Journey into Briar (Ch.1)
Author's Note: This is my first attempt as any story that I've bothered submitting, and it's turning out to be more of a beast than I bargained for. I'm sure there's some writing or grammatical errors, feel free to overlook those.
What I had intended to be a single short story looks like it may turn into a series. I'm not sure when I'll finish the next chapter, I'm not sure I'll finish the series, I'm not sure if ninjas will invade my home while I sleep and kill me. Life is very uncertain =D.
And standard disclaimer: If you are under 18, reading this will cause irreparable damage to your brain. Author is not responsible for this damage or any laws, local, state or federal you may break by reading said material.
Journey into Briar
The air was dry, but cool in the twilight of the day. Rekkar walked down a dusty trail once again as he journey to the south continued. While not quite a desert, he could tell by the fading foliage that he may be heading into dryer and possibly dangerous territory. The Lupin grimaced across his muzzle; he surely didn't have the supplies to make a trek across a desert he knew nothing about. He sighed as he mulled this over in his head as he crested the hill he'd been walking up and in the fading light of the sun the lights from the town on the other side was a beacon.
It had been a long time since Rekkar has seen the glow of a town and he was glad to finally find one. A life of adventuring is all well and good, but even the most hardened adventured pines for a dry bed and a hot meal they didn't have to hunt down themselves. Besides, after being trapped inside his leather and mail armor for weeks, the Lupin thought he could well stand a nice warm bath; afterall, his thick white fur was turning a rather dingy color.
It had been years since leaving his village, but Rekkar didn't regret that part of being on the road. Had he not left he surely wouldn't have seen so many of the wondrous sights the world had to offer. His village had only contained other Lupins such as himself, and growing up that's all he knew. Rekkar took a moment to reflect back on the many different types of Folk he'd met, fought against and fought with in the time since he left home to find his way in the world. He wondered what he would find in this town. Whatever they are he hoped that they had a free market, the bag slung over his shoulder with the spoils of his travels was starting to weigh heavy and he'd be happy to turn that into some coin.
Rekkar's foot pads continued to turn up dust as he made his way to the town's entrance. Like most towns of any size, there was a wall around it, but it appeared that some homes and shops had sprung up outside those initial walls, a good sign of a town that is prosperous. He spotted what appeared to be a could of guards, one to each side of the main gate, the scents of the town masked to what race they might be, however, the smells of blood, fear, rage, and other indicators of a hostile society were also not present, another good sign. He smiled to himself, luck was certainly with him today, soon he would be enjoying a little bit of civilization and he was looking forward to it.
Finally upon arriving at the gates he found himself looking down at the two guardsmen as they looked up at him. He found himself tilting his head as he tried to identify what they may be. Both had long ears for which their helms had been made to accommodate, short muzzles...and an overbite? No, they were slightly bucked teeth. Finally it came to him, Lapins. However, these Lapins seem thinner, or perhaps wiry is more the word he was looking for. They seemed to be looking up at him with the same curiosity mixed with a little apprehension, Rekkar towered over them by at least a foot a piece and it was unlikely they had seen many Lupins come this way.
"E-excuse me, Sir" the one on the left piped up, voice high but male, probably young though, "Welcome, um, to the Township of Briar. Um, but you will have to surrender your weapons to the guard tower, they, um, aren't allowed within the town's walls."
Rekkar half grinned down at the Lapin, which caused the smaller male to cringe back a moment before Rekkar realized he was showing off his fangs. It had been countless generations ago since the Dark Times, as it was commonly referred to, when the predatory races fed on the plant eating ones, before civilization was even a dream in the minds of the Folk. No one knows when the cycle was broken, as records are poor from the time, but eventually the predators, for unknown reasons, took to killing and feeding only on non-sentient animals and from there, the world began to change.
"Uh....Sir?" Rekkar blinked as the guard spoke again, realizing he'd once given in to letting his mind wander. He gruffed and nodded a bit. "Very well...I wasn't planning on fighting in here anyway..."
