Nieven Oakenthorn was having a grand time today as he held bags filled with goods in each hand. He was currently in Dark Veil pursuing the market for various items, clothes, trinkets, etc. After all, he had worked very hard in the past month alone dealing with many adventurers that had led him to feel a large feeling of accomplishment. So deciding what was the best way to reward himself but to go on a shopping spree he went to Darveil and was going through the markets looking at the finest wares.



For once he was relying on his solars and not his father’s or mother’s so this was a very strange feeling as he had to budget his money. That being said he still carried two large bags filled with stuff with him as he walked through the market still looking for some more stuff. He was about to take a look at a kind-looking elf woman’s mirror stall when he heard a voice all out for him.



“Hellos sir! You come over here I think I have the perfect thing for someone so great and handsome”, he hears a vendor call to him and turns around with a bright smile.



Nieven then walks up to the man’s stall and asks, “Hello there it’s always nice to meet a fan, what are you offering?”.


The goliath fellow takes a look at the man before shifting his focus towards someone behind him, “Hey there little friend come over here we’re offering a large discount on our merchandise”, he motions for Videl over and smirks at the two chumps in front of him about to sell them on his weak and tricky potions.

Having only finished discussing the events that had plagued the Ash Lands a few weeks ago, Videl had currently found himself standing within the city of Darkveil. It was here that a fellblood known as Dante had presumably resided, more often than not. The very fellblood having been the one to discuss the Vulcadreaus incident with the T'saya. Figuring that he might as well make the rounds in the city, so as to see how extensive the damage had been, Videl had found his way to one of the easiest places to determine the extent of the damage. The marketplace.

While he could have gone to the residential district of Darkveil City to obtain the information that he had sought, he had settled on the marketplace for one reason and one reason only. If the prices here had leaned too far in a particular direction,  than Videl could easily assume that the rumors of Darkveil's damage had been true. Of course, as he had been making the rounds in the marketplace to try and see if there was anything that would catch his eye, Videl would find himself called upon by one of the merchants nearby.

With a sense of curiosity at hand, given the situation that he had found himself pulling into, Videl would approach the merchant with his head having been tilted off to the side. "Hm? Are you referring to me?" Given how many people had been passing through the area, it was quite likely that the Goliath had been referring to somebody else. Having posed his question however, it wasn't long before the merchant would go on to state that it was indeed Videl that he had been speaking to.

"While I don't appreciate being referred to as little, I am curious as to what wares it is that you are hawking." His curiosity strongly keeping him at this table, Videl would start to wonder if he could find anything for his Frigid Steed. Lumi, the aforementioned steed, had been left within a set of stables not too far off from their current location. If he could secure something for her while he is here, than he is sure that she would greatly come to appreciate his efforts.

The goliath fellow holds his hands up in the air, “Got it friend, big buddy as for what I’m selling here I got the best potions in all of Dark Veil. Nah actually the best potions in Charon now that I think about it. You two look like the adventuring types, to say the least”, he motions towards the two’s attire, “Either that or you two might know adventurers my potions work great as gifts”.



Nieven twirls his hair as he listens before speaking, “Hmmm I won’t speak for this other fellow but I’m not impressed by your little offer here, I have had the most top-of-the-line potions in my time thanks to my wealthy heritage. So little offers like this from some back alley in Darkveil do not pique my interest in the slightest”.



The goliath then listens to Videl and Nieven’s replies before saying, “Fine, fine you’re pulling my leg here but I’m willing to out of the kindness of my heart give you a free sampling of one of my potions”.



He then takes out a red beaker of potion and places two cups in front of the two pouring out the red liquid into them before putting the beaker away.



Nieven looks at the other man before thinking, “Hm, this does seem shady however this is also free, and considering I’ve been financially cut off from my family I’m not in the position to just reject free stuff”, he picks up one of the cups and smells it.



It smelled sweet with a hint of strawberry, it honestly smelled pretty delightful, he held it in his hands for half a minute mulling it over if he should drink it or not. He then decides to drink it, placing his lips up to it and sipping on it until the cup is empty. It was a pretty nice flavor, not the best he’d had but certainly not the worst. He dried his mouth with his chest pocket handkerchief before placing the cup down.



“Well thank you-”, he says before suddenly holding his stomach in pain and pointing at the goliath fellow, “Oh no what is going on? WHAT DID YOU DO”.

