FSE

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"The Cards speak in quiet voices that few can hear, and even fewer can understand. I am Madame Xanda, and with me as your guide, we shall navigate the treacherous currents of fate."

The room was heady with the smells of incense, and when combined with the dim lighting, it instilled a sense of wonder and mystery into most who entered. The thick curtains were positioned to allow only thin beams of light through, which lanced through the smoke like knives. Having been into this type of establishment many times before, the dark furred fox was entirely unaffected by the decor. Without looking, he knew there were dozens of hidden mirrors and wall slats that would allow the proprietor to spy on her clientele as they walked nervously in.

The diminutive fortune teller adjusted the headdress that was wrapped tightly around her fuzzy head and rubbed the small silver hoop in her pointed left ear. "Tell me what you desire, and I will see what is in store for you."

Gulping, the fox nervously wrung his hands on the handle of his short umbrella. "I've been getting this...feeling." he said in a shaking voice, "Like I'm being followed. But when I look, there's no one there. It happens when I'm in bed, when I'm working, anywhere I know I'm alone. It's like I'm cursed or something."

"Hmm." The small bat said from the far side of the round table, scratching her chin with a clawed finger, "This sounds serious. Perhaps a wayward spirit has anchored itself to you. I_could_be a curse of some sort, as well. Either way, it will not be easy to remedy."

Almost rising from where he was kneeling on the ground, the fox said, "I'll do anything. Just make it stop."

Giving an exaggerated sigh, the fortune teller said, "I must warn you, though, that and work in the spirit realm will require, um, adequate compensation in the physical world."

Nodding in comprehension, the customer reached into his jacket and pulled out a heavy pouch. "I can pay any price within reason." he said, placing the sack on the table with the thud and jingle of coins.

Eyes wide, the little bat hobbled over and was about to take the payment, when the fox placed a paw on it. "Only after you're finished."

Wishing she could grind her teeth, Madame Xanda said with a glare, "Fate is often more kind to those who pay in advance. I cannot guarantee success."

Voice serious, the fox said, "I am will to take that risk." and pulled the pouch closer to him.

Eyes following her payment, the bat shrugged her leathery wings and hobbled across the table to the tall stack of intricately designed cards. She placed a clawed hand upon it, and froze. The instant her tiny talons had brushed the top card, a chill ran up her spince and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. A sense of deja vu overcame her. A true reading was coming. That was always what accompanied this feeling. Everything the cards told her would be true, or become true.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerved, Xanda turned over the first card, knowing exactly what it was before the face was visible.

"The inverted vagabond." Madame Xanda said in an emotionless voice. The card showed a raccoon holding a knife as a traveler walked to where he hid. "Danger follows you, but is not directed at you."

The next card showed two people walking down a long, winding road. "The companion." she continued, "You know who follows you. You are close friends." Taking another deep breath, Xanda turned over the last card. "Death. He is the one who follows you. Who is your ally and constant companion, Faust the Thunderer."

Arching an eyebrow, the fox said, "You know who I am. Do you know why I am here?"

"No." Xanda said in a distant voice as she turned over three more card in quick succession. "But the cards do. They know all things. You are my herald to the next life. My end."

Nodding, Faust said, "The cards do not lie. One of your clients received an ill omen from you, and it came true. He blames you for causing it to happen, so he hired me. Please understand, I hold no ill will against you. In fact, I can only admire your abilities. To see your own future. That is something I have always longed for."

In a sad voice, the fortune teller said, "Perhaps one last look, while it lasts. Would you see what the future holds for you?" Faust nodded. With strangely steady hands, Xanda turned over three last cards.

"Chance, the crossroads, and the alignment, all inverted. Your future will be rocky. Chance will roll heavily one your choices, and each is capable of tearing your life's work to pieces. Step with care, for your life hangs by threads, which cane easily twist into a noose."

