Guild Relations, Part 4
Hetroth woke by himself, barely a sound around to stir his sleep. He felt around himself for the deer, but found nothing. The ruffle of paper perked his ears up and made him open his eyes. The mid-morning sun shone through the clear glass windows, generously lighting up the room. He sat up to see Varikas sitting on a chair by the table, slowly flicking through the pages of a rather hefty looking book, apparently seeking something within. He wore only his loincloth and, as Hetroth noticed, he was lacking the beads in his hair.
"What's that?", Het asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Varikas turned towards him, peering from over the large book.
"Oh, you're awake. This? Memoirs of Barrot Revi. Don't need to explain who that is, right?", he asked. He didn't need to. The name was well known, even outside of the All Knowing, to which the fore-mentioned individual belonged centuries ago. He was best known as the plague-bringer, having brought a parasitic malady upon the mortal world through dark magic. Millions died to it, twisted into beasts only to spread the disease further or struck down in an effort to cease further contamination. It took over a decade to fully contain and it was the single greatest pre-caution against any future attempts at use of such magic. Like all other pre-cautions, the All Knowing tended to ignore it.
"No. Why would you want to read that?", Hetroth asked critically.
"Research.", the deer said, continuing to sift through the pages. Hetroth considered this for a moment.
"But why would you read it now?", he prodded.
"I recall he wrote down something that I might find useful soon. Never you mind.", he responded briskly and continued to peer into the pages. "Oh. And here, eat this.", he said and handed the hyena a plate of grilled meat from the table, now only mildly warm.
Hetroth shrugged and took the plate, deciding not to press the matter further. He wolfed it down in minutes, sating the hunger he'd built up since the previous noon. Once finished with his meal, he stretched out his arms and legs with a silent yawn, noticing that he felt somewhat better. His joints were still stiff and ached somewhat, but considering their travels the previous day, he felt much better than last morning. He looked around, seeking his only article of clothing, but couldn't find it.
"Where's my loincloth?", he asked, keeping his maleness covered with the bed sheets in case anyone were to enter unexpected again. Although his dignity had already taken a severe blow the other day.
"Being cleaned. Wouldn't want you walking around filthy.", he said, now putting the book away.
"But walking around naked is fine?", he asked with annoyance.
"You should do that more often. You're cute naked.", he said, his sly smile returning in full bloom.
"I think I'd sooner wear these sheets for cover.", he said, his irritation growing. Varikas could barely contain his laughter at the pouting hyena. Het sighed, trying to maintain his composure while really wanting to leap out and assault the deer for his mockery. "Please. Just give me anything.", he pleaded, but the buck seemed to remain unmoved.
As if right on cue, they then heard a knock on the door, followed by the door slowly creaking open. Hetroth quickly pulled the sheets up to his chest in an attempt to avoid further embarrassment. Within the door stood one of the rats from yesterday, the one with longer hair, some folded cloths in his arms.
"The clothes you requested.", he said towards the buck.
"Thank you, Ketri. Put them over on the table here.", Varikas said. The rat called Ketri, short for Ketronius, obeyed and placed them as requested. As he moved back out of the room, he flashed the hyena a suggestive smile, nearly making Hetroth recoil. The door swung shut behind him, leaving Hetroth now looking in anticipation at the deer.
"Well?", he asked. The deer kept one hand over the bundle, apparently considering whether to refrain from giving him clothes yet.
"Oh, all right.", he said and threw it carelessly towards the hyena. Hetroth unfurled it, revealing a modest set of clothes - a brown loincloth, a cream coloured tunic and plain, black pants.
"Bastard.", he sighed with relief, quickly beginning to strap the clothes on.
"I'd make you earn them, but I'm not in the mood.", the deer added, watching Het get dressed in a way that showed the deer as little as possible.
"So what now?", he asked as he buttoned up his tunic.
"Now prepare to strip. We're going to get clean.", he said. Hetroth froze mid-button, a look of annoyance on his face.
***
Following a detour to the lavatories, they went down to the bottom floor and ventured deeper into the building, all the way to the back, eventually reaching a section where the corridors were tiled with smooth, bright stone. They ducked inside a door on the side, entering a corridor where the ceiling was replaced with a reinforced glass dome, allowing natural light to illuminate it.
As they followed a corridor lined with doors on its right, Hetroth seemed to hear brief sounds of splashes and people either talking or shouting, coming from a door at the far end of the corridor. The sounds of a bath house. They ducked down into one of the doors on the right, however, entering a rather small room, also illuminated via skylight. Hetroth froze for a second as he noticed someone within - Ketronius. It wasn't his presence so much as the fact that he was stark naked that gave the hyena pause.
