FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A hole laid in the middle of the forest dug meticulously by a crew of hired claws from a local town. There hadn't been any trees to clear away and the stone that had been jutting from the center had turned out to be the mossed-over top of a temple of some sort. The stone beneath the ground had been nearly perfectly preserved without any chips or scratches except for dirt here and there. Those who had found it first even brought digits over the material and nothing crumbled, nothing broke at all. They dared not go inside of the temple for the symbols that had been embedded in the stone looked similar to the markings of the church of Balance. The God and Goddess sigils danced along the sidewall but with an odd twist to them that made them look like something else entirely. Though there were a few that were eager to explore the innard of the temple, the founders of the site and the majority of the team wanted to send a message by a magic bird to the church that something that might interest them. It wasn't even a day before the church replied that they would be sending someone to investigate and that they were thankful that the diggers had told them of this discovery. It was only another day before the church's chosen had arrived at the town and soon enough, he was standing at the edge of the dig site. The priest was a young rabbit with soft grey fur teetering on blue with amber eyes touched by a few lines beneath it betraying his youth. He wore a long coat of deep olive with a mantle around his shoulders clasped by the symbol of the church.

"So, you see, we unearthed this building with odd markings along one of the walls and we thought to send word to the church." Said one of the diggers flanking the priest's side.

Devan looked to the digger, a mature feline with a clear strength in her bare arms with her head bowed toward him despite the fact she was taller and older. It was odd to see her inclining her head to him and so he spoke plainly with a small smile, "Raise your head ma'am. You did right by calling on the church to investigate such a place. Such diligence should be commended. Besides that, it makes me feel awkward to have anyone bowing to me."

The feline's ears twitched as she raised her head and cleared her throat, "Pardon me, brother. I figured it would only be right to be polite to one of your station."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that, "I am nothing more than a wanderer who has been ordained and trained by the church to seek. We are all equal here." The smile on his face then shrunk a bit as he turned his attention back to the dig site and sighed, "Though, I understand that some folk enjoy their titles more than others and I apologize if any have taken advantage of said titles to garner undue attention or favor."

"You are much too humble and perhaps too kind. We only give our respect because we wish to but I see your attention is back on what we have unearthed. Come, even from the edge you will spot the marks."

A chuckle came from the priest as he shook his head, "I'd much rather have a closer look."

As Devan began to head down the path leading into the dig site, the feline raised a paw, "H-hold there! The footing might not be too stable for one such as yourself."

The priest raised one hand and gave the concerned feline a backward wave meant to brush off such concerns. Devan had been ordained in order to explore and seek, not to stand back and observe quietly. When he arrived at the temple, the feline was at his side leading him toward the wall where the reported symbols were. He traced the markings with one claw barely touching them as he walked the length of the wall. The smile on his face kept on fading until it had turned into a firm line on his face. They held the same origin as the church of Balance but did not represent the God and Goddess. If it had meant something long ago then perhaps he would have enjoyed knowing it but the markings were familiar regardless.

"You did well in beckoning for our eyes. Very well indeed." Said Devan quietly.

"Did we? Is this something important to the church? I recognize the symbols but they seem twisted and odd."

He shook his head, "No. These symbols are old and bear similarities but they aren't the same at all. We've seen these symbols before on sites and typically there are dangers within and around. I would have expected some sort of arcane force out here preventing us from even touching this building but nothing of the sort happened. If that is the case, then I can only imagine that there is something stored within, something that we should not disturb. Of course, it could simply mean that this was a place of worship for this old way. There is no way of telling until I go inside."

The feline touched her heart while breathing out, "Glad I told my crew to stay away from the thing's innards but really? Some sort of old way? Do you think they were worshipers of some of a devil?"

Devan looked at her with a small smile, "Nothing so grandiose. I think they were simply folk with long lost knowledge that we do not have the means to control. Often, I wonder why we share familiar symbols. Perhaps this is some sort of remnant of the beginning of Balance or perhaps a long lost sibling that strayed far, far away. Or perhaps we were the ones that strayed." He laid his hand flat against the cool stone while looking at the building before he continued, "Regardless, I wish to take a look inside. I'll be fine and you're free to wait for me out here."

"Really, I don't know if that's such a good idea. You've already done so much by coming out here and I wouldn't want you coming to harm."

When he looked toward her, he brought the hand that had been on the wall up to her arm to clasp gently, "I will be fine. I have been blessed, trained, and ordained by the church to do these things. There have been many dangers that I have faced by myself and I do not think I'll be dying here. So please, worry not friend."

