With Mark distracted, Troy figured he'd had at least a little bit of time before a decision had to be made. Troy made his way to the break room only to find that everything about it had changed. Every wall was covered in wood, and there looked to be several trophies lining the walls, whether they be swords that slayed beasts, or a massive dragon tooth shoved into the corner, there seemed to have a perfect place for them. The plastic tables had turned completely into wood along with the chairs. Many of them looked like they'd been sat in for years, each one in a slightly different state of decay. Somehow, he felt like he knew which ones to avoid.
Troy scratched behind his ear, thinking about it a bit more. The tavern didn't look bad. Though that massive pirate steering wheel Nolan the Conqueror snagged, was getting a bit in the way. If he wasn't such a regular, Troy would have thrown it out ages ago. He headed behind the tavern's counter, to the coffee boiler. A massive cauldron had to be boiled everyday to make sure they never ran out. Even though it was the size of the wall, they still came closer to running out from time to time.
"Strange?" Troy felt something odd when he started to pour some of the coffee out of the tap. It was like something in the back of his head was telling him that he didn't work in the tavern. Looking around, he knew everything about it. He finished pouring the two cups and reached for them. "What the..." he wondered for a second. Something about his hands felt off. He looked them over, flipping them back and forth. He couldn't quite describe it but two of his fingers just felt numb. Each time he tried to move them, they only reacted when he focused on his other ones.
Troy shook his hand a few times, trying to wake them up. That's when he noticed the amount of space between them had shrank. "What the--?!" he backed up into the counter knocking into his guitar. He watched as the fingers stared to merge together. His pinky and ring finger joined at the skin. He couldn't even separate them anymore. The same was happening to his pointer and middle finger. He tried to put something in between them, but the conjoining skin only seemed to pushed whatever was there out. The bones joined together, making one thick finger instead of two smaller ones.
"What's going on!?" Troy shouted. His nails were turning pitch black, hardening into something more like a hoof than a fingernail. He stared as brown fur covered the back of his hands.
"WHAT'S WRONG!?" Dustin came running out. His wolf ears were fully erect while his grayish blue tail sat completely still.
"I... I almost burned myself," Troy lied. Something still felt like it was off, but he couldn't quite figure it out. His mind seemed to have dulled and he couldn't properly think about anything at the moment. A dull fog seemed to cover his mind.
"Oh..." Dustin nodded. His body relaxed and claws retracted. He stepped in closer, running his hand down Troy's beefy chest. "Don't scare me like that. Okay?"
"Sorry," Troy felt himself look away. Something about Dustin's handsome face was really starting to get to him. Even though he'd known the guy for years, he felt like he just noticed something new every day. This day being especially odd because it almost felt like his face was lengthening. Like his nose wasn't always black and a bit wet or his teeth so dangerously sharp. But stranger yet, Troy almost felt like he saw Dustin's grayish blue fur covering more and more of his face and hands. He shook his head. "It must just be one of those days..." he said.
"Maybe..." Dustin leaned in. "But the fact that you buttoned your shirt all the way up is kind of surprising. Aren't you uncomfortable?" He'd already undone the top two buttons. Troy let out a heavy breath. He hadn't realized just how tight his shirt really was. The fabric was stripped fabric was really holding against his body. With each button undone, felt like another wave of normality running over him again. The fog he was feeling almost felt like it was lifting as his chest and abs were revealed. "Much better," Dustin said, licking his lips while his hand rested gently on Troy's chest. The sharp nail of his finger gently traced Troy's sensitive nipple.
Troy felt their eyes lock. More than just friends. The more Dustin ran his paws over his chest, the more turned on he was getting. That's when he saw the wedding ring draping around the wolfkin's neck. 'He's with Amy,' Troy thought, and the moment drifted away. "I've got to get Mark his coffee," he said, changing the subject.
"Right," Dustin smiled, then licked his chops. "We do have a tavern to run after all." Then slapped Troy's firm ass. "Go get'em big guy."
There were a few moments where Troy just wanted to mount the wolfkin right there. Even if he wasn't a young calf anymore, his testosterone was still raging, and he could easily find the motivation to do so. And the way Dustiox was wagging his tail... "Mmmmmm..." Troy mooed at the thought. He felt a dull pressure out of his ass. His own long rope of a tail swayed behind him. "Eh-hem," he cleared his throat, "I have a job to do."
Placing a cream and two sugars in both of the coffees, Troy headed back to Mark. "Oh shit!" he quickly turned back and grabbed his guitar. He slung it over his back just like how he'd always down with his battle axes. It was quite a bit lighter than them, but the feeling of the wood sliding against his back still felt a bit nostalgic. The feeling quickly evaporated as he walked down the winding halls of the office building. Mostly he had to watch out for the smaller creatures. So many of them could easily walk out without looking and his feet would easily crush them.
A feeling of unease always came over him when he had to deliver something. Even more so today. Somehow with every step he took, his gait seemed to grow just a bit more. And even stranger how his feet felt so cramped. Troy couldn't see over his chest, but it was like his feet were being put into a compressor. Like they were slowly changing shape into a circle. He wondered why he kept feeling like his hooves should roll forward, when he always took a solid step onto the hardened nail attached to his foot.
