FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter One

The Subtle Approach

THE PATH WAS SO well hidden it took them the best part of an hour to find it, tracking back and forth along the east face of the hill nearly a dozen times, their frustration growing as the morning wore on. The sun had just reached its zenith when a desperate Elijah spotted the faintest of trails through the hip-high grass; following it led him to a cluster of hawthorn bushes, shot through with ivy and honeysuckle and tucked into a wrinkle in the slope.

The tawny wolf thought he could make out a sliver of a gap amidst the foliage, so in lieu of any other options he set to squeezing his way in sideways. The greenery gave way more easily than he'd expected, but he still felt plenty of barbs sliding through his dense, quite shaggy coat, some deep enough to scrape across his skin in a few places. He also felt a couple tug lightly at the narrow sash around his waist that was his only item of clothing, and one particularly brazen individual prodded repeatedly into his groin.

Fortunately, the bushes weren't nearly as deep as they looked from the front, so in less than a minute he was easing out into a roughly triangular notch in the hillside, a slim, rock-lined funnel leading to a ragged slot of a cave entrance half-obscured by a tumble of stones. It didn't look very promising, but closer inspection revealed remnants of carved designs decorating some of the fallen boulders - watchful orbs of eyes, attentively pricked-up ears, elegantly curling plumes of tails and neat little pawprints tucked amidst beautifully curling and stylised expanses of vegetation.

Encouraged, he leaned forward, craning over the stones, sniffing the subtle currents of air drifting from the cave. Dominant amongst a few aromas was a rich, earthy, slightly stale musk that many would have considered off-putting, but to Elijah spoke of ancient, forgotten things waiting in the depths, and that set his tail to swaying in delight. He could also just discern the clean, crisp scent of water, and the heavy, faintly acrid tang of magic as old as the hill it dwelt within, the latter sending a shiver through his every fibre. Lastly there was the barely detectable aroma of something living that had passed through a few weeks ago, vaguely familiar but too faded to properly identify.

Despite nagging curiosity he pushed it to the back of his mind for the time being; he was pretty certain he'd finally found the route they had to follow, and now needed to make his companion aware. He closed his right paw along with his eyes, concentrating intently for several seconds, then unfurled his fingers, a cloudy white, warmly luminous orb swelling into being on his palm as he did so.

He regarded it critically for a while, then tapped it gingerly a couple of times. When it didn't explode or ricochet directly into his face the wolf lifted it to his muzzle and spoke into it.

"Ben?"

The silence that followed was long enough for him to start worrying he'd produced a dud, but then the wonderful, gentle, warm voice of his companion issued crystal clear from a sphere that pulsed gently in time with its rhythm.

"Please say you've found something, or I might have to start hitting my head on the nearest available hard surface."

"Pretty sure I've got it," Eli responded, a chuckle in his tone. "I'll set up some markers for you, if I can."

"Remind me to spoil you later, Lupe. Just make sure to focus on me as the one to see them, and try not to get distracted this time, all right? No stopping mid-weave to ogle a pretty flower."

Eli felt a distinct shiver at Ben's first words, but was quick to tamp it down, instead affecting an air of lightly acidic affront. "There'll be no fifty-foot daffodils this time, I assure you. Just get here quickly."

"Give me a bearing and I'll be there in a blink."

"See you soon." The wolf closed his digits around the orb, but rather than simply dissipate as he'd hoped it sparked in his palm, a smarting shock that felt like a thousand tiny hawthorn needles jabbing into his flesh. He yelped and shook his hand, glowering and muttering. "Ow."

Once his paw had stopped tingling he reached out to press it to the bushes, intending to give them a glowing sheen of white, but couldn't quite focus properly, and instead cast them in a vivid crimson hue that neatly matched his simmering frustration, which only grew worse at the sight. Still, at least it wasn't pink this time.

With several long, deep breaths and much silent counting he got his temper back under control, then balled up his hand again, determined to get this last spell right; he had to prove to Ben he wasn't entirely useless at magic. Despite his concentration wavering for just a second the sphere he produced looked good, and didn't react in any adverse fashion to a tentative prod, and on being flung upwards raced into the sky with a bright white trail left in its wake, just as intended. At the zenith of its trajectory, some fifty feet up, it exploded into a massive cloud of white, also as intended, but Eli's sudden surge of glee at his apparent success popped like a bubble on seeing what that cloud then coalesced into.

He slumped down onto the jumble of rocks, his head coming to rest in his paws, fighting the sudden, powerful urge to tear his tail off and beat himself round the head with it. "Bloody Knowe..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Contrary to their assurances it was a while before Ben arrived, long enough for Eli to start morosely wondering if he'd managed to make his signal visible to everyone but his companion. The wolf had just commenced lightly thumping his head against a handily-placed rock when the hawthorn bushes started to twitch and shift, their crimson tinge fading. Resting his forehead against the cool stone he watched as a long, richly russet and creamy white muzzle, capped by a large black nose and twin thatches of twitching whiskers emerged from the foliage, rapidly followed by two gleaming amber eyes and a pair of tall, earth-brown ears.

"Nice little place you've got here," Ben observed, with a grin so wide it practically curled back on itself at the ends. "Mind if I come in?"

"Go right ahead." Eli couldn't help a small smile of his own forming, if a slightly chagrined one. "And feel free to tease me relentlessly about my lousy marker; I probably deserve it."

"Lousy?" Ben emerged fully from the bushes at a trot, glancing up at the massive facsimile of his own head revolving gently in the air high above them before focusing on the wolf, moving to stand right in front of him, trying to catch his downcast eyes. "It's brilliant. I mean, no doubting who it's meant for. Great likeness, too."

"It was supposed to be an arrow," Eli muttered, even as a sparkle lit in his eyes in spite of himself. "But I got distracted. Only for a second or so, but..."

"That's all it takes, though why you'd be so distracted by me..." The fox let the gently teasing thought linger for a little while, watching as the wolf silently squirmed and blushed. As he got no reply, he span around, reaching out to the trail still connected to the marker. "Let's see about getting rid of this th...oh." His eyes widened, then he turned them, and a knowing grin, on his companion. "That's an..._interesting_choice of dispersal method, Lupe."

The lupine just squirmed and blushed more, paws covering his face and a low mumble of what sounded like self-berating curses issuing from his muzzle.

His expression softening considerably, Ben leaned forward to press his lips to the trail, causing it and his giant double to dissolve into the air. Neatly folding his arms behind his back he then turned to the wolf again, regarding him fondly, his head cocked to one side.

After a little while, Elijah parted his fingers just enough for one eye to peek at the fox, wondering why they weren't speaking; he found a warmly smiling vulpine face so close to his their noses were brushing.

"If you want to groom," Ben whispered, feathering the wolf's cheek with a finger, "Just say. I wouldn't hesitate."

Lupe ghosted a nuzzle over the fox's muzzle tip. "Oh, I do, but..." He smirked. "You're sure you don't want to wait for her...?"

The fox rolled his eyes. "I met that vixen once, when I was_three_, and she was two. Even if she remembers me, and she won't, she could be anywhere in the whole Archipelago, if she didn't die in the attack. I'm not about to linger on so faint a chance when I've got real, wonderful options right at paw."

"Like Lia?" Eli teased. "All those gorgeous, gleaming scales..."

"She_is_ gorgeous," Ben agreed, then tenderly caressed Lupe's mouth with his. "But so are you."

Elijah physically sagged at the kiss, to the point the vulpine actually had to support him for a moment, then lunged forward in search of another, deeper one so energetically Ben had to snap a foot back to stay upright.

"Easy, wolfy!" he laughed, eyes dancing, twisting his head to one side to avoid the lupine's advances, pressing his hand against a puckered muzzle. "We, and quite possibly Lia, will pick this up again tonight, all right? I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," Eli warned him, playfully, stepping back. "Got the supplies?"

"Oh! Yes. Somewhere..." Ben commenced patting himself over, his paws moving across his stomach and chest, then down his sides, until one stopped on his left hip. "Ah-ha! There's the one I want." Drawing his hand away from himself pulled a small white orb out of his body, that then clung to his hand as he swept it up before his face.

