I didn’t know who to answer first. I had a kid by the lapels of his shirt who had just confirmed he was invisible and a girl standing behind me looking at me like I was insane.

I decided to start with the kid, as I didn’t want to scare him off, “Yes, I can see you. Did you run away from home?”

The boy shook his head, still trying to shrug off my grip. It was hard to hold him since I wasn’t the strongest kid to begin with. Kalli grabbed my shoulder, causing me to drop the kid. She asked me, “Are you okay? You’re starting to worry me.”

Seeing that the child wasn’t going anywhere, I turned to look at Kalliphae, “Don’t you see him? The kid from the news…I mean the quest. He’s right here and he seems to be invisible.”

She paused for a couple of seconds before informing me, “Why didn’t you tell me you could see the invisible. It would be helpful if you list your skills for me.”

“How do I do what?”, I asked inquisitively.

The boy who had been watching us back and forth suddenly shouted, “Hello. I’m still down here. Since you’re the only one that can see me, I guess I’ll have to let you help me.”

I gave him a closer look, pulling up his character info.

Name

Eddison Thompson III

Class

Banished (Warlock)

Level

1 (4)

Affection Level

Apprehensive

“Eddison Thompson the third eh?”, I muttered reciting the information from his chart.

He frowned up at me and corrected, “It’s Eddie. Grandpa is Eddison and dad is Ed. I didn’t run away, but I can’t go home until you fix me. Nobody can see me except for you.”

“How are we supposed to fix you?”, I asked incredulously.

Eddie stood up and dusted himself off as he began his tale of woe, “I was kidnapped by an old hag who cursed me. She cut me off from my family and anyone else who could help me. Except for apparently you. I’ve been wandering around alone for a few weeks now.”

I sat on a bench and translated for a very confused Kalliphae, “He says he was cursed by a hag and can’t go home.”

She nodded thoughtfully and asked, “Does he know what class this hag is? Also, her level would help a lot.”

The kid didn’t wait for me to speak, answering, “She is a high-level Enchanter. She says a lady doesn’t reveal her level.”

I echoed, “She’s a high-level enchanter.”

It was Kalliphae’s turn to sit down, “Now that is a problem. Enchanters can do things that alter reality. It’s likely the kid isn’t just invisible. He was probably ghosted.”

“What is ghosted?”, I asked out of curiosity.

Eddie nodded and agreed, “I think I understand what she means. I can’t touch anyone.”

Kalli didn’t hear him and explained it to me, “When a person is ghosted they lose all connection to the realm of the living. They cannot interact with the living at all. While they can influence inanimate objects, the effects are limited.”

“What do you mean limited?”, I asked, more curious about ghosting than the quest at this point.

Eddie huffed indignantly while Kalli humored me, “Have you ever experienced a haunted house or heard a ghost story? The dead are not the source of such fables. They have far too much in the afterlife to be getting on with. Those who are ghosted are cursed to walk in the shadows for all eternity, unable to tell their loved ones what happened to them. For this old crone to bestow this curse upon such a young child, she must be truly heinous.”

“Either that or the kid did something very naughty”, I suggested, raising an eyebrow at him.

He balked at me, “Hey. I did not. I just suggested she wasn’t teaching me properly.”

I didn’t let up, questioning him, “Does this training have something to do with you being a warlock?”

Eddie’s jaw slammed shut. He looked incredibly guilty for some odd reason. Kalliphae sat next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, “How do you know he’s a warlock? Did you see his character sheet? Tell me everything.”

I swallowed hard. It felt like I just told the poor little kids dirty secret. Still, this information sounded dangerous, so I filled Kalli in, “He is currently a level 1 banished, but the character info is telling me that he’s actually a level 4 warlock. It also says he is apprehensive if that means anything.”

I kept a close eye on the kid, just in case he decided to bolt. While he waited nervously for Kalli’s reaction, he didn’t seem like he was about to scamper off. I was fairly confident I could catch him if he did anyways.

