FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER 7

author's note: I have finally decided on a monetary system for the world of Condea. The coins come in the three basic metals of copper, silver, and gold, in the denominations of Faths and Gillis. 10 Faths make a Gilli, and 5 Gillis make a Fath of the next metal, for instance, 10 copper Faths amount to a copper Gilli, and 5 copper Gillis make a silver Fath and so on.

for reference of worth, the average farmer makes no more than 200 gold Gillis a year, and feeding a family of 4 consumes approximately 3/4 of that. Anything over 600 gold gillis is considered a small fortune.

while not truly important information, it will help you understand the money transactions more clearly as i use the new system. :end author's note

Inside the vault, everyone had found what items to suit their needs, and were mostly just browsing and fine-tuning their selections. Some of them were ooohing and ahhhing over some of the flashier items, while a few were more interested in the more mundane looking. Firus had made his way over to one of the display tables with small items on it about half way up the wall when he spotted some that really caught his interest.

"Kanto," he called over his shoulder. "Come up here and look at this."

Kanto who had been busily studying a small totem looked up to see his brother two nooks above him. "Just a second." He called before making his way over to the nearby ladder.

He grasped each rung like his life depended on it as he ascended the wooden device, a little unsure of his footing. He finally made it up to the area where Firus was and stepped off the ladder onto the much more stable feeling floor. "I swear I'll never get used to those things as long as I live like this." He walked over to where his sibling was standing next to the display case.

Firus looked at him with a grin on his face. "You should try climbing a rope." He said mockingly. He laughed a little as Kanto shuddered at the idea.

"I'm not used to climbing anything that doesn't feel like solid rock under my paws." He said weakly. He shook again slightly at the vision of climbing a rope which would sway and shiver and rock. It made his blood curdle. "So what did you want to show me?" He asked trying to change the subject.

Firus turned to him with an object in each paw. "This," he opened one paw to reveal what looked like a broken instrument string. "And this," he opened his other paw to show what looked like a very small wooden whistle, no bigger than his thumb.

Kanto examined the items and looked up at his brother quizzically.

"Watch." The larger wolf said. He put the whistle back down on the case before gripping the string in his hand and saying quietly so as not to draw attention, "Harp." The string in his hand appeared to become rigid and grow forming the column of a medium sized harp, before it went on to form the base, the soundboard and the neck. It seemed to magically sprout and grow strings from the wood. Firus set the harp on the ground as it started to really grow as it stood about four to five feet tall. He pulled a stool out from its hiding place beside the table and brought it over to the harp, he sat down and placed his fingers on the strings.

"I learned how to play some stringed instruments a little at the academy. They taught us some limited art forms as a way to unwind and reduce the stress." He began to quietly pluck a few notes to a song that neither of them recognized. "The notes just appear in your head and you use your own talent to play. It says one the card that it'll give you notes to any song you know, or just a random song along any lines you want." He thought about a little local folk song and the notes blossomed in his head as if his mind was a score. He plucked at the strings quietly so no one else would hear it. He stopped playing as he reached the chorus. He reached around to grab the column of the harp. "Collapse." The harp seemed to grow in reverse collapsing itself back into the original string.

He placed the string back onto the table and dug into his pouch, placing a button on it. "And this," He said retrieving the whistle. "Is the string's brother." He held the whistle flat on his palm. "Flute." The whistle grew in size till it was about two feet long, and suddenly holes appeared along the length. The whistle's mouth piece disappeared and gave way to a small hole near the end of the instrument. Firus put the flute to his lips and gave a gentle blow, slowly guiding his fingers so he didn't give a sour note. After two or three notes, he lowered the flute saying, "I didn't learn how to play this unfortunately, but the best part of the instruments is this." He gripped the flute in his hand and said, "Syrinx." The flute started to immediately widen and divide into two rows of several tubes, each being smaller than the last until the last was about ten inches long. "These two items can become any instrument related to to their original form. The string can become anything with strings, even bowed instruments, and the whistle can become anything blown. Whistle." The syrinx shrank into itself melding the tubes into a single whistle again.

He placed the whistle back onto the case and reached into Kanto's bag, placing one of his brother's buttons on the whistle. Kanto started to protest that he didn't have any idea how to play an instrument since he had never had fingers and thumbs before, but Firus stopped him. "I have an idea with these, and I said that you use your own talent, not learned skill to play. If you have talent, your fingers will just seem to fly over the instrument. It's all right here on the card. And as you know, Mother was quite skilled with instruments, and that runs in blood. If I'm right you'll have inherited a part of the as well as I have." Firus said in a low voice. He handed his brother the card that went along with the whistle, which did indeed say everything Kanto had just been told.

