FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

Yogoloth slowly woke to the sounds of birds and the feel of sunlight on his face. Taking a deep breath, he yawned, his toothy maw stretched wide, his purple tongue curling up as he did. His eyes opened slowly and he frowned at the wooden beams above his head. Then he remembered where he was and looked around the small room he had rented. Everything was just as he'd left it.

The bird song had been rather brief and had filtered in through the shutters of the window. The candle had long burned out, leaving a mangled lump of wax in the clay dish, which had held it the night before. The narrow gaps in the shutters let in just enough light to cause him to squint a little as his eyes adjusted to being open again. It was time.

Yogoloth swung his legs off the bed and let his feet settle on the floor as he adjusted to being in his two legged form again. It did not take long. He quickly dressed and then checked the room for his belongings. The magical wards he'd left on the shutters and door were easily unravelled as he left the room and locked it behind him. The sounds of conversation and the smell of civilised food had begun to invade his senses the moment he'd woken. But as he descended the stairs to the main room of the inn, they became unignorable.

He didn't look around the inn as he left, he had things to do and places to be. It was possible that he would be finished with what he needed to do in one day. But Yogoloth didn't think that was too likely. Finding one or two of the poachers per day would probably be most likely. First he would head to the house where the first poacher had said one of the foxes lived. His magic was at full strength already which would give him the perfect means of extracting information and keeping others from coming to investigate.

The streets were quite busy, with many civilised folk going about whatever business they had. Some hurried with wooden crates of goods, others were dressed more finely and took their time and some dragged their children behind them as they went about buying the provisions they needed over the next few days. It was busy and chaotic, nothing like the quiet calm of the wilderness that the half dragon was used to.

It was interesting to see how the types of people he saw changed as he approached the harbour where the first fox lived. Guards were fairly consistent but the docks were clearly not as prosperous as the trading areas or the main street where The Three Wheatsheaves was placed. There were more narrow streets, darkened by the buildings either side, and tight corners where the nimble could easily disappear.

Yogoloth knew to stay clear of such places, he was still rather vulnerable in this form. He may well be quite strong, the tone of his feral body translated through with his transformation, but he wasn't especially tall nor martially skilled. Magic would only last so long and a blow to the head could easily prevent him reacting at all until it was too late. So his walk to the narrow building was uneventful.

The fox's home was a fairly run down shack that had been built between two larger buildings. It looked as though it had been built in an old alley, which it probably had been. Yogoloth could already tell that no one was home as he reached out to the door, stretching his magical senses out. The lock was of poor quality and easily broken with a simple magical shape. Although, even a high quality lock consisted of the same easily destroyed metals. He casually passed the magic through the handle as he grasped it and the door opened easily and he slipped inside.

The home was dark, dusty and smelled slightly damp. Yogoloth's keen sight struggled to make out any candles to light and instead he just relied on what little daylight passed through the shutters on the only window and a gap in the roof. It was clear that the fox had not lived here for some time now. Or rather, the group he was a part of, had not used this place for some time.

Yogoloth sighed a little to himself as he half-heartedly moved some molded fabric around on a table to uncover some more useless debris. This place was a dead end. There were no clues here, no more leads and the half dragon couldn't imagine the gang would be back anytime soon. But this was just the first of a few sets of tracks that he was going to follow today; things were not over yet.

Part 2

Yogoloth left the run down shack quickly and headed back along the road he'd originally travelled along. He headed towards the north end of town which took him away from the poorer districts and into the slightly better areas of Stone Haven. The town had extensive farmland to the north and south and many farmsteads recruited cheap labour from the people here during harvest times. It was unskilled work which the poorer residents relied upon.

Yogoloth knew that one of the men that had attacked Apples, a large human, often did work for the farms to help make ends meet. Most of the poachers also seemed to do legitimate work and it was through either greed or necessity that they had turned to crime. Even his old friend Marrus had dipped his hand into these more lucrative, yet less acceptable endeavours. But he'd never attacked innocents who were just doing their job before.

