Ch2: The Mad Wizard’s Dungeon [Patreon Reward]

[Contains slow plushie animal TF, slow dollification, slow onset of mind/identity alteration, MILF mental TF, cow and dragon mental TF. Chapter 1 can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ch1-mad-wizards-102091382]

[Note ~7 hours after posting: Ending has been edited from its original ending]

“Is everyone ready? Destiny waits for no man, after all.” Onas loudly proclaimed, eliciting an eye roll from his half-brother Garrick.

“Destiny will wait or I’ll make it wait, so shut up for once and give us a moment to breathe, dragon fodder!” Vath snapped at the party leader, then turned her attention to the Ninja she’d taken an interest in. “You good, Red?”

The Ruby Blade practically had her head buried in her satchel as she continued to pet the little shrunken mimic within. “Um, yeah. One moment.”

“I-! Rrrrrrgh, you will come to loathe making a mockery of your future king-” Onas was swiftly interrupted by Vath before he could finish his pretentious drivel.

“Hey, Knight of the Falling Leaves or whatever, what about you? You good, too?”

“That is not my name.” Mirielda, Chevalier de l’Automne, said from behind a row of mannequins adorned in varying types of armour, speaking over the sounds of clanking metal. “But yes, I am fine.”

“Just hurry it up!” Onas barked, folding his arms and tapping his foot.

“You try putting full plate armour on by yourself! I would very much like to see you try!” Mirielda shouted back.

Garrick exhaled, and when the others were out of earshot, he whispered. “For the love of the Gods, Onas… Have a modicum of patience, lest mine own and all others’ run thin.”

“Is that any way to speak to your lo-” Onas was once again interrupted.

“-My Lord, nay, perhaps not. But I speak from brother to brother when I say that you are making a grave mistake. Is this foul place insurmountable? No, but are we to be the ones who surmount it?”

“Perhaps if you had a bit more confidence, you wouldn’t be holding the party back.” Onas seethed, clenching his teeth tight.

“I was speaking of you, you imbecile! Your overconfidence shall be the end of us!” The half-elf younger brother whispered louder than intended.

“No bastard son of Father has the right to judge our noble bloodline as you do!”

Before the pair could continue bickering, Mirielda stepped forward in a new set of heavy armour which was better sized to her newly-expanded proportions. Not an inch of the body within was exposed to the outside, save for thin eye holes in the helmet allowing her to see out. “There, that wasn’t so bad now was it?”

“Just be quicker next time.” Onas waved his hand dismissively as he turned and pressed on to the next hallway of the dungeon.

The rest of the party sighed almost in unison, but followed close behind. The tunnel-like passageway sloped downward steep enough that any loose stones they kicked up would tumble further along for meters and meters. After a while, they finally found themselves upon their first real trial.

Ahead of the speechless adventurers, the tunnel opened up into a cavernous, oversized bedroom. As if everything were made for a fifteen meter tall person, the room and everything within it was scaled up to multiple times their normal sizes; and even had the room been to normal scale, it still would have been unusually sprawling for a mere bedroom. Prominent landmarks included: a fancy canopied bed; a toy box shaped like a treasure chest; a laundry basket filled with massive folded clothes; and a closed closet door on the opposite wall towering over the rest of the room. Looking up, they saw that the ceiling far above them was dotted with false, glow-in-the-dark stars, and that there was a window with raindrops pattering against it despite being deep underground. On the green, carpeted floor was what appeared to be an artificial forest populated by sculpted tree figures. There were paths of downtrodden carpeting winding ahead of them into the unknown, and all they could do was quietly march onwards.

“It sounds like there’s a thunderstorm outside…” Garrick mused idly.

“Good. It will help muffle our knight’s percussive metal garments.” Onas quipped snidely.

“...And Captain One-Ass’ incessant barking.” Ruby muttered just softly enough so only Vath could hear beside her.

“Heh heh~” The barbarian woman chuckled.

