FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Gux ran through the edge of the clearing, feeling the magical essence in the air like a familiar friend as he stumbled to the edge of Lily's house. "Lily! I'm here!" he barked out, yelling towards the house. There was no response, and as he looked around, none of the animals were nearby. He grew concerned, running into the building. Everything was a mess, including two things that caught his eye: the lily he'd given her all those months ago, and Berry, having moved to a much larger pot after those months of growth, laying sadly on the ground. He went over to them, placing the lily, beautifully preserved by Lily's magic, behind his ear. He then picked up Berry, placing his pot on the table. "I'm here to help... Where's Lily, do you know?" he asked his friend in gnoll.

"Who? What? Why aren't you with the others?" Gux heard the response behind him, also in gnoll, and turned around to see a face he never thought he would again. Swaggering out from one of the bedrooms was the twisted, broken face of Xarn, the guard he'd been stationed with, looking as though he'd survived being beaten to within an inch of his life by the tribe. The second their eyes met, his lips turned back in a snarl. "You traitor! You show mercy, you run from the tribe, and you do not tell them about this hunting ground you knew about?" Xarn readied his spear, swinging it at Gux, aiming straight for his heart.

Gux reached out, grabbing the only thing at paw: Berry, and pulled a small branch off of the bush. Immediately, in the glow of green magic, the branch turned into a long, thin rapier, which he jabbed and poked at Xarn, but Xarn's shield defended him. Gux quickly grew annoyed, and another flash of magic turned the sword in his hand into a whip, which wrapped around Xarn's shield and tossed it aside. "I don't want to hurt you! I just want to protect my teacher!"

"You are here to hunt! To feed! Have you forgotten who you are?" Xarn, with both paws, thrust his spear at Gux, and Gux dodged it, lunging forward as his whip turned into a spear. Gux's thrust met true, the sharp wooden spear running through Xarn, who continued to snarl and wail as he shuddered around the spear in his heart.

Gux looked horrified, but shook his head. "I haven't forgotten who I am... I have learned there's much more than... this." He then cast goodberry, hoping to get something to heal and feed his friend. As he did, the lily in his ear glowed, a protective aura wrapping around him as vines curled down his body, weaving themselves into sturdy, living armor that moved with him. It had a face mask made of leaves, but with a thought they pulled apart, letting Gux talk. He knelt down in his armor made from his first gift to his teacher, offering a berry to his old... friend was not a good word for it at all, but someone he knew from his tribe. "Take this... live. Learn. Grow."

"Never! I will tear you apart first, as will the tribe once they see you. Everything you love will be devoured!" Xarn snarled, lunging forward, only to push himself further on the spear, impaling himself. His gasping, raspy breaths left him as blood dripped from his mouth and the wound, pooling on the floor and running down the spear.

Gux looked at his tribesman, then at his weapon, magic returning it to a simple walking stick he held. He shook off the blood, looking... no longer horrified. "That won't happen. They won't be devoured." He stepped outside, looking at the burning city below. "I will be their protector."

He set off down the path to the village, Berry's staff in paw, wrapped in his gift to Lily, and mind focused on what he had to do. All around him he could see the results of the raid. Many homes were burning, and anything edible looked as if it had been eaten hurriedly, with everything else tossed carelessly into the lawns and pathways of the village. Gnolls all clustered around corpses, bloodsoaked faces as red as their eyes, the full rage of the hunt driving them on. They looked at the newcomer with curiosity, as the vine-clad figure was clearly a gnoll, but one with eyes gleaming gold in the sun and a purpose to his stride.

Then one seemed to recognize his scent, growling and leaping at him. The vines absorbed the slashing claws, growing back into place after the gashes were cut in them, while the gnoll's fur was not so powerful, staining red as he landed from the attack. He growled out in pain, looking back to see the huge greatsword Gux held, red staining its wooden blade. He looked from the injured gnoll to the others, ready for the onslaught.

Four rushed at him, spears and shields in paw, while the fifth turned back around, slashing back at Gux with his claws. Gux seemed to know where the attacks were coming from, moving just enough to avoid them, but it wasn't enough to keep from being hit. One spear connected, landing deep and cutting over his chest. He just glared, attacking twice in quick succession, one attack downing the first bleeding gnoll, and the second knocking the spearman prone, a huge slash up his front. He looked at the remaining three, then kicked at one with the force of a horse, his body, just for a moment, almost seeming to have hooves as the gnoll flew back, slumping unconscious against a house.

