Cat Core 2, Chapter 29.

Couldn't wait until Monday before posting another chapter after the cliffhanger from chapter 28.

Chapter 29.

“Core gem, I know you can hear and speak with us, I require that you do so now. Tell me, without any subterfuge, how it is possible so many adventurers have met their demise inside your dungeon,” Robes demanded.

“Ok, mister, two things. First, my name is Florence Valentine, I’m a lady and expect to be addressed as such. Second, this is a home, not some creepy dungeon,” Florence said forcefully. Doug moved behind her rocking chair, covering his head with his paws. The scaredy-cat didn’t want her to speak out, but Florence Valentine was not going to abide folks barging into her home uninvited and trying to order her around without so much as a how do you do.

“You are not the ones to make demands, the guild is here to investigate and render judgment. Now, answer the question as to why so many adventurers died inside your dungeon,” Robes said, reiterating his demands.

“Your poor mother, she must be mortified to have a son that treats an elderly woman so poorly. Fine, I’ll answer your question if it’ll get you to leave. Some folks died inside my home, but did I go on some murder spree, no sirree. My home is dangerous, but the folks that died inside it knew the risks they were taking. I know you saw the signs on your way in, I gave every loving one of them the chance to back out before they got in over their heads, but the ones that pushed too far, or just ran into a spot of bad luck, well, that’s the life of an adventurer, isn’t it?” Florence argued.

“You are correct that dangers can be expected, and that reflects in the expected mortality rate. Your home has a rate of nearly 100%, how can you explain that?” Robes demanded.

“That weren’t my fault at all, nope, your adventurer’s guild is to blame for that,” Florence argued.

“What, how are we responsible for you killing everyone that comes into your dungeon!” Armor spouted out.

“I’ll tell you how, it’s because you weren’t doing your job. Do you know what killed those folks? It weren’t me, it was a completely bonkers core gem that did it. Some other core was residing here, or somewhere nearby, and it shattered, causing core shard creatures to start roaming around the tunnels killing everything and trying to eat up my core as well,” Florence told them.

“Another core in this area, Dinlam, check the records. A core shard creature you say, I doubt it, but we’ll know shortly. Even if that was the case, the deaths happened in your area of influence,” Robes said.

“Sir, there were reports of a core in this area years ago, but the dungeon went inactive, here are the details,” the armored guy Dinlam said. Robes grabbed the magical scroll with the information on it, reading before starting his interrogation again.

“If this core shard did as you say, you would know what type of dungeon it was. What types of creatures attacked you?” Robes asked.

“Critters, you know, spiders and scorpions. I wanted to call them insects, but Doug reminded me that those are arthropods,” Florence replied.

“Hmm, that could be accurate, it was a B-minus rated vermin core dungeon. That doesn’t put you in the clear, the deaths occurred inside your area of influence, and I find it hard to believe these core shards would remain inactive for so long,” Robes argued.

“Not to mention this core is trying to place the blame on our esteemed organization,” Dinlam interjected.

“Fine, that bit about you being at fault may not be entirely true, is more the lich’s fault than yours, but you shouldn’t let him go around victimizing core gems. You’d think that an organization as ‘esteemed’ as yours would want to protect your livelihood,” Florence said.

“Now you’re blaming a lich for your actions?” Dinlam said incredulously.

“Yeah, Berikoz, that jerk even tried to take over my gem, but I ran him off. He’s using us for phylacteries,” Florence advised.

“I know that name, Randman, I mean, sir. Many of our guild-affiliated high-level adventuring parties have been offered an outrageous sum by the Kingdom of Fintok to destroy that monster. The information should be in the register, it was noted since many of the high-level dungeons have been dealing with limited visitors as most parties are tracking down that fiend,” Dinlam said with a shocked look on his face as he pointed out the entry in their magic scroll to Randman, the guy she had been calling Robes. Florence wished she could get a peek at the durned thing, but it was protected from her view by magic of some sort.

“Interesting, this undead fiend has found a way to thwart even high-level parties. Normally, there are several magical means to keep the monster from its phylactery, but if that phylactery was masked by the magic inherent in a core gem, he just might be able to avoid detection and destruction,” Randman said to himself.

“That is only conjecture, and it still doesn’t answer why nobody has seen or been attacked by these core shard creatures since it was destroyed,” Randman said.

“Something tells me this wasn’t exactly a highly populated vacation spot, so it’s no wonder folks wouldn’t have been around for the creatures to attack. I should also mention that, purely without my input or consent, I just might have accidentally entered into a pact with this Berikoz character. Maybe that connection woke the critters up, they sure seemed keen on eating my core, I’ll have you know,” Florence admitted.

“That could be it, but it is very unlikely,” Randman argued.

“Unlikely sir, but these core shard creatures aren’t entirely unheard of and if they did populate the tunnels, like this core suggests, their latent energy may have masked where the adventurers had fallen. We see they fell in a dungeon, but we never considered there could be something else giving off dungeon mana. Our assumption that it was this dungeon responsible may be inaccurate,” Dinlam offered.

“Well, some of them adventurers did die in here. A few were just durned fools and got themselves killed through their stupidity, but them core shard critters liked to wait for the parties to leave, when they were out of resources and vulnerable. A few groups were chased back inside my home before they were killed by the shard monsters. I tried to help, but there was only so much I could do,” Florence told the investigators.

“I think we’ll take some time to investigate further. For now, we’ll allow your core to function as it has been. If this whole unlikely chain of events did occur, the mortality rate inside this place should drop precipitously. In the meantime, I’ll investigate this lich Berikoz further. If he is truly involved in using core gems to further his own ends, that could be a threat to our entire organization,” Randman said.

