FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6

The sun was bright and the sky was slightly cloudy as the duo set out on their travels. The air was cold but crisp and dry, signaling that fall was finally on its way. It didn't take long for Russo to debrief Jem on everything that master had told him, considering so much about what they were searching out and where they were going was unknown. During their talks of nostalgia throughout the day Russo unfurled a map he had packed for the trip and Jem took it upon himself to label towns that he thought would be good stopping points for the day, where the two of them could grab a meal, and places to bunk down for a good night's sleep. The remainder of the first day was quiet and uneventful.

Clouds started rolling in on the second day and the blue of the sky was starting to slowly be blotted out. Russo and Jem chatted a great deal to keep time flowing and to keep themselves occupied. Once they had exhausted their talk of the past missions they drifted towards current events, though the only event locally of any significance had been Dax's acceptance into the guild. All Russo had to say about that was Dax hadn't done anything stupid or caused any trouble yet. Jem was quick to point out how eager Dax was to contribute to the guild and seemed to love being there.

"I think we did good letting him join the guild. Look how happy he is."

"Still worries me though. In a sense we're putting everyone in the guild and town in danger by lying to them about what Dax really is. A size-shifting giant... geez."

"You know he's not like that though, he's not the kind to go around hurting people, well at least unprovoked. Sure he has been shy about meeting new guild members and has been clinging to the two of us, but he loves it there. I don't think he'd do anything to hurt the guild or the town. If anything I'd think that he would try to protect it. It's home for him now."

"I'm not sure how I feel about sharing our home with him though. ...He does have an almost infectious optimism to him, I'll give him that much."

"Aww... you're coming around to him," Jem chuckled. "I still can't believe he wants to be a mage. He has so much potential to be a great warrior! He's already plenty strong as is, if he could just find a way to somehow channel that raw physical strength of his as a giant in his smaller current size he'd be a force to be reckoned with."

"You're just jealous that I'm going to be getting an apprentice before you do."

"An apprentice who you don't even want!"

"Which is what makes this all the more satisfying to rub in your face."

Jem grumbled at his best friend and the chatter between the two slowly tapered off from there.

Blue skies were completely replaced by dark grays on the third day of travel and the clouds couldn't seem to make up their minds as to whether or not they just wanted to block out the sun or piss rain. Russo and Jem noiselessly traveled in tandem throughout the day, though the entire time Jem wracked his brain over whether or not now would be a good time to tell Russo about what he really was. First of all they were in the middle of nowhere so if Jem were to reveal what he was it wasn't like anyone else would be around to see. Then of course Russo was slowly warming up to Dax... so why wouldn't Russo accept him for what he was? Why wouldn't he react the same way towards him? He and Russo had been best friends for years. Both of them had been about as young as Dax when they first met at the guild and they quickly became the best of friends. ...But would Russo be mad about being lied to for all these years? Well not so much lied to... just not told the whole truth. It's not like Jem ever lied about being a giant... but then again he had never needed to because nobody asked him if he was.

Regardless the end result of all that mental struggling was that Jem's nerves got the better of him and he decided to put it off for another day. One day he would tell Russo, he really would! ...Today just wasn't that day. Though that was the conclusion Jem always came to whenever he dwelled upon the subject.

As Russo and Jem set out for travel on the fourth and final day of travel, black skies, rumblings of thunder, and a light rain cheerfully greeted them. The clouds were just teasing them, just waiting to dump a deluge of water on them when it would be most inconvenient. Russo cast a weak barrier spell around the two of them to keep them from getting too wet, but the roads were starting to become muddy and difficult to traverse.

There was little in the way of conversation between the two friends as the gravity of the task at hand began to sink in. The day dragged on as they trudged ever forward, their perception of time thrown off by the absence of the sun. As both the collie and the human were starting to become weary of the monotony they spotted some lights in the distance. They were faint but the lights could only have come from a village and the only village this far along this road was Letum. Just as Russo and Jem's hopes were raised, the clouds jumped on the opportunity to snuff that shit out. Suffice to say those fat rain clouds did a damn good job dampening the duo's moods both figuratively and literally.

When the two of them finally did make it into Letum they were both thoroughly soaked, even with the protection from Russo's rudimentary barrier. They walked through the main road in the village, scanning for an inn, which wound up being an easy find since it was the largest building in the dumpy little place.

"Finally!" Russo exclaimed as he stumbled into the inn absolutely drenched. He took a quick look around the inn and much to his surprise found that it wasn't a total dump. It was a small and rustic little place with the bare essentials. There was a fireplace in the corner off to the left, there was an innkeeper's desk back against the wall, there seemed to be a kitchen behind the desk and to the right of the desk were some stairs that wound up to the second floor. The windows were a bit grimy but you could still see through them. It was small and bare bones but it would do.

As Russo took in the sights and the warmth from the fire, Jem trudged over to the innkeeper's desk and called out for the innkeeper. A pale human showed up but a moment later.

"Excuse me sir, my friend and I here need a room for the night."

"Let me guess, you're from another guild arent'cha?"

