FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Master Kar'na!" the otter slave cried, delighted to see the assassin again. "You won! It was amazing!"

"Thank you," Kar'na replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm glad you think so."

"Half of us bet that you would not survive," the tiger slave confessed. "Myself included. Please forgive me..."

"Forgive you? Of what? You're entitled to your own opinion."

The slaves stared at him curiously and Kar'na sighed.

"Right," he said. "I almost forgot you were slaves. Have you all been slaves your entire life? As long as you can remember?"

All four of the slaves nodded. The otter beckoned for Kar'na to lie on the table, which he did. Though he was quiet, he was far from unthinking.

The slave's practiced hands skillfully worked out the stiff muscles, until about a half hour later, Kar'na's muscles felt good as new. And by that time, the assassin had come up with a plan.

He sat up on the table and the slaves backed up curiously, staring at him.

"Do any of you know where that hidden tunnel to the dungeons is?" he asked.

The slaves grew wide eyed and looked at each other in consternation. Finally, one of them gathered the courage to ask, "How did you hear about that?"

"A friend," Kar'na said. "Now, where is it?"

The slaves took him to a spot on the wall and pulled a few bricks down and out of the way. Behind these bricks, a long, damp tunnel, smelling of mold and refuse, stretched before him.

"This tunnel leads to the basement," the otter slave said quietly. "We have no idea who built it."

"Wait here," Kar'na said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Wait, Master Kar'na," the tiger slave said. "You have to be here when the guards arrive! If you are not here, we could be killed!"

"How long until the guards arrive?"

"About half an hour," one of the other two slaves, who'd mostly stayed quiet, said, looking at the hourglass.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," Kar'na promised.

The slaves looked at each other, but let Kar'na go. The assassin left them and snuck through the dark tunnel, staying quiet and trying not to gag at the horrible smells. Eventually, he saw light up ahead and hurried towards it.

The white wolf grabbed one of the bricks out of the wall and cautiously stuck his head out. He was in the dungeon, in the main hall. There were no guards anywhere.

He broke through the rest of the wall and hurried down to where his friend's cells were, before changing his mind and heading in the other direction, to grab the key from the warden's table.

Then he went back and unlocked the first door. In the cell behind, blinking in the dim light of the dungeon, was Svara.

"Kar'na?" he asked, looking at the wolf. "Is that really you?"

"Yep," Kar'na nodded. "Help me get the others. We're busting out of here."

"So," Kar'na said later, once the group was all together and on their way up the tunnel to the underworks. "Here's the plan. Svara, you have assassin training. Get these ones north to Arlea. In the underworks, you'll find another group of slaves, the caretakers for the combatants. Get them north as well. Wait for me at the Lonely Tower. If I'm not there within a week, move along. Take them through Undefryn Pass, as opposed to the Wolf Clan."

"Yes sir," Svara nodded.

"What?" Kytra asked. "You expect us to just leave you behind? That's not going to happen! Where are you going anyways?"

"I have an appointment with Malis," Kar'na said, grinning grimly. "But I cannot have you with me."

"But Kar'na-"

"No buts," Kar'na said firmly, as they emerged into the underworks. The slaves in there were staring open-mouthed. "Help Svara get these ones north."

"But...yes, Kar'na," Kytra said, looking down.

"Best of luck," Kar'na said, starting back down the tunnels. "I'll give you twenty minutes to get free of the city."

The assassin snuck down the tunnel eventually re-emerging in the dungeon tunnels. Kar'na began his count and waited.

Though it seemed like forever, eventually the count to twenty minutes was complete and he traced his way down the tunnels to Malis's Great Hall.

A left, a left, a right, up the stairs, a left, up more stairs, two rights and a door. Opening the door, Kar'na smirked as he noticed Malis sprawled on his throne, breathing heavily. He was asleep.

"My lord!" Kar'na cried out, using his fake Falskin accent. "We're here, like you requested!"

"What?" Malis asked, jerking awake and blinking around blearily. "Who's here? Did I send for you?"

"Not quite, my Lord," Kar'na laughed, stepping around the pillar into view. "In fact, I'd bet I'm the last person you'd want to see."

"Kar'na!" the reptilian lord cried, straightening up in his throne, fear flooding his eyes. "I was actually just about to come down and give you congratulations on your fights. Those were incredible, even if you did kill the coyote."

"To my shame," Kar'na snarled, pulling one of the decorative spears from the wall. "You pitted two brother assassins against each other in a fight to the death! One whom you had captured, tortured and twisted. The other you held his friends at ransom!"

