FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Still closer, the circle of the dead came. Any direction the shaken lizard took would surely come short with a wall of hissing, rotting corpses. From the dune top, the old necromancer breathed easy. The power this young one possessed, focused and destructive as it seemed, was not enough to thwart her army of terrors. "I'm sorry," the old one stated again, below the level of howling wind, so as not to be heard. "but you chose your friends poorly. Could you have not ended up like my Satarah ..."

Slowly, Tahlis descended to the ground, the backfire of using her power finally kicking in. No rush of emotion could save her now, the finality in the situation becoming more and more clear. As the corpses crowded around her, she took what she believed to be the last look at her better, the old eccentric on top of that dune, above the heads of undead minions. For a sense of protection, she rapped her scaly tail about herself, one fatal attempt to keep the dead away. But something changed then, a fault in the old one's stance, as if distracted by something.

A gasp escaped the old reptile's lips, beneath her dark mask. The necromancer ceased control of her minions briefly, the army of encroaching dead halting mere feet from Tahlis. "This feeling ... who is that?"

Tahlis was dumbfounded. What was she talking about? Abruptly, the circle of horrors simultaneously swiveled to face the rushing wind, from the north. All eyes, including the necromancer's, gazed ahead, out through the impenetrable wall of sand and wind.

"This magic ..." the old one mused in a constrained voice, "it's focused. Like, like a point on the horizon!" Also, the old one noted, the very magic around the graveyard shifted, as if they were all transported to another place. She was more dumbfounded than the encircled lizardess, at that point.

A shockwave of wind blew through the sea of corpses then. A mixture of sand, heat, and something else reverberated past Tahlis, in a wave, not unlike her own spell cast seconds ago. Vaguely, the two magicians were aware of strained voices, muffled by the storm around them. It sounded like fighting.

From the mist of sand appeared two figures, both chopping and hacking into the wall of terrors with wild abandon. One held a staff of a kind, the blunt object pounding the corpses to a pulp. The other, however, drew immediate attention from both lizards. From his arms, legs, and tail extended minute bursts of power, as if the air itself was his weapon. It was as if his body was made of steel, a bane to repulse these undead away. Every so often, when a corpse got too close for comfort, he would grapple it by the head and force it to explode in a small burst of fire. Slowly, they made their way toward the collapsed lizard. Tahlis didn't know whether to be thankful or alarmed. Were the two after her, the old one; were they here to help, or to harm?

With renewed vigor, the old reptile clenched her claws and willed the hordes of creatures to halt the duo's advance. Even so, she managed to speak once again to the lizard below her, sensing the tide of battle turning. "It seems you choose powerful allies, indeed. Power isn't the answer, though. Surely there are places I could reap much power from, raw and substantial. But nothing but your own knowledge can truly bring what you wish."

Tahlis drew her gaze away from the mayhem of collapsing dead and strained to hear the old one through the wind. Places of substantial power? What does she mean?

The old one continued, "If you truly want to use power for what it was meant to be used for, take the advice of a grieving old lizard: Allow your pain to pass you by, so that you may see the benefits that lay beyond it. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to find others to share it with you." And with that, the old one turned her back to the carnage and walked south and away, her minions still battling the two rogues eager to save the surrounded lizardess.

Quickly she turned to see the two figures trudging in her direction. Was the magician one of her group that she mentioned to the old hag? It was rare enough to meet a member face to face, so wide-spread and few they were. It was surely a strange way of using magic, she thought. Already once today, she had witnessed how the complexities of magic usage came to effect. Now she experienced it again, with this rogue magician and his staff-wielding friend.

Soon, only a few ranks of undead stood between the two and her. "Let's take the carpet out from under them," the magician shouted. The other nodded and began carving a swath of fury in front of him. Slowly, the magician crouched and pulled a furred arm back, extending his claws. He drew a long breath in concentration. Immediately before striking forward, the magician warned to her, "Duck if you want to live!"

