FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Dawn slowly meanders over the horizon as a lone canine, looking like an amalgamation of German shepherd and rottweiler with dark fur a medium sized muzzle and a tan mask over his eyes as well a tail more like a shepherd than a rotttie's is dressed in a greatcoat of darkness, spaulders of some ebony metal grace his shoulders as a fine mesh of chainmail forms a shirt of protection over dark leather breeches that could almost be considered armor unto themselves leading to black boots with steel toes, gazes blankly from the ramparts. A strange musket combining the pump action of a modern shotgun with a large revolver barrel and a grove extending into the stockholding percussion caps apparently for igniting the powder in the magazine is propped up against one of the battlements of an old western style castle that its owner just happens to be sitting on as he sharpens a pair of cleaver like blades attached short sword fashion with knuckle duster hand guards. Dull red eyes, a feature that forever haunts him due to a gypsy curse, turn to the rising orb of an angry red hue and sighs as shakes his head, furred in a shade of gray somewhere between charcoal and the hue of gunmetal. He had spent the night in contemplation as he looks bark at the castle in which he finds himself. Older than the nation in which he finds himself, this dog, a ranger by trade, a professional hunter of men and beasts with faith in the old ways that allows him to do magic when his heart is sufficiently in it, questioning the very reasons he has come here.

"Ravaging monsters, my tail!" Gundolf exclaims. "Bunch of grumbling nobles is more like it!"

"And petty nobles at that!" Voice from behind mockingly agrees with his assessment. With almost lighting speed, Gundolf grabs his musket and points it at the speaker. Seeing the lady canine that called him to aid her, a beastling like himself her fur is a different color than his as it almost seems to be aflame with curly auburn hair tied up in a bun and unlike him a poodle, he lowers his rifle and grouses: "Well, good morn, Lady Elena, just going to bed, my lady?"

"Just getting up, actually." Elena retorts as she glides in wearing a studded dark leather dress and carrying a more traditional breech loading percussion rifle. "I like doing a little practice early in the morning. Care to join me?"

"Why not?" Gundolf says with a smirk to the lady wolf as he goes and collects his satchel; pair of ferrets operates a mechanized miniature catapult as he inquires of his hostess: "A skeet shooting machine?"

"Just purchased last week," Elena half-explains. "The practice of firearm drilling was deemed necessary for the nobility by the Duke. It seems he whishes to have those under him able to these weapons in times of need. Although I did have the opportunity to put those honed skills into practice in a limited fashion before you arrived."

Elena pulls up her sleeve to reveal a set of puncture wounds/bite marks that affects a pale green glow that brightens and fades safe watches and evaluates: "Warp spider wounds. You're lucky only one got through your defenses. They usually travel in packs of two to five."

"You know your lore, that's good." Elena says evenly. "We've been getting a lot of strange reports lately. You might be able to make some sense of them." She sighs and gazes out over the darkened landscape. "And how to deal with the threats detailed within. I'm gathering a hunting party for that purpose."

"What sort of clientele do we speak of?" Gundolf inquires as a disk is shot up only to be obliterated by the ranger's rifle. "Certainly not the some of the nobles I saw coming up here?"

"You are the only monster hunter that responded to my advertisement, Mister Gundolf Jaeger wasn't it?" Elena asks as she also takes down a clay pigeon with a single shot. "What manner of musket do you use, if I may ask?"

Gundolf smirks and lightly chuckles to himself as he admires the handiwork of the rifle himself: "A special rotary musket that is rather experimental with mine being the only prototype. I have a badger friend in Sharn who is a bit of a mad gunsmith."

"Brom Blackstar?" Elena asks incredulously as she has had dealings with the same badger. "He has some rather odd notions about firearms."

"That maybe so but I'm willing to field test some of his ideas. Like this rifle, it can fire five shots before reloading." Gundolf says as he pats his musket and cranks the lever to rotate the next shot into place."Which goes by pretty quick when I get in some fights." Then he glances over to see some large mobile mounds converging on the ferrets. "Have you had problems with dire moles in the past, milady?"

