FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Between the blisteringly cold wind trying to blast her backwards and the treacherous stone steps covered in several inches of slick ice, Embla was beginning to believe that the mountain itself was against them reaching the top. She also was remembering why this shrine was so rarely visited. The heavy fabric of her coat was doing little to stop the wind from chilling her to the bone and she wasn't sure if her feet were even still in her boots or if they had been replaced with blocks of ice. She paused in her climb to cast a glare at her escort, the large stony faced badger ignored her and continued up the side of the mountain unhindered by the weather. As she looked for the safest path she silently fantasized that a simple push would put the male out of her misery and free her from this farce of a quest. At the moments she dared take her eyes off the ice beneath her booted feet she glared daggers at the back of his head.

His name was Ozias Stoneshield. He was a wall of muscle covered in armor and finished off with a constant sour expression. The women of Belja's Nook, where he was captain of the guard, thought he was divine. Embla thought the local bartender, who also happened to be a badger, was certainly a more acceptable member of the species. To add to his abysmal traits, he was a devotee of Altas- the god of justice and light. She supposed she should be thankful for that little fact however, as it was only his devotion to his own god that had saved her when he had caught her filching the most beautiful and biggest fire opal Embla had ever seen from Altas's temple.

The memory was still a bit embarrassing. When she had seen the opal some inexplicable urge had overtaken her. Her palms got itchy just to hold it and before she knew it she had slipped it inside her coin purse. He must have seen her take it, but he waited until she was just outside the temple to stop her. "What, you think just because I'm a raccoon, that means I'm a thief?" She had cried. Instead of responding he simply slit the bottom of the leather purse. The glittering gem had thunked neatly in his palm before she even had a chance to protest properly.

The lie came easily to her lips, and at the time it had been rather genius in her own opinion. "That opal an artifact of the god Corsurus and was stolen from his temple!" Of course the accusation that the god of justice had something stolen from another god demanded that he ensure the return of the gem. That was how Embla had ended up trudging up the side of a mountain to apparently the only shrine dedicated to Corsurus, the god of night and shadows, sarcastically referred to as the Forever Cat by the coon, for reasons that she hadn't offered to explain. She also decided not to mention that he was rather highly revered by thieves and assassins.

The little stone hut nestled against the side of the mountain certainly didn't seem like the sort of grandiose place that a thief god would make his earthly home, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. The idea had been to lose the badger somewhere on the trip up here, but his insistence of being at her side at all times had made that all but impossible. She only hoped that once they artifact had been delivered she could shake him before he decided that a theft was still a theft even if done for decent reasons. She also sincerely hoped that the god would be in a merciful mood and wouldn't decide to make his presence known long enough to tell Ozias that he'd never seen the jewel before but thanks for the donation.

Embla had been concentrating so hard on her escape plan that when she reached the top of the steps unexpectedly she bumped into the back of the armor-cladbadger. She slipped backwards with a half silenced screech. He moved faster than she would expect from a guy as bulky as him and effortlessly caught her and pulled her back to her feet, a tad painfully, by her wrist. A disapproving glance was all she got before he turned his attention back to the unmarked smooth stone door before them. For the first time since this trip started he deignedto say more than a couple words to her. "Do you know how to open it?"

The raccoon was still a bit startled from the near-death experience and gave him a wild eyed look that made him shake his head and settle back into rock-like silence. Once she was sure that he wasn't looking she rolled her eyes and started to actually survey their surroundings. "We're looking for a small cat statue with a offering bowl." She said, looking around the area until she found what she was looking for buried under some snow. The little statue appeared to be made of some kind glistening black stone and under the layer of snow seemed to suck in all the light around it. "Let me have a couple silver coins." She said, holding out her hand. He started to tell her no but he remembered that this was a journey for his god. He grudgingly placed them into her hand, half expecting her to try to scurry down the side of the mountain with them. Ozias watched her with expressionless black eyes as she wiped the snow from the little offering bowl and put the coins inside. His expression turned disapproving again when the coins melted into the bowl and disappeared from sight. He started to question the little display but the grinding of stone against stone halted him.

The door slid upwards and a small room became visible. It appeared to be without decoration, only a little merry fire burning in a fireplace against the wall showing that it wasn't simply an abandoned hut. Once they were both inside the door slid back shut behind them. The guard looked around the room skeptically, a frown settling back on his face. "This is a temple?" Ozias's patience was quickly wearing thin. He had doubted this story from the beginning but now it was seeming even less likely. "I see no altar or priests."

Embla ignored his protests and shucked her boots off to warm her toes by the fire. "Just wait a moment," her voice was chiding, like she was reprimanding a child trying to get extra dessert. She gestured to an empty chair by the fire. "Get warm, it won't please your god for your armor to freeze together and you become a statue on the side of a mountain." Though it would certainly please her, she added silently. He sat stiffly, as if expecting an ambush at any moment. The longer time went by without anything happening the more nervous he appeared to get until finally he stood.

"This is all in farce. Where are we really?' he demanded and as she opened her mouth to answer the fireplace slid back in the wall revealing a set of stairs.

"You are in the temple of the Night Father, master of shadows and keeper of the stars." The voice drifted up the steps. It was male, and so smooth that Embla could practically feel the words slide across her skin. A pair of orange eyes appeared followed by a sleek cat, ebony in color from the bottom of his feet to the tips of his ears. Like the statue he seemed to suck the light from the air around him. "Embla, you came when called, how unlike you."

The raccoon frowned, looking uncertainly at the feline. "I wasn't called here, I came because I told him... um... about the jewel that I was ah..." She fell silent. She wasn't sure if this was a priest of Corsurus or the god himself. She didn't want to get caught lying to a god so she couldn't say that she had been sent to retrieve the jewel. "Um... I... err we that is, brought this jewel." She nodded to the badger. He had been adamant that the opal stay in his possession until it was back in the rightful home.

"Oh but what do you think made you decide to take such a heavily guarded gem, my dear?" The cat's laugh was smokey, and seemed to ring about the whole room. "I thank you for your services, but I'm afraid you're far from done."

The badger seemed to realize at this point that this cat was the earthly embodiment of a god and bowed his head slightly when Corsurus looked at him. "You're the kind of guy that gets things done... you'll see that she stays motivated until the end." He reached out and touched the badger on the left side of his chest. A large cat's paw print appeared in black on the shiny silver of his armor. He placed one on Embla's shoulder that had a circle of six stars around it. All but one were black. One glowed faintly red. "These won't fade until you have done my bidding, and even if you resist you will be drawn towards your goal. This opal is one in a set of six gems in a necklace that belongs to me. The jewels will call out to you, Embla, but do not expect them all to be as easy for you to obtain as this one." With that the cat was gone and the room as it was before, with the very notable exceptions of the fire being out and the door was back open.

Ozias looked at the raccoon, who was vigorously rubbing at the paw print trying to smudge it off her clothes. It was only when she peeled the sleeve off that she realized it had imprinted not only onto her clothes but onto her fur and probably the skin beneath as well. She caught the badger's eyes and could swear she saw a little smirk on his face. "Why are you happy? You're just as trapped in this as I am." She snapped.

"I am simply pleased that you did not lie to me, and amused that you thought that you did." He said and slid his pack back on. "Let's go, thief."

"I hate you," she growled under her breath and narrowed her eyes when he actually chuckled. With a little resigned sigh she put her boots back on and prepared to head back down the mountain. Just as the god had promised, she felt something tugging her towards the East.