I did not hesitate long. Alone in a strange world, my life was as good as over anyway if I could not trust the natives. I decided I might as well put it to the test then, and called out to the maid.
She jumped, spilling some of the scraps from the bucket onto the cobbles. Turning towards me, her eyes widened and she called out something in a language I did not understand. Although, it did seem familiar, unexpectedly so in hindsight -- something that was more akin to English than anything in an alien reality had any right to be.
Still, I did not yet speak the tongue, so I could do little but hold up my bound hands, plead for help, and look pitiful.
Warily the maid set down the bucket and approached. She spoke again, sounding inquisitive now instead of frightened, but her words were lost on me. I shook my head. "I don't understand, sorry..."
Two guards strolled up, armed with spears, swords at their sides. One was a strapping male, human except for the pointed, elfin ears I had noted on my way in. The other was a female, nearly as tall and muscular, with a waving tail of orange and black stripes, and rounded black ears.
The male levelled his spear at me, while the female conferred with the maid. The guard nodded, and the maid drew her dagger. Approaching me cautiously, she spoke soothingly and pointed at the bonds. I nodded, daring to assume she meant to help me, and held out my hands. Quickly and with surprising strength, she sawed through the cords, leaving me to rub my wrists in relief.
"Commen thu mid os,"* ordered the male, and to my surprise the words actually made sense to me -- I wasn't sure if some magic was adjusting my mind, but I think it was just that the phrase happened to be particularly close to English.
"Thae thanken, Ethelaeda," said the female guard, whom I took to be a tigress. The maid curtseyed, retrieved her bucket, and continued on to the stables.
Then the two guards led me, unresisting, into the keep. They guided me through several corridors, which were decorated with tapestries, stained glass, and elaborate wrought iron candelabra. The tapestries showed a remarkable sophistication of detail beyond what I had seen of medieval artwork, and I was able to pick out a number of scenes. Some were of animal people hunting and feasting, and I saw that the level of hybridization varied; some sported only ears and tails, others were like satyrs, and some few completely zoanthropic.
Others scenes depicted battles. And my heart sank as I saw that the animal people were killing what were undoubtedly humans. I saw an image of the elf-like people kneeling to a tall, grey anthro canine in a crown, and below that he was clasping the arm of a crowned elfin female.
Then in passing, two anthro figures, a male fox atop a female of a species I did not know, but cat-like. It took me a moment to realise what they were doing, but when I caught sight of the red bulge half-sunk into the female's crotch, I knew and I blushed deeply. Yet, even though I was shocked at the brazen display... I felt my balls tingle, my own cock twitch in desire.
Finally we halted in front of double doors and another brace of guards. My escorts exchanged words with them, and one went inside. We waited a few minutes, and I examined the tapestries, which here showed a coat of arms rather than tableaux. The main emblem seemed to be two crossed torches in orange, on a blue field; some of these were quartered with a red anthro wolf, head tilted back to howl, on a yellow field.
Soon the doors opened again and we were bidden inside. My jaw dropped. I had never been in a royal court before, but it was magnificent beyond my expectations. Multihued light from the coloured windows poured across columns, statues and tapestries. Nobles in bright cloaks sat to either side of a carpeted central aisle, while guards stood in alcoves in the walls and in a line before the dais at the far end of the vaulted hall.
Yet all this I scarcely noticed. For upon the dais, 'neath a purple canopy, stood two thrones of gilded oak; and my attention was rivetted upon their occupants.
On the right (my left) sat a massive anthro dire wolf, seven feet tall and at least a yard broad. His chiseled muscles were plainly obvious through his fur, for he wore no clothing except a leather skirt or kilt, tooled and embroidered with coloured thread. Gold bracelets adorned his wrists and a golden torc his neck; a golden band peaked through messy black locks, bearing a purple gem on his forehead. His pelage was light grey down his front, and dark slate everywhere else. I felt weak just looking at him, and my stomach started to jitter a little.
To his left (my right) lounged a female, a red fox, small in comparison with him but still six feet tall. She was, in a way, even more scantily clad. Her top was merely a balconette bra, supporting her generous bosom and creating a dark shadow of cleavage in the white fur. Below she wore only a loincloth, which while sufficient to conceal her womanhood only drew attention to the voluptuous curves of her hips and thighs. The fabric was red, trimmed in gold, contrasting well with her light fur -- white in front, pale orange on her flanks and hands, black gloves on her dainty hands and bare feet. Long, dark red hair flowed over her shoulders; she wore a red gold circlet set with a white gem. And a similar necklace about her neck, a jeweled pendant hanging enticingly at the entrance to her cleavage.
