“It’s not a matter of if I can do it, it’s a matter of when I can do it!” The wolf in full plate armor hit the table.

The little mouse bard scooted back in her chair by the forceful outburst of the wolf. “Y-yes, we are going to do it. But do you think we should hire more help?”

“And split the bounty? I’m sure with my skills we will trounce that beast. And get all the goods for ourselves,” the dragonborn said smugly, twirling a coin in between his claws.

“With you there I’m sure we can give Ransu the proper support he needs,” the mouse squeaked out sensing that the wolf was getting exasperated by the conceited arrogance of the red fellow opposite to him.

“Support? He just needs to stand in front of me and wait till the beast is dead.” A hearty chortle escaped his maw.

Her plan was to get as many people as she could on this adventure. But ever since the “Jeff” guy came in the picture all the other candidates had more or less fled from the job. It was an understatement to say that he had an abrasive personality. Melody heard in passing that this particular monster was beyond powerful, the more people the better. But already things were just not going their way.

“We need to work together. That’s why I put up the posters, and made the post on the bulletin board. We need to come up with a plan.” The mouse put her flute on the table before digging into her pouch for some parchment.

“We should leave tomorrow, I need the cash soon. We can make a plan before fighting,” Jeff said. The dragon leaned into his palms that were resting on the table.

“I agree, we should make headway. Worse comes to worse we scout and come back for more reinforcements,” Ransu said, refocusing his attention to Melody.

“I-I guess that makes a bit of sense… I take the both of your experiences above my own.” She stopped digging for paper.

“The only thing you should worry about is composing the songs of my glory. And of course succumb to my insatiable charm.” Jeff leaned forward, a smug grin worn on his scaled face. 

Ransu stood up with a glare. “Treat your bard with respect. She’s the one that has heard all of the stories about this monster.”

“Strictly business here gentleman. Also, you’re not my type. Sorry Jeff. And are you sure that you’ve never heard of Basil? I’m surprised!” The dragonborn straightened himself up in his chair while the wolf retook his seat. “He’s never been beaten! Everyone that made it out of his lair has spoken of some terrible powers. And do you know what that means?” the mouse continued.

She waited for a response and when none came the bard dug through her pouch. The wolf turned his glare toward the dragonborn who had been focusing on his brightly colored clothes. The two were complete opposites of each other. The bard could tell that Ransu had a sense of law, and order. While on the other hand The Great and Powerful Jeff was a very selfish and greed-focused individual. Either way, the rodent thought about all the things she was going to buy with her cut of the winnings.

“It means he should have a pretty impressive amount of loot! The rumors have to be true,” Jeff said.

The other two perked up.  “How much do you think?” Ransu asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Jeff sighed. “But! He’s a high level boss, so… should be a pretty decent reward.”

She was worried that with that vague answer the rest of the group would abandon the quest. But gave a sigh of relief when a smile spread across their lips. Ransu stood up again grabbing his shield and sack off the floor. At the same time the dragonborn rose, brushing off any dirt or dust that may have settled on his bright green and blue robes.  This was it, they were going to make it happen! They promptly left the tavern. This was the beginning of the leisure life for Melody. She would spend the rest of her days singing songs of mirth and merry.

The travel wasn’t so bad. Basil’s lair was close to the little town they were in. The roads were well traveled, almost as if the monster had planned for the infamy it produced. The town they were just in was a sort of wayward town for this region. It was where everyone had to eventually pass through to make it from one side or the other. There were a ton of adventurers who made their way through this town; it was no wonder that the tale of Basil spread as much as it did. Just was too bad that no more information was given.

It was only a couple hours before they made it to the cave. But they decided it would be wise to attack at a time when they were well rested. Around the campfire Melody told all the stories she had heard about the evil Basil. But by the end of the day she started to sing ballads of past adventurers that had won fame and glory in their adventurers. They were pumped for the chance to make a name for themselves against such a strong opponent. They had an amazing time before they each fell asleep.

“Wake up,” Ransu whispered to Melody.

“Wha?” Just as the rodent replied she realized that there was movement around the camp just beyond the tree line.

“Jeff,” the little mouse whispered to their wizard.

