{"sf1_id":657135,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Short coming Success","author":"Gilian","words":6883,"posted_at":"2014-01-26T18:06:00.000Z","tags":["Alexander","Clean","Curse","Dragon","Fantasy","Gilian","Ice","Kissaki","Magic","Short Story","Wolf","darkness","deity","dire wolf","light","wind"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/657135-short-coming-success","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/657135","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=657135\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\"Wait,\nsay that again, you want me to help you do what?!\"             Alexander wrinkled his nose in annoyance,\nnot that Gilian gave two fucks. The two of them sat in Gilian's office. Well,\nhe was sitting, Alexander was too busy pacing back and forth, obviously\navoiding the dragon's disorganized mess. His office looked like a hurricane hit\nit. Papers, scrolls, and books were scattered across the floor, and what\nwasn't, was in several horrendous unorganized stacks. Not to mention all the\nenergy drinks and whiskey bottles he had thrown all over the place, which was\nto help him stay some what sane through this hellish paper work.             \"Please pay attention this time\nGilian, I'll not repeat myself again.\" Alexander said, his voice was rich,\nstrong, yet smooth. \"I have gotten confirmation from a source that Kissaki has gained an artifact, one that\nholds the power to tell the absolute future.\"            \"And that has to do with us sneaking\ninto that bastard's palace, why?\"\nGilian motioned for him to continue.            \"Haven't you ever wondered how\nKissaki has been so good when we bet on the outcomes of mortals?\" Alexander's\neyes grew hard. \"If he uses this artifact to predict the outcome, it proves\nthat he is cheating. And it is against the rules established long before your\nexistence for such a thing to happen.\"            Gilian rubbed the bridge of his\nnose, trying his hardest not to reach over and bitch slap the angelic wolf for\nthat little insult. It was one thing for the white wolf to come stomping into\nhis realm and demand his audience, which he truly hated the deity of light for\ndoing. However, for him to even propose such a ridiculous idea; oh yeah, he\nmust have lost his mind. Yes, Kissaki was accurate as fuck when it came to the\nbets they played. Even though they all could glance into the future, they were never\na hundred percent sure what could or could not happen. So, it had always been\nfun to bet on the outcomes. However, he knew for a fact that such an artifact\ncould not exist. If it did, he would have already had it.             \"So, Alexander, why don't you just\nwalk up into his palace like you do my mansion? Then demand him to give you\nsaid artifact?\"             \"Gilian, surely you're not that\nstupid?\"\n            \"Alexander, surely you're not\ntrying to get slapped?\"             They both paused from the loud cough\ncoming from his office door. Tempest, Gilian's butler and his right hand man\nstood at attention, a china tea set with silver engraving in his paw. He gave a\npolite nod to Alexander, followed by a trained smile as he placed a cup in\nfront of each of them. \"Sorry to interrupt you, but I thought you both might\nwant some tea.\" The beauceron said, pouring their tea while glancing to Gilian.\nAs well as to stop you from destroying\neverything in here.             So,\nno punting the wolf out of my realm? Damn, I thought that'd be fun! Gilian relayed\nthrough their link, followed by a heavy sigh. \"Thank you Tempest. Also\nAlexander,\" he glanced back over to the wolf who stood more at ease, \"would you\nmind taking a seat? While you're at it, turn down the brightness? I think\nTempest and I both would prefer not to have to wear these every time you're\nhere.\" He tapped his sun glasses.             Alexander went to say something, but\nthought twice about it. His overall aura died down leaving a less glowing wolf\nsitting in his presence. \"Better?\" Gilian nodded as he took off his sun\nglasses.             Alexander's gaze followed Tempest\nfor a moment, watching as he took two massive stacks of paper, and carried them\nout the door to his desk outside. \"I'm still amazed.\" he finally said, focusing\nback on Gilian. \"That someone like you, can have someone so diligent, hard\nworking, and organized as your Second.\"Please do\nnot destroy anything. Tempest's thoughts rang loud and clear as Gilian clenched\nthe arm of his chair. If you do, don't\nlook to me to help you catch up on any of your work.Bastard. He\nsnorted, gaining a curious little stare from Alexander. \"So why don't you ask\nfor audience with the big bad ice wolf?\"            Alexander gave an over exaggerated\nsigh as he neatly tucked in his six massive wings to take a seat. \"Would you\nexpect Kissaki to just admit to having such an artifact? That, and without\nproper evidence, I cannot convict another of the seven of such a crime.