Maxine walked with determination with every step that she took as she wanted to see Shepherd Morgan as quickly as she could. She was being led by Shepherd Riley who knew the severity of the situation so she too walked with a small amount of haste. She was still finding it hard to believe that the previous day Maxine had been a giant of a woman. Now she very short and quite frail.
They were not alone as Charles too followed closely behind. He too was in some disbelief but he was sure that his friend would become big again before long. If she couldn't then she would have to kiss her dreams of being a knight. She had found it difficult enough before when the fact that she was a woman was holding her back. Now that she had lost her size and strength it meant that becoming a knight was practically impossible. She was too weak to wield her sword and putting her armour on was something that would be equally as futile. Also, he had lost his greatest protection which would make travelling the roads particularly dangerous.
"How much further?" asked Maxine with a hint of annoyance in her voice. She was hating every moment that she was small. Seeing the world from so low was simply abnormal to her, she had always been used to towering over everyone and almost everything. Now she was having to look up constantly at people which to her was practically an alien concept. She did watch as Shepherd Riley turned her head and looked at her with a smile on her face. She thought that a smile would make the situation a little better.
"Not far now Ms Martel," replied Shepherd Riley. "It is just down this corridor and then we'll be there. Shepherd Morgan has been informed of the situation so at least you won't need to explain things."
Maxine fell silent as she continued to walk. Something else that was abnormal to her was how many strides she was taking in comparison to before. In comparison to when she was big it took her one stride for every two that she did now. It made travelling from one place to another more taxing on her and she had to contend with the fact that her smaller body didn't have the stamina that she was used to.
Eventually the trio came to a relatively small door which was at the far end of a corridor. Carefully Shepherd Riley stepped towards the door and knocked on it. There were several moments of what seemed to be silence before Shepherd Riley opened the door and all three of them stepped inside.
The first thing that Charles was able to notice was a musty smell but as he looked into the room, he could see that there were no windows. Instead it was candle light that lit up the room and there was a single bed right in the corner. Sitting on a nearby chair was a woman who looked to be close to a hundred years old. Her eyes were mostly closed and what hair she had left was long and completely white. Her face had more wrinkles than any of them would care to count and only a few teeth remained in her mouth.
The Old Woman was wearing a very similar outfit to Shepherd Riley and as the trio entered, she turned her head towards them but other than that she didn't really acknowledge that they were even there.
"Shepherd Morgan," said Shepherd Riley in a very respectful tone. She even bowed to her as she spoke. "I want to thank you for seeing us on such short notice." It seemed that the elderly Shepherd grumbled, at first Charles thought that it was just a noise but he soon realised that she had spoken. "I have brought Ms Maxine Martel to you in the hopes that your wisdom can help her." She then looked towards Maxine who had been a few feet back. "Come on step forward."
Maxine did as she was told as she stepped forward. In a way the Shepherd looked similar to her grandmother before she had died. She thought that the old woman was nearing the time to meet the gods themselves.
"Ah I see that you are different from what I've been told," said Shepherd Morgan. Her voice sounded warm and loving, almost like a grandmotherly voice. It did make Maxine feel a little easier with the situation. But she was still determined to get back to her normal self as soon as she could.
"Do you know what happened at all?" replied Maxine. Her own voice was respectful as she knew better than to insult someone who was trying to help her. "I was huge when I went to bed last night and now, I'm like this." She gestured her hand toward herself and to Charles looking on it still seemed unreal. A part was telling him that the woman standing before him was someone different to his friend. He had to keep reminding himself that they were one in the same.
"If I had to guess I'd say that there is magic involved in all of this. Please tell me, how you became so large in the first place? I might be old but even I know that people don't normally grow as tall as you were. Or so I've heard at least." There was a small chuckle which Maxine didn't appreciate but she didn't lash out because of it.