He looked at the other two slavering tribemates, who both rushed at him again. He managed to duck both spears, swinging his wooden sword in a low slash that caught them both in the stomach, dropping them to the ground. He left each of them a berry, picked freshly off of the vines around him, letting them decide their own fate as he went deeper into the village. He didn't know where he was going, but he decided to follow the destruction and fighting, knowing he'd find Lily somewhere on the other end. If she'd been hurt in any way...

While he saw gnolls in houses, he wasn't here to slaughter all of the intruders. If any came near him, he would fight back, and when there were too many, he would be injured in the battle... but he always moved forward, the sap of the vines wrapped around him seeming to close and heal the more dangerous wounds. Behind, he left a single berry for each, at least until he picked the tenth and his vine armor fell away. He cast the spell again, the armor regrowing once more, but he was much more wary of what was happening now.

As he neared the central building in town, he saw the gnoll warband laying siege to the building. Defenses were springing up, fires were being put out as they sprung up, but the fifty gnolls outside were relentless, and the pile of corpses they'd pulled into their lines to feast on showed that they'd meant business. Gux managed to catch them by surprise, running into their back line, cutting down two unobservant archers with a wooden axe before he tossed it at a third, the axe turning back into a normal stick as the gnoll hit the ground, the slash still visible in his skull.

He could feel the tides of battle turning, but he knew precisely who he was coming for, and he ran through the confused and raging gnolls to meet her, the sheer number of attacks and arrows flying at him starting to get him bloodied through the armor. At the front line, he stopped, grabbing one of the berries and popping it in his mouth, feeling energy flow through him that wasn't there before. His eyes glowed with the golden green of his magic as he called out, light shining down on him and bringing all eyes to his form.

"Warmatron Zhaerh! I come with an offer!" The sounds of battle stopped, all the gnolls, and the elves hidden in the building, locking their eyes on this forest-clad figure. He held up his club, pointing it at the largest gnoll on the battlefield, an eight-foot hulking, bloodsoaked monster of a gnoll, a wicked flail made of sharpened bones in her paw and a red fiery glow deep in her eyes. "Leave this place now, or face me in combat, one on one. The victor will decide the fate of the war band."

Zhaerh looked at him cruelly, her red stained smile curling up much too far before she let out her cackling, hyena laugh. "You think you can fight me? A single guard without the thrill of the hunt flowing through you? You were the runt of the litter... I should've fed you to the others the second I pushed you out of me. And now you think you've got the spirit of a hunter..." She laughed again turning away, her focus returning to the door in front of her. "Make this meat stop moving, we have a bigger feast inside."

Her four largest guards all rushed at him, dozens of arrows raining down on him before the fight even started. He gripped his staff, turning it into a halberd and readying it as the first guard swung at him. He tripped the guard, the magic behind the weapon startling the fighter and bringing him to his knees before Gux spun the bladed end into him, pushing off of it into the air. The three other guards tried to follow, but to no avail, and as arrows stuck into Gux's armor, leaving little trickles of blood, he crashed down on the second guard, stomping down with the force of an elephant and impacting the gnoll into the ground.

The two remaining ones kept their distance, trying to dance around Gux, and even though he'd trained with them, their work together outpaced anything he could do on his own, leaving him bleeding and panting, whimpering with pain. He'd always known pain, growing up in the tribe, but... feeling them attacking him... It was possibly the worst pain he'd felt... And then he heard her words from the window. "Gux! You can do it! I know you can!" He looked back, feeling the magic seeping into him, spurring him forward and aiding the sap in closing his wounds. There, still in chains, was Lily, calling out to him from the cell she was locked in.

His heart pounded in his chest knowing she was alive, knowing he had something and someone to fight for. He grabbed his halberd, swapping it to a dagger that he threw at one of the gnolls. It was hit in the arm, and in that moment of weakness he rushed forward, sliding next to the guard's spear and grabbing his skull, arms like a gorilla's slamming it down to the ground, knocking out the guard. The remaining guard raised his spear and Gux picked up his stick, cutting clean through the bone implement of his enemy before slashing him across the chest, the pain causing the guard to hit the ground and whimper. Gux, once again, tossed a berry to every gnoll he'd injured on his way here, leaving just three berries left on his suit.

"Gux! Watch out!" Lily called from her cell, trying to get his attention through the blood pumping in his ears.

Once more he turned. "Warmatron, I-" the flail struck him across the face, one of the sharpened bones cutting through his throat, and he grasped at it, falling to the ground. Lily let out a cry of pain, starting to do the motions for her biggest healing spell she could muster, but... how was she going to touch him? With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. "No... You can do this, Gux! Please... you have to..."

Zhaerh stood over him laughing. "All of your brothers and sisters were weak... loyal, but too much of their father. I thank you for ridding me of your brood." She spit next to his unmoving body as she started back towards the door once again. Right as she reached it, she heard a voice call out in common.

