FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The deep levels of Rata Sum held immense history, much of it lost. As the cube city grew to unprecedented levels, stretching ever higher into the sky, the knowledge held in its lower offices was came with it - usually. On occasion, an asuran researcher would be on the unfortunate end of a lab accident, and all their notes and collected data often disseminated among the city, yet it was the raw copies of that data that was most valuable. Over the decades, it became necessary to launch undercube expeditions to recover lost knowledge, digging into the very bowels of Rata Sum. With barely no living presence, these ancient halls and chambers lacked the neon lighting and robotic golems one would find on the upper levels of the city, leaving them dark and decrepit.

For most asura, this was acceptable. A once-subterranean race of humanoids, their large eyes functioned well in the dark; their thin arms and claws were suited for digging the earth and moving dirt; their short stature gave them the means to squeeze into holes much larger predators would be unable to follow; and their floppy, keen ears were able to pinpoint the source of sounds even from echoes. Flourishing on the surface had not dulled these senses, and asura usually preferred cool, shaded stones to the bright, burning sunlight. Yet the only asura one might find lingering in the deep undercube sections were often on expeditions to recover such ancient knowledge - and if there was one thing most asura resented, it was hard, physical work.

"Alright, you plebians!" Professor Torkk called out, sparing the quickest and yet somehow most disgusted sneer he could manage to the krewe behind him, his red eyes gazing at them with disdain. "I want a full sweep of this lab, top to bottom, back to front! Anyone who finds Oola's missing journal pages and manuscripts on necromancy and golemancy gets this weekend off; anyone found slacking will get a mandatory addition of ten weekend work-hours as an assistant at their respective college!"

"Weekend work-hours, are you kidding?!" one asura cried out.

"You're such a tyrant, Torkk!" another shouted, shaking his fist.

"I can't go back! Momma said I didn't have to go back!" another wailed, starting to hyperventilate while curling into a fetal position. "Don't make me go back!"

"ENOUGH!" the older asura barked, beating his staff against the hover-platform he was mounted upon. The apprentices went silent, leaving the professor's voice to echo through the dimly-lit derelict study halls. "I'll be damned if the Arcane Council elects me as their replacement for the late Councilor Higgs, so we're going to come back with something that shows I still have value in field research!"

A brown-skinned, black-haired asura in the back glowered at him, his voice low. "Only as a case-study for dementia," he muttered.

"I heard that, Kajjex!" he barked back, glaring at the tall, young asura. "Anymore back talk and I'll tack on five labor work-hours on top of it, just for you!" He gestured to a trio of lumbering magic constructs and a cart of tools. "Shovels and pickaxes for the small piles, use the golems for the large debris and equipment; if any of these golems gets damaged I will make sure whoever is responsible puts in the work-hours to see it paid for! Now split up and shut up, we're burning crystal-light down here!"

Mutters of discontent still rippled among the group as they paired up, but they offered no direct words to him as they started to divide and pair up. Kajjex looked between them, brushing his bangs out of his golden eyes and trying to put on a smile as he approached a few others.

Just for today, act professional. Be nice. "Anyone need a hand?" he asked calmly.

Two of the six other asura shook their heads politely, while the other four gave him a dour look. "That won't be necessary," one of the four said. "Torkk is having us restore power to this lab. We don't need a pair of strong arms when we can just use the golems."

The subtle jab caused his ear to twitch. "You know I have more to offer here than that," he countered, crossing his arms and trying not to frown.

"If we need a guide on how to not pull a shoulder while trying to pick up rocks, we'll let you know," another asura replied with a sneer, holding a shovel out to him. "Why a student from the college of Statics would be on a trip to find data from Oola is beyond me. What happened, did your colleagues run out of bricks to stack?"

"If they did, then I'm not about to find suitable replacements among _you_blockheads," Kajjex snapped back, finally letting a spike of frustration get to him as he snatched the tool away. "Whatever, I get it. I'll dig by myself."

He strode away from the group, off to a darkened corner of the ruined classroom, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light. The sting of the insult still smarted, more than it usually did. Clearly, the other apprentices had read his work, and like most asura had dismissed it as a joke - analyses of asuran physiology were redundant, and anything relating to physical training and combat strategies for their diminutive species was pointless, as far as they were concerned. Most asura saw no point wielding a sword when a golem could handle a larger one on their behalf.

He sighed, shaking his head and setting to work, jabbing the spade into a pile of rubble. It had been his passion to offers something_new to asuran knowledge, and now that it had failed to produce any interest, he was resorting to joining lower-level expeditions, seeking _old knowledge for someone else's profit. He wouldn't even be here is if he wasn't so desperate to continue funding his own studies and info-gathering. Still, even that logic didn't do anything to prevent tedium from setting in.

"Do it for the gold," he kept telling himself as he shifted stone and dust off to one side. "Just get paid today, then crawl back into your hammock. Then do it again tomorrow." He paused, the mere thought of doing this ad nauseum filling him with dread. Once he'd managed to shake it off, he continued, shoveling another load of stone and debris away, revealing a badly-damaged bookcase.

"Power's back up!" a shouted rang out at the other side of the room. The lab's lighting fixtures stirred to life, brightening the area while several lab terminals flickered and booted up.

The new illumination allowed him to spot several decayed manuscripts in the bookcase. He stooped and brushed a bit of dirt away, picking out the least-damaged of these tomes and looking it over. "Keen Edges, Keen Minds - A Study Of Asuran Weaponry," he muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that?" Torkk barked, startling the younger asura.

"Ah, nothing," Kajjex said, holding it up for him to see. "Just an old Peacemaker guide."

"Garbage," Torkk spat, hovering away. "Toss it in the bin, unless you plan to use it for your pointless research on 'proper' weapon balancing."

"Oh come on! You read that one, too?!"

"Who hasn't?" Torkk snorted, and several asura chuckled. "The only thing you proved is that desperation can be a good source of comedy. You're lucky I even let you come on this expedition, I needed someone with more muscles than brains. Now get back to work! The sooner you finish, the sooner you can get back to wasting everyone's time by submitting your trash theses to the College of Statics!"

The younger asura's ear flared aggressively. "It's not trash!"

"SILENCE!" Torkk snarled. "Five work-hours this weekend!"

"But--!"

"I said shut it, before I give you the full ten!"

The urge to keep shouting burned hot in the young asura's chest, his hand so tight around the handle of his shovel so tightly that it was a wonder it didn't shatter in his grip. But the combination of being utterly humiliated in front of even a small group of people was stifling, made worse by the new knowledge that his submission had been considered a joke. He turned back to his work, stabbing his shovel back into the rubble pile and trying not to let resentment overwhelm him.