By now, her eyes had become focused on some distant point, and her voice was continuing on its own without any thought from Xanda. "The world teeters, Thunderer. One edge in darkness, the other in light. At the center is you, bringer of storms. As you tip, so does the world."

"Beware, Thunderer, for while darkness brings chaos and confusion, the light can scorch. A world in balance can only be made by those who walk the line between order and chaos. Between light and dark. A knife's edge, with certain doom on either side."

As the words left her mouth, the little fortune teller collapsed, her little wings folding beneath her, not at all trying to brace herself. Rushing over, Faust tried to find a pulse in the tiny creature, but there were no signs of life at all. The black eyes had fogged over, and there was not rise and fall to her chest.

The little fortune teller was dead. Killed by the last fortune she would ever tell.

Faust bowed his head and said a small prayer as her soul loosed its anchor on her body and floated into the cosmos. Through closed eyes, he watched the fleeting ball of light be tossed too and fro by ethereal winds, and he wished it safe passage to the next life.

Opening his eyes, the fox gently picked up the limp body and tucked it into the crook of his arm. Despite the fact that he had been sent to kill her, Faust had nothing but respect for the little creature. He too had once been able to navigate the currents of fate, and glean some sight of the future. He had been very gifted too. But that had all changed, and so had he.

Shuddering away the memories, Faust hunched his shoulders and stepped out into the street. Rain was falling in a heavy mist, so he opened his umbrella and started down the wide, crowded road. He would find a place to bury the little creature first, before meeting his employer. He owed her that much.

By the time Faust reached the spacious shung ba hall, the rain had lifted, but clouds still hung over head like a gray blanket. Still somber from earlier, the fox kept the umbrella open to hide his face. The client, sitting stiffly at a table beneath an awning in a secluded corner, did not move as Faust stepped up to him. Once the fox sat down, though, he reached in front of him and moved the first piece.

"Is it done?" the well groomed goose said as he began the game.

Making his own move, Faust said, "The fortune teller is dead."

"But not by your hand." the bird said, eyes still on the board as he moved the next tile.

"She died before I had a chance." he said, taking his turn without hesitation, "And I don't like being followed."

Pondering the board for a moment, the goose said, "I like to make certain of my investments. I couldn't have you running away with your money, now could I?" he paused, and glanced at the fox, "Or playing me for a fool."

Sighing, Faust placed his next piece on the board. So far, to an observer, there was no obviously superior player. But the fox knew better. Shung ba was a complex game. Players would place their round chips on the board in a line, then move the last to the front. The eventual purpose was to drive the other player into a corner. Currently, they both shared the center of the board.

"I don't know what you mean." Faust said, calculating his next five moves as he waited for a response from the goose.

"I mean," He replied, "That you are trying to get me to pay you for a job you never did. Xanda's 'death' was all a sham. A show for my agents, that you knew were following you. Once she looked to be dead, you took her away and 'buried' her." shaking his head, he made his next move once Faust was done with his. "The only mistake," He continued, "Was thinking for a moment that I would fall for it."

Smiling down as the board, where it appeared he was about to back the fox into a corner, the goose said, "Nothing gets past me. Once I'm done here, I'll have someone else hunt that little rat and skewer her like you were supposed to do."

Pursing his lips, Faust said, "You must know that I don't take accusations to my reputation and character lightly."

The goose snorted, "What character? You are nothing but a paid killer. A killer who failed to do his job."

Staring down at the board, Faust smiled. He would win in three moves, and he knew that the goose did not even suspect the play. Of course he could not see it, or else he would be nowhere near as bold in his words. "My contract stated that I was to ensure the death of Xanda the fortune teller, and I did, no matter how much you try to say otherwise. She died and I buried her somewhere you won't find her. I did not come here to claim any payment, because it was not by my hand that she died."

He made his final move, and the goose's eyes widened in realization as the fox continued, "I do not take insults kindly. You know my skills. Do you think than any of the goons you've hired to be here can reach us before I kill you?"