“That’s mighty kind of you. I’m sorry if I said some unhospitable words earlier, I didn’t realize you were going to give me a fair shake,” Florence said.

“Make no mistake core, I will get to the truth and if what you have told us is false, I will personally sign the kill team order. We have a group standing by, ready to teleport in, just for that purpose. Good day to you,” Randman said, turning and leading his flunky Dinlam out of the core room.

“Doug, I think that went about as good as we could have hoped for,” Florence said.

“Don’t get too comfortable, they may still decide to end you just to make sure they’ve covered all their bases. I should have never entered into an agreement with Berikoz, I’m sorry Florence,” Doug said.

“I told you there was no need to apologize for that, you did what you had to do and I appreciate you saving me. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m going to put up with your nonsense, but I will always be grateful,” Florence said.

“Thank you for that, I believe I will help the gnomes work on the battle parakeets. They’ve just finished up rebuilding Skyler so that I can pilot it. Imagine that, a fierce warrior kitty using a bird mech to wreak havoc on our foes,” Doug said.

“Ha, a kitten in a chicken, not exactly fear-inspiring, but I guess it does keep you out of trouble, so have at it,” Florence told Doug. She suspected that Doug and Fizz would become fast friends, just like Spud and Surly had become. In fact, Surly was back in the attic, trying to attach some mechanical contraption to the back of Spud, who seemed to barely tolerate the gnome’s efforts.

Florence had hope as she watched the adventurer’s guild investigators walking across the front lawn of her home. Her position was precarious, but the guild might just be the key to getting rid of Berikoz and his hold over her core. With the power and resources at their disposal, a way to prevent the core gems from being used as a phylactery shouldn’t be too much trouble.

“I sense something, beware!” Randman shouted, glowing magic starting to gather around his person as Dinlam stopped to draw his sword, looking around for the danger that Randman was warning him of.

“You fools! I told you not to get too close. Kill them both, they spotted us,” a voice called out from the gazebo. As Florence watched three humans materialized on the lawn, halberds thrusting toward Randman. A magic shield around the investigator flashed as the weapons struck, deflecting the attack with the screech of nails on a chalkboard.

Two arrows thudded into Dinlam, one shaft hit his unarmored neck while the other shattered against his breastplate. Small bursts of flame peppered the pair as a man in shabby robes appeared behind them, magical flames pouring from his hands. Randman cast the spell he had prepared, a wave of energy flowing across the lawn and the welcome center. No fewer than thirty opponents materialized, a scruffy lot that wasted no time in pressing their attacks.

“Doug, get out of that bird suit and look at the front lawn!” Florence shouted, trying to figure out if she should do something to help, but not wanting to unleash her kitties only to have the investigators think she was part of the attack.

The wave of energy revealed two rogues that had been hidden just behind Dinlam. Quick despite his armor, the investigator thrust his blade deep into the chest of one rogue, the leather armor the attacker wore doing little to stop Dinlam’s enchanted blade. The second rogue rolled past the investigator, dodging his next attack and slashing the curved dagger in his hand across the back of Dinlam’s knee, causing the investigator to stumble.

Randman fired off a burst of magic missiles, the bolts of magic slamming into the trio of halberdiers that were assailing him. The attack dropped all three, but not before the second thrust of their halberds shattered Randman’s magical shield. Archers around the gazebo poured arrow fire into the guild mage while the rest of the attackers closed in.

While not as powerful as the other pair of guild representatives that had first visited them, the pair battling for their lives on the front lawn were skilled. Unfortunately for them, skill didn’t look like it would overcome the sheer number of attackers that were currently engaging them. That was when she recognized one of the attackers, the mage. He was dressed not in the typical robes with a staff or wand, no, this joker was wearing common peasant garb and had only a simple dagger belted to his waist.

Scanning the others, Florence picked out the two she expected to see. Durg, the orc in heavy plate was charging across the lawn toward Randman, his spike-covered shield ready to impale the guild investigator. The man with the gravelly voice, Kam, was over by the gazebo, barking out orders even as he drew the two scimitars on his belt and jogged over to join the fight.

A ball of flame left Randman’s hand, aimed at the charging orc. The blast hit, flames exploding outward, but the orc just shrugged it off. Activating an ability, the orc instantly leaped to his target, spiked shield leading the way. Spikes skittered off some new layer of protective magic, but a heave from the powerful orc broke through Randman’s defenses, allowing the sharp spikes to dig deep into the guild mage’s body.

Randman raised a glowing hand, ready to smite the orc, but before he could release the gathered power, the orc’s axe swept down. With its blade glowing red, the axe clove through Randman’s hand, drawing a shriek of pain from the mage, only to have the sound cut off with a second axe blow that slammed deep into the mage’s chest, permanently silencing him. Only Dinlam remained, and it didn’t look too good for him.

A half dozen attackers had gathered around the beleaguered guild warrior, his blade lashing out to intercept the incoming weapons. Dinlam was continuously peppered by arrows and a blast of green goo hit him in the face, the acid spell partially blinding the man. Kam reached the fight, his twin swords a blur of motion as he laid into Dinlam. The guild warrior deflected the first two strikes, but being partially blinded by the acid spell, he missed the next pair of strikes. One scimitar slashed into the warrior’s leg, nearly severing the limb while the second blade raked across Dinlam’s throat, the guild investigator, choking on his own blood, dropped to the ground under a rain of blows from the swarm of attackers around him.

“Doug, we might have some more problems here, it’s the rest of them creeps that brought me here, and it looks like they’ve brought a whole passel of friends with them,” Florence warned.