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The City Of NeverWinter

I awoke to the stench worthy of a thousand sewers, my eyes felt gritty and my head was pounding in time with my heart. I look around me and see nothing but pure inky blackness, something moved off to my right and I tensed.

I began to feel my way around, my bare foot struck a rock and pitched me face first to the rocky ground, from the echo of the impact I realized I was in a tunnel or an aqueduct as the sound bounced back and forth from the roof. Bright yellow eyes flared into life a few meters from where I stood, mostly naked bar a pair of daggy school sport shorts I was shaking and my heart raced I heard claws click on stone and the eyes floated closer at about shoulder height.

My nerve broke and I Fled into the darkness, the noises behind me told of the....creatures swift approach yet there were more sounds, risked a quick glance behind me and saw what could only be described as a pack of the things numbering over twenty it was like a small army.

I picked up my pace considerably the darkness seemed less oppressive now, my senses felt sharper and my muscles bunched and stretched with what felt like boundless energy.

The pack was just behind me now, backed up with the evidence of a clawed hand grazing my bare back, fuck if I was going to live to work out what the bloody hell happened. I sensed that the earth fell way into a deep hole further ahead, putting on a burst of speed I reached the edge and hurled myself forward to land with a bone jarring jolt on the other side, sadly the shapes I could now make out made it as well.

Light! I could see light up ahead, I might make this! I used the curved side of the tunnel to help with going around the rocky debris in the tunnel, half running on the side of the pipe I reached the ladder that lead to the steel grating that lead to the surface, I hauled my arse up the ladder like a cat with it's ring on fire, and promptly cracked my skull against the grate which some helpful individual had made sure wasn't going to come loose. Desperate and frigging terrified I punched at the grate, a burst of light seared my eyes and a terrible heat rushed over me, the grate had been blown stories into the sky and had left melted steel clinging to the ladder.

I shook off my shock and jumped out of the sewer and fell over again, awaiting the sharp bite of the creatures claws I stared at the grate and yet nothing came, I pulled up the courage to peer into the hole and saw one pair of eyes glaring at me from the bottom of the hole and yet there was no attack, it dawned of me that the creature had lived in darkness for so long that it probably couldn't survive aboveground to test this theory I coughed for a second and then spat something pretty nasty into the hole, one of the eyes blinked shut and I could hear shrieking and what could only be swearing before the creature flitted out of view.

I sighed in relief and looked around me, stopped screamed and then run like a motherfucker in the other direction. The Law of Newton still stood wherever I was and the grate had obeyed that law like a good inanimate object and had come hurtling back to the earth, and had flattened a moderately dressed man. All I could see of him under the grate was his torso and legs, there was a large trail of blood that was draining into the sewers and a few jelly like chunks near him, not a good start to the fucking day! I'd better fill you in on things, fuck I'd better fill me in on a few things, my mind was spinning. I found a nice dark spot under some stairs that smelled like a transient had recently used it as a urinal, I didn't care it was warm and out of the way.

My name is Ash Campbell, twenty years old nearly twenty one. I'm not exactly considered to be normal, not in a bad way just a bit disturbing and weird, I'm average enough looking about six foot one and pretty bloody overweight black hair that gets changed when I'm bored. I had been at my place getting drunk beyond recognition (again) some may say that I have a slight problem with alcohol I would tell them to fuck off (even though I agree with them). Anyway I was on the net looking up porn and a few other things (ok more porn) was reading up on the new nuclear cold fission reactor that was being put online that night and I found a page in the news that said masturbation can help prevent cancer, random? Yes, interesting? Hell yes.

Anyways I eventually stumbled off to bed after running into a few things and then holding the wall up for a minute or two and then crashed into my bed wearing my old school shorts (the ones I'm wearing now and wishing I had sewed up the hole in the crotch which a cold breeze was currently invading) and when I woke up it was, as I said, fucking dark and creepy.

Okay enough is enough, I got up and made my way to the streets. It was dark and deserted probably because it's early morning, I quickly duck into various alleys to avoid...well anyone. As I wander I notice a glint in a back alley, curious I creep over and at the back of an alley there is a leather pouch with what looked like gold coins spilling out of it, luck loves me. I scuttle over and look at the odd sigil scribed into the wall over the coins, dark purple paint had been twisted into a symbol I had no idea of the meaning of it. I bent down to retrieve the pouch and as I tugged it I heard the clunk of gears below me and unlike the cartoons I didn't hang in the air as the trap door opened I fell like a bag of shit.

