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The ruby was almost certainly the worst treasure Valof had ever stolen. It was a massive gemstone, the size of a small melon, and as clear as a fine pane of Al-Altai glass. In fact, Hrun had smashed his dagger pommel on the gem assuming it was a fake, and now had a broken dagger for his trouble. The ruby was (perhaps literally) a king's ransom, perfect in every way save one: it was wholly indivisible between two treasure hunters.

"This thing cursed you think?" Hrun was looking through the ruby, legs splayed out as he sat in the haywain. The heavyset wolf bandit would have been able to walk back to town on his mutilated leg, barely, but a passing farmer and a handful of silver coins had saved him from the discomfort of hiking seven leagues on a tattered limb. Valof had packed the wounds with disinfecting marsh roots, which would keep Hrun's leg from going gangrenous but had the unpleasant side effect of leaving the wolf loopier than a buck in rut; the tomb raider's head was lolled to the side as he giggled at his own joke. Valof sniffed in disgust. Maybe he should have left him to die.

"I'm not a sorcerer, but it looked clean enough. We had some bad luck with those rasper vines and then the water wyrd, yes, but we also got lucky with finding the main road and meeting a farmer headed to market."

Valof was hardly a master of magic, but the mongoose was a woodsman, and one could hardly hunt the marshy boreal rainforests of Far Perrenor without dealing with druids, Old Magic, Old Druids, Druid Magic, Great Old Ones, and Great Old Magic Druids. Often all at once. The ruby was from an abandoned temple of one of the many horrible and numinous things the local druids worshipped so as to keep it sleeping. Given that the ruins were corroded by time and something that made stone melt and flow into unwholesome tentacular patterns, Valof was content to think it was no longer a going concern.

"Hrun, put that thing away." Valof sighed in frustration. The mongoose kept his own hatchet close and ready, in case the farmer's greed should overcome his better sense, but so far the donkey had kept his eyes fixed on the road and face hidden under the straw hat. Valof preferred that the farmer stay that way until they finally reached Hunter's Lament, and every time Hrun flashed that amazing ruby it gave the mongoose a fresh fear the farmer would change his mind about how worthwhile overpowering the mongoose might be.

"You're not the boss've me-" Hrun hiccupped "-it's my ruby too!"

Valof quietly grit his teeth. He could have left the wolf; it wasn't like there were other survivors of the half-dozen relic hunters that had headed out from Hunter's Lament two weeks ago. But the big lug had saved his life more than once, down in the murky depths. In the forest, the burly wolf was, to say the least, uncomfortable. He had jumped at every owl call during night watch, nearly gotten everyone killed by will-o-wisps, and had an unfortunate run-in with poison ivy and delicate parts of his anatomy. But just as Valof had soothed him at each cry, placated the glimmering dead, and provided a mushroom that cooled the rash, Hrun had pushed him out of a deadfall, held a trapdoor open with just his knives, and kept Valof from the lethal mistake of going off alone for a piss. When the rasper vines had looped around Hrun's leg Valof hadn't even stopped to think before he was already plunging in with his hatchet.

"We're almost to town, sirs. Did you want me to drop you off at the Stone Circle?" The old donkey eyed Hrun's leg, kept from bleeding on his produce solely by the wolf's cloak sopping it up. Valof looked at the dopey wolf. Hrun had passed out, cradling the gemstone in his hands. The mongoose bit his lower lip. It'd be easy to drop Hrun off at the healing temple, pay for his care, and be long gone into the wilds before the wolf came to. That ruby was too big to fence in Hunter's Lament anyways. Maybe the capitol? But a woodlands boy like Valof wouldn't know how to set up a viewing with the sort of big-city nobility who'd be willing to bid on it. Valof wasn't averse to skipping out with the treasure in theory, but he had no clue how to convert this big colored rock into wealth he could actually use.

"Yes please." Valof tilted his head at Hrun's unconscious form. "He's in no shape to walk, as you can see."

The donkey nodded laconically and continued over the last rise.

Hunter's Lament was an ugly city on its own. It was a patchwork of muddy streets and mossy lodges, punctuated by a few stately stone monuments brooding over the cabins like dour parents over filthy toddlers. Valof loved it. Or at least, the fastidious mongoose tolerated the city for the forest. Massive redwoods, fertilized by sea air and rotting magic, grew in impossibly-high majestic groves all around. About once a decade, one of the huge trees would be felled, and it provided enough lumber for the entire city's needs as well as exports. The lumber trade was the lifeblood of Hunter's Lament, even if it had started as a glorified hunting lodge centuries ago, and the only thing keeping the city from growing further was the harvest limit on the trees. Without the Stone Circle's grim druids sacrificing anyone unlucky enough to be caught "poaching trees", Valof suspected the forest would have been turned into a muddy clear-cut long ago.

As the wagon drew closer to the city, Valof wrinkled his nose and grimaced. While the sea winds kept the western parts of town comparatively nice, the marshy soil, muddy streets, and poor sanitation habits of adventurers and lumberjacks left their road smelling like an open cesspit. The stink of filth and mossy rot was enough to even startle Hrun awake. Valof didn't mind unpleasant smells in general, but there was a strong difference between running across carrion in a salt marsh and the wall of foulness that broke upon his face as the cart wheeled in to the market quarter.

