Bregg screamed in pain as he hit the ground. The wizard hadn't looked very strong, but with his own limbs crippled, it wouldn't have taken much to pull him to the floor. For a brief moment, Bregg considered fighting his way to his feet, but when his first attempt reminded him of his shattered shoulder, he stayed on the floor.

Before his vision could clear from the pain, an object fell to the floor in front of him, emitting a mockery of a man's screaming as it did. As it hit the ground, Bregg could just make out the shrunken form of Willum, who hadn't fought the half-minotaur, now smaller than a mouse. Even having just watched the elf shrink the only other member of the Scarlet Company stuck in this backwater town with his own eyes, it was unreal to see the man tumbling in free fall, and landing roughly in front of him.

"I will permit you another chance to answer my question, pest." The wizard said with the same unperturbed demeanor. "Have you seen any other of a like-stature to your friend here?"

Before Bregg could answer, the elf's open-toed boot cast a shadow over Willum, and quickly descended to pin Willum to the ground under the flat sole of the boot's toe.

"The vermin I'm seeking would be about this size, although, I'd imagine he'd be even less composed than your friend. It is possible he'd even be in someone else's custody." The elf said.

Stunned, Bregg could only watch as the boot slowly pressed down, prompting new screams from Willum.

"I don't know what you're on about!" Bregg shouted. "I didn't see no little man! Never!"

"So it is common practice for vermin like you to mutilate your own limbs?" The elf asked. "I find it hard to believe that you have seen nothing of note recently."

Willum had almost disappeared under the boot, Bregg could see the elf's toes, and Willum's screaming had been joined by the faintest sound of cracking, like small twigs breaking.

"Wait! Wait! There weren't no little man, but…" Bregg shouted. He was relieved to see the sole's slow descent pause.

"Yes?" The elf prompted.

"The half-breed met with someone! Someone tall, didn't want to talk to the half-breed inside, took her out to the stables, tall, almost like you but with a hood!" Bregg screamed.

"And why do you think I'd care about these half-breeds you speak of?" The wizard said, her foot resuming it's painfully slow crushing.

"The one with the hood was half-elf!" Bregg screamed. "I'm sure of it!"

The wizard's foot stopped.

"Well that is a revelation. Perhaps I should look into these half-breeds." Said the wizard. "Where are they now?"

"The city! They took off yesterday morning for the city." Bregg said, relieved that Willum wasn't being actively crushed.

"Very good." Said the wizard.

There was no warning as her boot's toe dropped, as though Willum's body hadn't been in the way, the shrunken man didn't even have time to scream. The boot's toe had closed less than a couple of fingers width to the floor. A brief crunch and squish, with a spurt of red goo hitting Bregg's cheek was all that signified Willum's end. 

Bregg was too stunned to even move when the elf wiped what remained of Willum off of her sole on Bregg's face with a few rough strokes. Each pass of her footwear left a streak of red along the side of Bregg's face and head.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” The elf said. “A gift for the vermin who learned to be useful.”

Everything hurt, but Bregg winced at he felt the tip of the cane dig into his shattered limb. Almost immediately the pain in his broken limbs changed to a new kind of pain, like a fire raging through him.

Bregg had just screamed when the pain subsided. For a moment, in the relief of the absence of pain, Bregg was almost thankful. He could move his arms and legs without pain. The wizard had already walked away, and Bregg's outstretched hand, reaching toward her looked unfamiliar.

There were no fingers, no hand, no arm, just a mass of writhing things. A bunch of slimy tentacles that seemed to mind his will, even if poorly. Bregg propped himself up on his new . . . arms and glanced down to his legs, only to see the same tentacles spreading from his hips.

Bregg didn't scream a thank you, but he did scream.