[Writing] The Bounty Project, final chapters (5th Jan 2018)

[Tapewolf]

Yessss more Aisha = more better

I know I ain't been commenting much, but I really have been enjoying this story a lot. So many great characters

Thanks.  I'm a bit worried about the last few chapters because I've had absolutely no feedback on them at all and it feels like I'm flying blind.  I've also got a little stuck with the ending and I can't ask for help because AFAIK nobody who's been proof-reading has read the last chapters leading up to it. 

[ZacAttac21]

I'm a bit worried about the last few chapters because I've had absolutely no feedback on them at all and it feels like I'm flying blind.  I've also got a little stuck with the ending and I can't ask for help because AFAIK nobody who's been proof-reading has read the last chapters leading up to it.

I don't think anyone would complain if you want to hold off while you fine-tune it.

[Tapewolf]

I don't think anyone would complain if you want to hold off while you fine-tune it.

I think it's more a matter of twisting people's arms to read the damned thing.  Still, we're a way off - it's chapter 26 that is being a problem, and I'm hoping that, even at weekly updates it will give me enough time to finish the series.   27 chapters in total seems likely, but we shall see.

[ZacAttac21]

27 chapters in total seems likely, but we shall see.

There's still that much more? Sweeeeeet.

[Merlin]

Also all this action and rad characters will go fantastically in comic form toooooooo

[Tapewolf]

Also all this action and rad characters will go fantastically in comic form toooooooo

Oh yes, I definitely have one eye on a comic version while writing.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 16

"You... a demon?!" Jakob spluttered, when he could speak again.

"Yes," Aisha admitted, looking away as her expression clouded slightly.

"I can't believe you'd agree to that!"  Jakob said, awed.

"I did not, amigo.  But... though it pains me to admit, there was always Demon blood in my veins.  My red eyes, for instance, and my quickness to anger, perhaps even my drive to fight and slay enemies in the name of justice.
"But a Demon hybrid tends to be weaker than a pure-blood Demon, and not all of the traits will manifest.  Yet they were still there inside.

"As I said, I was dying.  Demons have exceptional regenerative powers and my Mistress hoped to awaken that dormant trait and use it to save my life.  But even the wisest can make mistakes, and this was new ground she was treading.  So while her experiments did give me new youth and health, it also gave me far more than she had intended... the complete heritage of a full-blood Demon."

"As you can imagine... I did not take it well.  Depression... rage... these things were made worse by my new heritage.  I tried at one point to cut the wings from my back, but with the regeneration that Mistress Rynkura had unlocked... they just grew back again.
"I went to ground, ashamed of what I had become.  Afraid of what I might become...  That I might give into Demon urges and face execution myself.  An ignoble end to The Risen, no?"

"But I have had over a century to get used to it.  I suppose this happens with 'Cubi, those who grow up thinking they're Beings and one day learn the truth.  Certainly, Mistress Rynkura seemed to know how to handle it.  She found a drug that can help lessen a Demon's violent outbursts and urges.
"And... well, it was not all bad.   In some ways it was a fresh start.  I returned to adventuring under an alias, helped by my new strength and thick skin.  People assumed I had died, I mean, who would believe I was the great DeCabre anyway?  The famous demon-killer, turned into a demon?  I didn't even look the right age for a veteran adventurer.  Some believed me a succubus with a warped sense of humor, or a misguided sense of hero worship... heroine worship, whatever..."

"Then there were the crashes as the adventuring market collapsed.  I was out of work, but not for long.  I used to be a skilled healer... now, with the power of a Creature I could do that even better.  It helped take the sting out of it."

"...and that is that," she concluded.  "I am Aisha DeCabre, once known as The Risen.  If you will have me as a probationary adventurer, I will be proud to offer my services.  Or, I can take them elsewhere if makes you happier."

"Well," Steve said.  "Perhaps I was a little hasty, now that I know the wider story.  Probation might still be for the best, especially given Mary's unpredictability.  But it will be a considerably shorter period than I was thinking.  Welcome aboard, Aisha."

With a brittle smile, the Alsatian thrust out a gauntleted hand.  Aisha took hold and shook it.

"I thank you.  I will do my best for this guild." she nodded at Jakob.  "After that trip into my past, I would be tempted to ask about Jakob's doings, but I know much of it already.  Since his master's ascension he has been thrust into the spotlight."

"I could have done without that," Jakob admitted.  "Though at least I've been able to set the record straight about Johan Cross, finally."

"Well," Steve said, as Aisha sat at the meeting table, "If that's out the way, I think the next order of business is the adventuring situation.  As most of you will be aware, there has been a flood of hits on adventurers.  As best we can tell, someone has hacked into AdventureNet, and is setting up fake bounties in order to get adventurers to kill each other."

"I see," the wolf said.  "You want me here because of that."

"Yes," Olaf said.  "Jayhawk Cybernetics won the tender to write and maintain the back-end system.  That makes AdventureNet your puppy, so it's in your best interest to make sure it hasn't gone rabid."

"Agreed," Jakob said, looking pained.  "I had heard there was a problem, but not the specifics.  Has this caused much trouble?"

"A number of people have lost their heads.  Some slain for the bounty, some executed for murdering their fellows."

Jakob's wings drooped.  "Maybe we should shut it down until we've fixed the problem."

"King Fairwater was one of the first to notice the pattern," Steve said.  "After all, he has a large realm.  Many adventurers, many Creatures and harsh laws against racism.
Once informed that AdventureNet was being subverted, he considered that same question.  But that would prevent us from finding the culprit.  Worse, they may switch tactics.
His opinion was that we would be better served by warning the Guildmasters privately.  Besides, shutting it down would prevent us from finding out how it was being attacked in the first place."

"These bounties," Jakob began, "Are they being paid for?  Is the money actually changing hands?"

"Yes.  It's held in escrow."

"Escrow?" Ralf asked.

"Yes," Olaf said.  "If you're a big, reputable organisation with an awesome credit history, say King Fairwater or Lord Daryil, that's not usually necessary.  For smaller shops, they want proof that you'll actually pay for the job, but at the same time, the customer wants to be sure the adventurers won't take the money and run.  So a third party, usually a bank, acts as middle-man."

"It was added in the second release," Jakob said.  "Some idiot posted a bounty on his friend for a laugh.  A million gold dollars, I think it was.  Said friend lost their head in short order, and of course the joker didn't have the money to pay for the job."

"Yes," Steve said.  "Adventuring guilds take things like that very, very seriously.  This prankster had not only defrauded the guild and breached his contract, but he had also tricked them into murdering an innocent man.  He was taken into the back room and hanged, like a rogue adventurer.  Most guilds don't mess around."

"So we very quickly added support for escrow," Jakob said.  "And that solved the problem of pranks, since the guy on the street has to pay upfront for any bounty they take out.  This... it looks like an equally serious problem.  I'd better go visit the King."

*  *  *

"Ooh, you poor thing..." Daryil crooned, as Bevan entered with a quick salute.  "You HAVE been in the wars!  Want me to shag it better?"

"I should present my report first, Dar," the fox said.

"How about you present your report while we're shagging?" Daryil said.  "I don't think we've tried that before!"

"It sounds less than effective, my Lord.  But I'll try nearly anything once..."

*  *  *

"...and that's it," Jakob said, stroking Daxxon's hair fondly.  "I'm hoping we can get it fixed quickly.  But in the meantime, I need to visit Fairwater.  Did you want to come?"

"Is it safe?" Daxxon asked.  "I mean, are we likely to get a bounty as well?"

"So far it seems to be adventurers only," Jakob said.  "I think we're safe..."

The door burst open.  Jakob glanced around in irritation.

"Oooh!" Daryil burbled.  "Catsuits!  Is it sexy-time?"

Jakob glanced at Daxxon.

"Yes," they both said.

"Well, when you're done," Daryil said, "I hear you're going to Fairwater.  I need to go there too, want me to warp you there?"

*  *  *

Fairwater shook Daxxon's hand warmly as they entered the conference room.

"Welcome, my loyal Thane.  It's been a little while."

"The convocation last fall," Daxxon said.  "Nothing notable has happened since then.  Things are ticking along.  Obviously I will let you know if anything changes.  But..."

"Yes?"

"Did I miss a memo about the dress code?" the Demon asked, eyeing the King's catsuit.  "Should I have not bothered to change?"

"It's not a public conference," the King said, dismissively.  "If you'd been wearing the same kind of robes for 200 years you'd get bored of them too.  Feel free to remove your shirt if you wish."

"I can find him something kinkier," Daryil offered, eagerly.

"No," Jakob put in.  "If anyone's going to dress him as a whore, it's me - got it?"

Tim shuffled uncomfortably.

"Enough of this," Fairwater said.  "We're making our guest nervous.  My apologies, Tim... we 'Cubi tend to be rather... casual.  Try not to let it distract you.
"Anyway... as you are all doubtless aware, a number of forged adventuring jobs have appeared on the computer network used to coordinate adventurers worldwide.  Tim, Jakob, I believe you have an update for us?"

"Yes," Jakob said.  "Daryil clan is partly responsible for the AdventureNet system in the first place.  Ashley was one of the developers and has been talking Tim through the source code and data structures.  What we've found is quite... fucked up."

"Have you found the origin of the false messages, then?" Fairwater asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really, Majesty," Tim said.  "That's the problem... they don't have an origin.  They just... appear.  Spontaneously."

"We've checked the system logs," Jakob said.  "What normally happens is this... someone logs into AdventureNet.  We get a connection record in the server access log and recording who they are and where they came from.  Then the AdventureNet software connects to the database, writes the job to the database and that goes in the database log.
"What's happening NOW, is that for some jobs, which appear to be the bogus ones, we just get the log of the database update.  But nobody has connected to the AdventureNet software during that time!"

"Are you suggesting that the server has become self-aware?" the King asked, headwings fanning out.

"Unlikely," Tim said, eyeing the king nervously.  "An automated script is possible, but my guess is that someone is doing this.  I just don't know how."

"The AdventureNet servers are hosted in a couple of datacentres," Jakob said.  "One in Zinvth, one in Grunmore, Valmorath, one in Taun's capital and a few more besides.  It's possible that someone has gone into the datacentre and physically connected to one of the servers.  That would explain the lack of an incoming connection."

"One of these updates seems to have originated in the Grunmore datacentre," Tim said.  "If we can get CCTV footage for that time, we might be able to find the culprit."

"Grunmore is Daryil's territory," Fairwater said.  "But I can order the footage from ours just in case."

"It would be useful, Majesty," Tim said.  "Something like this, we don't want to make mistakes.  If we arrest the wrong person, the real culprit will know we're after them."

"I guess that's settled then," Jakob said.  "Shall we reconvene in a couple of days?"

"If we're done here, I'd like to discuss Lady Featherstone," Daryil said.

*  *  *

Fairwater's brow furrowed, as Daryil played back the tape.

"It was pulled from Bevan's memory," Daryil commented.  "I've edited it down for brevity."

"I shall inform Daryil of your actions," the tape said.  "Want me to shag it better?   Oh... gods... yes... YES..." Daryil stopped the tape hastily.

"I see," the Doberman said.  "Captain Zenner?  Order your men to report to my office in two hours.  This will be a Code Two."

"Please," Daryil said, laying a rubber-gloved hand on the King's wing.  "Don't do that."

"I'm sorry," Fairwater sighed.  "But she represents a clear and present danger to my realm."

"I know," the fox said.  "But I don't want this to be the answer."

"You still have two hours, Daryil.  If you can broker a treaty in that time, I will abort the mission."

"Bevan...?" Daryil said, turning back to the red fox.

"Oh no," the android protested.  "She tried to kill me!  Twice!"

"I'll let you hold the whip this time," Daryil promised.

[ZacAttac21]

Poor Tim. Is he still there at the last section? Even Ben would cringe at that level of dirty.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 17

"You again!" Lady Featherstone snarled.  "What part of 'no' don't you understand?!  And daring to return here after the murder of one of my captains?  How do you hope to escape the same fate?"

"My condolences on your loss, Lady." Bevan said.  "Believe me, I had no intention of returning here, but unfortunately, my master commanded it.  He makes you one final offer."

"And what might that be...?"

"The Lord Daryil offers you his protection."

"Oh does he, now...?  And what exactly do I need to be protected from?"

"From the special forces team that King Fairwater has just sent to terminate you."

"WHAT?!  How dare you!"

"I am merely reporting the facts, milady.  King Fairwater has spoken the words of your death, but there is still time.  If you agree to suspend your hostilities against Creatures and negotiate with him, Daryil will ensure that you do not face execution."

"Captain!" Featherstone screamed.  "Execute HIM!"

The buff alsatian leapt forwards at her command, weapon already in hand.

Bevan staggered as the enchanted blade sliced through his throat.  There was no blood, but a look of surprise and shock on his face as his head tumbled to the ground, followed by a crash as his body toppled over.  Shortly afterwards his eyes closed and his features relaxed.

Well done," the opossum said.  "Now, someone find a box... I want the head sent back to Daryil as our response.  Immediately!  Now, Captain Aldriss... you will destroy this creature's brain."

"How can I do that without the head, Lady?" the captain asked, sheathing his blade.

"The brain will be in the torso of course," the opossum retorted.  "Why would anyone waste time and resources designing it to fit inside the skull, when the torso provides far more room for such electronics?  Strip the body of its armour, and open the chest.  Cut every wire, remove every circuit board and have them all burned.  But keep the armour... it might prove useful to us."

"At once, my Lady."

"Good.  And do it here.  I want to watch this!"

*  *  *

"We have failed you, Majesty," Zenner admitted reluctantly, as he approached the throne, tail between his legs.  Fairwater looked stunned.

"What happened?!" he demanded.  "Were there casualties?  What are we up against?"

"We gave them casualties," the demon said.  "One of our people was injured, but she's probably recovered already, Demon regeneration and all.  Unfortunately, the target escaped."

"Not again..." Queen Admaria said, infuriated.

"It was strange, Majesties.  She was celebrating something, had this weird bonfire in the middle of the throne room.  It smelled like burning plastic.  The ceremony distracted us for a few moments, during which time she opened a secret door and fled.
"Unfortunately, it turns out you are not the only one with a panic room," Zenner added bitterly.  "The little bitch has gone to ground in some kind of demon-proof vault.  She taunted us through the speaker system.  Said that she could wait years if need be."

"Is there any way we can winkle her out of there?"  Fairwater pondered.

"We may have to ask that of Daryil," Zenner said.  "Certainly we couldn't get in.  Unfortunately, there is more..."

"Daryil will be reluctant to aid us in this," Fairwater said.  "He did not approve of the assassination attempt in the first place."

"This may change his mind," Zenner said, glancing at Jones, a red-furred coyote demon.

"This is one of her taunts, Majesty..." the coyote said, clutching a box gently.  "She wanted us to send it to Daryil."

*  *  *

"We've checked the CCTV footage," Jakob said evenly.  "For all the data-centres.  Nobody has been doing anything suspicious.  However, we managed to record all incoming and outgoing traffic for the Fairwater data-centre.  The company was not pleased, but we got a royal decree thanks to the King.  The capture will be disposed of after the investigation, and besides, most of it is encrypted anyway.  But it has given us a vital clue.  Tim?"

"You won't like this, Majesty," Tim said, cowering.

"I can tell him if you prefer," Jakob coaxed.

"Unless you're responsible, it's really not your fault," Fairwater said.  "I promise I won't be angry."

Tim tapped a couple of keys on his laptop and a picture appeared on the wall-screen.

"I don't understand," Fairwater said.  "Wiki-pie-dia...?"

"It's an online, user-editable recipe book," Jakob said.  "Quite popular.  Tim, show them the red velvet cake."

The cake appeared onscreen.

"It looks nice, but..."

"This cake recipe was posted at 4:21 AM, Fairwater time," Jakob said.  "Mere seconds later, a bounty was posted for the murder of Jason, here."

"That has to be a coincidence," Fairwater said.

"Perhaps, but we found eleven other coincidences while the packet capture was in place," Jakob said.  "A new recipe appears, and so does a bounty for another adventurer."

"But that's insane," Fairwater retorted.