Kanto looked up at his older brother with a suspicious look on his face. "And what exactly do you have planned for these?"

Firus smiled, and put an arm around his brother's shoulders. "That, Kanto," he said with an air of one imparting a great secret. "Is why I didn't play loud enough for anyone to hear, not even Hatako who is about a hundred feet away. We're going to put on a little show eventually, and we're going to be playing for our mates."

Kanto looked at his brother. "She's not my mate..." He said a little sadly.

Firus grinned at his younger brother. "Trust me, there is a yet to your statement. She looks at you with a particular hunger that is rather unmistakable. And I believe that the two of you becoming mates is as inevitable as the sun rising and setting."

Kanto smiled a little. "When did you start speaking so formally?"

Firus chuckled. "Damn, Tabol must be rubbing off on me."

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Sayuri was down on the ground floor looking at a display table on the same wall as Firus and Kanto. She was examining some rather unusual items, including a brooch that look like a live scarab, it's legs and jaws kept moving, a necklace that appeared to be strung together from bones, and some rings that looked like they had clear gems each containing something different. These rings caught her eye as she picked up the card next to them.

"Rings of Communication. These rings allow communication over great distances, even when the speakers are on the other side of the continent. Each ring has a unique item "encased" in it's gem and the speakers must attune their rings to each other in order to communicate. Such attuning will not change the item in the rings gem, instead it will appear that the attuned rings will have two items. Their original item, and the item that the other ring originally carried. Attunement is simple and is done merely by placing the ring on your finger and thinking of the other ring's item while it is being worn by someone else. Communication is done by the same, and lasts as long as you think of the item. There are no other known uses for these rings."

Interesting, she mused, could come in handy. She looked them over and saw one that caught her eye. Encased inside the gem was a tiny wildfire, burning as if fed by an entire forest, yet giving off no light of it's own. She picked up the ring and looked at it more closely, staring into the flame that seemed to rage and roil, yet gave no heat. She reached to put it down as she saw another ring, this one encasing a tiny, pink lily. There's no way I'm letting them go now, she thought. She put the ring down next to the one with the lily in it and reached into her bag attaching a button to each of the two rings.

She moved from table to table, niche to niche, having already pick out her armor and weapons. When she got to about the fourth niche she saw on the table what looked like a coil of smooth black rope. I wonder if that's any easier to climb than hemp, she thought as she moved closer. When she got to the item she picked it up and found that it was not a rope as she'd thought. It was a black satin color with a metal tag, and a matching leash. She looked at the card and called out. "Tabol? Could you come here and explain something to me?"

Tabol looked up from the center of the room where he had been watching everyone browsing, and mentally marking some of the buttons that were a little farther apart and therefore easier to miss. He spotted the wolfess and walked to the ladder, climbing up to her level. "How can I help you?" He asked her as he approached. He spotted the black coils in her hand. "Ah," he said understandingly. "The Collar of Submission. Thinking you may need to take hostages, eh?"

She grinned evilly. "Something like that." She said mischievously. "Does this actually do what the card says?"

Tabol nodded. "Indeed. 'The Collar of Submission,'" he quoted. "'Any who wears this collar shall have their name instantly etched into the tag that it may be known the one holding the leash. The wearer of the collar cannot remove it and must do what he/she is told to do by the holder of the leash. The hostage cannot lie, cannot say nothing if asked a question, and cannot harm the leash holder. Anything they are told to do or not do for an indefinite period of time is still in effect when the collar is removed.' Meaning if I were to say 'Do not harm innocents.' then even when the collar is removed the hostage could not harm innocents. But if I were to say 'Do not harm innocents for three days.' then when the three days were up they could once again harm innocents."He looked up from the table and back at Sayuri. "Anything else my dear?"

Sayuri got a delighted twinkle in her eye as she replaced the collar. "No, thank you Tabol. I just needed to make sure I'd read it right."

Tabol bowed to her. "You're welcome." He started to return to the center of the room so he could later direct the workers to the solitary buttons.

Sayuri was once again left alone next to the table. She reached into the bag at her hip, taking out a button. As she affixed it to the collar she thought to herself, Oh yes, I'm sure this will make the rounds at camp.

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Tabol was looking around and mentally marking where the buttons were that weren't grouped together. He made sure to look everywhere around the room and noticed that Hatako was examining some of the smaller trinkets but had yet to actually select anything. He walked near her and watched her for a while before asking, "Is everything alright ma'am? Is there a problem with the items we have here?"

