FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

**“The Odyssey”

By MrNelg**

Act: V

The return trip back to Litore Town only took them four days. Glitch ran the whole way. The most challenging part of the journey had been food and water. They had to scavenge for it, and that was hard. Over the past four days, Jason had developed a hatred of eating moss, and bugs.

When they finally reached the town, it was late afternoon, so Glitch kept to the underbrush out of sight.

{So where do we go from here?} Jason asked. {We can't walk back into town, the Cervidae will remember you, and the soldiers as well. Neither of us can stroll up to the harbour master and ask him when the next ship is leaving.}

{That's going to be the easy part,} Glitch answered. {We wait it out until one is leaving, then I just run down the dock and jump on board before the soldiers can do anything.} Jason was silent for thirty seconds.

{There are so many things wrong with that,} he said. {The most flummoxing question being, that's the easy part?}

{I don't know how I'm going to get the money to pay for the trip,} Glitch replied. {Or food for that matter. Or how we're going to pay for a return trip.}

{Look, running down the dock and just jumping onboard is all kinds of dumb,} Jason said. {What's to stop the sailors from just tossing you overboard before you can explain yourself. Or if the soldiers do spot you, and call out for the ship to turn back, what's to stop them from doing that?}

{I'm taking a gamble here because I've got no choice,} Glitch said. {The instant the Cervidae notice I'm gone they'll be searching everywhere.} She paused. {Well, subtly, so that they don't draw attention to themselves like last time. I chose to come back here because they wouldn't believe I'd be foolish enough to select a destination where I'd be well recognised. Hence no troops will be searching here; For a while.}

{So, there's less likely to be troops here?} Glitch shrugged.

{There are a barracks on the other side of the town, but not as many troops will be here since they knew where I was going. There's also the possibility that they're all gone.} She looked around. No soldiers were visible anywhere. Suddenly, she smiled. {There's our ride.}

Jason followed her pointing finger and saw long, Balangay with two gaff-rigged sails and one lateen sail at the front. Underneath the roof-like structure in the centre of the boat, Jason could see fresh produce. Two somewhat muscular Lutrinae stood watch at both stem and stern.

{Do you see all that produce packed on board? That means she's ready to set sail first thing in the morning.}

{Will asking those guards what time the boat leaves arouse suspicion?} Glitch scratched her chin in thought, before shaking it.

{No,} she said. {Mammalian's don't mix. An Oryctolagus girl by herself in a Cervidae town will raise their eyebrows, but they won't tell anyone else but other Lutrinae. However, I don't want to risk it. I'll wait until they are leaving before approaching and asking for passage.} She scratched her chin in thought once again. {Now for the real problem; payment.}

{Do you have any coin left from the marketplace?} She shook her head.

{Since I'm telling the truth now, I didn't steal that,} she confessed. {That was given to me as payment for stealing you. I just said that at the time so that you wouldn't know the truth.} Jason saw her eyes narrow. {They took every last coin I had, and they called me a thief!} She paused. {I'll think of something.}

Jason leaned away from the wall of the sack and pulled at his tie; It was getting hot in here. Then he looked down into his shirt. No, the surrexerunt petals stuffed into his clothing was making him hot. He started pulling them out, spreading all over Glitch's clothes, when he paused. Something Glitch had told him earlier slowly wormed its way back into his mind. Then like slow gears, his mind began working on other things he'd seen in the past.

{Glitch?} When she answered, he asked, {You said that sapiens leave their scent on everything they come into contact with, right?} She frowned and nodded. {Well, I've noticed that mammalian predators love our smell, so much so that it appears to have a drug-like effect on them.} Her eyes widened with comprehension. {Lutrinae, who are predators operate that ship, so would they accept anything with a heavy sapien scent imprinted on it as payment?}

She gave a restrained squeal which, despite her low volume and the sack walls, still caused Jason to cover his ears. She put down the sack and almost wrenched it open. {That is *!} she cried. {You have lots of clothing, and that will have your scent all over it. Do you have any you're willing to part with?} He looked at the tie, still in his hands, before offering it up to her. {What is this?} she asked, carefully taking it between a thumb and finger claw.