"Just keep at it," he muttered, feeling a sting in the corner of his eyes. "Just get paid, just walk away. It'll get better tomorrow."

Searching for lost knowledge was not necessarily a thankless job. For a lucky few, such undertakings could become a fast-track to scientific greatness, claiming knowledge from the minds of long-dead geniuses and repurposing it for a modern asura world. The downside was that such backbreaking work was likely to shave off a few years from even a young asura's life. The lower levels often became nests to a skritt scratch, or any number of jungle beasts looking for an easy den. Without a constant golem presence to patrol the largely-empty halls and corridors, such intrusions were a common occurrence. It also meant that these ventures were often conducted by paid volunteers, as opposed to a more coordinated, standard research krewe.

Most asura, however, hated having to work under Professor Torkk - better known as Torkk the Tyrant. Apprentices knew little of his history despite being a prominent genius in the Colleges of Synergetics and Dynamics, though they did extrapolate data from interacting from him. So far, that data amounted to him being "a stupid, dumb, gray-headed jerkface," and having "a face only an ettin's mother could love, and probably not even then because there's only one face."

Still, if there was on appreciable skill one could attribute to him, it was that he knew how to run a group. By the end of the day, two whole labs had been cleaned up and investigated, with little of note to show for it. Such volunteer work was often slow, with meager fractions of lower-level abandoned labs being uncluttered in a year. All the same, it came as a relief once the city's chronometer signaled the changing of the hour, with nearby golems alerting the chatting team.

"Well if you're that interested in geothermal golem recharging tech, you might want to swing by my flat and see what I've got running," one of the female asura was saying to her male partner, as they began putting tools and recovered texts away. "I've got plans to form a krewe around my prototype, I just need a few sharp minds."

"I might have time this weekend to do that," another blonde-haired asura said, taking a seat on the tool cart and organizing them. "We could bring a couple of workers here too, they seemed interested." He pointed to a couple nearby. "Those two have some steady hands, we could probably chat them up and see."

"Sounds good. What about that one, the tall one?" she asked.

"Pfft, him? He's all muscle and no mind."

Kajjex nearly froze, fully aware that they were referring to him. Some toxic feeling of embarrassment washed over him as he tossed his shovel into the back of another cart, a little harder than he normally would have. He tried to ignore it, putting his attention towards packing away the rest of the equipment.

"He doesn't look dumb to me," the female asura said. "Quiet, sure, but so are a lot of analytical types. And there's nothing wrong with a bit of musculature."

"Were you even here when people were talking about his research?" he scoffed. "Me and a few of the others have already read it, he's a joke. About the only thing he's ever invented worth a damn is a personal service golem for hard-working geniuses. He probably modeled it after himself."

He flinched again, gritting his teeth as he picked up another shovel, setting it atop the others. Let it go, he thought. It's not worth being worked up over.

"So? Sounds like the golem was a good idea, at least. What's so bad about his research anyway?" she asked, sounding less skeptical and more curious. "It can't have been that bad if he was accepted into the College of Statics."

"It's become the laughingstock of the College of Statics, a series of combat treatises!" he chuckled. "Like, actually getting into battle with a sword, like some kind of miniature norn berserker! And not even suggestions for combat algorithms for golems, but actual techniques for asura!"

"That's... pretty out there," she admitted. "Why risk it if you could just have a golem do it? Or better yet, just bring a rifle with you."

"Right? Like what kind of imbecile comes up with that kind o--"

"Shut up!" Kajjex snapped, whirling around with a glare.

"Oh, look, he finally noticed," the asura snickered. "I was wondering if you were too slow to notice when someone was talking about you. Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought - just _almost_as dumb."

"I spent years on that research, and I'm not about to have it talked down by an idiot who has no idea what the hell they're talking about!" he snarled.

The female asura held her hands up, looking fearful. "W-whoa, take it easy, I didn't say anything."

"You think I don't notice when people talk behind my back?!" he shouted, making her cringe. "Or are people pushing me deliberately so I can prove that I'm right in the worst way possible!?"

"See, dumb and violent!" the blonde-haired asura said, gesturing to him.

"Stop it!" she cut in. "This isn't helping! Look, I didn't know, I'm sorry!"

"As misguided as my former student's ideas may be," a voice behind Kajjex said, "you are wasting time by trying to provoke him. Given how easy it is to do, you have hardly accomplished anything or proved any point." Kajjex shuddered as Torkk moved between them, still mounted on his hoverpad. The look on his face was one of polite disdain and disappointment, directed at the blonde asura. "Now get back to work. You still have several minutes before clocking out."

"Er... yes, Professor Torkk," the asura said, clearing his throat and turning back to his work. The female asura gave Kajjex an apologetic look, but said nothing more and turned away instead.

"As for you," Torkk said, giving Kajjex a disgusted look, "I want a word with you."

Kajjex swallowed, looking away. "Sure."

"With respect, boy."

He bit back a growl, raising his eyes back to Torkk. "Yes, sir."

Torkk smirked. "Much better. I gave you this opportunity, it's only reasonable that you show some respect for someone still willing to pay you for your limited uses. I'll grant that you've at least pulled your weight today."

"I... appreciate that, sir," Kajjex muttered.

"Nevertheless, the punishment for earlier will still stand," Torkk continued, folding his arms. "As your pre-college mentor, making yourself an embarrassment tarnishes my reputation as well as yours. Why the College of Statics even puts up with you is beyond my understanding. Had you kept your mouth shut and not drawn attention today, I would not have to correct your behavior. And here you are, doing it again."

He winced, anticipating more punishment. "How many more work-hours are you adding, then?"

"None - for now. But as you are under my assignment, I am able to decide where your punishment will be carried out. Sending you back to the College of Statics as an assistant would be useless, and a waste of time for anybody meant to put up with you." He paused, his eyes narrowing as Kajjex's fists balled up. There was little he could do but fume silently at the abuse, knowing that if he spoke out of turn the old man would make him regret it. "Instead, I'll have you sent to Ulta Metamagicals to carry out your work hours there."

Kajjex's glare turned into a confused frown. "The asura gate research krewe? Why them?"

"The krewe is scheduled to run a special experiment this weekend, and the current security in the area is not sufficient. My limited pull only managed to get a few more Peacemakers assigned to the worksite, and they will need more hands to cover what other experiments and hard labor are needed." He pointed the end of his staff at Kajjex's chest. "I have no faith in your 'research' as you well know, but even a simpleton like you should be able to point and shoot with a rifle."