The merchants attempts to rectify their previous action, through the act of calling him big buddy, hadn't really served the purpose that the Goliath might have desired. If anything, it had only served to irritate the T'saya. Rather than allow for himself to get caught up in an argument though, Videl would bulldoze past the situation and focus on the potions that the Goliath had been selling. Of course, as the Goliath had gone on to refer to his product as the best potions in all of Charon, Videl couldn't help but feel a bit wary. After all, those that referred to their product as the best in all of the continent were more often than not scam artists. Either that or they genuinely believed as much.

"I certainly find myself in agreement with this man. It is highly unlikely that the best potions in all of Charon would be sold by a common street vendor." Thankfully the merchant had relented on this little tidbit when the two had more or less called him out on it. In exchange for toying with them, the man would even go as far as to offer a free sample of one of his potions. Something that Videl didn't quite trust.. That being the case, rather than imbibe the sample that had been placed before him, Videl would watch what the supposedly wealthy man beside him would do. 

Surprisingly, the man beside him had decided to down the entire sample! From what Videl could tell, there had even been a content look upon the mans face as he had partaken in the potion. Believing that all was well with the potion before them, Videl would shrug before partaking in his own sample. It was just as the last of the drink had slid down his throat that the elf beside him would start to clutch at his stomach.

"Oh fuck.." Shortly after imbibing the sample, Videl would similarly clutch at his own stomach. A look filled with killing intent would overtake the T'saya as he had turned his gaze to the merchant before him. "What is this?!" Seeing that the pairs shouting had been attracting the attention of a few of the locals, the Goliath would quickly throw his wares into a bag before rushing off from the scene. As all of this was happening, the pain that had run from Videl's stomach would extend out to the rest of his body, and a few moments later, the potion would finish taking effect.

His voice becoming quieter and smaller as time had progressed, Videl's body would continue to wrack itself with pain. And just as that pain had begun to subside, Videl would watch as the world around him had begun to grow far larger in size. To the point in which Videl could make the assumption that he was indeed shrinking. And shrink he would, up until the point that he was as tall as an ant..

Nieven shrieked, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE” as his voice became more and more high-pitched with every word.

His stomach hurt incredibly bad and suddenly his limbs began to feel like they were contorting almost like they were being shoved into his slowly small body. Soon enough after his entire body contorted and shrunk he stood in the same spot where he was before although this time everything was different everything was huge now in comparison. He held his stomach as he looked around. Everything had changed from the small dog he saw earlier to the broom in the corner. Everything liked giant size.

Well everything besides himself and the other gentleman, he screams at the goliath man as his tiny voice barely reaches him, “REVERSE THIS AT ONCE YOU VILE CRETIN OR I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET IT”.



The Goliath vendor simply laughs, “Nah man, have fun, enjoy the potion, it's in the house and you’ll return to normal in like 20 minutes. It’s my favorite potion, life gets weird and you learn a lot from such a tiny perspective. Now go on, have fun, and explore this brand new world”.


The sylvan elf scoffs at the giant's remarks, "What in the world do you even mean change us back immediately I do not care about seeing a new perspective".

To his greatest dismay, Videl and the Sylvan Elf beside him had both been shrunken down in size entirely. It was a shocking revelation at first but was quickly soothed by the fact that they were supposedly going to return to their normal size after about twenty minutes or so. "Twenty minutes.. That's enough time to catch up to this man and bring him to justice." Those were the only words that the diminutive T'saya would speak before calling upon his mana and coating the bottoms of his feet in a thin layer of frost ^{[Frozen Feet]}. Without another word, Videl would attempt to skate across the ground and towards the fleeing merchant. Of course he wouldn't get very far.

As he had attempted to make his way towards the Goliath, a stray cat that had been passing by would take notice of the shrunken pair. More notably, the cat had taken notice of the scurrying T'saya. Something that Videl wouldn't take notice of until it was too late. Whilst he had been traversing forward on his soles of ice, the aforementioned cat would crouch down whilst surveying the scurrying T'saya. Shortly after that, it would leap from the ground and land directly before Videl, blocking off his path.

