FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

*Authors note: This chapter sets up the plot, no sex yet. Breaks between the paragraphs indicate when the point of view shifts between the two protagonists.

Veriss was tense as she ran down the corridors of the palace. The battle-clad dragoness kept up a fast pace as she listened intently for disturbances, but the only sounds she heard were the clanking of armored suits produced by the guards following her. As she neared the end of the corridor, she raised a fist, signaling them to halt.

Peering around the corner, she spotted another dragoness with remarkably similar body and facial features, their only major physical difference being the hue of their scales; Veriss' scales had a very dark purple shade, her counterpart had a deep green coloring. However, unlike the martial gear Veriss was sporting, this dragoness was wearing a sleek robe and wielding a staff.

"Meress!" She called out, motioning for the dragonic guards behind her to move forward.

Turning her head, the other dragoness broke a smile upon seeing Veriss. "What took you so long, sis?" She looked almost relaxed.

Veriss rolled her eyes. She had always been the more serious of the two siblings, a difference in attitude that was reflected in the way her sister dressed herself, wearing a tight-fitting silken robe that hugged her body, showing off the outline of an impressive bust and flowing tightly over her curvy hips. Veriss' own body had the same proportions as her sister, but her role as captain of the guard made it practically impossible for anyone to tell. Her prodigious chest was hidden behind a chest plate, and her waistguard mostly hid her wide hips from sight. The only real sign of femininity that Veriss displayed were her thighs. Thick with muscle, they were covered in leather that had been closely fitted to give her as much manouverability as possible.

She signaled for her guards to spread out as she approached her sister, who was standing in front of an ornate metal door. Eyeing the door's runic engravings, she asked "Are the wards intact?"

Meress gave a slight smirk. "If they weren't, do you think I would be this relaxed?" When her sister raised an eyebrow at her, Meress let out a small sigh. "All the wards surrounding the sanctuary vault are intact. If anyone managed to sneak inside, they did so through different means."

Now it was Veriss' turn to smile at her sister. "Naturally, nobody could possibly have found a way to get past your wards. Your mastery of the arcane is unmatched in all the realm."

Meress glanced at her sister. "Your sarcasm is noted. I trust that no attempts at intrusion have been reported by the palace guard?"

Veriss nodded. "None. I tightened security after that incident last month. There have been no breaches since then, not even at the outermost perimeter."

Meress let out a laugh. "Ah yes, 'Fernando the magnificent', was it? I still can't believe you let him get away."

Veriss crossed her arms. "That was not my fault. Dealing with rogue mages falls under your responsibilities. If you had been paying attention that rodent wouldn't have been able to get away."

Meress shook her head mirthfully. "He got past your guards on the palace grounds without using any magic. He barely scratched my outer wards, though. I did not expect him to be able to cast a teleportation spell after witnessing him flailing helplessly against my tentacle trap."

Veriss couldn't help but grin slightly at the image that had been burned in her mind of the diminutive rat and his boar lackeys screaming in panic as they were pulled a dozen feet into the air by the huge, unnatural tentacles sprouting from a large rune hidden underneath a flowerbed in the palace garden. Her sister always enjoyed tormenting those who dared trespass. Rummaging at her waist, Veriss pulled out a key. "Lets not waste anymore time. Even if this was a false alarm, we have to be certain."

Meress nodded, and pulled out her own key. Waving her staff, she dispelled the wards protecting the door. As she and her sister placed their keys in their respective locks, she felt a pang of annoyance, knowing how long it would take to recast the complicated spells that protected the door. Still, she knew it was necessary considering what those wards were protecting in the first place. The relic housed in the Sanctuary Vault was dangerous beyond belief. The few history books that recorded its existence could not agree on a name, but that was not important. What was important was what the relic was capable of.

The sole volume in the royal library that gave a detailed description of the relic's powers dryly called it 'reality alteration device'. The relic had the ability to literally change anything at the whim of its wielder, within a roughly one mile radius. Her mother had never revealed how she had obtained the relic, but after she had ascended the throne one of her top priorities had been to keep the item safe and out of reach of anyone who might abuse it. Her mother considered this task so important that she had raised Meress and Veriss with the explicit purpose of devoting their lives towards protecting the relic. Ostensibly, Meress was the royal wizard, while Veriss captained the royal guard. But while she and her sister dutifully fulfilled the standard functions associated with their titles, their main focus remained safeguarding the relic.

As Meress and Veriss turned the keys, complex mechanical sounds came from within the locks as the safeguards against all manner of lockpicks were bypassed. Veriss glanced at her sister, then looked over her shoulder at her guards. They were all ready to spring into action should it be required of them. Then, she pushed.

Groaning under their heavy weight, the metal doors began moving. As they slowly swung inwards, Veriss put her hand on the hilt of her sword and looked forward intently as the Sanctuary Vault came into view. To her, there was only one place of importance in the vault, and that was the main pedestal in the middle of the room, upon which the relic rested. The moment the doors opened wide enough for her to see, her eyes shot towards the pedestal.

The blood drained from her face, and she let out a curse.

