FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As the morning came, Sebastian had already gotten up, ready for the day, and begin to go downstairs where the inn's kitchen is to prepare their breakfast. It took a bit of convincing and some odd look from the inn owner's wife to let him use their utility, but it was worth it, knowing Helios' very picky taste in food and the fact that he'd need a lot of energy for a long day such as today.

After a while, the eggs with golden brown sides, sausages cut into little pieces, and orange juice with an extra amount of sugar mixed into it were ready to be served. Accompanied by the same murky substance from yesterday, the hearty meal lay there neatly, waiting for Helios to wake up. However, after a while of waiting, that seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon.

So, Sebastian decided to kill some time instead.

But with what, though?

His eyes scanned the room, moving from the sleeping human to the distinct lack of space and the creaky wooden floor beneath him. He'd like to do some early workout, but not here though, judging from how cramped it is inside and how he'll likely wake up Helios too.

That was when his eyes met the window and the small garden behind the inn. Though the grass and other plantations there won't be the best space for an early morning exercise, it's still better than here at least.

Without wasting another minute, the canine made his way downstairs and into the main lobby. As he did, he passed the inn's owner - a bull male, a bit more on the chubby side, completely focused on the book before him as he sat there behind the counter. Sebastian quickly exchanged pleasantries with him and asked permission to use the backyard.

"Sure, just be careful and don't mess up my wife's garden. The last time I did she didn't get off my back about it for a whole week." Said the bull.

Sebastian nodded and proceeded on his way, arriving at the back garden just a few quick steps later.

The garden's plot was a small and humble one, but from the looks of it, Sebastian was quite amazed by how the innkeeper's wife did a great job of maintaining such a wide variety of crops in such a restrictive space. He saw a blueberry shrub, a few cornstalks, two watermelons, and a group of ripe radishes, which the Border Collie assumed was where their radish soup came from.

Of course, with such a wide array of plants, it left the canine with next to no space to do his exercises. But still, Sebastian somehow managed to make do with the limited area and begin the first of his routine.

Then, one set leads to another. And soon, Sebastian found himself stripping away his shirt as he continued to work his muscles, sweating and panting with rigorous vigor as he does so.

Before he knew it, he'd already got an audience.

"Isn't it a bit early to sweat this much? I thought adventurers like you usually save their energy for the day ahead." A voice mused behind him and Sebastian instinctively turned around to where the sound was.

It was a female bovine, somewhere around her 40s, who Sebastion assumed was the innkeeper's wife. She certainly looked the part, with her long, knee-length skirt and a homely, cozy smile on her lips. A watering pot rested beside her hip as it slowly dripped drops of water down to the dry ground.

Realizing what she was about to do, Sebastian quickly stood up.

She nodded. "Thank you, I'll be done in a jiffy so you can continue with your thing. Sebastian, wasn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am. And it's fine, I was about to finish up anyway. Sorry to bother you."

"No, no. It's fine, honestly. I'm glad someone was here to give the ground some compression while I wasn't around."

The Border Collie chuckled at that.

"Say, is your friend awake too? Did he enjoy the breakfast?" She asked.

"Oh no, he hasn't woken up yet." Sebastian shook his head.

"That's too bad then. Hope the meal you prepared for him doesn't go cold, or else it'd be a waste." The bovine paused briefly, before continuing. "Say... Getting up this early to make food for your friend, isn't that a bit too much for an adventurer like you? We have a breakfast menu for you to save the extra effort."

"It's fine. I'm used to getting up early anyway. And besides, mast- Helios is a picky eater, so only I know what fits his liking."

"A picky eater adventurer, huh? Now that's the first time I've seen one..." She mused. "Still though, going out of your way like this... Do you harbor any feelings for him, perchance?"

That question hit him like a fright bolt and startled the canine.

"O-of course not!" He quickly retorted. "I did that because of... of reasons."

Sebastian, for the first time in a while, stuttered with his own words and managed to catch his tongue before he spilled anything he wasn't supposed to. Like, for example, the fact that Sebastian was Helios' butler and not his adventure companion as they've said to the innkeeper. He didn't know what would happen if they revealed their position, but it'd probably be the best to keep a low profile anyway. Which... is quite a hard job to do, considering how much of a ramble mouth his master is.