Ok, I'm fucking sick of waking up in strange places I'd managed to fall on my head due to severe talent on my part. As my vision slowly swims into focus I realize that there appears to be a large number of swords, pikes, crossbows and what looked like a fry pan with steel spikes welded onto the bottom, hmmm interesting and most likely painful.

Aside from trying not to shit myself (anymore) I was taking in the details of the ones holding the weaponry and the odd thing I noticed was that they had fur, claws, and large pointy teeth except for what I think is a rabbit, it didn't have large claws or fangs but did have a large mace.

I'm hoping my fall had given me some partial brain damage since these things looked like bigger more humany versions of animals, I could pick out rabbit, bear, ox, ferret, monkey-thing Wolf and a sloth that was asleep on the floor.

After a few tense seconds someone whistled from behind the mob and as one they moved back to allow the whistler through. It was a cow, dairy cow.....I think and barely, just barely female, it's fur was matted and covered in what appeared to be it's own shit, it's eyes were running with a thick goop, as was it's nostrils. It bared it's teeth in a kind of grin revealing green, yellow and black along with an interesting mixture of the three.

"She" stood about five foot seven tall and was built like a footy player, I was amazed I couldn't see a hint of testicle in the soft leather pants (bit odd for a cow to wearing leather I thought). As it bulled it's way through (hehe, bad pun. my head hurts) I tried to shy away but realized I was already as far as I could go. It stopped in front of me and from the stink hole of a mouth sounds came out " What are you, who are you, and what in the seven pits of hell are you doing in my guilds meeting hall after hours!?. I passed out.

This time I came to with one of the bandits (I'm guessing he was a bandit, he had an eye patch and didn't look like a pirate so I decided on bandit) kicking me in side, I looked over and saw the cow again "Why are you still here? Nightmares should go away when you wake up." I mumbled still really out of it from my chase in the sewers, my stay at the hobo toilet hotel and the falling onto my skull, seeing giant animal/human hybrids and then the talking butch lesbian cow thing. I got whacked across the head for that comment by a weasel thing next to me. "Show some respect to Lesaria, or else" He said in a high quick voice.

The cow turned to me and asked her question again, "I dunno" I offered helpfully.

She pulled out a ten inch long lump of cylinder steel with a handle, she then whacked me on the head with it, it didn't actually hurt that much, just bled a bit, she then screamed her question at me again. I'd had enough of this shit, either they were going to kill me or not so I decided to do what I do best, make the situation worse "err, butch lesbian cow creature, fuck off" I stated intelligently, again with the metal pole on my skull I felt a little more blood leak from the wound , then the weasel head slapped me again to no more effect.

"From the looks of you, you've had one to many days nibbling on peoples lawns Bessie, maybe it's time they took you out and carve off a few stakes, you'd get more than a few offa you" I poked her in the stomach as I said this, her eyes went a slightly red color and then proceeded to put the metal thing to serious use and began trying to bash in my brains with it, sadly with very little effect when I wasn't bleeding much from the blows she stopped, looked at the baton, turned to the ox beside her and thumped him over the head to see if the metal thing was faulty, it wasn't, his eyes slowly crossed and then he hit the ground.

She turned back to me and asked in a somewhat civil voice, "What manner of demon are you?"

"Err, I'm human" I offered

"The old ones? The legends lost to the dust of the ages many millennia ago, how can this be possible?"

"Err, internet?" I coughed out

"What?"

"Nothing, just ignore me" I said quickly.

"We need to talk, I'll tell my men to stand down." She gave a sharp gesture to the armed guards and the sheathed weapons and began wandering off to do their own thing since Lesaria no longer seemed in imminent danger.

I looked at Lesaria and noticed a slight shimmer around her and then she glowed for a second and the cow thing was no longer there, instead stood a pure white Artic Fox with the occasional acid green streak down her pelt. She stood barely to my neck and filled out the soft leather outfit she wore very nicely, curvaceous and well endowed. Her fur was about three inches long and looked soft, human looking hands ending in well cared for nails. Bright green eyes glowed above her slim muzzle, which happened to be filled with sharp looking teeth, her hair was also white and shared the same acid green streaks I was more than slightly shocked.