A small figure was standing in front of the pedestal, reaching out towards the relic. Time seemed to slow. Veriss heard her sister gasp, the guard behind her shout out. She was already drawing her sword as she launched herself through the doorway. She noticed two bulky figures lying prone on the floor beside the pedestal, boars from the looks of it, but immediately ruled them out as threats. All that mattered was the rodent in front of her. The bright red cape he was wearing and the brown coloring of his fur gave away his identity instantly. It was Fernando. Cursing inwardly, she saw the rogue wizard close his fingers around the relic. Raising her sword, she made to fling it at the brown-furred rat.

Meress tried to focus on her spell as she whispered the words and made the gestures. It was difficult, as a million questions bombarded her mind. How had he gotten past all three guard perimeters without being noticed? How had he gotten past her wards? Why hadn't she sensed him as she stood in front of the Sanctuary Vault? She blinked. The questions were irrelevant. What was relevant was finishing her spell, which was intended to create a large enough kinetic force to throw the rat away from the pedestal and against the wall, and hopefully break every bone in his body in the process.

As she felt tendrils of magical energy coarse through her fingertips and coalesce into something useful, she watched as Fernando's fingers wrapped themselves around the relic. As they did so, she felt...something.

Suddenly, the rat in front of her disappeared, along with the relic. She blinked. Invisibility? She heard one of the guards let out of confused yell. Her target having disappeared, she felt her spell fizzle out, the magical energy leaving her fingers. Luckily, Her sister's sword did not need a visible target. She watched as Veriss finished her swing, the blade leaving her grasp and flying through the air, heading straight for the pedestal.

Meress again felt....something. But this time it was much more intense, like a wave crashing through her body. She blinked. She glanced at her sister. Veriss was holding her sword in her hand, a confused look on her face as she stared at it.

Meress frowned. Why did it feel like the sword was supposed to be somewhere else. Veriss looked around for a few seconds, seemingly confused. Then, she sheathed her sword.

"W-why are you putting your sword away?" Meress asked. Her sister looked at her with a frown. She replied testily: "Is there a reason for me to have it out?"

Meress blinked. Her mind felt...empty, as if there had been thoughts there that had been ripped away. After a few seconds, she conceded "No, I guess there is not".

A voice spoke up behind her. "Captain?"

She turned around. The guards were looking at them weirdly. "What is it, soldier?" Veriss replied.

"Um..." The guard that had spoken up looked confused. "Why aren't we checking them?"

Meress felt just as confused as the guard looked. "checking who?"

The guard pointed into the...vault? Yes, the vault, Meress confirmed to herself. That was the room they were standing in. Just an ordinary vault, currently not holding anything of importance. She turned her head to look at where the guard was pointing, and was surprised to discover two average-sized bodies lying prone on the floor. "Oh!" She let out a startled yell. How had she not noticed them?

Rushing up to the one on the left, she knelt before the figure as Veriss approached the one on the right. Looking down at it, she discovered it was a male boar, stocky and portly built, but somewhat challenged in height compared to the dragoness. He was clad in some kind of rough uniform, and there was a large battle-axe hanging from his belt, the blade stained with blood.

Meress made to call out to the guard to disarm the boar, but before she could do so, she felt something coarse through her body. Strange, that was the third time it had happened.

Meress blinked. Third time? How did she come to that conclusion? Wasn't this the first time she felt it? Closing her eyes, she cleared her head, not sure where the confusion stemmed from.

A deep, bass-level groan made her open her eyes again to look at the boar. His voice sounded unexpectedly deep for someone smaller than her.

Wait...smaller? Meress blinked. For some reason, she was looking at the male's chest instead of his head. Correcting herself, she looked up at the massive boar's face as he came to.

"Is everything alright? You were lying on the floor." She asked. Looking back at her, the huge male froze. His eyes flitted all over the room, before returning to look at her uncertainly and on guard. Meress glanced at her sister, unsure of what to do.

Catching her eye, Veriss took charge of the situation. After all, dealing with trespassers was her responsibility as captain of the royal guard. Turning towards the male boar she was helping, she asked. "Do you remember how you got here? Are you injured?" Checking his body, she was surprised by its size. The boar was enormous. His chest looked like an oversized barrel. His gut was made up of a mixture of muscles and fat. His legs looked like tree trunks. Veriss was unsure she had ever seen a boar of his size before. She estimated him to be over 8 feet tall, easily. For some reason, it felt like the male was larger than he should be.

"Uh...." The male rumbled. He looked at his companion for a moment, then cautiously made to get up. "Yeah, I'm okay" he replied, with a questioning tone in his voice, as if unsure why she was concerned for him.

Standing up, Veriss grabbed the boar's hand to help him up. This was easier said than done, however. Despite her own considerable strength, the male's enormous bulk was far beyond her ability to carry. His arms, biceps bulging with muscles, were almost double the width of her own. Thankfully, he was able to easily lift himself off the ground.

