Flayer’s Pet
“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!” Cheers filled the tavern, drowning out the music. All drinks are on the house! It’s a time to celebrate, after all. Arms wrapped around shoulders as men and women embraced their other bargoers. Glasses clink loudly as ale, wine, and beer slosh around. There will be rosy cheeks in no time.
Species of all kinds arrived for the party. Tabaxi, Dragonborn, Lizardmen, Aarakocra, Wolfmen, and even awakened animals showed their muzzles in a human settlement. Lumbering barbarians comparing weapons, wizards exchanging notes, clerics praying with their clergy, bards of all sorts weaving and sharing tales, druids, Wild Shape or otherwise, dining with wooden utensils, and both noble and common folk dance in the streets. Centered in all that attention, was one wolfman. Meek and unassuming, one would be forgiven for not thinking much of the shy soul. Covers don’t tell the story though, as the canine was the youngest master wizard to walk the lands. Spells of all levels fill the pages of his spellbook, just as his brain was packed with knowledge and skills from years of study and wandering. Tango with this canine, and fangs of fire and lightning are what you’ll be facing if he’s feeling merciful.
“Three cheers for Titus! Three cheers for Flayer’s Bane!”
“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”
“Hehe… Thank you all.” Soft-spoken, the canine’s voice could not break through the shouts of joy. Ducking his head in embarrassment didn’t aid him either. Rabblerousing would be on the menu today in equal parts, if not more than, the alcohol. Never had a celebration of this scale been seen in the continent. You’d get a gold dragon to admit fault before any merriment of this magnitude would be repeated.
Slamming his mug into the table, a copper dragonborn druid stood up and bellows, “Tell us again! Tell us again!”
Nods went around the crowd. Most dropping their volume to a mere whisper if they chose to speak at all. Ears perk up while many pivot their heads to face the lupine of honor. Eager eyes gaze upon their savor with glee. Those with tails held them to prevent obnoxious wagging. Time for some stories. Stories that they heard before but were happy to hear again.
“Very well. If you all insist”, clearing his throat, Titus draws in a deep breath. Gazing to the clear noon sky, he exhaled. “People of Rezlo and those who have traveled these untamed hills to visit, I am Titus Lupus! Singlehandedly, I laid waste to an entire Mindflayer’s nest! The nest that claimed so many lives, tearing out their brains for nourishment and amusement. Illithids that desired naught but our destruction physically, morally, and mentally. Even offered sanctuary by the Elder Brain, I opted to fight! Delving deep inside the abandoned Gallows Fortress, under the blanket of night I crawled in through a crevasse barely a foot wide to the belly of the beast. Psionic beings they are, I was not a secret guest for long. Yet my mind, a steel trap, resisted their every attempt to control it. Translucent, runny blood of amber painted the mossy stone as my fireballs scorched their halls.”
Several of the awakened animals snake between the legs of any bipeds in the crowd, gathering at Titus’ feet. Any seated were on the edge of said seats, while those standing await with bated breath for the rest of the story. Many were even climbing atop houses and other such structures to look upon Titus.
“Darkness deeper than the spell swallowed me up while their tentacles wriggled around me. Quite a few attempted to sink their tentacles within my own mind! Luck was not on their side, as no subterfuge could fool me! Appearances may deceive. My smaller body hides immense strength physically as well! You may ask, ‘How many!? How many!?’”
Children in the crowd follow up with, “How many!? How many!?” High pitch voices soon were matched with mature ones as even adults joined in. “How many!? How many!?”
“Truthfully speaking, I know not. Writhing masses of cephalopod flesh crackled and singed beneath my paws! Tentacles were sliced thrice-over by my blade! Undaunted, I passed to the lair of their elder within an hour. Tadpoles and the sicklier of them squirmed about in that profane chamber. ‘Work with me, and your mind may be spared. Your brain safeguarded from any danger’, the immobile beast spoke telepathically to me. Treachery being their craft, I refused.” Spirited, Titus now waves his arms about. Throwing his paw out to the side, his face filled with a disgusted expression. In the crowd, fists clenched, any humanoid bit their lips, and both rage and excitement fill the visages of those listening. Not one person was reaching for the glass.