"Show-off," Eli needled, unable to help feeling just a little jealous.

"Just doing what comes naturally. Right..." Ben stroked the middle digit of his other paw across the top of the orb, the contact prompting the spell to spit out a lightly curving cylinder of golden-brown wood several inches long and an inch across. The fox deftly caught it and held it out to Eli. "Bow for the master markswolf."

"Oh, don't exaggerate!" Lupe flapped a dismissive paw at the vulpine before taking the wooden rod, pressing it to his sash as it crossed his right hip, where it stayed, seemingly fused on. "I'm not _that_good."

"Says the guy who can nail a target from fifty feet away, while riding a horse, almost every time." Ben caressed the spell again, causing the expelling of another short length of wood, this one dead straight; he caught it almost without looking, spun it once, then clapped it to his sash at his left hip.

"Exactly - almost every time. A master would hit it _every_time." Eli nodded toward the cave. "Ready to go?"

"Almost." Dissipating the spell with a flick of his hand the fox set to patting himself down again, this time finding what he wanted to the right of his navel. The orb he then removed from his stomach buzzed quietly, vibrating almost imperceptibly as it sat in his palm; he stuck it to the sash on his right hip. "That should be...no, wait...can't link up when we're underground, so better check in now..." Ben retrieved another spell, this time from his chest, and spoke into it. "Lia."

"Found it?" asked a light, silky voice, after a moment.

"Yeah; just about to enter it now. All good at camp?"

"Mostly quiet; thought I heard some footsteps half an hour ago, but no-one's appeared yet. You be careful, you hear me? I only have so many medicaments."

"No chances taken, I promise. See you later, Lia." He stowed the orb away again. "Now we're ready."

"Good!" Eli bounded over to the entrance, scrambling up the jumble of stone and pulling himself on his belly into the half-collapsed tunnel.

Ben made to follow him, but the carvings gave him pause; one finger traced the sharp claws of a paw, and his expression tightened for just a second. "Lupe?"

"Yes?" came the heavily muffled response, only the lupine's bottom, tail and legs still sticking out of the cave.

"I think we'll likely find some Guardians inside, so extra care, okay?"

"Understood."

"Good." The fox reached out to pat his companion's cheek. "How's the light in there?"

"Not bad - there's a fissure in the roof letting a fair bit in. Gets pitch dark pretty quickly, though. Whatever magic's left in here isn't about illumination."

"I'm impressed it's not all dispersed; even the strongest spells only linger so long," Ben commented, thoughtfully, nose flexing as he took in the scents clinging to the rocks. One in particular had his eyebrow cocking. "Someone's been through here."

"I'd noticed - couldn't tell what or who, though. Too old."

"_Might_be feline...but then again it might not." He sighed, trailing his snout up the rocks to try and find stronger traces. Only when his nose nudged into a small, fine-furred scrotum did he realise he'd ended up at Elijah's rear end, still protruding from the cave. "Problems?"

"Trying...to shift...a stubborn rock...and by...the way...that tickles..."

"Sorry, but there's a clearer pool of that scent right underneath your sack - I guess they brushed the same spot - and I'm just too damn curious. Bear with me..."

"You're lucky...I trust you...so damn much...or I'd tell...you to wait..."

Chuckling, Ben carefully pushed his nose further, the wolf's testes sliding along the top of his muzzle to come to rest between his eyes, the penis curling down the left side, then set to scrutinising the aroma dusting the stone intently.

"What's...it like?" Lupe asked, after a few seconds.

"Cosy," Ben couldn't resist answering, with a smirk. "Can I stay here a while?" A sharp thwack across the back of the head by the wolf's tail gave a pretty clear answer. "Ow. All right - I'm leaving."

The fox withdrew his muzzle, but not without impishly nipping at the wolf's testicles; it was only light, and very brief, but it still triggered a high-pitched yelp and an upward lurch that cracked Eli's torso into the roof of the cave. Another thump from somewhere inside suggested either the difficult rock had finally been dislodged, or the poor lupine had whacked his head, too. Maybe both.

"You're despicable, you know that?!" Lupe spat, audibly sore. "Now what about the damn scent?"

"Cat - almost certain of it," Ben told him. "Got a tinge of magic, too; some kind of low-level aroma-hiding spell, I think, and not a very good one. It's recent; could be hours or just a few minutes ago." Dipping his head again he pressed the end of his muzzle to the same area of the wolf's scrotum he'd nipped. "There - kissed it better. Now would you kindly hurry up and get inside before I start thinking about biting you properly?"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Lupe scrambled the rest of the way through in a fair bit of haste, then beckoned to Ben. "Your turn!"

The vulpine chose to slide through on his back, pulling with his arms and pushing with his legs, his head tilted to one side to try and avoid hitting his muzzle on the highly uneven roof of the passage. Even so, it brushed stone a few times, the last picking up a taste of a warm and subtly metallic liquid - blood. Fresh blood.

Alarm ringing through him Ben surged forward, hauling himself out into a much larger space partially lit through a rent in the rock directly above and caught hold of a mildly groggy-looking wolf. One paw soon found a matted patch of fur just behind one drooping ear.

"Dammit!" he berated himself. "Sorry, Lupe; stupid thing to do. Let me clear that up..." He covered the injury with his palm, channelling a parcel of magical energy into it, repairing the ripped skin and flesh as best he could. "There. Might scar a little, though. _So_stupid..." He set to running his tongue across the wound, cleansing it of blood and dirt while still muttering self-reprimands.

"You're forgiven." Eli relaxed in the fox's embrace, soothed by his tender ministrations. "Just...if you feel like nipping me again...make sure it's somewhere a bit more suitable."

"Understood." Satisfied not an iota of blood remained Ben directed a curious look at the wolf. "Although, where exactly would be suitable?"

Lupe didn't answer, brushing a soft, rather coy kiss across his mouth then easing from the vulpine's arms and gesturing toward the deeper cave. "Care to light the way?"

Still a little distracted, Ben plucked the buzzing orb from his hip and lobbed it lightly out in front of him. It evaporated in a puff, spilling out half a dozen inch-long, stocky, brightly-glowing insects that dove and swooped exuberantly around the wolf and fox.

"Easy, fellas!" Ben laughed. "Settle down!"

That the beetles duly did, one in the middle of his chest, one on his back between his shoulder blades, and one neatly between his perked ears; the remaining three alighted in the same areas on Eli. As they settled in place their radiance increased markedly, until an area some five feet around the two canines was cast in soft yellow-white light.

"Motes?" Lupe stared curiously down at the one nestled in his chest fur. "Interesting choice."

"Much easier to maintain than a light spell," Ben answered, moving ahead. "I've a feeling we'll be in here a while..."

The tumble-down cave soon evolved into a passage shaped like an elongated teardrop with a flattened base, just about wide enough for them to walk along it side-by-side, shoulders lightly brushing. Smooth flagstones lined the floor their bare feet padded along, empty sockets the truncated apex, and faded, patchy paintings the curving walls.

Elijah examined the latter closely, tracing the strong, simple figures fighting endless battles across the stone, razor claws and gaping teeth ripping through hordes of dark, nebulous enemies, tails held defiantly high all the while. He found himself both unnerved and fascinated by the grisly tableaux.

Too fascinated, as it turned out; he walked into Ben's outstretched arm hard enough to thump most of the air from his lungs and almost rob him of his balance. Steadying himself with the aid of that arm he turned a questioning gaze at the fox, who in turn nodded his head at two alcoves cut into the walls just ahead of them. Life size statues of vulpine warriors stood tall within the recesses, stern, powerful mirror images brandishing short, thick staves with wickedly serrated blades jutting from both ends. Real blades.

Lupe swallowed, suddenly understanding why they'd stopped. "This is a trap, isn't it?"

"Pretty sure. Looks like their weapon arms can move." Ben stroked the underside of his snout, his eyes narrowing. "Can't smell any magic, though, so..."

