Dungeon Champions

Chapter 7: Cats and Catgirls

Following Corey's map, I backtracked to find the next trapped adventurer. Because I was a much higher level than this area of the dungeon, I didn’t run into too much trouble. Singular packs of trash mobs fell easily to my sword or axe, and I even took some out by sniping them with my Bow of Sight-Blinding.

Perhaps it was my borrowed memories, or just raw instinct, but I was starting to adjust to this new life.

As I approached a heavy wooden door banded with thick iron straps, I heard a commotion on the other side. Pressing my ear against the wood, I listened intently. All I could hear was snapping wood and gleeful giggles, and a soft, almost nurturing murmuring. And a lot of magma popping.

“Get away!” a feminine voice called out, high pitched with fear. “Help! Someone, please! Help!”

No time for subtlety, I thought, shoving the door open.

I found myself in a cavernous room lit by the eerie glow of magma. Narrow stone walkways connected platforms throughout the space, most of which were occupied by red-skinned, feral goblins.

The room was fifty feet across and resembled the interior of an active volcano. Heat flooded the space, and sulfur fumes tainted the air, though they were blessedly funneled out by a constant breeze.

In the center of the room, I spotted a small figure crouched on a platform, surrounded by goblins. She was a catgirl, with long limbs and a taut, athletic body. Like Merielle she was wearing simple armor—hers made of padded cloth—that was torn and thus barely functional.

Her white hair falling into her eyes as she struggled to fend off the attackers with nothing but a set of enchanted brooms. They were simple wooden things, with long handles and gathered straw bound by red cloth. A gentle orange glow suffused them, telling me they were summoned.

The brooms were doing a good job of holding off the goblins. She’d positioned them at the end of the platform she was on, and the majority of the goblins were too short to reach them from their platform. The only one who seemed to be able to was a three-foot-tall monstrosity covered in warts.

Probably a goblin war leader, I realized. The disgusting thing was sweeping his long arms around, catching brooms that fell into his clawed reach.

He tossed a broom to the ground and started to jump up and down on it, cracking its handle. The broom feebly tried to continue sweeping as it was being broken. When its last shards fell apart, it pulsed with magical light and vanished.

It was clear the catgirl didn't know what to do. As brooms vanished, cheers rose from goblin throats.

The woman was down to four brooms, the magical things snapping around in a cleaning flurry. She'd clearly been fighting for some time, but her end was in sight.

She just didn’t know it yet.

I started to move, keeping an eye on her as I made my way across the platforms. My fingers curled, itching for me to summon my bow, but I decided against it.

Seeing the glowing mania in their eyes, I was confident they’d rush her as soon as they felt truly threatened. Surprise is my friend here. I need to get close enough to intervene.

A black cat—presumably the catgirl's companion—meowed and leaped up onto her shoulder. It crouched there, trembling in fear, its ears pinned back.

“Shh,” the catgirl said, reaching up to pet her companion. “It'll be okay, Sadie. I promise.”

I could see her blinking back tears as she studied the room, hoping for any hint of a way out. Perhaps it was the wavering heat that ensured she didn’t see me, but from the look of desperation on her face, I could tell she didn’t see her salvation coming.

“Gobbo kill!” the goblin leader roared, pointing a clawed finger at the catgirl.

I made my way to the first group of goblins and jumped down on them.

The monsters realized their doom too late. Moving with supernatural speed, my blade cut them down like wheat before the scythe. Four were dead before the rest realized something was happening. They died even as they turned, making so little sound that the next platforms of goblins, fixated on the catgirl, didn't notice death looming.

Moving lightly, I moved to the next platform, this one with only three of the orange-skinned creatures. Those went down as easily as the previous.

As I slaughtered my way from platform to platform, I glimpsed the catgirl's struggle. One of the goblins darted forward, zipping along a nearby bridge.

I could see despair overcoming the catgirl as she sagged in place. Her ears twitched, sending the little bell at her throat jingling. A broom whipped away from her, whisking back and forth as it went.

The broom intercepted the goblin, knocking into its side. Screeching in rage, the goblin wound its hands around the wooden handle, struggling to wrest the implement to the ground and repeat its leader's tactic.

Magic won out.

“Ahhhhhghghgh!” The goblin screamed as the broom shoved it aside. It fell, angry and confused, hands snatching at the air as it went. The creature shrieked in pain as molten rock encased it and burned it to cinder.

Red goblins were resistant to heat, but not immune to it. If they fell in the magma, they died just like anything else.