"No... Elena relates as she fires a shot at one of the mounds causing lava to spout in the air accompanied by a horned and frilled crocodile as large as a riding horse. "Gods of light and darkness! What is that?"

"Lava lizards!" Gundolf explains through clenched teeth. "I knew this place was too close to those springs!"

"Sulfur Springs?" Elena asks incredulously. "What does the luxury resort have to do with all of this?"

"There's a pool of magma under the springs." Gundolf explains. "Early run off from a long extinct volcano. We're near enough to the Ring of Fire to be a part of that chain. This is what heats the waters and provides this island with its tourist attraction. Pools like that also have lava lizard nests from deep within the planet as well as run offs from Pyros and Geodobe."

"Planes of Fire and Earth, I believe the other two are Aquos and Aerodobe." Elena quips with a smirk. "I knew my tutoring would come in handy. So those hot scalies are lava lizards, eh? I've read about them."

"Reading about them and fighting them are two different things." Gundolf states. "I've actually done both."

Elena takes out a light blue translucent crystal and slides it into a special receptacle in the back of her rifle. "Brom sold my father and master on combining magic and technology with this rifle."

Gundolf nods and proceeds with: "Geomana crystals can be a volatile addition to firearms. But when I use them it's in their raw form." He slides a similar type of crystal into his own musket. "I do hope that's a cryogeomana you slotted into your musket."

Elena shoots and snowflakes trail from the bullet's path as it hits the lava lizard. "Of course! Aquos and Aerodobe energy combine to create cryogeomana. Lava lizards are mainly Pyros and Geodobe and cryogeomana defeats any resistance they have." The lava lizard bucks from the shot as Gundolf targets another. The raw energy of his crystal turns it a light blue transparency in his musket, acting as a gun sight with one of the pale white snowflakes floating into place before his eye to aid in perfectly targeting his prey. "Have the ferrets retreat, no sense in losing them and the catapult. I doubt if it's them they want anyway."

Gundolf takes two shots in rapid succession. As the one lava lizard writhes in extreme pain a burrowing vehicle surfaces on the front lawn and releases a variety of automatons designed as weapons of war. Steel and rubber scorpions each half as massive as the monsters they are fighting, their chainsaw claws and buzz saw mandibles are only the beginning of the weapons of the mecha-scorpio as the stinger is an arcane arrow projector and its main chassis conceals a quintet of explosive rockets each with its own arcane guidance system. The wolves look at each other and sigh, Albrecht Mechmann, Lord Professor of Alchemical Munitions has come home. Elena sighs and almost drops her rifle as Gundolf catches her from behind.

"Are you alright, milady?" Gundolf asks even though he knows the answer already in his heart of hearts.

"No, Gundolf, my master is back." Elena answers with a glare."It will start anew, I suggest you leave before father finds out you were here."

"Fat chance of that; strumpet!" A voice from behind them wheezes. Fen turns around to find a rather morbidly obese individual combining all the worst qualities of human and orcs with a smug expression wringing his hands in the evil glee of triumph.

"Jonathan Sneed!" Elena growls at the corpulent chamberlain."What rock did you crawl out from under?"

"The master radioed ahead." Sneed sneers. "He was chasing lava lizards in his drilling machine and wanted me to detain your playmate."

"Does he now?" Gundolf asks as quickly draws twin pistol revolvers of a similar nature to the percussion cap technology of his rifle.

"You'll never get away with it, Drifter." Sneed yells with false bravado. "The master will..."

"Probably reward me for disposing of such a sniveling servant." Gundolf says with a self satisfied smirk. "Anyway it was he who summoned me in the first place."

"What did he summon you for?" Lady Elena asks with a semi-worried look as Gundolf aims both revolvers for the sky and fires them at something he perceives as approaching very quickly. Sneed is about to make a remark when they hear buzzing. A mosquito the size of a very tall person with a scorpion like tail drops in front of them.

"GAH! Vampire!" Sneed screams like a little girl. "Master! Verminous vampires are attacking the compound!"

Gundolf gets off a pair of shots as he makes his way towards the villa and one of the towers attached to it. "Tell your boss this is getting added to my bill!"