He should've expected such sights within the baths, but it still surprised him. At least the room seemed relatively private. The public baths he'd once visited had no such luxury and required somewhat more public cleaning. Judging by the sounds he'd heard, such a section was probably present as well.
"Your bath is ready.", the rat said, pointing towards a metallic tub behind him. Het couldn't help but notice how obscenely large the rat's testicles were. They were nearly twice the size of the hyena's own, yet hanging off someone half a head shorter.
"Thank you. You may leave now.", Varik said. Ketri obeyed, although not before catching Hetroth staring at his masculinity, causing the hyena to blush and look away. The rat gave Het a wink as he passed, walking by in a way that narrowly avoided contact between the two. Varikas rolled his eyes at the lusty rat, apparently displeased with his demeanour.
As the door closed shut, the stag tugged off his loincloth and climbed into the bath, one leg after the other. "Uh. I don't think we'll fit.", Hetroth said, uncertainly.
"We will. Come.", Varikas said as he sat down in the bathtub. Het decided to go along with it and began to strip. Just as he let his loincloth drop to the floor and prepared to step into the bath, the door swung open again.
"I almost forgot. Your towels.", the rat said with a toothy grin, bringing them in and hanging them on a rack next to the tub, all the while getting a good look at the now naked, red-faced hyena and the jewels hanging between his legs. Varikas nodded, somewhat amused at how easy Het was to embarrass. The rat left without a word more, Hetroth seemingly unfreezing from his position as the door closed.
"You might want to get in before anyone else comes by.", Varik said, prompting the hyena to quickly step into the tub. It was warm, no doubt heated by air underneath the room. Perhaps the valves on the metallic pipes in the room leading to the ground below regulated it. "No, sit the other way.", the buck added, just as the hyena was about to try and sit opposite him.
"Alright.", he said after a brief pause and turned around. As he sat down, the water level raised just slightly above the brim, spilling a bit onto the stone grating below. Varik wrapped his arms around Hetroth's torso and pressed him closer to himself. Het found it somewhat awkward being lodged between the bigger male's legs, the stag's soft genitals brushing against his lower back and tail. The embarrassment of the situation gave way to that of the deer getting friskier and groping around his nethers with one hand, first at his inner thigh, then moving down and cupping his nuts, gently rubbing his scrotum. He sighed with pleasure, the attentions quickly bringing him to erection.
"So. Enjoying yourself?", Varik asked, continuing to caress the hyena's testicles.
"Y-yes.", he said, his eyes closed. While the hot water stemmed his libido somewhat, the buck's treatment felt very pleasant.
"Good.", he said and immediately pulled his hand away. Hetroth looked back at him, disappointed, then sighed and closed his eyes.
"Do you enjoy tormenting me like this?", he asked in exasperation.
"Your reactions make it worth it.", said with something sounding close to glee. Hetroth left it at that, deciding to just enjoy the warmth of the water, trying to ignore the hard-on he'd earned. But then he realized he'd been meaning to ask a few things and never found the opportunity.
"Uh. Varikas?", he said.
"Yes?", he responded, idly running a hand up and down the hyena's mildly muscled abdomen.
"I've wanted to ask a few things.", he continued.
"Such as?", the buck queried.
"Well... who are you within this guild? I can see others treating you as someone higher in rank.", he asked.
"You don't know who I am?", as asked with genuine bemusement. "By Zele, do you know anything about this guild?", he asked.
"Uh. Well...", he tried to answer, but figured any answer he had to give would only lead to further embarrassment.
"We know the structures and persons of interest of your guild branch. I'd expect more from you.", he said as if stifling laughter. "I think I'll let you figure this out for yourself.", he concluded. Hetroth remained silent for a while, contemplating what he could ask without revealing ignorance.
"Are you going to release me?", he asked.
"Maybe. We could do that as a sign of good will eventually. Although if we do it too fast, it might make us seem lax, so we'll be keeping you around for a while.", he explained. Het felt a mixture of elation and nervousness knowing that he would be returning to his guild after all. He thought of what else to ask.
"The artefact. What do you need it for? What makes it special?", he asked after some pause.
"You're pretty ignorant, even for an Artificer.", he said, making the hyena hang his head again. The stab at his guild made it feel personal.
"Normally it's not my concern what it does. That's for higher ranking Artificers to know.", he explained himself.
"And it's not your concern what we need it for now.", the deer said. "Although maybe we'll enlighten you later.", he added after some consideration. "Anything else?", he asked.
"No.", Hetroth answered and leaned forward out of the deer's grasp, visibly cross.
"Something irks you?", the stag asked, trying to get a look at the hyena's face.