Getting to his feet, the male boar towered over the dragoness. Looking up at him, Veriss felt conflicted for some reason. He was an armed trespasser, whose identity she did not know. Shouldn't she be taking him into custody? Or at the very least treat the situation with caution? Confused, she watched as the boar took note of the guards standing in the doorway, his body tensing for a moment. Then, quite suddenly, they both looked towards an empty spot in the room. They seemed to listen to something, but Veriss couldn't hear anything. Still trying to figure out what she was supposed to be doing, she looked at her guards, but they looked back at her questioningly, as if they were expecting her to give them an order. Their eyes kept glancing at the boars before switching back towards her, as if they were trying to tell her something.

Veriss frowned. Had she failed to notice something? She looked back at the boars, noting that their expressions had changed. They had a look of wonder and surprise in their eyes as they examined themselves. One of them flexed an arm, his huge biceps bulging with muscles. A grin appeared on his face. Veriss wracked her brain, trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization. She spoke up with urgency in her voice. "Did someone knock you two out? Are there intruders in the palace?"

The boars blinked at her, seemingly surprised by the line of questioning. For some reason they turned to, again, look at the empty spot in the room. Irritated, Veriss raised her voice to catch their attention. "Hey! I asked you a question! Are there intruders inside the palace?!" She scowled at them. "What are your names, anyway? I seem to have forgotten."

Veriss noticed her sister suddenly turn to look at her, her eyes widening with alarm. She stared back, uncertainly. Was it something she said? The concern on her sister's face was deepening, as if she was figuring something out. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Unnerved, Veriss put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Meress, what-" She began asking, but she was interrupted by one of the boars. "Im Marl." He grumbled. "And this is Garm" he gestured towards the other male. They were staring at her now. There was the hint of a smile - or a smirk- on his face. Eyeing him suspiciously, Veriss kept a hand on her sword as she looked back at her sister. Before she could repeat her question to Meress, however, she noticed her sister blinking, the look of alarm fading from her eyes as she seemingly relaxed again.

Veriss opened her mouth to ask the question, but for some reason the words seemed to have disappeared from her mind. What was she going to say again?

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Veriss felt herself growing frustrated. Whatever was going on, she needed to get a grip of the situation. She was the captain of the royal guard, and she needed to start acting like it.

She looked at the two boars. They were smirking openly at her. "Marl and Garm, is it? Took you long enough to find your tongue. Now, tell me, what happened here? Why were you two incapacitated and lying on the ground?"

Marl, the boar standing in front of her, shrugged dismissively. "We tripped and fell." His grin widened as he added "Sorry", his lips curling around the impressive tusks jutting out of the corners of his mouth. The other boar, Garm, seemed to be distracted, once again looking at that empty spot in the room.

Veriss blinked at the unexpectedly brief answer. "Oh..." She seemed at a loss for words as her brain seemed to automatically go towards a strange conclusion: That they were lying. But why would she come to that conclusion? There was no reason to assume they were lying. She knew they weren't trespassing. They were allowed to be in the palace.

Wait...were they? Veriss frowned. Yes, they definitely were allowed to be here. She was absolutely positive of that. Nodding as if confirming this fact to herself, she looked back up to Marl. "Very well. Next time, try to be more careful, this vault has sensitive wards that you must've accidentally triggered when you - um - fell."

Marl grinned back and gave a nod.

Suddenly, one of the guards behind her spoke out. "Hold on a second!"

She turned around. The guard was looking at her with disbelief. "Yes?" she replied.

"Captain, why are you going along with this?!" He responded angrily. Gesturing furiously with his weapon at the boars, he continued: "They are obviously lying! We have to apprehe-"

"-Actually" came the loud, rumbling voice from the other boar, Garm, as he interrupted the guard. Looking at Veriss, he said "We were searching for you and your sister. We must've tripped and triggered the wards when we checked the vault to see if you were there". Turning his eyes back to Meress, he smirked as his eyes drifted over her body, paying special attention to way the silken robe clung to her body.

Veriss nodded. That seemed to make sense. She turned back towards the guards. "I see no reason not to believe them. This was a false alarm. Return to your posts."

"What?!" The lead guard looked at her with consternation. "What are you saying?! You can't possibly believe what they are saying!" He was almost shouting at her. The other guards looked very worried.

Veriss wasn't having it. Growling, she asserted her authority. "You will address me as captain, guardsman!" she stated, sternly. Angrily, she continued. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but this situation has gone on long enough! Return to your posts! Now!"

The fierceness of her response seemed to take the wind out of the guards. They looked uncertainly at each other. Only the lead guard seemed willing to make one more attempt to reason with his captain. Veriss was ready for it, though.

"B-but...Captain, this-"

He almost jumped when Veriss cut him off loudly. "Are you disobeying a direct order, guardsman?!" She made sure to emphasize every word as she stared daggers at him.

"N-no, Captain, I-"

"Then do it!" She roared. It was enough to convince the other guards to jump into action. As they half marched, half ran off in the direction they had come from, the lead guard seemed to lose the last of his nerve. Taking one last look of concern at his captain, he too moved off, following the noisy clatter of the other guards.