"Mmf. Almost smells of home, but it's too green." Hrun's eyes were unfocused. Valof narrowed his own, looking over the wounded wolf. The big brown wolf looked fat at a casual glance, but Valof had seen the raw strength the canine brought to bear with his stocky, barrel-chested frame. His face was scarred up, supposedly from when he was a pup and ran afoul of the local thieves' guild, and his left ear was badly notched. Unconscious, he was an ugly mass of keloid tissue, but even groggily awake there was a certain wry wit to him that lit up his savaged features into something approximating charisma. Further, while his face was scarred, Valof had seen his powerful frame without armor, and thought the wolf's form below the neck more than made up for any aesthetic sins of his face. For that same reason, Hrun's behavior concerned the mongoose. Given the wolf's size, he shouldn't have been that incapacitated just from marsh root in his wounds.

Hunter's Lament was actually getting brighter as the sun set into late afternoon. The trees obscured the sun when high overhead, but as it neared the horizon it cut through angular trunks rather than close-packed needles, and the entire town became green awash in gold. The donkey wheeled them past the central market and further down the muddy street to the trilithons of the Stone Circle. The chalky gray stones sparkled in the light, the shafts of the sun lancing through each with sacred precision. From the sounds of the chants inside, evening service had already begun.

"Here you go, sir. Good luck with your friend. Druids should be able to patch him right up."

Valof jumped out of the cart and went over to the farmer, slipping a few extra copper triangles into his hand.

"You've been real kind, even for a farmer. Not that I'm complaining, but I'm curious why."

The dun donkey champed on the straw stem between his teeth.

"Well, you adventurin' types cause a lot of property damage and wildness, but you also end up killing some pretty nasty things. It's lonely on the old farms out there. Stuff comes in the night. Lose a family every few years when they forget to re-salt the doorways or make a stranger say her name three times before she spends the night. I figure it'd be even worse if you all weren't around to keep those things down."

Valof nodded, relieved. Unexpected generosity made him nervous, but some of the farming folk saying thank you for thinning the herds of marrow-suckers and night veils was at least a kind of fair trade. The mongoose found greed far more trustworthy than random acts of kindness.

"In that case, that tip should help you forget we ever hitched a ride here with you. I hope your onions sell well." Valof grabbed Hrun underneath the arms and dragged him messily off his seat. The wolf awoke and groaned, but didn't seem coordinated enough to even stand on his own.

"Thanks kindly." With a flick of his reins, the farmer was headed back off.

Valof dragged Hrun up the simple steps, trying to minimize painful clangs against the ground for the poor wolf. He debated leaving the wolf right here, on the threshold, with the dwindling remainder of his coin purse. Given how delirious Hrun had become (though not from fever, the wolf was still cool to the touch) it would be days before the wolf would be able to chase after him, and the trail would be long cold by then. He'd already saved Hrun's life twice since the ruins, surely this was enough?

The mongoose continued to drag his unresponsive friend up the stairs as he steeled himself to drop his pouch, take the ruby, and walk away. He was already reaching for the massive stone when the voice interjected.

"Is your companion alright? Are you alright? That is a worrisome amount of blood!" The skunk wore the linen cowl and copper-disk belt of an initiate, but her torc was studded with a pair of sapphires that spoke of some special rank. Valof gaped his jaw once or twice, trying to get words to work as the druid pushed past him and began hauling Hrun towards the low wooden lodge that housed the druids.

"No concerns about paying! At least not yet! The Stone Circle asks only for what its supplicants can afford." The druid misinterpreted Valof's shock and unraveling lie as continued concern. "Truly! We have magic designed just for it."

"It's not that, I'm worried about my friend." Valof's jaw at least had resumed action, though he was unsure at what point Hrun had become a friend.

"I understand. I'm taking him towards the infirmary to have the chief healer check him out." She looked up at Valof. "It would go faster if you helped me carry him." She suggested archly.

Valof nodded and silently cursed to himself as he jogged over, the ruby in his pack making a taunting thump against his rear as he went over to assist her.

"Hm. An easterner. We don't get many canines here." The healer looked up at Valof. He was an old stag, his fur crowned with silver and his eyes rheumy, but there was still a grandeur and majesty to his bearing. "You did the right thing packing his wounds with marsh root, but that would also have killed him. It was just doing so more slowly than the fever it was preventing. Canines are sickened by marsh root. They're too sensitive to it." The stag pulled down Hrun's cover to show the wounded leg. The root poultices had been removed, and magic had restored most of the muscle, though they hadn't enough to repair his skin yet and the pink flesh flexed disturbingly as Hrun thrashed in his dream. "Still, nearly poisoning him to death is the only reason he survived long enough to reach us, so he should thank you for saving his life when he comes to."

