Startled by the sight of a stallion bearing down on him, the farmhand lifted an amulet he held in his hand. The bauble flashed, and the horse froze midstride. Even his mane and tail showed no movement.
"Phew! That was close," the farmhand said to his companion behind him. "Must've escaped from the pen on the other side."
"You mean those wild horses we caught for the experiment?"
"The very ones. We were just about to start that, were we not? How about we begin with this one since he has so graciously volunteered?" The man fished out a glove which he slipped on and flexed his fingers. To Gelvin's surprise, the man reached out and touched the stallion before his hand sank into his body like water.
"Right then, I'm in," the farmhand announced. The other man nodded, taking out a paper and portable quill for notes.
For a moment, the first man grimaced as he inspected something only he could see. "Hm, his breed is worse than I thought, just a jumble of low pedigrees. But what else did we expect from a feral, eh? Now, I will just tap on this strand here and activate the spell."
Instantly, before Gelvin's very eyes, the stallion shrank a bit, his coat becoming much more glossy while his proportions adjusted to a more elegant form. He had become a Witch's Pony!
"There," the farmhand declared, withdrawing his hand. "I would call it a success. Now for the last part."
Slipping on a familiar ring, the farmhand patted the stallion's unmoving nose. More changes flowed over the Witch's Pony, especially where his cock smoothed out to be replaced by a mare's slit.
"There we go," the farmhand grinned. "From an untamed beast to a refined beauty. This will certainly make things easier for our farm."
"But she's still not our breed," the other man said.
His companion shrugged. "I suppose the spell can only adjust the general breed, not specific pedigree. Oh well, that last step can be done the traditional way. Now let's release her, shall we? Then, we can relay the good news to the boss."
Gelvin, meanwhile, stood in equal amazement and growing outrage. Did those farmhands say they had captured some of the wild herds!? And had they managed to change a horse's breed with a mere item? Normally, that was the sole realm of Horse Witches and powerful Witches like the Copperstones! This would upend so many things in the horse industry!
Then, she shook her head. No, this was not the time to be distracted. She needed to escape before those men were finished, but they were standing by the door. She needed to distract them.
But how?