FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The caravan's fire shone through the trees, but the dark clothed figures were keeping well out of its light. A sentry had spent most of his time looking the other way and when he had glanced in their direction they'd been quick to hide lest his eyes catch them. The khajiit were able to see well in darkness after all.

One of them stirred from a bedroll on the ground, murmured voices traded in the distinct accent they had and then the waking one started to trudge into the tree line. The figures exchanged glances and swiftly peeled off to wait near the latrine that the caravaneers had excavated.

Qa'ranji, was a khajiit of the Cathay breed, similar in build to most of the other, more recognisable humanoid races of Tamriel, but furred all over and with bestial heads. The black stripes that cut between her orange fur were quite tiger-like in appearance, matching her facial features. She hiked up the hem of her dress a little as she moved to the latrines, and stopped when she saw something move in the darkness.

Her mouth opened to shout when suddenly a ghostly hand appeared, closing over her lips and squeezing her jaw closed. She saw the light glow of concealed magic from the one conjuring the hand but before she could act further hands came from behind to seize her upper arms and pull her further into the woods. These hands were flesh and blood, their owners strong yet silent in their ambush.

The magical hand held firm no matter how she thrashed her head. "Gmm hff!" She tried to yell, tugging and pulling, but she was just a merchant woman and the bandits who'd taken her outmatched her by far. She dug her heels in all the same, eyes widening as she was half marched half dragged to two others who had spools of rope taut in their hands. The mage faltered, his energy failing, but as the khajiit went to shout out, one of those at her back was quick with a wad of cloth which he thrust in between her teeth.

Before she could spit it out a wider cloth was tied over it, spread over her muzzle. The mage came forward, opening a small cloth sack which he forced her head into and then tightened a cord around the opening, pressing the fabric tight to outline the concealed face. Qa'ranji was panicking now, her shouts for help turning to pleas, if she could just talk to them maybe she could offer a deal, some of the caravan's wares for her safety. She didn't know what they wanted of her!

She was meek and frightened enough that there was little resistance as the ropes were stretched across her body, simple coils wrapped to pin her arms against her sides, rolling again and again over her waist until she was secure. They walked in silence, but for the mumbling feline who went stumbling along against the trees, she lost a boot as she tripped but her captors didn't slow, simply dragging her forward. They kept quiet until they were definitely out of earshot, though despite the sack Qa'ranji thought she heard someone calling for her from behind.

They remained stoic and focused on what lay ahead. Through the woven bag she could see the glow of some blue magic, a portal of some kind. A hand shoved into her back as one of the bandits spoke in a low whisper. "Here. One cat girl just as you ordered." A new hand took hold of the ropes.

"Perfect. Your payment, as agreed." The figure threw a hefty sack of coins onto the floor, so weighted that it made a dense thud. The bandits all gasped, they'd never imagined such a big payday. But the figure was already dragging his prize away. "Bad luck to you khajiit, it was just not the right time to be alone." He said, giving her a push. She stumbled into the portal, and the sensation of it, like falling into icy water, took her breath away...

More than a continent away the stealthy Suthay-raht thief who called herself Ahkasari crept through a courtyard. The night was cloudy and thus her eyes had advantage over the elves. She was dressed in tight-fitting leathers, a uniform of her profession, that covered the spotted coat she bore. She prided herself as having fur like a leopard, though given her slightly-below average size compared to others she'd been given the nickname 'Serval'.

Her paws clenched as she leapt to an overhanging beam, hauling herself up and onto an ornamental wall. Unlike the Cathay, Suthay-raht were slightly smaller in build and had far more animalistic features, their legs featuring a digitigrade shape that ended in a cat's paw.

She waited for a guard to walk by, practically passing underneath her but, blinded to the night by the torch he carried, he wouldn't even see the silhouette of her tail. Ahkasari leapt forward when he was past her, catching a windowsill and climbing into the open hole above. Her eyes fell on the podium that was her target, a rare item demanded by a contract she was fulfilling as a member of the Thieves' Guild.

