The Sleeper Must Awaken

by Kip Terrington

  “I want one of those,” Joe said.

  “You’ll shoot your eye out,” Zoya said and, in response, Joe's twenty-sided eye started spinning erratically.

  “Zoya! Don't freak the little guy out. Like any eye, it's somewhat sensitive,” Joe defended.

  San walked up and saw the three of them sitting all on the floor.

  “My Queen, you said you wanted me to accompany you to the fourth floor? Rod said he will make sure the next group understands how to take full advantage of the Mezzanine,” San reassured.

  “Great, let’s go. I'll take point,” Joe said as he got up and headed toward the door.

  “One moment, Joe, we don't know what's going to be down there, so I'm going to suit up,” Zoya decided as she climbed inside the chest of Obsidian One. Like the flexible and agile fairy she was, Zoya wrapped herself around the heart and the chest closed up.

  Joe opened the gargantuan Mezzanine door and the group filed out and down the stairs.

  Though Zoya was secure inside of Obsidian One, she was nervous. She took a deep breath. Joe wanted to take point on a floor of unknown threats. She may not be his protector, but she still worried about him. She knew he was as competent as any warrior, if not more so, but she hated seeing him hurt. After they had descended over a hundred meters, the stairs lead into a cave with a bright light at the end of it.

  Joe extended his claw, taking a sharp indrawn breath at the pain. As he inhaled, the strong scent of spearmint overwhelmed him. Carefully stepping through the mouth of the cave, Joe surveyed a vast rolling desert with tall sand dunes and a biting hot wind.

  “Deserts don’t smell like high quality toothpaste,” Joe mused and Obsidian One stepped up beside him.

  “That's true, but ‘we're not in Kansas anymore,’” Zoya quoted.

  “Kansas? I've never been to Kansas. That has no bearing on this situation. I am Russian, so I have no connection to that state… But, more importantly, why doesn't that thing you’re in have a head?! I don't know if there's anything creepier than feeling like Ichabod Crane being chased by the Headless Horseman,” Joe said as he rubbed his neck and stared at the empty shoulders of Obsidian One.

  “I'm just trying to survive, Joe, and there is a Russian House of Kansas City, but that wasn't what I was referencing. I can't believe you’ve never seen The Wizard of Oz. That is now on your to-do list,” Zoya fired back.

  “Fine, but I've never heard of a Russian House of Kansas City,” Joe remarked.

  “They are a cultural organization, but that doesn't matter right now. This is a desert that smells like spearmint, that's no weirder than a swamp that smells like vanilla pudding. Let's go fight the scorpions or scarabs or whatever the monsters of this floor are. It better not be worms, that would just be disrespectful,” Zoya said though the last part was under her breath.

  “Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I think both San and I were hoping for a floor that was a bit colder. I'd like everybody to carry water, in case we get separated,” Joe said as he handed out bottles from his Holdall.

  “Everybody down a whole bottle right now. We are not short of water and it's best to stay on top of hydration, especially in a desert,” Joe warned and they did so, handing him the empties to put back in his Holdall. Looking out over the desert terrain, Joe tried to spot a clue for which direction they should go.

  “Let's head up to the top of that dune and see if we can get a better picture of the surrounding area,” Joe directed.

  As they plodded their way up to the crest of the dune, they kept their eyes open for the inevitable danger. For this reason, it came as a complete surprise when Zoya noticed that the cave they had come through had disappeared.

  “This is a trap floor,” Zoya stated.

  “We conquer it or we take up the life of the Bedouins. I don't know about you, but I've never been a big fan of camels. Let's keep moving. Wait, where is Phoebe? I can't believe we lost someone already!” Joe screamed. Then Phoebe shook off the sand she was hiding in.

  “Down here,” Phoebe said.

  “You're killing me, Phoebe. How did you do that?” Joe asked.

  “Sand,” Phoebe replied as she began to cover herself again.

  “But I am a Life Mage and I couldn't sense you. This is the second time I had no idea where you were. How do you do that?” Joe marveled.

  “I hide. Cat,” Phoebe answered.

  “Cat? What does a cat have to do with how you can hide from my ability to sense life?” Joe asked, when a tiny little ball of fur sprang out of the sand, leapt high in the air, and began scratching at Joe's face.

