Greff was grinning as he gestured for you to come forward. He examined you again, making out your features, your changes and likely prospecting all the coming opportunities with another body living here on the mountain. He then stood aside from your bedroom doorway, wordlessly informing you to exit. As you passed him you jumped as you felt his furry hand squeeze your buttock.
Marching onwards though the room with the cages you were led through what was another hallway, if only by default. Coming to the end it became apparent that it was the entrance to a cave modified with rocks, wood and a door into an entrance to Greff's home.
"Come little calf, take a peep outside..."
You did as you were told, mostly out of fear for the looming minotaur who looked like he could squash you like a bug. Outside the morning sun was seeping though grey clouds, illuminating a great plateau. Peeking nervously down a great slope, you could see the sign pointing to the Mt. Fagbu Dwarves. If only you had manged to meet them, instead of the minotaur Greff. Although, you released, you had no knowledge if they'd be better company. If they were to make you one of them, at least you would seem human, rather than experience a strange and slow transmutation into another minotaur.
You began walking, motivated by some strange instinct, into the plateau until you were surrounded by a thin ring of old and tall trees. These old towers of wood failed to protect you from the warm air brushing against your skin, nor did you want it to. Something was beginning to feel so right about all this...
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and wildflowers, a strange perfume that tickled your senses in ways both foreign and familiar. The gentle breeze, warm yet sharp against your skin, carried whispers from deep within the forest—voices you couldn’t quite make out, though they stirred something restless within you.
Your steps slowed as you reached the centre of the ring of trees, their ancient trunks looming above like silent guardians. You ran a hand along the rough bark of one, feeling a curious heat radiating from it, pulsing faintly beneath your fingertips. The mountain hummed with quiet energy, and you knew—without understanding how—that you weren’t alone.
Greff’s heavy footsteps approached from behind, each impact reverberating through the ground. You hesitated, torn between fear and intrigue.
“You feel it, don’t you?” His voice, thick as smoke, curled around you.
You swallowed hard, but nodded. Because yes—you did feel it.
The call echoed in the depths of your mind, reverberating through your bones like an ancient chant carried by the mountain winds. You took a tentative step forward, your bare feet pressing into the warm earth, your senses thrumming with an unfamiliar yet undeniable recognition.
Greff watched you closely, his golden eyes glinting with something between amusement and expectation. The hulking minotaur tilted his head, as if listening to the same unseen voice you now heard within you.
"Ah," he murmured, a satisfied rumble deep in his chest. "The mountain knows you."
A chill coursed through you, though the air was stiflingly warm. Did the mountain truly know you—or was it shaping you, moulding you into something else? You turned back toward Greff, searching his expression for reassurance, for some semblance of control over whatever was happening to you.
His lips curled into a wry grin. "You’ll understand soon enough."
Before you could question him further, a sudden heat possessed you. You gagged, feeling hot under the skin as an erotic sensation passed though your flesh. Desperate for breath you tumbled forward and collapsed into Greff. One more mountain to claim you, it seemed. Any further insight seemed fruitless as desire disabled all urges but one.