhausting. Being able to walk around was more relaxing anyways. 

"Even if I had that map, there is no way of knowing where we are without any landmarks." 

"Landmarks?" The fairy tapped her chin, briefly flying up to inspect the surrounding. "Oh! There is a village sign there!"

Aoth raised his head, using his right hand to keep the sun out of his eyes. "Good girl! What does it say?"

Myla squinted before looking down at him and shrugging. "I can't read."

Rubbing his forehead in annoyance, Aoth once again looked up at the fairy. "Can you lift me up?"

She landed next to him, sitting down on a rock to take a quick break from flying. "No way! I can barely support my own body weight."

"Come on, just try it." He raised his hands like a child waiting to be picked up. 

Watching Myla trying to raise him was embarrassing, with her awkward groans and huffs for air making him wince. "Alright, stop that." He lowered his hands, putting one on the panting fairy's back and giving her a few encouraging pats to not asphyxiate to death. But just as they were about to allow themselves to take a break, something moved in the distance - something big.

From above the river bed, 2 gargantuan figures emerged, their yellow eyes scouring the ground. Aoth could feel the ground shake as their bare feet impacted against it, the noise of rocks sliding down like boulders filling the tiny man with anxiety. Myla instinctively took flight, her tiny head moving from side to side that that of a startled bird. He was now on the ground alone, his eyes focusing on the gargantuan silhouettes. To his surprise, those beasts were actually a pair of goblins - nothing more.

The one holding the spear (if you could even call that crude sharpened stick a spear) shouted something at her companion in an excited tone. “Nesh told you they fly-elfs here!” She was naked, with her olive-green body decorated by deep red tribal markings. Brushing aside her short messy white hair, he could see the woman’s bright eyes and a wicked smile that showed off her carnivorous fangs.

Myla swallowed nervously as Nesh poked at the air with her weapon, trying to knock down the fairy as if she were a bothersome insect. From her experience, the hunters typically didn’t bother actually trying to catch her kind, rather leaving behind traps for them to be ensnared in. She knew that because she once fell for one - the most embarrassing moment of her life.

“Nesh have enough fly-elfs.” The other one was at least dressed, wearing a fur coat decorated by bone-crafted trinkets. She appeared to be a shaman, looking more mature and developed than her companion. Her skin was also shined with an emerald color rather than the immature olive shade of her younger kin. “Ulvala says we go camp. No hunting.”

The young goblin pouted, stomping her feet on the ground while snarling. “Nesh wants! Nesh wants!” Aoth yelped at the sensation of the tantrum-induced earthquake, Nesh's feet appearing like huge slabs despite belonging to one of the most pathetic creatures in the realm. Why was he forced to look up at her with the same feeling of insignificance one feels during the giant raids?

They locked eyes, his tiny heart beginning to race at the sight of her giant hands approaching him. Taking out his dagger, he slashed at her skin in defiance, creating a small scratch that only provoked Nesh to get her grubby hands on his form. He had wiggled out of traps and nets before, but being in her grasp was simply overwhelming - all the air forced out of his lungs as the excited goblin ran back to her camp, her shaman following behind unamused.

Myla watched as Aoth’s body disappeared within Nesh's palms, landing down on the other side of the river. Satisfied with the spoils, the greenskins retreated back to their camp. 

Being part of an adventuring party seemed exciting at first, but it looked like their first fight against a pair of goblins ended in total defeat.