Her eyes still held lines of concern but she smiled and inclined her head, "Very well. I'll leave you to it then."

Devan gave her arm one last squeeze before he stepped away and headed around to the entrance of the temple. He hoped that would have been enough to ease her heart but in truth, he wasn't quite sure himself. These places were typically guarded and the fact that none had been injured unearthing this place unnerved him more than anything else. When he stepped through the threshold of the open doorway, a shiver ran the length of his back but despite his fear, he continued walking. With a whisper, a ball of light began to float above his head where it illuminated the darkened entrance of the temple. Seeing it up close and actually entering it, perhaps it would have been better to call it a shrine. The inside was smaller than they had expected with one chamber containing an altar with a sphere atop of it touched by several lines running the surface. Other than the altar, several chests were surrounding it and pushed against the wall, some open showing glittering coins and gems. Had this been some sort of storehouse for wealth? If that were the case, then why simply leave it unwarded? Devan knelt by the altar and checked it. There were no markings on it but the stone was smoother than the one outside, almost metallic. They dared not touch the sphere for fear that some mechanism might be activated but there wasn't anything that seemed to stick out to them as dangerous.

Next, Devan checked the chests. The coins were of a make they hadn't quite seen before and the gems were excessively rare. They weren't necessarily cut perfectly but there were some that he could not even name. This trove would be worth a lot and he would need to see that the good folk who found it were compensated properly but the sphere was something possibly dangerous and he couldn't allow anyone but the church to get their hands on it. Of course, he had his doubts that anyone at all should have such dangerous things, even the church. One ear perked on high as he heard a loud mechanical buzzing outside. Had some sort of trap been triggered? God and Goddess, no! That woman would be at the mercy of whatever had activated if that were the case.

Without a thought, Devan rushed out of the shrine and back out into the sunlight where he was met by several reptiles holding swords. He only stopped because he saw two of them holding the feline that had guided him here who had a look of mournful apology on her face despite this not being her fault. Another pair approached him and grabbed his arms before asking anything, looping rope around his wrists and pushing him to the ground before they began filtering into the shrine. Chests were taken but the feline was alive and so was he. Everything was fine so long as they didn't take an interest in the bauble on the altar. They carried the chests to the source of the mechanical buzzing that he had heard. A ladder extended down from the bottom of an airship hovering above the nearby trees. Of course, sky pirates would hear about some sort of unearthed building and want to take anything valuable for themselves. Luckily, a weird orb wouldn't get them any coin.

Unfortunately for Devan, he had severely underestimated the curiosity of the mind. While the sky pirates knew just as much about the orb's true purpose, they had seen something slightly shiny and taken it with them and as he saw one of them cart it off, he stood up straining against the binds at his wrist, "W-wait, wait wait! You can't take that! We don't know what that thing is! These buildings are usually dangerous. If you've ever seen one of these buildings then you know that to be the case and if you have not then please let me tell you what I know of such dangers."

One of the pirates looked back at him and tilted their head before humming, "If that's the case then I guess that means it'll sell for a higher bit. Aw don't frown so deep now, we'll be careful! Yer a real sweetie for caring so much and I'm sure the captain would love to meet you."

Devan blinked, "What? No! That's not what I meant at all! You don't understand. Surely you've had experience with strange golems and other defenses in ruins such as this, yes? You know the danger all too well that these things can pose!"

"Aye, we do! I can't say we know all of that but I suppose that we'll be needing an expert in matters to help us out a bit." The pirate then whistled, "Someone grab the priest and take him with us! He'll probably be able to help us figure this thing out."

"I did not mean that you should sell the damned dangerous thing and I did not mean that I would lend my services to you, only that you should be--" Devan huffed as he was suddenly hefted up by a strong arm, "That you should be careful!" He finished with a hiss.

"And you'll be helping us be careful! Isn't that nice?"

Devan had been planning on getting out of his bindings and following the pirates once they had boarded their ship but he supposed that this worked in some sort of poetic sense, despite the fact that he was being treated like cargo. To their credit, the pirates left two chests before the bound feline but he couldn't help but feel a great sense of foreboding as he was carried up the ladder along with that odd sphere in another pirate's hand.

