Cat Core 2, Chapter 27.

Chapter 27.

“Doug, quit yer tinkering and get out to the gazebo, it looks like Shara and them kids are back,” Florence called out as she spotted the party nearing her home. Doug and that gnome had been getting along like a house on fire, messing with them stupid bird robots. The gnome, Fizz, had been ecstatic when Doug had shown him the parakeet contraptions, the two talking about the things after finishing a quick tour and the contents of two picnic baskets worth of food. For such a little feller, that gnome could sure put away the vittles.

“Ok dungeon thing, here’s what you wanted us to do,” the dopey halfling rogue said dropping a slime-covered rag onto the table of her pristine gazebo.

“Show respect, Tipp, this is more than a dungeon, as you can see, it’s a home. Unwrap your prize and see if we have done what the core has asked of us,” Shara chided.

The rogue didn’t look too pleased that he had to touch the goop-covered rag, but he followed her instructions and a sliver of a core gem clinked down onto the table. A system prompt appeared in front of Florence’s view as four minor reward chests appeared on the table, as well as a velvet-covered object. They looked like they were going to gather their loot and leave, but Florence really wanted to see what she had unknowingly created for them.

Quest complete, the previously designated rewards have been generated.

“Hold, adventurers, you may reveal your rewards here without threat. Please enjoy the spoils of your efforts,” Doug said, leaping up onto the gazebo bench from where he had been hiding.

“It’s a talking kitten this time, it’s adorable,” Isa said as her hound growled at Doug.

“I am no mere kitten, nae, I am the Great and Mighty Doug, caretaker, and advisor to this home. You may now receive your gifts,” Doug said, laying it on thick and enjoying the attention.

“Thank you, Doug for your generous rewards, Tipp, go for it, I know your itching to do the honors, Shara said.

“I’ll save the best for last,” Tipp said, carefully moving the wrapped item as he started on the reward chests. They held pretty much what Florence expected, a few coins, a doily, and one even had a minor healing potion in it. The party didn’t seem that disappointed and were eagerly awaiting the wrapped item to be revealed. Tipp finally got around to it, pulling away the rather nice-looking velvet to reveal a stout-looking dagger with an elaborately engraved handle. The blade length was nearly that of a short sword, and Florence could see the faint glow of enchantment. Pulling it up in her interface, she reviewed what her home had created to reward these kids.

The Claw of Doug. This dagger was infused with the power of a dungeon, giving it enhanced damage and accuracy. Once per day, the wielder can activate an ability that creates a magical cat’s claw that can be targeted with a range of up to twenty feet and dealing the same damage as a normal strike would from this weapon.

“Very nice, thank you Doug!” Tipp said laying claim to the weapon, much to the displeasure of the other party members.

“Hold on, we’ll discuss the distribution of our gains at a later time, for now, we need to rest, and you need to get back into the queue to explore this excellent home again,” Shara said, ushering her charges out of Florence’s home. Tipp reached out to pat Doug on the head, which he tolerated, probably only because he was still pretty full of himself.

“They were rather pleased with our rewards, weren’t they?” Doug said.

“Oh, you’re just all puffed up because the little knife was named after you,” Florence said.

“Jealousy does not become you, my dear Florence. Now, what do you intend to do with that shard? It’s larger than the one that was inside the spider-shard madman we defeated earlier. I daresay this one might offer you some insight into its destruction, much like the shard you purchased from Bartleby during your first stint as a core gem,” Doug offered.

“Let me take a gander at this thingy,” Florence said, ignoring Doug’s comment about her being jealous, everyone knew Florence Valentine was a woman not given to jealousy. As her influence touched the core gem shard, it was absorbed by her home, and Florence was drawn in, just like the last time she had tried this.

“Observe my final moments, and avoid my mistakes,” the shard said to her as her point of view changed from her home to that of the now-deceased core. Florence could see a modest-sized dungeon with two floors. It was a vermin-themed core with various creepy bug things, rats, cockroaches, and whatnot. Who would want that to be their home?

“A foolish deal, my greed for more power was my undoing,” the voice said.

“Hey, hold up there, bug guy. Who are you? It’s rude to start talking to a lady without introducing yourself,” Florence chided. The voice didn’t respond, some of these other cores were so rude.

Florence watched as a half-orc entered the dungeon, obliterating any defenders with a simple wave of his hand. Eventually, the orc made his way to the core room, and the voice that came out of it was familiar to Florence.