"Good guess."

"Eh, there's been a couple of you all coming into town over the past couple of days and all of them have ended up boarding here."

"We're actually supposed to meet up with them. Do you happen to know where they are right now?"

"The lot of them headed over to the pub a while back. They're bound to come back around 'ere sooner or later."

"Thanks for the information sir," Jem said as he handed the innkeeper some gold.

"Not a problem, I never refuse help to a paying customer. You're lucky too cause that's the last room I have," he said as he handed Jem a key. "Yours is the last one on the right."

Jem thanked the innkeeper again and motioned to Russo to follow him up the stairs. After their brief ascent they were emptied out into a claustrophobic hallway. It went straight until it came to a window at the opposite end of the hall. There were two doors on each side of the hallway for a total of four rooms. Jem plodded down the hallway and inserted the key into the second door on the right and slowly pushed it open. Inside was a quaint albeit small room which contained just a desk and a bed. A bed. Singular. As in one.

"Oh crap..."

"Oh come on Russo it's not that bad sharing a bed. If it's really that much of a problem for you, you can always just sleep on the floor," Jem said with a cheeky smile.

"Mumble grumble... personal space..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing..." Russo said as he let out a sigh.

"Anyway it seems like it'll be a while before we finally catch up with those other guild members. Let's dry off and make ourselves comfortable in the meantime.

"Sounds good," Russo said as he removed his damp and heavy cloak. The two of them dried themselves off the best they could and threw on clean clothes. Afterwards they headed downstairs with their soaked clothing and gear and sat down by the fire in order to completely dry themselves and their belongings, all the while waiting for the other guild members to return.

The warmth of the fire and the pitter patter of the rain upon the roof was enough to lull Russo to sleep while they waited. Jem contentedly kept an eye on his peacefully sleeping friend and patiently kept sentry. Hours passed before voices could be heard over the rain outside as the door to the inn swung open and three dripping wet individuals stepped inside.

(Normally this is where I might end a chapter... but this is a special extra-long update so keep on reading!)

"Russo, Russo wake up!" Jem said as he shook his friend awake.

"*Yawn*... Are they finally here?" Russo asked as he rubbed his eyes. He turned towards the door and saw that yes, the other guild members were indeed here. Standing just inside the doorway was a raccoon, a rabbit and a human. The raccoon had traditional gray and black fur colorings and a mask and wore a white robe laced along the hood and cuffs of the sleeves with red. It screamed traditional white mage get up. She had a belt wrapped around her waist that kept her slim robe snug and hanging from her belt were various pouches. The rabbit had fur that was dark brown in color and he wore armor and vesting similar to Jem's, though it appeared to be less bulky and lighter. It probably afforded him more mobility but at the cost of less protection. The only other item of interest about the rabbit was that he had a notch in his right ear. Then there was the human with black hair, black robes and shadows carved around his eyes. He came across as a rather imposing figure.

"Hey!" Russo called out to the trio. "Were you all sent here for some job in Peccamen too?"

"Yes we were," The raccoon spoke up. "Are you two the stragglers from Tedrah?"

"We're not stragglers we just had to walk a further than everybody else," Russo complained.

"Of course. So what are you two? I mean what are you bringing to this rag-tag team? What are your specialties, your strengths?"

"Well I'm a damn fine mage, a jack of all trades as far as magic is concerned, and Jem here is quite the warrior," Russo said with pride in his voice.

"I'm glad to hear it, since it sounds like our team will be very well rounded," the raccoon said with some relief as she walked towards Russo and sat next to him by the fire.

"I'm Morgan by the way. I'm a mage myself but my focus is more on healing magic than anything else."

"I would've never guessed," Russo dryly thought.

"That doesn't mean I'm useless in a fight though, I can take care of myself."

Morgan looked over to the rabbit and motioned for him to introduce himself. "Oh uh, I'm Zane and I... don't fit neatly into any one category. I know some spells but I'm no stranger to rapiers and swords either. I sort of mix and match the two,"

"Oh so you're a spellblade then?" Jem asked, his curiosity aroused.

"A what?"

"You know... a spellblade, someone who incorporates magic into their swordplay. Like say for instance you electrify your sword or cover it in fire. Something like that."

"That's the first I've ever heard the name but I like it," Zane said as he smiled to himself.

"What about you? What's your name and trade?" Russo asked as he pointed to the black clad human still standing by the door.

"The name's Wexter. You could say I'm acquainted with illusory and nullification magic," he said coldly and without emotion.

"...kay." Russo stated uneasily.

"Well... anyway, I suppose we should get straight to the point. Is there a definitive plan of action for how to complete this mission?" Jem asked.

"Besides making sure we stick together and don't put ourselves into unnecessary danger? We've got nothing. After all... how do you plan for the unknown?" Morgan responded. She continued on, "None of us have the faintest idea of what to expect when we get to Peccamen. Zane's guild master and my own were both shaking when they spoke of this place and they refused to tell us the history of this place. All we were told was to get in and out as soon as possible."

"Our guild master was the same way..." Russo chimed in.