"Your tone.", he said. "If you cannot refrain from mocking me, then we have nothing to speak of.", he said, looking back at the stag with obvious scorn. Varik was somewhat taken aback, but quickly smirked and pulled the hyena closer again.
"Sorry.", he simply said and licked at Het's ear, trying to regain his favour. "You're really cute when you're angry.", he said, inciting another scornful look from the hyena. "But you're right.", he quickly added. "People tend to end up feeling insulted when they ask of things that seem like common knowledge to me. You're not the first.", he said, rubbing Het's shoulder. Hetroth somewhat eased up at this, feeling the deer's apology was sincere. "Go on. Ask anything you like. I promise not to ridicule.", the stag added. Het thought about it for a while.
"The rats. They're with each other, right? Aren't they brothers?", he asked.
"Ketronius and Neccado? Yes. Twins, in fact.", he confirmed.
"Doesn't anyone find it strange?", he asked.
"They do. Some more than others. But they're my subordinates, so it's mostly irrelevant. I hold nothing against who they love.", he said. "And neither do the higher ups of our guild.", he added. "Why do you ask?", he counter-questioned.
"I just... find it strange that it'd be this acceptable.", he said, looking down on the deer's arm slung over his chest. He half expected the buck to give another scathing comment on the Artificers.
"Oh. Don't get me wrong. I've still had my share of issues. It was harder to get where I am. But once I did, few would question my abilities. The head of our branch made sure of that.", he added. Hetroth remained quiet for a while, hesitating whether to expand on the subject.
"I'm not really sure if I can expect that much within my own guild.", he finally said, sounding downtrodden.
"Well. If they cannot appreciate your talents, then perhaps you may find a place among us. You'd start off low, but you're young. You'd become someone of import yet.", he said, ruffling the short fur on the hyena's chest and abdomen.
"Thanks.", he sighed with relief. At least there was that option, he thought. He didn't exactly agree with their handling of the arcane. His ideals were always closely tied to those of the Artificers. Yet somehow he felt he might have a sudden change of heart if things were to go as he feared. He decided to end the discussion there, letting himself enjoy the warmth of the water and the feeling of the deer pressed against him. He occasionally returned the buck's affections with a caress of the stag's arm or a teasing swish of his tail against Varik's privates, but otherwise they preferred to simply take pleasure in their closeness.
***
Following their bath, the two dried off and made their way to the third floor again, this time entering a set of double doors closer to the main entrance of the building. Within was a relatively large, open chamber, a series of training dummies and weapon racks arranged along opposite walls, benches regularly interspersed between. Similarly to most of what he'd seen so far, it was lit via natural light from a skylight, a brazier at each corner of the chamber ready to replace it at night. At the centre was a cloth-matted floor, and upon it, a small group of people sparring in pairs with wooden weaponry, loud clatters signalling every block and parry.
Among the people there, Hetroth noticed the two rats who seemed to be a constant part of the guild's scenery. Beyond them there were only two other pairs. Two brown wolves clashing long swords, and a light brown dog with a staff training with a large, white, mace-wielding ram. It seemed rather spacious with the lacking amount of occupants. All of them seemed to be wearing clothing close to what Hetroth wore, except with boots, which he wished he'd gotten as well. The ram was somewhat of an exception, as he wore no top, leaving his impressive musculature on display.
"I have some matters to attend to. Why don't you train on one of the dummies while I'm gone?", the deer said.
"So you have me bathe only to have me exert myself moments later?", Het questioned.
"You can bathe again afterwards. Now, I need to go. Don't let the training dummy beat you.", he said with a smirk and moved back towards the entrance of the hall, trading curt nods with the bulky caprine along the way. Hetroth noticed something peculiar as Varik opened the doors. Behind them, as if waiting for the deer, was a canine-looking figure, seemingly wrapped entirely in darkened cloth bandages, only a glowing pair of green eyes peering from beyond. Noticing the hyena staring, it slid out of sight, leaving Het to wonder what he'd just seen.
As the door closed shut behind the cervine, Hetroth now directed his attention towards his current activity. He approached the weapon racks and quickly found his weapon of choice - a short sword. Wooden, of course. He'd prefer to spar with someone, but lacking a partner, he figured a training dummy would do, at least to let him stretch out after his relatively restrained captivity. As he moved towards the training dummies, he gave the sparring pairs a quick glance. Only the rats seemed to give him any heed, briefly pausing in their training. Hetroth took note of their preferred weapons - Ketronius wielding a short blade, Neccado a warhammer.
Het began with a few stretches, loosening his legs and arms, although he didn't require much following the hot bath. The training dummy he was to train with was relatively simple - a long cylinder with a round ball on top and a thinner cylinder protruding horizontally from the sides. He was far past learning anything from wailing at a static target, so at most it would provide a work out.
