Gone Rogue (Patreon)

The tomb of the last true emperor of the Kingdom of Tigaria was said to be filled to the brim with riches and treasure. Countless have tried to locate the tomb, and all have either failed to locate it or have located it but never returned from their voyage. Legend has it that the tomb is home to massive and elaborate booby traps, straight out of Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones. The rumors and legends also mentioned that the only people who are ‘worthy’ of entering the tomb unharmed were tigers, the same species as the emperor, but not even tigers were brave enough to try, until now. 

“Hah,” scoffed Xela as she used her dagger to slice her way through thick vines that were in her way as she trekked deeper into the green forest she had been traveling through for a few days now. She had a guide take her through the mountains, but after she reached the thick woods, she was left to go the rest of the way on her own. The guide’s reasons for not coming along with her was that he wasn’t a tiger and feared that if he went there, he would end up dead from a booby trap, or from the tigress killing him as to not have to share the riches they’d discover in the tomb. The last part he said with a joking tone, but the visible and audible gulp he added to the end of his sentence made it clear that he thought there was a high chance of that happening. Xela couldn’t blame him, she was a thief, after all, she had built up a reputation in that regard over the years of picking pockets and swindling men and women out of their precious belongings. She was a wanted woman in many towns and cities, a woman like that would do anything to make sure she had the long end of the stick. Oh, and she had really sharp fangs that protruded from her mouth, that might have added to the intimidation a little bit. 

The thick vines of the forest were no match for the rogue’s custom dagger, it was one of the few things she possessed that wasn’t stolen, and she made sure that she went to the best blacksmith in all of Tigaria to get it made. It cost her a lot of coin among other things, but it was worth it. That blade could slice through a dragon’s scales with ease. There was a reason the tigress’ outfits all had some sort of gloves implemented into them, she’d cut her own hand before, and it wasn’t pretty. 

‘Slash, fwwp,’ she swung the dagger left and right as she cleared a path for herself and made her way deeper into the green wilderness. 

“Where in god’s name is that tomb...” she grumbled as she felt her arms wearing out from all the slicing and dicing. She felt itchy around her chest and stomach too. Maybe her choice of clothing wasn’t too fitting for the environment, but at least she was able to move around easily. She assumed she’d have some company, she couldn’t be the only one looking for the tomb, the promise of that many riches and treasure had to have lured others too. 

The tiger’s claws dug into the soft soil with every step she took; however, Xela wasn’t stupid, and every time her feet touched the ground, she’d push down hard and drag her feet a little to distort any prints she may have left behind. Leaving clear footprints in soft dirt was a rookie mistake she had made before and she was not going to make it again, especially not when she was alone in an unfamiliar place like this. With this much treasure on the line, there was absolutely no room for rookie missteps. None. 

“I really could use that map right now,” she grumbled and rolled her eyes at herself, referring to the map she had on herself earlier but due to a sudden spike in cockiness, she tossed out after she decided that maps were “for pussies”. (HAHA I LOVE PUNS) She remembered the important stuff that was on the map, but having it in hand as an easy reference instead of relying on memory would be way more effective. 

“Big red tree, big red tree…” she repeated to herself as she continued padding her way through the wet soil and slicing any fauna that got in her way. It sure didn’t help that all the god damn trees looked the same to her. She snarled and threw her dagger forward out of frustration. 

‘Fwwwp…. Thk!’ 

The metal weapon sliced through the air and got stuck in a tree not very far ahead of her. Surprised that the dagger stopped so soon, Xela opened up her eyes and peeked around to try and spot where her dagger ended up. The long and wavy dagger stuck out from a large tree that had a ray of sunlight shining down on it, making it appear slightly red in color.

“You have to be fucking kidding me… Of course, they meant redwood….” The felid thief pressed her hand into her temple and shook her head a few times in disappointment. With a shrug of her shoulders, Xela walked over to the redwood tree to retrieve her dagger. At least she knew she was close to where the supposed tomb entrance was. Having made some sort of progress after not having made any in quite a bit of time, the tigress had a bit pep in her step as she squished the small green plants and soft soil and stood directly up in front of the giant redwood tree that stood out from the rest of the thick forest. She put her hands at her hips and tilted her head back to try and catch a glimpse of the top of the tree, she couldn’t see it, as the surrounding trees that weren’t as tall blocked out most of her view of the sky. She brought her gaze back down to her dagger that stuck out from the tree’s trunk and reached her hand forward to grab the handle. Right as her fingers curled around the handle of her blade, she heard the dirt and leaves that she stood on slowly collapsing beneath her. She gripped the handle of her dagger as tightly as she could, hoping to god that she threw the blade hard enough that it stabbed itself deep enough in the bark so that it would be able to support her as the ground gave way beneath her. 

