Imagine dozens of monsters, murder machines assembled in a single room. You can't. They would tear each other apart in no time. All monsters cared about in this forsaken realm was mana.
You had to use the most vicious tricks to prevent that basic instinct!
Blindness, numbness, pacification, control, brainwash and even then, you would strain yourself! One would only do that to feed on that crowd, like a parasite.
Yet here they were, monsters from a whole dungeon assembled before the steps of a sacrificial altar. Humming together, following the tune of the humanoid bird serving as their priestess.
This was beyond anything I could conceive.
As for me, I was pushing the limits of what my arcane could do. I was a clay golem on a ship using a spell to synch with my human mistress in the dungeon's mansion and from there using a second spell to ride the mist that the bird monster laid upon the whole place.
And now I had that image create a second image of a greyhound to join that crowd.
"I am getting a headache." The human complained back in the mansion's bedroom.
Well the mist would not let me change the appearance of the image! And why was she not just laying in bed while moving those images?! There was no one to fool so she could drop whatever gemcutting she thought ladies did back then!
I was not grumpy, I was straining.
But the hum had turned to a chant, until the bird's scepter hit the ground with force. The whole crowd went as silent as monsters could.
"Behold the magnificence!" The bird's high-pitched voice had turned sharp. "The arms, the legs, the head! This is the sight of perfection! How I hate those feathers, how I loathe that beak! Now that I have basked in the presence of a true human! How could I ever be satisfied!"
Howls and bellows met her words. Only the grotesque humanoids closer to her stood silent, yet looked excited all the same.
"I will cast away my wretched husk! I will ascend! I will find the path to true power and become human!"
"To be human! To be human!" The beasts chanted in a ruckus.
The bird struck the ground again with its scepter and the two twisted cats took hold of daggers to turn to her. They were going to strike when one monster surged to the stairs below.
A felog. Even with all the mana around, that batracian was skinny and pale.
"Who says the path is only for you!?" It yelled.
And the bird from behind the altar above: "Puny worm! Your words are brittle! They will shatter at the first hurdle!"
So the beast walked further up, between the two rows of mishaps that growled at it.
"I have what it takes!" It belched out. "I am stronger than you!"
"You disgrace humanity with your pretense! What have you even done to merit your place?!"
It walked further up in response, almost to the top and the crowd went into a frenzy. This was madness. This was warriors playing dolls!
What were they even talking about?! Had they never met an orc? Humanoid monsters were nothing special!
"I have fasted! I have endured! I have rejected my colors and membrane! I am worthy!"
The monster bird struck the ground once more and the bells on its scepter chimed.
So that's what it was. Spellcasting through sound. And immediately I could tell what an advantage this relic would have provided any warrior in a mana-deprived environment. No wonder that mad bird was dominating the dungeon.
The felog walked on the altar. It could barely hold on it. Around it the two humanoid cats approached, raised their daggers and got to work.
For two minutes they kept at it, under the crowd's furious cheers that morphed into mockery. When they stopped, the felog was disintegrating.
"You were unworthy of humanity." The bird told that corpse.
It started to hum again, the crowd with it. Slowly the scepter rose, accompanying the remnants of that felled beast.
Sacrifices. One way to collect mana.
So this entire farce was only there to feed the bird. Or rather, that magic flowed back into the mansion, to its nest from which it fed. But why would a whole dungeon agree to this?! What did they have to gain, what was their benefit?
"I have no idea." The human was still busy in her bedroom.
I made her say: "Can you stop whatever you are doing? It's hard enough as it is."
"No. I must finish this before we leave."
She was chiseling a pendant. Interweaving silver links that grew in size and complexity at the base, with a slot for a single gem. If that was a spell pattern, I could not tell what it did.
To be honest it was hard enough to keep track of anything. No matter how good her synch had become, my connection to the human was still delayed, the vision hazy and I had two more layers of sight piled on top.
Back in the cavern, the hum had turned into a chant. I knew what would come next. One hit, one relative silence and the bird talked again.
"Look at this beauty! What's not to love? Oh, but if only I had the soft skin and gracile fingers of a human! If I had their nose, if I had their eyes! I am still crawling in mud, a mockery of creation! I must ascend! I will acquire true power!"
"To be human! To be human!"
The young woman did not seem impressed by this madness. Maybe she did not care. Maybe she was right to look away. But I could not.
Everything I thought I knew about monsters was turned upside down in front of me.
Once more the daggers turned to the bird, once more a monster approached. It may have been a menilis but the cat-rat had its belly stretched, humps at the shoulders, a broken mess of a creature. It forced itself to stand on two legs, helped by its tail.
"If the humans are so strong, where are they?!" It shrieked.
"One came to us, you feel her presence and you still dare!?"
It walked up the stairs, harassed by the crowd, cheered and mocked. It was fearful, pushing against its instincts.
