3.3

Jason

Three hemat wolves and three cat kin stepped into the clearing in front the new dungeon portal. The middle (and shortest) cat kin had fur patterned with gray and brown similar to the hemat wolf beside him. The cat kin to his right could easily have disappeared in a shadow, the quality of their black fur more plush than sleek, despite the sheen that could be seen under direct sun light.

The third cat kin had short, pale orange and white fur. She also possessed a far more humanoid appearance, including breasts covered by a breast band and facial contours that could - barely - fall within human standards. She still had a dainty pink kitty nose.

"Looks like you're up," Lena said with a glance at Jason.

He nodded and, using his spear more like a walking stick, also moved into the clearing. "Hello."

The cat kin eyed him, ears pricked forward in a curious expression. The gray and brown guy said, "What's a human doing on East Karth?"

"Would you believe me if I said we're lost?" Jason asked.

The orange cat kin said, "That's a dungeon behind you, and not ours, so maybe. We heard a hemat howling. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

Wisp walked out and sat with a bit of space between himself and Jason. He voiced a relaxed arou, which two of the hemats answered.

Jason managed to project watchful calm with a hint of aw-shucks. "Ah, well, we're only lost if we're not near a place called Priesley's Folly. And behind me is the Studio of Capricious Dreams. My name is Jason Kline, and my friend here is Wisp. I am a liaison for the Studio." He paused at that point, but when the silence just drew out, he asked, "To whom am I speaking?"

The plushy black cat kin puffed up while the gray guy narrowed his gaze. The cat lady looked at her companions, shook her head, and turned her attention back to Jason. "Names are important; asking is rude. I work with merchants from many strange places so I'm willing to assign you the benefit of ignorance for now. What is your business with Priesley's Folly?"

Wisp made some talking arous and laid down. Over the G.C. he said, «The hemats ask where my companion is and why I am here. I tell them Ouliel is near, and that we are here to heal the dungeon.»

"We were informed that the dungeon of Priesley's Folly was damaged, that someone stole its core. We're here to help with the restorations."

*~*~*

While Jason and Wisp worked on first contact with the citizens, Lena had given Sha'vord back all his belongings. That did include his weapons, but those weapons, as well as those belonging to Sha'lanadi and Sha'dakai, were in sealed bronze containers. The lids for those containers closed like paint cans and required a thin sturdy tool to pry them open. The crew had agreed to let the Sun elves figure out how to open their weapon lockers after kicking them out.

She had also roused Sha'dakai's companions and sent them down to join the quiet Sun elf. By the time Jason had talked his way into an escort back to the town, the Sun elves and Sha'dakai's hemat companions were as ready to depart with them as the crew could force.

The cat kin hadn't shown much reaction to the first two Sun elves, though the hemats with them greeted Sha'dakai's companions with happy tail wags, playful head butts, and a swirl of all-body stropping against each other.

Sha'vord, on the other hand, got shoved out of the dungeon by a force field.

Jason shook his head in disgust.

"Return my property!" Sha'vord bellowed, hitting his fist against the force field blocking off the dungeon entrance.

"Everything you have a legitimate claim of ownership over has been returned to you," Lena said.

"Return my harpies, you thieving demons!" Sha'vord kicked the force field to emphasize his demand.

"The harpies were removed from your custody because you're a fruiting dingleberry of an abusive sour apple! Now GTFO and be glad that we didn't decide to give you a taste of your own medicine!"

Jason choked as he tried to hold back a laugh. It wasn't really a funny situation, but he had to wonder if Lena knew what a dingleberry actually was.

Sha'vord swung around, his face twisted with his fury. "What was that? Did you just laugh at me?"

Jason shook his head, still coughing.

That gave Rob the opportunity to speak first. "Act like a fool, expect to be treated like one."

"What did you just say?" Sha'vord asked, his voice going soft.

Jason knew Rob had been pissed off at the Sun elf lord, but he only realized just how deeply that anger had settled when Rob said, his voice frosty, "Did you or did you not invade our home? Did you or did you not terrorize sentient creatures in our home? Did you really think there would be no consequences for that shit? If so, you're a fool."

Sha'vord crossed the distance, about four meters, between them faster than Jason could follow. His gauntleted fist struck Rob just below the sternum with an upper cut and the sickening crunch of bones accompanied Rob flying back two meters. His body did not touch the ground. Light flared around him and he disappeared.

Jason was moving before he fully processed what he was seeing. His spear plunged into Sha'vord's neck at an upward angle and came out the side of the elf's cheek. Jason's mind fixated on the way the blood sprayed out from the wounds while his body completed the thrust and pulled the spear back to a ready position.

Sha'vord turned to strike at Jason, but Jason was already moving around behind the elf, the tip of his spear sweeping toward the back of the elf's knees. He struck Sha'vord's calf, cutting a strap holding on the elf's leather greaves and making him take a stumbling step forward, but the elf remained standing. Sha'vord pivoted with that forward step to face Jason, lunging forward with another drawn back fist.

