FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next few days were a blurr of mediocre chores for Darrius, aside from fixing up the fence, sorting the ingredients into sample jars for the shelves and planting new clippings, their was little else to do. Each night he'd settle on the bed, and while carefully balancing a board he'd found under the bed across his knees, would begin to pen down the basics of his first letter back to the guild, scribbling down plot points, and hiding the resulting mess of questions, answers and doodles in his shoulder bag to prevent Cha'kaar from accidentally finding and reading it.

He did have a bit of a start when Ebony arrived two days sooner than expected, and right at the front door of the shack. However, he had a small barrel of mead under one arm, and after a brief chat with Cha'kaar, left shortly afterwards, with a small number of potions and salves to sell on at a profit either on the road, or at some mudhole of a town. That, at least, answered one question from the first night here, and he could possibly arrange to have the letter delivered two days early the next time Ebony came round for the delivery of mead.

It was on the night in question that he finished penning his letter in his finest handwriting, making special mention of the unusual plants in the front garden, as well as their wards. After a few moments of sucking on the end of his quill, he added that the plants were only introduced to the front garden recently, as their posts were new, the wards incredibly strong, and Cha'kaar told him about it when he inquired, due to the components not only being very rare and worth growing some clippings, but gathering them from the depths of the marshes is a very dangerous thing to do without a guide or protection. This appeared to be the main cause of death for the majority of his predecessors, as they had wandered off in search of them after dark without the lupines assistance, guidance, or permission.

Darrius pulled the candle from the bedside table closer to sign his signature, folded the letter and applied small amount of wax, pressing a small copper rings face into the rapidly cooling lump, leaving a sealing rune, cleverly hidden in the mage guilds seal, preventing it from being opened, except by those it was addressed to. Applying the mage guilds address, he tucked it into his tunic, and made for the door.

Darkness was creeping over the world as he hurried to the other side of the clearing. Ebony was already waiting just in the treeline, his fur and faded clothing making him blend into his surroundings. He pressed the letter into the dogs hand, who flipped it over, grumbled and slid it into a satchel on his belt, beside his sword. After an awkward moment of silence, Ebony turned to leave. "Wait up, I need to ask you a few questions."

Another grumble and the mutt turned back to the vulpine, jerking a thumb at the mountains just visible through the trees branches. "You see those mountains? The sun is due to set behind them, and I don't want to be this deep in the marshes when that happens, so make it quick." A small growl acompanied the end of this sentence, but Darrius knew the sellsword was bound by his code, somewhat trustworthy, and must be aware of what happened to those who attacked the guilds members. He felt more confident over the last few days, even when confronted by the network of scars that made Ebony's face.

Darrius rolled his eyes. "If you're done with your intimidation act for the day, can I ask my questions, or shall I stand here, trembling in fear until the sun sets?"

"Just ask your questions so I can go." He muttered darkly. "I have my contact to meet."

Feeling momentarily boosted by besting Ebony, he pressed on. "First off, I want to move the date we meet up each week forward by two days, when you bring the mead to Cha'kaar."

The mutt crossed his arms and nodded, and Darrius pressed on.

"And since you're a master of the written word, I'd like to know what you knew of the previous assistants, as well as how they died, the ways they acted, everything you know about them. And I'll pay you five coins for information you bring me on each assistant. Write up what you know and hand it to me during the next meeting."

What was left of Ebony's ears twitched at the prospect of more money, and after a few moments of staring at nothing just to the left of Darrius, he nodded once. The vulpine turned to see what he was looking at, but could only see to the other side of the clearing, the darkness setting in as the sun started to disappear behind the mountains. He waved his hand at the mutt.

"You best go before you miss your contact. I'll see you in five days." With that, he left Ebony in the dark of the trees and hurried back to the shack before Cha'kaar missed him.

He needn't have worried, as the lupine was busy, prodding at something in a stewpot, albeit completely naked. Darrius groaned and turned his head away from the rump thrust towards the door. "For the love of the gods, Cha'kaar, put some clothes on!" He looked up from the steam brimming from the stewpot, smirking. "And how am I supposed to wear something I'm washing?"