"Reasons, huh?" The bovine mumbled and raised a brow at him, before shrugging and nonchalantly returning to her business of watering her garden as usual. "If that's what you said, then sure."

Feeling his muzzle heating up, the Border Collie quickly excused himself and left the garden.

"You forgot your shirt, kid!"

He dashed back to quickly grab his shirt from the bovine's hand and left the garden, again.

~~~

It was late morning by the time the pair reached the Baunman's farm. And... to be quite honest, it doesn't look like a farm that much. First, there was more weed than "Farm", covering nearly every inch of the farm that doesn't get enough attention, which is... basically anywhere asides from the walkway between the barn and the main house. Speaking up the barn, Helios noticed it doesn't have that many fences. Except for the few poles that were planted in the ground with net haggardly thrown over them to prevent the chickens from wandering outsides, most of the cattle - like cows and pigs, were freely wandering the premise, eating the grass and leaving a stenchy mess behind.

Ignoring the piglet that tried to greet him, Helios quickened his steps and dragged Sebastian along, forcing him to move faster to where, presumably, Adrian Baunman and his family lived.

At least their home looks a bit better.

"Now, I'll do the talking, alright?" Helios reminded the Border Collie upon reaching their doorstep.

"Understood, young master." The Border Collie replied, before continuing. "But please, try to be a bit more... concise with your words, or else I won't be afraid to join in."

"I know, I know. I'll tone it back a bit for now." Helios gave a reaffirming smile and nodded, which soothed the bigger male's worry for a tiny bit.

Then, Helios cleared his throat and brought his hand upward, curling it and preparing to lightly tap on the door. Posture straight, smooth voice, and confident eyes, like how he imagined.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Almost immediately, the door was answered, and out came a she-wolf. She slouched tiredly on the door as she opened it, and around her dark, unkept fur, gray hairs were starting to show.

But Helios was too fast on his mouth to notice. "Harken, Baunman! For I has't cometh h're to inquire about the luqus sir nam'd- Mph!"

"My apologies, but do you perchance know anyone of the name Adrian living in this household?" Sebastian, as quick as lightning, chimed in. His hand still clasping over the human's mouth as he spoke.

"Adrian Baunman, right? Y-yes! He's my son." She answered with a hint of panic and desperation in her voice.

"Mph!"

"Ah yes, that's him." The canine confirmed. "We've come here meaning to ask abou-"

"There's no need. I know who you guys are." The woman cut them off.

"You do?"

"You guys are here to find where Adrian is, right? I was the one that posted that commission on the adventurer's guild."

Sebastian furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But you go-"

Helios, taking advantage of the canine's confusion, managed to free himself from the big claws that once dominated his mouth.

"Of course! Tremble in glory, for we're none other than the illustrious duo from the adventurer's guild themselves!" The human proclaimed. "Now, before we proceed with the investigation of the wolf boy's whereabouts. Do you have any leads that we can go off of?"

"O-of course, sir!" She replied and made a quick turn inside her house. And a moment later, bringing out a small, yellowed wooden box along with a piece of paper attached to it. Without a moment's notice, she handed it to them. The content inside rustled as Sebastian took it in, causing his hands to shift slightly due to the unexpected weight.

"This was what I found when I checked on him this morning..." The woman stopped for a brief second, thinking to herself, before mumbling. "...I-If you managed to find him, I'm willing to offer this as a reward."

Sebastian opened the box. Inside, he found it was filled to the brim with the color of gold, each individual coin shimmering with its opulent glow as the sunlight outside reflected off of it. A stark contrast against the impoverished, dull surrounding of the house they are in right now.

"How much is inside?" The Border Collie asked.

