These areas are part of a long, low brick building with a leaky tile roof. The outer doors are split into upper halves and lower halves. They are closed when the PCs arrive, but not locked. The inner doors are narrower and are latched shut. They can be broken down (with normal open doors rolls) or unlatched from the hallways running from area 5. Each 10-foot stall has a manger filled with rotting hay, an empty water trough, and rotting straw on the floor.
Near the southwest corner, three stalls (marked with Xs) each contain a pair of neglected mules. The animals are hungry and thirsty. If they hear anyone speaking or moving outside their stalls or opening doors nearby, they bray loudly. The mules have been here about a week; the genies captured them in a raid and plan to sell them as soon as they can spare a jann to take them to a city. The mephits from area 7 are supposed to feed and water them, but they don't do so very often. The mules hate mephits and kick or bite anything that even vaguely resembles them. (Most PCs don't have to worry.) Unfortunately, they associate the smell of wine with mephits, and will kick or bite a character who was splashed in area 2.
The party can quiet the mules by giving them water and feeding them. There is water in the pool in area 6 and grain and fodder in the granaries (area 5). If fed and watered, the mules become friendly (except toward characters who remind them of mephits).
A speak with animals spell reveals the following:
• "We were walking through the rocks and carrying a lot of heavy stuff when flying things attacked. We couldn't smell anything, but we saw horses running through the air and things falling. There was a lot of noise—hoofbeats, shouting, and thunder."
• "The tall men on the air horses put halters on our humans and led them away."
• "We ran away, but a mean red horse herded us here."
• "Some awful bird men sometimes feed us, but not very often. Once in a while one of the tall men feeds us and talks to us. They told us that they own us now, and we should tell them if the bird men hurt us."
The mules are describing an attack by the jann and efreet. The "tall men" were jann, who can speak with animals naturally. The "mean red horse" was a polymorphed efreeti who rounded them up and brought them here. The "awful bird men" are the mephits. The mules call them that because they have big noses, like beaks, and wings. If the PCs ask, the mules tell them the bird men don't have feathers.
Now that is how you handle Speak with Animals; there are no Disney-esque antics for those short of attention span here.