It was down a level from her, and the balcony would be tricky to get down from silently. However there was a soft looking rug that would mask her fall. She dropped, falling onto it and landing with her hands pressed to the floor and waited, holding her breath. No sounds came, she had pulled it off. Now she just needed to swipe the dark metal off the plinth and get out without being seen.

She was not magically inclined, but she had enough latent power that she'd been able to grasp a spell that let her detect magic, waving it carefully around she detected not so much as a twinkle. A more experienced thief would have paused at that, the lack of magical influence conspicuous in itself, but without a further worry she slipped her hand out to grab it.

A grinding sound of metal filled the air as sharp blades stabbed a sudden circle around her and a bright light blossomed out, she jumped in reaction, but none of them had so much as nicked her. Beyond the points, now embedded in the floor, the blades had formed into long bars, reaching out to connect and build a cage around her with discomforting metal jabbing at her wherever she moved. This was thanks to the large blunt spikes that tipped the inner walls.

Armour jangled as guards ran into the room. "Hands up, thief, or we gut you where you stand!" One of them called, swords and spears levelled at her.

"T-this one surrenders!" She called out sharply. Better a month in a jail cell than an eternity feeding the worms. However a jail cell was not to be her destination. A strange blue portal opening at the other side of the room. The guards pulled some of the blades back, grabbing Ahkasari's arms and locking them in manacles behind her back. She looked between the guards with concern.

"Into the portal, thief." They shouted, prodding her back with a spear.

"Ahkasari is going! Calm yourself." She said. She gulped, wherever it lead she had a bad feeling about it but her choice was mystery or cold steel... not much of a choice.

Another world, another place and unlike the dark of night, this forge was bathed in the light of day. Severa had been the last surviving member of her warband, incapacitated during a charge she'd escaped with light wounds and her life from the battle that claimed the rest. However as was the way in Charr society, she had fallen to the lowest rungs due to losing that which was closer than family.

She'd kept her spirits up as best she could, choosing to honor the memory of her warband by continuing her engineering work. Though as a gladium, the stigma that followed her meant she barely scraped by with what would formerly have been popular crafts. Severa was large, even by charr standards, though she'd lost weight lately. Her thick white coat masked that a little, making her seem bigger than she was. The white studded with grey leopard's spots, and her head adorned with four curved horns.

She huffed as she carried the huge box of scrap parts across her workshop floor, the best she'd been able to scrounge from what pickings were left. Her foot landed on a fallen object in the way and she tripped, the box scattering its contents over the floor. Unseen to her a clawed hand quickly brushed one of her inventions off a table, the sound of it bouncing masked amid the tumbling junk.

"Oh burn me, as if I didn't have enough to do already-" Her heart leapt as her words were drowned out by a loud bang and something heavy hit her in the back and shoulders, bearing her down to the ground. She was stuck under the weight of whatever it was, something thick, inches in some places, and while it was stretchy it wouldn't snap, dragging her back into position. Wait, the smell, it was one of her glue bombs.

Other engineers had made use of thick glues to slow and inhibit enemies in combat, but she'd been working on a particularly potent grenade, how had that exploded and why now?! Her head was caught in the thick viscous goop and it had hit her in the face too, making it difficult to speak clearly. "Hnn, anyone thrr?" She shouted out. "Some'ne!"

A thick voice came out, laughing from the shadows. "What is this, Severa? Is that you or some sort of snow-elemental?" Placidius said as he stalked forward. Placidius was another engineer, though compared to Severa his skills were amateurish, something his warband teased him over, and it stuck in his throat to be called less than a gladium.

She flushed angrily at that, he was not the friendliest of rivals and he must be loving the sight he saw. This was too embarrassing. "Stop gawking an hllp!" She said gruffly.

"Oh I'll help, alright, just not you." Placidius said back, he lifted a piece of metal and scraped up a glob of glue from where it lay on the floor, smoothing it onto Severa. "I think I like you like this." He said with a malicious chuckle.

