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X-Original-From: "Stasya T. Canine" <stasyatk9@juno.com>
From: "Stasya T. Canine" <stasyatk9@juno.com>
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X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 01:08:21 GMT
Subject: {ASSM} Aesir the Bard part 1 (pirate2003 furry nosex Mwolf-Flion) Stas
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 06:10:04 -0400
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<1st attachment, "aesirthebard01.txt" begin>
pirate2003 furry nosex Mwolf-Flion
due to RL once again getting in my way, this didn't get finished.
As soon as the 12-16 hour workdays are over and I've
recovered...
I'll get this finished as soon as possible. I know what has to
be written. I haven't had time to write it.
Sorry for the unfinished work, neighbors.
That said, this and part two are complete enough to be able to
stand on their own a chapters in a longer work, which they are.
:)
---
Summoned! - Aesir the Bard, part 1
The Tails of Rabelaisia
by: Stasya T. Canine writing as Nikkolai the Bard
---
"What? When did they do this?!"
Heads jerked around to stare at the Queen.
"How *dare* they!"
"Samantha! Explain this outrage!"
The Queen's Mage slowly mounted the steps and faced her Queen.
"As you can see, we've just recently assembled all the pieces."
She sighed. "We've been trying to keep track of them ever since
Death-Dancer destroyed their fleet and somehow managed to get
them to oath-swear that they'd never return to sea." She and the
Queen shared rueful smiles. "The Rock Clan is extremely
secretive. Shortly after they swore their oath they made it
clear they wanted no Bards or Mages anywhere in their territory.
The Guilds put them on their list of places to avoid and turned
the matter over to the Queen's Guard. All outsiders have been
stopped at the border so we haven't been able to infiltrate
anyone. Even the traders who dealt with them for decades were
not allowed further than one or two outlying villages."
The Queen nodded. "What about their port? I understood that
since they were forced to abandon piracy they opened the port to
merchant shipping."
"True. But, the first thing they rebuilt were their defenses.
Then they informed everyone that vessels could dock but none of
the crew could leave--or the ship would be destroyed."
"Continue."
"We were never able to track all of the clan members who traveled
but those we did track did nothing out of the ordinary, unless
you count former pirates engaging in honest trade as 'out of the
ordinary'. When you think about it, it makes sense. One wolf,
working with his sister, destroyed their entire fleet in one
night. Death-Dancer terrified them and nobody knew if he was
alive or dead. They certainly didn't want to do anything that
would cause him to show up again if he was still alive. It was
bad enough that your father accepted his sister's application to
become a privateer. The Rock Clan *knew* she would always be out
there waiting for them if they decided to go to sea."
The Queen gestured for Samantha to stop. "What are you avoiding,
Samantha? It is clear that the Rock Clan spent years planning
for this oath-breaking. We do not need this history lesson--or a
long explanation of why nobody was able to learn enough to warn
us about their plans. Our father assumed they would bide their
time and eventually strike back. We never thought he was wrong
to make that assumption. They are wolves and even though they
were pirates they follow a version of the wolf's code. Under
their version of that code, they would feel a strong need to
'correct' the mistake that led to Death-Dancer and his fury. The
only way to do that is to kill the last two members of the
Whispering Leaves Clan."
She slumped back on her throne and sighed. "We assumed that
because there were *no* reports about the Rock Clan, there was
nothing to worry about. That is a lack of communication and a
serious error in judgment. However, the error is partly ours
because we assumed you were aware of our special interest in
Broken Fang. We will no longer assume that our closest advisors
are aware of the ramifications of our special interests" She
bent her head and studied her hands for a few minutes. When she
looked up again there was a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Tell
us the good news, such as how someone managed to discover what
was going on."
Samantha didn't try to hide the fact she was extremely nervous.
The Queen seldom rebuked any of her advisors and even less often
did she openly accuse them of avoiding the point. "Your Majesty.
Ruth's Dream was not lost in a storm, as the crew of Pride of
the Waves told us. She was driven onto the rocks after being
gutted by those who captured her. A wandering Bard, hundreds of
leagues away from where she was 'lost', was gathering driftwood
for his fire and picked up a small piece of a ship's hull." She
allowed herself a wry smile when the Queen bent forward. "Bards
are alway curious and looking for material for new stories. He
decided to 'read' the memories in the wood."
