Cat Core, Chapter 23.

Chapter 23.

“So they lost a party member on their first run?” Roland asked.

“Sadly, they did,” Lilly told him.

“Is Korbo really going to let one of them join the party?” Shara asked.

“Yes, but we’ll make sure he’s not treated like the last aspiring adventurer we let join. I think Korbo learned his lesson, in fact, I think he’s starting to realize he’s part of a team,” Lilly replied.

“We may be willing to take on one or two of the others if they want to continue once they recover from their injuries,” Vanderman asked. Shara nodded in agreement, she wanted to help the new party if she could.

“Funny, we’re talking like we’re the old and experienced veterans now,” Nala said with a chuckle. They were all at or close to level three and Shara could see a huge difference in their ability to tackle the dungeon. In fact, they believed they could clear the final boss in their next morning delve.

“I’m just glad those creepy followers of Kunrax are gone, though I do want another crack at that hound that escaped,” Lilly, said. She looked angry, which Shara could understand. The hound had given her a nasty bite as it exited the dungeon. Shara could tell they were all a little embarrassed that the other party had cut their place in line and essentially attacked them. Ben had checked the inn’s logs and confirmed they weren’t on the adventurer guild rolls and if they had survived, which it looked like they hadn’t, they would have been banned for life from any guild-controlled dungeon.

“If that happens again, we should think about supporting each other,” Korbo said, joining the group after having to wait some time at the bar to get a drink. Ben’s only server had been poached by the other inn. Shara was fine with that, the woman had a nasty disposition and would fit in just fine at that dump.

“Agreed, we’ll help if something like that ever happens again. We can’t let our dungeon be killed by some religious fanatics. It’s going to be a long time before any of us have enough coin to venture to any other dungeons appropriate to our abilities,” Vanderman said. It was true, they had been doing well enough, but most of what hey had earned was going right back into buying proper gear. If the cat dungeon and its crazy owner were killed, their adventuring days were numbered.

Shara still hadn’t processed everything that had happened during their bizarre tea party. They had agreed to keep it secret, not that anyone would believe they had been invited to tea by a dungeon core. Vanderman thought that the dungeon was just quirky and believed it was just messing with them. It wasn’t unheard of for dungeons to speak to adventurers to threaten them, but there were also rumors of dungeons luring adventurers into a vulnerable spot by appearing to be supportive. For now, they would all treat the dungeon with respect, but not necessarily with trust.

“More people are here,” Ox said, trying to join them, but finding the small round table full since most of the Korbo’s party joining them as they splurged for a few drinks and a hot meal at the inn. The big guy grabbed an empty table with one hand and dragged it over, closer to the group.

“How many?” Vanderman asked.

“Four more wagons were pulling in when I was walking over here,” Ox said. The previous six wagons had carried mostly supplies, but also two new parties of adventurers. Along with the unfortunate group that failed their first attempt, another group of five had arrived, they signed the list and headed over to the seedy tavern, which Shara wasn’t sure even had a name yet. They didn’t look like a friendly group, so she was just fine with them staying in the other place.

“We’ll have to see what this does to the queue, we’re set for a new run after your party tomorrow, but with all these new arrivals, we might start see a wait of a day or two between delves, depending on how many parties can cycle through in a day,” Vanderman said.

“A dungeon like this isn’t too large can take a few more runs a day than we’re doing now,” Roland offered. Shara wasn’t too sure how that all worked, but she realized that Ben and his queue keeper log seemed to have some magical connection to the dungeon now that the guild had inspected it.

“Cousin, it has been a long time!” A man bellowed from the doorway. All attention turned to the newcomer as he made his way toward the bar. Shara wasn’t sure what his deal was, but he surely wasn’t an adventurer. Given his nice clothing, top hat, and well-manicured handlebar moustache, Shara figured he was a merchant of some type.

“Why, look who darkens my doorstep! Welcome Bartleby, it has been a long time,” Ben said, coming out from behind the bar to give the newcomer a big, back slapping hug.

“I see your new venture is just getting its feet under it, but I’m sure that in no time, you’ll have established a proper business, adding to the Bingman mercantile empire,” Bartleby said.

“And what about you cousin? Are you still in your rather unique line of work?” Ben asked.

“Aye, cousin, I thought I might ply my trade here, it’s not often you see a new dungeon emerge in this neck of the woods, it might have some good inventory for me,” Bartleby replied.

“That guy’s an adventurer?” Roland said a bit too loudly, embarrassing Shara.

“Oh, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, adventurer. My name is Bartleby Bingman, proud purveyor of dungeon treasures,” Bartleby said.

“So, you’re an adventurer that sells off his loot?” Roland said, trying like the rest of them to figure out this guy’s angle.

“No, not like you expect, anyway. I am a rare breed of merchant that deals in reward chests. I go into a dungeon with my bag of good, and I come out with a stack of reward boxes, ready sell to any who wish to pay for the spoils of adventure, without the risk to life and limb. They are all the rage back in the capital, I can assure you,” Bartleby replied.

“Just how do you get a reward box from a dungeon? They open as soon as you touch them,” Shara asked.

“Trade secrets my dear, trade secrets. And just what does your intrepid band of adventurers call themselves?” Bartleby asked.

“We haven’t come up with a party name yet. We’re just getting started. Since you’re a merchant, do you have any armor for sale?” Vanderman asked, Shara could tell he was slightly embarrassed they didn’t have a name for their band just yet. It had been discussed, but they couldn’t seem to agree on anything.

