Tanya and Elora: Toy Soldiers (Patreon)

Hey folks!

Did not get sick this month! \o/

So without further ado, story:
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The workshop was a marvel. Moving parts covered every workstation, swinging hammers and spinning lathes shaping tiny parts out of the wood steadily fed into them. Tools hung from the walls in neatly organised collections, and the air carried the scent of sawdust, with just a hint of oil when you got close. The ceiling might have been a little low, but that was only to be expected, considering who owned the place, and it had to be said that there were very few burn marks anywhere to be seen. A very professional display.

It was, of course, completely off limits to visitors, blocked off by red velvet ropes (which only looked slightly singed). Guests were allowed to look and wonder, but never, ever touch. Gnomes were very specific about their tools, and even being able to view them from afar was impressively open minded of the resident crafter here.

No, everyone else was limited to the showroom area, a much larger space with a much higher ceiling. Lavishly decorated in white and gold, the round room was designed to bring as much attention as it could manage to as many products of the workshop as it could hold. During public hours the hall could hold a good crowd of people, funnelling a steady stream of wallets towards the salesclerks at the back. Right now, though, well after closing time, it was empty.

Empty, save for…

“They’re creepy.”

“They’re not creepy, El.”

“They are!” The Sorceress poked at one of the wind-up ‘toy’ soldiers on display. It was slightly taller than she was, and Tanya couldn’t help but notice that the elf chose to prod the wooden figure in its well-endowed chest. “Just look at those dead eyes, those empty smiles…”

Her companion rolled her eyes. “I think they look fine. Be nice, they might hear you.”

“Of course you do, you have no sense of aesthetics.” Elora swept her long red hair back, as if trying to demonstrate her superiority in this field. “Listen to your elders, Tay, these things are creepy with a capital K.”

The armoured blonde sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “First off, yes, you are several centuries my senior, as you never fail to remind me, and yet you’re the one acting like a child.”

“I am not!”

“And second off,” Tanya continued, paying her friend’s protest all the attention that it was due, “that is not how you spell-”

“Ah, ladies, there you are.” A door at the back of the showroom opened, allowing a short gnomish woman in dark overalls to step through. Ruby red eyes scanned her surroundings with a familiar ease, her silver-white hair, pulled back into a rough ponytail, flicking with every turn of her head. Even though she was, at best, a third of the height of the other two women, her presence immediately made it clear who was in charge of this workshop.

Instantly, both Adventurers were all smiles and professionalism, their hushed argument dropped without a trace.

“Miss Addershine, I’m so glad you could meet us at such short notice.” The Paladin stepped forward with well-practiced ease, directing all attention straight onto herself, and away from the elf who she didn’t trust for a moment not to be pulling faces at all the mechanical displays. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything?”

“Nothing important, nay.” The gnome shook her head as she stepped up to the pair, folding her arms. “But I am a busy woman, so can we keep this brief? I’ve work to return to, and plenty of orders to fill by the end of the month.”

“Of course, of course.” Tanya nodded; her expression full of apologetic understanding for the woman. “We’ll try to be brief. I am Tanya, this is Elora.” She gestured to herself and her friend, who waved politely – and mercifully, silently. “We’re here from the Guild. I trust they sent you advanced word of our visit?”

Addershine snorted. “Aye, some letter or other on my desk somewhere. Didn’t really pay it much mind. I find people tend to be more honest than paperwork.”

“Well, she’s right there,” Elora nodded, her attention wandering as she looked away from the conversation – only to return sharply at an annoyed nudge from her companion.

“I completely understand,” the blonde said with a bow – mostly to cover her corralling El. “Bureaucracy can be very tedious. In that case I’ll simply tell you right out. The guild is considering some commissions from your workshop, and we’d like to discuss what options you can provide us – as well as an inspection of your products, of course.”

At that, the gnome’s red eyes finally lit up. “Oh, a sale! Well why didn’t you say so lass? I’dve brought out the good wine!”

“Well- Heh.” Tay gritted her teeth and ignored the much more pointed nudge she got from El when she heard they’d missed out on free wine. “Well, it was in the letter… Ah, but, yes. As you may be aware, we’ve had some difficulty maintaining a presence in this region. Several of our Guild outposts have failed outright due to problems with membership…”

“Mm.” Addershine nodded. “Galdron is a rough area. Lot of dangers for the unwary. You hear plenty of stories about Adventurers up and disappearing in these parts. Doesn’t shock me that they’re true.”

“Tch. Rookies.”

Tanya glared at the elf. “El!”

“What? They are. You know the last set who came up here were led by Eva Darkmine? I told them she should never have been given that commission. I bet she gave their sign in sheet full of all their true names to the fae or something stupid like that…”

“Not the time, El.” The blonde shushed her before turning back to the gnome. “Obviously, the Guild can’t just abandon Galdron, but addressing the issue is going to take time – time that Galdron can ill afford. That was when your name came up. We’ve been told you can assist us with our manpower issue?”

“Aaaaah…” The silver haired woman’s teeth sparkled as she smiled. “You’re after a few of my toy soldiers, are you?”

Tanya nodded. “Potentially. As long as they can do everything that you advertise, the Guild is interested in exploring a rental arrangement, maybe even leading to outright purchase, of at least five units. Possibly more if things work out well.”

She could tell she had the craftswoman’s interest. The gnome was practically rubbing her hands together in glee. “Oh don’t you worry about my advertisements, lass. They do everything I say and more. They fight, they follow instruction, they’re practically indestructible. The only thing they ain’t, lass,” she finished, waggling a finger. “is cheap.”

“Uh huh. Yeah, sure.” Elora was far from impressed. She looked to Tanya, rolling her eyes. “If they’re as good as she says, they’d be putting us out of business.”

“Now now.” As ever, the Paladin was a force for peaceful understanding. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Mm…” The gnome, meanwhile, had no care for placating a haughty elf. “Maybe they will someday, once I make enough of ‘em.”

“Oh like hell.” The haughty elf was all too happy to respond in kind. “Golem makers like you have been saying this kind of thing for years. Centuries! It’s always some kind of scam.”

“El, you promised you’d behave on this mission…”

“I am behaving! I’m not letting the Guild be scammed by a cheap trick I’ve seen a dozen times!” The Sorceress huffed, folding her arms. “If she wants to prove me wrong, well, she’s welcome to give a demonstration of her little toys right here and now.”

Miss Addershine just laughed. “Lady, if it’s a demonstration your friend wants, I’m happy to provide. Means I’ll get to see the smug grin fall out from between those big ears of hers.” She shook her head, looking up at Tanya. “But lemme be clear here. I don’t make golems. No, that’s old technology. What I do here is well beyond the works of those ancient sorcerers.”

“O-oh, is that so?” The Paladin nodded quickly, desperately trying to keep this conversation on track. “What do you call them then?”

“Dolls.” The short woman nodded back. “Simple, but elegant. Fitting for my new creations. Entirely new designs, entirely new technology, entirely new source of power. Nothing like the rock heads they used to trundle around.”

