Cat Core 2, Chapter 32.

Chapter 32.

“Sit still, you big stink bag,” Surly chided as he tried to fasten a harness around Spud’s big belly. Florence couldn’t believe it; the big plague charger was allowing the gnome to strap what looked like a mechanical saddle to her second-floor champion. The gnome finished up the task, securing a pair of shields to the saddle with clamps built-in for that purpose. The gnome then added a long tube to each shield, the tubes reminding her of the barrels of a cannon.

“Hey Doug, did that gnome just mount cannons onto Spud?” Florence asked.

“No, I suspect they’re not quite up to the standard of modern weaponry, but they will do something horrible to whatever they’re pointed at,” Doug advised.

“That’s too bad, I could use more cannon kitties in my home,” Florence said. Giving up the idea of fielding a cat-based armored division.

The gnome finished up right in the nick of time, the party climbing up after Kam had recovered his senses. Dark and dingy, the attic wasn’t all that easy to see inside. Florence kept the light down, only the moonlight coming in from the window illuminated the place. Old Spud could see just fine, but the adventurers took a moment while Harmon summoned a simple light spell for the party.

“Charge!” Surly said, holding on to the saddle for dear life as Spud leaped forward. The gnome had secured what resembled a gas mask to his face, and he looked completely ridiculous atop the plague charger champion.

Surly may have looked ridiculous, but he knew how to use those strange weapons he had strapped to the shields. As the champion neared the foe, Durg moved to place himself in front of the angry kitty. From the barrel of the weapon, a large spear shot forth. The orc caught the spear on his tower shield, but the momentum from the charging cat as well as the more powerful than it looked weapon drove the spear through the metal shield, splinters stabbing into Durg’s arm.

Spud batted the orc aside, a second swipe opening up deep wounds on Kam before pulling back for another charge. Before he left the vicinity of the party, a familiar burbling noise was heard from behind the kitty and a green cloud of stink began to fill the space. The party struggled as the foul odor caused them to gag and vomit, watering eyes having trouble seeing anything in the dark attic.

Spud reached the far wall, turning for a second charge. The attic floor shook as the champion sprinted toward the party once more. Harmon finished casting a spell, despite the overpowering stench. Fresh air blew across the attic, removing some, but not all of the champion-generated fumes. It was enough for the party to regain their feet, right when Surly fired the second weapon. This time, the spear didn’t meet a heavily armored shield, it met the magically reinforced garb of Harmon. The magical reinforcements to his clothing were meant to turn a knife blade or change a fatal wound into only a serious one, but they were never designed to hold back a spear fired from the back of a charging plague mount.

“Harmon!” Kam shouted as the spear pierced his comrade’s body, digging into the attic floor and holding the now deceased mage upright.

The fatal attack canceled the clear air spell that Harmon had cast, allowing the stench to return to its full effect, causing both Kam and Durg to gag once more, distracting him from the deadly claws of Spud. Charging into the fight was his thing, but Florence knew her baby was just as deadly close-up, the enhanced champion claws tore through the chainmail Kam wore, opening deep wounds in his chest and stomach.

“Take that you son of a goblin!’ Surly shouted. The gnome had pulled a crossbow from somewhere in the bulging pack he wore and fired it into the wounded Kam. This was no normal weapon, nope, this was one of them there gnome tinker deals and it fired two bolts at once. The twin projectiles slammed into Kam’s upturned face, fighting from atop a mount giving the diminutive gnome a commanding view of his target.

Kam staggered back, scimitars swinging feebly at Spud as the cat leaned forward and took the man’s head in his jaws. A gross sounding snap was heard and the headless Kam dropped to the attic floor, Spud swallowing loudly and looking like the cat who had caught the canary. Durg was having none of it, the orc took in his fallen comrades and made a beeline for the attic stairwell. Florence wasn’t going to let any of these creeps escape and used her summons to drop a kitty right in his path. The summons turned out to be a good one this time, and Chubbs appeared, her first-floor champion blocking the path of the retreating orc.

“Nope, you’re not making it out of here alive,” Florence said.

“Agreed, to let one of these escape would only invite a retaliatory assault from a vengeance-seeking survivor,” Doug said.