Valof nodded carefully, kept silent by his desire to be gone long before Hrun came to. If he'd had sense he would have already run, but he felt responsible for Hrun's current condition. The wolf was currently glassy-eyed and deliriously twitching from his own medical care. The mongoose wracked his brain trying to recall if he had ever been taught anything about eastern peoples being allergic. More worrisome, would Hrun think Valof's near-lethal care had been intentional? Ruby or no, maybe Valof should enter the forest before the wolf awoke for safety reasons.

"You already expressed some...concern for payment, as I understand." The skunk spoke diffidently but it was clear to both carnivores that she was in charge.

"I only have what's left in my coin pouch here. It was a bad run." The mongoose lied smoothly. Concern for Hrun might make him sloppy in plotting, but he was still an adventurer, and haggling for healing was a time-honored tradition.

The skunk narrowed her eyes but nodded.

"Nature has a balance for all things. Those with the fattest purses must endure the harshest winters." She intoned formally. "One of the altars here is enchanted to tithe us one-hundredth of your wealth. I'm sure even your pouch can spare a clipped copper or two." She grinned.

Valof chuckled nervously, surreptitiously eyeing the exit back out into the city. The initiate followed his gaze and blinked.

"Oh! How rude of me! You're welcome to stay here overnight until your friend is healed, courtesy of the Order." She grabbed his arm and tugged. She was surprisingly strong. "Our archdruid would insist!"

Great Old Magic Druids. Valof's heart sank as he unenthusiastically followed the skunk.

Hrun awoke with a start, twitching in his covers with a surprised bark. There was no clean gap in his memory, but his last lucid recollection was concern he was about to bleed out to a rasper vine nicking an artery. From there his focus grew slowly more muddied until it was nonsensical, like a chalk drawing in the rain. Reflexively, he curled his leg, and was pleasantly shocked to discover it no longer resembled a sausage turned inside-out. Everything felt soft, fresh, and sensitive, like spring buds on a tree. Likely the work of magic, he decided. He wished he had paid more attention to the priests of the area and what they worshipped. Were they called druids here? The local religion seemed far too incorruptible for his taste. One was supposed to bribe gods to gain forgiveness for transgressions, and what little he'd seen of the local religion seemed quite averse to that wholesome system of things. Done with his theology exercises for the month, he looked around at where he'd woken up.

The low-slung cedar beams and heavy thatch suggested he was in Hunter's Lament, though he'd be hard-pressed to differentiate it from any other of the backwater logging camps that played at being cities in Far Perrenor. It was brightly sunny, and everything smelled of moss and loamy rot. Fainter echoes of blood and sickness suggested he was in some sort of healer's ward, an idea reinforced by the small room he was in only containing a bed and a tiny table. His clothing was folded in a neat pile, a nice touch wholly ruined by it being still covered in mud, blood, and worse. At least that meant this wasn't one of the expensive nice inns, those usually came with laundry. Other than his own belongings, the table, bed, and chair, there was nothing in the room. He hadn't even had to note and appraise any valuables he might want to steal later. He inhaled more deeply through his nose. The aggressive verdancy of the moss made it hard to tell who'd been in and around the room recently, but he could pick out at least three: an elderly herbivore, a female...skunk, and a young male mongoose. Valof. The mongoose had been here no more than a half-day ago. That was good; Hrun would be able to hunt him down if he only had a half-day head start.

The wolf remembered the ruby. He'd pried it out of the huge, tentacled statue himself. It was the single most gorgeous rock he'd ever had the pleasure of stealing from a temple, and he'd done that enough he had a list worth ranking. It was the size and shape of a dragon's egg, and so flawlessly cut he had been certain it was a glass counterfeit. He'd wrecked one of his daggers in a reckless attempt to prove it was fake. With a pang he wondered if more of the team would have survived if he'd had his spare dagger available. Then again, he thought darkly, the spare might have ended up in the back of Valof, and the wolf would now be rasper vine chow. He was glad it hadn't come to that; the woodsman was pleasant to be around as well as quite easy on the eyes. Of course, if the mongoose had run off with the ruby, Hrun would have to hunt him down and leave him in a shallow grave; that ruby could buy a modest kingdom and the wolf would be quite glad to retire to the life of a petty lordling.

Hrun's uneasy meditations on having to kill a comrade in arms were interrupted by the skunk he had smelled moments ago. She looked to be in her early twenties, though skunks rarely showed their age. Her belt could be pawned for enough to live on for about a week, and her torc would have set him up comfortably for a month, though he suspected both would be too distinctive to actually fence in the local region. She smiled at him.

"You look to be feeling better! Your friend brought you in last night minus a leg and poisoned." She pulled off the covers, heedless of his nakedness as he yelped and covered his pliable manhood. She barely registered his reaction, already busily prodding his leg. "Looks like it's all back in place. How about you get up and we'll put some weight on it?"

Hrun eyed her awkwardly, one hand still cupping his copious package. He daintily stuck out his healed paw and placed it on the ground. He felt ridiculously heavy, like his leg had fallen asleep and refused to bear his weight, but the leg stood strong and he was able to carefully stand. His hand still remained protectively covering his nakedness.

"Funny, last time we caught you with a woman, you at least had the decency to have her naked with you." Valof grinned from the doorway.