As we walked towards these impressive figures, I noticed that, unlike in the streets, nearly all the people sitting along the aisles were full anthros -- and just as openly displaying their bodies as those enthroned. A few buxom females even went further, wearing not bras but harnesses of silk or leather, proudly displaying bare, erect nipples adorned with a variety of piercings. They seemed amused by my staring, murmuring to each other or petting their mammaries teasingly.
In contrast, all the guards seemed to be mostly humanoid, apart from ears, tails, horns on a bull and one faun-like cat girl. The only non-furry I caught sight of was a demonic looking femme with horns and wings and twitching spade tail, her curvaceous figure garnished by a red silk gown that seemed to have more gaps than fabric.
I was brought back to my situation as the guards pressed, gentle but firmly insistent, on my shoulders. Carefully I got to my knees, not used to the posture. The titanic wolf leaned forward and greeted me heartily in the half-understood language.
"Hael, wildelin! tae min hal welcommen!" Seeing me blink up in confusion, he grimaced. "Ah... Mae tellen thaes warderes thess or tong non spaek thu. I'thess tru?"
I stared dumbly at him, afraid of misinterpreting what he said, He sighed.
"Semmith iss'u."
"Mae letten, min leurd," the vixen purred. She lifted her hand, palm up towards me. "Du openn't thin aeres ond lossent thi tong. A volynte me facton essit!" Sparkling light danced across her fingers and spiraled towards me, settling about my face. I felt my ears and tongue tingling, and suddenly the words I had just heard made sense in my brain.
"Allow me, my husband. Be your ears opened and your tongue loosed, A voluntate mea factum est!"** That last phrase was still foreign, but being a scientist I recognised Latin. More importantly -- that was magic! It had to be! My eyes widened. I felt afraid, being not only completely outclassed physically by these beautiful creatures, but also apparently at the mercy of spells of unknown capability.
"Do you understand me now?" asked the imposing king.
"Y-yes, sire."
"Excellent!" He smiled, his expression lighting up with a warmth I was not used to seeing in political figures -- or even my boss at work, though he had been decent. I felt reassured, though the jitters in my belly increased. I found myself wondering, with a blush, if his manhood was as big as his heart seemed to be.
Never having recognised myself as bi, I would have been alarmed by this odd thought, but I had no time to question myself.
"Then let me introduce myself. I am Wulfrik, King of Middengyard; and this is my mate, Queen Lightfell. These are two of our concubines --" he indicated the bare-breasted hyaena and ferret girls on the step below them "-- Lady Margarite and Lady Redwinne. Then my seneschal, Lord Edkar --" he indicated a male beech marten seated on the lower step of the dais "-- and my chancellor, Lady Ethelburca." An antelope woman seated across the dais from Edkar. "And what may we call you, stranger?"
"Ah... Seawell. Phillip Seawell."
"Two names?" The king titled his head. "It is uncommon even for nobles to use two names like that; do you have a preference?"
"Oh -- Ph-Phillip, Your Grace."
He nodded. "Very good. Phillip you shall be. Now on your feet, my man; you don't look very comfortable down there!" He chuckled as I clambered upright again. "I must say, you are oddly dressed, even for a barbarian."
"Barbarian?" I queried, jarred a little not just by what felt like an insult -- though spoken without derogation -- but also because, to English eyes, this court seemed barbaric.
"The scullery maid Ethelaeda found him in the courtyard, Your Grace," explained the tiger girl. "He seems to have just... appeared there. And he was bound at the wrists."
"Hmm," mused the vixen. "I did sense a ripple in the ether, similar to but larger than those before."
"I-it was not magic, Your... Your Grace," I stammered, aware that they might very well view this as a threat. "It was, um, technology -- a machine built by myself and my colleagues to send things between dimensions."
"Oh, do not fear, Phillip," she replied with an amused smile. "We have grown used to the odd appearance of sundries, and if it was you who sent them -- surely you received the tea I offered? Perhaps we are strange to you, but we are not hostile."
"But..." Wulfrik frowned a bit. "Why did you come yourself? You do not seem prepared to encounter a new world. And you were bound, Hilda says?"
"I um..." They were certainly taking this a lot better than I was. True, I was only one person, but they had no way of knowing that I would be the only one coming. Perhaps they had simply inferred that the people sending them "sundries" were harmless. Or maybe they were just that powerful.
"I was actually sent here against my will, Your Graces." I explained what had happened. The queen became thoughtful, while the king grew visibly angry. The courtiers whispered a bit as well, though I could not catch what they said.
"Outrageous!" bellowed Wulfrik as I finished, slamming his fist on the armrest of his throne. He took a deep breath. "I cannot believe even barbarians would send their fellows off into the ether over such paltry things!"
I wanted to object that we were not barbarians... though thinking back to the terrorists, I found the objection dying before I could voice it.