Looking across the cavern, I saw the catgirl bite back a sob as another flurry of motion suggested more goblins were about to join the fray. She seemed to be struggling not to feel overwhelmed by the situation, a battle she was steadily losing.

Did they never end?

The catgirl turned, looking behind her and upward. There was a chute there, and it was pretty clear she’d fallen down it. The chute was smooth and at least ten feet higher than she could reach. Despite her apparent feline features, I doubted she could jump that high unassisted.

Once I was within three platforms of the main one, a goblin spoke above the screams. This one was dressed in golden livery, suggesting it was of importance to the tribe.

“Big'ggo, we leave now. I tell you. Troll King want us go. It time. Gobbo capital open. Must go. Claim city. City ours. Take throne! Take Tablet! No more time for kill girl thing.”.

The goblin leader snarled, looking from the catgirl back to the speaker. He pointed a finger in her direction again. “We eat her flesh, then we go. This Big'ggo say!”

“But Big'ggo,” the speaker whined. “Troll King mad. Troll King punish us.” He pronounced punish with a low 'ew' sound, so it came out more like “pewnish.”

“Be quiet!” Big'ggo roared. He made a hacking gesture with one warty hand. “You next. Go, get girl!”

Still whining, the speaker made its way from one bridge to the next, weaving around waiting goblins. Despite their crude, disfigured bodies, the other goblins moved out of the newcomer's way with alacrity, not at all fazed that they stood thirty feet above certain death.

I took the distraction to leap across to another platform, taking down two waiting goblins with one well-timed attack.

The catgirl watched the newcomer, ready to direct her brooms to attack it. This one had a small sword strapped to one hip. It appeared less malformed than the others, vaguely resembling a red-skinned human, albeit with a slightly oversized head and ears. My borrowed memories told me that goblin males often looked hideous, especially the warriors.

One of her ears twitched as she sent one of her final brooms out to intercept the sword-wielder. The goblin drew the short sword, slashing out with a short, jerking motion. Even from a distance, the attack looked amateurish to my trained eye.

SNAP!

The broom clattered to the stone walkway before vanishing, the mana suffusing it puffing into tiny vapor.

Screaming in terror, the catgirl pushed back against the wall. Ignoring the bits of sharp stone that tore into her cheap mage's dress, she dug her heels into the rock. It was almost like she thought that if she worked hard enough, or fast enough, she'd get high enough to make it up to the chute.

But she was facing the wrong direction to climb.

She sent the last two of her brooms out after the approaching goblin. The monster had crossed the final platform and raced toward her. An anticipatory roar rose up among the goblins waiting along the far wall and back into the tunnel leading away from the awful room.

Her feline companion was growling, its nails digging into her shoulders. The poor cat was stiff, its hair all poofed out and tail twitching.

A sob tore free of the catgirl's chest, and I heard her say, “Sadie, I can throw you.” As soon as she said the words, a look of realization crossed her face. She knew she was going to die, but her cat—Sadie—didn't have to.

Maybe she thought that if the cat survived, part of her would live on.

My borrowed memories told me that wasn’t how familiars worked.

The catgirl’s brooms intercepted the racing goblin. It hacked at one as the other bashed into his side. For a moment, I thought it might fall, but the agile monster managed to dance with the blow. Instead of falling, it took a few steps back. As it retreated, that dull sword lashed at the air, cutting down one of the implements.

Another broom went down, leaving just one to menace the monster.

I swept down to the next platform, stealthily killing three goblins that waited for me. There were just so many of them. Why did they have so many here just to kill one catgirl…and why was it taking them so long?

My good luck ended and I was noticed. A fourth goblin—one I hadn’t seen due to the thick billowing smoke—let out a battle cry.

Responding cries rose all throughout the cavern. Even though the goblins noticed me, the catgirl didn’t. She couldn't look away from the feral creature racing over to kill her. Her final broom beat at the monster, clubbing it about the head and shoulders.

Shrugging the bruising attacks aside, the goblin made it to her side of the room. Magma red drool foamed the corners of its mouth as it hunched forward, slowing its pace to savor the final moments of the hunt.

Sadie leaped, but not up the chute. The black cat's jump cleared ten feet, and she landed on the goblin's face. Her claws flashed, raking at red flesh, and tearing deep, bloody furrows.

I was impressed.

Fighting my way through swarming goblins, I tried to get closer. I didn’t want to see the feline die to save its master.

“Gahh!” Screaming in surprise, the goblin tore at the cat. Hissing, she bit the goblin's nose an instant before the monster made a fist and punched her in the side.

“Sadie!” The catgirl howled in panic as her companion went flying. Sadie vanished over the goblin's shoulder as the results of her attack were revealed.