"He got much more than he expected. The scrap had been part of
Ruth's Dream and it told him a tale of terror and death-at the
hands of the crew of Pride of the Waves. Pride was a pirate
ship, Your Majesty, and she had been hired by the Rock Clan to
hunt down and destroy Ruth's Dream."
"We *will* have their heads!"
"No, Your Majesty. You will not."
"What? Are you dictating to your Queen?"
"No. I am telling her a fact. We found the Pride moored in the
Rock Clan's harbor. Her crew was aboard, but dead. All of the
reward money was gone."
"We assume you interrogated the harbormaster?"
Samantha bowed her head. "We could not. The Rock Clan has
abandoned their homeland."
The Queen's body and tail stilled in a rare display of shock.
"The entire clan?" It was a whisper born of total disbelief.
Samantha flinched slightly but held her ground. "Yes."
The two women, one a tigress with most of her life behind her,
the other a young lioness barely thirty years old--stared at each
other. It was the lioness, the Queen, who spoke first. "We do
not wish to say it, Samantha."
"You must. You also have another duty to perform."
"Oh? What duty is that?"
"You must send a message to Broken Fang. It was her brother who
took their oath." Samantha's smile was thin. "Wolves are touchy
when their honor is involved, especially so when an oath is
broken."
The Queen leaned back in her throne. "Do you know what you ask?
Would you have us tell Death-Dancer, if he still lives, that his
enemies have become oath-breakers?"
"Yes. It is your sworn duty--as his Queen."
The Queen frowned and then leaned forward. "Contact your
Guildmaster and the Guildmaster of the Bards. We need a list of
all their Masters as soon as possible. If we happen to awaken
the ravening beast named Death-Dancer, we will at least do our
best to protect his sister so he is not distracted while he
works."
"As you command."
The Queen sighed and raised her voice. "The Rock Clan leaves us
no choice. We declare them oath-breakers. As of now, the Rock
Clan does not exist. No longer will they be allowed to write in
the book of life."
She rose and looked at each of her advisors. "We sentence the
Rock Clan... to death. The sentence is to be imposed as quickly
as possible."
She turned and walked out of the throne room.
* * *
The Queen brushed a hand across her face. She was tired,
exhausted--but that was part of the price she paid for being the
ruler of Rabelaisia's largest nation. "Samantha. Nigel. We
applaud your guilds' diligence in keeping such comprehensive
records. However, we have not seen a single entry that tells us
'this is the person we must send'. Do you have anysuggestions?"
Samantha leaned back and sighed. "Broken Fang is a wolfess.
Perhaps if we sent one of her own kind? There are a few wolves
who are Mages. Maybe one of them will be able... Nigel? What
is it?"
Nigel had stiffened and then started frantically digging in his
stack of papers. "Wait. I need to find... AH! I thought so!"
He held up a single piece of paper and grinned as he handed it to
the Queen.
She took it, casually glanced at it and then froze. "A wolf? A
wolf has become a Bardic Master? We don't care where he is,
summon him at once."
Nigel gently removed the paper from her fingers. "He is a Bard,
Your Majesty. He cannot be summoned. We will send him a request
in your name. I remember him well. He is a loner who renounced
all ties to the wolf clans. He most likely will not come."
The Queen smiled. It was a smile that spoke of her heritage. It
was the smile of a predator who knows the ways of her prey. "He
will come. We are sure of it."
"Your Majesty?" Nigel was obviously puzzled. "How can you be so
certain?"
"His name is Aesir."
"So?"
"Aesir is the name of one of the patron saints of the seamen.
Tell him his Queen would like to consult with him about the Rock
Clan--and oath-breaking."
* * *
The young runner caught up with me as I was walking along a
forest trail. "Master Aesir! A message from the Queen!"
I frowned and stopped. "The Queen?"
"Yes, Master."
I held out my hand and she shook her head. "It's verbal."
I let my hand drop as I tilted my head and studied her. "Verbal?
You're a Queen's messenger?"
She straightened with obvious pride. "Yes, Master Aesir. Iam."
