FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The man was dead.

There was nothing we could do about it.

Narita wasn't around, but there wasn't any shortage of her common 'Defiler' kin lurking nearby to check the man's vitals to confirm there wasn't any life left in the deceased merchant, both on physical and meta-physical levels.

I could trust them in that more than I trusted myself.

The ability to drain the essence of life itself from the unwilling victims made them very good judges of whether something, or someone, had really died, and I trusted them as they were closest to the medical professionals available to our family of sorts.

The common 'Defilers' weren't able to communicate verbally, but they understood me perfectly, and I was still able to read their expressions quite well despite their nature as anthropomorphic female rats as far as the very simple concept went.

They weren't the puzzle the humans were.

The divide that existed between us and the natives went further than merely the language barrier or cultural shock. Was it nature, physiology, magic, the universe itself, or something else I couldn't quite name?

I didn't know what it was, just that it didn't mix.

Proof of the incompatibility lay before us - the merchant was yet another victim of our powers violently hostile to the different physiology, this time the 'Displacer' space-warping ability which resulted in shock, seizures accompanying the heavy bleeding, combining the lethality of a stroke with several other conditions I couldn't quite pinpoint, all of them life-threatening in their own right.

Even a precedent set with the 'Defilers' abilities couldn't prepare me for this alternative since those could be toned down, though, in hindsight, I should have expected this.

The events of the last few days somehow dulled the shock, terrifyingly quickly so, but they didn't entirely erase the sense of guilt, and growing frustration from the hollowness of the entire struggle, making my goal more and more unattainable with each passing day.

Although it could be signed off as yet another casualty in the endless cycle, one of the many, I considered the demise of this nameless, greedy merchant as a symbol, a sign of sorts.

One that symbolised my obsession with learning the local language in the hope of a miraculous solution to my problems, almost as if pointing at trees and rocks would give me intricacies of the foreign tongue to understand the forces that could pluck me from Earth to send me into this madness.

Except, it didn't work that way.

The trader didn't help us that much on the grand scale of things, we didn't even know his name, but he was still the first of the locals that were willing to even attempt any form of communication with us. He made a living proof of concept of sorts that our coexistence with humans was possible, despite the powers that put the divide between us.

And we killed the merchant before he had the chance to show the concept to his countrymen.

I couldn't say I failed him, the terrified man perhaps couldn't understand what was happening any more than we did, but by letting him die I certainly did fail myself.

My plan was horrible. It relied on lottery odds of success with far too many breaking points dependent on factors I wasn't reliably able to influence, yet it was thwarted through the only action I could control.

I felt stupid.

"Get rid of the body, please, Mai," I said in a resigned tone.

"Yes, my Master."

"Thank you."

I didn't look at my scaly companion, submerged in thoughts about the futility of the peace we never had. The very consideration that the concept of 'us' - which included me as well as the rest of the furry menagerie - and 'them, the humans' were two different things still felt somehow wrong, but I could hardly deny the power considered those two to be anathema meant to destroy the other.

I didn't really believe in fate though, or at the very least, never meaningfully thought of it before.

Until now.

I still didn't believe in such a thing, and although the merchant's death could be explained by my own incompetence, it certainly felt like tales of humans inadvertently bringing about the destiny they fought against.

Such as one that brought me into this, into the situation I didn't ask for or wished for, equipped me with this power hidden behind the monochromatic windows and poorly calculated numbers, all intended for inherently destructive goals.

"Our scouts reached the old camp, Master," Miwah announced quietly. She didn't need to speak loud to do that, I still leaned on her for support, wondering what kind of effect looking into the distorted space had on humans.

I kept forgetting that I operated under the 'monster logic' and the abilities that benefited them had equally positive effects on me as well, maybe except for their resurrection-based immortality I wasn't ready to test.

It would mean abandoning my faithful protectors.

I had responsibility for more than my bad decision, my monsters - my people - relied on me.

This brought me back to reality from my silent contemplation, once again forcing me to focus on things that still mattered, that still could be influenced, that still could work.

"What are the humans doing? Heading towards us?" I asked. It was a reason to be worried.

"A few of them are trying to torch the camp, Master. Huts are burning, along with some of the dryer coverage, but not all modified plants are flammable enough." She described it, her gaze fixated on the horizon as she communicated with her kin sent to scout the place.

Relying on my companions to interpret the remote events, I waited for them to finish, my brain finally forcing itself to focus on the different aspects of our predicament in the form of continuing hostilities, and increasingly more dangerous opponents seeking our destruction.

Burning the plants meant very little - our 'Purifiers' tested the definition of flammable with their every waking moment. A few did it even as we spoke, giggling, toying with their fire abilities.

