You've already ran longer and faster than you thought possible, and you know you can't make it any further. Accepting that this is your only real chance, you throw out all other precautions and beeline straight for the large oaken doors on the front portico of the house. Expecting the doors to be locked at this hour, you barrel straight into them, ready to knock and yell for someone to let you in. However, “Help, I'maaaAAAGH-” is all you manage to get out as the doors open surprisingly, dropping you clumsily to the floor a few feet inside.
You hurriedly jump back to your feet and look around to find that you're in a large, lantern-lit atrium. It's decorated in an old, somewhat regal style with ornate rugs covering stone flooring and elegant furniture scattered around the lit hearth at the back. It looks like something straight out of a movie, but you quickly pull yourself out of your awe. The doors still hang open right behind you with two hungry predators on the other side. Turning around, you move to close the doors, but a female voice interrupts you just as you reach them.
“Ah, that won't be necessary. I believe I'm still expecting a couple more guests,” you hear from behind.
Spinning back in alarm, you see a young woman eyeing you calmly as she strolls into the room from a door off to the side. She wears a long, dark dress cut in a very old-fashioned style with sleeves and hem that reach to her wrists and ankles, but devoid of any fluff or frill. Her expression is warm, but her smile doesn't quite reach her cold, gray eyes.
You open your mouth to protest and explain the situation, but she interrupts you with a wave of her hand. “Silence,” she says in a soft yet imperious tone. The single word feels like it reverberates through you. Your words catch in your throat and your train of thought is completely broken off. You try to start speaking again, but you can't seem to focus, and the right words to say keep escaping you just before you can begin to make them out. Instead, you just stand there in a confused hush.
“Sorry, but I've already been through this whole spectacle with my other visitor just moments ago, and I don't like saying things twice, which makes it fortunate that you've arrived so promptly,” the woman continues. She looks back towards the room from which she came and beckons. “Come on and join us. Everything will be explained.”
Answering the call, a woman about your age timidly follows to stand beside her, a stark contrast to the stately woman addressing the two of you. She's dressed more more modernly, covered in warm athletic wear suited for an evening jog. You find her to be very pretty, but what's more striking are the two latex donkey ears that poke out from her hair. After spotting them, you notice her unsteady gait is likely from the rubber hooves at the ends of her ankles, matching those at her wrists as well.
“My name is Agatha. I am the sole proprietor of this estate, and its sole prisoner. And I am a witch,” she pauses for effect, but the two of you are both still in too much shock already for additional reaction. She rolls her eyes and continues, “Or sorceress, or magus, or whatever title you want to use. I can summon and shape the arcane energy that builds up within me to perform works far beyond the pale of what mortal man has seen or dreamed et cetera et cetera. At least I could if I wasn't in here. Ah, perfect timing. Mana constructs are simple, but at least they obey well.”
You realize that she is looking at something behind you, and you turn back to see the anthropomorphic latex cat and wolf that had chased you here standing just outside the open doorway. You jump in shock, never having heard them sneak up on you. Before you can react properly, they both walk right past you towards Agatha with a calm, almost dazed demeanor that totally contradicts the animosity you recently experienced.
“You see, this manor was constructed by other wizards as a cage. I was banished here by some close-minded fogies just for some minor... indiscretions in my studies involving testing on mortals or some such. The whole matter was overblown in my opinion, but here I am. The building is covered and surrounded by old, powerful wards that prevent me from leaving and block the natural recovery of my magical energy, theoretically keeping me unable to cast any sorts of spells.”
The two creatures stand before her bowing forward so that she can place a hand on each of their brows. The room seems to darken slightly. The beasts each appear to lose definition. You realize they're getting a bit smaller as they stand up straight, no longer needing to kneel into Agatha's hands.
“But, again and again my so-called peers underestimate me and are overconfident in their own traditions. Many of the wards have blind spots or loopholes. All I need is another source of energy to convert, like the life force of humans. Of course, no humans can find this place on their own, much less approach it unscathed. But suppose I managed to sneak in a tiny morsel of energy. Then I could use a spell of my own design to make them no longer humans, at least completely, and well...”
The animals' feet have now lifted from the ground towards the woman's palms. They've almost completely melted into puddles like you saw earlier, though now much smaller as more and more of their mass seems to disappear into the witch's outstretched arms. Soon, nothing left of them remains, and the eerie air to the room disappears in tandem as Agatha closes her eyes and takes a deep, satisfied breath.
“Ah, much better. Now for you two.”
You gulp in fear, realizing the implications of what she's just explained. She notices your reaction and laughs.
“Ha, don't worry. I wouldn't have bothered telling you all of this if I only planned to drain you of your life force. But before we get to why you're here, I need to make sure that you're in a state that the fail safe wards won't detect as easily. What I've absorbed so far should be enough.”
Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she waved her hands. Her fingers quickly dart around and her mouth moves wordlessly. Suddenly you feel flushed all over. You look down at yourself in confusion. You see nothing strange besides your previously altered features, but the heat continues to build under the skin all across your body. You touch a hand to your arm, only to realize that you can't feel anything at all besides the heat that keeps rising. The heat turns to burning, and as it reaches a crescendo, the sensation changes abruptly.