"I told you he wouldn't like it..." Tim wailed.

"I don't like it either," Jakob said.  "But it is what it is."

*  *  *

Niall stared at the head, appalled.  "How?!  Didn't we give him an indestructible chassis?!"

"You certainly didn't give me one," Dorcan said.

"No.  Only the skull and chest armour," Daryil said sadly.  "Remember, the fox-guards were our enemies to start with.  Taking them on probation was one thing, but making them unstoppable killing machines?  R.Niall is the only example of that, and he's subject to psychological evaluation checks from the Being-Creature Commission every six months to make sure he's not about to go off the rails.  Bevan, Dice and the others... they're purely commercial models and not designed to take this kind of punishment.  From the cut, it looks like they used an enchanted sword..."

"Yeah, they were enemies once," Niall said.  "But that was decades ago.  Surely we can trust them now ..?  It's not like Dorcan was a known quantity to begin with either.  And now he's one of our key staff."

"Indeed.  Bevan has certainly just proved his loyalty," Daryil said, stroking the severed head gently.  "To me, at least.  But I don't think we're in a position to request more military-spec androids from the Commission just yet.  Anyway, enough chatter.  We need to get him back on his feet, assuming he's still alive..."

"The charge should last a week in power-saving mode," Dorcan pointed out.  "But if we find it didn't, what then?"

"Then I'd have to get him back on his feet the hard way," Daryil said.  "Just don't tell the Commission, okay...?"

*  *  *

"A couple of new jobs," Steve said, addressing his staff at Northwood guild.  "As far as I can tell, they're genuine."

"Anyone you want in particular?" Ben asked.

"Not you," Steve said.  "You and Daniel have had quite the ordeal.  I'd prefer that you took the time off to recover."

"We're only here until September," Ben reminded him.  "After that it'll be back to Illiath's for another term."

"If you insist.  But I'd rather you stayed on light duty.  Show Aisha around, for example."

"What are the jobs, anyway?"

"Two of them.  Highwaymen on the Old Forest road have been causing trouble.  Mary can deal with that."

"Eeee!" the wolf demoness squealed delightedly.  "Any restrictions?"

"I'd rather you taught them a lesson," Steve said.  "Simply having a couple of bandits disappear won't solve anything.  More will take their place."

"Oh," Mary said.  "You want me to disembowel their leader and hang the bits from the trees as a warning...?"

Aisha made a quiet hissing noise, causing Daniel to edge away from her.

"Definitely not," Steve said sharply.  "Last time, you left such a mess that no-one could tell they'd been bandits, and naturally assumed they were hapless travellers.  There was a bounty posted for a rampaging demon, description strangely similar to you..."

"This time I'll leave a sign."  Mary promised.  "Bandits, be ye warned..."

"I'd prefer it if there were survivors," Steve said.  "Live men tell more tales."

"Oh, I can do that too," Mary said, grinning with anticipation, and snatching the print-out, ran off to gather her equipment.

"Ralf, I would like you to go with her," Steve said.  "Bandits will tend to hear her coming.  Your stealth powers will be useful in flushing them out."

"But she'll kill them," the robo-wolf protested.

"Hopefully only their leader, if she does what she's told," Steve said.  "Sadly, killing people is still a fact of life in the adventuring business.  But hopefully I'll be able to find you a nice Missing Persons report to help out with."

"What's the other job?" Ralf asked.

"Execution duty."

"I'll take the bandit one," Ralf said quickly, and bounded over to where Mary was sharpening her weapons.

"So.  Who's up for this?"  Steve asked sombrely.  "Ben, I don't expect you to be.  Jason's off helping the AdventureNet investigation.  Aisha, if you are willing, this is probably a good first mission for you.  Though I'll need someone to go with you, being on probation and all."

"I can do this," Aisha agreed.  "Though I would still like to know why this person has to die.  I may be a Demon now, but killing a person is a serious matter and not to be done lightly," the jaguar added, sending a venomous glance in Mary's direction.  "I could not agree to take a life merely for stealing apples..."

"It's to be a double execution," Steve said, offering her the print-out.  "Quite a sordid little story.  Boy meets girl, they live happily ever after until girl meets another boy and they arrange an 'accident' for the husband so she can live happily ever after with the other guy instead.  Truly a fairy-tale romance."

"Complete with the gruesome ending," Ben said.

"...which we have to provide, unfortunately," Steve said.  "The wife confessed, hoping that throwing her boyfriend under the bus would secure a more lenient sentence for her.  Instead, they're both for the chop.  Swordsman preferred, though axes are acceptable too.  They don't have a guillotine, and I'm sure you'd prefer not to hang them.  Oh... actually, they won't accept a hangman at all.  I wonder why...?"

"I'll do it," Daniel said grimly.  "I can't feel much pity for someone like that.  I can assist Aisha, or I can do the deed myself."

"One kill each might be better," Steve said.  "Murderers or not, making someone watch their lover die, knowing that they'll be next is just plain cruel.  If you can kill them both together it would be better all round."

"Agreed," Aisha said.  "I have to start somewhere, after all.  Though I had hoped for something a little less death-oriented."

[ZacAttac21]

So... what, the hacker is piggybacking the code for his false bounties on top of the recipes?

Also: "...Swordsman preferred, though axes are acceptable too.  They don't have a guillotine, and I'm sure you'd prefer not to hang them.  Oh... actually, they won't accept a hangman at all.  I wonder why...?"

Am I the only one who finds that bit suspicious?

[Tapewolf]

There's still that much more? Sweeeeeet.

I've finally got the ending down, it runs to 28 chapters in total.  More than I was expecting, but nice in that it reached a point where it was snowballing.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 18

Like all the Jayhawk androids, Bevan's brain was protected by a number of voltage regulators and circuit breakers, just in case something went catastrophically wrong with the power plant in his body.  Even so, Dorcan checked the connections and voltages twice over before finally throwing the switch.

As he did so, the vulpine head changed subtly, the slack, dead expression hardening.  The ears pricked up and and the eyes snapped open.  They focused on Daryil.

"Can you hear me, Bev?  I'm so sorry... You were quite right... I should never have sent you back..."

"Daryil..." the head whispered,  "You... owe me a lot... more... than kinky... sex for this... "

"You'll get it," Daryil said, his voice breaking slightly.

"I heard... them talking... They... destroyed... my body..."

"Figures." Daryil said.  "But I'll get you a new one.  Any preferences?  You don't have to be a fox, even... I can transplant your brain into anything!  If you'd rather be a buff, hunky wolf, or a jaguar or something..."

"Just... as I was... please..." the fox replied.  "But with... longer hair...  maybe a little... more muscle..."

"Wise choice," Niall said.  "We've got a spare fox chassis in storage, we'll have you up and about in no time."

"Thanks... just being... a head... sucks...."

Daryil's eyes narrowed as Niall and Dorcan left the room.

"Who did this to you, Bevan?" he hissed.  "One of Lady Featherstone's goons?  Just tell me who it was, and I'll crush them."

"Guard captain...  Aldriss... Alsatian... Don't go too... hard on him... Dar, he was ordered to..."

"Oh, that old excuse," Daryil snarled and mimed with a puppet.  "'I was only obeying orders.'"

"We used it..." Bevan whispered.  "We worked for... your enemy too... but you spared us...  If he had refused... he'd be dead..."

"Dammit, you're right." the incubus sighed.  "Much as I'd like to destroy him...  He deserves a chance."

"Plus, he might... be useful..."

"Yes..." Daryil smiled evilly.  "Yes, he might."

*  *  *

"What news?" Fairwater asked, as they settled around the boardroom table once more.

"It turns out," Jakob said, "That wiki-pie-dia is not only hosted in the same data-centres as AdventureNet, but in each case, both sites are hosted on the same server.  It appears to be deliberate, like they bribed the data-centre to do that."

"It works like this, Majesty," Ashley said.  "The servers are virtualised.  Each physical machine can run several sites at once.  But they use a container system, so each site is isolated from the others."

"I have heard of this," Fairwater said.  "That would kind of rule out the recipe site, though, wouldn't it...?"

"Normally it would.  But there's a security hole in the container system.  Whoever built wiki-pie-dia was extremely clever - when it receives a certain kind of recipe, it exploits a previously-unknown vulnerability in the system.  It breaks out of its container, finds the AdventureNet container, punches into that, and adds the bogus adventuring job to the queue!"

"A recipe for death," Jason muttered softly.

"How on Furrae did you figure this out?" Josh asked.

"Ashley and Tim did," Jakob said.  "With Fairwater's authority, they cloned the wiki-pie-dia node from the Fairwater data-centre and have been reverse-engineering it ever since."

"This is the Red Velvet cake again," Tim said.  "I downloaded the picture and looked at the raw data.  On the end of it there's this... stuff.  It's not part of the picture, it's been appended to the end.  They've also inserted the picture for the bounty inline as well."

"Show him the stew," Jakob said.

"He'll guillotine me!" Tim wailed.

"What is this...?" Fairwater demanded.

"I'll do it," Jakob said, and took control of the laptop.  "We have a hook into AdventureNet.  Ashley wrote it.  It flags up suspicious jobs as they appear.  This one turned up overnight.  It came from a recipe for beef stew."

"Who is it for?" Fairwater asked icily.

Jakob touched a key, and the bounty appeared.  It was for Tim, wanted dead for high treason against King Fairwater.

"Guards!"  Fairwater called, pointing at the kangaroo.  "Put Tim in a cell!  Immediately!"

*  *  *

"Here we are," Daniel said, hiding his head-wings as they entered the town.  "I do hope it's a private execution.  I hate the whole spectacle of it..."

"I thought you grew up with that kind of thing," Aisha remarked, buying a turtle from a street-food stall and crunching it noisily.

"Yes.  But I've travelled enough to realise that it's pretty backward thing to do.  Even Fairwater only reserves public execution for the most hideous crimes.  This kind of crime in Fairwater, if it merited death at all, it'd happen in the dungeon, away from the crowd.  Far more dignified..."

He broke off as they approached the town hall, and walked up to the reception with Aisha in tow.

"Daniel Kaye," he said.  "Adventurer under Steve Foster, Northwood guild.  I also have Aisha De..."

There was a flash of light, causing him to drop instinctively.  When he looked around, Aisha was lying prone on the ground, guards already descending upon her with magic-suppressing bracers.

"What?!" Daniel demanded.  "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Congratulations on bringin' 'er to justice, Mr. Kaye," the captain beamed.  "The crowd'll love this!  A triple beheadin'!"

"She's not for killing," the Doberman protested.  "She's my new adventuring partner, and we were going to carry out the executions together.  How can she assist me like this?!"

"As the warm-up act..?" the captain suggested.  "She's a wanted murderer, son.  Top priority.  Don't worry, we'll let you claim the bounty.  After all, it'll be you putting 'er to justice..."

So saying, the captain removed a wanted poster from the noticeboard, and handed it to Daniel.  It was Aisha's face, wanted for the murder of Jason Da'Real.

*  *  *

Tim fainted away, and was quickly slung over a guard's shoulder.

"What are you doing?!"  Jakob gawked.  "You know the bounty is fake!"

"Obviously," Fairwater said.  "But have you forgotten your own arrest so soon...?  That's a fuck-off big sum being offered for his head, and the minute he leaves the palace some adventurer will confiscate it!"

"Right, so it is protective custody, then?"  Jakob said, looking relieved.

"I guess I could have phrased it better," the King admitted.

"Keeping him under lock and key will cripple the investigation," Ashley pointed out.  "And it's possible that he was targeted specifically for that reason.  It might be better to get him to our Arctic lab, Majesty.  He'll be safe there until the bounty can be cancelled. Daryil will make sure of that..."

"Very well.  But he is a citizen of Fairwater.  Please take good care of him.  Guards, put Tim down.  On the floor," he added hastily.  "Do not kill him!"

"Jayhawk Cybernetics is the best place to be if you're likely to get killed," Jakob said helpfully.  "We're pretty good at fixing that."

"Talking of fixing things," Josh put in, "Now that you know there's a vulnerability in the system, that can be fixed, right?"

"The bug isn't in our software," Ashley said.  "It's proprietary stuff from M-corp.  Between Daryil and Fairwater we can twist their arm to get a patch developed quickly, or failing that, Tim and I could probably develop our own workaround.  But we'll still be dependent on the affected data-centres actually rolling out the upgrade..."

"Also, it will be obvious what we've done," Jakob said.  "But that's something we'll have to cross when we come to it.  We know what they're doing, and how.  Arguably stopping adventurers from murdering each other is a higher priority than bringing the culprit to justice."

"True," Fairwater said.  "We can concentrate on following the money."

"Nooo!" Tim screamed, regaining consciousness and suddenly remembering his predicament.  "Not my head..." he was muffled shortly by one of the guards.

"Oh stop it," Fairwater chided.  "Jailing you was for your own safety.  But we now think it's better if you hide out with Ashley and Jakob, at least until the bounty is cancelled.  Help them patch the vulnerability."

"Yes, sire," Tim said shakily.

*  *  *

"Her?  Murder Jason?!  Are you serious?!  Aisha is a fellow guild member!" Daniel said.

"Jason Da'Real was a member o' your guild too," the captain pointed out.

"Stop talking in past tense!  Jason IS a guild member," Daniel insisted.

"You sure 'bout that?  When d'you last see 'im?" the captain asked, studying the wanted poster again.

"Not for a few days," Daniel admitted.   "But this is a serious accusation.  You're asking me to execute a colleague, based on this... some hearsay!"

"You're an adventurer, you know the penalty for goin' rogue.  If she killed another o' your colleague, she gotta be executed by that guild, or its representative.  That's you."

"You seem remarkably eager to see her head come off," Daniel snapped.  "Measure twice, cut once.  Especially if the cut is to someone's neck."

"She's a demon," the captain said.  "Even if she's innocent o' this, there's blood on 'er 'ands somehow.  Besides, the crowd'll love it!"

"Bandit blood," Daniel said.  "Listen.  You can't kill someone just for being a Demon!  Most of us at my guild are Creatures.  Besides, there's a number of fake bounties going around.  I'll bet you anything you like that this is one of them, and Jason is still alive."

"You listen," the captain said.  "Whatever she 'as or 'asn't done, fact is, someone's paid big money for 'er 'ead.  Up front!  Woss fake about THAT?  You don't want to claim the bounty, thas fine by me... a windfall like that'd set me up for life!"

"Your life won't be very long if you slay a card-carrying guild member," Daniel said.  "Remember the contract!  We're your guests, and if you kill either of us, the guild will take your head as compensation.  Clause 6."

The captain opened his mouth and closed it again.

"Besides," Daniel said.  "If she's gone rogue, that's an internal matter for the guild to judge.  If she murdered Jason, she'll die too.  But she'd be executed humanely at our guild-hall, not as a side-show for your entertainment."

"Fine, fine.  You're the boss," the captain sighed.  "But every bounty 'unter for miles around'll descend on this place like a swarm o' bees.  Good luck getting 'er home with 'er 'ead still on!"

"We'll see," Daniel said coolly.  "But first things first.  The execution.  The double execution.  I still want her help.  Killing them both at once will need an assistant."

"I ain't taking those bracers off," the captain insisted.  "But I can take the chain off so she can use 'er 'ands.  I 'ave to keep the public safe, and she's likely ta run off.  We'll 'ave to arrange sniper cover."

"It's a start," Daniel sighed.  "Just remember clause 6."

[Merlin]

Yesssss more Tim <3

[Tapewolf]

Early update because I'm bored.

Chapter 19

"Welcome to Jayhawk, Tim," Jakob said, leading the nervous kangaroo into the heart of the Arctic base.  "Ashley's office is down here.  As you can see, we're not fussy about which races we hire...
As long as someone can do the job, that's good enough for us.  So you're quite safe here among Creatures.  Corporate policy and clan law aside, we promised your King that we'd do our best to keep you safe.
And if you like it here... well, if things don't work out with the guild, we could always do with some more talent..."

Jakob trailed away as a figure bounded down the corridor towards them.

"Ah... shit," Jakob muttered.  "That's all I need right now."

"Oooh!" Daryil burbled excitedly, clasping his gloved hands with a manic grin.  "Oooh!  I want him!"