"My size came from my mother. She is around eight and a half feet tall and has the ability to enlarge herself further." She then paused for a moment before as she knew that technically she was incorrect. "Actually, I'm mistaken, my mother is a giant in every sense of the word, taller than most castles in the land but she possesses a dress which allows her to shrink down to around eight and a half feet. She became like that after being given a special elixir when she was a baby which cured her of an illness that would have taken her life in infancy. Because of her, myself and my sisters are all greatly above average height."
"I see, very interesting. It seems that you inherited a small amount of magic from your mother. That is why you were able to grow so large, looking at you big is the last word that I would describe you." She chuckled again and it seemed that despite her appearance that she still had enough know how in order to get by and be considered the wisest amongst the Shepherds in this orphanage.
"But what happened to my size? It couldn't have disappeared like that." The fact that she had lost height wasn't too unreasonable in her mind as she had seen her mother and sisters shrink from giant size to a more manageable height. It was her muscles that were the biggest concern as losing muscle mass like this was something that she didn't think was very likely. Deep down she was also scared of being so weak, especially after everything that she had experienced and the enemies that she'd created.
"Hmm, now that is the question but I'm guessing that you've been big for your entire life, so it isn't like your size was a temporary form of magic. Instead it was magic within your body maintaining your impressive stature but it has been removed."
"Removed?" This came to her as a shock as she had never heard of such a thing taking place. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, your body contained magic which allowed you to maintain your size. But since it has been removed your body has reverted to that. I know that you're going to say that you've never been like this before, well if it hadn't been the magic passed on from your mother this is how you would have likely turned out."
"What?" She then looked at her hands and there was still some disbelief in what she was hearing. Her mind couldn't wrap itself around the fact that naturally she would have become this. The truth was that without magic she wouldn't be born as her mother would have died when she was a young baby. But to think that she could have been this was still something that had blown her mind.
"I-I guess that makes sense," stated Charles as he looked at Maxine. Normally she would have looked at him with a stink eye but with her mind blown in the manner that it had she didn't even register his comment. He could see that she didn't seem to be in any real state to ask anything. "But how was the magic removed from her body? I didn't think that such a thing was possible."
"Now that is what brings me some trouble," answered Shepherd Morgan. Although it looked as though she could fall asleep at any moment, she was still aware enough to carry on the conversation. "There are only two ways that magic can be removed from someone's body. The first is that they remove it themselves and from your friend's reaction I doubt this is the case. The only other way is that someone else removed it which seems like the most likely case."
"Someone removed the magic inside of Maxine?" He looked over to his shrunken friend and it still seemed like she hadn't fully registered what had been said. "But who could have done something like that?"
"It is evident that it took place at some point last night. So far, I haven't been given any news of a break-in so it means it was someone who was already inside of this very orphanage. But I assure you that none of the Shepherds would do such a thing. We know of magic of course, but we are prohibited from practicing any. It would be something that would go against our very creed."
"But the only other explanation would be that it was one of the orphans who took the magic from Maxine. Surely that couldn't be possible." Even though he knew that there was a small possibility he still thought that it was astronomically small. He knew that children shouldn't be underestimated. He still remembered the leader of the bandits that Maxine had faced not too long after they had first met. Although this child had looked sweet and innocent, she had been the leader all along and been completely ruthless.
"This is certainly troubling. The only other explanation is that there was an intruder who has been here for a while and since there has been no reports of a break out it would mean that they were still here."
This was something else that Charles found to be unlikely. A thief would most likely not stick around after stealing something. They would make themselves scarce as soon as possible in order to minimalize the chances of being captured. All this meant that things were not as clear cut as he would have liked.
"Enough of this!" stated Maxine in a loud and angry voice. It seemed that she had snapped out of her current mindset and it had been replaced by rage. She clenched her fist as she looked over to Shepherd Morgan. Not far away Shepherd Riley was becoming concerned, she was thinking many of the same things as Charles but she also feared for the safety of the elderly Shepherd. "I don't want to stand here and simply talk about what happened. I want my size back, if it is just some thief who stole it then point me in the right direction and I will hunt them myself. Through sun and snow, I will find them and I will make them regret ever taking away what is rightfully mine!"