Elena smirks as she watches Gundolf scramble up a tower. "At least he's not afraid to take action, Sneed."

"We need to get you inside, Elena," Sneed says as he grabs her wrist. "You're wanted in the war lab."

Gundolf takes up a sniper position in the tower as a dozen vampires start to descend. Cool and collected he sets his sites on the descending vermin. Three quick shots from his rifle reduces the number of insects of titanic proportions by the same amount. He smiles briefly as he drives to avoid a flurry of needles attached to transparent threads. The threads evaporate and confirm their mystical nature. Gritting his teeth, Gundolf all his taxonomic thoughts behind him as he shoots another three times; bagging another trio of vampires and emptying his gun. Dropping behind cover, he starts to reload.

Deep within the mansion, Elena is surrounded by a small automated factory. The sound of machinery operating more or less autonomously surrounds her as she is led to a cleared berth amid the maddening maze of mechanized industry. Watching her is a crew of diminutive persons of prodigious proboscises in varying degrees of disarray displaying a preposterously enormous amount of productive energy as they attend the machinery with tools both technical and mystical; they jabber amongst themselves in their native tongue as to the nature of her presence as these gnomes are wont to do whenever Elena makes her way down here. As she waits just outside the berth a digging machine pops up from underground as Mechmann's war machines crawl down to join him. Emerging from the machine is a large man in the middle of his life. A large bushy moustache dominates as a wild mane of dark brown hair crowns his bald head. Goggles cover his eyes as he gives everyone the thumbs up from a gloved hand as he wears a rust colored jumpsuit that somehow accommodates his tremendous girth.

"Well done, everyone!" Mechmann beams. "The Iron Mole worked as planned. We have secured new fuel resources." Live lava lizards are paraded out of the machine by the automatons. "Now, I understand that Master Jaeger has come to the mansion as per my request?"

"Yes, Professor!" Sneed concedes. "Although what you need a beastling for is beyond me. We can do whatever you wish without putting the plan in his grubby paws"

"We have more than those lizards to deal with, father, verminous vampires have gotten through the barrier again." Elena says with a glare to Sneed. "Gundolf is in a watchtower with a revolver rifle to deal with them."

"I heard a report from the militia coming in." Mechmann relates. "They took a part of the grid by surprise. Five dead by their damned blood drain ability." Realization hits him. "Did you say he went to a watchtower?"

"The northeastern one, sir," Sneed reports, "He took out one or two with mere pistols shots."

"That's why I'm hiring him." Mechmann states plainly. "We have speaker cables running to both towers do we not?"

"Yes, milord," one of gnome says as he looks plainly at his boss. "The line is clear and useable if you want to contact him."

Mechmann nods and is given a microphone as Sneed activates a device with speakers. "Hello? Master Jaeger? Can you hear me?"

Gundolf blinks when he hears the voice and almost drops the charge he was pouring into his gun. Taking the microphone in one paw he switches it on with his tail. "Gundolf Jaeger here; I take it that I am addressing Lord Professor Albrecht Mechmann?"

"That is correct," the voice from the speakers acquiesces,"I understand you are dealing with some vermin that are buzzing my house."

Gundolf snaps the reloaded cylinder back into his rifle and pops percussion caps into the special holding well that stores them until used in igniting the powder before he answers the question posed to him. "That is correct. My apologies for answering so late, I was reloading my rifle."

"Ah, yes, you work to field test Blackstar's more inspired creations do you not?" Mechmann's voice relates in an amused tone. "I take it you're field testing your current weapon?"

"Actually, this is a custom made rifle that he had perfected with my help. He was murdered for this design." Gundolf states grimly. "But the joke is on the killers and the fiend who hired them." Gunfire is heard as Gundolf takes out another trio of vampires. A grainy black and white depiction of the battle above is being projected onto a steel wall as everyone is amazed at Fen's skill.

"A remarkable weapon this beastling must have." Mechmann remarks as he watches Gundolf go through his paces. "Elena, did he tell you the name of the tinker he gets his guns from?"