"I counted around 100 coins, so about 80,000 Thrymma."

Sebastian followed with another question, "And do you know how your son came into possession of this amount of money?"

"He said it's from the money he saved for the past years. B-but I'm not sure about it either. Surely, if that much was somewhere in the house, I would've been aware of it." She seemed to mentally blame herself. Not for letting her son go astray, but for not noticing that Adrian has savings somewhere and not spending that money earlier.

"Excuse my imprudence, dear Mother of Adrian." Helios suddenly chimed in, the letter left by the wolf in his hand. "Perhaps it's not my place of concern, but it seems that this money is of high significance to your son. Are you really going against his will by using this money just to get him back?"

"Of course I am!" Her voice grew irritated. "Who knows how long that boy will be gone? Who's going to tend to the farm? We need him back now or else how are we going to survive?!"

"I-I see..." Sensing aggression, Helios quickly dropped the subject.

"We assure you, we will try our best to get your son back as fast as possible for your... convenience. In the meantime, our serv-" Sebastian felt a light jab at his side. "I mean, um, guild members will provide you with our... "Relief funds" every month. Which is essentially the money to help you with your daily living expenses and schooling cost."

"W-wait," the wolfess said confusingly. "I thought it took money to request a commission from the Adventuring Guild. Why are you giving us money back?"

"I-It's our new program! We, uh, established this program to ease the pain of poor unfortunate families with their circumstances, you see. It's fairly new, like, really new so you probably haven't heard of it." Helios, as fast as lightning, quickly chimed in, blooming an awkward smile as he does so.

But the guild said no when I ask for something similar... He heard Adrian's mother mumble under her breath and knew, at that moment, that they had to go.

"A-anywho! We must be on our merry path to retrieving your son back home safely. Do place your trust in us, alright? And don't send any more, um, adventurers after our way. For that will certainly be unnecessary and a hindrance to our goal." Helios said, ushering Sebastian to head for the exit. "And with that, auf Wiedersehen!"

Quick on their step, the pair swiftly left the Baunman's premise, barely missing the confused "Goodluck" from Adrian's mother as they headed out. To where? Helios wasn't sure. But it certainly wasn't in Adrian's mother's house, lest they cause even more suspicion. Realizing this, the Border Collie let out a sigh and took the lead.

"Excellently done, young master."

"R-really?"

"Of course not." The canine shook his head. "Where did you even get the idea that we're from the Adventurer Guild anyway?"

Helios averted his eyes. "I, um, I thought that it'd be a good excuse for us to take Adrian on a journey. Y'know, with the excuse that the "search" for him is taking a long time and all of that."

"But you do realize by doing so you've essentially roped our servant to lie on our behalf, right? And what about the plan to use that monthly welfare as a negotiation tool to let Adrian go off with you?"

"W-well, the plan is off!" He retorted. "How in the name of the Seven Lords are you planning to negotiate when Adrian is missing huh? I tried to improvise as best as I can without revealing my position, so give me a break."

Sebastian can, quite literally, feel the frustration practically fuming off of his young master. Granted, he did partially understand why his master would choose to lie to a widow with her eldest son missing for the sake of convenience. But it'd be lying if he said it didn't irk the canine to be forced to follow along on his master's words.

But what's done is done. There's nothing he can do without causing more trouble now, but at least he can prevent some.

"Fine," the Border Collie decided to compromise. "I will instruct our servants to pretend that they're from the Adventurer Guilds. Under the condition that you must be completely honest to Adrian about the situation at his home to him. Do we have a deal?"

"I'll give it some consideration."