\"            \"So, in other words, you want to do\nan undercover mission to see if your sources were telling the truth?\" Alexander\nnodded, taking a sip of his tea. \"So why do I have to go with you?\"            Alexander cocked his brow. \"Are you\ntelling me that the winds would not be interested in such an item that can pull\noff something that the gods themselves cannot do?\"             Okay, he had him there. Though he was pretty\ndamn certain that no such artifact existed. It wouldn't hurt to join in and see if it was true. That, and if\nAlexander's accusations were proved to be false, it did not mean that he still\ncouldn't possibly... pocket one of the many treasures of Kissaki's realm. This\nway he could sell it and pay off his blasted debt to the wolf. A risk he wouldn't\nnormally take.            However, with a scape goat like\nAlexander, it was a risk worth taking.            Hooking his claw around the tea cup,\nGilian took a deep whiff of the aroma. \"How certain are you of this?\"            \"If I wasn't certain, I'd have never\ncome here.\"             Gilian sighed and took a sip of his\ntea before placing it down, \"Alright, when are you looking to do this?\"            The capital in the realm of Ice was as cold as any other day\nthe dragon had visited. The sky was blanketed in a soft grey as snow showered\ndown across the buildings that lined the street. It was not a place for the\nweak of heart. The cold alone held an icy grip that only those with a body of\nsteel could take for days on end. That and the inhabitants were not the\nfriendliest bunch to outsiders.            All of this made it hard as hell to\nattempt to even get close to the center of the capital by himself. Now with\nAlexander tagging along, who was as sneaky as a pissed off Elephant, it made\nthis mission damn near impossible. Before they left, both Tempest and Gilian\nhad a hard time convincing Alexander to wear one of the tattered hooded cloaks\nthey had made. It would meld their presences in with their surroundings so not\nto give off their scent nor elements and to make them look like the lower\nclass. Which meant they had to act the part, a task too degrading for\nAlexander. He couldn't count how many times he had to elbow the angelic wolf to\nstop acting out of character.             After much griping, yanking, and pulling, Gilian was finally\nable to get the both of them close to Kissaki's palace without being notice.\nFrom the outside, the dire wolf's palace was like a gothic cathedral made out\nof nothing but thick crystal clear ice. In the snow it gave off a hue that set\nit apart from all the other ice sculpted buildings in the capital. No matter\nhow many times he visited the place Gilian couldn't get over just how beautiful\nit was. His eyes glanced over to one of the windows that was near the ground.\nIf his memory proved to be right, that was their ticket in. Tapping Alexander's shoulders, he waited for the white wolf\nto stop gazing over the palace. \"There? You see that window?\" He pointed to a\ntiny window near the ground. \"If I remember correctly, I caught Kissaki's son\nsneaking through that window when he was a cub. It leads to the kitchen and if\nI also remember correctly, it's usually unlocked. From there we can climb in\nand sneak inside till we find Kissaki's vault. That's where this little\nartifact you're looking for should be.\"\"And by any chance,\" Alexander said as he tilted his head\noff to the side to block the oncoming wind, \"that you may know the location of\nthis vault?\"Gilian shrugged and huddled up under the cloak. If they\nstayed out in this weather much longer he doubted either one of them was going\nto be able to move, much less stealthily break into the palace. \"Nope, not at\nall.\"\n            \"You can't be serious?\"\"You can't honestly think Kissaki would tell me where his\nvault was located?\" Alexander sighed. \"I was hoping he trusted you more than\nthat, but the ice shall always be weary of those that are not of their own.\" He\nglanced up and waited for Gilian to give the queue.Well, at least he wasn't going to make this any more difficult. Like they planned before, Alexander lifted\none foot up off the ground as Gilian made a swirl motion with his claw. The\nwinds were reluctant to move at his command, but allowed the deity of light to\ntread on them. This way it would make it a lot harder to hear them coming.With a quick nod to each other, Gilian sprinted off first\nwith Alexander easily keeping up. At the window, Gilian would whip his cloak\noff. With ease, launched himself up on the ledge and shoved open the window.\nThen slipped inside. Thankfully there was no one there to see his flawless\nentry. His ears perked as he hopped off to the side to let Alexander pull off\nthe same maneuver, just with more class as he landed with his wings spread out.\"Show off.\" Gilian muttered as Alexander looked back at him\nwith a puzzled look. Apparently the two of them had completely different ideas\nfor clothing. Gilian wore a long sleeve wool shirt and a pair of jeans.