The Guilded Cage, Ch 8
Story by comidacomida on SoFurry
Chapter 8 of The Guilded Cage is now upon us!
At this point we are checking in on Ciral of the Flame, who is confined to his house after being possibly implicated in some undesirable get-togethers. While such an act is in and itself not specifically punishable to a prominent member of society such as he, it is always best to avoid suspicion and so he is following the Lawgivers' request... but that doesn't sit well with his partner Sammy the Bear.
This story is known as The Guilded Cage (yes, Guilded and not Gilded) and it differs from the prior ones I've presented here because it will be played as a D&D (3.5 edition) campaign at the same time by a group of players.
Interested in helping to guide the campaign? Just keep watch here for more details about The Guilded Cage and opportunities to vote.
Interested in playing as a player? Send me a message and I'll provide you a group invite, as it's not too late! (warning: chat is nsfw). The campaign will feature a variety of characters, both PC and NPC, and will feature a drop-in-drop-out style of participation with games being held on Sundays, 12-4pm (Pacific Time, UTC-7).
Warning: This story may contain adult elements including but not limited to violence, drug use, sex, sexual situations, and profanity.
Updates to the story line here will be infrequent, with more posts if there's more interest in the form of comments and favorites. Each post will also be accompanied by a vote, which all readers (but not players involved in the game) may use to help guide events!
So, with that out of the way, let's discuss what the next vote entails:
Ciral is aware that someone of interest is joining an oddly timed caravan out of St Almar. Who could it be?
a) Vincent Bidwell, an heir to a prominent Human family which just lost its head due to an unfortunate accident.
b) Biir, a particularly strange Beast-Kin Coyote who is tolerated in the city center and never seems to go anywhere else.
c) Edgar, a St. Bernard Beast Kin ex-guardsman who was revealed to be in league with the Militia of Holus.
d) Leticia Verdantbaugh, a self-exiled heiress to the prominent Verdantbaugh family who had supposedly been hiding in St. Almar's slums.
e) Auntie Mildred, the Rogue's Guild leader, who has apparently managed to avoid capture during recent raids.
Voting is now open, but it closes soon.
The Guilded Cage, Ch 8
Whispers on the Breeze
Of all the wonderful things brought by the fourth month every year, the festival accompanying the Day of Balance used to be Ciral's favorite. Held on the first day of the first week of Dawntide, the Day of Balance celebrated the great love and care which the Elves held for their preferred races, both Fey and Human. The enjoyment of that celebration lasted well into his teens, until Ciral came to understand that there were more races in St Almar than Elves, Humans and Fey; the others were not quite so loved.
The Champion's thoughts were pulled from reflecting on the past which had, in turn, dragged his attention away from the letter he was composing. Both ended up getting set by the wayside as Samuel, for what was either the fourth or fifth time that evening, hurled an empty barrel across the room. In most circumstances a regular barrel would have exploded on contact with the stone walls of the manor house, except the Bear's workout barrel was reinforced, and he was practicing in a specially designed section of the room which permitted such feats of strength.
Letting out a sigh, Ciral lowered his quill as he realized something was bothering his lover; Sammy never worked out so late at night, or quite so rough for that matter. "Alright, Samuel... what's wrong?"
The ursine Beast-Kin sauntered across the room, moving to collect the barrel, but he stopped after placing a paw on it, the turned to look at the Human. Although he tried to sound upbeat, the underlying growl in his voice gave away his actual mood. "What makes you think something's wrong, Champ?"
Ciral rotated in his seat to regard the Bear. "You don't like being cooped up inside, but we've been here since the raid. I know it's getting to you, Sam-- I just want you to know it's for a good cause."
Samuel gave the workout barrel a firm thump with his balled up fist, bringing his paw down on it like a hammer on a nail. "I know... I know... but those damn Lawgivers. Why in Norr's name are they in such a rush to start calling groups seditious? The Assembly didn't even DO anything but they're already on a watch list, and now so are we."
It was a comment the Bear continued to bring up over and over; most often Ciral didn't bother providing an answer, but he figured it was time to help his lover connect the dots. "The orders come straight from High Priest Nilo."
As usual, the Bear was plenty quick on the uptake once the dots were laid down for him to connect. "He's STILL throwing a fit over that stolen egg?"
Ciral offered a faint smile as he corrected Samuel. "Hatchling now, if you recall... and yes, it is an embarrassment he obviously wishes to erase and plans on making an example of the Assembly because of it."
