《I Wanna Be A Catgirl When I Fight The 100th Demon Lord》


 Prologue

    It wasn''t the first time this had happened. He remembered quite well. The Demon Lord falling to his blade for the umpteenth time brought no satisfaction with it anymore. Only a grim sort of relief.


    This was the ninety ninth Demon Lord he had slain. Demon Lord, Devil King, Monster God, they came under all sorts of names and epithets, but they were all the same. And they all died the same to his blade. Because that''s just how things were supposed to be. The Hero always slays the villain. The Hero always wins. The Hero always pulls through and saves the world. It was just the way of things. It''s what he had always known, since he had been born and told ''Son, you''re destined for greatness''.


    So why didn''t he feel great?


    As he knelt in one of the many craters dotting the Demon Lord''s throne room, the chamber scored and demolished by the most intense fight of his life, watching the blood drip off his blade, all he could think was...


    "It''s over..."


    He knew it wasn''t really over, though, but for now, he was done. With the threat to this world ended, he could live out the rest of this life in relative peace, put down his sword, and spend the years growing old on some small plot of land the various kings would grant him for his service to the world. On the whole, it wasn''t a bad way to end this cycle and relax for thirty to sixty-some years of peace, before he had to do it again.


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    He didn''t even dread it, anymore. It was a simple cycle, and over the many long lifetimes, he had grown used to the way things were... It would happen again.


    He would be born into a world that suffered the oppression of some monstrous evil force. He would spend his youth training, preparing to battle the darkness. He would then go out into the world and make a name for himself with his heroism, eventually defeating the Phantom King, or Devil God, or Evil Emperor... And then he would be celebrated for a few years, grow old, fade into quiet obscurity, and then pass away. Sometimes he''d be surrounded by loving family. Others by rulers and kings from far nations that had come to pay their last respects to the world''s savior, other times he would pass on completely alone.


    All he knew was... Once this lifetime was over, he had to face the worst of them all. The Hundredth Demon Lord, one who he had spent lifetimes and countless years training and killing and preparing for. This would be his last respite before the grand and fated battle that would rock the various worlds and universes to their very foundations.


    It would be a battle that tested every ounce of his learned skills, abilities, powers, and take all of his strength, wisdom, intelligence, and wits to overcome. He didn''t feel ready, but he had to be. For the sake of all the worlds he had saved so far, and more.


    He would be ready.


    But first... He would rest.

 Chapter 1: Rebirth

    Dying wasn''t so bad. This time he had a family to bid him goodbye. And it was as his hand grew cold in his daughter''s grasp and he breathed his last breath that he remembered his duty wasn''t over.


    He closed his eyes...


    And when he opened them again, he found himself in the familiar chamber of the Halls of the Resting Dead. Rising from the stone slab his spirit had been resting upon, he made his way down the same hall he always made his way down, to the Chamber of Judgment.


    Normally the Chamber of Judgment was where the Lord of Life and Death would wait for a new soul to enter, before judging them for their actions in life, and determining where they would best be suited to go next; be it a pleasant afterlife, a painful one, or to simply be reborn and try again until their fate could be decided. But when he reached the end of the hall, it wasn''t the Lord of Life and Death waiting for him.


    It was never the Lord of Life and Death waiting for him.


    "You''re back." She said, folding her arms across her chest as though she had waited a lifetime for him. Technically she did wait a full lifetime for his return, and she looked a little miffed by this fact.


    "I am." He replied.


    "Well you certainly took your time. I thought I would grow old and die waiting for you here. Did you have fun starting up a little farm in the middle of nowhere after killing the Ninety-Ninth?" She huffed.


    He couldn''t help but flash her a grin.


    "Potato farming isn''t much." He replied.


    "But you certainly had fun with it while I was sitting here handling all manners of divine paperwork to clear your next reincarnation." She groused.


    "Ooooh paperwork. So scary." He teased. "I''d rather be handling some bureaucratic red tape than fighting for a hundred lifetimes, but here we are. You the bureaucrat, and me the warrior."


    Her eyebrow twitched. Teasing her was too easy and too fun, and he couldn''t help but flash a catty little grin at her exasperation.


    "Anyway." She said.


    "Anyway." He said.


    They both turned to face the great mural on the wall; a display of countless worlds and lives that he had lived, fought, and died in. He heard the mural changed for each person, though usually only depicted a single lifetime. His spanned centuries of lives that he had been reborn for, a world saved for each time he reincarnated.


    "You''ve been busy." She muttered. He nodded.


    "You keep me busy. Not like I have much of a choice in the matter until I kill the hundredth demon king or whatever." He said, shrugging.


    She nodded and turned away from the mural, and he turned to follow her.


    "So." She said, resting her hands on her hips. It was her way of saying that it was time to get down to business, as she smoothed out her tunic.


    Her name was Galatea. She was the Goddess of light, life, and reincarnation. And technically she was doing all the other gods a huge favor by pulling every string she possibly could, in order to send the same hero through countless worlds and lives.


    It was the gods last gambit against Dommon, the god of chaos and destruction, she had told him long ago. Apparently they tried going to war with him in ages past and he proved to be too powerful for all their combined might, so they were forced to make a wager with him, instead. The wager was that they could pick one hundred heroes to defeat one hundred of his champions.


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    Unfortunately for the hero, he was the only one that Galatea was able to summon when she pulled off the ritual to yank him from another world.


    The ritual involved getting hit by a truck and it was especially painful.


    "Soooo." He prompted her to continue.


    Unlike her, his name had been lost to time. He didn''t even get to keep it or remember it after he was hit by the Summoning Truck. His name was whatever his parents decided to name him in each new rebirth he was born into, and sometimes he hated it.


    Like the time his father in life number 37 thought it would be hilarious to name him ''Pathetic Baby-Man''.


    ''It will toughen him up!'' The man said. And he never hated any one person or life as much as he did that particular one.


    One benefit, he learned though to being reborn as many times as he had, was his ability to retain his skills, training, and knowledge from each prior life. That was a lifesaver for more than one occasion, and by now with ninety-nine lives under his belt he was something of a one-man army. Or one-woman army, in the lives where he was born a woman. The split of male lives to female was almost half, actually.


    But Galatea cleared her throat, indicating he should pay some serious attention, so he did.


    "You''re going up against Demon Lord number one hundred... I can''t stress enough how important this is. So far you''ve managed to do an amazing job of taking out the other ninety nine but this one is in a league of his own- an entirely different class." Galatea said gravely.


    "It''s going to take all your training, skills, and lifetimes of knowledge combined to take him out, because he will not make it easy for you. His monsters are the most cunning, his skill with magic and the blade are unrivaled..."


    "Yeah, well so are my skill with magic and the blade." The hero pointed out.


    She shot him a stern glance.


    "This one might give you a run for your money, from what I''ve seen of him." Galatea said. "Anyway let''s get you kitted out for your next lifetime... You''ll have twenty five years to beat this one before he covers the world in darkness, death, etcetera and so forth." She said, turning to walk down the doorway into the next hall.


    He followed her into the Hall of Reincarnation. Despite the name it was pretty bland, just stone walls with no decoration. But he wasn''t here for the sights and he knew it as they walked side by side.


    "This time you''re going to be the only child of a widow; her husband left for a war that devastated much of the world, and never came back." She said, rummaging over the clipboard that was suddenly in her hand.


    "Okay." He said without fuss. He knew once a new fate was already made for him, it would be set in stone by Galatea and there would be little he could do about it. But then something she asked next surprised him.


    "Do you want to be a boy or a girl?"


    The hero quirked his brow curiously. It would seem that his final life wasn''t as hard set as he thought it was going to be if she gave him this option for the first time in all of ever.


    "I get a choice now?"


    She nodded.


    "You''ve been doing this long enough, I thought I could tweak things for you- as a small favor for your last job."


    He considered his options. There was no overt physical benefit to either sex, he had learned. Neither was better over the other at any particular combat oriented skill. Social interactions, on the other hand, certainly changed, yes, but he learned to navigate those on a per-world basis, as each world had a different set of ideals than the last. Some were more liberal, meritocratic, and egalitarian, while others were sexist shitholes in both directions.


    "... What about race?" He suddenly considered. "I''ve been nothing but a bland, boring, basic, human for ninety-nine lives, surrounded by elves and dwarves and other D&D and Tolkien bullshit."


    "You can be anything you want this time around." Galatea said, opening up a new door of decision paralysis as he paused in his tracks.


    "Ugh, character generation is hard." He groused. Galatea scowled.


    "How do you think I feel, doing it for you, each time?" She asked.


    "I feel like you kind of made the easy choice leaning into ''Human'' and ''uses a sword'' ninety nine times over." He replied.


    "... Are you calling me basic?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.


    "You''re the one that said it, not me." He said, teasing.


    "I could make you a human with a sword again." She pointed out.


    He raised his hands in defeat, and she huffed indignantly.


    "So what''s it going to be?" She prodded, glowering.


    The hero pursed his lips in thought for a moment.


    "Female." He said. "... And I want cat ears and a tail." He added after a beat of thought.


    She stared at him, incredulous.


    "Are... Are you toying with me?" Galatea asked.


    The hero shook his head.


    "I wanna be a catgirl."

 Chapter 2: Being Born As A Catgirl

    When she opened her eyes for the first time, all she wanted to do was close them immediately and go right back to sleep.


    Someone was talking nearby. Two people, in fact, but she was too sleepy to properly make out the words. Why was she so sleepy?


    Oh right. It''s because she had just been born.


    She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a strangled ''Nyaaaaaa!'' sound. Not the best for a first attempt at communication but she felt motion nearby as the two sitting by her crib silenced and shifted briefly.


    Then one of them picked her up.


    "What should we name her?"


    In an instant she was awake, heart racing with a sudden and inexplicable fear; almost primal and raw as though the next moment would decide something very important for the rest of her life.


    . o O (Not ''Pathetic Baby-Man''.) She thought, eyes wide in hopes that her plea would reach them through her intent horrified stare.


    . o O (Not ''Pathetic Baby-Man''! Not ''Pathetic Baby-Man''! Anything but ''Pathetic Baby-Man'', please, dear god anything but that!, I will literally take anything over that!)


    "Ah, she''s awake!" One said voice lowering to a hush.


    "I don''t see why you''re whispering now, the damage is done." The other chuckled.


    "Yes well..."


    "You''re so silly sometimes, dear."


    She was staring at two women, one significantly older than the other. And the older one with gray hair was clearly teasing the younger, who had dark hair and looked very tired.


    "Go on though. She''s your child, you get to name her." Grandmother said warmly.


    "... Mau. I want to name her Mau." Mother said.


    . o O (Oh sweet merciful god in heaven, I''ll take it.) The kitten thought.


    "She must like that. Listen to her purr." Grandmother beamed.


    . o O (Well yeah, anyone named Mau would purr...) She thought back at the old woman, before she realized that she was, in fact, rumbling pretty deeply with a low, sweet, purr.


    She wiggled in her mother''s grasp, testing out her new body. From the very tips of the fuzzy black ears atop her head, down to the end of the fluffy black tail that stretched out from her spine, everything seemed to be in working order. This would be an interesting change of pace to say the least.


    She never had a tail before. She gave it a wiggle and it twitched in response, curling lazily. Basic human fighter guys don''t have tails. But this time around she wasn''t a basic human fighter guy.


    . o O (I wonder what other benefits I get from not being human?) She wondered to herself while her mother and grandmother cooed at her.


    But that''s when it hit her like a wall, once again. That drifty, floaty, feeling of just being so sleepy. It didn''t come as too much of a surprise. After all, she had just been born. But the next thing she knew, as soon as she closed her eyes, she was out like a light.


    <h2>?</h2>


    Ten years later...


    Mau grew up exceptionally strong. Or so everyone around her thought. What they had no clue about was her secret training regiment that began as soon as she could crawl. The trick at such a young age, she knew, was to be as active as possible- she pushed her body as hard as she could, running about, jumping around, climbing trees and play tussling with the other children.


    Naturally, she was considered a menace by anyone that had to watch her. But she learned something very quickly about her new body- that is- about being a kitten.


    Cats sleep. A lot.


    And while she pushed herself to be as active as she could, she found that her energy only came in bursts before she had to curl up for a nap somewhere, under the sun. It wasn''t a bad thing, she just learned she had to be extra active while she could before she crashed, in order to make up for the lost time.


    The naps were pretty nice, though.


    And while everyone thought she was living her best carefree life that a chid could, when no one was watching, she would practice her old sword skills learned from previous lives with an old stick she found in her backyard.


    "Wait. Dammit, I want to use more than just a sword." She huffed to herself one day while practicing.


    Being a human fighter guy with a sword was just so... Bland and boring by this point.


    "Maybe I have like a sweet set of claws or something?" She considered, glancing at her hands. Nope. Just ordinary fingernails there. How lame. But she did quickly learn a few benefits of her new feline race over time.


    Her sense of smell and hearing were keener than she had ever remembered them being; she could always tell a mile away when mother was cooking something savory for dinner. And then there was her night vision.


    Though she could only see in shades of black and white, everything was sharper and clearer in the dark than she had been able to see as a normal human.


    So, already, there were a few benefits to being a catgirl, she learned.


    It was one day, getting closer towards her twelfth birthday, that things started to change. It all began when a beggar wandered into the little village where she lived with her mother.


    While the village population was mostly human, there were a scant handful of demi-human races such as herself and her mother, a few elves, even a dwarf who ran the inn and tavern, but this vagrant was something else altogether. The man was a dragonkin; covered from head to toe in vibrant red scales that scintillated in the sun.


    And while it was clear he had lost everything, he still carried himself with the pride of his heritage.


    Mau''s mother, worked at the local inn. Her name was Miu. She worked her tail off for tips in order to keep Mau and herself fed. Some weeks things were slim and they went hungry as a result, but others weren''t so bad.


    It was one day, when Mau had been hanging around the inn while her mother worked, that the dragonkin entered. He didn''t have much money. Just enough to buy a meal, but he also came with news from afar.


    See, the little village Mau was born and raised in was in the ass-end of nowhere. The dragonkin had travelled for many miles, dropping everything he owned and gave up all his money to escape a conflict that had been ravaging the capital city of the land. And the night he entered the inn, Mau remembers how quiet the establishment went. One second it had been roaring with life and activity, the next instant the place was stone silent as he found himself an out of the way place to sit and set a single coin on the table.


    Hushed whispers started to rise around the tavern as all eyes were on him, everyone trying to figure out the dragonkin''s deal. Mother rose to take the man''s order- a simple meal of some bread and a flagon of beer. It was likely the only thing he could afford. But while others saw the man with skepticism and suspicion, Mau saw him for what he really was. A source of news about the outside world. And without warning the kitten plopped into the seat opposite the dragon-man, and stared intently.


    "... Fearless kitten." He considered, smiling warmly. It showed all his rows of razor teeth, but she didn''t budge. "How can I help you, little one?"


    It was never easy, feigning being her physical age; not after a hundred reincarnations. So she didn''t bother with the bullshit of acting like a ten year old.


    "You came from outside the village, right?" Mau asked point blank. "What''s it like out there?"


    "A curious kitten, too." The dragonkin murmured. "Though I should not be surprised that a little one like you would like to hear about things beyond your village."


    Mau stared intently, waiting for an answer to her question.


    He pursed his lips and nodded silently, seemingly understanding just how curious she was, and rubbed his chin as he contemplated where to begin telling her of the world beyond the tiny village in the ass-end of nowhere.


    "I came from the capital city." He began to speak, which made Mau''s ears perk right up as she listened intently.


    "I was once a senator, actually, believe it or not." The old Dragonkin added. "Before the the Deathdealer Party made their hostile takeover."


    This sounded important, and Mau focused intently, practically hanging on every word the old man had to say.


    "The Deathdealers serve their leader Thanatos, and are a despicable lot..." He said. "They believe in human supremacy, and ousted all the demi-human senators and representatives from power, promising to make the city- nay the nation- into a human utopia."


    The dragonkin scowled. Mau could feel herself scowling with him.


    Slowly, the old dragonkin shook his head.


    "I fear what will happen to all the innocent demi-humans living in the capital... It''s practically turned into a war zone since Thanatos and his flunkies took over, making more and more restrictive laws against non-humans..." But then he was smiling again.


    "But that''s not all that''s going on out there." He pointed out quickly. "I was able to see the Blossoming Festival." He noted, bobbing his head in a nod.


    "Every five years, the city of Dorn- which was built around a gigantic tree, celebrates with a grand festival as the great tree blooms and covers the entire city in fresh flowers and buds." He explained.


    That sounded like something pretty typical for this kind of world at this point and Mau feigned interest in the new subject by slightly widening her eyes, as though in awe.


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    The old dragonkin wiggled a finger at her before lightly tapping her on the nose. "Maybe you will see the Blossoming Festival, too. Dorn is not that far from here." He pointed out.


    Mau nodded silently, still listening raptly to the old man, in case he had any more information she could possibly put to use.


    But that was about when Mother returned, with the dragonkin''s meal, Mau''s mother pursed her lips at the sight of her daughter staring so intently at the old man.


    "A-ah... I''m sorry sir, is she bothering you? Mau- what did I tell you about bothering customers while I''m working." Mother huffed.


    "--I wasn''t bothering him." Mau replied, feigning childish defensiveness. The old dragonkin chuckled as Mother set his soup and beer in front of him..


    Mau''s tail flicked.


    Mother looked square at her.


    "Don''t." Mother said sternly.


    Mau stared intently at the flagon of beer, resting tantalizingly close to the edge of the table.


    "Mau. Don''t." Mother repeated herself, voice firm.


    Time slowed down. Mau could feel her heart beating in her ears, blood pulsing hard and fast with excitement as she reached out... And pushed.


    The mug clattered to the floor, spilling foamy beer everywhere with a loud splash.


    "MAU!"


    It was as though the shout of her name pulled her back to reality and Mau blinked, only to realize very quickly that she was in a world of trouble.


    Leaping from her seat, she scampered out of the inn before her mother could catch her, and did not stop running for dear life afterwards.


    Mau learned something very important about being a catgirl, that day. Objects set near the edge of tables must be pushed over. It''s a strange instinct to have, but apparently she had it.


    That night her mother tanned her hide something fierce for it though. But that wouldn''t deter her in the future- which would eventually land Mau in plenty of hot water. But that''s a story for later.


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau''s twelfth birthday eventually rolled around. But it wasn''t to be a day of celebration like her family had hoped. By this point; after a hundred reincarnations, another birthday was kind of trivial to her, honestly. But the events of that day would forever change her and how people saw her for this particular lifetime.


    She had just set out from her home on the edge of the village to go into town; as her mother had asked her to run some simple errands in order to prepare for the celebration that night. But things didn''t quite go as planned, that day...


    It all started when she was tasked to buy a fish from the grocer.


    A simple enough task, certainly. One Mau would have easily been able to accomplish. But when you are born and destined to be a hero, there is no stopping the wheels of fate, once they begin to turn... Something Mau had learned well enough over a hundred prior lives.


    When Mau arrived into town, it was eerily quiet. An oppressive, pervading, silence enveloped the place, without so much as even the chirp of a bird to break it, as a thin, cold, mist clung to the ground. It was an ominous portent of things to come and Mau''s hackles were instantly raised as she walked down the lone street into the village square; an area normally bustling with activity.


    Window shutters slammed shut as she passed, doors clicked as locks turned and deadbolts slid into place. She could feel every set of eyes in the village on her as she passed each house. Something was very wrong.


    Though everything about the situation put Mau on high alert, she feigned ignorance as she made her way to the grocer''s shop. The door was locked and the curtains were drawn closed in the windows. She tried knocking, and though she heard a shuffle of movement from within, there was no response.


    Something was blatantly wrong, but she couldn''t quite put her finger on what as she took a step away from the grocer''s door. Briefly, Mau considered scampering out of town and heading back home, she was in no condition for any heroics just yet and knew that if anything happened to her before she was strong enough to face the Demon Lord, that this world would be forfeit. But it was as she turned to leave that the problem made itself apparent.


    She saw the gleam of the blade before she saw the goblin, but it came at her nevertheless.


    Lunging from the mists with a snarl, the squat little green figure came right at her, rusty dagger glinting in its hand as it tried to jab her in the kidney. Thankfully her ingrained reflexes of a hundred prior lives helped her swerve aside at the last second, the dagger whiffing harmlessly through the air as the goblin toppled off balance.


    What happened next was also pure reflex. Though she was unarmed, Mau was no stranger to fighting with her bare hands, when needed. And while her body lacked the physical strength to overpower most opponents, due to her youth, she at least knew how and where to strike to inflict the most possible damage to a foe with the least amount of force.


    Her eyes flashed as time seemed to slow down again, the goblin slowly sailed through the air, face-first, headed on a crash course to eat the dirt as her hand lashed out, fingers curled into a tight fist as she hauled off and jabbed the goblin in the neck- at the junction where skull meets spine.


    It was a perfectly executed rabbit punch.


    The soft, satisfying, crunch noise that sounded as her fist made contact told her everything she needed to know about what would happen next. The goblin collapsed to the dirt, eyes glassed over, dead before it had even hit the ground.


    Breath coming quickly with adrenaline, Mau picked up the goblin''s dagger. Where there was one of the little bastards there were always more to be found; they never worked, lived, or did anything, alone if they couldn''t help it.


    Taking a moment to shake her trembling hand out, Mau ignored the dull throbbing pain in her knuckles from dealing out the deadly blow and gripped the dagger tightly. It had seen better days. The blade was nicked and pock-marked with use, barely still sharp at all, the goblin had clearly taken no care of the weapon that now belonged to her. It was also smeared in a nasty, foul-smelling, substance that she knew, instinctively, was some kind of poison.


    That''s when the smell of burning wood reached her nose. Somewhere in the village the goblins were starting fires. There was little she could do about that, but what she could do was avert a tragedy, if she could just make the goblins rout and flee the village by damaging their morale enough.


    The only way to kill a goblin''s morale is to either kill enough of their friends... Or kill their biggest friend around.


    Another goblin stepped out of the Smokey mist, brandishing a club. The gibbering little green runt babbled something at Mau before pointing a scraggly finger at her. With a wet and phlegmy chuckle two more emerged from the spreading smoke that was rapidly overtaking the village square.


    They were about her height, maybe a bit shorter, covered from head to toe in warty and wrinkly skin that was somewhere between green and blotchy mottled grey, covered up by rags of ratty fur and dirty cloth. Their jaundiced yellow eyes stared hungrily at her as though they were considering to make their next meal out of her hide. They reached their decision quickly, flashing rotten yellow teeth in hungry leers.


    Mau figured at her approximate level of general fitness that she could take these three on without breaking a sweat. If more appeared out of the smoke, though, she was likely in for a world of trouble.


    The biggest goblin, standing only a few inches taller than his cohorts, pointed at Mau, waggling his club to spur the other two into action. They obeyed; spreading in two directions to pincer Mau between them while the third approached head on.


    The one with the club wouldn''t be much of an issue. At worst, Mau was pretty sure she could continue to fight if it broke her arm or a rib. But the other two had poisoned daggers just like the first goblin she had killed, and she didn''t want to risk getting jabbed with one of those. Even the slightest nick could cause a nasty infection that would cripple her for years.


    Crouching into a low fighting stance, Mau flashed her teeth. She could feel the fur on her tail standing on end as she snarled and tried to make herself out to be as intimidating to the trio as she possibly could. It didn''t work. The goblins only laughed and snarled and cursed back at her in their primitive language. This was fine. As long as they underestimated her, she had the upper hand.


    It was then that the two dagger-wielding goblins lunged. Not one of them expected her to dodge into the direction of the club-wielder.


    In fact, having expected her to dodge backwards, instead of forwards, caught the trio so off guard that Mau was able to almost casually insert the blade of her dagger into the club-wielding goblin''s throat.


    He went down clutching his neck, gurgling blood as he collapsed in a flailing heap, and Mau left her dagger in his neck for the sake of wrenching the goblin''s club from his fingers as he expired.


    The other two looked on, panicked and horrified, staring at the little kitten that had just killed their big friend. Mau had just enough of an opening to come in swinging, and she was rewarded with the dull crunch of her club caving in one of the goblin''s skulls completely.


    By this point the third, however, managed to rally. Hastily backing up and snarling at her, it jabbed the air with its dagger in a bid to try and threaten her off. She approached. Slow and cautious, one hand wiping some blood spatter off her cheek as she stared down the goblin.


    In a last ditch panic, the goblin reeled its arm back and hurled the dagger right at her.


    The resounding clang of the rusty dagger being smacked out of the air by Mau''s club made the little green bastard jolt, before Mau closed the distance and slammed the club down hard on its shoulder.


    The goblin squealed, clutching his broken shoulder with his good arm as he collapsed to a knee.


    The truth was that the goblins had no chance. Even with the body of a child, Mau had almost ten millennia of experience under her belt. She was a natural born monster killing machine, and she didn''t even think twice about smashing the screaming goblin''s head in with a powerful blow that dented its skull.


    Then came the laughter.


    Mau''s ears twitched as she heard it emerge from the smoke... A fifth goblin, larger than all the rest. This one stood heads over her, wearing rusty plates of stolen and ill-fitting armor, brandishing a surprisingly pristine and equally stolen short sword.


    "Ah. A hob-goblin." Mau muttered as it approached, its unwashed stench assailed her nostrils.


    The hob-goblin said something in its language as it lumbered toward her, brandishing its blade. Her eyes darted to the sword in its hand.


    "That''s a nice sword you''ve got." She said, dropping the club in favor of picking up the dead goblin''s daggers. "I think I''ll take it."


    This paused the monster, ever so briefly, its grin widening significantly as it leered at her.


    "... Try." It gurgled in reply, laughing low and phlegmy.


    That''s when several doors that had been previously shut burst open, the door to the inn swinging open. The old dwarf, Thrain, emerged with an old axe in hand; the axe that he always kept hanging on the wall behind the counter.


    "Mau- don''t try it lass." The old dwarf shouted. While her work on the previous four goblins had been impressive, it also seemed to embolden the townsfolk to come out of hiding. This was well and good, as it meant people were working to put out the fires the goblins had started, but there was no way Mau was going to let an old dwarf take this moment from her.


    "I want his sword." She replied. There was something in the ice in her tone that made the old dwarf hesitate. He emerged to help her fight- to take on the hob-goblin and rescue her. Something told him he would be the one needing to be rescued if he got in her way right now.


    The sounds of chaos and fighting started to build, the remaining goblins clashing with villagers that had armed themselves with pitchforks and tools.


    "If we kill him, the goblins will run." She said. "He''s the biggest one. Goblins always break when you kill their biggest."


    "... How... How do you know that?" Thrain asked, incredulous.


    There was no more time to explain, though. Not with the hob-goblin bearing down on them. With a shove, Mau pushed the old dwarf out of her way, surprise and shock evident on his face as he was bowled over by the small catgirl that used to tug on his grey beard for fun. It was then, that he realized, that this goblin murdering monster that just set into action had always been that same kitten. The killer gleam in Mau''s eyes was always there. He had just failed to notice it as...


    The hob-goblin started squealing like a pig. His wild and clumsy swipes with his sword were too slow and clumsy to even be a remote threat to Mau''s safety as she slid under and between the monster''s legs like a Major League Baseball player that had just stolen a base, and wheeled herself around as soon as she was behind him.


    In the next instant she was on his back, and rammed her poisoned daggers into the spaces where his badly fitted armor couldn''t protect his neck and shoulders.


    The hob-goblin''s sword clattered to the ground as he flailed, screeching, trying to wrench Mau off, but she ripped her daggers free only to jam them into his neck again and again. In seconds, the monster gurgled its last as it dropped to a knee, clutching the hideous stab wounds that dotted its neck, while choking on its own blood. Even then Mau didn''t stop stabbing it as it went down, huffing and snarling, and growling. She wanted to make sure the thing was both very visible in the act of being murdered as much as it was very dead.


    The remaining goblins paused, watching slack-jawed and bewildered as a kitten pounced their leader and brought him down in seconds. Then the terror set in, as they realized this little kitten would soon be after them next. In the heated moment of confusion several villagers struck lucky blows, killing another goblin or two, but there was no denying what everyone had just witnessed as Mau picked herself up from the dead hob-goblin. She was soaked in blood from head to toe. Her dress was stained through in gore, and she reeked of sweat and murder as she picked up the hob-goblin''s sword.


    Much like the daggers, it was coated in a fetid substance, but the blade was mostly pristine; likely stolen from a rookie adventurer that the goblins had murdered some time ago.


    "Mine..." Mau said, staking her claim, before a large hand set on her shoulder.


    She wheeled around only to be faced by searing black eyes and an old grey beard.


    "We need to talk." Thrain demanded as she tried to wriggle away. But his grip was too strong and she was... Starting to feel exhausted.


    . o O (Ah... Right...) She thought to herself as she could feel the adrenaline fading away, replaced by fatigue, a hot burn in every single muscle in her body, and a heaviness to her eyes.


    . o O (Well I just blew my cover.) She thought. But more importantly another realization struck her as her eyes closed and she collapsed in the old dwarf''s arms.


    Cats sleep a lot.

 Chapter 3: So Mom, Im Actually A Reincarnated Hero

    Needless to say, Mau didn''t get to have that huge fish she was promised on her birthday.


    She wasn''t all that disappointed though, as she woke up in her own bed. She was clean of blood and gore, which was good. But every muscle in her body was sore from exertion, and she felt completely groggy as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.


    She couldn''t help but mewl in surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her, and she tried to wriggle free, until she realized it was her mother.


    "Ah..." Mau breathed, not quite relieved, but not quite comforted, either.


    Her mother was purring, nosing at her hair and holding her a little too tightly for comfort.


    "C-can''t breathe." Mau wheezed, which prompted her mother to lighten up just a bit.


    When her mother finally released her, they met eyes as her mother''s hands set on her shoulders.


    "What happened?" Mother demanded, half hysterical. "I heard the village was attacked by goblins, Thrain brought you home unconscious, he wouldn''t tell me a thing and leaves that with you-" She trailed off, motioning for the short sword resting on the nightstand beside the bed. Somewhere along the way, Thrain must have procured a scabbard for it, because it was sheathed.


    "Mau..." Mother pleaded. "Mau please. Tell me what happened."


    Mau shut her eyes tightly. She knew this day would eventually come. She had destroyed any ability to hide behind being a child when she revealed her combat ability against some meager goblins. Word was going to spread around the village.


    If there was anything she had learned over the course of her hundred lives, it was that there''s no love quite like a mother''s. In all her lives they had been there for her whenever she needed them, at any time, regardless of how hard or soft her upbringing was. But never before had she told any of them- not a single one- that she was not really their child. Even though they had bore her and birthed her, the Hero only had one mother- long ago- from a world that the Hero barely even remembered at this point.


    Something in this one- this poor haggard woman that worked her tail off and her hands to the bone for her- reminded Mau of that mother from long ago. She couldn''t lie to this woman.


    Mau''s shoulders heaved in a tired sigh. She still felt exhausted from the exertion in town, but she was up and awake now, and there was no avoiding this conversation. When she opened her eyes again, there was something in them that made Mother gasp, nearly shrink away even. There was no missing the hardened edge in Mau''s eyes; eyes that had lived for far too long to simply be an ordinary kitten.


    "I killed the goblins." Mau admitted. "I killed their leader. I took his sword. It''s mine now. I''m going to need it."


    Mother stared, incredulous; wanting to disbelieve. But the tone in Mau''s voice was too firm and too serious to call the kitten a liar.


    "... Mother. There''s something you need to know about me." Mau started to speak, words coming unprompted. "I''m not just your little kitten. I''m a hero- a reincarnated hero. I''ve killed thousands of goblins and orcs, hundreds of ogres, countless monsters, and ninety-nine Demon Lords. I was reborn in this world to fight- to kill- the hundredth Demon Lord and save the universe from the inevitable coming darkness. I''m the only thing holding that darkness at bay."


    The grave tone Mau so seriously conveyed this all in silenced Mother. The woman stared. Shocked, bewildered, perhaps even a little hurt on the inside at realizing her little kitten was destined for such hardship.


    The woman reached a hand up, fingers sifting through Mau''s jet black hair, lifting the silky soft locks briefly as she frowned.


    "... You didn''t hit your head..." Mother muttered. "And... I think I knew..." She admitted after a pregnant pause. "You were always lying to me... I just knew. You were hiding something, stretching truths, and evading straight answers for so long... I''d always wondered what kind of child could have such secrets from their own mother." She said, voice heavy and sad. "But you''re still my little kitten... You''re still my little Mau; even if you''re here to kill a Demon Lord or every monster under the sun... You''re still my Mau that purred in my arms the day you were born..."


    The woman''s words shocked Mau. She could only stare. She had been honest for the first time in so long. She didn''t even expect the woman to believe an ounce of what she had to say, and yet... Her mother accepted her, just like that. Something in her- some part of the Hero''s mind- wondered if all her mothers over every lifetime would have accepted her so readily in the same manner...


    She didn''t have much time to think on the matter before Mother clasped her in her arms once again in another tight embrace. Mau''s own arms moved without prompt and before she realized what she was doing, as they slipped around Mother''s waist, returning the hug tightly. The woman had accepted her even after she had essentially said ''I am not truly your daughter''. And something about that blind devotion and uncaring selfless love made the Hero''s eyes burn.


    Mau''s fingers curled, gripping tightly into her mother''s dress, rumpling the soft fabric, and for a good moment that stretched on into almost an eternity they simply held each other. Both Mau and her mother were reluctant to release one another, but eventually they did.


    Mother rubbed at her eyes with the back of one hand, wiping away the lingering tears that had welled up with a shivery breath and sigh.


    "What can I do?" Mother finally asked. "What can I do to help you on your... Journey...? Quest...?" She said, fumbling the words.


    Mau shook her head slowly.


    "You''ve already done a lot for me. I can''t ask for much more." Mau answered honestly. "I''m going to have to start training. I''ll need equipment and gear, travel supplies... But I can''t ask you for any of that, you work yourself half to death just to feed me."


    Mother shook her head.


    "I''ll work harder. I''ll scrounge every penny; you''ll need it all." Mother said hastily.


    Mau frowned.


    "I-"


    But before she could form a response a heavy knock sounded at the door to their little cabin, and a familiar voice called through the door.


    "Miu? Mau? It''s me. May I come in?" Thrain, the innkeeper was standing outside, waiting.


    "We''ll talk later. Let me get that." Mother whispered as she stood up from the bed and made her way to the door, opening it.


    Thrain was silent for a beat, weight shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he stared Mother down.


    "I came to check on Mau." He said, finally.


    "She''s awake... Would you like to come in? Shall I make some tea?" Mother offered, standing aside to let the old dwarf in.


    "Water''ll be fine." He replied as he made his way into the single room home, lumbering for the bed and plopping himself in a chair nearby.


    He stared intently at the little kitten, and she stared back at him.


    "You sure gave us one hell of a surprise." He finally said. "Just a kitten and fighting like a seasoned adventurer... I thought I was running out to rescue you when you took down those goblins quick and neat, lass..." He paused. "Where did you, of all people, learn to fight like that?" He asked point blank.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Mau frowned.


    "You wouldn''t believe me." She said, which made the old dwarf chuckle.


    "Try me, lass." He said.


    Ho boy, she just went over this with Mother, how was she going to explain it to Thrain? Mau squeezed her eyes shut tightly, ears pinning back as she fidgeted with the bedsheets.


    "I''m training to become an adventurer." It wasn''t a lie. It just wasn''t the whole truth, and that made the dwarf chuckle again as he stroked his grey beard with one hand.


    "You killed those goblins like a professional. And you say you''re ''just'' training..." He mused. "Well an adventurer is going to need more than rusty daggers and clubs to get by."


    Mau blinked.


    "I cleaned up the sword a bit and found a scabbard for it, but by all rights it''s yours, after you killed the hob like you did. But you''ll need more than just a new blade if you''re going out into the world." He said, turning to look at Mother.


    "That is, if you''re mother''s alright with you leaving and all."


    Everyone fell silent. Mother eventually spoke up after a long beat.


    "She... She''s going to leave the nest sometime." Mother admitted hesitantly. "I''d rather have her ready for anything instead of empty handed, if I can help it."


    Thrain nodded slowly, attention returning to Mau.


    "For now just rest. You wore yourself out something fierce. But come see me at the inn when you can." He said while rising to his feet. "I''ll have some things for you. You can consider it a birthday gift."


    Pausing only long enough to take a drink from the glass of water Mother brought him, the old dwarf took his leave. Mau realized how haggard he looked as he stepped out into the daylight and the door shut behind him. He must have been busy helping the other villagers put out the fires the goblins had started when they raided the village.


    Mau started to sit herself up, swinging her legs off the side of the bed.


    "Where are you going?" Mother asked, shocked.


    "I can''t just stay here." Mau said. "The village is in danger. Where there''s one goblin there are ten more. Where there''s ten, there''s twenty hiding, and where there''s twenty hiding is where they have their lair." She said. "If goblins have moved in close to the village, this won''t be the only raid they''re plotting and I..."


    Mau trailed off as Mother set a hand gently on her shoulder.


    "You just woke up." Mother said. "Please. At least take a little more time to rest and recover before you go save the village and then the world."


    This made the kitten pause, the pleading look in her mother''s eyes told her everything. The woman didn''t want her to go, but saw that there was no choice in the matter.


    Mau sighed.


    "Alright." She relented. "I''ll just... Close my eyes a little longer." She said, laying herself back down.


    Mau woke up the next morning, feeling more rested than she had ever felt in her life before; for this life anyway. Sitting herself up in bed, she hopped off the straw mattress and quickly changed out of her nightclothes into a fresh dress that had been left at the edge of her bed for her. Mother was already awake, sitting in the corner of the cottage, stirring a bowl of porridge over the fire. It wasn''t much, but it was breakfast, and the two ate in awkward silence, before Mau finished her meal.


    "I should go see Thrain." She announced, slowly rising from her chair at the table. That''s when Mother set something down on the table in front of her.


    It was the short sword that Mau had earned. Not only did it have a fine scabbard, but it looked like Mother added a worn belt to it, for Mau to strap the weapon to her hip.


    "The belt was your father''s... I thought you could... Put it to use." Mother said haltingly, clearly reluctant to part with one of the last remaining keepsakes of her husband.


    Mau picked up the blade, turning the belt over in her hands as she stared down at it, fingers running over the smoothly tanned, fine broken leather. Mau rose from her seat and looped the belt around her waist, shifting the blade and scabbard to her left hip, slid the belt into the loop and tightened it. It looked like Mother had punched some holes into it the better adjust it for Mau''s skinny waist, but the belt fit perfectly.


    "... Thank you." Mau whispered, scootching up onto the tips of her toes to embrace her mother one last time before she headed out the door.


    The country breeze gently fluttered Mau''s dark hair as she stepped out into the cool, clear, spring day. The silhouette of the village was just visible in the distance, and she made her way down the road. The entire trip she was turning over possibilities in her head; where the goblin lair could be, how many there were, whether they were being led by a chieftain or a shaman or worse... A goblin king. Knowing the lair must be fairly new in the region, the likelihood of the latter two were slim, but she didn''t want to be surprised by not considering and entertaining the possibilities.


    It was an hour''s walk into town, and when she arrived in the village the air still smelled of burned lumber and blood. Heads turned, and Mau could feel the villagers stares all on her as she hurried her way to the tavern. No one said anything. No one so much as waved or greeted her. They all simply stared, some slack-jawed and others in disbelief. Here was the little hero that made the goblin attack break, and they were all too dumbfounded to say a thing to her.


    Ducking into the inn, she slammed the door shut behind her. There were several locals inside as well, and their heads soon turned to stare at her all over again. Before a great big hand plucked Mau up by the scruff of her neck.


    "Wah!" She bleated, immediately going limp as Thrain grasped her and dragged her quickly into a door behind the bar.


    He set her down in a chair and folded his arms across his barrel chest while he sat across from her and she irritably rubbed at the back of her neck.


    "So." He began. "I don''t know where you learned to fight like you did. But I can''t say I''ve ever seen one as young as you stand toe to toe with a hob-goblin and win the encounter."


    Mau pursed her lips. He wasn''t done speaking, though, so she opted to remain quiet and see just where this was going.


    "My question is, Mau, what do you intend to do with those skills of yours. You don''t plan to just leave this town and your mother behind to become an adventurer do you?" He prompted, quirking a bushy brow expectant for an answer.


    "Not yet." Mau answered without hesitation. "I have to deal with the goblins first." She said.


    "Deal with the goblins?" Thrain asked.


    She nodded.


    "Where there''s one there''s often a lair nearby. And where there are hob-goblins there''s a lair big enough to be a threat to the village, if they aren''t exterminated." Mau said.


    Thrain nodded, understanding.


    "Aye, you speak the truth." The old dwarf conceded. "I may be old now, but I spent my younger years doing my fair share of adventuring and treasure hunting. Goblins are like rats... If you let one live, they''ll repopulate quicker than ever." He scowled.


    Mau nodded again.


    "That''s why I''m going to kill them all. Before they threaten the village again." She said. "Before they threaten mother, or you, or anyone here ever again."


    Thrain frowned.


    "I thought so." He said at length, fixing Mau with a hardened gaze.


    "Considering the damage you did when they attacked, it''ll be some time before they''re feeling bold enough to try it again." He said. "... I don''t like that one as young as you is so ready and willing to throw yourself into the den, but while we have time... I''ll get you everything you need... So what do you need?"


    Mau blinked. She hadn''t expected old Thrain to be as willing to help as he was. For as long as she had known him he had been like a jolly grandparent. One that would do everything in their power to keep their grandchild from coming to harm and out of the way of danger. But she most certainly wasn''t going to turn the help down.


    She glanced down at the sword belted to her hip and pursed her lips thoughtfully.


    "I''ll need two or three good daggers. Some armor, something light and easy to move around in. Better boots and a good pack of basic things. Rope, climbing gear, pitons, food, armor and weapon care things." She rattled off in a list of the most basic supplies she could think of.


    Thrain nodded and rose from his seat.


    "Alright... Come along then." He rumbled gruffly.


    "We''ll start by getting you fitted for some armor..."


    <h2>?</h2>


    It was about three weeks before all the gear Thrain had put together for Mau was ready. She met him back at the inn at the crack of dawn. When she arrived and knocked on the door to the inn, it creaked open as though Thrain had been waiting, impatiently, on the other side.


    Thankfully there was much less scruffing this time as he led her to the door behind the bar counter.


    "I got you everything you asked for." He said, setting a moderately heavy looking backpack down on the table. Laid beside it were two pristine new daggers in a sheath each, and a small set of armor. It consisted of a light metal breastplate, shoulder guards, elbow guards, gloves, and knee pads, attached to leather backing and straps. It certainly seemed like it wouldn''t hinder her movement while protecting her vitals and joints.


    Mau nodded as she went over the contents of the bag, running a mental checklist in her mind of everything she had asked for. True to his word, Thrain had gotten her everything she requested. But then her eyes fell upon the armor. Slowly she ran her fingers over the thin steel plating, evaluating it in her head. It was just about perfect; all she had to do was try it on.


    "If you need help putting it on-" Thrain started to speak, only to trail off and watch in bewildered awe. To him she was still a kitten, never in his mind would he have expected her to know how to put on the armor and adjust the various straps and attachments. He assumed she would need help in that regard, and was more than a little shocked as Mau began to slip on the various armor pieces and adjust them to her specifications.


    "You''re just a kitten full of surprises aren''t you?" He muttered as she finished tugging on the last strap and adjusted her boots by tapping her toes to the floor. The armor fit perfectly, and complimented the sword and dagger worn at her hip as she set the second dagger into her boot for safe keeping.


    "You''re serious about this, that much I can tell." The old dwarf sighed. "But where you learned to gear up like that, I guess I''ll never know, huh."


    "Maybe I''ll tell you. One day. But not now." Mau answered him. "Right now I have a goblin den to exterminate."

 Chapter 4: The Goblin Den

    It was a chilly spring morning when Mau left her mother''s cottage at the crack of dawn. Today was the day. The day she was going to eliminate the threat to her home town. She didn''t care if she was heralded a hero for it or remained quietly obscure. All she wanted was to make sure her mother, and her family and friends in the village would be safe while she was away. And the only way to ensure that was to murder every single goblin she came across.


    Her mother was still asleep when she had ducked out of the house, but something compelled the Hero to pause, just before slipping out the door, to leave a small kiss on the sleeping woman''s cheek.


    The first order of business after that, though... Was to find where the goblin lair actually was.


    This wasn''t too difficult. One of the first skills the Hero had picked up over the course of all their lives was the ability to track and hunt prey... And to Mau, goblins were very much a prey species. She started by the local creek, and it wasn''t long before she found several sets of roughly child-sized foot prints in the loamy earth by the water that she was able to follow for a time.


    Crouched low to the ground, running her fingers over the dirt, she followed the trail left by a careless goblin that didn''t even think so much as to bother hiding where it was headed.


    It led her right to where she wanted to go.


    The cave mouth was littered with trash, bones, detritus, and excrement left haphazardly by its little green bastard occupants, strewn all over the ground. Mau hid in a nearby bush by the cave entrance and waited. If the goblins were any shade of intelligent, as many of their type vaguely were, they would have at least one or two guards watching the entrance to their ratty little home. The last thing Mau wanted to do was alert the whole den by letting the entry guards know of her presence. It would be worse than kicking a beehive; she had to move slowly, carefully, and cautiously while killing any goblins that she encountered as quickly, efficiently, and silently as possible.


    Her patience was rewarded.


    Soon enough a pair of groggy looking little green blighters emerged from the cave mouth, yawning and grousing. They had likely just been woken up for a change of shift, and catching them sleepy and off guard was essentially perfect. Mau waited in perfect silence, crouched in the bush completely unmoving as she watched, observing the pair for any pattern to their guard duty. Goblins, however, are lazy and barely intelligent creatures, and soon enough she saw that the pair was just content to kick pebbles around the entrance to entertain themselves as they slowly woke up.


    That''s when luck struck.


    One of the goblins groused at the other in their barely comprehensible language and jerked his thumb at the nearby bushes before slowly starting to make his way over. Mau shifted her weight, moving slowly and carefully to head towards the very bush that the goblin had indicated. She beat him to it. While the goblin''s buddy has his back turned he started to fuss with his loincloth, clearly needing to relieve himself.


    He didn''t get the chance to get it down.


    Faster than lightning, Mau lunged, clasping a hand over the goblin''s mouth to keep him silent as she gave his neck a quick and lethal jab with one of her daggers. The goblin struggled briefly before realizing he was dead and went limp in her arms in the bush, before Mau flipped the same dagger in her hand and flicked it. The dagger sailed gracefully through the air and planted itself neatly in the second goblin''s back before he even thought about turning around to check on his friend, embedding nicely between ribs and piercing the little bastard''s heart.


    From here, Mau moved quickly, emerging from the bush to pull her dagger from the goblin''s corpse and drag the dead body out of sight. With the entry guards dead and silent, and the rest of the den still likely slumbering, Mau essentially had free reign to do as she pleased with the goblins inside as she started heading inside. Crouched low and walking on the balls of her feet to make as little noise as possible, she briefly considered lighting a torch. In her past lives as a human she would always have to light a torch in dark caves and crypts to see anything beyond an inch past her nose. It would eliminate much of the element of surprise, but at the same time, the goblins wouldn''t be able to casually murder her in the darkness either.


    That''s when she realized, as she stepped out of the morning sun and into the gloom of the cave, that her eyes were adjusting. Slitted pupils slowly dilated more and more as she was bathed in the darkness of the corridor heading into the cave, until she realized that she didn''t need a torch. Though everything was in dark shades of grey and white, everything in the cave was almost as crystal clear to her as though it were daylight inside.


    Huh. One of the benefits of choosing something other than the default race, she supposed, eyes rolling skyward as she quietly cursed Galatea for being so basic.


    Nevertheless, Mau proceeded cautiously, eyes darting left and right in search of any hidden side-passages or alcoves where she could be ambushed from or create an ambush, herself. For the most part though it was a single straight shot corridor leading further into the depths. With her dagger in her left hand and short sword clasped tightly in her right, she crept through the darkness towards the sounds of hissed breathing and grumbles.


    Eventually she did find an easy to miss side path, and she paused at the junction, ears perked as she listened to the ambient silence of the cave and the slow whisper of wind carrying fresh air inside it. She quickly ducked down the side way, back pressed to the cave wall as she crept further into a small alcove where three goblins were already asleep, snarling and snoring as they tossed, not registering the presence of death that had just entered the room.


    There was no fairness in Mau''s actions. It was devilish, dastardly, and cruel; the way she casually slit the closest goblin''s throat while he dreamed of pillage and plunder. She proceeded to the second and repeated the grim process, eyes cold as she watched life leave the little monster''s body. It was as she shuffled to the third slumbering goblin that he cracked an eye open and blearily stared at her for a beat...


    "GRA--ghk!" The goblin squawked as Mau''s hand clapped over his mouth and she planted her short sword swiftly between his ribs.


    "Sleep." She whispered, giving the blade a sharp, jerking, twist that made the light fade from the creature''s eyes as it went limp pinned beneath her.


    That could have been bad. If the goblin had managed to let out a cry of alarm there would be only the gods know how many of the little things bearing down on her in an instant. Mau gripped her wrist tightly to try and make her hands stop trembling. Her mind may have had the experience of killing countless goblins in and out of their lair, but her body was unused to the sheer levels of adrenaline and heart-racing terror that gripped her still.


    That was the kicker. No matter how many times she did this, it was always terrifying to be deep in enemy territory, trying to remain unnoticed while hunting her quarry. A slow, steeling, shivery breath and the Hero shoved the kitten''s fear aside and forced her body to stand up again. Until the Hero was truly used to this new body every action was like awkwardly controlling a puppet with its own instincts and fears that had to be surmounted.


    What was worse was how young and still untrained this body was. Sure there were a few benefits to youth and the racial bonuses she discovered along the way, but in most of their lives, the Hero had started adventuring much later- usually around the age of sixteen to eighteen. There was an inherent frailness to youth that needed to be ironed out with real training, exercise, and preparation. Mau barely had time for any of that before a threat appeared looming over her hometown threatening to kill her and everything she knew.


    That was the thing about goblins. They were a constant across every world and life the Hero had lived. Though they were considered the lowest of low ranking monsters and considered to be weak and pathetic excuses of life in every world, there was another constant about them that the Hero had learned. They were emotionless little monsters. They breed quick, mature quicker, and once they get their first taste of blood there''s no stopping them from wanting to bathe in it every chance they could get. Once the Hero had made the mistake of clearing out a goblin den and leaving the children to live, out of pity.


    Once.


    After that, the Hero vowed never to return to another village burned to the ground because they had let several goblin pups live, thinking they could adapt to a life without killing. Mau was not certainly not going to let that happen to her home. Not in this life, not in any others the Hero had lived.


    Mau left the side alcove and resumed her course down the cave''s lonely corridor. The den was still largely silent, which meant one of two things... The goblins were still unaware of her presence and she could get away with a few more quiet kills... Or they were ready and waiting for her now, plotting their traps and tactics for capturing and killing an intruder.


    Either way she would be ready for them as she inched slowly down the cramped cave. The further down the path she went the more she could feel a nervous fear building in the secret place behind her heart, making it hammer and skip beats in her breast. She had to pause to recover, knowing full well that one careless slip up would end her adventuring career, she didn''t want to make a dumb mistake just because she was nervous, and stopped to catch her quickening breath.


    It was a good thing she had stopped when she did, because in the next instant a ratty and poorly made arrow whizzed between her ears as it sailed harmlessly over her head. Mau quickly dropped into a crouch and tumble-rolled forward into the next chamber.


    There were two goblins waiting for her, and judging from their bloodshot eyes, they either hadn''t gotten much sleep or were rudely woken up But the pair were apparently very confident in their ability to take out the threat to the den as they, stupidly, didn''t sound an alarm.


    The first goblin went down in a gurgle of blood as she flung a quick dagger through the air into its neck. This made the second hesitate just long enough that she was able to charge at it before it could knock another arrow to its shoddy hunting bow. She tackled it with bone breaking force, her free hand slugging it across the jaw to stun it further before she raised her blade, poised to deal the fatal blow. The goblin meekly raised its hands to protect its face from further abuse and indicate surrender. Mau didn''t entertain it as she stabbed it firmly through the solar plexus.


    With the deed done, she slid off the goblin and rolled onto her back, breathing hard. She stared at the cave ceiling for a moment just trying to catch her racing breath and slow her heart as it thundered.


    That''s when, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw why these two goblins had been awake.


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    They had been eating breakfast.


    Slowly sitting herself up, Mau stared at the remains of a prior party that had ventured into the den. There was a young man- he must not have been older than sixteen or seventeen, dressed in the light leather armor of a fighter. Crumpled next to him was the mangled body of a girl; roughly in the same age range as her companion, dressed in the finery of a wizard of some stripe. Their dead, glassy eyes stared judging Mau as she stared back. She felt her gorge rise, looking at the mangled, half-eaten corpses, and looked away quickly, scrunching her eyes shut tightly as she was given the grim reminder of what happens when one isn''t cautious around creatures like goblins.


    She remembered them, too. The pair were novice rank adventurers that had been sent when the town called for aid from the nearby adventurer''s guild in the closest city. Mau had subtly tried to warn them that the den was beyond their skills when they visited the inn, but of course they didn''t listen to some demi-human kitten and decided to strike out anyway. It cost them their lives.


    It was grisly and dark, but Mau started rifling through the pair''s belongings for anything of use. She assumed that the goblins would have taken most of their belongings and weapons deeper into their lair as trophies, but she had to check and see if the little bastards had missed anything.


    She struck paydirt.


    "Sorry." The kitten whispered solemnly as she fussed through the mage''s potion and reagent pouch and came away with a small vial. The Hero knew what it was immediately. It was an antidote potion. At least the novice adventurers knew the risk of goblin poison and had brought it along in case one or both of them had gotten hurt by a poison coated blade.


    Mau stuffed the antidote in her pouch and retrieved her flung dagger from the dead goblin. After that scuffle the den was probably already starting to wake up, regardless of how careful and cautious Mau was trying to be, There was no helping the matter, she had to move and act quick, efficient, and brutal, if she wanted to maintain the element of surprise.


    Ducking down the next path available she crouched low and moved quickly and quietly until she heard movement in the space beyond. This time she wouldn''t be caught off guard by any more goblins, even if they were lousy shots. The next chamber in the cave was lit by the embers of a dying fire, adding splashes of reds and oranges to the black and grey shades of the dark cave, the silhouettes of three figures moved against the wall of the chamber beyond. Mau shifted her weight onto her toes, blades held tightly in both hands as she lunged into the chamber.


    The shadows danced on the walls as the three figures jerked, jolted, and snarled in surprise. In an instant there was a fourth among them, the long shadow cast by a short sword flicked along the cave wall and with a sputter the stone was painted in arterial spray. The other two shadows halted, shocked and surprised. The slender silhouette of the taller figure was between them in an instant and in two quick diagonal cuts the two shadows toppled over with more splatters of warmth against the cave floor, splashing onto the dying embers of the fire and putting them out with a hiss that bathed the chamber in perfect blackness once again.


    Two murderous blue eyes gleamed in the dark as Mau wiped her blades clean on the rags the goblins wore.


    Her hands were still trembling after every fight; but the intensity of their shaking decreased the more the kitten grew used to the act of killing. Soon enough, the Hero figured, they would stop quaking entirely with a few more goblins put to the blade. But the question remained... Just how many goblins were lurking in this den?


    <h2>?</h2>


    It had been three hours since Mau entered the cave den. Her muscles burned and she was already more than just starting to get tired. She was soaked in sweat, grime, filth, and blood, but she pushed on, ignoring the burn in her lungs.


    By her count, she had already put about thirty six goblins to the blade. But for every one she put down, another two or even three sprung up and tried to catch her by surprise. The den was awake now and the hornets were buzzing; slavering for blood of the little intruder that had invaded their lair and killed their green skinned kin.


    Mau had her work cut out for her, and it wasn''t going to be easy. The caves were a sprawling maze; with sections cut out of the natural stone to make more labyrinthine paths by the rough tools of goblin-kind. They little bastards had settled in quick and worked fast to make the caves as comfortable for themselves as possible in very little time.


    What worried Mau was that she had only encountered normal goblins up until now, and they were starting to wear her down. What could happen if she encountered a hob-goblin again? Or worse, a goblin chieftain or goblin shaman? They would be fresh for a fight while Mau was already partially exhausted.


    It would be a problem for Future Mau, she decided as she rounded a roughly hewn corner into another, wider, chamber.


    It was bad.


    Mau realized that she had made quite the mistake in just turning the corner with little concern to check what was around it first. Faced down, now, with no less than ten goblins all huddled together, brandishing their rough and rusted weapons and shields,they encircled two figures in the center of the room. One was much larger than the others, wearing ratty armor made from poorly tanned hide and a few plates of rusted metal sewn onto it, the hob-goblin leered at the kitten that had just made it into the innermost depths of the lair.


    Next to the hob was the bigger problem. Which was saying something, because the figure was actually smaller than the hob-goblin, but wreathed in tattered and threadbare sackcloth robes. It was a goblin shaman.


    "Ah..." Mau muttered as they all turned to face her.


    It was definitely very bad.


    The shaman barked something and immediately the goblins sprang into motion. Though the hob-goblin remained protectively by the shaman''s side, the smaller bastards rushed Mau heedless of their own safety. Now; the rushing tidal wave of angry green monsters would make most novice adventurers freeze in their tracks with fear or hesitation. Thankfully, Mau was not a novice adventurer. Shifting her footing into a readied stance she brandished her blades in a defensive position as she backed into the corridor where the passage was thin enough that they couldn''t encircle or surround her, using the cramped space to bottleneck the goblins and force them to come at her in ones and twos at best.


    The first one reached her, its club raised high and poised to strike.


    Mau thrust her short sword forward, driving it into the bastard''s solar plexus faster than he could bring his club down. It died where it stood and she used her boot to kick it off her blade as the second came with a pair of rusty, fetid, poisoned daggers. A swipe of her own dagger across its throat ended that charge as a third shoved past the falling corpses only to stagger back clutching the deep and very lethal slash wound across its chest before it could even raise its broken sword.


    They kept coming, and Mau fended them off one by one, careful to avoid their rancid poison coated blades, until the horde thinned. Five of the goblins lay dead at her feet and the remaining five paused, hesitant and afraid to approach. Though their shaman leader spat and cursed and urged them forwards they dared not budge toward the little feline girl that was making a mess of their den. She had done enough damage to their morale that they knew they didn''t stand a chance against her.


    The shaman was less than pleased about this situation, stamping his foot and snarling in the basic and broken goblin language, before he raised a palm and growled.


    "Gragh''gagh!" The shaman rumbled, a spark of orange light forming in his outstretched palm before it flared brightly and a lightning bolt made of pure flame licked towards Mau like a whip.


    It was simplistic, brutal, and basic goblin magic at best, but it would still be enough to punch a hole through Mau''s armor and the flesh behind it, if she didn''t move. Tired as she was, adrenaline and reflexes kicked in before conscious thought and Mau twirled herself out of harm''s way around the corner she had originally turned down, turning her head away from the hot flash and bright flare of light as the firebolt impacted the wall behind where she had just been standing a split second before.


    That was all it took to get the goblins whooping and snarling. Mau peeked around the corner only to hear the shaman growl again, ducking back as another firebolt lanced through the air with enough heat to melt the rock and temporarily blind her with a flare of brightness in the dark.


    "Fuck!" Mau snapped, rubbing her eyes and earning a chorus of hideous laughter. The shaman snapped off another firebolt to keep her pinned and she gritted her teeth.


    If anything, it gave her a moment to catch her breath but even that was short lived as she could hear the approaching shuffle of several goblins moving towards her. She squinted, trying to get her eyes to re-adjust to the gloom as quickly as possible, but the firebolt had seared her eyes something fierce.


    She snapped her eyes shut and listened intently. It saved her life as the first of the remaining goblins rounded the corner and swiped its blade where her throat was. She ducked out of the way in time and shoved her shoulder into the little blighter''s face with nose-breaking force. He squawked, clutching his shattered nose as he staggered back and the goblin quickly turned and ran back to his compatriots, his bravery rewarded only with shame and pain. She could hear the obnoxious laughter as the goblins laughed at the misery of one of their own. It made her sick to the pit of her stomach with anger, but she held herself in check. The shaman''s firebolt would rip right through her if she so much as turned that corner. She couldn''t leave, but she couldn''t advance, and this time she heard not one but two goblins rushing her next.


    They rounded the corner just as her eyes had recovered, and the first one went down with a dagger embedded in his chest. The second though... Mau didn''t kill him right away. The goblin squawked in pain as she shattered his jaw with a swing of the pommel of her short sword, and then quickly hooked her arm around his neck as she turned him to face away from her. The goblin snapped at her arm with shattered teeth, but failed to pierce her armor-clad elbow thanks to the fact that he was in too much pain from having his jaw broken in several places. The two struggled for a moment before Mau shoved him firmly around the corner.


    "Gragh''gagh!" The shaman was clearly ready for a target, and Mau shut her eyes tight. The upper half of the injured goblin''s body vaporized in a bright flash of red. Mau rounded the corner next. She wouldn''t make it in time if she tried to cross the distance between herself and the shaman. She''d either be gutted by the goblins in her way, or the shaman would recover and demolish her with another firebolt.


    That''s why she decided to try her hand at magic for the first time, with this new body. Magic certainly wasn''t a new thing to the Hero, after all. The Hero had been a powerful mage in previous lives.


    Mau snapped her hand up as she took careful aim. The goblin''s magic was simple, archaic, brutal, and barely anything special. That made it super easy to learn with just a little observation.


    "Gragh''gagh!" Mau said as soon as she had her target in her sights. The goblins all went stock still, bewildered and shocked as a tiny spark formed in the kitten''s palm.


    In the next instant two goblins were vaporized, the shaman''s head was melted clean off his shoulders, and the hob-goblin was screaming; clutching the scalded stump where his arm had been cauterized right off.


    Mau didn''t wait to recover, she flung her second dagger into the hob-goblin''s neck and cut down the last goblin where it trembled staring in disbelief.


    Even if the den hadn''t been fully cleared, just dealing with the shaman and his hob-goblin guard solved the problem. The remaining goblins would instinctively know to flee, run off with little to no cohesion, and likely not come back for a long time. Mau collapsed to her knees, lungs burning with exhaustion as she toppled to her hands, sweat dripping from her brow as she panted to breath. She could finally go home and collapse.


    Except that was when she heard movement from behind the shaman''s throne, a soft whimper and whine. It was just barely audible, muffled by the ratty rags that made up the chair''s stuffing and cushioning. Mau picked herself back up wearily and grimly shoved the throne aside, already knowing what to expect.


    Six goblin children stared up at her in terror; tiny compared to their adult kin and even tinier compared to Mau, they whimpered as she approached and stared down at them where they huddled together, a menacing silhouette that reeked of blood, sweat, and death, with smoldering blue eyes full of malice that gleamed murderously in the dark...


    <h2>?</h2>


    The sun was setting by the time Mau returned to her mother''s little cottage at the edge of town. She was more than exhausted, coated from head to toe in blood, soaked in sweat. She felt grimy and reeked of dead goblin as she knocked on the door.


    Mother hesitated to open it, so Mau called out to her. Her voice came out in little more than an exhausted mewl, but the door flung open nevertheless.


    Mother stared, shocked, at the diminutive monster that stood on the other side of the threshold.


    "Oh gods, Mau..." Mother whispered. "You actually did it..."


    A grim, silent, nod and Mau tiredly unbelted her sword from her waist. "It''s heavy... Hold onto it for me?" She pleaded. Mother obliged, quickly taking the weapon and pausing in place.


    "Let''s... Let''s get you out of those clothes and into a bath." She suggested.


    Mau shook her head. "Not yet." She said, slowly lowering to sit by the door in the last warmth of the setting sun.


    It was a nice sunbeam, Mau thought as her eyes grew so heavy.


    The perfect place to take a nap.


    She was out like a light before Mother could suggest otherwise, an almost peaceful look on the kitten''s face as she drifted right off.