"It's mechanical. I wonder..." Lupe stepped back a pace or two then lowered himself to the floor, stretching his body out across it (taking great care not to squash the mote on his chest) his head level with his companion's feet, and stared intently at the two tiles set between the statues. "They're higher, just. They're the triggers."

"Just those two?"

"Looks that way. Can't say for sure, though." He got back to his feet, brushing dust from his coat. "It might not even work any more. How long's it been?"

"One thousand, two hundred years; give or take." Ben wove an orb, which rapidly solidified into crystal. He carefully threw it forward to land on one of the tiles; the instant it hit two stone arms snapped out and up so quickly they almost seemed to jump from one spot to the other in the blink of an eye, the blades of their staves crossing over. A snap of the fox's fingers dissolved the orb, and the arms fell. "And still working perfectly."

"Good craftsmanship." Eli had to fight to get his heart back where it belonged. "You foxes really know how to build."

"We have our moments." Ben squared his shoulders and flexed his fingers, then stepped briskly forward and hopped over the flagstones between the statues, as well as the next pair of slabs. On touching down safely, all five limbs present and correct, he sagged against the wall for a moment, exhaling deeply, then straightened up and turned to beckon to the wolf. "Your turn."

Lupe nodded, took a single settling breath, then launched himself at full tilt over the trapped tiles, leaping so far he clattered hard into Ben, sending them both sprawling across the floor. The wolf ended up on top of the fox, their muzzles touching.

Ben grinned playfully, flicking the lupine's ear. "I told you we'd pick this up later."

"I know." Eli gave an ingratiating smile, stroking his muzzle languidly along the fox's. "Doesn't mean I can't get a little_taster_ every now and then, though, does it?"

The vulpine chuckled, nuzzling back. "Course not; although, our little friends might disagree."

"Huh? Oh!" Lupe sat up, straddling Ben's waist, and ran a calming finger along the carapace of the rather agitated mote clinging to his chest. "Easy, there - I'll be more careful, I promise."

Tell that to the one on my back." The fox propped himself up on one arm and reached behind himself with the other to stroke the insect in question. "And my back_side_, for that matter."

"I'll kiss it better later," Elijah promised him, getting to his feet, then extending a paw to help him stand up as well. "And anything else you manage to hurt."

A grinning Ben lightly kissed the wolf's muzzle as he passed, heading further along the passage. "I'll look forward to it. Oh, hello..."

A short way beyond the two statues the tunnel tightened and angled steeply down, along a flight of short steps. The vulpine, though, didn't start descending, instead staring at a particular one, with a faint and tiny paw etched in one corner, that was canted at a strange angle.

"Either they made a real mess of that step," Eli observed, "Or..."

"It's another trap," Ben finished for him. "Tread carefully, and avoid any steps with that paw mark, unless you want to go for a tumble."

Ben taking the lead they worked their way down at a cautious pace, finding trapped steps at completely random intervals, occasionally in pairs, and once in a trio, which proved especially tricky to avoid. On finally reaching the bottom the fox almost stepped on the broken and skeletal remains of someone a lot less careful than they'd been. The crushed section of the unfortunate soul's pelvis bore mute witness to the passing through of a person with little respect for the dead, one whose identity was confirmed with a just a brief sniff.

"I'm really starting to dislike this cat," Ben muttered. "He's smelling more and more like a looter."

"Which means if he doesn't get himself killed he'll strip this place bare." Lupe ran a paw down his muzzle. "Not great either way."

"Let's hope we can catch him, then." Ben eased past the skeleton on tiptoes, doing his utmost not to disturb it. "If he isn't dead already."

The next section of tunnel was empty and plain, devoid of anything decorative or dangerous, allowing them to pick the pace up almost to a jog, if only for a short while. Progress came to an abrupt halt when they fetched up - literally, in Ben's case - against an iron grille blocking the passage completely, rust-streaked but still so solid no amount of rattling or pushing or heaving would budge it an inch.

At a gesture from the fox two of the motes flew through the barrier to better illuminate the area beyond, casting their warm light over a smoothly domed, circular chamber twenty feet across and almost as high. At its apex was a much larger and just as vacant version of the hollows dotted along the tunnel, directly above two huge stone chairs with tall backs and arms carved like oak branches. Slumped along the floor in front of them was the unmoving, ragged form of a feline clad in rough leather tunic and trousers of a muddy hue.

"He woke them up." Ben thumped his fist against the bars, muzzle twisted in a grimace. "The bloody idiot woke them up."

"And didn't listen," Eli added, grimly. "How long 'til they settle again, do you think?"

"Too long for us to wait. See if you can find a way to shift this grille."

Scouring their immediate environs turned up nothing of any use, and for a while they could find nothing in the chamber, either, until Ben noticed something about the stone chairs.

"Is it just me or are the seats of those chairs set higher than they should be?" he asked, poking his muzzle through the bars to try and get a closer look.

Lupe followed suit. "I do believe they are. Interesting..."

"More pressure switches," Ben surmised. "When he woke them up, he sealed himself in." The fox sighed, drawing back and rubbing the bridge of his muzzle. "And much as I hate the idea, he's the only hope we have of getting ourselves in there, if I can manage it."

Eli nodded, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "Just be careful."

Gripping the metal in both paws, the fox closed his eyes and calmed his breathing as best he could; when he opened them again they were glowing softly. He fixed them, unblinking, on the corpse of the cat, his mouth drawn in a thin line in concentration, and its limbs started to twitch and tremble. Then it sat up, its head lolling back, giving them a perfect view of a badly crushed windpipe; Lupe gave a sharp, soft gasp at the sight, and the body drooped momentarily to one side as Ben's focus wavered in his surprise.

His brows furrowing a little more he snapped his thoughts back into place, and the body tilted upright again. A moment's pause, then it got slowly to its feet, arms and tail dangling limply, shuffled up to the left-hand chair, and dropped down into it. The grille rumbled upwards in response, though only halfway, and the two companions wasted no time in slipping past it. Just inside the chamber Ben slid down against the wall, eyes closed, one paw massaging his temple.

"That," he mumbled, "was horrible. So clammy..."

The wolf, meanwhile, moved over to carefully inspect the corpse of what proved to be a piebald cat a few years older than him, one of his ears nicked, his whiskers uneven and a scar curving sharply across his right cheek. A wicked little dagger and a cloth pouch hung from his belt at his hip, the latter containing coins from several islands, a flask full of what turned out to be some kind of strong liquor, a grimy little grey pebble and three small, dog-eared journals.

Eli couldn't resist flicking through them; numerous short, sharp and often coarse entries detailed a fifteen-year journey of several hundred miles around the Archipelago, peppered with gleeful robbing of tombs, houses and lonely travellers. The lupine's nose wrinkled in great distaste at passages describing grubby trysts in seedy inns with partners of both sexes, not all of them entirely willing.

"He was really a piece of work, wasn't he?" A mostly recovered Ben remarked, having joined Lupe while he was reading, resting a paw on the wolf's back as he leaned in. "Robber and casual rapist..."

"And murderer." Eli indicated an entry in the first journal. "An otter he tried to rob resisted, so he slit their throat...right in front of their nine year old son. They were thieves themselves, which apparently made it fine. With a record like that I should be glad he's dead, but..."

"But you wouldn't be you if you were." Ben kissed his temple. "Does he say what brought him here?"

Eli perused the end of the last journal. "Well, when he was roaming about Dyllia he overheard talk about a valuable artefact that had been hidden here on Eldermoor around ten years ago, in one of the tombs, so naturally he had to come over and look. He got here two days ago, and this is the first tomb he's tried."

"Artefact, huh? Nothing more specific than that?"

"Nope. Seemed pretty sure the rumour was true, though."

"Certainly a good place to secrete something. We'll have to keep our eyes open."

"Mm." Eli slipped the journals back into the pouch, hung that from his sash, then regarded the feline's crushed neck thoughtfully. "Don't the Guardians use poleblades?"

Ben nodded, his gut tightening as unpleasant realisation set in. "Yep, which means he most likely wasn't killed by one, which means..."

