So I've had this idea floating around my head for awhile. I figured I may as well just right it down and publish it. I probably will get some facts wrong, its been a while since I read Howl's Moving Castle. I doubt I'll update that often but I'll do my best. Enjoy.
Baldur's Gate series and all its material is owned by Bioware not me regretfully All Howl's Moving Castle Stuff belongs to Diana Jones.
Shanai sat on a rock in the pocket plane, gently rubbing a deep cut that had been healed not long ago. Abizigal had been tough. The toughest of her siblings she and her companions had fought so far and many times it seemed like he was about to kill them all with one breath. But they had prevailed, and no one had died. She smiled to herself. Never had she imagined that she and a handful of faithful friends could have fought with and defeated a dragon, or even a half-dragon, without at least one of the mages dying. But no one had. We're strong, and getting stronger. Maybe eventually I can just be left alone to live my life without the fate of the world hanging over my shoulder.
A noise from off in the corner drew her out of her thoughts. Jan Jansen and Kelsey Coltrane were toying with one of the many arcane artifacts they had gathered from Abizigal's fortress. The illusionist and sorcerer were standing around the object that they had set on another of the protruding rocks, poking at it and sending little bits of magical energy into it every once in a while. Remembering some of the incidents these two had created, one involving some oatmeal, the goodberry spell, a healing potion and an unlucky squirrel that had happened to run by at the wrong moment, she decided it would be best to find out what the two were up to and, if necessary, put a stop to it.
"Ah! Shanai! I was just about to go looking for you!" Jan said as she approached.
"Oh? What is this you two are working on here?" she asked.
"We're not exactly sure," Kelsey said scratching his bright red hair. "It seems incapable of being identified."
Shanai raised an eyebrow at this, "You don't know what it is, what it does, or anything else about it and you're going around poking at it and sending large amounts of magic into it?"
"We never said we don't know what it does!" Jan exclaimed indignantly.
"Well than what does it do?" Shanai said, crossing her arms.
Jan looked around nervously, "Well, ah, we don't know."
"Jan…" She was getting a headache; something that happened quiet often when she tried to have a conversation with Jan.
"You know, this reminds me of a time when my uncle Scratchy and my cousin, well she wasn't really my cousin, she was more of my cousin's aunt's co-"
Shanai held up a hand, "Jan, please… I don't think I can handle a story right now."
"Well, aren't we in quite the mood,"
Shanai sighed. "Would you both not mess with it until we figure out what it is? We don't want you turning yourselves inside out or anything, and Imoen will hold me personally responsible if something happens to you Kelsey. She's not a fun person to have mad at you."
Kelsey smiled, "I know. We'll be careful Shanai don't worry."
"'Nai! C'mere!" Imoen called to her from across the plane.
"Please don't mess with it," Shanai said one more time before heading over to where her half sister was calling her.
Imoen was sitting near a very desperate looking Xan, her arms crossed with a hairbrush in one hand and a comb in the other. When Shanai approached she quickly jumped up and ran over to her. "Nai, tell Xan he should let me play with his hair."
Xan gave her a pleading look. The last time Imoen had decided to play with Xan's hair she had dyed it bright pink and had enchanted it so that whenever he tried to wash out the dye, it would just come back an even brighter shade. Shanai didn't entirely blame the poor elf for wanting to avoid Imoen's play.
"Why don't you go mess with Kelsey's hair? I'm sure the pink would go quite well with his blue robes," Shanai suggested.
"His hair's to short," she said turning to eye Xan's hair again. "And I can't believe you brought that up! That was what two years ago I've changed since then."
"Yes," conceded Shanai, "you have changed. You've grown powerful enough to make the enchantment stick longer."
"Duh!" Imoen said smiling, "Now c'mon! Make him be a sport."
"No Imoen. If he doesn't want, he doesn't have to let you play with his hair. He doesn't even like it when I play with his hair!"
"Fine," Imoen sighed, turning away from them, "be that way. Aerie! Can I ask a favor?"