It didn’t take much walking for the party to stumble upon the first fork in the road. A giant purple ball of fuzz was curled up under a tree, and it was moving.

“Uhhh, what’s that?” Ruby stopped herself from approaching any closer.

“I… I don’t know…” Mirielda, however, felt inexplicably drawn to it and continued closer.

“Huh? You hide behind us when there’s so much as a squirrel blocking the way.” Vath questioned suspiciously. “What in the hells has gotten into you?”

“Nono, don’t worry, it’s ok. I just… feel it.” The Chevalier de L’automne made a calming gesture with her hand before approaching even further. “Hello? Are you alright?”

At that, the big ball turned and revealed that it was an enormous hippopotamus plushy taller than anyone in the party. It wore nothing but a huge backpack and a tired look on its face, and was torn in several places all over its body. Fluffy stuffing was slowly falling out, with a few little pieces littering the ground nearby.

“Oh, hello.” The hippo toy spoke with a deep, rumbly voice. “Would you mind perhaps lending me a hand?”

“Oh gods, you’re hurt!” Mirielda crossed the remaining distance as fast as her bulky armour would allow for. “What happened to you!?”

“A group of adventurers came along, and… They weren’t very nice.” The plushy muttered.

“Don’t worry, I can keep you together until we get you better treatment.” Mirielda withdrew a roll of bandages and hastily began to wrap over the toy’s injuries.

Garrick, Vath, and Ruby shared confused glances as Onas stepped forward. “You, strange hippo… thing. You will direct us past this trial and deeper into the dungeon.”

“My name is Mr. Potty-Mus, if you please.” The plushy corrected. Ruby and Vath snorted indiscreetly as they attempted to hold back their laughter. Ignoring them, Mr. Potty-Mus continued. “But since your friend here has been so kind, I will at least see you toys forward.”

“Do not resort to likening us to you, foolish potamus.” Onas snarled in an attempt to intimidate, but that merely had the opposite effect.

“Hee hee hee… So you haven’t noticed yet, huh?” Mr. Potty-Mus grinned rather smugly.

“Noticed? Noticed what? If you have something to say, just say… it…” Onas trailed off, noticing something strange as he pointed threateningly to the cuddly hippopotamus. “Wh-what!?” Where once was a hand of flesh and blood was now one made of a shiny plastic material! Hastily searching the rest of his body, he quickly determined that his skin was now entirely hard and artificial. How he could move at all, he had no idea.

The other four also checked themselves to find that they, too, had changed; Ruby and Mirielda now had skin of soft, velvety fabric, while Vath and Garrick were made of wood!

“What have you done to us, fiend!?” Onas drew his staff threateningly, but still Mr. Potty-Mus remained unimpressed.

“I’ve done nothing to you. Usually, people understand from the start that this is a realm of the strange and the arcane.” Potty-Mus gently rubbed his freshly-bandaged wound, then turned to Mirielda. “Thank you, dear… What may I call you?”

“O-oh… Mirielda. Um, Chevalier de L’automne.” She bowed politely, glad her full-face helmet was covering her blushy face. “But, y-you may refer to me as you wish.”

“I think Lance-a-Little’s found her Prince Charming~” Ruby whispered to Vath, who shared a quiet chuckle.

“Heh.” Vath’s heart wasn’t quite in it, though. She returned her gaze to her wooden skin, the grin vanishing from her face.

It was all Ruby could do to nudge the strong warrior next to her and flash a big grin of her own. “Cheer up, Vath! We got this!”

“Stay with me, Red. Please?”

“Huh? Where’s this coming from?”

“Please.”

“Of course! Even if the boss messes things up, you and I are in this together!” Ruby placed a hand on Vath’s cool, varnished wooden shoulder.

“Mmmm… Thanks, it moos a lot to me~”

“What did you say?” Ruby cocked her head.

“It means a lot to me. That you, uh… like me.” Now it was Vath’s turn to blush uncharacteristically.

