Origin ARS 6 Page 4

  "Any special abilities to worry about?" he asked.

  "They have a lot of strength and agility, but otherwise they are not particularly difficult to deal with at the level we would find them at around here. Take a walk out into the grasslands for a day or two and that will change," said Rhea.

  The lunch conversation turned to simpler things after that. Most of it revolved around the hijinks of Ero and Herbert as they enjoyed their meal.

  After lunch they made their way over to the Primrose Dance Studio to meet with the lady who had posted the work notice, Mrs. Kilman. The dance studio turned out to be an outdoor dance floor with a small house attached on the side. Dance classes were weather dependent, and mostly at night in order to allow for a romantic atmosphere. The owner taught dance styles for couples.

  Mrs. Kilman was a handsome older woman with honey blond hair, and a merry twinkle in her eyes. She absolutely adored the fact that the people who accepted her job request considered each other a family. It did not take long to get down to business, however.

  "Yes, the cats have caused a lot of problems recently. I don't know why there are more of them in the area than usual, but now that there are more of them they have started coming closer to town at night," said Mrs. Kilman.

  Ero sat atop Scott's head in a cross-legged position and listened absent-mindedly as Scott and Rhea discussed the situation with the older woman. She did not have much to add to the conversation, so instead she spent the time listening for information and contemplated the days to come.

  The fairy girl could not help but sigh a little after she turned her head and gazed out at the dance floor. She could grow in size, but until her power grew considerably she would be limited in how often she could do so. She would not be able to maintain her form for more than a few minutes without using her greater power in a battle.

  She smiled softly to herself as a sweet daydream arose before her eyes. She dreamed of being with Scott on that floor, a romantic couple dancing the night away. At the moment, it was impossible for real. She could maintain her form for a few short dances, but then she would take hours to regain her strength. Ironically, the size shift lasted a little longer when she was a high-level first tier fairy back on the casual server.

  Ero wrapped her arms around herself and swayed back and forth while she listened to music that only she could hear. The conversation continued around her, while she was lost to the rhythms of a beautiful day dream.

  "Alright, we'll head north and see if we can help control the local population a bit," said Scott lightly.

  Mrs. Kilman granted him a warm smile and said, "Thank you." before the group turned away.

  "Dah duhn duhn dah duhn, dah duhn, dah duhn." mumbled Ero lightly as she swayed back and forth.

  Scott reached up and offered her his finger. She wrapped her left arm around it then smiled sweetly. "May I have this dance?" she asked the finger.

  He laughed a little then wiggled his finger like it had taken a proper bow. Ero and Scott's finger wobbled back and forth while she hummed the waltz tune.

  Rhea glanced at them briefly then averted her eyes and took a deep breath. She continued forward without saying anything.

  The foursome left the studio and headed toward the northern gate of the town. It was a short walk. They had plenty of time to reach the field beyond town.

  After a short chat with the town guard, they left and headed north through the field toward the hills beyond. On the way, Scott mumbled something about wondering how long it would take to find the wildcats. As it turned out, it did not take long at all.

  The background music of the world went from subtle and adventurous to a quirky electric guitar dance mix, complete with minor brass horn accompaniment, the moment three rapidly moving felines raced into the area.

  The team scattered immediately, and set up positions. Ero took the lead in the attack by using one of her new abilities as a tier-two fairy to conjure a ball of water. She tossed the ball up into the air then shouted, "Ero's Water Hammer!"

  The small ball of water shot down at an angle and slammed into an oncoming wildland cat with great force. The feisty feline cried out a kitty cry of pain as it was crushed into the ground. It was either dead, or unconscious, but either way Ero had set the tone of the fight.

  Herbert stood back and began to shake his hips in a rhythmic manner. His little rodent booty wiggled to the left and then to the right. He whirled around and started to walk backwards with one paw in the air and his head tilted down.

  The team suddenly felt lighter, more capable of moving with precision and greater speed as Herbert's dance took effect. It was one of the dances he had learned over the course of the last week by practicing at night, Moonwalk. It was a power that lowered the weight of party members and allowed them to move with improved ease. It also increased jumping ability slightly.

  The moment Herbert started to dance, cat cries echoed throughout the area. He had offended the pride of the wildland cats by dancing in their domain!

  Scott put the bonus to good effect by leaping forward and entering the fray with a flying kick. It was hard to hit a rapidly moving target with a jump kick, much less a flying kick. However, to his enjoyment and surprise, his swift attack easily connected with his target. The furry beast attempted to dodge to the side, but the sorcerer's foot plowed into its body with a decidedly heavy strike.

  He felt the cat's chest give way under the assault. The unfortunate creature's ribs snapped inward with little effort and it was left with a badly puncture lunge. Scott finished it off with another kick to the chest, a hard heel kick. It would not suffer long before it died, the sorcerer had made certain of that.

  In the distance, several more cats had begun to run down out of the hills. Scott turned to face them, Ero prepared another magical attack, and Herbert danced to the music.

  Rhea spent a moment cleaning her blade as she finished off one of the other cats. One swift strike had easily sliced its skull open, defeating the beast with ease.