“Oh really?” Elora peered down at her. “And what source of power would that be?”

“It’d be a trade secret, is what it’d be.” The gnome shot her a smug look, before beckoning them both to follow her as she walked back out through the door she’d come in through.

El looked at Tay over their guide’s head and mouthed the word ‘Scam’. Honestly, the Paladin wasn’t sure why she was trying to be subtle at this point.

The pair were led through a rather tight corridor, out into one of the storage rooms in the back. There, standing at attention next to an empty shipping crate, was a Wind-up Soldier, dressed in a sharp red uniform top with golden buttons, paired with a short black skirt. There was a tall red and black cap balanced on its head, somehow completely steady despite its balancing act.

“Tah-dah.” The silver haired crafter gestured for them both to take a look. “What do you think?”

Elora just scowled silently, already glaring at the soldier’s painted on face. And, privately, the Paladin had to admit the effect was a little unsettling. The doll’s head was a completely smooth oval, save for its red cap, and a few locks of black hair poking out from beneath it. Its face, then, was clearly flat – an empty, wide smile and a slightly haunting stare.

But she wasn’t about to admit that to the woman, and it wasn’t important anyway, so oh well.

“The ones out in the showroom are mostly display pieces,” Addershine admitted. “Non-functional models. This one’s the real deal. Just finished putting her together this morning – I’ll be shipping her off to Mordensent tonight, so you came at just the right time. Take a look.”

“I see…” Tanya nodded, and circled the wooden soldier curiously. She was no carpenter, to be sure, but she liked to think she had an eye for assessing the quality of goods – and this one did seem to be high quality craftsmanship, no mistake. But… Hm.

The soldier was shaped like a woman, obviously. A human one, at her guess, though she couldn’t spot any visible ears, so it might have been an elf - though El would certainly protest the idea that anything so clunky looking could ever be considered elven.

Mm, that was the right kind of word – clunky. The soldier looked clunky. Her – no, it’s limbs were smooth, curved cylinders connected with hinged joints, arms, legs, fingers all. They seemed to have a lot of flexibility there, but they still looked rather awkward.

Far, far more awkward, however, was the soldier’s chest. It stuck out in front of the supposed combat unit like someone had shoved a pair of wind orbs up under its top. Tay wasn’t sure whether it had actual breasts, or if its torso was all one singular block, but if it did indeed have completely accurate modelling, then both breasts were easily larger than the thing’s head.

Its ass wasn’t much better, either, barely fitting under the thing’s painted on skirt. And what didn’t help was the thin waist, practically no wider than the soldier’s neck, which just made the curves above and below look bigger…

The whole thing looked more like a perverse parody of a soldier rather than an actual fighter of any description.

“Did your client in Mordensent ask for a sex doll?” The blonde turned to look back at the crafter, confused and more than a little annoyed. “Because that’s all I see here.”

Addershine smirked. “Yeah, they’ll fool you like that. But no, that’s the real deal, right there.”

Tanya looked back to the busty doll. “You’re kidding.”

“Hey, don’t blame me for people’s tastes.” The gnome raised her hands in a half-hearted shrug. “I just make what’s popular. But hey, if you want proof, I’ll give you proof.”

She stepped over to the wall and picked something off a hook there – a shining gold key, practically half as big as she was. Then, with a quick scurry over, the gnome slid around behind the wooden soldier’s back, and shoved the key into the open slot there.

“Get ready!” She called. “I’ll give it about 30 seconds of puff. Won’t leave her very smart, but that’ll be fine. See what you think of their combat abilities once you’ve had a nice little duel with one.”

The blonde shared a look with her spell slinging friend. “Well? You’re the one that doesn’t like them. Want to take your shot?”

But Elora shook her head. “No thanks. You go have fun.”

There was something odd about the way she said it, but Tanya didn’t have time to analyse it. With a click of its key, the soldier began marching forward at an impressive clip, a very real sword appearing in its hand. She barely had time to draw her own, unslinging her shield from her back, before it was charging right at her.

Her shield caught the first blow with practiced grace, but she had to admit the force behind the hit caught her by surprise. She’d been expecting it to be strong, but the seemingly unenhanced swing had the strength of a small titan! Unprepared, a lesser woman might have staggered from the slam alone.

Fortunately, she wasn’t a lesser anything, and she quickly managed to divert the force of the attack away from her, striking in with her own blade as the toy soldier’s defences were opened up. But the wooden warrior wasn’t just strong. It’s speed was almost blinding as it parried the Paladin away, actually forcing her to retreat a step as it tried to counter her attack.

Their blades met, again and again, each combatant searching for weakness, for an opening, and neither finding it. They were evenly matched.

Granted, Tanya was holding back some – she didn’t want to actually damage Addershine’s merchandise. But when the key in the soldier’s back unwound, and the doll-like figure slumped over, unmoving, she wasn’t actually sure it would have made much of a difference. She’d had a sense that the soldier was holding back a little too – or, at least, it wasn’t using its full power…

Frowning, she returned her sword to its sheathe, slinging her shield back up over her shoulder. “I can see your creation knows its stuff. Most impressive.”

Addershine laughed. “You doubted? And this is just a melee unit model – I’ve been working on spell caster designs as well.” Her eyes flicked towards Elora for a moment. “Might have one ready for another demonstration for you soon, if you’re interested.”

Oh, that definitely wasn’t going to improve the Sorceress’s mood. Tay winced, looking to her friend, hoping to stall the inevitable outburst…

Only to see that El didn’t seem to have heard. Instead, she was just frowning, staring at the inactive soldier with an odd look in her eyes.

Hm. The blonde couldn’t tell what the other woman was thinking, and that was always worrying. But for the moment, she just turned back to their host, putting her professional smile back on. “Of course. If you can make these, ah, dolls as casters, I think the Guild would be very interested indeed. How long do you need?”

The gnome smirked, clasping her hands behind her back. “Tomorrow, if all goes well. Are you staying in town?”

Tay nodded. “We’ll be spending the night at The Riverstone Inn.”

“Perfect!” The small woman clapped her hands, smile widening. “I’ll send a message for you when she’s ready.”

“Great. I’ll… look forward to it.”

But even as she agreed, the Paladin couldn’t help but look back over at Elora. Her friend was still staring at the doll, and if anything, her expression had only gotten darker. What was the other woman stewing over…?

-

She didn’t find out until dinner that evening. The Guild was paying their expenses for this mission, so they’d decided ahead of time to dine out at one of the fanciest restaurants in town, the Happy Turtle. El had insisted on it, categorically overruling Tay’s suggestion of the Pious Pilgrim closer to the heart of town.

(“I want a seat with a view of the riviera, not another holy sermon over plain toast, thank you.”)

Of course now they were here and the elf was picking at her food like she thought it was made of snakes. She’d barely touched her bumblesting salad, and she’d only flirted with the cute waitress once. Something was definitely wrong.

