The sound of claws tapping against the neat marble floor echoes through the halls as Faolan makes their way through the palace. They were informed that they were due an audience with one of their councilmen today and, while Faolan didn’t quite know why, they didn’t really mind. The kobold didn’t have much planned for the day anyways, and this could prove to make it a bit more eventful.

As they approach the large wooden double doors, the guards open them up simultaneously, allowing the royal kobold to enter the massive throne room. They gesture at the guards to signal their thanks, and approach the throne. They help themselves up and wiggle until they’re comfortable upon the throne and, once they’re properly seated, smile widely. This part never gets old.

It doesn’t take long for the doors to open once more, this time allowing Fussel – Faolan’s loyal advisor – to enter the room. They bow neatly, before taking their place next to the throne. Once the doors are closed again, Fussel takes the time to properly greet Faolan, rather than just keeping it at the bow.

“Morning, Fao.”

Faolan chuckles at the skunk’s casual greeting and reciprocates.

“Morning, Fussel. Any exciting news?”

The skunk seems lost in thought for a second before shaking his head.

“Not really. Though I suppose we do have that audience with Hase later today.”

Faolan nods.

“Do you know what that’s about, perhaps?” They ask.

“Not quite. Supposedly the guards intercepted a suspicious gift.”

The doors suddenly open once more, this time not by the hands of the guards, but instead by the paws of Hase, the rabbit prince. They smile and neatly bow, before closing the doors behind them and approaching the throne, and joining the conversation.

“Indeed, rather suspicious. Behold!”

From behind their back, the prince reveals a stone tablet. It's a solid ashen gray, decorated with off-white painted carvings, scribbles and symptoms. Hase holds out the stone tablet with a somewhat hesitant look. Immediately, Faolan's gaze is drawn to the foreign object, their curiosity peaked by their interest in artifacts.

“The tablet was placed in the gift deposit, addressed personally to you, Faolan. No discernible sender or place of origin”, Hase says.

Faolan raises an eyebrow before tracing one of the symbols with their fingerclaw, much to the dismay of both Fussel and Hase.

“Need I remind you that we have no clue where this stone is from or who sent it? We don't even know what it does, for all we know it's some dark magical artifact meant to-” Fussel begins, before being interrupted by Faolan.

“Or, for all we know, it's just a rock painted by some child from the village. These scribbles and carvings don't look particularly… How do I put it…”

“Professional?” Hase adds.

“Exactly!” Faolan says. The kobold grabs the tablet out of Hase's paws and holds it up in the light to inspect it more closely.

“Fascinating. The symbols seem rather incoherent and almost decorative. But… there are also genuine runes carved upon the stone.” 

“What do they say?” Fussel asks, still very visibly distrusting of the tablet.

“Hmm… let me try and translate,” Faolan responds as they trace the runes with their fingerclaw. 

“With a... Twist and a swirl… the mind shall… unfurl?”

Hase and Fussel flinch, fearing that Faolan's spoken translation would activate the tablet as if it were some kind of spell. However, that doesn't happen. The stone tablet remains mysteriously motionless in Faolan's grip.

“With a twist and a swirl…” the Kobold mumbles as they flip around the tablet, looking for some more discernible runes or carvings on the tablet's backside. Absentmindedly, they continue to trace the runes and symbols with their fingerclaw.

As their claw swirls around, eyes tracing over the tablet, the runes suddenly begin to faintly glow. Faolan stares at the tablet in fascination, and as they look on, the symbols on the tablet begin to move. The spiral-like carvings start to swirl inwards, the glow nearly projecting onto Faolan’s face.

Neither Hase nor Fussel seem to notice anything as Faolan’s mind begins to unravel. The spiral pulses and pulls their direction inwards, and their thoughts come to a slow, crawling halt. The symbols and runes glow in a strobing fashion, and with it, a gentle fog drapes over the royal Kobold’s mind. They can’t help but stare deeper, feeling themselves becoming more and more relaxed, their breathing slowing down.