The insult caused another surge of fury to build in him. "Give me one good reason why I should even bother!" he hissed.

"Because you need my help," Torkk replied without missing a beat. "Do you think a krewe like Ulta Metamagicals would bother hiring you, even as simple labor, if I was not in a position to recruit you on their behalf as a temporary intern for weekend work-hours? If you're capable of doing a sufficient job, it will at least be something to put on a krewe reference for future employment. Be thankful I'm doing this for you - as far as I'm concerned, I'm putting my own job in jeopardy just by being associated with you."

The flare of hot anger was doused in those few moments, leaving a smoldering resentment in its wake. Kajjex looked away again, nodding. "Very well... I'll make sure it gets done."

"Good. Then all that leaves is the punishment for your recent outburst just now," Torkk continued with a sneer.

His eyed went wide. "My puni-- but you said--"

"I know what I said, imbecile," Torkk interjected. "I said I was not tacking on extra work-hours for your outburst, not that I wasn't punishing you for it. Give me your wayfinder and waypoint registration key. You'll have to earn the convenience of rapid teleportation from me."

"Y-you want me to walk all the way there?!" Kajjex cried out.

"You have legs, use them!" Torkk spat back. "Any more backtalk and I will assign you more work-hours!"

The younger asura trembled, feeling only one nerve away from exploding, but with no shortage of reluctance he reached into his pocket and retrieved his waypoint key. If it weren't for the fact that he was in Torkk's debt for these opportunities, he would have walked away. With a sick feeling of dread and despair, he handed the old man his waypoint key, sighing.

Torkk stared at him a few moments longer, then snorted, steering his hoverpad around and floating away. "The workday is done. Get out of my sight and show up early tomorrow."

Kajjex stared at the ground, his fists clenched. "Yes, sir..."

If there was any consolation to having no companions to spend time with, it was that there was no incentive to find a place to waste his free time where others would, making the walk back to his apartment light on foot-traffic. For the most part, he kept to himself, wandering the mid-levels of the Rata Sum cube and into its low-cost housing district. While nowhere near as crime-ridden as the poor districts in the human city of Divinity's Reach, its low overheads meant parts of it required constant repair, and not enough golems to keep it that way. This, too, was an upside - it meant he didn't have to put up with their clanging about, at least for tonight.

He reached his apartment and keyed in the code, stepping into its dim interior as he pulled his satchel off. "VAL-A, lights, please."

A voice at the other end of the room replied. "Lighting - fixtures - activated."

The apartment lit up, revealing its bare essentials; a cheap, makeshift lab and desk with papers stacked on both sides, a table with an old wooden chair, a barely-functioning shower unit, and a hammock. The only piece of tech that would have clued anyone else that the flat's occupant was anything more than a failed Statics graduate was the well-maintained golem in the corner of the room, which trembled a few moments before stirring to life and approaching the asura. The sturdy, mound-shaped construct leaned forward in its best approximation of a bow.

"Good - evening - master. How - was - your - day?"

He gave it a bland smile. "Could have been better," he sighed, handing the golem his satchel and coat as the stone door slid shut behind him. "Get a full recharge?"

"My - power - cells - are - working - at - ninety - percent - efficiency," it replied, wandering away and placing both items on a nearby clothing rack. "Possible - error - in - recharge - connection."

"I'll take a look at it this weeke--" He stopped short, remembering his punishment. "Well... when I have the time, at least," he amended himself. "More than likely the landlord decided to skimp on repairs this month."

"Shall - I - scan - listings - for - other - flats?" it asked.

"Nah... there's nothing in our price range," he said, a little happy that at least one being in Tyria seemed to care enough to ask. "Just going to have to tighten our belts and wait it out." He peeled off his shirt. "How's the temperature?"

"Heat - levels - stable. Cooling - units - likely - in - state - of - disrepair."

"Figures," he sighed. "Close the blinds, open the window vents, get the fan on - and activate the dummy."

As VAL-A obeyed Kajjex undid his trousers, leaving him in just a pair of boxers as he strode to the emptier part of the flat. The blinds beside the door sealed and a vent above it creaked open, allowing a gentle breeze of cooler air to filter into the room, just as a wall fan activated near his hammock. The wall he stood next to slid open, revealing a cross-shaped device, about six feet in size, with light panels affixed on each side; in its center was a small holoprojector. Next to it was a foam-covered bat with sensors along its length, which Kajjex picked up and hefted in one hand.

"Training - dummy - has - been - deployed. Shall - I - fix - you - up - a - cup - of - tea?" VAL-A queried.

"Bit too warm for tea tonight, don't you think?" he replied, spinning the bat a few times in his hand before resting it on his shoulder. He smiled up at the training dummy, imagining Torkk's face on the top of the center pole.

"Perhaps - an - iced - tea?"

He nodded, grinning. "Now we're talking. Fire up training sequence number three, longsword style."

The light fixtures lit up, each glowing with a yellow light. The holoprojector in the center flickered to life seconds later, casting out the image of a simple sword in front of it and letting out a quite beep as it seemed to scan the asura. After a few moments it let out a buzz. "Training - sequence - three - now - active. Begin."

He lifted the bat up and got into a guard position, circling the training dummy and keeping his attention on its projected sword. The dummy turned and kept him in front of it smoothly, the sword slashing through the air in a downward cut. He stepped in, leaning to one side and swinging the bat against base of the dummy, scoring a solid hit - the light fixture let out a ring and flashed green for a moment. In the time it took to return to yellow the holo-sword swung again, trying to catch him in the back. With a grunt he dashed forward and away from the swing, stopping short and digging his feet against the floor as he swung the bat around again.

The diodes lit green once more and the dummy spun around to retaliate with a series of cuts. This time he did not rush in, angling his weapon; while made of light, the holo-sword stopped short as it landed against the sensors along the bat, signaling a successful block. It wasn't enough, though, as the sword continued to slash around him, forcing him to block, roll, leap, and flip into the air to avoid the sequence. The moment he landed back on his feet he raised his weapon again, sidestepping another attack, leaping to avoid another, and spinning mid-air with a swing, catching the dummy in the neck region for a confirmed hit.

He landed with a satisfied smile. "Textbook," he muttered. "Let's keep going."

It was one of the few activities Kajjex enjoyed these days, putting his knowledge to work and training with the bat. Not only did it help him relieve his stress, but it was one of the rare things in his life he was somewhat proud of, a solid example of what he had to offer from his research, even if he could only demonstrate it to himself. Years of studying fighting styles throughout Tyria had taught him that his greatest asset in a fight was his agility, providing a means of both a potent offense and a strong defense. As the minutes wore on his breathing became more labored and a sheen of sweat had formed on his brown skin.