A sharp, skittering, scratching sound echoed from the only other exit of the room, directly opposite the one they'd entered through.

"There's something else here," the fox finished, tone dryly resigned.

A flick of his hand sent the two airborne motes zipping to cling to the wall above the other exit, and a second caused the ones still resting on him and the wolf to douse their lights, engulfing the chairs in deep shadow. Crouching behind them he snatched the small stave from his hip and tapped it twice with two fingers, triggering a surge of growth to five feet long, then spun it into a ready position, muscles tensing, eyes narrowing.

Lupe knelt down beside him, pressing close, and the two watched in taut silence, breath held, as a compact, sinewy creature that looked to have grown from a tree scurried into view. An outsize approximation of a squirrel with bark instead of fur, curling leaves for ears, a rustling spray of them for a tail and luminous green orbs of energy for eyes, it sat up on broad haunches as it reached the chamber, one front paw resting on the wall, the long, twig-like fingers of the other flexing as it gazed around intently.

Lupe laughed softly, and stood up. "It's just a GAH!"

At the sight of him the creature's orb-eyes clouded over white and it flung itself at Eli with a wheezing shriek, front legs stretched out as it grasped for his throat. Just before it hit the wolf Ben's staff cracked across its flank, sending it spinning wildly off to the side. Wrenching its body around in mid-air it slammed onto the wall with all four paws then rebounded straight back at them, shrieking even louder.

Lupe flung himself to the floor while Ben dropped low and swept his staff up, catching the creature's underside and propelling it high over their heads. It hit the floor on its back, skidding several feet before it righted itself and leapt into another attack. The fox barely had time to whip his stave around, the motion a little frantic; it caught the head of the wood-squirrel hard, slamming it into the side of one of the chairs.

The crunching impact finally stilled the creature, its body sprawling out on the floor on its side, orb-eyes fading to a dim, milky green. Ben shrunk his staff, replaced it on his hip, then knelt down by their fallen attacker, running his paws over its torso. They converged between its front legs, and a frown grew.

"Control spell. Someone enslaved him. Lousy way to treat a forest sprite..."

"Can you get rid of it?" Eli asked, crouching close by.

"Yeah, but you might wanna cover your ears. And duck." In one whip fast flurry of movement the fox pulled his hands away, grabbed the orb that came with them, flung it as hard as he could under the grille and down the entrance passage, then scooped up the sprite and dived behind the chairs, bundling Lupe ahead of him. The bang that erupted from the tunnel a second later set their ears ringing and the chamber shaking, and a gout of angry purple fire blasted through the bars for an instant, a roar like a raging dragon filling the room.

As the dust started settling Elijah gaped at Ben. "What in the bloody_world_...? Overkill, much? Aren't the bloody Guardians enough?"

"Apparently not," Ben answered, directing the motes to resume their glow. "You all right?"

"Still in one piece...somehow..." The wolf leant against the fox, head dipping and ears drooping. "Feeling pretty stupid, though-whoa..."

Vivid green orb-eyes filled his vision as the recovered sprite reared up against him, front paws resting on his chest, nose nudging into his, leafy tail flexing gently.

Ben cracked a grin. "I think he likes you."

"Just glad he's all right." Lupe patted the sprite's flank, noting a thin cut in the bark as he did so. "Think I'll call him Nick. Wonder how long he's been down here?"

One of its paws tapped a number out on his chest.

"Ten years?"

It's head inclined in what Eli took to be a nod.

"Damn..."

"Interesting," Ben remarked, thoughtfully. "By the way, shouldn't we be hearing approaching Guardians by now?"

"That's true." Lupe looked up, cocking his ears and listening intently. "Not a peep. Maybe they were too far away to hear..."

"No chance." Ben shook his head as he got up. "That bang was loud enough to be heard back in Oakden. Where are they?"

"Trapped somewhere?" Eli posited.

"Maybe, but then how'd the tomb raider get in?"

Eli mused for a moment, then, eyes widening, delved in the pouch he had recovered from the cat, bringing forth the pebble. "I feel magic."

Ben took it from him, scrutinising it closely with eyes and nose. "Lots of magic. Stand back."

The fox lobbed the pebble into the air off to one side, then clapped his paws together sharply. Bulging out to two feet across in the blink of a startled eye the now boulder slammed to the floor hard enough to send vibrations shivering through their feet.

Eli gulped, cradling the sprite, which had pressed up against him in response to the violent noise. "Now I know why it's so grimy..."

"Yeah." Ben's nose wrinkled. He clapped again and the stone shrank back to a pebble, which he collected and handed to Eli. "We'd better think about dealing with it when we're back home."

"Agreed." Lupe's gaze drifted to his newest friend, who was currently staring over his shoulder at the corpse, its orb-eyes dim, ears drooping and tail flat. He coaxed it back so he could lock gazes with it. "Yes, you did that, but under a spell, so you're not to blame - the bastard that trapped you is. All right, Nick?"

A nod, the leafy tail starting to flex gently.

"Good. Now, any idea where the Guardians have gotten to?"

Chittering excitedly the sprite sprang up over Eli and tore along the floor to the passage he'd entered by, where he sat on his haunches again and beckoned with both paws.

"That way, I guess." Ben pulled the wolf to his feet. "Come on."

Short and broad, the tunnel led them into what at first appeared to be a small disc of a room with a vaulted ceiling and a single long oval of a stone sarcophagus resting on twin concave plinths in the centre, a vulpine face delicately carved into its lid. As the fox and wolf jogged through behind the sprite, though, the motes lifting away from them and fanning out in the air, spreading their light wider, it was revealed as just one of many such spaces across a massive chamber, elegantly tapered pillars lining up in solemn ranks between them.

"When the scroll said this tomb was big, it really wasn't lying..." Lupe was gazing about himself in naked awe. "There's a veritable army of coffins in here..."

"Either this tribe got almost completely wiped out by something," Ben surmised, "or these are the dead of several tribes."

"Lia did find references to a disaster of some kind." Eli stroked a paw over the lid of a sarcophagus as he passed it. "Only a few, and vague, and no real hints as to what it actually was, but...it fits."

"Wonder why so little detail? Why ignore something so big?"

"Not a clue." The wolf scratched his muzzle. "Maybe there's some notes in here somewhere; no better place to store them."

"Take an age to find them, though, unless..." Ears tilting forward Ben raised his voice. "Unless our new friend can help? Any scrolls here?"

The sprite skidded round to take off on a new path, diagonally across the chamber, weaving back and forth between pillars and coffins so fast the fox and wolf had trouble keeping track of him, and had to run to keep up. He led them to a small recess right in the corner, blocked off by a metallic grille door, a lot thinner and more intricate than the earlier barrier, but every bit as sturdy. Behind it a tall set of shelves were hewn into the rock, stuffed with thick, yellowing scrolls.

"I'll take this as a yes..." Lupe leant against the wall to the right of the niche, breathing a little heavily. "How do we get in there?"

Ben, also panting gently, took a long and thorough look around the area, assisted by the motes. "Doesn't seem to be anything. Oh, hold on..." He pointed along the left wall. "There's something down there."

"Oh?" Eli moved over to look where the fox had indicated; thirty feet away a trapezoidal wedge of stone protruded from the roof between the wall and a pillar, in the middle of which was set a blank wooden panel. "Oh."

"Unlikely to be a coincidence," Ben observed, drily. "All we need now is some idea of what to do..."

A short, sharp chitter drew their attention down to the wood sprite, in time to see him vanish into the chamber wall next to the recess; the quiet ratcheting sound of a mechanism engaging soon followed, and the panel rose to reveal a disc of wood painted with concentric rings of light and dark green. Fox and wolf shared a glance.

"Interesting." Ben cocked his head, stroking his muzzle.

Nodding, Lupe plucked the curved stave from his hip and tapped it once with three fingers; it extended smoothly into a sleek four foot bow, a string flowing out to join the tips. Standing squarely side-on to the target he lifted the bow, tilting it slightly to one side as he did, and gripped the string, whereupon an arrow coalesced ready to be fired.