The ship itself was modeled after a seafaring vessel like a galleon but with more metal and certainly less bulky. He was brought up and onto deck where several other pirates were taking their new acquisitions through various doors leading to places unknown to him. Devan had expected rougher treatment considering they were both pirates and had taken him as a captive of sorts but surprisingly, the pirate holding him treated him more like a piece of precious cargo. The jostling was minor and the pirate's humming had become rather pleasant after a bit. All in all, he could only pray that things would continue looking up and that he could reason with the pirates into giving him the artifact before something bad happened.

Deciding to take a chance, Devan asked aloud, "Where are you taking me? If you don't mind me asking."

"To the captain. She should be willin' to hear whatever you have to gab about in relation to the pretty little orb there. That being said, she could decide that we need to drop you back off immediately or that we need to keep your services for a bit. Mind yah, she has a bit of wariness with you church types but she's more irritated with the greater thing, not most individuals."

"Ah, I see...So do you think there is a possibility I might convince your captain that keeping the artifact is a bad idea?" Sighed the rabbit.

"Hah! Not likely!" The pirate snorted, "Y'see, the captain is a risk taker. She's a regular spark of fire. Probably will be encouraged even more to pawn it off for a high price if we figure that it's dangerous."

Devan scoffed, "That's absolutely stupid! Apologies for the rude language but we wouldn't know how to contain it let alone control it if it were something dangerous! Selling it would be excessively irresponsible!"

The pirate nodded as they stopped at a door near the front of the deck, "No offense taken and I suppose it would be irresponsible but given what we are, I think that's to be expected. Wouldn't you think?"

With a furrowed brow, the rabbit huffed, "I mean, I suppose that is true but if you are a pirate then shouldn't you be gagging me and telling me to shut up while holding a blade over my neck?"

Laughter filled the air from the pirate as he knocked on the door, "Is that what pirates are? Listen, we're castoffs. Leftovers who had no place to go. This place is our home and what we do is to survive. There's more to pirates than storybook romances where bunnies are tied and seduced."

"Excuse me?! I was not referring to that at all!" Devan said while his cheeks flared with color.

Before the conversation could veer into more embarrassment, Devan was saved a voice from beyond the door telling them to come in. The rabbit was set on his feet before the pirate opened the door and urged him through by the shoulder. He walked without complaint but allowed his eyes to wander to take in the room. It wasn't the bridge like they thought it was going to be, rather, it was a room of some sort with a variety of weapons hung on the wall next to a bookcase that held odd artifacts as well as books. A bed was pressed at the far wall and a desk stood at the front along with the captain of the ship sitting behind it wearing a glittering grin. She was a lithe gator of sorts with bright amber scales and a lighter-toned front starting at the bottom of her snout. Sharp black markings outlined her eyes and down her toned body separating amber scale from the lighter hide along with a few cuts tracing around the back and tail. Both of her arms were stained black with gold-tipped digits. She wore a sword at her waist and a wrap of red along with bangles around her wrists. There was a sleeveless coat as well but it rested on a hook nearby instead of on her body.

"Welcome to my ship, brother. We typically don't take on captives so I think I'd like to know why you are standing before me with your wrists tied behind your back. Though, since you are of the church I do find it a bit humorous."

The pirate who had brought him in inclined their head and spoke aloud, "I brought the fair brother here because he said something we brought aboard is dangerous, so, I figured he could explain it himself and then we cut him loose."

"That so?" The captain said with a tilted head, grin fading to a thoughtful line while her hand came up, "If that's the case, by all means, brother. Explain away."

Devan began with a breath, "Well, yes. I'm glad that you are willing to listen to me despite your disposition toward the church. There is an artifact that you have taken from those ruins with an unknown origin. Such things often end up being dangerous in either an arcane manner, mechanical or sometimes both. Even now, the object could activate and begin harming your crew."

For a moment, he thought that the captain might listen to reason, her hands clasped together beneath a resting chin as she watched him with those striking ruby eyes, "I see...If that's the case then Adagia should be the one to handle it. Bastin. Go and make the proper arrangements to get that thing to Adagia. I'll see to our guest here."

As Bastin moved to obey, Devan gaped, "Excuse me? You can't just leave it to one of your own as if it were a common artifact! There is more to this thing than you know or even understand. Possibly, no one understands what it is. Why would you endanger your crew?"

The captain laughed, "Why? Because. Such things are rare and fine. If it cannot be sold then it can be collected. Adagia has a thing for odd artifacts and we've collected quite a few but the way you make me panic makes me think we'll be dealing with something dangerous even though we're already up in the air. That bein' said, we're up for the challenge."

