Cat Core 3, Chapter 2.

Chapter 2.

“Florence, I think you broke our gnome,” Doug said.

“Bah, he’s just playing around since he knows I’m mad at him for all this mess,” Florence said, trying to make gagging noises but having some difficulty accomplishing it.

“Stop with that, Florence, your clothing is a part of you, and you can clean it anytime you want. You can also dispense with your rather pathetic attempts at gagging. You’re a core shard creature and do not need to eat or drink, and you lack a true gag reflex,” Doug said.

“How do you know all that?” Florence said while trying to access her core interface.

“Continuing to be your advisor is part of my duty, and to those ends, the powers that be have seen fit to instill in me some knowledge of your new existence,” Doug replied. Florence ignored him for a minute, concentrating on cleaning up the goop that was stuck to her. It felt different than cleaning up her home had felt, but the process was similar enough that it didn’t take long before she was squeaky clean once again.

“Okay, what else should I know if you got all that knowledge about me stuck in your brain?” Florence asked.

“It doesn’t work that way, when a situation arises where some particular information is necessary, it will be provided to me, and in turn, I shall advise you. My advice for the moment is to get Fizz on his feet and exit our former home,” Doug said.

“Fine, hey Fizz, you alive still?” Florence asked, poking the gnome with her cane.

“Uggh, don’t poke me, I’m getting up,” Fizz said, a few more crackles of electricity popped over his body as the gnome stood. Florence gave him a minute to gather himself and his makeshift weapon before they continued on their journey.

“I hate to see our home in such a state,” Florence lamented.

“Don’t worry, in a few days you’ll transform, and we’ll be back home, at least for a while,” Doug tried to assure her. Florence was a bit worried about what would happen when she transformed. She was only level one, so would her whole home appear, or only a portion of it? Would her babies be able to defend her now that a lot of their power had been taken away?

“Fresh air, at last, not that I’m complaining about your home, it wasn’t stuffy or dank like you’d expect an underground place to be,” Fizz said as they emerged onto the surface. She had made such a lovely entryway into the cavern, and to see it already starting to fall apart was depressing, depressing enough that she didn’t have the energy to argue with Fizz.

“Florence, now that we’re outside our old home, you should be able to sense our target,” Doug said. Her home was gone, but it must have had some lingering dungeon aura that prevented her from doing whatever it was she could do now to continue her quest. Just thinking about finding their target activated a system prompt.

Quest Updated. Stop Berikoz. You have been granted a new ability, Sense Objective. Use this ability to locate the nearest dungeon core infected with the lich’s influence. Journey there and deny the core’s power to your foe.

Florence activated Sense Objective and could feel a slight pull in the direction the dungeon was located, toward the forest in the northwest. It wasn’t much to go on, and the feeling wasn’t all that strong, like she had a good ways to go in order to reach the dungeon. If she had a map, Florence thought she might be able to locate the dungeon, which would help them plot the fastest route there. The countdown had started, and she had only 199 days to complete her quest before something bad happened to her and Doug.

“Hey Fizz, you got a map in there with all that junk?” Florence asked.

“I uh, no, just kind of packed the essentials. A lot of our stuff was destroyed in the attack,” Fizz said.

“A map wasn’t essential? Where can we get one?” Florence asked.

“It does look like there is still activity in the town, if we hurry, someone there might be able to assist us,” Doug said, pointing his paw toward the nearby town. Florence remembered looking out over the place, taking pride in the fact her home was contributing to its growth. Now, the place looked mostly abandoned. It made sense that without her home being nearby, the place had no reason to exist.

AS the trio walked toward the town, Florence was happily reminded that her new physical body didn’t have any of the aches and pains that had been her constant companions back on earth. As an added bonus, she didn’t seem to lose her breath or become tired, at least not during the short distance from her home to the town.  There were about a half dozen wooden buildings and several others that had begun construction before things were abandoned. Only one structure appeared occupied, it was some kind of combination inn and shop. A few people were milling about, most of which appeared to be adventurers purchasing a few items before heading to their next destination or the inn’s staff packing things up into large wagons.