Rekkar started to unbuckle the sword belt from his waist, and pulling the spear from it's sling on his back. The sword was something he picked up in his adventuring, but the spear was an heirloom, carved with runes and passed to him from his father. After a moment, he finally passed both the weapons to the small guard who seemed to have just a little trouble with the over-sized, for him, burden. Along with the weapons he passed the guard a gold coin "I should like to find my things in good condition upon my leaving, understood?" though knowing his voice was firm, like with anyone else, he was sure the gold coin has a louder voice. The Lapin guard smiled a bit and simply nodded before taking the items to the guard house and with that, Rekkar stepped into the town proper.
Hefting his satchel a little higher on his back Rekkar felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He sighed, off all the battles he had fought without as much of a scratch, he ends up getting stabbed in the arm in a bar fight of all things. At least he learned an important lesson that night, never take a Bruin's challenge to a drinking contest; damn bear-men can put them away unlike anything he's ever seen before. Of course, slapping the challenger's girlfriend on the ass probably wasn't his best decision either. Live and learn.
Shaking those thoughts from his head he took the time to look around the town itself. Unlike the wood or stone structures he was accustomed to seeing in other parts of the world, it seemed all the buildings here were covered in plaster, mostly white but some red and a few other colors. Instead of being simply functional, they seemed almost as if they were decoration as well with arches, pillars, balconies all very artful.
The inhabitants themselves seemed to favor dressing in light colored robes, suitable for the high sun of the area he supposed. The males seem to prefer full long sleeved robes that come up to loosely cover the neck, and some of the females seem to as well. More noticeably, however, were the females that wore considerably less. Many wore skirts that while they came down to their ankles were slit up both sides all the way to the waist, showing off plenty of leg and thigh as they walked. Their tops also light and revealing, shoving off their a bit of belly and cleavage as well; likely these were the yet unmated females.
Unfortunately for Rekkar's taste, most every female he laid eyes on was a bit too petite for his taste with slender hips and though their tops should be revealing, most didn't have enough chest to really pull it off. Despite this he enjoyed the occasional flirtatious giggle he got from one or another as he made his way to market though more than a few kept well clear, Rekkar assuming some just some were not comfortable with a predatory race in their town.
The reaction he got from the first merchant at Market was someone the same, that is, until he produced the goods he had for sale. It's amazing that the chance for profit quickly undead any initial uneasiness on the behalf of these Lapins, but then again, his goods were very nice. Some were simple fabrics, taken as payments for jobs in other towns, though what is commonplace in one area becomes exotic in another. Others were figurines or other trinkets, either taken as payment or taken of bodies from those that had to be...dealt with. He even had a few genuine dragon scales, those he had lucked upon, apparently having been shed by their owner recently. The stories of a single Folk killing one of those massive beasts were just that, stories. Even their smaller, civilized cousins, the Draken steered well away from true dragons, those things don't care who they eat.
His big seller were artifacts from the Ancients, a race of people who lived on this world long before the folk. Even small pieces from their time sold remarkably well, usually bought by those who liked to study them, but more often by those who simply collected them as trophies. All in all, he was making himself quite a profit in this little town. However, at the last merchant, Rekkar found himself with a bit of trouble with the merchant wanting to haggle on the price of his last Ancient artifact.
"Ah, yes Lupin, while I see it is in fact a fine artifact, some sort of puzzle box, yes? However...the market in this town for Ancient artifacts isn't as strong as it once was...."
"Nonsense!" Rekkar could hear the growl developing in his throat. "This piece is easily worth 10 times the amount you are proposing!"
The merchant gave a nonchalant shrug. "Despite your beliefs, good sir, no other merchants you will find in this market would give such a price for such a...trinket. Ten silver is the offer, take it, or take your wares elsewhere."