The warrior wolf stood up, blade already drawn ready for battle. The mouse shook the dragonborn. He shot straight up alert, only to sit down and yawn not a moment later in a tired stupor. He looked around in a state of bewilderment; before he could say anything he looked at the wolf holding his sword and things snapped into place. The dragonborn stood back up as he grabbed his robes to put them on.

“Now is not the time to look good,” said the wolf.

“Little do you know I’m going to save all of us with one spell, and that I need it,” the dragonborn chuckled.
The bandits, or attackers, hadn’t attacked yet. So it couldn’t have been a direct assault at the three of them. They couldn’t have been there to attack and steal. Either way, the adventurers knew they had to escape. Using her extreme sense of hearing, Melody realized that the only free place to go was in the cave of their prey. The cave would protect them from sight. 

“We can take them,” the wolf yelled.

“Wait! You’re disadvantaged without your armor Ransu,” she said to the wolf.

“Exactly,” the dragonborn said. “I’ll detect life and determine how many we have to face.”

Melody thought for a second. “Wait! We can't have you waste your magic with that spell. We need you for the mission!”

The dragonborn beamed with pride as he looked over to the wolf. The wolf was beyond angry at even conceiving the thought that The Great and Powerful Jeff would even be necessary for their quest. But Melody had an idea. They could potentially win a fight against some low level bandits, but they would be severely disadvantaged. They had to seek shelter in the lair of the beast.

“Follow me!” The rodent put the flute to her lips and blew.

A melody of light surrounded the trio as she ran. The warrior grabbed his stuff as the wizard attempted to keep pace. They ran into the cave; the bandits didn't dare follow, they were in enemy territory now. Jeff caught his breath as Ransu put on the rest of his armor. After some time they decided that now would be as good a time as any to seek out their enemy. As they walked it seemed like any other cave, but further in the cave smoothed out and torches lit the walls. Suddenly they were walking on a very fine carpet.

The walls were wooden, and decorated in a royal red. Pictures of a flamboyant rabbit lined the wall in gilded picture frames. The rabbit’s eyes seemed to follow them where ever they went in provocative poses. It was welcoming enough for the three of them. There were two doors with a plaque that said “Big Boss Basil” above the doors. How did a simple cave grow out to have a wooden hallway in it? They asked The Great and Powerful Jeff about it but he was stumped. It looked like they had to prepare for their boss fight.

As the warrior checked his heavy armor he spoke to Melody. “I realize what you did there. You didn't want to injure me before a battle, and you needed the wizard to counteract my weakness in willpower. You saved us both from making a terrible mistake of confronting those raiders. There are still many things that I do not know about leadership. Thank you.”

Melody blushed. “I-I only wanted to protect you guys, nothing more.”

“You’re a great leader. If you want to join my companions, and I, we could use someone like you.”

The mouse blushed. “I’m sorry but my path doesn’t quite align with yours.”

“Understood. Thank you again.” The wolf gave a bow before standing near the cutely carved door that lead to Basil.

A loud thump came from the door. Then another, and another. It was as if some huge, monstrous beast was walking toward the door. The room started to shake, the pictures rattled against the wall with each massive footfall. The sound unmistakably came from behind the two doors. The wolf stepped back, drawing his blade as the wizard ruffled through his spell lists. The pictures fell off the wall as each step sounded louder and louder. It was almost deafening. And then the doors burst open.

Melody flinched instinctively, but when she looked up it wasn’t some massive beast of an enemy. But a curvy rabbit wearing very tight clothing. It was obviously a guy, but the way the hips popped she could have sworn the rabbit was a girl. The bunny had skin tight purple clothing that clung to every curve of his hips, and gloves that ran past his elbows almost to his shoulders. The footwear barely covered his paws as they were like stockings that half of the foot were let out of. The length of the stockings went around to mid-thigh, almost as if they were advertising the prominent bulge that pushed out contrasting the more feminine body it was attached to.

“Oooh, guests!” He gave the most surprised face that any of them have ever seen. “Oh yeah! I’m Basil, I’ll be your monster this evening. Or whatever I’m supposed to say in this script.”