“Dungeon core, I could easily destroy you, but instead I offer you power if you will agree to my terms,” the orc said.

“Hey, that’s that licking skeleton guy, Berikoz!” Florence shouted. The core shard didn’t respond, and she was beginning to get the feeling that this one was much more degraded than the other one she had consumed.

“What do you offer?” The core asked. Florence couldn’t see the details of their deal, but she got the feeling the core was very pleased with what it had gotten. Time sped forward and the dungeon grew another floor almost immediately, whatever the lich’s gift had been, it enabled the core to grow quickly.

“And now, view my destruction,” the core said. Florence watched what she understood to be something that had happened not that long ago. The gem pulsed and hairline cracks appeared around it. With a flash of red light, the gem shattered, and standing right there in the core room was Berikoz. The lich left without a word and before their connection was lost, Florence could feel pain and madness overtake the destroyed core as it desperately tried to cling to some semblance of life.

“Woah Nellie, that’s what that durned lich was trying to do to me, wasn’t it?” Florence asked. Doug could observe some of what she experienced, and she really needed his advice now.

“Yes, it does appear so, and this makes finding a way to avoid this fate even more important. It is unusual, though, a lich is powerful and difficult to defeat in battle, but this Berikoz has been dispatched several times recently. Something more is at work here,” Doug advised.

“Thanks, Doug, we’ll have to hope that old Bartleby can give us a hand with this. Of course, I’m not going to go down without a fight and if that lich thinks he can just shatter Florence Valentine’s core, he’s better think again,” she said with a confidence she didn’t necessarily feel. The last encounter with the lich had very nearly done her in, and she didn’t think it would get any easier the second time he tried to use her core.

“Um, hey, yeah, sorry to bother you great and might core, but may I ask you a boon?” Fizz asked, schlepping his way into the core room, still looking a bit spooked.

“What? Yeah, what do you want? Oh, I’m sorry, totally forgot about you there. I know I promised to send you out with an adventuring party, but the deadly critters out there are gone, and you shouldn’t have any trouble leaving under your own power,” Florence replied.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t wanting to leave, I was wanting to stay. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Me and my clan were always getting pushed around by the big folk. Here, I can experiment without any trouble, and I’d have a whole dungeon, er, I mean home, full of kitties to defend my labors,” Fizz said.

“What’s that? Don’t you want to return to your people? I know my home is a beautiful place to be, but what kind of gnome want’s skulk about here by himself?” Florence asked.

“That’s the other part of my question, you see, when you purchased me, you also purchased most of my clan. I can tell there here, somewhere. Do you have more figurines stashed away somewhere? If you can free them, we’ll make stuff to improve your defenses,” Fizz offered.

“Well, I don’t have any other gnome figures, just a one-armed troll, a couple of orcs, and a displacer beast,” Florence said.

“They're here, in your home, somewhere. Gnomes can tell when their gnomies are near, our connection to the clan is strong,” Fizz said.

“Gnomies, really?” Doug said with annoyance. “You know, there may be one place we haven’t looked, follow me. The kitten assistant led the gnome to the corner of the core room, and there hidden behind the sofa was the barrel of gnomes he had meant to rig up as a trap at some point.

“This is it! My gnomies are inside, let them out, please!” Fizz pleaded.

“Fine, whatever, just stop your squawking. Me and Doug don’t have opposable thumbs so you’re going to have to the honors yourself,” Florence said. She didn’t’ really care about the barrel of gnomes, the one she had used before had been something of a disappointment, and they were had rabies. These ones were plumb normal types that probably weren’t too good in a fight.

“Thank you, let me see, the right tool for the job, ah, here we go,” Fizz said running over to the gnomish toolbox that was left near the partially disassembled battle parakeets that were still cluttering up her core room. Fizz had chosen a huge hammer and started whacking at the side of the barrel. After about three hits, the seal broke on the thing, and the barrel started a hissing real good. With a pop, the top flew off and a horde of little gnomes spilled out onto her floor. Florence was mortified when a couple of them lost their lunch after tumbling out.

“At least we didn’t try using that as a trap against an actual foe, though they might have died laughing at the ridiculousness of our feeble attempts at creating a trap,” Doug said as the raucous bunch all started shouting questions at once. Fizz took some time to get them in order, he even had to slap a couple that were wandering too close to her core for comfort. She didn’t know any of these little guys running around, but she didn’t feel they meant to be a threat, if one had gotten burned up by her protective shield, it would have been bad.