    Funny, Mother thought. It was the most peaceful she had ever seen Mau look in all her life.

 Interlude 1: Mothers

    The crowd shrieked in delight as the Hero made his triumphant return to the capital. With the 37th Demon General God, or whatever, defeated the world would enter into an era of peace and prosperity, no longer under the shadow and threat of destruction and doom.


    The Hero was pretty pleased with this, riding into the city astride his horse, his travel and adventure companions riding at his side. Thelyn the elf ranger, Grimrock the dwarf berserker, and Falstaff the grand mage all looked as regal and proud and sure of themselves as the Hero felt. As they entered the city, an honor guard of royal knights and solders flanked them and they began the parade march though the capital, with cheering crowds and roaring citizens shouting their praises and thanks to the Hero and his companions as confetti and streamers floated through the air. Music played, people rejoiced, there was dancing and singing in the streets. Tavern doors were thrown open, offering free drinks for the rest of the day while the grand temple bells rang clarion and bright.


    Pathetic Baby-Man was a rather handsome looking youth, despite his... Less than stellar name, and now he had proven to the world that he was not the childish wimp that his father had named him to be.


    "The first thing I''m going to do..." He said turning his head to face his party mates, "Is ask the king to let me re-name myself." He said, laughing brightly. The others joined him in his laughter, gay and jubilant as they rode slowly through the streets, waving to the crowd.


    But there was something that bothered the Hero, as they passed a familiar, run-down, house toward the edge of the market district.


    "Huh." The Hero murmured as his eyes scanned the crowd intently.


    She wasn''t there.


    She wasn''t there to see his return. And something about the lack of her presence irked him mildly.


    Maybe, he thought, she''ll be waiting at the palace. They would certainly let her of all people into the palace to see his return.


    The party finally reached the center of the capital; the grand castle of the king of the realm stood silent and resolute among the temples and houses that surrounded it, and they made their way into the gates, past the yell and din of the excited crowd into the quieter interior of the grand palace. The palace was as ornate and gilded as the Hero remembered, the first time he visited, when the king sneered at him because of his name and sent him on his quest.


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    Yeah well, let''s see the king''s face now.


    As the party dismounted their horses in the courtyard and made their way into the throne room, the king stood up and bowed deeply.


    "Pathetic Baby-Man, you have my deepest apologies and gratefulness for the actions of you and your companions." The king said. "If there are any requests you have, ask them now and I will grant them within my power." The bearded royal says, holding his head low.


    The Hero paused. Just as he thought to ask to have his name changed, something stuck out to him.


    She wasn''t here either.


    The Hero''s lips curled down into a frown of bewilderment, which made his compatriots all turn to look upon him as well.


    "I do have a request I''d like to make." The Hero said after a beat. "But I also have a question. Where is my mother?"


    The king fidgeted in the silence that followed; a strangled and heavy quiet fell over the throne room, every guard, noble, courtier, and servant going painfully still and daring not speak.


    "You must not have heard the news." The king said solemnly. "Your mother fell ill while you were fighting the Demon General God''s forces. I am sorry to say that she passed away while you were gone."


    "..."


    The Hero blinked.


    "Oh." The Hero finally said, awkward and strained.


    After 37 lives it didn''t exactly bother him so much. His real mother, back in the world he had come from, was likely still quietly mourning her son getting hit by some random truck. But he couldn''t quite feel moved on hearing that his mother in this world had passed on. To him, she was not his true, original, mother.


    "That sucks." The Hero finally said...


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau''s eyes snapped open, but everything was bleary. She was groggy and confused, breath coming quick and shivery as she tried to piece the dream back together in her head.


    No. It wasn''t a dream.


    It was a memory.


    A memory of one of her past lives, and it was both vivid and unforgiving.


    She shifted, only to realize that she was barely able to move, held tight in the warm embrace of her slumbering mother of this life.


    "Ah..." Mau breathed softly, as to not wake the woman.


    There had been a time where Mau had thought that she wasn''t really this woman''s child. But as her sleeping mother held her close, warm, she couldn''t help but curl her fingers tightly into the woman''s nightdress.


    "Mn..." Mau bit her lip. Something was off. Her eyes were burning.


    And as though, even while asleep, her mother sensed her mounting discomfort, the woman only held Mau tighter against her body, protective of her young. She really did love Mau, with every ounce of her heart and soul.


    Why was it, that only after so many reincarnations, that the Hero realized something so very important just now. Previously the Hero felt mildly ambivalent towards the women that the Hero did not view as mother. But now. Here. The Hero understood...


    They were not an imposter to ninety-nine other mothers across so many other worlds.


    "Mmf..." Mau whined, struggling in her Mother''s grasp briefly before she buried her face against the sleeping woman.


    The first sob made Mother''s ear flick, twitching as she slowly roused, cracking open an eye to peer down at the kitten shivering in her arms.


    "Shhh... Shhh..." Mother purred as Mau bawled into her shoulder, holding the girl tightly in her loving arms.

 Chapter 5: The Giants Steps

    The mountains were as treacherous as the villagers had warned. Most told Mau to turn back; that at this time of year it was nearly impassable to get through due to the endless snow and high chances of constant avalanches shifting the mountain passes almost seemingly at random on a daily occurrence.


    The biting chill of frost-laced winds stabbed Mau down to the bone even through the thick fur-lined clothes she had procured just for this trip, and she clutched her fur-cloak tightly to her chest in a vain effort to keep warm. The thick pelt was something of a prize she had earned for herself after several days of tracking a lone wolf to their den in the wild and hunting it down, The plush grey fur would have been perfect for colder climate if not for the fact that the mountain itself seemed as though it were actively trying to kill Mau as she trudged along the narrow pass, small fur-boots sinking deep into the snow and leaving a trail of light footprints in her wake. She was pretty sure she was the only person even daring to climb the mountain in this deadly weather. Mau''s breath puffed and hung visibly in the air as her hands trembled in her gloves, but she soldiered on, reaching a point where she had to keep her back pressed to the mountain stone while she inched across a thin snowy precipice.


    Even the slightest slip would send Mau plummeting into the ravine below, and it took her a concerted effort to simply not look down as she edged across the tiny footpath, shuffling inch by inch until she reached the other side and was able to plant her feet soundly on the other side.


    "Phew..." The kitten breathed a sigh of relief. The people in the village at the foot of the mountain must have thought she was insane; traveling alone and wanting to climb the Giants'' Steps at this time of year, especially at her young-seeming age. But the Hero had climbed and crossed many mountains in their time, and one treacherous mountain pass was like all the others if one was well equipped and prepared for the dangers and threats of heavy snowfall, rocks, and treacherous passages, and Mau had made sure to stuff her pack with enough climbing gear, food, rope, and warm clothes for two people, just to be on the safe side.


    The snow was beginning to come down heavily, and soon enough Mau couldn''t see several feet past her nose. This made the trek exceptionally dangerous as she would barely have any time to react in the event of a falling rock, or worse, a frost troll lurching down the path to give her a friendly greeting. Though in the event of the latter happening, she at least knew the firebolt spell to fend for herself, but even that was risky as the heat and sound of the spell going off could cause a freak avalanche and leave her trapped high on the mountain with no means to turn back or go forward. That would be bad.


    Eventually Mau hit another issue, but thankfully it was one she had prepared for. Part of the pass must have crumbled away entirely in a previous storm, leaving her with a rather large gap of open air between where she stood and where she wanted to be. Puffing irritably, she unslung the pair of climbing hooks she had stowed in loops at her belt and geared up to cross.


    Hammering a piton firmly into the stone wall, she tied a rope to the stake and tied the other end to her belt in the event of a slip, misstep, or fall, to prevent a sheer and fast trip back down the mountain. There was a reason she had come this far, and she wasn''t going to let a little thing like the lack of a path deter her from her goal as she rammed one of her climbing hooks into the icy stone wall. Once it was firmly in the rock she found herself a foothold and rammed her second hook into place. It was slow going, especially burdened by her heavy pack. Her breath burned coldly in her lungs, and she was starting to sweat under all the fur as she inched across the gap, using every ounce of her upper body strength to hold on to one hook while the other found a new purchase in the mountain.


    Half way across the gap she hammered another piton in and roped herself on before proceeding to inch further across. Until a particularly chill wind gusted by, strong enough to shove Mau. Time seemed to slow. Her grip slipped. With a mewl, she lost hold on one of her hooks, where it was embedded in the mountain. Her footing went next, and the kitten started to fall...


    <h2>?</h2>


    "Mother, it''s time for me to go."


    The words were harder to say than Mau had expected. It had been just a month since she single-handedly wiped out the goblin den, and since then, things had changed drastically. Though the townsfolk were bewildered at first, word and rumors quickly spread amongst them that little Mau was responsible for chasing off the goblins, even though Mother and Thrain had done everything they possibly could to keep the truth from spreading, it spread anyway, and even in some places blew out of proportion.


    Mother paused, going stock still as soon as she heard those dreaded, fateful, words. Only her tail flicked occasionally to show that she wasn''t a statue as she stared intently at her daughter.


    "What do you plan to do?" Mother eventually asked, her throat tight and dry.


    Mau scrunched her eyes shut and remained silent for a beat. She had no intent to lie to the woman anymore.


    "Northeast." Mau said after a beat. "There''s a mountain range."


    "The Giant''s Steps." Mother said, nodding. "What''s there?"


    "There''s a tribe that lives in the plains inside the mountain range; a tribe of riders and raiders." Mau said.


    "... You''re going to wipe out a tribe of raiders, next?" Mother asked, incredulous. Mau shook her head.


    "I''m going to live among them," she said. "I need to train, grow stronger, build myself up from the ground up, if I''m going to fight the Demon Lord. It''s... Not going to be easy. I remember all my skills and abilities from before but. This body is new, young, still has room to grow and learn, I..."


    Mau''s throat tightened as the realization set in. She really was saying goodbye. And she had no idea if she would ever see the woman again for the rest of their lives. She bit her lip hard.


    Mother nodded quietly.


    "I''ll do everything to help you prepare. ... I know Thrain will likely help you, too." The woman mumbled glumly.


    The next moment passed in silence as Mau wrapped her arms around Mother''s waist tightly, she clung close and refused to let go. It surprised Mother, but she rested a hand tenderly on Mau''s head, making her ears splay gently as they embraced.


    "I never thought my little kitten would be leaving so soon..." Mother whispered. "But I believe in you. And I''ll pray to all the gods that they watch your every step."


    <h2>?</h2>


    The gods must have been watching.


    It was on pure reflex alone that Mau''s hands snapped to the rock wall and found a hold. Though the rest of her body followed shortly after, she slammed into the cliffside with a grunt as the wind was knocked from her lungs, legs dangling perilously in the air for a moment before she found a place to plant one foot- and then a place for her other. She must have fallen eight or nine feet before getting lucky and catching back on. Her breath came in quick, shivery, huffs as adrenaline flooded her system. She trembled both from the cold and from the fact that she came a hair''s breadth from death, and scrunched her eyes shut tightly. Even with the rope at her belt, she didn''t feel confident that it would have held her weight if she had fallen more than the distance she had. She didn''t want to test it, either as she gripped the rope in one hand and started to pull herself up, one hand clutching the line while her other hand searched for a new handhold on the rock face. It was slow going making her way back up, but eventually, with a fair bit of strain and exertion, she reached where her climbing hooks were embedded in the cliff, and gripped them tightly.


    Once again, she resumed her course to cross the gap, though it was much slower going as she busily tried to catch her breath and slow the rapid hammering beat of her heart. Eventually she reached the other side and planted her feet on solid rock once more. Immediately she collapsed to her knees, panting and shaking, hands planting deep in the snow, sweat dripped off her brow and her breath puffed hard and fast.


    That made the third time this mountain has tried to kill her, on the way up. But once she recovered from the adrenaline rush and finally caught her breath she managed to push herself back up to her feet and gathered her gear.


    "Cripes..." Mau huffed as she trudged her way down the path. It wasn''t much longer before the snow fall was oppressive, the wind howled and every step became a struggle against the stabbing chill and fierce gusts that came hard enough to shove the kitten back several paces. This was becoming impossible, and if Mau didn''t take shelter soon, the elements would be the end of her.


    Thankfully, the mountains were littered with various caves, and it wasn''t much longer before Mau was able to duck into one and out of the oppressive snow. She shivered as she shuffled into the darker reaches of the cave, a dark craggy space in the rock face that stretched in a long, thin, corridor into deeper darkness. Mau waited until her eyes adjusted to the dark before she drew her short sword in shivering fingers. As much as she wanted to rest, she couldn''t just stop and let her guard down. She had to make sure the cave was clear before she settled down to relax, and began inching down the cramped path.


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    Though she didn''t hear anything other than the soft shriek of the wind blowing outside the cave, she pressed on, listening intently for any sound of life or movement deeper inside. At least the cave was warmer than the pass outside, so she had that going for her, but it felt like an hour had passed in no time at all, and the cave continued to stretch on. Briefly, Mau considered lighting a torch for just a little extra warmth. She could see just fine with her night vision, but she was chilled to her core as she sluggishly crept down the tight path.


    It was two hours into her dark trek before Mau wearily considered giving up and taking a rest. But then her ears twitched. The wind outside hadn''t stopped, if anything, it only sounded louder the further she went into the cave now, and she could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel in the distance.


    Mau caught the luckiest of lucky streaks. The cave cut clean through the mountain to the other side, and as she emerged, shielding her eyes from the light of the setting sun, she stared down at a great and vast stretch of plains surrounded on all sides by the Giant''s Steps mountain range.


    She breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it.


    With the cave thusly explored, Mau made her camp in the cave mouth overlooking the snowy plains below. Setting out the next day she descended the mountain, the path down being far easier than the one she had taken up, she reached the plains by nightfall and rested until the next morning in another cave closer to the foot of the mountain.


    Now came the difficult part; finding the people she was looking for.


    The Mongara people of the snowy plains lived as riders, nomadic and constantly on the move in the wide open lands ensconced within the Giant''s Steps mountain range during the winter, during the summer they would leave via the opening in the mountains to the east and raid the surrounding countryside before returning to their cold lair for the winter months once again. They could have been anywhere and Mau had her search cut out for her.


    In fact, a week had passed once she had descended the mountain, before she found any traces of life other than herself in the plains. But the hoof prints of horses were a sure sign of hope that she was getting closer to the people she sought. It was a day later that the gods smiled on Mau and her search; or perhaps they were screwing with her, she always found it hard to tell, knowing that the lot of them were usually keeping an eye on her progress from up above. Sometimes it felt like they were rolling dice to make her life harder or easier just for fun.


    She had been busily tracking a fresh set of hoof prints so intently that she almost smacked face-first into the horse''s ass, where the beast was drinking from an unfrozen section of a creek. Now where there was a horse, there was sure to be a rider close by. Mau hid herself in the brush and waited. Sure enough a man in heavy furs and hide clothes emerged from the trees nearby, returning to his steed. Slung over his shoulder was a large bow and quiver of arrows, and in his arms he carried a young doe that he had been hunting. Rather than approach though, Mau waited for the man to load his quarry onto the back of his horse, climb on, and ride off into the distance before she moved from her hiding space and followed their trail. She tracked him for the better part of the day, heading farther and farther away from her basic camp at the foot of the mountain and deeper into the snow-drifts and icy plains.


    It was when the trail suddenly went cold that Mau furrowed her brow. She was an experienced and expert tracker, and still couldn''t pick up where the trail had vanished off to. It was only then that she realized she was surrounded.


    It was this realization that saved her from an arrow to the skull; she heard it coming before she saw it. And as her ears twitched, Mau jerked her head aside. The arrow whizzed by her cheek, close enough to whip through her dark hair. Lifting her fingers to her cheek, she pulled them away slick and bloody from the cut on her face from the razor sharp arrowhead that had just barely grazed her. That would certainly leave a mark. But it also seemed that her split second reaction to being shot at either impressed her attackers or made them curious, as several figures stood up from the snow drifts surrounding her, all wearing similar clothes of heavy fur and hide. Mau raised both hands in a signal of non-aggression and surrender.


    "You''re a long way from home." One of the men said. He was older, with greying hairs tugged back in to a short tail and a dark beard streaked with grey. Clearly he was the leader. And Mau nodded to his assessment before he spoke again: "What brings a little kitten like you out to our plains, hmm?"


    Mau''s eyes drifted from each figure to the next; the hunting party consisted equally of men and woman, some younger some older.


    "You do." Mau answered. "I came here to live among you and your people." Honesty was likely the best recourse here, and she had no reason to lie about her intentions, either.


    But her answer was met with amused laughter as every member of the hunting party had clearly found her reply to be amusing.


    "You came to live among us?" The leader of the hunters scoffed. "You''re out of your mind and your league. What makes you think you have what it takes to be amongst my people?"


    "I climbed the mountain." She said, indicating the highest peak to the south. "I tracked you down, didn''t I?" She also pointed out. "I even survived your ambush."


    This hushed the hunters for a moment as they seemed to consider the situation.


    "And what''s stopping us from just killing you here and now?" The leader asked.


    "You won''t." Mau retorted. "Because I''d be more valuable as an asset, and you know it. I tracked your people once. I could do it again leading a band of your enemies next time, if I survive." She said. "All I want to do is learn your way of life."


    A hush fell over the hunters as they whispered quietly amongst themselves and their leader, before he nodded.


    "Prove yourself, then." He decided before curling his fingers to his lips and whistled sharply.


    "Suvdaa." He said, and there was silence for a beat longer before a girl roughly Mau''s age pushed to the fore of the group of hunters. Her dark hair was cut short with two long locks framing her tanned face under the bear skin hood and cloak that she wore. She stared at Mau with cold blue eyes, and the two faced off.


    "If you can defeat my daughter in combat we will welcome you amongst us." The hunter said.


    The girl said nothing, she stared at Mau like a wolf ready to pounce, as the hunting party formed a circle around the pair and they squared off.


    "Rules?" Mau asked.


    "None." The hunter leader said.


    Mau nodded and adopted a fighting stance. The Hero had been a capable martial artist in several lives, and Mau remembered each of them, and the skills she had learned and honed through all of them, as easily as she breathed. A contest of strength and hand to hand conbat


    The girl shifted her footing imperceptibly, hands still held low to her sides as they circled one another, waiting for the other to make the first strike.


    The hunters began to chant, a low and throaty lyrical language as they sang a song of battle and strength.


    Mau lunged, moving like a flash she crossed the distance between herself and the other girl in an instant, her hands moving in a well practiced flurry of swift and decisive blows. She intended to end the fight as swiftly as it began with three consecutive jabs and a roundhouse kick to the torso.


    There was just one problem. The girl, Suvdaa, matched her blow for blow. Her punches were parried aside before the girl brought her leg up to deflect the kick wholesale.


    That was not something Mau had expected. Though she didn''t hesitate to follow through with the momentum of her kick to swing her other leg up, leaping into a second kick that swung her whole body into the blow like a pendulum.


    In the next breath, Mau choked as she was slammed to the ground, the wind knocked from her lungs in part from a swift strike to chest as her second kick was turned aside, the blow intending to drop her downwards in the same motion.


    . o O ( Why am I on the ground...? ) Mau wondered, stunned.


    She didn''t have too much time to think on the matter, though, as a boot slammed into the ground where her head was just a second ago as she rolled herself aside and quickly stumbled to her feet.


    It did not work out as Mau intended, as she pushed herself up. She been an incredible brawler in her past lives... How had she just been so easily turned aside and brought low like that? It vexed her, but she didn''t let it agitate her, keeping her head cool even as she adjusted her stance into one more suited for defense. If she couldn''t break the other girl''s defense, she''d wait for an attack to come, turn it aside, and counter it with a swift and brutal reprisal. That was her new plan.


    Her new plan failed as well, when the girl stepped into range once more. Mau and Suvdaa met blow for blow, several snake-like strikes swatted aside at first, but for each swift blow Mau managed to deflect, another swept in hard and punished her defense with crushing force.


    "Ah...!" She breathed as she soon found her hands batted aside just as a crushing kick to the knee off-balanced her.


    "Guh!" Mau sputtered when the next impact was an open palm to her throat.


    She crumpled in an instant.


    Coughing was a good sign. It meant her windpipe wasn''t crushed. But it did not feel pleasant in the least as she rolled around in abject pain, vision blurring as she struggled to breathe. Mau spent a beat on hands and knees struggling to regain both her breath and composure while Suvdaa waited politely for her get up and give up.


    "Are you done?" The girl asked.


    But Mau was not going to give up. She struggled to her feet, wiping blood from the corner of her lip as she brought her fists back up into stance once more.


    "No... You wanna give up now or after I put you down?" Mau retorted, hoarsely.


    There were no more words after that as Mau and Suvdaa met once again. The clash was quick, brutal, and over before Mau understood what happened. She managed to parry several of the girl''s swift blows with her forearms, but every blow was just as crushing and defense punishing as before; and just like their last meeting, Mau''s arms were batted away.


    Time slowed to a crawl. Intellectually, Mau knew what was going to happen next as Suvdaa''s back foot lifted from the ground. She also knew, instinctively, that there was no chance of getting her defense back up in time to stop what was coming.


    Suvdaa''s leg snapped out with the force and speed of a gunshot, coming faster and faster with each passing millisecond until time had once again resumed its normal flow.


    "Ah..." Mau whispered, understanding.


    There was nothing she could do to stop it at all, as Suvdaa''s foot slammed into her temple.


    To her credit, Mau lost consciousness on her feet, as Suvdaa followed her high kick up by leaping upon her, twirling in midair and coiling her legs around Mau''s neck in a sleeper hold that brought them both to the snowy ground.


    Too concussed to even fight it, Mau''s blurred vision quickly went grey, then dark as she went limp in the girl''s choking grasp.


    "Enough." The hunter declared. As soon as he so much as said the word, Suvdaa released the unconscious catgirl and rose to her feet.


    There was a long moment of tense silence, before the hunters gathered their belongings, their prey, saddled up, and rode off.

 Chapter 6: Wail of the Wendigo

    Mau woke up staring at the ceiling of a hide tent. Her head throbbed as she slowly sat herself up, shifting aside several fur blankets in the process.


    "Ungh..." She groaned, feeling sore and achey all over. "Was I hit by the Summoning Truck again...?"


    She nearly jolted out of her skin with a mewl as a voice to her side spoke up.


    "What is a truck?"


    Mau''s heart hammered in her chest for a moment before her eyes adjusted to the dark of the tent to see the origin of the voice.


    "Is it an animal?" Suvdaa asked a hint of curiosity in her cold tone.


    "Cripes, it''s you." Mau huffed as she flopped back onto the furs. "Now I remember what hit me." She said with a huff. Just moving made her feel dizzy and nauseous, and she struggled to keep her stomach settled.


    "You''re concussed. Just lay down, dammit." Suvdaa said.


    Mau, very clearly concussed, drunkenly slurred as she answered the previous question without thinking: "A truck is like a cart, but bigger, faster, and you don''t want to get into a fight with one because you''ll always lose."


    "..."


    Mau vaguely understood that her answer did not sit well with her host, and she waved a hand in the air to try and shoo off further questioning. "A truck is... Nothing, don''t worry about it."


    Suvdaa frowned at this answer even further.


    "Dumb cat. First you lose badly and now you can''t even answer a question." She sniffed irritably as Mau rolled onto her tummy.


    The world was spinning and Mau hated just how much her head was throbbing.


    "... I''m gonna throw up." Deep down Mau knew it was undignified for a hero like her to just empty her guts, but there was no tactful way to announce it as she started to retch.


    "--Don''t you dare in my tent!" Suvdaa snapped as she gripped Mau by the shoulder and helped her up.


    They, thankfully, made it outside the tent before Mau lost it colorfully all over the ground while the other girl held her by the scruff of her neck. Mau tried to wipe her mouth with her forearm, but found that... She couldn''t move.


    She couldn''t move a muscle, at all, she was almost perfectly limp in Suvdaa''s grasp.


    "... Okay... I think I''m good now." Mau announced.


    Suvdaa didn''t release her.


    "... You can let me go now." Mau said.


    Suvdaa still held her by the scruff.


    "... Hey?" Mau mewed, starting to get agitated. "This isn''t funny!"


    "You really are a dumb cat. Can''t even move when you get scruffed." Suvdaa muttered, finally letting her go.


    Mau landed on her elbows with a grunt as she regained control of her body, and scowled.


    "Don''t do that again." Mau spat and grumbled.


    "I''ll do as I please. You lost. You''re lucky we even packed you along with our haul for the hunt. We had to leave a perfectly good deer back there to make room for you on my horse." Suvdaa pointed out.


    Mau was silent for a long beat as memory of the fight came back to her. She didn''t just lose, she lost soundly, and it was almost absolutely embarrassing, how utter her defeat was.


    "Why did you bring me along then?" Mau asked as realization dawned on her. The hunter had said she could join his people if she won against Suvdaa. And that clearly had not happened.


    "Because your stubbornness impressed my father." Suvdaa said, shrugging. "Supposedly."


    "Supposedly?"


    "You kept getting up. Until I ended the fight, anyway. Tenacious, but dumb cat."


    "Can you stop calling me a dumb cat?"


    "You are a dumb cat." Suvdaa said with finality.


    Mau huffed indignantly as the girl helped her back on her feet and back into the warmth of the tent before she flopped back among the fur blankets.


    "You will be staying with me from now on." Suvdaa said matter of factly. "I will teach you our ways of life and fighting.


    "... Just like that?" Mau asked.


    "Don''t get any stupid ideas about it. It was my father''s orders." Suvdaa said, somewhere between flippant and petulant.


    "Okay. So when do we start?" Mau asked earning a sharp prod to her chest.


    "After you recover. And I will not go easy on you, dumb cat." Suvdaa replied, practically shoving Mau down among the furs. Already, Mau felt drowsy again, eyes growing heavy as she flopped onto the soft, plush, warm, blankets.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "Ah... Yeah good point." She said as she closed her eyes. "Can you stop calling me dumb cat? I have a name, you know." She uttered, groggy.


    "What is your name?" Suvdaa asked.


    "Mau..."


    There was silence for just a beat. Just long enough for Mau to drift back off to sleep.


    "That''s a dumb name for a dumb cat."


    <h2>?</h2>


    It was a chill winter morning when the hungry little rabbit poked her head up and out of her burrow. Cautiously she crept from the safety of her home and out onto the snow, nose wiggling as she scented the air and wandered farther from her den, paws padding in the snow to leave shallow prints as she lifted her head up to make sure no predators were around before she sought out something to eat.


    It was the last mistake the little rabbit ever made.


    With barely a whistle as it cut through the air, an arrow sailed in from out of nowhere and caught the rabbit right in the heart. She was dead before she understood what had even happened, crumpling down into the snow with a small trickle of blood.


    "Nice shot." Suvdaa said with mild approval. "But you''re still a dumb cat."


    Mau emerged from her hiding spot in the snow drifts, the white fur of her wolf-pelt hood and cloak helping her to blend in amid the snow as she lowered the bow in her grasp.


    "It''s been two years, you know." She said. "You can stop calling me a dumb cat."


    Suvdaa shrugged the snow off her bear fur cloak as she pushed herself to her feet and the two approached the fallen rabbit.


    "Two years of nothing but you being a hardheaded, stubborn, dumb cat and you expect me to call you anything else?" She replied.


    Mau''s nose scrunched as she picked up the rabbit by the scruff and pulled the arrow from the carcass, cleaning the blood off on the dead bunny''s pelt before she stuffed the arrow back into her quiver.


    "Don''t pout. I said it was a nice shot, didn''t I?" Suvdaa scoffed.


    It was still fairly early in the morning by the time the two had finished their hunt, they returned to camp successful with rabbit in hand, which made for an excellent stew when lunch time rolled around. But even with the success of their hunt, there was no missing the fact that the entire clan was on edge.


    That night they would leave the valley and attack the nearest settlement to the east. And after two years of living with her new, extended family as she was welcomed into the clan, the clan leader, Suvdaa''s father, decided that both Mau and Suvdaa were finally old enough to join them on the raid.


    Every member in the clan was both nervous and excited at the prospect of real battle. But it was something they trained for and experienced every day of their lives. They would be ready for it and they would be successful with plunder and spoils.


    Mau wasn''t of the same opinion. Raiding and pillaging wasn''t exactly considered the most heroic of deeds, and she made absolutely sure it was understood by the clan head that she would not kill anyone if she absolutely did not have to.


    "Mau, my child." He replied to her, that day. "While our people enjoy the thrill of hunt and battle, we are not drunk with bloodthirst." He said. "We spare the weak so that they may one day become strong and give us challenge."


    They feasted that day on rabbit and deer and beer, celebrating and preparing for the raid to come. And when the sun set, they mounted their horses and rose off to the east.


    "I will lead the first party and we will charge in first." The clan head said as their horses raced across the snowy flatlands and out of the valley that led into the great frozen plains. "We will soften their defenses for the second party, led by Suvdaa, who will strike swiftly and make off with any valuables, food, and livestock."


    The plan was simple, and in theory would have worked. But the raiders had no way to know or expect the silence and desolation that awaited them...


    The first party charged on ahead, and Mau was left in the second raiding party under Suvdaa''s command as they slowed to let their horses rest and catch their breath while the first party started the chaos. But the chaos never came. Mau frowned, watching the horses and riders fade into the distance among the short huts and tents that comprised the little village they had selected for attack.


    Even Suvdaa could tell something was very wrong as the horses pawed and scuffed at the ground where they all waited for the signal to begin the second phase of the assault. The signal never came. In fact, one of the riders from the first party made a hasty return, urging their horse to slow from a full tilt gallop as he reached the second raid party.


    "What''s wrong?" Suvdaa asked. "Why were we not signaled?"


    The rider''s horse panted heavily as it came to a stop and he exchanged several quick words with Suvdaa. Whatever he had to say made her frown.


    Mau pulled her own horse up to Suvdaa''s side when the rider turned away and trotted his horse back to the encampment.


    "What''s wrong?" Mau asked, tone hushed. Suvdaa was still frowning.


    "The raid is called off." She said after a beat, much to the bewilderment of Mau and the other riders. But rather than turn about, the party advanced, horses trotting lazily towards the camp.


    Soon the reason why the raid was called off became very clear.


    There wasn''t so much as a single soul to be found. And as they joined with the first raid party and everyone dismounted, Suvdaa''s father approached.


    "This is a bad omen. We are returning to our camp. Five minutes. Take any supplies you find and then we leave."


    The parties split up. Even if there were no people, there was plenty of untouched food and items of value to be had. The raiders worked in grim silence, entering huts and tents to grab what they could.


    "Work fast, dumb cat." Suvdaa prodded and Mau dismounted with a nod.


    Ducking into a nearby tent that no one had checked yet, Mau''s eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly as she started to rummage. Something was wrong with this. Something was so very wrong as she almost stumbled over a lump under a fur blanket at the center of the tent.


    Mau reached down and knew she wouldn''t like what she found. Especially when she lifted a cold, dead, severed hand from beneath the furs.


    Then she saw the bloodstain. The telltale drag-lines where someone... Or something dragged a person kicking and screaming along the floor to the outside of the tent. The shout of shock and dismay from outside the tent made Mau come running out so fast that she had forgotten to drop the hand she was clutching.


    Another raider came staggering out of one of the huts, pale, disgusted, and visibly shaking, making more of the raid party cautiously look to the hut, but they dared not enter. Suvdaa drew her hunting knife and darted inside. Mau followed right after her.


    The sight that met them was grisly.


    In the dark of the hut Mau could make out countless body parts, and only few of the bodies they belonged to. The ground and fur blankets were slick and sticky with blood, and Suvdaa was crouching over what looked like a partially consumed corpse as Mau approached her.


    "... Well that''s disgusting." Mau muttered, resting a hand on her hip. "I found this in another tent." She then added, holding up her now very extra spare hand.


    "This is not funny, dumb cat." Suvdaa spat. "It looks like they were partly eaten."


    "I know! I know!" Mau mewled. "It''s a big deal, I get it!" She huffed, but Suvdaa shook her head.


    "No, you do not get it. We must all leave, now." Suvdaa said, pushing past Mau to leave the hut and seek out her father. Mau finally let go of the hand in her hand, dropping it to the ground with a sorry plap.


    "I have no idea what''s going on." Mau said with a heavy sigh of exasperation as she followed Suvdaa out of the hut. The raiders were all already on their horses, every man and woman looking pale as though they had all just walked out of the hut of death. "Is someone going to explain what''s going on?" Mau asked as she hopped into the saddle of her own horse. It was as she did that something made her ears prick up...


    A mournful, keening, songlike whine and cry floated over the encampment on the wind. Just hearing it made many of the raiders cringe and shiver as the clan leader whispered a single word that Mau only barely caught...


    "Wendigo..."

 Chapter 7: Prey

    When the clan returned to their campgrounds the raiders immediately checked every tent with a dread in their heart. For now, they found that dread was unfounded, as they found their young and those too old to raid to be safe for the time being.


    That night, however, the clan leader called a meeting, and everyone was expected to attend as the chief circled a great bonfire as though agitated, sweat rolling off his brow in thick beads.


    Mau pushed her way through the throng and found her way to Suvdaa''s side.


    "So are you going to tell me what the deal is?" Mau asked.


    Suvdaa''s only response was to hiss as her, shushing Mau quickly as she jerked her chin towards her father.


    "You are about to find out."


    It was obvious it wasn''t going to be good news, whatever it was.


    "What the hell is a wendigo, anyway?" Mau asked, feigning ignorance.


    The Hero had encountered countless monsters, beasts, ghosts, and all manners of ghouls. The Hero knew just what they were dealing with; a man-eating monster that could never slake its hunger not matter how many people it killed and ate. The fight ahead of them was not going to be an easy one, and Mau frowned to herself just thinking of how exactly she was supposed to tackle such an enemy while so poorly equipped.


    Suvdaa replied with a sharp jab of her elbow, briefly knocking the air out of Mau''s lungs with a firm thump.


    "Be silent and listen, dumb cat." She snarled. But the damage was done. People were already repeating Mau, uttering the word wendigo with horror and revulsion.


    It was then, that the clan leader had stopped pacing.


    "My family," he began, immediately silencing the chatter. "A great threat is upon us."


    All eyes were riveted on him. Much of the clan revered Suvdaa''s father for his wisdom, tactics, and fearless nature in battle. No one had ever before seen him look shaken until now, as he pointed to the east.


    "You all tell your children stories of the beast that eats the flesh of man in the cold dark night, to keep them in line. There is not one among us who has not been told by a mother or grandmother of something terrible that stalks the plains at night." He said.


    Already the clan was murmuring once again, hushed whispers of quiet and gnawing fear running rampant amongst them.


    "I tell you, now," the chief said. "Those are no mere stories."


    The clan hushed once again, stunned as the chief drank from the skin at his hip and spat the contents upon the bonfire.


    In an instant the flames leaped, briefly flickering green and into the shape of a terrifying skeletal visage of a beast akin to a buck, with great pronged antlers and rows of razor teeth.


    "A wendigo stalks the lands of our prey to the east. It very well may have followed us."


    A solemn silence fell across the camp for just a beat before the chief continued.


    "We had thought ourselves free of this fear... For the last fourteen years we had seen no sight nor trace of the beast... The very monster that had taken my beloved from me. But now it has returned." The chief said, pausing to wipe his brow. When he looked up there was a fire in his eyes.


    "I will take only those who volunteer to hunt and slay the beast. I will not look down upon any who wish to remain behind."


    Immediately several members of the clan stepped forward, Suvdaa was among them.


    But, rather than beaming with pride at his daughter for being among the first to volunteer, the chief frowned hard.


    "No." He said firmly. "Not you. You will not be coming on this hunt, Suvdaa." He said.


    In an instant a shocked expression flashed across the girl''s face. Then came the outrage.


    "But father! You said yourself that creature is the reason I do not have a mother. I''m going to hunt it. I''m going to kill it." She said.


    "NO." The chief boomed, his voice loud enough to make the entire congregation jolt.


    "I will not have it." The chief said, voice firm and unwavering. "You are our Moon Child. We cannot lose you to this beast."


    . o O ( What the hell is a Moon Child? ) Mau thought as she watched on. That was something the Hero had never once heard of in all their lives.


    "But father-" Suvdaa began, only to be met with a stern, unyielding, gaze.


    "No." The chief said with finality. That was it, then.


    "FINE!" Suvdaa snapped and whirled around on her heel, bear skin cloak fluttering heavily behind her as she stormed off, petulant and furious.


    The chief pretended to pay her no mind, but Mau could see the pain in his eyes as Suvdaa retreated from the gathering.


    "The hunting party will leave tonight, the rest of you will remain in camp. No one leaves for any reason until we return. I want sentries posted all hours of the night, at the first sight of anything other than our return sound the alarm and wake the camp to be ready for battle. I will not have this monster catch us unaware." The chief gave his final orders and turned to begin conversing in hushed tones with his volunteer hunting party.


    When they finally left to hunt their dangerous quarry, Mau returned to her tent. But she found she wasn''t alone. Suvdaa was waiting, stringing her bow, sharpening her knives, a grim expression of silent and wrathful determination gleaming in her eyes.


    "We are going too." Suvdaa said, volunteering Mau to come along with her as soon as she entered the tent.


    "... So you''re not going to tell me anything about what a Moon Child is?" Mau prodded, earning a hard glare.


    "Dumb cat, a wendigo is a devil. One that hunts man, woman, and child alike in the frozen wastes, drags them back to its lair, and devours them. Its blood is as black as night, and arrows do not pierce its flesh, blades do not cut its hide, and it is impervious to all blows."


    "So then... How do you kill it?" Mau asked, pointing out a very notable flaw in Suvdaa''s lacking storytelling skills. Creatures such as Wendigos and their ilk often required weapons touched and imbued with magic, or at least coated in silver, and both Mau and Suvdaa had neither of these things. "If it bleeds it can be killed. We just need to find a way to deal with it." She pointed out, earning an irritated hiss from her tent mate.


    "Only an arrow blessed by the moon goddess can pierce its hide, and kill it, if it is struck in the heart." Suvdaa said.


    "I''m guessing this has something to do with you being a ''Moon Child''. Which also has something to do with why you disappear on every night of the full moon ever since I met you." Mau considered. "And the deal with that is...?" She prodded, earning a hard glare.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "That is not for an outsider to know." Suvdaa growled.


    "What? You think I wouldn''t notice you leaving the tent and not being back until morning, all those times?" Mau jabbed back with an irritated huff. "You want me to help you, you''ve gotta come clean."


    "No. And you''re going to come with me anyway."


    "So that''s it, then." Mau shrugged, pretending to be put out. "I''m being voluntold into hunting some kind of demon." In truth, she was not too keen on fighting such a creature without the scales tipped in her favor, somehow, at the current time.


    "Yes." Suvdaa said, matter of factly. "Yes you are."


    <h2>?</h2>


    Snow crunched under Mau''s boots as she followed Suvdaa into the night. The hunting party had already left hours before, and the two had to sneak past the vigilant eyes of the sentries posted at the edge of the camp, but the sentries were more preoccupied watching for anything approaching on the distance than two small figures slipping away into the darkness.


    They were following the trail left by the hunters closely, as to not lose them, but not close enough to be detected by the volunteer party. It was a bitter cold night, and the light of the moon and stars gently illuminated the plains, but as long as they kept moving, their furs kept them warm enough to not be bothered by the elements.


    Mau instinctively checked her equipment one more time as she followed Suvdaa through the frigid plains. She still had the two daggers Thrain gifted her, and though it fit more snugly than she remembered, she was wearing her breastplate under her furs. At her side was her trusty short sword, and in her hands she clasped the hunting bow that had been made for her by the raider clan. It was a small but powerful and effective recurve bow, though it was weak in comparison to the much larger war bow Suvdaa had strung over her shoulders.


    It was still several hours until daybreak when they had to stop, hiding behind the remains of a fallen tree. The hunting party was resting just ahead of them, the light of a crackling fire visible in the distance.


    That was when they heard the keening wail and cry of the same creature that Mau had heard at the failed raid, floating over the winds from the distance. The mere sound of it sent a chill down her spine, and the hunters clearly heard it as well, because they quickly snuffed out the light of their fire, bathing the land in darkness once again.


    "It''s close." Suvdaa said, expression grim. "It definitely followed us back to our land."


    "I heard it." Mau confirmed, pursing her lips into a frown.


    "We''ll rest here for the night, keep an eye on the hunters and move when they do." Suvdaa said as she nestled down against the dead tree. "You take the first watch, your eyes are keener in the dark than mine."


    Mau nodded. "I''ll wake you when it''s closer to sunrise. Or if I see anything funny."


    The pair hunkered in for the night, ready to wait out the hunters first move. But it wasn''t long before that eerie, menacing cry floated over the night sky again, much closer. Suvdaa shot upright, but Mau didn''t budge, keeping her eyes on the hunters in the distant darkness.


    Something was wrong. It sounded like the creature was too close by.


    "I don''t like it." Mau said, eyes still locked on the hunting party. "They''re about to be..."


    The sound of a man''s scream suddenly pierced the night. In an instant, Mau''s ears pricked up and the hair on her neck stood on end. Something lunged into the hunters camp, lifting the sentry clean off the ground with the strength of one arm alone before it started to rip him limb from limb in front of the other hunters. The men and women were up in an instant, some remaining brave in the face of danger and pelting the beast with arrows, another drawing his blade and rushing in before it casually batted him aside with bone shattering force.


    "We have to help them!" Suvdaa said standing up. But Mau clapped a hand on the other girl''s shoulder and shook her head grimly. "And how are we gonna do that?" She asked pointedly. "Our weapons are the same as theirs and you''re not seeing what I''m seeing." She said pointing to her eyes, glimmering in the darkness and reflecting the light of the moon. "And it''s bad..."


    Mau wasn''t lying. In the next instant the hunters were scattered, those that weren''t dead or injured turned and ran, fleeing for their lives into random directions in the night with or without their spooked horses, screaming and whimpering. But just like that, the ferocity of the attack was over. Several of the hunters lay dead or dying surrounding the creature as it bellowed that keening cry to the night sky again... Before it plucked one of the fallen party up by the leg and started to drag them away into the darkness, leaving a bloody furrow in the snow.


    "What''s happening?" Suvdaa asked, tone hushed and strained.


    "It''s gone." Mau answered, standing up from their hiding spot. "The hunters are either dead or ran away."


    "We need to go check on them... There may be survivors, injured." Suvdaa said hurriedly, "Father might still be-..."


    "Yeah." Mau agreed, lowering to a crouch as she walked, Suvdaa quickly followed suit and the two crept through the night towards what remained of the hunters camp, silent and expecting the worst.


    Their fears were founded. There was blood everywhere, splattered all over the snow and trees, already cooling with the winter chill.


    "Find your father. I doubt he would have ran." Mau said as she crouched over the mangled corpse that had been the sentry. For a beast, whatever this wendigo was, its tactics were flawless; it rushed the sentry and savaged him with enough brutality to shock the rest of the hunters into getting sloppy. Then it efficiently went to work on those that chose to fight rather than take flight. They weren''t just up against a monster. They were up against a vicious man-eating monster, and that made the situation all the more worse. Mau frowned as her eyes followed the bloody trail in the ground where the beast had dragged a man away effortlessly.


    "Father!" The cry came from over her shoulder, and she whipped around to face it. Suvdaa was kneeling over one of the fallen figures. Of the ten men and women that had left on the hunt, five were definitely dead and Mau had counted four flee into the night. She quickly made her way over.


    Suvdaa''s expression was a stone mask. The clan chief lay at her feet, still alive, but breathing shallow and strained. His eyes fluttered open.


    "Suvdaa." He rasped. "I told you to stay back at the camp."


    "Father, you''re a fool if you thought I would." She answered him back solemnly. Between Suvdaa and Mau assessing his injuries, they found the chief''s wound''s to be severe, but not fatal if treated. "We need to get him back to camp." Suvdaa said. Mau nodded in agreement as they hooked the chief''s arms over their shoulders, grunting with the exertion of lifting a full grown man in thick hide armor.


    "Our arrows did nothing to it... Our blades did not cut it. Just as the tales said." The chief muttered. "What do the two of you think you can do against it?" He asked as Suvdaa whistled for the horses to return. Just as they all had been trained, one horse returned, ears pinned back and agitated as it nervously glanced around the demolished camp. Suvdaa and Mau heaved the chief into his saddle with some effort.


    "The two of us will hunt it. We''ll catch it on the night of the full moon, and kill it." Suvdaa promised her father as she smacked the horse on its backside to send it galloping back to the main camp.


    Mau was silent for a moment, watching the horse speed off into the distance before she turned to face her clan mate.


    "The night of the full moon?" She asked. "First off, that''s three nights from now. Secondly, what is your plan exactly?"


    "The night of the full moon is our best chance. The goddess of the moon will bless my arrow and I will pierce its heart." Suvdaa answered her.


    "Okay. But that still doesn''t answer how we''re going to get one of the gods to magically pay attention to us." Mau replied.


    Aside from seeing Galatea quite often, The Hero has never met, nor interacted with any of the other gods. They were supposedly a constant presence in all the worlds, but never once had The Hero spoken with, say, Laita; the goddess of nature and plants, or Thuvros, the god of mountains and stone. Though the dwarves they encountered always swore by Thuvros, never once did any of these other gods so much as give The Hero a guiding vision. Needless to say, Mau''s opinion of the gods that were supposedly always watching her, was pretty low.


    "How the hell are you going to call down the moon goddess to help us?" Mau grumbled.


    "I will figure that out when the time comes, stop doubting me, dumb cat." Suvdaa spat, smacking the back of Mau''s head lightly.


    "Argh." Mau complained. "You don''t even know, yourself do you!"


    "I do not need to know." Suvdaa retorted as they crept off into the night, following the bloody furrow in the ground in the direction the wendigo had dragged the hunter that it was likely going to feed upon.


    The blood trail stopped suddenly at a slim creek that cut across the plains through the trees, and the girls paused. The trail, along with the body, had completely and mysteriously vanished. It could not have been possible- and should not have been possible. Both girls were expert trackers, but for the life of them couldn''t find any further trace of so much as a speck of blood as they crouched by the edge of the water.


    "Think it could have dragged the body along the creek?" Mau muttered.


    Suvdaa shook her head. "The stones along the creek bed would be disturbed." She pointed out, jabbing a finger at the water. "And it''s too shallow for it to swim away."


    "So you''re saying it can just vanish into the snow?" Mau asked.


    Suvdaa nodded. "The stories say it can."


    Mau drew a slow breath through her teeth.


    "Three nights in the wilds I can do." She said. "But I''m already sure that thing is hunting us now, as much as we''re hunting it."


    Suvdaa nodded. "I had assumed as much, as well."


    "This isn''t going to be easy. A direct fight against that thing won''t end well for us."


    "So we will not fight it directly." Suvdaa replied.


    "We need to find shelter, for now, though." Mau pointed out. "We''ll come up with a battle plan in the morning, after we''ve both gotten a little sleep."


    "Agreed."


    The girls had a long and rough night ahead of them... And it was only going to be the first of three...

 Chapter 8: The Hunt

    Mau''s breath burned in her lungs as she ran for dear life. Panting heatedly, breath rasping raw and tasting bloody in the back of her throat, she ran as hard and as fast as she could through the trees. The forest was no place to be at night, and she knew she made a mistake deciding to press on and travel through the dark as the low growl of something in the gloom chased after her, hounding her every step.


    "Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck." Mau muttered in a litany of terror, her heart pounding in her chest like jackhammer, blood pumping loud in her ears as she forced every step to carry her further in her terrified flight. But it didn''t matter. No matter how hard or how fast she pushed herself, she couldn''t outrun her hunter; a dark beast as black as the night, towering heads over her and slavering for her blood.


    The trees broke away and Mau nearly slammed into a rock wall in the darkness. Briefly, she wondered, how she hadn''t seen it coming, with her better than average night vision, but she was too exhausted and battered and cut by tree branches and thorns to care as she wheeled around in terror to face the beast chasing her through the night.


    She was met with silence. The leaves barely rustled as a wind gusted slowly through the woods, moonlight shining through the leaves made every tree branch and bush into a menacing and ominous shadow that reached out as though to claw and grab at Mau from the gloom. Her breath slowed as nothing came out of the night to kill her in a violent display. But she knew it was out there. Watching her. Stalking her. Hunting her.


    Gulping down spit and blood she pressed her back against the rocky wall and slowly shifted herself to one side, inching her way along the rock face until she nearly fell back on her ass with a grunt and a sharp exhale as she hit the ground and found herself staring at a cave ceiling. In an instant, Mau''s heart was racing again, not with fear, but with hope. Perhaps she could hide in the cave from her stalker, at least until morning and then she could escape the forest while it slept during the day.


    The villagers had warned her about the monster in the forest. That it slumbered when the sun was up and hunted their people in the dark of the night, how it chased anyone foolish enough to travel the woods by darkness until they died of fright only to feast upon their corpses and leave them to be found savaged and mangled.


    Mau whimpered at the thought as she rolled onto her belly and scrambled to her feet, staggering into the pitch darkness of the cave in hopes of succor without so much as putting a second thought to the idea.


    She dared not light a torch and let the beast know where she was as she dragged herself against a cave wall, hand over bloody hand to guide herself along.


    That was when she heard it again. A low rumbling growl that sent a thrill of terror down her spine from the nape of her neck to the very tip of her tail. Mau stumbled faster through the darkness until she could go no further and collapsed. That''s when she felt it draw nearer, that''s when she felt the hot breath steaming against the back of her neck. That''s when she looked up and saw the smoldering eyes glowering in the darkness.


    "Did you think you could escape me...?" A rumbling voice whispered in the darkness as the beast opened its jaws and...


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau''s eyes shot open as she sat upright with a sharp gasp. She was soaked in sweat and her hands wouldn''t stop shaking as she struggled to catch her breath and slow her racing heart.


    "Fuck." She breathed as her world finally started to slow and calm.


    "Are you alright?" Suvdaa asked, and her voice nearly made Mau jolt out of her skin again. "You were tossing for hours.


    "Cripes." Mau grunted as she clutched her chest over her heart with a scowl, but eventually relaxed again. "... Yeah. Just had a nightmare. You didn''t think about waking me up, once, that whole time?"


    It wasn''t completely a lie. But it wasn''t completely the truth, either, as Mau reminisced on one of her many previous lives. She had gotten unlucky that time and met one of the Devil King''s four top generals. His name was Golgoroth or Golgotha or something like that. She couldn''t remember the particulars at this point, just that The Hero royally screwed up and almost didn''t escape with their life that instance. Hell, even now she hardly remembered how she did get out of that situation back then, just that she spent years growing in power and strength afterwards so that she could go back and kick that bastard''s ass the next time she saw him.


    It still wasn''t one of her particularly fondest memories as she flopped back onto the fur she had been using as a bed, one arm draping over her eyes to cover them from the light of the rising sun.


    Suvdaa shrugged. "I tried. A few times. You weren''t waking up no matter what I did. If the wendigo chose to attack tonight you''d have gotten yourself eaten, dumb cat."


    Mau scowled again. Though she opted to not respond to her companion''s verbal jab this time as she rolled onto her side.


    "How long until we should get moving?" Mau muttered, feeling as though she hadn''t gotten any sleep at all.


    "About an hour. If you need more sleep get the rest in now. We''ve got a long day ahead and it''s not going to get any easier.


    "Yeah," Mau replied. "Wake me up in an hour." She said with an exhausted huff as she drifted off.


    About an hour later was no better when Suvdaa shook Mau awake. She wiped the drool from her face and grumbled as she pushed herself to sit up. Breakfast was cold water and tough jerky. Mau would have much preferred the clan''s hot butter tea and something more substantial for breakfast, but there would be none of that while hunting the wendigo. A groggy and sour Mau trudged through the snow after Suvdaa rubbing her eyes as she clutched her bow in hand.


    "Stop now." Suvdaa said and Mau nearly stumbled right into the other girl''s back. One problem with being a catgirl, that she had learned long ago... Cats sleep a lot. And if she didn''t get that sleep in, she was going to essentially be shot for the whole day, and that meant she was going to be absolutely miserable.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Do you hear that?" Suvdaa asked. Mau perked her ears up in response.


    "... I don''t hear... Anything." She admitted, before realizing in the next instant that it was a very bad thing.


    "Shit." Mau spat.


    "Yes." Suvdaa agreed as they turned to stand back to back. Already adrenaline was coursing through Mau''s veins and she was awake in a heartbeat as the pair drew arrows and nocked them to their bows.


    Mau heard nothing. Not so much as a chirp nor squeak of wildlife. The wind wasn''t even blowing. The only thing she could hear was her breathing and Suvdaa holding her breath behind her.


    "It''s nearby." Suvdaa said.


    "We can''t fight it like this in the open. We''ll be torn to shreds." Mau pointed out. Suvdaa nodded.


    "If we stand and fight we die. If we move we die." She said their options and Mau didn''t like them in the least.


    "Aim for the eyes." Mau said as she swiveled her head and her bow left and right. "Maybe we can stun it and make a break for it."


    "It''s our best bet." Suvdaa agreed. "It will likely try and separate us, then pick us off one then the other."


    "That''s why we have to absolutely stay together."


    That was about as far as they managed to plan before they heard the wailing cry of the wendigo practically on top of them.


    It was the only warning the girls had, before the beast emerged from the nearby trees. Up close and in the morning light the wendigo was terrifying to look upon; with bare-boned animal skull for a face, decorated with the long horn of pronged antlers, the beast howled at them. It''s tall, lean, lanky body towered over both girls, covered in shaggy brown fur and skin pulled taut over perpetually starved looking bones, the beast had long flensing claws on its scraggly hands and bird-like taloned feet.


    It lunged at them faster than they could react, and in an instant Mau felt herself casually batted away from Suvdaa with a grunt of pain as clawed fingers tore through her furs and scrabbled on the plate of her armor beneath. It saved her life, but the impact was strong enough to knock the wind out of her and would promise a nasty bruise later.


    "Fuck!" Mau grunted as she tumbled through the snow, landing flat on her ass and briefly stunned. She looked up just in time to see that the beast had turned its attention off her to attack Suvdaa. And while Suvdaa placed a perfect shot between the monster''s eyes, it simply blinked as though the razor sharp point of the hunting arrow that pelted its brow was little more than a gnat trying to bite it.


    Mau pushed herself back up to her feet just as Suvdaa took a tumbling dive aside to evade a lethal swipe of those flesh rending claws. While the wendigo was preoccupied with trying to murder the young raider, Mau snapped a quick shot off at the beast''s back. The arrow bounced harmlessly off its hide.


    This already wasn''t going well. The two of them on their own had no chance of taking down the monster without resorting to whatever gambit Suvdaa was planning, and that required waiting another two nights for the full moon.


    The beast''s full attention was on Suvdaa, as though it viewed her to be the greater threat of the two girls that couldn''t so much as put a scratch on it. She continued to dodge and weave and pelt the beast with arrow after arrow to no avail, she wasn''t even making it flinch. It was as the monster bore down, moving in for the kill, that Mau resorted to using the ace up her sleeve.


    Shifting her bow to a one-handed grasp, Mau aimed her palm for the wendigo''s back, squinting as it raised its claws to rip Suvdaa apart, after cornering her against a fallen tree.


    "Firebolt!" Mau snapped, and with a small peal of thunder, a lance of fire erupted from her hand like a bolt of lightning. The firebolt impacted dead center upon the wendigo''s back with enough force to stagger it; the acrid smell of flash burned fur and flesh filled the air as the beast howled in pain and rage as it flailed wildly, claws missing Suvdaa by a hair''s breadth as she took the opportunity to stagger away from the monster while it was stunned with pain.


    The wendigo immediately whirled upon Mau, once it regained composure, and the smoldering glower of hate that filled its baleful eyes as they locked onto her spoke wordless volumes of fury.


    "Ah..." Mau murmured as she realized: now would be a good time to run.


    "Bail!" She shouted to Suvdaa, whipping around on her heels before breaking into a full tilt sprint, knowing the monster was going to follow her after she caused it such humiliating pain.


    Snow crunched under every footfall as Mau didn''t dare so much as glance back over her shoulder. She could hear the wendigo stomping after her.


    "DUMB CAT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" She heard Suvdaa shout after her.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, shit, shit!" Mau huffed, cursing on repeat in a litany of profanity as she tore across the open plain towards a swathe of trees. If she could lose it in the thicket her chances of survival would greatly increase her chances of reuniting with Suvdaa later to come up with a better plan of attack that was more involved than ''shoot the monster and pray'' for the next two days until the full moon.


    "Meet me at Wolf''s Crag tonight!" She called back over her shoulder while Suvdaa was still in hearing distance, praying the monster didn''t know the regional landmarks like they did.


    Pumping her arms as she bolted past the tree line, Mau''s lungs burned as she charged through the dense copse, weaving and darting amid the timbers, ears twitching as she heard the crash of the slender trees being smashed down and swatted aside as the wendigo continued to chase hot on her tail.


    With a loud crash, a log hurled clean past Mau''s shoulder and slammed into another tree, bringing it down in front of her. She didn''t stop, sliding under and past the falling timber on her knees as it crashed to the ground, picked herself up and continued to bolt.


    Thankfully the fallen tree presented her with just a beat''s worth of time to look back, as the wendigo had to now work its way around the collapsed logs, giving her just enough time to snap off another firebolt.


    Flames lanced from her fingertips like a gunshot, crackling through the frigid air on a course for the monster''s face. It howled in rage and pain as she scorched the space between its eyes, both of its monstrous claws patting out the sparks and singed bone and fur on its snarling skull as it staggered.


    On the bright side, this meant that Mau and Suvdaa now had a means to injure the beast with Mau''s magic. If it could be injured then it could be killed. However Mau''s magic was finite in the sense that she could only cast so many firebolts before she tired out for the day, but the creature clearly hated fire.


    She didn''t stick around to revel in her small victory, Mau whipped back around and dashed through the thicket until she reached the other side and broke through the tree line once more. She didn''t stop running for what felt like forever after that, but when she could no longer hear the footfalls of the wendigo on her trail, she allowed herself to slow, and then eventually come to a stop before she crashed into a heap on a snowdrift, panting for dear life.


    Sweaty, lungs burning, huffing for breath and dizzy, Mau let herself collapse amid the snow and went limp.


    "Ugh god." She wheezed to herself as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky, wiping the sweat from her brow on her arm as her adrenaline ebbed. Her muscles felt like they were on fire and every needy breath fogged the air as she laid herself out in a sprawl and gasped.


    It took a good few minutes to recover, and when she didn''t Mau still felt exhausted from the exertion now that the rush of her fight or flight instincts were no longer driving her forward. Slowly she picked herself up from the snow and dusted herself off with a few pats. She was going to have to take the roundabout way to Wolf''s Crag if she didn''t want to run into that beast again, which meant Suvdaa was likely going to be waiting for her, impatient and unhappy, by nightfall. Mau was likely not going to hear the end of the chewing out to come, but she couldn''t help but grin a little bit to herself for managing to actually survive.

 Chapter 9: The Child of the Moon

    It was pitch black by the time Mau reached Wolf''s Crag. Thankfully her eyes were still keen in the darkness of night with just the light of the moon and stars up above. The thin ravine that cut into the mountains on the western side of the great snowy plains was called Wolf''s Crag because for ages it had been one of the largest wolf dens that the raider people were aware of, and would tell stories of hungry wolves emerging from the rocks and caves at night to scare misbehaving children. Though by the time Mau had joined their clan the wolves had moved on to other reaches and parts of the plains, it was still no less a place to be wary of.


    Falling rocks would constantly tumble down from above, and almost every day new caves would appear and disappear from the subtle shifting of the snow that floated down from higher up the mountains. But the caves provided ample hiding space from the wendigo at the very least, and Mau knew that Suvdaa was waiting for her somewhere amongst them.


    Soon enough she could hear the crackle of a fire echoing on the wind through the ravine before she could see it. And she definitely heard the raider girl''s grumbling before she saw her.


    The things Suvdaa had to say made Mau''s ears splay.


    "Geeze..." She mewled, rubbing the back of her neck as she poked her head into a nearby cave and was rewarded with the faint glow of a small fire deeper within.


    She was also rewarded with an arrow whizzing by her head, plinking into the cave wall as she ducked to avoid losing an eye.


    "FUCK! Suvdaa it''s me!" Mau snapped into the cave.


    "I know it''s you, dumb cat." Suvdaa replied, tone glacial as she lowered her hunting bow.


    "So then what the hell was that for?" Mau mewled, plucking the arrow from where it embedded in the cave wall by her head.


    "That was for being a dumb hero, dumb cat." Suvdaa retorted archly.


    Mau tossed the arrow back and Suvdaa snatched it out of the air, glowering Mau''s way.


    "If I hadn''t done that, you''d be dead." Mau pointed out. "And then I''d definitely have no way of taking that thing on by myself, considering I''m reliant on your grand master plan to fight it for the time being."


    "That is beside the point. We were supposed to stay together, not split up when we got attacked!" Suvdaa hissed as she slid the arrow back into her quiver.


    "Yeah well so much for that." Mau grunted as she plopped down to sit by the fire. "At least we''re both still alive."


    Suvdaa grunted back at her crossly, but couldn''t fault that logic. They were both still alive; it was practically a feat of pure luck considering the monster they were up against. She fell into a sullen silence that lasted for a long beat that made Mau feel fidgety and awkward.


    "Look I-" She started to say when she was interrupted. Suvdaa held up a single hand cutting Mau off entirely.


    "You stink." The raider girl pointed out. "I could smell your sweat from the cave entrance." She said.


    Mau grimaced and glanced down at her fur and hide clothes. They felt uncomfortably itchy.


    "There''s a hot spring in the next cave over. Go wash up and we''ll talk after. I''ll tell you everything." Suvdaa said.


    "Including your plan on how we''re supposed to win against that thing?" Mau pressed.


    "Yes. Including that. Everything. Then... We''re going hunting."


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau huffed as she finished setting the last of the traps, wiping the sweat from her brow. They were simple hunting traps, but the sheer amount of them that she and Suvdaa had worked together to construct them all over the northern forest on the edge of the plains should give them the edge they needed.


    Spike pits, logs suspended on ropes, swinging spike traps, they built everything they had been taught and more. Some of Mau''s more outlandish ideas that she had learned from watching movies in her first incarnation, earned her a stare from Suvdaa, but when she showed the raider girl just how they worked, she seemed to nod in approval and said nothing more. They''d have to use all their wits and cunning to last through the evening until the full moon finally revealed itself.


    The sun had just begun to set when they heard the wendigo''s keening cry over the frigid plains. Suvdaa pursed her lips thoughtfully, while Mau took the moment to adjust the string on her bow.


    "This is it." Mau muttered.


    Suvdaa nodded grimly.


    It was coming for them, they knew that much ever since Mau blasted it with that firebolt spell and planted a seed of hate, fury, and revenge in the beast''s heart.


    "Light the fire. Let it know where we are." Suvdaa said and Mau quickly complied, striking some flint with her knife to kick up sparks and start the bonfire they had prepared to signal their location to the roaming monster.


    "And now we wait." Mau said, crawling to hide in a snowdrift as Suvdaa clambered up and into a nearby tree.


    They didn''t have to wait too long. The last rays of the setting sun cast the sky in shades of red and orange as it sank off into the horizon past the mountains, by the time the wendigo appeared.


    It approached slowly, cautiously just out of range of the fire, a dark silhouette standing tall against the darkening sky, eyes smoldering a hate filled red as it approached the dying fire.


    Mau watched from her hidden vantage point, listening to the snow crunch under the beast''s heavy footfalls. She could hear her heart hammering in her ears as her body prepared to kick into fight or flight mode once again. Suvdaa held her breath as the creature approached the fire cautiously, sniffing the air. It could smell them. It knew they were nearby, and they dared not move until it either found them or found one of their traps first.


    With a cry of rage the wendigo turned its head to the sky and howled as it stomped around the fire, head swiveling left and right in search of its prey. For a moment- for just a brief second, its eyes fell on the drift of snow Mau had hidden herself in, and her breath caught in her throat.


    Did it see her? Could it tell? Was their plan ruined before it could even be put into play?