"Whaddyu mean?" She demanded. Her kicking leg suddenly snared up as she realised he was further trapping her. "Stoph!"

A sound of thrumming energy filled the air as a blue portal split open and a robed figure walked through, about the height of a human, though their features were unseen. Placidius turned, taking a large piece of glue on the scrap and slapping it down on Severa's mouth. "Ah, perfect timing, here you are, one nuisance for you to clean up for me."

"Oh please it is a mutually beneficial trade, nothing more." The figure said. His eyes fell to the female charr still squirming fitfully. "Your kind are bigger than I expected, it will be fun to see how this goes." He said ominously, Severa stared up at them both, a seed of worry starting to sprout inside her.

The ever present gloom of Duskwood sapped all the passion out of the sun's light, making even daylight feel languid and depressing. Those who lived in the region had at least grown accustomed to it, carrying on their lives and weathering the hardships as well as could be expected.

The worgen woman Miranda had moved here to be closer to the city, and she had adapted well to the gloomy surroundings, for the most part. Her home in Gilneas had been in a comparably inhospitable stretch of woods Due to her familiarity with such locales, she'd learned the value of rare herbs that could be found in such places, and the supply was low given the rarity of those both brave enough to enter the correct areas and willing to collect the plants.

Miranda herself was just a tradeswoman but being afflicted with the curse that turned her into a worgen she was still an intimidating sight at a glance. Black fur tinged with a reddish-brown covered her body, her canine features looking wild and dangerous even when she was calm and smiling. Given the lands incessant gloom, most people saw a black shape with two bright amber eyes peering at them when she was nearby and kept well away.

But here she was, gathering plant matter. Sometimes she would use the herbs herself, other times playing the merchant to move them if times got particularly hard. Times such as the last month. She'd never usually venture into the depths of the woods alone, but her usual companions were sick with some malady. Desperation drove her to the search, as her choice was to go alone or starve.

She had managed to gather a good load of herbs, good enough that she could return, and her trip had been uneventful but for one hungry wolf that had started to approach her, until she'd scared it away by growling and snapping her teeth. She may not have been a fighter but all worgen could look ferocious if pressed. It was on her return trip that things took a turn.

She started to feel like she was being watched, but couldn't see the source, no matter where she looked. Nor could she smell anything unusual. She didn't want to go jumping at shadows either, but her body slowly tensed in the unnatural quiet. She had to cross a clearing to get back to her home, but as she stepped out she heard a loud growl from some dangerous sounding beast. The tall grass shook, it was heading toward her! She turned and ran into the woods, and then suddenly an invisible force pressed against her body lifting her into the air and making her bounce a little.

It was a spider's web! She knew that giant spiders lived in Duskwood but they should all have been driven away from this region. She let out a wail as her struggles failed to break free, only getting herself more tangled in the sticky strands. Whatever the beast behind her was it would have no trouble pouncing her now. She braced for the end... but it didn't come, instead the clicking of many limbs and a light hiss dragged her attention back forward as a huge spider descended down from the trees.

This was no Duskwood native, not even the horror stories told around campfires spoke of a spider that big. The creature's body was the same size as Miranda herself, and so with those huge long legs it looked even more foreboding. It reached out to the web with four of its legs, slicing her down and then snatching her out of the air. It wasted no time in pulling the quivering fearful woman to it's jaws and then gave a quick bite. She cried out in shock, the stunned silence broken as she let out one shout for help and then she couldn't move.

Whatever venom it had used was a paralytic kind, and with its prey frozen it pushed its spinnerets forward and started to weave more webbing to join the strands that had caught her. Spinning Miranda in its grasp it started at her legs, swiftly wrapping over the top of her cloth pants and then up to the jerkin, rolling her in the air as the webbing overlapped to build a solid layer. Tight enough to bind her legs and arms into one, but thick enough to obscure the shape of the prey. Her eyes flickered with the dim light of consciousness as it reached her shoulders and then the sheets of webbing were wrapped over her head.

