Cat Core, Chapter 14.

Chapter 14.

The first day after the goblin attack, Florence watched as the humans outside began to rebuild their camp, the workers redoubling their efforts to complete the two structures they had started. From the glimpses she caught of them, the adventurers looked pretty ragged after tough day in the dungeon followed by a goblin raid. As they all worked, more people had begun to arrive. Some of the new arrivals included a new team of workers that started building separate set of structures and it looked like the guy that had built the first ones was none too happy about the new competition. Florence also thought she might have spotted another adventuring party. From what Doug told her, things would get rather busy over time. It would be nice to have some variety in her visitors, not that she minded Shara and her friends coming over to fight her defenders.

Florence spent her time fine tuning her home and adjusting some of the decorations. There were several more pictures to post in the living room. Doug thought she should include pictures of the goblins as well, but she didn’t because Doug is a moron. They were kind of like unwanted neighbors, but in this case, ones that just might help you out in a fight. For the most part the goblins didn’t cause any problems, they stayed inside their room, which she expanded a bit based on Boss Chuck’s suggestions. It didn’t cost a whole lot to expand, and she made it a point to only use funds that the goblins were generating themselves. Chuck had wanted a few decorations, disgusting things that were usually totems made of bones and sharp sticks. He also had her create hidey holes scattered around the room, much like the ones she had made for her kitties in the hallway.

“Florence, there is an issue, please turn your attention to the front porch,” Doug said, his voice cracking. She had heard him scared before, but this time it was dialed up to the next level. Standing there in front of her porch was some skinny guy wearing some toga looking thing with fake Halloween ears on his head. The guy turned and looked right at her, now that was a plumb weird thing to see. He somehow knew she was there and watching him.

“I must say, your dungeon is quite a unique one. There’s been nothing like it in a thousand years,” the pointy eared man said, waving his hand as both Obi and Shadow Leaped at him from opposite sides. The poor little kitties dissolved into a steaming goo that dropped to the lawn. Turning his gaze toward the crossbow that had popped out of the mailbox, Florence watched the entire thing melt. In fact, she felt it. For the first time since she had been transformed, she felt pain.

“That was most rude, might I suggest you stand down your defenses until we get a chance to speak face to face, or face to gem I suppose would be more accurate,” the man asked.

“Oh dear, please Florence, check your interface and go into passive mode. We don’t want to make this one angry,” Doug pleaded. She was about to snap back at the cowardly kitten, but not ticking off a man who could turn you into goo with a wave of his hand was probably a good idea. She didn’t quite know how to do it, but a frantic check of her interface thingy revealed a selection to put her dungeon defenders on standby. She activated standby mode just as the man knocked on the front door.

“I believe this is the appropriate method of requesting entrance into your abode?” The man asked. Florence opened the door to him.

“Hey Doug, who is this guy and why does he have those Halloween ears on?” Florence asked as the man strolled through the living room, trying out the sofa and peering at her family pictures.

“Can you not feel it? This is a being of great power. I had been expecting a visit from the adventurer’s guild at some point, but this person is much more powerful than their normal investigators. Now that I think about it, he isn’t following any adventurer guild protocols for interacting with a new dungeon. This intruder appears to be an elf, but with the power he exudes, there could be just about anything underneath the current visage he wears. I may just be a dungeon assistant now, but I am still a fine judge of power,” Doug said.

“He looks like a dork,” Florence said. She really didn’t know what a dork was but had heard the term on one of her shows, you know, the one about that kid and his friends who sat around doing nothing and whining about everything.

“Funny, you’re a rude one, but you are amusing,” the man said. Now he’d gone too far, power elf or not, whatever that was, she wasn’t going to put up with insults inside her own home.

“No, you listen here mister. Florence Valentine is a patient and long-suffering woman, just ask anyone in Logan County. That being said, even I have a limit and some costumed reject from the circus isn’t going to come barging in here, melting my babies, and casting aspersions upon my manners!” Florence barked. The elf guy looked stunned by her response.

“You do realize I can destroy you with a snap of my fingers? Perhaps you should be a bit nicer to someone that can kill you so easily little dungeon,” the elf said.

“Pshaw, you think I’m a feared of dying? No siree, I’ve done died once and if Doug here hadn’t botched things up, I’d already be enjoying the afterlife. I was a good church going woman and I’m sure I had quite the reward waiting for me before I was forced into this new life. So, I have little patience for cat melting weirdos, no matter how powerful you think you are,” Florence replied, she was done tired of this one and the sooner he was gone, the better. The elf looked at her, and slowly raised his hand before snapping his fingers.

To her and Doug’s relief, they weren’t melted, instead the man somehow did one of them space show things and teleported into her core chamber. Not that she watched that kind of nonsense, just that one time there was a marathon of that one show on, the one where the always wound up somewhere different than where they wanted to be. Anyways, the TV remote was out of juice, and she didn’t feel like getting up to get new batteries with her knees the way they are, or were, she didn’t have knees no more.

