DD 204 Ch 12

Chapter 12

She looked almost nervous but rapidly nodded her head. "Of course. Why wouldn't I want to meet them?" She started marching forward at full tilt, straight towards the Nekorian party whose attention had already shifted to us.

The large ears on their heads were not for show. When I first met Felin, she had overheard my conversation from the other side of a crowded bar. Certainly, in the open safe zone, they would have heard me from a mile away. And, possibly the worst part, they would have also heard the Orkai refer to her as my pleasure slave.

I worked to convince myself that those words would not somehow backfire. I was sure we could make friends.

But regardless, I let Felin go first as we made contact with the other Nekorians.

Felin stepped up to the Nekorians, who had already roused in their meeting, ready to greet her. "Hi, I'm Felin." She held out a hand. "I don't recognize any of you, but since the shuffle, I've lost connection with my people."

A man with a wild mane of hair that reminded me more of a lion than anything else stepped forward as the leader. "If you need us to save you from this demon, blink twice."

I rolled my eyes. "She's not being held against her will."

The Nekorian bared his teeth at me. For a second, I thought he was about to hiss. "I didn't ask you, demon. Besides, we probably can't even trust her own words. If you have your hooks into her, her mind's already compromised."

Felin bobbed her head. "Yep, I'm pretty hooked on him."

"Felin, you are not helping." I wanted to smack my face with my hand.

She turned to me and tilted her head like a confused kitten. "But I am hooked. It's just that I walked into this willingly."

I pointed at her for emphasis. "See? Not a problem. Besides, she's a shaman of your people. If you don't trust a shaman, then who do you trust?" I said, trying to rely on the Nekorian emphasis they put on their shamans.

The big one blinked, taking a step back. "You're a shaman?"

Felin nodded. "Do you guys need anything adjusted?"

The big one shook his head. He turned, checking with the others, and two of them nodded. "We would appreciate your communion with the goddess and adjusting our tattoos."

Felin froze, as did I.

I glanced at her from the side, trying to see what she would say in response. None of the Nekorians had ever referred to the Great One as a goddess. But then another thought occurred to me, and it must have occurred to Felin as well. "Which clan or tribe are you from?"

"Leomatis." The leader spoke as if it was obvious, gesturing at himself. It was then that the other group realized something was wrong.

"Look at her," one of them hissed, "I've never seen that coloration before."

"You're right," another whispered, and the one who had taken the leadership role slowly grew more concerned the longer he stared.

"I'm sorry, I might have some strange questions for you," he said, staring at Felin. 

The Nekorian from my party already had a scroll from her pouch on her side, and had unfurled it, laying it on the ground before pulling out two more. Those are what she kept all information, I assumed she was looking up the other Nekorian.

One of them went to question her before the leader stopped everyone. "Excuse me," he said, his tone softening greatly. "When was the last time you've been home, little shaman?"

"Home?" Felin asked, a slight quiver in her voice.

"Yes, back to the surface." He emphasized.

Felin shook her head, but it wasn't a no, it was a shake of disbelief. She jumped to her feet and ran behind me.

The Nekorian geared up like he was about to force his way through me.

"Excuse me," I held up a hand to stop him. "I believe you might be misunderstanding the situation. If you will give her a moment to collect herself, I'm sure we can come to a satisfying solution soon."

"You damn demon," he poked a finger at me. "She's never been home. Where are you miscreants keeping some of our people? Have demons fallen so low as to raise them in isolation somewhere?"

"Wait. Do not touch him. I have some explanation, although you may have to help me piece it all together. " Felin jumped in front of him, warding him off of me.

The other Nekorian growled, and Felin growled back. Her tail stood on end as she defended me.

I glanced at her again, my gaze never wavering. I had to trust that she could handle this.

She shoved her finger back at the Nekorian, having regained her composure. She stabbed him repeatedly with that finger. "We grew up in the dungeon for several generations. If you're so strong, why did you never collect us?" There was no explanation, she was just going to rail on him.

The male Nekorian appeared at least passably guilty as her words hit him, but then he firmed up and began his counter attack. "It's not that simple. The dungeon is more vast than you can imagine. How many races have you seen, little shaman? Two? Three? Perhaps as many as five. There are dozens. And the fact that you've only scratched the surface gives you an idea of how far the dungeon can extend." The Nekorian took a step forward, pressing himself into her finger. "But now that you've found your people once again, you should return." He held a hand out. 

Felin just stuck her tongue out and jumped behind me again. "Nope," she refuted him. "I'm staying with Ken. Besides, he's passed a dungeon trial.”

