Waste's and Wilds: Kyo's Tale 1.4

The terror of the Collapse wasn’t planned by mortal minds.

-Librarian Moran of the Sun Tribe

The big boss of the Cat Tribe, Lion, stared at his current guest’s bright glowing green eyes before he said, “Ready to talk business, shorty?”

It was good the kid nodded affirmatively. While he wouldn’t ever admit it, keeping the kitten here was due to the terror of pissing off her Patron. Robert the Red hadn’t gotten to his current ripe old age of being stupid.

I figured I was done with this shit after the last city war, but no, it appears not. Robert thought looking at his current source of trouble as she shifted into a sitting position. She was a bright little kitten if a bit heavy on the street smarts and lacking in real wisdom from what his territory’s shift commanders had told him.

“So, let’s start with the big stuff first. Are you planning on commencing with world domination?” Robert asked keeping his tone neutral. There were enough crazy religions claiming this or that deity deserved to rule the world. Others claimed their Patron had ruled in the past, so massacres to return them to power were justified. Even worse were the ones who claimed their Patron would rule in the future. If he had a copper small-coin for every time the white robes had caused problems the Lion known as Robert the Red would have retired in much better comfort. Probably.

Somewhere with sand, sea, and extremely bouncy female companions. Robert had currently only managed two out of three so far, but he held out hope for the dream trio of three to be completed someday.

“Uh, no?” the confused kitten said her entire body language radiated acute confusion.

Taking a deep breath, he held himself on the edge of violence before relaxing. Scenting no lies from the kitten though, Robert shifted unobtrusively before putting the extensively enchanted cleaver behind his chair which had been out of sight completely away into a space ring. It wouldn’t do to have the kitten know how close to death she’d been just now. He hadn’t been pleased with the conundrum of doing something necessary, and it was good to know he didn’t need to. If his own abilities didn’t catch anything wrong, then it was unlikely any of the city government fat cats could do a better job. They were so used to the scent of brown substances they probably couldn’t scent a lie if their world depended on it.

Filthy leeches, may all their hair fall out and they are forced to run naked through the streets one day. Robert thought of the erstwhile upper crust rulers of the city.

“So, hello. Would you let me the name of the new wonder kitten on my turf? I like to keep track of those that might buy an island someday.” Robert said settling down into his chair now that the major crisis was over. It creaked like all good chairs did cement the few extra pounds of muscle he’d gained over the years holding his territory. Anyone who thought ruling in the slums meant they got to sit on a chair giving orders was a delusional dreamer.

“Kyo.” the kitten said with a firm tone.

“Kyo, Kyo, you’re the young hunter-mad kitten down by the Bazaar, right? The one that specializes in Earth Element rats?” Robert said using a tiny bit of power to enhance his memory. It was fun to see the flash of surprise in the young female kitten’s facial features. He kept tabs on all his people, but only those close to him were within easy recall these days without using a little extra boost of mana. The curse of time, sadly. He had the wealth to spring for something that could sharpen the mind, but he’d heard too many horror stories to risk it. It wouldn’t do to find himself running around ripping the hearts from still-living bodies to feed an unearthly hunger.

“Yes!” Kyo said straightening up. The kitten cleaned up nice, Robert was rather impressed at the work his third wife had managed to put into the little one.

Robert smiled, he might be a well-to-do crime boss, but he’d never forgotten his roots. It was why orphans in his turf got free food at regular intervals, why there was always housing for the less fortunate kittens, and why his troops had a ferocity unmatched in the city. Granted, it wasn’t the days of plenty from when the Silver Empire ruled, but those times were long past due to the Collapse. He did what he could, and that was enough for tens of thousands to chant his name in honor.

Loyalty breeds loyalty after all according to his old commander’s mantras. Robert took care of his people, and they took care of the Lion in turn. Unlike quite a few of his competitors, he’d never fallen prey to a knife in the back from those he trusted.

“So, care to tell me what’s going on. I prefer to hear it in your own words, rather than from street rumors or hysterical shift commanders of the territory guards.” Robert said settling in to hear the tale. What he’d heard so far was enough to raise anyone’s fur in horror. Matching the tales with the fluffy little bundle of hunger in front of him was tough, truth be told. The stomach growls were endearing, to say the least.

A small table set with food appeared from one of his rings filled with meat, cheese, bread, and assorted sauces. In a quick twist, he switched the kitten, Kyo’s drink from wine to milk. It wasn’t often he entertained company that wasn’t male these days besides his wives, so the lapse was understandable on his part. He saw her nose twitch as he claimed the flagon filled with alcohol but Kyo let it go after the dishes distracted her with savory scents.

Robert managed to keep the surprise off his face as the kitten, Kyo, literally inhaled the food. If he didn’t know she was pure Cat, Robert might have suspected Void Demon blood somewhere in her ancestry. In moments there was nothing left on the table except empty trays. Kyo looked up at him with pleading eyes that worked strange magic with the milk mustache she now sported. It was endearing in a cute yet diabolical manner.

“Relax kitten, I have more,” Robert said storing the empty meal spread before placing a new set of platters with another milk out. “Just eat slower, eating fast isn’t healthy. At least that’s what the witch doctors always tell me.” The kitten nodded and proceeded to eat slower, once she had a bit more food in her the story started to tumble out.

“I was working one of my normal areas out in the ancient city with the flying demons,” Kyo said around a mouthful of bacon bread.