Durg was heavily armored and skilled with his weapons, but that didn’t matter when he was trapped between two champion kitties, not to mention that gnome Surly wasn’t done yet either, trying with some difficulty to reload his crossbow while atop the bucking Spud. First, the orc's shield was ripped away by Chubbs, then Spud was able to land several blows, including another powerful bite that failed to decapitate his target, but did leave large holes in him from the cat’s oversized teeth. A second volley of bolts hit and then Chubbs dealt the final blow, ripping the adventurer a deep wound his armor and health couldn’t endure.

“Ha, take that, well done my babies, and thanks to you as well, Surly,” Florence said.

“Surly? Nope core lady, my name is Bizzlenap Ipipip Smith,” Surly replied.

“Uh, I’ll just stick with Surly if you don’t mind,” Florence replied. Surly just shrugged and went with it, the gnome dismounting to examine the armor and weapons the adventurers had on them.

“You can salvage what you can from the invaders, just leave anything you don’t want on the ground. Oh, make sure you get someone down to check on Fizz, I think he’s alive, but he’s trapped in that parakeet robot thingy,” Florence said.

“Hold up, I don’t think this is quite over yet, Florence,” Doug said, drawing her attention to a group entering the front door of her home.

There were five of them, the lead pair were heavily armored with gear that practically glowed with enchantments. Behind the lead pair was another armored figure, and if she had to guess, this one was a healer of some type. A mage followed, protective spells twisting around his form. The final figure was almost ethereal, a shadowy rogue class that was so powerful it was hard to see even without trying to hide.

“What in tarnation are they doing here, and who are they?” Florence asked.

“I doubt they’re affiliated with the party of hooligans that we just dispatched, but they are surely not here for a delve. A single piece of their gear is likely more valuable than every drop in our home,” Doug said.

“They seem a bit confused, which is understandable given the dead bodies and whatnot all over our home,” Florence said. She desperately wanted to respawn her defenders but was unable to with this new party already inside.

“Spud, you’re a good boy, go on back to your normal spot and let the attic air out a bit. These folks don’t look like the type we want to start a ruckus with,” Florence said. Her often strong-willed champion obeyed this time trotting back to the corner but standing ready to defend his home if needed.

“Hey, Surly, jump on down and join your fellows, If this goes sideways, I don’t want you caught in the crossfire,” Florence said.

“I’ll stay up here with my friend if you don’t mind,” Surly said.

“Sure, but don’t blame me if you get turned into a toad or something,” Florence warned.

The party wasted no time, heading through the first floor and onto the second. Once they had their bearings, they made their way to the attic, the rogue disappearing and no doubt already in the attic somewhere. One of the armored warriors reached the top of the attic stair, looking over the room before speaking.

“First live defender has been spotted, a floor champion. Dispatch it, but leave the gnome, it’s not tagging as a defender and we may need it for questioning later,” the armored warrior ordered. After he finished, Spud dropped to the ground dead, a brief whisp was all that was seen of the rogue, her poisoned daggers killing Florence’s baby without trouble.

“Woah, what’s going on here, Surly barked as he rolled from his now-deceased mount.

“Keep silent, we’re here on guild business. You’re not a dungeon-created defender so your life will be spared as long as you don’t interfere in our work. I should warn you that pestering us with questions constitutes interference,” the mage said as he climbed the stairs.

“Uh oh, this doesn’t look good, I think I’m going to be sick,” Florence said as the team dropped climbed down the ladder to the backyard.

“I don’t know what to do,” Doug said. It wasn’t like him to be without a plan, even a stupid one. The sick feeling got worse, and Florence worried it wasn’t just due to the adventurer’s guild kill team closing in on her.

With no effort, the rogue took care of Spooky, Sun Wukong, Lizzy, and Scamp. Mortimer moved toward the party only to be dropped by a spell from the wizard. It was their turn to be surprised when Mortimer and all four kitties rose again, this time as zombies, all of which attacked. It was only a brief respite, and the zombie versions of her kitty defenders were taken out without landing a single hit. Things were definitely out of control, and Florence doubted they would survive the next few minutes.