Morgan's shoulders drooped as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry to disappoint but the only plan we have is to keep our eyes peeled and be prepared for anything."

"I see..." Jem said solemnly.

Morgan looked at Russo and Jem sympathetically, considering she felt just as hesitant, unsure, and frankly frightened as they were. "We can talk more in the morning. For now I'm going to turn in for the night and try to get some sleep. *Sigh* We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." With that the raccoon girl headed upstairs and back to her room.

Zane watched Morgan head up the stairs and after she had disappeared from sight he began speaking. "Sorry to cut introductions short but I should be turning in as well. It was nice meeting you two."

"Likewise," replied Jem.

As Zane left for his room Wexter simply stared at Jem and Russo for a moment before leaving to go upstairs as well, without saying so much as a word.

"Something's not right about him," Russo confided to Jem after a couple of minutes had passed.

He does seem to be a bit... off." Jem acknowledged.

"I'm going to call it right now Jem; that Wexter guy is going to try something, I just know it."

"Sure he does come off rather odd and maybe he seems to be antisocial and for lack of a better term, weird, but I think you're overreacting."

"And I think you're being naïve. When he does try to pull something I'm going to kick his ass and then rub it in your face."

"Uh-huh." Jem said facetiously as he stood up and started walking towards the stairs.

"I mean I'm going to rub in the fact that you're wrong about him trying to betray us. Not his ass. I am not going to rub his ass in your face is what I'm trying to say."

Jem shook his head and laughed to himself as he continued ignoring his friend. Russo quickly gathered up their clothes and gear that had long since dried by the fire and followed the collie up the stairs into their shared room. Russo tossed everything onto the desk and then collapsed onto the bed. He was forced to scooch over and make some room when Jem got into the bed as well. The two friends lay back to back on the bed to maximize space and were slowly lulled to sleep by the pitter patter of the rain and each other's warmth.

"Hey, Jem..." Russo whispered in the darkness.

"Hmmm?"

"You still holding out any hope this might be an easy mission?"

"No... I've resigned myself to the fact that this one is going to be fundamentally different from any other mission we've taken on. How could it be anything other than hard? *Sigh* There's no way something like this could be easy, not like the jobs back home."

"Yeah... I...you're right. Guess I'm just getting pretty nervous about this whole thing and trying to fool myself into thinking I'm not."

"I'd be worried if you weren't nervous Russo. We'll just stick together and keep an eye on each other like we always do. We'll be fine."

"That's only if I can stand the smell of wet dog. You stink from all that rain."

"I may stink but at least I'm not the one made out of paper."

Both of them started laughing at each other's good natured teasing but quickly settled down.

"Alright, alright. *Sigh* Nite Jem."

"Good night Russo."

(Another chapter break. And again I remind you that this is an extra long chapter!)

---

Russo and Jem managed to get a sound sleep that evening as did everybody else. At least the day wasn't starting off badly. The rest of the morning everyone methodically went about the inn checking their gear and stocking up for the task at hand. As the motley group was tearing into their breakfast at the inn Morgan spoke up and made an announcement.

"There's no real point in trying to rally ourselves or make a big deal out of this. I'm not trying to be dour but let's be realistic. Let's get out there, find a way to do our jobs and see to it that all of us get out of there alive. Let's stay focused people."

After finishing breakfast at the inn and confirming the directions to Peccamen the group headed out. The skies were still cloudy and gray, and puddles stubbornly resisted ceding the ground back to the open air. The dirt roads leading out of the village were mostly liquid slosh due to deluge from the night before. As the crew sloughed through their way towards their destination Russo couldn't help but let his eyes and thoughts wander. The scenery here was markedly different than what he was accustomed to in Tedrah. Back home around the fields were lush and green, filled with all sorts of wildflowers that grew up to your waist. Around Letum the grass was much shorter and only came up to one's ankles. It didn't seem like the land here was good for growing much of anything. Satisfactory for grazing cattle maybe, but not for farming. The further they traveled away from Letum the grass slowly disappeared from the landscape altogether. The land became much rockier, arid and stark. Only the hardiest of plants could survive here and only a few patches of green could be seen dotting the rocky landscape. The imposing scenery actually made travel easier as there was less muck and mud to deal with so they were able to pick up the pace.

"Hey Morgan, how much longer do you think it should be?" Russo asked as the path beneath his feet slowly transitioned from that of hard dirt to rock and gravel.

"Shouldn't be too far now. I asked around the village and the locals said that once the land becomes barren and devoid of life we should be getting close. They said we'd know when we got there."

"We'll just know?"

"Apparently," the raccoon replied unconvinced.

Within the hour the group would find that they had reached Peccamen. The rocky path that they had been following slowly began to incline up and along what seemed to be a small mountain. As they walked higher up everyone began to notice the eerie shapes and plant life that littered the mountainside. Pitch black trees that were gnarled and bent into sharp and imposing shapes that seemed to pierce the sky. Large unexplainable black craters could be seen that carved out holes in the mountainside. At the base of these craters there grew strange blood red plants. The blacks, grays and reds in the landscape all worked together to paint a rather creepy picture.