"Daryil, please leave Tim alone," Jakob complained.  "He's not fond of 'Cubi, don't make this any harder for him."

"You don't understand," Daryil said.  "He's hot, yes.  And bi.  And he has great taste in leathers.  But I don't want to bang him.  Not unless he wants it, of course..."

"What DO you want, then?" the wolf asked, cautiously.

"I want him in my clan," Daryil said firmly.

"What?!"

"We don't have any 'roos in the clan," Daryil said dreamily.  "Especially not handsome buff ones with ponytails and a kink for leather.  He'd fit right in!"  Tim backed away, blushing.

"I'll buy you a new bike as a joining present," Daryil coaxed.

"Woah, woah." Jakob said.  "Even if he agreed to it, he has to have a child with a clan member, who then gets reamed for half their life-force in order to bump him up and make weakling 'Cubi out of him," the wolf said, blinking rapidly.  "That's a big commitment!  You can't force him..."

"There's another way," Daryil said.  "I want to try an experiment."

"What?!"

"Have you forgotten the clan motto?" Daryil grinned toothily.  "'Power Through Mad Science'!  If you don't try, you'll never succeed!
"I mean, look at it logically... there's a difference between someone who is a Being and someone who is a 'Cubi.  And with someone whose head-wings haven't come in yet, the difference between those is smaller.  Ben was a Being, he married a succubus, they had an incubus child and Ben was 'Cubified.
"I've taken samples from all of them, before and after the ritual, and I think I've isolated that difference.  Now I can make a cure...  A cure for people who aren't Daryil Clan 'Cubi!"

"Many Clan Leaders have tried to do this before, especially those who've lost their clans!"  Jakob protested.  "What makes you so special?"

"But they didn't have science," Daryil returned smoothly.  "And Clan Leaders who have lost their clans go mad.  You're not going to be in a great position to do scientific experiments when you're out of your mind with grief, are you?  It didn't help you get Page back, after all..."

"Oh, don't remind me about that again," Jakob snapped.  "Look.  You're my Clan Leader... your word is law and I can't stop you, but as your friend and deputy, I urge you... it has to be his choice!" the wolf pleaded.  "An experiment like this... it might kill him!"

"There's a bunch of people who want to kill him anyway," Daryil said.  "Look.  If it works, he's suddenly under my protection.  We might even be able to convince his enemies that a Daryil member murdered and replaced him!  And if the process does kill him, we simply freeze his sperm and build him a new body like we did with Josh.  And then Jason chops the head off his corpse and claims the bounty on it!  That'll get people off his tail.  His big, handsome kangaroo tail..."

"Okay.  Supposing it works," Jakob said.  "How will the other Leaders react at the next clan meeting?  A discovery like this would be dynamite!"

"It's not a miracle," Daryil said.  "It'll still need a Tri-wing to do it, and it still needs another clan member to act as a template.  Like you, for example.  The advantages are that it's quicker, and the energy to do the transformation will come from me instead of you.  I'll be copying your 'cubi-ness rather than stealing half of it.  Always seemed a little barbaric, that..."

"...and if the experiment kills ME...?" Jakob demanded.

"It won't.  I'm just going to scan your body, not make any changes." Daryil said.  "I know what I'm doing.  Worst case, it'll tingle a bit."

"Tim?" Jakob sighed.  "My clan leader wants to make you into an incubus or a robot or something.  You up for it?"

"Will it hurt?"

"Let's find out!" Daryil said, and lunged at him.

"HE DIDN'T AGREE!" Jakob yelled.  "Silence isn't consent!"

"But he felt it," Daryil cooed, stroking the kangaroo's hair.  "He likes the idea, don't you Tim...?  See, a lot of his anti-cubi ranting... it's because he's jealous of us.  Now I'm offering him a piece of the pie too... a long life of looking pretty and plenty of ass, less being kicked around.  What's not to like about that..?"

"If you can really do it... do it," Tim croaked.  "Who wouldn't want a sip from the fountain of youth...?"

*  *  *

"Mierda!" Aisha exclaimed, as Daniel showed her the wanted poster.  "It's not the first bounty I've had, but I think it's the largest.  And it's escrowed..?"

"Yes," Daniel said.  "Whoever this lunatic is, they've definitely put their money where their mouth is."

The Doberman sighed as they prepared for the execution.  "They wanted me to behead you too, you know.  But I convinced the captain that you should be taken back to the guildhall for a trial after the job is done.  They've got crossbows on alert in case you try to run, I might add."

"Hijo de puta," Aisha swore.

"We'll have them kneel just there," Daniel pointed, glancing at the captain.

"Hah!  Good luck wi' that!" the captain said.  "They're cart-gryphons."

"Nobody told us that," Daniel said, looking perturbed.

"I thought you'd be used ta slaying Creatures," the captain remarked.  "But yeah... that's why we ain't 'angin' 'em.  We can do that ourselves."

"Can't say I've killed many quadrupeds," Daniel said sadly.  "Gryphons tend not to go off the rails much.  One of my best friends is a gryphon..."

"So is one of mine.  But if want me to do this for you..." Aisha offered.

"No," Daniel sighed.  "I'm fine.  Let's get it over with."

The two adventurers took their positions, leaning on their broadswords as the gryphon couple were marched out by guards in full platemail.  The list of charges was read out, and the sentence of death was passed.
Finally, the gryphons stood upon the scaffold, crouching low, wings bound and blindfolded.  Daniel and Aisha stepped forwards, faces like stone.  The crowd fell silent.

Daniel!  Nod if you can hear me, Aisha thought.  We'll do this on three, I don't want them to know when we'll strike.  Daniel glanced at her, with a nod.

As the jaguar silently counted down, Daniel steeled himself.  "Where's my sword...?" he asked.  Moments later, there was a double thunk, and a scream of joy from the crowd as the grim deed was done.

"May the gods forgive you," Daniel said.

"...and us," Aisha added.

*  *  *

"Well, that's that," Daniel said, drying himself magically in the town hall after a quick visit to its polysex bathroom.

"Cool," the captain said.  "That was a good job well done.  I was worried what the crowd might think about a notorious murderer carryin' out an execution, but they just loved it!  Might 'ave to try that again sometime..."

Aisha huffed at this.  "Murderer, indeed!  Keep your eye on those bounties," she said.  "Mark my words, that one will be cancelled soon."

"Talking of which, we'd better get back," Daniel said.  "With a price that big, someone is likely to take a pop at you before your name can be cleared.  Any chance you can remove her bracers?" he added.

"No way," the captain said, horrified.  "I just got your word that she's not a murderess, against the word of some rich bugger sayin' she IS.  Money talks, son, 'specially when it's guaranteed by a third party!  If it weren't for your precious guild contract I'd 'ave claimed it by now.  Take 'er bracers off?  You're 'avin' a laugh!  If I did that, she'd murder ME!"

"I wasn't going to," Aisha said.  "But please stop trying to change my mind."

"Well, that's going to make things awkward," Daniel complained.  "It'll prevent her teleporting home."

"They'd be pretty shitty restraints if they didn't," the captain pointed out reasonably.

"Fine.  We'll catch a cab."

"Good luck wi' that," the captain said.  "You'll 'ave a fine time finding a Gryphon willing to take you after you've lopped their cousins' 'eads off!"

*  *  *

"You did WHAT?!"  Ashley shrieked.  "How are we going to finish the investigation now?!"

"Okay, so it didn't quite work out as planned," Daryil pouted.  "Having your race changed is a pretty serious business.  But hey, it didn't kill him... he's just gone into shock, that's all.  He'll recover."

"When?"

"If it takes more than a week, I'll bring in a specialist," Daryil promised.

"'A specialist...!'" Jakob wailed.  "How many specialists are there in something you've just invented?!"

"Oh, the King'll just love this!" Ashley said icily.  "He entrusted you with the welfare of one of his subjects, and you promptly leave them in a coma!  If Tim dies... An incubus has killed a Being!  Racial murder!  A capital crime...!"

"Cool!  Maybe I can finally get Fairwater to lop my head off!" Daryil exclaimed, grinning like a maniac.  He sobered at Ashley's venomous expression and protracted claws.

"Okay, okay, okay.  Look, I don't think there's any reason to tell the King immediately.  Let's give Tim a couple of days first and see how he does.  In any case, I beg to differ with your assessment," Daryil continued.
"Firstly, Tim consented.  It was an experimental procedure and he knew it was risky.  Secondly, because of that, if he does die, it'll be death by misadventure or negligent homocide at worst.  Thirdly, I promised a fast-track resurrection if the worst happens.  Lastly, it didn't take place in Fairwater's jurisdiction anyway."

"Well, that's okay then!" Ashley, said.  "Of course he won't notice that Tim's missing when we do tonight's status report..."

"Quite," Daryil said, assuming a kangaroo form.  "I just need to steal his clothes.  Or shape-shift some."

"This has 'disaster' written all over it," Jakob said.

[ZacAttac21]

Now I'm picturing Daryil laughing maniacally in a lab, with a sleeping Tim strapped to a table, Frankenstein style.

[WhyNot?]

Ah geez Daryil, you couldn't wait till after he'd helped finish up the investigation? Could've even used it as extra motivation to get it done if you'd have played your cards right. Hindsight's 20/20 I guess.

As a sidenote: first read-through I completely missed the line where he said if Tims not showing improvement after a couple days they'll come clean instead of continuing to lie about it indefinitely. It's amazing how one line decides whether the tone of what follows is essentially the shapeshifters version of A Weekend at Bernie's or unduly creepy.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 20

"Surely there must be a better way," Aisha said as they set off into the forest.

"A recall amulet would have been handy," Daniel said, "But we don't have one.  Even if we did, they're still recharging.  Flying... well, mega-Gryphon attacks are pretty rare around settlements, but with the local gryphons blaming us for killing their buddies...  We'd be mincemeat."

"Agreed," Aisha said.  "Normally I could take them.  But with my powers negated... It's been a long time since I was a Being.  Like it or not, I've got used to the perks of Demonhood now..."

"Staying off the path is probably our best bet, though..." Daniel said, hiding his wings.  "We'll be less likely to attract an ambush."

"Can't you just phone the guild?"

Daniel checked his phone, just in case.  "Forests aren't known for their cell-phone coverage," he said.  "Even in the town, it was emergency only.  There's a cell tower there, but it's not on my network provider."

"Great," Aisha said.  "And if we're attacked?  That'll be an emergency then, yes?"

"They'd take a while to arrive," the Doberman said.  "And when they see a wanted criminal with a sky-high bounty..." Daniel grimaced.

"Shit," he whispered.

Bandits?  Aisha thought.

"Adventurers," the Doberman hissed.  "Looking for you."

*  *  *

"Good news, Majesty," Jason said.  "We have a new lead."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  We managed to track down one of Swanson's friends."

"And hit him a lot," Keaton added helpfully.

"And...?" Fairwater asked, frostily.

"Well, if he's part of it, you're likely to execute him anyway," Keaton said.  "So we bigged that up, told him how you'd set up a mirror so he could watch his own head come off.  But, if he told us what we wanted to know, we'd let him escape."

"Apparently Swanson was hanging out with a number of weirdos," Jason said.  "You get anti-wing cults and other such loonies, right?  This seems to be an anti-adventurer cult.  Gods know how they got Swanson to join them, being an adventurer and all..."

"But we got some names," Keaton said, looking pleased with herself.  "He referred to it as 'The Bounty Project', said it was being run by the Delphinium Group."

"And you believed all this...?"

"He didn't say it, he was thinking it.  Besides, it checks out.  See, we looked at the money trail, like you said.  The bounties are all in escrow, and each one is paid by some kind of shell company.  But they've all got links to this Delphinium Group.  Claims to be some kind of venture capital outfit..."

"And where are they based?"

"Some hick place out in the Gerbil Mountains," Keaton said.  "Andover or something..."

Fairwater grimaced.  "Not Andovia...?"

"That was it!" Keaton beamed.

"We're currently at war with Andovia," Fairwater said.  "It's not safe for us to investigate there while she's still in control of the place.  I mean, yes... with Daryil's aid we could crush the place, but that would not serve our cause well.
A lot of ordinary people are stuck there since Featherstone's coup, and harming innocents will only reinforce her claims that Creatures are unmitigated evil.  It's not just about deposing a group of anti-wing lunatics, but we also have to help ensure there's a stable government afterwards - preferably not one run by an occupying force."

"Can't you take her out?" Jason asked.  "An assassination?"

"I tried.  An elite squad was sent, but she retreated into a panic room, with supplies to last her several years.  Her men are fanatically loyal and will faithfully carry out her orders over a video link, even if she is not there in person."

"I suppose they'd have to be," Admaria remarked.  "Gods know, I can get a little over-eager to see justice done, but her...?  Wow.  I mean... even on a bad day someone would have to commit murder before I start going after their head, but she'd put you to the blade just for looking at her funny."

"From what I've heard, she takes discipline terminally seriously," Jason concurred.  "As for the panic room, I understand Daryil has an idea for dealing with that.  Just a rumour, mind... and even if it works it will take time."

*  *  *

"Gods... it really is her!" the Doberman said, covering Aisha with his crossbow.  "She was one of the best before she went rogue..."

"Demons," his ovine companion shook his head.  "They always go bad in the end.  She had the right idea when she was young..."

"Well, she's mine now," Daniel grinned.  "A bounty like that, I'll be able to retire!"

"You want my advice, I'd take her head off right now before she gets away and someone else cashes it in!"

"I can hear you, you know," Aisha snapped.  "I'm not deaf... but I am innocent.  I have not 'gone rogue', I am a card-carrying adventurer, just like you."

"What's she doing walking around, anyway?" the Doberman asked, puzzled.  "If you need a hand, I can hold her steady while you take her head off..."

"I want to bring her in alive," Daniel replied.  "You heard her... she could be innocent, and I don't want to risk killing the wrong person.  Either way, she should be tried by the guild in question.  And if they do decide she's guilty, they can provide a public execution."  Aisha's tail twitched angrily at this suggestion but she remained silent.

"I'd believe you," the adventurer said, "Except that you haven't bound her wrists.  What's stopping her from running off?"

"I only just caught her," Daniel said.

"He's her accomplice," the ram sneered, and his companion brought out a pair of bracers to cuff Daniel with.  "Look at that chain!  He's been trying to remove her restraints!"

"So they've both gone rogue!" the Doberman said.  "Well then... come quietly, and you'll get to live a little bit longer.  I know Demons like to go out with a bang," the Doberman added, looking at Aisha, "And your partner-in-crime can join in too.  A public double-execution is hard to beat for a spectacular death!  If not... we'll do justice right here and now."

"Justice, you call it?" Aisha said.  "When I was your age, adventurers were there to protect travellers, not kill them for money."

"I'll defend myself," Daniel warned, drawing his sword.  "And what if she's right?  I've heard a lot about fake bounties lately... I don't want to hurt my fellow adventurers, but I won't let you behead someone for a mistake!"

"Mistake, my arse.  I checked!  The money's real enough!"

"Idiotas!" Aisha snarled.  "It's a hit.  Somebody wants me out of the way.  They make up some... some fable about me killing someone who isn't even dead!  So what if the money's real?  You'll find it hard to spend after the guild hangs you for murdering a colleague!"

The adventurers paused.

"See, this is why we have a trial before executing someone," Daniel added brightly.

"That's a lot of money," the Doberman murmured wistfully.  "It's not like adventuring is a job for life.  You retire... or you die in service.  I say we take her head, cash in the reward and beat it to Panthina.  If she's guilty, we've done the world a favour.  If not... we'll be in Panthina by the time they realise!"

"She don't have any horns," the ram pointed out, putting Aisha in an arm-lock.  "We just bring her head, it could be any old panther.  We'd have to lug the body around too."

"Hark, is that the sweet sound of honest adventurers turning rogue that I hear...?" Daniel asked.

"Money's the root of all evil, son," the dog retorted, aiming his katana at the other Doberman's neck.  "Chin up, it'll be quicker that way."

*  *  *

Captain Aldriss came to slowly.  His mouth felt parched and dry, and his mind was more than a little fuzzy.

