The road was long, straight and lightly trafficked. He’d extracted the cats from the pouch and placed them back in his bandolier; noting their increased size. They wouldn’t fit in the bandolier's pouches for much longer, which was a shame; it was a good way to travel. The landscape changed once more as he travelled down the long and dusty cobbled road. The rocky ground made way for the rolling meadows that he had seen around Welcome, and after a few hours travel he saw a fork in the road, with a signpost leading to the village. He stayed straight on the road, wondering if he should find a way to make the most of his last night of freedom. He decided to wait and see what the town of Caslon had to offer before he made a choice. The journey went quickly, as Morgan paced down the road, occasionally waving to passing characters and the occasional player. He traded a few words with one of the players, finding that he was headed to the outpost that Morgan had just come from. The man, looking alone and afraid, was thankful for the conversation. He apprised the man of the situation before they parted ways, with a wave and a new friend, Roger, in his list.
The sun was low in the sky by the time he made it to Caslon, a small town of thatched brick houses, surrounded by logs that had been bound together to make a wall. One side of the town was taken up by a large manor building, made of well hewn dark stone and its columned front supported large windows. Morgan assumed this was the place where Baron Ostius could be found. He headed to a gap in the logs that made up the wall where a lone character in a guardsman uniform stood watch by a squat tower. The man greeted him as he approached, “Ho outworlder, state your business!”
Morgan halted, replying “Hi there, I’m Morgan. I've been sent here to report for work with Baron Ostius.”
The guard nodded in acknowledgment, “You’ll want to be heading to the manor though I doubt they’ll see you now. Last appointments are at six. You can find the inn on the west side of town near the square. Just follow the road.” He gestured through the gate and into the town.
Morgan, taking this as an invitation, headed through the gate. The town was quiet as he headed down a street, illuminated by the occasional brazier. He passed closed up shops and sleeping houses as he made his way to the square. At its centre Morgan saw a gilded statue of a man in an orators pose, with an eerily symmetrical face and square jaw. It stood on top of a fountain, four lion heads spitting water out of their mouths, and the elaborateness of the feature was at odds with the humble town surrounding it. The inn was a simple two-story brick and thatch affair, door open and a warm, flickering light could be seen. Morgan headed in, nodding at the character behind the bar before looking around.
A few patrons lingered; a couple of characters dressed as townsfolk played cards at a table, and a player sat dozing in a chair by the large fireplace. He approached the innkeeper, “Excuse me, have you a room available for tonight?”
The man, short and stocky with wiry hair answered, “Of course. 20 silvers for the night, comes with dinner. Lamb stew today.”
Morgan paid up, and the innkeeper suggested he find a seat and he’d bring some food out to him. He found a comfortable chair with a low table that sat near the fire, and surreptitiously checked his bandolier. The beasts were starting to awake, and he thought about the Bag of Cats. As mysterious as it was, the kittens had gone in and come out unharmed each time, and though it was undoubtedly surreal, he reasoned that as he was inside a virtual world, he had to start getting used to such things. Seeing that the other player was still asleep, he opened the Bag of Cats and the kittens flew out of their pouches into the opening. Just as he’d finished, and the bag was resting back on his chest, the player sitting across from him woke up. After a moment of groggily gazing about, the man’s eyes settled on Morgan. The freshly woken player addressed him, “Alright mate. I don’t think I seen you before. I’m Harl. Working for the fancy Baron.” He glanced at Morgan’s homespun. “Guess that’s why you’re here too?”
Morgan nodded as he replied, “Yeah, I’ve just arrived. Got to report tomorrow evening. I’m Morgan.”
The man leaned over and offered his hand, which Morgan shook.
“Well met, Morgan. So, you’ve got a day free, eh. I’ll warn you, there's not a lot to do in this little backwards town. I’ve not met him, but the Baron is apparently a complete idiot, and his seneschal, who’s a character, runs everything.” Harl shrugged. “That’s what I've heard, anyway. I’ve been here for two weeks, and I’ve only seen the baron from afar. So, what they got you here to do?”
“I’ve been asked to come and offer my services as a gatherer. Not that I’ve a lot of experience, I’ve been in the game less than a week.” offered Morgan.
Harl laughed darkly, “That’s a pretty way of saying conscripted. I’ll warn you; it’s not been easy here. I’ve got two weeks left to complete the quota I've been given, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it. I’ve spent almost every waking hour felling and hauling, and it’s still not enough. Bad enough that the best areas around here are infested with goblins.”
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The innkeeper appeared with a steaming bowl of delicious smelling stew, placing it on Morgan’s table. Morgan thanked the man and started to eat. Harl continued, “There's only one other conscript like us here, she’s a mason. The Baron is planning to extend his manor, hence the need for wood and stone. Not sure what you’re here for, but I’m sure we’ll find out.”