\nAlexander wore his best outfit, a silver and gold robe that might as well have\nbelonged to one of the Vatican priests, minus the atrocious hood.  \"Nothing.\" Gilian waved his paw. \"Nothing at\nall.\"Alexander didn't look the slightest bit convinced, but he\nturned his head to the open kitchen door. \"It's been far too long since I last\nstepped foot in these halls, so I am not sure where this leads.\"\"Pretty much its the hallway that connects to the main\nsection of the palace, but also trails off towards the more private areas. I\nremember Kissaki taking me down here to his Library to play a game of chess.\"\"Well, since you have more knowledge of our location. You\nshould lead.\" Alexander motioned.Shaking his head, he took Alexander along the path he knew.\nIf the vault was to be anywhere, it had to be in the inner depth of the palace.\nSomewhere hard for anyone to reach, as well as a place Kissaki held the\nabsolute advantage. Nothing suited the dire wolf more than this. As they walked\nalong, Gilian noticed more and more statues \nof woman wearing toga's littered across the floor. Each of which was holding\na glass bowl in one hand that had a blue flame flickering with in it. Not that\nGilian could see any signs of them melting, nor did they seem to rid the halls\nof their chilled embrace. Sadly though, he had less time to take in the finer details,\nnot with having to baby sit Alexander. \"Hmm, I know it has\nbeen some time, but I must say. I am impressed with Kissaki's taste.\" Alexander\nsaid aloud, ready to trail his claws along one of the statues cheeks.             Gilian bit his lip as he took hold\nof Alexander's paw and pulled it down to his waist. \"Don't fucking touch\nanything!\" He growled at the wolf.             \"What little does it matter if I\nadmire the craftsmanship?\" Alexander pulled his paw away from Gilian's. His\neyes narrowed as the small rod that connected the matching golden lace around\nhis hair glowed lightly.            \"Cause everything here is connected\nto Kissaki you dunce. If you touch the statues, he'll sense you instantly. Why\nelse do you think I have the winds acting as your support to walk on?\"            Alexander looked thoughtfully for a\nmoment and nodded his head. \"Fair enough. I shall restrain myself. Though it\nwould be best to continue, the longer we wait the greater the chance of Kissaki\nbecoming aware of our presence. Whether I touch the statue or not.\"             Gilian slapped his face and shook\nhis head. Note to self, do not help\nAlexander again. \"Just, try to be quiet. Would you?\"            \"What little difference does it\nmake? You are the winds, sound is in your domain.\"            \"Yet again we come back to the point\nthat Kissaki can sense our presence. I'm not risking our asses by over using my\npowers on the winds just so Kissaki can pick up on it.\"             Alexander sighed and shook his head.\n\"This is far harder than I thought it'd be.\"\n            This is far more than I need to be dealing with. The scales along Gilian's\nspine grew cold, colder than the rest of his body. Grabbing Alexander by the\nscruff of his collar, he yanked him around the closest pillar, placing a claw\non the bewildered wolf's muzzle. \"Hush!\" Gilian hissed. Thump, two more thumps,\nfive more thumps, seven more thumps. Loud and thunderous, they echoed through\nthe halls, shaking even the pillars themselves. Ice trolls, gotta love them! If\nnot for their smell, it's their massive grotesque bodies. Seven marching\nbehemoths walked down the halls. Each were armed with a massive spiked club\nthat hung from their waists while battle armor clung tightly to their already\nthick hides. You\nwouldn't normally have gaurds like that roaming around just to protect a palace. He\nthought as he willed the winds around them to mask their scent, keeping his eyes\nlocked on to the set of keys disguised as a pair of earrings. He waited till they had vanished behind a corner before\nreleasing Alexander's robes. \"Sorry about that.\" He smiled at the annoyance that\ngleamed in the wolf's eyes.\"You could have just told me those grotesque things were\ncoming.\"Gilian could have, but it was more fun to have a reason to\nyank Alexander up by his collar. \"Will make note of that next time, but did you\nnotice that big ice troll in the middle?\"            \"Was hard to notice any of them with\nyour grimy paw on my muzzle.\" Alexander huffed.             \"Okay well, he had a duller hide,\nclaw marks across his eye, and a ragged tooth that looked like it should've\nbeen pulled out years ago.\"            \"Get to the point.\"            \"I thought you like to gossip.\"\nGilian smiled as he quickly ran in the direction where the trolls went too,\nstopping short from the doorway. \"He had keys about the size of a grown man's\nhands dangling from his ears. Something tells me its for the vault.\"            Alexander's head snapped back at the\nthought as he lingered behind Gilian. \"Why in worlds would Kissaki let the keys\nto his vault be used as an earring?