He proceeded with a few lunges, stabbing at the dummy, hitting dead centre each time. He then began to slash at it, shifting his balance and bouncing to the sides in between strikes, his blows clacking off the torso, head and arms. Were the dummies padded with cloth, he would consider throwing in some unarmed attacks in between, but lacking that luxury compared to the training hall of his own guild, he preferred to leave his limbs unscathed.
The only sounds to accompany him were those of wood clattering and various vocal noises of the others in training. Primarily they were grunts of effort, occasionally pained squeaks and yelps when wood struck flesh. Other than that he could hear the two wolves, quite obviously female, saying something. The older of the two was shouting instructions occasionally, apparently tutoring the younger.
He continued for over an hour, alternating between slashes and thrusts. It was quite dull, but he expected there would be little of more interest for him to do in the guild. The two wolves had left the training hall by now, only the rats, sheep and dog remaining. The still present were now resting on a bench in between rounds. Hetroth decided to take a break as well, sitting at a bench closest to the dummy he'd trained with. He leaned back and closed his eyes, slowly getting his breath back.
"Want to spar?", he heard a soft voice call out in front of him. He opened his eyes to see one of the rats, Ketronius, holding out his short sword in front of him. "I'm Ketri. Your name?", he asked.
"Hetroth.", he said, following a surprised pause. "And yeah. I'd like that.", he added to the proposal.
"Come, then. A weapon hit to a vital area wins.", he said and moved off to the middle of the hall followed by the hyena. They assumed their positions, their weapons pointing at each other. Acknowledging their readiness with a nod each, they began.
The grey rat was first to attack, throwing several relatively quick thrusts at the hyena's torso, mostly clumsily and off-centre. Failing to hit, he tried slashing as well. Het easily parried and dodged, refraining from counter-attacks in favour of observing the rat's moves first. He figured combat training wasn't as pressing a matter within the All Knowing, considering the skill Ketri displayed.
Feeling confident, Hetroth slashed back, making the rat stumble backwards at the sudden switch. Compared to the buck, the rodent seemed to favour dodging over blocking. And following a few more thrusts and swings from the hyena, Ketronius proved fairly competent at that. Thus far neither had managed to score a hit of any sort.
As Het tried a more brazen lunge thrust at his opponent, Ketri side-stepped and suddenly closed the distance between them, keeping their blades locked and instead responding with a punch in the gut. Hetroth gasped and back away, the air pressed out of his lungs and pain pulsing from his abdomen. He was surprised to see the rodent counter so competently following his initial, unimpressive attacks. The rat continued his assault, swinging wildly in elation at his minor success, but it left him wide open.
Feeling almost charitable, Hetroth decided not to end the fight too quickly and gave the rat a slap on the wrist, smacking him in the back of his sword hand just as he failed to connect a slash again. Ketri hissed in pain and backed away, nursing his aching hand with the other. Het was about to attack when the rat did the same, chopping at the hyena's sword arm as though hoping to repay the favour. Just as the hyena was about to counter-attack, the rat thrust his boot at Het's lower regions. Surprised, Hetroth narrowly avoided a solid hit to his genitals, but still earned a grazing hit, making him wince and jump away, cupping his crotch with one hand.
He grimaced and awkwardly shifted from paw to paw, trying to rub the pain away. He took a moment to glance over the others in the hall. Both the other rat and the previously sparring pair were watching. Neccado was obviously entertained by the recent turn of events, a jubilant smile plastered over his face. It made Hetroth want to switch targets, but he quickly returned his focus on the rat that had wounded his pride. It was one thing to go for low blows during live combat, but Het felt it was a rather mean-spirited thing to do during what was supposed to be a friendly sparring match. Although some would say the same about any situation at all. Regardless, he was now set on getting back at him. Except he would do more than a grazing blow.
Pretending he couldn't get over the pain, he let the rat resume. Ketronius became easily overjoyed upon success apparently, as his swings were once more erratic and over-confident. Het allowed this to continue for some time, maintaining the rat's illusion of superiority. Remembering the situation from moments ago, he decided to try and emulate it, hoping to get a similar reaction out of the rodent.
Countering the rat's last swing, he lightly lunged forward and thrust his blade at the rat. Ketronius once again sidestepped and went in to close the distance. With all his might and the entirety of his body-weight behind it, Hetroth stepped forward and raised his knee at the rushing rat. Ketri's eyes widened in shock and his entire person seemed to go limp as he realized he'd just impaled himself crotch-first onto the hyena's bony knee. His own punch had landed way off target, merely scraping Het's shoulder, and was of no relevance compared to what he'd just received.