"Almost there," he panted, having counted at least four minutes. By now the bat was feeling heavy in his hands, but it was no different now than it had been in the past - a test of his endurance. The dummy's sword jabbed at him, and he twisted and leaned to avoid it, trying to conserve his stamina while maintaining his positional defense. One stab made the point of the phantom sword to disappear into his shoulder and he grunted in frustration; hardly enough to kill him in a real fight, he knew, but enough to slow him down. He shook it off and got in close to avoid the follow-up swipe, swinging the bat overhead and catching the dummy in the arm.

He spun around and ducked its final swing, stabbing his foam weapon forward and digging into the center post, just as the training dummy buzzed. The holo-sword flickered briefly before disappearing, the light fixtures on the dummy going dark. He sighed and got back to his feet, wiping his brow. "How was that, VAL-A?"

The service droid approached him, holding a glass of iced tea in one hand and a clean towel in the other. "I - detected - only - three - hits - scored - against - you - this - session, Master," the droid answered as it handed him the towel. "You - delivered - four - extra - hits - during - this - sequence. You - have - made - considerable - progress - this - month."

"Yes, well... when one doesn't have much to do with their time, I suppose that leaves one with more time to train," he said, placing the bat next to the dummy and wiping himself off. He gave the dummy a considering look. "If I had more money and materials, I'd make something a little more lifelike to train against. Or find a krewe for it," he added with a scoff.

"I - have - detected - increased - stress - levels - during - this - last - month. Is - there - anything - I - might - do, Master?" it asked, handing him the tea.

"No, but thank you," Kajjex sighed, draping the towel over his shoulder and taking a swig, before taking a seat in the only chair he owned with a sigh. "I don't like dealing with Torkk since it puts me in his debt, but he isn't wrong about me needing assistance. Besides, at this point I have more to lose by doing nothing."

"Are - there - no - other - options?" it asked.

Kajjex mulled over the question, then shook his head. "I don't know. But he's the only asura I know who has the connections I need to get good krewe references. Any of my colleagues from the College of Statics have moved on, and I wasn't close to any of them. This is probably my only shot."

Like any golem VAL-A was faceless and showed no emotion, yet there was something peculiar and comforting when it put a hand on Kajjex's knee. "This - unit - knows - only - to - serve. It - is - my - programming - to - ease - the - stress - in - your - life. I - hope - I - have - been - adequate - for - this - role."

Kajjex smiled, putting a hand on its dome. "VAL-A, you're one of the few reasons I keep trying to keep my head above water. If I wasn't around, nobody would be able to take care of you."

"You - do - well - in - repairing - me," the golem replied.

"I hope so." He patted the golem. "Go on and get some recharging, buddy. Set the lights to go off in two hours, and set an alarm for sunrise. I need to wake up early."

"As - you - wish, Master."

Kajjex watched as it retreated to the corner, resting on its recharging pad and transitioning into its standby mode. The golem was about the only social interaction he had left these days, bar the limited discussions he had while taking on odds jobs to stay afloat. Having a reputation for being less-inclined towards magical pursuits was something of an undesired irregularity among most asura scholars, and so he was never sought for such opinions. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the intrusive thoughts of academic inadequacy, then stood up and drained his glass. Still feeling sweaty, he kicked off his shorts and made a beeline for the shower.

An hour and a half later he was in his hammock, still nude and reading through the book he'd found in the lab. The tome was old, perhaps some two-hundred years old, dating back to the time of the Destroyer uprising. There was little in it that would have been impressive in terms of its weaponry designs, as most asura weapons these days were either ranged or kinetically-charged; yet there were some later chapters involving tactics against Destroyer creatures that seemed promising. At the very least, taking the information from the book meant he wouldn't have to develop techniques on live specimens - like any minion of the Elder Dragons, they were dangerous to trifle with.

Eventually the lights went out and he sighed, setting the book on the floor and leaning back in his hammock. As a once-subterranean race, an indoor darkened room wasn't enough to put an asura to sleep, but the standard hammock and a good source of air flow often did the trick. Had he not been so stressed, he likely would have fallen asleep in minutes. Instead he found himself staring up at the darkened ceiling, trying to purge his memory of the words he'd heard earlier. Torkk's face and words flickered in his mind, an echo of claims of inadequacy, and he groaned, putting his hands on his face.

"C'mon... think of something else. _Anything_else." He strained for an idea, briefly considering thinking of way to update the training dummy with the chapters he had read from the book, only for that same sense of impotence to needle at him in Torkk's voice.

About all you proved was that desperation is a good source of comedy. You're lucky I even let you come on this expedition, I needed someone with more muscles than brains.

Kajjex fumed, letting out a silent curse. "Okay, nothing scholarly. Nothing about work, or anything connected to Torkk. Think of something fun. Base desires."

In only a few moments Torkk's voice vanished, replaced with a mental image of breasts and dicks.

"... Fine," he sighed, lifting his head up and watching as his cock stirred. "I guess this'll get me to sleep, too."

While he had no intimate interactions to speak of, the occasional urge to masturbate was never something he turned down, particularly as it often happened when he was stressed. Sex was something he remained interested in even when buried in books and research documents, though never something he sought for himself - not when he could tend to his own needs. He reached low, sliding his hand down his pulsing length and letting out a pleasant groan as he did, a delightful flutter of pleasure running through his stomach. His cock reacted positively, stiffening as the seconds passed, each beat of his heart causing it to twitch.

It dawned on him that his workout session was a likely culprit in keeping him awake, even two hours later, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. The urge for self-pleasure hit its peak just as hit cock did, a thick spire of flesh pulsing before him. While he'd never been arrogant enough to attempt a physical comparison with other male asura, he was certain that his cock would have been of note to any interested anatomist. It certainly looked big enough to him, as if it belonged more on a healthy human male instead of a diminutive genius. His hand stroked upwards, his fingers massaging the thick cum-vein running underneath his length. A heavy spurt of natural lubricant dribbling from the tip, his palm smearing the slickness along the surface. He breathed in and shivered as he began to stroke, his mind conjuring any image that would cause his arousal to spike. There was no doubt that an actual pussy or ass would feel nothing short of perfect around his prick, but his hand was getting the job done as best as it could.