Kalliphae’s voice took on a serious note as she explained, “When we are born we all start life with a class that defines what you are, not who you are. A baby’s class is often baby or infant. In rare circumstances, they end up with more advanced versions such as terrible toddler or kid genius, but they are usually innocent. When a child enters into their molding period they can also get rare classes if they take specific interests, but again they usually can’t choose a class. It isn’t until they hit puberty that they obtain the ability to choose a profession class. Getting a career path while under-aged isn’t unheard of, but picking up something sinister like warlock is cause for serious concern.”

Eddie was starting to sweat and I was a little confused. I tried to help the little guy when I asked, “I’ve seen video games with warlocks in them before. Is it possible that he could be a good warlock?”

Kalli took a deep breath before replying. Her answer would determine how comfortable I would be in the future telling her about my manipulator class. She began, “A class does not define the person. There are evil paladins and good necromancers. They are rare, but they can exist. When a child obtains a dark job during his molding period there is a cause for concern though. This child would have had to do unspeakable things to be assigned that class by nature. You cannot choose a class until you enter puberty. Unless you are special, but that’s another story entirely.”

“What does that mean?”, Eddie and I both said at once. We looked at one another in surprise.

Kalliphae’s stomach growled. She ignored it and continued, “Special is complicated. It’s what happens when a person breaks the rules of nature. Imagine a 5-year-old child deciding his class was going to be king and pulling a holy sword from a stone. Some say the stories are true. I’ve never met a special and I don’t think any walk among us in my world, but there are many stories of them in the past.”

I turned my attention to Eddie and asked, “Did you do something naughty to unlock the warlock class?”

He shook his head rapidly, “No, I swear. I just got the class. The old hag freaked out and banished me. She didn’t even give me a chance to explain. All I wanted to do was cast dark thunder.”

I rubbed my chin and tried to explain to Kalli, “He says it's all a misunderstanding. He wanted to cast some spell called dark thunder.”

“I guess we will just have to go talk to the enchanter”, Kalliphae explained, her stomach rumbling again.

I looked at the kid and asked, “Do you know which shops around here offer free samples? My friend here is hungry.”

Kalli turned red and Eddie answered, “I don’t bother with free samples.”

He pulled out his wallet and withdrew a hundred-dollar bill, handing it to me. He continued, “Don’t bother trying to spend it. It’s ghosted too. I got a better idea though. Follow me and distract the people behind the counter for me.”

I looked at the money as we followed Eddie through the mall.

Item:

Hundred Dollar Bill (Cursed)

Components

Paper, Ink, Curse

Item Rank:

C

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Thompson

I had a few seconds while we walked, and the item was already modified anyway, so I decided to try my hand at editing again.

Curse Removal Successful: Ghosting

Item:

Hundred Dollar Bill (Edited)

Components

Paper, Ink

Item Rank:

C

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Murphy

That was a good sign. I could remove ghosting by deleting the curse. I wondered if it would work on a person.

I was happy to know that my modification of an item automatically transferred ownership to me. Kalli gasped at the money and asked, “Did you just summon that green paper?”

I smiled and handed it to her, whispering, “I just de-ghosted it. It’s a lot of money. This kid is rich.”

Eddie was way ahead of us by this point so we had to pick up the pace to keep up. Kalli handed me the hundred-dollar bill back and I shoved it into my pocket. The kid stopped in front of a Pizza King restaurant grinning from ear to ear. He told us, “Okay, you guys go distract the guy at the counter. I’ll get lunch for all of us. Is pepperoni okay?”

I nodded absentmindedly and asked Kalliphae, “Do you guys have pizza where you’re from?”

Kalli shook her head in confusion. Eddie had already snuck behind the counter and was looking at me expectantly. There was nobody in the restaurant but a bored-looking guy standing by a cash register who was giving me a wary look. Deciding to play my role, I marched up to him and asked, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

To my surprise, he got excited and started talking a mile a minute, “You heard about that? Stuff has been disappearing all over the mall. It all started with toys disappearing from KB Toys but they never catch the shoplifter on camera. Then it progressed to camping goods. I mean a lot of stuff went missing. Also, several restaurants have reported food just disappearing from the kitchen. Sometimes it happens right in front of the line cook.”