~~~

After finishing their check out at the inn, the pair decided to head to the village's entrance in order to begin their search. Not that it would matter much where they start anyway, considering the whole place was essentially surrounded by a thick, lush coat of trees. But still, Helios found it more comfortable starting where there were some traces of civilization while not having too many eyes on him for what he was about to do.

"Sebastian," The human said, extending his hand out boastfully. "Hand me my grimoire please."

The Border Collie dug inside the bag in his hand and gave the book to Helios. The original cover was clearly ripped out and messily replaced with gold-lined strips on black background.

"Here's your "Book of Simple Spells for Begining Magic Practitioners","

Helios simply shot him a glowering look before returning to his grimoire, flipping through the pages to the spell he wanted to look for is in. Luckily, the spell was quite easy to find, as it was quite literally, on the first page.

"Ah, here we go!" His finger hovered over the Locate Creature spell. "Now let's see..."

As expected of a novice spell, it doesn't require too much preparation to cast. Only something relating to the creature the caster wishes to seek and a bit of incantation are all it will take for the spell to be in full effect. That, and a healthy body of course.

From his pocket, he summoned the letter Adrian had written and brought it into the clasp of his hands. Then, he brought it closer to his mouth. Close enough that the piece of paper can hear his mumbling, repeated chanting of powerful words, stringing together to command the very fabric of reality itself. As the chanting went on, Helios could feel an odd sense of fluttering inside his palm, almost like a butterfly made of paper was flapping in there.

And that was exactly what Helios was expecting.

Opening his hands, he suddenly tossed the paper upward as if he was teaching a baby bird how to fly. But instead of falling down like any bird would their first time, his enchanted paper took the air flawlessly, hovering expectantly at him.

Appreciating his perfect work, Helios let out a prideful huff and smirked. "Hmph, as impeccable as always,"

"Well done, young master," Sebastian complimented, passing him as he gave Helios a pat on the head and begin to follow the paper, which now was slowly drifting away. Presumably to where Adrian is if his spell is working correctly. "Now let's go, if you don't want this attempt to go to waste."

"C-coming!"

Helios followed behind, just off of the Border Collie's eyesight enough to hide his blush.

~~~

"Ugh... Are we there yet?" Helios let out an audible groan, venting his frustration for the whole forest to hear. Might as well, considering the fact that his legs have been yelling at him to stop for the past minutes.

Why didn't they stop to buy a horse...

"I don't know, young master. Have you tried asking the paper you enchanted?" That was sarcasm, but Helios was too tired that he might actually consider it at this point.

"How about you give me a piggyback ride? Please?"

"Quite unlikely with all the luggage I'm carrying," as if to prove his point, Sebastian adjusted the stuff he was carrying. Two pouches on one hand, and a big, hefty bag on the other, completely unsuited for piggyback rides at all, sadly.

All while Helios has nothing but a purse containing his books and money on his side.

"Ugh, fine! Give me your backpack! I'll carry it. Now carry m-"

Sebastian's hand covered his mouth, again.

What is it now? Helios grumbled his hand, quite sick of it, frankly.

Sebastian, instead of giving any answer, simply flicked his muzzle to the open clearing of the forest just off the beaten path. There, he saw... a couple of men with a parked horse-driven cart?

Seriously? Did you shut me up for this? He tried to say under Sebastian's hand.

As if sensing his complaint, Sebastian guided his eyes with the other hand to where he was looking and pointed at it. Behind the furthest wheel, there he saw a figure resting against it. He seems to be quite filthy and beaten as if he was dragged through the mud and back and was put there like a sack of flour. And yet, despite all of this, he could see through the dirt blemishes covering him, enough to reveal the reddish color of the fur.

Adrian?

Sebastian nodded, and finally let go of his hand.

"Give me a minute. I'll take care of them, young master." He said, preparing to engage. But before the Border Collie could step out, Helios was quicker, reaching out to stop him on his shoulder.

The human leaned in, whispering. "Wait, I have an idea..."

~~~

Adrian felt nothing but pain...

From his limbs to his muzzle, everywhere was an aching mess of blood, dust, and clothed fur. His clothes were torn from the resulting fight, leaving parts of him exposed to the chilling wind. On the plus side though, at least nothing of Adrian was broken, yet. He'd stopped trying to escape for now, or else his bruised leg would become a broken one for real this time...

"Tch," The tallest among the three, a slim caracal, shot Adrian a dirty look as he massaged the left side of his muzzle. "Think the fucker broke something in my jaw."

The human, a bit shorter than the caracal and more on the stocky side, scoffed. "Pussy. Can't even take a punch from that tweeb."

"Hey, that bitch gave you a knee in the stomach too! So don't go all high and mighty on me!" The caracal spat back.