Hatako jumped from having been snuck up on. She turned around and assured him to the contrary, "No, no, no, everything's fine. In fact you have some truly wondrous things here. It's just that I already have equipment of my own that was specifically made for me."

Tabol ruffled the feathers on his head, seeming to be relieved. "Ah, glad to hear that. I was afraid you found some fault with them that we couldn't find."

"No, in fact from what I'm feeling from them, they all do exactly what you think they do. But, I was wondering if you have anything that looked more... mundane, like jewelery that isn't so... flamboyant. All the large gems and brilliantly shiny gold isn't really my style."

Tabol's eyes lit up. "I think I know what you mean. Follow me." He led her up one of the nearby ladders, going up three sections before stepping off again in one of the recessed sections. He walked down about to the middle of the case and beckoned her over. Inside the glass was a display of rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, made in gold and silver, and set with all kinds of gems. But the metals were not as shiny or full of luster, the gems not as large and they had no distinct marks on them. "Are these more to your tastes?"

Hatako took in the sight of what was to her a treasure trove. "These are much better." She noticed that there were still cards with descriptions near each item. "These are still enchanted?"

Tabol nodded his head. "Yes, but they're not quite as strong due to the actual size of the gems. But you would know more about that than I."

"Of course." She picked up a card near a pair of small ruby studs and read it under her breath. "These earrings have not been given a name because of their generic effect that many items have. They increase the intelligence of the one who wears them and empowers all magic cast from them be it divine or arcane." She smiled and looked at the rest of the items. "Perfect. Thank you very much Tabol."

"Your welcome. I am here to help." He replied with a bow and started to climb back down.

"Tabol." She called after him.

The chief Wol stopped and looked back at her. "Yes?"

She looked down at him with a smirk on her face. "Stop calling me ma'am. I'm just a normal female like Sayuri or any other you've known. I just do my fighting a different way. So please, just call me what you call her, I'm not old enough in my people's terms to warrant a 'ma'am' from anyone, least of all someone like you who has seen at least a century." She told him, smiling warmly.

Tabol made what passed for a smile among his own people. "Very well my dear. I'll try to keep in mind that you're not out to find a reason to send us back." He laughed and descended the rest of the way down.

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Tazina had thought about the boy and had made her decision regarding him before she had reached the inn. He accepted what she was. He knew she held power over him and accepted it. He asked for her blessing and teaching. He asked that she be benevolent toward him and bring him into her fold. As she thought about it he already almost worshiped her, he just didn't know it. He was also young and malleable. He would be one of her greatest priests one day, and he would wield power unlike anyone else's. But he had to be with her in order for her to mold him to her liking. Besides, she thought, I haven't finished teaching him the body yet. That thought brought a small grin to her rodential muzzle. He had a fair bit of talent, and with her teaching and experience, he would probably end up "speaking" to his goddess more than anyone else in the order that was to come.

When She walked through the door of the inn, she looked around and saw that the little otter was no where to be found. Good, that should make this easier. She found the inn keeper behind the bar cleaning some of the mugs while no one was in the common room. The badger looked up as he heard her approach and asked, "Is there something ye be needing?"

She supposed he was quite good looking for a Brockan, though her tastes didn't really run to such, as when it came to this plain she preferred canines, felines, and sleek furred, long bodied species, of either gender. He stood about five and a half feet tall, and had bluish-green eyes, almost turquoise in shade. His fur had the black stripes and brown-grey coloring so common among his people.

She decided to try and do this the normal way. She looked him in the face and said, "Not really, I was just wondering how that young boy came to be in your service."

He paused and thought over his words before he replied, "Well, ye may be sayin' that I 'acquired' him from a traveling businessman. The poor lad never knew his family ye see, so the businessman took him in along with several other people and took care of him till he could find a better home for him. When he came through town we met in secret and I bou- er, took him in right on the spot. Now he works for me in exchange for room and board."

Tazina was grew madder with each word the male spoke. "You mean he's a slave." She said in a harsh voice. Slavery was one thing she could not abide. It was not in any part of the natural order, and therefore could not be part of anyone's true nature. It was a slap in the face for everything she liked.

He made reassuring gestures with his paws. "Now I wouldn't go s'far as to say sich as that. I don't beat 'im or anything. He's jist an... unpayed worker."

Tazina was furious at this point. The son of a bitch didn't even have the balls to admit the boy was a slave. Granted, slavery was illegal in almost the entire continent, but he should at least tell the truth about it if he was going to make such a blatant insinuation. She kept her mood in check as she asked, "What if I said I'd like to 'acquire' him from you?"