Xan sighed, a usual occurrence with him, once Imoen had run off to capture the poor, unsuspecting Aerie. "Thank you Shanai. I couldn't convince her on my own that I didn't need my hair tampered with."
Shanai smiled at him, "Well you didn't look that bad with pink hair, actually you looked kind of like a doll I had when I was younger."
"Shanai!" Xan said, shoot Shanai with a horrified expression.
"Oh lighten up Xan!" Shanai said, laughing before kissing his cheek lightly. "You take everything so seriously."
Xan shook his head, "I never know when your being serious or not, Shanai. You confuse and astound me on a regular basis."
"Aw, you're so sweet," Shanai said smiling. She turned slightly and saw Imoen beginning to comb out Aerie's long blonde waves of hair. "Oh dear, poor Aerie. She has no idea what she just consented to."
There was a sudden blinding flash from behind Shanai,, causing the pocketplane to suddenly light up as bright as lightning and the light disappearing just as quickly. Shania spun around to where Jan and Kelsey where. "What did you two do?"
"Nothing!" Kelsey said, backing away from the now glowing artifact. "It just started doing it all on its own!"
A light flashed out towards Shanai, "I told you two not to mess with…" and she disappeared.
Wizard Howl was staring at his most recent acquirement intently. His study of the device led him to believe two things; first, it was half of something, and secondly, he had no idea what it did. He grinned. He was about to find out though.
"I know that grin," said Calcifer from his fireplace. "You're about to do something that will likely end up going badly."
"Have a little faith Calcifer!" Howl said turning to face the fire demon, still grinning. "The merchant I bought this from had had a detailed manual on how to make it work."
Calcifer looked at his friend skeptically, "How to make it work, but not on what it does. Oh this is going to go so well."
The castle's main door swung open and a pretty girl with red hair walked in. "What's not going to go well?" she asked.
"Calcifer is convinced that the experiment I'm about to attempt will go badly. Where's Michael, Sophie? I'll need him for this."
Sophie Jenkins pulled off her coat and hung it on the coat rack beside the door. "He'll be a long in a moment. He was carrying things for me."
A few minutes later, Michael stumbled his way into the castles main room, caring a stack of groceries that had to be at least half his height. Placing the stack on the big kitchen table he turned to Sophie. "Did we reallyneed all that? I mean fish? Fish is so gross!"
"Then don't eat it," Sophie shrugged, going over to the bags and sifting through their contents. "Maybe the rest of us will finally have a full meal without you devouring all the food."
Howl placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, "I hate to interrupt your two's developing argument, but I need your assistance Michael."
"Yes, master Howl," Michael said turning to aid his teacher.
The pair began their work; following the requirements for the spell very carefully. Preparing the spell, preparing the appropriate herbs and powders and chalking out the correct designs on the floor, all to make sure the magic did as they directed. After about an hour of preparations, the spell was ready.
Sophie, who had been watching all their meticulous preparations warily, chewed on the tips of a lock of her red hair nervously. "You're sure this will be safe Howl?"
Howl turned from his double checking of the spell to look at his small wife's worried face, "Sophie, I've down spells here before and you've never had a problem. Why the sudden nervousness?"
"Because she knows I'm right" Calcifer interrupted. "I just know this is not going to work out well."
"It will be fine." He looked into Sophie's worried eyes. "I promise." He kissed her lightly on the forehead before walking into the center of the chalked design. After a breath, he nodded to Michael who set down the device in the appropriate place.
"Ready?" Howl asked, the eager smile spreading across his face once more.
Michael and Sophie nodded to him.
"Then let's begin!" He closed his eye and began whispering the appropriate words, his hands thrust forwards towards the artifact. At first nothing happened then slowly, it began to glow. First it was hardly a glow but then it grew so bright that Sophie and Michael had to shade their eyes. Then it began to spin faster and faster, till suddenly, a blindingly bright flash lit up the chamber.
"… that." A small girl with pointed ears appeared in the flash and collapsed on the floor.