\" He asked after he was sure the dragon was\ndone listening to what was around them .            Gilian shrugged, expect the impossible. That was\nsomething he learned from Kissaki a long time ago. The wolf did things that\nwere truly out of the ordinary, and because of it, it made him so\nunpredictable.  Sometimes he had to wonder,\nwas the wolf really meant for the ice or the winds? Something he never asked\nKissaki. He knew he'd get a firm boot to the face if he did.            He motioned for Alexander to follow\nas they kept to the walls. They needed to stay close enough to not lose track\nwhere their prey went, but at the same time far enough so that they wouldn't\nsmell them. Ice trolls  may be stupid and\nugly, but in general have a good sense of smell. He had no choice but to cloak\ntheir scent the last time and he couldn't risk it again.            The halls had begun to grow narrow\nthe further they went, and the chill from the walls were worse than ice winds\nfrom outside! Every now and then he'd glance back to see Alexander's fur\npuffing up to keep him warm. The lucky son of a bitch. Alexander must have\nknown what he was thinking because he was quick to give Gilian a sly smile,\nwhich only made him want to slap the angelic wolf even more.            Finally the sounds of footsteps\nstopped, and so did they. Gone were the flames that reflected through the water\nblue pillars, and the beautiful stain glass that gave a sense of elder beauty.\nNow they stood in the inner depths of Kissaki's palace. They were surrounded by\nthick glacier walls. The icicles hung above their heads like deadly daggers ready\nto pierce deep in their flesh. In front of them was a staircase just large\nenough that the ice trolls could walk down. \"How much longer do\nwe stand guard?\" One of the bumbling idiots rambled, saying each word slow and\nwith care, yet there was a high pitch whine behind each word. \n            \"Till the Lord of Winter deems\nit necessary!\" Another with a deeper voice said.            \"But we been doing this for three\nmonths!\" Mr. Whiner complained.            \"And we'll do it even longer if it\nmeans gaining the territory in the north like we were promised!\" Gilian's ears\nperked up at this one. He wasn't like the others. His words were smooth and\nthought out, far more intelligent than most ice trolls he met. What caught his\nattention was the sounds of metal hitting metal, like a pair of earrings. He caught movement from the corner of his eye. Alexander was\ntwitchy, he noticed how he was constantly looking back and forth between the\nlight next to him and Gilian. Fuck.\nHe had almost forgotten. The only lights around them were the dim yellow lights\nflickering from the energy crystals along the walls, which did not illuminate\nthe halls enough for the white wolf. He could only hope the bastard wouldn't\ngive into his nature and attempt to light the area up more. If he did, it would\ndefinitely alert someone of their presence and there was no way in hell they\nwere going to find any place to hide in this long narrow corridor.             \"They're bitching about being here.\" He said\nsoftly after noticing the demanding gaze Alexander was giving him.            \"I do not blame them. I would want\nto escape this crypt as well.\" Alexander muffled, sticking closer to Gilian\nthan he would have preferred. \"However, that doesn't tell us what we need to--\"            \"Shh!\" Gilian held up a claw,\ngaining a nasty little glare at his back.            \"What is so important about guarding\nthe big door? No one is stupid enough to risk the Ice Lords rage.\" Whiner\ngrumbled.            \"Oh, but some have.\" The smart one\nchimed. \"Fools who didn't know what they were getting themselves into had attempted\nto steal from our lord. Some had even come close, but the poor fools now face\nsomething far worse than death.\" He gave a cruel, blood curdling snicker.\n\"That's why he has us here. To give the poor bastards a quick death.\"            Sounds\nlike Kissaki. He thought as he got on his knees and leaned in just a bit\nfurther. It was hard to make out anything at this angle. Light from a flame, two guards standing at the staircase entrance, and\nshadows of the others. Lovely. He\ncouldn't risk killing the bastards. It would be an open invitation of war on\nhis part. None shall kill those who\nreside in the seven realms. Those that do shall invoke punishment or threaten\ntheir realm with war. The words echoed in his head from Katrina, the deity\nof water. The same reason went for why they could not enter another's domain\nwielding their full power.              \"Well fuck. This just gets better\nand better.\" Gilian grumbled under his breath as he scratched his goatee.             \"What is it that you heard?\"\nAlexander said as he knelt by his side.            \"Well, I was right about them being\nguards to the vault. From the sounds of it Kissaki hired them to give anyone\nstupid enough to attempt to steal from him a quick and painless death, versus\nletting him get a hold of them.