“Alright then, we head this way to get to the Field of Monoliths.” Potty-Mus carefully stood up and pointed down a path leading off to the side of the bedroom.

“We’re trying to get through this place, stuffington! Not get lost in here! Now, get the fluff out of your mind and think, would you?” Onas shouted, pointing straight towards the closet door in the distance. He began down the path that appeared to lead there directly.

“That road brings you to the cat’s bed. Best steer clear of that, believe you me.” The plush guide took a deep breath. “Now, if you’re quite finished, I can lead you through this labyrinthian construct. Beyond the Field of Monoliths and the Chest of the Forgotten, we’ll meet the Monster Under the Bed. It guards a door key to passing through to the next trial from those who would do harm. You’ll need it to unlock the closet and leave this place.”

With a grumble, Onas turned back and the party followed their new acquaintance to the Field of Monoliths. When the false trees cleared, the adventurers found a number of fenced-off pastures inhabited by inanimate wooden animal statues; lions, horses, hippos, elephants, caribou, kangaroos, cows, and even more in the distance which were too far to see in detail. Each type of animal was isolated to its own enclosure, much like a zoo.

The moment Vath set eyes on the cow exhibit, something clicked inside her. Without hesitation, the normally-fierce woman wandered to the nearest cow monolith, hopping the little toy fence to get there.

“So… serene. Such peaceful little lives cows must lead… M-moo…” As if instinctually, Vath stiffly leaned forward to graze on all fours, her cowbell gently ringing as she did so. “Huh? O-oh… This isn’t real grass…”

“Vath? What are you doing down there?” Ruby had noticed her crush wander off and followed close behind. “And… Oh gods, your body!”

Trying - and failing - to stand back on her hind legs, Vath finally realised that her mortal form had again changed; now, her body parts were much bulkier and blockier! Moreover, her hands were naught but simple, cube hooves, and she felt a similarly wooden tail swishing behind her!

“M-moo… What’s happening to me?” The increasingly bovine toy asked rather dopily, with barely an ounce of concern in her voice.

“W-well… I think you’re, um…” The Ruby Blade stared concernedly at the cowbell around Vath’s neck. “I think I’ve turned you into a cow…”

“It’s not that bad, Red! This is pretty nice, actually! Wish this grass was real, though…” Despite knowing better, Vath once again lowered her head; this time, however, she was able to consume the artificial turf as if it were true grass. “Mmm! Hey Red, you should try some of this! It’s pretty good!”

“Uhhh… Maybe some other time… Anyway, the rest aren’t waiting up for us, so we should go catch up.”

“Moo…” Vath glanced around at the inanimate cattle around her, then back to Ruby. Though she felt an inexplicable attraction to the prospect of staying in that field with a herd, her bond to Ruby was yet stronger. Besides… New feelings of pride and attachment were blossoming within her. “Alright, Farmer Red.”

“Did you just say-!?”

“I said, ‘Alright, Red.’”

Watching as Vath’s armour slowly began to take on a splotchy cowprint paint job, all Ruby could do was press on; and with that, the blocky cow followed her on all fours.

However, the sound of clashing steel and strained shouting from up ahead prompted them to rush forward. The pair caught up to the party to find them battling a quintet of blocky lion women. Their beastly pelt armour and packs of survival gear had practically become an extension of themselves.

“Finally decided to join us?” Onas scolded passive-aggressively.

“Urgh! Hiya!” Garrick was too busy fighting off the seemingly-feral former adventurers to scold the mouthing-off of his half brother.

Mirielda was shielding Mr. Potty-Mus behind her, valiantly warding off their attackers with her spear. A swipe from a lioness’ clawed paw scratched through fabric padding on her midsection in a location she could have sworn was covered in metal - hell, almost everywhere should have had metallic protection - but she didn’t have time to think about such things. With each parry, dodge, and strike she performed, Mirielda found her range of motion just a little wider and her agility just a tad better.

