Chapter 10: Before I go.

On Berlioz’s command, we had spent hours cutting away at the forest guardian and harvesting its remains. I understood why he was so desperate to gather everything we could from the monster, my artificer skill tingled with the possibilities, but damn I was tired. To top it all off, the little shit had sent Kali and her pride home to rest while we worked.

“Do we even have enough space in our storage to carry all of this?” I asked eyeing the piles of wood, and roots.

Berlioz touched a pile and most of it disappeared. “Stop complaining. The Alleycats will be here soon.”

“Hey, bud.” I said softly. “What do you think about this corruption?”

The Panthera sat and began inspecting the wood in front of him. “I think I agree with Kali, as long as it doesn’t infect the ants, we should be fine.”

“Where did it come from though, and how do we get rid of it?”

He glared at me. “Oscar, what the fuck makes you think I have any answers.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He got snappy whenever he was working on something. “What’re you making?”

“I don’t know yet, Somone keeps distracting me.”

“Alright I get the hint.” I gave him some space and waited for him to fall into focus. “Hey, bud.”

“Yes, Oscar?” Berlioz practically hissed his words.

I giggled. “Love you.”

Hearing him mutter something about me being a stupid human, I took out the core I had claimed, rested my back on the ground and gave it a look with gods eye.

Monster core (epic)

Origin: Forest guardian

Abilities: Plant growth, plant control, absorb.

Looking at the list of abilities I wondered if there was a way to transfer them from the core to my gear. Could they be like Materia from final fantasy seven, attach the core to the weapon and gain the abilities, or did I need to use magic to transfer the core’s energy into the runes I still needed to learn. Thinking about my lack of knowledge made me want to go to the town I saw on my map, it looked established although the buildings did look brand new which was a bit suspicious. How could a town pop up in less than a week.

“You know Oscar, you could be crafting something right now.” Said Berlioz, looking down at me. “laying there eyeing up that core, is such a waste of time.”

“One, I don’t have any materials other than that wood. Two, I’m trying to figure out how to enchant, which would be super beneficial for everyone by the way.” “I could only think of two retorts. “And Three, fuck you.” It wasn’t smart but it made Berlioz laugh, ok he sniggered but a win’s a win.

“Here I made you this.” He said dropping a heavy slab of something on me.

Once I lifted it, I found the he had made me a shield. The thing was big and hefty, made mostly of the guardian wood but the back was lined with Iron hide and fire tusk hide and the rim was a mix of silver and red ant parts, with the sharp shiny silver at both the top and bottom of the oval shaped shield. The front of the shield was studded and upon closer inspection those studs were made of shaped fire tusk. I was giddy with excitement as I focused on the icon above it.

Flaming Bulwark.

Scarcity: Epic.

Damage resistance: Piercing 100%, Slashing 100%, Acid 100%, Fire 100%, Bludgeoning 65%.

Damage type: Slashing, Fire, Bludgeoning.

Effects: Huge defensive bonus, Growth, Ignite.

Abilities: None.

My eyes watered in response to the overwhelming pride and joy I felt at the sentiment. the shield was powerful, it may have been too heavy to wield with a weapon but with the bladed points and the fire tusk studs the defensive item was a weapon in it’s own right.

“Berlioz, bud. This is amazing.” I said testing the shield. “Do you think we could make some stuff like this to sell at the town.”

“I wouldn’t sell any epic items in a low-level zone, but we could definitely make some lower grade gear for the people there.”

He was probably right, if we sold this kind of stuff in a low-level zone, they would be able to decimate the monsters around them and maybe even push towards our village. I set Shumi village to private for a reason, I didn’t know the people in Firston and the safety and security of my Panthera was at the pinnacle of my priorities. Berlioz and I discussed what kind of low-grade gear we could create with the materials available to us, while we waited for the Alleycats and just when we became lost in our fantasy of capitalist gains, we heard a voice amongst the trees.

“You called us here to gather wood?” Questioned Mingus.

Simone nudged the Lynx. “Would Lioz do something as stupid as that?”

“Whatever it is, He’s probably going to craft some sweet gear.” Added Monk.

Armstrong dropped down next to me, grinning he said. “You know you’re headlining tonight right.”

“I’m doing what?” I asked taken aback.

Berlioz patted my back. “You killed the most spider monkeys. If you don’t sing, then no one will trust your word again.”

“In that case I better rank up.” I said filling my storage with a nearby pile of wood and taking off.