As he reached the northernmost part of the town, he noticed a loose collection of people gathered near the stone pillars that marked the edge of the official part of the town. In reality, more buildings continued beyond the markers and the town officials would move the markers outwards in time. The town always seemed to be growing. The disguised half dragon approached one of the men.

"Is this the place to get farm work to the north?", he asked one of their number casually.

"Ah, yes... one of sons of Rob come with horse with cart and pick up men... he been once this morning... ah, he be back in mark... I think.", the dark skinned human replied in broken Namarian. He was obviously originally from foreign lands.

Yogoloth breathed in casually, taking in the scents of the people gathered here. He didn't hold much hope for picking up the scent of the man he was looking for, none of those present matched the description he'd been given.

"I don't suppose there was a big human with a torn up ear with the last group? Goes by the name Ducan?", Yogoloth said, deciding to throw caution to the wind by asking outright.

"Sorry... ah, I not seen man like that... but I very new... ah, just try to make ends come together.", the man replied and looked further down the road as though expecting the cart to show.

"I know Ducan, old Rog's son?", a scruffy looking wolf volunteered from further down the line. "Why do ya ask?"

Yogoloth had already thought about what reasons he would give for looking for the man. The half dragon decided that the truth, that he was planning on killing them all, was probably best kept secret. But something entirely beneficial to them might be a little unbelievable. Also, good news would be more likely to then find them on its own. Yogoloth couldn't afford for the poachers to know that someone was looking for them before he himself turned up asking.

Yogoloth gave a slight smile. "He owes me a couple of bobs, I could really do with the money right now."

The wolf nodded and gave his own smile in return. "Figures. He was quite a regular at the farm until a couple of months back. I saw him at the market a week or so ago buying some tools. Figured he'd got himself apprenticed or some such."

"You know where I might be able to find him?"

The wolf shook his head. "Nah, I knew his pa, but he's gone now. No idea where he moved too after that.

"Thanks anyway.", Yogoloth said turning to give the group one last look before heading back towards the town center. He sighed, another dead end.

The only good news that came from this was that at least one of the people he sought was still in the town as of a week ago. It was possible that he might be able to pick up a trail from the market. Maybe the stall that sold tools? Maybe he'd get lucky and catch the scent of one of the other members there? Stone Haven was a big town, the young hybrid wasn't sure of his chances of coming across any of the poachers accidentally like that.

Yogoloth was running out of leads and he could feel his frustration growing. As he walked along the main street, which lead in the direction of the market place, he reached for his magical reserves and carefully formed a few shapes as efficiently as he could. He took his time and tried to use as little power as possible. Not that they were an expensive set of shapes, but as his mother had always said, it is better to be efficient when you have the time, so that you may be powerful when you do not.

The trace shapes vanished as he released them and he casually nodded and smiled to a pair of lizards who noticed him. Although there wasn't a significant amount of racism amongst the civilised races, there was still plenty of solidarity and recognition between those of their own kind. He was disguised as a lizard man, so it was best to play the part of a lizard man. The couple moved along the road to where ever they were headed without any further delay; Yogoloth breathed a sigh of relief. The trace came back and the half dragon estimated that the poacher stash in the cliff cave was exactly where he'd left it.

Yogoloth let out a quiet curse in High Wurm, this was not going as well as he'd hoped it would.

Part 3

The walk to the market place was not a long one, but it was getting rather busy with various people going about their business and peddling their wares. There were many stalls by the sides of the street ran by many varied races. Yogoloth paid them little heed as he approached the market place itself.

There were plenty of houses here, many of them had second floors and drying clothes spanned the gap overhead. Smells of cooked foods, spices, alcohol and leather filled Yogoloth's nostrils as he walked between the shadows cast by the buildings and washing lines. A few people had brought out wooden stools and sat by the sides of the street, watching the foot traffic as it passed them by.

