FSE

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King Pandez sighed as he sat in his room of the inn and his features, once hidden, were revealed as he took off his cloak. "This weather is growing intolerable," he muttered as he set the wet garment on a chair before he looked up at his soldiers. "Any report from the forward scouts?"

"All the reports so far have shown that the necromancer ferret known as Alkali and his cohort Xander the Blue were not seen in any of the towns that run along The Dragon's Tail," the soldier reported. "If they went through this way they avoided them like the plague, or else the other thought is... well... they may have tried to go through the mountains in an effort to evade capture."

The panda sighed and unfurled the map that Serina the mage had given him, seeing the path she had marked that showed the trail that led to Ka'Le going right through the range. "As much as I'd like to think that he's not that crazy or that there's enough reason with him to counteract it, the evidence is suggesting otherwise. If the weather is like this on the fringe of that storm, though, I don't know if we'll ever seen them alive then, but we must press on as though he somehow managed to make it."

"Sir, if that's true then he's going to be weeks on us now," the soldier said.

"Oh, I am well aware of our delay," Pandez replied as he got up and went to the window. "Between hiding in order to try and get the drop on him and his reckless move through the Dragon's Tail, I'm afraid we're going to have to resort to more drastic measures. Has Shuken reported in yet?"

"Yes, he managed to get a raven out during a break in the storm," the soldier said. "He says that he is safe and managed to make it to a cave where he's holding up with a bunch of huscoons... whatever that means."

Pandez sighed and turned back, motioning for one of his scribes that had been silent the entire time to sit where he had just been. "I need you write this missive and send it to every major city that's west of the Dragon's Tail," he dictated. "Tell them that the necromancer known as Alkali is a fugitive wanted by the kingdom, and that the reward for the capture and containment is a five percent reduction on their tax for the next three years. Also write down that he is accompanied by the bard known as Xander the Blue and a warlock of the acranum library known as Draggor, and that their capture will garner an additional one percent reduction each."

"Yes sir," the scribe said as she began to write.

"My lord, you're going to have every city lord and noble frothing at the mouth on that," the soldier said. "And what about the other two, the barbarian and the thief?"

"Those two are hired guns I think," Pandez replied. "If we capture any one or all of the others they'll give up and scatter to the wind. Plus this is more of a routeing measure, Xander is too smart to directly fall for such a trap, they'll need to choose between skulking around in the safety of the cities or the harsh wilderness between in order to continue their quest. Either way it'll slow them down, and that's what we need to catch up to them!"

As the scribe finished the missive and placed the royal seal on it there was a knock at the door, which caused the soldiers to immediately set themselves on guard. They shouted for the person on the other side to state their business, and a small voice on the other side stated they were there to see the king on urgent matters that concerned his quest. The guards looked at Pandez, who gave a slight nod and motioned for them to go ahead, and one of the soldiers slowly moved forward and opened the door with weapon still drawn.

The figure on the other side was dressed in a simple brown robe, a mysterious symbol dangling from his chest as he stood there with his hands raised. After a quick frisk they allowed the female bearded dragon entrance. "My lord," she said as she bowed down to him before taking a seat opposite him and clasped her fingers. "I have very important information concerning what you so desperately seek..."

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For Alkali and the rest of the group the storm that plagued most of the Dragon's Tail was vacant in the small town they had decided to recover in from their trip through the mountains. As everyone split up Alkali and Xander decided to gather supplies for the group while Draggor continued to decipher the map, leaving Serathin and Zen to gather information on the road ahead. Their spirits were quite high for the time being, having escaped a potentially fatal landscape in exchange for a more forgiving one was a welcome change in scenery for all of them.

As the two continued their shopping, though, it appeared to Xander that a whole new danger was potentially about to beset them. Midway through the market he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye, a cloaked creature that seemed insistent on keeping pace with them. The dragon whispered to his cohort about their potential shadow and the ferret glanced up and over Xander's shoulder. After a short, whispered conversation the two nodded to one another and proceeded to continue the image of browsing the wares of the various stalls and vendors. After a few minutes, their cloaked friend still behind them, they entered a building of a blacksmith.