{We call it a “tie,”} he answered. {It's for decorations.}

{Like a sash?}

{No, no. Around your neck.} Jason motioned for it, and after returning it to him, he demonstrated how it worked. She just blinked bewilderedly at him.

{That looks uncomfortable,} she said slowly. {How do you avoid choking yourself?}

{We don't, because we can adjust it.} Again, he demonstrated. Glitch just shook her head and accepted it back when he returned it to her. She lifted it to her nose and inhaled.

{Oh *, this has your scent all over it.} She returned it to him. {We might as well go to sleep now,} she said. {I'll be rising early in the morning so that we don't miss the boat leaving. In the meantime, you keep that “Tye” close to you, so it gets as much of your scent as possible.} Jason nodded as he stuffed it inside his shirt. Glitch then closed the sack up and laying down beneath a tree, went to sleep.

---

The sounds from the docks woke Jason early the next morning. Crawling to the sack wall and prying apart the knitting, he saw Glitch was staring intently.

{Any news?} he asked. Her ears flicked, but she kept her gaze steady.

{They're getting ready to cast off soon,} she answered. {I haven't seen anyone who might be the captain, yet.}

{What about soldiers?}

{Just the local garrison,} she replied, {and they're all holed up in their barracks; not patrolling the town.} Jason nodded. So Glitch's gamble had paid off. That or the Cervidae were being subtle about their movements since they knew they were under scrutiny from the other guilds.

That got Jason thinking. If the other guilds were suspicious that the Cervidae Guild was up to something, why let them know they were onto them? Wouldn't it be prudent to keep a low profile until they were sure that they could ambush them, catching them with their hands in the cookie jar?

Then again, the mammalian's communications system was primitive compared with sapiens. Their information could only move as fast as the courier carrying it. There was no way a Vulpes or a Lutrinae could follow a Cervidae without being noticed, and from what he'd learned, no mammalian of the same species would betray their kind to others.

His thoughts were interrupted when Glitch opened the top of the sack. {I believe the captain has arrived,} she said, {can I have your Tye?} He nodded, pulling it out from his shirt and handing it up to her. Pinching it between her claws, she lifted it out. Closing the sack, and raising to her feet, she slowly walked over to the ship. Surrounded by those two big Lutrinae Jason had seen guarding the boat last night, was the ugliest looking mammalian female he'd ever seen. The Lutrinae was heavily scarred from head to toe with her left ear wholly gone. Around the right side of her waist, was a row of bite marks that could only have come from aquatic predator's. The expression on her face told everyone around her that she wasn't in the mood for delays.

The Lutrinae spotted her as she started walking to intercept the captain and were blocking her path before she made it halfway.

******? One of them demanded. **!

{I wish to negotiate with your captain?} she asked. Both their eyes widened before they shot each other worried glances. From the looks of things, they understood she was speaking in trade, but neither of them could speak it themselves.

{What if she doesn't want to negotiate with you?} The bodyguards stepped aside as the Lutrinae captain stared back with folded arms.

{I only wish to buy passage across the Lesser Sea to the Amber Continent,} Glitch said. Amusement suddenly appeared on the captains face. Glitch took the initiative and kept going. {I have something far greater than coin with which to pay.}

{I'm curious,} the captain replied.

{I'm not only buying passage to the Amber Continent but supplies, I have a sapien artefact to trade.} The playful expression vanished, replaced with rage.

{Thank you for wasting my time, *} she said, storming passed. {But-}

{Here!} Glitch almost shouted. She had already drawn unwanted stares from the nearby Cervidae dock workers the moment she approached the captain. A few of their eyes widened with recognition. Jason began to tremble with nervousness. Glitch held his tie out towards the Lutrinae, and the effect was electric. The captain's head spun so suddenly, Jason was surprised she didn't suffer whiplash. Her nostrils flared as they caught his scent.