It did not. 

Xela felt the soft soil pull away from her paw pads and she let out a scream as the dagger she had put all her hope into pulled free from the redwood tree and left her to the mercy of gravity. 

“Aahhhhhh!” the tigress screamed as she fell into the pitch-black darkness below. She had no idea how far she would fall, or if she would survive, but after a good second or two of free-falling, Xela made contact with the ground, hard, and she bounced and rolled a few feet after she hit the ground. Her fall caused dirt and dust to fly around and follow her like a trail. She laid motionless on the ground for a few seconds before she coughed and weakly pushed herself up with her arms to squint at her new surroundings. The dirt and dust she rolled through after she fell made her look a bit powdered, nothing a little bit of shaking and dusting couldn’t fix though. She still had her dagger wrapped tightly in her grip, she slid it into its sheath at her thigh as she stood up. 

“Ack, ack, ack,”

“Achoo!” The little striped thief coughed and sneezed as she got back onto her two feet and looked at her surroundings to figure out where in the world she was. Everything around her was nearly pitch black, her pupils dilated and she was able to see a lot better. One of the (many) perks of being a cat was the ability to see very, very well in the dark. Being careful with her steps as to not have a repeat of what happened when she was above ground, she did a full 360-degree turn to scan her surroundings, there was a ray of light that shined down into whatever pit or cave she was in, she followed the light up until she saw the hole she fell through. It was very, very far up, there was zero chance she was going to be able to climb out that way. She had to find another way out. 

Shrugging her shoulders, Xela turned away from the ray of light and turned to face the direction she had rolled towards. The dusty cave didn’t look very natural, there were a lot of areas that were perfect angles, they looked like steps, worn down and covered in dirt and dust like they hadn’t been used in years or maybe decades, but they were very clearly manmade. She quickly headed towards those steps and went down them. After that, she was faced with something that made her tilt her head back and stare straight up in awe. Her mouth slightly agape, her ears perked up, and her green eyes wide as they could ever get. Right in front of her was a giant statue of a male tiger in decorative armor, holding a bow and arrow in a post-battle stance that stood around 30 feet tall. The statue was made of gold, although it appeared to be slightly dull in color to the naked eye due to the dirt and dust that had built-up on the surface. The little thief stared at the statue in awe for a few seconds before she spoke. 

“Holy motherfucking shit, I found you…” the tigress said in a long sigh of relief. Nowhere on that map did it say that after finding the red tree there’d be a drop, although admittedly, Xela didn’t read the entire map that thoroughly. She walked towards the statue with a pep in her step once again. Right next to the statue was a large opening without any doors. Xela skipped through it, but not before running her hands across the base of the gold statue just to have a feel of all that gold. “If only I could take you home with me, handsome,” she chuckled jokingly to herself. As she walked through the opening and padded down some cobblestone stairs, she saw the tomb in its entirety. It was massive, stairs led to more stairs, there was even a waterfall with water that flowed all around. It was all dark though, there weren’t any light sources anywhere. The pep in Xela’s step ended as she went down the stairs to prevent any accidents, but once she was at the bottom of those stairs, on relatively flat ground, she put her hands at her hips and took another look at her surroundings. She couldn’t believe she found it. All she needed to do now was find out where the emperor was and take a little something that he certainly wasn’t using and put it to better use; his crown jewels, and maybe a cool sword if he had one. As good as that dagger she had was, it wasn’t any good for long-range sword fights. 

At the bottom, where Xela stood, was some sort of main hall with small areas that were separated from one another with steps, there were pillars all around, some were broken, and then what looked like a podium area in the center. Was this a meeting hall of some sort? Slowly, the rogue made her way to the center and put one paw on the circular stone where a podium most likely once stood. Once her pink paw pads pressed down onto that stone, it moved down a little and made a very mechanical click. Her ears flickered and she quickly pulled her foot back and turned around nervously. Xela thought she triggered one of the many fabled booby traps that protected the tomb and its treasure. The mechanical noise continued under her feet before moving to the pillars. 