Promptly the lizard flopped to the ground, unable to aid them with her spells in her near-exhausted condition. Quickly the one wielding the staff tumbled out of the way as the magician formed a fist and swung his arm in a wide, downward arc, upending the sand before them in the process. So close to the spell, Tahlis cupped her claws around her head as a booming echo shot directly over her. The remaining corpses in the way were sent flying in an arc about her, leaving not but grains of sand floating the air in front of her.

Unsteadily the lizard got to her feet as the two heroes rushed over to help her. She could see them clearly now, no wind or sand to impede her view. The magician was a weasel, light brown in color, whereas the other was a ferret, his coat as black as midnight. Both wore light traveler's clothing, cottony and colorful. Clearly they were from a city of some kind, with such finery. Hurriedly, the two grappled her shoulders and then began retreating the way they had come. Still, animated corpses hobbled after them. Looking back, Tahlis was struck by a small sense of awe.

_ Even in retreat from her spell, still she can control them..._

Almost like a response to her thoughts, the field of remaining bodies slowed and slumped to their knees. At the same time, they all fell silent and immobile, like dolls cut from their respective strings in a grotesque moonlit play. The two continued to run at a steady pace, the weasel pausing once to unceremoniously kick an idle corpse in the side, along the way. Within minutes they left the graveyard behind. Intermittently, the ebony-furred ferret would glance at her, trying to read something in her eyes.

Still, the sandstorm raged about the trio. Worse yet, they were traveling into the wind, making it all the harder to continue on in her weakened state. "Thank you for your aid," she started, "but do you two have any sense of direction!?"

The two lumbered on, exchanging glances at one another, then looked at her. The weasel responded evenly, "You were at the mercy of those shambles before we came along, so just trust us. We know where we're going."

The ferret tried to sound apologetic, "We were approaching the graveyard when we obviously noticed something was wrong-"

"An understatement if I ever heard one," she shot back.

"We're heading north to a cave we found earlier, for rest ..." the ferret continued. He cocked his head to the side, "Looks like you need it."

Even in her fatigued state, the lizard still acted with caution. These two could still pose a threat to her. A thought came to her, "Aren't you curious as to why I was there in the first place?"

This produced a wry chuckle from the weasel. He turned his head again to face her. "Surrounded by those walking corpses and a magician, in the middle of the night, still further out and about in a sandstorm, actually-"

"That's not important now," the ferret said to the weasel. He glanced at her again, "You were in trouble and we had the power to help. That's what's important." Tahlis was surprised how simple he made it sound. Who would act on such a simple assumption? After all, Tahlis was the one who attacked the necromancer first. With that logic, these two just saved a snake in lizard's clothing.

The weasel shook his head, "You're weird, Les." The ferret just smiled. "But, I guess it was fun to rip through all those corpses!" he added. The ferret gave a faint, almost inaudible sigh. The three continued the rest of their march north in silence.

Although it took mere minutes to reach the cave, it felt like hours. By now, the sky which the lizard had seen earlier was a torrent of sand and dust above their heads, the moon doubtlessly still hovering among the clouds somewhere.

As it turned out, the duo's 'cave' happened to be more of a rocky outcropping, a very large rocky outcropping. Nonetheless, Tahlis noted, it provided enough cover on all sides to make a decent shelter. Once inside, the roaring sound of the sand left them behind, leaving a faint ringing in their ears. They could all breath easier now that they could wait out the storm.

Inside the cave, it was surprisingly calm. The only sizable opening seemed to be where they had first entered. There was enough level ground for room for the travelers' bedrolls and then some. Upon entering, the weasel promptly released Tahlis and walked over to what she assumed to be his travel sack, showing similar signs of fatigue. She decided to rest against the sloped wall to her right and quickly walked over to it, the ferret continuing to support her weight. After seating herself, she glanced over to the weasel, who gave a sigh of relief, removing his mask as well, now that they were out of the storm. They must have been worried their gear would have been tampered with. "It's all still there," he directed to the ferret.