Vath froze at the unfolding scene, overcome with the urge to back away and return to the safety of her pasture. Nonetheless, she still felt safer here with her farmer than anywhere else.

Leaping into action, Ruby tried to hop onto one of the snarling lionesses. What would have normally been routine for her proved more challenging with her new proportions and different body density; little did she know that under her fabric skin was now naught but plush stuffing which made her body move with inertia more akin to a wiffle ball than an agile ninja. Before she could grasp onto her target, she tumbled off where another lion toy took advantage and pinned her to the ground.

“Nnng, n-no!” Ruby cried as claws shredded through her cloth skin. She believed her final thought was going to be ‘how could they let toys be this dangerous?’

Before She knew it though, Vath stormed in and tackled the aggressive cat off of her - but she was suddenly much different. The barbarian woman had seemingly shed her bovine features and doubled in size! Her entire form was painted in shiny red scales; her head featured a toothy snout and sharp horns; a pair of massive wings augmented her taloned quadrupedal feet; and a bulky, dominant tail balanced her out. The only aspect that remained consistent to her cow form was her blocky, wooden physique.

“ROOOAAARRR!” The freshly draconic toy snarled viciously. Vath defensively stood over her injured crush, sheltering her from further attack.

The pride of lion girls winced, frozen in terror for a brief moment before fleeing as fast as their legs would allow for. Just like that, the immediate danger had passed.

“Oh my gods I’m so gay…” Ruby muttered to herself before collapsing back in pain.

“Red, hang in there!” Vath gazed down at the soft plushie woman below her, tears forming in her eyes. Her tone of concern became a stern growl in an instant as she turned to Onas and Garrick. “Don’t just stand there, Brothers Dim! Help her!”

However, before anything could be done, something tiny crawled out from Ruby’s satchel and grew to be about the size of her head. The dresser-shaped mimic friend she kept with her opened its doors and wrapped the ninja in a tangle of miscellaneous fabrics. Ever so gently tending to her wounds, the mimic ensured any stuffing leaking out of her was returned to where it belonged. Just as it appeared the mimic had finished its bandage job, Ruby’s body was enveloped in a gentle glow.

“You’re… healing her!” The awestruck dragon gasped airily.

Little sparkles appeared around the damaged ‘skin’, and with one last pulse of light, Ruby’s torn body had been patched up and healed from the mimic’s own body. All pain faded away, and when she sat upright, was greeted by the needy mimic nudging and rubbing against her shoulder.

“Oh little guy! You healed me! And Vath, you saved me! Thank you both so much!~”

The mimic purred warmly as it embraced Ruby in a soft hug, and Vath could do nothing but nuzzle her muzzle against Ruby’s face while blushing profusely. “Glad you’re alright, Red~”

“Eugh! Th-that thing! What in the gods’ names were you doing with that vile creature in your bag!?” Onas squealed in disgust at the sight of the mimic from earlier, prompting it to cower and hiss.

“How could you say that!? He’s just a poor lil guy who wants friends! He wouldn’t hurt… a fly…” Ruby trailed off as her mind attuned closer to the mimic’s. She could feel her little friend’s emotions as her own, and instinctively held it tight. “You! You were the one who hurt him!”

“Lies! You saw what it did to the dwarf, he was the one who whacked it!” Onas lied reflexively. “Now get rid of it this instant!”

“We’d sooner get rid of you, captain no-ass.” Vath hissed, defending her crush’s other savior. “The mimic saved her life, so shut the fuck up already!”

“You don’t think I actually buy that, do you?” Mr. Potty-Mus glared at Onas disappointedly. “We dungeon-dwelling folk may not meet your exacting standards, but we’ve scraped out lives of our own down here - lives worth living, I might add. So you’d best watch who you make a foe of in these catacombs, mark my words.”

“Yeah yeah, get off my back.” Cracking his knuckles - which he just realised were now ball jointed - the party leader turned to his half-brother. “What about you sister? Are you just going to let these fools speak ill of your lord?”