She spoke proudly as she told them of my triumph. "And it was he who protected me during the most recent dungeon shuffle. I owe him my life. You threatened the man I owe my life to, and that makes you a bad person." 

At those words, I could see the male Nekorian’s eye twitch heavily. He huffed and turned, disregarding her and instead focusing on me. 

"If you've truly saved her and are a virtuous person, then of course you'll tell her to return to her people. The Nekorians would love to find another lost group. This dungeon shuffle was not the first. Now that you've experienced a dungeon shuffle for yourself, you must understand the great pain that comes with being separated from your people. It hurts to have been such for generations. It is a travesty that must be undone. She likely has a clan that would happily take her in."

"I care for Felin, thus my priority will always be her wellbeing. If she doesn't want to go, I won't forsake her. If you wish her to go, then I would advise you to convince her with a little more tact. Perhaps then, you might have a chance." I stood up to the Nekorian, who looked like he was about to rip my head from my shoulders.

"One thing must be cleared up. You were surprised when I mentioned worshipping the goddess." The Nekorian focused on Felin once again. "Who is it that your clan worships?"

"The Great One, of course," she answered quickly.

"Felin, that's not very descriptive. When she says the Great One, she means the dungeon itself." I added.

This Nekorian threw his head back with a boisterous laugh. "You worship the dungeon? This damned thing?" The humor in his tone was unmistakable.

"Of course," Felin puffed out her cheeks. "The Great One has provided for my clan for generations."

That reminder seemed to burn. The male Nekorian that he took a step back. "I understand the confusion, however, Nekorian shamans typically do not worship the dungeon. Instead, they worship our goddess, Neko."

Felin tilted her head, as she often did when she was confused. "Neko?”

“It's who our race is named after. There are even records of her stepping down into the dungeon and interfering directly with its actions. She is like us Nekorians, though far more powerful." The high-level Nekorian spoke with nothing short of awe as he spoke of this goddess, Neko.

Felin, however, had a deep frown on her face. "If she's so powerful, then why didn't she help us?" Felin had a good point.

"It's more complicated than that. Everything is, young shaman. Please, I would love to bring you back into the fold so you may understand everything more holistically." He tried again.

"Don't wanna." Felin turned away like a spoiled child. "Now leave me alone. My group and I are on a journey to find some lost humans in the dungeon. Why don't we keep going? It seems this safe zone is going to be filled with hostility."

She huffed as if to prove a point, stepped away, and said, "Arguing with him made me upset. So upset that I'm hungry. Let's eat first." She charged away, leaving me with the male Nekorian for a moment before I dipped my head.

"I hope you understand she's under no compulsion. And I ask that you respect her wishes," I said, though I had a feeling that he was the kind to believe that his opinion had more credibility than any other.

I turned away, my party folding around me and Felin. Something told me we would run into him again at some point. I didn’t know many Nekorians, but I certainly knew the personality type that would be like a dog after a bone.

"That was tense," Penny said, the understatement of the year, as we began walking together. Our group stayed far away from the Nekorians.

"Don't talk now. Just enjoy a snack and have some water. Rest up for a few minutes, and then we'll keep going." My attention shifted to Felin. "My concern is mostly with you." I poked her cheek. "Are you okay?"

She pulled out a large jug of cream and began to down it in giant gulps. In just seconds, she managed to chug the whole thing before letting out a heavy sigh and wiping her lips. A smile blossomed on her face.

"Yep, they didn't look hard enough for me. So what? If they think they can tell me what to do, they're going to be disappointed. I am a shaman, and I will be respected." She practically growled the words out.

It was a knee jerk reaction. I was sure the revelation that her and her people were worshipping different beings probably shook some of her resolve. After all, she had been raised to believe deeply in the dungeon itself. The thought that there was something else her people worshipped had to be disorienting.

"We've rested enough," she declared, jumping to her feet a moment later. "We're going this way, right?" She pointed at one of the entrances to the safe zone. I waved her forward. 

She marched with the resolve of someone who had something to prove to those still watching her. I hurried to keep up with her, lest she do something reckless, like charge headfirst into the boss beyond the stairs.

The rest of my group also kept pace as we ascended and quietly slipped through the bronze doors, disregarding the boss beyond them. 

We emerged into a lush, wide-open plain dotted with rocky outcroppings. Powerfully built, antelope-like creatures with curling horns grazed throughout the field. They stood six feet tall and looked up from their grazing, revealing teeth with more points than I would expect from a herbivore. 

Penny glanced at the creatures. "They look a lot faster than the zombies," she commented. I had to agree with her. Something on four legs might be a lot harder for us than the last set of floors. 