With a distressed, stifled squeal, he dropped to the floor, releasing his wooden blade in favour of cupping his fleshy bits. With utter calm, Hetroth lightly tapped the rat on the head with his weapon, signifying he could deal a death blow were it real combat and thus claiming victory. Ketri gave no response, too occupied with his horribly aching gonads to take notice.
Hetroth glanced towards the spectators once more. The other rat was just as amused as before, now even clapping. The dog did as well, although looking somewhat nervous, or perhaps sympathetic towards the injured male. The ram seemed less amused by his means of victory, but Het shrugged it off, deciding to back away towards the bench he was sitting at before. Neccado now walked up to his fallen brother.
"Everything in one piece?", he asked mockingly, nudging the other rat with his boot. Ketronius simply nodded with a grunt in response, still overwhelmed with pain. Chuckling, Neccado now approached the hyena. "How about a round with me? I'll show you how a rat fights.", he asked with a taunting smile. Through the corner of his eye, Hetroth noticed the sheep shake his head dismissively. He guessed the rodent would be no more a challenge than his brother.
"Very well.", he said and got up again. Even though he felt slightly winded, he felt confident that he could best the rat quickly, if his brother was anything to go by. Particularly considering he found the warhammer to be an odd choice for a one-handed weapon without a shield or off-hand weapon to go with it. The other rat eventually scrambled off towards the benches and sat down, still cradling his testicles.
Just as they positioned themselves in the centre, the doors of the training hall opened and Varikas entered. "Carry on.", he said and sat at a bench near the exit. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the rat sitting there, grasping his nuts, but quickly returned his attentions to the fight at hand. Somehow his presence made Hetroth want to win the fight quicker. He wanted to impress the stag.
The two exchanged nods and began their fight. Necca apparently preferred to let his opponent begin, continuing merely to circle around otherwise. Hetroth began with a few quick swings, testing the rat's defences. He seemed to struggle even with that much, and quickly turned to the offensive, lashing out with a kick immediately followed by a swing of his hammer. The kick Hetroth avoided easily, jumping out of the way, but the hammer he barely dodged, air ruffling over his face as he turned his muzzle sideways.
Neccado followed up with a punch from his free hand, but Het dodged to the side and swung his sword sideways in response. The rat abandoned his following attack and stumbled away, just as narrowly avoiding a hit to the shoulder. However, wanting to quickly regain the offensive, he caught himself and swung his warhammer in a downwards arc. This time Hetroth easily side-stepped and countered with a backhanded slash.
The rodent managed to move aside with some effort, but Hetroth continued his slash, spinning around and stepping in towards the rat at the same time. Necca failed to react in time and squealed out loud as the hyena planted the wooden hilt between his legs. The warhammer flew out of his hand as he tried to strike back and clattered to a halt on the floor several meters away. His hands darted down towards his groin, clutching it firmly as if his gonads would fall off otherwise. He tried to stand his ground for a while, but eventually dropped to his knees.
Hetroth gave him a tap on the neck with his sword and walked off towards Varikas. Necca fell onto his side soon after. The dog rewarded him with reserved applause again, as did Varik. Ketronius smiled with some satisfaction at how his counter-part fell quicker than him, but still didn't feel like clapping, his palms still quite pre-occupied with his injury. The ram remained unmoved as ever, his arms crossed.
"That was quick. Perhaps you two would stand a chance fighting together against him.", the stag taunted the rats. They seemed fazed by the notion, but said nothing, the pain of their defeat not yet past. "Well, let's go. You've had your fun.", he added towards the hyena and rose to his hooves. Hetroth followed him out, placing the weapon on a rack as they left.
***
"The ram seemed unpleasant.", Hetroth said as they ventured to the bottom floor.
"He's the combat trainer here. His name's Tartagan. He was just sore that you, a nobody, humiliated his pupils.", he explained.
"A nobody?", he questioned.
"Do you hold a rank of note within your guild?", he asked.
"No.", he admitted quietly. "If that's your only criterium.", he added under his breath, as they now moved deeper into the building.
"Although you could've refrained from assaulting their manhoods. Not a particularly dignified defeat.", he added after some time.
"Normally I'd agree, but I merely did it in turn for what Ketronius did.", he explained himself.
"Really? You seemed all too eager to try that with me.", he teased.
"That was different. That could've been a fight to the death for all I knew. This was supposed to be a friendly contest.", he said. The buck smirked.
"Yeah. They tend to do that.", he admitted. "Though if you ever spar with anyone else, refrain from doing that. Unless you want them to dislike you.", he added.
"I might do that with the ram. He dislikes me already.", he joked.
"I think you'd just enrage him.", he said half-jokingly as he pushed open the door to the wash rooms.