    Doubts and terror danced through Mau''s mind as she went stock still and waited. In the next moment or so she would find out the answers to these questions as she held her breath.


    But then the wendigo looked away and started tromping in a new direction. It hadn''t seen her, and she let her breath hiss slowly through her teeth as the tension left her body. It was heading in Suvdaa''s direction, which was just what the two had planned, when it finally caught the raider girl''s scent.


    It looked up and saw Suvdaa''s silhouette in the tree, those smoldering red eyes glowering as the beast howled again, rushing the tree in a bull charge.


    The wendigo''s cry of fury was cut off with a sudden squawk of surprise as it found the first trap they had set for it, its foot stepped over compacted snow and leaves only to pass through the snow and into the pit below.


    "Yes!" Mau hissed under her breath as she watched the monster crumple out of sight into the hole that she had spent all day digging with Suvdaa. The next cry was one of pain as Mau could only assume that the monster hit the wooden spikes they had laid at the bottom of the pit. That was the signal, and Suvdaa quickly struck a piece of flint with her knife to ignite the arrow she prepared just for this moment. The head of the arrow lit up, catching fire thanks to the tree pitch she had coated it in, and she quickly knocked it into place, firing it into the pit after the beast.


    If it hated fire so much, it was in for a nasty surprise as the tree pitch in the pit ignited and went up like a bonfire, resulting in a screech of rage and agony. This was also Suvdaa''s cue to move, and she quickly scrambled from her perch in the tree back to the ground as she bolted for her next position.


    They hadn''t had much time to rehearse the plan, but the raider girl was more than canny and smart enough to remember where each and every trap they had planted sat waiting, and deftly avoided them as she rushed to her next hiding place in the brush.


    Now it was Mau''s turn when the wendigo finally managed to pull itself out of the burning pit, smoldering, smoking, and wheezing with rage. Slowly she shifted under the snow, aiming her palm at the beast''s center of mass, a small spark of red heat building in her hand as she concentrated.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Firebolt!" She hissed, and yet again a lightning bolt made of pure heat and fire streamed from her hand to hit the creature in the solar plexus. It wheezed as it clutched its chest and staggered from the impact, before wheeling to face the steaming snow drift where the attack had come from. But Mau didn''t move, even with her hiding place compromised. She could feel the hate radiating from that smoldering red gaze locked onto her, and the wendigo charged.


    With a keening wail howling through the air it rushed Mau. And she waited for it...


    Clutching the rope held in her other hand, she waited for just the right moment... And yanked on it hard.


    With a CRACK of shifting timbers and rope, a full-sized tree log with spikes fashioned to its front came swinging down in an arch from where they had hidden it up high in the trees. The wendigo had no idea what hit it when the spiked log slammed it dead on the side, cutting off its howl with a grunt.


    The impact clearly winded the creature, and it held its bloody side in disbelief where one of the spikes had impaled into it. But it still wasn''t enough to stop the monster''s onslaught as it picked itself up and stumbled on wobbly feet.


    It was bleeding. That was good. If they could just weaken it enough to keep it in place when they readied to finish it off with the final part of Suvdaa''s plan, then they could just maybe pull this off. If it bled that meant that they had a chance to actually kill it.


    Now, Mau picked herself up, shaking snow off her furs and out of her hair as she stood up from the snow drift and bolted to her next position. They just had to keep this up, keep making the thing blunder into their traps while avoiding letting it get too close to actually harm them.


    Mau darted between a pair of trees, skipping a step as she whistled over her shoulder.


    "Over here! Follow me you big dumb bag of fur and bones!" She taunted it to chase her, and once it had regained its balance, the wendigo growled. It was mad, irate, furious, and seeing red. It didn''t see the rope tied across the trees at ankle level that Mau had stepped over.


    This was a mistake on its part.


    As it stepped across the rope, the rope snapped. And the tree branches that had been held back under tension suddenly had all that tension released... They whipped around, whistling as they cut through the air, the wooden spikes tied all over them hit the wendigo first before the full force of the branches hit it hard enough to lay it out on its back, blood splattering onto the snow as it writhed and screeched.


    Mau took her next hiding place, clambering up a tree and hiding among the pine needles, curling up on a high branch as Suvdaa whistled for the monster''s attention.


    The whistle was swiftly followed by a flaming arrow that whistled through the air and pelted the beast in the side of the head. As it sat up That only made it angrier, and in the next instant it was back on its feet.


    But the creature didn''t rush where the arrow had come from. Not this time.


    Now it knew. It was fighting on their terms, and if it charged Suvdaa, it was likely to run into another trap or two along the way. It approached slowly as another arrow pelted its body, bouncing off harmlessly against its hide as it cautiously began to approach, testing its footing with every step, clearly not too worried or bothered by the arrows, but more perturbed by the thought of rushing into another nasty surprise that they had prepared.


    Suvdaa fired arrow after arrow at the beast, some ablaze some not, just to hold its attention on her as she stood up from her spot in the bushes just so it could see her.


    Seeing her however spurred the creature on; and it quickly picked up its pace on the approach, growing emboldened as each step closer didn''t trip it up with another trap. Until Suvdaa smiled.


    Something in the girl''s grin gave the monster pause. It knew she had something up her sleeve and it skidded to a halt just a handful of feet away. Clawed fingers flexed and curled as it considered how to get closer without incurring the girl''s wrath, and Suvdaa could see the gears churning and turning in the monster''s head.


    Too bad for the wendigo, this was what Mau and Suvdaa had planned on.


    "Dumb thing." Suvdaa spat as she stomped on the taut rope waiting just by her boot. The rope went lank as a result... And the rocks held up in the nearby tree waiting just over the wendigo''s head came down as the net holding them back came loose. Big rocks, little rocks, heavy rocks, light rocks, they came down all on the monster''s skull, making it cry out in surprise as a heavier stone snapped off one of its antlers and it crumpled under the weight that suddenly crashed down on top of it.


    Now the wendigo was stunned, and Suvdaa picked herself up and bolted, sprinting for her next hiding place.


    "You''re up, dumb cat!" She called over her shoulder, and Mau paused.


    "Uh."


    That''s when she realized.


    The tree she was in?


    It was pretty high up.


    Getting down wouldn''t be easy as fear clutched her heart when she looked down, vision blurring from the height and distance to the ground.


    "What are you waiting for?" Suvdaa called as the wendigo shook its head out. "Trigger the next trap!"


    "I''m stuck!" Mau snapped back. There was silence for just a beat.


    "What the hell do you mean you''re stuck?"


    "I''m stuck in the tree! It''s way too high up, there''s no way to get down!" Mau mewled back pitifully.


    With a noise of exasperation, Suvdaa snapped an arrow to her bow and lined up a quick shot. The arrow embedded in the tree right beside Mau''s ear and the impact made her jolt.


    "WAH!" Mau squealed as she jolted back and stepped clean off the branch she was hiding on.


    "OH FUCK!" The catgirl blurted as she started to fall, hands scrambling to catch anything on the way down, she whipped around to face the tree trunk and scrabbled for purchase, bloodying her hands and knees on the bark as she skidded downward, landing with a hard grunt in the snow at the foot of the tree.


    "... Thanks!" She called out once she regained her composure at the bottom of the tree trunk.


    "Don''t thank me, dumb cat, get to work!" Suvdaa shouted back at her.


    In the time Mau had struggled to get down the tree, the wendigo had already gotten back to its feet, shaking its head out and shrugging off the dizzy concussed feeling from being slammed in the head with all those rocks.


    "Firebolt!" Mau shouted, another peal of thunder calling out as a rush of hot flames flashed into the wendigo''s already dizzy eyes from a distance. Its head jerked from the impact and it clawed its eyes shrieking as it whirled to face where the spell had come from.


    "Foolish girls!" The monster hissed. "I am done playing! I will tear you both limb from limb! I will keep you alive as I eat you piece by piece! You will whimper and beg for death as I devour you in small pieces!"


    The fact that it could speak gave Mau a beat''s pause, but she didn''t let that hold her for too long. They had to continue harrying the monster until the moon was at its apex in the night sky, Suvdaa had said.


    Well, if anything, that last firebolt had its attention, and Mau spun around on her heels to start running.


    "Where are you running to, little kitten?!" The wendigo snarled, "I grow tired of these games we play! I am hungry!"


    Again, Mau ran between two trees that were conspicuously close to one another, and the beast halted just before crossing them.


    "... I will not fall for this again." It growled, walking to step around them rather than between them.


    Mau couldn''t help but grin like a cat.


    "You kind of just did." She called back to it as it stepped around the trees and squawked in pain. The satisfying crunch of bones breaking sounded through the woods as the two rocks came swinging down on ropes in opposing arcs and slammed into the beast on both sides.


    The wendigo screeched, venting its frustration to the night sky as the clouds parted...


    The full moon shined down from its apex in the night sky.


    This was it, this was the turning point and Mau just needed to wait for Suvdaa to make her move from here.


    "You''re up!" Mau called back as she slid under a fallen log and used it for cover while she waited... And waited. ... And...


    "Suvdaa?" She called out into the night and received no answer.


    "Your friend must have run, kitten." The wendigo hissed. "Your games were fun, but now I''m tired of this."


    "Oh. Well shit." Mau spat. With no response from Suvdaa, she was at a loss. The whole plan revolved around swapping aggro from the beast back and forth until the moon hit the right spot in the sky, and it was slowly trudging towards her spot under the log.


    Now, though, the wendigo was being extra cautious, no longer wanting to play this game of cat and mouse on the girls'' terms and didn''t want to just walk into any more nasty surprises they may have had waiting for it.


    That was the problem. Mau was out of surprises. She was almost out of firebolt spells too, with probably one last good casting in her before she fizzled out, and the last few traps were placed in Suvdaa''s side of the woods.


    "Shit shit shit!" Mau muttered, squeezing herself backwards under the tree and wriggling her way out from under it as the wendigo nearly stood atop her.


    That''s when Mau saw something behind it... Two gleaming points of silver light up in a tree overlooking her former hiding place as the beast up-ended the fallen tree and hurled it over its shoulder.


    "You are mine..." It snarled as Mau backed into a rock, its skull-like face hovered inches from her nose, she could smell the fetid stench of raw meat and old blood on its breath. As it raised its claw, poised to strike she darted aside.


    That''s when the arrow came screaming through the night, it whistled as it streaked through the darkness followed by contrails of silvery light. When it hit the wendigo, the moon-blessed arrow didn''t bounce off its hide.


    Instead, the arrow''s point embedded in the back of the beast''s knee, hobbling it with a cry of pain unlike any that Mau had heard it make before, and it whirled around to face the source, screaming with impotent fury.


    Suvdaa sat crouched in the tree above, eyes gleaming silver, back-lit by the full moon.


    "About time!" Mau snapped, but Suvdaa paid her no mind as she knocked another arrow to her bow, the point glittering silver in the light of the stars...


    <h2>?</h2>


    "So." Mau said, drying her hair with a spare cloth as she returned from the hot spring. "I''m ready to hear your grand master plan, now."


    She was rewarded with a fruit flung at her face. She only barely caught it at the last second, nearly dropped it, and spent the next moment juggling it between her hands to not drop it.


    "Cripes, what was that for?!" She blurted as Suvdaa snorted at her.


    "How was your bath?" The raider asked her. "I assume it was good, you took forever in there. I thought you might have drowned."


    Mau seethed quietly as she sat herself across the other girl at the fire and thrust her hands out towards the flames to warm them and help herself dry off a bit more.


    "If you really must know, the water was a little hot for my taste." Mau retorted petulantly as she bit into the fruit, its sweet juices dribbling down her chin as she chewed slowly and wiped her face with one arm.


    "If you remained in the water any longer I''d have to deal with the smell of boiled cat instead of sweaty cat." Suvdaa said prompting Mau to roll her eyes as she reclined by the fire.


    "So anyway." Mau prodded.


    "Yes, anyway." The raider huffed, firing the catgirl a glower from across the fire, before she sighed.


    "I am the clan''s Moon Child." Suvdaa started to explain. Mau considered saying ''I knew that already'' but opted to keep her trap shut in case the other girl had anything on hand to throw at her that was harder or heavier than a fruit.


    "It means I am the rebirth of the moon goddess Od Tegri." Suvdaa continued.


    Mau blinked owlishly.


    "You''re the reincarnation of a god?" She asked. This baffled her. Could gods be reincarnated in human form? Never before in all her lives had she encountered anything similar, and it was a little too late to ask Galatea about it now as she sat up a little to indicate that she was listening.


    "... I''m guessing this has everything to do with why you vanish every month on the night of the full moon and wander off until morning." Mau said.


    Suvdaa nodded.


    "On the night of the full moon I become Od Tegri."

 Chapter 10: Od Tegri

    Suvdaa''s arrow gleamed in the night, the barbed arrowhead glittering with the light of the stars as she took aim for a second shot. But the wendigo was not kind enough to wait for her to fire again. With its strange, keening, howl it broke into a sprint, heedless of traps now as its red eyes smoldered with murderous intent, bull rushing the tree that the girl in the bear skin cloak was hiding in.


    She shifted her aim, but even with its injuries the beast moved with a speed that was inhuman, and it reached the tree before she could snap off a shot. The wendigo hit the trunk with enough force to uproot the tree entirely, but Suvdaa leaped to the next nearby tree in a jump that would have been impossible for a normal girl, vaulting through the air and landing on another branch, on her toes before she spun around to send her shot off.


    She was fast- faster than Mau had ever seen her move- and the wendigo struggled to keep up, shrieking in agony as another silvery arrow embedded in its other leg.


    The wendigo wailed, a hideous song of pain, misery, and rage as it staggered on hobbled legs, but even still it refused to lay down and accept death. With strength bordering on Herculean, it uprooted another tree and swung it like a makeshift club. Mau watched with bated breath as it connected with the tree Suvdaa was in, but she was already gone by the time it made impact. Suvdaa hit the ground in a tumbling roll, skidding to a halt on her knees. Try as she might to get another shot off, though, the wendigo pressed her with another vicious swing of the tree in its grasp, forcing the silver-eyed raider to arch backwards, just barely ducking under the swinging log at the last second. This repeated several times, with the beast harrying Suvdaa, doing everything it could to prevent her from shooting it again.


    What it had forgotten was that Mau was still there. And she still had one last firebolt in her.


    Mau charged the tree-swinging monster, vaulting sideways over the hefty slab of lumber as it nearly caught her on a backswing meant for her friend, and she landed on top of it on her feet. Mau blitzed down the log before the Wendigo could even realize it was just ever so slightly heavier, and lunged for its face, palm outstretched.


    "Firebolt!"


    She unleashed the spell at point blank range into the wendigo''s eyes as she somersaulted over its head. The thunderclap of the spell going off resounded through the woods as Mau landed behind the creature on her hands and knees.


    "Suvdaa now!" Mau shouted.


    But the wendigo recovered faster than either girl could have anticipated as it whirled around and belted Mau across the torso with a clawed hand. She could feel her ribs bruising as the sheer strength behind the blow dented the ill-fitting breastplate under her furs, and Mau landed in a crumpled heap in the snow, wheezing, winded, and stunned from pain.


    "F-guhgck." Mau coughed in a breathless attempt to curse her failure, as another silvery arrow streaked through the air. The Wendigo jerked aside, turning a perfect shot that would have caught it in the heart into a graze across its meaty shoulder. It was on its last legs, but honestly so was Mau at this point.


    Even Suvdaa was beginning to look haggard the longer the fight drew out, and she was forced on the defensive as the beast rushed her with flensing claws, attempting to shred the skin off her body in wildly flailing swipes and slashes, forcing her to back up rapidly in order to keep from being ripped apart.


    Mau struggled to her feet, rasping as she clutched her side to try and stave off the pain from her bruised ribs. Stumbling, she staggered after the wendigo with absolutely no plan in mind on how to get its attention off of Suvdaa and no firebolt spells left on hand to pull its ire back to her, but if she just sat there and watched then they were both as good as dead.


    It took her a beat to catch a full breath, and then Mau sprung into action, breaking into a hobbled run after the beast she did the stupidest thing she could think of... She leaped right onto its back.


    Hooking her arms under its flailing limbs she sunk her sharp little fangs into its neck and held on for dear life. The monster hardly even reacted to the bite, only flailing harder to try and dislodge the annoyance from its back as Mau clung to it with every ounce of strength left in her body.


    This was all the distraction both girls needed. Suvdaa knocked a silvery arrow to her bow and lined up a shot...


    "DO IT!" Mau shouted while holding on as tight as she could.


    Suvdaa hesitated.


    "I SAID DO IT OR WE''RE BOTH DEAD!" Mau shrieked.


    Suvdaa took aim once again...


    The whisper of the arrow whistling through the air was all Mau could hear over the sound of her heart racing in her ears.


    <h2>?</h2>


    "You... Become Od Tegri?" Mau pressed, confused and incredulous. "You become a moon goddess."


    Suvdaa nodded. "More of a conduit for her, but yes. I lose all sense of myself and she takes over my body. I have no memory of the nights she comes, I just know that she goes out to hunt. She is the patron goddess of our hunters, she blesses our bows and our arrows, and gives us permission to hunt the prey made by the creator god Dai Ugan so that we may sustain ourselves with their meat."


    Mau remembered what she had learned of the raider people''s gods from their campfire stories, that they told the children at night. Dai Ugan was the creator and was represented by the sun. Od Tegri was his wife and represented the moon. Though they loved each other dearly, they were forced apart by circumstances beyond their divine control and roam the world constantly chasing each other''s shadow, thus creating the cycle of day and night. Or so the story went.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Mau scratched her cheek thoughtfully with a finger. "So on the night of the full moon you become the avatar of a god and go out hunting for god knows what, and come back in the morning none the wiser of your own actions. ... It''s not the strangest thing I''ve heard."


    Mau had heard some pretty weird things and stories across her lives, after all. But Suvdaa hissed in annoyance.


    "If you don''t believe me then just say so, dumb cat." She spat.


    But Mau shook her head.


    "No no. Funny as it sounds, I believe you. So what you''re saying is Od Tegri will be able to hunt and kill the wendigo." The kitten mused.


    Suvdaa nodded.


    "With her arrows blessed by the moon, she can deal a fatal blow to the beast." The raider said.


    Mau slowly whistled through her teeth and took another bite of the fruit in her hand.


    "Then I''ll just have to get her the opening she needs to take that shot." Mau said.


    <h2>?</h2>


    With a meaty thwok the gleaming silver arrow pierced the wendigo''s hide, embedding deep in the beast''s chest. Od Tegri''s aim was true, her arrow pierced the monster''s heart.


    The wendigo jerked from the impact, and Mau could feel every muscle in the monster''s back stiffen.


    She could also feel where the arrow punched right through the beast and into her own chest.


    Mau''s vision blurred. She gritted her teeth as she clung to the wendigo''s back as the beast suddenly went slack in her arms and began to teeter.


    One final wailing cry to the night sky and the wendigo collapsed to its knees, clawed hands feebly scrabbling at the arrow embedded in its body that heralded its demise.


    "H... How...?" It wheezed in disbelief. "Od Tegri...?" The monster hissed with its last breath as it toppled to its side, bringing Mau down with it hard to the ground.


    "GUH!" Mau spat, coughing up blood as the arrow wrenched from her chest and she rolled away from the beast''s rapidly cooling corpse. Stars danced before her eyes in bright flashes of agony as she quickly curled up into fetal position. Clutching the wound in her chest and rasping for breath, Mau rolled around on the ground in pain before she went limp.


    She could feel her consciousness fading as the corners of her vision rapidly darkened into a tunnel. And at the end of that tunnel she saw Suvdaa crouching over her. Or... No. It was Od Tegri, silver eyes gleaming in the rapidly fading darkness.


    "... Brave cat."


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau woke up to the familiar sight of the ceiling of a hide tent. She tried to sit up but was met with a sharp pain in her chest and decided that sitting up wasn''t worth the effort. Slowly she shifted the plush fur blankets aside and glanced down at her chest. She had been wrapped in clean bandages, so she couldn''t see the damage, but knew it must have been bad. The last thing she remembered was coughing up blood and feeling a lot of pain.


    "You''re finally awake... Dumb cat." Suvdaa''s familiar voice made Mau''s ears perk, head turning to face the other girl.


    "You slept for three days." Suvdaa said. Mau... Wasn''t surprised.


    Cats sleep a lot.


    "What... What happened?" Mau managed to ask, voice rasping.


    Suvdaa shook her head. "... I don''t remember. When I came back to my senses the wendigo was already dead and you were laying in a puddle of blood. I had to drag you and the beast''s head back to camp. You are a lucky dumb cat. The arrow just barely missed your heart."


    Mau didn''t feel very lucky. But at the same time she internally felt like she got away with some kind of crime, by just barely cheating death the way she did, if Suvdaa was telling her the truth.


    "I feel like shit." Mau said.


    "Just don''t throw up in my tent." Suvdaa retorted.


    Mau shook her head, one hand brushing over her bandaged chest. "Nah. I''m not concussed, just in a world of pain." She said remembering the first time that she and Suvdaa had spoken.


    "Yes, well," Suvdaa began, "when you''re feeling up to it, my father has some choice words for you." She said frowning. "... He had some fairly choice words for me, too. But then we''ll celebrate."


    "Oh boy." Mau said, laying her head back. "I can''t wait."


    It was another day or two of resting before Mau was able to stand on her own power. Her chest still hurt thanks to the bruised ribs the wendigo gave her, as well as being shot, but she would survive and fully recover, so she at least had that going for her, as she hobbled out of Suvdaa''s tent... And saw the Wendigo''s skull-like head mounted at the entrance flap like a grisly trophy.


    "Huh..."


    The clan chief was not happy. Mau''s ears splayed as she ate a lecture that lasted from sun up until sun down, but it ended with the man suddenly catching her off guard in a tight embrace that made her ribs ache.


    If anything he was more worried than angry, she could understand that. Apparently, Suvdaa had gotten a similar verbal dressing down from her father while Mau had spent several days unconscious. But the clan leader was more relieved that the threat to his people was taken care of, and proud that it had been his daughters to do it, as he had apparently sometime over the course of their going missing to hunt the wendigo, decided to adopt Mau.


    At first, Mau thought this might make things awkward between her and Suvdaa. Then she realized that things already were awkward with the other girl. This was mostly because she was pretty sure Suvdaa hated her guts. At least that was the impression that she had always given Mau, calling her ''dumb cat'' and all.


    The clan however was in high spirits upon learning that Suvdaa and Mau had, by themselves, defeated the terrible threat to their way of life, and that it would not be for a very long time before another such horrible creature reared its head to haunt them again, if ever. The celebration that followed began at sun up and went on long until after the sun went down; bonfires were lit, savory meat was roasted on spits, music played and the wine flowed freely from cup to cup as the raiders enjoyed their freedom and celebrated Mau and Suvdaa''s victory over the terrible wendigo.


    Mau sat in her usual spot, away from the center of attention, legs folded cross-cross as she sipped juice and slowly chewed on some smoked meat, when someone suddenly grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.


    "Weh!" Mau mewled as she went limp.


    "Dumb cat, what are you doing off on the side?" Suvdaa huffed as she hoisted the scuffed kitten and started dragging her towards the main celebration. "They are celebrating us, the least you could do is take part."


    "That''d be easier if you didn''t scruff me!" Mau squeaked, but try as she might her body refused to do more than wiggle impotently while Suvdaa had her grasped so firmly by the back of the neck.


    Eventually, Suvdaa relented and relinquished her grasp on Mau''s scruff, practically dropping her to the ground as she did.


    With an irritable huff, Mau rubbed the back of her neck and stood up to the laughter of the clan, everyone clearly finding the moment all too amusing as Suvdaa had inadvertently made Mau the center of attention.


    "... So now what?" Mau asked awkwardly.


    "Dance with me." Suvdaa said.


    Mau blinked, partially incredulous and partially bewildered.


    "But I don''t know how-" Mau barely finished speaking before Suvdaa had her by the hands.


    "You''ll figure it out, dumb cat." Suvdaa laughed.


    It was a long, but fun, night.

 Interlude 2: The People of The World

    Lifiel sighed as the wagon slowly rolled down the road, pulled by two plodding horses. Her father was up front manning the reins, leading their little caravan of carts and wagons up the road to the city of Dorn for the Blossom Festival. It would be Lifiel''s first time seeing the great tree blossom, and her father, Lirien, was adamant that she come along with the caravan to take part in the festivities.


    Originally, Lifiel had been ecstatic to go and see the Blossom Festival; it would be her first time leaving her family''s ancestral forest home to see the world beyond. She had been aching to see what was beyond the forest for over a hundred years, since she was born, and now she finally got to.


    Unfortunately, much of what she experienced up until now were dusty roads and more trees. It was more boring than the young elf had expected. Intellectually, she knew the festival would be amazing; there would be people from all over the land coming to Dorn to watch the great tree bloom, and bathe in the perfumed petals that fell daily from its leaves for several weeks, and that she would get to meet all other kinds of elves, dwarves, humans, and even demi-humans. She knew that would be an amazing experience, but the longer the road dragged on the more she just wanted to curl up in the back of the wagon and nap until they reached the city.


    "Are we there yet?" Lifiel called to her father at the front of the wagon, irritated and impatient.


    Lirien chuckled, his pointed ears twitching at the sound of his daughter''s voice before he shifted his grip on the reins to one hand just so he could stroke at his blonde goatee.


    "I''d wager we''ve got another three days before we get to Dorn." He said. "You really should be more patient, the city isn''t going anywhere and we''re going at a pretty decent pace. If we go any faster the horses will tire out and we''ll end up taking longer to get there, you know." He pointed out.


    Lifiel felt like she wanted to exhale her soul as she slumped in the back of the wagon.


    Three more days of utter boredom on the road. She was already at the point where she thought she couldn''t take it anymore, as it were. The last person they had met along the journey was an old dwarf who didn''t seem to want to make much conversation with ''a bunch of prissy elves'' when his cart passed their caravan.


    "Honestly, Lifiel, you''re over a hundred, you should have a little more patience by now, a few days are barely a drop in the bucket for us when you have so much longer ahead of you." Lirien said, more amused at his daughter''s impatience than annoyed.


    "Then again I suppose I can understand. When I was your age I wanted to see the world outside of the forest too." He kept on talking. Lifiel wasn''t quite in the mood to hear one of her father''s stories from his youth, though, but she knew what was about to come and grit her teeth as she geared up to hear a tale from ''the old times''.


    The story never came.


    There was a soft whistle, and when Lifiel looked up again, her father was flopped over, collapsed across the driver''s seat of the cart, groaning in pain.


    "Father!" Lifiel cried out, confused and suddenly scared as she clambered out of the back of the wagon and into the driver''s seat with her father, taking the reins and tugging them to stop the horses. But the horses didn''t stop; something was spooking them and they continued to plod along, subtly picking up their pace to try and escape the source of their perceived anxiety.


    Lifiel tugged the reins harder, urging the horses to stop slowly, before she cried out again. Something whizzed by her face, cutting her cheek as she jerked her head aside. Warm blood trickled from the open cut on her face and she brought a hand to the cut only to stare down in confusion and fear at the sticky liquid crimson that came away on her fingers when she stared down into her palm.


    The rest of the caravan behind them rolled to a halt, and there were confused calls from the drivers behind them, but Lifiel had no answer to give them as she rolled her father onto his back.


    "We need to go..." Lirien huffed at her, clearly in pain from the arrow embedded in his shoulder that was soaking his cloak red. Lifiel stared at her father and his injury in horror and turned her head to see the arrow embedded in the wagon that had just missed her head mere seconds before.


    "What... Who...? Why?" She asked, voice trembling as fear and indecision gripped her heart.


    A cry of pain came from the cart behind, and when Lifiel glanced back she saw the driver slump out of his seat with another arrow embedded in his chest. He collapsed to the ground in a heap and didn''t move after that.


    That was when the trees rustled, and Lifiel heard the laughter that came from the tree line. Throaty, gurgling, low rumbles of dark amusement and malice filled the air as several figures in ragged hides and furs emerged, wielding crude bows and axes. The sight of their pig-like snouted faces and bright pink skin sent a thrill of terror running through Lifiel.


    Lifiel had only heard stories of orcs as bedside fairy tales and stories told to keep her in line when she was in her fifties. To actually see them now, attacking her family, friends, and their caravan was like a cold splash of water to her face or an ice cube running down the back of her shirt, she had never once thought she would ever truly encounter such creatures. And yet here they were snuffling and snorting at her, leering and scowling as they started to approach, malicious intent glittering in their beady eyes.


    "N-no..." Lifiel whimpered. She wanted to crawl into the back of the wagon and hide; she wanted to curl up in her bedroll and close her eyes tightly and pretend she was somewhere- anywhere- else. Maybe, she thought, that she was dreaming, and if she crawled back into her bedroll she would wake up, the monsters would be gone, and her father would be alright.


    She was wrong. Before she could move another arrow whizzed through the air and Lifiel cried out in pain as a sharp, cold, sensation embedded itself in her arm. She jerked away, letting go of the reins, but before the horses could panic and run another arrow caught one in the neck and brought it down. The other horse screamed, but try as it might to make a break for it the weight of its partner kept it from taking the wagon very far.


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    By the time Lifiel looked up again, clutching her bleeding arm, bewildered by the pain, one of the orcs was already upon her, its rusty, poorly made, axe raised high and poised to strike a blow that would kill both her and her father in one swoop. She shut her eyes tightly and whimpered, waiting for death...


    But death didn''t come for Lifiel.


    And when the blow that would have slain her never came down for just a bit too long, she peeked one eye open. She opened her eye just in time for something warm, sticky, and nasty smelling to splash her in the face, making her recoil and sputter. But the orc''s weapon arm lowered slowly. With a wet gurgle and sigh the monster collapsed to its knees, and she had to surmise that this was most likely thanks to the point of the bloody blade that was peeking out from the creature''s chest through its ribs.


    "Wh... What?" She whispered as the first orc toppled to the dirt, a pool of blood starting to rapidly form in the muddy road beneath it.


    The hooded figure that had just saved her life swiped the air once with their long sword, sending a splatter of blood to the ground as they whirled around to face the other orcs, which were approaching much more cautiously now. It was one against at least six or seven, and the orcs were sure of their numbers and tactics against a single armed foe.


    The hooded figure barely flinched as an arrow came streaking at them, instead, their free hand snapped up and snatched the crude arrow right out of the air just scant inches from their chest with reflexes that were utterly inhuman.


    "Deal with the archers." The figure said to someone Lifiel couldn''t see with a soft, almost girlish voice, before they suddenly darted forward. Their speed was like nothing Lifiel had ever seen before as they broke into a sprint that carried them into the orc''s midst. Steel sang out, ringing loudly as blade clashed against rusted axe. The hooded girl''s long sword batted aside blow after blow, parrying strikes aside with an ease that made the orcs seem completely laughable and unskilled by comparison.


    They were.


    Another series of whistling noises sounded out and Lifiel whimpered as she ducked her head to avoid getting hit by another arrow. But nothing came for her.


    One eye peeked open and she saw a second figure, up in a nearby tree, clad in leathers and a bear-skin cloak, wielding a well made bow. In the next second three more orcs that Lifiel hadn''t seen in the trees collapsed gasping as they dropped their bows to clutch at the arrows embedded dead center mass in their bodies, before they hit the ground and lay still.


    "Don''t tell me what to do, dumb cat!" The figure up in the tree snapped as she took aim again.


    This time, she fired into the melee; The arrow shrieked through the air, whipping by the swordswoman''s shoulder and one of the orcs took it in its side with a wheeze. The hooded figure capitalized on the sudden shock and injury, deflecting another axe that would have taken her head off and in the same swing removed the injured orc''s head from his shoulders.


    The swordswoman paid absolutely no mind to the fact that her ally could have hit her, the pair simply worked with a coordination that frankly frightened Lifiel more than the orcs as three more arrows sang through the air. These shots weren''t aimed to kill. They were intended to stun, injure, and shock the beasts, giving the swordswoman the opening she needed to put them down one by one, and she took each opportunity given to her to drop another orc with a lethal efficiency that was beyond horrifying.


    Lifiel had seen her father with his sword. His daily training with the other men was something to watch. She had been told, before, that no one was as graceful as a well trained elf with a blade. She used to love watching her father practice daily in the old ways of the sword that had been passed down for generations from the teachings of ancient elves and even more ancient scrolls.


    This swordswoman was on a level that made everything she had ever seen seem... Childish in comparison.


    She could only look on as the pair made quick work of the smaller orcs. That just left the biggest, and nastiest of their number, and the swordswoman deftly ducked under a wild swing of the beast''s two-handed axe. The orc''s size and strength was such that she risked breaking her arm or her blade if she parried that hefty weapon, and the pink-skinned monstrosity casually ignored the four arrows that suddenly found their way into his chest and shoulders. For a moment the pair were in a deadlock, the orc unable to squash the hooded swordswoman, and the swordswoman unable to land a blow of her own as she focused on avoiding being cleaved in two. She took several smooth steps backwards to give herself some breathing room and the orc took it as a sign of weakness, as a sign of fear...


    It snarled, leering at the swordswoman as she shifted her footing and adjusted her stance, holding her blade in a guard to her side, parallel to her body and perpendicular to the ground.


    Lifiel''s eyes widened. She recognized the stance. It was a slightly altered form of the Flowing Water stance, one that she had seen her father use in a duel once, back when she was in her thirties.


    Instinctively, Lifiel felt like she was watching a kind of apex predator bringing down some utterly helpless prey. She knew that this fight was over. Intellectually she was stunned that someone could know an ancient elven style that had been passed down her clan for countless generations. She watched with bated breath as the orc howled and poised his axe to strike. The swordswoman held her ground...


    It was at the last possible second that the soft whine of steel ringing against crude iron could be heard as the hooded swordswoman''s blade whispered against the axe as it came down, smoothly turning aside the blow by using the orc''s own force and strength against him with minimal strength from the sword wielder.


    There was a howl of pain that followed immediately after as the orc''s arms and axe landed in the mud, the stunned beast staring down as the stumps where his arms used to be sprayed blood everywhere.


    With an almost casual flick of her blade, the hooded swordswoman opened the orc''s throat and stomach in two quick and smooth swipes, felling the beast with that same brutal and graceful efficiency that terrified Lifiel on a level she couldn''t quite understand.


    "That''s the last of them. I don''t see anymore." The girl in the trees called down as she dropped from the branch and landed on the ground smoothly, boots barely making a sound or splatter in the mud.


    "Too bad." The hooded swordswoman said with a sigh as she flicked the blood off her blade and sheathed it at her hip. Her shoulders sagged.


    "I mean good that there aren''t any more. But I was just starting to get warmed up." The swordswoman said.


    . o O (Too bad? Just starting to warm up? What kind of killing machine is this person?) Lifiel thought to herself, staring at the pair.


    Slowly the swordswoman tugged her hood down, short dark hair spilling free as the fuzzy feline ears of a demi-human poked up from the top of her head. Lifiel did some quick math in her head; the girl looked to be maybe about sixteen or seventeen years in human years. But then, icy blue eyes suddenly turned on her, and she felt more scared of the swordswoman now than she did of the orcs, just mere moments ago. Those eyes were far older than even the oldest elf Liriel had ever met.


    "Dumb cat!" The bear-cloaked archer snapped. "You scared the elves out of their wits! We were hoping to catch a ride with them to Dorn!"


    "... Oops? Sorry?" The catgirl said, rubbing at the back of her neck, sheepishly.


    The catgirl frowned as her ageless eyes turned to face Liriel, and Liriel cowered in place as she approached.


    "Hey. Listen. About what just happened." The catgirl started to speak. By now, Liriel''s father had managed to sit himself up, and the bear-cloaked archer approached to help him deal with the arrow embedded in his arm.


    "Look... Suvdaa and I need a ride to Dorn, with as few questions asked as possible. Mind if we hitch a ride? We can deal with any orcs or goblins or bandits that might pop out of the side of the road, for as long as we''re with you." The catgirl said in a tired tone.


    Lirien and Liriel could only nod in numb bewilderment and terror.

 Chapter 11: The Goodest Boy Acolyte

    In the two years that Mau had lived among the Mongara people, a lot had changed in the world beyond the snowy plains and the Giant''s Steps mountains. Apparently a political party going by the name of the Deathdealers, led by a man named Thanatos, had come into power in the Capital, and made life quite interesting and miserable for the other demi-humans that lived there and beyond.


    Mau had noticed that most humans had taken to looking at her with glances of disdain or scorn, while elves and dwarves tended to gaze upon her with mistrust in their eyes. She rectified this as best she could by trading her wolf fur cloak for a heavy travel cloak with a hood, to hide her ears and tail. The next two years were somewhat more difficult thanks to the mounting mistrust and suspicion that had been growing towards anyone with even mildly inhuman features and soon enough even elves and dwarves found themselves in the same position as Mau and her people, learning a very hard lesson in the process about the ''equality'' between humans, demi-humans, and the other races.


    Their first order of business had been to join the continent-spanning Adventurer''s Guild. Mau couldn''t help but make an amused face when Suvdaa protested receiving the lowest rank of the guild and they got their tin novice badges, but within their two years of traveling the pair quickly advanced to the rank of full fledged adventurers.


    Nevertheless, Mau and Suvdaa celebrated their sixteenth birthdays on the roads, traveling the countryside in search of any jobs and prey they could take for Mau to grow even stronger.


    Eventually, the pair hitched a ride with a caravan of elves on their way to the city of Dorn. They had just taken up a job to clear the roads of a wandering band of orcs, and handily accomplished their task in almost record time.


    It was as the elven caravan was settling down to camp for the night, with only a day or so of travel left to Dorn, that Mau and Suvdaa were hunkering down for a breather of their own. The elves were thankful for the pair''s help in rescuing them from the recent orc attack, but were still wary of a demi-human that had somehow apparently known their ancestral sword techniques, so the two decided to camp just a little bit further away from the elven encampment, and to keep to themselves for the night.


    "So why Dorn, now?" Suvdaa asked as Mau unrolled her sleeping bag and blanket.


    "The Blossom Festival is in just a few days." Mau replied. "I''ve kind of always wanted to see it since I first heard about it, a few years ago. The whole city was built around a massive tree, and it''s supposed to bloom every five years. I heard it was the prettiest thing you could see."


    Suvdaa stared at Mau, incredulous.


    "We are taking a detour so you can smell the flowers?" She asked.


    "Well yes. But also no." Mau replied as she wiggled into her bedroll with a yawn. "We also came this way because of the increased orc activity on the roads. Seeing the tree bloom is just a bonus. I figured I could use the practice, and the orcs we killed didn''t disappoint."


    Suvdaa pursed her lips thoughtfully as she sat herself down to lean against a nearby tree.


    "You never did tell me just why you wanted to become an adventurer. Why you are so dead set on always getting stronger. I want to know." Suvdaa suddenly prodded.


    Mau was already starting to knock out, though, and cracked open an eye to peer at her travel companion.


    "I need to get stronger. There''s something I have to do, and I have to do it before the next nine years are up." Mau answered.


    Suvdaa frowned harder, arms folding under her chest as she wrapped herself up in the folds of her bear-skin cloak.


    "Well? Are you going to tell me what that is, or not?" The raider girl pressed.


    Mau yawned, propping her head up on her backpack as a pillow.


    "I''m going to kill the Demon Lord." She said.


    Suvdaa snorted.


    "You? Kill the Demon Lord?" She scoffed. "Dumb cat has lofty dreams."


    "It''s not a dream." Mau replied, suddenly looking much more awake. Suvdaa felt her travel companion''s stare drilling into her.


    "You''re serious." Suvdaa realized. "You really are stubborn."


    Mau nodded slowly.


    "It''s destiny?" Suvdaa asked.


    "More than just destiny or fate." Mau answered. "It''s duty."


    Even Suvdaa was struck by the catgirl''s far too serious tone. But then Mau rolled over and placed her head back on her rucksack.


    "We should get some rest." Mau said. "Dorn is just one more day away."


    Suvdaa pursed her lips thoughtfully, sobered by Mau''s admission, she had no sharp comeback nor retort for it, so she just went to sleep.


    The pair woke up the next morning with the sun. The elves had already been awake, spending much of the early morning hours repairing and preparing their wagons for the journey ahead of them. Mau and Suvdaa joined them for the last leg of the trip to Dorn.


    "You really don''t have to walk alongside the wagons." One of the drivers said to Mau, "You can hop a ride and take it easy."


    Mau shook her head at the offer and patted the blade at her hip.


    "I''d rather be on my toes and ready in case of another orc attack." She replied. The elf nodded but then warned her.


    "Just be careful, then. This region''s got a lot of venomous animals on top of orcs to worry about."


    "Noted." Mau said as she followed alongside the wagons. The last thing she wanted was to get bitten by something nasty without an antidote potion or a cleric around. That would not only be a nightmare, but would end her adventures pretty fast with her in a coffin. It wasn''t something she looked forward to as her boots crunched along the grass and gravelly road, keeping her eyes peeled on both the ground and the tree line for anything that might try to take her or the caravan by surprise.


    After making such quick work of the orc attack party, though, Mau had done a fine job of scaring any other potential bandits into thinking twice about assaulting the elves while she and Suvdaa were with them, and the wagon train took a break around the middle of the day to let the horses rest and have a meal. This was when trouble struck.


    It wasn''t a bandit attack, but tragedy struck all the same, when Mau spotted one of the elves, a girl by the name of Lifiel picking berries from a bush by the side of the road. Mau saw the snake before the girl did and lunged. The sheer speed with which Mau moved startled the elf, but Mau didn''t care if she scared the girl or not, what was important was keeping her from being bitten, and the serpent lunged...


    With a flash of Mau''s spare and trusted short blade she severed the animal''s head neatly from its neck and body, but the head continued to fly, fangs bared, and in a final act of defiance before death the snake''s jaws clamped down on Mau''s wrist.


    "Ah. Shit." She muttered staring down as the severed snake head pumped its reserves of toxin into her veins while the elf stared at her, incredulous.


    "You just... For me... I..." The girl stammered while Mau sheathed her blade and waved her off. "Don''t worry about it." She said, playing off her action as though she hadn''t just taken the bite meant for the girl, herself. This was going to be a problem as she tugged the snake''s head free from her arm and plucked up the headless body. Maybe if they brought the snake to town it could be identified and she could get the proper anti-venom at the temple or a potion crafter. Assuming Mau made it to Dorn now as. She turned away from Lifiel and returned to the wagon train, headless serpent in hand.


    "I have a problem." Mau announced as she held up the snake''s body, ears splaying sheepishly. "I got bit."


    In an instant Suvdaa was in her face. "What the hell happened?" The raider girl asked, tone tense and short. "I can''t keep my eyes off you for one minute, I swear, you dumb cat." She snapped, tugging Mau''s arm to get a look at the bite wound. Four pin-prick wounds dotted the top and bottom of Mau''s arm just under the bone of her wrist, and Mau winced. The wounds were already feeling sore and tender.


    "Did you at least suck as much of the venom out as possible?" Suvdaa pressed her with a surprising urgency. Mau shook her head.


    "Oh, shit, I should have done that shouldn''t I. At least the girl''s safe." Mau muttered. It was the first basic thing she had remembered when it came to situations like these, get as much of the venom out as possible before seeking professional aid like a priest or apothecary. She had been so preoccupied with keeping Lifiel safe that she didn''t bother to consider her own safety and wellbeing in the heat of the moment.


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    "AH FUCK!" Mau squealed as she suddenly saw stars, a burst of pain lanced up her arm from her wrist as her vision blurred. When her vision came back into focus, Mau was staring at Suvdaa, attached to her arm by the teeth, biting into the snakebite wound before sucking hard.


    In an instant Mau suddenly was in a lot less pain. She didn''t seem to notice the reddening heat in her cheeks, though as she stared dumbfounded at the raider, when Suvdaa finally detached from her wrist, turned her head, and spat a vile mix of blood and neurotoxins.


    "That should keep you on your feet a bit longer, but I couldn''t get everything out." Suvdaa said, wiping her lips on the back of her wrist.


    Mau stared dumbfounded. For a second, it had seemed as though Suvdaa was genuinely worried about her wellbeing there. More so than usual, anyway.


    "The hell are you staring at?" Suvdaa snapped and shoved Mau towards the carts. "Get in. Everyone is ready to leave and we need to get you to Dorn''s temple as soon as possible."


    "But-" Mau started to speak, only to have herself shoved into the back of a wagon.


    "I will keep an eye out for attack, you sit on your hands and don''t do anything." Suvdaa said as she trudged to the head of the wagon train, leaving Mau sitting there stunned.


    "Ah." Mau suddenly realized staring at her wrist. "My arm''s numb."


    <h2>?</h2>


    The Hero was late for work. It was a regular day like any other really; a bright and sunny summer day-- or was it spring? The details always felt distant and muddled by this point, but all the Hero knew was that they had to make the next train or they would never get to work on time, and so they rushed out of their house with a piece of toast clasped in their lips, still haphazardly throwing on their suit jacket as they staggered out of their apartment complex.


    "Yeah yeah! See you later tonight!" They called back over their shoulder to... Someone sticking their head out of the apartment door. A mother maybe? The details felt really distant now. But that didn''t matter, the Hero was late for work and they had to run.


    They pumped their arms, legs driving them down the sidewalk in a brisk pace, if they kept it up, they might make the train after all. Bolting down street after street, the subway entrance stood on the corner, waiting for the Hero, countless nameless and faceless people shuffling their way up and down the stairwell into the underground station and platforms, and he filed into line with them, chewing on his toast.


    "Geeze, almost didn''t make it." They muttered as they slid their subway card into place at the turnstile and entered the station proper, just barely squeezing past the train doors into one of the many packed cars that were full of people on their morning commute. The Hero sighed as they slumped into an open seat and pulled out their cellphone. It was the newest Pear model available, something they took pride in, being able to afford such nice things with the money they saved up. But something was strange. As they started to scroll, they squinted their eyes, frowning. Every app was a blur, every webpage a hissing screen of static. Something was wrong, but they couldn''t put their finger on just what exactly as they rode the loudly rattling train through the city tunnels.


    They opened their music app. All that played was garbled words and static at best, and they immediately shut it off, opting to have their ride to work in boring silence rather than listen to the mentally jarring noises the phone produced.


    They had to count the stops, because the longer the morning stretched on the stranger things became, when they realized that the sign on every station was a garbled and jumbled mass of nonsensical letters and numbers rather than anything actually legible. But ten stops later and the Hero was finally at their station. Pushing past the morass of faceless people in drab undefined clothes, they stepped off the train and onto the platform and bolted up the stairs and out of the subway system. It was just a five minute walk, or run today, to get to the office and he had four minutes to get their on time as they stood at the crosswalk and waited impatiently for the light to change and signal it safe to cross the street.


    The light changed. It was safe to cross.


    The Hero took one step before they heard the horn...


    They turned their head just in time to see the truck careening around the corner at top speed, unable to slow down in time as it headed right for them...


    "Ah..."


    The pain of being slammed at full speed by an oncoming vehicle was at least brief before the Hero stopped feeling anything at all...


    <h2>?</h2>


    "Mau... Mau! Wake up... Wake up!"


    Mau vaguely stirred as she heard Suvdaa''s voice calling out to her, but she didn''t really want to wake up. She felt like she had been hit by a truck all over again from the old memory coming back to her. Part of her just wished she could remember more of what her home world was like without all the blurring and static.


    "Mau! Wake up dammit! Dumb cat, don''t be dead, I swear if you''re dead...!"


    "Nnnnhhhh..." Mau didn''t want to open her eyes. She felt a mild confusion on hearing the sound of a voice she had never heard before.


    "The venom''s already taking effect on her. This won''t be easy. This won''t be easy at all..." The new voice said.


    "Just do something." Suvdaa snapped back. "We''ll donate to your temple if we have to, you''re a cleric right?"


    "More like an acolyte! I haven''t gotten my full fledged cleric sash yet! But I really hope that one day I can-"


    Suvdaa made a noise that clearly unsettled the new voice; a sound somewhere between a snarl and a growl that made the young sounding voice halt.


    "R-right! I''ll do what I can!" He said.


    Mau cringed, the feeling of two warm hands setting on her shoulders sent pain rippling through her nerves as she tried to twist away from the contact but found herself too weak to move.


    Then the warmth spread- radiating from the hands on her shoulders- flooding her body with a sensation of peace... And perhaps a mild sense of unease at the same time. It barely registered to her that this was divine magic at play. Mau disliked going to temples for healing; the sense that the pious and pompous priests always gave off a holier than thou feeling was one thing, but there was the slight fact that the gods of these worlds were the reason Mau was here in the first place always infuriated her.


    The worst thing out of all of it was that the one goddess people usually prayed to for healing was...


    "Oh Galatea, we implore you! Please cure what ails this humble servant of yours!" The new voice implored the heavens as Mau trembled with a sense of unbridled fury.


    Mau''s eyes snapped open and in an instant she was very awake, very coherent, and very upset.


    "Stop that." She hissed, staring up at the figures looming over her.


    She recognized Suvdaa easily enough, but the other person was someone she had never seen before in her entire life. He was young, maybe two years younger than herself, and that would put this ''acolyte'' around fourteen years old. His short blonde hair was a little scraggly, and the pair of bright golden canine ears sprouting from the top of his head said that he was a demi-human just like her.


    "Brightly shining Galatea, goddess of life, light, and rebirth, we beseech you to heal the wounds and ailments of your humble vassal and that she may- URK!" He didn''t get to finish his beseeching as Mau''s hand clasped fingers tightly into the collar of his white acolyte vestment and robes.


    This made him blink, bewildered. Suvdaa however smacked Mau''s hand away.


    "Dumb cat! Let him do his work!" The raider snapped.


    "O-oh!" The dogboy said, stunned. "I- I think I actually did it." He said, unable to believe it, himself, at first. "I mean- I did it, yes! I purged the toxins from her body!" He said, suddenly incredibly excited. "Ah! I did it! I did it! I did it!"


    It was like he couldn''t believe in his own handiwork, and Mau scowled, shooting Suvdaa a look while the boy wagged his tail with the excitement of a puppy.


    "... Who the hell is this?" Mau asked, tart and petulant over someone invoking Galatea in her favor. "You know I don''t like Galatea or her priests." She huffed.


    Suvdaa punched Mau''s shoulder lightly.


    "You stop your whining." She replied. "If we didn''t run into him on the road to Dorn you''d have been dead before we reached the city." She pointed out. "You could at least be thankful."


    Slowly, Mau sat herself up, and she immediately wrinkled her nose.


    The dogboy was still too busy wagging excitedly and giggling to himself about his newest accomplishment.


    "The head mother isn''t going to believe this!" He babbled, "I''ve never managed to pull that off, this is a first for me! --I mean I knew one day I''d be a conduit for Galatea''s power like all the other clerics, but I didn''t think I''d manage to pull it off now! I thought I had so much more training ahead of me-- I''m Andy by the way-- I was on my way back to Dorn from a training mission to another nearby town, you''re really lucky you found me on my way back-- I mean I was always told I bring good luck, and-"


    Mau reached up with her unbitten hand and lightly placed the tip of her finger on the boy''s lips. He immediately went silent and crossed his eyes to stare down at the fingertip that was shushing him.


    "... Too much?" He asked, ears splaying sheepishly.


    "Way too much." Mau and Suvdaa said in unison, staring back at him.


    The youth rubbed at the back of his neck, flashing a broad grin with sharp canine teeth as his tail resumed wagging.


    "Ahah hah..." He laughed awkwardly. "I''m sorry! I tend to get really excited a lot." The boy apologized, bowing his head. "Like I said, I''m Andy. I''m an acolyte at the temple in Dorn, it''s our jobs as priests and clerics to heal people when they get hurt, so when your friend saw me and practically grabbed me off the side of the road, there was little else for me to do."


    Mau stared flatly for a long moment now that he was calm enough to not ramble, but the thump-thump-thump of his tail rapping the floorboards of the wagon was only exacerbating the mounting pounding feeling in her head.


    "My head hurts. Can you do anything about that?" She prodded him, glowering. Suvdaa jabbed her arm again.


    "Ugh fine." Mau grumbled. "Thanks..." She muttered glumly through her teeth.


    She really disliked priests of that hack that called herself a god, knowing full well that Galatea''s real job was running over innocent people with a truck.


    Much to her chagrin, Andy simply smiled brightly at her.


    "It was my pleasure!" He chirruped way too excitedly and opened his mouth, clearly gearing up to go on another excited stream of rambling. Thankfully he caught himself when Mau stared flatly at him long enough, and he cleared his throat.


    "You''re both adventurers, yes?" He decided to ease into a new topic. "You have badges- wow, you''re Steel rank at your age? You must be really good at it."


    Mau nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know what I''m doing."


    Suvdaa scowled.


    "Barely, you mean. Getting bitten by a snake trying to save someone else." The raider girl said indignantly. "You should be faster than that! You''re quite possibly the most incredible person with a sword, but when it comes to using your head, you really are a dumb cat."


    "It got lucky!" Mau huffed, petulant, and crossed her arms over her chest before she turned her head away.


    "Um. Excuse me." Andy interjected, raising his hand like a child in the schoolroom as he sat back on his butt.


    "... Are you two lovers?" He asked.


    Mau and Suvdaa both blinked, at first, before the question and its very direct nature sank in just a second later.


    Mau opened her mouth to speak.


    Suvdaa looked ready to haul off and deck the poor acolyte though, and in the next instant Mau was holding her traveling companion back in a firm headlock.


    Andy blinked several times, struggling with how to process the reactions between the two girls while Mau did her very best to keep Suvdaa from becoming an outlaw for killing a member of the clergy.


    "Ahahaha... I guess not." He considered after a good moment, smiling brightly.

 Chapter 12: Cats and Dogs

    By the time the wagon train arrived at the gates to Dorn, Mau''s fingers finally stopped tingling. She sat in the back of the wagon that had carried her, flexing and curling her fingers while waiting to read their destination, She poked her head out when the wagon rolled to a stop.


    "We''re here." Suvdaa said as Mau squinted in the fading light of the setting sun. The vast silhouette of an absolutely gigantic tree stretched to the sky, its bare leafless branches spreading to the heavens as it stood in silent, slumbering, majesty.


    They had reached Dorn, and in just a few days time the tree would blossom and bloom, beginning the Blossom Festival and a whole season of wealth and prosperity for the sprawling city at the tree''s roots.


    The tree was even bigger than Mau had imagined, and the city surrounding it must have been home to thousands of people. The old dragon kin that had told her about the city really wasn''t exaggerating when he had told her about the great tree. Mau whistled at first as she appreciated the great tree''s staggering height. But then she scowled. Celebrations like the Blossom Festival are loud, randy, rowdy, and generally run for days. There was no way she would be catching up on the nap time she wanted.


    "Home!" Andy, the acolyte said excitedly, tail wagging behind him. Mau chose to ignore the youth''s excitement as the wagons rolled to a stop at the gates.


    Through the front of the wagon Mau watched as several figures in dark armor approached the elves at the head of the wagon train to speak with Lirien and their other leaders. Andy''s wagging suddenly stopped, and the young acolyte frowned.


    For some reason this made Mau frown too, she didn''t exactly like the gut feeling the dark armored figures gave her.


    "Who''re those guys." She asked, giving Andy a light nudge to get his attention. He nearly jolted when she did.


    "Ah... Over the past year these people called the Deathdealer party have been flooding Dorn. They somehow won over enough support that they''re kiiiiind of the people running the city now instead of the governor." Andy answered.


    Mau didn''t like that at all. She remembered what the old dragonkin had told her about them, as well, from when she was younger. She scowled when the elves pointed at the wagon she and Andy were in and the armored figures turned to approach.


    Instinctively she reached for the hilt of her sword, fingers curling around the leather wrapped grip, until Andy placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.


    "They''re probably going to just ask us to use a different gate." He explained. "They funneled most demi-humans like you and me into the eastern quarter of the city and they mostly like to keep us there."


    Mau slowly released her sword but scowled.


    "That doesn''t sound overly welcoming to demi-human kind." She muttered as the cloth panel on the wagon pulled aside and the two men in black armor peered inside at them.


    "Dogboy. Catgirl." One muttered irritably, at the sight of them. "State your business in Dorn?"


    Andy raised his hand like a boy at school.


    "I''m an acolyte at the temple of Galatea. I was returning from a training mission to the neighboring village of Dren''s Hollow."


    The black armored guard grunted in vague acknowledgement before he looked to Mau.


    "Adventurer." She grunted at him brusquely. "I''ve got jobs to turn in at the guild and wanted to see the Blossom Festival."


    This earned silence from the black armored man for a moment before he turned to his companion and they began to whisper amongst each other as Suvdaa chose that moment to return to Mau''s wagon.


    "The hell''s going on, are you in trouble already, dumb cat?" She prodded, staring at the two armored men, who barely bothered to look at the raider girl.


    "Demi-humans use the east gate." One of the guards suddenly said, motioning toward a portion of the city wall in the distance.


    "The elves and the human can pass, but you two have to go through the Beast Quarter." The second dark armored man rumbled.


    Andy''s floppy ears dropped when he turned out to be right. Mau frowned.


    "Why the hell do we have to go all the way to the east gate, we''re right here?" She asked firmly, glowering at the men. She had experienced such things in prior lives; factions growing in power and making life miserable for one group or another just because they could, and she wasn''t in much of a mood to deal with it now.


    However it seemed like her pressing the issue did not go over well with the guards making the demand. The two men slowly reached for their weapons and things suddenly grew much more tense as Mau''s hand drifted back to the hilt of her sword. Suvdaa slowly reached for one of the knives at her belt, and Andy began to sweat.


    "Are you objecting to the way things are done in Dorn?" One of the dark armored men growled.


    "Hell yes I object to this bullshit." Mau said, shifting her weight onto her toes, only making the two men more tense.


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    "This really isn''t necessary!" Andy blurted, spreading his hands and gesticulating for Mau and Suvdaa to calm. "We''ll go to the east gate; the three of us, and then we''ll go about our business peacefully- very peacefully!" The young acolyte said with great haste.


    Much as Mau didn''t agree with kowtowing to the bullying demands of the lackeys calling themselves guards, she snorted and let go of her sword.


    "Fine." She said, earning a balking look from Suvdaa as Mau and Andy hopped out of the back of the wagon. "We''ll walk all the way to the east gate, but only because you two asked so nicely."


    "The hell?" Suvdaa snapped, but Mau silenced her with a glowering look cast over her shoulder.


    They said their goodbyes to the elves and the three started walking along the city wall towards the east gate, with their backs to the two smug, but sweating, guards.


    "I can''t believe you just let them do that." Suvdaa hissed in Mau''s ear as they walked.


    "What else were we gonna do?" Mau replied. "Kill a pair of jackass guards and be branded criminals before we set foot in the city?"


    Briefly, Suvdaa went red in the face, hot with anger, but then calmed realizing that Mau was right and that would not have been the best course of action.


    It was an hour and a half of a walk down the beaten road to the east gate, and the three were sweaty, irritable, and annoyed long before they had reached their destination.


    Of course when they arrived they were greeted by more men in black armor, who pressed them on their reasons for coming to Dorn, and made things as absolutely difficult as possible for Mau and Andy before finally allowing the trio into the city.


    The Beast Quarter was aptly named due to the very large concentration of demi-humans that has been funneled into the eastern section of the city in the past several years since the Deathdealers had come to Dorn. Children played in the filthy streets as various merchants hawked their wares from their stalls and carts while the three made their way down the main thoroughfare towards the heart of the city. Dorn was already bustling with life, and it was only going to get more crowded and lively as the days of the Blossom Festival grew nearer.


    "We should figure out lodging first." Suvdaa pointed out, and Mau agreed.


    "After we get our budding acolyte back to his temple, though." Mau pointed out, not wanting to leave Andy alone in what was clearly a very hostile city towards demi-humans.


    "Oh!" Andy exclaimed, "thank you! But I can make my way back to the temple from here! I insist! It''s all the way in the north section of the city and that''s a real hike from here; I wouldn''t want to inconvenience the two of you!"


    Mau shook her head. "I insist. You really did me a huge favor keeping me from dying and all. The least we could do is walk you home." She said.


    Suvdaa nodded in agreement even though she made something of a puckered and sour face at Mau.


    "Besides." Mau said, "we can see where the guild headquarters is on our way up there and figure out what to do once we find a place to stay for the night."


    "Well... If you really don''t mind." Andy said sheepishly.


    <h2>?</h2>


    With Andy returned safe and sound to the temple of Galatea, Mau and Suvdaa made their way back to the Beast Quarter. Inns around the city refused to serve them due to Mau''s ears and tail, and they were forced to return to the eastern sector of the city in the shade of the great tree to find a place to sleep. As it turned out, the Adventurer''s Guild headquarters was all the way on the western side of the tree, and they wouldn''t have time to visit it until the next day due to the sheer size and sprawling nature of the city.


    Unfortunately most of the inns in the Beast Quarter were fairly run down and shabby, but that meant that they were cheap enough to not be too much of a strain on Mau and Suvdaa''s finances. It was as Suvdaa stepped inside one of the several inns in the quarter, named The Cat''s Meow, to barter and haggle for a room that Mau''s ears twitched. She had felt like they were being watched since they had re-entered the Beast Quarter, but the tingle in Mau''s palms said it was more than that. They had been followed.


    The shuffle of feet in a nearby alley put Mau on alert and her hand drifted to the hilt of her long blade at her hip. Especially as it grew closer. While Mau casually made herself look vulnerable and oblivious, someone was approaching her from behind. It was just as they approached- just as they got within striking distance to land a blow at her back that...


    Mau flicked her tail, deftly evading the small hand that reached out to tug at it. There was a squeak and the small child that had been trying to catch her unaware tumbled forward into the dust.


    A small chorus of whines and huffs sounded from the alley as Mau glanced over her shoulder at the pouting children, before she reached down and scruffed the tiny catgirl that had boldly made a go for her.


    "You know it''s rude to pull on people''s tails." She said conversationally while the kitten mewled and wiggled but couldn''t free herself from Mau''s grasp. "Spill it." Mau said gently. "Which one of your friends put you up to this?"


    The blonde kitten dangled limp in Mau''s grasp, and that was when Mau remembered, from experience, that scruffing a cat absolutely deactivates them. She released the girl, and the girl dusted herself off with a dismayed pout. But it seemed that when Mau didn''t retaliate or punish her that the other children grew emboldened to come peeking out.


    "Are you really an adventurer?" The small girl asked as the other children cautiously drew nearer. Mau plopped her butt on the stairs up to the inn door and crossed one leg over the other.


    "Yep." She answered as two more catboys, a dogboy, and a girl with feathers for hair inched out of the woodwork.


    "Wow, Meu, she caught you. She wasn''t even looking." One of the catboys said before excitement got the better of the lot of them at getting to meet an actual adventurer.


    "Can we see your sword?"


    "What monsters have you killed?!"


    "What''s it like outside the city?"


    The children bombarded her with a series of questions and Mau couldn''t help but giggle softly.


    "No, you can''t see my sword, it''s very sharp and dangerous." She replied, lightly patting Meu free of dust and presenting her to the others, safe and sound.


    "Orcs, recently, but I''ve killed a few ogres, a troll once, lots of goblins, and even a wendigo." Mau replied to the children- who only bombarded her with more questions while a catboy climbed onto her shoulders.


    "Oop- easy up there." Mau chuckled as she supported the boy''s weight easily enough.


    "What''s a wendigo?"


    "Is it scary?"


    "Does it have sharp teeth?" The children babbled all at once.


    "Oh man, let me tell you how scary a wendigo can be..." Mau started to speak, before the door to the inn swung open.


    "I got us a room." Suvdaa said as she stepped out. "But it only has a single bed and--... What are you doing?"


    In an instant the children scattered, squealing in terror at the sight of Suvdaa''s bear cloak.


    "Wendigo! Wendigo!" One shouted as they all bolted into the night and back down the alley whence they came.


    "... I''m not a wendigo." Suvdaa said, sulkily while Mau had herself a hearty laugh.


    "You''re bad with kids, you know that." The catgirl said to her raider friend, earning a dejected huff.


    "I am not! And just for that you''re sleeping on the floor tonight!" Suvdaa said as she stormed back into the inn and slammed the door behind her.