After my rapid dash home, I deposited the gathered materials in Berlioz’s pigsty and opted to sleep on the sofa in my office. The boar hide sofa was comfortable enough for me to doze off pretty quickly and when I awoke in the void space my metaphorical eyes stung with the immense light in the distance. Seeing all that tasty experience before me, there was only one thing to do.

Block (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Str 2

Digging (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Str 2

Double bass (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Drums (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Clarinet (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Guitar (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Piano (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Trombone (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Singing (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

Violin (Novice) Rank up (Expert) Char 2

The ten counts of large experience I had spent to get each skill to expert barely dimmed the blinding orb at all, there was a flicker, but it stayed shining brightly in the distance. It was great, I was worried that I was going to have to kill a bunch of fire tusk boars before I set out for Firston but now all I had to do was gain whatever skills I could there and grab a nap to rank up. Before I returned to reality I decided to get a look at my character sheet.

Name: Oscar Hollow

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: None

Linked familiar: Anansi

Attributes.

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 32

Constitution: 18

Intelligence: 26

Wisdom: 31

Charisma: 26

Luck: 2

Status conditions: Anxious.

Resistance: bladed-weapons 50%

bug-type 50%

Weakness: Threat to Panthera. Rejection.

I gave a mental sneer at my growing anxiety being displayed like that but had to accept that I was worried that the people of Firston wouldn’t accept me or worse, would treat me like some kind of freak. Berlioz had explained to me that the town being named Firston was a good indicator that it belonged to the allied races, a cooperative intergovernmental alliance of races that have conquered biomes throughout the system. He didn’t know much about them but did note that the orcs were amongst the many enemies that the allied races wared with for the good of their people.

Growing up on earth I had seen and studied countless wars and knew that for the most part everyone wared for either profit or defence and in this instance the allies were fighting for both. I was told that before their dungeon was invaded by the orcs, the Panthera had cooperated with the allied races in a somewhat peaceful manner, but as usual Berlioz clammed up when talking about the horrors he had faced and that was all the information I could get from him. I could have stayed in the void forever, thinking about what Berlioz had gone through in captivity and how his people must have suffered beforehand just for having poor cores, but that was a self-destructive hole to dwell in and I had work to do.

Dismissing the void, I opened my eyes with a stretch and a yawn. I wasn’t sure how long I was out for and I really resented the lack of clocks in my village but when I stood before my drawing table and peered out the window I could at least see that it was now the late afternoon, with the sun dipping low and the first planet peaking its rim to the west. While I let my tired body catch up to my alert mind, I sketched and stole glances out of my window. Out by the basin Berlioz was constructing some kind of platform out of the guardians remains. Opposite him Cid stood under the jaw of the dungeon mouth, his mane dripping onto the stone beneath his feet. The red lion secured a wooden cap to each of the largest fangs that jutted out of the lower jaw he stood upon and called out to Berlioz. My little cat bro shouted back and the platform he had built grew into a bridge that connected with the capped fangs.

“I Fucking love it, Berlioz.” I shouted out my window gaining their attention.

A few seconds after shouting, my door flew open, and I was ambushed by my cabinet. Kali was the first through the door and she ushered me to my desk while Lachi and Chef turned the two sofa’s around to face me. When Berlioz arrived with Cid behind him, they all took a seat.

“Did you sleep well?” Asked Chef.

Berlioz inspected his claws. “He was out for ages, of course he slept well.”

“Lioz, it was barely an hour.” Commented Lachi.

Kali furrowed her brow. “How are you keeping time?”

“There’s a sun dial on my stage.” Explained Lachi.

Cid cleared his throat loudly. “Should we not get to business.”

“I would like to know why I’ve been ambushed like this.” I said.

Cid stood straight with his paws behind his back. “Kali and Lio, I mean Berlioz, seem to believe that once the dungeon gate is established you will forget about the settlements growth and leave for a prolonged time.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” I swore.

Berlioz chuckled. “Oscar you recently spent three days building a fort, once you go to that town, you’ll be so distracted that we probably won’t see you for three months.”

“I wouldn’t…” I started to say, but changed my mind when Berlioz gave me that look. “Ok, I probably would but not for three months.”

“We can afford for you to leave.” Said Kali, sincerely. “But first we need you to make some decisions regarding the Settlement stone.”

“It’ll be quick and we’re here to help you. Just activate it and see what’s available to us.” Explained Berlioz.