Before long he had a steady rhythm going, his feet bracing against the hammock as he jerked his hips up to meet his descending strokes. Every so often he'd feel his heavy balls bump against his wrist, bringing a pleasurable ache that he was in no hurry to eliminate. The various images of attractive asura he'd met over the years did more than enough to help - and not all of them female, either. A few times, various cute male asura flitted into his imagination, bringing forth images of their asses bouncing in his lap, or their mouths wrapped around his shaft or suckling his balls. The fairer sex was not in short supply, either, with vivid faces of bliss mixing with their squirming beneath them, wordless moans and cries to be knocked up fueling his arousal.

It almost overwhelmed him, forcing him to stop short with a gasp. His mind cleared the images away, something that was all the easier as no face truly belonged to anyone he knew. His hand gripped his cock again and he resumed carefully, keeping his focus away from the faces. For a few minutes the image was that of a nubile male riding his cock, his smaller prick jumping each time he bounced in his lap. His grip on his cock hardened as he envisioned grabbing their thighs and pounding away. He paused briefly and the vision changed again, this time to a female writhing beneath him as he buried his cock in her vulnerable cleft. Her smile was beautiful, but he heard no words as her mouth moved, though he could only imagine it was a lurid suggestion to sire progeny in her.

His cheeks burned and his brow furrowed as his fantasies took a salacious turn, as the figure in his vision morphed into another being from another race entirely - that of a slim, pure white female skritt. Her black eyes stared up at him and a cute smile formed on her muzzle as she brought a paw to his face, cooing something to him he could not process. It almost felt like he was physically being pulled down, allowing her to lick his cheek and chitter in his ear, sounding close to orgasm, ready for him to pour her full of kits. The sight of him penetrating the rat-morph was by itself a taboo most asura would curse him out for, yet he felt no guilt as it caused a surge of arousal, the tension in his balls and lower gut tightening as he threatened to spill his seed deep into this conjured image.

He gasped, mentally reaching out for something different, and found one moments later as his imagination conjured the form of a pitch black charr huntress, small and slim enough to be the runt of her litter, powerful enough for him to imagine her cunt-walls squeezing around his cock. She was not riding him, he realized, but was bent over beneath him, her ass upturned to serve his cock, with a collar and leash around her neck; a far cry from the domineering, proud females of the cat-like warrior race. She looked back at him with a pleading look, her eyes filled with equal parts shame and desire, wordlessly begging for his cum.

It was enough to bring him past the edge, his eyes flicking open as he let out a cry of ecstasy, the waves of pure bliss rolling through his nerves. His cock throbbed and his balls seemed to clench as ribbons of hot cum spewed from the tip and splattered against his chest, some of the excess hitting his face or arcing over the side of the hammock and pooling on the floor. He released his cock with a hoarse gasp, letting the last few spurts drool over the side. Within a minute he felt enveloped in a warm yet lonely feeling of satisfaction, his mind mentally fogged with lust. It was a haze that took several minutes to clear.

"F-fuck," he groaned, shuddering slightly. He looked down at himself, feeling dirty now that he was covered in his own cum. Whether or not an asura could call his large cock and balls a blessing was a subject of debate he knew would never be discussed; but just from experience alone he would have an ample argument that messes like these were a distinct downside.

He sighed, knowing what had to be done. "Uh... VAL-A?"

The golem stirred back to life. "Yes - Master?"

"Ah... could you get me another clean towel?"

For the next two days Kajjex did his best to keep his nose clean and his head down while Torkk was in the same room. Though teams were quickly forming through the group, he had not made any meaningful connections with any other asura, something that wasn't helped by the lingering rumors of his research and interests. Even those who were at least cordial and polite, sometimes even pleasant, had no room in their group for an outlier of an asura with a skillset that others did not need. The best he could do, then, was put his back into searching for whatever it was Torkk wanted. Today, that was more missing research data belonging to the famed asura golemancer and necromancer, Oola - one of the first asura geniuses to settle on the surface of Tyria.

It was halfway through the last day before the weekend, and things were already going poorly. Subterranean living oozes had somehow managed to get into one of the marked labs, forcing the group to wait for their golems to clear them out. While not rated for combat, they were sufficient enough to clear out the jellies with a bit of time and effort, though it meant that most of the material they came across afterwards was in no condition to be salvaged. As a result Torkk was in a considerably foul mood, and not even switching to another tagged room brightened his outlook.

And as Kajjex anticipated, he was more than happy to spread that foul mood at the worst possible moment.

"Why are you doing that!?" he snarled.

Kajjex swore as he nearly lost his balance, bracing his feet against the floor as he struggled to push a bookcase back upright. "Doing what?!" he shouted back, barely managing to keep it from falling on top of him.

"I told everyone to use the golems when lifting heavy equipment or furniture!" He waved to the other groups, stamping his feet on the hoverpad. "We can't afford to make mistakes while looking for any missing manuscripts or pages! We've already lost out on an entire room because of some oozes, and I'll be damned if we miss out on more because of your incompetence!"

"I'd_use_a golem if there was a free one!" Kajjex shot back, sparing a brief moment to glare at the old man before heaving the shelf unit against the wall. "You only brought three of them! How is that going to be enough for a room this big?!"

"Silence! I will _not_have my methods questioned by an imbecile!" he snarled. He brought his staff down on the hoverpad, a brief shower of sparks spraying from the impact point. His next words were low and quiet. "You know _full well_how limited my time is, boy. The Arcane Council holds its vote in less than two weeks, and my name is has been listed as the projected winner."

"Gee, I wonder why that is," Kajjex mused, rolling his eyes. "Could it be that the more time you spend up in the Arcane Council, the less of you we have to put up with down here?"

"You do realize our agreement requires that I _avoid_sitting on the Arcane Council, else you lose out on any workplace opportunities and jobs I'm currently offering, do you not?" He glared down at him. "It's as I warned you when you agreed: fail me, and I won't hesitate to ruin your career in the process. Then your trash will truly end up where it belongs."

Kajjex glared back, but held back his insults. "I'm doing what I can, Torkk."

The old man sneered at him. "Get back to work."

Kajjex watched as Torkk steered away to begin berating a few other asura, before grabbing a nearby shovel and digging into a mound of shattered stonework. Determined not to give Torkk more reasons to antagonize him he powered through the shame and fatigue, trying to ignore his surroundings, managing to put a dent in the debris on his side of the room. But despite his focus, his keen ears did not miss the sound of approaching footsteps. Half-expecting Torkk to have returned and give him more grief, Kajjex spun around and took a breath, ready to shout obscenities at him.

He stopped short at the sight of a slightly taller, slightly older asura male.

"The old man has a bookah up his backside, for sure," he remarked, glancing back at Torkk before giving the younger asura a smile. "Don't let him get to you."