“Everyone be quiet!” Fizz shouted. Finally getting the attention of the baker’s dozen of gnomes that had emerged from the barrel.

“We were all nabbed from our ship, and this here nice lady Florence Valentine has been kind enough to free us. Before you ask, yes, this is a dungeon, and no, the defenders are not going to eat you unless you attack them first. I should also warn you to call this place a home, not a dungeon, Miss Florence has gone through a lot of trouble to make the place look nice, so mind your manners,” Fizz said, taking charge of the mob.

“Who died and gave you the red hat of command?” One of the gnomes, a rather surly-looking fellow, asked.

“What’s a red hat of command?” Florence asked, the gnomes gasping in surprise at her ignorance.

“I believe it is their symbol of leadership,” Doug replied.

“What does the hat look like?” Florence asked.

“Do you remember the label on those baked goods you overindulged in? The mascot was mislabeled an elf, but, in reality, they were more akin to the gnomes of this world. The conical hats they wore are similar to a hat of command,” Doug advised.

“Thanks, I always did think those little critters on the package looked nothing like an elf. For the record, I did not overindulge in cookies, I merely ate one or two after dinner as a treat,” Florence said, pushing out a few coins to create her own version of a red hat of command, complete with a rearing cat on the front. The hat materialized next to her rocking chair, to the surprise of the assembled gnomes.

“Sure, just a few cookies,” Doug said sarcastically.

“Hush, Doug, I’m working,” Florence said.

“You were working back then as well, working on finishing off a whole pack of cookies every few days,” Doug mumbled under his breath. Florence chose to ignore him, she had better things to do than deal with her petty advisor.

“There you go Fizz, you were the first one here, so I’m giving you the hat,” Florence said, offering him the hat she had created. The hat was a lovely creation, trimmed in white, with the image of a cat sewn into the design.

“Hey, it doesn’t work that way, we need to decide and there are protocols we need to follow,” the surly gnome interjected.

“Listen here mister, don’t you try to tell me what to do in my own home. While you’re in here, you’ll mind your manners and speak politely to me. I make the rules here and don’t you forget it,” Florence said sternly, summoning Mortimer down to intimidate the lot. That surly fellow uncrossed his arms as her champion gave him a dirty look, Mortimer summoning dark necromantic energy as he did so.

“No disrespect meant, ma’am, I’m just a traditionalist, but it’s your home, your rules,” Surly said, backing away.

“Go on, Fizz, put on your durned hat and either get on your way or agree to become part of the home. I’ll have no freeloaders running around the place.

“Can you give me a minute?” Fizz asked.

“Sure, but move this gaggle over to the kitchen, it’s too crowded in my core room for this. When you’re ready to talk just speak up, I can hear you anywhere in my home,” Florence said. While they meandered through her home, Florence set out a spread on the kitchen table. She was polite enough not to listen in as the group started babbling but given the ooh’s and ahh’s from them as they made their way through the various rooms to get to the kitchen, they were impressed. Of course, they should be impressed, her home was rated A+ by the adventurer’s guild, after all.

“Doug, do you think we should let this many hang out in our home?” Florence asked.

“Absolutely, they can be an enormous help as our allies, we still have the Home for Unwanted Goblins that remains vacant. If you clean it up, I’m sure they can set up living quarters and a workshop inside,” Doug said.

“That might work, I’ll get the place up to code while they blabber on. At least these ones seem smart enough not to make the mess of things in there like the goblins did,” Florence said.

“I believe we would like to stay, Miss Florence, so long as we can work out something that we’ll both be happy with,” Fizz said.

A small clan of gnomes has offered to join your dungeon. Do you wish to enter into negotiations with the Fizz Clan? Y/N.

“Hey look at that Doug, they got a system name and everything now,” Florence said, hitting the yes prompt.

“It seems these are far enough from their original clan to warrant being a separate entity,” Doug replied.

You have entered negotiations, here is the Fizz Clan’s first offer.

1. The clan gains the protection of the dungeon.

2. The clan will make items and inventions to benefit the dungeon. Raw materials for these items and their personal experiments will be provided by the dungeon.

3. Accommodations made to the clan’s specifications will be provided by the dungeon free of charge or obligation, with the option to expand if necessary.