  Another set of cries rose up as Herbert continued to dance. By the time the second wave of monsters arrived another wave had started out from the hills. They truly did hate dancing, it seemed.

  "Keep it up Herbert!" shouted Scott before he leapt to the side. His sudden action allowed him to narrowly avoid the claw swipe of one of the slightly larger cats. This opponent seemed to be just a little tougher than the ones that had come before, but it was still not in his league. He was both higher leveled, and had greater skill to boot. For once, he faced an opponent in this world that he had an advantage against, an advantage that did not involve fleeing to a safe room.

  Rhea pressed forward then leaned to the side to avoid a claw swipe. She immediately countered with a piercing thrust to the side of the beast. Her blade easily slipped between its ribs and punctured its heart. Never stopping even for a moment, she performed a spin to the side that pulled her blade free.

  The movement allowed her to achieve the perfect position to unleash a highly precise slashing strike to exposed abdomen of a cat that had leapt toward her. She casually avoided its attack, and then tore into it with practiced ease. Another cat was down with little effort.

  Ero unleashed another of her water hammers, this one was a two-fer as it hit a leaping cat and smashed it down atop one of its pride-mates. The attack had killed the first cat and badly injured the second due to the beast's weight crashing down atop it.

  Herbert performed a quick spin then slapped one paw down toward his crotch while he thrust his other paw toward the heavens. The effects of Moonwalk continued unabated.

  The biggest cat in the current wave leapt toward Scott but to its horror, the agile sorcerer ducked down then rocketed upward at the last moment. He caught the cat mid-leap, and then performed a brutal suplex. The cat did not even have time to cry out as its head slammed down onto the cold unforgiving earth. Its neck snapped with a satisfying crunch. Scott flipped over as the attack sequence ended, and regained his footing to contin
ue the attack. However, his opponent was clearly dead.

  Another water hammer shot out. Another cat cried out in pain then fell to the earth in a bloody heap. The destruction wrought upon it caused it to look as though it had been shot by a cannon.

  Rhea landed from a leaping attack that she had just performed. Her opponent landed in two separate pieces behind her.

  The battle, such as it was, went without a hitch. It was not long until the waves of feline monsters stopped coming. The pride had been dealt with, though the team was not done with their hunting. Rhea cut the paws from the cats. Scott questioned her about them and she grinned.

  "Yeah, each paw should count. So, we really only need to kill ten of them to make our quota." she said before hacking at the ankle joint of one of their defeated foes.

  "There's more than two dozen here already," said Scott.

  Rhea nodded to him. "It's an easy mission."

  "I'm glad of it. Let's see how much we can milk out of it," said Scott. The mission briefing had said that they had to turn in at least forty paws. The more paws they had, the more they would earn as long as it was not too late when they turned the paws in to the guard.

  After collecting the paws, the team set about butchering the cats for other parts including meat, fangs, and various organs. Basically, they wasted nothing. Each part would fetch a certain amount of money or could be used for crafting purposes.

  "You know..," said Ero as she fluttered around the pelt of the largest of the cats. "Yes, definitely." She tilted her head to the side. "I think."

  "What's on your mind, Ero?" asked Rhea.

  The fairy turned to her blue haired comrade. "I think I can probably use this one. The rest are too small for my skills to work."

  "You can craft with it?" asked the elf maiden as she tied off a bundle of meat.

  "Yeah, I think," said the fairy girl. She pursed her lips for a moment then puckered her lips and made a cute noise. "Think I should give it a try? My skills are magic based, so I can make simple things even without tools."

  Rhea glanced over to Scott. He was busy with Herbert. The Grassrat member of the team wanted to find a cat skull that he liked for some reason. "Sure. It's not like any of these parts are worth much. The paws are the big attraction for us because of the mission."

  "Ok! Let's do this!" said Ero excitedly. She closed her eyes then made hand gestures toward the pelt. She spent a moment in total concentration then opened her eyes. "Without tools, the best I can do is turn this pelt into a simple clothing item. Is that OK?"

  Rhea nodded then stuffed the cat meat into her loot sack. It was not a special bag with enhanced storage, merely something to lug items around in when the need arose. The cat parts were going to take up a great deal of space. They would need to return to town before heading out for another round of cat hunting. The lack of a dedicated inventory system was a bit of a pain, but some of the space issues would be ameliorated once they could acquire proper storage bags capable of holding a lot of items.

  Ero began to move her hands in a cutting motion. She curled all but two fingers and performed a scissor-like motion with them. The pelt jerked and wriggled as she began her work. Her hand gestures changed from time to time. She made cutting motions, sewing motions, and smoothing motions. Five minutes later the pelt had shrunk considerably and took on the shape of bracers.

  Rhea looked at them for a moment then nodded. "Not bad at all."

  The fairy girl fluttered up and down in the air excitedly, though she bore a tired expression. "I did my fairy best. The tools are expensive, but I can do this much with my skill alone."

  The elf girl picked the bracers up and gazed at them lightly for a moment. She nodded then said, "Good work. What do you want to do with them?"

  "Well, I can't really wear them so I figured I would give them to you or Scott," said Ero with a smile.