Hrun grinned broadly. The mongoose hadn't run, at least. He was looking good again, cleaned up from the various tribulations of the adventure. He was dressed in a modest red wool tunic that clashed with his golden-brown fur; the country boy had no natural sense of fashion. The only thing of value on him was his belt buckle, which looked to be high-quality copper. His ovular pupils were narrowed to slits either from good humor or the early-morning sun (and focused on what was filling Hrun's hand), and he smelled of lye and rosemary from his recent bath. The wolf licked his chops internally. Meeting at the inn, and the entirety of the trip in and out of the ruins, he'd been too focused on business to really appreciate the mongoose's looks, but now that he was whole, safe, and close enough to the ruby that he could have a say in how to cash it in, his natural appetites were returning, and the whipcord-muscular yellow mongoose looked delicious. Perhaps more importantly though, the mongoose looked like he didn't have the gem on him. Hrun let go of his cock and spread his arms, bounding over to give Valof a hug.

"Val! You're okay!" Hrun could feel Valof stiffen in surprise as the stocky, naked brown wolf hugged him. He could also feel the mongoose's own sheath stiffen against Hrun's leg through the breeches. "What happened?"

"Um, there were rasper vines, and I d-didn't realize wolves were allergic to marsh root-" the mongoose stammered. Hrun could smell the shock and the sudden flush of arousal. He'd guessed right, Val had been eyeing him for prurient reasons.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He turned to the skunk. "May I have some privacy with my sweetheart?"

Hrun had hoped she'd blush, stammer, and walk out. Most clerics were celibate, so druids should be too, right? He was not prepared for her impish, knowing grin, but she thankfully stepped out all the same.

"If you make a mess, gentlemen, it's your responsibility to clean it up." She closed the door behind her. Valof looked at him.

Hrun grinned and sat on the bed, spreading his legs teasingly. His meaty sheath hung away from his body slightly, resting atop his heavy testes. His arms were the size of Valof's thighs, and his stout body was a powerful wall of brown that promised further strength should the mongoose ask for it. The wolf patted a spot on the bed.

"C'mon, kiddo. I mix business and pleasure."

Val sat down to the wolf's left, eyeing Hrun's crotch with a mix of concern and desire.

"First, I know you want it, I saw you looking at my rear on the trip in. Two-" Hrun's voice went low and he leaned in, his paw sliding onto Valof's thigh "-I wanted privacy for discussing our...'nest egg'."

"It's safe. I hid it where I didn't think anyone would look for it." The mongoose sounded nervous as he spoke, but his paw slid over to stroke Hrun's before returning to begin unlacing his breeches.

"Whoa! I'm happy to jump your bones, but this is a church, right? There'd be...repercussions."

It was Valof's turn to grin.

"I forgot, you're not from around here. Hunter's Lament is famous for its fertility rituals during Midsummer." He eyed the door "I think she'd be more offended if we didn't truly take advantage of the privacy." His paw slid over to grope the older wolf's sheath, easily coaxing the pink tip out with just a little stroking.

"In that case, keep talking. Where'd you hide it?" Hrun rolled over atop Valof, pinning the yellow mongoose under his muscular bulk. The wolf's hands slid down to assist in unlacing the breeches, feeling Val's erection straining against the fabric. The mongoose licked at his neck, lustily combing Hrun's fur with his small, precise teeth.

"You're not going to like my answer." The mongoose slid off his pants, his hands moving up just enough to begin massaging Hrun's growing erection. The cock was hot to the touch and pleasantly smooth. He could feel the wolf's heart rate through it, pulsing in steady, measured beats. "I want you to hear me out when I tell you."

The wolf groaned in frustration, but his callused paw continued stroking at Valof's own budding erection. The mongoose gasped and wriggled a bit under the bulk of his lover as those deft hands began circling around his tip. Hrun might be old and scarred-up, but he was making men moan underneath him before Valof had ever strung a bow.

"Five Divines, please tell me you didn't do something stupid like hock it here or bury it just outside." Hrun didn't want to consider what he'd do if the mongoose had frittered away wealth on that scale. Instead, he ground his length against Valof's inner thigh, the silky fur warm, soft and starting to grow slick with Hrun's arousal.

"Mmf. No. Notice how lumpy the bed is?" The mongoose was laying back, eyes closed, legs spread. Hrun's right paw slowly stroked up and down Val's shaft, coaxing the woodsman to spread his legs further. The mongoose was gasping softly already, and the noise increased in pitch to a near-squeak as Hrun's wet, slobbery muzzle descended onto the erection. Valof's erection was longer and thinner than he was used to dealing with, and he curled his tongue around the base in reaction. Val's manhood tasted more of herbal soap than the mongoose himself, with rosemary leaving resinous echoes in the wolf's mouth and nose. Still, even if the scent was a bit too strong to be pleasant to Hrun's sensitive nose, the noises Valof was making under him more than made up for it.