Producing a spoon, he jammed it into the bubbling water and pulled out a bundle of white cloth, before dropping it back in. Darrius' jaw agape.

"You used the damn stewpot? I need that for dinner!" He screamed. The wooden spoon batted him on the nose.

"Hush child! No yelling."

"How can I not yell?" Darrius grumbled as he rubbed his nose, tailtip flicking. "You're washing your unmentionables in the pot we use for cooking our food..."

A second stir with the spoon brought up the newly repaired trousers and tunic that the fox has managed to ruin. "Not just mine, child. Your stuff is in here as well."

Darrius sat at the table, rubbing the bridge of his nose. His eyes darted to the wolf, and then to another corner of the room, a small blush beginning to form as he caught glimpses of Cha'kaar's groin as he stirred the clothes in the waters.

"Look, just... tell me when you expect to be done washing clothing and have washed out the stewpot so I can start dinner?" Cha'kaar nodded and lifted out the clothing, wringing them out with little care of the scalding water and hung them up on a line that he'd strung up just for the job. After this, the lupine lugged the stewpot out and poured it outside the door, and began to scrub the pot clean, using a clay jug filled with water. After this, he returned the pot back to it's fireplace, taking his seat at the table.

Darrius stood and began to make a start to dinner, dodging between the slightly dripping clothing, avoiding Cha'kaar's gaze, his blush spreading through his cheeks as he prepared dinner. It took a few more minutes before he snapped at the lupine. "Please! Just put a robe on, a shirt, anything! It's very... d-distracting..."

He smirked at the young fox, who squirmed under his gaze. "Distracting in what way?"

"Just..." He waved his hand at the wolf, blushing hard now. "...Just that... It's hard to concentrate with you like that..." He finished lamely, returning to the dinner. The blush in his cheeks began to rival his own fur at this point.

What is the matter with me? Just a few days ago I'd feel ashamed with these sort of feelings, but now... I feel like I can embrace them...

Any further thoughts were interrupted as Cha'kaar slid up behind him and wrapped his arms around the young mans form, who yipped in surprise and nearly dropped the ladel in the seething mass of the stewpot. Despite this, Darrius couldn't help but feel happier for it, the wolf's warm body pressed against his, the earthy scent of his fur... Only one thing bothered him.

"Aren't I a little young for you?" He turned his head to look the lupine in the eye. He looked taken aback a little, his ears perking slightly.

"Why? How old are you?" The slight tilt of his head made him seem all the sweeter.

Darrius rubbed his elbow, setting the ladel on the side of the pot. "I... turned nineteen on the caravan..."

Cha'kaar ruffled the lads ears, messing up his hair. "Then we best celebrate your trip around the sun, hadn't we?" He leaned over and rested his muzzle on the vulpines shoulder. The boys tail flicked and twitched, the blush in his cheeks adorable. "Now, how would you like to celebrate it, hm?"

Darrius squirmed his way out of the wolfs grip and began to inch to the bedroom, blushing hotly still. "C-can I think on that for a bit...?" he stammered, before ducking under the curtain and into the room without a reply, leaving Cha'kaar to make the dinner himself.

The wolf rubbed his hands together. Right! Now he's gone, I can make a start on a gift for him.

He turned to face the stewpot. And I must not forget about dinner. Honestly, you flirt with the boy a few times and he scarpers off to the back room for a think, among other things.

After a few minutes of clattering about with the ladel and foodstuffs, Cha'kaar left it cook for a while, taking a seat at his alchemical table. Plucking a book from it's shelf, he opened it, and scribbled a small note inside the cover. After adding his curved script, he set it aside and pulled out a drawer, selecting from the odd assortment of bits and pieces, a length of cord, some beads, a small pebble and a faintly glowing crystal.

It didn't take long to put together, but not even the best jewelers would be so skilled with even the barest essentials. Besides, he didn't know of many jewelers who could embed a crystal into a pebble twice it's size. The result was a tear-drop affair with a small hole in the very top for the cord. The final addition was a rune, carved into the outer layer so deep that you could see the faintest glow from the crystal.