"If the humans are so strong, why don't they just kill us all?!"
"Why would the mighty care about midgets?" The bird almost chuckled. "To stain their hands on you would be a waste!"
It hesitated. Only a few more steps to reach the top. The altar. The beast was heaving hard and the monsters around, seeing it stop, heckled for its death.
Then they chanted again: "To be human! To be human!" And the beast walked forth, crossed the remaining steps.
"If the humans are so strong, will the pain stop?" It almost pleaded.
Facing its priestess' silence, it climbed on the altar, closed its eyes and waited. An impatient crowd already called for its demise. They rejoiced at falling daggers. They screamed with its screams. The monsters, even filled with mana, looked ravenous.
Inexorably, the grotesque body started to fall apart, into pieces, into dust.
"You were unworthy of humanity."
"That's enough." The human ordered. "Come back."
I would have obeyed, but couldn't bring myself to move. Where was the spell? What was the trick forcing an entire dungeon to sacrifice itself for a crazy bird? Preposterous!
A beast of carnage? Willingly deforming its body and then letting daggers torn it to pieces?
Why did I feel like walking up those stairs myself?
The next moment, I was back on the ship. I could not tell if it was my mistress who had broken the synch or if I had pulled myself out of it. The images used to explore had broken and the link to the human vanished.
That stupid legged rapt was rubbing my clay knee. A stupid furry beast at my side.
"You need to rest." It begged. "The spell went woo and you would not answer anymore!"
It was trying to feed me mana, as if I was wounded.
I pushed it aside, checked on the portal to ensure it was still intact. If I had been the one pulling out, the human would synch with me soon enough. If it was her, all the same.
If it was the bird noticing my presence... but I could not see why.
And frankly I could not see the point in any of this! Why would the human humor that beast?! This mansion was a weak point to enter the temple of Hashal, let's just break in! Kill the whole lot and find the backdoor!
I had to prepare for the inevitable moment when I would murder that dungeon.
The sun had risen on the horizon. A desert of rock and sand was getting some life back in the morning. The dungeon's jungle barely visible afar, like a mirage.
I walked to the lower deck, passed the two summoning circles and further into the back, through the crates, ropes and racks. The stern had been cast in iron. One touch and the furnace lit up. What I needed was an armor.
For now, I would forge the plates. One by one and imbue them with alchemy, then mark them with wards. I needed strength. I needed to be sturdy. And then I could decorate those plates above to make them appealing to humans.
Yes, I would wear the whitest of cuirasses.
And as I cast the first piece I realized that my body would not hold that new frame well. What point in a powerful shell if the inside would crack all the same? So I would forge a new plaque of clay to go with it.
Once the armor part was ready, all I had to do was remove the old clay plate. Get the soft matter under it exposed in the hot air and apply the new one on it. Wait a minute before applying the armor on top.
Only dozens of pieces left to go.
I removed the iron part. It was heavy, it was powerful but only useful in combat. Now to forge the rest. Why did I hesitate? What the human needed was a warrior!
One touch and the furnace went dark again. I had time, the armor would wait.
I just stood there, my hand on my necklace.
Mercifully, it didn't last. I was back in the mansion's room again, away from the ship, once more a human. The synch had been reestablished.
"She is coming." The young woman muttered.
I could tell as well, the mist growing behind the bedroom's door and through that mist the bird monster approaching rapidly. Why was the human tense? It presented no threat.
The creature materialized just behind the door, slammed it open and entered.
Its humanoid body was lacerated. Cuts on the arms, cuts on the neck, on the belly and head, everywhere without cloth its body had suffered. It was simmering in anger.
"Get up! Get up now!" It ordered the human.
My mistress did nothing, so I moved the body for her. Even the delay seemed too much for that beast that hurried to grab the arm and drag it up.
"Move!" It nearly screeched.
It threw me, well, the human, on the carpeted dais.
"Now play! Play right now!"
I pushed myself up and took the time to brush the dress. The room had a piano and a harp. Which one? I could already tell because the piano was closed. So I sat on the stool, near the harp.
The monster rushed away and to the windows, near the golden cage to take it in its hands.
"Play!" It ordered.
"I can't play..." The human muttered.
What did she mean? And why was she so fearful? I wanted to get up and crush that bird but she would not let me. So, I assumed she wanted help to play the harp.
Just let the harp play itself.
I cast the spell with my fingers and the instrument remembered a song from the past. While I let my fingers fake touching chords, that song started to fill the room. Slow and melodious.
"Yes... yes!" The monster calmed.
Then, as the music kept going, it opened the cage and entered it. The whole monster fit in the cage, hopped on the perch and stood there.
"Yes!" It chirped. "I have done it! Everything is back, everything is back as it should be!"
And it started to sing along.