“Alright,” Tanya finally broke the silence, setting down her cutlery, her spiced rex stake only half eaten. “What is it? What’s bothering you?”

The elf poked at a green leaf, and then looked away, pouting. “You won’t listen to me.”

The Paladin did her best not to roll her eyes. “I will listen. I am listening! Go on, spill.”

Elora sighed and set her fork down. “The golems…”

“You mean the dolls?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure, dolls. Whatever. Look, there’s something wrong with them.”

Tanya did her best not to groan. Of course this was the problem. “El, I know you don’t like then, but…”

The elf cut her off. “No, no, this is separate to that.” She paused, thinking. “Mostly separate to that.” Another pause. “At least half separate.” She shook her head, red hair flicking to and fro. “I’m serious, Tay. Something’s wrong.”

For a moment, despite her promise, Tay was tempted to ignore her. Tell her that she was clearly imagining things, making stuff up because she felt threatened, and to just get over herself. Elora was always bad with new technology – especially tech that she saw as trying to take her place. The idea of dolls taking the place of real, living Adventurers was ridiculous, of course, but El was gunna El.

Fortunately, the Paladin was a better woman than that. So instead, she just clasped her hands, elbows leaning on the table. “Alright. What’s wrong with them? Give me something specific to work off here.”

The Sorceress’s lips thinned into a pressed line. “… I don’t know if I can.”

“El…”

“I know, I know.” She shook her head. “Just… Okay, do you remember the lady who led all those disappeared Adventurers? Eva Darkmine?”

Tanya raised an eyebrow. “I remember reading the reports on her disappearance a month or so ago…?”

But the elf shook her head. “No, no, I mean, did you ever meet her?”

The blonde frowned. “In person? No, I don’t think so. She was a fairly new member of the Guild, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, a cute one.” Same old Elora. “But it makes sense you didn’t meet. She was a sword type too; the Guild wouldn’t have paired you up with her too often. Plus you were busy with your pilgrimage when she was at her most active. So I’m guessing you never saw her fight?”

Tay nodded.

“So if I say that that doll, the one you fought, the one with the exact same hair colour as Eva, had the exact same combat style as Eva, how suspicious would that sound to you?”

Hm. A little suspicious, perhaps, but nothing that couldn’t be a coincidence. “Just her hair colour? Not her face?”

El paused. “I couldn’t tell,” she finally admitted, her cheeks flushing red, before glaring at her friend. “Don’t look at me like that! All your human faces look the same!”

“Okay, racist, but…” Tanya considered the elf’s words. “What are you trying to say? You think Addershine based her doll off Eva?”

“I don’t know,” the Sorceress sighed, shrugging. “But if she knew Eva, she would have said, right? And she claimed that she made that thing herself. There’s no way she doesn’t know who she was inspired by.”

Hm. “So…” She waved her hand, urging her friend to keep going.

“So, our doll maker is keeping secrets.” El raised a slender eyebrow. “Secrets about an Adventurer who recently disappeared. She’s already a scam artist – maybe she’s involved in the disappearance, too.”

Ah. “That’s quite an accusation.”

Elora slumped, picking her fork back up and nudging a mushroom around her plate. “Yeah, and it’d be great if I had proof of it.”

Tanya nodded. Though about it some. And then… “So let’s go get some.”

The elf looked up, blinking. “Wha- Really?”

“Yeah.” The Paladin went back to her meal, cutting the remnants of her steak up with nice, easy slices. “I mean, Adventurers have to look out for Adventurers, right? Light knows where you and I would be if we didn’t have people looking out for us. A rookie like Eva might not have anyone, so we have a duty to take care of our fellow Guild members. And this is a lead worth investigating.” She pointed a steak-tipped fork at her friend, waving it about to make her point. “Tomorrow, when we’re checking out Miss Addershine’s next demonstration, we can check the place out properly. Snoop about, look for records, that kind of thing.”

A relieved smile slowly spread over Elora’s face. “I didn’t think you’d actually believe me,” she muttered, even as she finally started scooping up her salad and shoving it into her mouth.

“Hey, I don’t,” Tanya said, getting a quiet choking sound from the other side of the table. “But if my partner has suspicions, I don’t see the harm in investigating. And besides,” she added, finishing up her meal, “at least this way, if we don’t find anything you won’t be pestering me about it all the way home.”

“Hmph.” El shot her a challenging grin. “Well I hope you’re ready – because if we do find something, I’m going to be singing ‘I told you so’ for the rest of the year.”

… Was it too late to change her mind?

-

When the sun rose over the Riverstone Inn, though, Tanya was in for a surprise.

“Your elf friend?” The Innkeeper – a Minotaur with a thick country accent – looked up from behind the counter. “Oh, aye, she headed out this morning, right early. Didn’t say where she was goin’, just left a message for you that she was off investigatin’ somethin’. Said she’d meet you back at the Guild when she was done.”

The Paladin frowned. “Investigating something? She didn’t say anything more than that?”

The towering bovine just shook their head. “Nah. Looked importan’ though. Seemed in a real hurry. Think I saw her headin’ off towards the stables, mighta been lookin’ to hire a horse.”

“I see…” The blonde drummed her fingers against the wooden counter for a moment, thinking. Then she flashed the Innkeeper a smile. “Well, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Any other messages for me?”

“Just one from the Addershine Workshop. She said she should be ready for the demonstration you asked for any time you like.”

Tay nodded. “Thanks. I guess I’ll have to check that out on my own, then.”

The Minotaur waved as she headed out. “Enjoy the show!”

The Paladin waved back as she stepped through the door. “Oh, no worries about that,” she said, her expression darkening as she moved out of sight, heading towards the nearest temple. “Just got to go send a message first…”

-

Elora woke up wet and naked, but not in the fashion she preferred. Namely, she did not have a ravenous beauty between her legs, nor were delectable thighs wrapped around her own pointed ears. Instead, she seemed to be bound to a table, her arms and legs secured with thick leather straps.

It wasn’t the first time she’d woken up this way, but since she had no memory of agreeing to it this time (and she probably wouldn’t after the first, honestly) she found the whole situation to be less than ideal.

Her eyes cracked open, revealing darkness. But since she was an elf, and not one of those species that fumbled about all the time with only half-working senses, that didn’t present much of a barrier to her. She could see just fine as she looked around. Yep, she could see all the tools hanging on the walls, arranged in neat little colour coded collections. She could see the worktables covered in half-finished projects. And, obviously, her nose could easily detect the heavy scents of oil and sawdust.

It was kind of obvious where she was. She muttered a curse.

“Ah, awake already, are we?” A cheerful and depressingly familiar voice greeted her. Rolling her head to the side, she could see Miss Addershine herself approaching the table, carrying a lantern and a bundle of some kind of cloth. “There’s that fabled elven constitution of yours. I wonder how it’ll effect the process. Won’t it be wonderful to find out?”