"Anyone else getting weirded out by all these pleasant sights?" Russo asked nervously.

"It's unusual... and unnerving to say the least." Admitted Zane.

"Don't let it get to you and pick up the pace. We're almost at the peak. I'm sure we'll be able to get a view of Peccamen there from that height." Morgan instructed.

When the group did reach the crest of the hill/mountain they were rewarded with a picture perfect view of Peccamen. Straight ahead, about a hundred feet before them lay a dozen or so dilapidated stone buildings.

"I was kind of expecting Peccamen to be bigger than this."

"Same here Jem," responded Russo.

"Peccamen was not a town, it was an enclave. Individuals whose forays into magic were not appreciated by the rule makers of their time came here where their work would not be restrained and could proceed unfettered." Wexter calmly stated.

Everyone looked suspiciously at the human and Morgan spoke up. "...Any reason you failed to mention that until just now?"

"It slipped my mind."

"Of course it did," Morgan replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm and distrust.

While nearing what was revealed to have been an enclave, Russo found himself trailing behind the group as he continued examining the surroundings in an effort to keep his mind from becoming too anxious about the task at hand. While scanning the relatively flat mountaintop two things struck him about this place. First of all, even at this high altitude there was no wind blowing, none at all, which resulted in a deathly quiet. No rustling of leaves, no chirping, nothing. The second thing was the strange little black plants that grew only here on the mountaintop. Russo didn't remember seeing them on the walk up the mountainside but up here on the peak they poked right through the rock itself and added dashes of blacks and reds to the mountaintop. Guess there was a color scheme of gray, black and red going on all across the mountain apparently. Most of the strange flora comprise of tiny twigs that maybe came up to the ankle but there were some larger ones every now and then that came up to the hip. These larger plants bore red fruits or berries or... something. One of these taller plants was growing along the path and Russo stopped and stooped down to take a closer look. Eeesh it almost looked like the fruits had veins on them and... holy hell... were those teeth he saw poking out of these fruits? ...Human teeth by the look of it. Russo quickly did a double take and saw that the other fruits had teeth poking out of them as well and some looked canine in origin.

"Russo what's the hold up?" Jem called back to him.

"N-nothing!" Russo quickly called back as he hurried to catch back up with the group. "Okay fuck it I'm done with making observations for now," he thought to himself. "...The master was right to be afraid of Peccamen. Something is just plain WRONG with this place."

The feelings of uneasiness and worry only got worse as everyone made their way into the plaza of sorts that the stone buildings were centered around. Morgan ushered them to gather around her and began to speak.

"Alright everyone... this is it. I guess we'll just explore these buildings one by one until we find that relic and once we do, we destroy it. All of us should stick together so make sure you stay alert and don't let yourself fall behind. This really isn't the kind of place anybody should investigate alone..."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Morgan slowly made her way towards one of the dilapidated buildings and Zane, Jem, Russo and Wexter followed. From the outside the building appeared to be falling apart but after stepping through bare doorway they found the inside to still be intact and navigable. Chunks of rock, pieces of the doorframe and a wooden table littered the ground and forced everyone to tread carefully. Slowly and methodically they made their way through all the rooms in the small stone building, trying not to be too unnerved by the inky black splotches of ancient dried blood that was splattered all across the floors, walls and portions of the ceiling that remained. Worst of all had to be the silhouette of a fur, whose body was contorted into a horrifically painful shape, burned into a wall. It's face looking up towards the sky, its mouth open and screaming in pain, like it was cursing the gods. That permanent shadow... however it was caused... that thing's presence made everyone uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should move on to the next building..." Zane uneasily suggested.

There was a silent consensus among the group and they started shuffling out of the building and back into the plaza.

As he was about to step through the door frame Russo just had to take one last look at the creepy silhouette burned into the wall. It was one of those things you do and don't want to look at (If that makes sense). While casting an ogle at it he noticed that there was a small pull ring in the floor right by the wall. Everyone must've been too focused looking at the permanent shadow to look down to have noticed it. Russo knelt down beside it to further investigate.

"Huh... wonder what this leads down to?" As soon as he finished that thought he suddenly had the strange feeling that he was being watched, and by something that had a vicious and murderous intent. It was something that he could feel in the air, the presence physically bearing down on his shoulders.

"Guys I found something!" Russo quickly yelled out, desperate for the others to come rushing in, desperate to not be left alone in the room.

"What is it?" Jem asked as he came rushing back into the building quickly followed by the others. The feeling of being watched persisted.

"I found a pull ring that I'm pretty certain leads down below. Maybe it's hiding the relic or a path down to it."

"Could be. Good find Russo." Morgan stated as she and Zane knelt down beside him to look closely. Russo moved out of the way as Zane grabbed hold of the pull ring and started pulling up on it, slowly making progress lifting up a hatch in the floor. Russo looked back at the silhouette again only to find this time that the silhouette's head was bent completely the wrong way. In a position that would have completely broken and shattered the fur's neck... and that left it staring straight down at Russo. The open mouth crying in pain was replaced by what was unmistakably a snarl, even what was visible of the ears were clearly folded down into the tell-tale position. Russo shot up into the standing position and moved out of the silhouette's gaze, his nerves and composure slowly becoming unraveled.

