Time resumed, though Charlie didn’t notice that the world had been paused this time.
The black-furred would rogue brushed himself off and resumed checking the corridor for traps.
He didn’t expect any traps along the paths the heavy golems tread, but a little caution went a long way. The air in the ruins was a little stale, the smell of sweat, blood, musk and, strangely, oil filled the air. He padded softly down the large corridor. It was wide enough that three men could fit walking side by side with space in between.
The floor was dusty, though the ground was disturbed where the golems had walked. There were other tracks, long ones that indicated a body being dragged. And there were many of those. He took another deep breath, snout raised to catch the fragrances on the air.
Aside from the dust and tracks, the corridor was lined with statues of a handsome, muscular pitbull in various poses, some more lewd than others. Charlie scoffed at the tableau of vanity on display. If this was the guy that had been entombed, it was no wonder people wanted him gone. What a vain jackass.
Charlie took another sniff and a new scent caught his attention.
He lifted his snout, nostrils flaring. There! It smelled of magic, exotic and tingly. The scent was thick, flowing out from deeper into the ruins. Somewhere deep in this dungeon was a powerful artifact, though whether it would be one the party could use or needed to destroy was unknown.
A clank sounded up ahead and the wolf sprang to the wall and melded into the shadows between two statues.
Charlie had moved just in time, as a large metallic ‘man’ turned his way.
The Golem - if that’s what it really was - stood 12 feet tall. It was made of smooth, brushed metal the color of oil with the same rainbow sheen. A faint mechanical whirr came from underneath the thick fabric that made up the Golem’s torso, likely from the gears hidden inside.
It was built to look vaguely humanoid, with two arms, two legs, a head and torso. The head was mostly featureless save for the eyes, which were just one long cyclopian visor that glowed red, and the mouth, which was hinged. Charlie thought it looked sturdy, in spite of the fact that it had been buried almost a thousand years ago.
There was another scream and the sound of bare paws clacking on stone.
A wolf was running this way, bare naked save for his gray and rust-brown fur. He was definitely male, judging from the heavy sheathe at his crotch. Fortunately it wasn’t Rodrigo, and while Charlie didn’t recognize him, it was a safe bet that this was a guard, particularly given the muscles that bulged through his thick fur.
The golem’s head swiveled, following the wolf as he darted past it.
“Help me!” The wolf cried when he spotted Charlie, “He’s taken everyone!”
“Don’t fucking come near me!” Charlie hissed as quietly as he could, “You’ll blow my cover!”
The wolf grimaced, confused by the strange sound.
‘Crap,’ Charlie thought to himself, this wolf had probably heard the elevator and come running – he’d had no idea that Charlie was sitting stealthed in the hallway.
The wolf spent the briefest of instants gazing out dumbly into the hallway, but that instant was enough to cost him his life.
Another voice boomed from somewhere far away, deep and commanding, “Get that vermin, Sentry Golem 1!”
There was a hum as power built up, the golem’s visor glowing brighter and brighter. The wolf took off running again and managed to make it halfway down the corridor - distressingly close to Charlie’s hiding spot. Instead of running to the exit, he was running towards where he Charlie’s voice come from, probably assuming that he’d heard a rescue party hiding in the hallway. What an idiot.
Charlie ground his teeth and whispered savagely “Don’t run this way, moron!”
A beam of red light blasted from the golem’s visor, air shimmering and distorting where it passed, striking the wolf square in the back. The wolf froze mid-step, mouth opening in horror as he was engulfed by ruby light.
The light pulsed and hummed.
Charlie could only watch as the look of terror the wolf’s face was replaced with pure lust, his tongue lolling out, and he howled with joy.
The wolf’s hips bucked, a spurt of cum shooting from his suddenly-erect cock. His body started compressing, mass beginning to completely disappear. The shrinking wolf’s cock started spouting a fountain of cum, his yellow eyes rolling in his head, body shuddering in sheer bliss.
His body shrank faster with every jet of cum issued from his dick, all while it began to change and shift. The wolf’s triangular ear grew larger, the cartilage stretching, the hairs on his hands and feet thinning, exposing pink skin.
As the wolf’s chest compressed, ribs cracking, his lusty howls shifted into pleasured squeaks. His tail curled between his legs, the fur falling off, and it grew long and ropy, the same pink color as his hands and feet. Little rat turds came from his hole as he spasmed, clearly losing control of his bowels.
The squeaks rose higher, more desperate as he continued to shrink.
His balls were visibly clenching, ejecting the extra mass as pure jism. The wolf’s snout grew pointier, long whiskers sprouting and twitching at the end of a much more ratty face. His yellow eyes glazed over and began to dim growing black and beady.
The only thing out sized about the rat were his genitals, though that quickly changed. With one long, high pitched squeak, his balls clenched one final time, ejecting a spout of semen in a continuous stream. His penis became small and pink, testicles following, though a bit oversexed for the little mouse.
Then the ray of pulsating red ray shut off, the hum fading away.
The tiny mouse settled onto the floor in a huge puddle of cum. Seemingly unaware of what had just transpired, it slowly walked around in a circle while sniffing the air. The golem moved forward and, seeing the unfamiliar monstrosity move towards it, the mouse instantly darted away towards a crack in the wall.
As the mouse vanished between the wall’s stones, the golem’s visor smoked, the red glow fading. The metal surrounding the visor was glowing orange from what must have been immense heat. And while the golem didn’t shut off, it was much slower in its movements.
By now, the golem was close enough that Charlie could hear gears clack with every movement the golem made. The shroud of tough fabric covering its joints and gut did a good job of dampening the sounds it made.
The golem’s mouth opened and a long, flexible tube accordioned out from the orifice and set down over the puddle of cum. There was a click and whir from inside the golem’s metal chest. The puddle of cum was quickly suctioned up by the tube. When the puddle was a mere smear, the tube retracted into the golem’s mouth and another whir emanated from inside of it.
Charlie held his breath until the golem turned and resumed its patrol.
He was terrified, but he’d learned a few things.
The golems’ visor was a ranged weapon that could transform people. Said transformation took a while to initiate, and the way the visor smoked let him know there was a cool-down between ray attacks. Already, the orange glow was fading and the movements picking up speed. Charlie judged about 30 seconds at the minimum between blasts of energy.
On top of the cool-down period, the time it took the golem to fully transform a subject at full-power was about 30 seconds as well. A lengthy amount of time in combat, especially in DnD, where 5 rounds was long enough to take down most creatures. Each round was 6 seconds, so… yeah, they might even be able to take out a golem mid-ray attack and save the unfortunate victim.
In fact, it might be optimal to sacrifice a character to-
“Sentry Golem 1, I thought I heard another voice when the prisoner escaped. Scan for any other escapees or intruders!” The voice boomed.
The golem’s red visor lit up as it stopped and turned back. It surveyed the area. A red beam of light shone from the golem’s visor and played over the walls and floor. Charlie’s mouth went dry. It was moving closer to him, the helmet swiveling left and right. He needed to do something now!