Relief was evident on his face. "I'd say the price is five hundred gillis, in gold." He simply knew there was no way she could come up with that much.

She reached for a pouch just behind her hip and plucked it from her belt, it increased in size and weight as she drew it forth to put on the bar. She dropped it with an audible clanging of coins, untied it and showed him the contents asking, "Will this do?"

The male's jaw dropped at the large bag of money. The glitter of the gold shone of his eyes like stars. He collected himself and said, "I'll have to count it naturally."

"Of course. I wouldn't trust you if you didn't. I will however want to see his papers." She replied, and closed the bag again.

"Right, follow me then." He said, as he lifted a section of the bar and led her into a dark back room with a table, two chairs and scale. "This is where I take care of all my biggest dealings." He reached up onto a shelf and withdrew a dusty, musty sheaf of papers. He placed them on the table and opened them, revealing documents of ownership for one slave of the name Aodh and species of Cinerean. Tazina sat in one of the rickety chairs, placed the bag on the table and opened it, spilling the contents on the wooden surface. When the badge was finally finished counting her coin, after a lengthy period of time, he turned and said, "Well, it's all here, and not a coin to spare. I guess that means I have to live up to me word and give ye these."

He picked up the documents of ownership and handed them to her. She looked them over and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a copy of these would you?"

He shook his head. "No, they be too hard to copy. And not only that, why would you ever need one?" He asked.

Tazina heard a small shuffling at the door and thought she knew who was listening in. She held out her cupped hand and said, "Oh, I don't know, suppose you lose the originals in say... a fire." A single small flame appeared in her hand and she put the papers to them so they caught. The documents instantly blossomed with flames as if they had been coated in oil and began to turn to ashes before their eyes. The Brockan was so shocked, he didn't even think to stop her till the papers wee more than half devoured.

When he finally recovered himself he asked, "What have you done?"

"She's freed me." Said a voice from the open doorway. The innkeeper looked more shocked as his eye fell on the intruder.

Tazina didn't need to look to know who the newcomer was. "That's right. You have your money, and you've seen a tiny taste of what I can do. I could have simply destroyed the documents, or destroyed you. But instead I decided to show mercy and actually paid you for the right to set this child free." She held out her paw behind her and Aodh took it, gripping it like a life line in a stormy ocean. She stared the badger in the eyes and narrowed her own. "Be grateful. And if I ever find out you have 'acquired' another worker like Aodhàn here, I'll be back. And it won't be gold I'll be bringing with me." She stood up from the table and walked out of the room, leading the child up the stairs and to her room.

When she shut the door and turned around she was immediately tackled by the little Cinerean boy who had her in a death grip of a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Tazina. You have no idea how much what you just did means to me." He whispered into her still rodential ear and he cried softly into her shoulder.

She held the boy to her as she asked, "Is it true what he said? You've never known your own family?"

Aodh sniffed and replied, "Yes, he was right. I don't even remember my mother. Will..." He trailed off as he looked up at her.

She thought she knew what he was going to ask. "Yes. I'll take care of you... son. I was going to offer to find you a good home, but if that's what you'd prefer then yes." She said and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so much, I can never thank you enough Tazina. But umm..." He started to say blushing under his sleek fur. "That doesn't mean... I mean I still want to..."

She chuckled a little and said, "Don't worry, the offer I made last night still stands and the lessons will continue. This just means that I'll also take care of you like a mother should, or at least how this one will." What the hell is wrong with me? She thought. What am I doing? I'm going soft over this little whelp! She thought about how he had looked when she said she'd be his mother and what she had planned for him. But I suppose it can't be helped. And it will make molding him into a high priest even easier. But I don't know the damnedest thing about parenting.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me... mom." He said, and kissed her square on her lips.

"I'm glad you think so little one, because I'm going to teach you everything. And you may not like it all." She warned him.

"I'll learn it all. Even if I don't like it, I swear." He promised her, with an honest look on his face.

She placed a hand on his cheek and said, "Good boy. But for now, I'm still tired. So I'm going to take a nap." She rose and carried him over to the bed, laying down on her side and spooning her son beside her.

"I can sleep longer than five hours a night now can't I?" He asked in slight wonderment.

"Of course. And right now, I'd like it if you'd just sleep next to me." She said, kissing the back of his head and laying hers on top of his.

Aodh gave a long yawn and said, "Me too." And fell asleep almost instantly. And thus they spent their first day together as mother and son.