He grunted, satisfied for the moment and draped the cord over the book, pushing it to a corner of the table that would be seen by Darrius straight away should he enter the room, and after a few moments, wrote "Happy Belated Birthday" on a strip of card, folded it, and set it beside the book and pendant, should the message not be clear enough.

The faintest wisps of stew hung in the room by the time Darrius made a reappearance, and Cha'kaar had finally clothed himself with his loincloth. A cursory glance of it had shown that he'd modified an alchemists belt for this particular one, the strips of cloth were nowhere near as long, but provided more cover than his usual choice. The belt held pouches and little pockets for salves, and even a small booklet for doccumenting interesting flora and fauna.

The faintest blue glow drew Darrius' eye to the table where his presents sat. He tilted his head and smiled as he examined the card, the necklace, and even the book. Carefully pulling the necklace on, the glow grew for a moment, before returning to it's usual dull sheen, however, this went unnoticed by the vulpine as he gazed at the books cover, The Marshland Secrets. His hand shook slightly as his finger opened up to the title page, revealing his suspicion as true. "Cha'kaar?"

"Hm?" Came the reply, as the wolf carefully moved the stew onto a lower heat, spooning out a bowl of vegetable stew.

He pointed at the book with both hands. "...This is a first edition. I can't take this."

Cha'kaar turned his head, lickling idily at the spoon. "sure you can, I already know that off by heart." He took a seat at the table. "Come and sit down for dinner. It's vegetable stew. With meaty bits." The smirk didn't seem to register with Darrius.

"no, you don't understand. This book is a first edition, their were only seventy three published and now their's less than twenty in private collections! This is priceless!"

The lupine prodded his spoon in the fox's direction. "I know, and now it is yours, to keep and enjoy." He returned to his stew, mumbling that Darrius could just hear it over the crackling of the fire. "A bit less than priceless with the addition I made on the autor page."

The unmistakable flip of a page could be heard, and Cha'kaar smiled into his goblet as he read out the inscription. "I hope you find this guide as useful as I first did, cherish it always. Signed Cha'kaar."

The lupine shrugged. "Well, I was never one for witty writing-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as he felt Darrius plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Cha'kaar, I'll take good care of it." He chuckled as he held the book in the crook of his arm, the blush on the lupines cheeks were priceless.

"If you don't mind, can I skip dinner to have a read of this? I don't want to get any stew on it." His sweet silky voice only made the blush that much deeper on his cheeks.

"Err... sure, sure... Just don't go starving yourself, okay?"

Darrius hopped a little, giddy like a schoolgirl. "Thank you!" And with that, he bounced off into the backroom, a few seconds later, the glow of a candle could be seen through the doorway.

Cha'kaar shook his head, as if to throw off the blush from his cheeks, and returned to his stew, deep in thought. Cute kid, but a little unusual at times. A cursory glance of the back of his spoon was soon explored with his tongue.

Good thing I like him like that.

~***~

Not more than half a mile from the warmth of the shack was a small fireplace, a lonely merchant the only occupant, feverishly trying to warm his hands on the dwindling flames. "Damnit..." was all he could say as the flames dwindled and almost died on him for the fourth time today. It was with a heavy sigh that he pulled out a hipflask, unscrewed the top, and swigged of the contents, downing the firewaters. The warmth helped to keep his hands from shaking as he took another pull, but this time, carefully spitting it into the fire. It roared back into life as soon as the liquids hit the tiny flames.

As the fire soared into the sky, the merchant was easily visible, scrabbling for damp twigs and bundles of semi-dry leaves.

The poor sod was a ferret with a black mask, and was a merchant of some skill as his clothes were of a higher quality, although caked in mud and splashes of gods know what. Despite his peoples usual thin and lithe build, he had managed to pack on a few pounds. Nothing to seemly to other races, but to his own kind, was a sign of wealth and greed.