“For all those that they claimed, I roared, ‘Never! Perish for your transgressions against my species! Against my neighbors! Against my family!’ Concentrating, I brought forth the arcane might slumbering within me. Blade raised, I heaved it straight between those hemispheres! Confident, I even exclaimed ‘Power Word Kill!’ at the abominable brain! Screams echoed within my head! Glass could’ve shattered as the being collapsed, the tadpoles crushed beneath its dying mass! Shockwaves broke any last Mindflayer within the compound. All was silent.”
“YAAAAAAAY!!!”, the crowd erupts. Drinking and hugging resume with renewed vigor. Clinking mugs with frothy booze splashed their contents on the ground and any furnishings before being brought to their bearers’ maws. Only Titus lowering his paws a few times from his chest restored the quietude.
“Alas, there were many I could not save. Barring one wolfman, a Lycanroc, several had decayed. Plenty more had their skulls open, brains either missing or eaten. While no others may fall to those perverse horrors, never forget those we lost before they could be bested. A moment of silence for those that are gone. May they find their peace with whichever god they chose to worship.”
Somber air settles on the crowd for a minute. Bowed heads, kneeling, held hands, and other small rituals were performed by the crowd. Titus himself put one paw over his breast. “Today is a day of revelry, however. Now having gave respect for the fallen, let us drink and feast!”
As easily as the crowd became sullen, the blissful mood returned. Royal chefs, local cooks, various adventurers, and a few mages fill each table with a meal fit for the divine. Roasted duck, venison of elk, spit-roasted, honeyed pig, shepherd pies with beef, salmon, roe, marlin, swordfish, bass, catfish with lemon, apples, oranges, grapes, pears, bananas, watermelon, grapefruit, limes, cherries, cakes, syrupy, candied fruits, honey mead, and more are available for anyone who desires. Nothing like good food to accompany good drink.
Evening twilight dimmed the party for but a moment. Dusk was replaced with candles, and magical lights of various sizes and colors. Waltzing through the crowd, Titus found an open seat at the edge of the party. There could be no peace until tomorrow. Numerous anthros and ferals crowded around the wary wolf, eager to see their savior.
“Thank you for defeating those menaces! How can we ever repay you?”
“Titus! Titus! Let’s cross blades! I want a good bout with the guy who beat an entire colony of Mindflayers alone!”
“Anything we can get you? Anything at all?”
“May I see your spellbook, sir?”
Shooing them away is futile, but Titus tried. Before he knew it, Titus had three mugs of ale to down. If there was any night to get sloshed, this is the night. Warmth fills the wolf quickly both from all the ethanol and all the handsy, and sometimes frisky, partygoers around the table.
Zeal slowly evaporated from the party while the night wore on. Lights extinguished and faded. Animals of surpassing intelligence were the first to depart, many slinking away into the night. Druids joined afterwards, nature’s allure becoming stronger than the spirits. Royalty followed suit, their residence of choice their castles or any associated nobles’ estates. Inebriated, Titus finally decides that it was time for rest. Any inn would put him up for the night, so all that’s left is to decide which one.
“Alright all. I’ve hit my limit. Retiring for the night is next on my agenda.”
Some complain, others beg, and a few plead, but enough is enough. Standing tall and proud, the wolfman turns his back to the party and hit the road. Ducking through alleyways and between houses, Titus searched for a peaceful, cozy spot to shut his eyes…Until he heard something behind him.
Crack!
Shrugging off the tiredness, Titus looked for the source of the sound. Even drunk, his perception was apt enough to see a lone wolfman in the black. White and crimson fur, accented with black tips on the ears and the tip of a large spike of fluff jutting above the head is skulking in the alley Titus had just exited. Furrowing his brow, Titus’ voice dropped an octave as he demanded an answer. “Who are you? Why are you following me?”
Walking out of the alley, the wolfman stood tall. More features came into view. Blood-red eyes, large paws with dark claws, the fur on his back and head grown to large portions fill Titus’ vision. Waving, the wolfman responds, “Greetings. Apologies for the stealth there, I’m too sneaky for my own good. You’re Mr. Lupus, are you not? Call me Ruffles. I’m the Lycanroc you rescued from Mindflayers’ den.” Reaching up, the Lycanroc’s claws grip a massive top hat. Tipping it upward slightly, Ruffles gave a soft, toothy smile.