Your skin begins crawling with far more intensity than you've ever experienced. The feeling overwhelms you with a mix of sharp, painful pricks, tickles, itches, and strange notes of pleasure as well. It's like all of your nerve endings are firing at once. You don't even notice that you've dropped to the ground until you crack an eye open to find yourself gazing at floor level. Across from you, the other woman silently writhes around on the floor at Agatha's feet as you must also be. Just as swiftly as it began, the sensation calms and stops. You pant as you weakly lift yourself from the floor, thankful to feel the cold stone beneath your hand.
As you open your eyes something seems wrong. It takes you a moment to figure out what until a flicker of a lamp makes the light play across your arm, and you notice the sheen that your skin has taken on. You lift your hand up, looking at your oddly smooth palms. You flex your fingers, producing a rubbery stretching and squeaking sound as if you're wearing a rubber glove. Putting together what she's done, you look back up at Agatha in alarm.
“Oh, don't give me that look,” Agatha chides. “I did this for your own protection. Your scant animal additions were enough to get you through the door, but you would only last here for a few minutes longer before one of the more thorough sentinel spells detected two beings that didn't belong. Luckily for you, it's just another opportunity for my genius to shine,” she said with a slight flourish.
“I will admit, though, I forget how intense shape shifting can be at first for you mortals, and for that, I apologize. I don't want to get things started off entirely on the wrong foot, so please, come sit. I promise that I won't jabber much longer.”
She gestures to some chairs that sit around the fireplace. You and the other woman follow after uneasily, still recovering from your exertion. You must admit that the seat is inviting, though, and the chance to relax after all that's happened is too much to pass up. The three of you sit, and Agatha stares into the flames for a moment, seeming to consider her next words.
“I have a very special mana aspect, as you may have noticed from the beasts you saw earlier or the new forms I've given you. By aligning the two of you with it, the difference between us becomes less stark while also making you less detectable as living things. I would have done it when you first walked in the door, but the two of you are special, and I needed a bit more energy before performing the feat without risking too much.”
“Both of you are what my kind call mediums. You're mortals that are abnormally conductive of magical energy, almost like a light form of mages yourself, though unable to control or build the energy on your own. In a different life, you may have ended up as spiritualists or soothsayers, assuming you learned to use the gift. The magic that changed you was no different than the spells that turned others into the drones that attacked you, but instead of fully succumbing, you absorbed and incorporated it, though not without side effects. Once my drones detected you for what you were, I had you herded here.”
“Besides raw mana, you were the other thing that I sought. My drones are useful for basic tasks, but they can't reach much further than the edges of this forest, nor can they do anything complex. You, however, can come and go as you please. And with your unique abilities, you can help me accomplish tasks outside of my prison that no other human could. If you would accept, I would take each of you as my thralls. The process is old magic, and must be done voluntarily. The door is still open. You're welcome to leave and go back home if you wish, but I hope you'll consider my request.”
Finishing her speech, Agatha stared at the two of you, seemingly waiting for a response.
Realizing that she must have released her spell, you try to piece together a reply. To your relief, the words now come to you as if nothing ever happened.
“Thralls? So, you're asking us to choose to become, what, your minions? Servants?” you ask.
“Something like that. You would help attend to my needs here and assist me in tasks that require a presence where I can't yet go,” she replies.
“So you're asking us to choose to cook and clean and be your gofers for... what?” you reply incredulously, letting your frustration begin to slip into your tone.
“Oh no, the house maintains itself, as well as providing food whenever I need it. Being eternally kept alive, shut off from my magic is far crueler a punishment than any corporal deprivation. But I have... other uses for you,” she says cryptically. “And while I'm no mortal, I'm sure that what I have in store will be a far more interesting experience than whatever you have to go back to out there.”
You gesture towards your face, continuing in exasperation, “If this is just the introduction, I'm sure I've already experienced far more than I'd prefer! And for how long is this agreement anyway?”
“As for the terms, you would be in my servitude until I release the contract,” she finishes with a smile, seemingly unperturbed by your outbursts.
You look at her flatly for a moment. “Okay, so we can decide to stay here as your slaves for who knows how long, or you'll change us back and let us leave? Am I understanding this correctly?”
“Who said anything about changing back?” she says with a laugh at the idea. “Oh no, I only said you could leave. Any kind of magical alterations after that point are up to you to figure out. Oh, and I should warn you, you both have absorbed quite a bit of undirected magical energy. Once you're outside of my domain, it could discharge in any number of ways, potentially affecting you or others around you. So, keep that in mind as well as you make your decision,” she explains, her grin now taking on a more sinister air.
The other woman finally breaks her silence by blurting out, “WHAT?! I thought you said you needed us to enter your contract or whatever voluntarily. This is coercion! You haven't left us any choice at all!”
Agatha turns to her and calmly replies, “Yes, but the important part is that there still is a choice, and all of that transformation business happened before my offer was on the table. In magic, a lot of the rules leave a certain amount of wiggle room. That's how I got you here in the first place.”
The witch then claps her hands and rests them in her lap, regarding the two of you. “So! Now that we have everything out in the open, what will it be? Will you stay or go?”