    "... Wait, a single bed?" Mau blinked, suddenly realizing.


    "... God dammit."

 Chapter 13: The Missing Kitten

    Sleeping on the floor was unpleasant.


    Nevertheless, Mau woke up with a good languid stretch when an early morning sunbeam crept across the floor of the room and into her face. It was warm, pleasant, and she wanted to roll right over and sleep some more as a result, but Suvdaa was already awake and jabbing her to get up as well.


    "Wake up." The raider girl said while giving Mau a light shake. "We have to head to the Guild today and get our reward for clearing those orcs off the road."


    "Five more minutes..." Mau mumbled as she turned right over and tried to drift back off. Suvdaa wasn''t having it, though.


    Mau woke up pretty quickly, though, when cold water splashed her in the face.


    Sputtering and grumbling, she wiped her dripping face, looking about as pleased as any wet cat as she glowered blearily at her travel companion.


    "I''m up, I''m up, okay, okay." The catgirl muttered as she sat herself up and fumbled for a nearby towel to dry her face off and huffed. There wasn''t much water left to wash up with thanks to Suvdaa, but they made do and cleaned up a little bit before throwing on their clothes and armor to head out for the day. Suvdaa still favored lighter leathers and hides, while Mau now had a newly fitted breastplate and pauldrons to wear over her clothes and under her cloak.


    It was a bit of a hike through the city to reach the Western quarter and the Adventurer''s Guild, and it was near noon by the time Mau and Suvdaa reached the large brick building that was built against one of the giant tree''s thick roots. Mau pushed the door open and they stepped inside.


    The inside of the Dorn Adventurer''s Guild was as loud and rowdy as the Adventurer''s Guilds all across the continent. There were more than a dozen other adventurers chatting loudly and animatedly with one another while eating and drinking at the long mess tables. More men and women were clamoring around the quest board, where jobs and missions had been posted for the day, some even fighting over the various assignments on the wall, and there were a few adventurers on line to speak with the clerks at the long desk that was situated close to the entrance.


    The clerks handled everything from assigning special jobs to dealing out rewards for jobs well done, and Mau and Suvdaa slid into line behind the bulky figure of a heavily armored dwarf to wait their turn for a clerk''s time so they could receive their payment for clearing the road of orcs and rescuing the elf caravan.


    Mau kept her hood pointedly up to hide her feline ears, and no one bothered to give her so much as a second look while her tail was wrapped around her waist like a belt. The Deathdealers had really made things difficult for demi-humans like her, and she didn''t want to risk drawing any undue attention even in the halls of an Adventurer''s Guild, in case one of the clerks or other adventurers followed the nasty beliefs of the political party.


    Suvdaa shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to another while the line moved, making faces each time the clerks called someone new from the line to tend to their business.


    "I hate waiting in line." Suvdaa complained under her breath, just loud enough for Mau alone to hear. "It''s boring and a waste of time. Back home when we wanted something we would just take it or trade for it and be done with business." She huffed.


    Mau shrugged.


    "This isn''t like your home or your people." She pointed out to the archer. "You know the guild likes to keep things as neat and organized as possible, and that means waiting in line." Mau said.


    Suvdaa scowled.


    "I''m aware of that." Suvdaa said petulantly, "I learned that when I joined the guild the same as you did. It''s just... So slow."


    Regardless of Suvdaa''s complaints the two reached the head of the line quickly enough thanks to the general organized and efficient nature of the guild.


    "Name, rank, business?" The girl at the counter asked, smiling politely.


    "Mau and Suvdaa. Steel ranks, we wanted to turn in some orc ears from cleaning up the roads to the south." Mau replied while Suvdaa tapped her foot impatiently.


    "Oh!" The guild clerk exclaimed as though she had just realized something. "The two of you helped out the elven caravan that just arrived the other day, yes? They actually stopped by and asked to give you something they brought along as an extra reward."


    Mau and Suvdaa exchanged a quick glance. It wasn''t out of the ordinary for people rescued by adventurers to reward them, so the two weren''t going to complain about a gift as they turned in the severed ears they had clipped from the dead orcs and waited for the guild girl to return with their bounty and reward.


    "Look at that, we even get a little something nice for helping those elves out." Mau said.


    "Mm, mm." Suvdaa nodded in agreement as the guild girl returned.


    "It''s unfortunate, isn''t it?" The clerk asked as she set three small bags of coinage in front of the girls. "That orc activity has been rising so rampantly, recently, I mean. The roads are a lot more dangerous now than they were this time last year."


    The two bags were the guild''s reward, the third was from the elves; and while individually they were fairly meager, the three combined were more than enough for Mau and Suvdaa to get by for a while now. The girls nodded in agreement, however, with he clerk''s statement.


    "Yeah." Mau replied. "But if they weren''t active then Steel ranks like us would be out work, right?"


    The guild clerk smiled, dipping her head in a nod.


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    "I suppose you''re right. It''s better for the guild as a whole that monsters are on the rise, but more dangerous for people who can''t protect themselves." The clerk said.


    It was a grim and bloody cycle. Monsters hurt people. People paid for protection, and then adventurers like Mau and Suvdaa killed the monsters for money. But that''s just the way these fantasy worlds al seemed to be, from the very first time the Hero had reincarnated. There were always monsters. There were always adventurers. There was always a guild.


    With a word of thanks to the guild clerk, Mau and Suvdaa turned and walked away from the counter. Mau could feel the jealous eyes of other adventurers on the back of her neck as she pocketed the coin purses and left the guild house with Suvdaa.


    There were also, always, hotheads who thought they were better than Mau and deserved the gold more than she did. As long as they didn''t try anything, though, Mau paid them no mind.


    Briefly, Mau remembered an incident from one of her past lives. It was a particularly nasty incident in which a group of brigands had joined the Adventurer''s Guild and spent their time bullying other adventurers into giving them their rewards and bounties.


    They had tried to do the same with the Hero, who wasn''t particularly in much of a mood to humor them. The result was swift and bloody when they drew steel and found themselves hideously outmatched.


    The Hero let them live, though. Barely.


    Suvdaa nudged Mau''s side with an elbow, She must have been deep in the memory because her raider companion seemed mildly annoyed.


    "Cat." Suvdaa prodded verbally, as well. "Don''t you feel like this reward is even less than the last one? Is the guild trying to... Stiff us?"


    Mau shrugged. "There''s a lot of work to go around, right now, and the coffers are probably running low. At least the elves were nice enough to throw in a bonus."


    Suvdaa nodded, a little placated in part due to the extra reward the caravan had thrown in for their work.


    It was past noon by the time the girls had finished their business at the guild and stepped outside into the perpetual shade of the vast tree that loomed over the entire city.


    The only thing Mau didn''t like about Dorn was how rare it was to find a nice, warm, sunny spot to nap in, but beyond that and the overt fascism of the Deathdealers taking over the city, it was a pretty nice city. It was a cosmopolitan melting pot, only smaller than the capital, and reminded her of the very city that the Hero had first grown up in, in their initial life before being hit by the Summoning Truck. At least, she could remember that it was a large city with a massive mixed population... But the details beyond that were just so hazy now.


    Mau flattened her ears back and pulled her hood up once again. The Guild may have been neutral ground in regards to outside politics, but she wasn''t in the mood to be hassled by the local guard for being a demi-human on business outside of the Beast Quarter, today. She couldn''t help but flinch anyway when she heard a cry from down the street.


    "Stop that cat!" A guard called as he came rushing down the sidewalk, dark armor clanking as he chased after a small demi-human boy that had apparently snuck his way out of the Beast Quarter. The boy broke into a full tilt sprint to get away, and that put him on a course right for the Adventurer''s Guild, and Mau and Suvdaa by proxy.


    "Ah." Mau muttered as the boy took one look at her and shifted his course ever so slightly. He was heading right for her, now. That''s when realization set in. In that instant, she recognized the boy just as he had recognized her. He was one of the catboys from the night just before, outside The Cat''s Meow Inn.


    He nearly bowled right into Mau, and would have knocked her over is she hadn''t been ready for him. But a slight shift of her weight as he drew nearer, and she caught the charging kitten easily as he threw his arms around her middle and started babbling and mewling in a panic.


    Mau and Suvdaa exchanged a glance as the boy rambled until Mau gave him a small squeeze on the shoulder. It was enough to temporarily calm him down, until the guard drew near. In an instant the catboy slinked right behind Mau to hide as the dark armored figure jabbed a black gauntlet at her.


    "Does that belong to you?" The guard demanded.


    Mau''s lips pursed into a thin line or annoyance at the man''s callous demeanor.


    "He''s just a boy, did you have to scare him out of his wits?" Mau spat back. The fact that someone was daring enough to backtalk him put the guard on the back foot for a beat, giving him a hesitant beat of pause.


    "He shouldn''t be out of the Beast Quarter without an adult." The guard said, once he managed to rally. "Are you taking responsibility for him?"


    "And if I am?" Mau replied in a low growl.


    "Then..." The guard fumbled as Mau shifted her stance subtly; just enough to indicate her rousing aggression. Suvdaa glowered and crossed her arms over her chest. Between Mau''s tone and her body language and Suvdaa''s glare the guard was faltering between his duty and his fight or flight instincts, torn on whether or not he could handle a pair of Steel rank adventurers alone or if he needed to call for backup.


    Discretion won over valor as the guard''s shoulders sagged in a beleaguered huff.


    "W-watch him more closely, next time. And get him back to the Beast Quarter as soon as you can." The guard grumbled before slinking away.


    With the guard gone, Mau and Suvdaa turned to look at the boy, who was still quivering behind Mau in the threshold of the Adventurer''s Guild doorway.


    "So." Mau prompted. "Are you going to explain what that was about?"


    Almost immediately the boy started to babble a mile a minute until Mau kneeled down to his level and put a hand on his shoulder once again.


    "Hey. Hey calm down. It''s alright. Start from the beginning and take it slow. We can''t help you if you''re rambling like that."


    Suvdaa frowned once again- it was a sight that made the boy shrink back a bit, but he slowly began to calm thanks to Mau''s gentle tone.


    "How are you so good with kids?" Suvdaa huffed.


    "Well, I try to not scowl at them, for one." Mau replied.


    "They took her!" The boy suddenly interjected, and the pair''s focus shifted right back to him.


    "Who took who?" Mau prodded for more information, tone still gentle.


    "Meu! They took Meu!" The boy whimpered.


    Recognition immediately flashed across Mau''s face as she remembered the little catgirl that had been playing with her tail just the evening before. Now it was Mau''s turn to have her expression harden, much more serious.


    "Okay. Who took Meu?" She asked.


    "The men in black armor!" The boy said, tone hasty and strained.


    That was a heavy accusation to make and Mau knew that if the new regime of city guard had been involved in a kidnapping that the boy''s only recourse would be to turn to someone not in the city guard. Of course he also turned to the first person he could think of, and unfortunately that would be the ''cool'' pair of Steel ranked adventurers he had met just the night before.


    "... Did you actually see it happen?" Suvdaa interjected. Suvdaa may not have been very savvy for city life, but even she knew that one simply didn''t levy such heavy accusations against the guard.


    "N-no..." The boy answered hesitantly, the panic evident in his eyes. "But I know it was them! They go to the graveyard late at night every other week. Tonight''s the night they''re gonna meet there."


    Mau and Suvdaa exchanged a glance.


    "What the hell were you doing at the graveyard?" Mau asked.


    "We weren''t in the graveyard, we were playing around the graveyard walls. Meu wandered too close to the gate and I saw someone in all black grab her and drag her inside!"


    Mau sighed slowly through her teeth. This was tricky.


    "What do we do?" Suvdaa asked nudging Mau with an elbow, knowing full well the catgirl would want to intervene. She was right.


    "Well. First we''re going to let the guild know that a child''s been kidnapped. Maybe another adventurer or two will decide to help out." Mau mused. "Then... I guess we''re snooping around a graveyard..."

 Chapter 14: The Crypts

    The city graveyard, located in the Northern ward with all the temples, was locked down even in the daylight hours. A pair of guards in black armor stood at the gates turning away anyone that so much as wanted to visit their deceased loved ones. It was definitely weird, as the guards would give no answers as to why the cemetery was off limits beyond saying that it was business of the Deathdealers and the Deathdealers alone, and that only people on business from the temples could enter or leave as they pleased.


    Mau found that pretty damn suspicious.


    It was well past noon by the time Mau and Suvdaa had reached the cemetery after sending the catboy home and leaving word with the Guild. Several other adventurers actually did volunteer to at least keep their ears to the ground if they came across any news of a missing kitten in the city, but Mau wasn''t expecting too much help in that regard.


    But then a stroke of luck happened.


    A familiar face emerged from the doors of the Temple of Light. It was the young dogboy acolyte that Mau and Suvdaa had met on the road. If they couldn''t get into the cemetery on their own, they suddenly had an in, now.


    Mau and Suvdaa diverted from their course to the cemetery to the temple where the young acolyte had just exited and made they way on over to him.


    "Oh!" He said, when he saw the girls, recognition dawning upon his fair faced features, giving them both a bright and friendly smile. "It''s good to see you again, all is well, I hope?" He asked, tail beginning to wag furiously.


    "Yeah, hey thanks for before." Mau said. She was genuinely thankful for the fact that he saved her from death by venom, even if she wasn''t the biggest fan of the temples and their ilk. But then she exchanged a glance with her travel companion.


    "We could use your help again." She said, opting to not mince words.


    The youth blinked at first, but smiled even wider.


    "Of course, anything!" He said. "If I can help in any way, please let me know."


    Suvdaa, for the most part opted to let Mau do the talking. Her temperament was likely to just make the situation strained with her tendency to make demands rather than do something like ask politely. So Mau lunged right into what they needed.


    "We need to get into the cemetery. The guards won''t let us if we''re not on temple business."


    The boy blinked again.


    "Uh. What do you need to get into the graveyard for?" He asked.


    "A girl''s gone missing. The last place she was seen was playing by the gates over here." Mau explained. In an instant the boy''s expression grew grave and serious as he went still, brow knotting as his lips pursed into a thin line.


    That seemed to be all he needed to hear.


    "Okay." He said. "If it''ll help find the girl I''ll get you in."


    Now it was Mau and Suvdaa''s turn to blink. That was way easier than they thought it would go, he hardly needed any convincing, and his tail was back to wagging even harder in the next second. Without any further words exchanged between them, the boy pushed past the girls and started making a beeline for the cemetery gates. Mau and Suvdaa quickly fell into line with him.


    "I''m Andy, by the way." He introduced himself brightly.


    "Suvdaa." Suvdaa muttered.


    "Hey. I''m Mau." Mau introduced herself as they approached the gates and were immediately stopped by the dark armored guardsmen.


    "Halt." The first man said, holding his hand out to stop the trio. "By the orders of City Magistrate Thanatos no one is to enter the city cemetery unless it''s official temple business."


    Andy was all pleasant smiles and sweet words when he started speaking.


    "We are on temple business!" The dogboy replied brightly. His answer made the guard pair pause.


    "We weren''t informed of this." The second guardsman in dark armor replied. "What is the nature of the temple''s business in the graveyard, right now? ... Especially with the company you keep in tow, acolyte." The guard pressed.


    Andy was still smiling as he replied.


    "We''re just going to tend to a few of the graves that need some tender love and care." He said. "We can''t risk the tombstones getting overgrown. And with how you''re keeping us out of the cemetery lately, more and more graves are going neglected."


    The pair stole a look to one another as they considered the demi-human''s answer. Mau and Suvdaa however had their attention elsewhere. Both were eyeing the ground for a good hard moment while Andy worked on talking their way past the guards.


    "Honestly." He said. "This is very important work, if you don''t let us past I''ll have to tell the deacons, and they won''t be very happy to hear that."


    With a grumble, the guardsmen in black stepped back and into a brief huddle, conversing amongst themselves before they returned their attention to the trio.


    "Fine, but be quick about it." One said before they both stepped aside.


    "May the Light of Galatea bless you both~." Andy chirruped brightly as he led Mau and Suvdaa into the cemetery.


    "... Not bad." Mau praised the acolyte''s silvery tongue, once they were out of earshot, though she flinched as though stricken when he mentioned the name Galatea, she rallied quickly enough.


    "Cat. Dog." Suvdaa interrupted them, though. "Did you see what I saw?"


    Andy tilted his head, curious and clueless as Mau nodded.


    "Yeah." The catgirl said.


    "Wait, what did you both see?" Andy pressed, inquisitive and bewildered.


    "Drag marks." Mau replied. "Fresh ones, on the ground by the gates. Someone small was pulled into the graveyard against their will."


    Andy looked aghast, green eyes widening. "So the girl really is here, then? We should hurry and find her!"


    Suvdaa took to a knee and traced her fingers along the ground, quickly picking up the trail of footprints and drag scuffs left in the dirt that were left for anyone to find as plain as day. Mau didn''t even have to help her, the raider was already in hunting mode and leading the way.


    It wasn''t long before Suvdaa led the trio to an old mausoleum in the deeper part of the graveyard; though there were several times where they had to pause tracking and take cover, due to a guard or two patrolling the cemetery paths.


    The mausoleum''s door was open, a silent and yawning portal to the crypts below, and Andy frowned.


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    "Should that be open?" Suvdaa asked blithely. And the dogboy shook his head.


    "No- these should all be sealed shut." He said.


    Mau and Suvdaa drew their weapons in unison. Suvdaa drew her knife from the sheathe at her hip while Mau unsheathed her short blade, ready to put it to use in the tight quarters they were soon to find themselves in.


    "Stay behind us." Mau said to the acolyte. "Suvdaa, I''ll take point and lead, you keep an eye on our acolyte."


    Suvdaa nodded. "Right. You can see in the dark." She said, understanding before glancing over her shoulder to look at Andy.


    "Keep quiet and stay close to me." She said.


    "R-right." Andy said, nodding. "If either of you get hurt, I can probably heal you. Probably." He didn''t sound too sure of himself, but then again, Galatea didn''t really deign to listen to her acolytes when they needed her, so Mau wasn''t willing to rely on the youth''s divine healing skills unless she really had no choice in the matter.


    Creeping down the stairs slowly, Mau descended into the darkness with Suvdaa and Andy in tow...


    <h2>?</h2>


    The crypts beneath the mausoleum and cemetery were sprawling, and it would have been easy to get lost beneath them for hours, if not for the blatant trail that had been left on the ground that Mau was able to easily follow. Footprints and more drag marks dotted and lined the corridor floors. The walls were lined with tombs cut into the rock and stone, where the dead were laid to rest.


    Though the party hadn''t encountered anything yet aside from dust, echoes, and the dead, they proceeded with caution as Mau brushed aside ancient cobwebs with her blade and quietly crept through the catacombs.


    "I don''t like this..." Andy whined like a pup, voice kept hushed and quiet as his tail tucked between his legs. "Maybe we should go back."


    "A little further." Suvdaa prodded him on with surprising gentleness that made Mau feel a slight pang. She wasn''t quite jealous, but the thought that Suvdaa was more of a dog person than a cat person seemed to mildly irk Mau a bit as she led them through the nearly pitch black corridors. She could see just fine, in shades of black and white, in the dark, but Suvdaa and Andy were relying on her to guide them.


    It had been almost an hour since they made their way into the catacombs, and it felt that, even with the trail to follow, that they were going in circles. That is, until Mau''s ears perked.


    "Hold it." She whispered, prompting Suvdaa to halt and Andy to bump right into the raider girl''s back. Suvdaa grunted and cast a pointless but sharp look over her shoulder. Andy could barely make out her silhouette at best in the gloom, so he didn''t see it.


    "Hear that?" Mau muttered under her breath.


    "No." Suvdaa answered.


    "... Kinda." Andy replied, floppy canine ears pricking up. "Is that... Chanting?"


    Being a demi-human, Andy''s hearing was just as keen as Mau''s, so he was able to hear the soft sound of humming and chanting that echoed distantly down the cavernous crypt halls.


    "We''re getting close." Mau whispered. "Stay on guard and don''t split up, no matter what."


    "... The last time you said not to split up, you ditched me with a wendigo." Suvdaa pointed out.


    Mau grimaced. Andy tilted his head.


    "What''s a wendigo?" He asked.


    "Nothing, let''s just keep moving." Mau prodded the two verbally before she brushed aside another old cobweb and crept along the musty catacombs.


    It wasn''t much longer before the chanting grew louder and the trio eventually found themselves in a spacious chamber, several lit torches ensconced in the walls casting a flickering light upon the occupants in the room. Mau immediately ducked back into the dark shadows of the hall and held her arm across the path to prevent Suvdaa, or more worryingly, Andy, from passing her.


    "Shh." She hissed softly, dropping into a crouch. Suvdaa joined her, Andy remained standing, clueless as they looked on.


    There were at least forty members of the city guard in their dark armor standing around a raised platform and a single figure in dark robes wearing a skull for a mask. The guards chanted in unison, dark words in a dark language that Mau had heard so many times before.


    The language was called Dommonian, and it was typically spoken by worshippers of the god of destruction and chaos, Dommon. Mau''s palms tingled and she instinctively reached for her long sword as the men prayed to their dark overlord.


    "Great." Mau muttered. "We just bumblefucked our way into a cult meeting. But who''s the Emperor Palpatine looking bastard?"


    "What is a Palpatine?" "What''s a Palpatine?" Suvdaa and Andy whispered back in union. Mau waved them quiet as the chanting died down and the robed figure raised his hands indicating his followers to be silent.


    Though he spoke in Dommonian to them, Mau understood the language easily. She had heard it before, so many times, in so many previous lives, she had picked it up well enough to understand it by now.


    "Friends, companions, brothers in arms." He began to say, spreading his hands as this followers died down. "We have come so far, but there is still so much to do."


    Mau half-listened to the cult leader as her eyes scanned the chamber. A tiny whimper caught her ear, and she peeked her head back into the chamber proper.


    There, just off to the side of the entrance, barely illuminated by the torches, were a series of cages; several figures lay unmoving within them, and the rank stench of rot assaulted Mau''s nose as she motioned for Andy and Suvdaa to stay hidden while she crept closer.


    Most of the occupants in each cage were long dead, but a small whimpering bundle in the corner of the cage closest to the door trembled under a ragged blanket. Mau recognized the fuzzy little tail that stuck out from under the cloth and gently pulled he blanket away.


    "Shhhhhh." She cooed at the catgirl. Meu''s eyes were wide and wild with terror, red and puffy from crying for who knows how long, and she almost bit Mau on instinct, before she realized that this was the same adventurer whose tail she had been trying to catch just the night before.


    In an instant the kitten was clinging to Mau tightly through the bars of the cage and Mau gently patted her atop the head as she mewled in fright.


    "Shhhh shhh." Mau silenced her, kneeling to the child''s level to wipe her eyes clean of tears.


    "We''ve come to get you out of here." She said, and the girl''s eyes lit right up. "Do you know where the key to this cage is?"


    "Th-thank you." Meu huffed in a tiny whisper, biting her lip to keep as quiet as she could, giving Mau a pained look as though she knew that the adventurer wasn''t going to like the answer she had for her. She was right.


    Mau scowled when one tiny hand pointed a trembling finger at the Emperor Palpatine looking skullfaced man in the crowd, and Mau could see the ring of keys glinting in the light at his hip, tied to the sash of his robes.


    He continued to speak to his dark congregation.


    "Though we have waited for so long..." He began to say, "Our plans will finally come to fruition tonight!"


    Mau frowned. She had figured the city guard to be corrupt, but not for a chunk of them to be actual members of some kind of cult. Especially one to Dommon.


    "Tonight, I will unleash my power..." The robed figure gurgled, wheezing with amusement as he turned to the back wall of the chamber and raised his hands again. The torches flared, the new light shining menacingly upon the countless cages in the back of the room, illuminating a hundred or so demi-humans, humans, elves, dwarves, and dragonkin, in mixed confinement, each looking weak, emaciated, and on the verge of keeling over. Their eyes were filled with terror.


    "All it takes to cause an outbreak is one loose zombie..." The robed figure said. "I will unleash a hundred zombies upon this stain of a city and the screams of the living will turn into the moans of the dead as they join the ranks of our army and spread across all of Dorn. In one night this city will belong to the dead and damned... And I, Thanatos, will give it all as a sacrifice to our leader, Vile Darque, to add to his armies, and he will praise me as one of his greatest members of his four generals!"


    Mau''s eyes widened.


    Though it was the first time she had ever heard the name Vile Darque in all her lives, she instinctively knew the name of her most hated foe as soon as she heard it.


    This bastard was a servant of the Demon Lord.


    Mau gritted her teeth. She could feel her hands trembling with rage. Not only had they bumblefucked their way into a cult meeting, but she and her friends just completely stumbled upon one of the Demon Lord''s four generals.


    "Of course..." Mau spat under her breath as she looked back to the tiny occupant in the cage. "Figures." She huffed, irate, before managing to calm.


    "We''re gonna get the key and get you out of there."


    Meu shook her head, gripping the bars of the cage.


    "Big sis, you have to stop him!" She pleaded. "If he sets zombies on the city everyone will die..."


    Mau hesitated. She had promised to rescue the kitten. But in working to fulfill that promise she had just completely tripped back onto the course of completing her life goal.


    "Alright." The Hero whispered. "I''ll kill this bastard and then get you out of here."


    There was just one problem to this plan. There were a lot of men between Mau and Thanatos. Whatever she did was going to have to require a lot of finesse and likely holding Suvdaa back from lunging into action. There was also the issue of the acolyte. They had already asked a lot of him and probably should not involve him any more than they already were, instead of dragging him deeper into the mess of dealing with a cult.


    "We''ll be back tonight." Mau promised the girl as she slinked back into the shadows by the entrance to the chamber to return to Suvdaa and Andy.


    "We have a problem." Mau whispered to her companions in the darkness. "Let''s get out of here, I''ll fill you both in on the way."


    "What kind of problem?" Suvdaa hissed irritable that she couldn''t understand a word of the cult speak.


    "... Should I be worried they''ve been speaking that language this whole time?" Andy whined.


    Mau nodded grimly to the two of them as she started to lead the way back down the corridors in the gloom of the crypts.


    "Yeah. ... So do you have anyone you can trust in that church of yours?" She asked, scowling at the thought of relying on the aid of the temple.

 Chapter 15: Underground Assault

    The sun was starting to set by the time the three made their way out of the crypts and into the fresher air of the graveyard. Though a lingering mustiness remained on the air, it was better than the mildew and bone dust scent of the crypts that was now cloyingly stuck to Mau and her party.


    "We don''t have a lot of time. Let''s get Andy back to the temple and figure out what to do from there." Mau muttered as they made their way to the cemetery gates. The guards were waiting for them.


    "... Took your sweet time gravetending." One said.


    The other casually drew his blade.


    "We think you might have saw something you shouldn''t." He said, waving the sword at Mau and Andy. "Demi-humans can be awfully nosy, you know. With their sense of smell and all."


    Mau held up her hands and deftly stood herself in front of Suvdaa before the raider could snap back a reply.


    "Gentlemen! We''re done, really you don''t need to pull your sword like that, it''s kind of scary." She said, feigning fear.


    In reality she was posed to strike, in the even the cult bastards did anything stupid.


    "We''re going to have to detain the three of you." The other guard chimed in, tapping the mace in his grip to the palm of his free hand in a menacing attempt at intimidation.


    It wasn''t working on Mau, Suvdaa simply grumbled behind her, and Andy whined as he took a tentative step back.


    "Sir... I can tell you, taking us in would be a big mistake." Mau said firmly as the two approached.


    "That so? Then maybe we''ll just have to kill the three of you before you can tell a soul about your little trip into the crypts." The guard leered through the slit in his helmet. "Been a while since I got to have some fun anyway."


    "Ah." Mau sighed as she rubbed at the back of her neck.


    "Suvdaa, Andy, I think I''m going to have to kill these guys." Mau said.


    "Damn." Suvdaa said, dry and uncaring.


    "Wait what?" Andy blurted.


    In an instant the guards stormed towards Mau, blade and mace in hand, they raised their weapons to strike...


    There was a flash of movement in the next second, the orange light of the setting sun reflecting on the long sword in Mau''s hands as she drew the blade and removed the first guard''s hands from his arms in a single fluid motion. Before the second guard could even make a cry of surprise or alarm she batted his mace aside and stepped into his defensive space.


    Mau''s dagger twirled in her free hand, dancing in her fingers as she drew it from the sheathe under her arm and embedded it in a slot in the man''s armor.


    A single twist of the knife and he crumpled as she spun to finish off the first guard who was still staring in shock at where his arms used to be. She neatly removed his head from his shoulders with one clean and efficient cut.


    Andy looked horrified, green, and ready to throw up all at once. Suvdaa patted him lightly on the head to ease his rapidly fraying nerves.


    Mau sheathed her weapon and retrieved her dagger from the guard''s corpse, wiping it on the dead man''s cloak before re-sheathing it.


    "Andy. Go to the temple. Tell someone you trust about everything we saw. If they can spare any Temple Knights to keep an eye on the cemetery in case zombies happen to get out tonight, well... That''d be great." Mau said, resting her hand gently on the dogboy''s shoulder.


    Andy nodded numbly, still shaken by the violence he had just witnessed while Suvdaa calmly started dragging the bodies and their various parts out of sight.


    "I... I want to help." The acolyte said. "I''ll do everything I can."


    "We''ll be back here tonight at midnight." Mau said with a nod. "If I know anything about how necromancers work, he''ll have to wait until three in the morning to cast any powerful spells. So we have some time to rescue everyone down there."


    Andy shuddered but nodded and started rushing for the gates of the nearby temple of Light across the way.


    "And what about us? What are we going to do?" Suvdaa asked very pointedly.


    "We''re going to report this to the Guild. Even if they don''t do anything about it, at least other adventurers might gear up for a zombie outbreak if we fuck up." Mau answered, already turning to leave the graveyard and start rushing half way across town all over again.


    <h2>?</h2>


    It was midnight by the time Mau and Suvdaa returned to the cemetery gates. True to his word, Andy was there waiting for them.


    What Mau had seriously not expected was the contingent of Church Knights that were waiting with him.


    "... Well this is a surprise." Mau said as she came to a halt by the acolyte.


    Andy smiled sheepishly at her. It was clear he was trembling from both fear and anticipation of what was to come, but he still managed to flash a big old grin anyway.


    "I told the archbishop first thing I could." he said. "While the knights can''t go in with us, they can have a nice stroll and patrol by the cemetery gates. On the off chance anything comes out, well. They''ll handle it."


    Mau nodded. It was better than what the Guild was able to do for her.


    ''This is a very serious accusation against a member of the city''s governing body. Without proof we cannot post any official guild jobs relevant to the matter.'' The guild clerk had told her, cut and dry. But Mau was glad for the shifty eyed look that the clerk had given her a beat after.


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    ''But if this rumor were to spread and other adventurers decided to look into it.... Well. If anyone were to bring in zombie parts, the guild will offer double the usual reward for undead extermination and an official guild notice will be made.''


    It was better than having no support at all, and Mau was actually fairly heartened to see the figures of several other adventurers around the street, eyeing the cemetery gates. Though Mau also knew that she and Suvdaa were going to have to go into those crypts alone at the end of the night to rescue the girl and the other kidnapees.


    "Alright. Suvdaa and I are going in. If we''re not out by three in the morning, or you start seeing zombies, it means we fucked up. At the first sign of undead please try to get more temple knights on scene, because this guy wants to release a horde and it''s going to be bad." Mau said.


    Andy shook his head.


    "I''m going in with you, too." He said. It was a statement that made Mau blink.


    "... Serious?" She asked. "You sure? It''s not going to be a walk in the park, you know. A lot of guys are gonna die. It''s not going to be pretty."


    The acolyte''s eyes were as hard as steel as he nodded back to her.


    "I can''t let anything happen to all those people. And you''re going to need all the help you can get down there." He said.


    "What a good boy." Suvdaa said, reaching over to start giving Andy''s blonde hair a good tousle and ruffle. He immediately started wagging. Mau felt that irritated pang again in her chest for some reason, and cleared her throat.


    Suvdaa stopped ruffling Andy.


    Andy stopped wagging.


    "Right." Andy said with a small and disappointed huff. "We should get going."


    "Just stay behind me." Suvdaa said as Mau grumbled and started leading the way down the quiet graveyard path to the mausoleum they had found before. There was just one issue.


    The crypt''s heavy stone doors were sealed shut by the time they had found it again.


    "That is a problem." Andy said with a whine.


    "So how do we get in again?" Suvdaa asked impatient. "Do we find another crypt or?"


    Mau paid them both no mind as she drew her sword. However, instead of taking ahold of the hilt, she gripped the sword by the blade, her glove and gauntlet did an adequate job of keeping the edge from biting into her hand as she rolled her shoulder once... She raised her blade- and struck the door with absolutely overwhelming force with the blunt part of the crossguard and pommel like a hammer.


    "Gaia Hammer!" Mau declared, tapping into the magic both within her body and the ambient mana within the earth to strengthen her muscles, blade, and the force of her blow all at once.


    The mausoleum door exploded inwards, disintegrated into small chunks of stone and plaster from the sheer amount of force put into the singular strike.


    "Door''s open." Mau pointed out blandly. "Let''s move."


    "Where the hell did you learn that...?" Suvdaa asked.


    "That was..." Andy started to speak but trailed off.


    "I said door''s open, let''s go." Mau nudged them very pointedly as she started down the stairs into the gloom of the catacombs once again.


    "They''re probably expecting us after earlier." Mau said. "Light a torch, I''d rather have you two ready than have to rely on my warnings going in."


    "Oh! I''ve got it!" Andy said, picking up a chunk of broken door and murmured a prayer to Galatea.


    Mau made a face. But when the rock suddenly came to life with a bright white glow and Andy held it aloft like a torch, she nodded.


    "That good?" He asked, bright and excited.


    "Yeah." Mau replied.


    Suvdaa snuck another ruffle on the dogboy''s hair and they proceeded down the musty old crypt halls once again, following the same trail from before, but with much more haste. They were on a timer now, and Mau didn''t want to waste time creeping down the corridors when someone likely found the guard''s bodies from before and had a chance to warn Thanatos and his men that they had been found out.


    By the time Mau and her team reached the large chamber with the vaulted ceilings everything was disturbingly quiet. Thanatos stood alone on the raised platform in the center of the room, his back to the entrance, muttering under his breath. He was likely reciting the words of a dark spell, as the room hummed with power. Just stepping beyond the threshold of the door made the hair on the back of Mau''s neck stand on end from the sudden chill as she recognized the telltale signs of a necromancer at work.


    Andy snuffed out the light and Mau and Suvdaa crept forward, remaining just out of the dim light of the torches that bathed the room in their flickering light.


    Mau made a hand gesture at Suvdaa in the gloom, her blue eyes gleaming in the darkness as she made several signs that the raider understood.


    One target.


    No wind.


    Aim for the kill.


    Suvdaa drew her bow and knocked an arrow into place, the barbed head of the war arrow glinted gently in the fire light as the recurved weapon creaked quietly in her hand, the bowstring whispered a soft groan as Suvdaa drew it taut and lowered into a kneel to steady her aim. Mau gave her the final hand sign.


    Release.


    The soft twang of the bowstring snapping back into place made Mau''s ears twitch. The arrow sailed silently through the air, barely making so much as a soft whistle as it cut through the still air of the crypt. Mau watched intently as it made its way to its target, unerring and true, and time seemed to slow to a crawl as she held her breath.


    With a soft thump, The hooded figure''s body crumpled to his knees; the arrow had cleanly found its way into his neck, puncturing vital veins, arteries, and windpipe as it pierced through to the other side, stopping partly embedded in the necromancer''s throat.


    From his knees, the necromancer toppled to his side, twitching with the last vestiges of life as it left his body thanks to Suvdaa''s impeccable aim.


    "Nice shot." Mau commented quietly, but still frowned.


    That was easy. That was a little too easy. Especially considering how the place should have been abuzz with cultists after finding their dead friends. It was a trap. That was bait.


    But Mau had already known that.


    "Is... Is he dead?" Andy whispered from where her was waiting in the entrance to the chamber.


    "Pretty sure." Mau replied. "But that''s just the start of our problems, here." She said with a frown.


    The cages were too silent, and Mau rushed to the one by the door to check on the kitten she had found earlier. There was no sign of the girl. The cage was entirely empty, and Mau cursed under her breath while Suvdaa slowly moved to approach the body and check on her kill.


    "Suvdaa." Mau said in a hiss before she said something in the language of the Mongara people.


    "It''s a trap."


    Suvdaa nodded, understanding instantly and drew her knife as she continued to approach the body. Mau and Andy both waited with held breath as the raise girl flipped the corpse over to get a good look at the dead man''s face.


    "It''s not Thanatos." Suvdaa called over her shoulder. Mau saw that coming a mile away, as the torches in the room flared even brighter in the next instant.


    "No. It''s not Thanatos." A familiar, hoarse and gurgling voice chuckled from the darkness. Several stone slabs in the chamber walls slid upwards, revealing several more entrances into the large room. And through those entrances poured men and women in dark armor as black as the night, weapons brandished and waiting to fall upon the trio of interlopers at their leader''s command.


    Thanatos, himself, was the last to enter the chamber, strolling at a leisurely pace into the crypt, skull-masked face grinning victoriously as he spread his arms.


    "I had always known someone would come to stop me." He said, folding his hands behind his back. "My great master warned me of a hero. But I am fairly certain that hero is not some random catgirl." He chuckled, theatrically.


    Internally, Mau couldn''t stop laughing.


    She wasn''t just some random catgirl. It was her. It was always Mau who killed the Four Generals and their Demon Lord master. This time, apparently though, none of them would see her coming, with how busy they were expecting a basic fighter guy with a sword.


    Suvdaa quickly backed up to stand at Mau''s side, opting to sheathe her knife and draw her bow. Andy took place behind the pair, staff held in trembling hands. Mau slowly drew her longsword in one hand and her trusted short blade in the other.


    "I see you have some fight in you." Thanatos said, on seeing that they hadn''t yet fled. "You''ll all make a fine addition to my undead army tonight." The necromancer gloated as his guards slowly approached.


    Mau scoffed.


    "You brought all these guys here to die, tonight, Thanatos." Mau replied. "But I''m only here to kill you."


    "Bold words for a corpse." Thanatos replied.

 Chapter 16: The Necromancer

    "Kill them." The necromancer ordered his minions, and the dark armored guards began to march across the room towards Mau and her small party.


    "I count thirty five." Suvdaa said.


    "That many? Do we run?" Andy asked. Mau shook her head.


    "We fight." The catgirl answered back.


    With a sharp twang, Suvdaa''s bow sang, and an arrow lodged itself in the space between one of the soldier''s helmet and chest plate. He went down with a gurgle and the rest continued to march heedless of their companion''s fall, some stepping right over the corpse.


    Not a single one of them expected Mau to rush them.


    As Suvdaa fired arrow after arrow into the mass of armored bodies, Mau lunged forward into a sprint, tail flicking behind her, blades flashing in her hands. The dark armored soldiers hesitated. It was their downfall.


    Blood sprayed in an arc as Mau brought her longsword down on a man''s shoulder with enough force to cleave clean through his armor, and then darted towards her next target, sliding her short sword underneath a woman''s chest plate. Ducking under a clumsy mace swing intended to take her head, Mau shoulder-butted her attacker and knocked them off balance.


    An arrow neatly planted itself in the wobbling soldier''s side and they crumpled, freeing Mau to hamstring another guard and punt them into a nearby squad, knocking guards over like dominos in the process.


    In an instant Mau was dead center in the middle of a throng of weapons and armor, and she batted aside blows as easily as she breathed, parrying and riposting with a ferocity that quickly made the soldiers lose cohesion and morale the more of them fell under her merciless assault.


    The remaining soldiers backed down fast, fifteen or so of them remaining, and Mau hadn''t even come close to breaking a sweat.


    "''Kay. Who''s next? Any takers?" She asked, flicking the blood off her longsword. "Honestly, I''m okay letting you all go." She did point out, motioning for the very doors the guards had entered from.


    "Drop your weapons, leave Dorn. Never return, and I won''t hunt you down to the ends of the earth." She said.


    The silent and pointedly hesitant pause that struck the remaining guards said that many of them were very much considering taking the catgirl up on her offer of mercy.


    Thanatos however tilted his head.


    "Having trouble with one demi-human?" He chuckled at his men. "Fine. I will help this one time." He said, tone amused as he spread his hands. Mau could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end again as the necromancer began to chant in Dommonian.


    "-Suvdaa!" Mau snapped.


    "Yep!" The raider replied, snapping off a lethal shot.


    The problem, however, was that Thanatos didn''t so much as flinch as Suvdaa''s arrow planted itself in the center mass of his chest. He finished his spell.


    "Arise."


    Mau''s teeth itched as the release and surge of dark magic flooded the chamber.


    That was when the guards Mau and Suvdaa had just finished killing stood back up. Their eyes were glassy with death and the vacant expressions on their slack faces spoke silent volumes of just how much power this necromancer was working with.


    "Shit." Mau hissed as she darted under a haphazard flail and gnashing teeth. The zombies were slow and stupid, but the sudden reinforcement emboldened the living guards, as well, who were faster and more cunning.


    Shifting to the defensive, Mau darted and weaved her way back to her archer and acolyte friends while hacking and slashing limbs apart in her passing.


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    "New plan?" Suvdaa asked as Mau appeared at her side.


    "Don''t have one yet." Mau admitted. "But the more guys we kill the more he''ll just bring them back."


    "I... Might have something for this." Andy spoke up tentatively. "I just need a little time."


    "Okay." Mau said. "Suvdaa, aim for their heads, I''ll keep them off Andy."


    Andy bit his lip briefly and clutched his staff tightly in his hands, tail wagging slowly as he closed his eyes, trusting his new friends to protect him as he began to pray, praising and supplicating Galatea with his every word.


    "Of course she needs to be buttered up." Mau grumbled as she turned her attention to the small horde of undead and remaining guards that were approaching fast.


    Arrows streaked through the air, and several zombies went down again, from precise shots through their eyes while Mau fended off the more brazen guards. Steel clashed and a sword scraped off her breastplate as she bobbed and weaved through the throng of what had turned into a completely pitched and hectic fight. But Mau was also correct in her assessment.


    For every guard that fell, they simply got back up again with glassy vacant eyes and dead expressions.


    "Andy--" She called over her shoulder while shove-kicking an undead soldier into several more of his ilk.


    "Sec!" The acolyte said.


    "Gonna need you to hurry up!"


    "I''m working on it!" He replied hastily picking up the pace of his prayers as the small horde closed in on Mau and Suvdaa.


    It was at the last possible second where even Mau was about to be overwhelmed and overrun, that the acolyte held his staff aloft, glowing with a brilliant golden light.


    "Undead be GONE!" Andy declared, voice booming loud enough to make the room shake. With a bright flash and flare, the light from his staff erupted to flood the whole chamber, and it instantly reduced the zombies to ashes in one vibrant explosion of warmth and light.


    When the blinding radiance faded, the three were left alone in the chamber with Thanatos and one final guard who had been lucky enough to not be in Mau''s way.


    "... Nice." Mau commented upon the acolyte''s display.


    "Mm. Very good." Suvdaa agreed. "Good boy."


    Andy wagged, pleased with himself.


    Mau grunted irritably at that, but turned her attention to the necromancer.


    "Hoh..." Thanatos chuckled as his servants ashes floated around the crypt. "Clever. Very clever." He praised their skill and tactics. "I might have to up the ante, I suppose and-"


    Mau didn''t let him finish. In an instant she crossed the distance between herself and the necromancer, her eyes blazed with killing intent, as she cut him down in a single smooth and efficient stroke that cleaved him from throat to hip. He went down without a further sound, collapsing in a heap at Mau''s feet.


    She stomped him while he was down for extra emphasis that she was particularly done with his shit, and the crunch of ribs breaking under her boot felt particularly satisfying.


    "... Anti-climactic." Suvdaa said with a shrug.


    "Nah." Mau said, quickly backing away from the body and taking on a ready stance. "He''s not done. Right, Thanatos?"


    There was silence for an almost comical beat before the body on the ground twitched.


    "Looks done to me." Andy said, scratching the back of his neck.


    Mau shook her head. The body jerked again, before floating back up to stand on two feet. Thanatos''s skull-faced mask leered at the trio as he glanced down at the clean cut that had nearly neatly bisected him.


    "Now that was just uncalled for, This was a fresh body, too." He said with a hoarse and throaty chuckle.


    "What..." Suvdaa blurted.


    "How is he not dead?!" Andy balked.


    "He is dead." Mau said, quite calm. "He''s just a stupidly powerful undead. Am I right, Thanatos?"


    The necromancer''s lips curled behind his mask.


    "So you figured me out, little kitten. How quite astute of you." He said dipping into a stiff bow.


    "So what am I looking at?" Mau casually asked point blank while shifting into a defensive stance. "Lich? Barrow King? A Wight Lord? Just how much of a pain in my ass are you going to be?"


    Thanatos grinned again, wagging a boney finger at the catgirl as he shook his head.


    "That would be telling. And that''s never any f-"


    Mau cut him down again.


    "I''m not in the mood for fun, games, and pussyfooting around." She snapped, irritably as Thanatos picked himself up again.


    "That was quite rude." The necromancer huffed.


    "I can keep cutting you down all night until I beat a straight answer out of you, you know." Mau spat sourly while Suvdaa and Andy watched on raptly.


    "Alright. Alright." Thanatos said, shoulders sagging. "I suppose I do have a flair for the dramatic, but it is about time I deal with you and take over this stain on the map." He said, spreading his hands.


    In an instant the wails and cries of all the prisoners hidden in the catacombs raised in pained unison. Mau''s eyes widened as she, Suvdaa, and Andy looked on in horror. The cult had moved the cages and their captives, but they were still down in the crypt somewhere. And liches were at their most powerful in a crypt lair.


    Wisps of phantom light streamed from the corridors into the chamber, and Mau could make out spectral faces contorted in agony in the smokey ghost-like light that flooded the room and floated right into Thanatos'' body.


    "Oh. Oh shit." Mau hissed, understanding, as the lich''s flesh sloughed off his damaged body and his skeletal figure began to grow to fill the chamber. Thanatos was stealing the life energy from all the captives in the catacombs.

 Chapter 17: The Ceremony

    With a sickening pop, Thantos'' torso disconnected from his legs, the skeletal form of the lich''s upper body hovered in the air before the trio as he grew further in size with the more life energy he absorbed from the captive prisoners. Soon enough the boney torso an leering skull face dominated much of the crypt chamber.


    "This crypt will be your tomb." Thanatos hissed through his teeth as he pointed a boney finger at the trio.


    "Go forth my undead legion, add these three to your number and then devour this city!"


    The creak of cages opening caught Mau''s attention, and soon enough the shambling shuffle of slow feet on the crypt''s floor stones told her that, soon enough, they weren''t going to be alone with the lich in the mausoleum.


    "... so Andy how many times can you do that thing?" Mau asked. The acolyte frowned.


    "I barely knew I could do it once." He admitted sheepishly.


    "Okay." Mau said understandingly as the first shadows of the approaching zombie horde appeared in the multiple doorways into the chamber. "You should stay behind Suvdaa."


    "Shouldn''t we... Run?" Andy suggested hopefully as the legion of the undead started filtering into the chamber.


    "Nah. I got this." Mau said, fairly confident in herself. "As long as they''re not any cheating fast zombies in the horde they should be easy to mow down."


    The chamber was large, but not large enough for the gigantic lich floating in the center of the room and the sudden glut of zombies that shambled into the chamber. Thankfully there were no cheating fast zombies for Mau to deal with, and when the undead had sufficiently clustered up, Mau pointed her blade at the zombie in the lead of the pack.


    "Hey guess what?" Mau said a little way too brightly... "Chain Lightning!"


    In an instant a storm of electricity lanced from her hand, arcing visibly along the length of her long sword before the tip erupted into a massive lightning bolt, a single thunderous peal of explosive noise filling the chamber like a gunshot as the bolt streaked for the zombie.


    As soon as it made contact the scent of searing flesh filled the chamber; the lightning bolt spreading from the first zombie to the squad of zombies surrounding it. The electric storm jumped from body to body to body until every walking corpse in the room was jerking and tensing from the immense flow of electrical mana surging through stiffened rigor mortis muscles.


    The undead horde toppled in unison and a smug little look crossed the catgirl''s face as she lowered her sword, surveying her handiwork. The corpses twitched and jerked as they smoked gently, seared through and too damaged to continue their unlife, Thanatos'' magic left their bodies and silence filled the chamber.


    "... That''s cheating." The lich said, completely put off. "That''s absolutely unfair!" He bellowed, clenching his skeletal hands so tightly that they trembled and creaked with barely contained fury.


    "Do you know how long it took to gather that many victims? Do you now how many nights we had to work under cover of darkness to go unnoticed?" He snarled.


    "Are... Are you being petulant about this?" Mau asked while Suvdaa and Andy stared in abject silence.


    Suvdaa had seen Mau use magic before, of course, but never a spell on that level. She knew that the dumb cat had a few tricks up her sleeve at any given moment, but this was pushing the borders of just how much she knew about her travel companion.


    The simple truth of the matter was that as a kitten, Mau didn''t have the magical capacity to unleash a stunt like that. But as her body grew, her power and skills from prior lives slowly returned to her, to the point that she could pull that off without flinching now.


    "I am not being petulant!" Thanatos snapped, irate.


    "Holy shit." Mau said. "It''s like you''ve never had a grand evil master plan fail before. I feel kind of sorry for you."


    "Feel sorry for this!" The lich snarled, snapping a skeletal hand forward, orbs of dark energy forming in his palm before they flooded the chamber in Mau''s direction like a stream of machine gun bullets, rattling the ground and walls as they streaked for the catgirl in a flood of deadly necrotic energy.


    "Suvdaa, Andy, dodge. Don''t get hit by that because it''s not going to be pleasant." Mau warned as she darted and grazed through the onslaught. Andy had another plan entirely as he raised his staff.


    "H-hold on!" He said, beginning a hasty and imploring prayer to Galatea... Before a bright white light erupted from the tip of his scepter, forming into a half-dome that enshrouded himself and Suvdaa.


    "Holy Shield!" He exclaimed, and the pair hunkered behind the sudden bulwark of light that protected them, while Mau twisted out of the way of another barrage, tail flicking behind her.


    The chamber became a storm once again as Thanatos unleashed spell after spell, dark rays of black energy, purple lightning streaked through the room as the temperature plummeted from the sheer amount of deadly necrotic energies flooded the crypt, all while Mau tumbled and scampered on all fours, sword clenched in her teeth to avoid having the very life sucked from her body.


    "Could use a distraction, guys!" She called to her companions. And while Andy did everything he could to maintain the shield of light that protected him and Suvdaa, sweat beading on his brow, Suvdaa took to a knee.


    "... Dumb cat." She muttered irritably as she rummaged hastily through her pack and strapped something to the tip of an arrow. Lighting the pouch ablaze, she nocked the arrow to her bow and fired through Andy''s shield spell. Her shot was as true as ever, embedding in between the lich''s exposed ribs.


    "Fools!" Thanatos bellowed, ignoring the fact that his tattered robes were catching fire. "I will not be stopped so easily!"


    Or so he thought, before he went up in flames.


    Now, Mau knew that the fire would not be enough to end Thanatos, but it did give her the opening she needed to finish the fight, as he flailed and tried to put himself out. He had stopped casting spells.


    And that presented her with ample opportunity to charge in, plucking her blade from her teeth and back into her hand as she took a vaulting leap...


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    "Chill Strike!" She snapped as she raised her blade high, magical energy funnelling from her fingers and palms into the sword as it rapidly coated over with hoary frost, quickly blossoming into deadly jagged ice.


    Steam hissed as the magical ice connected with the flaming lich''s skull, and Thanatos simply laughed as Mau cleaved him in half from the top of his head to what was left of his pelvis.


    "Don''t think you have heard the last of me!" Thanatos said, voice barely a whisper as his body was destroyed in that instant, dark wisps of spiritual energy floating free from his shattered bones as the chamber went silent.


    Andy heaved a sigh of relief, releasing the breath he had been holding for almost that entire time as his shield spell came undone. He immediately planted his hands on his knees and panted heatedly to catch his breath.


    "What. The hell. Was that." Suvdaa demanded, but Mau seemed to pay her no mind.


    The catgirl''s ears swiveled as she glanced left and right frantically and then... Darted down a corridor without so much as a word to her companions.


    "... Should we follow her?" Andy asked unsure.


    "Like hell I''m not going to." Suvdaa replied as the pair briskly followed down the same hall Mau just ducked into as Andy cast a quick spell to light up his staff like a torch.


    Even in their haste to follow after her, Mau was already way ahead of them, little more than a silhouette at the edge of Andy''s light spell.


    "Dumb cat where are you going!" Suvdaa snapped, voice echoing in the halls of the tomb. Eventually though, Mau came to a halt and the two slowed as they followed her into a smaller side-chamber.


    Set upon a pedestal in the room was an ornate piece of jewelry; a jade hourglass that glowed with a faint but sickly green light where it was embedded in a skull-shaped container.


    "Found you." Mau hissed, fire in her eyes.


    "Okay what is that?" Andy asked as Mau raised her sword high.


    "-Wait! Don''t you dare!" Thanatos'' voice could suddenly be heard in the chamber. "We can discuss this; it doesn''t have to end in more violence. Wait! Wait wait wait wa-"


    Mau didn''t wait.


    "Flamestrike!" She snarled, sword flaring to life engulfed in a blazing fire as she brought it down hard enough upon the trinket to smash it to pieces.


    Jade and melted gold flew everywhere as Mau''s sword shattered on the impact, too taxed by the amount of magic she had poured into it to continue functioning properly. But it had done its job.


    "... Phylactery." Mau explained. "If we didn''t break it he just would have come back in a year and a day."


    Andy balked. "How did you even know that?"


    "Yes, I too am curious." Suvdaa said, sounding quite irked.


    Mau remained silent for a beat, staring at the jagged and twisted blade of the snapped sword in her hand.


    "Long story." She said after a moment of silence.


    There was a quiet clatter of steel on stone as Mau cast aside her shattered blade. With the lich dead the crypts should, in theory, have been rendered safe anyway as she heaved a quiet and tired sigh.


    The silence was awkward and strained as Mau, Suvdaa and Andy left the phylactery chamber and stepped into the next room. It went from awkward to horrified very fast.


    They found where Thanatos had moved the cages, and almost all of them were empty save for a few corpses drained and devoid of life. There, they saw, in the smallest cage in the corner of the room, a small figure bundled and huddled in ragged blankets.


    "... No." Mau whispered, heart stopping in her breast.


    Suvdaa and Andy rushed for the cage. It was unlocked when they got there- likely unlocked by a guard that had long fled, to let out the undead when they woke. But this little body hadn''t joined the horde.


    "... Is that..." Andy said, voice cracking as Suvdaa lifted the tiny body from the blankets. "Is that the missing girl?"


    "--Give her to me." Mau said, strained and hoarse.


    "Mau..." Suvdaa said with a voice so gentle, it was as though she hadn''t been fuming mere moments before, as she approached the catgirl with the limp kitten in her arms. "Her heart isn''t beating. She is gone."


    "I said give her to me!" Mau snapped, snatching the body from Suvdaa''s grasp and dropping to her knees. The kitten-girl lay there, unmoving and unresponsive in Mau''s arms, but she was still just a little warm.


    "No no no no no..." Mau whispered in a mantra of despair as that warmth ebbed and multiple lives worth of memories slammed Mau like the truck that had summoned her.


    It hadn''t been the first time someone innocent died in the Hero''s arms. Lovers, parents, friends, even enemies, the Hero knew death intimately well... And now, like an old friend returning from a trip abroad and making a sudden call, death had paid another unwanted visit.


    With the kitten-girl resting limp on her knees, Mau''s hands trembled as Suvdaa and Andy stared silently in the dark of the crypt. This had happened too many times, and the Hero couldn''t stop it in the past. Mau''s fingers clenched into white knuckled fists as she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. For all her strength, for all her skill, in the cold murk of the crypts below Dorn, she felt nothing but utterly powerless... Until another memory came back to her.


    <h2>?</h2>


    The Hero was kind of bored. But there was no helping it. If they wanted to keep their nice and sweet cushy office job, they had to take this course. It was apparently a requirement.


    Alongside the standard Human Resources harassment and discrimination training, apparently included in the job''s mandatory lessons was a course in cardio pulmonary resuscitation. Sure, learning CPR could save a person''s life, but the Hero was fairly sure they would never see a situation in which they would have to be the person to administer it.


    Still, they watched, marginally paying attention as the instructor detailed exactly how to perform chest compressions to the beat of Staying Alive by The Beegees, and how to perform mouth to mouth, but everything was still a boring blur.


    "Hey XXXXXXX... Why don''t you try hands on?" The instructor asked, motioning for the Hero to draw nearer to the crash test dummy they had been using as a ''volunteer''.


    "... I''m not sure that''s a good idea." The Hero mumbled.


    "It''s fine!" The instructor said brightly. "I''m right here in case you make any mistakes."


    "Okay..." The Hero muttered, scooting over to the dummy on the floor, and planted their hands on its chest...


    <h2>?</h2>


    "Oh..." Mau whispered as the memory fled her as quickly as it had returned. "Oh..." She breathed out, as she looked down on the kitten in her lap and gently rested her on the cold crypt floor.


    That''s when she remembered.


    She carried all the skills of her prior lives in her memory. Galatea had never once said that the skills from her mundane life didn''t come with them, as she interlaced her fingers, one hand atop the other and set them on the kitten''s chest.


    "Fuck fuck fuck..." Mau whispered as she began chest compressions. "-Andy... Galatea''s portfolio is Life, right?" She suddenly said, loud enough to make the acolyte jolt.


    "Y-yes, but- what are you doing?" He asked.


    "It doesn''t matter what I''m doing, just start praying!" Mau snapped at him, despair turning into burning anger and determination.


    Not this time, Mau vowed. Not this time, the Hero growled under her breath.


    "I said start praying like your life depends on it!" Mau hissed. "And give me some fucking room!"


    Suvdaa and Andy immediately backed up as Mau continued chest compressions for a few more beats, muttering the tune of some song she barely remembered to keep the time, before she stopped just long enough to pinch the smaller catgirl''s nose and breathe into her mouth.


    Andy and Suvdaa stared, bewildered, but a quick glower from Mau set the acolyte on his course.


    He began to pray.


    Praying to Galatea for aid and succor for the young soul that Mau was so desperately trying to save from the cold and jagged claws of death, while Mau resumed chest compressions.


    "Come on, come on..." Mau whispered, anxious and desperate, trying to get the kitten''s heart to start beating on its own.


    "Back up!" She said suddenly, prompting the raider and acolyte to take another step back as Mau channeled her magic.


    "Lightning Jolt!" Mau hissed, electric energy arcing along her forearm before she funneled it through her body and hand into the smaller girl''s, directly shocking the child''s heart with a controlled burst of lightning.


    The girl''s body jerked as Mau shocked her, and for a moment the tomb was silent as Mau stopped to press an ear to the girl''s chest.


    The soft sound of a single heartbeat was her reward; followed quickly by a second fluttering heartbeat as the kitten suddenly lurched and gasped for breath. Mau held the girl down gently, rather than let her sit up, as lashes fluttered and bleary green eyes flickered open slowly and came into focus.


    "... Big sis?" The girl mewled, confused, groggy, and dazed.


    In an instant Mau heaved a sigh of relief, Suvdaa exhaled the breath she had been holding, and Andy''s prayer''s trailed right off.


    Slowly, Mau helped the girl to sit up and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.


    "Yeah." She replied. "It''s me. Let''s get you home now."

 Interlude 3: The Blossom Festival

    Mau and Suvdaa sat back to back among the boughs of the great tree, and they sat in silence for a long time while the city celebrated below with cheering voices and fireworks in the night sky.


    With the lich, Thanatos, brought low and his plan to infest the city with a tide of undeath, Dorn''s Blossom Festival was able to proceed without a hitch. And though the populace at large was none the wiser about what happened, Mau, Suvdaa, and Andy had received quiet accolades from the temple of Galatea and the Adventurer''s Guild. There was still much work to be done, though, and with Thanatos'' political party and clout in shambles, that left the city''s government system in a state of disarray as several other parties vied for their slice of power in the sudden vacuum.


    Nevertheless, the people were able to have a happy and safe festival as the great tree bloomed and showered the city in sweet scented petals.


    "Hhchoo!"


    Mau was miserable.


    As it turned out, the pollen from all the blooming flowers was throwing off her sense of smell something fierce and left her nose and throat in a state of constant irritation. Her ears drooped as she knew she was about to be more miserable in a moment, regardless of whether she spoke first or Suvdaa did.


    "So." Suvdaa broke the silence, shifting just enough that the fur of her heavy bear pelt cloak tickled at the back of Mau''s neck.


    "What are you not telling me?" The raider girl said, tone flat and firm.


    Blue eyes squeezed shut as Mau scrunched her face while she was sure Suvdaa couldn''t see her, and she drew a steeling breath. She had thought about this moment long and hard, and had come up with a lot to say, but now that it was here, everything had just fled her. The catgirl sighed and finally relented.


    "A lot." Mau said in response.


    There was silence again, but this time is lasted much shorter than before as Suvdaa heaved a sigh.


    "So where are you going to start?" Suvdaa pressed.


    It wasn''t an easy question and for a moment, Mau had no idea where to even begin telling her travel companion what she wanted- or what she thought she wanted to hear.


    "Guess I''ll start with the truth." Mau ultimately decided.


    "That is a good place to begin." Suvdaa agreed tersely, turning her head to glance over her shoulder. "You have been keeping secrets from me and I know it. Do you even remotely think I have not noticed? You came to my clan feigning weakness, but here you are now and I find myself having trouble just keeping up with you. Was our fight when we met really an honest one, Mau?"


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    "In my defense." Mau said, tone calm and careful, "Would *you* have accepted me if that fight went in another direction?" the catgirl asked. "Your clan might have accepted me afterwards, but you would have resented me for who knows how long, after that."


    Suvdaa scowled. "So you lied. You lied and you held things from me."


    Mau nodded slowly. It was the truth.


    She lied.


    "Why?" Suvdaa asked.


    Mau rubbed at her nose, face scrunching from how raw and tender it felt from all the pollen sneezing and stifled a snotty snort as she worked on maintaining her composure.


    "Well." Mau began to speak, hugging her knees to her chest, and the raider girl quieted down to listen intently.


    "I''m going to tell you something. And you''re going to think I''m insane." Mau finally relented. "But I can promise you every word of it is the truth, and I''m not going to lie or hide anything anymore. You''re the second person to hear this out of me ever, and it''s all going to sound super crazy."


    Suvdaa responded with more silence, still glowering over her shoulder by the time Mau turned her head to look back at her and meet her gaze. Mau sighed. She was about to drop a bomb, and she had no idea how her travel partner would handle it.


    "Suvdaa, the truth is I didn''t come to your clan to learn, sought your people out because they seemed like the most badass warriors this world had to offer and I needed to find someone I could bring with me to one of the hardest battles I''ve ever had to fight."


    "The Demon Lord?" Suvdaa interjected, remembering their conversation from the wagon train into the city, her tone still irritable but softening by a degree at he realization. "You said killing him was your duty."


    Mau nodded.


    "It''s been my duty for way too long now. I''m kind of afraid it''s all I even know how to do, anymore at this point, Suvdaa." The catgirl said in a tired tone. A tone that made even the angry raider pause for thought. She had never once heard Mau sound so utterly weary in the entire time they had traveled together. It was a weariness that was achingly, painfully, bone-deep; ingrained into the catgirl''s very soul.


    It was enough to silence the raider, briefly stunning her so Mau could continue.


    Tipping her head back, Mau lightly bumped Suvdaa and closed her eyes.


    "I feel like a fucking pawn." Mau said. "You''d think most people would be over the moon to be picked by the gods for anything. But no. They picked me to do their dirty work." Mau spat venomously.