I had to act fast. With a final surge of effort, I cut down the last of the goblins blocking my path and leaped onto the central platform, snatching the falling feline out of the air.

Oddly, Sadie seemed content to let me hold her. The cat pointed with one paw, making a loud, determined growling sound.

“On it,” I replied, settling the cat up on top of my head. “Hold on.”

The feline obliged, flattening against my head as I summoned my Fast Sword of Bloodletting.

The goblin Sadie had attacked was awfully disfigured. Its nose was gone, and deep, jagged furrows ran the length of its face. One eye was a bloody, leaking ruin. Still, despite the damage, it settled its remaining good eye on the catgirl and grinned.

Which meant it wasn’t paying attention to me.

“No hurting animals!” I shouted.

The goblin snarled and turned to look at me and my new hat. It immediately recognized me as a threat and changed targets, completely ignoring the fact that the cavern had gone eerily still.

“Gobbo kill!”

Sliding into a lunge, I impaled the goblin's stomach. Twisting my wrist, I flicked the creature to the side, sending it flying over the ledge and toward its doom.

The goblin wailed in rage all the way down.

I turned to look at the catgirl. Up close, I could see that her white hair was streaked with dust and dirt, and her ripped dress was absolutely filthy. But she had a cute button nose and wide blue eyes that gave her a very innocent look. Her lips were parted in awe, and her long, slender tail was still.

Sadie meowed loudly from atop my head as I approached the woman.

She frowned, looking at me with suspicion and curiosity. “Why isn't she leaping down?”

“Should she be?”

“Yes. You’re a man. Sadie hates men.”

I shrugged. “No idea. But hey. I'm Jordan. Your friend Merielle was in a pickle and I helped her out of the dungeon. I'm here to help you, too.” Pointing back across the stone bridges, I said, “I'll take the lead if you want.”

“If…I want?” The catgirl frowned, obviously confused by my words. “This…isn’t how this is supposed to go.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You…aren’t what I expected.” She rubbed a hand over an ear, almost in frustration. “You’re a man.”

I grinned. “That’s the second time you’ve made that observation. Should I be something else?”

She sniffed the air in front of me and frowned. “You smell genuine. Friendly.”

Curious, I sniffed myself. I smelled like sweat and goblin blood, but maybe the catgirl was able to smell something else. “Well, that’s good. Because I am.”

“My…parents said men are dangerous.” The catgirl’s eyes were troubled. “The Sisterhood, too. But you…” She blinked, looking beyond me. “You slew the goblins.”

“Ah. Yeah. They were in between me and saving the two of you.”

The feline on my head meowed, sounding smug. She rubbed her cheek against the top of my head.

I thought about Skullie, but the lich was utterly still, acting as more of a prop than an undead. The cat didn’t seem to mind its presence, so I didn’t say anything. The less chaos I introduced into the situation, the better.

Eyeing me with fear in her eyes, she inched closer. “Sadie?” She held a hand out, clearly determined to get her friend to safety.

But the feline stayed put.

I reached up. “Here, I don’t want to make either of you…” I broke off as the cat hissed, digging her needle-like claws into my scalp. “Ah. Nope. I don’t think she’s ready to go.”

That earned a sniff from the cat.

I chuckled at the odd interaction. “You know what's strange? I don't even know if I'm a cat person.” I changed my tactics, trying to give the animal a pet. Her fur was silky, and she began purring immediately.

The catgirl blinked, her expression a mix of surprise and confusion. “What do you mean? You don't know if you're a cat person?”

“Well, I haven't been around cats much, I guess.” I smiled, hoping to put her at ease.

She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing me for a moment. “But…everyone loves cats. And catgirls. How can you not be sure?”

I shrugged. “I'm sure I'll come around. I mean, who couldn't love a face like that?” I gestured to the cat on my head, who seemed to be enjoying the attention.

Her ears perked up. “You know what? You're right. How dare you not be a cat person!” She stepped closer, reaching up to poke my armored chest with a finger.

I looked down at her, then her finger.

She frowned and poked me again, putting a bit more force behind it this time. Unfortunately for her, poking my chest was like poking a stone wall.

“Cats are adorable,” she declared, her voice filled with conviction. “Love us!”

I grinned at her sudden change in demeanor. The fear that had clouded her eyes moments ago had vanished. It was a welcome sight, given the dire circumstances she’d found herself in.

“Okay, okay,” I conceded, holding up my hands in mock surrender. “I'll work on becoming a certified cat person. Promise.”

She gave a satisfied nod, her tail swishing behind her. “Good. You better.”