  Dungeon, Floor 4 Boss

  Level- 9

  Monster Type- Curious Desert Cat

  Name- Uno Gato

  Mana- none

  Hitpoints- 35

  Known attacks- Scratch

  Known defense- Ultra balance

  Without even thinking about it, Joe grabbed the cat by the back of the neck and pulled it away from his face. He held it there, and though it struggled, it was caught like a kitten.

  “This cannot be the floor boss. For one, it's a lower level than the boss we faced on Floor 3, and second, I don't hear any Boss Music,” Joe said.

  “I hear the Boss Music, Joe. It’s incredibly faint, but it's there,” Zoya said and a ball bearing hit the Uno Gato in the head, dropping its hitpoints down to nothing.

  “I had it subdued, why did you kill the cat?” Joe asked as a coin dropped in the sand and the carcass turned to ash and disappeared.

  “A monster,” Phoebe said as she covered herself in sand again.

  “Fine, I had the monster subdued. Why did you kill it?” Joe asked.

  “Monster,” Phoebe shrugged from under the sand.

  “I got that part; can you tell me more of your reasoning?” Joe asked, starting to get annoyed.

  “Cat,” Phoebe replied.

  “That is not helpful,” Joe said, when again, a cat jumped out of the sand and attacked Joe’s face.

  Dungeon, Floor 4 Boss

  Level- 11

  Monster Type- Curious Desert Cat

  Name- Dos Gato

  Mana- none

  Hitpoints- 42

  Known attacks- Scratch

  Known defense- Ultra balance

  The slightly bigger monster had a small circular scar on its forehead. It scratched at Joe's face, this time, almost breaking the skin. It struggled spastically to injure him. Once again, Joe grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck and held it away from himself. It was larger than the one who had come before, but still easy for Joe to hold.

  “Thanks for the warning, though next time maybe put a little more inflection on the urgency of the word cat,” Joe said with measured patience.

  “Okay, boss,” Phoebe said as she spun another ball bearing directly at her target. It hit the cat right between the eyes, causing the cat to growl and struggle even more.

  “Stop that,” Joe stressed as it became more difficult to hold on to the highly agitated monster.

  “Good call,” Phoebe replied as she put away her sling and pulled out a small simple throwing knife, flinging it straight ahead. The small knife hit the cat in its eye and that was the end of Dos Gato. Two gold coins dropped to the ground and the boss monster’s ashes drifted away on the wind.

  “Once again, you killed the monster while I had it subdued,” Joe said.

  “You're welcome,” Phoebe replied as she looked through her small bag, worry evident on her face.

  “What are you looking for? No, we're going off topic, this is why it's good to train with a group before you go out in the field,” Joe complained, more to himself than anyone else.

  “Wood,” Phoebe said.

  “What?” Joe asked.

  “Got any?” Phoebe asked, now standing out in the open holding her arms out for him to pass her some.

  “Sure, I got a bunch of wood, but we're kind of in the middle of a conversation,” Joe said.

  “Pretty please,” Phoebe
begged as she looked up at Joe, opening her eyes wide and forming her lips in a small pout.

  “Zoya, did you tell her to do that?” Joe asked as he began dropping wood into the sand for the halfling to search through.

  “No. But it’s not my fault if she’s attempting to emulate how adorable I am when I ask for things,” Zoya defended.

  “Okay, but someone’s been discussing my kryptonite. If you didn't tell her how to manipulate me, who did?” Joe asked.

  “Moes. Obviously,” Phoebe pointed out as she looked through the wood pieces.

  “Oh, he did see you use that trick on me the first day, Zoya,” Joe remembered.

  “A little more inflection on cat,” Phoebe said calmly.

  “What? Oh, I see what you did there,” Joe smiled as the third cat bounded out of the sand straight for him. This time, the cat didn't make it to Joe's face. Like he was swatting away a bug, Joe's hand reached out and with an open palm batted the cat away. On contact, a loud snap reverberated as the cat flopped lifelessly to the sand.

  Joe saw the message in his HUD.

  Critical hit- You have killed Tres Gato.

  “How could anyone be a cat person?” Zoya marveled.