With some help from Jem the secret door came open and a hole leading down into darkness was revealed. Russo gathered some magic in his hand in order to cast some light and slowly bent down once more to try to illuminate the hole. He saw that there was a wooden ladder leading down below.

"...Do you want to go first Russo? You've already got a light source ready and could lead the rest of us down there..." Morgan tentatively suggested.

"B-but I thought you were a mage of sorts too, surely you can light the way too with a spell? Uhh uh, I-I guess..." Russo replied, his voice shaking and filled with doubt. He took a deep breath and unsuccessfully steeled his nerves before casting an illumination spell that surrounded his entire body with a weak aura.

Russo timidly slid a foot down onto a rung and slowly made his way down before grabbing hold of the ladder with both hands. As his head made it beneath ground level and Jem was about to reach down and start following him, the hatch slammed shut.

"Fuck," Russo worriedly thought to himself as his heart started pounding in his chest. Before he knew it the next thing he heard was the sound of wood splintering and cracking, and he felt the rungs on the ladder he was holding onto give way. Russo swung around his arms trying to grab onto another rung. He managed to catch one and hold on for about half a second before that rung gave way as well. His feet fell through the ones he was standing on nearly simultaneously. As he found himself plummeting down into the darkness he quickly cast the most powerful physical barrier he knew around himself, in an effort to prevent himself from merging with the floor upon impact. Russo didn't even bother to scream during the next ten seconds or so of free fall as he gritted his teeth and tried to brace for impact. He slammed into the ground and shattered his barrier, but not before it managed to soak up most of the damage. A decent amount of blunt force from the impact made it through though and Russo's entire body ached, his ribs in particular.

Russo groaned and slowly picked himself off the ground and tried to take in what limited surroundings the aura of light around him illuminated. From what he could see there was definitely a stone path that led deeper into the mountain, carved out of the cavernous rock. Russo slowly began following it, almost as if he was being drawn there.

Chapter 7

Carefully navigating narrow rocky paths lined with stalagmites, Russo eventually found himself being emptied out into a large cavern that had a dark and creepy purple glow to it. In the dead center of the cavern was a pedestal with a demonic statue on it that glowed brightly and appeared to be the source of the purple.

"Looks like I somehow managed to stumble upon the damn thing." Russo unhappily thought to himself. "Now how the hell do I go about destroying it?"

"Now why would you want to go and do something like that, boy?" Said a sinister and unfamiliar voice in his head.

"...because it's my job?"

"Hmmph, you are so simple minded. What if I were to tell you that were you to grab hold of that statue over there you'll become the most powerful mage alive?"

"And what if I were to say I'm not too fond of heeding the advice of strange and unfamiliar voices in my head? Ones that I know don't belong to me?" Russo spoke out loud.

"Well aren't you clever realizing that I'm not a construct or an idea originating from within your own mind. I'll give you this boy, you're more perceptive than most." The voice spoke out loud, as it reverberated throughout the cavern.

"Who... no what am I speaking to?" Russo asked uneasily as magic began swirling around his fingertips as he prepared to ready another barrier and an attack spell.

"Don't bother trying to fool yourself into thinking you can protect yourself from me. Do away with those spells and maybe I'll be a little more inclined to talk. It's insulting to have you thinking you actually stand a chance against me."

Russo did as he was told, almost too easily, and the voice began speaking again. "Smart choice. Ah... let's see where to start... I am the statue, the relic if you prefer to call me that, you see placed atop the pedestal before you."

"You-You're a sentient magical relic!? How is that possible?"

"Countless mortals; humans, furs and even some demons were slaughtered to create me. Why wouldn't I be as intelligent, if not more so, than my constituent elements? I am the result of the coming together of the magical and life energies stolen from the land itself and countless beings," The relic stated with arrogant pride.

"I can see then why the guild masters were so desperate to keep you contained here. The amount of power you possess is, well... frightening. You really do represent the worst that magic has to offer," Russo said as he furrowed his brow and took a defensive stance.

"Why thank you for the kind words," the relic said as it began laughing to itself. "You think I'm at all ashamed of what I am? I am proud of the suffering and strife caused by my creation and I revel in the fear that I instill in others by simply existing! I can bend the laws of magic and nature to will and do whatever I please! ...Save for move about of my own accord. Arrggg... when that accursed barrier was erected shortly after my creation, my powers and my influence were kept limited to this cavern. With my powers contained and you fools unable to enter this place and free me, it seemed that I was destined to languish in here forever! But then... just a short time ago I felt the barrier keeping you mortals out of here fall and my hopes were raised, for finally I would be free! The barriers in place limiting my power to this cavern still held but I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody showed up, offering themselves to me to serve as my conduit. Offering me the long sought after mobility I needed to spread my influence. Hmmm... and by the looks of it I couldn't have asked for a better servant than you."