***
Following a brief dip in the not as warm as before water, the two made their way to the guild library. Along the way Hetroth noticed some people milling around machinery of some sorts through an open door.
"What's that?", he asked, pausing in his steps.
"That machine? Something called a printing press. Don't suppose you've heard of it?", he asked in turn.
"No.", he admitted.
"It allows us to easily make many copies of books at a fraction of the time a scribe would take. We've only gotten one recently. The Primum branch has had one for years. And this one keeps jamming up.", he explained.
"Interesting... I guess. But what will your scribes do? Once this works, that is.", he asked. Outside of following their goals, every guild had to finance themselves somehow. One such avenue, in case of the All Knowing, was scribing books by request of clients, a practice they had followed for centuries now, one that filled a quarter of their ranks with scribes.
"I don't know. Decorate the pages perhaps? Stitch them together? They'll find something to do.", he assured.
They entered a more spacious yet cramped area of the library. Cases of books formed corridors two storeys high. A single robed wolf milled among them, placing stray tomes in their place. Another robed figure they only caught a glimpse of, its silhouette moving among the cases deeper within the library.
"Merada.", the stag called out towards the nearer canine. The visibly female lupine librarian turned and walked up towards them, her eyes nervously darting between the two. Hetroth recognized her as the one who had walked in on them the other night. He didn't know what to think of it. It wasn't her fault, but it made him feel awkward now.
"Yes?", she finally spoke up, albeit quietly.
"Where can I find the tome 'Daemon Gods'?", he asked. A title unknown to Het, although few were. Other than ones describing the potential properties of artefacts and religious tracts speaking of Tavat, the god of order, little reading material was endorsed within the Artificers' guild. Much more was dismissed or outright banned, and the title in question sounded like one among the latter.
"Uh. Right there.", she almost immediately pointed at the top shelves of a book case to her right.
"Thank you. I'll fetch it myself.", he concluded and grabbed a ladder leaning on a nearby case, prompting the wolf to nod and return to her duties. "Hetroth, hold it for me.", he said, placing the ladder up against the book case where his sought book lay.
"Alright.", Het responded and took hold of the sides from underneath it. As Varikas began his climb, Hetroth looked up, almost blushing as he noticed the deer's attire of choice left little to the imagination from that angle, with only the shadows of the dimly lit library to provide any sort of modesty. Although by now he wasn't sure if the stag cared much for such things.
"Got it", the buck proclaimed and climbed down.
"What do you need that for?", Hetroth asked.
"Research. And something to pass the time.", he explained.
***
It was still early in the afternoon, and they were back in Varik's quarters. It would be a boring couple of hours till nightfall... unless the buck decided to spice things up a bit, Hetroth thought. He didn't want to initiate anything himself, however, not feeling confident enough in these matters just yet.
"Here. Read this.", Varikas said, handing the hyena the hefty tome he'd been paging through earlier in the morning.
"Uh. All of it?", he questioned, looking at the sheer width of it. This wasn't quite how he was hoping the deer would pass the time with him.
"Yes. You ought to find it very enlightening.", he said.
"What's there to learn from someone who unleashed the plague?", he questioned again.
"While he ultimately failed, he did accomplish something. He'd learned much of a world beyond ours before the plague took him.", he explained. Hetroth sighed and gently pried the book open. They were a valuable commodity with how long it took to copy one, and he took care not to damage it. The Artificers' guild taught him that much about books in general.
In turn, Varikas opened up the book he'd acquired and began to read through it in a relaxed manner. The two were now seated in chairs, almost oblivious of each other as they scanned through their respective books. At first Hetroth felt very much disinterested in the writings, and peered out towards the stag, wanting to do something with him, but Varik took no notice, and continued to go through the pages at a rate that seemed astonishing to the hyena.
Eventually he gave up and ducked his head down into the book, slowly going over its contents. It began with an introductory text, explaining the purpose of the following pages. The author had begun his writings as he discovered a ritual that was supposed to open a gateway to some kind of 'paradise', as it was described in the source. Within the text he sounded quite elated, saying how this could change the world as they knew it. Hetroth couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow knowing what the actual outcome was.
The pages went on to describe the preparations he undertook and his first trial run of the gateway ritual. It included a drawing of the ritual symbol, the substances used for the mixture and even the origin of these substances. One among such ingredients that caught Het's attention was blood. A copious amount, in this case taken from two feral animals. One could easily create his own gateway using the contents of these pages as instructions. He hadn't entered it at first, merely threw an object in and measured that it remained open for the duration of an hourglass. He described it as a waterfall of a blood-like liquid that materialized out of nowhere and disappeared just as it hit the ground, a relatively crude drawing accompanying the written description. Its very appearance apparently disturbed the author, making him question if it really did lead to any sort of 'paradise'. One thing Hetroth found peculiar among the texts was how Revi seemed to have worked alone. He even explicitly cursed at some persons unknown to Hetroth over how they refused to take part.