  “Whoa, uncalled for. You can't judge all felines by monsters in a dungeon. But one weird thing. The UI confirmed I killed the cat, but I didn't get any experience or even a message saying I've received zero experience,” Joe questioned.

  “I'm not sure Joe. Each time, the cat has been a little bigger, but it's the same cat. Look at the carcass, it has a scar where the first one died from the ball bearing and one slightly below it from Phoebe’s knife,” Zoya said and, once again, the dead cat dropped a few gold coins and disappeared into the air.

  “It disappeared as if we looted it. It must be on a timer. So, you think each time we kill it, it's not all the way dead?” Joe asked.

  “Turns out, it's only mostly dead,” San said and then put a hand to her mouth, as if she hadn't meant to say that.

  “One thing's for sure, I can hear the Boss Music now. It's quiet, but definitely present. It's super familiar but I can’t place it. And, Phoebe, I just meant say the word cat louder. And, no, I don't mean the actual words ‘cat louder,’” Joe explained.

  “I knew what you meant,” Phoebe said with twinkle in her eye.

  “Why are you using so many words to talk now? I thought you only conversed in two word increments?” Joe questioned.

  “That's insulting,” Phoebe said.

  “Really?” Joe asked.

  “Cat!” Phoebe said as she pointed just ahead of Joe.

  Joe cocked his hand up in preparation and as the cat emerged. Joe backhanded it as hard as he could. The cat flew away but landed on its feet, charging for Joe again, so Joe hit it again the same way with the same result.

  Dungeon, Floor 4 Boss

  Level- 18

  Monster Type- Curious Desert Cat

  Name- Cuatro Gato

  As fast as Joe could knock the cat away, it rebounded only to attack him again.

  “Joe, this game of cat racquetball is not doing any damage to the cat. It's hitpoints are not falling,” Zoya said.

  Realizing he needed to change it up, Joe caught the cat and held it away from his body. Unfortunately, this time the cat had grown large enough to reach Joe's face. Phoebe pulled out another steel knife and threw it at the struggling cat. The knife bounced off, falling into the sand.

  Zoya saw the knife drop to the ground and believed she had enough data points to be reasonably certain of the implications. Unfortunately, she didn't speak up fast enough. Joe extended his yeti claw and killed the cat.

  “You shouldn't have used your claw,” Zoya said, “When the next one comes it will be invulnerable to your yeti claw. Hopefully it won't be to San’s.”

  Joe's eyes widened and he shook his head in a grimace.

  “Oh, I hate that game mechanism. Your scimitar should still work, but we should save that for the last one—but, wait, how do we know they'll even stop?” Joe asked.

  “We don't, but hopefully it's at nine,” Zoya said.

  “Maybe it's a location thing. Follow me,” Joe said as he began running down the other side of the dune.

  “Little help?” Phoebe said at a full sprint in order to keep up with Joe. Without breaking stride, he reached down and picked up the short-legged halfling.

  Joe lengthened his stride as he kept an eye on San. She was the one in the least shape. They didn't want to wear her out past combat effectiveness.

  “How can you tell when a cat is about to appear?” Joe asked.

  “I listen,” Phoebe said.

  Joe bristled at the terse reply. Once he gained the Unrivaled Vocalist ability, his ears had also gained an incredible sensitivity.

  “Hey, I listen too,” Joe mumbled under his breath.

  “You talk,” Phoebe chided.

  “That doesn't mean that I'm not listening. It's not like I talk that much more than others,” Joe denied. In a surprising alto chuckle, the little halfling began to laugh. Since he was carrying her like a football, Joe could not only hear every giggle, but he could feel them in his arms as well.

  “Hey, are you laughing at me?” Joe said, unable to fight off the smile forming on his face.

  “You're hilarious,” Phoebe forced through the giggles.

  “I guess you're right. I'm a talker. It's really only gotten worse as I've gotten older,” Joe said and the halfling’s fit of laughter subsided. She settled back in her natural state of quiet, but for some reason she seemed more serious to Joe. Though he was much older than her, the next words she spoke came from a place of true experience.

  “You're not old anymore,” Phoebe said slowly.

  “I haven't…” Joe began before Phoebe gently stopped him.

