FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The underbelly of Dalaran was home to many rogues, it made for a prime fencing location since it was a central hub for teleportation. Most of the mage council had been assured the rogues had been cleared out by a couple members but secretly they had been lining their pockets with gold. This led to many of the mages under those council members being corrupted with the promise of gold to allow the rogues passage in and out of the city.

It was also a good place to recruit new rogues as new mages who failed to advance in the Kirin Tor often had nowhere to go. What little skill they did have with the arcane was then fine tuned to make them masters at invisibility and blinking behind their targets. One such mage reject was a black furred vulpera called Shadow. He was hesitant at first to join the order of rogues but after he continued to be rejected, he accepted their offer.

Though Shadow wasn't his original name but one given to him as most kept their lives a secret. That being said there were many of whom were obvious who they were like the goblin they called Moneybags. The ugly fat goblin was as gross as you'd imagine some of the heads of the cartels yo be and everyone knew his actual name. Most, Shadow included, wished they could stab the fat goblin in the throat with how annoying his jobs could be but they paid well.

Shadow found out rather quickly that they were good at being a rogue but found it difficult to continue to live in Dalaran. Each morning he'd wake up and see the other mages as they went about their day and wished he had made it as one of them. The worst was Ookitsu though, Shadow would often see that vulpera and whenever he offered some lessons to help him try to join again it was a painful reminder of how much more he excelled at magic.

Today Shadow did his best to avoid his fellow vulpera and rushed over to one of the shops that had a hidden passage to the rogue's hideout. The shopkeeper had seen him enough times that they barely even acknowledged his presence with a glance as he went to the backroom. A single switch was all it took for the stone wall to open and Shadow descended down the dimly lit tunnel to the underground hideout.

For the most part it was empty, with only a few stragglers hanging around while they waited for a job. First however Shadow headed to one of the side rooms to change out of his civilian clothes and into his leather armor. When he first joined, Shadow was hesitant to leave his gear here but learned very quickly just how hard they enforced the don't steal from our own rule. He wasn't one to normally get in a fight but it was always better to be armored just in case he was discovered.

On his way over to Moneybags to see if he had any work for him, he heard someone sneaking up on him from behind. Shadow had a feeling he already knew who it was so acted like he didn't notice their approach at least until she was a couple steps away. "Hello Silent Paw," Shadow said as he turned around and looked up at the female pandaren.

She proceeded to curse in pandaren before crossing her arms and looking grumpy. "Really thought I had you that time. You're the only one I can't sneak up on, probably because of your big ears," she'd say with a huff before pulling a sweet roll out of her bag. "Have you eaten? I feel like you don't eat enough. Also I promise Nomi didn't cook these this time."

"Yes I ate before I left my place and I'm fine, thanks tho..." Before he could finish speaking however she'd force the sweet roll into his muzzle.

"Obviously not enough! You look even skinnier than the last time I saw you." Shadow still found it hard to believe she was a deadly assassin with the way she mothered a lot of the younger recruits especially. "Also the fat bastard has been looking for you all morning, sounds like you're wanted for a specific job. I'm sure you could get jobs from someone else, not sure why you put up with him."

It took a few seconds for him to be able to respond as he had to finish chewing and swallowing the roll down. "Well when no one else with the skills required will work with him, it is easier to haggle for a higher reward. So in a way it is more lucrative even if he gets on my nerves."

"Guess I can't argue with that." She then looked from side to side before leaning down to speak in a hushed tone. "Be careful today, rumor has it one of Goya's goons paid him a visit. So he might owe her a favor and you don't want to get on her bad side."

"Thanks for the tip, now if you don't mind I need to get going. Also thanks for the food." Well this could be really good or really bad he thought as he walked away. Madam Goya ran the black market auction house so if Moneybags did something to piss her off he didn't want to get caught up in his mess. Though if it was a job she was contracting through him he could probably haggle for a large cut of the deal.

Turning the corner he'd see the goblin biting into a chicken leg and being a slob about it. One thing was for sure, he wasn't shaking hands on anything today. Moneybags then noticed him and beckoned him over. "Hey Shade, I have a job for ya. Really easy one too, will barely be an inconvenience."