"W-wait..!" No longer finding himself concerned with the merchant that had offered them faulty goods, Videl would immediately turn back and start to rush back off towards the Sylvan Elf from before. The only person that could possibly help him in this situation, unless one of the regular sized folk were to take notice. Worry coming over him as he had made his way back towards Nieven, Videl would call upon his usual spell to defend against larger threats. A large block of ice ^{[Glacial Wall]} that should theoretically block off the predator's access to him. What Videl could never have anticipated was that, rather than the large wall that had usually been called upon, a regularly shaped ice cube would instead find itself rising up from the ground below. This would quite obviously, in no way deter the cat from devouring him.

Nieven sighed loudly in his diminutive state, angry and upset, “A whole twenty minutes like this is too much”, looking over at the other man as he declared he’d bring the goliath to shrink to justice.



He grinned, finding the other man’s declaration most agreeable, and took another moment to compose himself trying to shake off the lingering motion sickness he’d received from the great size change. He then raised his lance to the sky and was about to charge behind the speedy T’Saya fellow when he stopped only a couple of steps forward. He immediately stopped in fear as he saw what appeared to be a giant cat that stopped the other man from progressing further. He turned the other way and was going to leave the other man to fend for himself using him as a distraction to run away. He started walking and whistled inconspicuously before he heard a faint yell from behind him that matched the other man’s voice. He then looked back to see that same orange tabby cat in hot pursuit of the heroic fellow.

Nieven immediately booked it the other way shrieking, “OH MY WORD THERES A GIANT FELINE FELLOW BEHIND ME EEEEKKKK” running the opposite of the stall and into the street to the right of him still hearing the noise of rushing footsteps and low growling from what he assumed was the cat.

The ice cube not deterring the tabby in any way whatsoever, said Tabby would continue to rush towards the scurrying Videl as the man had attempted to depart from the scene. He had hoped that the elf would assist him in some way or another but as was evidenced only a moment ago, the man had no desire in doing so. Aside from telling Videl to follow after him, this elf had done nothing more than run away! Truly at a loss for words, Videl would continue to attempt to outrun the tabby.

Given that his soles had been frosted over, Videl had been able to cover more land than the sylvan elf that was now beside him. He had been fully capable of overtaking the man in speed, able to leave the man behind to face the cat alone, but had chosen not to take such a dastardly route. Rather than risk the life of his newfound companion, Videl would opt to remain by the mans side. "We'll have to work together if we're going to get rid of this thing..!" That was what he had said anyways but such a feat was going to prove more difficult that he could have imagined. Especially as a dog on the smaller side, albeit still quite large when compared to the shrunken pair, had decided to get involved. Having witnessed the cat rushing about throughout the market, said dog had departed from their owner and made their way towards the cat, almost stepping on the pair in the process!

Almost caught off guard entirely as the small hound had come treading through the area, Videl would only find himself alerted to the canines presence due to the loud barking that it had emitted. Just before it could step upon Videl and his elven acquaintance, Videl would take the time to push the man to the side and out of the way of the dogs steps. Shortly having pushed the man out of the way of the dog, Videl would exert all of his energy to manage his speed just enough to glide across the ground and past the dogs descending paws. He had managed to overcome the obstacle that was the dog.. but only for a moment.

Nieven continued to run forward not worrying about the other man only thinking about escaping this ferocious feline in one piece. He did notice the other man seemed considerably quicker than him; it seemed that the frost on his feet was the thing making him quicker. His feet looked like they glided across the street floor undisturbed by any of the terrain. He took a moment as he ran to think about the situation, it was true he would have to partner up with the stranger if it meant surviving against this giant-sized world.



He shrieked towards the other man, “Yes yes of course consider us partners against this giant-size world”.



The sylvan elf was begging to tire out; he couldn't keep up his pace for much longer. He dared turn his head back to see if the cat was still on his tail only to see a much scarier sight. A dog was chasing behind the cat who was chasing them, his heart began to race even more. What did he do to deserve such a fate, he wondered. Was this some sort of punishment from the gods for being too beautiful? It must be. He tried his best to continue his spring forward but hearing the dog’s barking made his heart sink, it truly was over. He then was pushed off his balance and to the right, by his new acquaintance saving him from the dog’s attention for a moment he glanced at the other man as sped through.

While things might have seemed safer for the pair, now that the hound was heading after the cat, it was truly just the beginning of a series of unfortunate events. Upon witnessing the dog, the aforementioned cat would halt in place before booking it in the other direction. Wanting to catch the cat before them, the hound would continue to chase the tabby all throughout the marketplace. The two creatures would find themselves bumping into and running across several things along the way, only to somehow circle back around towards the location that Videl and Nieven had been in.