"Oh. Ohhhh! The gem's in the hay padding your bed!" Valof was arching his back more and more as the wolf slurped methodically, enjoying driving the mongoose into a frenzy with little more than a thick tongue and practice. Hrun chuckled and pulled off, leaving the mongoose to groan in a mixture of relief and craving for more.

Valof opened his eyes to Hrun reaching back for the lump. He'd been stroked and sucked into spreading his legs, and now he was staring at the thick, ruddy erection that he knew would soon be inside him. It was huge, at least by the standards of what he'd seen before. The wolf wasn't very long, but the few inches he lacked seemed to have been added to girth.

Hrun pulled forth the ruby from its hiding place under him, and placed in next to his crotch. He grinned at the mongoose as he compared the two red cocks with the redder gem, and then shifted his weight to rest his balls against the gemstone. Valof looked at him quizzically.

"When will be the next time I get to rest my nuts on a ruby bigger than both of them combined? C'mon, you should try it. Not even most kings get to talk about their goolies rubbing against priceless gemstones."

Valof blushed and gave it a try. The gemstone itself didn't feel particularly pleasant, given it was cool and hard, but the ranger had to admit there was an illicit thrill in letting his sack flop atop a gem that had once likely toppled kingdoms.

"What do you think, Val?"

"Feels good. Not as good as your tongue, though." Val tried to joke, though it was obvious how badly he wanted it.

"Well, I can do that. I'm a flexible treasure-hunter. All I ask is you let me get mine into you." He looked down at his eager erection, ruddy and bobbing. Val also stared. "Think you can take it? I don't want to hurt you, and you were staring like this is a big one."

Valof looked at the fat piece of wolf meat staring him down. He licked his lips. Then, he laid back, closed his eyes, and spread his legs.

"Don't be gentle. Please."

Hrun removed the gem, licking his chops in anticipation. Whether the mongoose's request for no tenderness was bravado or true need, the bandit would be happy to provide. He curled down and snuffled hungrily at Val's erection, feeling the mongoose shiver in anticipation. As the wolf opened his muzzle and curled his tongue around his lover's length once again, he heard the ranger squeak in excitement, bucking his hips upward. Taking long, slow, slimy licks of the mongoose, Hrun ground his tongue against the sensitive skin. His hands sank down to stroke his own erection, distributing the salty-sweet slime of his own pre across his flesh.

Valof didn't complain when Hrun reached down and spread the mongoose to be penetrated. The wolf caught sight of a tight, winking pink rosebud for just a moment before he was lining up his dripping tip. He slowed his bobbing on the ranger as he angled his pelvis and slowly, slowly sank in. Valof was tight and excited, and it took some time to feed quarter-inch after quarter-inch of lupine cock into him. Valof hissed and squirmed and moaned through the whole process, but every time Hrun slowed, Val would arch his back and begin eagerly impaling himself rather than letting the wolf do it. The hot, sensitive walls clung tight to Hrun's manhood like wet silk, and slowly his slurps were punctuated with groans of pleasure as he filled the mongoose.

The wolf didn't plan on hilting. He was so focused on coaxing each next bit of his length in that when he pressed and felt the hot, clenching ring against his base, he gave a few small experimental thrusts. They didn't move him deeper, but they did make Valof yelp and arch in pleasure. The mongoose erupted in Hrun's mouth, thick gouts of musky pre filling his muzzle with every squirm.

Almost reluctantly, the wolf began to thrust. Val was tight and clinging, and pulling out even just to thrust back in felt like a loss. Each thrust left the mongoose moaning lewdly, spreading his legs a little further, begging the wolf on.

Hrun couldn't resist the invitation. Just as asked, he wasn't gentle. Instead his hips bucked with growing speed and force, focused on himself and leaving the occasional scrapes against Val's prostate up to luck. Instead, the wolf lavished attention on the mongoose's manhood, swirling his tongue about the tip while bobbing his head in time with the thrusts in.

Valof had already been rendered incoherent by the treatment. He squirmed and clenched and wriggled, assaulted from front and back by a single wolf. He'd never had a lover as flexible as this before, and it showed. He could feel the wolf thrust in painfully, wonderfully deep, and that wave of pressure slid through him into his cock, just in time to be teased by the wolf's thick, powerful tongue. His paws clenched the bed linens as he writhed and squirmed, being forced to orgasm methodically by the bandit. When he had asked Hrun to not be gentle, he had expected a solid, rough fucking. Instead, the wolf was a dozen times crueler, carefully pushing Val towards orgasm no matter what the mongoose did.

Hrun's thrusts were growing wild and sloppy as he focused more and more on his pleasure rather than his partner's, but both were too happy to change the inexorable. Instead, with a soft gasp, Valof felt the wolf's knot pressing against his ring. A knot. He'd only ever read about them, in a highly-scandalous little book at the local brothel. And it was about to go inside him. The excitement made him clench up in anticipation, the exact opposite of what was wise.

Hrun pushed his hot, fat knot inside Val the same way the wolf did all his love-making: slowly, methodically, and inexorably. Valof whimpered in pain a little at the largest point, but the prostate-crushingly powerful pressure the bulb was putting on his center of pleasure made it easy to ignore the little extra bit of pain. With a moan that was almost a squeal, Valof felt the rest of Hrun slide into him, the intense feeling of fullness making his balls draw up and his breath catch in his throat.