"You can't just call it a challenge?! You must turn it over to me for proper disposal!" Said the rabbit louder than he had intended.

Devan found himself leaning forward, eyes wide, and a frown on his face but he realized how aggressive his stance was and he backed away and straightened himself just as the captain sighed, "And then what? You turn it over to your church? All those dangerous artifacts in the hands of some sort of giant growing political power that loves keeping the masses under its influence? What do you think it wants with dangerous artifacts and the sort?"

His ears shot up, eyes averting the captain's while he searched for an answer he had been concerned about himself and simply said what he had been told, "They say they simply wish to look at old technology and magic and the manner that it functions so that we may better utilize such things ourselves."

"And so they hoard those dangerous little trinkets and figure out how to use them and even how to recreate them. With such an armory I struggle to think who would oppose them except perhaps a group just as powerful. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the church is out to go to war but I do think they want power."

He wanted to argue, to tell her that she was wrong but his faith was to the god and goddess, not the church and so he muttered, "They already have enough power to keep everyone safe and yet, they only send me to places where they have paid tithe or where there are personal interests involved. The God and Goddess would not approve, I think, but it is not my place to question, rather, it is not within my reach to do so."

Quietly, the captain began, "I see. Good to know you're not blind."

She then got up from her seat, collected her coat to put it on leaving the front open, and walked up to him while drawing her sword, the metal passing against leather catching his attention as he gasped, "What are you doing?"

The captain chuckled as she stepped close enough to him that their chests were nearly touching as she brought her sword behind him, "What am I doing? You're not a captive. More of a guest now, so why should I keep these on?" She cut through the rope in one push before stepping back and sheathing her saber, grinning as she said, "My name is Cadenza. Captain of this fine ship."

Devan rubbed his wrists while muttering, "And mine is Devan. A wandering priest with many questions and many concerns. May I please see the object and this Adagia?"

"You may see both the object again in question and my wife. Of course, you're free to watch my tail and dreams of those romance storybooks of pirates ruffling pretty prisoners like you."

He raised a digit and scowled but she walked past him, the red fan of her tail flicking his side while she laughed leaving Devan to follow and mutter, "The books I read did not involve pirates cavorting with their prisoners but thank you for the compliment regardless."

After bearing the sound of the captain's laughter, he was led out onto the deck where the crew was busy fluttering about to their stations. There weren't any sails to man but engineers were checking the various mechanisms on the deck as well as giving cursory glances over the rails at the hull of the ship. The wind whipped through their fur but not as much as they had expected it to. He suspected that it must have been some sort of arcane power easing the wind's pressure on the deck but either way, it felt bracing. Devan even took a moment to look over the rail and out at the soaring blue of the skies wondering just where this thing could take him. Shaking off those thoughts, he turned away to continue following Cadenza below deck and into a hall of sorts. On the right, there was a door marked with a few warning signs and instead of knocking, she grabbed hold of the handle and tugged it open.

"Adagia! We've got company! Y'got that little trinket yet or not?" She said aloud.

A voice from within the room growled, "Cadenza. We have a communication system for a reason. From the room to my study in particular. Warn me next time and yes, I have the little trinket our crew caught."

Devan stepped into a room he had expected to be much smaller since it had been called a study. Bookcases and shelves lined the walls with various tomes sitting within them waiting to be pulled out. There were tables with what appeared to be glass beakers on it and other tools befitting an alchemist and almost as soon as he stepped into the room he could feel the ambient presence of the arcane in the air. It felt like sparks along his back or a general static along his entire form.

"And who is this?" Said the voice.

His curiosity suddenly cut short, Devan looked toward the source of the voice to see a gator standing there much like Cadenza but a bit shorter with soft blue and violet eyes outlined with black markings. Her arms were crossed and she was dressed similarly to Cadenza but with a thinner sword at her side and what appeared to be a focus on the other side. Both of her eyes were fixing him with a particularly sharp stare that made him very aware that perhaps not all pirates were as jovial as Cadenza seemed and so he inclined his head and introduced himself.

"I am Devan, a priest of Balance. The crew took me aboard without my permission because I claimed that the object stolen from the dug up temple was something dangerous that should be stored away or destroyed even so, here I am as someone who simply wishes for everyone to come out alive and well."