{Where did you get that...?} Her words were quiet and trailed off, her eyes appeared distant. Even her bodyguards were leaning in for a closer inspection.

{A no good * merchant Cervidae I worked for,} Glitch answered coolly. {I worked my tail off for his **, and this is all he gave me as payment.}

{Why isn't it sealed in a jar?} Her words came out in a dream-like state as if she wasn't the one speaking them. Jason was intrigued by her reaction. Checking her bodyguards, they were trembling. He was pretty sure someone could've assassinated their captain, and they not only wouldn't have noticed but not even cared.

{I don't know,} Glitch responded. She was getting annoyed. One of the Cervidae dock workers had fled in the direction of the barracks. {The only question I was asking him at the time, was why this wasn't coin! Now do we have a deal, or not?}

{Deal!} the captain said at once. Jason wondered if perhaps his tie was worth more than what Glitch had traded. By the way she snatched it from her fingers and made it quickly vanish into one of the many pouches on her belt, it probably was. The captain then pointed at the boat. {Come on, we're leaving right now.}

Glitch was pounding down the dock and onto the boat before the captain could even finish her sentence. {How long before they cast off?} Jason asked. Glitch turned as if looking in the direction of the barracks.

{Right now,} she responded. The captains shouted orders to cast off, drowning out her words before she could finish. Dock workers untied the ropes, and within moments, the boat was drifting out of the harbour. As they did so, Glitch made her way to the stern of the ship and watched as the town disappeared behind them. **, she muttered.

{What is it?} Jason asked.

{Soldiers,} she said darkly. {They're on the docks.}

{Are they trying to get the boat to turn around?} She shook her head.

{They are watching us, but their leader appears to be talking with the harbour master, no doubt finding out where this ship is going.}

{Will they follow us?}

{By boat? No. A message will be dispatched to the guild, informing them of my whereabouts. Whether or not they decide to do anything about it, I have no idea. I know what really happened in the marketplace, that you weren't eaten. Did they tell you that they hired the herd I was with to rob the crowd?}

{Yes.}

{All the children had no idea why they were doing that. They only know that the Guild told them to do it. Me, I know everything. They might not believe I'm with you, but they would want me dead.}

{They wanted to know why you refused to give me to them,} Jason said. Then he paused as something didn't make any sense. {Why wouldn't they try to get the boat to turn around? They know the Cervidae guild is after you. Wouldn't it be easier to catch you now, rather than trying to find out where you'd gone?}

{If this were a Cervidae boat, they would. Right now, they want to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. They wouldn't dare touch the Lutrinae, to get me, because they would report this to their guild. The closest chapter is in Tribus City.} Jason nodded. From everything he'd seen and heard, mammalian's didn't care what other species did to their own, just what they did to others. The Cervidae knew they were under scrutiny from the other guilds. They'd want to be as quiet as possible in how they approach this.

{Will this make things difficult for us on the Amber Continent?} Jason asked. Glitch didn't answer straight away.

{The Cervidae trade with mammalian's of the Amber Continent, as do the Oryctolagus. I plan to find an Oryctolagus trade mission and get a ride with them back to my homeland. Then from there, locate the nearest sapien settlement to return you to.}

{And what if we don't find any Oryctolagus's?}

{Find the quickest route out of there,} she replied. {We'll have to make do with any form of travel we can find. Everyone will remember a lone Oryctolagus girl, and any Cervidae asking, won't have too much trouble finding answers.}

{Was life by yourself always this difficult?} Jason asked. Her only reply was an exhausted sigh that made her sound old beyond her years.

{I try not to think about it,} she finally said. Jason didn't want to press her about it, so instead, he asked her to move close enough for him to see the ocean. {Why would you want to look at it?} she asked, walking as close to the edge as she dared. {It's just water.}

{I've never seen the ocean before,} Jason answered. {All the flying machines I've been on, have never flown across it. I've seen river's and lakes, but only from high up in the sky; Never this close.} He gave a startled cry as a wave broke against the side of the ship, splashing water up and all over Glitch. She giggled at his reaction.