In Faolan’s mind, the tablet flattens and grows, the white spiral spreading outwards until it fills the entirety of the tablet, yet it doesn’t seem satisfied with that either. It doesn’t take long for the white-and-gray spiral to warp beyond the edges of the carrying tablet, nearly becoming all-enveloping in both power and size. Faolan’s transfixion turns into utter enthrallment as they continue to stare into the spiral, letting it become the sole object of focus in the room.

“Do… do you see this...?” Faolan mutters, having to use almost all of the strength in their body to even bring themselves to speak. “It’s so beautiful…”

Hase and Fussel exchange a look, only now noticing how their king is suddenly acting a little strange. Immediately, Hase reaches out for the tablet and snatches it from Faolan’s paws. The kobold hardly reacts to the theft, still seeing the spiral twist and swirl within their mind’s eye.

“That’s enough of that. Let me take a look at that tablet…” Hase says. As they hold the tablet, they, too, notice how the tablet starts gently glowing. Their facial expression loosens up as they let out an emotionless “oh”, before letting their body go slack, struggling to stand upwards. All of their energy and focus is diverted to two things – staring into the gorgeous spiral, swirling into their mind, and remaining upright.

“Yeah… you’re right… it’s gorgeous…” Hase says, willingly giving the tablet back to Faolan as a mindless smile forms on their face.

Once Faolan is holding onto the tablet again, their eyes immediately shift to Fussel, who is just standing there, unsure how to handle the way the prince and the king are acting. They can’t help but feel bad for the skunk, who is completely aware of just how… [i]gorgeous[/i] the tablet really is.

Fussel seems to notice Faolan’s intent in their eyes, the skunk taking a few steps backwards as he tries to lull the situation. “Okay, haha, I get it. It’s a pretty tablet. Let’s put the thing down, shall we…?” He nervously asks, backing away a bit more until he suddenly feels himself walking against something soft and fluffy.

Hase, the prince, has wrapped around the skunk, and is now holding them in place. Faolan immediately sees their opportunity and – wobbly from the trance – stands up from their throne, marching towards the detained councilman.

“Look…” Faolan mumbles, holding out the stone tablet, making sure it’s pushed right in front of the skunk’s eyes. Fussel tries to struggle his way out of Hase’s embrace, but the rabbit is quick to react, putting their paw underneath the skunk’s chin and redirecting his gaze into the tablet. Within seconds, he stops struggling and goes limp in Hase’s arms, his mind also enraptured by the spiraling tablet.

With the three now completely under the spell of the spiral, they soon find themselves standing mindlessly in the throne room. It doesn’t take long for the three to feel the effects of the spiral intensify. At first, it’s the foggy, hazy, relaxation that grows stronger and stronger. But eventually, the warmth begins to take hold.

The heat of the hypnotic control grows and grows, becoming more powerful and debilitating, the sheer idea of wearing clothes a nuisance. The spiral demands them to be naked, and Faolan is the first to oblige. They are the king, after all, so maybe his loyal councilmen will follow suit.

It doesn’t take long for the king to have disrobed completely, standing nude in the throne room, and watching their councilmen hesitate to obey simply won’t do. They move over towards the prince and try to help them out of their clothes to, but as they do so, they let go of the tablet which falls to the ground and it shatters upon impact.

Immediately, the three blink and shoot back to full awareness, noticing Faolan’s state of undress simultaneously. The Kobold blushes and quickly reaches for their robes, scrambling to sit back down upon their throne with a flustered look.

“Let’s… let’s forget that happened, shall we? Maybe we should enact a more strict policy on gifts for the near future.” Hase says.

Faolan thinks for a second, and eventually nods.

“Yeah. Y-yeah, I think that’s smart. That’s a good idea.”

The chances of them getting a similar hypnotic artifact again anytime soon are pretty low anyways… right?