"Brom Blackstar, Lord Father." Elena states in a matter of fact fashion. "If he is to believed then the badger lets Gundolf field test his more esoteric artillery."

"Well, Elias," Mechmann says to his chief assistant; the gnome who speaks for the rest of the workers, Elias Kenneth Boom, "Looks like you were right about Blackstar having a field tester."

"Aye, Professor," Elias concedes as he turns on a monitor and looks in on Gundolf himself, scratching the deep russet goatee he affects as his personal fashion in facial hair. "I wonder if that rifle is that rifle is the much vaulted final prototype of his so called "Avenger" that was going to be his crowning achievement in firearms."

Elena shoots Elias an incredulous look before asking:"Avenger? He called it a rotary rifle before the vampires attacked."

"The Avenger is purportedly a greatly extrapolated revolver in musket form for increased range and accuracy." Elias explains as he and Mechmann give each other knowing glances. "Blackstar himself christened it the "Avenger" for reasons of his own. These designs were scoffed at by the leading manufacturers when unveiled in a limited venue at a recent convention that the master and I attend annually."

"Yes, yes, the designs looked rather improbable from what I remember and his claims rather incredulous." Mechmann speculates aloud before turning to Elias. "You purchased the designs as per instructions did you not, Elias?"

"Already trying to scrutinize the weapon, sire," Elias states as he had a set of schematics in front of him besides the monitor. "I think I can confirm that the final prototype for the Avenger has been located."

Elena is wide eyed and unsure of what to make of all this. "Father?" She asks tentatively. "What is going on?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with, my child." Mechmann says in a consoling tone but with stern eyes whose unwavering gaze tells her in no uncertain terms to drop the matter.

Elena lowers her eyes in submission and wordlessly concedes to her master.

"Very good, Elena, now I'm going to need your natural talents to aid me in reigning in Master Jaeger when necessary. My ultimate goal shall be safeguarded by his considerable skill in marksmanship."

"You mean you're still planning to collect all eight crystals?" Elias asks incredulously. "We have only discovered a few of the locations where the crystals are kept!"

"Is that what I have been researching, Master?" Elena asks tentatively. "Finding the locations of the legendary GeoMana Crystal Temples? Each containing the fabulous crystal capacitors of tremendous elemental power?"

"Precisely, Elena," Mechmann says with a nod and a stern glance. "I need their combined power for my own plans to establish a lasting peaceful and orderly society out of the chaos we now find ourselves in."

Elena nods but is unsure of his intentions. "Yes, master, I shall double my efforts to get the locations deciphered from the parchments and slabs the archaeologists have recovered."

"Good girl, Elena, I will need coordinates to the temples and that is precisely what I hired those half-elves for." Mechmann beams as Elena bows to her adoptive father and master. "I beg your leave to return to my studies, father."

Mechmann nods and Elena is allowed to depart. Once she is out of earshot, he turns to Sneed with a markedly sinister expression. An aura of fire and brimstone seems to radiate from Professor Mechmann's massive frame cowing the already cowed Jonathan Sneed as he gives his subordinate instruction: "Listen very carefully, Mr. Sneed, I need to keep both of these stray dogs on very short leashes. Elena has never had much contact with her own kind. I made sure of that. Part of my reason for choosing Gundolf is because he is a male canine. I'm going to use Elena to control of him be we must make sure our control over her is absolute."

"How do you plan on maintaining this control, milord?" Elias asks as Sneed just cowers before his master in abject terror.

"Sneed, I want you to limit their interaction as much as possible. I don't want total separation as this will be counter productive to the result I want to foster." Mechmann outlines as he continues to lecture his servants. "But I want just enough socialization to all a first bud of romance to blossom so we can crush it and along with that, her spirit."

"So her loyalty to us will be complete without the control collars we're developing for their kind." Boom says with conviction. "We will control her without the need of such a device."

"And what about Jaeger?" Sneed asks fearfully. "His marksmanship is second to none! You saw how easily he took out those vampires!"

"Which is why I want Elena to get close to him." Mechmann says in a conspiratorial tone. "I can actually dispose of Elena easier than Gundolf and if we play our cards right that will convince the Drifter to stay his hand."