FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Tower of Darkness looms high into the sky. A swirling darkness emanates from it, blotting out the light of the Sun and darkening the vale it rests in with a blanket of shade. Tik Tik stands there, staring at the long rocky bridge leading up to the Cyclopean doors that seal the entrance. The kobold holds her book close to her, shaking at the sheer magnitude of the sight.

"Fear not, Tik Tik!" The voice is followed by a hand upon her shoulder. Next to the hand is another that gives her the thumbs up. Cynwrig, her beetle buddy stands beside her with a smile on his face. "You do not face this peril alone. You have your friends here with you."

"Not all Tik Tik's friends," The kobold says, looking over her shoulder. A small encampment has been made with the allies she had made over the course of her journey. "Some didn't make it. Never sent Tik Tik a message back..."

"There, there," Cynwrig says, patting her on the back, another hand patting her on the head. With his remaining arms, he salutes her. "We are more than enough to get you up there. Besides, it's a large world out there. Maybe they just didn't get the news yet?"

Tik Tik gazes over towards the many adventurers who came, perhaps outside of her summons. That's one thing Tik Tik is worried about. Neither Adaeze, the bounty hunter Hyena, nor Tybalt, the Paladin of Love, heeded her call. There are plenty of others, though, who would work with her through thick and thin.

Cynwrig here is a reliable and valiant hero, always looking out to protect the weak and fight things stronger than himself. Though, it can sometimes get him into trouble.

"Come on, let's go talk to the others and figure out what our plan is," Cynwrig says, leading Tik Tik away from the tower and back to the tiny comfort of the forest's edge.

Tik Tik's companions have set up a camp within the border. Monster activity so close to the tower should be high, but they have not experienced anything crazy as of yet. When she approaches, a catfolk with short white fur and dressed in a body-hugging black suit approaches and bows to her. "Tik Tik. It's been awhile."

"Hi, Hi, Kera," Tik Tik waves. "Kera seem different."

The feline frowns and shakes her head. "There's no time to talk about my troubles. When I got your message, I knew I had to come. This Dark Queen is a source of great perverse evil, and I know well enough how internal demons can ruin someone's life. If I can't be a divine wife to my god, then I shall stop others from falling through the same pitfalls as myself."

Tik Tik smiles at that. "Glad Kera figure things out."

"It isn't ideal, but it works for me, for now..."

A gnome pops up from behind her, dressed in flowing robes with a pointed hat. "Heya, Tik Tik! When you told me we're raiding a magician's tower, I just had to come!"

"Hi Hi, Gimmegee!" Tik Tik chirps. "Good steal from bad sorceress, not from Tik Tik."

"Well, I wouldn't call it 'stealing,' so much as 'spreading the magic around."

Tik Tik snickers at that and gasps when she sees a young human woman, dressed in a loose outfit tied up at the belt. The woman stares off to the side, focused towards the tower.

"Is that...?" Tik Tik says.

"We found Luza recently," Gimmegee says. "There's no sign of what happened to her sister Liza, nor what happened to our old boss among the Lily Nymph's flowers."

Luza glances over towards Tik Tik, a haunting loneliness to her gaze. "We were separated when the Dark Queen Estrasa's forces attacked us. The fey spirit of the forest may have enraptured us, but we were still together. Now, I am only half..."

"Miss Tik Tik?" A voice speaks up, and Tik Tik tilts her head in confusion at the sight of two individuals she had never seen before. The first is a short lad with gray, stone-textured skin. He dresses up in splotched work clothes with heavy gloves and a belt with tools upon it. An apron drapes over his chest. In its pouches, he carries potions and other bottles of mixtures "You don't know me, Miss Tik Tik," he says, "but you were at my island's alchemy shop for a spell. I came here because my boss was busy and thought you needed some aid. Name's Derlin." He extends his glove to the kobold, who takes it in kind.

Next to Derlin is a woman of supernatural beauty. It is almost as if she was constructed out of the ideals that Tik Tik holds in a humanoid woman--the alien, yet alluring curves, the look of smooth skin instead of a scaled body. The full lips, the wavy hair, she has all of it. She wears what appears to be nothing more than ribbons of cloth that drape over her form. Surprisingly, though, they cover up her modesty, though it looks as though she could flick the garments off at a moment's notice. The odd thing about her is that her skin, her metallic sheen. She has no body hair, nor is her body soft. Instead, she is like a statue made alive.

"I am Andra," she says, "Priestess and representative of the Church of Love. You have met one of our holy knights, but he has disappeared while attempting to face the forces of darkness that stands before us now. I shall be heading this charge. You have done well in summoning aid, Tik Tik. Your foresight and your reach have led to many finding their way here to help you. Prepare yourself, little kobold, for this is a battle that cannot be won easily. There will be things you cannot unsee, I'm certain."

Tik Tik nods and turns towards the rest in the camp. "Tik Tik will prepare. Talk to others, figure best spells for attack."

And with that, she heads off, wondering just what she can do among such a large group of organized fighters.