FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Colton was sitting at a polished oak desk piled high with scrolls. The one he was currently studying showed a rune that seemed to glow pale blue in the orange torchlight, with words in some inscrutable dialect scattered seemingly randomly around it. Occasionally he would jot down some notes in a wood-bound journal, next to sketches of other arcane glyphs. His rabbit ears twitched and he put the scroll down carefully, looking towards the door a few seconds before someone knocked at the other side. "Come in."

The visitor was a messenger, a quick yellowish little goblin named Mustard who was good at his job, but painfully formal. "Sir, War-chief Daguard requests your presence in his office."

"And I'm sure he said it politely and respectfully, right?"

"Well..."

"Come on, I won't bite. What exactly did he say."

"Sir, his exact words were 'You'd better go get that damn rodent wizard down here, fucking busybody'll be pissed if we don't call him.'"

"No idea what it's about then?"

"No sir, I just do as I'm told."

Colton sighed. Daguard was useful, he was the one that united the disparate orc tribes under Nadia's banner, but the rabbit still didn't like him. The feeling was more than mutual, as Daguard was happy to remind everyone within earshot, and with his battlefield commanders bellow that could be quite far when he wanted.

The rabbit grabbed the torch off the wall, put his journal into a small bag, and left the study, with the goblin leading the way. "I do know where I'm going Mustard."

"Sorry sir, I was told to get you and come back. I'll wait here for a bit if you would prefer m'lord."

"No, it's fine. And I'm not a lord."

Walking through the tunnels and caverns of the palace was tricky unless you knew the entire layout. Holes and ladders could be used, but anywhere could be reached just by walking on gentle winding slopes as well. There was dim light from colorful glowing stones in the ceiling, but it was common to carry torches along the passages through the mountain complex. Colton usually didn't bother, but he was always careful not to leave fire burning unattended around his scrolls and books. After about 15 minutes, the pair arrived at an iron door, and Mustard pulled it open. Two guards were at the door, solid looking orcs wielding steel pole-arms. They immediately lowered their weapons at the newcomers, only raising them again once they recognized the pair. Oddly high security for inside the palace.

Daguard was screaming at a few of his soldiers, so Colton just followed the echoes through the barracks to the orc high chief. He only understood one word in 10, he was learning the guttural orcish language but it was difficult when it was echoing around at such a high volume. This wasn't the ordinary screaming Daguard used to keep morale where he wanted it, this was different. Someone had failed, badly.

Daguard glanced over as the pair entered his 'office,' not pausing in his shouting. It only lasted a few moments more, apparently this was serious enough to make him stop his fun. The soldiers didn't leave however, just stood at attention as their chief stared daggers at them. They put on a brave face, but Colton could feel their fear. Daguard was not known for his leniency or light punishments. Finally, with a snort, he looked towards Colton and Mustard. "Leave," he growled in Common, and the goblin nodded and left the way they had come.

"What do you need me for?" Colton asked once Mustard's footsteps had vanished down the hall.

"These wastes of flesh were on sentry duty when they decided they were tired. Took a nice little nap. Now three of my men are dead from some fucking sneak who got into the palace before stumbling down a hole and into the infirmary. Bastards lucky that little bi... healer was there or he'd already be dead. She seems to think he might know something worth knowin, or I'd have his head on a spike."

Colton waited for a moment, but the Orc seemed to think he was done. "Where is he?"

"The healer's keepin him behind the infirmary. Apparently she don't trust me to guard the prisoner."

The rabbit made a mental note as he was leaving to thank Angie. He wouldn't have trusted Daguard not to kill his own mother, much less some prowler. The failed sentries would probably spend some time with the healer as well, hopefully they would be able to walk again.

Mustard was waiting near the entrance to the barracks, but fortunately didn't seem to be waiting for Colton. The infirmary was nearby; Angie had moved shop after getting tired of the long walk after every round of the orc's infighting. The rabbit could smell blood as he got close.

The first thing he noticed inside the room was Angie. The thin red wolf was sitting near one of her sleeping patients, shaking slightly. She was wearing a dagger in her belt, a new addition for the usually peaceful healer.