Rekkar had dealt with his share of pushy merchants, but this one's attitude rubbed him the wrong way. He began to lift his right paw up to stuff a finger in the Lapin's face when suddenly his palm came into something soft while his ears picked up the sound that was the mix of a squeak and an "Oh!".
He turned his head to the side to see a young and surprisingly full-figured Lapin girl that had sneaked up to his right. One could even go as far to say she was a little on the chubby side with a full swell of chest, flare of hips and more than a little pudge to her belly. Her fur was a lovely cream color though her outfit showed a white underbelly. She wore the outfit of an unmated female as well, the slits in her skirts allowing Rekkar a fine view of her hips and thighs.
"Um, excuse me....Mr. Lupin...hello? Your paw..." the soft, feminine voice called to him a few times before he realized not only staring, his paw had failed to remove itself from the softness it felt, which turned out to be this strange Lapin's rump. Realizing his error Rekkar quickly jerked his paw away, coughing a bit as he did so. Oh no, this is the Bruin bar fight scenario all over again!
"Er, sorry about that Miss, no offence intended..." Rekkar looked around for the possible approach of guards or any eyes that may be turned on him now, however, the still pack market still moved at its quick shuffle, in such a packed area, no one seemed to notice his faux paux.
The girl simply gave him a wry smile then turned her attention to the artifact that the merchant, despite claims of market problems, was still eying greedily. "Well, look at that! My uncle buys these when he can, I'm sure he'll pay your asking price, Mr. Lupin". At those words the merchant's force business smile turned into an unmistakable frown as the piece was being taken from his nose. Rekkar picked up the small box and nodded to the Lapin girl "Lead the way then, Miss."
As he started to turn away from the merchant's table, he distinctly heard the words "Fat ass" mumbled from the merchant once he thought the girl, and likely himself were out of ear shot. Perhaps it was a good thing he had to check his weapons in earlier or he'd been sorely tempted to leave that merchant with a scar to remember him by. Even as the thought mulled in his mind his guide was quickly pulling away through the crowd, forcing him to push his way through the crowd to keep up.
"It's just a little ways up the road here, my Uncle owns one of the largest inns in Brair. By the way, you can call me Jules" the girl called over her shoulder at him as she walked.
"Mm, Jules" Rekkar nodded, repeating the name for memory. "I am Rekkar...from the Northern Lands." He stayed slightly behind the girl, a couple feet back, keeping himself to her left and constantly scanning the streets as they walked. Full night had descended on the town, but the streets were lit with several well placed lamps. Though on more than one moment during the walk he found himself watching the way Jules' backside moved under her skirt, her teardrop tail poking up above the waist band that held it up. Those full cheeks were the kind Rekkar could appreciate, and in the midst of all the too skinny Lapins in this town, maybe if he played his cards right...
"Ahem?" Once more Jules voice broke his train of through and brought his view from her backside to her face once again. That wry smile from last time let him know that he'd been caught, though if she minded, her body language didn't seem to say so. "Well, here we are, The Meadow, my uncle's Inn" Jules announced, pushing open the front door and showing Rekkar inside.
Like the outside, the inside of the inn was well illuminated, a lamp on each table and some on the walls as well. In a prosperous town this inn also was prosperous as well. Rekkar only had a moment to look about before slender fingers wrapped about his wrist, tugging at him.
"Never seen an inn before Rekkar?" she teased. "Come on, my Uncle will be upstairs in his office." And with that the girl started up the stairs. How long had it been since he had the company of a female? A few moons at least. When one leads the life of an adventurer, Rekkar found that company is usually bought in a brothel should the next town have one. This was obviously no brothel girl with him now, however.
Coming to an unnumbered door, Jules gave it a couple of short knocks before a muffled "Come in" came from the other side. Rekkar saw an older male Lapin sitting behind a desk writing in a ledger that seemed more than a little surprised at the company his niece was bringing in. "Um, Jules, who is your friend there?" the Lapin managed to get out working a nervous titter out of his voice.