Silence filled the room again before the warrior lunged at the flamboyant rabbit. The other two were surprised that with such heavy plate armor that the warrior could get up to such a quick attack. Sadly, Basil was faster and yawned, just dodging the sword thrust that went into the closed door behind him. Ransu tried to pull the sword out but it was now trapped by his own momentum and strength. Forgetting his sword he took a swing at the little bunny that barely came up to the massive wolf’s chest.

With a blur of motion the rabbit ducked under the punch and turned away, escaping even closer into the wolf’s grasps. The wolf bent over just like he was throwing the punch down at the rabbit that had once stood in his fist’s way.  Basil was now pressing his butt back against the wolf, with the wolf’s arm being supported by his shoulder. It was rather promiscuous the way the bunny was positioned, in such a compromising way, almost like a lewd act.

“Gloves of the temptress, big boy.”

With a little push from the rabbit’s rear end the wolf stumbled backward. As he fell back his armor started falling off piece by piece. A gauntlet from the arm that threw the punch was still held by the rabbit.  Soon the wolf was blushing like mad as he picked his own loincloth off the floor and held it between his legs to hide his own shame. The strongest of the three was now crippled by his dignity and embarrassment.

“Don’t hide it! Come on, put on a show for us. It’s nothing that we all haven’t seen before. Am I right darling?” Basil smiled and started to meander towards the other two.

“Jeff! Do something!” Melody yelled.

“O…oh yeah! I-I’ll hit h-him with my…” he stuttered. The dragonborn was visibly shaken and wide eyed by the crowned head that gave a hungry smile toward them.

“No you won’t,” Basil spoke, in a tone that could only befit a kid in a candy shop.
The great and powerful Jeff bolted away. He tried to run back the way they had come only to find that rocks blocked the way. It was potentially a cave in, maybe from whatever caused all those tremors. The frightened wizard was now in no shape to fight anymore, and ran past the nude wolf who tried desperately to find out why his armor wouldn’t stay on his body. The Not So Great And Powerful Jeff ran to where Ransu’s sword was and tried to open the door. He struggled but couldn’t open it, turning around with his back pressed against the door.

“Not even a fight huh?” Basil asked disappointedly.

The doors suddenly opened letting the dragon in colorful robes fall on his butt.

“Ransu! Go!” Melody ran to the dragonborn, helping the wizard stand up before running back into the hallway. Jeff mumbled incoherently as they made their way to the other door. He was frazzled, they were not prepared to do this dungeon. The next door wasn’t locked. The mouse sighed in relief as they burst into a mighty throne room. Looking back they saw the wolf running to them. He didn’t care too much about covering himself up as he ran with all his might. 

Something weird happened though; the door was getting smaller and smaller the closer the wolf got. Within a few seconds the door was barely past their ankles as the wolf ran into the room, quickly closing the door behind him. The dragonborn and mouse stared in disbelief noticing that the wolf didn’t even realize that he was now toy sized. Melody dropped down to her knees. Her falling was enough for Ransu to turn around and see his giant rodent companion. 

Melody couldn’t help but think about how cute the little wolf was. Being so small she realized that the detail of his muscles and his usual imposing standing was as if it had never existed. Of course she could tell that the wolf was strong and well-toned, but now it was harder to see the amount of detail he had. Ransu’s tail and ears drooped back as he stared open eyed at the towering beings. It must have been a complete and utter change for the wolf that he didn’t know how to handle not being so imposing anymore. 

“This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real,” Jeff spoke as he ran away across the room after seeing the tiny little wolf. 

Melody ran after him. She had to keep the party together. The door opened with a loud thud making her look back. She hadn’t picked up Ransu; he was right there for them both to see. The dragonborn who had been looking for an alternative way out saw the open door and ran for it. The door must have been reverted back to normal because Basil stood in the doorway. He was looking down at his feet, leaning against the frame. A sinister look upon his face, a hand on his popped hip, the other in the air pointing at the ground near the little wizard. 

Jeff the Great fell down with a thud. In front of his face was the little wolf at a loss for what to do. Before Jeff could say anything the White rabbit foot came down over the wolf, pressing him into the ground almost obscuring all of Ransu from the dragonborn. It was as if the wolf reached out to Jeff before being completely enveloped by the white toes. Jeff gave a little yelp as he scrambled to move through he doorway only for the door close and to turn into stone before his eyes. Their only exit was now blocked off. 