They were the last words Kajjex had expected to hear from a complete stranger, but he shook it off, returning to his work. "Doesn't matter if I do or not," he said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice. "He can call my work it trash all he wants, and he's wrong; but it doesn't mean it's not at risk."

The older asura gave him a considering look, a small smile on his face. It had the effect of making him look younger and more handsome, less goblin-like than most other races would have thought compared to other male asura. "What is your work on?"

Kajjex frowned, his frustration deepening - this was hardly the moment to be bothered. "Why do you care? What makes you think I'll just share it with a stranger who can simply look my name up in the failed submissions repository?"

"Call me Preek," the older asura said, offering his hand. "And also call me curious."

Kajjex paused his work, now looking over the other asura. Like him, the gray-skinned stranger was dressed in light and form-fitting sleeveless work coveralls, though his arms bore both scars and strange runes the younger asura identified as norn characters. He was certainly a bit stronger looking than most others of their race, though there were signs that he'd likely been more muscular in his younger years. His hair was a dark blue with streaks of dyed white, his eyes pale and focused. Everything in his relaxed body language said that he lacked any intent to mock the younger man, his smile patient and understanding.

His frown didn't disappear - but it did ease a little, as he shook hands with Preek. "Kajjex, College of Statics," he said quietly.

"Statics, that's a good college. The best, in fact," Preek said.

"No surprise. Everyone says their own college is the best," Kajjex sighed.

"Oh, I never studied at Statics," Preek told him. "My field was in Dynamics. I put up a few decent papers covering uses for Hylek poisons and norn mead in elixirs."

Kajjex arched an eyebrow. "Nord mead in... I think I've read it," he said, recalling the dissertation. "Something about the alcohol content working as both a painkiller and sterilizer due to the use of some species of bee honey, right?"

"I'm flattered, someone remembered," Preek chuckled, beginning to dig through the pile Kajjex was working on. "But enough about me. What's your field of study?"

"It's, well... nah, it's stupid," the younger asura muttered.

"Hey, I said the College of Statics was the best one," Preek said encouragingly. "In Synergetics, you can come up with an idea that goes nowhere, with no proof; in Dynamics, you can get the wrong dose or the wrong effect and have to start again. But there are no bad ideas in Statics; just ones that can be repaired."

Kajjex stared at him, not expecting to hear a pearl of wisdom. He shook his head, leaning on his shovel. "It's a solo undertaking. I started studying asura physiology to work out the best possible training regimens to make the best use of our natural advantages, and then paired that with a series of combat maneuvers and tactics best-suited for a race our size."

Preek nodded, and for a few moments there was silence as Kajjex waited for the laughing to start. Instead, the older asura gestured to him. "Keep going."

Kajjex blinked. "Oh. Uh, well..." He cleared his throat, trying to resume both the conversation and his digging. "I picked up on wielding weapons when I was younger and that never went away, I guess. My dad's descendants were golemancers and elementalists, so I'm decent at some magic, but I wanted my focus to be more... martial."

"Nothing wrong with that," Preek said. "Practical knowledge on how to handle steel will save anyone doing field work."

"Yes, but most asura will say the best kind of steel is the one you shoot, or make a golem out of," Kajjex replied. "Other races say that we have no business being on the front lines if our sword-arms are a fraction of the size of another race. I wanted to change that. No, not just change it - I wanted to do something new." He stabbed into the pile again, tossing rocks aside. "We have our physical strengths, we just need a new mindset to employ them."

"Hence the study in physiology," Preek guessed.

"And I didn't want shortcuts, either," he added. "No Elixir X or poison blades, no prosthetics or powered suits, or piloting golems to substitute for us. Just efficient training and applied, tested techniques. Things like combative acrobatics to make use of our size and speed; meridian point manipulation to accelerate healing and recovery; mental and psychological exercises to ignore pain or improve morale; the use of leverage and physics to make up for a lack of strength; and studying the physiology and weaknesses of an opponent during a fight."

"You've really thought this through," Preek remarked, sounding impressed.

"I had to," Kajjex reasoned. "When I first started interviewing the Peacemakers I quickly realized how lacking we were. They do decent work, and they can jump into a fight with the odd skritt or rampaging mini-golem, but anything past that requires a golem or ranged response. So I widened my search, spent gold to travel and study the charr and norn races, and even humans. Credit where it's due, despite the size disparity they've held out admirably against their centaur enemies."

"Why were you so interested?"

Kajjex paused, trying to articulate what he felt, having never once been asked that question. "It's just... the way I see it, we breached the surface of Tyria more than two-hundred years ago to escape an Elder Dragon, and most of us are still not ready to face it. There's a big world out there, with much bigger threats, Elder Dragons aside. I've always believed that day will come where we won't have the option of running from a fight, or the luxury of a golem to handle it for us. We can either meet those challenges head on, or keep cowering with rifles and magic in our hands; and if it's the latter, then we may as well just crawl back into the holes we came out of and wait until the world ends."

Preek laughed, and at that Kajjex winced and went silent. Never before had any asura shown an interest in his work, his rationale and discoveries, nor had he expressed such eagerness to share what he knew. Almost immediately the older asura ceased his chuckling, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah sorry, don't mind that. I'm not laughing at your research efforts. I think it's brilliant, in fact. More than that, though, I don't think I've heard so much passion for something so far from the norm, especially among the younger crowd. It's a good thing to see, it speaks to how genuine your pursuits are."

"Is it a good thing?" Kajjex said skeptically, grateful he wasn't being mocked for once. "Most geniuses don't seem to think so."

"'Most geniuses' think less about helping their fellow asura, and more about the fame and recognition that comes with scientific discovery. Case in point." He gestured to Torkk, who was now shouting at a cowering pair of apprentices. "This guy is likely going to end up on the Arcane Council, lording his nonsense over other people, and ultimately making no impact on the world - all because he wants recognition for things someone else knows. You have a chance for something better, not just because it's new, but because it's_different_. There's always value to find in something different."

"How does that matter if that doesn't get accepted?" Kajjex asked, partly out of resignation, but also because a part of him dared to hope Preek was right.

"It won't happen easily, for sure. But focus on changing one mind at a time, is what I'd suggest." He grinned, thumping the younger asura on the back. "Have a little confidence."

"Sure," Kajjex scoffed. "I'll bring some more confidence with me if I can find it buried beneath my failures."

"Don't fear failure, Kajjex," Preek told him seriously, sliding his shovel into a pile and getting back to work. "It's only in contrast to our failures that we can truly recognize the value of our successes."