About a minute later the mysterious person entered the shop as well, quietly closing the door behind him as he looked around to see the empty storefront. As they took a few steps in; however, the floor beneath him glowed and suddenly the figure stood completely still as necromantic energy surrounded him, paralyzing him completely. As soon as Alkali's trap had been activated the two popped their heads up from behind the counter, the owner of the shop having already vacated with a handful of Xander's coin. The two heard a surprised squeak as they slowly walked over to the trapped creature and pulled the hood of the cloak off his head.

"You are not in a very good situation my friend," Xander said as they revealed the head of a fruit bat whose face was frozen in an expression of shock. "If you cooperate, though, the ferret won't have to activate the second part of this trap that will suck the life force out of you until you're a desiccated husk of your former self."

"It's been awhile since I've had the pleasure of doing that," Alkali added with an evil grin, which caused the bat to gulp.

"So I would talk quickly," Xander continued. "Now, who are you and why are you following us? Did King Pandez send you?"

"No no, nothing like that," the bat said nervously. "Though the reason he's chasing you is why I'm here. My name is Era, and I've been set by the Order of Ka'Le."

Alkali's fingers twitched slightly as a spark of green energy crackled between them, but the ferret managed to keep his composure enough not to activate the trap rune beneath Era. "You going to try and stop us?" he asked as he approached. "Because if you are I hope there's more than you to do it."

"I am just a neophyte druid," Era hastily replied. "It was the reason I was sent, to hopefully show that we are not here to threaten you. Instead I'm hoping that you can release me from this death trap and I can deliver you the message that I have traveled so far to give you. I promise I mean you no harm and it is clear you are far more powerful than I... please?"

Xander and Alkali looked at each other in silent deliberation, then with a sigh the ferret waved his hand and the green markings on the floor vanished. As soon as the magic was dispelled the fruit bat crumpled to the floor before he picked himself up once again and regained his composure. With the stand-off settled for now the three made their way up to the private quarters of the blacksmith, Xander and Era sitting down at the rough wooden table while Alkali went over to the shelf where a bottle of brown liquid stood. "Explain yourself," Xander demanded as Alkali found glasses and poured them all a drink.

"Like you, our order has spent many centuries searching for the lost city of Ka'Le," Era explained as he cupped the liquid in his hands. "Our order was started by a powerful druid known as Leaf the Green, who had claimed that he had been to the city and received great power over nature from it. Naturally such a claim caused many druids to flock to him for instruction, and around it the Order of Ka'Le was formed. But Leaf never showed anyone else the way to Ka'Le, stating that he didn't want to potentially corrupt such a pure source of magic, and many years ago he vanished without a trace along with the secrets he kept."

"So you're a group of druids that want the power of the lost city to continue to do your plant magic," Alkali stated bluntly, downing the liquid in the glass before he poured himself another. "If this is to try and stop me from going down there to do what I'm intending to do, you're out of luck."

"Yes... we do know of what you intend to do once you reach Ka'Le," Era replied sadly as he looked down. "And as much as we wish that we could stop you, either through persuasion or otherwise, our order isn't powerful enough to go against you or your group. The only thing we humbly ask is that before you destroy the power, you allow one of our elders to learn from it so that we can continue the path that Leaf the Green set for us so long ago."

"I don't think so," Xander refused flatly. "Even if you weren't with the king having a group of druids following us around isn't something we want, especially since you admitted that you regard the lost city as a sacred site. Why don't you run along and tell the others if they really want the power so badly then they're going to have to find it first."

There was a few moments of tense silence as Era seemed to process the dragon's information, then slowly nodded and stood up. "It appears your mind is made up and I'm in no position to coerce or intimidate you," the bat said forlornly as he put his hood back up. "I do hope that you reconsider your position when you get there; the power of Ka'Le is an awe-inspiring and terrifying thing, and when you get there even you may not know exactly what to do with it. May nature keep you safe on your journey."

