Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of Ravensway, dappling the forest shades of green and gold. Bees large as a man's fist darted in and out of the flowery boughs above. It was a pretty sight, at least for the first mile. But Kai had been walking for at least ten miles and the whole affair was a slog. The boy didn't really like equines given his current condition. In a strange way they felt like peers. It could be him pulling a plow some day, after all. Already the magic was fading from the phial of blood around his neck, enchanted some weeks ago to keep Kai human.
Now where was the Guardian's Glade? And why were elves always so damned cryptic? Obviously magical beasts and the like had no use for trails and signs, but the druid could've offered some land mark. A knotty tree? A big rock? Walk the woods and the Guardian shall find you. Should have known it was horse shit! But how else was he to find a unicorn?
The young adventurer was just rounding a bend when he heard a shriek, followed by a cacophony of snarls and yips. Through the brush he spied a young woman, clad in leaves, with three shaggy black wargs not far behind!
***
The alpha was dead. His left forepaw was mangled, and his chest a cauterized wound. The pack had scattered. Kai ran a cloth up and down his still warm blade, turning attention to the wood nymph who sat huddled beneath her leafy robe. He helped her up.
"Oh you brave, brave boy..." she gave a fluttery sigh. This was followed up by a coy smile as she pressed herself into his arms, "How ever can I repay my noble rescuer? My daring knight errant?"
Color flushed to Kai's ears at the attention. The young man darted back at her advance. "Um, oh! You don't happen to know where I can find the Guardian's Glade, do you? I need to find a unicorn. I have this curse, you see..." It was embarrassing to explain.
"Oh you poor, poor beast. I see it all now. Clear as a mountain stream and the moon of midsummer's eve. Why it shan't be trouble at all to remove such a petty charm! Such is the least I could do..."
"Y-you're welcome to try. No human wizards haven been able to, you know..."
The nymph reached forward, tracing her fingers down his cheek. Kai was expecting a magic apple. Kissing a pretty faerie wouldn't be such a bad way to break the enchantment. Except no kiss came. The nymph wrapped her fingers around Kai's phial. And before he could so much as protest she tore it from his neck. "Wait!" He tried to stop her, to grab it, but she vanished in a flurry of leaves and petals.
A telltale itch spread across Kai's backside. Shit shit shit. His spine cracked and twisted, forcing him to the forest floor. He tried to push himself up, but found his fingers numb and unresponsive. Black hooves had replaced his hands and russet fur was sprouting from his spasming forearms. Kai heard the sickening crunch of bone, but was relieved to feel only the tickle of pins and needles. Now on four equine legs now and the change was migrating from his extremities to his core. It felt like he was being strangled as his coat and silk shirt were straining against muscle, fat, and viscera. With all his might he strained his neck to see just what was happening back there, though he already had some idea of the damage. Nonetheless, Kai's head wouldn't move that way. And soon the tickle of change crept up his neck which lengthened and thickened. The boy's vision momentarily blacked as his face rearranged itself. And in the span of a minute the young man was replaced with an ass.
"Please! I need that necklace!" the transformed man trotted in a circle, trying to shake off the last vestiges of clothing. The forest floor was now littered with trampled rations, shredded clothing, and enchanted weaponry. It made quite a stir.