"Where did butch cow thing go?" I asked openmouthed

"That was just a cloaking spell I use around stranger so they stay away" She said smiling slightly.

"Bloody hell betcha that works a treat. It's a bit of change if you don't mind me saying so" I said still admiring (Translate: Ogling)

"I don't mind at all. Come, follow me to my office there is a hell of a lot for us to work out, like why it did nothing when I kept hitting you. Sorry for that by the way" She actually looked slightly apologetic and a little bit curious.

"It's okay, most people feel the compulsion to hit me at one stage or another" I said.

"Oh, almost forgot my manners, my name is Lesaria I'm what people call the rouge princess. I run the band of rouges that live here after my father passed it to me and then passed on." She looked around the subterranean lodge with pride, there were sprawling passages the branched off one another with doors studding the walls every few meters, I guessed people lived in the apartment sized rooms.

"Oh yeah, my names Ash but most people online know me as Razakel Doranius" I reached out to shake...paw with her, I was right, her fur was soft. We pulled back and she pointed towards a larger door ahead "That's my office, shall we proceed?" she asked

"Why not" I said cheerfully

I ran my hand over my head and felt sticky stuff, I pulled my hand back and saw a smear of blood, all the evidence of the beating I'd taken.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"Red goo leaking out of head" I said intelligently

"Well I'm not bloody well surprised" she said laughing as we had to step over the unconscious ox thing, it had a lot of red goo leaking out of it's head but it was still twitching so it was alive.

"Well after listening to you for the better part of an hour I've come to the conclusion that you are in fact insane." Lesaria said this with a certain solid conviction

"I'm not bloody well insane, everything I told you makes sense from what I can work out big nuclear thingy does the opposite of blowing up and probably destroys most of my city and sends me to this place where I'm chased mostly naked through a sewer thing by giant rat looking critters lurk for a while, find odd thing on wall, fall down trapdoor and then be brutally assaulted by hideous butch lesbian cow thingy and during said beating have no real injuries and no pain, the cow thing turns into a fox of a ........... well fox. Ok I'm insane." I add the last part when I look over my story as a whole, I need a nice jacket that does up at the back.

"Well since you admit that your insane and are logical enough to realize your story sounds a little bit odd, I'm willing to say that your sane since insane people don't actually release they are insane then you are obviously sane in a slightly insane way."

At this point I'm whacking my head against the oak desk in front of me, my brain felt like it was bleeding and not from the cranial damage I was trying to inflict but from the ... diagnosis for lack of a better word. "Ok that made less sense than what I just said."

Lesaria smiled at me showing large amounts of white pointy teeth and for some reason my brain decided to start thinking about sexual activities that could be slightly dangerous with those teeth involved, pushing my small brain aside I sat back with an expectant expression. "Well that's me done, your turn. What the hell do you think that I am and I also wonder what was with the horrified look when you found out, I mean I'm no looker but I don't usually get that kind of reaction when I'm clothed."

"It's not that" In fact quite the opposite had been crossing her mind, even with no fur and looking slightly different he was more than pleasing to her. "Humans as you are known existed hundreds of thousands of years ago, much before us. It has been said that a brilliant light had scoured the earth turning much to dust and ash, covering the sun. When all had cleared there were but scant humans left alive, the creatures of the earth had lived by being protected in either burrow or caves.

That is all we can grasp from the work of the worlds greatest seers, sorcerers and summoners, they can glean no more knowledge of the ancient times.

From the images they have brought forth from the past and the descriptions you do indeed match that of a human so I am inclined to believe you, even if I have no idea in the known world how you could even be here." Lesaria slumped in her seat deep in thought over the human sitting in her fath.... Her office.

After a few minutes of reflection on what the bloody hell she should do with the anomaly that had dropped into her burrows she decided on the only thing she could do, rouge princess wasn't just a cute nickname.

I followed Lesaria out of her office and down the hall where she showed me to a spare room I could use for the night, I suddenly realized that I was dog tired (no pun intended) after looking around the rather Spartan room and only seeing a rather old steel mace, resting in the corner I reached the bed and collapsed on the bed and went out like a light.