“Watch where you’re going. I swear, the youth here have as little respect for the elderly as the people back home,” Florence said, swiping at an adventurer with her cane as the young man backed out of the inn’s front door without looking, his attention focused on someone inside. The glancing blow had more power behind it than she thought, causing the man to stumble a step away from her, the chainmail armor he wore preventing any real damage.

“Woah, sorry, ma’am, I didn’t see you and your, uh, companions there,” the young man said backing away from Doug, who despite being painfully adorable as a giant kitty, could also be intimidating given the giant claws and teeth he now possessed.

“At least you have manners enough to apologize, if not the sense to look where you’re walking,” Florence said as she entered the inn, Doug and Fizz right behind her.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have much to offer right now, we’re packing things up now that the dungeon is gone. I have a pot of stew on the fire if you’re hungry and the last of the gear is still out on display if you need to make any purchases,” a man who looked like he worked here said.

“Thank you, I’m looking for a map if you have one,” Florence said.

“I’ve packed them away; take a seat and I’ll dig one out for you. I’m Ben, but most folks call me Junior. Let me know if you need anything,” Junior said, motioning for her to go toward the other half of the building that had been set up like a tavern. This half was more shop than anything, but the stairs leading to a second story probably meant they rented rooms as well.

“That’s very nice of you, Junior, it’s good to see a young man that was raised right. It’s altogether rare these days,” Florence said, moving to secure the table nearest the store. Fizz ordered a bowl of stew and an ale, but Florence and Doug didn’t need to eat, much to Doug’s disappointment. He had really enjoyed sneaking treats when he was just a little kitten back on Earth. Florence knew they weren’t good for him, but she always did like to spoil her kitties.

“Oh my, look over there, Florence, I see some familiar faces,” Doug said with a smile. It was a little-known fact that cats could smile and big kitties like Doug, could have even more facial expressions than the smaller versions could.

Florence looked across the room, her breath catching in her throat as she spotted one of the few friends she had in this world, Shara. It was a relief that she had survived the attack on Florence’s home, she suspected that Shara’s class ability had teleported her away before the rogues’ daggers could strike home, but you never knew. It had been a chaotic few moments, what with Berikoz showing up and the guild folks getting all murdery and whatnot. Florence also recognized the others with her, it was the adventuring group that Shara was in charge of, young’uns that were still learning the ropes.

“Shara, is that really you?” Florence said, walking over to the table where her friend and the young adventurers she was with sat.

“Yes, my name is Shara, do I know you?” Shara said, confused, and a bit wary.

“She doesn’t recognize you Florence, you were a glowing gem before,” Doug said. That big ugly dog one of them adventurers had with her growled at Doug, who responded in kind with a hiss of his own.

“Hey, call off your mangy mutt, Doug doesn’t mean any harm,” Florence said to the adventurer, she thought her name was Ida, Isa, Idaho, or something.

“Your companion could do with some calling off as well,” Shara said, looking a bit angry over the whole situation.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, you wouldn’t know me in this form,” Florence said, waving Doug back and motioning Shara over so she could whisper. She didn’t want the whole joint to know who she was. “It’s me, Florence Valentine, and I’m happy to see you alive and well, Shara,” Florence said. That whole group just sat there with their mouths hanging open like they didn’t believe a word she was saying or that she was some crazy person.

“That’s not possible, the lich, the guild, you were destroyed,” Shara muttered.

“Yeah, I was dead, but that’s nothing new, I’ve been dead like four or five times now, I kind of lost track. Well, I’m back, and things are a little different as you can see,” Florence said.

“I want to believe you, but it’s a bit much. Is there any way you can prove your claim?” Shara asked.

“How am I supposed to do that? It’s not like you people carry around identification. Do you even have a driver’s license here? I guess you can ask me a question only I would know the answer to,” Florence replied.

“Where did we first meet?” Shara asked.

“That’s easy, inside my first home,” Florence replied.

“What happened to your first home?” Shara asked.

“Them crazy dog people, like her, tore it up,” Florence said, pointing toward Isa, yep, that was her name, Isa. Her dopey hound growled again, but this time, Doug was minding his manners like a good kitty, and didn’t reply in kind. He even put on a good show of cat-based disdain, slowly licking his paw as he ignored the mutt.