Kajjex stared at him as he set back to work, processing the words. He could fathom no reason why a stranger he'd only met five minutes ago would give even half a damn about his circumstances, but now the sting of shame was gone. He shook himself out of his thoughts, moving to the pile Preek was working on and lending him a hand.

"So, what brought you here, then?" Kajjex asked, now curious. "Do you not have a krewe any longer?"

"I made my contributions to the sum of asura knowledge and stepped away," Preek answered. "Now I just run my business, a club in the undercube levels. Torkk pissed off his last guide and needed someone who knew the halls here for escort, so I offered to help for thirty gold." He smiled. "My krewe is mostly gone. Couple of them joined the Vigil, one possibly died in a portal accident, and the last one retired to become a fisherman in Lion's Arch. How about you?"

"I have no krewe," Kajjex admitted. "My credentials are standard, and nobody needs a little muscle when they can just have a golem around for labor. Much as I despise him, Torkk selected me for this in return for getting him the information he wants. I joined this group thinking I might be able to meet people and join a krewe, but I was too hopeful." He turned and looked around, frowning at the work they were doing, noting the lack of any real unity. One pair was using a golem to push a specimen tube upright again, while they checked the control panel. "I might just be wasting my time."

"I wouldn't go that far," Preek said. "After all, you made a friend, yeah?"

The younger asura couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose so."

The sound of two arguing asura distracted him, drawing his attention back to the specimen tube. It was then he recognized the asura as the pair that had been talking behind his back only days earlier. The blonde apprentice was punching buttons at the base of the tube, while his female partner had her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. The tube itself was perhaps two meters tall and held some manner of cerulean mist inside, with no sign of life within.

"No, these power crystals are good for at least five-hundred years, it'll work!" he said.

"Work for what, Lenkk?" the other snapped. "This lab has been abandoned for at least a century, there's probably nothing in it! Leave it alone!"

"Hold on, it'll just take a second to check - there we go!" he shouted excitedly. "Still has some juice left, it's been active this whole time! Now, let's punch up the specs and see what's inside! If we're lucky, it might get Torkk off our backs!"

"Give it up, Lenkk, you're wasting time! I don't wanna have to trade my weekend for ten work-hours!" the other whined. "Now leave it alone before Torkk sees us!"

Kajjex shook his head. "This is how easily-avoidable lab accidents happen," he sighed.

"What are those fools doing?" Preek said, leaning on is shovel and pausing to watch.

The tube's holo-readout flashed and opened, Lenkk stooping to read it and missing the shifting movement within blue haze. Kajjex's eyes widened as a pale hand pressed against the inside of the tube, its fingers long and almost skeletal, its nails blacked and rotted, with a bit of skin peeling at the palm. It disappeared for only a moment, only to slam against the inside of the glass with a quiet, dull thud, which Lenkk appeared not to hear.

"Hmm... says here it's a specimen from the Sea of Sorrows. Must be an aquarium or something!"

The hand thumped against the glass again, and this time the glass spiderwebbed at the impact point. Kajjex found his voice again.

"Lenkk!" he shouted. "Get away from that specimen pod!"

"Huh?"

The hand slammed against the tube a final time and the glass gave way, shattering and spraying shards outward. Lenkk ducked to cover his head from the debris, a reaction that undoubtedly saved his life when the corpse-like hand made a downward grab for his neck, narrowly missing his ears. The other asura sprinted over and pulled him out of the way just as another hand pierced through the cracked tube, blue mist flowing out of the cavity and dissipating. Now the sounds of feral growling echoed forth as the being within swung at its prison.

The lights throughout the lab turned into a blood red as a loud, droning alarm blared through the lab, followed by a golem-like voice. "BIO - CONTAINMENT - FAILURE - DETECTED // QUARANTINE - LOCKDOWN - ACTIVATED // PLEASE - REMAIN - CALM - AND - CONTACT - SECURITY." A heavy thud drew all eyes toward the exit, where a stone door slammed shut.

"What's going on!?" Torkk shouted angrily. "What did you fools do!?"

"Some kind of containment breach?" another asura said. "What's causing it?"

"We're trapped in here!" someone cried out in a panic, pounding his fists against the stone door.

"Someone get a golem to break the door down!" another suggested.

"No, we need someone to break the quarantine procedure! Get to a working console and hack it!"

While everyone else began to panic, only Kajex, Preek, and the other two asura were paying any attention to the containment breach itself, as the specimen thrashed against the glass again, shattering its prison completely and revealing it to the rest of the room. It was human, in the sense that it had at some point in the past once been a living human being. Now it was a pale, decayed corpse, wearing ragged clothing so soaked in ichor and dirt that they were gray and rotted, a few strands of hair remaining in what little scalp skin was still attached to the skull. It's lips had long since rotted away, leaving only its black teeth and putrid green gums, drooling a pitch-like substance that flowed down its chest. Yet despite looking like the very picture of death, there was an eerie sense of cognition behind it's lifeless black eyes. Its maw hung open and it let out an inhuman howl.

"W-what is that thing!?" Lenkk cried out in a shrilly voice.

"GET BACK, YOU FOOLS!" Kajjex hollered at the top of his lungs. "IT'S A RISEN!"

The abomination lunged for Lenkk and his partner, falling face first as the pair narrowly scampered out of reach. Screams rang out in the room as asura panicked and scattered in every direction except the sealed exit, the Risen creature making grabs for the closest. The golem that had been used to set its stasis pod upright lumbered towards it, its normally blue power diodes shifting to pink as it engaged a rudimentary security mode. It swung a heavy fist at the creature, scoring a direct hit that unbalanced it only slightly, but as it wound up to swing again the Risen beast tackled it and sent it sprawling. Too heavy to get back up easily, it could do nothing as the Risen started to rip apart its alloyed frame like it was made of cheap tin, quickly enough that it was fully disabled by the time the second doomed golem had reached it.

On the other side of the room, Torkk was angrily shouting at the others. "Calm down, you ninnies! Someone get a Peacemaker down here! Everyone else, use the third golem and start subduing that corpse!"

"We're not fighting that thing!" one of them shouted back, watching as it ripped the arm off the second construct and started beating its faceplate in with it. "It'll kill us all!"

"Have some backbone, you imbeciles!" he snarled back, but before he could go on another insult-riddled tirade, the corpse had lobbed the golem arm at the professor with inhuman force. The mangled limb crashed into the hover-pad, the professor letting out a craven shriek as he tumbled off the ruined vehicle. In the next second he was cowering behind an overturned desk.