"So this is a really hard one then or else you would have had one of those guys begging for a job all morning to do it."

"I can't trust any of those morons with something like this, you're the only one I can trust to get the job done fast and all clean like." Shadow then took a step back when the goblin started waving the chicken leg around, not wanting to get hit with any of the sauce flinging off of it. "Listen kid, all you have to do is break into some noble's house and take a book."

"Where?" He had a feeling he knew the answer and it wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Stormwind, it will be quick and easy for..."

"No."

"Just hear me..."

"No, get one of the alliance races to do it. I'll be killed if I'm spotted at all."

"Guess you're right, I'll just have to tell Goya that you ran off with the reward after you asked for some of it upfront. Don't even think you can talk your way out of this one. I already told her right hand that you'd be the one handling the job."

Shadow growled a little and bared his fangs. "She'll gut you for losing her money first."

"I have enough money to spare my life but I'll ensure you pay the price for not taking this job."

No one liked the slimy bastard but even then the goblin had a lot of influence, there was a chance that the others would believe him but they might turn against him for the right price. Whatever this job was it must be worth a lot of money or Moneybags had already fucked up and owed Goya big time. "I want ten times my usual rate or I'll kill you myself before you try and put a hit out on me."

Moneybags laughed while their ogre bodyguard tightened their grip on their weapon and Shadow drew out his daggers. "I guess little mister I won't take on assassination missions does have fangs. Smart though and I respect that but the best I can do is three..."

"Ten," Shadow quickly said while cutting him off and pointing his daggers at the ogre. "You're far too slow with your swings, big guy."

"Five."

"Ten."

"You're being unreasonable kid, it is just a book. Seven." Things got increasingly tense with the ogre stepping in front of Moneybags to be in strike range. Shadow knew that Moneybags knew full well that the ogre had just made it easier for him since now the goblin's back was fully exposed for a shadow strike. "Eight, final offer."

Shadow relaxed and sheathed his daggers. "Deal but I want half up front, I'm not going to let you weasel out of it when I get back."

Moneybags begrudgingly snapped his fingers and called out to the other goblin in the room. "Give the greedy bastard his cut."

He had to hold back his reaction especially with just how greedy and rich he knew the goblin was. Shadow quickly took his cut and headed out to put his gold in the bank. The guild paid rather handsomely for the bank tellers to look the other way at the amounts being deposited. While he waited to store his gold however, he wondered how he'd even get in the city.

The mountains around it would be a tough climb, the front gates have too many guards with detection enchantments and the mage tower had just as many guards. That basically left him with the port or flying in under the cover of night but after recent events he imagined that was more heavily watched. He had to sneak into the city too or else his every move would be watched closely. This felt like an impossible task and he would have to get some help. He'd hate to ask her for help but maybe Silent Paw would help him get into the city.

There was a piece of paper among the gold with the details of his target that he had yet to look at. Once he handed off the gold to the teller however he played with the piece of paper while he figured out his plan. Ultimately however he went back to look for the pandaren to recruit her help.

She wasn't too hard to find and was completely focused on eating. "Silent, I need your help," Shadow startled her when he spoke.

The pandaren looked around to make sure no one saw her jump before turning her attention to him. "Tell no one you managed to sneak up on me. What do you need though?" She asked before going back to chowing down on her lunch. "You ate right?"

He sat down across from her and sighed. "Yes I ate. Now I need your help with a job."

"Not like you to ask for help, the job is that bad huh?"

"Yeah well I'm basically being forced to take this job or he'll put a hit out on me. I need to infiltrate Stormwind though to steal an item."

Silent Paw practically choked on her food when she heard that. "I'm sorry, you have to infiltrate Stormwind, is that what you said?" Shadow nodded for confirmation. "Before the war maybe but no way a vulpera is getting into that city with the increased security and all the worgen around."

"Yeah but I don't think I have much of a choice here. Can you help me get into the city at least? I can hearth out if I get into trouble or finish the job. After this I'll never ask for anything again and I'll give you a cut of what I make."

She hesitated a little before replying. "You're not killing a noble right? Last thing we need is to spark another war if you get caught."

"No, you know I don't take those jobs."