I pressed my hand on the table and concentrated on the stone.

Settlement options.

Dungeon statistics.

Monster spawner management.

Population statistics.

Building management.

Resource management.

“Anything with the word Management in the title will need looking at.” Explained Cid.

I started with the first in the list.

Monster spawner management.

Spawners 0 of 5

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Available monster types.

Beast

Bug

Bug-beast

Guardian spirit.

Special.

“Should I be spawning monsters?” I asked.

Berlioz placed his hand on the table. “let me see. We can pick ones that will give our town extra benefits.” He made a selection. “let’s see what’s so special.”

Special 1

Vegie pygmy 0 of 10 (Rare)

“Anyone know what a vegie pygmy is?” I asked the cabinet.

Chef answered. “Sounds like a plant-based life form. A tiny vegetable person.” The mountain lion licked his lips. “That would suit our dietary requirements.”

“Do we have the cores?” I asked. “I spent a lot on the dungeon.”

Chef stood and pressed his hand on the table. “Sixty rare fire tusk cores should see you through.” He said transferring them from his storage.

Vegie pygmy 10 of 10

Please select location.

I opened my map and looked for a suitable location within my zone of authority. It wasn’t anywhere near as large as the surrounding zones and it appeared that the lower the level of the zone the larger the zone would be, mine being the highest level meant that I had the least amount of space. I had to select their area carefully, What did vegetables need to thrive.

Eastern basin selected.

Generating Vegie pygmy spawner.

There was a bright flash from outside my window as a beam of light shot down from the sky and landed in the west.

“I will monitor them” Spoke Chef, his eyes glowing greedily.

Berlioz nudged me. “what’s next, this is exciting.”

“What’s a guardian spirit going to be like?” I asked.

Berlioz shook his head. “We literally just struggled to kill one.”

“Actually.” Interrupted Lachi. “Guardian spirits are service monsters that look after a zone.”

“like a caretaker?” I asked.

Lachi wiggled his paw. “Kind of. They start at a low level and grow with the experience they gather. They’re great for stopping multiple monster types from destroying a zone’s ecosystem, our dungeon’s guardian was a wisp that guided adventurers to the correct zones.”

“The dancing lights?” Berlioz’s eyes lit up. “I would have died in my first year if it wasn’t for those guys.”

Guardian spirit 3

Forest guardian 0 of 1 (Epic)

Fey guardian 0 of 1 (Epic)

Mycelial guardian 0 of 1 (Epic)

“Oh, but it will cost the core I just got.” I sighed sadly.

I had to decide if a loyal caretaker was worth the loss of an epic core that I may or may not have been able to utilise in the future. Four really difficult choices lay before me. actually, it was only three, a guardian was going to take a lot of responsibility off of the Panthera and I’d sacrifice anything to make their lives easier. The forest guardian was a tree that controlled a root system and that was good, but we all had a certain level of trauma when it came to those damned roots. Fey, sounded like it would be the wisps that Lachi had mentioned, which was cool but from the sound of it, they didn’t really have a hands on approach. Mycelial was an interesting one, would it be a giant mushroom that plodded along tending to my zone or was it going to be an actual mycelial network that worked its magic beneath the ground. On earth the rainforest thrived because of the mycelium threads that spanned the entirety of the soil below the canopy, spreading nutrients to the plants that would otherwise shrivel and die. Yeah, that was the kind of caretaker I wanted.

Mycelial guardian 1 of 1 (Epic)

Please select location.

Northern front selected

Generating Mycelial guardian spawner.

There was a flash of light that lit the room for a second and I let my eyes fall on Lachi. “I want you to deal with the guardian, make sure it knows that the Panthera are to be protected at all costs.”

“I’ll see to it.” Smiled Lachi.

“Do we want beasts, bug-beasts or bugs next?” I asked the room.

Kali answered. “Bugs are good for armour but there may be some beasts we can tame.”

“Actually bug-beasts will fit both criteria.” Interjected Berlioz. “Just so long as it isn’t more of those fucking spider monkeys.”