"Uncle Sylus, this is Rekkar, a traveler from the Northern Lands" Jules turned her face up to Rekkar, flashing a bright smile over he slightly chubby face, which forced a smile over his own muzzle. "Rekkar here has something that I think you might be interested in, Uncle?"
"Oh?" Sylus replied, seeming to settle down a bit after hearing there may be something for him involved. "Well, Rekkar was it? What is it you have for me?"
"It's an item from the time of Ancients...I acquired it in my travels..." Rekkar spoke as he slung his pack from his shoulder again, once more feeling the sharp twinge of pain from the wound in his arm. He hadn't sewn it up too well, not being adept with his left paw at sewing as with his right. He had also run out of his usual medicinal herbs after the injury. The pain was a good mental note to get it looked at here and stock on first aid supplies.
Sylus seemed not to notice Rekkar's discomfort, the Lapin's eyes having lit up once the mention of an artifact was made. Jules on the other paw seemed to reach up to touch the wound, the mark not having escaped her notice, but pulled away as he produced the puzzle box from his bag. "As you can see, this puzzle box is in near perfect condition, none of its squares are missing a single color, and its joints are still working order" Rekkar went though his pitch as he rehearsed it in his head since he "found" the cube. The fact that he found it in the den of some alchemist the local village wanted disposed of was of little consequence.
For his part, Sylus could barely hide his excitement at seeing the puzzle box. "Th-Thirty gold! I'll throw in room and board for your stay in Briar, Good Lupin, what do you say, Rekkar?"
Rekkar did his best to hide his astonishment at the offer, he had only expected to get 10 gold for the object in the market, now to be offered three times that plus lodgings? Despite the offer, Rekkar kept his face straight and said nothing for awhile, bringing a paw up to his chin, rubbing it in fake consideration. He cast his glance to Jules once more, the lovely girl giving him that knowing smile once again, but for her part, she kept her hands behind her back, saying nothing.
"Thirty gold and a room for a few days? Hmmmm....." Rekkar let his words trail, continuing his charade of consideration. It's never a good idea to agree TOO quickly.
"Alright!" Sylus blurted out. "Thirty-Five Gold and board, but that's my final offer!" The Lapin seemed on the verge of panting, his eyes locked on the cube in Rekkar's paw. It was time to let him off the hook.
"Sold, it's yours!" Rekkar carefully placed the puzzle box on Sylus's desk, at the same time the Lapin opened up a lock box, counting out the thirty-five gold and pouring the coins in a small sack, pressing it tightly in Rekkar's paw. "Good, good! Very good doing business with you Good Sir. Jules! Show our guest to his room and get him a meal, Access to the baths as well." The Lapin spoke quickly, rising form his desk, placing a paw on both Rekkar's and Jules shoulders. "Now, if you two don't mind, I'm still rather busy and need some privacy, I'm sure I'll see you in the inn later Rekkar, Good night!" and with that, both Rekakr and Jules were nearly pushed out the office, the door closed quickly behind them.
Both Rekkar and Jules stood outside a moment, slightly stunned by their abrupt eviction from Sylus' office, but it wasn't long before Jules suddenly broke out into girlish giggles.
"Thirty-five gold?" the lapin girl grinned up at him as she finally moved from the closed office door. "Maybe I should have told my uncle what you were getting at the Market?" Before Rekkar could even open his muzzle, Jules placed her index finger on the end of it. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything. After all, with that kind of coin you could probably show a girl a good time..." and with that she started her way down stairs.
Rekkar shook his head and just chuckled. Either his mind was playing trick on him or Jules was flirting with him. Regardless the girl was right, that little sale was the biggest he had made all day, in fact, it doubled his profits form earlier in the evening. The Lupin smiled to himself, it had been a while since his coin purse was so heavy and he intended to enjoy it.
To be continued...