Adagia looked him up and down before looking toward Cadenza and sniffing, "Less stiff than I expected from someone wearing that symbol. Keep him on a tight leash. I don't want him rummaging through my things." Before he could contest her words, she turned to the table she was standing near and picked up the sphere, "Here is the dangerous object of which you speak. I believe it is meant to contain something within it but I do not think it contains anything dangerous only that it might provide some sort of resistance when opening it. I've encountered one or two similar things before and each are rigged in some sort of way."

The priest stepped next to her just a few breaths away and gaped, "You understand those markings?"

For a moment, Adagia raised a brow and Devan stepped back while muttering a small apology. She then sighed and shook her head, "No. These markings are confusing to me but the make of the object is similar to something I've seen before and I can feel something within this ringing out. Something arcane that could miss someone's senses unless you really felt for it. I'm going to crack it open like an egg and see what that thing is."

"That seems highly dangerous!" Blurted Devan.

"Yes, yes it is but I am guessing Cadenza would try it even if I deemed it too stupid so I would rather do it myself so the more careful of us will be the one handling something sensitive."

Devan frowned, "I...I don't think I quite approve of this."

Adagia set the sphere down with a crack and looked over at him with narrowed eyes, "And so what is it that you want us to do? Let you take it home to your church so they can crack it open and reap whatever benefits are in it? No. We'll deal with the danger in this room. Cadenza and I should be able to handle whatever is inside of here. I've already got wards on the wall to keep everything safe and there is an emergency escape hatch here if we need to depart quickly. If we are vaporized then that is another story that I did not plan for but I doubt that is the case as whatever is inside would be destroyed as well and I doubt the architects of this device desire that. Now, are you going to be a good bun and watch? Or should I kick you out of my study?"

With his mouth open and a hundred responses on his tongue, Devan shut his trap and crossed his arms before scoffing, "Fine. I will remain here to watch and to render aid should any be needed but these things should not be taken so lightly. The benefit cannot outweigh the risk."

An arm from Cadenza was put around his shoulder as the gator chuckled, "Relax. Adagia is more careful than I am when it comes to this kind of thing. If she really thought it would obliterate us then she'd probably throw it overboard."

While he appreciated the attempt at comfort, he still couldn't help but feel some sort of anxiety as Adagia began the process. One of her digits came straight up, words whispering in the air, letters of light flowing from her maw, and curling around her digits to form a blade made of light and water gathered from the air. It whined and buzzed in an odd manner, vibrating and twisting until she brought it down on the sphere. The material did not give but the markings along the surface began to glow red.

Adagia immediately backed away, as did Cadenza and Devan as they all felt the odd swelling of energy coming from the sphere. Arcane might writhed and twisted around the sphere, growing in intensity until the thing was vibrating. The lines of red erupted from the body of the sphere, whispers echoing in the air as those lines gathered together and formed vibrating words that appeared to be held by odd letters and sigils. When the lights stopped moving, a feline beast made of those lines stood atop the table with claws out and jagged tail whipping from side to side while the sphere hung at its core. Swords were drawn almost immediately and Devan felt a sudden tempest of heat at his side calling his attention away from the strange beast. Cadenza's saber glowed with searing runes along the blade, intense orange flames wreathed around it as she charged forward and spun before sweeping her blade into the arcane beast's side. The creature crackled but did not break as it was thrown into the wall, Cadenza's arm and blade recoiling in response to meeting the creature's body. As it got up, it made a motion as if it were hissing and pounced at Cadenza but a spike of ice stuck itself into the beast's core from Adagia.

Cadenza did not wait for the creature to recover and she leaped at it and thrust her sword toward it but where her sword landed, the beast faded away into scattering lines that reformed around the sphere behind her. Without thinking, Devan reached into one of his sleeves and poked around through the magic before he felt a cold surface. He gripped and pulled out what appeared to be a small rifle, aiming before he squeezed the trigger. The arcane tempered shot cracked into the creature's side sending it rolling while he adjusted his aim.

Both pirates looked over at him while Devan called aloud, "My idea is one of you stab the sphere! If the beast draws power from that then it will fade if we break it!"

The first to answer was Adagia with a small smile, "Hm, not a bad idea. Not used to priests being such well-rounded packages."

"Flirting later." Said Cadenza as she turned her attention back to the beast.