"Good," he responded. Then he, too removed his mask, secure that they could wait out the storm here. He took notice of the fatigue the weasel must have attributed after the battle, then said wearily, "I guess this means I'll get plenty of sleep this time around?"

The weasel scoffed, "Yup. Sorry, can't help you, but I'm spent. Chances are the storm'll be over by then anyway, so get your rest."

The ferret made to get into his bedroll then, but remembered their guest. He turned back to her and said, "Sorry about that .. you can take this one." The lizard looked questioningly at the ferret, still not trusting them enough to reveal her face behind the cowl. "I sleep like a rock anyway, I'll be over here." He walked past the two rolls and, retrieving a blanket from his backpack, hastily laid down and rested.

Still, she didn't trust these strangers enough to fall asleep in their midst, tired as she was. She suspected the same of the weasel. He still stood on the other side of the cave, checking the contents of the pack. "So," the lizard began, "What was that about?"

The weasel quickly glanced at her, to the now snoozing ferret, then back to her again. "Oh, nothing," he stated offhandedly. "Sleeping disorder and all that. Guy can't stay awake for very long. Sometimes I gotta speed the process up a bit, or else traveling with this milksop would be a real pain!" He grinned and laughed.

The notion didn't sit right with Tahlis, though. "Speed it up, how? Surely not the same method you used to handle all those corpses at the grave site?" At this, the weasel broke his grin, forming a suddenly sinister frown. Tahlis wished she had the strength to cast spells, now. Mentioning magic in conversation was foolhardy in the first place. Had she not been so exhausted, she never would have made such a slip of the tongue.

The weasel eased his way forward, stepping once in her direction. With a withering glare, he said, "I shouldn't be the one having to answer how I use magic."

Tahlis' eyes opened wide in surprise. Never had she expected an answer like that. She stifled a gasp as his glare bore into her, accusing, just as the old hag's. Surely enough, he was not affiliated with her or her associates. Though she did find it strange how such a gifted magician went so long without encountering her kind.

_ Him, too!?_ she thought. Such a scarce ability is ... unprecedented!

It made her wonder just how many magicians harbored such an ability to sense others' magic. Certainly there had been none within her group, to her knowledge at least.

The weasel took another step in her direction. Again, she wished she had the strength to summon her power. Nothing short of another rush of panic could possibly fuel her desire to cast a spell. She paled at the thought of how such panic could be brought about in this situation. He took another resolute step toward her, but nearly tripped as a swift claw rose up from the ground to halt his advance.

It was the ferret, once again awake and with a venomous glare aimed at the encroaching weasel. In an acidic growl, he said, "Leave. It. Alone. Cosul."

The weasel halted and looked down at his dark-coated friend. He raised his arms slightly in protest, "We know what she is, Les. For all we know, she could kill us in our sleep and be gone with the ... gone, by morning! Without a care. You know, ever since we approached the graveyard I've been getting this bad vibe like you'd never believe. Something's not right, I know it!" Despite these accusations, the lizard stayed silent, afraid her interruption would escalate the situation even further. Plus, what he said about her wasn't entirely false.

The ferret held his angry glare, still holding fast to the weasel's ankle. "How's she any different from you," he asked.

Again, the weasel scoffed, and babbled something incoherent. "Well, she's, she could have ..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," the ferret said. "Let's save any more questions we have until after we've all gotten some shut-eye." He rolled over and looked over at Tahlis, "I'm sure we're all just a little on edge after all that struggle, right?"

The lizard decided to go along with the ferret's words, and nodded in response. A ghost of a smile crested her lips. Suddenly, she felt lucky to still be wearing the cowl around her face.

The weasel glared at her once more, but submitted to the ferret's reasoning. He shook his foot free from the other's grasp, then quickly moved to close up the backpack he had been inspecting earlier. Promptly, he went over to his respective bedroll, bent over and dragged it further within the recesses of the cave. He set it next to the ferret and his blanket, allowing Tahlis enough space for what little privacy there was to be had in the cave. Wearily, he got into the bedroll, and got comfortable.