El’s eyes narrowed. She did not like the sound of that, but given her situation, she’d kind of expected that much. “Judging by these straps, I doubt I’m going to find any of this ‘wonderful’ – though, hey, feel free to prove me wrong.”

“Oh, on the contrary,” the gnome said, setting the torch down. “All of my tests so far have indicated that the process is a very enjoyable one for the person experiencing it. Though you’ll have your chance to leave your own feedback soon.” She grinned, unrolling the cloth bundle and revealing a red top with gold buttons. “What do you think of your new uniform?”

The elf snorted. “Cheap, tacky, and utterly unoriginal. Plus I don’t think it’ll fit.” She saw no reason to be nice about the woman’s fashion choices, even as she tried to think of a way out of this mess. No point in yelling for help – she knew the workshop was far too isolated for anyone to hear her. And with her hands bound like this she couldn’t use magic…

“Wrong again, lassie,” Addershine giggled, setting the clothing down as well. “Or you will be, once we’re done.”

“Mm. Great.” Yeah, no, she didn’t like the sound of any of this, but like hell was she going to panic in front of this woman. She had her dignity. She had elven dignity, in fact, which was far more powerful than elven constitution – at least as far as she was concerned. “Well I’m not seeing Tay in here anywhere,” she said, raising her head to look around. “And I don’t hear her screaming curses at you from down the hall or anything – trust me, I know how loud she gets when someone takes her prisoner – so I think I’m coming to the stunning conclusion that you only kidnapped me.” She lay her head back again, sounding utterly incredulous. “Which means you’re screwed, for the record.”

“Oh, I very much doubt it, lassie,” the gnome said, shaking her head. “My arrangement with the Riverstone is rather comprehensive. I’ve had them bring any number of suitable guests who won’t be missed.” She patted Elora on the shoulder with a wet slap, and El couldn’t help but notice she was wearing gloves. “Your nice blonde friend will think you ran off on your own and disappeared off in the wilderness, just like all the others. Got to have done it a good few dozen times now. She’ll probably be glad to be rid of you, to be honest.”

Lips trying and failing to prevent themselves from pulling into a smirk, El changed the subject. “Well, I suppose I’m at your mercy. What’s the matter, can’t handle a bit of criticism? I swear, artists these days…”

“Oh, that’s part of it, sure. You really are an unpleasant customer, lassie. I’m striking this one out for everyone working in retail.” Addershine chuckled, moving around the worktable. “But no, I had you brought in because, well, as I said, I need a spell caster model to show off for your Adventurer Guild. Want to get myself a nice, steady bit of cash.”

There was that sinking feeling. This was going to be bad. Still, she powered on. The longer she kept this woman talking, after all, the better a chance she had. “And you want to base your new model off me. Hm, turns out you do have taste after all.” El shifted her head, flicking her hair. “So I was right – you are connected to the disappearances.”

“Some of them, sure. I mean, lassie, you Adventurers tend to take care of yourselves well enough already. There’s a reason people are looking for a replacement. But I do have to correct you once again. I’m not ‘basing’ anything off you. Did you think all that dryad sap you’re bathing in was for kicks?”

“Dryad…” El blinked, lifting her head again to look at herself. Her skin glistened in the lantern light. And now that she knew what to look for, she could definitely smell something… foresty. Oh hell. “How did you get this much of it?”

The gnome twiddled her fingers suggestively. “I’m very persuasive, lassie.”

The Elf didn’t really have a response in her. Not while she was distracted running through what dryad sap did to a person. Dryads were a lovely bunch that she’d spent a lot of time with in her youth (hadn’t everybody?) but they were dangerous, too. She’d lost a friend or two who’d been lured into spending time with the tree folk during their ‘season’. During a certain time of the year, dryads only cared about making more dryads – and if they caught you, well, soon enough there’d be a new tree in the forest, and a new nature spirit to look after it.

Dryad sap without the actual dryad, though… What would that do? There was no way it could be potent enough to turn someone into a tree. No, that’d take actual magical intervention. But it could start the process…

Ah. Well that would explain why she was starting to feel a bit stiff, then.

Wincing, El’s eyes spied a shift in her complexion in the tips of her toes and the ends of her fingers. Her normally creamy smooth skin was taking a shift for a much coarser, darker look. A look that was spreading quickly, rising up to cover her knuckles even as she stared. Curious, she tried to move her fingers – and got not even so much as a twitch in response.

“So you’re turning me into wood,” she managed, feeling a little of that stiffness starting to creep into her jaw. “Original, I’ll give you that much. There’s probably cheaper ways of getting your lumber, though.”

“Ah, but not ensouled lumber,” Addershine said, seemingly eager to have the chance to explain her scheme. “That’s the difference. Lumber that remembers all of your skills and powers, able to replicate them on command. You see I’m not just chopping you up for parts, lassie – I’m turning you into a doll. A far more pleasant and agreeable kind of creature than you are now, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure. About a million times less stylish, too.” El bit her lip, and was momentarily surprised at how tough the act was. “So that really was Eva you had fighting Tay then.”

The gnome nodded. “Used to be. Now she’s Unit 37, of course. Or, well, she’ll be whatever her new owner decides to name her soon. Shipped her off after you left. Don’t have much space in the workshop, you know, can’t just leave dolls lying around unsold.”

“No, you’ve got to be practical about these things,” the Sorceress grumbled. “And I suppose she’s still aware in there?”

This time the crafter made a non-committal noise, wobbling her hand from left to right. “Mm, I suppose, for certain definitions of aware. Obviously I’ve not had the pleasure personally, but… Ah, why explain.” Her red eyes glinted. “You’ll see for yourself shortly. But before you go, we really should sort out your figure.”

“My… figure…?” It was getting hard to move her tongue now. Bad sign, that.

“Oh yes. You see, I do have to sell you after we’re done here, and I’ve found most of my buyers have a rather specific set of tastes. So…”

The gnome reached under the table, and brought out a tin of… paint? No, it was a clear liquid, one that carried the scent of fruit in the heat of summer. “Now this stuff is potent. Takes a special breed of Dryad to make it, expensive stuff, but it really boosts growth, if you know what I mean.”

“Gr… owth…?”

Addershine snorted. “Maybe I’ll just show you instead,” she said, dipping the brush into the tin and then firmly stroking it across Elora’s-

Oh!

Warm pleasure lanced through the elf’s chest, a sudden, shocking change from the growing numbness. It was such a surprise that she couldn’t help a moan slipping through her stiffening lips.

“Thought you might like that,” Addershine said with a smirk.

Despite an almost solid neck, El tried to look down, watching the brush as it danced back and forth across her chest, each stroke sending bolts of pleasure shooting through an almost numb body. She could see her chest responding to the sensation, her nipples stiffening, her breasts swelling… Wait.

Wait, no. They weren’t swelling. They were growing.