As the strange construct was bringing itself back up, Cadenza leaped at it again with her sword held back threatening to pierce it. Perhaps she expected it to get out of the way but this time was different. The creature's body shifted and spires of light shot from its body. To her credit, Cadenza twisted herself in a way that avoided most of them but one spire caught her shoulder sending her across the floor. She cursed and pulled herself back up despite the bleeding shoulder and thrust her sword, a sharp line of flame piercing the air and striking the creature pinning it to the wall. It hissed again and faded into the floor before attempting to form elsewhere but Devan was prepared this time. They held up their rifle, breathing words of magic into it while taking heart in the knowledge that the God and Goddess were behind him, hope and elation swelling within him. The shot fired from the rifle this time was strong enough to jerk his arms, light arcing through the air. Before the sphere could move, ice began to gather around the orb slowing it down until the bullet pierced through the sphere.

The red lights faded to nothingness and the sphere fell to the floor with a clang. After waiting a few moments to make sure the creature wouldn't come back, weapons were sheathed and Devan slipped his rifle back into the enchantments of his sleeves. He sighed and dusted himself off and looked toward Adagia as she rushed over to where Cadenza was.

Gentle digits felt along the wound while she muttered, "That thing could have torn your arm right off...You know better than to make the same movement twice in a fight like that."

Cadenza snorted, "I'm fine. I figured it would just move away instead of attempting to skewer me."

She winced as Adagia closed her hand over the wound but sighed as cool light began to dance over it, arcane whispers mending flesh and scale. Once she finished, Adagia squeezed harder and scowled, "You're lucky it wasn't worse or else I'd knock you flat on your rear and drag you to your quarters. You'll only feel slight discomfort for a bit while the spells settle."

Devan stepped next to them with his hands folded together, "My...That is some impressive magic both of you wield."

The captain gave him a grin, "Everything I know, Adagia hammered into my head. Even then, I'm better at feeling things instead of thinking them through so I'm not as advanced as Adagia here."

Adagia smiled just a bit, "She's being humble for once...I believe she knows more than she'll ever let on but she is certainly the stronger fighter despite the fact that she has taught me much in that regard."

"And here we have my precious sapphire being just as humble! She could probably skewer you and then patch you up no trouble! But maybe she might have trouble with that first part considering you can hold yourself in a fight!"

His cheeks flushed just a bit as he cleared his throat, "Well...My job is to seek and render aid where I can and there are many dangers in that job." He then walked over to the fallen sphere, reaching down to grab hold of it, "But I think this is one danger that--"

Devan's words were cut off as he felt a sudden wash of odd sensations empty into him from the sphere. Words, images, lines gathering in his mind until he could see a map of some sort with various markers. The image faded as he moved his thumb away from the center of the sphere that had been pierced but as he placed it there again, he saw the map again. Those markers were probably ruins with a variety of dangerous artifacts in them and treasures that the pirates would be interested in. He could take this to the church or, or he could give it to these pirates. With a frown, he turned toward Cadenza and Adagia who were sharing an embrace.

"Excuse me...But I believe there is something you may want to see." Devan said quietly.

Both had a chance at seeing the map in their minds before Adagia muttered, "I see. So it was all treasure in that weird temple and this is a map to more or perhaps a map to something even more dangerous than the thing guarding it."

Cadenza hummed, "And we could reap the benefits or die trying...Then again, our friend here could take this back to the church and make a race of it too."

Devan smiled just a bit, "Or I could commission you to help me." Adagia and Cadenza looked toward him with raised brows as he continued, "You are both strong and with a capable crew. If I offered compensation in the form of sharing these treasures then I could feasibly destroy or at least prevent the danger of whatever is within these places from getting into the wrong hands. I am devout but I am not a fool."

"And what makes you think that we would take you up on that offer?" Adagia said with a snort.

"Because, I've proven that I am also capable, and what better way to make sure that I do not tell the church, than by having me travel with you?"

Laughter blossomed from Cadenza, "Brave little rabbit! I should throw you on your ass in the brig for such presumption! It would be easier to keep you in there normally but I don't think you're a normal priest and even if we let you go I don't think you would tell the church, right?"

Devan shook his head, "No."

"Then your commission is accepted, only because I like you." Cadenza said with a grin.

When he looked toward Adagia, she simply shrugged and rolled her eyes. With that settled, Cadenza placed an arm around his shoulders and dragged him out along with Adagia, speaking of wild adventures and dinner. Honestly, right now he would much prefer dinner but something about traveling with a cadre of pirates through the air excited him even though he was most likely going to be going against the wishes of his church. He simply hoped that he was doing the right thing in the eyes of the God and Goddess. All to maintain balance.