Once the fruit bat left the two continued to sit there for a bit, Alkali taking the bat's untouched drink and downing it as they discussed what had just happened. It appeared that it wasn't just the King that had taken notice of their journey, others had started to come out of the woodwork as well. Could this order of druids potentially be the first of many that would stand before them, or potentially against them? And how long would it be until one of those things was more powerful than them? At the end the conclusion they came to was they weren't going to solve anything sitting in a room above a smith, so Alkali took the half-finished bottle of liquor and, after making sure there was no ambush, quickly made their way back to the inn.

Back at the inn Serathin sighed contently as he lounged in one of the tubs that occupied the small bathing area, inhaling the steam off the freshly-changed water. "That's the last time I trek across a mountain range for a job," he mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes and sank down into the water. "Cities don't have mountains where anything and everything can kill you, cities just have people that want to do it. Don't have to trek through miles of gross tunnels and rocks just to get somewhere that might have food and water, either... and baths..."

As the hybrid continued to hum and splash in the water he suddenly felt the presence of another person, but as he tried to turn around to see who it was his motion was stopped by the cold metal of a blade against his throat. Despite attempting to remain calm the sabertooth couldn't help but swallow hard as he remained still. "Not many people I know of that can sneak up on me like this," Serathin stated as he slowly sank back down into a comfortable position while still keeping his head back. "And since most of them end up dead by my hand, anyway, I believe I can narrow this down... to you, Taiji."

There was a brief moment of pause and the face of a black-maned lioness appeared in his field of vision with a smirk on her face. She withdrew the knife and sheathed it as Serathin rubbed the spot where the sharp edge rubbed against the fur of his neck. "You still have a hell of a hello there," Serathin snarked as he relaxed once more.

"Well at least you can live through my hello," Taiji replied, sitting on the side of the tub. "Had they sent anyone else this water would have an entirely different tint to it."

"That's if they got the drop on me," Serathin shot back before he sighed. "So it sounds like you're not here for a friendly visit or to give me the message that all is forgiven."

"Quite the opposite," Taiji rebutted. "They were not amused with the little switch you tried to make in the capital. Did you honestly think that you could make a ring at that arcana university that would fool them for very long? It's getting to the point where your corpse would be far more satisfying to them than just your capture and the return of their property."

Serathin rubbed his temples and then hit the surface of the water in frustration, causing the lioness to shout as she was splashed. "Why are they being so bloody persistent?!" he shouted. "It wasn't even the most expensive piece in their collection!"

"I think it's less what you stole and more who you stole it from," Taiji pointed out as the hybrid fumed. "But there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's the reason why I'm here. They know what you and this little group you're a part of is going after, and they want you to steal it for them. You get them the power source of Ka'Le and they will consider it even payment for what you took as well as the frustration of chasing you through several kingdoms to try and get it back."

For a while the only sounds that filled the room was the trickle of water and the crackle of the fires that heated the water while Serathin looked away in thought. He watched as Taiji grabbed the nearby bottle of liquor he had procured from the bar at the inn and poured herself a glass, watching him the entire time. It had been the first real time that the consequences of his actions had bared down on him in such a spectacular fashion, and for the first time since it started there was a way out. As he continued to mull it over he saw a filled glass in front of him and took it from Taiji to share her drink.

"It's not that simple," Serathin finally said. "The necromancer that wants this power is completely unhinged, and that dragon boy toy he keeps around had, and perhaps still has, very powerful connections in this kingdom. Plus they know who I am and what I'm capable of, so I doubt they're just going to let me faff off on my own once we're inside Ka'Le."

"Never said it was going to be easy," Taiji replied as she stood up. "But it's either that or continue to run for the rest of your life, right up until they finally decide to kill you. If you take their deal, though, not only will they agree to erase your debt, but they will also provide you with safe haven after you completed their task. Sounds like it's worth the risk to me."

