“Human!” Erwin decided.
Finn stroked his chin, “You aren’t just shouting some random animal, right?”
“No!” Erwin said indignantly. “Human most dangerous predator! Can use tools and think! Can ambush, can fly, can hunt in packs, can kill things bare-handed.”
“And that makes them the best hunter?” Finn queried.
Erwin just shrugged.
“Fair enough.” Finn sighed.
-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-
“We should pull the lever to human.” Charlie said.
“Really, the human?” Veles asked, skeptical.
“What the hell is human?” Oswin snorted. “The hairless ape picture?”
“Yes. They conquered the world in the Before Fall times.” Veles said. “They did it all: Magic, Hunting, everything. We are all that is left of them.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’re not hairless apes!” One of the guards scoffed.
“The war they waged used Trimming.” Veles replied. “They transformed humans by combining them with animals, then sent them to war as super soldiers.”
“They turned people into beavers to fight wars?” The wolf asked skeptically.
“Hey!” the beaver ranger shouted.
“No, the Trimming went wild. They didn’t realize that each use of the spell warped reality. Eventually, the world that was remade was much different than the one that existed before. A few managed avoid the shifts, but the emperor of Paranor declared that everyone was to be trimmed. Those that refused were killed.” Veles explained.
“Humans merged into beasts. That’s why we exist. They are our forebearers.”
“Then I guess that’s the right answer, then.” Oswin shook his head. “Not very fair, having a riddle that requires a mage from Paranor to answer it.”
“It was built when Paranor was strong.” Veles pointed out. “It would be plainly obvious to them. We, unfortunately, are Post-Fall, our knowledge has been lost. Common history is now mythical.”
“Why did the pitbull have a riddle that anyone could figure out as a trap?” Charlie asked.
“He didn’t build the tomb, his jailers did.” Oswin pointed out, the stag rubbing his chin with his hooflets. “I don’t think it was meant to keep people from Paranor out, which is why it’s so easy for Veles. It was probably more of a security device so that outsiders couldn’t free the pitbull.”
“True, but if I were the pitbull, I would have altered the words. Especially if I was alerted of intruders. The original text could have said anything.” Charlie pointed out.
“Maybe you have to fight whatever picture is above the hole,” Veles pointed out.
“Yeah, it’s true, we might be misinterpreting the meaning of the puzzle.” Oswin nodded.
“Either way, someone’s gonna have to go through the hole.” Charlie shrugged.
“Then check it out,” Oswin shrugged, pulling a lever.
There was a clank as the hole shifted slightly. Above the hole, the image of a human male wavered.
Charlie walked over to the hole.
There was a metal ladder to allow easy access to the hole. When Charlie tried shining his lantern in the entrance, it illuminated a dark, empty hallway. He frowned. There was an infamous trap in DnD that was just like this.
Cautiously, he poked a dagger into the darkness up to the hilt, then withdrew it.
His dagger was still intact, so the hole wasn’t an illusion containing an orb of disintegration. That was a good sign. And as he inspected it, his dagger appeared unmolested. Taking a breath, he did the next test.
The wolf thrust he paw into the dark orifice and held his breath.
Nothing happened. His paw went through, encountering no resistance. He flexed it in the darkness and found no signs of any magic or trap.
“What are we dealing with?” Oswin called.
“Looks like a dark hallway.” Charlie called over his shoulder.
“Dagger passed the test and your paw was unharmed?” Oswin asked.
“Dagger? Yeah, it’s fine. Veles, can you detect magic?” Charlie asked Veles.
“Detect Magic!” Veles intoned and his eyes lit up bright blue.
A minute passed as the cougar inspected the portal. “I don’t see any magic.”
Charlie dug into his belt and pulled out a rope. He tied it around his waist, cinching it tight, then tossed the rope to Oswin.
“Hold on to that. If I’m not back in fifteen seconds, or a trap goes off, pull.” Charlie advised.
Oswin wrapped the rope around his muscled arm and nodded.
Charlie looked back at the hole and gave it a more thorough inspection. He noticed that there was a small metal bar jutting out from the wall in between the hole and the picture of the human above it.
"I guess I'm supposed to hold onto that and go through feet first?" he wondered aloud.
"Go for it," Veles shrugged his shoulders before winding the rope taut. “I’ll pull you out in fifteen seconds.”
Grabbing onto the bar, Charlie pulled himself up, planting his legs against the stone wall to either side of the hole he was about to jump through.
Pushing off, Charlie swung back, still holding the bar, then pressed his legs together and headed for the hole. He passed through the hole unmolested, landing softly on his footpads in the dark hallway.
“See anything?” Veles called through the hole.
“No!” Charlie called back over his shoulder. “Looks clear. I’m going to check the door.”
“Be careful!” Veles replied.
Charlie carefully slinked forward, his lantern illuminating a featureless hallway lined with dark stone. He reached the door and saw a lever on one side. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the lever and pulled.
The door in front of him rumbled open. Behind him, the wall dropped, cutting the rope as the hole slid into the floor. There was now a perfect path straight through into some chamber that smelled like manure and rank musk.
“Charlie?” Veles called cautiously, approaching the passageway that had opened up. “Is it safe?”
Charlie nodded, waving them all forward while pressing a finger to his lips.
The party walked cautiously through, entering a huge chamber on the other side, just as big as the processing chamber.