"One of these days I'll figure out just how Charles managed that little trick," Ben remarked, watching on.

"Your great-grandfather really knew what he was doing," Eli replied, as he drew the string back until his fingers were brushing his cheek; he took three controlled, even breaths, then on the third exhale let his shaft loose. It flew in a slight upward curve to thunk into the centre of the target, triggering a sharp click in the grille door. "There; though, how exactly that worked..."

"Cable mechanism," the fox responded, having swung the door open to look at the lock - a thin rope ran from the latch up to a pulley in the corner of the recess, then vanished into the wall. "Long one. Same likely goes for the panel Nick lifted."

"Oh, okay; so if I..." At a click of Lupe's fingers the arrow disappeared from the target, and the latch dropped; the panel over the target soon followed suit, and the wood sprite re-emerged from the wall. The wolf ruffled his leaf-ears. "Neat. Wonder how they got them through the wall...?"

"I think it's a safe wager it's written down on one of these." Ben had woven an orb, stuck it to a shelf, and was now carefully tucking the scrolls into it, one by one. "Details of the steps and those statues too, probably."

"Tr-footsteps!" Ears snapping upright Eli spun round completely, as the motes fanned out wider. "No sign of any...then again, someone's coming this w...that's Lia..."

"Lia?" Ben darted to the wolf's side, the scroll he'd been handling hitting the ground in his wake. "That can't be good..."

The petite emerald and rust-red lizard was jogging with smoothly controlled urgency across the chamber toward them, totally unaware of the small, glinting object racing through the air after her.

"Lia, behind you!" fox and wolf called out, breaking in to runs.

The reptile-girl glanced over her shoulder, yelped, and accelerated to a sprint herself as the object closed to within feet of her back. Slitted green eyes narrowing and mouth tightening she streaked toward the nearest pillar and a full three bounds straight up it, before thrusting off in a curling backflip. The object, unable to react fast enough to her gymnastics, was snatched smartly out of the air.

Lia landed noiselessly in a pinpoint crouch, slamming the object - an ugly little serrated dagger - to the floor where it writhed and bucked under her paws. As Lupe and Ben arrived she wrenched a spell from the blade; a male voice, pompous and cold, promptly sounded out.

"So much effort to eliminate such a pointless and pathetic little street urchin, but you can no longer be permitted to carry the knowledge you have been hiding for so long. The spell directing this seeking dagger will provide you an especially nasty death..."

Eyes bulging in horror Eliana threw the orb away and ducked behind the pillar with the others.

"...that will likely result in quite a mess. Goodbye."

As the voice faded long, thin blades of magical energy extended from the spell to slice and slash the air. After several seconds they and the orb blinked out of existence.

Lia, looking even greener, stepped out from behind the pillar. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"You don't know who that was?" Ben asked her, embracing her from behind and nuzzle-kissing the top of her head.

"Not a clue!" The lizard leant back into him, lifting her head enough for a fuller press of the muzzles. "All I know is a trio of hunters raided the grove while I was foraging, looking for you...or so I thought. They must have seen me bolting and set that barbed horror on my tail."

Biting back the cluster of questions fighting to get out Ben turned to Eli. "Close the barrier grille; we'll have the rest of the scrolls stowed by the time you return."

The wolf gave a short, sharp nod and took off, sprinting back across the main chamber, a pair of motes lighting his way. As he entered the Guardian room sharp footfalls met his ears, heading along the passage toward him, accompanied by a blue-white light. Swallowing a swell of revulsion he quickly bundled the cat out of the chair, and the grille slammed down with a crash loud enough to flatten his ears against his head. Hastily he pulled the corpse to one side of the entrance, setting it up against the wall out of sight, then with angry shouts ringing out, the thud of bodies into the bars and a crossbow bolt zipping past his left side he raced off, not looking back.

He reached the others just as Ben was slipping the spell of scrolls into Lia's breast, and the lizard-girl was setting the serrated dagger on the shelves, sealing it in there. "I did it," he reported, panting. "Just. Think it'll hold 'em off?"

"Depends how much muscle they have." The fox gave him a quick one-armed hug and a kiss on the side of the muzzle. "We're not gonna hang around, regardless. Nick...?"

The agitated sprite chattered and bounded away, leading them along the rear wall to a small, arched entrance sealed by a dark, shifting and pulsing wall of magical energy strong enough to set fur tingling.

"Well, that's not original," Ben observed, bringing a palm to within a few inches of the opaque barrier, as near as he dared get. "Can't quite get a feel for it, either. Lia?"

The lizard leaned in from the other side, concentrating intently. "It's removable, but it'll take both of us, and if we slip up, well..."

"Got it." Ben nodded to Lupe. "Keep your senses peeled. This could take a while."

"Got it." Eli took a few paces away, ears perked, the sprite sitting by his feet. "Be careful - I don't want to end up with only bits of you to cuddle up with."

"You won't." Ben flashed him a reassuring grin, then looked across to Lia. "When you're ready."

She nodded subtly, but it was still a short and tense while before she murmured the go-ahead. Their paws locked just above the surface of the barrier, their brows furrowing, their eyes glowing faintly and the lizard whispering clipped, terse instructions Lupe couldn't quite catch they wrestled with the dense and complicated magic, working it away layer by layer.

Slowly and steadily the energy wall faded out, until it was little more than a faint grey ripple in the doorway, but then Ben's hand trembled just a fraction and it reverted to a dark ash grey in a snap, and a shock of conjured lightning jolted over the fox, flashing through his fur from his nose to his tail tip to his toes. He grunted, ears twitching and body stiffening, then with his muzzle tightening, a sliver of gritted teeth on show, he wrenched himself back into focus, paw steadying anew.

The barrier faded quite rapidly after that, finally dissipating entirely with a violent crack and a blast of wind that flattened fur against skin and kicked up dust enough to briefly blind all of them. As it cleared Eli darted forward to catch a teetering Ben, letting the fox settle into his arms and nuzzling his snout in great concern. Lia, looking a little tired herself, embraced the vulpine from the other side, head tilted back so her chin rested on his shoulder, eyes regarding him coolly.

"You really didn't need to do that."

"Yes I did." He rested a paw on the small of her back, spread fingers stroking over her scales. "Couldn't risk your focus, and I knew I could take it. One of us had to. Evil little unavoidable trap."

Lia sighed, even as a soft smile curled her lips. "Stupid fox. I really wish I knew why I persist with you..."

"Because your life would be unbearable and unimaginable without me in it?" Ben suggested, hopefully.

Eliana laughed softly, and kissed him. "Something like that. Got your wind back yet?"

"Enough." He returned her kiss, gave another to Eli, then eased them both away, turning to the now open doorway. "Better keep...oh..."

The doorway was blocked again, this time by a figure tall enough for their ears to be brushing the top of it. Leanly muscular in both torso and limb, fur and skin a ghostly shade of pale blue-grey, a huge design of a moon encased in a sun painted in a darker hue across her chest, a gleaming copper pawprint set by some magical means in the centre of her forehead, and a stout pole capped with a foot long slightly curved blade held in one strong paw she was intimidating enough for the trio to instinctively cluster together again, Ben readying his staff.

For a few uncomfortable seconds she merely regarded them all with steel grey, pupil-less eyes that never seemed to blink, then took two long, quick steps forward, lifting her weapon as she did so, angling the blade toward the other fox. Ben, stamping down a sharp urge to bolt, tilted his head right back, exposing his throat; the other two quickly followed suit. Each in turn felt the subtle prick of a metal point in the middle of their necks, dimpling the fur and skin just a fraction, but not one of them reacted at all.

When the blade drew back they kept their muzzles vertical, even as a muted click announced the wooden end of the weapon coming to rest on the floor. Several long, anxious seconds ticked by before a chilled paw gently guided their snouts back down, one by one. The Guardian nodded subtly, as did the shorter but no less imposing male one now standing behind her. Ben opened his mouth to thank them, only for the new arrival to step round the original and catch firm hold of his muzzle, pulling him close and regarding him intently, turning the other fox's head from left to right and back again.