Drugged? he pondered groggily, and looked over his surroundings.  It was clearly a dungeon.

What's happened? he wondered.  Did the Lady order this?  Usually she just kills her enemies... What could I have done to offend her anyway...?

The alsatian turned with a start as the lock rattled.  Panic set in for a moment as he saw that his captor was vivid blue.  Creatures!  Fairwater has taken me...

The door swung open and two muscular figures entered, a blue Doberman with feathered wings, and a blonde alsatian with leathery wings.  They took him roughly, forcing his hands behind his back and strapping them there.

If I'm going to die, I will die bravely, he vowed to himself.

They marched through a corridor, through an antechamber where a guillotine stood.  Sawdust was scattered here and there, some of it stained red.  There were dark red splashes on the wall nearby, as if to underline that someone had lost their head to the device, very recently.  Nightmarish visions swam through his head, he could almost feel the hard wood against his belly as they dropped the blade... vertigo... confusion... blackness...

To his mild surprise, the guards shoved Aldriss, snapping him out of his reverie and him past the grim machine and into a sparse audience chamber.  In the centre was a dais, and upon it sat a fox incubus atop a golden throne.  His hands were clad in black shiny gloves, and his pants were glossy plastic.  He watched the procession with a sadistic smile.

"You..." the captain started.  "You're Lord Daryil."

"Yes," Daryil said.  "And you are Captain Aldriss.  You beheaded one of my friends.  Lady Featherstone ordered you to destroy his brain, too...  fortunately, you failed, otherwise we would not be having this conversation right now."

"Enough theatrics," the Alsatian said.  "So you're going to kill me.  Just get it over with!  I won't talk!"

"Close," Daryil said.  He clicked his fingers, which made a muted slapping noise through the gloves, and to the captain's surprise, the strap binding his wrists was undone.

"No deals," the captain said, flexing his hands suspiciously.  "I won't beg for my life.  I won't betray my country.  Just kill me."

Daryil laughed unkindly, and reached down to pick up a supermarket shopping bag.  He threw it at the Alsatian, who caught it deftly.

"I believe this is yours," he said.  The captain looked inside and uttered a yell of horror.  It was a severed head.  His own.

[ZacAttac21]

Daryil laughed unkindly, and reached down to pick up a supermarket shopping bag.  He threw it at the Alsatian, who caught it deftly.

"I believe this is yours," he said.  The captain looked inside and uttered a yell of horror.  It was a severed head.  His own.

Oooh, that's wicked. I approve!

[spoiler]But, I wonder: Is the captain now an android, or is Daryil pulling another one of those stunts with an avatar body like he did with Callahan in Epsilon?[/spoiler]

[Daet]

I really need to check the forum more often. I just found this and binge read it. I had been having Dar withdrawal.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 21

The Doberman's head landed with a thud, his body staggering and crumpling to the ground in a shower of blood.  Aisha looked appalled.

"Mierda," she said quietly.  "The guild won't like that."

"No," Daniel said softly, gazing at a bloodied wing-tentacle with an expression of regret.  "No, they won't."

"They'll behead you for it!  And most likely me too!"

"It was self-defence," Daniel said.  "They went rogue."

"And just who will believe you?!  They'll say the same about you!  What's the word of an incubus trickster, and a wanted Demon against honest Beings sent to arrest them?!  We'll have to flee!  Gods... The one thing I hate more than being an outlaw, is being an outlaw for no reason!"

"A lot depends," Daniel said, "On how much of it came out."

"How much of what?!"

"The voice recording," the incubus told her, poking at his phone.  "I don't know if it will be enough to save our necks, but it's the best we have..." he glanced around.  "What happened to the other one?"

"He's over there," Aisha said, pointing at the fallen ram.  "Sleeping.  I didn't hit him too hard.  But what he'll say when he wakes up..."

"He'll say whatever it takes to avoid being hanged as a rogue adventurer," Daniel hazarded.  "Or beheaded, shot, electrocuted or whatever his guild likes to do to adventurers gone rabid.
Still, this does improve matters for us.  Rogue or not, he's a witness.  If we can get the inquiry held somewhere with 'Cubi, they can read his thoughts they'll know what really happened."

"Won't be good for him, though..." Aisha said.  "Poor guy."

"Given the whole mix-up with the bounties, he might just be kicked out of the guild," Daniel said, rummaging around the adventurer's pockets.  "After all, at the end of the day he hasn't actually murdered you, he was just hoping to."

"If he's left jobless we might end up executing him anyway," Aisha sighed.  "Too many disgraced adventurers become bandits...  Who then get slain by other adventurers..."

"Yeah, a proper social safety net would solve a lot of those problems.  Here... try this." Daniel said, holding out his hand.

"On the bracers?" Aisha asked, taking a small key from the Doberman's palm.

"Often the locks are interoperable," Daniel said.  "If not, I might be able to alter the key with my tentacles.  It's worth a try, anyway..."

"How cheap," Aisha remarked as a cuff dropped from her wrist.

"Mass-produced," the Doberman said.  "One of these days a criminal Creature will escape because they've got a compatible key.  Some of the real cheapo ones?  The enchantment works okay, but you can unlock them with a ball-point pen."

"I might keep this," Aisha smirked, dropping the key into a pouch around her waist.  "It could come in handy one day.  Now then... how are we going to get these two back to the guild...?"

*  *  *

Aldriss closed the bag up quickly, and stared at Daryil in disbelief.

"Yes..." the incubus chuckled evilly.  "I already have killed you.  That was no nightmare you had, Captain... you met your well-deserved death beneath that guillotine outside.  But enough of this idle banter... I have an offer to make."

"You died as my enemy, Captain Aldriss," Daryil continued.  "But I can be merciful, so I am offering you another chance.  Serve me faithfully for the next thirty years, and all shall be forgiven.  Betray me, and I shall destroy your brain, returning you to the death you so richly deserve."

"B... how..." the Alsatian babbled.

"Like my envoy whom you attempted to murder, you are now an android," Daryil said.  "You were right, by the way - Bevan's brain was in his head, and he has fully recovered from your mistreatment.  All the same, I wanted revenge for his discomfiture, so I had your head removed too.
"Your body has been incinerated, but your soul has been transferred to a new host, an artificial brain and body.  There is a certain justice and irony in this, since Bevan too, was my enemy once.  Indeed, he pleaded with me to make the same offer to you, instead of ending you completely.  In time, you too can become an ally of mine... certainly, you have no future now with Lady Featherstone."

The erstwhile captain blinked rapidly.  "But you're asking me to betray my queen!  My country!"

"Your loyalty to Ms. Featherstone is commendable, captain... but misplaced.  If you refuse me, I shall return you to her domain.  But remember what happened to Bevan... in Featherstone's eyes, you are no longer a Being and she will have you executed as well.  That's exactly what your loyalty is worth to her."

"I don't believe you!  You're lying!"

"But it's true, Aldriss.  If you need proof, I can open the service hatch on your chest.  If you need time to make up your mind, I can give you that too.  But be aware - that new body of yours is precision machinery and extremely expensive.  If you wish to keep inhabiting it, I expect you to pay me back for it.  Both for your body, and also for Bevan's which you destroyed."

"What do you want from me?"

"Thirty years of servitude.  That's not a lot to ask when you might live a hundred times that.  And also... there is the matter of Lady Featherstone, who is currently in hiding."

"You want to get into her panic room," the Alsatian queried.

"Yes."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll probe your mind and figure out how to do it anyway," Daryil smiled.  "But the experience will be... unpleasant.  And afterwards I'll send you back to Andovia, with the service hatch ripped off your chest, so your beloved queen can see exactly what you are!"

*  *  *

King Fairwater appeared in the Jayhawk labs on a wall-screen.  The queen sat at his side, clad in a dark blue costume and makeup.

"...wear that?" Fairwater asked.  "Blue rubber gloves are not normally worn by a reigning monarch!"

"But they're Royal Blue," the queen protested.

"What of tradition?  Gods... what will the petitioners think?!"

"Bugger tradition," Admaria said.  "I've been wearing purple for the last two centuries, and I want a change!  Something more succubus-like.  I'm a queen - I should be able to wear what I like.
I mean, I really love the shiny black, but when I wear it, everyone thinks I'm going to attend an execution.  Maybe I should start wearing red for those..?  I dunno, It'd go well with the blood...  but black is WAY creepier and I do like the fear!  Hopefully this will work as a happy medium...  Oh shit!  We're on the air!"

"Greetings, your majesties," Ashley said.  "The blue does look good on you, highness.  Very imposing."

"Why thank you, Ashley," the border collie beamed, looking pleased with herself.

"I still think you should wear the purple while we're on the clock," the King said.  "But the blue does look good for less formal affairs.  Good day, gentlemen," he added.  "Do you have any updates for me?"

"We have a fix for the vulnerability," Ashley said.  "We're still testing it.  I need to be sure we're not going to break something else instead."

"Tim..?"

"Nothing new to report, majesty.  I've been helping Ashley test it."

"Are you alright, Tim?" the king enquired, a concerned expression on his face.  "Your adventurer stone has been acting very strangely."

"I'm fine, your majesty." the kangaroo replied.

"Are you quite sure Daryil hasn't done something to you?" Fairwater persisted, "...For example, severely injuring you?  And then shape-shifting and taking your place during this call to cover up for his mistake while you get better?"

"Um, no...?"

"Glad to hear it." Fairwater grinned evilly.  "What's your date of birth?"

Tim spluttered.  Ashley face-palmed.

"Yes, your majesty," the lynx said icily.  "Daryil wanted to try and convert Tim into an incubus.  He tried some crazy experiment that put the poor guy into a coma."

"Why, you greasy little traitor!" Tim screeched.  "Treason!"

"Sorry, Daryil, but I will not lie to the King," Ashley said.  "Obviously we're doing our best to care for Tim... we'll fix him up somehow, even if he ends up a robot."

"Hopefully he'll just wake up with head-wings," Daryil put in, reverting to base form.  "Though it'll be a wrench to give him these leathers back.  They're nice."

"Be that as it may, this is not what we expected from you, Lord Daryil," Admaria scowled.  "I for one, shall think long and hard before sending any of our citizens to your territory for protection in future."

"The blue look is really nice, O Queen," Daryil said.  "I might have to try that!  Where did you get that lipstick from?"

"Oh," the queen burbled.  "I'll send you the worldnet address aft- WAIT!  Don't change the subject!"

"Okay, okay.  I'm sorry.  Converting Tim seemed like a good idea at the time," Daryil grouched.  "But let's see how it turns out before making any hasty decisions, right...?  I mean, yeah.  I suggested it, but he agreed.  Getting a much longer life is worth a risk... and I wouldn't do something so dangerous to an unwilling subject.  Not unless it was one of my enemies.  And who wants to make their enemies stronger?"

"Even so, I would appreciate it if you keep me informed of his situation," the King growled.  "And be sure to clear it with me first if this ever happens again."

"Yes, your majesty," Daryil said.  "If it helps make things better, I do have an update for you.  I've kidnapped one of Lady Featherstone's captains.  The same guy who tried to execute Bevan when I sent him to negotiate.  Captain Aldriss."

"A hostage?" the Queen enquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of.  First I kidnapped him, then I executed him.  Finally, I brought him back to life again on probation.  As a robot."

"After all you just said about not wanting to make your enemies stronger?!" Fairwater exclaimed.

"Ah, but that strength comes at a price," Daryil said.  "Remember, our androids have safety interlocks.  If he steps out of line, he'll be rendered helpless.  And Lady Featherstone hates robots as much as she hates Creatures."

"She'd have him killed on sight!" the Queen yelped excitedly.  "So you've cut a deal with him?  Even without that, you've removed one of her key men!"

"She's still stuck in that panic room of hers, though," Fairwater said forlornly.

"Ah," Daryil said, eyes gleaming.  "But Aldriss knows how to get into it."

[Tapewolf]

I'm bored so here's the next chapter.  I'm wondering whether to start uploading a bunch of these to finish it around Christmas.

Chapter 22

"So, what's your story?" Aisha asked, as Daniel slung the unconscious ram over his shoulder, and strapped the burden in place with his wings.

"Oh," the Doberman said.  "Grew up in a medieval town.  By and large your career prospects are pretty limited.  Some people become tradesmen, others farm.  The rest... kill people."

"Doesn't sound too different to my home," Aisha nodded, hefting the wrapped body of the fallen adventurer as if it was nothing.

"I didn't know any trades, but Dad was an adventurer, so I figured that was what I wanted to do too.  I started training as soon as I could.  Some folk were a bit suspicious of my wings, others figured that a Creature would be good at it.  I went out and did a few missions in my mid-teens.  Mostly bandits, but a couple of Creatures too.  Then..."

Daniel paused and glanced at the dead man the panther was bearing.

"...well, the town executioner was murdered.  I drew the short straw.  After that... it kind of stuck."

"I was seventeen.  A lot of people nowadays would call that too young, but, well... you know.  Medieval town... you grow up with it.  When there's nothing much else to do, a hanging or a beheading in the square is something cool to watch, you know...?
"Being the one to actually do it, kill a member of the community... that was harder.  I got dark looks.  Some people shunned me, especially people whose friends or family had died by my hand.

"But by and large I was seen to be putting criminals to justice and that was right and proper.  We didn't chop off someone's head for banging another guy, or because they had wings - it was only violent crime that cost you your head.
So really it's not SO different from adventuring... you execute a serial killer, you're preventing them from murdering innocents.  So I took pride in what I did.  I was protecting my fellow townsfolk."

"I can tell there's a 'but' coming," Aisha remarked.

"Yes.  My head-wings came in."

"Did they persecute 'Cubi there?"

"Not really.  In a way... they liked it.  Having a monster as executioner... that's even more scary, right?  People tell their kids, 'If you don't grow up to be good, the incubus will chop off your head and suck out your soul!'" Daniel smiled.  Aisha snickered.

"No... the problem is what happens AFTER your head-wings come in," the Doberman continued.  "It's bad enough to kill a man, kill a woman...  We were enlightened enough that we didn't execute anyone under 17, though some places do...
"Now imagine going to chop off someone's head, and feeling their fear.  And the voices... hearing them silently wailing and begging, and some of them dying knowing they were innocent and it was all just a mistake..."

"You've killed people, Aisha.  You've put people to justice.  You know what happens.... even with a beheading or a broken neck they don't die instantly, the brain lives on for a while afterwards.  The heart continues to beat.
Now imagine you can hear them whimpering and lamenting their fate, all their regrets and the things they never got to do, echoing all around your head until the brain finally loses consciousness.
"The hangings were the worst... some of them took ten minutes or more to die.  Ten minutes of suffering and pain and fear, ten minutes of mental gabbling and screaming until it's finally over.
"That's what it was like.  Then I went to 'Cubi school and they taught me how to block it out, how to shield yourself from hearing other peoples thoughts.  But... knowing happens at all...
"Some of the more evil 'Cubi... the Pain and Terror ones, or someone like Mary, they get off on that kind of thing.  I found it appalling, and it was made worse by how much more sensitive a maturing 'Cubi is to emotions.  So I handed in my notice as headsman.  As you saw... I'll do it if push comes to shove, but like you, I want to be absolutely sure they're guilty... and that death is actually an appropriate punishment in the first place."

"But you're still an adventurer?"

"Yes.  But I want to go back to my roots.  I want to help people, not kill them."

"Back when I was still a Being, I met a demon," Aisha said.  "Not one I slew, a fellow adventurer.  Kamdan, his name was.  He was a black jaguar too."

"King Werrew's commander-in-chief, right?" Daniel nodded.  "He gave a talk at Illiath's 'Cubi school."

"Yes.  His face when I met him again after my transformation!" Aisha smiled.  "Ah, I wish you could have seen it.

"Anyway, this was long ago. Fairwater's Kingdom was still new, and I was passing through at the time.  A powerful demon crime-lord had invaded one of his provinces, so the king issued a bounty.  A lot of people chatted about it, only a few dared go after him.  I was one, Kamdan was another.  I was still in my kill-all-demons phase, you understand, so we didn't hit off too well at first.
"After that - working with a Demon who seemed to enjoy protecting people - I started to have doubts.  Not that I stopped hunting Demons, but I started to be a lot more cautious.  I never was one to target innocents, but even so, I was starting to wonder if the cause was just.  Maybe some of them didn't deserve to die, that their crimes weren't THAT severe... or maybe they actually had a good reason for their actions and I killed them before they could say it.

