Cat Core 3, Chapter 29.

Chapter 29.

“Everyone gather up, this will take a second,” an older man, one of the rogues, said. There wasn’t time for introductions or anything other than to do as he said, though Florence was sure tired of other people trying to order her around.

The chanting reached a crescendo and she could feel pressure in her ears as mana poured into the spell this guy was casting. At least he wore something other than robes. Florence supposed being a mage in a shady organization meant you shouldn’t dress the same as any other mage. The only bad part was that he didn’t get the memo that going around dressed in black armor pretty much sent the “this guy’s a rogue” signal out pretty loud and clear. With an anticlimactic sounding pop, the spell activated, and Florence found herself inside an empty tavern.

“I don’t know where we are, hopefully, we’re far enough away from the adventurer’s guild that they can’t track us,” Florence said, noting the rather large number of people dressed in black armor and holding a variety of weapons that had gathered around her.

“So, this is it?” A young woman with a ghastly scar across her face asked.

“Yes, dear Scythe, this is Florence Valentine, a lovely woman that will gladly hold up to her side of the bargain,” Patricio responded.

“Get to it then, lady, start conjuring the reward chests,” the woman, Scythe, demanded.

“I don’t know what that durned fool Patricio told you, but I can’t create anything until I’m back in my home again. I need, let’s see, another three and a half days before that happens,” Florence said.

“My people just took a huge risk, and spent a lot of resources to rescue you, and now you tell me that you’re not going to keep up your side of the bargain,” Scythe growled, her hand resting on a pair of very deadly looking knives that were belted to her waist.

“Now just you hold your horse’s missy. Nobody insinuates that Florence Valentine won’t keep her word. I’ll have you know that my word is my bond, just ask anyone in Logan County,” Florence snapped back.

“Huh, a feisty one, I like that. What I don’t like is not having my price after I completed a job. People have tried that before, tried to stiff me and mine after completing a deal, they’re all dead now. I suggest you get to work unless you want to share the same fate,” Scythe demanded.

“I count a dozen at least, Florence, not good odds, considering there’s likely at least that many skulking in the shadows,” Doug said.

“I’ll keep up my side of the bargain but threatening me isn’t going to speed things up. You can wait until I transform into my home, or we have a scuffle. If you choose to scuffle, I should warn you that I’m not exactly what I seem to be,” Florence offered.

“You know, I’m inclined to believe you, Florence, I think the misunderstanding isn’t due to any deception on your part. I think the misunderstanding is due to Patricio’s negligence. I’ll tell you what, you can buy your three and a half days, but in return, we get to have some fun with Patricio. Hendry here will make a nice example of our negligent bard, one that will serve as a good motivator for you to uphold your side of the bargain,” Scythe said. A rather large hooligan stalked toward Patricio who was now being held down by several rogues.

“Nope, that’s not going to work. Patricio is an idiot, but he’s part of our team, and I can’t let you hurt him when he might be useful later on. I tell you what, you want to take out your frustrations for waiting, why don’t you give me a shot, I can take on your clown Hendry, and when I win, you leave us be until I can uphold my side of our deal,” Florence offered.

“No, Scythe won’t let me risk the life of the person who hasn’t paid us yet, but I will give Patricio a fair fight, even give him his weapons. I don’t fight old ladies,” Hendry said, he sounded about as smart as he looked, which was a nice way of saying the guy was a moron.

“Why don’t you try me on, that way Patricio gets to live, and you don’t risk damaging the person you need for your payday,” George offered, stepping forward and easily shrugging off the rogue that was trying to hold him back.

“Now, this, this is a fight worth watching. Is everyone agreed that if Hendry wins, this big guy dies, as well as Patricio? If your guy wins, we leave you alone for the time you’re requesting. In addition, we get whatever valuables you have on hand for making me wait,” Scythe said.

“You sure about this George?” Florence asked. She knew that George was tough, and even tougher now that they had recently leveled up but taking on a hardened killer might be beyond his ability. George nodded confidently. “Okay, we agree, but if George wins, we get your valuables,” Florence countered.

“Nobody beats Hendry, so sure, I’ll turn over my purse, and whatever Hendry is carrying, if your guy gets lucky and beats Hendry. There’s only one rule, you fight with what you have, no magical interference, and no passing off gear from your friends,” Scythe said.

“You’d have me fight unarmed?” George asked, trying to look a bit worried, despite Florence knowing the big guy was happiest using his bare hands.

“That’s the bargain. Let’s move this down to the cellar where we have a bit more room and you’re less likely to smash up my liquor and furniture,” Scythe said, herding everyone down a small stairway in the back of the tavern they were in.

The cellar was well stocked with food and drink, but they didn’t stop here for the fight, moving into an even larger room by using a hidden door that was built into one of the large casks. Roped off in the center of the room was a large fighting ring with short bleachers surrounding the fighting area. These rogues must have some kind of underground tournament going on, not exactly an unexpected line of business for their ilk. Scythe motioned both fighters to opposite sides of the ring.

“Ready? Fight!” Scythe shouted to start things off. At the same time, the rogue’s guild members doused most of the torches lining the place, giving their fellow what they perceived was an advantage. Hendry used an ability to blend in with the shadows, disappearing from view. George sniffed the air and stood there, waiting for something. Now, her friend might look like any old big strong guy, but he was a fragment of a beast core and some of that rubbed off on him, even his hybrid form.