It wasn't so busy that his progress was slowed, but more than once he had to brush passed others coming from the opposite direction. A human hurried along with an unruly child in tow, a well dressed wolf followed by a lesser dressed young man, a couple of guards casually talking as they went about their patrols and even a gryphon stood by a stall examining goods. Many of them were carrying baskets of food or household goods. The sound of conversation and merchants peddling their produce became rather loud and more than a little annoying.

If his ears had not been magically shrunk away, they would have perked up as Yogoloth's senses told him that something was wrong. He stopped suddenly and looked around, his natural and magical senses swept the street as his heart beat faster in his chest. A pair of young foxes, probably brothers, scowled at him as they were suddenly forced to walk around the stationary lizard man. He attracted a few puzzled stares from others nearby. A pair of merchants at a leather working stall, the gryphon, a child who looked like she'd never seen a reptile before and an old man sat smoking a pipe in a doorway nearby.

The old human gave the disguised hybrid a big gap toothed smile and lifted his pipe up in mock salute before taking another long suck on it. Yogoloth couldn't help but nod back as he scanned the area. Nothing. There was no magic here, no hidden assailants and his leather pack hadn't been touched. He'd once been pick pocketed before, the thief hadn't gotten very far. But this felt like actual danger to his person, not to his property. But still... nothing.

"Oh! Excuse me!", a rather large, lavishly dressed women exclaimed.

Yogoloth turned to see her making a point of walking around him and scowling. She obviously thought he should have moved out of her way, but hadn't quite been prepared to wait to see if he did. He ignored her disdainfully and took another look around. Everyone who had originally looked his way, when he'd suddenly stopped and looked around, had gone back to doing their own things. Everyone except the child and the old man with the pipe, he just kept on staring and grinning inanely.

The disguised dragon turned back to the market and carried on. It was probably nothing.

He arrived at the marketplace a minute or so later and found a spot to stand near a broad tree. The truck was adorned with numerous bit of parchment nailed to it and countless rusted nails from previous notes. He took a glance at the notices and realised they were mostly concerning work opportunities and where to find the best of whatever the sign poster was providing. But as he turned to survey the marketplace, Yogoloth realised that there were a surprising number of people moving by. He sat down on a nearby wall, closed his eyes and took in the scents of everything nearby.

At first, the smell of food, animal excrement and sweat was difficult to ignore, but soon the half dragon began to pick out the individuals who walked passed. He could tell their race, sex and approximate age and the type of material they wore as clothing. Perhaps he would get lucky and catch one of the poachers' scents. But after many minutes he opened his eyes again and realised that it wasn't going to work. There were too many people and they moved passed too quickly for him to get a good sniff at them. He'd literally have to walk up to people and sniff at them to know for sure. That would take far too long and probably wouldn't go down too well either.

Yogoloth's stomach twinged and he frowned to himself, why did he feel hungry? He'd eaten yesterday, but all this smell of food must be appealing to his stomach. Which was annoying because it was all civilised food, filled with plants or milk or... both! Such things were pretty disgusting. Although, as the half dragon followed his nose he spotted a stall which had what looked like a whole lamb slowly roasting on a grill above some hot coals. As the outside layers of meat cooked, the vendor carved a few pieces off to reveal slightly less cooked meat underneath.

The young hybrid's stomach rumbled gently; well, that certainly smells good. Although it had been many years ago, Yogoloth's first experience with civilised food was not a good one. But this would just be some meat, no plants, just some wonderfully smelling meat. He decided to give it a go.

A couple of coins later and Yogoloth had a few strips of slow roasted lamb wrapped in some kind of flat bread. He wasn't about to eat the bread, but he couldn't see that it would contaminate anything too badly. He took a piece of the meat and put it in his mouth carefully. The half dragon chewed once and stopped as his eyes widened a little. Oh... well this was not expected. He carried on chewing eagerly before starting on the next strip.

The meat was warm, still juicy and more than satisfying. This was the first time he'd actually eaten cooked meat on its own. Before, it had been some chicken with a milky sauce and vegetables. He'd been rather ill after that, but this was something else entirely. The act of cooking had done something to the flavour and the meat was far softer and warmer than he was used to. Yogoloth also identified something else that had been added to the meat, some kind of green plant. But it was subtle and the half dragon kept reminding himself that ale was made from plants too.