"Even Beings, criminals... I brought in a murderer once.  I captured him, and witnessed his execution as the adventurer responsible.  Only when they read the charges on the scaffold, did I learn that he'd killed his best friend in a drunken argument and fled in his panic afterwards.  A week later, his widow and child were begging in the street... and it was all my fault.  I had sent their sole breadwinner to the block over some stupid argument that got out of hand.  It was not an easy thing to come to terms with..."

"On the run or in prison, he couldn't exactly have provided for them," Daniel pointed out.  "Don't be too hard on yourself..."

"Under their laws, his assets were forfeit after the execution," Aisha sighed.  "Once dead, the house, the inheritance, his wife's joint bank account, all became property of the state..."

"Hey, guys!" a voice called from behind.  Daniel spun around, sword already in his hand.

"Woah, woah!" the robotic wolf said, backing away nervously.  "Guys, it's me!  Ralf!"

"Come to save me again?"  Daniel asked.  "This is a bad habit."

"Looks like it's my job now," the cyberwolf said.  "Search and rescue.  Yeah, Steve saw Aisha's bounty and when you didn't report back, he sent me to the town to ask around.  I can run quite fast when I don't have to cloak."

"Do recall amulets work on a corpse?" Daniel asked.

"No, but I can conjure a bag of holding," Aisha said.  "Or two of them," she added, glancing at the bag which the other Doberman's head sat in.

"Eww..." Ralf said.

*  *  *

"Is this true...?" Fairwater demanded.  "You can get into Lady Featherstone's panic room?"

"I think so, Majesty," the Alsatian said nervously, bowing before the video screen.

"Lady Featherstone is a Being," Daryil reminded them.  "Unlike Creatures, she is at far greater risk of sudden death or incapacitation.  Suppose she has a stroke or a heart attack?  Her emergency services will need to be able to get in there and treat her before she dies or is left a drooling vegetable.  So there's a backdoor.  And her captains have the key."

"It's a combination lock," Aldriss said.  "I have told Daryil, and I can tell you too.  But you must act quickly!  If she suspects I have been compromised..."

"Your majesties..." Jakob called, entering camera range.

"What news?"

Tim hobbled unsteadily into view, supported by Jakob.  "I feel funny," he said, occasionally glancing over his shoulder in wonder at his new, grey wings.

"If that's another member of your clan, I shall not be pleased," Fairwater scowled.

"He is a member of my clan," Daryil said.  "Fairwater, I'd like you to meet Timothy Daryil."

"B... but..." the King spluttered. 

"Why is he just wearing underpants?"  Queen Admaria asked, curiously.  "Not that I mind, but it's an odd way to dress before your sovereigns."

"It's all I could find, your highness," the kangaroo said, blushing.  "I only brought my leathers, and now he's stolen them!  Give them back!"

"We'll have to adjust those for your wings," Jakob said.  "Yes, I can teach you to hide them later, but it would be better if you get used to having wings first.  Besides, if you forget and the wings come back you'll destroy the top.  It's an easy mistake to make, especially if you've lived so long without them."

"Why aren't you wearing the clothes I left you...?" Daryil pouted.

"What...?  That heap of rubbery stuff...?  NO!  I may be gay... and I may be a 'cubi now, but I'm not a pervert!" Tim protested.

"You will be," Daryil smiled coyly, and began to strip off Tim's racing gear.  Underneath was a glossy black catsuit.

"One baby step at a time," Jakob put in.  "He has enough to take in as it stands."

"HOW?!" Fairwater demanded, finally able to speak.  "I thought you were kidding about turning him into an incubus!  Tim... the Tim I remember was scared of us!"

"And what better way to overcome that fear?" Daryil beamed.  "He was jealous of us... now he's a part of it himself!  Not that I expect you to start oppressing Beings," Daryil added severely, glancing at his new clan member.  "Daryil clan is supposed to be about cooperation and equality."

"We have already seen one impostor today," the Queen said coolly.  "Wearing Tim's racing leathers is one thing... actually being Tim is a quite different matter.  So, 'Tim'... what's your date of birth?"

"12th June, 2146" the kangaroo said, stepping into some leather pants that Jakob had helpfully provided.

"Well, that's better than Daryil managed," Fairwater said.  "Of course, it could be Jason, who met Tim in the first place.  The proof of the pudding is Tim being here in person."

"Fine," Daryil snapped, grabbing the surprised kangaroo and cradling him in his arms.  Moments later they vanished and reappeared on the video screen.

"Holy shit, it is him," Fairwater said.

"How did you pull it off?" Admaria asked, staring at Tim, and gently rubbing at the yellow clan mark between his shoulder-blades as if she expected it to come off.  "The rite of cubification requires a 'cubi child, and there is no way you've had a child conceived and born in under 48 hours!  By the way, Tim, there's nothing wrong with 'Cubi wearing shiny clothes," she added, flexing her blue gloved hands.  "It's practically expected of us."

"Yes, majesty," Tim said, glancing nervously at Daryil's gloves as the incubus took him by the hands.

"I've found another way to make someone into a 'Cubi," the fox crowed, dancing excitedly with a worried-looking kangaroo.  "Power through Mad Science!  It still needs a tri-wing, and the shock put him in a coma for a while, but it WORKED!  I'm going to publish a research paper on this!"

"Piflak'll love that," Fairwater said.

[ZacAttac21]

Oh boy. Pity Zezzuva isn't still around at this point. She'd have a field day with a breakthrough like that.

[ZacAttac21]

In other news, totally stoked over Tim's conversion. Let the referencening commence! https://youtu.be/QDAeJ7eLGGg?t=72

Totally missed your chance, Tape. Tim should've been a ram.

[Tapewolf]

Two chapters for the price of one!

Chapter 23

"In accordance with section 13 of the guild by-laws, you are hereby dismissed from the guild," Steve said.  "I must ask you to hand over your sword, ID and any other property given you by the guild."

"But..." the ram protested.  Steve waved him quiet.

"You are free to appeal to your guildhall," the Demon informed him, "If successful, your things will be returned to you. But honestly, I would hold off on that until the fake bounty problem has been solved.  Your commander might be more amenable to it then.  Right now, you'll hang if you darken their door again."

"Hang?!  She's joking, right...?  Usually we use the block!"

"Unfortunately, no.  She was actually tying a noose to the rafters for you when I called.  I only just talked her out of posting a bounty for your head as an adventurer gone rogue.  I'm sorry, but firing you was the best deal I could manage."

"Whoever is behind this must be well pleased," Daniel sighed.  "One adventurer dead... one expelled... They may not have got Aisha, but they've taken down two adventurers in her place."

"What should I be doing in the mean-time, amigo?" the jaguar asked her commander.  "The bounty is still live, yes?"

"It can take a while for these things to clear, yes," Steve concurred.  "However, there is a strike team assembling against Lady Featherstone.  Since Creatures are killed on sight there anyway, a bounty is irrelevant.  You can be part of that, if you wish - seconded to the King.  That goes for anyone else who is interested," he added.

"M-"

"Except Mary," Steve put in abruptly.  "I want a word with you first."

"What now?" the female demon sulked.

"You remember that mission you did yesterday?  At Swanmere?"

"Standing in for their executioner while he was sick?  Is there a problem?"

"Yes.  Apparently you executed three people instead of two."

"Sorry, yeah.  I forgot to mention.  Are they refusing to pay for the extra or something?"

"The 'extra' was the executioner, Mary.  He felt well enough to resume his duties."

"Oh shit," Mary grimaced.  "No wonder he struggled so much."

"You beheaded the town's executioner, Mary.  They are not pleased."

"The crowd was," the wolf grinned.  "I never heard so much cheering!"

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?  They are demanding YOUR execution!"

"For what?!" Mary snapped.  "They never told me the job was cancelled!  He was wearing the same brand of adventuring gear as the murderers.  I thought he was a late addition like they did in Fisherdale!  What was I supposed to do?"

"I suppose that's fair," Steve conceded.  "But you do have a tendency to be a little... overzealous.  Very well.  I shall bounce it back to them and see what they say.  Now, Aisha... the King needs a distraction while the main strike force does its job..."

*  *  *

"Well," Lady Featherstone said, regarding the terrified mouse over the video link, "You are accused of conspiring to aid the traitors who overthrew me.  Usually, death would be the penalty for this.  But today I'm in a good mood.  So... let's see what our audience think!"

The screen flashed to show a bar-chart.

"Hmm," the opossum smirked, as the mouse whimpered.  "Well, it seems our viewers are still a little undecided.  At the moment 'death' is in the lead by 52% to 48%, so you might get to win tonight's star prize... testing out my new guillotine!  Still, we've got an hour to go until the lines close, so anything can happen..."

"What a twisted little fuck," Admaria said, studying the monitor with her lip curled.  "Executions are one thing, but turning it into a game show... ugh!"

"She's got something right though," Fairwater grinned evilly.  "Anything can happen in an hour."

As they watched, the screen went blank, followed shortly by a test card, and finally a black screen with the words "ENEMY ACTION - CURFEW UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - STAY IN YOUR HOMES".

*  *  *

The jaguar was sitting on a no-smoking sign at the entrance to the weapons dump when the guards found her.

"This is a restricted area!" he screamed, aiming the assault rifle at her head.  "Hands in the air!"

Aisha, wingless and dressed in a large trench coat, complied with a sigh.  His colleague frisked her briefly and then froze.  Gingerly, he opened the coat to reveal a large belt, surrounded by explosives.

"Remotely triggered, señor." the jaguar smiled.  "With a dead-man's trigger too, just in case.  I'd say you've got 20 seconds to get out of here, amigos!"

In an office nearby, Keaton lurked, watching the exchange through the window.  With a cackle, she smashed the nearest fire-alarm, and rolled herself into a ball of impenetrable wing-stuff.  She counted to 73, and then squeezed the remote.

*  *  *

The explosion rocked the ground, followed by a series of smaller blasts.  When things eventually subsided, thick black smoke began to rise a number of blocks away, the silence finally broken by sirens and alarms echoing among the buildings.

"That's our distraction," Jones said, nodding to Aldriss.  The Alsatian's escort consisted of two demons in motorcycle gear, their wings and horns hidden by charms to make them less conspicuous.  Jones, a red coyote, was one of these - the other was Smith, a green-furred deer, who eyed the alsatian with constant suspicion and insisted on covering him with the assault rifle.

Aldriss opened the grate, and climbed down.  The green deer jumped after him, landing heavily, but taking no injury thanks to his Demon robustness.  Jones, meanwhile, climbed down normally to begin with until he had secured the hatch, and then dropped the rest of the way down as his colleague had done.

"This way," the Alsatian hissed nervously, leading them down the maintenance tunnel.  They took a couple of turnings and stopped before a heavily-armoured door.
Aldriss touched a hidden panel and produced a small keypad, which he entered the code into.  There was a beep.  He tried again.

A siren blared out, red alarm lights flashing as the keypad snapped back into its hole.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" a recorded voice boomed.

"He's betrayed us!" the deer yelled.

"N-" Aldriss whimpered and was silenced by a loud retort as his captor pulled the trigger.  The round struck the Alsatian precisely between the eyes and he went down instantly.

"YOU FOOL!" Jones yelled, pushing the deer over and relieving him of his weapon.  "You've murdered him!  The King... you'll be out on your ear for this... or guillotined!"

"Don't kill me..." the Alsatian whimpered, rolling over feebly.  Jones yelped and spun around.

"Alive?!... Wha... Is he a demon too?" the deer boggled.

"We'll worry about that later," Jones snapped.  "Can you stand, Aldriss?"

"Don't kill me!"

"I won't.  But take my hand..."

As the shock troops arrived, the three men joined hands and vanished.

*  *  *

Aisha and Keaton were already back in the throne room when the assault squad returned, chattering excitedly.

"...was surprisingly fun," the jaguar finished, covering herself with her wings.  "And the spell protected my fur, too.  But I forgot the blast would destroy my clothes..."

"Fetch her some garbs," Admaria ordered.  "Borrow some of mine if necessary...  Ah!  Jones... how did it go?  Is Featherstone dead?"

"We've failed, your majesties," Jones sighed, bowing before Fairwater and Admaria, and giving a respectful nod to Daryil.

"I still say he betrayed us," Smith grumbled, eyeing Aldriss venomously.

"Even so, you should never have shot him," Jones snapped.  "You'll be disciplined for that.  Thank the gods he survived..."

"Please!" Aldriss whimpered, kneeling before Fairwater and whimpering.  "I did exactly as you asked!  She must have changed the code!  Don't destroy me!"

"I believe you," Daryil reassured him.  "You tried your best to aid us..."

"Clearly it wasn't good enough..." Admaria finished, eyeing the German Shepherd imperiously.

"Now, now..." Daryil interrupted.  "Less of that, your majesty.  This man is my servant.  As for you, Smith... be glad he is an android.  As a visiting dignitary it's not my place to kill you, but I could make things extremely unpleasant for you, Demon or not."

"Sorry, my Lord..." the deer said.

"It's disappointing," Fairwater sighed, "But we'll just have to try something else.  It's not like Lady Featherstone is about to go anywhere..."

Queen Admaria's face fell.  Daryil and the King stared at her curiously, while Aldriss keened in terror, expecting immediate execution.

"We have all been blind," the border collie said softly.  "I know just what we must do.  Tim... Aldriss... I'll need your help.  Also, someone find a carpenter and lighting technicians.  Immediately!"

*  *  *

Lady Featherstone sat at her chair in front of the camera, watching the screen expectantly.

"Well, my lady!" the captain said, glancing from the guillotine to the terrified mouse with a sadistic grin, "The terrorist attack by our cowardly foes has delayed things, but the lines are finally closed!  What's your decision?  Does she live, or do we get to see her head fall off on live TV?"

"Let's see what the final totals are!" Featherstone smiled, pressing a button.  "Yes... it's death for her!  And we'll have a slow-motion action replay afterwards!"

Her smiled faltered as she glanced at one of the monitors.  The live feed was showing her own face, smiling broadly, yet uttering words which were not her own.

"... a very lucky lady," the other opossum was saying.  "Much as I hate to disappoint our viewers, I've decided to grant her an immediate, unconditional pardon.  Release her at once."

"Very good, my queen," the captain said, disappointment lining his face as his men loosed the mouse's wrists and led her roughly out of the dungeon.

"NO!" Lady Featherstone screamed, pressing buttons frantically.  "That's an impostor!  Listen to ME!  Off with her head!  I command it!"

"Furthermore," the impostor continued,  "I have an important announcement to make to all my loyal subjects.  You have all fought well, and shown great courage in the face of adversity, but alas things must come to an end.  Outside, Fairwater, Taun and the so-called Lord Daryil have amassed an army against which we can never win.
"With a heavy heart, I must ask you all to lay down your arms and surrender.  Fairwater and Daryil have offered an amnesty to all who do this - any who stay and fight will lose their lives.  I will shortly return to exile, first arranging a transfer of power that will place this realm under Fairwater's protectorate."

"No...!" the opossum whimpered.


Chapter 24

"We're off the air, Majesty," Tim said.  "I'm setting it to repeat the surrender announcement indefinitely."

"Good.  How did I do?" Queen Admaria asked, stepping away from the camera and revering to base form.

"Perfect, highness," Aldriss said.  "Though it might be wise to stay as Featherstone for a while, in case any of her officers call to confirm."

"Good point," the queen said, becoming an opossum again.  "Thank you for editing the script, by the way."

"It's genius," Daryil said, bouncing off the walls in glee, before dressing himself in Admaria's discarded clothes.  "She's in a catch-22 situation now... either she stays in her bunker while her kingdom falls, or she has to go outside - in which case we can grab her!"

"I wouldn't put it past her," Fairwater cautioned.  "Someone bold enough to attack ME in my own throne room... she's got guts, I'll have to give her that.  She's likely to turn very nasty now she's cornered."