"You have our blood." The voice was soft and yet somehow resonant, issuing from his mouth without it needing to open. "And that of other tribes. They remain united?"

"Eldermoor's one, even if it's sometimes been difficult keeping it that way," Ben answered, managing to keep most of the nerves out of his speech. "It's proving so now. We'll survive, though; we always do."

"So our suffering was not in vain." The female Guardian sounded like a weight had been lifted.

"May we ask what happened here?" Lia ventured, with a gesture to the myriad tombs. "No records survive."

"Arrogance," the male replied. "Our priests thought we could gather, control and shape magic enough to completely cleanse the isle of our enemies. They were wrong, and we instead almost cleansed the isle of ourselves. The few that survived, in desperation, sought to broker peace...and by some wondrous fortune, were granted it. This tomb was carved by all to mark its founding."

"Which enshrines it as a true treasure," Ben softly remarked. "We'll ensure it's protected and preserved for as long as we govern this isle, if not longer."

"Your family rules, now?" The female again.

"I wouldn't say rules, exactly. We don't dictate, just...safeguard; a Dunblane looks after their people. We tried power, once, and it_really_ didn't work out. Never again."

"Guardians in your own way." The male released his snout. "Do you still have need of us?"

"Definitely." Ben had no doubt about that. "This is our heritage, and we need it kept safe. We can't lose where we came from."

Lupe's ears snapped upright, his head twisting to peer into the gloom of the chamber. "I hear footsteps..."

"Damn, the hunters." Ben grimaced, looking to the Guardians. "Can you hold them off? Without killing them?"

"We grew tired of death before we even died ourselves," the female told him. "Their lives will only be taken if there is no other choice."

"Thank you!" A relieved young Dunblane bowed his gratitude whilst hastening past them, Eli, Nick and Lia following. The fox paused to watch as the twin Guardians strode out of sight, the wooden ends of their poles held ready, then joined his friends in the antechamber.

Here the domed ceiling was lower, only a couple of feet above their heads at its tallest, whilst the floor tiles were painted with a huge and vivid sunburst design. Right in the middle stood a short, fat limestone plinth, resting upon which was a tableau in pale green marble: an oak tree stood tall and broad, fourteen Pelt faces - one for each of the races - tucked amongst the leaves, and a dragon perched atop it with wings spread wide.

Eli padded up to it, eyes wide with awe. "Hackleridge marble! And so beautifully carved! They really took their shrines seriously."

"Guess the trade links back then went further than we thought." Ben was more contemplative. "At least for this tribe."

Lia, meanwhile, was staring at the recess directly above the tableau, which was sealed off with more of that sable, pulsing energy. "I think there's something hidden up there..."

"The artefact the cat was after - has to be!" Eli's excitement grew.

"Not sure we have the time." Ben had turned back to the way in, his ears straining for footfalls.

The wolf applied his keener ones. "No-one's coming. We can't leave this, Ben! It's not like we'll be back any time soon."

"True." The fox's own curiosity was wearing him down. "Lia?"

Eliana flashed a grin then lithely sprang up onto the plinth, her legs splaying either side of the foot and a half tall tableau, toes touching the edges of the platform. Reaching up she examined the magic. "It's complicated, but I can remove it. Might not have the reserves to last long enough, though."

"No problem - I've got plenty left." Lupe moved to her left side, his paw settling itself just above her hip; Nick joined him, leaning against his leg. "Ready."

Ben stationed himself sideways in the entrance, so he could keep an eye on both his companions and any approaching threats, his wooden staff extended and resting against his chest. Lia took a deep breath, long, tapered tail swaying lightly, then began probing, easing her way through the intricate pathways that would unlock the barrier. Elijah watched on intently, keeping his focus squarely on supporting her.

Footsteps echoed from the shadows, racing toward them. Ben took firm hold of his stave, angling it into a ready position, and turned to fill the doorway as best he could, blocking it off. A figure, a leather and iron clad weasel with a wiry yet powerful frame and a dagger gripped in both paws tore right at him, making no attempt at communication beyond a stony, determined glare.

On reaching Ben he made a pretty unsubtle lunge for the fox's neck with his right-hand blade; Ben deflected it easily with one end of his staff then swung for the weasel's hip with the other. That was parried with the left-paw dagger while the right darted for his gut, coming so close it clipped the fur when the fox knocked it aside. The next lunge with the right dagger actually nicked the skin of Ben's chest, as he only barely twisted away from it.

The weasel was predictable, and simple in his style, but fast and truly relentless, and the fox was struggling more and more to fend him off with each attack; the defensive approach just wasn't working. He was collecting cuts while the hunter hadn't suffered a single blow. He had to change his tactics, and a growing overconfidence on the part of the weasel gave him the ideal opening.

Both daggers arced in toward his skull, one from each side; Ben bent backwards and caught them with a staff held out flat. Snapping one leg back as the weasel fought to overpower him he gave a ferocious shove forward then ducked down under the violently-released blades and swept one foot out hard. It took the legs out from underneath his already unbalanced opponent, who crashed to the floor on his chest as Ben rolled out of range.

He'd only gained a few seconds of breathing space, but that was all it took to grip his staff at either end and flex it sharply as if to snap it in half; instead it came cleanly apart, splitting into a pair of short staves he twirled around his paws so fast they blurred. They came to rest in an attacking position, his body equally primed, and he allowed himself a quick, grim smile at the uncertainty now flickering at the edges of the recovered weasel's sharp face.

"My turn."

Then his opponent flashed a darker grin and flung one dagger right at his head and the other through the doorway Ben had left exposed.

The panicked fox hit the blade aside with one of his staves, sending it ricocheting off into the darkness, then hurled the other at the weasel now lunging for the antechamber. It cracked across the latter's flank, knocking him off balance so he slammed his head against the stone violently enough to stun him momentarily. Weaving a spell Ben took the opportunity to pin him in place with his remaining staff and push the orb into his head. The weasel crumpled into a deep sleep almost instantly; Ben let him slump to the floor, then made for the doorway in a blind frenzy, the short stave clattering to the ground in his wake.

"Lupe! Lia!"

"We're all right!" The wolf was quick to assure; he was sitting against the plinth with the lizard girl in his lap, both looking a little weary, but unharmed. The dagger lay near the wall at the back of the room, the sprite sniffing it. "I managed to deflect it, though Dama knows how. It was heading for Lia..."

"Again?" The fox hustled over to them, dropping down alongside and smothering them in a relieved hug and kisses. "What could...? Never mind - anyone hurt?"

"We're fine." A softly smiling Lia patted his cheek. "Eli didn't let it get close; he may struggle to weave magic but he can really throw it when he wants to. We got the artefact, too." She lifted her other paw into view, uncurling her fingers to reveal a thin, two-inch diameter copper disc crisply embossed with a sleek and powerful dragon head. "It's not what I expected...but beautiful."

Ben took it and held it up in the bright light cast by - he was happy to note - all six motes clustering close. "Really beautiful...and crammed with magic. Can't read it, though."

"Me either," Lia admitted. "Way too dense. Maybe Kyra or Sher can figure it out." She eased away from the others and got, just a little bit unsteadily, to her feet. "Now, can we get out of here before the other hunters show up?"

"If we can find the way." Ben pulled himself up, then Lupe, handing the wolf the disc, which he slipped into his pouch. "Check the walls."

The three friends split up, each accompanied by a pair of motes and Eli by Nick; Ben ducked outside to collect his staves, fusing them back into one, shrinking that down and sticking it onto his sash, while the others headed to different parts of the antechamber to run their paws over the stone in search of the passage. It didn't take long to find.

"Got it!" Her hand held flat against the wall Lia twisted it smoothly ninety degrees to the right; a portion of the stone alongside her faded away in response. "Let's go."

Ben, Lupe and Nick followed her in, the fox locating a matching spell a couple of feet into the hidden tunnel; he put a paw to it and rotated, closing the entrance behind them.

