“So basically you got your first level ups from stealing kills,” Tom teased. “That’s pretty low.”

“I learned to always hit the core,” Noir beamed.

“Yeah, but that only works on slimes,” Penelope pointed out as she stepped away from the charred pile that was slowly growing. “Other monsters you just need to kill.”

“That only works if they have a core,” Noir corrected. He pointed to the dull gem on the mountain cat’s forehead. “See? It went dull. If it was shiny still then it doesn’t count towards your level up.”

“Can we stop talking about it now and go back. This is really gross, and I’m supposed to be home by sundown.” Trixie looked pale and nauseas.

“Cores, claws, and fangs?” Ash asked.

“Yeah,” Tom agreed. “And five of the most intact? One for each of us?”

Ash nodded and they set to work quickly. Noir wasn’t interested and instead focused on burying the discarded bodies so the trees could feed.

“It’s too quiet,” Trixie complained even though the birds were still chirping at them and the world still played a pleasant tune of white noise. “I can’t get out of my own head, guys, it was better when you were chattering. Can we talk about the puma? What’s our plan for tomorrow?”

“We come back up here and beat the hell out of the mountain lions until the puma shows up,” Noir said. “And then we slice that one up too.”

“I think it’s better if we stay closer together tomorrow,” Penelope countered as she held out the bag for the items. She wasn’t as grossed out by it as Trixie was, but she still held the bag far enough away from herself that it wouldn’t touch. “It’s hard to see everyone between the trees and I might hit you by accident. And Trixie has to work harder to shield too.”

“I need more arrows,” Ash sighed. He stood up straighter and took a forlorn look around the clearing. The mountain cats were a nuisance, and so much work when the population got out of hand. The process of verifying kills and getting paid was tedious, bloody, and annoying. At least Penelope’s bag was a limited item space; items inside wouldn’t ‘bleed’ and the owner didn’t have to worry about dirt and mess getting everywhere. That didn’t solve the numbers problem, though. “And a short range weapon for when I run out. I didn’t expect there to be this many.”

Noir had his hand on a tree again, a small glow under his palm that made his brother worry for a moment. No new wounds appeared, though, and it looked like Noir was just… being himself. Communing with the tree or whatever it was he did.

“I probably need a smaller shield,” Tom admitted. “This one made hitting the left side difficult, and the mountain cats are small targets.”

“Ten feet. That’s the most anyone should wander off,” Trixie said with a bit more color in her face. She was glaring at a bush like one of the felines would burst out of it at any moment. “I can’t shield beyond that range. Anyone who needs first aid should be within five feet, and preferably closer.”

“Our biggest problem is the number of cats,” Tom said. “Can a five-person party really manage this many?”

“The mountain cats attack in predictable waves and patterns,” Trixie said with an eye twitch. “The puma will appear after the third wave. It’s all outlined in An Encyclopedia of Common Monsters. Didn’t you check up on it before we left?”

“I figured we had you,” Tom admitted.

“Urgh! So annoying,” Trixie grunted. She tapped her toe against the ground in annoyance. “I’m not here to do all the reading for you! No wonder we absolutely sucked today. Look, a puma is not a mountain cat so you can’t just rely on me for all your info okay? The battle strategy is different.”

“But you’re so good at it,” Ash complimented smoothly. “And you love reading, so doesn’t it work out that you plan all our strategies? I bet you always wanted to boss us around. Now’s your chance.”

“As if you’d listen!”

“The puma is close,” Noir interrupted. “We could get it today.”

They all stopped to stare at him. “He wasn’t listening was he?” Trixie asked.

“Not a word,” Ash admitted as he counted his arrows.

“Listens as well as a tree,” Tom commented. Ash gave him a light slap in reprimand.

“I don’t want to carry the bag,” Penelope complained. “I mean, I know it’s my bag and super important thoughts happening now, but this has cat parts in it.”

“Trixie said they fight in patterns,” Noir said with a small growl. He took the bag and tied it to Tom’s belt, ignoring the small yelp. “If we know the pattern we can win. The trees told me where it is. Come on, please?” His tone switched from annoyed to a step short of begging.

Ash recognized the big-eyed look his brother was sporting and tried to squash any unreasonable expectations. “You won’t level up today even if you kill it yourself,” Ash said as gently as he could.

“But I’ll be closer,” Noir pointed out.

“If we go one inch into their territory the cats will be on us again,” Trixie reminded them, cutting into their side track. “They’re predictable like that. The only reason they aren’t swarming us now is because of all the bodies. If we want to fight them again today we have to do it right or we’ll go home injured and won’t be able to fight tomorrow.”

“There’s a plan?” Tom asked. “I mean a successful one. It exists?”

“One with a very slim chance of success,” Trixie admitted. “But yes. There is one.”

The work on the fallen cats stopped as they all turned to listen. An hour later they were set to go in an unfamiliar formation. “Why does Sniffer get to go first again?” Noir asked.

“My name’s not sniffer,” Tom grumbled as he cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and tapped his boots to the ground to settle his feet in his shoes.

Noir snorted from his place in the back.

“We ready?” Ash asked.

“Ready,” Tom answered.

“We look stupid, but I’m all set over here,” Penelope said from the right.

“Let’s do this!” Noir impatiently urged.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Trixie muttered from her spot in the middle. “Remember I’m the shortest and I can’t see over you, so stay in range. Shout if you need a shield.”

“We know,” Ash huffed. “Let’s get this over with. When you say.”

Trixie said a quick prayer to the gods for safety and success - a standard practice anytime she took on a quest - and then said: “Go.”

Tom stepped forward first. As predicted, the moment he crossed that invisible line into the cat’s territory they were surrounded again. This time They stayed close, leaving only enough room between them that they could comfortably swing their weapons without hurting each other.

Tom swiped at a cat that was in his way, the sword cutting into the flesh neatly. A second cat leapt over the body and pounced on his shield. He pushed the cat away. The monster used the shield bash as a climbing exercise and crawled over the metal to swipe at Tom’s face.

Penelope’s fire magic blasted it before the claws could scrape flesh.

Ash shot an arrow forward, knocking a cat out of an overhead tree but missing the vital spot. While he was aiming another arrow, another cat rushed him from the side.

Noir bashed it with his sword, knocking the cat unconscious.

The cats seemed to keep their distance from Penelope. The fire magic in her hands was enough to make them wary. One did slip between Noir’s feet and try to bite Trixie. It was almost disaster, but Noir realized the issue and kicked the monster in the side before it could fully latch on.

Trixie healed herself and Noir’s bruised foot. The animal had a gut like a rock.

That meant they’d moved on from the Level 5 Mountain Cats to the Level 8 Mountain Cats. These were sturdier and smarter monsters. They weren’t charging nearly as much.

And they were trying to find weaknesses.

Two cats charged at once, one on each side of Tom, trying for the gap between people. “They think I’m our ‘core’,” Trixie said as she made a small shield to block one. Tom slicked through the neck in one clean strike, but it took both hands to do it and that meant the other monster was free to get through-

-Penelope set Noir’s sword on fire, and Noir used the blade to cut down the animal’s side.

“You’re right, it’s easier when we give them a target to go after,” Ash grunted as he pulled back another arrow. “We can see how they’re moving.”

“Get ready,” Trixie growled. “The puma’s up next. It’s a Level 12 monster. We’re all between 8 and 10. As soon as these clear out that puma’s going to pounce and it’s not going to be easy anymore.”

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