"Exactly," Jakob said.  "We'll need to move quickly.  If the people, if her army believe that she's standing down, that means we can move our people in.  Well, your people really," he shrugged.  "Point is... you want to kill her.  I can't blame you, but I'm more interested in investigating the Delphinium Group, and right now we can now do that without any further interference."

"Indeed," Fairwater said.  "I've already mobilised troops to take over the city before Featherstone can react, but I'll also provide support for the investigation."

*  *  *

Flanked by a pair of Black Riders, Jakob, Aisha and Mary stood in front of the Delphinium Group building, which was a large, flattened pyramidal building not dissimilar to a Mayan temple.  It was surrounded by razor-wire fencing and large signs warning of dire consequences to intruders.

"Textbook supervillain stuff," Jakob said, climbing the fence with barely a scratch to his body armour.  The four demons elected to fly instead, for fear of damaging their clothes.

A few unconscious guards later, the team found themselves inside the foyer.  A large, reinforced door blocked their way, while a cheetah guard watched them angrily from behind a glass screen.

"Stop!" he demanded.  "This is private property!  Please leave immediately!"

"We are on a mission from the King," Jakob said, raising the visor of his helmet.  "He has ordered an inspection of these premises.  Please let us past."

"What King?"

"King Fairwater, who now rules this land following Lady Featherstone's surrender."

"Be that as it may, this building is property of the Delphinium Group and I must ask you to leave at once!"

Aisha walked up to the screen and punched it, showering the room in small cubes of safety glass.  The guard drew a short-sword as Mary jumped through the window, only to have it torn from his grasp as the Demon batted it away.

"Aaah!" the guard screamed.  "You broke my hand!"

"I'll break your head too, if you don't open the door," Mary promised.  "That'll stop it hurting!"

"She's not kidding," Jakob added, making a face.  "Please open the door... I don't want to have to see that."

"Aw, but I like opening heads," Mary said eagerly.  "There's a free prize in every one!"

The cheetah gulped and backed away, still nursing his injured hand.

"So... are you gonna let us in, señor?" Aisha smiled toothily, fingering her sword.

*  *  *

"Kill the intruders!" one of the guards yelled as they emerged from the lift.  Jones fired, punching a round through the man's visor.  The rifle fell from his hand and a long, feline tail quivered as his body slid down the wall, leaving a thin trail of blood and brain matter.

"No..." Jakob whimpered.  Aisha held him steady, and then rapidly covered his eyes as Mary killed another two guards with her bare hands.

"You're the vulnerable one," the jaguar told him.  "We're just trying to keep you safe."

"But you didn't have to KILL him!" Jakob protested, tears starting to well.

"Damn over-emotional 'Cubi," Smith sighed.

"Same old Jakob," a voice said.  Keaton appeared in a corner, dressed in her stealth suit.  Jones took aim at her.

"Wait, wait!" the jackal protested.  "Daryil sent me to keep an eye on him, just in case.  By the way, the heavies on the top floor... they won't be troubling you no more."

"More murders!" Jakob sobbed.

"'Thank you for risking your life for me, Keaton'," the succubus scowled.  "'It was-'"

"He's got a point," Aisha interrupted.  "Suppose we accidentally kill the boss?  Fairwater will not be pleased if we bring back a corpse to interrogate."

"Okay, okay," Jones grouched.  "Smith... Keaton... MARY... try to avoid casualties.   Well, deaths, at least."

"Works for me," Mary said, pulling out a baseball bat from thin air.  "Knocking them out takes more skill, it's way more exciting!"

*  *  *

At length, they reached the top of the pyramid.  As Mary decoratively arranged a number of unconscious guards, the door to the meeting room opened and a female wolf in a business suit walked out, hands raised in the air.  Jones aimed his rifle at her leg.

"Don't shoot.  I surrender," she said.  Jakob stared at her in naked disbelief, and to a cluck of disapproval from Aisha and Smith, removed his helmet, placing it on a nearby chair.

"Dimanika," he said at last, "I don't know what you're doing, but please stop it.  This is beyond a joke."

"I'm not Dimanika," the she-wolf said simply.

"Oh really...?" Jakob said, folding his arms.  "Your tendency to appear as a family member to the eye of the beholder is well-known.  And the confusion you're sowing is your affinity.  Now, I appreciate that you're astonishingly powerful, so I can't stop you from what you're doing, but as Lord Daryil's envoy, I beg you to reconsider..."

"Even so, I'm not Dimanika," the wolf interrupted.  "But I get where you're coming from now."

"She does look like you, amigo," Aisha confirmed.  "If she's supposed to appear different to all who see her, it's not working very well."

"You're the spitting image of my mother," Jakob said, staring at her intently.

The she-wolf smiled.  "There's a reason for that, dear.  It's been, what?  Over a thousand years...  And you've grown into such a handsome incubus!  Have you been eating properly?  Getting lots of lovely fear?"

"Daryil," Jakob snarled.  "This little joke is in very poor taste.  My mother is dust in the ground, and you know it!"

"But you're wrong, Jakob," she said, leathery head-wings appearing behind her ears, as she reached out to hug her bewildered son.  "I AM alive!"

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," Jakob said, looking rattled and vulnerable.  "But my mother was a Being.  She killed herself after I was taken to the Academy by Fa'Lina."

"Let me guess, it was Fa'Lina who told you that?" the succubus smiled.  "You must understand, she would tell her students what they needed to hear at the time.  It was't necessarily the whole truth.  It was whatever would drive them towards the optimum path of all the futures she could perceive at the time."

"Then what is the truth?  Did you become a succubus through the rite of conversion or something?"

"The truth is that I always was a succubus, darling."

"That's mental," Jakob said,

"I hate to interrupt the reunion," Jones said, flicking the safety off his assault rifle, "But we have a mission here.  The King has ordered an investigation of this organisation, so take us to whoever's in charge.  Or else!"

"Easy, easy..." the wolf said, raising her hands.  "There's no need to get all violent and threatening.  Come into the meeting room and I'll tell you everything."

Jakob's tail fluffed out.  "What are you saying?!"

"Don't you see...?  Your mother, Delphine...?  The Delphinium Group?"

"Then you're the one behind all this?!" Aisha snarled.

"Awk-ward..." Mary said.

*  *  *

"Commander Foster?" the newcomer asked.  "I am Commander Jenkins.  I'm afraid I must relieve you of your duties on charge of murder."

"What...?" Steve asked, taken aback.  "You mean the guy who killed Roger?  That execution was done strictly according to protocol.  I filed all the paperwork and copies of the confession."

"It's not about that," the quoll said.  "It's about the murder of Isabella Small, Commander of Southgate lodge."

"Come again?" Steve asked, staring at the newcomer as if he was insane.  The quoll sighed and produced a bounty poster.

"Oh, right," the Demon said.  "I suppose that had to happen eventually.  You're know they're fake, right?  We've been filtering those out... you need to update your software."

"Ah yes, this 'fake bounty' business," the commander said, rolling his eyes.  "Do you think we're that naive..?  The only person who has reported any of these supposedly fake bounties is YOU.  Grandmaster Tarquine is of the opinion that you engineered this yourself to cover up your own crimes."

"Bullshit!" Daniel snapped.  "The software vendor has acknowledged the attack, and issued a workaround!"

"Shush," Steve said.  "I'll go to the grandmaster, tell him what's happened.  We'll soon have this nonsense sorted."

"I'm afraid you won't," Jenkins said apologetically.  "The warrant for your death has been signed.  You will, of course, be given an opportunity to speak prior to the guillotine, but that's just a formality, I'm afraid.
"By the power vested in me by Grandmaster Tarquine of the Adventurers Guild, I hereby strip you of your rank as Guildmaster.  You may keep your card for the time being, but your sword must be left behind.  If you come with me, you will at least die honourably.  If you resist, I shall bring back your head."

For a moment, Steve said nothing, trembling with anger.  He produced a glass ball from somewhere and crunched it into powder with one hand.

"Very well," he said thickly, removing the sheath belted to his side, and placing it upon the desk.  "But I'm telling you, this is a big mistake."

"I won't let you take him," Daniel said, broadsword drawn, Ben at his side.

"I admire your loyalty, but do not let it blind you," Jenkins sighed.  "Your commander has gone rogue and unless you wish to join him in death as a traitor to the guild, I suggest you lower your weapons and let me pass."

"I won't let you murder my friend," Daniel spat, removing his card and throwing it to the floor.  "I quit!  I can't go rogue if I'm no longer a guild member!"

"Now be reasonable," the quoll protested.  "I know 'Cubi get emotional under stress, so I won't hold this against you.  But I must bring Steven to justice.  Surely you can see that?  I'm just doing my job... kindly do yours and let me pass."

"I joined the guild to do good," Daniel said.  "To uphold justice.  If this organisation intents to pervert that same justice then I will have no further part in it."

"Stand down," Steve barked.  "Daniel, I don't accept your resignation.  Jason is acting Guildmaster until I return, or the guild appoints a successor.  Ben, you know what to do.  And if I don't return... I want you to know I'm proud of you.  All of you."

Daniel sheathed his sword and stood aside, picking up his card with a wing-tentacle.

"Very well," he said venomously, staring at Jenkins with a look of contempt.  "But if it turns out that Steve is innocent, you'll be party to a murder.  And I'll enjoy watching your execution, commander."

[ZacAttac21]

 

Oh-kay, did not see that coming...

Does Petter even know?

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 25

"How can they DO this?!" Daniel sobbed.  "Steve's innocent!  Killing innocents is NOT what adventuring is supposed to be about!"

"You know how harsh we are to rogue adventurers?" Jason said, "Well, a Guildmaster gone rogue is even worse.  A rank-and-file adventurer gone bad stands a chance of just getting kicked out.  A Guildmaster gone bad will invariably lose his head."

"But that's crazy!" the Doberman wailed. "What about when there's a mistake?!"

"It's all really archaic stuff.  Basically, only a Grandmaster can authorise this and it's assumed that they know what they're doing before taking such extreme measures.  This Tarquine... He is either catastrophically misinformed, or he has gone rogue himself.  And as far as I know, there isn't any protocol for dealing with a Grandmaster gone bad!"

"Then we'll have to invent one," Ben smiled evilly, reaching for a katana.  "I say we pay him a visit and 'persuade' him to change his mind."

"Oh, I don't believe this," Jason said, tapping away at the computer.  "You'll never guess where this Grandmaster Tarquine is located."

"Not Andovia..." Ben murmured.

*  *  *

"Well, I wanted a 'Cubi for a husband because he'd be less likely to murder me if the truth became known," Delphine said, settling down in a leather armchair inside the meeting room and offering a plate of shortcakes.  "Petter was still very young, you see....  I hoped that would make a difference, giving me a child before his head-wings came in... hoped that my clan would take precedence.  You should have been one of us, Jakob..."

"My clan has a Leader," Jakob said, haltingly attempting to eat his dainty without crushing it to powder in his metal-clad fingers.  "Not meaning to brag, but I'm a second in command to a Tri-wing.  If I had been born into your clan, whatever the hell that is, I'd be in a much less enviable position..."

"Beliana Clan, " Delphine said.  "The Dragons did a very good job of singling us out.  My brothers, my sister, my parents... they all lost their heads to adventurers.  My poor husband too... decapitated and sent to Hizell's trophy room!  Surely you can see this?  Adventurers murdered your own father!"
"And they brought HIS father in alive so the people could watch him die... point and laugh as his head was dropped into a basket!" she snarled.  "They made it a public holiday so everyone could ENJOY it!  Gods, Jakob!  Your own brother died by their hands, like so many of my children... and I thought you dead too!  Don't you want revenge?  Don't you want them to PAY for their atrocities?  Make them suffer the same ignoble deaths so they know the misery they bring to others?"

"Dad always said that life should be sacred," Jakob said, frowning slightly, one head-wing dipping in confusion.  "Gods know, I haven't followed that to the letter, but revenge killings are not a thing he'd approve of.  Daryil is pretty lukewarm on them too."

"So, you set up this organisation, built up your resources and broke into the Guild's computer systems to try and take them down?  Is that what you're saying?"  Jones asked.  "Just out of revenge for some long-forgotten killing?"

"Yes!" Delphine said, grinning with demented triumph.  "Why do you think I've surrendered?  Ordered my men to stand down?  It's too late!  What I've done already as part of the Bounty Project will RUIN the guild!  You... Mary!" she started.  "I've seen your file on Adventurenet.  I know your past.  Surely YOU understand?"

"Understand what?" the Demon asked.  "That you're a fruitcake?"

"NO!  You and I... are we so different?  Your parents were BEHEADED!  Your loved ones taken by adventurers to be GUILLOTINED while the crowd watched!" the succubus snarled, eyes wide.  "Cheering as their heads fell and their dying bodies kicked!  Laughing as the light faded from their eyes!  Don't you want to make them PAY!?!  Don't you want revenge?!"

"No," Mary said simply.  Delphine just stared at her, mouth opening and closing soundlessly like a fish.

"They had it coming," the demon said sadly.  "They were soul-thieves, and society demanded that they had to die.  They accepted that risk, they screwed up, and they paid the price for their mistake."

"How can you be so cold about it?!" Delphine asked, appalled.  "Your own parents...?  Don't you miss them at all..?"

"Course I do," Mary scowled, rolling her eyes.  "Watching them die... that hurt.  I mourned them, and yeah, when I was a little demon kid I did want to make people pay for it.  But as I grew up, I realised it was their own error that cost them their heads.  Yeah, do I get a kick out of making other people feel the same grief and loss that I felt.  But that's not out of revenge, it's catharsis.  And the people I kill... they're all people who deserve to die too.  And for what my parents did... they deserved to die, whether you look at it as a Being or a Demon."

"Well, I am neither!" Delphine retorted.  "I am a succubus - and I want revenge!  They deserve it!"

"Then you're going about it in a very strange way," Mary pointed out.  "Seriously... why swan around killing innocents for something they had no part in?  That's dumb!  Suppose your parents were killed by falling masonry.  What would you do?  Take revenge on the building?"

"Yes," Delphine snapped.  "And if they drowned, I'd take revenge on the very gods themselves!"

"Wow," Mary beamed.  "I've finally found someone even more mental than me!"

"MENTAL!?" the succubus screeched.

"Well, I hate to say it, but you are trying to make people pay for something that happened to granddad over a THOUSAND YEARS ago," Jakob said gently.

"That's still within my lifetime!" Delphine snapped.  "And yours!"

"But not for the people who did it.  They are dust.  You're taking revenge out on people for something which happened over forty generations ago!  Surely you can see that that's not rational behaviour?"

"But what of your father?  Your brother...?  Maybe you have forgotten them over these long centuries, but I assure you I have NOT!  All this!  It was to avenge them!  Avenge US!"

"Woah, woah, woah," Jakob said.  "Let's back up a bit... Dad?  Murdered?!  You keep saying that... what the hell are you talking about?!"

"He went missing in the forest when you were a puppy," Delphine explained, eyeing her son with a pitying expression.  "You think he ran off or something?  Be serious, Jakob... the second anyone saw his head-wings, his head would be struck off and sent to Hizell for valuable cash prizes!"

"Didn't happen," Jakob said.  "Dad was kidnapped and taken to SAIA."

"'He's not dead, he's on a special farm somewhere'..." Delphine shook her head sadly.  "Jakob, my dearest...  You're over a thousand years old!  It's long past time you stopped clinging to such fables!  Most 'Cubi stay at the academy for a couple of centuries...  Don't you think you'd have met him there?  Don't you think he might have contacted me after his studies were done, if he had lived?  Denial can be a good coping strategy to begin with, but at some point you'll have to accept that your father's dead..."

"I DID meet him at SAIA," Jakob said, with forced patience.  "He became a favourite of the professor for religious studies, and took over the position when she retired.  That's why he rarely left the Academy... because he's still there, teaching young 'Cubi all about the perils of cults and religious sects.  I spoke to him this morning, in fact."

"What?!" the she-wolf's wings fanned out in shock and she stared back as Jakob as though he'd just slapped her in the face.  "The bastard!  That mean-spirited, evil little bastard!  He never told me!  He never called... never wrote... I thought he loved me!  How could he do that?!"