Without pause they set off down the narrow, roughly-hewn passage at a light jog, a mote clinging to each of their backs and upper chests and the sprite bringing up the rear. The tunnel, crudely dug as it was, forged a dead straight line, steadily climbing through the hill, the only variation being a strange little stub jutting off from it, to no apparent purpose. Both Lia and Ben felt magic of some ancient strain lingering, seemingly woven into the rock, but they couldn't pin it down at all, so they made a collective mental note and carried on going.

Another few minutes of silent progress brought them to the end, but no immediately obvious exit; the tunnel simply stopped at a blank and featureless wall. Ben quickly located a spell, but didn't activate it, his arms looping around his friends' shoulders, gathering them closer.

"We need to be quiet and quick," he told them, keeping his voice to a murmur even though it wasn't really necessary. "Ideally, the bandits won't ever know we were here. Now, the map said this tunnel comes out in the cellars of Portcastle's manor house, right?"

"Yeah." Eli nodded.

"Then if Kyra's memory serves it should just be a case of up a flight of stairs and along a corridor to a small storeroom - they won't know what the statuette is so they'll likely have stashed it there with all the other things they don't want or need. Eli and I will keep watch while you search for it, Lia - the room could well be packed full, and you're the least likely to disturb anything. If we're discovered, you bolt back here, with or without the statuette, and wait. We don't appear within ten minutes, you just run; get back out through the tomb and head for Oakden. Understood?"

"Y...yeah." The lizard sounded a lot less than happy about it, but she didn't argue. "Won't come to that though, will it?"

"If Short's as poor a leader as we've been told, and we're lucky, no, it won't. Now, unless I've forgotten anything..."

A paw patted his leg, drawing his attention down to Nick.

Ben acknowledged the sprite with a short nod. "Right, of course. You can help Lia search - we're looking for a foot tall wooden statuette of a female squirrel holding a book, okay?"

Nick nodded understanding.

"Wonderful. Everyone ready?" A soft chorus of confirmations. Ben gestured for the motes to extinguish their light, then gathered them into an orb, which he stowed in his hip; finally, he put his paw to the spell. "Then here we go..."

With a twist of his hand the wall faded; keeping his palm pressed to the spell the fox leaned through, ears perked and nose twitching. The space beyond was indeed a cellar, and quite a large one, hewn from the living rock and currently filled with dark, portly barrels, as well as the pungent aromas of rich damson wine and heavy ales. There were traces of Pelts, too, but nothing recent, and no sight or sound of life could be detected so Ben padded silently into the room, dipping down into a crouch amongst the massed casks.

Nick, Lupe and Lia quickly joined him, the latter sealing the passage shut. The vulpine taking the lead they weaved through the barrels to a steep set of stone stairs that climbed from a corner of the cellar. At the top they found a sturdy oaken door, but Ben made no move to try and open it - footsteps were audible just the other side. Clustered together, they waited until even Elijah couldn't hear them before Ben eased the hefty latch up and the door slowly open.

They proved to be at one end of an empty stone corridor some forty feet in length; two more doors were situated on the right-hand side, and another at the far end. Since the coast was clear the group made haste to the farthest door, Lia and Nick slipping through, Ben and Lupe stationing themselves outside.

The shadowy storeroom - the only source of light a small opening in the back wall - was a chaotic, jumbled mess of furniture, ornaments, chests, fabrics and crockery, as if half the house's contents had been carelessly thrown inside. The lizard-girl and the sprite shared a glance, then started tentatively picking their way around, trying to spot the statuette amongst the clutter without disturbing any of it.

After two or three fruitless minutes of this containers that were large enough to hold their prize and that they could access without having to move anything were opened up and rummaged in, but they came up dry as well. That just left half a dozen partially buried chests and a coarse linen sack under an upturned table. Working together they got into the latter first, to find only light woollen shirts and breeches, then started tackling the former. The third finally gave up their goal.

Lia allowed herself a second's jubilant, if careful jig, then hastened to the door with Nick, listening at it then pulling it open. Rather than the friendly faces of Ben and Eli, though, she was greeted by a completely vacant corridor. Tensing in alarm she followed their urgency-tinged scents to the next door along, and quickly reasoned they must have been spotted, and set off to draw attention from her.

Reverting to the only plan she had left the lizard-girl and her sprite companion made haste for the cellar, picking up a fresh canine scent along the way as further corroboration of what had transpired, only for the door to start opening when they were still fifteen feet from it, gruff voices issuing forth.

A panicked Eliana changed direction so violently she lost her balance and hit the floor on her side; scrambling back up she raced headlong to the storeroom after Nick, as the voices turned angry and pounding footfalls gave chase. Skidding inside and slamming the door shut she and the sprite pushed and piled as much heavy clutter in front of it as they could, then darted across to the opening in the back wall.

Set inches above her head, the bars that had once sealed it off long removed, it was large enough for Nick to scurry through when hoisted to it, pulling the statuette with him, but not quite large enough for her to follow suit. With her pursuer now battering the door open inch by inch, his raging voice roaring threats of the ugliest kind, the lizard felt panic start to overwhelm her.

A familiar wave of light-headedness set upon her, but rather than try to fight it, as she normally did, desperation saw her embrace it. For a moment her vision blurred completely, and she slumped against the wall as the floor seemed to roll beneath her feet. When she came out of it the opening was more than two feet above her head, her body now that of a lithe and wiry seven year old cub.

As the door finally gave way with a cacophonous crash and groan she leapt up to and scrambled through the window, tumbling out into a yard stacked high with lumber and stone. A second later two figures plummeted from the roof of the imposing fortified building she'd just left, landed on the tall stack of wood alongside her, rolled off to hit the ground in a crouch and span round to grin at her - Ben and Eli.

She propelled herself into their arms, wilting with relief, but before she could ask them what happened a shadow fell over them. Looking up revealed a tall, muscular, armour-clad lynx glowering down at the group from the edge of the roof, paws on hips, nearly as powerful a presence as the hill the building was pressed into the flank of.

"You look really familiar, fox," the bruiser of a cat growled, his voice deep, rusty and heavy with malice. "You're those bastard Dunblanes' cub, aren't ya?"

Ben gave a mock sweeping bow as the trio backed away, Lia tucking the statuette into a spell which she then buried in her hip. "Benjamin Dunblane, at your service."

"Good." The feline's muzzle split in a hungry grin as he pulled a hefty hunting bow from his back, notching an arrow with a barbed tip and aiming it at the fox. "I owe them a lot of pain."

Ben's eyes narrowed briefly, his smile turning a fraction dark. "We've plenty already, thanks, Short. NOW!"

The trio hurled themselves to the right, behind a stack of stone, the lynx's arrow hitting the earth where the fox had been standing hard enough to embed itself halfway in. Ben snatched up a loose chunk of wood and hurled it at the bandit leader as he aimed again; Short tried to dodge but it still cracked across his shoulder, jarring the bow from his paws and jolting him backwards.

"KILL HIM!" he roared, shaking with fury and pointing to the fox now leading his friends at a blistering pace out of the yard. "MURDER THE SCRUFFE-DAMNED SON OF A BITCH!"

A horse and cart charged at them when they skidded out into the deserted town, the rough rabbit in control with his double-edged axe held high. Ben broke into a run toward him, leaping onto an upturned cart then over a wild swing from the bandit, twisting in the air as he did so to slam a foot in a buck-toothed face. As he landed he pitched his shoulder forward to roll then sprang out of it and around just in time to see the rabbit crash into a half-subsided house wall. Bounding over he confirmed the now motionless bandit was still breathing then shoved a sleep spell into his head.

Without her rider the horse had come to a halt; Eli vaulted onto her bare back as Ben, Lia and Nick piled into the cluttered cart, the latter burying himself amongst the bags and boxes. Barely had they settled than the wolf up front was gripping the mare's mane and digging his heels sharply into her flanks; dipping her head she started galloping, the cart rattling along right behind.

They chased down along the waterfront road, between a small fleet of forgotten fishing boats bobbing amongst the jetties and a terrace of wood-framed, wattle and daub houses and shops, some just empty shells, others collapsing in on themselves. Their original owners were long gone, but the new ones were well in evidence, dozens of bandits of many races swarming toward them from all directions.