"They don't know we are here, Master." Sora, our newest teleporter, added, rather scoffing at how unperceptive humans seemed to her.

I gave her a nod, I just didn't know what to do about the humans yet. I couldn't shake off the feeling of the foolish, poorly thought-out decision even after my 'Corruptors' fed the man's body to a magically altered plant.

"The other human was able to see us, but those he left behind cannot," Miwah explained, "They don't notice the Displacers in the treeline either."

"The other human? The elite? Where is he?" I asked immediately, without even realising that the term 'elite' was probably going to become more common despite it probably not being fitting or descriptive enough. Still, it would have to do - those people were much more dangerous than anyone and anything else, powerful and absolutely unpredictable.

I looked at my werewolf.

"He left, Master. His movement is fast, but he heads away from us." Miwah confirmed.

"He can't escape us, Master," Sora suggested. The feline was likely right in this, she could cross large distances with shocking ease and her rift jumps, for lack of better terms, would help us greatly in pursuit.

I, however, wasn't certain whether it would benefit us in any way.

Pursuing the fleeing man brought us to this.

However, attempting to avoid the fighting was almost equally damning as engaging in it, being slow in action and decision-making could lead to disaster just as easily as aggression would. Just as there weren't any manuals for my companion's abilities, there were no guaranteed outcomes for our actions, and all of them could lead to doom.

I hated that there were no good decisions.

"Wait, please," I said, trying to put my brain to work.

My white werewolf perhaps had a point. I looked at Sora, my cat-monster wasn't invisible the way the 'Eviscerators' could become. The blueish colour of her fur wasn't quite intense, with some leeway it was within the possibility of the Earth's exotic animal breeds, but it along with her white patterns at the chest, belly and inner thighs didn't provide any meaningful camouflage among the green foliage.

It seemed careless from the human side to not pay any attention to their surroundings if they knew we were there, especially after their evidently strongest combatant departed.

"The elite could see the invisible Eviscerator, but the men from his retinue can't?"

"Yes, Master. It would seem so."

"How many of them are left?" I verified cautiously.

"Eight, Master. Their outfit is similar to those that ambushed us on our first night." Miwah answered.

I used to call those 'ninjas' - the supernaturally gifted fighters we had encountered back then weren't as impressive as the others we were forced to face later on, and despite their apparently enhanced physique, they were far too easily overwhelmed compared to ones that came later, capable of avoiding or shrugging greater punishment.

However, I ultimately wasn't able to measure the danger the enemy posed until combat had already started, and the transportation of the overwhelming numbers was yet untested.

"We are much better prepared than we were back then, Master," Tama suggested, almost as if she sensed what I was thinking: "And much more numerous."

I could send more of my girls in. My current state of mind made me hesitant in ordering the hostile action, though all the disappointment I felt didn't prevent me from realising that humans - always belligerent and paranoid - didn't suffer from such an issue.

I had even ordered a similar chase earlier to prevent reinforcements, it just lured my little canine girls towards an opponent much stronger than the previous one, leading to the current escalation of conflict I didn't ask for.

However, if this was a similar situation to what we had anticipated when the last survivor broke away from the battle, the soldiers left behind to delay our advance would be considerably more alert than what the 'Eviscerators' was describing.

A few more 'Displacers' blinked in and out of the real space to grab 'Purifiers' to collect a forward group for our counterattack, suggesting that they were amassing our own force there.

If they grabbed Helmy in the meantime, we would easily have more 'Alphas' in the fight than the previous hunter group had.

"The humans?" I asked to verify the last time, "What are they doing? Didn't they sense us?"

A few more special disturbances appeared, as the 'Displacers' handling the transport emerged, seemingly waiting for a few seconds to catch their breath before they carried yet another group of monsters to the would-be fight.

I would need more of them to carry an army - which took time.

"Leaving. They didn't seem to know about us, Master, and are giving up on trying to burn all the plants," Miwah answered immediately, ready to send her kin to attack at the moment's notice. Still, I wasn't quite certain it would be the right choice.

If it wasn't for my recent experience, I would make a rash decision, however, this was no longer the case and the guilt from inadvertently causing the death of the man I planned to use as proof we could be reasoned with.

Our enemies, on the other hand, weren't so hasty.

"Do they think they killed the last of us?" I asked nobody in particular. If they relied on the gifted individuals to see through the 'Eviscerator' cloaking ability, at least some of the ordinary humans could be convinced that we weren't around.

My companions, of course, didn't have an answer to that.

"Don't show yourself and let them go. Just make sure they left." I ordered.

Was I supposed to de-escalate, and avoid conflict?