Looking over the Lycanroc, Titus was surprised. The top hat wasn’t all the Lycanroc is clad in. He wears a silken, black suit bearing golden studs on the sleeves and across the abdomen with a white bowtie uniting both sides, white, lacy cuffs surround his paws, a red shirt beneath that matched his fur, tan pants cover his lower region, and ink-black, knee-high boots protect his digitigrade paws. Dapper was an understatement. Both his voice and attire lend Ruffles an air of refinement.
“Might you be a local count?”
Giving a low chuckle, Ruffles lowers his top hat back to his head. “It might seem that way, yes. I certainly am royalty, in a sense, though I am not a local.”
“Hmm…Very well. What might you want with me?” Tilting his head, Titus squints his eyes. What a transformation this man had undergone. From a Mindflayer’s victim to nobleman.
“You had saved me, no? Thanks are in order, and I intend to repay you in kind. Come, let us find shelter for tonight and we can talk.”
Raising a brow, Titus crosses his arms over his chest. “Oh? Can we not talk this over here?”
“Now, now. It’s best to follow along. Both of us desire such.” Extending his right claw out toward Titus, the Lycanroc made a circular motion with one finger pointed at the wolfman’s head. Pressing his left paw to his temple, Ruffles grinned. His voice took on a powerful, ethereal quality to it as he whispered, “Dominate.”
Titus’ mind felt fuzzy. “Wait…W-What is he doing to me!?” Panic filled the canine’s gray matter as he attempted to decipher the enchantment. Corners of his vision began to blur with exotic colors as his own thoughts halted. Haziness gripped his brain while it slowly became numb. One blink later, focusing was impossible. Wisdom blunted by alcohol, Titus could do nothing but let the spell encompass his mind. He had failed.
Ruffles chuckled to himself as Titus sagged immediately. Muscles followed suit as the brain connected to them relaxed. Thin, intangible wire spun from the Lycanroc’s consciousness out to Titus. Around and around it wrapped around the wolfman’s head, sinking into his mind. Familiar sensations washed over the Lycanroc’s brain at the same time. The telepathic link was established. As desired, Titus’ mind held nothing in it, so long as he focused. Not a difficult demand, however. Keeping concentration up would be trivial for one of his talents. For one of his species.
“Follow along”, Ruffles transmitted to Titus’ vacant, vapid neurons. Gears were turning in the dumb wolf’s head. Turning to the expert control of a superior brain. Retreating to the alleyway, Ruffles knew just the place to lead Titus.
Five minutes of walking later, Ruffles found the proper place. Tavern, inn, and guild at the same time, Stablehaven is its name. Rustic in appearances, but the wooden building covered a square mile in space. The minds here were easy to read. Lavish for the area, comfortable with goose down mattresses and pillows that are regularly washed to prevent lice, a tavern that sold quality meals, and even locking doors. Perfect, in every sense of the word. Ruffles couldn’t find a better spot to keep his new champion.
Inside, a lone elf manned the counter. The only other sapient being in the room. “Good evening! Welcome to Stablehaven, the best inn for miles around! I imagine you two would want a room, coming at this hour?”
“Quite right. Titus desired to bed with me tonight, so we sought the best rooms available!”
Eyes going wide, the elf looks past Ruffles’ fur at the dullard behind him. “Oh my! Titus! It’s an honor, sir! I assure you, we’ll be saving our best room for you and your companion. Additionally, we shall give any food, drink, and aid at our disposal for you. I do hope you find your stay satisfactory.”
Tapping a claw to his head, Ruffles beamed thoughts to Titus through the telepathic wire. “Nod.”
Titus nods.
“Speak: ‘The pleasure is all mine. Thank you.’”
“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you.”
Jingling intrudes into the conversation. Pulling out a thin strip of iron with the numbers 190 engraved on it, the elf smiles at the pair. “Here is your key. Pleasant dreams! You two enjoy yourselves!”, the elf winks playfully.
“Oh, we shall have a wonderful night, I can assure you of that”, Ruffles allowed his vocal cords to utter. Mentally, something different tumbled in his brain. “Grab the key. Follow me to the room afterwards. You’re going to be having nothing but amazing dreams once I’m done with you, Pet.”
Walking limply, Titus grabbed the key and plodded after the Lycanroc. Once they arrived at room 190, they entered.
“Lock the door behind you.”
Thus, Titus put the key inside the knob once again and twisted. A solid ‘chunk’ filled the room to Ruffles’ satisfaction. Lightly furnished, the room had a wooden wardrobe, straw matting, two feathery beds, and a nightstand with a candle on an iron stand. Wood creaks beneath Ruffles’ boots as he struts over to the bed on the left and lights the candle.