"HE ONLY GOT THAT KICK IN BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HOLD HIM TIGHT ENOUGH, YOU IDIO-"

"Quiet! Both of you!" A commanding, grouchy voice interrupted their argument. It was the third bandit, the hyena. Though the shortest of the bunch, his eyes, combined with the intimidating burn scar covering half of his face, made his gaze into a permanent death glare. That of which was now currently directed at the two bickering males.

Both the caracal and the human stopped, obeying their "Boss", as much as the two hate to admit it.

"The whole goddamn forest can hear both of 'ya, I swear to gods..." The hyena mumbled a sigh as he turned to look at the beaten-up Adrian and mused. "Now, how should I take care of you, I wonder..."

"Break his legs and left him a creak to fucking die, that's what we should do..." The caracal with a broken jaw bitterly chimed in.

"Idiot," said the human. "killing 'im ain't gonna fix your muzzle. Might as well sell him off to some trader, get some medicine and call it a day. The mutt is in good shape, so we might get a fat pay for him."

Their suggestions fell on deaf ears, as their boss, hand on his chin, have a different idea in mind. Of course, as usual, he did not share what he has in mind with the other two, but the sinister smile that grew on his lips was enough of an indicator for them to know that something was cooking.

"You two, haul the bastard on the cart." He turned around and commanded. "We're handing him over to Big Boss."

"How about you hand him over to me instead?"

Almost instantly, the three turned to where the voice came from. Stepping out of the forest was a finely dressed young man, donning a sleek, black suit despite the harsh sunlight. For a brief moment, the gang assumed their fighting stance. But that, however, did not last long as the initial element of surprise wore off and the hyena realized how... small and weak the human looked, almost like a prissy, overly-confident rich boy type of way. The clearly valuable gem proudly displayed on his chest did not help his case much either.

"Fuck, someone saw us!" The caracal reached for his knife. "What do we do boss?"

I'll tell you what you should do, you villainous fiends," Helios interjected, "Free my confidant of your wretched coils this instance, or else, I, Helios von Eichwald, shall deliver heavenly retributions."

The three of them exchanged a glance, all painted with nothing but sheer, utter confusion. Is this... some sort of bit? Or is the human boy some sort of prettied-up asylum escapee that just happened to stumble here? That was what the three bandits wondered, forgetting to give any sort of response but puzzled stares, which caused Helios to let out an audibly frustrated huff.

"Hmph! Fine then! If you so choose to ignore my warning, then let that be your last!" Without wasting another second, Helios triumphantly raised his hand toward the sky as he strike a cool pose. But to others, including the gagged Adrian, it just made him look like he had scoliosis. "Come, o' mighty power which rested high above! As your master, I ordered thee to strike down these fools!"

Crickets...

"Ahem!" Helios cleared his throat. "I said, "Strike down these fools"."

And yet, nothing came striking down. Fumbling, Helios took a step back as the caracal, knife in his hand, took a step forward.

"H-hold on there! Just give it a second!" Helios tried to reason, but that did nothing asides from making the feline's face curl into a smirk.

Then, something unexpected happened.

A bolt of pure, glowing light suddenly streaked the caracal straight on his back with a loud twack. The male let out a loud scream, then, fell on his knee as his body hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Both Helios and the other two took a moment to stare at the fallen caracal in sheer shock, but Helios was quicker to regain his composure. Before the groaning feline could even begin to haul himself back up, Helios, hot on his heels, stomped the male back down again as he put on a domineering smile.

"Ha! Now have you heathens learned your lesson yet? Surrender now or else I might even entertain the notion of sparing you."

"F-fuck... What do we do now, boss?" The taller human turned to his leader and asked. a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. But the hyena was too busy to respond. Instead, his vision was directed upward into the sky as he tried to figure out where the shot came from.

It was... an utterly futile attempt. The sun was shining brightly overhead and against his best effort, the hyena still couldn't distinguish the bright sky from the raining bolts of light until it was too late.

"Boss, watch out!"

The human screamed as he forcefully shoved his boss to the side, barely half a second before another bolt struck the hyena. Instead, it struck the human directly, causing him to let out a painful shout before meeting the same fate as the caracal: Helplessly down to the ground, with at least a broken bone.