"Before we get started," I said, "Felin, I want to make sure you're okay. We don't want you doing anything reckless." 

She huffed. "I'm fine. It's those other stupid ones that should be worried." 

I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Whatever happens, we will be here with you. If you say you're fine, then I'll let it be.”

“Penny, let's take a small group first and work our way around the edge of this field. I think the last thing we want to do is go out in the open and potentially end up fighting more than one pack. These monsters are level 50 and will be a stretch for our group. It should get easier the further up we push. I hope our path to Alice continues going up, or at least doesn't dip down too much further. If it does, I'll have to call on Crimson to help us finish this trip." 

Penny moved to the closest group, her sword out and at the ready. 

Unlike the zombies, these attacked far sooner. Their heads snapped up from where they were chewing at the ground, their tails perking up in some sort of herd warning as they turned and rushed her as one. 

Penny slammed her sword against the ground, the ripple of ice spikes stabbing into them and only slowing them briefly. She cast a fog of ice that froze patches of them, but still, they were far faster than our group.

Felin surrounded Penny with a sphere of ice, a barrier to protect her.

The first two of the group of five shattered the sphere. Penny blocked the third, but the fourth and fifth nearly knocked her over. 

She struggled to maintain her footing while getting charged by the five creatures.  Their spiraled antlers came crashing down and Penny suddenly had her hands full, constantly taking steps back while she moved her sword to block one blow after the other. Every now and then, she managed an ability in-between blocking that hit the group. 

Moving forward, we all joined in as Penny got the monsters grouped up. Des was able to switch back to her shadow damage and quickly began to work. Charlotte was busy, a stream of green healing energy pumping into Penny with each breath.

My own swords went to work, cleaving into the giant gazelles one stroke after the other. I used all of my abilities in quick succession, switching targets as I went, worried about pulling aggro off of Penny. She was so busy with the blocking that she wasn't doing nearly enough damage to keep aggro off for a single target.

Thankfully, despite them being higher-level monsters, our group was strong and we worked well together. Two supports and Penny formed a solid defense, keeping Penny alive while Des and I dealt plenty of damage.

[Liminal Speed] allowed me to compensate for the loss of Felin's support on the damage end. My own damage was ramping up to the point where it could compete with a whole party of damage dealers.

This was both to make up for our lack of levels and to support three of our members who were all on the defensive. 

Purple Lightning coursed down my arms as the first, second, and third gazelles fell under my blades.

Unlike the zombies, their spirits rose from the ground, joining me in finishing the other two.

Penny panted as we finished, leaning on her sword. Felin and Charlotte didn't waste any time. They sat down and focused on recovering their mana.

Des wiped her forehead and had a bottle of water to her lips the second we were done.

“I'm starting to understand why the two-support combination is so favored.” I sat down. At least I’d killed the monsters before Charlotte and Felin started to have mana issues.

“Supports can switch from a defensive focus to an offensive focus based on the group's need. That sort of flexibility is invaluable. I'm realizing just how much, especially when you don't know what you're up against.” Charlotte said.

The rest of the group nodded along. 

“If it's zombies, Felin can switch and help deal damage and push through faster. If it's incredibly fast, monstrous gazelles, then she can focus on defense, at least until a few die.” My stacks started to wind down while I spoke. Part of me wanted to rush to the next group, using [Liminal Speed] and the ghosts I had accumulated. But at the same time, it was reckless to go, even if I had confidence in my speed.

Our healer and support were out of mana. Running forward could put our party at risk. Even if I had confidence in my speed, I was learning when to be ambitious and when to be cautious. 

"I'm good enough," Charlotte opened her eyes, a knowing smile on her face. "I have mana potions if need be. And we don't want Ken to lose all his stacks, if we can help it." 

Penny nodded. "I'll get going." She pulled her sword out of the dirt and rushed forward to the next group, moving us along the dungeon wall and the edge of the field. 

The next group went easier, still having stacks from the first, to the point that Charlotte didn't need to rest nearly as long to recover her mana for the next round. 

"Keep going," Charlotte said. "Perhaps this time, Ken can throw his spirits at them first, and Penny can get a moment to wail on them and get all of the aggro." 

As Charlotte became the bottleneck, somehow she became more in charge of the situation. Her idea was a sound one, and I threw the spirits forward first. My ability to command them was basic at best, nothing more than them getting the sense to attack.

Penny came up behind and layered several blows of frost against them, before we all began to dump our damage as quickly as possible. Killing these monsters quickly was important to keeping Charlotte on her feet. The slower we killed everything, the more time she would need between packs to recover from healing all of us.