"Thank you for coming all this way."

I walked next to the fragile old woman, who hobbled slowly. We were both walking along the thin dirt road, with thick forest on either side of us. Only, the forest, which was supposed to be full of green life, was instead devoid of any such greenery. Trees were barren, the ground was covered in brown leaves. The air was chilled. The whole area had an eery chill to the air. Up ahead, a thick mist laid upon the path.

"It's fine." I replied simply, pausing to reach out to a low hanging branch and letting my fingers run along it. Only, as my fingers touched it, they slipped through like mist. I lowered my hand, and watched as the branch wavered like water for a few minutes before returning to normal.

"How long has it been like this?" I asked as we continued on our way.

"Ohh...About three weeks? We've had a few visitors coming through now...Quite troublesome, actually." The little lady said hoarsely. By now we were upon the mist, and showing no signs of slowing down. With one small and slow step, we were inside.

Instead of being surrounded by complete white-ness, we were suddenly in a green wonderland. The trees stretched high into the sky, and sparkled with life. Thick vines hung down all the way to the ground.  But up high on the trees were impossibly large wooden buildings, with ladders hanging down to the ground, and wooden bridges of vine and wood connected the houses from the sky. It was all rather impressive...if you weren't use to this.

I was, however. This was something i saw all the time in my line of work. I was a mage that specialised in illusion magic. not just any illusion magic though. I could hide entire villages in mists from the mortal eye. and trust me, there's a lot of hidden villages around.

"Where's the sphere?" I asked as i stepped away from the woman. Almost immediately a young woman, dressed in a simple brown dress, came to stand next to the older woman.

"Just in the center there. Sorry i'm so slow. Age does this to you." The woman said with a croaky laugh.

"It's fine." I replied simply. We walked in silence then. I could feel a sense of awkwardness from the girl, but i didn't care enough to correct it. I was not a fan of small-talk, after all.

After what felt like an eternity, we arrived to the center. It wasn't a big extravagent center, like some villages or cities that i've seen. Large logs were scattered into a rouch circle, with the remains of a fire pit in the center. And there, right above the pit, was the sphere. The sphere was a teal colour, flowing like water taken straight from the ocean. The sphere itself was caged in golden metal that pulsed with light....or, was supposed to. For at the bottom of the cage was a hole. I stepped up to examine it closely. The hole wasn't big at all. it would be an easy fix. The edges around the hole were smooth, though...

"You need to move the fire pit. The fire broke the cage and let the illusion run out." I said as i moved away.

"Is it fixible?" The woman asked.

"Yes." I said. Again, the area was filled with an awkward silence. I waited for them to ask, or even say something, but the two women just stood and stared. I sighed.

"I'll charge two gold coins. It wont take me long." I said, feeling the exasperation leak into me. I heard the young woman gasp, and turned to look at her. She quickly looked away.

"...Fine." the older woman said. "Alis, help me to my cabin. I'll see if i can get the coins together." She said. the young girl nodded and slowly escorted the woman towards the trees. As they left, i could hear whispers through the trees.

"Two gold coins?"

"That's insane!"

"How can he ask for that much?

"Can't someone else fix it?"

I was used to hearing these comments. They always came from your average mage who didn't understand any other magic than their own. There was no use explaining it to them. So instead i dropped my large backpack to the ground and opened the back up.  it was only a small hole, so all i needed was the wire, the pliers, and the lighter. I took the items out from the complete mess that was my back pack (Look, i know where everything is, and no one else is using it, so it doesn't matter, ok?), then stepped back up to the sphere. 

As i unwound the wire that i needed, i began to press it up to the edges of the hole. Then i stretched it out to the other side, cut it with the pliers, then used the lighter up against where the new wire and the melted edge was. 

Now, this isn't a normal lighter, just to let you know. This one was imbued with magic from a powerful mage from another secret village near the volcanoes of Mount Etna. I flicked the switch, and a bright flame flickered to life. Almost immediately, the metal began to melt together, fusing into a mixture of gold and silver. I continued to cut wire and melt it to the frame, until the bottom was like a bird's nest of wire. I chucked the tools to where my bag was, then placed my hands on the bottom. just from the gentle touch, i could feel the intense magic pulsing behind the cage. Now came the tricky part. with a deep breath, i began to pour my magic into the wire. Not too much though. If i pour too much in, the wire itself will become the magnifier of the illusion. And metal does not magnify well.