"Well, yes," Malis said, licking his lips nervously. "You see, that's the way I help my people stay in line. If I didn't they'd tear me apart!"

"Your devoted subjects?" Kar'na laughed. "They're head over heels for you...correction, they were..."

"Assassin!" Malis said desperately. "Don't! I'll give you anything."

"I always tell people this," Kar'na sighed, advancing towards Malis with his spear. "It's not about the money. It's about the cause..."

He was about to whip the spear straight into Malis's throat when a powerful voice cried out, "Hold assassin!"

Kar'na redirected his spear strike and turned around, whipping it straight into the figure from whom the voice had emanated. The spear, built purely for decoration, shattered harmlessly on the massive figure's armour.

The figure didn't even flinch.

"Assassin," he said again. "Stand down, now."

Kar'na briefly sized up the seven-foot tall reptilian and decided to do as told. He'd defeated the massive La'malik in the arena earlier, but he'd been armed then and La'malik had clearly been self-taught. This figure had the bearing of a military man.

"Lord Drysenn!" Malis cried, slipping from his throne and to the massive reptilian figure. "I'm so glad to see you! You arrived just in time as this wolf was just-"

"I don't care, Malis," Drysenn cuts the other off. "I'm here for a purpose. A couple purposes, actually. You promised me the slaves who escaped my mine. You also promised me the head of those who'd helped them do it. And to Master Sanvar, you promised him his children."

"Ah...yes, well, about that, they're all in the dungeon. I put them there to wait for your arrival. And here is the one who helped them to escape. The assassin Kar'na."

"Kar'na?" Drysenn asked, turning his yellow-eyed gaze to the assassin. Unlike Kar'na's cheerful gold eyes, Drysenn's eyes did _not_look cheerful. Or gold.

"Yes, he's an assassin from up north," Malis began to explain. "He came here to free the workers from-" "For the love of Sythrym, shut up!" Drysenn exclaimed, briefly turning his head to glare at Malis. "Don't pretend to have a semblance of competence to one who actually does."

Turning back to the assassin, his yellow eyes surveyed him again, drawing in his measure. Finally, he blinked and said, "So you're Kar'na? You don't look too impressive..."

"Oh come on!" Kar'na said exasperated. "What do I have to look like to be impressive? Honestly, you're the third person in two days to say that!"

Drysenn grinned. "As one warrior to another, I'd be willing to confess that I was joking. You look plenty lethal. Were you in your robes, I think even I'd be afraid to cross blades with you. But you're here unarmed. And I'm guessing that, despite Malis's pretensions to the contrary here, your friends are quite gone aren't they?"

"Yes," Kar'na smirked. "They're long gone from here. And with a fellow assassin leading them, you have no chance to find them."

"I figured as much," Drysenn sighed. "Well, guess there's nothing for it then."

"W-w-what?" Malis asked, panic entering his eyes again. "You're just going to leave?"

"Oh by the contrary," Drysenn laughed. "I plan to stay. I plan to stay for a long time. This place needs it."

"Oh good," Malis sighed in relief. "I was worried that-"

"Guards," Drysenn called. "Drag this pretentious weakling away. Also, order the cooks to prepare the dining room."

Drysenn territory guards stormed in and grabbed Malis, beginning to haul him to his own dungeon.

"What are you doing?" Malis shrieked. "Aren't you going to help?"

"But of course," Drysenn laughed. "I already have. I've removed the incompetent leader of Juxtpa. I'd rather trust this animal here to run the city than you. Which is why, as of now, this city is part of Drysenn hold. And I will fix the rot. Starting with your execution tomorrow!"

Malis screamed as he was dragged from the hall. The doors closed behind them and Drysenn turned back to Kar'na.

"So, assassin," he said, smiling a little. "I always respect prowess in an adversary. And my eyes tell me you behaved admirably in the arena. Would you care to join me in a meal?"

Kar'na stared at him. This was the first Falskin who had _ever_invited him to a meal after his identity had been discovered.

"Come," Drysenn said, turning his back to Kar'na and walking towards the dining hall. "Join me. We have much to discuss."

"You seem ill at ease, Kar'na."

"It's not every day that a tyrant invites you to join him," Kar'na commented, taking a brief sip of the Falskin wine and grimacing. He'd never been a huge fan of wine, preferring instead the hot spiced meads of Arlea.

"A tyrant?" Drysenn laughed. "My dear wolf, I am not a tyrant. I'm a ruler. I rule my people fair and just."