{The water's not going to hurt you. Not unless you can't swim; or there are predator's in the sea.} Jason was about to respond when he stopped.

{Glitch, I have noticed something strange. Why is it the majority of ships seem to be controlled by the Lutrinae? You mentioned that the Cervidae have boats, but I haven't seen any.} Again, she gave him that confused look.

{Really? Isn't it obvious?} When he replied that he had no idea what she was talking about, she shrugged. {The Lutrinae are natural swimmers,} she answered. {Their empire controls The Hundred Islands, where their kind originated. They are natural born seafarers. They were the ones to not only pioneer sea travel but master it. Other mammalians have boats, but they are only for river commerce and transport.}

{So they control the seas,} Jason muttered. {Let me guess, they're one of the five major powers?} She nodded.

{Their power comes from long-distance trade. Their fleet is instrumental in the vast trading network that stretches throughout the world. Other mammalian's use them to get their trade goods across the oceans to neighbouring empires. Without them, commerce, trade and long distance travel would grind to a halt.}

{So they must hold sway over all the other species?} She laughed.

{No,} she said. {Although they are the most abundant suppliers of seafood, it is sea trade that is the staple of their economy. With no business, their empire would collapse just as quickly as everyone else's.}

{Would that leave them at the mercy of all the other tribes?}

{They exist as a neutral power,} Glitch answered. {No one wants to antagonise them, because it's a lose, lose situation. They would lose trade routes, and the Lutrinae would lose a client.} She chuckled. {The other mammalian's have a saying about the Lutrinae. They love them; they hate them, and they can't live without them.}

{Do they hold any authority?}

{Mammalians use their guilds as trade judges,} Glitch replied. {When the law of trade is in dispute, they are called upon to settle the matter. All mammalian's know they have no ties or alliances with anyone. In fact, they were the ones who created the trade tongue.}

{The Lutrinae guild member I saw was more than interested in investigating the actions of the Cervidae guild,} Jason said. {That doesn't sound neutral.}

{The Lutrinae may be the only ones who control the sea lanes, but that doesn't mean they'll fight to keep that control. If they lose it, they lose a good chunk of their economy.}

{Sapiens know nothing about boats,} Jason protested, {just flight.}

{Which doesn't require boats,} Glitch answered. Jason thought back to what that Cervidae had said. The guilds knew perfectly well that they couldn't snap their fingers and reproduce Zeppelins. However, who's to say what future generations could accomplish. Then the comment she'd made about Glitch entered his mind. Even though she wasn't going to sell him to another guild, they couldn't afford to take that risk. Perhaps that was the Lutrinae's greatest fear. Mammalian's bypassing the oceans with fleets of Zeppelins, leaving them trapped on the waters with an out-of-date method of transport and a nose-diving economy.

Jason thought back to the auction. His original plan had been to try and convince whichever guild who bought him to try and return him home. Little did he know that's precisely what they wanted to do; but they wanted more. It had been the other motivations that would lead to problems. Problems that sapien kind had avoided by steering clear of mammalian's in general.

Now, fully exposed to mammalian society, he was beginning to understand that everything wasn't black and white. There existed a precarious balance of power among the mammalians. With no one species holding too much of an advantage over the others, they had avoided massive worldwide conflict. Hypothetically, if one tribe of mammalians were to subjugate the Lutrinae, they would not only have their own species advantages but control the oceans of the world. That, in turn, would give them more power over the others, upsetting the balance and allowing them to dictate terms to other tribes that would be in their favour.

He scoffed. That female Cervidae guild member was right. In spite of how smart she'd been, his Procyon captor was an idiot. He understood that if he wanted to return home, negotiating with the guilds was out of the question. Thinking about it, made him contemplate the future of sapien kind. His people would never be able to negotiate with any species of mammalian's; Ever. All of them would want access to sapien technology. No matter how outdated it was, it would put them ahead of everyone else. That would lead to distrust, and then hatred. It would no doubt cause the mammalians to invoke the 'Vulpes Factor.'