“Good call, my friends, don’t rush the name. An adventuring party needs just the right moniker if they want to stand out from the crowd. Earn the name instead of just claiming it, I always say. Now, while I don’t typically ply my trade with the adventuring crowd, after all, you can just walk into dungeon and take all the reward chests you desire, given you can overcome the defenders, that is,” Bartleby replied.

“Cousin, this band is the first to delve the new dungeon. If you’re wanting some information, they’re the ones to ask,” Ben said to Bartleby. “Make sure he pays well for the information, don’t give anything for free,” Ben advised them.

“There he is, my cousin Bargain Ben Bingman digging into my profits. Very well, how about you tell me what you know, and I’ll find a suitable reward for you, fair?” Bartleby asked.

“Sure, what do you want to know?” Vanderman asked.

“Tell me about this dungeon, what types of creatures and traps have you encountered,” Bartleby asked.

“Well, it is unusual in that the defenders are all cats,” Vanderman said.

“So, a beast type dungeon, feline subtype?” Bartleby asked.

“No, it’s a cat dungeon, like the house pets, only grown larger. There’s no lions or cat wurms, vampiric ocelots, or anything other than simple housecats that are oversized and vicious,” Vanderman replied.

“That is unusual, anything about the traps I should be aware of?” He asked.

“No, those are pretty normal,” Vanderman replied, giving Bartleby a rundown of what they’ve experienced so far, including everything but their tea party.

“I look forward to my visit to this cat dungeon, when can I get a slot, Ben?” Bartleby asked.

“You can go now, if you promise not to take too long. There’s another group headed in about two hours from now,” Ben asked.

“Where’s the rest of your party?” Shara asked.

“It’s just me,” he answered.

“That’s not the smartest thing, do you want to join us on our run in the morning?” Vanderman asked.

“Oh no, don’t bother with that, I always travel alone. Your concern is touching, but I’ve always been able to take care of myself. I’ve done this hundreds of times,” Bartleby replied.

“There was some mention of a reward for our information,” Roland interjected.

“Indeed, and here is your reward,” Bartleby said. He reached into the small pouch at his waist, the opening growing magically larger as he removed a small wooden crate and dropped it on the table with a thud. The simple box had a paper tag on it, showing its details.

Common reward crate from the Iklarn intermediate dungeon. Contents are random and no guarantees are made to the value contained within.

“Woah, how do we know this isn’t some old box you stuffed some dirty socks and dropped a few coppers in?” Roland asked.

“All my merchandise is guaranteed, and I can assure you it has not been opened prior to this moment. Go ahead, open it and see what I mean,” Bartleby said. Roland reached out to the chest and just like the in the dungeon, the box magically disappeared, leaving its treasures on the table. Shara leaned forward along with the rest of the party. There on the table was a small sack of coin and a triangular steel faced shield with what looked like a scorpion emblazoned on it.

“Wow, thanks,” Roland said, grabbing the coin pouch and sorting through its contents.

“This is much better than my shield, can I keep it for my share?” Vanderman asked. The others agreed and split the coin, Shara laying claim to Vanderman’s old shield. They would sell the buckler she had and divide the coin among the party members that didn’t get an upgrade.

“What kind of treasure has you little dungeon here given out?” Bartleby asked.

“Not much, junk like this,” Roland said, pulling his collection of cat doily’s out for the merchant to look at. Shara knew he keep gathering them, trying to get the whole set of cats. The dungeon had expanded and added more defenders, limiting his ability to complete the collection. Bartleby took up the doily’s, pulling what looked like a jeweler’s loop from his bag, examining the loot closely.

“Junk, you call this. No, I think you’re missing something important. Complete the set and I think you’ll find they’re a bit more than junk,” Bartleby said.

“How can you complete the set when the stupid dungeon keeps adding more cats,” Roland complained.

“That’s not a problem. You only need to complete the set of defenders the dungeon has created during its first level of existence. Once you’ve got those, collect the cats that the dungeon added during its second level and so on. Each new level of cats will improve the item’s power. As for what the item is, I have no idea until the set is completed, how many more do you need?” Bartleby asked.

“Well, if we’re just talking the original cats, I’ve been waiting on Tater to drop, and so has everyone else that’s collecting them. We’ve even got Ben started on a set,” Roland advised.

“Hmm, seems that this Tater doily is a very rare drop, that’s often the case with these types of things. Keep at it, eventually this particular cat doily will turn up and then I think you will be rather pleased with your ‘junk’,” Bartleby advised. Roland actually looked excited, reorganizing his doily collection and placing it carefully back into his pack.

By now, the smell of the hearty stew simmering on the fire was too much to resist and they all ordered a bowl of now that they had coin to spare. Ben or whoever he had cooking for him did a fine job, everything she had eaten had been excellent and huge step up from the trail rations they normally subsisted on. Bartleby made his exit, whistling a catchy tune as he strode toward the dungeon entrance, seemingly without a single concern that he was about to enter such a deadly place unarmed and alone.

“Who is that guy?” Roland asked.

“Ben’s cousin, I guess, but that sure was a nice reward for just some information,” Vanderman said.

“Maybe we should see about doing whatever it is that he does, there’s no way he’s having to fight his way through a dungeon, unless he has a party of high-level adventurers stuffed into the bag of holding on his waist. That bag alone is worth more than this entire town,” Roland said.

“That’s not saying much, this isn’t much of a town yet,” Vanderman replied.

“I just hope he’s safe in there, he seemed like a nice man and I’d hate for the dungeon to take him,” Shara said, thoughts of Bartleby fading as she planned what to buy with her new windfall. A proper mace would be a nice purchase, the blacksmith’s hammer was starting to look a little ridiculous.