By this time, the shung ba house was full of bulky animals, each pretending to play their own game, but always glancing over to where Faust and the goose sat. But they were a front, a last resort. At the far end of the open room, the fox's sensitive ears heard the straining wood of a bow being pulled back.

Sighing, Faust picked up his umbrella and said, "I'm sorry that we could not come to an understanding. Further business could have been rather lucrative." With a smooth, almost disinterested swing, the fox drew his sword and sent it gliding through the goose's neck. As the head soared from the scrawny neck, Faust continued his swing and twisted his body. The arrow that had been loosed the instant metal gleamed from the umbrella's casing was cut from the air barely a foot from the foxes head.

Faust's eyes widened when another arrow came whistling his way barely a second after the first. With another flick of the blade, the arrow was dispatched, but there was another after that, and another. This was a very skilled archer. Unwelcome competition.

Twirling the blade in a flaring pattern, Faust leapt. He soared, deflecting two more arrows as he came to settle on slanted roof that surrounded the open shung ba area. By now, the hired fighters were standing, but could only stare in amazement as their target now stared down at them, far out of their reach.

"He's dead." The fox shouted down to them, "You're contracts are done. We don't have to finish this."

Stepping out from the shadows, bow drawn and arrow notched, the lioness's eyes were locked on Faust as she said, "He's right. You all can leave. The two of us can settle this matter." She smiled, "Like professionals."

The hired muscle, each with fairly limited faculties, were aware that they had been paid in advance. If they did not actually have to exert themselves, then so much the better.

As the open yard slowly cleared, Faust straightened, still keeping his guard up and watching the woman closely. "I'm afraid I don't know you, miss. Though your aim is well worth remembering."

Flashing a toothy smile, the lioness said, "My name is Ada, and no I don't have much of a reputation. Yet." In an instant, she was in motion, loosing another arrow and darting to one side, "But one I get rid of you, everyone will know my name. Ada the Thunder Slayer! They'll whisper it in fear as I walk through the streets, and shout it from roof tops as I free the cities from the tyranny of the rich."

Smirking, Faust remained stationary as the woman kept trying to get and arrow through his defense. "High aspirations." He said with mock sincerity, "Perhaps one day, a decade or two, you may achieve your goals." the fox sighed as the archer, hiding behind one of the shung ba tables, kept darting around, trying to find the perfect angle to get through his ever moving blade.

"As it stands." He continued, "You really have no idea who you are up against, do you. Allow me to enlighten." Again he leapt into the air, twisting to avoid a projectile and landing softly beside the woman. "I am Faust, Master of the Storm. I've dealt with your kind before, archer, and killed masters far more skilled than you."

Advancing on the girl, he deflected a trio of steel tips before Ada finally fled to more cover. Not giving her any recovery, Faust charged, blade darting between her arms and straight to the drawn sting of the bow. With a 'twang' the string snapped and the wooden bow released its tension as it returned to its normal position in an instant.

Taking a step back as the girl recoiled in shock, Faust said, "You lose, girl. Your skill with those two knives hidden in your sleeves is nowhere near enough to beat me." The lioness looked like she was considering trying it anyways, but he stopped her, "I never lie when I see potential, Ada. If you keep to your convictions, fight for them with all your strength. You will be great. But if you choose to be foolish, no one will remember you. Ada Storm Slayer will be but a wistful dream of a wandering spirit."

Looking at him intently, the lioness slowly relaxed, letting the useless bow drop to her side. "Wise choice." Faust said, sheathing his sword and crouching, "I look forward to our next meet." and with that, he leapt backwards, soaring into the clouds that had decided to hold back their deluge for the time being.

Shaking with rage, Ada threw her bow on the ground and let out a roar. Never before had she been so humiliated. Faust the Thunderer would be hers to kill, by either blade or bow. No matter the cost, he would die, with her standing over his corpse.