Despite the heat within Glitch's sack, he shivered.

---

The sun blazed down out of a sky the wrong shade of blue with a warmth Jason had never known back on the Middle Continent. The further south they travelled, the warmer the air turned. After a week, he was starting to feel the first beads of sweat forming on his brow as the sun reached its highest point in the heavens.

After two weeks at sea, they were nearing land. Glitch stood at the bow of the ship, watching the white and grey avians as they soared across the sky; Laridae. This meant that land was not far behind. The low lying clouds on the horizon in the direction the boat was sailing also confirmed this. She closed her eyes letting the strong sea breeze blow through her fur, ruffling it. She breathed in deeply, before exhaling.

{I'll be glad to set foot on dry land again,} she whispered in her secretive tone. {There's a good reason why we mammalian's leave the oceans to the Lutrinae.}

{I don't get it,} Jason said. {The ocean was amazing. All that sea life, and those waves. So huge.} Glitch flicked her ears in amusement.

{I'll never truly understand why you think looking at the ocean is so fascinating.} Looking over the edge of the bow, and seeing it slice through the waves like a knife was a spectacular sight in Jason's opinion.

{We don't have boats, remember,} he reminded her. {We can't use them. You see how big the waves are. There's a reason why my ancestors never bothered investing in boat technology. Even the rivers are too dangerous for us, so a sapien-made boat would be utterly destroyed out here. Seeing the ocean up this close for the first time is wondrous.}

{No, what would be wondrous would be flying above it all, looking down on the world from within the clouds.}

{It's not that spectacular,} Jason countered. {Most sapiens are terrified that mammalians are going to shoot them down. So they stay in their cabins.}

{What's it like, flying?}

{It's not as rough as ocean travel, and I can tell you that,} Jason said with a chuckle. {It's smooth, almost like you're not moving at all and looking down upon the world, it's smaller than we are to you mammalian's. You can still see villages, towns, and cities, but they're like toys. You can barely make out any mammalian's. Those you can see, are nothing more than dots on the ground.}

{Giant sapiens?} Glitch couldn't contain her giggling.

{Whys that so funny?}

{Because you don't look at all threatening; you look adorable,} Glitch answered. {You have no fur, no claws, hardly any teeth worth speaking of. Your lack of a tail and your flat, muzzle-less face is strange, and the only fur that grows on your body is on the top of your head. To scholars, your species physical appearance is a source of both curiosity and amusement.}

{Well, you all look ridiculous to us,} Jason countered, but the tone of his voice betrayed his attempted bravado, and Glitch giggled once again.

{Really?} Her chuckles explained what she thought of that.

{Why do you have such big ears?} Her ears waved slightly.

{All the better to hear you with, my little sapien,} she snickered. Jason wasn't finding this funny.

{And why are your feet so huge?}

{So I can run after you, and catch you, my cute little Jay-sun.} She was giggling again. By now, mammalian's looking down on him was nothing new, but this was humiliating.

{Then why are you so short, tree-stump?} The words were out of his mouth before he realised what they were. Her whole body stiffened. Jason's eyes widened with shock. He hadn't meant to say that. His mouth shot open to apologise...

...and his words were drowned out by her roaring laughter.

Jason blinked. She was laughing so forcefully; even the crew had stopped what they were doing to grace her with queer looks. She was almost doubling over, so much, that Jason was more worried that she'd fall into the ocean, than if he'd offended her.

She eventually moved away from the edge and sat down, her back to the crew as she calmed herself. When she had managed to regain control of her breathing, Jason asked, {What was that all about?}

{I'm sorry for that, but - } her words trailed off as she again started laughing. After yet calming herself, she continued. {Yes, I hated that nickname but hearing it come from you, it sounded so absurd.}

{How so?}

{Well, for starters, it's designed as an insult from tall mammalians to short ones. You're not small; you're tiny, so hearing that from you isn't insulting, because the context doesn't work when you try to apply it to me. Secondly, imagine for a moment, the cutest, smallest most non-threatening thing you can think off, getting angry at you. It's almost impossible to keep a straight face.} Jason paused. He thought back to his time in front of the Cervidae in the village hut. When asked if he could speak, he'd insulted them, and their reaction was one of amusement; not rage.