    "They took me from my home, Suvdaa. I was comfortable. I was happy. I was okay living a completely normal and ordinary life, not this fantasy bullshit they''ve put me through. But I ended up good at doing their laundry. They literally killed me and took me from my home, put a sword in my hand, and told me to go kill a hundred demon lords, vile kings, evil emperors, death lords, you name it. And when I''m done killing this one what''s in it for me? They sure didn''t promise me glory, riches, wealth, fame, or anything. Do I even get a nice cushy place in the afterlife? Hell if I know."


    Mau didn''t realize she had balled her hands into white-knuckled fists until she felt a touch at her wrist.


    "... This world only has the one Demon Lord." Suvdaa pointed out in barely a whisper. "... Where... Where are you from?"


    "I... don''t even know anymore." The catgirl replied, helplessly.


    A long beat of silence hung in the air between the two girls broken only by another pathetic pollen-induced sneeze. But Suvdaa didn''t remove her hand from Mau''s.


    "Tell me everything Mau. From the beginning. I will listen. No matter how insane it sounds. If you are really telling me the truth- no more lies- then I''ll follow you to the jaws of hell itself to help you kill the Demon Lord."


    "Sit back for a bit." Mau finally responded, after wiping her nose. "It''s a long story."

 Chapter 18: The Search for the Holy Blade

    "You know." Mau mused, turning the shattered length of her long sword over in her hand to peer at the ragged and jagged, chipped edge of the snapped blade. "I''m getting kind of tired of how flimsy these swords feel when I use them. I mean, I know how to pick out a well made sword from a bad one but it''s a crapshoot on how long any of them even last anymore."


    "Yes, well, you do go through blades like a child goes through a bag of candy." Suvdaa pointed out mildly while stringing her bow.


    "Fifteen gold a pop for a decent steel blade is no joke. And they still break when I put them through their paces." The catgirl huffed as the two finished the last of their preparations to leave Dorn.


    "Have you tried mythril? Adamantine?" Suvdaa suggested as she tested her bow string with a few tugs and twangs.


    "Too expensive. I''ve bent mythril and shattered adamant. Not worth the cost for me." Mau answered back with a shrug as they gathered their packs and geared up to leave The Cat''s Meow.


    "So where to next, oh great hero?" Suvdaa asked as she slung her bow across her shoulders.


    "Don''t call me that." Mau said testily as she threw her travel cloak on and stepped out the inn door. "Anyway I figured we could check in with the guild one last time before we leave. The reward for killing that Lich was pretty nice, but we can see if they''ve got any news from other places about weird shit."


    "Weird shit?" Suvdaa arched a brow. "Like liches?"


    "Weird shit like liches, yes." Mau confirmed. "Thanatos was just one servant of the demon lord. He probably has three more and we''re going to have to deal with them, too, before we can get to him." She pointed out.


    The two made their way through the city streets towards the guild with little fanfare save for the occasional sneeze from Mau. Most of the people were clueless that the shabby looking catgirl demi-human and the bear-pelt wearing raider were the heroes of the hour. A small part of Mau was more than okay with the anonymity for now; it would royally suck if the Demon Lord learned that one of his top men had been killed very dead by some random catgirl instead of the grand but absolutely basic human hero guy he was likely going to expect.


    "Man, I bet the look on his face is gonna be priceless." She mused, earning a quirked brow from her companion.


    "Whose face?" Another voice piped up curiously before Suvdaa could voice the question herself.


    Both girls paused in their tracks, heads turning to the origin of the question to see a familiar grin and mop of blonde hair.


    "Oh hey, Andy." Mau said to the young acolyte as her hand rested on the door to the guild building. "And I was just thinking aloud about something funny to me... Did you have business in the guild too?" She asked.


    Andy, who immediately forgot his own question when presented with another, bobbed his head in a series of nods, beaming brightly. His tail started wagging up a storm, too.


    "Oh yeah! I came to actually sign up with the guild!" He said.


    "You? Sign up with the guild? Don''t you have... Temple matters?" Suvdaa said, knotting her brow.


    "Technically yes, but at the same time, I can take a leave of absence to go on a pilgrimage to find myself. Some priests and clerics use that as an excuse to become adventurers too. I wanna join up with you guys!" He explained brightly before correcting himself. "... I mean you girls."


    "Huh." Mau mused as she pushed open the guild door with a shrug. "Suit yourself. I don''t mind if Suvdaa doesn''t, and you get your papers and gear in order."


    The inside of the guild building was abuzz as though there was electricity in the air. Andy immediately marched himself up to the counter and started speaking brightly with the guild clerk on duty for the day while Suvdaa frowned at Mau.


    "You don''t mind if I don''t?" She said in a grouchy tone. "That''s another body to equip and a mouth to feed."


    Mau peered back at Suvdaa over one shoulder and cocked a brow, "You didn''t seem to mind him hanging around when you got to pet his ears and scratch under his chin." She pointed out, lips curling into a catty little grin as her tail flicked. "I think you''re just a dog person is all. And that''s okay. I''m not jealous."


    Suvdaa stammered in furious indignation.


    Mau however pursed her lips into a thin line. The hushed murmurs and whispers of all the other adventurers and mercenaries roving through the guild were odd. Something was off. Something was stirring their excitement and she wanted to know what was up.


    Then she heard a whisper amidst the hushed murmuring din of sweaty armored men and women.


    ''Holy sword''.


    "Oh." Mau said as realization dawned on her. "Oh shit, is it about that time?"


    "What time is it?" Andy asked as he returned from dealing with the guild clerk, a dull set of clay dogtags jangling from his neck showing that he had finished the registration process.


    "It''s about time we go looking for a sword." Mau replied.


    This made the dogboy blink.


    "Don''t you already have one? ... I mean you broke it, but still." He said.


    "No no," Mau replied. "We''re going to go looking for a special sword."


    As it turned out, after milling around the guild for a while, the rumor mill had churned out something new. Something that would get the attention of every adventurer from the lowest of the low scoundrels, rogues, and mercenaries, to the highest of high knights and paladins. Somewhere, someone, had come across the sight of a sword in their travels and started spreading the word about it. Though the rumors were pretty exaggerated about how it was stuck in a cliff side, or lost in a secret and deep, dark, cave there was one thing known for sure. It existed somewhere. And that was all Mau needed for the rumor to grab her attention.


    "What''s so special about this sword?" Suvdaa asked as she sat down at an empty table with Mau and Andy following suit.


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    "Well." Mau said as she settled in, putting down a mug of beer in front of Suvdaa and another in front of Andy. "It''s..." She pondered how to explain the details without cluing Andy in on her unique situation of reincarnation for a beat, before she settled on a story.


    "So, long, long, ago, there was this mortal chosen by the gods." She started to say. "When they told their chosen champion that they were destined to kill the Demon Lord, the champion asked for only one thing. A weapon they could use that would help them fight the Demon Lord and their minions. Something that would follow them across the barrier and boundaries of all the different worlds."


    Andy wagged his tail, raptly listening intently to story time as he sipped from his mug, canine ears perked up. Mau continued, mostly for Suvdaa''s sake, as she had let the raider girl in on her secret already.


    "Thuvros, the dwarven god of rock and stone and mountain and metal stood up and said he''d make their champion something fit for them, and as the champion opened their mouth to ask for a magical AK-47 or something, Galatea, the basic bitch of the gods, spoke up and said ''Oh oh oh! Make a sword''!"


    Mau didn''t realize she was making a face at the moment, she just knew Andy was making one at her for; likely for besmirching his deity of worship. He even stopped wagging his tail before another question hit him.


    "What''s an AK-47?"


    Mau planted her chin in her palm with a huge yawn and continued regardless.


    "Anyway, they fought the Demon Lord with that sword and won. And every time they reincarnated the fight the next Demon Lord, the sword followed the champion into the next life and the next world. That''s probably the sword that everyone''s in a big uproar about right now." Mau said, finishing her tale.


    Andy''s face shifted from annoyance to bewilderment, then to childish wonder.


    "But what are we gonna do when we find the sword?" He asked.


    Mau laid her face down on the table and sighed.


    "Well I''m gonna take it, and I''m gonna use it to kill the Demon Lord." She said matter of factly.


    This made Andy blink.


    "But Mau, you''re not a champion." He said. This made her look up with a crooked brow.


    "I mean you''re really good with a sword, but what kind of hero sleeps in past noon?" He asked.


    Mau shoot Suvdaa a cross look for spilling about her sleep habits.


    Suvdaa sipped her beer without a word.


    "Anyway." Mau said, clearing her throat. "I want that sword."


    "You and more than half the guild." Suvdaa noted. "How are we going to get to it first?"


    This is where Mau flashed a catty little grin.


    "We don''t have to be the first to find it." Mau explained. "Only the person destined to kill the Demon Lord can actually use the sword."


    "Oh." Suvdaa said, falling quiet again as understanding dawned on her.


    "But. Haha. That''s not you." Andy said nervously.


    Mau casually reached across the table and patted him atop the head.


    "You''ll understand when the time comes, don''t worry." She said.


    A clueless Andy wagged his tail, delighted regardless.


    <h2>?</h2>


    It had taken some cajoling, wheedling, and subtle dispensation of multiple beers and bribes, but eventually Mau and Suvdaa managed to prise the most reliable sounding rumor from the tight lipped members of the guild. Andy helped too. He was a good boy. Everyone who had heard about the divine blade wanted to get their hands on it first and just getting the information took a bit of work. But in the end, several weeks later, Mau found herself trudging soggy and damp through waist high swamp water.


    The best lead Mau had found was to seek out the hag living in the swamps to the east of Dorn. They said she could find anything and if anyone could find the sword, it would be her. There was just the issue of making a deal with a hag and her asking price for the information. But Mau figured she could deal with that when the time came and that it would be a problem for ''Future Mau'', as she liked to put it.


    "Um." Andy said from directly behind her. "What happens if we run into alligators? Or crocodiles?"


    "I''m more worried about leeches." Mau said, tone as miserable as she looked, sweaty and indignant, as she held up the torch in her left hand. It wasn''t dark, but the gloom of the swamp and the thick mist made navigation by sight somewhat difficult. Navigation by scent was right out the window and poor Andy was absolutely crying from the stench of stagnant water and heavy humidity.


    "Leeches?" Suvdaa asked, frowning deeply. Of the three members of the party, she was the stickiest and hated the swamps the most, but staunchly refused to take off the heavy fur of her bear pelt cloak and hood.


    "Yeah, little black sluggy things that latch onto you and suck your blooooooood." Mau explained to the raider, who had never been in such warm and wet climates before.


    "That is absolutely disgusting." Suvdaa spat.


    Andy whimpered as the trio trudged through the muck and mire, now worried about leeches on top of alligators and crocodiles.


    Needless to say, the trek through the swamps was abysmal. The three were sweaty, stank of tepid water, and were covered in brackish grime and algae, and it had been three days of fruitless searching for this supposedly legendary hag before tempers began to fray. Suvdaa was cranky, Andy was demoralized, and Mau just wanted to find someplace warm and dry to take a nap.


    "You know. I heard crocodile doesn''t taste half bad." Mau considered as she climbed out of the mire onto a loamy patch of earth. Poor Andy though only sank deeper as he misstepped on a sunken root, whining as the tepid water rose to his chin.


    "Suvdaa could you... Rescue Andy maybe? I need a second to catch my breath here." Mau huffed as she dripped pathetically on the side of the bracken water.


    With a sigh Suvdaa grasped Andy by the back of his robes and helped him out of the water to join Mau on the bank.


    "Don''t you dare shake--" Mau started to say.


    Andy shook. A rapid, vigorous, rattling flail of his body that sent nasty dogboy water everywhere and splashed Mau and Suvdaa.


    "ARGH! ANDY!" Suvdaa snapped like someone that just stood too close to a shaking dog.


    Mau sighed as she dripped even more.


    "S-Sorry!" Andy blurted, now pristine and dry.


    "Heeeeeeeeh... Have you had your fun yet?" A new voice cut between them, interrupting the surly remark that Suvdaa was about to chastise Andy with.


    In that same instant, Mau and Suvdaa had weapons drawn, Mau''s short blade was in her off-hand, a new steel longsword held deftly in her main, while Suvdaa brandished a wickedly sharp knife.


    Andy fumbled with his staff to try and make himself look menacing, but there was no hiding that the scrawny dogboy''s tail was tucked tightly between his legs under his robes.


    Emerging from behind a tree as though she had simply stepped out from around a corner came an old woman. Hunched at the shoulders, she wore tattered and sodden black robes with several large patches stitched on roughly. Her silver hair was damp and lank, hanging stringily on front of vivid and malicious golden eyes set over a wrinkly face and missing teeth, and resting on her shoulder was an absolutely gigantic moth.


    Mau didn''t lower her weapon. She had faced hags before in prior lives and knew they were just as much deadly as they were conniving tricksters and malicious deal makers. Suvdaa followed Mau''s lead and kept her knife brandished while Andy lowered his staff.


    "... It''s just an old lady." He said, blinking. "... Is that a moth?"


    "That sure is a moth." Mau answered back. "But she''s not just an old lady."


    "Heeeeeeeeeeeh!" The hag laughed, voice hoarse and raspy as she tapped the ground with her staff to emphasize her amusement at the dripping trio before her. "A kitten, a cub, and a pup walk into a swamp." She said, as though giving the opening line to a joke. "Oh but it''s no joke, they sought a witch!" She continued as she slowly circled the three and they turned to follow her warily.


    "But to what end... To what end...?" She murmured while rubbing her wrinkled chin.


    A nasty grin split the witch''s lips as she suddenly leered at Mau.


    "One of them has the smell of Destiny all over her, too..." The hag said.


    "Pretty sure that''s just my BO." Mau retorted, earning another cackling laugh from the old woman.


    Then the hag looked to Suvdaa.


    "Another who smells like the moon on a clear night..." She said.


    "Nah, that''s swamp brack, I''m sure." Mau said.


    Suvdaa smacked the back of Mau''s head.


    "Ow."


    Then the witch looked to Andy.


    "And the third smells like he''s been touched by the divine..."


    Andy blinked rapidly.


    "I mean... I read my scripture every night...?"


    Mau and Suvdaa sighed in unison while Mau rubbed her head.


    "You''re all looking for something." The hag said. It wasn''t a question.


    "I''ll help you find it... If you help me first~." She crooned sweetly, head tilting as her smile widened to a menacing degree.


    "How about we make a deal for it...?"

 Chapter 19: Hag Spetti

    The witch''s hut was, thankfully dry and cool. It was a stark contrast to the nasty humidity of the swamp outside, but Mau wasn''t relaxing. The hut was also absolutely creepy; a ratty little ramshackle shack that roamed the woods and mire on chicken legs.


    Suvdaa and Andy were astonished.


    Mau called it ''some Baba Yaga knockoff bullshit'' under her breath as the hag''s moth flew off her shoulder and perched on a nearby unused coat rack.


    "Please dears, make yourselves comfortable, Hag Spetti''s home is your home while you''re here~."


    Mau sighed and decided to hunker down and catch a breather as they crossed the threshold of the door and found themselves instantly dry, clean, and fresh. It was only a temporary little reprieve from the nastiness of the swamp and Mau knew that they would just get dirty and smelly all over again within minutes of leaving. But it, at least for the moment, gave the trio a collective sigh of relief, at least before the hag started to address them again.


    "So you''re looking for the legendary hero''s sword?" She murmured as she pored over the trinkets and baubles on her desk and shelves. "Yes, yes, I thought so... One like you would need that, eh?" She chuckled nastily.


    "Can you help us find it or not?" Mau pressed tiredly as she slumped against the doorjamb. "The sooner we get out of this swamp and I can catch a nap, the better."


    "Lazybones cat, we are not resting now." Suvdaa hissed.


    "I mean. She''s letting us chill here and hasn''t attacked yet." Mau pointed out. "There''s clearly something she wants from us, too." She said, eyeing the hag that had her back to the group. The hag paused immediately and seemed to bristle as though she had been caught and called out.


    "Well... While you''re here... In my swamp..." The old witch began to speak, glancing over her shoulder and flashing the trio a wicked grin.


    "There is something you could help me with, yes." She confirmed. "And if you help me with it, I''ll tell you whatever you''d like, free of charge even, for your aid~."


    Andy perked up, tail wagging. "Oh so you''ll help us then? Mau said that sword was super special and that she needed it to kill the demmmmphpmmmhnh!" He started to explain brightly before Mau and Suvdaa placed their hands over his mouth in unison.


    Though the hag pouted visibly for a moment she set her staff against the wall and slumped into a ratty old plush chair by the fog-frosted window that looked out into the swamp.


    "Will you at least hear an old woman out~?" She said, smiling brightly. It was not a nice smile in the least.


    "Is this wise?" Suvdaa asked hushed into Mau''s ear. "Even in the north we know not to make deals lightly with witches, they twist words and work terrible magics that twist your desires to suit their whims."


    "I know." Mau replied matter of factly, "But something about her seems... Desperate." Mau said while side-eyeing the smiling hag. "She leaped right into offering a deal. And while that''s pretty normal for hags, this just... Doesn''t feel right, to me. Call it a feeling in my gut. Let''s hear her out."


    "Are you done whispering, my dears?" The hag asked sweetly. "Being hush-hush... Really though I suppose it suits the two of you more than precious little Andy, doesn''t it?" She said, reaching over to scratch behind one of the dogboy''s ears, making his tail wag.


    "In fairness," Mau replied, "dealing with hags is pretty dangerous business. You might tell us what we want to hear, but there''s always the question of what do you get out of it? And what out of us do you get out of it, in particular." She said, prompting a solemn nod from Suvdaa.


    "Weeeeeell..." The old witch said, voice creaking as she rubbed her wrinkly chin. "You see there is something I''m after. And you''re right... I am quite desperate about it." She did admit. "So if you could find what I seek, then I''ll consider that your end of our little bargain; nothing more, nothing less."


    Mau and Suvdaa exchanged a glance, while Andy looked like he was having the time of his life getting scratched behind the ears by a creature that could just as easily turn him into a toad.


    "Andy..." Suvdaa said, tone exasperated, "Do you not have any sense of self preservation?"


    Mau waved a hand before he could answer and stood herself up from where she was resting by the door.


    "I''ll bite." The catgirl said, pursing her lips into a frown. "What is it that you could possibly be so desperate to get your hands on that you need us to find for you?"


    The old witch sighed. "Right to the chase." She huffed. "You''ve no sense for suspense nor dramatics do you?" She said with a scowl.


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    "Well fine then." The witch said, irritably. "We can jump right to it."


    With a snap of her fingers, the hearth lit up, a warm crackling fire kicked to life from nothing and burned brightly. The witch seemed to reach into the fire itself and pulled out a small dancing flame that fluttered on her palm. The flame shifted in her hand until it took on the form of a handsome man in armor and a cloak.


    "One of the Demon Lord''s four generals has decided to pay my swamp a visit, you see." The hag started to explain. "They wanted my help to find that sword before you could, but when I wouldn''t they took something from me." She said, scowling.


    This made Mau arch a brow.


    "You wouldn''t help them?" She asked, a little suspicious.


    "Oh don''t give me that tone." Spetti snapped. "I have ethics and morals too, you know." She huffed indignantly.


    "It''s because I wouldn''t help them that they took something from me, something very important and special." The hag continued to explain, bobbing her head. Her moth bobbed on its perch as though to emphasize its master''s words.


    The smug looking bastard in the fire flashed a sharp-toothed grin as he twirled once and performed an elegant bow.


    "This is that general. His name is Enma, and he isn''t at all what he seems at first glance. Though what he really is; even I couldn''t tell with my witch''s sight." She grumbled.


    Mau nodded, Suvdaa frowned. Andy leaned towards the witch as though asking for more ear scritches.


    She was a little too busy to scratch his ears anymore though as she snuffed out the flame in her hand.


    "So what did he take that''s so precious to you?" Mau pressed.


    "My family." The hag snapped. "He took my only family member and has them held hostage at his camp. I could storm it all I wanted by myself and kill his men and his orcs and his goblins, but he''d just kill them in front of me to torment me." She sighed.


    "So." Mau said. "Let me get this straight... You wouldn''t help the Demon Lord''s general... He kidnapped your family member... And if we get them back, you''ll tell us where the sword is?"


    It sounded so simple. There had to be a catch of some kind. And yet even if there was, a hag''s word was ironclad. The witch would be bound to owe the party a favor if they pulled off a daring rescue. There was just the question of finding out where the general''s base of operations was located, scouting it out to see what kind of forces he was commanding, and then going from there. Possibilities ran through Mau''s head, though she immediately tossed out the idea of brute forcing a battle.


    Storming the place would likely end with the hostage being killed. If Mau and her party weren''t killed themselves or captured in the process.


    Stealth was probably their best bet, out of any option they had. Mau knew she could rely on Suvdaa in that case, but she cast a look towards the acolyte in their party and made a face.


    "Alright." She finally decided. Considering that killing the Demon Lord''s general was already on Mau''s list of thing''s to do, ridding the swamp of some of the bastard''s forces would just be a bonus, and if they could rescue the hag''s family, then she would tell them where the sword was... Logically speaking, Mau was the one coming out on top from this deal, even if the hag was pointedly leaving details out.


    She had dealt with hags in prior lives before and never once would she have dared make a deal with one until now.


    Mau stuck her hand out.


    "We''ll do it. I''ll kill Enma, rid the swamp of his forces, and rescue whoever it is you want rescued. But once I do that you tell me where the sword is, no ands, no ifs, no buts, no hemming and no hawing." She said firmly.


    For a moment; for just a beat, the hag seemed taken aback at such a quick acceptance of a deal. But with a leering grin she took Mau''s hand in hers, clasping it gently in her wrinkly, clawed, fingers.


    "Then we have a bargain..." She said jovially, as Mau could feel the tingle of magic run up her arm as the witch casted a compulsion spell.


    "Bring back my loved one. Take as much time as you need. But if they die, I want you to know that you will die, as that will be breaking your word to me~. If you leave my swamp, you''ll die, as that will be breaking your word to me~. And if, for any reason you go back on our deal, you''ll die, as that will be breaking your word to me~." She said, invoking the law of Three upon the magics she wove into the rules she gave Mau.


    Mau shook the tingle from her arm when the hag released her hand.


    A moment of tense silence hung in the air as. Mau and the hag stared one another down. Suvdaa frowned and Andy was no longer wagging as he now realized the severity of the situation.


    Mau had just struck a deal with a swamp hag.


    "So." Mau eventually spoke. "Where are they keeping this loved one of yours?"


    <h2>?</h2>


    "Was that a good idea?" Andy asked as the trio stepped out of the chicken-legged hut and into the humid stink of the swamp once again.


    "It''s the best option we have." Mau said matter of factly as she covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. "Honestly, all things considered, it''s a win-win for us." She pointed out.


    "A win-win?" Andy frowned, "But Mau you''re gonna die if you leave the swamp.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Mau replied, waving a hand nonchalant. "See, Andy, the thing is... Killing the Demon Lord''s general was already on my bucket list, and if we rescue someone along the way, that''s just a bonus." She explained, earning a blink from the dogboy.


    "Wait you''re serious about killing an underling of the Demon Lord?" He balked.


    "She is serious." Suvdaa interjected in a tone that said she would brook no backtalk on the matter. Ever since Mau had told her the whole truth, the raider had been staunchly supportive of the catgirl in her endeavor to rid the world of the Demon Lord''s blight, and the fact that she had finally stopped calling Mau a dumb cat was a pretty nice bonus.


    "So, look. I know that seemed hasty." Mau started to speak. "But killing the general, thinning out his forces in the swamp, and saving some hag''s family isn''t taking us that much off course, and it''s easily the least she could have asked us to do." She said. "Honestly, something was off about her. I''ve run into hags before. They''re usually more... Grandiose in their demands. She was clearly desperate and willing to compromise hard to give us what we wanted while getting what she wanted out of the deal."


    "That is what a desperate hag looks like?" Suvdaa scowled. "I could feel my skin crawling every time she smiled."


    "That sure is what a desperate hag looks like." Mau said nodding, sure of herself as she folded her hands behind her back and stepped into the mire.


    Suvdaa and andy followed suit, and the three started to make their way in the direction of Enma''s camp, none of them any the wiser that the hag''s moth fluttered out of the open window of the hut and followed after them.

 Chapter 20: Guerilla Warfare

    Gruk was a strong orc. He was big. He was tough. He was smart for his kind, he liked to consider himself as cunning as he was brutal. Unlike the other orcs of his tribe, he held a certain belief that intelligence also makes one strong along side brute strength. Though he followed the others in believing in their creator, the darkest of dark lords, Dommon, god of destruction, unlike the other orc he did not believe in superstition. ... Until members of his clan began to recently go missing, anyway.


    Gruk thought there was always a reasonable explanation for everything in the world, and he liked to believe that he was a very forward thinking orc to not be scared by noises in the night that his clan mates attributed to ghosts and swamp monsters. He knew that he, his clan, and their great leader Enma were the monsters in the swamp.


    Gruk, however, was not looking forward to the four man patrol he was being sent on to search for the fifteen missing orcs and soldiers that had vanished over the course of the last three weeks. Enma was highly displeased and blamed their vanishing on desertion; he said that if they weren''t found soon, dead or alive, that he would start skinning his own soldiers one by one until someone finally told him where his men were going. The problem with this was that most of the rumors the clan were brewing up were about swamp phantoms and terrible orc-eating monsters coming out of the mists.


    The murky, muddy, water sloshed in Gruk''s boots as he headed up the party of himself, Mulg, Trekk, and Flunk, the four orcs and a small cohort of three annoying as shite little goblins slogged through the mire. In his left hand Gruk held a torch, the guttering flame doing little to alleviate the gloom of the misty swamp. In his right hand he held his trusted short blade, a jagged and chipped sword of orc make; crudely but efficiently crafted and designed to last as long as the life of its wielder. Orcs tend to live short lives, prone to conflict with each other as much as they are with other races. But Gruk wasn''t worried about his future in this moment.


    He was concerned with his present. Specifically, when he turned around and found that the orc that had been guarding the search party rear was nowhere in sight.


    "What the fuck?" Gruk squealed, "Where the fuck''d Flunk go?" his porcine snout wrinkling in frustration and worry- not for his fellow orc, but for himself knowing he would have to explain another ''deserter'' to Enma when they returned to base camp.


    "He was right behind us." Mulg snapped, surly and irritable from all the water in his boots.


    "Gheeeeeeh!" One of the goblins babbled, motioning erratically as it tried to sign something out to the orcs with flailing and wild gestures. Gruk paid the little bastard no mind at first, goblins were about as helpful as they were intelligent, and he did not view the little green snots as intelligent in the least.


    Gruk could feel both his patience and his nerves fraying, and he suspiciously eyed Trekk.


    "Flunk was behind you." Gruk snarled accusingly, tightening the grip on his blade. Trekk immediately picked up on the other orc''s aggression and reached slowly for his sword.


    "And?" Trekk growled. "You think he''d tell me if he was gonna ditch?"


    "That''s exactly what I think." Gruk growled.


    "Calm the fuck down, both of you." Mulg grumbled. "If TWO of us go missing then Enma''s gonna be in an even worse mood than when we left." He pointed out astutely. This made Gruk and Trekk pause briefly, their natural penchant for aggression warring with their desire to keep their hides when they returned to camp, and both of the porcine men slowly lowered their weapons.


    "Let''s backtrack. Gotta find him, or at least some tracks or something." Gruk said. Trekk and Mulg nodded in agreement while one of the goblins continued to jabber at them.


    "Shut the fuck up!" The three snapped at the little snotty runt in unison.


    It was as they turned to face where the goblin was pointing that all three orcs suddenly froze in unison. While they had been busy arguing and debating whether or not to start stabbing one another in the mud, someone... Or something had taken the time to string up Flunk''s corpse from high branch in the gnarled and rotting tree high up behind them.


    "Oh." Gruk said, eyes wide with horror as he watched the blood drip from the gaping wound in the dead orc''s neck.


    "Oh fuck." Mulg whispered in terror as he stared at the savaged corpse hanging from the tree limb.


    "B-by Dommon...!" Trekk squealed as he trembled from the thought that the dead orc had been right behind him when he was quietly murdered and hung by the ankles.


    Whoever had done it must have still been nearby, and the three orcs suddenly found themselves standing back to back to back, self-preservation and paranoia quickly banding the pig-men together into a much more cohesive, if terrified unit.


    One of the goblins choked, an arrow jutting out of its throat, prompting it to fall into the nasty swamp water with a burst of arterial spray.


    The goblins scattered, screeching as they broke from the group and ran off terrified into the murk of the swamp.


    "Where the fuck do you think you''re going?!" Gruk shouted after them.


    He felt Trekk tense against his back, and Mulg shuddered as the three orcs readied themselves for attack.


    With a gurgle, Trekk collapsed to his knees in the swamp sludge, and toppled face forward, red blood staining the bracken green water in a slow bloom of warmth. Gruk and Mulg jerked, watching bewildered as Trekk slowly bled out before their eyes, with no sight of a culprit.


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    "Keep your eyes open. Shout if you see anything!" Gruk hissed to Mulg as they shifted back to back once again.


    "..."


    "Come on, Mulg, just say you''ll shout if you spot anything!" Gruk whimpered.


    "..."


    "... Mulg?"


    Gruk dared to glance over his shoulder and froze, horrified.


    Mulg was dead where he stood, eyes glassy and staring into the mid-distance as he teetered and tottered, stomach cut open, before he finally collapsed into a puddle with a splash.


    Gruk was suddenly so very alone and so very scared.


    Something moved in the corner of his vision, but it was gone by the time his head snapped that way to look. Then it was there again, so close and coming from the opposite direction. He jerked to look that way and it was gone.


    "... Over here..." A whisper came from the mists and he looked that way next with a jolt.


    The pain was sudden and quick; something biting deep into his back. He glanced down to see the crudely made blade of an orcish short sword sticking out of his stomach. Gruk trembled, legs turning to jelly has he slumped to his knees. As everything started to fade a shadowed silhouette stepped in closer from behind him, a hand clutching a razor sharp dagger darted in front of his dimming gaze and quickly opened up his throat.


    Gruk was dead before he could taste the fetid swamp water that filled his mouth when he splashed down.


    <h2>?</h2>


    "Man, did you SEE the look on their fucking faces?" Mau huffed, stifling a giggle with a bloodstained, gloved, hand. "They were pissing themselves terrified, Suvdaa!"


    "You enjoy that a little too much. Are you sure you''re right in the head, Mau?" Suvdaa asked calmly.


    "Look, I happen to really just dislike orcs." Mau said matter of factly. "They smell, they''re dumb, they worship Dommon, and they obey the Demon Lord, that''s all I need to know."


    "Yes, yes, I get it. You hate orcs." Suvdaa replied. "And goblins. And liches and gnolls and-"


    "You stop that. I don''t hate everything in this crapsack fantasy world." Mau grumped indignantly.


    "Okay. Name me one thing you don''t hate." Suvdaa challenged Mau.


    "You." Mau said without missing a beat.


    Andy turned so red nearby that even the tips of his ears were a shade of beet crimson.


    Suvdaa stared in silence for a good long moment before she managed to rally.


    "I walked into that, and that is fair." She acknowledged, grumpily. "But I still think you''re enjoying ''roleplaying as the Predator'' as you put it, way too much."


    "Come on let me have this." Mau said, puffing her cheeks up, "It''s not like we got to have any fun when we fought the Wendigo or the lich." She pointed out.


    "That''s because fighting the wendigo was terrifying." Suvdaa said in in a rare display of revealing her feelings. "These orcs are not only easy pickings, but it''s kind of... Sad and pathetic." She said.


    "I really need you to consider here:" Mau said as she flopped her back against a nearby tree, "I need to entertain myself somehow while battling the Demon Lord''s armies."


    Andy, who had been largely quiet for much of the conversation finally spoke up.


    "But... Should you really enjoy killing so much?"


    Mau paused, the question hitting her a little harder than she had expected it would.


    "I don''t enjoy killing." She said mildly, folding her hands behind her head with a sigh. "But it''s been all I''ve known for so long know that I have to cope somehow." She replied, tone a little sour.


    Andy immediately felt bad for asking and quieted back down as Mau continued.


    "I don''t remember the first time I killed someone." Mau said quietly. "I remember the event, sure. I was scared. My opponent was scared. We struggled and in the heat of the moment we both took a spill. I had gotten lucky and they landed chest-first on my blade in the fall, but... I don''t remember what that person looked like, or sounded like, or smelled like. I don''t remember what they were wearing or even the sound they made when they died. It''s all just one big blur for me of moving from one deadly encounter to the next, and I learned really fast about the unfortunate truth." She muttered.


    "Killing just gets easier the more you do it. And the more you do it, the more you need to live with yourself, your actions, and figure out how to cope with it."


    Suvdaa cleared her throat softly in an attempt to clear the heaviness out of the air.


    "We should probably work faster." Suvdaa said. "It''s been three weeks of killing patrols and we still haven''t cleared out half of that camp''s soldiers."


    Mau stretched lazily, taking the moment to drag her nails down the nearest tree. She didn''t quite have claws, but her nails were still sharp enough to leave small trails down the rough bark as she casually turned the tree into a scratching post while they talked.


    "I agree. We haven''t even figured out where the hell they''re keeping the witch''s special person yet." Mau considered. "I say tonight we try and sneak in and figure out at least that much."


    "Bold." Suvdaa said. "But you haven''t taken into account that one of us can''t sneak to save his life."


    "Who?" Andy asked, perking up curiously.


    Mau and Suvdaa sighed in unison.


    Picking herself up from the ground, Mau dusted off the seat of her pants and arched her back in a stretch. "It''s fine. Andy can hang back while you and I scope the place out."


    Suvdaa nodded in agreement while Andy frowned.


    "So you''re just going to leave me behind?" He huffed and pouted.


    "Can you keep quiet and out of sight?" Suvdaa asked pointedly.


    "... Not as good as the two of you can." He admitted. "Okay, I''ll head back to our camp and keep an eye on things there." He conceded while Mau and Suvdaa gave him each a quick nod and the trio split up to head off in separate directions.


    They had a lot of ground to cover, and knowing that Andy''s stew would be waiting for them when they returned was a fairly nice bonus to learning more about the enemy encampment.


    "Just so you know." Mau said, casually, "That hag''s moth has been following us since we left her hut."


    Suvdaa frowned. "I noticed it too."


    "And you didn''t say anything?" Mau asked, sticking out her tongue.


    "I felt it would have been pointless. It just would have worried Andy, and you probably would have just acted like you didn''t care."


    "I do care." Mau said a little more firmly. "But I''m not really surprised, either." She said. "She''s probably watching us through its eyes to keep track on our progress. Or just watch the show we put on while thinning out the number of orcs in that camp."


    "And why would she want to watch that?" Suvdaa asked.


    Mau shrugged, "Hags are as vicious as they are mysterious; they love a good deal as much as they love some good old fashioned sadism. And considering that the orcs have someone she cares about... She''s likely enjoying the show."


    "Speaking of that..." Suvdaa said.


    "I know." Mau countered. "She never said who we''re rescuing." Mau replied. "Which is the big mystery, isn''t it?"


    Suvdaa nodded.


    "I still think you took that deal too hastily. But if you know what you''re doing, I''m not worried about it. And only you''ll be the one to die if we fail, as far as I know, because I certainly did not make any pact with the hag." Suvdaa said before she took a vaulting leap up into the nearest tree branch. "I''ll scout ahead in case any more patrols decide to come this way. You... Just do whatever, Mau."


    "Yep." Mau said, slogging through ankle deep water. "I''ll just keep LARPing as my favorite movie monster."


    Mau could swear she heard Suvdaa mutter something along the lines of ''what the hell is a movie... And a LARP?'' As she leaped from branch to branch.


    It was still pretty far to get back to the orc encampment and would be dark by the time Mau got there.

 Chapter 21: Tactical Espionage Kitten

    It was late into the evening by the time Mau and Suvdaa reached the orc encampment. The two stopped talking as they emerged within earshot of the posted guards and began communicating solely in hand signals


    ''I go. You stay.'' Mau signed up to the archer in the trees. ''Quiet. Cover me.''


    Suvdaa nodded and signed back, ''Shoot to kill?''


    Mau''s tail flicked and she motioned at it.


    ''On signal.''


    "I am not watching your butt, Mau." Suvdaa hissed down at her, with a frown.


    "What? It''s a nice butt, though! ... Isn''t it?"


    "That''s not what matters, now be quiet!"


    Mau signed the signal for ''fine fine!'' and huffed.


    ''Go.'' Suvdaa replied in sign and shooed Mau onward.


    The basic plan was to have Mau scope out the camp while Suvdaa covered her, long range, from the trees surrounding the base. If Mau could find the location of where the hag''s cherished person was being held then they would move from there.


    It was likely too risky to move them now, but if Mau made it out unscathed and unnoticed, then they could always come back another time and spring the prisoner free, likely with a better formulated plan involving a distraction a lot of dead orcs, and preferably a murdered Demon Lord General.


    Mau crept to the edge of the camp and took cover behind another tree, it was dark save for the light of several torch carrying guards on the periphery, sleepily half-assing their night watch... Save for one orc, smaller than the others by a degree of magnitude. He was wide awake and glancing around himself in a paranoid manner as he wandered a little too far from the edge of the camp.


    Mau found her target.


    The paranoid orc was both the weakest link in the chain of guards and the most alert. It made the most sense to eliminate him and slip through the gap his death would leave behind.


    Mau lowered into a crouch and pointed at the small orc from her cover and flicked her tail.


    Suvdaa made an irritated sound as she readied her bow, lining up the shot and holding her breath until...


    Mau started to wiggle.


    Suvdaa couldn''t help but blink at the sight of the catgirl''s backside shimmying left to right almost excitedly as she readied herself.


    Mau suddenly paused, peering back over her shoulder at the raider.


    ''Taking long.'' She signed one handed, before Suvdaa realized she had been holding both her breath and her shot for a little too long.


    "Ugh!" Suvdaa groused as Mau resumed wiggling her ass. She let her arrow loose.


    The arrow whistled softly through the air before embedding precisely in the orc''s neck. Almost in the same instant the arrow hit the orc, Mau took a long, vaulting, leap through the brush and the darkness. She pounced him to the ground without so much as a sound.


    If the arrow didn''t kill him quickly enough, Mau''s dagger in his ribs finished the job, before she started dragging the lifeless body back into the bushes.


    "Dumb cat..." The raider muttered under her breath as Mau emerged from the brush and started creeping her way towards the camp through the now very wide open hole in the orc guards'' defenses. Suvdaa nocked another arrow to her bow ready for the next signal, if Mau needed cover.


    Mau darted through alleys formed by rows and rows of tents and soon Suvdaa lost sight of her as she slipped deeper into the camp. Mau would be on her own soon enough but Suvdaa kept a wary eye on the encampment.


    Then she saw a cat''s tail sticking up in the distance and sighed.


    She held her breath and readied to take another shot...


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau was certain Suvdaa could still see her give the signal in spite of how far into the camp she had managed to infiltrate. She flicked her tail as she stared intently at the sleeping orc resting outside a large tent with his back to one of the support poles stuck into the ground.


    In the next instant an arrow whipped through the air and the orc gasped quietly. Mau covered his mouth with one hand as he opened his eyes and inserted her dagger into his stomach in a quick series of three stabs. He jerked from the first, jolted at the second, and went limp from the third as she eased him silently to the ground.


    Lifting her head up from another act of porcine murder, Mau quickly glanced left and then right to make sure no one had seen her and that no one was coming as she tugged the dead body into a nearby tent that she had made sure was empty, rolled the corpse into the bedding and tucked him in neatly so that a cursory glance couldn''t tell if the orc was dead, asleep, or dead asleep. And just like that, anyone who found the dead orc would be a problem for Future Mau.


    With the posted guard now very dead and out of the way, Mau silently poked her head into the large tent. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness inside and she made a face as she was rewarded with the sight and stench of slumbering orcs. This wasn''t the tent she was looking for, so she quietly backed up by a step or so and started creeping around it to try the next large tent. There was just a slight problem in the fact that a campfire was standing between her and the next tent, with a pair of orcs sitting by the fire, wide awake. Mau was now deeper in the camp and out of Suvdaa''s effective range, and she would have to give the two a wide berth to get by them. She stuck to the shadows in a low crouch, barely making a sound as she stuck to the periphery of the fire and moved with the flickering shadows.


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    The orcs talked in hushed grumbling tones in the language of their dark lord, Dommonian. They were complaining about the late shift and how they could rather be sleeping than keeping watch. Mau kind of quietly agreed with them. She would rather be napping right now, and had to cover her mouth to stifle a yawn.


    While the two orcs bitching about guard duty complained to themselves, Mau snuck past them without a sound and moved to the back of the tent out of their eye-shot. Using her dagger to cut a hole in the rough fabric of the tarp she spread the cut with her fingers and peeked on in. Normally it would have been too dark to see, but her cats eyes adjusted quickly and soon she could see another tent of snoozing orcs and goblins. She grumbled quietly to herself as she still hadn''t found what she was looking for, but then spotted two wide awake and alert guards manning a much smaller tent. It would be much harder to sneak up on them, but they must have been guarding something important if they were so alert without complaint.


    Mau considered her options. She could try to lure one away and then take them both out one at a time, distract them somehow, or just try and kill the both of them quickly before they raised an alarm.


    The last option would be the trickiest and probably not worth the effort or risk, she considered while eyeing the pair and pursing her lips thoughtfully. Something in the trees barely moved and Mau looked up. There was a fucking bear in the trees. Or at least a girl in a bear cloak, crouched on one of the branches. Suvdaa had shifted position to remain close to Mau. She motioned with her hands.


    Mau shook her head and signed for Suvdaa to hold position and wait for her signal, and that she was still planning out what to do.


    That''s when Mau saw something else. And her eyes widened as she realized that she had struck gold.


    A small wooden crate sat unattended by the sleeping tent, and it had been haphazardly left open. When she peeked inside it and found little more than a few rotten food scraps, the catgirl was soon grinning like the cat that had caught the canary.


    Mau crouched and flipped the crate over on top of herself. It was no cardboard box, but it would have to do, as she softly hummed the theme to an old PlayStation stealth game under her breath.


    Part of her just imagined the bewildered look on Suvdaa''s face as she lifted the crate just enough to make it look like it was walking on two feet and started creeping towards the periphery of the smaller tent using the handle-hole cut into the wood to see where she was going.


    She carefully made her way around to the back of the small tent and set the crate down, crouching inside of it. If anyone saw her they likely thought they were so sleepy that they had been just seeing things, or maybe thought they were already dreaming.


    Mau felt strangely safe inside the crate, like it was some kind of protective bastion where she could just lay down, curl up, and laze for a while. Intellectually she knew that she didn''t have the time to actually do so, but instinctively, the whole ''cat'' part of being a catgirl made her lay down on her side with a big sleepy yawn.


    "No, no, can''t nap here." Mau grumbled, reining herself in with an irritated mutter as she peeked through the hole in the box. She was practically on top of the two guards and they hadn''t seen her approach. They suspected nothing, nor had they even noticed the box on legs getting dangerously close to them.


    This was almost too easy, Mau thought to herself. All the more reason to be patient and stay vigilant, she considered. She waited a good moment, just peeking through the hole in the crate. The guards stood at full alert, waiting for anyone or anything to try and get past them.


    Mau decided that her best bet for getting past the two would be to wait; to see if they began to drift off or lose focus. She was more than fine hunkering down in the box, where she felt cozy and safe. The main issue that worried her was what Suvdaa would do if Mau kept her waiting too long. It was a bit of a conundrum, as the guards didn''t seem to be flagging in the least.


    Mau was still trying to work out the best way to sneak into the tent when footsteps started to approach. And then a voice. She peeked through the hole in the box to see what the commotion was. She was greeted with the sight of the most foppish set of clothes and armor she had ever seen. The bastard''s pants were super tight, and Mau had to strain to see past his waist through the little hole in the box, but his breastplate was inlaid with way too much gold and jewelry, and his cloak was an immaculate bright red. He had a youthful face with mismatched blue and red eyes, and a short cut mop of blond hair with wild bangs and kind a mullet look to him.


    "Ah." Mau breathed quietly as recognition set in, her memory of the dancing flame in the witch''s hut came back as she realized she was staring down one of the Demon Lord''s four heavenly kings; Enma.


    "No sign of trouble, I take it?" He asked in a way too joyous and lilting voice, like he was trying to fake being happy and playful at the same time.


    The orc pair stood at full attention as their superior addressed them, and one nodded.


    "Not a thing, sir." The pig-man replied in a gruff tone. "The prisoner hasn''t moved an inch since we caught ''em. ... It''s sort of... Worrying."


    "Aye." The other pig-man mumbled, "The muttering is kind of spooky, sir."


    "Well..." Enma began to speak, brightly. "The wards we have on the cage should ensure they don''t pull any nasty tricks or try to escape on us... You''re perfectly safe here on guard duty~." Enma replied way too vibrantly. "So you needn''t worry about a thing!"


    The orc pair nodded, exchanging a glance with one another briefly before one spoke up.


    "Sir, iffin'' we might ask... Do you really think the witch will do what we want?" One guard asked hesitantly.


    "I know, I know." Enma said, "I''m just as ready to leave this horrible swamp as you are... But until the hag gives in and gives us the location of the sword, we will not be leaving. But considering the... Leverage we have on her? I''m sure it won''t be much longer~."


    Mau groused quietly under her breath. The Demon Lord wouldn''t be above cheating as soon as he found out the location of the hero''s blade. Mau wasn''t too pleased about the idea of having to fight through who knows how many monsters to get to her blade, if they managed to get the information before she did.


    Briefly, she considered jumping out from under the box, catching the General by surprise, and lopping his head clean off. It would be an easy elimination of a major obstacle in her path, and she was sure Suvdaa could shoot out a path for her once she started running. But that didn''t solve the issue of rescuing the prisoner.


    Mau decided to wait a bit longer as Enma turned away to start walking away from the posted guards, before he glanced over his shoulder.


    "Oh and by the way..." He mused, mismatched eyes settling right on Mau''s hiding space.


    "Do either of you smell something?"


    Mau froze, breath hanging in her throat. Did he somehow manage to pick her up by scent? It was already obvious to her that Enma was likely not human, just like Thanatos wasn''t alive, but in his garishly dressed human form.


    Fuck fuck fuck Mau thought in a litany of irritation at the thought of being caught, but then Enma covered his nose.


    "I''m ordering the both of you to take a bath immediately after your shift." He said with a scowl as he turned and began to walk away once again.


    Breathing in a sigh of relief, Mau flopped down on the loamy ground beneath the crate and paused to sniff herself.


    She could use an honest to goodness bath, but she wasn''t that rank.


    "... Well fuck that guy, I guess." She muttered as she decided discretion was now the best option for the moment, and when the guards had their backs turned, lifted the crate just enough to start moseying to the edge of the encampment and make her escape.

 Chapter 22: Hatching A Plan

    Mau, Suvdaa, and Andy''s camp was well hidden. Tucked away under the roots of an absolutely massive tree, the trio had dug themselves a nice little resting place into the dryer earth under the tree in a few small tunnels that Andy had so handily dug out for them. It had taken him about a day''s time to do so, but the result was a comfortable, dry, place away from the rest of the nastiness of the swamp.


    Mau yawned as she made her way back to the big tree in the darkness and rubbed at her eyes sleepily. She could use a cat-nap but first she wanted a taste of the stew that she could smell simmering over the nasty methane stink of the swamp gasses that pervaded all around her. She plopped down by the embers of the fire that Andy and Suvdaa had started, and set down the crate that she had been lugging with her the whole way through the swamp.


    Suvdaa frowned from her spot where she had been keeping watch up in the tree''s branches and slowly clambered down to meet Mau.


    "Yo." Mau said.


    "Welcome back." Suvdaa replied as Andy poked his head out from under a nearby tree root and rubbed at his eyes sleepily.


    "Oh hey, Mau." He said, before a heavy silence fell over the trio. Suvdaa and Andy were eyeing the crate dubiously.


    "So..." Andy said, sounding just as bewildered as he looked.


    "Mau. Why did you bring an empty crate back with you?" Suvdaa asked point blank while Mau slowly climbed into the upturned box. "Did you even bother to cover your tracks?"


    With her chin resting on the lip of the crate Mau flashed an impish little grin.


    "If I fits, I sits." The catgirl replied cheekily. "And of course I covered my tracks, it''s no big deal."


    Suvdaa and Andy stared in dumbfounded shock that lasted for a solid minute.


    Suvdaa eventually broke the quiet, clearing her throat. "Well, will you at least tell us what you learned?"


    Mau''s tail flicked over the lip of the box as she nodded her head.


    "The camp is pretty heavily populated, but manned by a skeleton crew of watchmen at night. Though they have beefed up their patrols and watches since we started our game of Predator, if we''re quiet and careful we can still sneak by them pretty easily. Almost kind of too easily really." Mau considered thoughtfully as she rubbed her chin.


    "Anyway I found where they''re keeping their prisoner, there''s just one huge problem in all this." She said.


    "The Demon Lord''s General?" Andy hazarded a guess. Mau nodded.


    "It''s like the guy never sleeps or something. Getting him alone is probably going to be impossible, too. Plus there''s the fact that I have no idea what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve. I''m like one hundred percent sure he''s not human, though."


    "And what makes you say that?" Suvdaa asked.


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    "Well," Mau said, pursing her lips. "He looks human... But he doesn''t smell human. I got a little whiff of him when he got too close to my hiding spot. And I mean he got close. Pretty sure he smelled me right back, but didn''t notice over the overpowering smell of orc musk in his face."


    "As long as he''s not another lich..." Andy huffed, hugging his knees to his chest. "I''ve had enough undead for a while."


    "He didn''t smell like death." Mau said, "Just like something... Wild and dangerous."


    Andy and Suvdaa nodded as Mau slowly climbed out of the box and plopped herself to sit on the loamy earth. She picked up a twig from nearby and began to draw out a basic map of the enemy camp.


    "So they have our mystery hostage here." Mau pointed out an x that she drew close to the center of the drawing. "Enma''s tent is probably close by, but I didn''t want to get caught so I didn''t make it my life''s mission to chase him down last night. We can probably sneak in, in the next night or so and quietly rescue our mystery friend and make the witch happy at least."


    "Wasn''t one of the stipulations of the deal you made with the hag to kill the Demon Lord General, though?" Andy asked.


    Mau nodded. "Yep, but we''re gonna deal with one thing at a time. First we spring the prisoner. We''ll deal with Enma after that."


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau hummed quietly to herself as she wiped another orc''s blood off her shortsword and rolled the body into the murky swamp water. The corpse''s armor made him sink out of sight into the noxiou, green, algae infested waters, and something very large and probably very hungry stirred under the surface shortly after, so Mau wasn''t all that worried about leaving any evidence behind.


    Right up until whatever it was belched and spat up a crumpled mass of chain and plates out of the water.


    "Huh." Mau mused. "Well I guess you don''t have an iron deficiency."


    It had been growing dark again when the patrol bumbled their way right into the middle of the party''s camp. They didn''t stand much of a chance thanks to the traps Mau and Suvdaa had so intricately spread around their sleeping tree. Mau reached into the depths of a shallow, spike-lined pit and scruffed a dead goblin.


    "Guess you''re having a feast tonight, though." She muttered and tossed it into the water next.


    Suvdaa was busy tugging an arrow from a gap in another dead orc''s armor while Andy poked at the still twitching corpse of an orc pinned to a nearby tree, whose head had been bashed in by a hefty rock on a hand-woven rope


    "We''re going to have to move our camp." Suvdaa said, irritably. "If they realize another patrol was lost this way they''re bound to figure out where we are in no time."


    "Yep." Mau agreed casually and stretched her arms over her head with a lazy noise, "I''m gonna miss this big tree. Oh well. Guess it''s time we took the fight to them. How about we go tonight?"


    Suvdaa spent a beat in thought before she dipped her head in a nod.


    "Now is as good as ever." The raider agreed.


    "I''ll find a new place to hide." Andy huffed. But then Mau shook her head.


    "Nah, you''re coming with us tonight. We''re gonna need your healing in case the prisoner''s in bad shape. Knowing how orcs and Demon Generals tend to their guests... They''ll probably need the help." The catgirl said.


    That was when a loud cackle interrupted the trio''s discussion. Mau''s ears twitched, Suvdaa nocked an arrow to her bowstring and Andy held his staff up defensively as the three looked up to the sight of the gigantic moth alighting upon a branch over their heads.


    "Making good on our deal yet?" The voice of the hag, Spetti, resounded from the moth as it twitched its antennae and gave a lazy flutter of wings on its perch. "I know you''ve certainly been having a lot of fun with those patrols." She crooned.


    "You''ll be happy to know that tonight is as good a night as any." The moth said in the hag''s voice.


    Mau cocked a brow.


    "Oh?" She pressed the witch to explain.


    "The orcs all just left their camp. Nary a one left behind to so much as watch over their captive. ... You''ll rescue them for me, yes? Oh I hope you do; that is what you promised, after all. Kehehehehee!" With one final screech of laughter the moth lifted off the branch and flitted away into the darkness in the direction of the orc encampment.


    "Well that''s fucking ominous." Mau said.


    "You think?" Suvdaa huffed as she lowered her bow.

 Chapter 23: No Plan Survives First Contact

    By the time the three had made it to the orc encampment it was nearly pitch black. The torches and campfires illuminated the tents in a hazy flickering orange glow that stung at the eyes and only highlighted how empty the camp felt when the trio arrived.


    "... I don''t like that." Mau muttered at the lack of posted guards and the complete lack of noise.


    "This has trap written all over it." Suvdaa agreed.


    "So what are we going to do?" Andy asked as he peered over their shoulders to get a look at the campsite.


    Mau rubbed her chin and considered the situation for a beat as she plopped to sit on her bottom and crossed her legs.


    "We could give them what they want. Spring the trap."


    Suvdaa eyed Mau dubiously.


    "I am not walking into a trap." The raider said matter of factly.


    "That''s fine." Mau said, "I''ll sneak in again, just cover me like last time."


    "There''s... Not really anything to sneak past, though." Andy said, tone equally hesitant and suspicious as Suvdaa.


    "That''s not the problem here." Mau said, batting at Andy''s tail. "What has me wondering is... Just what the hell did our hag friend do to make the orcs spook enough to ditch their camp. Because there''s no way in hell they''d just up and leave without a good reason."


    Mau picked herself up off the ground and dusted off her backside before drawing her short blade and a dagger. "Screw it, I''m going in." She decided.


    "Fine, I''ll watch your back, Andy find a place to keep low." Suvdaa said.


    With an irritable huff, Suvdaa clambered up the nearest tree to take up position to watch out for Mau while Andy shoved himself into a nearby convenient tangle of brush and roots. His tail stuck out like a sore thumb and both Mau and Suvdaa sighed quietly.


    Mau grabbed Andy''s tail and shoved it into the brush to help him along, earning a muffled ''Thanks!'' from the bush before she lowered into a crouch and started in the direction of the supposedly empty encampment.


    Creeping quieter than a mouse, Mau edged her way up to the first series of tents outlining the edge of the encampment. There were signs that, up until very recently the orcs had been manning their posts. And judging from the weapons, armor, and clothes strewn about the camp, the orcs had left in a huge rush. Mau didn''t trust the situation in the least, everything was in disarray and something about it was very off and very wrong, but here she was sneaking into the encampment again feeling more naked than a jaybird for reasons she couldn''t put her finger on.


    Still, it was worth looking into, at the very least. If Mau was really lucky, the orcs might have even left their mystery captive behind, which would make her life all the easier when returning to the hag.


    Stepping over spilled bowls of the nastiest smelling stew Mau had ever caught a whiff of, as she passed an overturned cauldron, she had to pause. Struggling to not retch, Mau managed to keep her gorge down and continued sneaking deeper into the rows of tents.


    Something slithered in the pool of murky water at the edge of the camp and Mau went stock still. She eyed the water dubiously and tightened her grip on the blades in her grasp before taking a slow breath and moseying on.


    Try as she might to find some sign of life in the campsite, it was well and truly deserted, save for the sight of the hag''s pet moth alighting atop one of the empty tents. It twitched its antennae and Mau held a finger up to her lips to cut off any potential cackling that could give her away.


    With a soft, hissing, gurgle of the hag''s laughter, the moth lifted off and began flitting from tent to tent, following Mau on her course to the tent where the prisoner had been kept. Slowly she reached for the tent flap, fingers tugging it aside...


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    "I wouldn''t do that, were I you." The hag''s moth piped up. Mau went stone still once again for a beat before peering up at the moth where it had landed atop the prisoner''s tent.


    Mau peered up at the moth and cocked a brow.


    "You are really sending some mixed messages here and it''s not helping, you know that right?" Mau replied blandly. "First you tell me the camp''s empty, and now that I have the perfect opportunity to spring your special friend... I shouldn''t?"


    Slowly the moth croaked with laughter in the hag''s voice.


    "The orcs are gone..." The moth pointed out. "Buuuuuuut."


    "Ah." Mau said, realization dawning on her.


    The Demon Lord''s General was still somewhere close by.


    The soft whistle of an arrow tearing through the air made Mau''s ears twitch, and she ducked a swipe that would have taken her head off with contemptuous ease and speed of reflexes. When she whirled around to face her assailant, Enma was standing there, looming over her, a sword in his hand.


    Slowly he pulled Suvdaa''s arrow from where his neck and shoulder joined and snapped the arrow in his hand as he eyed Mau with cold, distant, and mirthless mismatched red-blue eyes.


    "So that''s what I smelled, before." He said, tone as cold as ice. "A catgirl... And a little gnat that tried to sting me."


    "I don''t think she''d take kindly to being called a gnat." Mau replied, "That girl''s a firecracker."


    In an instant blades clashed, Enma lashed out with a speed and ferocity that would have caught anyone else off guard, but Mau replied in kind, and with lightning quick reflexes she nimbly deflected and rolled aside from another blow that would have cleaved her in half.


    The resounding clang of steel on steel rang out through the swamp as Mau parried with her short blade and took several swipes and stabs with her dagger that were just as easily batted away.


    "So what happened to all your guys?" She couldn''t help but ask while testing Enma''s defenses, bantering lazily amid the deadly swipes she exchanged with the Demon Lord General.


    With a growl, Enma replied with a flurry of slashes. His speed and force weren''t human, but Mau''s skill allowed her to easily evade and parry each stroke in a manner that was rapidly annoying her foe.


    "You happened!" He snapped back amid a powerful slash, sword whistling as it cut the empty air where Mau had been a split second before.


    "Funny." Mau mused while twirling away; "I don''t remember killing all these guys. Just a lot of them, but definitely not all of them."


    "You didn''t have to." Enma growled, stabbing at Mau in a series of rapid fire thrusts that she nimbly deflected. "If you''re the one that''s been murdering my patrols and leaving them strung up and strewn around the swamps, your little game of guerilla warfare had such a profound enough effect to make my men break. Do you know what orcs and goblins do when their morale breaks?" He snapped.


    "Yeah they run as fast and far away as they can." Mau replied sagely as she swept her blades low to try and gash the young-looking General''s legs. He jumped the blow and promptly came down into Mau''s trap. No sooner than he landed her boot impacted with his stomach and chest in stunning force sending him staggering backwards.


    "Guh!" He growled as he toppled onto his ass. Mau opted to let him get back up rather than press her attack. From their initial exchange she had already figured out that he wasn''t anywhere as close to her level of blade mastery as she planted her hands on her knees and peered down at him.


    "You okay down there?" She asked blandly. "I can wait, I have all day."


    "Don''t mock me!" Enma snapped back as he flung himself to his feet, muck-stained cape flapping limp and damp behind him.


    "Nah." Mau said in a lazy tone. "I think I''ll mock you. It''s more fun for me that way." She replied while standing herself straight and taking on a ready stance.


    He lunged and she parried the attack so deftly that he toppled forward, face first into the swampy earth with a sad splat.


    "H-how dare you make fun of me like this?!" Enma stammered as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. Mau casually booted him in the ass with a swift kick.


    "How would you like me to make fun of you? I take requests." She said tone tired and dry.


    Enma grunted as the kick sent him sprawling, but then he growled. He had clearly had enough of Mau simply toying with him the way she was.


    "That''s enough!" He snarled, scrambling to his feet. Before Mau could cattishly retort, Enma tossed his sword aside. With a growl he hunched forward and curled his lips, revealing massive buck teeth as his neck began to elongate before her eyes.


    "Oh okay, I see we''re revealing our true form, then. Well I''m just a catgirl." She said as Enma continued to transform before her eyes. Two spindly-thin antennae sprouted from Enma''s brow as his luxurious hair fell away. It was as his skin started to turn a deep shade of emerald green that Mau took a step back as the man doubled and then tripled in size. Most of his body was a wiry thin neck in length now, but then the rest of his body began to shift as his shoulders broadened and his chest took on barrel-like proportions, widening and thickening until he was roughly the size of a small bus, feathery clawed fingers scrabbled at the ground as massive webbed wings ripped from the beast''s shoulders.


    "Uh. ... Huh..." Mau muttered, head slowly craning back to stare up at the thing as skin turned to scales as hard as steel and the transformation completed with a whip-like tail and long gangly clawed legs.


    "I''M GOING TO EAT YOU NOW." Enma screeched, mismatched eyes smoldering like fire as Mau pursed her lips and looked at the very ordinary steel blade in her hand.


    "I knew I should have invested in at least an adamantine sword." Mau sighed.

 Chapter 24: Frabjous Day

    Right about then an arrow whipped through the air and bounced off the beast''s steely hide. Suvdaa had up until now let Mau have her fun, playing around with the Demon Lord General, but the man''s transformation into a monster was about the moment where she had enough and figured Mau probably had bitten off more than she could chew.


    Suvdaa was, apparently, right when Mau wheeled around on her heels and broke out into a full tilt sprint away from the beast as it burbled and charged after her, smashing aside abandoned tents in its wake.


    "What IS that?" Andy whispered in shocked awe.


    "I don''t know." Suvdaa hissed down at him as she nocked another arrow to her bow and took aim.


    Almost as though on cue, Mau''s cry of "MOTHER-GALUMPHING JABBERWOCK!" answered the both of them.


    Mau ran as though her very life depended on it, whipping around every now and then to slash at the air with her sword, a wave of fire, shards of jagged ice, or a slashing barrage of cutting winds from her sword buffeted the beast, but it simply shrugged them off as though all the magic in the world couldn''t harm it.


    "Should we... Help her?" Andy murmured watching the almost comical display of Mau flailing as she ran at top speed while the jabberwocky tore up the camp behind her.


    "I am trying Suvdaa replied as she let loose her arrow. This shot struck true, streaking through the air on a course for the beast''s eye, it... Bounced off harmlessly as the monster blinked.


    Snuffling at the air, the manxome creature turned its attention from Mau and looked straight at the tree that Suvdaa was in.


    "Shit." The raider said and dropped from her high perch as the creature snapped its whip-like neck towards Suvdaa''s tree and spat a green glob of something viscous and foul-smelling through the air. The deadly loogie splattered the tree with a wet plop and was quickly followed by a nasty hiss as the acidic spit started to eat through the bark where Suvdaa had been, seconds before.


    The soft hiss and sizzle of flesh made Andy yelp as Suvdaa hit the ground hard with a pained grunt, clutching her shoulder, where a splatter of the noxious spit splattered off the tree branch and hit her.


    "Fuck." She hissed, clenching her teeth and doing her best to not touch the hot slime that was eating through her skin. Andy bounded free from hiding, heedless of the possible danger and rushed to Suvdaa''s side.


    "Don''t touch it," He warned. "Let me."


    Hovering his palm inches over the searing spit and Suvdaa''s angry reddened skin, he started a hasty prayer, imploring Galatea to heal his companion.


    "Neutralize!" Andy whispered, a faint glow of light from his fingers suffused into the slime and Suvdaa''s arm, ending the acidic corrosion of her flesh and soothing the wound at the same time.


    Beyond spitting up the nasty acid blast, the creature paid Suvdaa no further attention and seemed to be completely clueless to Andy''s presence, as it resumed chasing Mau through the shattered remnants of the camp.