A dark shadow flitted across the street barely illuminated by the half moon shining in the sky, crouching for a moment the figure leapt up to the balcony of a nearby house and proceeded to bound to the roof and then sprinted across the closely built house roofs until she reached her destination. It was an ugly building, dark and built with sharp angles giving the impression that the house itself was unfriendly and evil, but not so much as the ones who inhabited it.

They called themselves the Order Of The Purifying Light, a joke in itself although no soul would ever speak of this to their face, the Order were obsessed with hunting down what they considered to be abjurations of nature or evil, their methods and tactics were things of legend such evil and pain was yet to be matched in the world and the order were spread far and wide, advisors to the king and "protectors" of the people.

Lesaria was here for one reason and one reason only, money. The Order made it well known that they would pay in gold coins in information that lead to the successful capture of what they considered "unnatural" and Lesaria knew for a fact that if she delivered a living human into their hands the reward would be a ransom fit for a king.

A tiny flash of guilt burnt through her, Razakel had no idea where this place was and he had been nothing but friendly and she had enjoyed his company. Crushing the thought in her mind she knew that if she wanted to keep her fathers legacy alive then this small evil had to be done, besides she was sure they would just want to study him and learn a bit more about the previous inhabitants of the world.

Lesaria swung from the roof to the door of the dark house and knocked on the hardwood door with loud confident raps, not giving any indication of the trepidation she felt inside.

She heard loud footsteps approaching the door from inside and then the door swung open and she was greeted by a robed and hooded figure "For what reason is our rest disturbed at this hour?" the creature in the robe growled dryly to her.

"I have information that your order would be most interested in hearing of good sir" Lesaria tried to keep her voice strong.

"And what could you possibly know that we would care about?"

"I have in my possession a human male, alive and well." She waited for the others reaction, it was several long seconds before the creature moved and when it did it swung a paw out from it's robes and caught her across the side of the muzzle " Stupid girl, I hope for your sake you have either been into the weird-root or your drunk. Do you not think that if one of them were here that we would not notice? Do you think so little of the order as to expect that of us?!" Lesaria was looking up from where she had fallen from the force of the blow and was mere seconds away from fleeing in terror of the creature in the door way.

Just as she was coiling up to run she heard something moving inside the door behind the one who had opened the door "Now Rufus is that any way to treat a useful informant?" A old and frail voiced croaked out from a similar hooded robe.

"Apologies master, I merely assumed that she was making a mockery of our work."

"That is acceptable, you may go now I will handle this." The older one seemed to approve of the first creatures treatment of Lesaria since it was in the name of the order.

As the first thing shuffled of into the dark the older sounding one stepped forward and looked at Lesaria, "Now my dear, you had better hope that you are telling the truth or else I may just let Rufus do as he pleases with you." He growled in a threatening tone showing that he may be old but far from weak or stupid.

Two hours later when the night was at it's deepest Lesaria left the house of the Order with six warrior inquisitors following her, their specialty was retrieval of targets for questioning and to kill anyone or thing that got in the way of their "holy" duty.

Back in the burrows it was as dark as a tomb since there was no natural light and everyone else was asleep.

I heard a noise from the door and heard it slowly open, footsteps approached my bed and I closed my eyes so I could barely see and just observed. I could hear people talking near me, what sounded like Lesaria and a deeper voice. "I scarcely believe it even as I'm looking at it, you were truthful it's a human." The deep voiced one said in an amazed tone.

" I told you so, now the matter of my payment for delivering you to him?" That was Lesaria talking.

"As agreed, twenty five thousand gold coins for the human." The voice said this as if the money didn't even matter.

I could just make out Lesaria as she took a large brown sack with an ecstatic look on her face, I didn't close my eyes fast enough and she saw me looking at her. I saw guilt and shame cloud her eyes and she tried to mouth an apology to me, sadly the guards saw this as well and turned on me. "He's awake! Take it down, don't kill it just knock it out for transport."