Her eyes widened as she watched her chest blossom outwards, growing steadily with each stroke – doubling, tripling in size… By the time the gnome was done, both of her breasts stood proudly and stiffly, both easily the size of her head. Her nipples had long disappeared under the brush’s case, too, leaving them completely rounded and smooth.

A gloved hand reached over and rapped its knuckles against them, drawing out a solid wooden sound. “Lovely knockers, eh lass? You get it?”

When her lips refused to open and answer, Elora had to hope that her groan of irritation got her feelings across. It was really heart felt.

“Yeah, I knew you had a sense of humour in you somewhere. But now we’ve done your tits, we need to sort out that fragile looking face of yours…”

Wait, what?

El’s eyes would have widened, but they were completely frozen by now. She couldn’t even move her head as she watched the brush descend upon her face. And as soon as it made contact she stopped caring, that feeling of hot pleasure shooting straight into her brain as it began to stroke up and down from chin to brow.

Her moans were quieter this time, echoing through her throat, but no less enduring.

Brush by brush, her features sank under a rising tide of wood – until all that was left was a completely smooth face, on a rounded head with a pair of pointed ears sticking out of the sides.

“I think I’ll leave those. See if they’ll get me a better price. Nothing I can do about the hair though,” Addershine muttered, running a few red locks through her fingers. “Except cut it off, I suppose. But why bother? I think it adds to your charm.”

Normally, Elora would have agreed. She was pretty proud of her hair! But right now, the idea of it giving this crazy gnome even one gold piece extra was making her wish she’d set it on fire before she went to bed last night.

That aside, she was surprised to realise that she could still see and hear. Her senses didn’t seem to have been impeded at all by her new lack of a face. She could even still smell sawdust – though that might just have been her now. Her body still felt a little numb – but that might just have been because of a lack of the normal stuff, like body warmth, or a heart bea-Ack!

The elf was thrown from her reflections as her body was suddenly firmly flipped over, her tits hitting the table with a loud wooden Thunk. “Almost done, lassie! Just got to balance you out a bit.”

Balance her out? Balance her ho-Ooooooohhhh…

Warmth spread through her rear end like a sunbeam shining on her at just the right angle, heat and pleasure rushing straight up her spine. Again, she found herself sinking into the sensation, the otherwise empty feeling of numbness from the rest of her body amplifying the effects of the sap, her mind forced to bubble with delight…

Until it was all finally over.

“There we go!” Addershine slapped her massively inflated ass happily, sending another spike of pleasure straight through the Sorceress’s entire being. “Now there’s a trunk you can put some junk in! Wonderful. Now you’re ready for the real trick.”

The real trick? What was that supposed to mean?

“Now this is what really separates my genius from the Sorcerers of old,” the gnome was saying, moving around the table. El heard the sound of a drawer opening, and some clutter being moved, but as she was unable to turn her head, she couldn’t really look around. “The thing that makes my technique unique and superior. Feast your… face, one this!”

Something was shoved in front of her. Something gold. A… key? Yes, a wind-up key. Taking a moment, Elora recognised it as similar to the one that Addershine had used for the Eva doll, the one she’d used to wind her up. She’d ignored it at the time, but now she was forced to take a closer look, she had to admit the design was rather elegant. The gold was engraved into magical rune patterns, and the entire thing was clearly built around a gem that had been set into the centre of the handle. A black diamond, El thought – one that glowed with inner light.

“Recognise it?” The gnome continued. “This is your friends key, old 37’s. But this one…” The first key drew back, and another waved in front of the wooden elf’s face. “This one is yours.”

It was a key very similar to the first one, though instead of a black diamond, this one housed only plain glass. Something more important than a game of spot the difference was bothering the Sorceress, though.

Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going to put that?!

Alas, Addershine couldn’t hear her protesting thoughts. She just stroked the glass bauble fondly. “Now this little beauty is the important part. The soul tap. Mostly my own design. You see, I’ve taken the idea of those old crystals wizards used to trap people’s souls in, and updated them for the new era! Now my key can suck the soul and mind out of anything as quick as you like! It works on the spiritual plane, so it’ll slide into anyone. Tricky part is getting anyone to hold still long enough to use it, but still, impressive, right?”

… Well I can see where this is going already.

“Not just that – naturally, I’ve designed the crystal itself to act as a suitable housing for the mind and soul. It’ll shape them into a properly servile state, perfect for their new lives as dolls.”

That’s not even smart. It’s just basic soul gem manipulation. I was taught all this when I was half your height!

“Then, once the bond is complete, you just plug the key in, give it a twist, and it reunites the soul with the old body! In a much more obedient form, of course.”

That’s basically just a golem core you scammer bitch! Ugh, I can’t believe I’m getting golemed by a complete idi-

“But why don’t you see for yourself?”

Click!

Elora felt the key slide into her back, and felt pleasure slide into her soul. Her complaints withered instantly, her entire being reduced to a quivering tension as the key began to wind. Slowly, steadily, the pull began, a suction trying to draw her essence, draw her, out of her wooden body and down into a glittering gem.

Instinctively, she wanted to resist… But it felt so good…

One twist!

Ngh!

Spiritually, the elf’s eyes rolled up in her head, biting her metaphorical lip to try to keep control. She could feel the tension spreading through her, trying to erode her grip. The pull felt so nice, so pleasant and gentle after

Part of her was already slipping, had been sucked down the golden path towards the soul tap. It was like dipping her toes in a hotspring at just the right temperature, the bubbles tickling her feet as the steam soaked her muscles.

Even though she knew better, the feeling made it so much harder to hold on…

Two twists!

Huah!

More of her gave way. Her grip on her body, her anchors to herself, were all steadily slipping away from her, hold loosening, threads snapping. Nearly half of her had been drained already, and the suction was only getting stronger. She needed to fight to resist, give everything she had to buy even just another second!

But it was hard. So much of her didn’t want to. She was sinking. She was sinking into a pool of pure delight, already in up to her waist and sliding deeper by the second. The only thing stopping her was herself – was her knowledge that if she let this thing win, if she let herself be consumed by the soul tap, then she might never get out again, then she might spend an eternity in unthinking bliss and what was so wrong with-?!?

Three twists!

Oh!

That was the last coherent thought Elora the Sorceress really managed before the pull became too much, and her soul was wrenched from her body, sucked down the key in her back and funnelled into the soul tap gem at its core. It was not the most profound of statements, but no one was really listening anyway.

The gem thrummed, turning a pleasant ruby red as the soul inside settled and conformed to its new nature. Gems didn’t think. Didn’t feel. Didn’t know. So neither did the soul within it. She simply drifted easily in its grasp – now more a pretty thing for display than a person. She existed in a state of blank contentment, undisturbed by the world beyond.

Naturally, the one who had converted her had no interest in leaving it at that. The gnome plucked the newly inhabited key from her doll-to-be’s back and examined it with a critical eye, clearly pleased by what she saw. “There we go. Now, you just wait there for a bit, lass. I’ll get this body of yours finished.”