    Mau zig-zagged, dodging acid spit and the whip-crack of the Jabberwocky''s neck as it tried to snap her in half with buck teeth the size of swords. Mau knew she was in for some trouble; Jabberwocky were creatures that were notoriously resistant to both magic and physical attacks from mundane weapons.


    Mau tumbled under a tall-standing tree root, rolling expertly under the thick trunk and power-slid her way out the other side, forcing the beast to slow down as it had to go around the tree to get at her, buying her some measure of distance.


    "Flame lash!" Mau snapped as she swung her blade behind her, a whip-stream of fire lashing out from the tip of her sword to splatter aside another gob of acid spit. Enma was fast. His neck cracked like a whip as he snapped those buck teeth at her again, but Mau was faster as she held her free hand out.


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    The flare of dazzlingly bright light that erupted from her fingers flashed right in the Jabberwock''s face. Enma screeched, shrill and inhuman as Mau slid under his head and bashed her sword into his neck. Unfortunately his hide was too thick to even be nicked without an enchanted blade, but Mau was working to buy herself time more than anything.


    Another arrow darted through the air, and this time it struck true, hitting the beast in its blinded eye, Enma howled in pain and rage as he worked to claw the shaft free of his eye, bellowing indignantly the whole while.


    "Do you really think you can kill me, little cat?" Enma growled as he plucked the arrow free with a splatter of blood as his wounded eye regenerated while Mau watched. However she wasn''t simply going to stand still while that eye fixed itself.


    "Well." Mau replied as she took a vaulting leap, "That is kind of the plan."


    In the instant that Enma''s eyes had recovered he had not expected his prey to come lunging at him. Caught off guard, the beast reeled back as Mau jammed her short sword into his other eye as he tried to snap at her on reflex.


    Blinded, wounded, and in agony, the beast snarled, lashing and flailing his neck and limbs in a vain attempt to try and catch the catgirl as she rolled away from him and sprinted for the last remaining tent standing; the tent where Enma had been holding his prisoner.


    Mau flung the tent flap open and stepped inside, eyes rapidly adjusting to the darkness of the unlit tent.


    "Well... I was wondering what all the commotion was, going on outside, dearie."


    There was an old woman standing there, within a cage made of iron bars.


    Mau balked, because even with a glamour enchantment, she could see right through it and recognized who she was staring down.


    "... Hag Spetti?" Mau said, head tilting to an angle, bewildered.


    The old woman in the cage blinked owlishly at the catgirl before frowning.


    "I don''t think we''ve had the pleasure, dearie." The old woman chuckled. "Buuuuut we''re both in a bit of a pickle now aren''t we?" She pointed out.


    Enma howled outside. He wasn''t going to remain blinded for much longer and Mau knew it as she glanced over her shoulder.


    That was when the old woman reached through the bars of her cage, very careful not to come in contact with the iron, and gently touched Mau''s longsword.


    The sword hummed to life in Mau''s hand and she instantly knew what the woman had done, as she glanced down at her now enchanted blade.


    "Oh, hey, thanks. I kind of needed that." Mau said. "Look, so I was originally just gonna spring you out and run back to the Baba Yaga ripoff hut, but now I''m gonna go kill this guy, then I''ll get you out of that cage, sound good?"


    The old woman smiled sweetly.


    "By all means, dearie."


    Before the conversation could continue any further the tent flaps ripped way violently.


    "What do you think you''re doing in there, little kitten?" Enma snarled.


    Only for his look of triumph to turn into a screech of dismay as Mau''s blade went ''snicker-snack''!


    In that instant the entire flow of battle shifted in Mau''s favor. No longer was she on the defensive, forced to dodge and flee. Enma cried out in pain and terror as he recognized the weapon that was now his bane, the vorpal enchanted sword glimmering in Mau''s hand, dripping blood from the open wound that now decorated his face.


    The Jabberwock backed way hurriedly and Mau advanced, storming towards her prey as it flapped its wings to try and get away, rearing back to keep his neck as far out of reach of that glimmering blade.


    "Stay back!" Enma howled. Mau ignored his cry as she darted in under his neck and hacked into his torso, the sword in her hand once more snicker-snack-ing through the air as it struck true and opened a new wound in that formerly impenetrable hide, blood gushing freely from the neat cut as though Mau''s sword was a three foot long razor.


    Enma feebly swiped at the catgirl with his massive claws, but she was too fast and he was too injured to catch her. Though his wounds were mending, the enchanted sword had dealt him a grievous amount of pain that addled his mind and slowed him down.


    She was coming for him.


    He wouldn''t be able to do anything about it, as her eyes gleamed with cold malice.


    One last time the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! ... And separated Enma''s head neatly from the long length of his neck.


    "G-gggghhhaaaaaahhh!" The beast let out a final cry, strangled as the sword hewed through scale, muscle, and bone with contemptuous ease. His neck flailed and wings flapped as his body twitched in the last throes of slowly beginning to understand that it was dying...


    "She left him dead, and with his head, Mau went galumphing back~." Mau chuffed, pleased with her handiwork as she embedded the point of her blood-slicked sword into the loamy earth as Andy clambered out from hiding and Suvdaa dropped out from another tree.


    "... Okay so where did you get a vorpal sword from?" Andy asked, incredulous.


    "A what sword?" Suvdaa asked, clueless.


    Mau jerked her thumb at the tent behind her.


    "The old lady in the cage." She said as though that explained everything.


    It explained nothing.

 Chapter 25: The Witches, The Cat, and The Holy Blade

    A day later, Mau, Suvdaa, and Andy reconvened at the hag''s chicken-legged, Baba Yaga ripoff, hut. It felt pretty nice to enter the door and have the muck and grime and swamp slime instantly cleaned from their bodies and clothes. And the cool temperature of the hut was much more preferable than the humid stink of the swamp outside.


    "So." Mau said as she stared down the identical pair of old women. They were both hunched at the shoulders and even wearing the same tattered, sodden, black robes. They even both flashed her the same snaggletoothed smile. One of them, however, was gently stroking the gigantic moth that was perched and resting on her shoulder.


    "One of you is Hag Spetti. One of you isn''t." Mau said, point blank. "-- And I swear if you start up with the whole ''one of us only tells the truth and the other only tells lies'' bit, someone is gonna die, because I already feel like I''ve been lied to."


    Both hags chuckled in the same identical voice before the one without the moth shot her apparent twin a look. This silenced the moth-perched hag, an immediate sheepish look crossing her craggy features.


    "I''ve been told everything." The moth-less hag said. "Every last little detail; from how hard you''ve been working to free me from my confinement down to the minute details of the little deal you made." She said.


    "I know you''re looking for a certain divine blade made by the gods. And I know my... Doppelganger here promised to tell you where to find if, if you rescued me from my little stint in an iron cage." The new hag said slowly.


    "Yep." Mau confirmed. "Binding and contractual deals were made. Up to and including my death if we didn''t come through on our end of the bargain. And we carried out our end of the bargain." She said dryly.


    Both witches nodded in unison.


    "So you did..." The hag with the pet moth said, giving her familiar one last stroke.


    "And?" Mau prompted.


    "And a deal is a deal." The mothless hag conceded for her twin. "But first my child should apologize for deceiving you." She said, prodding the other hag in the side with her finger.


    A very un-hag-like squeak was the second witch''s response, at first, as a sheepish look of embarrassment fluttered across her expression.


    That was when the hag was no longer a hag. Crinkled features shifted, smoothing out, her wrinkles vanished and silvery-grey hair darkened, growing in length until it reached almost the floor. Though she remained clad in the same tattered black robes as the other witch, her figure slimmed down, significantly, face taking on much more androgynous features while their chest flattened. Their skin was as pale as the moon on a clear night and they stared at Mau with cool but dangerously sharp golden eyes.


    "I''d like you all to meet my child, Penne." The true hag Spetti chortled.


    "You mean we were haggling with a hagling?" Andy blurted.


    "Apparently not just a hagling. But an impasta." Mau said, without so much as a twitch of her face.


    Everyone grimaced.


    Penne cleared their throat awkwardly before speaking in a soft tone.


    "I really am sorry about deceiving you." They said, eyes turning downcast. "I was at the end of my wits and had no other options left. I couldn''t rescue my mother on my own and needed your help, but... I didn''t think you would help me if I didn''t have a carrot to go with the stick."


    "So you told us you knew where the sword was- when the real knowledge was with the true hag." Mau surmised.


    Penne nodded, silent as their moth nuzzled at their pale cheek.


    "Well," Mau said, stretching her arms lazily over her head, tail flicking behind her. "We handled the problem in the end and rescued someone, so we handled our side of the bargain." She pointed out.


    Both the true hag Spetti and Penne nodded simultaneously in agreement.


    "Yes, indeed." Spetti said. "Which is why we''ll be keeping our end of the bargain."


    Turning to the fireplace, Spetti snapped her fingers and a spark grew into a full force fire in the hearth in an instant, and she reached into the flames.


    Pulling her hand free without so much as a burn on her gnarled skin, she lifted out a small flicker of fire that danced in her fingers. Then she tossed the flame into the air.


    In a burst of warmth the fire changed colors, vivid greens and yellows and blues flickering in the air as the flames spread to form a rough map of the continent that Mau and her party were currently on.


    Mau could make out the Giant''s Steps mountains, the deadly frozen north beyond them. She could see the great tree of Dorn, the lush green fields where her hometown of Middleston was located, and the dire swamps that they were currently somewhere in the middle of on the map of fire.


    "You''re here right now, dearie." Spetti said as a point on the map in the middle of the swamps grew white hot. She watched as she felt the hut pick itself up on its chicken legs and start to move at a rapid clip; and the point on the map started to move in time with it.


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    "The sword you seek is here..." Penne said, gesturing at the map and causing a second point of white hot fire to flicker to life, tucked nestled in the northeastern corner of the Giant''s Steps, on the outer side of the mountain range, just on the border to the deadly wastes of the frozen north.


    "A small town- the last one, in fact before the wastelands of the north. They''re having a bit of a problem with monsters gathering in their local mines... You should look into it." The hag said with a creaky chuckle.


    Mau cocked her brow.


    "So you''re saying the sword is somewhere in the mines."


    It wasn''t a question, the hag made an annoyed face, and Penne cringed.


    "I''m saying you might find something nice there, yes."


    "I get that." Mau replied tiredly. "I''m just tired of the whole cryptic song and dance."


    "Oh you''re no fun, dearie. Yes the sword is in the mines somewhere." Spetti confirmed. "And as you made the whole ordeal with the orcs so entertaining... We will even deliver you to the edge of the swamp closest to your destination. You can rest here for the day." The old witch said graciously.


    Mau nodded.


    "I can appreciate that, thanks." She said as she glanced over her shoulder.


    Andy was already sticking his head out the moving hut''s window, jaw slack and tongue lolled out excitedly...


    It wasn''t until around noon of the next day that the hut finally slowed to a halt.


    "This is your stop, dearies." The hag said gently.


    Mau''s ears twitched as she slowly cracked open an eye from where she had been resting her head on Suvdaa''s lap, on a tattered sofa. She felt a warmth around her ankles and glanced down to where she could see Andy curled up at her and Suvdaa''s feet.


    The hut had come to a stop sometime while they had drifted off, and the trio had been so exhausted that they slept well past the morning.


    Mau slowly sat herself up and stretched her arms over her head, tail giving a lazy flick as she popped her spine.


    "Already?" Mau asked amid a mighty yawn as she lightly pawed at Suvdaa to wake her up and tickled Andy''s nose with the tip of her tail.


    "Yes, we''ve reached the edge of the swamp." Penne said, peeking in from the hut''s other room where they had retreated to rest with Spetti for the evening, the night before.


    Suvdaa made a noise not to dissimilar from a bear as Mau gently palmed her cheek repeatedly to rouse the other girl.


    Mau ducked under the haymaker that would have knocked her jaw askew as Suvdaa woke up.


    "I''m up." The raider girl said grumpily, while Mau continued tickling Andy''s nose with her tail.


    With a sneeze, the dog-boy sat himself up and rubbed his eyes.


    "Are we there yet?" Andy mumbled blearily with a yawn.


    "Yep. We''re there." Mau replied as she stood up from the sofa and dusted off her butt. She reached down to help Andy off the floor and Suvdaa followed suit. They had already marked their next location on their map so they didn''t need the hag duo to repeat giving them directions as they headed for the hut door.


    "So yeah. Thanks for the help, I guess." Mau said, pausing by the door. "You made fighting the Demon Lord General a lot easier with that vorpal enchant, so."


    Spetti offered Mau a snaggletoothed smile.


    "Think nothing of it, dearie." She said, "But... I do have one request, if you''re willing to hear out an old woman."


    Mau could feel the hairs on the back of her neck raising. She had a feeling she might not like what the hag was about to ask of her, as the old witch made a sweeping gesture with her arm towards Penne.


    "Please take my darling Penne with you~."


    Mau knew better than to refuse after being in the witch''s good graces for so long.


    <h2>?</h2>


    "So." Suvdaa said as the party marched through the midday woods at the edge of the swamp. Mau was ahead of the group, scouting the forest for paths and potential threats, leaving her alone to babysit Andy and get to know Penne a little better.


    "What''s it like?" She asked.


    Penne blinked, remaining quiet for a beat before they replied.


    "What is what like?"


    "Being the child of a weaver of magics." Suvdaa clarified.


    "Oh." Penne said, pursing their lips. "It''s a lot of work, honestly. How to brew this, where to find that, what I need to hex someone... It''s a lot more studying than you''d expect. Mother wanted to make sure to pass all her knowledge to me before she goes so I could take over watching the swamp. I never thought I''d actually leave it. I''m surprised she asked you all to take me."


    Suvdaa nodded solemnly.


    "I never thought I would leave my people until Mau joined us and we hunted a wendigo together. She told me she needed me and the next thing I knew I was saying my goodbyes to the clan."


    Andy knotted his brow.


    "You know," he began, "Before I met Mau I thought I''d be cloistered in the temple for forever. Then Mau came along and the bishop told me to join her."


    Penne frowned gently as they nodded.


    "She has the scent of destiny all around her. Fate and circumstance roil off her very soul." The hagling said ominously. "It''s as though she draws people she needs to her through sheer force of presence... I think my mother saw that too."


    "Well now you''re stuck with us!" Andy said brightly.


    "And the cat." Suvdaa pointed out. "Stuck with us and the cat."


    There was a beat of pause as Penne considered their new situation.


    "Well." They said, petting the huge moth perched on their shoulder lightly, "I''ll try and make myself as useful as possible."


    "That''s all we ask." Suvdaa said, "You just pull your weight and work with us instead of against us. For all Mau seems to bumble about, she usually has a plan hidden somewhere up her sleeve at any given time."


    "Yep. She always knows what to do when it comes down to it." Andy confirmed with a nod.


    Penne crossed their eyes thoughtfully. "There''s something about her..." The hagling said, "Something I can''t quite put my finger on."


    "You''re overthinking things." Suvdaa said a little too quickly. "There''s nothing out of the ordinary about her, she''s just stupidly lucky. It''s like she has nine lives, I swear." The raider girl said with a huff.


    This was about when Mau returned from scouting ahead of the group. The remnants of the Demon Lord''s swamp incursion force were scattered throughout the forest in small headless bands that etched out their own little fiefdoms in the untamed wilds.


    "So if we ditch the path coming up we should be able to avoid the bulk of the remaining orcs bands." Mau said as she wiped someone''s blood off her short blade.


    "Whose blood is that?" Penne asked.


    "Don''t worry about it." Mau replied sweetly. "So whatcha all talking about?" She asked.


    "Nothing," Suvdaa said, "We were just discussing what it was like to live with a hag in a swamp."


    "I thought we were talking about Mau''s destiny or something?" Andy said scratching the back of his neck.


    Mau eyed the pair dubiously while Penne offered her a weak shrug.


    "Huh..." Mau mused, narrowing her eyes, specifically at Andy. "Well we should get moving, the next town isn''t for another day and half away once we clear the forest, and I don''t really feel like dealing with any orcs anymore for at least a month."


    "I thought you enjoyed ''playing Predator''?" Penne asked, "It''s all you did while you were in the swamp."


    "Eh. It was fun for a while, but making the clicking noise is murder on my throat." Mau sighed as the four walked on through the brush, heading towards the light at the end of the tree line.

 Interlude 4: A Mothers Resolve

    It had been four years since Mau left the peace and security of the small town of Middleston. Four years since Mau had bought that peace and security for the people of Middleston with her blood, sweat, and toil, by single-handedly wiping out the goblin den that had lain hidden and dormant until the goblins within felt bold and daring enough to start attacking the town.


    "She should be sixteen now." Mother thought aloud as she sat by the small grave behind the house. Mother fidgeted, her fingers playing with the hem of her blouse as she bit her lip.


    "Mother, I worry for her." She said, resting her hand on the headstone with a sigh.


    Grandmother didn''t talk much anymore but she was still as good a listener as she always ways.


    "She told me something once. Before she went to kill the goblins. Something I''ve kept quiet and secret for her ever since then. That she was reborn specifically to kill the Demon Lord." Mother murmured to the grave. "I could tell, when she told me, that she wasn''t lying or making it up." The cat-woman sighed, brushing an errant lock of dark hair out of her eyes.


    "But I know she''s strong. I knew that when she came back from the goblin den. I knew that before she left for the den. I just knew she would come back. ... Like how I know she''ll come back once she finishes her quest... Journey... Mission?" The woman faltered.


    "But that doesn''t mean I''m not worried..." She huffed. "Every night I think about it. What did she do today? What has she faced? What hardships will she encounter. Is she alright? Is she hurt? I know she''ll be okay, but I still can''t help but let those horrid intrusive thoughts gnaw at me."


    Mother''s time with Grandmother was interrupted, however, by a knock at the cabin door. Mother''s ears twitched at the distant and low series of familiar thumps that told her Thrain was at the door. Mother pursed her lips as she paid her last respects to the grave, running her fingers over the rectangular headstone before she eyed the small pot of flowers she had rested atop the stone.


    Time slowed down. Mother could feel her heart racing in her chest as she reached for the pot, fingertips gently brushing over the hardened and baked clay.


    All it would take was one little push. A nudge, really, and the flowers would go tumbling to the ground...


    The sound of the knocking at the door continued, and it pulled Mother out of her feline fugue state with a soft breath.


    "We''ll talk again, soon, mother." She said as she picked herself up off the grass and dusted off her dress.


    "I''m coming." She called out as she made her way around the tiny cabin and peeked around the corner of the house. Just as she had expected, Thrain was at the door.


    "I''m sorry Master Thrain, I didn''t keep you waiting long, did I? I was chatting with my mother." She said.


    The old dwarf shook his head, craggy and bearded face breaking into a warm smile.


    "Nay, nay. Just got here. And I thought that might have been the case. You didn''t push over the flowers you left for her, again, did you?" He asked playfully. "It''s good to see you, Miu."


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    Stepping out from around the corner of the cabin Mother nodded and motioned for Thrain to sit in one of the wooden chairs by the door. "Please, relax, I''ll make some tea for us. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"


    "I think I''ll take you up on that." The old dwarf said, climbing into the indicated seat and leaning back into it.


    While Thrain settled in, Mother opened the door to the cozy little house and stepped inside.


    "I''ll be just a moment with that tea." She said, placing a pot of water over the fire crackling in the hearth to start boiling.


    It was just a few moments later that she returned with a small tray and two piping hot mugs, and settled herself into the chair next to the old dwarf.


    "I came out here because I thought you should know." Thrain started to speak as he took the mug that was offered to him. "I''ve been hearing rumors out from the direction of Dorn. Haven''t been down there to check in on ''em myself but... There was something'' about a catgirl Demi-human stopping the plans of a lich tryin'' to take over the whole city."


    Mother blinked as she cradled her own mug in her hands.


    "You don''t think..." She said.


    "I do think it. I''m sure of it in fact. Who else could it have been?" He answered her.


    "A lich, though... Aren''t they..."


    "Aye," Thrain nodded, "hideously powerful undead."


    Mother could feel the blood draining from her face. She knew Mau would face hardship and adversity, but hearing about her daughter''s exploits was something else entirely.


    Logically, she knew the Demon Lord was supposed to have powerful minions, but the thought of even being within a mile of a lich made Mother go pale.


    Mother took a steeling sip of her tea, it instantly relaxed her and she heaved a tiny sigh


    Thrain took a sip as well and made a funny face through his beard. "Odd tea you''ve made, Miu." He said while watching her sink into her seat a bit more heavily.


    "Catnip." she said, explaining everything in one word.


    "Ah." Thrain said, taking another sip, "makes sense."


    That was when the old dwarf pursed his lips into a thin line. What he had to say next wasn''t going to be easy.


    "Miu, I''ll be leaving Middleston." Thrain said solemnly. This made Mother glance upwards from her mug with a blink.


    "You''re leaving, too?" She said, ears drooping.


    Thrain nodded.


    "The Demon Lord is amassing an army. Slowly but surely. The dwarven kingdom is gearing up to be ready for when that army marches. The mountain king himself requested I come out of retirement." He said.


    Mother took another sip of her tea and sighed. "That''s big news. I''m sorry you''re being called back to arms."


    "Aye, well, someone has to. Mau can''t fight an army on her own, if she''s really aiming to take on the Demon Lord."


    Mother blinked. She hadn''t told anyone about what Mau had told her, ever before, and a slow frown crept its way across her face.


    "How do you know that''s what she''s aiming for?" Mother asked cautiously.


    Thrain''s laugh echoed with his good nature as he took another swig of the warm tea. It didn''t do a thing for him but he didn''t want to be a bad guest.


    "Girl like Mau? She''s got destiny written all over her, anyone with half a brain cell can sniff it out. She''s destined for great things, and if she left wanting to be an adventurer, the loftiest goal she could have would be to bring down the lord of darkness himself." He chuckled. "Best we can do... Is pray for her and support her from the back lines as best we can."


    Slowly Thrain sat himself up with a grunt as he drained the last of his tea. The heat didn''t bother him, he was a dwarf born in the hot pits of the Iron Mountain. The heat of the forges was his womb for his formative years and a hot drink had little effect on his palate.


    "Thrain." Mother said as she sat herself up, fighting off the relaxing effects of the tea, "Just don''t die."


    "Everyone''s gotta die sometime, ma''am." He said. "Whether ''s my time to go out on the field of battle again or warm and cozy in my bed is up for old Thuvros to decide. But I''d love to see you and Mau again, before that happens." He said as he started making his way down the path back to town.


    With a weak mewl of goodbye, Mother sunk into her seat again, tail flitting lazily.


    She would wait. She would wait as long as she had to for her daughter''s return. She would wait and pray and hope. Because deep down she knew... One day, Mau would come back.

 Chapter 26: Bhelms Misfortune

    It took Mau, Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne the better part of a month to reach the town of Bhelm. This was due in no small part due to some side quest shenanigans involving a black knight, a legendary ghost, and Andy breaking an arm while the party forded a river. He healed himself, but the fact remains that it''s a thing that happened, and everyone ended up leery about crossing rivers after that.


    The fact of the matter though was that Bhelm was cold. Colder than the valley in the Giant''s Steps even, and that made travel much more difficult than it had to be. Luckily the quartet managed to catch a wagon from a village at the foot of the mountains that was headed northwest, under the stipulation that they protect the riders and their cargo, and that made the journey somewhat easier to endure.


    "We''re here!" The driver said, waking Mau up from her catnap in the back. It had been easy going so far, with no sign of any of the dreaded monsters that were supposedly haunting the roads and snowy woods, so it had, all in all, been something of an easy trip. Poking her head out of the covered wagon, Mau squinted at the town in the distance, with several chimneys churning out dark plumes of smoke.


    "So what can you tell us of Bhelm?" Andy asked from where he was seated beside the driver.


    "It''s an old dwarven mining town. This part of the mountain range is said to be rich in adamant and mithril and other precious metals that they work with." The driver, a stocky human by the name of Burth, answered the acolyte. Burth scratched at his short beard and chuckled. "They''re so rich that the prices for most of the things they make up here are dirt cheap if you buy them directly in town, but anything they ship out? That makes a pretty penny the further down south you get from the town."


    "Huh." Suvdaa said as she rolled over from where she had been wrapped up in her bear fur cloak, a frown etched on her face.


    "Stop the cart. I hear something. Mau, Andy, Penne, at the ready." The raider said.


    Mau frowned. She could hear it too- over the whistling winds that blew down the mountain, something was growling.


    The wagon rolled to a halt and the oxen pulling it lowed agitated and spooked as the party disembarked. Suvdaa took a perch on the driver''s seat where Andy had been a moment before, Andy and Penne took to Mau''s side as whatever was growling... Grew closer.


    That was when it broke from the tree line opposite the mountain wall; a small, brown, bear cub came tumbling through the brush, caterwauling and grumping as it rushed the cart.


    Mau drew her long blade and cursed. It had taken a nasty crack along the spine in her fight with the black knight, and the blacksmith of the last town they had visited only knew how to do mundane smithy work and not blade crafting. The sword probably had one or two more solid hits left in it before she expected it to shatter in her hands, so she drew her trusted short sword. The little blade had journeyed with her all the way from Middleston when the goblins first attacked, and it had served her well up to this point.


    "Should we... Kill it?" Penne asked as the bear cub came rushing to the wagon growling. But Suvdaa held her fire.


    "No. It''s running from something." Mau said as the realization hit her.


    "We should probably do something about those though!" Andy blurted as two more bears, much larger and fully grown adults came bursting through the trees. But there was something... Wrong with them. Something was off about the way they moved, the way they carried themselves as they loped for the wagon.


    Penne nodded and raised their staff, they started to chant words in a harsh, growling language that wasn''t easy on the ears.


    "Ygnaiih... ygnaiih... thflthkh''ngha!" They said as spectral sigils of light in the form of a pair of magic circles formed on the ground in the bears paths.


    The beasts were running full tilt and didn''t have the time or wherewithal to swerve aside as inky black tendrils of darkness seeped from the ground and the bloody red light of the magic sigils that Penne laid before them; restraining them in an instant.


    Suvdaa loosed a shot with deadly precision into one bear''s eye and it only seemed to make the beast angrier as it thrashed and flailed in its slithery bonds.


    Andy raised his hands to the skies and prayed as hard as he could, words pleading for succor and aid from his divine masters flowing from his lips before he motioned for the other bear.


    "Smite mine foe!" He declared, calling down a pillar of radiant light from the sky as Mau lunged in.


    True to her expectations, even as she weaved the mana in her body into the blade in her hand to reinforce it, the sword wasn''t going to last.


    But one of the bears slumped as she took its head clean off its shoulders. It continued to snap wildly at the air with its jaws as its head flew and the sword in Mau''s hand shattered at the middle with a wrenching whine.


    The bear with the arrow in its eye tried to take a bite out of her but the catgirl was too fast as she hopped back out of the animal''s range and tossed her broken sword aside, swapping her short blade to her right hand in the same motion.


    "Thiuughngha ghlunghah!" Penne said with resounding finality, as the shimmering spell sigil opened up like a mouth and the tentacles wrapped he bear even tighter as they started to drag it into the open maw forming in the ground, pulling it into the inky blackness of somewhere very distant, very horrifying, and very cold, before the portal snapped shut and left only half a bloody bear carcass in its wake, partially devoured by something that had been on the other side.


    "I will not get over how creepy that is..." Andy mumbled as Mau made her way back to the group.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Annnnd that''s sword like number twenty seven. I''m buying an adamant blade in Bhelm that should last me until we find what we''re looking for." She groused as Suvdaa hopped down from her perch and... Slowly approached the bear cub that was hiding under the wagon.


    "So what do we do about the little one?" Penne asked as Suvdaa crouched by the trembling cub. Though it snapped at her as she reached out to touch it, it calmed quickly as she pulled free a slice of jerky and the scent of meat coaxed it out from hiding.


    "Poor thing." Suvdaa muttered as it chewed on the jerky, still a little wary but allowing her to touch it now.


    "Yeah, seriously," Mau said. "What the hell could have spooked those bigger bears to act like that?"


    "I don''t know," Suvdaa admitted as she scratched the cub behind the ears, "but we shouldn''t remain out here much longer. If the town is within reach, we should make the last push towards it."


    "Agreed," Mau said as she climbed back into the wagon and paused.


    The cub followed Suvdaa, trying to climb into the wagon with her.


    "Uh," Andy said. "Should we take it with us?"


    "We will," Suvdaa said firmly as the little bear laid its head on her lap.


    "So you''re just going to keep a random bear cub that appeared out of the blue?" Mau asked.


    "Yes," Suvdaa replied as she ruffled the cub''s fluffy fur, earning a pleased rumble. "I think... I will call you Dulguun, little one."


    As the wagon wheeled away once the oxen were calmed, the party never noticed the bear carcasses had vanished in their wake...


    <h2>?</h2>


    By the time the party reached the outskirts of Bhelm, it was sunset, and they were met with the coldest reception in addition to the cold weather. As soon as the wagon passed the first house they saw, someone inside shuttered the windows and locked the door.


    This surly greeting repeated for each little homestead and building they passed for some distance as they rolled into the town.


    "People here sure are friendly," Penne mumbled.


    "Or," Mau said, "something has them spooked, like the bears on the way here."


    It was a sobering thought, and the crew didn''t like the ominous silence that pervaded the town as they hit the main thoroughfare and street.


    "Funny..." Burth murmured as he steered the cart. "The people are usually friendlier than this."


    Another door slammed. Windows closed shut. Everyone in the town was more than just a little leery of the cart and the outsiders that came with it.


    "Tch..." Mau grunted. "Where''s everyone going? Bingo?" She said, quoting a video game she had enjoyed so very long ago.


    "Bingo?" Suvdaa asked as she played with Dulguun''s ears. "I''ve never heard of a town by such a name." As cute as the cub was, Suvdaa was also frowning at the icy greetings that met them every step of the way.


    "Well," Burth said as the wagon slowed to a halt. "This is about your stop! I''ll be taking these supplies to the town storehouse; y''all can do as you please from here on out."


    The party said their goodbyes to the driver and piled out of the cart, with Suvdaa hoisting the little bear onto her back in a piggyback ride.


    As the wagon rolled away, they realized how quiet the town was. Only the whipping sound of the biting winds whistled through the squat buildings and left the group feeling alone and on edge.


    "Shouldn''t there be more... People?" Andy mumbled as he wrapped himself up in his thick robes for warmth.


    "Man, I feel like everywhere we go, we have to solve some kind of incident or something." Mau grumped. "I can feel another incident in my bones right now, guys."


    Logically, Mau knew it was her job to handle such things as the warrior chosen by the gods... But at the same time, after ninety-nine lives of endless strife, battle, and bullshit, she would have loved a little break.


    Usually, on arrival in a new town, the group would split up to handle a few critical tasks, such as sending Andy to find the local inn and book rooms. At the same time, Mau and Suvdaa would restock on essential supplies, and Penne would stock up on magical components. Here in Bhelm, it felt like it would be a bad idea to split up.


    "So what''s the plan?" Penne asked, clutching their staff tightly to their chest. Their pet moth ruffled, where it perched on their shoulder, acting as agitated as the wiggly bear cub on Suvdaa''s back.


    "... I want a new sword. Like right now." Mau said. The itchy feeling on her palms made her only feel all the more naked with just a short sword and a few daggers on her.


    "So we''re looking for a blacksmith first, then an inn. ... Assuming any inn will open their doors right now," Suvdaa said.


    In better days, Bhelm was home to many blacksmiths due to being a mining town. Yet each time the group passed a new shop, all they found were boarded windows and locked doors. The fact that the place was so utterly lonely and desolate now put the team more than a little on edge.


    It took them the better part of an hour meandering among the closed shops before a hushed whisper caught Mau''s attention.


    "Fools, get off the street!" The voice growled at them from a cracked doorway. Mau halted and motioned the others to follow her as she cautiously approached the door.


    It was a shop named The Best Defense. No sooner than Mau and company had crossed the street, the door swung open, and the squat bearded figure of a dwarf met them at the threshold.


    "Get inside, hurry." The man hissed, waving them through the door.


    The group piled in after Mau stepped through the door.


    "Yer obviously outsiders, so ye can''t be one of them..." The dwarf muttered. "Are ye armed?" He suddenly asked.


    "That''s why we were out there in the first place," Mau answered. "To find a shop where I could get a new sword. Uh. What the hell is going on?"


    Without answering her question, the dwarf turned to rummage through his stock.


    "No, no, no, that one''s cheap... That one''s flawed... Not my best work, " he said while going through the weapons on the racks before he picked a blade off the wall.


    "Take it." He growled and shoved the weapon into Mau''s hands, scabbard and all.


    Mau unsheathed the blade an inch or two and whistled.


    "Mithril, huh... How much?" She asked.


    The dwarf, again, didn''t answer her question and took a glance out the shuttered window.


    "You''ll need it in this town." He growled in his low timbre voice. "Tha''s a good blade. Normally, I''d charge a hefty price for it, but there''s no point if I ain''t sure we''ll live to see tomorrow mornin''."


    "... I mean, this is really convenient for me and all, but what''s going on? Also hi? I''m Mau. This is Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne, and we''re all pretty bewildered right now." Mau said.


    "But what''s going on, exactly?" Andy piped up to finish her thought.


    Suvdaa was on edge, and Penne frowned, but the dwarf finally opened up.


    "Flint Ironcrag." The dwarf introduced himself brusquely before he started to explain. "It started a little over a month and a half ago... The minin'' teams were excavating their usual load from the adamant mines just east of the town when they dug too deep- too deep, I tell ye."


    "Oh no," Mau said blandly, fully expecting a Balrog.


    "They dug too deep... And they found ancient ruins. And in those ruins, they found a sword." Flint continued.


    Mau was instantly paying more attention.


    "That was when the monsters came. I dunno if they came from the mines or from beyond, but they''ve been hunting us ever since, reducing the town''s numbers slowly but surely."


    Mau exchanged a glance with Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne.


    "We need to get to those adamant mines," Penne said.


    "They''re likely crawling with those beasts by now; I don''t see why anyone would want to go in there anymore," Flint replied. "... But somethin'' tells me you lot won''t be listening to reason." The dwarf sighed.


    "I''ll mark the mines on your map. Ye can all spend the night here in the shop, I''ll be upstairs. Go in the mornin'' at first light. They mostly come out at night, anyway... Mostly."

 Chapter 27: Movie Night

    "Man, I can''t fucking believe that guy made an Aliens reference." Mau groused as Flint left her and the party alone in his shopfront.


    "Aliens...?" Penne asked.


    Mau flung her hands up, exasperated. "I bet he''s never even seen that movie, and it''s a classic!" She huffed. "A rare case where the sequel is better than the original!"


    "Mau... Mau, you''re talking about those movie things again..." Andy said.


    "For the last time," Mau said, "Movies are legends from a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away that no one here knows because of bullshit reasons like ''film hasn''t been invented yet.''"


    "I''m actually very interested in this. What is this Aliens legend?" Penne asked, leaning in with intent curiosity.


    "Okay, so it starts out in the future, and humans have gained the ability to travel among the stars to other planets..." Mau started to explain before Suvdaa huffed loudly.


    "Is this going to be another dumb story?" Suvdaa asked.


    "It''s only dumb if you don''t like classic action-horror movies." Mau retorted, "Can I finish or not?"


    "By all means, continue," Suvdaa said with a wave.


    "Anyway." Mau sniffed. "Aliens takes place after Alien... In which the hero, Ellen Ripley-"


    "The hero''s a girl?" Andy blinked.


    "Andy, I swear to all the gods that if you interrupt with a dumb question, I will put you through the window. ANYWAY. Yes, the hero of this legend was a woman. She was on a ship, a spaceship. A monster got inside one of her crewmates and then started to kill them all one by one until she was the only survivor and launched the creature into space."


    Andy and Penne listened with interest, and even Suvdaa was starting to come around.


    "So Ripley puts herself in an icy sleeping tomb to pass the long years it would take to travel the stars in hopes of returning home. But when she''s finally found it''s been... I think like 50 years passed. Anyway, when she wakes up, she finds that people have moved on to the planet from where the first monster came from to make a new colony. And already, people lost contact with that colony. Because everyone got killed by more of the monsters. So she now goes there with an army to rescue anyone she can and kill more monsters."


    "... And what happens next?" Penne asked.


    "Ripley goes on a heroic assault into the alien nest by herself and causes so much destruction with a flamethrower that the place explodes as she escapes back into space with her remaining party. But... The Alien queen survives and follows them onto their ship! So in one final climactic battle with the alien queen, Ripley once again launches the creature into space, and they all escape."


    "... And they live happily ever after, right?" Andy asked, tail wagging.


    Mau winced.


    "... No, because a lot of bad stuff happens in Alien 3; it wasn''t the best sequel, and Alien Resurrection was kind of garbage, but in a good way?"


    "But resurrection is a divine spell?" Andy said, blinking.


    "It''s a movie title," Mau said, exasperated.


    This was when a dawning realization struck and etched visibly onto Suvdaa''s face.


    "So the first movie was Alien." She said.


    "Right," Mau replied.


    "And the second movie was Aliens..." Suvdaa continued.


    "Yeah?" Mau said.


    "And then Alien 3... What happened to Alien 2?"


    Mau stared incredulously.


    "That''s... What they called it. Aliens was Alien 2, and they kept the s at the end."


    "Tch," Suvdaa scoffed. "Of course, a dumb cat would be interested in a movie series that can''t even count to three."


    Mau could slowly feel the gears turning in her own head as her brain tried to settle on a course of action between withering and dying quietly or lunging at Suvdaa with a knife out of sheer frustration.


    As she was reaching a conclusion on what to do with that decision, Suvdaa interrupted Mau''s thought processes.


    "Still." The raider girl said. "You... Watch these movies, right? ... I think one day I would like to watch one with you, Mau."


    Andy nodded vigorously. "Yeah, me too!"


    Even Penne dipped their head in agreement. "As would I."


    Mau halted. Utterly beyond words, she stared at her party members. No one had ever taken her ramblings so seriously in all her prior lives, and none had ever expressed interest in doing anything other than adventuring with her before.


    "Ah... Yeah. ... We''ll make one night a movie night." Mau said suddenly numb and tired.


    The moment was interrupted by a sudden crash from upstairs with the sound od shattering glass. In an instant, Mau was on her feet, new mithril sword in hand. Suvdaa was next, clutching her favorite knife, and Andy and Penne followed suit immediately after.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "The hell was that?" Suvdaa uttered, eyeing the door to the apartment above the shop.


    Mau also eyed the door momentarily before glancing over her shoulder at her party mates.


    "Probably nothing good, I''ll tell you that much." Mau hissed through her teeth. "We should probably have a look."


    Andy and Penne exchanged a glance as Mau looked back to the door.


    "Yeah." Andy said, "Flint could be hurt."


    "I''ll go first. I want Suvdaa second, Andy third, and Penne last through the door." Mau dictated the team''s marching order as she put her free hand on the doorknob.


    Slowly Mau turned the knob and started up the stairs, creeping on the balls of her feet, sword at the ready. Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne all followed suit.


    It was a single flight of stairs, but the sound of another dull thump and some struggling at the top spurred Mau to climb two steps at a time with Suvdaa on her heels.


    The noise stopped just as Mau reached the door, giving her a beat of pause as she peeked through the slightly cracked, ajar door.


    There was blood on the floor and a lot of it, enough to start seeping under the door into the stairwell at Mau''s feet. It smeared across the wooden flooring and trailed in a drag puddle towards the window. Mau couldn''t see any trace of Flint or anyone that could have attacked him through the crack but readied her blade regardless. She held up a hand and signed a countdown to Suvdaa behind her.


    ''On three''.


    Mau''s heart hammered in her chest heavily for the span of the following three seconds as she counted down on her fingers for the rest of the party to see.


    Three...


    Two...


    One...


    Mau turned the doorknob and shoved the door open, blade at the ready as she stepped in and to the side to let Suvdaa enter after her. Suvdaa was in through the doorway in the next second, followed quickly by Andy and somewhat awkwardly by Penne, like a mostly well-oiled machine.


    A cold gust blew through the shattered window, and the quartet was met with the soft howl of the frigid winds whipping outside the broken glass.


    "Well, shit," Mau muttered as her eyes scanned the room, finding no sign of either Flint or his attacker.


    "Everyone back downstairs. We barricade the doors with anything we can find and take turns on watch." She said with a slow hiss of frustrated breath through her teeth. It was going to be a long night.


    <h2>?</h2>


    Though the rest of the night passed without further incident, Flint''s sudden and violent disappearance put the party more than a little on edge. They took turns and alternated staying up, watching, and sleeping to ensure nothing snuck up on them in the night. Come dawn, the entire team was up, bleary-eyed and cranky.


    Mau stifled a big yawn into her hand as she shifted the window shutter just enough to peek onto the street.


    "See anything?" Suvdaa asked. She was the next to wake up and started gently nudging Andy to rouse him as well.


    "Looks like it snowed pretty hard over the night, but no. I don''t see anything, and that''s what worries me." Mau answered in a hushed tone while Andy slowly sat up. Suvdaa moved on to wake Penne next.


    "We should take the back door out," Mau said. "Avoid the streets and stick to the alleys, this town''s fucked in a bad way, and I don''t know what we''re up against just yet.


    With a grunt, Dulguun headbutted Suvdaa''s ankle when she moved to wake the bear cub last.


    "Agreed," Penne said, rubbing their eyes sleepily. "Until we know what''s wrong with this place, we should avoid needless contact and conflict with anything that could be a threat.


    Mau nodded in agreement with the hagling and rested her hand on the hilt of her new sword. She felt lousy that she couldn''t do anything for the dwarf who had given it to her, but there was little she could do for him now other than put the blade to good use as the party geared up to mosey out through the shop''s back door.


    "I''ll take the lead. Andy and Penne are behind me, and Suvdaa watches our backs."


    "Yeah, but what about the bear?" Andy asked.


    "... What about the bear?" Mau blinked, glancing down at Dulguun.


    "The bear will keep up; I will be sure of it," Suvdaa said.


    "Fair enough," Mau replied.


    Flicking the latch on the back door, Mau stepped out into the chill, tightly wrapping her cloak around her shoulders with an unhappy shudder. She hated the cold, honestly, and would rather spend as much time as she could napping by a warm hearth. But there was bullshit heroics that needed to be handled, and no one else was going to handle it.


    Snow crunched softly under Mau''s boots as she led Andy and Penne through a nearby alley. Suvda followed behind, much quieter with her bow at the ready, while Dulguun bounded after her.


    The sun was still low, which meant there was a bite in the air as the quintet shuffled through the alleys and back streets between the buildings. The further they delved into Bhelm''s underbelly, the more shuttered and locked doors they found. Mau didn''t like it, especially as the team passed a barred door with writing painted in bright red: ''Don''t Dead Open Inside.''


    "... What''s that supposed to mean?" Andy blinked at the writing.


    "It means some dumb fuck painted the words in a weird order. It just says, ''Don''t open, dead inside.''" Mau said grumpily. "Fucking zombie movie cliche, I swear."


    "... Wait..." Andy said, pausing. "There are movies about zombies too?"


    "Yep," Mau answered him. "Though I don''t think we''re dealing with zombies here, they would have popped up in a horde out for our brains already."


    "This is true," Penne said. "Zombies are active at all hours. Our mystery creature or creatures here ''mostly come out at night'' according to Flint before he... Disappeared."


    The party moved on from the marked door, trudging through the snow that dusted the alley floors.


    "We should head for the mine, get your sword, and be done with this place as soon as possible," Penne said. Suvdaa swept her bow down the mouth of another side street and nodded in agreement.


    "I do not have a good feeling about this place; I''d rather be anywhere else." The raider grumbled.


    "Yeeeeeeeeeep," Mau said as she peeked her head out around a corner to glance down the main street. A single figure draped in heavy cloaks and shawls was shuffling through the snow.


    "Ah. Don''t like that." Mau said.


    Andy blinked. "It''s just an old lady, though?" He said.


    Mau shook her head, waggled a finger at the shawl-clad figure, and did her best Tom Hardy impersonation: "That''s bait."


    The old lady must have heard the party because her head jerked up. She seemed to take a moment to sniff at the air before her head twitched to face the group, and she swerved on her course to start heading their way.


    "Dammit," Mau grunted under her breath and made a subtle hand gesture for Suvdaa to lower her bow but keep at the ready. The raider nodded, and the party backed into the alley just a bit rather than meet the woman in the open.


    "Come now, little ones, what has you out this early in the morning?" The figure asked in the creaking voice of a tired old woman.


    "Just leaving town," Mau answered brusquely.


    "Really now? Business here done that fast?" The woman croaked, lips spreading into a smile in the shadow of her hood and shawl.


    "We didn''t have any business; we were just passing through," Penne quickly interjected as the woman stepped closer. Suvdaa frowned.


    "You have no idea when we arrived." The raider pointed out.


    That was when Mau felt... Something. Something was wrong about this old woman, but she couldn''t quite put her finger on it just yet; something keenly and intensely off that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.


    Andy visibly tensed tail tucking between his legs. He could clearly feel it, too, and Dulguun started to growl, flashing his sharp little bear teeth.


    Time seemed to slow down for Mau as she stared intensely at the woman. Her palms itched, and her hands felt keenly empty. Mau didn''t even realize her hand was inching towards the mithril sword at her belt.


    "Is something the matter, honey?" The old woman asked, cocking her head to one side.


    That was when it happened; Dulguun growled again, and Andy started to snarl like a rabid dog at the sight of the woman while Suvdaa and Penne watched, bewildered.


    Mau''s ears pinned back, her pupils narrowed into thin, focused slits. And the next thing anyone knew, Mau''s lips curled back, flashing sharp feline fangs as she hissed hatefully at the old woman standing in front of her.

 Chapter 28: John Carpenters The What?

    Andy was snarling.


    Dulguun growled.


    Mau hissed vehemently.


    The old woman stared the party down almost placidly, her lip twitching at the corner into a half-smirk.


    With the demi-humans and bear cub''s aggression visibly mounting, Suvdaa''s bow creaked quietly as she raised it to aim, drawing the bowstring taut with an arrow nocked into place.


    With Mau and Andy so close, she couldn''t risk the shot but held it at the ready regardless.


    "Well..." The woman murmured, her lips creeping apart into an unnaturally wide smile. "I can''t get anything by you, can I?" She chuckled mirthlessly.


    Mau yowled aggressively in response, her animal brain instincts telling her that everything about this crone was wrong and alien, and Andy slowly started backing down, teeth bared and eyes wide.


    Both Mau and the crone exploded into action in the next instant.


    Drawing her new mithril blade with a smooth, almost automatic nature, Mau took a vicious swing at the woman''s neck. The clash of claws on metal resounded as the old woman caught the sharp end of the sword in her palm. It dug into the flesh and drew a trail of blood leaking down the crone''s arm.


    Mau was still almost feral, spitting and yowling as she flashed sharp teeth and gripped the hilt of her sword in both hands. She struggled with the woman''s inhuman strength but managed to wrench her new sword free of the crone''s grasp with the help of a firm kick to the gut.


    The woman didn''t even grunt as she stumbled backward from the impact.


    "Ahh... Naughty, naughty kitty... Attacking an innocent old woman like that... Children like you deserve to be punished." She said with a mirthless chuckle as she shook out her bloody hand.


    "Mithril though... Even naughtier. That cut me! I ought to take recompense out of your hide!"


    The woman took a swipe at Mau, but she was too slow. In a flash of silver, the mithril sword neatly clipped off the crone''s arm at the elbow, and Mau followed up with an efficient cut that took the woman''s head clean off.


    The crone collapsed to the bloody snow, and Mau quickly backed away several paces, breath ragged as her adrenaline surged. Andy and Dulguun stopped growling as soon as the woman was dead, and Mau slowly started to calm down as well.


    "What was she?" Andy asked in a hushed and frightened tone.


    Mau poked the corpse with her sword lightly and frowned.


    "I''m not sure yet," Mau said.


    Even dead, something felt wrong... Off... Very not right about the woman''s corpse, and Suvdaa stepped in closer with a frown.


    "The hell was that?" The raider asked. "We were trying to sneak out of town, and the three of you growl and yowl like frightened animals."


    "You don''t get it, Suvdaa," Andy said. "Us demi-humans can kind of... Tell when someone wants to hurt us. Just like an animal knows when a disaster is coming or someone has bad intentions." He explained while motioning at Dulguun.


    "Fuuuuuck, is that what that was?" Mau huffed, heart rate slowing down. "It''s like I knew she was some kind of monster or something." She muttered as Andy started to growl again.


    Dulguun joined in shortly after, and Mau even began to realize that she felt that the woman wasn''t quite entirely dead yet as a sense of animalistic dread overcame her once more.


    Mau poked the corpse again out of habit, and it twitched.


    The woman''s severed head suddenly opened its eyes.


    With a groaning, keening, alien cry, the head opened its mouth as the muscles of its severed neck stretched out like fingers, scrabbling the snowy ground as it picked itself up, the facial features distorting grotesquely as it gnashed sharp teeth at the air. The severed hand started dragging itself towards Dulguun, and the headless body jerked suddenly upright.


    "... We should go," Penne said with a calmness that betrayed their quickening heartbeat.


    Mau leaped back from the dismembered corpse with a yelp and drew her short blade.


    The creature continued to cry out, and soon, it was joined by a chorus of equally sinister, keening cries howling on the wind.


    "What the FUCK!" Mau blurted as the torso split down the middle and opened up a new maw as its ribs split apart at the sternum into jagged teeth, all three parts of what used to be the old woman dragging themselves towards the party hungrily.


    "Quickly, back down the alley!" Suvdaa hissed, and no one questioned her as Mau, Andy, Penne, and Dulguun whirled on their heels to follow her lead down the back streets again at a full-tilt sprint. They ran for what felt like minutes before the town finally stopped wailing like a monster, and the party found some solace in a dead-end alleyway.


    "This is The Thing!" Mau gasped as she sheathed her swords and planted her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "This is the fucking The Thing!"


    "What thing are you talking about!?" Andy asked while panting like a dog.


    "THE THING." Mau snapped. "From the movie The Thing! Ugh god. I have to explain that now."


    The party spent a moment rallying themselves after witnessing a grotesque spectacle of body horror, catching their breath, and panting.


    "We need to get out of this town; we don''t know who is or isn''t infected," Mau said through clenched teeth.


    "Infected?" Suvdaa said, frowning. "Infected with what?"


    "It''s... It''s a thing." Mau said after a beat.


    "Yes, we know it''s a thing. Apparently, it''s the thing." Penne said from where they leaned against the alley wall.


    "Look, I''ll explain it later," Mau decided. "Let''s just get the hell out of this city and get to those mines."


    Everyone nodded in agreement. However, with a whole city full of monsters now awake and on alert for them, it likely wasn''t going to be so easy.


    Suvdaa pulled out the party''s map and her compass and quickly assessed the direction they needed to take.


    "If we go this way," she said, pointing down the next alley, "We''ll be headed due west in the direction of the mines."


    Mau unsheathed her swords while Andy and Penne brandished their staves.


    "We move quickly and quietly," Suvdaa said. "And no stopping for anyone or anything other than each other." Again, everyone nodded in agreement as the party began to move.


    Once again, Mau took the lead, moving quickly and quietly, feet barely making a sound on the snowy ground. Penne and Andy were next, crunching along much more loudly, while Suvdaa and Dulguun took up the rear, moving just as silently as Mau was.


    The party weaved through the city''s back streets, and they were lucky enough to not encounter anyone or anything like the old woman again, but they were on edge, hearts hammering in their chests as they went.


    "Okay, so," Mau said, hushed. "If this is anything like The Thing, these things will hate fire."


    "You really need to be more specific about this thing." Penne huffed. "But go on; they hate fire?"


    "Yeah, so if you have any fire spells up your sleeve, now''s the time to use them," Mau replied.


    "The problem is," Mau continued, "That every part of their body will fight like an individual entity. Even if we cut them apart, that just makes it more of a hassle for us. So, fire really is the way to go. It should, in theory, kill ''em pretty fast."


    Penne nodded. "I have some fire spells."


    Andy pursed his lips, "And I know Divine Flame."


    "It''s better than nothing," Mau replied as Suvdaa glanced over her shoulder to ensure the team wasn''t being followed.


    "We''re clear for now," Suvdaa said in a whisper. "But we should move quickly." She said, pointing out the figures of several clouds visible over the rooftops. "A storm will be coming soon. Maybe before evening. By nightfall, if we''re lucky. It won''t be easy to get to the mines navigating through that."


    Mau nodded as she picked up her pace, tail flicking behind her.


    "The last thing I want is to get caught in a blizzard while dealing with this body horror and nightmare bullshit," Mau grunted as she paused to peek around the corner of a building. There was another figure shambling through the snow down the street, and she held up a hand to halt the group.


    She waited for the figure to shuffle out of sight into the darkness of an open door before she signaled to move again. The party broke out into a wide-open street, and immediately, Mau felt naked and exposed as she rushed to the alleyway across from the one they had just exited. Penne and Andy were hot on her heels while Suvdaa hung back with an arrow at the ready to snipe any sudden attacker that might come for them as they passed.


    But Mau, the acolyte, and the hagling made it without incident.


    When they reached the other side, Mau peeked back to ensure nothing had spotted them or would catch Suvdaa off guard. She paused for a beat with a hand held up in the signal to wait. She made the '' come '' gesture once she was sure nothing would present itself as an obstacle. Suvdaa nodded and sprinted across the street, Dulguun hot on her heels, until the party regrouped again.


    Several more equally treacherous crossings were to be made, but the party eventually reached the city''s outskirts without further incident.


    Suvdaa frowned.


    "The winds are blowing that storm right to us. We can''t stay in the open; we may not make it to the mines in time," she pointed out.


    Mau cursed under her breath and motioned for a nearby home with the door ajar. "Then we hunker down and wait for it to blow over. We don''t have much choice."


    Even Penne grimaced.


    "I''d rather not remain around much longer with these... The Things possibly all over the town." They said.


    Mau nodded and sighed, "Yeah, but our other option would be to freeze, and I don''t like the odds on that. At least we can put up a fight if we have proper shelter."


    The decision was made for them as the first tiny snowflakes started to fall and landed on hair and cloaks in a light dusting.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Inside," Suvdaa said decisively, and Mau retook the lead.


    The inside of the house was dark, and the smears of dried blood on the floor were a foreboding sign of what happened to the prior occupants as Mau, Andy, Penne, Suvdaa, and Dulguun piled in. Andy shut the door and barred it.


    Mau and Suvdaa quickly and efficiently swept the two-story home and found it devoid of life, which was good. Nothing would surprise them from the inside.


    "We barricade in here until the storm blows over," Suvdaa said. "Andy, Penne, help me board up the windows, and Mau, stay on the lookout while we shore up the house''s defenses."


    Mau knew not to argue; Suvdaa was in her element. As a raider, Suvdaa knew the ins and outs of assaulting a defensible position and would use that knowledge to formulate a good defense.


    "Yep," Mau replied as she moseyed up the stairs as quietly as a cat to keep a weather eye out through the second-story window.


    It took much of the day to break down the house''s furniture into workable barricades for the doors and first-story windows, and the team worked as quickly and quietly as they could, worrying more about preparing for an attack than the oncoming storm.


    They didn''t see the small crowd of figures hiding in the shadows watching them as they worked through the day as the sun began to fall...


    <h2>?</h2>


    Night came much quicker than the party would have liked. Though they had managed to complete the defenses on the house. The windows were boarded up and shuttered, and the front and back doors were locked down tighter than Fort Knox.


    With the curtains drawn and windows shuttered, the house was almost pitch black save for the faint and dim glow of a divine light spell Andy had cast for his and Suvdaa''s sake, as their night sight wasn''t as good as Mau''s or Penne''s.


    Dulguun was sleeping peacefully in a pile of blankets, worn out by the day''s excitement, and Mau was just coming down from the second floor.


    "I swear I think I see something moving out there, but the blizzard makes it impossible to be sure."


    The wind howled outside the house as the blizzard hit the city in full force, making the glass windows rattle and shudder against the wood defenses.


    "I don''t like that," Suvdaa replied. "If you think we''re being watched, then it''s highly likely that we are."


    Mau nodded grimly. "We sleep in shifts as usual. Everyone gets ready for a fight at the first sign of anything unusual."


    Penne frowned, and Andy grimaced, but everyone nodded in agreement. Finding any sleep was difficult, though, as Mau returned to the second floor to keep watch out the window for the first watch.


    As much as Mau wanted to catch a nap, she knew that everyone''s life hung in her hands, so she kept her keen eyes focused on the blizzard for any signs of motion.


    It was a sobering feeling. Mau realized that her companions- her allies- were trusting her. They were trusting her with their very lives, and if she let them down, then everyone was going to die.


    "Huh..." Mau mused to herself. "Never thought of it that way." She muttered.


    "God..." She huffed as she leaned her head back against the window frame. How many lives had she gone through just... Not really thinking about her companions. For too long and too many lifetimes, she had never thought much about the lives of the people she journeyed with. But they were living, breathing, actual people with their own thoughts, desires, drives, and fears.


    "Fuck." Mau grunted. These weren''t NPCs in some fantasy video game. These were her friends.


    "I''m such an idiot." The Hero grunted, rubbing their temples.


    Mau had seen so much death in her many lives that losing a companion never really struck her as painfully as it did the first time. She had grown used to it, inured to it; she had lost and gone through too many travel partners to count that when one died, she simply soldiered on and killed the Demon Lord on her own.


    Now? Now, Mau''s heart hammered in her chest at the thought of something happening to Andy, Penne, or Suvdaa.


    Mau was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost didn''t see the flicker of movement from the alley the house faced headed towards the house. She caught it at the last second and sat upright.


    "Ah, whelp. So much for a quiet night." The catgirl grimaced as she crept away from the window and stormed down the stairs.


    "Everyone up," Mau called up, earning a dissatisfied grunt from Andy as he rolled over. Mau booted him in the butt lightly, earning a yelp as the dogboy sat up. Suvdaa was already awake, knife clasped in hand as she eyed Mau.


    "What is it?" Suvdaa asked tone hush and strained.


    Penne rubbed their eyes and peeked out a crack in the nearby window blearily.


    "Someone, or something, is-" Mau started to say when she was interrupted by a thump on the door. Everyone went still and silent.


    "P-please... Let me in." Came a voice from the outside. "It''s so cold, and they''re chasing me... Please, you have to let me in!" The voice of a man muffled through the barricaded door.


    Andy opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked at Mau and Suvdaa, who held their fingers to their lips, making him whine in despair.


    "Let me in, " the man outside pleaded, feebly banging on the door. "I''m freezing to death out here!"


    Penne''s golden eyes darted from Mau to Suvdaa and then to Andy before they shook their head.


    The thumping continued, insistent and demanding, growing harder and harder as the man outside realized the party wouldn''t budge.


    "L-... Let me in..." He croaked. "LeT mE In...! OPeN thE DoOr!" He gurgled and howled as he hit the door with enough force to rattle it in the frame.


    "Fuuuuuuck." Mau grimaced as the voice outside raised to a keening howl. "That''s not good. That''s not good at all." She grunted as she drew her long blade, hair prickling at the back of her neck as her ears pinned back.


    Andy backed away from the door, covering his mouth with one hand to muffle the growl building in his throat.


    The city''s wailing cries soon joined the man outside the house, rising over the whistling winds that battered past the windows.


    Mau dared to glance outside through a crack in the wood panels and barricades at the window by the door. The one man was banging on the house, but sure enough, she saw more figures starting to march out of the gloom of the pouring snow towards them.


    "Guys... He''s not alone." Mau whispered as she pulled her trusted old short sword from its sheath.


    Suvdaa sighed.


    "We did what we could with the defenses, but..." The raider girl trailed off, lips pursed into a thin and apprehensive line.


    "But we''re going to be in for a fight," Mau said, putting words to the other girls'' thoughts as another voice joined the wailing man''s, demanding to be let inside.


    Soon, a chorus of hideous groans and wails sounded outside the door, banging on the walls and thumping against the heavy brick building.


    A window pane shattered next. Though the wooden bars and planks across the window held firm, the crunch of glass underfoot outside could briefly be heard before a biting cold wind whistled through and between the planks. Surely enough, it wasn''t the only window to break as thumps, bangs, grunts, and groans hit the house in force. Mau backed away from her window.


    "Everyone form up! Center of the room, get ready for when they break through." She said, knowing it wasn''t a matter of ''if'' they break through.


    The wooden reinforcements across the windows buckled and rattled as countless hands started trying to pull and pry them apart; an arrow whistled through the air as Suvdaa snapped off a shot that slipped through the barricades and hit a body outside with a meaty thwock. The injured creature outside screeched hideously in pain as it jerked away from the house.


    Unfortunately, this did not deter the monstrous populace outside, who banged on the walls and windows with even more ferocity. The barricades buckled, and wooden planks rattled against where they were nailed into the windows. Soon enough, one of the barricades gave way. Wooden planks snapped and split, exploding inwards into the house with a spray of splinters and several bloodied arms and hands shoved through the cracks in the broken barrier, the wails outside growing in intensity.


    Mau cursed under her breath and aimed at a gap in the wood with her palm.


    "Firebolt!"


    It was an old but reliable spell. With a small peal of thunder, a lancing bolt of fire launched from her hand, wriggling nimbly through the smashed boards to slam into a body outside. There was a wailing screech as Mau''s target lit right up. Suddenly engulfed in a violent conflagration that sent the figure outside flailing and tumbling backward as it cried out in utter agony. Unfortunately, this lit up the area surrounding the flaming figure and revealed far too many more jerking and writhing bodies massed up outside as they shuffled away from their burning companion to give the smoldering body a wide berth.


    "That''s... A lot of them." Andy mumbled, knuckles white where he gripped his staff.


    "Yeah, but I was right; they hate fire." Mau pointed out.


    However, the small celebration of learning the monsters'' weaknesses was short-lived. Another window busted inwards, the defensive wooden planks snapping brittly under the assault and press of so many bodies outside.


    "They''re going to get inside any minute now," Penne said through gritted teeth.


    "Any second at this rate!" Suvdaa snapped back, turning her head as she heard one of the back windows shattering next. "And they''re trying to flank us."


    "Saw that coming," Mau said, considering her options as a window upstairs shattered loudly. And the THUNK of a ladder slamming against the side of the building could be heard. "Fuck!" She grunted, "I''ll deal with that, defend the first floor." Mau ordered the others.


    They nodded tensely before Mau darted up the stairs two at a time. She skidded to a halt in the upstairs bedroom and cursed again. There was definitely a ladder pressed against the side of the building. Glass shards decorated the floor, and a figure was already cresting the top of the ladder by the time Mau reached it.


    Time seemed to slow down. Mau''s vision blurred as she reached a hand out...


    She casually pushed the ladder backward like a glass left too precariously close to the edge of a table to pass up. With a creaking groan of wood, it tipped back, standing straight up for a moment thanks to the weight of the bodies climbing it. Still, the ladder caved in and snapped under the combined weight as it teetered the rest of the way backward, several of the infected villagers landing hard enough to shatter bone and screeching in pain.


    Mau aimed her palm out the window at the cluster of bodies and splintered wood to finish the job.


    "Firebolt!" Another lashing lance of fire snapped from Mau''s fingers to the pile of squirming bodies, catching the dry wood of the ladder and instantly setting them all off in a burst of heat.


    "Oh fuck..." Mau muttered as she saw the sheer number of bodies crushing against the house she and her friends were doing their best to defend. There must have been at least a hundred or more. It wasn''t going to be an easy night.


    "MAU! GET BACK DOWN HERE, THEY''RE BREAKING THROUGH!" She heard Suvdaa boom from the first floor, and she wasted no time to rejoin her friends, practically sliding down the stair banister on her ass.


    The first infected villager was already climbing through another newly opened window when her boots hit the floor. The man''s eyes were a bloodshot, glowing red color, and he had an arrow embedded in his throat that didn''t seem to bother him all that much.


    "Divine Flame!" Andy called out, raising his staff. In the next second, the villager shrieked as his body erupted in gleaming, golden fire that pleasantly warmed the room''s chill as the main flailed and went down smoldering.


    Now, though, more of them were scrambling in through the broken windows, men and women with baleful red eyes and red-stained teeth and nails.