Tahlis remained leaning against the wall for some time afterward. Her amber gaze peered out toward the entrance of the cave, judging how long the storm might last. Her predictions didn't look good. She looked over to the bedroll, then over to her two supposedly sleeping rescuers. Or captors, she thought cynically. She doubted the magician's integrity, but the ferret's words reassured her in a way.

Either he is too trusting or too foolish, she thought. Neither of which pose much of a threat in any case.

Reluctantly, she eased down to the bedroll in the sand before her. Luckily the ferret was nearly the same as her in tallness, and the bedroll provided enough cover for her to lay comfortably. The warmth it provided was a luxury she was all-too thankful for, allowing her to lose herself in drowsiness while trying her best to forget the harrowing battle earlier. She stole one more glance across the room to the others, then her body gave way to much-needed slumber.

She hardly dreamed, as it were. This night, however, her sleep was especially troubled. She dreampt of faces, floating about her, in a void of blinding light. A sense of vertigo overcame her, as if she were falling. The faces remained, though; always staring and gaping at her, in terror and accusation. Some were rotten faces, reptilian and mammalian alike, others lively, and ones she knew from childhood. Despite the closeness of the faces, though, she felt an all-encompassing isolation. The trip lasted mere seconds to her though, and quickly faded into that timeless pit of non-thought that was sleep.

~;~;~;~;~;`~

Slowly, light filtered into Tahlis' vision. The glare was low and what little that got into the cave boasted streams of light, riddled with particles of sand. There was a deep blue hue creeping from the corners of her vision, a result of being half-awake, she guessed. The lizard tilted her head away from the harsh light, to find herself facing a fully-wakened ferret staring back at her. At least, she thought it was the ferret, her eyes still full of sleep-dust from a good night's sleep. He almost seemed translucent, as did the rest of the things in the cave.

Slowly she sat up, still facing toward the ferret, bringing a claw up to wipe the sleep from her eyes. She was half-surprised to find her claws impeded by something. Quickly she felt around only to realize that she had left the cowl draped across her face. Quickly, she glanced back up to the ferret, who stifled a chuckle at the sight.

"Looks like you needed more sleep than you thought," he stated. Confusion must have shown in her eyes, for he cocked his head again and pointed to something behind her. She turned to view the entrance to the cave: slightly lit with what was undoubtedly moonlight, dark beyond, with no hint as to the storm that vexed them all the night prior.

So, she had slept throughout the day, as apparently the ferret did. This spelled more trouble for her, for it wouldn't be wise to travel all the way back to the town at night, even well rested. The night before must have seriously drained her strength, perhaps both physically and mentally.

The lizard scanned the room for their third companion. She asked as much to the ferret, who stretched his limbs as he conversed.

"That braggart couldn't leave that graveyard alone. Ever since he mentioned getting that 'vibe' of his, he wanted to return and see what he could glean from what was left of our little skirmish over there. He woke me briefly in the afternoon to tell me as much. I'm sure he'll return when paranoia sets in."

A short laugh escaped the lizard's lips, then. This produced a comical response from the ferret opposite her. She then noticed her cowl was still drawn across her face. Finally, she decided no harm could be done for at least the ferret to see her face. She raised her claw to unfasten the veil.

The ferret stood up, "Sorry," he apologized again, motioning toward her, "I never asked your name. You are -" the ferret stopped in mid-sentence. As Tahlis unclasped her cowl, she assumed a look of befuddlement. The look on the ferret's face changed in stark contrast to what it had shown before. A mixture of surprise, terror, and what surely must have been pain crossed his countenance. His claw immediately crossed his muzzle, shocked. His eyes quickly glazed over as tears began to flow. Tahlis, baffled, noticed him try to form words, then, finally whispered, "Tah ..." he fumbled with the name, "Tahlis?"

It was the lizard's turn to be shocked. She never met this furred one before in her life, much less a ferret. And why was he crying?