"You rule over your people like that, sure, but what of ours? What of the many Ch'kiliil you keep enslaved in your mines? In your towns?"

"I would stand out in a negative way as a leader if I didn't have them," Drysenn commented, swirling his wine reflectively. "You assassins prefer to look in the world in a very bleak way. You see the world as black and white, with a few shades of grey mixed in. You look at Falskin and think evil, while a Ch'kiliil is good by default. A good Falskin or a bad Ch'kiliil are clearly just outliers. Not important in the overall scheme of things. Us Falskin see in colour."

He paused and looked over at Kar'na.

"I'm sorry, but I remember reading somewhere that your species can't see colour. Is that true?"

"Once upon a time," Kar'na nodded. "My particular sub-breed of Ch'kiliil couldn't see colour. Wolves, that is. But over generations, mating with Ch'kiliil that could see colour gave us blood to be able to. However, I can't see red."

"Hmm," Drysenn said, shaking his head briefly and going back to his monologue. "As I was saying, your kind tends to see only black and white. Good and bad. Right and wrong. Falskin society views things in the entire spectrums. For us, good and bad is primarily based upon the individual; race and class have nothing to do with it. For a Falskin, power is what determines right to rule. I have much physical power, while Malis knew how to use his abilities to gain money. And money is power. By allowing slaves, I allow my people a measure of power, which in turn makes them respect the society in which they exist and be happy and productive citizens. I united my people against a common enemy, no offense."

Kar'na shrugged. Common enemy aptly described both species' feeling against each other. The Ch'kiliil races had never been united, but the sudden war had united them well.

"The Ch'kiliil in my neck of the woods were kept down, to make the people feel superior. Here, Malis used his skills and abilities to gain wealth through trade. Then the people here started getting wealthy as well. But when people were earning a reputation of wealth here, others wanted in. When they came, the wealthy crushed them, to allow themselves to feel powerful. Then the wealthy brought slaves, so they could be lazy and gain yet more power. In this city, ruled by wealth, power is a drug. Once tasted, they desired more and more of it until it consumed them. That is why Malis had to be removed. This city needs cleansing."

"And by taking it, you gained more power," Kar'na observed.

"Yes!" Drysenn boomed, pointing a finger at Kar'na. "I knew you were a smart one! Yes, by taking this city I got more powerful, earning more respect of more people. Now, I'll be able to take more, until I take the title Warlord. Once I have that mantle, I'll stop the war."

"Yeah, sure," Kar'na agreed absently, picking at his food with a fork. Suddenly, it clicked in. "Wait, stop the war? Why would you want that?"

"Is there really a gain to it all?" Drysenn asked. "We take your people and make them slaves. In return, they send over people like you to kill us in power. It's a game that has no purpose and too much blood. Some say it's a show of power to bring a whole race down, but I think not. I think it's a sign of arrogance and pride, that we view ourselves so weak we have to destroy everyone else to make ourselves powerful. We've become the bully."

Kar'na stayed silent and Drysenn leaned back with a sigh, taking a mild sip of his wine. Looking at Kar'na's almost full plate and glass, he frowned.

"What's wrong? Don't like to eat? Not hungry?"

"Not northern," Kar'na said. "I tend to lose my appetite for foods that...aren't, really."

"You know, I've never actually met a Ch'kiliil who lived in the North long enough to gain the culture. I'm actually interested. What do you eat? What do you drink?"

"Eat?" Kar'na asked. "Mostly meat. Vegetables and fruit are...distasteful, to say the least. And we don't cook our meat."

"No?" Drysenn looked distinctly surprised. "Not at all?"

"No," Kar'na said. "Cooked meat detracts from the flavour of the natural meat. Makes it something else."

"But what of seasoning?" Drysenn asked. "Don't you ever cook it with spices? Or do you just add those to the raw meat?"

"We don't use spices," Kar'na stated flatly. "It makes the meat taste like something else. If we wanted something to taste like that, we wouldn't waste meat on it."

"Curious," Drysenn muttered, before looking up at Kar'na. "So if I asked the chefs just to bring you some raw meat right now, you'd eat that?"

"No," Kar'na said with a smile. "I'm not hungry."

"Very well, Kar'na," Drysenn said with a laugh. "Then I will see you tomorrow."

A rooster crowed, jolting Kar'na awake. He sat up and looked around, briefly confused by his surroundings. He was in a stone-walled room that clearly wasn't a dungeon cell. A thin beam of sunlight streamed through a small slit in the wall, illuminating the room. The door, solid oak and beautifully polished, sat upon its hinges in the wall, one of the only ornaments.