    "Th''gnigitheh... Y''wingie cthhullgha!" Penne gurgled and raised their staff. A series of thick and inky black tentacles slithered into existence and slinked their way across an open window to seal it shut more permanently as the tentacles withered and hardened to stone afterward.


    "Nice," Mau said as she swiped her mithril long sword to remove a man''s head from his shoulders. "Can you do that again?"


    "One more time, yeah," Penne answered as Mau jerked her head to the back of the house. "Go get the back window, Suvdaa; go with Penne while they do that; make sure they come back alive."


    Suvdaa grunted affirmatively as she and Penne darted through the door to the back room, leaving Mau and Andy to deal with the flood pouring into the main living area.


    Mau grimaced as the head she had just severed seconds ago took a leap at her throat as she batted it aside.


    "For fuck''s sake!" She groused as Andy lit the head ablaze in another flash of golden fire.


    "Thanks for that!" She called to the dogboy. Andy nodded curtly, sweat beading on his brow as he smacked away a village woman with his staff, and a golden light passed through his weapon to the creature''s body, making it spasm as he struck it with a holy smite.


    Mau quickly slid into position to fight back-to-back with the young cleric, smoothly severing several more limbs in passing on her course.


    When a burly infected villager lunged for her, she bumped Andy aside with her hip, tail flicking as she sidestepped nimbly away.


    "Flamestrike!" Mau whispered, igniting her sword in a red-hot fire, searing clean through the man with a cleaving strike that split him in half where he stood.


    The man''s halves shrieked, several wiry, thin tendrils of muscle and blood trying to reach out from the wounds but ultimately dying off thanks to the heat and cautery of the slash.


    For every villager Mau and Andy struck down with fire and holy attacks, another just clambered through the window, ready to join in the fun, and even Mau was starting to sweat by the time a cloud of jet-black fire surged through the door to the back room.


    "Balefire!" Penne shouted as they surged through the door and engulfed another three villagers, instantly reducing them to ashes. Suvdaa was right on Penne''s trail, though they both looked a little bloody.


    "Back window is sealed." Suvdaa huffed, wiping at a gash on her brow to get some blood out of her eyes.


    "Good!" Andy whined, "I was starting to get worried about you both back there!"


    In an instant, Suvdaa and Penne joined Mau and Andy next, everyone covering a corner of the room, fighting back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Balefire and holy flames alternately painted the room in bright gold light and inky black shadow. At the same time, Mau''s flaming blade added splashes of red to the mix, and the occasional twang of Suvdaa''s bowstring sounded off as she snapped off another precision shot.


    The fighting was endless, and the team tirelessly fought despite their mounting exhaustion.


    Soon enough, though, the sun was rising through the shattered windows.


    With a collective cry of dismay, the villagers began to retreat as the warmth of the sun''s light started to spread over the snow.


    One final hacking slash of Mau''s sword split a woman in half diagonally from shoulder to hip before an exhausted Mau collapsed onto her ass with a grunt.


    She would have nearly toppled backward if not for Penne also falling down at the same time, their backs pressing together and holding them upright as they panted and gasped for breath.


    Andy dropped to his knees and promptly caught himself from falling forward on his palms with a gasp, sweat pouring off his brow to spatter the bloody floor as he looked ready to upheave the contents of his stomach.


    Suvdaa slumped against the nearest wall, blue eyes blearily staring out the window at the retreating villagers.


    "... The snowstorm stopped, at least." She said, tone laced with exhaustion.


    "Fffffffuck meeeeee." Mau yowled as she tipped over and flopped onto her side. "I can''t remember the last time I pulled a last stand like that." She coughed breathlessly.


    "Do you... Do things like that for fun?" Penne asked, disbelieving, as they flopped onto Mau''s back.


    "I wouldn''t call it ''fun''." Mau retorted.


    "We can''t stay here." Suvdaa pointed out. "I know we''re tired, but we should probably get moving as fast as possible." She huffed.


    "Sure... Sure..." Mau panted. "Just... Let me catch my breath a sec..." She said. "And then I''ll be happy to get the fuck out of here."

 Chapter 29: The Mines

    It had been a rough night. No one had gotten a wink of sleep due to the nonstop fighting the team had to endure, fending off the infected villagers.


    Mau felt rough around the edges, but it wasn''t her first time pulling an all-nighter. It was almost comical how she remembered using that term back when she was a high school and college student in the boring, old, mundane world she had come from. Back then, it simply meant doing some dumb essay, paper, or assignment to prepare for the next day. Funny how not one of those assignments from back then ever carried over to being useful in the bullshit fantasy worlds she had grown so used to for the past hundred lives.


    Here, pulling an all-nighter now apparently meant fighting for your fucking life against monsters and ghouls and ghosts and all manners of gribblies in the night.


    "Suvdaa," Mau said as the raider busied herself, trying to pry a whining Dulguun from his hiding place under several blood-soaked blankets in the corner of the room.


    "Little coward bear." Suvdaa huffed back in response before glancing over her shoulder back at Mau. "What is it, Mau?"


    "How are you holding up?" Mau asked, concern evident in her tone before she glanced into the other room, where Andy and Penne were catching their breaths and taking a brief nap.


    "I''m exhausted," Suvdaa answered honestly, surprising Mau. Usually, the raider shrugged off her concerns with a brusque ''I''m fine'' or ''I''ll be okay.'' But this time, Suvdaa looked at Mau with haggard and bloodshot eyes.


    "But I''ll be okay with a little rest, " Suvdaa added. Mau nodded as she slumped into the destroyed remains of what used to be a sofa. Now, it was scorched and broken in several places from the fracas. Suvdaa joined her, practically collapsing onto the space beside Mau on what was left of the cushions; the two leaned on each other shoulder to shoulder in silence for a long beat.


    "We can''t stay here." Suvdaa pointed out. "We need to get going to those mines, but in the condition we''re in, we''ll likely get killed on the way if we''re not careful."


    Mau nodded. "We need rest." She said.


    "Aye." Suvdaa agreed with a curt nod. "Andy is likely taking this the worst. Penne... They can handle it, but they could use a break, too."


    "Mm," Mau replied as she hugged Suvdaa''s arm to her chest. "We''ll catch a short rest. Just long enough to get a second wind. Then we get going. It won''t be an easy trip to the mines; there are probably more of those things out there, and considering the bear attack on the way into town... I wouldn''t be surprised if this The Thing could infect animals and turn them into monsters, too."


    Suvdaa nodded and shifted her seating just enough to rest her cheek on Mau''s shoulder.


    Mau tensed slightly, feeling the warmth of the other girl''s cheek so close. The catgirl''s blue eyes flicked to the raider''s face to find the other girl''s eyes closed and her breath softening.


    "Hey..." Mau whispered. But there was no response. Suvdaa was already out like a light.


    A little sleep, Mau figured, couldn''t hurt. Especially after fighting for their lives all night... The party had earned at least a little respite.


    Mau sighed, brushing Suvdaa''s hair out of her eyes with her fingertips. "Guess I''m staying up to make sure nothing guts us while we''re passed out." She said with a chuckle.


    Staying up wasn''t easy, not with Suvdaa''s warmth leaning against her, but Mau soldiered on. She''d give them an hour- maybe two tops to get some snooze time in before waking the others up to soldier on out the door and on to the mines.


    With a heavy sigh, Mau''s head tipped forward.


    "Fuck." She whispered to herself. This wasn''t going to be an easy journey, and ever since her dawning realization the night before, she was going to be beside herself with worry about the chance that one or more of them would get hurt... Or worse.


    "I''m such an idiot." She berated herself again under her breath.


    She had just absolutely breezed through so many lives. The connections she had made- the bonds and travel companions she had come by in those prior lives... To her, they were fleeting and transient. But to those honest-to-god, actual people, they likely considered Mau a lifelong friend. The best she had treated them was based on whether or not she viewed them as beneficial to killing a Demon Lord.


    "Guh."


    Mau decided to stop kicking herself over it, for now, at least. She was different then, and she was different now. And though she was starting to realize the gift given to her in living as much as she had, she also felt so tired.


    Her vision blurred, but she soldiered on, doing her best to not pass out and drift off next to the raider in her arms. The best she could hope for would be to dose on small bursts of microsleep, but she probably wouldn''t even notice that happening if it did.


    Enduring the next hour required mental and physical fortitude, and Mau knew it wouldn''t be easy.


    Cats sleep a lot.


    But by the time the sun hit its crest in the sky, she knew that was about all the time they had.


    "Hey," Mau whispered, gently nudging Suvdaa until the other girl stirred.


    "Resting m''eyes dumb cat," Suvdaa mumbled as Mau shook her lightly. "Stop that..."


    "It''s time," Mau said gently. "We have to get up. We have to go."


    Suvdaa sat up slowly and grunted irritably, but she eventually nodded while rubbing her eyes.


    "I''ll wake Andy and Penne." Suvdaa volunteered herself for the likely impossible task of rousing the dog boy. Penne would probably be easier to wake, but Mau simply nodded as the raider stood up and trudged to the other room.


    Mau slowly stood herself up. She stretched her arms over her head and felt her spine pop pleasantly in a few places as her tail flicked.


    "Guhhhhhhhh..." She heard Andy groaning, the groan of the dead and damned, from the other room. She stepped through the door.


    Dulguun was biting Andy''s foot while Suvdaa gently shook Penne awake.


    "Just five more minutes." Andy pleaded.


    "We don''t have the time for that," Penne muttered as they slowly sat up. "How long were we out?"


    "Long enough." Mau huffed and covered her mouth to yawn big.


    "... Did you stay up just to keep watch over us?" Penne asked incredulously.


    Mau grunted at the hagling while Andy picked himself up off the floor.


    "Maybe." She said.


    Penne rolled their golden eyes and tugged their robes and cloaks tighter around themself to fend off the chill breeze that filtered in through the shattered windows.


    After a few more minutes of cajoling Andy into being reasonably awake, the team was up, and they were out the door.


    A fresh and thick layer of snow had piled on the ground overnight, and it was thick and heavy enough to bury most of the bodies of the villagers that had harried Mau and her friends. This was good; Mau would rather not see what kind of hideous body horror grotesque bullshit most of the corpses would likely be sporting after a night of fending off The Thing From Another World, and they trudged down the lonely road heading east in the direction of the mountains.


    The mountains were already visible from the edge of town, which meant the mines wouldn''t be too far off, but the biting chill winds and knee-deep snow made the trek miserable for everyone.


    At least the cold would keep them awake and alert, and Mau could already feel a second wind coming upon her as she headed up the party.


    The road felt like it went on forever, and by the time the party had the city of Bhelm behind them, they jumped at every sound and movement from the tree line.


    "About how far are the mines, again?" Mau grunted as she slogged through fresh and untouched snow. Her feet were cold, and she was getting honestly very irate at the whole The Thing situation that she knew would likely be waiting for them at the mines.


    "A few miles," Suvdaa replied brusquely while glancing at the map.


    "The town was built close by, likely to make transport of ores easier for miners and smiths alike." Penne pointed out sagaciously.


    Mau nodded as her boots crunched through the snow. A few miles would feel like forever in the cold, but at least the storm was over, so the party wouldn''t freeze to death on the way. A brisk wind breezed by; the chill helped keep Mau awake a little more as her breath visibly puffed up like steam.


    It was still a miserable trudge through the high snow as they made their way down the road, winding through trees and brush. Eventually, the trees gave way to the sight of the rocky mountainside. It wasn''t too long after that that the trees gave way to a manmade clearing by the mountainside, revealing the open mouth of a cave in the side of the rockface. Several mine carts stood abandoned, full of ore, and piled even higher with snow atop them, while one cart lay toppled on its side, hastily abandoned in what Mau could only assume was the miners'' last flight from the mine after the monsters attacked. There was no sign of a single soul, and the fresh snow hid any clues of what could have happened.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Well," Mau said. "Here we are."


    The quartet stared into the dark mouth of the cave that led into the mines. The torches and lanterns were out and hadn''t been lit for some time. Mau took a steeling breath and turned her head, feeling a hand rest gently on her shoulder.


    It was Suvdaa, and the raider looked serious momentarily before her expression softened.


    "We''re with you, Mau," she said. Andy and Penne nodded. Mau nodded back to her friends as she took the first steps into the mouth of the mines. Though she, Andy, and Penne had the benefit of superior vision in the coming darkness, she knew it would be an issue for Suvdaa, who was only human.


    "Andy, give us a light," Mau said before Suvdaa grunted.


    "I will be fine," The raider said grumpily. "My eyes will adjust."


    "Not as well as mine, or Andy''s or Penne''s. I need you sharp. Though your bow probably won''t be much good in close quarters in there, I don''t want us snuck up on." Mau said. Suvdaa was quiet for a beat before she nodded, and Andy struck up a divine light spell, illuminating the dark cavern in a soft white glow. The walls and cave roof were shored up with wooden supports, but with Andy''s light spell, there was no missing splash marks of congealed blood on the floor as the party stepped further into the darkness. There was a lot of blood but not a single body to be found, and that concerned Mau. She didn''t want to deal with more The Thing horrorterrors in a confined space again, but she knew it was only a matter of time before it would be bound to happen.


    "That''s... A lot of blood." Andy commented under his breath, chewing on his lip as the team moved in their typical marching order; Mau was at the front, Andy and Penne were in the middle, and Suvdaa was holding up the rear.


    Mau clasped her trusted old short sword in her main hand, opting not to wield her new mithril blade. Its length would only be a hindrance in the tight spaces of the mines, especially if they got any tighter. Though there was plenty of space for now, thanks to the twin mine cart tracks that led in and out of the cave mouth, she wasn''t sure how long that would last as the party progressed deeper. Mau would have to rely on the old short sword and some judiciously applied firebolts if anything lunged out of the darkness at her.


    Thankfully, the inside of the mines were at least warmer than the blustering winter wonderland outside. It was still cold, but Mau could at least warm up by a few degrees as the party slowly crept down the lonely corridor inside the mountain. Soon enough, the corridor started branching in different directions, heading deeper into the mountain''s depths.


    "So, which way do we go?" Andy asked, keeping his voice low and quiet to avoid attracting any attention to the party.


    Mau paused momentarily, glanced down another roughly hewn stone passage, and took a breath.


    "Mau would know," Penne spoke up. "It''s her sword, after all. It''s part of the story; the hero knows where to find what they need when needed."


    Mau tensed briefly.


    "I hate being called a hero," the catgirl muttered under her breath but shut her eyes tightly. Penne was right. In her prior lives, when she came within distance of the holy sword made by the gods, she just knew where it was.


    She glanced down at the cave floor when she opened her eyes again. A faint glimmer caught her attention.


    There was a chunk of mithril ore on the ground at her foot. Another sat several feet away down a tunnel leading north, and her eyes made out the faint shimmering trail of mithril chunks leading further inward.


    "That way," Mau said, nudging her chin toward the ore chunks.


    With their path chosen, the party moved in silence. The caves were stone silent, quiet enough for the four to hear their hearts thumping in their chests as they waited with bated breath for an attack at any second, an attack that came as soon as the new path opened into a small chamber.


    "RRRRAAAAAAAA!" A voice shouted in the darkness. Mau''s ears twitched. She had heard the dwarf''s controlled breathing well before he took the swing, and she nimbly hopped back while parrying aside the pickaxe that had been aimed at her head.


    With a firm boot to the middle, the old dwarf crumpled with a cough, but several more stirred in the darkness, making Mau realize that he hadn''t been hiding there alone.


    "Hold up! We''re not infected!" Mau said hastily, holding up her hands in hopes that the miners were of sound mind.


    "Gah, blast it!" The fallen dwarf huffed with a scowl as he picked himself up. He looked like he was gearing up for another swing when a scaled hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.


    "Please forgive us," a dragonkin spoke as he stepped into the torch''s light.


    "We''ve been hiding here for days; our food is running out, and those things are still out there. We thought we''d never see a friendly face again."


    Another dwarf with a shovel in her hands and dust-covered red hair lurked at the periphery of the torchlight, glowering at Mau and her party suspiciously.


    "Make them prove it!" She snapped. "How do we know they aren''t infected?"


    Mau blinked.


    "Uh. How exactly are we supposed to prove that?" Mau asked skeptically. "It''s not like we can do blood tests in a mine."


    "Blood test?" A Demi-human miner in the shadows asked, his bunny ears pricking up curiously.


    "Look..." The pickaxe-wielding dwarf said as he stood up with a wheeze, clutching his graying beard. "I''m sorry I swung at ya, but we can''t be sure who is or isn''t one of those things... They could be anyone, yer neighbor, yer best friend, they could be you, they could be me." He huffed while catching his breath. "For all we know, they''re already... Among us."


    Mau stood there, balking for a beat. "Sounds sus to me, " she muttered before shaking her head. "But The Thing still did this first."


    The dwarves, bunnyman, and dragonkin stared at Mau like she had three heads.


    "Please ignore the dumb cat''s movie antics," Suvdaa said, stepping past Mau. Her bow was in her hands, ready to fire at the next sign of aggression, "But we are not here to harm you, nor are we here to rescue you; you are on your own for that; we are simply passing through."


    This made Andy blink.


    "Wait, we''re not going to help them?" He asked.


    Penne shook their head, "We have a quest to fulfill. We can''t dawdle."


    Everyone stood in tense silence before the dwarf woman heaved a sigh.


    "If you''re not gonna help us, then at least tell us, is the town safe?"


    Mau shook her head while Andy, Suvdaa, and Penne stared exhaustedly into the mid-distance like they were suffering from shell shock.


    "Don''t go back to town," Mau said very quickly. "It''s completely overrun; we barely got out of there, ourselves."


    The dwarf stared at her in disbelief.


    "Then... Where are we supposed to go?"


    "Anywhere other than Bhelm," Suvdaa said tersely.


    "... Unless one of you is infected." Mau suddenly realized that if the infection spread beyond one town, it could be disastrous for the rest of the continent, if not the whole world.


    "... Because if one of you is infected and this spreads...," she trailed off as everyone came to the same realization.


    "Wait, wait, wait!" the bunnyman said suddenly. "We''ve been around each other the past week; no one among us here is infected!"


    "... Sus," Mau whispered.


    "The hell does ''sus'' mean, anyway?" The older dwarf grunted while Mau eyed the miners dubiously.


    "Okay, here''s the deal," Mau sighed. "On the chance that one of you IS infected... We can''t just let you out into the world."


    Tensions immediately spiked as the miners clutched their tools tighter. But Mau shook her head.


    "I don''t want to kill or hurt any of you." She added quickly. "But we can''t take the risk of this The Thing... Plague or whatever it is spreading."


    The miners glanced at one another dubiously.


    "And how do you propose we prove to you that we''re not infected?" The dragonkin pointed out.


    "Got a pan?" Mau asked. "Because I''ve got an idea."


    There was a beat of silence and stillness in the cave before the dwarf woman rummaged among their collective belongings and pulled out a small cook pan.


    "Turns out..." Mau said. "We are gonna do a blood test."


    "Uh. How?" Andy asked, raising his hand like a boy in class.


    Mau sheathed her short blade and pulled out a dagger. She didn''t even wince as she slashed her thumb open and let the blood dribble into the pan.


    "So they figured it out in The Thing," she explained, but she was quickly interrupted.


    "WHAT thing?" The Miners all demanded in unison.


    "--I''m NOT explaining that again!" Mau snapped.


    "You barely explained it the first time." Penne groaned.


    Mau glanced over her shoulder and shot the hagling a withering look while she bled into the pan.


    "ANYWAY. If someone is infected with this... plague, every part of them will fight back when threatened. Even their blood."


    Mau''s blade suddenly glowed red hot as she funneled her magic into it; she dipped the dagger''s tip into the bloody pan...


    It sizzled quietly and without issue.


    "As a sign of good faith... Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne will all go next."


    "I don''t want to cut my thumb," Penne noted.


    "Please don''t make this difficult." Mau sighed.


    "And if we don''t do this?" The old dwarf asked, once again clutching his pickaxe.


    Mau shrugged, "Then I''m going to have to assume you''re infected." She said side-eying him. "And then you have to die."


    The miners started to sweat, self-preservation instincts kicking in, but terror kept them in place. They had no idea how well-equipped or effective Mau''s team was in a fight, and all they had was some shoddy mining equipment with no real weapon training among them.


    "Fine." The older dwarf spat.


    Suvdaa cut her thumb next on her own knife. The result was negative when Mau tested it. Something Mau was silently glad for.


    Andy winced when his turn came up, and to his credit, he only gave a small yelp at the cut. He then heaved a visible sigh of relief to discover that he, too, was not infected.


    Penne grimaced but let Suvdaa cut their thumb last. Again, the result was negative.


    "This doesn''t prove anything!" The bunnyman suddenly snapped. "What if it doesn''t work like that?!" He demanded, voice raising with frustration.


    This immediately put all the other miners on edge, readying themselves for a fight once again, but Mau held up a hand,


    "If none of your blood reacts... You can walk right out of here." She said.


    "Or?" The female dwarf pressed her.


    "Or..." Mau sighed, setting her on the hilt of her long blade to make the threat visible without needing to be spoken.


    "We can TAKE them!" The bunnyman said, "Just rush the catgirl!"


    "I really wouldn''t do that," Penne said, tone completely mild. "Mau has killed worse things than a Jabberwock."


    "It''s a lie!" the bunnyman snapped. "Come on, guys, we can take them and run!"


    "You''re next," Mau decided as the other miners suddenly turned on their comrade. Fear and suspicion swayed them to act on their instincts and drag him closer to the party rather than risk all of their lives.


    The instant the bunny came close, Mau could feel it. A subtle wrongness to him, a nagging, clawing suspicion at the back of her animal brain that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. Andy''s lips curled back, and his tail tucked behind his legs. Penne and Suvdaa exchanged looks.


    Dulguun growled. The little cub was put just as on edge as the rest of them, and Mau immediately knew why the bunny was so keen on trying to take her on while Suvdaa held the cub back from rushing at the Demi-human man and snapping.


    Mau quickly took the bunnyman''s hand and cut his thumb before he could protest.


    When she dipped her red hot blade in the blood, it sizzled and leaped up at her with a screech.


    Mau saw it coming a mile away and was the only person who didn''t jump back from the pan when it happened.


    In the next instant, the bunny flung his companions aside with inhuman strength and a wailing cry. But he wasn''t fast enough.


    Before Mau could draw her blade, the bunny screeched in agony as he was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant golden flame. Limbs flailing as they distorted grotesquely, he cried and moaned in pain before collapsing to the mine floor. Unable to roll out the divine fire, he smoldered and sizzled until all that was left was a charred and mangled corpse.


    Mau looked over her shoulder. Andy''s hands were trembling, and they clutched his staff tightly.


    "Goddamn, Andy, quick on the draw," Mau said proudly.


    "I''m tired," Andy replied. "I''m scared. And I''m not going to let one of these The Things hurt my friends!" The dogboy snapped, still growling.


    Mau patted him gently on the head to soothe him.


    The rest of the miners quickly lined up to have their blood drawn.


    Mau felt so tired.

 Chapter 30: The Ruins

    Shortly after dealing with the miners and finding that none of them, besides the demi-human, had been infected, Mau and the party hunkered down for a short rest. Though they couldn''t rest for too long in the cold murkiness of the mines, they were able to catch enough of a nap to be able to press on once the mining crew had left. Mau woke up feeling not quite refreshed but able to trudge on and rubbed her eyes with a big cat-fanged yawn.


    "Good thing you''re up, lazybones cat," Suvdaa said while sharpening her knife. "We were getting ready to think about leaving without you."


    Mau stuck her tongue out as Andy gave a nice big stretch, where he was also beginning to wake up.


    "I know you''re just saying that because you''re bored," Mau replied.


    Suvdaa grunted a vague affirmation as she plopped down beside the lazybones cat.


    "While you were asleep, Penne sent their moth ahead to scout for us. It hasn''t run into any more of those The Things, but it did find something interesting." Suvdaa said.


    "Ruins," Penne interjected as they adjusted their robes to stave off the cold a little better. "Mothra found ruins."


    Mau blinked. "Well, that makes sense; we were told that this all started when the miners dug too deep and hit some of those. ... Also, you named your Familiar ''Mothra''?"


    Penne shot Mau a flat look.


    "Is there a problem with that?" They asked.


    Mau, who was still reeling, shook her head.


    "... Mothra is a fine name for a giant moth..." She answered.


    It wasn''t a whole night''s sleep, but Mau felt refreshed enough to press on. Technically, she could have pressed on without the rest, but a pang of worry for her party mates like Andy made her adamant about the group catching a break while they could.


    Once everyone was up and awake, the group pressed on. Mau took her usual place at the front of the marching order, with Andy and Penne following shortly after and Suvdaa watching the rear.


    The mines were like a maze, but the miners had roughly sketched a map for the party before leaving, and Mau committed it to her memory. As a backup, Suvdaa also scribbled the directions on a sheet of parchment, just in case. The group took their time, stealthily creeping through the cave corridors and chambers to avoid any further contact with any more of The Things that might have been lurking in the depths, while Penne''s familiar flew just ahead of the group. Between Mau''s mental map and the path the moth had followed, it wouldn''t be long before the group hit the ruins the miners had been so spooked to find.


    Sneaking past several rooms full of monsters, the quartet delved another hour into the murk of the endless corridors and passages under the earth, following mine cart tracks and broken torch sconces before Mau paused.


    "We should be hitting those ruins soon." She whispered back to her friends, earning silent nods in reply. Almost as soon as she said this, she felt the breeze coming through a crack in the rock wall to her side. Mau pressed herself to the cave wall and sidled her way up to a large crack that split into another section of the mines. Peeking around the corner, Mau pursed her lips.


    Spreading into the vast expanse of a gigantic chamber under the mountain was a sprawling cityscape of ancient buildings and edifices, right where Mau''s mental map said it would be.


    "Yep," Mau said simply.


    Andy was next to take a peek behind her.


    "...Yep." He echoed as Penne took a look.


    "Yup." The hagling said.


    Suvdaa was next to take a look through the crack in the wall.


    "Mhm." She sighed as Mau was already wriggling herself through the crack in the stone wall, tail shimmying as she clambered onto the platform on the other side of the stone wall. Andy followed her, and they both helped Penne through as the hagling was slightly bigger than the two of them, while Suvdaa kept her ears and eyes peeled. Once the three were through, Suvdaa came following after them.


    The mining team that had begun the initial exploration of the ruins had left a rope ladder that descended into the darkness of the city below, and the party started their descent. Mau''s boots quietly landed on a cobbled stone path, obscured by a thin layer of mist, and as soon as she touched the ground, her swords were ready. There wasn''t a single sign of life in the ruins, but Mau''s animal brain was going haywire with the feeling of threats from every direction. Andy shuddered as he landed beside her, his pale face contorted in a grimace. He was feeling the same thing she was.


    "Mau, I don''t like this," Andy muttered. "It feels like they''re everywhere."


    Mau nodded as Penne finished descending the ladder next.


    "I know. Just stick close." Mau said gently as she set a hand on his shoulder.


    Penne and Suvdaa joined them in the misty streets, and the party re-grouped in their marching order with an incredibly paranoid Mau and Andy in their positions.


    Every gust of wind that whispered through the ancient buildings made Mau''s skin crawl. She expected a The Thing to lurch out at her from the shadows at any second.


    The buildings seemed to have been neatly hewn out of the mountain itself rather than built brick by brick, with solid walls and neatly cut square windows that peeked into yawning blackness. Mau was no stone worker, but she had seen enough dwarven ruins in her past lives to know what she was looking at when she saw the elaborate knot-like designs carved into the buildings.


    "Whelp. We''ve got some ancient dwarven ruins on our hands." She said in a hissed whisper.


    Andy clutched his staff with a white-knuckled grip. His floppy golden retriever ears perked up and swiveled for even the softest noise.


    "... How old are they?" Andy asked, voice barely above a whisper.


    "Donno. Hard to tell. I''m not an expert in dwarven history; I just know this place is ''old.''" Mau muttered as she paused, whirling to face where she thought she heard a noise. Penne and Suvdaa also jerked to look that way in the same instant.


    "What is it?" Suvdaa hissed.


    "It''s this whole damn place," Mau grunted. "It''s driving me and Andy wild. My teeth fucking itch like the time we ran into the old lady in town, except the feeling is coming from everywhere." She explained.


    "Clearly, it''s something only animals and demi-humans can feel." Penne mused thoughtfully as they looked to Dulguun, who was cowering in the shadow of Suvdaa''s bear cloak. "I''m not surprised, as demi-humans are said to be more in touch with their animal side than humans are."


    The group trudged through the mists, weapons ready for any surprises that might have been waiting to jump out at them, slowly wandering through the oppressive gloom and silence of the ruins.


    "Do we even know where we''re supposed to be going from this point?" Suvdaa hissed softly, clutching her knife close to her chest.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Mau motioned for the most prominent building in the distance, a tall grey ziggurat reaching up to the roof of the cavern, which she could just barely make out in the darkness.


    "That way. It''s there. It''s gotta be." She whispered before the entire party froze.


    "That way. It''s there. It''s gotta be." Mau whispered again, which resulted in a series of funny faces from Andy and Penne.


    "You just said that, Mau," Andy said quietly.


    Mau grunted, "I didn''t. I mean, that wasn''t me the second time."


    "Do we even know where we''re supposed to be going at this point?" Suvdaa''s voice echoed back at them in the darkness.


    "What is this Predator now?" Mau spat as she took on a ready stance with her blades. Everyone formed up back-to-back and prepared for an imminent attack.


    The shuffle of feet in the darkness immediately put the party on edge. It was a slow, shambling, foot-dragging noise that echoed in circles around the buildings, making it difficult to tell which direction it was coming from.


    And then another set of feet joined the first. And another joined that. Soon enough, the city had come to life with the sounds of hissed breath and the rustle of movement.


    A figure lurched out of the darkness and mist, which was horrifying to behold. The ratty and time-worn clothes said that the dwarf had been dead for a very long time; his- or her- beard was scraggly and dried out, and their skin was a hardened, reddened, mummified leather stretched tightly over their bones. The issue was that the mummy dwarf had three heads with two mouths, eight eye sockets, and gnashing fangs as it reached out with decrepit bone-claw hands.


    It was not alone as similarly disfigured and deformed creatures, much like it creaked and shambled their way out of the mists.


    "Nope." Mau decided and motioned for the party to retreat into the nearest building.


    Andy, Penne, Suvdaa, and Dulguun all hastily agreed and rushed the open doorway as Mau flung a firebolt into the zombified crowd. One of the monsters went up in flames with a shrill and keening cry of dismay, and Mau didn''t bother looking back as she shoved her way into the squat stone house.


    "Up the stairs." She said as soon as she saw them. She didn''t have to say it; Suvdaa was already chasing Dulguun halfway up with Andy and Penne hot on their heels.


    Mau lunged up the stairs two at a time as the first of the monstrosities came through the door, and she found herself on the roof of the building. Dulguun squealed as Suvdaa picked him up and took a vaulting leap across a short gap to the building across the way.


    Andy followed suit, quickly jumping the gap before Penne took their leap. Penne landed a little badly, tumbling into a sprawl, but promptly picked themself up with a huff. Mau followed suit once her teammates were across, and the party broke into a full-tilt sprint to leap to the next building. While most of the monsters were busy piling into the first building, Mau and company were already four buildings away, but the ancient city was now awake and aware of their presence.


    When Suvdaa landed on the next building, she let out a noise of disgust. Andy made a similar noise shortly after, and then, surprisingly, Penne made one, too.


    "The hell''s going on over there? Mau called over, trying to get a better look across the gap. Something glistened on the next building''s roof, but she couldn''t quite make out what it was. "Hold on, I''ll be right over."


    Another vaulting leap carried Mau the distance between the two buildings, and she landed and nearly slipped onto her ass. The entire building roof was coated in a slimy, flesh-like substance the color of old blood. Mau lifted her boot, and a thick, viscous film clung to it.


    "Oh, ew." She grunted as she looked to the others. Andy looked mortified, and Suvdaa and Penne simply looked like irritated, wet cats.


    That was when the dank smell of old blood hit Mau''s nose like a freight train. Andy, whose sense of smell was even better than Mau''s, gagged.


    While the party had made some distance, a quick glance over the building''s edge told Mau that the entire city was crawling with the decrepit monsters down below; she could see their indistinct and hideous forms shambling in the thickening mists, and her face tightened by a degree as she looked to the ziggurat the party was trying to reach.


    Closer now, she could see that the following few buildings and the tall pyramid structure were coated entirely in the slimy, red, gore-like substance that coated the roof of the building they were on.


    "That is concerning," Penne said blandly.


    "Just a little bit." Suvdaa agreed while struggling with a now wildly panicking little bear in her arms.


    "Shhhh," she shushed Dulguun until the fuzzball went still in her arms and turned into a trembling mass of brown fur.


    "Let''s keep going before these things remember how their knees work and figure out how to use stairs," Mau said as she geared up to take another jump to the next building when something flew past her head.


    "The fuck?!" Mau spat as she ducked from the glob of red slime and sharp bone that hurtled past her and splattered harmlessly on the roof. Before she could try to retake the jump, another blob arced up from the ground and hit the side of the building with a splat.


    Mau peeked into the gloom below to see that the The Things had started gathering, pulling pieces from their rotting bodies, and hurling them up at the party from the ground.


    "Oh, they can''t use stairs, but can they remember to do that?" Mau grunted irritably.


    The party was beset by these hurled globs of nastiness as they crossed to the next building and the building after, forced to time their jumps to avoid the deadly slop being launched up at them from below. But every building they crossed brought them closer and closer to the dwarven ziggurat in the distance.


    The closer the party got to the ziggurat, however, resulted in a very distinct change in the environment. More of the building rooftops were covered in sticky red slime; soon enough, the walls were coated in the same gunk, and it spread down to the streets below. The temperature was warming noticeably as the gunk gave off a nasty, smelly, and steamy humidity that made the fog thicken the further they progressed.


    "Ugh, it smells like old blood," Andy complained, covering his nose as the team made another leap.


    That''s when they learned the hard way that the slimy substance wasn''t exactly good for ancient stone and mortar.


    Suvdaa led the charge across another gap and jumped, landing with a little slip on the next rooftop before she frowned.


    "The stone is shifting under my feet. It''s unstable- find another way around-" She started to say before Andy landed beside her.


    Their combined cry of dismay echoed through the cavern and likely drew the attention of more monsters as the roof collapsed beneath their feet, plunging them into the darkness below.


    "Shit!" Mau spat as she skidded to a halt with Penne. "We''ve gotta get down there."


    Penne nodded grimly before they followed Mau down the side of the squat building. Mau landed first and then turned around and caught the hagling princess-carry style as they jumped down next.


    "... Put me down," Penne muttered, pale face flaring with a fluster.


    Mau quickly obliged, and they both ducked under a hurled slimeball before they ducked into the doorway of the building Suvdaa and Andy had fallen into. The creatures inside barely stirred from where they were glued to the stone walls, a morass of tangled limbs oozing sticky fetid sludge from every pore; their sunken eyes stared at Mau as she stepped into the squat remnants of the building. Andy was out cold, bleeding from his forehead, and Suvdaa was already dragging him toward the doorway.


    "Out out out out out!" The raider hissed, breath quickening with panic as a barb-tipped tendril of flesh lashed out from one of the wall-bound creatures. The creature moaned victoriously as the tentacle shot out with enough force to take Suvdaa''s head clean off her shoulders, but then its cry turned into one of pain as Mau''s blade was quicker.


    The severed tentacle flopped bonelessly to the floor, spraying ichor from the cut end as it writhed and twisted. But then the other wall-bound monsters revealed similar razor-barbed tentacles ready to lash for Mau next.


    "-Out out out out!" Mau said as she backpedaled away from the horrific sight and crossed the door''s threshold. Just as she cleared the door, a tangle of deadly tentacles stabbed into the ground where she had been just seconds before.


    Breathless and blood pumping with adrenaline, Suvdaa and Mau staggered away from the door with Andy in tow. Penne was already reaching into their rucksack for something and pulled out a small vial. Snapping the vial open in their fingers, they held it under Andy''s nose, forcibly awakening the dog-boy with a sudden gasp.


    Andy quickly reached for his throbbing skull and groaned but was back on his feet with the others in the next second. The ziggurat was just a stone''s throw away, but the monsters starting to crowd the slimed-over streets would make it a nightmare to get by to the great stone doors.


    Mau drew her short blade and twirled her mithril longsword in her main hand.


    "I''ll cut us a path, Suvdaa, Penne, help Andy keep up."


    "I''ll be fine," Andy said stiffly, still holding his head. "I don''t want to be a burden anymore."


    "Good on you. Do you think you can keep up?" Penne asked him.


    "I can try." He replied.


    "That''s all we ask for," Suvdaa said with surprising gentleness.


    Mau lunged forward, both swords flaring to life as they burst into flames in her hands. Ichor and cauterized limbs flew as she whirled into a mass of the The Things in her way. She ducked gracefully under scythe-shaped bone blades, slid under flung gunk and acidic bile, and hacked out several creatures'' legs from beneath them as she skidded past and cleared a path for the others.


    Several monsters erupted in golden holy fire and jet-black balefire as Andy and Penne followed while Suvdaa chased hot on their heels. The ziggurat doors were just within reach, and no sooner than Mau had cut a path for the team, she slammed herself into the stone doors full force.


    The doors budged, and she hurled herself against them again, with Andy and Penne''s weight joining her.


    "Hurry!" Suvdaa hissed as she joined the others, forcing the doors wide enough for Mau to squeeze through and grip the edges of the door from the inside. With their combined effort, the heavy doors scraped the stone floors with an audible grinding as the rest of the team forced themselves through and then heaved to slam the doors shut with one last resounding thud of stone on stone.


    Panting breathlessly, one of them just a little concussed, the party took just a second to recover... Before they turned to face the darkness ahead and whatever the inside of the ziggurat might hold for them.

 Chapter 31: The Lord of The Things

    The inside of the ziggurat smelled worse than the stone graveyard of buildings and monsters outside.


    The outside smelled like stale blood and bile, but the air was, at least, fresh. The stale and dry air inside the ziggurat was like that of a tomb that hadn''t been opened in centuries, and the iron tang that lingered in the air told Mau that there were likely more creatures to be found inside the cramped confines of the building.


    Mau''s eyes quickly adjusted to the darker chamber, but she could already hear Suvdaa struggling to calm a distressed Dulguun.


    The little bear was curled in the fetal position at Suvdaa''s feet, trembling wildly with terror. Suvdaa gently scooped the little fur ball into her arms and held him to her chest with an exhausted sigh.


    "It''s okay, little one." She whispered, cradling the bear gently.


    "Man, Suvdaa, I feel like you love that bear more than you love me." Mau teased while catching her breath.


    It was nearly pitch black, but Mau could feel the raider glaring daggers at her through the gloom.


    Eventually, Dulguun calmed, and Mau realized she wasn''t feeling threats from every direction while inside the new chamber where the party found themselves.


    "The bear has cuter ears." Suvdaa sniped back with a barb so pinpoint accurate that Mau felt the words stab her in the chest.


    "Ow." Mau huffed. "That hurt."


    "Can you two save the flirting for when we are not trapped underground in a maze and fighting for our lives?" Penne muttered, their golden eyes gleaming in the dark.


    "We are NOT flirting," Suvdaa said pettishly while Mau flashed a catty grin.


    "Anyway, someone cast a light spell or light a new torch; it''s pitch black in here," Mau said.


    Andy, still recovering, picked up a pebble off the ground and groggily murmured a few words of prayer to his deity. The pebble radiated a warm golden light that flooded the chamber.


    The party took in their surroundings no sooner than Andy lit the room. Ancient glyphs and runes lined the walls, and Mau pursed her lips.


    "What do they say?" Suvdaa asked as she guided Andy to sit against the wall.


    "My dwarvish is a little rusty, and these runes are pretty old," Mau said. "But they''re all about keeping something in here. A lot of it just repeats, ''Bury under a rock.'' It''s like the dwarven equivalent of ''Don''t open, dead inside,'' I guess."


    Once Andy was seated, Mau kneeled in front of him. Penne kept a wary eye on the lone doorway leading deeper into the ziggurat while Mau and Suvdaa broke out the medical supplies and tended to the acolyte''s bloody head.


    Some disinfectant and a bandage wrapped around his head, and their work was done as best as it could be.


    "I''m okay now," Andy said, rubbing his head as Mau helped him back to his feet.


    "I hope so," Mau said. "We can''t stop to rest, and I''m not leaving you behind." Suvdaa and Penne nodded in agreement.


    Once they had caught their breath, they steeled themselves to press on. Mau cautiously approached the archway leading into the next chamber, swords ready. Penne supported Andy with his arm over their shoulder and followed closely.


    "Wait." Suvdaa suddenly said, prompting them all to pause. Mau immediately saw what Suvdaa was seeing as she halted in her tracks.


    One of the floor tiles was markedly different than the others. It was decorated in multiple dwarven runes that formed a sentence.


    "Walk the path of Rock and Stone, and the way to you will be shown," Mau murmured aloud as she held the light-pebble aloft. The next room''s floor tiles were each decorated with a single rune of the dwarven alphabet.


    "Oh, that''s easy. We just follow the tiles that spell out Thuvros because that''s the dwarf god''s name." Mau realized.


    The others stared at her.


    "How did you figure that out so quickly?" Penne asked.


    "Indiana Jones," Mau said without explanation before she stepped onto the rune representing the letter T.


    In an instant, the floor gave out from under Mau''s weight and crumbled apart to reveal an ancient pit of rusty spikes. Mau just barely lurched back in time to plop on her ass with a grunt of surprise.


    "Gah! Oh shit." She huffed, adrenaline racing through her veins. "The rune was ''Th'' not ''T''. I feel like I should have seen that coming."


    Mau picked herself up and patted the dust off her butt before she warily put her foot on the tile marked TH. It held her weight.


    "Okay, one at a time." Mau motioned for the others to follow her as she moved to the next tile and the one after that, spelling out the dwarf god''s name until they had all crossed the chamber into the next arched doorway.


    "Okay, if this Indiana Jones bullshit continues, then we''re going to see some whirling saw blades right about... NOW! THE PENITANT MAN KNEELS!" Mau said as she took to a knee and ducked a whirling giant buzzsaw-blade that... Never came. She waited a few heartbeats longer and lifted her head with an owlish blink. The hall leading out of the first room seemed to be devoid of traps so far, but Mau proceeded cautiously regardless.


    "It looks like it''s just a hallway." Penne pointed out dryly.


    "Yeah. Yeah, it is." Mau conceded. "But if we run into an old dwarf knight saying we have to drink out of the grail, remember, it''s the wooden cup."


    Mau continued down the hall, heedless of the funny looks her friends were giving her back as they followed after her before her animal brain went haywire.


    The very instant she crossed into the next chamber, the scent of old blood and the feeling of an imminent threat from every direction hit her like the truck that started this whole adventure.


    Mau''s fingers tightened around the blades in her hands, and she was instantly on the defensive. A jagged bone blade lunged at her out of the darkness, but she parried it with contemptuous ease. However, the sound of bone ringing against steel spurred her companions to push into the room after her.


    Andy''s lips curled back as he snarled at the darkness. Mau held the light-imbued pebble aloft in her left hand as she parried another swing of the bone blade that would have cleaved Penne apart as they entered the chamber.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t all rush headfirst into danger at the first sound of a fight?!" Mau snapped at her teammates, who quickly backed out of the door to give her space.


    As she deflected another swipe from the darkness, Mau hurled the light pebble into the center of the chamber so she could see what she was fighting and draw her short blade.


    The monstrosity in the room was a little shorter than Mau but stocky and widely built. Though she surmised it to be another mutated dwarf, it was so hideously altered by time and decay that it was less a defined humanoid figure and more of an abstract morass of limbs and sharp, bony protrusions.


    Mau was reasonably certain that her skill level vastly outstripped some randomly encountered monster''s wild flailing. Still, she wanted to take no chances of risking injury to herself or her friends or, worse, possible infection with this The Thing bullshit as the creature aimed a swipe that would have taken her head off if she was any slower.


    But Mau was not slow by any means, as her sword flared to life, erupting with fire as she brought it down to not just parry the attack but cleave cleanly through the bone blade and bite her sword into the monster''s fetid hide.


    With a spurt of congealed blood, the creature collapsed into a heap, dead from the massive and cauterized slash wound that hewed through its body.


    There was just a slight problem. Even though the monster was seemingly the only occupant of the room, with no sign of any others around, Mau still felt assailed by the sensation of an ever-present threat. It was as though some nameless, faceless malevolence just hung in the air ominously waiting to reach out at her from the darkness that cloyed gloomily around the sputtering light of her fiery sword and the divine shine of the light-pebble on the floor.


    "... Coast''s clear," Mau said tentatively to her party, "It was just the one The Thing."


    Slowly and cautiously, Andy, Penne, and Suvdaa stepped in after Mau. Dulguun fought Suvdaa and growled the whole way while Andy gritted his teeth.


    Mau lightly patted both the dogboy and the bear on the head.


    "I know, guys, it''s pretty scary in here, I don''t blame you." She muttered, trying to calm her nerves as well as theirs.


    Sheathing her short blade, Mau plucked the light-pebble from the floor and the party proceeded to move on.


    The only path to follow was a cramped set of spiral stone stairs hewn into the rock from which the ziggurat had been carved, and they proceeded up in tired silence.


    The further up Mau went at the lead, the more she felt the claws of terror and anxiety digging into her soul. But she pushed on, clenching her fingers around the hilt of her longsword as she gritted her teeth.


    The climb felt like it took forever, but eventually, the stairs reached a landing, allowing the party to spread out. The large chamber reeked of death, and the walls were coated in the same blood-red slime and ooze from the buildings outside.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    In the center of the room was a single stone sarcophagus decorated with a carved relief of a dwarven king.


    Mau paused and took a quick look around.


    "Large open chamber... Horrific ambiance, a single interactable object in the center of everything... This is a boss room. We''re going to fight a boss."


    "I''m not even going to question what you''re on about now," Suvdaa said while Dulguun quivered in her arms.


    "What Mau means is, we''re likely about to find the source of this corruption in the caves in a moment here and have to battle it," Penne said sagaciously.


    "Lovely..." Andy said, tail tucking between his legs as he gritted his teeth. The stench was unbearable, and he was doing his best not to panic from the extreme fear coursing through his nerves.


    "There''s only one way through this," Mau said with a slow breath through her teeth. She motioned for the sarcophagus. "We kill what''s inside that."


    "But what if it''s already dead?" Andy asked, hopefully.


    "We re-kill it, then," Mau replied as she stepped forward.


    As soon as she took that step, a wave of terror washed over her, hitting her with all the force of Truck-kun.


    "Eugh..." Mau shuddered and gritted her teeth, pushing aside her animal brain''s wild panic, and took another step.


    Every inch closer to the coffin was an exercise in willpower to not simply turn around and run back to the safety of her comrades.


    "The hell..." Mau grumbled as she realized the supernatural sense of magic washing over her. Whatever was in the coffin was actively doing its best to use every dirty magical trick it had to keep her from approaching.


    Mau clenched her jaw and shoved her feelings aside, storming the rest of the way towards the sarcophagus with a resolve that could only come with a hundred lifetimes of dealing with this kind of bullshit.


    "Ah... She really did it." Mau heard Andy whisper to the others as she lifted her foot and, with a powerful surge of adrenaline and fury, kicked the lid off the coffin in one heavy blow.


    Inside the sarcophagus was a skeletal dwarf clad in the rotted and tattered regalia of a king. His beard was thin and scraggly with time and rot, and his armor was rusted and tarnished with age.


    There was silence for a long beat as Mau could feel her heart hammering in her chest.


    "Is... That it?" Suvdaa muttered from the entrance, bow held at the ready.


    "Nah," Mau said, turning back to her party. "We''re about to hit a cutscene where the boss wakes from the dead and attacks us. This is so typical it''s not even funny."


    As if on cue, the dead dwarf''s eyes snapped open. Those eyes locked right onto Mau, and the disembodied voice that spoke up as the dead dwarf rested his hand on the edge of the sarcophagus was about as menacing as was to be expected.


    "Who dares disturb the slumber of Osiris...?" The voice hissed. "I, ruler of the dead and damned, and of Vile Darque''s Four Heavenly Kings, demand to know..."


    "Oh," Mau said with a blink. "That''s like the third time I''ve heard that name. You''re one of his generals? Cool, that means I''m killing two birds with one stone by doing this:"


    Mau immediately and without any preamble, nor waiting for a reply, rammed her mithril longsword into the dead dwarf''s chest.


    "... You fool. That will not--" The undead king started to speak before Mau''s sword erupted in a blaze, setting his ancient rotting flesh and bones ablaze in a violent and roaring conflagration.


    The dwarf king crackled and smoldered as his papery, shriveled flesh seared away.


    Mau, who was done casually going full throttle in trying to make world record time in killing off a Demon Lord General, pulled her sword out of the fire and cut the air once to douse the blade''s magical flame off.


    "Annnnnd, that''s how you speedrun a story boss," Mau said, sheathing her blade as she turned to her companions.


    Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne were eerily silent as they stared beyond Mau as she strode back towards them.


    "Problem''s solved; let''s go find the sword," Mau said, flashing a cheeky smile. She spread her arms to give Suvdaa a chest bump.


    Suvdaa barely grunted as Mau bounced clean off her from how firmly she stood, rooted in place.


    "What?" Mau huffed as none of her allies seemed as elated as she was.


    In unison, the trio and even the little bear pointed behind Mau.


    "Dumb, cocky cat! His head is escaping!" Suvdaa hissed as Mau whirled around.


    Like a scene right out of a horror movie, the dead king''s head was still smoldering as it crawled away on several spindly legs that had sprouted from where his neck separated from his torso to escape the flames, beard still burning.


    "Oh shit," Mau said, balking, "get him before he starts phase two of the boss fight!"


    The others didn''t even bother to ask Mau what she meant by that as they scrambled to destroy the scuttling skull.


    An arrow whipped through the air and missed the bearded head by a fraction of an inch as it lurched aside. It dodged holy and unholy fire, and even Dulguun chased hot on its heels, snapping his teeth. This was, up until the scuttling head reached the chamber wall. The red bloody slime coating everything suddenly melted apart and accepted the severed head into its gelatinous mass as it melded into the rotten and smelly sludge.


    "Shit..." Mau spat. For good reason, as the walls lurched, and the room started to shake.


    "What''s happening?" Andy asked, tone small and strained.


    "Nothing good," Penne answered him.


    That was when the wall exploded in a shower of gore and bone, revealing Osiris'' head once more but attached to a pillar of bone and muscle formed from the nasty organic matter that had been coating the chamber. And as Osiris added that mass to himself, more and more peeled away until the chamber walls were devoid of sludge, and it was all added to himself in a congealed mass of flailing tentacles tipped in razor barbs, armored bony plates, and keratinous horns.


    "Behold my true form and despair!" Osiris howled as the party looked on in revulsion and horror.


    Mau immediately took to the forefront of the group and parried a tentacle as it lashed out like a whip to impale Andy. She didn''t even have time to make any witty quips or remarks as the tentacles whirled around the beast. Mau''s reflexes were immediately tested as she slapped aside attack after attack. Her perception of time slowed to a crawl as she gritted her teeth and batted away what must have been thirty killing blows in under the span of a second.


    Congealed blood splattered the floor as her two swords neatly cut tentacles to ribbons. For each one she severed, another replaced it, and the gelatinous twitching appendages only crawled back to rejoin the monster king''s central body mass again.


    "Where are your wits now, kitten?" Osiris sneered, "Your glib remarks? Where are your attempts to ''speedrun'' me, now?" He demanded as an arrow embedded in his eye.


    "Shut up." Suvdaa snapped as Andy used the arrow as an anchor point for his next divine flame spell. It went up in a golden blaze, and Osiris snarled in pain as half his skull seared away in a golden conflagration.


    Mau''s swords erupted in red-hot flames as she slowly backpedaled, searing away more wildly whipping appendages. Though the burned tentacles wriggled and squirmed, they eventually died off and stopped crawling toward Osiris.


    "Stick with fire; he doesn''t seem to like it very much!" Andy called out. Penne nodded, and while Mau fended off the Demon Lord General''s attacks to protect them and Suvdaa, the acolyte and hagling launched plumes of golden and black fire repeatedly at the bloody sludge and bone monster. But each time they unleashed another attack, Osiris wriggled away. He was incredibly fast despite his immense tentacular mass, and Mau was forced to play on the defensive while her companions did their best to injure the monster.


    The clash of blades and bone resounded, echoing in the chamber the more Mau parried each attack that came in. She was in the zone; though the offense was more her element, Mau''s entire world became a flurry of clashing blows. She knew full well that if she failed to fend off even one hit, it would kill her or one of her friends.


    Another arrow cut through the air, trailing inky blackness as Penne''s dark fire lit it up before it embedded in the The Thing''s large bulk, causing a section of glistening bloody flesh to go up in grey-black flames.


    Osiris howled, rolling his mass onto the floor to extinguish the magical fire before the undead king rushed the party, the slimy snake-like body roiling across the floor towards them.


    "Scatter!" Suvdaa said, and the team went in separate directions, leaping and tumbling out of the way of the frenzied tackle.


    This presented a new problem as Mau picked herself up. She was in a terrible position to protect anyone.


    Osiris immediately pressed his assault, bone whips snapping out to kill...


    Penne quickly helped Andy to his feet, and the acolyte raised his staff at the last second possible.


    "Divine Protection!"


    With that clarion call, a glimmering barrier of golden light enveloped the dogboy and hagling. Sweat beaded on Andy''s brow as he put all of his strength into maintaining the shield as bloody bone blades slammed it again and again. At the same time, Suvdaa flung herself aside from attack after attack, tumbling and rolling, leaping and vaulting through a series of swipes that would have torn her to shreds as Mau tried to carve a path toward her.


    Again, Mau''s perception of time slowed to a crawl... One lucky tentacle snapped out.


    Suvdaa gasped, knowing she couldn''t make it in time. She landed and did her utter best to get out of the way.


    "Shit! Suvdaa!" Mau spat without thinking. Andy and Penne watched almost helplessly from behind their barrier as...


    Dulguun launched himself with a snarl, teeth flashing as the little bear cub caught the bloody tendril in his teeth. Dulguun''s flying momentum carried the attack off course, and the cub flailed his head, tearing the limb free of the Demon Lord General''s body in a bloody spray.


    Suvdaa grunted as she landed inelegantly on her ass, looking at the bear dumbfounded.


    Andy and Penne heaved sighs of relief from behind their cover.


    But Mau...


    Mau growled.


    In that instant, driven almost utterly feral with fury, the catgirl''s hand clenched white-knuckled around the hilt of her sword. Her ears pinned back as she hissed and spat, pupils contracting into thin slits as she flashed her fangs.


    In the next instant, her twin blades were wreathed in flame.


    Osiris turned to face her, the snake-like beast of bloody flesh rearing up as the dwarf skull affixed to the head snapped its teeth.


    "What''s this? Oh, is she special to you? ... Did I almost hit a sore spot?" The Demon Lord General crooned, amused as--


    Mau cleaved his body in half horizontally at the middle in a single, swift strike.


    The amusement was gone from the undead king''s tone as his upper half hit the floor with a bloody splat.


    "What in all the hells-?" He blurted, but Mau was upon him before he could wriggle his bulk away.


    Mau''s face was shrouded in a dark shadow, and her blue eyes gleamed balefully from her cold, expressionless visage.


    "... I''m about to world record you." Was Mau''s only reply as she lunged at the squirming monster faster than her friends could blink. She was upon Osiris in that instant, and he could do nothing.


    A flurry of fiery slashes hacked into Osiris, separating his flailing limbs from his body into a cauterized mess of bloody mulch and meat. Driven by cold fury, Mau dealt out blow after devastating blow, too fast for the Demon Lord General to put up an effective defense, his bloody bulk and mass diminishing with each furious and devastating slash as Mau whittled him apart like a stick.


    One of the undead king''s remaining tentacles lashed out in a final gambit to try and fend off the catgirl''s unstoppable assault. Still, Mau was too fast and too angry as she jinked aside before the blow had a chance to reach her before she neatly clipped the appendage from his body in a smooth cut.


    Osiris screeched, a keening sound of pain and disbelief as one final deadly and deep cut carved into his body. Everything seemed to halt as the Demon Lord General tensed, still and silent.


    "What... Are you...?" The undead king hissed, disbelieving as his mass started to melt beneath him from the blazing heat of Mau''s twin swords, his scuttling skull plopping to the floor with a wet splat as he tried one last time to escape on spindly little neck-legs.


    His escape was cut short as Mau''s boot planted on the top of his head.


    All it took was a shift of her weight. Wordlessly, she crushed the undead king''s head under her boot with a soft crunch of bone and a sticky squelching sound.


    What was scary for the others at that moment was that Mau wasn''t even sweating. She wasn''t huffing or panting for breath, trying to recover and rally like they were; she just stood there, silent and fuming.


    Only the hagling''s magic eyes could see the shadow clinging to the catgirl, a heavy and pressing silhouette of time and age, worn on Mau''s shoulders like a specter¡ªjust a glimpse¡ªof the eternity of strife that lingered upon her soul. And as soon as Penne blinked, it was gone.


    Mau cut the air one last time with her twin blades to clean them of charred bloody gunk before she sheathed them and let out a sigh.


    Briefly, memories flashed before Mau''s eyes as she was again visited¡ªhaunted, even¡ªby the faces of all the party mates she had lost or failed to save over her lives. Mau''s breath hitched at a horrid thought. The last thing she wanted was to see Suvdaa, Andy, or Penne added to that list.


    But... It might be inevitable... The 100th Demon Lord is supposed to be the most significant challenge she''s faced yet.


    A hand on her shoulder pulled Mau from her dark thoughts as she turned her head.


    It was Suvdaa, and her expression was very grave.


    "Mau." She said with an unusual gentleness. "Mau, are you alright?"


    Slowly, Mau''s eyes shifted to Andy and Penne, no longer pinned behind Andy''s protection spell. Andy stepped towards Mau, but Penne quietly gripped the dogboy''s elbow to stop him, earning a quiet whine.


    Mau let out a breath through her teeth.


    "Yeah." Mau finally said. "Yeah, I''m fine. Are you alright?"


    The chamber was silent for a beat before Suvdaa nodded. "Yes. Between you and Dulguun, I think I will be okay."


    "Good," Mau said simply, resting her hand atop the one on her shoulder for a moment before clearing her throat.


    "Andy, Penne, you two good over there?" Mau called over, earning nods from the pair.


    "Good." she sighed again. "... I need a nap."

 Interlude 5: War Crimes

    The holy sword stood on a stone plinth at the top of the ziggurat, silent and untouched by time. Despite its age and the time it had waited to be pulled from the stone on which it rested, it appeared as keen and brilliant as the day it had been pulled from the holy fires that forged it. Mau approached the sword without so much as a single word, while Suvdaa, Andy, and Penne hung back a slight distance out of respect and awe. The sword itself was... Remarkably plain in design, with a simple black leather-wrapped hilt and silver crossguard and pommel. But to the keen eye, the pommel and guard were both inlaid in a faint golden-hued series of etched runes in ancient dwarvish, etched by the hand of Thuvros himself. The blade was a simple steel hue, polished to a mirror''s edge that reflected a myriad of rippling rainbow light and colors from it in a faint corona of light.


    Mau stopped at the plinth and drew a slow breath.


    "Been a hot minute." She muttered as she ran her fingers over the circular pommel. "I remember feeling like you were the only thing I could trust in all these crazy lives." She said, curling her fingers around the hilt slowly, almost reverently. This was the blade she had killed ninety-nine Demon Lords with, and touching it again felt like she was being reunited with an old, staunch friend that had never left her side.


    Slowly, Mau pulled the sword from the stone with a smooth tug...


    Meanwhile... Elsewhere...


    Vile Darque, the Demon Lord, sat in his throne room, brooding and moody. It was a sour, sullen mood that his minions and underlings understood not to bother him when he was in such a state. He sat leaning to one side, elbow propped on the armrest of his super edgy throne made of human bones and skulls, cheek planted firmly in the palm of his hand. His red eyes blazed angrily.


    He felt, even at a great distance, the death of another member of his Four Heavenly Kings. The demons and monsters he had taken as his generals were supposed to be multiple tiers above the rest, but what happened to them? Thanatos failed his plan and was permanently killed, unable to regenerate from his shattered phylactery. Enma was dead in a swamp; his body was left to rot and be a feast for the insects and gnats. And now Osiris was made double-dead for keepsies, leaving him with just...


    The throne room doors slammed open, and a blonde woman in spiked armor stepped inside. Her hair fell in ringlets and curls down past her shoulders, while her horns swept up from the crown of her head, smoldering scarlet eyes met the Demon Lord''s.


    "Ohohohoho~. It looks like it''s down to me, isn''t it?" The last of the Demon Lord Generals gloated. "I told you," Ereshkigal said, "You should have left dealing with the hero to me; I would have handled him in no time at all, master~."


    Vile Darque sighed. Her voice was as annoying as her arrogance. He eyed her with a level and flat gaze; he was not in the mood for this.


    "Ereshkigal..." He began. "There is a reason I have had you biding your time. I am already displeased enough by Thanatos'' failure, Enma''s pointless death, and even more so by the fact that Osiris had been sitting upon the holy sword this entire time and hadn''t bothered to tell me for centuries. But... I have already told you that your duty is special. I need you to amass my armies for the final push to wipe this world clean. Only once the non-demon races are eradicated from this realm will our great master, Dommon, be pleased. As my finest general, I cannot risk losing you to this hero at any point."


    Ereshkigal''s haughty expression fluttered with displeasure, but she knew not to interrupt when Vile Darque was in a foul mood.


    "As it stands, the hero has slain the other three members of my Four Heavenly Kings. Therefore, it falls to you to remain alive and keep our forces in your reins until I give the word to release them on the world." The Demon Lord pointed out to her without shifting in his lazy position.


    Ereshkigal gritted her teeth at first but then smiled pleasantly at her lord and master.


    "Of course, darling master~." She replied with a bow. "I will see to it." She said, waiting for further instruction. The Demon Lord pondered for a beat, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his mighty throne.


    "That said..." He mused. "I think with the other generals dead, it is time we pushed up the timetable... Have our forces ready within the year. I want to start wiping their towns and cities off the map and show them that we do not take losing our generals lightly. No mercy, no survivors."


    Ereshkigal''s smile was more genuine, this time as she bowed again.


    "It will be so, master. In Dommon''s name." She said before stepping back, turning, and leaving the throne room.


    Vile Darque sighed as the great doors slammed shut behind her.


    "Fucking hell." He grunted. "Did he seriously speedrun THREE of my generals in one year? This guy''s gotten way too good since our first battle..." He muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. "It used to take him at least a few years between battles; now he''s got to be like what... Sixteen? And three high-tier generals in under a few months from each other." He snorted with a scowl. But then he smiled.


    "It''s fine..." He chuckled. "It''s fiiiine... I''m more than ready for him. Soon, our little game will come to an end, and I''ll wipe that smug look off his face for good when he''s on his knees begging for his life. Right now... He exists because I allow it. And he will end because I demand it."


    <h2>?</h2>


    Eight years passed in almost the blink of an eye. Though three of the Demon Lord''s generals had fallen in admitted record time for her, Mau couldn''t quite dispatch the fourth.


    Throughout several encounters with Ereshkigal, she proved to be as slippery and elusive as an eel, always throwing her soldiers at Mau and fleeing before they could have a proper showdown. It was pretty irksome, honestly. Mau was fully used to the members of the Four Heavenly Kings fighting to the bitter end in each lifetime. So having one be a complete coward was just ass-backward from the norm and irritating.


    "Criiiiipes." Mau groaned as the party waited for their audience with King Nethermere. The capital city of the nation of Erlendale was as massive as... Well, Mau had seen bigger in prior lifetimes, but there was no denying it was definitely a nation''s capital city.


    Mau hadn''t slept well, and she still had that haughty laughing bitch of a Demon General on her mind when Suvdaa nudged her with an elbow.


    "Mau, we are meeting with your king. Try to stop yawning and be more respectful." She said, which earned a blink from the catgirl.