“Black as sin and twice as fast? Those are crows.” Robert cut in gently. One of the few things he couldn’t provide in the slums was education. Too many parties wanted the lowest kept dumb as dragon dung, the better to exploit them. Smart people questioned things, and that wasn’t good for any of the upper crust. Not even Robert could go against the combined forces at work keeping the lower class suppressed.

“Right. The Crow’s nest in the metal bones of the ancient cities. I like to hunt near them because they keep some of the more deadly predators away.” Kyo said. It was solid logic if a bit skewed, but most hunters had a screw loose somewhere. In his opinion, only the truly insane could enjoy life outside the safety of city walls. A flash of pity that one so young was forced outside the walls was squished ruthlessly by Robert. He couldn’t save them all, no matter how much he wanted to make the impossible possible. Mercy had a time and place but this was not either.

Adventuring was death more often than it was a ticket out of the slums.

“Things were going normal-like until the Eyestalker showed up,” Kyo said pausing to take a gulp of the milk mug. She shivered as the memory passed through her mind once more. A few questions from Robert pulled the entire description of the creature from Kyo’s mouth. It matched perfectly with his own knowledge.

Roberts's eyes narrowed at the description of a fully-grown terror so close to the city. With the advent of Mana into the world when the Silver Empire arose creatures had been changed. Some things were good, like better crops, or tastier meat. Other things were not, like magical predators that could wipe out villages, or landscapes that shifted in strange patterns. While the Silver Empire had existed they had been ruthlessly culled, but the Collapse struck without warning, things had gotten dark quickly. It was only centuries later that the Wastes and Wilds had managed to separate boundaries and reclaim territories from the monsters in the dark. Even now there existed zones where not even the strongest dared tread for fear of waking what lived within the dark places of the world.

Granted, now monster cores fueled a society rebirthing from the ashes of Empire so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. In his opinion, everything evened out in a twisted bit of madness all told. Robert felt that the Collapse was a travesty of the highest order. Had the Silver Empress survived he had no doubt she would have made good on her promise to bring them to the stars.

On the whole, Robert felt the advent of Mana was worth it. Before the System existed, there was almost no hope for the Beast Tribes to compete with other races, except in quantity versus quality. While it wasn’t a well-known fact, Robert had seen the secret histories describing the Dark Ages before the Silver Age. It wasn’t pretty reading. When the Silver Empress appeared, a single Lion cub managed to perform a legendary service for her. It had paved the way for Lions and by extension the Cat Tribe to rise. There was also the rumor that the Silver Empress had particular favoritism for felines, although Robert considered that just a baseless myth. Every single Beast Tribe had a myth of how She had favored their race over others.

If she truly favored so many races there would be far more Perfected Beings in existence. Robert thought smugly.

The kitten’s next words drew him out of his musings as Robert heard her say, “The Crows chopped the Eyestalker up into mincemeat before feeding on it after it ate a few of the winged ones. At that point, my waiting paid off. Earth Rats are scavengers and the leftover corpse was too much of a lure. I took a few out and headed out of the city. On the way out I found a sparkly pebble. After touching it, my Patron made contact. I would probably remember more, but I think something happened at the gate. There was a weird caravan with no smell, and then, darkness.”

“Was there anything nearby the pebble? An old altar, picture, anything that might provide a clue?” Robert asked politely before the rest of her words registered. The only caravans with no smell were slave caravans carrying illegal merchandise. Granted, few things were truly illegal with the right amount of money, but there were some forbidden things that followed an unwritten code. The only one he could bring to mind was if someone was trading Beast children in the city. Nothing else would require a complete lack of scent. He tabled the problem for later as he thought furiously, there were few entities able to reach from beyond the crystal walls of reality according to the old records of the Tribes. Those who could cross the dimensional barriers had names that echoed through the world’s history. Viridis, Liber Omnia, Casa, and Lacus were the most well-known even though they hadn’t been seen since the Collapse. These were the names known throughout the Wastes, and even further into the untamed Wilds. According to legend, they had followed the Silver Empress from a previous world to this one. Their power was the stuff of myth and legend, but even with the showing of Kyo’s Patron, the difference between tales and fact was an impassable gulf.

“No, nothing like that. Why?” Kyo asked as she combined taking a sip of milk with one of the spicier mixes.

Robert’s face became downcast as he replied, “I was hoping to get a decent Totem. I’ve held the line in the slums for decades but the competition only gets stronger as the year's pass. The lack of a Patron is a pressure that even my power cannot resist forever.”

Kyo’s face gaped as if someone had just told her the sky was falling.

Chuckling, Robert said, “It isn’t that bad yet. I can hold out for another decade or two and hope we get a strong replacement before I begin to decline.”

“I can, uh, make money?” Kyo said her voice muffled.

“Oh? Growing rare herbs? Spices? Exotic poisons?” Robert said with a kind smile.

“I can refine salt into mana crystals,” Kyo said in a whisper.

Robert gaped in shock as his heart raced, he’d never been so thankful for his wives convincing him to put privacy shielding of the highest order on his rooms. Granted, it had been to keep voyeurs out but the result served to ensure that a revelation like this didn’t leak out.

“W-what p-purity?” Robert the Red managed to stutter out as his mind slowly regained sanity.

“Is there a purity besides completely pure?” Kyo said innocently.

Robert couldn’t help it, he started to giggle before bursting into a full-throated guffaw.