  The blue haired elf rubbed her chin for a moment. "Scott could probably use them more since I'll have to go soon. By the time we are all back together properly, we'll be able to get better gear overall."

  "Sounds good," said Ero. "Let's go show him what we did."

  "You did it. I just watched," said Rhea.

  "Well, that's what a manager does." she Ero cheerfully.

  Rhea laughed a little then held out her hand. The fairy girl fluttered over then alighted upon the elf girl's palm. They shared a soft smile for a moment then went to go see what Scott and Herbert were up to.

  "Hey Scott! Herbert! See what we did," said Ero excitedly while she gestured toward the bracers that Rhea held up.

  The blue haired man and his rodent companion stopped comparing cat heads and looked up to see what the girls were doing. Scott asked, "You found armor?"

  "No. Ero made it from the pelt of the largest cat. Take a look at it," said Rhea before she tossed the bracers over to him.

  Scott caught them easily then held one up to view it. His analyze skill was not high enough to allow him to see stats for items unless he purchased them with stats provided. However, he could tell certain things about an item. "Fur-lined leather, moderate quality, good construction, small defense boost..." He rattled off his feelings on the bracers then grinned and said, "Not bad. These would probably cost as much as some of the stuff that I'm wearing at the store. Though, I don't feel like there would be an enchantment on them anywhere."

  Ero smiled brightly then giggled. A slight blush rose up on her cheeks. "Thank you. Do you like them? They're for you."

  "Really? Thank you. I love them." he said with a smile of his own. Scott wasted no time in slipping them on his arms. They fit fairly well and he did not think that they would reduce his ability to fight at all, while they would increase his defense a little.

  "I'll tell you the defense increase when we get to a sacred mirror," said Scott.

  "OK," said Ero. She fluttered her wings a little then looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm glad that you like them, Scott."

  "Of course I like them. They're a gift from my best friend." he said casually.

  Ero made a cute noise then twisted his hips from side-to-side. She did not say anything else, however.

  Herbert made an excited noise then rushed toward one of the dead cats. He jumped up and down then pointed at it with one of his paws.

  "He says that he's found the skull he wanted," said Ero.

  "Ok. Mind asking him why he wants one?" asked Scott curiously.

  Herbert chittered a few times then mimed placing something on his head. Scott could guess what he wanted from the hand motions alone. Ero translated anyway. "He wants to turn one into a helmet for you."

  "Wait. For me? Doesn't he want one?" asked Scott.

  Herbert chittered at Ero for a moment. "They are all too big for his head. He needs to level up a few more times before he can grow big enough to start wearing the skulls of his enemies like a proper Grassdancer," said Ero.

  "I never saw a Grassrat wearing a helmet," said Scott.

  The Grassrat looked up to him then shrugged. He then chittered out a brief statement that Ero translated as, "You never met a true Grassdancer. The skull of an enemy grants the dancer the power of that enemy."

  "I see. So, you want this cat's power?" asked Scott.

  Herbert shook his head then pointed at Scott. Ero translated his chitters. "No, I want you to have this cat's power. I'm not old enough to wear it."

  "Well, thank you for that. Will it fit my head though?" Scott tapped his noggin.

  Herbert nodded and Ero translated for his next series of chitters. "He can use other materials to make it a little larger. He just can't shrink it enough to make it fit him at the moment."

  "I appreciate it. Thank you," said Scott to Herbert.

  The Grassrat walked over then patted Scott on the foot before he chittered a brief statement. "Family does, what family does," said Ero.

  Herbert and the crew discussed what he would need to make his project happen. They had most of the materials already. The Grassdancer would need to find
quality grass to go with the cat parts that he required. He was certain that he could find what he needed out in the field.

  The team finished packing up their loot then went back to town to offload. Monster parts had to be sold in different places. Most of the meat was sold to a local restaurant for a little over ninety copper. The bones, claws, and various organs were sold to the local apothecary for just over one silver. The pelts fetched twelve copper each. All told, they earned a few silver from the deal.

  Back in the field, they searched the hills for more cats to claim. They hunted for a few hours, but only discovered two smaller prides of wildland cats. They had a large hunting range, but they rarely came this close to town. Since it was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, they opted to return to town and turn in their paws and finish the mission.

  The guards tallied the paws then nodded. "Two hundred forty-four. Not a bad day's hunt. Did you get them all?" asked an older guard with a mustache that was too big for his face.

  "We took care of all the ones we found," said Scott.

  "Right then, good. We owe you six copper per paw, and you needed at least forty," said the guard thoughtfully. "That comes to one thousand four hundred sixty four copper."

  Scott received the pay gladly then checked to see that the mission had been labeled as complete. They had done well that day. After that bit of business was completed, they finished selling off everything that they intended to sell. If they took the total hunting profits into account, they had earned over twenty silver that trip. They decided to keep three silver each and put the rest into their bank account.

  That night, they went to watch the couples dance. Mrs. Kilman led the dancers through a beautiful array of romantic dances that seemed to make everyone happy. There were couples of all ages on the dance floor. No caterwauling cats arrived to disturb the enjoyment of the dancers.

  They could not stay long, but they made plans to return there after everyone was together again. Dancing the night away seemed like it would be fun.