He happily finished the strips of lamb and dropped the flat bread on the wall he was sitting on. It would no doubt take less than thirty seconds for some hungry child or beggar to spot it and take advantage. No goods, food or otherwise, would go to waste in a town like this.

Yogoloth sighed a little, partly in satisfaction at the pleasant snack, but also in mild frustration at his lack of progress. He would head back to the inn and come up with some more avenues to explore.

Part 4

The sun had moved across the sky and was making its slow descent to make way for evening. It was still sunny, bright and beautifully warm as Yogoloth entered the The Three Wheatsheaves. He had taken a slow walk around the market after having finished off the lamb. He had been tempted to buy more, but he'd hardly needed the first portion let alone any seconds. He'd kept his eyes peeled and his nose alert for any signs of the poachers, but he had to remember that his was a large town and they were probably laying low.

There were maybe a dozen patrons in the inn as he arrived including a gryphon. He didn't recognise the gryphon, she was young, barely an adult; probably not long flown the nest seeking her own place in the world. She seemed to be comfortably talking to a well built middle aged human. It was possible that she was aiming for some menial work, construction was something that even a young gryphon would be invaluable for. Neither of them paid Yogoloth any notice as he went to the counter and ordered an ale.

The same fox that had served him the night before was working and quickly poured the ale, took the coins and moved on to collecting mugs. He was clearly too busy for small talk. Yogoloth found an empty table and literally slumped into the chair. He took a big gulp of ale, nearly half in one go, and started brooding.

He'd really expected to have made some sort of progress by now, but all he'd managed to find were nothing but dead ends. The ancient ruins went unvisited, the stash remained unplundered, the fox's shack unrewarding and farm workers had been unhelpful. He took another gulp of ale, his large snout able to finish off the drink in no time and slammed the empty mug on the table. He felt a growl rise in his throat but managed to muscle it down.

Almost automatically he fetched a couple of bits from his pouch and put them on the table next to his mug. The fox, although young and untalkative, seemed rather experienced and soon came to fill the mug from a pitcher and collect the payment. Yogoloth took another gulp and enjoyed the slight softness that began to creep into his mind. He really felt like getting drunk tonight; it was a pity he didn't have Marrus here as his drinking partner, he still rather missed that.

Another gulp and he wondered what his old friend would have thought of him now. Yogoloth smiled at the thought and watched as the man that the gryphon had been talking to stood and left. The gryphoness was clearly pleased with whatever the outcome of the meeting had been as she tried not to grin too much. She briefly looked over to Yogoloth before turning and leaving the inn by the large back door. The disguised half dragon was reminded of how thankful he was that gryphons weren't as unconsciously sensitive to magic as dragons were.

A pair of felines left the inn, clearly having their own things to do, and as they passed through the door, a well dressed human entered, followed by a pair of guards. He wore practical but finely made clothes, the sort that could stand a lot of wear and tear without being too heavy or cumbersome. He strode toward the counter wearing a thin-lipped smile as Yogoloth took another gulp of his ale. Both he and the two wolf guards wore grey cloaks and expensive bronze swords on their belts.

It was clear that the three men were here on official business. A brief talk with the fox, who worked at the inn, soon had him disappear into the kitchen and return moments later following behind the more friendly human barmaid who Yogoloth was familiar with. She spoke with the confident looking human for a time as the fox did another round collecting mugs and refilling Yogoloth's own. The half dragon took another gulp of ale and smiled, his disguise was good enough that even if he did get drunk tonight, he'd probably be fine slumped across this very table.

The well dressed man finished his quiet conversation with the barmaid and turned to look directly at Yogoloth. The disguised hybrid had been half way through lifting his mug to take another drink but stopped dead instead. The human smiled pleasantly and began to walk directly towards where he was sat.