That's two out of three...

Shitshitshitshit! The hyena's eyes were now wide open, staring at the small, unimposing human in front of him with nothing but fear. Clutching the danger in his hands, with trembling legs the hyena was now too afraid to even consider approaching the boy, dreading what sort of tricks he might pull out next if he does.

No, he has to be smart about this.

Like a gust of wind, the hyena quickly turned around and tried to scurry back to their cart, barely dodging the bolt that was heading directly at him. He ran and ran and ran, dodging bolts after bolts as they pursued him.

Thud, thud, thud... The sound of each bolt hitting the ground echoed loudly upon the ground as the hyena barely out-running them. Finally, for what felt like an eternity, the hyena arrived at the cart. And without hesitation, dived behind the cart, grabbing Adrian by the neck, pressing the sharp dagger dangerously close to vital with the other while forcing him to stand up.

"S-stop!" The hyena huffed. "A...Another arrow and the mutt gets it." As if to prove his conviction, the male drove the pointed edge closer to Adrian's neck, pushing past his fur and sending a drop of blood trickling down.

Feeling the pain, Adrian instinctively yelled for the human, "Helios, stop it! He's going to kill me!"

"O-okay!" Helios paused dead in his track, raising his hands up in the air for the hyena to see. "I'm stopping, I'm stopping! Just don't hurt him!"

The bandit held their stance for a couple more seconds, just long enough for him to realize that the rain of bolts had stopped completely.

"G-good..." The male mumbled. "Now, what I want i-"

"Just let him go and I'll give you whatever you want, okay?" Helios suddenly speak up, which caused something to snap in the hyena.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He scowled and threateningly pressed the dagger into Adrian's neck even further, which caused the red wolf to scream in pain more.

"I, and only I, make the bargain from now on. You fucking hear me?!"

Helios nodded.

"And don't fucking try any of your tricks on my watch, you hear?! One wrong move and his blood will be on your hand, keep that in mind, bitch."

Worriedly, Helios took a step back, showing the canine his willingness to comply.

"Good, good... Now throw me that jewel on your chest." The hyena said with a flick of his dagger.

That caused Helios to snap back at him, confusion in his voice. "What? Why?!"

"Because it looks valuable, duh?! Give it to me and I promise I won't touch even a single hair on the mutt. Consider it as payment for his life, if you will."

'F-fine... But how will I know if you would keep your end of the deal?"

The hyena scoffed and flashed his fang at Helios, "I will, don't you worry. It's a bandit thing. We won't go against our pact. We have our integrity, after all."

Of course, like most people when a known criminal made a promise to them, Helios did not buy into his words even for a little single bit. But... Asides from that, Helios doesn't see himself having that much of an option either. It's either comply or have Adrian's throat slit. And regarding the latter, the human isn't ready to face Adrian's mother about her son's soon-to-be state...

I shouldn't have asked Sebastian to do this... Helios thought, tightening his grasp around the precious jewel on his chest. What should I do?

"I'm giving you three seconds!" The thug rushed and startled Helios's thoughts with his booming voice.

Sebastian, help me... He tried to look around for his trusty canine companion. He was supposed to be stationed around here somewhere, but right now, the human can't spot even a strand of Sebastian's white fur among the sea of greens surrounding them.

Then, he heard a rustle.

It was faint, extremely faint, almost like a squirrel running up a tree, like the sound of the wind weaving through the trees. The thug did not have enough time to react, nor did he care enough to, assuming it was just some wild animal passing by. But Helios do, and he responded with a smile and a wave.

Not at the hyena, but to what was behind him.

The hyena's dagger arm bent back with a boney snap and a leg slammed, hard, on his chest, thrusting his stomach unnaturally forward, pushing Adrian off of his grasp completely. The action caused the chubby male to let out a screeching yowl of pain, greater than the other two's by miles. Then, without missing a beat and despite his weight, the hyena was flipped around, straight onto the ground into a pinned position.

"Phew~" Helios let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods you helped in time, Sebastian."