The first to get near were a short, stocky squirrel with half a tail and a weasel with a plethora of scars, the first hurling a dagger at Eli, the second himself off of a partly-crumpled wall and onto the back of the cart. The wolf deflected the blade with a pulse of magic so it whipped just over his head, while Ben brought out his staff, split it in two and, with a feral grin, lunged for the dual dagger wielding weasel.

The mustelid, struggling to keep his footing on the rocking, rattling cart, barely caught the fox's first attack, but thrust back with enough strength to topple Ben over, almost on top of Lia. Twin blades surged for his neck as he sprang up again with aid from the lizard girl, but he ducked underneath and kicked at the bandit's legs, a frisson of energy blocking a lobbed axe before it could bury itself in his flank.

As the weasel fell Ben nodded his thanks to Eliana, then took a quick look around, noting the rogues perched on the buildings and vessels either side, all readying weapons to throw, and the quartet pursuing on horseback, two of them aiming bows and one weaving a spell that crackled and burned with angry magic. His eyes widened.

"Oh, this just got interesting...WHOA!"

He hit aside one dagger slicing for his groin, another plunging toward his gut, then cracked the weasel upside his head with the other stave hard enough to send him stumbling backwards and off the cart. As he tumbled down Ben threw out a blast of energy to push him away from the many pounding hooves of the pursuing horses; the unconscious bandit hit a wall head on instead, bundling up against it.

"Damn, that'll smart tomorrow...YI!" He jumped up and back, his legs splitting to let a small, flared axe spin through, its blade catching the base of his scrotum. He landed astride Lia as she flung up a barrier to deflect a barbed little dagger, his eyes wide with shock and pain and a paw clamped between his legs. "OW! That's _really_not playing fair..."

Lia pulled him down on top of her as a fizzing, roiling spell arced past to impact a wall in a blast of yellow and red sparks, showering the cart and everyone in it with dust, grit and splinters of stone. An arrow hit a bag by Ben's leg a second later, and Eli smacked another out of the air with an energy pulse before it could thunk into his backside.

"Maybe you could ask Eli to kiss it better." Lia flashed Ben a knowing smirk, throwing up three barriers in rapid succession with one hand to deflect a rain of daggers, while tickling the vulpine's face flirtatiously with the other. "Or if he won't, I will..."

The fox rebounded a spell back the way it had come with a pulse of magic, so it exploded on the ground by the horse of the bandit who'd thrown it at them, startling the animal into rearing and kicking, almost unseating its rider in the process.

"Are you trying to charm me, beautiful?" Ben asked, with a roguish grin, stroking her cheek. "Because it's w-"

"HYAA!" screamed a heavyset and mottled otter as she dropped off a building and straight down towards them, brandishing ragged metal claws strapped to her paws.

"Rotten timing," groused Ben, as he flipped onto his back, right next to Lia. Using his staves to deflect the bandit's hand-blades he caught her on his feet, legs compressing as he rolled them forward, then shot them out and the screaming otter high over the other side of the cart to wallop into a one-eared fox atop a wall. Both toppled off and out of sight, cursing viciously, Ben grinning as he watched. "That'll teach them to interrupt. Now, where were we...?"

Eliana leaned in and kissed him, softly and languorously, on the tip of the muzzle.

"Oh, yes." Ben thwacked an axe aside then nuzzled her back. "Being charmed by a gorgeous Shaala girl..."

"She's a damn cub!" yelled a swarthy badger climbing onto the cart from the side, his face twisted in revulsion. "You sick fu-"

He was cut off by a blast of magic to the face then a vulpine foot, a combination that dislodged him so violently he tumbled end over end right off the dockside and into the water. The horse tore round to the right, onto the main street out of Portcastle, the cart swinging wildly wide behind, one wheel leaving the ground as it slammed into a house hard enough to shatter the wall and fracture its own flank.

Ben and Lia were flung across the bed of the cart, the fox unable to avoid crushing the lizard-girl against the side, then rolled back over so he landed hard on top of her. A crackling rush ensured he stayed low, covering her as a spell detonated a shop sign overhead, its shredded remains spraying over them, soon followed by a pair of arrows pinging off the front of the building and clattering down amongst the clutter.

Sitting up sharply, a bruised and winded Lia still under him, Ben used both hands to throw a wall of magic at the riders in pursuit; it drained the remainder of his stores, but it also succeeded in blowing all four thugs backwards off their horses, to hit the street in a tangle of limbs and a flurry of angry shouting.

A spell went flying high from the weaver, Ben's heart lodging in his throat as he realised it was rising almost on the vertical, and therefore would land on the one that had loosed it. Energy flared up in a barrier over the fallen bandits for a second, just long enough for the spell to deflect farther away; it shredded their armour and singed their coats when it exploded on the road, but nothing more.

Sagging and sighing with relief Ben dipped down to firmly kiss the top of Lia's head, smacked a particularly rusty dagger away then moved to examine a bag that had been ripped as they tumbled across it - short, ginger, ragged fur was poking out. Tearing it open revealed just what he'd feared - a feline cub only four or five years old lying supine, her arms flat against her sides, her eyes open and roiling with terror and confusion, her lower quarters heavily soiled.

"They've stolen a bloody child," he growled_,_ eyes narrowing.

Lia craned around him, horrified. "But what could they want with..."

"I_really_ don't want to know." Ben held a paw over the little cat, soon detecting a paralysing spell in her neck, but he didn't try to remove it, instead ruffling her ears to calm her. "We'll see you safe. Watch over her, Lia, and check for any others."

"Aye." The lizard-girl bundled the cub in a corner with Nick, leaving her as inconspicuous as possible, then set to checking the other bags.

Ben flicked out one stave to knock an axe away, swung the other to hit aside a lance a rangy hare was jabbing at him from a window, then shouted to the wolf up front. "Lupe! How's your magic?"

"Still high! Wanna trade places?"

"Yeah - you get back here and cover, I'll get up front and steer!"

"Coming!" The wolf ducked sideways to avoid a twirling blade, thrust himself up into standing on the horse, then somersaulted backwards to land next to Ben in the cart with legs splayed. "Your turn!"

"Show off!" teased Ben, snatching a fleeting kiss, Lupe passing him a parcel of magic in the process, before jumping off the front of the cart to land astride the equine, wincing as he did so. "Ooh, that smarts..."

Their exit was now only a hundred or so feet ahead, a towering and thickset vertical gate. It secured a cutting through a ridge that curved from the hill behind the manor house and right across the base of the peninsula Portcastle occupied and was currently, to Ben's delight, held high and open. A polecat bandit racing toward it, axe hefted ready to sever the securing ropes, told him it wouldn't stay that way long.

Seeing Lupe was busy dealing with one last onslaught of projectiles and bodies, blasts of energy knocking them hither and thither, and Lia was shielding the feline cub and another bag, the fox resorted to the only option he could see - throwing himself off the horse and on top of the rogue when they were close enough. Narrowly avoiding getting an axe buried in the side of his skull he hastily wove a weak sleep spell and shoved it into the polecat's head.

As the bandit crumpled he took off after the cart, a spell erupting in his wake, close enough to scorch from his ankles to his shoulders and shove him off balance; even as his skin smarted and his fur tingled he managed to tuck into a roll then surge back into a run. Under the gate he sprinted, two sharp pulses of energy slicing the ropes so it crashed to earth barely more than a foot behind him.

Ben collapsed onto his stomach in the middle of the dirt road, chest heaving, muscles screaming and head swimming. "Glad that's over..."

"BEN!" Eli skidded into kneeling by his side. "Are yo-"

"Alive," Ben interrupted, pulling himself painfully upright. "And for now that's plenty. Let's shift tail before they get that gate open."

"Fine by me." Lupe slung an arm around Ben's waist, supporting him as they hastened to the cart. "I've had enough of those damn thugs to last me a year..."

Ben let out a rueful, even slightly bitter chuckle. "That's a pity; I don't think we're even close to done with them yet..."