\"            \"Typical of the ice.\" Alexander\nlooked at Gilian. \"They have never been one to show mercy, definitely for that\nwhich they hoard. Viringar was the same, only makes sense his predecessor would\nbe as well.\"            \"You make it sound like you wouldn't\ndo the same.\"\n            Alexander's eyes widened. \"I\ndo not kill mercilessly. I punish, and kill only if it is truly deserved. If\none attempts to steal my riches, they deserve punishment, but the life shall be\nspared.\"             Gilian simply nodded in agreement. \"Well\nit seems like thats all they had to say about the vault. Now they're just\ntalking about the ice nymphs they have their eyes on.\"            \"Which holds little value. We need\nto get past them and get this key.\"            Gilian cocked his head to the side. \"Easier\nsaid than done. You ever try sneaking right by an ice troll? Its not pretty,\nand they sure wouldn't mind having a snack.\"            \"True, but if they can't see us, nor\nsmell us, then it would be different no?\"\n            Okay, he'll bite at this. \"How,\npray tell, would they not see us? I'm not sure about you, but hiding our scent\nagain would more than likely alert Kissaki of our presence.\"            Alexander gave him a confident grin.\n\"The flames still produce light, and by manipulating the strands of light, I\ncan make myself  invisible to the naked\neye. That, and being surrounded by such odorous creatures such as they, do you\nthink warping the winds a bit to hide my scent would be such a treacherous\ntask?\"            He opened his mouth, then closed it,\nthen tapped Alexander on the shoulder. \"By George I think you're on to\nsomething there. That might just be crazy enough to work. But there's still the\ntricky part.\" He said motioning to the staircase. \"How will you get the keys\nfrom the seven dwarves down there?\"            The corner of Alexanders lips curved\nup further as he pulled loose the small rod that connected the hair tie. With a\nflick of his wrist, he let the chain fly as he got to his feet. By the time it\nhit his palm, it was no longer a hair tie but a golden staff that was near the\nsame size as the wolf. \"Let me handle that. Just mask my scent.\" He said as\nwalked down the stairs. He hoped Alexander knew what the hell he was doing. Masking\nthe wolf's scent wasn't hard, not when all that odor was around. However;\nbefore Alexander reached the end of the staircase, his appearance flickered and\nvanished. Gilian didn't even have time to admire just how fast he was able to\npull off that trick, not when seven loud grunts and groans echoed up the\nstaircase followed by seven large thuds of the big oafs hitting the ground.             Rushing down the stairs, Gilian\nalmost whistled as he saw Alexander standing above the Ice troll who had the\nkey earrings. The entire crew were sprawled out across the floor, large welts\nclear on their heads and necks. \"That, was fast.\"            Alexander tossed the keys to Gilian.\n\"I'm the light.\" He said, as if that explained everything. \"Now I hope you can\nfind out where to go from here?\"            Catching the keys, Gilian looked\naround. They were in a big dome room, large in size, with seven chairs and a\nfire place being the only thing that lit the room. This was perfect for the\ntrolls since they normally did not like to be in the light that often. \"Well\nthey stopped here so that could only mean one thing.\" Gilian peered down the only\nother door that was in the room, which lead to yet another staircase. \"Down we\ngo.\"            He saw Alexander tense and then sigh\nloudly. Yeah, he wasn't liking this either. The staircase had less lighting\nthan the previous one and it was deeper underground. Which meant one thing.\nThey were both going where their elements were weaker.             \"I suppose you shall have to go\nfirst.\" Alexander said before Gilian could vouch for him. \"You're ears are far\nbetter than my own, and I can't see amongst the dark.\"            I\nhate you so much. He bit his lip then paused as he glanced over to the\nwooden chairs. He walked over to one of them and with ease slammed his foot\ninto it's massive leg, snapping it like a twig. \"Now who said you can't be a\nlittle innovative?\" He grinned and lit the tip with the flames from the fire\nplace.            Alexander let loose a sigh of relief.\nAt least one of them was more at ease. Gilian couldn't help but become more\ntense the further they went. Even the winds they walked on flickered weakly,\nwhich didn't do well for his conscience. If they had to go any farther they\nwould soon give out unless he gave them more energy to sustain themselves. That\nmeant risking Kissaki's attention.            Alexander laid a paw against Gilian's\nshoulder, however; the friendly gesture had the opposite effect.  \"We are almost there.\" Alexander said from\nbehind, the light from the flames being pretty much the only source of light in\nthe room. Down here the energy crystals were so dim that they barely lit up the\nstairs in front of them.            \"Better be.\" He growled. He was\nnervous, more than he should be, though not for being underground. Something\nelse was unnerving about this place. It was as if an icy hand wrapped around\nhis spine and squeezed tighter and tighter the further they went. His nerves\nfelt like they had been dipped into an arctic pond, frozen hot. The energy down\nhere was something he had not felt before, and yet had. Being a sapphire dragon\nfrom the northern mountains of Fitilia, gave him the ability to sense magic\naround him and to see it when he so chose to. Yet it was a gift and a curse. In\ntimes like this he would rather not be able to sense such an unnerving dread\ncoming from the walls around him, or that something horrid was waiting for\nthem. Nearing the end of the stairs, they paused, the light of the\nflame flickering across the icy statues that lined the corridor. \"I swear,\nKissaki has some strange taste in statues.\" He said, noting the life like\nnature of them.             \"Indeed.\" Alexander walked past\nGilian to look at one. \"Do not worry, I will not touch--\" Eyes snapped open and\na loud muffled scream came from the statue, causing Alexander to fly backwards,\nstaff ready and aimed.             Oh\nmy god. Now it made sense why he felt like a cold grip was clutching at his\nspine, which was only growing stronger as more and more eyes snapped open, all groaning\nin pain. \"These are the prisoners they spoke of.\"             Finally calmed, Alexander placed his\nstaff to his side and shook his head. \"I see Kissaki has picked this up from\nViringar as well.\"            Gilian nodded, and took a deep\nbreath. It was something he read a long time ago. The elder gods as well as\nsome of the deities would practice binding mortal men in an eternal torment for\ntheir greed. Which he found to be...inhumane. Though no matter how much he wanted\nto feel bad for them, he knew that they had it coming. He just hoped he wasn't\ngoing to join them in the land of popsicles.             Alexander tapped him on his shoulders\nand pointed further down. A silver glint caught Gilian's attention and the\nchill in his body intensified. Licking his lips, he walked past the halls of\neyes, ignoring their muffled protest as he neared the massive vault door made\nof nothing but silver blue ice.             Yeah, the sensation was coming from\nthis, and it was Alexander who answered the question that was lingering in his mind.\n\"I'm impressed. Kissaki must have truly wanted to keep his treasure trove safe\nfrom any intruders. Since he went through the expense of making the vault door\nout of The Eternal Ice.\"            \"The Eternal Ice?\"            Alexander looked at him puzzled then\nthe realization hit him. \"Ah, right. You're still too young to even know of\nthis, aren't you?\"            \"Careful Alexander, else I'll put\nout the flames and leave us in the dark.\"            The white wolf glared at him. \"Don't\nyou dare.\"            He simply grinned. Who knew a pissed\noff wolf could make his unease go away? \n\"So what is The Eternal Ice?\"            Alexander wrinkled his nose as he\nplaced the tip of his staff on the door. Ice almost instantly crept up the tip\nof it, threatening to consume it till Alexander pulled it away. \"Holy shit.\"\nGilian whistled. \"For an ice door to freeze over your weapon, now that's\nsomething terrifying.\"            Alexander nodded. \"In each of our\nrealms, there is a pure substance that is close to the Essence we serve. It's\nso pure, so old, that not even we can command it. For in a sense like our\nweapons, they are an embodiment of the essence.\" He said. \"This is The Eternal\nIce, something only found in the farthest depths of Kissaki's realm. Whatever\nis in here must be truly important for him to make a vault door out of this.\"             Gilian didn't need him to say\nanything more. He knew exactly what he was getting at. \"The artifact?\"            \"Aye. Now we must use the key to\nunlock it and find it.\"            \"Well, you see there's one problem.\"            \"What is it?\"            Gilian looked at some of the ice\nprisoners. Those near the vault door had one arm missing, and he could see why.\nIn the middle of the vault was a massive hole, just big enough for an arm to\nreach inside. After seeing what that door could do, he could see too clearly\nhow they ended up in the state they were in.            It didn't take Alexander long before\nhe caught on to what Gilian was looking at. \"Darn it!\" He snarled, his tail\nfluffed up and swayed as his shoulders grew tense. \"How are we to get in there\nnow?\"            \"Hmm.\" This was a vault made by\nKissaki. There was sure to be a trick to it,  and he had no doubt that the keys were yet\nanother lie to make one believe that it could open the door. That, and he\nwasn't about to phase to wind and appear on the other side, Essence forbid how\nmany runic seals the wolf had possibly placed...            