"You alright- Hey, its fine. It's just me" The wolf jerked at the sound, reaching for the knife before she recognized Colton. She took a deep breath. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. Not the first deaths I've seen, won't be the last. What do you need?"

"I'm guessing the prisoner is tied up back there?" Behind the infirmary was a storeroom full of supplies, dried herbs and linen bandages mostly.

"Yeah, tight as hell too. I should probably make sure he's getting decent circulation, but I just..."

"I'll check. Can I get two chairs. And, what should I expect?"

"Human. Not sure where from. He should be conscious, was when we left him in there at least. Oh, he had this with him, not sure what it is." She brought out a small vial filled with clear liquid, stoppered with a glass top. She handed it to Colton, and he opened it and took a small sniff. The liquid had no scent, and looked like water, but somehow thicker. The rabbit frowned. "What?"

"If I'm right, this is Jarren extract. It's a stable substance, except when it comes in contact with magic. Then it reacts quite explosively."

"He came to bomb the palace? The human didn't seem like he could use magic, would he have some way to activate it with him."

"I doubt he meant to detonate it. Jarren is also extremely deadly to magical creatures. This vial could kill a dragon easily. Put it in their food, pour the bottle into the water supply, you wouldn't be able to tell until it was too late. Even if you have a food taster, they would need to be magical themselves to know anything was wrong, and testing for poisons with magic would be just as fatal." The vial was full, but Colton was still worried. He picked it up and took it into the makeshift cell, waiting while the wolf unlocked the door.

The human was hog tied in the middle of the small room, but was trying to wiggle free. Colton stood in the doorway, trying to keep his composure. "Did you use any of this?" he asked gently.

"Fuck off."

"It's a yes or no question, just answer it. Did you use this anywhere?"

"You wouldn't believe me either way," the human laughed bitterly. "Guess you'll have to see if someone drops dead in a few days."

"Then lie to me. Or don't, I don't really care. Just say yes or no."

"Yes," he replied sarcastically. "I poured another vial in the water."

Colton closed his eyes and visibly relaxed. "He's lying." He told Angie. "Could you bring in those chairs now, please?" Angie came back with two simple wooden chairs, then closed and locked the door as she left. She didn't look either of them in the eye. Colton placed the chairs facing each other a few feet apart, then walked over to the human, untied his feet, and loosened the restraints around his hands. The human flexed his fingers, grimacing as the blood flow to his hands and legs started again. He was watching his captor warily.

"Let me explain what is about to happen," said Colton as he sat in the chair facing away from the door. He gestured towards the other chair, but the human stayed where he was. "You will tell me who sent you, what they told you to do, and to the best of your knowledge why they told you to do it. I will know if you lie to me. I think it is important that you know I do not enjoy this, and that the pain will stop the instant you tell me what I need to know."

"You know; you really don't look like a torturer. Shouldn't they get someone big and scary, someone who actually looks like they could hurt me?"

The rabbit ignored him. "Are you familiar with illusion magic? Sometimes called neuromancy?"

The human was silent, which Colton took to mean no.

"I can control the nerves in your body. I can make you feel just about anything I want you to feel, or see or hear or taste. It's a fascinating subject with a lot of interesting applications, almost all of which I prefer to what I'm going to do to you. You only need to know a few things though. First is that I cannot read minds. Every person is too different. If I had years, then maybe I could learn exactly how you think, and I wouldn't need to do this, but I don't have years to spend just on you, and you'd need to be cooperative anyway.

"Second, I will know when you are lying to me, and it won't help you. I can't read minds, but lying is universal enough that I can accurately recognize it. There's a part of your brain that activates when you're lying, and I can sense it being used.

"Third is that this will be the most unpleasant thing you will ever experience. I can make any or every nerve in your body think that they are dying. I can make you feel like you are burning alive, like you're drowning or being disemboweled or all at once. Under most circumstances, once a certain pain threshold is reached your mind will shut down and you will lose consciousness. I will prevent this. You won't be able to escape into sleep or death, so don't rely on that.

"Fourth, I can manipulate all your senses, including your sense of time passing. You might be stronger than I think, able to hold out for days as you experience them. That will be a few minutes of reality passing. Your continued suffering won't be buying any time for your master to come and save you, if they even care enough to bother.