"Like hell I'm being your puppet. I'm here to destroy you and save this province, not the other way around. By no means am I a paragon of virtue, but I will gladly see to it that you're obliterated for the sake of the greater good."

"Come now boy don't be hasty. You will benefit from our union as well, do not fret about that, I will leave your will intact. I can grant you limitless power, immortality, godhood! All I ask is for you to simply come over here and remove me from my pedestal."

"Why don't you make me? Pfftt, you're nothing but talk and can't even do anything without a physical body to control. So long as I'm not stupid enough to pick you up I'll..." Russo was cut off as a black mass of energy erupted out of the relic and zoomed by his head. It made contact with the cavern wall and disintegrated it upon contact.

"Don't underestimate me," the relic angrily growled. After a minute or two it composed itself and began speaking again. "Obviously you will not listen to reason... so I suppose it falls upon me to be the bigger man. If I were to offer to grant you any one wish, any desire you may hold, would you free me then?"

Russo normally would've said no straight out. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the sake of the plot, the relic was tampering with his mind and breaking down his will, making him more susceptible to its suggestions.

"J-just make a wish? Any wish?"

"Indeed. Just agree to the deed and make any wish you desire and I promise that I will grant it. A verbal agreement is all that is needed. Easy as can be." The relic smoothly said.

"Easy..." Russo's mind became more and more muddled as he slowly gave in to the relic's suggestions. Or he would have until the word "easy" began echoing in his mind. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, an idea flashed across Russo's mind. He knew exactly how to destroy the relic.

"Any wish? You'll grant me any wish I can think up? No matter what?"

"Yes, yes of course. I promise to grant you anything you can fathom. And once I've granted your wish, you will become my vessel. Don't be shy now, go ahead."

"You're absolutely certain?"

"Did I not already tell you once to not doubt me or my power boy?"

"Alright, alright. You've got a deal."

A deep sinister laugh began welling up from the relic as it began to glow brightly. A small arc of purple lightning shot out and hit Russo. It tingled slightly.

"The contract is made, the deal is done. You made a smart choice human, now what is your desire? Hurry now, speak up! I yearn to escape from this damnable place!"

"You really want to know what I want to wish for?"

"Of course I do! I need to complete my portion of the contract before you can carry out your own. I have sat idle in this cavern for far too long! What is your wish?!"

"Alright then." Russo took in a deep breath and had a smug grin on his face, "For you to destroy yourself."

"...pardon?" The relic asked dumbfounded.

"Oh, sorry I may not have worded that very well, let me try again. I, (Russo) am asking for you (relic) to utilize your vast magical powers for the intent purpose of destroying yourself (the aforementioned relic). By doing so you will have completed my job for me and I can go home."

(Getting others to do your jobs for you? Come on Russo you promised Jem you'd stop doing that...)

"...Woah, woah, woah, woah... woah. Hey now... let's not be too hasty. Don't you want something nice like godhood or immortality?"

"Nah, I'm good. If you could destroy yourself that'd be great," Russo's mind and will were refocused on the task at hand and the relic found that it was having less and less success trying to bend Russo to its will.

"Vast riches and harems of women mean anything to you? Or.. or men if that's what you're into? Do you want harems of men? Would you prefer humans or are you into furs?"

"No.. no thank you I'm quite comfortable with my current salary and heterosexuality. Could you please destroy yourself so I can go home?"

"If I do that then you will breaking your part of the contract!" The relic angrily yelled.

"Maybe so but you promised to grant me ANY wish first. You probably should've been more specific with what I was and wasn't allowed to wish for. If I can't carry out my portion of our little contract because you simply don't exist anymore then that's not my fault."

Russo could hear a low and furious growling coming from the statue. "You mortals aren't supposed to be able think this clearly in my presence, you shouldn't be capable of such trickery. You shouldn't be able to make use of your fucking common sense!" It screamed out.

"Sucks for you then that I'm the exception."

A sigh could be heard emanating from the statue. "If you were able to wish for anything else, what would it be? Indulge me that one question before I leave mortal, for I am curious to know as to what kind of person you are."

"You're still going on about that? Fine. If I could wish for anything, anything at all, I would have to say that I would wish for two more wishes."

"Uh... okay."

"Then for my first wish I would wish for you to heed and follow my second wish no matter what."

"Oh shit I see where this is going."

"And then with my final wish I would triumphantly wish for you to destroy yourself!"

"You arrogant little fucker," the relic snarled with contempt as it began violently shaking and crackling with power.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you trying to get me to slip up and make me wish for something else? Nice try, but I'm too smart for that." Russo said cockily.

The relic screamed at him as Russo sported a smug grin, turned his back to the relic and started walking away. "Okay, time to teleport out of here, grab Jem and the others and then get the hell out of here," he contentedly thought to himself as he readied a teleportation spell and focused on the waypoint Jem kept on him. Or he tried to until an arc of purple lightning nailed him in the back and sent him to the ground reeling in pain.