Slowly, the silver began to change from silver, to bronze, to a bright golden colour. Only once was every piece of the bottom was gold did i stop, and released the breath i held.

"There, it's fixed." i said with a sigh, turning and cracking my neck as i knelt and started to pt things away. Only, as i started to, a hand appeared in my line of vision, palm outstretched and two gold coins sitting in the middle. When i looked up, i saw the young girl standing there. The old woman must be resting, i thought as i took them, opting to slip them into my pocket before zipping up and standing up.

"U-umm...there's another thing we need help with..." The girl said suddenly. I sighed. 

"How long has he been here?" i asked as i peered into one of the houses. There, sitting in the middle of the room, was a man. A young man, from the looks of things, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans.

"About three days." She said softly, peering around as well. the man was rocking back and forth from his spot, his head lowered to his knees which he held close to his chest. "H-He just...walked into our village, like it was nothing..."

"That's cause the illusion was breaking." I said matter of factly, and rubbed the back of my neck again. "Alright, i'll deal with him--"

"Is...will there be an extra charge...?"

"Nope." i said as i stepped up to the door. I sighed again, centering myself, before opening the door. The room will filled with light as i opened, and the man looked up with wide, bloodshot eyes. 

"Hello there!" i exclaimed with a beaming smile. 

"Wh-wh-who are you?" the man asked, his voice cracking. "A-are you here to kill me?"

"Of course not! I'm here to help you get out!" I said as i stepped up and knelt infront of him.

"B-but how?!" He asked desperately. He must have tried to escape himself, i thought. I reached out and placed my hand over his forehead. 

"Don't you worry about that. You just rest." I cooed softly, staring into the man's eyes. I focused my magic and let it pulse just gently through my hand to his head. Within seconds he began to sway, then suddenly he fell forward. I was quick to catch him, my smile fading back to my normal face. God, how i hated smiling so wide. My cheeks hurt.

"Is he...?" the girl asked, peering around the door now as i stood up, the man's arm swung over my shoulder, and my other hand around the man's waist.

"He's fine. I'll take him with me." i said as i began to walk out of the building.

"How can we trust you?" A voice, a male voice, asked suddenly. Just as i walked out, i noticed from the corner of my eye a large muscly man towering over the girl. He glared at me with a fire that i had felt many times before. 

"...Fine." I grumbled, fishing into my pocket and taking out a coin. I flicked it over to them without looking, and listened as i climbed down to the two fumbling with it. "Consolation if it doesn't work. But if it does i'm coming back for it." I said, before climbing down.

Walking out of the mist, i saw blue and red lights flashing up ahead. I squinted hard. I could make out five, maybe six officers, and a woman pacing around. Her head was lowered, a blanket thrown over her shoulders. I waited until i was closer, before i called out.

"Heyy!!"

Everyone turned to me, and almost at once they began to run to me. I waited until they were meters away before l laid the man on his back. Just as i laid him down, i was surrounded.

"Where did you find him?" One of the officers asked.

"Just in the bush there." I said, turning to point at the thick shrubbery. Everyone turned and, as i expected, they became disinterested with the area and turned back to the man.

"Is he alright?" another officer asked, kneeling down and placing his fingers against his neck. Seconds later, and he moved away. 

"Let the paramedics know that we've found him, and to get their asses down here now!" The officer yelled. 

"Jordan!" The woman cried, moving to sit next to him and taking his hand into her smaller ones. Her eyes were filled with tears that threatened to fall. She suddenly turned to me, and the tears began to fall.

"Thank you...thank you so much!" She sobbed, lowering her head to the man's chest.

"It's fine. I'm just glad he's ok." I said, forcing myself to smile. then i turned and placed a hand on the man's forehead. "I hope you'll be OK."

"And you must forget the world that you just saw. You don't belong there."

with the spell cast, i stood up and adjusted my backpack. "Well, i must be off. good luck to you all." I said, nodding to the officers before walking off. I heard them calling for me, but no one made a move to stop me. So i kept going. 

I had other villagers to look at, after all.