Between spoons of stew, Morgan asked, “Do you know where I’ll need to report to tomorrow?”
Harl nodded, “You’ll want to head to the manor. Just knock on the door and someone will get you. Just make sure you get there before six, that’s when they shut up for the day. Alright, it’s time I get to bed, another long day tomorrow.”
Morgan thanked the player before he left and disappeared upstairs and got to finishing his soup. He remembered that he still hadn’t managed to summon Oculus, and decided he’d do it when he got upstairs. He started thinking about the questions he had for the spirit. After finishing his stew, Morgan thanked the innkeeper and headed up to his room. It was a comfortable space, reasonably large and well furnished with good quality furniture.
A comfy looking bed sat in one corner, and he sat on it while releasing his kittens into the room. Looking at them, it was getting harder to call them kittens. He’d only had them for a couple of days, but they were already twice the size they’d started. He took his spare leather cord out and started to drag it around the floor, smiling as the little cats fell over each other to try to grasp it. Unsurprisingly, the big ginger kitten was the one who seemed to win the battle for the string, gnawing on its end while holding it in his little paws. He decided to call it Tom, like the big tomcat he was. While he was pondering this, the small grey kitten, with a meow of challenge, jumped on Tom like a lunatic, causing him to drop the cord and wrestle the smaller opponent. The little tabby, seeing the opportunity, sauntered over and grabbed the cord in its mouth, taking it to a corner of the room and chewing on it. After watching the cats play around for a minute, he got to business; sitting down on the bed and chanting, “Oculus, Oculus, Oculus.”
Nothing happened for a long moment, and Morgan was about to repeat the strange ritual before Oculus appeared suddenly, in a small puff of ethereal dust. A breezy voice emanated from the floating orb “Greetings once again, outworlder.”
Morgan smiled at the spirit, “Hi Oculus! Good to see you again. I kept meaning to call, but I’ve been so busy I kept forgetting. I have a few questions, mainly about a class I've been given.”
Oculus span in the air before replying, “I will answer to the best of my abilities.”
Morgan thought for a moment what to ask first, before responding, “I’ve now got some pets, well, attached animals at any rate. Can you tell me what would happen if one of them were to be killed?”
The spirit answered quickly, “Companion animals can be resummoned if they expire. A ritual is required depending on the nature of your class and companion. The process will generally take ninety percent of your mana, stamina and health points to perform, and your companion will re-join you the next day.”
Morgan digested this information, before asking, “My class is that of a... uh... Cat Herder. Would you be able to tell me anything about it?”
Oculus paused for a moment before replying, “I have no access to any records of this class. But I will amend my previous statement to add that herd animals cannot be resummoned, but can breed, while companion animals cannot.”
Morgan frowned worriedly at this statement. He gestured to the cats, who were in various stages of play across the floor, “Oculus, can you tell me if these creatures are herd animals?”
Oculus floated lower to the floor, getting close to the black cat who took the opportunity to try to pounce on the orb, failing with a confused meow as he sailed right through the spirit.
The guide, unphased, replied to the query, “I’m sorry, Morgan. I cannot identify these creatures beyond the basic knowledge that they are cats.”
For a moment Morgan worried about this unclear information. There was a real chance these cats could die, for good. Thinking for a moment, he asked another question, “Do you know how I came to have this class? I was supposed to be a cattle herder, at least, that’s what I was going for at the time.”
Oculus span on his axis once more, “I have reviewed the logs, and besides a small formatting error, I can see nothing out of the ordinary that happened on your class acquisition. You were bound to the closest herd of animals. This is consistent with the rules set into the world.”
Frustrated now at not getting anything useful out of Oculus, he paced the room. Finally, he turned to the orb, “If it’s the case, do you know the ritual I’d need to respawn the cats?”
Oculus replied, and Morgan could detect sadness in his breezy tone, “I’m sorry Morgan, that’s information I am not at liberty to provide. You must visit a class trainer or master to learn more.”
Morgan shook his head. “Well, thanks anyway Oculus. I need some time to think, I’ll let you know if I need you again.”
Oculus, taking the hint, disappeared. He sat on the bed, and took a moment to call his family, fronting the exhaustion of a busy day to keep it short. Once that was done, he put some meat down for his small beasts, and got ready to sleep while they ate. After they were all finished up, he gathered them all up on the bed, and lay amongst them to sleep.
As he lay and thought about the day to come, the cats arranged themselves around him. Big Tom set himself up on the corner of the bed facing the door, while the small grey lunatic moved in to nestle between his legs. The white beast stomped on his chest for a bit before finally settling there, to the amusement of the two black cats who curled up by his shoulders. The chorus of gentle purring had him asleep even before the tabby had settled in on his head.