The assassin threw off his blankets and went towards the door, still slightly irked by his only attire. Though what he was wearing, a piece of fabric tied about the waist with a wide cloth draped from it to cover what made him a male, was what Ch'kiliil in Arlea wore, he felt underdressed amongst the Falskin. Something that he was sure Malis had calculated, when giving it to him.

He walked over and tried the door handle, only to find it locked. Turning around, he sighed and headed back for the bed. What'd he been expecting? That Drysenn would just leave it unlocked?

The door clicked and Kar'na turned back around. It swung open and a guard locked eyes with the white wolf.

"Good," he said gruffly. "You're up. Drysenn wants to see you."

"Was he waiting for me to wake up?"

"Yes. For some reason, Drysenn said for us not to disturb your sleep. Anyways, come along."

Kar'na did as asked and the guard led him down the steep flight of steps, until eventually they arrived in the grand room. There, a rather bored-looking Drysenn was listening to a slightly-smaller Falskin with green scales.

Spotting Kar'na, Drysenn perked up and lifted a hand, saying, "That will be enough for now, Sanvar."

"Yes my lord," the other Falskin said, going to stand by Drysenn's right side. The assassin and steward gave each other a calculating once-over and the steward's eyes tightened.

"Good to see you up, Kar'na," Drysenn said, his massive figure shifting a little. "I trust you enjoyed your rest?"

"One of the better ones I've had in a while," Kar'na admitted.

"Good to hear. I trust being perpetually on the run can make one a little weary, no?"

"You have said so. Now answer me honestly Drysenn, why am I here? You've made no mention of what I'm doing or even why I'm as of yet still alive."

"Simple," Drysenn said. "I happen to have need of something you may be able to provide..."

"Which is...what?" Kar'na asked, wary around this Falskin lord. As was only right and expected, of course.

"I need a bargaining chip," Drysenn said. "To broker peace between our two peoples. I need to finish consolidating my power, toppling the other lords or making them subject to me. Then, I propose a trade-off, to cement the alliance. You, in exchange for the Sanvar'a siblings."

"A trade-off?" Kar'na asked. "That's...that's..."

"Ingenious?" Drysenn smirked. "I'd like to think so. My steward gets what he wants and I get what I want."

"It isn't right to take one's kids," Sanvar spat.

"I'll keep that in mind before I do," Kar'na winked. "Just to let you know, they were in the city of Saskin when I found them. I just...helped them on their journey."

Sanvar glared at him but otherwise stayed silent.

"So," Drysenn commented. "You see I have a noble goal. Get two of our own back and return you, on the meanwhile fostering a lasting peace. Will you be part of that Kar'na?"

"There's only one problem," Kar'na said. "The kids are non-negotiable. They made their choice. Let them deal with the privileges and consequences themselves."

"Do not mistake my good-naturedness with foolishness," Drysenn said menacingly. "We can have peace. Return our own to us and go home. Can you really refuse that?"

"Yes," Kar'na said, hating himself for it. Drysenn made a lot of sense and giving two kids to their rightful father and gaining international peace as a result? That's the obvious path. But the assassin is taught that the obvious path is not always the right path. "I can and I will. Ask for something else. I will fill a role for that peace. But the kids are not part of this."

"So be it," Drysenn growled in a monotone. "Then I will ask another price. Your head on a platter. Guards! Remove this beast from my sight. Throw it off the walls!"

Kar'na jerked to his feet, but wasn't fast enough. Three guards piled on the assassin, pinning him to the ground, while a fourth tied his hands together with a thick rope. Apparently, knowing of Kar'na's skill at picking locks, they'd opted for knots.

Kar'na was then bodily picked up and dragged backwards, towards the stairs that led to the fortress roof.

The whole time, Kar'na struggled, concealing what he was really doing. With his claws, which as an assassin he kept blade-sharp, he was slicing at the bindings. He knew there was very little chance he'd survive, but any chance was still a chance.

He felt a slight twitch as one of the fibrous cords composing the rope gave way. Immediately, he set his claws upon another.

By the time they reach the roof, Kar'na was free. He stopped struggling and Kar'na heard one of the guards sigh in relief.

Kar'na jerked around, smashing the guard under the chin with a two knuckle jab and leaping free. He stood facing the eight guards and backed up slowly until he was at the edge of the fortress roof.

The assassin looked down over his shoulder, down to the street. A distance of about sixty-feet. There was no way he could drop and survive that.

A slave carrying a cart with a hay bale stopped directly beneath him and walked into a building. Somewhere in the distance, an eagle shrieked.