Before she could ponder this anymore, the ferret rushed to her, removing the rest of her cowl. He bent down to her level, the lizard still sitting down. Immediately, Tahlis was on edge. She tried to push away the remaining sleepiness in an attempt to summon forth her power. Things might turn ugly, yet.

To her confusion, however, the ferret merely cupped his claw around her scaly cheek, soft and warm to the touch. He wrapped the other arm around her, tears still streaming openly from his eyes, intent upon her own. She found it hard to tear away from those eyes, never before had she seen so much emotion present in them. Unsure as she was, she still tried desperately to grasp hold of her power. Beneath his watery gaze, though, she faltered. What did I do to him, to provoke such a face?

Then something completely unexpected happened to Tahlis Zzradi. The ferret leaned in, moving his arms around to embrace the lizardess, and kissed her ardently. Any attempt she could have made at casting a spell was wistfully extinguished. A few of his tears gently brushed off onto her cheek in the process. The cautious part of her reared up, attempting to pull away from the embrace. Deep down, however, in that forgotten part of her heart, sprouted a feeling she once knew, but couldn't place.

Tahlis couldn't remember the last time she was caught off guard so quickly. This embrace was full of his unintelligible caring, the reason for which she suddenly wished to comprehend. A part of her wanted to return the embrace, her arms still limp at her sides. Rationale finally kicked in, however, and she reluctantly pulled away. The ferret bent back and stayed knelt beside her, motioning to hold her face in his claw again.

Tahlis brought her own claw up and halted his touch. Apprehensively, she looked into his eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"

A puzzled look showed on his face, "Tahlis, why are you here? It's not possible. I saw ..." his voice trailed off. He gasped and hurriedly got up to open the travel sack which the weasel had obsessed over the night before. He pulled something out, wrapped in cloth.

Tahlis stood then, curious as to what was concealed beneath it. Wiping the tears from his eyes, the ferret walked back over and uncovered the object from the wrap. He produced what looked to be a small pyramidal stone, burgundy in color and pleasing to the eye. She stared at it intently, and immediately she felt something pouring out of the stone. It had the distinct feel of magic, and faint, despite the close proximity. What surprised her was that the feeling was not foreign, but was almost a reflection of her own power. Her interest must have been clear on her face, for the ferret quickly withdrew the stone with a concerned look.

Tahlis must still have been recovering from sleep, for the ferret and everything else seemed to lose substance. Breathlessly, she asked, "What is that? What's going on? How do you ... know me?"

The ferret quickly wrapped the stone back up, still holding onto it. He looked back over at her, seemingly translucent. "Tahlis," he breathed, "It was ... all I had left..."

Tears flowed anew as he asked, "Why did you take it? Back in Dileurnm, I thought we-"

"Les!" a voice boomed, behind the lizard. Quickly she spun around to see the mustelid magician appear from the darkness beyond the cave, similarly opaque to her vision. "Keep the rune away from that rogue! What are you thinking?"

Swiftly the ferret passed her and confronted the weasel, objecting, "You don't understand, Cosul! It's Tahlis!" Their voices took on a cacophonous ring, as if speaking from a distance. Promptly the ferret turned around, disregarding the weasel's warning.

Again, the ferret closed the distance between them, inching his face close to hers, clearly see-through, as if she were surrounded by ghosts. The sight must have been mutual, for the ferret's warm face became one of confusion, yet again. "Tahlis?" he questioned. "What ..."

But before he could finish his thought aloud, the two disappeared, along with any and all objects and belongings that hinted that there was anyone in the cave to begin with. She looked around in the darkness, utterly overcome with dismay. Her mind was numb from the bombardment of conflicting thoughts she perceived since awakening. Was she still asleep? Was she dreaming? What was that stone the ferret had shown her, and why did he show it to her to begin with?

Why did he kiss her? She instinctively brought a claw up to her face. She let out a gasp as she felt something wet across her cheek. A tear? It wasn't hers, she knew. The ferret had been crying.