The wolf could feel the twitching and pulsing of the cock in his mouth, and recognized Valof's orgasm would soon be on its way. He didn't care. His focus was too narrow, feeling the powerful clenching of the mongoose on his knot, the warm, slick heat, the soft whimpers. The wolf tugged on his erection, pulling the bulge of meat back and forth slightly, making Val whimper in pleasure.

Valof arched his back and whined softly under his breath as he came. He bucked a little on the knot inside him, milking himself as he emptied his load onto the thick, eager, slobbery tongue coaxing it from him. He felt himself spurting, the wolf still in control on both ends as he was squeezed empty.

Hrun felt his orgasm reaching the point of no return even as he gulped and slurped on the sprays of semen filling his muzzle. He salivated around the sensitive, twitching manhood as his own began spurting in climax. With a grunt he pulled Val's hips flush against his own, hot jets of his seed pouring into the mongoose even as the mongoose's fluids dripped from his muzzle.

Valof felt the hot gushes deep inside him and squirmed in excitement. He'd never felt so filled before. The knot added a novel sensation to his lovemaking that he was exceptionally pleased with. The hot, slimy muzzle was not so novel, but just as wonderful. The mongoose lay back with a happy sigh. Hrun pulled off the softening length with a soft snarl, his own orgasm slowly shaking through him still. After a time, Hrun leaned back and grinned at the mongoose.

"Rough enough?"

"Mmf."

Hrun pulled on the knot experimentally, earning another moan and weak spurt from Valof. The mongoose looked insensate, his body boneless and a smile plastered on his face. Hrun chuckled at the image. Val clearly hadn't had dick of his caliber before.

"So, my local friend and guide, how do we get this out to Skyarch or Piazzorón? We need to liquidate this, and no one has the gold except for some _very_wealthy nobility. Which we would become after selling this."

Valof squirmed and grunted in displeasure. He was a simple mongoose, in tune with nature. He'd much rather be eating a haunch of meat at a campfire or going another round under the wolf than discussing money at the moment.

"The druids tithe one-hundredth of our wealth, as determined through magic. They have an altar that determines how much we owe. If this ruby shows up to the spell, we're going to be in deep trouble. We'll owe enough to buy the town outright I suspect."

"So our options are foil the spell and walk out calmly, or fight the druids and make a run for it?" Hrun scratched his chin unhappily. Valof had once muttered something akin to 'Great Old Magic Druids' when asked about local headaches, and Hrun was starting to see why. The lupine bandit hated dealing with magic-users. Eyes in the back of their head and an unhealthy resistance to being stabbed.

"Or pay the tithe. Think we can get an I.O.U. from them?" Valof was trying to joke but his words came out grim. The mongoose was well aware how dangerous druids were, and how often the trees here were watered with blood.

"Well, we can always fall back on grabbing the treasure and running noisily, so that's our backup plan." Hrun chuckled dryly, pulling his cock free from the mongoose. There was a wet, audible pop followed by a soft gasp. Valof stretched and sighed, straightening his legs. "You're the local, any known ways to bollocks up druid magic?"

"Not really. They don't answer to any gods directly. They're tasked with keeping things to the natural order. You know, cycle of seasons, trees grow, rain falls, that sort of stuff. Oh! And keeping those tentacled things that can't die and instead hunger eternally asleep or locked out. That's a big part of druid work, but I'm not sure I want to deal with such things. You were there in the dungeon." Valof did not need to add any details. Both recalled the screams.

"Knock knock!" Whoever was speaking didn't wait for a response before slamming the door open with enthusiasm. It was the skunk from before. She had an armload of clean linens for the bed.

Hrun and Valof jumped and yelped in near-unison. Valof reached to cover his privates. Hrun spun around in embarrassment...and in doing so hid the ruby with his body.

"Don't you godless Westerners ever knock?" Hrun's voice aimed for anger but squeaked in embarrassment.

Valof did his best to interpose his hands between the initiate's eyes and his erection, and the rest of his body between the initiate's eyes and his gemstone.

"Normally we do!" the mongoose wailed.

The skunk snorted in amusement.

"Like I haven't seen what a man looks like. I grew up on a farm! And while you're both more attractive than the usual men in the infirmary, certainly, I still have linens to change." She eyed Valof archly "Especially given that I know what happened on the current set."

Hrun was cradling the bedspread and blankets in his arms as he turned around, his erection bobbing lewdly as if daring the skunk to stare. Valof couldn't resist savoring another look at the wolf's maleness. He was still sore in all the right ways from earlier. "Then direct me to the laundry and I'll get to scrubbing these right away!" The wolf's eagerness was sorely out of place and Valof wondered what his plan was. Then the mongoose noted the ruby was no longer on the bed. He walked over and picked up the wolf's filthy, bloody clothes, adding them atop the pile.

"If we're going to be cleaning sheets we should get your clothes while we're at it, right?" Valof smiled at Hrun, which the wolf replied to with a strained grimace.