Bug-beast 6

Beatle-bear 0 of 5 (Rare)

Locust-deer 0 of 3 (Rare)

Mantis-wolf 0 of 15 (Uncommon)

Moth-bat 0 of 10 (Common)

Spider-monkey 0 of 10 (Common)

Roach-rat 0 of 1 (Poor)

Spider monkeys were out and fuck having mutated roach-rat hybrids, the worlds most disgusting and virulent creatures combined, no thank you. I really wanted the rare creatures, even if beetle bears sounded like they would be absolute tanks, their carapaces would probably make something great. Locust-deer would be a tasty addition, I love venison, and I do enjoy a fried locust, but deer need to be hunted, or they’ll quickly destroy the surrounding vegetation. If I chose the deer I would need the wolves, to keep them at bay, and I found that I didn’t mind the idea of that, we could tame the terrifying monstrosities and have them as mounts for my little cat folk. Before I selected the three obvious choices my eyes fell on moth-bats and I imagined the glorious things flying through the branches, trying their hardest to reach the closest light source only to bump into my window. Yeah, fuck that.

Beatle-bear 5 of 5 (Rare)

Locust-deer 3 of 3 (Rare)

Mantis-wolf 15 of 15 (Uncommon)

Please select locations

Southwest, west, northwest, selected

Generating monster spawners.

The lights that flashed weren’t as bright as the previous two, but they still lit up the room with their hues. Next was building management.

Building management.

Central hub 3

Palace 0 of 25 (Rare)

Barracks 0 of 5 (Uncommon)

Shelter 0 of 1 (Poor)

I wasn't about to waste twenty-five rare cores on a palace when the fort was already designed to be a barracks, I could always design a palace in the future. Before I made my choice I wanted the opinion of the room.

“What do you guys think?” I asked.

“I don’t know what a palace does, but the barracks will allow us to form war parties and share experience.” Explained Berlioz. “it’s pretty much the only building that the orcs care to designate.”

“Anyone know the benefits of a palace?” I asked receiving a resounding no.

Barracks 5 of 5 (Uncommon)

Designating central hub.

The entire fort glowed for a second.

Please select Field marshal.

Kali selected as Field marshal.

“Oh, thank you.” Said Kali bearing a pleasant smile. “I was just about to request the role.”

I moved on to the final option.

Resource management 7

Mojopaya tree 0 of 75 (Rare.)

Vitalaberry tree 0 of 35 (Rare.)

Reed of holding 0 of 10 (Rare.)

Medicinal flora (randomised) 0 of 5 (uncommon.)

Edible flora (randomised) 0 of 2 (uncommon.)

Poisonous flora (randomised) 0 of 10 (common.)

Prey animals (randomised) 0 of 10 (common.)

We didn’t have enough for any mojopaya trees and seventy-five cores for one tree felt extortion, I’d consider it later when we eventually had an abundance of cores but right now there was only forty-three cores left for me to play with. We were set for the reeds of holding, and I figured I could spare thirty-five rare cores for a vitalaberry tree, in the hopes that we can find a way to grow more without relying on cores.

Vitalaberry tree 35 of 35 (Rare.)

Please select location.

Northern front selected.

Generating resource

There was no flash, but I did watch the available cores plummet. With a thought and a mental wince, I selected the cheaper options and watched the cores disappear.

Medicinal flora (randomised) 5 of 5 (uncommon.)

Edible flora (randomised) 2 of 2 (uncommon.)

Poisonous flora (randomised) 10 of 10 (common.)

Prey animals (randomised) 10 of 10 (common.)

Guardian detected, (randomised) changed to (under care of guardian)

The change in the randomised spawners was neat, but the exchange rate between the lesser core values left me with only eight rare cores. Checking my storage, I found that I had my original six iron hide cores and two of the fire tusk ones that Chef had kindly donated. With each of the settlement stones management options exhausted I willed away the screen and addressed my cabinet.

“Is there anything else before you all see to your new responsibilities?” I asked.

Cid said. “I need some guidance with the dungeon.”

“I’m not sure how I can help but go for it.” I shrugged.

Lachi stood. “Umm, Oscar. would it be ok for me to see to the guardian? The dungeon really doesn’t involve me.”

“May I be excused as well,” Added Chef, with hungry eyes. “I’d like to set my eyes on the veggie pygmies.”

They left and Cid approached my desk. “I can take care of everything I just need to know what kind of chambers you would like to generate.” Explained the red lion. “With the generous amount of cores, you sacrificed I can establish eleven chambers after we establish the dungeon gate to Firston. The dungeon itself is currently designated as a rare elemental dungeon, this means we can generate mines that provide poor to rare ore, some magical ore is available however just one of those mines will consume the remainder of our dungeon points.”