“Uh, Florence, you’re doing it again. Poor timing, I might add, you know, with our guest here and all,” Doug said, the little guy was cowering behind her chair.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that. What did you want anyway?” She asked.

“I’m here out of curiosity. New dungeons pop up now and again, it’s the nature of this world after all. Now this place, this place felt a bit different and now I think I can see why. You must have been a powerful being indeed to have maintained so much of your original self after the transformation into a core. What where you in your previous life, a queen, a warlord, a great mage?” The elf guy asked.

“Why, I’m Florence Valentine of Logan County,” she replied. That was who she was and where she was from. It was a good enough answer for this rude intruder.

“What race were you? Were you an elf, no, I don’t think you were? Perhaps an orc or something similar, it would make sense given your formidable attitude?” The man asked.

“What race? I’m a human, or was until Doug shoved me in this gem,” Florence told him.

“A human? Not one from this world, you must have been snatched up from one of the others that your kind populates. Tell me, why have you restricted yourself and your dungeon? Having only these pitiful beasts for your defenders is a poor choice. Your dungeon is strangely decorated, but not all that deadly,” the elf yammered on and on, she was getting bored with this guy.

“Quit asking questions and answer one for a change, who in Sam Hill are you?”

“I’m not familiar with this Sam Hill, is he an adventurer on your world? As for myself, I’ve had many names over the centuries, but I am most commonly known as Berikoz,” the elf replied, as if that goofy name meant anything.

“As for what I am, it is not an elf, though I currently wear the shell of one. No, my dear Florence Valentine, view my true form. You have built yourself above one of my many repositories and have brought attention to me when I wished for none,” the elf said. When he stopped yammering his elf body was gone and in its place was a glowy skeleton thing. Now Florence Valentine wasn’t one for watching them spooky movies, but she knew a skeleton monster when she saw one.

“I do declare, Berikoz, you take longer to get to the point than I do. You know, you could have just said, ‘Hello, I’m your neighbor Berikoz, and by the way, I’m one of them skeleton monster things,” Florence replied.

“Uh, Florence, I think he’s a bit more than a simple skeleton. You are in the presence of a Lich, and if I’m not mistaken, a very old and powerful one,” Doug said, cowering down even further behind her rocking chair.

“What? He’s going to lick? How does he even do that without a tongue, and he better not try to get whatever he has anywhere near my core stone,” Florence said, a bit disgusted by a licking skeleton.

“You do say the strangest things, don’t you, Florence Valentine?” Berikoz said with a chuckle.

“You have no idea,” Doug added flatly, causing the licking skeleton to laugh even louder.

“I was going to destroy you for the impertinence of infringing on my territory, but I think you will be a most entertaining neighbor, I haven laughed in over three centuries and it does feel good to finally do so again,” Berikoz added.

“Well, I can’t say I had any choice on where my new home was placed, but never let it be said that Florence Valentine was a bad neighbor. As long as you promise to not do anything weird, we’d love to have you over for tea anytime you like,” Florence said, not that she wanted to have him over, but it was an offer she felt obliged to make. For a monster skeleton that talked too much, he was at least polite enough not to kill her and Doug so the least she could do was sit down to tea with him.

“Perhaps I shall take you up on your offer some day. For now, I will leave in peace, just don’t expand your dungeon too deep, you wouldn’t want to cross into my territory. I’ll be a good neighbor, but I will not abide any being violating one of my sanctums,” Berikoz said. With another snap of his fingers, the skeleton elf monster guy was gone.

“That went much better than I had hoped. A lich, even a curious one, is a very dangerous entity. They grow more powerful over time, and usually a little more unhinged as well. Hey, what’s that?” Doug said, and indeed, there was a small cat collar on the ground where the lich had stood. The kitten pawned cautiously at the item only to have it suddenly appear around his neck. Hissing and spitting, Doug shot up in the air, running around the room a couple of times before calming down.

“That was, disconcerting. I’m not so sure I want this on me, can you get it off Florence? Curse this lack of opposable appendages,” Doug asked.

“Hmm, nope, can’t do anything with it, but take a look,” Florence said, watching as information on the item populated.

Lich’s gift. This appears to be a simple pet collar with a nametag that reads “Doug”. The item gives off a faint hint of necromantic energy. Beware a Lich’s gift, it can often be a powerful item or a hidden curse, only time will tell which category this gift falls under.

“Oh wonderful, I have a potentially cursed magic item around my neck that was given to me by a lich, there’s no way this can go wrong, is there,” Doug lamented.

“Why there’s the sarcastic little kitty I know. When old Berikoz was here, you were hiding like a little baby,” Florence said.

“Well, placing my impending doom aside for a moment, perhaps you should respawn our lost defenders, it looks like we’re about to have some new visitors,” Doug said. Florence could see a party of six adventurers walking toward the entrance to her home. It wasn’t Shara’s party, this should be interesting.