{We're not that helpless,} Jason countered.

{No, but your weapons aren't here with you,} Glitch responded. {Without them, you're nothing.} Blunt, and to the point. {To mammalian's, your kind has a sense of mystery hanging over them. Your weapons have helped keep a curtain drawn across your civilisation, creating a sense of awe, wonder, and a little fear. Take that all away, and what you see, is a living doll, more susceptible to danger than a new-born child.}

Jason didn't know how to respond. {I suppose mysteries do lose their appeal the instant you explain them,} he answered.

{How does your kind view us?}

{Monsters,} Jason answered. {For as long as recorded history has known, giants have walked this Earth. We view mammalian's no different from animals. Only we treat your kind as more of a threat because they actively hunt us. In the past, all efforts to communicate peacefully with mammalian's have always failed. So with each passing generation, we teach them to fear and hate mammalian's. Stories of the past contain mammalian's, portrayed as voracious, cruel savages, eating and destroying all sapiens in their path.}

{Are there ever any Oryctolagus's in your stories?} Jason had to think hard.

{I don't remember any,} he confessed. {They focused on predators; primarily Vulpes's. Herbivores were all depicted as cruel and greedy tricksters. They were not to be trusted, as they would deceive you using any method possible.} Glitch said nothing as the wind ruffled her fur.

{I guess the world must seem like a different place from that position on the food-chain,} she said at last.

{Looking at the world from any perspective is always a useful exercise,} Jason said. For another long moment, Glitch said nothing.

{Do you think our kind will ever be friends?}

{I don't know,} he sighed. {It's a loaded question. You and I get along fine.} He paused. {Diplomacy though is an entirely different hand-basket. With whom do we deal? All mammalian's want access to our technology. We will never be able to communicate with predators, and they will never stand for herbivores doing all the talking.} That was all Jason said on the matter. Glitch could tell he wasn't going to say anymore, so she didn't press the issue. They continued to sit there in silence as the ship ploughed on.

---

Jason had fallen asleep sometime after lunch but that all changed the moment the ship's lookout started shouting that land was in sight. Glitch set about preparing herself for disembarkation. She'd procured some food from the boat, as per their agreement for his tie: bread, vegetables, and some fruit. Jason would've liked some meat, but Glitch pointed out that a herbivore asking for that would've raised all kinds of suspicions.

As usual, she stood at the bow, watching the port city unfolding before her. Jason pried apart the knitting to get his first ever look at the shores of the Amber Continent. A good many of the buildings were low, box-shaped one and two-story mud-brick buildings. The more important ones were built out of stone and towered above the rest. Palm trees dotted the landscape, sprouting above many of the smaller buildings, their green leaves standing out amidst the dull light brown of the city. In the background, was an aqueduct, running parallel to the harbour.

As they drew closer, the sights of the harbour began to make themselves visible. The surrounding waters held numerous Multihull's and Dhow's sailing back and forth. Many such vessels were tied up at the many piers, along with Sambuk's, and even a smattering of H?k?le?a's. The majority of the traffic all concentrated around a large river that vanished into the depths of the city.

A crewmember informed Glitch they'd be landing in an hour. Watching the Lutrinae leave, Jason saw the captain, observing Glitch from the stern. Her eyes then darted around, making sure she wasn't being watched, before removing a clay bottle from one of the pouches on her belt. Removing the stopper, she inhaled deeply. Judging from the way her eyes rolled up into her skull, it no-doubt held his tie. His scent must have been strong because whenever she breathed it in, those Lutrinae close by would pause; their noses twitching, and eyes flickering.

