Rodrigo was enjoying his early morning tea the next day.
There had been an incident at the lumbermill. One of the guards had apparently gotten drunk and wandered off to someplace that he still hadn’t been found in. Stupid bears. Always getting drunk and wandering off.
Seriously… Rodrigo shook his head. The only reason he kept them around instead of using his wolves was because they were the only species muscular enough to beat the lizardmen when they stepped out of line.
Well, there was good news for those adventurers. He definitely needed to replace those wolf guards and they had impressed him with those sword skills. He’d need to give them a permanent mega dose and make sure they imprinted on Spenser. Sure, one of them might end up feral, but that was a risk that Rodrigo was willing to take.
Rodrigo wondered if his nephew would notice if a few of his used loincloths went missing. Musk was an important part of imprinting. They discovered that early on when developing their potions. If Spenser realized he only had friends because they were brainwashed to love him unconditionally… well, he’d get over it.
Or maybe it would turn him on like it turned on Rodrigo.
The plump wolf twirled his whiskers and chuckled to himself. This caravan would provide him with enough funds to start automating his industry. Feeding all these slaves was simply too cost inefficient. Having to maintain a huge contingency of guards in order to prevent uprisings was also expensive.
Thankfully, the ’secret’ his miners had discovered in those ruins would be the key to all of it.
If he could harness the power they’d found there, he’d be unstoppable. The problem was that the mechanics of it was beyond him. He needed people he could trust to help him. That’s why he was going to order his men to find engineers and wizards and kidnap them and their families.
He’d heard of the inventions at Bridge’Ithe. Sewers, running water, proper roads and other inventions just as great that would give people more leisure time. The city of tomorrow would be built right here. When everything was automated and he had no more use for a species, they’d become wolves loyal to him. It wouldn’t be long before he’d have his own army. Then he’d conquer that corrupt noble and claim his territory as his own.
Yes, in a few months-
“Sir!” Rodrigo’s door flung open as a young, brown furred wolf barged in, “I bring news from the caravan!”
“Ah good,” Rodrigo grinned, finishing off his tea in one gulp.
“Spenser… he was turned into a carp by a soul magic user! And Callum…” The wolf whimpered before recomposing himself. “It’s better if you don’t know sir, but two-thirds of our men are dead!”
“What!?” Rodrigo’s teacup shattered on the floor when the surprised wolf jumped to his feet.
“I’m sorry for-”
“Get me my potions! Now!”
“Yes sir,” The wolf scrambled for the door.
“Fuck” Rodrigo cursed to himself. How could he have been so careless. He’d gotten so worked up about this caravan and the soul mage that was supposed to be travelling with it that he’d forgotten about Spenser and Callum’s potions.
Well, at least those idiot guards thought it was the soul mage who-
Rodrigo paused in thought. Spenser and Callum had lost to a soul mage. A mage that could alter a person’s entire history. Had that mage altered reality so that Rodrigo had forgotten to give them their potions last night, or…
“No sense wondering about that anymore. I let them both use an artifact for this job – neither of which I can afford to lose” Rodrigo thought to himself. He needed to act fast, before the caravan got away and his family’s precious artifacts were lost forever.
Then there was the issue of the soul-magic user. He NEEDED one of those. The wolf realized those adventurers he’d captured would have known something about the soul-magic user. Rodrigo grinned. They would soon be joining the wolf guard.
He pulled out three of his rankest loincloths from a hamper, making sure his musk was strong. They would be absolutely loyal to him alone. His own, personal royal guard. And they would tell him everything about that caravan.
“Sir, your potions-” the young wolf stumbled as the fat wolf pushed him away.
“Get me three mega doses of wolf brew.”
“Y-yes! Here!” The young wolf pulled out three heavy-duty bottles. “Who are you-”
“I’m going to make myself three loving, loyal sons. Come.” Rodrigo grinned and walked out the door.
He considered turning the rest of the lizardmen into loyal wolves as well, but that would only be a last, desperate measure. If the town came under attack, whoever attacked them would find every citizen was a wolf or a bear. Losing Spenser and Callum was a tragedy, but it was too early to commit to anything so drastic.
Besides, if he played his hand right, he’d just be trading two old elite guards for three new ones, so that would do for now.
Rodrigo waddled quickly, cursing his own obesity. He’d lived such a lavish life, but it came with a soft middle as the price. Oh well. His boys would love him, care for him. Rub his soft form, lap the sweat from his balls, eat out his ass with their loving tongues.
And that one wolf. What was his name? Started with a C…ah, that’s right! Charlie! Yes, maybe he’d age him up a bit, make him into a proper husband. Rodrigo’s bed was getting rather cold these nights. He needed someone to impress with all his wealth, after all. And that Charlie did seem rather knowledgeable of Paranor. Two birds with one stone.
Rodrigo was lost in his imagination when he heard a loud metallic scuttling, followed by an equally loud series of clanks. Screams arose from the town below as he descended the path.
Rodrigo paused. As much as he could hear what sounded like a fight, the town’s streets were filled with the morning fog. With visibility as poor as it was, he could only see a dozen or so yards ahead of him. Glancing around, he thought he saw the flash of light reflecting off metal somewhere in the fog ahead of him.
Was that his guard? One of the townspeople? Maybe just a figment of his own imagination?
Rodrigo jumped out of his shoes as a loud clank rang out behind him. As much as the fog was obscuring his view, he still had his smell. If it was one of his people, he’d at least be able to smell them. But as he inhaled deeply through his nose, he realized that whatever had made the sound didn’t have a scent, which meant-
Something crashed into the back of his head, and the world went dark.