"Alas, we cannot send you back; our magic is powerful, but not enough to lift the veil between planes for someone of your size." His gaze softened to sympathy. "So I'm afraid you are stuck here for the time being."
"Forever," corrected the queen, not without sympathy of her own, though she still seemed more thoughtful. "Unless you, Phillip, can instruct our sages in your 'technology.'"
My heart sank. She was right -- and I highly doubted I could teach her "sages" anything.
"Either way... in the meantime, you must earn your keep." The wolf sounded slightly apologetic. "It may seem ungracious of me, but you seem healthy and intelligent, and in no need of alms."
"Work will help you to settle in and feel needed in your new home," added Lightfell. "And also keep your mind from melancholy."
I grimaced, but it seemed fair enough. "Very well, Your Majesties..." I paused, afraid I may have used the wrong honorific, but nobody batted an eye. "Do you... have any jobs for me?"
"Seneschal?" asked the king. The beech marten cleared his throat.
"If it please Your Grace, it would be better not to employ a human; it might upset the other palace staff, never mind the townsfolk. However, if Phillip will consent to be uplifted, there are several open positions: chambermaid for Lady Margarite; cook; breeding mare for the Centaur Knights. And we could do with a few more guards, if the barbarian knows how to fight."
My mouth had dropped open again at "breeding mare." It sounded so demeaning, and he had said it so casually as though it were just another job! In fact none of the jobs sounded appealing -- or like anything I would be good at.
"I, ah, beg Your Graces' pardon... but I don't think I'm qualified for... any of those... positions."
The king laughed. "You seemed taken aback by the suggestion of being a brood mare! Don't worry, the seneschal means a Centauress, not a mere horse, and you would be well-loved. Nor does it require much skill to be mounted or to suckle young."
"Oh really?" teased the ferret concubine. "Do you not find me skilled, Your Highness?" Looking down to me, she added, "But, we could always use more concubines, as well."
"Indeed," concurred the queen. "I sense great passion in you, Phillip; it would please me deeply to unlock it for you. And to be a courtesan servicing the royal family is, perhaps, the most prestigious calling in our realm."
I blushed so hard I felt feverish -- and, dear God, I could feel my cock pressing against my trousers. "Ahh, well..."
"Any training you require will be provided, even in arms," the king assured me. "So you may choose without fear of being ill-suited that way. But -- Lord Edkar has a point. It would be better if you were uplifted to one of the civilised races. We will not force you, of course, except that we have no wish for human courtesans."
"But... Your Highness." I took a deep breath, striving to control my fear and my wounded pride. "I am a scientist -- a scholar! Is there no place for a man of learning?" I paused. "And... why should I be transformed?"
"In this world -- our world of Arret -- humans are seen as primitive and unlovely," explained the queen. "They are barbarians -- wildlings who dwell in backward villages and harry the borders of the uplifted. The uplifted are those who accepted the blessing of the gods to become races of grace and power -- Elves, Beastmen, Draconians, Dwarves, Centaurs, Kobolds, Angels, Succubi and Orcs. As my husband says, it is not something we would force on you, but not only would you be fairer to our eyes, you would be stronger in mind and body."
King Wulfrik nodded. "Aye. As for your learning, you are free to study our books and consult our sages in your free time; but I fear none here wish for an apprentice, and I doubt your technology is compatible with ours. And you must be bound in apprenticeship before you begin earning coin in any profession."
"Bound?" My blood ran cold. "You mean... slavery?"
The king laughed. "Hardly! This isn't the Sultanate! It is indentured apprenticeship -- in exchange for teaching you, you agree to work for your master for such and such a time. In view of your condition, I think the indenture can be flexible, ending whenever you are fully capable. Then you can began earning wages."
"I... see." That sounded a bit better. And I had no doubt, after the queen's display, that they could change my body -- species and sex -- however they wished. The biggest question for me was... well... All those curvy, nude and semi-nude women around me... the suggestion of becoming a whore, or even a breeder for Centaur stallions... The King's proud masculinity.
I hated to admit it, but I was strongly inclined to have myself made in the image of the busty furry femmes, and offer myself for one of the positions my English upbringing considered degrading.
"So, what is your choice, Phillip of Earth?" asked Queen Lightfell. "How will you serve us? And of the races I named, which will you become?"
"Hrm." Thinking it over, I chose to...
(*Translation of Alt. English:
Guard 1: "You, come with us."
Guard 2: "Thank you, Ethelaeda."
King Wulfrik: "Hail, wildling! welcome to my hall! Ah... the guards tell me you don't speak our language. Is that true? It seems so."
**Latin: Used as trigger for the spell. "By my will let it be done.")