“Right, so you want to know my preference for ore types.” Ore mines would be great for trade and would lead us to start creating weapons, armour and other equipment that didn’t rely on Berlioz and me using the artificer skill. “I think we should go for maximum variety how many rare ore mines can we generate while still being able to afford to fill the remaining chambers with lesser ores?”

“We can have three rare, four uncommon and four common. Any poor ores will be impure and pretty pointless to generate.”

“That sounds fine to me,” I gave the dungeon master a grateful grin. “Make it so.”

Cid bowed at my captain Picard impression and promptly left. Once again it was just me, Berlioz and Kali left in the office. The last time we were alone together I discovered the root to their domestic issues and even though it only happened this morning, it felt like it was days ago. There was no real air of tension between the two proud cats. I didn’t think that the generational coreism had been dismissed with just a simple hunt, but I did believe that Kali and her pride were being more conscious of how they treat those with lesser cores.

“Oscar?” said Kali sheepishly.

“What’s up?”

“I want to say thank you for giving me the position of Field marshal.” She stood and placed her right paw on her heart. “I will lead our people in the defence of this settlement and see to it that we find glory in battle.” With her last word she extended her left arm with he open paw level to her heart.

Berlioz whispered in my ear. “That’s a gesture of service. You need to copy her pose and grasp her open paw.”

“I don’t know about all that, but I trust you to ensure the safety of our Panthera.” I said grasping her paw firmly and meeting her eyes with a trusting smile.

“Now piss off.” Laughed Berlioz. “Oscar’s going to be leaving soon, and we’ve got work to do before his big show tonight.”

I had been ignoring the fact that I was expected to perform in front of the entire village that night, but it seemed as though Berlioz wasn’t going to let it go. Luckily, the two of us had plenty of materials and ideas to work through, as keeping my mind busy would always allow me to beat back any pangs of social anxiety. We took to Berlioz’s office and started to discuss what we should create with the various materials available. While we spoke, I realised that the room may have been messy, but it was far from disorganised. All the discarded monster parts that had been strewn across the floor were awaiting a spark of inspiration, while the things Berlioz had categorised as components for previously crafted items were in storage boxes next to worktables.

“It’s a messy system, but your office is the perfect place for this.” I commented.

Berlioz gave me a quizzical look. “Why do you keep calling it an office? This is my workshop.”

I recalled the time it was just me, Berlioz and Anansi, working on the mantis parts to forge spears and daggers, because working in my cat bro’s workshop felt like those first days we shared together. Instead of replicating the rare and epic gear Berlioz had been crafting over the last few days, we set to the task of making much less impressive gear to sell at Firston. It turned out that with the artificer skill at expert creating anything less than rare was a test of willpower. The skill always guided us to make the best possible items with the rarest materials present and when we refused it kept leading us back to optional upgrades. In the end we managed to craft chain mail shirts and sharp as hell swords from the blade ants, blade proof cloaks from the iron tusk boar hides, small corrosive hammers from the acid spitter ants and danger sensing wrist bands from the spider monkey pelts, as well as crossbows, bows and daggers that held no extra effects.

With our merchandise forged we set to crafting things for Shumi’s residents. We worked for hours more. The planets rose high above the oasis, while we joked around and enjoyed the tranquillity of a mind put to task. Boar bone and resin made pickaxes and hammers, fire tusk hides made oven gloves and finally from the wood of the corrupted guardian we made twenty-nine bucklers, that bore similar properties to my shield but were small enough and light enough for the Panthera to wield. We weren’t sure how many times we came close to mana exhaustion, but a quick visit to the kitchen and a chat with Clyde, provided us with mana potions that kept us going. When we heard Lachi addressing the crowd from his stage, Berlioz took the opportunity to harass me.

“it’s almost time for your show.” He said with that shit eating grin. “Have you worked out your line up, or are you just gunna wing it?”

“I do my best work in a state of panic.” I laughed. “I’m sure I’ll think of something by the time I’m on stage.”

“Good, because with you leaving soon this will be the last thing everyone remembers about you.”

“You keep talking as if I’m not coming back.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I know you’ve seen loss, but you can count on my return, bud.”

Berlioz couldn’t look me in the eye. “It’s just that you’re leaving me in charge.” He picked at his claws. “What if I fuck up.”

“Berlioz, What’s the number one rule?” I asked scratching behind his ear.

He giggled and pushed me away. “Ensure everyone’s safety regardless of the risk.”

“That’s right. so, if you fuck that up it won’t matter, you’ll already be dead, and I’ll probably die avenging you.”