No, a fall into that hay bale, assuming he could even hit it, would be fatal.

The guards advanced towards him, weapons held out ready against the unarmed and unarmored Ch'kiliil.

"Oh crap," Kar'na muttered looking over his shoulder again. The slave with the hay-cart had moved on.

Suddenly, an idea struck. Kar'na had always been one of the most acrobatic assassins in the guild. This, combined with his sheer fighting skill, is what had allowed him to be promoted to a master assassin at the young age of twenty-one. That was two years ago.

He smirked at the guards and said, "I'd hate to be you guys."

Then he leapt off, catching on to the edge of the roof and beginning a speedy climb down from there. However, the guards didn't know this. To them, it just liked the person they were supposed to throw off had just jumped off.

The guards all looked at their captain, who shrugged and said, "Guess we better go collect the body."

The others chuckled.

Kar'na speedily climbed down the walls of the fortress, until he eventually reached the street level, where he snuck off down an alley.

Keeping a careful eye out for guards, he snuck along, trying to figure out a way out of the city. By the moons, he hoped his charges had made it safely out of the city.

"Look!" a voice cried out. "Over there!"

Kar'na took off, away from the voice. Taking a glance over his shoulder, he spotted a guard in hot pursuit. Not far behind him, three others were on their way.

Kar'na zigged and zagged, ducking through alleys and generally gaining ground. However, whenever one guard seemed to drop from the chase, three more took his place.

Kar'na ran towards a massive building, only to skid to a stop in shock, when he realized he was at the city walls. There was no way he could climb those.

"Wolf! Stop!"

Sighing, Kar'na took off to the right, into a narrow alley. Spotting a couple highly conveniently stacked crates, he ran up and took a rapid wall-run to get to a windowsill. From there, he climbed as fast as he could for the building's roof.

The guards, rattling and clanking with armour as they ran, turned the corner and ran right below him, not having given a single indication of spotting them. The White Wolf of Winterwrath kept climbing, until he reached the building's roof.

From there, a quick leap over a five-foot gap and he was hanging by his fingers from the top of the wall. He pulled himself up and crouched, panting and regaining his breath. His stitches had split open again and blood was seeping into the fresher bandages.

"By the moons," Kar'na gasped. It had been ages since he'd had to run that hard. Generally, he'd lose the guards in an alley, much like he just did, and vanish, blending into the crowds. Though it was rather hard to vanish when everyone in the city would be looking for a golden-eyed, white-furred wolf with a scar through one eye.

He lay there panting for a bit, before pulling himself to his feet. He had to get moving, if he was to meet his friends at the Lonely Tower in Arlea.

"Hey!" a voice called out. "What are you doing here slave? Get down! Now!"

Kar'na glanced over to see a guard advancing towards him. How the guard had failed to notice him when he was laying on the floor earlier was a mystery, but Kar'na didn't care.

"S-s-sorry, m-m-master," Kar'na stammered, trying to act like a slave scared of getting in trouble. "I was sup-p-posed to get a p-p-package up here to someone on the wall. A m-m-master Enya."

The wolf had no idea if Enya was a guard or not, simply hoping to give the guard pause for thought.

"W-w-would you be him by chance?" Kar'na asked curiously, edging a little closer to the guard.

"Hmph," the guard sniffed. "No, I'm not Enya. There's absolutely no one on the walls named Enya. And how'd you get up here anyways?"

"B-b-but, my instructions are c-c-clear," Kar'na said, walking right up to the guard but keeping his head down as if afraid to be hit. "Right here?"

He reached around his back as if to grab a package and the guard leaned forwards curiously, just as Kar'na had been hoping he would.

The assassin twisted and grabbed the guard by his neck, throwing him from the roof. The guard screamed as he fell, before it suddenly cut off with a splash.

Kar'na looked over the edge of the wall and noticed that, at the base, a river flowed not far from the wall. Jumping, Kar'na could easily make it into the river itself. But would it be deep enough?

The guard Kar'na had thrown off splashed to the surface, coughing and spitting. The river pulled the guard back immediately, reluctant to give up its prize. But that brief moment had given Kar'na the evidence he needed to make his jump. The river was deep enough.

Looking over his shoulder, Kar'na noticed that the guard's scream had alerted other guards, who were on route.

"If I survive this..." Kar'na muttered to himself, backing up to the other edge of the roof.

Taking a deep breath, Kar'na sprinted at full speed towards the edge he'd thrown the guard over and leaped, arcing through the air to splash in the river far below.