FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Gimmegee groans, rubbing her butt. "Fuck, man, where am I?" the gnome grumbles, blinking and adjusting to the darkness around her. "This is not the park."

"How observant of you," says the calm and smooth voice behind her.

Gimmegee whirls around, snapping her fingers. In her hands appear a long, curled-tipped staff, charged with mana.

"That's not going to help you," the voice responds, coming from a brightly-colored tent stuck in the same dark dimension as the gnome.

"And how do you know that?" Gimmegee says.

"Because I've seen it, of course," the voice in the tent says. "Please, come join me. We both know you're curious to see what's behind the curtain."

Gimmegee licks her lips, taking a step forward and then another. "There's so much magic flowing around the carnival," she says. "All of it originating from a single source. Is this it? Are you the caster behind everything?"

"Perhaps I am, or perhaps the magic is working through me? Your unbridled curiosity calls you to step further. Do not be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," Gimmegee barks, and she runs through, throwing open the curtain to peer beyond the veil.

A table covered in gilded cloth sits in the center of this tent, and a glowing and cloudy crystal ball sits upon it. Surrounded around it are cards, laid out in precise order, and the speaker is seated on the other side, their body shrouded in a shawl of intricate weave.

"Oh, another mysterious manipulator behind the shadows?" Gimmegee says. "Isn't the world filled enough with those already?"

She hops onto the seat opposite the figure, placing her staff aside and folding her arms over her chest. "Do you know how difficult it is to cite sources for magical study when most higher-level wizards hide their identity?"

The hooded figure lifts its head, and behind the hood is a mask, emotionless and plain. "You, of all people, should know the necessity of keeping one's identity a secret in our world, where the gods spy on us, and scryers can watch your every move. I should know this as the master of divination magic."

Gimmegee slams the table, standing up on her chair. "The... the master of Divination? As in one of the sorcerers of major arcana? You're the one setting up this entire scam? But why?"

The master flips a card over in a gloved hand, tapping a covered finger on the image of an armored figure encircled in darkness. "The Void," is what the master says. "It comes for us all, but there is an unnatural convergence of events brought upon by us mortals and our hubris. It is up to the strongest of us to work together to bring what we can to prevent a terrible fate."

Gimmegee swipes the card from the table and examines it. "The Void. This is what many believe comes to us after the end. What are you trying to avoid?"

"Avoid it, welcome it. It doesn't matter. What matters is we prepare for it in our own way."

"What exactly is your way?" Gimmegee asks, placing the card down.

"Gaze upon the orb," the master says, hands waving over the misty image from within the ball. "Ponder its meaning with your curiosity."

Gimmegee stares deeply into the orb, its bright light reflecting against her shining black eyes. She leans deeper and deeper, watching, waiting for the revelation to hit her.

But the revelation never comes, and she sits back down, shrugging. "Eh, I don't care."

"Don't you?" asks the master. "You no longer want to plumb the universe for its secrets?"

"Nope."

"You don't want to ask me what I'm doing with all this emotion?"

"Nah."

"Do you even want your curiosity back?" the master says, holding their hand up. In it is a minty green orb, swirling with energy which bounces against its cage, desperately clawing to get back to Gimmegee.

"No, why would I? It's not necessary. I can just live life and enjoy myself, right?"

"Yes, sometimes some people must realize they can just sit in their own stagnation and enjoy life. Now, run along. I have much to do."

"Yes, master of Divination,"

Gimmegee stands up, walks out of the tent, and finds herself back in the forest. When she walks, she bumps into Ailen, who falls forward, collapsing onto her face into the dirt.

"Gimmegee, what the hell?" The half-clownified Ailen gasps.

"My, my," says the harlequin, pulling out a pocket watch. "Look at the time. I'll have to catch you, ladies later. Toodles!"

With that, he throws his watch down, which explodes into confetti and glitter, flying straight into the eyes of the three women on the other side of the attack.

Gimmegee waves her staff, blowing the decorations away. However, when the debris clears, neither the Pierrot nor the Harlequin is left behind.

"Dammit, all!" Purity says, rushing off into the forest to follow them, leaving both Gimmegee and Ailen alone.

Ailen pushes herself up, coughing. "Gah, this whole thing just sucks. Let's get back home, huh?"

"Yeah," says Gimmegee. "Home sounds nice."

"You... you okay, Gee?"

"Perfectly fine," says the gnome, smiling down at her. "Finally content after a long, long time."