He snapped his claws and tossed the\nhandmade torch to Alexander. \"Hold that.\" He said as his eyes glowed slightly.\n\"Holy flying fuck...\"            \"What? What is it that you see?\"            What didn't he see? Hundreds of\nrunes were hidden in the door, shifting around in circles like a ton of\ntadpoles in a little pool of water. Though, that wasn't what took him by\nsurprise. What really caught his attention was the set of cyphers placed on\neach rune. The bloody ice wolf had made a specific code for each of these runes\nusing, no doubt, different languages. Which were then ran through what looked\nto be not one , but multiple cypher encryptions.             The\nfucking bastard. He bit his lip. If they were all in the same language, and\ndid not have cyphers placed on top of cyphers, there was a chance he could have\npossibly undone the seals in the chamber and unlocked the door. Sadly, with the\nway they were, it would take Gilian a year to figure out the runes before he\ncould even attempt to unlock the vault.            \"Looks like we came to a dead end\nAlexander.\" He grumbled in disdain, running his claws through his hair. \"No way\nin hell I'm going to crack open this safe. There's too many runes with too many\ncyphers on them. It'll take too long to even bother with it. So we might as\nwell...What are you doing?\"            Alexander was whirling the golden\nstaff between his claws, the torch on the ground, not that they needed it with\nthe light that was being produced by the staff. \"Simple. I'm going to break\ndown the door.\"            \"Waitwhatwhatwhatwhatwaitwhat?!\nAlexander, hold your horses! You don't know what--\"            A pillar of golden light flashed\npast Gilian, followed by the mass amount of heat billowing from the attack. The\nsound of ice shattering and breaking apart filled the room as an icy mist\nblocked their view of the entrance.            \"THE FUCK?! Alexander what the hell\nare you thinking?!\"             \"We don't have time for this Gilian.\nKissaki will be here any moment. We need to obtain this artifact so that we can\nbring it to trial.\"            \"You idiot! Don't you understand the\nnotion of stealth?!\" He paused, ears twitched as he slowly glanced over to the\nwalls. Thousands of icy tips were pointed all in their direction, from the\nfloors, ceiling, and walls. \"Alexander...\"            \"Yes...?\"            \"I hate you...\"            Before those damn spikes had a\nchance to even budge from their resting place, a beam of light and lightning\nshot inside of the vault, skidding belly first on the hoard of gold coins. The\nentrance was, now blocked by a wall of spikes.            Alexander coughed and grumbled as he\ngot to his feet. \"We need to make haste. If Kissaki...\"            The sound of a coin purse echoed in\nthe dimly lit vault. Standing not to far from in front of them was a tall greyish\nblue wolf decked out in a black silk shirt and matching slacks, with a smaller black\nwolf  who wore a pair of jeans and a\ntrench coat standing beside him.            \"Kissaki...Curse?\"            \"It seems like I won this bet.\"\nCurse said with a grin as Kissaki simply shook his head. \"Thanks Gilian.\"            \"Wait, what bet? What are you\ntalking about?\"            \"Kissaki!\" Alexander erupted,\nslamming his staff on the ground. \"What have you done with it?\"            Kissaki tilted his head in a\nquizzing manner. \"What on earth, are you talking about Alexander?\"            \"Do not toy with me Kissaki. My\ninformant had told me of what you have done.\" He growled, obviously not seeing\nthe coin purse that curse was jiggling around in his paw. \"He had overheard\nyour conversation with Curse in regards to the artifact you use to predict the\nfuture of the bets we take place in! Where is it?\"            \"Hold up...\" Gilian stood up. \"Are you\ntelling me. Your informant got this information...by eavesdropping on a\nconversation between two brothers...one of which is the Lord of Shadows? The\ndeity who is worshipped by assassins and thieves...alike?\"            \"Exactly.\" Alexander said, never\ntaking his eyes off of Kissaki, who kept that perfected poker face with a\ncocked brow. \"Raizel, my second, had heard their conversation, and had reported\nback to me on it as soon as he was sure they had not noticed him. So answer me\nthis Kissaki. Where. Is. It.\"            \"Alexander, I have no idea what\nyou're talking about.\" Kissaki said.            Curse coughed, dragging their\nattention to him. \"Maybe I should explain. There really isn't any artifact. We\njust thought we make a quick bet on the two of you. So I came up with an idea\non an artifact that you would have\nbeen interested in,\" he pointed to Alexander. \"We knew you wouldn't be stupid\nenough to try and sneak in by yourself and knew the only person you'd go to\nwould be Gilian. So. We made a bet. I said Gilian would come along. Kissaki\ndidn't think Gilian would be stupid enough to do so.\"            \"A likely story Curse.