"Ahh... gahh... what... what the hell?" Russo asked as he winced in pain from the aches and burning sensations coursing through his body. He struggled to pick himself back off the ground and looked back to the relic.

"You should have been more specific with what you wished for," the relic cooed to him. "You never said that I was to let you walk out of here before I destroyed myself. Grrrrrrrrr.... You little shit... never have I been so humiliated in my entirety of existence. If I'm going to be leaving this world then at least I'm taking you and all of your companions with me!" The relic screamed out as waves of energy pulsated from it and a terrible rumble began to fill the cavern.

Russo tried to finish casting his teleport spell but found that he no longer had the energy to.

"Oh no you don't boy, I made sure to sap you of your strength and stifle any hopes of escape. I want you to feel weak and insignificant in the face of your coming death. I will see to it that at least I have the opportunity to drink in and savor that terror and powerlessness you feel as you wait for the end to draw near."

Russo frantically pulled himself off the ground with what little strength he had left and began running out of the cavern as fast as he could.

"It won't do you any good boy! Your struggling will be all for naught!" The relic yelled out, laughing hysterically.

Russo barely made it out of the cavern when he ran smack into Wexter, who was wearing a triumphant smile.

"W-Wexter!? What the hell are you doing here? Wait... how did you even get down here , the ladder is totaled! Oh who cares, where are Jem and the others?"

The black clad human remained silent as he looked past Russo and towards the relic crackling and surging with power.

"Why, to acquire the relic of course. Thank you ever so much for locating it for me."

"Man, fuck the relic we need to get the hell out of here!" Russo screamed.

Wexter shook his head and threw back his long black hair. "*Sigh* You're just like all those crotchety old men running the guilds. You fear what you cannot control so you try to stop anyone else from having what you cannot."

"Did you hear ANY of what went down between the relic and I? Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"But I'm afraid I can't let you destroy that relic Russo. I've put far too much effort into getting here and lowering the barrier. That thing is my ticket to ultimate power, to godhood! I can't have you interfering with my plans!"

"Do-do you just have this all scripted out you stupid bastard?"

Wexter put his hand around Russo's throat and slowly stated squeezing the life out of him. "You listen and listen well. I put a lot of work into this dramatic monologue and by God you're going to sit here and listen to it without interrupting me! Got it?"

Russo weakly nodded his head and Wexter released his grip and let Russo drop to the ground.

"Now where was I? Oh right... Tricking the lot of you into trusting me was like child's play. None of you so much as suspected that I was just using you to get to the relic!"

"I made a bet with Jem that you were going to pull something like this half an hour after I met you. Totally called it." Wexter looked down at Russo angrily before Russo hushed up and let him continue on.

"Just like how I tricked those foolish dark mages into lowering the barrier for me, it was all too easy. Too bad they didn't realize that they would all die in the process but it all worked out in the end since there was less competition for the relic with them out of the way. Heh heh heh... and then when I used my illusory magic to kill and take the place of that guild member sent here from Satuk. I didn't even have to maintain the disguise very long, just long enough to fool that poor bastards own friends and guild master into sending me out here to help you all search out the relic. All I had to do was let you four do all the work and then swoop in and grab the spoils."

Wexter continued rambling on with his terrible monologue as Russo nervously turned back to look towards the relic. It appeared to be rapidly approaching critical mass.

"Ahh, but I've droned on long enough to you about my plans. Godhood awaits and I won't have you here ruining the moment for me. Worry not, I won't kill you here and now. I want you and the others to be witnesses to my ascension!" Wexter raised his arms up towards the top of the cavern and laughed a hearty evil laugh. "Hmmpph... the next time you see me I will be unstoppable!" Wexter snapped his fingers and a green light surrounded Russo.

"Wait... what?" In a flash of green light Russo disappeared from before Wexter's eyes, and was sent back up above ground to wait with the others for the ascension of a new dark god. A triumphant and maniacal grin was plastered across Wexter's face as he walked towards the relic.

Back Above ground.....

---

Russo reappeared in a flash of green light a few feet above the ground and landed with a resounding thud. He quickly looked around and saw that he was back in the plaza the decrepit stone buildings were centered.

"Did... did that really just happen?" Russo asked himself in disbelief. "No no no no no no no no way this crap can all come together so perfectly. It's just not possible." Russo thought to himself as he realized his freakish luck. "THANK YOU, YOU GLORIOUS DUMBASS!" Russo mentally screamed out.

He propped himself up on his elbows where he lay on the ground and saw Jem, Zane and Morgan sprawled out on the ground around him, moaning in pain but still very much alive. Russo mustered what little strength he had left and forced himself to walk over to Morgan.

"Morgan!" He could barely call out to her in a tired breath as he struggled to walk over to her. The relic had drained Russo of a lot more of his energy than he realized. "Do you have any magic crystals on you! Please tell me you do!" He frantically asked her as he shook her where she lay on the ground.

She winced in pain as she tried lifting herself up. "Only... unghh... one or two in the first pouch to the left on my belt. Grr... that bastard Wexter just blindsided us out of nowhere when he slammed the hatch shut on you and tossed us aside like it was nothings at all and..."