“Sit on the bed with me.”
Without complaint or words, Titus obeys. Creaking returned to the room as Titus crosses over to the bed. Beside his master, Titus sits down.
Shifting around, Ruffles turns his back to the wall. “Lean against me. Lay on me.”
Copying his master, Titus turns his back to the wall, and drops onto Ruffles. The wolf’s crown rests just beneath the chin of the Lycanroc.
“Finally. It’s time for what I’ve been waiting for, Pet~ This body is better than I had ever anticipated. How splendid that taking it for myself would pay so well!”, Ruffles coos. Reaching up for the top hat, Ruffles carefully placed it on the nightstand. Sweeping one paw through the fur on his head, he shoves it aside to reveal a giant, wrinkled, tentacled organ. The skull was open. A vast alien’s brain resided within the Lycanroc’s skull.
Tentacles extended from the Lycanroc’s head. Gently, they swarmed over Titus’ face. To Ruffles’ delight, Titus didn’t react. With the care one might have handling a newborn tadpole, the tentacles wriggle into Titus’ ears. All the while, the people’s savior stares up at the ceiling mindlessly.
Through the ear canal, slip past the eardrum, and wiggle deep into the inner ear, and Ruffles found his prize. Wrinkled, big, and most importantly, intelligent. Titus’ brain is within his grasp. Gingerly, the tentacles spun around the wolfman’s central nervous system. He even started to form adorable faces as the tentacles firmly latched on.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be happier when I’m done. Knowledge isn’t necessary for my pets. You just need to bulk up your body to serve me~”
POP!
With a sharp tug, Ruffles disconnected the core of Titus from his body. Awfully cute, watching his body make those faces. Even better, watching Titus drool brainlessly. Dexterously, the Lycanroc manipulates his tentacles to pry the brain out. In only a minute, he could see the gray-pink of Titus’ frontal lobes poke out of his ear.
“Only a little further!” Inch by inch, the canine’s brain slowly left his skull. The temporal and parietal lobes became visible next, then the occipital lobes, until finally the cerebellum entered the Lycanroc’s vision. “There we are~”
Hard, risky work done, Ruffles suspends the brain before his eyes using his tentacles for a minute, appreciating his handiwork. Tenderly, he slowly applies more pressure on the brain with the tips of his tentacles.
“Mmmmmm~ Even just a taste of this delectable brain is filling. What an intelligent, talented wolf you are. What a capable, dumb dog you’ll be~”
Penetrating the soft tissues, Ruffles resists moaning aloud. Titus’ brain was everything he wanted and more! Knowledge of magic, knowledge of religion, skills in survival, perception, the arcane, writing, and persuasion, and assorted memories connected into a giant web that sustains his personality. Time for the main course.
Rubbing over the nerve tissues in his tentacles, Ruffles put the special ability of his tentacles to good use. Just a bit more pressure, and the taste of knowledge filled the Lyranroc. Thoughts, dreams, desires, memories, and knowledge transferred themselves from Titus’ brain up to Ruffles’. Slurp after slurp followed. Intelligence decreased. Wisdom decreased. Skills were unlearned. Intelligence decreased. Wisdom decreased. Skills were unlearned. While not initially obvious, Ruffles had to wrap up the brain more. Titus’ was shrinking to such a degree that it would fall to the ground if Ruffles wasn’t careful.
Minute by minute, the tentacles descend further into the neurons. Slurp, slurp, and another slurp. Intelligence, Wisdom, and memories continued to be plucked from Titus. All of it going straight to a brain that will put them to better use.
Slurp.
Intelligence down.
Slurp.
Wisdom down.
Slurp.
Intelligence down.
Slurp.
Wisdom down.
When naught remained, Ruffles grinned. “Now to just change some things. I’ll even give something too because I’m a good Master.”
With another pulse, Titus’ brain has new thoughts inside of it. Master. Master Ruffles. The new Mindflayer king. “You shall be my prized hound~” Now miniscule, vapid, and drained, Ruffles withdrew Titus’ brain into his head with the tentacles. Glancing down, he stares at Titus vacant body, breathing softly.
“No more need for your brain, Hound. From now on, you’re my dumb Soldier. My dumb barbarian. A kingdom of Mindflayers, the greatest civilization to ever exist, shall arise.”