As much as I opposed the violence, passivity had never worked before. It encouraged our opponents if anything.

It was suspicious. Convenient, certainly, considering the circumstances, but still quite suspicious.

"Sora." I said, "Could you please teleport up, and see where the elite went, without him being able to see you?"

Sora could be seen, but I hoped the elite wouldn't look up.

Hopefully, it was how she interpreted the order as well. My feline disappeared into one of her distortion portals practically immediately without much thought, and this time without a spoken answer. A glimpse of the rift, or whatever those anomalies were, was slightly dizzying, reminding me I should be more careful when planning actions involving the 'Displacers'

I spent a short moment gazing at the sky.

It didn't make any logical sense for the humans to abruptly lose interest and leave.

Retreating, and returning with reinforcements later, did, however, but it didn't explain the nearly careless behaviour of the group left behind to hold the line. If anything, they should have been more alert now than before, jumping at every movement we made. Instead, they seemed to think it was over.

Perhaps their 'elite' told them so, but then wouldn't it make more sense to try to reach the castle?

The timing of his arrival and Miwah's mention that he took something from the escaping 'elite' left me no doubt he was related to the five, yet he left without even trying to find the corpses of the others, including the obviously special armoured man leading them.

It was very convenient though, more for us than it was for them, in fact.

I was tired of fighting, and I more than welcomed the opportunity to avoid another hasty decision. Even if it was still very strange, I was tempted to let it pass.

"If you don't plan to attack the humans, I can think of more pleasant ways to propagate our species, Master," Tama whispered to my ear in a suggestive tone.

Miwah wasn't quite as wordy but still pressed herself close.

I didn't reply, looking at other companions instead.

Mai was looking quite sad.

Kuma, on the other hand, looked quite happy and pleased with herself - she successfully formed patches of carapace armour covering parts of her body, apparently figuring out the joints between interlocking plates, held back only by the shortage of metal.

The advantage of it, especially if replicated by others 'Ravagers' didn't escape my attention, but I wasn't going to press it.

I was given a lesson regarding my decision-making, and the battle in the forest made me tired of the endless fighting.

"We are settling in this village for the night," I said, "Secure the area, please. Keep watch in case the humans return."

"Yes, Master." The 'Alphas' acknowledged, but the order had already sent the rest of the horde loitering around in motion and set them running in all directions, while I set out towards the line of local houses. The settlement was already turned upside down with the special touch of my horde, twice as many monsters simply exaggerated the organised chaos.

I was exhausted.

With 'Dispacers' at my disposal, the walls of the castle didn't seem a major issue anymore, nearly invalidating the need for the special contraptions to cover the advancing forces from arrows, but a full-scale assault still didn't seem like a good idea.

Sora and her kin represented a very simple, straightforward solution to any fortification.

If the death of the merchant taught me anything, it was that the easy solutions weren't always the best.

With the 'elite' out there, and the 'caster' hiding in the fortress, there were far too many variables to take into account before I committed my forces to yet another foolish chase. Perhaps, long-term plans were in order.

I was very bad at those.

Still, I was willing, or at least, pushed by circumstances, to give it a try.

For now, I needed to make sure the second 'elite' would not return anytime soon.

Offered a seating place on the sleeping pad dragged from one of the nearby houses and positioned near the roaring fire fed by enthusiastic 'Purifiers' I once again tried to play as a leader. The actual coordination would have to be handled by Tama and Miwah, since the newly appointed 'Alphas' were likely somewhere in the woods with the forming task force, but Kuma and Mai could reasonably help.

The only problem was that I didn't have any grand strategy of my own, -winning or otherwise - only the growing agitation at the insurmountable task of finding reason within this world.

There was no path home I knew of, the understanding of language was beyond us as well, and the only thing the future held was the endless fight against the hostile tide of enemies without a goal in sight, and the only hint of answers lied in the pursuit of the 'scroll' the fickle system brought up once. I didn't even know where to start, since asking people about the complex issues required a decent knowledge of the local tongue I didn't possess.

It was stressful - I hated every bit of it.

However, unlike many times in my old life, I wasn't going to face this alone.

Miwah already pushed herself close, always loyal, always protective of me.

Tama, with a playful vulpine smile, gestured towards Mai. Our lizard girl looked considerably more upset than the rest of my companions.

I beckoned her close. She slipped close to my provisional sitting place, which Tama didn't protest, encouraged it even, surprisingly enough. There was a lot of space on that looted mattress, after all, and all of my girls welcomed the public displays of affection.

Despite her scaly skin, Mai was very soft and pleasant to touch, and she didn't protest against it. If anything, she wasn't that different from quite passionate 'Purifiers' just with a little less giggles and pyromania.