His mind snapped back to the present as Varik closed shut the book he was reading. "My, you're a slow reader. Although you seem to have gotten into it.", he commented. Even though the book the buck had been reading was half the size of the tome given to the hyena, the amount Het had actually read was less than a tenth. Then again, chances were the stag had read that particular title before and had now just refreshed his memory.
Hetroth looked out the window and rubbed his tired eyes. Hours had past since he'd begun, and it had become late in the afternoon, the sun now half-hidden behind other buildings. Lanterns were slowly being lit outside, providing a much dimmer and angled light coming from the windows. Varikas moved over to the bedside cabinet and flicked the oil lamp resting there to life using a sparking mechanism, providing considerably better illumination.
"Care to get comfy with me? Or are you too engrossed with that book?", he asked as he sat down at the edge of the bed.
Hetroth rolled his eyes and nearly leapt away from the book, unbuttoning his tunic along the way. He tugged it off, discarding it carelessly, and clambered onto the bed, right into the cervine's embrace. Varik went right to business, firmly placing one hand on Hetroth's crotch, caressing it roughly. It made the hyena reach full length almost instantly, the tightness in his pants making it all the more exciting. Needing an outlet for his arousal, Het pressed his lips against the buck's and forced his tongue in, kissing him deeply. They rolled further onto the bed, continuing to kiss.
As Varikas unbuttoned his fly, Het decided to try and take some initiative. He reached behind the buck, underneath the rear flap of his loincloth and slid a hand in between his butt cheeks. Surprisingly to the hyena, Varik seemed startled by this and quickly pushed his hand away.
"D-don't do that!", he said, looking rather distressed at the smaller male. Het seemed just as surprised to see the buck so afraid, but quickly regained his composure.
"Oh? So you'd gladly penetrate me, but I can't do the same?", he pried.
"Uh. I just wouldn't enjoy it.", he tried to explain himself. Hetroth simply huffed in response, not liking the double-standard set by the stag. "Sorry. We'll do something else.", he assured as he finally tugged off the hyena's pants from his hips and began to pull them off. Het sighed with resignation and just decided to let the stag lead. Once their were both quite naked, the deer shifted around on the bed, putting himself over the hyena, his genitals dangling right in front of Het's face and his own face hovering over the hyena's crotch.
Any transgressions were temporarily forgotten at the sight before Hetroth. For the moment he simply wanted to lick those nuts before him. He reached out and firmly took hold of the buck's limp shaft and pulled him closer by his dick, inciting a soft groan. The stag's scent quickly got to him, renewing his excitement. Just as he closed his eyes and extended his tongue over the cervine's heavy testicles, he felt his own nuts being nudged and moistened by tongue. He gasped quietly as his scrotum was briskly licked, his cock already leaking beads of pre. He intensified his own efforts, wanting to return the attentions in turn.
Varik then moved up to the hyena's cock, running his tongue from glans to base before taking it entirely in his mouth and starting to bob his head up and down its length. Het followed shortly after, but found it somewhat tricky to fellate the penis above him with his head resting on the bed's surface. Once the deer settled in, however, he managed to take more of it in than last he tried, his up-turned muzzle easing the passage down his throat, although still leaving a small amount outside of his capabilities.
They continued to thrust and jerk their heads for some time until finally, Het tensed up and began to spill his seed, all the while struggling to keep his jaws from snapping shut in a spasm of pleasure. He breathed hard through the cock in his maw, bathing the stag's groin in pleasant warmth. He would still have to finish off the buck, and with his high gone, he had little desire to taste the deer's seed. But just as the thought crossed his mind, the cervine slowly pulled his crotch away without a word and turned around to face him, much to his surprise.
"Uh. Don't you want to-", he began only to gasp in surprise as Varik locked lips with him. Even more so to his surprise, he felt the sudden taste of semen flood his mouth. His own. As they now smeared each other's tongues in the hyena's juices, the stag took hold of Het's hand and guided it down towards his still throbbing hard-on. Het needed no further encouragement and began to stroke the bigger male's endowment, pressing his thumb against the underside of the glans. The stag gave out an occasional muffled moan in response to his efforts, and soon, he too began to jerk and twitch, spunk jetting out of his maleness onto Het's chest.
Once his orgasm died down, he pulled away from their kiss and drooped down onto the hyena below, his semen now compressed between their torsos. Hetroth swallowed what remained in his maw, and while he still didn't like doing it past his climax, he couldn't help but still consider his cum an improvement over that of the buck. They remained as they were for a while, panting but satisfied. Hetroth was first to break the silence. "You're kind of heavy.", he said with some effort, the deer's full weight constricting his lungs.