After depositing the leaves and twigs onto the fire, almost killing it in the process, he sat back down on the mouldy log, and took another pull of his fine whiskey, replacing the top as he warmed his hands and mumbled under his breath.

"...Bloody guides and sellswords, all in on it together, to rob me of my coin..." He tossed another handful of leaves onto the fire. The hiss and crackle of wet leaves filled the air for a few moments.

"Guide says it's dangerous in here at night and I should hire his friend to help with safe passage, but no, I know their game. Lure me out here, get me lost and slit my throat. 'Can't go straight through the middle of the marsh, have to go my route.' Bloody bandits everywhere these days..."

Left to mumble and stare at his dying fire, he failed to notice the light blue glow from behind him, the hissing of the wet leaves masking any sound the occupant of the glow would make. The snap of a twig was heard through the noise of the fire, and in one quick motion, the merchant reached over to his bag, laden with spices and rare items such as jewelry, pulled from it his dagger, facing the direction of the sound, and the blue glow halfway up a tree.

He'd heard of wisps, creatures that lured you away into the marshes and away from safe paths and into danger. His dagger was still ready though, as one niggling little tidbit of information was bothering him as the glow had made it to the top of the tree, out of the firelight and was circling the trunk slowly. Didn't they glow with a yellow light?

The creature, whatever it was, lept down into the fire, scattering embers and burning twigs everywhere, destroying what light the merchant had. All he could see before the fire went out, was an impish frame, if a bit bulky at the torso, and that damned blue glow at the joints. With a small roar of fury, he swung his blade at the creature, which darted off into the darkness before contact with his dagger could be made.

Left in near darkness, the few burning twigs left outlined his small camp. Half drunk on fury and fine whiskey, he screamed at the darkness surrounding him, turning this way and that to make sure he wasn't about to be taken by surprise.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" He called out. "You think you even stand a chance against me? Of course you don't! Scare tactics is all you're good for!" His blade whistled through the air. "You see my blade? I will mark your flesh and skin you alive!"

The creature scuttled through the undergrowth, the glow dying down until it faded into the darkness, circling it's unusualy loud and foul tempered quarry.

"My blades drunk the blood of countless cutpurses and thieves, and will continue to do so, long after your demise!" His screams were becoming more frantic, his movements more or less driven by paranoia now at the darkness. If he didn't finish off the merchant soon, something else will. A frantic turn in the opposite direction was all the thing needed, and it lunged out, slamming it's knuckles into the ground with a thunk as it brought it's feet up, swinging into the back of the terrified man's knees. He stumbled and landed heavily on his stomach, the blade skittered against a nearby rock, but his grip on the hilt was like a vice.

He swung wildly as the abomination lept onto his back, gripping the front of his muzzle. The first swing bought no purchase against the hide of the thing, the panic rising, threatening to drown him in it's turbulant waters. The prick against his neck as the creature reached around with his free hand sent him over the edge, and in one last desperate attempt to free himself from this things horrid grasp, he drove his dagger into the beasts left shoulder.

The creature stopped for a moment to regard the blade wedged firmly inbetween two stoney plates before piercing the mans throat, tearing a jagged line, almost from cheek to cheek. The warm spray of blood against the cold ground was one of the last sounds the merchant heard as he slumped forwards, unable to move, unable to even breathe.

A foot lodged itself in his side, rolling him over, and he caught a glimpse of the blue, stone imp. It regarded him for a moment with a slight chittering tone before slashing at his chest, rending his garments from his body.

The lights were fading rapidly, leaving only the blurry blue glow left in his vision, and he was left to wonder, that maybe he should have paid for those gentlemans services after all.

The stone imp spoke in a voice that rattled and echoed with each word. "A fine vessel, a fine one indeed." And with very little fuss, the merchant passed on into the void, leaving his corpse at the mercy of the imp.

A wave of the creatures left hand seemed to cause a ripple in the air, and after a moment, the sound of a torrential storm could be heard over the local flora and fauna. A tiny rip opened in the air, and as quick as a flash, his pointed fingers darted into the void and plucked forth a blue pearl, the tear disappearing an instant after it was removed. He held it to his eye as it radiated magical energies, a light mist falling from it's shell.