Thank Primus for the surrexerunt flower.

His thoughts were interrupted as a Lutrinae, whom Jason had come to identify as the first-mate, began speaking to the crew. They all gathered around as he gave out instructions. A few nodded, many looked pleased. A slight few seemed saddened. From the limited vocabulary he understood, it sounded like they were discussing the rules for shore leave. The sad ones were probably crew who had to stay behind and guard the ship.

The ship eventually pulled up at one of the larger piers and was hastily tied up as crew members tossed ropes to the mammalian's down below; the Grevyi. They were huge, perhaps even taller than the Cervidae. They had a Mohawk like mane while their fur pattern was black and white strips. A gangplank was secured, and the captain left to converse with the dock-master.

{Come on,} Glitch said, quickly following the captain. {While we can, let's get out of here...} Her words trailed off, as her departure was prevented by four massive figures. These were easily the biggest mammalian's he'd ever seen — golden fur with broad shoulders, bulging muscles, and rather prominent breasts. Long tails with tufts of hair at their end, swished behind them and their bodies, along with their feline faces, showed battle scars.

They wore hardly any clothing, just cloth around their feet, ankles wrists and hands. The other striking feature about them – other than they were all female – was they wore bronze collars around their necks. The Grevyi who commanded them pointed to were the produce lay and began shouting orders at them. Expressionless, they moved with purpose, securing large bundles of food with their great arms, and lifting it over their heads, headed down the pier to pile them up at the other end.

{So that's a Leo,} Jason muttered. Glitch's ears flicked.

{This is my first time seeing one, too,} she said. {*, they are * huge.} Jason couldn't help but agree with her. From what sapiens understood, the Ursa was supposed to be the largest of all the mammalian's, but these guys came damn close. Then he paused.

{Hey Glitch, are those Leo's slaves?} When she affirmed this, he asked, {Why? I thought mammalians protect their own, so why are these Leo's slaves to that Grevyi?}

{The Leo too strange for our liking,} she said before pausing. By her use of the word, 'our' Jason suspected she was talking about the mammalians of the Middle Continent. {They are what we call, *. It's an untranslatable word from the Cervidae tongue that means they have no guild looking out for their interests and therefore, they have no future. Matriarchal; they are a warrior race lacking proper civilisation, as they live entirely on their *.}

{What's that?}

{It's a very fast, very strong two-legged, flightless avian,} Glitch answered. {It lives only on the Amber Continent. Leo's use them as cavalry. They're quite a temperamental avian, and only the Leo's have been successful at taming and controlling them. As I was saying before, they live on the backs of these avians, their whole tribe, as they continuously ride across the vast, flat grasslands that is their home. They have portable Yurts, which their beasts of burden carry. They usually camp for about a week or two, before moving on.}

{So, why are they slaves to other mammalian's?}

{As I said before, they are a warrior race.} She paused a lot longer this time. {A rather proud warrior race. They don't just defeat their enemies; they utterly destroy them. They are the only mammalian's that still fight among their kind. They will take other Leo's as slaves, but in their culture, being sold as a slave to other mammalian's is considered the ultimate form of humiliation.}

Jason turned to look back at the Leo's. Although just one of them, could tear their Grevyi master in half, none seemed as if they would. Their expressions showed nothing as if any spirit they once had was but a distant memory. Glitch interrupted his thoughts by pointing at the markings on a nearby Leo's forehead. It showed a spiral pattern surrounded by tiny triangles.