"Finally, this stops when you want it to. I won't be damaging your body, just causing pain. When I stop, you won't keep suffering, you won't be broken or bleeding, physically you will be unharmed, or at least no worse off then you are now. That means that if it gets too much, you know that all you need to do to stop feeling the pain is answer my questions. Remember, I don't enjoy this, I don't want you to suffer. I just need to know who sent an assassin to my home.

"With that in mind, I'm going to give you a chance right now. Tell me who sent you, tell me exactly what they wanted you to do and why, and I will walk out of this room and you will never see me again. We won't let you go, but I will do all I can to make sure you are treated kindly."

"You expect me to believe a word one of you fucking demons says?"

"I am not a demon. I am sorry about this."

The rabbit stood, pulled a silver knife from his bag and dragged it across the human's neck. The spy tried to fight but was paralyzed as he felt his throat split open, the knife cutting into his veins, the blood seeping out and staining his clothes. He started choking as his lifeblood filled his opened throat, pouring into his lungs. He couldn't breathe, he was drowning and he could taste the iron in his blood as it ran down the back of his throat. He was coughing and sputtering and growing weak but the world wasn't dimming, if anything it was becoming clearer, the pain and the desperate need for air taking over every thought.

And then, nothing. He was sitting on the floor of a small room. He was gasping for air, but his lungs weren't screaming for it. He looked down, the blood was gone. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal.

"Now do you believe me? I hope so, because the next time I'll have to actually torture you, not just prove that I can. Just tell me who sent you, what they wanted you to do and why, and I'll leave."

"G-Grimal sent me. A merchant prince from Gii. They wanted me to pour this in the water, they said it would kill the demons that live here."

Colton smiled sadly. "Your loyalty is admirable, but I told you I would know if you lied. You will tell me the truth eventually, just get it over with and spare yourself the pain." The human just stared at him, defiance and hate overpowering the fear in his eyes. "Alright. It is your choice after all." He stood up again, in his hand was a small obsidian knife sharper than anything the human had ever seen. His hand was outstretched, he couldn't move, he couldn't even scream as the rabbit grabbed his arm and slowly began peeling away the skin of his wrist, layer by layer. Against his will his eyes moved to watch as his muscles were exposed to the cold, stinging air. His torturer's face was expressionless as he worked, never glancing away from his task. "I could just make you feel this, not bother with the visuals or the sound, but I find that when people watch their body be mutilated it speeds the process along."

What felt like hours passed. The rabbit had started at the wrist and was now halfway to the human's elbow, the removed skin carefully folded back like a sleeve, still in one piece. His hand looked like a glove against the red tissues in his flayed arm. "I'm going to let you speak again now. If you tell me what I want to know, this stops. If not, I'll give you another chance when I reach your shoulder." The human started screaming immediately, and Colton waited, holding the knife above the prisoner's arm. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Last chance, if you don't start talking I'm going to start cutting again."

---

About two hours after he started, Colton walked out of the storeroom. The human was sitting in his chair now, intact and untied but not moving. He didn't even look at the open door, which Colton behind him.

"So..." Angie started, then stopped, not sure what to ask.

"I got what I needed. I doubt he'll try to fight, but be careful just the same. Oh, and tell Daguard I'm not done with him. I'd rather he stays alive for a few days at least, just in case." Angie nodded, and Colton left the wolf to her patients. He really should tell Daguard himself, but he didn't want to deal with the Orc right now. He needed to inform the queen as well. That seemed much less likely to result in broken bones, and he couldn't afford to make things worse with Daguard.

Queen Nadia had been in talks with a representative of the Druidic Council all day, and while important, Colton's news wasn't immediate enough to interrupt. He found Mustard and told him to wait for her to finish, then come and get him from his study. She was hoping to convince the Druids to use their talents to help grow crops, goblins farmed well enough but the Orcs mostly refused, and the woods nearby were being over-hunted. If they didn't want to starve over the winter, they would need to trade for food or grow some fast, but the Druids were usually insistent in only using their magic for religious ceremonies and rituals honoring the spirits of nature. They only broke that rule in dire emergencies, and so Nadia needed to convince their representatives here that this qualified.