The initiate shrugged with resigned annoyance.

"If you think making a fuss about your nudity will make me feel bad, you're got the wrong girl, but enjoy tromping over to the laundry while displaying your assets." She chuckled "You might get some competition for your lover though, ranger."

"That's a risk I'll have to take I guess!" Valof beamed with fake cheer, re-lacing his breeches.

"Oh, don't worry m'bucko. You've got an ass like butter." Hrun grinned, his amusement at Valof's discomfort quite authentic. "Not many I could replace you with."

"Let's just go." Pleaded Valof.

The trip to the laundry was short and uneventful. They hadn't even encountered anyone until halfway through, and by that time, Hrun had turned the sheets into a makeshift robe, with the ruby concealed somewhere in the folds. The wolf was amazing at legerdemain. In the time it took him to leave the room to the time they encountered the first novitiate running errands, Hrun had secreted the ruby, 3 knives, and a tool belt upon his person, all completely invisible to the mongoose. As they reached the tubs, Hrun knelt and nudged Valof to follow through.

"So, the cleaning gives us a few minutes to think. We have any options better than making a run for it?" the wolf began scrubbing his muddy, bloody pants first, staining the water a distressing rusty color. "Help me with my shirt, beloved." Hrun spoke quite a bit louder.

"Of course, pass the soapwort, dear." Valof began working the filth of adventuring from the thick wool tunic. "This is a place of power for druids. I don't think you can mess up their preparations or bonk them with enough rocks to distract them. Maybe if it's a small, everyday spell we could fry it with some heap of magic, but I don't know of any great sorceries hanging around."

Hrun pulled the trousers up and looked at them with a critical eye. Without waiting for them to dry, he stood up and slid them on. Even though Valof watched, he could not tell at which point Hrun's various hidden tools left the sheets, and had to content himself with watching the wolf snap out the sheets before adding them to the tub with lye. No daggers nor rubies rolled out. Valof handed him the rinsed shirt, eyeing him over. The beefy wolf had buckled his belt and a single dagger and sheath hung from it. The other two and the ruby were not to be found, though Val notice Hrun's crotch was a bit more swollen than he recalled.

"Not now, dear heart. After we're out of the temple we can go again." The wolf winked and slid the shirt on with a single fluid movement. He leaned in to kiss the mongoose. Val shuddered a bit in pleasure as the tongue stroked his cheek, remembering where else that tongue had stroked him earlier. "I think I have a plan. They check our funds one at a time?" Valof felt the ruby tumble into his pants with a barely-audible swish.

Valof stiffened and held in a gasp. The cool facets of the stone pressed against some very sensitive parts of his anatomy. Hrun placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Let me go first, alone, and walk slowly so I can slap your ass if I need to, got it?"

Valof nodded, not quite ready to speak still.

"All clean, my sweet! Let's leave these sheets to soak and head out."

The walk up towards the sacred trilithons was not very long, but for the poor mongoose it dragged on for seeming years. Every step seemed to shift the stone a little, and keeping it from being an obvious bulge was a huge challenge. Once, near one of the novitiates, he felt the soft brush of Hrun's fingers settling the gem back into position, but even as he glanced in shock the wolf was merely adjusting his belt.

"Damp wool." The wolf groused with a wry grin.

The sacred grove was surprisingly dark given the hour. The trees were artfully twisted and swirling growths, entwined amongst the standing stones in unnerving whorls. Three druids were already standing, talking amongst themselves. The initiate from earlier was speaking animatedly with the elder stag who had presided over healing Hrun, and a stocky masked-and-cowled druid of indeterminate species and age. Hrun's eyes narrowed: all three druids smelled familiar, but he'd never seen the costumed druid before. The skunk initiate smiled and waved enthusiastically as she caught sight of them, walking over.

"Hello there! Feeling better? Ready to leave?" She was smiling broadly. Valof could feel sweat trickling down the small of his back. The ruby was tucked tight between his thighs.

"I am, to both questions." Hrun smiled unhurriedly, lying with an ease Val envied. "As I understand, there's magic that tells you how much I owe?"

The skunk nodded, her hand indicating one of the altars.

"Simply kneel before the altar and it will intone what one-hundredth of your wealth is."

Hrun hesitated only the briefest of moments before striding forward with a casual gait. He took a knee in front of the pale granite and bowed his head. The voice that echoed through the grove was flagrantly inhuman, the rough crackle of a landslide tumbling over mortal words.

A debt of a riddle binds you to the Stone Circle.

"Looks like you picked up healing for a literal song, adventurer." The skunk chuckled. "For sums so small you can just write us an IOU." She nodded to Valof.

The mongoose froze up as Hrun walked toward him, and slowly, nervously stepped forward, conscious of how much his 'rump' swayed with each step. He yipped and jumped as Hrun slapped his ass, aware the blow was coming but still startled by it. Valof had to keep from sighing audibly as the mineral weight and firm edges left his pants. There were no audible gasps, so the mongoose presumed it had been lifted and hidden with no witnesses. Trying not to fall limply boneless, he knelt down before the altar in turn.