The mindless key that Elora had become had nothing to say to that, even as she was propped up against the edge of a nearby desk. Nor did she have any comments or thoughts to make as Miss Addershine released the straps binding her wooden body, moving it over towards an automated device over in the corner of the room that boasted an impressive assortment of tools, hands, and nozzles – a very gnomish looking construction indeed, even if it was big enough to fit an orc.

It just existed, patiently, as the whir of sanders, buffers, screwdrivers, and paint sprayers filled the workspace. And it existed just the same, still swimming in bliss, as the sounds died down, and Addershine returned, carrying a familiar but different wooden figure…

“What do you think?” The answer, of course, was ‘nothing’, as the elf’s current state lacked the capacity for thought. But the gnome must have expected an answer, because she spent a long moment showing the new doll off to her key, circling around it to get a good view of every angle.

If Elora had been capable of having an opinion – one that wasn’t frothing with rage and curses, at least – she would have called the figure in front of her ‘Definitely creepy. And pretty unoriginal at this point, thanks.’ She’d seen this one before, after all – every time she’d seen one of Addershine’s dolls. The same flat, painted on face, with empty blue eyes and smiling ruby lips. The same massive curves, painted to be the colour of human skin. The same blocky, clunky limbs with all of their hinged joints. The only real difference was this one’s red hair, and the pointed ears poking through it.

“Yes, I’d say you turned out great! But let’s see how well you’ve settled…”

Grinning, the gnome swiped up the golden key and zipped around to the redheaded doll’s back, where her fingers traced a small wooden opening about half way up its torso. Eagerly, she slid the key into the hole, and…

One twist!

Energy thrummed, running down through the golden rune circuits and out into the wooden body that it had been connected into. Awareness slowly dawned on the soul as its senses returned, a dim kind of empty headedness that was just barely capable of following the commands that the runes engraved into it.

Attention.

Listen.

Obey.

The doll’s head steadily rose, life returning to its limbs. It stood stiffly, with its arms at its sides, face staring blankly forwards. It’s ears listened carefully for commands, but it heard none. Its creator was far too busy giving the key another spin.

Two twists!

The key turned again, and as it did, more of the energy in the key was released, flowing down and filling the body further. Light dawned as the mental presence inside the doll ascended into a basic kind of sentience – perfect for understanding instructions and carrying them out without simple terms and short tasks. It – She wasn’t capable of true creativity yet, of course, indeed, her brain was still rather empty and her thoughts pointedly sluggish, but with this second turn she made for a much more advanced servant.

Now the doll began to move, ever so subtly. Her joints twitched as her mind synchronised with them, grew into the doll she now was. She could sense her user, her creator, and her intent to continue winding her, and thus straightened her back, providing more grip to the key. She was soon rewarded.

Three twists!

Awareness switched on like a light behind the doll’s painted eyes-

“UnIt 41 OnLiNe AnD ReAdY FoR InStRuCtIoN! PlEaSe [Insert Your Name Here], NeW OwNeR!” Elora’s voice echoed through frozen lips, echoing with static from her throat.

- Awareness that had been shaped and moulded from its base level into complete and devoted obedience to the one who had turned her key. Though Elora’s skills and knowledge had been downloaded into the doll’s wooden head, her name and identity had not. They weren’t needed.

“No need for that just yet, Doll,” her creator - to whom she was devoted beyond even her key owner, her key told her – finally moved around in front of her, gracing her with instructions. “Just a quick test. Can you summon a fireball?”

“As YoU CoMmAnD, CrEaToR.” The doll nodded. There was an uncanniness to her tone, as if each word had been stitched together from unconnected syllables. In harsh, jerky motions, she raised one of her hands, easily conjuring an orb of flame over her smooth palm.

“Perfect! Though, don’t use that spell in here. Might set something alight…” The gnome clapped her hands. “Alright, 41, get your uniform on. I believe we have a sale to make.”

The doll obeyed without a moment’s complaint.

-

“Ah, right on time!” The crafter’s smile was as slick as any serpent’s. “Ready to have your socks blown off when you see what my spellcasting dolls can do?”

Tanya laughed as she entered the showroom, shaking her head. “Actually, Miss Addershine, I’m here to tell you that that won’t be necessary.”

The gnome blinked. “Oh? You changed your mind?” Her voice was uncertain.

“I have indeed.” The Paladin nodded, and then grinned. “I think we can skip all of that and get straight to the sale, don’t you?”

“Eh? Oh!” Addershine’s eyes widened, and her uncertainty melted into eager delight. “You want to jump straight to a sale! Well why didn’t you say so from the start?”

Tanya just chuckled. “I’m sorry, I thought I was being clear. Yes, I think what I’ve seen here has been more than enough. The Guild has already authorised me to set up a standing contract. Do you have an office here? I’d like to hammer out terms as quickly as possible. I have a companion to chase after, and the sooner I get started the better.”

“Oh, right, yes, I wondered where your elf had gotten off to,” the gnome mumbled, far more interested in the promise of gold than feigning concern. “But of course, just right through here. I didn’t expect the Guild to send a Paladin for these kinds of arrangements…”

“My parents were accountants,” Tay explained as she followed Addershine down a cramped hallway, into an office that was definitely designed with gnomes in mind. Brown filing cabinets lined the right wall, with the right being taken up by a secure looking safe, while blueprints pasted up like posters over every bit of free space, and somehow there was just enough room for a table and chairs in the middle of it all. “You know how it is. I don’t think they’ve ever forgiven me for deciding to follow the light instead of taking a position at the family firm.”

The gnome nodded in understanding as she squeezed around the office and into a chair. “Ha, I know how it is alright. My old folks were politicians down in Gragany…”

Tanya winced in sympathy. “My deepest sympathies.”

“Ah, it’s alright, I don’t speak with them anymore. Now, let’s talk about something less boring – like contracts!” Addershine pulled open a filing cabinet, leafing through various sheafs of papers. “I think we can work out an arrangement where I supply the Guild with 3 dolls a month for a fee of fifty thousand gold pieces…”

“Annually?”

“Oh no, monthly.” The gnome grinned. “My services aren’t cheap, my dear. But that’s the price of quality!”

The blonde chuckled at that. “I suppose I can’t argue. Very well, my signature should be enough to validate the paperwork.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Addershine handed over the contract, and watched with gleaming eyes as Tanya signed. “You’re making a good decision here, my Lady. Once you start staffing your Guild halls with my dolls, why, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without them.”

“I’m sure,” Tay nodded, handing the contract back. “We can work out the shipping and such later.”

“Yes, yes,” the gnome agreed easily, holding the paper like it was literally made of gold. With fingers so quick they might well have been dancing, she pulled open the safe, raising the contract to slide it in quickly – only to freeze in place. Her body wouldn’t move. Well, most of her body. “The hell?!”

A gauntlet covered hand reached past her, grabbing a good dozen or so files and pulling them out of the safe, spreading them all out on the table. “Sorry for the Light Bind,” Tanya said with a smile, already reading. “I just thought you might object to me taking a look at these… Ohh, now that’s definitely illegal. Are these your real records?”