"Now then, little one, you will serve me well, or I shall consume you." With it's free hand, it jammed a finger into the ferrets ribcage, boring a hole right into his heart, and much like a gardener would plant a seed, prodded the pearl into the fresh wound, then stepped back.

The scream seemed to tear at the air, even the earth itself as mind and magic fought for dominance of the body, the mind completely unprepared for such an assault. The energies tore away at the memories left behind as it gained more ground. The merchants body was screaming, throwing itself across the floor and gouging at the ground, thrown back into life, only to have his memories, body and soul hollowed out by this thing inside him. The imp watched from the sidelines with little interest, until the body stopped twitching, and it's eyes clouded over, and the glow of the pearl replaced his iruses, spreading across the orbs, drowning them in a deep blue glow until all that was left was a blank stare.

The hole in his chest and neck also glowed, and spread from those points outwards, corvering his chest in a network of blue veins that shone through the thin fur. The takeover was complete.

The imp motioned up with his hand. "Stand."

The ferret clumsily began to stand upright, blinking slowly as he straightened up and faced his master. "...Niles."

The imp returned his stare. "Niles?"

A clenched fist bumped against the hole in his heart. "My name... is Niles... Or is..." His fingers moved up to tap on his temple. "... Or is Niles... his name?"

The imp turned his head down to the shreaded clothing, the whiskey flask amongst the tattered clothing, and engraved onto the silver flask were the initials S.R. "Niles is your name. Now come, I have a task for you." It turned and limped off onto it's knuckles, blade still buried deep into his arm, the blundering ferret following at a slow pace, lost in thought as he gazed at the blade for a moment.

A strong one, he thought. He will do for what I have planned.

The camp was left abandoned, the few flames left from the scattered campfire soon died out, plunging it into darkness.

~***~

Cha'kaar perked his ears up at the distant scream, even from so far away, the sound carried on more than the wind, but on some deeper, hidden level, an echo that reverberates along the lines of magic users. Whatever claimed the person mere seconds ago had done something unspeakable and evil, and magic had played a part in it.

Darrius burst through from the other room, panting with exertion, his face a mask of horror.

"You felt it too, right?"

Cha'kaar nodded, a solemn look dominated his features.

"Yes. But their's nothing we can do right now. He's dead, that much I know." He held up his hand as Darrius made to interject.

"Such screams are made by dead or dying men. Whoever it is, we will wait until first light to gather some supplies and head out into the marshes to look for remains. Now, get some rest."

The vulpine flattened his ears to his head and sighed, returning to his room. "Yes, master."

As Darrius undressed and blew out his candle, Cha'kaar rubbed his hands together slowly. Whatever had killed that person out in the marshes may have been responsible for the deaths of his previous assistants. If so, it was a powerful creature. To best one or two assistants is possible, but to sucessfully kill four, all trained in the arts of offensive magic and protective wards was unbelieveable.

After a few moments of contemplation, he stood and headed for the front door, drawing the bolt across before moving into the back room for his bedroll in the basement.

A small whisper from the corner of the room stopped him.

"Don't go..."

Darrius was shivering under the animal hides in his bed, clearly in the throes of delayed shock from being unable to help whoever was out there.

"Don't go..." He repeated.

"I... I don't want to be alone, right now..."

Cha'kaar sighed softly, his hand slipping from the doorhandle to the basement, and slid in beside the poor creature. His heavy arms pulled him against his warm chest, the necklace clinking with his every movement. Darris' shivers soon began to slow and stopped altogether as the lupine coo'ed and laid his worries to rest, sending his lover into a dreamless sleep.

Several minutes passed as Cha'kaar admired the slender figure in his bed, pressed against him for warmth and comfort. A dull claw running across the boy's ear caused it to twitch.

Heh, he thought. This kid is much too good for me.

He planted a kiss in between Darrius' ears before heading into a dreamless sleep of his own.