\" Alexander\nsnarled. \"Though one I'll not believe so...\" He glanced at his staff which didn't\nglow. If a lie was told in front of Alexander, his staff would glisten gold.\n\"So...there wasn't such an artifact in your midst...\" He glanced to Curse who\nsimply shrugged. \"So you tricked me into believing...\"Alexanders eyes grew wide\nwith rage. \"How dare you! This is outrageous! To even think of using me as a\nmeans for a bet! Gilian, what are you doing? Stop being so quiet and...Why are\nyou sparking?\"            \"Oh. I don't know Alexander.\" He\nsaid through gritted fangs, lightning surging across his very frame, crackling\nacross his fingers. \"You tell me. How you thought, that you're no good,\nsneakier than a pissed off Elephant of a second, could have hoped not to be caught by Curse. And to deliver a so\ncalled MESSAGE of a so called ARTIFACT that does NOT exist!\" His hair stood on\nend as the static in the air began to pop, crackle, grow. Small strands of\nlightning flickered back and forth across the entire vault as the winds began\nto swirl around him. \"Kissaki...Curse...do me one favor.\"                        \"Hmmm?\" a light smirk spread across\nKissaki's face.              Pulling forth Kervanos, he watched as the\nlightning surged forth from his sword, licking the dragon's cheeks. \"Look the\nother way, just for a split second.\" He growled.            Alexander's eyes grew wide as he\nclutched his staff, only to see the shadows crawling across the walls. Obviously\nit hampered the lights powers. Glaring at Curse, the black wolf only held his\npaws up.  \"You  fucked up, so only right you get fucked.\" He\nturned around.\"Gilian...Gilian Sapphire...Wait, we can talk about--\"\"Talking.\" He clutched Kervanos' hilt tightly as the blade\nroared to life. \"Is done, and over. Next time, think, before you act.\"\"Wait, Gilian, WAIT!\"The dragon pointed his sword at Alexander,  directing the lightning at the white wolf\nwith a shit eating grin as he basked in the screams and howls that filled his\nevening.            A soft rap came on his door,\nfollowed by a very annoyed, \"Gilian, wake up and stop drooling all over the\npapers!\"            \"Huh?\" He rubbed his eyes and looked\ndown. Oh. That's right. He got stuck behind on the paper work yet again. He\nglanced around to see several extra stacks had magically appeared on  his desk that were in need of his disapproval\nor approval. \"What the hell? When did this shit happen?\"            \"Since you been asleep...\" Tempest\nsighed as he walked over to his side.             \"Mmm...why didn't you wake me up?\"            \"Cause you had been quite grouchy\nsince you came back from Kissaki's realm. I rather not have you creating a\nwhirlwind and disorganizing the paper's again.\"             \"Again?\" He paused and thought back.\nIt was still a haze. He remembered a bottle of whiskey in his paw, and loud\nyapping, and a pair of rough, strong lips on his. Then papers swirling around\nand Tempest barking at him. \"Did I get drunk again?\"            \"Yes...Don't worry I escorted the\nshepherd you brought with you back home.\" Tempest said. Though he could see the\nannoyance in his eyes. \"Not that you cared so much for it. Since, you got upset\nand blew all the papers away.\"             \"Hmm...sorry?\"            \"I'm sure. Even though I had to spend\nthe entire evening reorganizing everything.\" He sighed and handed him a letter,\nwith the seal of the ice. \"This is for you.\"            Gilian's brows furrowed as the\nencroaching headache was becoming more...evident. \"What does Kissaki want this\ntime?\"            \"I do not know, sir. Open it.\"            He drug his claw underneath the\nfolds and neatly opened it.             Gillian,After your\nrecent adventure into my palace with Alexander and the unfortunate\nmisunderstanding you both had, it has occurred to me that my palace and vault\nwas damaged in the incident. Now I know this entirely wasn't your fault but you\nboth did enter my palace to relieve me of my possessions. And even though it\nfailed and none of my treasure was lost, the damage still has to be repaired.\nAttached here is an itemized cost of the damages and it is with great regret I\nhave to tell you that you are required to pay half of it. Due to your\ninvolvement in the matter. Thankfully you already have a running tab with me\nand I will simply add this on. Your Friend,The Lord of Winter,Kissaki.P.S. If you are willing. There is\nsome work that could be done to help pay off this debt by aiding in the repair\nof the door.            \"It does\nseem...\" Tempest placed his paw on Gilian's shoulders. \"That you're debt with the\nice is increasing ever more.\"            \"Tempest.\"            \"No.\" Tempest shook his head. \"I'll\nbe taking my vacation here soon. So I wont be helping you fix Kissaki's vault.\"            \"I hate you...so much.\"            Tempest patted his shoulder as Gilian's\nhead hit the desk. \"Its okay sir. I know...I know...\"             "}