"Stella and I can go around the back and look for a back way in," Ty offered, giving a little nod to the orcish woman as he did. "This whole place looks really worn-down. I'll bet there's a collapsed hallway or a broken window we can get in. You guys can wait out here, and when we have a way in, we'll signal you?"
Aaron, in his new hunky barbarian body, shrugged and took a seat on a nearby pile of rubble. He hefted his axe off of his back and began to sharpen it, already focusing on his new task. Erica didn't seem bothered by the new plan, either, as she sat down at Aaron's feet. After just a couple seconds, she ran her hand over his codpiece, stroking and squeezing him under her fingers.
Stella scowled and unsheathed her sword, wiping it on her chainmail skirt. "It's probably for the best, Ty. It'll be a lot harder for those too idiots to get themselves into trouble out here." The orc fighter slid the blade back into its sheath and began to walk the perimeter around the castle. Ty hustled to join her, though he almost tripped over his apprentice wizard's robes as he did.
Together, the two walked for about half an hour, trying to encircle the fortress. It turned out to be far bigger than what Ty had originally realized. Compared to the village where they'd arrived, this castle appeared to practically be the size of a city, albeit a worn-down and nearly abandoned one. Finally, Stella and Ty find a particularly weak area of wall, half-crumbled and covered in vines, with a hefty pile of rubble to climb on. The pair climbed up the wall, Stella moving with ease and Ty struggling a little to mount the wall. At the top, Stella dropped down smoothly, and turned around to catch Ty as he tumbled down.
The two, finally within the castle's walls, took a good look around them. Between the outer fortress walls and the towering stone structures ahead was a giant courtyard, almost destroyed by the elements. Weeds and plants jutted through broken stone tiles across the earth. Gargoyles, worn-down and torn apart by wind and rain, rested atop cracked pillars. Down to the far end of the courtyard, an entire section of wall was completely destroyed and removed, leaving the whole center open to the forest beyond.
Stella didn't even bother to speak to Ty. She charged forward, taking strong, leaping steps towards the closest door into the fortress. Ty stumbled to follow behind, though her longer stride length forced him to jog. Suddenly, just as they neared the door, they heard a massive, monstrous snarl from out behind them.
Ty turned quickly and let out a gasp of surprise. A pack of wolves had surrounded them in what felt like seconds, without making as much as a noise. He couldn't really tell, but there were at least a dozen of them, each one as powerful and muscular as the last. Gnashing teeth, heavy paws, and dark, narrowed eyes. One wolf in particular stood out among the others, being about a six inches taller and considerably stronger. His eyes were a bright, luminous red, and his fangs, massive and extended like a smilodon's, shone with the same shimmering red light.
Stella drew her sword and ushered the young wizard behind her. "Stay back, Ty," she warned, waving the blade out ahead of her. "My armor will keep me safe. You're not so lucky."
Then, without warning, the biggest wolf pounced. His sheer weight took the orc woman down in a single hit. Stella plunged to the broken stone tiles with a cry of pain, and her sword clattered several feet away. The wolf's jaws parted, and his teeth ripped into her shoulder. The orc cried out in pain as her chainmail shatters. The red magic in the wolf's teeth shimmers more brightly, and runs along his ivory to quickly envelop Stella's body. The orc woman shudders as the powerful spell overwhelms her, and she soon melts into a black, unfathomable depth, appearing almost like a hole in space. After a mere second, Stella snaps back into existence, but now, completely unrecognizable. She'd been transformed into a she-wolf with dark grey fur, noticeably smaller than all of the other wolves in the pack. The massive monster released his teeth from her shoulder and tossed the wolf who used to be Stella off to the side.
His burning red eyes focus directly on Ty. "You bear no steel." The thundering voice appeared from nowhere, as the wolf's lips didn't move. Ty let out a small gasp as he realized it was a telepathic message, audible only in his own mind. "Yet you have disrespected my master, and trespassed on his lands. Submit to this pack, or you will end up like your friend over there."