‘Ccccrrrrrkkkkkkk……. Thhmpp…’ the sound of something big and heavy giving way echoed throughout the tomb, and had Xela turning left and right trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. She backed up and bumped into a broken slab of stone that fell off one of the pillars. The mechanical noises that sounded like very rust gears turning continued. 

“Xela….” A soft whisper right in the rogue’s ear caused her left ear to flicker and her to turn in the direction she heard the whisper come from. One hand went straight for her dagger and pulled it from its sheath, while she had the claws on her other hand extended and ready to swipe them at whoever or whatever said her name. 

“You’re finally here…” the voice whispered again, but this time in Xela’s right ear. 

The tiger turned the other direction in response and snarled, baring her fangs at the invisible voice that was taunting her. 

“Who are you? Show yourself, you coward.” Xela gripped the handle on her dagger as tight as she could, making sure she was focused, and that her senses wouldn’t betray her. The tomb was still pitch black, and even though the big cat could see, it still wasn’t ideal for any sort of combat. 

“Very well,” the voice whispered, this time not in any particular ear, it was somehow louder and coming from every direction. This did not help the tigress as she very frantically turned around and remained cautious of what may be in the corner of her vision. After those whispered words faded away, a loud sound erupted from one of the collapsed fire columns that still stood upright. 

‘Fwoosh!’ a tower of flames erupted from the bowl and lit up the surrounding area. It revealed that the stones she stood on were a dark ashy grey and that she wasn’t in a meeting hall like she initially thought. There were tall walls, pillars, and fire columns.

She was in an arena. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to show up,” the voice continued to taunt her, whispering each individual word in a different ear. Xela managed to stay put and not turn around frantically as she did earlier, she knew this was a trick, and she had an idea of who was pulling the strings here. 

“You can show yourself now,” Xela continued to snarl and hold her dagger and claws up as she kept her eyes looking in the direction of the flames. 

A shadowy silhouette appeared just a few feet behind the bowl of flames and slowly started to make its way over towards her. She could make out long curly hair, pointed ears, and a long bushy tail. As the figure got closer and closer to the fire, the light emitted from it revealed more and more of who they were to the little thief. Fiery orange hair, a thick striped tail, white cheeks, and a brown button nose. It was a red panda and a red panda that Xela knew very, very well. 

“Well hello there, Xela, fancy seeing you here,” the red panda grinned wide as she padded her way closer and closer to the tigress. She wore no armor, no tactile clothing, just a long dress that made her look like any ordinary townsfolk out in the market selling flowers or bread. Deceitful. 

“Hello, Erula.” Xela said with an angry hiss. 

"Nice to see you, too, Xela," the red panda chuckled as she stopped directly in front of the tigress. She smiled quite cheerfully at her and even tapped her finger on the snarling tiger’s nose for good measure. Xela was visibly annoyed, but lowered her guard, her dagger, and her claws in response.

“What are you doing here, Erula?” the thief asked. 

The red panda shrugged her shoulders, “Oh, you know, heard you were going out looking for some dumb emperor’s tomb, thought you might need some help not dying from a booby trap.”

“I don’t need your help,” she barked back at the panda. 

“First thing you do when you get here is step on a circular stone in the middle of an arena, yeah, sure, you don’t,” the ringtail gently brushed her tail up against the uptight tigress teasingly. 

“It wasn’t even a trap,” Xela grumbled and took her foot off the broken pillar she had been stepping on in a fighting stance for the past few minutes. 

“Well, if it was, you’d be dead, or seriously hurt, so, be glad I am here. And before you moan, I will not fight you for the crown jewels you’re after, I’ll just take a few gold coins and I’ll be out of your hair, I promise.” She smiled at the tiger, gestured her head towards another set of stairs that led out of the crumbling arena and presumably further into the tomb, and began walking in that direction. 

Xela huffed before she sheathed her dagger and followed. She and Erula were frenemies of some sort. Xela didn’t trust that red panda, but she knew that she wouldn’t kill her, or cause her any harm directly. Leave her hanging on a ledge? Maybe, but kill her with her own hands? Nah, that red panda seemed to take a liking to the tigress to some degree. Whenever they spoke or argued, others would often note that they had an obvious sexual tension between one another, maybe they needed to bang it out sometime. 

But for now, treasure!! 

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Art is by Twinkle-Sez