The elf had donned his armor, but the leather chest piece did not include sleeves. Instead, his arms were protected by open fingered gauntlets made of leather and reinforced over the hands with bronze scales. The gauntlets did not reach to his elbows. Jason crouched low and brought the spear up along the forward leading side of Sha'vord's body. The elf failed to deflect the blade of the spear tip and it sank into his shoulder through his arm pit, jolting him to a stop an arms length away from Jason.

Sha'vord hung on the end of Jason's spear for a moment before falling to his knees, then collapsing into a sprawl on the ground.

*** *** ***

You have begun the Design of the Defender. Progress 87%.

*** *** ***

*~*~*

Lena

*** *** ***

Your Zone Guardian Roberto Morgan Garcias has been transported to his territory due to severe injury incurred outside the Zone.

*** *** ***

*** *** ***

Your Zone Guardian Roberto Morgan Garcias has died. Do you wish to attempt reincarnating your Zone Guardian's soul? Y/N

*** *** ***

The two notifications brought Lena out of her shock-frozen state from seeing Sha'vord attack Rob, though the shock only increased with the import of the last message. She reacted emotionally, instantly choosing, "YES!"

*** *** ***

Searching for compatible patterns …

Compatible patterns found.

Elf (plains) 93%

Elf (forests) 84%

Gnelf 81%

Gnome 65%

Taurgonaut (Gidataur) 33%

Select pattern for reincarnation

*** *** ***

*Wait, Rob is Human. What's going on?* Then realization crashed into Lena that these were the only Aware patterns recorded in her research core. What are the risks to waiting for the research core to assimilate a human pattern?

*** *** ***

The soul must be gone from the body before the body of sapient creatures may be absorbed and recorded. Insufficient patterns available to temporarily house an Aware soul.

Select pattern for reincarnation.

*** *** ***

Lacking any better options under the time constraint, Lena chose Elf (plains).

*** *** ***

Reincarnation initiating …

*** *** ***

Continuing movement outside drew Lena's attention. She saw Jason, on one knee, his spear buried in Sha'vord's arm pit, the elf falling.

Aaron screamed. "What did you do to my brother!?"

«Rob got teleported to his territory,» Lena said, using the Guardian Communication channel. She didn't mention him reincarnating just yet. The reality of it hadn't sunk in for her.

Aaron turned back to the portal and bolted back in. He bounced off the force shield still in place from shoving Sha'vord out. Lena felt slow witted, not understanding what had happened at first. Then comprehension dawned and she dismissed the force field. Aaron picked himself up off the ground, scrambling to his brother's side.

Candy stepped into the doorway, her fancy tube / wand thing pointed toward the other two Sun elves. Her face and knuckles were drained of color, but her hands were steady. "Jason, step this way and don't cross my fire line," she ordered.

Jason just remained kneeling, staring at the Sun elf impaled upon his spear as if he hadn't heard her.

"Jason," Candy called again, louder, commanding but still a poor imitation of Imperial Mamaw.

No response.

*** *** ***

Recalling Teleport initiated.

*** *** ***

The same light engulfed Jason and his spear that had snatched Rob from the air and then he, too, was gone.

*** *** ***

All Zone Guardians outside of the Zone have been teleported to their respective territories.

*** *** ***

«Recall worked. Get back in, Candy. I'm sealing this door way for now.»

*~*~*

Outside her dungeon, Sha'dakai moved to Sha'vord's side. He held his hand a few centimeters over the downed elf lord's chest for a moment, then said, "Sha'vord, Lord of Westhill, has fallen. I witness that he struck the first blow."

Sha'lanadi bowed his head. "I witness that Sha'vord struck the first blow."

The gray tabby cat kin, his fur (like his companions) fully bristling, asked, "Was he not provoked?"

Sha'lanadi shook his head, sorrow mixed with the remnants of his startled state from the swift fight. "Milord Sha'vord also began the provocations. The humans were not wrong in accusing us of invading their domain, though in our defense we did not know that they had claimed it, and even less realized that they had caused the newly made dungeon to become. They are led by a Champion of Order. Despite milord's belligerence, upon learning of the danger of the destabilized dungeons they began work at once to help us discover a means to restore the dungeons to order."

The black cat kin's mouth opened, but the gray one leaned to the side, his shoulder bumping into the other cat kin. "Then as the Sun elves choose not to pursue action, we have no reason to interfere. Do you truly believe they have this capability?"

Sha'lanadi nodded. "Oh, yes. Sha'Ra'ayel has been performing divinations to discover the best way to address the theft of the core stones since the first one was reported to the Emperor of the Sun. It was by his word we sought out the newly formed dungeon."

"The Emperor's Diviner sent you?" the gray tabby cat kin asked.

Sha'lanadi nodded. "Yes."