Her voice did have a commanding tone but its pitch and the smallness of her body made anyone watching not take Maxine very seriously. If she were her normal self, her words and tone would strike terror to anyone within earshot. Like this some would probably laugh at her, Charles knew better than to do anything like that.
"It isn't as easy as that Ms Martel," said Shepherd Riley. She wanted to try and ensure that Maxine didn't completely lose her temper but this was something that was unlikely going to happen. "There are still too many things that we're not sure about, please be patient and we'll find who's responsible."
Maxine didn't really say anything to this as she looked over to Shepherd Riley. A small part wanted to simply storm out and begin her own investigation. But even she knew that this was a bad idea and wouldn't end well for any of them. Instead for the moment she would swallow her pride and simply do what was needed. When she got her hands on the person responsible for this, she would break every bone in their body. First starting off with the inessentials and eventually onto the more the more essential bones.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" asked Maxine. Her voice was still angry as she seemed to be more desperate than before. "Just stand around and do nothing as I'm stuck in this pathetic body?"
"For the time being yes, you're in no position to be going anywhere right now. You could be walking into danger and unlike before I doubt that you'd be able to find your way out of it. Stay here in the orphanage, you'll be safe and who knows. Maybe you might even turn back to normal. The fact that your magic has been stolen right now is only a theory, it could possibly come back."
Maxine was still silent as she didn't think that this was the case. If the magic inside of her could switch off like this it would have happened long ago in the past. The fact that it had never happened to her or her sisters only supported the thief theory even more. But she still didn't like the idea of simply doing nothing while she allowed others to try and find out what happened for her.
If there was one thing that she disliked it was the feeling of being helpless. For as long as she remembered she had never been helpless as she had always been bigger and stronger than almost everyone else. It was only her mother and sisters who had been in the same league as her but being like this simply wouldn't do for her. Despite her lack of size, she still wanted to fight until her last breath. This was the way of a knight and she felt like she could never truly become one if she simply gave up.
"Begin inside the room where our guests slept," stated Shepherd Morgan who had been sitting there and listening to what was being said. With her words a silence fell over the others. "It is likely there that we will find the first clue to what had happened and who is responsible. Shepherd Riley, I am placing this in your hands. I know that you will make everything right again."
"I shall try my best," replied Shepherd Riley. She was nervous about this as this was something that she didn't think would be her best suit. But she didn't want to turn down Shepherd Morgan, she respected the old woman too much and it would be seen poorly by the others.
"Very good, please report to me the outcome of this incident. I would like to know exactly what happened myself."
With that Shepherd Morgan was thanked for her contribution before Shepherd Riley led both Maxine and Charles out of the room. They did feel somewhat enlightened by their visit but also some worry. It wouldn't be the first time that Maxine had something stolen from her while she slept but it was something that was more precious to her than gold.
She was still finding it odd to see Charles so tall, she was so used to him being only a head taller than her hips that seeing him tower above her seemed alien. Then again Shepherd Riley too towered over the former tall woman. This only gave her more motivation to return to normal as she simply didn't want to be small and weak for the rest of her days.
As instructed the trio returned to the room where Maxine and Charles had slept the night before. One of the first things that was examined was the door to the room, there were no signs of a forced entry but since the door itself had been unlocked during the night this was to be expected.
Charles did begin to examine some of the other belongings that they had with them. All of their gold and more valuable belongings were still present. None of Maxine's armour was gone either, it might have been too big for any normal person to wear but it still could have been sold off for the metal itself.
They especially noticed that the gold that they had was still there as well. This included the money and the locket that had only recently been given back to Charles. These were items that would be very popular amongst thieves but the fact that it they were still here meant that the perpetrator wasn't just some common thief.