“What happened to me the last time we saw each other?” Shara asked.

“You almost got killed, that guild rogue was just about to stab you good and final when you were zapped away,” Florence said.

“You’re right, nobody would know that but Florence Valentine, you really are her, aren’t you? What happened, how did you survive everything?” Shara said, finally catching on that Florence was who she said she was.

“That was thanks to you, my dear, you saved me with that spell you cast. Now, I did pass on, but because of that spell, I got another chance. It changed me, as you can see, and I’ve only got a limited time here to complete a quest,” Florence said.

“I didn’t think that spell would work, but I had to try something,” Shara said, standing up to hug her friend.

“So, if you’re, you know who, and you know what. Is that Doug? Why’s he all tiger-sized and not a kitten anymore?” Tipp asked.

“Of course, he’s Doug, go on, tell them Doug,” Florence said.

“I can’t, they don’t hear me as you do. To them, I’m just making cat noises,” Doug replied.

“Wait, none of you can hear Doug speak?” Florence asked, everyone around the table shook their heads no.

“I can hear him,” Fizz said.

“I wasn’t asking you, of course you can hear him, you were part of my home,” Florence said.

“Can I pet him?” Jess asked. She was the warrior of the group, a barbarian or berserker or some nonsense if Florence remembered correctly.

“She may,” Doug said.

“Doug said you could pet him,” Florence replied. Jess began to give the big kitty some scratches behind the ear. Doug sure seemed to like it and started purring up a storm.

“What are you doing back, and how did you end up with a real body?” Shara asked, pulling her away to another table for some privacy. Fizz and Doug seemed okay with the other adventurers, though Doug and that girl Isa’s dog kept giving each other the stink eye.

“I’ve got a quest, like I mentioned. I’m supposed to take care of that lich Berikoz that gave me so much trouble. If I can do that before my time here is up, well, I’m not sure what will happen, but it’s supposed to be something good, and if I fail, it won’t be so good,” Florence replied.

“How do they expect the three of you to defeat a lich as powerful as that with an elderly woman? I mean no offense, I’m elderly as well,” Shara asked, a bit shocked at what Florence had been tasked with accomplishing.

“I’m not some old helpless lady, I’ve got skills, and I’m still a core,” Florence said. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching them and activated Summon Defender. As she hoped, the kitty that popped into being was Midnight, who had always loved Shara. When she appeared, Midnight rubbed hello on Florence’s legs before jumping into Shara’s lap. Her friend didn’t look all that comfortable with a core enhanced kitty’s weight on her lap, but at least Midnight was still level one and not quite the monster she would become at later levels.

“It’s good to see you too Midnight. Florence, is there anything we can do to help you? My order has tasked me to return, but I can submit a request to assist you in your quest, given how important it is,” Shara offered.

An offer to join in your quest has been made. Your quest is restricted to core shards and those that have a direct affinity with you. The current eligible members are the following:

1. Doug. As your companion creature, Doug is required to join you on the quest.

2. Fitzfizzle Zizzlefitz Jones, also known as Fizz, is eligible due to being an allied resident of your prior home.

“I can’t have anyone join me on this quest except for these two. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to put you or these kids at risk. This is something I have to handle, but maybe someday, I’ll set my home back up and you can all visit me,” Florence said. She could have really used Shara and her party’s help, but the system would likely do something nasty to them all if they tried to break the rules. Besides, everyone knew that Florence Valentine didn’t break the rules.

“I understand, oftentimes, quests for my order have severe restrictions as well. Perhaps I can help in some other way? Do you need any coin, or perhaps some supplies for your journey?” Shara asked.

“Well, I suppose there are some things that you could help me out with, I’m looking for a dungeon that’s the next step in my quest. Junior is supposed to be finding me a map, but he seems a little distracted.

“You’ve come to the right place, Florence, I’m a matron of the order of light entrusted with the training of new initiates. I wouldn’t be very good at my task if I didn’t know where the dungeons in these lands are located,” Shara said. It was some help that Florence was more than happy to accept.