A debt of a mountain of gold binds you to the Stone Circle.

"What!? How much-" her words were cut off by Hrun's hand over her mouth and his dagger at her throat. Valof leapt upwards, reaching for his hatchet.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. Let's none of us be rash. No sudden movements, no shiny spells, and we'll all be fine." Hrun snarled soft and low. The skunk was glaring at him, paws already half-clenched around a green light that slowly flickered out. "I think it's time our party left Far Perrenor. Any merchant or cargo barges leaving in the next hour? I think you should let the ranger here head out and check and not make any fuss."

Valof was not as canny a streetfighter as Hrun, but he heard the thump of hooves on grass and sidestepped just in time before the masked druid tried to tackle him from behind. He whirled out of reach, bringing the back of his axe down where his assailant's head would be, hoping to knock him senseless. The druid was no stranger to hand-to-hand and had already leapt further forward than planned, and the blunt side merely rapped against the meaty side of the druid's thigh. A painfully bruising strike, to be sure, but hardly an incapacitating one.

"Hey. Hey!" Hrun snarled, doing his best to brandish the knife while keeping it to the skunk's neck.

Valof was already winding up another blow with his axe's momentum when he felt the stout length of wood against his head. It was the old deer, and the gnarled stave was pointed like a drawn arrow at the mongoose's face. Valof could hear a distant, rocky roaring much like the voice of the altar, and knew the spell within the staff could bash apart his head like a ripe melon. The deer had moved faster than Hrun, using the distraction of the first attacker to zip from one side of the grove to the other without so much as a blur to betray his movement. Valof let his axe drop and lifted his hands in surrender.

"I think we'd best parley, Hrun."

"Grove Eternal, we can make change!" bellowed the cervine druid.

The emeralds were almost more wealth than Valof had ever seen. Each was apple-sized and flawless, the same color as the redwood needles of the trees towering up above. While a single emerald wouldn't be enough to buy a baronetcy, the ranger's share had been three of the exquisite gems. It made him furious he didn't enjoy them more.

"Pretty sure they shorted us on the conversion. Sure, pound-for-pound we're almost the same, but buyers pay a premium for larger single stones than sets." Hrun grumbled. They had rented a hold in the first merchant vessel bound for Piazzorón with Valof's dwindling reserves. Hrun knew a few fences and brokers in the sunny city and could guarantee a buyer for all six.

"Agreed, but considering we're discussing literal pounds of stones, I feel like we came out alright." Valof held up one of the emeralds to the porthole, admiring the sunlight through the green. The stone was well-cut, and the satisfying weight of it soothed some of his frustration. "Once we sell these, what are your plans?"

"Hm. Tell me yours first." The scarred wolf grinned, eyeing one of his own stones.

"Well, Far Perrenor isn't fully settled yet. Someone who knew the land and had the cash could clear further West, set themselves up as a local lord with permission from the Empress. Then again, after that...incident, with the druids, I was thinking I might try the same plan in the Northeast. Lots of ruined keeps just waiting to be refurbished, as I recall?"

"That's true. With this sort of cash you'd be able to buy into one of the Great Clans, get adopted into the pack and gifted with some ruins. I think you might benefit from buying out one of the vineyards south of Piazzorón though. Less danger, still ends with you a landed noble. Plus," the wolf eyed him coyly "I was planning to spend mine to convince the current Guild leader to retire and take over the business for a while. Piazzorón is a nice city, with lots of well-organized crime. And if you liked my suggestion, we'd be relatively close..."

Valof was already tugging the wolf's trousers down, the mongoose grinning up at his lover playfully as he nosed the plump sheath.

"You make a good argument."

The ruby slid into the stone tentacles with a soft, mineral 'clack'. The stag nodded in approval. None of the druids knew why rubies kept The Screaming Eye In The Obelisk asleep better than any other gem, but this particular ruby had kept Far Perrenor safe for millennia, and now could do so again. There'd be far fewer mortal sacrifices going forward, thanks to this.

"I can't believe that worked, Elder. Or that you'd let my throat get cut like that if something went awry." Ellone, the skunk, was nursing a nick on her throat. Her spell had made her skin tougher than bark, but it failed to do anything for pain. "I was about ready to go off and make us all bathe in vinegar."

"When nature declares your season has ended, nothing can stop it. We both know it was not yet your time." The older stag smiled, walking over to look at the minor injury. Ellone was a good initiate, but she still sometimes confused hurt to her pride with hurt to her body. "Especially compared to poor Okun. That hatchet was a nasty job even on the blunt side."

The older donkey bowed his head respectfully. Between taking the bruise and having the wolf bleed all over his produce, the druid preferred the former.

"'Twasn't too bad, sir. I've been kicked harder by my own wife. And they were right where you said they'd be on the road; it wasn't a bad job."

Ellone huffed.

"I'm just glad it's over and it worked. I still don't understand why we couldn't have hired them directly to get the stone and be done with it."

The elderly druid laughed until he was doubled over, leaning on his staff.

"Oh, sweet summer child. Have you ever seen what happens if you ask adventures to get treasure for you?"