    "Since when did you care about kings?" Mau blinked as Suvdaa tugged playfully on the catgirl''s now quite long hair. "Gah!"


    "Kings are like clan chiefs, yes?" Suvdaa pointed out. "But on a much bigger scale." She added rather sagaciously. "It would do well to show them respect.


    "She''s right, you know." Andy pointed out, leaning over from where he now towered over both girls. Andy had grown the most in the group in terms of height and width, considering he had suddenly bulked up considerably in the muscle department. Though he still considered himself a puppy, he sure looked like he wasn''t missing a day in the gym. "I heard that if you disrespect a king, you could be thrown into the dungeons." He noted as light glinted off the holy symbol of Galatea dangling around the young priest''s neck.


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    Penne, who looked much the same as ever, impossible to tell if they were a boy or a girl and as thin as a reed, simply shrugged their shoulders. "I''ve never met a king before, I wouldn''t know."


    Mau glanced side-eye at Suvdaa. The raider had also grown into a fine, if stern and harsh woman, tempered by years of adventure and keeping Mau''s dumb ass in check. Though she kept her hair somewhat short, she kept it mostly hidden in the hood of her bearskin cloak; she had to get much of her armor resized... For reasons.


    Mau rubbed her eyes. She had grown a lot, though not as much as Suvdaa in specific departments. Mau remained petite and lithe mostly, but there was now a wolffish quality to her, lean and muscular, and Suvdaa had taken note of the almost predatory way Mau moved in near silence all the time, even when she didn''t have to.


    "Can''t help it," Mau grunted in reply to her friends. "I didn''t sleep well last night." She said. "And you all know how much-"


    "Yes, yes, lazybones cat, we know. Cats sleep a lot." Suvdaa ribbed her.


    "It''s just... I had a dream about my mother." Mau said after a beat. Suvdaa stopped ribbing Mau.


    "It has been twelve years since you saw her last, yes?" The raider said gently.


    Mau nodded.


    "Yeah," Mau replied as the throne room doors opened.


    The court crier announced the party.


    "Mau of Middleston, The Destined Hero, and her companions!" The man said.


    Mau fucking cringed.


    "Guh, I fucking hate that." She muttered under her breath, earning quizzical looks from her companions, but they stepped into the throne room.


    Mau couldn''t help but think about her dream again...


    It was the day she was finally leaving the house when she turned twelve.


    Her mother stood in the doorway of their little house at the edge of Middleston, watching her leave with sad eyes. Mau promised to return when the Demon Lord died or if her mother ever needed her... She remembers how she glanced back over her shoulder several times that day and the sting of pain in her chest as she did.


    Mau shook the foggy dream from her head as she strode down the carpeted marble floors towards the throne with her companions. They all bowed in unison, just like they had practiced. Suvdaa knew why, and Penne and Andy had just stopped questioning Mau''s wildly varied knowledge of movies and courtly etiquette.


    King Nethermere sat on his throne in regal vestments, and his wife, Queen Ellenia, was on her own royal throne at his side. The king''s mustached lips twitched thoughtfully as he regarded the ragtag group of adventurers before him; a Demi-human, a Northern raider, a hagling, and a priest of the goddess of light.


    "Hm." King Nethermere murmured. "So you are the ordained hero of prophecy. I can tell the sword you carry is no replica, but... Tell me, how did you come into possession of it?" He asked with a genuine curiosity.


    Mau struggled to not make a face for a moment, cleared her throat, and answered him honestly.


    "So far, I''ve managed to not die fighting the Demon Lord''s four generals. I just happened to pick this thing up on the way." She said, patting the sheathed blade at her hip. The king nodded and leaned back in his chair.


    "As you know, we''ve been fighting a losing battle against the Demon Lord and his armies... It falls on you to grant us the decisive victory we seek to end this war and bring peace to the land." He said, lips puckering like he had swallowed something sour. The last person he expected to lay his hopes upon was some scruffy, lazy-looking, demi-human catgirl.


    "You may spend the night in the castle tonight. Tomorrow, delegates and generals from across the lands will arrive, and you will meet with them to decide how the battles will play out from henceforth. One such general has arrived early; the dwarven army''s leader a... Master Thrain, I believe his name is." The king went on.


    Mau blinked.


    "I''m sorry, did you say Thrain?" She asked, and the king nodded as the court crier made another announcement.


    "General Thrain Ironbeard, master at arms of the dwarven mountain kingdoms!"


    Slowly, Mau turned as the doors opened, and her eyes shot wide open as a familiar dwarf made his way across the carpeted floor, heavy plate armor clanking with every step.


    "Ye''ve grown up mighty fine from the scruffy little kitten I remember knocking over beer mugs in my tavern." The dwarven general chuckled.


    "Hah... It''s good to see you again, General Ironbeard." Mau chuckled. He waved her off with a hand.


    "Thrain''ll do like always. I ain''t one ta stand on pomp and circumstance; I''m here to do a job. And that job''s to get you in range of the Demon Lord to stick him with the pointy end of yer shiny new holy sword, hero."


    Mau cringed again but rallied with a slight laugh. Her friends remained silent for now but clearly had some questions.


    "It''s been a hot minute, old man." She said to the old dwarf. "And it''s been twelve years since I''ve last seen my mom." She pointed out. "I was hoping to visit Middleston before heading to battle to see her again."


    Thrain''s expression dropped. The King frowned as the court grew eerily silent.


    "Mau..." Thrain said, voice tight and quiet. "There''s something ye should know."


    Mau blinked, bewildered, as she looked around the throne room, from face to face of the dignitaries and court officials. Even the Jester looked sad.


    "... What?" She said when Thrain went quiet. "I feel like I missed something while I was out punching Ereshkigal in the throat."


    "Hero..." King Nethermere interjected, tone grave and serious, knowing someone would eventually have to break the news. Mau was too distracted to make a face this time.


    "Middleston is no more. Your hometown is gone."


    Mau blinked again, this time in disbelief.


    "I''m sorry? Run that by me again?" She said as Thrain rested a hand on her shoulder gently. He had to reach up to do it.


    "The Demon Lord''s armies wiped Middleston off the map. ... It''s... Our home''s gone, Mau." The old dwarf said, struggling to contain his own emotions.


    Mau fell silent for a beat, but her heart hammered in her ears. She could scarcely hear what the king said next, and it didn''t register. Only one thing came to the forefront of her mind.


    "... But. Mom is okay, right?" She asked in barely a whisper.


    A dark shadow of pain crept over Thrain''s face as he dipped his head solemnly.


    "They took no prisoners, Mau." The old dwarf said. "Not one. If there were any survivors, they were scattered to the winds in our refugee camps. And even then..." He trailed off.


    The room spun. Mau''s breath came too quickly; the next moment, she was hyperventilating. But then she stopped. Though she looked as happy as a wet kitten, to her credit, Mau maintained her composure as her eyes turned distant and glassy like those of a corpse.


    A distant memory hit her hard.


    Back when she was Pathetic Baby-Man, she had a moment just like this.


    "Oh..." She said, awkward and strained. "That sucks."


    Wordlessly, Mau turned away, and she staggered for the great set of doors leading into the hall without so much as an ounce of courtly decorum.


    No one stopped her as she shambled off.


    "Are... Are we just going to stand here and let her go?" Andy murmured. "She must be in so much pain..."


    Penne frowned and sighed. "I think she might need some time alone to-"


    "I''ll follow her. You two would likely worsen things with your overenthusiasm and under enthusiasm, each." Suvdaa grunted at the pair and stormed out of the throne room after Mau.


    She didn''t find Mau until later that night, locked in one of the castle''s guest rooms. Suvdaa didn''t even knock, pushing open the door to peek her head in.


    "Mau..." she whispered, and she was immediately greeted by a pair of gleaming blue eyes opening in the pitch darkness.


    "... Found you," Suvdaa muttered as she slipped into the room and shut the door behind her. It was dark, but all she had to do was follow the pair of blue eyes until she stopped at the foot of the bed Mau was perched on.


    "Do you want to talk?" Suvdaa asked in a gentle tone.


    "Kinda." Came Mau''s reply in a croak.


    Suvdaa slowly sat on the bed''s edge with a quiet rustle of sheets and waited.


    "I..." Mau started and trailed off. Silence hung heavily in the air, but Suvdaa did not interrupt. She let Mau choose her words.


    "I''m tired," Mau spoke slowly and deliberately.


    A hand set on Mau''s shoulder in the darkness.


    "I know. I know you are... Very old. And have so much responsibility." Suvdaa said. "I had thought that... Maybe your age would blunt some of the pain, but I am apparently very wrong."


    Mau took a slow breath before she replied.


    "There was a time when I just didn''t care. Lifetimes ago. I breezed through everything and didn''t make the connections I should have. I shrugged off love and ignored things like family and potential friends. All because I thought, ''Why should I bother? These people are just going to die anyway''. I only cared about the world I came from and the people there; for a long time, they were the only ones that were real to me. But in the end, I was the one who was wrong."


    "They were all real," Mau said, breath hitching. "Everyone I ignored, everyone I turned my back on. I never cared. And now- now that I finally fucking do care- I''m afraid of what can be taken from me."


    Those tired, ancient, blue eyes suddenly hardened, steel and fire behind them for a moment, but they were still full of pain as Mau continued.


    "I''m gonna kill him." She said, resolute. "Before he can take anything else from me. I''m going to kill him and send him to the darkest pit of hell he couldn''t possibly ever crawl back from. I''ll fucking kill everyone that follows him; I''ll burn his home to the ground and salt the fucking earth. If... If it''ll cause him even the slightest fraction of the pain I''m feeling now, I''ll do anything, just to make sure he can''t take you from me."


    Suvdaa squeezed the catgirl''s shoulder.


    "Then I will be there with you. I will hand you the blade to kill his companions. I will give you the torch to set his home on fire. I will carry all the salt of the seas for you if I have to, and we will grind him into the ground under our heels. Together, Mau. We will end your suffering together."


    With a subtle weight shift, Mau leaned in and gently headbutted Suvdaa''s shoulder like a kitten before resting her face there.


    "I''m so tired." She whispered as Suvdaa''s fingers ran through her hair.


    "I know," Suvdaa said softly. "Then rest, for now.

 Chapter 32: Fires of Liberation

    Mau''s boots crunched over the crags of the sooty, cracked earth. The blistering heat of the Demon Lord''s realm, well beyond the icy lands of the frozen north, did little to deter her. She marched on with a relentless determination and a burning hate gleaming in her eyes every time the subject of her hated foe came up.


    The party had already left behind the organized coalition of armies led by Thrain and the generals of the human, elf, and demi-human lands and were well into enemy territory beyond the bloody snow and front lines of the war.


    So many men and women lost their lives for Mau and her team to come this far, and the last thing Mau wanted to do was squander those deaths needlessly as she traversed the rivers of lava and hot vents belching noxious fumes into the air. The party had their sights set on one goal. Somewhere in the blazing hell of the demon realm sat the Demon Lord''s tower. At the top of that tower would be a teleportation circle that Penne could use to transport the team to the Demon Lord''s floating castle in the sky, and from there, Mau would achieve her life''s goal of murdering the everloving hell out of the bastard.


    "There. I see it." Suvdaa''s voice cut through the sound of bubbling magma as she pointed out a lone tower in the distance, reaching toward the smog-blackened heavens.


    The mere sight of the black tower with its spinnerets and ostentatious carvings of gargoyles and demons only spurred Mau with hateful determination.


    Dulguun growled, a complaint about the heat no doubt as the gigantic bear trudged along the burning plains at Suvdaa''s side.


    "We''ve come a long way," Andy said as the party cut across dusty flats and over hills of volcanic rock. "Would anyone like to say a prayer with me?"


    "No," Mau replied testily. She wouldn''t put her fate in the hands of the gods, not now and not ever.


    "Fair, " the dogman said, a little sullenly, as he prayed to Galatea under his breath.


    Penne had kept quiet for most of the journey but chose now to speak up.


    "A moment of rest might not be a bad idea, Mau." The hagling said. "You''ve been pushing yourself dangerously. We all know you want the Demon Lord dead, but waiting a few moments more won''t amount to much in the long run."


    Mau paused; one blue eye gleamed dangerously as she glanced over her shoulder.


    "Ten minutes." She said after taking a breath to calm herself rather than take her mounting vengeful temper out on her friends.


    For Mau to be this close to her goal, the span of ten minutes stretched for eternity as her companions collapsed to the ashen earth and pulled out their rations and water to fill their famished stomachs. She stared at the tower in the distance while her friends recuperated from the strength-sapping heat.


    Mau was already leading the pack when the party was ready to pick up and move on again, and it wasn''t much longer before they reached the great doors to the Demon Lord''s tower.


    Two orc guards stood flanking the doors, clad in great black armor adorned with spikes. As soon as the team approached, the massive pigmen drew their weapons, large gnarled axes, snuffled, and snorted angrily at the trespassers.


    "Halt!" one of the orcs growled. "To pass us, you must solve our riddles three," he said before motioning to his ally and then to himself.


    "One of us tells only the truth. The other tells only lies. One path beyond leads to what you seek, the other to certain doom and-"


    He never got to finish as Mau smoothly drew her blade and hacked him down dead in a single strike, cleaving neatly through his armor as though it were cardboard.


    "We don''t have time for your bullshit." She said to the remaining orc, who immediately looked ready to piss himself with fear, as Suvdaa leaned in.


    "Is your friend dead?" The raider asked the shocked orc, who shook his head.


    "... No, he''s... He''s alive." The pigman answered shakily.


    "Okay, which path is certain doom?" Andy interjected.


    "The-- the left path."


    "Thank you," Penne said too casually as Mau kicked the doors open.


    The instant the party stepped inside, they were in for the fight of their lives.


    "Left left, left, go left!" Mau called out as a storm of arrows and offensive magic pincushioned the space where she had been standing a split second before. Dulguun immediately barged in after her, the bear using his immense bulk and mass to shield Suvdaa from the arrows that peppered him and bounced off his resilient hide. Andy and Penne were in the door next, and the group bolted leftwards up a spiraling set of stairs that led up the tower.


    Mau hacked a goblin archer in half as she leaped up the stairs two at a time while Andy and Penne covered her with holy fire and dark flames.


    Goblins screeched, and orcs snarled as the party tore through them on the path up, stopping for nothing and sprinting the whole way up. If this path wasn''t certain doom, Mau briefly wondered what the right path would have been like. But the onslaught of monsters was nothing the party couldn''t handle as they charged, covering for one another with Mau at the head.


    An arrow whipped by Mau''s cheek and caught the orc in front of her in the throat. He stood visibly shocked by this turn of events as he clutched the shaft embedded in his neck, and Mau''s perception of time slowed down.


    She reached out almost slowly...


    She casually pushed the dying orc off the side of the stairs over the banister. The orc gurgled in dismay as he fell fifty feet down to land with the crunch of a snapped spine.


    Time resumed its fast, frenetic pace as a swarm of insectoid humanoid creatures came rushing down from the upper landing. Each had four arms and carried a short blade in each hand.


    Dulguun roared and charged past Mau, barrelling into the chittering mass and sending many of them to fall off the side of the stairs. Some sprouted wings, while others did not, and those that did reveal their ability to fly screamed their dying breaths in a loud screech as Suvdaa quickly embedded arrows into their thorax-like bodies, sending them plummeting once again.


    What waited for the party at the first landing was a monster the likes of which Mau had seen many times before. With a man''s face, the mane and body of a lion, and the venom-dripping tail of a scorpion, the manticore roared as it lunged. Mau lept back as Dulguun snarled and met the monster face to face. Despite his immense bulk, Dulguun dodged the lashing tail and reared up. The manticore shrieked as the grizzly caught it in a hug and reared its tail back to try and stab him again.


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    Seeing the opportunity present itself, Mau took a vaulting leap and neatly clipped the spiked barb off the manticore''s tail, rendering it stuck and unable to free itself or defend against Dulguun''s bone-breaking squeeze.


    With several loud and nasty pops, the manticore went limp in the bear''s arms and slumped to the ground.


    Mau lightly patted the giant bear on the side.


    "Way to exercise your right to bear arms, big guy." She said.


    "Grrrrrowf?" The bear replied, confused.


    "Stop confusing my bear and focus, Mau!" Suvdaa snapped as she joined them on the landing and fired several arrows upwards at the next series of archers on the higher level.


    The whole ordeal was an uphill battle as the party struggled up the tower, killing anything and everything in their path until they reached the uppermost floor. Mau paused to catch her breath and glanced back at the carnage in her team''s wake. It was only the beginning of what was going to be a demanding series of battles ahead as she pushed the door open.


    The room beyond, at the top of the tower, was wide and spacious. Upon the floor dominating the entirety of the chamber was a massive teleportation circle, and Mau popped her neck.


    "Alright, Penne." She called over her shoulder. "It''s clear. You''re up."


    Penne nodded and motioned for the circle''s center, and the party took their places within it.


    Suvdaa knelt in front of Dulguun and gently ruffled the big bear''s head.


    "Stay here, Dulguun." The raider said, earning a pitiful whine from her ursine companion.


    "I need you to keep anything from sneaking up on us, no mercy," Suvdaa said as the bear nipped gently at her fingers and wrist. Eventually, the bear chuffed and turned to lumber back to the chamber door to keep a watchful eye and prevent anything from catching up to the party.


    Once everyone was within the circle, Penne began to chant. The hagling''s language was harsh, guttural, and grating on the ears, but the circle started to glow as they progressed. Mau, Suvdaa, Andy, and even Dulguun soon began to feel like they were being tugged from their bodies, and with the recitation of the last word of Penne''s incantation, they felt their stomachs suddenly drop.


    The world shifted before their eyes, and they found themselves in the center of a chamber with perfectly polished mirrors for walls. There was only one exit, and judging from how the hall beyond was made up of more mirrors, Mau groaned.


    "Fuck me, a mirror maze? Really? This is the most cheap-ass carnival bullshit I''ve dealt with in forever." She groused.


    "Guys, I feel like we''re being watched," Andy said, eyeing his surroundings dubiously.


    Mau felt it, too¡ªthe nagging feeling in the back of her animal brain that told her something was eyeing her like its next meal. It was never a feeling she enjoyed, but she knew it could keep her alive if she paid attention to it, so she didn''t simply discredit Andy''s paranoia as out of hand.


    "Yeah, I feel it too," Mau said as she tightened her grip on the hilt of the holy blade and took to the point for the party, the others forming up with her in their usual practiced manner.


    The glass maze was eerily silent, and the sounds of the party''s footfalls echoed loudly against the mirrored walls. Mau grimaced at the distorted figures in every mirror; wobbling and wavy versions of her and her party flickered and danced in every distorted reflection she passed.


    Suvdaa kept her knife ready, and Andy and Penne held their staves aloft, lighting the path as the team progressed cautiously, jumping and lunging at shadows and disfigured reflections for what felt like hours.


    "Do we even know which way to go?" Suvdaa griped.


    "No clue," Penne replied in a lazy tone. As an ageless hagling, they technically had all the time in the world to wander a maze like this.


    "As long as we keep following our left, we should find where we''re going," Mau noted from her point at the lead. She had been following the left wall for every turn they had taken. It was an old trick for getting through hedge mazes, and it should easily apply to one like this.


    "Hah! See!" Mau crowed triumphantly as the party hit the center after some more time wandering.


    Another teleportation circle was etched into the floor in the maze''s center, but before Penne could step forward to activate it, an arrow whipped by Mau''s ear.


    Suvdaa cursed, and Andy grunted as the whole team crouched, trying to figure out where it came from as it embedded itself in the opposite mirror, spider-webbing it with cracks. Slowly, the cracks receded, and the mirror rippled like water.


    That was when Suvdaa''s reflection lashed out of the nearest mirror with the knife in its hand to try and gut Andy. Andy grunted as the knife scored against the breastplate he wore under his cleric vestments and lurched away with a snarl.


    Penne''s mirror image stepped out of another glassy wall and mouthed something, and several shimmery tentacles slithered along the floor to try and ensnare Suvdaa. The party was caught off guard to be attacked by their own reflections but managed to evade injury through sheer luck and grit as the reflections *stepped out of the mirrors, shimmering like glass.


    Mau immediately pivoted and slashed off the arm of Andy''s reflection. It fell to the floor and shattered as Suvdaa knocked an arrow out of the air aimed for Mau with a well-timed shot of her own.


    In the next instant, Andy and Penne were back to back as the dogboy raised a protective barrier, and Penne began to chant. Slimy black tentacles met the glassy ones head-on and tangled in a morass of inky and glassy flailing limbs as Suvdaa turned Penne''s reflection into a pincushion of arrows. The reflection went down and crumbled to pieces, and Mau smacked a glass arrow out of the air with her shortsword out of sheer reflexes alone.


    With a surly grunt, Andy dropped his barrier and swung his staff with the force of a hammer, taking the head off the raider girl''s reflection with a loud snap of cracking glass. Penne then engulfed Andy''s mirror double in black balefire, searing it a glowing shade of red as it melted away, which just left...


    Mau''s reflection.


    Mau expected a fight. She did not expect what she saw to emerge from the mirror wall next.


    The young man who emerged from the mirror stepped forward sluggishly, his shoulders slouched with lousy posture. His short hair was a mess, kind of overly long and unkempt, and he hadn''t shaved in a few days. On top of it all, he was dressed like the unhappiest office worker to grace the earth.


    He stood there, staring at Mau, and she stared at him. Doubtless, the rest of the party stared, too, as Mau heaved a tired sigh.


    "Oh hey." She said, staring down the man she used to be. "Fancy seeing you here."


    The youth stared her down blankly, silent and wordless, as Mau sheathed her sword.


    "I shouldn''t be surprised, honestly." the catgirl sighed and shook her head. "But this is all wrong."


    The youth cocked his head to a curious angle at this but remained silent.


    Mau''s eyes fell half-lidded on her doppelganger, tired and sad as she answered his wordless question.


    "I''m not you anymore."


    Slowly, the youth nodded to this, stuffing a hand in his pocket as he turned back to the mirror from whence he came, stepped back through the glass, and melded away as though he had never emerged from it in the first place.


    The party stood in pensive silence for a long moment before Mau sighed again.


    Andy''s hand rested warmly on her shoulder.


    "We should go," Mau said, quiet and a little sad.


    "Do you think the gods will send you back to your home after we''re done here?" Penne asked.


    Mau shrugged. She had finally relented and told Andy and Penne the details of her life''s work in killing Demon Lords for as long as she could remember, and like good friends, they stuck by her side instead of accusing her of madness.


    "Donno. The question is... Do I even want to go back?" Mau replied as Penne started to work their magic on the teleportation circle.


    <h2>?</h2>


    The campfire crackled quietly as a wounded soldier tossed another log on the fire. He grumbled and adjusted the bloody bandage wrapped around his head.


    "Stop touching that, ye''ll get it infected." Thrain groused at the young man as he hunkered down to join his men in the warmth of the guttering flames. The frozen north was as cruel as it was inhospitable. The soldier sluggishly moved to salute, but Thrain waved him off, and they both collapsed in heaps by the fire.


    "Sir, " the young soldier¡ªa human boy barely into his twenties¡ªbegan to speak. Do you think they made it?"


    Thrain nodded his head.


    "I''m sure she did, lad. That girl''s tough as nails." The dwarven general replied as they both looked toward the towering silhouette reaching up into the sky, far off on the horizon.


    "We lost so many today..." The young trooper murmured as he turned his head to the mound of neatly stacked corpses, each wrapped up tightly in dirty cloth. The day''s battle had been fierce, vicious, and unforgiving.


    "Aye..." Thrain conceded. "But she won''t let their lives go to waste. I''m sure of it."


    "How will we know they made it?" The youth asked somberly.


    That was when the top of the tower lit up like a beacon. A bright speck of light launched from the silhouette''s top point. Contrails of stardust followed after the distant mote of light as it lanced higher into the night sky. Their eyes followed it to the black shape looming above the clouds¡ªthe Demon Lord''s flying castle.


    "That''s how, lad." Thrain chuckled tiredly. "That''s how."

 Chapter 33: Shattered Skies

    Mau frowned as she placed a hand on the grand set of double doors that led into the Demon Lord''s throne room.


    "What should we expect?" Suvdaa asked.


    They had fought the whole way here up to this point. Ogres, orcs, trolls, goblins, abominable snowmen, an annoying demon woman with a horrid laugh. They all seemed so distant and far off in the past now that the team stood at the door to the final boss that has plagued all of Mau''s lives.


    "Normally. I''d be able to easily answer that." Mau said softly as she ran her hand over the polished dark wood. "But this time. I can''t Just be on your toes for anything." She said, drawing in a slow breath.


    Suvdaa''s hand set on her shoulder.


    "I told you, Mau. I''d follow you to the ends of the world to see this through. We all would."


    Andy and Penne nodded in unison when Mau glanced over her shoulder.


    "So come on, what are we waiting for?" The dogman said brightly, tail swishing excitedly behind him.


    "I think we''re waiting for Mau to open the door." Penne pointed out blandly, "But she probably needs a minute. This is a big deal for her."


    Mau nodded wordlessly at the hagling as she looked back to the ornately carved door, running her hand over the intricately done artwork etched into the wood.


    "I..." Mau started to speak, her throat suddenly clenching as her mouth ran dry.


    "Guys, I''m scared." She admitted in a small, tiny voice that would have gone unnoticed if the halls weren''t stone silent.


    Suvdaa''s hand tightened gently, warmly, on her shoulder.


    "Not of the Demon Lord." Mau quickly clarified. "But... What happens after the Demon Lord." She said.


    "Where will I go? What''ll I do...? What purpose will I have after this is all said and done, one way or another?"


    Suvdaa''s grasp tightened even further.


    "Mau. Mau, look at me." The raider said softly as Mau turned to face her. "I''m here. I''m not going anywhere. Whatever we do... We do it together."


    "Come on, Mau. We''ve got your back." Andy added. Penne remained silent but nodded their assent.


    "Alright. Whatever happens... No one die." Mau said firmly.


    Mau pushed open the door. It was heavy at first but gained momentum enough to swing open on its own once it was open far enough. The room beyond was pitch black at first, but the instant Mau took her first step into the throne room, foot landing on the padded carpet, blue fire erupted on either side of the path. Twin lights of pale fire flared to life with every step she took after that, leading down the chamber in a series of guttering illuminations that dimly illuminated the room. She could feel countless eyes on her and saw gleaming teeth in the darkness on either side of the carpeted path; countless monsters the likes of which she had and had not seen before lurked just out of reach as Mau stopped in front of the dark throne.


    "So... You did well to make it this far, hero." The Demon Lord spoke from the gloom. "This will be our final battle. Do you know how long I''ve waited for this? I''ve-" he started to speak as Mau drew the holy blade from its sheath.


    "Shut the fuck up with the monologue, turn on the lights, and let''s get this over with." She spat into the darkness.


    The demon lord clapped once, and light flooded the chamber as the curtains peeled away from vast windows, letting starlight and the clear night beyond into the throne room.


    "... And you''re a catgirl." Vile Darque, the Demon Lord, said, utterly baffled, a look of complete puzzlement fluttering across his handsome, blue-complexioned features.


    "Got a problem with that?" Mau asked tiredly.


    The Demon Lord boggled, reaching a hand up through his long blonde hair to rub at the tip of one of his horns as though it were a nervous tic.


    "You were never a catgirl before." He said, stunned.


    "What if, get this," Mau started to say, "I was always a catgirl."


    The Demon Lord shook his head vehemently as Suvdaa, Penne, and Andy balked. They hadn''t expected him to be surprised by this turn of events.


    "You were never a catgirl!" Vile Darque snapped, rising from his throne with no flourish, just a flummoxed and exasperated scowl as he swung a hand out in an enraged gesture.


    "How dare you come in here looking like that?" He asked. "I could forgive interrupting my monologue. I can ignore that you''ve torn through my elite royal guard. But can you at LEAST take this seriously? How are you going to just show up on my doorstep looking like some stray? This is a fated final battle! Why can''t you let me HAVE THIS?"


    "You don''t have a clue how serious I am," Mau said in a murderous tone.


    Mau took a step toward the throne. Something snapped at her from the darkness as fast as a viper. Mau was faster and neatly clipped its head from its neck.


    "Oh..." Vile Darque murmured. A motion of his hand made his minions slink back into the darkness as she adjusted his cloak. "... So it really is you, still." He said. "Okay. ... Okay, I can work with this. I thought the gods were playing a prank on me here, but you''re just being cheeky. Had I known you''d be playing this little joke for our hundredth battle, I would have respawned as something funny, too."


    That. That made Mau halt.


    "Wait," Andy said, breaking the moment of tense silence. "So Mau hasn''t been fighting a hundred Demon Lords... She''s been fighting the same guy for a hundred lives?" He asked as the realization swept over him.


    "Yep," Mau replied coolly. "He''s like me. He''s from another world. We''ve been at this for far too long."


    Vile Darque''s features lit up, and an expression of wild glee formed on his face.


    "That''s right. We''ve been each other''s nemesis for ninety-nine go-arounds." He said, chuckling darkly as he slowly descended the stairs leading down from his throne.


    "But... You see, while you hated every minute of this and simply went through the motions, I reveled in it. Every battle, every clash, every time our swords rang against one another- every time you killed me-- it was all a work of art. From your first fumbling steps down the path to heroism to now, the grizzled veteran wanting to see things through to the end... I built you up."


    Mau cocked a brow. "You what?"


    Reaching out to his side, a dark sword flew through the air to Vile Darque''s hand, and he drew it from the sheath. It was a jagged and slender blade of black steel or some mystical material.


    "All this time..." The Demon Lord chuckled. "I let you win, hero."


    Mau grimaced.


    "I only need to kill you once for the gods to lose their bet." He pointed out. "How ironic would it be if I did that now instead of when you were staggering around like an idiot child with a wooden sword all those years ago?"


    Mau sighed and rolled her eyes.


    "This isn''t getting on with it. Please just start fighting me." She said, utterly exhausted.


    Vile Darque snapped his fingers. His monsters immediately stood to attention.


    "Kill the hero''s friends. Leave her to me. I want her to see them suffer before I finish things off."


    The room erupted in chaos. Suvdaa took a vaulting leap through the air to evade getting bitten in half by a giant worm-like monster. Andy shrouded himself and Penne in a shield of light to fend off a rain of spears from a squad of heavily armored orcs.


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    The Demon Lord just appeared in Mau''s face and lunged at her with his jagged rapier. She swatted it aside on pure reflex, and the two were immediately locked in battle.


    "So... After all these years... Have you found a reason to fight yet, kitty?"


    Steel rang against steel as blades slammed into one another, voices raised to shout in ancient tongues and prayers to the gods, as Penne summoned thrashing tentacles to crush a swarm of well-armed goblins, and Andy blinded a troll with a radiant bolt of holy light.


    Mau and the Demon Lord danced. Their fight was like a dance, anyway; well choreographed with moves that both had practiced for a hundred lives. Mau feinted, the Demon Lord jinked, and their blades met in an intricate flurry of parries and near misses. If Mau had anything going for her, her countless lives turned her skill with the sword into something almost... Supernatural. Vile Darque would have cut down any lesser swordsman in seconds, but Mau reacted on instinct and lifetimes of ingrained reflexes to turn his sword aside at each thrust, every slash, down to the last swipe. Sweat began to bead on her brow. Sure enough, she may have been the best swordswoman in the multiverse, but he was putting her through her paces.


    Mau grunted.


    The Demon Lord snarled.


    Their blades sang out in protest as they slid across one another before coming apart violently.


    Mau skidded back on her boots and wiped away the blood that slowly trickled from the cut the demon lord''s sword opened on her cheek. She grinned.


    Because, at the same time, the Demon Lord was dabbing blood off his own face.


    "Are you finally gonna be a challenge for me?" She asked.


    "... They say those who survive a long time on the battlefield start to think they''re invincible..." The Demon Lord replied with a smirk. "I bet you do, too, kitty."


    Mau blinked. Slowly, she lowered her sword.


    "Did you just fucking quote Ace Combat?" Mau balked.


    "I loved Ace Combat!" Vile Darque snapped.


    A ray of divine light lanced past Mau''s head, but she didn''t have time to check on her friends when the Demon Lord lunged at her again. She was immediately on the defensive, a furious assault of that black blade making her backpedal as she parried and riposted as best she could in the face of the demon''s fierce onslaught.


    Mau heard Suvdaa shout something over the din of the battle but couldn''t make out what precisely over her heart beating like a flamenco rhythm in her ears.


    The room was alive with the sounds of battle. For as desperate as they sounded, Mau was relieved to hear Penne and Andy shouting tactical callouts to each other while Suvdaa cursed and spat. It meant that her friends were still alive. Though only seconds had passed, the battle had already felt like it had dragged on as Mau struggled against the Demon Lord''s fury.


    "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck..." The catgirl muttered in a mantra of profanity as she weaved and swatted aside attack after attack.


    That was when Mau''s gut exploded in pain.


    "URK!" She gagged as Vile Darque''s boot slammed into her solar plexus with jarring force, launching her away from him hard enough to smash through one of the room''s supporting pillars. The stone crumbled around a winded Mau, who struggled to breathe, making undignified wheezing noises as she did.


    "It''s pretty ironic..." Vile Darque pointed out. "A couple of dogs like us fighting the last battle. ... And you''re a cat."


    "Sthgop... Qhwuoting... Ace... Chhhhombat..." Mau choked as she pushed herself to her feet.


    The Demon Lord simply leered at her.


    "Are you fired up yet? Come cut me down!"


    Mau wobbled to her feet and flashed a catty grin.


    "When... When did you get so good?" She huffed.


    "I learned from the best. You think I wasn''t watching you every time we fought?" The Demon Lord answered.


    "Not watching well enough clearly," Mau said, pointing for him to look down at himself.


    Vile Darque hadn''t noticed the blood pooling on his dark suit, nor did he feel the pain of several lethal wounds Mau had inflicted upon him while she had been defending against his attacks until now.


    They would have been lethal to lesser men and monsters, but the Demon Lord was made of sterner stuff, and his wounds were already regenerating, though much slower than he would have liked due to the holy nature of Mau''s sword.


    "Tch..." He scowled.


    A shout of pain from over Mau''s shoulder made her ear twitch, and her head jerked to try and see who it had come from, but she didn''t get the chance as the Demon Lord freaking shadow stepped behind her. Mau whirled around, and sparks flew as she deflected the blow that would have killed her, and she immediately had to focus on fighting for her life once again.


    "Concerned for your friends? How very unlike you." The Demon Lord started to speak as Mau''s blade danced with electric energy. Every time she slammed her sword down mercilessly into his defense, lightning jumped from her sword into his body to make his teeth chatter. "You never cared overly much about your allies before... Hmmmm? What changed?" He asked as his arm twitched and jerked, throwing his blade work off and turning the tables as Mau took the offensive from him.


    "They''re my friends." Mau snarled.


    "I''ll remind you..." The Demon replied. "There''s no mercy in war. People live, and people die. That''s all there is to it."


    Their blades danced again, but the last thing Vile Darque had expected was for Mau to haul off and deck him. He knew every one of her tricks and every sword style she had ever used to defeat him. He knew how to counter, parry, and deflect anything she could have thrown at him, being quite intimate with how many times she had used that sword to end his life.


    He sure ate that fist to the jaw like the rude knuckle sandwich it was. The blow was nowhere near as hard as anything he could have dished out. It wasn''t even particularly painful. It was, however, not something that he had expected.


    "What the FUCK?!" The Demon Lord snarled as it gave Mau the opportunity she needed to step back and take a breath.


    Mau was winded. She had trained her whole life for this moment, building up her endurance, stamina, and strength to take on the king of demons, but she was still very much a mortal, and she needed just a second.


    "Need a sec." Mau puffed, planting a hand on her knee. "Truce?" She offered as he scowled at her.


    "No! No truce! I had my next quote lined up, and you threw me off! I was going to say, ''You and I are opposite sides of the same coin--''" As he started to speak, Mau cut him off.


    "When we face each other, we can finally see our true selves..." She said.


    They both fell silent before speaking in unison...


    "There may be a resemblance... But we can never face the same direction."


    The Demon Lord quieted, staring at Mau almost sadly.


    "... I am sorry." He said. "But this time... I have to be the one who kills you."


    Mau cocked her head to a slight angle, curious.


    "My master... Dommon," Vile Darque began, "He''ll be displeased with me if I fail... I don''t want to suffer for an eternity."


    "Sorry," Mau replied. "But if I let you win, countless others will suffer in your place."


    That made him scowl. "Who?" He asked, incredulous. "The people of these worlds you''ve been defending? ... You know they''re not real, right?"


    "What?" Mau asked, incredulous.


    "They''re fake. Made up. NPCs in a game. Only you and I are the real ones here. Every villager, every soldier, every one of your ''mothers'' and ''fathers''... Your love interest? They aren''t real people."


    Mau fell eerily silent, a dark shadow crawling over her face as her expression fell.


    She remembered her mother''s smile; kind, warm, loving, and gentle.


    "... I thought you were like me," Mau said softly. "But I guess you aren''t after all."


    The Demon Lord scoffed.


    "Please," He spat. "You can''t tell me you believe they''re actually people? Have you gone that dull in the head after ninety-nine lives? They live their mechanical lives by doing the same tasks repeatedly and saying the same things over and over again. They can''t be real people; they''re like ants or other mindless insects! They''re here for us to burn with a magnifying glass or crush under our boot for fun. This. Is. All. Not. Real."


    Mau sighed.


    "What human, other than you or I as clearly special cases, doesn''t live a monotonous life full of repetition?" She pointed out tiredly. "It doesn''t matter that these people are elves or dwarves or demi-humans; they''re still people. It took me way too long to learn that, and it''s clear you never did learn that." The catgirl sighed and tipped her head back, closing her eyes. The sounds of battle still raged around them. But Vile Darque was halted, too.


    "... So. What do you have?" He asked. "What do you have to prove to me what you''re saying is real? What do you have to make me believe these are actual people?"


    Mau shrugged.


    "I got nothing." She said.


    "So then, what do you have at all?" Vile Darque snapped as the full moon slid into view through the castle windows.


    "I have a Moon Child," Mau said.


    "A what?" The Demon Lord blinked.


    That was when a silvery arrow embedded in Vile Darque''s throat.


    "Ant? Meet boot." Od Tegri said as she nocked five arrows to her bow. They streaked around the room when she released them, tearing through monsters like the hot sun through a magnifying glass would sear a marching line of ants.


    Mau held up a finger. "I didn''t teach her that line. And I totally didn''t plan this attack to coincide with the full moon," she said, striding toward the stricken Demon Lord.


    "Except I did plan this attack to coincide with the full moon." Mau corrected herself. "Look... Style is important, even if I''m tired."


    Vile Darque struggled as he fell to his knees. He couldn''t, for the life of him, pull the blessed arrow out of his throat, and Mau approached him with a slow and measured gait. She set a hand on his shoulder.


    "I''m ready to end this..." She said softly, resting the tip of her holy sword against his ribs. "Are you?"


    Mau didn''t wait for an answer as she plunged her blade into his heart.


    Vile Darque''s body seized up as the blade pierced him. He shuddered, and with an exhausted sigh, he went limp on his knees.


    Tugging the sword gently from the Demon Lord, Mau turned to face the room. The monsters had all gone stock, still witnessing the death of their lord and master. Andy, Penne, and Suvdaa, as Od Tegri, were soaked in blood and sweat and panting with exhaustion.


    With varied screeches of horror and indignation, the monsters turned and fled, pouring out of the room and panicking all through the flying castle.


    Mau''s shoulders sagged as she sighed.


    "You... You did it..." Andy said in an awestruck whisper.


    Mau nodded.


    It wasn''t the first time this had happened. She remembered quite well. The Demon Lord falling to her blade for the umpteenth time brought no satisfaction with it anymore. Only a grim sort of relief.


    This was the hundredth Demon Lord she had slain. Demon Lord, Devil King, Monster God, they came under all sorts of different names and epithets, but they were all the same. And they all died the same to her blade. Because that''s just how things were supposed to be. The hero always slays the villain. The hero always wins. The hero always pulls through and saves the world. It was just the way of things. It''s what she had always known since she had been born and told, ''Mau, you''re destined for greatness.''


    So why didn''t she feel great?


    ...


    Because Vile Darque suddenly clutched her ankle, that was why.


    "I... Hope you''re ready to laugh..." He rasped as he ripped the silvery arrow from his throat. "Because I''m about to make the last ninety-nine lives look like a fucking joke." The Demon Lord gurgled through the blood pooling in his mouth as he raised his free hand.


    Mau, Andy, Penne, and Suvdaa were all too stunned to do a thing as a bright mote of light formed in his palm, and he thrust it into the floor.


    "If I go down, I''m taking you with me!"


    The castle started to shake so intensely that the party was knocked off their feet.

 Chapter 34: Final Chapter: Falling Down

    Vile Darque cackled wildly as blood flicked from his lips and formed a red froth at the corners of his mouth. His eyes were wide and wild with insanity and wicked glee, as though he had just snatched victory from the claws of defeat and knew he had taken the wind out of Mau''s sails.


    "I just killed the castle''s core! It''s going to fall! We''re all going to die here, together!" He shrieked between wheezing breaths and laughter.


    The castle shook hard once again and sent Mau sprawling on her ass and dropped Penne, Suvdaa, and Andy to the bloody stone floor with just as much force.


    "Son of a bitch!" Mau snapped in disbelief. She never once imagined the Demon Lord to be a load-bearing boss as stonework and dust began to fall from the throne room ceiling.


    "Up up up up up!" Andy blurted, helping Penne to their feet as the full moon receded into the distance, and Suvdaa was not only herself again but already was shoving herself to stand back up.


    "Time to go!" Suvdaa said, grasping Mau by the elbow. Mau paused just long enough to look at the Demon Lord. He sat there laughing, laughing, and laughing still. She could easily have clipped his head from his shoulders, but she got to her feet and started running as Suvdaa tugged her.


    The party alternated between sprinting and staggering back to the teleportation circle as the castle jarred repeatedly.


    "Go!" Mau snapped, "Go, go, go!" She urged her friends on as they struggled to carry and tug each other without taking any more spills.


    The castle rumbled ominously... And Mau shoved Suvdaa with all her strength as a huge chunk of masonry came crashing down in front of the doorway to the teleportation room.


    "FUCK!" Mau screeched as she banged on the massive rock in her way. "Andy? Suvdaa? Penne? Suvdaa!? Are you guys--"


    "We''re fine!" Penne called back from the other side of the rock. "... Mau, there has to be another path you can take; hurry, we''ll wait for you."


    "No!" Mau answered back. "There''s no time- Penne, take Andy and Suvdaa and get them out of here. Maybe I can find some magical bullshit to keep the castle from falling."


    "We all know that''s not going to happen!" Suvdaa spat through the stone. "Just find another way!"


    "No time." Mau sighed. "There''s no time. And we''ll all die if you wait for me."


    "Mau!" Suvdaa said, voice cracking. "Do not DARE tell me not to wait for you!"


    Slowly, Mau placed her hand on the rock that separated them.


    "Suvdaa. It''s time. We both knew this could have happened. Just go. The needs of the many... Outweigh the needs of the few..."


    "DID YOU JUST QUOTE YOUR STAR WARS MOVIE AGAIN?!" Suvdaa shrieked incredulously as Andy tugged her away.


    "Just go," Mau said solemnly while rolling her eyes simultaneously.


    "You dumb cat! Don''t you dare die, do you hear me?!" The raider howled. "You find another way! Find another way, dammit!"


    "I know," Mau replied, lips tugging into a sad smirk. "I love you, too."


    That quieted the raider long enough for Andy to tear her away towards the spell circle, and Penne began to chant.


    "Guys..." Mau said softly. "Believe in me."


    Mau turned away just as the flash of a successful teleportation spell shined through the cracks in the rock and drew a slow breath.


    "Alright. If I''m gonna go out... I better at least make sure the job''s fuckin'' done." She muttered to herself as she stormed back to the throne room.


    Vile Darque was waiting for her. He had managed to stand back up, one hand clutching to the wound in his chest, a manic look on his face as she stepped back into the crumbling chamber.


    "So... The catgirl hero..." He said, chuckling and gurgling on blood at the same time. "Protecting justice and humanity." The Demon Lord cackled with glee. "I''m just like you! I''m from the very world you came from! I''m human, don''t you see? I''m real. ... Do you have what it takes? Can you really kill me?"


    Mau frowned, fingers clutching her holy sword and short blade.


    "I always hated being called a hero, " she said tiredly. "And I sure don''t give a flying fuck about Justice." Mau frowned. "I didn''t know what I was fighting for before, but now I can say that I fight for the people I believe in... I thought we were both victims pitted against each other to fight a battle that wasn''t our own. But it''s clear now. You''re my enemy. So I''ll cut you down!"


    Mau jinked aside as a bolt of necrotic magic lanced past her head. The Demon Lord readied another ranged spell as he howled with maddened laughter.


    "COME THEN! I WILL SHOW YOU THE TRUE MEANING OF PAIN!" Vile Darque said.


    "You wouldn''t know the meaning of pain! How can you teach me anything when my pain would drive you insane!" Mau shrieked as she lunged at him.


    The castle walls crumbled. Sections of the floor gave way beneath Mau''s feet as she charged across the room in a sprint. The windows shattered, and support pillars crumbled. The skies burned red outside the crumbling throne room as clouds raced upwards, and Mau and the Demon Lord met in combat for the last time.


    Once more, their blades sang out against each other as the two circled and lunged for each other''s throats, cutting and slashing wildly into one another, sending blood splattering onto the dusty carpet.


    The wind howled, and the clash of the holy blade against dark metal resounded. Some say the sounds of the fated final duel echoed so far that the soldiers back at the front-line camp and the monster army heard every stroke and blow carried on the wind.


    Vile Darque squealed with glee as a lucky slash opened up a cut on Mau''s stomach just under her breastplate. His joy was short-lived as Mau ignored the pain and slugged him across the jaw again. He staggered with a gurgled grunt as one final misstep carried him dangerously close to what was left of the window.


    To Mau, time slowed down once again, like it always had. She stared as the Demon Lord flailed in slow motion, cursing her and her family, her friends, and everyone she had ever loved.


    Mau effortlessly reached out with a single hand... And slowly pushed the fucker over the edge.


    The Demon Lord shrieked as he toppled out the window, but Mau wasn''t finished.


    Taking the plunge out of the falling castle after her hated foe, Mau dropped into a free fall, angling her body to increase her speed and not let any distance grow between them.


    The Demon Lord laughed again as he suddenly clung to a large falling stone.


    Mau spread her arms out to slow her descent, flailing momentarily with a curse before she landed boots first on the falling remnants of a staircase.


    Running up the stairs at full tilt as the Demon Lord shot spell after spell at her, she leaped from a chunk of masonry to a hunk of stone until she ascended again and caught up with the Demon Lord in a shocking display of feline agility.


    "You''re fucking kidding me!" He blurted.


    "I''m not kitten around," Mau said, stone-faced as she removed his arm from his body at the shoulder. "Killing you was always the plan. Getting to live through it was just supposed to be a luxury."


    The Demon Lord made a shocked face as Mau sailed past him and flipped herself to impact a nearby wall section, boots first. She kicked off and came at him again.


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    This time, he lost a leg as she zipped past.


    Mau tumbled through the sky and kicked off a smaller rock... She was gaining speed with every object she rebounded from, and the Demon Lord lost another part of his body with every passing slash as she air-juggled him with blow after blow.


    With one last cry of anguish and triumph, Mau raised her sword.


    Vile Darque could only look on in horror as she sailed by. He felt something in his neck. And then he was upside down, staring at his own headless, dismembered body as it fell limp through the air.


    Mau grunted as she hit a wall chest-first and lost all composure and control. She scrabbled to hold on, but her fingers couldn''t find purchase as the wall fell away, leaving her to plummet alone.


    Mau gritted her teeth as she struggled against the wind, flailing, flipping, and spinning out of control. End over end, Mau fell, hair and tail whipping in the air around her. Slowly, she took a breath and rolled over onto her back in the air, facing the dying light of the stars and the slow rising light of the sunrise.


    As Mau fell, her mind drifted to all the lives she''d lived. Most of them were blurred, indistinct shadows looming at the edge of her awareness, but this one... This last one was sharp in her mind. She had finally learned to live. She had finally learned to actually love. Even though it was ending early... This one was a life well spent.


    "... So this is what it feels like when your time''s finally up..." She murmured to herself as the wind shrieked in her ears and darkness faded on the edges of her consciousness.


    "... I''m tired," Mau whispered as she closed her eyes.


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau awoke once again in the Halls of The Resting Dead. As usual, it was fucking cold, and she was naked, just like the last time she had been through here.


    She sighed, tail flicking behind her as she sat up on the frigid cold slab of stone that she always woke up on.


    "... I guess that''s it." She muttered glumly. She was dead. She was dead, and the only thing she could think about was Suvdaa shrieking at her through a rock.


    Mau''s shoulders sagged.


    The tears came unbidden as she buried her face in her palms. They came silently, she couldn''t bring herself to sob, nor did she want that basic bitch Galatea to see her or hear her like this.


    Mau sat there crying in silence for what felt like an eternity. Whatever gods or reincarnation bureaucrats in the room beyond would have to wait. She hadn''t cried like this in a very long time and wouldn''t let anyone take it from her.


    Once she had her fill of sobbing into her palms, Mau huffed quietly and stood up. The floor was frigid, and she uttered a half-hearted curse as she shuffled down the hall to face whoever was going to congratulate her for a job well done.


    She did it. She killed the same guy a hundred times for the sake of some divine bet. Mau had choice words for the gods when she saw them, and only hell itself could hold her back as she emerged into The Chamber of Judgment.


    The mural depicting Mau''s hundred lives had been updated, and the top of the fresco on the wall was decorated with the image of a falling castle and a catgirl ramming her blade through the 100th'' Demon Lord''s body.


    "Neat." Mau spat.


    "Yes... Neat, indeed..." A voice spoke. It was a voice Mau had never heard before.


    She thought it was cold, but then the chamber became absolutely soul-chilling as the candles and torches guttered and died down.


    A black mist crawled into the chamber from the archway where the Galatea typically emerged.


    Mau''s animal brain went off like crazy and she was locked in place with a sudden existential terror the likes of which she had never felt before. Her brain froze and her body just halted with it as her animal side screamed at her to turn around and run. There would be no shame in running from this.


    "Galatea?" Mau blinked, voice nearly cracking from the supernatural terror overtaking her. She frowned. "No. You''re not her."


    "Very astute..." the voice hissed, low, sibilant, and sultry, as a vaguely humanoid figure formed from dark shadow slithered into the room, gleaming red eyes locking on Mau''s blue.


    "Oh. Hi. You must be the asshole who started all this bullshit." Mau drawled, struggling to maintain her composure.


    "You will address me with the proper respect, mortal worm." Dommon sneered.


    "I''ll address your sorry bet-losing self however I fucking please because I won." The catgirl replied, finally getting her spirit back as she realized who she was speaking to.


    In the next instant, Mau''s entire universe was nothing but agony. She had felt pain before, but nothing like this; it was as though every iota of her soul was slowly being torn apart atom by atom.


    When it ended, and she came to with a shocked gasp, Mau was on the ice-cold floor of the Chamber of Judgement.


    Wiping spectral drool from the corner of her lip and a mixture of snot and blood from her nose, Mau groaned as she writhed on frigid stone.


    "Ughhhh fuck. What the fuck...?"


    "Did you enjoy making your little quips? Did you enjoy playing the hero? Did you enjoy the fun little diversion the other gods and I set up for you and my champion?" Dommon chortled. "I hope you did. Because now that it is all over, I will destroy you for what you''ve done."


    "Please..." Mau huffed as she slowly sat herself up, body trembling wildly with aftershocks of pain. "What are you, a 90''s cartoon villain? Destroy me? Just say you''re going to kill me." She said, baring her fangs at god.


    "..."


    "..."


    "You''re already dead." Dommon pointed out.


    "Okay, I''ll concede that point," Mau said.


    Dommon sighed.


    "Tell me, hero." He said. Mau grimaced. "Why do you fight? Why did you decide to make yourself such a thorn in my side? Oppose me at every turn? You know the gods only saw you as a pawn, yes? I could have offered you anything you wanted- I still can. Why oppose me when you could rule with me?" The god of chaos and destruction offered. Mau arched a brow.


    "They should rightfully fear your power, hero..." The god continued.


    Mau remained silent for a long time. She closed her eyes and searched her feelings.


    "I fight..." She whispered. "Because if I didn''t fight, there would be nothing to fight for."


    The shadow cocked what consisted of its head and crooned, "Oh?"


    "You want to destroy everything..." Mau pointed out. "I lived a hundred lives. I learned. I lived. I loved. I saw the beauty of a hundred worlds firsthand. I experienced things no one else ever could or would get to. At first, I fought because I was a good little hero puppet, dancing on my strings. But I learned, over time, that there are things worth fighting for."


    "Things like...?" Dommon prompted.


    Mau frowned.


    "A mother''s love. A friend''s compassion. A lover''s touch. The first sunrise an infant ever gets to see. The last sunrise of a dying woman. The feeling of having a whole world that believed in me when I was just some rando dumb catgirl with a sword that said she would save them. That''s what I fight for."


    Dommon hissed and suddenly grew in size. His shadowy figure dominated the chamber, blotting out the fresco of Mau''s life achievements.


    "All for nothing!" Dommon growled. "You learned nothing, accomplished nothing, and will return to nothing! I will devour you now!" He threatened.


    Mau, ever defiant to the bitter end, spread her arms.


    "Bring it, you Dark Lord wannabe motherfucker! I''m tired anyway!"


    But it was as she said this that Mau''s heart hammered in her chest. She felt something calling out to her. She felt her very soul resonate with warmth and strength, the likes of which she had never felt before.


    She felt something in her hand as her fingers closed tightly.


    It was the holy sword. Whether it had followed her to this place or was a manifestation of her defiance, Mau couldn''t tell. She simply, instinctively, took on her fighting stance.


    "You might kill me. But before you do, I promise you I''m going to hurt you so badly that bards will sing about me like Fingolfin."


    Dommon lunged, his immense form washing over the chamber like a tidal wave. Mau met him head-on, blade first. The two clashed for what felt like an eternity as Dommon did his best to crush Mau, and she did her best to try and cut him.


    Eventually, one was victorious. Dommon shrieked in pain as the holy blade bit into his shadowy mass, and Mau dragged open a wide cut in his barely corporeal form.


    With a wail of pain and misery, the dark god retreated down a side chamber, cursing Mau the whole way.


    Mau flopped onto the chilly stone floor on her ass and then just sprawled herself out carelessly.


    "I''m fuckin'' done." She groaned.


    That was when another voice spoke up, timid and scared.


    "Is... Is he gone?"


    Mau sat up and stared blearily as Galatea poked her head into the room. The goddess rushed to Mau''s side and hugged her tightly.


    "... You''re welcome," Mau said dryly as the goddess wrapped her in a spare shroud.


    "You... You actually did it. AND you fended off Dommon himself!" Galatea huffed. "... For a moment there, you had some of us worried."


    Mau stared at her blankly.


    "How many were taking side bets?" Mau asked very pointedly.


    Galatea flustered.


    "I mean. I DID make off like a bandit betting on the underdog... There were quite a few side bets that you couldn''t do it."


    Mau rolled her eyes.


    "That said... About your reward..."


    Mau''s ears perked.


    "I get a reward? Like honest to god?" She asked. "You''re not gonna cast me aside, throw me out, or imprison me forever because I''ve grown into a massive threat against the gods or anything like that?"


    "Well, some of the others suggested that..." Galatea muttered.


    "Wow, screw those guys," Mau grunted.


    Galatea fidgeted.


    "We can send you home." She said. "The world you came from. ... Your body''s been in a coma since the truck hit you. You can just... Wake up and go about your life again."


    Mau frowned, thoughtful.


    "What if I want something else...?" She asked.


    The goddess blinked.


    "Something else...? Like what?"


    Mau glanced down at herself sadly.


    "I wanna go back to being a catgirl. I want to go back to my friends."


    They sat silently for a long beat before the blonde goddess nodded her head.


    "That can be done. Lightning Jolt!" She said.


    "-Really?" Mau started to ask as Galatea touched a finger to her breastbone.


    The sudden surge of searing electrical pain that ran through her body made Mau shriek.


    "WHAT THE HELL!" Mau protested as her legs refused to move to get her away.


    "She''s not breathing! Do it again, Penne!" Galatea said in Suvdaa''s voice before she zapped Mau with another shock spell.


    <h2>?</h2>


    Mau''s eyes snapped open as she sucked down a ragged gasp. She sputtered and choked, her whole body racked with pain as Suvdaa stopped doing chest compressions then and there.


    "MAU!" Suvdaa, Andy, and even Penne gasped in unison as the raider clutched the catgirl tightly in her arms.


    "Ogh... Uuuugh... ugh...!" Mau gurgled, one eye shutting tightly from the pain as she lay limp in Suvdaa''s arms. "... Hi."


    "Do not ''Hi'' at me!" Suvdaa spat as tears rolled down her cheeks. "We thought you were dead."


    "Nah... I survived just to tell you it was a Star Trek reference, not a Star Wars line," Mau whispered weakly.


    Suvdaa promptly dropped her with a scowl.


    "DUMB CAT!"

 Epilogue

    Once again, Mau found herself in the middle of everyone else''s celebrations.


    After defeating the Demon King and spending enough time recovering from her injuries and near-death experience, she ended up dragged back to the capital city of Erlendale. Much to her chagrin, she was paraded through the streets with her friends in a long procession of happy faces and loud boisterous cheers. It wasn''t that she didn''t enjoy the festivities, though. She was just left with a somber and sad feeling after killing the Demon Lord for the hundredth time.


    He was like her. He was a victim, a pawn in a game of gods and divines that had chosen two unlucky randos to fight their battles for them.


    The truth was, as Mau''s horse plodded down the city streets and the cheers exploded again and again down each block the party passed... Mau felt bad for Vile Darque.


    He had banked everything on winning the last battle just to snatch victory from her and please his patron, and he failed. She wondered quietly what kind of horrors he might have been suffering in the afterlife as Dommon''s plaything. Or was he simply released? Sent back to the very world they had both come from and given the worst punishment of all... A life of mundane normalcy.


    Mau grimaced. Her ears pinned back at both the thought of returning to that world and the loud chorus of voices that made her head hurt.


    It took her a second to push such thoughts from her mind when a nudge at her shoulder pulled her attention from her introspection.


    "Hm?" Mau murmured, glancing at the hagling that had prodded her.


    "We get that you have a lot on your mind, Mau. But you''re free now. Try to enjoy it."


    Mau nodded and once again looked over the faces of the screaming crowds, the children scurrying through the street, the housewives poking their heads out of each window. The faces of men drunk with joy and beer greeted Mau with a raucous cheer- and a few catcalls at every inn and bar they passed, and she couldn''t help but chuckle as she slid her hand into Suvdaa''s as they rode side-by-side.


    "I still can''t believe you." Suvdaa snorted. "A Star Trek quote... Really?" She said petulantly while squeezing the catgirl''s fingers.


    Mau smiled.


    She could just sit back and enjoy this celebration for the first time in a long time. It felt so strange to her. Never before could she just sit back and enjoy this kind of thing. She had always been too tired and bitter, knowing she would have to deal with more conflict and strife again in her next life. But now?


    Mau was free.


    She was free from her shackled fate, her destiny of bloodshed and killing. She could do as she pleased from now on.


    She could live her life.


    "I''m still shocked, Mau," Andy admitted. "You came from the same world as the Demon Lord and everything... It must have been tough to do what you did."


    Mau nodded. The truth was that for a long time, it was just so easy to dismiss Vile Darque''s humanity out of hand and kill him again and again. But Mau felt a keen little sting on realizing that they could have been good friends in another life or in another world. He was just as much of a dork as she was.


    A memory came back unbidden.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Back when Pathetic Baby-Man kicked down the door to the Devil God''s throne room.


    "Die, monster! You don''t belong in this world!" he said.


    Mau couldn''t help but chuckle, remembering how she had to dodge a flung wine glass.


    But it was over now. That door was shut, probably for good. Mau could only move forward from this point on.


    The parade procession, consisting of countless soldiers returning home, a detachment of royal honor guard, the party of four heroes on their horses, and a giant bear, made its way through the city towards the castle. There was supposed to be a feast in Mau''s honor. The truth was that Mau would probably duck the feast as soon as she could, but she would at least show her face to make everyone happy.


    She was tired¡ªreally exhausted. The thing she wanted to do the most was find a nice warm bed to curl up in and take a nap.


    The procession passed through the central city and into the castle gates, where trumpeters welcomed the heroes. The loud noise made Mau''s ears pin back again, but they passed the trumpeters quickly, dismounted at the entrance to the palace, and made their way inside. Mau had never felt out of place before, always choosing to wear her breastplate and leathers to these events, but now? Surrounded by all the knights in shining armor and courtly servants and nobles in their finery, she felt like a complete bumpkin. The thought made her laugh internally for the first time in forever.


    This must be what it feels like to be a hero, huh?


    Mau had always hated being called a hero. She never felt like one, and she still didn''t feel like one. However, she didn''t have to feel like a hero to feel countless years and ages of anxiety and strife lifting from her soul. And that, to her, felt better than feeling like a hero. It felt like freedom.


    When the party emerged in the king''s throne room, they were met with more resounding cheers as Mau took to a knee.


    The kind dubbed Mau a knight of the realm. The clergy emerged to fully ordain Andy as a bishop of the faith. Most importantly, the adventurer''s guild representatives came forth to bestow Mau, Andy, Suvdaa, and Penne with the very first set of platinum dog tags in the guild''s history.


    With that out of the way, the drinking and feasting began. Mau awkwardly hobnobbed with nobles while Suvdaa even MORE awkwardly struggled to hobnob. It was very much not her thing. Andy was bashful and Penne reticent, but at least they were better at dealing with the excited chatter of people buzzing around them. The king had mentioned a special reward and surprise for Mau, and old Thrain seemed especially pleased and knowing about something, but Mau figured it could wait until morning. Or at least it could wait until after she''d had her much-wanted nap.


    Eventually, though, Mau slipped off. It had been a long and very loud day. Her head was throbbing, and if she had anything more to drink, she probably would just vomit it back up.


    She shambled through the castle corridors, and soldiers saluted her in passing. She waved awkwardly and trudged on to search for an empty guest room to crash in for a while.


    Mau grumbled as she pushed open the guest room door and shambled in. The room was dark save for the rays of the setting sun filtering in through the window. The bed was empty and inviting, but Mau instantly noticed something amiss. The bedsheets and pillows had been removed. Her eyes trailed over to a spot in a sunny ray where the room''s occupant had dragged all the bedding for a nap on the floor.


    "Ah... Damn." Mau muttered. "Sorry, I''ll find another room." She said as she turned and started to close the door when a fuzzy, black, feline ear pricked up from the mass of bedding.


    "... Mau?"


    Mau''s heart stopped when she heard that voice, and her body locked up. Her animal brain was firing off wildly, but instead of a fear response of fight or flight, it told her to turn around. To go to the source of that voice.


    Slowly, stiffly, the catgirl turned back around, blue eyes wide with incredulity and shock.


    "... No way," Mau whispered. She fumbled forward and nearly tripped on her feet toward the pillow nest where Miu sat up staring at her.


    Mau staggered for the pillow nest, her throat tightened, and her eyes burned. The two stared at one another incredulously before Miu raised her arms, spreading them out to catch her little girl as Mau plopped into the bedding with her.


    "I... I thought you were gone." Mau croaked as her mother wrapped her in that familiar, tender embrace.


    "How?" Mau croaked as her mother tucked her nose in her hair right between the ears.


    "I barely escaped Middleston, " her mother replied. I moved from refugee camp to refugee camp; it was... chaotic and disorienting. There were nights when the battles were so close I thought I would die for real. Thrain found me and brought me here... There wasn''t a moment when I wasn''t thinking of you."


    Mau clutched her mother''s dress tightly, and the two just... Held each other for what felt like a moment that would never end, both purring softly.