"...his idiocy will end up saving us all." Russo finished for her as he tore open the first pouch on Morgan's belt and grabbed the crystals.

"What are you talking about? And what are you going to do with those?" She asked as she finally managed to prop herself up on her elbow.

"I'm going to get us all out of here." Russo said as he clenched his fist around the crystals. "Are these set up to any waypoints by chance?"

"I... set up a waypoint in Letum last night just in case anything went wrong... but what's the point of running though? Wexter will just catch up to us and decimate the entire village."

"That's perfect." Russo said with a smile on his face as he concentrated on teleporting Morgan, Zane, Jem and himself to Letum.

"I already told you there's no point!" Morgan said in a defeated tone.

"Just trust me on this, I've got it all taken care of" Russo said while looking at her with a reassuring smile. "Like I said before, that idiot inadvertently ended up saving us all when he left you three up here and sent me right back to you."

"I-I don't understand what you're talking about." Morgan said confused.

"I'll explain later once we're outside of the probable blast radius."

"The probable what?" Morgan said with a quizzical look on her face as she looked up to Russo. He smiled knowingly, confident that all their problems would take care of themselves. Seconds later they were surrounded by a warm blue light and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Back in the heart of the mountain...

The relic could sense that Russo and the others had made a clean getaway and were no longer on the mountain. "Oh God Dammit!" It screamed out in frustration. "You idiot, do you have any idea what you've just done?!" The relic angrily demanded of Wexter.

"Worry not relic, we can chase them down soon enough, once you have bestowed upon me your power."

"That boy wished for me to destroy myself," the relic said angrily and sullenly.

"Is that all? Then I'll just wish for you not to, simple as that."

The relic continued crackling with energy and let loose more waves of energy as it quietly growled at Wexter.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Wexter asked impatiently.

"The boy wished for me to destroy myself NO MATTER WHAT, which means that nothing can be done to stop this."

"What?! That brat ruined everything I worked for! All that time and effort gone to waste... oh I'll track him down and make him pay!" With that Wexter began preparing to teleport himself out of the cavern... until he was run through by an arc of purple lightning and his body convulsed painfully."

"You will not be leaving this place alive you fool. I have already said this once but if I am going to be leaving this world then at least I am taking somebody with me!"

Wexter's body was shaking as he struggled to pull himself off the floor and look back at the relic. Letting loose absolutely massive amounts of energy, the relic began cracking and falling to pieces.

"No...no... NOOOOOOO!!!!"

Back in Letum....

"God I hope we're far away enough," Russo worriedly said to himself as he collapsed down into the muddy main road of the village.

"You said you would explain... now explain!" The raccoon impatiently said.

"Far away enough...? Oh Lord is this anything like that pub incident?" Jem asked worriedly as he tried standing up in the mud.

"Pub incident? What's that all about?" Zane inquired.

"Well you see... a couple of months ago," Jem started to say before some deep and low rumblings interrupted him.

"What the-"

KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An ear shattering explosion cut Jem off that caused the land itself to quake and rumble. Once the shaking stopped Russo, Jem, Zane and Morgan all looked towards the direction of Peccamen. They all saw that far in the distance the horizon looked a lot flatter than it usually did. Mainly due to the fact that an entire freaking mountain had just up and exploded. From miles away plumes of dust and rubble could be seen rising up from the likely crater that once was the site of the eerie enclave.

"Good God, Russo. Blowing up a pub is one thing but blowing up a mountain? Holy shit..." Jem said absolutely flabbergasted as he shook his head.

Morgan and Zane stared slack jawed at the altered landscape and Russo tried to hide a sheepish smile.

"What can I say, I like to outdo myself."

Curious villagers slowly started trickling out of their houses to investigate the cause of the rumbling and terrible noise. They cautiously approached the exhausted group of heroes sitting in the village's main road and in disbelief asked them if they were the ones responsible for this. The band of four nervously replied yes and for a moment the villagers stared past them at the rising plumes of dust and smoke. As if a switch was suddenly thrown, the villagers all started cheering and slapping the tired heroes on the back.

The celebrations were short lived however as suddenly a giant boulder came plummeting from the sky and completely demolished a house.

"Oh my..." Russo worriedly blurted out as another boulder came hurtling down from the sky and destroyed half of the inn.

"Guess those pieces of mountain had to go somewhere," Zane thought aloud.

Smaller rocks and pebbles began raining down on people, having been thrown high up into the atmosphere and miles away from the mountain due to the sheer force of the explosion. A couple more good sized boulders rained down from the sky destroying a few more houses and tearing up the village in general. Fortunately by some miracle there were no major injuries or deaths. Just an irreparable amount of property damage.

"Maybe now would be a good time to leave," Russo whispered to the others who all nodded their heads in frantic agreement. While the villagers looked upon the shambles of their homes in shock and disbelief, Russo, Jem, Zane and Morgan all quietly slipped out of Letum and somehow found the energy within themselves to haul ass out of there.