I rolled out of bed and landed on the side away from the guards and grabbed hold of a mace that was rusting in the corner and met the first thing head on, it's hood flipped off and revealed the scaly face of an alligator, I nearly shit myself from fear just from the sight of it let alone the brutal looking scimitar he swung in a low arc, realizing that getting captured here was a very bad thing. As the gator charged towards me time seemed to slow and I could feel my limbs fill with an unnatural strength, my eyes focused painfully well, I could smell the soft scent of Lesaria from near the door and my ears twitched as the other five drew brutal looking war hammers that glowed with an eerie blue light, I wasn't sure but I would have said magic since I really couldn't rule anything out in this world.

All of a sudden my brain caught up with me as everything fell into place, reward delivery, me...... Lesaria had sold me out, cold and simple, traded my life for gold that was why she mouthed she was sorry. I had trusted her since she had seemed to be genuine and kind, I had been attracted to her physically at first ( after she was in her true form) and then after talking to her for a while I had seen her wit and intelligence and had pretty much fallen for her, and now I was just auctioned off to the highest bidder? I felt a deep seated rage building deep inside, the effect of being scared out of my brain for the past day and a half, after things had tried to eat me, after being beaten around the head by a band of rouges and now when I thought I could relax THIS!

The gator must have noticed something change in me for his charge faltered a little and that was his doom I brought the heavy spiked mace in an arc around my head and shattered his toothy muzzle into a lump of broken tooth and bone. An ox morph leapt the bed and landed with a jolt near me, sadly for him by this time I had swung my mace and thrown it towards the other warriors and had snatched the fallen gators sword from the ground, I met the ox with a two handed wing that took off the lower part of his wrist and his hammer with it, he cried out in pain before I severed his spine, ending his tortured bellow.

The next to come at me was a smaller raccoon, I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to lay a blow on the critter so I resorted to a much nastier idea, I swung lamely with the sword and as he bounced back I swiftly stepped forward and planted me foot firmly in the fork of his legs and then swung a double handed backswing across his chest with the razor sharp scimitar opening his lungs and heart to the cool air.

A tiger morph appeared silently beside me and tore bloody gashed into my back with it's razor sharp claws, I almost dropped the sword from the agony burning in my back, I dropped to my knees, eyeing the slaughtered raccoons war hammer on the ground I closed my hand around the shaft as the tiger tore more shreds from my back, pushing off the floor with my legs I swung the hammer with growing momentum into the tigers forehead and saw his skull crack open and brain matter spray the wall behind him.

As I turned around I was greeted with the sight of a dog morph, (I think it looked like a Doberman from the colorings of it) swinging it's hammer at me, I moved but no where near fast enough and was thrown from my feet my the force of it's blow. I felt a few things crackle in my shoulder and knew it was more than just broken I lay dazed on the hard ground thinking my life was now over as the dog leapt high to bring it's enchanted hammer down on me again I groped blindly and felt the scimitar handle in my hand, I raised the tip with the butt set against the ground to perfectly impale the surprised canine.

Enough was enough, I could feel the rage draining from me and my wounds began to bring tears to my eyes, I threw the sword at the remaining man (the leader I'm guessing since he stayed back and let his men go first) who ducked quickly and I took that moment to bolt out of the door past Lesaria and into the corridor, I made it to the latter to get outside when I heard Lesaria calling to me.

"And what would you like two faced bitch?" I nearly snarled, the pain and terror of what had happened was seeping into my brain.

"I'm sorry Raz, they forced me too it wasn't my choice, I have knocked the leader out so you can escape now. Go! Run while you can." She looked genuinely scared for me, when she saw me hesitating she dropped the stolen hammer in her hand and grabbed me and pulled my lips to hers in a passionate kiss, "Now do you believe me? Go!"

I decided to do as she said and turned and got my feet on the first rung when I heard a noise behind me and I saw the horse morph leader leaning against the wall and smiling.

"I thought you said you had taken care of him?" I turned asking Lesaria

I saw her holding the hammer above her head, "I'm sorry Raz but I needed this money and I only got half until you were delivered alive."

My brain locked up, I had been played again, "Well done idiot" were the last thoughts before Lesaria brought the enchanted war hammer down on my skull hard enough to knock me the fuck out but not quite kill me, although the other injuries I had received might finish me off, the blood pouring from my back was indicative of this. Sweet embracing darkness folded around me again taking the pain of my body and mind away, my last thoughts were of Lesaria........