Garrick could do naught but grit his wooden teeth and bite his fabric tongue. In lieu of words, he simply trudged ahead. One by one, the rest of the party followed after him until Onas stood alone.

“Ungrateful wretches. I take them on the opportunity of a lifetime and this is how they repay me.” The party leader muttered, then jogged ahead so he was at the front of the pack.

As they pressed on, the unceasing rain pelting the oversized bedroom window continued to thrum against the glass in a soothing harmony. Occasionally, the party would spot movement from the corners of their eyes, and upon inspection would be lone - or at most, a pair of - adventurers who had been transformed into toys in body and mind. Many would congregate near monoliths corresponding to their own animalistic conversions, though some simply wandered in search of someone or something. Eventually, though, the adventurers and Mr. Potty-Mus climbed a tall staircase made of massive building blocks and arrived atop their next notable landmark: the Chest of the Forgotten.

Standing on the cusp of a titanic treasure chest, the party had an excellent vantage point over the whole bedroom; it was as if a giant-sized occupant had made a life-sized artificial woodland and nature reserve spread out across the floor for giant-sized playtime. The chest itself, however, was stuffed to the brim with toys of all shapes and sizes. Animal plushies, action figures, and dolls of all types were haphazardly packed tight in the colossal container with other miscellaneous toys.

“Now, this is where it gets a tad perilous. These here toys- hey, listen!” Mr. Potty-Mus began, but quickly noticed Onas impatiently charging ahead and grabbed his shoulder. “Hold up before you doom your whole party and yourself.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Onas shrugged off the injured hippopotamus toy’s weak grasp and stepped forward onto a wooden block among the toys. Immediately, the sea of objects began to writhe and churn as converted former-travellers were roused from their slumber. A snake plushie with a vaguely-human head coiled around his left leg while a soft dolly grabbed the other, each tugging him off his feet and into the horde.

“Play with us~” “Save me!” “Help me…” “Join us~” “One of us!” “What’s happening?” A cacophony of muffled moans and cries rang out from the toybox that would have been enough to send a chill down even Ruby’s spine - if she still had one.

Wasting no time, Garrick leapt into action: the paladin dove onto the block his lord and master was just standing on and gripped Onas’ plastic hand with his wooden one.

Before he could completely pull Onas out from the Chest of the Forgotten, a string snagged Garrick’s arm - then another, and another, all fastening to his limbs. He, too, was being dragged down, but one final string attached to his head that changed everything.

‘Pretty marionette obeys its puppet mistress.’ Intrusive thoughts overwhelmed the transformed, feminised man’s mind. ‘Beautiful marionette belongs with its puppet mistress. Delicate marionette is proper and feminine.’ Garrick’s new cross brace was tugging her strings, beckoning her down in the sea of toys. ‘Marionette Erika belongs here~”

Just as Garrick, too, fell into the swarm of shrieking toys, Vath leaned forward and used her draconic maw to grab and rescue the half-siblings from an inanimate fate. “Yew ferking dipshits!” She said with her mouth full, exhaling a few sparks out her nose with the rest of her hot, almost fiery breath.

Mirielda, too, helped pull the pair out, which she found easier as more of her bulky armour had subtly vanished. Once the immediate peril was averted, she knelt down at the edge and carefully stuck her hand into the toy pile. “Shhhhh… It’s alright… You’re not alone anymore, I’m here for you…”

Immediately, the chaos in the treasure chest began to die down into an orderly, contented buzz. “Don’t leave me…” “Safe… Safe with Mommy…” “Stay with us, please?” “Wh-where… am I…?”

“That’s it… such good girls…” Mirielda’s cheeks flushed red, which were visible now that her helmet had lost its face covering.

