"Just wait a minute, before you go running off like a rampaging minotaur," Mika grouched. "At least we should know what we're getting into." And with that, Mika exited the stall and entered the occupied one next door. The inhabitant was a calm, rotund pony, happily munching on the fresh straw Aubrey had provided minutes earlier. Mika approached the animal and examined it carefully.
"Were you stuck as a stable-urchin so long it fried your brain?" Audrey snapped, having followed Mika. "We're supposed to be going after the innkeeper, not rooting around the manure!"
Mika ignored her, and not finding what he was looking for in the pony, exited the stall and entered the next one. Its occupant happened to be a mid-size horse; no thoroughbread, but a hardy breed with the stamina for long travels. Running a hand down the horse's dapple hide, Mika made his way to the horse's head. Grabbing the rope halter, he intently scrutinized the gelding's eyes. A second later, satisfied, Mika nodded and began rummaging through his belt pouch as Audrey snorted in frustration. Pulling out a small container with an odd-looking paste, Mika drew a few runes with the substance down the long head of the horse between the eyes. The horse froze an instant, blinked a few times, then suddenly threw up its head.
"What the hell happened to me?!" Audrey's eyes flew open as the agitated horse began speaking. Mika, however, remained unruffled, and grabbed the halter again.
"Just calm down a minute," Mika ordered the horse. "My guess is the innkeeper did this to you. What do you remember?" The shell-shocked equine was too stunned to do anything but respond to Mika's inquiry.
"I was in the middle of my journey, and I stopped at the inn for the night. I figured I would raise some extra funds by performing...these little villages never hear the classics, you know, so few bards bother making it this far into the boonies, and once in a while you come across a village just ripe for the picking..." the horse pattered on.
"The INNKEEPER," Audrey said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, yes," the horse blinked a moment, then continued. "Well, I'm not sure what happened then, I went out back to gaze at the moon...every bard has his own muse, you know, and moonlight happens to be a favorite of mine, although I know it's rather old hat, isn't it? But then again, whatever works..." The horse was brought out of his reverie by Audrey clearing her throat rather loudly. "...oh right, but then I just couldn't help but think how beautiful the dew on the grass was, and how good it must taste, so I leaned down to take a bite, and the innkeeper put a rope on me and led me in here."
"I guess he changed you while you were in the yard," Mika pondered. "So it doesn't seem to be location-specific magic...my guess would be a magic object."
"You know," the horse began, "while there is a novelty in being a talking animal and all, I'd be rather grateful if you'd change me back. I mean, you are a wizard, right? And I do miss playing my lute quite a bit. Not to mention there is the fact that the innkeeper decided to strip me of my...well...being a gelding has its disadvantages, you know?"
"Sorry....wait, what's your name?" Mika asked.
"My full name is Bedlan Turcel Sontine," the horse's ears perked up in what Audrey assumed was pride. "But people generally call me..."
"Bed?" Audrey cut in caustically.
"Ed, actually," Bedlan replied, eyeing Audrey.
"Well, sorry, Ed," Mika started again, "but I can't really do anything for you unless we manage to swipe whatever the innkeeper is using to change people."
"Hey, how come you could change us back then?" Audrey queried.
"Remember that sigil on your foot you complained about for a week?" Mika responded. "I specifically custom-designed it to deal with any magic cast on me, and it also provided you with a bit of protection, almost like a barrier between your true self and the enchantment, since it was on your body when the innkeeper changed you. Because it weakened the spells, I just needed to have my memory back to know how to break the spell on you. However, since Ed here got the full blast of the innkeeper's magic item, it's almost like the magic is fused with him. To break the spell, I have to actively remove the magic, and that's near impossible without the object that cast it in the first place."
"Wait, you can't leave me here like this," Ed began to panic, his voice rising to a near whinny.
"Don't worry," Audrey stated. "I'll just go beat the crap out of the innkeeper, then Mika can swipe whatever he needs to change you back."
"Don't be so hasty!" Mika yelped.