Before the creatures could loop back around, Videl would take the time to glide on over to Nieven before offering him a hand in assistance. "That was a close one.. We'll have to keep an eye out for this merchant moving forward so if you notice anything, please be sure to say as much. I'm Videl by the way." If the sylvan elf had accepted his hand than he would proceed to lift the man up from the ground. If he hadn't though, Videl would simply place his hand back at his side. Either way, once Nieven had risen from the ground, Videl would start to look around a bit more, surveying the scene for where the goliath merchant might have gone. It was through this act that he would watch in horror as the tabby and the dog had made their way back. "Watch out..!"

Still left without any real options to defend himself against such a large creature, without severely injuring it, Videl had chosen to prepare himself to dodge out of the way of the incoming pair. What he hadn't expected though was that the hound and the tabby had run just past them! Things might have been looking up at that point but one would be mistaken if they were to believe so. For just as the tabby had leapt onto a table nearby, the small hound would bump into one of the nearby carts, each of the creatures sending items falling from above. Books, scrolls, and a small bag of balls bearings would find themselves sent towards the ground, much to the dismay of the T'saya. "By the gods.."

Knowing that he was left with very little options, Videl would once more call upon his magic. Another wall of ice, that had taken on the guise of a singular ice cube, would find itself summoned just beside Videl and Nieven ^{[Glacial Wall]}. This wall of ice was enough to offset the book that was just about to crush them, the weight of the book itself having been enough to send cracks all throughout the glacial wall. "We need to get out of here quick!" That having been said, Videl would take the time to glide off from the scene and away from the book itself. He had no intentions of being crushed by a book while he was stuck in this diminutive state. This was when the bag of ball bearings had opened, sending several of the ball bearings across the ground. While such an act might be enough to make one slip if they were regularly sized, for Videl and Nieven, it was as though they were being chased by massive boulders.

He then glances over at the icy glider man and takes his hand to get up and says in a worried tone, “Yes it quite was a close one, when I get my hands on this merchant I swear to the gods that his business will be eradicated from this world with all my adoring fans lack of support and hatred”, his tone changed into a less vindictive and upset one to a nice calm one, “It is a delight to meet you Videl you have just been blessed to have come across the best pretty, handsome, beautiful, amazing just generally the best in Charon, My name is Nieven Oakenthorn, if you haven’t heard of me before well know you have and be on the lookout friend because I shall shine the brightness".

Nieven then stood taking a minute to dust himself off since his clothes had touched the icky dirty city floor, God knows how many people’s disgusting foul bootprints he had touched. After that, he breathed a great sigh of relief thankful that this miniature nightmare was finally over. His peace of mind was quickly shattered as he noticed the colossal beasts didn’t just stop and leave them however were simply circling both him and his newfound partner in survival.



His relief was once again raised as they instead of mauling them simply jumped away only to hear rumbling and looking behind him to see giant objects begin to fall onto them. He screams and begins running as fast as he can as he can hear the giant thuds of the books falling to the floor behind them.

Videl likely would have found Nieven to be a bit full of himself if he had had enough time to think after their introductions. Given that things had once again immediately devolved into chaos though, such a thought had found itself placed to the back of his mind. While the name for the Sylvan Elf would remain, the mans haughtiness simply wouldn't. Not until they had cleared the situation at hand anyways.

Although he had managed to prevent them from getting crushed, both Nieven and Videl had currently found themself in a more troubling situation than before. Not only had there been several ball bearings rolling across the ground and towards them but some of these ball bearings had even managed to bounce into the air..! It truly wasn't looking all that great for the pair at this moment.. If Videl could call upon a stronger sense of magic to protect them than he would but such defensive magics weren't exactly within his repertoire. Most of what he had had been some sort of attack or method of increasing his speed.. This was seriously something that he would need to consider in the future.

'Fuck man.. Think, think, think! Just how can I get us out of this situation?!' His mind had run through various alternatives at this point, each worse than the last. Given their diminutive state, and the effects that this potion was having on his magics, Videl's options had been growing increasingly limited. How could he expect to save Nieven if he couldn't even think up a method to protect himself?