“Doug, do your thing,” Florence said. He had handled their negotiations with the goblins back in the day and while she loved to haggle now and again, Florence had to admit that Doug was a bit better at doing it on this world. Now, if they were at a car dealer, she’d take charge and gave that salesman a good thrashing, but for gnomes, she’d let Doug take the lead.

“An, my good gnomes, I’m sure your initial offer was just an accidental miscalculation. We won’t hold it against you for such an insulting offer, I’m sure it was made in good faith,” Doug said as he crafted his counteroffer. Mortimer gave a low growl to emphasize Doug’s point.

Your counteroffer has been sent.

1. The Fizz Clan joins the core as an ally and is required to defend it in times of need. A time of need is determined by the core or its advisor, not the clan.

2. The core is not obligated to provide material support save for the most basic of materials. The quantity, quality, and timing of material support are to be determined by the core or her assistant. Foodstuffs will be provided, and the type and quantity will be determined by the clan.

3. The core will protect the clan to the best of its ability. The extent and nature of this protection are determined by the core and her advisor, not the clan.

4. At the request of the core, the clan is required to venture from the dungeon to perform simple acts on behalf of the core. The core cannot make more than 1 such request per week and can only be made if the clan has a reasonable chance of success in the requested endeavor. Additional requests per week may be made by the core, but the clan can accept or reject those requests without consequence.

Florence watched as the gnomes huddled together and discussed the counteroffer. She noted that unlike their deal with the goblins, Doug hadn’t placed a time limit on their deliberations. If it turned out that gnomes spent hours discussing stuff, she wasn’t going to be so happy with Doug. The last thing she wanted to do was wait around for the little guys to come to a decision.

The Fizz clan has accepted your offer. Gnomes are not compatible with any of your current affinity types, and their link to your core will be limited.

“Welcome aboard Fizz. Doug will show you where you’ll be staying. Tell him how you want the place set up and I’ll take care of it,” Florence said.

Just like with the goblins, the link to her core was minimal with the gnomes. She suspected the link would keep them fed but was willing to give them other food if needed. Of course, she couldn’t respawn them either, so they would have to be careful, and she couldn’t count on them rebuilding numbers in the same disgusting manner the goblins had. Another problem she had was with keeping them equipped and having enough materials to use in their workshop.

Florence’s defender limit was maxed, and she would need to free some up to supply the gnomes. The only place not being used that much was the garage. It held four traps and a treasure chest, eliminating them would free up twenty of her defender expense points. Florence would need to seal off the room since it would be vacant, but with twenty defender expense, she could create upgraded weapons and armor racks, as well as work something out to provide resources for them.

Doug had worked with her back on earth to fine-tune some of the ancillary things that could be constructed in her home. A resource generator was a way for a core to create something to attract adventurers, like an herb or mining node. Sure, those could be found at times when naturally by expanding, but they could also be created at the price of eating up some of her precious defender expense, something she normally wouldn’t think of doing.

1. Improved Weapons Rack. This rack will hold an array of weapons appropriate to your inhabitants’ preference. A single rack can provide weapons for up to 50 inhabitants. The gear will be appropriate to their level and scales up to a maximum of level 10.

2. Improved Armor Rack. This rack holds an array of armor types appropriate to your inhabitants’ preference. A single rack can provide weapons for up to 50 inhabitants. The gear will be appropriate to their level and scales up to a maximum of level 10.

3. Resource Node, Variable. This resource node can produce up to one square foot of material each day for your inhabitants to use in their endeavors. The more valuable or rare the material requested, the less of it the node will produce.

The resource node was the toughest to make and the most expensive at ten dollars of defender expense. Upgrades to the node could be made, but the expense started to skyrocket at anything better than the one she had built. Even though it said one square foot of material, fancy stuff like gems or gold might eat up that whole limit to only produce a tiny fragment per day. Simple stuff like iron or leather could be produced easier.

She had gone with the improved version of the weapons and armor racks for her gnome residents. They took up five defender expense each, and only provided gear for fifty people, but the gnomes would likely need better gear than the goblins did, and there weren’t all that many of them, so she felt better having them well equipped. The initial cost to construct all three of the upgrades wasn’t cheap and would eat up most of her remaining cash reserve. As an added benefit, Doug seemed to like hanging out with the gnomes, which meant he would annoy her less than he usually did.