While he spoke, I watched Eddie scoop up a box next to a ‘For Takeout’ sign. He held the pizza box over his head and marched out the door. The cashier paid the kid no attention as his merchandise marched out the front door. I needed to beat a hasty retreat, so I asked, “If I order a pizza, how long will it take for you to make it?”

He replied, “About 20 minutes. Would you like to place an order?”

I shook my head, “Not yet. I have to ask my girlfriend what she wants first.”

As I started to walk away, the clerk called after me, “Okay, but we close at five, so be sure to place your order by 4:30. I won’t stay open late for you.”

Once we were out of earshot Kalli pinched me on the arm, “I am not your girlfriend.”

“Ow”, I whined as we followed our ghost through the mall.

He led us through a set of double doors and down a long hallway. We were now in the bowels of the mall. That place behind the rows of stores where merchandise was funneled and sometimes stored. Eddie didn’t stop until he made his way into an unused utility closet.

“So this is where all of the missing toys went?”, I laughed, looking at the decorated room that would be any child’s paradise.

On top of all of the latest popular toys, Eddie had stolen blankets, pillows, a sleeping bag, and even a tent. Judging from the wall of trash in the corner, he had been living down here for at least a week. When he set the pizza on the floor, Kalli gasped, “Did you just see that? That box just appeared out of nowhere and it smells so good. Why couldn’t I smell it before now?”

I wisely deduced, “He ghosted it while he was carrying it. It didn’t become real again until he set it down.”

Eddie smirked, “Wow, you’re fast. I thought it would take you a while to figure that out.”

I pointed at Kalliphae, “I actually wouldn’t have figured it out if she didn’t say something. I saw it the whole time from when you picked it up until you got here.”

“You’re weird”, he pointed out, “Nobody else can see me.”

Eddie and Kalli both dug into the pizza. I hesitated for a moment as I watched her reaction. She didn’t disappoint and said, “This is so good. Why does your world have all of the good food.”

Eddie stopped eating and looked at me, “Why did she say she’s from another world?”

I wasn’t sure quite how to answer the kid without spilling the beans so I tried, “She’s from another country. They don’t have a lot of food there.”

She seemed to understand what happened when she heard what I said. She continued, “The land I’m from, which is very far from here, only has burritos. Here in Vista, there is so much more variety.”

Eddie looked at me and said, “She’s weird. We’re not in Vista right now. Are you sure she’s not from another world?”

I shrugged and laughed. Kalli gave me a weird look, but I was satisfied because Eddie laughed too. I had a decision to make. I asked the kid, “If I told you that I might be able to un-ghost you, would you let me try something?”

The kid looked nervously from Kalli and back to me. She was looking at me curiously but said nothing. Eddie gulped and asked, “Will it hurt?”

I shook my head, “I’ve done this at least two times before and it didn’t hurt either of the people I did it to. To be honest, I don’t think either of them knew I had even done anything.”

I left out the part where Mrs. Schooley thought she was going insane. The kid quickly made a decision and said, “Okay, you can try it, but if I tell you to stop then I want you to stop.”

“Sure thing”, I agreed and placed a hand on his arm.

The first thing I did was attempt to remove the Banishment. I erased both that and the level 1, leaving only his original class and level in its place.

Edit Failed: You cannot edit a person or item of a higher level than yourself.

I frowned at the error. Up until now, my special skill hadn’t failed me. Of course, I hadn’t attempted to work with anything higher than level 1 before. Giving up, I asked, “Okay Eddie, where do we find this enchanter? Do you know where she is?”

I watched Kalliphae devour her fourth piece of pizza as Eddie replied, “She’s probably in her lair. Did what you were trying not work?”

I shook my head, “No. I failed. My skill doesn’t work on someone who is higher level than I am. Where is this enchanter’s lair at?”

He swallowed his bite of pizza and said, “It’s in Fallbrook. I can give you the address. She lives in the middle of nowhere.”

When I groaned, Kalli asked, “Is that far?”

I nodded and grabbed one of the last slices of pizza. Kalli had eaten half of it already. I explained, “Fallbrook is relatively close to Vista, but it's back in the mountains. The bus won’t work. We're going to have to take a taxi.”