"Fine, meet me after I finish eating and I'll sneak you through the Stormwind portal." Shadow had a bad feeling about this but he had no other options really. "Also eat something before you leave, don't want an empty stomach giving you away." He wasn't really hungry at all but it was no use arguing with her. "And don't roll your eyes." Honestly he found it hard not to whenever she said he needed to eat more but stopped himself this time at least while he snacked on something.

Afterwards he'd follow her out and watch while she bought a bunch of fruit off of a pandaren merchant along with a large basket. He'd complain a bit when she told him to get but did as he was told and climbed inside. Then the fruit got piled on top of him and he'd grumble some more as he felt the weight of them rest on his body. If anything he was going to feel stiff and sore if he couldn't get out of here quickly.

It was a struggle to not move around while she carried the basket off to the Alliance Embassy and seeked passage through the portal. Luckily it didn't take much convincing that the castle chef wanted fruit from pandaria. That however is where their luck ended since after they went through the portal the guards insisted on taking the basket themselves. Silent couldn't really argue it much longer without drawing suspicion either so now he was all on his own.

For a moment Shadow thought the basket was being left at the base of the mage tower but then he heard the flaps and cry of a gryphon. Soon after the basket was grabbed by the gryphon and he felt it get carried off into the air. It became increasingly hard to stay calm with the creaking of the basket making him feel like it might just fall apart in the air. There was very little he could do besides wait however and hope the basket was sturdy enough.

The landing itself was a bit rough and made Shadow make a small noise in pain. This then caused Shadow to hold his muzzle shut, afraid to make another noise. Luckily none of the guards seemed to notice and went on to carry the basket inside the castle. Unfortunately the house he needed to get to was near the port and now he was stuck in the middle of the castle. He couldn't even leave this basket until the coast was clear.

Overhearing how the chef was away for the night, the guard set the basket down in the kitchen's storage room. Shadow sat in the basket for a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear before pulling out his dagger to cut an opening. The difficult part was making sure all the fruit didn't roll out and make a lot of noise as a result. Each fruit that hit the cold stone floor made Shadow tense up. It ended up being a far more difficult task than he imagined and soon most of the fruit came rumbling out and alerted a guard.

Cursing under his breath, Shadow hid behind one of the shelves and hoped to avoid detection. Slowing his breathing, he did his best to stay calm even as the small metal clanking of the guard's plate armor drew ever closer. Killing the guard might be an option but it was doubtful he could finish him before more were alerted. He either had to avoid detection completely or try to bargain his way out.

When the door opened, Shadow could hear a snarling growl and a sniff. The guard was a worgen and he knew there was a large chance that he'd be sniffed out. He hated to do this but he was just going to have to abort and try again later. Reaching into his pouch, Shadow grasped the hearth stone tightly and channeled his magic into it.

His concentration then broke as the guard grabbed his arm and threw him across the room into one of the other shelves. Dazed from the blow, Shadow dropped the stone as he quickly tried to get on his feet. "A little horde assassin trying to poison the castle's food. Does your kind have no honor?" The worgen yelled as he drew their blade.

"Yeah I like to think of myself as neutral and I'm not one to take those kinds of jobs," Shadow said while drawing their own daggers. "Rarely even carry poisons on me." Weighing his options quickly in his head, Shadow sighed internally as he dropped his daggers to the floor. "See, I'm disarmed, completely harmless now. Honestly, I was never even supposed to end up in the castle. Maybe you could look the other way while I get out of here in exchange for some gold."

The worgen had a confused expression on his muzzle as he tried to process what just happened. "Pick up your weapons."

"No, I'm not here to fight you dumb dog." That last bit was probably not the best thing to say given the circumstance. "Listen you can check me for poisons if you want and watch me while I hearth out of here."

His words clearly frustrated the worgen as they growled and cursed unintelligibly. "Fine fox but I demand a favor."

"And what would that be?"

"Suck my dick."

Fucking seriously, was all Shadow could think as he looked at the worgen that was just over twice his height. Was better than dying to a guard while trying to escape or ending up in the stockades. "Fine, I'll suck your dick."

Read both endings early over at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/simple-job-69379129