{"sf1_id":564838,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Guns of Legend: Chapter Four","author":"ThisAdamGuy","words":705,"posted_at":"2013-07-18T16:54:00.000Z","tags":["Cowboys","Fantasy","Indians","Western","furry"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/564838-guns-of-legend-chapter-four","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/564838","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=564838\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nChapter Four\nAdlis and Za could only watch in\ndefeat as Kulgan took his seat in the town's watchtower, locking the only hatch\ntightly behind him.  No child had been\nstolen as of yet, and according to the villagers it only happened every other\nweek or so, but the Ranger was determined to keep an eye out all the same.  That, or he just wanted a place to be alone\nwith his whiskey, Adlis thought as she saw the zik take a long drink out of the\nbottle he'd brought up there with him.\n\"What a waste of time,\" Za grumped,\ncrossing his arms and staring at the ground in dejection.\n\"Not necessarily,\" Adlis\nargued.  \"There's still a chance he'll\ncome with us.  He just needs to finish\nhis job here, first.\"\n\"And from what the villagers say,\nit could be weeks before the next child gets stolen,\" Za said.  \"And that's assuming he actually manages to\ncatch the thing this time.\"\nAdlis turned to look at the town of\nEverdry, with its ramshackle homes and decrepit buildings.  If it weren't for the people still walking\nthe streets despite the growing darkness, she would have believed it to be a\nghost town.\n\"I can't help but feel sorry for\nthem,\" she said softly.  \"These people\nalready have so little, and what's most important to them is being taken\naway.  I wish there was something we\ncould do to help them.\"\n\"There is,\" a voice said from\nbehind them.\nThe companions spun around in\nfright to find the fuaro from that morning standing behind them.\n\"Oh, hello, Ms. Kilo,\" Adlis\ngreeted her, managing a hasty curtsy.  \"How\nare you tonight?\"\n\"Spare me the pleasantries,\" Kilo\nanswered, her eyes hard with anger.  \"I\njust found out that that worthless Twister let my son die this morning.  How do you think I am?\"\nAdlis backed away, taken aback by\nKilo's bluntness.\n\"I beg your pardon, Ms. Kilo.  I didn't mean anything by it.\"\n\"I don't care,\" the fuaro replied\ncurtly.  She cast her gaze to the ground\nin grief, \"I don't care about anything anymore.\"\nFor a moment, there was silence,\nand then Kilo spoke up again, \"I heard you say that you want to help us.  Is that true?\"\n\"I would like to help if I could,\"\nAdlis answered, nodding.\n\"Good.  Then you, me, and your overdressed friend\nthere are going out after that thing tonight, and we're not coming back until\nit's good and dead.\"\nAdlis' eyes went wide with\nsurprise, and she took a step back from the fuaro.\n\"But we can't go into the desert at\nnight!\" she protested.  \"Not without\nKulgan to protect us!\"\n\"That stupid zik is too busy\ndrinking all of our booze to care about our children,\" Kilo snarled.  \"If anything is going to get done, it has to\nbe us that does it!\"\nAdlis took another close look at\nKilo, but this time she no longer saw a grief stricken mother, but a fuaro\ndriven so mad by her loss that she was willing to dive straight into death's\nembrace if it meant the slightest bit of comfort.\n\"I'm sorry, Ms. Kilo,\" Adlis said,\nslowly backing away, \"but we can't help you.\"\nA savage gleam appeared in Kilo's\neye, \"You said you wanted to help,\" she growled, \"and I intend to hold you to\nthat!\"\nWith that, she drew a pistol from a\npocket in the side of her raggedy dress. \nPointing it at the young zik, she said, \"We're leaving right now from\nthe eastern end of town, where that Twister won't see us go.  Get moving!\"\nShe suddenly turned the gun on Za,\nwho was poised as if to grab the gun out of the fuaro's hand, \"Are you sure you\nwanna try that, boy?\" she asked, cocking the hammer back.  \"I don't want to kill the pretty little zik,\nbut I've got no qualms about shooting a simmk right between the eyes!\"\nZa recoiled behind Adlis like a child,\nhis eyes wide with fear behind his mask.\n\"Now come on,\" Kilo ordered, waving\nher gun in the direction she wanted to go. \n\"If that zik finds out what we're doing, we'll never get out of here!\"\n"}