“You’re sick in the head, Oscar.” Laughed my cat bro with a shake of his head.

We made our way to the theatre, and I joined Berlioz at the back of the stage. Most of the Alleycats were tuning their instruments while Monk played out a rhythm to Lachi’s latest tale. This time he wasn’t repeating the old tale of the grey mane, no, this time he spoke about the nameless.

“It is said that their hearts were as black as their fur and their souls as poor as their cores.”

I looked to Berlioz and saw his face go pale.

“The nameless were cursed with the knowledge that they failed to destroy our way of life and were forced back into servitude.”

Berlioz raised his brow towards Lachi.

“But let us think on that verse for a second.” Lachi sat down with his legs crossed and the drums softly beat a slow rhythm. “They weren’t forced into servitude; they were put back in their place. Ask yourselves, what story would the orcs tell if they had defeated our saviours.”

Berlioz began to crack a smile.

“When Berlioz, the son of a nameless scion returned to our aid, he may have brought along our leader, but he was the one that led Oscar to us.” Lachi leapt up. “So, there will be no more talk of the grey mane that tried to bring down our elders, for he merely saw slaves to free and chose extreme violence to achieve his peace. Instead, we will remember that for ten long years, we, from our beloved matriarch to the servant that saw us free, were slaves, lesser than any nameless, regardless of our cores.”

“I think Kali put him up to this.” Said Berlioz a tear moistening his fur.

Lachi stood tall. “Oscar will be leaving for a time, but he leaves us in the care of his Cabinet, led by Berlioz who he has named as his inheritor. While our human embarks on his journey of discovery to the allied races’ Firston we shall remain secure in the knowledge that he will return and when he returns, we shall greet him with open arms and the actualisation of the village he has designed.” He pointed into the crowd. “George will guide us in the construction efforts for he has been appointed our village foreman.” He looked to me and winked. “Now without further ado, we have a special treat for you tonight. Please welcome Oscar to the stage.”

When I say the crowd went wild, I mean the crowd went absolutely berserk. It felt like I was Elvis or the Beatles, walking out to the centre of the stage to screaming and crying fans, all of them losing their inhibitions at the thought of hearing me perform for them. With the pressure on, my heart pounded an uncontrollable rhythm, and I realised that stage fright wasn’t something that went away. Live streaming was easy, if Somone didn’t like it, they left and that was it but with how the crowd was reacting to my presence, it felt like a poor performance would shatter their belief in me.

“Hey Anansi, can you hit me with some courage please.” I whispered. “Oh, and maybe a little arrogance, just a little.”

The wave that hit me made me feel like a rockstar, no, actually I felt like a living legend. Pulling out a guitar I stared playing an old song my dad taught me. The hymn to freedom was supposed to be played on piano so I called back to Monk, and he quickly switched instruments and copied my rhythm.

“How’re you guys doing tonight.” I called out to the crowd. “This song encompasses what I believe it means to have freedom.”

Berlioz crashed his symbols, and I sang.

“When every heart joins every heart and together yearns for liberty,

That's when we'll be free.” The singing skill allowed my voice to accentuate the tone and rhythm.

“When every hand joins every hand and together moulds our destiny, That's when we'll be free.” The Alleycats sang the repeated line with me.

“Any hour any day, the time soon will come when men will live in dignity, That's when we'll be free.” This time the entire crowd joined in.

“When every man joins in our song and together singing harmony, That's when we'll be free.” With the song ended I strummed my guitar and moved on to the next.

I kept within the theme of freedom and progression, trying my hardest to embody the legends that wrote them. I was practically proud of my James brown impression as I shouted back to the band with an almost unintelligible call and response. We went on, playing song after song and I even brought Berlioz up front to sing, say it loud with me, his little paw clenched in a fist and held high with pride. At some point we ended our show and Chef handed me a potion, that was when the party started.

Long into the night we splashed around in the basin, with the panther headed dungeon mouth roaring its silent roar of freedom and prosperity. Even though I was worried about traveling to Firston and leaving my Panthera behind, I put my fears aside and lived in the moment. I don’t know if it was the potion or the adrenaline of being on stage, but I really let loose, and Berlioz was right there with me. the next morning, I was going to an unfamiliar place filled with unfamiliar people and I was going alone, with only my friendly neighbourhood spider god to keep me company. I didn’t let myself think about that though, that night I just partied until sleep demanded I make my way back to my hammock.