(Note to The Brilliant Dr. Garfield: Looks like we needed the same hiatus :) Ditto on the fun, and thanks!)
You head over to Leona, who is cuddling the little puppy who a second ago tried to tear you both limb from limb. You shake your head at the little critter, and are rewarded with a gaze that you are certain is not "puppy-eyes," but truly ingratiating. It catches you off guard, and you remember the fact that it is probably human. As it was trying to kill you, you wonder how much of the homicidal mania was instinct and how much was the actual person. Maybe it's time you found out. However, to do so, you have to explain things to Leona, which might be more difficult than getting answers out of a dog.
You and Leona step out into the hallway, Leona still cradling the puppy. You look up and down the deserted passageway, but not a person, creature, or otherwise unidentifiable being is in sight. At first, you want to find a room with only one entrance so you, Leona, and the puppy will have some privacy, but you realize something. If there's only one way in, there will be only one way out. You will be trapping the three of you in a stone box. Coming to the conclusion the only way you are safe is if you have multiple exits, you look back to the bedroom.
"C'mon, there's something we need to do," you say to a confused Leona, who follows you back into the bedroom. Not understanding your actions, she watches as you drag the nightstand over in front of one of the wardrobes, which you have closed, and wedge the door shut. You begin to grapple with the large mattress, but it's too unwieldy for one person. "A hand here, please?" You puff, glancing at Leona.
Still unsure as to what you are doing, she pops the puppy on the floor and grabs the other side of the heavy mattress. Between the two of you, you manage to prop it up against the door leading into the hallway. Motioning to Leona to keep aiding you, you grab the heavy four-post bedframe and tug. With no small amount of effort the two of you barely drag enough of the frame in front of the wardrobe with the stairway leading to the kitchen to wedge it shut as well.
"So, why did we just do that?" Leona asks, panting at the effort.
"Because we need some answers," you reply, pointing at the puppy which is sitting on the rug watching you with head cocked. "And he's gonna give 'em to us." Leona looks at you like you have gone off your rocker, and you sit down crosslegged on the floor, albeit a bit awkwardly due to your wings, and with a bit of effort, Leona maneuvers her lion body into a lying down position. You pick up the puppy, and set it on your lap facing away from you.
"I'm pretty sure you know what I'm saying, so don't make a fuss about this," you order the puppy, and put both your hands over its ears, hopefully ensuring the pup cannot hear what you are about to explain to Leona. You wouldn't mind the puppy listening if you knew its true intentions, but at the moment, you are wary. Leona, on the other hand, is now certain you have lost it.
Taking a deep breath, you begin to explain your suspicions about the castle to Leona. The fact that all the creatures are human, that a lot of items in the castle are transformative, and that something bigger is going on here than just a weird wishing well gone awry. You stop short of your theory on the griffin's meal, but the damage is done. Her face changes from skeptical to shocked to horrified. You can see she doesn't want to believe it, especially that other creatures in the castle, despite being human, might want to kill, but she's seen enough of it already. Although you can see a sliver of doubt in her eyes, there's also a bit of acceptance. Satisifed she understands, you press even harder on the pup's ears, and give her a warning.
"We don't know who might be listening," you whisper, eyeing the pup, "so don't say too much about what we've figured out already. The less others know about the castle the more it could work to our advantage." Her eyes, now the size of saucers, also travel to the pup, who wags his tail, unfazed by the suspicious looks.
Letting go of the pup's head, you pick him up again and place him on the floor facing you and Leona. He makes no move to run away, and sits there calmly.
"I know you can understand me," you begin strictly, trying to ignore the fact that you're questioning a dog. "If you know how to read and write, nod your head." You let out a tense exhale as the puppy stares at you blankly, then finally nods its head up and down. Leona is silent, but her tail is now hissing like a leaky tire, showing her apprehension.
"Okay, you're going to tell us your name. I'm going to say the letters of the alphabet, and you're going to bark when I hit the right letter," you say firmly. After a few minutes of partially going through the alphabet multiple times, you have an answer. "So, your name is Cain?" you query, to which you receive a nod in response. You're at a bit of a loss at this point. You are full of questions, but spelling out answers could take forever. You decide to go with mostly yes/no questions for now, although they take a lot of thought.
"Are you human?"
Nod.
"Are you an adult?"
Nod, shake, cock head.
"Okay, forget that one for now. Bark how many weeks you've been here."
Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip.
"Five weeks. Have you hurt anyone in the castle?" You hesitate before asking this question, because you know he could easily lie. Nevertheless, you still want to see how he will respond.
Nod, shake, cock head, thump tail.
You take that ambiguous response to mean he has, but whether or not it was in self-defense is another matter. If the age regression affected his mind, he is still old enough to respond somewhat coherently. All you need to do is find a way to change him into something that can speak, preferably something small. You look at Leona, who seems perfectly content to let you handle the situation.
"Look, Cain, we're going to take you with us, since I think there's more you can tell us. But get this straight, if you attack us, I'll shrink you to the size of a rat and feed you to something, got it?" you try to appear as intimidating as possible.
Nod, tongue hanging, tail wag.
"Well, we should probably look around for..." you start suggesting to Leona, but at that moment, all three of you freeze, as you hear an audible thump. You and Leona exhange a horrified look, as both of you gazes travel in the direction of the noise.