Potty-Mus couldn’t help but beam from ear to ear. “Heh, looks like you didn’t even need my advice! You could learn a thing or three from Miri, Mr. Leader Man~” Onas simply grumbled as he caught his breath. “Now, Ms. Dragon, may we ride on your back to the other side?”

“...Sure, I guess. Just don’t let Onas throw up on me or anything.” This elicited another grunt from the party leader. Vath knelt down and let the others climb onto her one by one.

Garrick, meanwhile, observed herself closely; though she could no longer see or feel her strings, she could definitely sense their presence wrapped around her very being. Something felt off, yet her feminised, dollified form now felt familiar - almost natural to her. ‘Be a good girl for your mistress, Erika~’ She shook her head, then hopped up onto Vath’s back as well.

With cooperation of the toys assured by Mirielda, Vath’s careful crawl across the quicksand-like group of toys went uneventfully. Once on the opposite side of the Chest of the Forgotten, the Chevalier de L’automne was the first to hop off the dragon woman so she could return to the edge. “I’ll be back soon everyone, don’t worry!”

“Please come back soon…” No, don’t go! Please!” “H-help… me?” “Alright, Mommy…” The former adventurers who’d been pulled into the crowded abyss spoke with needy adoration. The few who were recent enough to retain some semblance of their old identities moaned quietly as they slowly forgot of their existence beyond the massive toybox.

As the party descended back down to the floor, Vath noticed Ruby had a strange wooden plate on her back. “Uhhh, Red? What’s that you’ve got there?”

“Huh? What’s what I’ve got where?”

“That, on your back…” As worry overcame the mighty dragon, she gradually shrank back down and subconsciously assumed her much more docile, passive cow role. The holstein cow toy concernedly nudged Ruby for both the ninja’s comfort as well as her own.

Ruby reached behind her and felt the disc securely fastened to her. “Huh… I don’t know. I think it’s a part of me, though.”

“Yep, I’d say that’s a part of you now. Honestly, I’m a little surprised Ms. Dragon-Cow here is the only one of you with such pronounced animalistic features at this point.” Potty-Mus added. “Looks like a shell to me. I wonder what you’ll bloom into…”

As they reached the floor, thus arriving at the underside of the bed, Mirielda spotted a proportionately giant sewing needle and spool of thread lying around. “Look what I found!” Her face lit up, and she gestured for Potty-Mus to follow her. “Here, let me help you get those bandages off.” Doing just that, she tenderly unwrapped the plushie man’s temporary fixes so she could repair him in earnest.

Though he only let out the occasional whimper of pain, Mr. Potty-Mus was gently comforted by Mirielda’s caring touch each time. It was a bit unwieldy at first, but the Chevalier de L’automne quickly got the hang of using the oversized sewing equipment.

“Hee hee, I feel good as new!” The hippo man giggled giddily once his body was all put back together. “Thank you, Miri! You’re a sweetie~”

Mr. Potty-Mus placed a gentle kiss on Mirielda’s plush cheek, making her blush once again. Not long after, however, her face began to expand and fill up with stuffy filling; her cheeks got pudgier and her nose swelled to a big, boopable hippo snoot!

“Huh… I guess kissing someone imprints on them?” Ruby hypothesised idly, prompting her cow to delicately kiss her cheek. Both women’s faces flushed and Ruby returned the gesture in kind.

“You’re pure of heart, Miri. Here, I have something for-” Potty-Mus was interrupted as he began opening his backpack.

“Everyone!” Garrick whispered loudly, surveying her surroundings. “What was that…?”

An ethereal cry could faintly be heard echoing out from the darkness under the bed. A chilly breeze blew past the likes of which none would expect from inside a bedroom.

“Sounds like someone’s in distress, come on!” The previously-cowardly knight carefully led the way into the unknown, empowered by her new protective convictions.

Before losing all light, the party’s guide retrieved a lantern from his bag. There were more toy trees under the bed, plus various ‘rock formations’ made of wooden blocks. Winding their way through the dark woods, the group followed the growing cries until they arrived at a silver liquid puddle that sparkled in the lantern light.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Mirielda called.