The cocoon received another pass, wrapped entirely in a special webbing that was not sticky to the touch as a voice barked out in another language. The spider dropped its parcel and skittered toward the voice, standing beside the orc who had tamed it. She spoke in the common tongue as she lavished praise on the arachnid and the hulking boar who had scared her into the webs.

"You two play nice now." The orc huntress said as she walked up to the cocoon. "For a bounty as big as yours I expected a bigger challenge." Her iron soled boot pressing down. "Ah well, no point dwelling on it, eh, Master Poisoner Miranda?"

Her eyes widened and she tried to speak, but the paralysis was only growing stronger. She wasn't a bounty, or a poisoner, this made no sense! "Fortunately for you the bounty is very clear on having you alive, so let's get to it." Strong arms lifted the cocoon and slung her like a bag over one shoulder. The orc had been told to deliver her target to a portal and in exchange she would get a free magical trip home as well as a sizable payday. She could already imagine the scent of roasting meat with that perfect spice blend they served at her favourite inn.

Charrol heard something in the distance, a call for help? The tauren dropped the firewood she'd been gathering and ran toward the sound. Born in Highmountain, she retained many of the same features as most tauren, though her horns were like those of an elk, wide, flat and many pointed. Her deep brown fur, thicker over her arms and shoulders, bore paint that had been arranged in artistic patterns.

Despite her huge size, Charrol had always been a friendly woman, fitting the role of gentle giant, usually so careful and thoughtful, but as she ran toward the source of the sound her hooved feet crashed and splintered logs under her. She stopped, head tilted to the sky, listening out for the cry of distress again. Hopefully she wasn't too late. Another desperate shout came from her left and she barrelled towards it.

As she stepped out of the tree line she paused at what she saw, huge thorny brambles some as thick as a tree trunk had sprouted from the ground and a body was tangled in the middle of them. Without thinking Charrol leapt into action, pressing forward and shoving her three fingered hands into the vines, starting where they were still thin and weak. She tore some of them away, making swift work toward the body. "Wait, friend, I am coming to help! These strange vines will not hold you long."

The figure didn't respond, and she hoped they were still breathing, already her thoughts mapping the swiftest path to the nearest village, if she made it there she could find someone to tend to this poor soul. Finally tearing a vine as thick as her arm away, grateful that they seemed dried and brittle, she reached the centre and looked to the victim.

It was a mannequin. A carved piece of wood, head and shoulders only, that had been placed in the middle of the vines. Was this meant to be some sort of prank? Charrol took a step back, all that emergent exertion and this was the payoff, bah, if she found who put this here they would get a stern talking to, she imagined they were probably watching from the woods and laughing at her.

She would have been half right. The one who laid the trap finally sprung it, the thinner vines, fortunately lacking thorns or barbs started to move and more roots shot out of the ground, green, fresh and flexible, unlike the brittle counterparts of the thorns. Before Charrol knew what was happening they'd wrapped around her wrists and arms, tugging her to her knees. More roots burst out to wrap behind her calves and soon her struggles bought her nothing. "What? Who's there? What do you want!?" She yelled, looking around to find her assailant. The vines kept moving, tangling tightly around her as they lifted her into the air, the roots at her legs stretching to permit the changing posture.

They were even using the thicker thorny vines as a brace, creeping over them to pull her airborne and lash her body in position. It had to be some sort of druid, but whoever it was they kept themselves well hidden. The vines slowly closed around her, squeezing her face as one particularly lithe one pressed into her mouth and then wrapped it up. A short moment later her eyes had been covered too and she twisted in the still constricting plants.

A hand pressed against her leg as she hung in captivity, and she felt a ruffling of some cloth brushing up against her shins. The vines suddenly let go of the brambles, snapping but keeping her bound up as she fell down into a waiting sack that her captor had stretched out.

The enchanted sack was big enough for the tauren to be bundled into, and the magic it was infused with kept it as light as though it were empty. One last vine threaded over the mouth of it, tying and cinching tightly as the elf carried the large shape in his arms. Another of those blue portals already hung in the air, and he turned, offering the squirming package to the figure that stepped out.