Hoping that one of his terrible ideas would work out in the end, Videl would simply wing it and call upon one of them. Whilst continuing to glide across the ground, Videl would allow for his glacial mana to coat the outer layer of his skin ^{[Frost Web]}. In a moments notice, not just his soles but his entire being would find itself coated in this thin layer of ice. From there, Videl would grasp at the ice around his chest and pull it free of himself. In doing so, the ice would take on the form of a sticky substance that was similar to a spiders webbing. Hoping that this would be enough to slow the ball bearing that was chasing them, Videl would hurl this glob of sticky ice directly towards the ball bearing. While its effects weren't immediate, the webbing would certainly serve its purpose at a time. The webbing would slow the bearing itself.. and just as the bearing had been about to make contact with the pair? The potion within them would begin to wear off.

“IM WAY TOO PRETTY AND BEAUTIFUL TO DIE JUST YET”, the Sylvan elf would continue to scream as he sprinted forward as fast as he could.



In all honesty, that was the only thing that the man could do at this moment, scream and run away. The only abilities he’d bother to train in his time were to change the weather and his ability to fight fabulously with a lance. It seemed so disgusting the idea of dying in a shrunken state to a bag of ball bearings that was not a death fit for a man such as Nieven. As he looked back and was about to accept his potential doom he saw that some sort of frozen web had slowed its velocity although it had not stopped. He was starting to run out of breath and slow down immensely, he was not the most physically fit person. He struggled to continue and slowed down, closing his eyes expecting the moment when the ball bearing would crush him and end the tale of the great Nieven Oakenthorn.



Suddenly, as it was only a few centimeters away from crushing the two the potion’s effects finally wore off. He suddenly felt like his body was being torn apart as it contorted and stretched back to its normal height. He held his stomach still queasy from the transformation and was breathing heavily after such a dangerous encounter.

Much like Nieven beside him, Videl had grown exceedingly worried at the thought of being crushed by something as diminutive as a ball bearing. With everything that the T'saya had gone through over the years, Videl simply couldn't believe that this was a death that was fitting for him. And that was to say that Videl hadn't wanted to die either way! Thankfully the pair wouldn't quite meet their end as of yet though.

Rather than be crushed by a ball bearing, Videl would take note of how his body had begun to tingle with a rather strange sensation once more. Almost as quickly as he had shrunk before, Videl's body would burst outward, his proportions growing by the millisecond! Where there once was someone no larger than an ant had now sat a singular individual that had returned to his initial size. And beside him had been the fully formed Sylvan Elf that had been scammed alongside him.

The first thought that had overtaken the T'saya, after he had returned to his original size, had been solely focused on the elf beside him. Not on himself, or even the merchant that had played this cruel trick on them, but the individual that had fallen prey to the trick as well. Worry darting his eyes, Videl would turn over and look directly towards Nieven. "..are you alright? Everything back where it should be?" This was something that he should have considered for himself as well but such a thing could wait. It was more important to him to prioritize those outside of himself. A flaw that he was picking up from Sylvari.

As Videl had asked Nieven this question, several of those that had been making their rounds in the street would turn their attention towards the pair. There were those amongst the crowd that had witnessed them disappearing and there were those that had no clue where these two had just come from. Each held a look of bewilderment at the situation at hand. And none of them would take the time to reach out and offer them any aid at first. Not that they could do much to help here.

Nieven held his stomach with both of his hands; he did not like the process of getting shrunk or getting placed back to his original height. It felt like his stomach was running in circles as it adjusted back to being normal-sized. He leaned against a wall supporting himself as he tried his best to recover from such a harrowing experience. He was exhausted, annoyed, and enraged all at once for he couldn’t believe that he, the great Nieven Oakenthorn had almost just died to a freaking ball bearing. It was ridiculous to imagine him dying in such a disgustingly pathetic way it made him furious.



He glanced over at Videl as he continued to recover, waving off his worry, “I’ll be okay friend, I just need a moment to recover and catch my breath. As for everything being in its proper place, I believe my beautiful dashing face and incredible body look fine and feel alright even if my stomach is struggling to recover from the sudden change”.



He smiled weakly as he finished speaking, “How about you Videl? Are you alright? I must thank you for your help out there. I truly don’t know how this beautiful face would be alive if it wasn’t for your quick wit”, for once the sylvan elf was being honestly nice to another person without it being a backhanded compliment.