He slowly put the mug down on the table and glanced at the main door of the inn, one of the two wolf guards was casually talking to another patron right near the door. He was clearly keeping a subtle eye on Yogoloth. The other guard had positioned himself near the large rear door to the gryphon stables and the human approaching was between him and the inn kitchens. All three convenient exits were covered.

"J'darden isn't it?", the human asked holding out a gloved hand. When Yogoloth made no move to grasp it, the human sat down opposite the disguised dragon and made an effort to remove the thin leather gloves before continuing. "My name is Virmon. I'm the Constable here in Stone Haven."

Part 5

"What does that have to do with me?", Yogoloth asked carefully, his hand still holding the half filled mug of ale.

Marrus had always said that when you really needed to be sober, your body would know and it would act. He was right. Yogoloth suddenly didn't feel particularly drunk anymore, and although his vision still felt a little sluggish, his mind was suddenly very sharp. His grip tightened on the mug, if needed it was his only physical weapon.

"I make it my business to know about strangers who start asking...", Virmon paused for a moment and then emphasized his next word. "Interesting questions around town. Especially when said questions are about other people of interest to me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about.", Yogoloth replied glancing at the guard near the main doors of the inn. He hadn't moved.

"Ah, I think you do. I won't insult your intelligence by telling you what you already know. I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult mine by...", another momentary pause with proceeding emphasis. "Feigning ignorance of facts that I clearly already have."

Virmon leaned back in his chair, his eyes never once leaving Yogoloth's, and smiled pleasantly. It was not a mocking smile, nor a smug smile; it was genuinely meant to put Yogoloth at ease. It didn't work. The barmaid arrived at that moment with a mug of ale for Virmon and gave the disguised dragon what he judged was an apologetic half smile before heading back to the counter.

It was clear to Yogoloth that Virmon was confident, intelligent and influential. At first glance, many of his clothes seemed rather plain and drab, but up close you could see the quality. He also wore a very fine silk shirt under his dark leather tunic and had a small bronze badge pinned on that. It was a studded ring behind a crossed sword and scroll; the half dragon didn't recognise the symbol. The Constable leaned forward, took a sip of the ale and put it back down before continuing.

"J'darden, a friendly question if you will. What's your... business with Ducan, Rog's son?"

"That doesn't sound like a friendly question."

"Ah, but I assure you it is. Less friendly questions would be asked in small dark rooms in barracks.", the human replied smiling. He leaned back again and gestured to the rest of the inn with one hand. "Isn't this a much... friendlier place to be asking questions?"

Yogoloth decided that he didn't like this man at all. "Then let me ask you a question. Why do you care about who's asking after Ducan?"

Virmon's smile broadened just a little. "Very well, a question for a question; an answer for an answer.", the human looked out of a nearby window for a moment before continuing. "Ducan is suspected of being part of a gang of... petty lawbreakers. They have however, recently starting behaving... not so petty. I wish to put an end to them. Not because it is my job, but because I do not like people who... disturb the order I work hard to maintain. Your turn if you will."

Yogoloth wondered for the briefest moment whether he should tell the truth in part. But Virmon hadn't told him anything that wasn't obvious anyway and even part of the truth would no doubt be telling the Constable far too much. "He owes me money. Not much, just a couple of bob.", Yogoloth replied and then took a drink of ale.

Virmon's smile faded and became a frown. "I see. Again you think it necessary to insult my intelligence.", the human casually gestured to the wolf guard near the door to come over. "I think I'd like to take a look in your pack now. Empty it out on the table."

Yogoloth watched the guard approach and weighed up his options. He couldn't fight his why out without obvious magic and Virmon didn't seem the sort to change his mind once he'd made a decision. He and Marrus had been searched by guards and officials before, sometimes justly and sometimes not. It was generally good practice just to do as they say. Yogoloth picked up his pack from the floor and carefully tipped out the contents.

Virmon slowly stood, putting on his gloves as he did and carefully picked through the collection of items while the wolf watched in silence. "Interesting. You camp out in the woods often and certainly like your meat... and what do we have here?", the Constable said as he picked up two flutes from the pile, one was bronze and the other wooden with an iron mouth piece. "Something to keep you entertained during the long nights in the woods?"