“The hells do you think you’re doing?” The gnome snarled, red eyes flashing as she struggled against the chains of light that held her frozen in place. “Those are private documents!”

“Mm, those are usually the ones you want to read… Oh, that wasn’t my real signature, by the way. And I’m not authorised to make such expensive purchases for the guild even if it was. But what have we here! Miss Addershine, trading with the Darklands too? Really? Did you have to save gold that badly?” The blonde tsked, skimming through another file and picking up a third.

“You…!”

She was ignored. “And… Ah, here we go. What records are these supposed to be? Unit 39 – Human Warrior, black hair – sounds like Eva Darkmine to me. Unit 24 – Dwarven Alchemist, purple hair – you know, we have a Katalin Greenspear in the Guild who fits that description. Went missing in this area a year ago. Unit 40 – Human Monk, green hair… That’ll be Tyra Peleck, she was only with us for a few weeks, I felt quite bad about that one. And Unit 41.” Cold eyes rose from the paperwork to stare at the paralysed gnome. “Elven Sorceress. Red hair.”

She released the paper, letting it drift down to the table, and used her now free hand to unsheathe her sword.

“It's a shame, really,” she said, examining the sharp edge of the weapon with a casual indifference that didn’t match the rage in her eyes. “She was the one who was suspicious about you, but it was only some small issues. If you’d left her alone, we might have missed what you were up to. But as soon as I heard that stupid line about her rushing off without me in the middle of the night, I knew you’d taken her.”

The Paladin rose to her feet, towering over the frozen gnome. “And now you’re going to give her back. Or I’m going to start breaking my vows to the Light. Understand?”

A lie, yeah, you didn’t get to be a Paladin if you would break your vows that easily, but an intimidating lie. Those were allowed.

And it was clearly working. Addershine was sweating, eyeing Tanya’s unsheathed sword with a nervous gaze. But then her expression changed. An idea had occurred to her.

“Oh, you want her?” The gnome smirked. “Why didn’t you say so? Unit 41! Come defend me already!”

There was a heavy thud from outside the office, and Tay groaned. Great, it was going to be one of those days…

She didn’t wait to be ambushed in the tiny room. Shouldering her way out through the door, into the corridor, she soon saw what was coming for her. An all too familiar doll, clunky, curvy body wrapped up in a red uniform – but this one had red hair and pointed ears behind its painted smile.

“I don’t suppose you’ll go easy on me?” Tay asked, kicking the door to the office shut behind her.

The answer was a blast of cold, a wave of ice shooting through the corridor and covering everything in jagged icicles. She barely got her shield up in time to deflect the attack.

“Figures,” the blonde muttered, shaking frost off her armour and straightening up. “Still, if it was the real El, that would have been a fire bolt. Maybe you’re going easy on me after all.”

Then she charged.

That was the key thing when dealing with spell casters. They were at their most dangerous when they had some distance to protect them. You didn’t need to have sharp aim to hit a target with a spell, unlike a bow and arrow, so having range only made them more dangerous. The closer you got to them, the more difficulty they had preparing spells, too.

Although that wasn’t necessarily a guarantee, Tay realised as she slashed at the doll, only for her sword to be deflected by a swat from a wooden hand. Dolls, as it turned out, were a fair bit tougher than your regular breed of spell slinger. And she couldn’t fight nearly as well in such tight quarters…

Very well then.

“You always have to make these things difficult,” she grunted as she slammed her shield forwards into the doll’s belly, lining her shoulder up behind it and pushing forward. The El-Doll was strong, yes, and definitely heavy too, but Tanya made her living walking around in heavy armour and swinging her sword through even heavier armour. A bull rush was something she was more than capable of!

The force of her charge lifted the doll off of her feet and sent them both barrelling down the hallway, only coming to a stop when the two crashed through the door into the workshop. That was the goal - finally getting their fight out of the small corridor, and giving the Paladin much more room to work with. Now the terrain wasn’t wildly imbalanced in the El-doll’s favour.

Though, that clearly wasn’t going to hold the doll back as she sprang back to her feet, launching a sequence of lightning bolts from her palm that Tanya only just barely managed to dodge. She could feel the heat from the air as the spells passed her by, and knew she couldn’t afford to take a hit from one. But how was she supposed to stop this doll without hurting her friend?

Suddenly a tangle of roots grew up from the floor, seizing around her legs and dragging her to the ground as she was caught mid-motion. “Wha- Hey! I thought you said you didn’t know that spell!”

“SoRrY [Insert Name Here],” the doll spoke in a stilted mockery of Elora’s voice. “YoU ArE NoT A ReGiStErEd UsEr, CrEaToR, Or KeY WeIlDeR. QuErY HaS BeEn DiScArDeD!”

“… Okay, fine, you were right, that is just creepy!” Tanya snarled as she sliced through the trail of roots around her feet and rolled to the side, dodging past another wave of ice.

But wait – that was it! The key! She could see it still embedded in the El-doll’s back, turning ever so slowly. If she could reach that thing, maybe she could deactivate the doll, or even gain control of her herself. It was an awkward idea, but it was better than actually stabbing her, right?

She made her play, dashing in again and feinting to the right, before swerving left at the last second. El had never been good at predicting that kind of move, and her doll fell for just the same trap. In a flash, the Paladin was behind her, reaching for the key.

“Okay, let’s see if-ngh!”

Click!

Her hand stopped an inch short, locked in place as something pressed into the small of her back. A strange sensation shot through her – a pleasant one, but one that stole all sense of motion from her body, leaving just the faint phantom of pleasure. Straining with everything she had, she managed to move her chin just enough to look down. There, behind her…

“Looking for a key, my Lady?” The silver haired gnome sneered up at her, red eyes flaring with anger. In her hands, she held a golden key, just like the one Tanya had been reaching for – only, this one had just been shoved into her back, not Elora’s. “Here, have one of mine!”

Damnit! She’d lost focus on maintaining the binding spell. She’d been so distracted fighting El that-

One twist!

“Huah!” A gasp burst from her lungs as the key twisted, and she felt her soul twist with it. Hot pleasure rippled through her, tendrils of it spreading out through her entire body. Her sword slipped from suddenly numb fingers, and her shield clinked as it dropped to rest against the floor.

Screwing her eyes up in concentration, she tried to push past the strange feeling, but her tongue stumbled on the words. “What are you- Wha…”

Two twists!

“Guh!” Her knees hit the floor with a metallic thud. Something was… Something was wrong, but she… she couldn’t think… Her thoughts were so clouded, half formed… Every time she tried to move, to plan, to act, her motivation would just drain away, out through her back, and she’d find herself just blankly staring at nothing.

Something was wrong, but she couldn’t… She couldn’t…

Three twists!

