You can only watch soft people go wee-wee so many times before it starts to get a little played out. When Magic Man left them behind, he pushed them right out of his thoughts. He was always moving forward.

Far away from the Soft People, the House People, and his dirt home, Magic Man happened upon a tiny village, only about waist-high. He almost stepped on it, but stopped before he got too close. It looked like it had been recently deserted. The streets and buildings were in no state of disrepair, but there was no sign of life. Magic Man tapped the nearest building to see if it was another town of house people, but got no response.

"That's funny," he said, "I don't remember shrinking any villages... so where are all the tiny people?" And he shot out some confetti to punctuate himself.

Magic Man put his hands behind his back and started to stroll through the tiny streets, whistling casually. There was just enough room for him to walk down without stepping on any tiny curbs or parking meters, so he wouldn't hurt his feet. The buildings made him think of tiny doll houses, though he didn't have a particular one in mind. Anyway, the town was unusual, sure, but uninteresting. Once you've seen it, there's nothing left to do. Magic Man decided to move on.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Magic Man turned around and found himself face-to-face with some sort of dragon-like beast. It stood six feet tall on four legs, its scales shining a malevolent blood red. It had two horns slicked back, a row of spikes down his spine, and glinting sharp claws on all of his feet. It swished its tail, showing him the hook at the end it could use to tear him open belly to neck.

The dragon roared. No surprises here, but it had four rows of murderously sharp teeth.

Magic Man was unimpressed. He simply waved his hand and turned the dragon into a huge glass of berry juice. Then he took a drink. "Thanks," he said to the empty glass, tossing it aside. It shattered against the sidewalk. "I owe you one, dragon guy."

Suddenly, he heard tiny whispers from behind him.

"What was that?"

"Did you see that?"

"I don't believe it!"

"He killed the dragon!"

"Have we been saved?"

Magic Man turned around to face the village and had to shield his eyes from a sudden assault of light. Squinting through his fingers, he saw a small crowd of people, just the right size for this town, surrounding him. They looked like they were made out of panes of glass, reflecting light right into his eyes and nearly blinding him. He blinked, then blinked again. A cloud passed in front of the sun, lessening the assault on his eyes so that he could look straight at the people.

The beings were very simple, and they all looked pretty much the same to Magic Man. One, however, was dressed elegantly in a red robe sewn from autumn leaves and carrying a sceptre made of twigs and vines. "Hello," he said in a loud voice. "I am the leader of the Bright People."

"Bright People," repeated Magic Man.

"Yes!" The leader boomed in what sounded like an artificially raised voice. "For four hundred years, that awful monster has terrorized my people, demanding a sacrifice to calm his ravenous appetite. We have tried to fight back many times, but he just stomped us into the ground and then ate us. So many friends and brothers have been lost... but now a new hero has been sent by Glob to save us!"

"Yaaay!" the others cheered.

Though the Bright People were only about knee high to him, they were strong and sturdy. They formed a large cluster that swept Magic Man off his feet and carried him through the streets, cheering, "Hurray for the hero! Hurray for the dragon-slayer!"

Normally Magic Man didn't like sissy do-gooders in the least, but since he didn't consider what he'd done a heroic action at all, he felt perfectly justified in milking the adoration of the Bright People for all it was worth. After all, he'd never been heralded a hero before. It should be an interesting experience, and probably fun too. And Magic Man did love things being all about him.

He allowed the Bright People to take them to their tiny town square, where they set him on the ground in front of a fountain. The leader of the Bright People climbed up on a small stage with a podium, set up for proclamations, and the Bright People crowded close. Magic Man waved.

"Tell us your name, O Great One."

"Magic Man," said Magic Man, quite pleased with the attention.

"Very well, Magic Man," said the Leader. "To thank you for your great service to us, we would like to offer you a great reward."

"Sure, lay it on me."

"Grand Bright Wizard! Come forth!" The Leader banged his sceptre on the stage three times. The crowd parted and looked on in reverence. A small figure moved forward, covered completely in robes and clutching a wooden staff.

"Magic Man..." the Grand Bright Wizard said in a deep, hollow voice. "Do you accept of your own free will what the Bright People wish to give you?"