"What's wrong, Mai?" I asked,

"I am upset, my Master." She admitted.

"With me?"

"No!" She exclaimed. Being hugged by the essentially anthropomorphic dinosaur was strange, though not unwelcomed, the 'Corruptors' were warm-blooded reptiles for some reason, and this time it was her who sought the closeness more than me.

"With humans. Disgusting creatures! I can't keep them away! They burned our home, and I don't want to go anywhere else. Moving and moving away! We should keep the land!"

She said. It wasn't a particularly clear intention, though it was certainly very important to her, considering the behaviour - the 'Corruptors' were quite social, despite being technically reptilian. Their behaviour wasn't dictated by the instincts of the species of animals they were inspired by, lacked any solitary traits, and mostly acted like either a hive or a pack.

They divided the chores and assisted each other. I took a glimpse at the towering 'Ravager' placing the large cauldron over the fire which smaller monster breeds would have trouble lifting.

It didn't quite explain Mai's complaint. I didn't understand her at first, but the brief glimpse of ordinary 'Purifiers' feeding the campfire, poking the dancing flames, made me realise that Mai wasn't completely different in that regard. Where the pyromaniacal vulpines enjoyed toying with fire, the 'Corruptors' had similar desires to convert the land.

They already started - remembering the twisted plants dominating the old camp, and odd alien trees scattered through the woods - they just had failed in defending the lair when I set out on my chase of the 'caster'.

The mere thought of the 'sealing' made me angry, a flood of emotion which very sharply contrasted the numbed, tired, resigned thoughts that made me slump in the search for better options, the feedback loop between me and the horde demanded the freeing the girls in form of this strange banishment I never quite understood.

However, before I could find a reason for it, it was replaced by the other, even more, alien sensation in the form of a swirling vortex of broken space forming nearby, a bubbling boil at the face of a reality where the concept of here and there were losing meaning.

I was tempted to risk travelling through it, as the punishment for my poorly thought-out decisions.

The monsters gave way.

A few seconds later, Sora emerged from her rift with a flash.

"Master! The elite was accompanied by more soldiers. They were at the village on the other side of the forest, they are now leaving in haste." She reported.

"How many?"

"Forty people in total, Master. All on horses. They left, going somewhere away from us."

"He didn't see you?" I verified.

"I don't know, Master." Our feline teleporter said, "But he can sense my movement since he was looking towards where I emerged. I observed him from the hills surrounding the village."

"And he didn't attack you, or send his men after you?" I asked. Though Sora, and her 'Displacers' obviously weren't near-sighted as normal cats would have been, she certainly wasn't able to look for across truly enormous distances.

Though, I could only hope she kept away. The regrets about unwise decisions came back, even if our teleporters were the only way to maintain visual contact if something was faster than a running 'Eviscerator'.

"No. He lost interest, they were in a hurry to leave." Sora said.

I paused. This was strange and possibly, dangerous - they could, and likely would, return back later, possibly with more men, however as the encounter with the previous, more resistant, armoured and considerably superhuman man proved, seeking combat wasn't always a good choice.

We barely made it then, and the 'Displacers' had their limits I yet have to test, not to mention I wasn't in the mood for yet another battle. Tailing them was an option, but I couldn't know whether it might make his return, given that he was obviously aware, just uncaring, of our presence for the time being.

Maybe it would be better to take precautions rather than provoke the confrontation, rather than fight on two fronts. The castle, and the 'caster' hiding within, had been an issue before the new 'elite' even appeared.

"Let them leave then," I ordered and considered my next steps. Having Tama, Miwah and Mai did help.

Perhaps instead of the abandoned quarries, we should fortify more beneficial locations, with layouts tailored to face the superior opponents.

I wasn't quite sure how to make these, although I had someone who not only could twist the plants to her whim but also desire to turn the land into the 'Green Hell' her associated skill referenced.

Perhaps, I should combine this preparation with a longer-term plan which involved the accursed 'caster' and her fortress.

I looked at Mai.

My reptilian girl blinked at me, the unusual, third eyelid typical for alligators was still quite weird, although her previous words gave me an idea.

"Sora. Map the area, please, avoiding humans noticing you, and don't attack anybody." I said.

"Yes, Master!" Feline disappeared into nothingness through her distortion. At least she acknowledged the plan this time.

"Mai. Order your sisters to convert all the plants. Leave spaces for growing food, fields and such, but continue converting the rest of the trees into barriers, shelters, creep, whatever you need to restrict the humans getting in and out." I said.

It cheered her up a little bit.

"I want to build a fort around the fort!"