I smiled at her enthusiasm. "I will hear this message."
She nodded and took a deep breath. " 'Master Aesir. Your Queen
wishes to consult with you about the Rock Clan--and
oath-breaking.' " She took another breath and added: "That's
all, Master. Do you wish to reply?"
"Where is the Queen?"
"At the palace, Master."
"That's about four day's run from here, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"Very well. Tell the Queen that I will be there in three days."
She frowned slightly. "I'm to tell the Queen you will arrive
three days after I deliver your message?"
I chuckled. "No. Tell her I will be there three days fromnow."
"That's impossible!"
"Can you make the trip in three days?"
She hesitated as she sensed the trap. Finally she grinned
impudently. "I am a Queen's runner. I can do it."
"Then it's not impossible, is it?" She shook her head without
losing her grin. "Imp. Then you'll have to do it quicker if you
want to deliver your message before I get there. I'll craft a
tale in your honor if you succeed." I waved a hand at the trail.
"Be off with you!"
I was treated to a grin and a flash of lithe legs as she turned
and began her sprint.
I was still chuckling as I settled into the ground devouring lope
of a wolf on the hunt.
Three days later, as I was approaching the gates to the palace, a
lithe form sprinted past me and was stopped by the guards. I
slowed to a walk and watched as she turned to face me. The grin
was there agian and I sensed some awe behind it when she
confronted me. "Master?"
I looked at the guards. "I would appreciate it if someone
escorted this young lady to the Queen, immediately. She's a
Queen's runner." I matched her grin with a grin of my own. "It
is a matter of honor between us. I asked her to tell the Queen
when I'd arrive."
"We know who she is. Who are you, wolf, to be making such
requests?"
I lightly touched the badge on my harness. "My name is Aesir.
Your Queen has asked me here to discuss a matter of some
importance."
He frowned slightly. "Aesir? We've been told to expect a Bard
named Aesir..." He stopped. He looked at my harness, laid his
ears flat on his head and sighed in resignation. "You?"
I nodded. "Your powers of observation and deduction astoundme."
He winced. "Master? The Queen neglected to tell us that she was
expecting a wolf."
I smiled. "A lesson worthy of a Bard. I will remain silent on
the matter. So will this young imp at my side."
He looked down and smiled at the runner. "So, Elaine. This is
one tale you can't use to get out of trouble, isn't it? I'll
call for a relief and escort you to the Queen myself."
She sighed. "Yes, father."
He reached and tousled her hair. "Stand aside, daughter. I must
return to my duties while we wait for my relief. Master? If
you'd move aside so we can deal with these others?"
* * *
The guards quietly let us enter the throne room. One of them
whispered to the chamberlain and she nodded before quietly
approaching the throne. She bent and whispered in the Queen's
ear. The Queen nodded and looked in our direction. When she saw
Elaine she smiled and beckoned to her.
I barely noticed when Elaine left my side. When we entered the
room I'd felt an unfamiliar warmth slowly working its way into my
brain. It felt as if someone were trying to quietly insinuate
themselves into my thoughts.
I ignored the sensations and focused on the Queen and Elaine.
"You delivered our message?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Did Master Aesir send a reply?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. 'Tell the Queen I will be there in three
days.' "
She nodded. "How long ago did you deliver the message?"
"Three days ago, Your Majesty."
The Queen frowned and sighed. "Three more days of waiting.
Thank you, Elaine." She started to turn back to the person she'd
been talking to.
Elaine hesitated and then tentatively touched the Queen's arm to
get her attention. "Your Majesty?"
"Elaine?"
"I thought that was what he meant, too. When I asked him he said
'No. Tell her I will be there three days from now.' " She
turned and pointed at me. "He's right there."
The Queen's head snapped up and she stared at me. As we locked
eyes the warmth I'd barely felt increased and suddenly changed to
a sense of completion. At that point I recognized what was
happening. I smiled wryly as I approached the throne, uninvited.
"Your Majesty. It seems that fate has chosen to play one of her
little games with us. Wouldn't you agree?" I held up my hands in
the greeting of mates.