"Mum... calm down, calm down," Jakob said worriedly.  "He did love you, dearly.  We all did... Don't you understand?  We were told you were dead!  We left flowers on your grave for decades afterwards... We had no idea you were a Creature too!"

"But then... who arranged for him to be collected?" Delphine asked, looking confused and vulnerable.  "His father was dead by then.  Who vouched for him at the Academy...?"

"Lord Daryil," Jakob said.  "Even then, he had been looking for ways to unite the clan through himself, like a Tri-wing.  He somehow linked into our life forces, and felt Petter coming into his powers.  After granddad's death, he was worried that dad might lose his head too, so he waylaid him and warped him to SAIA.  He did the same for me, and later Izak."

"But... but..."

"How is this less difficult to accept than you being a succubus?" Jakob smiled sadly.  "If Dad or Izak were dead, don't you think my Clan Leader might have broken the news to me?  They're his clan-children, after all."

"But... but... then... all this... it..." Delphine glanced from face to face and then collapsed into a ball, sobbing to herself.

"At least she's taking it well," Keaton remarked.  Jakob turned on her with an angry snarl.

"I'm being serious," she protested, waving a black-gloved hand from Jakob to Delphine.  "For someone so clever, you can be kinda stupid sometimes.  Look... I've been there, trying to kill all the Kamei'Sin clan members I could find for what they did to my family and friends, never mind that we started it in the first place.  You spent 300 years trying to avenge your snow leopard boyfriend.  Well, she's spent the last THOUSAND YEARS on a quest for vengeance, which has just been pulled out from under her like a rug.  I'm amazed she hasn't gone into shock."

Jakob sat heavily back in his chair and face-palmed.

"What's going to happen to her, amigo?" Aisha asked, staring at the weeping succubus with a concerned expression while Jones put enchanted bracers on her.  "If she's behind all this, the King... the entire guild... she'll be publicly executed!"

Jakob visibly wilted.  "No!  No!  No!  They CAN'T!" he whimpered desperately.  "What can we do?!  No... she's clearly deranged!  She's spent a thousand years plotting some fairytale revenge.  Surely that would count..."

"Insanity defence?" Mary pondered.  "I hope you're right.  The King would go for it, but the guild... They'll be after her blood once this gets out."

"Your Daryil could protect her," Aisha said.  "I'm not sure that would be much of a life, cooped up in your clan's territory, but it would be better than her head getting chopped off."

"I guess so," Jakob looked slightly calmer, but was still clearly wracked with doubt.  "But... I haven't seen her for a thousand years.  Who knows what atrocities she has achieved in that time?  She's not of our clan!  But it's worth a try... it's not just me... Izak and Dad also have an interest in this..."


Chapter 26

Steve looked around as they entered the Andovia guildhall.

"Big place," he said.

"Yes," the quoll said.  "Once this city was the heart of an empire, or so I've read," Jenkins said.  "They had need of many adventurers.  Less so now, especially since the purges against Creatures under Featherstone's law.  But the guildhall dates back from those older times."

"Where is the Grandmaster?"  Steve asked.

"Upstairs," Jenkins said, hesitantly.  "Waiting for you."

The upper floor had at one point been the attic of the building, a loft space that opened into a single large room.  Ancient stocks, restraints and the occasional instruments of torture were dotted around, some dusty and tarnished from lack of use, others clean and well-maintained.   A thick beam ran across the ceiling with tell-tale marks where a noose had been strung up.  Beside a wooden guillotine, a tall, violet, leather-winged lion sat, reading a book.

As they approached, the lion snapped the book shut and pushed his chair aside, leaving the volume upon it.

"I have brought the renegade, Grandmaster," Jenkins said, kneeling respectfully before his superior.

"Well done, commander.  And well met, Mr. Foster," he added, looking into the Alsatian's face with deep, slightly sad eyes.  "Your betrayal is unfortunate, but regrettably there can be no second chances for a commander gone rogue."

"Grandmaster, this is a mistake," Steve insisted politely.

"Not really," the lion interrupted, revealing a pair of leathery head-wings.  "I see the truth in your mind.  The mistake was yours, and much as it pains me, justice must be done."

Steve stared at the incubus as if he was mad, opened his mouth as if to say something, and then glanced sharply at Jenkins.

"I suppose it must," he said icily.

"Jenkins, help him remove his armour," Tarquine said.  "It shall be sent back to his guild along with the ashes.  Afterwards, I will personally investigate the lodge, for there may be other traitors, and other heads in need of removal."

"No," Steve hissed.  "They are all good men.  Do what you must to me... I offer my life willingly.  Just leave them out of this."

"Then again," the violet lion continued thoughtfully, "Perhaps the blame is yours alone...  Perhaps the example of your execution will quiet any further thoughts of rebellion.  I hope so... I hate having to do this."

Silence fell as the demon was stripped of his plate-mail.  The quoll guided him into position and soon Steve was lying face-down upon the wooden table, staring bravely down into the metal half-bucket that had been bolted on, waiting ominously to catch his head.

"Leave us," Tarquine said quietly, as he dropped the lunette around the Alsatian demon's neck, strapped him down, and adjusted a leather strap attached to the bucket so that the condemned man's forehead rested upon it.

"But..." Jenkins protested.  "The execution should be witnessed, surely?!  What of protocol?"

"I am Grandmaster," the lion pointed out.  "If I cannot be trusted with the beheading of a criminal, whom would you trust?"

"It might be better if you... left," Steve said, voice echoing slightly from the head-bucket.

"There," the lion smiled.  "Would you refuse the last request of a condemned man..?"

"No, Grandmaster," the quoll said, and turned to go, radiating confusion and bewilderment.

"Thank you.  I shall return for you shortly."

As Jenkins departed, Tarquine drew a black curtain across the narrow part of the room, partitioning it and damping the sound. 

"It's nothing personal, Steve," the incubus intoned sadly.  "You were an obstruction, that's all."

"An obstruction to what?" Steve asked quietly.

"You'll die without knowing, I'm afraid," the Grandmaster said.  "I didn't make it to Grandmaster by blurting my secrets to all and sundry.  Goodbye, Steve.  You were a good man, and an asset to the guild.  I'm sorry it has to end this way."

So saying, he pulled the release.  The demon gritted his teeth, reflexively trying to harden his skin but denied by the enchanted bracers pinning his wrists.  He shut his eyes tightly and waited for the killing blow.
There was a thunk, a moment of blinding agony and vertigo as his head tipped forwards, striking the bucket with a faint clang.  When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying sideways in the bucket, the sound of his own blood pouring onto the sawdust close by.  Then the thump of a body striking the floor.

Shit, he thought, and tried to sigh.  It was a good life... but dying for this...  His vision began to grey, and everything felt spacey as a hand reached down and tugged at his hair.

"Mine," a new voice was saying.  The pain began to numb as he waited for the blackness of death, but instead the colour washed back into his sight, and the light-headedness faded.  Steve's eyes swivelled around in confusion and horror as he was lifted out of the basket.  He could see gloves, black rubber ones stained with his lifeblood, glowing faintly with the spell that seemed to be keeping him alive.  His eyes widened as he took in the grandmaster, lying prone on the floor with Aisha stood over him and a vicious grin on her face.

They tried to rescue me...  But they came too late...

"Nope," Daryil said, lifting the guillotine blade up with a couple of wing-tentacles and locking it into place.  "I can still fix this."

A few minutes later, Steve was lying in a stretcher next to the guillotine, a neck-brace keeping his head in position.

"You're lucky demons have amazing regeneration," Daryil said.  "I've fixed most of the nerve damage, but we're taking you to hospital as soon as possible.  You're going to be off work for a while."

"Better than dead," the demon rasped.  "I owe you my life, Lord Daryil."

"Don't mention it," the incubus smiled.  "Well, a shag would be nice once you've recovered," he added hopefully.  "I'm just sorry I didn't arrive earlier.  Besides, you have Ben to thank.  I'll fill you in later."

As he spoke, two more Daryils entered the room, lifted the stretcher up and promptly vanished, bearing Steve to the accident and emergency unit in New Zinvth.

*  *  *

When Tarquine came to, he found himself sat in his chair, gagged and bound with similar bracers to the ones that had recently restrained Steve.  Nearby, two demons, a jaguar and a wolf, stood guard over him.
As he looked around, he saw that the guillotine had been cleaned, and feathered a doberman incubus was winding the blade back into position with the casual grace of one who'd performed that action many times before.  He glanced at Tarquine and gave him a toothy grin.

"Less of that, Daniel," Daryil said.  "You never know, he might walk out of here with his head still on.  I'd lower the blade and lock it if I were you... we'll have guests soon and I don't want any accidents."

"Yes, Lord," the doberman said.

"Oh gods, oh gods what's happened?!" a voice queried.  As the bound lion turned around, a host of newcomers poured into the attic, with Jakob in the lead.  Daryil produced a small portable recorder in a leather case, performed a small confidence check and then started the machine recording.

"Tell them," he coaxed, removing the lion's gag.  "Tell them about the Bounty Project."

"I will say nothing without a lawyer present," Tarquine said.

"I'm a lawyer," Daryil said helpfully.  "Woralburg, class of 394.  Pity I arrived late, you could have consulted me for legal advice before beheading an innocent man..."

"Who?"  Jakob demanded, head-wings fanning out.

"Steve Foster.  He'll live," the Tri-wing added quickly.  "Demon regeneration and prompt medical aid.  One of my avatars is with him if you want to send a message.  But we'll talk of this later.  First, Mr. Tarquine is going to tell us a bedtime story!"

"Save your breath, Lord Daryil," the grandmaster snapped.  "I will not treat with you.  When my fellow Grandmasters hear of this, you shall rue your interference, Tri-wing or not!"

"Ah, but what will they hear, I wonder?"  Daryil mused.

"Enough to make an enemy of you!  Remember, the Adventuring Guild has slain Clan Leaders before and it can do so again if necessary!"

"As your attorney I advise you not to talk like that to someone who can kill you with a thought," Daryil said.  "Especially since we're taping this.  Besides, what would Taun think?  Your clan exists to protect the 'Cubi race and its clans, which is the exact opposite of what you just threatened to do.  And Taun being the Anger clan?!  Seriously, kid, if you killed a Clan Leader, she'd destroy your soul and feed its energy into other, more deserving children."

"True," Tarquine replied.  "But your own children... many of them are guild members.  I can have them all expelled!"

"These evasions and threats are not the words of an innocent man, señor," Aisha pointed out reasonably.

"As Daryil should know, I'm innocent until proven guilty," the lion snapped.  "Besides, Daryil... If you're representing me, you should have my interests at heart, surely?"

"You forget that I am a Tri-Wing," Daryil said, eyes gleaming.  "I already know what you've done.  You maimed my friend, and put out fake bounties on my children... I have a right to know the details.  So I have been through your mind while you were unconscious.  As it happens I do have your interests at heart, but... well... what you've done is severe enough that it's a bit of a lost cause.  It's more a case of salvaging what I can, and a confession might help."

"But what has he done?" Jakob demanded.  "The Delphinium Group was behind the adventurer killings..."

"...but HE was behind the Delphinium Group," a new voice intoned loudly, echoing through the room.

"Jerry?!" Jakob started.

"Well met, Jakob.  I can fill in the missing pieces for you," the newcomer said, a blue husky incubus with long green hair and plate-mail armour.  Strapped to his back was a large sword.

"Who are you?"  Ben asked nervously.  "Another Grandmaster?"

"No.  I am Jeremiah, and I speak for Taun," the husky said.  "I'm one of her troubleshooters."

Tarquine bristled, uneasiness visibly creeping across his face.

"I stand corrected," Daryil said.  "Jerry is going to tell us a bedtime story.  About Tarquine.  But first, Aisha and Keaton... If you'd be so kind as to fetch the unconscious quoll from downstairs?  Commander Jenkins needs to hear this too."

[ZacAttac21]

I'm trying to picture Daryil in law school... Hitting on his classmates, his professors, the headmaster... Something along the lines of "Legally Blonde," only hornier.

[ZacAttac21]

Heehee, I can just see Ben calling Daryil right now.

"Sir? Code Black... Hot guy in peril."

And Daryil bursts out of the broom closet, wielding a couple of fish as nunchuks.

[Merlin]

Delphine is so great, I love herrrrrrrrr

[Tapewolf]

Delphine is so great, I love herrrrrrrrr

Heh.  I worry that I have too many female villains, it makes things look misogynistic...

Anyway, here's the final two chapters, I hope you've all enjoyed the ride.


Chapter 27

"Tarquine is master of the Andovia chapter of the Adventurers Guild," Jeremiah explained.  "He is one of only five Grandmasters on this continent, and also a member of Taun's clan.  Following recent disturbances, Taun has sent an avatar to review his mind and is not at all pleased with what she has learned."

"B- what?"

"Over the last decade, Tarquine requisitioned a number of large sums from Taun clan's High Command, ostensibly to renovate the guild hall.  Being a guild member of the highest standing, these monetary transactions were given only cursory scrutiny.  Rather than improving the guild and related training facilities, these funds have been embezzled and funnelled into the Delphinium Group, a joint venture he set up with Delphine of Beliana clan."

Jerry glanced briefly at Jakob's mother, who cowered.

"With her single-minded focus on avenging her loved ones, Delphine was easy to manipulate into doing his dirty work.  After sufficient damage had been caused, she would be disposed of to prevent her side of the story being known."

"Disposed of?!" Jakob and Delphine chorused.

"By the same guillotine he just used on Steve," Daryil interjected.  "As grandmaster it would be easy to arrange."

"This is outrageous!" the Grandmaster huffed.  "Are you insane?  What possible motive would I have to engineer a catastrophe for my own guild?!"

"A power grab," the husky explained.  "It would provide the means, or at least plausible deniability for eliminating the other Grandmasters, thereby putting yourself in control of Furrae's single largest adventuring organisation.  As a bonus, by putting your accomplice to the guillotine, you would be able to silence someone who knew too much, while at the same time appearing as the saviour of the very guild you jeopardised, by vanquishing the evil mastermind behind the murders."

"But why try and murder Steve?" Daniel demanded.

"He got in the way," Jerry said.  "You see, under Lady Featherstone's tyrannical reign, Andovia was the perfect place for Tarquine to hole up, so long as he disguised his 'Cubi nature.  Few wanted to enter the realm under her misrule, so his activities - and those of his minion Delphine -  went undetected.  After she was overthrown, there was a great period of reconstruction and he was able to divert funds into his project with even greater ease."

"But then Steve sent you to Andovia, with Lady Featherstone," Daryil put in.  "That turned everything upside-down, instigating a civil war and jeopardising the project.  Worse still, it brought the region to the direct attention of King Fairwater and that was the last thing Tarquine would have wanted.  On top of that, Steve's guild was actively investigating the AdventureNet hack which made them an even more direct threat.  That was the last straw, so he ordered Steve's death.  It would, after all, make a good trial run for when he moved against the Grandmasters."

"What?! You mean... Foster WAS innocent?!" Jenkins looked appalled.

"I told you so," Daniel retorted.

"You were next in line for the guillotine, Commander Jenkins," Daryil added brightly.  "People would have asked too many questions about the death of a popular and skilled rival commander, King Fairwater especially.  One quick chop, and you'd be in no position to argue when he pinned Steve's death on you, AND took credit for eliminating a commander gone rogue.  You'd be sharing the bucket with Steve by now if Aisha hadn't floored your boss."

"But...!" Jenkins' tail fluffed out.

"We are digressing," Jeremiah said.  "Taun is greatly displeased with you, Tarquine, and has ordered that you be punished.  Your deeds have violated her laws and brought shame upon the clan."

"What..?  For showing a little ambition?  I would have ruled the adventuring guild!"

"...If it hadn't been for those pesky kids," Ben put in helpfully.

"Taun does not fault you for your ambitions," the warrior said.  "It is your methods she finds undesirable.  This project of yours has threatened the lives of many 'Cubi, and caused the deaths of several, even some of our own clan-mates.  Had it continued, it would also have seen the execution of a member of an endangered clan by your hand, and may even have triggered reprisals against the 'Cubi race as a whole once the truth of your actions became known.  This is unacceptable, and she has spoken the words of your death."