"Well, I guess agreeing to this wouldn't be the first stupid thing I did today,"

"Why, what's the first thing-" Taiji started to say before Serathin darted forward and grabbed her by the wrist before pulling her into the tub. Water splashed all over the smooth stone around them as she let out a gasp, followed by an angry growl as the hybrid grinned sheepishly at her. She turned herself around and grabbed him by the shoulders, pausing as their muzzles hovered a few inches from their bodies before they met in a passionate kiss. Both of them splashed around in the basin until most of the water was on the floor as they paused and separated briefly.

"Before I forget," Taiji said breathlessly. "There's something you should probably know that I've heard in the black market concerning the King..."

Two stories above the baths Alkali and Xander returned to the room where they filled in Draggor and Zen on what they had just encountered. Neither demon nor fox knew of such a group either, and even the dragon was limited on what he knew about such an order. "Well it sounds like they don't want to mess with us," Draggor mentioned as he motioned down to the map. "Plus they don't appear to know where the city is either, so in the next major city we just lose whatever tail they happen to have on us and continue on our way."

"Is there anything like that on the map?" Zen asked.

"Yeah, not a direct route but that might be better for us," Draggor explained as he showed the marked up modern map he had. "The city of Draslyis is a major trading hub, there are so many people that enter and leave that area we can easily shake off these druids and continue our journey. Only problem is it's going to be about a week's worth of detour."

"Well we bought ourselves some time going through the Dragon's Tail," Zen said as he turned to Alkali. "So what's our plan of attack then?"

"Simple," the ferret said as he stood up resolute. "We outpace King Pandez, evade this order of druids, and find Ka'Le to wipe the source of its power off the map."

There was a hushed silence as the other three looked at each other, which prompted the ferret to look around before he asked what. "That is not a plan..." Draggor corrected. "That is a goal. We need a way to get to Ka'Le that isn't going to get us all killed."

"Oh, we're all about to get killed now?" A fifth voice chimed in as they turned to see Serathin walk into the room, brushing out his still damp hair. "I suppose that might be better than the alternative waiting for us. This plan or goal of ours doesn't happen to go through any major cities or harbors, does it?"

"Maybe..." Draggor replied. "Why?"

"I have it on good authority that the King just ordered a missive that is on the way to every population center this side of the kingdom," Serathin informed them as he sat down. "Pandez has labeled you three as criminals and is giving a reward for your capture. Zen and I aren't in the net, but I can only imagine that's because we're not as well known as you guys."

"It's because I'm a barbarian," Zen interjected. "I go where I want."

"Alright, I'm officially sick of all of this," Alkali said as he started to grab his stuff. "Everyone pack your things, we're going to Draslyis to shake off these druids, then we'll figure out what to do about the King when we get there."

The others watched the ferret pack angrily, none of them wanting to speak up until finally Xander said something. "You sure you don't want to form... some sort of a plan?" the dragon asked as Alkali continued to pack.

"No plan, just go!" the ferret shouted, the others quickly scrambling to their feet to pack their things. Within the hour they were back on the road again, Alkali's demonic steed in the lead with the others trailing behind on the horses they had bought. Very little was said to one another as they rode hard through the kingdom, avoiding roads when they could in case the King's orders already had reached some overeager highway guard. The result was a slower but safer trip towards their destination, especially with Zen helping lead them through the denser areas of wilderness they traveled through.

When they did have to stop at small trading posts they found the news of their sudden infamy had already spread like wildfire. While there weren't wanted posters or proper bounties on their heads yet, they knew if any lord or law enforcement found them they'd be jailed for sure. Even the smaller towns that would likely benefit little from their capture were on the hunt. Xander had the worst of the buzz against him, a prominent bard suddenly being branded a criminal made for eager gossip and it resulted in having to conceal himself and even avoid populated areas while the others got supplies. Even though their quest still continued the King had gotten his desired effect, their group already slowed down even before they detoured towards the city of Draslyis.