"Uh-huh." Magic Man was already bored, and having a hard time holding still.

"Say it!" commanded the Grand Bright Wizard.

"Yes, yes, I accept the whatever thingy you shiny guys have."

The Grand Bright Wizard chuckled. "Your enthusiasm is enlightening. COME FORTH! GREAT PRINCESS FROM THE VEIL OF THE FAIRIES!" His voice boomed so loudly that the ground shook and Magic Man almost lost his footing. Everything was silent for a moment. Then, a tiny whistling in the background grew louder and louder. A ball of white light appeared in the trees at incredible speed, right towards the crowd.

SLAM

Whatever it was hit Magic Man's forehead at top speed and kept going on through it, out the other end without leaving any sort of hole in him. The speed, however, knocked him backwards onto his butt. "Uah!"

"This is your reward," said the Leader. The ball of light flittered out from behind Magic Man's head. Now he could clearly see it was a prism-white female fairy with fly wings colored the faintest pink that radiated a glow that was soft, but powerful. She was slightly smaller than the Bright People, and tiny enough to fit on Magic Man's palm.

"You know," said Magic Man, poking at the fairy, "usually when you offer girls as a reward, they're supposed to be big enough to do stuff with."

"Oh, but this is a very special fairy," said the Leader. "When she passed through your forehead, your fates became eternally linked."

"Wait, what?"

"Yes. Now what happens to this tiny little fairy also will happen to you. She will survive by leeching off your magic juice, but should you ever swat her your own bones will be crushed. Magic Man, your life is now entirely dependant on the Third Daughter of the Fairy Kingdom."

Magic Man was floored. "That's not a reward!" he said. "That sounds like... like..."

Behind him, the Grand Bright Wizard's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Heh heh heh... ha... ha... AH HA HA HA HA!'

"Like something I would do," Magic Man finished lamely.

The Wizard threw his robes off dramatically to reveal his form underneath: a common garden snail. "Remember me, Magic Man?" he said with a cackle.

Magic Man put one hand on his chin and his elbow in his other hand. "Hm... no. No, I can't say I do."

"What?! It's because of you that I'm stuck in this body!" the snail shouted angrily. "I was just a happy little squirrel man before I shared my acorns with you! You're such a jerk, Magic Man!"

"Yeah, that's my thing," said Magic Man.

"Long have I plotted my revenge on you, spending moonless nights studying ancient tomes that would tell me the best ways to crush you. And I have studied you, from those who felt the sting of your magic."

"There were a lot." Magic Man nodded in agreement. "So this is the best you came up with?"

"Oh, I couldn't think of anything more tortuous than to be at the mercy of this creature!" The snail gestured to the fairy, who curtsied. Her antennae bobbed as she lowered her head. "You can't run from your misdeeds forever!"

"Yeah, I'm getting that lately," Magic Man thought. He hesitated, then threw a sparkler ball towards the snail. The snail batted it away with his staff, sending it straight back to Magic Man. Magic Man hopped out of the way and landed on his right foot and hand. "Ha!" he laughed.

The sparkler ball hit the fairy square in the stomach, and she fell backwards onto the ground. At the same moment, Magic Man felt a sudden hot burning smack him on his stomach and like something had slammed him against the back. "Ow! Hey!"

Magic Man shook his head. When he looked up, he saw that one by one the people of the village began to disappear, to vanish into thin air where they stood. He looked around desperately for some sort of clue, something to tell him what he should do next. But before he could figure it out, they were gone. Even the Leader and the snail wizard were gone, and the village was empty.

The fairy, flattening her dress at the stomach, hovered next to his head. He looked at her blankly.

"I'm Ephermelda, by the way," said the fairy.

"That's a stupid name," said Magic Man.

"At least it's an actual name, Magic Man."

Hey, wanna see Magic Man go anywhere in particular? Ephermelda won't be harshing his groove for too long, and there's a few spots here and there where I can edit in some amusing interactions for y'alls. So, if you want to see him go someplace specific in his travels, drop me a line in PM or review. I allow anonymous reviews for anyone who has no account, is too lazy to log in, or wants to flame me without fear of repercussions.