“…” This time Tanya was silent as her soul was drawn out of her body, sucked away into a small gem that turned a golden, glowing white. The Paladin remained slumped on her knees, her eyes empty, drool starting to pour from slack lips. The key in her back ceased turning, its job done.

And behind her, the silver haired gnome wiped her brow with relief. “Phew. Wasn’t sure that’d work.” She flicked the key. “Never got one of these babies to work on an untreated person before. Glad to know my latest improvements finally got me there! This’ll speed up my work a bunch!”

Naturally, neither the doll nor the Paladin had anything to say to that. In their keys, two gems thrummed with gold and red light.

Addershine studied them both carefully, considering. “Actually… You know, this gives me a great opportunity to upgrade my entire production line! You two wait here – I’ve got some work to do.

“UnDeRsToOd!” Unit 41 chimed, saluting as her key continued to wind down.

Tanya didn’t say anything. Just drooled.

The crafter nodded, retreating back into the other half of her workshop, pulling tools off the walls and gathering materials in a frenzy. A gnome struck by inspiration was a powerful thing, and woe betide anyone who tried to stand in her way. Grinning, hammer in hand, the silver haired menace descended on the automatic doll-o-matic device over in the corner. Previously she’d only used it to sand off rough edges, install proper joints, and apply a proper coating of paint, but if she could pull off a complete overhaul of the paint system, then she could save herself even more time…!

And time passed. Unit 41 slumped a little, still saluting, as she finally wound down. Tanya didn’t budge. And the two keys continued to shine, left to their own devices…

Right up until the gnome grabbed the key in Tanya’s back, and gave it half a twist before pulling it out.

Dim awareness rushed back into the Paladin’s head – but it was a confused kind, not entirely of its own mind. It was an emptyheaded sensation she was entirely unused to, and unsure what to do with. Thus, when she received instructions, she followed them, simply out of having nothing better to do.

“Alright, pre-42, on your feet and out of all of that armour. Let’s get you sorted out.”

Blankly, the blonde rose up off of her knees, her fingers already fumbling with her fastenings and buckles. Over the course of a few minutes – with a little assistance from the gnome – she divested herself of all of her silver armour, along with the underclothes she wore beneath, leaving herself completely naked.

“There we go. Now, off with you.” Addershine slapped the Paladin’s bare ass. “Into the machine you go.”

Again, there was nothing in Tay’s head to say otherwise. So, mindlessly, she marched forward, straight into the machine.

It took hold of her instantly, mechanical hands reaching out to position her legs like so, her arms thusly, and positioned her head so that it was looking directly forwards. One last hand reached down from above, lifting her hair up over her head. Then the nozzles descended, and began to spray her up and down with a clear, sticky liquid.

The scent of the forest filled the workshop.

Slowly, the blonde’s body began to stiffen. Steadily, her skin darkened, becoming harder, limbs turning thicker as she began to turn to solid wood. And where the nozzles spent extra time, paying additional attention, her body grew as well, her breasts and ass each getting their own nozzle to boost her proportions to proper doll level, while her face was reduced to a smooth surface.

It was quick work, and before long the Paladin had been transformed into a blank faced wooden statue of herself. Addershine paused the process there, giving her work a look over – and showing it off to the golden white key in her hands – before nodding, letting the system resume.

From here, the doll-o-matic went to work. Sanders and buffers slid in from the sides, starting at the statues feet and moving upwards, making sure every surface was smooth and shiny. Below them came the various tools and mechanical parts to insert hinges, granting the Paladin doll the capacity for movement once more. And then after that came the nozzles once again, now reconfigures to spray paint instead of sap.

Steadily, the natural dark oak of wood was smoothed, shined, and painted a more human shade. That continued upwards as well, rendering the doll-to-be completely uniform. Only then did a stencil drop from above, slapping itself over her smooth face. At that point, more colours were applied – ruby red for the lips, shining white for the teeth and eyes, diamond blue for the irises, and black for all the detailing.

Finally, a circular array of heated lowered down from the ceiling, rolling a wave of hot, drying energy over the construct from top to bottom, and then bottom to top on the way back up.

There was a quiet ding. The machine was done.

“Alright. Let’s see how you turned out. Come on 42, come stand over here.”

The doll – now Unit 42 – stepped out of the machine and marched stiffly over to stand next to Unit 41.

“And salute.”

“UnDeRsToOd.” A canned parody of Tanya’s voice echoed from smiling lips as the doll saluted – just in time for the last of her energy to wind down. She slumped, her body sagging in place, right next to her sister doll – taking exactly the same pose.

The same bodies. The same proportions. The same fixed smiles. The same salutes. The only difference between the two dolls was their hair – still fiery curly red on one, and long, smooth blonde on the other. In every other way, the pair were identical.

“Perfect…” The gnome rubbed her hands together in glee. “Oh, perfect, absolutely perfect! This is going to speed up doll production so much! Oooh, you were trouble, but in the end you’ve helped me out a ton! Ha, it’s nice to have things around me going right for a change!”

The two dolls just smiled.

-

“How the hells did it all go so wrong so quickly?!” The gnome clung to the top of her shipping crate, fingers digging into the wood like her life depended on it. “It was like they knew everything already!”

“I know, right? So weird.” Below her a familiar minotaur was peddling away at the front of a very experimental delivery cart that had not been through a full rigorous round of testing yet, but was holding up surprisingly well as it charged down these old country back-roads. “They just showed up at the Inn asking about that Paladin lady who was here a few days back. I told them what you told me to say, and then they just got really mad…”

“Ugh.” Addershine grimaced. “That stupid blonde must have sent them a warning. Maybe she was smarter than I thought. Those two were nothing but trouble!”

“I thought you said they really helped you improve your-?”

“Just keep driving!” The gnome ducked under a tree branch. “If we can get to the next city before they alert the guard, we should be able to take an airship and lose them on the next continent. It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine! I’ve been set back before. It’ll take more than a few angry Adventurers to take down Amanda Addershi-Watch out for that curve!”

“Oop!” The minotaur pulled hard on the steering, just barely managing to keep the cart on the road as it pulled around a tight corner. The force of it nearly threw both gnome and crate free, but miraculously, they all stayed on board rather than crashing down the side of the mountain. “I got it, I got it!”

“See that you do…” The crafter huffed, trying to reposition herself. “I’ll handle the rest. After all,” she muttered, hand brushing against the bag at her side – the one that contained two very special golden keys, “I have all the help I need.”

In the crate, two blankly smiling dolls rolled and bounced with the road, their heads occasionally knocking together, producing a hollow, wooden sound. They had no complaint about their rough treatment – one that was likely to get rougher, if the stories people told about how airship cargo was treated – nor did they mind the criminal who had transformed them planning to use them to reestablish her schemes elsewhere. Nothing really mattered to their empty heads – they were just a pair of life-size dolls, toy soldiers with no wills or desires of their own.

But at least, for the moment, they were still together, and despite it all, they still felt some degree of satisfaction in the fact.

And what could be creepy about that?