"They're gifts for a friend."

"An unusual design I must say, but otherwise rather beautiful. I'm sure your friend will enjoy them.", Virmon said as he turned over the instruments in his gloved hands and then placed them back into the pile. "No weapons, I notice. It seems to me that an unarmed man of such... obvious means, would be ill placed, away from home, collecting such a paltry debt."

Yogoloth didn't reply, he simply began putting his possessions back into his pack.

Virmon continued as he gestured for the other guard to join him as well. "I've always found that it pays for me to be interested in those who show interest in the same people I do.", he smiled as he and the two wolves headed out of the inn. "I have a feeling that you I will be seeing each other again soon enough. Fare thee well, J'darden."

Part 6

Yogoloth watched as the Constable and his two guards left the inn. They did not look back and the disguised half dragon finished repacking his possessions before sitting back down. He let out a quiet breath, grabbed his ale and finished it in one gulp. As his heart began to calm, he was shocked at how anxious he'd become. He simply wasn't used to such a stressful social situation.

Stress to Yogoloth normally meant sneaking up on prey or fighting other creatures like himself. The physical activity would burn the excess energy away and tire out his body. A tired body and an active mind was far preferable than a tired mind and an active body. Although, as his nerves calmed he did feel rather physically tired too, perhaps an early night wouldn't be a bad thing. A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, J'darden. I didn't know the Constable was going to ambush you like that. If I'd have known...", the buxom barmaid trailed off with a guilty look on her face.

For a moment, Yogoloth wanted to bite her. She'd obviously told that human what she knew about him. She should know to keep her mouth shut about things that don't concern her. But the growl died even before it threatened to rumble in his throat. Virmon was a sly man, careful and deliberate in everything he did. She'd no doubt been 'ambushed' in the same way as he had.

"It's... not your fault. No harm done.", he heard himself saying and then wondered where it came from.

"Even so...", she said as she refilled his mug from a pitcher. "On the house."

The young hybrid looked at the mug and smiled a little as she took Virmon's barely touched ale away. One more before sleep would probably help to sooth his nerves in absence of being able to preen his feathers. He could really do with a good hard fly right about now, exhausting himself in the air was a sure way of getting a good night's sleep. Or hunting. Filling his belly had a similar effect. Hunting and killing things always helped put things in focus even without eating at the end; like killing that poacher had.

The thought of the poacher both focused and darkened his thoughts slightly. It got him back on track, but also reminded him on how he'd basically ran out of leads. He struggled to remember something more that he might of said that would give the half dragon another path to follow. But Yogoloth had already followed all the leads he had on the remaining poachers. There was nothing else...

Unless... of course. The poacher in the woods, Arston Fletcher, had said that he had a family here in Stone Haven. He would probably have a workshop or at the very least provide fletching services to others. That might be enough to find them and they might know about his friends. It was a long shot, but it might just work.

Yogoloth grabbed the fresh ale and slowly gulped it all down. A little splashed on the table around his snout as he rushed. He slammed the empty mug down and smiled as he stood and collected his pack. The barmaid looked over and smiled a little awkwardly. It appeared that she still felt responsible for the 'pleasant' conversation he'd had with Constable Virmon.

"Calling it a day?", she asked.

"I have an early start, might as well.", Yogoloth replied as he took a few wobbly steps from his chair and stopped for a moment to regain his balance.

He grinned as he negotiated the inn and climbed the stairs, partly from actually having a new plan, but partly from the nice warm feeling that the ale had given him. He fumbled a little for his key, slipped inside the small room and clicked the lock shut behind him. It was still a little light outside, the summer evening sky still a healthy shade of rich blue.

Yogoloth quickly undressed and slumped on the bed. He reached out his magical senses and formed the protections that he'd formed the previous night. The shapes were familiar and their presence was comforting. Sleep found the half dragon quickly as the promise of a new, more successful day beckoned.