"Sorry.", Varik said and rolled off to the side. "Did you enjoy it?", he asked.
"Yes.", he said after a brief pause, somewhat surprised there could be any question of it.
"Good.", he smiled and pulled Het tightly to himself, giving him a peck on the muzzle.
Feeling spent, the hyena wanted to sleep, but suddenly felt his stomach give out a low growl. Only now did he realize he hadn't eaten since morning. "Varik? I'm hungry.", he murmured.
"Alright. We need to finish off the trail rations anyway.", he said and lazily slid off towards their backpacks. He came back carrying a bundle of dried meats for the hyena and some of his own flat breads. "Eat up.", he said and unwrapped a piece of bread. Hetroth did the same with one of his dried meats. As they began to munch on their tough foods, Het thought of something he wanted to ask.
"Uh. Varik? Back at the training hall... I saw something at the door as you left.", he said, to which the stag froze mid-bite. "What do you mean?", he asked. But just as Varik opened his mouth to answer, they heard a knock on the door. Hetroth jumped and hastily pulled the sheets over his modesty, making some of the wrapped rations drop to the floor. The buck couldn't help but smirk. The door swung open shortly afterwards, the mature-looking female wolf Het remembered from the training hall standing within.
"Varik. A word if you may. Outside.", she simply announced, to which Varik nodded and rose to his hooves, picking up his discarded loincloth and strapping it on along the way. She seemed to be eyeing the hyena with something he could only guess was concern or distrust. As she pulled the door closed again, Hetroth caught a glimpse of the same green glow beyond he'd seen at the training hall. His curiosity peaked, he slid off the bed and picked up his loincloth, putting it on as he crept up to the door. He pressed his ear against the door in an effort to hear something.
"...-that is? Here, this is what we've just received from a messenger.", he heard the female voice say, followed by the sound of unravelling paper.
"Oh.", he heard Varikas say after a moment.
"Yes. 'Oh'. Your fuck-toy is the son of Geudren and Renrava Sersa.", she said without humour.
"I didn't know that. And don't call him that.", the deer protested, trying to keep himself from raising his voice.
"You captured a hyena Artificer and didn't bother to ask his name?", she asked with growing annoyance.
"Not his family name. No.", he admitted, to which the wolf simply sighed.
"Regardless, he returns to his own tomorrow.", a third, raspy male voice joined in. "Our plans continue.", he added.
"I would wish to include him in the process.", Varik responded, prompting a moment of silence.
"Have you lost mind? An Artificer?", the female questioned.
"I have to agree with Ferr. What are you talking about?", the other male asked.
"I want him to see it first hand. To serve as witness, and to see reason.", he said.
"Lonius won't like it.", the raspy voice said.
"And? Does Lonius think for both of you? .", he asked mockingly.
"No. But we don't like it either.", the female answered.
"I'm fairly certain Kapria would trust my judgement.", he said. This time both of the other speakers sighed heavily.
"How do you imagine that happening once he's gone?", the female asked.
"He'll return. We will proceed once he does. Now, if you'll excuse me...", he said, prompting Hetroth to stealthily back away from the door and sit on the bed. Much to his dismay, it creaked quite audibly, but hopefully the deer wouldn't notice.
"Who was that?", Het asked as soon as the door swung open and Varik entered.
"Guild mates.", he answered and walked up to the bed. Looking at the stag, only now did Hetroth realize that he'd went to greet them with that wet mess still on his abdomen. It made him wonder if the deer had any sense of shame. "You're going home tomorrow.", he announced as he sat back down on the bed.
"Why? I thought you said...", he trailed off, trying his best to pretend he hadn't heard the conversation a few seconds ago.
"Your family name. It's Sersa, correct?", he asked as if to make sure.
"Yes.", he responded, to a complete silence that remained for over a minute. "So much for knowing everything, hm?", he teased jokingly. The buck simply rolled his eyes, but smirked none the less.
Without a word they went back to munching on the remainder of their rations, Hetroth's thoughts now again focused on what his return would look like. He worried what his guild mates would say. His family in particular. But then again, Varikas had now officially offered him safe haven within the All Knowing. It helped ease his mind, knowing he had something to fall back on. Then again, the things he'd heard made him wonder what they were planning and how exactly he was to bear witness to it.
"Well, let's go to bed.", Varik said as they finished their food. Het snapped out of his thought process and slid under the covers alongside the buck. Just as he closed his eyes, however, he felt the buck firmly grasp his ball sac. "We've still got the whole night.", he said with that sly smile of his and blew the light out.