“Oh gods…” Jeff said on the ground, shaken to his core. He patted the door next to the white rabbit draped in the royal purple spandex. 

“Now, now… it’s going to be okay.” Basil spoke in a smooth caring tone, even squatting down to put a hand under the dragonborn’s chin. “You can clean the next room later. You just need to calm down for now.”

Basil lifted the chin so the dragon could look into his captor’s eyes. “P-please don’t hurt me I d-…” his voice trailed off 

“I would never hurt a loyal servant such as yourself. You’re the best maid I’ve ever had.” The rabbit stood up and walked to his throne. “Could you pick that up for me?” 

“Yes Sir. I, Jeff the great maid, will do all in my power for you.” Melody could see from her spot in the middle of the floor that Ransu was struggling in the grips of the dragonborn. 

“I love your new title! Now, little mouse, is there something you would like to do?” 

Melody was at a loss for words. She knew the spells that were involved with doing all this. But how did they work so efficiently and well? They were beyond what she could do. She tried to speak but words didn’t come out. Pulling out her flute to try and dispel magic the mouse discovered that she was unable to cast any of her spells. She was mute, and unable to do anything. They definitely were unprepared to take on this dungeon. 

The rabbit sat on his thrown, sitting on his hip, his tightly spandexed ass resting against the armrest as he posed for everyone. “Oh, I have some new clothes for you Jeffy.” Basil’s voice sung out.  

The dragonborn meandered to the throne, taking his time on the short walk to the throne. Melody concluded that he had been enchanted as well. When he arrived at the throne Basil held up a maid’s outfit, outfitted with a shorter than average skirting. The dragon gave Ransu to the Basil in exchange for the outfit. 

“You can change here, I have to inspect the help after all. I’m sure you understand Ms. Melody.”  The frankness of how he used the mouse’s name sent shivers down her spine. 

The dragonborn took all of his clothing off, revealing everything. Nothing was left to the imagination as the dragonborn did a couple nude twirls. Basil continued to smirk as he inspected intently. The rabbit shifted in his seat revealing that maybe he was a bit excited at what he was seeing, but that was before the bulge started to move on its own. Something came to mind. Ransu was missing from Basil’s grasp. Putting two and two together Melody gasped at where the now tiny wolf was. 

“Now, now, now! No need to make any sound or speak. I can do all the talking. I think that’s what I like these days. My whim changes every chance it gets these days after all. Don’t worry, we are just bonding on a personal level.” Basil grabbed his bulge, lifting it up before letting is drop back down. The little wiggling mass kept moving. “Now, I have a contract here.” 

A snap from the white rabbit and Jeff stood in front of Melody, facing away from her. Jeff was now wearing the short skirt Maid’s uniform. The thick tail in the back kept revealing his exposed buttocks to the little mouse. Instinctively Melody drew herself back away from the dragon’s behind as Jeff grabbed the rolled up piece of paper from Basil. As Jeff grabbed the contract he gave a little bow, giving a full moon to the mouse behind him. 

“Oh come on, you know deep down you like it,” Basil spoke while Jeff laid down the contract on the ground. “Now, I’m going to try and make this as plain as possible. I will not harm your little friends here, and set you all free to do whatever you will do with yourselves. If you sign this magically binding contract that states you, Melody, work for me until the day you die.” 

Melody tried to make a noise to say no, but again no sound came from here. “Come on, you’ve overcome so many trials before coming here, even your ratfolk nature. Jeffy, grab this thing.”

Jeff turned around, with another revealing bow. He held out his hands towards his new master. Basil on his throne spread his legs and fished into his tight clothing. Unceremoniously digging near his bits for the wolf. With a silly little hum Basil rubbed the wolf against his private parts before dragging the wolf up his body. Soon the wolf was being dragged along the white forest of fur before being exposed to the cool open air unobstructed by Basil’s prevailing presence. Surprisingly enough the wolf was still throwing punches and kicks trying to free himself from the grasp of the rabbit’s fingers. The dragon was given the little wolf and turned back around. 