"Stop! I challenge you!" She turned, seeing Gux staggering to his feet, the vines disappearing off of him, berry juices and healing sap mixing with the magic Lily had sent his way, leaving him shaken, but alive, the cut at his throat healed away to nothing. A flail of his own, with huge, spiked durians at the end, sat in his paw. "I protect... all from you. You leave... or die."

Zhaerh growled at him, her snarling fangs dripping with rage and barely contained hunger. "You don't know how this works. Meat is supposed to stay dead! Now I will beat you to a paste and delight in watching you go to waste." She rushed towards him as he used the last of his magic for the day, her flail just barely missing his fur as the vine armor grew again, his flail glowing with magic. She swung again and he twisted through it, small cuts appearing in the vines as he looked at her, his glowing gold eyes matching her reds.

"I don't want to hurt you. But I can't allow you to kill like this..." He brought his flail around and it wrapped around hers, the magic behind his attacks keeping them evenly matched despite her clear strength advantage. She moved to headbutt him, trying to knock him off balance, and he met it with his own, his head harder than ram's horns as they collided, the crack resounding through the village. Zhaerh staggered back and Gux pushed forward, his flail condensing into a short sword, which he came close and quickly slashed away with. Crimson trailed down her fur, but she swiped back, her flail wrapping around his arm and catching the weapon, the bones digging in and causing his arm to ooze red.

He threw his sword to his other hand, watching it immediately become a spear that he started to poke at her with, scaring her back, but not before she had punctures on her chest and her flail had slashed away at his arm. He continued to stab, trusting his armor to hold him through this one... knowing what he was fighting or was much too precious to stop or give in. When her paw came at him in a crushing blow, he met it with a bear's roar, his own paw seeming to grow for a split second, matching her strength as he deflected the attack.

Seeing her there, the strength of the warmatron so much greater than his own, Gux knew what he had to do. He raised his spear as though he was about to turn it into a huge sword, and as she went to block, he rushed in, turning it into a small, wooden dagger and charging into her stomach like a rhino, bowling her onto her back before he stabbed away over and over with the knife. "This is for Lily! This is for all you've hurt! This is for a world without battle!" He brought up the knife once more, looking into Zhaerh's raging eyes... deep down, there was just the barest glimmer of fear, and Gux stopped. "And this is for all I've learned."

He got off of her, letting her stand, but when she swiped at him, he turned the dagger in his hands into a hard wooden gauntlet that smashed into her face, dropping her to the ground. He, once again, dropped a berry on her unconscious form as he looked around him at the gnolls. "All of you leave! Forget you ever saw this place, forget how you ever got here! Your hunting grounds are elsewhere!" His cries in gnoll got a lot of attention from the gnolls, all of which seemed to be calming down from their frenzy at seeing their leader knocked out. "Bring her with you, but she is weak. Her style of leading... it will not save you from my wrath. If you attack again, each and every one of you will meet my defenses. And you will regret it."

The gnolls, all confused, quickly rushed to their leader and the others, carrying them off. Those that had been hurt and ate the berries were able to get up and leave on their own feet... those that didn't... Their numbers were added to the pile of dead once the village was cleared. But Gux didn't care about any of that. He went towards the council building, his bloody, scratched armor and heavy breathing showing just how hurt he was. "Lily... I want... to see her."

There were a lot of confused elves, many of whom hadn't seen Gux at all, only hearing rumors of the dog person on the edge of town. However, one voice called out clear. "Absolutely not! You let them escape! How can we reward a monster like you?"

Gux looked at him flatly. "I ask nicely..." And, while Gux didn't insist, swaying a little on the spot, the elves that had witnessed the battle and the way the vine-covered savior had taken out their leader decided Gux had deserved at least what he asked.

"Let him go to her!" "She was right about him!" "He just saved our lives!" "He's a hero!"

A chant started around Birch, and slowly, fearing mob rule, he relented. "Fine...Gux," he said the name as though he were spitting out a ball of slime. "You may go to Lily's cell and meet with her while we decide your fate." While Birch was still getting boos, Gux just nodded, following the druid that led him through the halls to the cell. Lily tried to rush out, but was reluctantly stopped, forced to stay in the cell as Gux entered.

He looked at her, swaying on the spot, and said "I... love you," before he flopped down into her arms, unconscious. She caught him, stroking his blood and dirt-matted fur as the vines disappeared into the lily behind his ear. She just smiled, kissing him on his forehead... and he smiled as well, nuzzling into her lap.

"I..." she stopped herself, just letting him sleep. The hero deserved his rest... and to hear what it was she had to say, if this all worked out.