Throughout all of this, Kajjex and Preek had taken cover behind the bookshelf and remained hidden, with the undead creature positioned between them and the sealed hatch,. From their position they could see Lenkk and his partner huddled behind an overturned gurney, looking to them for some kind of moment to make a run for the rest of the group. That moment came as the Risen turned its back to them, tearing the third golem apart with ease.

"Come on, kid, we need to get out of here!" Preek shouted, grabbing Kajjex's collar and making a run for the door, just as Lenkk and his partner broke cover and sprinted for the group. The sharp tug brought him back to his senses and he followed without argument. The creature turned again and threw another limb at them, its toss going wide and crashing into the opposite wall, yet the pair did not stop.

They had nearly reached the rest of the excavation team when a shout of pain rang out behind him. Kajjex whipped around, his eyes wide with horror - Lenkk had tripped and fallen behind, and the Risen had managed to grab him by the ankle.

Asuran instinct told him to flee, that this was his chance to escape at the price of another member of his species. It was logically sound, to focus on personal survival by using the opportunity to get to safety. The odds of living were he to stay and aid the poor fool were wholly unfavorable.

Run. Run away, right now.

"Help me!" Lenkk cried, looking directly at Kajjex with his hand outstretched.

No.

In that moment, survival instinct was displaced by something he'd never felt before. Self-preservation did not matter, not now. Whatever it was that shut down his will to flee, it was powerful enough to prevent him from taking another step away. When he finally did move, it was at a full sprint - right towards the abomination.

I am NOT running away!

"Where are you going, kid?!" Preek shouted.

Kajjex gripped the shovel still in his hand, crossing the distance with all the speed of a hunted rabbit. Once he was within range of the creature he leapt into the air, the shovel held above his head, letting out a wild shout at he brought the tool right on the Risen's wrist. The blade buried into its flesh and the sharp snap of a shattering bone could be heard. The Risen howled in rage, lashing out at Kajjex and catching him in the chest, sending him flying. In its fury it had wrenched the rest of its arm away, leaving just a stump as the hand continued to cling around Lenkk's ankle, allowing him to scurry away before it could return its attention to him.

Kajjex landed awkwardly in a pile of desks, overwhelmed by blinding pain as the wood shattered around him. He groaned, struggling to get up, his hand still clutching at his shovel. He managed to raise it just as the Risen pounced on top of him, trying to wrench the shovel away. There was no way for him to outmatch its strength; without the capacity to feel pain, it could push itself past mortal limits. Instead, Kajjex quickly twisted the shaft, deftly working it out of its grasp before thrusting the dull spade into its chest.

Another dull crack filled the room as the tool penetrated the soft, dead flesh. With the handle braced against the floor it was barely enough to keep the creature at arm's length, its remaining hand still attempting to grasp at the prone asura. Terror nearly overtook him, the will to survive returned tenfold as his free hand groped around for something, anything, to defend himself and buy at least a few more seconds of life. His fingers brushed against a hand-sized stone and he grabbed at it, bringing it up with a fast swing and catching the corpse in the head, knocking him off balance. The beast howled and Kajex took his chance, rolling to his feet, pinning it down with one foot, and yanking the tool out of its chest. Its remaining arm grabbed at his leg but by then Kajjex had brought his makeshift weapon around, slamming the flat of the spade against its temple.

Knowing he only had a brief second while it was stunned, he wound up his blow and brought the shovel down like an executioner's axe, cleaving through the throat. The Risen's vocal noises were reduced to a strangle gurgle, yet it still bore a look of pure hatred at the poorly-armed asura. Kajjex didn't care. He yanked the tool out of its neck, swinging to bat away another attempt to grab his leg, and let out a war cry as he jumped off the Risen's chest and brought the improvised weapon down on its injured neck with a two-handed blow. This time, the shovel did not stop until it clanged against the stone underneath, the Risen's head rolling off to one side.

The Risen's face fell from one of rage to one of regret as it rolled to Kajjex's feet, causing him to back away in fear. Its mouth moved, and the eerie sound of air moving through its severed throat issued from it. When it spoke, it was quiet and clear.

"Zhaitan... I've... failed you..."

Then it went still.

For ten long seconds, Kajjex stared at the decapitated head, waiting for it to move once more. But it remained still as the corpse it looked like, and he released his breath, panting and staggering back, tripping on a rock and landing on his backside while his shovel clattered away, its edges black with undead ichor. His heart hammered in his chest like a golem trying to break a wall, his brow covered in sweat. His upper torso ached from the hit he took, and his back felt like it had been taken the kicks of a hundred asura progeny.

"Is... is it dead, then?" Torkk said, peeking out from behind the desk.

"It's-- yeah, it's dead, I think," Kajjex managed to reply, still unable to believe what had just happened. The Risen, the re-raised minions of the Elder Dragon of death, Zhaitan, were only known for washing up along the shores of the Sea of Sorrows, many miles from Metrica Province and Rata Sum. To encounter one so far west, and encased in an ancient specimen tube, was unthinkable.

"It must have been a test subject for studying dragon energy," Preek said, helping Kajjex to his feet and peering at the corpse's head with a look of unease.

"Dragon energy?" Lenkk repeated, peering from behind another rubble pile. "B-but this lab was a place for studying Oola's later theorems about--"

"Necromancy and golemancy," Preek finished for him. "Like all asura of her time, she would have used any knowledge to her advantage. She wouldn't have been the first to study Zhaitan's undead minions in an attempt to further her studies."

"Well, who cares about that!?" Torkk suddenly bellowed, making everyone jump. "Because of that quarantine alarm, the Peacemakers will be here any second and you can bet they'll be bringing the Arcane Eye branch with them to lock this area down! Now we can't search the area for missing manuscripts!" He turned his glare to Kajjex. "YOU! You never said you could fight a Risen! If you had acted sooner we wouldn't have lost three labor golems, and I wouldn't have lost my hover-pad!"

Kajjex blinked, unprepared for a baseless accusation not even a few minutes after surviving a life-or-death situation. "I-- but-- I didn't even know the thing was here to begin with!" he cried out indignantly, pointing at the Risen's head. "How is that _my_fault?! Lenkk was the one who --"

"Not another word out of you!" Torkk shouted back, demonstrating far more volume than Kajjex could muster. "Ten work-hours at Ulta Metamagicals on top of the five from earlier this week, for a full fifteen! Fail to show up and I'll have the College of Statics strip you of your credentials to study and research!"

"But-- but--"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"

An incalculable wave of frustration set in on him, causing him to tremble in sheer anger. Feeling there was no possible way his day could get worse, he ignored Torkk and shouted one more word, kicking the head away.

"_ FUCK!!!! _"