“You’re the leader of this bunch. I suppose if you were to sign the contract you could keep these two things. Yes these two are things now. There is no changing it now.” He let that sink in before continuing. “I know you don’t think much about yourself. But you’re one in a million. You have the ability to lead. You saved the two from those raiders outside my cave. If you would have fought you would have surely perished. No thanks to these pathetic slobs.” 

An eerie silence filled the room as the wolf stopped struggling Jeff’s hands. “They owe their everything to you. You’re their savior. Don’t you think so?” Basil stood up walking up to the mouse and helped her up from the ground. “Now, my fair lady, I know you were getting… kinda flustered with this hunk of man. Just look at him, if he wasn’t doll sized I’d be all over him. But now that he’s tiny he’s of no use to me.” 

Melody stared at the little wolf looking up at her. She could see the look in his eyes, he was basically pleading with her. Basil’s hands felt so comforting on her shoulder. Thoughts crept into her, after all, she did save them on many occasions. She did set up this adventure to begin with. What life could they live now that they were cursed by this unstoppable beast? In a logical way she would be nuts to not accept this deal. If only to make sure that they didn’t live the rest of their life under this terrible person. 

“Sign, and they never have to be bothered by me again. Sign and you can finally stop worrying about making a living. You can explore… all your thoughts.” Basil whispered the last word into her mind. She could tell that it wasn’t enchanted, and that he wasn’t casting a spell on her. She looked from the wolf to Jeff’s glazed over eyes and cheerful smile. They were indeed careless and not very self-sufficient. Without her they would surely fail or get hurt. They needed her! 

“Sign, and we can begin… Jeff could you put down that little toy for a second?” Jeff got on his knees and gently put Ransu at Melody’s paws. “One step towards a glorious partnership. You’ll be singing of a chance at restoring your friends here. Right now, they can’t do anything. They are at your whim.” 

Melody felt the dragonborn’s scales on his face. Normally she wouldn’t invade such personal space. But they were enchanted, they were no longer themselves. If anything, Jeff was now way more pleasant to be around. And Ransu, he was small enough to be kept as a pet. He was completely at her mercy and she could dictate what he did. After all, she didn’t have to sign this contract. 

A pen was slid into her other hand as Basil leaned on her holding the contract. “Thank you.” Basil shyly said as she grabbed the contract and pressed the paper on Jeff’s face. “You won’t regret this. In fact, I know for a fact you won’t.” The rat used the Dragonborn’s face as a table where she signed her name. 

“Now, one more little issue. Your little charge does not agree with your decision. I think he should learn who he owes his freedom to.” 

The wolf on the ground was waving his hands to get the attention of the mouse bard. Even giving tiny cute jumps up in the air, he was really trying to get her attention. Melody thought again at how he couldn’t protect them from this monster anyway, and how she had the power to protect them more than his all imposing muscles. He really was beholden to her, and according to the contract, they were now hers. She raised a foot and lowered it over the wolf; she could see and feel a little resistance before Ransu succumbed to her pressure. He would learn in time that she made the rules that protected them. 

“Oh, nice touch. Give him a few more commands and he’ll be cleaning your paws in no time.” 

“Yeah, he deserves this to be honest.” Her voice surprised her, not only because she was able to speak again but because her thoughts were spoken out loud.

Basil laughed as he strode back to his throne. “I’m going to be a bit saddened to see my new toys leave… but it’s an investment in our future. GO! And tell the tale of my villainy.” 

With the shout of the word “Go” Melody flinched. Closing her eyes for just a moment before opening them back up to find they were at the mouth of the cave, the door to Basil’s lair was in front of them. Looking around she couldn’t find the dragonborn or the wolf. Basil promised they would be free, it was in the agreement. Then some noises came from her pocket, digging in she felt something strange. 

Pulling her hand back out Melody found the nude wolf spooning the now tiny dragonborn in her palm still wearing the little maids outfit. They had been tied together in that compromising position by some thread. She thought it was so cute, they were now getting along together so well. They didn’t squabble anymore. Melody thought it was such a cute and romantic way to settle their differences. It seems this deal with Basil was for the better after all. She petted the tiny couple as she walked her way back to town. Her journey was only beginning.