I felt her shock slowly change to denial, then wry amusement as
the denial didn't change the link between us. "Aesir. We
thought we needed a Bard to help us solve our problems. It seems
we will have to settle for a mate, instead." She rose and walked
down the steps to where I stood. As our hands touched and our
fingers intertwined themselves we leaned forward and kissed each
other.
When she pulled away her eyes were filled with mirth. "At least
we no longer have to put up with those tiresome old men who think
we will find their sons ideally suited for our privatechambers!"
"I see there is much I need to learn about My Queen. Things such
as her heart-name, for example."
She smiled slightly. "Leesha." She raised her voice. "Leave
us. There are things we wish to discuss with Aesir--privately."
As the room cleared she motioned to a couple of chairs. After we
settled she sighed. "You understood our message?"
It was my turn to sigh. I'd spent most of my journey trying to
avoid thinking about her message. It hadn't worked and I'd
finally used my worry to distract me from my running. "Aye, Your
Majesty."
She shook her head. "Leesha. I've waited a long time to hear a
man speak my heart-name."
I sagged into the cushions. "Aye, Leesha. I understood your
message. I wish I hadn't. May I set a privacy shield around
us?"
She nodded.
I quickly set the shield. "Leesha. While I was answering your
call I spent time planning a possible course of action. Events
have forced me to discard those plans."
Her lips peeled back in a grin. "Understandable. I have some
plans I need to discard, too."
I sighed and looked down at my hands. "One thing is clear. With
the Rock Clan involved, Broken Fang needs to be warned."
She sighed. "So our advisors insisted. We don't like it but we
see the need. We hoped you would be our messenger and Broken
Fang's protector until this is over."
I nodded slowly. "The message?"
She sighed and looked at me. "If he lives, find Death-Dancer and
ask if he will deal with his old enemies once again, for the sake
of the realm."
I snorted. "I was afraid it would be something like that. Why
else send for a wolf who used to belong to one of the sea clans?"
I looked down at my hands. "Leesha. You don't need to send
that message."
"Death-Dancer is already aware of the problem?"
I whispered: "Aye, Leesha. I am. Thanks to you."
She gasped.
"After that night and my victory over the Rock Clan I changed my
form to what you see, then renounced all my clan ties to become a
Bard. As far as the world is concerned, Death-Dancer vanished.
Perhaps he died of his wounds. Until your runner delivered her
message I believed that would remain the 'truth' and I could put
that part of my life behind me."
I looked up at last and knew my eyes were filled with my anguish.
"I am a wolf and I still live by that code, as much of it as I
am able to reconcile with the Bardic Way. Command me, my Queen,
that I may honorably avenge myself on those who gave me their
oaths--and who have now chosen to break them."
Leesha knelt in front of me and took my hands in hers. "A week
ago I declared the Rock Clan oath-breakers. Their fate is
sealed. Their sentence is death. I cannot allow you to blindly
kill them as you find them. Justice demands that we make sure
they all die. Will you help? Is there some way you can help
make sure we kill them all?"
She lowered her head into my lap. "Aesir. My heart burns with
the anger I feel. In order to strike at you and your sister,
they paid for the capture of Ruth's Dream and the death of all
aboard her--just so they could seize the reward I paid for
solving the mystery of my father's disappearance. With that
money they bought a ship and returned to the sea. Furthermore,
the entire clan has abandoned their homeland."
She turned her head so she could meet my eyes then reached up to
lightly touch my muzzle. "I, too, am a predator. The code of
the lion is very much like your own. But, I am Queen. When the
code of the lion conflicts with the code of the Land, the code of
the lion must be ignored if I am to keep the trust of the
people."
The implications staggered me. "The Rock Clan paid to have the
King assassinated? The Pride of the Waves was a piratevessel?"
Leesha sighed. "No, and yes. My father was on the Dream because
he was traveling incognito. All of us had been after him to take
a vacation so he finally relented and was taking one. When the
Dream vanished between ports, we had to announce the reason for
our sudden interest in what happened to her."
---
Stasya T. Caniune
July 9, 2003
----
http://storiesonline.net/Stasya_T_Canine
http://www.furnation.com/Nikkolai
Want feedback on your stories? Check out Desdmona's 'Fish Tank'
in alt.sex.stories.d or go to:
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