FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A fur just finished walking above the crest of a roaded hill, the blackened plate absorbing the sunlight like it's the only thing keeping it alive. The armour looked demonic, as was the point of the fur's vocational armour, but all the decòr was only placed to be functional, therefore form fitting to the fur's masculine frame.

The upper part of the helm covered all of the fur's upper head, even the ears fully covered. The only details that could be seen of the fur beneath was the orange fur of the tail that wasn't covered by the tail armour.

A halberd acted as a makeshift walking stick, made of dark wood and blackened steel. What most couldn't see was a sword that was immovably held in place on the fur's back, also of blackened steel with an amethyst lodged in the pommel, a purple blade with black highlights could be seen, but only the lower half. Made from a material that wouldn't rust, it is kept out in the open with no consequences.

The fur raised a paw to over his eyes to cover the temperate sun, spotting the city, which is just a stone's throw away. Hefting the halberd over his right shoulder, the fur set off once again.

Suspiciously empty land stretched out to his left and right, which shouldn't be. A city should have leagues upon leagues of farmland outside the walls to sustain the populace. Grass is growing, so it isn't salted, so why is this land empty?

When the fur reached the edge of a forest, no doubt the city's supply of wood, he heard a rustle in a bush. He stopped, planting the halberd onto the dirt road. Despite the sense being hampered by the helm, he sniffed the air for a scent, while his sight continued scanning for other signs.

That's when he caught it. The unmistakable scent of hasty washing.

Bandits. And a lot of them.

A variety of species of furs all burst out from the woods, all brandishing wooden clubs in differing states of decay. The darkly-clad fur picked up his halberd and faced down the charging vagabonds.

He fared well, parrying some of the clubs and taking the brunt from others. He managed to hit a few of the bandits with any part of the halberd, but their slowly wasting gambesons all seemed to take the blows quite well.

The darkened fur dashed out of the ambush, keeping all 10 of the bandits in his sights. He called upon his training, not in his weapon, but in a skill linked to what he was.

The amethyst on the sword's pommel began to spark and crackle with dark energy, and he felt his own health waste away to power a ball of dark energy in his paw. When he felt it reach its maximum power, he threw the dark energy out to the bandits.

The energy wrapped itself around the many bandits, but it all went to a central point, rendering his gift pointless.

He charged back into the fray, trying his damnedest to keep the bandits back, but he couldn't. There were too many, and a sharp lucky blow to the back of his head sent him stumbling to the ground, the halberd clanging on the dirt. Despite his second attempt to try, he succumbed to the pain.

[C]~ ~ ~

He came to with the cold feel of water against his very fur, which isn't right. He could barely open his eyes without pain, but he managed to open them.

His efforts were rewarded with a view of a tiled roof, the tiles forming a mosiac artpiece of The Healer.

'Ah, the healing pool. But where?' he thought, still staring at the roof.

Deciding that lying on his back, staring at a common piece isn't a good use of his time, he started to sit up, seeing the clothes he was wearing soaked, but it was needed.

He saw his entire set of armour and his halberd lying just outside this specific healing pool.

"Heading out already?"

The fur snapped around to whoever spoke, a female raccoon wearing the dark green robes of healers.

"I have a duty, madam, and I intend to finish it quickly," he responded, turning back to his armour.

"Well, dark knight, put that duty on hold. A favour, if you may."

The dark knight fur stopped bending over, thinking that what this healer priestess has to say would be interesting.

"The fur that brought you here didn't pay for the service, so you have to pay it off."

The healed fur sighed. He didn't carry money, as his vocation disavowed him from doing so. And the only other vocation that did the same were the....

"How much?" he asked, his voice grown deeper in this instant, as if taking on malevolence.

"3 gold coins," the healer priestess responded.

The dark knight picked up the chestplate, making sure that the sword on the back was secure.

"That is a lot of money."

"There is a bounty board out there. Use them to pay us back."

With that, the healer priestess turned to leave, but she stopped.

"I didn't get your name," she said.

The fur turned to face side on to the healer priestess.

"Skyclaw."