Coffins filled with townsfolk were being brought to a chamber at the far end of the room. A spider robot was placing them into the crystal vat, choosing a form, then using the ray to transform them. Some of the new forms were animals, but all of the men were transforming into pitbulls.
As the villagers transformed, blue, shimmering liquid was extruded into another container.
“Soul energy.” Veles whispered. “That chamber trims them and stores it away.”
“What’s it for?” Charlie asked quietly.
“More golems, soul magic.” Veles said. “It’s like what the witch and Glitz did, except this stuff is being refined into something much more versatile.”
Charlie looked to the left of the chamber, where walls were filled with cages and more glass coffins. The pitbulls were there, eyes half opened in a daze. A spider golem was walking down the line, pausing in front of each pitbull and placing a glowing blue disk on their temple.
“Brainwashing.” Veles said. “Making them loyal and erasing their memories.”
There was gasp from one pitbull and creamy cum covered the glass coffin’s lid.
“Apparently, a very pleasurable process.” Veles finished.
A final spider golem was attending to the animal’s needs, filling water and food bowls, cleaning cages.
“Three enemies.” Oswin said.
“Unless they open the coffins and the cages.” Charlie pointed out.
“Shit!” Oswin cursed under his breath.
Charlie continued inspecting the chamber as Oswin quietly consulted with the Rangers on the best approach.
There was a stairway leading up right in front of them, directly across the chamber. That would definitely lead to the ‘boss chamber’ if the embellishments on the wall meant anything. To the right was a stairway leading down from the menagerie. Then, between the cages, he could make out another door leading to what he assumed was the chamber where all the people who had been transformed into their species were being processed.
“Why are they separating people again?” Charlie asked.
“Dispelling the magic first.” Veles said. “Just a guess.”
“Do any of you see Rodrigo?” Oswin asked, scanning the wall of coffins.
Charlie scanned the wall of coffins.
That fat wolf was nowhere to be seen. Had he been processed already? Would the curse activate if he went through that rendering machine, or did he actually have to die? It was possible, if it Trimmed people, that it was already safe to kill him.
And Charlie really wanted to kill that fat asshole.
If Rodrigo had actually investigated the mines, they might not have to deal with all of this. The golems would have been dealt with much easier when they were first activated. Low on fuel, they would have been nothing to deal with, their movements slower and their ray attacks disabled, if Charlie had to guess.
At full power, he guessed that they were much higher-level opponents.
“If we take one golem out, two aren’t that hard to deal with.” Oswin said.
“We don’t have Trim. We can’t save anyone caught in the beam, and we need to get to the pitbull.” Charlie replied.
“That’s my assessment as well. We have enough people to do that.” Oswin replied.
“As long as they are okay with being warped.” Charlie replied.
“I don’t think any of us is fine with that, but as long as it’s temporary. Honestly, it feels amazing.,” The beaver spoke up.
“It is not an unpleasant experience,” Geoffrey nodded in agreement, “But if our front-line gets hit, that’s sub-optimal. Especially when we have another combat ahead.”
“Normally, I’d say we take a short break to regain a few spells.” Veles said. “But we can’t risk Rodrigo’s death doing so.”
“What if the curse was Trimmed off of him in one of those things?” Charlie pointed.
“It’s possible,” Veles said to Oswin.
“Yeah, but until we can confirm he’s not in the other room,” The stag pointed at the door on the east side of the room, “We don’t know.”
“We do know.” Charlie argued. “If he was never really a wolf, then he’s not a legitimate heir.”
“He would be if he was Trimmed with a permanent potion.” Veles replied.
“And either way,” Oswin smirked, “We gotta kill these golems. Otherwise there will be eight waiting for us later.”
“And save our friends and family from being turned into…” The wolf gestured at the menagerie.
Charlie nodded. “How many mud slide spells or whatever you call it do you have?”
“Three.”
“Can you hit them all from here?” Charlie asked.
“No, they are spread too far apart.” Veles said.
“We have to draw them in without giving them a target to use their rays on,” Oswin concluded.
“That sounds like a Ranger job to me.” Charlie replied.
“That it does.” Oswin nodded. “But there is nowhere for us to hide. We’re only able to hide because we’re still in the hallway. If we step into the chamber…”
“The golems will notice.”
“The golems probably know we’re here,” Veles shook his head, “They just aren’t programmed to attack until someone enters the room.”
“Then I’ll do it.” Charlie said.
“No, wait.” Palseks said, pointing at the wolf. “Invisibility!”
Charlie vanished.
“You go find Rodrigo.” Palseks spoke to the space the wolf had occupied. “We fight golems.”
Charlie nodded, but then realized they couldn’t see him.
“Alright,” Charlie said, “I’ll search for him...”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Time Paused
“Oh, yeah, just like that, little one!” Finn groaned, bucking hips into the kobold’s maw.
Finn was so close now. He was barely paying attention to the crystal ball. The dragon had wanted to edge himself straight to the end but that orgasm was so close!
“Erwin love dragon!” the kobold yapped happily.
Of course you do, little one,” Finn said lovingly, rubbing the kobolds pretty blue scales. “Unf! Back off just a little.”
The kobold dutifully did, pulling away just as Finn felt his orgasm hit. A bead of cum trickled down his shaft, but he managed to hold back.
“Yeah, shit!” Finn panted. “S-so, little one, what do you want to do next?”
“What options?” Erwin queried.
“You can go inspect the coffins on the wall, check the menagerie, go up the stairs or down the stairs or enter the room on the east wall.”
“Erwin think Charlie should…”