Shi Fen had always been a restless spirit, but in an excitable and joyful way. The pandaren had longed to explore the world and being that she wasn't getting any younger, she set off on her twentieth birthday to do just that. Even though she was stricken with wanderlust, she chose the safer parts of the world, at least to begin with.

Already believing that there was more beauty in Azeroth than she could see in a lifetime, she had no urgency to be risking the lifetime she had. She'd been drinking and talking with other travellers at an inn the night before.

As she'd risen to go to bed a frail old man had stopped her, calling her aside. He'd told a tale of how he'd known a most tranquil and enchanting cave, hidden amidst the local waters, and in his youth he'd left a trinket behind, twined with a memento of his wife.

That was his price, for telling Shi Fen of the cave, she just had to fetch the trinket and return it to him. The pandaren had smiled warmly, patting him on the shoulder, a bit stronger than she meant to thanks to the fuzz of alcohol in her brain. "I will return here tomorrow night or the one after that, sir. And I will return your memento to you." She'd happily declared.

The cave had been just where she'd been told, even her hazy memories of the night before able to find the path. It didn't seem all that hidden to her, but perhaps that was thanks to the passage of time or even just the elderly man's memories failing him.

Whatever the reason she'd made it to the cave, and her breath had been taken away. It was as the old man said, a beautiful little pocket of serenity with a shimmering pool of water, and an array of rocky holes in the walls to climb and explore. The way leading to the area the fellow said his artifact would be had crumbled with age, and so the pandaren had to find a different route. Her physique was typical for her race, a culture that enjoyed food and drink to nearly excessive levels, she did not relish the idea of climbing too high too quickly and so she looked for another way up.

She'd found a twisting caveway that led up to her target, and ambled along, humming merrily to herself. The hiss of flowing water masking the sounds of the creature she'd disturbed.

Shi Fen made her way up to the platform but her heart fell, the trinket should have been prominently displayed from how the old man spoke of it. Had it been taken by another? Perhaps fallen? She stepped to the edge, peeking down to look, it seems this exploration would be a bit more complex. Resolving to find the item before she enjoyed the cave she turned around, and let out a shriek as she saw the towering black mass behind her.

The creature was an elemental composed of sticky tar, it's limbs dripped to the floor only for the fallen drops to snake back to the body and rejoin it. It struck quickly, forcing a hand made of black goo over her mouth as the other splashed against her round belly, she didn't even have time to draw a weapon, though her reflexes were fast enough to begin punching at it with her other hand. The creature rippled and then hardened, sucking on the offered limb and pulling her into it. The pandaren squealed into the thick tar on her lips, the bones protruding from the creature's body didn't look humanoid but still whispered of the fate of those it caught as it fixed two glowing orange circles, that seemed to suffice as eyes, on her. She tried to kick to the ground, desperate to avoid getting further mired in the creature, but it's own body flowed to meet those legs.

It was intentionally trying to get her to resist and thus pull her into it. Before long it had one of her legs, slurping her in at last, twisting her around too. She took a deep breath as the black goo loomed before her face, but it only rolled against her cheek, settling behind her head. Her arms and legs were squashed into place as she was pressed against its front, spread and trapped, able to see and breathe, but little else beyond squirm impotently as the tar continued to swallow her body. Pressure squeezed from all angles, soon leaving the pandaren with just the top of her head showing, the rest of her invisible or forming a shining tar bulge in the creature's body.

A buzz filled the air as a strange blue portal opened up, and a beam of magic slapped the creature in its head. It let out a groan and ejected Shi Fen from its body, still bound up inside the tar, and beat a hasty retreat. Her eyes widened in gratitude as a figure stepped out of the portal, but if she knew he wasn't there to save her, she'd not have relaxed so soon.

Back at the inn, the old man looked at the shining locket. He'd felt bad lying to the pandaren woman, but the nice man who'd spoken to him last week said she'd be coming, and he wasn't going to stand in the way of what he'd been told was a reunion of two long lost friends