Colton never understood their reluctance, magic was a tool, a fascinating and useful one with infinitely many variants, but still just a tool like any other. It shouldn't be wasted by refusing to use it, and just because many people assumed it was the work of gods, demons, spirits, or some other unknowable creature didn't make it sacred or unknowable itself. Most of the trappings of power that mages used were just for show, to mystify and amaze those who had no idea what was actually happening. Lately the rabbit's focus had been trying to distill the rituals to their base components, remove all the fluff and get to the basic facts of magic, the manipulation of energy using the will and concentration of the caster.

The difficulty was that even the people who recorded the rituals, who created them in some instances, didn't truly understand _why_the rituals worked. Far too often they just found a single way that worked and didn't question it. The rituals then became a way to focus on the magic, but they also served as a distraction, making the spells easier to perform but reducing their potency as mages tried to get the ritual right, not the spell, and wasted much of the energy channeled to unnecessary actions. Colton lost himself in his work while he waited, comparing different rituals with similar effects to try and find commonalities, to determine which parts if any were actually important to the spell and which were completely unnecessary. Most magic only required access to the correct form of energy and the mind of the mage; knowledge of what precisely they wanted to do, concentration to do it, and the correct emotional state to work their will upon the fabric of reality. Some magic didn't even require that, throughout history many individuals who couldn't know the precise nature of what they wanted to do had been successful in using magic, usually in times of great emotional stress. And so he studied, trying to unlock the secrets of the universe.

Eventually, Mustard came and told him that the queen was free, and would see him in her chambers. Even in her own fortress, there were few places the Dragon Queen could comfortably fit, so most visitors were welcomed into her room or the great hall. The door was cracked, and Colton closed it behind him. Nadia was sitting on the mat she used for a bed studying a map, but she looked up when she heard the door shut.

"Are you alright?" She asked as soon she saw him.

"I'm fine, he was already tied up when I got there."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." The massive dragon lowered herself down, laying on her stomach. "So tell me. Are. You. Alright."

"The intruder came into the palace with a vial of Jarren extract with the intent to poison you, operating under the orders of the Emperor of Lordin. Apparently the Emperor is convinced that you are a demon made flesh sent to spread evil across the land, and he considers it his holy duty to murder you. He was told if captured to claim a Gii merchant prince sent him to weaken our ties to them."

"Shit." Nadia rested her head on her hands. "Well we knew Garret was insane, at least it's not a new enemy. How many people know about the assassin?"

"Too many to cover up. Daguard knew before I did. You will need to prepare for war or the orcs will think that you are weak, and we will need to make the palace more secure or the goblins will feel like you can't protect them."

"Daguard is doubling the patrols for now, we'll need to work something else out long term though, especially if we go to war, which I'm still hoping to avoid. Don't think I didn't notice you still haven't answered by the way. Are you ok?"

"He was sent here to kill you. He would have happily killed everyone here. Why should I care?"

The queen growled at him. "Because despite what you seem to want everyone to think, I know that you aren't a fucking psychopath who can hurt people like that without hating yourself."

"I shouldn't care. I did what I had to, I protected the people I care about. I protected you." He was speaking mechanically, with no passion behind his words.

"Maybe you're right." Nadia said softly. "Maybe you shouldn't care. But you do, and I know you do. I don't want you to shut down on me again."

Colton took a breath and sat down on the floor, shaking. He was breathing deep, focused breaths. "He had a family," he whispered.

"What?"

"HE HAD A FAMILY! Two children and a wife and the emperor has them! They were 'collateral'. He failed, and he told me who sent him, so now they're going to die. That's why he was so strong, because he wasn't betraying his master, he was betraying his family. We need to go to war; we can't afford not to. Just like I couldn't afford to let that information go."

"We aren't at war yet."

"No but we will be."

"Look at me." Colton looked up and saw Nadia staring back, her face hard. Her claw came up and lightly pressed against his face and keeping him from turning away. "You don't get to make that call. That is my burden. Innocents will die if we start a war, that is unavoidable, but you didn't kill his children, Colton. We need to do something, but outright war may be unnecessary. If our enemies can use assassins, so can we."