One thing that Maxine didn't really feel comfortable about was moving around in a dress. To her it was below her and, in a way, she also thought that people wouldn't take her as seriously. She already had problems with people taking her goal to become a knight seriously in the first place. Now that she was so short and wearing a dress would make people laugh at her if she told them that she wanted to become a knight.
As the trio continued to search the room there didn't seem to be anything that immediately pointed to the person responsible. It would be a difficult for them if they found nothing and it only made the situation much direr for them. There was something about all of this that Maxine had yet to mention.
This was the fact that her father Sir Tucker had once mentioned that something similar had happened to her mother. It was something that she had placed in the back of her mind and was now beginning to remember. It was when her parents had gone on their own quest together and during one of the trials, the magic within Jessica's body had been blocked. This did cause her to shrink down much like Maxine had but she also began to suffer the illness that had almost taken her as a baby. If not for Sir Tucker completing the trial it was likely that Jessica would have been killed.
Maxine feared that something similar would happen to her. It seemed somewhat unlikely but the chance was always there. It wasn't like she was immune to all diseases when she had been big. Over her life she had suffered from some minor illnesses such as the common cold and even had chicken pox when she was younger. But she had never suffered from an illness that put her life at risk. If she had somehow picked up the same illness from her mother it could mean that if she didn't return to normal soon, she could die.
"Hey," said Charles. This got the attention of both Maxine and Shepherd Riley who looked over to him. They found him crouching by the bed that Maxine had been sleeping in the night before. It had yet to be made since she had woken up and it seemed like he had noticed something. "I think I've found a clue."
"What is it?" replied Maxine as she quickly stepped towards him. Shepherd Riley too was very curious but didn't move as fast as the shorter woman.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure." He pointed to something that was on the ground. The blanket from the bed had been covering it but when he had lifted it up, he could see it better. It was a black powder that looked similar to soot. It was something that he hadn't noticed the night before, then again, he had not been particularly looking out for it in the first place.
"You found some dirt Charles, but I'm not sure how this is important." She had considered using sarcasm but with everything that was happening she knew better than to do such a thing.
"I don't think that it's simple dirt," answered Shepherd Riley as she crouched down to take a look at it. There were sometimes some ashes that could be found in the orphanage thanks to a fire that they would sometimes burn. But that was in one of the much larger rooms and not simply a guest room like this one.
"Then what is it? Ash or something?"
"Not in a room like this, we try not to start any fires in the smaller rooms like this. No this shouldn't be here."
Maxine realised that this was likely the first clue that they had and although it seemed confusing at first it was likely that it could be important later on. She did turn her head to see Charles writing down something in his journal. At first, she wasn't sure what he was doing as this didn't involve any kind of money or supplies.
What she didn't realise was the fact that he was documenting the clue that they had found and even picked up a small sample of it. This he stored in a small bag that he would normally use to store money. It wasn't the only one that he had and he thought that it could be important later on. Exactly how, he wasn't sure. But he would rather have it and not need it rather than needing it and not having it.
One thing that they didn't realise was the fact that they were being watched. Not too far from the door Ted was poking his head through when the trio weren't looking and he could see what happened inside. In his mind the situation was incredibly funny, it was taking a lot for him to not burst out laughing.
He had seen how confident Maxine had been when she was big. But now that she was small and weak, he thought that it was poetic justice. This was payback for taking him back to the orphanage, even though he hadn't wanted to go. He could also overhear what was being said and this did make him remember something.
The previous night he had gotten out of bed as he was thinking about another escape attempt. It was far too soon for him to try as he knew that the Shepherds would be on guard but he had noticed something odd that night. He had seen a figure with something bright in their hand but it wasn't a torch.
Something about them had given him a bad vibe and this caused him to go back to his bed and further plan out his escape later. Ted wasn't sure exactly what he had seen or even what the light had been. All he knew was that it wasn't normal as it had been a blew glow rather than the orange that he was used to when it came to fire. This didn't add up in his mind but now he was considering that the events were linked.