Hendry got in the first hit, appearing behind George and driving his daggers into her friend’s back. Florence was worried that George was going to be taken out by the first hit but had already sniffed out the rogue and anticipated the attack, rolling out of the way and preventing a critical hit. Critical hit or not, George still roared with anger over the painful wound, his rage meter appearing in the corner of Florence’s vision, along with her companion’s health, which was down by half. The powerful stabs had bumped George’s rage to 38%, which was more than enough for him to activate his Slam ability. Both fists hammered into the rogue as the ability activated, causing the rouge to stumble about and preventing him from disappearing back into the shadows.

The rogue grunted in pain as he stumbled across the ring and snagged himself on the ropes. George didn’t miss a beat, charging his foe and hammering blows from his oversized fists. Each hit brought up his rage meter a bit. As his rage grew, so did the damage that George dished out. Not only that, but he also got harder to hurt and increased his health pool. Hendry was no slouch, and Florence could see why this here rogue’s guild thought he was going to win as he slipped past George’s next blow and began to try to turn her friend into a pincushion with a flurry of knife strikes.

Health dipping down even as his rage increased, George tried to close with Hendry who was running around the ring, keeping out of reach and throwing small daggers the whole time. They were likely coated in poison or something nasty, but that sort of goop didn’t affect a core fragment, but each hit must have hurt given how fast the rage bar was rising, already at 91% and climbing.

“George is going to be kited around until he loses,” Doug said, fear for their friend creeping into her kitty companion’s voice.

“Nah, he’s got him right where he wants him,” Florence said, figuring George just needed to max out his rage to end this thing. About that time, the rogue tossed two more daggers, one hitting George’s eye and throwing him over 100% rage.

“Now I destroy you!” George shouted, his voice booming throughout the room and causing several of the guild members to cover their ears. In a few moments, the big and tough-looking George was gone, his body transformed into that of a nine-foot-tall gorilla. With surprising agility, George loped forward, his oversized mitts catching hold of Hendry before starting to squeeze and pull.

George looked crazed, lost in his bestial form, but before he ended the rogue, he glanced back at Florence, almost as if he was seeking her approval. Florence figured it wouldn’t do any of them good to kill this Hendry right now. She figured it would be easier to smooth things out with the rogue’s guild, and maybe make the situation over their deal a little less strained if they weren’t killing off the guild members. She waved George away motioning for him to not kill the rogue.

“George won fair and square, and I’d rather not have to kill this fella over a misunderstanding. Do you agree that we’ve won this?” Florence asked Scythe.

“Fine, I agree, and while I am disappointed in Hendry’s performance, your man was quite impressive. Well, a deal is a deal, we may be the rogue’s guild, but we deal straight with those we have an agreement with,” Scythe said, tossing her heavy purse over to Florence.

“Well, I’m glad we can do business, but I do have a few questions if you don’t mind,” Florence said.

“Ask away, but we trade answers for answers,” Scythe said. This woman seemed to always be working an angle to get something out of every conversation, which was probably why she was leading this band of rogues.

“Agreed, first question, where exactly are we?” Florence asked.

“You’re guests of the Pine Grove Inn in the city of Darnglade, one of the many businesses my guild runs. An organization like mine needs a legitimate cover, and believe it or not, the inn has proven to be quite a money maker for us, it almost makes me want to go legit, almost, but not quite. Now it’s my turn for a question, what exactly are you? I know what Patricio says, but I prefer to hear it directly from you,” Scythe asked.

“Everyone seems to be asking me that a bunch lately, I’m a core, but sort of different. My core was destroyed, and I was changed into this so I can track down the no-good lich that did this to me. I’ll give you a bonus answer to show my goodwill. I change, from this human form, back into my home, what the ignorant might call a dungeon, every week or so. As for my next question, there’s a dungeon nearby, where can I find it?” Florence asked.

“The dungeon is right under your feet, it’s a place they call the Catacombs of Darnglade, a slime and vermin dungeon that runs under the entire city. Entrances are well monitored by the adventurer’s guild, which I’m fine with, nobody wants dungeon creatures spewing out right under their feet and out of their latrine. I can get your party into the dungeon if you need it, but it will cost you extra. My next question, how are you going to make my reward chests?” Scythe asked.

“When I’m transformed into my home, I can create the reward chests using my mana. You’ll have to open them up inside my home because once somebody touches one, it’ll disappear and drop your reward. As far as getting into the dungeon, I can handle that if it is right below us. After we deal with the dungeon, I’ll need transport, preferably quick transport, to the next one, so I guess my question is, can you arrange that, and how much is it going to cost me?” Florence asked.

“Teleportation to most places shouldn’t be a problem, after all, that’s how we got you here in the first place. Any rogue’s guild worth their salt will have a mage well trained in portal magic. As far as getting you to your next destination, I’ll agree it’s possible, but we’ll wait on a price until after I see where you need to go. My last question, is whether or not the adventurer’s guild can track you? If they can, I can’t have you loitering in one of my businesses,” Scythe said.

“Nope, they can’t track me, and the only reason they were able to catch us in the first place was that we stayed at the last dungeon too long, one they had sent a team to investigate. I don’t have any other questions, are you good?” Florence asked.

“We’re good, and I’ll even make sure you have rooms up in the inn if you want them,” Scythe said.

‘Thank you, Fizz may want to track down some stuff for his tinkering hobby. Take this back to pay for it, the rooms, and a down payment on our next portal,” Florence said, tossing the purse back to Scythe. If they could teleport her, the main need they had for the coin was gone, and it was better not to take it from the guild leader that they needed on their side if they were going to survive the next few days.

“That will work, I’d say it was a pleasure doing business with you, Florence, but until I hold off on that until I get what I was promised,” Scythe said as she left the cellar, giving Florence and her team the room to themselves, at least for the time being.