The violet lion stared, his ears flattening back as the husky drew a gleaming black sword.

"No...!"

"I'm afraid so.  While Taun is loath to do such a thing, you have betrayed her, slain several of her children and caused untold diplomatic incidents in the process.  Yet you still have a choice.  Accept your death and come with me freely... you shall be beheaded before the representatives of the clans you have wronged, but you will die swiftly.  Taun offers you a warrior's death - exiting this world with just a few short moments of pain, and most importantly, with your honour intact."

"Or..?"

"Or, you could die a coward's death right here and now," the warrior said, turning his blade so the light shone off its blackly polished surface.  "Put down like a common bandit.  The clans of those you have murdered demand restitution... since we cannot send your head to all of them, it shall be placed on display in the capital, that the clan representatives may see the fate of the one responsible for their bereavement."

"Eww," Daryil said.

"I'd rather not do that," Jeremiah admitted.  "But it is your only other option."

"That's a choice?"

"It's more than you offered Steve," Daryil pointed out.

*  *  *

"Call the next supplicant," Fairwater said.  Admaria sat in the throne next to her, dressed in black.  "I hope it's the guy from the cable company," she said hopefully.  "I'd hate to think I wasted this outfit, scaring the others..."

As she spoke, the newcomer entered, dressed in grey body armour.  They ascended the steps, watched closely by several Demon guards, all armed and on edge following the recent events.

"Well well," Fairwater said.  "Fancy meeting you here, Lady Featherstone!  You might as well take Bevan's helmet off.  I can't imagine it fitting your opossum head properly..."

"I guess it was fortunate I'm wearing the black," Admaria said sternly.  "Guards... prepare the guillotine!"

"Now, now," Fairwater said, eyeing the intruder with distaste.  "Hopefully it won't come to that.  Either way, let's hear what she has to say first.  I must say, it took a lot of guts coming here!  So say your piece and be done."

"Fuck you," the opossum said.  "I will not bandy words with the usurper who murdered the king!"

"Right now, you still have a head," the Doberman cautioned.  "But that can soon be fixed!"

"Not by you," Featherstone retorted, and a katana flashed through the air.

Fairwater gave a scream of agony and clutched feebly at the stump of his sword-arm.  Blood spurted freely from the wound before he stemmed it with a tourniquet made from his wing.  A number of guards rushed to attend him, bundling him out of the room, while others surrounded Featherstone with their own swords and assault rifles drawn.  Seconds later the opossum was on the ground and forced into a kneeling position as the captain raised his blade to strike off her head.

"NO!" Admaria yelled furiously.  "DO NOT KILL HER!"

"I must protest, majesty!" Zenner responded heatedly.  "She must die for what she's done!"

"Not yet," the queen insisted, drawing a sword of her own.  "This is between the two of us now!"

"This is folly, highness," Zenner insisted.  "She'll kill you given the chance!"

"Then avenge my death," Admaria said.  "But until that happens, stay back!"

The demons and other guards shuffled around uncomfortably, eventually forming an oval sparring ring.

"Have at you!" the border collie cried, stepping forwards.  Featherstone drew her sword, but was promptly tripped by a wing-tentacle and relieved of her weapon.

"You cheated...!" Featherstone screamed.  "Miserable Creature!"

"Oh very well," the Queen sighed, rolling her eyes.  A wing-tentacle offered the weapon to her opponent.

"What are you-" Zenner croaked.

"Much good it may do you," Admaria said, folding her arms.  The PVC and latex of her outfit rippled slightly as her wings vanished, flowing beneath her skin to protect her vitals.

"I am tougher than I look," she continued, "And several of my guards have drawn a bead on your pretty little head.  You can try attacking, but I doubt you'd live to see your sword connect.  Still, PVC and latex will be easy to clean the brains off of..."

"Then why return my sword at all..?  Why not kill me now and be done with it?" the opossum demanded.

"To be honest?  I've never had a climactic fight like this before and I want to make the most of it," the succubus grinned enthusiastically.

"You want to gloat, you mean," Featherstone retorted.

"Never really got the hang of gloating," Admaria said.  "But... I want to have a talk with you first.  Normally I'd discuss this sort of thing over a meal, but ultimately Captain Zenner is right.  You do want to kill me.  So instead, we'll have this little economics lecture while pointing swords at each other like idiots."

"You think yourself so high and mighty because you're more powerful than the Beings you rule," the opossum sneered.  "But without us you are nothing!  You're nothing but parasites!"

"On the contrary," Admaria said, "Some 'Cubi choose to be parasites, but that is their choice.  We need the emotions of others, but they don't have to come from Beings.  Besides, a symbiotic relationship is much more fruitful.  Beings' emotional energy in exchange for our magical talents.  Oh no, my dear... if anyone here is a parasite, it's you."

"Oh, really...?"

"Yes.  Fairwater and I made this city a haven.  Under our care and guidance, it has grown and expanded.  What was under King Ordros just another backwater tin-pot dictatorship, has become an economic powerhouse, one of the key technology hubs on this continent.  We achieved all this by opening our doors to myriad races.  We built up the infrastructure, but we also made the people feel welcome.  THAT is why we still rule here, why we haven't been deposed.  Because we care.  We attend to our subjects needs.  During our reign, the two of us have spent more hours listening to our subjects and helping to fix their grievances than you have spent ALIVE, my lady."

"And...?"

"Exactly!" Admaria's voice rang out.  "You care not a single SHIT for your subjects, save those you picked out to have murdered.  You did nothing but live off their backs!  ALL you have done, during your brief tenure, is kill and destroy.  You inherited a thriving kingdom and you BROKE it.  And now you wish to do the same to Fairwater!"


Chapter 28

"Are we so different?" the opossum sneered.  "Despite your pretty words, I know your reputation!  You love watching the heads come off as much as I!"

"It can be satisfying to watch an enemy of the state die," the queen admitted.  "You've got me there.  But let's look at the figures.  We have reigned 185 years.  And in all that time, only 80 or so people have paid the death penalty.  On average, that's fewer than one execution every two years.  Yet, within the space of FIVE years, YOU executed over a thousand of your own subjects!  And you have the cheek to call ME a monster?"

"DIE!" the opossum screeched, taking the succubus by surprise.  The katana sliced into Admaria's side but was deflected by the nearly-impenetrable wing-stuff.  A large rent appeared in the PVC.

"You BITCH!" she snarled.  "You'll pay for that!"

"Hey, girls..." a voice said.  "Is it a bad time?"  The two women glanced around, forgetting their feud for a second.  Featherstone's jaw dropped open.

Standing in a corner of the room were two men - Lord Daryil, and Captain Aldriss.  Daryil's black-gloved hand stroked the Alsatian's hair playfully.

"Daryil?!" Admaria exclaimed.  "Have you been banging Lady Featherstone's guard captain...?"

"I saw, I conquered, I came," Daryil said dreamily.  "He's really good in bed, you know..."

"TRAITOR!" the opossum shrilled.  "YOU... How COULD you?!  I'll..." she cut off as Admaria relieved her of the katana.

"No!" she gasped.  The border collie loomed, a cold expression in her eyes, gauging the distance to her opponent's neck.  Daryil turned away, and vanished, taking the Alsatian with him.

"You know," Admaria said, "the thing I dislike most about killing people myself, is the whole lack of ceremony.  I mean... I always felt that shouting 'Off with her head!' is the best bit.  But when I'M the executioner it's kind of pointless.  I mean... who would I be shouting it to?  Myself?  That's a sign of madness.  And I'm sane, even if sanity is a little... flexible when comparing a succubus to a Being. "

"Who cares?  We both know there's only one end to this.  One of us dies!"

"It doesn't have to be that way," Admaria said.  "Clemency is an option... after all, you're FAMILY.  We're both of King Ordros' line.  As for your crimes, strictly speaking we're square...  You killed one of my guards, I killed one of yours.  You attempted to murder the king, but it was only an attempt.  Arguably you only deserve an attempted execution."

"Oh, how very kind of you!" the opossum sneered.  "Is that your affinity, monster?  Gratitude?  I would rather die than aid you in any way!"

"Don't mistake contempt for gratitude," Admaria smiled toothily.  "I don't want to aid you either.  You'd just love to be martyred!  It would feed into your precious 'Creatures are murderers!' narrative.  Letting you live now would help thwart you in that.  Besides, rotting in a dungeon for decades on end can be a worse fate... decapitating you would at least be quick, and I'm not sure you deserve such mercy."

"Hah!  This has nothing to do with propaganda!  Nothing to do with contempt!  You're stalling," Featherstone sneered.  "For all your talk, you've always had someone else to kill people for you, do your own dirty work!  And now you have to kill someone all by yourself, you can't do it!"

"Utter bollocks," Admaria retorted.  "Killing without hesitation or compassion is what makes someone a monster.  Isn't a little reluctance a good thing?"

"No! It just means you're WEAK!  And you ARE!  You're a coward... admit it!  You're SCARED!"

Admaria hesitated for a moment, her face racked with doubt as she considered the opossum's words.

"Nah," she said.  There was a shrill ringing noise as the katana completed its arc, and then a wet thump as the opossum's surprised head landed neatly at the border collie's booted feet.

"Eww," Daryil remarked, walking in through the wall.  "Did you have to?"

"I gave her every chance," the queen sighed, wiping her blade clean and sheathing it.  "Had she shown even the slightest contrition, I would have shown her leniency.  But she learned nothing..."  The weapon vanished into a pocket dimension.  "Is my husband alright?"

"Well, he's happy," Daryil said.  "They've reattached his arm, but it'll take a while for the sedatives to wear off."

"Good.  I'll see him at once.  Well, as soon as I've washed Lady Featherstone's blood off my dress, at least.  Definitely a good job I wore my Execution Outfit..."

"You do that," Daryil said and hopped into one of the thrones.  "Send in the next supplicant!" he called.

The guards looked at each other in confusion.  Admaria shot Daryil a look almost as black as her outfit, and he climbed off the throne sheepishly.

"At the very least we should remove Featherstone's corpse first," she said.  "Guards, see to that, please... and let me know if Daryil does anything."

"You're no fun anymore," Daryil pouted.

*  *  *

"Very well," Tarquine said.  "I see that I shall get no justice here.  But I shall not leave either.  Do what you must, Jeremiah.  Just grant me a warrior's death."

So saying, the lion stood up, and raised his chin.  Jakob stared resolutely at the ground.

"Long live Taun!" the lion exclaimed.  Jeremiah drew back his black blade and struck, the edge cutting through his enemy's neck as if it wasn't there.

Tarquine's head arced through the air, before landing on the wooden floor and rolling over.  "Justice is done," Jeremiah said in a melancholy voice, his wings turning to black in mourning for the man he'd just killed.  He cleaned his black blade with a cloth, and sheathed it reluctantly.

Silence fell.  When a respectful pause had elapsed, Daniel and Ben made their way to the body, and began wrapping it for transport to Taun's realm.

Daniel, Ben and several of the others filed off downstairs, helping Jeremiah with the remains.  "Keaton, Mary, stop goofing off with the head," Daryil admonished.  "The same could happen either of you one day - though I hope it doesn't - so show a little respect."

At length, the room emptied until just a few remained.  Jakob stood looking in the rough direction of the blood-stained floor where Tarquine had met his fate.  Olaf, his own wings blackened, put a hand on his shoulder sadly.

"Are you okay, dad...?" he asked gently.

The wolf incubus shook himself, woken from his inner reverie.  At length he spoke.

"So many revolutions start with that promise," he said sadly, "That by slicing off a head or two, everything will suddenly be better.  It's such an easy answer to problems which are usually far more complex.  Everyone wants their children's story ending where the dragon has been slain and everyone... everyone else lives happily ever after.  And yet, all that ever seems to happen is that more and more heads get sliced off as payback...  An endless loop of strife..."

"Things might really be different this time," Daryil said.  "For all the evils Tarquine did, for all that he achieved it in such a horrible way, he may have left the world as a whole better off..."

"How can you say that?!" Olaf choked, looking aghast at Daryil.  "He's ruined the guild's reputation!  It will take decades to recover!"

"Is that a bad thing, though?" Daryil asked him.  "I can't see adventurers going away entirely.... there will always be missing persons to find, and a need to hire private security. And as long as people try to steal souls, there will be a need for them to be hunted and... punished.
"But the rest of it?  Hired executioners?  Killing people who were so poor they had to turn to robbery?  We should be moving past that as a society.  We should be providing a safety net so they don't have to turn to crime in the first place!  Making it harder to hire killers sounds like progress to me...  A couple of decades where it's harder to have someone killed might be just what our world needs."

"When you put it like that, you may have a point," Olaf nodded.

"Thanks," Daryil smiled.  "So... anyone up for a shag?" he added, looking at Jeremiah hopefully.

"Too soon!" Jakob protested.  "Gods, Dar!  We've just witnessed an execution!  The guy's not even cold and already you want to get laid?!"

"Don't you want something to take your mind off all the blood and death?" Daryil said, stroking the armoured wolf's head seductively.

"When you put it like that, you may have a point," Jakob admitted.  "But Daxxon deserves a look-in."

"The more the merrier," Daryil said, rubbing his hands greedily.

*  *  *

Steve sat at his desk, a brace still around his neck.  He was not wearing his usual armour, which was hanging on a stand in the corner.  Beside him, Illiath and Fairwater sat, the other guild-memberG stood to attention, except for Ralf who sat in the front like a dog.

"Strictly I'm still on sick leave," he said.  "All being well I can take the brace off next week.  Until then, Jason is acting Guildmaster."

"Thanks for everything you've done," Fairwater said.  "Ben and Daniel in particular, I don't think it's a stretch to say that you may have saved the kingdom.  I would have you knighted, if you will accept it.  The rest of you shall be richly rewarded for your parts also."

"Steve," Illiath said, once the king was finished, "I was appalled to hear of the attempt on your life, and am glad to see you have recovered as much as you have.  But, with the death of Tarquine, there is an opening for a new grandmaster of the guild, based in Andovia.  I have been sent to offer that post to you."

"I'm honoured," the Demon said, "And it is a tempting offer.  But I can't abandon my friends here.  They made all this possible - I've just been acting as a manager for the most part."

"Are you sure?" the Doberman asked, looking surprised.

"Besides, I'm sure Taun would be more pleased to see Olaf take the position."

The wolf-giraffe looked stunned.

"Oh, my son, I'm so proud of you!"  Jakob cried.

"I accept," Olaf said cautiously.  "But my first action will be to move the grandmaster's guildhall here, and then resign so that Steve can take it.  He's a good man, he deserves it."

"I'm even more proud of you," Jakob wept.

Epilogue

Lady Featherstone came to slowly.  Her mouth felt parched and dry, and her mind was more than a little fuzzy.

Drugged? she pondered groggily, and looked over her surroundings.  It was clearly a dungeon.

What's happened? she wondered.  Did Admaria order this?  I thought she'd just killed me... Must have been some kind of 'Cubi trickery...  Yes... it was all a dream...

The opossum turned with a start as the lock rattled.  Panic set in for a moment as she saw that her captor was vivid blue.  Creatures!

The door swung open and a muscular figure entered, a blue Doberman with feathered wings.  He took her roughly, led her past a guillotine to a sparse audience chamber, where a blonde, muscular alsatian with leathery wings was holding a confused-looking violet lion, who kept scratching the back of his head nervously as if his hands were searching for something there.
In the centre of the chamber was a dais, and upon it sat a fox incubus atop a golden throne.  His hands were clad in black shiny gloves, and his pants were glossy plastic.  He watched the procession with a sadistic smile.

"YOU!  Daryil!"

"Welcome to my domain, Lady Featherstone," he grinned savagely.  "Like Tarquine here, you have been a thorn in my side for far too long!
You died as my enemies, but I can be merciful, so I am offering you each another chance.  Serve me faithfully for the next fifty years, and all shall be forgiven.  Betray me, and I shall destroy your brain, returning you to the death you so richly deserve..."

THE END


Thanks for reading!