"The orcs would never-"

"The orcs will obey their war chief, out of fear if not love. Daguard isn't as bloodthirsty as you think, he's shrewd and he knows we couldn't win against Lordin right now. They can't commit to attacking us because getting that many troops through the pass would leave their northern border open to Gii. If we invade, their numbers would overwhelm us, and they would be able to hold Gii off. If we could convince the Princes to work together and help us, we might be able to win, but they would never help us unless they saw profits that we cannot promise, and they wouldn't stop when they saw we were weak."

"He gave you a report on this I see." The rabbit tried to laugh and Nadia smiled and pulled her hand back, feigning insult.

"You just assume I can't figure that out on my own? As far as I'm aware, Daguard doesn't even know that Lordin is involved in this." The rabbit stared at her questioningly, waiting. "All right fine, I asked him for a report a week ago. It's not like we've been on good terms with Lordin, it pays to be prepared."

Colton walked over and sat down, one arm reaching over the top of Nadia's neck. He leaned into her, trying to regain his composure. After a few moments, he spoke. "So if war won't work. What do we do?"

"The people of Lordin aren't the problem, their emperor is."

"Most of the people _are_convinced that we are a demonic army massing to their west to conquer and enslave them."

The dragon snorted. "Ironic, considering how many orcs, goblins, and bestians they enslave."

"The point is, even if we can kill their Emperor, the people would still hate us. Whoever replaces him would be forced to declare war or risk the church rebelling against them, along with the more devout or ambitious nobles. It would cost them territory in the north, but it will absolutely destroy us. I'm not sure what we can do."

Nadia rolled her shoulder, gently pushing the rabbit tighter against her neck. "We'll come up with something bun, we always do. And Daguard will probably have some ideas."

"Should we call him in?"

"You do realize it's the middle of the night, right? Or did you run to hide in your study and lose track of time?"

"I had work to do."

"And people to avoid. You do know you don't have to interrogate people yourself. I'm not even sure anyone should. We could find other ways-"

"Like what? While I'm sure several of our soldiers would be happy to torture a human, they wouldn't get reliable information without me in there anyway. Besides, we need to know who our real enemy is, the assassin was just a weapon."

"Swords and arrows don't beg or cry."

"I'll be fine, I will. Just don't expect me to be my usual cheery self for a while."

Nadia chuckled. "I'm not sure if I can handle you being even surlier than normal."

The rabbit smiled. "I love you you know."

"Of course you do."

Colton knew he should go. The door guards saw him walk in, and spending the night would make people suspicious. But he couldn't bring himself to leave. Just another few minutes feeling her warm scales pressed against him, feeling the rhythms of her breathing and heartbeat. Just another few minutes before he'd leave.

Colton woke up near the edge of Nadia's bed. He had fallen asleep in his clothes. The dragon queen was standing now, speaking quietly with someone. As the rabbit sat up, he saw it was Daguard, and he quickly ducked back down to hide in the bedding. That's just what they need now, rumors that the dragon queen had taken him into her bed. He waited, trying to listen in but failing. After a few minutes Nadia returned and saw that he was awake.

"I told him to go find you, and to call the councilors in for a meeting. Just to make sure we're all on the same page. So you should probably go somewhere you can be found pretty soon." The dragon lowered a claw onto the rabbit's chest as she said this. "After all, you wouldn't want people talking." Her eyes had a mischievous glint to them.

Colton squirmed under her claw, not truly trying to escape. "I suppose I should. If only there wasn't a giant lizard in the way, maybe I could."

"If only. As it is, you might try asking what the lizard wants from you."

Colton laughed. "Oh mighty lizard, how may I serve you?"

Nadia lowered her head to nuzzle the rabbit's face. "Unfortunately we don't have time for my preferred type of service. So just promise me you won't become a hermit. After the meeting go talk with Angie, or walk among the people, or something. You've mentioned wanting to teach, maybe start looking for students."

"As you command, she of the lizard breath." The dragon smirked and allowed her captive to stand. The rabbit stretched his back and shoulders. "Actually, I need to ask Angie about someone. There's an old patient of hers that could be useful if we want to have our own assassin. She-"

Nadia cut him off. "This sounds like business, which should wait until the meeting. Go get some food, it's going to be a long day."