Even though he'd never wish to be anything other than a minotaur, those hooves made it incredibly hard to complete his ensemble. He'd always wanted to be able to wear cowboy boots, just like all the other country guys. But instead, he had to settle with just jeans, an open flannel shirt and a big ole ten-gallon hat. Even without the boots, he still felt like he fit the stereotype pretty well. His jeans clung tightly to his thick muscular legs. The red and blue flannel looked good against his coarse brown fur. And the cowboy hat fit perfectly a top his cow face. He'd even torn the sleeves off all his shirts as they seemed like nothing more than a nuisance that would get in his way. Not to mention how much Dustiox liked seeing his arms.
However, with all that size, it could be a bit hard navigating the halls. They were far too thin for his massive body. He felt bad for the other creatures as many of them would have to duck into a side hallway while he passed. His massively broad shoulders filled the entire space. His left was currently running along the wall while his right would have been bumping into each of the cubicle walls if they hadn't been so short. Well relative to his height. Everyone always said he was big, even for a minotaur, but Troy could only feel it was their fault for being so tiny.
Troy was just glad when Mark's cubicle came into view. His pacing almost sped up as he got closer. He had to be careful, not only for the other workers, but also not to spill the coffee. Luckily the large steins were big enough for him to carry fairly easily. "One coffee, one cream and two sugars."
A big smile appeared on Mark's face as the large stein of coffee was placed on his desk. "Perfect! I'm just about finished creating everything about your character," he said. "I hope you don't mind. Heck, I doubt you should. I rolled an 18! That means with your plus 2 racial bonus you can have a 20 strength! I also rolled two 16s! So, I'm assuming you want those in constitution and charisma so you can really adhere to your classes skills." Troy nodded along absentmindedly. He wasn't completely positive what Mark was talking about but the excitement in his voice almost felt infectious. That was until the strange pause. Mark's face scrunched up a bit. "Now. Don't be mad. But I also rolled a 7 and an 8. Intelligence and wisdom aren't exactly all that important for a bard... And as a tavern keep you really don't need them... But besides that, you'll be really strong!"
"Of course Triox is really strong!" Triox held up his massive arms and gave them a powerful flex. Thick, powerful biceps bulged larger than a person's head. Each one would have been able to easily lift a boulder if given the chance. And with his massive hands, he might have even tried juggling it if the situation truly called for it. That didn't account for the rest of his body that was equally just as strong. Heavy pecs hung out in front of him while a hearty well fed muscle gut laid directly below it. Abs were pretty to look at but a strong burly core was what proved his strength. And with his massive quads, nothing would be able to move the hearty minotaur. Well almost...
"All done," Mark said as he closed his book. Triox shook his head. A headache was coming over him again. It was like two large points were throbbing on the sides of his skull. It felt like something was pulling more and more out of his head. He instinctively reached up and grabbed his horn. His left hand grabbed nothing. "Still feels like it's there?" Mark asked.
Triox nodded. A bit of a phantom pain still lingered from a tussle with a bit more powerful of a swordsman than he thought. The human fighter shouldn't have been a match for his size and strength and the attitude that he gave off was anything but off putting. Triox had only held back because of Dustiox, truly his better half. But the moment the swordsman insulted his husband, Triox could only see red. He went charging at the swordsman only to feel the blade slice through his left horn, down into his shoulder. Triox cried out in pain. The swordsman laughed and swung again. Another deep cut, this one in his chest. And just barely the tip of a third across the left of his face. Luckily his party was there to stop him. Dustiox, Harmon and Levi teamed up to scare the swordsman off. Though, with the swordsman skill, it was unlikely they could actually do anything. Triox could almost hear his laughter as he ran off without a scratch on him.
Luckily Levi the druid had some healing magic. Though it only dulled the physical pain. It was the trauma that lingered. That's when Dustiox offered to use their gold to buy into Tavern Unlimited. It was a new way to set up shop without having to purchase everything. And apparently a lot of the higher end businesses wanted to get into the feel of a family run business without it being in the middle of nowhere. It apparently did wonders for moral as people were actually allowed a comfortable place to drink, make friends and be merry. And without much adventuring, Triox was able to start practicing guitar and he felt like he was pretty good at it. Dustiox agreed as long as he wasn't singing about his red pick-up truck.
"It is what it is..." Triox answered. His fingers naturally went towards the scar on his face and chest but tried his best to avoid the compulsory need to touch them. Instead, he grabbed his golden wedding ring draped around his neck for strength. "Just more inspiration," adding a forced smile to show that everything was alright.
"I'm sure..." Mark said. He seemed a bit distant but quickly changed his mood. "Well!" he clapped his hands as to make it easier to change the subject. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm currently looking for a quest! There's apparently these five magical books in the world that can change things about the world. And I need to find them before some evil people do. Do you know anything about that?"
Triox instantly thought of a book he owned. It was a powerful magical artifact, but he couldn't quite remember where it came from. It was the first thing that came to mind when Mark mentioned the books, but something in his gut was still telling him not to give it away. "Let me think..." Triox said.