The sound of the Bear's impressive bulk flopping down onto the timbers of the workout area was not only audible, it was detectable by the faint shake noticeable through the floor. Letting out a deep sigh, Samuel responded with an exasperated tone "Gods, I can't figure out why he's getting away with this... I can't imagine the Governor would be happy with how heavy-handed he's being."
The Human nodded, and turned back to his desk, calling over his shoulder. "Chances are the Governor doesn't know or care... you know how he is these days."
Ciral smiled to himself as he heard Samuel approach him from behind. The Bear's words came out in a dejected growl. "No I wouldn't... I don't get to visit the Governor's manor because I'm Beast-Kin, remember?"
Rotating once more, the Human reached up to rest a hand against his lover's scarred muzzle. "I know, but I had to get you angry at about something other than being under house arrest, didn't I?"
Samuel gave a lazy nip at Ciral's hand, then reached up to take hold of it it a paw. "Oh... right... so you get me angry about how you get to prsent yourself to the Governor and I have to wait outside. Thanks for that, you jackass."
Governor Lehenalos Ohlnoryah had supposedly been much more outgoing and spent much of his time in public decades past but but twenty-something years before Ciral's birth an assassination attempt on his life changed the Elf's outlook, and, according to those in the know, the Governor had not been the same since. The thought saddened Ciral for a number of reasons-- one of which was behind his motivation to write his most recent missive. Giving his lover's paw a squeeze, Ciral disengaged, slowly rotating back to his work. "And, like I said before, I plan on changing that. You deserve to get noticed and we'll make it happen."
Samuel snorted anew, trudging back toward the workout area. "Yeah? Before or after the Elves're done thinking that we're trying to raise an army against em?"
Ciral picked up his quill and went back to writing. "Stop being so melodramatic, Samuel. We're here in the manor so we can be removed as suspects from wrongdoing."
The Bear grunted as he hefted the barrel; his follow-up statement was interrupted by the exertion of throwing it again. "Yeah? And I guess you'll *HNGH!* tell me how that works eventually, right?"
The Human chuckled, continuing his letter. "Well, for one, we are complying with their orders. Rebels don't do that."
Samuel plodded across the room after the barrel; although he continued to argue his tone took on the faintest hint of a chiding edge to it, indicating that the simple act of talking was slowly improving his mood. "Okay... that's one, and a pretty poor excuse. What else ya got?"
Ciral had another reason ready to go. "I am piecing together answers to a mystery the Lawgivers, Watch, and Wardens are trying to figure out."
The Bear leaned against his barrel as he spoke. "Alright... so helping them shows that we're team players and don't plan on messing with the law, right? That might be good for a few pats on the back, but do you REALLY think that'll be enough for the Elves? You KNOW they judge folks harsher than a sober dwarf, right?"
The statement got a laugh out of Ciral, enough that he had to put down his pen. Standing, he moved to attend his lover, putting his arms around the Bear's large bulk before calming down. Head resting against the Beast-Kin's furry chest, the Human let out a deep breath. "There's also the matter of the caravan going out tomorrow night."
The simple change in Sammy's posture was enough for Ciral to realize he got his lover's attention. "A caravan? On the Day of Balance?"
Nodding against the Bear's chest, Ciral slowly disengaged. "After the festivities. They're heading to the Farmlands."
Samuel snorted. "What's so special about that?"
The Human offered a wry grin, heading back to his desk. "They have some interesting company with them... hence the purpose of my writing."
The Bear followed right after him, looming as he gazed over Ciral to look at the scroll. "You're not going to turn someone in, are you?"
Chuckling, the Human shook his head, gesturing to the parchment. "No... but the Lawgivers will probably want to know someone of interest will be joining them."
Samuel raised a thick, fuzzy eyebrow. "Wow... I didn't think they'd EVER leave St Almar."
Ciral nodded. "Mm... indeed... so you can imagine how much interest news like this woul generate, couldn't you?"
The Bear leaned down and snuffled the hair atop the Human's head. "Yeah... sure... we'll see if the Lawgivers are thankful enough to stop treating us like criminals."
Chuckling, Ciral stood back up, pressing himself against his lover. "Well... all we can do now is wait, and find a way to use our hours stuck here to best effect."
Samuel let out a soft, hungry growl. "I can think of a few."
Ciral's smile grew; Sammy the Bear was thick skulled, hard headed, and iron willed, but he was a simple fellow with simple desires and the Human was pleased that those desires intersected his own. Giving his lover a firm slap on the rump, Ciral winked. "We don't have anywhere to be tomorrow, so don't expect me to go easy on you."
The Bear's growl deepened and a giddy grin slid across his muzzle. "Wouldn't dream of it."