  “Listen,” Phoebe whispered and Joe became quiet.

  “You're not going to stay dead, maybe ever. You have time to think before you speak. You are a good king, a strong king. You are an encourager—but, do that with actions, not with wind. As a slave who watched all of my friends tortured, I know the dangers of this Moon. More words will not defeat them, only strength. Do not despair, Your Majesty, for with challenges like these, we will soon become their equals and then, we will become the instrument of their final death.” Phoebe finished her long bit of wisdom with a smile so wide it shouldn't have been able to fit on a halfling’s face.

  “That is the face of true joy. I don't know if I could ever feel that way about putting down a rabid dog,” Joe wondered.

  “Vampirism is not an infection like rabies. They were only created to bring evil into this world. When you destroy one, the world is better. They are monsters in every sense of the word. I will enjoy ridding the world of such evil, but that is not why I am smiling. I am smiling because even though I'm an unmagical halfling, I am going to become powerful. Who has ever heard of such a thing!” Phoebe exclaimed.

  “Oh, I don't know, I think I've heard a few stories where such things occurred,” Joe hinted his smile now matching hers.

  “Cat.”

  Dungeon, Floor 4 Boss

  Level- 23

  Monster Type- Curious Desert Cat

  Name- Cinco Gato

  “Wood, please,” Phoebe said.

  As the cat emerged from the sand, it could no longer be thought of as an overly large house cat. Its teeth were too big to be proportional, but otherwise it could have been confused for a bobcat. Joe realized that with their trek across the sand, they had left the wood he had poured out behind. With one hand, he shook his bag and some fell out.

  As before, the cat headed straight for Joe and once again, Joe tried to kill it with his yeti claw. Somehow the claw slid over the cat's fur like a figure skater over a freshly zambonied ice rink. The cat collided with Joe's face and this time its claws scored his skin deeply. Allowing himself to fall on his back, Joe threw the cat behind him as hard as he could, knowing it would not give him much time.

  “Pin it d
own, Joe, do not use your magic. We need to save that for number nine. I'd help, but I'm afraid I might accidentally kill it and these monsters are only getting tougher,” Zoya said.

  Having to focus on slapping the cat away each time it came at him, Joe didn't have time to respond with anything but a grunt that he understood.

  Joe unclipped his MIL Bar and caught hold of the cat, knowing he would be suffering the scratches. Falling to the ground and rolling over, Joe placed his bar tight against the cat’s middle, pressing it into the sand so the cat couldn't escape.

  “Okay, what do we do? With it wiggling in the sand like that, it's going to be out soon!” Joe said with obvious urgency.

  “If the level rate increase stays consistent, cat number nine will be Level 53. We should save our magic and Obsidian One’s scimitars for number nine. However, we need a unique way to kill each cat until then. Let’s get some suggestions of ways that we can kill the cats,” Zoya strategized, when suddenly the cat stopped moving and just looked around at each of them, its eyes glowing bright.

  “Blasted Void! Do not throw out your suggestions. I think our cat just got a lot smarter,” Zoya said. Smooth and graceful as a woman putting on a pair of tight jeans, the smart cat slid its way out from under the bar. This time the cat did not rush to face Joe, instead it went to the small pile of wood, grabbed a piece, and committed the act of hara-kiri—immediately turning into ash without any loot.

  “That wood was sharp. It would have been useful later. Let's spread out a little bit as the cat gains levels. I'd be surprised if it didn't get some area-of-effect abilities,” Joe said as he got out a long rope.

  “Cat, near Obsidian,” Phoebe warned as she dove in the sand to hide herself.

  “Zoya, to me,” Joe shouted, as he ran to meet her. Because of Zoya’s instant response, the cougar-sized cat just missed her. It was clear to all of them, that the cat wanted Obsidian One to kill it. Those scimitars were apparently still a viable weapon.

  “You go high,” Joe shouted as he dove under Obsidian One, right into Seis Gato’s path. The cat tried to jump over him, but Joe used his rope to lasso the cat. The noose tightened as Joe arched his back and pulled the rope hard, hoping to snap its neck. The bones were apparently no longer breakable, but the cat still needed blood to get to its brain. Within seconds, cat number six died.