MA11-12 Myth-ion Improbable Something Myth-Inc Read Online Free PDF Page A

a magik map, a true treasure map of the dimensions,” Tananda said. “I’ve only heard of such things.”
    She reached over and gave me a big hug, something I was more than willing to continue as long as she wanted it to. Finally, far too quickly, she let go and looked at me.
    “This was a great purchase on your part.”
    I shrugged. “Not unless it leads somewhere.”
    “True,” Aahz said, not looking up from the map.
    I went back to studying the map as well. As far as I was concerned, it was just lines and points and a few names. I couldn’t use it to find my way back to where we had appeared here on Vortex #1, let alone to jump dimensions.
    “So the map changes. What does that mean?”
    Tananda pointed at the point labeled Vortex #1.
    “Thanks to the Shifter, we’re here. From this point we have five choices of dimension jumps.”
    She pointed to the five names the lines lead to from this place. “The one called Bumppp looks the most promising.”
    Aahz nodded. “And the straightest line through the map as well.”
    “You know this Bumppp world?” I asked. “Or any of those places?”
    She slowly shook her head.
    “Aahz?”
    “No, I don’t.”
    I looked at him, then at Tananda, remembering what Aahz had told me about dimension hopping. You had to know exactly where you were going, or you couldn’t jump.
    “So we’re stuck here?” I asked. “That’s the end of the trip?”
    “No,” Aahz said, reaching into his belt pouch and pulling out a D-Hopper.
    He quickly scrolled through the listing of dimensions on the Hopper, checking them with the names on the map. Finally, he sighed and put it back.
    And with that sigh I knew we were done. The five possible places we could jump to from this place were not on the D-Hopper either.
    “Damn,” Tananda said. “I was afraid this might happen.”
    She pushed herself to her feet and brushed off her pants.
    “I hate this,” Aahz said, standing. He carefully folded the map and put it in his belt pouch.
    “What are we doing now?”
    Tananda motioned that I should come closer. Then she reached up, and before I could stop her, she sealed my lips again.
    “Sorry,” she said. “Can’t take the chance.”
    I tried to object, but the only thing that came out was “Wggghhh.”
    This was getting old. Too much more of this kind of treatment and my lips were going to be sore for a week.
    A moment later, without a warning from either Tananda or Aahz, we were back standing in front of the Shifter in the big tent.

“TEN PERCENT FOR your solution,” the Shifter said, its voice deep and strong as it studied Tananda and scratched what seemed to be part of its neck.
    I stared at it, not really looking at what it was at the moment, but more studying how it was changing constantly. It was as if there was always a part of it moving, morphing into the next character. The hair shifted, the skin changed, the arms lengthened, nothing really staying complete for more than a few seconds before starting to change into the next shape or color. Its voice, its chair, its eyes all changed as well. That really impressed me. When I did a disguise spell, I could do clothing and size and shape, but never the quality of the eyes. From this Shifter’s eyes it looked as if it was actually fifty or a hundred different beings all melding together. For all I knew, it was. I wanted to ask it how it did what it did, but then remembered my lips were again sealed.
    “Ten percent!” Aahz said through his teeth, his voice barely under control.
    “On top of the first five percent, bringing the total to fifteen percent.”
    I thought I could see a blood vessel in Aahz’s neck trying to break out from under the green scales. Any moment Tananda was going to have to seal his mouth as well, from the looks of it. I wanted to tell the Shifter how greedy it was being, but luckily I couldn’t.
    “No,” Tananda said. “We will give you another five percent and five percent more for each time we