“SHHHH!!” Onas shushed louder than Mirielda’s question.

At that moment, the puddle rippled and swelled, reshaping itself into a humanoid form! Its metallic lustre faded away as it shapeshifted into an exact duplicate of Mirielda! It stood its ground with a frightened expression on its borrowed face.

“That’s it! That’s the Monster Under the Bed!” Onas wielded his staff and immediately began to cast a fire spell.

“NO, DON’T!” Mirielda leapt into action, sprinting between the party leader and the Monster to block the attack with her shield - which was no longer the bulky tower shield it had been previously. “AAACK!!” She yelled as a fireball impacted her, heating her metallic armour and singeing her exposed, plushy skin in places devoid of protection.

Onas ignored her pleas, casting another fireball directly at her. “We need the key! Move, you insolent-!” Before he could cast a third spell, Ruby and Potty-Mus simultaneously leapt onto the sorcerer and tackled him to the ground.

“Enough, Onas!” Ruby growled sternly. “Nobody said anything about having to kill the Monster Under the Bed, dipshit!”

Vath had returned to her draconic form, preemptively readying herself to swoop in and protect Ruby if need be. When she confirmed the immediate danger had passed, she turned to Mirielda and gave her an affirmational nuzzle. “I like the new you, Lance-a-Lot! That was true warrior shit!”

“Um, excuse me…” The shapeshifting life form squeaked quietly. It was no longer shaped like Mirielda, instead having assumed the form of Garrick. “Thank you, miss. You saved me!” It gave its protector a soft, genuine hug.

“You’re welcome, sweetie~ What’s your name?” Mirielda cooed caringly.

“M-Monster Under the Bed…” Monster answered embarrassedly. “Or j-just Monster…”

“Well I think that’s a lovely name~” The knight complimented, causing Monster to blush.

“I’d give you my key… but some others beat me up and stole it…”

“Oh sweet thing… I’m sorry precious, it’ll all be alright.” Mirielda lovingly hugged Monster. “I’ll be back for you before you know it!”

“So you don’t even have the fucking key!? Rrrrgh, why didn’t you say so instead of wasting my time and energy!?” Onas screamed, still pinned under Ruby and Potty-Mus.

Monster again shapeshifted, this time to match Vath’s dragon body. It braced itself defensively as it snarled in an attempt to intimidate Onas.

“Enough!” Everyone except Garrick shouted furiously at the party leader, but even she would have joined in had she not been honour-bound to her lord.

‘Your only mistress is I, little marionette~ Fear not the judgement of your false lordling…’ The voice from before gently permeated Garrick’s mind, but she simply shook it off.

“Well, lucky for you all, I have a key of my own right here.” Potty-Mus dug through his bag and pulled out a rather normal-sized door key. “I was going to give it to you before, MIri, but there were more pressing matters at hand.” He turned to the lightly-hippofied knight and handed her the key.

“Thank you, Mr. Potty-Mus!” Now, it was the Chevalier de L’automne’s turn to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m coming back for you, too!”

“Heh, I thought I’d actually stick around with you. Thought I could continue to guide you, and, well… stay with you.”

Mirielda beamed, hugging her new friend. “Awww, thank you Mr. Potty-Mus! But… are you sure you really want to?”

“Please, you can just call me Potty-Mus. You and I are beyond such formalities. And of course I want to!” The hippo man lowered his voice. “And besides, I think you might need a hand keeping an eye on a certain someone in your party…” He glared at Onas untrustingly.

“Y-you’re really going to come back for me?” Monster pouted sadly as it dissolved back into a metallic puddle.

“Yes, I swear it. I would stay here, it’s just… I already vowed my assistance to Onas, unfortunately…”

“Ok… I’ll miss you, kind lady!”

“So will I, Monster. Until next we meet…” Mirielda bowed, and with that, the party continued on towards the closet door.