{Do you see that? Leo slaves, whom they sell to other species, they brand with that mark. Even if they escape and return home to their tribe, other Leo's will know what that means. Everyone will shun them, even their sisters.}

{Can't they survive on their own?}

{Some do, but most can't. It's the psychological isolation that gets to many in the end. They are most comfortable in a herd; surrounded by their sisters, daughters, and husband. Those who do survive on their own, are loners; never talking to anyone they don't have to. They are the ones who make up the majority of Leo mercenaries.}

{You said they still fight each other, how do they handle outside threats?}

{They don't,} Glitch said, {because no one is stupid enough to antagonise them. Their lifestyle choice has limited their civilisation, so they can't expand beyond the Grass Sea – That is the name of the grasslands which make up the Amber Continent's north. However, whole tribes will accept mercenary jobs from other mammalian's. Such fighters are prized among armies and feared by those who have to face them. Traders who wish to cross the Grass Sea will attach themselves to Leo tribes as they travel because going it alone is akin to suicide.}

By now, they'd left the docks behind and walked out into the streets of the city proper. The roads were wider here, compared to Tribus City, where the streets had been spacious enough for animal traffic. Here, they were wide enough for multiple lanes. Within this part of the city lay the lower merchants, traders, dealers, hawkers, along with the business's of all kinds crammed into the walls. Wide streets laid out to no set plan, just placed according to whim and need; All cobbled in rough-cut stones.

Noise: That was everywhere. The shouting of peddlers, hawkers, and merchants competed with the bass rumble of heavy wheels and the clamouring of pack animals. Much like the mammalian's of the Middle Continent, the Grevyi had their large pack animals: Loxodonta. These massive, grey-skinned creatures were huge; bigger than the Komodoensis. Glitch had to stop to allow one such beast to lumber down the street, its back laden with all sorts of rugs and sacks. Their large tusks and trunks were a sight to behold, but the loud trumpeting noise they made gave Jason the creeps.

All traffic halted to allow it through. The majority of traffic was carts, drawn by beasts of burden. These reptilian quadrupeds had a similar appearance to the Komodoensis but were shorter, and sleeker. Teams of two pulled along wagons. Jason had to bite his lips as they walked past two carts who hadn't bothered giving each other the right of way. Their beasts were tangled, yanking and jerking, trying to separate themselves, while the Grevyi drivers were busy shouting curses at each other.

{So, what's the plan?} Jason asked, hoping that Glitch could hear him over the noise.

{Scope out the marketplace,} she answered. {Our first goal, is to find out if there are any Oryctolagus's here. Then how long they will be staying, when they're leaving and what their destination is.}

{Will mammalian's here trade any of my clothing for coin?} She gave a slight chuckle.

{The Leo's will,} she said. {They come here often to the coastal towns and cities to trade. They need tools, weapons and of course, offer their services as mercenaries. If there are any Hyaenidae or Suricatta around, they will.} Her eyes narrowed at that. {Although, from what my late mistress once said, we might want to avoid the Suricatta, as they have a reputation for unscrupulousness.}

{Would it be too much of a gamble to ask if there are any Oryctolagus's docked at this city?} Jason asked. Glitch stopped walking as she considered that option. Both knew the risks. The Cervidae knew where she was going. If they wanted her dead or were that desperate to know why she betrayed them, they would come after her. She was the only mammalian who wasn't a Cervidae that knew Jason's true fate. If not to find out the truth, but to silence her, lest she decides to go to the other Guilds for protection.

He started thinking about the other guilds now, how they had confronted the Cervidae back at that small village where they captured him. If they had their suspicions, but no evidence, perhaps they were hoping to surprise the Cervidae, causing them to slip up and catch them red-handed. They could even have been conducting their own, subtle searches, and by confronting the Cervidae so boldly, avoid having their own teams secrecy compromised. How did that age-old saying go again?

How does a magician make a card appear in his hand? He distracts the audience with the other.

Jason suddenly found himself looking around the streets, as if every mammalian insight were an informer, waiting for Glitch to move on so that they could report to their masters. They didn't care about her, because she wasn't of their species; she was an Oryctolagus. They would happily 'Throw her to the Vulpes's' for a little coin.

It was that thought that made up his mind. Sitting there in the sack, Jason found himself determined to do something no sapien had ever done in history. He would be willing to sacrifice himself for Glitch's safety. Jason wouldn't tell her, because she'd insist it be the opposite. No, but if the choice came down to it, he'd walk into the Vulpes's Den if it meant saving her.